# verses

text:
"Tell Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest to pull those censers from the fire; for they are holy, dedicated to the Lord. He must also scatter the burning incense


text:
from the censers of these men who have sinned at the cost of their lives. He shall then beat the metal into a sheet as a covering for the altar, for these censers are holy because they were used before the Lord; and the altar sheet shall be a reminder to the people of Israel."


text:
So Eleazar the priest took the 250 bronze censers and beat them out into a sheet of metal to cover the altar,


text:
to be a reminder to the people of Israel that no unauthorized person--no one who is not a descendant of Aaron--may come before the Lord to burn incense, lest the same thing happen to him as happened to Korah and his associates. Thus the Lord's directions to Moses were carried out.


text:
But the very next morning all the people began muttering again against Moses and Aaron, saying, "You have killed the Lord's people."


text:
Soon a great, sullen mob formed; suddenly, as they looked toward the Tabernacle, the Cloud appeared and the awesome glory of the Lord was seen.


text:
"Get away from these people so that I can instantly destroy them." But Moses and Aaron fell face downward to the earth before the Lord.


text:
And Moses said to Aaron, "Quick, take a censer and place fire in it from the altar; lay incense on it, and carry it quickly among the people and make atonement for them; for God's anger has gone out among them--the plague has already begun."


text:
Aaron did as Moses had told him to, and ran among the people, for the plague had indeed already begun; and he put on the incense and made atonement for them.


text:
but not before 14,700 people had died (in addition to those who had died the previous day with Korah).


text:
"Tell the people of Israel that each of their tribal chiefs is to bring you a wooden rod with his name inscribed upon it.


text:
I will use these rods to identify the man I have chosen: for buds will grow on his rod! Then at last this murmuring and complaining against you will stop!"


text:
So Moses gave the instructions to the people, and each of the twelve chiefs (including Aaron) brought him a rod.


text:
and when he went in the next day, he found that Aaron's rod, representing the tribe of Levi, had budded and was blossoming, and had ripe almonds hanging from it!


text:
When Moses brought them out to show the others, they stared in disbelief! Then each man except Aaron claimed his rod.


text:
The Lord told Moses to place Aaron's rod permanently beside the Ark as a reminder of this rebellion. He was to  bring it out and show it to the people again if there were any further complaints about Aaron's authority; this would ward off further catastrophe to the people.


text:
But the people of Israel only grumbled the more. "We are as good as dead," they whined. "Everyone who even comes close to the Tabernacle dies. Must we all perish?"


text:
The Lord now spoke to Aaron: "You and your sons and your family are responsible for any desecration of the sanctuary," he said, "and will be held liable for any impropriety in your priestly work.


text:
"Your kinsmen, the tribe of Levi, are your assistants; but only you and your sons may perform the sacred duties in the Tabernacle itself.


text:
The Levites must be careful not to touch any of the sacred articles or the altar, lest I destroy both them and you.


text:
Remember, only the priests are to perform the sacred duties within the sanctuary and at the altar. If you follow these instructions, the wrath of God will never again fall upon any of the people of Israel for violating this law.


text:
I say it again--your kinsmen the Levites are your assistants for the work of the Tabernacle. They are a gift to you from the Lord.


text:
But you and your sons, the priests, shall personally handle all the sacred service, including the altar and all that is within the veil, for the priesthood is your special gift of service. Anyone else who attempts to perform these duties shall die."


text:
The Lord gave these further instructions to Aaron: "I have given the priests all the gifts which are brought to the Lord by the people; all these offerings presented to the Lord by the gesture of waving them before the altar belong to you and your sons, by permanent law.


text:
The grain offerings, the sin offerings, and the guilt offerings are yours, except for the sample presented to the Lord by burning upon the altar. All these are most holy offerings.


text:
All other gifts presented to me by the gesture of waving them before the altar are for you and your families, sons and daughters alike. For all the members of your families may eat these unless anyone is ceremonially impure at the time.


text:
"Yours also are the first-of-the-harvest gifts the people bring as offerings to the Lord--the best of the olive oil, wine, grain,


text:
So everything that is dedicated to the Lord shall be yours, including the firstborn sons of the people of Israel, and the firstborn of their animals.


text:
However, you may never accept the firstborn sons, nor the firstborn of any animals that I do not permit for food. Instead, there must be a payment of two and a half dollars made for each firstborn child. It is to be brought when he is one month old.


text:
"However, the firstborn of cows, sheep, or goats may not be bought back; they must be sacrificed to the Lord. Their blood is to be sprinkled upon the altar, and their fat shall be burned as a fire offering; it is very pleasant to the Lord.


text:
The meat of these animals shall be yours, including the breast and right thigh that are presented to the Lord by the gesture of waving before the altar.


text:
Yes, I have given to you all of these 'wave offerings' brought by the people of Israel to the Lord; they are for you and your families as food; this is a permanent contract between the Lord and you and your descendants.


text:
As for the tribe of Levi, your relatives, they shall be paid for their service with the tithes from the entire land of Israel.


text:
"From now on, Israelites other than the priests and Levites shall not enter the sanctuary lest they be judged guilty and die.


text:
Only the Levites shall do the work there, and they shall be guilty if they fail. This is a permanent law among you, that the Levites shall own no property in Israel,


text:
for the people's tithes, offered to the Lord by the gesture of waving before the altar, shall belong to the Levites; these are their inheritance, and so they have no need for property."


text:
"Tell the Levites to give to the Lord a tenth of the tithes they receive--a tithe of the tithe, to be presented to the Lord by the gesture of waving before the altar.


text:
The Lord will consider this as your first-of-the-harvest offering to him of grain and wine, as though it were from your own property.


text:
This tithe of the tithe shall be selected from the choicest part of the tithes you receive as the Lord's portion, and shall be given to Aaron the priest.


text:
Aaron and his sons and their families may eat it in their homes or anywhere they wish, for it is their compensation for their service in the Tabernacle.


text:
You Levites will not be held guilty for accepting the Lord's tithes if you then give the best tenth to the priests. But beware that you do not treat the holy gifts of the people of Israel as though they were common, lest you die."


text:
"Here is another of my laws: "Tell the people of Israel to bring you a red heifer without defect, one that has never been yoked.


text:
Give her to Eleazar the priest and he shall take her outside the camp and someone shall kill her as he watches.


text:
Eleazar shall take some of her blood upon his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the Tabernacle.


text:
Eleazar shall take cedar wood and hyssop branches and scarlet thread, and throw them into the burning pile.


text:
"Then he must wash his clothes, and bathe, and afterwards return to the camp and be ceremonially defiled until the evening.


text:
And the one who burns the animal must wash his clothes and bathe, and he too shall be defiled until evening.


text:
Then someone who is not ceremonially defiled shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and place them in some purified place outside the camp, where they shall be kept for the people of Israel as a source of water for the purification ceremonies, for removal of sin.


text:
And the one who gathers up the ashes of the heifer must wash his clothes and be defiled until evening; this is a permanent law for the benefit of the people of Israel and any foreigners living among them.


text:
and must purify himself the third and seventh days with water  run through the ashes of the red heifer; then he will be purified; but if he does not do this on the third day, he will continue to be defiled even after the seventh day.


text:
Anyone who touches a dead person and does not purify himself in the manner specified has defiled the Tabernacle of the Lord, and shall be excommunicated from Israel. The cleansing water was not sprinkled upon him, so the defilement continues.


text:
"When a man dies in a tent, these are the various regulations: Everyone who enters the tent, and those who are in it at the time, shall be defiled seven days.


text:
"If someone out in a field touches the corpse of someone who has been killed in battle or who has died in any other way, or if he even touches a bone or a grave, he shall be defiled seven days.


text:
To become purified again, ashes from the red heifer sin offering are to be added to spring water in a kettle.


text:
Then a person who is not defiled shall take hyssop branches and dip them into the water and sprinkle the water upon the tent and upon all the pots and pans in the tent, and upon anyone who has been defiled by being in the tent, or by touching a bone, or touching someone who has been killed or is otherwise dead, or has touched a grave.


text:
This shall take place on the third and seventh days; then the defiled person must wash his clothes and bathe himself, and that evening he will be out from under the defilement.


text:
"But anyone who is defiled and doesn't purify himself shall be excommunicated, for he has defiled the sanctuary of the Lord, and the water to cleanse him has not been sprinkled upon him; so he remains defiled.


text:
This is a permanent law. The man who sprinkles the water must afterwards wash his clothes; and anyone touching the water shall be defiled until evening.


text:
The people of Israel arrived in the wilderness of Zin in April and camped at Kadesh, where Miriam died and was buried.


text:
There was not enough water to drink at that place, so the people again rebelled against Moses and Aaron. A great mob formed,


text:
and they held a protest meeting. "Would that we too had died with our dear brothers the Lord killed!" they shouted at Moses.


text:
"You have deliberately brought us into this wilderness to get rid of us, along with our flocks and herds.


text:
Why did you ever make us leave Egypt and bring us here to this evil place? Where is the fertile land of wonderful crops--the figs, vines, and pomegranates you told us about? Why, there isn't even water enough to drink!"


text:
Moses and Aaron turned away and went to the entrance of the Tabernacle, where they fell face downward before the Lord; and the glory of Jehovah appeared to them.


text:
"Get Aaron's rod; then you and Aaron must summon the people. As they watch, speak to that rock over there and tell it to pour out its water! You will give them water from a rock, enough for all the people and all their cattle!"


text:
then Moses and Aaron summoned the people to come and gather at the rock; and he said to them, "Listen, you rebels! Must we bring you water from this rock?"


text:
Then Moses lifted the rod and struck the rock twice, and water gushed out; and the people and their cattle drank.


text:
But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not believe me and did not sanctify me in the eyes of the people of Israel, you shall not bring them into the land I have promised them!"


text:
This place was named Meribah (meaning "Rebel Waters"), because it was where the people of Israel fought against Jehovah, and where he showed himself to be holy before them.


text:
While Moses was at Kadesh he sent messengers to the king of Edom: "We are the descendants of your brother, Israel," he declared. "You know our sad history,


text:
how our ancestors went down to visit Egypt and stayed there so long, and became slaves of the Egyptians.


text:
But when we cried to the Lord he heard us and sent an Angel who brought us out of Egypt, and now we are here at Kadesh, encamped on the borders of your land.


text:
Please let us pass through your country. We will be careful not to go through your planted fields, nor through your vineyards; we won't even drink water from your wells, but will stay on the main road and not leave it until we have crossed your border on the other side."


text:
But the king of Edom said, "Stay out! If you attempt to enter my land, I will meet you with an army!"


text:
"But, sir," protested the Israeli ambassadors, "we will stay on the main road and will not even drink your water unless we pay whatever you demand for it. We only want to pass through and nothing else."


text:
But the king of Edom was adamant. "Stay out!" he warned, and, mobilizing his army, he marched to the frontier with a great force.


text:
Because Edom refused to allow Israel to pass through their country, Israel turned back and journeyed from Kadesh to Mount Hor.


text:
"The time has come for Aaron to die--for he shall not enter the land I have given the people of Israel, for the two of you rebelled against my instructions concerning the water at Meribah.


text:
There you shall remove Aaron's priestly garments from him and put them on Eleazar his son; and Aaron shall die there."


text:
So Moses did as the Lord commanded him. The three of them went up together into Mount Hor as all the people watched.


text:
When they reached the summit, Moses removed the priestly garments from Aaron and put them on his son Eleazar; and Aaron died on the top of the mountain. Moses and Eleazar returned,


text:
When the king of Arad heard that the Israelis were approaching (for they were traveling the same route as the spies), he mobilized his army and attacked Israel, taking some of the men as prisoners.


text:
Then the people of Israel vowed to the Lord that if he would help them conquer the king of Arad and his people, they would completely annihilate all the cities of that area.


text:
The Lord heeded their request and defeated the Canaanites; and the Israelis completely destroyed them and their cities. The name of the region was thereafter called Hormah (meaning "Utterly Destroyed").


text:
Then the people of Israel returned to Mount Hor, and from there continued southward along the road to the Red Sea in order to go around the land of Edom. The people were very discouraged;


text:
they began to murmur against God and to complain against Moses. "Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die here in the wilderness?" they whined. "There is nothing to eat here, and nothing to drink, and we hate this insipid manna."


text:
Then the people came to Moses and cried out, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against Jehovah and against you. Pray to him to take away the snakes." So Moses prayed for the people.


text:
Then the Lord told him, "Make a bronze replica of one of these snakes and attach it to the top of a pole; anyone who is bitten shall live if he simply looks at it!"


text:
So Moses made the replica, and whenever anyone who had been bitten looked at the bronze snake, he recovered!


text:
Then they moved to the far side of the Arnon River, near the borders of the Amorites. (The Arnon River is the boundary line between the Moabites and the Amorites.


text:
This fact is mentioned in The Book of the Wars of Jehovah, where it is stated that the valley of the Arnon River and the city of Waheb


text:
Then Israel traveled to Beer (meaning "A Well"). This is the place where the Lord told Moses, "Summon the people, and I will give them water."


text:
This is a well The leaders dug. It was hollowed With their staves And shovels. Then they left the desert and proceeded on through Mattanah,


text:
then to the valley in the plateau of Moab, which overlooks the desert with Mount Pisgah in the distance.


text:
"Let us travel through your land," they requested. "We will not leave the road until we have passed beyond your borders. We won't trample your fields or touch your vineyards or drink your water."


text:
But King Sihon refused. Instead he mobilized his army and attacked Israel in the wilderness, battling them at Jahaz.


text:
But Israel slaughtered them and occupied their land from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River, as far as the borders of the Ammonites; but they were stopped there by the rugged terrain.


text:
So Israel captured all the cities of the Amorites and lived in them, including the city of Heshbon, which had been King Sihon's capital.


text:
Woe to Moab! You are finished, O people of Chemosh; Your sons have fled, And your daughters are captured By King Sihon of the Amorites.


text:
Moses sent spies to look over the Jazer area; he followed up with an armed attack, capturing all of the towns and driving out the Amorites.


text:
They next turned their attention to the city of Bashan, but King Og of Bashan met them with his army at Edrei.


text:
The Lord told Moses not to fear--that the enemy was already conquered! "The same thing will happen to King Og as happened to King Sihon at Heshbon," the Lord assured him.


text:
And sure enough, Israel was victorious and killed King Og, his sons, and his subjects, so that not a single survivor remained; and Israel occupied the land.


text:
The people of Israel now traveled to the plains of Moab and camped east of the Jordan River opposite Jericho.


text:
When King Balak of Moab (the son of Zippor) realized how many of them there were, and when he learned what they had done to the Amorites, he and his people were terrified.


text:
They quickly consulted with the leaders of Midian. "This mob will eat us like an ox eats grass," they exclaimed. So King Balak


text:
sent messengers to Balaam (son of Beor) who was living in his native land of Pethor, near the Euphrates River. He begged Balaam to come and help him. "A vast horde of people has arrived from Egypt, and they cover the face of the earth and are headed toward me," he frantically explained.


text:
"Please come and curse them for me, so that I can drive them out of my land; for I know what fantastic blessings fall on those whom you bless, and I also know that those whom you curse are doomed."


text:
The messengers he sent were some of the top leaders of Moab and Midian. They went to Balaam with money in hand and urgently explained to him what Balak wanted.


text:
"Stay here overnight," Balaam said, "and I'll tell you in the morning whatever the Lord directs me to say." So they did.


text:
"The king says that a vast horde of people from Egypt has arrived at his border, and he wants me to go at once and curse them, in the hope that he can battle them successfully."


text:
Balak tried again. This time he sent a larger number of even more distinguished ambassadors than the former group.


text:
He promises you great honors plus any payment you ask. Name your own figure! Only come and curse these people for us."


text:
But Balaam replied, "If he were to give me a palace filled with silver and gold, I could do nothing contrary to the command of the Lord my God.


text:
However, stay here tonight so that I can find out whether the Lord will add anything to what he said before."


text:
That night God told Balaam, "You may get up and go with these men, but be sure to say only what I tell you to."


text:
But God was angry about Balaam's eager attitude, so he sent an angel to stand in the road to kill him. As Balaam and two servants were riding along,


text:
Balaam's donkey suddenly saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword. She bolted off the road into a field, but Balaam beat her back onto the road.


text:
When the donkey saw him standing there, she squirmed past by pressing against the wall, crushing Balaam's foot in the process. So he beat her again.


text:
Then the angel of the Lord moved farther down the road and stood in a place so narrow that the donkey couldn't get by at all.


text:
Then the Lord caused the donkey to speak! "What have I done that deserves your beating me these three times?" she asked.


text:
"Because you have made me look like a fool!" Balaam shouted. "I wish I had a sword with me, for I would kill you."


text:
"Have I ever done anything like this before in my entire life?" the donkey asked. "No," he admitted.


text:
Then the Lord opened Balaam's eyes and he saw the angel standing in the roadway with drawn sword, and he fell flat on the ground before him.


text:
"Why did you beat your donkey those three times?" the angel demanded. "I have come to stop you because you are headed for destruction.


text:
Three times the donkey saw me and shied away from me; otherwise I would certainly have killed you by now and spared her."


text:
Then Balaam confessed, "I have sinned. I didn't realize you were there. I will go back home if you don't want me to go on."


text:
But the angel told him, "Go with the men, but say only what I tell you to say." So Balaam went on with them.


text:
When King Balak heard that Balaam was on the way, he left the capital and went out to meet him at the Arnon River, at the border of his land.


text:
"Why did you delay so long?" he asked Balaam. "Didn't you believe me when I said I would give you great honors?"


text:
Balaam replied, "I have come, but I have no power to say anything except what God tells me to say; and that is what I shall speak."


text:
where King Balak sacrificed oxen and sheep, and gave animals to Balaam and the ambassadors for their sacrifices.


text:
The next morning Balak took Balaam to the top of Mount Bamoth-baal, from which he could see the people of Israel spread out before him.


text:
Balaam said to the king, "Build seven altars here, and prepare seven young bulls and seven rams for sacrifice."


text:
Then Balaam said to the king, "Stand here by your burnt offerings and I will see if the Lord will meet me; and I will tell you what he says to me." So he went up to a barren height,


text:
and God met him there. Balaam told the Lord, "I have prepared seven altars and have sacrificed a young bull and a ram on each."


text:
When Balaam returned, the king was standing beside the burnt offerings with all the princes of Moab.


text:
This was Balaam's message: "King Balak, king of Moab, has brought me From the land of Aram, From the eastern mountains. 'Come,' he told me, 'curse Jacob for me! Let your anger rise on Israel.'


text:
I see them from the cliff tops, I watch them from the hills. They live alone, And prefer to remain distinct From every other nation.


text:
They are as numerous as dust! They are beyond numbering. If only I could die as happy as an Israelite! Oh, that my end might be like theirs!"


text:
"What have you done to me?" demanded King Balak. "I told you to curse my enemies, and now you have blessed them!"


text:
Then Balak told him, "Come with me to another place; there you will see only a portion of the nation of Israel. Curse at least that many!"


text:
So King Balak took Balaam into the fields of Zophim at the top of Mount Pisgah, and built seven altars there; and he offered up a young bull and a ram on each altar.


text:
So he returned to where the king and the princes of Moab were standing beside their burnt offerings. "What has Jehovah said?" the king eagerly inquired.


text:
God is not a man, that he should lie; He doesn't change his mind like humans do. Has he ever promised, Without doing what he said?


text:
He has not seen sin in Jacob. He will not trouble Israel! Jehovah their God is with them. He is their king!


text:
No curse can be placed on Jacob, And no magic shall be done against him. For now it shall be said of Israel, 'What wonders God has done for them!'


text:
These people rise up as a lion; They shall not lie down Until they have eaten what they capture And have drunk the blood of the slain!"


text:
Then the king said to Balaam, "I will take you to yet another place. Perhaps it will please God to let you curse them from there."


text:
Balaam again told the king to build seven altars, and to prepare seven young bulls and seven rams for the sacrifice.


text:
Balaam realized by now that Jehovah planned to bless Israel, so he didn't even go to meet the Lord as he had earlier. Instead, he went at once and looked out toward the camp of Israel


text:
which stretched away across the plains, divided by tribal areas. Then the Spirit of God came upon him,


text:
and he spoke this prophecy concerning them: "Balaam the son of Beor says-- The man whose eyes are open says--


text:
'I have listened to the word of God, I have seen what God Almighty showed me; I fell, and my eyes were opened:


text:
I see them spread before me as green valleys, And fruitful gardens by the riverside; As aloes planted by the Lord himself; As cedar trees beside the waters.


text:
They shall be blessed with an abundance of water, And they shall live in many places. Their king will be greater than Agag; Their kingdom is exalted.


text:
God has brought them from Egypt. Israel has the strength of a wild ox, And shall eat up the nations that oppose him; He shall break their bones in pieces, And shall shoot them with many arrows.


text:
Israel sleeps as a lion or a lioness-- Who dares arouse him? Blessed is everyone who blesses you, O Israel, And curses shall fall upon everyone who curses you.' "


text:
King Balak was livid with rage by now. Striking his hands together in anger and disgust he shouted, "I called you to curse my enemies and instead you have blessed them three times.


text:
Get out of here! Go back home! I had planned to promote you to great honor, but Jehovah has kept you from it!"


text:
that even if you gave me a palace filled with silver and gold, I could not go beyond the words of Jehovah, and could not say a word of my own? I said that I would say only what Jehovah says!


text:
Yes, I shall return now to my own people. But first, let me tell you what the Israelites are going to do to your people!"


text:
He hears the words of God And has knowledge from the Most High; He sees what Almighty God has shown him; He fell, and his eyes were opened:


text:
I see in the future of Israel, Far down the distant trail, That there shall come a star from Jacob! This ruler of Israel Shall smite the people of Moab, And destroy the sons of Sheth.


text:
Then Balaam looked over at the homes of the people of Amalek and prophesied: "Amalek was the first of the nations, But its destiny is destruction!"


text:
But the Kenites shall be destroyed, And the mighty army of the king of Assyria shall deport you from this land!"


text:
Ships shall come from the coasts of Cyprus, And shall oppress both Eber and Assyria. They too must be destroyed."


text:
While Israel was camped at Acacia, some of the young men began going to wild parties with the local Moabite girls.


text:
These girls also invited them to attend the sacrifices to their gods, and soon the men were not only attending the feasts, but also bowing down and worshiping the idols.


text:
Before long all Israel was joining freely in the worship of Baal, the god of Moab; and the anger of the Lord was hot against his people.


text:
He issued the following command to Moses: "Execute all the tribal leaders of Israel. Hang them up before the Lord in broad daylight, so that his fierce anger will turn away from the people."


text:
But one of the Israeli men insolently brought a Midianite girl into the camp, right before the eyes of Moses and all the people, as they were weeping at the door of the Tabernacle.


text:
When Phinehas (son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron the priest) saw this, he jumped up, grabbed a spear,


text:
and rushed after the man into his tent, where he had taken the girl. He thrust the spear all the way through the man's body and into her stomach. So the plague was stopped,


text:
"Phinehas (son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron the priest) has turned away my anger for he was angry with my anger, and would not tolerate the worship of any God but me. So I have stopped destroying all Israel as I had intended.


text:
Now because of what he has done--because of his zeal for his God, and because he has made atonement for the people of Israel by what he did--I promise that he and his descendants shall be priests forever."


text:
The name of the man who was killed with the Midianite girl was Zimri, son of Salu, a leader of the tribe of Simeon.


text:
for they are destroying you with their wiles. They are causing you to worship Baal, and they are leading you astray, as you have just seen by the death of Cozbi."


text:
"Take a census of all the men of Israel who are twenty years old or older, to find out how many of each tribe and clan are able to go to war."


text:
(The entire nation was camped in the plains of Moab beside the Jordan River, opposite Jericho.) Here are the results of the census:


text:
The tribe of Reuben: 43,730. (Reuben was Israel's oldest son.) In this tribe were the following clans, named after Reuben's sons:


text:
were the families of Nemuel, Abiram, and Dathan. This Dathan and Abiram were the two leaders who conspired with Korah against Moses and Aaron, and in fact challenged the very authority of God!


text:
But the earth opened and swallowed them; and 250 men were destroyed by fire from the Lord that day, as a warning to the entire nation.)


text:
In this tribe were the following clans, founded by Simeon's sons: The Nemuelites, named after their ancestor Nemuel. The Jaminites, named after their ancestor Jamin. The Jachinites, named after their ancestor Jachin.


text:
In this tribe were the following clans founded by the sons of Gad: The Zephonites, named after their ancestor Zephon. The Haggites, named after their ancestor Haggi. The Shunites, named after their ancestor Shuni.


text:
the sons of Judah--but not including Er and Onan who died in the land of Canaan: The Shelanites, named after their ancestor Shelah. The Perezites, named after their ancestor Perez. The Zerahites, named after their ancestor Zerah.


text:
This census also included the subclans of Perez: The Hezronites, named after their ancestor Hezron. The Hamulites, named after their ancestor Hamul.


text:
In this tribe were the following clans named after the sons of Issachar: The Tolaites, named after their ancestor Tola. The Punites, named after their ancestor Puvah.


text:
The Jashubites, named after their ancestor Jashub. The Shimronites, named after their ancestor Shimron.


text:
In this tribe were the following clans named after the sons of Zebulun: The Seredites, named after their ancestor Sered. The Elonites, named after their ancestor Elon. The Jahleelites, named after their ancestor Jahleel.


text:
In the half-tribe of Manasseh was the clan of Machirites, named after their ancestor Machir. The subclan of the Machirites was the Gileadites, named after their ancestor Gilead.


text:
The tribes of the Gileadites: The Jezerites, named after their ancestor Jezer. The Helekites, named after their ancestor Helek.


text:
The Asrielites, named after their ancestor Asriel. The Shechemites, named after their ancestor Shechem.


text:
The Shemidaites, named after their ancestor Shemida. The Hepherites, named after their ancestor Hepher. (Hepher's son,


text:
The 32,500 registered in the half-tribe of Ephraim included the following clans, named after the sons of Ephraim:


text:
The Shuthelahites, named after their ancestor Shuthelah. (A subclan of the Shuthelahites was the Eranites, named after their ancestor Eran, a son of Shuthelah.)


text:
In this tribe were the following clans named after the sons of Benjamin: The Belaites, named after their ancestor Bela. Subclans named after sons of Bela were: The Ardites, named after their ancestor Ard. The Naamites, named after their ancestor Naaman.


text:
The Ashbelites, named after their ancestor Ashbel. The Ahiramites, named after their ancestor Ahiram.


text:
The Shuphamites, named after their ancestor Shephupham. The Huphamites, named after their ancestor Hupham.


text:
In this tribe were the following clans named after the sons of Asher: The Imnites, named after their ancestor Imnah. The Ishvites, named after their ancestor Ishvi.


text:
The Beriites, named after their ancestor Beriah. Subclans named after the sons of Beriah were: The Heberites, named after their ancestor Heber. The Malchielites, named after their ancestor Malchiel.


text:
In this tribe were the following clans, named after the sons of Naphtali: The Jahzeelites, named after their ancestor Jahzeel. The Gunites, named after their ancestor Guni.


text:
The Jezerites, named after their ancestor Jezer. The Shillemites, named after their ancestor Shillem.


text:
Then the Lord told Moses to divide the land among the tribes in proportion to their population, as indicated by the census--


text:
"Let the representatives of the larger tribes have a lottery, drawing for the larger sections," the Lord instructed, "and let the smaller tribes draw for the smaller sections."


text:
These are the clans of the Levites numbered in the census: The Gershonites, named after their ancestor Gershon. The Kohathites, named after their ancestor Kohath. The Merarites, named after their ancestor Merari.


text:
These are the families of the tribe of Levi:  The Libnites, the Hebronites,  The Mahlites, the Mushites,  The Korahites.


text:
While Levi was in Egypt, a daughter, Jochebed, was born to him and she became the wife of Amram, son of Kohath. They were the parents of Aaron, Moses, and Miriam.


text:
The total number of Levites in the census was 23,000, counting all the males a month old and upward. But the Levites were not included in the total census figure of the people of Israel, for the Levites were given no land when it was divided among the tribes.


text:
So these are the census figures as prepared by Moses and Eleazar the priest, in the plains of Moab beside the Jordan River, across from Jericho.


text:
Not one person in this entire census had been counted in the previous census taken in the wilderness of Sinai! For all who had been counted then had died, as the Lord had decreed when he said of them, "They shall die in the wilderness." The only exceptions were Caleb (son of Jephunneh) and Joshua (son of Nun).


text:
One day the daughters of Zelophehad came to the entrance of the Tabernacle to give a petition to Moses, Eleazar the priest, the tribal leaders, and others who were there.


text:
The names of these women were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. They were members of the half-tribe of Manasseh (a son of Joseph). Their ancestor was Machir, son of Manasseh. Manasseh's son Gilead was their great-grandfather, his son Hepher was their grandfather, and his son Zelophehad was their father.


text:
"Our father died in the wilderness," they said, "and he was not one of those who perished in Korah's revolt against the Lord--it was a natural death, but he had no sons.


text:
Why should the name of our father disappear just because he had no son? We feel that we should be given property along with our father's brothers."


text:
"The daughters of Zelophehad are correct. Give them land along with their uncles; give them the property that would have been given to their father if he had lived.


text:
Moreover, this is a general law among you, that if a man dies and has no sons, then his inheritance shall be passed on to his daughters.


text:
One day the Lord said to Moses, "Go up into Mount Abarim and look across the river to the land I have given to the people of Israel.


text:
for you rebelled against my instructions in the wilderness of Zin. When the people of Israel rebelled, you did not glorify me before them by following my instructions to order water to come out of the rock." He was referring to the incident at the waters of Meribah ("Place of Strife") in Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin.


text:
"O Jehovah, the God of the spirits of all mankind,  before I am taken away please appoint a new leader for the people,


text:
a man who will lead them into battle and care for them, so that the people of the Lord will not be as sheep without a shepherd."


text:
and take him to Eleazar the priest, and as all the people watch, charge him with the responsibility of leading the people.


text:
He shall be the one to consult with Eleazar the priest in order to get directions from the Lord. The Lord will speak to Eleazar through the use of the Urim, and Eleazar will pass on these instructions to Joshua and the people. In this way the Lord will continue to give them guidance."


text:
"The offerings which you burn on the altar for me are my food, and are a pleasure to me; so see to it that they are brought regularly and are offered as I have instructed you.


text:
"When you make offerings by fire, you shall use yearling male lambs--each without defect. Two of them shall be offered each day as a regular burnt offering.


text:
With them shall be offered a grain offering of three quarts of finely ground flour mixed with three pints of oil.


text:
This is the burnt offering ordained at Mount Sinai, to be regularly offered as a fragrant odor, an offering made by fire to the Lord.


text:
Along with it shall be the drink offering, consisting of three pints of strong wine with each lamb, poured out in the holy place before the Lord.


text:
Offer the second lamb in the evening with the same grain offering and drink offering. It too is a fragrant odor to the Lord, an offering made by fire.


text:
"On the Sabbath day, sacrifice two yearling male lambs--both without defect--in addition to the regular offerings. They are to be accompanied by a grain offering of six quarts of fine flour mixed with oil, and the usual drink offering.


text:
"Also, on the first day of each month there shall be an extra burnt offering to the Lord of two young bulls, one ram, and seven male yearling lambs--all without defect.


text:
Accompany them with nine quarts of finely ground flour mixed with oil as a grain offering with each bull; and six quarts of finely ground flour mixed with oil as a grain offering for the ram;


text:
and for each lamb, three quarts of finely ground flour mixed with oil for a grain offering. This burnt offering shall be presented by fire and will please the Lord very much.


text:
Along with each sacrifice shall be a drink offering--six pints of wine with each bull, four pints for a ram, and three pints for a lamb. This, then, will be the burnt offering each month throughout the year.


text:
"Also on the first day of each month you shall offer one male goat for a sin offering to the Lord. This is in addition to the regular daily burnt offering and its drink offering.


text:
"On April first you shall celebrate the Passover-- when the death angel passed over the oldest sons of the Israelites in Egypt, leaving them unharmed.


text:
On the following day a great, joyous seven-day festival will begin, but no leavened bread shall be served.


text:
On the first day of the festival all the people shall be called together before the Lord. No hard work shall be done on that day.


text:
You shall offer as burnt sacrifices to the Lord two young bulls, one ram, and seven yearling male lambs--all without defect.


text:
With each bull there shall be a grain offering of nine quarts of fine flour mixed with oil; with the ram there shall be six quarts;


text:
This same sacrifice shall be offered on each of the seven days of the feast; they will be very pleasant to the Lord.


text:
On the seventh day there shall again be a holy and solemn assembly of all the people, and during that day you may do no hard work.


text:
"On the first day of the Harvest Festival all the people must come before the Lord for a special, solemn assembly to celebrate the new harvest. On that day you are to present the first of the new crop of grain as a grain offering to the Lord; there is to be no regular work by anyone on that day.


text:
A special burnt offering, very pleasant to the Lord, shall be offered that day. It shall consist of two young bulls, one ram, and seven yearling male lambs.


text:
These shall be accompanied by your grain offering of nine quarts of fine flour mixed with oil with each bull, six quarts with the ram, and three quarts with each of the seven lambs.


text:
These special offerings are in addition to the regular daily burnt offerings and grain offerings and drink offerings. Make sure that the animals you sacrifice are without defect.


text:
"The Festival of Trumpets shall be celebrated on the fifteenth day of September each year; there shall be a solemn assembly of all the people on that day, and no hard work may be done.


text:
On that day you shall offer a burnt sacrifice consisting of one young bull, one ram, and seven yearling male lambs--all without defect. These are sacrifices which the Lord will appreciate and enjoy.


text:
A grain offering of nine quarts of fine flour mingled with oil shall be offered with the bull, six quarts with the ram, and three quarts with each of the seven lambs.


text:
These special sacrifices are in addition to the regular monthly burnt offering for that day, and also in addition to the regular daily burnt sacrifices, which are to be offered with the respective grain offerings and drink offerings, as specified by the ordinances governing them.


text:
"Ten days later another convocation of all the people shall be held. This will be a day of solemn humility before the Lord, and no work of any kind may be done.


text:
On that day you shall offer a burnt sacrifice to the Lord--it will be very pleasant to him--of one young bull, one ram, seven yearling male lambs--each without defect--


text:
and their accompanying grain offerings. Nine quarts of fine flour mixed with oil are to be offered with the bull, six with the ram, and three with each of the seven lambs.


text:
"You are also to sacrifice one male goat for a sin offering. This is in addition to the sin offering of the Day of Atonement  offered annually on that day, and in addition to the regular daily burnt sacrifices, grain offerings, and drink offerings.


text:
"Five days later there shall be yet another assembly of all the people, and on that day no hard work shall be done; it is the beginning of a seven-day festival before the Lord.


text:
Your special burnt sacrifice that day, which will give much pleasure to the Lord, shall be thirteen young bulls, two rams, and fourteen male yearling lambs--each without defect--


text:
accompanied by the usual grain offerings--nine quarts of fine flour mingled with oil for each of the thirteen young bulls; six quarts for each of the two rams;


text:
There must also be a male goat sacrificed for a sin offering, in addition to the regular daily burnt sacrifice with its accompanying grain offerings and drink offerings.


text:
"On the second day of this seven-day festival you shall sacrifice twelve young bulls, two rams, and fourteen male yearling lambs--each without defect--


text:
Also, in addition to the regular daily burnt sacrifice, you are to sacrifice a male goat with its accompanying grain offering and drink offering for a sin offering.


text:
"On the third day of the festival, offer eleven young bulls, two rams, fourteen male yearling lambs--each without defect--


text:
And in addition to the regular daily burnt sacrifices, sacrifice a male goat for a sin offering, with its accompanying grain offering and drink offering.


text:
"On the fourth day of the festival, you are to sacrifice ten young bulls, two rams, and fourteen male yearling lambs--each without defect--


text:
also a male goat as a sin offering (along with the usual grain and drink offerings) in addition to the regular daily sacrifices.


text:
"On the fifth day of the festival, sacrifice nine young bulls, two rams, and fourteen male yearling lambs--each without defect--


text:
also sacrifice a male goat with the usual grain and drink offerings, as a special sin offering, in addition to the usual daily sacrifices.


text:
"On the sixth day of the festival, you must sacrifice eight young bulls, two rams, and fourteen male yearling lambs--each without defect--


text:
In addition to the usual daily sacrifices, sacrifice a male goat and the usual grain and drink offerings as a sin offering.


text:
"On the seventh day of the festival, sacrifice seven young bulls, two rams, and fourteen male yearling lambs--each without defect--


text:
also sacrifice an extra sin offering of one male goat, with the usual grain and drink offerings, in addition to the regular daily sacrifices.


text:
Sacrifice a burnt offering--they are very pleasant to the Lord--of one young bull, one ram, seven male yearling lambs--each without defect--


text:
Sacrifice also one male goat with the usual grain and drink offerings for a sin offering, in addition to the regular daily sacrifices.


text:
These offerings are compulsory at the times of your annual feasts, and are in addition to sacrifices and offerings you present in connection with vows, or as free-will offerings, burnt sacrifices, grain offerings, drink offerings, or peace offerings."


text:
that when anyone makes a promise to the Lord, either to do something or to quit doing something, that vow must not be broken: the person making the vow must do exactly as he has promised.


text:
"If a woman promises the Lord to do or not do something, and she is still a girl at home in her father's home,


text:
and her father hears that she has made a vow with penalties, but says nothing, then her vow shall stand.


text:
But if her father refuses to let her make the vow, or feels that the penalties she has agreed to are too harsh, then her promise will automatically become invalid. Her father must state his disagreement on the first day he hears about it; and then Jehovah will forgive her because her father would not let her do it.


text:
But if her husband refuses to accept her vow or foolish pledge, his disagreement makes it void, and Jehovah will forgive her.


text:
but if he refuses to allow it on the first day he hears of it, her vow is void and Jehovah will forgive her.


text:
If he waits more than a day and then refuses to permit the vow, whatever penalties to which she agreed shall come upon him--he shall be responsible."


text:
These, then, are the commandments the Lord gave Moses concerning relationships between a man and his wife and between a father and his daughter who is living at home.


text:
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Take vengeance on the Midianites for leading you into idolatry, and then you must die."


text:
Conscript 1,000 men from each tribe." So this was done; and out of the many thousands of Israel, 12,000 armed men were sent to battle by Moses.


text:
Phinehas (son of Eleazar the priest) led them into battle, accompanied by the Ark, with trumpets blaring.


text:
Among those killed were all five of the Midianite kings--Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba. Balaam, the son of Beor, was also killed.


text:
Then the Israeli army took as captives all the women and children, and seized the cattle and flocks and a lot of miscellaneous booty.


text:
The captives and other war loot were brought to Moses and Eleazar the priest, and to the rest of the people of Israel who were camped on the plains of Moab beside the Jordan River, across from Jericho.


text:
Moses and Eleazar the priest and all the leaders of the people went out to meet the victorious army,


text:
"These are the very ones who followed Balaam's advice and caused the people of Israel to worship idols on Mount Peor, and they are the cause of the plague that destroyed us.


text:
Now stay outside of the camp for seven days, all of you who have killed anyone or touched a dead body. Then purify yourselves and your captives on the third and seventh days.


text:
Then Eleazar the priest said to the men who were in the battle, "This is the commandment Jehovah has given Moses:


text:
shall be passed through fire in order to be made ceremonially pure; it must then be further purified with the purification water. But anything that won't stand heat shall be purified by the water alone.'


text:
On the seventh day you must wash your clothes and be purified, and then you may come back into the camp."


text:
"You and Eleazar the priest and the leaders of the tribes are to make a list of all the loot, including the people and animals;


text:
then divide it into two parts. Half of it is for the men who were in the battle, and the other half is to be given to the people of Israel.


text:
But first, the Lord gets a share of all the captives, oxen, donkeys, and flocks kept by the army. His share is one out of every five hundred.


text:
Give this share to Eleazar the priest to be presented to the Lord by the gesture of waving before the altar.


text:
Also levy a 2 percent tribute of all the captives, flocks, and cattle that are given to the people of Israel. Present this to the Levites in charge of the Tabernacle, for it is the Lord's portion."


text:
The total booty (besides the jewelry, clothing, etc., which the soldiers kept for themselves) was 675,000 sheep;


text:
Then the officers and battalion leaders came to Moses and said, "We have accounted for all the men who went out to battle, and not one of us is missing!


text:
So we have brought a special thank-offering to the Lord from our loot--gold jewelry, bracelets, anklets, rings, earrings, and necklaces. This is to make atonement for our souls before the Lord."


text:
Moses and Eleazar the priest received this special offering from the captains and battalion leaders and company commanders, and found its total value to be more than $300,000.


text:
The offering was taken into the Tabernacle and kept there before the Lord as a memorial of the people of Israel.


text:
When Israel arrived in the land of Jazar and Gilead, the tribes of Reuben and Gad (who had large flocks of sheep) noticed what wonderful sheep country it was.


text:
"The Lord has used Israel to destroy the population of this whole countryside--Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon.


text:
Please let us have this land as our portion instead of the land on the other side of the Jordan River."


text:
"You mean you want to sit here while your brothers go across and do all the fighting?" Moses demanded.


text:
"Are you trying to discourage the rest of the people from going across to the land that the Lord has given them?


text:
This is the same kind of thing your fathers did! I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land,


text:
but when they finished their survey and returned from the valley of Eshcol, they discouraged the people from going on into the Promised Land.


text:
that of all those he had rescued from Egypt, no one over twenty years of age would ever see the land he promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, for they had refused to do what he wanted them to.


text:
"The only exceptions were Caleb (son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite) and Joshua (son of Nun)--for they wholeheartedly followed the Lord and urged the people to go on into the Promised Land.


text:
"The Lord made us wander back and forth in the wilderness for forty years until all that evil generation died.


text:
But here you are, a brood of sinners doing exactly the same thing! Only there are more of you, so Jehovah's anger against Israel will be even fiercer this time.


text:
If you turn away from God like this, he will make the people stay even longer in the wilderness, and you will be responsible for destroying his people and bringing disaster to this entire nation!"


text:
"Not at all!" they explained. "We will build sheepfolds for our flocks and cities for our little ones,


text:
but we ourselves will go over armed, ahead of the rest of the people of Israel, until we have brought them safely to their inheritance. But first we will need to build walled cities here for our families, to keep them safe from attack by the local inhabitants.


text:
We don't want land on the other side of the Jordan; we would rather have it on this side, on the east."


text:
Then Moses said, "All right, if you will do what you have said and arm yourselves for Jehovah's war,


text:
then, when the land is finally subdued before the Lord, you may return. Then you will have discharged your duty to the Lord and to the rest of the people of Israel. And the land on the eastern side shall be your possession from the Lord.


text:
But if you don't do as you have said, then you will have sinned against the Lord, and you may be sure that your sin will catch up with you.


text:
Go ahead and build cities for your families and sheepfolds for your sheep, and do all you have said."


text:
"If all the men of the tribes of Gad and Reuben who are conscripted for the Lord's battles go with you over Jordan, then, when the land is conquered, you must give them the land of Gilead;


text:
we will follow the Lord fully armed into Canaan, but our own land shall be here on this side of the Jordan."


text:
So Moses assigned the territory of King Sihon of the Amorites, and of King Og of Bashan--all the land and cities--to the tribes of Gad, Reuben, and the half-tribe of Manasseh (son of Joseph).


text:
Nebo,  Baal-meon, Sibmah. (The Israelites later changed the names of some of these cities they had conquered and rebuilt.)


text:
Then the clan of Machir of the tribe of Manasseh went to Gilead and conquered it, and drove out the Amorites who were living there.


text:
The men of Jair, another clan of the tribe of Manasseh, occupied many of the towns in Gilead, and changed the name of their area to Havroth-jair.


text:
Meanwhile, a man named Nobah led an army to Kenath and its surrounding villages, and occupied them, and he called the area Nobah, after his own name.


text:
They left the city of Rameses, Egypt, on the first day of April, the day after the night of the Passover. They left proudly, hurried along by the Egyptians


text:
who were burying all their eldest sons, killed by the Lord the night before. The Lord had certainly defeated all the gods of Egypt that night!


text:
From there they went through the middle of the Red Sea and on for three days into the Etham wilderness, camping at Marah.


text:
Leaving Marah, they came to Elim, where there are twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees; they stayed there for quite a long time.


text:
While they were at the foot of Mount Hor, Aaron the priest was directed by the Lord to go up into the mountain, and there he died. This occurred during the fortieth year after the people of Israel had left Egypt.


text:
It was then that the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negeb, in the land of Canaan, heard that the people of Israel were approaching his land.


text:
While in that area they camped at various places along the Jordan River, from Bethjeshimoth as far as Abel-shittim, on the plains of Moab.


text:
It was while they were camped there that the Lord told Moses to tell the people of Israel, "When you pass across the Jordan River into the land of Canaan,


text:
you must drive out all the people living there and destroy all their idols--their carved stones, molten images, and the open-air sanctuaries in the hills where they worship their idols.


text:
You will be given land in proportion to the size of your tribes. The larger sections of land will be divided by lot among the larger tribes, and the smaller sections will be allotted to the smaller tribes.


text:
But if you refuse to drive out the people living there, those who remain will be as cinders in your eyes and thorns in your sides.


text:
The Lord told Moses to tell the people of Israel, "When you come into the land of Canaan (I am giving you the entire land as your homeland),


text:
the southern portion of the country will be the wilderness of Zin, along the edge of Edom. The southern boundary will begin at the Dead Sea,


text:
and will continue south past Scorpion Pass in the direction of Zin. Its southernmost point will be Kadesh-barnea, from which it will go to Hazaraddar, and on to Azmon.


text:
"Your northern border will begin at the Mediterranean Sea and will proceed eastward to Mount Hor, then to Lebo-Hamath, and on through Zedad and Ziphron to Hazar-enan.


text:
then on to Riblah at the east side of Ain. From there it will make a large half-circle, first going south and then westward until it touches the southernmost tip of the Sea of Galilee,


text:
"This is the territory you are to apportion among yourselves by lot," Moses said. "It is to be divided up among the nine and one-half tribes,


text:
for the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have already been assigned land on the east side of the Jordan, opposite Jericho."


text:
"These are the names of the men I have appointed to handle the dividing up of the land: Eleazar the priest, Joshua (son of Nun),


text:
These are the names of the men I have appointed to oversee the dividing of the land among the tribes."


text:
While Israel was camped beside the Jordan on the plains of Moab, opposite Jericho, the Lord said to Moses,


text:
"Instruct the people of Israel to give to the Levites as their inheritance certain cities and surrounding pasture lands.


text:
These cities are for their homes, and the surrounding lands for their cattle, flocks, and other livestock.


text:
Their gardens and vineyards shall extend,500 feet out from the city walls in each direction, with an additional,500 feet beyond that for pastureland.


text:
"You shall give the Levites the six Cities of Refuge, where a person who has accidentally killed someone can run and be safe, and forty-two other cities besides.


text:
These cities shall be in various parts of the nation; the larger tribes with many cities will give several to the Levites, while the smaller tribes will give fewer."


text:
These cities will be places of protection from the dead man's relatives who want to avenge his death; for the slayer must not be killed unless a fair trial establishes his guilt.


text:
Three of these six Cities of Refuge are to be located in the land of Canaan, and three on the east side of the Jordan River.


text:
"But if someone is struck and killed by a piece of iron, it must be presumed to be murder, and the murderer must be executed.


text:
or angrily striking him with his fist so that he dies, he is a murderer; and the murderer shall be executed by the avenger.


text:
or in which a stone is thrown without anger, without realizing it will hit anyone, and without wanting to harm an enemy--yet the man dies,


text:
then the people shall judge whether or not it was an accident, and whether or not to hand the killer over to the avenger of the dead man.


text:
If it is decided that it was accidental, then the people shall save the killer from the avenger; the killer shall be permitted to stay in the City of Refuge; and he must live there until the death of the High Priest.


text:
for the man should have stayed inside the city until the death of the High Priest. But after the death of the High Priest, the man may return to his own land and home.


text:
"All murderers must be executed, but only if there is more than one witness; no man shall die with only one person testifying against him.


text:
Nor may a payment be accepted from a refugee in a City of Refuge, permitting him to return to his home before the death of the High Priest.


text:
In this way the land will not be polluted, for murder pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for murder except by the execution of the murderer.


text:
Then the heads of the subclan of Gilead (of the clan of Machir, of the tribe of Manasseh, one of the sons of Joseph) came to Moses and the leaders of Israel with a petition:


text:
"The Lord instructed you to divide the land by lot among the people of Israel," they reminded Moses, "and to give the inheritance of our brother Zelophehad to his daughters.


text:
But if they marry into another tribe, their land will go with them to the tribe into which they marry. In this way the total area of our tribe will be reduced


text:
Then Moses replied publicly, giving them these instructions from the Lord: "The men of the tribe of Joseph have a proper complaint.


text:
This is what the Lord has further commanded concerning the daughters of Zelophehad: 'Let them be married to anyone they like, so long as it is within their own tribe.


text:
In this way none of the land of the tribe will shift to any other tribe, for the inheritance of every tribe is to remain permanently as it was first allotted.


text:
The girls throughout the tribes of Israel who are heiresses must marry within their own tribe, so that their land won't leave the tribe.


text:
These girls, Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah, were married to men in their own tribe of Manasseh (son of Joseph); so their inheritance remained in their tribe.


text:
These are the commandments and ordinances that the Lord gave to the people of Israel through Moses, while they were camped on the plains of Moab beside the Jordan River, across from Jericho.


text:
This book records Moses' address to the people of Israel when they were camped in the valley of the Arabah in the wilderness of Moab, east of the Jordan River. (Cities in the area included Suph, Paran, Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab.)


text:
though it takes only eleven days to travel by foot from Mount Horeb to Kadesh-barnea, going by way of Mount Seir!


text:
At the time of this address, King Sihon of the Amorites had already been defeated at Heshbon, and King Og of Bashan had been defeated at Ashtaroth, near Edre-i.


text:
Here, then, is Moses' address to Israel, stating all the laws God had commanded him to pass on to them:


text:
"It was forty years ago, at Mount Horeb, that Jehovah our God told us, 'You have stayed here long enough.


text:
Now go and occupy the hill country of the Amorites, the valley of the Arabah, and the Negeb, and all the land of Canaan and Lebanon--the entire area from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea to the Euphrates River.


text:
I am giving all of it to you! Go in and possess it, for it is the land the Lord promised to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all of their descendants.'


text:
"At that time I told the people, 'I need help! You are a great burden for me to carry all by myself,


text:
So choose some men from each tribe who are wise, experienced, and understanding, and I will appoint them as your leaders.'


text:
I took the men they selected, some from every tribe, and appointed them as administrative assistants in charge of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens to decide their quarrels and assist them in every way.


text:
'When giving your decisions,' I told them, 'never favor a man because he is rich; be fair to great and small alike. Don't fear their displeasure, for you are judging in the place of God. Bring me any cases too difficult for you, and I will handle them.'


text:
"Then we left Mount Horeb and traveled through the great and terrible desert, finally arriving among the Amorite hills to which the Lord our God had directed us. We were then at Kadesh-barnea  on the border of the Promised Land


text:
"But they replied, 'First let's send out spies to discover the best route of entry, and to decide which cities we should capture first.'


text:
and returned with samples of the local fruit. One look was enough to convince us that it was indeed a good land the Lord our God had given us.


text:
"They murmured and complained in their tents and said, 'The Lord must hate us, bringing us here from Egypt to be slaughtered by these Amorites.


text:
What are we getting into? Our brothers who spied out the land have frightened us with their report. They say that the people of the land are tall and powerful, and that the walls of their cities rise high into the sky! They have even seen giants there--the descendants of the Anakim!'


text:
The Lord God is your leader, and he will fight for you with his mighty miracles, just as you saw him do in Egypt.


text:
And you know how he has cared for you again and again here in the wilderness, just as a father cares for his child!'


text:
who had led them all the way, and had selected the best places for them to camp, and had guided them by a pillar of fire at night and a pillar of cloud during the day.


text:
"Well, the Lord heard their complaining and was very angry. He vowed that not one person in that entire generation would live to see the good land he had promised their fathers,


text:
except Caleb (the son of Jephunneh), who, because he had wholly followed the Lord, would receive as his personal inheritance some of the land he had walked over.


text:
"And the Lord was even angry with me because of them and said to me, 'You shall not enter the Promised Land!


text:
Instead, your assistant, Joshua (the son of Nun), shall lead the people. Encourage him as he prepares to take over the leadership.


text:
But as for you of the older generation, turn around now and go on back across the desert toward the Red Sea.'


text:
"Then they confessed, 'We have sinned! We will go into the land and fight for it as the Lord our God has told us to.' So they strapped on their weapons and thought it would be easy to conquer the whole area.


text:
"But the Lord said to me, 'Tell them not to do it, for I will not go with them; they will be struck down before their enemies.'


text:
"I told them, but they wouldn't listen. Instead, they rebelled again against the Lord's commandment and went on up into the hill country to fight.


text:
But the Amorites who lived there came out against them and chased them like bees and killed them from Seir to Hormah.


text:
"Then we turned back across the wilderness toward the Red Sea, for so the Lord had instructed me. For many years we wandered around in the area of Mount Seir.


text:
Inform the people that they will be passing through the country belonging to their brothers the Edomites, the descendants of Esau who live in Seir; the Edomites will be nervous, so be careful.


text:
Don't start a fight! For I have given them all the Mount Seir hill country as their permanent possession, and I will not give you even a tiny piece of their land.


text:
The Lord your God has watched over you and blessed you every step of the way for all these forty years as you have wandered around in this great wilderness; and you have lacked nothing in all that time.'


text:
"So we passed through Edom where our brothers lived, crossing the Arabah Road that goes south to Elath and Ezion-geber, and traveling northward toward the Moab desert.


text:
"Then the Lord warned us, 'Don't attack the Moabites either, for I will not give you any of their land; I have given it to the descendants of Lot.'


text:
In earlier days the Horites lived in Seir, but they were driven out and displaced by the Edomites, the descendants of Esau, just as Israel would displace the peoples of Canaan, whose land had been assigned to Israel by the Lord.)


text:
"So it took us thirty-eight years to finally get across Zered Brook from Kadesh! For the Lord had decreed that this could not happen until all the men, who thirty-eight years earlier were old enough to bear arms, had died.


text:
into the land of the Ammonites. But do not attack them, for I will not give you any of their land. I have given it to the descendants of Lot.'


text:
They were a large and powerful tribe, as tall as the Anakim; but Jehovah destroyed them as the Ammonites came in, and the Ammonites lived there in their place.


text:
The Lord had similarly helped the descendants of Esau at Mount Seir, for he destroyed the Horites who were living there before them.


text:
Another similar situation occurred when the people of Caphtor invaded and destroyed the tribe of Avvim living in villages scattered across the countryside as far away as Gaza.)


text:
"Then the Lord said, 'Cross the Arnon River into the land of King Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon. War against him and begin to take possession of his land.


text:
Beginning today I will make people throughout the whole earth tremble with fear because of you, and dread your arrival.'


text:
"Then from the wilderness of Kedemoth I sent ambassadors to King Sihon of Heshbon with a proposal of peace.


text:
'Let us pass through your land,' we said. 'We will stay on the main road and won't turn off into the fields on either side.


text:
We will not steal food as we go, but will purchase every bite we eat and everything we drink; all we want is permission to pass through.


text:
The Edomites at Seir allowed us to go through their country, and so did the Moabites, whose capital is at Ar. We are on our way across the Jordan into the land the Lord our God has given us.'


text:
"But King Sihon refused because Jehovah your God made him obstinate, so that he could destroy Sihon by the hands of Israel, as has now been done.


text:
"Then the Lord said to me, 'I have begun to give you the land of King Sihon; when you possess it, it shall belong to Israel forever.'


text:
But the Lord our God crushed him, and we conquered all his cities and utterly destroyed everything, including the women and babies. We left nothing alive


text:
except the cattle, which we took as our reward, along with the booty gained from ransacking the cities we had taken. We conquered everything


text:
from Aroer to Gilead--from the edge of the Arnon River valley, and including all the cities in the valley. Not one city was too strong for us, for the Lord our God gave all of them to us.


text:
However, we stayed away from the people of Ammon and from the Jabbok River and the hill country cities, the places Jehovah our God had forbidden us to enter.


text:
"Next we turned toward King Og's land of Bashan. He immediately mobilized his army and attacked us at Edre-i.


text:
But the Lord told me not to be afraid of him. 'All his people and his land are yours,' the Lord told me. 'You will do to him as you did to King Sihon of the Amorites at Heshbon.'


text:
These were well-fortified cities with high walls and barred gates. Of course we also took all of the unwalled towns.


text:
We utterly destroyed the kingdom of Bashan just as we had destroyed King Sihon's kingdom at Heshbon, killing the entire population--men, women, and children alike.


text:
"We now possessed all the land of the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan River--all the land from the valley of the Arnon to Mount Hermon.


text:
We had now conquered all the cities on the plateau, and all of Gilead and Bashan as far as the cities of Salecah and Edre-i.


text:
"Incidentally, King Og of Bashan was the last of the giant Rephaim. His iron bedstead is kept in a museum at Rabbah, one of the cities of the Ammonites, and measures thirteen and a half feet long by six feet wide.


text:
"At that time I gave the conquered land to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. To the tribes of Reuben and Gad I gave the area beginning at Aroer on the Arnon River, plus half of Mount Gilead, including its cities.


text:
The half-tribe of Manasseh received the remainder of Gilead and all of the former kingdom of King Og, the Argob region. (Bashan is sometimes called 'The Land of the Rephaim.')


text:
The clan of Jair, of the tribe of Manasseh, took over the whole Argob region (Bashan) to the borders of the Geshurites and Maacathites. They renamed their country after themselves, calling it Havvoth-jair (meaning 'Jair's Villages') as it is still known today.


text:
The tribes of Reuben and Gad received the area extending from the Jabbok River in Gilead (which was the Ammonite frontier) to the middle of the valley of the Arnon River.


text:
They also received the Arabah (or wasteland), bounded by the Jordan River on the west, from Chinnereth to Mount Pisgah and the Dead Sea (also called the Sea of the Arabah).


text:
"At that time I reminded the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh that, although the Lord had given them the land, they could not begin settling down until their armed men led the other tribes across the Jordan to the land the Lord was giving them.


text:
'But your wives and children,' I told them, 'may live here in the cities the Lord has given you, caring for your many cattle


text:
until you return after the Lord has given victory to the other tribes too. When they conquer the land the Lord your God has given them across the Jordan River, then you may return here to your own land.'


text:
"Then I said to Joshua, 'You have seen what the Lord your God has done to those two kings. You will do the same to all the kingdoms on the other side of the Jordan.


text:
'O Lord God, please let me cross over into the Promised Land--the good land beyond the Jordan River with its rolling hills--and Lebanon.


text:
I want to see the result of all the greatness and power you have been showing us; for what God in all of heaven or earth can do what you have done for us?'


text:
"But the Lord was angry with me because of you and would not let me cross over. 'Speak of it no more,' he ordered,


text:
'but go to the top of Mount Pisgah where you can look out in every direction, and there you will see the land in the distance. But you shall not cross the Jordan River.


text:
Commission Joshua to replace you, and then encourage him, for he shall lead the people across to conquer the land you will see from the mountaintop.'


text:
"And now, O Israel, listen carefully to these laws I teach you, and obey them if you want to live and enter into and possess the land given you by the Lord God of your ancestors.


text:
You have seen what the Lord did to you at Baalpeor, where he destroyed many people for worshiping idols.


text:
"These are the laws for you to obey when you arrive in the land where you will live. They are from the Lord our God. He has given them to me to pass on to you.


text:
If you obey them, they will give you a reputation for wisdom and intelligence. When the surrounding nations hear these laws, they will exclaim, 'What other nation is as wise and prudent as Israel!'


text:
For what other nation, great or small, has God among them, as the Lord our God is here among us whenever we call upon him?


text:
"But watch out! Be very careful never to forget what you have seen God doing for you. May his miracles have a deep and permanent effect upon your lives! Tell your children and your grandchildren about the glorious miracles he did.


text:
Tell them especially about the day you stood before the Lord at Mount Horeb, and he told me, 'Summon the people before me and I will instruct them, so that they will learn always to reverence me, and so that they can teach my laws to their children.'


text:
You stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire; flames shot far into the sky, surrounded by black clouds and deep darkness.


text:
Yes, it was at that time that the Lord commanded me to issue the laws you must obey when you arrive in the Promised Land.


text:
"But beware! You didn't see the form of God that day as he spoke to you from the fire at Mount Horeb,


text:
so do not defile yourselves by trying to make a statue of God--an idol in any form, whether of a man, woman, animal, bird,


text:
And do not look up into the sky to worship the sun, moon, or stars. The Lord may permit other nations to get away with this, but not you.


text:
The Lord has rescued you from prison--Egypt--to be his special people, his own inheritance; this is what you are today.


text:
But he was angry with me because of you; he vowed that I could not go over the Jordan River into the good land he has given you as your inheritance.


text:
Beware lest you break the contract the Lord your God has made with you! You will break it if you make any idols, for the Lord your God has utterly forbidden this.


text:
"In the future, when your children and grandchildren are born and you have been in the land a long time, and you have defiled yourselves by making idols, and the Lord your God is very angry because of your sin,


text:
heaven and earth are witnesses that you shall be quickly destroyed from the land. Soon now you will cross the Jordan River and conquer that land. But your days there will be brief; you will then be utterly destroyed.


text:
There, far away, you will worship idols made from wood and stone, idols that neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell.


text:
"But you will also begin to search again for Jehovah your God, and you will find him when you search for him with all your heart and soul.


text:
When those bitter days have come upon you in the latter times, you will finally return to the Lord your God and listen to what he tells you.


text:
For the Lord your God is merciful--he will not abandon you nor destroy you nor forget the promises he has made to your ancestors.


text:
"In all history, going back to the time when God created man upon the earth, search from one end of the heavens to the other to see if you can find anything like this:


text:
Where else will you ever find another example of God's removing a nation from its slavery by sending terrible plagues, mighty miracles, war, and terror? Yet that is what the Lord your God did for you in Egypt, right before your very eyes.


text:
He did these things so you would realize that Jehovah is God, and that there is no one else like him.


text:
He let you hear his voice instructing you from heaven, and he let you see his great pillar of fire upon the earth; you even heard his words from the center of the fire.


text:
"It was because he loved your ancestors and chose to bless their descendants that he personally brought you out from Egypt with a great display of power.


text:
He drove away other nations greater by far than you and gave you their land as an inheritance, as it is today.


text:
This is your wonderful thought for the day: Jehovah is God both in heaven and down here upon the earth; and there is no God other than him!


text:
You must obey these laws that I will tell you today, so that all will be well with you and your children, and so that you will live forever in the land the Lord your God is giving you."


text:
These cities were Bezer, on the plateau in the wilderness, for the tribe of Reuben; Ramoth, in Gilead, for the tribe of Gad; and Golan, in Bashan, for the tribe of Manasseh.


text:
and as they were camped east of the Jordan River near the city of Beth-peor. (This was the land formerly occupied by the Amorites under King Sihon, whose capital was Heshbon; he and his people were destroyed by Moses and the Israelis.


text:
Israel conquered his land and that of King Og of Bashan--they were two Amorite kings east of the Jordan.


text:
Israel also conquered all the area from Aroer at the edge of the Arnon River valley to Mount Sirion, or Mount Hermon, as it is sometimes called;


text:
and all the Arabah east of the Jordan River over to the Dead Sea, below the slopes of Mount Pisgah.)


text:
Moses continued speaking to the people of Israel and said, "Listen carefully now to all these laws God has given you; learn them, and be sure to obey them!


text:
"The Lord our God made a contract with you at Mount Horeb--not with your ancestors, but with you who are here alive today.


text:
I stood as an intermediary between you and Jehovah, for you were afraid of the fire and did not go up to him on the mountain. He spoke to me and I passed on his laws to you. This is what he said:


text:
You shall not bow down to any images nor worship them in any way, for I am the Lord your God. I am a jealous God, and I will bring the curse of a father's sins upon even the third and fourth generation of the children of those who hate me;


text:
but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God; no work shall be done that day by you or by any of your household--your sons, daughters, servants, oxen, donkeys, or cattle; even foreigners living among you must obey this law. Everybody must rest as you do.


text:
Why should you keep the Sabbath? It is because you were slaves in Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out with a great display of miracles.


text:
'Honor your father and mother (remember, this is a commandment of the Lord your God); if you do so, you shall have a long, prosperous life in the land he is giving you.


text:
'You must not burn with desire for another man's wife, nor envy him for his home, land, servants, oxen, donkeys, nor anything else he owns.'


text:
"The Lord has given these laws to each one of you from the heart of the fire, surrounded by the clouds and thick darkness that engulfed Mount Sinai. Those were the only commandments he gave you at that time, and he wrote them out on two stone tablets and gave them to me.


text:
But when you heard the loud voice from the darkness and saw the terrible fire at the top of the mountain, all your tribal leaders came to me


text:
and pleaded, 'Today the Lord our God has shown us his glory and greatness; we have even heard his voice from the heart of the fire. Now we know that a man may speak to God and not die;


text:
What man can hear, as we have, the voice of the living God speaking from the heart of the fire, and live?


text:
"And the Lord agreed to your request and said to me, 'I have heard what the people have said to you, and I agree.


text:
Oh, that they would always have such a heart for me, wanting to obey my commandments. Then all would go well with them in the future, and with their children throughout all generations!


text:
Then you come back and stand here beside me, and I will give you all my commandments, and you shall teach them to the people; and they will obey them in the land I am giving to them.' "


text:
So Moses told the people, "You must obey all the commandments of the Lord your God, following his directions in every detail, going the whole way he has laid out for you;


text:
"The Lord your God told me to give you all these commandments which you are to obey in the land you will soon be entering, where you will live.


text:
The purpose of these laws is to cause you, your sons, and your grandsons to reverence the Lord your God by obeying all of his instructions as long as you live; if you do, you will have long, prosperous years ahead of you.


text:
Therefore, O Israel, listen closely to each command and be careful to obey it, so that all will go well with you, and so that you will have many children. If you obey these commands, you will become a great nation in a glorious land 'flowing with milk and honey,' even as the God of your fathers promised you.


text:
You must teach them to your children and talk about them when you are at home or out for a walk; at bedtime and the first thing in the morning.


text:
"When the Lord your God has brought you into the land he promised your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and when he has given you great cities full of good things-–


text:
cities you didn't build, wells you didn't dig, and vineyards and olive trees you didn't plant--and when you have eaten until you can hold no more,


text:
When you are full, don't forget to be reverent to him and to serve him and to use his name alone to endorse your promises.


text:
for Jehovah your God who lives among you is a jealous God, and his anger may rise quickly against you, and wipe you off the face of the earth.


text:
Only then will you be doing what is right and good in the Lord's eyes. If you obey him, all will go well for you, and you will be able to go in and possess the good land that the Lord promised your ancestors.


text:
You will also be able to throw out all the enemies living in your land, as the Lord agreed to help you do.


text:
"In the years to come when your son asks you, 'What is the purpose of these laws which the Lord our God has given us?'


text:
you must tell him, 'We were Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt, and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with great power


text:
and mighty miracles--with terrible blows against Egypt and Pharaoh and all his people. We saw it all with our own eyes.


text:
And he has commanded us to obey all of these laws and to reverence him so that he can preserve us alive as he has until now.


text:
"When the Lord brings you into the Promised Land, as he soon will, he will destroy the following seven nations, all greater and mightier than you are: The Hittites, the Girgashites, The Amorites, the Canaanites, The Perizzites, the Hivites, The Jebusites.


text:
"When the Lord your God delivers them over to you to be destroyed, do a complete job of it--don't make any treaties or show them mercy; utterly wipe them out.


text:
That would surely result in your young people's beginning to worship their gods. Then the anger of the Lord would be hot against you, and he would surely destroy you.


text:
"You must break down the heathen altars and shatter the obelisks and cut up the shameful images and burn the idols.


text:
"For you are a holy people, dedicated to the Lord your God. He has chosen you from all the people on the face of the whole earth to be his own chosen ones.


text:
He didn't choose you and pour out his love upon you because you were a larger nation than any other, for you were the smallest of all!


text:
It was just because he loves you, and because he kept his promise to your ancestors. That is why he brought you out of slavery in Egypt with such amazing power and mighty miracles.


text:
"Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is the faithful God who for a thousand generations keeps his promises and constantly loves those who love him and who obey his commands.


text:
Because of your obedience, the Lord your God will keep his part of the contract which, in his tender love, he made with your fathers.


text:
And he will love you and bless you and make you into a great nation. He will make you fertile and give fertility to your ground and to your animals, so that you will have large crops of grain, grapes, and olives, and great flocks of cattle, sheep, and goats when you arrive in the land he promised your fathers to give you.


text:
You will be blessed above all the nations of the earth; not one of you, whether male or female, shall be barren, not even your cattle.


text:
And the Lord will take away all your sickness and will not let you suffer any of the diseases of Egypt you remember so well; he will give them all to your enemies!


text:
"You must destroy all the nations the Lord your God delivers into your hands. Have no pity, and do not worship their gods; if you do, it will be a sad day for you.


text:
Perhaps you will think to yourself, 'How can we ever conquer these nations that are so much more powerful than we are?'


text:
But don't be afraid of them! Just remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all the land of Egypt.


text:
Do you remember the terrors the Lord sent upon them--your parents saw it with their own eyes--and the mighty miracles and wonders, and the power and strength of Almighty God that he used to bring you out of Egypt? Well, the Lord your God will use this same might against the people you fear.


text:
"No, do not be afraid of those nations, for the Lord your God is among you, and he is a great and awesome God.


text:
He will cast them out a little at a time; he will not do it all at once, for if he did, the wild animals would multiply too quickly and become dangerous.


text:
He will deliver their kings into your hands, and you will erase their names from the face of the earth. No one will be able to stand against you.


text:
"Burn their idols and do not touch the silver or gold they are made of. Do not take it or it will be a snare to you, for it is horrible to the Lord your God.


text:
Do not bring an idol into your home and worship it, for then your doom is sealed. Utterly detest it, for it is a cursed thing.


text:
"You must obey all the commandments I give you today. If you do, you will not only live, you will multiply and will go in and take over the land promised to your fathers by the Lord.


text:
Do you remember how the Lord led you through the wilderness for all those forty years, humbling you and testing you to find out how you would respond, and whether or not you would really obey him?


text:
Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to both you and your ancestors. He did it to help you realize that food isn't everything, and that real life comes by obeying every command of God.


text:
For all these forty years your clothes haven't grown old, and your feet haven't been blistered or swollen.


text:
For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land of brooks, pools, gushing springs, valleys, and hills;


text:
it is a land where food is plentiful, and nothing is lacking; it is a land where iron is as common as stone, and copper is abundant in the hills.


text:
"But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you don't forget the Lord your God and begin to disobey him.


text:
For when you have become full and prosperous and have built fine homes to live in, and when your flocks and herds have become very large, and your silver and gold have multiplied,


text:
that is the time to watch out that you don't become proud and forget the Lord your God who brought you out of your slavery in the land of Egypt.


text:
Beware that you don't forget the God who led you through the great and terrible wilderness with the dangerous snakes and scorpions, where it was so hot and dry. He gave you water from the rock!


text:
He fed you with manna in the wilderness (it was a kind of bread unknown before) so that you would become humble and so that your trust in him would grow, and he could do you good.


text:
Always remember that it is the Lord your God who gives you power to become rich, and he does it to fulfill his promise to your ancestors.


text:
"But if you forget about the Lord your God and worship other gods instead, and follow evil ways, you shall certainly perish,


text:
just as the Lord has caused other nations in the past to perish. That will be your fate, too, if you don't obey the Lord your God.


text:
"O Israel, listen! Today you are to cross the Jordan River and begin to dispossess the nations on the other side. Those nations are much greater and more powerful than you are!


text:
But the Lord your God will go before you as a devouring fire to destroy them, so that you will quickly conquer them and drive them out.


text:
"Then, when the Lord has done this for you, don't say to yourselves, 'The Lord has helped us because we are so good!' No, it is because of the wickedness of the other nations that he is doing it.


text:
It is not at all because you are such fine, upright people that the Lord will drive them out from before you! I say it again, it is only because of the wickedness of the other nations, and because of his promises to your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that he will do it.


text:
I say it yet again: Jehovah your God is not giving you this good land because you are good, for you are not--you are a wicked, stubborn people.


text:
"Don't you remember (oh, never forget it!) how continually angry you made the Lord your God out in the wilderness, from the day you left Egypt until now? For all this time you have constantly rebelled against him.


text:
I was on the mountain at the time, receiving the contract which Jehovah had made with you--the stone tablets with the laws inscribed upon them. I was there for forty days and forty nights, and all that time I ate nothing. I didn't even take a drink of water.


text:
At the end of those forty days and nights the Lord gave me the contract, the tablets on which he had written the commandments he had spoken from the fire-covered mountain while the people had watched below.


text:
He told me to go down quickly because the people I had led out of Egypt had defiled themselves, quickly turning away from the laws of God, and had made an idol from molten metal.


text:
'Let me alone that I may destroy this evil, stubborn people!' the Lord told me, 'and I will blot out their name from under heaven, and I will make a mighty nation of you, mightier and greater than they are.'


text:
"I came down from the burning mountain, holding in my hands the two tablets inscribed with the laws of God.


text:
There below me I could see the calf you had made in your terrible sin against the Lord your God. How quickly you turned away from him!


text:
I lifted the tablets high above my head and dashed them to the ground! I smashed them before your eyes!


text:
Then, for another forty days and nights I lay before the Lord, neither eating bread nor drinking water, for you had done what the Lord hated most, thus provoking him to great anger.


text:
Aaron was in great danger because the Lord was so angry with him; but I prayed, and the Lord spared him.


text:
I took your sin--the calf you had made--and burned it and ground it into fine dust, and threw it into the stream that cascaded out of the mountain.


text:
"Again at Taberah and once again at Massah you angered the Lord, and yet again at Kibroth-hattaavah.


text:
At Kadesh-barnea, when the Lord told you to enter the land he had given you, you rebelled and wouldn't believe that he would help you; you refused to obey him.


text:
That is why I fell down before him for forty days and nights when the Lord was ready to destroy you.


text:
"I prayed to him, 'O Lord God, don't destroy your own people. They are your inheritance saved from Egypt by your mighty power and glorious strength.


text:
Don't notice the rebellion and stubbornness of these people, but remember instead your promises to your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Oh, please overlook the awful wickedness and sin of these people.


text:
For if you destroy them, the Egyptians will say, "It is because the Lord wasn't able to bring them to the land he promised them," or "He destroyed them because he hated them: he brought them into the wilderness to slay them."


text:
They are your people and your inheritance that you brought from Egypt by your great power and your mighty arm.'


text:
"At that time the Lord told me to cut two more stone tablets like the first ones, and to make a wooden Ark to keep them in, and to return to God on the mountain.


text:
He said he would rewrite on the tablets the same commandments that were on the tablets I had smashed, and that I should place them in the Ark.


text:
So I made an Ark of acacia wood and hewed out two stone tablets like the first two, and took the tablets up on the mountain to God.


text:
He again wrote the Ten Commandments on them and gave them to me. (They were the same commandments he had given you from the heart of the fire on the mountain as you all watched below.)


text:
Then I came down and placed the tablets in the Ark I had made, where they are to this day, just as the Lord commanded me.


text:
"The people of Israel then journeyed from Be-eroth of Bene-jaakan to Moserah, where Aaron died and was buried. His son Eleazar became the next priest.


text:
It was there that Jehovah set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the Ark containing the Ten Commandments of Jehovah, and to stand before the Lord and to do his work and to bless his name, just as is done today.


text:
(That is why the tribe of Levi does not have a portion of land reserved for it in the Promised Land, as their brother tribes do; for as the Lord told them, he himself is their inheritance.)


text:
"As I said before, I stayed on the mountain before the Lord for forty days and nights the second time, just as I had the first, and the Lord again yielded to my pleas and didn't destroy you.


text:
"But he said to me, 'Arise and lead the people to the land I promised their fathers. It is time to go in and possess it.'


text:
"And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you except to listen carefully to all he says to you,


text:
and to obey for your own good the commandments I am giving you today, and to love him, and to worship him with all your hearts and souls?


text:
And yet he rejoiced in your fathers and loved them so much that he chose you, their children, to be above every other nation, as is evident today.


text:
"Jehovah your God is God of gods and Lord of lords. He is the great and mighty God, the God of terror who shows no partiality and takes no bribes.


text:
He gives justice to the fatherless and widows. He loves foreigners and gives them food and clothing.


text:
He is your praise and he is your God, the one who has done mighty miracles you yourselves have seen.


text:
When your ancestors went down into Egypt there were only seventy of them, but now the Lord your God has made you as many as the stars in the sky!


text:
Listen! I am not talking now to your children who have never experienced the Lord's punishments or seen his greatness and his awesome power.


text:
They didn't see what God did to the armies of Egypt and to their horses and chariots--how he drowned them in the Red Sea as they were chasing you, and how the Lord has kept them powerless against you until this very day!


text:
They didn't see how the Lord cared for you time and again through all the years you were wandering in the wilderness, until your arrival here.


text:
They weren't there when Dathan and Abiram (the sons of Eliab, descendants of Reuben) sinned, and the earth opened up and swallowed them, with their households and tents and all their belongings, as all Israel watched!


text:
How carefully, then, you should obey these commandments I am going to give you today, so that you may have the strength to go in and possess the land you are about to enter.


text:
If you obey the commandments, you will have a long and good life in the land the Lord promised to your ancestors and to you, their descendants--a wonderful land 'flowing with milk and honey'!


text:
For the land you are about to enter and possess is not like the land of Egypt where you have come from, where irrigation is necessary.


text:
a land that the Lord your God personally cares for! His eyes are always upon it, day after day throughout the year!


text:
"And if you will carefully obey all of his commandments that I am going to give you today, and if you will love the Lord your God with all your hearts and souls and will worship him,


text:
then he will continue to send both the early and late rains that will produce wonderful crops of grain, grapes for your wine, and olive oil.


text:
He will give you lush pastureland for your cattle to graze in, and you yourselves shall have plenty to eat and be fully content.


text:
For if you do, the anger of the Lord will be hot against you, and he will shut the heavens--there will be no rain and no harvest, and you will quickly perish from the good land the Lord has given you.


text:
So keep these commandments carefully in mind. Tie them to your hand to remind you to obey them, and tie them to your forehead between your eyes!


text:
Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are sitting at home, when you are out walking, at bedtime, and before breakfast!


text:
so that as long as there is sky above the earth, you and your children will enjoy the good life awaiting you in the land the Lord has promised you.


text:
"If you carefully obey all the commandments I give you, loving the Lord your God, walking in all his ways, and clinging to him,


text:
then the Lord will drive out all the nations in your land, no matter how much greater and stronger than you they might be.


text:
Wherever you go, the land is yours. Your frontiers will stretch from the southern Negeb to Lebanon, and from the Euphrates River to the Mediterranean Sea.


text:
No one will be able to stand against you, for the Lord your God will send fear and dread ahead of you wherever you go, just as he has promised.


text:
There will be blessing if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am giving you today,


text:
When the Lord your God brings you into the land to possess it, a blessing shall be proclaimed from Mount Gerizim and a curse from Mount Ebal!


text:
(Gerizim and Ebal are mountains west of the Jordan River, where the Canaanites live, in the wasteland near Gilgal, where the oaks of Moreh are.)


text:
"These are the laws you must obey when you arrive in the land that Jehovah, the God of your fathers, has given you forever:


text:
"You must destroy all the heathen altars wherever you find them--high in the mountains, up in the hills, or under the trees.


text:
Break the altars, smash the obelisks, burn the shameful images, cut down the metal idols, and leave nothing even to remind you of them!


text:
There you shall bring to the Lord your burnt offerings and other sacrifices--your tithes, your offerings presented by the gesture of waving before the altar, your offerings to fulfill your vows, your free-will offerings, and your offerings of the firstborn animals of your flocks and herds.


text:
There you and your families shall feast before the Lord your God and shall rejoice in all he has done for you.


text:
(for these laws don't go into effect until you arrive in the place of rest the Lord will give to you).


text:
But when you cross the Jordan River and live in the Promised Land, and the Lord gives you rest and keeps you safe from all your enemies,


text:
then you must bring all your burnt sacrifices and other offerings to his sanctuary, the place he will choose as his home.


text:
You shall rejoice there before the Lord with your sons and daughters and servants; and remember to invite the Levites to feast with you, for they have no land of their own.


text:
you may only do so in the place the Lord will choose. He will pick a place in the territory allotted to one of the tribes. Only there may you offer your sacrifices and bring your offerings.


text:
However, the meat you eat may be butchered anywhere, just as you do now with gazelle and deer. Eat as much of this meat as you wish and as often as you are able to obtain it, because the Lord has prospered you. Those who are ceremonially defiled may eat it too.


text:
"But none of the offerings may be eaten at home. Neither the tithe of your grain and new wine and olive oil, nor the firstborn of your flocks and herds, nor anything you have vowed to give the Lord, nor your freewill offerings, nor the offerings to be presented to the Lord by waving them before his altar.


text:
All these must be brought to the central altar where you, your children, and the Levites shall eat them before the Lord your God. He will tell you where this altar must be located. Rejoice before the Lord your God in everything you do.


text:
the central altar is too far away from you, then your flocks and herds may be butchered on your own farms,


text:
just as you do now with gazelle and deer. And even persons who are ceremonially defiled may eat them.


text:
The only restriction is never to eat the blood, for the blood is the life, and you shall not eat the life with the meat.


text:
Only your gifts to the Lord, and the offerings you have promised in your vows, and your burnt offerings need be taken to the central altar.


text:
These may only be sacrificed upon the altar of the Lord your God. The blood will be poured out upon the altar, and you will eat the meat.


text:
"Be careful to obey all of these commandments. If you do what is right in the eyes of the Lord your God, all will go well with you and your children forever.


text:
don't follow their example in worshiping their gods. Do not ask, 'How do these nations worship their gods?' and then go and worship as they do!


text:
You must not insult the Lord your God like that! These nations have done horrible things that he hates, all in the name of their religion. They have even roasted their sons and daughters in front of their gods.


text:
don't listen to him. For the Lord is testing you to find out whether or not you really love him with all your heart and soul.


text:
"The prophet who tries to lead you astray must be executed, for he has attempted to foment rebellion against the Lord your God who brought you out of slavery in the land of Egypt. By executing him you will clear out the evil from among you.


text:
If your nearest relative or closest friend, even a brother, son, daughter, or beloved wife whispers to you to come and worship these foreign gods,


text:
do not consent or listen, and have no pity: Do not spare that person from the penalty; don't conceal his horrible suggestion.


text:
Execute him! Your own hand shall be the first upon him to put him to death, then the hands of all the people.


text:
Stone him to death because he has tried to draw you away from the Lord your God who brought you from the land of Egypt, the place of slavery.


text:
that some worthless rabble have led their fellow citizens astray with the suggestion that they worship foreign gods,


text:
first check the facts to see if the rumor is true. If you find that it is, that it is certain that such a horrible thing is happening among you in one of the cities the Lord has given you,


text:
you must without fail declare war against that city and utterly destroy all of its inhabitants, and even all of the cattle.


text:
Afterwards you must pile all the booty into the middle of the street and burn it, then put the entire city to the torch, as a burnt offering to Jehovah your God. That city shall forever remain a lifeless mound and may never be rebuilt.


text:
Keep none of the booty! Then the Lord will turn from his fierce anger and be merciful to you, and have compassion upon you, and make you a great nation just as he promised your ancestors.


text:
"Of course, the Lord your God will be merciful only if you have been obedient to him and to his commandments that I am giving you today, and if you have been doing that which is right in the eyes of the Lord.


text:
"Since you are the people of God, never cut yourselves  as the heathen do when they worship their idols nor shave the front halves of your heads for funerals.


text:
You belong exclusively to the Lord your God, and he has chosen you to be his own possession, more so than any other nation on the face of the earth.


text:
but if the animal doesn't have both, it may not be eaten. So you may not eat the camel, the hare, or the coney. They chew the cud but do not have cloven hooves.


text:
Pigs may not be eaten because, although they have cloven hooves, they don't chew the cud. You may not even touch the dead bodies of such animals.


text:
The osprey, the buzzard, The falcon (any variety), The raven (any variety), The ostrich, the nighthawk, The sea gull, the hawk (any variety), The screech owl, the great owl, The horned owl, the pelican, The vulture, the cormorant,


text:
"Don't eat anything that has died a natural death. However, a foreigner among you may eat it. You may give it or sell it to him, but don't eat it yourself, for you are holy to the Lord your God. "You must not boil a young goat in its mother's milk.


text:
Bring this tithe to eat before the Lord your God at the place he shall choose as his sanctuary; this applies to your tithes of grain, new wine, olive oil, and the firstborn of your flocks and herds. The purpose of tithing is to teach you always to put God first in your lives.


text:
If the place the Lord chooses for his sanctuary is so far away that it isn't convenient to carry your tithes to that place,


text:
then you may sell the tithe portion of your crops and herds and take the money to the Lord's sanctuary.


text:
When you arrive, use the money to buy an ox, a sheep, some wine, or beer, to feast there before the Lord your God, and to rejoice with your household.


text:
"Don't forget to share your income with the Levites in your community, for they have no property or crops as you do.


text:
Give it to the Levites who have no inheritance among you, or to foreigners, or to widows and orphans within your city, so that they can eat and be satisfied; and then Jehovah your God will bless you and your work.


text:
Every creditor shall write 'Paid in full' on any promissory note he holds against a fellow Israelite, for the Lord has released everyone from his obligation.


text:
No one will become poor because of this, for the Lord will greatly bless you in the land he is giving you if you obey this command.


text:
The only prerequisite for his blessing is that you carefully heed all the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today.


text:
He will bless you as he has promised. You shall lend money to many nations but will never need to borrow! You shall rule many nations, but they shall not rule over you!


text:
"But if, when you arrive in the land the Lord will give you, there are any among you who are poor, you must not shut your heart or hand against them;


text:
Beware! Don't refuse a loan because the year of debt cancellation is close at hand! If you refuse to make the loan and the needy man cries out to the Lord, it will be counted against you as a sin.


text:
You must lend him what he needs, and don't moan about it either! For the Lord will prosper you in everything you do because of this!


text:
There will always be some among you who are poor; that is why this commandment is necessary. You must lend to them liberally.


text:
"If you buy a Hebrew slave, whether a man or woman, you must free him at the end of the sixth year you have owned him,


text:
Give him a large farewell present from your flock, your olive press, and your wine press. Share with him in proportion as the Lord your God has blessed you.


text:
Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt and the Lord your God rescued you! That is why I am giving you this command.


text:
"But if your Hebrew slave doesn't want to leave--if he says he loves you and enjoys your pleasant home and gets along well with you-–


text:
then take an awl and pierce his ear into the door, and after that he shall be your slave forever. Do the same with your women slaves.


text:
But when you free a slave you must not feel bad, for remember that for six years he has cost you less than half the price of a hired hand! And the Lord your God will prosper all you do because you have released him!


text:
"You shall set aside for God all the firstborn males from your flocks and herds. Do not use the firstborn of your herds to work your fields, and do not shear the firstborn of your flocks of sheep and goats.


text:
Instead, you and your family shall eat these animals before the Lord your God each year at his sanctuary.


text:
However, if this firstborn animal has any defect such as being lame or blind, or if anything else is wrong with it, you shall not sacrifice it.


text:
Instead, use it for food for your family at home. Anyone, even if ceremonially defiled at the time, may eat it, just as anyone may eat a gazelle or deer.


text:
"Always remember to celebrate the Passover during the month of April, for that was when Jehovah your God brought you out of Egypt by night.


text:
Your Passover sacrifice shall be either a lamb or an ox, sacrificed to the Lord your God at his sanctuary.


text:
Eat the sacrifice with unleavened bread. Eat unleavened bread for seven days as a reminder of the bread you ate as you escaped from Egypt. This is to remind you that you left Egypt in such a hurry that there was no time for the bread to rise. Remember that day all the rest of your lives!


text:
For seven days no trace of yeast shall be in your homes, and none of the Passover lamb shall be left until the next morning.


text:
It must be eaten at the place the Lord shall choose as his sanctuary. Sacrifice it there on the anniversary evening just as the sun goes down.


text:
For the following six days you shall eat no bread made with yeast. On the seventh day there shall be a quiet gathering of the people of each city before the Lord your God. Don't do any work that day.


text:
there shall be another festival before the Lord your God called the Festival of Weeks. At that time bring to him a free-will offering proportionate in size to his blessing upon you as judged by the amount of your harvest.


text:
It is a time to rejoice before the Lord with your family and household. And don't forget to include the local Levites, foreigners, widows, and orphans. Invite them to accompany you to the celebration at the sanctuary.


text:
"Another celebration, the Festival of Shelters, must be observed for seven days at the end of the harvest season, after the grain is threshed and the grapes have been pressed.


text:
This will be a happy time of rejoicing together with your family and servants. And don't forget to include the Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows of your town.


text:
"This feast will be held at the sanctuary, which will be located at the place the Lord will designate. It is a time of deep thanksgiving to the Lord for blessing you with a good harvest and in so many other ways; it shall be a time of great joy.


text:
"Every man in Israel shall appear before the Lord your God three times a year at the sanctuary for these festivals: The Festival of Unleavened Bread, The Festival of Weeks, The Festival of Shelters. "On each of these occasions bring a gift to the Lord.


text:
"Appoint judges and administrative officials for all the cities the Lord your God is giving you. They will administer justice in every part of the land.


text:
Never twist justice to benefit a rich man, and never accept bribes. For bribes blind the eyes of the wisest and corrupt their decisions.


text:
Justice must prevail. "That is the only way you will be successful in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.


text:
"Never, under any circumstances, are you to erect shameful images beside the altar of the Lord your God.


text:
"Never sacrifice a sick or defective ox or sheep to the Lord your God. He doesn't feel honored by such gifts!


text:
"If anyone, whether man or woman, in any village throughout your land violates your covenant with God


text:
However, never put a man to death on the testimony of only one witness; there must be at least two or three.


text:
The witnesses shall throw the first stones, and then all the people shall join in. In this way you will purge all evil from among you.


text:
"If a case arises that is too hard for you to decide--for instance, whether someone is guilty of murder when there is insufficient evidence, or whether someone's rights have been violated--you shall take the case to the sanctuary of the Lord your God,


text:
If the defendant refuses to accept the decision of the priest or judge appointed by God for this purpose, the penalty is death. Such sinners must be purged from Israel.


text:
Then everyone will hear about what happened to the man who refused God's verdict, and they will be afraid to defy a court's judgment.


text:
"When you arrive in the land the Lord your God will give you, and have conquered it, and begin to think, 'We ought to have a king like the other nations around us'-–


text:
be sure that you select as king the man the Lord your God shall choose. He must be an Israelite, not a foreigner.


text:
Be sure that he doesn't build up a large stable of horses for himself, nor send his men to Egypt to raise horses for him there, for the Lord has told you, 'Never return to Egypt again.'


text:
He must not have too many wives, lest his heart be turned away from the Lord, neither shall he be excessively rich.


text:
"And when he has been crowned and sits upon his throne as king, then he must copy these laws from the book kept by the Levite-priests.


text:
That copy of the laws shall be his constant companion. He must read from it every day of his life so that he will learn to respect the Lord his God by obeying all of his commands.


text:
This regular reading of God's laws will prevent him from feeling that he is better than his fellow citizens. It will also prevent him from turning away from God's laws in the slightest respect and will ensure his having a long, good reign. His sons will then follow him upon the throne.


text:
"Remember that the priests and all the other members of the Levite tribe will not be given property like the other tribes. So the priests and Levites are to be supported by the sacrifices brought to the altar of the Lord and by the other offerings the people bring to him.


text:
The shoulder, the cheeks, and the stomach of every ox or sheep brought for sacrifice must be given to the priests.


text:
In addition, the priests shall receive the harvest samples brought in thanksgiving to the Lord--the first of the grain, the new wine, the olive oil, and of the fleece at shearing time.


text:
For the Lord your God has chosen the tribe of Levi, of all the tribes, to minister to the Lord from generation to generation.


text:
"Any Levite, no matter where he lives in the land of Israel, has the right to come to the sanctuary at any time


text:
He shall be given his share of the sacrifices and offerings as his right, not just if he is in need.


text:
"When you arrive in the Promised Land you must be very careful lest you be corrupted by the horrible customs of the nations now living there.


text:
For example, any Israeli who presents his child to be burned to death as a sacrifice to heathen gods must be killed. No Israeli may practice black magic, or call on the evil spirits for aid, or be a fortune teller,


text:
Anyone doing these things is an object of horror and disgust to the Lord, and it is because the nations do these things that the Lord your God will displace them.


text:
The nations you replace all do these evil things, but the Lord your God will not permit you to do such things.


text:
"Instead, he will raise up for you a Prophet like me, an Israeli, a man to whom you must listen and whom you must obey.


text:
For this is what you yourselves begged of God at Mount Horeb. There at the foot of the mountain you begged that you might not have to listen to the terrifying voice of God again, or see the awesome fire on the mountain, lest you die.


text:
I will raise up from among them a Prophet, an Israeli like you. I will tell him what to say, and he shall be my spokesman to the people.


text:
But any prophet who falsely claims that his message is from me, shall die. And any prophet who claims to give a message from other gods must die.'


text:
this is the way to know: If the thing he prophesies doesn't happen, it is not the Lord who has given him the message; he has made it up himself. You have nothing to fear from him.


text:
"When the Lord your God has destroyed the nations you will displace, and when you are living in their cities and homes,


text:
you must set apart three Cities of Refuge so that anyone who accidentally kills someone may flee to safety.


text:
Divide the country into three districts, with one of these cities in each district; and keep the roads to these cities in good repair.


text:
If a man goes into the forest with his neighbor to chop wood, and the axe head flies off the handle and kills the man's neighbor, he may flee to one of those cities and be safe.


text:
Anyone seeking to avenge the death will not be able to. These cities must be scattered so that one of them will be reasonably close to everyone;


text:
otherwise the angry avenger might catch and kill the innocent slayer, even though he should not have died since he had not killed deliberately.


text:
"If the Lord enlarges your boundaries as he promised your ancestors, and gives you all the land he promised


text:
(whether he does this depends on your obedience to all these commandments I am giving you today--loving the Lord your God and walking his paths), then you must designate three additional Cities of Refuge.


text:
In this way you will be able to avoid the death of innocent people, and you will not be held responsible for unjustified bloodshed.


text:
"But if anyone hates his neighbor and springs out of hiding and kills him, and then flees into one of the Cities of Refuge,


text:
the elders of his hometown shall send for him and shall bring him home and deliver him over to the dead man's avenger, to kill him.


text:
"When you arrive in the land the Lord your God is giving you, remember that you must never steal a man's land by moving the boundary marker.


text:
"Never convict anyone on the testimony of one witness. There must be at least two, and three is even better.


text:
his penalty shall be the punishment he thought the other man would get. In this way you will purge out evil from among you.


text:
You shall not show pity to a false witness. Life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot; this is your rule in such cases.


text:
"When you go to war and see before you vast numbers of horses and chariots, an army far greater than yours, don't be frightened! The Lord your God is with you--the same God who brought you safely out of Egypt!


text:
For the Lord your God is going with you! He will fight for you against your enemies, and he will give you the victory!'


text:
"Then the officers of the army shall address the men in this manner: 'Has anyone just built a new house but not yet dedicated it? If so, go home! For you might be killed in the battle, and someone else would dedicate it!


text:
Has anyone just planted a vineyard but not yet eaten any of its fruit? If so, go home! You might die in battle and someone else would eat it!


text:
Has anyone just become engaged? Well, go home and get married! For you might die in the battle, and someone else would marry your fiancee.


text:
When the officers have finished saying this to their men, they will announce the names of the battalion leaders.


text:
"For in the cities within the boundaries of the Promised Land you are to save no one; destroy every living thing.


text:
Utterly destroy the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. This is the commandment of the Lord your God.


text:
The purpose of this command is to prevent the people of the land from luring you into idol worship and into participation in their loathsome customs, thus sinning deeply against the Lord your God.


text:
"When you besiege a city, don't destroy the fruit trees. Eat all the fruit you wish; just don't cut down the trees. They aren't enemies who need to be slaughtered!


text:
But you may cut down trees that aren't valuable for food. Use them for the siege  to make ladders, portable towers, and battering rams.


text:
"If, when you arrive in the Promised Land, a murder victim is found lying in a field and no one has seen the murder,


text:
and lead it to a valley where there is running water--a valley neither plowed nor sowed--and there break its neck.


text:
"Then the priests shall come (for the Lord your God has chosen them to minister before him and to pronounce his blessings and decide lawsuits and punishments),


text:
O Lord, forgive your people Israel whom you have redeemed, and do not charge them with murdering an innocent man. Forgive us the guilt of this man's blood.'


text:
and change her clothing, laying aside that which she was wearing when she was captured, then remain in your home in mourning for her father and mother for a full month. After that you may marry her.


text:
However, if after marrying her you decide you don't like her, you must let her go free--you may not sell her or treat her as a slave, for you have humiliated her.


text:
"If a man has two wives but loves one and not the other, and both have borne him children, and the mother of his oldest son is the wife he doesn't love,


text:
He must give the customary double portion to his oldest son, who is the beginning of his strength and who owns the rights of a firstborn son, even though he is the son of the wife his father doesn't love.


text:
"If a man has a stubborn, rebellious son who will not obey his father or mother, even though they punish him,


text:
and declare, 'This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious and won't obey; he is a worthless drunkard.'


text:
Then the men of the city shall stone him to death. In this way you shall put away this evil from among you, and all the young men of Israel will hear about what happened and will be afraid.


text:
his body shall not remain on the tree overnight. You must bury him the same day, for anyone hanging on a tree is cursed of God. Don't defile the land the Lord your God has given you.


text:
"If you see someone's ox or sheep wandering away, don't pretend you didn't see it; take it back to its owner.


text:
If you don't know who the owner is, take it to your farm and keep it there until the owner comes looking for it, and then give it to him.


text:
"If you see someone trying to get an ox or donkey onto its feet when it has slipped beneath its load, don't look the other way. Go and help!


text:
"A woman must not wear men's clothing, and a man must not wear women's clothing. This is abhorrent to the Lord your God.


text:
"If a bird's nest is lying on the ground, or if you spy one in a tree, and there are young ones or eggs in it with the mother sitting in the nest, don't take the mother with the young.


text:
"Every new house must have a guardrail around the edge of the flat rooftop to prevent anyone from falling off and bring guilt to both the house and its owner.


text:
"Do not sow other crops in the rows of your vineyard. If you do, both the crops and the grapes shall be confiscated by the priests.


text:
"If a man marries a girl, then after sleeping with her accuses her of having had premarital intercourse with another man, saying, 'She was not a virgin when I married her,'


text:
"Her father shall tell them, 'I gave my daughter to this man to be his wife, and now he despises her


text:
and has accused her of shameful things, claiming that she was not a virgin when she married; yet here is the proof.'


text:
And they shall spread before the judges the blood-stained sheet from her marriage bed. The judges shall sentence the man to be whipped,


text:
and fine him one hundred dollars to be given to the girl's father, for he has falsely accused a virgin of Israel. She shall remain his wife and he may never divorce her.


text:
the judges shall take the girl to the door of her father's home where the men of the city shall stone her to death. She has defiled Israel by flagrant crime, being a prostitute while living at home with her parents; and such evil must be cleansed from among you.


text:
"If a man is discovered committing adultery, both he and the other man's wife must be killed; in this way evil will be cleansed from Israel.


text:
both she and the man who seduced her shall be taken outside the gates and stoned to death--the girl because she didn't scream for help, and the man because he has violated the virginity of another man's fiancee.


text:
In this way you will reduce crime among you. But if this deed takes place out in the country, only the man shall die.


text:
for it must be assumed that she screamed, but there was no one to hear and rescue her out in the field.


text:
The reason for this law is that these nations did not welcome you with food and water when you came out of Egypt; they even tried to hire Balaam, the son of Beor from Pethor, Mesopotamia, to curse you.


text:
But the Lord wouldn't listen to Balaam; instead, he turned the intended curse into a blessing for you because the Lord loves you.


text:
But don't look down on the Edomites and the Egyptians; the Edomites are your brothers and you lived among the Egyptians.


text:
The grandchildren of the Egyptians who came with you from Egypt may enter the sanctuary of the Lord.


text:
Any man who becomes ceremonially defiled because of a seminal emission during the night must leave the camp


text:
Each man must have a spade as part of his equipment; after every bowel movement he must dig a hole with the spade and cover the excrement.


text:
The camp must be holy, for the Lord walks among you to protect you and to cause your enemies to fall before you; and the Lord does not want to see anything indecent lest he turn away from you.


text:
"If a slave escapes from his master, you must not force him to return; let him live among you in whatever town he shall choose, and do not oppress him.


text:
you must not bring to the Lord any offering from the earnings of a prostitute or a homosexual, for both are detestable to the Lord your God.


text:
"Don't demand interest on loans you make to a brother Israelite, whether it is in the form of money, food, or anything else.


text:
You may take interest from a foreigner, but not from an Israeli. For if you take interest from a brother, an Israeli, the Lord your God won't bless you when you arrive in the Promised Land.


text:
"When you make a vow to the Lord, be prompt in doing whatever it is you promised him, for the Lord demands that you promptly fulfill your vows; it is a sin if you don't.


text:
Once you make the vow, you must be careful to do as you have said, for it was your own choice, and you have vowed to the Lord your God.


text:
"You may eat your fill of the grapes from another man's vineyard, but do not take any away in a container.


text:
"If a man doesn't like something about his wife, he may write a letter stating that he has divorced her, give her the letter, and send her away.


text:
the former husband may not marry her again, for she has been defiled; this would bring guilt upon the land the Lord your God is giving you.


text:
"A newly married man is not to be drafted into the army nor given any other special responsibilities; for a year he shall be free to be at home, happy with his wife.


text:
"It is illegal to take a millstone as a pledge, for it is a tool by which its owner gains his livelihood.


text:
If anyone kidnaps a brother Israelite and treats him as a slave or sells him, the kidnapper must die, in order to purge the evil from among you.


text:
"Be very careful to follow the instructions of the priest in cases of leprosy, for I have given him rules and guidelines you must obey to the letter:


text:
Take it back to him at sundown so that he can use it through the night and bless you; and the Lord your God will count it as righteousness for you.


text:
Pay him his wage each day before sunset, for since he is poor he needs it right away; otherwise he may cry out to the Lord against you and it would be counted as a sin against you.


text:
"Fathers shall not be put to death for the sins of their sons nor the sons for the sins of their fathers; every man worthy of death shall be executed for his own crime.


text:
"Justice must be given to migrants and orphans, and you must never accept a widow's garment in pledge of her debt.


text:
Always remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God rescued you; that is why I have given you this command.


text:
If, when reaping your harvest, you forget to bring in a sheaf from the field, don't go back after it. Leave it for the migrants, orphans, and widows; then the Lord your God will bless and prosper all you do.


text:
When you beat the olives from your olive trees, don't go over the boughs twice; leave anything remaining for the migrants, orphans, and widows.


text:
It is the same for the grapes in your vineyard; don't glean the vines after they are picked, but leave what's left for those in need.


text:
"If a man is guilty of a crime and the penalty is a beating, the judge shall command him to lie down and be beaten in his presence with up to forty stripes in proportion to the seriousness of the crime;


text:
but no more than forty stripes may be given lest the punishment seem too severe, and your brother be degraded in your eyes.


text:
"If a man's brother dies without a son, his widow must not marry outside the family; instead, her husband's brother must marry her and sleep with her.


text:
The first son she bears to him shall be counted as the son of the dead brother, so that his name will not be forgotten.


text:
But if the dead man's brother refuses to do his duty in this matter, refusing to marry the widow, then she shall go to the city elders and say to them, 'My husband's brother refuses to let his brother's name continue--he refuses to marry me.'


text:
the widow shall walk over to him in the presence of the elders, pull his sandal from his foot and spit in his face. She shall then say, 'This is what happens to a man who refuses to build his brother's house.'


text:
And ever afterwards his house shall be referred to as 'the home of the man who had his sandal pulled off!'


text:
"If two men are fighting and the wife of one intervenes to help her husband by grabbing the testicles of the other man,


text:
"In all your transactions you must use accurate scales and honest measurements, so that you will have a long, good life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.


text:
Remember that they fought with you and struck down those who were faint and weary and lagging behind, with no respect or fear of God.


text:
Therefore, when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your enemies in the Promised Land, you are utterly to destroy the name of Amalek from under heaven. Never forget this.


text:
you must present to the Lord at his sanctuary the first sample from each annual harvest. Bring it in a basket


text:
and hand it to the priest on duty and say to him, 'This gift is my acknowledgment that the Lord my God has brought me to the land he promised our ancestors.'


text:
You shall then say before the Lord your God, 'My ancestors were migrant Arameans who went to Egypt for refuge. They were few in number, but in Egypt they became a mighty nation.


text:
The Egyptians mistreated us and we cried to the Lord God. He heard us and saw our hardship, toil, and oppression,


text:
and brought us out of Egypt with mighty miracles and a powerful hand. He did great and awesome miracles before the Egyptians


text:
And now, O Lord, see, I have brought you a token of the first of the crops from the ground you have given me.' Then place the samples before the Lord your God, and worship him.


text:
Afterwards, go and feast on all the good things he has given you. Celebrate with your family and with any Levites or migrants living among you.


text:
"Every third year is a year of special tithing. That year you are to give all your tithes to the Levites, migrants, orphans, and widows, so that they will be well fed.


text:
Then you shall declare before the Lord your God, 'I have given all of my tithes to the Levites, the migrants, the orphans, and the widows, just as you commanded me; I have not violated or forgotten any of your rules.


text:
I have not touched the tithe while I was ceremonially defiled (for instance, while I was in mourning), nor have I offered any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the Lord my God and have done everything you commanded me.


text:
Look down from your holy home in heaven and bless your people and the land you have given us, as you promised our ancestors; make it a land "flowing with milk and honey"!'


text:
"You must wholeheartedly obey all of these commandments and ordinances that the Lord your God is giving you today.


text:
You have declared today that he is your God, and you have promised to obey and keep his laws and ordinances, and to heed all he tells you to do.


text:
And the Lord has declared today that you are his very own people, just as he promised, and that you must obey all of his laws.


text:
If you do, he will make you greater than any other nation, allowing you to receive praise, honor, and renown; but to attain this honor and renown you must be a holy people to the Lord your God, as he requires."


text:
"When you cross the Jordan River and go into the Promised Land--a land 'flowing with milk and honey'--take out boulders from the river bottom and immediately pile them into a monument on the other side, at Mount Ebal. Face the stones with a coating of lime and then write the laws of God in the lime.


text:
And build an altar there to the Lord your God. Use uncut boulders, and on the altar offer burnt offerings to the Lord your God.


text:
Then Moses and the Levite-priests addressed all Israel as follows: "O Israel, listen! Today you have become the people of the Lord your God,


text:
"When you cross into the Promised Land, the tribes of Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin shall stand upon Mount Gerizim to proclaim a blessing,


text:
and the tribes of Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali shall stand upon Mount Ebal to proclaim a curse.


text:
'The curse of God be upon anyone who makes and worships an idol, even in secret, whether carved of wood or made from molten metal--for these handmade gods are hated by the Lord.' And all the people shall reply, 'Amen.'


text:
'Cursed is he who moves the boundary marker between his land and his neighbor's.' And all the people shall reply, 'Amen.'


text:
'Cursed is he who is unjust to the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow.' And all the people shall reply, 'Amen.'


text:
'Cursed is he who commits adultery with one of his father's wives, for she belongs to his father.' And all the people shall reply, 'Amen.'


text:
'Cursed is he who has sexual intercourse with his sister, whether she be a full sister or a half-sister.' And all the people shall reply, 'Amen.'


text:
'Cursed is he who has sexual intercourse with his widowed mother-in-law.' And all the people shall reply, 'Amen.'


text:
'Cursed is he who accepts a bribe to kill an innocent person.' And all the people shall reply, 'Amen.'


text:
"If you fully obey all of these commandments of the Lord your God, the laws I am declaring to you today, God will transform you into the greatest nation in the world.


text:
"The Lord will defeat your enemies before you; they will march out together against you but scatter before you in seven directions!


text:
The Lord will bless you with good crops and healthy cattle, and prosper everything you do when you arrive in the land the Lord your God is giving you.


text:
He will change you into a holy people dedicated to himself; this he has promised to do if you will only obey him and walk in his ways.


text:
"The Lord will give you an abundance of good things in the land, just as he promised: many children, many cattle, and abundant crops.


text:
He will open to you his wonderful treasury of rain in the heavens, to give you fine crops every season. He will bless everything you do; and you shall lend to many nations, but shall not borrow from them.


text:
If you will only listen and obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am giving you today, he will make you the head and not the tail, and you shall always have the upper hand.


text:
But each of these blessings depends on your not turning aside in any way from the laws I have given you; and you must never worship other gods.


text:
"If you won't listen to the Lord your God and won't obey these laws I am giving you today, then all of these curses shall come upon you:


text:
The curse of barren wombs, Curses upon your crops, Curses upon the fertility of your cattle and flocks,


text:
"For the Lord himself will send his personal curse upon you. You will be confused and a failure in everything you do, until at last you are destroyed because of the sin of forsaking him.


text:
He will send disease among you until you are destroyed from the face of the land you are about to enter and possess.


text:
He will send tuberculosis, fever, infections, plague, and war. He will blight your crops, covering them with mildew. All these devastations shall pursue you until you perish.


text:
"The Lord will cause you to be defeated by your enemies. You will march out to battle gloriously, but flee before your enemies in utter confusion; and you will be tossed to and fro among all the nations of the earth.


text:
Your dead bodies will be food to the birds and wild animals, and no one will be there to chase them away.


text:
"He will send upon you Egyptian boils, tumors, scurvy, and itch, for none of which will there be a remedy.


text:
You shall grope in the bright sunlight just as the blind man gropes in darkness. You shall not prosper in anything you do; you will be oppressed and robbed continually, and nothing will save you.


text:
"Someone else will marry your fiancee; someone else will live in the house you build; someone else will eat the fruit of the vineyard you plant.


text:
Your oxen shall be butchered before your eyes, but you won't get a single bite of the meat. Your donkeys will be driven away as you watch and will never return to you again. Your sheep will be given to your enemies. And there will be no one to protect you.


text:
You will watch as your sons and daughters are taken away as slaves. Your heart will break with longing for them, but you will not be able to help them.


text:
A foreign nation you have not even heard of will eat the crops you will have worked so hard to grow. You will always be oppressed and crushed.


text:
"He will exile you and the king you will choose to a nation to whom neither you nor your ancestors gave a second thought; and while in exile you shall worship gods of wood and stone!


text:
You will become an object of horror, a proverb and a byword among all the nations, for the Lord will thrust you away.


text:
You will plant vineyards and care for them, but you won't eat the grapes or drink the wine, for worms will destroy the vines.


text:
Olive trees will be growing everywhere, but there won't be enough olive oil to anoint yourselves! For the trees will drop their fruit before it is matured.


text:
"All these curses shall pursue and overtake you until you are destroyed--all because you refuse to listen to the Lord your God.


text:
You will become slaves to your enemies because of your failure to praise God for all that he has given you.


text:
The Lord will send your enemies against you, and you will be hungry, thirsty, naked, and in want of everything. A yoke of iron shall be placed around your neck until you are destroyed!


text:
"The Lord will bring a distant nation against you, swooping down upon you like an eagle; a nation whose language you don't understand-–


text:
They will eat you out of house and home until your cattle and crops are gone. Your grain, new wine, olive oil, calves, and lambs will all disappear.


text:
That nation will lay siege to your cities and knock down your highest walls--the walls you will trust to protect you.


text:
You will even eat the flesh of your own sons and daughters in the terrible days of siege that lie ahead.


text:
The most tenderhearted man among you will be utterly callous toward his own brother and his beloved wife and his children who are still alive.


text:
He will refuse to give them a share of the flesh he is devouring--the flesh of his own children--because he is starving in the midst of the siege of your cities.


text:
The most tender and delicate woman among you--the one who would not so much as touch her feet to the ground--will refuse to share with her beloved husband, son, and daughter.


text:
She will hide from them the afterbirth and the new baby she has borne, so that she herself can eat them: so terrible will be the hunger during the siege and the awful distress caused by your enemies at your gates.


text:
"If you refuse to obey all the laws written in this book, thus refusing reverence to the glorious and fearful name of Jehovah your God,


text:
He will bring upon you all the diseases of Egypt that you feared so much, and they shall plague the land.


text:
And that is not all! The Lord will bring upon you every sickness and plague there is, even those not mentioned in this book, until you are destroyed.


text:
There will be few of you left, though before you were as numerous as stars. All this if you do not listen to the Lord your God.


text:
"Just as the Lord has rejoiced over you and has done such wonderful things for you and has multiplied you, so the Lord at that time will rejoice in destroying you; and you shall disappear from the land.


text:
For the Lord will scatter you among all the nations from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship heathen gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known, gods made of wood and stone!


text:
There among those nations you shall find no rest, but the Lord will give you trembling hearts, darkness, and bodies wasted from sorrow and fear.


text:
Your lives will hang in doubt. You will live night and day in fear, and will have no reason to believe that you will see the morning light.


text:
In the morning you will say, 'Oh, that night were here!' And in the evening you will say, 'Oh, that morning were here!' You will say this because of the awesome horrors surrounding you.


text:
Then the Lord will send you back to Egypt in ships, a journey I promised you would never need to make again; and there you will offer to sell yourselves to your enemies as slaves--but no one will even want to buy you."


text:
It was on the plains of Moab that Moses restated the covenant that the Lord had made with the people of Israel at Mount Horeb.


text:
He summoned all Israel before him and told them, "You have seen with your own eyes the great plagues and mighty miracles that the Lord brought upon Pharaoh and his people in the land of Egypt.


text:
For forty years God has led you through the wilderness, yet your clothes haven't become old, and your shoes haven't worn out!


text:
The reason he hasn't let you settle down to grow grain for bread or grapes for wine and strong drink is so that you would realize that it is the Lord your God who has been caring for you.


text:
"When we came here, King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan came out against us in battle, but we destroyed them,


text:
and took their land and gave it to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and to the half-tribe of Manasseh as their inheritance.


text:
All of you--your leaders, the people, your judges, and your administrative officers--are standing today before the Lord your God,


text:
along with your little ones and your wives and the foreigners that are among you--those who chop your wood and carry your water.


text:
You are standing here to enter into a contract with Jehovah your God, a contract he is making with you today.


text:
He wants to confirm you today as his people, and to confirm that he is your God, just as he promised your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.


text:
This contract is not with you alone as you stand before him today, but with all future generations of Israel as well.


text:
"Surely you remember how we lived in the land of Egypt, and how as we left, we came safely through the territory of enemy nations.


text:
The day that any of you--man or woman, family or tribe of Israel--begins to turn away from the Lord our God and desires to worship these gods of other nations, that day a root will be planted that will grow bitter and poisonous fruit.


text:
"Let no one blithely think, when he hears the warnings of this curse, 'I shall prosper even though I walk in my own stubborn way!'


text:
For the Lord will not pardon! His anger and jealousy will be hot against that man. And all the curses written in this book shall lie heavily upon him, and the Lord will blot out his name from under heaven.


text:
The Lord will separate that man from all the tribes of Israel, to pour out upon him all the curses (which are recorded in this book) that befall those who break this contract.


text:
Then your children and the generations to come and the foreigners that pass by from distant lands shall see the devastation of the land and the diseases the Lord will have sent upon it.


text:
They will see that the whole land is alkali and salt, a burned over wasteland, unsown, without crops, without a shred of vegetation--just like Sodom and Gomorrah and Admah and Zeboiim, destroyed by the Lord in his anger.


text:
"And they will be told, 'Because the people of the land broke the contract made with them by Jehovah, the God of their ancestors, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.


text:
That is why the anger of the Lord was hot against this land, so that all his curses (which are recorded in this book) broke forth upon them.


text:
In great anger the Lord rooted them out of their land and threw them away into another land, where they still live today!'


text:
"There are secrets the Lord your God has not revealed to us, but these words that he has revealed are for us and our children to obey forever.


text:
"When all these things have happened to you--the blessings and the curses I have listed--you will meditate upon them as you are living among the nations where the Lord your God will have driven you.


text:
If at that time you want to return to the Lord your God, and you and your children have begun wholeheartedly to obey all of the commandments I have given you today,


text:
then the Lord your God will rescue you from your captivity! He will have mercy upon you and come and gather you out of all the nations where he will have scattered you.


text:
to the land of your ancestors. You shall possess the land again, and he will do you good and bless you even more than he did your ancestors!


text:
He will cleanse your hearts and the hearts of your children and of your children's children so that you will love the Lord your God with all your hearts and souls, and Israel shall come alive again!


text:
the Lord your God will take his curses and turn them against your enemies--against those who hate you and persecute you.


text:
The Lord your God will prosper everything you do and give you many children and much cattle and wonderful crops; for the Lord will again rejoice over you as he did over your fathers.


text:
He will rejoice if you but obey the commandments written in this book of the law, and if you turn to the Lord your God with all your hearts and souls.


text:
for these laws are not in the far heavens, so distant that you can't hear and obey them, and with no one to bring them down to you;


text:
I have commanded you today to love the Lord your God and to follow his paths and to keep his laws, so that you will live and become a great nation, and so that the Lord your God will bless you and the land you are about to possess.


text:
then I declare to you this day that you shall surely perish; you will not have a long, good life in the land you are going in to possess.


text:
"I call heaven and earth to witness against you that today I have set before you life or death, blessing or curse. Oh, that you would choose life; that you and your children might live!


text:
Choose to love the Lord your God and to obey him and to cling to him, for he is your life and the length of your days. You will then be able to live safely in the land the Lord promised your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."


text:
he told them, "I am now 120 years old! I am no longer able to lead you, for the Lord has told me that I shall not cross the Jordan River.


text:
But the Lord himself will lead you and will destroy the nations living there, and you shall overcome them. Joshua is your new commander, as the Lord has instructed.


text:
The Lord will destroy the nations living in the land, just as he destroyed Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites.


text:
The Lord will deliver over to you the people living there, and you shall destroy them as I have commanded you.


text:
Be strong! Be courageous! Do not be afraid of them! For the Lord your God will be with you. He will neither fail you nor forsake you."


text:
Then Moses called for Joshua and said to him, as all Israel watched, "Be strong! Be courageous! For you shall lead these people into the land promised by the Lord to their ancestors; see to it that they conquer it.


text:
Don't be afraid, for the Lord will go before you and will be with you; he will not fail nor forsake you."


text:
Then Moses wrote out the laws he had already delivered to the people and gave them to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the Ark containing the Ten Commandments of the Lord. Moses also gave copies of the laws to the elders of Israel.


text:
The Lord commanded that these laws be read to all the people at the end of every seventh year--the Year of Release--at the Festival of Tabernacles,


text:
"Call them all together," the Lord instructed, "--men, women, children, and foreigners living among you--to hear the laws of God and to learn his will, so that you will reverence the Lord your God and obey his laws.


text:
Do this so that your little children who have not known these laws will hear them and learn how to revere the Lord your God as long as you live in the Promised Land."


text:
Then the Lord said to Moses, "The time has come when you must die. Summon Joshua and come into the Tabernacle where I can give him his instructions." So Moses and Joshua came and stood before the Lord.


text:
and said to Moses, "You shall die and join your ancestors. After you are gone, these people will begin worshiping foreign gods in the Promised Land. They will forget about me and break the contract I have made with them.


text:
Then my anger will flame out against them and I will abandon them, hiding my face from them, and they shall be destroyed. Terrible trouble will come upon them, so that they will say, 'God is no longer among us!'


text:
When I have brought them into the land I promised their ancestors--a land 'flowing with milk and honey'--and when they have become fat and prosperous, and worship other gods and despise me and break my contract,


text:
and great disasters come upon them, then this song will remind them of the reason for their woes. (For this song will live from generation to generation.) I know now, even before they enter the land, what these people are like."


text:
Then he charged Joshua (son of Nun) to be strong and courageous and said to him, "You must bring the people of Israel into the land the Lord promised them; for the Lord says, 'I will be with you.' "


text:
"For I know how rebellious and stubborn you are," Moses told them. "If even today, while I am still here with you, you are defiant rebels against the Lord, how much more rebellious will you be after my death!


text:
Now summon all the elders and officers of your tribes so that I can speak to them, and call heaven and earth to witness against them.


text:
I know that after my death you will utterly defile yourselves and turn away from God and his commands; and in the days to come evil will crush you for you will do what the Lord says is evil, making him very angry."


text:
My words shall fall upon you Like the gentle rain and dew, Like rain upon the tender grass, Like showers on the hillside.


text:
He is the Rock. His work is perfect. Everything he does is just and fair. He is faithful, without sin.


text:
But Israel has become corrupt, Smeared with sin. They are no longer his; They are a stubborn, twisted generation.


text:
Is this the way you treat Jehovah? O foolish people, Is not God your Father? Has he not created you? Has he not established you and made you strong?


text:
He spreads his wings over them, Even as an eagle overspreads her young. She carries them upon her wings-- As does the Lord his people!


text:
God gave them fertile hilltops, Rolling, fertile fields, Honey from the rock, And olive oil from stony ground!


text:
He gave them milk and meat-- Choice Bashan rams, and goats-- And the finest of the wheat; They drank the sparkling wine.


text:
But Israel was soon overfed; Yes, fat and bloated; Then, in plenty, they forsook their God. They shrugged away the Rock of their salvation.


text:
He said, 'I will abandon them; See what happens to them then! For they are a stubborn, faithless generation.


text:
They have made me very jealous of their idols, Which are not gods at all. Now I, in turn, will make them jealous By giving my affections To the foolish Gentile nations of the world.


text:
For my anger has kindled a fire That burns to the depths of the underworld, Consuming the earth and all of its crops, And setting its mountains on fire.


text:
I will waste them with hunger, Burning fever, and fatal disease. I will devour them! I will set wild beasts upon them, To rip them apart with their teeth; And deadly serpents Crawling in the dust.


text:
Outside, the enemies' sword-- Inside, the plague -- Shall terrorize young men and girls alike; The baby nursing at the breast, And aged men.


text:
But then I thought, "My enemies will boast, 'Israel is destroyed by our own might; It was not the Lord Who did it!' '


text:
Oh, that they were wise! Oh, that they could understand! Oh, that they would know what they are getting into!


text:
How could one single enemy chase a thousand of them, And two put ten thousand to flight, Unless their Rock had abandoned them, Unless the Lord had destroyed them?


text:
The Lord will see his people righted, And will have compassion on them when they slip. He will watch their power ebb away, Both slave and free.


text:
Where are these gods now, To whom they sacrificed their fat and wine? Let those gods arise, And help them!


text:
Don't you see that I alone am God? I kill and make live. I wound and heal-- No one delivers from my power.


text:
My arrows shall be drunk with blood! My sword devours the flesh and blood Of all the slain and captives. The heads of the enemy Are gory with blood.'


text:
Praise his people, O Gentile nations, For he will avenge his people, Taking vengeance on his enemies, Purifying his land And his people."


text:
Moses made these comments: "Meditate upon all the laws I have given you today, and pass them on to your children.


text:
These laws are not mere words--they are your life! Through obeying them you will live long, plentiful lives in the land you are going to possess across the Jordan River."


text:
"Go to Mount Nebo in the Abarim mountains, in the land of Moab across from Jericho. Climb to its heights and look out across the land of Canaan, the land I am giving to the people of Israel.


text:
After you see the land, you must die and join your ancestors, just as Aaron, your brother, died in Mount Hor and joined them.


text:
For you dishonored me among the people of Israel at the springs of Meribah-kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin.


text:
You will see spread out before you the land I am giving the people of Israel, but you will not enter it."


text:
"The Lord came to us at Mount Sinai, And dawned upon us from Mount Seir; He shone from Mount Paran, Surrounded by ten thousands of holy angels, And with flaming fire at his right hand.


text:
How he loves his people-- His holy ones are in his hands. They followed in your steps, O Lord. They have received their directions from you.


text:
And Moses said of Judah: "O Lord, hear the cry of Judah And unite him with Israel; Fight for him against his enemies."


text:
Then Moses said concerning the tribe of Levi: "Give to godly Levi Your Urim and your Thummim. You tested Levi at Massah and at Meribah;


text:
He obeyed your instructions and destroyed many sinners, Even his own children, brothers, fathers, and mothers.


text:
The Levites shall teach God's laws to Israel And shall work before you at the incense altar And the altar of burnt offering.


text:
O Lord, prosper the Levites And accept the work they do for you. Crush those who are their enemies; Don't let them rise again."


text:
Concerning the tribe of Benjamin, Moses said: "He is beloved of God And lives in safety beside him. God surrounds him with his loving care, And preserves him from every harm."


text:
Concerning the tribe of Joseph, he said: "May his land be blessed by God With the choicest gifts of heaven And of the earth that lies below.


text:
May he be blessed with the best gifts Of the earth and its fullness, And with the favor of God who appeared In the burning bush. Let all these blessings come upon Joseph, The prince among his brothers.


text:
He is a young bull in strength and splendor, With the strong horns of a wild ox To push against the nations everywhere; This is my blessing on the multitudes of Ephraim And the thousands of Manasseh."


text:
Of the tribe of Zebulun, Moses said: "Rejoice, O Zebulun, you outdoorsmen, And Issachar, you lovers of your tents;


text:
They shall summon the people To celebrate their sacrifices with them. Lo, they taste the riches of the sea And the treasures of the sand."


text:
Concerning the tribe of Gad, Moses said: "A blessing upon those who help Gad. He crouches like a lion, With savage arm and face and head.


text:
He chose the best of the land for himself Because it is reserved for a leader. He led the people Because he carried out God's penalties for Israel."


text:
Of the tribe of Naphtali, Moses said: "O Naphtali, you are satisfied With all the blessings of the Lord; The Mediterranean coast and the Negeb Are your home."


text:
Of the tribe of Asher: "Asher is a favorite son, Esteemed above his brothers; He bathes his feet in oil.


text:
May you be protected with strong bolts Of iron and bronze, And may your strength match the length of your days!


text:
There is none like the God of Jerusalem-- He descends from the heavens In majestic splendor to help you.


text:
The eternal God is your Refuge, And underneath are the everlasting arms. He thrusts out your enemies before you; It is he who cries, 'Destroy them!'


text:
So Israel dwells safely, Prospering in a land of corn and wine, While the gentle rains descend from heaven.


text:
What blessings are yours, O Israel! Who else has been saved by the Lord? He is your shield and your helper! He is your excellent sword! Your enemies shall bow low before you, And you shall trample on their backs!"


text:
Then Moses climbed from the plains of Moab to Pisgah Peak in Mount Nebo, across from Jericho. And the Lord pointed out to him the Promised Land, as they gazed out across Gilead as far as Dan:


text:
"There is Naphtali; and there is Ephraim and Manasseh; and across there, Judah, extending to the Mediterranean Sea;


text:
there is the Negeb; and the Jordan Valley; and Jericho, the city of palm trees; and Zoar," the Lord told him.


text:
"It is the Promised Land," the Lord told Moses. "I promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that I would give it to their descendants. Now you have seen it, but you will not enter it."


text:
Moses was 120 years old when he died, yet his eyesight was perfect and he was as strong as a young man.


text:
Joshua (son of Nun) was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands upon him; so the people of Israel obeyed him and followed the commandments the Lord had given to Moses.


text:
After the death of Moses, the Lord's disciple, God spoke to Moses' assistant, whose name was Joshua (the son of Nun), and said to him,


text:
"Now that my disciple is dead,  you are the new leader of Israel. Lead my people across the Jordan River into the Promised Land.


text:
all the way from the Negeb desert in the south to the Lebanon mountains in the north, and from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to the Euphrates River in the east, including all the land of the Hittites.'


text:
No one will be able to oppose you as long as you live, for I will be with you just as I was with Moses; I will not abandon you or fail to help you.


text:
"Be strong and brave, for you will be a successful leader of my people; and they shall conquer all the land I promised to their ancestors.


text:
You need only to be strong and courageous and to obey to the letter every law Moses gave you, for if you are careful to obey every one of them, you will be successful in everything you do.


text:
Constantly remind the people about these laws, and you yourself must think about them every day and every night so that you will be sure to obey all of them. For only then will you succeed.


text:
Yes, be bold and strong! Banish fear and doubt! For remember, the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."


text:
to tell the people to get ready to cross the Jordan River. "In three days we will go across and conquer and live in the land which God has given us!" he told them.


text:
and reminded them of their agreement with Moses: "The Lord your God has given you a homeland here on the east side of the Jordan River," Moses had told them,


text:
"so your wives and children and cattle may remain here, but your troops, fully armed, must lead the other tribes across the Jordan River to help them conquer their territory on the other side;


text:
stay with them until they complete the conquest. Only then may you settle down here on the east side of the Jordan."


text:
"We will obey you just as we obeyed Moses," they assured him, "and may the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses.


text:
If anyone, no matter who, rebels against your commands, he shall die. So lead on with courage and strength!"


text:
Then Joshua sent two spies from the Israeli camp at Acacia to cross the river and check out the situation on the other side, especially at Jericho. They arrived at an inn operated by a woman named Rahab, who was a prostitute. They were planning to spend the night there,


text:
but someone informed the king of Jericho that two Israelis who were suspected of being spies had arrived in the city that evening.


text:
He dispatched a police squadron to Rahab's home, demanding that she surrender them. "They are spies," he explained. "They have been sent by the Israeli leaders to discover the best way to attack us."


text:
But she had hidden them, so she told the officer in charge, "The men were here earlier, but I didn't know they were spies.


text:
They left the city at dusk as the city gates were about to close, and I don't know where they went. If you hurry, you can probably catch up with them!"


text:
But actually she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them beneath piles of flax that were drying there.


text:
So the constable and his men went all the way to the Jordan River looking for them; meanwhile, the city gates were kept shut.


text:
"I know perfectly well that your God is going to give my country to you," she told them. "We are all afraid of you; everyone is terrified if the word Israel is even mentioned.


text:
For we have heard how the Lord made a path through the Red Sea for you when you left Egypt! And we know what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan, and how you ruined their land and completely destroyed their people.


text:
No wonder we are afraid of you! No one has any fight left in him after hearing things like that, for your God is the supreme God of heaven, not just an ordinary god.


text:
Now I beg for this one thing: Swear to me by the sacred name of your God that when Jericho is conquered you will


text:
let me live, along with my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all their families. This is only fair after the way I have helped you."


text:
The men agreed. "If you won't betray us, we'll see to it that you and your family aren't harmed," they promised.


text:
"We'll defend you with our lives." Then, since her house was on top of the city wall, she let them down by a rope from a window.


text:
"Escape to the mountains," she told them. "Hide there for three days until the men who are searching for you have returned; then go on your way."


text:
unless this rope is hanging from this window and unless all your relatives--your father, mother, brothers, and anyone else--are here inside the house.


text:
If they go out into the street, we assume no responsibility whatsoever; but we swear that no one inside this house will be killed or injured.


text:
The spies went up into the mountains and stayed there three days, until the men who were chasing them had returned to the city after searching everywhere along the road without success.


text:
Then the two spies came down from the mountain and crossed the river and reported to Joshua all that had happened to them.


text:
"The Lord will certainly give us the entire land," they said, "for all the people over there are scared to death of us."


text:
Early the next morning Joshua and all the people of Israel left Acacia and arrived that evening at the banks of the Jordan River, where they camped for a few days before crossing.


text:
You have never before been where we are going now, so they will guide you. However, stay about a half mile behind, with a clear space between you and the Ark; be sure that you don't get any closer."


text:
Then Joshua told the people to purify themselves. "For tomorrow," he said, "the Lord will do a great miracle."


text:
In the morning Joshua ordered the priests, "Take up the Ark and lead us across the river!" And so they started out.


text:
"Today," the Lord told Joshua, "I will give you great honor, so that all Israel will know that I am with you just as I was with Moses.


text:
Then Joshua summoned all the people and told them, "Come and listen to what the Lord your God has said.


text:
Today you are going to know for sure that the living God is among you and that he will, without fail, drive out the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites--all the people who now live in the land you will soon occupy.


text:
When the priests who are carrying the Ark touch the water with their feet, the river will stop flowing as though held back by a dam, and will pile up as though against an invisible wall!"


text:
Now it was the harvest season and the Jordan was overflowing all its banks; but as the people set out to cross the river and as the feet of the priests who were carrying the Ark touched the water at the river's edge,


text:
the water began piling up as though against a dam! And the water below that point flowed on to the Dead Sea until the riverbed was empty. Then all the people crossed at a spot where the river was close to the city of Jericho,


text:
and the priests who were carrying the Ark stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan and waited as all the people passed by.


text:
each to take a stone from where the priests are standing in the middle of the Jordan, and to carry them out and pile them up as a monument at the place where you camp tonight."


text:
and told them, "Go out into the middle of the Jordan where the Ark is. Each of you is to carry out a stone on your shoulder--twelve stones in all, one for each of the twelve tribes.


text:
We will use them to build a monument so that in the future, when your children ask, 'What is this monument for?'


text:
you can tell them, 'It is to remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of God went across!' The monument will be a permanent reminder to the people of Israel of this amazing miracle."


text:
So the men did as Joshua told them. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan river--one for each tribe, just as the Lord had commanded Joshua. They carried them to the place where they were camped for the night and constructed a monument there.


text:
Joshua also built another monument of twelve stones in the middle of the river, at the place where the priests were standing; and it is there to this day.


text:
The priests who were carrying the Ark stood in the middle of the river until all these instructions of the Lord, which had been given to Joshua by Moses, had been carried out. Meanwhile, the people had hurried across the riverbed,


text:
It was a tremendous day for Joshua! The Lord made him great in the eyes of all the people of Israel, and they revered him as much as they had Moses and respected him deeply all the rest of his life.


text:
issued the orders to the priests carrying the Ark. "Come up from the riverbed," the Lord now told him to command them.


text:
And as soon as the priests came out, the water poured down again as usual and overflowed the banks of the river as before!


text:
This miracle occurred on the 25th of March. That day the entire nation crossed the Jordan River and camped in Gilgal at the eastern edge of the city of Jericho;


text:
Then Joshua explained again the purpose of the stones: "In the future," he said, "when your children ask you why these stones are here and what they mean,


text:
you are to tell them that these stones are a reminder of this amazing miracle--that the nation of Israel crossed the Jordan River on dry ground!


text:
Tell them how the Lord our God dried up the river right before our eyes and then kept it dry until we were all across! It is the same thing the Lord did forty years ago at the Red Sea!


text:
He did this so that all the nations of the earth will realize that Jehovah is the mighty God, and so that all of you will worship him forever."


text:
When the nations west of the Jordan River--the Amorites and Canaanites who lived along the Mediterranean coast--heard that the Lord had dried up the Jordan River so the people of Israel could cross, their courage melted away completely and they were paralyzed with fear.


text:
The Lord then told Joshua to set aside a day to circumcise the entire male population of Israel. (It was the second time in Israel's history that this was done.)


text:
The Lord instructed them to manufacture flint knives for this purpose. The place where the circumcision rite took place was named "The Hill of the Foreskins."


text:
all of the men who had been old enough to bear arms had been circumcised, that entire generation had died during the years in the wilderness, and none of the boys born since that time had been circumcised.


text:
For the nation of Israel had traveled back and forth across the wilderness for forty years until all the men who had been old enough to bear arms when they left Egypt were dead; they had not obeyed the Lord, and he vowed that he wouldn't let them enter the land he had promised to Israel--a land that "flowed with milk and honey."


text:
And the Lord said to Joshua, "Today I have ended your shame of not being circumcised." So the place where this was done was called Gilgal (meaning, "to end"), and is still called that today.


text:
After the ceremony the entire nation rested in camp until the raw flesh of their wounds had been healed.


text:
While they were camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, they celebrated the Passover during the evening of April first.


text:
The next day they began to eat from the gardens and grain fields which they invaded, and they made unleavened bread.


text:
The following day no manna fell, and it was never seen again! So from that time on they lived on the crops of Canaan.


text:
As Joshua was sizing up the city of Jericho, a man appeared nearby with a drawn sword. Joshua strode over to him and demanded, "Are you friend or foe?"


text:
"I am the Commander-in-Chief of the Lord's army," he replied. Joshua fell to the ground before him and worshiped him and said, "Give me your commands."


text:
The gates of Jericho were kept tightly shut because the people were afraid of the Israelis; no one was allowed to go in or out.


text:
But the Lord said to Joshua, "Jericho and its king and all its mighty warriors are already defeated, for I have given them to you!


text:
followed by seven priests walking ahead of the Ark, each carrying a trumpet made from a ram's horn. On the seventh day you are to walk around the city seven times, with the priests blowing their trumpets.


text:
Then, when they give one long, loud blast, all the people are to give a mighty shout, and the walls of the city will fall down; then move in upon the city from every direction."


text:
"Let there be complete silence except for the trumpets," Joshua commanded. "Not a single word from any of you until I tell you to shout; then shout!"


text:
The Ark was carried around the city once that day, after which everyone returned to the camp again and spent the night there.


text:
At dawn the next morning they went around again and returned again to the camp. They followed this pattern for six days.


text:
At dawn of the seventh day they started out again, but this time they went around the city not once, but seven times.


text:
The seventh time, as the priests blew a long, loud trumpet blast, Joshua yelled to the people, "Shout! The Lord has given us the city!"


text:
(He had told them previously, "Kill everyone except Rahab the prostitute and anyone in her house, for she protected our spies.


text:
Don't take any loot, for everything is to be destroyed. If it isn't, disaster will fall upon the entire nation of Israel.


text:
But all the silver and gold and the utensils of bronze and iron will be dedicated to the Lord and must be brought into his treasury.")


text:
So when the people heard the trumpet blast, they shouted as loud as they could. And suddenly the walls of Jericho crumbled and fell before them, and the people of Israel poured into the city from every side and captured it!


text:
Meanwhile Joshua had said to the two spies, "Keep your promise. Go and rescue the prostitute and everyone with her."


text:
The young men found her and rescued her, along with her father, mother, brothers, and other relatives who were with her. Arrangements were made for them to live outside the camp of Israel.


text:
Then the Israelis burned the city and everything in it except that the silver and gold and the bronze and iron utensils were kept for the Lord's treasury.


text:
Thus Joshua saved Rahab the prostitute and her relatives who were with her in the house, and they still live among the Israelites because she hid the spies sent to Jericho by Joshua.


text:
Then Joshua declared a terrible curse upon anyone who might rebuild Jericho, warning that when the foundation was laid, the builder's oldest son would die, and when the gates were set up, his youngest son would die.


text:
But there was sin among the Israelis. God's command to destroy everything except that which was reserved for the Lord's treasury was disobeyed. For Achan (the son of Carmi, grandson of Zabdi, and great-grandson of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah) took some loot for himself, and the Lord was very angry with the entire nation of Israel because of this.


text:
Upon their return they told Joshua, "It's a small city and it won't take more than two or three thousand of us to destroy it; there's no point in all of us going there."


text:
About thirty-six of the Israelis were killed during the attack, and many others died while being chased by the men of Ai as far as the quarries. The Israeli army was paralyzed with fear at this turn of events.


text:
Joshua and the elders of Israel tore their clothing and lay prostrate before the Ark of the Lord until evening, with dust on their heads.


text:
Joshua cried out to the Lord, "O Jehovah, why have you brought us over the Jordan River if you are going to let the Amorites kill us? Why weren't we content with what we had? Why didn't we stay on the other side?


text:
For when the Canaanites and the other nearby nations hear about it, they will surround us and attack us and wipe us out. And then what will happen to the honor of your great name?"


text:
Israel has sinned and disobeyed my commandment and has taken loot when I said it was not to be taken; and they have not only taken it, they have lied about it and have hidden it among their belongings.


text:
That is why the people of Israel are being defeated. That is why your men are running from their enemies--for they are cursed. I will not stay with you any longer unless you completely rid yourselves of this sin.


text:
"Get up! Tell the people, 'Each of you must undergo purification rites in preparation for tomorrow, for the Lord your God of Israel says that someone has stolen from him, and you cannot defeat your enemies until you deal with this sin.


text:
In the morning you must come by tribes, and the Lord will point out the tribe to which the guilty man belongs. And that tribe must come by its clans and the Lord will point out the guilty clan; and the clan must come by its families, and then each member of the guilty family must come one by one.


text:
And the one who has stolen that which belongs to the Lord shall be burned with fire, along with everything he has, for he has violated the covenant of the Lord and has brought calamity upon all of Israel.'


text:
So, early the next morning, Joshua brought the tribes of Israel before the Lord, and the tribe of Judah was indicated.


text:
Then he brought the clans of Judah, and the clan of Zerah was singled out. Then the families of that clan were brought before the Lord and the family of Zabdi was indicated.


text:
Joshua said to Achan, "My son, give glory to the God of Israel and make your confession. Tell me what you have done."


text:
For I saw a beautiful robe imported from Babylon, and some silver worth $200, and a bar of gold worth $500. I wanted them so much that I took them, and they are hidden in the ground beneath my tent, with the silver buried deeper than the rest."


text:
So Joshua sent some men to search for the loot. They ran to the tent and found the stolen goods hidden there just as Achan had said, with the silver buried beneath the rest.


text:
Then Joshua and all the Israelites took Achan, the silver, the robe, the wedge of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, donkeys, sheep, his tent, and everything he had, and brought them to the valley of Achor.


text:
Then Joshua said to Achan, "Why have you brought calamity upon us? The Lord will now bring calamity upon you." And the men of Israel stoned them to death and burned their bodies,


text:
and piled a great heap of stones upon them. The stones are still there to this day, and even today that place is called "The Valley of Calamity." And so the fierce anger of the Lord was ended.


text:
Then the Lord said to Joshua, "Don't be afraid or discouraged; take the entire army and go to Ai, for it is now yours to conquer. I have given the king of Ai and all of his people to you.


text:
You shall do to them as you did to Jericho and her king; but this time you may keep the loot and the cattle for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the city."


text:
Before the main army left for Ai, Joshua sent thirty thousand of his bravest troops to hide in ambush close behind the city, alert for action.


text:
"This is the plan," he explained to them. "When our main army attacks, the men of Ai will come out to fight as they did before, and we will run away.


text:
We will let them chase us until they have all left the city; for they will say, 'The Israelis are running away again just as they did before!'


text:
So they left that night and lay in ambush between Bethel and the west side of Ai; but Joshua and the rest of the army remained in the camp at Jericho.


text:
Early the next morning Joshua roused his men and started toward Ai, accompanied by the elders of Israel,


text:
That night Joshua sent another five thousand men to join the troops in ambush on the west side of the city.


text:
The King of Ai, seeing the Israelis across the valley, went out early the next morning and attacked at the Plain of Arabah. But of course he didn't realize that there was an ambush behind the city.


text:
and all the soldiers in the city were called out to chase after them; so the city was left defenseless;


text:
Then the Lord said to Joshua, "Point your spear toward Ai, for I will give you the city." Joshua did.


text:
And when the men in ambush saw his signal, they jumped up and poured into the city and set it on fire.


text:
When the men of Ai looked behind them, smoke from the city was filling the sky, and they had nowhere to go.


text:
When Joshua and the troops who were with him saw the smoke, they knew that their men who had been in ambush were inside the city, so they turned upon their pursuers and began killing them.


text:
Then the Israelis who were inside the city came out and began destroying the enemy from the rear. So the men of Ai were caught in a trap and all of them died; not one man survived or escaped,


text:
When the army of Israel had finished slaughtering all the men outside the city, they went back and finished off everyone left inside.


text:
Only the cattle and the loot were not destroyed, for the armies of Israel kept these for themselves. (The Lord had told Joshua they could.)


text:
Joshua hanged the king of Ai on a tree until evening, but as the sun was going down, he took down the body and threw it in front of the city gate. There he piled a great heap of stones over it, which can still be seen.


text:
as Moses had commanded in the book of his laws: "Make me an altar of boulders that have neither been broken nor carved," the Lord had said concerning Mount Ebal. Then the priests offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings to the Lord on the altar.


text:
And as the people of Israel watched, Joshua carved upon the stones of the altar each of the Ten Commandments.


text:
Then all the people of Israel--including the elders, officers, judges, and the foreigners living among them--divided into two groups, half of them standing at the foot of Mount Gerizim and half at the foot of Mount Ebal. Between them stood the priests with the Ark, ready to pronounce their blessing. (This was all done in accordance with the instructions given long before by Moses.)


text:
Joshua then read to them all of the statements of blessing and curses that Moses had written in the book of God's laws.


text:
Every commandment Moses had ever given was read before the entire assembly, including the women and children and the foreigners who lived among the Israelis.


text:
When the kings of the surrounding area heard what had happened to Jericho, they quickly combined their armies to fight for their lives against Joshua and the Israelis. These were the kings of the nations west of the Jordan River, along the shores of the Mediterranean as far north as the Lebanon mountains--the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.


text:
wearing worn-out clothing, as though from a long journey, with patched shoes, weatherworn saddlebags on their donkeys, old, patched wineskins and dry, moldy bread.


text:
When they arrived at the camp of Israel at Gilgal, they told Joshua and the men of Israel, "We have come from a distant land to ask for a peace treaty with you."


text:
The Israelis replied to these Hivites, "How do we know you don't live nearby? For if you do, we cannot make a treaty with you."


text:
They replied, "We will be your slaves." "But who are you?" Joshua demanded. "Where do you come from?"


text:
And they told him, "We are from a very distant country; we have heard of the might of the Lord your God and of all that he did in Egypt,


text:
So our elders and our people instructed us, 'Prepare for a long journey; go to the people of Israel and declare our nation to be their servants, and ask for peace.'


text:
these wineskins were new, but now they are old and cracked; our clothing and shoes have become worn out from our long, hard trip."


text:
but went ahead and signed a peace treaty. And the leaders of Israel ratified the agreement with a binding oath.


text:
The Israeli army set out at once to investigate and reached their cities in three days. (The names of the cities were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim.)


text:
But the cities were not harmed because of the vow which the leaders of Israel had made before the Lord God. The people of Israel were angry with their leaders because of the peace treaty.


text:
But the leaders replied, "We have sworn before the Lord God of Israel that we will not touch them, and we won't.


text:
Joshua summoned their leaders and demanded, "Why have you lied to us by saying that you lived in a distant land, when you were actually living right here among us?


text:
Now a curse shall be upon you! From this moment you must always furnish us with servants to chop wood and carry water for the service of our God."


text:
They replied, "We did it because we were told that Jehovah instructed his disciple Moses to conquer this entire land and destroy all the people living in it. So we feared for our lives because of you; that is why we have done it.


text:
but they became woodchoppers and water-carriers for the people of Israel and for the altar of the Lord--wherever it would be built (for the Lord hadn't yet told them where to build it). This arrangement is still in force at the time of this writing.


text:
When Adoni-zedek, the king of Jerusalem, heard how Joshua had captured and destroyed Ai and had killed its king, the same as he had done at Jericho, and how the people of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were now their allies,


text:
he was very frightened. For Gibeon was a great city--as great as the royal cities and much larger than Ai--and its men were known as hard fighters.


text:
So King Adoni-zedek of Jerusalem sent messengers to several other kings: King Hoham of Hebron, King Piram of Jarmuth, King Japhia of Lachish, King Debir of Eglon.


text:
"Come and help me destroy Gibeon," he urged them, "for they have made peace with Joshua and the people of Israel."


text:
The men of Gibeon hurriedly sent messengers to Joshua at Gilgal. "Come and help your servants!" they demanded. "Come quickly and save us! For all the kings of the Amorites who live in the hills are here with their armies."


text:
"Don't be afraid of them," the Lord said to Joshua, "for they are already defeated! I have given them to you to destroy. Not a single one of them will be able to stand up to you."


text:
Then the Lord threw them into a panic so that the army of Israel slaughtered great numbers of them at Gibeon and chased the others all the way to Beth-horon and Azekah and Makkedah, killing them along the way.


text:
And as the enemy was racing down the hill to Beth-horon, the Lord destroyed them with a great hailstorm that continued all the way to Azekah; in fact, more men died from the hail than by the swords of the Israelis.


text:
As the men of Israel were pursuing and harassing the foe, Joshua prayed aloud, "Let the sun stand still over Gibeon, and let the moon stand in its place over the valley of Aijalon!"


text:
And the sun and the moon didn't move until the Israeli army had finished the destruction of its enemies! This is described in greater detail in The Book of Jashar. So the sun stopped in the heavens and stayed there for almost twenty-four hours!


text:
There had never been such a day before, and there has never been another since, when the Lord stopped the sun and moon--all because of the prayer of one man. But the Lord was fighting for Israel.


text:
he issued a command that a great stone be rolled against the mouth of the cave and that guards be placed there to keep the kings inside.


text:
Then Joshua commanded the rest of the army, "Go on chasing the enemy and cut them down from the rear. Don't let them get back to their cities, for the Lord will help you to completely destroy them."


text:
So Joshua and the Israeli army continued the slaughter and wiped out the five armies except for a tiny remnant that managed to reach their fortified cities.


text:
Then the Israelis returned to their camp at Makkedah without having lost a single man! And after that no one dared to attack Israel.


text:
Joshua now instructed his men to remove the stone from the mouth of the cave and to bring out the five kings--of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon.


text:
"Don't ever be afraid or discouraged," Joshua said to his men. "Be strong and courageous, for the Lord is going to do this to all of your enemies."


text:
With that, Joshua plunged his sword into each of the five kings, killing them. He then hanged them on five trees until evening.


text:
As the sun was going down, Joshua instructed that their bodies be taken down and thrown into the cave where they had been hiding; and a great pile of stones was placed at the mouth of the cave. (The pile is still there today.)


text:
On that same day Joshua destroyed the city of Makkedah and killed its king and everyone in it. Not one person in the entire city was left alive.


text:
There, too, the Lord gave them the city and its king. Every last person was slaughtered, just as at Jericho.


text:
And the Lord gave it to them on the second day; here, too, the entire population was slaughtered, just as at Libnah.


text:
During the attack on Lachish, King Horam of Gezer arrived with his army to try to help defend the city, but Joshua's men killed him and destroyed his entire army.


text:
The Israeli army then captured Eglon on the first day and, as at Lachish, they killed everyone in the city.


text:
and captured it and all of its surrounding villages, slaughtering the entire population. Not one person was left alive.


text:
which they quickly captured with all of its outlying villages. And they killed everyone just as they had at Libnah.


text:
So Joshua and his army conquered the whole country--the nations and kings of the hill country, the Negeb, the lowlands, and the mountain slopes. They destroyed everyone in the land, just as the Lord God of Israel had commanded,


text:
When King Jabin of Hazor heard what had happened, he sent urgent messages to the following kings: King Jobab of Madon; The king of Shimron; The king of Achshaph;


text:
All the kings of the northern hill country; The kings in the Arabah, south of Chinneroth; Those in the lowland; The kings in the mountain areas of Dor, on the west;


text:
The kings of Canaan, both east and west; The kings of the Amorites; The kings of the Hittites; The kings of the Perizzites; The kings in the Jebusite hill country; The Hivite kings in the cities on the slopes of Mount Hermon, in the land of Mizpah.


text:
All these kings responded by mobilizing their armies and uniting to crush Israel. Their combined troops, along with a vast array of horses and chariots, covered the landscape around the Springs of Merom as far as one could see;


text:
But the Lord said to Joshua, "Don't be afraid of them, for by this time tomorrow they will all be dead! Hamstring their horses and burn their chariots."


text:
And the Lord gave all that vast army to the Israelis, who chased them as far as Great Sidon and a place called the Salt Pits, and eastward into the valley of Mizpah; so not one enemy troop survived the battle.


text:
Then Joshua and his men did as the Lord had instructed, for they hamstrung the horses and burned all the chariots.


text:
On the way back, Joshua captured Hazor and killed its king. (Hazor had at one time been the capital of the federation of all those kingdoms.)


text:
Then he attacked and destroyed all the other cities of those kings. All the people were slaughtered, just as Moses had commanded long before.


text:
All the loot and cattle of the ravaged cities were taken by the Israelis for themselves, but they killed all the people.


text:
For so the Lord had commanded his disciple Moses; and Moses had passed the commandment on to Joshua, who did as he had been told: he carefully obeyed all of the Lord's instructions to Moses.


text:
So Joshua conquered the entire land--the hill country, the Negeb, the land of Goshen, the lowlands, the Arabah, and the hills and lowlands of Israel.


text:
The Israeli territory now extended all the way from Mount Halak, near Seir, to Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon, at the foot of Mount Hermon. And Joshua killed all the kings of those territories.


text:
None of the cities was given a peace treaty except the Hivites of Gibeon; all of the others were destroyed.


text:
For the Lord made the enemy kings want to fight the Israelis instead of asking for peace; so they were mercilessly killed, as the Lord had commanded Moses.


text:
During this period Joshua routed all of the giants--the descendants of Anak who lived in the hill country in Hebron, Debir, Anab, Judah, and Israel; he killed them all and completely destroyed their cities.


text:
So Joshua took the entire land just as the Lord had instructed Moses; and he gave it to the people of Israel as their inheritance, dividing the land among the tribes. So the land finally rested from its war.


text:
Here is the list of the kings on the east side of the Jordan River whose cities were destroyed by the Israelis: (The area involved stretched all the way from the valley of the Arnon River to Mount Hermon, including the cities of the eastern desert.)


text:
King Sihon of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon. His kingdom extended from Aroer, on the edge of the Arnon Valley, and from the middle of the valley of the Arnon River to the Jabbok River, which is the boundary of the Ammonites. This includes half of the present area of Gilead, which lies north of the Jabbok River.


text:
Sihon also controlled the Jordan River valley as far north as the western shores of the Lake of Galilee; and as far south as the Dead Sea and the slopes of Mount Pisgah.


text:
He ruled a territory stretching from Mount Hermon in the north to Salecah on Mount Bashan in the east, and on the west, extending to the boundary of the kingdoms of Geshur and Maacah. His kingdom also stretched south to include the northern half of Gilead where the boundary touched the border of the kingdom of Sihon, king of Heshbon.


text:
Moses and the people of Israel had destroyed these people, and Moses gave the land to the tribes of Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh.


text:
Here is a list of the kings destroyed by Joshua and the armies of Israel on the west side of the Jordan. (This land which lay between Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon and Mount Halak, west of Mount Seir, was allotted by Joshua to the other tribes of Israel.


text:
The area included the hill country, the lowlands, the Arabah, the mountain slopes, the Judean Desert, and the Negeb. The people who lived there were the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites):


text:
Joshua was now an old man. "You are growing old," the Lord said to him, "and there are still many nations to be conquered.


text:
Here is a list of the areas still to be occupied: All the land of the Philistines; The land of the Geshurites;


text:
The territory now belonging to the Canaanites from the brook of Egypt to the southern boundary of Ekron; Five cities of the Philistines: Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, Ekron;


text:
The land of the Avvim in the south; In the north, all the land of the Canaanites, including Mearah (which belongs to the Sidonians), stretching northward to Aphek at the boundary of the Amorites;


text:
The land of the Gebalites on the coast and all of the Lebanon mountain area from Baal-gad beneath Mount Hermon in the south to the entrance of Hamath in the north;


text:
All the hill country from Lebanon to Misrephoth-maim, including all the land of the Sidonians. I am ready to drive these people out from before the nation of Israel,


text:
so include all this territory when you divide the land among the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh as I have commanded you."


text:
The other half of the tribe of Manasseh and the tribes of Reuben and Gad had already received their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan, for Moses had previously assigned this land to them.


text:
Their territory ran from Aroer, on the edge of the valley of the Arnon River, included the city in the valley, and crossed the tableland of Medeba to Dibon;


text:
it also included all the cities of King Sihon of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, and extended as far as the borders of Ammon.


text:
It included Gilead; the territory of the Geshurites and the Maacathites; all of Mount Hermon; Mount Bashan with its city of Salecah;


text:
and all the territory of King Og of Bashan, who had reigned in Ashtaroth and Edrei. (He was the last of the Rephaim, for Moses had attacked them and driven them out.


text:
However, the people of Israel had not driven out the Geshurites or the Maacathites, who still live there among the Israelites to this day.)


text:
The Territorial Assignments The Land Given to the Tribe of Levi:  Moses hadn't assigned any land to the tribe of Levi: instead, they were given the offerings brought to the Lord.


text:
The Land Given to the Tribe of Reuben:  Fitting the size of its territory to its size of population, Moses had assigned the following area to the tribe of Reuben:


text:
Their land extended from Aroer on the edge of the valley of the Arnon River, past the city of Arnon in the middle of the valley, to beyond the tableland near Medeba.


text:
The land of Reuben also included the cities of the tableland and the kingdom of Sihon. Sihon was the king who had lived in Heshbon and was killed by Moses along with the other chiefs of Midian--Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba.


text:
The Land Given to the Tribe of Gad:  Moses also assigned land to the tribe of Gad in proportion to its population.


text:
This territory included Jazer, all the cities of Gilead, and half of the land of Ammon as far as Aroer near Rabbah.


text:
In the valley were Beth-haram, and Beth-nimrah, Succoth, Zaphon, and the rest of the kingdom of King Sihon of Heshbon. The Jordan River was the western border, extending as far as the Lake of Galilee; then the border turned east from the Jordan River.


text:
The Land Given to the Half-Tribe of Manasseh: Moses had assigned the following territory to the half-tribe of Manasseh in proportion to its needs:


text:
Their territory extended north from Mahanaim, included all of Bashan, the former kingdom of King Og, and the sixty cities of Jair in Bashan.


text:
Half of Gilead and King Og's royal cities of Ashtaroth and Edrei were given to half of the clan Machir, who was Manasseh's son.


text:
That was how Moses divided the land east of the Jordan River where the people were camped at that time across from Jericho.


text:
But Moses had given no land to the tribe of Levi for, as he had explained to them, the Lord God was their inheritance. He was all they needed. He would take care of them in other ways.


text:
The decision as to which tribe would receive which area was decided by throwing dice before the Lord, and he caused them to turn up in the ways he wanted. Eleazar the priest, Joshua, and the tribal leaders supervised the lottery.


text:
The tribe of Joseph had become two separate tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim, and the Levites were given no land at all, except cities in which to live and the surrounding pasturelands for their cattle.


text:
The Land Given to Caleb:  A delegation from the tribe of Judah, led by Caleb, came to Joshua in Gilgal. "Remember what the Lord said to Moses about you and me when we were at Kadesh-barnea?" Caleb asked Joshua.


text:
"I was forty years old at the time, and Moses had sent us from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land of Canaan. I reported what I felt was the truth,


text:
but our brothers who went with us frightened the people and discouraged them from entering the Promised Land. But since I had followed the Lord my God,


text:
Moses told me, 'The section of Canaan you were just in shall belong to you and your descendants forever.'


text:
"Now, as you see, from that time until now the Lord has kept me alive and well for all these forty-five years since crisscrossing the wilderness, and today I am eighty-five years old.


text:
I am as strong now as I was when Moses sent us on that journey, and I can still travel and fight as well as I could then!


text:
So I'm asking that you give me the hill country that the Lord promised me. You will remember that as spies we found the Anakim living there in great, walled cities, but if the Lord is with me, I shall drive them out of the land."


text:
So Joshua blessed him and gave him Hebron as a permanent inheritance because he had followed the Lord God of Israel.


text:
(Before that time Hebron had been called Kiriath-arba, after a great hero of the Anakim.) And there was no resistance from the local populations as the Israelis resettled the land.


text:
The land given to the Tribe of Judah (as assigned by sacred lot):  Judah's southern boundary began at the northern border of Edom, crossed the Wilderness of Zin, and ended at the northern edge of the Negeb.


text:
ran along the road going south of Mount Akrabbim, on into the Wilderness of Zin to Hezron (south of Kadesh-barnea),


text:
and then up through Karka and Azmon, until it finally reached the Brook of Egypt, and along that to the Mediterranean Sea.


text:
The eastern boundary extended along the Dead Sea to the mouth of the Jordan River. The northern boundary began at the bay where the Jordan River empties into the Salt Sea,


text:
From that point it went through the Valley of Achor to Debir, where it turned northwest toward Gilgal, opposite the slopes of Adummim on the south side of the valley. From there the border extended to the springs at En-shemesh and on to En-rogel.


text:
The boundary then passed through the Valley of Hinnom, along the southern shoulder of Jebus (where the city of Jerusalem is located), then west to the top of the mountain above the Valley of Hinnom, and on up to the northern end of the Valley of Rephaim.


text:
From there the border extended from the top of the mountain to the spring of Nephtoah, and from there to the cities of Mount Ephron before it turned northward to circle around Baalah (which is another name for Kiriath-jearim).


text:
Then the border circled west of Baalah to Mount Seir, passed along to the town of Chesalon on the northern shoulder of Mount Jearim, and went down to Beth-shemesh. Turning northwest again, the boundary line proceeded past the south of Timnah


text:
to the shoulder of the hill north of Ekron, where it bent to the left, passing south of Shikkeron and Mount Baalah. Turning again to the north, it passed Jabneel and ended at the Mediterranean Sea.


text:
The Land Given to Caleb:  The Lord instructed Joshua to assign some of Judah's territory to Caleb (son of Jephunneh), so he was given the city of Arba (also called Hebron), which had been named after Anak's father.


text:
Caleb said that he would give his daughter Achsah to be the wife of anyone who would go and capture Kiriath-sepher.


text:
Othniel (son of Kenaz), Caleb's nephew, was the one who conquered it, so Achsah became Othniel's wife.


text:
As she was leaving with him, she urged him to ask her father for an additional field as a wedding present. She got off her donkey to speak to Caleb about this. "What is it? What can I do for you?" he asked.


text:
And she replied, "Give me another present! For the land you gave me is a desert. Give us some springs too!" Then he gave her the upper and lower springs.


text:
The cities of Judah which were situated along the borders of Edom in the Negeb, namely:  Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur,


text:
Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon.  In all, there were twenty-nine of these cities with their surrounding villages.


text:
Shaaraim, Adithaim, Gederah, and Gederothaim.  In all, there were fourteen of these cities with their surrounding villages.


text:
The tribe of Judah also inherited twenty-five other cities with their villages:  Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal-gad,


text:
From Ekron the boundary extended to the Mediterranean and included the cities along the borders of Ashdod with their nearby villages;


text:
also the city of Ashdod with its villages, and Gaza with its villages as far as the Brook of Egypt; also the entire Mediterranean coast from the mouth of the Brook of Egypt on the south to Tyre on the north.


text:
Judah also received these forty-four cities in the hill country with their surrounding villages:  Shamir, Jattir, Socoh,


text:
But the tribe of Judah could not drive out the Jebusites who lived in the city of Jerusalem, so the Jebusites live there among the people of Judah to this day.


text:
The southern boundary of the Tribes of Joseph (Ephraim and the half-tribe of Manasseh): This boundary extended from the Jordan River at Jericho through the wilderness and the hill country to Bethel.


text:
and west to the border of the Japhletites as far as Lower Beth-horon, then to Gezer and on over to the Mediterranean.


text:
The Land Given to the Tribe of Ephraim: The eastern boundary began at Ataroth-addar. From there it ran to Upper Beth-horon,


text:
then on to the Mediterranean Sea. The northern boundary began at the Sea, ran east past Michmethath, then continued on past Taanath-shiloh and Janoah.


text:
From Janoah it turned southward to Ataroth and Naarah, touched Jericho, and ended at the Jordan River.


text:
 The western half of the northern boundary went from Tappuah and followed along Kanah Brook to the Mediterranean Sea."


text:
The Canaanites living in Gezer were never driven out, so they still live as slaves among the people of Ephraim.


text:
The land given to the Half-tribe of Manasseh (Joseph's oldest son): The clan of Machir (Manasseh's oldest son who was the father of Gilead) had already been given the land of Gilead and Bashan  on the east side of the Jordan River, for they were great warriors.


text:
So now, land on the west side of the Jordan was given to the clans of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Shemida, and Hepher.


text:
However, Hepher's son Zelophehad (grandson of Gilead, great-grandson of Machir, and great-great-grandson of Manasseh) had no sons. He had only five daughters whose names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.


text:
These women came to Eleazar the priest and to Joshua and the Israeli leaders and reminded them, "The Lord told Moses that we were to receive as much property as the men of our tribe."


text:
So, as the Lord had commanded through Moses, these five women were given an inheritance along with their five great-uncles,


text:
and the total inheritance came to ten sections of land (in addition to the land of Gilead and Bashan across the Jordan River).


text:
The northern boundary of the tribe of Manasseh extended southward from the border of Asher to Michmethath, which is east of Shechem. On the south the boundary went from Michmethath to the Spring of Tappuah.


text:
(The land of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, but the city of Tappuah, on the border of Manasseh's land, belonged to the tribe of Ephraim.)


text:
From the spring of Tappuah the border of Manasseh followed the north bank of the Brook of Kanah to the Mediterranean Sea. (Several cities south of the brook belonged to the tribe of Ephraim, though they were located in Manasseh's territory.)


text:
The land south of the brook and as far west as the Mediterranean Sea was assigned to Ephraim, and the land north of the brook and east of the sea went to Manasseh. Manasseh's northern boundary was the territory of Asher, and the eastern boundary was the territory of Issachar.


text:
The half-tribe of Manasseh was also given the following cities, which were situated in the areas assigned to Issachar and Asher: Beth-shean, Ibleam, Dor, En-dor, Taanach, Megiddo (where there are the three cliffs), with their respective villages.


text:
But since the descendants of Manasseh could not drive out the people who lived in those cities, the Canaanites remained.


text:
Later on, however, when the Israelis became strong enough, they forced the Canaanites to work as slaves.


text:
Then the two tribes of Joseph came to Joshua and asked, "Why have you given us only one portion of land when the Lord has given us such large populations?"


text:
"If the hill country of Ephraim is not large enough for you," Joshua replied, "and if you are able to do it, you may clear out the forest land where the Perizzites and Rephaim live."


text:
"Fine," said the tribes of Joseph, "for the Canaanites in the lowlands around Beth-shean and the Valley of Jezreel have iron chariots and are too strong for us."


text:
"Then you shall have the mountain forests," Joshua replied, "and since you are such a large, strong tribe you will surely


text:
be able to clear it all and live there. And I'm sure you can drive out the Canaanites from the valleys, too, even though they are strong and have iron chariots."


text:
After the conquest--although seven of the tribes of Israel had not yet entered and conquered the land God had given them--all Israel gathered at Shiloh to set up the Tabernacle.


text:
Then Joshua asked them, "How long are you going to wait before clearing out the people living in the land that the Lord your God has given to you?


text:
Select three men from each tribe, and I will send them to scout the unconquered territory and bring back a report of its size and natural divisions so that I can divide it for you.


text:
The scouts will map it into seven sections, and then I will throw the sacred dice to decide which section will be assigned to each tribe.


text:
However, remember that the Levites won't receive any land; they are priests of the Lord. That is their wonderful heritage. And of course the tribes of Gad and Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh won't receive any more, for they already have land on the east side of the Jordan where Moses promised them that they could settle."


text:
So the scouts went out to map the country and to bring back their report to Joshua. Then the Lord could assign the sections of land to the tribes by the throw of the sacred dice.


text:
The men did as they were told and divided the entire territory into seven sections, listing the cities in each section. Then they returned to Joshua and the camp at Shiloh.


text:
There at the Tabernacle at Shiloh the Lord showed Joshua by the sacred lottery which tribe should have each section:


text:
The Land Given to the Tribe of Benjamin: The section of land assigned to the families of the tribe of Benjamin lay between the territory previously assigned to the tribes of Judah and Joseph.


text:
The northern boundary began at the Jordan River, went north of Jericho, then west through the hill country and the Wilderness of Beth-aven.


text:
From there the boundary went south to Luz (also called Bethel) and proceeded down to Ataroth-addar in the hill country south of Lower Beth-horon.


text:
There the border turned south, passing the mountain near Beth-horon and ending at the village of Kiriath-baal (sometimes called Kiriath-jearim), one of the cities of the tribe of Judah. This was the western boundary.


text:
and down to the base of the mountain beside the valley of Hinnom, north of the valley of Rephaim. From there it continued across the valley of Hinnom, crossed south of the old city of Jerusalem where the Jebusites lived, and continued down to En-rogel.


text:
From En-rogel the boundary proceeded northeast to En-shemesh and on to Geliloth (which is opposite the slope of Adummim). Then it went down to the Stone of Bohan (who was a son of Reuben),


text:
ran south past Beth-hoglah, and ended at the north bay of the Dead Sea--which is the southern end of the Jordan River.


text:
These twenty-six cities were included in the land given to the tribe of Benjamin:  Jericho, Beth-hoglah, Emek-keziz,


text:
Zela, Haeleph, Jebus (or Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath-jearim.  All of these cities and their surrounding villages were given to the tribe of Benjamin.


text:
The land given to the Tribe of Simeon:  The tribe of Simeon received the next assignment of land--including part of the land previously assigned to Judah.


text:
Their inheritance included these seventeen cities with their respective villages:  Beer-sheba, Sheba, Moladah,


text:
The cities as far south as Baalath-beer (also known as Ramah-in-the-Negeb) were also given to the tribe of Simeon.


text:
So the Simeon tribe's inheritance came from what had earlier been given to Judah, for Judah's section had been too large for them.


text:
The Land Given to the Tribe of Zebulun:  The third tribe to receive its assignment of land was Zebulun. Its boundary started on the south side of Sarid.


text:
From there it circled to the west, going near Mareal and Dabbesheth until it reached the brook east of Jokneam.


text:
In the other direction, the boundary line went east to the border of Chisloth-tabor, and from there to Daberath and Japhia;


text:
The cities in these areas, besides those already mentioned, included Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, Bethlehem, and each of their surrounding villages.


text:
The Land Given to the Tribe of Issachar:  The fourth tribe to be assigned its land was Issachar. Its boundaries included the following cities:


text:
The fifth tribe to be assigned its land was Asher. The boundaries included these cities:  Helkath, Hali, Beten, Achshaph,


text:
turned east toward Beth-dagon, and ran as far as Zebulun in the Valley of Iphtahel, running north of Beth-emek and Neiel. It then passed to the east of Kabul,


text:
Then the boundary turned toward Ramah and the fortified city of Tyre and came to the Mediterranean Sea at Hosah. The territory also included Mahalab, Achzib,


text:
The Land Given to the Tribe of Naphtali:  The sixth tribe to receive its assignment was the tribe of Naphtali.


text:
Its boundary began at Judah, at the oak in Zaanannim, and extended across to Adami-nekeb, Jabneel, and Lakkum, ending at the Jordan River.


text:
The western boundary began near Heleph and ran past Aznoth-tabor, then to Hukkok, and coincided with the Zebulun boundary in the south, and with the boundary of Asher on the west, and with the Jordan River at the east.


text:
But some of this territory proved impossible to conquer, so the tribe of Dan captured the city of Leshem, slaughtered its people, and lived there; and they called the city "Dan," naming it after their ancestor.


text:
So all the land was divided among the tribes, with the boundaries indicated; and the nation of Israel gave a special piece of land to Joshua,


text:
for the Lord had said that he could have any city he wanted. He chose Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim; he rebuilt it and lived there.


text:
Eleazar the priest, Joshua, and the leaders of the tribes of Israel supervised the sacred lottery to divide the land among the tribes. This was done in the Lord's presence at the entrance of the Tabernacle at Shiloh.


text:
If a man is guilty of killing someone unintentionally, he can run to one of these cities and be protected from the relatives of the dead man, who may try to kill him in revenge.


text:
When the innocent killer reaches any of these cities, he will meet with the city council and explain what happened, and they must let him come in and must give him a place to live among them.


text:
If a relative of the dead man comes to kill him in revenge, the innocent slayer must not be released to him for the death was accidental.


text:
The man who caused the accidental death must stay in that city until he has been tried by the judges and found innocent, and must live there until the death of the High Priest who was in office at the time of the accident. But then he is free to return to his own city and home."


text:
The cities chosen as Cities of Refuge were Kedesh of Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali; Shechem, in the hill country of Ephraim; and Kiriath-arba (also known as Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.


text:
The Lord also instructed that three cities be set aside for this purpose on the east side of the Jordan River, across from Jericho. They were Bezer, in the wilderness of the land of the tribe of Reuben; Ramoth of Gilead, in the territory of the tribe of Gad; and Golan of Bashan, in the land of the tribe of Manasseh.


text:
These Cities of Refuge were for foreigners living in Israel as well as for the Israelis themselves, so that anyone who accidentally killed another man could run to that place for a trial and not be killed in revenge.


text:
Then the leaders of the tribe of Levi came to Shiloh to consult with Eleazar the priest and with Joshua and the leaders of the various tribes.


text:
"The Lord instructed Moses to give cities to us Levites for our homes, and pastureland for our cattle," they said.


text:
Thirteen of these cities had been assigned originally to the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. These were given to some of the priests of the Kohath division (of the tribe of Levi, descendants of Aaron).


text:
The other families of the Kohath division were given ten cities from the territories of Ephraim, Dan, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.


text:
The Gershon division received thirteen cities, selected by sacred lot in the area of Bashan. These cities were given by the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.


text:
So the Lord's command to Moses was obeyed, and the cities and pasturelands were assigned by the toss of the sacred dice.


text:
the descendants of Aaron, who was a member of the Kohath division of the Levites. The tribes of Judah and Simeon gave them the nine cities listed below, with their surrounding pasturelands:


text:
Hebron, in the Judean hills, as a City of Refuge--it was also called Kiriath-arba (Arba was the father of Anak)--


text:
although the fields beyond the city and the surrounding villages were given to Caleb, the son of Jephunneh;


text:
The tribe of Benjamin gave them these four cities and their pasturelands:  Gibeon, Gaba, Anathoth, and Almon.


text:
The other families of the Kohath division received four cities and pasturelands from the tribe of Ephraim:


text:
The following four cities and pasturelands were given by the tribe of Dan:  Elteke, Gibbethon, Aijalon, and Gath-rimmon.


text:
The half-tribe of Manasseh gave the cities of Taanach and Gath-rimmon with their surrounding pasturelands.


text:
So the total number of cities and pasturelands given to the remainder of the Kohath division was ten.


text:
The descendants of Gershon, another division of the Levites, received two cities and pasturelands from the half-tribe of Manasseh:  Golan, in Bashan (a City of Refuge), and Be-eshterah.


text:
The remainder of the Levites--the Merari division--were given four cities by the tribe of Zebulun:  Jokneam, Kartah, Dimnah, and Nahalal.


text:
Gad gave them four cities with pasturelands:  Ramoth (a City of Refuge), Mahanaim, Heshbon, and Jazer.


text:
So in this way the Lord gave to Israel all the land he had promised to their ancestors, and they went in and conquered it and lived there.


text:
And the Lord gave them peace, just as he had promised, and no one could stand against them; the Lord helped them destroy all their enemies.


text:
Joshua now called together the troops from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh,


text:
and addressed them as follows: "You have done as the Lord's disciple Moses commanded you, and have obeyed every order I have given you--every order of the Lord your God.


text:
You have not deserted your brother tribes, even though the campaign has lasted for such a long time.


text:
And now the Lord our God has given us success and rest as he promised he would. So go home now to the land given you by the Lord's servant Moses, on the other side of the Jordan River.


text:
Be sure to continue to obey all of the commandments Moses gave you. Love the Lord and follow his plan for your lives. Cling to him and serve him enthusiastically."


text:
(Moses had assigned the land of Bashan to the half-tribe of Manasseh, although the other half of the tribe was given land on the west side of the Jordan.) As Joshua sent away these troops, he blessed them


text:
and told them to share their great wealth with their relatives back home--their loot of cattle, silver, gold, bronze, iron, and clothing.


text:
So the troops of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh left the army of Israel at Shiloh in Canaan and crossed the Jordan River to their own homeland of Gilead.


text:
Before they went across, while they were still in Canaan, they built a large monument for everyone to see, in the shape of an altar.


text:
First, however, they sent a delegation led by Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest. They crossed the river and talked to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh.


text:
In this delegation were ten high officials of Israel, one from each of the ten tribes, and each a clan leader.


text:
When they arrived in the land of Gilead they said to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh,


text:
"The whole congregation of the Lord demands to know why you are sinning against the God of Israel by turning away from him and building an altar of rebellion against the Lord.


text:
Was our guilt at Peor--from which we have not even yet been cleansed despite the plague that tormented us--


text:
so little that you must rebel again? For you know that if you rebel today the Lord will be angry with all of us tomorrow.


text:
If you need the altar because your land is defiled, then join us on our side of the river where the Lord lives among us in his Tabernacle, and we will share our land with you. But do not rebel against the Lord by building another altar in addition to the only true altar of our God.


text:
Don't you remember that when Achan, the son of Zerah, sinned against the Lord, the entire nation was punished in addition to the one man who had sinned?"


text:
This was the reply of the people of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh to these high officials:


text:
"We swear by Jehovah, the God of gods, that we have not built the altar in rebellion against the Lord. He knows (and let all Israel know it too) that we have not built the altar to sacrifice burnt offerings or grain offerings or peace offerings--may the curse of God be on us if we did.


text:
We have done it because we love the Lord and because we fear that in the future your children will say to ours, 'What right do you have to worship the Lord God of Israel?


text:
The Lord has placed the Jordan River as a barrier between our people and your people! You have no part in the Lord.' And your children may make our children stop worshiping him.


text:
to show our children and your children that we, too, may worship the Lord with our burnt offerings and peace offerings and sacrifices, and your children will not be able to say to ours, 'You have no part in the Lord our God.'


text:
If they say this, our children can reply, 'Look at the altar of the Lord that our fathers made, patterned after the altar of Jehovah. It is not for burnt offerings or sacrifices but is a symbol of the relationship with God that both of us have.'


text:
Far be it from us to turn away from the Lord or to rebel against him by building our own altar for burnt offerings, grain offerings, or sacrifices. Only the altar in front of the Tabernacle may be used for that."


text:
When Phinehas the priest and the high officials heard this from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, they were very happy.


text:
Phinehas replied to them, "Today we know that the Lord is among us because you have not sinned against the Lord as we thought; instead, you have saved us from destruction!"


text:
Then Phinehas and the ten ambassadors went back to the people of Israel and told them what had happened,


text:
The people of Reuben and Gad named the altar "The Altar of Witness," for they said, "It is a witness between us and them that Jehovah is our God too."


text:
Long after this, when the Lord had given success to the people of Israel against their enemies and when Joshua was very old,


text:
he called for the leaders of Israel--the elders, judges, and officers--and said to them, "I am an old man now,


text:
and you have seen all that the Lord your God has done for you during my lifetime. He has fought for you against your enemies and has given you their land.


text:
And I have divided to you the land of the nations yet unconquered as well as the land of those you have already destroyed. All the land from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea shall be yours,


text:
for the Lord your God will drive out all the people living there now, and you will live there instead, just as he has promised you.


text:
"But be very sure to follow all the instructions written in the book of the laws of Moses; do not deviate from them the least little bit.


text:
Be sure that you do not mix with the heathen people still remaining in the land; do not even mention the names of their gods, much less swear by them or worship them.


text:
Each one of you has put to flight a thousand of the enemy, for the Lord your God fights for you, just as he has promised.


text:
then know for a certainty that the Lord your God will no longer chase those nations from your land. Instead, they will be a snare and a trap to you, a pain in your side and a thorn in your eyes, and you will disappear from this good land which the Lord your God has given you.


text:
"Soon I will be going the way of all the earth--I am going to die. "You know very well that God's promises to you have all come true.


text:
But as certainly as the Lord has given you the good things he promised, just as certainly he will bring evil upon you if you disobey him.


text:
For if you worship other gods, he will completely wipe you out from this good land that the Lord has given you. His anger will rise hot against you, and you will quickly perish."


text:
Then Joshua summoned all the people of Israel to him at Shechem, along with their leaders--the elders, officers, and judges. So they came and presented themselves before God.


text:
Then Joshua addressed them as follows: "The Lord God of Israel says, 'Your ancestors, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived east of the Euphrates River; and they worshiped other gods.


text:
But I took your father Abraham from that land across the river and led him into the land of Canaan and gave him many descendants through Isaac, his son.


text:
Isaac's children, whom I gave him, were Jacob and Esau. To Esau I gave the area around Mount Seir while Jacob and his children went into Egypt.


text:
"Then I sent Moses and Aaron to bring terrible plagues upon Egypt; and afterwards I brought my people out as free men.


text:
Then Israel cried out to me and I put darkness between them and the Egyptians; and I brought the sea crashing in upon the Egyptians, drowning them. You saw what I did. Then Israel lived in the wilderness for many years.


text:
"Finally I brought you into the land of the Amorites on the other side of the Jordan; and they fought against you, but I destroyed them and gave you their land.


text:
Then King Balak of Moab started a war against Israel, and he asked Balaam, the son of Beor, to curse you.


text:
"Then you crossed the Jordan River and came to Jericho. The men of Jericho fought against you, and so did many others--the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Each in turn fought against you, but I destroyed them all.


text:
And I sent hornets ahead of you to drive out the two kings of the Amorites and their people. It was not your swords or bows that brought you victory!


text:
I gave you land you had not worked for and cities you did not build--these cities where you are now living. I gave you vineyards and olive groves for food, though you did not plant them.'


text:
"So revere Jehovah and serve him in sincerity and truth. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Worship the Lord alone.


text:
But if you are unwilling to obey the Lord, then decide today whom you will obey. Will it be the gods of your ancestors beyond the Euphrates or the gods of the Amorites here in this land? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord."


text:
For the Lord our God is the one who rescued our fathers from their slavery in the land of Egypt. He is the God who did mighty miracles before the eyes of Israel, as we traveled through the wilderness, and preserved us from our enemies when we passed through their land.


text:
It was the Lord who drove out the Amorites and the other nations living here in the land. Yes, we choose the Lord, for he alone is our God."


text:
But Joshua replied to the people, "You can't worship the Lord God, for he is holy and jealous; he will not forgive your rebellion and sins.


text:
If you forsake him and worship other gods, he will turn upon you and destroy you, even though he has taken care of you for such a long time."


text:
"You have heard yourselves say it," Joshua said. "You have chosen to obey the Lord." "Yes," they replied, "we are witnesses."


text:
"All right," he said, "then you must destroy all the idols you now own, and you must obey the Lord God of Israel."


text:
So Joshua made a covenant with them that day at Shechem, committing them to a permanent and binding contract between themselves and God.


text:
Joshua recorded the people's reply in the book of the laws of God and took a huge stone as a reminder and rolled it beneath the oak tree that was beside the Tabernacle.


text:
Then Joshua said to all the people, "This stone has heard everything the Lord said, so it will be a witness to testify against you if you go back on your word."


text:
He was buried on his own estate at Timnath-serah, in the hill country of Ephraim, on the north side of the mountains of Gaash.


text:
Israel obeyed the Lord throughout the lifetimes of Joshua and the other old men who had personally witnessed the amazing deeds the Lord had done for Israel.


text:
The bones of Joseph, the people of Israel had brought them along when they left Egypt--were buried in Shechem, in the parcel of ground Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor. (The land was located in the territory assigned to the tribes of Joseph.)


text:
Eleazar, the son of Aaron, also died; he was buried in the hill country of Ephraim, at Gibeah, the city that had been given to his son Phinehas.


text:
After Joshua died, the nation of Israel went to the Lord to receive his instructions. "Which of our tribes should be the first to go to war against the Canaanites?" they inquired.


text:
The leaders of the tribe of Judah, however, asked help from the tribe of Simeon. "Join us in clearing out the people living in the territory allotted to us," they said, "and then we will help you conquer yours." So the army of Simeon went with the army of Judah.


text:
And the Lord helped them defeat the Canaanites and Perizzites, so that ten thousand of the enemy were slain at Bezek.


text:
King Adoni-bezek escaped, but the Israeli army soon captured him and cut off his thumbs and big toes.


text:
"I have treated seventy kings in this same manner and have fed them the scraps under my table!" King Adoni-bezek said. "Now God has paid me back." He was taken to Jerusalem and died there.


text:
Afterward the army of Judah fought the Canaanites in the hill country and in the Negeb, as well as on the coastal plains.


text:
Then Judah marched against the Canaanites in Hebron (formerly called Kiriath-arba), destroying the cities of Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.


text:
"Who will lead the attack against Debir?" Caleb challenged them. "Whoever conquers it shall have my daughter Achsah as his wife!"


text:
Caleb's nephew, Othniel, son of his younger brother Kenaz, volunteered to lead the attack; and he conquered the city and won Achsah as his bride.


text:
As they were leaving for their new home, she urged him to ask her father for an additional piece of land. She dismounted from her donkey to speak to Caleb about it. "What do you wish?" he asked.


text:
And she replied, "You have been kind enough to give me land in the Negeb, but please give us springs of water too." So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.


text:
When the tribe of Judah moved into its new land in the Negeb wilderness south of Arad, the descendants of Moses' father-in-law--members of the Kenite tribe--accompanied them. They left their homes in Jericho, "The City of Palm Trees," and the two tribes lived together after that.


text:
Afterwards the army of Judah joined Simeon's, and they fought the Canaanites at the city of Zephath and massacred all its people. So now the city is named Hormah (meaning, "massacred").


text:
The army of Judah also conquered the cities of Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron, with their surrounding villages.


text:
The Lord helped the tribe of Judah exterminate the people of the hill country, though they failed in their attempt to conquer the people of the valley, who had iron chariots.


text:
The city of Hebron was given to Caleb as the Lord had promised; so Caleb drove out the inhabitants of the city; they were descendants of the three sons of Anak.


text:
The tribe of Benjamin failed to exterminate the Jebusites living in their part of the city of Jerusalem, so they still live there today, mingled with the Israelis.


text:
As for the tribe of Joseph, they attacked the city of Bethel, formerly known as Luz, and the Lord was with them. First they sent scouts,


text:
who captured a man coming out of the city. They offered to spare his life and that of his family if he would show them the entrance passage through the wall.


text:
So he showed them how to get in, and they massacred the entire population except for this man and his family.


text:
Later the man moved to Syria and founded a city there, naming it Luz, too, as it is still known today.


text:
The tribe of Manasseh failed to drive out the people living in Beth-shean, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo, with their surrounding towns; so the Canaanites stayed there.


text:
In later years when the Israelis were stronger, they put the Canaanites to work as slaves, but never did force them to leave the country.


text:
And the tribe of Zebulun did not massacre the people of Kitron or Nahalol, but made them their slaves;


text:
nor did the tribe of Asher drive out the residents of Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, or Rehob;


text:
And the tribe of Naphtali did not drive out the people of Beth-shemesh or of Beth-anath, so these people continue to live among them as servants.


text:
As for the tribe of Dan, the Amorites forced them into the hill country and wouldn't let them come down into the valley;


text:
but when the Amorites later spread into Mount Heres, Aijalon, and Shaalbim, the tribe of Joseph conquered them and made them their slaves.


text:
The boundary of the Amorites begins at the ascent of Scorpion Pass, runs to a spot called The Rock, and continues upward from there.


text:
One day the Angel of the Lord arrived at Bochim, coming from Gilgal, and announced to the people of Israel, "I brought you out of Egypt into this land that I promised to your ancestors, and I said that I would never break my covenant with you,


text:
if you, on your part, would make no peace treaties with the people living in this land; I told you to destroy their heathen altars. Why have you not obeyed?


text:
And now since you have broken the contract, it is no longer in effect, and I no longer promise to destroy the nations living in your land; rather, they shall be thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a constant temptation to you."


text:
so the name of that place was called "Bochim" (meaning, "the place where people wept"). Then they offered sacrifices to the Lord.


text:
When Joshua finally disbanded the armies of Israel, the tribes moved into their new territories and took possession of the land.


text:
and was buried at the edge of his property in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.


text:
The people had remained true to the Lord throughout Joshua's lifetime, and as long afterward as the old men of his generation were still living--those who had seen the mighty miracles the Lord had done for Israel.


text:
But finally all that generation died; and the next generation did not worship Jehovah as their God and did not care about the mighty miracles he had done for Israel.


text:
They did many things that the Lord had expressly forbidden, including the worshiping of heathen gods.


text:
They abandoned Jehovah, the God loved and worshiped by their ancestors--the God who had brought them out of Egypt. Instead, they were worshiping and bowing low before the idols of the neighboring nations. So the anger of the Lord flamed out against all Israel. He left them to the mercy of their enemies,


text:
So now when the nation of Israel went out to battle against its enemies, the Lord blocked their path. He had warned them about this, and in fact had vowed that he would do it. But when the people were in this terrible plight,


text:
Yet even then Israel would not listen to the judges, but broke faith with Jehovah by worshiping other gods instead. How quickly they turned away from the true faith of their ancestors, for they refused to obey God's commands.


text:
Each judge rescued the people of Israel from their enemies throughout his lifetime, for the Lord was moved to pity by the groaning of his people under their crushing oppressions; so he helped them as long as that judge lived.


text:
But when the judge died, the people turned from doing right and behaved even worse than their ancestors had. They prayed to heathen gods again, throwing themselves to the ground in humble worship. They stubbornly returned to the evil customs of the nations around them.


text:
Then the anger of the Lord would flame out against Israel again. He declared, "Because these people have violated the treaty I made with their ancestors,


text:
Instead, I will use these nations to test my people, to see whether or not they will obey the Lord as their ancestors did."


text:
Here is a list of the nations the Lord left in the land to test the new generation of Israel who had not experienced the wars of Canaan.


text:
For God wanted to give opportunity to the youth of Israel to exercise faith and obedience in conquering their enemies:


text:
The Philistines (five cities),  The Canaanites,  The Sidonians,  The Hivites living in Mount Lebanon, from Baal-hermon to the entrance of Hamath.


text:
These people were a test to the new generation of Israel, to see whether they would obey the commandments the Lord had given to them through Moses.


text:
But instead of destroying them, the people of Israel intermarried with them. The young men of Israel took their girls as wives, and the Israeli girls married their men. And soon Israel was worshiping their gods.


text:
So the people of Israel were very evil in God's sight, for they turned against Jehovah their God and worshiped Baal and the Asheroth idols.


text:
Then the anger of the Lord flamed out against Israel, and he let King Cushan-rishathaim of eastern Syria conquer them. They were under his rule for eight years.


text:
But when Israel cried out to the Lord, he gave them Caleb's nephew, Othniel (son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother) to save them.


text:
The Spirit of the Lord took control of him, and he reformed and purged Israel so that when he led the forces of Israel against the army of King Cushan-rishathaim, the Lord helped Israel conquer him completely.


text:
the people of Israel turned once again to their sinful ways, so God helped King Eglon of Moab to conquer part of Israel at that time.


text:
Allied with him were the armies of the Ammonites and the Amalekites. These forces defeated the Israelis and took possession of Jericho, often called "The City of Palm Trees."


text:
But when they cried to the Lord, he sent them a savior, Ehud (son of Gera, a Benjaminite), who was left-handed. Ehud was the man chosen to carry Israel's annual tax money to the Moabite capital.


text:
Before he went on this journey, he made himself a double-edged dagger eighteen inches long and hid it in his clothing, strapped against his right thigh.


text:
he started home again. But outside the city, at the quarries of Gilgal, he sent his companions on and returned alone to the king.


text:
"I have a secret message for you," he told him. The king immediately dismissed all those who were with him so that he could have a private interview.


text:
Ehud walked over to him as he was sitting in a cool upstairs room and said to him, "It is a message from God!" King Eglon stood up at once to receive it,


text:
whereupon Ehud reached beneath his robe with his strong left hand, pulled out the double-bladed dagger strapped against his right thigh, and plunged it deep into the king's belly.


text:
The hilt of the dagger disappeared beneath the flesh, and the fat closed over it as the entrails oozed out.


text:
When the king's servants returned and saw that the doors were locked, they waited, thinking that perhaps he was using the bathroom.


text:
But when, after a long time, he still didn't come out, they became concerned and got a key. And when they opened the door, they found their master dead on the floor.


text:
When he arrived in the hill country of Ephraim, he blew a trumpet as a call to arms and mustered an army under his own command.


text:
"Follow me," he told them, "for the Lord has put your enemies, the Moabites, at your mercy!" The army then proceeded to seize the fords of the Jordan River near Moab, preventing anyone from crossing.


text:
Then they attacked the Moabites and killed about ten thousand of the strongest and most skillful of their fighting men, letting not one escape.


text:
The next judge after Ehud was Shamgar (son of Anath). He once killed six hundred Philistines with an ox goad, thereby saving Israel from disaster.


text:
so the Lord let them be conquered by King Jabin of Hazor, in Canaan. The commander-in-chief of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoiim.


text:
He had nine hundred iron chariots and made life unbearable for the Israelis for twenty years. But finally they begged the Lord for help.


text:
Israel's leader at that time, the one who was responsible for bringing the people back to God, was Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth.


text:
She held court at a place now called "Deborah's Palm Tree," between Ramah and Bethel, in the hill country of Ephraim; and the Israelites came to her to decide their disputes.


text:
One day she summoned Barak (son of Abinoam), who lived in Kedesh, in the land of Naphtali, and said to him, "The Lord God of Israel has commanded you to mobilize ten thousand men from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun. Lead them to Mount Tabor


text:
to fight King Jabin's mighty army with all his chariots, under General Sisera's command. The Lord says, 'I will draw them to the Kishon River, and you will defeat them there.' "


text:
"All right," she replied, "I'll go with you; but I'm warning you now that the honor of conquering Sisera will go to a woman instead of to you!" So she went with him to Kedesh.


text:
When Barak summoned the men of Zebulun and Naphtali to mobilize at Kedesh, ten thousand men volunteered. And Deborah marched with them.


text:
(Heber, the Kenite--the Kenites were the descendants of Moses' father-in-law Hobab--had moved away from the rest of his clan, and had been living in various places as far away as the Oak of Zaanannim, near Kedesh.)


text:
he mobilized his entire army, including the nine hundred iron chariots, and marched from Harosheth-hagoiim to the Kishon River.


text:
Then Deborah said to Barak, "Now is the time for action! The Lord leads on! He has already delivered Sisera into your hand!" So Barak led his ten thousand men down the slopes of Mount Tabor into battle.


text:
Then the Lord threw the enemy into a panic, both the soldiers and the charioteers, and Sisera leaped from his chariot and escaped on foot.


text:
Barak and his men chased the enemy and the chariots as far as Harosheth-hagoiim, until all of Sisera's army was destroyed; not one man was left alive.


text:
Meanwhile, Sisera had escaped to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, for there was a mutual-assistance agreement between King Jabin of Hazor and the clan of Heber.


text:
Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, "Come into my tent, sir. You will be safe here in our protection. Don't be afraid." So he went into her tent, and she covered him with a blanket.


text:
"Please give me some water," he said, "for I am very thirsty." So she gave him some milk and covered him again.


text:
"Stand in the door of the tent," he told her, "and if anyone comes by, looking for me, tell them that no one is here."


text:
Then Jael took a sharp tent peg and a hammer and, quietly creeping up to him as he slept, she drove the peg through his temples and into the ground; and so he died, for he was fast asleep from weariness.


text:
When Barak came by looking for Sisera, Jael went out to meet him and said, "Come, and I will show you the man you are looking for." So he followed her into the tent and found Sisera lying there dead, with the tent peg through his temples.


text:
And from that time on Israel became stronger and stronger against King Jabin, until he and all his people were destroyed.


text:
When you led us out from Seir, Out across the fields of Edom, The earth trembled And the sky poured down its rain.


text:
In the days of Shamgar and of Jael, The main roads were deserted. Travelers used the narrow, crooked side paths.


text:
When Israel chose new gods, Everything collapsed. Our masters would not let us have A shield or spear. Among forty thousand men of Israel, Not a weapon could be found!


text:
Let all Israel, rich and poor, Join in his praises-- Those who ride on white donkeys And sit on rich carpets, And those who are poor and must walk.


text:
The village musicians Gather at the village well To sing of the triumphs of the Lord. Again and again they sing the ballad Of how the Lord saved Israel With an army of peasants! The people of the Lord Marched through the gates!


text:
Down from Mount Tabor marched the noble remnant. The people of the Lord Marched down against great odds.


text:
Down into the valley Went the princes of Issachar With Deborah and Barak. At God's command they rushed into the valley. (But the tribe of Reuben didn't go.


text:
Why did you sit at home among the sheepfolds, Playing your shepherd pipes? Yes, the tribe of Reuben has an uneasy conscience.


text:
Why did Gilead remain across the Jordan, And why did Dan remain with his ships? And why did Asher sit unmoved Upon the seashore, At ease beside his harbors?)


text:
But the Angel of Jehovah Put a curse on Meroz. 'Curse them bitterly,' he said, 'Because they did not come to help the Lord Against his enemies.'


text:
Blessed be Jael, The wife of Heber the Kenite-- Yes, may she be blessed Above all women who live in tents.


text:
Then she took a tent pin and a workman's hammer And pierced Sisera's temples, Crushing his head. She pounded the tent pin through his head.


text:
The mother of Sisera watched through the window For his return. 'Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why don't we hear the sound of the wheels?'


text:
'There is much loot to be divided, And it takes time. Each man receives a girl or two; And Sisera will get gorgeous robes, And he will bring home Many gifts for me.'


text:
O Lord, may all your enemies Perish as Sisera did, But may those who love the Lord Shine as the sun!" After that there was peace in the land for forty years.


text:
Then the people of Israel began once again to worship other gods, and once again the Lord let their enemies harass them. This time it was by the people of Midian, for seven years.


text:
and destroyed their crops and plundered the countryside as far away as Gaza, leaving nothing to eat and taking away all their sheep, oxen, and donkeys.


text:
These enemy hordes arrived on droves of camels too numerous to count and stayed until the land was completely stripped and devastated.


text:
So Israel was reduced to abject poverty because of the Midianites. Then at last the people of Israel began to cry out to the Lord for help.


text:
However, the Lord's reply through the prophet he sent to them was this: "The Lord God of Israel brought you out of slavery in Egypt,


text:
and rescued you from the Egyptians and from all who were cruel to you, and drove out your enemies before you, and gave you their land.


text:
He told you he is the Lord your God, and you must not worship the gods of the Amorites who live around you on every side. But you have not listened to him."


text:
But one day the Angel of the Lord came and sat beneath the oak tree at Ophrah, on the farm of Joash the Abiezrite. Joash's son, Gideon, had been threshing wheat by hand in the bottom of a grape press--a pit where grapes were pressed to make wine--for he was hiding from the Midianites.


text:
"Stranger," Gideon replied, "if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors have told us about--such as when God brought them out of Egypt? Now the Lord has thrown us away and has let the Midianites completely ruin us."


text:
Then the Lord turned to him and said, "I will make you strong! Go and save Israel from the Midianites! I am sending you!"


text:
But Gideon replied, "Sir, how can I save Israel? My family is the poorest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least thought of in the entire family!"


text:
Whereupon the Lord said to him, "But I, Jehovah, will be with you! And you shall quickly destroy the Midianite hordes!"


text:
Gideon replied, "If it is really true that you are going to help me like that, then do some miracle to prove it! Prove that it is really Jehovah who is talking to me!


text:
But stay here until I go and get a present for you." "All right," the Angel agreed. "I'll stay here until you return."


text:
Gideon hurried home and roasted a young goat and baked some unleavened bread from a bushel of flour. Then, carrying the meat in a basket and broth in a pot, he took it out to the Angel, who was beneath the oak tree, and presented it to him.


text:
The Angel said to him, "Place the meat and the bread upon that rock over there, and pour the broth over it." When Gideon had followed these instructions,


text:
the Angel touched the meat and bread with his staff, and fire flamed up from the rock and consumed them! And suddenly the Angel was gone!


text:
When Gideon realized that it had indeed been the Angel of the Lord, he cried out, "Alas, O Lord God, for I have seen the Angel of the Lord face to face!"


text:
And Gideon built an altar there and named it "The Altar of Peace with Jehovah." (The altar is still there in Ophrah in the land of the Abiezrites.)


text:
That night the Lord told Gideon to hitch his father's best ox to the family altar of Baal and pull it down, and to cut down the wooden idol of the goddess Asherah that stood nearby.


text:
"Replace it with an altar for the Lord your God, built here on this hill, laying the stones carefully. Then sacrifice the ox as a burnt offering to the Lord, using the wooden idol as wood for the fire on the altar."


text:
So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the Lord had commanded. But he did it at night for fear of the other members of his father's household, and for fear of the men of the city; for he knew what would happen if they found out who did it!


text:
Early the next morning, as the city began to stir, someone discovered that the altar of Baal was knocked apart, the idol beside it was gone, and a new altar had been built instead, with the remains of a sacrifice on it.


text:
"Bring out your son," they shouted to Joash. "He must die for insulting the altar of Baal and for cutting down the Asherah idol."


text:
But Joash retorted to the whole mob, "Does Baal need your help? What an insult to a god! You are the ones who should die for insulting Baal! If Baal is really a god, let him take care of himself and destroy the one who broke apart his altar!"


text:
Soon afterward the armies of Midian, Amalek, and other neighboring nations united in one vast alliance against Israel. They crossed the Jordan and camped in the valley of Jezreel.


text:
Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet as a call to arms, and the men of Abiezer came to him.


text:
He also sent messengers throughout Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, summoning their fighting forces, and all of them responded.


text:
prove it to me in this way: I'll put some wool on the threshing floor tonight, and if, in the morning, the fleece is wet and the ground is dry, I will know you are going to help me!"


text:
And it happened just that way! When he got up the next morning, he pressed the fleece together and wrung out a whole bowlful of water!


text:
Then Gideon said to the Lord, "Please don't be angry with me, but let me make one more test: this time let the fleece remain dry while the ground around it is wet!"


text:
Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon--his other name) and his army got an early start and went as far as the spring of Harod. The armies of Midian were camped north of them, down in the valley beside the hill of Moreh.


text:
The Lord then said to Gideon, "There are too many of you! I can't let all of you fight the Midianites, for then the people of Israel will boast to me that they saved themselves by their own strength!


text:
Send home any of your men who are timid and frightened." So twenty-two thousand of them left, and only ten thousand remained who were willing to fight.


text:
But the Lord told Gideon, "There are still too many! Bring them down to the spring and I'll show you which ones shall go with you and which ones shall not."


text:
So Gideon assembled them at the water. There the Lord told him, "Divide them into two groups decided by the way they drink. In Group 1 will be all the men who cup the water in their hands to get it to their mouths and lap it like dogs. In Group 2 will be those who kneel, with their mouths in the stream."


text:
Only three hundred of the men drank from their hands; all the others drank with their mouths to the stream.


text:
"I'll conquer the Midianites with these three hundred!" the Lord told Gideon. "Send all the others home!"


text:
So after Gideon had collected all the clay jars and trumpets they had among them, he sent them home, leaving only three hundred men with him.


text:
During the night, with the Midianites camped in the valley just below, the Lord said to Gideon, "Get up! Take your troops and attack the Midianites, for I will cause you to defeat them!


text:
and listen to what they are saying down there! You will be greatly encouraged and be eager to attack!" So he took Purah and crept down through the darkness to the outposts of the enemy camp.


text:
The vast armies of Midian, Amalek, and the other nations of the Mideast were crowded across the valley like locusts--yes, like the sand upon the seashore--and there were too many camels even to count!


text:
Gideon crept up to one of the tents just as a man inside had wakened from a nightmare and was telling his tent-mate about it. "I had this strange dream," he was saying, "and there was this huge loaf of barley bread that came tumbling down into our camp. It hit our tent and knocked it flat!"


text:
The other soldier replied, "Your dream can mean only one thing! Gideon, the son of Joash, the Israeli, is going to come and massacre all the allied forces of Midian!"


text:
When Gideon heard the dream and the interpretation, all he could do was just stand there worshiping God! Then he returned to his men and shouted, "Get up! For the Lord is going to use you to conquer all the vast armies of Midian!"


text:
He divided the three hundred men into three groups and gave each man a trumpet and a clay jar with a torch in it.


text:
Then he explained his plan. "When we arrive at the outer guardposts of the camp," he told them, "do just as I do.


text:
As soon as I and the men in my group blow our trumpets, you blow yours on all sides of the camp and shout, 'We fight for God and for Gideon!' "


text:
It was just after midnight and the change of guards when Gideon and the hundred men with him crept to the outer edge of the camp of Midian. Suddenly they blew their trumpets and broke their clay jars so that their torches blazed into the night.


text:
Then the other two hundred of his men did the same, blowing the trumpets in their right hands, and holding the flaming torches in their left hands, all shouting, "For the Lord and for Gideon!"


text:
Then they just stood and watched as the whole vast enemy army began rushing around in a panic, shouting and running away.


text:
For in the confusion the Lord caused the enemy troops to begin fighting and killing each other from one end of the camp to the other, and they fled into the night to places as far away as Beth-shittah near Zererah, and to the border of Abel-meholah near Tabbath.


text:
Then Gideon sent for the troops of Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh and told them to come and chase and destroy the fleeing army of Midian.


text:
Gideon also sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim summoning troops who seized the fords of the Jordan River at Beth-barah, thus preventing the Midianites from escaping by going across.


text:
Oreb and Zeeb, the two generals of Midian, were captured. Oreb was killed at the rock now known by his name, and Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb, as it is now called; and the Israelis took the heads of Oreb and Zeeb across the Jordan to Gideon.


text:
But the tribal leaders of Ephraim were violently angry with Gideon. "Why didn't you send for us when you first went out to fight the Midianites?" they demanded.


text:
But Gideon replied, "God let you capture Oreb and Zeeb, the generals of the army of Midian! What have I done in comparison with that?


text:
Your actions at the end of the battle were more important than ours at the beginning!" So they calmed down.


text:
Gideon now crossed the Jordan River with his three hundred men. They were very tired, but still chasing the enemy.


text:
He asked the men of Succoth for food. "We are weary from chasing after Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian," he said.


text:
But the leaders of Succoth replied, "You haven't caught them yet! If we feed you and you fail, they'll return and destroy us."


text:
Then Gideon warned them, "When the Lord has delivered them to us, I will return and tear your flesh with the thorns and briars of the wilderness."


text:
By this time King Zebah and King Zalmunna with a remnant of fifteen thousand troops were in Karkor. That was all that was left of the allied armies of the east; for one hundred twenty thousand had already been killed.


text:
Then Gideon circled around by the caravan route east of Nobah and Jogbehah, striking at the Midianite army in surprise raids.


text:
There he captured a young fellow from Succoth and demanded that he write down the names of all the seventy-seven political and religious leaders of the city.


text:
He then returned to Succoth. "You taunted me that I would never catch King Zebah and King Zalmunna, and you refused to give us food when we were tired and hungry," he said. "Well, here they are!"


text:
Then Gideon asked King Zebah and King Zalmunna, "The men you killed at Tabor--what were they like?" They replied, "They were dressed just like you--like sons of kings!"


text:
"They must have been my brothers!" Gideon exclaimed. "I swear that if you hadn't killed them I wouldn't kill you."


text:
Then, turning to Jether, his oldest son, he instructed him to kill them. But the boy was only a lad and was afraid to.


text:
Then Zebah and Zalmunna said to Gideon, "You do it; we'd rather be killed by a man!" So Gideon killed them and took the ornaments from their camels' necks.


text:
Now the men of Israel said to Gideon, "Be our king! You and your sons and all your descendants shall be our rulers, for you have saved us from Midian."


text:
However, I have one request. Give me all the earrings collected from your fallen foes"--for the troops of Midian, being Ishmaelites, all wore gold earrings.


text:
"Gladly!" they replied, and spread out a sheet for everyone to throw in the gold earrings he had gathered.


text:
Their value was estimated at $25,000, not including the crescents and pendants, or the royal clothing of the kings, or the chains around the camels' necks.


text:
Gideon made an ephod from the gold and put it in Ophrah, his hometown. But all Israel soon began worshiping it, so it became an evil deed that Gideon and his family did.


text:
That is the true account of how Midian was subdued by Israel. Midian never recovered, and the land was at peace for forty years--all during Gideon's lifetime.


text:
Gideon finally died, an old, old man, and was buried in the sepulcher of his father, Joash, in Ophrah, in the land of the Abiezrites.


text:
They no longer considered the Lord as their God, though he had rescued them from all their enemies on every side.


text:
"Go and talk to the leaders of Shechem," he requested, "and ask them whether they want to be ruled by seventy kings--Gideon's seventy sons--or by one man--meaning me, your own flesh and blood!"


text:
So his uncles went to the leaders of the city and proposed Abimelech's scheme; and they decided that since his mother was a native of their town they would go along with it.


text:
They gave him money from the temple offerings of the idol Baal-berith, which he used to hire some worthless loafers who agreed to do whatever he told them to.


text:
He took them to his father's home at Ophrah and there, upon one stone, they slaughtered all seventy of his half brothers, except for the youngest, Jotham, who escaped and hid.


text:
Then the citizens of Shechem and Beth-millo called a meeting under the oak beside the garrison at Shechem, and Abimelech was acclaimed king of Israel.


text:
When Jotham heard about this, he stood at the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted across to the men of Shechem, "If you want God's blessing, listen to me!


text:
but it refused. 'Should I quit producing the olive oil that blesses God and man, just to wave to and fro over the other trees?' it asked.


text:
"But the fig tree also refused. 'Should I quit producing sweetness and fruit just to lift my head above all the other trees?' it asked.


text:
"But the grapevine replied, 'Shall I quit producing the wine that cheers both God and man, just to be mightier than all the other trees?'


text:
"And the thorn bush replied, 'If you really want me, come and humble yourselves beneath my shade! If you refuse, let fire flame forth from me and burn down the great cedars of Lebanon!'


text:
"Now make sure that you have done the right thing in making Abimelech your king, that you have done right by Gideon and all of his descendants.


text:
yet you have revolted against him and killed his seventy sons upon one stone. And now you have chosen his slave girl's son, Abimelech, to be your king just because he is your relative.


text:
If you are sure that you have done right by Gideon and his descendants, then may you and Abimelech have a long and happy life together.


text:
But if you have not been fair to Gideon, then may Abimelech destroy the citizens of Shechem and Beth-millo; and may they destroy Abimelech!"


text:
Three years later God stirred up trouble between King Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem, and they revolted.


text:
In the events that followed, both Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem who aided him in butchering Gideon's seventy sons were given their just punishment for these murders.


text:
For the men of Shechem set an ambush for Abimelech along the trail at the top of the mountain. (While they were waiting for him to come along, they robbed everyone else who passed that way.) But someone warned Abimelech about their plot.


text:
At that time Gaal (the son of Ebed) moved to Shechem with his brothers, and he became one of the leading citizens.


text:
During the harvest feast at Shechem that year, held in the temple of the local god, the wine flowed freely and everyone began cursing Abimelech.


text:
"Who is Abimelech," Gaal shouted, "and why should he be our king? Why should we be his servants? He and his friend Zebul should be our servants. Down with Abimelech!


text:
Make me your king and you'll soon see what happens to Abimelech! I'll tell Abimelech, 'Get up an army and come on out and fight!' "


text:
He sent messengers to Abimelech in Arumah telling him, "Gaal, son of Ebed, and his relatives have come to live in Shechem, and now they are arousing the city to rebellion against you.


text:
and in the morning, as soon as it is daylight, storm the city. When he and those who are with him come out against you, you can do with them as you wish!"


text:
So Abimelech and his men marched through the night and split into four groups, stationing themselves around the city.


text:
The next morning as Gaal sat at the city gates, discussing various issues with the local leaders, Abimelech and his men began their march upon the city.


text:
When Gaal saw them, he exclaimed to Zebul, "Look over at that mountain! Doesn't it look like people coming down?" "No!" Zebul said. "You're just seeing shadows that look like men!"


text:
"No, look over there," Gaal said. "I'm sure I see people coming toward us. And look! There are others coming along the road past the oak of Meonenim!"


text:
Then Zebul turned on him triumphantly. "Now where is that big mouth of yours?" he demanded. "Who was it who said, 'Who is Abimelech, and why should he be our king?' The men you taunted and cursed are right outside the city! Go on out and fight!"


text:
Abimelech was living at Arumah at this time, and Zebul drove Gaal and his relatives out of Shechem and wouldn't let them live there any longer.


text:
The next day the men of Shechem went out to battle again. However, someone had told Abimelech about their plans,


text:
so he had divided his men into three groups hiding in the fields. And when the men of the city went out to attack, he and his men jumped up from their hiding places and began killing them.


text:
Abimelech stormed the city gate to keep the men of Shechem from getting back in, while his other two groups cut them down in the fields.


text:
The battle went on all day before Abimelech finally captured the city, killed its people, and leveled it to the ground.


text:
The people at the nearby town of Migdal saw what was happening and took refuge in the fort next to the temple of Baal-berith.


text:
he led his forces to Mount Zalmon where he began chopping a bundle of firewood, and placed it upon his shoulder. "Do as I have done," he told his men.


text:
So each of them quickly cut a bundle and carried it back to the town where, following Abimelech's example, the bundles were piled against the walls of the fort and set on fire. So all the people inside died, about a thousand men and women.


text:
However, there was a fort inside the city and the entire population fled into it, barricaded the gates, and climbed to the top of the roof to watch.


text:
"Kill me!" he groaned to his youthful armor-bearer. "Never let it be said that a woman killed Abimelech!" So the young man pierced him with his sword, and he died.


text:
Thus God punished both Abimelech and the men of Shechem for their sin of murdering Gideon's seventy sons. So the curse of Jotham, Gideon's son, came true.


text:
After Abimelech's death, the next judge of Israel was Tola (son of Puah and grandson of Dodo). He was from the tribe of Issachar, but lived in the city of Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim.


text:
His thirty sons rode around together on thirty donkeys, and they owned thirty cities in the land of Gilead which are still called "The Cities of Jair."


text:
Then the people of Israel turned away from the Lord again and worshiped the heathen gods Baal and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, Sidon, Moab, Ammon, and Philistia. Not only this, but they no longer worshiped Jehovah at all.


text:
This made Jehovah very angry with his people, so he immediately permitted the Philistines and the Ammonites to begin tormenting them.


text:
and also in Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim. For the Ammonites crossed the Jordan to attack the Israelis. This went on for eighteen years.


text:
Finally the Israelis turned to Jehovah again and begged him to save them. "We have sinned against you and have forsaken you as our God and have worshiped idols," they confessed.


text:
But the Lord replied, "Didn't I save you from the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines,


text:
the Sidonians, the Amalekites, and the Maonites? Has there ever been a time when you cried out to me that I haven't rescued you?


text:
But they pleaded with him again and said, "We have sinned. Punish us in any way you think best, only save us once more from our enemies."


text:
Then they destroyed their foreign gods and worshiped only the Lord; and he was grieved by their misery.


text:
The armies of Ammon were mobilized in Gilead at that time, preparing to attack Israel's army at Mizpah.


text:
"Who will lead our forces against the Ammonites?" the leaders of Gilead asked each other. "Whoever volunteers shall be our king!"


text:
His father (whose name was Gilead) had several other sons by his legitimate wife, and when these half brothers grew up, they chased Jephthah out of the country. "You son of a whore!" they said. "You'll not get any of our father's estate."


text:
So Jephthah fled from his father's home and lived in the land of Tob. Soon he had quite a band of malcontents as his followers, living off the land as bandits.


text:
But Jephthah said to them, "Why do you come to me when you hate me and have driven me out of my father's house? Why come now when you're in trouble?"


text:
"Because we need you," they replied. "If you will be our commander-in-chief against the Ammonites, we will make you the king of Gilead."


text:
So Jephthah accepted the commission and was made commander-in-chief and king. The contract was ratified before the Lord in Mizpah at a general assembly of all the people.


text:
Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of Ammon, demanding to know why Israel was being attacked.


text:
The king of Ammon replied that the land belonged to the people of Ammon; it had been stolen from them, he said, when the Israelis came from Egypt; the whole territory from the Arnon River to the Jabbok and the Jordan was his, he claimed. "Give us back our land peaceably," he demanded.


text:
What happened was this: When the people of Israel arrived at Kadesh, on their journey from Egypt after crossing the Red Sea,


text:
they sent a message to the king of Edom asking permission to pass through his land. But their petition was denied. Then they asked the king of Moab for similar permission. It was the same story there, so the people of Israel stayed in Kadesh.


text:
"Finally they went around Edom and Moab through the wilderness, and traveled along the eastern border until at last they arrived beyond the boundary of Moab at the Arnon River; but they never once crossed into Moab.


text:
Then Israel sent messengers to King Sihon of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and asked permission to cross through his land to get to their destination.


text:
But the Lord our God helped Israel defeat King Sihon and all your people, so Israel took over all of your land


text:
"So you see, it was the Lord God of Israel who took away the land from the Amorites and gave it to Israel. Why, then, should we return it to you?


text:
And besides, just who do you think you are? Are you better than King Balak, the king of Moab? Did he try to recover his land after Israel defeated him? No, of course not.


text:
But now after three hundred years you make an issue of this! Israel has been living here for all that time, spread across the land from Heshbon to Aroer, and all along the Arnon River. Why have you made no effort to recover it before now?


text:
No, I have not sinned against you; rather, you have wronged me by coming to war against me; but Jehovah the Judge will soon show which of us is right--Israel or Ammon."


text:
At that time the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and he led his army across the land of Gilead and Manasseh, past Mizpah in Gilead, and attacked the army of Ammon.


text:
Meanwhile Jephthah had vowed to the Lord that if God would help Israel conquer the Ammonites, then when he returned home in peace,


text:
the first person coming out of his house to meet him would be sacrificed as a burnt offering to the Lord!


text:
He destroyed the Ammonites with a terrible slaughter all the way from Aroer to Minnith, including twenty cities, and as far away as Vineyard Meadow. Thus the Ammonites were subdued by the people of Israel.


text:
When Jephthah returned home his daughter--his only child--ran out to meet him, playing on a tambourine and dancing for joy.


text:
When he saw her, he tore his clothes in anguish. "Alas, my daughter!" he cried out. "You have brought me to the dust. For I have made a vow to the Lord and I cannot take it back."


text:
And she said, "Father, you must do whatever you promised the Lord, for he has given you a great victory over your enemies, the Ammonites.


text:
But first let me go up into the hills and roam with my girlfriends for two months, weeping because I'll never marry."


text:
Then she returned to her father, who did as he had vowed. So she was never married. And after that it became a custom in Israel


text:
Then the tribe of Ephraim mobilized its army at Zaphon and sent this message to Jephthah: "Why didn't you call for us to help you fight against Ammon? We are going to burn down your house, with you in it!"


text:
"I summoned you, but you refused to come!" Jephthah retorted. "You failed to help us in our time of need,


text:
so I risked my life and went to battle without you, and the Lord helped me to conquer the enemy. Is that anything for you to fight us about?"


text:
Then Jephthah, furious at the taunt of Ephraim that the men of Gilead were mere outcasts and the scum of the earth, mobilized his army and attacked the army of Ephraim.


text:
He captured the fords of the Jordan behind the army of Ephraim, and whenever a fugitive from Ephraim tried to cross the river, the Gilead guards challenged him. "Are you a member of the tribe of Ephraim?" they asked. If the man replied that he was not,


text:
then they demanded, "Say 'Shibboleth.' " But if he couldn't pronounce the H and said, "Sibboleth" instead of "Shibboleth," he was dragged away and killed. So forty-two thousand people of Ephraim died there at that time.


text:
Jephthah was Israel's judge for six years. At his death he was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.


text:
He had thirty sons and thirty daughters. He married his daughters to men outside his clan and brought in thirty girls to marry his sons.


text:
The next judge was Elon from Zebulun. He judged Israel for ten years and was buried at Aijalon in Zebulun.


text:
He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys. He was Israel's judge for eight years.


text:
Once again Israel sinned by worshiping other gods, so the Lord let them be conquered by the Philistines, who kept them in subjection for forty years.


text:
Then one day the Angel of the Lord appeared to the wife of Manoah, of the tribe of Dan, who lived in the city of Zorah. She had no children,


text:
but the Angel said to her, "Even though you have been barren so long, you will soon conceive and have a son!


text:
Your son's hair must never be cut, for he shall be a Nazirite, a special servant of God from the time of his birth; and he will begin to rescue Israel from the Philistines."


text:
The woman ran and told her husband, "A man from God appeared to me and I think he must be the Angel of the Lord, for he was almost too glorious to look at. I didn't ask where he was from, and he didn't tell me his name,


text:
but he told me, 'You are going to have a baby boy!' And he told me not to drink any wine or beer and not to eat food that isn't kosher, for the baby is going to be a Nazirite--he will be dedicated to God from the moment of his birth until the day of his death!"


text:
Then Manoah prayed, "O Lord, please let the man from God come back to us again and give us more instructions about the child you are going to give us."


text:
The Lord answered his prayer, and the Angel of God appeared once again to his wife as she was sitting in the field. But again she was alone--Manoah was not with her--


text:
Manoah ran back with his wife and asked, "Are you the man who talked to my wife the other day?" "Yes," he replied, "I am."


text:
So Manoah asked him, "Can you give us any special instructions about how we should raise the baby after he is born?"


text:
"I'll stay," the Angel replied, "but I'll not eat anything. However, if you wish to bring something, bring an offering to sacrifice to the Lord." (Manoah didn't yet realize that he was the Angel of the Lord.)


text:
Then Manoah asked him for his name. "When all this comes true and the baby is born," he said to the Angel, "we will certainly want to tell everyone that you predicted it!"


text:
Then Manoah took a young goat and a grain offering and offered it as a sacrifice to the Lord; and the Angel did a strange and wonderful thing,


text:
for as the flames from the altar were leaping up toward the sky, and as Manoah and his wife watched, the Angel ascended in the fire! Manoah and his wife fell face downward to the ground,


text:
and that was the last they ever saw of him. It was then that Manoah finally realized that it had been the Angel of the Lord.


text:
But his wife said, "If the Lord were going to kill us, he wouldn't have accepted our burnt offerings and wouldn't have appeared to us and told us this wonderful thing and done these miracles."


text:
And the Spirit of the Lord began to excite him whenever he visited the parade grounds of the army of the tribe of Dan, located between the cities of Zorah and Eshtaol.


text:
They objected strenuously. "Why don't you marry a Jewish girl?" they asked. "Why must you go and get a wife from these heathen Philistines? Isn't there one girl among all the people of Israel you could marry?" But Samson told his father, "She is the one I want. Get her for me."


text:
His father and mother didn't realize that the Lord was behind the request, for God was setting a trap for the Philistines, who at that time were the rulers of Israel.


text:
As Samson and his parents were going to Timnah, a young lion attacked Samson in the vineyards on the outskirts of the town.


text:
At that moment the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him and since he had no weapon, he ripped the lion's jaws apart and did it as easily as though it were a young goat! But he didn't tell his father or mother about it.


text:
Upon arriving at Timnah, he talked with the girl and found her to be just what he wanted, so the arrangements were made.


text:
When he returned for the wedding, he turned off the path to look at the carcass of the lion. And he found a swarm of bees in it and some honey!


text:
He took some of the honey with him, eating as he went, and gave some of it to his father and mother. But he didn't tell them where he had gotten it.


text:
As his father was making final arrangements for the marriage, Samson threw a party for thirty young men of the village, as was the custom of the day.


text:
When Samson asked if they would like to hear a riddle, they replied that they would. "If you solve my riddle during these seven days of the celebration," he said, "I'll give you thirty plain robes and thirty fancy robes.


text:
But if you can't solve it, then you must give the robes to me!" "All right," they agreed, "let's hear it."


text:
This was his riddle: "Food came out of the eater, and sweetness from the strong!" Three days later they were still trying to figure it out.


text:
On the fourth day they said to his new wife, "Get the answer from your husband, or we'll burn down your father's house with you in it. Were we invited to this party just to make us poor?"


text:
So Samson's wife broke down in tears before him and said, "You don't love me at all; you hate me, for you have told a riddle to my people and haven't told me the answer!" "I haven't even told it to my father or mother; why should I tell you?" he replied.


text:
So she cried whenever she was with him and kept it up for the remainder of the celebration. At last, on the seventh day, he told her the answer and she, of course, gave the answer to the young men.


text:
So before sunset of the seventh day they gave him their reply. "What is sweeter than honey?" they asked, "and what is stronger than a lion?" "If you hadn't plowed with my heifer, you wouldn't have found the answer to my riddle!" he retorted.


text:
Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon him and he went to the city of Ashkelon, killed thirty men, took their clothing, and gave it to the young men who had told him the answer to his riddle. But he was furious about it and abandoned his wife and went back home to live with his father and mother.


text:
Later on, during the wheat harvest, Samson took a young goat as a present to his wife, intending to sleep with her; but her father wouldn't let him in.


text:
"I really thought you hated her," he explained, "so I married her to your best man. But look, her sister is prettier than she is. Marry her instead."


text:
So he went out and caught three hundred foxes and tied their tails together in pairs, with a torch between each pair.


text:
Then he lit the torches and let the foxes run through the fields of the Philistines, burning the grain to the ground along with all the sheaves and shocks of grain, and destroying the olive trees.


text:
"Who did this?" the Philistines demanded. "Samson," was the reply, "because his wife's father gave her to another man." So the Philistines came and got the girl and her father and burned them alive.


text:
So he attacked them with great fury and killed many of them. Then he went to live in a cave in the rock of Etam.


text:
"Why have you come here?" the men of Judah asked. And the Philistines replied, "To capture Samson and do to him as he has done to us."


text:
So three thousand men of Judah went down to get Samson at the cave in the rock of Etam. "What are you doing to us?" they demanded of him. "Don't you realize that the Philistines are our rulers?" But Samson replied, "I only paid them back for what they did to me."


text:
"We have come to capture you and take you to the Philistines," the men of Judah told him. "All right," Samson said, "but promise me that you won't kill me yourselves."


text:
As Samson and his captors arrived at Lehi, the Philistines shouted with glee; but then the strength of the Lord came upon Samson, and the ropes with which he was tied snapped like thread and fell from his wrists!


text:
Then he picked up a donkey's jawbone that was lying on the ground and killed a thousand Philistines with it.


text:
"Heaps upon heaps, All with a donkey's jaw! I've killed a thousand men, All with a donkey's jaw!" (The place has been called "Jawbone Hill" ever since.)


text:
But now he was very thirsty and he prayed to the Lord and said, "You have given Israel such a wonderful deliverance through me today! Must I now die of thirst and fall to the mercy of these heathen?"


text:
So the Lord caused water to gush out from a hollow in the ground, and Samson's spirit was revived as he drank. Then he named the place "The Spring of the Man Who Prayed," and the spring is still there today.


text:
Samson was Israel's leader for the next twenty years, but the Philistines still controlled the land.


text:
Word soon spread that he had been seen in the city, so the police were alerted and many men of the city lay in wait all night at the city gate to capture him if he tried to leave. "In the morning," they thought, "when there is enough light, we'll find him and kill him."


text:
Samson stayed in bed with the girl until midnight, then went out to the city gates and lifted them, with the two gateposts, right out of the ground. He put them on his shoulders and carried them to the top of the mountain across from Hebron!


text:
The five heads of the Philistine nation went personally to her and demanded that she find out from Samson what made him so strong, so that they would know how to overpower and subdue him and put him in chains. "Each of us will give you a thousand dollars for this job," they promised.


text:
So Delilah begged Samson to tell her his secret. "Please tell me, Samson, why you are so strong," she pleaded. "I don't think anyone could ever capture you!"


text:
"Well," Samson replied, "if I were tied with seven raw-leather bowstrings, I would become as weak as anyone else."


text:
Some men were hiding in the next room, so as soon as she had tied him up she exclaimed, "Samson! The Philistines are here!" Then he snapped the bowstrings like cotton thread, and so his secret was not discovered.


text:
Afterward Delilah said to him, "You are making fun of me! You told me a lie! Please tell me how you can be captured!"


text:
"Well," he said, "if I am tied with brand new ropes which have never been used, I will be as weak as other men."


text:
So that time, as he slept, Delilah took new ropes and tied him with them. The men were hiding in the next room, as before. Again Delilah exclaimed, "Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!" But he broke the ropes from his arms like spiderwebs!


text:
"You have mocked me again and told me more lies!" Delilah complained. "Now tell me how you can really be captured." "Well," he said, "if you weave my hair into your loom. . . !"


text:
So while he slept, she did just that and then screamed, "The Philistines have come, Samson!" And he woke up and yanked his hair away, breaking the loom.


text:
"How can you say you love me when you don't confide in me?" she whined. "You've made fun of me three times now, and you still haven't told me what makes you so strong!"


text:
"My hair has never been cut," he confessed, "for I've been a Nazirite to God since before my birth. If my hair were cut, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as anyone else."


text:
Delilah realized that he had finally told her the truth, so she sent for the five Philistine leaders. "Come just this once more," she said, "for this time he has told me everything." So they brought the money with them.


text:
She lulled him to sleep with his head in her lap, and they brought in a barber and cut off his hair. Delilah began to hit him, but she could see that his strength was leaving him.


text:
Then she screamed, "The Philistines are here to capture you, Samson!" And he woke up and thought, "I will do as before; I'll just shake myself free." But he didn't realize that the Lord had left him.


text:
So the Philistines captured him and gouged out his eyes and took him to Gaza, where he was bound with bronze chains and made to grind grain in the prison.


text:
The Philistine leaders declared a great festival to celebrate the capture of Samson. The people made sacrifices to their god Dagon and excitedly praised him.


text:
"Our god has delivered our enemy Samson to us!" they gloated as they saw him there in chains. "The scourge of our nation who killed so many of us is now in our power!"


text:
Half drunk by now, the people demanded, "Bring out Samson so we can have some fun with him!" So he was brought from the prison and made to stand at the center of the temple, between the two pillars supporting the roof.


text:
Samson said to the boy who was leading him by the hand, "Place my hands against the two pillars. I want to rest against them."


text:
By then the temple was completely filled with people. The five Philistine leaders were there as well as three thousand people in the balconies who were watching Samson and making fun of him.


text:
Then Samson prayed to the Lord and said, "O Lord Jehovah, remember me again--please strengthen me one more time, so that I may pay back the Philistines for the loss of at least one of my eyes."


text:
"Let me die with the Philistines," he prayed. And the temple crashed down upon the Philistine leaders and all the people. So those he killed at the moment of his death were more than those he had killed during his entire lifetime.


text:
Later, his brothers and other relatives came down to get his body, and they brought him back home and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol, where his father, Manoah, was buried. He had led Israel for twenty years.


text:
One day he said to his mother, "That thousand dollars you thought was stolen from you, and you were cursing about--well, I stole it!" "God bless you for confessing it," his mother replied.


text:
So he returned the money to her. "I am going to give it to the Lord as a credit for your account," she declared. "I'll have an idol carved for you and plate it with the silver."


text:
So his mother took a fifth of it to a silversmith, and the idol he made from it was placed in Micah's shrine.


text:
Micah had many idols in his collection, also an ephod and some teraphim, and he installed one of his sons as the priest.


text:
(For in those days Israel had no king, so everyone did whatever he wanted to--whatever seemed right in his own eyes.)


text:
arrived in that area of Ephraim, looking for a good place to live. He happened to stop at Micah's house as he was traveling through.


text:
"Where are you from?" Micah asked him. And he replied, "I am a priest from Bethlehem, in Judah, and I am looking for a place to live."


text:
"Well, stay here with me," Micah said, "and you can be my priest. I will give you one hundred dollars a year plus a new suit and your board and room."


text:
"I know the Lord will really bless me now," Micah exclaimed, "because now I have a genuine priest working for me!"


text:
As has already been stated, there was no king in Israel at that time. The tribe of Dan was trying to find a place to settle, for they had not yet driven out the people living in the land assigned to them.


text:
So the men of Dan chose five army heroes from the cities of Zorah and Eshtaol as scouts to go and spy out the land they were supposed to settle in. Arriving in the hill country of Ephraim, they stayed at Micah's home.


text:
Noticing the young Levite's accent, they took him aside and asked him, "What are you doing here? Why did you come?"


text:
So the five men went on to the town of Laish and noticed how secure everyone felt. Their manner of life was Phoenician, and they were wealthy. They lived quietly and were unprepared for an attack, for there were no tribes in the area strong enough to try it. They lived a great distance from their relatives in Sidon, and had little or no contact with the nearby villages.


text:
So the spies returned to their people in Zorah and Eshtaol. "What about it?" they were asked. "What did you find?"


text:
And the men replied, "Let's attack! We have seen the land and it is ours for the taking--a broad, fertile, wonderful place--a real paradise.


text:
The people aren't even prepared to defend themselves! Come on, let's go! For God has given it to us!"


text:
They camped first at a place west of Kiriath-jearim in Judah (which is still called "The Camp of Dan"),


text:
the five spies told the others. "There is a shrine in there with an ephod, some teraphim, and many plated idols. It's obvious what we ought to do!"


text:
So the five men went over to the house and with all of the armed men standing just outside the gate, they talked to the young priest and asked him how he was getting along.


text:
"Be quiet and come with us," they said. "Be a priest to all of us. Isn't it better for you to be a priest to a whole tribe in Israel instead of just to one man in his private home?"


text:
The young priest was then quite happy to go with them, and he took along the ephod, the teraphim, and the idols.


text:
They started on their way again, placing their children, cattle, and household goods at the front of the column.


text:
When they were quite a distance from Micah's home, Micah and some of his neighbors came chasing after them,


text:
"What do you mean, 'What do I want'!" Micah retorted. "You've taken away all my gods and my priest, and I have nothing left!"


text:
"Be careful how you talk, mister," the men of Dan replied. "Somebody's apt to get angry and kill every one of you."


text:
So the men of Dan kept going. When Micah saw that there were too many of them for him to handle, he turned back home.


text:
Then, with Micah's idols and the priest, the men of Dan arrived at the city of Laish. There weren't even any guards, so they went in and slaughtered all the people and burned the city to the ground.


text:
There was no one to help the inhabitants, for they were too far away from Sidon, and they had no local allies, for they had no dealings with anyone. This happened in the valley next to Beth-rehob. Then the people of the tribe of Dan rebuilt the city and lived there.


text:
The city was named "Dan" after their ancestor, Israel's son, but it had originally been called Laish.


text:
Then they set up the idols and appointed a man named Jonathan (son of Gershom and grandson of Moses!) and his sons as their priests. This family continued as priests until the city was finally conquered by its enemies.


text:
At this time before Israel had a king, there was a man of the tribe of Levi living on the far side of the hill country of Ephraim, who brought home a girl from Bethlehem in Judah to be his concubine.


text:
But she became angry with him and ran away, and returned to her father's home in Bethlehem, and was there about four months.


text:
Then her husband, taking along a servant and an extra donkey, went to see her to try to win her back again. When he arrived at her home, she let him in and introduced him to her father, who was delighted to meet him.


text:
Her father urged him to stay awhile, so he stayed three days, and they all had a very pleasant time.


text:
On the fourth day they were up early, ready to leave, but the girl's father insisted on their having breakfast first.


text:
The next morning they were up early again, and again the girl's father pleaded, "Stay just today and leave sometime this evening." So they had another day of feasting.


text:
That afternoon as he and his wife and servant were preparing to leave, his father-in-law said, "Look, it's getting late. Stay just tonight, and we will have a pleasant evening together and tomorrow you can get up early and be on your way."


text:
But this time the man was adamant, so they left, getting as far as Jerusalem (also called Jebus) before dark.


text:
"No," his master said, "we can't stay in this heathen city where there are no Israelites--we will go on to Gibeah, or possibly Ramah."


text:
So they went on. The sun was setting just as they came to Gibeah, a village of the tribe of Benjamin,


text:
Just then an old man came by on his way home from his work in the fields. (He was originally from the hill country of Ephraim, but was living now in Gibeah, even though it was in the territory of Benjamin.)


text:
When he saw the travelers camped in the square, he asked them where they were from and where they were going.


text:
"We're on the way home from Bethlehem, in Judah," the man replied. "I live on the far edge of the Ephraim hill country, near Shiloh. But no one has taken us in for the night,


text:
"Don't worry," the old man said, "be my guests; for you mustn't stay here in the square. It's too dangerous."


text:
So he took them home with him. He fed their donkeys while they rested, and afterward they had supper together.


text:
Just as they were beginning to warm to the occasion, a gang of sex perverts gathered around the house and began beating at the door and yelling at the old man to bring out the man who was staying with him, so they could rape him.


text:
The old man stepped outside to talk to them. "No, my brothers, don't do such a dastardly act," he begged, "for he is my guest.


text:
Here, take my virgin daughter and this man's wife. I'll bring them out and you can do whatever you like to them--but don't do such a thing to this man."


text:
But they wouldn't listen to him. Then the girl's husband pushed her out to them, and they abused her all night, taking turns raping her until morning. Finally, just at dawn, they let her go.


text:
When her husband opened the door to be on his way, he found her there, fallen down in front of the door with her hands digging into the threshold.


text:
"Well, come on," he said. "Let's get going." But there was no answer, for she was dead; so he threw her across the donkey's back and took her home.


text:
When he got there he took a knife and cut her body into twelve parts and sent one piece to each tribe of Israel.


text:
Then the entire nation was roused to action against the men of Benjamin because of this awful deed. "There hasn't been such a horrible crime since Israel left Egypt," everyone said. "We've got to do something about it."


text:
Then the entire nation of Israel sent their leaders and 450,000 troops to assemble with one mind before the Lord at Mizpah.


text:
They came from as far away as Dan and Beersheba, and everywhere between, and from across the Jordan in the land of Gilead.


text:
(Word of the mobilization of the Israeli forces at Mizpah soon reached the land of Benjamin.) The chiefs of Israel now called for the murdered woman's husband and asked him just what had happened.


text:
"That night the men of Gibeah surrounded the house, planning to kill me, and they raped my wife until she was dead.


text:
So I cut her body into twelve pieces and sent the pieces throughout the land of Israel, for these men have committed a terrible crime.


text:
A tenth of the army will be selected by lot as a supply line to bring us food, and the rest of us will destroy Gibeah for this horrible deed."


text:
Then messengers were sent to the tribe of Benjamin, asking, "Did you know about the terrible thing that was done among you?


text:
Give up these evil men from the city of Gibeah so that we can execute them and purge Israel of her evil." But the people of Benjamin wouldn't listen.


text:
Instead, 26,000 of them arrived in Gibeah to join the 700 local men in their defense against the rest of Israel.


text:
(Among all these there were 700 men who were left-handed sharpshooters. They could hit a target within a hair's breadth, never missing!)


text:
Before the battle the Israeli army went to Bethel first to ask counsel from God. "Which tribe shall lead us against the people of Benjamin?" they asked. And the Lord replied, "Judah shall go first."


text:
Then the Israeli army wept before the Lord until evening and asked him, "Shall we fight further against our brother Benjamin?" And the Lord said, "Yes."


text:
Then the entire army went up to Bethel and wept before the Lord and fasted until evening, offering burnt sacrifices and peace offerings.


text:
(The Ark of God was in Bethel in those days. Phinehas, the son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron, was the priest.)


text:
The men of Israel asked the Lord, "Shall we go out again and fight against our brother Benjamin, or shall we stop?" And the Lord said, "Go, for tomorrow I will see to it that you defeat the men of Benjamin."


text:
When the army of Benjamin came out of the town to attack, the Israeli forces retreated and Benjamin was drawn away from the town as they chased after Israel. And as they had done previously, Benjamin began to kill the men of Israel along the roadway running between Bethel and Gibeah, so that about thirty of them died.


text:
Then the army of Benjamin shouted, "We're defeating them again!" But the armies of Israel had agreed in advance to run away so that the army of Benjamin would chase them and be drawn away from the town.


text:
But when the main army of Israel reached Baal-tamar, it turned and attacked, and the 10,000 men in ambush west of Geba jumped up from where they were


text:
and advanced against the rear of the army of Benjamin, who still didn't realize the impending disaster.


text:
So the Lord helped Israel defeat Benjamin, and the Israeli army killed 25,100 men of Benjamin that day,


text:
leaving but a tiny remnant of their forces. Summary of the Battle: The army of Israel retreated from the men of Benjamin in order to give the ambush more room for maneuvering.


text:
When the men of Benjamin had killed about thirty of the Israelis, they were confident of a massive slaughter just as on the previous days.


text:
But then the men in ambush rushed into the village and slaughtered everyone in it, and set it on fire.


text:
The great cloud of smoke pouring into the sky was the signal for the Israeli army to turn around and attack the army of Benjamin,


text:
who now looked behind them and were terrified to discover that their city was on fire, and that they were in serious trouble.


text:
So they ran toward the wilderness, but the Israelis chased after them, and the men who had set the ambush came out and joined the slaughter from the rear.


text:
The rest of the army fled into the wilderness toward the rock of Rimmon, but 5,000 were killed along the way, and 2,000 more near Gidom.


text:
So the tribe of Benjamin lost 25,000 thousand brave warriors that day, leaving only 600 men who escaped to the rock of Rimmon, where they lived for four months.


text:
Then the Israeli army returned and slaughtered the entire population of the tribe of Benjamin--men, women, children, and cattle--and burned down every city and village in the entire land.


text:
The leaders of Israel had vowed at Mizpah never to let their daughters marry a man from the tribe of Benjamin.


text:
"O Lord God of Israel," they cried out, "why has this happened, that now one of our tribes is missing?"


text:
The next morning they were up early and built an altar, and offered sacrifices and peace offerings on it.


text:
And they said among themselves, "Was any tribe of Israel not represented when we held our council before the Lord at Mizpah?" For at that time it was agreed by solemn oath that anyone who refused to come must die.


text:
There was deep sadness throughout all Israel for the loss of their brother tribe, Benjamin. "Gone," they kept saying to themselves, "gone--an entire tribe of Israel has been cut off and is gone.


text:
And how shall we get wives for the few who remain, since we have sworn by the Lord that we will not give them our daughters?"


text:
Then they thought again of their oath to kill anyone who refused to come to Mizpah and discovered that no one had attended from Jabesh-gilead.


text:
All the men, married women, and children were slain, but the young virgins of marriageable age were saved.


text:
The 400 girls were given to them as wives, and they returned to their homes; but there were not enough of these girls for all of them.


text:
(What a sad time it was in Israel in those days because the Lord had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.)


text:
"What shall we do for wives for the others, since all the women of the tribe of Benjamin are dead?" the leaders of Israel asked.


text:
"There must be some way to get wives for them, so that an entire tribe of Israel will not be lost forever.


text:
But we can't give them our own daughters. We have sworn with a solemn oath that anyone who does this shall be cursed of God."


text:
Suddenly someone thought of the annual religious festival held in the fields of Shiloh, between Lebonah and Bethel, along the east side of the road that goes from Bethel to Shechem.


text:
and when the girls of Shiloh come out for their dances, rush out and catch them and take them home with you to be your wives!


text:
And when their fathers and brothers come to us in protest, we will tell them, 'Please be understanding and let them have your daughters, for we didn't find enough wives for them when we destroyed Jabesh-gilead, and you couldn't have given your daughters to them without being guilty.' "


text:
So the men of Benjamin did as they were told and kidnapped the girls who took part in the celebration, and carried them off to their own land. Then they rebuilt their cities and lived in them.


text:
Long ago when judges ruled in Israel, a man named Elimelech, from Bethlehem, left the country because of a famine and moved to the land of Moab. With him were his wife, Naomi, and his two sons, Mahlon and Chilion.


text:
She decided to return to Israel with her daughters-in-law, for she had heard that the Lord had blessed his people by giving them good crops again.


text:
But after they had begun their homeward journey, she changed her mind and said to her two daughters-in-law, "Why don't you return to your parents' homes instead of coming with me? And may the Lord reward you for your faithfulness to your husbands and to me.


text:
And may he bless you with another happy marriage." Then she kissed them, and they all broke down and cried.


text:
But Naomi replied, "It is better for you to return to your own people. Do I have younger sons who could grow up to be your husbands?


text:
No, my daughters, return to your parents' homes, for I am too old to have a husband. And even if that were possible, and I became pregnant tonight, and bore sons


text:
would you wait for them to grow up? No, of course not, my daughters; oh, how I grieve for you that the Lord has punished me in a way that injures you."


text:
And again they cried together, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-bye, and returned to her childhood home; but Ruth insisted on staying with Naomi.


text:
"See," Naomi said to her, "your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; you should do the same."


text:
But Ruth replied, "Don't make me leave you, for I want to go wherever you go and to live wherever you live; your people shall be my people, and your God shall be my God;


text:
I want to die where you die and be buried there. May the Lord do terrible things to me if I allow anything but death to separate us."


text:
And when Naomi saw that Ruth had made up her mind and could not be persuaded otherwise, she stopped urging her.


text:
So they both came to Bethlehem, and the entire village was stirred by their arrival. "Is it really Naomi?" the women asked.


text:
But she told them, "Don't call me Naomi. Call me Mara," (Naomi means "pleasant"; Mara means "bitter") "for Almighty God has dealt me bitter blows.


text:
I went out full and the Lord has brought me home empty; why should you call me Naomi when the Lord has turned his back on me and sent such calamity!"


text:
One day Ruth said to Naomi, "Perhaps I can go out into the fields of some kind man to glean the free grain behind his reapers." And Naomi said, "All right, dear daughter. Go ahead."


text:
So she did. And as it happened, the field where she found herself belonged to Boaz, this relative of Naomi's husband.


text:
She asked me this morning if she could pick up the grains dropped by the reapers, and she has been at it ever since except for a few minutes' rest over there in the shade."


text:
Boaz went over and talked to her. "Listen, my child," he said to her. "Stay right here with us to glean; don't think of going to any other fields.


text:
Stay right behind my women workers; I have warned the young men not to bother you; when you are thirsty, go and help yourself to the water."


text:
She thanked him warmly. "How can you be so kind to me?" she asked. "You must know I am only a foreigner."


text:
"Yes, I know," Boaz replied, "and I also know about all the love and kindness you have shown your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you left your father and mother in your own land and have come here to live among strangers.


text:
At lunch time Boaz called to her, "Come and eat with us." So she sat with his reapers and he gave her food, more than she could eat.


text:
And when she went back to work again, Boaz told his young men to let her glean right among the sheaves without stopping her,


text:
and to snap off some heads of barley and drop them on purpose for her to glean, and not to make any remarks.


text:
So she worked there all day, and in the evening when she had beaten out the barley she had gleaned, it came to a whole bushel!


text:
She carried it back into the city and gave it to her mother-in-law, with what was left of her lunch.


text:
"So much!" Naomi exclaimed. "Where in the world did you glean today? Praise the Lord for whoever was so kind to you." So Ruth told her mother-in-law all about it and mentioned that the owner of the field was Boaz.


text:
"Praise the Lord for a man like that! God has continued his kindness to us as well as to your dead husband!" Naomi cried excitedly. "Why, that man is one of our closest relatives!"


text:
"Well," Ruth told her, "he said to come back and stay close behind his reapers until the entire field is harvested."


text:
"This is wonderful!" Naomi exclaimed. "Do as he has said. Stay with his girls right through the whole harvest; you will be safer there than in any other field!"


text:
So Ruth did and gleaned with them until the end of the barley harvest, and then the wheat harvest too.


text:
One day Naomi said to Ruth, "My dear, isn't it time that I try to find a husband for you and get you happily married again?


text:
The man I'm thinking of is Boaz! He has been so kind to us and is a close relative. I happen to know that he will be winnowing barley tonight out on the threshing-floor.


text:
Now do what I tell you--bathe and put on some perfume and some nice clothes and go on down to the threshing-floor, but don't let him see you until he has finished his supper.


text:
Notice where he lies down to sleep; then go and lift the cover off his feet and lie down there, and he will tell you what to do concerning marriage."


text:
After Boaz had finished a good meal, he lay down very contentedly beside a heap of grain and went to sleep. Then Ruth came quietly and lifted the covering off his feet and lay there.


text:
"Who are you?" he demanded. "It's I, sir--Ruth," she replied. "Make me your wife according to God's law, for you are my close relative."


text:
"Thank God for a girl like you!" he exclaimed. "For you are being even kinder to Naomi now than before. Naturally you'd prefer a younger man, even though poor. But you have put aside your personal desires.


text:
Now don't worry about a thing, my child; I'll handle all the details, for everyone knows what a wonderful person you are.


text:
But there is one problem. It's true that I am a close relative, but there is someone else who is more closely related to you than I am.


text:
Stay here tonight, and in the morning I'll talk to him, and if he will marry you, fine; let him do his duty; but if he won't, then I will, I swear by Jehovah; lie down until the morning."


text:
So she lay at his feet until the morning and was up early, before daybreak, for he had said to her, "Don't let it be known that a woman was here at the threshing-floor."


text:
"Bring your shawl," he told her. Then he tied up a bushel and a half of barley in it as a present for her mother-in-law and laid it on her back. Then she returned to the city.


text:
"Well, what happened, dear?" Naomi asked her when she arrived home. She told Naomi everything and gave her the barley from Boaz,


text:
Then Naomi said to her, "Just be patient until we hear what happens, for Boaz won't rest until he has followed through on this. He'll settle it today."


text:
So Boaz went down to the marketplace and found the relative he had mentioned. "Say, come over here," he called to him. "I want to talk to you a minute." So they sat down together.


text:
Boaz said to his relative, "You know Naomi, who came back to us from Moab. She is selling our brother Elimelech's property.


text:
I felt that I should speak to you about it so that you can buy it if you wish, with these respected men as witnesses. If you want it, let me know right away, for if you don't take it, I will. You have the first right to purchase it and I am next." The man replied, "All right, I'll buy it."


text:
Then Boaz told him, "Your purchase of the land from Naomi requires your marriage to Ruth so that she can have children to carry on her husband's name and to inherit the land."


text:
"Then I can't do it," the man replied. "For her son would become an heir to my property too; you buy it."


text:
In those days it was the custom in Israel for a man transferring a right of purchase to pull off his sandal and hand it to the other party; this publicly validated the transaction.


text:
Then Boaz said to the witnesses and to the crowd standing around, "You have seen that today I have bought all the property of Elimelech, Chilion, and Mahlon, from Naomi,


text:
and that with it I have purchased Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, to be my wife, so that she can have a son to carry on the family name of her dead husband."


text:
And all the people standing there and the witnesses replied, "We are witnesses. May the Lord make this woman, who has now come into your home, as fertile as Rachel and Leah, from whom all the nation of Israel descended! May you be a great and successful man in Bethlehem,


text:
and may the descendants the Lord will give you from this young woman be as numerous and honorable as those of our ancestor Perez, the son of Tamar and Judah."


text:
And the women of the city said to Naomi, "Bless the Lord who has given you this little grandson; may he be famous in Israel.


text:
May he restore your youth and take care of you in your old age; for he is the son of your daughter-in-law who loves you so much, and who has been kinder to you than seven sons!"


text:
"Now at last Naomi has a son again!" And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse and grandfather of King David.


text:
This is the family tree of Boaz, beginning with his ancestor Perez:  Perez, Hezron, Ram, Amminadab, Nashon, Salmon, Boaz, Obed, Jesse, David.


text:
This is the story of Elkanah, a man of the tribe of Ephraim who lived in Ramathaim-zophim, in the hills of Ephraim. His father's name was Jeroham, His grandfather was Elihu, His great-grandfather was Tohu, His great-great-grandfather was Zuph.


text:
Each year Elkanah and his families journeyed to the Tabernacle at Shiloh to worship the Lord of the heavens and to sacrifice to him. (The priests on duty at that time were the two sons of Eli--Hophni and Phinehas.)


text:
On the day he presented his sacrifice, Elkanah would celebrate the happy occasion by giving presents to Peninnah and her children;


text:
but although he loved Hannah very much, he could give her only one present, for the Lord had sealed her womb; so she had no children to give presents to.


text:
Every year it was the same--Peninnah scoffing and laughing at her as they went to Shiloh, making her cry so much she couldn't eat.


text:
"What's the matter, Hannah?" Elkanah would exclaim. "Why aren't you eating? Why make such a fuss over having no children? Isn't having me better than having ten sons?"


text:
One evening after supper, when they were at Shiloh, Hannah went over to the Tabernacle. Eli the priest was sitting at his customary place beside the entrance.


text:
And she made this vow: "O Lord of heaven, if you will look down upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you, and he'll be yours for his entire lifetime, and his hair shall never be cut."


text:
Eli noticed her mouth moving as she was praying silently and, hearing no sound, thought she had been drinking.


text:
"Oh no, sir!" she replied, "I'm not drunk! But I am very sad and I was pouring out my heart to the Lord. Please don't think that I am just some drunken bum!"


text:
"In that case," Eli said, "cheer up! May the Lord of Israel grant you your petition, whatever it is!"


text:
The entire family was up early the next morning and went to the Tabernacle to worship the Lord once more. Then they returned home to Ramah, and when Elkanah slept with Hannah, the Lord remembered her petition;


text:
in the process of time, a baby boy was born to her. She named him Samuel (meaning "asked of God") because, as she said, "I asked the Lord for him."


text:
without Hannah, for she told her husband, "Wait until the baby is weaned, and then I will take him to the Tabernacle and leave him there."


text:
"Well, whatever you think best," Elkanah agreed. "May the Lord's will be done." So she stayed home until the baby was weaned.


text:
Then, though he was still so small, they took him to the Tabernacle in Shiloh, along with a three-year-old bull for the sacrifice, and a bushel of flour and some wine.


text:
"Sir, do you remember me?" Hannah asked him. "I am the woman who stood here that time praying to the Lord!


text:
and now I am giving him to the Lord for as long as he lives." So she left him there at the Tabernacle for the Lord to use.


text:
This was Hannah's prayer: "How I rejoice in the Lord! How he has blessed me! Now I have an answer for my enemies, For the Lord has solved my problem. How I rejoice!


text:
Those who were well are now starving; Those who were starving are fed. The barren woman now has seven children; She with many children has no more!


text:
He lifts the poor from the dust-- Yes, from a pile of ashes-- And treats them as princes Sitting in the seats of honor. For all the earth is the Lord's And he has set the world in order.


text:
He will protect his godly ones, But the wicked shall be silenced in darkness. No one shall succeed by strength alone.


text:
Those who fight against the Lord shall be broken; He thunders against them from heaven. He judges throughout the earth. He gives mighty strength to his King, And gives great glory to his anointed one."


text:
So they returned home to Ramah without Samuel; and the child became the Lord's helper, for he assisted Eli the priest.


text:
It was their regular practice to send out a servant whenever anyone was offering a sacrifice, and while the flesh of the sacrificed animal was boiling,


text:
the servant would put a three-pronged fleshhook into the pot and demand that whatever it brought up be given to Eli's sons. They treated all of the Israelites in this way when they came to Shiloh to worship.


text:
Sometimes the servant would come even before the rite of burning the fat on the altar had been performed, and he would demand raw meat before it was boiled, so that it could be used for roasting.


text:
If the man offering the sacrifice replied, "Take as much as you want, but the fat must first be burned"  as the law requires, then the servant would say, "No, give it to me now or I'll take it by force."


text:
So the sin of these young men was very great in the eyes of the Lord; for they treated the people's offerings to the Lord with contempt.


text:
Samuel, though only a child, was the Lord's helper and wore a little linen robe just like the priest's.


text:
Each year his mother made a little coat for him and brought it to him when she came with her husband for the sacrifice.


text:
Before they returned home Eli would bless Elkanah and Hannah and ask God to give them other children to take the place of this one they had given to the Lord.


text:
And the Lord gave Hannah three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile Samuel grew up in the service of the Lord.


text:
Eli was now very old, but he was aware of what was going on around him. He knew, for instance, that his sons were seducing the young women who assisted at the entrance of the Tabernacle.


text:
"I have been hearing terrible reports from the Lord's people about what you are doing," Eli told his sons.


text:
Ordinary sin receives heavy punishment, but how much more this sin of yours that has been committed against the Lord!" But they wouldn't listen to their father, for the Lord was already planning to kill them.


text:
Little Samuel was growing in two ways--he was getting taller, and he was becoming everyone's favorite (and he was a favorite of the Lord's, too!).


text:
One day a prophet came to Eli and gave him this message from the Lord: "Didn't I demonstrate my power when the people of Israel were slaves in Egypt?


text:
Didn't I choose your ancestor Levi from among all his brothers to be my priest, and to sacrifice upon my altar, and to burn incense, and to wear a priestly robe as he served me? And didn't I assign the sacrificial offerings to you priests?


text:
Then why are you so greedy for all the other offerings which are brought to me? Why have you honored your sons more than me--for you and they have become fat from the best of the offerings of my people!


text:
"Therefore, I, the Lord God of Israel, declare that although I promised that your branch of the tribe of Levi could always be my priests, it is ridiculous to think that what you are doing can continue. I will honor only those who honor me, and I will despise those who despise me.


text:
I will put an end to your family, so that it will no longer serve as priests. Every member will die before his time. None shall live to be old.


text:
You will envy the prosperity I will give my people, but you and your family will be in distress and need. Not one of them will live out his days.


text:
And to prove that what I have said will come true, I will cause your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, to die on the same day!


text:
"Then I will raise up a faithful priest who will serve me and do whatever I tell him to do. I will bless his descendants, and his family shall be priests to my kings forever.


text:
Then all of your descendants shall bow before him, begging for money and food. 'Please,' they will say, 'give me a job among the priests so that I will have enough to eat.' "


text:
Meanwhile little Samuel was helping the Lord by assisting Eli. Messages from the Lord were very rare in those days,


text:
but one night after Eli had gone to bed (he was almost blind with age by now), and Samuel was sleeping in the Temple near the Ark,


text:
He jumped up and ran to Eli. "Here I am. What do you want?" he asked. "I didn't call you," Eli said. "Go on back to bed." So he did.


text:
Then the Lord called again, "Samuel!" And again Samuel jumped up and ran to Eli. "Yes?" he asked. "What do you need?" "No, I didn't call you, my son," Eli said. "Go on back to bed."


text:
So now the Lord called the third time, and once more Samuel jumped up and ran to Eli. "Yes?" he asked. "What do you need?" Then Eli realized it was the Lord who had spoken to the child.


text:
So he said to Samuel, "Go and lie down again, and if he calls again, say, 'Yes, Lord, I'm listening.' " So Samuel went back to bed.


text:
I have continually threatened him and his entire family with punishment because his sons are blaspheming God, and he doesn't stop them.


text:
So I have vowed that the sins of Eli and of his sons shall never be forgiven by sacrifices and offerings."


text:
Samuel stayed in bed until morning, then opened the doors of the Temple as usual, for he was afraid to tell Eli what the Lord had said to him.


text:
So Samuel told him what the Lord had said. "It is the Lord's will," Eli replied; "let him do what he thinks best."


text:
And all Israel from one end of the land to the other knew that Samuel was going to be a prophet of the Lord.


text:
Then the Lord began to give messages to him there at the Tabernacle in Shiloh, and he passed them on to the people of Israel.


text:
At that time Israel was at war with the Philistines. The Israeli army was camped near Ebenezer, the Philistines at Aphek.


text:
After the battle was over, the army of Israel returned to their camp and their leaders discussed why the Lord had let them be defeated. "Let's bring the Ark here from Shiloh," they said. "If we carry it into battle with us, the Lord will be among us and he will surely save us from our enemies."


text:
So they sent for the Ark of the Lord of heaven who is enthroned above the angels. Hophni and Phinehas, the sons of Eli, accompanied it into the battle.


text:
When the Israelis saw the Ark coming, their shout of joy was so loud that it almost made the ground shake!


text:
"What's going on?" the Philistines asked. "What's all the shouting about over in the camp of the Hebrews?" When they were told it was because the Ark of the Lord had arrived,


text:
they panicked. "God has come into their camp!" they cried out. "Woe upon us, for we have never had to face anything like this before!


text:
Who can save us from these mighty gods of Israel? They are the same gods who destroyed the Egyptians with plagues when Israel was in the wilderness.


text:
Fight as you never have before, O Philistines, or we will become their slaves just as they have been ours."


text:
So the Philistines fought desperately and Israel was defeated again. Thirty thousand men of Israel died that day, and the remainder fled to their tents.


text:
A man from the tribe of Benjamin ran from the battle and arrived at Shiloh the same day with his clothes torn and dirt on his head.


text:
Eli was waiting beside the road to hear the news of the battle, for his heart trembled for the safety of the Ark of God. As the messenger from the battlefront arrived and told what had happened, a great cry arose throughout the city.


text:
"What is all the noise about?" Eli asked. And the messenger rushed over to Eli and told him what had happened.


text:
"and Israel has been defeated and thousands of the Israeli troops are dead on the battlefield. Hophni and Phinehas were killed too, and the Ark has been captured."


text:
When the messenger mentioned what had happened to the Ark, Eli fell backward from his seat beside the gate and his neck was broken by the fall, and he died (for he was old and fat). He had judged Israel for forty years.


text:
When Eli's daughter-in-law, Phinehas' wife, who was pregnant, heard that the Ark had been captured and that her husband and father-in-law were dead, her labor pains suddenly began.


text:
Just before she died, the women who were attending her told her that everything was all right and that the baby was a boy. But she did not reply or respond in any way.


text:
Then she murmured, "Name the child 'Ichabod,' for Israel's glory is gone." (Ichabod means "there is no glory." She named him this because the Ark of God had been captured and because her husband and her father-in-law were dead.)


text:
The Philistines took the captured Ark of God from the battleground at Ebenezer to the temple of their idol Dagon in the city of Ashdod.


text:
But when the local citizens went to see it the next morning, Dagon had fallen with his face to the ground before the Ark of Jehovah! They set him up again,


text:
but the next morning the same thing had happened--the idol had fallen face down before the Ark of the Lord again. This time his head and hands had been cut off and were lying in the doorway; only the trunk of his body was left intact.


text:
(That is why to this day neither the priests of Dagon nor his worshipers will walk on the threshold of the temple of Dagon in Ashdod.)


text:
When the people realized what was happening, they exclaimed, "We can't keep the Ark of the God of Israel here any longer. We will all perish along with our god Dagon."


text:
So they called a conference of the mayors of the five cities of the Philistines to decide how to dispose of the Ark. The decision was to take it to Gath.


text:
But when the Ark arrived at Gath, the Lord began destroying its people, young and old, with the plague, and there was a great panic.


text:
So they sent the Ark to Ekron, but when the people of Ekron saw it coming they cried out, "They are bringing the Ark of the God of Israel here to kill us too!"


text:
So they summoned the mayors again and begged them to send the Ark back to its own country, lest the entire city die. For the plague had already begun, and great fear was sweeping across the city.


text:
Then the Philistines called for their priests and diviners and asked them, "What shall we do about the Ark of God? What sort of gift shall we send with it when we return it to its own land?"


text:
"Yes, send it back with a gift," they were told. "Send a guilt offering so that the plague will stop. Then, if it doesn't, you will know God didn't send the plague upon you after all."


text:
"Send five gold models of the tumor caused by the plague, and five gold models of the rats that have ravaged the whole land--the capital cities and villages alike. If you send these gifts and then praise the God of Israel, perhaps he will stop persecuting you and your god.


text:
Don't be stubborn and rebellious as Pharaoh and the Egyptians were. They wouldn't let Israel go until God had destroyed them with dreadful plagues.


text:
Now build a new cart and hitch to it two cows that have just had calves--cows that never before have been yoked--and shut their calves away from them in the barn.


text:
Place the Ark of God on the cart beside a chest containing the gold models of the rats and tumors, and let the cows go wherever they want to.


text:
If they cross the border of our land and go into Beth-shemesh, then you will know that it was God who brought this great evil upon us; if they don't  but return to their calves, then we will know that the plague was simply a coincidence and was not sent by God at all."


text:
So these instructions were carried out. Two cows with newborn calves were hitched to the cart and their calves were shut up in the barn.


text:
Then the Ark of the Lord and the chest containing the gold rats and tumors were placed upon the cart.


text:
And sure enough, the cows went straight along the road toward Beth-shemesh, lowing as they went; and the Philistine mayors followed them as far as the border of Beth-shemesh.


text:
The people of Beth-shemesh were reaping wheat in the valley, and when they saw the Ark, they went wild with joy!


text:
The cart came into the field of a man named Joshua and stopped beside a large rock. So the people broke up the wood of the cart for a fire and killed the cows and sacrificed them to the Lord as a burnt offering.


text:
Several men of the tribe of Levi lifted the Ark and the chest containing the gold rats and tumors from the cart and laid them on the rock. And many burnt offerings and sacrifices were offered to the Lord that day by the men of Beth-shemesh.


text:
The five gold models of tumors which had been sent by the Philistines as a guilt offering to the Lord were gifts from the mayors of the capital cities, Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron.


text:
The gold rats were to placate God for the other Philistine cities, both the fortified cities and the country villages controlled by the five capitals. (By the way, that large rock at Beth-shemesh can still be seen in the field of Joshua.)


text:
But the Lord killed seventy of the men of Beth-shemesh because they looked into the Ark. And the people mourned because of the many people whom the Lord had killed.


text:
"Who is able to stand before Jehovah, this holy God?" they cried out. "Where can we send the Ark from here?"


text:
So they sent messengers to the people at Kiriath-jearim and told them that the Philistines had brought back the Ark of the Lord. "Come and get it!" they begged.


text:
So the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took the Ark to the hillside home of Abinadab and installed his son Eleazar to be in charge of it.


text:
The Ark remained there for twenty years, and during that time all Israel was in sorrow because the Lord had seemingly abandoned them.


text:
At that time Samuel said to them, "If you are really serious about wanting to return to the Lord, get rid of your foreign gods and your Ashtaroth idols. Determine to obey only the Lord; then he will rescue you from the Philistines."


text:
So they gathered there and, in a great ceremony, drew water from the well and poured it out before the Lord. They also went without food all day as a sign of sorrow for their sins. So it was at Mizpah that Samuel became Israel's judge.


text:
When the Philistine leaders heard about the great crowds at Mizpah, they mobilized their army and advanced. The Israelis were badly frightened when they learned that the Philistines were approaching.


text:
So Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it to the Lord as a whole burnt offering and pleaded with him to help Israel. And the Lord responded.


text:
Just as Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines arrived for battle, but the Lord spoke with a mighty voice of thunder from heaven, and they were thrown into confusion, and the Israelis routed them


text:
Samuel then took a stone and placed it between Mizpah and Jeshanah and named it Ebenezer (meaning, "the Stone of Help"), for he said, "The Lord has certainly helped us!"


text:
So the Philistines were subdued and didn't invade Israel again at that time because the Lord was against them throughout the remainder of Samuel's lifetime.


text:
The Israeli cities between Ekron and Gath, which had been conquered by the Philistines, were now returned to Israel, for the Israeli army rescued them from their Philistine captors. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites in those days.


text:
He rode circuit annually, setting up his court first at Bethel, then Gilgal, and then Mizpah, and cases of dispute were brought to him in each of those three cities from all the surrounding territory.


text:
Then he would come back to Ramah, for his home was there, and he would hear cases there too. And he built an altar to the Lord at Ramah.


text:
but they were not like their father, for they were greedy for money. They accepted bribes and were very corrupt in the administration of justice.


text:
They told him that since his retirement things hadn't been the same, for his sons were not good men. "Give us a king like all the other nations have," they pleaded.


text:
"Do as they say," the Lord replied, "for I am the one they are rejecting, not you--they don't want me to be their king any longer.


text:
Ever since I brought them from Egypt they have continually forsaken me and followed other gods. And now they are giving you the same treatment.


text:
some will be made to lead his troops into battle, while others will be slave laborers; they will be forced to plow in the royal fields and harvest his crops without pay, and make his weapons and chariot equipment.


text:
He will take away the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his friends.


text:
He will demand your slaves and the finest of your youth and will use your animals for his personal gain.


text:
and the Lord replied again, "Then do as they say and give them a king." So Samuel agreed and sent the men home again.


text:
Kish was a rich, influential man from the tribe of Benjamin. He was the son of Abiel, grandson of Zeror, great-grandson of Becorath, and great-great-grandson of Aphiah.


text:
His son Saul was the most handsome man in Israel. And he was head and shoulders taller than anyone else in the land!


text:
They traveled all through the hill country of Ephraim, the land of Shalisha, the Shaalim area, and the entire land of Benjamin, but couldn't find them anywhere.


text:
Finally, after searching in the land of Zuph, Saul said to the servant, "Let's go home; by now my father will be more worried about us than about the donkeys!"


text:
But the servant said, "I've just thought of something! There is a prophet who lives here in this city; he is held in high honor by all the people because everything he says comes true; let's go and find him, and perhaps he can tell us where the donkeys are."


text:
"But we don't have anything to pay him with," Saul replied. "Even our food is gone, and we don't have a thing to give him."


text:
As they were climbing a hill toward the city, they saw some young girls going out to draw water and asked them if they knew whether the seer was in town.


text:
(In those days prophets were called seers. "Let's go and ask the seer," people would say, rather than, "Let's go and ask the prophet," as we would say now.)


text:
"Yes," they replied, "stay right on this road. He lives just inside the city gates. He has just arrived back from a trip to take part in a public sacrifice up on the hill.


text:
So hurry, because he'll probably be leaving about the time you get there; the guests can't eat until he arrives and blesses the food."


text:
So they went into the city, and as they were entering the gates they saw Samuel coming out toward them to go up the hill.


text:
"About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin. You are to anoint him as the leader of my people. He will save them from the Philistines, for I have looked down on them in mercy and have heard their cry."


text:
"I am the seer!" Samuel replied. "Go on up the hill ahead of me and we'll eat together; in the morning I will tell you what you want to know and send you on your way.


text:
And don't worry about those donkeys that were lost three days ago, for they have been found. And anyway, you own all the wealth of Israel now!"


text:
"Pardon me, sir," Saul replied. "I'm from the tribe of Benjamin, the smallest in Israel, and my family is the least important of all the families of the tribe! You must have the wrong man!"


text:
Then Samuel took Saul and his servant into the great hall and placed them at the head of the table, honoring them above the thirty special guests.


text:
Samuel then instructed the chef to bring Saul the choicest cut of meat, the piece that had been set aside for the guest of honor.


text:
So the chef brought it in and placed it before Saul. "Go ahead and eat it," Samuel said, "for I was saving it for you, even before I invited these others!" So Saul ate with Samuel.


text:
After the feast, when they had returned to the city, Samuel took Saul up to the porch on the roof and talked with him there.


text:
So Saul got up, and Samuel accompanied him to the edge of the city. When they reached the city walls, Samuel told Saul to send the servant on ahead. Then he told him, "I have received a special message for you from the Lord."


text:
Then Samuel took a flask of olive oil and poured it over Saul's head, and kissed him on the cheek and said, "I am doing this because the Lord has appointed you to be the king of his people, Israel!


text:
When you leave me, you will see two men beside Rachel's tomb at Zelzah, in the land of Benjamin; they will tell you that the donkeys have been found and that your father is worried about you and is asking, 'How am I to find my son?'


text:
And when you get to the oak of Tabor, you will see three men coming toward you who are on their way to worship God at the altar at Bethel; one will be bringing three young goats, another will have three loaves of bread, and the third will have a bottle of wine.


text:
After that you will come to Gibeath-elohim, also known as "God's Hill," where the garrison of the Philistines is. As you arrive there you will meet a band of prophets coming down the hill playing a psaltery, a timbrel, a flute, and a harp, and prophesying as they come.


text:
"At that time the Spirit of the Lord will come mightily upon you and you will prophesy with them, and you will feel and act like a different person.


text:
From that time on your decisions should be based on whatever seems best under the circumstances, for the Lord will guide you.


text:
Go to Gilgal and wait there seven days for me, for I will be coming to sacrifice burnt offerings and peace offerings. I will give you further instructions when I arrive."


text:
As Saul said good-bye and started to go, God gave him a new attitude, and all of Samuel's prophecies came true that day.


text:
When Saul and the servant arrived at the Hill of God, they saw the prophets coming toward them, and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he too began to prophesy.


text:
And one of the neighbors added, "With a father like his?" So that is the origin of the proverb, "Is Saul a prophet too?"


text:
"Where in the world did you go?" Saul's uncle asked him. And Saul replied, "We went to look for the donkeys, but we couldn't find them; so we went to the prophet Samuel to ask him where they were."


text:
"He said the donkeys had been found!" Saul replied. (But he didn't tell him that he had been anointed as king!)


text:
and gave them this message from the Lord God: "I brought you from Egypt and rescued you from the Egyptians and from all of the nations that were torturing you.


text:
But although I have done so much for you, you have rejected me and have said, 'We want a king instead!' All right, then, present yourselves before the Lord by tribes and clans."


text:
So Samuel called the tribal leaders together before the Lord, and the tribe of Benjamin was chosen by sacred lot.


text:
Then he brought each family of the tribe of Benjamin before the Lord, and the family of the Matrites was chosen. And finally the sacred lot selected Saul, the son of Kish. But when they looked for him, he had disappeared!


text:
So they asked the Lord, "Where is he? Is he here among us?" And the Lord replied, "He is hiding in the baggage."


text:
Then Samuel said to all the people, "This is the man the Lord has chosen as your king. There isn't his equal in all of Israel!" And all the people shouted, "Long live the king!"


text:
Then Samuel told the people again what the rights and duties of a king were; he wrote them in a book and put it in a special place before the Lord. Then Samuel sent the people home again.


text:
When Saul returned to his home at Gibeah, a band of men whose hearts the Lord had touched became his constant companions.


text:
There were, however, some bums and loafers who exclaimed, "How can this man save us?" And they despised him and refused to bring him presents, but he took no notice.


text:
At this time Nahash led the army of the Ammonites against the Israeli city of Jabesh-gilead. But the citizens of Jabesh asked for peace. "Leave us alone and we will be your servants," they pleaded.


text:
"All right," Nahash said, "but only on one condition: I will gouge out the right eye of every one of you as a disgrace upon all Israel!"


text:
"Give us seven days to see if we can get some help!" replied the elders of Jabesh. "If none of our brothers will come and save us, we will agree to your terms."


text:
When a messenger came to Gibeah, Saul's hometown, and told the people about their plight, everyone broke into tears.


text:
Saul was plowing in the field, and when he returned to town he asked, "What's the matter? Why is everyone crying?" So they told him about the message from Jabesh.


text:
He took two oxen and cut them into pieces and sent messengers to carry them throughout all Israel. "This is what will happen to the oxen of anyone who refuses to follow Saul and Samuel to battle!" he announced. And God caused the people to be afraid of Saul's anger, and they came to him as one man.


text:
He counted them in Bezek and found that there were three hundred thousand of them in addition to thirty thousand from Judah.


text:
So he sent the messengers back to Jabesh-gilead to say, "We will rescue you before tomorrow noon!" What joy there was throughout the city when that message arrived!


text:
The men of Jabesh then told their enemies, "We surrender. Tomorrow we will come out to you and you can do to us as you wish."


text:
But early the next morning Saul arrived, having divided his army into three detachments, and launched a surprise attack against the Ammonites and slaughtered them all morning. The remnant of their army was so badly scattered that no two of them were left together.


text:
Then the people exclaimed to Samuel, "Where are those men who said that Saul shouldn't be our king? Bring them here and we will kill them!"


text:
So they went to Gilgal and in a solemn ceremony before the Lord they crowned him king. Then they offered peace offerings to the Lord, and Saul and all Israel were very happy.


text:
Then Samuel addressed the people again: "Look," he said, "I have done as you asked. I have given you a king.


text:
I have selected him ahead of my own sons and now I stand here, an old, gray-haired man who has been in public service from the time he was a lad.


text:
Now tell me as I stand before the Lord and before his anointed king--whose ox or donkey have I stolen? Have I ever defrauded you? Have I ever oppressed you? Have I ever taken a bribe? Tell me and I will make right whatever I have done wrong."


text:
"No," they replied, "you have never defrauded or oppressed us in any way and you have never taken even one single bribe."


text:
"The Lord and his anointed king are my witnesses," Samuel declared, "that you can never accuse me of robbing you." "Yes, it is true," they replied.


text:
"It was the Lord who appointed Moses and Aaron," Samuel continued. "He brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt.


text:
"Now stand here quietly before the Lord as I remind you of all the good things he has done for you and for your ancestors:


text:
"When the Israelites were in Egypt and cried out to the Lord, he sent Moses and Aaron to bring them into this land.


text:
But they soon forgot about the Lord their God, so he let them be conquered by Sisera, the general of King Hazor's army, and by the Philistines and the king of Moab.


text:
"Then they cried to the Lord again and confessed that they had sinned by turning away from him and worshiping the Baal and Ashtaroth idols. And they pleaded, 'We will worship you and you alone if you will only rescue us from our enemies.'


text:
"But when you were afraid of Nahash, the king of Ammon, you came to me and said that you wanted a king to reign over you. But the Lord your God was already your King, for he has always been your King.


text:
All right, here is the king you have chosen. Look him over. You have asked for him, and the Lord has answered your request.


text:
"Now if you will fear and worship the Lord, and listen to his commandments and not rebel against the Lord, and if both you and your king follow the Lord your God, then all will be well.


text:
But if you rebel against the Lord's commandments and refuse to listen to him, then his hand will be as heavy upon you as it was upon your ancestors.


text:
You know that it does not rain at this time of the year, during the wheat harvest; I will pray for the Lord to send thunder and rain today, so that you will realize the extent of your wickedness in asking for a king!"


text:
So Samuel called to the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain; and all the people were very much afraid of the Lord and of Samuel.


text:
"Pray for us lest we die!" they cried out to Samuel. "For now we have added to all our other sins by asking for a king."


text:
"Don't be frightened," Samuel reassured them. "You have certainly done wrong, but make sure now that you worship the Lord with true enthusiasm, and that you don't turn your back on him in any way.


text:
The Lord will not abandon his chosen people, for that would dishonor his great name. He made you a special nation for himself--just because he wanted to!


text:
"As for me, I will certainly not sin against the Lord by ending my prayers for you; and I will continue to teach you those things which are good and right.


text:
he selected three thousand special troops and took two thousand of them with him to Michmash and Mount Bethel while the other thousand remained with Jonathan, Saul's son, in Gibeah in the land of Benjamin. The rest of the army was sent home.


text:
The news spread quickly throughout the land of the Philistines, and Saul sounded the call to arms throughout Israel. He announced that he had destroyed the Philistine garrison and warned his men that the army of Israel stank to high heaven as far as the Philistines were concerned. So the entire Israeli army mobilized again and joined at Gilgal.


text:
The Philistines recruited a mighty army of three thousand chariots, six thousand horsemen, and so many soldiers that they were as thick as sand along the seashore; and they camped at Michmash east of Beth-aven.


text:
When the men of Israel saw the vast mass of enemy troops, they lost their nerve entirely and tried to hide in caves, thickets, coverts, among the rocks, and even in tombs and cisterns.


text:
Some of them crossed the Jordan River and escaped to the land of Gad and Gilead. Meanwhile, Saul stayed at Gilgal, and those who were with him trembled with fear at what awaited them.


text:
Samuel had told Saul earlier to wait seven days for his arrival, but when he still didn't come, and Saul's troops were rapidly slipping away,


text:
But just as he was finishing, Samuel arrived. Saul went out to meet him and to receive his blessing,


text:
but Samuel said, "What is this you have done?" "Well," Saul replied, "when I saw that my men were scattering from me, and that you hadn't arrived by the time you said you would, and that the Philistines were at Michmash, ready for battle,


text:
I said, 'The Philistines are ready to march against us and I haven't even asked for the Lord's help!' So I reluctantly offered the burnt offering without waiting for you to arrive."


text:
"You fool!" Samuel exclaimed. "You have disobeyed the commandment of the Lord your God. He was planning to make you and your descendants kings of Israel forever,


text:
but now your dynasty must end; for the Lord wants a man who will obey him. And he has discovered the man he wants and has already appointed him as king over his people; for you have not obeyed the Lord's commandment."


text:
Samuel then left Gilgal and went to Gibeah in the land of Benjamin. When Saul counted the soldiers who were still with him, he found only six hundred left!


text:
Saul and Jonathan and these six hundred men set up their camp in Geba in the land of Benjamin; but the Philistines stayed at Michmash.


text:
Three companies of raiders soon left the camp of the Philistines; one went toward Ophrah in the land of Shual,


text:
another went to Beth-horon, and the third moved toward the border above the valley of Zeboim near the desert.


text:
There were no blacksmiths at all in the land of Israel in those days, for the Philistines wouldn't allow them for fear of their making swords and spears for the Hebrews.


text:
So whenever the Israelites needed to sharpen their plowshares, discs, axes, or sickles, they had to take them to a Philistine blacksmith.


text:
The schedule of charges was as follows: For sharpening a plow point, 60? For sharpening a disc, 60? For sharpening an axe, 30? For sharpening a sickle, 30? For sharpening an ox goad, 30?


text:
So there was not a single sword or spear in the entire "army" of Israel that day, except for Saul's and Jonathan's.


text:
A day or so later, Prince Jonathan said to his young bodyguard, "Come on, let's cross the valley to the garrison of the Philistines." But he didn't tell his father that he was leaving.


text:
Saul and his six hundred men were camped at the edge of Gibeah, around the pomegranate tree at Migron.


text:
Among his men was Ahijah the priest (the son of Ahitub, Ichabod's brother; Ahitub was the son of Phinehas and the grandson of Eli, the priest of the Lord in Shiloh). No one realized that Jonathan had gone.


text:
To reach the Philistine garrison, Jonathan had to go over a narrow pass between two rocky crags which had been named Bozez and Seneh.


text:
"Yes, let's go across to those heathen," Jonathan had said to his bodyguard. "Perhaps the Lord will do a miracle for us. For it makes no difference to him how many enemy troops there are!"


text:
"Fine!" the youth replied. "Do as you think best; I'm with you heart and soul, whatever you decide."


text:
"When they see us, if they say, 'Stay where you are or we'll kill you!' then we will stop and wait for them.


text:
But if they say, 'Come on up and fight!' then we will do just that; for it will be God's signal that he will help us defeat them!"


text:
When the Philistines saw them coming they shouted, "Look! The Israelis are crawling out of their holes!"


text:
Then they shouted to Jonathan, "Come on up here and we'll show you how to fight!" "Come on, climb right behind me," Jonathan exclaimed to his bodyguard, "for the Lord will help us defeat them!"


text:
So they clambered up on their hands and knees, and the Philistines fell back as Jonathan and the lad killed them right and left,


text:
Suddenly panic broke out throughout the entire Philistine army, and even among the raiders. And just then there was a great earthquake, increasing the terror.


text:
Saul's lookouts in Gibeah saw a strange sight--the vast army of the Philistines began to melt away in all directions.


text:
"Find out who isn't here," Saul ordered. And when they had checked, they found that Jonathan and his bodyguard were gone.


text:
"Bring the Ark of God," Saul shouted to Ahijah. (For the Ark was among the people of Israel at that time.)


text:
But while Saul was talking to the priest, the shouting and the tumult in the camp of the Philistines grew louder and louder. "Quick! What does God say?" Saul demanded.


text:
Then Saul and his six hundred men rushed out to the battle and found the Philistines killing each other, and there was terrible confusion everywhere.


text:
And now the Hebrews who had been drafted into the Philistine army revolted and joined with the Israelis.


text:
Finally even the men hiding in the hills joined the chase when they saw that the Philistines were running away.


text:
Saul had declared, "A curse upon anyone who eats anything before evening--before I have full revenge on my enemies."


text:
Jonathan, however, had not heard his father's command; so he dipped a stick into a honeycomb, and when he had eaten the honey he felt much better.


text:
Then someone told him that his father had laid a curse upon anyone who ate food that day, and everyone was weary and faint as a result.


text:
"That's ridiculous!" Jonathan exclaimed. "A command like that only hurts us. See how much better I feel now that I have eaten this little bit of honey.


text:
If the people had been allowed to eat freely from the food they found among our enemies, think how many more we could have slaughtered!"


text:
But hungry as they were, they chased and killed the Philistines all day from Michmash to Aijalon, growing more and more faint.


text:
That evening they flew upon the battle loot and butchered the sheep, oxen, and calves, and ate the raw, bloody meat.


text:
Someone reported to Saul what was happening, that the people were sinning against the Lord by eating blood. "That is very wrong," Saul said. "Roll a great stone over here,


text:
and go out among the troops and tell them to bring the oxen and sheep here to kill and drain them, and not to sin against the Lord by eating the blood." So that is what they did.


text:
Afterwards Saul said, "Let's chase the Philistines all night and destroy every last one of them." "Fine!" his men replied. "Do as you think best." But the priest said, "Let's ask God first."


text:
So Saul asked God, "Shall we go after the Philistines? Will you help us defeat them?" But the Lord made no reply all night.


text:
I vow by the name of the God who saved Israel that though the sinner be my own son Jonathan, he shall surely die!" But no one would tell him what the trouble was.


text:
Then Saul proposed, "Jonathan and I will stand over here, and all of you stand over there." And the people agreed.


text:
Then Saul said, "O Lord God of Israel, why haven't you answered my question? What is wrong? Are Jonathan and I guilty, or is the sin among the others? O Lord God, show us who is guilty." And Jonathan and Saul were chosen by sacred lot as the guilty ones, and the people were declared innocent.


text:
"Tell me what you've done," Saul demanded of Jonathan. "I tasted a little honey," Jonathan admitted. "It was only a little bit on the end of a stick; but now I must die."


text:
"Yes, Jonathan," Saul said, "you must die; may God strike me dead if you are not executed for this."


text:
But the troops retorted, "Jonathan, who saved Israel today, shall die? Far from it! We vow by the life of God that not one hair on his head will be touched, for he has been used of God to do a mighty miracle today." So the people rescued Jonathan.


text:
And now, since he was securely in the saddle as king of Israel, Saul sent the Israeli army out in every direction against Moab, Ammon, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. And wherever he turned, he was successful.


text:
He did great deeds and conquered the Amalekites and saved Israel from all those who had been their conquerors.


text:
Saul's wife was Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz. And the general-in-chief of his army was his cousin Abner, his uncle Ner's son.


text:
The Israelis fought constantly with the Philistines throughout Saul's lifetime. And whenever Saul saw any brave, strong young man, he conscripted him into his army.


text:
One day Samuel said to Saul, "I crowned you king of Israel because God told me to. Now be sure that you obey him.


text:
Here is his commandment to you: 'I have decided to settle accounts with the nation of Amalek for refusing to allow my people to cross their territory when Israel came from Egypt.


text:
Now go and completely destroy the entire Amalek nation--men, women, babies, little children, oxen, sheep, camels, and donkeys.' "


text:
So Saul mobilized his army at Telaim. There were two hundred thousand troops in addition to ten thousand men from Judah.


text:
Saul sent a message to the Kenites, telling them to get out from among the Amalekites or else die with them. "For you were kind to the people of Israel when they came out of the land of Egypt," he explained. So the Kenites packed up and left.


text:
However, Saul and his men kept the best of the sheep and oxen and the fattest of the lambs--everything, in fact, that appealed to them. They destroyed only what was worthless or of poor quality.


text:
"I am sorry that I ever made Saul king, for he has again refused to obey me." Samuel was so deeply moved when he heard what God was saying, that he cried to the Lord all night.


text:
Early the next morning he went out to find Saul. Someone said that he had gone to Mount Carmel to erect a monument to himself and had then gone on to Gilgal.


text:
When Samuel finally found him, Saul greeted him cheerfully. "Hello there," he said. "Well, I have carried out the Lord's command!"


text:
"It's true that the army spared the best of the sheep and oxen," Saul admitted, "but they are going to sacrifice them to the Lord your God; and we have destroyed everything else."


text:
Then Samuel said to Saul, "Stop! Listen to what the Lord told me last night!" "What was it?" Saul asked.


text:
And he sent you on an errand and told you, 'Go and completely destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, until they are all dead.'


text:
Then why didn't you obey the Lord? Why did you rush for the loot and do exactly what God said not to?"


text:
"But I have obeyed the Lord," Saul insisted. "I did what he told me to; and I brought King Agag but killed everyone else.


text:
And it was only when my troops demanded it that I let them keep the best of the sheep and oxen and loot to sacrifice to the Lord."


text:
Samuel replied, "Has the Lord as much pleasure in your burnt offerings and sacrifices as in your obedience? Obedience is far better than sacrifice. He is much more interested in your listening to him than in your offering the fat of rams to him.


text:
For rebellion is as bad as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as bad as worshiping idols. And now because you have rejected the word of Jehovah, he has rejected you from being king."


text:
"I have sinned," Saul finally admitted. "Yes, I have disobeyed your instructions and the command of the Lord, for I was afraid of the people and did what they demanded.


text:
But Samuel replied, "It's no use! Since you have rejected the commandment of the Lord, he has rejected you from being the king of Israel."


text:
And Samuel said to him, "See? The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to a countryman of yours who is better than you are.


text:
Then Saul pleaded again, "I have sinned; but oh, at least honor me before the leaders and before my people by going with me to worship the Lord your God."


text:
Then Samuel said, "Bring King Agag to me." Agag arrived all full of smiles, for he thought, "Surely the worst is over and I have been spared!"


text:
But Samuel said, "As your sword has killed the sons of many mothers, now your mother shall be childless." And Samuel chopped him in pieces before the Lord at Gilgal.


text:
Samuel never saw Saul again, but he mourned constantly for him; and the Lord was sorry that he had ever made Saul king of Israel.


text:
Finally the Lord said to Samuel, "You have mourned long enough for Saul, for I have rejected him as king of Israel. Now take a vial of olive oil and go to Bethlehem and find a man named Jesse, for I have selected one of his sons to be the new king."


text:
But Samuel asked, "How can I do that? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me." "Take a heifer with you," the Lord replied, "and say that you have come to make a sacrifice to the Lord.


text:
So Samuel did as the Lord had told him to. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the city came trembling to meet him. "What is wrong?" they asked. "Why have you come?"


text:
But he replied, "All is well. I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Purify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice." And he performed the purification rite on Jesse and his sons, and invited them too.


text:
When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, "Surely this is the man the Lord has chosen!"


text:
But the Lord said to Samuel, "Don't judge by a man's face or height, for this is not the one. I don't make decisions the way you do! Men judge by outward appearance, but I look at a man's thoughts and intentions."


text:
Then Jesse told his son Abinadab to step forward and walk in front of Samuel. But the Lord said, "This is not the right man either."


text:
Next Jesse summoned Shammah, but the Lord said, "No, this is not the one." In the same way all seven of his sons presented themselves to Samuel and were rejected.


text:
"Are these all there are?" "Well, there is the youngest," Jesse replied. "But he's out in the fields watching the sheep." "Send for him at once," Samuel said, "for we will not sit down to eat until he arrives."


text:
So Jesse sent for him. He was a fine looking boy, ruddy-faced, and with pleasant eyes. And the Lord said, "This is the one; anoint him."


text:
So as David stood there among his brothers, Samuel took the olive oil he had brought and poured it upon David's head; and the Spirit of Jehovah came upon him and gave him great power from that day onward. Then Samuel returned to Ramah.


text:
But the Spirit of the Lord had left Saul, and instead, the Lord had sent a tormenting spirit that filled him with depression and fear.


text:
"We'll find a good harpist to play for you whenever the tormenting spirit is bothering you," they said. "The harp music will quiet you and you'll soon be well again."


text:
One of them said he knew a young fellow in Bethlehem, the son of a man named Jesse, who was not only a talented harp player, but was handsome, brave, and strong, and had good, solid judgment. "What's more," he added, "the Lord is with him."


text:
Jesse responded by sending not only David but a young goat and a donkey carrying a load of food and wine.


text:
And whenever the tormenting spirit from God troubled Saul, David would play the harp and Saul would feel better, and the evil spirit would go away.


text:
The Philistines now mustered their army for battle and camped between Socoh in Judah and Azekah in Ephes-dammim.


text:
Then Goliath, a Philistine champion from Gath, came out of the Philistine ranks to face the forces of Israel. He was a giant of a man, measuring over nine feet tall!


text:
and carried a bronze javelin several inches thick, tipped with a twenty-five-pound iron spearhead, and his armor-bearer walked ahead of him with a huge shield.


text:
He stood and shouted across to the Israelis, "Do you need a whole army to settle this? I will represent the Philistines, and you choose someone to represent you, and we will settle this in single combat!


text:
If your man is able to kill me, then we will be your slaves. But if I kill him, then you must be our slaves!


text:
David (the son of aging Jesse, a member of the tribe of Judah who lived in Bethlehem) had seven older brothers.


text:
The three oldest--Eliab, Abinadab, and Shammah--had already volunteered for Saul's army to fight the Philistines.


text:
David was the youngest son and was on Saul's staff on a part-time basis. He went back and forth to Bethlehem to help his father with the sheep.


text:
For forty days, twice a day, morning and evening the Philistine giant strutted before the armies of Israel.


text:
One day Jesse said to David, "Take this bushel of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread to your brothers.


text:
Give this cheese to their captain and see how the boys are getting along; and bring us back a letter from them!"


text:
So David left the sheep with another shepherd and took off early the next morning with the gifts. He arrived at the outskirts of the camp just as the Israeli army was leaving for the battlefield with shouts and battle cries.


text:
As he was talking with them, he saw Goliath the giant step out from the Philistine troops and shout his challenge to the army of Israel.


text:
"Have you seen the giant?" the soldiers were asking. "He has insulted the entire army of Israel. And have you heard about the huge reward the king has offered to anyone who kills him? And the king will give him one of his daughters for a wife, and his whole family will be exempted from paying taxes!"


text:
David talked to some others standing there to verify the report. "What will a man get for killing this Philistine and ending his insults to Israel?" he asked them. "Who is this heathen Philistine, anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?"


text:
But when David's oldest brother, Eliab, heard David talking like that, he was angry. "What are you doing around here, anyway?" he demanded. "What about the sheep you're supposed to be taking care of? I know what a cocky brat you are; you just want to see the battle!"


text:
"Don't be ridiculous!" Saul replied. "How can a kid like you fight with a man like him? You are only a boy, and he has been in the army since he was a boy!"


text:
But David persisted. "When I am taking care of my father's sheep," he said, "and a lion or a bear comes and grabs a lamb from the flock,


text:
I go after it with a club and take the lamb from its mouth. If it turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death.


text:
I have done this to both lions and bears, and I'll do it to this heathen Philistine too, for he has defied the armies of the living God!


text:
The Lord who saved me from the claws and teeth of the lion and the bear will save me from this Philistine!" Saul finally consented, "All right, go ahead," he said, "and may the Lord be with you!"


text:
strapped the sword over it, and took a step or two to see what it was like, for he had never worn such things before. "I can hardly move!" he exclaimed, and took them off again.


text:
Then he picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them in his shepherd's bag and, armed only with his shepherd's staff and sling, started across to Goliath.


text:
Goliath walked out toward David with his shield-bearer ahead of him, sneering in contempt at this nice little red-cheeked boy!


text:
"Am I a dog," he roared at David, "that you come at me with a stick?" And he cursed David by the names of his gods.


text:
David shouted in reply, "You come to me with a sword and a spear, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of the armies of heaven and of Israel--the very God whom you have defied.


text:
Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head; and then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel!


text:
And Israel will learn that the Lord does not depend on weapons to fulfill his plans--he works without regard to human means! He will give you to us!"


text:
reaching into his shepherd's bag, took out a stone, hurled it from his sling, and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in, and the man fell on his face to the ground.


text:
he ran over and pulled Goliath's from its sheath and killed him with it, and then cut off his head. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they turned and ran.


text:
Then the Israelis gave a great shout of triumph and rushed after the Philistines, chasing them as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron. The bodies of the dead and wounded Philistines were strewn all along the road to Shaaraim.


text:
As Saul was watching David go out to fight Goliath, he asked Abner, the general of his army, "Abner, what sort of family does this young fellow come from?" "I really don't know," Abner said.


text:
After David had killed Goliath, Abner brought him to Saul with the Philistine's head still in his hand.


text:
"Tell me about your father, my boy," Saul said. And David replied, "His name is Jesse and we live in Bethlehem."


text:
After King Saul had finished his conversation with David, David met Jonathan, the king's son, and there was an immediate bond of love between them. Jonathan swore to be his blood brother,


text:
and sealed the pact by giving him his robe, sword, bow, and belt. King Saul now kept David with him and wouldn't let him return home any more.


text:
He was Saul's special assistant, and he always carried out his assignments successfully. So Saul made him commander of his troops, an appointment that was applauded by the army and general public alike.


text:
But something had happened when the victorious Israeli army was returning home after David had killed Goliath. Women came out from all the towns along the way to celebrate and to cheer for King Saul, and were singing and dancing for joy with tambourines and cymbals.


text:
Of course Saul was very angry. "What's this?" he said to himself. "They credit David with ten thousands and me with only thousands. Next they'll be making him their king!"


text:
The very next day, in fact, a tormenting spirit from God overwhelmed Saul, and he began to rave like a madman. David began to soothe him by playing the harp, as he did whenever this happened. But Saul, who was fiddling with his spear,


text:
suddenly hurled it at David, intending to pin him to the wall. But David jumped aside and escaped. This happened another time, too,


text:
Finally Saul banned him from his presence and demoted him to the rank of captain. But the controversy put David more than ever in the public eye.


text:
When King Saul saw this, he became even more afraid of him; but all Israel and Judah loved him, for he was as one of them.


text:
One day Saul said to David, "I am ready to give you my oldest daughter Merab as your wife. But first you must prove yourself to be a real soldier by fighting the Lord's battles." For Saul thought to himself, "I'll send him out against the Philistines and let them kill him rather than doing it myself."


text:
"Who am I that I should be the king's son-in-law?" David exclaimed. "My father's family is nothing!"


text:
But when the time arrived for the wedding, Saul married her to Adriel, a man from Meholath, instead.


text:
In the meantime Saul's daughter Michal had fallen in love with David, and Saul was delighted when he heard about it.


text:
"Here's another opportunity to see him killed by the Philistines!" Saul said to himself. But to David he said, "You can be my son-in-law after all, for I will give you my youngest daughter."


text:
Then Saul instructed his men to say confidentially to David that the king really liked him a lot, and that they all loved him and thought he should accept the king's proposition and become his son-in-law.


text:
But David replied, "How can a poor man like me from an unknown family find enough dowry to marry the daughter of a king?"


text:
he told them, "Tell David that the only dowry I need is one hundred dead Philistines! Vengeance on my enemies is all I want." But what Saul had in mind was that David would be killed in the fight.


text:
he and his men went out and killed two hundred Philistines and presented their foreskins to King Saul. So Saul gave Michal to him.


text:
When the king realized how much the Lord was with David and how immensely popular he was with all the people,


text:
Whenever the Philistine army attacked, David was more successful against them than all the rest of Saul's officers. So David's name became very famous throughout the land.


text:
Saul now urged his aides and his son Jonathan to assassinate David. But Jonathan, because of his close friendship with David,


text:
told him what his father was planning. "Tomorrow morning," he warned him, "you must find a hiding place out in the fields.


text:
I'll ask my father to go out there with me, and I'll talk to him about you; then I'll tell you everything I can find out."


text:
The next morning as Jonathan and his father were talking together, he spoke well of David and begged him not to be against David. "He's never done anything to harm you," Jonathan pleaded. "He has always helped you in any way he could.


text:
Have you forgotten about the time he risked his life to kill Goliath, and how the Lord brought a great victory to Israel as a result? You were certainly happy about it then. Why should you now murder an innocent man? There is no reason for it at all!"


text:
Afterwards Jonathan called David and told him what had happened. Then he took David to Saul and everything was as it had been before.


text:
War broke out shortly after that, and David led his troops against the Philistines and slaughtered many of them, and put to flight their entire army.


text:
But one day as Saul was sitting at home, listening to David playing the harp, suddenly the tormenting spirit from the Lord attacked him.


text:
He had his spear in his hand and hurled it at David in an attempt to kill him. But David dodged out of the way and fled into the night, leaving the spear imbedded in the timber of the wall.


text:
Saul sent troops to watch David's house and kill him when he came out in the morning. "If you don't get away tonight," Michal warned him, "you'll be dead by morning."


text:
Then she took an idol and put it in his bed, and covered it with blankets, with its head on a pillow of goat's hair.


text:
When the soldiers came to arrest David and take him to Saul, she told them he was sick and couldn't get out of bed.


text:
"Why have you deceived me and let my enemy escape?" Saul demanded of Michal. "I had to," Michal replied. "He threatened to kill me if I didn't help him."


text:
In that way David got away and went to Ramah to see Samuel, and told him all that Saul had done to him. So Samuel took David with him to live at Naioth.


text:
he sent soldiers to capture him; but when they arrived and saw Samuel and the other prophets prophesying, the Spirit of God came upon them and they also began to prophesy.


text:
When Saul heard what had happened, he sent other soldiers, but they too prophesied! The same thing happened a third time!


text:
Then Saul himself went to Ramah and arrived at the great well in Secu. "Where are Samuel and David?" he demanded. Someone told him they were at Naioth.


text:
He tore off his clothes and lay naked all day and all night, prophesying with Samuel's prophets. Saul's men were incredulous! "What!" they exclaimed. "Is Saul a prophet too?"


text:
David now fled from Naioth in Ramah and found Jonathan. "What have I done?" he exclaimed. "Why is your father so determined to kill me?"


text:
"That's not true!" Jonathan protested. "I'm sure he's not planning any such thing, for he always tells me everything he's going to do, even little things, and I know he wouldn't hide something like this from me. It just isn't so."


text:
"Of course you don't know about it!" David fumed. "Your father knows perfectly well about our friendship, so he has said to himself, 'I'll not tell Jonathan--why should I hurt him?' But the truth is that I am only a step away from death! I swear it by the Lord and by your own soul!"


text:
And David replied, "Tomorrow is the beginning of the celebration of the new moon. Always before, I've been with your father for this occasion, but tomorrow I'll hide in the field and stay there until the evening of the third day.


text:
If your father asks where I am, tell him that I asked permission to go home to Bethlehem for an annual family reunion.


text:
If he says, 'Fine!' then I'll know that all is well. But if he is angry, then I'll know that he is planning to kill me.


text:
Do this for me as my sworn brother. Or else kill me yourself if I have sinned against your father, but don't betray me to him!"


text:
"Of course not!" Jonathan exclaimed. "Look, wouldn't I say so if I knew that my father was planning to kill you?"


text:
Then Jonathan told David, "I promise by the Lord God of Israel that about this time tomorrow, or the next day at the latest, I will talk to my father about you and let you know at once how he feels about you.


text:
If he is angry and wants you killed, then may the Lord kill me if I don't tell you, so you can escape and live. May the Lord be with you as he used to be with my father.


text:
And remember, you must demonstrate the love and kindness of the Lord not only to me during my own lifetime,


text:
So Jonathan made a covenant with the family of David, and David swore to it with a terrible curse against himself and his descendants, should he be unfaithful to his promise.


text:
But Jonathan made David swear to it again, this time by his love for him, for he loved him as much as he loved himself.


text:
By the day after tomorrow, everyone will be asking about you, so be at the hideout where you were before, over by the stone pile.


text:
Then I'll send a lad to bring the arrows back. If you hear me tell him, 'They're on this side,' then you will know that all is well and that there is no trouble.


text:
But if I tell him, 'Go farther--the arrows are still ahead of you,' then it will mean that you must leave immediately.


text:
So David hid himself in the field. When the new moon celebration began, the king sat down to eat at his usual place against the wall.


text:
Saul didn't say anything about it that day, for he supposed that something had happened so that David was ceremonially impure. Yes, surely that must be it!


text:
But when his place was still empty the next day, Saul asked Jonathan, "Why hasn't David been here for dinner either yesterday or today?"


text:
Saul boiled with rage. "You fool!" he yelled at him. "Do you think I don't know that you want this son of a nobody to be king in your place, shaming yourself and your mother?


text:
Then Saul hurled his spear at Jonathan, intending to kill him; so at last Jonathan realized that his father really meant it when he said David must die.


text:
Jonathan left the table in fierce anger and refused to eat all that day, for he was crushed by his father's shameful behavior toward David.


text:
The next morning, as agreed, Jonathan went out into the field and took a young boy with him to gather his arrows.


text:
"Start running," he told the boy, "so that you can find the arrows as I shoot them." So the boy ran and Jonathan shot an arrow beyond him.


text:
As soon as he was gone, David came out from where he had been hiding near the south edge of the field. Both of them were crying as they said goodbye, especially David.


text:
At last Jonathan said to David, "Cheer up, for we have entrusted each other and each other's children into God's hands forever." So they parted, David going away and Jonathan returning to the city.


text:
David went to the city of Nob to see Ahimelech, the priest. Ahimelech trembled when he saw him. "Why are you alone?" he asked. "Why is no one with you?"


text:
"The king has sent me on a private matter," David lied. "He told me not to tell anybody why I am here. I have told my men where to meet me later.


text:
"We don't have any regular bread," the priest replied, "but there is the holy bread, which I guess you can have if only your young men have not slept with any women for awhile."


text:
"Rest assured," David replied. "I never let my men run wild when they are on an expedition, and since they stay clean even on ordinary trips, how much more so on this one!"


text:
So, since there was no other food available, the priest gave him the holy bread--the Bread of the Presence that was placed before the Lord in the Tabernacle. It had just been replaced that day with fresh bread.


text:
(Incidentally, Doeg the Edomite, Saul's chief herdsman, was there at that time for ceremonial purification.)


text:
David asked Ahimelech if he had a spear or sword he could use. "The king's business required such haste, and I left in such a rush that I came away without a weapon!" David explained.


text:
"Well," the priest replied, "I have the sword of Goliath, the Philistine--the fellow you killed in the valley of Elah. It is wrapped in a cloth in the clothes closet. Take that if you want it, for there is nothing else here." "Just the thing!" David replied. "Give it to me!"


text:
But Achish's officers weren't happy about his being there. "Isn't he the top leader of Israel?" they asked. "Isn't he the one the people honor at their dances, singing, 'Saul has slain his thousands and David his ten thousands'?"


text:
until finally King Achish said to his men, "Must you bring me a madman? We already have enough of them around here! Should such a fellow as this be my guest?"


text:
So David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam, where his brothers and other relatives soon joined him.


text:
Then others began coming--those who were in any kind of trouble, such as being in debt, or merely discontented--until David was the leader of about four hundred men.


text:
(Later David went to Mizpeh in Moab to ask permission of the king for his father and mother to live there under royal protection until David knew what God was going to do for him.


text:
One day the prophet Gad told David to leave the cave and return to the land of Judah. So David went to the forest of Hereth.


text:
The news of his arrival in Judah soon reached Saul. He was in Gibeah at the time, sitting beneath an oak tree playing with his spear, surrounded by his officers.


text:
"Listen here, you men of Benjamin!" Saul exclaimed when he heard the news. "Has David promised you fields and vineyards and commissions in his army?


text:
Is that why you are against me? For not one of you has ever told me that my own son is on David's side. You're not even sorry for me. Think of it! My own son--encouraging David to come and kill me!"


text:
Then Doeg the Edomite, who was standing there with Saul's men, spoke up. "When I was at Nob," he said, "I saw David talking to Ahimelech the priest.


text:
Ahimelech consulted the Lord to find out what David should do, and then gave him food and the sword of Goliath the Philistine."


text:
King Saul immediately summoned Ahimelech and all his family and all the other priests at Nob. When they arrived Saul shouted at him,


text:
"Why have you and David conspired against me?" Saul demanded. "Why did you give him food and a sword and talk to God for him? Why did you encourage him to revolt against me and to come here and attack me?"


text:
"But sir," Ahimelech replied, "is there anyone among all your servants who is as faithful as David your son-in-law? Why, he is the captain of your bodyguard and a highly honored member of your own household!


text:
This was certainly not the first time I had consulted God for him! It's unfair for you to accuse me and my family in this matter, for we knew nothing of any plot against you."


text:
He ordered his bodyguards, "Kill these priests, for they are allies and conspirators with David; they knew he was running away from me, but they didn't tell me!" But the soldiers refused to harm the clergy.


text:
Then the king said to Doeg, "You do it." So Doeg turned on them and killed them, eighty-five priests in all, all wearing their priestly robes.


text:
Then he went to Nob, the city of the priests, and killed the priests' families--men, women, children, and babies, and also all the oxen, donkeys, and sheep.


text:
David exclaimed, "I knew it! When I saw Doeg there, I knew he would tell Saul. Now I have caused the death of all of your father's family.


text:
Stay here with me, and I'll protect you with my own life. Any harm to you will be over my dead body."


text:
But David's men said, "We're afraid even here in Judah; we certainly don't want to go to Keilah to fight the whole Philistine army!"


text:
David asked the Lord again, and the Lord again replied, "Go down to Keilah, for I will help you conquer the Philistines."


text:
They went to Keilah and slaughtered the Philistines and confiscated their cattle, and so the people of Keilah were saved.


text:
(Abiathar the priest went to Keilah with David, taking his ephod with him to get answers for David from the Lord.)


text:
Saul soon learned that David was at Keilah. "Good!" he exclaimed. "We've got him now! God has delivered him to me, for he has trapped himself in a walled city!"


text:
But David learned of Saul's plan and told Abiathar the priest to bring the ephod and to ask the Lord what he should do.


text:
"O Lord God of Israel," David said, "I have heard that Saul is planning to come and destroy Keilah because I am here.


text:
Will the men of Keilah surrender me to him? And will Saul actually come, as I have heard? O Lord God of Israel, please tell me." And the Lord said, "He will come."


text:
"And will these men of Keilah betray me to Saul?" David persisted. And the Lord replied, "Yes, they will betray you."


text:
So David and his men--about six hundred of them now--left Keilah and began roaming the countryside. Word soon reached Saul that David had escaped, so he didn't go there after all.


text:
One day near Horesh he received the news that Saul was on the way to Ziph to search for him and kill him. Saul hunted him day after day, but the Lord didn't let him find him.


text:
(Prince Jonathan now went to find David; he met him at Horesh and encouraged him in his faith in God.


text:
"Don't be afraid," Jonathan reassured him. "My father will never find you! You are going to be the king of Israel and I will be next to you, as my father is well aware."


text:
So the two of them renewed their pact of friendship; and David stayed at Horesh while Jonathan returned home.)


text:
But now the men of Ziph went to Saul in Gibeah and betrayed David to him. "We know where he is hiding," they said. "He is in the caves of Horesh on Hachilah Hill, down in the southern part of the wilderness.


text:
Go and check again to be sure of where he is staying and who has seen him there, for I know that he is very crafty.


text:
Discover his hiding places and then come back and give me a more definite report. Then I'll go with you. And if he is in the area at all, I'll find him if I have to search every inch of the entire land!"


text:
But when David heard that Saul was on his way to Ziph, he and his men went even further into the wilderness of Maon in the south of the desert. But Saul followed them there.


text:
He and David were now on opposite sides of a mountain. As Saul and his men began to close in, David tried his best to escape, but it was no use.


text:
so Saul quit the chase and returned to fight the Philistines. Ever since that time the place where David was camped has been called, "The Rock of Escape!"


text:
After Saul's return from his battle with the Philistines, he was told that David had gone into the wilderness of Engedi;


text:
so he took three thousand special troops and went to search for him among the rocks and wild goats of the desert.


text:
At the place where the road passes some sheepfolds, Saul went into a cave to go to the bathroom, but as it happened, David and his men were hiding in the cave!


text:
"Now's your time!" David's men whispered to him. "Today is the day the Lord was talking about when he said, 'I will certainly put Saul into your power, to do with as you wish'!" Then David crept forward and quietly slit off the bottom of Saul's robe!


text:
"I shouldn't have done it," he said to his men. "It is a serious sin to attack God's chosen king in any way."


text:
These words of David persuaded his men not to kill Saul. After Saul had left the cave and gone on his way,


text:
David came out and shouted after him, "My lord the king!" And when Saul looked around, David bowed low before him.


text:
This very day you have seen it isn't true. For the Lord placed you at my mercy back there in the cave, and some of my men told me to kill you, but I spared you. For I said, 'I will never harm him--he is the Lord's chosen king.'


text:
See what I have in my hand? It is the hem of your robe! I cut it off, but I didn't kill you! Doesn't this convince you that I am not trying to harm you and that I have not sinned against you, even though you have been hunting for my life?


text:
"The Lord will decide between us. Perhaps he will kill you for what you are trying to do to me, but I will never harm you.


text:
As that old proverb says, 'Wicked is as wicked does,' but despite your wickedness, I'll not touch you.


text:
And who is the king of Israel trying to catch, anyway? Should he spend his time chasing one who is as worthless as a dead dog or a flea?


text:
May the Lord judge as to which of us is right and punish whichever one of us is guilty. He is my lawyer and defender, and he will rescue me from your power!"


text:
Yes, you have been wonderfully kind to me today, for when the Lord delivered me into your hand, you didn't kill me.


text:
Who else in all the world would let his enemy get away when he had him in his power? May the Lord reward you well for the kindness you have shown me today.


text:
Oh, swear to me by the Lord that when that happens you will not kill my family and destroy my line of descendants!"


text:
Shortly afterwards Samuel died, and all Israel gathered for his funeral and buried him in his family plot at Ramah. Meanwhile David went down to the wilderness of Paran.


text:
A wealthy man from Maon owned a sheep ranch there, near the village of Carmel. He had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats, and was at his ranch at this time for the sheep shearing.


text:
His name was Nabal and his wife, a beautiful and very intelligent woman, was named Abigail. But the man, who was a descendant of Caleb, was uncouth, churlish, stubborn, and ill-mannered.


text:
I am told that you are shearing your sheep and goats. While your shepherds have lived among us, we have never harmed them, nor stolen anything from them the whole time they have been in Carmel.


text:
Ask your young men and they will tell you whether or not this is true. Now I have sent my men to ask for a little contribution from you, for we have come at a happy time of holiday. Please give us a present of whatever is at hand."


text:
"Who is this fellow David?" he sneered. "Who does this son of Jesse think he is? There are lots of servants these days who run away from their masters.


text:
Should I take my bread and my water and my meat that I've slaughtered for my shearers and give it to a gang who comes from God knows where?"


text:
"Get your swords!" was David's reply as he strapped on his own. Four hundred of them started off with David and two hundred remained behind to guard their gear.


text:
Meanwhile, one of Nabal's men went and told Abigail, "David sent men from the wilderness to talk to our master, but he insulted them and railed at them.


text:
in fact, day and night they were like a wall of protection to us and the sheep, and nothing was stolen from us the whole time they were with us.


text:
You'd better think fast, for there is going to be trouble for our master and his whole family--he's such a stubborn lout that no one can even talk to him!"


text:
Then Abigail hurriedly took two hundred loaves of bread, two barrels of wine, five dressed sheep, two bushels of roasted grain, one hundred raisin cakes, and two hundred fig cakes, and packed them onto donkeys.


text:
"Go on ahead," she said to her young men, "and I will follow." But she didn't tell her husband what she was doing.


text:
David had been saying to himself, "A lot of good it did us to help this fellow. We protected his flocks in the wilderness so that not one thing was lost or stolen, but he has repaid me bad for good. All that I get for my trouble is insults.


