What the Bible Says About Kinswoman: Understanding Its Definition and Significance

Scripture

¹ In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons.
² The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there.
³ But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons.
⁴ They took Moabite wives, the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years.
⁵ Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.
⁶ Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the Lord had visited his people and given them food.
⁷ So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah.
⁸ But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me.
⁹ The Lord grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband!”
¹⁰ And they said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.”
¹¹ But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands?
¹² Turn back, my daughters; go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons,
¹³ would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me.”
¹⁴ Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.
¹⁵ And she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.”
¹⁶ But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.
¹⁷ Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.”
¹⁸ And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more.
¹⁹ So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?”
²⁰ She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.
²¹ I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?
²² So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.

Ruth 1:1-22

Ruth 2:1-23: ¹ Now Naomi had a relative of her husband’s, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.
² And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.”
³ So she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech.
⁴ And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. And he said to the reapers, “The Lord be with you!” And they answered, “The Lord bless you.”
⁵ Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?”
⁶ And the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, “She is the young Moabite woman, who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab.
⁷ And she said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.’ So she came, and she has continued from early morning until now, except for a short rest.”
⁸ Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women.
⁹ Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.”
¹⁰ Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?”
¹¹ But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before.
¹² The Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!
¹³ Then she said, “Let me find favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants.”
¹⁴ And at mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain. And she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over.
¹⁵ When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her.
¹⁶ And let fall some of the bundles for her, and leave them for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.”
¹⁷ So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley.
¹⁸ And she took it up and went into the city.
¹⁹ And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, “The man’s name with whom I worked today is Boaz.”
²⁰ And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the Lord, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers.”
²¹ And Ruth the Moabite said, “Besides, he said to me, ‘You shall keep close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.’”
²² And Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, lest in another field you be assaulted.”
²³ So she kept close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests. And she lived with her mother-in-law.

Ruth 3:1-18: ¹ Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you?
² And now is not Boaz our relative, with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor.
³ Wash therefore and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking.
⁴ And when he lies down, observe the place where he lies. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do.”
⁵ And she said to her, “All that you say I will do.”
⁶ So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had commanded her.
⁷ And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she came softly and uncovered his feet and lay down.
⁸ At midnight the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet!
⁹ He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.”
¹⁰ And he said, “May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich.
¹¹ And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman.
¹² And now it is true that I am a redeemer.
¹³ Remain tonight, and in the morning, if he will redeem you, good; let him do it. But if he is not willing to redeem you, then, as the Lord lives, I will redeem you. Lie down until the morning.”
¹⁴ So she lay at his feet until the morning, but arose before one could recognize another. And he said, “Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.”
¹⁵ And he said, “Bring the garment you are wearing and hold it out.” So she held it, and he measured out six measures of barley and put it on her. Then she went into the city.
¹⁶ And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “How did you fare, my daughter?” Then she told her all that the man had done for her,
¹⁷ She replied, “These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said to me, ‘You must not go back empty-handed to your mother-in-law.’”
¹⁸ She replied, “Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest but will settle the matter today.”

Ruth 4:1-22: ¹ Now Boaz had gone up to the gate and sat down there. And behold, the redeemer, of whom Boaz had spoken, came by. So Boaz said, “Turn aside, friend; sit down here.” And he turned aside and sat down.
² And he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down.
³ Then he said to the redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our relative Elimelech.
⁴ So I thought I would tell you of it and say, ‘Buy it in the presence of those sitting here and in the presence of the elders of my people.’ If you will redeem it, redeem it. But if you will not, tell me, that I may know, for there is no one besides you to redeem it, and I come after you.” And he said, “I will redeem it.”
⁵ Then Boaz said, “The day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the widow of the dead, in order to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance.”
⁶ Then the redeemer said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it.”
⁷ Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging: to confirm a transaction, the one drew off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was the manner of attesting in Israel.
⁸ So when the redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself,” he drew off his sandal.
⁹ Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and to Mahlon.
¹⁰ Also Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Mahlon, I have bought to be my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his native place. You are witnesses this day.”
¹¹ Then all the people who were at the gate and the elders said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman, who is coming into your house, like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you act worthily in Ephrathah and be renowned in Bethlehem,
¹² and may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring that the Lord will give you by this young woman.”
¹³ So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son.
¹⁴ Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel!
¹⁵ He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.”
¹⁶ Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse.
¹⁷ And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.
¹⁸ Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez fathered Hezron,
¹⁹ Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Amminadab,
²⁰ Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon,
²¹ Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed,
²² Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David.

Genesis 24:1-67: ¹ Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years. And the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things.
² And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh,
³ that I may make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell,
⁴ but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”
⁵ The servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?”
⁶ And Abraham said to him, “See to it that you do not take my son back there.
⁷ The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘To your offspring I will give this land,’ he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there.
⁸ If the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there.”
⁹ So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter.
¹⁰ Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, taking all sorts of choice gifts from his master; and he arose and went to Mesopotamia to the city of Nahor.
¹¹ And he made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at the time of evening, the time when women go out to draw water.
¹² And he said, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham.
¹³ Behold, I am standing by the spring of water.
¹⁴ Let the young woman to whom I shall say, ‘Please let down your jar that I may drink,’ and who shall say, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels’—let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master.”
¹⁵ Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, came out with her water jar on her shoulder.
¹⁶ The young woman was very attractive in appearance, a maiden whom no man had known.
¹⁷ The servant ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water to drink from your jar.”
¹⁸ She said, “Drink, my lord.” And she quickly let down her jar upon her hand and gave him a drink.
¹⁹ After she had given him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.”
²⁰ and quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well to draw water, and she drew for all his camels.
²¹ The man gazed at her in silence to learn whether the Lord had prospered his journey or not.
²² When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold ring weighing a half shekel, and two bracelets for her arms weighing ten gold shekels,
²³ And said, “Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?”
²⁴ She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.”
²⁵ She added, “We have plenty of both straw and fodder, and room to spend the night.”
²⁶ The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord.
²⁷ saying, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the Lord has led me in the way to the house of my master’s kinsmen.”
²⁸ The young woman ran and told her mother’s household about these things.
²⁹ Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban. Laban ran out toward the man, to the spring.
³⁰ As soon as he had seen the ring and the bracelets on his sister’s arms, and heard the words of Rebekah his sister, “Thus the man spoke to me,” he went to the man. And behold, he was standing by the camels at the spring.
³¹ He said, “Come in, O blessed of the Lord. Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.”
³² So the man came to the house and unharnessed the camels, and gave straw and fodder to the camels, and there was water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.
³³ Then food was set before him to eat, but he said, “I will not eat until I have said what I have to say.” So he said, “Speak on.”
³⁴ So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant.
³⁵ The Lord has greatly blessed my master, and he has become great. He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male servants and female servants, camels and donkeys.
³⁶ And Sarah my master’s wife bore a son to my master when she was old, and to him he has given all that he has.
³⁷ My master made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell,
³⁸ but you shall go to my father’s house and to my clan and take a wife for my son.’
³⁹ I said to my master, ‘Perhaps the woman will not come with me.’
⁴⁰ He said to me, ‘The Lord, before whom I have walked, will send his angel with you and prosper your way.
⁴¹ Then you will be free from my oath, when you come to my clan. And if they will not give her to you, you will be free from my oath.’
⁴² “I came today to the spring and said, ‘O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, if now you are prospering the way that I go,”
⁴³ Behold, I am standing by the spring of water. Let the virgin who comes out to draw water, to whom I shall say, “Please give me a little water from your jar to drink,”
⁴⁴ and she shall say to me, “Drink, and I will draw for your camels also,” let her be the woman whom the Lord has appointed for my master’s son.’
⁴⁵ “Before I had finished speaking in my heart, behold, Rebekah came out with her water jar on her shoulder, and she went down to the spring and drew water. I said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’”
⁴⁶ She quickly let down her jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I will give your camels drink also.’ So I drank, and she gave the camels drink also.
⁴⁷ Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him.’ So I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her arms.
⁴⁸ Then I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord and blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me by the right way to take the daughter of my master’s kinsman for his son.
⁴⁹ Now then, if you are going to show steadfast love and faithfulness to my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand or to the left.”
⁵⁰ Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, “The thing has come from the Lord; we cannot speak to you bad or good.
⁵¹ Behold, Rebekah is before you; take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has spoken.”
⁵² When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed himself to the earth before the Lord.
⁵³ And the servant brought out jewelry of silver and of gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave to her brother and to her mother costly ornaments.
⁵⁴ Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night. When they arose in the morning, he said, “Send me away to my master.”
⁵⁵ But her brother and her mother said, “Let the young woman remain with us a while, at least ten days; after that she may go.”
⁵⁶ But he said to them, “Do not delay me, since the Lord has prospered my way. Send me away that I may go to my master.”
⁵⁷ They said, “Let us call the young woman and ask her.”
⁵⁸ And they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” She said, “I will go.”
⁵⁹ So they sent away Rebekah their sister and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant and his men.
²⁴ They blessed Rebekah and said to her, “Our sister, may you become thousands of ten thousands, and may your offspring possess the gate of those who hate him!”
⁶¹ Then Rebekah and her young women arose and rode on the camels and followed the man. Thus the servant took Rebekah and went his way.
⁶² Now Isaac had returned from Beer-lahai-roi and was dwelling in the Negeb.
⁶³ And Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening. And he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, there were camels coming.
⁶⁴ And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from the camel.
⁶⁵ and said to the servant, “Who is that man, walking in the field to meet us?” The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took her veil and covered herself.
⁶⁶ And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done.
⁶⁷ Then Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.

Genesis 29:1-30: ²⁹ Then Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the east.
² He looked, and behold, there was a well in the field, and behold, there were three flocks of sheep lying beside it, for out of that well the flocks were watered. The stone on the well’s mouth was large,
³ And when all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place over the mouth of the well.
⁴ Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where do you come from?” They said, “We are from Haran.”
⁵ He said to them, “Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?” They said, “We know him.”
⁶ He said to them, “Is it well with him?” They said, “It is well; and see, Rachel his daughter is coming with the sheep!”
⁷ He said, “Behold, it is still high day; it is not time for the livestock to be gathered together. Water the sheep and go, pasture them.”
⁸ But they said, “We cannot, until all the flocks are gathered together and the stone is rolled from the mouth of the well; then we water the sheep.”
⁹ While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess.
¹⁰ Now as soon as Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, Jacob came near and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother.
¹¹ Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud.
¹² And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s kinsman, and that he was Rebekah’s son, and she ran and told her father.
¹³ As soon as Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister’s son, he ran to meet him and embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house.
¹⁴ and Laban said to him, “Surely you are my bone and my flesh!” And he stayed with him a month.
²⁹ Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?”
¹⁶ Now Laban had two daughters. The name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.
¹⁷ Leah’s eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance.
¹⁸ Jacob loved Rachel.
¹⁹ Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me.”
²⁰ So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her.
²¹ Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed.”
²² So Laban gathered together all the people of the place and made a feast.
²³ But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and he went in to her.
²⁴ Laban gave his female servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.
²⁵ And in the morning, behold, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?”
²⁶ Laban said, “It is not so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn.
²⁷ Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also in return for the service which you shall serve with me for another seven years.”
²⁸ Jacob did so, and completed her week. Then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife.
²⁹ Laban gave his female servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.
³⁰ So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah, and served Laban for another seven years.

Genesis 38:1-30: ¹ It happened at that time that Judah went down from his brothers and turned aside to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah.
² And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua. He took her and went in to her.
³ She conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Er.
⁴ She conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name Onan.
⁵ And she conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name Shelah. He was in Chezib when she bore him.
⁶ And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.
⁷ But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord put him to death.
⁸ Then Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother.”
⁹ But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his. So whenever he went in to his brother’s wife he would waste the semen on the ground, so as not to give offspring to his brother.
¹⁰ And what he did was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and he put him to death also.
¹¹ Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, “Remain a widow in your father’s house, till Shelah my son grows up”—for he feared that he would die, like his brothers. So Tamar went and remained in her father’s house.
¹² In the course of time the wife of Judah, Shua’s daughter, died. When Judah was comforted, he went up to Timnah to his sheepshearers, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.
¹³ And when Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep,”
¹⁴ she took off her widow’s garments and covered herself with a veil, wrapping herself up, and sat at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that Shelah was grown up, and she had not been given to him in marriage.
¹⁵ When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face.
¹⁶ And he turned to her at the roadside and said, “Come, let me come in to you,” for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. She said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?”
¹⁷ He answered, “I will send you a young goat from the flock.” And she said, “If you give me a pledge, until you send it—”
¹⁸ He said, “What pledge shall I give you?” She replied, “Your signet and your cord and your staff that is in your hand.” So he gave them to her and went in to her, and she conceived by him.
¹⁹ And she arose and went away, and taking off her veil she put on the garments of her widowhood.
²⁰ When Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite to take back the pledge from the woman’s hand, he did not find her.
²¹ And he asked the men of the place, “Where is the cult prostitute who was at Enaim at the roadside?” And they said, “No cult prostitute has been here.”
²² So he returned to Judah and said, “I have not found her. Also, the men of the place said, ‘There has been no cult prostitute here.’”
²³ So Judah replied, “Let her keep the things as her own, or we shall be laughed at. You see, I sent this young goat, and you did not find her.”
²⁴ About three months later Judah was told, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has been immoral. Moreover, she is pregnant by immorality.” And Judah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned.”
²⁵ As she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law, “By the man to whom these belong, I am pregnant.” And she said, “Please identify whose these are, the signet and the cord and the staff.”
²⁶ Then Judah identified them and said, “She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not know her again.
²⁷ When the time of her labor came, there were twins in her womb.
²⁸ And as he drew back his hand, behold, his brother came out. And she said, “What a breach you have made for yourself!” Therefore his name was called Perez.
²⁹ But as he drew back his hand, behold, his brother came out. And she said, “What a breach you have made for yourself!” Therefore his name was called Perez.
³⁰ When he drew back his hand, behold, his brother came out. And she said, “What a breach you have made for yourself!” Therefore his name was called Perez.

Leviticus 25:25-55: ²⁵ If your brother becomes poor and sells part of his property, then his nearest redeemer shall come and redeem what his brother has sold.
²⁶ If a man has no one to redeem it and then himself becomes prosperous and finds sufficient means to redeem it,
²⁷ then let him calculate the years since he sold it and pay back the balance to the man to whom he sold it, and then return to his property.
²⁸ But if he has not sufficient means to recover it, then what he sold shall remain in the hand of the buyer until the year of jubilee.
²⁹ “If a man sells a dwelling house in a walled city, he may redeem it within a year of its sale. For a full year he shall have the right of redemption.
³⁰ If it is not redeemed within a full year, then the house in the walled city shall belong in perpetuity to the buyer, throughout his generations; it shall not be released in the jubilee.
³¹ But the houses of the villages that have no wall around them shall be classified with the fields of the land. They may be redeemed, and they shall be released in the jubilee.
³² As for the cities of the Levites, the Levites may redeem at any time the houses in the cities they possess.
³³ What if he is not redeemed in these years and he does not obtain his freedom in the Jubilee year, then he and his children with him shall be released in the year of jubilee.
³⁴ But the field of the pastureland of their cities may not be sold, for it is their possession forever.
³⁵ “If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live with you.
³⁶ Take no interest from him or profit, but fear your God, that your brother may live beside you.
³⁷ You shall not give him your money at interest, nor give him your food for profit.
³⁸ I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God.
³⁹ “If your brother becomes poor beside you and sells himself to you, you shall not make him serve as a slave.
⁴⁰ They shall be with you as hired workers and sojourners. They shall serve you until the year of the jubilee.
⁴¹ then he shall go out from you, he and his children with him, and go back to his own clan and return to the possession of his fathers.
⁴² For they are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves.
⁴³ You shall not rule over him ruthlessly but shall fear your God.
⁴⁴ As for your male and female slaves whom you may have: you may buy male and female slaves from among the nations that are around you.
⁴⁵ You may also buy from among the strangers who sojourn with you and their clans that are with you, who have been born in your land, and they may be your property.
⁴⁶ You may bequeath them to your sons after you to inherit as a possession forever. You may make slaves of them, but over your brothers the people of Israel you shall not rule, one over another ruthlessly.
⁴⁷ “If a stranger or sojourner with you becomes rich, and your brother beside him becomes poor and sells himself to the stranger or sojourner with you or to a member of the stranger’s clan,
⁴⁸ then after he is sold he may be redeemed. One of his brothers may redeem him,
⁴⁹ or his uncle or his cousin may redeem him or, if he grows rich, he may redeem himself.
⁵⁰ He shall calculate with his buyer from the year when he sold himself to him until the year of jubilee, and the price of his sale shall vary with the number of years.
⁵¹ If there are still many years left, he shall pay proportionately for his redemption some of his sale price.
⁵² If there remain but a few years until the year of jubilee, he shall calculate and pay for his redemption in proportion to his years.
⁵³ He shall be with him as a yearly hired worker, and he shall not rule ruthlessly over him in your sight.
⁵⁴ And if he is not redeemed by these means, then he and his children with him shall be released in the year of jubilee.
⁵⁵ For it is to me that the people of Israel are servants. They are my servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

Numbers 27:1-11: ¹ Then drew near the daughters of Zelophehad the son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, from the clans of Manasseh the son of Joseph. The names of his daughters were: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.
² They stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the chiefs, and all the congregation, at the entrance of the tent of meeting, saying,
³ Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among the company of those who gathered themselves together against the Lord in the company of Korah, but died for his own sin. And he had no sons.
⁴ Why should the name of our father be taken away from his clan because he had no son? Give to us a possession among our father’s brothers.”
⁵ So Moses brought their case before the Lord.
⁶ And the Lord said to Moses:
⁷ The daughters of Zelophehad are right. You shall give them possession of an inheritance among their father’s brothers and transfer the inheritance of their father to them.
⁸ And you shall speak to the people of Israel, saying, If a man dies and has no son, then you shall transfer his inheritance to his daughter.
⁹ And if he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers.
¹⁰ and if he has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his father’s brothers.
¹¹ “If his father has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to the nearest kinsman of his clan, and he shall possess it. And it shall be for the people of Israel a statute and rule, as the Lord commanded Moses.”

Deuteronomy 25:5-10: ⁵ “If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead man shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her and take her as his wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her.”
⁶ And the first son whom she bears shall succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel.
⁷ And if the man does not wish to take his brother’s wife, then his brother’s wife shall go up to the gate to the elders and say, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to perpetuate his brother’s name in Israel; he will not perform the duty of a husband’s brother to me.’
⁸ Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak to him, and if he persists, saying, ‘I do not wish to take her,’
⁹ then his brother’s wife shall go up to him in the presence of the elders, and pull his sandal off his foot and spit in his face. And she shall answer and say, ‘So shall it be done to the man who does not build up his brother’s house.’
¹⁰ “If a man dies and has no son, then you shall transfer his inheritance to his daughter.

1 Samuel 25:1-44: ²⁵ Now Samuel died. And all Israel assembled and mourned for him, and they buried him in his house at Ramah.
² And there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. The man was very rich; he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats.
³ Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. The woman was discerning and beautiful, but the man was harsh and badly behaved; he was a Calebite.
⁴ David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep.
⁵ So David sent ten young men. And David said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal and greet him in my name.
⁶ And thus you shall greet him: ‘Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have.
⁷ I hear that you have shearers. Now your shepherds have been with us, and we did them no harm, and they missed nothing all the time they were in Carmel.
⁸ Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we come on a feast day. Please give whatever you have at hand to your servants and to your son David.
⁹ When David’s young men came, they said all this to Nabal in the name of David, and then they waited.
¹⁰ And Nabal answered David’s servants, “Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants these days who are breaking away from their masters.
¹¹ Shall I take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers and give it to men who come from I do not know where?”
¹² So David’s young men turned away and came back and told him all this.
¹³ And David said to his men, “Every man strap on his sword!” And every man of them strapped on his sword. David also strapped on his sword.
¹⁴ But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, “Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to greet our master, and he railed at them.
¹⁵ Yet the men were very good to us, and we suffered no harm, and we did not miss anything when we were in the fields, as long as we went with them.
¹⁶ They were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep.
¹⁷ Now therefore know this and consider what you should do, for harm is determined against our master and against all his house, and he is such a worthless man that one cannot speak to him.”
¹⁸ Then Abigail made haste and took two hundred loaves and two skins of wine and five sheep already prepared and five seahs of parched grain and a hundred clusters of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on donkeys.
¹⁹ And she said to her young men, “Go on before me; behold, I come after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal.
²⁰ And as she rode on the donkey and came down under cover of the mountain, behold, David and his men came down toward her, and she met them.
²¹ Now David had said, “Surely in vain have I guarded all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him, and he has returned me evil for good.
²² God do so to the enemies of David and more also, if by morning I leave so much as one male of all who belong to him.”
²³ When Abigail saw David, she hurried and got down from the donkey and fell before David on her face and bowed to the ground.
²⁴ She fell at his feet and said, “On me alone, my lord, be the guilt. Please let your servant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your servant.
²⁵ Please let not my lord regard this worthless fellow, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal is his name, and folly is with him. But I your servant did not see the young men of my lord, whom you sent.
²⁶ Now then, my lord, as the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, because the Lord has restrained you from bloodguilt and from saving with your own hand, now then let your enemies and those who seek to do evil to my lord be as Nabal.
²⁷ And now this present that your servant has brought to my lord, let it be given to the young men who follow my lord.
²⁸ Please forgive the trespass of your servant.
²⁹ If men rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living in the care of the Lord your God. And the lives of your enemies he shall sling out as from the hollow of a sling.
³⁰ And when the Lord has done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you and has appointed you prince over Israel,
³¹ that this shall be no grief to you or pangs of heart to my lord, either that you have shed blood without cause or that my lord has avenged himself. And when the Lord has dealt well with my lord, then remember your servant.”
³² And David said to Abigail, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me!
³³ Blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodguilt and from working salvation with my own hand.
³⁴ Nevertheless, as your soul lives, the Lord, the God of Israel, who has restrained me from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, truly by morning there had not been left to Nabal so much as one male.”
³⁵ So David received from her hand what she had brought him and said to her, “Go up in peace to your house. See, I have obeyed your voice and granted your petition.”
³⁶ And Abigail came to Nabal, and behold, he was holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk. So she told him nothing at all until the morning light.
³⁷ In the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone.
³⁸ And about ten days later the Lord struck Nabal, and he died.
³⁹ When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Blessed be the Lord who has avenged the insult I received at the hand of Nabal, and has kept back his servant from wrongdoing. The Lord has returned the evil of Nabal on his own head.” Then David sent and spoke to Abigail, to take her as his wife.
⁴⁰ When the servants of David came to Abigail at Carmel, they said to her, “David has sent us to you to take you to him as his wife.”
⁴¹ And she rose and bowed with her face to the ground and said, “Behold, your handmaid is a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.”
⁴² And Abigail hurried and rose and mounted a donkey, and her five young women attended her. She followed the messengers of David and became his wife.
⁴³ David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel, and both of them became his wives.
⁴⁴ Saul had given Michal his daughter, David’s wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was of Gallim.

2 Samuel 13:1-22: ¹ Now Absalom, David’s son, had a beautiful sister, whose name was Tamar. And after a time Amnon, David’s son, loved her.
² And Amnon was so tormented that he made himself ill because of his sister Tamar, for she was a virgin, and it seemed impossible to Amnon to do anything to her.
³ But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, David’s brother. And Jonadab was a very crafty man.
⁴ And he said to him, “O son of the king, why are you so haggard morning after morning? Will you not tell me?” Amnon said to him, “I love Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.”
⁵ But Jonadab said to him, “Lie down on your bed and pretend to be ill. And when your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘Let my sister Tamar come and give me bread to eat, and prepare the food in my sight, that I may see it and eat it from her hand.’”
⁶ So Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill. And when the king came to see him, Amnon said to the king, “Please let my sister Tamar come and make a couple of cakes in my sight, that I may eat from her hand.”
⁷ Then David sent home to Tamar, saying, “Go to your brother Amnon’s house and prepare food for him.”
⁸ So Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s house, where he was lying down. And she took dough and kneaded it and made cakes in his sight and baked the cakes.
⁹ Then she took a pan and baked them before him, and he ate.
¹⁰ Then Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food into the chamber, that I may eat from your hand.” And Tamar took the cakes she had made and brought them into the chamber to Amnon her brother.
¹¹ But when she brought them near him to eat, he took hold of her and said to her, “Come, lie with me, my sister.”
¹² But she said to him, “No, my brother, for this wrong in sending me away is greater than the other that you did to me.” But he would not listen to her.
¹³ But he would not listen to her, and being stronger than she, he violated her and lay with her.
¹⁴ But he would not listen to her, and being stronger than she, he violated her and lay with her.
¹⁵ Then Amnon hated her with very great hatred, so that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, “Get up! Go!”
¹⁶ But she said to him, “No, my brother, for this wrong in sending me away is greater than the other that you did to me.” But he would not listen to her.
¹⁷ Then he called his young man who served him and said, “Put this woman out of my presence and bolt the door after her.”
¹⁸ Now she was wearing a long robe with sleeves, for thus were the virgin daughters of the king dressed. So his servant put her out and bolted the door after her.
¹⁹ And Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the long robe that she wore. And she laid her hand on her head and went away, crying aloud as she went.
²⁰ And her brother Absalom said to her, “Has Amnon your brother been with you? Now hold your peace, my sister. He is your brother; do not take this to heart.” So Tamar lived, a desolate woman, in her brother Absalom’s house.
²¹ But when King David heard of all these things, he was very angry.
²² But Absalom spoke to Amnon neither good nor bad, for Absalom hated Amnon, because he had violated his sister Tamar.

2 Samuel 14:1-33: ¹ Now Joab the son of Zeruiah knew that the king’s heart went out to Absalom.
² And Joab sent to Tekoa and brought from there a wise woman and said to her, “Pretend to be a mourner and put on mourning garments. Do not anoint yourself with oil, but behave like a woman who has been mourning many days for the dead.
³ And go to the king and speak thus to him.” So Joab put the words in her mouth.
⁴ When the woman of Tekoa came to the king, she fell on her face to the ground and paid homage and said, “Save me, O king.”
⁵ And the king said to her, “What is your trouble?” She answered, “Alas, I am a widow; my husband is dead.
⁶ Your servant had two sons, and they quarreled with one another in the field. There was no one to separate them, and one struck the other and killed him.
⁷ And now the king, my lord, the word that I speak to you is in fact: for the king is like an angel of God in discerning good and evil. The Lord your God be with you.”
⁸ Then the king said to the woman, “Go to your house, and I will give orders concerning you.”
⁹ And the woman of Tekoa said to the king, “On me be the guilt, my lord the king, and on my father’s house; let the king and his throne be guiltless.”
¹⁰ But the king said, “If anyone says anything to you, bring him to me, and he shall never touch you again.”
¹¹ Then she said, “Please let the king invoke the Lord your God, that the avenger of blood kill no more, and my son be not destroyed.” He said, “As the Lord lives, not one hair of your son shall fall to the ground.”
¹² But the woman said, “Let your servant speak a word to my lord the king.” And he said, “Speak.”
¹³ And the woman said, “Why then have you planned such a thing against the people of God? For in giving this decision the king convicts himself, inasmuch as the king does not bring his banished one home again.
¹⁴ For we will all die; we are like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. But God will not take away life, and he devises means so that the banished one will not remain an outcast.
¹⁵ Now I have come to speak of this matter to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid, and your servant thought, ‘I will speak to the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his servant.
¹⁶ For the king will hear and deliver his servant from the hand of the man who would destroy me and my son together from the heritage of God.
¹⁷ Your servant thought, ‘The word of my lord the king will set me at rest,’ for my lord the king is like the angel of God to discern good and evil. The Lord your God be with you!”
¹⁸ Then the king answered the woman, “Do not hide from me anything I ask you.” And the woman said, “Let my lord the king speak.”
¹⁹ And the king said, “Is the hand of Joab with you in all this?” The woman answered and said, “As surely as you live, my lord the king, one cannot turn to the right hand or to the left from anything that my lord the king has said. It was your servant Joab who commanded me; it was he who put all these words in the mouth of your servant.
²⁰ In order to change the course of things your servant Joab did this. But my lord has wisdom like the wisdom of the angel of God to know all things that are on the earth.”
²¹ Then the king said to Joab, “Behold now, I grant this; go, bring back the young man Absalom.”
²² Joab fell on his face to the ground and paid homage and blessed the king. And Joab said, “Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your sight, my lord the king, in that the king has granted the request of his servant.”
²³ So Joab arose and went to Geshur and brought Absalom to Jerusalem.
²⁴ And the king said, “Let him dwell apart in his own house; he is not to come into my presence.” So Absalom lived apart in his own house and did not come into the king’s presence.
²⁵ Now in all Israel there was no one so much to be praised for his handsome appearance as Absalom. From the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.
²⁶ And when he cut the hair of his head (for at the end of every year he used to cut it; when it was heavy on him, he cut it), he weighed the hair of his head, two hundred shekels by the king’s weight.
²⁷ And to Absalom there were born three sons, and one daughter whose name was Tamar. She was a beautiful woman.
²⁸ And Absalom lived two full years in Jerusalem, without coming into the king’s presence.
²⁹ Then Absalom sent for Joab, to send him to the king, but Joab would not come to him. And he sent a second time, but Joab would not come.
³⁰ Then he said to his servants, “See, Joab’s field is next to mine, and he has barley there; go and set it on fire.” So Absalom’s servants set the field on fire.
³¹ Then Joab arose and went to Absalom at his house and said to him, “Why have your servants set my field on fire?”
³² Absalom answered Joab, “Behold, I sent word to you, ‘Come here, that I may send you to the king, to ask, “Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me to be there still.” Now therefore let me go into the presence of the king, and if there is guilt in me, let him put me to death.”
³³ Then Joab went to the king and told him, and he summoned Absalom. So he came to the king and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king, and the king kissed Absalom.

2 Samuel 19:1-43: ¹ It was told Joab, “Behold, the king is weeping and mourning for Absalom.”
² And the victory that day was turned into mourning for all the people, for the people heard that day, “The king is grieving for his son.”
³ The people stole into the city that day as people steal in who are ashamed when they flee in battle.
⁴ The king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, “O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!”
⁵ Then Joab came into the house to the king and said, “You have today covered with shame the faces of all your servants, who have this day saved your life and the lives of your sons and your daughters and the lives of your wives and your concubines,
⁶ You love those who hate you and hate those who love you. For you have made it clear today that commanders and servants are nothing to you, for today I know that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead today, then you would be pleased.
⁷ Now therefore arise, go out and speak kindly to your servants, for I swear by the Lord, if you do not go, not a man will stay with you this night, and this will be worse for you than all the evil that has come upon you from your youth until now.”
⁸ Then the king arose and took his seat in the gate. And the people were all told, “Behold, the king is sitting in the gate.” So all the people came before the king.
⁹ And all the people were arguing throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, “The king delivered us from the hand of our enemies and saved us from the hand of the Philistines, and now he has fled out of the land from Absalom.
¹⁰ But Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle. Now therefore why do you say nothing about bringing the king back?”
¹¹ And King David sent this message to Zadok and Abiathar the priests: “Say to the elders of Judah, ‘Why should you be the last to bring the king back to his house, when the word of all Israel has come to the king?
¹² And you are my brothers; you are my bone and my flesh. Why then should you be the last to bring back the king?’
¹³ And say to Amasa, ‘Are you not my bone and my flesh? God do so to me and more also, if you are not commander of my army from now on in place of Joab.’”
¹⁴ And he swayed the heart of all the men of Judah as one man, so that they sent word to the king, “Return, both you and all your servants.”
¹⁵ And the king came back to the Jordan, and Judah came to Gilgal to meet the king and to bring the king over the Jordan.
¹⁶ And Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, from Bahurim, hurried to come down with the men of Judah to meet King David.
¹⁷ And with him were a thousand men from Benjamin. And Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, with his fifteen sons and his twenty servants, rushed down to the Jordan before the king,
¹⁸ And there went over a ferry boat to carry over the king’s household and to do his pleasure.
¹⁹ And said to him, “Let not my lord hold me guilty or remember how your servant did wrong on the day my lord the king left Jerusalem. Do not let the king take it to heart.
²⁰ For your servant knows that I have sinned. Therefore, behold, I have come this day, the first of all the house of Joseph to come down to meet my lord the king.”
²¹ But Abishai the son of Zeruiah answered, “Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the Lord’s anointed?”
²² But David said, “What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah, that you should this day be as an adversary to me? Shall anyone be put to death in Israel this day? For do I not know that I am this day king over Israel?”
²³ And the king said to Shimei, “You shall not die.” And the king gave him his oath.
²⁴ And Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king. He had neither taken care of his feet nor trimmed his beard nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came back in safety.
²⁵ And when he had come to Jerusalem to meet the king, the king said to him, “Why did you not go with me, Mephibosheth?”
²⁶ And he answered, “My lord, O king, my servant deceived me, for your servant said to him, ‘Saddle a donkey for me, that I may ride on it and go with the king.’ For your servant is lame.
²⁷ And he has slandered your servant to my lord the king. But my lord the king is like the angel of God; do therefore what seems good to you.
²⁸ For all my father’s house were but men doomed to death before my lord the king, but you set your servant among those who eat at your table. What further right have I, then, to cry to the king?”
²⁹ And the king said to him, “Why speak any more of your affairs? I have decided: you and Ziba shall divide the land.”
³⁰ And Mephibosheth said to the king, “Oh, let him take it all, since my lord the king has come safely home.”
³¹ Barzillai the Gileadite had come down from Rogelim, and he went on with the king to the Jordan, to escort him over the Jordan.
³² Now Barzillai was a very aged man, eighty years old. He had provided the king with food while he stayed at Mahanaim, for he was a very wealthy man.
³³ And the king said to Barzillai, “Come over with me, and I will provide for you with me in Jerusalem.”
³⁴ Barzillai said to the king, “How many years have I still to live, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem?
³⁵ I am this day eighty years old. Can I discern what is pleasant and what is not? Can your servant taste what he eats or what he drinks? Can I still listen to the voice of singing men and singing women? Why then should your servant be an added burden to my lord the king?
³⁶ Your servant will go a little way over the Jordan with the king. Why should the king repay me with such a reward?
³⁷ Please let your servant return, that I may die in my own city near the grave of my father and my mother. But here is your servant Chimham. Let him go over with my lord the king, and do for him whatever seems good to you.
³⁸ And the king answered him, “Chimham shall go over with me, and I will do for him whatever seems good to you, and all that you desire of me I will do for you.”
³⁹ All the people crossed the Jordan, and the king crossed too. And the king kissed Barzillai and blessed him, and he returned to his own home.
⁴⁰ Then the king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham went on with him. All the people of Judah, and also half the people of Israel, brought the king on his way.
⁴¹ Then all the men of Israel came to the king and said to the king, “Why have our brothers the men of Judah stolen you away and brought the king and his household over the Jordan, and all David’s men with him?”
⁴² Then all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, “Because the king is our close relative. Why then are you angry over this matter? Have we eaten at all at the king’s expense? Or has he given us any gift?”
⁴³ And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, “We have ten shares in the king, and in David also we have more than you. Why then did you despise us? Was it not our advice first to bring back our king?” Yet the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel.

1 Kings 2:1-46: ¹ When David’s time to die drew near, he commanded Solomon his son, saying,
² “I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, and show yourself a man,”
³ and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn,
⁴ that the Lord may establish his word that he spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’
⁵ “Moreover, you also know what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, how he dealt with the two commanders of the armies of Israel, Abner the son of Ner, and Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed, avenging in time of peace for blood that had been shed in war, and putting the blood of war on the belt around his waist and on the sandals on his feet.”
⁶ Act therefore according to your wisdom, but do not let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace.
⁷ But deal loyally with the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who eat at your table, for with such loyalty they met me when I fled from Absalom your brother.
⁸ And there is also with you Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse on the day when I went to Mahanaim. But when he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the Lord, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’
⁹ Now therefore do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man. You will know what you ought to do to him, and you shall bring his gray head down with blood to Sheol.”
¹⁰ Then David slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David.
¹¹ And the time that David reigned over Israel was forty years. He reigned seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.
¹² So Solomon sat on the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was firmly established.
¹³ Then Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, “Do you come peacefully?” He said, “Peacefully.”
¹⁴ Then he said, “Please ask King Solomon—he will not refuse you—to give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife.”
¹⁵ And he said, “You know that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel fully expected me to reign. However, the kingdom has turned about and become my brother’s, for it was his from the Lord.
¹⁶ And now I have one request to make of you; do not refuse me.” She said to him, “Speak.”
¹⁷ He said, “Please speak to Solomon the king, for he will not refuse you, that he may give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife.”
¹⁸ Bathsheba said, “Very well; I will speak to the king for you.”
¹⁹ So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him on behalf of Adonijah. And the king rose to meet her and bowed down to her. Then he sat on his throne and had a seat brought for the king’s mother, and she sat on his right.
²⁰ Then she said, “I have one small request to make of you; do not refuse me.” And the king said to her, “Make your request, my mother, for I will not refuse you.”
²¹ She said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as his wife.”
²² King Solomon answered his mother, “And why do you ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also, for he is my older brother, and on his side are Abiathar the priest and Joab the son of Zeruiah.”
²³ Then King Solomon swore by the Lord, saying, “God do so to me and more also if this word does not cost Adonijah his life!
²⁴ Now therefore as the Lord lives, who has established me and placed me on the throne of David my father, and who has made me a house, as he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death today.”
²⁵ So King Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he struck him down, and he died.
²⁶ And to Abiathar the priest the king said, “Go to Anathoth, to your estate, for you deserve death. But I will not at this time put you to death, because you carried the ark of the Lord God before David my father, and because you shared in all my father’s affliction.”
²⁷ So Solomon expelled Abiathar from being priest to the Lord, thus fulfilling the word of the Lord that he had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.
²⁸ When the news came to Joab—for Joab had supported Adonijah although he had not supported Absalom—Joab fled to the tent of the Lord and caught hold of the horns of the altar.
²⁹ When it was told King Solomon that Joab had fled to the tent of the Lord and was beside the altar, Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, strike him down.”
³⁰ Then Benaiah came to the tent of the Lord and said to him, “The king commands, ‘Come out.’” But he said, “No, I will die here.” And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, “Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.”
³¹ Then the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck him down, and he died. So the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.
³² The Lord will bring back his bloody deeds on his own head, because, without the knowledge of my father David, he attacked and killed with the sword two men more righteous and better than himself, Abner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah.
³³ Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab and upon the head of his descendants forever. But for David, and for his descendants, and for his house, and for his throne, there shall be peace from the Lord forevermore.
³⁴ Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and struck him down and put him to death. And he was buried in his own house in the wilderness.
³⁵ The king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada over the army in his place, and the king put Zadok the priest in the place of Abiathar.
³⁶ Then the king sent and summoned Shimei and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and dwell there, and do not go out from there to any place whatever.
³⁷ For on the day you go out and cross the brook Kidron, know for certain that you shall die. Your blood shall be on your own head.”
³⁸ And Shimei said to the king, “What you say is good; as my lord the king has said, so will your servant do.” So Shimei lived in Jerusalem many days.
³⁹ But three years later, two of Shimei’s servants ran away to Achish, son of Maacah, king of Gath. And when it was told Shimei, “Behold, your servants are in Gath,”
⁴⁰ So Shimei arose and saddled a donkey and went to Gath to Achish to seek his servants. And Shimei went and brought his servants from Gath.
⁴¹ But the king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the Lord forever.”
⁴² the king sent and summoned Shimei and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the Lord and solemnly warn you, saying, ‘Know for certain that on the day you go out and go to any place whatever, you shall die’? And you said to me, ‘What you say is good; I will obey.’
⁴³ Why then have you not kept your oath to the Lord and the commandment with which I commanded you?”
⁴⁴ The king also said to Shimei, “You know in your own heart all the harm that you did to David my father. So the Lord will bring back your harm on your own head.
⁴⁵ But King Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the Lord forever.”
⁴⁶ Then the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck him down, and he died. So the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.

Esther 2:1-23: ¹ After these things, when the anger of King Ahasuerus had abated, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what had been decreed against her.
² Then the king’s young men who attended him said, “Let beautiful young virgins be sought out for the king.
³ And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom to gather all the beautiful young virgins to the harem in Susa the citadel, under custody of Hegai, the king’s eunuch, who is in charge of the women.
⁴ And let the young woman who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.” This pleased the king, and he did so.
⁵ Now there was a Jew in Susa the citadel whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, a Benjaminite,
⁶ who had been carried away from Jerusalem among the captives carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away.
⁷ He was bringing up Hadassah, that is Esther, the daughter of his uncle, for she had neither father nor mother. The young woman had a beautiful figure and was lovely to look at, and when her father and her mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter.
⁸ So when the king’s order and his edict were proclaimed, and when many young women were gathered in Susa the citadel in custody of Hegai, Esther also was taken into the king’s palace and put in custody of Hegai, who had charge of the women.
⁹ And the young woman pleased him and won his favor. And he quickly provided her with her cosmetics and her portion of food, and with seven chosen young women from the king’s palace, and advanced her and her young women to the best place in the harem.
¹⁰ Esther had not made known her people or kindred, for Mordecai had commanded her not to make it known.
¹¹ And every day Mordecai walked in front of the court of the harem to learn how Esther was and what was happening to her.
¹² Now when the turn came for each young woman to go in to King Ahasuerus, after being twelve months under the regulations for the women, since this was the regular period of their beautifying, six months with oil of myrrh and six months with spices and ointments for women.
¹³ Then in this way the girl came to the king: whatever she desired was given her to go with her from the harem to the king’s palace.
¹⁴ In the evening she would go in, and in the morning she would return to the second harem, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch, who was in charge of the concubines. She would not go in to the king again, unless the king delighted in her and she was summoned by name.
¹⁵ When the turn came for Esther the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her as his own daughter, to go in to the king, she asked for nothing except what Hegai the king’s eunuch, who had charge of the women, advised. And Esther won favor in the sight of all who saw her.
¹⁶ And when Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus, into his royal palace, in the tenth month, which is the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign,
¹⁷ the king loved Esther more than all the women, and she won grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins, so that he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.
¹⁸ Then the king gave a great feast for all his officials and servants; it was Esther’s feast. He also granted a remission of taxes to the provinces and gave gifts with royal generosity.
¹⁹ Now when the virgins were gathered together the second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate.
²⁰ Esther had not made known her people or kindred, for Mordecai had commanded her not to make it known.
²¹ In those days, as Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, became angry and sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus.
²² But Mordecai found out about the plot and told Queen Esther, who in turn reported it to the king, giving credit to Mordecai.
²³ When the affair was investigated and found to be so, the men were both hanged on the gallows. And it was recorded in the book of the chronicles in the presence of the king.

Esther 4:1-17: ¹ When Mordecai learned all that had been done, Mordecai tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and he cried out with a loud and bitter cry.
² And in every province, wherever the king’s command and his decree reached, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting and weeping and lamenting, and many of them lay in sackcloth and ashes.
³ And in every province, wherever the king’s command and his decree reached, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting and weeping and lamenting, and many of them lay in sackcloth and ashes.
⁴ When Esther’s young women and her eunuchs came and told her, the queen was deeply distressed. She sent garments to clothe Mordecai, so that he might take off his sackcloth, but he would not accept them.
⁵ Then Esther called for Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs, who had been appointed to attend her, and ordered him to go to Mordecai to learn what this was and why it was.
⁶ And Hathach went and told Esther what Mordecai had said.
⁷ And Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, and the exact sum of money that Haman had promised to pay into the king’s treasuries for the destruction of the Jews.
⁸ Mordecai also gave him a copy of the written decree issued in Susa for their destruction, that he might show it to Esther and explain it to her and command her to go to the king to beg his favor and plead with him on behalf of her people.
⁹ And Hathach went and told Esther what Mordecai had said.
¹⁰ Then Esther spoke to Hathach and commanded him to go to Mordecai and say,
¹¹ “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law—to be put to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter so that he may live. But as for me, I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days.”
¹² And they told Mordecai what Esther had said.
¹³ Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews.
¹⁴ For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
¹⁵ Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai,
¹⁶ “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.”
¹⁷ So Mordecai went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him.

Esther 8:1-17: ¹ On that day King Ahasuerus gave to Queen Esther the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told what he was to her.
² And the king took off his signet ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.
³ Then Esther spoke again to the king. She fell at his feet and wept and pleaded with him to avert the evil plan of Haman the Agagite and the plot that he had devised against the Jews.
⁴ When the king held out the golden scepter to Esther, Esther rose and stood before the king.
⁵ And she said, “If it please the king, and if I have found favor in his sight, and if the thing seems right before the king, and I am pleasing in his eyes, let an order be written to revoke the letters devised by Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, which he wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all the provinces of the king.
⁶ For how can I bear to see the calamity that is coming to my people? Or how can I bear to see the destruction of my kindred?”
⁷ Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, “Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and they have hanged him on the gallows, because he intended to lay hands on the Jews.
⁸ But you may write as you please with regard to the Jews, in the name of the king, and seal it with the king’s ring, for an edict written in the name of the king and sealed with the king’s ring cannot be revoked.”
⁹ The king’s scribes were summoned at that time, in the third month, which is the month of Sivan, on the twenty-third day. And an edict was written, according to all that Mordecai commanded concerning the Jews, to the satraps and the governors and the officials of the provinces from India to Ethiopia, 127 provinces, to each province in its own script and to each people in its own language, and also to the Jews in their script and their language.
¹⁰ And he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed it with the king’s signet ring. Then he sent the letters by mounted couriers riding on swift horses that were used in the king’s service, bred from the royal stud.
¹¹ By these letters the king allowed the Jews who were in every city to gather and defend their lives, to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate any armed force of any people or province that might attack them, children and women included, and to plunder their goods,
¹² on one day in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar.
¹³ A copy of what was written was to be issued as a decree in every province, being publicly displayed to all peoples, and the Jews were to be ready on that day to take vengeance on their enemies.
¹⁴ The couriers mounted on their swift horses that were used in the king’s service went out, hurried by the king’s command, and the decree was issued in Susa the citadel.
¹⁵ Then Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal robes of blue and white, with a great golden crown and a robe of fine linen and purple, and the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced.
¹⁶ The Jews had light and gladness and joy and honor.
¹⁷ In every province and in every city, wherever the king’s command and his edict reached, there was gladness and joy among the Jews, a feast and a holiday. And many from the peoples of the country declared themselves Jews, for fear of the Jews had fallen on them.

Luke 1:39-56: ³⁹ In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah,
⁴⁰ and entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.
⁴¹ And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit,
⁴² and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
⁴³ And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
⁴⁴ For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.
⁴⁵ And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”
⁴⁶ And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord,
⁴⁷ and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
⁴⁸ for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
⁴⁹ for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
⁵⁰ And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.
⁵¹ He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
⁵² he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
⁵³ he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.
⁵⁴ He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy,
⁵⁵ as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.
⁵⁶ And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.

Romans 16:1-16: ¹ I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae,
² that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well.
³ Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus,
⁴ who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well.
⁵ Greet also the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in Asia.
⁶ Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you.
⁷ Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles, and they were in Christ before me.
⁸ Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord.
⁹ Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys.
¹⁰ Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the family of Aristobulus.
¹¹ Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus.
¹² Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa.
¹³ Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well.
¹⁴ Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers who are with them.
¹⁵ Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them.
¹⁶ Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.