1 Then Samuel said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you as king over His people, over Israel; now therefore, listen to the words of the Lord. 2 This is what the Lord of armies says: ‘I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, in that he obstructed him on the way while he was coming up from Egypt. 3 Now go and strike Amalek and completely destroy everything that he has, and do not spare him; but put to death both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’”
4 Then Saul summoned the people and counted them in Telaim: two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand men of Judah. 5 And Saul came to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the wadi. 6 But Saul said to the Kenites, “Go, get away, go down from among the Amalekites, so that I do not destroy you along with them; for you showed kindness to all the sons of Israel when they went up from Egypt.” So the Kenites got away from among the Amalekites. 7 Then Saul defeated the Amalekites, from Havilah going toward Shur, which is east of Egypt. 8 He captured Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and completely destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. 9 But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the more valuable animals, the lambs, and everything that was good, and were unwilling to destroy them completely; but everything despicable and weak, that they completely destroyed.
10 Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying, 11 “I regret that I have made Saul king, because he has turned back from following Me and has not carried out My commands.” And Samuel was furious and cried out to the Lord all night. 12 Samuel got up early in the morning to meet Saul; and it was reported to Samuel, saying, “Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself, then turned and proceeded on down to Gilgal.” 13 So Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed are you of the Lord! I have carried out the command of the Lord.” 14 But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the bellowing of the oxen which I hear?” 15 Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen to sacrifice to the Lord your God; but the rest we have completely destroyed.” 16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop, and let me inform you of what the Lord said to me last night.” And he said to him, “Speak!”
17 So Samuel said, “Is it not true, though you were insignificant in your own eyes, that you became the head of the tribes of Israel? For the Lord anointed you as king over Israel. 18 And the Lord sent you on a mission, and said, ‘Go and completely destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are eliminated.’ 19 Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Instead, you loudly rushed upon the spoils and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord!”
20 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I did obey the voice of the Lord, for I went on the mission on which the Lord sent me; and I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have completely destroyed the Amalekites. 21 But the people took some of the spoils, sheep and oxen, the choicest of the things designated for destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal.” 22 Samuel said,
“Does the Lord have as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
As in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, to obey is better than a sacrifice,
And to pay attention is better than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as reprehensible as the sin of divination,
And insubordination is as reprehensible as false religion and idolatry.
Since you have rejected the word of the Lord,
He has also rejected you from being king.”
24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have violated the command of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and listened to their voice. 25 Now then, please pardon my sin and return with me, so that I may worship the Lord.” 26 But Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you; for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.” 27 Then Samuel turned to go, but Saul grasped the edge of his robe, and it tore off. 28 So Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor, who is better than you. 29 Also the Glory of Israel will not lie nor change His mind; for He is not a man, that He would change His mind.” 30 Then Saul said, “I have sinned; but please honor me now before the elders of my people and before all Israel, and go back with me, so that I may worship the Lord your God.” 31 So Samuel went back following Saul, and Saul worshiped the Lord.
32 Then Samuel said, “Bring me Agag, the king of the Amalekites.” And Agag came to him cheerfully. And Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death is gone!” 33 But Samuel said, “As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel cut Agag to pieces before the Lord at Gilgal.
34 Then Samuel went to Ramah, but Saul went up to his house at Gibeah of Saul. 35 And Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, though Samuel mourned for Saul. And the Lord regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel.
1 Every person is to be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. 3 For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; 4 for it is a servant of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a servant of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. 5 Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; respect to whom respect; honor to whom honor.
8 Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for the one who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the Law. 9 For this, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the Law.
11 Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we first believed. 12 The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let’s rid ourselves of the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let’s behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and debauchery, not in strife and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.
1 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 2 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, in accordance with everything that Jehoiakim had done. 3 For because of the anger of the Lord this came about in Jerusalem and Judah, until He drove them out from His presence. And Zedekiah revolted against the king of Babylon. 4 Now it came about in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, camped against it, and built a bulwark all around it. 5 So the city was under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 6 On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. 7 Then the city was breached, and all the warriors fled and left the city at night by way of the gate between the two walls which was by the king’s garden, though the Chaldeans were all around the city. And they went by way of the Arabah. 8 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook Zedekiah in the desert plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him. 9 Then they captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he passed sentence on him. 10 And the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and he also slaughtered all the commanders of Judah in Riblah. 11 Then he blinded the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him with bronze shackles and brought him to Babylon and put him in prison until the day of his death.
12 Now on the tenth day of the fifth month, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, who was in the service of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 13 And he burned the house of the Lord, the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every large house he burned with fire. 14 So the entire army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard tore down all the walls around Jerusalem. 15 Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took into exile some of the poorest of the people, the rest of the people who were left in the city, the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the craftsmen. 16 But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and farmers.
17 Now the bronze pillars which belonged to the house of the Lord and the stands and the bronze sea, which were in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans smashed to pieces and carried all their bronze to Babylon. 18 They also took the pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the basins, the pans, and all the bronze vessels which were used in temple service. 19 The captain of the guard also took the bowls, the firepans, the basins, the pots, the lampstands, the pans, and the drink offering bowls, whatever was fine gold, and whatever was fine silver. 20 The two pillars, the one sea, and the twelve bronze bulls that were under the sea, and the stands, which King Solomon had made for the house of the Lord—the bronze of all these vessels was beyond weight. 21 As for the pillars, the height of each pillar was eighteen cubits, and it was twelve cubits in circumference and four fingers in thickness, and hollow. 22 Also, a capital of bronze was on top of it; and the height of each capital was five cubits, with latticework and pomegranates on the capital all around, all of bronze. And the second pillar was like these, including pomegranates. 23 There were ninety-six exposed pomegranates; all the pomegranates numbered a hundred on the latticework all around.
24 Then the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest and Zephaniah the second priest, with the three officers of the temple. 25 He also took from the city one official who was overseer of the warriors, seven of the king’s advisers who were found in the city, the scribe of the commander of the army who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men from the people of the land who were found inside the city. 26 Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguards took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 27 Then the king of Babylon struck them and put them to death in Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was led into exile from its land.
28 These are the people whom Nebuchadnezzar took into exile: in the seventh year 3,023 Jews; 29 in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar 832 persons from Jerusalem; 30 in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took into exile 745 Jewish people; there were 4,600 people in all.
31 Now it came about in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, showed favor to Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison. 32 Then he spoke kindly to him and set his throne above the thrones of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 33 So Jehoiachin changed his prison clothes, and had his meals in the king’s presence regularly all the days of his life. 34 And as his allowance, a regular allowance was given to him by the king of Babylon, a portion for each day, all the days of his life until the day of his death.
1 In You, Lord, I have taken refuge;
Let me never be put to shame;
In Your righteousness rescue me.
2 Incline Your ear to me, rescue me quickly;
Be a rock of strength for me,
A stronghold to save me.
3 For You are my rock and my fortress;
For the sake of Your name You will lead me and guide me.
4 You will pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me,
For You are my strength.
5 Into Your hand I entrust my spirit;
You have redeemed me, Lord, God of truth.
6 I hate those who devote themselves to worthless idols,
But I trust in the Lord.
7 I will rejoice and be glad in Your faithfulness,
Because You have seen my misery;
You have known the troubles of my soul,
8 And You have not handed me over to the enemy;
You have set my feet in a large place.
9 Be gracious to me, Lord, for I am in distress;
My eye is wasted away from grief, my soul and my body too.
10 For my life is spent with sorrow
And my years with sighing;
My strength has failed because of my guilt,
And my body has wasted away.
11 Because of all my adversaries, I have become a disgrace,
Especially to my neighbors,
And an object of dread to my acquaintances;
Those who see me in the street flee from me.
12 I am forgotten like a dead person, out of mind;
I am like a broken vessel.
13 For I have heard the slander of many,
Terror is on every side;
While they took counsel together against me,
They schemed to take away my life.
14 But as for me, I trust in You, Lord,
I say, “You are my God.”
15 My times are in Your hand;
Rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me.
16 Make Your face shine upon Your servant;
Save me in Your faithfulness.
17 Let me not be put to shame, Lord, for I call upon You;
Let the wicked be put to shame, let them be silent in Sheol.
18 Let the lying lips be speechless,
Which speak arrogantly against the righteous
With pride and contempt.
19 How great is Your goodness,
Which You have stored up for those who fear You,
Which You have performed for those who take refuge in You,
Before the sons of mankind!
20 You hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the conspiracies of mankind;
You keep them secretly in a shelter from the strife of tongues.
21 Blessed be the Lord,
For He has shown His marvelous faithfulness to me in a besieged city.
22 As for me, I said in my alarm,
“I am cut off from Your eyes”;
Nevertheless You heard the sound of my pleadings
When I called to You for help.
23 Love the Lord, all His godly ones!
The Lord watches over the faithful
But fully repays the one who acts arrogantly.
24 Be strong and let your heart take courage,
All you who wait for the Lord.