1 Samuel 3

New International Version

The Lord Calls Samuel

3 The boy Samuel ministered^(A) before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare;^(B) there were not many visions.^(C)

²One night Eli, whose eyes^(D) were becoming so weak that he could barely see,^(E) was lying down in his usual place. ³The lamp^(F) of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house^(G) of the Lord, where the ark^(H) of God was. ⁴Then the Lord called Samuel.

Samuel answered, “Here I am.^(I)” ⁵And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”

But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.

⁶Again the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”

“My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.”

⁷Now Samuel did not yet know^(J) the Lord: The word^(K) of the Lord had not yet been revealed^(L) to him.

⁸A third time the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”

Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. ⁹So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

¹⁰The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!^(M)”

Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

¹¹And the Lord said to Samuel: “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it tingle.^(N) ¹²At that time I will carry out against Eli everything^(O) I spoke against his family—from beginning to end. ¹³For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons blasphemed God,^[a] and he failed to restrain^(P) them. ¹⁴Therefore I swore to the house of Eli, ‘The guilt of Eli’s house will never be atoned^(Q) for by sacrifice or offering.’”

¹⁵Samuel lay down until morning and then opened the doors of the house of the Lord. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision, ¹⁶but Eli called him and said, “Samuel, my son.”

Samuel answered, “Here I am.”

¹⁷“What was it he said to you?” Eli asked. “Do not hide^(R) it from me. May God deal with you, be it ever so severely,^(S) if you hide from me anything he told you.” ¹⁸So Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing from him. Then Eli said, “He is the Lord; let him do what is good in his eyes.”^(T)

¹⁹The Lord was with^(U) Samuel as he grew^(V) up, and he let none^(W) of Samuel’s words fall to the ground. ²⁰And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba^(X) recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the Lord.^(Y) ²¹The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed^(Z) himself to Samuel through his word.

Footnotes

1 Samuel 3:13 An ancient Hebrew scribal tradition (see also Septuagint); Masoretic Text sons made themselves contemptible

Ecclesiastes 7

New International Version

Wisdom

7 A good name is better than fine perfume,^(A)
    and the day of death better than the day of birth.^(B)
²It is better to go to a house of mourning
    than to go to a house of feasting,
for death^(C) is the destiny^(D) of everyone;
    the living should take this to heart.
³Frustration is better than laughter,^(E)
    because a sad face is good for the heart.
⁴The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
    but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.^(F)
⁵It is better to heed the rebuke^(G) of a wise person
    than to listen to the song of fools.
⁶Like the crackling of thorns^(H) under the pot,
    so is the laughter^(I) of fools.
    This too is meaningless.

⁷Extortion turns a wise person into a fool,
and a bribe^(J) corrupts the heart.

⁸The end of a matter is better than its beginning,
and patience^(K) is better than pride.
⁹Do not be quickly provoked^(L) in your spirit,
for anger resides in the lap of fools.^(M)

¹⁰Do not say, “Why were the old days^(N) better than these?”
For it is not wise to ask such questions.

¹¹Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing^(O)
    and benefits those who see the sun.^(P)
¹²Wisdom is a shelter
    as money is a shelter,
but the advantage of knowledge is this:
    Wisdom preserves those who have it.

¹³Consider what God has done:^(Q)

Who can straighten
    what he has made crooked?^(R)
¹⁴When times are good, be happy;
    but when times are bad, consider this:
God has made the one
    as well as the other.^(S)
Therefore, no one can discover
    anything about their future.

¹⁵In this meaningless life^(T) of mine I have seen both of these:

the righteous perishing in their righteousness,
    and the wicked living long in their wickedness.^(U)
¹⁶Do not be overrighteous,
    neither be overwise—
    why destroy yourself?
¹⁷Do not be overwicked,
    and do not be a fool—
    why die before your time?^(V)
¹⁸It is good to grasp the one
    and not let go of the other.
    Whoever fears God^(W) will avoid all extremes.^[a]

¹⁹Wisdom^(X) makes one wise person more powerful^(Y)
than ten rulers in a city.

²⁰Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous,^(Z)
no one who does what is right and never sins.^(AA)

²¹Do not pay attention to every word people say,
or you^(AB) may hear your servant cursing you—
²²for you know in your heart
that many times you yourself have cursed others.

²³All this I tested by wisdom and I said,

“I am determined to be wise”^(AC)—
    but this was beyond me.
²⁴Whatever exists is far off and most profound—
    who can discover it?^(AD)
²⁵So I turned my mind to understand,
    to investigate and to search out wisdom and the scheme of things^(AE)
and to understand the stupidity of wickedness
    and the madness of folly.^(AF)

²⁶I find more bitter than death
    the woman who is a snare,^(AG)
whose heart is a trap
    and whose hands are chains.
The man who pleases God will escape her,
    but the sinner she will ensnare.^(AH)

²⁷“Look,” says the Teacher,^[b]^(AI) “this is what I have discovered:

“Adding one thing to another to discover the scheme of things—
²⁸    while I was still searching
    but not finding—
I found one upright man among a thousand,
    but not one upright woman^(AJ) among them all.
²⁹This only have I found:
    God created mankind upright,
    but they have gone in search of many schemes.”

Footnotes

Ecclesiastes 7:18 Or will follow them both
Ecclesiastes 7:27 Or the leader of the assembly

Matthew 10

New International Version

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve^(A)^(B)^(C)^(D)^(E)

10 Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits^(F) and to heal every disease and sickness.^(G)

²These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; ³Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; ⁴Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.^(H)

⁵These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans.^(I) ⁶Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel.^(J) ⁷As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven^(K) has come near.’ ⁸Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy,^[a] drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

⁹“Do not get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your belts^(L)— ¹⁰no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff, for the worker is worth his keep.^(M) ¹¹Whatever town or village you enter, search there for some worthy person and stay at their house until you leave. ¹²As you enter the home, give it your greeting.^(N) ¹³If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. ¹⁴If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet.^(O) ¹⁵Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah^(P) on the day of judgment^(Q) than for that town.^(R)

¹⁶“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves.^(S) Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.^(T) ¹⁷Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils^(U) and be flogged in the synagogues.^(V) ¹⁸On my account you will be brought before governors and kings^(W) as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. ¹⁹But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it.^(X) At that time you will be given what to say, ²⁰for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father^(Y) speaking through you.

²¹“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents^(Z) and have them put to death.^(AA) ²²You will be hated by everyone because of me,^(AB) but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.^(AC) ²³When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.^(AD)

²⁴“The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master.^(AE) ²⁵It is enough for students to be like their teachers, and servants like their masters. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul,^(AF) how much more the members of his household!

²⁶“So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.^(AG) ²⁷What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. ²⁸Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One^(AH) who can destroy both soul and body in hell. ²⁹Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.^[b] ³⁰And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.^(AI) ³¹So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.^(AJ)

³²“Whoever acknowledges me before others,^(AK) I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. ³³But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.^(AL)

³⁴“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵For I have come to turn

“‘a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law^(AM)—
³⁶ a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’^[c]^(AN)

³⁷“Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.^(AO) ³⁸Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.^(AP) ³⁹Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.^(AQ)

⁴⁰“Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me,^(AR) and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.^(AS) ⁴¹Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. ⁴²And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.”^(AT)

Footnotes

Matthew 10:8 The Greek word traditionally translated leprosy was used for various diseases affecting the skin.
Matthew 10:29 Or will; or knowledge
Matthew 10:36 Micah 7:6