1 Then Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, I have listened to your voice for all that you said to me, and I have appointed a king over you. 2 Now, here is the king walking before you, but as for me, I am old and gray, and my sons are here with you. And I have walked before you since my youth to this day. 3 Here I am; testify against me before the Lord and His anointed. Whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I exploited? Whom have I oppressed, or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to close my eyes with it? I will return it to you.” 4 And they said, “You have not exploited us or oppressed us, or taken anything from anyone’s hand.” 5 So he said to them, “The Lord is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day that you have found nothing in my hand.” And they said, “He is witness.”
6 Then Samuel said to the people, “It is the Lord who appointed Moses and Aaron and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt. 7 Now then, take your stand, so that I may enter into judgment with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous acts of the Lord that He did for you and your fathers. 8 When Jacob went into Egypt and your fathers cried out to the Lord, then the Lord sent Moses and Aaron who brought your fathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place. 9 But they forgot the Lord their God, so 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 They cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have abandoned the Lord and have served the Baals and the Ashtaroth; but now save us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve You.’ 11 Then the Lord sent Jerubbaal, Bedan, Jephthah, and Samuel, and saved you from the hands of your enemies all around, so that you lived in security.
12 But when you saw that Nahash the king of the sons of Ammon was coming against you, you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us!’ Yet the Lord your God was your king. 13 And now, behold, the king whom you have chosen, whom you have asked for, and behold, the Lord has put a king over you. 14 If you will fear the Lord and serve Him, and listen to His voice and not rebel against the command of the Lord, then both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God. 15 But if you do not listen to the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the command of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you, even as it was against your fathers. 16 Even now, take your stand and see this great thing which the Lord is going to do before your eyes. 17 Is it not the wheat harvest today? I will call to the Lord, that He will send thunder and rain. Then you will know and see that your wickedness is great which you have done in the sight of the Lord, by asking for yourselves a king.” 18 So Samuel called to the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day; and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.
19 Then all the people said to Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God for your servants, so that we do not die; for we have added to all our sins this evil, by asking for ourselves a king.” 20 Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have committed all this evil, yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. 21 Indeed, you must not turn aside, for then you would go after useless things which cannot benefit or save, because they are useless. 22 For the Lord will not abandon His people on account of His great name, because the Lord has been pleased to make you a people for Himself. 23 Furthermore, as for me, far be it from me that I would sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you; but I will instruct you in the good and right way. 24 Only fear the Lord and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you. 25 But if you still do evil, both you and your king will be swept away.”
1 Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation. 2 For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. 3 For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. 4 For Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
5 For Moses writes of the righteousness that is based on the Law, that the person who performs them will live by them. 6 But the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will go up into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down), 7 or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).” 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, 9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; 13 for “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
14 How then are they to call on Him in whom they have not believed? How are they to believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher? 15 But how are they to preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!”
16 However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.
18 But I say, surely they have never heard, have they? On the contrary:
“Their voice has gone out into all the earth,
And their words to the ends of the world.”
19 But I say, surely Israel did not know, did they? First Moses says,
“I will make you jealous with those who are not a nation,
With a foolish nation I will anger you.”
20 And Isaiah is very bold and says,
“I was found by those who did not seek Me,
I revealed Myself to those who did not ask for Me.”
21 But as for Israel, He says, “I have spread out My hands all day long to a disobedient and obstinate people.”
1 Concerning the sons of Ammon. This is what the Lord says:
“Does Israel have no sons?
Or has he no heirs?
Why then has Malcam taken possession of Gad,
And his people settled in its cities?
2 Therefore behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“When I will cause an alarm of war to be heard
Against Rabbah of the sons of Ammon;
And it will become a desolate heap,
And her towns will be set on fire.
Then Israel will take possession of his possessors,”
Says the Lord.
3 “Wail, Heshbon, for Ai has been destroyed!
Cry out, daughters of Rabbah,
Put on sackcloth and mourn,
And move about inside the walls;
For Malcam will go into exile
Together with his priests and his leaders.
4 How you boast about the valleys!
Your valley is flowing away,
You backsliding daughter
Who trusts in her treasures, saying,
‘Who can come against me?’
5 Behold, I am going to bring terror upon you,”
Declares the Lord God of armies,
“From all directions around you;
And you will be driven away one after another,
With no one to gather the fugitives together.
6 But afterward I will restore
The fortunes of the sons of Ammon,”
Declares the Lord.
7 Concerning Edom.
This is what the Lord of armies says:
“Is there no longer any wisdom in Teman?
Has good advice been lost by the prudent?
Has their wisdom decayed?
8 Flee away, turn back, dwell in the depths,
You inhabitants of Dedan,
For I will bring the disaster of Esau upon him
At the time I punish him.
9 If grape pickers came to you,
Would they not leave gleanings?
If thieves came by night,
They would destroy only what was sufficient for them.
10 But I have stripped Esau bare,
I have uncovered his hiding places
So that he will not be able to conceal himself;
His offspring have been destroyed along with his brothers
And his neighbors, and he no longer exists.
11 Leave your orphans behind, I will keep them alive;
And let your widows trust in Me.”
12 For this is what the Lord says: “Behold, those who were not sentenced to drink the cup will certainly drink it, so are you the one who will be held completely blameless? You will not be held blameless, but you will certainly drink it. 13 For I have sworn by Myself,” declares the Lord, “that Bozrah will become an object of horror, a disgrace, a wasteland, and a curse; and all its cities will become permanent ruins.”
14 I have heard a message from the Lord,
And a messenger is being sent among the nations, saying,
“Gather yourselves together and come against her,
And rise up for battle!”
15 “For behold, I have made you small among the nations,
Despised among people.
16 As for the terror you cause,
The arrogance of your heart has deceived you,
You who live in the clefts of the rock,
Who occupy the height of the hill.
Though you make your nest as high as an eagle’s,
I will bring you down from there,” declares the Lord.
17 “Edom will become an object of horror; everyone who passes by it will be appalled and will hiss at all its wounds. 18 Like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah with its neighbors,” says the Lord, “no one will live there, nor will anyone of mankind reside in it. 19 Behold, one will come up like a lion from the thicket of the Jordan to a perennially watered pasture; for in an instant I will chase him away from it, and I will appoint over it whoever is chosen. For who is like Me, and who will summon Me into court? And who then is the shepherd who can stand against Me?”
20 Therefore hear the plan of the Lord which He has planned against Edom, and His purposes which He has in mind against the inhabitants of Teman: they will certainly drag them off, even the little ones of the flock; He will certainly make their pasture desolate because of them. 21 The earth has quaked at the noise of their downfall. There is an outcry! The noise of it has been heard at the Red Sea. 22 Behold, He will mount up and swoop like an eagle, and spread out His wings against Bozrah; and the hearts of the warriors of Edom on that day will be like the heart of a woman in labor.
23 Concerning Damascus:
“Hamath and Arpad are put to shame,
For they have heard bad news;
They despair.
There is anxiety at the sea,
It cannot be calmed.
24 Damascus has become helpless;
She has turned away to flee,
And panic has gripped her;
Distress and labor pains have seized her
Like a woman in childbirth.
25 How the city of praise has not been deserted,
The town of My joy!
26 Therefore, her young men will fall in her streets,
And all the men of war will perish on that day,” declares the Lord of armies.
27 “I will set fire to the wall of Damascus,
And it will devour the fortified palace of Ben-hadad.”
28 Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated. This is what the Lord says:
“Arise, go up to Kedar
And devastate the people of the east.
29 They will take away their tents and their flocks;
They will carry off for themselves
Their tent curtains, all their goods and their camels,
And they will call out to one another, ‘Horror on every side!’
30 Run away, flee! Dwell in the depths,
You inhabitants of Hazor,” declares the Lord;
“For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has formed a plan against you
And devised a scheme against you.
31 Arise, go up against a nation which is at ease,
Which lives securely,” declares the Lord.
“It has no gates or bars;
They dwell alone.
32 Their camels will become plunder,
And their many livestock for spoils,
And I will scatter to all the winds those who cut the corners of their hair;
And I will bring their disaster from every side,” declares the Lord.
33 “Hazor will become a haunt of jackals,
A desolation forever;
No one will live there,
Nor will anyone of mankind reside in it.”
34 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying:
35 “This is what the Lord of armies says:
‘Behold, I am going to break the bow of Elam,
The finest of their might.
36 I will bring upon Elam the four winds
From the four ends of heaven,
And will scatter them to all these winds;
And there will be no nation
To which the outcasts of Elam will not go.
37 So I will shatter Elam before their enemies
And before those who seek their lives;
And I will bring disaster upon them,
Even My fierce anger,’ declares the Lord,
‘And I will send the sword after them
Until I have consumed them.
38 Then I will set My throne in Elam,
And eliminate from there the king and officials,’
Declares the Lord.
39 ‘But it will come about in the last days
That I will restore the fortunes of Elam,’”
Declares the Lord.
1 Vindicate me, Lord, for I have walked in my integrity,
And I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.
2 Examine me, Lord, and put me to the test;
Refine my mind and my heart.
3 For Your goodness is before my eyes,
And I have walked in Your truth.
4 I do not sit with deceitful people,
Nor will I go with pretenders.
5 I hate the assembly of evildoers,
And I will not sit with the wicked.
6 I will wash my hands in innocence,
And I will go around Your altar, Lord,
7 That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving
And declare all Your wonders.
8 Lord, I love the dwelling of Your house,
And the place where Your glory remains.
9 Do not take my soul away along with sinners,
Nor my life with men of bloodshed,
10 In whose hands is a wicked scheme,
And whose right hand is full of bribes.
11 But as for me, I will walk in my integrity;
Redeem me, and be gracious to me.
12 My foot stands on level ground;
In the congregations I will bless the Lord.
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom should I fear?
The Lord is the defense of my life;
Whom should I dread?
2 When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh,
My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell.
3 If an army encamps against me,
My heart will not fear;
If war arises against me,
In spite of this I am confident.
4 One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord
And to meditate in His temple.
5 For on the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle;
He will hide me in the secret place of His tent;
He will lift me up on a rock.
6 And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me,
And I will offer sacrifices in His tent with shouts of joy;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.
7 Hear, Lord, when I cry with my voice,
And be gracious to me and answer me.
8 When You said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You,
“I shall seek Your face, Lord.”
9 Do not hide Your face from me,
Do not turn Your servant away in anger;
You have been my help;
Do not abandon me nor forsake me,
God of my salvation!
10 For my father and my mother have forsaken me,
But the Lord will take me up.
11 Teach me Your way, Lord,
And lead me on a level path
Because of my enemies.
12 Do not turn me over to the desire of my enemies,
For false witnesses have risen against me,
And the violent witness.
13 I certainly believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living.
14 Wait for the Lord;
Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for the Lord.