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Psalm 37

1  Fret not because of evildoers; ♦︎
   be not jealous of those who do wrong.
2  For they shall soon wither like grass ♦︎
   and like the green herb fade away.
3  Trust in the Lord and be doing good; ♦︎
   dwell in the land and be nourished with truth.
4  Let your delight be in the Lord ♦︎
   and he will give you your heart’s desire.
5  Commit your way to the Lord and put your trust in him, ♦︎
   and he will bring it to pass.
6  He will make your righteousness as clear as the light ♦︎
   and your just dealing as the noonday.
7  Be still before the Lord and wait for him; ♦︎
   do not fret over those that prosper
      as they follow their evil schemes.
8  Refrain from anger and abandon wrath; ♦︎
   do not fret, lest you be moved to do evil.
9  For evildoers shall be cut off, ♦︎
   but those who wait upon the Lord shall possess the land.
10  Yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; ♦︎
   you will search for their place and find them gone.
11  But the lowly shall possess the land ♦︎
   and shall delight in abundance of peace.
12  The wicked plot against the righteous ♦︎
   and gnash at them with their teeth.
13  The Lord shall laugh at the wicked, ♦︎
   for he sees that their day is coming.
14  The wicked draw their sword and bend their bow
      to strike down the poor and needy, ♦︎
   to slaughter those who walk in truth.
15  Their sword shall go through their own heart ♦︎
   and their bows shall be broken.
16  The little that the righteous have ♦︎
   is better than great riches of the wicked.
17  For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, ♦︎
   but the Lord upholds the righteous.

Samuel’s Calling and Prophetic Activity

3Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.

2 At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; ³the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. ⁴Then the Lord called, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’^* and he said, ‘Here I am!’ ⁵and ran to Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ But he said, ‘I did not call; lie down again.’ So he went and lay down. ⁶The Lord called again, ‘Samuel!’ Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ But he said, ‘I did not call, my son; lie down again.’ ⁷Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. ⁸The Lord called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. ⁹Therefore Eli said to Samuel, ‘Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” ’ So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

10 Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ And Samuel said, ‘Speak, for your servant is listening.’ ¹¹Then the Lord said to Samuel, ‘See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make both ears of anyone who hears of it tingle. ¹²On that day I will fulfil against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. ¹³For I have told him that I am about to punish his house for ever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God,^* and he did not restrain them. ¹⁴Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be expiated by sacrifice or offering for ever.’

15 Samuel lay there until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. ¹⁶But Eli called Samuel and said, ‘Samuel, my son.’ He said, ‘Here I am.’ ¹⁷Eli said, ‘What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also, if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.’ ¹⁸So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. Then he said, ‘It is the Lord; let him do what seems good to him.’

19 As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. ²⁰And all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the Lord. ²¹The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord. 4¹And the word of Samuel came to all Israel.

The Ark of God Captured

In those days the Philistines mustered for war against Israel,^* and Israel went out to battle against them;^* they encamped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped at Aphek.

The Destruction of the Temple Foretold

5 When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, ⁶‘As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.’

Signs and Persecutions

7 They asked him, ‘Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?’ ⁸And he said, ‘Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, “I am he!”^* and, “The time is near!”^* Do not go after them.

9 ‘When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.’ ¹⁰Then he said to them, ‘Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; ¹¹there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.

12 ‘But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. ¹³This will give you an opportunity to testify. ¹⁴So make up your minds not to prepare your defence in advance; ¹⁵for I will give you words^* and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. ¹⁶You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. ¹⁷You will be hated by all because of my name. ¹⁸But not a hair of your head will perish. ¹⁹By your endurance you will gain your souls.