After they have been destroyed from your presence, be careful not to be ensnared like they are; do not pursue their gods and say, “How do these nations serve their gods? I will do the same.”

Then you are to celebrate the Festival of Weeks ¹  before the Lord your God with the voluntary offering ²  that you will bring, in proportion to how he ³  has blessed you.

how they met you along the way and cut off all your stragglers in the rear of the march when you were exhausted and tired; they were unafraid of God. ¹ 

Joshua continued, ¹  “This is how you will know the living God is among you and that he will truly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites.

Manoah prayed to the Lord, ¹  “Please, Lord, allow the man sent from God ²  to visit ³  us again, so he can teach ⁴  us how we should raise ⁵  the child who will be born.”

She said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when you will not share your secret with me? ¹  Three times you have deceived me and have not told me what makes you so strong.”

He said, “You stole my gods that I made, as well as this priest, and then went away. What do I have left? How can you have the audacity to say to me, ‘What do you want?’” ¹ 

How can we find wives for those who are left? ¹  After all, we took an oath in the Lord’s name not to give them our daughters as wives.”

She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw ¹  how much grain ²  she had gathered. Then Ruth ³  gave her the roasted grain she had saved from mealtime. ⁴ 

and she returned to her mother-in-law.When Ruth returned to her mother-in-law, Naomi ¹  asked, ²  “How did things turn out for you, ³  my daughter?” Ruth ⁴  told her about all the man had done for her. ⁵ 

Then Naomi ¹  said, “Stay put, ²  my daughter, until you know how the matter turns out. For the man will not rest until he has taken care of the matter today.”

The man said to Eli, “I am the one who came from the battle lines! Just today I fled from the battle lines!” Eli ¹  asked, “How did things go, my son?”

the Philistines called the priests and the omen readers, saying, “What should we do with the ark of the Lord? Advise us as to how we should send it back to its place.”

Then Samuel talked to the people about how the kingship would work. ¹  He wrote it all down on a scroll and set it before the Lord. Then Samuel sent all the people away to their homes.

Samuel replied, “How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me!” But the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you ¹  and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’

One of his attendants replied, ¹  “I have seen a son of Jesse in Bethlehem ²  who knows how to play the lyre. He is a brave warrior ³  and is articulate ⁴  and handsome, ⁵  for the Lord is with him.”

After David had entrusted his cargo to the care of the supply officer, ¹  he ran to the battlefront. When he arrived, he asked his brothers how they were doing.

David fled from Naioth in Ramah. He came to Jonathan and asked, ¹  “What have I done? What is my offense? ²  How have I sinned before your father? For he is seeking my life!”

When the woman came to Saul and saw how terrified he was, she said to him, “Your servant has done what you asked. ¹  I took my life into my own hands and did what you told me. ² 

David inquired, “How were things going? ¹  Tell me!” He replied, “The people fled from the battle and many of them ²  fell dead. ³  Even Saul and his son Jonathan are dead!”