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Then God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters, separating water from water.”
Then God said, “Let the earth produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds.” And it was so.
The earth produced vegetation: seed-bearing plants according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night. They will serve as signs for seasons[fn] and for days and years.
“They will be lights in the expanse of the sky to provide light on the earth.” And it was so.
God blessed them: “Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the waters of the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.”
God also said, “Look, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the surface of the entire earth and every tree whose fruit contains seed. This will be food for you,
“for all the wildlife of the earth, for every bird of the sky, and for every creature that crawls on the earth — everything having the breath of life in it — I have given[fn] every green plant for food.” And it was so.
God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, for on it he rested from all his work of creation.
The LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he placed the man he had formed.
The LORD God caused to grow out of the ground every tree pleasing in appearance and good for food, including the tree of life in the middle of the garden, as well as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
The LORD God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to work it and watch over it.
And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree of the garden,
Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can't eat from any tree in the garden'? ”
“But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.' ”
“In fact, God knows that when[fn] you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze,[fn] and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
And he said, “I heard you[fn] in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.”
He said to the woman:
I will intensify your labor pains;
you will bear children with painful effort.
Your desire will be for your husband,
yet he will rule over you.
And he said to the man, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘Do not eat from it':
The ground is cursed because of you.
You will eat from it by means of painful labor[fn]
all the days of your life.
“You will eat bread[fn] by the sweat of your brow
until you return to the ground,
since you were taken from it.
For you are dust,
and you will return to dust.”
Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let's go out to the field.”[fn] And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
Then Cain went out from the LORD's presence and lived in the land of Nod,[fn] east of Eden.
The Nephilim[fn] were on the earth both in those days and afterward, when the sons of God came to the daughters of mankind, who bore children to them. They were the powerful men of old, the famous men.
When the LORD saw that human wickedness was widespread on the earth and that every inclination of the human mind was nothing but evil all the time,
These are the family records of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among his contemporaries; Noah walked with God.
“Understand that I am bringing a flood — floodwaters on the earth to destroy every creature under heaven with the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish.
Then the LORD said to Noah, “Enter the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you alone are righteous before me in this generation.
In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the sources of the vast watery depths burst open, the floodgates of the sky were opened,
On that same day Noah and his three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, entered the ark, along with Noah's wife and his three sons' wives.
Two of every creature that has the breath of life in it came to Noah and entered the ark.
He wiped out every living thing that was on the face of the earth, from mankind to livestock, to creatures that crawl, to the birds of the sky, and they were wiped off the earth. Only Noah was left, and those that were with him in the ark.
God remembered Noah, as well as all the wildlife and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. God caused a wind to pass over the earth, and the water began to subside.
The ark came to rest in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat.
The water continued to recede until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were visible.
When the dove came to him at evening, there was a plucked olive leaf in its beak. So Noah knew that the water on the earth's surface had gone down.
In the six hundred first year,[fn] in the first month, on the first day of the month, the water that had covered the earth was dried up. Then Noah removed the ark's cover and saw that the surface of the ground was drying.
“Whoever sheds human blood,
by humans his blood will be shed,
for God made humans in his image.
“I have placed my bow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.
“I will remember my covenant between me and you and all the living creatures: water will never again become a flood to destroy every creature.
“The bow will be in the clouds, and I will look at it and remember the permanent covenant between God and all the living creatures on earth.”
From these descendants, the peoples of the coasts and islands spread out into their lands according to their clans in their nations, each with its own language.
These are Ham's sons by their clans, according to their languages, in their lands and their nations.
Eber had two sons. One was named Peleg,[fn] for during his days the earth was divided; his brother was named Joktan.
These are Shem's sons by their clans, according to their languages, in their lands and their nations.
As people migrated from the east,[fn] they found a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there.
Haran died in his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans, during his father Terah's lifetime.
He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated, and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan,
Abram lived in the land of Canaan, but Lot lived in the cities on the plain and set up his tent near Sodom.
So Abram moved his tent and went to live near the oaks of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the LORD.
In those days King Amraphel of Shinar, King Arioch of Ellasar, King Chedorlaomer of Elam, and King Tidal of Goiim[fn]
In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim,
Then they came back to invade En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and they defeated the whole territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who lived in Hazazon-tamar.
Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out and lined up for battle in the Siddim Valley
They also took Abram's nephew Lot and his possessions, for he was living in Sodom, and they went on.
And he and his servants deployed against them by night, defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah to the north of Damascus.
After these events, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision:
Do not be afraid, Abram.
I am your shield;
your reward will be very great.
Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know this for certain: Your offspring will be resident aliens for four hundred years in a land that does not belong to them and will be enslaved and oppressed.[fn]
On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “I give this land to your offspring, from the Brook of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River:
So Abram's wife, Sarai, took Hagar, her Egyptian slave, and gave her to her husband, Abram, as a wife for him. This happened after Abram had lived in the land of Canaan ten years.
He slept with[fn] Hagar, and she became pregnant. When she saw that she was pregnant, her mistress became contemptible to her.
Abram replied to Sarai, “Here, your slave is in your power; do whatever you want with her.” Then Sarai mistreated her so much that she ran away from her.
The angel of the LORD found her by a spring in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur.
The angel of the LORD said to her, “You have conceived and will have a son. You will name him Ishmael,[fn] for the LORD has heard your cry of affliction.
“You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskin to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and you.[fn]
Abraham fell facedown. Then he laughed and said to himself, “Can a child be born to a hundred-year-old man? Can Sarah, a ninety-year-old woman, give birth? ”
“But I will confirm my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year.”
So Abraham took his son Ishmael and those born in his household or purchased — every male among the members of Abraham's household — and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskin on that very day, just as God had said to him.
So she laughed to herself: “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I have delight? ”
But the LORD asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Can I really have a baby when I'm old? '
“Abraham is to become a great and powerful nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him.
“What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away instead of sparing the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people who are in it?
The LORD said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
and said, “My lords, turn aside to your servant's house, wash your feet, and spend the night. Then you can get up early and go on your way.”
“No,” they said. “We would rather spend the night in the square.”
Then the angels said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here: a son-in-law, your sons and daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of this place,
But he hesitated. Because of the LORD's compassion for him, the men grabbed his hand, his wife's hand, and the hands of his two daughters. They brought him out and left him outside the city.
As soon as the angels got them outside, one of them[fn] said, “Run for your lives! Don't look back and don't stop anywhere on the plain! Run to the mountains, or you will be swept away! ”
He demolished these cities, the entire plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and whatever grew on the ground.
So it was, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham and brought Lot out of the middle of the upheaval when he demolished the cities where Lot had lived.
Lot departed from Zoar and lived in the mountains along with his two daughters, because he was afraid to live in Zoar. Instead, he and his two daughters lived in a cave.
So they got their father to drink wine that night, and the firstborn came and slept with her father; he did not know when she lay down or when she got up.
That night they again got their father to drink wine, and the younger went and slept with him; he did not know when she lay down or when she got up.
From there Abraham traveled to the region of the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he was staying in Gerar,
But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “You are about to die because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman.”[fn]
Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience.[fn] I have also kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I have not let you touch her.
Abraham replied, “I thought, ‘There is absolutely no fear of God in this place. They will kill me because of my wife.'
for the LORD had completely closed all the wombs in Abimelech's household on account of Sarah, Abraham's wife.
She also said, “Who would have told Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne a son for him[fn] in his old age.”
But God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed[fn] about the boy and about your slave. Whatever Sarah says to you, listen to her, because your offspring will be traced through Isaac,
God was with the boy, and he grew; he settled in the wilderness and became an archer.
He settled in the Wilderness of Paran, and his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
At that time Abimelech, accompanied by Phicol the commander of his army, said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do.
“Swear to me by God here and now, that you will not break an agreement with me or with my children and descendants. As I have been loyal to you, so you will be loyal to me and to the country where you are a resident alien.”
After they had made a covenant at Beer-sheba, Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, left and returned to the land of the Philistines.
Abraham looked up and saw a ram[fn] caught in the thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son.
“And all the nations of the earth will be blessed[fn] by your offspring because you have obeyed my command.”
Sarah died in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.
“to give me the cave of Machpelah that belongs to him; it is at the end of his field. Let him give it to me in your presence, for the full price, as burial property.”
Ephron was sitting among the Hethites. So in the hearing[fn] of all the Hethites who came to the gate of his city, Ephron the Hethite answered Abraham:
“No, my lord. Listen to me. I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. I give it to you in the sight[fn] of my people. Bury your dead.”
So Ephron's field at Machpelah near Mamre — the field with its cave and all the trees anywhere within the boundaries of the field — became
After this, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave of the field at Machpelah near Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan.
“and I will have you swear by the LORD, God of heaven and God of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I live,
“Let the girl to whom I say, ‘Please lower your water jug so that I may drink,' and who responds, ‘Drink, and I'll water your camels also' — let her be the one you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.”
Before he had finished speaking, there was Rebekah — daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor — coming with a jug on her shoulder.
“My master put me under this oath: ‘You will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose land I live
“and who responds to me, ‘Drink, and I'll draw water for your camels also' — let her be the woman the LORD has appointed for my master's son.
“Before I had finished praying silently, there was Rebekah coming with her jug on her shoulder, and she went down to the spring and drew water. So I said to her, ‘Please let me have a drink.'
“Then I knelt low, worshiped the LORD, and blessed the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who guided me on the right way to take the granddaughter of my master's brother for his son.
Now Isaac was returning from Beer-lahai-roi,[fn] for he was living in the Negev region.
and asked the servant, “Who is that man in the field coming to meet us? ”
The servant answered, “It is my master.” So she took her veil and covered herself.
He took his last breath and died at a good old age, old and contented,[fn] and he was gathered to his people.
Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife because she was childless. The LORD was receptive to his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived.
But the children inside her struggled with each other, and she said, “Why is this happening to me? ”[fn] So she went to inquire of the LORD.
And the LORD said to her:
Two nations are in your womb;
two peoples will come from you and be separated.
One people will be stronger than the other,
and the older will serve the younger.
There was another famine in the land in addition to the one that had occurred in Abraham's time. And Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, at Gerar.
The LORD appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt. Live in the land that I tell you about;
“stay in this land as an alien, and I will be with you and bless you. For I will give all these lands to you and your offspring, and I will confirm the oath that I swore to your father Abraham.
“I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky, I will give your offspring all these lands, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed[fn] by your offspring,
Isaac sowed seed in that land, and in that year he reaped[fn] a hundred times what was sown. The LORD blessed him,
Philistines stopped up all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the days of his father Abraham, filling them with dirt.
and the LORD appeared to him that night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your offspring because of my servant Abraham.”
On that same day Isaac's servants came to tell him about the well they had dug, saying to him, “We have found water! ”
Then Rebekah took the best clothes of her older son Esau, which were in the house, and had her younger son Jacob wear them.
Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. And Esau determined in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”
“until your brother's rage turns away from you and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send for you and bring you back from there. Why should I lose you both in one day? ”
Esau noticed that Isaac blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-aram to get a wife there. When he blessed him, Isaac commanded Jacob, “Do not marry a Canaanite girl.”
He reached a certain place and spent the night there because the sun had set. He took one of the stones from the place, put it there at his head, and lay down in that place.
And he dreamed: A stairway was set on the ground with its top reaching the sky, and God's angels were going up and down on it.
“Your offspring will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out toward the west, the east, the north, and the south. All the peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.
“Look, I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go. I will bring you back to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.”
Then Jacob made a vow: “If God will be with me and watch over me during this journey I'm making, if he provides me with food to eat and clothing to wear,
He looked and saw a well in a field. Three flocks of sheep were lying there beside it because the sheep were watered from this well. But a large stone covered the opening of the well.
Laban answered, “It is not the custom in our country to give the younger daughter in marriage before the firstborn.
She conceived again, gave birth to a son, and said, “At last, my husband will become attached to me because I have borne three sons for him.” Therefore he was named Levi.[fn]
Reuben went out during the wheat harvest and found some mandrakes in the field. When he brought them to his mother Leah, Rachel asked, “Please give me some of your son's mandrakes.”
“God has given me a good gift,” Leah said. “This time my husband will honor me because I have borne six sons for him,” and she named him Zebulun.[fn]
“Let me go through all your sheep today and remove every sheep that is speckled or spotted, every dark-colored sheep among the lambs, and the spotted and speckled among the female goats. Such will be my wages.
“In the future when you come to check on my wages, my honesty will testify for me. If I have any female goats that are not speckled or spotted, or any lambs that are not black, they will be considered stolen.”
That day Laban removed the streaked and spotted male goats and all the speckled and spotted female goats — every one that had any white on it — and every dark-colored one among the lambs, and he placed his sons in charge of them.
He set the peeled branches in the troughs in front of the sheep — in the water channels where the sheep came to drink. And the sheep bred when they came to drink.
Jacob separated the lambs and made the flocks face the streaked sheep and the completely dark sheep in Laban's flocks. Then he set his own stock apart and didn't put them with Laban's sheep.
Whenever the stronger of the flock were breeding, Jacob placed the branches in the troughs, in full view of the flocks, and they would breed in front of the branches.
“When the flocks were breeding, I saw in a dream that the streaked, spotted, and speckled males were mating with the females.
“I am the God of Bethel, where you poured oil on the stone marker and made a solemn vow to me. Get up, leave this land, and return to your native land.' ”
Then Rachel and Leah answered him, “Do we have any portion or inheritance in our father's family?
He took all the livestock and possessions he had acquired in Paddan-aram, and he drove his herds to go to the land of Canaan, to his father Isaac.
So he took his relatives with him, pursued Jacob for seven days, and overtook him in the hill country of Gilead.
When Laban overtook Jacob, Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban and his relatives also pitched their tents in the hill country of Gilead.
So Laban went into Jacob's tent, Leah's tent, and the tents of the two concubines,[fn] but he found nothing. When he left Leah's tent, he went into Rachel's tent.
She said to her father, “Don't be angry, my lord, that I cannot stand up in your presence; I am having my period.” So Laban searched, but could not find the household idols.
“For twenty years in your household I served you — fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks — and you have changed my wages ten times!
Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain and invited his relatives to eat a meal. So they ate a meal and spent the night on the mountain.
“I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. Indeed, I crossed over the Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two camps.
He also told the second one, the third, and everyone who was walking behind the animals, “Say the same thing to Esau when you find him.
“You are also to say, ‘Look, your servant Jacob is right behind us.' ” For he thought, “I want to appease Esau with the gift that is going ahead of me. After that, I can face him, and perhaps he will forgive me.”
When the man saw that he could not defeat him, he struck Jacob's hip socket as they wrestled and dislocated his hip.
He put the slaves and their children first, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last.
“Let my lord go ahead of his servant. I will continue on slowly, at a pace suited to the livestock and the children, until I come to my lord at Seir.”
After Jacob came from Paddan-aram, he arrived safely at Shechem in the land of Canaan and camped in front of the city.
Jacob heard that Shechem had defiled his daughter Dinah, but since his sons were with his livestock in the field, he remained silent until they returned.
Jacob's sons returned from the field when they heard about the incident. They were deeply grieved and very angry, for Shechem had committed an outrage against Israel by raping Jacob's daughter, and such a thing should not be done.
“Live with us. The land is before you. Settle here, move about, and acquire property in it.”
“We will agree with you only on this condition: if all your males are circumcised as we are.
The young man did not delay doing this, because he was delighted with Jacob's daughter. Now he was the most important in all his father's family.
“But the men will agree to live with us and be one people only on this condition: if all our men are circumcised as they are.
“Won't their livestock, their possessions, and all their animals become ours? Only let's agree with them, and they will live with us.”
On the third day, when they were still in pain, two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, took their swords, went into the unsuspecting city, and killed every male.
They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with their swords, took Dinah from Shechem's house, and went away.
Jacob's sons came to the slaughter and plundered the city because their sister had been defiled.
They took their flocks, herds, donkeys, and whatever was in the city and in the field.
They captured all their possessions, dependents, and wives and plundered everything in the houses.
Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me, making me odious to the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites. We are few in number; if they unite against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed.”
God said to Jacob, “Get up! Go to Bethel and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.”
“We must get up and go to Bethel. I will build an altar there to the God who answered me in my day of distress. He has been with me everywhere I have gone.”
Then they gave Jacob all their foreign gods and their earrings, and Jacob hid them under the oak near Shechem.
So Jacob and all who were with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan.
Jacob built an altar there and called the place El-bethel[fn] because it was there that God had revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother.
Jacob set up a marker at the place where he had spoken to him — a stone marker. He poured a drink offering on it and poured oil on it.
They set out from Bethel. When they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth, and her labor was difficult.
During her difficult labor, the midwife said to her, “Don't be afraid, for you have another son.”
While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father's concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard about it.
Jacob had twelve sons:
The sons of Leah's slave Zilpah
were Gad and Asher.
These are the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan-aram.
Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed.
and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These were Esau's sons, who were born to him in the land of Canaan.
Esau took his wives, sons, daughters, and all the people of his household, as well as his herds, all his livestock, and all the property he had acquired in Canaan; he went to a land away from his brother Jacob.
These are the family records of Esau, father of the Edomites in the mountains of Seir.
chief Korah,[fn] chief Gatam, and chief Amalek.
These are the chiefs descended from Eliphaz
in the land of Edom.
These are the sons of Adah.
These are the sons of Reuel, Esau's son:
chief Nahath, chief Zerah, chief Shammah, and chief Mizzah.
These are the chiefs descended from Reuel
in the land of Edom.
These are the sons of Esau's wife Basemath.
Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan.
These are the chiefs among the Horites,
the sons of Seir, in the land of Edom.
These are Zibeon's sons: Aiah and Anah.
This was the Anah who found the hot springs[fn] in the wilderness
while he was pasturing the donkeys of his father Zibeon.
chief Dishon, chief Ezer, and chief Dishan.
These are the chiefs among the Horites,
clan by clan,[fn] in the land of Seir.
These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom
before any king reigned over the Israelites:
When Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad reigned in his place.
He defeated Midian in the field of Moab;
the name of his city was Avith.
These are the names of Esau's chiefs,
according to their families and their localities,
by their names:
chief Timna, chief Alvah, chief Jetheth,
chief Magdiel, and chief Iram.
These are Edom's chiefs,
according to their settlements in the land they possessed.
Esau[fn] was father of the Edomites.
“There we were, binding sheaves of grain in the field. Suddenly my sheaf stood up, and your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.”
Israel said to Joseph, “Your brothers, you know, are pasturing the flocks at Shechem. Get ready. I'm sending you to them.”
“I'm ready,” Joseph replied.
A man found him there, wandering in the field, and asked him, “What are you looking for? ”
“They've moved on from here,” the man said. “I heard them say, ‘Let's go to Dothan.' ” So Joseph set out after his brothers and found them at Dothan.
Reuben also said to them, “Don't shed blood. Throw him into this pit in the wilderness, but don't lay a hand on him” — intending to rescue him from them and return him to his father.
When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes.
Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Remain a widow in your father's house until my son Shelah grows up.” For he thought, “He might die too, like his brothers.” So Tamar went to live in her father's house.
So she took off her widow's clothes, veiled her face, covered herself, and sat at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the way to Timnah. For she saw that, though Shelah had grown up, she had not been given to him as a wife.
“What should I give you? ” he asked.
She answered, “Your signet ring, your cord, and the staff in your hand.” So he gave them to her and slept with her, and she became pregnant by him.
When Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite in order to get back the items he had left with the woman, he could not find her.
He asked the men of the place, “Where is the cult prostitute who was beside the road at Enaim? ”
“There has been no cult prostitute here,” they answered.
About three months later Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law, Tamar, has been acting like a prostitute, and now she is pregnant.”
“Bring her out,” Judah said, “and let her be burned to death! ”
As she was being brought out, she sent her father-in-law this message: “I am pregnant by the man to whom these items belong.” And she added, “Examine them. Whose signet ring, cord, and staff are these? ”
As she was giving birth, one of them put out his hand, and the midwife took it and tied a scarlet thread around it, announcing, “This one came out first.”
The LORD was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, serving[fn] in the household of his Egyptian master.
When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD made everything he did successful,
From the time that he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house because of Joseph. The LORD's blessing was on all that he owned, in his house and in his fields.
But he refused. “Look,” he said to his master's wife, “with me here my master does not concern himself with anything in his house, and he has put all that he owns under my authority.[fn]
“No one in this house is greater than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. So how could I do this immense evil, and how could I sin against God? ”
Now one day he went into the house to do his work, and none of the household servants were there.[fn]
She grabbed him by his garment and said, “Sleep with me! ” But leaving his garment in her hand, he escaped and ran outside.
she called her household servants. “Look,” she said to them, “my husband brought a Hebrew man to make fools of us. He came to me so he could sleep with me, and I screamed as loud as I could.
“When he heard me screaming for help,[fn] he left his garment beside me and ran outside.”
and had him thrown into prison, where the king's prisoners were confined. So Joseph was there in prison.
The warden put all the prisoners who were in the prison under Joseph's authority,[fn] and he was responsible for everything that was done there.
The warden did not bother with anything under Joseph's authority,[fn] because the LORD was with him, and the LORD made everything that he did successful.
and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guards in the prison where Joseph was confined.
The captain of the guards assigned Joseph to them as their personal attendant, and they were in custody for some time.[fn]
The king of Egypt's cupbearer and baker, who were confined in the prison, each had a dream. Both had a dream on the same night, and each dream had its own meaning.
So he asked Pharaoh's officers who were in custody with him in his master's house, “Why do you look so sad today? ”
So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph: “In my dream there was a vine in front of me.
“On the vine were three branches. As soon as it budded, its blossoms came out and its clusters ripened into grapes.
“Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh's cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand.”
“But when all goes well for you, remember that I was with you. Please show kindness to me by mentioning me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this prison.
“In the top basket were all sorts of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.”
On the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, he gave a feast for all his servants. He elevated[fn] the chief cupbearer and the chief baker among his servants.
when seven healthy-looking, well-fed cows came up from the Nile and began to graze among the reeds.
He fell asleep and dreamed a second time: Seven heads of grain, plump and good, came up on one stalk.
“Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and he put me and the chief baker in the custody of the captain of the guards.
“when seven well-fed, healthy-looking cows came up from the Nile and grazed among the reeds.
“After them, seven other cows — weak, very sickly, and thin — came up. I've never seen such sickly ones as these in all the land of Egypt.
“In my dream I also saw seven heads of grain, full and good, coming up on one stalk.
“After them, seven years of famine will take place, and all the abundance in the land of Egypt will be forgotten. The famine will devastate the land.
“Let them gather all the excess food during these good years that are coming. Under Pharaoh's authority, store the grain in the cities, so they may preserve it as food.
“The food will be a reserve for the land during the seven years of famine that will take place in the land of Egypt. Then the country will not be wiped out by the famine.”
and he said to them, “Can we find anyone like this, a man who has God's spirit[fn] in him? ”
Joseph gathered all the excess food in the land of Egypt during the seven years and put it in the cities. He put the food in every city from the fields around it.
And the second son he named Ephraim[fn] and said, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”
and the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in every land, but in the whole land of Egypt there was food.
Every land came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, for the famine was severe in every land.
When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you keep looking at each other?
“Listen,” he went on, “I have heard there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us so that we will live and not die.”
The sons of Israel were among those who came to buy grain, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.
But they replied, “We, your servants, were twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now[fn] with our father, and one is no longer living.”
“This is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here.
“If you are honest, let one of you[fn] be confined to the guardhouse, while the rest of you go and take grain to relieve the hunger of your households.
Then they said to each other, “Obviously, we are being punished for what we did to our brother. We saw his deep distress when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. That is why this trouble has come to us.”
He said to his brothers, “My silver has been returned! It's here in my bag.” Their hearts sank. Trembling, they turned to one another and said, “What has God done to us? ”
“The man who is the lord of the country spoke harshly to us and accused us of spying on the country.
“We were twelve brothers, sons of the same[fn] father. One is no longer living, and the youngest is now with our father in the land of Canaan.'
“The man who is the lord of the country said to us, ‘This is how I will know if you are honest: Leave one brother with me, take food to relieve the hunger of your households, and go.
As they began emptying their sacks, there in each man's sack was his bag of silver! When they and their father saw their bags of silver, they were afraid.
But Jacob answered, “My son will not go down with you, for his brother is dead and he alone is left. If anything happens to him on your journey, you will bring my gray hairs down to Sheol in sorrow.”
Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Put some of the best products of the land in your packs and take them down to the man as a gift — a little balsam and a little honey, aromatic gum and resin, pistachios and almonds.
“Take twice as much silver with you. Return the silver that was returned to you in the top of your bags. Perhaps it was a mistake.
The men took this gift, double the amount of silver, and Benjamin. They immediately went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.
But the men were afraid because they were taken to Joseph's house. They said, “We have been brought here because of the silver that was returned in our bags the first time. They intend to overpower us, seize us, make us slaves, and take our donkeys.”
So they approached Joseph's steward[fn] and spoke to him at the doorway of the house.
“When we came to the place where we lodged for the night and opened our bags of grain, each one's silver was at the top of his bag! It was the full amount of our silver, and we have brought it back with us.
Then the steward said, “May you be well. Don't be afraid. Your God and the God of your father must have put treasure in your bags. I received your silver.” Then he brought Simeon out to them.
When Joseph came home, they brought him the gift they had carried into the house, and they bowed to the ground before him.
“Isn't this the cup that my master drinks from and uses for divination? What you have done is wrong! ' ”
“We even brought back to you from the land of Canaan the silver we found at the top of our bags. How could we steal silver or gold from your master's house?
The steward searched, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest, and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack.
“If you also take this one from me and anything happens to him, you will bring my gray hairs down to Sheol in sorrow.'
“when he sees that the boy is not with us, he will die. Then your servants will have brought the gray hairs of your servant our father down to Sheol in sorrow.
“For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there will be five more years without plowing or harvesting.
“You can settle in the land of Goshen and be near me — you, your children, and your grandchildren, your flocks, your herds, and all you have.
Tell my father about all my glory in Egypt and about all you have seen. And bring my father here quickly.”
So Joseph sent his brothers on their way, and as they were leaving, he said to them, “Don't argue[fn] on the way.”
That night God spoke to Israel in a vision: “Jacob, Jacob! ” he said.
And Jacob replied, “Here I am.”
They also took their cattle and possessions they had acquired in the land of Canaan. Then Jacob and all his offspring with him came to Egypt.
Judah's sons: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah; but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan.
The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.
These were Leah's sons born to Jacob in Paddan-aram, as well as his daughter Dinah. The total number of persons:[fn] thirty-three.
Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph in the land of Egypt. They were born to him by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, a priest at On.[fn]
And Joseph's sons who were born to him in Egypt: two persons.
All those of Jacob's household who came to Egypt: seventy[fn] persons.
Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's family, “I will go up and inform Pharaoh, telling him, ‘My brothers and my father's family, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me.
“you are to say, ‘Your servants, both we and our ancestors, have raised livestock[fn] from our youth until now.' Then you will be allowed to settle in the land of Goshen, since all shepherds are detestable to Egyptians.”
So Joseph went and informed Pharaoh: “My father and my brothers, with their flocks and herds and all that they own, have come from the land of Canaan and are now in the land of Goshen.”
And they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to stay in the land for a while because there is no grazing land for your servants' sheep, since the famine in the land of Canaan has been severe. So now, please let your servants settle in the land of Goshen.”
“the land of Egypt is open before you; settle your father and brothers in the best part of the land. They can live in the land of Goshen. If you know of any capable men among them, put them in charge of my livestock.”
Then Joseph settled his father and brothers in the land of Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.
But there was no food in the entire region, for the famine was very severe. The land of Egypt and the land of Canaan were exhausted by the famine.
Joseph collected all the silver to be found in the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan in exchange for the grain they were purchasing, and he brought the silver to Pharaoh's palace.
So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for the horses, the flocks of sheep, the herds of cattle, and the donkeys. That year he provided them with food in exchange for all their livestock.
When that year was over, they came the next year and said to him, “We cannot hide from our lord that the silver is gone and that all our livestock belongs to our lord. There is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land.
The only land he did not acquire belonged to the priests, for they had an allowance from Pharaoh. They ate from their allowance that Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their land.
“At harvest, you are to give a fifth of it to Pharaoh, and four-fifths will be yours as seed for the field and as food for yourselves, your households, and your dependents.”
Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the region of Goshen. They acquired property in it and became fruitful and very numerous.
When the time approached for him to die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor with you, put your hand under my thigh and promise me that you will deal with me in kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt.
“When I rest with my ancestors, carry me away from Egypt and bury me in their burial place.”
Joseph answered, “I will do what you have asked.”
Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me.
“Your two sons born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt are now mine. Ephraim and Manasseh belong to me just as Reuben and Simeon do.
“Children born to you after them will be yours and will be recorded under the names of their brothers with regard to their inheritance.
“When I was returning from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died along the way, some distance from Ephrath in the land of Canaan. I buried her there along the way to Ephrath” (that is, Bethlehem).
Then Joseph took them both — with his right hand Ephraim toward Israel's left, and with his left hand Manasseh toward Israel's right — and brought them to Israel.
the angel who has redeemed me from all harm —
may he bless these boys.
And may they be called by my name
and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac,
and may they grow to be numerous within the land.
So he blessed them that day, putting Ephraim before Manasseh when he said, “The nation Israel will invoke blessings by you, saying, ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.' ”
“Over and above what I am giving your brothers, I am giving you the one mountain slope[fn] that I took from the Amorites with my sword and bow.”
“May I never enter their council;
may I never join their assembly.
For in their anger they kill men,
and on a whim they hamstring oxen.
“Their anger is cursed, for it is strong,
and their fury, for it is cruel!
I will disperse them throughout Jacob
and scatter them throughout Israel.
“He ties his donkey to a vine,
and the colt of his donkey to the choice vine.
He washes his clothes in wine
and his robes in the blood of grapes.
Then he commanded them, “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my ancestors in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hethite.
“The cave is in the field of Machpelah near Mamre, in the land of Canaan. This is the field Abraham purchased from Ephron the Hethite as burial property.
“my father made me take an oath, saying, ‘I am about to die. You must bury me there in the tomb that I made for myself in the land of Canaan.' Now let me go and bury my father. Then I will return.”
along with all Joseph's family, his brothers, and his father's family. Only their dependents, their flocks, and their herds were left in the land of Goshen.
When the Canaanite inhabitants of the land saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a solemn mourning on the part of the Egyptians.” Therefore the place is named Abel-mizraim.[fn] It is across the Jordan.
They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave at Machpelah in the field near Mamre, which Abraham had purchased as burial property from Ephron the Hethite.
So Joseph made the sons of Israel take an oath: “When God comes to your aid, you are to carry my bones up from here.”
Joseph died at the age of 110. They embalmed him and placed him in a coffin in Egypt.
So the Egyptians assigned taskmasters over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor. They built Pithom and Rameses as supply cities for Pharaoh.
and made their lives bitter with difficult labor in brick and mortar and in all kinds of fieldwork. They ruthlessly imposed all this work on them.
The woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son; when she saw that he was beautiful,[fn] she hid him for three months.
Pharaoh's daughter went down to bathe at the Nile while her servant girls walked along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds, sent her slave girl, took it,
opened it, and saw him, the child — and there he was, a little boy, crying. She felt sorry for him and said, “This is one of the Hebrew boys.”
Looking all around and seeing no one, he struck the Egyptian dead and hid him in the sand.
When Pharaoh heard about this, he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in the land of Midian, and sat down by a well.
She gave birth to a son whom he named Gershom,[fn] for he said, “I have been a resident alien in a foreign land.”
Then the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire within a bush. As Moses looked, he saw that the bush was on fire but was not consumed.
“Do not come closer,” he said. “Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
Then the LORD said, “I have observed the misery of my people in Egypt, and have heard them crying out because of their oppressors. I know about their sufferings,
He answered, “I will certainly be with you, and this will be the sign to you that I am the one who sent you: when you bring the people out of Egypt, you will all worship[fn] God at this mountain.”
“Go and assemble the elders of Israel and say to them: The LORD, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has appeared to me and said: I have paid close attention to you and to what has been done to you in Egypt.
“But when I stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all my miracles that I will perform in it, after that, he will let you go.
The LORD told Moses, “Stretch out your hand and grab it by the tail.” So he stretched out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand.
Then the LORD's anger burned against Moses, and he said, “Isn't Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, he is on his way now to meet you. He will rejoice when he sees you.
Then Moses went back to his father-in-law, Jethro, and said to him, “Please let me return to my relatives in Egypt and see if they are still living.”
Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.”
Now in Midian the LORD told Moses, “Return to Egypt, for all the men who wanted to kill you are dead.”
So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey, and returned to the land of Egypt. And Moses took God's staff in his hand.
The LORD instructed Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, make sure you do before Pharaoh all the wonders that I have put within your power. But I will harden his heart[fn] so that he won't let the people go.
On the trip, at an overnight campsite, it happened that the LORD confronted him and intended to put him to death.
Now the LORD had said to Aaron, “Go and meet Moses in the wilderness.” So he went and met him at the mountain of God and kissed him.
Later, Moses and Aaron went in and said to Pharaoh, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival for me in the wilderness.”
“Impose heavier work on the men. Then they will be occupied with it and not pay attention to deceptive words.”
The Israelite foremen saw that they were in trouble when they were told, “You cannot reduce your daily quota of bricks.”
But the LORD replied to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: because of a strong hand he will let them go, and because of a strong hand he will drive them from his land.”
“I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land they lived in as aliens.
“Therefore tell the Israelites: I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from the forced labor of the Egyptians and rescue you from slavery to them. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and great acts of judgment.
“I will bring you to the land that I swore[fn] to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you as a possession. I am the LORD.”
“But I will harden Pharaoh's heart and multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt.
“Go to Pharaoh in the morning. When you see him walking out to the water, stand ready to meet him by the bank of the Nile. Take in your hand the staff that turned into a snake.
“Tell him: The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to tell you: Let my people go, so that they may worship[fn] me in the wilderness. But so far you have not listened.
“This is what the LORD says: Here is how you will know that I am the LORD. Watch. I am about to strike the water in the Nile with the staff in my hand, and it will turn to blood.
“The fish in the Nile will die, the river will stink, and the Egyptians will be unable to drink water from it.”
So the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron: Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt — over their rivers, canals, ponds, and all their water reservoirs — and they will become blood. There will be blood throughout the land of Egypt, even in wooden and stone containers.”
Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded; in the sight of Pharaoh and his officials, he raised the staff and struck the water in the Nile, and all the water in the Nile was turned to blood.
The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad the Egyptians could not drink water from it. There was blood throughout the land of Egypt.
“The Nile will swarm with frogs; they will come up and go into your palace, into your bedroom and on your bed, into the houses of your officials and your people, and into your ovens and kneading bowls.
Moses said to Pharaoh, “You may have the honor of choosing. When should I appeal on behalf of you, your officials, and your people, that the frogs be taken away from you and your houses, and remain only in the Nile? ”
“the frogs will go away from you, your houses, your officials, and your people. The frogs will remain only in the Nile.”
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron: Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the land, and it will become gnats[fn] throughout the land of Egypt.”
And they did this. Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff, and when he struck the dust of the land, gnats were on people and animals. All the dust of the land became gnats throughout the land of Egypt.
The magicians tried to produce gnats using their occult practices, but they could not. The gnats remained on people and animals.
The LORD said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh when you see him going out to the water. Tell him: This is what the LORD says: Let my people go, so that they may worship[fn] me.
“But on that day I will give special treatment to the land of Goshen, where my people are living; no flies will be there. This way you will know that I, the LORD, am in the land.
“I will make a distinction[fn] between my people and your people. This sign will take place tomorrow.”
Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Go sacrifice to your God within the country.”
Pharaoh responded, “I will let you go and sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness, but don't go very far. Make an appeal for me.”
“then the LORD's hand will bring a severe plague against your livestock in the field — the horses, donkeys, camels, herds, and flocks.
“But the LORD will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing of all that the Israelites own will die.”
“It will become fine dust over the entire land of Egypt. It will become festering boils on people and animals throughout the land of Egypt.”
So they took furnace soot and stood before Pharaoh. Moses threw it toward heaven, and it became festering boils on people and animals.
The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the magicians as well as on all the Egyptians.
“For this time I am about to send all my plagues against you,[fn] your officials, and your people. Then you will know there is no one like me on the whole earth.
“However, I have let you live for this purpose: to show you my power and to make my name known on the whole earth.
“Tomorrow at this time I will rain down the worst hail that has ever occurred in Egypt from the day it was founded until now.
“Therefore give orders to bring your livestock and all that you have in the field into shelters. Every person and animal that is in the field and not brought inside will die when the hail falls on them.”
but those who didn't take to heart the LORD's word left their servants and livestock in the field.
The hail, with lightning flashing through it, was so severe that nothing like it had occurred in the land of Egypt since it had become a nation.
Throughout the land of Egypt, the hail struck down everything in the field, both people and animals. The hail beat down every plant of the field and shattered every tree in the field.
“and so that you may tell[fn] your son and grandson how severely I dealt with the Egyptians and performed miraculous signs among them, and you will know that I am the LORD.”
“They will fill your houses, all your officials' houses, and the houses of all the Egyptians — something your fathers and grandfathers never saw since the time they occupied the land until today.” Then he turned and left Pharaoh's presence.
They covered the surface of the whole land so that the land was black, and they consumed all the plants on the ground and all the fruit on the trees that the hail had left. Nothing green was left on the trees or the plants in the field throughout the land of Egypt.
Then the LORD changed the wind to a strong west[fn] wind, and it carried off the locusts and blew them into the Red Sea. Not a single locust was left in all the territory of Egypt.
One person could not see another, and for three days they did not move from where they were. Yet all the Israelites had light where they lived.
“and every firstborn male in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne to the firstborn of the servant girl who is at the grindstones, as well as every firstborn of the livestock.
“But against all the Israelites, whether people or animals, not even a dog will snarl,[fn] so that you may know that the LORD makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.
The LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not listen to you, so that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.”
Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let the Israelites go out of his land.
“This month is to be the beginning of months for you; it is the first month of your year.
“If the household is too small for a whole animal, that person and the neighbor nearest his house are to select one based on the combined number of people; you should apportion the animal according to what each will eat.
“They must take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses where they eat them.
“Do not eat any of it raw or cooked in boiling[fn] water, but only roasted over fire — its head as well as its legs and inner organs.
“You must not leave any of it until morning; any part of it left until morning you must burn.
“Here is how you must eat it: You must be dressed for travel,[fn] your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. You are to eat it in a hurry; it is the LORD's Passover.
“I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night and strike every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, both people and animals. I am the LORD; I will execute judgments against all the gods of Egypt.
“The blood on the houses where you are staying will be a distinguishing mark for you; when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No plague will be among you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
“You are to hold a sacred assembly on the first day and another sacred assembly on the seventh day. No work may be done on those days except for preparing what people need to eat — you may do only that.
“You are to observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread because on this very day I brought your military divisions out of the land of Egypt. You must observe this day throughout your generations as a permanent statute.
“Yeast must not be found in your houses for seven days. If anyone eats something leavened, that person, whether a resident alien or native of the land, must be cut off from the community of Israel.
“you are to reply, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, for he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when he struck the Egyptians, and he spared our homes.' ” So the people knelt low and worshiped.
Now at midnight the LORD struck every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the prisoner who was in the dungeon, and every firstborn of the livestock.
During the night Pharaoh got up, he along with all his officials and all the Egyptians, and there was a loud wailing throughout Egypt because there wasn't a house without someone dead.
So the people took their dough before it was leavened, with their kneading bowls wrapped up in their clothes on their shoulders.
“It is to be eaten in one house. You may not take any of the meat outside the house, and you may not break any of its bones.
On that same day the LORD brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt according to their military divisions.
“Consecrate every firstborn male to me, the firstborn from every womb among the Israelites, both man and domestic animal; it is mine.”
Then Moses said to the people, “Remember this day when you came out of Egypt, out of the place of slavery, for the LORD brought you out of here by the strength of his hand. Nothing leavened may be eaten.
“When the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hethites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites,[fn] which he swore to your ancestors that he would give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you must carry out this ceremony in this month.
“Unleavened bread is to be eaten for those seven days. Nothing leavened may be found among you, and no yeast may be found among you in all your territory.
“On that day explain to your son, ‘This is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.'
“Let it serve as a sign for you on your hand and as a reminder on your forehead,[fn] so that the LORD's instruction may be in your mouth; for the LORD brought you out of Egypt with a strong hand.
“you are to present to the LORD every firstborn male of the womb. All firstborn offspring of the livestock you own that are males will be the LORD's.
“In the future, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean? ' say to him, ‘By the strength of his hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.
“When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of humans and the firstborn of livestock. That is why I sacrifice to the LORD all the firstborn of the womb that are males, but I redeem all the firstborn of my sons.'
“So let it be a sign on your hand and a symbol[fn] on your forehead, for the LORD brought us out of Egypt by the strength of his hand.”
The LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to lead them on their way during the day and in a pillar of fire to give them light at night, so that they could travel day or night.
“Pharaoh will say of the Israelites: They are wandering around the land in confusion; the wilderness has boxed them in.
“I will harden Pharaoh's heart so that he will pursue them. Then I will receive glory by means of Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.” So the Israelites did this.
The LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the Israelites, who were going out defiantly.[fn]
They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?
“Isn't this what we told you in Egypt: Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”
“As for me, I am going to harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them, and I will receive glory by means of Pharaoh, all his army, and his chariots and horsemen.
“The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I receive glory through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The LORD drove the sea back with a powerful east wind all that night and turned the sea into dry land. So the waters were divided,
During the morning watch, the LORD looked down at the Egyptian forces from the pillar of fire and cloud, and threw the Egyptian forces into confusion.
But the Israelites had walked through the sea on dry ground, with the waters like a wall to them on their right and their left.
That day the LORD saved Israel from the power of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.
He threw Pharaoh's chariots
and his army into the sea;
the elite of his officers
were drowned in the Red Sea.
LORD, your right hand is glorious in power.
LORD, your right hand shattered the enemy.
The water heaped up at the blast from your nostrils;
the currents stood firm like a dam.
The watery depths congealed in the heart of the sea.
But you blew with your breath,
and the sea covered them.
They sank like lead
in the mighty waters.
LORD, who is like you among the gods?
Who is like you, glorious in holiness,
revered with praises, performing wonders?
When Pharaoh's horses with his chariots and horsemen went into the sea, the LORD brought the water of the sea back over them. But the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.
Then the prophetess Miriam, Aaron's sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women came out following her with tambourines and dancing.
Then Moses led Israel on from the Red Sea, and they went out to the Wilderness of Shur. They journeyed for three days in the wilderness without finding water.
The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the LORD's hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by pots of meat and ate all the bread we wanted. Instead, you brought us into this wilderness to make this whole assembly die of hunger! ”
“and in the morning you will see the LORD's glory because he has heard your complaints about him. For who are we that you complain about us? ”
Moses continued, “The LORD will give you meat to eat this evening and all the bread you want in the morning, for he has heard the complaints that you are raising against him. Who are we? Your complaints are not against us but against the LORD.”
As Aaron was speaking to the entire Israelite community, they turned toward the wilderness, and there in a cloud the LORD's glory appeared.
So they set it aside until morning as Moses commanded, and it didn't stink or have maggots in it.
“Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a Sabbath to the LORD. Today you won't find any in the field.
“For six days you will gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none.”
Yet on the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they did not find any.
The house of Israel named the substance manna.[fn] It resembled coriander seed, was white, and tasted like wafers made with honey.
Moses said, “This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Two quarts[fn] of it are to be preserved throughout your generations, so that they may see the bread I fed you in the wilderness when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.' ”
The entire Israelite community left the Wilderness of Sin, moving from one place to the next according to the LORD's command. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.
The LORD answered Moses, “Go on ahead of the people and take some of the elders of Israel with you. Take the staff you struck the Nile with in your hand and go.
“I am going to stand there in front of you on the rock at Horeb; when you hit the rock, water will come out of it and the people will drink.” Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel.
Moses said to Joshua, “Select some men for us and go fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the hilltop with God's staff in my hand.”
The LORD then said to Moses, “Write this down on a scroll as a reminder and recite it to Joshua: I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek under heaven.”
He said, “Indeed, my hand is lifted up toward[fn] the LORD's throne. The LORD will be at war with Amalek from generation to generation.”
along with her two sons, one of whom was named Gershom[fn] (because Moses had said, “I have been a resident alien in a foreign land”)
Moses recounted to his father-in-law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel's sake, all the hardships that confronted them on the way, and how the LORD rescued them.
“Instruct them about the statutes and laws, and teach them the way to live and what they must do.
The LORD said to Moses, “I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear when I speak with you and will always believe you.” Moses reported the people's words to the LORD,
“No hand may touch him;[fn] instead he will be stoned or shot with arrows and not live, whether animal or human. When the ram's horn sounds a long blast, they may go up the mountain.”
On the third day, when morning came, there was thunder and lightning, a thick cloud on the mountain, and a very loud blast from a ram's horn, so that all the people in the camp shuddered.
Mount Sinai was completely enveloped in smoke because the LORD came down on it in fire. Its smoke went up like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain shook violently.
Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth.
but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. You must not do any work — you, your son or daughter, your male or female servant, your livestock, or the resident alien who is within your city gates.
For the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything in them in six days; then he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and declared it holy.
Moses responded to the people, “Don't be afraid, for God has come to test you, so that you will fear him and will not[fn] sin.”
“Make an earthen altar for me, and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your flocks and herds. I will come to you and bless you in every place where I cause my name to be remembered.
“If she is displeasing to her master, who chose her for himself, then he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners because he has acted treacherously toward her.
“Whoever kidnaps a person must be put to death, whether he sells him or the person is found in his possession.
“When men get in a fight and hit a pregnant woman so that her children are born prematurely but there is no injury, the one who hit her must be fined as the woman's husband demands from him, and he must pay according to judicial assessment.
“If a thief is caught in the act of breaking in, and he is beaten to death, no one is guilty of bloodshed.
“If what was stolen — whether ox, donkey, or sheep — is actually found alive in his possession, he must repay double.
“You must not exploit a resident alien or oppress him, since you were resident aliens in the land of Egypt.
“For it is his only covering; it is the clothing for his body.[fn] What will he sleep in? And if he cries out to me, I will listen because I am gracious.
“You must not oppress a resident alien; you yourselves know how it feels to be a resident alien because you were resident aliens in the land of Egypt.
“Observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread. As I commanded you, you are to eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib,[fn] because you came out of Egypt in that month. No one is to appear before me empty-handed.
“Bring the best of the firstfruits of your land to the house of the LORD your God.
“You must not boil a young goat in its mother's milk.
“I am going to send an angel before you to protect you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared.
“I will not drive them out ahead of you in a single year; otherwise, the land would become desolate, and wild animals would multiply against you.
“They must not remain in your land, or else they will make you sin against me. If you serve their gods, it will be a snare for you.”
Moses entered the cloud as he went up the mountain, and he remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
“You must make it according to all that I show you — the pattern of the tabernacle as well as the pattern of all its furnishings.
“Insert the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark in order to carry the ark with them.
“Make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold, and the table can be carried by them.
“You are also to make its plates and cups, as well as its pitchers and bowls for pouring drink offerings. Make them out of pure gold.
“There are to be three cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with a bud and petals, on one branch, and three cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with a bud and petals, on the next branch. It is to be this way for the six branches that extend from the lampstand.
“There are to be four cups shaped like almond blossoms on the lampstand shaft along with its buds and petals.
“Be careful to make them according to the pattern you have been shown on the mountain.
“As for the flap that remains from the tent curtains, the leftover half curtain is to hang over the back of the tabernacle.
“You are to set up the tabernacle according to the plan for it that you have been shown on the mountain.
“The poles are to be inserted into the rings so that the poles are on two sides of the altar when it is carried.
“Construct the altar with boards so that it is hollow. They are to make it just as it was shown to you on the mountain.
“In the tent of meeting outside the curtain that is in front of the testimony, Aaron and his sons are to tend the lamp from evening until morning before the LORD. This is to be a permanent statute for the Israelites throughout their generations.
“You are to instruct all the skilled artisans,[fn] whom I have filled with a spirit of wisdom, to make Aaron's garments for consecrating him to serve me as priest.
“and two chains of pure gold; you will make them of braided cord work, and attach the cord chains to the settings.
“and the fourth row,
a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper.
They should be adorned with gold filigree in their settings.
“The robe will be worn by Aaron whenever he ministers, and its sound will be heard when he enters the sanctuary before the LORD and when he exits, so that he does not die.
“You are to make a pure gold medallion and engrave it, like the engraving of a seal: Holy to the LORD.
“with unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers coated with oil. Make them out of fine wheat flour,
“Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the tent of meeting and wash them with water.
“Take the breast from the ram of Aaron's ordination and present it as a presentation offering before the LORD; it is to be your portion.
“The holy garments that belong to Aaron are to belong to his sons after him, so that they can be anointed and ordained[fn] in them.
“Any priest who is one of his sons and who succeeds him and enters the tent of meeting to minister in the sanctuary must wear them for seven days.
“Aaron and his sons are to eat the meat of the ram and the bread that is in the basket at the entrance to the tent of meeting.
“They must eat those things by which atonement was made at the time of their ordination[fn] and consecration. An unauthorized person must not eat them, for these things are holy.
“Sacrifice a bull as a sin offering each day for atonement. Purify[fn] the altar when you make atonement for it, and anoint it in order to consecrate it.
“This will be a regular burnt offering throughout your generations at the entrance to the tent of meeting before the LORD, where I will meet you[fn] to speak with you.
“I will also meet with the Israelites there, and that place will be consecrated by my glory.
“Make two gold rings for it under the molding on two of its sides; put these on opposite sides of it to be holders for the poles to carry it with.
“You are to place the altar in front of the curtain by the ark of the testimony — in front of the mercy seat that is over the testimony — where I will meet with you.
“When you take a census of the Israelites to register them, each of the men must pay a ransom for his life to the LORD as they are registered. Then no plague will come on them as they are registered.
“The wealthy may not give more and the poor may not give less than half a shekel when giving the contribution to the LORD to atone for[fn] your lives.
“Prepare expertly blended incense from these; it is to be seasoned with salt, pure and holy.
“Grind some of it into a fine powder and put some in front of the testimony in the tent of meeting, where I will meet with you. It must be especially holy to you.
“Anyone who makes something like it to smell its fragrance must be cut off from his people.”
“I have filled him with God's Spirit, with wisdom, understanding, and ability in every craft
“Tell the Israelites: You must observe my Sabbaths, for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, so that you will know that I am the LORD who consecrates you.
“Observe the Sabbath, for it is holy to you. Whoever profanes it must be put to death. If anyone does work on it, that person must be cut off from his people.
“It is a sign forever between me and the Israelites, for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, but on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.”
When he finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the testimony, stone tablets inscribed by the finger of God.
Aaron replied to them, “Take off the gold rings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters and bring them to me.”
So all the people took off the gold rings that were on their ears and brought them to Aaron.
He took the gold from them, fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made it into an image of a calf.
Then they said, “Israel, these are your gods,[fn] who brought you up from the land of Egypt! ”
But Moses sought the favor of the LORD his God: “LORD, why does your anger burn against your people you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and a strong hand?
“Why should the Egyptians say, ‘He brought them out with an evil intent to kill them in the mountains and eliminate them from the face of the earth'? Turn from your fierce anger and relent concerning this disaster planned for your people.
Then Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides — inscribed front and back.
The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was God's writing, engraved on the tablets.
When Joshua heard the sound of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a sound of war in the camp.”
He took the calf they had made, burned it up, and ground it to powder. He scattered the powder over the surface of the water and forced the Israelites to drink the water.
The Levites did as Moses commanded, and about three thousand men fell dead that day among the people.
Afterward Moses said, “Today you have been dedicated[fn] to the LORD, since each man went against his son and his brother. Therefore you have brought a blessing on yourselves today.”
“Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go up with you because you are a stiff-necked people; otherwise, I might destroy you on the way.”
The LORD said to Moses, “Cut two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.
“No one may go up with you; in fact, no one should be seen anywhere on the mountain. Even the flocks and herds are not to graze in front of that mountain.”
The LORD came down in a cloud, stood with him there, and proclaimed his name, “the LORD.”
And the LORD responded, “Look, I am making a covenant. In the presence of all your people I will perform wonders that have never been done[fn] in the whole earth or in any nation. All the people you live among will see the LORD's work, for what I am doing with you is awe-inspiring.
“Be careful not to make a treaty with the inhabitants of the land that you are going to enter; otherwise, they will become a snare among you.
“Instead, you must tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, and chop down their Asherah poles.
“Observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread. You are to eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib,[fn] as I commanded you, for you came out of Egypt in the month of Abib.
“Bring the best firstfruits of your land to the house of the LORD your God.
“You must not boil a young goat in its mother's milk.”
As Moses descended from Mount Sinai — with the two tablets of the testimony in his hands as he descended the mountain — he did not realize that the skin of his face shone as a result of his speaking with the LORD.[fn]
Afterward all the Israelites came near, and he commanded them to do everything the LORD had told him on Mount Sinai.
“For six days work is to be done, but on the seventh day you are to have a holy day, a Sabbath of complete rest to the LORD. Anyone who does work on it must be executed.
“Let all the skilled artisans[fn] among you come and make everything that the LORD has commanded:
“and the specially woven[fn] garments for ministering in the sanctuary — the holy garments for the priest Aaron and the garments for his sons to serve as priests.”
And all the women whose hearts were moved spun the goat hair by virtue of their skill.
“to cut gemstones for mounting, and to carve wood for work in every kind of artistic craft.
“He has also given[fn] both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach others.
Bezalel, Oholiab, and all the skilled[fn] people are to work based on everything the LORD has commanded. The LORD has given them wisdom and understanding to know how to do all the work of constructing the sanctuary.”
So Moses summoned Bezalel, Oholiab, and every skilled person in whose heart the LORD had placed wisdom, all whose hearts moved them, to come to the work and do it.
After Moses gave an order, they sent a proclamation throughout the camp: “Let no man or woman make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.” So the people stopped.
He made four pillars of acacia wood for it and overlaid them with gold; their hooks were of gold. And he cast four silver bases for the pillars.
He cast four gold rings for it and attached the rings to the four corners at its four legs.
He also made the utensils that would be on the table out of pure gold: its plates and cups, as well as its bowls and pitchers for pouring drink offerings.
He constructed for the altar a grate of bronze mesh under its ledge,[fn] halfway up from the bottom.
He made the bronze basin and its stand from the bronze mirrors of the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting.
They made specially woven[fn] garments for ministry in the sanctuary, and the holy garments for Aaron from the blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
There was an opening in the center of the robe like that of body armor[fn] with a collar around the opening so that it would not tear.
So all the work for the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, was finished. The Israelites did everything just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
“You are to set up the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, on the first day of the first month.[fn]
“Take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and everything in it; consecrate it along with all its furnishings so that it will be holy.
The tabernacle was set up in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month.[fn]
For the cloud of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and there was a fire inside the cloud by night, visible to the entire house of Israel throughout all the stages of their journey.
“When you present a grain offering baked in an oven, it is to be made of fine flour, either unleavened cakes mixed with oil or unleavened wafers coated with oil.
“If your offering is a grain offering prepared on a griddle, it is to be unleavened bread made of fine flour mixed with oil.
“If your offering is a grain offering prepared in a pan, it is to be made of fine flour with oil.
“This is a permanent statute throughout your generations, wherever you live: you must not eat any fat or any blood.”
“The priest is to apply some of the blood to the horns of the altar of fragrant incense that is before the LORD in the tent of meeting. He must pour out the rest of the bull's blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering that is at the entrance to the tent of meeting.
“all the rest of the bull — he must bring to a ceremonially clean place outside the camp to the ash heap, and must burn it on a wood fire. It is to be burned at the ash heap.
“then the assembly must present a young bull as a sin offering. They are to bring it before the tent of meeting when the sin they have committed in regard to the command becomes known.
“He is to apply some of the blood to the horns of the altar that is before the LORD in the tent of meeting. He will pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering that is at the entrance to the tent of meeting.
“or someone informs him about the sin he has committed, he is to bring an unblemished male goat as his offering.
“He is to lay his hand on the head of the goat and slaughter it at the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered before the LORD. It is a sin offering.
“Now if any of the common people[fn] sins unintentionally by violating one of the LORD's commands, does what is prohibited, and incurs guilt,
“or if someone informs him about the sin he has committed, then he is to bring an unblemished female goat as his offering for the sin that he has committed.
“He is to lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it at the place of the burnt offering.
“He is to lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it as a sin offering at the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered.
“He is to make restitution for his sin regarding any holy thing, adding a fifth of its value to it, and give it to the priest. Then the priest will make atonement on his behalf with the ram of the guilt offering, and he will be forgiven.
“When someone sins and offends the LORD by deceiving his neighbor in regard to a deposit, a security,[fn] or a robbery; or defrauds his neighbor;
“or finds something lost and lies about it; or swears falsely about any of the sinful things a person may do —
“Aaron and his sons may eat the rest of it. It is to be eaten in the form of unleavened bread in a holy place; they are to eat it in the courtyard of the tent of meeting.
“This is the offering that Aaron and his sons are to present to the LORD on the day that he is anointed: two quarts[fn] of fine flour as a regular grain offering, half of it in the morning and half in the evening.
“It is to be prepared with oil on a griddle; you are to bring it well-kneaded. You are to present it as a grain offering of baked pieces,[fn] a pleasing aroma to the LORD.
“Tell Aaron and his sons: This is the law of the sin offering. The sin offering is most holy and must be slaughtered before the LORD at the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered.
“The priest who offers it as a sin offering will eat it. It is to be eaten in a holy place, in the courtyard of the tent of meeting.
“Anything that touches its flesh will become holy, and if any of its blood spatters on a garment, then you must wash that garment[fn] in a holy place.
“A clay pot in which the sin offering is boiled is to be broken; if it is boiled in a bronze vessel, it is to be scoured and rinsed with water.
“But no sin offering may be eaten if its blood has been brought into the tent of meeting to make atonement in the holy place; it must be burned.
“The guilt offering is to be slaughtered at the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered, and the priest is to splatter its blood on all sides of the altar.
“Any male among the priests may eat it. It is to be eaten in a holy place; it is especially holy.
“The guilt offering is like the sin offering; the law is the same for both. It belongs to the priest who makes atonement with it.
“Any grain offering that is baked in an oven or prepared in a pan or on a griddle belongs to the priest who presents it; it is his.
“But any grain offering, whether dry or mixed with oil, belongs equally to all of Aaron's sons.
“If he presents it for thanksgiving, in addition to the thanksgiving sacrifice, he is to present unleavened cakes mixed with olive oil, unleavened wafers coated with oil, and well-kneaded cakes of fine flour mixed with oil.
“The meat of his thanksgiving sacrifice of fellowship must be eaten on the day he offers it; he may not leave any of it until morning.
“Meat that touches anything unclean must not be eaten; it is to be burned. Everyone who is clean may eat any other meat.
“The son of Aaron who presents the blood of the fellowship offering and the fat will have the right thigh as a portion.
This is the portion from the food offerings to the LORD for Aaron and his sons since the day they were presented to serve the LORD as priests.
which the LORD commanded Moses on Mount Sinai on the day he commanded the Israelites to present their offerings to the LORD in the Wilderness of Sinai.
He put the tunic on Aaron, wrapped the sash around him, clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod on him. He put the woven band of the ephod around him and fastened it to him.
He sprinkled some of the oil on the altar seven times, anointing the altar with all its utensils, and the basin with its stand, to consecrate them.
He also took the breast and presented it before the LORD as a presentation offering; it was Moses's portion of the ordination ram as the LORD had commanded him.
Moses said to Aaron and his sons, “Boil the meat at the entrance to the tent of meeting and eat it there with the bread that is in the basket for the ordination offering as I commanded:[fn] Aaron and his sons are to eat it.
“an ox and a ram for a fellowship offering to sacrifice before the LORD; and a grain offering mixed with oil. For today the LORD is going to appear to you.”
Moses said, “This is what the LORD commanded you to do, that the glory of the LORD may appear to you.”
So they came forward and carried them in their tunics outside the camp, as Moses had said.
“You must eat it in a holy place because it is your portion[fn] and your sons' from the food offerings to the LORD, for this is what I was commanded.
“But you and your sons and your daughters may eat the breast of the presentation offering and the thigh of the contribution in any ceremonially clean place, because these portions have been assigned to you and your children from the Israelites' fellowship sacrifices.
“Why didn't you eat the sin offering in the sanctuary area? For it is especially holy, and he has assigned it to you to take away the guilt of the community and make atonement for them before the LORD.
“Since its blood was not brought inside the sanctuary, you should have eaten it in the sanctuary area, as I commanded.”
“This is what you may eat from all that is in the water: You may eat everything in the water that has fins and scales, whether in the seas or streams.
“But these are to be abhorrent to you: everything in the seas or streams that does not have fins and scales among all the swarming things and other living creatures in the water.
“Everything in the water that does not have fins and scales will be abhorrent to you.
“But you may eat these kinds of all the winged insects that walk on all fours: those that have jointed legs above their feet for hopping on the ground.
“These will make you unclean. Whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean until evening,
“All animals that have hooves but do not have a divided hoof and do not chew the cud are unclean for you. Whoever touches them becomes unclean.
“All the four-footed animals that walk on their paws are unclean for you. Whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean until evening,
“When any one of them dies and falls on anything it becomes unclean — any item of wood, clothing, leather, sackcloth, or any implement used for work. It is to be rinsed with water and will remain unclean until evening; then it will be clean.
“Any edible food coming into contact with that unclean water will become unclean, and any drinkable liquid in any container will become unclean.
“Do not eat any of the creatures that swarm on the earth, anything that moves on its belly or walks on all fours or on many feet,[fn] for they are abhorrent.
“Do not become contaminated by any creature that swarms; do not become unclean or defiled by them.
“For I am the LORD your God, so you must consecrate yourselves and be holy because I am holy. Do not defile yourselves by any swarming creature that crawls on the ground.
“This is the law concerning animals, birds, all living creatures that move in the water, and all creatures that swarm on the ground,
“She will continue in purification from her bleeding for thirty-three days. She must not touch any holy thing or go into the sanctuary until completing her days of purification.
“But if she gives birth to a female child, she will be unclean for two weeks as she is during her menstrual impurity. She will continue in purification from her bleeding for sixty-six days.
“The priest will examine the sore on the skin of his body. If the hair in the sore has turned white and the sore appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is in fact a serious skin disease. After the priest examines him, he must pronounce him unclean.
“But if the spot on the skin of his body is white and does not appear to be deeper than the skin, and the hair in it has not turned white, the priest will quarantine the stricken person for seven days.
“The priest will then reexamine him on the seventh day. If he sees that the sore remains unchanged and has not spread on the skin, the priest will quarantine him for another seven days.
“The priest will examine him again on the seventh day. If the sore has faded and has not spread on the skin, the priest is to pronounce him clean; it is a scab. The person is to wash his clothes and will become clean.
“But if the scab spreads further on his skin after he has presented himself to the priest for his cleansing, he is to present himself again to the priest.
“The priest will examine him, and if the scab has spread on the skin, then the priest must pronounce him unclean; he has a serious skin disease.
“When a case of serious skin disease may have developed on a person, he is to be brought to the priest.
“The priest will examine him. If there is a white swelling on the skin that has turned the hair white, and there is a patch of raw flesh in the swelling,
“it is a chronic serious disease on the skin of his body, and the priest must pronounce him unclean. He need not quarantine him, for he is unclean.
“But if the skin disease breaks out all over the skin so that it covers all the skin of the stricken person from his head to his feet so far as the priest can see,
“and a white swelling or a reddish-white spot develops where the boil was, the person is to present himself to the priest.
“The priest will make an examination, and if the spot seems to be beneath the skin and the hair in it has turned white, the priest must pronounce him unclean; it is a case of serious skin disease that has broken out in the boil.
“But when the priest examines it, if there is no white hair in it, and it is not beneath the skin but is faded, the priest will quarantine him seven days.
“If it spreads further on the skin, the priest must pronounce him unclean; it is in fact a disease.
“When there is a burn on the skin of one's body produced by fire, and the patch made raw by the burn becomes reddish-white or white,
“the priest is to examine it. If the hair in the spot has turned white and the spot appears to be deeper than the skin, it is a serious skin disease that has broken out in the burn. The priest must pronounce him unclean; it is a serious skin disease.
“But when the priest examines it, if there is no white hair in the spot and it is not beneath the skin but is faded, the priest will quarantine him seven days.
“The priest will reexamine him on the seventh day. If it has spread further on the skin, the priest must pronounce him unclean; it is in fact a case of serious skin disease.
“But if the spot has remained where it was and has not spread on the skin but is faded, it is the swelling from the burn. The priest is to pronounce him clean, for it is only the scar from the burn.
“the priest is to examine the condition. If it appears to be deeper than the skin, and the hair in it is yellow and sparse, the priest must pronounce the person unclean. It is a scaly outbreak, a serious skin disease of the head or chin.
“When the priest examines the scaly condition, if it does not appear to be deeper than the skin, and there is no black hair in it, the priest will quarantine the person with the scaly condition for seven days.
“The priest will reexamine the condition on the seventh day. If the scaly outbreak has not spread and there is no yellow hair in it and it does not appear to be deeper than the skin,
“The priest will examine the scaly outbreak on the seventh day, and if it has not spread on the skin and does not appear to be deeper than the skin, the priest is to pronounce the person clean. He is to wash his clothes, and he will be clean.
“the priest is to examine the person. If the scaly outbreak has spread on the skin, the priest does not need to look for yellow hair; the person is unclean.
“But if as far as he can see, the scaly outbreak remains unchanged and black hair has grown in it, then it has healed; he is clean. The priest is to pronounce the person clean.
“the priest is to make an examination. If the spots on the skin of the body are dull white, it is only a rash[fn] that has broken out on the skin; the person is clean.
“But if there is a reddish-white condition on the bald head or forehead, it is a serious skin disease breaking out on his head or forehead.
“The priest is to examine him, and if the swelling of the condition on his bald head or forehead is reddish-white, like the appearance of a serious skin disease on his body,
“the man is afflicted with a serious skin disease; he is unclean. The priest must pronounce him unclean; the infection is on his head.
“The person who has a case of serious skin disease is to have his clothes torn and his hair hanging loose, and he must cover his mouth and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean! '
“in the warp or weft of linen or wool, or in leather or anything made of leather —
“and if the contamination is green or red in the fabric, the leather, the warp, the weft, or any leather article, it is a mildew contamination and is to be shown to the priest.
“The priest is to reexamine the contamination on the seventh day. If it has spread in the fabric, the warp, the weft, or the leather, regardless of how it is used, the contamination is harmful mildew; it is unclean.
“He is to burn the fabric, the warp or weft in wool or linen, or any leather article, which is contaminated. Since it is harmful mildew it must be burned.
“When the priest examines it, if the contamination has not spread in the fabric, the warp or weft, or any leather article,
“After it has been washed, the priest is to reexamine the contamination. If the appearance of the contaminated article has not changed, it is unclean. Even though the contamination has not spread, you must burn the fabric. It is a fungus[fn] on the front or back of the fabric.
“But if it reappears in the fabric, the warp or weft, or any leather article, it has broken out again. You must burn whatever is contaminated.
“The one who is to be cleansed must wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and bathe with water; he is clean. Afterward he may enter the camp, but he must remain outside his tent for seven days.
“He is to slaughter the male lamb at the place in the sanctuary area where the sin offering and burnt offering are slaughtered, for like the sin offering, the guilt offering belongs to the priest; it is especially holy.
“From the oil remaining in his palm the priest will put some on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on top of the blood of the guilt offering.
“But if he is poor and cannot afford these, he is to take one male lamb for a guilt offering to be presented in order to make atonement for him, along with two quarts[fn] of fine flour mixed with olive oil for a grain offering, one-third of a quart of olive oil,
“With his right finger the priest will sprinkle some of the oil in his left palm seven times before the LORD.
“This is the law for someone who has[fn] a skin disease and cannot afford the cost of his cleansing.”
“When you enter the land of Canaan that I am giving you as a possession, and I place a mildew contamination in a house in the land you possess,[fn]
“the owner of the house is to come and tell the priest: Something like mildew contamination has appeared[fn] in my house.
“The priest must order them to clear the house before he enters to examine the contamination, so that nothing in the house becomes unclean. Afterward the priest will come to examine the house.
“He will examine it, and if the contamination in the walls of the house consists of green or red indentations[fn] that appear to be beneath the surface of the wall,
“The priest is to return on the seventh day and examine it. If the contamination has spread on the walls of the house,
“the priest must order that the stones with the contamination be pulled out and thrown into an unclean place outside the city.
“If the contamination reappears in the house after the stones have been pulled out, and after the house has been scraped and replastered,
“the priest is to come and examine it. If the contamination has spread in the house, it is harmful mildew; the house is unclean.
“Whoever lies down in the house is to wash his clothes, and whoever eats in it is to wash his clothes.
“But when the priest comes and examines it, if the contamination has not spread in the house after it was replastered, he is to pronounce the house clean because the contamination has disappeared.[fn]
“He will take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the scarlet yarn, and the live bird, dip them in the blood of the slaughtered bird and the fresh water, and sprinkle the house seven times.
“He will purify the house with the blood of the bird, the fresh water, the live bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop, and the scarlet yarn.
“This is uncleanness of his discharge: Whether his member secretes the discharge or retains it, he is unclean. All the days that his member secretes or retains anything because of his discharge,[fn] he is unclean.
“When a woman has a discharge, and it consists of blood from her body, she will be unclean because of her menstruation for seven days. Everyone who touches her will be unclean until evening.
“Anything she lies on during her menstruation will become unclean, and anything she sits on will become unclean.
“If discharge is on the bed or the furniture she was sitting on, when he touches it he will be unclean until evening.
“When a woman has a discharge of her blood for many days, though it is not the time of her menstruation, or if she has a discharge beyond her period, she will be unclean all the days of her unclean discharge, as she is during the days of her menstruation.
“You must keep the Israelites from their uncleanness, so that they do not die by defiling my tabernacle that is among them.
“This is the law for someone with a discharge: a man who has an emission of semen, becoming unclean by it;
“a woman who is in her menstrual period; anyone who has a discharge, whether male or female; and a man who sleeps with a woman who is unclean.”
The LORD spoke to Moses after the death of two of Aaron's sons when they approached the presence of[fn] the LORD and died.
The LORD said to Moses, “Tell your brother Aaron that he may not come whenever he wants into the holy place behind the curtain in front of the mercy seat on the ark or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.
“Aaron is to enter the most holy place in this way: with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.
“He will make atonement for the most holy place in this way for all their sins because of the Israelites' impurities and rebellious acts. He will do the same for the tent of meeting that remains among them, because it is surrounded by their impurities.
“No one may be in the tent of meeting from the time he enters to make atonement in the most holy place until he leaves after he has made atonement for himself, his household, and the whole assembly of Israel.
“Aaron will lay both his hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the Israelites' iniquities and rebellious acts — all their sins. He is to put them on the goat's head and send it away into the wilderness by the man appointed for the task.[fn]
“He will bathe his body with water in a holy place and put on his clothes. Then he must go out and sacrifice his burnt offering and the people's burnt offering; he will make atonement for himself and for the people.
“The bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought into the most holy place to make atonement, must be brought outside the camp and their hide, flesh, and waste burned.
“This is to be a permanent statute for you: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month you are to practice self-denial and do no work, both the native and the alien who resides among you.
“Atonement will be made for you on this day to cleanse you, and you will be clean from all your sins before the LORD.
“Anyone from the house of Israel who slaughters an ox, sheep, or goat in the camp, or slaughters it outside the camp,
“This is so the Israelites will bring to the LORD the sacrifices they have been offering in the open country. They are to bring them to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting and offer them as fellowship sacrifices to the LORD.
“Say to them: Anyone from the house of Israel or from the aliens who reside among them who offers a burnt offering or a sacrifice
“Anyone from the house of Israel or from the aliens who reside among them who eats any blood, I will turn[fn] against that person who eats blood and cut him off from his people.
“Therefore I say to the Israelites: None of you and no alien who resides among you may eat blood.
“Any Israelite or alien residing among them, who hunts down a wild animal or bird that may be eaten must drain its blood and cover it with dirt.
“Every person, whether the native or the resident alien, who eats an animal that died a natural death or was mauled by wild beasts is to wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will remain unclean until evening; then he will be clean.
“Do not follow the practices of the land of Egypt, where you used to live, or follow the practices of the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. You must not follow their customs.
“You are to practice my ordinances and you are to keep my statutes by following them; I am the LORD your God.
“You are not to approach a woman during her menstrual impurity to have sexual intercourse with her.
“Do not defile yourselves by any of these practices, for the nations I am driving out before you have defiled themselves by all these things.
“But you are to keep my statutes and ordinances. You must not commit any of these detestable acts — not the native or the alien who resides among you.
“If you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it has vomited out the nations that were before you.
“You must keep my instruction to not do any of the detestable customs that were practiced before you, so that you do not defile yourselves by them; I am the LORD your God.”
“It is to be eaten on the day you sacrifice it or on the next day, but what remains on the third day must be burned.
“Do not act unjustly when deciding a case. Do not be partial to the poor or give preference to the rich; judge your neighbor fairly.
“Do not go about spreading slander among your people; do not jeopardize[fn] your neighbor's life; I am the LORD.
“The priest will make atonement on his behalf before the LORD with the ram of the guilt offering for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven for the sin he committed.
“But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit. In this way its yield will increase for you; I am the LORD your God.
“You are not to make gashes on your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves; I am the LORD.
“You will regard the alien who resides with you as the native-born among you. You are to love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the LORD your God.
“Say to the Israelites: Any Israelite or alien residing in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech must be put to death; the people of the country are to stone him.
“But if the people of the country look the other way when that man[fn] gives any of his children to Molech, and do not put him to death,
“If a man marries[fn] a woman and her mother, it is depraved. Both he and they must be burned, so that there will be no depravity among you.
“If a man has sexual intercourse with[fn] an animal, he must be put to death; you are also to kill the animal.
“And I promised you: You will inherit their land, since I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey. I am the LORD your God who set you apart from the peoples.
“Therefore you are to distinguish the clean animal from the unclean one, and the unclean bird from the clean one. Do not become contaminated by any land animal, bird, or whatever crawls on the ground; I have set these apart as unclean for you.
The LORD said to Moses, “Speak to Aaron's sons, the priests, and tell them: A priest is not to make himself ceremonially unclean for a dead person among his relatives,
“He is not to make himself unclean for those related to him by marriage[fn] and so defile himself.
“so that he does not corrupt his bloodline[fn] among his people, for I am the LORD who sets him apart.”
“Tell Aaron: None of your descendants throughout your generations who has a physical defect is to come near to present the food of his God.
“No man who has any defect is to come near: no man who is blind, lame, facially disfigured, or deformed;
“or who is a hunchback or a dwarf,[fn] or who has an eye defect, a festering rash, scabs, or a crushed testicle.
“No descendant of the priest Aaron who has a defect is to come near to present the food offerings to the LORD. He has a defect and is not to come near to present the food of his God.
“or whoever touches any swarming creature that makes him unclean or any person who makes him unclean — whatever his uncleanness —
“He must not eat an animal that died naturally or was mauled by wild beasts,[fn] making himself unclean by it; I am the LORD.
“by letting the people eat their holy offerings and having them bear the penalty of restitution. For I am the LORD who sets them apart.”
“Speak to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites and tell them: Any man of the house of Israel or of the resident aliens in Israel who presents his offering — whether they present payment of vows or freewill gifts to the LORD as burnt offerings —
“You are not to present anything that has a defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf.
“When a man presents a fellowship sacrifice to the LORD to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering from the herd or flock, it has to be unblemished to be acceptable; there must be no defect in it.
“Neither you nor[fn] a foreigner are to present food to your God from any of these animals. They will not be accepted for you because they are deformed and have a defect.”
“But you are not to slaughter an animal from the herd or flock on the same day as its young.
“You must not profane my holy name; I must be treated as holy among the Israelites. I am the LORD who sets you apart,
“Work may be done for six days, but on the seventh day there is to be a Sabbath of complete rest, a sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; it is a Sabbath to the LORD wherever you live.
“These are the LORD's appointed times, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times.
“The Passover to the LORD comes in the first month, at twilight on the fourteenth day of the month.
“The Festival of Unleavened Bread to the LORD is on the fifteenth day of the same month. For seven days you must eat unleavened bread.
“On the day you present the sheaf, you are to offer a year-old male lamb[fn] without blemish as a burnt offering to the LORD.
“You must not eat bread, roasted grain, or any new grain[fn] until this very day, and until you have brought the offering to your God. This is to be a permanent statute throughout your generations wherever you live.
“On that same day you are to make a proclamation and hold a sacred assembly. You are not to do any daily work. This is to be a permanent statute wherever you live throughout your generations.
“When you reap the harvest of your land, you are not to reap all the way to the edge of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the resident alien; I am the LORD your God.”
“On this particular day you are not to do any work, for it is a Day of Atonement to make atonement for yourselves before the LORD your God.
“If any person does not practice self-denial on this particular day, he is to be cut off from his people.
“You are not to do any work. This is a permanent statute throughout your generations wherever you live.
“You are to celebrate the LORD's festival on the fifteenth day of the seventh month for seven days after you have gathered the produce of the land. There will be complete rest on the first day and complete rest on the eighth day.
“You are to celebrate it as a festival to the LORD seven days each year. This is a permanent statute for you throughout your generations; celebrate it in the seventh month.
“You are to live in shelters for seven days. All the native-born of Israel must live in shelters,
“so that your generations may know that I made the Israelites live in shelters when I brought them out of the land of Egypt; I am the LORD your God.”
“Aaron is to tend it continually from evening until morning before the LORD outside the curtain of the testimony in the tent of meeting. This is a permanent statute throughout your generations.
“It belongs to Aaron and his sons, who are to eat it in a holy place, for it is the holiest portion for him from the food offerings to the LORD; this is a permanent rule.”
Now the son of an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father was[fn] among the Israelites. A fight broke out in the camp between the Israelite woman's son and an Israelite man.
“Whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD must be put to death; the whole community is to stone him. If he blasphemes the Name, he is to be put to death, whether the resident alien or the native.
After Moses spoke to the Israelites, they brought the one who had cursed to the outside of the camp and stoned him. So the Israelites did as the LORD had commanded Moses.
“All of its growth may serve as food for your livestock and the wild animals in your land.
“Then you are to sound a ram's horn loudly in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month; you will sound it throughout your land on the Day of Atonement.
“If you wonder, ‘What will we eat in the seventh year if we don't sow or gather our produce? '
“I will appoint my blessing for you in the sixth year, so that it will produce a crop sufficient for three years.
“If a man sells a residence in a walled city, his right of redemption will last until a year has passed after its sale; his right of redemption will last a year.
“If it is not redeemed by the end of a full year, then the house in the walled city is permanently transferred to its purchaser throughout his generations. It is not to be released on the Jubilee.
“But houses in settlements that have no walls around them are to be classified as open fields. The right to redeem such houses stays in effect, and they are to be released at the Jubilee.
“Whatever property one of the Levites can redeem[fn] — a house sold in a city they possess — is to be released at the Jubilee, because the houses in the Levitical cities are their possession among the Israelites.
“You may also purchase them from the aliens residing with you, or from their families living among you — those born in your land. These may become your property.
“You may leave them to your sons after you to inherit as property; you can make them slaves for life. But concerning your brothers, the Israelites, you must not rule over one another harshly.
“He will stay with him like a man hired year by year. A resident alien is not to rule over him harshly in your sight.
“If he is not redeemed in any of these ways, he and his children are to be released at the Year of Jubilee.
“Do not make worthless idols for yourselves, set up a carved image or sacred pillar for yourselves, or place a sculpted stone in your land to bow down to it, for I am the LORD your God.
“I will give you rain at the right time, and the land will yield its produce, and the trees of the field will bear their fruit.
“I will give peace to the land, and you will lie down with nothing to frighten you. I will remove dangerous animals from the land, and no sword will pass through your land.
“When I cut off your supply of bread, ten women will bake your bread in a single oven and ration out your bread by weight, so that you will eat but not be satisfied.
“I will act with furious hostility toward you; I will also discipline you seven times for your sins.
“I also will devastate the land, so that your enemies who come to live there will be appalled by it.
“Then the land will make up for its Sabbath years during the time it lies desolate, while you are in the land of your enemies. At that time the land will rest and make up for its Sabbaths.
“As long as it lies desolate, it will have the rest it did not have during your Sabbaths when you lived there.
“I will put anxiety in the hearts of those of you who survive in the lands of their enemies. The sound of a wind-driven leaf will put them to flight, and they will flee as one flees from a sword, and fall though no one is pursuing them.
“They will stumble over one another as if fleeing from a sword though no one is pursuing them. You will not be able to stand against your enemies.
“Those[fn] who survive in the lands of your enemies will waste away because of their iniquity; they will also waste away because of their ancestors' iniquities along with theirs.
“and I acted with hostility toward them and brought them into the land of their enemies — and when their uncircumcised hearts are humbled and they make amends for their iniquity,
“For the land abandoned by them will make up for its Sabbaths by lying desolate without the people, while they make amends for their iniquity, because they rejected my ordinances and abhorred my statutes.
“Yet in spite of this, while they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject or abhor them so as to destroy them and break my covenant with them, since I am the LORD their God.
These are the statutes, ordinances, and laws the LORD established between himself and the Israelites through Moses on Mount Sinai.
“then the priest will calculate for him the amount of the assessment up to the Year of Jubilee, and the person will pay the assessed value on that day as a holy offering to the LORD.
“In the Year of Jubilee the field will return to the one he bought it from, the original owner.
“But no one can consecrate a firstborn of the livestock, whether an animal from the herd or flock, to the LORD, because a firstborn already belongs to the LORD.
“Every tenth animal from the herd or flock, which passes under the shepherd's rod, will be holy to the LORD.
The LORD spoke to Moses in the tent of meeting in the Wilderness of Sinai, on the first day of the second month of the second year after Israel's departure from the land of Egypt:
“You and Aaron are to register those who are twenty years old or more by their military divisions — everyone who can serve in Israel's army.[fn]
and they assembled the whole community on the first day of the second month. They recorded their ancestry by their clans and their ancestral families, counting one by one the names of those twenty years old or more,
The descendants of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting one by one the names of every male twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army,
The descendants of Simeon: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, those registered counting one by one the names of every male twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army,
The descendants of Gad: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army,
The descendants of Judah: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army,
The descendants of Issachar: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army,
The descendants of Zebulun: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army,
The descendants of Joseph:
The descendants of Ephraim: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army,
The descendants of Manasseh: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army,
The descendants of Benjamin: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army,
The descendants of Dan: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army,
The descendants of Asher: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army,
The descendants of Naphtali: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army,
So all the Israelites twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in Israel's army, were registered by their ancestral families.
“Appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the testimony, all its furnishings, and everything in it. They are to transport the tabernacle and all its articles, take care of it, and camp around it.
“Whenever the tabernacle is to move, the Levites are to take it down, and whenever it is to stop at a campsite, the Levites are to set it up. Any unauthorized person who comes near it is to be put to death.
“The Israelites are to camp by their military divisions, each man with his encampment and under his banner.
“The Levites are to camp around the tabernacle of the testimony and watch over it, so that no wrath will fall on the Israelite community.”
But the Levites were not registered among the Israelites, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
These are the family records of Aaron and Moses at the time the LORD spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai.
But Nadab and Abihu died in the LORD's presence when they presented unauthorized fire before the LORD in the Wilderness of Sinai, and they had no sons. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests under the direction of Aaron their father.
“because every firstborn belongs to me. At the time I struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated every firstborn in Israel to myself, both man and animal. They are mine; I am the LORD.”
The Gershonites' duties at the tent of meeting involved the tabernacle, the tent, its covering, the screen for the entrance to the tent of meeting,
Their duties involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the sanctuary utensils that were used with these, and the screen[fn] — and all the work relating to them.
“You are to take the Levites for me — I am the LORD — in place of every firstborn among the Israelites, and the Levites' cattle in place of every firstborn among the Israelites' cattle.”
“Give the silver to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are in excess among the Israelites.”
“men from thirty years old to fifty years old — everyone who is qualified[fn] to do work at the tent of meeting.
“Whenever the camp is about to move on, Aaron and his sons are to go in, take down the screening curtain, and cover the ark of the testimony with it.
“They are to spread a blue cloth over the table of the Presence and place the plates and cups on it, as well as the bowls and pitchers for the drink offering. The regular bread offering is to be on it.
“They are to take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand used for light, with its lamps, snuffers, and firepans, as well as its jars of oil by which they service it.
“They are to take all the serving utensils they use in the sanctuary, place them in a blue cloth, cover them with a covering made of fine leather, and put them on a carrying frame.
“and place all the equipment on it that they use in serving: the firepans, meat forks, shovels, and basins — all the equipment of the altar. They are to spread a covering made of fine leather over it and insert its poles.[fn]
“Aaron and his sons are to finish covering the holy objects and all their equipment whenever the camp is to move on. The Kohathites will come and carry them, but they are not to touch the holy objects or they will die. These are the transportation duties of the Kohathites regarding the tent of meeting.
“Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has oversight of the lamp oil, the fragrant incense, the daily grain offering, and the anointing oil. He has oversight of the entire tabernacle and everything in it, the holy objects and their utensils.”[fn]
“Register men from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who is qualified to perform service, to do work at the tent of meeting.
“the hangings of the courtyard, the screen for the entrance at the gate of the courtyard that surrounds the tabernacle and the altar, along with their ropes and all the equipment for their service. They will carry out everything that needs to be done with these items.
“This is the service of the Gershonite clans at the tent of meeting, and their duties will be under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.
“This is what they are responsible to carry as the whole of their service at the tent of meeting: the supports of the tabernacle, with its crossbars, pillars, and bases,
“This is the service of the Merarite clans regarding all their work at the tent of meeting, under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.”
men from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting.
These were the registered men of the Kohathite clans, everyone who could serve at the tent of meeting. Moses and Aaron registered them at the LORD's command through Moses.
men from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting.
These were the registered men of the Gershonite clans. At the LORD's command Moses and Aaron registered everyone who could serve at the tent of meeting.
These were the registered men of the Merarite clans; Moses and Aaron registered them at the LORD's command through Moses.
from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who was qualified to do the work of serving at the tent of meeting and transporting it.
At the LORD's command they were registered under the direction of Moses, each one according to his work and transportation duty, and his assignment was as the LORD commanded Moses.
“Send away both male or female; send them outside the camp, so that they will not defile their camps where I dwell among them.”
“But if that individual has no relative to receive compensation, the compensation goes to the LORD for the priest, along with the atonement ram by which the priest will make atonement for the guilty person.
“Then the priest is to take holy water in a clay bowl, take some of the dust from the tabernacle floor, and put it in the water.
“After the priest has the woman stand before the LORD, he is to let down her hair[fn] and place in her hands the grain offering for remembrance, which is the grain offering of jealousy. The priest is to hold the bitter water that brings a curse.
“But if you have gone astray while under your husband's authority, if you have defiled yourself and a man other than your husband has slept with you' —
“at this point the priest will make the woman take the oath with the sworn curse, and he is to say to her — ‘May the LORD make you into an object of your people's cursing and swearing when he makes your womb[fn] shrivel and your belly swell.
“When he makes her drink the water, if she has defiled herself and been unfaithful to her husband, the water that brings a curse will enter her to cause bitter suffering; her belly will swell, and her womb will shrivel. She will become a curse among her people.
“The priest is to offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to make atonement on behalf of the Nazirite, since he incurred guilt because of the corpse. On that day he is to consecrate his head again.
“along with their grain offerings and drink offerings, and a basket of unleavened cakes made from fine flour mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers coated with oil.
The leaders also presented the dedication gift for the altar when it was anointed. The leaders presented their offerings in front of the altar.
As his offering, he presented one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds, measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering;
His offering was one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds, measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering;
His offering was one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds, measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering;
His offering was one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds, measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering;
His offering was one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds, measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering;
His offering was one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds, measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering;
His offering was one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds, measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering;
His offering was one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds, measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering;
His offering was one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds, measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering;
His offering was one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds, measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering;
His offering was one silver dish weighing 3¼ pounds and one silver basin weighing 1¾ pounds, measured by the standard sanctuary shekel, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering;
When Moses entered the tent of meeting to speak with the LORD, he heard the voice speaking to him from above the mercy seat that was on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim. He spoke to him that way.
“They are to take a young bull and its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, and you are to take a second young bull for a sin offering.
“For every firstborn among the Israelites is mine, both man and animal. I consecrated them to myself on the day I struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt.
“From the Israelites, I have given the Levites exclusively to Aaron and his sons to perform the work for the Israelites at the tent of meeting and to make atonement on their behalf, so that no plague will come against the Israelites when they approach the sanctuary.”
After that, the Levites came to do their work at the tent of meeting in the presence of Aaron and his sons. So they did to them as the LORD had commanded Moses concerning the Levites.
“In regard to the Levites: From twenty-five years old or more, a man enters the service in the work at the tent of meeting.
“He may assist his brothers to fulfill responsibilities[fn] at the tent of meeting, but he must not do the work. This is how you are to deal with the Levites regarding their duties.”
In the first month of the second year after their departure from the land of Egypt, the LORD told Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai,
and they observed it in the first month on the fourteenth day at twilight in the Wilderness of Sinai. The Israelites did everything as the LORD had commanded Moses.
But there were some men who were unclean because of a human corpse, so they could not observe the Passover on that day. These men came before Moses and Aaron the same day
and said to him, “We are unclean because of a human corpse. Why should we be excluded from presenting the LORD's offering at its appointed time with the other Israelites? ”
“Tell the Israelites: When any one of you or your descendants is unclean because of a corpse or is on a distant journey, he may still observe the Passover to the LORD.
“Such people are to observe it in the second month, on the fourteenth day at twilight. They are to eat the animal with unleavened bread and bitter herbs;
“But the man who is ceremonially clean, is not on a journey, and yet fails to observe the Passover is to be cut off from his people, because he did not present the LORD's offering at its appointed time. That man will bear the consequences of his sin.
“If an alien resides with you and wants to observe the Passover to the LORD, he is to do it according to the Passover statute and its ordinances. You are to apply the same statute to both the resident alien and the native of the land.”
Whenever the cloud was lifted up above the tent, the Israelites would set out; at the place where the cloud stopped, there the Israelites camped.
At the LORD's command the Israelites set out, and at the LORD's command they camped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they camped.
They camped at the LORD's command, and they set out at the LORD's command. They carried out the LORD's requirement according to his command through Moses.
“When both are sounded in long blasts, the entire community is to gather before you at the entrance to the tent of meeting.
“However, if one is sounded, only the leaders, the heads of Israel's clans, are to gather before you.
“When you sound short blasts a second time, the camps pitched on the south are to set out. Short blasts are to be sounded for them to set out.
“When you enter into battle in your land against an adversary who is attacking you, sound short blasts on the trumpets, and you will be remembered before the LORD your God and be saved from your enemies.
“You are to sound the trumpets over your burnt offerings and your fellowship sacrifices and on your joyous occasions, your appointed festivals, and the beginning of each of your months. They will serve as a reminder for you before your God: I am the LORD your God.”
During the second year, in the second month on the twentieth day of the month, the cloud was lifted up above the tabernacle of the testimony.
The Israelites traveled on from the Wilderness of Sinai, moving from one place to the next until the cloud stopped in the Wilderness of Paran.
“Please don't leave us,” Moses said, “since you know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you can serve as our eyes.
Meanwhile, the cloud of the LORD was over them by day when they set out from the camp.
Whenever the ark set out, Moses would say:
Arise, LORD!
Let your enemies be scattered,
and those who hate you flee from your presence.
When it came to rest, he would say:
Return, LORD,
to the countless thousands of Israel.
Now the people began complaining openly before[fn] the LORD about hardship. When the LORD heard, his anger burned, and fire from the LORD blazed among them and consumed the outskirts of the camp.
The riffraff[fn] among them had a strong craving for other food. The Israelites wept again and said, “Who will feed us meat?
“We remember the free fish we ate in Egypt, along with the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic.
The people walked around and gathered it. They ground it on a pair of grinding stones or crushed it in a mortar, then boiled it in a cooking pot and shaped it into cakes. It tasted like a pastry cooked with the finest oil.
“Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth so you should tell me, ‘Carry them at your breast, as a nursing mother carries a baby,' to the land that you swore to give their ancestors?
“Tell the people: Consecrate yourselves in readiness for tomorrow, and you will eat meat because you wept in the LORD's hearing, ‘Who will feed us meat? We were better off in Egypt.' The LORD will give you meat and you will eat.
“but for a whole month — until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes nauseating to you — because you have rejected the LORD who is among you, and wept before him, ‘Why did we ever leave Egypt? ' ”
But Moses replied, “I'm in the middle of a people with six hundred thousand foot soldiers, yet you say, ‘I will give them meat, and they will eat for a month.'
Then the LORD descended in the cloud and spoke to him. He took some of the Spirit who was on Moses and placed the Spirit on the seventy elders. As the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but they never did it again.
Two men had remained in the camp, one named Eldad and the other Medad; the Spirit rested on them — they were among those listed, but had not gone out to the tent — and they prophesied in the camp.
A young man ran and reported to Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”
While the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the LORD's anger burned against the people, and the LORD struck them with a very severe plague.
Then the LORD descended in a pillar of cloud, stood at the entrance to the tent, and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When the two of them came forward,
he said:
“Listen to what I say:
If there is a prophet among you from the LORD,
I make myself known to him in a vision;
I speak with him in a dream.
“I speak with him directly,[fn]
openly, and not in riddles;
he sees the form of the LORD.
So why were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? ”
“Is the land they live in good or bad? Are the cities they live in encampments or fortifications?
“Is the land fertile or unproductive? Are there trees in it or not? Be courageous. Bring back some fruit from the land.” It was the season for the first ripe grapes.
“The Amalekites are living in the land of the Negev; the Hethites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the sea and along the Jordan.”
So they gave a negative report to the Israelites about the land they had scouted: “The land we passed through to explore is one that devours its inhabitants, and all the people we saw in it are men of great size.
All the Israelites complained about Moses and Aaron, and the whole community told them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this wilderness!
“Why is the LORD bringing us into this land to die by the sword? Our wives and children will become plunder. Wouldn't it be better for us to go back to Egypt? ”
“Only don't rebel against the LORD, and don't be afraid of the people of the land, for we will devour them. Their protection has been removed from them, and the LORD is with us. Don't be afraid of them! ”
While the whole community threatened to stone them, the glory of the LORD appeared to all the Israelites at the tent of meeting.
The LORD said to Moses, “How long will these people despise me? How long will they not trust in me despite all the signs I have performed among them?
“They will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you, LORD, are among these people, how you, LORD, are seen face to face, how your cloud stands over them, and how you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night.
“‘Since the LORD wasn't able to bring this people into the land he swore to give them, he has slaughtered them in the wilderness.'
“none of the men who have seen my glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tested me these ten times and did not obey me,
“But since my servant Caleb has a different spirit and has remained loyal to me, I will bring him into the land where he has gone, and his descendants will inherit it.
“Since the Amalekites and Canaanites are living in the lowlands,[fn] turn back tomorrow and head for the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea.”
“Your corpses will fall in this wilderness — all of you who were registered in the census, the entire number of you twenty years old or more — because you have complained about me.
“I will bring your children whom you said would become plunder into the land you rejected, and they will enjoy it.
“Your children will be shepherds in the wilderness for forty years and bear the penalty for your acts of unfaithfulness until all your corpses lie scattered in the wilderness.
“I, the LORD, have spoken. I swear that I will do this to the entire evil community that has conspired against me. They will come to an end in the wilderness, and there they will die.”
those men who spread the negative report about the land were struck down by the LORD.
“The Amalekites and Canaanites are right in front of you, and you will fall by the sword. The LORD won't be with you, since you have turned from following him.”
Then the Amalekites and Canaanites who lived in that part of the hill country came down, attacked them, and routed them as far as Hormah.
“and you make a food offering to the LORD from the herd or flock — either a burnt offering or a sacrifice, to fulfill a vow, or as a freewill offering, or at your appointed festivals — to produce a pleasing aroma for the LORD,
“When an alien resides with you or someone else is among you and wants to prepare a food offering as a pleasing aroma to the LORD, he is to do exactly as you do throughout your generations.
“The assembly is to have the same statute for both you and the resident alien as a permanent statute throughout your generations. You and the alien will be alike before the LORD.
“The same law and the same ordinance will apply to both you and the alien who resides with you.”
“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: After you enter the land where I am bringing you,
“all that the LORD has commanded you through Moses, from the day the LORD issued the commands and onward throughout your generations —
“You are to have the same law for the person who acts in error, whether he is an Israelite or an alien who resides among you.
“But the person who acts defiantly,[fn] whether native or resident alien, blasphemes the LORD. That person is to be cut off from his people.
“He will certainly be cut off, because he has despised the LORD's word and broken his command; his guilt remains on him.”
While the Israelites were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering wood on the Sabbath day.
“These will serve as tassels for you to look at, so that you may remember all the LORD's commands and obey them and not prostitute yourselves by following your own heart and your own eyes.
They came together against Moses and Aaron and told them, “You have gone too far! Everyone in the entire community is holy, and the LORD is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the LORD's assembly? ”
“Is it not enough that you brought us up from a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness? Do you also have to appoint yourself as ruler over us?
He warned the community, “Get away now from the tents of these wicked men. Don't touch anything that belongs to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins.”
Then Moses said, “This is how you will know that the LORD sent me to do all these things and that it was not of my own will:
“But if the LORD brings about something unprecedented, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them along with all that belongs to them so that they go down alive into Sheol, then you will know that these men have despised the LORD.”
“As for the firepans of those who sinned at the cost of their own lives, make them into hammered sheets as plating for the altar, for they presented them before the LORD, and the firepans are holy. They will be a sign to the Israelites.”
just as the LORD commanded him through Moses. It was to be a reminder for the Israelites that no unauthorized person outside the lineage of Aaron should approach to offer incense before the LORD and become like Korah and his followers.
When the community assembled against them, Moses and Aaron turned toward the tent of meeting, and suddenly the cloud covered it, and the LORD's glory appeared.
So Aaron took his firepan as Moses had ordered, ran into the middle of the assembly, and saw that the plague had begun among the people. After he added incense, he made atonement for the people.
But those who died from the plague numbered 14,700, in addition to those who died because of the Korah incident.
“Then place them in the tent of meeting in front of the testimony where I meet with you.
“You are to guard the sanctuary and the altar so that wrath may not fall on the Israelites again.
“You are to eat it as a most holy offering.[fn] Every male may eat it; it is to be holy to you.
“The contribution of their gifts also belongs to you. I have given all the Israelites' presentation offerings to you and to your sons and daughters as a permanent statute. Every ceremonially clean person in your house may eat it.
“The firstfruits of all that is in their land, which they bring to the LORD, belong to you. Every clean person in your house may eat them.
The LORD told Aaron, “You will not have an inheritance in their land; there will be no portion among them for you. I am your portion and your inheritance among the Israelites.
“Look, I have given the Levites every tenth in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work they do, the work of the tent of meeting.
“The Levites will do the work of the tent of meeting, and they will bear the consequences of their iniquity. The Levites will not receive an inheritance among the Israelites; this is a permanent statute throughout your generations.
“For I have given them the tenth that the Israelites present to the LORD as a contribution for their inheritance. That is why I told them that they would not receive an inheritance among the Israelites.”
“Speak to the Levites and tell them: When you receive from the Israelites the tenth that I have given you as your inheritance, you are to present part of it as an offering to the LORD — a tenth of the tenth.
“then you and your household may eat it anywhere. It is your wage in return for your work at the tent of meeting.
“This is the legal statute that the LORD has commanded: Instruct the Israelites to bring you an unblemished red cow that has no defect and has never been yoked.
“Anyone who touches a body of a person who has died, and does not purify himself, defiles the tabernacle of the LORD. That person will be cut off from Israel. He remains unclean because the water for impurity has not been sprinkled on him, and his uncleanness is still on him.
“This is the law when a person dies in a tent: everyone who enters the tent and everyone who is already in the tent will be unclean for seven days,
“The one who is clean is to sprinkle the unclean person on the third day and the seventh day. After he purifies the unclean person on the seventh day, the one being purified must wash his clothes and bathe in water, and he will be clean by evening.
The entire Israelite community entered the Wilderness of Zin in the first month, and they[fn] settled in Kadesh. Miriam died and was buried there.
The people quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had perished when our brothers perished before the LORD.
These are the Waters of Meribah,[fn] where the Israelites quarreled with the LORD, and he demonstrated his holiness to them.
“Our ancestors went down to Egypt, and we lived in Egypt many years, but the Egyptians treated us and our ancestors badly.
But Edom answered him, “You will not travel through our land, or we will come out and confront you with the sword.”
Yet Edom insisted, “You may not travel through.” And they came out to confront them with a large force of heavily-armed people.[fn]
Then they set out from Mount Hor by way of the Red Sea to bypass the land of Edom, but the people became impatient because of the journey.
The people spoke against God and Moses: “Why have you led us up from Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread or water, and we detest this wretched food! ”
They set out from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim in the wilderness that borders Moab on the east.
They set out from there and camped on the other side of the Arnon River, in the wilderness that extends from the Amorite border, because the Arnon was the Moabite border between Moab and the Amorites.
Therefore it is stated in the Book of the LORD's Wars:
Waheb in Suphah
and the ravines of the Arnon,
The princes dug the well;
the nobles of the people hollowed it out
with a scepter and with their staffs.
They went from the wilderness to Mattanah,
from Bamoth to the valley in the territory of Moab near the Pisgah highlands that overlook the wasteland.[fn]
Israel took all the cities and lived in all these Amorite cities, including Heshbon and all its surrounding villages.
But the LORD said to Moses, “Do not fear him, for I have handed him over to you along with his whole army and his land. Do to him as you did to King Sihon of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon.”
The elders of Moab and Midian departed with fees for divination in hand. They came to Balaam and reported Balak's words to him.
But Balaam responded to the servants of Balak, “If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go against the command of the LORD my God to do anything small or great.
When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing on the path with a drawn sword in his hand, she turned off the path and went into the field. So Balaam hit her to return her to the path.
Then the angel of the LORD stood in a narrow passage between the vineyards, with a stone wall on either side.
The angel of the LORD went ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn to the right or the left.
Balaam answered the donkey, “You made me look like a fool. If I had a sword in my hand, I'd kill you now! ”
Then the LORD opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the path with a drawn sword in his hand. Balaam knelt low and bowed in worship on his face.
Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, “I have sinned, for I did not know that you were standing in the path to confront me. And now, if it is evil in your sight, I will go back.”
Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here by your burnt offering while I am gone. Maybe the LORD will meet with me. I will tell you whatever he reveals to me.” So he went to a barren hill.
I see them from the top of rocky cliffs,
and I watch them from the hills.
There is a people living alone;
it does not consider itself among the nations.
Who has counted the dust of Jacob
or numbered even one-fourth of Israel?
Let me die the death of the upright;
let the end of my life be like theirs.
He considers no disaster for Jacob;
he sees no trouble for Israel.[fn]
The LORD their God is with them,
and there is rejoicing over the King among them.
There is no magic curse against Jacob
and no divination against Israel.
It will now be said about Jacob and Israel,
“What great things God has done! ”
When Balaam looked up and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe, the Spirit of God came on him,
the oracle of one who hears the sayings of God,
who sees a vision from the Almighty,
who falls into a trance with his eyes uncovered:
the oracle of one who hears the sayings of God
and has knowledge from the Most High,
who sees a vision from the Almighty,
who falls into a trance with his eyes uncovered:
Edom will become a possession;
Seir will become a possession of its enemies,
but Israel will be triumphant.
Next he saw the Kenites and proclaimed his poem:
Your dwelling place is enduring;
your nest is set in the cliffs.
While Israel was staying in the Acacia Grove,[fn] the people began to prostitute themselves with the women of Moab.
When Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw this, he got up from the assembly, took a spear in his hand,
“Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the Israelites because he was zealous among them with my zeal,[fn] so that I did not destroy the Israelites in my zeal.
“For they attacked you with the treachery that they used against you in the Peor incident. They did the same in the case involving their sister Cozbi, daughter of the Midianite leader who was killed the day the plague came at Peor.”
“Take a census of the entire Israelite community by their ancestral families[fn] of those twenty years old or more who can serve in Israel's army.”
So Moses and the priest Eleazar said to them in the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho,
The sons of Eliab were Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram.
The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them with Korah, when his followers died and the fire consumed 250 men. They serve as a warning sign.
The name of Amram's wife was Jochebed, a descendant of Levi, born to Levi in Egypt. She bore to Amram: Aaron, Moses, and their sister Miriam.
Those registered were 23,000, every male one month old or more; they were not registered among the other Israelites, because no inheritance was given to them among the Israelites.
These were the ones registered by Moses and the priest Eleazar when they registered the Israelites on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho.
But among them there was not one of those who had been registered by Moses and the priest Aaron when they registered the Israelites in the Wilderness of Sinai.
For the LORD had said to them that they would all die in the wilderness. None of them was left except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.
“Our father died in the wilderness, but he was not among Korah's followers, who gathered together against the LORD. Instead, he died because of his own sin, and he had no sons.
“Why should the name of our father be taken away from his clan? Since he had no son, give us property among our father's brothers.”
“What Zelophehad's daughters say is correct. You are to give them hereditary property among their father's brothers and transfer their father's inheritance to them.
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go up this mountain of the Abarim range[fn] and see the land that I have given the Israelites.
“After you have seen it, you will also be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother was.
“When the community quarreled in the Wilderness of Zin, both of you rebelled against my command to demonstrate my holiness in their sight at the waters.” Those were the Waters of Meribah-kadesh[fn] in the Wilderness of Zin.
The LORD replied to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man who has the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him.
“Command the Israelites and say to them: Be sure to present to me at its appointed time my offering and my food as my food offering, a pleasing aroma to me.
“It is a regular burnt offering established at Mount Sinai for a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the LORD.
“The drink offering is to be a quart with each lamb. Pour out the offering of beer to the LORD in the sanctuary area.
“On the Sabbath day present two unblemished year-old male lambs, four quarts[fn] of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, and its drink offering.
“It is the burnt offering for every Sabbath, in addition to the regular burnt offering and its drink offering.
“At the beginning of each of your months present a burnt offering to the LORD: two young bulls, one ram, seven male lambs a year old — all unblemished —
“with six quarts[fn] of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering for each bull, four quarts of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering for the ram,
“and two quarts[fn] of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering for each lamb. It is a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the LORD.
“The Passover to the LORD comes in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month.
“The grain offering with them is to be of fine flour mixed with oil; offer six quarts with each bull and four quarts with the ram.
“On the seventh day you are to hold a sacred assembly; you are not to do any daily work.
“with their grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, six quarts with each bull, four quarts with the ram,
“Their grain offering is to be of fine flour mixed with oil, six quarts with the bull, four quarts with the ram,
“Their grain offering is to be of fine flour mixed with oil, six quarts with each of the thirteen bulls, four quarts with each of the two rams,
“On the eighth day you are to hold a solemn assembly; you are not to do any daily work.
“Offer these to the LORD at your appointed times in addition to your vow and freewill offerings, whether burnt, grain, drink, or fellowship offerings.”
“When a woman in her father's house during her youth makes a vow to the LORD or puts herself under an obligation,
“If a woman in her husband's house has made a vow or put herself under an obligation with an oath,
These are the statutes that the LORD commanded Moses concerning the relationship between a man and his wife, or between a father and his daughter in his house during her youth.
Moses sent one thousand from each tribe to war. They went with Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest, in whose care were the holy objects and signal trumpets.
Along with the others slain by them, they killed the Midianite kings — Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword.
Then they burned all the cities where the Midianites lived, as well as all their encampments,
“Yet they are the ones who, at Balaam's advice, incited the Israelites to unfaithfulness against the LORD in the Peor incident, so that the plague came against the LORD's community.
“So now, kill every male among the dependents and kill every woman who has gone to bed with a man,
“everything that can withstand fire — you are to pass through fire, and it will be clean. It must still be purified with the purification water. Anything that cannot withstand fire, pass through the water.
“From the Israelites' half, take one out of every fifty from the people, cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats, all the livestock, and give them to the Levites who perform the duties of[fn] the LORD's tabernacle.”
They said, “If we have found favor with you, let this land be given to your servants as a possession. Don't make us cross the Jordan.”
“The LORD's anger burned against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years until the whole generation that had done what was evil in the LORD's sight was gone.
“If you turn back from following him, he will once again leave this people in the wilderness, and you will destroy all of them.”
“But we will arm ourselves and be ready to go ahead of the Israelites until we have brought them into their place. Meanwhile, our dependents will remain in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land.
“Yet we will not have an inheritance with them across the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance will be across the Jordan to the east.”
“and the land is subdued before the LORD — afterward you may return and be free from obligation to the LORD and to Israel. And this land will belong to you as a possession before the LORD.
“Our dependents, wives, livestock, and all our animals will remain here in the cities of Gilead,
Moses told them, “If the Gadites and Reubenites cross the Jordan with you, every man in battle formation before the LORD, and the land is subdued before you, you are to give them the land of Gilead as a possession.
“But if they don't go across with you in battle formation, they must accept land in Canaan with you.”
“We will cross over in battle formation before the LORD into the land of Canaan, but we will keep our hereditary possession across the Jordan.”
The descendants of Machir son of Manasseh went to Gilead, captured it, and drove out the Amorites who were there.
These were the stages of the Israelites' journey when they went out of the land of Egypt by their military divisions under the leadership of Moses and Aaron.
They traveled from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the month. On the day after the Passover the Israelites went out defiantly[fn] in the sight of all the Egyptians.
Meanwhile, the Egyptians were burying every firstborn male the LORD had struck down among them, for the LORD had executed judgment against their gods.
They traveled from Pi-hahiroth[fn] and crossed through the middle of the sea into the wilderness. They took a three-day journey into the Wilderness of Etham and camped at Marah.
They traveled from Marah and came to Elim. There were twelve springs and seventy date palms at Elim, so they camped there.
They traveled from Alush and camped at Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink.
They traveled from Ezion-geber and camped in the Wilderness of Zin (that is, Kadesh).
At the LORD's command, the priest Aaron climbed Mount Hor and died there on the first day of the fifth month in the fortieth year after the Israelites went out of the land of Egypt.
At that time the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev in the land of Canaan, heard the Israelites were coming.
“you must drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you, destroy all their stone images and cast images, and demolish all their high places.
“You are to take possession of the land and settle in it because I have given you the land to possess.
“You are to receive the land as an inheritance by lot according to your clans. Increase the inheritance for a large clan and decrease it for a small one. Whatever place the lot indicates for someone will be his. You will receive an inheritance according to your ancestral tribes.
“But if you don't drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, those you allow to remain will become barbs for your eyes and thorns for your sides; they will harass you in the land where you will live.
These are the ones the LORD commanded to distribute the inheritance to the Israelites in the land of Canaan.
“Select three cities across the Jordan and three cities in the land of Canaan to be cities of refuge.
“These six cities will serve as a refuge for the Israelites and for the alien or temporary resident among them, so that anyone who kills a person unintentionally may flee there.
“If anyone strikes a person with an iron object and death results, he is a murderer; the murderer must be put to death.
“If anyone has in his hand a stone capable of causing death and strikes another person and he dies, the murderer must be put to death.
“If anyone has in his hand a wooden object capable of causing death and strikes another person and he dies, the murderer must be put to death.
“or if in hostility he strikes him with his hand and he dies, the one who struck him must be put to death; he is a murderer. The avenger of blood is to kill the murderer when he finds him.
“or without looking drops a stone that could kill a person and he dies, but he was not his enemy and didn't intend to harm him,
“for the one who killed a person was supposed to live in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest. Only after the death of the high priest may the one who has killed a person return to the land he possesses.
“These instructions will be a statutory ordinance for you throughout your generations wherever you live.
“Do not make the land unclean where you live and where I dwell; for I, the LORD, reside among the Israelites.”
They said, “The LORD commanded my lord to give the land as an inheritance by lot to the Israelites. My lord was further commanded by the LORD to give our brother Zelophehad's inheritance to his daughters.
“No inheritance belonging to the Israelites is to transfer from tribe to tribe, because each of the Israelites is to retain the inheritance of his ancestral tribe.
“No inheritance is to transfer from one tribe to another, because each of the Israelite tribes is to retain its inheritance.”
These are the commands and ordinances the LORD commanded the Israelites through Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho.
These are the words Moses spoke to all Israel across the Jordan in the wilderness, in the Arabah opposite Suph,[fn] between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Di-zahab.
In the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first of the month, Moses told the Israelites everything the LORD had commanded him to say to them.
This was after he had defeated King Sihon of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and King Og of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth, at Edrei.
“The LORD our God spoke to us at Horeb: ‘You have stayed at this mountain long enough.
“I commanded your judges at that time: Hear the cases between your brothers, and judge rightly between a man and his brother or his resident alien.
“Do not show partiality when deciding a case; listen to small and great alike. Do not be intimidated by anyone, for judgment belongs to God. Bring me any case too difficult for you, and I will hear it.
“Then all of you approached me and said, ‘Let's send men ahead of us, so that they may explore the land for us and bring us back a report about the route we should go up and the cities we will come to.'
“They took some of the fruit from the land in their hands, carried it down to us, and brought us back a report: ‘The land the LORD our God is giving us is good.'
“You grumbled in your tents and said, ‘The LORD brought us out of the land of Egypt to hand us over to the Amorites in order to destroy us, because he hates us.
“The LORD your God who goes before you will fight for you, just as you saw him do for you in Egypt.
“And you saw in the wilderness how the LORD your God carried you as a man carries his son all along the way you traveled until you reached this place.
“who went before you on the journey to seek out a place for you to camp. He went in the fire by night and in the cloud by day to guide you on the road you were to travel.
“Then the Amorites who lived there came out against you and chased you like a swarm of bees. They routed you from Seir as far as Hormah.
“Command the people: You are about to travel through the territory of your brothers, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, so be very careful.
“Don't provoke them, for I will not give you any of their land, not even a foot of it,[fn] because I have given Esau the hill country of Seir as his possession.
“For the LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this immense wilderness. The LORD your God has been with you these past forty years, and you have lacked nothing.'
“So we bypassed our brothers, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. We turned away from the Arabah road and from Elath and Ezion-geber. We traveled along the road to the Wilderness of Moab.
“The LORD said to me, ‘Show no hostility toward Moab, and do not provoke them to battle, for I will not give you any of their land as a possession, since I have given Ar as a possession to the descendants of Lot.' ”
The Horites had previously lived in Seir, but the descendants of Esau drove them out, destroying them completely[fn] and settling in their place, just as Israel did in the land of its possession the LORD gave them.
“When you get close to the Ammonites, don't show any hostility to them or provoke them, for I will not give you any of the Ammonites' land as a possession; I have given it as a possession to the descendants of Lot.' ”
This was just as he had done for the descendants of Esau who lived in Seir, when he destroyed the Horites before them; they drove them out and have lived in their place until now.
The Caphtorim, who came from Caphtor,[fn] destroyed the Avvites, who lived in villages as far as Gaza, and settled in their place.
“Today I will begin to put the fear and dread of you on the peoples everywhere under heaven. They will hear the report about you, tremble, and be in anguish because of you.'
“‘Let us travel through your land; we will keep strictly to the highway. We will not turn to the right or the left.
“just as the descendants of Esau who live in Seir did for us, and the Moabites who live in Ar, until we cross the Jordan into the land the LORD our God is giving us.'
“But King Sihon of Heshbon would not let us travel through his land, for the LORD your God had made his spirit stubborn and his heart obstinate in order to hand him over to you, as has now taken place.
“At that time we captured all his cities and completely destroyed the people of every city, including the women and children. We left no survivors.
“There was no city that was inaccessible to[fn] us, from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the valley, even as far as Gilead. The LORD our God gave everything to us.
“But you did not go near the Ammonites' land, all along the bank of the Jabbok River, the cities of the hill country, or any place that the LORD our God had forbidden.
“But the LORD said to me, ‘Do not fear him, for I have handed him over to you along with his whole army and his land. Do to him as you did to King Sihon of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon.'
“We captured all his cities at that time. There wasn't a city that we didn't take from them: sixty cities, the entire region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan.
“At that time we took the land from the two Amorite kings across the Jordan, from the Arnon Valley as far as Mount Hermon,
“all the cities of the plateau, Gilead, and Bashan as far as Salecah and Edrei, cities of Og's kingdom in Bashan.
“At that time we took possession of this land. I gave to the Reubenites and Gadites the area extending from Aroer by the Arnon Valley, and half the hill country of Gilead along with its cities.
“I commanded you at that time: The LORD your God has given you this land to possess. All your valiant men will cross over in battle formation ahead of your brothers the Israelites.
“But your wives, dependents, and livestock — I know that you have a lot of livestock — will remain in the cities I have given you
“until the LORD gives rest to your brothers as he has to you, and they also take possession of the land the LORD your God is giving them across the Jordan. Then each of you may return to his possession that I have given you.
“I commanded Joshua at that time: Your own eyes have seen everything the LORD your God has done to these two kings. The LORD will do the same to all the kingdoms you are about to enter.
“Lord GOD, you have begun to show your greatness and your strong hand to your servant, for what god is there in heaven or on earth who can perform deeds and mighty acts like yours?
“Look, I have taught you statutes and ordinances as the LORD my God has commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to possess.
“For what great nation is there that has a god near to it as the LORD our God is to us whenever we call to him?
“The day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, the LORD said to me, ‘Assemble the people before me, and I will let them hear my words, so that they may learn to fear me all the days they live on the earth and may instruct their children.'
“At that time the LORD commanded me to teach you statutes and ordinances for you to follow in the land you are about to cross into and possess.
“Diligently watch yourselves — because you did not see any form on the day the LORD spoke to you out of the fire at Horeb —
“But the LORD selected you and brought you out of Egypt's iron furnace to be a people for his inheritance, as you are today.
“The LORD was angry with me on your account. He swore that I would not cross the Jordan and enter the good land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.
“I won't be crossing the Jordan because I am going to die in this land. But you are about to cross over and take possession of this good land.
“The LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be reduced to a few survivors[fn] among the nations where the LORD your God will drive you.
“But from there, you will search for the LORD your God, and you will find him when you seek him with all your heart and all your soul.
“Or has a god attempted to go and take a nation as his own out of another nation, by trials, signs, wonders, and war, by a strong hand and an outstretched arm, by great terrors, as the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?
“Because he loved your ancestors, he chose their descendants after them and brought you out of Egypt by his presence and great power,
“Today, recognize and keep in mind that the LORD is God in heaven above and on earth below; there is no other.
Bezer in the wilderness on the plateau land, belonging to the Reubenites; Ramoth in Gilead, belonging to the Gadites; or Golan in Bashan, belonging to the Manassites.
These are the decrees, statutes, and ordinances Moses proclaimed to them after they came out of Egypt,
across the Jordan in the valley facing Beth-peor in the land of King Sihon of the Amorites. He lived in Heshbon, and Moses and the Israelites defeated him after they came out of Egypt.
Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “Israel, listen to the statutes and ordinances I am proclaiming as you hear them today. Learn and follow them carefully.
“At that time I was standing between the LORD and you to report the word[fn] of the LORD to you, because you were afraid of the fire and did not go up the mountain. And he said:
“Do not make an idol for yourself in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth.
“but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. Do not do any work — you, your son or daughter, your male or female slave, your ox or donkey, any of your livestock, or the resident alien who lives within your city gates, so that your male and female slaves may rest as you do.
“Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out of there with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. That is why the LORD your God has commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
“The LORD spoke these commands in a loud voice to your entire assembly from the fire, cloud, and total darkness on the mountain; he added nothing more. He wrote them on two stone tablets and gave them to me.
“You said, ‘Look, the LORD our God has shown us his glory and greatness, and we have heard his voice from the fire. Today we have seen that God speaks with a person, yet he still lives.
“If only they had such a heart to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that they and their children would prosper forever.
“But you stand here with me, and I will tell you every command — the statutes and ordinances — you are to teach them, so that they may follow them in the land I am giving them to possess.'
“Follow the whole instruction the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live, prosper, and have a long life in the land you will possess.
“This is the command — the statutes and ordinances — the LORD your God has commanded me to teach you, so that you may follow them in the land you are about to enter and possess.
“Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
“for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God. Otherwise, the LORD your God will become angry with you and obliterate you from the face of the earth.
“tell him, ‘We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand.
“Before our eyes the LORD inflicted great and devastating signs and wonders on Egypt, on Pharaoh, and on all his household,
“But because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors, he brought you out with a strong hand and redeemed you from the place of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
“You will be blessed above all peoples; there will be no infertile male or female among you or your livestock.
“If you say to yourself, ‘These nations are greater than I; how can I drive them out? '
“Don't be terrified of them, for the LORD your God, a great and awesome God, is among you.
“Remember that the LORD your God led you on the entire journey these forty years in the wilderness, so that he might humble you and test you to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.
“He fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your ancestors had not known, in order to humble and test you, so that in the end he might cause you to prosper.
“You may say to yourself, ‘My power and my own ability have gained this wealth for me,'
“When the LORD your God drives them out before you, do not say to yourself, ‘The LORD brought me in to take possession of this land because of my righteousness.' Instead, the LORD will drive out these nations before you because of their wickedness.
“Remember and do not forget how you provoked the LORD your God in the wilderness. You have been rebelling against the LORD from the day you left the land of Egypt until you reached this place.
“When I went up the mountain to receive the stone tablets, the tablets of the covenant the LORD made with you, I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights. I did not eat food or drink water.
“On the day of the assembly the LORD gave me the two stone tablets, inscribed by God's finger. The exact words were on them, which the LORD spoke to you from the fire on the mountain.
“I was afraid of the fierce anger the LORD had directed against you, because he was about to destroy you. But again the LORD listened to me on that occasion.
“The LORD was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him. But I prayed for Aaron at that time also.
“I took the sinful calf you had made and burned it. I crushed it, thoroughly grinding it to powder as fine as dust, and threw its dust into the stream that came down from the mountain.
“I prayed to the LORD:
Lord GOD, do not annihilate your people, your inheritance, whom you redeemed through your greatness and brought out of Egypt with a strong hand.
“Otherwise, those in the land you brought us from will say, ‘Because the LORD wasn't able to bring them into the land he had promised them, and because he hated them, he brought them out to kill them in the wilderness.'
“But they are your people, your inheritance, whom you brought out by your great power and outstretched arm.
“The LORD said to me at that time, ‘Cut two stone tablets like the first ones and come to me on the mountain and make a wooden ark.
“I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets you broke, and you are to place them in the ark.'
“Then on the day of the assembly, the LORD wrote on the tablets what had been written previously, the Ten Commandments that he had spoken to you on the mountain from the fire. The LORD gave them to me,
“At that time the LORD set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the LORD's covenant, to stand before the LORD to serve him, and to pronounce blessings in his name, as it is today.
“For this reason, Levi does not have a portion or inheritance like his brothers; the LORD is his inheritance, as the LORD your God told him.
“I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights like the first time. The LORD also listened to me on this occasion; he agreed not to annihilate you.
“And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you except to fear the LORD your God by walking in all his ways, to love him, and to worship the LORD your God with all your heart and all your soul?
“The heavens, indeed the highest heavens, belong to the LORD your God, as does the earth and everything in it.
“You are also to love the resident alien, since you were resident aliens in the land of Egypt.
“He is your praise and he is your God, who has done for you these great and awe-inspiring works your eyes have seen.
“Your ancestors went down to Egypt, seventy people in all, and now the LORD your God has made you numerous, like the stars of the sky.
“and what he did to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab the Reubenite, when in the middle of the whole Israelite camp the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, their households, their tents, and every living thing with them.
“I[fn] will provide grass in your fields for your livestock. You will eat and be satisfied.
“Then the LORD's anger will burn against you. He will shut the sky, and there will be no rain; the land will not yield its produce, and you will perish quickly from the good land the LORD is giving you.
“Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
“For if you carefully observe every one of these commands I am giving you to follow — to love the LORD your God, walk in all his ways, and remain faithful[fn] to him —
“Aren't these mountains across the Jordan, beyond the western road in the land of the Canaanites, who live in the Arabah, opposite Gilgal, near the oaks[fn] of Moreh?
“For you are about to cross the Jordan to enter and take possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you. When you possess it and settle in it,
“Be careful to follow these statutes and ordinances in the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has given you to possess all the days you live on the earth.
“Destroy completely all the places where the nations that you are driving out worship their gods — on the high mountains, on the hills, and under every green tree.
“Instead, turn to the place the LORD your God chooses from all your tribes to put his name for his dwelling and go there.
“You must offer your burnt offerings only in the place the LORD chooses in one of your tribes, and there you must do everything I command you.
“But whenever you want, you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your city gates, according to the blessing the LORD your God has given you. Those who are clean or unclean may eat it, as they would a gazelle or deer,
“Within your city gates you may not eat the tenth of your grain, new wine, or fresh oil; the firstborn of your herd or flock; any of your vow offerings that you pledge; your freewill offerings; or your personal contributions.[fn]
“You are to eat them in the presence of the LORD your God at the place the LORD your God chooses — you, your son and daughter, your male and female slave, and the Levite who is within your city gates. Rejoice before the LORD your God in everything you do,
“When the LORD your God enlarges your territory as he has promised you, and you say, ‘I want to eat meat' because you have a strong desire to eat meat, you may eat it whenever you want.
“If the place where the LORD your God chooses to put his name is too far from you, you may slaughter any of your herd or flock he has given you, as I have commanded you, and you may eat it within your city gates whenever you want.
“Indeed, you may eat it as the gazelle and deer are eaten; both the clean and the unclean may eat it.
“When the LORD your God annihilates the nations before you, which you are entering to take possession of, and you drive them out and live in their land,
“You must not do the same to the LORD your God, because they practice every detestable act, which the LORD hates, for their gods. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.
“If a prophet or someone who has dreams arises among you and proclaims a sign or wonder to you,
“That prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he has urged rebellion against the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the place of slavery, to turn you from the way the LORD your God has commanded you to walk. You must purge the evil from you.
“If your brother, the son of your mother,[fn] or your son or daughter, or the wife you embrace, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, ‘Let's go and worship other gods' — which neither you nor your ancestors have known,
“Instead, you must kill him. Your hand is to be the first against him to put him to death, and then the hands of all the people.
“Stone him to death for trying to turn you away from the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.
“All Israel will hear and be afraid, and they will no longer do anything evil like this among you.
“If you hear it said about one of your cities the LORD your God is giving you to live in,
“you are to inquire, investigate, and interrogate thoroughly. If the report turns out to be true that this detestable act has been done among you,
“you must strike down the inhabitants of that city with the sword. Completely destroy everyone in it as well as its livestock with the sword.
“You are to gather all its spoil in the middle of the city square and completely burn the city and all its spoil for the LORD your God. The city is to remain a mound of ruins forever; it is not to be rebuilt.
“Nothing set apart for destruction is to remain in your hand, so that the LORD will turn from his burning anger and grant you mercy, show you compassion, and multiply you as he swore to your ancestors.
“You are not to eat any carcass; you may give it to a resident alien within your city gates, and he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner. For you are a holy people belonging to the LORD your God. Do not boil a young goat in its mother's milk.
“You are to eat a tenth of your grain, new wine, and fresh oil, and the firstborn of your herd and flock, in the presence of the LORD your God at the place where he chooses to have his name dwell, so that you will always learn to fear the LORD your God.
“then exchange it for silver, take the silver in your hand, and go to the place the LORD your God chooses.
“Do not neglect the Levite within your city gates, since he has no portion or inheritance among you.
“At the end of every three years, bring a tenth of all your produce for that year and store it within your city gates.
“Then the Levite, who has no portion or inheritance among you, the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow within your city gates may come, eat, and be satisfied. And the LORD your God will bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.
“There will be no poor among you, however, because the LORD is certain to bless you in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance —
“If there is a poor person among you, one of your brothers within any of your city gates in the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother.
“Be careful that there isn't this wicked thought in your heart, ‘The seventh year, the year of canceling debts, is near,' and you are stingy toward your poor brother and give him nothing. He will cry out to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty.
“Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you; that is why I am giving you this command today.
“Do not regard it as a hardship[fn] when you set him free, because he worked for you six years — worth twice the wages of a hired worker. Then the LORD your God will bless you in everything you do.
“Consecrate to the LORD your God every firstborn male produced by your herd and flock. You are not to put the firstborn of your oxen to work or shear the firstborn of your flock.
“Each year you and your family are to eat it before the LORD your God in the place the LORD chooses.
“But if there is a defect in the animal, if it is lame or blind or has any serious defect, you may not sacrifice it to the LORD your God.
“Eat it within your city gates; both the unclean person and the clean may eat it, as though it were a gazelle or deer.
“Set aside the month of Abib[fn] and observe the Passover to the LORD your God, because the LORD your God brought you out of Egypt by night in the month of Abib.
“Sacrifice to the LORD your God a Passover animal from the herd or flock in the place where the LORD chooses to have his name dwell.
“Do not eat leavened bread with it. For seven days you are to eat unleavened bread with it, the bread of hardship — because you left the land of Egypt in a hurry — so that you may remember for the rest of your life the day you left the land of Egypt.
“No yeast is to be found anywhere in your territory for seven days, and none of the meat you sacrifice in the evening of the first day is to remain until morning.
“You are not to sacrifice the Passover animal in any of the towns the LORD your God is giving you.
“Sacrifice the Passover animal only at the place where the LORD your God chooses to have his name dwell. Do this in the evening as the sun sets at the same time of day you departed from Egypt.
“You are to cook and eat it in the place the LORD your God chooses, and you are to return to your tents in the morning.
“Eat unleavened bread for six days. On the seventh day there is to be a solemn assembly to the LORD your God; do not do any work.
“Rejoice before the LORD your God in the place where he chooses to have his name dwell — you, your son and daughter, your male and female slave, the Levite within your city gates, as well as the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow among you.
“You are to celebrate the Festival of Shelters for seven days when you have gathered in everything from your threshing floor and winepress.
“Rejoice during your festival — you, your son and daughter, your male and female slave, as well as the Levite, the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow within your city gates.
“You are to hold a seven-day festival for the LORD your God in the place he chooses, because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, and you will have abundant joy.
“All your males are to appear three times a year before the LORD your God in the place he chooses: at the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Shelters. No one is to appear before the LORD empty-handed.
“Appoint judges and officials for your tribes in all your towns the LORD your God is giving you. They are to judge the people with righteous judgment.
“Do not sacrifice to the LORD your God an ox or sheep with a defect or any serious flaw, for that is detestable to the LORD your God.
“If a man or woman among you in one of your towns that the LORD your God will give you is discovered doing evil in the sight of the LORD your God and violating his covenant
“and if you are told or hear about it, then investigate it thoroughly. If the report turns out to be true that this detestable act has been done in Israel,
“you are to bring out to your city gates that man or woman who has done this evil thing and stone them to death.
“The witnesses' hands are to be the first in putting him to death, and after that, the hands of all the people. You must purge the evil from you.
“If a case is too difficult for you — concerning bloodshed, lawsuits, or assaults — cases disputed at your city gates, then go up to the place the LORD your God chooses.
“You are to go to the Levitical priests and to the judge who presides at that time. Ask, and they will give you a verdict in the case.
“The person who acts arrogantly, refusing to listen either to the priest who stands there serving the LORD your God or to the judge, must die. You must purge the evil from Israel.
“When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, take possession of it, live in it, and say, ‘I will set a king over me like all the nations around me,'
“It is to remain with him, and he is to read from it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to observe all the words of this instruction, and to do these statutes.
“Then his heart will not be exalted above his countrymen, he will not turn from this command to the right or the left, and he and his sons will continue reigning many years[fn] in Israel.
“Although Levi has no inheritance among his brothers, the LORD is his inheritance, as he promised him.
“For the LORD your God has chosen him and his sons from all your tribes to stand and minister in his name from now on.[fn]
“No one among you is to sacrifice his son or daughter in the fire,[fn] practice divination, tell fortunes, interpret omens, practice sorcery,
“This is what you requested from the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, ‘Let us not continue to hear the voice of the LORD our God or see this great fire any longer, so that we will not die! '
“I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him.
“You may say to yourself, ‘How can we recognize a message the LORD has not spoken? '
“When a prophet speaks in the LORD's name, and the message does not come true or is not fulfilled, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.
“When the LORD your God annihilates the nations whose land he is giving you, so that you drive them out and live in their cities and houses,
“you are to set apart three cities for yourselves within the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess.
“provided you keep every one of these commands I am giving you today and follow them, loving the LORD your God and walking in his ways at all times — you are to add three more cities to these three.
“In this way, innocent blood will not be shed, and you will not become guilty of bloodshed in the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.
“Do not move your neighbor's boundary marker, established at the start in the inheritance you will receive in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess.
“the two people in the dispute are to stand in the presence of the LORD before the priests and judges in authority at that time.
“Then everyone else will hear and be afraid, and they will never again do anything evil like this among you.
“The officers are to address the army, ‘Has any man built a new house and not dedicated it? Let him leave and return home. Otherwise, he may die in battle and another man dedicate it.
“Has any man become engaged to a woman and not married her? Let him leave and return home. Otherwise he may die in battle and another man marry her.'
“If it accepts your offer of peace and opens its gates to you, all the people found in it will become forced laborers for you and serve you.
“When the LORD your God hands it over to you, strike down all its males with the sword.
“But you may take the women, dependents, animals, and whatever else is in the city — all its spoil — as plunder. You may enjoy the spoil of your enemies that the LORD your God has given you.
“When you lay siege to a city for a long time, fighting against it in order to capture it, do not destroy its trees by putting an ax to them, because you can get food from them. Do not cut them down. Are trees of the field human, to come under siege by you?
“If a murder victim is found lying in a field in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him,
“The elders of that city will bring the cow down to a continually flowing stream, to a place not tilled or sown, and they will break its neck there by the stream.
“All the elders of the city nearest to the victim will wash their hands by the stream over the young cow whose neck has been broken.
“if you see a beautiful woman among the captives, desire her, and want to take her as your wife,
“remove the clothes she was wearing when she was taken prisoner, live in your house, and mourn for her father and mother a full month. After that, you may have sexual relations with her and be her husband, and she will be your wife.
“Then all the men of his city will stone him to death. You must purge the evil from you, and all Israel will hear and be afraid.
“you are not to leave his corpse on the tree overnight but are to bury him that day, for anyone hung on a tree is under God's curse. You must not defile the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.
“If you see your brother Israelite's ox or sheep straying, do not ignore it; make sure you return it to your brother.
“If you see your brother's donkey or ox fallen down on the road, do not ignore it; help him lift it up.
“If you come across a bird's nest with chicks or eggs, either in a tree or on the ground along the road, and the mother is sitting on the chicks or eggs, do not take the mother along with the young.
“If you build a new house, make a railing around your roof, so that you don't bring bloodguilt on your house if someone falls from it.
they will bring the woman to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city will stone her to death. For she has committed an outrage in Israel by being promiscuous while living in her father's house. You must purge the evil from you.
“If there is a young woman who is a virgin engaged to a man, and another man encounters her in the city and sleeps with her,
“take the two of them out to the gate of that city and stone them to death — the young woman because she did not cry out in the city and the man because he has violated his neighbor's fiancée. You must purge the evil from you.
“But if the man encounters an engaged woman in the open country, and he seizes and rapes her, only the man who raped her must die.
“When he found her in the field, the engaged woman cried out, but there was no one to rescue her.
“This is because they did not meet you with food and water on the journey after you came out of Egypt, and because Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in Aram-naharaim was hired to curse you.
“Do not despise an Edomite, because he is your brother. Do not despise an Egyptian, because you were a resident alien in his land.
“If there is a man among you who is unclean because of a bodily emission during the night, he must go outside the camp; he may not come anywhere inside the camp.
“You are to have a digging tool in your equipment; when you relieve yourself, dig a hole with it and cover up your excrement.
“For the LORD your God walks throughout your camp to protect you and deliver your enemies to you; so your encampments must be holy. He must not see anything indecent among you or he will turn away from you.
“Let him live among you wherever he wants within your city gates. Do not mistreat him.
“You may charge a foreigner interest, but you must not charge your brother Israelite interest, so that the LORD your God may bless you in everything you do[fn] in the land you are entering to possess.
“If you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not be slow to keep it, because he will require it of you, and it will be counted against you as sin.
“Be careful to do whatever comes from your lips, because you have freely vowed what you promised to the LORD your God.
“If a man marries a woman, but she becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, he may write her a divorce certificate, hand it to her, and send her away from his house.
“the first husband who sent her away may not marry her again after she has been defiled, because that would be detestable to the LORD. You must not bring guilt on the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.
“When a man takes a bride, he must not go out with the army or be liable for any duty. He is free to stay at home for one year, so that he can bring joy to the wife he has married.
“Be careful with a person who has a case of serious skin disease, following carefully everything the Levitical priests instruct you to do. Be careful to do as I have commanded them.
“When you make a loan of any kind to your neighbor, do not enter his house to collect what he offers as security.
“Stand outside while the man you are making the loan to brings the security out to you.
“Be sure to return it[fn] to him at sunset. Then he will sleep in it and bless you, and this will be counted as righteousness to you before the LORD your God.
“Do not oppress a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether one of your Israelite brothers or one of the resident aliens in a town[fn] in your land.
“You are to pay him his wages each day before the sun sets, because he is poor and depends on them. Otherwise he will cry out to the LORD against you, and you will be held guilty.
“Remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you from there. Therefore I am commanding you to do this.
“When you reap the harvest in your field, and you forget a sheaf in the field, do not go back to get it. It is to be left for the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
“When you knock down the fruit from your olive tree, do not go over the branches again. What remains will be for the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow.
“Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt. Therefore I am commanding you to do this.
“But if the man doesn't want to marry his sister-in-law, she is to go to the elders at the city gate and say, ‘My brother-in-law refuses to preserve his brother's name in Israel. He isn't willing to perform the duty of a brother-in-law for me.'
“And his family name in Israel will be ‘The house of the man whose sandal was removed.'
“You must have a full and honest weight, a full and honest dry measure, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
“They met you along the way and attacked all your stragglers from behind when you were tired and weary. They did not fear God.
“When the LORD your God gives you rest from all the enemies around you in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance, blot out the memory of Amalek under heaven. Do not forget.
“When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you take possession of it and live in it,
“When you come before the priest who is serving at that time, say to him, ‘Today I declare to the LORD your[fn] God that I have entered the land the LORD swore to our ancestors to give us.'
“You are to respond by saying in the presence of the LORD your God:
My father was a wandering Aramean. He went down to Egypt with a few people and resided there as an alien. There he became a great, powerful, and populous nation.
“Then the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, with terrifying power, and with signs and wonders.
“You, the Levites, and the resident aliens among you will rejoice in all the good things the LORD your God has given you and your household.
“When you have finished paying all the tenth of your produce in the third year, the year of the tenth, you are to give it to the Levites, resident aliens, fatherless children, and widows, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied.
“I have not eaten any of it while in mourning, or removed any of it while unclean, or offered any of it for the dead. I have obeyed the LORD my God; I have done all you commanded me.
“The LORD your God is commanding you this day to follow these statutes and ordinances. Follow them carefully with all your heart and all your soul.
“Today you have affirmed that the LORD is your God and that you will walk in his ways, keep his statutes, commands, and ordinances, and obey him.
“When you have crossed the Jordan, you are to set up these stones on Mount Ebal, as I am commanding you today, and you are to cover them with plaster.
Moses and the Levitical priests spoke to all Israel, “Be silent, Israel, and listen! This day you have become the people of the LORD your God.
“When you have crossed the Jordan, these tribes will stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin.
“And these tribes will stand on Mount Ebal to deliver the curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.
“‘The person who makes a carved idol or cast image, which is detestable to the LORD, the work of a craftsman, and sets it up in secret is cursed.'
And all the people will reply, ‘Amen! '
“‘The one who leads a blind person astray on the road is cursed.'
And all the people will say, ‘Amen! '
“‘Anyone who does not put the words of this law into practice is cursed.'
And all the people will say, ‘Amen! '
“The LORD will cause the enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you. They will march out against you from one direction but flee from you in seven directions.
“The LORD will grant you a blessing on your barns and on everything you do;[fn] he will bless you in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
“The LORD will establish you as his holy people, as he swore to you, if you obey the commands of the LORD your God and walk in his ways.
“The LORD will send against you curses, confusion, and rebuke in everything you do until you are destroyed and quickly perish, because of the wickedness of your actions in abandoning me.
“The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will march out against them from one direction but flee from them in seven directions. You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
“The LORD will afflict you with the boils of Egypt, tumors, a festering rash, and scabies, from which you cannot be cured.
“so that at noon you will grope as a blind person gropes in the dark. You will not be successful in anything you do. You will only be oppressed and robbed continually, and no one will help you.
“You will become engaged to a woman, but another man will rape her. You will build a house but not live in it. You will plant a vineyard but not enjoy its fruit.
“The LORD will afflict you with painful and incurable boils on your knees and thighs — from the sole of your foot to the top of your head.
“You will become an object of horror, scorn, and ridicule among all the peoples where the LORD will drive you.
“You will have olive trees throughout your territory but not moisten your skin with oil, because your olives will drop off.
“You will father sons and daughters, but they will not remain yours, because they will be taken prisoner.
“The resident alien among you will rise higher and higher above you, while you sink lower and lower.
“Because you didn't serve the LORD your God with joy and a cheerful heart, even though you had an abundance of everything,
“you will serve your enemies that the LORD will send against you, in famine, thirst, nakedness, and a lack of everything. He will place an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you.
“They will besiege you within all your city gates until your high and fortified walls, that you trust in, come down throughout your land. They will besiege you within all your city gates throughout the land the LORD your God has given you.
“You will eat your offspring,[fn] the flesh of your sons and daughters the LORD your God has given you during the siege and hardship your enemy imposes on you.
“The most sensitive and refined man among you will look grudgingly at his brother, the wife he embraces, and the rest of his children,
“refusing to share with any of them his children's flesh that he will eat because he has nothing left during the siege and hardship your enemy imposes on you in all your towns.
“The most sensitive and refined woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground because of her refinement and sensitivity, will begrudge the husband she embraces, her son, and her daughter,
“the afterbirth that comes out from between her legs and the children she bears, because she will secretly eat them for lack of anything else during the siege and hardship your enemy imposes on you within your city gates.
“If you are not careful to obey all the words of this law, which are written in this scroll, by fearing this glorious and awe-inspiring name — the LORD, your God —
“He will afflict you again with all the diseases of Egypt, which you dreaded, and they will cling to you.
“The LORD will also afflict you with every sickness and plague not recorded in the book of this law, until you are destroyed.
“Though you were as numerous as the stars of the sky, you will be left with only a few people, because you did not obey the LORD your God.
“You will find no peace among those nations, and there will be no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the LORD will give you a trembling heart, failing eyes, and a despondent spirit.
“The LORD will take you back in ships to Egypt by a route that I said you would never see again. There you will sell yourselves to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.”
These are the words of the covenant that the LORD commanded Moses to make with the Israelites in the land of Moab, in addition to the covenant he had made with them at Horeb.
Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “You have seen with your own eyes everything the LORD did in Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his officials, and to his entire land.
“I led you forty years in the wilderness; your clothes and the sandals on your feet did not wear out;
“When you reached this place, King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan came out against us in battle, but we defeated them.
“We took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh.
“your dependents, your wives, and the resident aliens in your camps who cut your wood and draw your water —
“so that you may enter into the covenant of the LORD your God, which he is making with you today, so that you may enter into his oath
“Indeed, you know how we lived in the land of Egypt and passed through the nations where you traveled.
“Be sure there is no man, woman, clan, or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the LORD our God to go and worship the gods of those nations. Be sure there is no root among you bearing poisonous and bitter fruit.
“When someone hears the words of this oath, he may consider himself exempt,[fn] thinking, ‘I will have peace even though I follow my own stubborn heart.' This will lead to the destruction of the well-watered land as well as the dry land.
“The LORD will not be willing to forgive him. Instead, his anger and jealousy will burn against that person, and every curse written in this scroll will descend on him. The LORD will blot out his name under heaven,
“and single him out for harm from all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant written in this book of the law.
“All its soil will be a burning waste of sulfur and salt, unsown, producing nothing, with no plant growing on it, just like the fall of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the LORD demolished in his fierce anger.
“Therefore the LORD's anger burned against this land, and he brought every curse written in this book on it.
“The LORD uprooted them from their land in his anger, rage, and intense wrath, and threw them into another land where they are today.'
“When all these things happen to you — the blessings and curses I have set before you — and you come to your senses while you are in all the nations where the LORD your God has driven you,
“The LORD your God will make you prosper abundantly in all the work of your hands, your offspring,[fn] the offspring of your livestock, and the produce of your land. Indeed, the LORD will again delight in your prosperity, as he delighted in that of your ancestors,
“when you obey the LORD your God by keeping his commands and statutes that are written in this book of the law and return to him with all your heart and all your soul.
“It is not in heaven so that you have to ask, ‘Who will go up to heaven, get it for us, and proclaim it to us so that we may follow it? '
“But the message is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, so that you may follow it.
“Be strong and courageous; don't be terrified or afraid of them. For the LORD your God is the one who will go with you; he will not leave you or abandon you.”
Moses commanded them, “At the end of every seven years, at the appointed time in the year of debt cancellation, during the Festival of Shelters,
“when all Israel assembles in the presence of the LORD your God at the place he chooses, you are to read this law aloud before all Israel.
“Gather the people — men, women, dependents, and the resident aliens within your city gates — so that they may listen and learn to fear the LORD your God and be careful to follow all the words of this law.
the LORD appeared at the tent in a pillar of cloud, and the cloud stood at the entrance to the tent.
“My anger will burn against them on that day; I will abandon them and hide my face from them so that they will become easy prey. Many troubles and afflictions will come to them. On that day they will say, ‘Haven't these troubles come to us because our God is no longer with us? '
“I will certainly hide my face on that day because of all the evil they have done by turning to other gods.
“Therefore write down this song for yourselves and teach it to the Israelites; have them sing it,[fn] so that this song may be a witness for me against the Israelites.
“Take this book of the law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God so that it may remain there as a witness against you.
“For I know that after my death you will become completely corrupt and turn from the path I have commanded you. Disaster will come to you in the future, because you will do what is evil in the LORD's sight, angering him with what your hands have made.”
He found him in a desolate land,
in a barren, howling wilderness;
he surrounded him, cared for him,
and protected him as the pupil of his eye.
They provoked his jealousy with different gods;
they enraged him with detestable practices.
He said, “I will hide my face from them;
I will see what will become of them,
for they are a perverse generation —
unfaithful children.
“Vengeance and retribution belong to me.[fn]
In time their foot will slip,
for their day of disaster is near,
and their doom is coming quickly.”
The LORD will indeed vindicate his people
and have compassion on his servants
when he sees that their strength is gone
and no one is left — slave or free.[fn]
Moses came with Joshua[fn] son of Nun and recited all the words of this song in the presence of the people.
“Go up Mount Nebo in the Abarim range in the land of Moab, across from Jericho, and view the land of Canaan I am giving the Israelites as a possession.
“Then you will die on the mountain that you go up, and you will be gathered to your people, just as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people.
“For both of you broke faith with me among the Israelites at the Waters of Meribath-kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin by failing to treat me as holy in their presence.
He said about Levi:
Your Thummim and Urim belong to your faithful one;[fn]
you tested him at Massah
and contended with him at the Waters of Meribah.
They will teach your ordinances to Jacob
and your instruction to Israel;
they will set incense before you
and whole burnt offerings on your altar.
with the choice gifts of the land
and everything in it;
and with the favor of him
who appeared[fn] in the burning bush.
May these rest on the head of Joseph,
on the brow of the prince of his brothers.
He said about Zebulun:
Rejoice, Zebulun, in your journeys,
and Issachar, in your tents.
He said about Asher:
May Asher[fn] be the most blessed of the sons;
may he be the most favored among his brothers
and dip his foot in olive oil.
So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the LORD's word.
He buried him[fn] in the valley in the land of Moab facing Beth-peor, and no one to this day knows where his grave is.
Moses was one hundred twenty years old when he died; his eyes were not weak, and his vitality had not left him.
The Israelites wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days. Then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses came to an end.
He was unparalleled for all the signs and wonders the LORD sent him to do against the land of Egypt — to Pharaoh, to all his officials, and to all his land —
“Above all, be strong and very courageous to observe carefully the whole instruction my servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or the left, so that you will have success wherever you go.
“This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth; you are to meditate on[fn] it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do.
“Your wives, dependents, and livestock may remain in the land Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan. But your best soldiers must cross over in battle formation[fn] ahead of your brothers and help them
“At nightfall, when the city gate was about to close, the men went out, and I don't know where they were going. Chase after them quickly, and you can catch up with them! ”
But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them among the stalks of flax that she had arranged on the roof.
“When we heard this, we lost heart, and everyone's courage failed[fn] because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on earth below.
“Now please swear to me by the LORD that you will also show kindness to my father's family, because I showed kindness to you. Give me a sure sign[fn]
“If anyone goes out the doors of your house, his death will be his own fault, and we will be innocent. But if anyone with you in the house should be harmed, his death will be our fault.
They told Joshua, “The LORD has handed over the entire land to us. Everyone who lives in the land is also panicking because of us.”[fn]
Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, because the LORD will do wonders among you tomorrow.”
The LORD spoke to Joshua: “Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so they will know that I will be with you just as I was with Moses.
“Command the priests carrying the ark of the covenant: When you reach the edge of the water,[fn] stand in the Jordan.”
He said, “You will know that the living God is among you and that he will certainly dispossess before you the Canaanites, Hethites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites
“When the feet[fn] of the priests who carry the ark of the LORD, the Lord of the whole earth, come to rest in the Jordan's water, its water will be cut off. The water flowing downstream will stand up in a mass.”
The priests carrying the ark of the LORD's covenant stood firmly on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel crossed on dry ground until the entire nation had finished crossing the Jordan.
“and command them: Take twelve stones from this place in the middle of the Jordan where the priests[fn] are standing, carry them with you, and set them down at the place where you spend the night.”
The Israelites did just as Joshua had commanded them. The twelve men took stones from the middle of the Jordan, one for each of the Israelite tribes, just as the LORD had told Joshua. They carried them to the camp and set them down there.
Joshua also set up twelve stones in the middle[fn] of the Jordan where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant were standing. The stones are still there today.
The priests carrying the ark continued standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything was completed that the LORD had commanded Joshua to tell the people, in keeping with all that Moses had commanded Joshua. The people hurried across,
On that day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they revered him throughout his life, as they had revered Moses.
The people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and camped at Gilgal on the eastern limits of Jericho.
“This is so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD's hand is strong, and so that you may always fear the LORD your God.”
When all the Amorite kings across the Jordan to the west and all the Canaanite kings near the sea heard how the LORD had dried up the water of the Jordan before the Israelites until they had crossed over, they lost heart and their courage failed because of the Israelites.
This is the reason Joshua circumcised them: All the people who came out of Egypt who were males — all the men of war — had died in the wilderness along the way after they had come out of Egypt.
For the Israelites wandered in the wilderness forty years until all the nation's men of war who came out of Egypt had died off because they did not obey the LORD. So the LORD vowed never to let them see the land he had sworn to their ancestors to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey.
After the entire nation had been circumcised, they stayed where they were in the camp until they recovered.
The LORD then said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the disgrace of Egypt from you.” Therefore, that place is still called Gilgal[fn] today.
While the Israelites camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, they observed the Passover on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month.
The day after Passover they ate unleavened bread and roasted grain from the produce of the land.
And the day after they ate from the produce of the land, the manna ceased. Since there was no more manna for the Israelites, they ate from the crops of the land of Canaan that year.
When Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua approached him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies? ”
The LORD said to Joshua, “Look, I have handed Jericho, its king, and its best soldiers over to you.
“But the city and everything in it are set apart to the LORD for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and everyone with her in the house will live, because she hid the messengers we sent.
They completely destroyed everything in the city with the sword — every man and woman, both young and old, and every ox, sheep, and donkey.
They burned the city and everything in it, but they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the LORD's house.
However, Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, her father's family, and all who belonged to her, because she hid the messengers Joshua had sent to spy on Jericho, and she still lives in Israel today.
At that time Joshua imposed this curse:
The man who undertakes
the rebuilding of this city, Jericho,
is cursed before the LORD.
He will lay its foundation
at the cost of his firstborn;
he will finish its gates
at the cost of his youngest.
“Go and consecrate the people. Tell them to consecrate themselves for tomorrow, for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: There are things that are set apart among you, Israel. You will not be able to stand against your enemies until you remove what is set apart.
“The one who is caught with the things set apart must be burned, along with everything he has, because he has violated the LORD's covenant and committed an outrage in Israel.”
So Joshua and all the troops set out to attack Ai. Joshua selected thirty thousand of his best soldiers and sent them out at night.
Not a man was left in Ai or Bethel who did not go out after Israel, leaving the city exposed while they pursued Israel.
Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Hold out the javelin in your hand toward Ai, for I will hand the city over to you.” So Joshua held out his javelin toward it.
When he held out his hand, the men in ambush rose quickly from their position. They ran, entered the city, captured it, and immediately set it on fire.
When Israel had finished killing everyone living in Ai who had pursued them into the open country, and when every last one of them had fallen by the sword, all Israel returned to Ai and struck it down with the sword.
The total of those who fell that day, both men and women, was twelve thousand — all the people of Ai.
Israel plundered only the cattle and spoil of that city for themselves, according to the LORD's command that he had given Joshua.
just as Moses the LORD's servant had commanded the Israelites. He built it according to what is written in the book of the law of Moses: an altar of uncut stones on which no iron tool has been used. Then they offered burnt offerings to the LORD and sacrificed fellowship offerings on it.
All Israel — resident alien and citizen alike — with their elders, officers, and judges, stood on either side of the ark of the LORD's covenant facing the Levitical priests who carried it. Half of them were in front of Mount Gerizim and half in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the LORD's servant had commanded earlier concerning blessing the people of Israel.
Afterward, Joshua read aloud all the words of the law — the blessings as well as the curses — according to all that is written in the book of the law.
When all the kings heard about Jericho and Ai, those who were west of the Jordan in the hill country, in the Judean foothills,[fn] and all along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea toward Lebanon — the Hethites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites —
They wore old, patched sandals on their feet and threadbare clothing on their bodies. Their entire provision of bread was dry and crumbly.
The men of Israel replied to the Hivites, “Perhaps you live among us. How can we make a treaty with you? ”
They replied to him, “Your servants have come from a faraway land because of the reputation of the LORD your God. For we have heard of his fame, and all that he did in Egypt,
“and all that he did to the two Amorite kings beyond the Jordan — King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan, who was in Ashtaroth.
This bread of ours was warm when we took it from our houses as food on the day we left to come to you; but see, it is now dry and crumbly.
Three days after making the treaty with them, they heard that the Gibeonites were their neighbors, living among them.
Joshua summoned the Gibeonites and said to them, “Why did you deceive us by telling us you live far away from us, when in fact you live among us?
This is what Joshua did to them: he rescued them from the Israelites, and they did not kill them.
On that day he made them woodcutters and water carriers — as they are today — for the community and for the LORD's altar at the place he would choose.
So Adoni-zedek and his people were[fn] greatly alarmed because Gibeon was a large city like one of the royal cities; it was larger than Ai, and all its men were warriors.
The LORD threw them into confusion before Israel. He defeated them in a great slaughter at Gibeon, chased them through the ascent of Beth-horon, and struck them down as far as Azekah and Makkedah.
As they fled before Israel, the LORD threw large hailstones on them from the sky along the descent of Beth-horon all the way to Azekah, and they died. More of them died from the hail than the Israelites killed with the sword.
On the day the LORD gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the LORD in the presence of Israel:
“Sun, stand still over Gibeon,
and moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.”
And the sun stood still
and the moon stopped
until the nation took vengeance on its enemies.
Isn't this written in the Book of Jashar?[fn]
So the sun stopped
in the middle of the sky
and delayed its setting
almost a full day.
It was reported to Joshua, “The five kings have been found; they are hiding in the cave at Makkedah.”
On that day Joshua captured Makkedah and struck it down with the sword, including its king. He completely destroyed it[fn] and everyone in it, leaving no survivors. So he treated the king of Makkedah as he had the king of Jericho.
The LORD also handed it and its king over to Israel. He struck it down, putting everyone in it to the sword, and left no survivors in it. He treated Libnah's king as he had the king of Jericho.
The LORD handed Lachish over to Israel, and Joshua captured it on the second day. He struck it down, putting everyone in it to the sword, just as he had done to Libnah.
At that time King Horam of Gezer went to help Lachish, but Joshua struck him down along with his people, leaving no survivors.
On that day they captured it and struck it down, putting everyone in it to the sword. He completely destroyed it that day, just as he had done to Lachish.
They captured it and struck down its king, all its villages, and everyone in it with the sword. He left no survivors, just as he had done at Eglon. He completely destroyed Hebron and everyone in it.
He captured it — its king and all its villages. They struck them down with the sword and completely destroyed everyone in it, leaving no survivors. He treated Debir and its king as he had treated Hebron and as he had treated Libnah and its king.
the Canaanites in the east and west, the Amorites, Hethites, Perizzites, and Jebusites in the hill country, and the Hivites at the foot of Hermon in the land of Mizpah.
The LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for at this time tomorrow I will cause all of them to be killed before Israel. You are to hamstring their horses and burn their chariots.”
So Joshua and all his troops surprised them at the Waters of Merom and attacked them.
Joshua treated them as the LORD had told him; he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots.
At that time Joshua turned back, captured Hazor, and struck down its king with the sword, because Hazor had formerly been the leader of all these kingdoms.
They struck down everyone in it with the sword, completely destroying them; he left no one alive. Then he burned Hazor.
Joshua captured all these kings and their cities and struck them down with the sword. He completely destroyed them, as Moses the LORD's servant had commanded.
The Israelites plundered all the spoils and cattle of these cities for themselves. But they struck down every person with the sword until they had annihilated them, leaving no one alive.
No city made peace with the Israelites except the Hivites who inhabited Gibeon; all of them were taken in battle.
At that time Joshua proceeded to exterminate the Anakim from the hill country — Hebron, Debir, Anab — all the hill country of Judah and of Israel. Joshua completely destroyed them with their cities.
No Anakim were left in the land of the Israelites, except for some remaining in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod.
So Joshua took the entire land, in keeping with all that the LORD had told Moses. Joshua then gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal allotments. After this, the land had rest from war.
King Sihon of the Amorites lived in Heshbon. He ruled from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon River, along the middle of the valley, and half of Gilead up to the Jabbok River (the border of the Ammonites),
Moses the LORD's servant and the Israelites struck them down. And Moses the LORD's servant gave their land as an inheritance to the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh.
Joshua and the Israelites struck down the following kings of the land beyond the Jordan to the west, from Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon to Mount Halak, which ascends toward Seir (Joshua gave their land as an inheritance to the tribes of Israel according to their allotments:
the hill country, the Judean foothills,[fn] the Arabah, the slopes, the wilderness, and the Negev — the lands of the Hethites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites):
“all the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon to Misrephoth-maim, all the Sidonians.
I will drive them out before the Israelites, only distribute the land as an inheritance for Israel, as I have commanded you.
“Therefore, divide this land as an inheritance to the nine tribes and half the tribe of Manasseh.”
With the other half of the tribe of Manasseh, the Reubenites and Gadites had received the inheritance Moses gave them beyond the Jordan to the east, just as Moses the LORD's servant had given them:
From Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the middle of the valley, all the Medeba plateau as far as Dibon,
and all the cities of King Sihon of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, to the border of the Ammonites;
the whole kingdom of Og in Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and Edrei; he was one of the remaining Rephaim.
Moses struck them down and drove them out,
but the Israelites did not drive out the Geshurites and Maacathites. So Geshur and Maacath still live in Israel today.
He did not, however, give any inheritance to the tribe of Levi. This was their inheritance, just as he had promised: the food offerings made to the LORD, the God of Israel.
this as their territory:
From Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the middle of the valley, the whole plateau as far as[fn] Medeba,
with Heshbon and all its cities on the plateau — Dibon, Bamoth-baal, Beth-baal-meon,
Along with those the Israelites put to death, they also killed the diviner, Balaam son of Beor, with the sword.
in the valley: Beth-haram, Beth-nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon — the rest of the kingdom of King Sihon of Heshbon. Their land also included the Jordan and its territory as far as the edge of the Sea of Chinnereth[fn] on the east side of the Jordan.
this as their territory:
From Mahanaim through all Bashan — all the kingdom of King Og of Bashan, including all of Jair's Villages[fn] that are in Bashan — sixty cities.
But half of Gilead, and Og's royal cities in Bashan — Ashtaroth and Edrei — are for the descendants of Machir son of Manasseh (that is, half the descendants of Machir by their clans).
These were the portions Moses gave them on the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan east of Jericho.
The Israelites received these portions that the priest Eleazar, Joshua son of Nun, and the family heads of the Israelite tribes gave them in the land of Canaan.
Their inheritance was by lot as the LORD commanded through Moses for the nine and a half tribes,
because Moses had given the inheritance to the two and a half tribes beyond the Jordan. But he gave no inheritance among them to the Levites.
The descendants of Joseph became two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim. No portion of the land was given to the Levites except cities to live in, along with pasturelands for their cattle and livestock.
The descendants of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the LORD promised Moses the man of God at Kadesh-barnea about you and me.
“On that day Moses swore to me, ‘The land where you have set foot will be an inheritance for you and your descendants forever, because you have followed the LORD my God completely.'
“As you see, the LORD has kept me alive these forty-five years as he promised, since the LORD spoke this word to Moses while Israel was journeying in the wilderness. Here I am today, eighty-five years old.
Therefore, Hebron still belongs to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite as an inheritance today because he followed the LORD, the God of Israel, completely.
He gave Caleb son of Jephunneh the following portion among the descendants of Judah based on the LORD's instruction to Joshua: Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron; Arba was the father of Anak).
When she arrived, she persuaded Othniel to ask her father for a field. As she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What can I do for you? ”
But the descendants of Judah could not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem. So the Jebusites still live in Jerusalem among the descendants of Judah today.
However, they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer. So the Canaanites still live in Ephraim today, but they are forced laborers.
This was the allotment for the tribe of Manasseh as Joseph's firstborn. Gilead and Bashan were given to Machir, the firstborn of Manasseh and the father of Gilead, because he was a man of war.
They came before the priest Eleazar, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders, saying, “The LORD commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our male relatives.” So they gave them an inheritance among their father's brothers, in keeping with the LORD's instruction.
because Manasseh's daughters received an inheritance among his sons. The land of Gilead belonged to the rest of Manasseh's sons.
Within Issachar and Asher, Manasseh had Beth-shean, Ibleam, and the inhabitants of Dor with their surrounding villages; the inhabitants of En-dor, Taanach, and Megiddo — the three cities of[fn] Naphath — with their surrounding villages.
The descendants of Manasseh could not possess these cities, because the Canaanites were determined to stay in this land.
But the descendants of Joseph said, “The hill country is not enough for us, and all the Canaanites who inhabit the valley area have iron chariots, both at Beth-shean with its surrounding villages and in the Jezreel Valley.”
“But the Levites among you do not get a portion, because their inheritance is the priesthood of the LORD. Gad, Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh have taken their inheritance beyond the Jordan to the east, which Moses the LORD's servant gave them.”
As the men prepared to go, Joshua commanded them[fn] to write down a description of the land, saying, “Go and survey the land, write a description of it, and return to me. I will then cast lots for you here in Shiloh in the presence of the LORD.”
Joshua cast lots for them at Shiloh in the presence of the LORD where he distributed the land to the Israelites according to their divisions.
The inheritance of Simeon's descendants was within the territory of Judah's descendants, because the share for Judah's descendants was too large. So Simeon's descendants received an inheritance within Judah's portion.
When the territory of the descendants of Dan slipped out of their control, they went up and fought against Leshem, captured it, and struck it down with the sword. So they took possession of it, lived there, and renamed Leshem after their ancestor Dan.
This was the inheritance of the tribe of Dan's descendants by their clans, these cities with their settlements.
When they had finished distributing the land into its territories, the Israelites gave Joshua son of Nun an inheritance among them.
By the LORD's command, they gave him the city Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim, which he requested. He rebuilt the city and lived in it.
These were the portions that the priest Eleazar, Joshua son of Nun, and the family heads distributed to the Israelite tribes by lot at Shiloh in the LORD's presence at the entrance to the tent of meeting. So they finished dividing up the land.
So they designated Kedesh in the hill country of Naphtali in Galilee, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.
Across the Jordan east of Jericho, they selected Bezer on the wilderness plateau from Reuben's tribe, Ramoth in Gilead from Gad's tribe, and Golan in Bashan from Manasseh's tribe.
These are the cities appointed for all the Israelites and the aliens residing among them, so that anyone who kills a person unintentionally may flee there and not die at the hand of the avenger of blood until he stands before the assembly.
At Shiloh, in the land of Canaan, they told them, “The LORD commanded through Moses that we be given cities to live in, with their pasturelands for our livestock.”
So the Israelites, by the LORD's command, gave the Levites these cities with their pasturelands from their inheritance.
Gershon's descendants received thirteen cities by lot from the clans of the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and half the tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.
They gave them Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron; Arba was the father of Anak) with its surrounding pasturelands in the hill country of Judah.
But they gave the fields and settlements of the city to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his possession.
From half the tribe of Manasseh, they gave to the descendants of Gershon, who were one of the Levite clans:
Golan, the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasturelands in Bashan, and Beeshterah with its pasturelands — two cities.
From the tribe of Naphtali they gave:
Kedesh in Galilee, the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasturelands, Hammoth-dor with its pasturelands, and Kartan with its pasturelands — three cities.
From the tribe of Reuben they gave:
Bezer with its pasturelands, Jahzah[fn] with its pasturelands,
From the tribe of Gad they gave:
Ramoth in Gilead, the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasturelands, Mahanaim with its pasturelands,
Within the Israelite possession there were forty-eight cities in all with their pasturelands for the Levites.
Each of these cities had its own surrounding pasturelands; this was true for all the cities.
So the LORD gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there.
“Now that he has given your brothers rest, just as he promised them, return to your homes in your own land that Moses the LORD's servant gave you across the Jordan.
Moses had given territory to half the tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, but Joshua had given territory to the other half,[fn] with their brothers, on the west side of the Jordan. When Joshua sent them to their homes and blessed them,
he said, “Return to your homes with great wealth: a huge number of cattle, and silver, gold, bronze, iron, and a large quantity of clothing. Share the spoil of your enemies with your brothers.”
The Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh left the Israelites at Shiloh in the land of Canaan to return to their own land of Gilead, which they took possession of according to the LORD's command through Moses.
When they came to the region of[fn] the Jordan in the land of Canaan, the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh built a large, impressive altar there by the Jordan.
Then the Israelites heard it said, “Look, the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh have built an altar on the frontier of the land of Canaan at the region of[fn] the Jordan, on the Israelite side.”
“Wasn't the iniquity of Peor, which brought a plague on the LORD's community, enough for us? We have not cleansed ourselves from it even to this day,
“But if the land you possess is defiled, cross over to the land the LORD possesses where the LORD's tabernacle stands, and take possession of it among us. But don't rebel against the LORD or against us by building for yourselves an altar other than the altar of the LORD our God.
“The Mighty One, God, the LORD! The Mighty One, God, the LORD![fn] He knows, and may Israel also know. Do not spare us today, if it was in rebellion or treachery against the LORD
“Instead, it is to be a witness between us and you, and between the generations after us, so that we may carry out the worship of the LORD in his presence with our burnt offerings, sacrifices, and fellowship offerings. Then in the future, your descendants will not be able to say to our descendants, ‘You have no share in the LORD! '
“We would never ever rebel against the LORD or turn away from him today by building an altar for burnt offering, grain offering, or sacrifice, other than the altar of the LORD our God, which is in front of his tabernacle.”
“See, I have allotted these remaining nations to you as an inheritance for your tribes, including all the nations I have destroyed, from the Jordan westward to the Mediterranean Sea.
“Be very strong and continue obeying all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, so that you do not turn from it to the right or left
“and so that you do not associate with these nations remaining among you. Do not call on the names of their gods or make an oath to them; do not serve them or bow in worship to them.
“know for certain that the LORD your God will not continue to drive these nations out before you. They will become a snare and a trap for you, a sharp stick[fn] for your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you disappear from this good land the LORD your God has given you.
“If you break the covenant of the LORD your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods, and bow in worship to them, the LORD's anger will burn against you, and you will quickly disappear from this good land he has given you.”
“But I took your father Abraham from the region beyond the Euphrates River, led him throughout the land of Canaan, and multiplied his descendants. I gave him Isaac,
“I sent Moses and Aaron, and I defeated Egypt by what I did within it, and afterward I brought you out.
“When I brought your ancestors out of Egypt and you reached the Red Sea, the Egyptians pursued your ancestors with chariots and horsemen as far as the sea.
“Your ancestors cried out to the LORD, so he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea over them, engulfing them. Your own eyes saw what I did to Egypt. After that, you lived in the wilderness a long time.
“I sent hornets[fn] ahead of you, and they drove out the two Amorite kings before you. It was not by your sword or bow.
“I gave you a land you did not labor for, and cities you did not build, though you live in them; you are eating from vineyards and olive groves you did not plant.'
“Therefore, fear the LORD and worship him in sincerity and truth. Get rid of the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and worship the LORD.
“But if it doesn't please you to worship the LORD, choose for yourselves today: Which will you worship — the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living? As for me and my family, we will worship the LORD.”
“For the LORD our God brought us and our ancestors out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery, and performed these great signs before our eyes. He also protected us all along the way we went and among all the peoples whose lands we traveled through.
“Then get rid of the foreign gods that are among you and turn your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.”
On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people at Shechem and established a statute and ordinance for them.
And Joshua said to all the people, “You see this stone — it will be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words the LORD said to us, and it will be a witness against you, so that you will not deny your God.”
They buried him in his allotted territory at Timnath-serah, in the hill country of Ephraim north of Mount Gaash.
Joseph's bones, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the parcel of land Jacob had purchased from the sons of Hamor, Shechem's father, for a hundred pieces of silver.[fn] It was an inheritance for Joseph's descendants.
And Eleazar son of Aaron died, and they buried him at Gibeah,[fn] which had been given to his son Phinehas in the hill country of Ephraim.
After the death of Joshua, the Israelites inquired of the LORD, “Who will be the first to fight for us against the Canaanites? ”
Judah said to his brother Simeon, “Come with me to my allotted territory, and let's fight against the Canaanites. I will also go with you to your allotted territory.” So Simeon went with him.
When Judah attacked, the LORD handed the Canaanites and Perizzites over to them. They struck down ten thousand men in Bezek.
They found Adoni-bezek in Bezek, fought against him, and struck down the Canaanites and Perizzites.
The men of Judah fought against Jerusalem, captured it, put it to the sword, and set the city on fire.
Afterward, the men of Judah marched down to fight against the Canaanites who were living in the hill country, the Negev, and the Judean foothills.[fn]
Judah also marched against the Canaanites who were living in Hebron (Hebron was formerly named Kiriath-arba). They struck down Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.
When she arrived, she persuaded Othniel to ask her father for a field. As she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What do you want? ”
The descendants of the Kenite, Moses's father-in-law, had gone up with the men of Judah from the City of Palms[fn] to the Wilderness of Judah, which was in the Negev of Arad. They went to live among the people.
At the same time the Benjaminites did not drive out the Jebusites who were living in Jerusalem. The Jebusites have lived among the Benjaminites in Jerusalem to this day.
When he showed them the way into the town, they put the town to the sword but released the man and his entire family.
At that time Manasseh failed to take possession of Beth-shean and Taanach and their surrounding villages, or the residents of Dor, Ibleam, and Megiddo and their surrounding villages; the Canaanites were determined to stay in this land.
At that time Ephraim failed to drive out the Canaanites who were living in Gezer, so the Canaanites have lived among them in Gezer.
Zebulun failed to drive out the residents of Kitron or the residents of Nahalol, so the Canaanites lived among them and served as forced labor.
The Asherites lived among the Canaanites who were living in the land, because they failed to drive them out.
Naphtali did not drive out the residents of Beth-shemesh or the residents of Beth-anath. They lived among the Canaanites who were living in the land, but the residents of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath served as their forced labor.
The Amorites were determined to stay in Har-heres, Aijalon, and Shaalbim. When the house of Joseph got the upper hand, the Amorites were made to serve as forced labor.
They buried him in the territory of his inheritance, in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
The LORD's anger burned against Israel, and he handed them over to marauders who raided them. He sold them to the enemies around them, and they could no longer resist their enemies.
Whenever the Israelites went out, the LORD was against them and brought disaster on them, just as he had promised and sworn to them. So they suffered greatly.
The LORD's anger burned against Israel, and he declared, “Because this nation has violated my covenant that I made with their ancestors and disobeyed me,
“I did this to test Israel and to see whether or not they would keep the LORD's way by walking in it, as their ancestors had.”
The LORD left these nations and did not drive them out immediately. He did not hand them over to Joshua.
These are the nations the LORD left in order to test all those in Israel who had experienced none of the wars in Canaan.
The LORD left them to test Israel, to determine if they would keep the LORD's commands he had given their ancestors through Moses.
But they settled among the Canaanites, Hethites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
The Spirit of the LORD came on him, and he judged Israel. Othniel went out to battle, and the LORD handed over King Cushan-rishathaim of Aram to him, so that Othniel overpowered him.
Then the Israelites cried out to the LORD, and he raised up Ehud son of Gera, a left-handed Benjaminite,[fn] as a deliverer for them. The Israelites sent him with the tribute for King Eglon of Moab.
Then Ehud approached him while he was sitting alone in his upstairs room where it was cool. Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you,” and the king stood up from his throne.
Ehud was gone when Eglon's servants came in. They looked and found the doors of the upstairs room locked and thought he was relieving himself[fn] in the cool room.
After he arrived, he sounded the ram's horn throughout the hill country of Ephraim. The Israelites came down with him from the hill country, and he became their leader.
He told them, “Follow me, because the LORD has handed over your enemies, the Moabites, to you.” So they followed him, captured the fords of the Jordan leading to Moab, and did not allow anyone to cross over.
At that time they struck down about ten thousand Moabites, all stout and able-bodied men. Not one of them escaped.
So the LORD sold them to King Jabin of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera who lived in Harosheth of the Nations.[fn]
She would sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went up to her to settle disputes.
“Then I will lure Sisera commander of Jabin's army, his chariots, and his infantry at the Wadi Kishon to fight against you, and I will hand him over to you.' ”
Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go. But if you will not go with me, I will not go.”
“I will gladly go with you,” she said, “but you will receive no honor on the road you are about to take, because the LORD will sell Sisera to a woman.” So Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh.
Then Deborah said to Barak, “Go! This is the day the LORD has handed Sisera over to you. Hasn't the LORD gone before you? ” So Barak came down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him.
The LORD threw Sisera, all his charioteers, and all his army into a panic before Barak's assault. Sisera left his chariot and fled on foot.
Barak pursued the chariots and the army as far as Harosheth of the Nations, and the whole army of Sisera fell by the sword; not a single man was left.
Jael went out to greet Sisera and said to him, “Come in, my lord. Come in with me. Don't be afraid.” So he went into her tent, and she covered him with a blanket.
Then he said to her, “Stand at the entrance to the tent. If a man comes and asks you, ‘Is there a man here? ' say, ‘No.' ”
While he was sleeping from exhaustion, Heber's wife, Jael, took a tent peg, grabbed a hammer, and went silently to Sisera. She hammered the peg into his temple and drove it into the ground, and he died.
When Barak arrived in pursuit of Sisera, Jael went out to greet him and said to him, “Come and I will show you the man you are looking for.” So he went in with her, and there was Sisera lying dead with a tent peg through his temple!
LORD, when you came from Seir,
when you marched from the fields of Edom,
the earth trembled,
the skies poured rain,
and the clouds poured water.
In the days of Shamgar son of Anath,
in the days of Jael,
the main roads were deserted
because travelers kept to the side roads.
Israel chose new gods,
then there was war in the city gates.
Not a shield or spear was seen
among forty thousand in Israel.
Let them tell the righteous acts of the LORD,
the righteous deeds of his villagers in Israel,
with the voices of the singers at the watering places.[fn]
Then the LORD's people went down to the city gates.
Those with their roots in Amalek[fn] came from Ephraim;
Benjamin came with your people after you.
The leaders came down from Machir,
and those who carry a marshal's staff came from Zebulun.
Gilead remained beyond the Jordan.
Dan, why did you linger at the ships?
Asher remained at the seashore
and stayed in his harbors.
Kings came and fought.
Then the kings of Canaan fought
at Taanach by the Waters of Megiddo,
but they did not plunder the silver.
“Curse Meroz,” says the angel of the LORD,
“Bitterly curse her inhabitants,
for they did not come to help the LORD,
to help the LORD with the warriors.”
Most blessed of women is Jael,
the wife of Heber the Kenite;
she is most blessed among tent-dwelling women.
He collapsed, he fell, he lay down between her feet;
he collapsed, he fell between her feet;
where he collapsed, there he fell — dead.
LORD, may all your enemies perish as Sisera did.[fn]
But may those who love him
be like the rising of the sun in its strength.
And the land had peace for forty years.
The Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. So the LORD handed them over to Midian seven years,
and they oppressed Israel. Because of Midian, the Israelites made hiding places for themselves in the mountains, caves, and strongholds.
They encamped against them and destroyed the produce of the land, even as far as Gaza. They left nothing for Israel to eat, as well as no sheep, ox, or donkey.
For the Midianites came with their cattle and their tents like a great swarm of locusts. They and their camels were without number, and they entered the land to lay waste to it.
“I said to you: I am the LORD your God. Do not fear the gods of the Amorites whose land you live in. But you did not obey me.' ”
The angel of the LORD came, and he sat under the oak that was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash, the Abiezrite. His son Gideon was threshing wheat in the winepress in order to hide it from the Midianites.
Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened? And where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about? They said, ‘Hasn't the LORD brought us out of Egypt? ' But now the LORD has abandoned us and handed us over to Midian.”
The LORD turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and deliver Israel from the grasp of Midian. I am sending you! ”
He said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I deliver Israel? Look, my family is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father's family.”
Then he said to him, “If I have found favor with you, give me a sign that you are speaking with me.
The angel of the LORD extended the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread. Fire came up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. Then the angel of the LORD vanished from his sight.
So Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and called it The LORD Is Peace.[fn] It is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites today.
“Build a well-constructed altar to the LORD your God on the top of this mound. Take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah pole you cut down.”
That day Gideon was called Jerubbaal, since Joash said, “Let Baal contend with him,” because he tore down his altar.
All the Midianites, Amalekites, and people of the east gathered together, crossed over the Jordan, and camped in the Jezreel Valley.
The Spirit of the LORD enveloped[fn] Gideon, and he blew the ram's horn and the Abiezrites rallied behind him.
He sent messengers throughout all of Manasseh, who rallied behind him. He also sent messengers throughout Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, who also came to meet him.
“I will put a wool fleece here on the threshing floor. If dew is only on the fleece, and all the ground is dry, I will know that you will deliver Israel by me, as you said.”
Gideon then said to God, “Don't be angry with me; let me speak one more time. Please allow me to make one more test with the fleece. Let it remain dry, and the dew be all over the ground.”
That night God did as Gideon requested: only the fleece was dry, and dew was all over the ground.
Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the troops who were with him, got up early and camped beside the spring of Harod. The camp of Midian was north of them, below the hill of Moreh, in the valley.
The LORD said to Gideon, “You have too many troops for me to hand the Midianites over to them, or else Israel might elevate themselves over me and say,[fn] ‘I saved myself.'
The number of those who lapped with their hands to their mouths was three hundred men, and all the rest of the troops knelt to drink water.
The LORD said to Gideon, “I will deliver you with the three hundred men who lapped and hand the Midianites over to you. But everyone else is to go home.”
So Gideon sent all the Israelites to their tents but kept the three hundred troops, who took the provisions and their rams' horns. The camp of Midian was below him in the valley.
That night the LORD said to him, “Get up and attack the camp, for I have handed it over to you.
“Listen to what they say, and then you will be encouraged to attack the camp.” So he went down with Purah his servant to the outpost of the troops[fn] who were in the camp.
Now the Midianites, Amalekites, and all the people of the east had settled down in the valley like a swarm of locusts, and their camels were as innumerable as the sand on the seashore.
When Gideon arrived, there was a man telling his friend about a dream. He said, “Listen, I had a dream: a loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp, struck a tent, and it fell. The loaf turned the tent upside down so that it collapsed.”
His friend answered, “This is nothing less than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God has handed the entire Midianite camp over to him.”
When Gideon heard the account of the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship. He returned to Israel's camp and said, “Get up, for the LORD has handed the Midianite camp over to you.”
Then he divided the three hundred men into three companies and gave each of the men a ram's horn in one hand and an empty pitcher with a torch inside it in the other hand.
“Watch me,” he said to them, “and do what I do. When I come to the outpost of the camp, do as I do.
Gideon and the hundred men who were with him went to the outpost of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch after the sentries had been stationed. They blew their rams' horns and broke the pitchers that were in their hands.
The three companies blew their rams' horns and shattered their pitchers. They held their torches in their left hands and their rams' horns to blow in their right hands, and they shouted, “A sword for the LORD and for Gideon! ”
When Gideon's men blew their three hundred rams' horns, the LORD caused the men in the whole army to turn on each other with their swords. They fled to Acacia House[fn] in the direction of Zererah as far as the border of Abel-meholah near Tabbath.
Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim with this message: “Come down to intercept the Midianites and take control of the watercourses ahead of them as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan.” So all the men of Ephraim were called out, and they took control of the watercourses as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan.
They captured Oreb and Zeeb, the two princes of Midian; they killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb and Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb, while they were pursuing the Midianites. They brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon across the Jordan.
The men of Ephraim said to him, “Why have you done this to us, not calling us when you went to fight against the Midianites? ” And they argued with him violently.
“God handed over to you Oreb and Zeeb, the two princes of Midian. What was I able to do compared to you? ” When he said this, their anger against him subsided.
But the princes of Succoth asked, “Are Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hands that we should give bread to your army? ”
Gideon replied, “Very well, when the LORD has handed Zebah and Zalmunna over to me, I will tear[fn] your flesh with thorns and briers from the wilderness! ”
Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and with them was their army of about fifteen thousand men, who were all those left of the entire army of the people of the east. Those who had been killed were one hundred twenty thousand armed men.
Gideon traveled on the caravan route[fn] east of Nobah and Jogbehah and attacked their army while the army felt secure.
Then he went to the men of Succoth and said, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna. You taunted me about them, saying, ‘Are Zebah and Zalmunna now in your power that we should give bread to your exhausted men? ' ”
So he took the elders of the city, and he took some thorns and briers from the wilderness, and he disciplined the men of Succoth with them.
He asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men did you kill at Tabor? ”
“They were like you,” they said. “Each resembled the son of a king.”
Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Get up and strike us down yourself, for a man is judged by his strength.” So Gideon got up, killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescent ornaments that were on the necks of their camels.
Then the Israelites said to Gideon, “Rule over us, you as well as your sons and your grandsons, for you delivered us from the power of Midian.”
The weight of the gold earrings he requested was forty-three pounds[fn] of gold, in addition to the crescent ornaments and ear pendants, the purple garments on the kings of Midian, and the chains on the necks of their camels.
Gideon made an ephod from all this and put it in Ophrah, his hometown. Then all Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his household.
So Midian was subdued before the Israelites, and they were no longer a threat. The land had peace for forty years during the days of Gideon.
Then Gideon son of Joash died at a good old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
“Please speak in the hearing of all the citizens of Shechem, ‘Is it better for you that seventy men, all the sons of Jerubbaal, rule over you or that one man rule over you? ' Remember that I am your own flesh and blood.”[fn]
His mother's relatives spoke all these words about him in the hearing of all the citizens of Shechem, and they were favorable to Abimelech, for they said, “He is our brother.”
So they gave him seventy pieces of silver from the temple of Baal-berith.[fn] Abimelech used it to hire worthless and reckless men, and they followed him.
Then all the citizens of Shechem and of Beth-millo gathered together and proceeded to make Abimelech king at the oak of the pillar in Shechem.
But the olive tree said to them,
“Should I stop giving my oil
that people use to honor both God and men,
and rule[fn] over the trees? ”
The bramble said to the trees,
“If you really are anointing me
as king over you,
come and find refuge in my shade.
But if not,
may fire come out from the bramble
and consume the cedars of Lebanon.”
“Now if you have acted faithfully and honestly in making Abimelech king, if you have done well by Jerubbaal and his family, and if you have rewarded him appropriately for what he did —
“so if you have acted faithfully and honestly with Jerubbaal and his house this day, rejoice in Abimelech and may he also rejoice in you.
Then Jotham fled, escaping to Beer, and lived there because of his brother Abimelech.
God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem. They treated Abimelech deceitfully,
The citizens of Shechem rebelled against him by putting men in ambush on the tops of the mountains, and they robbed everyone who passed by them on the road. So this was reported to Abimelech.
Gaal son of Ebed came with his brothers and crossed into Shechem, and the citizens of Shechem trusted him.
“If only these people were in my power, I would remove Abimelech.” So he said[fn] to Abimelech, “Gather your army and come out.”
“Now tonight, you and the troops with you, come and wait in ambush in the countryside.
He took the troops, divided them into three companies, and waited in ambush in the countryside. He looked, and the people were coming out of the city, so he arose against them and struck them down.
Then Abimelech and the units that were with him rushed forward and took their stand at the entrance of the city gate. The other two units rushed against all who were in the countryside and struck them down.
So Abimelech fought against the city that entire day, captured it, and killed the people who were in it. Then he tore down the city and sowed it with salt.
So Abimelech and all the troops who were with him went up to Mount Zalmon. Abimelech took his ax in his hand and cut a branch from the trees. He picked up the branch, put it on his shoulder, and said to the troops who were with him, “Hurry and do what you have seen me do.”
Each of the troops also cut his own branch and followed Abimelech. They put the branches against the inner chamber and set it on fire; about a thousand men and women died, including all the men of the Tower of Shechem.
There was a strong tower inside the city, and all the men, women, and citizens of the city fled there. They locked themselves in and went up to the roof of the tower.
When Abimelech came to attack the tower, he approached its entrance to set it on fire.
After Abimelech, Tola son of Puah, son of Dodo became judge and began to deliver Israel. He was from Issachar and lived in Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim.
So the LORD's anger burned against Israel, and he sold them to the Philistines and the Ammonites.
They shattered and crushed the Israelites that year, and for eighteen years they did the same to all the Israelites who were on the other side of the Jordan in the land of the Amorites in Gilead.
The Ammonites also crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah, Benjamin, and the house of Ephraim. Israel was greatly oppressed,
“Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them deliver you whenever you are oppressed.”
But the Israelites said, “We have sinned. Deal with us as you see fit; only rescue us today! ”
So they got rid of the foreign gods among them and worshiped the LORD, and he became weary of Israel's misery.
The Ammonites were called together, and they camped in Gilead. So the Israelites assembled and camped at Mizpah.
The rulers[fn] of Gilead said to one another, “Which man will begin the fight against the Ammonites? He will be the leader of all the inhabitants of Gilead.”
Jephthah the Gileadite was a valiant warrior, but he was the son of a prostitute, and Gilead was his father.
Gilead's wife bore him sons, and when they grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, “You will have no inheritance in our father's family, because you are the son of another woman.”
So Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob. Then some worthless men joined Jephthah and went on raids with him.
When the Ammonites made war with Israel, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob.
They answered Jephthah, “That's true. But now we turn to you. Come with us, fight the Ammonites, and you will become leader of all the inhabitants of Gilead.”
So Jephthah said to them, “If you are bringing me back to fight the Ammonites and the LORD gives them to me, I will be your leader.”
So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead. The people made him their leader and commander, and Jephthah repeated all his terms in the presence of the LORD at Mizpah.
Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites, asking, “What do you have against me that you have come to fight me in my land? ”
The king of the Ammonites said to Jephthah's messengers, “When Israel came from Egypt, they seized my land from the Arnon to the Jabbok and the Jordan. Now restore it peaceably.”
“But when they came from Egypt, Israel traveled through the wilderness to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh.
“Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Please let us travel through your land,' but the king of Edom would not listen. They also sent messengers to the king of Moab, but he refused. So Israel stayed in Kadesh.
“Then they traveled through the wilderness and around the lands of Edom and Moab. They came to the east side of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of the Arnon but did not enter into the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was the boundary of Moab.
“Then the LORD God of Israel handed over Sihon and all his troops to Israel, and they defeated them. So Israel took possession of the entire land of the Amorites who lived in that country.
“While Israel lived three hundred years in Heshbon and Aroer and their surrounding villages, and in all the cities that are on the banks of the Arnon, why didn't you take them back at that time?
“I have not sinned against you, but you are doing me wrong by fighting against me. Let the LORD who is the judge decide today between the Israelites and the Ammonites.”
“whoever comes out the doors of my house to greet me when I return safely from the Ammonites will belong to the LORD, and I will offer that person as a burnt offering.”
Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them, and the LORD handed them over to him.
When Jephthah went to his home in Mizpah, there was his daughter, coming out to meet him with tambourines and dancing! She was his only child; he had no other son or daughter besides her.
When he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “No! Not my daughter! You have devastated me! You have brought great misery on me.[fn] I have given my word to the LORD and cannot take it back.”
Then she said to him, “My father, you have given your word to the LORD. Do to me as you have said, for the LORD brought vengeance on your enemies, the Ammonites.”
At the end of two months, she returned to her father, and he kept the vow he had made about her. And she had never been intimate with a man. Now it became a custom in Israel
that four days each year the young women of Israel would commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.
The men of Ephraim were called together and crossed the Jordan to Zaphon. They said to Jephthah, “Why have you crossed over to fight against the Ammonites but didn't call us to go with you? We will burn your house with you in it! ”
“When I saw that you weren't going to deliver me, I took my life in my own hands and crossed over to the Ammonites, and the LORD handed them over to me. Why then have you come today to fight against me? ”
Then Jephthah gathered all of the men of Gilead. They fought and defeated Ephraim, because Ephraim had said, “You Gileadites are Ephraimite fugitives in the territories of Ephraim and Manasseh.”
they told him, “Please say Shibboleth.” If he said, “Sibboleth,” because he could not pronounce it correctly, they seized him and executed him at the fords of the Jordan. At that time forty-two thousand from Ephraim died.
Jephthah judged Israel six years, and when he died, he was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.[fn]
and when he died, he was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.
The Israelites again did what was evil in the LORD's sight, so the LORD handed them over to the Philistines forty years.
The angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, “Although you are unable to conceive and have no children, you will conceive and give birth to a son.
“for indeed, you will conceive and give birth to a son. You must never cut his hair,[fn] because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from birth, and he will begin to save Israel from the power of the Philistines.”
“He said to me, ‘You will conceive and give birth to a son. Therefore, do not drink wine or beer, and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from birth until the day of his death.' ”
Manoah prayed to the LORD and said, “Please, Lord, let the man of God you sent come again to us and teach us what we should do for the boy who will be born.”
God listened to Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman. She was sitting in the field, and her husband, Manoah, was not with her.
When the flame went up from the altar to the sky, the angel of the LORD went up in its flame. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell facedown on the ground.
Then the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him in the Camp of Dan,[fn] between Zorah and Eshtaol.
He went back and told his father and his mother, “I have seen a young Philistine woman in Timnah. Now get her for me as a wife.”
But his father and mother said to him, “Can't you find a young woman among your relatives or among any of our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines for a wife? ”
But Samson told his father, “Get her for me. She's the right one for me.”
Now his father and mother did not know this was from the LORD, who wanted the Philistines to provide an opportunity for a confrontation.[fn] At that time, the Philistines were ruling Israel.
the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully on him, and he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as he might have torn a young goat. But he did not tell his father or mother what he had done.
After some time, when he returned to marry her, he left the road to see the lion's carcass, and there was a swarm of bees with honey in the carcass.
“Let me tell you a riddle,” Samson said to them. “If you can explain it to me during the seven days of the feast and figure it out, I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothes.
On the fourth[fn] day they said to Samson's wife, “Persuade your husband to explain the riddle to us, or we will burn you and your father's family to death. Did you invite us here to rob us? ”
She wept the whole seven days of the feast, and at last, on the seventh day, he explained it to her, because she had nagged him so much. Then she explained it to her people.
On the seventh day, before sunset, the men of the city said to him:
What is sweeter than honey?
What is stronger than a lion?
So he said to them:
If you hadn't plowed with my young cow,
you wouldn't know my riddle now!
Later on, during the wheat harvest, Samson took a young goat as a gift and visited his wife. “I want to go to my wife in her room,” he said. But her father would not let him enter.
So he went out and caught three hundred foxes. He took torches, turned the foxes tail-to-tail, and put a torch between each pair of tails.
Then he ignited the torches and released the foxes into the standing grain of the Philistines. He burned the piles of grain and the standing grain as well as the vineyards and olive groves.
Then the Philistines asked, “Who did this? ”
They were told, “It was Samson, the Timnite's son-in-law, because he took Samson's wife and gave her to his companion.” So the Philistines went to her and her father and burned them to death.
He tore them limb from limb[fn] and then went down and stayed in the cave at the rock of Etam.
They said to him, “We've come to tie you up and hand you over to the Philistines.”
Then Samson told them, “Swear to me that you yourselves won't kill me.”
When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came to meet him shouting. The Spirit of the LORD came powerfully on him, and the ropes that were on his arms and wrists became like burnt flax and fell off.
He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand, took it, and killed a thousand men with it.
Then Samson said:
With the jawbone of a donkey
I have piled them in heaps.
With the jawbone of a donkey
I have killed a thousand men.
He became very thirsty and called out to the LORD, “You have accomplished this great victory through your servant. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised? ”
So God split a hollow place in the ground at Lehi, and water came out of it. After Samson drank, his strength returned, and he revived. That is why he named it Hakkore Spring,[fn] which is still in Lehi today.
The Philistine leaders went to her and said, “Persuade him to tell you[fn] where his great strength comes from, so we can overpower him, tie him up, and make him helpless. Each of us will then give you 1,100 pieces of silver.”
So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me, where does your great strength come from? How could someone tie you up and make you helpless? ”
Samson told her, “If they tie me up with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, I will become weak and be like any other man.”
The Philistine leaders brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she tied him up with them.
While the men in ambush were waiting in her room, she called out to him, “Samson, the Philistines are here! ”[fn] But he snapped the bowstrings as a strand of yarn snaps when it touches fire. The secret of his strength remained unknown.
Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have mocked me and told me lies! Won't you please tell me how you can be tied up? ”
He told her, “If they tie me up with new ropes that have never been used, I will become weak and be like any other man.”
Delilah took new ropes, tied him up with them, and shouted, “Samson, the Philistines are here! ” But while the men in ambush were waiting in her room, he snapped the ropes off his arms like a thread.
Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have mocked me all along and told me lies! Tell me how you can be tied up.”
He told her, “If you weave the seven braids on my head into the fabric on a loom — ”[fn]
She fastened the braids with a pin and called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are here! ” He awoke from his sleep and pulled out the pin, with the loom and the web.
“How can you say, ‘I love you,' ” she told him, “when your heart is not with me? This is the third time you have mocked me and not told me what makes your strength so great! ”
When Delilah realized that he had told her the whole truth, she sent this message to the Philistine leaders: “Come one more time, for he has told me the whole truth.” The Philistine leaders came to her and brought the silver with them.
The Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes. They brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles, and he was forced to grind grain in the prison.
Now the Philistine leaders gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon. They rejoiced and said:
Our god has handed over
our enemy Samson to us.
When the people saw him, they praised their god and said:
Our god has handed over to us
our enemy who destroyed our land
and who multiplied our dead.
Samson took hold of the two middle pillars supporting the temple and leaned against them, one on his right hand and the other on his left.
Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” He pushed with all his might, and the temple fell on the leaders and all the people in it. And those he killed at his death were more than those he had killed in his life.
Then his brothers and his father's whole family came down, carried him back, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father Manoah. So he judged Israel twenty years.
He said to his mother, “The 1,100 pieces of silver taken from you, and that I heard you place a curse on — here's the silver. I took it.”
Then his mother said, “My son, may you be blessed by the LORD! ”
So he returned the silver to his mother, and she took five pounds of silver and gave it to a silversmith. He made it into a carved image and a silver idol, and it was in Micah's house.
In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did whatever seemed right to him.
Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest and lived in Micah's house.
In those days, there was no king in Israel, and the Danite tribe was looking for territory to occupy. Up to that time no territory had been captured by them among the tribes of Israel.
Then they said to him, “Please inquire of God for us to determine if we will have a successful journey.”
The priest told them, “Go in peace. The LORD is watching over the journey you are going on.”
They answered, “Come on, let's attack them, for we have seen the land, and it is very good. Why wait? Don't hesitate to go and invade and take possession of the land!
“When you get there, you will come to an unsuspecting people and a spacious land, for God has handed it over to you. It is a place where nothing on earth is lacking.”
They went up and camped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. This is why the place is still called the Camp of Dan[fn] today; it is west of Kiriath-jearim.
The five men who had gone to scout out the land of Laish told their brothers, “Did you know that there are an ephod, household gods, and a carved image and a silver idol[fn] in these houses? Now think about what you should do.”
They told him, “Be quiet. Keep your mouth shut.[fn] Come with us and be a father and a priest to us. Is it better for you to be a priest for the house of one person or for you to be a priest for a tribe and family in Israel? ”
So the priest was pleased and took the ephod, household idols, and carved image, and went with the people.
After they had taken the gods Micah had made and the priest that belonged to him, they went to Laish, to a quiet and unsuspecting people. They killed them with their swords and burned the city.
There was no one to rescue them because it was far from Sidon and they had no alliance with anyone. It was in a valley that belonged to Beth-rehob. They rebuilt the city and lived in it.
So they set up for themselves Micah's carved image that he had made, and it was there as long as the house of God was in Shiloh.
In those days, when there was no king in Israel, a Levite staying in a remote part of the hill country of Ephraim acquired a woman from Bethlehem in Judah as his concubine.
When they were near Jebus and the day was almost gone, the servant said to his master, “Please, why not let us stop at this Jebusite city and spend the night here? ”
“Come on,” he said,[fn] “let's try to reach one of these places and spend the night in Gibeah or Ramah.”
They stopped[fn] to go in and spend the night in Gibeah. The Levite went in and sat down in the city square, but no one took them into their home to spend the night.
In the evening, an old man came in from his work in the field. He was from the hill country of Ephraim, but he was residing in Gibeah where the people were Benjaminites.
When he looked up and saw the traveler in the city square, the old man asked, “Where are you going, and where do you come from? ”
“Welcome! ” said the old man. “I'll take care of everything you need. Only don't spend the night in the square.”
“Here, let me bring out my virgin daughter and the man's concubine now. Abuse them and do whatever you want to them. But don't commit this outrageous thing against this man.”
The leaders of all the people and of all the tribes of Israel presented themselves in the assembly of God's people: four hundred thousand armed foot soldiers.
“Then I took my concubine and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout Israel's territory, because they have committed a wicked outrage in Israel.
“we will take ten men out of every hundred from all the tribes of Israel, and one hundred out of every thousand, and one thousand out of every ten thousand to get provisions for the troops when they go to Gibeah in Benjamin to punish them for all the outrage they committed in Israel.”
Then the tribes of Israel sent men throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What is this evil act that has happened among you?
“Hand over the wicked men in Gibeah so we can put them to death and purge evil from Israel.” But the Benjaminites would not listen to their fellow Israelites.
On that day the Benjaminites mobilized twenty-six thousand armed men from their cities, besides seven hundred fit young men rallied by the inhabitants of Gibeah.
They set out, went to Bethel, and inquired of God. The Israelites asked, “Who is to go first to fight for us against the Benjaminites? ”
And the LORD answered, “Judah will be first.”
The Benjaminites came out of Gibeah and slaughtered twenty-two thousand men of Israel on the field that day.
But the Israelite troops rallied and again took their battle positions in the same place where they positioned themselves on the first day.
They went up, wept before the LORD until evening, and inquired of him, “Should we again attack our brothers the Benjaminites? ”
And the LORD answered, “Fight against them.”
That same day the Benjaminites came out from Gibeah to meet them and slaughtered an additional eighteen thousand Israelites on the field; all were armed.
The whole Israelite army went to Bethel where they wept and sat before the LORD. They fasted that day until evening and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the LORD.
Then the Israelites inquired of the LORD. In those days, the ark of the covenant of God was there,
and Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, was serving before it. The Israelites asked, “Should we again fight against our brothers the Benjaminites or should we stop? ”
The LORD answered, “Fight, because I will hand them over to you tomorrow.”
On the third day the Israelites fought against the Benjaminites and took their battle positions against Gibeah as before.
Then the Benjaminites came out against the troops and were drawn away from the city. They began to attack the troops as before, killing about thirty men of Israel on the highways, one of which goes up to Bethel and the other to Gibeah through the open country.
So all the men of Israel got up from their places and took their battle positions at Baal-tamar, while the Israelites in ambush charged out of their places west of[fn] Geba.
The LORD defeated Benjamin in the presence of Israel, and on that day the Israelites slaughtered 25,100 men of Benjamin; all were armed.
The men in ambush had rushed quickly against Gibeah; they advanced and put the whole city to the sword.
the men of Israel would return to the battle. When Benjamin had begun to strike them down, killing about thirty men of Israel, they said, “They're defeated before us, just as they were in the first battle.”
They retreated before the men of Israel toward the wilderness, but the battle overtook them, and those who came out of the cities[fn] slaughtered those between them.
Then Benjamin turned and fled toward the wilderness to Rimmon Rock, and Israel killed five thousand men on the highways. They overtook them at Gidom and struck two thousand more dead.
All the Benjaminites who died that day were twenty-five thousand armed men; all were warriors.
But six hundred men escaped into the wilderness to Rimmon Rock and stayed there four months.
The men of Israel turned back against the other Benjaminites and killed them with their swords — the entire city, the animals, and everything that remained. They also burned all the cities that remained.
The men of Israel had sworn an oath at Mizpah: “None of us will give his daughter to a Benjaminite in marriage.”
and cried out, “Why, LORD God of Israel, has it occurred[fn] that one tribe is missing in Israel today? ”
The next day the people got up early, built an altar there, and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings.
The Israelites asked, “Who of all the tribes of Israel didn't come to the LORD with the assembly? ” For a great oath had been taken that anyone who had not come to the LORD at Mizpah would certainly be put to death.
“What should we do about wives for the survivors? We've sworn to the LORD not to give them any of our daughters as wives.”
The congregation sent twelve thousand brave warriors there and commanded them, “Go and kill the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the sword, including women and dependents.
They found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young virgins, who had not been intimate with a man, and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh in the land of Canaan.
The whole congregation sent a message of peace to the Benjaminites who were at Rimmon Rock.
Benjamin returned at that time, and Israel gave them the women they had kept alive from Jabesh-gilead. But there were not enough for them.
The people had compassion on Benjamin, because the LORD had made this gap in the tribes of Israel.
They also said, “Look, there's an annual festival to the LORD in Shiloh, which is north of Bethel, east of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.”
“Watch, and when you see the young women of Shiloh come out to perform the dances, each of you leave the vineyards and catch a wife for yourself from the young women of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.
“When their fathers or brothers come to us and protest, we will tell them, ‘Show favor to them, since we did not get enough wives for each of them in the battle. You didn't actually give the women to them, so[fn] you are not guilty of breaking your oath.' ”
The Benjaminites did this and took the number of women they needed from the dancers they caught. They went back to their own inheritance, rebuilt their cities, and lived in them.
At that time, each of the Israelites returned from there to his own tribe and family. Each returned from there to his own inheritance.
In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did whatever seemed right to him.
During the time[fn] of the judges, there was a famine in the land. A man left Bethlehem in Judah with his wife and two sons to stay in the territory of Moab for a while.
She and her daughters-in-law set out to return from the territory of Moab, because she had heard in Moab that the LORD had paid attention to his people's need by providing them food.
She left the place where she had been living, accompanied by her two daughters-in-law, and traveled along the road leading back to the land of Judah.
“May the LORD grant each of you rest in the house of a new husband.” She kissed them, and they wept loudly.
But Naomi replied, “Return home, my daughters. Why do you want to go with me? Am I able to have any more sons who could become your husbands?
“Don't call me Naomi. Call me Mara,”[fn] she answered, “for the Almighty has made me very bitter.
So Naomi came back from the territory of Moab with her daughter-in-law Ruth the Moabitess. They arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.
Ruth the Moabitess asked Naomi, “Will you let me go into the fields and gather fallen grain behind someone with whom I find favor? ”
Naomi answered her, “Go ahead, my daughter.”
So Ruth left and entered the field to gather grain behind the harvesters. She happened to be in the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was from Elimelech's family.
“She asked, ‘Will you let me gather fallen grain among the bundles behind the harvesters? ' She came and has been on her feet since early morning, except that she rested a little in the shelter.”[fn]
Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter.[fn] Don't go and gather grain in another field, and don't leave this one, but stay here close to my female servants.
She fell facedown, bowed to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor with you, so that you notice me, although I am a foreigner? ”
“My lord,” she said, “I have found favor with you, for you have comforted and encouraged your servant, although I am not like one of your female servants.”
At mealtime Boaz told her, “Come over here and have some bread and dip it in the vinegar sauce.” So she sat beside the harvesters, and he offered her roasted grain. She ate and was satisfied and had some left over.
So Ruth gathered grain in the field until evening. She beat out what she had gathered, and it was about twenty-six quarts[fn] of barley.
So Naomi said to her daughter-in-law Ruth, “My daughter, it is good for you to work[fn] with his female servants, so that nothing will happen to you in another field.”
“When he lies down, notice the place where he's lying, go in and uncover his feet, and lie down. Then he will explain to you what you should do.”
After Boaz ate, drank, and was in good spirits, he went to lie down at the end of the pile of barley, and she came secretly, uncovered his feet, and lay down.
At an earlier period in Israel, a man removed his sandal and gave it to the other party in order to make any matter legally binding concerning the right of redemption or the exchange of property. This was the method of legally binding a transaction in Israel.
All the people who were at the city gate, including the elders, said, “We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman who is entering your house like Rachel and Leah, who together built the house of Israel. May you be powerful in Ephrathah and your name well known in Bethlehem.
The women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you without a family redeemer today. May his name become well known in Israel.
There was a man from Ramathaim-zophim in[fn] the hill country of Ephraim. His name was Elkanah son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.
Year after year, when she went up to the LORD's house, her rival taunted her in this way. Hannah would weep and would not eat.
On one occasion, Hannah got up after they ate and drank at Shiloh.[fn] The priest Eli was sitting on a chair by the doorpost of the LORD's temple.
Hannah was praying silently, and though her lips were moving, her voice could not be heard. Eli thought she was drunk
“May your servant find favor with you,” she replied. Then Hannah went on her way; she ate and no longer looked despondent.[fn]
When Elkanah and all his household went up to make the annual sacrifice and his vow offering to the LORD,
Her husband, Elkanah, replied, “Do what you think is best, and stay here until you've weaned him. May the LORD confirm your[fn] word.” So Hannah stayed there and nursed her son until she weaned him.
“Please, my lord,” she said, “as surely as you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the LORD.
Hannah prayed:
My heart rejoices in the LORD;
my horn is lifted up by the LORD.
My mouth boasts over my enemies,
because I rejoice in your salvation.
Those who are full hire themselves out for food,
but those who are starving hunger no more.
The woman who is childless gives birth to seven,
but the woman with many sons pines away.
He guards the steps[fn] of his faithful ones,
but the wicked perish in darkness,
for a person does not prevail by his own strength.
or the priests' share of the sacrifices from the people. When anyone offered a sacrifice, the priest's servant would come with a three-pronged meat fork while the meat was boiling
and plunge it into the container, kettle, cauldron, or cooking pot. The priest would claim for himself whatever the meat fork brought up. This is the way they treated all the Israelites who came there to Shiloh.
Each year his mother made him a little robe and took it to him when she went with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice.
A man of God came to Eli and said to him, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Didn't I reveal myself to your forefather's family[fn] when they were in Egypt and belonged to Pharaoh's palace?
“You will see distress in the place of worship, in spite of all that is good in Israel, and no one in your family will ever again reach old age.
“This will be the sign that will come to you concerning your two sons Hophni and Phinehas: both of them will die on the same day.
“ ‘Then I will raise up a faithful priest for myself. He will do whatever is in my heart and mind. I will establish a lasting dynasty for him, and he will walk before my anointed one for all time.
“Anyone who is left in your family will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread. He will say: Please appoint me to some priestly office so I can have a piece of bread to eat.' ”
The boy Samuel served the LORD in Eli's presence. In those days the word of the LORD was rare and prophetic visions were not widespread.
Before the lamp of God had gone out, Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was located.
Once again, for the third time, the LORD called Samuel. He got up, went to Eli, and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
Then Eli understood that the LORD was calling the boy.
He told Samuel, “Go and lie down. If he calls you, say, ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.' ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
The LORD said to Samuel, “I am about to do something in Israel that will cause everyone who hears about it to shudder.[fn]
“On that day I will carry out against Eli everything I said about his family, from beginning to end.
“I told him that I am going to judge his family forever because of the iniquity he knows about: his sons are cursing God,[fn] and he has not stopped them.
“Therefore, I have sworn to Eli's family: The iniquity of Eli's family will never be wiped out by either sacrifice or offering.”
“What was the message he gave you? ” Eli asked. “Don't hide it from me. May God punish you and do so severely if you hide anything from me that he told you.”
The LORD continued to appear in Shiloh, because there he revealed himself to Samuel by his word.
And Samuel's words came to all Israel.
Israel went out to meet the Philistines in battle and[fn] camped at Ebenezer while the Philistines camped at Aphek.
The Philistines lined up in battle formation against Israel, and as the battle intensified, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who struck down about four thousand men on the battlefield.
When the troops returned to the camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why did the LORD defeat us today before the Philistines? Let's bring the ark of the LORD's covenant from Shiloh. Then it[fn] will go with us and save us from our enemies.”
The Philistines heard the sound of the war cry and asked, “What's this loud shout in the Hebrews' camp? ” When the Philistines discovered that the ark of the LORD had entered the camp,
“Woe to us! Who will rescue us from these magnificent gods? These are the gods that slaughtered the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness.
That same day, a Benjaminite man ran from the battle and came to Shiloh. His clothes were torn, and there was dirt on his head.
The messenger answered, “Israel has fled from the Philistines, and also there was a great slaughter among the people. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are both dead, and the ark of God has been captured.”
As she was dying,[fn] the women taking care of her said, “Don't be afraid. You've given birth to a son! ” But she did not respond or pay attention.
“The glory has departed from Israel,” she said, “because the ark of God has been captured.”
That is why, still today, the priests of Dagon and everyone who enters the temple of Dagon in Ashdod do not step on Dagon's threshold.
After they had moved it, the LORD's hand was against the city of Gath, causing a great panic. He afflicted the people of the city, from the youngest to the oldest, with an outbreak of tumors.
The Ekronites called all the Philistine rulers together. They said, “Send the ark of Israel's God away. Let it return to its place so it won't kill us and our people! ”[fn] For the fear of death pervaded the city; God's hand was oppressing them.
the Philistines summoned the priests and the diviners and pleaded, “What should we do with the ark of the LORD? Tell us how we can send it back to its place.”
“Now then, prepare one new cart and two milk cows that have never been yoked. Hitch the cows to the cart, but take their calves away and pen them up.
“Take the ark of the LORD, place it on the cart, and put the gold objects that you're sending him as a guilt offering in a box beside the ark. Send it off and let it go its way.
The men did this: They took two milk cows, hitched them to the cart, and confined their calves in the pen.
The cows went straight up the road to Beth-shemesh. They stayed on that one highway, lowing as they went; they never strayed to the right or to the left. The Philistine rulers were walking behind them to the territory of Beth-shemesh.
The people of Beth-shemesh were harvesting wheat in the valley, and when they looked up and saw the ark, they were overjoyed to see it.
The cart came to the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh and stopped there near a large rock. The people of the city chopped up the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the LORD.
The Levites removed the ark of the LORD, along with the box containing the gold objects, and placed them on the large rock. That day the people of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the LORD.
The number of gold mice also corresponded to the number of Philistine cities of the five rulers, the fortified cities and the outlying villages. The large rock[fn] on which the ark of the LORD was placed is still in the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh today.
So the people of Kiriath-jearim came for the ark of the LORD and took it to Abinadab's house on the hill. They consecrated his son Eleazar to take care of it.
Time went by until twenty years had passed since the ark had been taken to Kiriath-jearim. Then the whole house of Israel longed for the LORD.
Samuel told them, “If you are returning to the LORD with all your heart, get rid of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths that are among you, set your hearts on the LORD, and worship only him. Then he will rescue you from the Philistines.”
When they gathered at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out in the LORD's presence. They fasted that day, and there they confessed, “We have sinned against the LORD.” And Samuel judged the Israelites at Mizpah.
Samuel was offering the burnt offering as the Philistines approached to fight against Israel. The LORD thundered loudly against the Philistines that day and threw them into such confusion that they were defeated by Israel.
Every year he would go on a circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah and would judge Israel at all these locations.
His firstborn son's name was Joel and his second was Abijah. They were judges in Beer-sheba.
However, his sons did not walk in his ways — they turned toward dishonest profit, took bribes, and perverted justice.
They said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Therefore, appoint a king to judge us the same as all the other nations have.”
When they said, “Give us a king to judge us,” Samuel considered their demand wrong, so he prayed to the LORD.
He said, “These are the rights of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and put them to his use in his chariots, on his horses, or running in front of his chariots.
“When that day comes, you will cry out because of the king you've chosen for yourselves, but the LORD won't answer you on that day.”
He had a son named Saul, an impressive young man. There was no one more impressive among the Israelites than he. He stood a head taller than anyone else.[fn]
“Look,” the servant said, “there's a man of God in this city who is highly respected; everything he says is sure to come true. Let's go there now. Maybe he'll tell us which way we should go.”
The servant answered Saul, “Here, I have a little[fn] silver. I'll give it to the man of God, and he will tell us which way we should go.”
Formerly in Israel, a man who was going to inquire of God would say, “Come, let's go to the seer,” for the prophet of today was formerly called the seer.
The women answered, “Yes, he is ahead of you. Hurry, he just now entered the city, because there's a sacrifice for the people at the high place today.
“As soon as you enter the city, you will find him before he goes to the high place to eat. The people won't eat until he comes because he must bless the sacrifice; after that, the guests can eat. Go up immediately — you can find him now.”
When Samuel saw Saul, the LORD told him, “Here is the man I told you about; he will govern my people.”
“I am the seer,” Samuel answered.[fn] “Go up ahead of me to the high place and eat with me today. When I send you off in the morning, I'll tell you everything that's in your heart.
Samuel took Saul and his servant, brought them to the banquet hall, and gave them a place at the head of the thirty[fn] or so men who had been invited.
The cook picked up the thigh and what was attached to it and set it before Saul. Then Samuel said, “Notice that the reserved piece is set before you. Eat it because it was saved for you for this solemn event at the time I said, ‘I've invited the people.' ” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.
Afterward, they went down from the high place to the city, and Samuel spoke with Saul on the roof.[fn]
Samuel took the flask of oil, poured it out on Saul's head, kissed him, and said, “Hasn't the LORD anointed you ruler over his inheritance?[fn]
“Today when you leave me, you'll find two men at Rachel's Grave at Zelzah in the territory of Benjamin. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys you went looking for have been found, and now your father has stopped being concerned about the donkeys and is worried about you, asking: What should I do about my son? '
When Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed his heart,[fn] and all the signs came about that day.
When Saul and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a group of prophets met him. Then the Spirit of God came powerfully on him, and he prophesied along with them.
Everyone who knew him previously and saw him prophesy with the prophets asked each other, “What has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets? ”
Then a man who was from there asked, “And who is their father? ”
As a result, “Is Saul also among the prophets? ” became a popular saying.
They again inquired of the LORD, “Has the man come here yet? ”
The LORD replied, “There he is, hidden among the supplies.”
They ran and got him from there. When he stood among the people, he stood a head taller than anyone else.[fn]
Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the one the LORD has chosen? There is no one like him among the entire population.”
And all the people shouted,[fn] “Long live the king! ”
Samuel proclaimed to the people the rights of kingship. He wrote them on a scroll, which he placed in the presence of the LORD. Then Samuel sent all the people home.
Nahash the Ammonite replied, “I'll make one with you on this condition: that I gouge out everyone's right eye and humiliate all Israel.”
He took a team of oxen, cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout the territory of Israel by messengers who said, “This is what will be done to the ox of anyone who doesn't march behind Saul and Samuel.” As a result, the terror of the LORD fell on the people, and they went out united.
The next day Saul organized the troops into three divisions. During the morning watch, they invaded the Ammonite camp and slaughtered them until the heat of the day. There were survivors, but they were so scattered that no two of them were left together.
But Saul ordered, “No one will be executed this day, for today the LORD has provided deliverance in Israel.”
So all the people went to Gilgal, and there in the LORD's presence they made Saul king. There they sacrificed fellowship offerings in the LORD's presence, and Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.
“Now you can see that the king is leading you. As for me, I'm old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have led you from my youth until now.
He said to them, “The LORD is a witness against you, and his anointed is a witness today that you haven't found anything in my hand.”
“He is a witness,” they said.
“Now present yourselves, so I may confront you before the LORD about all the righteous acts he has done for you and your ancestors.
“When Jacob went to Egypt,[fn] your ancestors cried out to the LORD, and he sent them Moses and Aaron, who led your ancestors out of Egypt and settled them in this place.
“But they forgot the LORD their God, so he handed them over to Sisera commander of the army of Hazor, to the Philistines, and to the king of Moab. These enemies fought against them.
“Now, therefore, present yourselves and see this great thing that the LORD will do before your eyes.
Samuel called on the LORD, and on that day the LORD sent thunder and rain. As a result, all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel.
Samuel replied, “Don't be afraid. Even though you have committed all this evil, don't turn away from following the LORD. Instead, worship the LORD with all your heart.
“Above all, fear the LORD and worship him faithfully with all your heart; consider the great things he has done for you.
He chose three thousand men from Israel for himself: two thousand were with Saul at Michmash and in Bethel's hill country, and one thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. He sent the rest of the troops away, each to his own tent.
And all Israel heard the news, “Saul has attacked the Philistine garrison, and Israel is now repulsive to the Philistines.” Then the troops were summoned to join Saul at Gilgal.
The men of Israel saw that they were in trouble because the troops were in a difficult situation. They hid in caves, in thickets, among rocks, and in holes and cisterns.
Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead.
Saul, however, was still at Gilgal, and all his troops were gripped with fear.
and Samuel asked, “What have you done? ”
Saul answered, “When I saw that the troops were deserting me and you didn't come within the appointed days and the Philistines were gathering at Michmash,
Saul, his son Jonathan, and the troops who were with them were staying in Geba of Benjamin, and the Philistines were camped at Michmash.
No blacksmith could be found in all the land of Israel because the Philistines had said, “Otherwise, the Hebrews will make swords or spears.”
So on the day of battle not a sword or spear could be found in the hand of any of the troops who were with Saul and Jonathan; only Saul and his son Jonathan had weapons.
That same day Saul's son Jonathan said to the attendant who carried his weapons, “Come on, let's cross over to the Philistine garrison on the other side.” However, he did not tell his father.
Saul was staying under the pomegranate tree in Migron on the outskirts of Gibeah.[fn] The troops with him numbered about six hundred.
Ahijah, who was wearing an ephod, was also there. He was the son of Ahitub, the brother of Ichabod son of Phinehas, son of Eli the LORD's priest at Shiloh. But the troops did not know that Jonathan had left.
Jonathan said to the attendant who carried his weapons, “Come on, let's cross over to the garrison of these uncircumcised men. Perhaps the LORD will help us. Nothing can keep the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few.”
In that first assault Jonathan and his armor-bearer struck down about twenty men in a half-acre field.
Terror spread through the Philistine camp and the open fields to all the troops. Even the garrison and the raiding parties were terrified. The earth shook, and terror spread from God.[fn]
When Saul's watchmen in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, they saw the panicking troops scattering in every direction.
Saul told Ahijah, “Bring the ark of God,” for it was with the Israelites[fn] at that time.
While Saul spoke to the priest, the panic in the Philistine camp increased in intensity. So Saul said to the priest, “Stop what you're doing.”[fn]
When all the Israelite men who had been hiding in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were fleeing, they also joined Saul and Jonathan in the battle.
and the men of Israel were worn out that day, for Saul had[fn] placed the troops under an oath: “The man who eats food before evening, before I have taken vengeance on my enemies is cursed.” So none of the troops tasted any food.
“How much better if the troops had eaten freely today from the plunder they took from their enemies! Then the slaughter of the Philistines would have been much greater.”
The Israelites struck down the Philistines that day from Michmash all the way to Aijalon. Since the Israelites were completely exhausted,
Some reported to Saul, “Look, the troops are sinning against the LORD by eating meat with the blood still in it.”
Saul said, “You have been unfaithful. Roll a large stone over here at once.”
He then said, “Go among the troops and say to them, ‘Let each man bring me his ox or his sheep. Do the slaughtering here and then you can eat. Don't sin against the LORD by eating meat with the blood in it.' ” So every one of the troops brought his ox that night and slaughtered it there.
Saul said, “Let's go down after the Philistines tonight and plunder them until morning. Don't let even one remain! ”
“Do whatever you want,” the troops replied.
But the priest said, “Let's approach God here.”
So Saul inquired of God, “Should I go after the Philistines? Will you hand them over to Israel? ” But God did not answer him that day.
Saul said, “All you leaders of the troops, come here. Let's investigate[fn] how this sin has occurred today.
So Saul said to the LORD, “God of Israel, why have you not answered your servant today? If the unrighteousness is in me or in my son Jonathan, LORD God of Israel, give Urim; but if the fault is in your people Israel, give Thummim.”[fn] Jonathan and Saul were selected, and the troops were cleared of the charge.
Saul commanded him, “Tell me what you did.”
Jonathan told him, “I tasted a little honey with the end of the staff I was carrying. I am ready to die! ”
But the people said to Saul, “Must Jonathan die? He accomplished such a great deliverance for Israel! No, as the LORD lives, not a hair of his head will fall to the ground, for he worked with God's help today.” So the people redeemed Jonathan, and he did not die.
“This is what the LORD of Armies says: ‘I witnessed[fn] what the Amalekites did to the Israelites when they opposed them along the way as they were coming out of Egypt.
Then Saul summoned the troops and counted them at Telaim: two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand men from Judah.
He warned the Kenites, “Since you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came out of Egypt, go on and leave! Get away from the Amalekites, or I'll sweep you away with them.” So the Kenites withdrew from the Amalekites.
He captured King Agag of Amalek alive, but he completely destroyed all the rest of the people with the sword.
“and then sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go and completely destroy the sinful Amalekites. Fight against them until you have annihilated them.'
“But I did obey the LORD! ” Saul answered.[fn] “I went on the mission the LORD gave me: I brought back King Agag of Amalek, and I completely destroyed the Amalekites.
“The troops took sheep, goats, and cattle from the plunder — the best of what was set apart for destruction — to sacrifice to the LORD your God at Gilgal.”
Samuel declared:
As your sword has made women childless,
so your mother will be childless among women.
Then he hacked Agag to pieces before the LORD at Gilgal.
The LORD said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem because I have selected for myself a king from his sons.”
Samuel asked, “How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me! ”
The LORD answered, “Take a young cow with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.'
When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and said, “Certainly the LORD's anointed one is here before him.”
Then Jesse presented Shammah, but Samuel said, “The LORD hasn't chosen this one either.”
After Jesse presented seven of his sons to him, Samuel told Jesse, “The LORD hasn't chosen any of these.”
Samuel asked him, “Are these all the sons you have? ”
“There is still the youngest,” he answered, “but right now he's tending the sheep.” Samuel told Jesse, “Send for him. We won't sit down to eat until he gets here.”
So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully on David from that day forward. Then Samuel set out and went to Ramah.
“Let our lord command your servants here in your presence to look for someone who knows how to play the lyre. Whenever the evil spirit from God comes on you, that person can play the lyre, and you will feel better.”
Then Saul dispatched messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.”
So Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a wineskin, and one young goat and sent them by his son David to Saul.
Then Saul sent word to Jesse: “Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor with me.”
Whenever the spirit from God came on Saul, David would pick up his lyre and play, and Saul would then be relieved, feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.
The Philistines gathered their forces for war at Socoh in Judah and camped between Socoh and Azekah in Ephes-dammim.
Saul and the men of Israel gathered and camped in the Valley of Elah; then they lined up in battle formation to face the Philistines.
Then the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel today. Send me a man so we can fight each other! ”
David answered Saul, “Your servant has been tending his father's sheep. Whenever a lion or a bear came and carried off a lamb from the flock,
David strapped his sword on over the military clothes and tried to walk, but he was not used to them. “I can't walk in these,” David said to Saul, “I'm not used to them.” So David took them off.
Instead, he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the wadi and put them in the pouch, in his shepherd's bag. Then, with his sling in his hand, he approached the Philistine.
He said to David, “Am I a dog that you come against me with sticks? ”[fn] Then he cursed David by his gods.
David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with a sword, spear, and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD of Armies, the God of the ranks of Israel — you have defied him.
“Today, the LORD will hand you over to me. Today, I'll strike you down, remove your head, and give the corpses[fn] of the Philistine camp to the birds of the sky and the wild creatures of the earth. Then all the world will know that Israel has a God,
“and this whole assembly will know that it is not by sword or by spear that the LORD saves, for the battle is the LORD's. He will hand you over to us.”
The men of Israel and Judah rallied, shouting their battle cry, and chased the Philistines to the entrance of the valley and to the gates of Ekron.[fn] Philistine bodies were strewn all along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron.
David took Goliath's[fn] head and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put Goliath's weapons in his own tent.
As the troops were coming back, when David was returning from killing the Philistine, the women came out from all the cities of Israel to meet King Saul, singing and dancing with tambourines, with shouts of joy, and with three-stringed instruments.
As they danced, the women sang:
Saul has killed his thousands,
but David his tens of thousands.
Saul was furious and resented this song. “They credited tens of thousands to David,” he complained, “but they only credited me with thousands. What more can he have but the kingdom? ”
Now Saul's daughter Michal loved David, and when it was reported to Saul, it pleased him.
Saul then ordered his servants, “Speak to David in private and tell him, ‘Look, the king is pleased with you, and all his servants love you. Therefore, you should become the king's son-in-law.' ”
Saul's servants reported these words directly to David, but he replied, “Is it trivial in your sight to become the king's son-in-law? I am a poor commoner.”
Then Saul replied, “Say this to David: ‘The king desires no other bride-price except a hundred Philistine foreskins, to take revenge on his enemies.' ” Actually, Saul intended to cause David's death at the hands of the Philistines.
When the servants reported these terms to David, he was pleased to become the king's son-in-law. Before the wedding day arrived,
David and his men went out and killed two hundred[fn] Philistines. He brought their foreskins and presented them as full payment to the king to become his son-in-law. Then Saul gave his daughter Michal to David as his wife.
“I'll go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are and talk to him about you. When I see what he says, I'll tell you.”
“He took his life in his hands when he struck down the Philistine, and the LORD brought about a great victory for all Israel. You saw it and rejoiced, so why would you sin against innocent blood by killing David for no reason? ”
When war broke out again, David went out and fought against the Philistines. He defeated them with such great force that they fled from him.
Now an evil spirit sent from the LORD came on Saul as he was sitting in his palace holding a spear. David was playing the lyre,
Saul sent agents to David's house to watch for him and kill him in the morning. But his wife Michal warned David, “If you don't escape tonight, you will be dead tomorrow! ”
So David fled and escaped and went to Samuel at Ramah and told him everything Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel left and stayed at Naioth.
Then Saul himself went to Ramah. He came to the large cistern at Secu and asked, “Where are Samuel and David? ”
“At Naioth in Ramah,” someone said.
So he went to Naioth in Ramah. The Spirit of God also came on him, and as he walked along, he prophesied until he entered Naioth in Ramah.
Saul then removed his clothes and also prophesied before Samuel; he collapsed and lay naked all that day and all that night. That is why they say, “Is Saul also among the prophets? ”
David fled from Naioth in Ramah and came to Jonathan and asked, “What have I done? What did I do wrong? How have I sinned against your father so that he wants to take my life? ”
But David said, “Your father certainly knows that I have found favor with you. He has said, ‘Jonathan must not know of this, or else he will be grieved.' ” David also swore, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you yourself live, there is but a step between me and death.”
So David told him, “Look, tomorrow is the New Moon, and I'm supposed to sit down and eat with the king. Instead, let me go, and I'll hide in the countryside for the next two nights.[fn]
“Deal kindly with[fn] your servant, for you have brought me into a covenant with you before the LORD. If I have done anything wrong, then kill me yourself; why take me to your father? ”
“don't ever withdraw your kindness from my household — not even when the LORD cuts off every one of David's enemies from the face of the earth.”
“The following day hurry down and go to the place where you hid on the day this incident began and stay beside the rock Ezel.
Saul did not say anything that day because he thought, “Something unexpected has happened; he must be ceremonially unclean — yes, that's it, he is unclean.”
“He said, ‘Please let me go because our clan is holding a sacrifice in the town, and my brother has told me to be there. So now, if I have found favor with you, let me go so I can see my brothers.' That's why he didn't come to the king's table.”
He got up from the table fiercely angry and did not eat any food that second day of the New Moon, for he was grieved because of his father's shameful behavior toward David.
He said to the servant, “Run and find the arrows I'm shooting.” As the servant ran, Jonathan shot an arrow beyond him.
Jonathan then said to David, “Go in the assurance the two of us pledged in the name of the LORD when we said, ‘The LORD will be a witness between you and me and between my offspring and your offspring forever.' ” Then David left, and Jonathan went into the city.
David answered the priest Ahimelech, “The king gave me a mission, but he told me, ‘Don't let anyone know anything about the mission I'm sending you on or what I have ordered you to do.' I have stationed my young men at a certain place.
David answered him, “I swear that women are being kept from us, as always when I go out to battle. The young men's bodies[fn] are consecrated even on an ordinary mission, so of course their bodies are consecrated today.”
One of Saul's servants, detained before the LORD, was there that day. His name was Doeg the Edomite, chief of Saul's shepherds.
David said to Ahimelech, “Do you have a spear or sword on hand? I didn't even bring my sword or my weapons since the king's mission was urgent.”
The priest replied, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, is here, wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you want to take it for yourself, then take it, for there isn't another one here.”
“There's none like it! ” David said. “Give it to me.”
But Achish's servants said to him, “Isn't this David, the king of the land? Don't they sing about him during their dances:
Saul has killed his thousands,
but David his tens of thousands? ”
In addition, every man who was desperate, in debt, or discontented rallied around him, and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him.
So he left them in the care of the king of Moab, and they stayed with him the whole time David was in the stronghold.
Then the prophet Gad said to David, “Don't stay in the stronghold. Leave and return to the land of Judah.” So David left and went to the forest of Hereth.
Saul heard that David and his men had been discovered. At that time Saul was in Gibeah, sitting under the tamarisk tree at the high place. His spear was in his hand, and all his servants were standing around him.
“That's why all of you have conspired against me! Nobody tells me when my own son makes a covenant with Jesse's son. None of you cares about me or tells me that my son has stirred up my own servant to wait in ambush for me, as is the case today.”
The king sent messengers to summon the priest Ahimelech son of Ahitub, and his father's whole family, who were priests in Nob. All of them came to the king.
Ahimelech replied to the king, “Who among all your servants is as faithful as David? He is the king's son-in-law, captain of your bodyguard, and honored in your house.
“Was today the first time I inquired of God for him? Of course not! Please don't let the king make an accusation against your servant or any of my father's family, for your servant didn't have any idea[fn] about all this.”
So the king said to Doeg, “Go and execute the priests! ” So Doeg the Edomite went and executed the priests himself. On that day, he killed eighty-five men who wore linen ephods.
He also struck down Nob, the city of the priests, with the sword — both men and women, infants and nursing babies, oxen, donkeys, and sheep.
Then David said to Abiathar, “I knew that Doeg the Edomite was there that day and that he was sure to report to Saul. I myself am responsible for[fn] the lives of everyone in your father's family.
It was reported to David, “Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and raiding the threshing floors.”
So David inquired of the LORD: “Should I launch an attack against these Philistines? ”
The LORD answered David, “Launch an attack against the Philistines and rescue Keilah.”
But David's men said to him, “Look, we're afraid here in Judah; how much more if we go to Keilah against the Philistine forces! ”
Then David and his men went to Keilah, fought against the Philistines, drove their livestock away, and inflicted heavy losses on them. So David rescued the inhabitants of Keilah.
David then stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hill country of the Wilderness of Ziph. Saul searched for him every day, but God did not hand David over to him.
David was in the Wilderness of Ziph in Horesh when he saw that Saul had come out to take his life.
Then Saul's son Jonathan came to David in Horesh and encouraged him in his faith[fn] in God,
Then the two of them made a covenant in the LORD's presence. Afterward, David remained in Horesh, while Jonathan went home.
Some Ziphites came up to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Isn't it true that David is hiding among us in the strongholds in Horesh on the hill of Hachilah south of Jeshimon?
So they went to Ziph ahead of Saul.
Now David and his men were in the wilderness near Maon in the Arabah south of Jeshimon,
and Saul and his men went to look for him. When David was told about it, he went down to the rock and stayed in the Wilderness of Maon. Saul heard of this and pursued David there.
When Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, “David is in the wilderness near En-gedi.”
so they said to him, “Look, this is the day the LORD told you about: ‘I will hand your enemy over to you so you can do to him whatever you desire.' ” Then David got up and secretly cut off the corner of Saul's robe.
With these words David persuaded[fn] his men, and he did not let them rise up against Saul.
Then Saul left the cave and went on his way.
“Look, my father! Look at the corner of your robe in my hand, for I cut it off, but I didn't kill you. Recognize[fn] that I've committed no crime or rebellion. I haven't sinned against you even though you are hunting me down to take my life.
“When a man finds his enemy, does he let him go unharmed?[fn] May the LORD repay you with good for what you've done for me today.
“Now I know for certain you will be king, and the kingdom of Israel will be established[fn] in your hand.
“Therefore swear to me by the LORD that you will not cut off my descendants or wipe out my name from my father's family.”
Samuel died, and all Israel assembled to mourn for him, and they buried him by his home in Ramah. David then went down to the Wilderness of Paran.[fn]
A man in Maon had a business in Carmel; he was a very rich man with three thousand sheep and one thousand goats and was shearing his sheep in Carmel.
The man's name was Nabal, and his wife's name, Abigail. The woman was intelligent and beautiful, but the man, a Calebite, was harsh and evil in his dealings.
“I hear that you are shearing.[fn] When your shepherds were with us, we did not harass them, and nothing of theirs was missing the whole time they were in Carmel.
“Ask your young men, and they will tell you. So let my young men find favor with you, for we have come on a feast[fn] day. Please give whatever you have on hand to your servants and to your son David.' ”
“The men treated us very well. When we were in the field, we weren't harassed and nothing of ours was missing the whole time we were living among them.
As she rode the donkey down a mountain pass hidden from view, she saw David and his men coming toward her and met them.
David had just said, “I guarded everything that belonged to this man in the wilderness for nothing. He was not missing anything, yet he paid me back evil for good.
She knelt at his feet and said, “The guilt is mine, my lord, but please let your servant speak to you directly. Listen to the words of your servant.
“Please forgive your servant's offense, for the LORD is certain to make a lasting dynasty for my lord because he fights the LORD's battles. Throughout your life, may evil[fn] not be found in you.
“Someone is pursuing you and intends to take your life. My lord's life is tucked safely in the place[fn] where the LORD your God protects the living, but he is flinging away your enemies' lives like stones from a sling.
Then David said to Abigail, “Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who sent you to meet me today!
“May your discernment be blessed, and may you be blessed. Today you kept me from participating in bloodshed and avenging myself by my own hand.
Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah saying, “David is hiding on the hill of Hachilah opposite Jeshimon.”
So Saul, accompanied by three thousand of the fit young men of Israel, went immediately to the Wilderness of Ziph to search for David there.
Saul camped beside the road at the hill of Hachilah opposite Jeshimon. David was living in the wilderness and discovered Saul had come there after him.
Immediately, David went to the place where Saul had camped. He saw the place where Saul and Abner son of Ner, the commander of his army, were lying down. Saul was lying inside the inner circle of the camp with the troops camped around him.
That night, David and Abishai came to the troops, and Saul was lying there asleep in the inner circle of the camp with his spear stuck in the ground by his head. Abner and the troops were lying around him.
David called to Abner, “You're a man, aren't you? Who in Israel is your equal? So why didn't you protect your lord the king when one of the people came to destroy him?
Then he continued, “Why is my lord pursuing his servant? What have I done? What crime have I committed?
“Now, may my lord the king please hear the words of his servant: If it is the LORD who has incited you against me, then may he accept an offering. But if it is people, may they be cursed in the presence of the LORD, for today they have banished me from sharing in the inheritance of the LORD, saying, ‘Go and worship other gods.'
“So don't let my blood fall to the ground far from the LORD's presence, for the king of Israel has come out to search for a single flea, like one who pursues a partridge in the mountains.”
Saul responded, “I have sinned. Come back, my son David, I will never harm you again because today you considered my life precious. I have been a fool! I've committed a grave error.”
“Just as I considered your life valuable today, so may the LORD consider my life valuable and rescue me from all trouble.”
David said to himself, “One of these days I'll be swept away by Saul. There is nothing better for me than to escape immediately to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up searching for me everywhere in Israel, and I'll escape from him.”
David and his men stayed with Achish in Gath. Each man had his family with him, and David had his two wives: Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, Nabal's widow.
Now David said to Achish, “If I have found favor with you, let me be given a place in one of the outlying towns, so I can live there. Why should your servant live in the royal city with you? ”
That day Achish gave Ziklag to him, and it still belongs to the kings of Judah today.
The length of time that David stayed in Philistine territory amounted to a year and four months.
David did not let a man or woman live to be brought to Gath, for he said, “Or they will inform on us and say, ‘This is what David did.' ” This was David's custom during the whole time he stayed in the Philistine territory.
So Achish trusted David, thinking, “Since he has made himself repulsive to his people Israel, he will be my servant forever.”
At that time, the Philistines gathered their military units into one army to fight against Israel. So Achish said to David, “You know, of course, that you and your men must march out in the army[fn] with me.”
By this time Samuel had died, all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his city, and Saul had removed the mediums and spiritists from the land.
He inquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not answer him in dreams or by the Urim or by the prophets.
Saul then said to his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, so I can go and consult her.”
His servants replied, “There is a woman at En-dor who is a medium.”
Saul disguised himself by putting on different clothes and set out with two of his men. They came to the woman at night, and Saul said, “Consult a spirit for me. Bring up for me the one I tell you.”
Then Saul swore to her by the LORD: “As surely as the LORD lives, no punishment will come to you[fn] from this.”
“Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up? ” Samuel asked Saul.
“I'm in serious trouble,” replied Saul. “The Philistines are fighting against me and God has turned away from me. He doesn't answer me anymore, either through the prophets or in dreams. So I've called on you to tell me what I should do.”
“The LORD has done[fn] exactly what he said through me: The LORD has torn the kingship out of your hand and given it to your neighbor David.
“You did not obey the LORD and did not carry out his burning anger against Amalek; therefore the LORD has done this to you today.
Immediately, Saul fell flat on the ground. He was terrified by Samuel's words and was also weak because he had not eaten anything all day and all night.
The woman came over to Saul, and she saw that he was terrified and said to him, “Look, your servant has obeyed you. I took my life in my hands and did what you told me to do.
“Now please listen to your servant. Let me set some food in front of you. Eat and it will give you strength so you can go on your way.”
The woman had a fattened calf at her house, and she quickly slaughtered it. She also took flour, kneaded it, and baked unleavened bread.
The Philistines brought all their military units together at Aphek while Israel was camped by the spring in Jezreel.
Then the Philistine commanders asked, “What are these Hebrews doing here? ”
Achish answered the Philistine commanders, “That is David, servant of King Saul of Israel. He has been with me a considerable period of time.[fn] From the day he defected until today, I've found no fault with him.”
The Philistine commanders, however, were enraged with Achish and told him, “Send that man back and let him return to the place you assigned him. He must not go down with us into battle only to become our adversary during the battle. What better way could he ingratiate himself with his master than with the heads of our men?
“Isn't this the David they sing about during their dances:
Saul has killed his thousands,
but David his tens of thousands? ”
“Now go back quietly and you won't be doing anything the Philistine leaders think is wrong.”
“But what have I done? ” David replied to Achish. “From the first day I entered your service until today, what have you found against your servant to keep me from going to fight against the enemies of my lord the king? ”
Achish answered David, “I'm convinced that you are as reliable as an angel of God. But the Philistine commanders have said, ‘He must not go into battle with us.'
“So get up early in the morning, you and your masters' servants who came with you.[fn] When you've all gotten up early, go as soon as it's light.”
David and his men arrived in Ziklag on the third day. The Amalekites had raided the Negev and attacked and burned Ziklag.
They also had kidnapped the women and everyone[fn] in it from youngest to oldest. They had killed no one but had carried them off as they went on their way.
When David and his men arrived at the town, they found it burned. Their wives, sons, and daughters had been kidnapped.
David was in an extremely difficult position because the troops talked about stoning him, for they were all very bitter over the loss of their sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God.
David and four hundred of the men continued the pursuit, while two hundred stopped because they were too exhausted to cross the Wadi Besor.
David's men found an Egyptian in the open country and brought him to David. They gave him some bread to eat and water to drink.
Then they gave him some pressed figs and two clusters of raisins. After he ate he revived, for he hadn't eaten food or drunk water for three days and three nights.
“We raided the south country of the Cherethites, the territory of Judah, and the south country of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag.”
So he led him, and there were the Amalekites, spread out over the entire area, eating, drinking, and celebrating because of the great amount of plunder they had taken from the land of the Philistines and the land of Judah.
When David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to go with him and had been left at the Wadi Besor, they came out to meet him and to meet the troops with him. When David approached the men, he greeted them,
to those in Racal, in the towns of the Jerahmeelites, and in the towns of the Kenites;
to those in Hebron, and to those in all the places where David and his men had roamed.
The Philistines fought against Israel, and Israel's men fled from them and were killed on Mount Gilboa.
Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through with it, or these uncircumcised men will come and run me through and torture me! ” But his armor-bearer would not do it because he was terrified. Then Saul took his sword and fell on it.
So on that day, Saul died together with his three sons, his armor-bearer, and all his men.
When the men of Israel on the other side of the valley and on the other side of the Jordan saw that Israel's men had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned the cities and fled. So the Philistines came and settled in them.
Then they put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and hung his body on the wall of Beth-shan.
After the death of Saul, David returned from defeating the Amalekites and stayed at Ziklag two days.
On the third day a man with torn clothes and dust on his head came from Saul's camp. When he came to David, he fell to the ground and paid homage.
“I happened to be on Mount Gilboa,” he replied, “and there was Saul, leaning on his spear. At that very moment the chariots and the cavalry were closing in on him.
“Then he begged me, ‘Stand over me and kill me, for I'm mortally wounded,[fn] but my life still lingers.'
They mourned, wept, and fasted until the evening for those who died by the sword — for Saul, his son Jonathan, the LORD's people, and the house of Israel.
Do not tell it in Gath,
don't announce it in the marketplaces of Ashkelon,
or the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice,
and the daughters of the uncircumcised will celebrate.
Mountains of Gilboa,
let no dew or rain be on you,
or fields of offerings,[fn]
for there the shield of the mighty was defiled —
the shield of Saul, no longer anointed with oil.
Saul and Jonathan,
loved and delightful,
they were not parted in life or in death.
They were swifter than eagles, stronger than lions.
How the mighty have fallen in the thick of battle!
Jonathan lies slain on your heights.
Some time later, David inquired of the LORD: “Should I go to one of the towns of Judah? ”
The LORD answered him, “Go.”
Then David asked, “Where should I go? ”
“To Hebron,” the LORD replied.
In addition, David brought the men who were with him, each one with his family, and they settled in the towns near Hebron.
The length of time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.
So they got up and were counted off — twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth son of Saul, and twelve from David's soldiers.
Then each man grabbed his opponent by the head and thrust his sword into his opponent's side so that they all died together. So this place, which is in Gibeon, is named Field of Blades.[fn]
The battle that day was extremely fierce, and Abner and the men of Israel were defeated by David's soldiers.
The three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Asahel was a fast runner, like one of the wild gazelles.
But Asahel refused to turn away, so Abner hit him in the stomach with the butt of his spear. The spear went through his body, and he fell and died right there. As they all came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died, they stopped,
Afterward, they carried Asahel to his father's tomb in Bethlehem and buried him. Then Joab and his men marched all night and reached Hebron at dawn.
During the war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner kept acquiring more power in the house of Saul.
“May God punish Abner and do so severely if I don't do for David what the LORD swore to him:
Then David sent messengers to say to Ish-bosheth son of Saul, “Give me back my wife Michal. I was engaged to her for the price of a hundred Philistine foreskins.”
“Now take action, because the LORD has spoken concerning David: ‘Through my servant David I will save my people Israel from the power of the Philistines and the power of all Israel's enemies.' ”
Abner also informed the Benjaminites and went to Hebron to inform David about all that was agreed on by Israel and the whole house of Benjamin.
Abner said to David, “Let me now go and I will gather all Israel to my lord the king. They will make a covenant with you, and you will reign over all you desire.” So David dismissed Abner, and he went in peace.
Just then David's soldiers and Joab returned from a raid and brought a large amount of plundered goods with them. Abner was not with David in Hebron because David had dismissed him, and he had gone in peace.
When Joab and his whole army arrived, Joab was informed, “Abner son of Ner came to see the king, the king dismissed him, and he went in peace.”
Joab went to the king and said, “What have you done? Look here, Abner came to you. Why did you dismiss him? Now he's getting away.
When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab pulled him aside to the middle of the city gate, as if to speak to him privately, and there Joab stabbed him in the stomach. So Abner died in revenge for the death of Asahel,[fn] Joab's brother.
“May it hang over Joab's head and his father's whole family, and may the house of Joab never be without someone who has a discharge or a skin disease, or a man who can only work a spindle,[fn] or someone who falls by the sword or starves.”
Joab and his brother Abishai killed Abner because he had put their brother Asahel to death in the battle at Gibeon.
Your hands were not bound,
your feet not placed in bronze shackles.
You fell like one who falls victim to criminals.
And all the people wept over him even more.
On that day all the troops and all Israel were convinced that the king had no part in the killing of Abner son of Ner.
Then the king said to his soldiers, “You must know that a great leader has fallen in Israel today.
When Saul's son Ish-bosheth heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he gave up,[fn] and all Israel was dismayed.
Saul's son Jonathan had a son whose feet were crippled. He was five years old when the report about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nanny picked him up and fled, but as she was hurrying to flee, he fell and became lame. His name was Mephibosheth.
Rechab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, set out and arrived at Ish-bosheth's house during the heat of the day while the king was taking his midday nap.
They had entered the house while Ish-bosheth was lying on his bed in his bedroom and stabbed and killed him. They removed his head, took it, and traveled by way of the Arabah all night.
“when the person told me, ‘Look, Saul is dead,' he thought he was a bearer of good news, but I seized him and put him to death at Ziklag. That was my reward to him for his news!
“How much more when wicked men kill a righteous man in his own house on his own bed! So now, should I not require his blood from you and purge you from the earth? ”
So David gave orders to the young men, and they killed Rechab and Baanah. They cut off their hands and feet and hung their bodies by the pool in Hebron, but they took Ish-bosheth's head and buried it in Abner's tomb in Hebron.
So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron. King David made a covenant with them at Hebron in the LORD's presence, and they anointed David king over Israel.
In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah.
David took up residence in the stronghold, which he named the city of David. He built it up all the way around from the supporting terraces inward.
These are the names of those born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon,
“When you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, act decisively, for then the LORD will have gone out ahead of you to strike down the army of the Philistines.”
He and all his troops set out to bring the ark of God from Baale-judah.[fn] The ark bears the Name, the name of the LORD of Armies who is enthroned between the cherubim.
They set the ark of God on a new cart and transported it from Abinadab's house, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio,[fn] sons of Abinadab, were guiding the cart
David was angry because of the LORD's outburst against Uzzah, so he named that place Outburst Against Uzzah,[fn] as it is today.
David feared the LORD that day and said, “How can the ark of the LORD ever come to me? ”
It was reported to King David, “The LORD has blessed Obed-edom's family and all that belongs to him because of the ark of God.” So David went and had the ark of God brought up from Obed-edom's house to the city of David with rejoicing.
As the ark of the LORD was entering the city of David, Saul's daughter Michal looked down from the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, and she despised him in her heart.
When David had finished offering the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of Armies.
When David returned home to bless his household, Saul's daughter Michal came out to meet him. “How the king of Israel honored himself today! ” she said. “He exposed himself today in the sight of the slave girls of his subjects like a vulgar person would expose himself.”
When the king had settled into his palace and the LORD had given him rest on every side from all his enemies,
the king said to the prophet Nathan, “Look, I am living in a cedar house while the ark of God sits inside tent curtains.”
So Nathan told the king, “Go and do all that is on your mind, for the LORD is with you.”
“From the time I brought the Israelites out of Egypt until today I have not dwelt in a house; instead, I have been moving around with a tent as my dwelling.
“In all my journeys with all the Israelites, have I ever spoken a word to one of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, asking: Why haven't you built me a house of cedar? '
“I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have destroyed all your enemies before you. I will make a great name for you like that of the greatest on the earth.
“I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will discipline him with a rod of men and blows from mortals.
This is why you are great, Lord GOD. There is no one like you, and there is no God besides you, as all we have heard confirms.
He also defeated the Moabites, and after making them lie down on the ground, he measured them off with a cord. He measured every two cord lengths of those to be put to death and one full length of those to be kept alive. So the Moabites became David's subjects and brought tribute.
When the Arameans of Damascus came to assist King Hadadezer of Zobah, David struck down twenty-two thousand Aramean men.
Then he placed garrisons in Aram of Damascus, and the Arameans became David's subjects and brought tribute. The LORD made David victorious wherever he went.
King David also took huge quantities of bronze from Betah[fn] and Berothai, Hadadezer's cities.
he sent his son Joram to King David to greet him and to congratulate him because David had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him, for Toi and Hadadezer had fought many wars. Joram had items of silver, gold, and bronze with him.
He placed garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites were subject to David. The LORD made David victorious wherever he went.
The king asked him, “Where is he? ”
Ziba answered the king, “You'll find him in Lo-debar at the house of Machir son of Ammiel.”
However, Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem because he always ate at the king's table. His feet had been injured.
Then David said, “I'll show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me.”
So David sent his emissaries to console Hanun concerning his father. However, when they arrived in the land of the Ammonites,
So Hanun took David's emissaries, shaved off half their beards, cut their clothes in half at the hips, and sent them away.
When this was reported to David, he sent someone to meet them, since they were deeply humiliated. The king said, “Stay in Jericho until your beards grow back; then return.”
The Ammonites marched out and lined up in battle formation at the entrance to the city gate while the Arameans of Zobah and Rehob and the men of Tob and Maacah were in the field by themselves.
He placed the rest of the forces under the command of his brother Abishai. They lined up in formation to engage the Ammonites.
“Be strong! Let's prove ourselves strong for our people and for the cities of our God. May the LORD's will be done.”[fn]
In the spring when kings march out to war, David sent Joab with his officers and all Israel. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah, but David remained in Jerusalem.
Uriah answered David, “The ark, Israel, and Judah are dwelling in tents, and my master Joab and his soldiers[fn] are camping in the open field. How can I enter my house to eat and drink and sleep with my wife? As surely as you live and by your life, I will not do this! ”
“Stay here today also,” David said to Uriah, “and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next.
In the letter he wrote:
Put Uriah at the front of the fiercest fighting, then withdraw from him so that he is struck down and dies.
When Joab was besieging the city, he put Uriah in the place where he knew the best enemy soldiers were.
He commanded the messenger, “When you've finished telling the king all the details of the battle —
Then the messenger left.
When he arrived, he reported to David all that Joab had sent him to tell.
David told the messenger, “Say this to Joab: ‘Don't let this matter upset you because the sword devours all alike. Intensify your fight against the city and demolish it.' Encourage him.”
When the time of mourning ended, David had her brought to his house. She became his wife and bore him a son. However, the LORD considered what David had done to be evil.
So the LORD sent Nathan to David. When he arrived, he said to him:
There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor.
but the poor man had nothing except one small ewe lamb that he had bought. He raised her, and she grew up with him and with his children. From his meager food she would eat, from his cup she would drink, and in his arms she would sleep. She was like a daughter to him.
“I gave your master's house to you and your master's wives into your arms,[fn] and I gave you the house of Israel and Judah, and if that was not enough, I would have given you even more.
“Why then have you despised the LORD's command by doing what I consider[fn] evil? You struck down Uriah the Hethite with the sword and took his wife as your own wife — you murdered him with the Ammonite's sword.
“However, because you treated[fn] the LORD with such contempt in this matter, the son born to you will die.”
David pleaded with God for the boy. He fasted, went home, and spent the night lying on the ground.
On the seventh day the baby died. But David's servants were afraid to tell him the baby was dead. They said, “Look, while the baby was alive, we spoke to him, and he wouldn't listen to us. So how can we tell him the baby is dead? He may do something desperate.”
He answered, “While the baby was alive, I fasted and wept because I thought, ‘Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let him live.'
Then Joab sent messengers to David to say, “I have fought against Rabbah and have also captured its water supply.
So David assembled all the troops and went to Rabbah; he fought against it and captured it.
He removed the people who were in the city and put them to work with saws, iron picks, and iron axes, and to labor at brickmaking. He did the same to all the Ammonite cities. Then he and all his troops returned to Jerusalem.
Amnon was frustrated to the point of making himself sick over his sister Tamar because she was a virgin, but it seemed impossible to do anything to her.
So Amnon lay down and pretended to be sick. When the king came to see him, Amnon said to him, “Please let my sister Tamar come and make a couple of cakes in my presence so I can eat from her hand.”
“Don't, my brother! ” she cried. “Don't disgrace me, for such a thing should never be done in Israel. Don't commit this outrage!
“Where could I ever go with my humiliation? And you — you would be like one of the outrageous fools in Israel! Please, speak to the king, for he won't keep me from you.”
Her brother Absalom said to her, “Has your brother Amnon been with you? Be quiet for now, my sister. He is your brother. Don't take this thing to heart.” So Tamar lived as a desolate woman in the house of her brother Absalom.
Two years later, Absalom's sheepshearers were at Baal-hazor near Ephraim, and Absalom invited all the king's sons.
Now Absalom commanded his young men, “Watch Amnon until he is in a good mood from the wine. When I order you to strike Amnon, then kill him. Don't be afraid. Am I not the one who has commanded you? Be strong and valiant! ”
While they were on the way, a report reached David: “Absalom struck down all the king's sons; not even one of them survived! ”
Meanwhile, Absalom had fled. When the young man who was standing watch looked up, there were many people coming from the road west of him from the side of the mountain.[fn]
“Go to the king and speak these words to him.” Then Joab told her exactly what to say.[fn]
“Your servant had two sons. They were fighting in the field with no one to separate them, and one struck the other and killed him.
“Joab your servant has done this to address the issue indirectly,[fn] but my lord has wisdom like the wisdom of the angel of God, knowing everything on earth.”
Joab fell with his face to the ground in homage and blessed the king. “Today,” Joab said, “your servant knows I have found favor with you, my lord the king, because the king has granted the request of your servant.”
No man in all Israel was as handsome and highly praised as Absalom. From the sole of his foot to the top of his head, he did not have a single flaw.
When he shaved his head — he shaved it at the end of every year because his hair got so heavy for him that he had to shave it off — he would weigh the hair from his head and it would be five pounds[fn] according to the royal standard.
Then Absalom said to his servants, “See, Joab has a field right next to mine, and he has barley there. Go and set fire to it! ” So Absalom's servants set the field on fire.[fn]
Then Joab came to Absalom's house and demanded, “Why did your servants set my field on fire? ”
“Look,” Absalom explained to Joab, “I sent for you and said, ‘Come here. I want to send you to the king to ask: Why have I come back from Geshur? I'd be better off if I were still there.' So now, let me see the king. If I am guilty, let him kill me.”
He added, “If only someone would appoint me judge in the land. Then anyone who had a grievance or dispute could come to me, and I would make sure he received justice.”
When a person approached to pay homage to him, Absalom reached out his hand, took hold of him, and kissed him.
When four[fn] years had passed, Absalom said to the king, “Please let me go to Hebron to fulfill a vow I made to the LORD.
“For your servant made a vow when I lived in Geshur of Aram, saying, ‘If the LORD really brings me back to Jerusalem, I will worship the LORD in Hebron.' ”[fn]
Then Absalom sent agents throughout the tribes of Israel with this message: “When you hear the sound of the ram's horn, you are to say, ‘Absalom has become king in Hebron! ' ”
While he was offering the sacrifices, Absalom sent for David's adviser Ahithophel the Gilonite, from his city of Giloh. So the conspiracy grew strong, and the people supporting Absalom continued to increase.
David said to all the servants with him in Jerusalem, “Get up. We have to flee, or we will not escape from Absalom! Leave quickly, or he will overtake us quickly, heap disaster on us, and strike the city with the edge of the sword.”
So the king set out, and all the people followed him. They stopped at the last house
while all his servants marched past him. Then all the Cherethites, the Pelethites, and the people of Gath— six hundred men who came with him from there — marched past the king.
Everyone in the countryside was weeping loudly while all the people were marching out of the city. As the king was crossing the Kidron Valley, all the people were marching past on the road that leads to the wilderness.
Then the king instructed Zadok, “Return the ark of God to the city. If I find favor with the LORD, he will bring me back and allow me to see both it and its[fn] dwelling place.
“However, if he should say, ‘I do not delight in you,' then here I am — he can do with me whatever pleases him.”[fn]
The king also said to the priest Zadok, “Look,[fn] return to the city in peace and your two sons with you: your son Ahimaaz and Abiathar's son Jonathan.
“Remember, I'll wait at the fords[fn] of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.”
David was climbing the slope of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he ascended. His head was covered, and he was walking barefoot. All of the people with him covered their heads and went up, weeping as they ascended.
Then someone reported to David, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.”
“LORD,” David pleaded, “please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness! ”
“Take note: their two sons are there with them — Zadok's son Ahimaaz and Abiathar's son Jonathan. Send them to tell me everything you hear.”
The king said to Ziba, “Why do you have these? ”
Ziba answered, “The donkeys are for the king's household to ride, the bread and summer fruit are for the young men to eat, and the wine is for those to drink who become exhausted in the wilderness.”
“Where is your master's grandson? ” the king asked.
“Why, he's staying in Jerusalem,” Ziba replied to the king, “for he said, ‘Today, the house of Israel will restore my grandfather's kingdom to me.' ”
The king said to Ziba, “All that belongs to Mephibosheth is now yours! ”
“I bow before you,” Ziba said. “May I find favor with you, my lord the king! ”
He threw stones at David and at all the royal[fn] servants, the people and the warriors on David's right and left.
“The LORD has paid you back for all the blood of the house of Saul in whose place you became king, and the LORD has handed the kingdom over to your son Absalom. Look, you are in trouble because you're a man of bloodshed! ”
“Perhaps the LORD will see my affliction[fn] and restore goodness to me instead of Shimei's curses today.”
So David and his men proceeded along the road as Shimei was going along the ridge of the hill opposite him. As Shimei went, he cursed David, threw stones at him, and kicked up dust.
Now the advice Ahithophel gave in those days was like someone asking about a word from God — such was the regard that both David and Absalom had for Ahithophel's advice.
Then Absalom said, “Summon Hushai the Archite also. Let's hear what he has to say as well.”
Hushai continued, “You know your father and his men. They are warriors and are desperate like a wild bear robbed of her cubs. Your father is an experienced soldier who won't spend the night with the people.
“Instead, I advise that all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba — as numerous as the sand by the sea — be gathered to you and that you personally go into battle.
“Then we will attack David wherever we find him, and we will descend on him like dew on the ground. Not even one will be left — neither he nor any of the men with him.
Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying at En-rogel, where a servant girl would come and pass along information to them. They in turn would go and inform King David, because they dared not be seen entering the city.
However, a young man did see them and informed Absalom. So the two left quickly and came to the house of a man in Bahurim. He had a well in his courtyard, and they climbed down into it.
When Ahithophel realized that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey and set out for his house in his hometown. He set his house in order and hanged himself. So he died and was buried in his father's tomb.
honey, curds, sheep, goats, and cheese[fn] from the herd for David and the people with him to eat. They had reasoned, “The people must be hungry, exhausted, and thirsty in the wilderness.”
He then sent out the troops, a third under Joab, a third under Joab's brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, and a third under Ittai of Gath. The king said to the troops, “I must also march out with you.”
“You must not go! ” the people pleaded. “If we have to flee, they will not pay any attention to us. Even if half of us die, they will not pay any attention to us because you are worth[fn] ten thousand of us. Therefore, it is better if you support us from the city.”
“I will do whatever you think is best,” the king replied to them. So he stood beside the city gate while all the troops marched out by hundreds and thousands.
Then David's forces marched into the field to engage Israel in battle, which took place in the forest of Ephraim.
Israel's army was defeated by David's soldiers, and the slaughter there was vast that day — twenty thousand dead.
The battle spread over the entire area, and that day the forest claimed more people than the sword.
Absalom was riding on his mule when he happened to meet David's soldiers. When the mule went under the tangled branches of a large oak tree, Absalom's head was caught fast in the tree. The mule under him kept going, so he was suspended in midair.[fn]
One of the men saw him and informed Joab. He said, “I just saw Absalom hanging in an oak tree! ”
“If I had jeopardized my own[fn] life — and nothing is hidden from the king — you would have abandoned me.”
Joab said, “I'm not going to waste time with you! ” He then took three spears[fn] in his hand and thrust them into Absalom's chest. While Absalom was still alive in the oak tree,
Joab blew the ram's horn, and the troops broke off their pursuit of Israel because Joab restrained them.
They took Absalom, threw him into a large pit in the forest, and raised up a huge mound of stones over him. And all Israel fled, each to his tent.
When he was alive, Absalom had taken a pillar and raised it up for himself in the King's Valley, since he thought, “I have no son to preserve the memory of my name.” So he named the pillar after himself. It is still called Absalom's Monument today.
Joab replied to him, “You are not the man to take good news today. You may do it another day, but today you aren't taking good news, because the king's son is dead.”
He called out and told the king.
The king said, “If he's alone, he bears good news.”
As the first runner came closer,
Ahimaaz called out to the king, “All is well,” and paid homage to the king with his face to the ground. He continued, “Blessed be the LORD your God! He delivered up the men who rebelled against my lord the king.”
The king was deeply moved and went up to the chamber above the city gate and wept. As he walked, he cried, “My son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you, Absalom, my son, my son! ”
That day's victory was turned into mourning for all the troops because on that day the troops heard, “The king is grieving over his son.”
So they returned to the city quietly that day like troops come in when they are humiliated after fleeing in battle.
“by loving your enemies and hating those who love you! Today you have made it clear that the commanders and soldiers mean nothing to you. In fact, today I know that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead, it would be fine with you![fn]
“Now get up! Go out and encourage[fn] your soldiers, for I swear by the LORD that if you don't go out, not a man will remain with you tonight. This will be worse for you than all the trouble that has come to you from your youth until now! ”
So the king got up and sat in the city gate, and all the people were told, “Look, the king is sitting in the city gate.” Then they all came into the king's presence.
Meanwhile, each Israelite had fled to his tent.
People throughout all the tribes of Israel were arguing among themselves, saying, “The king rescued us from the grasp of our enemies, and he saved us from the grasp of the Philistines, but now he has fled from the land because of Absalom.
“But Absalom, the man we anointed over us, has died in battle. So why do you say nothing about restoring the king? ”
They forded the Jordan to bring the king's household across and do whatever the king desired.[fn]
When Shimei son of Gera crossed the Jordan, he fell facedown before the king
and said to him, “My lord, don't hold me guilty, and don't remember your servant's wrongdoing on the day my lord the king left Jerusalem. May the king not take it to heart.
Mephibosheth, Saul's grandson, also went down to meet the king. He had not taken care of his feet, trimmed his mustache, or washed his clothes from the day the king left until the day he returned safely.
“Ziba slandered your servant to my lord the king. But my lord the king is like the angel of God, so do whatever you think best.[fn]
“For my grandfather's entire family deserves death from my lord the king, but you set your servant among those who eat at your table. So what further right do I have to keep on making appeals to the king? ”
Mephibosheth said to the king, “Instead, since my lord the king has come to his palace safely, let Ziba take it all! ”
Barzillai was a very old man — eighty years old — and since he was a very wealthy man, he had provided for the needs of the king while he stayed in Mahanaim.
The king said to Barzillai, “Cross over with me, and I'll provide for you[fn] at my side in Jerusalem.”
“Please let your servant return so that I may die in my own city near the tomb of my father and mother. But here is your servant Chimham; let him cross over with my lord the king. Do for him what seems good to you.”[fn]
The king replied, “Chimham will cross over with me, and I will do for him what seems good to you, and whatever you desire from me I will do for you.”
The men of Israel answered the men of Judah, “We have ten shares in the king, so we have a greater claim to David than you. Why then do you despise us? Weren't we the first to speak of restoring our king? ” But the words of the men of Judah were harsher than those of the men of Israel.
Now a wicked man, a Benjaminite named Sheba son of Bichri, happened to be there. He blew the ram's horn and shouted:
We have no portion in David,
no inheritance in Jesse's son.
Each man to his tent,[fn] Israel!
When David came to his palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten concubines he had left to take care of the palace and placed them under guard. He provided for them, but he was not intimate with them. They were confined until the day of their death, living as widows.
They were at the great stone in Gibeon when Amasa joined them. Joab was wearing his uniform and over it was a belt around his waist with a sword in its sheath. As he approached, the sword fell out.
Amasa was not on guard against the sword in Joab's hand, and Joab stabbed him in the stomach with it and spilled his intestines out on the ground. Joab did not stab him again, and Amasa died.
Joab and his brother Abishai pursued Sheba son of Bichri.
Now Amasa had been writhing in his blood in the middle of the highway, and the man had seen that all the troops stopped. So he moved Amasa from the highway to the field and threw a garment over him because he realized that all those who encountered Amasa were stopping.
Sheba passed through all the tribes of Israel to Abel of Beth-maacah. All the Berites[fn] came together and followed him.
Joab's troops came and besieged Sheba in Abel of Beth-maacah. They built a siege ramp against the outer wall of the city. While all the troops with Joab were battering the wall to make it collapse,
She said, “In the past they used to say, ‘Seek counsel in Abel,' and that's how they settled disputes.
“I am one of the peaceful and faithful in Israel, but you're trying to destroy a city that is like a mother in Israel. Why would you devour the LORD's inheritance? ”
The woman went to all the people with her wise counsel, and they cut off the head of Sheba son of Bichri and threw it to Joab. So he blew the ram's horn, and they dispersed from the city, each to his own tent. Joab returned to the king in Jerusalem.
During David's reign there was a famine for three successive years, so David inquired[fn] of the LORD. The LORD answered, “It is due to Saul and to his bloody family, because he killed the Gibeonites.”
The Gibeonites were not Israelites but rather a remnant of the Amorites. The Israelites had taken an oath concerning them, but Saul had tried to kill them in his zeal for the Israelites and Judah. So David summoned the Gibeonites and spoke to them.
He asked the Gibeonites, “What should I do for you? How can I make atonement so that you will bring a blessing on[fn] the LORD's inheritance? ”
The Gibeonites said to him, “We are not asking for silver and gold from Saul or his family, and we cannot put anyone to death in Israel.”
“Whatever you say, I will do for you,” he said.
They replied to the king, “As for the man who annihilated us and plotted to destroy us so we would not exist within the whole territory of Israel,
“let seven of his male descendants be handed over to us so we may hang[fn] them in the presence of the LORD at Gibeah of Saul, the LORD's chosen.”
The king answered, “I will hand them over.”
Rizpah, Aiah's daughter, took sackcloth and spread it out for herself on the rock from the beginning of the harvest[fn] until the rain poured down from heaven on the bodies. She kept the birds of the sky from them by day and the wild animals by night.
he went and got the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from the citizens of Jabesh-gilead. They had stolen them from the public square of Beth-shan where the Philistines had hung the bodies the day the Philistines killed Saul at Gilboa.
and buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan at Zela in the land of Benjamin in the tomb of Saul's father Kish. They did everything the king commanded. After this, God was receptive to prayer for the land.
After this, there was another battle with the Philistines at Gob. At that time Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Saph, who was one of the descendants of the giant.
Once again there was a battle with the Philistines at Gob, and Elhanan son of Jaare-oregim the Bethlehemite killed[fn] Goliath of Gath. The shaft of his spear was like a weaver's beam.
At Gath there was still another battle. A huge man was there with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot — twenty-four in all. He, too, was descended from the giant.
These four were descended from the giant in Gath and were killed by David and his soldiers.
David spoke the words of this song to the LORD on the day the LORD rescued him from the grasp of all his enemies and from the grasp of Saul.
I called to the LORD in my distress;
I called to my God.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry for help reached his ears.
Smoke rose from his nostrils,
and consuming fire came from his mouth;
coals were set ablaze by it.[fn]
The depths of the sea became visible,
the foundations of the world were exposed
at the rebuke of the LORD,
at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.
Therefore I will give thanks to you among the nations, LORD;
I will sing praises about your name.
The God of Israel spoke;
the Rock of Israel said to me,
“The one who rules the people with justice,
who rules in the fear of God,
“is like the morning light when the sun rises
on a cloudless morning,
the glisten of rain on sprouting grass.”
Is it not true my house is with God?
For he has established a permanent covenant with me,
ordered and secured in every detail.
Will he not bring about
my whole salvation and my every desire?
The man who touches them
must be armed with iron and the shaft of a spear.
They will be completely burned up on the spot.
After him, Eleazar son of Dodo son of an Ahohite was among the three warriors with David when they defied the Philistines. The men of Israel retreated in the place they had gathered for battle,
but Eleazar stood his ground and attacked the Philistines until his hand was tired and stuck to his sword. The LORD brought about a great victory that day. Then the troops came back to him, but only to plunder the dead.
but Shammah took his stand in the middle of the field, defended it, and struck down the Philistines. So the LORD brought about a great victory.
Three of the thirty leading warriors went down at harvest time and came to David at the cave of Adullam, while a company of Philistines was camping in Rephaim Valley.
At that time David was in the stronghold, and a Philistine garrison was at Bethlehem.
David was extremely thirsty[fn] and said, “If only someone would bring me water to drink from the well at the city gate of Bethlehem! ”
So three of the warriors broke through the Philistine camp and drew water from the well at the gate of Bethlehem. They brought it back to David, but he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out to the LORD.
David said, “LORD, I would never do such a thing! Is this not the blood of men who risked their lives? ” So he refused to drink it. Such were the exploits of the three warriors.
Abishai, Joab's brother and son of Zeruiah, was leader of the Three.[fn] He wielded his spear against three hundred men and killed them, gaining a reputation among the Three.
He also killed an Egyptian, an impressive man. Even though the Egyptian had a spear in his hand, Benaiah went down to him with a staff, snatched the spear out of the Egyptian's hand, and then killed him with his own spear.
These were the exploits of Benaiah son of Jehoiada, who had a reputation among the three warriors.
The LORD's anger burned against Israel again, and he stirred up David against them to say, “Go, count the people of Israel and Judah.”
Joab replied to the king, “May the LORD your God multiply the troops a hundred times more than they are — while my lord the king looks on! But why does my lord the king want to do this? ”
They crossed the Jordan and camped in Aroer, south of the town in the middle of the valley, and then proceeded toward Gad and Jazer.
When they had gone through the whole land, they returned to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.
So Gad went to David, told him the choices, and asked him, “Do you want three[fn] years of famine to come on your land, to flee from your foes three months while they pursue you, or to have a plague in your land three days? Now, consider carefully[fn] what answer I should take back to the one who sent me.”
David answered Gad, “I have great anxiety. Please, let us fall into the LORD's hands because his mercies are great, but don't let me fall into human hands.”
So the LORD sent a plague on Israel from that morning until the appointed time, and from Dan to Beer-sheba seventy thousand men died.
Then the angel extended his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, but the LORD relented concerning the destruction and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “Enough, withdraw your hand now! ” The angel of the LORD was then at the threshing floor of Araunah[fn] the Jebusite.
When David saw the angel striking the people, he said to the LORD, “Look, I am the one who has sinned; I am the one[fn] who has done wrong. But these sheep, what have they done? Please, let your hand be against me and my father's family.”
Gad came to David that day and said to him, “Go up and set up an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”
Araunah said to David, “My lord the king may take whatever he wants[fn] and offer it. Here are the oxen for a burnt offering and the threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood.
The king answered Araunah, “No, I insist on buying it from you for a price, for I will not offer to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for twenty ounces[fn] of silver.
He built an altar to the LORD there and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then the LORD was receptive to prayer for the land, and the plague on Israel ended.
She replied, “My lord, you swore to your servant by the LORD your God, ‘Your son Solomon is to become king after me, and he is the one who is to sit on my throne.'
“just as I swore to you by the LORD God of Israel: Your son Solomon is to become king after me, and he is the one who is to sit on my throne in my place, that is exactly what I will do this very day.”
All the people went up after him, playing flutes and rejoicing with such a great joy that the earth split open from the sound.[fn]
“The priest Zadok and the prophet Nathan have anointed him king in Gihon. They have gone up from there rejoicing. The town has been in an uproar; that's the noise you heard.
It was reported to Solomon, “Look, Adonijah fears King Solomon, and he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon first[fn] swear to me that he will not kill his servant with the sword.' ”
Then Solomon said, “If he is a man of character, not a single hair of his will fall to the ground, but if evil is found in him, he dies.”
“and keep your obligation to the LORD your God to walk in his ways and to keep his statutes, commands, ordinances, and decrees. This is written in the law of Moses, so that you will have success in everything you do and wherever you turn,
“and so that the LORD will fulfill his promise that he made to me: ‘If your sons take care to walk faithfully before me with all their heart and all their soul, you will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.'
“You also know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me and what he did to the two commanders of Israel's army, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. He murdered them in a time of peace to avenge blood shed in war. He spilled that blood on his own waistband and on the sandals of his feet.[fn]
“Act according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray head descend to Sheol in peace.
“Show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite and let them be among those who eat at your table because they supported me when I fled from your brother Absalom.
“Keep an eye on Shimei son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim who is with you. He uttered malicious curses against me the day I went to Mahanaim. But he came down to meet me at the Jordan River, and I swore to him by the LORD, ‘I will never kill you with the sword.'
“So don't let him go unpunished, for you are a wise man. You know how to deal with him to bring his gray head down to Sheol with blood.”
The length of time David reigned over Israel was forty years: he reigned seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.
Then King Solomon dispatched Benaiah son of Jehoiada, who struck down Adonijah, and he died.
The king said to the priest Abiathar, “Go to your fields in Anathoth. Even though you deserve to die, I will not put you to death today, since you carried the ark of the Lord GOD in the presence of my father David and you suffered through all that my father suffered.”
So Solomon banished Abiathar from being the LORD's priest, and it fulfilled the LORD's prophecy he had spoken at Shiloh against Eli's family.
“The LORD will bring back his own blood on his head because he struck down two men more righteous and better than he, without my father David's knowledge. With his sword, Joab murdered Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel's army, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of Judah's army.
Benaiah son of Jehoiada went up, struck down Joab, and put him to death. He was buried at his house in the wilderness.
Then the king appointed Benaiah son of Jehoiada in Joab's place over the army, and he appointed the priest Zadok in Abiathar's place.
Then the king summoned Shimei and said to him, “Build a house for yourself in Jerusalem and live there, but don't leave there and go anywhere else.
“On the day you do leave and cross the Kidron Valley, know for sure that you will certainly die. Your blood will be on your own head.”
Shimei said to the king, “The sentence is fair; your servant will do as my lord the king has spoken.” And Shimei lived in Jerusalem for a long time.
But then, at the end of three years, two of Shimei's slaves ran away to Achish son of Maacah, king of Gath. Shimei was informed, “Look, your slaves are in Gath.”
So the king summoned Shimei and said to him, “Didn't I make you swear by the LORD and warn you, saying, ‘On the day you leave and go anywhere else, know for sure that you will certainly die'? And you said to me, ‘The sentence is fair; I will obey.'
Solomon loved the LORD by walking in the statutes of his father David, but he also sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.
The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there because it was the most famous high place. He offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.
At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream at night. God said, “Ask. What should I give you? ”
And Solomon replied, “You have shown great and faithful love to your servant, my father David, because he walked before you in faithfulness, righteousness, and integrity.[fn] You have continued this great and faithful love for him by giving him a son to sit on his throne, as it is today.
“Your servant is among your people you have chosen, a people too many to be numbered or counted.
“So give your servant a receptive heart to judge your people and to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of yours? ”
“In addition, I will give you what you did not ask for: both riches and honor, so that no king will be your equal during your entire life.
“If you walk in my ways and keep my statutes and commands just as your father David did, I will give you a long life.”
Then Solomon woke up and realized it had been a dream. He went to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the Lord's covenant, and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then he held a feast for all his servants.
One woman said, “Please, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house, and I had a baby while she was in the house.
“On the third day after I gave birth, she also had a baby and we were alone. No one else[fn] was with us in the house; just the two of us were there.
“She got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while your servant was asleep. She laid him in her arms, and she put her dead son in my arms.
The woman whose son was alive spoke to the king because she felt great compassion[fn] for her son. “My lord, give her the living baby,” she said, “but please don't have him killed! ”
But the other one said, “He will not be mine or yours. Cut him in two! ”
All Israel heard about the judgment the king had given, and they stood in awe of the king because they saw that God's wisdom was in him to carry out justice.
Solomon had twelve deputies for all Israel. They provided food for the king and his household; each one made provision for one month out of the year.
Ben-geber, in Ramoth-gilead (he had the villages of Jair son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead, and he had the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars);
Geber son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, the country of King Sihon of the Amorites and of King Og of Bashan.
There was one deputy in the land of Judah.[fn]
He spoke about trees, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop growing out of the wall. He also spoke about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish.
Emissaries of all peoples, sent by every king on earth who had heard of his wisdom, came to listen to Solomon's wisdom.
He sent ten thousand to Lebanon each month in shifts; one month they were in Lebanon, two months they were at home. Adoniram was in charge of the forced labor.
Solomon had seventy thousand porters and eighty thousand stonecutters in the mountains,
Solomon began to build the temple for the LORD in the four hundred eightieth year after the Israelites came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of his reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month.[fn]
The portico in front of the temple sanctuary was thirty feet long extending across the temple's width, and fifteen feet deep[fn] in front of the temple.
The temple's construction used finished stones cut at the quarry so that no hammer, chisel, or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built.
He built the chambers along the entire temple, joined to the temple with cedar beams; each story was 7½ feet high.
he paneled the interior temple walls with cedar boards; from the temple floor to the surface of the ceiling he overlaid the interior with wood. He also overlaid the floor with cypress boards.
He prepared the inner sanctuary inside the temple to put the ark of the LORD's covenant there.
One wing of the first cherub was 7½ feet long, and the other wing was 7½ feet long. The wingspan was 15 feet from tip to tip.
Then he put the cherubim inside the inner temple. Since their wings were spread out, the first one's wing touched one wall while the second cherub's wing touched the other[fn] wall, and in the middle of the temple their wings were touching wing to wing.
The two doors were made of cypress wood; the first door had two folding sides, and the second door had two folding panels.
He made the hall of pillars seventy-five feet long and forty-five feet wide. A portico was in front of the pillars, and a canopy with pillars[fn] was in front of them.
Solomon's own palace where he would live, in the other courtyard behind the hall, was of similar construction. And he made a house like this hall for Pharaoh's daughter, his wife.[fn]
He was a widow's son from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a bronze craftsman. Hiram had great skill, understanding, and knowledge to do every kind of bronze work. So he came to King Solomon and carried out all his work.
Ornamental gourds encircled it below the brim, ten every half yard,[fn] completely encircling the basin. The gourds were cast in two rows when the basin was cast.
There were four wheels under the frames, and the wheel axles were part of the water cart; each wheel was twenty-seven inches[fn] tall.
Then Hiram made the basins, the shovels, and the sprinkling basins.
So Hiram finished all the work that he was doing for King Solomon on the LORD's temple:
The king had them cast in clay molds in the Jordan Valley between Succoth and Zarethan.
Solomon also made all the equipment in the LORD's temple: the gold altar; the gold table that the Bread of the Presence was placed on;
At that time Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, all the tribal heads and the ancestral leaders of the Israelites before him at Jerusalem in order to bring the ark of the LORD's covenant from the city of David, that is Zion.
So all the men of Israel were assembled in the presence of King Solomon in the month of Ethanim, which is the seventh month,[fn] at the festival.
The priests and the Levites brought the ark of the LORD, the tent of meeting, and the holy utensils that were in the tent.
Nothing was in the ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had put there at Horeb,[fn] where the LORD made a covenant with the Israelites when they came out of the land of Egypt.
He said:
Blessed be the LORD God of Israel!
He spoke directly to my father David,
and he has fulfilled the promise by his power.
He said,
“Since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt,
I have not chosen a city to build a temple in
among any of the tribes of Israel,
so that my name would be there.
But I have chosen David to rule my people Israel.”
I have provided a place there for the ark,
where the LORD's covenant is
that he made with our ancestors
when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.
He said:
LORD God of Israel,
there is no God like you
in heaven above or on earth below,
who keeps the gracious covenant
with your servants who walk before you
with all their heart.
You have kept what you promised
to your servant, my father David.
You spoke directly to him
and you fulfilled your promise by your power
as it is today.
Hear the petition of your servant
and your people Israel,
which they pray toward this place.
May you hear in your dwelling place in heaven.
May you hear and forgive.
When a man sins against his neighbor
and is forced to take an oath,[fn]
and he comes to take an oath
before your altar in this temple,
When your people Israel are defeated before an enemy,
because they have sinned against you,
and they return to you and praise your name,
and they pray and plead with you
for mercy in this temple,
When the skies are shut and there is no rain,
because they have sinned against you,
and they pray toward this place
and praise your name,
and they turn from their sins
because you are afflicting them,
may you hear in heaven
and forgive the sin of your servants
and your people Israel,
so that you may teach them to walk on the good way.
May you send rain on your land
that you gave your people for an inheritance.
When there is famine in the land,
when there is pestilence,
when there is blight or mildew, locust or grasshopper,
when their enemy besieges them
in the land and its cities,[fn]
when there is any plague or illness,
When your people go out to fight against their enemies,[fn]
wherever you send them,
and they pray to the LORD
in the direction of the city you have chosen
and the temple I have built for your name,
and when they come to their senses[fn]
in the land where they were deported
and repent and petition you in their captors' land:
“We have sinned and done wrong;
we have been wicked,”
and when they return to you with all their heart and all their soul
in the land of their enemies who took them captive,
and when they pray to you in the direction of their land
that you gave their ancestors,
the city you have chosen,
and the temple I have built for your name,
May your eyes be open to your servant's petition
and to the petition of your people Israel,
listening to them whenever they call to you.
For you, Lord GOD, have set them apart as your inheritance
from all peoples of the earth,
as you spoke through your servant Moses
when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt.
“Blessed be the LORD! He has given rest to his people Israel according to all he has said. Not one of all the good promises he made through his servant Moses has failed.
“so that he causes us to be devoted[fn] to him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commands, statutes, and ordinances, which he commanded our ancestors.
“May my words with which I have made my petition before the LORD be near the LORD our God day and night. May he uphold his servant's cause and the cause of his people Israel, as each day requires.
“Be wholeheartedly devoted to the LORD our God to walk in his statutes and to keep his commands, as it is today.”
As for you, if you walk before me as your father David walked, with a heart of integrity and in what is right, doing everything I have commanded you, and if you keep my statutes and ordinances,
I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised your father David: You will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.
At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon had built the two houses, the LORD's temple and the royal palace —
King Hiram of Tyre having supplied him with cedar and cypress logs and gold for his every wish — King Solomon gave Hiram twenty towns in the land of Galilee.
This is the account of the forced labor that King Solomon had imposed to build the LORD's temple, his own palace, the supporting terraces, the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer.
As for all the peoples who remained of the Amorites, Hethites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not Israelites —
Pharaoh's daughter moved from the city of David to the house that Solomon had built for her; he then built the terraces.
King Solomon put together a fleet of ships at Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth on the shore of the Red Sea in the land of Edom.
With the fleet, Hiram sent his servants, experienced seamen, along with Solomon's servants.
The queen of Sheba heard about Solomon's fame connected with the name of the LORD and came to test him with difficult questions.
She came to Jerusalem with a very large entourage, with camels bearing spices, gold in great abundance, and precious stones. She came to Solomon and spoke to him about everything that was on her mind.
the food at his table, his servants' residence, his attendants' service and their attire, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he offered at the LORD's temple, it took her breath away.
She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your words and about your wisdom is true.
“But I didn't believe the reports until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, I was not even told half. Your wisdom and prosperity far exceed the report I heard.
“Blessed be the LORD your God! He delighted in you and put you on the throne of Israel, because of the LORD's eternal love for Israel. He has made you king to carry out justice and righteousness.”
All of King Solomon's drinking cups were gold, and all the utensils of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. There was no silver, since it was considered as nothing in Solomon's time,
for the king had ships of Tarshish at sea with Hiram's fleet, and once every three years the ships of Tarshish would arrive bearing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.[fn]
The whole world wanted an audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom that God had put in his heart.
Solomon accumulated 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen and stationed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.
The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar as abundant as sycamore in the Judean foothills.
Solomon's horses were imported from Egypt and Kue.[fn] The king's traders bought them from Kue at the going price.
When Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away to follow other gods. He was not wholeheartedly devoted to the LORD his God, as his father David had been.
“However, I will not do it during your lifetime for the sake of your father David; I will tear it out of your son's hand.
So the LORD raised up Hadad the Edomite as an enemy against Solomon. He was of the royal family in Edom.
Earlier, when David was in Edom, Joab, the commander of the army, had gone to bury the dead and had struck down every male in Edom.
For Joab and all Israel had remained there six months, until he had killed every male in Edom.
Tahpenes's sister gave birth to Hadad's son Genubath. Tahpenes herself weaned him in Pharaoh's palace, and Genubath lived there along with Pharaoh's sons.
When Hadad heard in Egypt that David rested with his ancestors and that Joab, the commander of the army, was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, “Let me leave, so I may go to my own country.”
Rezon was Israel's enemy throughout Solomon's reign, adding to the trouble Hadad had caused. He reigned over Aram[fn] and loathed Israel.
During that time, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met Jeroboam on the road as Jeroboam came out of Jerusalem. Now Ahijah had wrapped himself with a new cloak, and the two of them were alone in the open field.
“but one tribe will remain his for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I chose out of all the tribes of Israel.
“For they have abandoned me; they have bowed down to Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, to Chemosh, the god of Moab, and to Milcom, the god of the Ammonites. They have not walked in my ways to do what is right in my sight and to carry out my statutes and my judgments as his father David did.
“I will give one tribe to his son, so that my servant David will always have a lamp[fn] before me in Jerusalem, the city I chose for myself to put my name there.
“I will appoint you, and you will reign as king over all you want, and you will be king over Israel.
“ ‘After that, if you obey all I command you, walk in my ways, and do what is right in my sight in order to keep my statutes and my commands as my servant David did, I will be with you. I will build you a lasting dynasty just as I built for David, and I will give you Israel.
Therefore, Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but he fled to Egypt, to King Shishak of Egypt, where he remained until Solomon's death.
The rest of the events of Solomon's reign, along with all his accomplishments and his wisdom, are written in the Book of Solomon's Events.
Solomon rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of his father David. His son Rehoboam became king in his place.
They replied, “Today if you will be a servant to this people and serve them, and if you respond to them by speaking kind words to them, they will be your servants forever.”
“Although my father burdened you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with barbed whips.' ”[fn]
So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king had ordered: “Return to me on the third day.”
and spoke to them according to the young men's advice: “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with barbed whips.”
The king did not listen to the people, because this turn of events came from the LORD to carry out his word, which the LORD had spoken through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat.
When all Israel saw that the king had not listened to them, the people answered him:
What portion do we have in David?
We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse.
Israel, return to your tents;
David, now look after your own house!
So Israel went to their tents,
Then King Rehoboam sent Adoram,[fn] who was in charge of forced labor, but all Israel stoned him to death. King Rehoboam managed to get into the chariot and flee to Jerusalem.
Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. From there he went out and built Penuel.
“If these people regularly go to offer sacrifices in the LORD's temple in Jerusalem, the heart of these people will return to their lord, King Rehoboam of Judah. They will kill me and go back to the king of Judah.”
Jeroboam made a festival in the eighth month on the fifteenth day of the month, like the festival in Judah. He offered sacrifices on the altar; he made this offering in Bethel to sacrifice to the calves he had made. He also stationed the priests in Bethel for the high places he had made.
He offered sacrifices on[fn] the altar he had set up in Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month. He chose this month on his own. He made a festival for the Israelites, offered sacrifices on the altar, and burned incense.
A man of God came, however, from Judah to Bethel by the word of the LORD while Jeroboam was standing beside the altar to burn incense.
The man of God cried out against the altar by the word of the LORD: “Altar, altar, this is what the LORD says, ‘A son will be born to the house of David, named Josiah, and he will sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who are burning incense on you. Human bones will be burned on you.' ”
He gave a sign that day. He said, “This is the sign that the LORD has spoken: ‘The altar will now be ripped apart, and the ashes that are on it will be poured out.' ”
When the king heard the message that the man of God had cried out against the altar at Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar and said, “Arrest him! ” But the hand he stretched out against him withered, and he could not pull it back to himself.
The altar was ripped apart, and the ashes poured from the altar, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of the LORD.
But the man of God replied, “If you were to give me half your house, I still wouldn't go with you, and I wouldn't eat food or drink water in this place,
“for this is what I was commanded by the word of the LORD: ‘You must not eat food or drink water or go back the way you came.' ”
Now a certain old prophet was living in Bethel. His son[fn] came and told him all the deeds that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. His sons also told their father the words that he had spoken to the king.
Then their father asked them, “Which way did he go? ” His sons had seen[fn] the way taken by the man of God who had come from Judah.
But he answered, “I cannot go back with you or accompany you; I will not eat food or drink water with you in this place.
“For a message came to me by the word of the LORD: ‘You must not eat food or drink water there or go back by the way you came.' ”
He said to him, “I am also a prophet like you. An angel spoke to me by the word of the LORD: ‘Bring him back with you to your house so that he may eat food and drink water.' ” The old prophet deceived him,
“but you went back and ate food and drank water in the place that he said to you, “Do not eat food and do not drink water” — your corpse will never reach the grave of your ancestors.' ”
There were men passing by who saw the corpse thrown on the road and the lion standing beside it, and they went and spoke about it in the city where the old prophet lived.
and he went and found the corpse thrown on the road with the donkey and the lion standing beside the corpse. The lion had not eaten the corpse or mauled the donkey.
Then he laid the corpse in his own grave, and they mourned over him, “Oh, my brother! ”
After he had buried him, he said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the grave where the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones,
“for the message that he cried out by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel and against all the shrines of the high places in the cities of Samaria is certain to happen.”
Now Rehoboam, Solomon's son, reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king; he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city where the LORD had chosen from all the tribes of Israel to put his name. Rehoboam's mother's name was Naamah the Ammonite.
Judah did what was evil in the LORD's sight. They provoked him to jealous anger more than all that their ancestors had done with the sins they committed.
there were even male cult prostitutes in the land. They imitated all the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had dispossessed before the Israelites.
In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, King Shishak of Egypt went to war against Jerusalem.
The rest of the events of Rehoboam's reign, along with all his accomplishments, are written about in the Historical Record of Judah's Kings.
Rehoboam rested with his ancestors and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David. His mother's name was Naamah the Ammonite. His son Abijam[fn] became king in his place.
In the eighteenth year of Israel's King Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijam became king over Judah,
Abijam walked in all the sins his father before him had committed, and he was not wholeheartedly devoted to the LORD his God as his ancestor David had been.
Abijam rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David. His son Asa became king in his place.
and he reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem. His grandmother's[fn] name was Maacah daughter of Abishalom.
He also removed his grandmother[fn] Maacah from being queen mother because she had made an obscene image of Asherah. Asa chopped down her obscene image and burned it in the Kidron Valley.
So Asa withdrew all the silver and gold that remained in the treasuries of the LORD's temple and the treasuries of the royal palace and gave it to his servants. Then King Asa sent them to Ben-hadad son of Tabrimmon son of Hezion king of Aram who lived in Damascus, saying,
Then King Asa gave a command to everyone without exception in Judah, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and the timbers Baasha had built it with. Then King Asa built Geba of Benjamin and Mizpah with them.
The rest of all the events of Asa's reign, along with all his might, all his accomplishments, and the cities he built, are written in the Historical Record of Judah's Kings. But in his old age he developed a disease in his feet.
Then Asa rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of his ancestor David. His son Jehoshaphat became king in his place.
Nadab son of Jeroboam became king over Israel in the second year of Judah's King Asa; he reigned over Israel two years.
Nadab did what was evil in the LORD's sight and walked in the ways of his father and the sin he had caused Israel to commit.
Then Baasha son of Ahijah of the house of Issachar conspired against Nadab, and Baasha struck him down at Gibbethon of the Philistines while Nadab and all Israel were besieging Gibbethon.
In the third year of Judah's King Asa, Baasha killed Nadab and reigned in his place.
When Baasha became king, he struck down the entire house of Jeroboam. He did not leave Jeroboam any survivors but[fn] destroyed his family according to the word of the LORD he had spoken through his servant Ahijah the Shilonite.
This was because Jeroboam had angered[fn] the LORD God of Israel by the sins he had committed and had caused Israel to commit.
The rest of the events of Nadab's reign, along with all his accomplishments, are written in the Historical Record of Israel's Kings.
In the third year of Judah's King Asa, Baasha son of Ahijah became king over all Israel, and he reigned in Tirzah twenty-four years.
He did what was evil in the LORD's sight and walked in the ways of Jeroboam and the sin he had caused Israel to commit.
“Because I raised you up from the dust and made you ruler over my people Israel, but you have walked in the ways of Jeroboam and have caused my people Israel to sin, angering me with their sins,
“Anyone who belongs to Baasha and dies in the city,
the dogs will eat,
and anyone who is his and dies in the field,
the birds[fn] will eat.”
The rest of the events of Baasha's reign, along with all his accomplishments and might, are written in the Historical Record of Israel's Kings.
Baasha rested with his ancestors and was buried in Tirzah. His son Elah became king in his place.
But through the prophet Jehu son of Hanani the word of the LORD also had come against Baasha and against his house because of all the evil he had done in the LORD's sight. His actions angered the LORD, and Baasha's house became like the house of Jeroboam, because he had struck it down.
In the twenty-sixth year of Judah's King Asa, Elah son of Baasha became king over Israel, and he reigned in Tirzah two years.
His servant Zimri, commander of half his chariots, conspired against him while Elah was in Tirzah getting drunk in the house of Arza, who was in charge of the household at Tirzah.
When he became king, as soon as he was seated on his throne, Zimri struck down the entire house of Baasha. He did not leave a single male,[fn] including his kinsmen and his friends.
This happened because of all the sins of Baasha and those of his son Elah, which they committed and caused Israel to commit, angering the LORD God of Israel with their worthless idols.
The rest of the events of Elah's reign, along with all his accomplishments, are written in the Historical Record of Israel's Kings.
In the twenty-seventh year of Judah's King Asa, Zimri became king for seven days in Tirzah. Now the troops were encamped against Gibbethon of the Philistines.
When these troops heard that Zimri had not only conspired but had also struck down the king, then all Israel made Omri, the army commander, king over Israel that very day in the camp.
When Zimri saw that the city was captured, he entered the citadel of the royal palace and burned it down over himself. He died
because of the sin he committed by doing what was evil in the LORD's sight and by walking in the ways of Jeroboam and the sin he caused Israel to commit.
The rest of the events of Zimri's reign, along with the conspiracy that he instigated, are written in the Historical Record of Israel's Kings.
However, the people who followed Omri proved stronger than those who followed Tibni son of Ginath. So Tibni died and Omri became king.
In the thirty-first year of Judah's King Asa, Omri became king over Israel, and he reigned twelve years. He reigned six years in Tirzah,
He walked in all the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat in every respect and continued in his sins that he caused Israel to commit, angering the LORD God of Israel with their worthless idols.
The rest of the events of Omri's reign, along with his accomplishments and the might he exercised, are written in the Historical Record of Israel's Kings.
Omri rested with his ancestors and was buried in Samaria. His son Ahab became king in his place.
Ahab son of Omri became king over Israel in the thirty-eighth year of Judah's King Asa; Ahab son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years.
Then, as if following the sin of Jeroboam son of Nebat were not enough, he married Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and then proceeded to serve Baal and bow in worship to him.
During his reign, Hiel the Bethelite built Jericho. At the cost of Abiram his firstborn, he laid its foundation, and at the cost of Segub his youngest, he finished its gates, according to the word of the LORD he had spoken through Joshua son of Nun.
So he proceeded to do what the LORD commanded. Elijah left and lived at the Wadi Cherith where it enters the Jordan.
As she went to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand.”
But she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I don't have anything baked — only a handful of flour in the jar and a bit of oil in the jug. Just now, I am gathering a couple of sticks in order to go prepare it for myself and my son so we can eat it and die.”
Then Elijah said to her, “Don't be afraid; go and do as you have said. But first make me a small loaf from it and bring it out to me. Afterward, you may make some for yourself and your son,
The flour jar did not become empty, and the oil jug did not run dry, according to the word of the LORD he had spoken through[fn] Elijah.
After this, the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. His illness got worse until he stopped breathing.
But Elijah said to her, “Give me your son.” So he took him from her arms, brought him up to the upstairs room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed.
Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know you are a man of God and the LORD's word from your mouth is true.”
After a long time, the word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year: “Go and present yourself to Ahab. I will send rain on the surface of the land.”
and took a hundred prophets and hid them, fifty men to a cave, and provided them with food and water when Jezebel slaughtered the LORD's prophets.
They divided the land between them in order to cover it. Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went the other way by himself.
While Obadiah was walking along the road, Elijah suddenly met him. When Obadiah recognized him, he fell facedown and said, “Is it you, my lord Elijah? ”
Wasn't it reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel slaughtered the LORD's prophets? I hid a hundred of the prophets of the LORD, fifty men to a cave, and I provided them with food and water.
He replied, “I have not ruined Israel, but you and your father's family have, because you have abandoned the LORD's commands and followed the Baals.
“Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The God who answers with fire, he is God.”
All the people answered, “That's fine.”
Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Since you are so numerous, choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first. Then call on the name of your god but don't light the fire.”
So they took the bull that he gave them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “Baal, answer us! ” But there was no sound; no one answered. Then they danced[fn] around the altar they had made.
At noon Elijah mocked them. He said, “Shout loudly, for he's a god! Maybe he's thinking it over; maybe he has wandered away;[fn] or maybe he's on the road. Perhaps he's sleeping and will wake up! ”
They shouted loudly, and cut themselves with knives and spears, according to their custom, until blood gushed over them.
At the time for offering the evening sacrifice, the prophet Elijah approached the altar and said, “LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, today let it be known that you are God in Israel and I am your servant, and that at your word I have done all these things.
“Answer me, LORD! Answer me so that this people will know that you, the LORD, are God and that you have turned their hearts back.”
Then the LORD's fire fell and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench.
On the seventh time, he reported, “There's a cloud as small as a man's hand coming up from the sea.”
Then Elijah said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Get your chariot ready and go down so the rain doesn't stop you.' ”
Ahab told Jezebel everything that Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword.
but he went on a day's journey into the wilderness. He sat down under a broom tree and prayed that he might die. He said, “I have had enough! LORD, take my life, for I'm no better than my ancestors.”
So he got up, ate, and drank. Then on the strength from that food, he walked forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.
He replied, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God of Armies, but the Israelites have abandoned your covenant, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are looking for me to take my life.”
Then he said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the LORD's presence.”
At that moment, the LORD passed by. A great and mighty wind was tearing at the mountains and was shattering cliffs before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake.
After the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire there was a voice, a soft whisper.
When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.
Suddenly, a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah? ”
“I have been very zealous for the LORD God of Armies,” he replied, “but the Israelites have abandoned your covenant, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they're looking for me to take my life.”
“But I will leave seven thousand in Israel — every knee that has not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him.”
Elijah left there and found Elisha son of Shaphat as he was plowing. Twelve teams of oxen were in front of him, and he was with the twelfth team. Elijah walked by him and threw his mantle over him.
So he turned back from following him, took the team of oxen, and slaughtered[fn] them. With the oxen's wooden yoke and plow, he cooked the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he left, followed Elijah, and served him.
So he said to Ben-hadad's messengers, “Say to my lord the king, ‘Everything you demanded of your servant the first time, I will do, but this thing I cannot do.' ” So the messengers left and took word back to him.
When Ben-hadad heard this response, while he and the kings were drinking in their quarters,[fn] he said to his servants, “Take your positions.” So they took their positions against the city.
Ahab asked, “By whom? ”
And the prophet said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘By the young men of the provincial leaders.' ”
Then he asked, “Who is to start the battle? ”
He said, “You.”
They marched out at noon while Ben-hadad and the thirty-two kings who were helping him were getting drunk in their quarters.
The young men of the provincial leaders marched out first. Then Ben-hadad sent out scouts, and they reported to him, saying, “Men are marching out of Samaria.”
Then the king of Israel marched out and attacked the cavalry and the chariots. He inflicted a severe slaughter on Aram.
They camped opposite each other for seven days. On the seventh day, the battle took place, and the Israelites struck down the Arameans — one hundred thousand foot soldiers in one day.
Then Ben-hadad said to him, “I restore to you the cities that my father took from your father, and you may set up marketplaces for yourself in Damascus, like my father set up in Samaria.”
Ahab responded, “On the basis of this treaty, I release you.” So he made a treaty with him and released him.
One of the sons of the prophets said to his fellow prophet by the word of the LORD, “Strike me! ” But the man refused to strike him.
The men of his city, the elders and nobles who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had sent word to them, just as it was written in the letters she had sent them.
“Get up and go to meet King Ahab of Israel, who is in Samaria. He's in Naboth's vineyard, where he has gone to take possession of it.
“Tell him, ‘This is what the LORD says: Have you murdered and also taken possession? ' Then tell him, ‘This is what the LORD says: In the place where the dogs licked up Naboth's blood, the dogs will also lick up your blood! ' ”
“The LORD also speaks of Jezebel: ‘The dogs will eat Jezebel in the plot of land[fn] at Jezreel:
“Anyone who belongs to Ahab and dies in the city, the dogs will eat,
and anyone who dies in the field, the birds[fn] will eat.' ”
When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put sackcloth over his body, and fasted. He lay down in sackcloth and walked around subdued.
“Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? I will not bring the disaster during his lifetime, because he has humbled himself before me. I will bring the disaster on his house during his son's lifetime.”
However, in the third year, King Jehoshaphat of Judah went to visit the king of Israel.
Now the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah, clothed in royal attire, were each sitting on his own throne. They were on the threshing floor at the entrance to the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying in front of them.
Then Zedekiah son of Chenaanah made iron horns and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘You will gore the Arameans with these until they are finished off.' ”
The messenger who went to call Micaiah instructed him, “Look, the words of the prophets are unanimously favorable for the king. So let your words be like theirs, and speak favorably.”
But the king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear not to tell me anything but the truth in the name of the LORD? ”
So Micaiah said:
I saw all Israel scattered on the hills
like sheep without a shepherd.
And the LORD said,
“They have no master;
let everyone return home in peace.”
“And the LORD said, ‘Who will entice Ahab to march up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? ' So one was saying this and another was saying that.
“Then a spirit came forward, stood in the LORD's presence, and said, ‘I will entice him.'
“The LORD asked him, ‘How? '
“He said, ‘I will go and become a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.'
“Then he said, ‘You will certainly entice him and prevail. Go and do that.'
“You see, the LORD has put a lying spirit into the mouth of all these prophets of yours, and the LORD has pronounced disaster against you.”
Then Zedekiah son of Chenaanah came up, hit Micaiah on the cheek, and demanded, “Did[fn] the Spirit of the LORD leave me to speak to you? ”
Micaiah replied, “You will soon see when you go to hide in an inner chamber on that day.”
“and say, ‘This is what the king says: Put this guy in prison and feed him only a little bread and water[fn] until I come back safely.' ”
But Micaiah said, “If you ever return safely, the LORD has not spoken through me.” Then he said, “Listen, all you people! ”[fn]
The battle raged throughout that day, and the king was propped up in his chariot facing the Arameans. He died that evening, and blood from his wound flowed into the bottom of the chariot.
Then someone washed the chariot at the pool of Samaria. The dogs licked up his blood, and the prostitutes bathed in it, according to the word of the LORD that he had spoken.
The rest of the events of Ahab's reign, along with all his accomplishments, including the ivory palace he built, and all the cities he built, are written in the Historical Record of Israel's Kings.
Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he became king; he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi.
He walked in all the ways of his father Asa; he did not turn away from them but did what was right in the LORD's sight. However, the high places were not taken away;[fn] the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.
The rest of the events of Jehoshaphat's reign, along with the might he exercised and how he waged war, are written in the Historical Record of Judah's Kings.
Jehoshaphat rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the city of his ancestor David. His son Jehoram became king in his place.
Ahaziah son of Ahab became king over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Judah's King Jehoshaphat, and he reigned over Israel two years.
He did what was evil in the LORD's sight. He walked in the ways of his father, in the ways of his mother, and in the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had caused Israel to sin.
Ahaziah had fallen through the latticed window of his upstairs room in Samaria and was injured. So he sent messengers, instructing them, “Go inquire of Baal-zebub,[fn] the god of Ekron, whether I will recover from this injury.”
But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Go and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?
They replied, “A man came to meet us and said, ‘Go back to the king who sent you and declare to him, “This is what the LORD says: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you're sending these men to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore, you will not get up from your sickbed; you will certainly die.” ' ”
Then the king sent a third captain with his fifty men. The third captain went up and fell on his knees in front of Elijah and begged him, “Man of God, please let my life and the lives of these fifty servants of yours be precious to you.
“Already fire has come down from heaven and consumed the first two captains with their companies, but this time let my life be precious to you.”
Then Elijah said to King Ahaziah, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron — is it because there is no God in Israel for you to inquire of his will? — you will not get up from your sickbed; you will certainly die.' ”
The rest of the events of Ahaziah's reign, along with his accomplishments, are written in the Historical Record of Israel's Kings.[fn]
The time had come for the LORD to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elijah and Elisha were traveling from Gilgal,
Then the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha and said, “Do you know that the LORD will take your master away from you today? ”
He said, “Yes, I know. Be quiet.”
Then the sons of the prophets who were in Jericho came up to Elisha and said, “Do you know that the LORD will take your master away from you today? ”
He said, “Yes, I know. Be quiet.”
Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up, and struck the water, which parted to the right and left. Then the two of them crossed over on dry ground.
When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I can do for you before I am taken from you.”
So Elisha answered, “Please, let me inherit two shares of your spirit.”
As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire with horses of fire suddenly appeared and separated the two of them. Then Elijah went up into heaven in the whirlwind.
When the sons of the prophets from Jericho who were observing saw him, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” They came to meet him and bowed down to the ground in front of him.
Then the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “Since there are fifty strong men here with your servants, please let them go and search for your master. Maybe the Spirit of the LORD has carried him away and put him on one of the mountains or into one of the valleys.”
He answered, “Don't send them.”
When they returned to him in Jericho where he was staying, he said to them, “Didn't I tell you not to go? ”
From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking up the path, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, chanting, “Go up, baldy! Go up, baldy! ”
He turned around, looked at them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the children.
Joram son of Ahab became king over Israel in Samaria during the eighteenth year of Judah's King Jehoshaphat, and he reigned twelve years.
He did what was evil in the LORD's sight, but not like his father and mother, for he removed the sacred pillar of Baal his father had made.
Nevertheless, Joram clung to the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit. He did not turn away from them.
King Mesha of Moab was a sheep breeder. He used to pay the king of Israel one hundred thousand lambs and the wool of one hundred thousand rams,
Then he sent a message to King Jehoshaphat of Judah: “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to fight against Moab? ”
Jehoshaphat said, “I will go. I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.”
So the king of Israel, the king of Judah, and the king of Edom set out. After they had traveled their indirect route for seven days, they had no water for the army or the animals with them.
Then the king of Israel said, “Oh no, the LORD has summoned these three kings, only to hand them over to Moab.”
“Then you will attack every fortified city and every choice city. You will cut down every good tree and stop up every spring. You will ruin every good piece of land with stones.”
Elisha asked her, “What can I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house? ”
She said, “Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.”
She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go sell the oil and pay your debt; you and your sons can live on the rest.”
“so let's make a small, walled-in upper room and put a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp there for him. Whenever he comes, he can stay there.”
Then he said to Gehazi, “Say to her, ‘Look, you've gone to all this trouble for us. What can we do for you? Can we speak on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army? ' ”
She answered, “I am living among my own people.”
The woman conceived and gave birth to a son at the same time the following year, as Elisha had promised her.
So Elisha said to Gehazi, “Tuck your mantle under your belt, take my staff with you, and go. If you meet anyone, don't stop to greet him, and if a man greets you, don't answer him. Then place my staff on the boy's face.”
Elisha got up, went into the house, and paced back and forth. Then he went up and bent down over him again. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.
When Elisha returned to Gilgal, there was a famine in the land. The sons of the prophets were sitting before him. He said to his attendant, “Put on the large pot and make stew for the sons of the prophets.”
One went out to the field to gather herbs and found a wild vine from which he gathered as many wild gourds as his garment would hold. Then he came back and cut them up into the pot of stew, but they were unaware of what they were.[fn]
They served some for the men to eat, but when they ate the stew they cried out, “There's death in the pot, man of God! ” And they were unable to eat it.
Then Elisha said, “Get some flour.” He threw it into the pot and said, “Serve it for the people to eat.” And there was nothing bad in the pot.
Naaman, commander of the army for the king of Aram, was a man important to his master and highly regarded because through him, the LORD had given victory to Aram. The man was a valiant warrior, but he had a skin disease.
She said to her mistress, “If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria, he would cure him of his skin disease.”
When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent a message to the king: “Why have you torn your clothes? Have him come to me, and he will know there is a prophet in Israel.”
Then Elisha sent him a messenger, who said, “Go wash seven times in the Jordan and your skin will be restored and you will be clean.”
But Naaman got angry and left, saying, “I was telling myself: He will surely come out, stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the skin disease.
“Aren't Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn't I wash in them and be clean? ” So he turned and left in a rage.
So Naaman went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, according to the command of the man of God. Then his skin was restored and became like the skin of a small boy, and he was clean.
Then Naaman and his whole company went back to the man of God, stood before him, and declared, “I know there's no God in the whole world except in Israel. Therefore, please accept a gift from your servant.”
“However, in a particular matter may the LORD pardon your servant: When my master, the king of Aram, goes into the temple of Rimmon to bow in worship while he is leaning on my arm,[fn] and I have to bow in the temple of Rimmon — when I bow[fn] in the temple of Rimmon, may the LORD pardon your servant in this matter.”
But Naaman insisted, “Please, accept one hundred fifty pounds.”[fn] He urged Gehazi and then packed one hundred fifty pounds of silver in two bags with two sets of clothing. Naaman gave them to two of his attendants who carried them ahead of Gehazi.
When Gehazi came to the hill,[fn] he took the gifts from them and deposited them in the house. Then he dismissed the men, and they left.
“And my heart didn't go[fn] when the man got down from his chariot to meet you,” Elisha said. “Is this a time to accept silver and clothing, olive orchards and vineyards, flocks and herds, and male and female slaves?
“Therefore, Naaman's skin disease will cling to you and your descendants forever.” So Gehazi went out from his presence diseased, resembling snow.[fn]
The sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “Please notice that the place where we live under your supervision[fn] is too small for us.
When the king of Aram was waging war against Israel, he conferred with his servants, “My camp will be at such and such a place.”
But the man of God sent word to the king of Israel: “Be careful passing by this place, for the Arameans are going down there.”
One of his servants said, “No one, my lord the king. Elisha, the prophet in Israel, tells the king of Israel even the words you speak in your bedroom.”
So the king said, “Go and see where he is, so I can send men to capture him.”
When he was told, “Elisha is in Dothan,”
When they entered Samaria, Elisha said, “LORD, open these men's eyes and let them see.” So the LORD opened their eyes, and they saw that they were in the middle of Samaria.
Elisha replied, “Don't kill them. Do you kill those you have captured with your sword or your bow? Set food and water in front of them so they can eat and drink and go to their master.”
Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. The king sent a man ahead of him, but before the messenger got to him, Elisha said to the elders, “Do you see how this murderer has sent someone to remove my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door to keep him out. Isn't the sound of his master's feet behind him? ”
Then the captain, the king's right-hand man,[fn] responded to the man of God, “Look, even if the LORD were to make windows in heaven, could this really happen? ”
Elisha announced, “You will in fact see it with your own eyes, but you won't eat any of it.”
“If we say, ‘Let's go into the city,' we will die there because the famine is in the city, but if we sit here, we will also die. So now, come on. Let's surrender to the Arameans' camp. If they let us live, we will live; if they kill us, we will die.”
So the diseased men got up at twilight to go to the Arameans' camp. When they came to the camp's edge, they discovered that no one was there,
So they had gotten up and fled at twilight, abandoning their tents, horses, and donkeys. The camp was intact, and they had fled for their lives.
So the king got up in the night and said to his servants, “Let me tell you what the Arameans have done to us. They know we are starving, so they have left the camp to hide in the open country, thinking, ‘When they come out of the city, we will take them alive and go into the city.' ”
So they followed them as far as the Jordan. They saw that the whole way was littered with clothes and equipment the Arameans had thrown off in their haste. The messengers returned and told the king.
The king had appointed the captain, his right-hand man, to be in charge of the city gate, but the people trampled him in the gate. He died, just as the man of God had predicted when the king had come to him.
When the man of God had said to the king, “About this time tomorrow twelve quarts of barley will sell for a half ounce of silver and six quarts of fine flour will sell for a half ounce of silver at Samaria's gate,”
this captain had answered the man of God, “Look, even if the LORD were to make windows in heaven, could this really happen? ” Elisha had said, “You will in fact see it with your own eyes, but you won't eat any of it.”
So the woman got ready and did what the man of God said. She and her household lived as resident aliens in the land of the Philistines for seven years.
So the king said to Hazael, “Take a gift with you and go meet the man of God. Inquire of the LORD through him, ‘Will I recover from this sickness? ' ”
Hazael went to meet Elisha, taking with him a gift: forty camel-loads of all the finest products of Damascus. When he came and stood before him, he said, “Your son, King Ben-hadad of Aram, has sent me to ask you, ‘Will I recover from this sickness? ' ”
and Hazael asked, “Why is my lord weeping? ”
He replied, “Because I know the evil you will do to the people of Israel. You will set their fortresses on fire. You will kill their young men with the sword. You will dash their children to pieces. You will rip open their pregnant women.”
The next day Hazael took a heavy cloth, dipped it in water, and spread it over the king's face. Ben-hadad died, and Hazael reigned in his place.
He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.
He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for Ahab's daughter was his wife. He did what was evil in the LORD's sight.
During Jehoram's reign, Edom rebelled against Judah's control and appointed their own king.
So Edom is still in rebellion against Judah's control today. Libnah also rebelled at that time.
Jehoram rested with his ancestors and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David, and his son Ahaziah became king in his place.
In the twelfth year of Israel's King Joram son of Ahab, Ahaziah son of Jehoram became king of Judah.
Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Athaliah, granddaughter of Israel's King Omri.
He walked in the ways of the house of Ahab and did what was evil in the LORD's sight like the house of Ahab, for his father had married into[fn] the house of Ahab.
Ahaziah went with Joram son of Ahab to fight against King Hazael of Aram in Ramoth-gilead, and the Arameans wounded Joram.
So King Joram returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds that the Arameans had inflicted on him in Ramoth-gilead[fn] when he fought against Aram's King Hazael. Then Judah's King Ahaziah son of Jehoram went down to Jezreel to visit Joram son of Ahab since Joram was ill.
The prophet Elisha called one of the sons of the prophets and said, “Tuck your mantle under your belt, take this flask of oil with you, and go to Ramoth-gilead.
“When you get there, look for Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi. Go in, get him away from his colleagues, and take him to an inner room.
“The dogs will eat Jezebel in the plot of land at Jezreel — no one will bury her.' ” Then the young prophet opened the door and escaped.
Each man quickly took his garment and put it under Jehu on the bare steps.[fn] They blew the ram's horn and proclaimed, “Jehu is king! ”
Then Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi, conspired against Joram. Joram and all Israel had been at Ramoth-gilead on guard against King Hazael of Aram.
But King Joram had returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds that the Arameans had inflicted on him when he fought against Aram's King Hazael. Jehu said, “If you commanders wish to make me king,[fn] then don't let anyone escape from the city to go tell about it in Jezreel.”
Jehu got into his chariot and went to Jezreel since Joram was laid up there and King Ahaziah of Judah had gone down to visit Joram.
Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel. He saw Jehu's mob approaching and shouted, “I see a mob! ”
Joram responded, “Choose a rider and send him to meet them and have him ask, ‘Do you come in peace? ' ”
Again the watchman reported, “He reached them but hasn't started back. Also, the driving is like that of Jehu son of Nimshi — he drives like a madman.”
“Get the chariot ready! ” Joram shouted, and they got it ready. Then King Joram of Israel and King Ahaziah of Judah set out, each in his own chariot, and met Jehu at the plot of land of Naboth the Jezreelite.
Then Jehu drew his bow and shot Joram between the shoulders. The arrow went through his heart, and he slumped down in his chariot.
Jehu said to Bidkar his aide, “Pick him up and throw him on the plot of ground belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite. For remember when you and I were riding side by side behind his father Ahab, and the LORD uttered this pronouncement against him:
“‘As surely as I saw the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons yesterday' — this is the LORD's declaration — ‘so will I repay you on this plot of land' — this is the LORD's declaration. So now, according to the word of the LORD, pick him up and throw him on the plot of land.”
When King Ahaziah of Judah saw what was happening, he fled up the road toward Beth-haggan. Jehu pursued him, shouting, “Shoot him too! ” So they shot him in his chariot[fn] at Gur Pass near Ibleam, but he fled to Megiddo and died there.
Then his servants carried him to Jerusalem in a chariot and buried him in his ancestors' tomb in the city of David.
It was in the eleventh year of Joram son of Ahab that Ahaziah had become king over Judah.
As Jehu entered the city gate, she said, “Do you come in peace, Zimri, killer of your master? ”
But when they went out to bury her, they did not find anything but the skull, the feet, and the hands.
So they went back and told him, and he said, “This fulfills the LORD's word that he spoke through his servant Elijah the Tishbite: ‘In the plot of land at Jezreel, the dogs will eat Jezebel's flesh.
“Jezebel's corpse will be like manure on the surface of the ground in the plot of land at Jezreel so that no one will be able to say: This is Jezebel.' ”
Since Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria, Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria to the rulers of Jezreel, to the elders, and to the guardians of Ahab's sons,[fn] saying:
select the most qualified[fn] of your master's sons, set him on his father's throne, and fight for your master's house.
So the overseer of the palace, the overseer of the city, the elders, and the guardians sent a message to Jehu: “We are your servants, and we will do whatever you tell us. We will not make anyone king. Do whatever you think is right.”[fn]
When the letter came to them, they took the king's sons and slaughtered all seventy, put their heads in baskets, and sent them to Jehu at Jezreel.
The next morning when he went out and stood at the gate, he said to all the people, “You are innocent. It was I who conspired against my master and killed him. But who struck down all these?
“Know, then, that not a word the LORD spoke against the house of Ahab will fail, for the LORD has done what he promised through his servant Elijah.”
So Jehu killed all who remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel — all his great men, close friends, and priests — leaving him no survivors.
Then he set out and went to Samaria. On the way, while he was at Beth-eked of the Shepherds,
Then he said, “Come with me and see my zeal for the LORD! ” So he let him ride with him in his chariot.
When Jehu came to Samaria, he struck down all who remained from the house of Ahab in Samaria until he had annihilated his house, according to the word of the LORD spoken to Elijah.
“Now, therefore, summon to me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests. None must be missing, for I have a great sacrifice for Baal. Whoever is missing will not live.” However, Jehu was acting deceptively in order to destroy the servants of Baal.
Then Jehu sent messengers throughout all Israel, and all the servants of Baal[fn] came; no one failed to come. They entered the temple of Baal, and it was filled from one end to the other.
When he finished offering the burnt offering, Jehu said to the guards and officers, “Go in and kill them. Don't let anyone out.” So they struck them down with the sword. Then the guards and officers threw the bodies out and went into the inner room of the temple of Baal.
but he did not turn away from the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit — worshiping the gold calves that were in Bethel and Dan.
Nevertheless, the LORD said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in carrying out what is right in my sight and have done to the house of Ahab all that was in my heart, four generations of your sons will sit on the throne of Israel.”
Yet Jehu was not careful to follow the instruction of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart. He did not turn from the sins that Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit.
In those days the LORD began to reduce the size of Israel. Hazael defeated the Israelites throughout their territory
Jehu rested with his ancestors and was buried in Samaria. His son Jehoahaz became king in his place.
Jehosheba, who was King Jehoram's daughter and Ahaziah's sister, secretly rescued Joash son of Ahaziah from among the king's sons who were being killed and put him and the one who nursed him in a bedroom. So he was hidden from Athaliah and was not killed.
Joash was in hiding with her in the LORD's temple six years while Athaliah reigned over the land.
In the seventh year, Jehoiada sent for the commanders of hundreds, the Carites, and the guards. He had them come to him in the LORD's temple, where he made a covenant with them and put them under oath. He showed them the king's son
and commanded them, “This is what you are to do: A third of you who come on duty on the Sabbath are to provide protection for the king's palace.
“Your two divisions that go off duty on the Sabbath are to provide the king protection at the LORD's temple.
“Completely surround the king with weapons in hand. Anyone who approaches the ranks is to be put to death. Be with the king in all his daily tasks.”[fn]
The priest gave to the commanders of hundreds King David's spears and shields that were in the LORD's temple.
Then the guards stood with their weapons in hand surrounding the king — from the right side of the temple to the left side, by the altar and by the temple.
She looked, and there was the king standing by the pillar according to the custom. The commanders and the trumpeters were by the king, and all the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets. Athaliah tore her clothes and screamed “Treason! Treason! ”
Then the priest Jehoiada ordered the commanders of hundreds in charge of the army, “Take her out between the ranks, and put to death by the sword anyone who follows her,” for the priest had said, “She is not to be put to death in the LORD's temple.”
All the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet, for they had put Athaliah to death by the sword in the king's palace.
In the seventh year of Jehu, Joash became king, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Zibiah; she was from Beer-sheba.
Yet the high places were not taken away; the people continued sacrificing and burning incense on the high places.
Then Joash said to the priests, “All the dedicated silver brought to the LORD's temple, census silver, silver from vows, and all silver voluntarily given for the LORD's temple —
But by the twenty-third year of the reign of King Joash, the priests had not repaired the damage[fn] to the temple.
Then the priest Jehoiada took a chest, bored a hole in its lid, and set it beside the altar on the right side as one enters the LORD's temple; the priests who guarded the threshold put into the chest all the silver that was brought to the LORD's temple.
Whenever they saw there was a large amount of silver in the chest, the king's secretary and the high priest would go bag up and tally the silver found in the LORD's temple.
Then they would give the weighed silver to those doing the work — those who oversaw the LORD's temple. They in turn would pay it out to those working on the LORD's temple — the carpenters, the builders,
However, no silver bowls, wick trimmers, sprinkling basins, trumpets, or any articles of gold or silver were made for the LORD's temple from the contributions[fn] brought to the LORD's temple.
Instead, it was given to those doing the work, and they repaired the LORD's temple with it.
No accounting was required from the men who received the silver to pay those doing the work, since they worked with integrity.
The silver from the guilt offering and the sin offering was not brought to the LORD's temple since it belonged to the priests.
So King Joash of Judah took all the items consecrated by himself and by his ancestors — Judah's kings Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah — as well as all the gold found in the treasuries of the LORD's temple and in the king's palace, and he sent them to King Hazael of Aram. Then Hazael withdrew from Jerusalem.
Joash's servants conspired against him and attacked him at Beth-millo on the road that goes down to Silla.
It was his servants Jozabad[fn] son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer who attacked him. He died and they buried him with his ancestors in the city of David, and his son Amaziah became king in his place.
In the twenty-third year of Judah's King Joash son of Ahaziah, Jehoahaz son of Jehu became king over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned seventeen years.
He did what was evil in the LORD's sight and followed the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit; he did not turn away from them.
So the LORD's anger burned against Israel, and he handed them over to King Hazael of Aram and to his son Ben-hadad during their reigns.
Therefore, the LORD gave Israel a deliverer, and they escaped from the power of the Arameans. Then the people of Israel returned to their former way of life,[fn]
but they didn't turn away from the sins that the house of Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit. Jehoahaz continued them, and the Asherah pole also remained standing in Samaria.
Jehoahaz rested with his ancestors, and he was buried in Samaria. His son Jehoash[fn] became king in his place.
In the thirty-seventh year of Judah's King Joash, Jehoash son of Jehoahaz became king over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned sixteen years.
He did what was evil in the LORD's sight. He did not turn away from all the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit, but he continued them.
Jehoash rested with his ancestors, and Jeroboam sat on his throne. Jehoash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.
Elisha said, “Open the east window.” So he opened it. Elisha said, “Shoot! ” So he shot. Then Elisha said, “The LORD's arrow of victory, yes, the arrow of victory over Aram. You are to strike down the Arameans in Aphek until you have put an end to them.”
Then Elisha died and was buried.
Now Moabite raiders used to come into the land in the spring of the year.
Once, as the Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a raiding party, so they threw the man into Elisha's tomb. When he touched Elisha's bones, the man revived and stood up!
Then Jehoash son of Jehoahaz took back from Ben-hadad son of Hazael the cities that Hazael had taken in war from Jehoash's father Jehoahaz. Jehoash defeated Ben-hadad three times and recovered the cities of Israel.
He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jehoaddan;[fn] she was from Jerusalem.
He did what was right in the LORD's sight, but not like his ancestor David. He did everything his father Joash had done.
Yet the high places were not taken away, and the people continued sacrificing and burning incense on the high places.
As soon as the kingdom was firmly in his grasp, Amaziah killed his servants who had killed his father the king.
However, he did not put the children of the killers to death, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses where the LORD commanded, “Fathers are not to be put to death because of children, and children are not to be put to death because of fathers; instead, each one will be put to death for his own sin.”
Amaziah killed ten thousand Edomites in Salt Valley. He took Sela in battle and called it Joktheel, which is still its name today.
King Jehoash of Israel sent word to King Amaziah of Judah, saying, “The thistle in Lebanon once sent a message to the cedar in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son as a wife.' Then a wild animal in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thistle.
“You have indeed defeated Edom, and you have become overconfident.[fn] Enjoy your glory and stay at home. Why should you stir up such trouble that you fall — you and Judah with you? ”
But Amaziah would not listen, so King Jehoash of Israel advanced. He and King Amaziah of Judah met face to face at Beth-shemesh that belonged to Judah.
He took all the gold and silver, all the articles found in the LORD's temple and in the treasuries of the king's palace, and some hostages. Then he returned to Samaria.
The rest of the events of Jehoash's reign, along with his accomplishments, his might, and how he waged war against King Amaziah of Judah, are written in the Historical Record of Israel's Kings.
Jehoash rested with his ancestors, and he was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. His son Jeroboam became king in his place.
A conspiracy was formed against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish. However, men were sent after him to Lachish, and they put him to death there.
They carried him back on horses, and he was buried in Jerusalem with his ancestors in the city of David.
In the fifteenth year of Judah's King Amaziah son of Joash, Jeroboam son of Jehoash became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned forty-one years.
He restored Israel's border from Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word the LORD, the God of Israel, had spoken through his servant, the prophet Jonah son of Amittai from Gath-hepher.
The rest of the events of Jeroboam's reign — along with all his accomplishments, the power he had to wage war, and how he recovered for Israel Damascus and Hamath, which had belonged to Judah[fn] — are written in the Historical Record of Israel's Kings.
In the twenty-seventh year of Israel's King Jeroboam, Azariah[fn] son of Amaziah became king of Judah.
He was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jecoliah; she was from Jerusalem.
Yet the high places were not taken away; the people continued sacrificing and burning incense on the high places.
The LORD afflicted the king, and he had a serious skin disease until the day of his death. He lived in quarantine,[fn] while Jotham, the king's son, was over the household governing the people of the land.
Azariah rested with his ancestors and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David. His son Jotham became king in his place.
In the thirty-eighth year of Judah's King Azariah, Zechariah son of Jeroboam reigned over Israel in Samaria for six months.
He did what was evil in the LORD's sight as his predecessors had done. He did not turn away from the sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit.
In the thirty-ninth year of Judah's King Uzziah,[fn] Shallum son of Jabesh became king; he reigned in Samaria a full month.
Then Menahem son of Gadi came up from Tirzah to Samaria and struck down Shallum son of Jabesh there. He killed him and became king in his place.
At that time, starting from Tirzah, Menahem attacked Tiphsah, all who were in it, and its territory because they wouldn't surrender. He ripped open all the pregnant women.
In the thirty-ninth year of Judah's King Azariah, Menahem son of Gadi became king over Israel, and he reigned ten years in Samaria.
He did what was evil in the LORD's sight. Throughout his reign, he did not turn away from the sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit.
Then Menahem exacted twenty ounces[fn] of silver from each of the prominent men of Israel to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria withdrew and did not stay there in the land.
In the fiftieth year of Judah's King Azariah, Pekahiah son of Menahem became king over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned two years.
He did what was evil in the LORD's sight and did not turn away from the sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit.
Then his officer, Pekah son of Remaliah, conspired against him and struck him down in Samaria at the citadel of the king's palace — with Argob and Arieh.[fn] There were fifty Gileadite men with Pekah. He killed Pekahiah and became king in his place.
In the fifty-second year of Judah's King Azariah, Pekah son of Remaliah became king over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned twenty years.
He did what was evil in the LORD's sight. He did not turn away from the sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit.
In the days of King Pekah of Israel, King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee — all the land of Naphtali — and deported the people to Assyria.
Then Hoshea son of Elah organized a conspiracy against Pekah son of Remaliah. He attacked him, killed him, and became king in his place in the twentieth year of Jotham son of Uzziah.
In the second year of Israel's King Pekah son of Remaliah, Jotham son of Uzziah became king of Judah.
He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jerusha daughter of Zadok.
Yet the high places were not taken away; the people continued sacrificing and burning incense on the high places.
Jotham built the Upper Gate of the LORD's temple.
In those days the LORD began sending Aram's King Rezin and Pekah son of Remaliah against Judah.
Jotham rested with his ancestors and was buried with his ancestors in the city of his ancestor David. His son Ahaz became king in his place.
In the seventeenth year of Pekah son of Remaliah, Ahaz son of Jotham became king of Judah.
Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. He did not do what was right in the sight of the LORD his God like his ancestor David
but walked in the ways of the kings of Israel. He even sacrificed his son in the fire,[fn] imitating the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had dispossessed before the Israelites.
He sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.
At that time Aram's King Rezin recovered Elath for Aram and expelled the Judahites from Elath. Then the Arameans came to Elath, and they still live there today.
Ahaz also took the silver and gold found in the LORD's temple and in the treasuries of the king's palace and sent them to the king of Assyria as a bribe.
King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria. When he saw the altar that was in Damascus, King Ahaz sent a model of the altar and complete plans for its construction to the priest Uriah.
To satisfy the king of Assyria, he removed from the LORD's temple the Sabbath canopy they had built in the palace, and he closed the outer entrance for the king.
Ahaz rested with his ancestors and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David, and his son Hezekiah became king in his place.
In the twelfth year of Judah's King Ahaz, Hoshea son of Elah became king over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned nine years.
He did what was evil in the LORD's sight, but not like the kings of Israel who preceded him.
But the king of Assyria caught Hoshea in a conspiracy: He had sent envoys to So king of Egypt and had not paid tribute to the king of Assyria as in previous years.[fn] Therefore the king of Assyria arrested him and put him in prison.
The king of Assyria invaded the whole land, marched up to Samaria, and besieged it for three years.
In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria. He deported the Israelites to Assyria and settled them in Halah, along the Habor (Gozan's river), and in the cities of the Medes.
The Israelites secretly did things[fn] against the LORD their God that were not right. They built high places in all their towns from watchtower to fortified city.
They burned incense there on all the high places just like the nations that the LORD had driven out before them had done. They did evil things, angering the LORD.
Still, the LORD warned Israel and Judah through every prophet and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep my commands and statutes according to the whole law I commanded your ancestors and sent to you through my servants the prophets.”
They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire[fn] and practiced divination and interpreted omens. They devoted themselves to do what was evil in the LORD's sight and angered him.
Therefore, the LORD was very angry with Israel, and he removed them from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah remained.
Even Judah did not keep the commands of the LORD their God but lived according to the customs Israel had practiced.
So the LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel, punished them, and handed them over to plunderers until he had banished them from his presence.
The Israelites persisted in all the sins that Jeroboam committed and did not turn away from them.
Finally, the LORD removed Israel from his presence just as he had declared through all his servants the prophets. So Israel has been exiled to Assyria from their homeland to this very day.
Then the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and settled them in place of the Israelites in the cities of Samaria. The settlers took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities.
When they first lived there, they did not fear the LORD. So the LORD sent lions among them, which killed some of them.
The settlers said to the king of Assyria, “The nations that you have deported and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the requirements of the god of the land. Therefore he has sent lions among them that are killing them because the people don't know the requirements of the god of the land.”
So one of the priests they had deported came and lived in Bethel, and he began to teach them how they should fear the LORD.
But the people of each nation were still making their own gods in the cities where they lived and putting them in the shrines of the high places that the people of Samaria had made.
the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.
They feared the LORD, but they also made from their ranks priests for the high places, who were working for them at the shrines of the high places.
“Instead fear the LORD, who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and an outstretched arm. You are to bow down to him, and you are to sacrifice to him.
In the third year of Israel's King Hoshea son of Elah, Hezekiah son of Ahaz became king of Judah.
He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abi[fn] daughter of Zechariah.
Hezekiah relied on the LORD God of Israel; not one of the kings of Judah was like him, either before him or after him.
The LORD was with him, and wherever he went he prospered. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him.
In the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Israel's King Hoshea son of Elah, Assyria's King Shalmaneser marched against Samaria and besieged it.
The Assyrians captured it at the end of three years. In the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Israel's King Hoshea, Samaria was captured.
The king of Assyria deported the Israelites to Assyria and put them in Halah, along the Habor (Gozan's river), and in the cities of the Medes,
So Hezekiah gave him all the silver found in the LORD's temple and in the treasuries of the king's palace.
At that time Hezekiah stripped the gold from the doors of the LORD's sanctuary and from the doorposts he had overlaid and gave it to the king of Assyria.
Then the king of Assyria sent the field marshal, the chief of staff, and his royal spokesman, along with a massive army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. They advanced and came to Jerusalem, and[fn] they took their position by the aqueduct of the upper pool, by the road to the Launderer's Field.
“You think mere words are strategy and strength for war. Who are you now relying on so that you have rebelled against me?
“Suppose you say to me, “We rely on the LORD our God.” Isn't he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and to Jerusalem, “You must worship at this altar in Jerusalem” ? '
Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, Shebnah, and Joah said to the royal spokesman, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it. Don't speak with us in Hebrew[fn] within earshot of the people on the wall.”
“Don't let Hezekiah persuade you to rely on the LORD by saying, “Certainly the LORD will rescue us! This city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” '
Who among all the gods of the lands has rescued his land from my power? So will the LORD rescue Jerusalem from my power? ' ”
“Perhaps the LORD your God will hear all the words of the royal spokesman, whom his master the king of Assyria sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke him for the words that the LORD your God has heard. Therefore, offer a prayer for the surviving remnant.' ”
“I am about to put a spirit in him, and he will hear a rumor and return to his own land, where I will cause him to fall by the sword.' ”
“Did the gods of the nations that my predecessors destroyed rescue them — nations such as Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the Edenites in Telassar?
Then Hezekiah prayed before the LORD:
LORD God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you are God — you alone — of all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth.
“Their inhabitants have become powerless,
dismayed, and ashamed.
They are plants of the field,
tender grass,
grass on the rooftops,
blasted by the east wind.[fn]
“Because your raging against me
and your arrogance have reached my ears,
I will put my hook in your nose
and my bit in your mouth;
I will make you go back
the way you came.
“He will go back
the way he came,
and he will not enter this city.
This is the LORD's declaration.
That night the angel of the LORD went out and struck down one hundred eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning — there were all the dead bodies!
So King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and left. He returned home and lived in Nineveh.
One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword and escaped to the land of Ararat. Then his son Esar-haddon became king in his place.
In those days Hezekiah became terminally ill. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came and said to him, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Set your house in order, for you are about to die; you will not recover.' ”
“Please, LORD, remember how I have walked before you faithfully and wholeheartedly and have done what pleases you.”[fn] And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
Isaiah had not yet gone out of the inner courtyard when the word of the LORD came to him:
At that time Merodach-baladan[fn] son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah since he heard that he had been sick.
Hezekiah listened to the letters and showed the envoys his whole treasure house — the silver, the gold, the spices, and the precious oil — and his armory, and everything that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his palace and in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them.
Isaiah asked, “What have they seen in your palace? ”
Hezekiah answered, “They have seen everything in my palace. There isn't anything in my treasuries that I didn't show them.”
“‘Look, the days are coming when everything in your palace and all that your predecessors have stored up until today will be carried off to Babylon; nothing will be left,' says the LORD.
“‘Some of your descendants — who come from you, whom you father — will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs[fn] in the palace of the king of Babylon.' ”
Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the LORD that you have spoken is good,” for he thought, “Why not, if there will be peace and security during my lifetime? ”
Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hephzibah.
He did what was evil in the LORD's sight, imitating the detestable practices of the nations that the LORD had dispossessed before the Israelites.
He built altars in the LORD's temple, where the LORD had said, “Jerusalem is where I will put my name.”
He sacrificed his son in the fire,[fn] practiced witchcraft and divination, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did a huge amount of evil in the LORD's sight, angering him.
Manasseh set up the carved image of Asherah, which he made, in the temple that the LORD had spoken about to David and his son Solomon: “I will establish my name forever in this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.
But they did not listen; Manasseh caused them to stray so that they did worse evil than the nations the LORD had destroyed before the Israelites.
“Since King Manasseh of Judah has committed all these detestable acts — worse evil than the Amorites who preceded him had done — and by means of his idols has also caused Judah to sin,
“because they have done what is evil in my sight and have angered me from the day their ancestors came out of Egypt until today.' ”
Manasseh also shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem with it from one end to another. This was in addition to his sin that he caused Judah to commit, so that they did what was evil in the LORD's sight.
Manasseh rested with his ancestors and was buried in the garden of his own house, the garden of Uzza. His son Amon became king in his place.
Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Meshullemeth daughter of Haruz; she was from Jotbah.
He walked in all the ways his father had walked; he served the idols his father had served, and he bowed in worship to them.
He abandoned the LORD God of his ancestors and did not walk in the ways of the LORD.
He was buried in his tomb in the garden of Uzza, and his son Josiah became king in his place.
Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah; she was from Bozkath.
He did what was right in the LORD's sight and walked in all the ways of his ancestor David; he did not turn to the right or the left.
In the eighteenth year of King Josiah, the king sent the court secretary Shaphan son of Azaliah, son of Meshullam, to the LORD's temple, saying,
“Go up to the high priest Hilkiah so that he may total up the silver brought into the LORD's temple — the silver the doorkeepers have collected from the people.
“It is to be given to those doing the work — those who oversee the LORD's temple. They in turn are to give it to the workmen in the LORD's temple to repair the damage.
“But no accounting is to be required from them for the silver given to them since they work with integrity.”
The high priest Hilkiah told the court secretary Shaphan, “I have found the book of the law in the LORD's temple,” and he gave the book to Shaphan, who read it.
Then the court secretary Shaphan went to the king and reported,[fn] “Your servants have emptied out the silver that was found in the temple and have given it to those doing the work — those who oversee the LORD's temple.”
“Go and inquire of the LORD for me, for the people, and for all Judah about the words in this book that has been found. For great is the LORD's wrath that is kindled against us because our ancestors have not obeyed the words of this book in order to do everything written about us.”
So the priest Hilkiah, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to the prophetess Huldah, wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem in the Second District. They spoke with her.
“because they have abandoned me and burned incense to other gods in order to anger me with all the work of their hands. My wrath will be kindled against this place, and it will not be quenched.'
“‘Therefore, I will indeed gather you to your ancestors, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster that I am bringing on this place.' ”
Then they reported[fn] to the king.
Then the king went to the LORD's temple with all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, as well as the priests and the prophets — all the people from the youngest to the oldest. He read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant that had been found in the LORD's temple.
Next, the king stood by the pillar[fn] and made a covenant in the LORD's presence to follow the LORD and to keep his commands, his decrees, and his statutes with all his heart and with all his soul in order to carry out the words of this covenant that were written in this book; all the people agreed to[fn] the covenant.
Then the king commanded the high priest Hilkiah and the priests of the second rank and the doorkeepers to bring out of the LORD's sanctuary all the articles made for Baal, Asherah, and all the stars in the sky. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel.
Then he did away with the idolatrous priests the kings of Judah had appointed to burn incense at the high places in the cities of Judah and in the areas surrounding Jerusalem. They had burned incense to Baal, and to the sun, moon, constellations, and all the stars in the sky.
He brought out the Asherah pole from the LORD's temple to the Kidron Valley outside Jerusalem. He burned it at the Kidron Valley, beat it to dust, and threw its dust on the graves of the common people.[fn]
He also tore down the houses of the male cult prostitutes that were in the LORD's temple, in which the women were weaving tapestries[fn] for Asherah.
Then Josiah brought all the priests from the cities of Judah, and he defiled the high places from Geba to Beer-sheba, where the priests had burned incense. He tore down the high places of the city gates at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city (on the left at the city gate).
The priests of the high places, however, did not come up to the altar of the LORD in Jerusalem; instead, they ate unleavened bread with their fellow priests.
He defiled Topheth, which is in Ben Hinnom Valley, so that no one could sacrifice his son or daughter in the fire[fn] to Molech.
He did away with the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun. They had been at the entrance of the LORD's temple in the precincts by the chamber of Nathan-melech, the eunuch. He also burned the chariots of the sun.
The king tore down the altars that the kings of Judah had made on the roof of Ahaz's upper chamber. He also tore down the altars that Manasseh had made in the two courtyards of the LORD's temple. Then he smashed them[fn] there and threw their dust into the Kidron Valley.
He even tore down the altar at Bethel and the high place that had been made by Jeroboam son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin. He burned the high place, crushed it to dust, and burned the Asherah.
As Josiah turned, he saw the tombs there on the mountain. He sent someone to take the bones out of the tombs, and he burned them on the altar. He defiled it according to the word of the LORD proclaimed by the man of God[fn] who proclaimed these things.
Josiah also removed all the shrines of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to anger the LORD. Josiah did the same things to them that he had done at Bethel.
But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, the LORD's Passover was observed in Jerusalem.
In addition, Josiah eradicated the mediums, the spiritists, household idols, images, and all the abhorrent things that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem. He did this in order to carry out the words of the law that were written in the book that the priest Hilkiah found in the LORD's temple.
Before him there was no king like him who turned to the LORD with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength according to all the law of Moses, and no one like him arose after him.
In spite of all that, the LORD did not turn from the fury of his intense burning anger, which burned against Judah because of all the affronts with which Manasseh had angered him.
During his reign, Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt marched up to help the king of Assyria at the Euphrates River. King Josiah went to confront him, and at Megiddo when Neco saw him he killed him.
From Megiddo his servants carried his dead body in a chariot, brought him into Jerusalem, and buried him in his own tomb. Then the common people[fn] took Jehoahaz son of Josiah, anointed him, and made him king in place of his father.
Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah.
Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Zebidah daughter of Pedaiah; she was from Rumah.
During Jehoiakim's reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked. Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years, and then he turned and rebelled against him.
The LORD sent Chaldean, Aramean, Moabite, and Ammonite raiders against Jehoiakim. He sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the LORD he had spoken through his servants the prophets.
Indeed, this happened to Judah at the LORD's command to remove them from his presence. It was because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all he had done,
Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Nehushta daughter of Elnathan; she was from Jerusalem.
At that time the servants of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon marched up to Jerusalem, and the city came under siege.
King Jehoiachin of Judah, along with his mother, his servants, his commanders, and his officials,[fn] surrendered to the king of Babylon.
So the king of Babylon took him captive in the eighth year of his reign.
He also carried off from there all the treasures of the LORD's temple and the treasures of the king's palace, and he cut into pieces all the gold articles that King Solomon of Israel had made for the LORD's sanctuary, just as the LORD had predicted.
Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah.
Because of the LORD's anger, it came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that he finally banished them from his presence. Then Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
In the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon advanced against Jerusalem with his entire army. They laid siege to the city and built a siege wall against it all around.
By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that the common people had no food.
the Chaldean army pursued him and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. Zedekiah's entire army left him and scattered.
They slaughtered Zedekiah's sons before his eyes. Finally, the king of Babylon blinded Zedekiah, bound him in bronze chains, and took him to Babylon.
On the seventh day of the fifth month — which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon — Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guards, a servant of the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem.
Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guards, deported the rest of the people who remained in the city, the deserters who had defected to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the population.
Now the Chaldeans broke into pieces the bronze pillars of the LORD's temple, the water carts, and the bronze basin,[fn] which were in the LORD's temple, and carried the bronze to Babylon.
They also took the pots, shovels, wick trimmers, dishes, and all the bronze articles used in the priests' service.
From the city he took a court official[fn] who had been appointed over the warriors; five trusted royal aides[fn] found in the city; the secretary of the commander of the army, who enlisted the people of the land for military duty; and sixty men from the common people[fn] who were found within the city.
The king of Babylon put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah went into exile from its land.
King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, over the rest of the people he left in the land of Judah.
Gedaliah swore an oath to them and their men, assuring them, “Don't be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well for you.”
In the seventh month, however, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family, came with ten men and struck down Gedaliah, and he died. Also, they killed the Judeans and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah.
On the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month of the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Judah's King Jehoiachin, in the year Evil-merodach became king of Babylon, he pardoned King Jehoiachin of Judah and released him[fn] from prison.
He spoke kindly to him and set his throne over the thrones of the kings who were with him in Babylon.
As for his allowance, a regular allowance was given to him by the king, a portion for each day, for the rest of his life.
When Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the territory of Moab, reigned in his place.
Hadad's town was named Avith.
These were David's sons who were born to him in Hebron:
Amnon was the firstborn, by Ahinoam of Jezreel;
Daniel was born second, by Abigail of Carmel;
Six sons were born to David in Hebron, where he reigned seven years and six months, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-three years.
These sons were born to him in Jerusalem:
Shimea, Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon. These four were born to him by Bath-shua daughter of Ammiel.
They were the potters and residents of Netaim and Gederah. They lived there in the service of the king.
these mentioned by name were leaders in their families. Their ancestral houses increased greatly.
These who were recorded by name came in the days of King Hezekiah of Judah, attacked the Hamites' tents and the Meunites who were found there, and set them apart for destruction, as they are today. Then they settled in their place because there was pasture for their flocks.
These were the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel. He was the firstborn, but his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph son of Israel, because Reuben defiled his father's bed. He is not listed in the genealogy according to birthright.
Although Judah became strong among his brothers and a ruler came from him, the birthright was given to Joseph.
His relatives by their families as they are recorded in their family records:
Jeiel the chief, Zechariah,
and Bela son of Azaz,
son of Shema, son of Joel.
They settled in Aroer as far as Nebo and Baal-meon.
They also settled in the east as far as the edge of the desert that extends to the Euphrates River, because their herds had increased in the land of Gilead.
During Saul's reign they waged war against the Hagrites, who were defeated by their power. And they lived in their tents throughout the region east of Gilead.
They lived in Gilead, in Bashan and its surrounding villages, and throughout the pasturelands of Sharon.
All of them were registered in the genealogies during the reigns of Judah's King Jotham and Israel's King Jeroboam.
They received help against these enemies because they cried out to God in battle, and the Hagrites and all their allies were handed over to them. He was receptive to their prayer because they trusted in him.
The descendants of half the tribe of Manasseh settled in the land from Bashan to Baal-hermon (that is, Senir or Mount Hermon); they were numerous.
But they were unfaithful to the God of their ancestors. They prostituted themselves with the gods of the nations[fn] God had destroyed before them.
Johanan fathered Azariah, who served as priest in the temple that Solomon built in Jerusalem;
Jehozadak went into exile when the LORD sent Judah and Jerusalem into exile at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar.
These are the men David put in charge of the music in the LORD's temple after the ark came to rest there.
They ministered with song in front of the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, until Solomon built the LORD's temple in Jerusalem, and they performed their task according to the regulations given to them.
Heman's relative was Asaph, who stood at his right hand:
Asaph son of Berechiah, son of Shimea,
These were the places assigned to Aaron's descendants from the Kohathite family for their settlements in their territory, because the first lot was for them.
The Gershomites were assigned thirteen towns from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and Manasseh in Bashan according to their families.
They assigned by lot the towns named above from the tribes of the descendants of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin.
Shechem (a city of refuge) with its pasturelands in the hill country of Ephraim, Gezer and its pasturelands,
From the tribe of Naphtali they received Kedesh in Galilee and its pasturelands, Hammon and its pasturelands, and Kiriathaim and its pasturelands.
From the tribe of Reuben across the Jordan at Jericho, to the east of the Jordan, they received Bezer in the desert and its pasturelands, Jahzah and its pasturelands,
Tola's sons: Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Ibsam, and Shemuel, the heads of their ancestral families.[fn] During David's reign, 22,600 descendants of Tola were recorded as valiant warriors in their family records.
his son Zabad,
his son Shuthelah, also Ezer, and Elead.
The men of Gath, born in the land, killed them because they went down to raid their cattle.
He slept with his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. So he named him Beriah, because there had been misfortune in his home.[fn]
and along the borders of the descendants of Manasseh, Beth-shean, Taanach, Megiddo, and Dor with their surrounding villages. The sons of Joseph son of Israel lived in these towns.
Shaharaim had sons in the territory of Moab after he had divorced his wives Hushim and Baara.
These were family heads, chiefs according to their family records; they lived in Jerusalem.
and Mikloth who fathered Shimeah. These also lived opposite their relatives in Jerusalem, with their other relatives.
All Israel was registered in the genealogies that are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel. But Judah was exiled to Babylon because of their unfaithfulness.
The first to live in their towns on their own property again were Israelites, priests, Levites, and temple servants.
These people from the descendants of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh settled in Jerusalem:
Obadiah son of Shemaiah, son of Galal, son of Jeduthun;
and Berechiah son of Asa, son of Elkanah who lived in the settlements of the Netophathites.
he was previously stationed at the King's Gate on the east side. These were the gatekeepers from the camp of the Levites.
The total number of those chosen to be gatekeepers at the thresholds was 212. They were registered by genealogy in their settlements. David and the seer Samuel had appointed them to their trusted positions.
So they and their sons were assigned as guards to the gates of the LORD's temple, which had been the tent-temple.
Their relatives came from their settlements at fixed times to be with them seven days,
but the four chief gatekeepers, who were Levites, were entrusted with the rooms and the treasuries of God's temple.
Some of them were in charge of the utensils used in worship. They would count them when they brought them in and when they took them out.
A Levite called Mattithiah, the firstborn of Shallum the Korahite, was entrusted with baking the bread.[fn]
The singers, the heads of the Levite families, stayed in the temple chambers and were exempt from other tasks because they were on duty day and night.
These were the heads of the Levite families, chiefs according to their family records; they lived in Jerusalem.
Mikloth fathered Shimeam. These also lived opposite their relatives in Jerusalem with their other relatives.
The Philistines fought against Israel, and Israel's men fled from them. Many were killed on Mount Gilboa.
When the battle intensified against Saul, the archers spotted him and severely wounded him.
Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through with it, or these uncircumcised men will come and torture me.” But his armor-bearer would not do it because he was terrified. Then Saul took his sword and fell on it.
When all the men of Israel in the valley saw that the army had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled. So the Philistines came and settled in them.
The next day when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his sons dead on Mount Gilboa.
Then they put his armor in the temple of their gods and hung his skull in the temple of Dagon.
all their brave men set out and retrieved the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons and brought them to Jabesh. They buried their bones under the oak[fn] in Jabesh and fasted seven days.
Saul died for his unfaithfulness to the LORD because he did not keep the LORD's word. He even consulted a medium for guidance,
All Israel came together to David at Hebron and said, “Here we are, your own flesh and blood.[fn]
So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron. David made a covenant with them at Hebron in the LORD's presence, and they anointed David king over Israel, in keeping with the LORD's word through Samuel.
David said, “Whoever is the first to kill a Jebusite will become chief commander.” Joab son of Zeruiah went up first, so he became the chief.
Then David took up residence in the stronghold; therefore, it was called the city of David.
The following were the chiefs of David's warriors who, together with all Israel, strongly supported him in his reign to make him king according to the LORD's word about Israel.
This is the list of David's warriors:
Jashobeam son of Hachmoni was chief of the Thirty;[fn] he wielded his spear against three hundred and killed them at one time.
He was with David at Pas-dammim when the Philistines had gathered there for battle. There was a portion of a field full of barley, where the troops had fled from the Philistines.
But Eleazar and David[fn] took their stand in the middle of the field and defended it. They killed the Philistines, and the LORD gave them a great victory.
Three of the thirty chief men went down to David, to the rock at the cave of Adullam, while the Philistine army was encamped in Rephaim Valley.
At that time David was in the stronghold, and a Philistine garrison was at Bethlehem.
David was extremely thirsty[fn] and said, “If only someone would bring me water to drink from the well at the city gate of Bethlehem! ”
So the Three broke through the Philistine camp and drew water from the well at the gate of Bethlehem. They brought it back to David, but he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out to the LORD.
David said, “I would never do such a thing in the presence of my God! How can I drink the blood of these men who risked their lives? ” For they brought it at the risk of their lives. So he would not drink it. Such were the exploits of the three warriors.
Abishai, Joab's brother, was the leader of the Three.[fn] He raised his spear against three hundred men and killed them, gaining a reputation among the Three.
He also killed an Egyptian who was seven and a half feet tall.[fn] Even though the Egyptian had a spear in his hand like a weaver's beam, Benaiah went down to him with a staff, snatched the spear out of the Egyptian's hand, and then killed him with his own spear.
These were the exploits of Benaiah son of Jehoiada, who had a reputation among the three warriors.
The following were the men who came to David at Ziklag while he was still banned from the presence of Saul son of Kish. They were among the warriors who helped him in battle.
They were archers who could use either the right or left hand, both to sling stones and shoot arrows from a bow. They were Saul's relatives from Benjamin:
Ishmaiah the Gibeonite, a warrior among the Thirty and a leader over the Thirty;
Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan, Jozabad the Gederathite;
These are the men who crossed the Jordan in the first month[fn] when it was overflowing all its banks, and put to flight all those in the valleys to the east and to the west.
David went out to meet them and said to them, “If you have come in peace to help me, my heart will be united with you, but if you have come to betray me to my enemies even though my hands have done no wrong, may the God of our ancestors look on it and judge.”
Some Manassites defected to David when he went with the Philistines to fight against Saul. However, they did not help the Philistines because the Philistine rulers sent David away after a discussion. They said, “It will be our heads if he defects to his master Saul.”
When David went to Ziklag, some men from Manasseh defected to him: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai, chiefs of thousands in Manasseh.
They helped David against the raiders, for they were all valiant warriors and commanders in the army.
From half the tribe of Manasseh: 18,000 designated by name to come and make David king.
From Zebulun: 50,000 who could serve in the army, trained for battle with all kinds of weapons of war, with one purpose to help David.[fn]
From across the Jordan — from the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh: 120,000 men equipped with all the military weapons of war.
All these warriors, lined up in battle formation, came to Hebron wholeheartedly determined to make David king over all Israel. All the rest of Israel was also of one mind to make David king.
In addition, their neighbors from as far away as Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali came and brought food on donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen — abundant provisions of flour, fig cakes, raisins, wine and oil, herds, and flocks. Indeed, there was joy in Israel.
Then he said to the whole assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you, and if this is from the LORD our God, let's spread out and send the message to the rest of our relatives in all the districts of Israel, including the priests and Levites in their cities with pasturelands, that they should gather together with us.
Since the proposal seemed right to all the people, the whole assembly agreed to do it.
David and all Israel were dancing with all their might before God with songs and with lyres, harps, tambourines, cymbals, and trumpets.
David was angry because of the LORD's outburst against Uzzah, so he named that place Outburst Against Uzzah,[fn] as it is still named today.
The ark of God remained with Obed-edom's family in his house for three months, and the LORD blessed his family and all that he had.
David took more wives in Jerusalem, and he became the father of more sons and daughters.
These are the names of the children born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon,
So the Israelites went up to Baal-perazim, and David defeated the Philistines there. Then David said, “Like a bursting flood, God has used me to burst out against my enemies.” Therefore, they named that place The Lord Bursts Out.[fn]
The Philistines abandoned their idols there, and David ordered that they be burned in the fire.
So David again inquired of God, and God answered him, “Do not pursue them directly. Circle around them and attack them opposite the balsam trees.
“When you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then go out to battle, for God will have gone out ahead of you to strike down the army of the Philistines.”
Then David's fame spread throughout the lands, and the LORD caused all the nations to be terrified of him.
David built houses for himself in the city of David, and he prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it.
“For the LORD our God burst out in anger against us because you Levites were not with us the first time, for we didn't inquire of him about the proper procedures.”
Then the Levites carried the ark of God the way Moses had commanded according to the word of the LORD: on their shoulders with the poles.
Then David told the leaders of the Levites to appoint their relatives as singers and to have them raise their voices with joy accompanied by musical instruments — harps, lyres, and cymbals.
Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah were to play harps according to Alamoth[fn]
and Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah were to lead the music with lyres according to the Sheminith.
David, the elders of Israel, and the commanders of thousands went with rejoicing to bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD from the house of Obed-edom.
Because God helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD, with God's help, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams.
Now David was dressed in a robe of fine linen, as were all the Levites who were carrying the ark, as well as the singers and Chenaniah, the music leader of the singers. David also wore a linen ephod.
So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the LORD with shouts, the sound of the ram's horn, trumpets, and cymbals, and the playing of harps and lyres.
As the ark of the covenant of the LORD was entering the city of David, Saul's daughter Michal looked down from the window and saw King David leaping[fn] and dancing, and she despised him in her heart.
They brought the ark of God and placed it inside the tent David had pitched for it. Then they offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings in God's presence.
When David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD.
Asaph was the chief and Zechariah was second to him. Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel played the harps and lyres, while Asaph sounded the cymbals
and the priests Benaiah and Jahaziel blew the trumpets regularly before the ark of the covenant of God.
On that day David decreed for the first time that thanks be given to the LORD by Asaph and his relatives:
Ascribe to the LORD the glory of his name;
bring an offering and come before him.
Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness;
Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice,
and let them say among the nations, “The LORD reigns! ”
Let the sea and all that fills it resound;
let the fields and everything in them exult.
And say, “Save us, God of our salvation;
gather us and rescue us from the nations
so that we may give thanks to your holy name
and rejoice in your praise.
David left the priest Zadok and his fellow priests before the tabernacle of the LORD at the high place in Gibeon
to offer burnt offerings regularly, morning and evening, to the LORD on the altar of burnt offerings and to do everything that was written in the law of the LORD, which he had commanded Israel to keep.
When David had settled into his palace, he said to the prophet Nathan, “Look! I am living in a cedar house while the ark of the LORD's covenant is under tent curtains.”
“Go to David my servant and say, ‘This is what the LORD says: You are not the one to build me a house to dwell in.
“From the time I brought Israel out of Egypt until today I have not dwelt in a house; instead, I have moved from one tent site to another, and from one tabernacle location to another.[fn]
“In all my journeys throughout Israel, have I ever spoken a word to even one of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people, asking: Why haven't you built me a house of cedar? '
“I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have destroyed all your enemies before you. I will make a name for you like that of the greatest on the earth.
“I will appoint him over my house and my kingdom forever, and his throne will be established forever.' ”
LORD, there is no one like you, and there is no God besides you, as all we have heard confirms.
When the Arameans of Damascus came to assist King Hadadezer of Zobah, David struck down twenty-two thousand Aramean men.
Then he placed garrisons[fn] in Aram of Damascus, and the Arameans became David's subjects and brought tribute. The LORD made David victorious wherever he went.
He put garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites were subject to David. The LORD made David victorious wherever he went.
It was reported to David about his men, so he sent messengers to meet them, since the men were deeply humiliated. The king said, “Stay in Jericho until your beards grow back; then return.”
The Ammonites marched out and lined up in battle formation at the entrance of the city while the kings who had come were in the field by themselves.
He placed the rest of the forces under the command of his brother Abishai. They lined up in formation to engage the Ammonites.
“Be strong! Let's prove ourselves strong for our people and for the cities of our God. May the LORD's will be done.”[fn]
In the spring[fn] when kings march out to war, Joab led the army and destroyed the Ammonites' land. He came to Rabbah and besieged it, but David remained in Jerusalem. Joab attacked Rabbah and demolished it.
After this, a war broke out with the Philistines at Gezer. At that time Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Sippai, a descendant of the Rephaim,[fn] and the Philistines were subdued.
There was still another battle at Gath where there was a man of extraordinary stature with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot — twenty-four in all. He, too, was descended from the giant.[fn]
Yet the king's order prevailed over Joab. So Joab left and traveled throughout Israel and then returned to Jerusalem.
But he did not include Levi and Benjamin in the count because the king's command was detestable to him.
“three years of famine, or three months of devastation by your foes with the sword of your enemy overtaking you, or three days of the sword of the LORD — a plague on the land, the angel of the LORD bringing destruction to the whole territory of Israel.' Now decide what answer I should take back to the one who sent me.”
Then God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it, but when the angel was about to destroy the city,[fn] the LORD looked, relented concerning the destruction, and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “Enough, withdraw your hand now! ” The angel of the LORD was then standing at the threshing floor of Ornan[fn] the Jebusite.
When David looked up and saw the angel of the LORD standing between earth and heaven, with his drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem, David and the elders, covered in sackcloth, fell facedown.
David said to God, “Wasn't I the one who gave the order to count the people? I am the one who has sinned and acted very wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? LORD my God, please let your hand be against me and against my father's family, but don't let the plague be against your people.”
So the angel of the LORD ordered Gad to tell David to go and set up an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
Then David said to Ornan, “Give me this threshing-floor plot so that I may build an altar to the LORD on it. Give it to me for the full price, so the plague on the people may be stopped.”
King David answered Ornan, “No, I insist on paying the full price, for I will not take for the LORD what belongs to you or offer burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”
He built an altar to the LORD there and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. He called on the LORD, and he answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering.
At that time, David offered sacrifices there when he saw that the LORD answered him at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
The tabernacle of the LORD, which Moses made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt offering were at the high place in Gibeon,
So David gave orders to gather the resident aliens that were in the land of Israel, and he appointed stonecutters to cut finished stones for building God's house.
“But a son will be born to you; he will be a man of rest. I will give him rest from all his surrounding enemies, for his name will be Solomon,[fn] and I will give peace and quiet to Israel during his reign.
“He is the one who will build a house for my name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.'
“You also have many workers: stonecutters, masons, carpenters, and people skilled in every kind of work
“in gold, silver, bronze, and iron — beyond number. Now begin the work, and may the LORD be with you.”
“The LORD your God is with you, isn't he? And hasn't he given you rest on every side? For he has handed the land's inhabitants over to me, and the land has been subdued before the LORD and his people.
“four thousand are to be gatekeepers, and four thousand are to praise the LORD with the instruments that I have made for worship.”
For David said, “The LORD God of Israel has given rest to his people, and he has come to stay in Jerusalem forever.
for according to the last words of David, the Levites twenty years old or more were to be counted —
“but their duty will be to assist the descendants of Aaron with the service of the LORD's temple, being responsible for the courts and the chambers, the purification of all the holy things, and the work of the service of God's temple —
“Whenever burnt offerings are offered to the LORD on the Sabbaths, New Moons, and appointed festivals, they are to offer them regularly in the LORD's presence according to the number prescribed for them.
“They are to carry out their responsibilities for the tent of meeting, for the holy place, and for their relatives, the descendants of Aaron, in the service of the LORD's temple.”
They were assigned by lot, for there were officers of the sanctuary and officers of God among both Eleazar's and Ithamar's descendants.
David and the officers of the army also set apart some of the sons of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, who were to prophesy accompanied by lyres, harps, and cymbals. This is the list of the men who performed their service:
From Jeduthun: Jeduthun's sons:
Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei,[fn] Hashabiah, and Mattithiah — six — under the authority of their father Jeduthun, prophesying to the accompaniment of lyres, giving thanks and praise to the LORD.
All these sons of Heman, the king's seer, were given by the promises of God to exalt him,[fn] for God had given Heman fourteen sons and three daughters.
All these men were under their own fathers' authority for the music in the LORD's temple, with cymbals, harps, and lyres for the service of God's temple. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were under the king's authority.
All of these were among the sons of Obed-edom with their sons and relatives; they were capable men with strength for the work — sixty-two from Obed-edom.
These divisions of the gatekeepers, under their leading men, had duties for ministering in the LORD's temple, just as their relatives did.
From the Hebronites: Jerijah was the head of the Hebronites, according to the family records of his ancestors. A search was made in the fortieth year of David's reign and strong, capable men were found among them at Jazer in Gilead.
for half the tribe of Manasseh in Gilead, Iddo son of Zechariah;
for Benjamin, Jaasiel son of Abner;
Joab son of Zeruiah began to count them, but he didn't complete it. There was wrath against Israel because of this census, and the number was not entered in the Historical Record[fn] of King David.
Azmaveth son of Adiel was in charge of the king's storehouses.
Jonathan son of Uzziah was in charge of the storehouses in the country, in the cities, in the villages, and in the fortresses.
Shimei the Ramathite was in charge of the vineyards.
Zabdi the Shiphmite was in charge of the produce of the vineyards for the wine cellars.
Baal-hanan the Gederite was in charge of the olive and sycamore trees in the Judean foothills.[fn]
Joash was in charge of the stores of olive oil.
Shitrai the Sharonite was in charge of the herds that grazed in Sharon, while Shaphat son of Adlai was in charge of the herds in the valleys.
David assembled all the leaders of Israel in Jerusalem: the leaders of the tribes, the leaders of the divisions in the king's service, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of all the property and cattle of the king and his sons, along with the court officials, the fighting men, and all the best soldiers.
Then King David rose to his feet and said, “Listen to me, my brothers and my people. It was in my heart to build a house as a resting place for the ark of the LORD's covenant and as a footstool for our God. I had made preparations to build,
“Yet the LORD God of Israel chose me out of all my father's family to be king over Israel forever. For he chose Judah as leader, and from the house of Judah, my father's family, and from my father's sons, he was pleased to make me king over all Israel.
“And out of all my sons — for the LORD has given me many sons — he has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the LORD's kingdom over Israel.
“He said to me, ‘Your son Solomon is the one who is to build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father.
“So now in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the LORD, and in the hearing of our God, observe and follow all the commands of the LORD your God so that you may possess this good land and leave it as an inheritance to your descendants forever.
“As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father, and serve him wholeheartedly and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands the intention of every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you abandon him, he will reject you forever.
The plans contained everything he had in mind[fn] for the courts of the LORD's house, all the surrounding chambers, the treasuries of God's house, and the treasuries for what is dedicated.
David concluded, “By the LORD's hand on me, he enabled me to understand everything in writing, all the details of the plan.”[fn]
“Here are the divisions of the priests and the Levites for all the service of God's house. Every willing person of any skill will be at your disposal for the work, and the leaders and all the people are at your every command.”
Then King David said to all the assembly, “My son Solomon — God has chosen him alone — is young and inexperienced. The task is great because the building will not be built for a human but for the LORD God.
“Moreover, because of my delight in the house of my God, I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the house of my God over and above all that I've provided for the holy house:
Then the people rejoiced because of their leaders' willingness to give, for they had given to the LORD wholeheartedly. King David also rejoiced greatly.
Yours, LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the splendor and the majesty, for everything in the heavens and on earth belongs to you. Yours, LORD, is the kingdom, and you are exalted as head over all.
Riches and honor come from you, and you are the ruler of everything. Power and might are in your hand, and it is in your hand to make great and to give strength to all.
LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our ancestors, keep this desire forever in the thoughts of the hearts of your people, and confirm their hearts toward you.
They ate and drank with great joy in the LORD's presence that day.
Then, for a second time, they made David's son Solomon king; they anointed him[fn] as the LORD's ruler, and Zadok as the priest.
The length of his reign over Israel was forty years; he reigned in Hebron for seven years and in Jerusalem for thirty-three.
He died at a good old age, full of days, riches, and honor, and his son Solomon became king in his place.
As for the events of King David's reign, from beginning to end, note that they are written in the Events of the Seer Samuel, the Events of the Prophet Nathan, and the Events of the Seer Gad,
Solomon and the whole assembly with him went to the high place that was in Gibeon because God's tent of meeting, which the LORD's servant Moses had made in the wilderness, was there.
Solomon offered sacrifices there in the LORD's presence on the bronze altar at the tent of meeting; he offered a thousand burnt offerings on it.
God said to Solomon, “Since this was in your heart, and you have not requested riches, wealth, or glory, or for the life of those who hate you, and you have not even requested long life, but you have requested for yourself wisdom and knowledge that you may judge my people over whom I have made you king,
“wisdom and knowledge are given to you. I will also give you riches, wealth, and glory, unlike what was given to the kings who were before you, or will be given to those after you.”
So Solomon went to Jerusalem from[fn] the high place that was in Gibeon in front of the tent of meeting, and he reigned over Israel.
Solomon accumulated 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, which he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.
The king made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar as abundant as sycamore in the Judean foothills.
so he assigned 70,000 men as porters, 80,000 men as stonecutters in the mountains, and 3,600 as supervisors over them.
Then Solomon sent word to King Hiram[fn] of Tyre:
Do for me what you did for my father David. You sent him cedars to build him a house to live in.
Now I am building a temple for the name of the LORD my God in order to dedicate it to him for burning fragrant incense before him, for displaying the rows of the Bread of the Presence continuously, and for sacrificing burnt offerings for the morning and the evening, the Sabbaths and the New Moons, and the appointed festivals of the LORD our God. This is ordained for Israel permanently.
Therefore, send me an artisan who is skilled in engraving to work with gold, silver, bronze, and iron, and with purple, crimson, and blue yarn. He will work with the artisans who are with me in Judah and Jerusalem, appointed by my father David.
Then King Hiram of Tyre wrote a letter[fn] and sent it to Solomon:
Because the LORD loves his people, he set you over them as king.
He is the son of a woman from the daughters of Dan. His father is a man of Tyre. He knows how to work with gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood, with purple, blue, crimson yarn, and fine linen. He knows how to do all kinds of engraving and to execute any design that may be given him. I have sent him to be with your artisans and the artisans of my lord, your father David.
Solomon took a census of all the resident alien men in the land of Israel, after the census that his father David had conducted, and the total was 153,600.
He began to build on the second day of the second month in the fourth year of his reign.
He made two cherubim of sculptured work, for the most holy place, and he overlaid them with gold.
He made the curtain of blue, purple, and crimson yarn and fine linen, and he wove cherubim into it.
He had made chainwork in the inner sanctuary and also put it on top of the pillars. He made a hundred pomegranates and fastened them into the chainwork.
He made ten basins for washing and he put five on the right and five on the left. The parts of the burnt offering were rinsed in them, but the basin was used by the priests for washing.
He made the ten gold lampstands according to their specifications and put them in the sanctuary, five on the right and five on the left.
He made ten tables and placed them in the sanctuary, five on the right and five on the left. He also made a hundred gold bowls.
Then Huram[fn] made the pots, the shovels, and the bowls.
So Huram finished doing the work that he was doing for King Solomon in God's temple:
the four hundred pomegranates for the two gratings (two rows of pomegranates for each grating covering both capitals' bowls on top of the pillars).
the pots, the shovels, the forks, and all their utensils — Huram-abi[fn] made them for King Solomon for the LORD's temple. All these were made of polished bronze.
The king had them cast in clay molds in the Jordan Valley between Succoth and Zeredah.
So all the work Solomon did for the LORD's temple was completed. Then Solomon brought the consecrated things of his father David — the silver, the gold, and all the utensils — and put them in the treasuries of God's temple.
So all the men of Israel were assembled in the king's presence at the festival; this was in the seventh month.[fn]
They brought up the ark, the tent of meeting, and the holy utensils that were in the tent. The priests and the Levites brought them up.
Nothing was in the ark except the two tablets that Moses had put in it at Horeb,[fn] where the LORD had made a covenant with the Israelites when they came out of Egypt.
Now all the priests who were present had consecrated themselves regardless of their divisions. When the priests came out of the holy place,
the Levitical singers dressed in fine linen and carrying cymbals, harps, and lyres were standing east of the altar, and with them were 120 priests blowing trumpets. The Levitical singers were descendants of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun and their sons and relatives.
The trumpeters and singers joined together to praise and thank the LORD with one voice. They raised their voices, accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and musical instruments, in praise to the LORD:
For he is good;
his faithful love endures forever.
The temple, the LORD's temple, was filled with a cloud.
He said:
Blessed be the LORD God of Israel!
He spoke directly to my father David,
and he has fulfilled the promise
by his power.
He said,
“Since the day I brought my people Israel
out of the land of Egypt,
I have not chosen a city to build a temple in
among any of the tribes of Israel,
so that my name would be there,
and I have not chosen a man
to be ruler over my people Israel.
“But I have chosen Jerusalem
so that my name will be there,
and I have chosen David
to be over my people Israel.”
I have put the ark there,
where the LORD's covenant is
that he made with the Israelites.
He said:
LORD God of Israel,
there is no God like you
in heaven or on earth,
who keeps his gracious covenant
with your servants who walk before you
with all their heart.
You have kept what you promised
to your servant, my father David.
You spoke directly to him,
and you fulfilled your promise by your power,
as it is today.
Therefore, LORD God of Israel,
keep what you promised
to your servant, my father David:
“You will never fail to have a man
to sit before me on the throne of Israel,
if only your sons take care to walk in my Law
as you have walked before me.”
Hear the petitions of your servant
and your people Israel,
which they pray toward this place.
May you hear in your dwelling place in heaven.
May you hear and forgive.
If a man sins against his neighbor
and is forced to take an oath[fn]
and he comes to take an oath
before your altar in this temple,
If your people Israel are defeated before an enemy,
because they have sinned against you,
and they return to you and praise your name,
and they pray and plead for mercy
before you in this temple,
When the skies are shut and there is no rain
because they have sinned against you,
and they pray toward this place
and praise your name,
and they turn from their sins
because you are afflicting[fn] them,
may you hear in heaven
and forgive the sin of your servants
and your people Israel,
so that you may teach them the good way
they should walk in.
May you send rain on your land
that you gave your people for an inheritance.
When your people go out to fight against their enemies,
wherever you send them,
and they pray to you
in the direction of this city you have chosen
and the temple that I have built for your name,
and when they come to their senses
in the land where they were deported
and repent and petition you in their captors' land,
saying, “We have sinned and done wrong;
we have been wicked,”
and when they return to you with all their mind and all their heart
in the land of their captivity where they were taken captive,
and when they pray in the direction of their land
that you gave their ancestors,
and the city you have chosen,
and toward the temple I have built for your name,
Now therefore:
Arise, LORD God, come to your resting place,
you and your powerful ark.
May your priests, LORD God, be clothed with salvation,
and may your faithful people rejoice in goodness.
The priests were not able to enter the LORD's temple because the glory of the LORD filled the temple of the LORD.
The priests and the Levites were standing at their stations. The Levites had the musical instruments of the LORD, which King David had made to give thanks to the LORD — “for his faithful love endures forever” — when he offered praise with them. Across from the Levites, the priests were blowing trumpets, and all the people were standing.
Since the bronze altar that Solomon had made could not accommodate the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the fat of the fellowship offerings, Solomon first consecrated the middle of the courtyard that was in front of the LORD's temple and then offered the burnt offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings there.
So Solomon and all Israel with him — a very great assembly, from the entrance to Hamath[fn] to the Brook of Egypt — observed the festival at that time for seven days.
On the eighth day[fn] they held a solemn assembly, for the dedication of the altar lasted seven days and the festival seven days.
On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people home,[fn] rejoicing and with happy hearts for the goodness the LORD had done for David, for Solomon, and for his people Israel.
So Solomon finished the LORD's temple and the royal palace. Everything that had entered Solomon's heart to do for the LORD's temple and for his own palace succeeded.
Then the LORD appeared to Solomon at night and said to him:
I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple of sacrifice.
If I shut the sky so there is no rain, or if I command the grasshopper to consume the land, or if I send pestilence on my people,
I will establish your royal throne, as I promised your father David: You will never fail to have a man ruling in Israel.
then I will uproot Israel from the soil that I gave them, and this temple that I have sanctified for my name I will banish from my presence; I will make it an object of scorn and ridicule among all the peoples.
At the end of twenty years during which Solomon had built the LORD's temple and his own palace —
He built Tadmor in the wilderness along with all the storage cities that he built in Hamath.
Baalath, all the storage cities that belonged to Solomon, all the chariot cities, the cavalry cities, and everything Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, Lebanon, or anywhere else in the land of his dominion.
their descendants who remained in the land after them, those the Israelites had not completely destroyed — Solomon imposed forced labor on them; it is this way today.
Solomon brought the daughter of Pharaoh from the city of David to the house he had built for her, for he said, “My wife must not live in the house[fn] of King David of Israel because the places the ark of the LORD has come into are holy.”
He followed the daily requirement for offerings according to the commandment of Moses for Sabbaths, New Moons, and the three annual appointed festivals: the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Shelters.
According to the ordinances of his father David, he appointed the divisions of the priests over their service, of the Levites over their responsibilities to offer praise and to minister before the priests following the daily requirement, and of the gatekeepers by their divisions with respect to each temple gate, for this had been the command of David, the man of God.
At that time Solomon went to Ezion-geber and to Eloth on the seashore in the land of Edom.
The queen of Sheba heard of Solomon's fame, so she came to test Solomon with difficult questions at Jerusalem with a very large entourage, with camels bearing spices, gold in abundance, and precious stones. She came to Solomon and spoke with him about everything that was on her mind.
the food at his table, his servants' residence, his attendants' service and their attire, his cupbearers and their attire, and the burnt offerings he offered at the LORD's temple, it took her breath away.
She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your words and about your wisdom is true.
“Blessed be the LORD your God! He delighted in you and put you on his throne as king for the LORD your God. Because your God loved Israel enough to establish them forever, he has set you over them as king to carry out justice and righteousness.”
The king made the algum wood into walkways for the LORD's temple and for the king's palace and into lyres and harps for the singers. Never before had anything like them been seen in the land of Judah.
He made three hundred small shields of hammered gold; 7 1/2 pounds[fn] of gold went into each shield. The king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.
Twelve lions were standing there on the six steps, one at each end. Nothing like it had ever been made in any other kingdom.
All of King Solomon's drinking cups were gold, and all the utensils of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. There was no silver, since it was considered as nothing in Solomon's time,
All the kings of the world wanted an audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart.
Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. He stationed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.
The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar as abundant as sycamore in the Judean foothills.
The remaining events of Solomon's reign, from beginning to end, are written in the Events of the Prophet Nathan, the Prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and the Visions of the Seer Iddo concerning Jeroboam son of Nebat.
Solomon rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of his father David. His son Rehoboam became king in his place.
When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard about it — for he was in Egypt where he had fled from King Solomon's presence — Jeroboam returned from Egypt.
Then King Rehoboam consulted with the elders who had attended his father Solomon when he was alive, asking, “How do you advise me to respond to this people? ”
They replied, “If you will be kind to this people and please them by speaking kind words to them, they will be your servants forever.”
“Now therefore, my father burdened you with a heavy yoke, but I will add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, but I, with barbed whips.' ”[fn]
and spoke to them according to the young men's advice, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy,[fn] but I will add to it; my father disciplined you with whips, but I, with barbed whips.”
The king did not listen to the people because the turn of events came from God, in order that the LORD might carry out his word that he had spoken through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat.
When all Israel saw[fn] that the king had not listened to them, the people answered the king:
What portion do we have in David?
We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse.
Israel, each to your tent;
David, look after your own house now!
So all Israel went to their tents.
But as for the Israelites living in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.
He strengthened their fortifications and put leaders in them with supplies of food, oil, and wine.
The priests and Levites from all their regions throughout Israel took their stand with Rehoboam,
So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah and supported Rehoboam son of Solomon for three years, because they walked in the ways of David and Solomon for three years.
Rehoboam appointed Abijah son of Maacah as chief, leader among his brothers, intending to make him king.
Rehoboam also showed discernment by dispersing some of his sons to all the regions of Judah and Benjamin and to all the fortified cities. He gave them plenty of provisions and sought many wives for them.
Because they were unfaithful to the LORD, in the fifth year of King Rehoboam, King Shishak of Egypt went to war against Jerusalem
with 1,200 chariots, 60,000 cavalrymen, and countless people who came with him from Egypt — Libyans, Sukkiim, and Cushites.
Then the prophet Shemaiah went to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah who were gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak. He said to them, “This is what the LORD says: You have abandoned me; therefore, I have abandoned you to Shishak.”
When the LORD saw that they had humbled themselves, the LORD's message came to Shemaiah: “They have humbled themselves; I will not destroy them but will grant them a little deliverance. My wrath will not be poured out on Jerusalem through Shishak.
So King Shishak of Egypt went to war against Jerusalem. He seized the treasuries of the LORD's temple and the treasuries of the royal palace. He took everything. He took the gold shields that Solomon had made.
Whenever the king entered the LORD's temple, the guards would carry the shields and take them back to the armory.[fn]
When Rehoboam humbled himself, the LORD's anger turned away from him, and he did not destroy him completely. Besides that, conditions were good in Judah.
King Rehoboam established his royal power in Jerusalem. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the LORD had chosen from all the tribes of Israel to put his name. Rehoboam's mother's name was Naamah the Ammonite.
The events of Rehoboam's reign, from beginning to end, are written in the Events of the Prophet Shemaiah and of the Seer Iddo concerning genealogies. There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam throughout their reigns.
Rehoboam rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David. His son Abijah[fn] became king in his place.
and he reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Micaiah[fn] daughter of Uriel; she was from Gibeah.
There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.
Abijah set his army of warriors in order with four hundred thousand fit young men. Jeroboam arranged his mighty army of eight hundred thousand fit young men in battle formation against him.
Then Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, and said, “Jeroboam and all Israel, hear me.
“Didn't you banish the priests of the LORD, the descendants of Aaron and the Levites, and make your own priests like the peoples of other lands do? Whoever comes to ordain himself with a young bull and seven rams may become a priest of what are not gods.
“But as for us, the LORD is our God. We have not abandoned him; the priests ministering to the LORD are descendants of Aaron, and the Levites serve at their tasks.
“Look, God and his priests are with us at our head. The trumpets are ready to sound the charge against you. Israelites, don't fight against the LORD God of your ancestors, for you will not succeed.”
and the men of Judah raised the battle cry. When the men of Judah raised the battle cry, God routed Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.
Then Abijah and his people struck them with a mighty blow, and five hundred thousand fit young men of Israel were killed.
The Israelites were subdued at that time. The Judahites succeeded because they depended on the LORD, the God of their ancestors.
Abijah rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David. His son Asa became king in his place. During his reign the land experienced peace for ten years.
Because the land experienced peace, Asa built fortified cities in Judah. No one made war with him in those days because the LORD gave him rest.
So he said to the people of Judah, “Let's build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, with doors and bars. The land is still ours because we sought the LORD our God. We sought him and he gave us rest on every side.” So they built and succeeded.
Asa had an army of three hundred thousand from Judah bearing large shields and spears, and two hundred eighty thousand from Benjamin bearing regular shields and drawing the bow. All these were valiant warriors.
Then Zerah the Cushite came against them with an army of one million men and three hundred[fn] chariots. They came as far as Mareshah.
So Asa marched out against him and lined up in battle formation in Zephathah Valley at Mareshah.
Then Asa cried out to the LORD his God, “LORD, there is no one besides you to help the mighty and those without strength. Help us, LORD our God, for we depend on you, and in your name we have come against this large army. LORD, you are our God. Do not let a mere mortal hinder you.”
Then Asa and the people who were with him pursued them as far as Gerar. The Cushites fell until they had no survivors, for they were crushed before the LORD and his army. So the people of Judah carried off a great supply of loot.
So he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Asa and all Judah and Benjamin, hear me. The LORD is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you abandon him, he will abandon you.
“For many years Israel has been without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without instruction,
“In those times there was no peace for those who went about their daily activities because the residents of the lands had many conflicts.
“Nation was crushed by nation and city by city, for God troubled them with every possible distress.
When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of Oded the prophet, he took courage and removed the abhorrent idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. He renovated the altar of the LORD that was in front of the portico of the LORD's temple.
Then he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, as well as those from the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who were residing among them, for they had defected to him from Israel in great numbers when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.
They were gathered in Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa's reign.
At that time they sacrificed to the LORD seven hundred cattle and seven thousand sheep and goats from all the plunder they had brought.
Then they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their ancestors with all their heart and all their soul.
They took an oath to the LORD in a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets, and with rams' horns.
All Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn it wholeheartedly. They had sought him with all sincerity, and he was found by them. So the LORD gave them rest on every side.
King Asa also removed Maacah, his grandmother,[fn] from being queen mother because she had made an obscene image of Asherah. Asa chopped down her obscene image, then crushed it and burned it in the Kidron Valley.
The high places were not taken away from Israel; nevertheless, Asa was wholeheartedly devoted his entire life.[fn]
In the thirty-sixth year of Asa, Israel's King Baasha went to war against Judah. He built Ramah in order to keep anyone from leaving or coming to King Asa of Judah.
So Asa brought out the silver and gold from the treasuries of the LORD's temple and the royal palace and sent it to Aram's King Ben-hadad, who lived in Damascus, saying,
Then King Asa brought all Judah, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and the timbers Baasha had built it with. Then he built Geba and Mizpah with them.
At that time, the seer Hanani came to King Asa of Judah and said to him, “Because you depended on the king of Aram and have not depended on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from you.
“Were not the Cushites and Libyans a vast army with many chariots and horsemen? When you depended on the LORD, he handed them over to you.
“For the eyes of the LORD roam throughout the earth to show himself strong for those who are wholeheartedly devoted to him. You have been foolish in this matter. Therefore, you will have wars from now on.”
Asa was enraged with the seer and put him in prison[fn] because of his anger over this. And Asa mistreated some of the people at that time.
Note that the events of Asa's reign, from beginning to end, are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.
In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa developed a disease in his feet, and his disease became increasingly severe. Yet even in his disease he didn't seek the LORD but only the physicians.
He was buried in his own tomb that he had made for himself in the city of David. They laid him out in a coffin that was full of spices and various mixtures of prepared ointments; then they made a great fire in his honor.
He stationed troops in every fortified city of Judah and set garrisons in the land of Judah and in the cities of Ephraim that his father Asa had captured.
Now the LORD was with Jehoshaphat because he walked in the former ways of his ancestor David.[fn] He did not seek the Baals
but sought the God of his father and walked by his commands, not according to the practices of Israel.
So the LORD established the kingdom in his hand. Then all Judah brought him tribute, and he had riches and honor in abundance.
He took great pride in the LORD's ways, and he again removed the high places and Asherah poles from Judah.
In the third year of his reign, Jehoshaphat sent his officials — Ben-hail,[fn] Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah — to teach in the cities of Judah.
They taught throughout Judah, having the book of the LORD's instruction with them. They went throughout the towns of Judah and taught the people.
Jehoshaphat grew stronger and stronger. He built fortresses and storage cities in Judah
and carried out great works in the towns of Judah. He had fighting men, valiant warriors, in Jerusalem.
These were the ones who served the king, besides those he stationed in the fortified cities throughout all Judah.
Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honor in abundance, and he made an alliance with Ahab through marriage.[fn]
Now the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah, clothed in royal attire, were each sitting on his own throne. They were sitting on the threshing floor at the entrance to Samaria's gate, and all the prophets were prophesying in front of them.
Then Zedekiah son of Chenaanah made iron horns and said, “This is what the LORD says: You will gore the Arameans with these until they are finished off.”
The messenger who went to call Micaiah instructed him, “Look, the words of the prophets are unanimously favorable for the king. So let your words be like theirs, and speak favorably.”
But the king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear not to tell me anything but the truth in the name of the LORD? ”
So Micaiah said:
I saw all Israel scattered on the hills
like sheep without a shepherd.
And the LORD said,
“They have no master;
let each return home in peace.”
“And the LORD said, ‘Who will entice King Ahab of Israel to march up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? ' So one was saying this and another was saying that.
“Then a spirit came forward, stood before the LORD, and said, ‘I will entice him.'
“The LORD asked him, ‘How? '
“So he said, ‘I will go and become a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.'
“Then he said, ‘You will entice him and also prevail. Go and do that.'
“Now, you see, the LORD has put a lying spirit into the mouth of[fn] these prophets of yours, and the LORD has pronounced disaster against you.”
Micaiah replied, “You will soon see when you go to hide in an inner chamber on that day.”
“and say, ‘This is what the king says: Put this guy in prison and feed him only a little bread and water[fn] until I come back safely.' ”
But Micaiah said, “If you ever return safely, the LORD has not spoken through me.” Then he said, “Listen, all you people! ”
The battle raged throughout that day, and the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot facing the Arameans until evening. Then he died at sunset.
“However, some good is found in you, for you have eradicated the Asherah poles from the land and have determined in your heart to seek God.”
Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem, and once again he went out among the people from Beer-sheba to the hill country of Ephraim and brought them back to the LORD, the God of their ancestors.
Jehoshaphat also appointed in Jerusalem some of the Levites and priests and some of the Israelite family heads for deciding the LORD's will and for settling disputes of the residents of[fn] Jerusalem.
He commanded them, saying, “In the fear of the LORD, with integrity, and wholeheartedly, you are to do the following:
“For every dispute that comes to you from your brothers who dwell in their cities — whether it regards differences of bloodguilt, law, commandment, statutes, or judgments — you are to warn them, so they will not incur guilt before the LORD and wrath will not come on you and your brothers. Do this, and you will not incur guilt.
People came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast number from beyond the Dead Sea and from Edom[fn] has come to fight against you; they are already in Hazazon-tamar” (that is, En-gedi).
Jehoshaphat was afraid, and he resolved to seek the LORD. Then he proclaimed a fast for all Judah,
Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the LORD's temple before the new courtyard.
He said:
LORD, God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven, and do you not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in your hand, and no one can stand against you.
They have lived in the land and have built you a sanctuary in it for your name and have said,
Our God, will you not judge them? For we are powerless before this vast number that comes to fight against us. We do not know what to do, but we look to you.[fn]
In the middle of the congregation, the Spirit of the LORD came on Jahaziel (son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite from Asaph's descendants),
Then the Levites from the sons of the Kohathites and the Korahites stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel shouting loudly.
In the morning they got up early and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa. As they were about to go out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem. Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be established; believe in his prophets, and you will succeed.”
Then he consulted with the people and appointed some to sing for the LORD and some to praise the splendor of his holiness. When they went out in front of the armed forces, they kept singing:[fn]
Give thanks to the LORD,
for his faithful love endures forever.
The moment they began their shouts and praises, the LORD set an ambush against the Ammonites, Moabites, and the inhabitants of Mount Seir who came to fight against Judah, and they were defeated.
Then all the men of Judah and Jerusalem turned back with Jehoshaphat their leader, returning joyfully to Jerusalem, for the LORD enabled them to rejoice over their enemies.
The terror of God was on all the kingdoms of the lands when they heard that the LORD had fought against the enemies of Israel.
Jehoshaphat became king over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi.
He walked in the ways of Asa his father; he did not turn away from it but did what was right in the LORD's sight.
The rest of the events of Jehoshaphat's reign from beginning to end are written in the Events of Jehu son of Hanani, which is recorded in the Book of Israel's Kings.
Jehoshaphat formed an alliance with him to make ships to go to Tarshish, and they made the ships in Ezion-geber.
Jehoshaphat rested with his ancestors and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David. His son Jehoram[fn] became king in his place.
Their father had given them many gifts of silver, gold, and valuable things, along with fortified cities in Judah, but he gave the kingdom to Jehoram because he was the firstborn.
When Jehoram had established himself over his father's kingdom, he strengthened his position by killing with the sword all his brothers as well as some of the princes of Israel.
Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.
He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for Ahab's daughter was his wife. He did what was evil in the LORD's sight,
During Jehoram's reign, Edom rebelled against Judah's control and appointed their own king.
And now Edom is still in rebellion against Judah's control today. Libnah also rebelled at that time against his control because he had abandoned the LORD, the God of his ancestors.
Jehoram also built high places in the hills[fn] of Judah, and he caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to prostitute themselves, and he led Judah astray.
Then a letter came to Jehoram from the prophet Elijah, saying:
This is what the LORD, the God of your ancestor David says: “Because you have not walked in the ways of your father Jehoshaphat or in the ways of King Asa of Judah
“but have walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, have caused Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to prostitute themselves like the house of Ahab prostituted itself, and also have killed your brothers, your father's family, who were better than you,
“the LORD is now about to strike your people, your sons, your wives, and all your possessions with a horrible affliction.
“You yourself will be struck with many illnesses, including a disease of the intestines, until your intestines come out day after day because of the disease.”
So they went to war against Judah and invaded it. They carried off all the possessions found in the king's palace and also his sons and wives; not a son was left to him except Jehoahaz,[fn] his youngest son.
After all these things, the LORD afflicted him in his intestines with an incurable disease.
This continued day after day until two full years passed. Then his intestines came out because of his disease, and he died from severe[fn] illnesses. But his people did not hold a fire in his honor like the fire in honor of his predecessors.
Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king; he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. He died to no one's regret[fn] and was buried in the city of David but not in the tombs of the kings.
Then the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah, his youngest son, king in his place, because the troops that had come with the Arabs to the camp had killed all the older sons.[fn] So Ahaziah son of Jehoram became king of Judah.
Ahaziah's downfall came from God when he went to Joram. When Ahaziah arrived, he went out with Joram to meet Jehu son of Nimshi, whom the LORD had anointed to destroy the house of Ahab.
Then Jehu looked for Ahaziah, and Jehu's soldiers captured him (he was hiding in Samaria). So they brought Ahaziah to Jehu, and they killed him. The soldiers buried him, for they said, “He is the grandson of Jehoshaphat who sought the LORD with all his heart.” So no one from the house of Ahaziah had the strength to rule the kingdom.
When Athaliah, Ahaziah's mother, saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to annihilate all the royal heirs[fn] of the house of Judah.
He was hiding with them in God's temple for six years while Athaliah reigned over the land.
Then, in the seventh year, Jehoiada summoned his courage and took the commanders of hundreds into a covenant with him: Azariah son of Jeroham, Ishmael son of Jehohanan, Azariah son of Obed, Maaseiah son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat son of Zichri.
Then the whole assembly made a covenant with the king in God's temple. Jehoiada said to them, “Here is the king's son! He will reign, just as the LORD promised concerning David's sons.
“A third are to be at the king's palace, and a third are to be at the Foundation Gate, and all the troops will be in the courtyards of the LORD's temple.
“The Levites are to completely surround the king with weapons in hand. Anyone who enters the temple is to be put to death. Accompany the king in all his daily tasks.”[fn]
The priest Jehoiada gave to the commanders of hundreds King David's spears, shields, and quivers[fn] that were in God's temple.
Then he stationed all the troops with their weapons in hand surrounding the king — from the right side of the temple to the left side, by the altar and by the temple.
As she looked, there was the king standing by his pillar[fn] at the entrance. The commanders and the trumpeters were by the king, and all the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets while the singers with musical instruments were leading the praise. Athaliah tore her clothes and screamed, “Treason! Treason! ”
Then the priest Jehoiada sent out the commanders of hundreds, those in charge of the army, saying, “Take her out between the ranks, and put anyone who follows her to death by the sword,” for the priest had said, “Don't put her to death in the LORD's temple.”
Then Jehoiada put the oversight of the LORD's temple into the hands of the Levitical priests, whom David had appointed over the LORD's temple, to offer burnt offerings to the LORD as it is written in the law of Moses, with rejoicing and song ordained by[fn] David.
Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Zibiah; she was from Beer-sheba.
At the king's command a chest was made and placed outside the gate of the LORD's temple.
Then a proclamation was issued in Judah and Jerusalem that the tax God's servant Moses imposed on Israel in the wilderness be brought to the LORD.
The workmen did their work, and through them the repairs progressed. They restored God's temple to its specifications and reinforced it.
When they finished, they presented the rest of the silver to the king and Jehoiada, who made articles for the LORD's temple with it — articles for ministry and for making burnt offerings, and ladles[fn] and articles of gold and silver. They regularly offered burnt offerings in the LORD's temple throughout Jehoiada's life.
He was buried in the city of David with the kings because he had done what was good in Israel with respect to God and his temple.
and they abandoned the temple of the LORD, the God of their ancestors, and served the Asherah poles and the idols. So there was wrath against Judah and Jerusalem for this guilt of theirs.
But they conspired against him and stoned him at the king's command in the courtyard of the LORD's temple.
At the turn of the year, an Aramean army attacked Joash. They entered Judah and Jerusalem and destroyed all the leaders of the people among them and sent all the plunder to the king of Damascus.
Although the Aramean army came with only a few men, the LORD handed over a vast army to them because the people of Judah had abandoned the LORD, the God of their ancestors. So they executed judgment on Joash.
When the Arameans saw that Joash had many wounds, they left him. His servants conspired against him, and killed him on his bed, because he had shed the blood of the sons of the priest Jehoiada. So he died, and they buried him in the city of David, but they did not bury him in the tombs of the kings.
Amaziah became king when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jehoaddan; she was from Jerusalem.
As soon as the kingdom was firmly in his grasp,[fn] he executed his servants who had killed his father the king.
Then Amaziah gathered Judah and assembled them according to ancestral families,[fn] according to commanders of thousands, and according to commanders of hundreds. He numbered those twenty years old or more for all Judah and Benjamin. He found there to be three hundred thousand fit young men who could serve in the army, bearing spear and shield.
“But if you go with them, do it! Be strong for battle! But God will make you stumble before the enemy, for God has the power to help or to make one stumble.”
So Amaziah released the division that came to him from Ephraim to go home. But they got very angry with Judah and returned home in a fierce rage.
As for the men of the division that Amaziah sent back so they would not go with him into battle, they raided the cities of Judah from Samaria to Beth-horon, struck down three thousand of their people, and took a great deal of plunder.
While he was still speaking to him, the king asked, “Have we made you the king's counselor? Stop, why should you lose your life? ”
So the prophet stopped, but he said, “I know that God intends to destroy you, because you have done this and have not listened to my advice.”
King Jehoash of Israel sent word to King Amaziah of Judah, saying, “The thistle in Lebanon sent a message to the cedar in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son as a wife.' Then a wild animal in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thistle.
So King Jehoash of Israel advanced. He and King Amaziah of Judah met face to face at Beth-shemesh that belonged to Judah.
He took all the gold, silver, all the utensils that were found with Obed-edom in God's temple, the treasures of the king's palace, and the hostages. Then he returned to Samaria.
From the time Amaziah turned from following the LORD, a conspiracy was formed against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish. However, men were sent after him to Lachish, and they put him to death there.
They carried him back on horses and buried him with his ancestors in the city of Judah.[fn]
Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jecoliah; she was from Jerusalem.
He sought God throughout the lifetime of Zechariah, the teacher of the fear[fn] of God. During the time that he sought the LORD, God gave him success.
Uzziah went out to wage war against the Philistines, and he tore down the wall of Gath, the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod. Then he built cities in the vicinity of Ashdod and among the Philistines.
Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, the Valley Gate, and the corner buttress, and he fortified them.
Under their authority was an army of 307,500 equipped for combat, a powerful force to help the king against the enemy.
He made skillfully designed devices in Jerusalem to shoot arrows and catapult large stones for use on the towers and on the corners. So his fame spread even to distant places, for he was wondrously helped until he became strong.
But when he became strong, he grew arrogant, and it led to his own destruction. He acted unfaithfully against the LORD his God by going into the LORD's sanctuary to burn incense on the incense altar.
Uzziah, with a firepan in his hand to offer incense, was enraged. But when he became enraged with the priests, in the presence of the priests in the LORD's temple beside the altar of incense, a skin disease broke out on his forehead.
Then Azariah the chief priest and all the priests turned to him and saw that he was diseased on his forehead. They rushed him out of there. He himself also hurried to get out because the LORD had afflicted him.
So King Uzziah was diseased to the time of his death. He lived in quarantine[fn] with a serious skin disease and was excluded from access to the LORD's temple, while his son Jotham was over the king's household governing the people of the land.
Uzziah rested with his ancestors, and he was buried with his ancestors in the burial ground of the kings' cemetery, for they said, “He has a skin disease.” His son Jotham became king in his place.
Jotham was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jerushah daughter of Zadok.
Jotham built the Upper Gate of the LORD's temple, and he built extensively on the wall of Ophel.
He also built cities in the hill country of Judah and fortresses and towers in the forests.
Jotham rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David. His son Ahaz became king in his place.
Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. He did not do what was right in the LORD's sight like his ancestor David,
He burned incense in Ben Hinnom Valley and burned his children in[fn] the fire, imitating the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had dispossessed before the Israelites.
So the LORD his God handed Ahaz over to the king of Aram. He attacked him and took many captives to Damascus.
Ahaz was also handed over to the king of Israel, who struck him with great force:
Pekah son of Remaliah killed one hundred twenty thousand in Judah in one day — all brave men — because they had abandoned the LORD God of their ancestors.
A prophet of the LORD named Oded was there. He went out to meet the army that came to Samaria and said to them, “Look, the LORD God of your ancestors handed them over to you because of his wrath against Judah, but you slaughtered them in a rage that has reached heaven.
Then the men who were designated by name took charge of the captives and provided clothes for their naked ones from the plunder. They clothed them, gave them sandals, food and drink, dressed their wounds, and provided donkeys for all the feeble. The Israelites brought them to Jericho, the City of Palms, among their brothers. Then they returned to Samaria.
Although Ahaz plundered the LORD's temple and the palace of the king and of the rulers and gave the plunder to the king of Assyria, it did not help him.
Then Ahaz gathered up the utensils of God's temple, cut them into pieces, shut the doors of the LORD's temple, and made himself altars on every street corner in Jerusalem.
He made high places in every city of Judah to offer incense to other gods, and he angered the LORD, the God of his ancestors.
Ahaz rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city, in Jerusalem, but they did not bring him into the tombs of the kings of Israel. His son Hezekiah became king in his place.
Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abijah[fn] daughter of Zechariah.
In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the LORD's temple and repaired them.
“They also closed the doors of the portico, extinguished the lamps, did not burn incense, and did not offer burnt offerings in the holy place of the God of Israel.
“Our fathers fell by the sword, and our sons, our daughters, and our wives are in captivity because of this.
“My sons, don't be negligent now, for the LORD has chosen you to stand in his presence, to serve him, and to be his ministers and burners of incense.”
The priests went to the entrance of the LORD's temple to cleanse it. They took all the unclean things they found in the LORD's sanctuary to the courtyard of the LORD's temple. Then the Levites received them and took them outside to the Kidron Valley.
They began the consecration on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the portico of the LORD's temple. They consecrated the LORD's temple for eight days, and on the sixteenth day of the first month they finished.
Then they went inside to King Hezekiah and said, “We have cleansed the whole temple of the LORD, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the table for the rows of the Bread of the Presence and all its utensils.
“We have set up and consecrated all the utensils that King Ahaz rejected during his reign when he became unfaithful. They are in front of the altar of the LORD.”
Hezekiah stationed the Levites in the LORD's temple with cymbals, harps, and lyres according to the command of David, Gad the king's seer, and the prophet Nathan. For the command was from the LORD through his prophets.
Then Hezekiah ordered that the burnt offering be offered on the altar. When the burnt offerings began, the song of the LORD and the trumpets began, accompanied by the instruments of King David of Israel.
Then King Hezekiah and the officials told the Levites to sing praise to the LORD in the words of David and of the seer Asaph. So they sang praises with rejoicing and knelt low and worshiped.
Furthermore, the burnt offerings were abundant, along with the fat of the fellowship offerings and with the drink offerings for the burnt offering.
So the service of the LORD's temple was established.
For the king and his officials and the entire congregation in Jerusalem decided to observe the Passover of the LORD in the second month,
because they were not able to observe it at the appropriate time. Not enough of the priests had consecrated themselves, and the people hadn't been gathered together in Jerusalem.
“for when you return to the LORD, your brothers and your sons will receive mercy in the presence of their captors and will return to this land. For the LORD your God is gracious and merciful; he will not turn his face away from you if you return to him.”
The couriers traveled from city to city in the land of Ephraim and Manasseh as far as Zebulun, but the inhabitants[fn] laughed at them and mocked them.
Also, the power of God was at work in Judah to unite them[fn] to carry out the command of the king and his officials by the word of the LORD.
A very large assembly of people was gathered in Jerusalem to observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread in the second month.
They proceeded to take away the altars that were in Jerusalem, and they took away the incense altars and threw them into the Kidron Valley.
The Israelites who were present in Jerusalem observed the Festival of Unleavened Bread seven days with great joy, and the Levites and the priests praised the LORD day after day with loud instruments.
The whole congregation decided to observe seven more days, so they observed seven days with joy,
Then the whole assembly of Judah with the priests and Levites, the whole assembly that came from Israel, the resident aliens who came from the land of Israel, and those who were living in Judah, rejoiced.
There was great rejoicing in Jerusalem, for nothing like this was known since the days of Solomon son of David, the king of Israel.
When all this was completed, all Israel who had attended went out to the cities of Judah and broke up the sacred pillars, chopped down the Asherah poles, and tore down the high places and altars throughout Judah and Benjamin, as well as in Ephraim and Manasseh, to the last one.[fn] Then all the Israelites returned to their cities, each to his own possession.
Hezekiah reestablished the divisions of the priests and Levites for the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, for ministry, for giving thanks, and for praise in the gates of the camp of the LORD, each division corresponding to his service among the priests and Levites.
The king contributed[fn] from his own possessions for the regular morning and evening burnt offerings, the burnt offerings of the Sabbaths, of the New Moons, and of the appointed feasts, as written in the law of the LORD.
He told the people who lived in Jerusalem to give a contribution for the priests and Levites so that they could devote their energy to the law of the LORD.
As for the Israelites and Judahites who lived in the cities of Judah, they also brought a tenth of the herds and flocks, and a tenth of the dedicated things that were consecrated to the LORD their God. They gathered them into large piles.
In the third month they began building up the piles, and they finished in the seventh month.
The offering, the tenth, and the dedicated things were brought faithfully. Conaniah the Levite was the officer in charge of them, and his brother Shimei was second.
Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah in the cities of the priests were to distribute it faithfully under his authority to their brothers by divisions, whether large or small.
They distributed also to those recorded by genealogy of the priests by their ancestral families[fn] and the Levites twenty years old and above, by their responsibilities in their divisions;
to those registered by genealogy — with all their dependents, wives, sons, and daughters — of the whole assembly (for they had faithfully consecrated themselves as holy);
and to the descendants of Aaron, the priests, in the common fields of their cities, in each and every city. There were men who were registered by name to distribute a portion to every male among the priests and to every Levite recorded by genealogy.
Hezekiah did this throughout all Judah. He did what was good and upright and true before the LORD his God.
He was diligent in every deed that he began in the service of God's temple, in the instruction and the commands, in order to seek his God, and he prospered.
After this, while King Sennacherib of Assyria with all his armed forces besieged[fn] Lachish, he sent his servants to Jerusalem against King Hezekiah of Judah and against all those of Judah who were in Jerusalem, saying,
“This is what King Sennacherib of Assyria says: ‘What are you relying on that you remain in Jerusalem under siege?
“Who among all the gods of these nations that my predecessors completely destroyed was able to rescue his people from my power, that your God should be able to deliver you from my power?
and the LORD sent an angel who annihilated every valiant warrior, leader, and commander in the camp of the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria returned in disgrace to his land. He went to the temple of his god, and there some of his own children struck him down with the sword.
So the LORD saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the power of King Sennacherib of Assyria and from the power of all others. He gave them rest[fn] on every side.
In those days Hezekiah became sick to the point of death, so he prayed to the LORD, who spoke to him and gave him a miraculous sign.
Then Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart — he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem — so the LORD's wrath didn't come on them during Hezekiah's lifetime.
This same Hezekiah blocked the upper outlet of the water from the Gihon Spring and channeled it smoothly downward and westward to the city of David. Hezekiah succeeded in everything he did.
When the ambassadors of Babylon's rulers were sent[fn] to him to inquire about the miraculous sign that happened in the land, God left him to test him and discover what was in his heart.
As for the rest of the events of Hezekiah's reign and his deeds of faithful love, note that they are written in the Visions of the Prophet Isaiah son of Amoz, and in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.
Hezekiah rested with his ancestors and was buried on the ascent to the tombs of David's descendants. All Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem paid him honor at his death. His son Manasseh became king in his place.
Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem.
He built altars in the LORD's temple, where the LORD had said, “Jerusalem is where my name will remain forever.”
He passed his sons through the fire in Ben Hinnom Valley. He practiced witchcraft, divination, and sorcery, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did a huge amount of evil in the LORD's sight, angering him.
Manasseh set up a carved image of the idol, which he had made, in God's temple that God had spoken about to David and his son Solomon: “I will establish my name forever[fn] in this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.
“I will never again remove the feet of the Israelites from the land where I stationed your[fn] ancestors, if only they will be careful to do all I have commanded them through Moses — all the law, statutes, and judgments.”
So Manasseh caused Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to stray so that they did worse evil than the nations the LORD had destroyed before the Israelites.
So he brought against them the military commanders of the king of Assyria. They captured Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze shackles, and took him to Babylon.
After this, he built the outer wall of the city of David from west of Gihon in the valley to the entrance of the Fish Gate; he brought it around Ophel, and he heightened it considerably. He also placed military commanders in all the fortified cities of Judah.
He removed the foreign gods and the idol from the LORD's temple, along with all the altars that he had built on the mountain of the LORD's temple and in Jerusalem, and he threw them outside the city.
Manasseh rested with his ancestors, and he was buried in his own house. His son Amon became king in his place.
Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem.
Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem.
He did what was right in the LORD's sight and walked in the ways of his ancestor David; he did not turn aside to the right or the left.
In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still a youth, Josiah began to seek the God of his ancestor David, and in the twelfth year he began to cleanse Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherah poles, the carved images, and the cast images.
He did the same in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, and as far as Naphtali and on their surrounding mountain shrines.[fn]
In the eighteenth year of his reign, in order to cleanse the land and the temple, Josiah sent Shaphan son of Azaliah, along with Maaseiah the governor of the city and the court historian Joah son of Joahaz, to repair the temple of the LORD his God.
So they went to the high priest Hilkiah and gave him the silver brought into God's temple. The Levites and the doorkeepers had collected it from Manasseh, Ephraim, and from the entire remnant of Israel, and from all Judah, Benjamin, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
They gave it to those doing the work — those who oversaw the LORD's temple. They gave it to the workmen who were working in the LORD's temple, to repair and restore the temple;
The men were doing the work with integrity. Their overseers were Jahath and Obadiah, Levites from the Merarites, and Zechariah and Meshullam from the Kohathites as supervisors. The Levites were all skilled with musical instruments.
When they brought out the silver that had been deposited in the LORD's temple, the priest Hilkiah found the book of the law of the LORD written by the hand of Moses.
Consequently, Hilkiah told the court secretary Shaphan, “I have found the book of the law in the LORD's temple,” and he gave the book to Shaphan.
Shaphan took the book to the king, and also reported, “Your servants are doing all that was placed in their hands.
“They have emptied out the silver that was found in the LORD's temple and have given it to the overseers and to those doing the work.”
“Go and inquire of the LORD for me and for those remaining in Israel and Judah, concerning the words of the book that was found. For great is the LORD's wrath that is poured out on us because our ancestors have not kept the word of the LORD in order to do everything written in this book.”
So Hilkiah and those the king had designated[fn] went to the prophetess Huldah, the wife of Shallum son of Tokhath, son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem in the Second District. They spoke with her about this.
“‘This is what the LORD says: I am about to bring disaster on this place and on its inhabitants, fulfilling[fn] all the curses written in the book that they read in the presence of the king of Judah,
“because they have abandoned me and burned incense to other gods so as to anger me with all the works of their hands. My wrath will be poured out on this place, and it will not be quenched.'
“because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard his words against this place and against its inhabitants, and because you humbled yourself before me, and you tore your clothes and wept before me, I myself have heard' — this is the LORD's declaration.
“‘I will indeed gather you to your ancestors, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster that I am bringing on this place and on its inhabitants.' ”
Then they reported to the king.
The king went up to the LORD's temple with all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, as well as the priests and the Levites — all the people from the oldest to the youngest. He read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant that had been found in the LORD's temple.
Then the king stood at his post and made a covenant in the LORD's presence to follow the LORD and to keep his commands, his decrees, and his statutes with all his heart and with all his soul in order to carry out the words of the covenant written in this book.
He had all those present in Jerusalem and Benjamin agree[fn] to it. So all the inhabitants of Jerusalem carried out the covenant of God, the God of their ancestors.
So Josiah removed everything that was detestable from all the lands belonging to the Israelites, and he required all who were present in Israel to serve the LORD their God. Throughout his reign they did not turn aside from following the LORD, the God of their ancestors.
He said to the Levites who taught all Israel the holy things of the LORD, “Put the holy ark in the temple built by Solomon son of David king of Israel. Since you do not have to carry it on your shoulders, now serve the LORD your God and his people Israel.
They removed the burnt offerings so that they might be given to the groupings of the ancestral families[fn] of the lay people to offer to the LORD, according to what is written in the book of Moses; they did the same with the cattle.
They roasted the Passover lambs with fire according to regulation. They boiled the holy sacrifices in pots, kettles, and bowls; and they quickly brought them to the lay people.
Afterward, they made preparations for themselves and for the priests, since the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were busy offering up burnt offerings and fat until night. So the Levites made preparations for themselves and for the priests, the descendants of Aaron.
So all the service of the LORD was established that day for observing the Passover and for offering burnt offerings on the altar of the LORD, according to the command of King Josiah.
The Israelites who were present in Judah also observed the Passover at that time and the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days.
No Passover had been observed like it in Israel since the days of the prophet Samuel. None of the kings of Israel ever observed a Passover like the one that Josiah observed with the priests, the Levites, all Judah, the Israelites who were present in Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
But Josiah did not turn away from him; instead, in order to fight with him he disguised himself.[fn] He did not listen to Neco's words from the mouth of God, but went to the Valley of Megiddo to fight.
The rest of the events of Josiah's reign, along with his deeds of faithful love according to what is written in the law of the LORD,
Then the common people[fn] took Jehoahaz son of Josiah and made him king in Jerusalem in place of his father.
Jehoahaz[fn] was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem.
Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD his God.
Now King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked him and bound him in bronze shackles to take him to Babylon.
Also Nebuchadnezzar took some of the articles of the LORD's temple to Babylon and put them in his temple in Babylon.
The rest of the deeds of Jehoiakim, the detestable actions he committed, and what was found against him, are written in the Book of Israel's Kings. His son Jehoiachin became king in his place.
Jehoiachin was eighteen[fn] years old when he became king, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the LORD's sight.
Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem.
He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar who had made him swear allegiance by God. He became obstinate[fn] and hardened his heart against returning to the LORD, the God of Israel.
All the leaders of the priests and the people multiplied their unfaithful deeds, imitating all the detestable practices of the nations, and they defiled the LORD's temple that he had consecrated in Jerusalem.
But the LORD, the God of their ancestors sent word against them by the hand of his messengers, sending them time and time again, for he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place.
But they kept ridiculing God's messengers, despising his words, and scoffing at his prophets, until the LORD's wrath was so stirred up against his people that there was no remedy.
So he brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their fit young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary. He had no pity on young men or young women, elderly or aged; he handed them all over to him.
Then the Chaldeans burned God's temple. They tore down Jerusalem's wall, burned all its palaces, and destroyed all its valuable articles.
In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken through[fn] Jeremiah, the LORD roused the spirit of King Cyrus of Persia to issue a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom and also to put it in writing:
This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: The LORD, the God of the heavens, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and has appointed me to build him a temple at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up, and may the LORD his God be with him.
In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken through Jeremiah, the LORD roused the spirit of King Cyrus to issue a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom and to put it in writing:
This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: “The LORD, the God of the heavens, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and has appointed me to build him a house at Jerusalem in Judah.
“Any of his people among you, may his God be with him, and may he go to Jerusalem in Judah and build the house of the LORD, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem.
“Let every survivor, wherever he resides, be assisted by the men of that region with silver, gold, goods, and livestock, along with a freewill offering for the house of God in Jerusalem.”
So the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, along with the priests and Levites — everyone whose spirit God had roused — prepared to go up and rebuild the LORD's house in Jerusalem.
All their neighbors supported them[fn] with silver articles, gold, goods, livestock, and valuables, in addition to all that was given as a freewill offering.
King Cyrus also brought out the articles of the LORD's house that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem and had placed in the house of his gods.
After they arrived at the LORD's house in Jerusalem, some of the family heads gave freewill offerings for the house of God in order to have it rebuilt on its original site.
The priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, temple servants, and some of the people settled in their towns, and the rest of Israel settled in their towns.
When the seventh month arrived, and the Israelites were in their towns, the people gathered as one in Jerusalem.
Jeshua son of Jozadak and his brothers the priests along with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his brothers began to build the altar of Israel's God in order to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the law of Moses, the man of God.
They set up the altar on its foundation and offered burnt offerings for the morning and evening on it to the LORD even though they feared the surrounding peoples.
They celebrated the Festival of Shelters as prescribed, and offered burnt offerings each day, based on the number specified by ordinance for each festival day.
On the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD, even though the foundation of the LORD's temple had not yet been laid.
In the second month of the second year after they arrived at God's house in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Jeshua son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brothers, including the priests, the Levites, and all who had returned to Jerusalem from the captivity, began to build. They appointed the Levites who were twenty years old or more to supervise the work on the LORD's house.
Jeshua with his sons and brothers, Kadmiel with his sons, and the sons of Judah[fn] and of Henadad, with their sons and brothers, the Levites, joined together to supervise those working on the house of God.
When the builders had laid the foundation of the LORD's temple, the priests, dressed in their robes and holding trumpets, and the Levites descended from Asaph, holding cymbals, took their positions to praise the LORD, as King David of Israel had instructed.
They sang with praise and thanksgiving to the LORD: “For he is good; his faithful love to Israel endures forever.” Then all the people gave a great shout of praise to the LORD because the foundation of the LORD's house had been laid.
But many of the older priests, Levites, and family heads, who had seen the first temple, wept loudly when they saw the foundation of this temple, but many others shouted joyfully.
At the beginning of the reign of Ahasuerus, the people who were already in the land wrote an accusation against the residents of Judah and Jerusalem.
During the time of King Artaxerxes of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and the rest of his colleagues wrote to King Artaxerxes. The letter was written in Aramaic and translated.[fn]
and the rest of the peoples whom the great and illustrious Ashurbanipal[fn] deported and settled in the cities of Samaria and the region west of the Euphrates River.
that a search should be made in your predecessors' record books. In these record books you will discover and verify that the city is a rebellious city, harmful to kings and provinces. There have been revolts in it since ancient times. That is why this city was destroyed.
The king sent a reply to his chief deputy Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their colleagues living in Samaria and elsewhere in the region west of the Euphrates River:
Greetings.
I issued a decree and a search was conducted. It was discovered that this city has had uprisings against kings since ancient times, and there have been rebellions and revolts in it.
As soon as the text of King Artaxerxes's letter was read to Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and their colleagues, they immediately went to the Jews in Jerusalem and forcibly stopped them.
Now the construction of God's house in Jerusalem had stopped and remained at a standstill until the second year of the reign of King Darius of Persia.
But when the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them,
Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak began to rebuild God's house in Jerusalem. The prophets of God were with them, helping them.
At that time Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates River, Shethar-bozenai, and their colleagues came to the Jews and asked, “Who gave you the order to rebuild this temple and finish this structure? ”[fn]
This is the text of the letter that Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates River, Shethar-bozenai, and their colleagues, the officials in the region, sent to King Darius.
Let it be known to the king that we went to the house of the great God in the province of Judah. It is being built with cut[fn] stones, and its beams are being set in the walls. This work is being done diligently and succeeding through the people's efforts.
However, in the first year of King Cyrus of Babylon, he issued a decree to rebuild the house of God.
He also took from the temple in Babylon the gold and silver articles of God's house that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and carried them to the temple in Babylon. He released them from the temple in Babylon to a man named Sheshbazzar, the governor by the appointment of King Cyrus.
Cyrus told him, “Take these articles, put them in the temple in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its original site.”
Then this same Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundation of God's house in Jerusalem. It has been under construction from that time until now, but it has not been completed.
So if it pleases the king, let a search of the royal archives[fn] in Babylon be conducted to see if it is true that a decree was issued by King Cyrus to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. Let the king's decision regarding this matter be sent to us.
King Darius gave the order, and they searched in the library of Babylon in the archives.[fn]
But it was in the fortress of Ecbatana in the province of Media that a scroll was found with this record written on it:
The gold and silver articles of God's house that Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and carried to Babylon must also be returned. They are to be brought to the temple in Jerusalem where they belong[fn] and put into the house of God.
Therefore, you must stay away from that place, Tattenai governor of the region west of the Euphrates River, Shethar-bozenai, and your[fn] colleagues, the officials in the region.
Whatever is needed — young bulls, rams, and lambs for burnt offerings to the God of the heavens, or wheat, salt, wine, and oil, as requested by the priests in Jerusalem — let it be given to them every day without fail,
May the God who caused his name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who dares[fn] to harm or interfere with this house of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have issued the decree. Let it be carried out diligently.
So the Jewish elders continued successfully with the building under the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah son of Iddo. They finished the building according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus, Darius, and King Artaxerxes of Persia.
Then the Israelites, including the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the exiles, celebrated the dedication of the house of God with joy.
They also appointed the priests by their divisions and the Levites by their groups to the service of God in Jerusalem, according to what is written in the book of Moses.
They observed the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days with joy, because the LORD had made them joyful, having changed the Assyrian king's attitude toward them, so that he supported them[fn] in the work on the house of the God of Israel.
After these events, during the reign of King Artaxerxes of Persia, Ezra —
Seraiah's son, Azariah's son,
Hilkiah's son,
— came up from Babylon. He was a scribe skilled in the law of Moses, which the LORD, the God of Israel, had given. The king had granted him everything he requested because the hand of the LORD his God was on him.
Some of the Israelites, priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and temple servants accompanied him to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes.
He began the journey from Babylon on the first day of the first month and arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month since the gracious hand of his God was on him.
Now Ezra had determined in his heart to study the law of the LORD, obey it, and teach its statutes and ordinances in Israel.
I issue a decree that any of the Israelites in my kingdom, including their priests and Levites, who want to go to Jerusalem, may go with you.
You are sent by the king and his seven counselors to evaluate Judah and Jerusalem according to the law of your God, which is in your possession.
You are also to bring the silver and gold the king and his counselors have willingly given to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem,
and all the silver and gold you receive throughout the province of Babylon, together with the freewill offerings given by the people and the priests to the house of their God in Jerusalem.
Then you are to be diligent to buy with this money bulls, rams, and lambs, along with their grain and drink offerings, and offer them on the altar at the house of your God in Jerusalem.
You may do whatever seems best to you and your brothers with the rest of the silver and gold, according to the will of your God.
Deliver to the God of Jerusalem all the articles given to you for the service of the house of your God.
I, King Artaxerxes, issue a decree to all the treasurers in the region west of the Euphrates River:
Whatever Ezra the priest, an expert in the law of the God of the heavens, asks of you must be provided in full,
Whatever is commanded by the God of the heavens must be done diligently for the house of the God of the heavens, so that wrath will not fall on the realm of the king and his sons.
Be advised that you do not have authority to impose tribute, duty, and land tax on any priests, Levites, singers, doorkeepers, temple servants, or other servants of this house of God.
And you, Ezra, according to[fn] God's wisdom that you possess, appoint magistrates and judges to judge all the people in the region west of the Euphrates who know the laws of your God and to teach anyone who does not know them.
Blessed be the LORD, the God of our ancestors, who has put it into the king's mind to glorify the house of the LORD in Jerusalem,
and who has shown favor to me before the king, his counselors, and all his powerful officers. So I took courage because I was strengthened by the hand of the LORD my God,[fn] and I gathered Israelite leaders to return with me.
These are the family heads and the genealogical records of those who returned with me from Babylon during the reign of King Artaxerxes:
I gathered them at the river[fn] that flows to Ahava, and we camped there for three days. I searched among the people and priests, but found no Levites there.
I sent them to Iddo, the leader at Casiphia, with a message for[fn] him and his brothers, the temple servants at Casiphia, that they should bring us ministers for the house of our God.
There were also 220 of the temple servants, who had been appointed by David and the leaders for the work of the Levites. All were identified by name.
I did this because I was ashamed to ask the king for infantry and cavalry to protect us from enemies during the journey, since we had told him, “The hand of our God is gracious to all who seek him, but his fierce anger is against all who abandon him.”
twenty gold bowls worth a thousand gold coins,[fn] and two articles of fine gleaming bronze, as valuable as gold.
“Guard them carefully until you weigh them out in the chambers of the LORD's house before the leading priests, Levites, and heads of the Israelite families in Jerusalem.”
We set out from the Ahava River on the twelfth day of the first month to go to Jerusalem. We were strengthened by our God,[fn] and he kept us from the grasp of the enemy and from ambush along the way.
On the fourth day the silver, the gold, and the articles were weighed out in the house of our God into the care of the priest Meremoth son of Uriah. Eleazar son of Phinehas was with him. The Levites Jozabad son of Jeshua and Noadiah son of Binnui were also with them.
Everything was verified by number and weight, and the total weight was recorded at that time.
After these things had been done, the leaders approached me and said, “The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated themselves from the surrounding peoples whose detestable practices are like those of the Canaanites, Hethites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites.
At the evening offering, I got up from my time of humiliation, with my tunic and robe torn. Then I fell on my knees and spread out my hands to the LORD my God.
Our guilt has been terrible from the days of our ancestors until the present. Because of our iniquities we have been handed over, along with our kings and priests, to the surrounding kings, and to the sword, captivity, plundering, and open shame, as it is today.
But now, for a brief moment, grace has come from the LORD our God to preserve a remnant for us and give us a stake in his holy place. Even in our slavery, God has given us a little relief and light to our eyes.
Though we are slaves, our God has not abandoned us in our slavery. He has extended grace to us in the presence of the Persian kings, giving us relief, so that we can rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins, to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.
you gave through your servants the prophets, saying, “The land you are entering to possess is an impure land. The surrounding peoples have filled it from end to end with their uncleanness by their impurity and detestable practices.
After all that has happened to us because of our evil deeds and terrible guilt — though you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserve and have allowed us to survive[fn] —
should we break your commands again and intermarry with the peoples who commit these detestable practices? Wouldn't you become so angry with us that you would destroy us, leaving neither remnant nor survivor?
LORD God of Israel, you are righteous, for we survive as a remnant today. Here we are before you with our guilt, though no one can stand in your presence because of this.
“Therefore, let's make a covenant before our God to send away all the foreign wives and their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the command of our God. Let it be done according to the law.
They circulated a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem that all the exiles should gather at Jerusalem.
So all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered in Jerusalem within the three days. On the twentieth day of the ninth month, all the people sat in the square at the house of God, trembling because of this matter and because of the heavy rain.
“But there are many people, and it is the rainy season. We don't have the stamina to stay out in the open. This isn't something that can be done in a day or two, for we have rebelled terribly in this matter.
“Let our leaders represent the entire assembly. Then let all those in our towns who have married foreign women come at appointed times, together with the elders and judges of each town, in order to avert the fierce anger of our God concerning[fn] this matter.”
and by the first day of the first month they had dealt with all the men who had married foreign women.
The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah:
During the month of Chislev in the twentieth year, when I was in the fortress city of Susa,
They said to me, “The remnant in the province, who survived the exile, are in great trouble and disgrace. Jerusalem's wall has been broken down, and its gates have been burned.”
When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for a number of days, fasting and praying before the God of the heavens.
Please remember what you commanded your servant Moses: “If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples.
They are your servants and your people. You redeemed them by your great power and strong hand.
During the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was set before him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had never been sad in his presence,
and replied to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should I[fn] not be sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins and its gates have been destroyed by fire? ”
I went out at night through the Valley Gate toward the Serpent's[fn] Well and the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that had been broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire.
So I went up at night by way of the valley and inspected the wall. Then heading back, I entered through the Valley Gate and returned.
So I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins and its gates have been burned. Come, let's rebuild Jerusalem's wall, so that we will no longer be a disgrace.”
I gave them this reply, “The God of the heavens is the one who will grant us success. We, his servants, will start building, but you have no share, right, or historic claim in Jerusalem.”
Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired the Valley Gate. They rebuilt it and installed its doors, bolts, and bars, and repaired five hundred yards[fn] of the wall to the Dung Gate.
and the temple servants living on Ophel made repairs opposite the Water Gate toward the east and the tower that juts out.
Listen, our God, for we are despised. Make their insults return on their own heads and let them be taken as plunder to a land of captivity.
They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and throw it into confusion.
In Judah, it was said:[fn]
The strength of the laborer fails,
since there is so much rubble.
We will never be able
to rebuild the wall.
So I stationed people behind the lowest sections of the wall, at the vulnerable areas. I stationed them by families with their swords, spears, and bows.
who were rebuilding the wall. The laborers who carried the loads worked with one hand and held a weapon with the other.
Each of the builders had his sword strapped around his waist while he was building, and the one who sounded the ram's horn was beside me.
“Wherever you hear the sound of the ram's horn, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us! ”
At that time, I also said to the people, “Let everyone and his servant spend the night inside Jerusalem, so that they can stand guard by night and work by day.”
Some were saying, “We, our sons, and our daughters are numerous. Let us get grain so that we can eat and live.”
and said, “We have done our best to buy back our Jewish countrymen who were sold to foreigners, but now you sell your own countrymen, and we have to buy them back.” They remained silent and could not say a word.
Then I said, “What you are doing isn't right. Shouldn't you walk in the fear of our God and not invite the reproach of our foreign enemies?
“Even I, as well as my brothers and my servants, have been lending them money and grain. Please, let's stop charging this interest.[fn]
Furthermore, from the day King Artaxerxes appointed me to be their governor in the land of Judah — from the twentieth year until his thirty-second year, twelve years — I and my associates never ate from the food allotted to the governor.
The governors who preceded me had heavily burdened the people, taking from them food and wine as well as a pound[fn] of silver. Their subordinates also oppressed the people, but because of the fear of God, I didn't do this.
Instead, I devoted myself to the construction of this wall, and all my subordinates were gathered there for the work. We didn't buy any land.
Each[fn] day, one ox, six choice sheep, and some fowl were prepared for me. An abundance of all kinds of wine was provided every ten days. But I didn't demand the food allotted to the governor, because the burden on the people was so heavy.
When Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall and that no gap was left in it — though at that time I had not installed the doors in the city gates —
Sanballat and Geshem sent me a message: “Come, let's meet together in the villages of[fn] the Ono Valley.” They were planning to harm me.
Sanballat sent me this same message a fifth time by his aide, who had an open letter in his hand.
In it was written:
It is reported among the nations — and Geshem[fn] agrees — that you and the Jews plan to rebel. This is the reason you are building the wall. According to these reports, you are to become their king
and have even set up the prophets in Jerusalem to proclaim on your behalf, “There is a king in Judah.” These rumors will be heard by the king. So come, let's confer together.
I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was restricted to his house. He said:
Let's meet at the house of God,
inside the temple.
Let's shut the temple doors
because they're coming to kill you.
They're coming to kill you tonight![fn]
When all our enemies heard this, all the surrounding nations were intimidated and lost their confidence,[fn] for they realized that this task had been accomplished by our God.
During those days, the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah's letters came to them.
For many in Judah were bound by oath to him, since he was a son-in-law of Shecaniah son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam son of Berechiah.
Then I put my brother Hanani in charge of Jerusalem, along with Hananiah, commander of the fortress, because he was a faithful man who feared God more than most.
I said to them, “Do not open the gates of Jerusalem until the sun is hot, and let the doors be shut and securely fastened while the guards are on duty. Station the citizens of Jerusalem as guards, some at their posts and some at their homes.”
The city was large and spacious, but there were few people in it, and no houses had been built yet.
Then my God put it into my mind to assemble the nobles, the officials, and the people to be registered by genealogy. I found the genealogical record of those who came back first, and I found the following written in it:
The priests, Levites, gatekeepers, temple singers, some of the people, temple servants, and all Israel settled in their towns.
When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns,
On the first day of the seventh month, the priest Ezra brought the law before the assembly of men, women, and all who could listen with understanding.
While he was facing the square in front of the Water Gate, he read out of it from daybreak until noon before the men, the women, and those who could understand. All the people listened attentively[fn] to the book of the law.
Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah, who were Levites,[fn] explained the law to the people as they stood in their places.
They read out of the book of the law of God, translating and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was read.
Then all the people began to eat and drink, send portions, and have a great celebration, because they had understood the words that were explained to them.
On the second day, the family heads of all the people, along with the priests and Levites, assembled before the scribe Ezra to study the words of the law.
They found written in the law how the LORD had commanded through Moses that the Israelites should dwell in shelters during the festival of the seventh month.
So they proclaimed and spread this news throughout their towns and in Jerusalem, saying, “Go out to the hill country and bring back branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees to make shelters, just as it is written.”
The people went out, brought back branches, and made shelters for themselves on each of their rooftops and courtyards, the court of the house of God, the square by the Water Gate, and the square by the Ephraim Gate.
The whole community that had returned from exile made shelters and lived in them. The Israelites had not celebrated like this from the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day. And there was tremendous joy.
Ezra[fn] read out of the book of the law of God every day, from the first day to the last. The Israelites celebrated the festival for seven days, and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly, according to the ordinance.
On the twenty-fourth day of this month the Israelites assembled; they were fasting, wearing sackcloth, and had put dust on their heads.
While they stood in their places, they read from the book of the law of the LORD their God for a fourth of the day and spent another fourth of the day in confession and worship of the LORD their God.
You, the LORD,
are the God who chose Abram
and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans,
and changed his name to Abraham.
You performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh,
all his officials, and all the people of his land,
for you knew how arrogantly they treated our ancestors.
You made a name for yourself
that endures to this day.
You divided the sea before them,
and they crossed through it on dry ground.
You hurled their pursuers into the depths
like a stone into raging water.
You led them with a pillar of cloud by day,
and with a pillar of fire by night,
to illuminate the way they should go.
You revealed your holy Sabbath to them,
and gave them commands, statutes, and instruction
through your servant Moses.
They refused to listen
and did not remember your wonders
you performed among them.
They became stiff-necked and appointed a leader
to return to their slavery in Egypt.[fn]
But you are a forgiving God,
gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in faithful love,
and you did not abandon them.
you did not abandon them in the wilderness
because of your great compassion.
During the day the pillar of cloud
never turned away from them,
guiding them on their journey.
And during the night the pillar of fire
illuminated the way they should go.
You provided for them in the wilderness forty years,
and they lacked nothing.
Their clothes did not wear out,
and their feet did not swell.
They captured fortified cities and fertile land
and took possession of well-supplied houses,
cisterns cut out of rock, vineyards,
olive groves, and fruit trees in abundance.
They ate, were filled,
became prosperous, and delighted in your great goodness.
But they were disobedient and rebelled against you.
They flung your law behind their backs
and killed your prophets
who warned them
in order to turn them back to you.
They committed terrible blasphemies.
So you handed them over to their enemies,
who oppressed them.
In their time of distress, they cried out to you,
and you heard from heaven.
In your abundant compassion
you gave them deliverers, who rescued them
from the power of their enemies.
But as soon as they had relief,
they again did what was evil in your sight.
So you abandoned them to the power of their enemies,
who dominated them.
When they cried out to you again,
you heard from heaven and rescued them
many times in your compassion.
You warned them to turn back to your law,
but they acted arrogantly
and would not obey your commands.
They sinned against your ordinances,
which a person will live by if he does them.
They stubbornly resisted,[fn]
stiffened their necks, and would not obey.
You were patient with them for many years,
and your Spirit warned them through your prophets,
but they would not listen.
Therefore, you handed them over to the surrounding peoples.
However, in your abundant compassion,
you did not destroy them or abandon them,
for you are a gracious and compassionate God.
So now, our God — the great, mighty,
and awe-inspiring God who keeps his gracious covenant —
do not view lightly all the hardships that have afflicted us,
our kings and leaders,
our priests and prophets,
our ancestors and all your people,
from the days of the Assyrian kings until today.
When they were in their kingdom,
with your abundant goodness that you gave them,
and in the spacious and fertile land you set before them,
they would not serve you or turn from their wicked ways.
Its abundant harvest goes to the kings
you have set over us,
because of our sins.
They rule over our bodies
and our livestock as they please.
We are in great distress.
In view of all this, we are making a binding agreement in writing on a sealed document containing the names of our leaders, Levites, and priests.
join with their noble brothers and commit themselves with a sworn oath[fn] to follow the law of God given through God's servant Moses and to obey carefully all the commands, ordinances, and statutes of the LORD our Lord.
When the surrounding peoples bring merchandise or any kind of grain to sell on the Sabbath day, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or a holy day. We will also leave the land uncultivated in the seventh year and will cancel every debt.
We have cast lots among the priests, Levites, and people for the donation of wood by our ancestral families[fn] at the appointed times each year. They are to bring the wood to our God's house to burn on the altar of the LORD our God, as it is written in the law.
We will also bring the firstborn of our sons and our livestock, as prescribed by the law, and will bring the firstborn of our herds and flocks to the house of our God, to the priests who serve in our God's house.
We will bring a loaf from our first batch of dough to the priests at the storerooms of the house of our God. We will also bring the firstfruits of our grain offerings, of every fruit tree, and of the new wine and fresh oil. A tenth of our land's produce belongs to the Levites, for the Levites are to collect the one-tenth offering in all our agricultural towns.
A priest from Aaron's descendants is to accompany the Levites when they collect the tenth, and the Levites are to take a tenth of this offering to the storerooms of the treasury in the house of our God.
Now the leaders of the people stayed in Jerusalem, and the rest of the people cast lots for one out of ten to come and live in Jerusalem, the holy city, while the other nine-tenths remained in their towns.
These are the heads of the province who stayed in Jerusalem (but in the villages of Judah each lived on his own property in their towns — the Israelites, priests, Levites, temple servants, and descendants of Solomon's servants —
while some of the descendants of Judah and Benjamin settled in Jerusalem):
Judah's descendants:
Athaiah son of Uzziah, son of Zechariah, son of Amariah, son of Shephatiah, son of Mahalalel, of Perez's descendants;
The total number of Perez's descendants, who settled in Jerusalem, was 468 capable men.
As for the farming settlements with their fields:
Some of Judah's descendants lived in Kiriath-arba
and Dibon and their surrounding villages, and Jekabzeel and its settlements;
Zanoah and Adullam with their settlements;
in Lachish with its fields and Azekah and its surrounding villages.
So they settled from Beer-sheba to Hinnom Valley.
Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah.
These were the heads of the priests and their relatives in the days of Jeshua.
In the days of Joiakim, the heads of the priestly families were
In the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua, the heads of the families of the Levites and priests were recorded while Darius the Persian ruled.
The heads of the Levites — Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua son of Kadmiel, along with their relatives opposite them — gave praise and thanks, division by division, as David the man of God had prescribed.
This included Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, and Obadiah. Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers who guarded the storerooms at the city gates.
These served in the days of Joiakim son of Jeshua, son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor and Ezra the priest and scribe.
At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, they sent for the Levites wherever they lived and brought them to Jerusalem to celebrate the joyous dedication with thanksgiving and singing accompanied by cymbals, harps, and lyres.
from Beth-gilgal, and from the fields of Geba and Azmaveth, for they had built settlements for themselves around Jerusalem.
and some of the priests' sons with trumpets, and Zechariah son of Jonathan, son of Shemaiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Micaiah, son of Zaccur, son of Asaph followed
as well as his relatives — Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, with the musical instruments of David, the man of God. Ezra the scribe went in front of them.
At the Fountain Gate they climbed the steps of the city of David on the ascent of the wall and went above the house of David to the Water Gate on the east.
above the Ephraim Gate, and by the Old Gate, the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel, and the Tower of the Hundred, to the Sheep Gate. They stopped at the Gate of the Guard.
The two thanksgiving processions stood in the house of God. So did I and half of the officials accompanying me,
as well as the priests:
Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin,
Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah,
and Hananiah, with trumpets;
On that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced because God had given them great joy. The women and children also celebrated, and Jerusalem's rejoicing was heard far away.
On that same day men were placed in charge of the rooms that housed the supplies, contributions, firstfruits, and tenths. The legally required portions for the priests and Levites were gathered from the village fields, because Judah was grateful to the priests and Levites who were serving.
For long ago, in the days of David and Asaph, there were heads[fn] of the singers and songs of praise and thanksgiving to God.
So in the days of Zerubbabel and Nehemiah, all Israel contributed the daily portions for the singers and gatekeepers. They also set aside daily portions for the Levites, and the Levites set aside daily portions for Aaron's descendants.
At that time the book of Moses was read publicly to[fn] the people. The command was found written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God,
because they did not meet the Israelites with food and water. Instead, they hired Balaam against them to curse them, but our God turned the curse into a blessing.
Now before this, the priest Eliashib had been put in charge of the storerooms of the house of our God. He was a relative[fn] of Tobiah
While all this was happening, I was not in Jerusalem, because I had returned to King Artaxerxes of Babylon in the thirty-second year of his reign. It was only later that I asked the king for a leave of absence
so I could return to Jerusalem. Then I discovered the evil that Eliashib had done on behalf of Tobiah by providing him a room in the courts of God's house.
Remember me for this, my God, and don't erase the deeds of faithful love I have done for the house of my God and for its services.
At that time I saw people in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath. They were also bringing in stores of grain and loading them on donkeys, along with wine, grapes, and figs. All kinds of goods were being brought to Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. So I warned them against selling food on that day.
The Tyrians living there were importing fish and all kinds of merchandise and selling them on the Sabbath to the people of Judah in Jerusalem.
When shadows began to fall on the city gates of Jerusalem just before the Sabbath, I gave orders that the city gates be closed and not opened until after the Sabbath. I posted some of my men at the gates, so that no goods could enter during the Sabbath day.
but I warned them, “Why are you camping in front of the wall? If you do it again, I'll use force[fn] against you.” After that they did not come again on the Sabbath.
I rebuked them, cursed them, beat some of their men, and pulled out their hair. I forced them to take an oath before God and said, “You must not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters as wives for your sons or yourselves!
“Didn't King Solomon of Israel sin in matters like this? There was not a king like him among many nations. He was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel, yet foreign women drew him into sin.
“Why then should we hear about you doing all this terrible evil and acting unfaithfully against our God by marrying foreign women? ”
I also arranged for the donation of wood at the appointed times and for the firstfruits.
Remember me, my God, with favor.
These events took place during the days of Ahasuerus, who ruled 127 provinces from India to Cush.
He held a feast in the third year of his reign for all his officials and staff, the army of Persia and Media, the nobles, and the officials from the provinces.
At the end of this time, the king held a week-long banquet in the garden courtyard of the royal palace for all the people, from the greatest to the least, who were present in the fortress of Susa.
On the seventh day, when the king was feeling good from the wine, Ahasuerus commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carkas — the seven eunuchs who personally served him —
“The decree the king issues will be heard throughout his vast kingdom, so all women will honor their husbands, from the greatest to the least.”
He sent letters to all the royal provinces, to each province in its own script and to each ethnic group in its own language, that every man should be master of his own house and speak in the language of his own people.
“Let the king appoint commissioners in each province of his kingdom, so that they may gather all the beautiful young virgins to the harem at the fortress of Susa. Put them under the supervision of Hegai, the king's eunuch, keeper of the women, and give them the required beauty treatments.
In the fortress of Susa, there was a Jewish man named Mordecai son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, a Benjaminite.
Mordecai was the legal guardian of his cousin[fn] Hadassah (that is, Esther), because she had no father or mother. The young woman had a beautiful figure and was extremely good-looking. When her father and mother died, Mordecai had adopted her as his own daughter.
The young woman pleased him and gained his favor so that he accelerated the process of the beauty treatments and the special diet that she received. He assigned seven hand-picked female servants to her from the palace and transferred her and her servants to the harem's best quarters.
During the year before each young woman's turn to go to King Ahasuerus, the harem regulation required her to receive beauty treatments with oil of myrrh for six months and then with perfumes and cosmetics for another six months.
Esther was the daughter of Abihail, the uncle of Mordecai who had adopted her as his own daughter. When her turn came to go to the king, she did not ask for anything except what Hegai, the king's eunuch, keeper of the women, suggested. Esther gained favor in the eyes of everyone who saw her.
When the virgins were gathered a second time, Mordecai was sitting at the King's Gate.
When the report was investigated and verified, both men were hanged on the gallows. This event was recorded in the Historical Record in the king's presence.
The entire royal staff at the King's Gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman, because the king had commanded this to be done for him. But Mordecai would not bow down or pay homage.
The members of the royal staff at the King's Gate asked Mordecai, “Why are you disobeying the king's command? ”
In the first month, the month of Nisan, in King Ahasuerus's twelfth year, the pur — that is, the lot — was cast before Haman for each day in each month, and it fell on the twelfth month, the month Adar.
Then Haman informed King Ahasuerus, “There is one ethnic group, scattered throughout the peoples in every province of your kingdom, keeping themselves separate. Their laws are different from everyone else's and they do not obey the king's laws. It is not in the king's best interest to tolerate them.
Letters were sent by couriers to each of the royal provinces telling the officials to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jewish people — young and old, women and children — and plunder their possessions on a single day, the thirteenth day of Adar, the twelfth month.[fn]
There was great mourning among the Jewish people in every province where the king's command and edict reached. They fasted, wept, and lamented, and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.
Mordecai also gave him a copy of the written decree issued in Susa ordering their destruction, so that Hathach might show it to Esther, explain it to her, and command her to approach the king, implore his favor, and plead with him personally for her people.
Mordecai told the messenger to reply to Esther, “Don't think that you will escape the fate of all the Jews because you are in the king's palace.
“If you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will come to the Jewish people from another place, but you and your father's family will be destroyed. Who knows, perhaps you have come to your royal position for such a time as this.”
“Go and assemble all the Jews who can be found in Susa and fast for me. Don't eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my female servants will also fast in the same way. After that, I will go to the king even if it is against the law. If I perish, I perish.”
On the third day, Esther dressed in her royal clothing and stood in the inner courtyard of the palace facing it. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the royal courtroom,[fn] facing its entrance.
As soon as the king saw Queen Esther standing in the courtyard, she gained favor with him. The king extended the gold scepter in his hand toward Esther, and she approached and touched the tip of the scepter.
While drinking the[fn] wine, the king asked Esther, “Whatever you ask will be given to you. Whatever you want, even to half the kingdom, will be done.”
That day Haman left full of joy and in good spirits.[fn] But when Haman saw Mordecai at the King's Gate, and Mordecai didn't rise or tremble in fear at his presence, Haman was filled with rage toward Mordecai.
“Still, none of this satisfies me since I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the King's Gate all the time.”
They found the written report of how Mordecai had informed on Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's eunuchs who guarded the entrance, when they planned to assassinate King Ahasuerus.
The king asked, “Who is in the court? ” Now Haman was just entering the outer court of the palace to ask the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows he had prepared for him.
The king's attendants answered him, “Haman is there, standing in the court.”
“Have him enter,” the king ordered.
Haman entered, and the king asked him, “What should be done for the man the king wants to honor? ”
Haman thought to himself, “Who is it the king would want to honor more than me? ”
The king told Haman, “Hurry, and do just as you proposed. Take a garment and a horse for Mordecai the Jew, who is sitting at the King's Gate. Do not leave out anything you have suggested.”
Once again, on the second day while drinking wine, the king asked Esther, “Queen Esther, whatever you ask will be given to you. Whatever you seek, even to half the kingdom, will be done.”
The king arose in anger and went from where they were drinking wine to the palace garden.[fn] Haman remained to beg Queen Esther for his life because he realized the king was planning something terrible for him.
Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall,[fn] Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining. The king exclaimed, “Would he actually violate the queen while I am in the house? ” As soon as the statement left the king's mouth, they covered Haman's face.
That same day King Ahasuerus awarded Queen Esther the estate of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. Mordecai entered the king's presence because Esther had revealed her relationship to Mordecai.
She said, “If it pleases the king and I have found favor with him, if the matter seems right to the king and I am pleasing in his eyes, let a royal edict be written. Let it revoke the documents the scheming Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all the king's provinces.
“For how could I bear to see the disaster that would come on my people? How could I bear to see the destruction of my relatives? ”
On the twenty-third day of the third month — that is, the month Sivan — the royal scribes were summoned. Everything was written exactly as Mordecai commanded for the Jews, to the satraps, the governors, and the officials of the 127 provinces from India to Cush. The edict was written for each province in its own script, for each ethnic group in its own language, and to the Jews in their own script and language.
The king's edict gave the Jews in each and every city the right to assemble and defend themselves, to destroy, kill, and annihilate every ethnic and provincial army hostile to them, including women and children, and to take their possessions as spoils of war.
This would take place on a single day throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month Adar.
A copy of the text, issued as law throughout every province, was distributed to all the peoples so the Jews could be ready to avenge themselves against their enemies on that day.
The couriers rode out in haste on their royal horses at the king's urgent command. The law was also issued in the fortress of Susa.
Mordecai went from the king's presence clothed in royal blue and white, with a great gold crown and a purple robe of fine linen. The city of Susa shouted and rejoiced,
The king's command and law went into effect on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month Adar. On the day when the Jews' enemies had hoped to overpower them, just the opposite happened. The Jews overpowered those who hated them.
In each of King Ahasuerus's provinces the Jews assembled in their cities to attack those who intended to harm them.[fn] Not a single person could withstand them; fear of them fell on every nationality.
For Mordecai exercised great power in the palace, and his fame spread throughout the provinces as he became more and more powerful.
On that day the number of people killed in the fortress of Susa was reported to the king.
The king said to Queen Esther, “In the fortress of Susa the Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men, including Haman's ten sons. What have they done in the rest of the royal provinces? Whatever you ask will be given to you. Whatever you seek will also be done.”
The Jews in Susa assembled again on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar and killed three hundred men in Susa, but they did not seize any plunder.
The rest of the Jews in the royal provinces assembled, defended themselves, and gained relief from their enemies. They killed seventy-five thousand[fn] of those who hated them, but they did not seize any plunder.
But the Jews in Susa had assembled on the thirteenth and the fourteenth days of the month. They rested on the fifteenth day of the month, and it became a day of feasting and rejoicing.
This explains why the rural Jews who live in villages observe the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a time of rejoicing and feasting. It is a holiday when they send gifts to one another.
Mordecai recorded these events and sent letters to all the Jews in all of King Ahasuerus's provinces, both near and far.
because during those days the Jews gained relief from their enemies. That was the month when their sorrow was turned into rejoicing and their mourning into a holiday. They were to be days of feasting, rejoicing, and of sending gifts to one another and to the poor.
All of his powerful and magnificent accomplishments and the detailed account of Mordecai's great rank with which the king had honored him, have they not been written in the Book of the Historical Events of the Kings of Media and Persia?
Mordecai the Jew was second only to King Ahasuerus. He was famous among the Jews and highly esteemed by many of his relatives. He continued to pursue prosperity for his people and to speak for the well-being of all his descendants.
There was a man in the country of Uz named Job. He was a man of complete integrity, who feared God and turned away from evil.
Whenever a round of banqueting was over, Job would send for his children and purify them, rising early in the morning to offer burnt offerings for[fn] all of them. For Job thought, “Perhaps my children have sinned, having cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job's regular practice.
“Very well,” the LORD told Satan, “everything he owns is in your power. However, do not lay a hand on Job himself.” So Satan left the LORD's presence.
One day when Job's sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house,
“the Sabeans swooped down and took them away. They struck down the servants with the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you! ”
That messenger was still speaking when yet another came and reported, “The Chaldeans formed three bands, made a raid on the camels, and took them away. They struck down the servants with the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you! ”
One day the sons of God came again to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them to present himself before the LORD.
His wife said to him, “Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die! ”
“You speak as a foolish woman speaks,” he told her. “Should we accept only good from God and not adversity? ” Throughout all this Job did not sin in what he said.[fn]
Why is light given to one burdened with grief,
and life to those whose existence is bitter,
Should anyone try to speak with you
when you are exhausted?
Yet who can keep from speaking?
He traps the wise in their craftiness
so that the plans of the deceptive
are quickly brought to an end.
You will approach the grave in full vigor,
as a stack of sheaves is gathered in its season.
Surely the arrows of the Almighty have pierced[fn] me;
my spirit drinks their poison.
God's terrors are arrayed against me.
The eye of anyone who looks on me
will no longer see me.
Your eyes will look for me, but I will be gone.
Therefore I will not restrain my mouth.
I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;
I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
His roots are intertwined around a pile of rocks.
He looks for a home among the stones.
“Yet you concealed these thoughts in your heart;
I know that this was your hidden plan:[fn]
Should your babbling put others to silence,
so that you can keep on ridiculing
with no one to humiliate you?
They are higher than the heavens — what can you do?
They are deeper than Sheol — what can you know?
if there is iniquity in your hand, remove it,
and don't allow injustice to dwell in your tents —
The life of every living thing is in his hand,
as well as the breath of all humanity.
You put my feet in the stocks
and stand watch over all my paths,
setting a limit for the soles[fn] of my feet.
Do you really take notice of one like this?
Will you bring me into judgment against you?[fn]
If only you would hide me in Sheol
and conceal me until your anger passes.
If only you would appoint a time for me
and then remember me.
A wicked person writhes in pain all his days,
throughout the number of years reserved for the ruthless.
He wanders about for food, asking, “Where is it? ”
He knows the day of darkness is at hand.
Instead, I would encourage you with my mouth,
and the consolation from my lips would bring relief.
You have shriveled me up[fn] — it has become a witness;
my frailty rises up against me and testifies to my face.
He has made me an object of scorn to the people;
I have become a man people spit at.[fn]
He has no children or descendants among his people,
no survivor where he used to live.
My skin and my flesh cling to my bones;
I have escaped with only the skin of my teeth.
If you say, “How will we pursue him,
since the root of the problem lies with him? ”[fn]
Because his appetite is never satisfied,[fn]
he does not let anything he desires escape.
Their children are established while they are still alive,[fn]
and their descendants, before their eyes.
But their prosperity is not of their own doing.
The counsel of the wicked is far from me!
For what does he care about his family once he is dead,
when the number of his months has run out?
I have not departed from the commands from his lips;
I have treasured[fn] the words from his mouth
more than my daily food.
Like wild donkeys in the wilderness,
the poor go out to their task of foraging for food;
the desert provides nourishment for their children.
They are exalted for a moment, then gone;
they are brought low and shrivel up like everything else.[fn]
They wither like heads of grain.
These are but the fringes of his ways;
how faint is the word we hear of him!
Who can understand his mighty thunder?
I will teach you about God's power.
I will not conceal what the Almighty has planned.[fn]
Those who survive him will be buried by the plague,
yet their widows will not weep for them.
I directed their course and presided as chief.
I lived as a king among his troops,
like one who comforts those who mourn.
But now they mock me,
men younger than I am,
whose fathers I would have refused to put
with my sheep dogs.
Emaciated from poverty and hunger,
they gnawed the dry land,
the desolate wasteland by night.
My clothing is distorted with great force;
he chokes me by the neck of my garment.[fn]
Have I not wept for those who have fallen on hard times?
Has my soul not grieved for the needy?
I walk about blackened, but not by the sun.[fn]
I stood in the assembly and cried out for help.
Did not the one who made me in the womb also make them?
Did not the same God form us both in the womb?
But it is the spirit in a person—
the breath from the Almighty—
that gives anyone understanding.
In a dream, a vision in the night,
when deep sleep comes over people
as they slumber on their beds,
then his flesh will be healthier[fn] than in his youth,
and he will return to the days of his youthful vigor.
For he repays a person according to his deeds,
and he gives him what his conduct deserves.[fn]
Be patient with me a little longer, and I will inform you,
for there is still more to be said on God's behalf.
If they listen and serve him,
they will end their days in prosperity
and their years in happiness.
Then there comes a roaring sound;
God thunders with his majestic voice.
He does not restrain the lightning
when his rumbling voice is heard.
God thunders wondrously with his voice;
he does great things that we cannot comprehend.
They swirl about,
turning round and round at his direction,
accomplishing everything he commands them
over the surface of the inhabited world.
Now no one can even look at the sun
after a wind has swept through and cleared the sky.
when I declared, “You may come this far, but no farther;
your proud waves stop here”?
Their offspring are healthy and grow up in the open field.
They leave and do not return.[fn]
Can you hold the wild ox to a furrow by its harness?
Will it plow the valleys behind you?
No women as beautiful as Job's daughters could be found in all the land, and their father granted them an inheritance with their brothers.
How happy is the one who does not
walk in the advice of the wicked
or stand in the pathway with sinners
or sit in the company of mockers!
Instead, his delight is in the LORD's instruction,
and he meditates on it day and night.
He is like a tree planted beside flowing streams[fn]
that bears its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.
Therefore the wicked will not stand up in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
Answer me when I call,
God, who vindicates me.[fn]
You freed me from affliction;
be gracious to me and hear my prayer.
Know that the LORD has set apart
the faithful for himself;
the LORD will hear when I call to him.
Be angry[fn] and do not sin;
reflect in your heart while on your bed and be silent.Selah
But I enter your house
by the abundance of your faithful love;
I bow down toward your holy temple
in reverential awe of you.
LORD, lead me in your righteousness
because of my adversaries;
make your way straight before me.
For there is nothing reliable in what they say;
destruction is within them;
their throat is an open grave;
they flatter with their tongues.
But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
let them shout for joy forever.
May you shelter them,
and may those who love your name boast about you.
I am weary from my groaning;
with my tears I dampen my bed
and drench my couch every night.
Rise up, LORD, in your anger;
lift yourself up against the fury of my adversaries;
awake for me;[fn]
you have ordained a judgment.
LORD, our Lord,
how magnificent is your name throughout the earth!
You have covered the heavens with your majesty.[fn]
And he judges the world with righteousness;
he executes judgment on the nations with fairness.
so that I may declare all your praises.
I will rejoice in your salvation
within the gates of Daughter Zion.
The nations have fallen into the pit they made;
their foot is caught in the net they have concealed.
The LORD has made himself known;
he has executed justice,
snaring the wicked
by the work of their hands.Higgaion. Selah
In arrogance the wicked relentlessly pursue their victims;
let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.
For the wicked one boasts about his own cravings;
the one who is greedy curses[fn] and despises the LORD.
He says to himself, “I will never be moved —
from generation to generation I will be without calamity.”
He waits in ambush near settlements;
he kills the innocent in secret places.
His eyes are on the lookout for the helpless;
he lurks in secret like a lion in a thicket.
He lurks in order to seize a victim;
he seizes a victim and drags him in his net.
So he is oppressed and beaten down;
helpless people fall because of the wicked one's strength.
Why has the wicked person despised God?
He says to himself, “You will not demand an account.”
“For look, the wicked string bows;
they put their arrows on bowstrings
to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart.
“Because of the devastation of the needy
and the groaning of the poor,
I will now rise up,” says the LORD.
“I will provide safety for the one who longs for it.”
How long will I store up anxious concerns[fn] within me,
agony in my mind every day?
How long will my enemy dominate me?
The fool says in his heart, “There's no God.”
They are corrupt; they do vile deeds.
There is no one who does good.
All have turned away;
all alike have become corrupt.
There is no one who does good,
not even one.
Oh, that Israel's deliverance would come from Zion!
When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people,[fn]
let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.
The one who lives blamelessly, practices righteousness,
and acknowledges the truth in his heart —
who does not slander with his tongue,
who does not harm his friend
or discredit his neighbor,
As for the holy people who are in the land,
they are the noble ones.
All my delight is in them.
The boundary lines have fallen for me
in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
You reveal the path of life to me;
in your presence is abundant joy;
at your right hand are eternal pleasures.
LORD, hear a just cause;
pay attention to my cry;
listen to my prayer —
from lips free of deceit.
You have tested my heart;
you have examined me at night.
You have tried me and found nothing evil;
I have determined that my mouth will not sin.[fn]
With your hand, LORD, save me from men,
from men of the world
whose portion is in this life:
You fill their bellies with what you have in store;
their sons are satisfied,
and they leave their surplus to their children.
But I will see your face in righteousness;
when I awake, I will be satisfied with your presence.[fn]
I called to the LORD in my distress,
and I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.
Smoke rose from his nostrils,
and consuming fire came from his mouth;
coals were set ablaze by it.[fn]
Therefore I will give thanks to you among the nations, LORD;
I will sing praises about your name.
Their message[fn] has gone out to the whole earth,
and their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun.
In addition, your servant is warned by them,
and in keeping them there is an abundant reward.
Let us shout for joy at your victory
and lift the banner in the name of our God.
May the LORD fulfill all your requests.
Now I know that the LORD gives victory to his anointed;
he will answer him from his holy heaven
with mighty victories from his right hand.
Some take pride in chariots, and others in horses,
but we take pride in the name of the LORD our God.
For the king relies on the LORD;
through the faithful love of the Most High
he is not shaken.
You will make them burn
like a fiery furnace when you appear;
the LORD will engulf them in his wrath,
and fire will devour them.
Instead, you will put them to flight
when you ready your bowstrings to shoot at them.
I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are disjointed;
my heart is like wax,
melting within me.
I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters;
I will praise you in the assembly.
For he has not despised or abhorred
the torment of the oppressed.
He did not hide his face from him
but listened when he cried to him for help.
I will give praise in the great assembly
because of you;
I will fulfill my vows
before those who fear you.[fn]
Even when I go through the darkest valley,[fn]
I fear no danger,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff — they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Vindicate me, LORD,
because I have lived with integrity
and have trusted in the LORD without wavering.
When evildoers came against me to devour my flesh,
my foes and my enemies stumbled and fell.
Though an army deploys against me,
my heart will not be afraid;
though a war breaks out against me,
I will still be confident.
I have asked one thing from the LORD;
it is what I desire:
to dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
gazing on the beauty of the LORD
and seeking him in his temple.
For he will conceal me in his shelter
in the day of adversity;
he will hide me under the cover of his tent;
he will set me high on a rock.
Then my head will be high
above my enemies around me;
I will offer sacrifices in his tent with shouts of joy.
I will sing and make music to the LORD.
Do not hide your face from me;
do not turn your servant away in anger.
You have been my helper;
do not leave me or abandon me,
God of my salvation.
Listen to the sound of my pleading
when I cry to you for help,
when I lift up my hands
toward your holy sanctuary.
Do not drag me away with the wicked,
with the evildoers,
who speak in friendly ways with their neighbors
while malice is in their hearts.
The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth[fn]
and strips the woodlands bare.
In his temple all cry, “Glory! ”
For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor, a lifetime.
Weeping may stay overnight,
but there is joy in the morning.
LORD, when you showed your favor,
you made me stand like a strong mountain;
when you hid your face, I was terrified.
“What gain is there in my death,
if I go down to the Pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it proclaim your truth?
Be gracious to me, LORD,
because I am in distress;
my eyes are worn out from frustration —
my whole being[fn] as well.
Indeed, my life is consumed with grief
and my years with groaning;
my strength has failed
because of my iniquity,[fn]
and my bones waste away.
I have heard the gossip of many;
terror is on every side.
When they conspired against me,
they plotted to take my life.
The course of my life is in your power;
rescue me from the power of my enemies
and from my persecutors.
Let lying lips
that arrogantly speak against the righteous
in proud contempt be silenced.
You hide them in the protection of your presence;
you conceal them in a shelter
from human schemes,
from quarrelsome tongues.
Blessed be the LORD,
for he has wondrously shown his faithful love to me
in a city under siege.
In my alarm I said,
“I am cut off from your sight.”
But you heard the sound of my pleading
when I cried to you for help.
How joyful is a person whom
the LORD does not charge with iniquity
and in whose spirit is no deceit!
For day and night your hand was heavy on me;
my strength was drained[fn]
as in the summer's heat.Selah
Therefore let everyone who is faithful pray to you immediately.[fn]
When great floodwaters come,
they will not reach him.
I will instruct you and show you the way to go;
with my eye on you, I will give counsel.
Do not be like a horse or mule,
without understanding,
that must be controlled with bit and bridle
or else it will not come near you.
A king is not saved by a large army;
a warrior will not be rescued by great strength.
Let ruin come on him unexpectedly,
and let the net that he hid ensnare him;
let him fall into it — to his ruin.
Yet when they were sick,
my clothing was sackcloth;
I humbled myself with fasting,
and my prayer was genuine.[fn]
Do not let them say in their hearts,
“Aha! Just what we wanted.”
Do not let them say,
“We have swallowed him up! ”
An oracle within my heart
concerning the transgression of the wicked person:
Dread of God has no effect on him.[fn]
How priceless your faithful love is, God!
People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
Be silent before the LORD and wait expectantly for him;
do not be agitated by one who prospers in his way,
by the person who carries out evil plans.
They will not be disgraced in times of adversity;
they will be satisfied in days of hunger.
Wait for the LORD and keep his way,
and he will exalt you to inherit the land.
You will watch when the wicked are destroyed.
There is no soundness in my body
because of your indignation;
there is no health[fn] in my bones
because of my sin.
For I said, “Don't let them rejoice over me —
those who are arrogant toward me when I stumble.”
I said, “I will guard my ways
so that I may not sin with my tongue;
I will guard my mouth with a muzzle
as long as the wicked are in my presence.”
“Yes, a person goes about like a mere shadow.
Indeed, they rush around in vain,
gathering possessions
without knowing who will get them.
“You discipline a person with punishment for iniquity,
consuming like a moth what is precious to him;
yes, every human being is only a vapor.Selah
I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly;
see, I do not keep my mouth closed[fn] —
as you know, LORD.
I did not hide your righteousness in my heart;
I spoke about your faithfulness and salvation;
I did not conceal your constant love and truth
from the great assembly.
Happy is one who is considerate of the poor;
the LORD will save him in a day of adversity.
The LORD will keep him and preserve him;
he will be blessed in the land.
You will not give him over to the desire of his enemies.
My tears have been my food day and night,
while all day long people say to me,
“Where is your God? ”
I remember this as I pour out my heart:
how I walked with many,
leading the festive procession to the house of God,
with joyful and thankful shouts.
I will say to God, my rock,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go about in sorrow
because of the enemy's oppression? ”
My adversaries taunt me,
as if crushing my bones,
while all day long they say to me,
“Where is your God? ”
For you are the God of my refuge.
Why have you rejected me?
Why must I go about in sorrow
because of the enemy's oppression?
Then I will come to the altar of God,
to God, my greatest joy.
I will praise you with the lyre,
God, my God.
God, we have heard with our ears —
our ancestors have told us —
the work you accomplished in their days,
in days long ago:
For they did not take the land by their sword —
their arm did not bring them victory —
but by your right hand, your arm,
and the light of your face,
because you were favorable toward them.
But you have crushed us in a haunt of jackals
and have covered us with deepest darkness.
You are the most handsome of men;[fn]
grace flows from your lips.
Therefore God has blessed you forever.
Your sharpened arrows pierce the hearts of the king's enemies;
the peoples fall under you.
Kings' daughters are among your honored women;
the queen, adorned with gold from Ophir,
stands at your right hand.
In her chamber, the royal daughter is all glorious,
her clothing embroidered with gold.
I will cause your name to be remembered for all generations;
therefore the peoples will praise you forever and ever.
Therefore we will not be afraid,
though the earth trembles
and the mountains topple
into the depths of the seas,
He makes wars cease throughout the earth.
He shatters bows and cuts spears to pieces;
he sets wagons ablaze.
“Stop fighting, and know that I am God,
exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth.”
Just as we heard, so we have seen
in the city of the LORD of Armies,
in the city of our God;
God will establish it forever.Selah
But despite his assets,[fn] mankind will not last;
he is like the animals that perish.
This is the way of those who are arrogant,
and of their followers,
who approve of their words.[fn]Selah
Like sheep they are headed for Sheol;
Death will shepherd them.
The upright will rule over them in the morning,
and their form will waste away in Sheol,[fn]
far from their lofty abode.
Though he blesses himself during his lifetime —
and you are acclaimed when you do well for yourself —
Be gracious to me, God,
according to your faithful love;
according to your abundant compassion,
blot out my rebellion.
Against you — you alone — I have sinned
and done this evil in your sight.
So you are right when you pass sentence;
you are blameless when you judge.
But I am like a flourishing olive tree
in the house of God;
I trust in God's faithful love forever and ever.
The fool says in his heart, “There's no God.”
They are corrupt, and they do vile deeds.
There is no one who does good.
Oh, that Israel's deliverance would come from Zion!
When God restores the fortunes of his people,[fn]
let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.
He will repay my adversaries for their evil.
Because of your faithfulness, annihilate them.
Let death take them by surprise;
let them go down to Sheol alive,
because evil is in their homes and within them.
Be gracious to me, God, for a man is trampling me;
he fights and oppresses me all day long.
In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I will not be afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?
I am obligated by vows[fn] to you, God;
I will make my thanksgiving sacrifices to you.
For you rescued me from death,
even my feet from stumbling,
to walk before God in the light of life.
Be gracious to me, God, be gracious to me,
for I take refuge in you.
I will seek refuge in the shadow of your wings
until danger passes.
I will praise you, Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to you among the nations.
No, you practice injustice in your hearts;
with your hands you weigh out violence in the land.
Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns —
whether green or burning —
he will sweep them away.[fn]
The righteous one will rejoice
when he sees the retribution;
he will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.
Then people will say,
“Yes, there is a reward for the righteous!
There is a God who judges on earth! ”
Look, they spew from their mouths —
sharp words from[fn] their lips.
“For who,” they say, “will hear? ”
My faithful God[fn] will come to meet me;
God will let me look down on my adversaries.
Do not kill them; otherwise, my people will forget.
By your power, make them homeless wanderers
and bring them down,
Lord, our shield.
For the sin of their mouths and the words of their lips,
let them be caught in their pride.
They utter curses and lies.
Consume them in fury;
consume them until they are gone.
Then people will know throughout[fn] the earth
that God rules over Jacob.Selah
But I will sing of your strength
and will joyfully proclaim
your faithful love in the morning.
For you have been a stronghold for me,
a refuge in my day of trouble.
God has spoken in his sanctuary:[fn]
“I will celebrate!
I will divide up Shechem.
I will apportion the Valley of Succoth.
I call to you from the ends of the earth
when my heart is without strength.
Lead me to a rock that is high above me,
I will dwell in your tent forever
and take refuge under the shelter of your wings.Selah
They only plan to bring him down
from his high position.
They take pleasure in lying;
they bless with their mouths,
but they curse inwardly.Selah
Common people are only a vapor;
important people, an illusion.
Together on a scale,
they weigh less than[fn] a vapor.
God, you are my God; I eagerly seek you.
I thirst for you;
my body faints for you
in a land that is dry, desolate, and without water.
But the king will rejoice in God;
all who swear by him will boast,
for the mouths of liars will be shut.
God, hear my voice when I am in anguish.
Protect my life from the terror of the enemy.
shooting from concealed places at the blameless.
They shoot at him suddenly and are not afraid.
How happy is the one you choose
and bring near to live in your courts!
We will be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
the holiness of your temple.[fn]
You answer us in righteousness,
with awe-inspiring works,
God of our salvation,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the distant seas.
You soften it with showers and bless its growth,
soaking its furrows and leveling its ridges.
Say to God, “How awe-inspiring are your works!
Your enemies will cringe before you
because of your great strength.
He turned the sea into dry land,
and they crossed the river on foot.
There we rejoiced in him.
He rules forever by his might;
he keeps his eye on the nations.
The rebellious should not exalt themselves.Selah
Let the nations rejoice and shout for joy,
for you judge the peoples with fairness
and lead the nations on earth.Selah
God provides homes for those who are deserted.
He leads out the prisoners to prosperity,[fn]
but the rebellious live in a scorched land.
Why gaze with envy, you mountain peaks,
at the mountain God desired for his abode?
The LORD will dwell there forever!
God's chariots are tens of thousands,
thousands and thousands;
the Lord is among them in the sanctuary[fn]
as he was at Sinai.
Surely God crushes the heads of his enemies,
the hairy brow of one who goes on in his guilty acts.
The Lord said, “I will bring them back from Bashan;
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea
“so that your foot may wade[fn] in blood
and your dogs' tongues may have their share
from the enemies.”
People have seen your procession, God,
the procession of my God,
my King, in the sanctuary.
Singers lead the way,
with musicians following;
among them are young women
playing tambourines.
There is Benjamin, the youngest, leading them,
the rulers of Judah in their assembly,[fn]
the rulers of Zebulun, the rulers of Naphtali.
Rebuke the beast in the reeds,
the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples.
Trample underfoot those with bars of silver.[fn]
Scatter the peoples who take pleasure in war.
to him who rides in the ancient, highest heavens.
Look, he thunders with his powerful voice!
God, you are awe-inspiring in your sanctuaries.
The God of Israel gives power and strength to his people.
Blessed be God!
But as for me, LORD,
my prayer to you is for a time of favor.
In your abundant, faithful love, God,
answer me with your sure salvation.
The descendants of his servants will inherit it,
and those who love his name will live in it.
I have leaned on you from birth;
you took me from my mother's womb.
My praise is always about you.
I come because of the mighty acts of the Lord GOD;
I will proclaim your righteousness, yours alone.
Therefore, I will praise you with a harp
for your faithfulness, my God;
I will sing to you with a lyre,
Holy One of Israel.
May there be plenty of grain in the land;
may it wave on the tops of the mountains.
May its crops be like Lebanon.
May people flourish in the cities
like the grass of the field.
May his name endure forever;
as long as the sun shines,
may his fame increase.
May all nations be blessed by him
and call him blessed.
But as for me, God's presence is my good.
I have made the Lord GOD my refuge,
so I can tell about all you do.
Remember your congregation,
which you purchased long ago
and redeemed as the tribe for your own possession.
Remember Mount Zion where you dwell.
Make your way[fn] to the perpetual ruins,
to all that the enemy has destroyed in the sanctuary.
Your adversaries roared in the meeting place
where you met with us.[fn]
They set up their emblems as signs.
They said in their hearts,
“Let's oppress them relentlessly.”
They burned every place throughout the land
where God met with us.[fn]
You divided the sea with your strength;
you smashed the heads of the sea monsters in the water;
“When the earth and all its inhabitants shake,
I am the one who steadies its pillars.Selah
For there is a cup in the LORD's hand,
full of wine blended with spices, and he pours from it.
All the wicked of the earth will drink,
draining it to the dregs.
I sought the Lord in my day of trouble.
My hands were continually lifted up
all night long;
I refused to be comforted.
The sound of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
lightning lit up the world.
The earth shook and quaked.
Your way went through the sea
and your path through the vast water,
but your footprints were unseen.
He established a testimony in Jacob
and set up a law in Israel,
which he commanded our ancestors
to teach to their children
He worked wonders in the sight of their ancestors
in the land of Egypt, the territory of Zoan.
But they continued to sin against him,
rebelling in the desert against the Most High.
Therefore, the LORD heard and became furious;
then fire broke out against Jacob,
and anger flared up against Israel
Before they had turned from what they craved,
while the food was still in their mouths,
God's anger flared up against them,
and he killed some of their best men.
He struck down Israel's fit young men.
when he performed his miraculous signs in Egypt
and his wonders in the territory of Zoan.
He drove out nations before them.
He apportioned their inheritance by lot
and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.
They enraged him with their high places
and provoked his jealousy with their carved images.
Why should the nations ask,
“Where is their God? ”
Before our eyes,
let vengeance for the shed blood of your servants
be known among the nations.
He set it up as a decree for Joseph
when he went throughout[fn] the land of Egypt.
I heard an unfamiliar language:
“I relieved his shoulder from the burden;
his hands were freed from carrying the basket.
“You called out in distress, and I rescued you;
I answered you from the thundercloud.
I tested you at the Waters of Meribah.Selah
They do not know or understand;
they wander in darkness.
All the foundations of the earth are shaken.
Deal with them as you did with Midian,
as you did with Sisera
and Jabin at the Kishon River.
Better a day in your courts
than a thousand anywhere else.
I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God
than live in the tents of wicked people.
For the LORD God is a sun and shield.
The LORD grants favor and honor;
he does not withhold the good
from those who live with integrity.
I will listen to what God will say;
surely the LORD will declare peace
to his people, his faithful ones,
and not let them go back to foolish ways.
Teach me your way, LORD,
and I will live by your truth.
Give me an undivided mind to fear your name.
And it will be said of Zion,
“This one and that one were born in her.”
The Most High himself will establish her.
Will your wonders be known in the darkness
or your righteousness in the land of oblivion?
From my youth,
I have been suffering and near death.
I suffer your horrors; I am desperate.
I will sing about the LORD's faithful love forever;
I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations
with my mouth.
For I will declare,
“Faithful love is built up forever;
you establish your faithfulness in the heavens.”
LORD, the heavens praise your wonders —
your faithfulness also —
in the assembly of the holy ones.
For who in the skies can compare with the LORD?
Who among the heavenly beings[fn] is like the LORD?
God is greatly feared in the council of the holy ones,
more awe-inspiring than[fn] all who surround him.
You crushed Rahab like one who is slain;
you scattered your enemies with your powerful arm.
Happy are the people who know the joyful shout;
LORD, they walk in the light from your face.
You once spoke in a vision to your faithful ones
and said, “I have granted help to a warrior;
I have exalted one chosen[fn] from the people.
“My faithfulness and love will be with him,
and through my name
his horn will be exalted.
Lord, where are the former acts of your faithful love
that you swore to David in your faithfulness?
Remember, Lord, the ridicule against your servants —
in my heart I carry abuse from all the peoples —
For in your sight a thousand years
are like yesterday that passes by,
like a few hours of the night.
Teach us to number our days carefully
so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.[fn]
Satisfy us in the morning with your faithful love
so that we may shout with joy and be glad all our days.
The one who lives under the protection of the Most High
dwells in the shadow of the Almighty.
He will cover you with his feathers;
you will take refuge under his wings.
His faithfulness will be a protective shield.
When he calls out to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble.
I will rescue him and give him honor.
For you have made me rejoice, LORD,
by what you have done;
I will shout for joy
because of the works of your hands.
though the wicked sprout like grass
and all evildoers flourish,
they will be eternally destroyed.
to declare, “The LORD is just;
he is my rock,
and there is no unrighteousness in him.”
Greater than the roar of a huge torrent —
the mighty breakers of the sea —
the LORD on high is majestic.
Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness;
let the whole earth tremble before him.
Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns.
The world is firmly established; it cannot be shaken.
He judges the peoples fairly.”
Let the fields and everything in them celebrate.
Then all the trees of the forest will shout for joy
before the LORD, for he is coming —
for he is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness
and the peoples with his faithfulness.
All who serve carved images,
those who boast in worthless idols, will be put to shame.
All the gods[fn] must worship him.
With trumpets and the blast of the ram's horn
shout triumphantly
in the presence of the LORD, our King.
before the LORD,
for he is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world righteously
and the peoples fairly.
The mighty King loves justice.
You have established fairness;
you have administered justice
and righteousness in Jacob.
Moses and Aaron were among his priests;
Samuel also was among those calling on his name.
They called to the LORD and he answered them.
He spoke to them in a pillar of cloud;
they kept his decrees and the statutes he gave them.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and bless his name.
I will pay attention to the way of integrity.
When will you come to me?
I will live with a heart of integrity in my house.
My eyes favor the faithful of the land
so that they may sit down with me.
The one who follows the way of integrity
may serve me.
No one who acts deceitfully
will live in my palace;
the one who tells lies
will not be retained here to guide me.[fn]
Do not hide your face from me in my day of trouble.
Listen closely to me;
answer me quickly when I call.
I say, “My God, do not take me
in the middle of my life![fn]
Your years continue through all generations.
Bless the LORD, all his works
in all the places where he rules.
My soul, bless the LORD!
laying the beams of his palace
on the waters above,
making the clouds his chariot,
walking on the wings of the wind,
wine that makes human hearts glad —
making his face shine with oil —
and bread that sustains human hearts.
How countless are your works, LORD!
In wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.[fn]
whose hearts he turned to hate his people
and to deal deceptively with his servants.
They devoured all the vegetation in their land
and consumed the produce of their land.
Then he brought Israel out with silver and gold,
and no one among his tribes stumbled.
so that I may enjoy the prosperity
of your chosen ones,
rejoice in the joy of your nation,
and boast about your heritage.
Our ancestors in Egypt did not grasp
the significance of your wondrous works
or remember your many acts of faithful love;
instead, they rebelled by the sea — the Red Sea.
He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up;
he led them through the depths as through a desert.
So he said he would have destroyed them —
if Moses his chosen one
had not stood before him in the breach
to turn his wrath away from destroying them.
So he raised his hand against them with an oath
that he would make them fall in the desert
They shed innocent blood —
the blood of their sons and daughters
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan;
so the land became polluted with blood.
He rescued them many times,
but they continued to rebel deliberately
and were beaten down by their iniquity.
Save us, LORD our God,
and gather us from the nations,
so that we may give thanks to your holy name
and rejoice in your praise.
Some wandered in the desolate wilderness,
finding no way to a city where they could live.
Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble;
he rescued them from their distress.
He broke their spirits[fn] with hard labor;
they stumbled, and there was no one to help.
Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble;
he saved them from their distress.
Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble;
he saved them from their distress.
Rising up to the sky, sinking down to the depths,
their courage[fn] melting away in anguish,
Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
and he brought them out of their distress.
Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people
and praise him in the council of the elders.
and fruitful land into salty wasteland,
because of the wickedness of its inhabitants.
I will praise you, LORD, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to you among the nations.
God has spoken in his sanctuary:[fn]
“I will celebrate!
I will divide up Shechem.
I will apportion the Valley of Succoth.
Let the line of his descendants be cut off;
let their name be blotted out in the next generation.
He wore cursing like his coat —
let it enter his body like water
and go into his bones like oil.
I will fervently thank the LORD with my mouth;
I will praise him in the presence of many.
He will judge the nations, heaping up corpses;
he will crush leaders over the entire world.
Hallelujah![fn]
I will praise the LORD with all my heart
in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation.
His descendants will be powerful in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.
Light shines in the darkness for the upright.
He is gracious, compassionate, and righteous.
He distributes freely to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever.
His horn will be exalted in honor.
He gives the childless woman a household,
making her the joyful mother of children.
Hallelujah!
When Israel came out of Egypt —
the house of Jacob from a people
who spoke a foreign language —
They have hands but cannot feel,
feet, but cannot walk.
They cannot make a sound with their throats.
They surrounded me like bees;
they were extinguished like a fire among thorns;
in the name of the LORD I destroyed them.
There are shouts of joy and victory
in the tents of the righteous:
“The LORD's right hand performs valiantly!
Open the gates of righteousness for me;
I will enter through them
and give thanks to the LORD.
He who comes in the name
of the LORD is blessed.
From the house of the LORD we bless you.
The LORD is God and has given us light.
Bind the festival sacrifice with cords
to the horns of the altar.
How[fn] happy are those whose way is blameless,
who walk according to the LORD's instruction!
Though princes sit together speaking against me,
your servant will think about your statutes;
Help me understand
the meaning of your precepts
so that I can meditate on your wonders.
Help me understand your instruction,
and I will obey it
and follow it with all my heart.
I will lift up my hands to your commands,
which I love,
and will meditate on your statutes.
I have sought your favor with all my heart;
be gracious to me according to your promise.
Let the arrogant be put to shame
for slandering me with lies;
I will meditate on your precepts.
May my heart be blameless regarding your statutes
so that I will not be put to shame.
Consider how I love your precepts;
LORD, give me life according to your faithful love.
The scepter of the wicked will not remain
over the land allotted to the righteous,
so that the righteous will not apply their hands to injustice.
Our mouths were filled with laughter then,
and our tongues with shouts of joy.
Then they said among the nations,
“The LORD has done great things for them.”
Though one goes along weeping,
carrying the bag of seed,
he will surely come back with shouts of joy,
carrying his sheaves.
Happy is the man who has filled his quiver with them.
They will never be put to shame
when they speak with their enemies at the city gate.
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
within your house,
your children, like young olive trees
around your table.
Then none who pass by will say,
“May the LORD's blessing be on you.
We bless you in the name of the LORD.”
LORD, my heart is not proud;
my eyes are not haughty.
I do not get involved with things
too great or too wondrous for me.
Now bless the LORD,
all you servants of the LORD
who stand in the LORD's house at night!
The LORD does whatever he pleases
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all the depths.
May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth
if I do not remember you,
if I do not exalt Jerusalem as my greatest joy!
Remember, LORD, what the Edomites said
that day[fn] at Jerusalem:
“Destroy it! Destroy it
down to its foundations! ”
I will give you thanks with all my heart;
I will sing your praise before the heavenly beings.[fn]
If I walk into the thick of danger,
you will preserve my life
from the anger of my enemies.
You will extend your hand;
your right hand will save me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me,
and the light around me will be night” —
My bones were not hidden from you
when I was made in secret,
when I was formed in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw me when I was formless;
all my days were written in your book and planned
before a single one of them began.
Let hot coals fall on them.
Let them be thrown into the fire,
into the abyss, never again to rise.
Do not let my heart turn to any evil thing
or perform wicked acts with evildoers.
Do not let me feast on their delicacies.
Although my spirit is weak within me,
you know my way.
Along this path I travel
they have hidden a trap for me.
I cry to you, LORD;
I say, “You are my shelter,
my portion in the land of the living.”
LORD, hear my prayer.
In your faithfulness listen to my plea,
and in your righteousness answer me.
For the enemy has pursued me,
crushing me to the ground,
making me live in darkness
like those long dead.
I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all you have done;
I reflect on the work of your hands.
Let me experience
your faithful love in the morning,
for I trust in you.
Reveal to me the way I should go
because I appeal to you.
Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God.
May your gracious Spirit
lead me on level ground.
For your name's sake, LORD,
let me live.
In your righteousness deliver me from trouble,
and in your faithful love destroy my enemies.
Wipe out all those who attack me,
for I am your servant.
Then our sons will be like plants
nurtured in their youth,
our daughters, like corner pillars
that are carved in the palace style.
Our storehouses will be full,
supplying all kinds of produce;
our flocks will increase by thousands
and tens of thousands in our open fields.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom;
your rule is for all generations.
The LORD is faithful in all his words
and gracious in all his actions.[fn]
the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea and everything in them.
He remains faithful forever,
who covers the sky with clouds,
prepares rain for the earth,
and causes grass to grow on the hills.
He is not impressed by the strength of a horse;
he does not value the power of a warrior.[fn]
For he strengthens the bars of your city gates
and blesses your children within you.
Let them praise his name with dancing
and make music to him with tambourine and lyre.
Let the exaltation of God be in their mouths[fn]
and a double-edged sword in their hands,
carrying out the judgment decreed against them.
This honor is for all his faithful people.
Hallelujah!
for teaching shrewdness to the inexperienced,[fn]
knowledge and discretion to a young man —
let a wise person listen and increase learning,
and let a discerning person obtain guidance —
for understanding a proverb or a parable,[fn]
the words of the wise, and their riddles.
The LORD's curse is on the household of the wicked,
but he blesses the home of the righteous;
“If you are wise, you are wise for your own benefit;
if you mock, you alone will bear the consequences.”
But he doesn't know that the departed spirits are there,
that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.
The son who gathers during summer is prudent;
the son who sleeps during harvest is disgraceful.
The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,
but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
As shameful conduct is pleasure for a fool,
so wisdom is for a person of understanding.
What the wicked dreads will come to him,
but what the righteous desire will be given to them.
With his mouth the ungodly destroys his neighbor,
but through knowledge the righteous are rescued.
When the righteous thrive, a city rejoices;
when the wicked die, there is joyful shouting.
A gossip goes around revealing a secret,
but a trustworthy person keeps a confidence.
Those with twisted minds are detestable to the LORD,
but those with blameless conduct are his delight.
A wife of noble character[fn] is her husband's crown,
but a wife who causes shame
is like rottenness in his bones.
The one who works his land will have plenty of food,
but whoever chases fantasies lacks sense.
The wicked desire what evil people have caught,[fn]
but the root of the righteous is productive.
By rebellious speech an evil person is trapped,
but a righteous person escapes from trouble.
Deceit is in the hearts of those who plot evil,
but those who promote peace have joy.
A wise son responds to his father's discipline,
but a mocker doesn't listen to rebuke.
One person pretends to be rich but has nothing;
another pretends to be poor but has abundant wealth.
The uncultivated field of the poor yields abundant food,
but without justice, it is swept away.
The sensible person's wisdom is to consider his way,
but the stupidity of fools deceives them.
A large population is a king's splendor,
but a shortage of people is a ruler's devastation.
A patient person shows great understanding,
but a quick-tempered one promotes foolishness.
The wicked one is thrown down by his own sin,
but the righteous one has a refuge in his death.
The house of the righteous has great wealth,
but trouble accompanies the income of the wicked.
God's verdict is on the lips of a king;[fn]
his mouth should not give an unfair judgment.
When a king's face lights up, there is life;
his favor is like a cloud with spring rain.
The highway of the upright avoids evil;
the one who guards his way protects his life.
The one who understands a matter finds success,
and the one who trusts in the LORD will be happy.
Anyone with a wise heart is called discerning,
and pleasant speech[fn] increases learning.
A prudent servant will rule over a disgraceful son
and share an inheritance among brothers.
The words of a person's mouth are deep waters,
a flowing river, a fountain of wisdom.[fn]
Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
and those who love it will eat its fruit.
Counsel in a person's heart is deep water;
but a person of understanding draws it out.
A righteous person acts with integrity;
his children who come after him will be happy.
Even a young man is known by his actions —
by whether his behavior is pure and upright.
A king's heart is like channeled water in the LORD's hand:
He directs it wherever he chooses.
The Righteous One[fn] considers the house of the wicked;
he brings the wicked to ruin.
The person who strays from the way of prudence
will come to rest in the assembly of the departed spirits.
There are thorns and snares on the way of the crooked;
the one who guards himself stays far from them.
Don't rob a poor person because he is poor,
and don't crush the oppressed at the city gate,
Do you see a person skilled in his work?
He will stand in the presence of kings.
He will not stand in the presence of the unknown.
Don't gaze at wine because it is red,
because it gleams in the cup
and goes down smoothly.
You'll be like someone sleeping out at sea
or lying down on the top of a ship's mast.
Though a righteous person falls seven times,
he will get up,
but the wicked will stumble into ruin.
Don't gloat when your enemy falls,
and don't let your heart rejoice when he stumbles,
These sayings also belong to the wise:
It is not good to show partiality in judgment.
Remove the wicked from the king's presence,
and his throne will be established in righteousness.
Don't boast about yourself before the king,
and don't stand in the place of the great;
for it is better for him to say to you, “Come up here! ”
than to demote you in plain view of a noble.[fn]
To those who send him, a trustworthy envoy
is like the coolness of snow on a harvest day;
he refreshes the life of his masters.
Trusting an unreliable person in a difficult time
is like a rotten tooth or a faltering foot.
Singing songs to a troubled heart
is like taking off clothing on a cold day
or like pouring vinegar on soda.[fn]
A proverb in the mouth of a fool
is like a stick with thorns,
brandished by[fn] the hand of a drunkard.
When he speaks graciously, don't believe him,
for there are seven detestable things in his heart.
Though his hatred is concealed by deception,
his evil will be revealed in the assembly.
A person who is full tramples on a honeycomb,
but to a hungry person, any bitter thing is sweet.
Though you grind a fool
in a mortar with a pestle along with grain,
you will not separate his foolishness from him.
When hay is removed and new growth appears
and the grain from the hills is gathered in,
A destitute leader[fn] who oppresses the poor
is like a driving rain that leaves no food.
The evil do not understand justice,
but those who seek the LORD understand everything.
Better the poor person who lives with integrity
than the rich one who distorts right and wrong.[fn]
The one who leads the upright into an evil way
will fall into his own pit,
but the blameless will inherit what is good.
When the righteous triumph,
there is great rejoicing,[fn]
but when the wicked come to power,
people hide.
The one who gives to the poor
will not be in need,
but one who turns his eyes away[fn]
will receive many curses.
When the wicked come to power,
people hide,
but when they are destroyed,
the righteous flourish.
I am more stupid than any other person,[fn]
and I lack a human's ability to understand.
Who has gone up to heaven and come down?
Who has gathered the wind in his hands?
Who has bound up the waters in a cloak?
Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is his name,
and what is the name of his son —
if you know?
the way of an eagle in the sky,
the way of a snake on a rock,
the way of a ship at sea,
and the way of a man with a young woman.
She is not afraid for her household when it snows,
for all in her household are doubly clothed.[fn]
Give her the reward of her labor,[fn]
and let her works praise her at the city gates.
Can one say about anything,
“Look, this is new”?
It has already existed in the ages before us.
I applied my mind to examine and explore through wisdom all that is done under heaven. God has given people[fn] this miserable task to keep them occupied.
I said to myself, “See, I have amassed wisdom far beyond all those who were over Jerusalem before me, and my mind has thoroughly grasped[fn] wisdom and knowledge.”
I said to myself, “Go ahead, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good.” But it turned out to be futile.
I explored with my mind the pull of wine on my body — my mind still guiding me with wisdom — and how to grasp folly, until I could see what is good for people to do under heaven[fn] during the few days of their lives.
I acquired male and female servants and had slaves who were born in my house. I also owned livestock — large herds and flocks — more than all who were before me in Jerusalem.
So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem; my wisdom also remained with me.
All that my eyes desired, I did not deny them. I did not refuse myself any pleasure, for I took pleasure in all my struggles. This was my reward for all my struggles.
The wise person has eyes in his head,
but the fool walks in darkness.
Yet I also knew that one fate comes to them both.
So I said to myself, “What happens to the fool will also happen to me. Why then have I been overly wise? ” And I said to myself that this is also futile.
And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will take over all my work that I labored at skillfully under the sun. This too is futile.
When there is a person whose work was done with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and he must give his portion to a person who has not worked for it, this too is futile and a great wrong.
For what does a person get with all his work and all his efforts that he labors at under the sun?
For all his days are filled with grief, and his occupation is sorrowful; even at night, his mind does not rest. This too is futile.
I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and enjoy the[fn] good life.
I said to myself, “God will judge the righteous and the wicked, since there is a time for every activity and every work.”
I said to myself, “This happens so that God may test the children of Adam and they may see for themselves that they are like animals.”
I have seen that there is nothing better than for a person to enjoy his activities because that is his reward. For who can enable him to see what will happen after he dies?[fn]
There is no limit to all the people who were before them, yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.
Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Better to approach in obedience than to offer the sacrifice as fools do, for they ignorantly do wrong.
Do not be hasty to speak, and do not be impulsive to make a speech before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.
When you make a vow to God, don't delay fulfilling it, because he does not delight in fools. Fulfill what you vow.
If you see oppression of the poor and perversion of justice and righteousness in the province, don't be astonished at the situation, because one official protects another official, and higher officials protect them.
The one who loves silver is never satisfied with silver, and whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with income. This too is futile.
When good things increase, the ones who consume them multiply; what, then, is the profit to the owner, except to gaze at them with his eyes?
That wealth was lost in a bad venture, so when he fathered a son, he was empty-handed.
As he came from his mother's womb, so he will go again, naked as he came; he will take nothing for his efforts that he can carry in his hands.
What is more, he eats in darkness all his days, with much frustration, sickness, and anger.
Here is what I have seen to be good: It is appropriate to eat, drink, and experience good in all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of his life God has given him, because that is his reward.
Furthermore, everyone to whom God has given riches and wealth, he has also allowed him to enjoy them, take his reward, and rejoice in his labor. This is a gift of God,
for he does not often consider the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with the joy of his heart.
For he comes in futility and he goes in darkness, and his name is shrouded in darkness.
For who knows what is good for anyone in life, in the few days of his futile life that he spends like a shadow? Who can tell anyone what will happen after him under the sun?
The heart of the wise is in a house of mourning,
but the heart of fools is in a house of pleasure.
Don't say, “Why were the former days better than these? ”
since it is not wise of you to ask this.
because wisdom is protection as silver is protection;
but the advantage of knowledge
is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner.
In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity, consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that no one can discover anything that will come after him.
In my futile life[fn] I have seen everything: someone righteous perishes in spite of his righteousness, and someone wicked lives long in spite of his evil.
Don't be excessively wicked, and don't be foolish. Why should you die before your time?
It is good that you grasp the one and do not let the other slip from your hand. For the one who fears God will end up with both of them.
I have tested all this by wisdom. I resolved, “I will be wise,” but it was beyond me.
And I find more bitter than death the woman who is a trap: her heart a net and her hands chains. The one who pleases God will escape her, but the sinner will be captured by her.
“which my soul continually searches for but does not find: I found one person in a thousand, but none of those was a woman.
Do not be in a hurry; leave his presence, and don't persist in a bad cause, since he will do whatever he wants.
No one has authority over the wind[fn] to restrain it, and there is no authority over the day of death; no one is discharged during battle, and wickedness will not allow those who practice it to escape.
All this I have seen, applying my mind to all the work that is done under the sun, at a time when one person has authority over another to his harm.
In such circumstances, I saw the wicked buried. They came and went from the holy place, and they were praised[fn] in the city where they did those things. This too is futile.
Because the sentence against an evil act is not carried out quickly, the heart of people is filled with the desire to commit evil.
However, it will not go well with the wicked, and they will not lengthen their days like a shadow, for they are not reverent before God.
So I commended enjoyment because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat, drink, and enjoy himself, for this will accompany him in his labor during the days of his life that God gives him under the sun.
When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe the activity that is done on the earth (even though one's eyes do not close in sleep day or night),
Indeed, I took all this to heart and explained it all: The righteous, the wise, and their works are in God's hands. People don't know whether to expect love or hate. Everything lies ahead of them.
Everything is the same for everyone: There is one fate for the righteous and the wicked, for the good and the bad,[fn] for the clean and the unclean, for the one who sacrifices and the one who does not sacrifice. As it is for the good, so also it is for the sinner; as it is for the one who takes an oath, so also for the one who fears an oath.
This is an evil in all that is done under the sun: there is one fate for everyone. In addition, the hearts of people are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live; after that they go to the dead.
Their love, their hate, and their envy have already disappeared, and there is no longer a portion for them in all that is done under the sun.
Go, eat your bread with pleasure, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already accepted your works.
Enjoy life with the wife you love all the days of your fleeting[fn] life, which has been given to you under the sun, all your fleeting days. For that is your portion in life and in your struggle under the sun.
Whatever your hands find to do, do with all your strength, because there is no work, planning, knowledge, or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.
For certainly no one knows his time: like fish caught in a cruel net or like birds caught in a trap, so people are trapped in an evil time as it suddenly falls on them.
There was a small city with few men in it. A great king came against it, surrounded it, and built large siege works against it.
Now a poor wise man was found in the city, and he delivered the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man.
Even when the fool walks along the road, his heart lacks sense,
and he shows everyone he is a fool.
The one who digs a pit may fall into it,
and the one who breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.
The one who quarries stones may be hurt by them;
the one who splits logs may be endangered by them.
If the snake bites before it is charmed,
then there is no advantage for the charmer.[fn]
Blessed are you, land, when your king is a son of nobles
and your princes feast at the proper time —
for strength and not for drunkenness.
Because of laziness the roof caves in,
and because of negligent hands the house leaks.
Do not curse the king even in your thoughts,
and do not curse a rich person even in your bedroom,
for a bird of the sky may carry the message,
and a winged creature may report the matter.
If the clouds are full, they will pour out rain on the earth;
whether a tree falls to the south or the north,
the place where the tree falls, there it will lie.
One who watches the wind will not sow,
and the one who looks at the clouds will not reap.
Just as you don't know the path of the wind,
or how bones develop in[fn] the womb of a pregnant woman,
so also you don't know the work of God who makes everything.
In the morning sow your seed,
and at evening do not let your hand rest,
because you don't know which will succeed,
whether one or the other,
or if both of them will be equally good.
Indeed, if someone lives many years,
let him rejoice in them all,
and let him remember the days of darkness, since they will be many.
All that comes is futile.
Rejoice, young person, while you are young,
and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth.
And walk in the ways of your heart
and in the desire of your eyes;
but know that for all of these things God will bring you to judgment.
So remember your Creator in the days of your youth:
Before the days of adversity come,
and the years approach when you will say,
“I have no delight in them”;
on the day when the guardians of the house tremble,
and the strong men stoop,
the women who grind grain cease because they are few,
and the ones who watch through the windows see dimly,
the doors at the street are shut
while the sound of the mill fades;
when one rises at the sound of a bird,
and all the daughters of song grow faint.
Also, they are afraid of heights and dangers on the road;
the almond tree blossoms,
the grasshopper loses its spring,[fn]
and the caper berry has no effect;
for the mere mortal is headed to his eternal home,
and mourners will walk around in the street;
For God will bring every act to judgment, including every hidden thing, whether good or evil.
Take me with you — let's hurry.
Oh, that the king would bring[fn] me to his chambers.
We will rejoice and be glad in you;
we will celebrate your caresses more than wine.
It is only right that they adore you.
Do not stare at me because I am dark,
for the sun has gazed on me.
My mother's sons were angry with me;
they made me take care of the vineyards.
I have not taken care of my own vineyard.
Tell me, you whom I love:
Where do you pasture your sheep?
Where do you let them rest at noon?
Why should I be like one who veils herself[fn]
beside the flocks of your companions?
If you do not know,
most beautiful of women,
follow[fn] the tracks of the flock,
and pasture your young goats
near the shepherds' tents.
Like an apricot[fn] tree among the trees of the forest,
so is my love among the young men.
I delight to sit in his shade,
and his fruit is sweet to my taste.
Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you
by the gazelles and the wild does of the field,
do not stir up or awaken love
until the appropriate time.[fn]
The blossoms appear in the countryside.
The time of singing[fn] has come,
and the turtledove's cooing is heard in our land.
My dove, in the clefts of the rock,
in the crevices of the cliff,
let me see your face,[fn]
let me hear your voice;
for your voice is sweet,
and your face is lovely.
I will arise now and go about the city,
through the streets and the plazas.
I will seek the one I love.
I sought him, but did not find him.
The guards who go about the city found me.
I asked them, “Have you seen the one I love? ”
Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you
by the gazelles and the wild does of the field,
do not stir up or awaken love
until the appropriate time.[fn]
All of them are skilled with swords
and trained in warfare.
Each has his sword at his side
to guard against the terror of the night.
Go out, young women of Zion,
and gaze at King Solomon,
wearing the crown his mother placed on him
on the day of his wedding —
the day of his heart's rejoicing.
Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn sheep
coming up from washing,
each one bearing twins,
and none has lost its young.[fn]
You have captured my heart, my sister, my bride.
You have captured my heart with one glance of your eyes,
with one jewel of your necklace.
The guards who go about the city found me.
They beat and wounded me;
they took my cloak[fn] from me —
the guardians of the walls.
Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you,
if you find my love,
tell him that I am lovesick.
What makes the one you love better than another,
most beautiful of women?
What makes him better than another,
that you would give us this charge?
Where has your love gone,
most beautiful of women?
Which way has he[fn] turned?
We will seek him with you.
My love has gone down to his garden,
to beds of spice,
to feed in the gardens
and gather lilies.
Your teeth are like a flock of ewes
coming up from washing,
each one having a twin,
and not one missing.[fn]
I came down to the walnut grove
to see the blossoms of the valley,
to see if the vines were budding
and the pomegranates blooming.
How beautiful are your sandaled feet, princess![fn]
The curves of your thighs are like jewelry,
the handiwork of a master.
Your navel is a rounded bowl;
it never lacks mixed wine.
Your belly is a mound of wheat
surrounded by lilies.
Your neck is like a tower of ivory,
your eyes like pools in Heshbon
by Bath-rabbim's gate.
Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon
looking toward Damascus.
Your head crowns you[fn] like Mount Carmel,
the hair of your head like purple cloth —
a king could be held captive in your tresses.
I said, “I will climb the palm tree
and take hold of its fruit.”
May your breasts be like clusters of grapes,
and the fragrance of your breath like apricots.
Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you,
do not stir up or awaken love
until the appropriate time.
A huge torrent cannot extinguish love;
rivers cannot sweep it away.
If a man were to give all his wealth[fn] for love,
it would be utterly scorned.
Our sister is young;
she has no breasts.
What will we do for our sister
on the day she is spoken for?
Solomon owned a vineyard in Baal-hamon.
He leased the vineyard to tenants.
Each was to bring for his fruit
one thousand pieces of silver.
The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns[fn] of Kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah of Judah.
Daughter Zion is abandoned
like a shelter in a vineyard,
like a shack in a cucumber field,
like a besieged city.
The faithful town —
what an adulteress[fn] she has become!
She was once full of justice.
Righteousness once dwelt in her,
but now, murderers!
Therefore the Lord GOD of Armies,
the Mighty One of Israel, declares:
“Ah, I will get even with my foes;
I will take revenge against my enemies.
In the last days
the mountain of the LORD's house will be established
at the top of the mountains
and will be raised above the hills.
All nations will stream to it,
and many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let's go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the house of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us about his ways
so that we may walk in his paths.”
For instruction will go out of Zion
and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
The pride of mankind[fn] will be humbled,
and human loftiness will be brought low;
the LORD alone will be exalted on that day.
The pride of mankind will be brought low,
and human loftiness will be humbled;
the LORD alone will be exalted on that day.
On that day he will cry out, saying,
“I'm not a healer.
I don't even have food or clothing in my house.
Don't make me the leader of the people! ”
The LORD brings this charge
against the elders and leaders of his people:
“You have devastated the vineyard.
The plunder from the poor is in your houses.
The LORD also says:
Because the daughters of Zion are haughty,
walking with heads held high
and seductive eyes,
prancing along,
jingling their ankle bracelets,
On that day the Branch[fn] of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of Israel's survivors.
Whoever remains in Zion and whoever is left in Jerusalem will be called holy — all in Jerusalem written in the book of life[fn] —
when the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodguilt from the heart of Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of burning.
and there will be a shelter for shade from heat by day and a refuge and shelter from storm and rain.
I will sing about the one I love,
a song about my loved one's vineyard:
The one I love had a vineyard
on a very fertile hill.
He broke up the soil, cleared it of stones,
and planted it with the finest vines.
He built a tower in the middle of it
and even dug out a winepress there.
He expected it to yield good grapes,
but it yielded worthless grapes.
So now, residents of Jerusalem
and men of Judah,
please judge between me
and my vineyard.
I heard the LORD of Armies say:
Indeed, many houses will become desolate,
grand and lovely ones without inhabitants.
But the LORD of Armies is exalted by his justice,
and the holy God demonstrates his holiness through his righteousness.
Therefore the LORD's anger burned against his people.
He raised his hand against them and struck them;
the mountains quaked,
and their corpses were like garbage in the streets.
In all this, his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is still raised to strike.
He raises a signal flag for the distant nations
and whistles for them from the ends of the earth.
Look — how quickly and swiftly they come!
On that day they will roar over it,
like the roaring of the sea.
When one looks at the land,
there will be darkness and distress;
light will be obscured by clouds.[fn]
Then I said:
Woe is me for I am ruined[fn]
because I am a man of unclean lips
and live among a people of unclean lips,
and because my eyes have seen the King,
the LORD of Armies.
Then one of the seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a glowing coal that he had taken from the altar with tongs.
This took place during the reign of Ahaz, son of Jotham, son of Uzziah king of Judah: Aram's King Rezin and Israel's King Pekah son of Remaliah went to fight against Jerusalem, but they were not able to conquer it.
When it became known to the house of David that Aram had occupied Ephraim, the heart of Ahaz[fn] and the hearts of his people trembled like trees of a forest shaking in the wind.
On that day
the LORD will whistle to flies
at the farthest streams of the Nile
and to bees in the land of Assyria.
All of them will come and settle
in the steep ravines, in the clefts of the rocks,
in all the thornbushes, and in all the water holes.
On that day the Lord will use a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates River — the king of Assyria — to shave the hair on your heads, the hair on your legs, and even your beards.
And on that day
every place where there were a thousand vines,
worth a thousand pieces of silver,
will become thorns and briers.
I was then intimate with the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. The LORD said to me, “Name him Maher-shalal-hash-baz,
He will be a sanctuary;
but for the two houses of Israel,
he will be a stone to stumble over
and a rock to trip over,
and a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
Many will stumble over these;
they will fall and be broken;
they will be snared and captured.
Here I am with the children the LORD has given me to be signs and wonders in Israel from the LORD of Armies who dwells on Mount Zion.
Nevertheless, the gloom of the distressed land will not be like that of the former times when he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali. But in the future he will bring honor to the way of the sea, to the land east of the Jordan, and to Galilee of the nations.
The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
a light has dawned
on those living in the land of darkness.
You have enlarged the nation
and increased its joy.[fn]
The people have rejoiced before you
as they rejoice at harvest time
and as they rejoice when dividing spoils.
The dominion will be vast,
and its prosperity will never end.
He will reign on the throne of David
and over his kingdom,
to establish and sustain it
with justice and righteousness from now on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD of Armies will accomplish this.
All the people —
Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria — will know it.
They will say with pride and arrogance,
For wickedness burns like a fire
that consumes thorns and briers
and kindles the forest thickets
so that they go up in a column of smoke.
What will you do on the day of punishment
when devastation comes from far away?
Who will you run to for help?
Where will you leave your wealth?
“As my hand seized the kingdoms of worthless images,
kingdoms whose idols exceeded those of Jerusalem and Samaria,
But when the Lord finishes all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will say, “I[fn] will punish the king of Assyria for his arrogant acts and the proud look in his eyes.”
Does an ax exalt itself
above the one who chops with it?
Does a saw magnify itself
above the one who saws with it?
It would be like a rod waving the ones who lift[fn] it!
It would be like a staff lifting the one who isn't wood!
Israel's Light will become a fire,
and its Holy One, a flame.
In one day it will burn and consume Assyria's thorns and thistles.
On that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no longer depend on the one who struck them, but they will faithfully depend on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.
Israel, even if your people were as numerous
as the sand of the sea,
only a remnant of them will return.
Destruction has been decreed;
justice overflows.
For throughout the land
the Lord GOD of Armies
is carrying out a destruction that was decreed.
Therefore, the Lord GOD of Armies says this: “My people who dwell in Zion, do not fear Assyria, though they strike you with a rod and raise their staff over you as the Egyptians did.
And the LORD of Armies will brandish a whip against him as he did when he struck Midian at the rock of Oreb; and he will raise his staff over the sea as he did in Egypt.
On that day
his burden will fall from your shoulders,
and his yoke from your neck.
The yoke will be broken because your neck will be too large.[fn]
Assyria has come to Aiath
and has gone through Migron,
storing their equipment at Michmash.
Today the Assyrians will stand at Nob,
shaking their fists at the mountain of Daughter Zion,
the hill of Jerusalem.
On that day the root of Jesse
will stand as a banner for the peoples.
The nations will look to him for guidance,
and his resting place will be glorious.
But they will swoop down
on the Philistine flank to the west.
Together they will plunder the people of the east.
They will extend their power over Edom and Moab,
and the Ammonites will be their subjects.
There will be a highway for the remnant of his people
who will survive from Assyria,
as there was for Israel
when they came up from the land of Egypt.
On that day you will say:
“I will give thanks to you, LORD,
although you were angry with me.
Your anger has turned away,
and you have comforted me.
“Indeed, God is my salvation;
I will trust him and not be afraid,
for the LORD, the LORD himself,
is my strength and my song.
He has become my salvation.”
and on that day you will say,
“Give thanks to the LORD; proclaim his name!
Make his works known among the peoples.
Declare that his name is exalted.
“Sing to the LORD, for he has done glorious things.
Let this be known throughout the earth.
“Cry out and sing, citizen of Zion,
for the Holy One of Israel is among you
in his greatness.”
It will never be inhabited
or lived in from generation to generation;
a nomad will not pitch his tent there,
and shepherds will not let their flocks rest there.
Hyenas will howl in the fortresses,
and jackals, in the luxurious palaces.
Babylon's time is almost up;
her days are almost over.
When the LORD gives you rest from your pain, torment, and the hard labor you were forced to do,
you will sing this song of contempt about the king of Babylon and say:
How the oppressor has quieted down,
and how the raging[fn] has become quiet!
They all respond to you, saying,
“You too have become as weak as we are;
you have become like us!
You said to yourself,
“I will ascend to the heavens;
I will set up my throne
above the stars of God.
I will sit on the mount of the gods' assembly,
in the remotest parts of the North.[fn]
“who turned the world into a wilderness,
who destroyed its cities
and would not release the prisoners to return home? ”
But you are thrown out without a grave,
like a worthless branch,
covered by those slain with the sword
and dumped into a rocky pit like a trampled corpse.
In its streets they wear sackcloth;
on its rooftops and in its public squares everyone wails,
falling down and weeping.
My heart cries out over Moab,
whose fugitives flee as far as Zoar,
to Eglath-shelishiyah;
they go up the Ascent of Luhith weeping;
they raise a cry of destruction
on the road to Horonaim.
Give us counsel and make a decision.
Shelter us at noonday
with shade that is as dark as night.
Hide the refugees;
do not betray the one who flees.
a throne will be established in love,
and one will sit on it faithfully[fn]
in the tent of David,
judging and pursuing what is right,
quick to execute justice.
Therefore let Moab wail;
let every one of them wail for Moab.
You who are completely devastated, mourn
for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth.
Joy and rejoicing have been removed from the orchard;
no one is singing or shouting for joy in the vineyards.
No one tramples grapes[fn] in the winepresses.
I have put an end to the shouting.
And now the LORD says, “In three years, as a hired worker counts years, Moab's splendor will become an object of contempt, in spite of a very large population. And those who are left will be few and weak.”
The fortress disappears from Ephraim,
and a kingdom from Damascus.
The remnant of Aram will be
like the splendor of the Israelites.
This is the declaration of the LORD of Armies.
It will be as if a reaper had gathered standing grain —
his arm harvesting the heads of grain —
and as if one had gleaned heads of grain
in Rephaim Valley.
Only gleanings will be left in Israel,
as if an olive tree had been beaten —
two or three olives at the very top of the tree,
four or five on its fruitful branches.
This is the declaration of the LORD,
the God of Israel.
which sends envoys by sea,
in reed vessels over the water.
Go, swift messengers,
to a nation tall and smooth-skinned,
to a people feared far and near,
a powerful nation with a strange language,[fn]
whose land is divided by rivers.
For the LORD said to me:
I will quietly look out from my place,
like shimmering heat in sunshine,
like a rain cloud in harvest heat.
At that time a gift will be brought to the LORD of Armies from[fn] a people tall and smooth-skinned, a people feared far and near, a powerful nation with a strange language, whose land is divided by rivers — to Mount Zion, the place of the name of the LORD of Armies.
A pronouncement concerning Egypt:
Look, the LORD rides on a swift cloud
and is coming to Egypt.
Egypt's worthless idols will tremble before him,
and Egypt will lose heart.
Egypt's spirit will be disturbed within it,
and I will frustrate its plans.
Then they will inquire of worthless idols, ghosts,
mediums, and spiritists.
The channels will stink;
they will dwindle, and Egypt's canals will be parched.
Reed and rush will wilt.
The LORD has mixed within her a spirit of confusion.
The leaders have made Egypt stagger in all she does,
as a drunkard staggers in his vomit.
On that day Egypt will be like women and will tremble with fear because of the threatening hand of the LORD of Armies when he raises it against them.
On that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the center of the land of Egypt and a pillar to the LORD near her border.
It will be a sign and witness to the LORD of Armies in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the LORD because of their oppressors, he will send them a savior and leader, and he will rescue them.
The LORD will make himself known to Egypt, and Egypt will know the LORD on that day. They will offer sacrifices and offerings; they will make vows to the LORD and fulfill them.
On that day Israel will form a triple alliance with Egypt and Assyria — a blessing within the land.
The LORD of Armies will bless them, saying, “Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance are blessed.”
“And the inhabitants of this coastland will say on that day, ‘Look, this is what has happened to those we relied on and fled to for help to rescue us from the king of Assyria! Now, how will we escape? ' ”
A pronouncement concerning Arabia:
In the desert[fn] brush
you will camp for the night,
you caravans of Dedanites.
For they have fled from swords,
from the drawn sword,
from the bow that is strung,
and from the stress of battle.
All your rulers have fled together,
captured without a bow.
All your fugitives were captured together;
they had fled far away.
For the Lord GOD of Armies
had a day of tumult, trampling, and confusion
in the Valley of Vision —
people shouting[fn] and crying to the mountains;
On that day the Lord GOD of Armies
called for weeping, for wailing, for shaven heads,
and for the wearing of sackcloth.
The LORD of Armies has directly revealed to me:
“This iniquity will not be wiped out for you people as long as you live.”[fn]
The Lord GOD of Armies has spoken.
“What are you doing here? Who authorized you to carve out a tomb for yourself here, carving your tomb on the height and cutting a resting place for yourself out of rock?
“I will clothe him with your robe and tie your sash around him. I will hand your authority over to him, and he will be like a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.
“I will drive him, like a peg, into a firm place. He will be a throne of honor for his father's family.
“They will hang on him all the glory of his father's family: the descendants and the offshoots — all the small vessels, from bowls to every kind of jar.
“On that day” — the declaration of the LORD of Armies — “the peg that was driven into a firm place will give way, be cut off, and fall, and the load on it will be destroyed.” Indeed, the LORD has spoken.
over deep water.
Tyre's revenue was the grain from Shihor —
the harvest of the Nile.
She was the merchant among the nations.
On that day Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years — the life span of one king. At the end of seventy years, what the song says about the prostitute will happen to Tyre:
Look, the LORD is stripping the earth bare
and making it desolate.
He will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants:
Therefore a curse has consumed the earth,
and its inhabitants have become guilty;
the earth's inhabitants have been burned,
and only a few survive.
For this is how it will be on earth
among the nations:
like a harvested olive tree,
like a gleaning after a grape harvest.
Therefore, in the east honor the LORD!
In the coasts and islands of the west
honor the name of the LORD,
the God of Israel.
The moon will be put to shame
and the sun disgraced,
because the LORD of Armies will reign as king
on Mount Zion in Jerusalem,
and he will display his glory
in the presence of his elders.
like heat in a dry land,
you will subdue the uproar of barbarians.
As the shade of a cloud cools the heat of the day,
so he will silence the song of the violent.
On this mountain
he will swallow up the burial shroud,
the shroud over all the peoples,
the sheet covering all the nations.
For the LORD's power will rest on this mountain.
But Moab will be trampled in his place[fn]
as straw is trampled in a dung pile.
For he has humbled those who live in lofty places —
an inaccessible city.
He brings it down; he brings it down to the ground;
he throws it to the dust.
LORD, they went to you in their distress;
they poured out whispered prayers
because your discipline fell on them.[fn]
We became pregnant, we writhed in pain;
we gave birth to wind.
We have won no victories on earth,
and the earth's inhabitants have not fallen.
I am not angry.
If only there were thorns and briers for me to battle,
I would trample them
and burn them to the ground.
When its branches dry out, they will be broken off.
Women will come and make fires with them,
for they are not a people with understanding.
Therefore their Maker will not have compassion on them,
and their Creator will not be gracious to them.
On that day
the LORD will thresh grain from the Euphrates River
as far as the Wadi of Egypt,
and you Israelites will be gathered one by one.
On that day
a great ram's horn will be blown,
and those lost in the land of Assyria will come,
as well as those dispersed in the land of Egypt;
and they will worship the LORD
at Jerusalem on the holy mountain.
Every time it passes through,
it will carry you away;
it will pass through every morning —
every day and every night.
Only terror will cause you
to understand the message.[fn]
For the LORD will rise up as he did at Mount Perazim.
He will rise in wrath, as at the Valley of Gibeon,
to do his work, his unexpected work,
and to perform his task, his unfamiliar task.
When he has leveled its surface,
does he not then scatter black cumin and sow cumin?
He plants wheat in rows and barley in plots,
with spelt as their border.
All the many nations
going out to battle against Ariel —
all the attackers, the siege works against her,
and those who oppress her —
will then be like a dream, a vision in the night.
It will be like a hungry one who dreams he is eating,
then wakes and is still hungry;
and like a thirsty one who dreams he is drinking,
then wakes and is still thirsty, longing for water.
So it will be for all the many nations
who go to battle against Mount Zion.
Woe to those who go to great lengths
to hide their plans from the LORD.
They do their works in the dark,
and say, “Who sees us? Who knows us? ”
On that day the deaf will hear
the words of a document,
and out of a deep darkness
the eyes of the blind will see.
The humble will have joy
after joy in the LORD,
and the poor people will rejoice
in the Holy One of Israel.
those who, with their speech,
accuse a person of wrongdoing,
who set a trap for the one mediating at the city gate
and without cause deprive the righteous of justice.
A pronouncement concerning the animals of the Negev:[fn]
Through a land of trouble and distress,
of lioness and lion,
of viper and flying serpent,
they carry their wealth on the backs of donkeys
and their treasures on the humps of camels,
to a people who will not help them.
“Its collapse will be like the shattering
of a potter's jar, crushed to pieces,
so that not even a fragment of pottery
will be found among its shattered remains —
no fragment large enough to take fire from a hearth
or scoop water from a cistern.”
Therefore the LORD is waiting to show you mercy,
and is rising up to show you compassion,
for the LORD is a just God.
All who wait patiently for him are happy.
For people will live on Zion in Jerusalem. You will never weep again; he will show favor to you at the sound of your outcry; as soon as he hears, he will answer you.
and whenever you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind you: “This is the way. Walk in it.”
The oxen and donkeys that work the ground will eat salted fodder scattered with winnowing shovel and fork.
Streams flowing with water will be on every high mountain and every raised hill on the day of great slaughter when the towers fall.
The moonlight will be as bright as the sunlight, and the sunlight will be seven times brighter — like the light of seven days — on the day that the LORD bandages his people's injuries and heals the wounds he inflicted.
His breath is like an overflowing torrent
that rises to the neck.
He comes to sift the nations in a sieve of destruction
and to put a bridle on the jaws of the peoples
to lead them astray.
His rock[fn] will pass away because of fear,
and his officers will be afraid because of the signal flag.
This is the LORD's declaration — whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.
Each will be like a shelter from the wind,
a refuge from the rain,
like flowing streams in a dry land
and the shade of a massive rock in an arid land.
The scoundrel's weapons are destructive;
he hatches plots to destroy the needy with lies,
even when the poor person says what is right.
Stand up, you complacent women;
listen to me.
Pay attention to what I say,
you overconfident daughters.
In a little more than a year
you overconfident ones will shudder,
for the grapes will fail
and the harvest will not come.
Then justice will inhabit the wilderness,
and righteousness will dwell in the orchard.
LORD, be gracious to us! We wait for you.
Be our strength every morning
and our salvation in time of trouble.
The LORD is exalted, for he dwells on high;
he has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.
There will be times of security for you —
a storehouse of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge.
The fear of the LORD is Zion's treasure.
Listen! Their warriors cry loudly in the streets;
the messengers of peace weep bitterly.
The sinners in Zion are afraid;
trembling seizes the ungodly:
“Who among us can dwell with a consuming fire?
Who among us can dwell with ever-burning flames? ”
The one who lives righteously
and speaks rightly,
who refuses profit from extortion,
whose hand never takes a bribe,
who stops his ears from listening to murderous plots
and shuts his eyes against evil schemes —
he will dwell on the heights;
his refuge will be the rocky fortresses,
his food provided, his water assured.
and none there will say, “I am sick.”
The people who dwell there
will be forgiven their iniquity.
You nations, come here and listen;
you peoples, pay attention!
Let the earth and all that fills it hear,
the world and all that comes from it.
When my sword has drunk its fill[fn] in the heavens,
it will then come down on Edom
and on the people I have set apart for destruction.
The LORD's sword is covered with blood.
It drips with fat,
with the blood of lambs and goats,
with the fat of the kidneys of rams.
For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah,
a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
Then the lame will leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the mute will sing for joy,
for water will gush in the wilderness,
and streams in the desert;
There will be no lion there,
and no vicious beast will go up on it;
they will not be found there.
But the redeemed will walk on it,
Then the king of Assyria sent his royal spokesman, along with a massive army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. The Assyrian stood near the conduit of the upper pool, by the road to Launderer's Field.
“You[fn] think mere words are strategy and strength for war. Who are you now relying on that you have rebelled against me?
“Don't let Hezekiah persuade you to rely on the LORD, saying, ‘The LORD will certainly rescue us! This city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.' ”
When King Hezekiah heard their report, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went to the LORD's temple.
“I am about to put a spirit in him and he will hear a rumor and return to his own land, where I will cause him to fall by the sword.' ”
“Did the gods of the nations that my predecessors destroyed rescue them — Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the Edenites in Telassar?
Have you not heard?
I designed it long ago;
I planned it in days gone by.
I have now brought it to pass,
and you have crushed fortified cities
into piles of rubble.
Because your raging against me
and your arrogance have reached my ears,
I will put my hook in your nose
and my bit in your mouth;
I will make you go back
the way you came.
“The surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward.
“He will go back
the way he came,
and he will not enter this city.
This is the LORD's declaration.
So King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and left. He returned home and lived in Nineveh.
One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword and escaped to the land of Ararat. Then his son Esar-haddon became king in his place.
In those days Hezekiah became terminally ill. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came and said to him, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Set your house in order, for you are about to die; you will not recover.' ”[fn]
He said, “Please, LORD, remember how I have walked before you faithfully and wholeheartedly, and have done what pleases you.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
I said: In the prime[fn] of my life
I must go to the gates of Sheol;
I am deprived of the rest of my years.
My dwelling is plucked up and removed from me
like a shepherd's tent.
I have rolled up my life like a weaver;
he cuts me off from the loom.
By nightfall[fn] you make an end of me.
For Sheol cannot thank you;
Death cannot praise you.
Those who go down to the Pit
cannot hope for your faithfulness.
At that time Merodach-baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah since he heard that he had been sick and had recovered.
Hezekiah was pleased with the letters, and he showed the envoys his treasure house — the silver, the gold, the spices, and the precious oil — and all his armory, and everything that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his palace and in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them.
Isaiah asked, “What have they seen in your palace? ”
Hezekiah answered, “They have seen everything in my palace. There isn't anything in my treasuries that I didn't show them.”
“‘Look, the days are coming when everything in your palace and all that your predecessors have stored up until today will be carried off to Babylon; nothing will be left,' says the LORD.
“‘Some of your descendants — who come from you, whom you father — will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.' ”
Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the LORD that you have spoken is good,” for he thought: There will be peace and security during my lifetime.
A voice of one crying out:
Prepare the way of the LORD in the wilderness;
make a straight highway for our God in the desert.
He protects his flock like a shepherd;
he gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them in the fold of his garment.
He gently leads those that are nursing.
God is enthroned above the circle of the earth;
its inhabitants are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens like thin cloth
and spreads them out like a tent to live in.
Look up and see!
Who created these?
He brings out the stars by number;
he calls all of them by name.
Because of his great power and strength,
not one of them is missing.
The craftsman encourages the metalworker;
the one who flattens with the hammer
encourages the one who strikes the anvil,
saying of the soldering, “It is good.”
He fastens it with nails so that it will not fall over.
You will winnow them
and a wind will carry them away,
a whirlwind will scatter them.
But you will rejoice in the LORD;
you will boast in the Holy One of Israel.
I will open rivers on the barren heights,
and springs in the middle of the plains.
I will turn the desert into a pool
and dry land into springs.
This is what God, the LORD, says —
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people on it
and spirit to those who walk on it —
“I am the LORD. I have called you
for a righteous purpose,[fn]
and I will hold you by your hand.
I will watch over you, and I will appoint you
to be a covenant for the people
and a light to the nations,
“in order to open blind eyes,
to bring out prisoners from the dungeon,
and those sitting in darkness from the prison house.
“I will lead the blind by a way they did not know;
I will guide them on paths they have not known.
I will turn darkness to light in front of them
and rough places into level ground.
This is what I will do for them,
and I will not abandon them.
But this is a people plundered and looted,
all of them trapped in holes
or imprisoned in dungeons.
They have become plunder
with no one to rescue them
and loot, with no one saying, “Give it back! ”
Who gave Jacob to the robber,[fn]
and Israel to the plunderers?
Was it not the LORD?
Have we not sinned against him?
They were not willing to walk in his ways,
and they would not listen to his instruction.
“everyone who bears my name
and is created for my glory.
I have formed them; indeed, I have made them.”
This is what the LORD says —
who makes a way in the sea,
and a path through raging water,
“Look, I am about to do something new;
even now it is coming. Do you not see it?
Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness,
rivers[fn] in the desert.
“Wild animals —
jackals and ostriches — will honor me,
because I provide water in the wilderness,
and rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people.
“You have not brought me your sheep for burnt offerings
or honored me with your sacrifices.
I have not burdened you with offerings
or wearied you with incense.[fn]
“You have not bought me aromatic cane with silver,
or satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices.
But you have burdened me with your sins;
you have wearied me with your iniquities.
“For I will pour water on the thirsty land
and streams on the dry ground;
I will pour out my Spirit on your descendants
and my blessing on your offspring.
The ironworker labors over the coals,
shapes the idol with hammers,
and works it with his strong arm.
Also he grows hungry and his strength fails;
he doesn't drink water and is faint.
The woodworker stretches out a measuring line,
he outlines it with a stylus;
he shapes it with chisels
and outlines it with a compass.
He makes it according to a human form,
like a beautiful person,
to dwell in a temple.
He burns half of it in a fire,
and he roasts meat on that half.
He eats the roast and is satisfied.
He warms himself and says, “Ah!
I am warm, I see the blaze.”
No one comes to his senses;[fn]
no one has the perception or insight to say,
“I burned half of it in the fire,
I also baked bread on its coals,
I roasted meat and ate.
Should I make something detestable with the rest of it?
Should I bow down to a block of wood? ”
He feeds on[fn] ashes.
His deceived mind has led him astray,
and he cannot rescue himself,
or say, “Isn't there a lie in my right hand? ”
Rejoice, heavens, for the LORD has acted;
shout, depths of the earth.
Break out into singing, mountains,
forest, and every tree in it.
For the LORD has redeemed Jacob,
and glorifies himself through Israel.
This is what the LORD says:
“The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush
and the Sabeans, men of stature,
will come over to you
and will be yours;
they will follow you,
they will come over in chains
and bow down to you.
They will confess[fn] to you,
‘God is indeed with you, and there is no other;
there is no other God.' ”
All of them are put to shame, even humiliated;
the makers of idols go in humiliation together.
“I have not spoken in secret,
somewhere in a land of darkness.
I did not say to the descendants of Jacob:
Seek me in a wasteland.
I am the LORD, who speaks righteously,
who declares what is right.
“Those who pour out their bags of gold
and weigh out silver on scales —
they hire a goldsmith and he makes it into a god.
Then they kneel and bow down to it.
“I am bringing my justice near;
it is not far away,
and my salvation will not delay.
I will put salvation in Zion,
my splendor in Israel.
“You said, ‘I will be the queen forever.'
You did not take these things to heart
or think about their outcome.
“So now hear this, lover of luxury,
who sits securely,
who says to herself,
‘I am, and there is no one else.
I will never be a widow
or know the loss of children.'
“These two things will happen to you
suddenly, in one day:
loss of children and widowhood.
They will happen to you in their entirety,
in spite of your many sorceries
and the potency of your spells.
“So take your stand with your spells
and your many sorceries,
which you have wearied yourself with from your youth.
Perhaps you will be able to succeed;
perhaps you will inspire terror!
“You are worn out with your many consultations.
So let the astrologers stand and save you —
those who observe the stars,
those who predict monthly
what will happen to you.
“This is what they are to you —
those who have wearied you
and have traded with you from your youth —
each wanders on his own way;
no one can save you.
“Approach me and listen to this.
From the beginning I have not spoken in secret;
from the time anything existed, I was there.”
And now the Lord GOD
has sent me and his Spirit.
This is what the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel says:
I am the LORD your God,
who teaches you for your benefit,
who leads you in the way you should go.
He made my words like a sharp sword;
he hid me in the shadow of his hand.
He made me like a sharpened arrow;
he hid me in his quiver.
This is what the LORD says:
I will answer you in a time of favor,
and I will help you in the day of salvation.
I will keep you, and I will appoint you
to be a covenant for the people,
to restore the land,
to make them possess the desolate inheritances,
saying to the prisoners, “Come out,”
and to those who are in darkness, “Show yourselves.”
They will feed along the pathways,
and their pastures will be on all the barren heights.
“Then you will say within yourself,
‘Who fathered these for me?
I was deprived of my children and unable to conceive,
exiled and wandering —
but who brought them up?
See, I was left by myself —
but these, where did they come from? ' ”[fn]
This is what the Lord GOD says:
Look, I will lift up my hand to the nations,
and raise my banner to the peoples.
They will bring your sons in their arms,
and your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.
Why was no one there when I came?
Why was there no one to answer when I called?
Is my arm too weak to redeem?
Or do I have no power to rescue?
Look, I dry up the sea by my rebuke;
I turn the rivers into a wilderness;
their fish rot because of lack of water
and die of thirst.
The Lord GOD has given me
the tongue of those who are instructed
to know how to sustain the weary with a word.
He awakens me each morning;
he awakens my ear to listen like those being instructed.
Who among you fears the LORD
and listens to his servant?
Who among you walks in darkness,
and has no light?
Let him trust in the name of the LORD;
let him lean on his God.
Look, all you who kindle a fire,
who encircle yourselves with[fn] torches;
walk in the light of your fire
and of the torches you have lit!
This is what you'll get from my hand:
you will lie down in a place of torment.
For the LORD will comfort Zion;
he will comfort all her waste places,
and he will make her wilderness like Eden,
and her desert like the garden of the LORD.
Joy and gladness will be found in her,
thanksgiving and melodious song.
Listen to me, you who know righteousness,
the people in whose heart is my instruction:
do not fear disgrace by men,
and do not be shattered by their taunts.
Wake up, wake up!
Arm of the LORD, clothe yourself with strength.
Wake up as in days past,
as in generations long ago.
Wasn't it you who hacked Rahab to pieces,
who pierced the sea monster?
The prisoner[fn] is soon to be set free;
he will not die and go to the Pit,
and his food will not be lacking.
I have put my words in your mouth,
and covered you in the shadow of my hand,
in order to plant[fn] the heavens,
to found the earth,
and to say to Zion, “You are my people.”
“So now what have I here” —
this is the LORD's declaration —
“that my people are taken away for nothing?
Its rulers wail” —
this is the LORD's declaration —
“and my name is continually blasphemed all day long.
“Therefore my people will know my name;
therefore they will know on that day
that I am he who says,
‘Here I am.' ”
He grew up before him like a young plant
and like a root out of dry ground.
He didn't have an impressive form
or majesty that we should look at him,
no appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of suffering who knew what sickness was.
He was like someone people turned away from;[fn]
he was despised, and we didn't value him.
Yet he himself bore our sicknesses,
and he carried our pains;
but we in turn regarded him stricken,
struck down by God, and afflicted.
He was taken away because of oppression and judgment,
and who considered his fate?[fn]
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
he was struck because of my people's rebellion.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
but he was with a rich man at his death,
because he had done no violence
and had not spoken deceitfully.
“In a surge of anger
I hid my face from you for a moment,
but I will have compassion on you
with everlasting love,”
says the LORD your Redeemer.
“For this is like the days[fn] of Noah to me:
when I swore that the water of Noah
would never flood the earth again,
so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you
or rebuke you.
“and you will be established
on a foundation of righteousness.
You will be far from oppression,
you will certainly not be afraid;
you will be far from terror,
it will certainly not come near you.
“No weapon formed against you will succeed,
and you will refute any accusation[fn]
raised against you in court.
This is the heritage of the LORD's servants,
and their vindication is from me.”
This is the LORD's declaration.
“Why do you spend silver on what is not food,
and your wages on what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good,
and you will enjoy the choicest of foods.[fn]
“Pay attention and come to me;
listen, so that you will live.
I will make a permanent covenant with you
on the basis of the faithful kindnesses of David.[fn]
“Since I have made him a witness to the peoples,
a leader and commander for the peoples,
You will indeed go out with joy
and be peacefully guided;
the mountains and the hills will break into singing before you,
and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
“I will give them, in my house and within my walls,
a memorial and a name
better than sons and daughters.
I will give each of them an everlasting name
that will never be cut off.
“I will bring them to my holy mountain
and let them rejoice in my house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and sacrifices
will be acceptable on my altar,
for my house will be called a house of prayer
for all nations.”
These dogs have fierce appetites;
they never have enough.
And they are shepherds
who have no discernment;
all of them turn to their own way,
every last one for his own profit.
Who are you mocking?
Who are you opening your mouth
and sticking out your tongue at?
Isn't it you, you rebellious children,
you offspring of liars,
who burn with lust among the oaks,
under every green tree,
who slaughter children in the wadis
below the clefts of the rocks?
When you cry out,
let your collection of idols rescue you!
The wind will carry all of them off,
a breath will take them away.
But whoever takes refuge in me
will inherit the land
and possess my holy mountain.
For the High and Exalted One,
who lives forever, whose name is holy, says this:
“I live in a high and holy place,
and with the oppressed and lowly of spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly
and revive the heart of the oppressed.
“Because of his sinful greed I was angry,
so I struck him; I was angry and hid;
but he went on turning back to the desires of his heart.
“Cry out loudly, don't hold back!
Raise your voice like a ram's horn.
Tell my people their transgression
and the house of Jacob their sins.
“Why have we fasted, but you have not seen?
We have denied ourselves, but you haven't noticed! ”[fn]
“Look, you do as you please on the day of your fast,
and oppress all your workers.
“You fast with contention and strife
to strike viciously with your fist.
You cannot fast as you do today,
hoping to make your voice heard on high.
“Isn't this the fast I choose:
To break the chains of wickedness,
to untie the ropes of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free,
and to tear off every yoke?
“and if you offer yourself[fn] to the hungry,
and satisfy the afflicted one,
then your light will shine in the darkness,
and your night will be like noonday.
For your hands are defiled with blood
and your fingers, with iniquity;
your lips have spoken lies,
and your tongues mutter injustice.
They hatch viper's eggs
and weave spider's webs.
Whoever eats their eggs will die;
crack one open, and a viper is hatched.
Their feet run after evil,
and they rush to shed innocent blood.
Their thoughts are sinful thoughts;
ruin and wretchedness are in their paths.
They have not known the path of peace,
and there is no justice in their ways.
They have made their roads crooked;
no one who walks on them will know peace.
Therefore justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not reach us.
We hope for light, but there is darkness;
for brightness, but we live in the night.
We grope along a wall like the blind;
we grope like those without eyes.
We stumble at noon as though it were twilight;
we are like the dead among those who are healthy.
For our transgressions have multiplied before you,
and our sins testify against us.
For our transgressions are with us,
and we know our iniquities:
Justice is turned back,
and righteousness stands far off.
For truth has stumbled in the public square,
and honesty cannot enter.
Yes, the coasts and islands will wait for me
with the ships of Tarshish in the lead,
to bring your children from far away,
their silver and gold with them,
for the honor of the LORD your God,
the Holy One of Israel,
who has glorified you.
The glory of Lebanon will come to you —
its pine, elm, and cypress together —
to beautify the place of my sanctuary,
and I will glorify my dwelling place.[fn]
I will bring gold instead of bronze;
I will bring silver instead of iron,
bronze instead of wood,
and iron instead of stones.
I will appoint peace as your government
and righteousness as your overseers.
Violence will never again be heard of in your land;
devastation and destruction
will be gone from your borders.
You will call your walls Salvation
and your city gates Praise.
But you will be called the LORD's priests;
they will speak of you as ministers of our God;
you will eat the wealth of the nations,
and you will boast in their riches.
Their descendants will be known among the nations,
and their posterity among the peoples.
All who see them will recognize
that they are a people the LORD has blessed.
You will be a glorious crown in the LORD's hand,
and a royal diadem in the palm of your God's hand.
For those who gather grain will eat it
and praise the LORD,
and those who harvest the grapes will drink the wine
in my holy courts.
I trampled the winepress alone,
and no one from the nations was with me.
I trampled them in my anger
and ground them underfoot in my fury;
their blood spattered my garments,
and all my clothes were stained.
I will make known the LORD's faithful love
and the LORD's praiseworthy acts,
because of all the LORD has done for us —
even the many good things
he has done for the house of Israel,
which he did for them based on his compassion
and the abundance of his faithful love.
just as fire kindles brushwood,
and fire boils water —
to make your name known to your enemies,
so that nations would tremble at your presence!
LORD, do not be terribly angry
or remember our iniquity forever.
Please look — all of us are your people!
“These people continually anger me
to my face,
sacrificing in gardens,
burning incense on bricks,
“sitting among the graves,
spending nights in secret places,
eating the meat of pigs,
and putting polluted broth in their bowls.[fn]
“They say, ‘Keep to yourself,
don't come near me, for I am too holy for you! '
These practices are smoke in my nostrils,
a fire that burns all day long.
The LORD says this:
“As the new wine is found in a bunch of grapes,
and one says, ‘Don't destroy it,
for there's some good[fn] in it,'
so I will act because of my servants
and not destroy them all.
“Sharon will be a pasture for flocks,
and the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down,
for my people who have sought me.
“I will destine you for the sword,
and all of you will kneel down to be slaughtered,
because I called and you did not answer,
I spoke and you did not hear;
you did what was evil in my sight
and chose what I did not delight in.”
“Look! My servants will shout for joy from a glad heart,
but you will cry out from an anguished heart,
and you will lament out of a broken spirit.
“Then be glad and rejoice forever
in what I am creating;
for I will create Jerusalem to be a joy
and its people to be a delight.
“I will rejoice in Jerusalem
and be glad in my people.
The sound of weeping and crying
will no longer be heard in her.
You who tremble at his word,
hear the word of the LORD:
“Your brothers who hate and exclude you
for my name's sake have said,
‘Let the LORD be glorified
so that we can see your joy! '
But they will be put to shame.”
Who has heard of such a thing?
Who has seen such things?
Can a land be born in one day
or a nation be delivered in an instant?
Yet as soon as Zion was in labor,
she gave birth to her sons.
Be glad for Jerusalem and rejoice over her,
all who love her.
Rejoice greatly with her,
all who mourn over her —
As a mother comforts her son,
so I will comfort you,
and you will be comforted in Jerusalem.
Look, the LORD will come with fire —
his chariots are like the whirlwind —
to execute his anger with fury
and his rebuke with flames of fire.
For the LORD will execute judgment
on all humanity with his fiery sword,
and many will be slain by the LORD.
“I will establish a sign among them, and I will send survivors from them to the nations — to Tarshish, Put,[fn] Lud (who are archers), Tubal, Javan, and the coasts and islands far away — who have not heard about me or seen my glory. And they will proclaim my glory among the nations.
“They will bring all your brothers from all the nations as a gift to the LORD on horses and chariots, in litters, and on mules and camels, to my holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the LORD, “just as the Israelites bring an offering in a clean vessel to the house of the LORD.
“All humanity will come to worship me
from one New Moon to another
and from one Sabbath to another,”
says the LORD.
“As they leave, they will see the dead bodies of those who have rebelled against me; for their worm will never die, their fire will never go out, and they will be a horror to all humanity.”
The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests living in Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin.
The word of the LORD came to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah.
It also came throughout the days of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah, king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile.
I chose you before I formed you in the womb;
I set you apart before you were born.
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.
“Today, I am the one who has made you a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls against the whole land — against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the population.
This is what the LORD says:
What fault did your ancestors find in me
that they went so far from me,
followed worthless idols,
and became worthless themselves?
They stopped asking, “Where is the LORD
who brought us from the land of Egypt,
who led us through the wilderness,
through a land of deserts and ravines,
through a land of drought and darkness,[fn]
a land no one traveled through
and where no one lived? ”
Even if you wash with lye
and use a great amount of bleach,[fn]
the stain of your iniquity is still in front of me.
This is the Lord GOD's declaration.
How can you protest, “I am not defiled;
I have not followed the Baals”?
Look at your behavior in the valley;
acknowledge what you have done.
You are a swift young camel
twisting and turning on her way,
say to a tree, “You are my father,”
and to a stone, “You gave birth to me.”
For they have turned their back to me
and not their face,
yet in their time of disaster they beg,
“Rise up and save us! ”
But where are your gods you made for yourself?
Let them rise up and save you
in your time of disaster if they can,
for your gods are as numerous as your cities, Judah.
Moreover, your skirts are stained
with the blood of the innocent poor.
You did not catch them breaking and entering.
But in spite of all these things
you claim, “I am innocent.
His anger is sure to turn away from me.”
But I will certainly judge you
because you have said, “I have not sinned.”
Moreover, you will be led out from here
with your hands on your head
since the LORD has rejected those you trust;
you will not succeed even with their help.[fn]
Look to the barren heights and see.
Where have you not been immoral?
You sat waiting for them beside the highways
like a nomad in the desert.
You have defiled the land
with your prostitution and wickedness.
In the days of King Josiah the LORD asked me, “Have you seen what unfaithful Israel has done? She has ascended every high hill and gone under every green tree to prostitute herself there.
“I[fn] observed that it was because unfaithful Israel had committed adultery that I had sent her away and had given her a certificate of divorce. Nevertheless, her treacherous sister Judah was not afraid but also went and prostituted herself.
“Yet in spite of all this, her treacherous sister Judah didn't return to me with all her heart — only in pretense.”
This is the LORD's declaration.
“When you multiply and increase in the land, in those days — this is the LORD's declaration — no one will say again, “The ark of the LORD's covenant.” It will never come to mind, and no one will remember or miss it. Another one will not be made.[fn]
At that time Jerusalem will be called The LORD's Throne, and all the nations will be gathered to it, to the name of the LORD in Jerusalem. They will cease to follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts.
In those days the house of Judah will join with the house of Israel, and they will come together from the land of the north to the land I have given your ancestors to inherit.' ”
A sound is heard on the barren heights:
the children of Israel weeping and begging for mercy,
for they have perverted their way;
they have forgotten the LORD their God.
“Let us lie down in our shame;
let our disgrace cover us.
We have sinned against the LORD our God,
both we and our ancestors,
from the time of our youth even to this day.
We have not obeyed the LORD our God.”
then you can swear, “As the LORD lives,”
in truth, justice, and righteousness,
and then the nations will be blessed[fn] by him
and will boast in him.
Declare in Judah, proclaim in Jerusalem, and say,
Blow the ram's horn throughout the land.
Cry out loudly and say,
“Assemble yourselves,
and let's flee to the fortified cities.”
“On that day” — this is the LORD's declaration — “the king and the officials will lose their courage. The priests will tremble in fear, and the prophets will be scared speechless.”
“At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, ‘A searing wind blows from the barren heights in the wilderness on the way to my dear[fn] people. It comes not to winnow or to sift;
Wash the evil from your heart, Jerusalem,
so that you will be delivered.
How long will you harbor
malicious thoughts?
Warn the nations: Look!
Proclaim to Jerusalem:
Those who besiege are coming
from a distant land;
they raise their voices
against the cities of Judah.
Every city flees
at the sound of the horseman and the archer.
They enter the thickets
and climb among the rocks.
Every city is abandoned;
no inhabitant is left.
Roam through the streets of Jerusalem.
Investigate;[fn]
search in her squares.
If you find one person,
any who acts justly,
who pursues faithfulness,
then I will forgive her.
Therefore, a lion from the forest will strike them down.
A wolf from arid plains will ravage them.
A leopard stalks their cities.
Anyone who leaves them will be torn to pieces
because their rebellious acts are many,
their unfaithful deeds numerous.
Why should I forgive you?
Your children have abandoned me
and sworn by those who are not gods.
I satisfied their needs, yet they committed adultery;
they gashed themselves at the[fn] prostitute's house.
Should I not punish them for these things?
This is the LORD's declaration.
Should I not avenge myself
on such a nation as this?
The prophets become only wind,
for the LORD's word is not in them.
This will in fact happen to them.
They will consume your harvest and your food.
They will consume your sons and your daughters.
They will consume your flocks and your herds.
They will consume your vines and your fig trees.
With the sword they will destroy
your fortified cities in which you trust.
“But even in those days” — this is the LORD's declaration — “I will not finish you off.
“When people ask, ‘For what offense has the LORD our God done all these things to us? ' You will respond to them, ‘Just as you abandoned me and served foreign gods in your land, so will you serve strangers in a land that is not yours.'
“They have not said to themselves,
‘Let's fear the LORD our God,
who gives the seasonal rains, both autumn and spring,
who guarantees to us the fixed weeks of the harvest.'
“Should I not punish them for these things?
This is the LORD's declaration.
Should I not avenge myself
on such a nation as this?
“Run for cover
out of Jerusalem, Benjaminites.
Sound the ram's horn in Tekoa;
raise a smoke signal over Beth-haccherem,[fn]
for disaster threatens from the north,
even a crushing blow.
For this is what the LORD of Armies says:
Cut down the trees;
raise a siege ramp against Jerusalem.
This city must be punished.
There is nothing but oppression within her.
As a well gushes out its water,
so she pours out her evil.[fn]
Violence and destruction resound in her.
Sickness and wounds keep coming to my attention.
Were they ashamed when they acted so detestably?
They weren't at all ashamed.
They can no longer feel humiliation.
Therefore, they will fall among the fallen.
When I punish them, they will collapse,
says the LORD.
This is what the LORD says:
Stand by the roadways and look.
Ask about the ancient paths,
“Which is the way to what is good? ”
Then take it
and find rest for yourselves.
But they protested, “We won't! ”
Therefore, this is what the LORD says:
I am going to place stumbling blocks before these people;
fathers and sons together will stumble over them;
friends and neighbors will also perish.
Don't go out to the fields;
don't walk on the road.
For the enemy has a sword;
terror is on every side.
My dear[fn] people, dress yourselves in sackcloth
and roll in the dust.
Mourn as you would for an only son,
a bitter lament,
for suddenly the destroyer will come on us.
I have appointed you to be an assayer among my people —
a refiner[fn] —
so you may know and assay their way of life.
“ ‘This is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Correct your ways and your actions, and I will allow you to live in this place.
if you no longer oppress the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow and no longer shed innocent blood in this place or follow other gods, bringing harm on yourselves,
I will allow you to live in this place, the land I gave to your ancestors long ago and forever.
“Then do you come and stand before me in this house that bears my name and say, “We are rescued, so we can continue doing all these detestable acts”?
“ ‘But return to my place that was at Shiloh, where I made my name dwell at first. See what I did to it because of the evil of my people Israel.
“Don't you see how they behave in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?
“for when I brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak with them or command them concerning burnt offering and sacrifice.
“However, I did give them this command: ‘Obey me, and then I will be your God, and you will be my people. Follow every way I command you so that it may go well with you.'
“Yet they didn't listen or pay attention but followed their own advice and their own stubborn, evil heart. They went backward and not forward.
“For the Judeans have done what is evil in my sight.” This is the LORD's declaration. “They have set up their abhorrent things in the house that bears my name in order to defile it.
“Therefore, look, the days are coming” — the LORD's declaration — “when this place will no longer be called Topheth and Ben Hinnom Valley, but Slaughter Valley. Topheth will become a cemetery,[fn] because there will be no other burial place.
“At that time” — this is the LORD's declaration — “the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of her officials, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the residents of Jerusalem will be brought out of their graves.
“Death will be chosen over life by all the survivors of this evil family, those who remain wherever I have banished them.” This is the declaration of the LORD of Armies.
“Why have these people turned away?
Why is Jerusalem always turning away?
They take hold of deceit;
they refuse to return.
“I have paid careful attention.
They do not speak what is right.
No one regrets his evil,
asking, ‘What have I done? '
Everyone has stayed his course
like a horse rushing into battle.
“Even storks in the sky
know their seasons.
Turtledoves, swallows, and cranes[fn]
are aware of their migration,
but my people do not know
the requirements of the LORD.
“The wise will be put to shame;
they will be dismayed and snared.
They have rejected the word of the LORD,
so what wisdom do they really have?
“I will gather them and bring them to an end.”[fn]
This is the LORD's declaration.
“There will be no grapes on the vine,
no figs on the fig tree,
and even the leaf will wither.
Whatever I have given them will be lost to them.”
From Dan, the snorting of horses is heard.
At the sound of the neighing of mighty steeds,
the whole land quakes.
They come to devour the land and everything in it,
the city and all its residents.
Listen — the cry of my dear people
from a faraway land,
“Is the LORD no longer in Zion,
her King not within her? ”
Why have they angered me
with their carved images,
with their worthless foreign idols?
Is there no balm in Gilead?
Is there no physician there?
So why has the healing of my dear people
not come about?
If only I had a traveler's lodging place
in the wilderness,
I would abandon my people
and depart from them,
for they are all adulterers,
a solemn assembly of treacherous people.
Their tongues are deadly arrows —
they speak deception.
With his mouth
one speaks peaceably with his friend,
but inwardly he sets up an ambush.
Should I not punish them for these things?
This is the LORD's declaration.
Should I not avenge myself
on such a nation as this?
“I will scatter them among the nations that they and their ancestors have not known. I will send a sword after them until I have finished them off.”
For a sound of lamentation is heard from Zion:
How devastated we are.
We are greatly ashamed,
for we have abandoned the land;
our dwellings have been torn down.
“ ‘This is what the LORD says:
The wise person should not boast in his wisdom;
the strong should not boast in his strength;
the wealthy should not boast in his wealth.
“But the one who boasts should boast in this:
that he understands and knows me —
that I am the LORD, showing faithful love,
justice, and righteousness on the earth,
for I delight in these things.
This is the LORD's declaration.
“Egypt, Judah, Edom, the Ammonites, Moab, and all the inhabitants of the desert who clip the hair on their temples.[fn] All these nations are uncircumcised, and the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.' ”
He decorates it with silver and gold.
It is fastened with hammer and nails,
so it won't totter.
Like scarecrows in a cucumber patch,
their idols cannot speak.
They must be carried because they cannot walk.
Do not fear them for they can do no harm —
and they cannot do any good.
He made the earth by his power,
established the world by his wisdom,
and spread out the heavens by his understanding.
When he thunders,[fn]
the waters in the heavens are in turmoil,
and he causes the clouds to rise
from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain
and brings the wind from his storehouses.
Everyone is stupid and ignorant.
Every goldsmith is put to shame
by his carved image,
for his cast images are a lie;
there is no breath in them.
They are worthless, a work to be mocked.
At the time of their punishment
they will be destroyed.
For this is what the LORD says:
Look, I am flinging away
the land's residents at this time
and bringing them such distress
that they will feel it.
Discipline me, LORD, but with justice —
not in your anger,
or you will reduce me to nothing.
“which I commanded your ancestors when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the iron furnace.” I declared, “Obey me, and do everything that I command you, and you will be my people, and I will be your God,”
The LORD said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: ‘Obey the words of this covenant and carry them out.'
The LORD said to me, “A conspiracy has been discovered among the men of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem.
“Then the cities of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods they have been burning incense to, but they certainly will not save them in their time of disaster.
“As for you, do not pray for these people. Do not raise up a cry or a prayer on their behalf, for I will not be listening when they call out to me at the time of their disaster.
“The LORD of Armies who planted you has decreed disaster against you, because of the disaster[fn] the house of Israel and the house of Judah brought on themselves when they angered me by burning incense to Baal.”
Therefore, here is what the LORD says concerning the people of Anathoth who intend to take your life. They warn, “Do not prophesy in the name of the LORD, or you will certainly die at our hand.”
Therefore, this is what the LORD of Armies says: “I am about to punish them. The young men will die by the sword; their sons and daughters will die by famine.
“They will have no remnant, for I will bring disaster on the people of Anathoth in the year of their punishment.”
How long will the land mourn
and the grass of every field wither?
Because of the evil of its residents,
animals and birds have been swept away,
for the people have said,
“He cannot see what our end will be.”[fn]
If you have raced with runners
and they have worn you out,
how can you compete with horses?
If you stumble[fn] in a peaceful land,
what will you do in the thickets of the Jordan?
Even your brothers — your own father's family —
even they were treacherous to you;
even they have cried out loudly after you.
Do not have confidence in them,
though they speak well of you.
My inheritance has behaved toward me
like a lion in the forest.
She has roared against me.
Therefore, I hate her.
They have made it a desolation.
It mourns, desolate, before me.
All the land is desolate,
but no one takes it to heart.
Over all the barren heights in the wilderness
the destroyers have come,
for the LORD has a sword that devours
from one end of the earth to the other.
No one has peace.
“If they will diligently learn the ways of my people — to swear by my name, ‘As the LORD lives,' just as they taught my people to swear by Baal — they will be built up among my people.
This is what the LORD said to me: “Go and buy yourself a linen undergarment and put it on.[fn] But do not put it in water.”
“I will smash them against each other, fathers and sons alike — this is the LORD's declaration. I will allow no mercy, pity, or compassion to keep me from destroying them.' ”
And when you ask yourself,
“Why have these things happened to me? ”
it is because of your great guilt
that your skirts have been stripped off,
your body exposed.[fn]
Your adulteries and your lustful neighing,
your depraved prostitution
on the hills, in the fields —
I have seen your abhorrent acts.
Woe to you, Jerusalem!
You are unclean —
for how long yet?
Hope of Israel,
its Savior in time of distress,
why are you like a resident alien in the land,
like a traveler stopping only for the night?
Why are you like a helpless man,
like a warrior unable to save?
Yet you are among us, LORD,
and we bear your name.
Don't leave us!
This is what the LORD says concerning these people:
Truly they love to wander;
they never rest their feet.
So the LORD does not accept them.
Now he will remember their iniquity
and punish their sins.
“If they fast, I will not hear their cry of despair. If they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. Rather, I will finish them off by sword, famine, and plague.”
And I replied, “Oh no, Lord GOD! The prophets are telling them, ‘You won't see sword or suffer famine. I will certainly give you lasting peace in this place.' ”
“Therefore, this is what the LORD says concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name, though I did not send them, and who say, ‘There will never be sword or famine in this land.' By sword and famine these prophets will meet their end.
“The people they are prophesying to will be thrown into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword. There will be no one to bury them — they, their wives, their sons, and their daughters. I will pour out their own evil on them.”
Can any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain?
Or can the skies alone give showers?
Are you not the LORD our God?
We therefore put our hope in you,
for you have done all these things.
“I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth because of Manasseh son of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem.
“I scattered them with a winnowing fork
at the city gates of the land.
I made them childless; I destroyed my people.
They would not turn from their ways.
“I made their widows more numerous
than the sand of the seas.
I brought a destroyer at noon
against the mother of young men.
I suddenly released on her
agitation and terrors.
Woe is me, my mother,
that you gave birth to me,
a man who incites dispute and conflict
in all the land.
I did not lend or borrow,
yet everyone curses me.
The LORD said:
Haven't I set you loose for your good?
Haven't I punished you
in a time of trouble,
in a time of distress with the enemy?[fn]
I will give up your wealth
and your treasures as plunder,
without cost, for all your sins
in all your borders.
Then I will make you serve your enemies[fn]
in a land you do not know,
for my anger will kindle a fire
that will burn against you.
I never sat with the band of revelers,
and I did not celebrate with them.
Because your hand was on me, I sat alone,
for you filled me with indignation.
“For this is what the LORD says concerning sons and daughters born in this place as well as concerning the mothers who bear them and the fathers who father them in this land:
“They will die from deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried but will be like manure on the soil's surface. They will be finished off by sword and famine. Their corpses will become food for the birds of the sky and for the wild animals of the land.
“Food won't be provided for the mourner to comfort him because of the dead. A consoling drink won't be given him for the loss of his father or mother.
“For this is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: I am about to eliminate from this place, before your very eyes and in your time, the sound of joy and gladness, the voice of the groom and the bride.
“I will first repay them double for their iniquity and sin because they have polluted my land. They have filled my inheritance with the carcasses of their abhorrent and detestable idols.”
LORD, my strength and my stronghold,
my refuge in a time of distress,
the nations will come to you
from the ends of the earth, and they will say,
“Our ancestors inherited only lies,
worthless idols of no benefit at all.”
“Therefore, I am about to inform them,
and this time I will make them know
my power and my might;
then they will know that my name is the LORD.”
He will be like a juniper in the Arabah;
he cannot see when good comes
but dwells in the parched places in the wilderness,
in a salt land where no one lives.
He will be like a tree planted by water:
it sends its roots out toward a stream,
it doesn't fear when heat comes,
and its foliage remains green.
It will not worry in a year of drought
or cease producing fruit.
He who makes a fortune unjustly
is like a partridge that hatches eggs it didn't lay.
In the middle of his life
his riches will abandon him,
so in the end he will be a fool.
This is what the LORD said to me, “Go and stand at the People's Gate, through which the kings of Judah enter and leave, as well as at all the gates of Jerusalem.
“Announce to them, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, kings of Judah, all Judah, and all the residents of Jerusalem who enter through these gates.
“This is what the LORD says: Watch yourselves; do not pick up a load and bring it in through Jerusalem's gates on the Sabbath day.
“Do not carry a load out of your houses on the Sabbath day or do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy, just as I commanded your ancestors.
“ ‘However, if you listen to me — this is the LORD's declaration — and do not bring loads through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but keep the Sabbath day holy and do no work on it,
“But if you do not listen to me to keep the Sabbath day holy by not carrying a load while entering the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, I will set fire to its gates, and it will consume the citadels of Jerusalem and not be extinguished.' ”
But the jar that he was making from the clay became flawed in the potter's hand, so he made it into another jar, as it seemed right for him to do.
“House of Israel, can I not treat you as this potter treats his clay? ” — this is the LORD's declaration. “Just like clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, house of Israel.
Therefore, this is what the LORD says:
Ask among the nations,
who has heard things like these?
Virgin Israel has done a most horrible thing.
Yet my people have forgotten me.
They burn incense to worthless idols
that make them stumble in their ways
on the ancient roads,
and make them walk on new paths, not the highway.
Then certain ones said, “Come, let's make plans against Jeremiah, for instruction will never be lost from the priest, or counsel from the wise, or a word from the prophet. Come, let's denounce him[fn] and pay no attention to all his words.”
Therefore, hand their children over to famine,
and give them over to the power of the sword.
Let their wives become childless and widowed,
their husbands slain by deadly disease,[fn]
their young men struck down by the sword in battle.
Let a cry be heard from their houses
when you suddenly bring raiders against them,
for they have dug a pit to capture me
and have hidden snares for my feet.
But you, LORD, know
all their deadly plots against me.
Do not wipe out their iniquity;
do not blot out their sin before you.
Let them be forced to stumble before you;
deal with them in the time of your anger.
“Say, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, kings of Judah and residents of Jerusalem. This is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: I am going to bring such a disaster on this place that everyone who hears about it will shudder[fn]
“because they have abandoned me and made this a foreign place. They have burned incense in it to other gods that they, their ancestors, and the kings of Judah have never known. They have filled this place with the blood of the innocent.
“They have built high places to Baal on which to burn their children in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, something I have never commanded or mentioned; I never entertained the thought.[fn]
“I will spoil the plans of Judah and Jerusalem in this place. I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies, by the hand of those who intend to take their life. I will provide their corpses as food for the birds of the sky and for the wild animals of the land.
“I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and their daughters, and they will eat each other's flesh in the distressing siege inflicted on them by their enemies who intend to take their life.'
“That is what I will do to this place — this is the declaration of the LORD — and to its residents, making this city like Topheth.
“The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will become impure like that place Topheth — all the houses on whose rooftops they have burned incense to all the stars in the sky and poured out drink offerings to other gods.' ”
Jeremiah returned from Topheth, where the LORD had sent him to prophesy, stood in the courtyard of the LORD's temple, and proclaimed to all the people,
So Pashhur had the prophet Jeremiah beaten and put him in the stocks at the Upper Benjamin Gate in the LORD's temple.
“for this is what the LORD says, ‘I am about to make you a terror to both yourself and those you love. They will fall by the sword of their enemies before your very eyes. I will hand Judah over to the king of Babylon, and he will deport them to Babylon and put them to the sword.
“As for you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house, you will go into captivity. You will go to Babylon. There you will die, and there you will be buried, you and all your friends to whom you prophesied lies.' ”
I say, “I won't mention him
or speak any longer in his name.”
But his message becomes a fire burning in my heart,
shut up in my bones.
I become tired of holding it in,
and I cannot prevail.
LORD of Armies, testing the righteous
and seeing the heart[fn] and mind,
let me see your vengeance on them,
for I have presented my case to you.
Let that man be like the cities
the LORD demolished without compassion.
Let him hear an outcry in the morning
and a war cry at noontime
because he didn't kill me in the womb
so that my mother might have been my grave,
her womb eternally pregnant.
Why did I come out of the womb
to see only struggle and sorrow,
to end my life in shame?
“‘This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I am about to repel the weapons of war in your hands, those you are using to fight the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans[fn] who are besieging you outside the wall, and I will bring them into the center of this city.
“I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and a strong arm, with anger, fury, and intense wrath.
“I will strike the residents of this city, both people and animals. They will die in a severe plague.
“Afterward — this is the LORD's declaration — King Zedekiah of Judah, his officers, and the people — those in this city who survive the plague, the sword, and the famine — I will hand over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, to their enemies, yes, to those who intend to take their lives. He will put them to the sword; he won't spare them or show pity or compassion.'
“Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine, and plague, but whoever goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you will live and will retain his life like the spoils of war.
“For I have set my face against this city to bring disaster and not good — this is the LORD's declaration. It will be handed over to the king of Babylon, who will burn it.'
I will punish you according to what you have done —
this is the LORD's declaration.
I will kindle a fire in your forest
that will consume everything around it.' ”
“This is what the LORD says: Administer justice and righteousness. Rescue the victim of robbery from his oppressor. Don't exploit or brutalize the resident alien, the fatherless, or the widow. Don't shed innocent blood in this place.
“For if you conscientiously carry out this word, then kings sitting on David's throne will enter through the gates of this palace riding on chariots and horses — they, their officers, and their people.
“but he will die in the place where they deported him, never seeing this land again.”
Woe for the one who builds his palace
through unrighteousness,
his upstairs rooms through injustice,
who makes his neighbor serve without pay
and will not give him his wages,
who says, “I will build myself a massive palace,
with spacious upstairs rooms.”
He will cut windows[fn] in it,
and it will be paneled with cedar
and painted bright red.
Are you a king because you excel in cedar?
Didn't your father eat and drink
and administer justice and righteousness?
Then it went well with him.
I spoke to you when you were secure.
You said, “I will not listen.”
This has been your way since youth;
indeed, you have never listened to me.
The wind will take charge of[fn] all your shepherds,
and your lovers will go into captivity.
Then you will be ashamed and humiliated
because of all your evil.
You residents of Lebanon,
nestled among the cedars,
how you will groan[fn] when pains come on you,
agony like a woman in labor.
This is what the LORD says:
Record this man as childless,
a man who will not be successful in his lifetime.
None of his descendants will succeed
in sitting on the throne of David
or ruling again in Judah.
“In his days Judah will be saved,
and Israel will dwell securely.
This is the name he will be called:
The LORD Is Our Righteousness.[fn]
Concerning the prophets:
My heart is broken within me,
and all my bones tremble.
I have become like a drunkard,
like a man overcome by wine,
because of the LORD,
because of his holy words.
because both prophet and priest are ungodly,
even in my house I have found their evil.
This is the LORD's declaration.
Therefore, their way will seem
like slippery paths in the gloom.
They will be driven away and fall down there,
for I will bring disaster on them,
the year of their punishment.
This is the LORD's declaration.
Among the prophets of Samaria
I saw something disgusting:
They prophesied by Baal
and led my people Israel astray.
Among the prophets of Jerusalem also
I saw a horrible thing:
They commit adultery and walk in lies.
They strengthen the hands of evildoers,
and none turns his back on evil.
They are all like Sodom to me;
Jerusalem's residents are like Gomorrah.
For who has stood in the council of the LORD
to see and hear his word?
Who has paid attention to his word and obeyed?
If they had really stood in my council,
they would have enabled my people to hear my words
and would have turned them from their evil ways
and their evil deeds.
“Can a person hide in secret places where I cannot see him? ” — the LORD's declaration. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth? ” — the LORD's declaration.
“How long will this continue in the minds of the prophets prophesying lies, prophets of the deceit of their own minds?
“Through their dreams that they tell one another, they plan to cause my people to forget my name as their ancestors forgot my name through Baal worship.
“The prophet who has only a dream should recount the dream, but the one who has my word should speak my word truthfully, for what is straw compared to grain? ” — this is the LORD's declaration.
“I am against those who prophesy false dreams” — the LORD's declaration — “telling them and leading my people astray with their reckless lies. It was not I who sent or commanded them, and they are of no benefit at all to these people” — this is the LORD's declaration.
“But as for the bad figs, so bad they are inedible, this is what the LORD says: In this way I will deal with King Zedekiah of Judah, his officials, and the remnant of Jerusalem — those remaining in this land or living in the land of Egypt.
“I will make them an object of horror and a disaster to all the kingdoms of the earth, an example for disgrace, scorn, ridicule, and cursing, wherever I have banished them.
This is the word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah (which was the first year of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon).
“From the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah, until this very day — twenty-three years — the word of the LORD has come to me, and I have spoken to you time and time again,[fn] but you have not obeyed.
“Do not follow other gods to serve them and to bow in worship to them, and do not anger me by the work of your hands. Then I will do you no harm.
“This whole land will become a desolate ruin, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years.
“When the seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation' — this is the LORD's declaration — ‘the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, and I will make it a ruin forever.
“I will bring on that land all my words I have spoken against it, all that is written in this book that Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations.
all the kings of Tyre,
all the kings of Sidon,
and the kings of the coasts and islands;
all the kings of Arabia,
and all the kings of the mixed peoples who have settled in the desert;
“For I am already bringing disaster on the city that bears my name, so how could you possibly go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth. This is the declaration of the LORD of Armies.'
“The tumult reaches to the ends of the earth
because the LORD brings a case against the nations.
He enters into judgment with all humanity.
As for the wicked, he hands them over to the sword —
this is the LORD's declaration.
Those slain by the LORD on that day will be scattered from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned, gathered, or buried. They will be like manure on the soil's surface.
At the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the LORD:
“This is what the LORD says: Stand in the courtyard of the LORD's temple and speak all the words I have commanded you to speak to all Judah's cities that are coming to worship there. Do not hold back a word.
“You are to say to them, ‘This is what the LORD says: If you do not listen to me by living according to my instruction that I set before you
The priests, the prophets, and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the temple of the LORD.
“How dare you prophesy in the name of the LORD, ‘This temple will become like Shiloh and this city will become an uninhabited ruin'! ” Then all the people crowded around Jeremiah at the LORD's temple.
When the officials of Judah heard about these things, they went from the king's palace to the LORD's temple and sat at the entrance of the New Gate of the LORD's temple.[fn]
Then the priests and prophets said to the officials and all the people, “This man deserves the death sentence because he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your own ears.”
“But know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood on yourselves, on this city, and on its residents, for it is certain the LORD has sent me to speak all these things directly to you.”
“Micah the Moreshite prophesied in the days of King Hezekiah of Judah and said to all the people of Judah, ‘This is what the LORD of Armies says:
Zion will be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem will become ruins,
and the temple's mountain will be a high thicket.'
They brought Uriah out of Egypt and took him to King Jehoiakim, who executed him with the sword and threw his corpse into the burial place of the common people.[fn]
“Send word to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the Ammonites, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidon through messengers who are coming to King Zedekiah of Judah in Jerusalem.
“By my great strength and outstretched arm, I made the earth, and the people, and animals on the face of the earth. I give it to anyone I please.[fn]
“ ‘ “As for the nation or kingdom that does not serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and does not place its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation I will punish by sword, famine, and plague — this is the LORD's declaration — until through him I have destroyed it.
“But as for the nation that will put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will leave it in its own land, and that nation will cultivate[fn] it and reside in it. This is the LORD's declaration.” ' ”
If they are indeed prophets and if the word of the LORD is with them, let them intercede with the LORD of Armies not to let the articles that remain in the LORD's temple, in the palace of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem go to Babylon.'
In that same year, at the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah, in the fifth month of the fourth year, the prophet Hananiah son of Azzur from Gibeon said to me in the temple of the LORD in the presence of the priests and all the people,
The prophet Jeremiah replied to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the temple of the LORD.
“As for the prophet who prophesies peace — only when the word of the prophet comes true will the prophet be recognized as one the LORD has truly sent.”
The prophet Hananiah then took the yoke bar from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it.
He sent the letter with Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. The letter stated:
“Pursue the well-being[fn] of the city I have deported you to. Pray to the LORD on its behalf, for when it thrives, you will thrive.”
For this is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Don't let your prophets who are among you and your diviners deceive you, and don't listen to the dreams you elicit from them,
“Based on what happens to them, all the exiles of Judah who are in Babylon will create a curse that says, ‘May the LORD make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire! '
“because they have committed an outrage in Israel by committing adultery with their neighbors' wives and have spoken in my name a lie, which I did not command them. I am he who knows, and I am a witness.” This is the LORD's declaration.
“‘The LORD has appointed you priest in place of the priest Jehoiada to be the chief officer in the temple of the LORD, responsible for every madman who acts like a prophet. You must confine him in the stocks and an iron collar.
“this is what the LORD says: I am about to punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants. There will not be even one of his descendants living among these people, nor will any ever see the good that I will bring to my people — this is the LORD's declaration — for he has preached rebellion against the LORD.' ”
Ask and see
whether a male can give birth.
Why then do I see every man
with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor
and every face turned pale?
On that day —
this is the declaration of the LORD of Armies —
I will break his yoke from your neck
and tear off your chains,
and strangers will never again enslave him.
“At that time” — this is the LORD's declaration — “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.”
This is what the LORD says:
The people who survived the sword
found favor in the wilderness.
When Israel went to find rest,
You will plant vineyards again
on the mountains of Samaria;
the planters will plant and will enjoy the fruit.
For there will be a day when watchmen will call out
in the hill country of Ephraim,
“Come, let's go up to Zion,
to the LORD our God! ”
Watch! I am going to bring them from the northern land.
I will gather them from remote regions of the earth —
the blind and the lame will be with them,
along with those who are pregnant and those about to give birth.
They will return here as a great assembly!
They will come weeping,
but I will bring them back with consolation.[fn]
I will lead them to wadis filled with water,
by a smooth way where they will not stumble,
for I am Israel's Father,
and Ephraim is my firstborn.
They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion;
they will be radiant with joy
because of the LORD's goodness,
because of the grain, the new wine, the fresh oil,
and because of the young of the flocks and herds.
Their life will be like an irrigated garden,
and they will no longer grow weak from hunger.
Then the young women will rejoice with dancing,
while young and old men rejoice together.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
give them consolation,
and bring happiness out of grief.
This is what the LORD says:
A voice was heard in Ramah,
a lament with bitter weeping —
Rachel weeping for her children,
refusing to be comforted for her children
because they are no more.
Isn't Ephraim a precious son to me,
a delightful child?
Whenever I speak against him,
I certainly still think about him.
Therefore, my inner being yearns for him;
I will truly have compassion on him.
This is the LORD's declaration.
This is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: “When I restore their fortunes,[fn] they will once again speak this word in the land of Judah and in its cities: ‘May the LORD bless you, righteous settlement, holy mountain.'
“Judah and all its cities will live in it together — also farmers and those who move[fn] with the flocks —
“In those days, it will never again be said,
‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
and the children's teeth are set on edge.'
“Rather, each will die for his own iniquity. Anyone who eats sour grapes — his own teeth will be set on edge.
“This one will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt — my covenant that they broke even though I am their master”[fn] — the LORD's declaration.
“This is what the LORD says:
The one who gives the sun for light by day,
the fixed order of moon and stars for light by night,
who stirs up the sea and makes its waves roar —
the LORD of Armies is his name:
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of King Zedekiah of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.
At that time, the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and the prophet Jeremiah was imprisoned in the guard's courtyard in the palace of the king of Judah.
King Zedekiah of Judah had imprisoned him, saying, “Why are you prophesying as you do? You say, ‘This is what the LORD says: Look, I am about to hand this city over to Babylon's king, and he will capture it.
“Watch! Hanamel, the son of your uncle Shallum, is coming to you to say, ‘Buy my field in Anathoth for yourself, for you own the right of redemption to buy it.'
“Then, as the LORD had said, my cousin Hanamel came to the guard's courtyard and urged me, ‘Please buy my field in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for you own the right of inheritance and redemption. Buy it for yourself.' Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD.
“I recorded it on a scroll, sealed it, called in witnesses, and weighed out the silver on the scales.
“and gave the purchase agreement to Baruch son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah. I did this in the sight of my cousin[fn] Hanamel, the witnesses who had signed the purchase agreement, and all the Judeans sitting in the guard's courtyard.
“For this is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in this land.'
“You performed signs and wonders in the land of Egypt and still do today, both in Israel and among all mankind. You made a name for yourself, as is the case today.
“You brought your people Israel out of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and with great terror.
“They entered and possessed it, but they did not obey you or live according to your instructions. They failed to perform all you commanded them to do, and so you have brought all this disaster on them.
“The Chaldeans who are fighting against this city will come and set this city on fire. They will burn it, including the houses where incense has been burned to Baal on their rooftops and where drink offerings have been poured out to other gods to anger me.
“They have placed their abhorrent things in the house that bears my name and have defiled it.
“Now therefore, this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says to this city about which you said, ‘It has been handed over to Babylon's king through sword, famine, and plague':
“I will certainly gather them from all the lands where I have banished them in my anger, fury, and intense wrath, and I will return them to this place and make them live in safety.
“I will take delight in them to do what is good for them, and with all my heart and mind I will faithfully plant them in this land.
“Fields will be bought in this land about which you are saying, ‘It's a desolation without people or animals; it has been handed over to the Chaldeans! '
“Fields will be purchased, the transaction written on a scroll and sealed, and witnesses will be called on in the land of Benjamin, in the areas surrounding Jerusalem, and in Judah's cities — the cities of the hill country, the cities of the Judean foothills, and the cities of the Negev — because I will restore their fortunes.”[fn]
This is the LORD's declaration.
While he was still confined in the guard's courtyard, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah a second time:
“The people coming to fight the Chaldeans will fill the houses with the corpses of their own men that I strike down in my wrath and fury. I have hidden my face from this city because of all their evil.
“This is what the LORD says: In this place, which you say is a ruin, without people or animals — that is, in Judah's cities and Jerusalem's streets that are a desolation without people, without inhabitants, and without animals — there will be heard again
“This is what the LORD of Armies says: In this desolate place — without people or animals — and in all its cities there will once more be a grazing land where shepherds may rest flocks.
“The flocks will again pass under the hands of the one who counts them in the cities of the hill country, the cities of the Judean foothills, the cities of the Negev, the land of Benjamin — the areas around Jerusalem and in Judah's cities, says the LORD.
“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Go, speak to King Zedekiah of Judah, and tell him, ‘This is what the LORD says: I am about to hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will burn it.
“you will die peacefully. There will be a burning ceremony for you just like the burning ceremonies for your ancestors, the kings of old who came before you. “Oh, master! ” will be the lament for you, for I have spoken this word. This is the LORD's declaration.' ”
So the prophet Jeremiah related all these words to King Zedekiah of Judah in Jerusalem
while the king of Babylon's army was attacking Jerusalem and all of Judah's remaining cities — that is, Lachish and Azekah, for they were the only ones left of Judah's fortified cities.
All the officials and people who entered into covenant to let their male and female slaves go free — in order not to enslave them any longer — obeyed and let them go free.
“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I made a covenant with your ancestors when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery, saying,
“Today you repented and did what pleased me, each of you proclaiming freedom for his neighbor. You made a covenant before me at the house that bears my name.
“I am about to give the command — this is the LORD's declaration — and I will bring them back to this city. They will fight against it, capture it, and burn it. I will make Judah's cities a desolation, without inhabitant.”
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the days of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah:
“You must not build a house or sow seed or plant a vineyard. Those things are not for you. Rather, you must live in tents your whole life, so you may live a long time on the soil where you stay as a resident alien.'
“But we have lived in tents and have obeyed and done everything our ancestor Jonadab commanded us.
In the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD:
“so you must go and read from the scroll — which you wrote at my dictation[fn] — the words of the LORD in the hearing of the people at the temple of the LORD on a day of fasting. Read his words in the hearing of all the Judeans who are coming from their cities.
So Baruch son of Neriah did everything the prophet Jeremiah had commanded him. At the LORD's temple he read the LORD's words from the scroll.
In the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, all the people of Jerusalem and all those coming in from Judah's cities into Jerusalem proclaimed a fast before the LORD.
Then at the LORD's temple, in the chamber of Gemariah son of Shaphan the scribe, in the upper courtyard at the opening of the New Gate of the LORD's temple, in the hearing of all the people, Baruch read Jeremiah's words from the scroll.
Then all the officials sent word to Baruch through Jehudi son of Nethaniah, son of Shelemiah, son of Cushi, saying, “Bring the scroll that you read in the hearing of the people, and come.” So Baruch son of Neriah took the scroll and went to them.
Baruch said to them, “At his dictation. He recited all these words to me while I was writing on the scroll in ink.”
Then, after depositing the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, the officials came to the king at the courtyard and reported everything in the hearing of the king.
Since it was the ninth month, the king was sitting in his winter quarters with a fire burning in front of him.
Therefore, this is what the LORD says concerning King Jehoiakim of Judah: He will have no one to sit on David's throne, and his corpse will be thrown out to be exposed to the heat of day and the frost of night.
He and his officers and the people of the land did not obey the words of the LORD that he spoke through the prophet Jeremiah.
“The Chaldeans will then return and fight against this city. They will capture it and burn it.
Indeed, if you were to strike down the entire Chaldean army that is fighting with you, and there remained among them only the badly wounded[fn] men, each in his tent, they would get up and burn this city.' ”
Jeremiah started to leave Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to claim his portion there among the people.
But when he was at the Benjamin Gate, an officer of the guard was there, whose name was Irijah son of Shelemiah, son of Hananiah, and he apprehended the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “You are defecting to the Chaldeans.”
So King Zedekiah gave orders, and Jeremiah was placed in the guard's courtyard. He was given a loaf of bread each day from the bakers' street until all the bread was gone from the city. So Jeremiah remained in the guard's courtyard.
“This is what the LORD says: ‘Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine, and plague, but whoever surrenders to the Chaldeans will live. He will retain his life like the spoils of war and will live.'
The officials then said to the king, “This man ought to die, because he is weakening the morale[fn] of the warriors who remain in this city and of all the people by speaking to them in this way. This man is not pursuing the welfare of this people, but their harm.”
King Zedekiah said, “Here he is; he's in your hands since the king can't do anything against you.”
So they took Jeremiah and dropped him into the cistern of Malchiah the king's son, which was in the guard's courtyard, lowering Jeremiah with ropes. There was no water in the cistern, only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud.
But Ebed-melech, a Cushite court official in the king's palace, heard Jeremiah had been put into the cistern. While the king was sitting at the Benjamin Gate,
“My lord the king, these men have been evil in all they have done to the prophet Jeremiah. They have dropped him into the cistern where he will die from hunger, because there is no more bread in the city.”
They pulled him up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern, but he remained in the guard's courtyard.
King Zedekiah sent for the prophet Jeremiah and received him at the third entrance of the LORD's temple. The king said to Jeremiah, “I am going to ask you something; don't hide anything from me.”
Jeremiah therefore said to Zedekiah, “This is what the LORD, the God of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘If indeed you surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then you will live, this city will not be burned, and you and your household will survive.
“But if you do not surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city will be handed over to the Chaldeans. They will burn it, and you yourself will not escape from them.' ”
All your wives and children will be brought out to the Chaldeans. You yourself will not escape from them, for you will be seized by the king of Babylon and this city will burn.' ”
Jeremiah remained in the guard's courtyard until the day Jerusalem was captured, and he was there when it happened.[fn]
In the ninth year of King Zedekiah of Judah, in the tenth month, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon advanced against Jerusalem with his entire army and laid siege to it.
In the fourth month of Zedekiah's eleventh year, on the ninth day of the month, the city was broken into.
All the officials of the king of Babylon entered and sat at the Middle Gate: Nergal-sharezer, Samgar, Nebusarsechim[fn] the chief of staff, Nergal-sharezer the chief soothsayer, and all the rest of the officials of Babylon's king.
had Jeremiah brought from the guard's courtyard and turned him over to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, to take him home. So he settled among his own people.
Now the word of the LORD had come to Jeremiah when he was confined in the guard's courtyard:
“But I will rescue you on that day — this is the LORD's declaration — and you will not be handed over to the men you dread.
“Indeed, I will certainly deliver you so that you do not fall by the sword. Because you have trusted in me, you will retain your life like the spoils of war. This is the LORD's declaration.' ”
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD after Nebuzaradan, captain of the guards, released him at Ramah. When he found him, he was bound in chains with all the exiles of Jerusalem and Judah who were being exiled to Babylon.
When Jeremiah had not yet turned to go, Nebuzaradan said to him,[fn] “Return[fn] to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has appointed over the cities of Judah, and stay with him among the people or go wherever it seems right for you to go.” So the captain of the guards gave him a ration and a gift and released him.
Jeremiah therefore went to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah, and he stayed with him among the people who remained in the land.
All the commanders of the armies that were in the countryside — they and their men — heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam over the land. He had been put in charge of the men, women, and children from among the poorest of the land, who had not been deported to Babylon.
Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, swore an oath to them and their men, assuring them, “Don't be afraid to serve the Chaldeans. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well for you.
“As for me, I am going to live in Mizpah to represent you[fn] before the Chaldeans who come to us. As for you, gather wine, summer fruit, and oil, place them in your storage jars, and live in the cities you have captured.”
When all the Judeans in Moab and among the Ammonites and in Edom and in all the other lands also heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judah and had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, over them,
Meanwhile, Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies in the countryside came to Gedaliah at Mizpah
Then Johanan son of Kareah suggested to Gedaliah in private at Mizpah, “Let me go kill Ishmael son of Nethaniah. No one will know it. Why should he kill you and allow all of Judah that has gathered around you to scatter and the remnant of Judah to perish? ”
Ishmael also struck down all the Judeans who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah, as well as the Chaldean soldiers who were there.
eighty men came from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria who had shaved their beards, torn their clothes, and gashed themselves, and who were carrying grain and incense offerings to bring to the temple of the LORD.
However, there were ten men among them who said to Ishmael, “Don't kill us, for we have hidden treasure in the field — wheat, barley, oil, and honey! ” So he stopped and did not kill them along with their companions.
they took all their men and went to fight with Ishmael son of Nethaniah. They found him by the great pool in Gibeon.
Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies with him then took from Mizpah all the remnant of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael son of Nethaniah after Ishmael had killed Gedaliah son of Ahikam — men, soldiers, women, children, and court officials whom he brought back from Gibeon.
They left, stopping in Geruth Chimham, which is near Bethlehem, in order to make their way into Egypt,
away from the Chaldeans. For they feared them because Ishmael son of Nethaniah had struck down Gedaliah son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the land.
“that the LORD your God may tell us the way we should go and the thing we should do.”
And they said to Jeremiah, “May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we don't act according to every word the LORD your God sends you to tell us.
“‘If you will indeed stay in this land, then I will rebuild and not demolish you, and I will plant and not uproot you, because I relent concerning the disaster that I have brought on you.
“But if you say, ‘We will not stay in this land,' in order to disobey the LORD your God,
“and if you say, ‘No, instead we'll go to the land of Egypt where we will not see war or hear the sound of the ram's horn or hunger for food, and we'll live there,'
“then the sword you fear will overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine you are worried about will follow on your heels[fn] there to Egypt, and you will die there.
“All who resolve to go to Egypt to stay there for a while will die by the sword, famine, and plague. They will have no survivor or fugitive from the disaster I will bring on them.'
“You have gone astray at the cost of your lives[fn] because you are the ones who sent me to the LORD your God, saying, ‘Pray to the LORD our God on our behalf, and as for all that the LORD our God says, tell it to us, and we'll act accordingly.'
“Now therefore, know for certain that by the sword, famine, and plague you will die in the place where you desired to go to stay for a while.”
So Johanan son of Kareah, all the commanders of the armies, and all the people failed to obey the LORD's command to stay in the land of Judah.
Instead, Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies led away the whole remnant of Judah, those who had returned to stay in the land of Judah from all the nations where they had been banished.
“Pick up some large stones and set them in the mortar of the brick pavement that is at the opening of Pharaoh's palace at Tahpanhes. Do this in the sight of the Judean men
This is the word that came to Jeremiah for all the Jews living in the land of Egypt — at Migdol, Tahpanhes, Memphis, and in the land of Pathros:
“So my fierce wrath poured out and burned in Judah's cities and Jerusalem's streets so that they became the desolate ruin they are today.
“You are angering me by the work of your hands. You are burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt where you have gone to stay for a while. As a result, you will be cut off and become an example for cursing and insult among all the nations of earth.
“Have you forgotten the evils of your ancestors, the evils of Judah's kings, the evils of their wives, your own evils, and the evils of your wives that were committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?
“And I will take away the remnant of Judah, those who have set their face to go to the land of Egypt to stay there. All of them will meet their end in the land of Egypt. They will fall by the sword; they will meet their end by famine. From the least to the greatest, they will die by the sword and by famine. Then they will become an example for cursing, scorn, execration, and disgrace.
“I will punish those living in the land of Egypt just as I punished Jerusalem by sword, famine, and plague.
“Then the remnant of Judah — those going to live for a while there in the land of Egypt — will have no fugitive or survivor to return to the land of Judah where they are longing[fn] to return to stay, for they will not return except for a few fugitives.”
However, all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, all the women standing by — a great assembly — and all the people who were living in the land of Egypt at Pathros answered Jeremiah,
“Instead, we will do everything we promised:[fn] we will burn incense to the queen of heaven[fn] and offer drink offerings to her just as we, our ancestors, our kings, and our officials did in Judah's cities and in Jerusalem's streets. Then we had enough food, we were well off, and we saw no disaster,
“but from the time we ceased to burn incense to the queen of heaven and to offer her drink offerings, we have lacked everything, and through sword and famine we have met our end.”
“As for the incense you burned in Judah's cities and in Jerusalem's streets — you, your ancestors, your kings, your officials, and the people of the land — did the LORD not remember them? He brought this to mind.
“The LORD can no longer bear your evil deeds and the detestable acts you have committed, so your land has become a waste, a desolation, and an example for cursing, without inhabitant, as you see today.
“Because you burned incense and sinned against the LORD and didn't obey the LORD and didn't follow his instruction, his statutes, and his testimonies, this disaster has come to you, as you see today.”
“Therefore, hear the word of the LORD, all you Judeans who live in the land of Egypt: ‘I have sworn by my great name, says the LORD, that my name will never again be invoked by anyone of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, “As the Lord GOD lives.”
I am watching over them for disaster and not for good, and everyone from Judah who is in the land of Egypt will meet his end by sword or famine until they are finished off.
Those who escape the sword will return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah only few in number, and the whole remnant of Judah, the ones going to the land of Egypt to stay there for a while, will know whose word stands, mine or theirs!
This is the word that the prophet Jeremiah spoke to Baruch son of Neriah when he wrote these words on a scroll at Jeremiah's dictation[fn] in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah:
“‘You have said, “Woe is me, because the LORD has added misery to my pain! I am worn out with[fn] groaning and have found no rest.” '
“But as for you, do you pursue great things for yourself? Stop pursuing! For I am about to bring disaster on all humanity” — this is the LORD's declaration — “but I will grant you your life like the spoils of war wherever you go.” ' ”
About Egypt and the army of Pharaoh Neco, Egypt's king, which was defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates River by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon in the fourth year of Judah's King Jehoiakim son of Josiah:
Harness the horses;
mount the steeds;[fn]
take your positions with helmets on!
Polish the lances;
put on armor!
Egypt rises like the Nile,
and its waters churn like rivers.
He boasts, “I will go up, I will cover the earth;
I will destroy cities with their residents.”
This is the word the LORD spoke to the prophet Jeremiah about the coming of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon to defeat the land of Egypt:
As I live —
this is the King's declaration;
the LORD of Armies is his name —
the king of Babylon[fn] will come like Tabor among the mountains
and like Carmel by the sea.
Get your bags ready for exile,
inhabitant of Daughter Egypt!
For Memphis will become a desolation,
uninhabited ruins.
Even her mercenaries among her
are like stall-fed calves.
They too will turn back;
together they will flee;
they will not take their stand,
for the day of their calamity is coming on them,
the time of their punishment.
Egypt will hiss like a slithering snake,[fn]
for the enemy will come with an army;
with axes they will come against her
like those who cut trees.
And you, my servant Jacob, do not be afraid —
this is the LORD's declaration —
for I will be with you.
I will bring destruction on all the nations
where I have banished you,
but I will not bring destruction on you.
I will discipline you with justice,
and I will by no means leave you unpunished.
This is what the LORD says:
Look, water is rising from the north
and becoming an overflowing wadi.
It will overflow the land and everything in it,
the cities and their inhabitants.
The people will cry out,
and every inhabitant of the land will wail.
on account of the day that is coming
to destroy all the Philistines,
to cut off from Tyre and Sidon
every remaining ally.
Indeed, the LORD is about to destroy the Philistines,
the remnant of the coastland of Caphtor.[fn]
There is no longer praise for Moab;
they plan harm against her in Heshbon:
Come, let's cut her off from nationhood.
Also, Madmen, you will be silenced;
the sword will follow you.
For on the Ascent to Luhith
they will be weeping continually,[fn]
and on the descent to Horonaim
will be heard cries of distress over the destruction:
Because you trust in your works and treasures,
you will be captured also.
Chemosh will go into exile
with his priests and officials.
Moab has been left quiet since his youth,
settled like wine on its dregs.
He hasn't been poured from one container to another
or gone into exile.
So his taste has remained the same,
and his aroma hasn't changed.
Come down from glory; sit on parched ground,
resident of the daughter of Dibon,
for the destroyer of Moab has come against you;
he has destroyed your fortresses.
Stand by the highway and watch,
resident of Aroer!
Ask him who is fleeing or her who is escaping,
“What happened? ”
Moab is put to shame, indeed dismayed.
Wail and cry out!
Declare by the Arnon
that Moab is destroyed.
“Make him drunk, because he has exalted himself against the LORD. Moab will wallow in his own vomit, and he will also become a laughingstock.
“Wasn't Israel a laughingstock to you? Was he ever found among thieves? For whenever you speak of him you shake your head.”
Abandon the towns! Live in the cliffs,
residents of Moab!
Be like a dove
that nests inside the mouth of a cave.
“Indeed, every head is bald and every beard is chopped short. On every hand is a gash and sackcloth around the waist.
He who flees from the panic will fall in the pit,
and he who climbs from the pit
will be captured in the trap,
for I will bring against Moab
the year of their punishment.
This is the LORD's declaration.
Therefore look, the days are coming —
this is the LORD's declaration —
when I will make the shout of battle heard
against Rabbah of the Ammonites.
It will become a desolate mound,
and its surrounding villages will be set on fire.
Israel will dispossess their dispossessors,
says the LORD.
Wail, Heshbon, for Ai is devastated;
cry out, daughters of Rabbah!
Clothe yourselves with sackcloth, and lament;
run back and forth within your walls,[fn]
because Milcom will go into exile
together with his priests and officials.
Why do you boast about your valleys,
your flowing valley,[fn]
you faithless daughter —
you who trust in your treasures
and say, “Who can attack me? ”
About Edom, this is what the LORD of Armies says:
Is there no longer wisdom in Teman?
Has counsel perished from the prudent?
Has their wisdom rotted away?
Run! Turn back! Lie low,
residents of Dedan,
for I will bring Esau's calamity on him
at the time I punish him.
If grape harvesters came to you,
wouldn't they leave a few grapes?
Were thieves to come in the night,
they would destroy only what they wanted.
“For by myself I have sworn” — this is the LORD's declaration — “Bozrah[fn] will become a desolation, a disgrace, a ruin, and an example for cursing, and all its surrounding cities will become ruins forever.”
At the sound of their fall the earth will quake; the sound of her cry will be heard at the Red Sea.
Look! It will be like an eagle soaring upward, then swooping down and spreading its wings over Bozrah. In that day the hearts of Edom's warriors will be like the heart of a woman with contractions.
Therefore, her young men will fall in her public squares;
all the warriors will perish in that day.
This is the declaration of the LORD of Armies.
Run! Escape quickly! Lie low,
residents of Hazor —
this is the LORD's declaration —
for King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon
has drawn up a plan against you;
he has devised a strategy against you.
This is the word of the LORD that came to the prophet Jeremiah about Elam[fn] at the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah.
I will bring the four winds against Elam
from the four corners of the heavens,
and I will scatter them to all these winds.
There will not be a nation
to which Elam's banished ones will not go.
I will set my throne in Elam,
and I will destroy the king and officials from there.
This is the LORD's declaration.
Announce to the nations;
proclaim and raise up a signal flag;
proclaim, and hide nothing.
Say, “Babylon is captured;
Bel is put to shame;
Marduk is terrified.”
Her idols are put to shame;
her false gods, devastated.
For a nation from the north will attack her;
it will make her land desolate.
No one will be living in it —
both people and animals will escape.[fn]
In those days and at that time —
this is the LORD's declaration —
the Israelites and Judeans will come together,
weeping as they come,
and will seek the LORD their God.
Because you rejoice,
because you celebrate —
you who plundered my inheritance —
because you frolic like a young cow treading grain
and neigh like stallions,
Cut off the sower from Babylon
as well as him who wields the sickle at harvest time.
Because of the oppressor's sword,
each will turn to his own people,
each will flee to his own land.
I will return Israel to his grazing land,
and he will feed on Carmel and Bashan;
he will be satisfied
in the hill country of Ephraim and of Gilead.
In those days and at that time —
this is the LORD's declaration —
one will search for Israel's iniquity,
but there will be none,
and for Judah's sins,
but they will not be found,
for I will forgive those I leave as a remnant.
How the hammer of the whole earth
is cut down and smashed!
What a horror Babylon has become
among the nations!
The LORD opened his armory
and brought out his weapons of wrath,
because it is a task of the Lord GOD of Armies
in the land of the Chaldeans.
Therefore, her young men will fall
in her public squares;
all the warriors will perish in that day.
This is the LORD's declaration.
The arrogant will stumble and fall
with no one to pick him up.
I will set fire to his cities,
and it will consume everything around him.
A sword is against his horses and chariots
and against all the foreigners among them,
and they will be like women.
A sword is against her treasuries,
and they will be plundered.
A drought will come on her waters,
and they will be dried up.
For it is a land of carved images,
and they go mad because of terrifying things.[fn]
Therefore, desert creatures[fn] will live with hyenas,
and ostriches will also live in her.
It will never again be inhabited
or lived in through all generations.
At the sound of Babylon's conquest the earth will quake; a cry will be heard among the nations.
I will send strangers to Babylon
who will scatter her and strip her land bare,
for they will come against her
from every side in the day of disaster.
Those who were slain will fall in the land of the Chaldeans,
those who were pierced through, in her streets.
Leave Babylon;
save your lives, each of you!
Don't perish because of her guilt.
For this is the time of the LORD's vengeance —
he will pay her what she deserves.
Babylon was a gold cup in the LORD's hand,
making the whole earth drunk.
The nations drank her wine;
therefore, the nations go mad.
He made the earth by his power,
established the world by his wisdom,
and spread out the heavens by his understanding.
When he thunders,[fn]
the waters in the heavens are tumultuous,
and he causes the clouds
to rise from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain
and brings the wind from his storehouses.
Everyone is stupid and ignorant.
Every goldsmith is put to shame by his carved image,
for his cast images are a lie;
there is no breath in them.
They are worthless, a work to be mocked.
At the time of their punishment they will be destroyed.
You are my war club,
my weapons of war.
With you I will smash nations;
with you I will bring kingdoms to ruin.
With you I will smash the horse and its rider;
with you I will smash the chariot and its rider.
With you I will smash man and woman;
with you I will smash the old man and the youth;
with you I will smash the young man and the young woman.
With you I will smash the shepherd and his flock;
with you I will smash the farmer and his ox-team.[fn]
With you I will smash governors and officials.
Raise a signal flag in the land;
blow a ram's horn among the nations;
set apart the nations against her.
Summon kingdoms against her —
Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz.
Appoint a marshal against her;
bring up horses like a swarm[fn] of locusts.
Babylon's warriors have stopped fighting;
they sit in their strongholds.
Their might is exhausted;
they have become like women.
Babylon's homes have been set ablaze,
her gate bars are shattered.
The fords have been seized,
the marshes set on fire,
and the fighting men are terrified.
While they are flushed with heat, I will serve them a feast,
and I will make them drunk so that they celebrate.[fn]
Then they will fall asleep forever
and never wake up.
This is the LORD's declaration.
How Sheshak[fn] has been captured,
the praise of the whole earth seized.
What a horror Babylon has become
among the nations!
Her cities have become a desolation,
an arid desert,
a land where no one lives,
where no human being even passes through.
Babylon must fall because of the slain of Israel,
even as the slain of the whole earth fell
because of Babylon.
Therefore, look, the days are coming —
this is the LORD's declaration —
when I will punish her carved images,
and the wounded will groan
throughout her land.
The sound of a cry from Babylon!
The sound of terrible destruction
from the land of the Chaldeans!
This is what the LORD of Armies says:
Babylon's thick walls will be totally demolished,
and her high gates set ablaze.
The peoples will have labored for nothing;
the nations will weary themselves only to feed the fire.
This is what the prophet Jeremiah commanded Seraiah son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, the quartermaster, when he went to Babylon with King Zedekiah of Judah in the fourth year of Zedekiah's reign.
Jeremiah wrote on one scroll about all the disaster that would come to Babylon; all these words were written against Babylon.
“Say, ‘LORD, you have threatened to cut off this place so that no one will live in it — people or animals. Indeed, it will remain desolate forever.'
Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah.
In the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon advanced against Jerusalem with his entire army. They laid siege to the city and built a siege wall against it all around.
By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that the common people had no food.
The Chaldean army pursued the king and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. Zedekiah's entire army left him and scattered.
At Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered Zedekiah's sons before his eyes, and he also slaughtered the Judean commanders.
Then he blinded Zedekiah and bound him with bronze chains. The king of Babylon brought Zedekiah to Babylon, where he kept him in custody[fn] until his dying day.
On the tenth day of the fifth month — which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon — Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guards, entered Jerusalem as the representative of[fn] the king of Babylon.
He burned the LORD's temple, the king's palace, all the houses of Jerusalem; he burned down all the great houses.
Now the Chaldeans broke into pieces the bronze pillars for the LORD's temple and the water carts and the bronze basin[fn] that were in the LORD's temple, and they carried all the bronze to Babylon.
They also took the pots, shovels, wick trimmers, sprinkling basins, dishes, and all the bronze articles used in the temple service.
From the city he took a court official[fn] who had been appointed over the warriors; seven trusted royal aides[fn] found in the city; the secretary of the commander of the army, who enlisted the people of the land for military duty; and sixty men from the common people[fn] who were found within the city.
The king of Babylon put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah went into exile from its land.
On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month of the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Judah's King Jehoiachin, King Evil-merodach of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, pardoned King Jehoiachin of Judah and released him from prison.
He spoke kindly to him and set his throne above the thrones of the kings who were with him in Babylon.
How[fn] she sits alone,
the city once crowded with people!
She who was great among the nations
has become like a widow.
The princess among the provinces
has been put to forced labor.
She weeps bitterly during the night,
with tears on her cheeks.
There is no one to offer her comfort,
not one from all her lovers.[fn]
All her friends have betrayed her;
they have become her enemies.
Judah has gone into exile
following[fn] affliction and harsh slavery;
she lives among the nations
but finds no place to rest.
All her pursuers have overtaken her
in narrow places.
The roads to Zion mourn,
for no one comes to the appointed festivals.
All her gates are deserted;
her priests groan,
her young women grieve,
and she herself is bitter.
Her adversaries have become her masters;
her enemies are at ease,
for the LORD has made her suffer
because of her many transgressions.
Her children have gone away
as captives before the adversary.
All the splendor has vanished
from Daughter Zion.
Her leaders are like stags
that find no pasture;
they stumble away exhausted
before the hunter.
During the days of her affliction and homelessness
Jerusalem remembers all her precious belongings
that were hers in days of old.
When her people fell into the adversary's hand,
she had no one to help.
The adversaries looked at her,
laughing over her downfall.
All her people groan
while they search for bread.
They have traded their precious belongings for food
in order to stay alive.
LORD, look and see
how I have become despised.
Is this nothing to you, all you who pass by?
Look and see!
Is there any pain like mine,
which was dealt out to me,
which the LORD made me suffer
on the day of his burning anger?
He sent fire from on high into my bones;
he made it descend.[fn]
He spread a net for my feet
and turned me back.
He made me desolate,
sick all day long.
The LORD is just,
for I have rebelled against his command.
Listen, all you people;
look at my pain.
My young women and young men
have gone into captivity.
I called to my lovers,
but they betrayed me.
My priests and elders
perished in the city
while searching for food
to keep themselves alive.
LORD, see how I am in distress.
I am churning within;
my heart is broken,[fn]
for I have been very rebellious.
Outside, the sword takes the children;
inside, there is death.
How the Lord has overshadowed
Daughter Zion with his anger!
He has thrown down Israel's glory
from heaven to earth.
He did not acknowledge his footstool
in the day of his anger.
Without compassion the Lord has swallowed up
all the dwellings of Jacob.
In his wrath he has demolished
the fortified cities of Daughter Judah.
He brought them to the ground
and defiled the kingdom and its leaders.
He has cut off every horn of Israel
in his burning anger
and withdrawn his right hand
in the presence of the enemy.
He has blazed against Jacob like a flaming fire
that consumes everything.
He has strung his bow like an enemy;
his right hand is positioned like an adversary.
He has killed everyone who was the delight to the eye,
pouring out his wrath like fire
on the tent of Daughter Zion.
The Lord has rejected his altar,
repudiated his sanctuary;
he has handed the walls of her palaces
over to the enemy.
They have raised a shout in the house of the LORD
as on the day of an appointed festival.
Zion's gates have fallen to the ground;
he has destroyed and shattered the bars on her gates.
Her king and her leaders live among the nations,
instruction[fn] is no more,
and even her prophets receive
no vision from the LORD.
The elders of Daughter Zion
sit on the ground in silence.
They have thrown dust on their heads
and put on sackcloth.
The young women of Jerusalem
have bowed their heads to the ground.
My eyes are worn out from weeping;
I am churning within.
My heart is poured out in grief[fn]
because of the destruction of my dear people,
because infants and nursing babies faint
in the streets of the city.
They cry out to their mothers,
“Where is the grain and wine? ”
as they faint like the wounded
in the streets of the city,
as their life pours out
in the arms of their mothers.
Arise, cry out in the night
from the first watch of the night.
Pour out your heart like water
before the Lord's presence.
Lift up your hands to him
for the lives of your children
who are fainting from hunger
at the head of every street.
LORD, look and consider
to whom you have done this.
Should women eat their own children,
the infants they have nurtured?[fn]
Should priests and prophets
be killed in the Lord's sanctuary?
Both young and old
are lying on the ground in the streets.
My young women and young men
have fallen by the sword.
You have killed them in the day of your anger,
slaughtering without compassion.
“You have covered yourself in anger and pursued us;
you have killed without compassion.
Zion's precious children —
once worth their weight in pure gold —
how they are regarded as clay jars,
the work of a potter's hands!
Even jackals offer their breasts
to nurse their young,
but my dear people have become cruel
like ostriches in the wilderness.
The nursing baby's tongue
clings to the roof of his mouth from thirst.
Infants beg for food,
but no one gives them any.
Those who used to eat delicacies
are destitute in the streets;
those who were reared in purple garments
huddle in trash heaps.
The punishment of my dear people
is greater than that of Sodom,
which was overthrown in an instant
without a hand laid on it.
Now they appear darker than soot;
they are not recognized in the streets.
Their skin has shriveled on their bones;
it has become dry like wood.
The hands of compassionate women
have cooked their own children;
they became their food
during the destruction of my dear people.
The LORD has exhausted his wrath,
poured out his burning anger;
he has ignited a fire in Zion,
and it has consumed her foundations.
Yet it happened because of the sins of her prophets
and the iniquities of her priests,
who shed the blood of the righteous within her.
Blind, they stumbled in the streets,
defiled by this blood,
so that no one dared
to touch their garments.
“Stay away! Unclean! ” people shouted at them.
“Away, away! Don't touch us! ”
So they wandered aimlessly.
It was said among the nations,
“They can stay here no longer.”
Our steps were closely followed
so that we could not walk in our streets.
Our end approached; our time ran out.
Our end had come!
Those who chased us were swifter
than eagles in the sky;
they relentlessly pursued us over the mountains
and ambushed us in the wilderness.
The LORD's anointed, the breath of our life,[fn]
was captured in their traps.
We had said about him,
“We will live under his protection among the nations.”
In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, while I was among the exiles by the Chebar Canal, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.
the word of the LORD came directly to the priest Ezekiel son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the Chebar Canal. The LORD's hand was on him there.
I looked, and there was a whirlwind coming from the north, a huge cloud with fire flashing back and forth and brilliant light all around it. In the center of the fire, there was a gleam like amber.
The likeness of four living creatures came from it, and this was their appearance: They looked something like a human,
Their wings were touching. The creatures did not turn as they moved; each one went straight ahead.
The likeness of the living creatures was like the appearance of blazing coals of fire or like torches. Fire was moving back and forth between the living creatures; it was bright, with lightning coming out of it.
The appearance of the wheels and their craftsmanship was like the gleam of beryl, and all four had the same likeness. Their appearance and craftsmanship was like a wheel within a wheel.
When they moved, they went in any of the four directions, without turning as they moved.
When the living creatures moved, the wheels moved beside them, and when the creatures rose from the earth, the wheels also rose.
Wherever the Spirit wanted to go, the creatures went in the direction the Spirit was moving. The wheels rose alongside them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
When the creatures moved, the wheels moved; when the creatures stopped, the wheels stopped; and when the creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose alongside them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
When they moved, I heard the sound of their wings like the roar of a huge torrent, like the voice of the Almighty, and a sound of tumult like the noise of an army. When they stopped, they lowered their wings.
The appearance of the brilliant light all around was like that of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day. This was the appearance of the likeness of the LORD's glory. When I saw it, I fell facedown and heard a voice speaking.
“Whether they listen or refuse to listen — for they are a rebellious house — they will know that a prophet has been among them.
“But you, son of man, do not be afraid of them and do not be afraid of their words, even though briers and thorns are beside you and you live among scorpions. Don't be afraid of their words or discouraged by the look on their faces, for they are a rebellious house.
When he unrolled it before me, it was written on the front and back; words of lamentation, mourning, and woe were written on it.
“Son of man,” he said to me, “feed your stomach and fill your belly with this scroll I am giving you.” So I ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.
The Spirit lifted me up and took me away. I left in bitterness and in an angry spirit, and the LORD's hand was on me powerfully.
I came to the exiles at Tel-abib, who were living by the Chebar Canal, and I sat there among them stunned for seven days.
“If I say to the wicked person, ‘You will surely die,' but you do not warn him — you don't speak out to warn him about his wicked way in order to save his life — that wicked person will die for his iniquity. Yet I will hold you responsible for his blood.
“But if you warn a wicked person and he does not turn from his wickedness or his wicked way, he will die for his iniquity, but you will have rescued yourself.
“Now if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and acts unjustly, and I put a stumbling block in front of him, he will die. If you did not warn him, he will die because of his sin, and the righteous acts he did will not be remembered. Yet I will hold you responsible for his blood.
The Spirit entered me and set me on my feet. He spoke with me and said, “Go, shut yourself inside your house.
“As for you, son of man, they will put ropes on you and bind you with them so you cannot go out among them.
“But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you will say to them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says.' Let the one who listens, listen, and let the one who refuses, refuse — for they are a rebellious house.
“Take an iron plate and set it up as an iron wall between yourself and the city. Face it so that it is under siege, and besiege it. This will be a sign for the house of Israel.
“You will also drink a ration of water, a sixth of a gallon,[fn] which you will drink at set times.
“You will eat it as you would a barley cake and bake it over dried human excrement in their sight.”
The LORD said, “This is how the Israelites will eat their bread — ceremonially unclean — among the nations where I will banish them.”
But I said, “Oh, Lord GOD, I have never been defiled. From my youth until now I have not eaten anything that died naturally or was mauled by wild beasts. And impure meat has never entered my mouth.”
He said to me, “Son of man, I am going to cut off the supply of bread in Jerusalem. They will anxiously eat food they have weighed out and in dread drink rationed water
“for lack of bread and water. Everyone will be devastated and waste away because of their iniquity.
“You are to burn a third of it in the city when the days of the siege have ended; you are to take a third and slash it with the sword all around the city; and you are to scatter a third to the wind, for I will draw a sword to chase after them.
“But you are to take a few strands from the hair and secure them in the folds of your robe.
“Take some more of them, throw them into the fire, and burn them in it. A fire will spread from it to the whole house of Israel.
“This is what the Lord GOD says: I have set this Jerusalem in the center of the nations, with countries all around her.
“She has rebelled against my ordinances with more wickedness than the nations, and against my statutes more than the countries that surround her. For her people have rejected my ordinances and have not walked in my statutes.
“Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says: Because you have been more insubordinate than the nations around you — you have not walked in my statutes or kept my ordinances; you have not even kept the ordinances of the nations around you —
“therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says: See, I myself am against you, Jerusalem, and I will execute judgments within you in the sight of the nations.
“Because of all your detestable practices, I will do to you what I have never done before and what I will never do again.
“As a result, fathers will eat their sons within Jerusalem,[fn] and sons will eat their fathers. I will execute judgments against you and scatter all your survivors to every direction of the wind.
“Therefore, as I live” — this is the declaration of the Lord GOD — “I will withdraw and show you no pity, because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your abhorrent acts and detestable practices. Yes, I will not spare you.
“A third of your people will die by plague and be consumed by famine within you; a third will fall by the sword all around you; and I will scatter a third to every direction of the wind, and I will draw a sword to chase after them.
“When my anger is spent and I have vented my wrath on them, I will be appeased. Then after I have spent my wrath on them, they will know that I, the LORD, have spoken in my jealousy.
“So you[fn] will be a disgrace and a taunt, a warning and a horror, to the nations around you when I execute judgments against you in anger, wrath, and furious rebukes. I, the LORD, have spoken.
“When I shoot deadly arrows of famine at them, arrows for destruction that I will send to destroy you, inhabitants of Jerusalem, I will intensify the famine against you and cut off your supply of bread.
“Wherever you live the cities will be in ruins and the high places will be desolate, so that your altars will lie in ruins and be desecrated,[fn] your idols smashed and obliterated, your shrines cut down, and what you have made wiped out.
“Yet I will leave a remnant when you are scattered among the nations, for throughout the countries there will be some of you who will escape the sword.
“Then your survivors will remember me among the nations where they are taken captive, how I was crushed by their promiscuous hearts that turned away from me and by their eyes that lusted after their idols. They will loathe themselves because of the evil things they did, their detestable actions of every kind.
“This is what the Lord GOD says: Clap your hands, stamp your feet, and cry out over all the evil and detestable practices of the house of Israel, who will fall by the sword, famine, and plague.
“The one who is far off will die by plague; the one who is near will fall by the sword; and the one who remains and is spared[fn] will die of famine. In this way I will exhaust my wrath on them.
“You will all know that I am the LORD when their slain lie among their idols around their altars, on every high hill, on all the mountaintops, and under every green tree and every leafy oak — the places where they offered pleasing aromas to all their idols.
“The end is now upon you;
I will send my anger against you
and judge you according to your ways.
I will punish you for all your detestable practices.
“I will not look on you with pity or spare you,
but I will punish you for your ways
and for your detestable practices within you.
Then you will know that I am the LORD.”
I will pour out my wrath on you very soon;
I will exhaust my anger against you
and judge you according to your ways.
I will punish you for all your detestable practices.
I will not look on you with pity or spare you.
I will punish you for your ways
and for your detestable practices within you.
Then you will know
that it is I, the LORD, who strikes.
The seller will certainly not return
to what was sold
as long as he and the buyer remain alive.[fn]
For the vision concerning her whole crowd
will not be revoked,
and because of the iniquity of each one,
none will preserve his life.
They have blown the trumpet
and prepared everything,
but no one goes to war,
for my wrath is on her whole crowd.
The sword is on the outside;
plague and famine are on the inside.
Whoever is in the field will die by the sword,
and famine and plague will devour
whoever is in the city.
The survivors among them will escape
and live on the mountains.
Like doves of the valley,
all of them will moan,
each over his own iniquity.
They will throw their silver into the streets,
and their gold will seem like something filthy.
Their silver and gold will be unable to save them
in the day of the LORD's wrath.
They will not satisfy their appetites
or fill their stomachs,
for these were the stumbling blocks
that brought about their iniquity.
The king will mourn;
the prince will be clothed in grief;
and the hands of the people of the land will tremble.
I will deal with them according to their own conduct,
and I will judge them by their own standards.
Then they will know that I am the LORD.
In the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, I was sitting in my house and the elders of Judah were sitting in front of me, and there the hand of the Lord GOD came down on me.
He stretched out what appeared to be a hand and took me by the hair of my head. Then the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and carried me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the inner gate that faces north, where the offensive statue that provokes jealousy was located.
Seventy elders from the house of Israel were standing before them, with Jaazaniah son of Shaphan standing among them. Each had a firepan in his hand, and a fragrant cloud of incense was rising up.
He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his idol? For they are saying, ‘The LORD does not see us. The LORD has abandoned the land.' ”
Then he called loudly in my hearing, “Come near, executioners of the city, each of you with a destructive weapon in his hand.”
And I saw six men coming from the direction of the Upper Gate, which faces north, each with a war club in his hand. There was another man among them, clothed in linen, carrying writing equipment. They came and stood beside the bronze altar.
“Pass throughout the city of Jerusalem,” the LORD said to him, “and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the detestable practices committed in it.”
“Slaughter the old men, the young men and women, as well as the children and older women, but do not come near anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were in front of the temple.
While they were killing, I was left alone. And I fell facedown and cried out, “Oh, Lord GOD! Are you going to destroy the entire remnant of Israel when you pour out your wrath on Jerusalem? ”
Now the cherubim were standing to the south of the temple when the man went in, and the cloud filled the inner court.
After the LORD commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, “Take fire from inside the wheelwork, from among the cherubim,” the man went in and stood beside a wheel.
Then the cherub reached out his hand to the fire that was among them. He took some and put it into the hands of the man clothed in linen, who took it and went out.
When they moved, they would go in any of the four directions, without pivoting as they moved. But wherever the head faced, they would go in that direction, without pivoting as they went.
When the cherubim moved, the wheels moved beside them, and when they lifted their wings to rise from the earth, even then the wheels did not veer away from them.
When the cherubim stopped, the wheels stood still, and when they ascended, the wheels ascended with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in them.
The cherubim lifted their wings and ascended from the earth right before my eyes; the wheels were beside them as they went. The glory of the God of Israel was above them, and it stopped at the entrance to the eastern gate of the LORD's house.
The Spirit then lifted me up and brought me to the eastern gate of the LORD's house, which faces east, and at the gate's entrance were twenty-five men. Among them I saw Jaazaniah son of Azzur, and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, leaders of the people.
The LORD[fn] said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who plot evil and give wicked advice in this city.
“ ‘Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says: The slain you have put within it are the meat, and the city is the pot, but I[fn] will take you out of it.
“I will take you out of the city and hand you over to foreigners; I will execute judgments against you.
“You will fall by the sword, and I will judge you at the border of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD.
“The city will not be a pot for you, and you will not be the meat within it. I will judge you at the border of Israel,
Now while I was prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I fell facedown and cried out loudly, “Oh, Lord GOD! You are bringing the remnant of Israel to an end! ”
“Therefore say, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: Though I sent them far away among the nations and scattered them among the countries, yet for a little while I have been a sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone.'
“Therefore say, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.'
“so that they will follow my statutes, keep my ordinances, and practice them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.
The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to Chaldea and to the exiles in a vision from the Spirit of God. After the vision I had seen left me,
“Son of man, you are living among a rebellious house. They have eyes to see but do not see, and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious house.
“You are to say, ‘I am a sign for you. Just as I have done, it will be done to them; they will go into exile, into captivity.'
“The prince who is among them will lift his bags to his shoulder in the dark and go out. They[fn] will dig through the wall to bring him out through it. He will cover his face so he cannot see the land with his eyes.
“But I will spread my net over him, and he will be caught in my snare. I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, yet he will not see it, and he will die there.
“They will know that I am the LORD when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them among the countries.
“But I will spare a few of them from the sword, famine, and plague, so that among the nations where they go they can tell about all their detestable practices. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”
“Then say to the people of the land, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says about the residents of Jerusalem in the land of Israel: They will eat their bread with anxiety and drink their water in dread, for their[fn][fn] land will be stripped of everything in it because of the violence of all who live there.
“For there will no longer be any false vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel.
“But I, the LORD, will speak whatever message I will speak, and it will be done. It will no longer be delayed. For in your days, rebellious house, I will speak a message and bring it to pass. This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.' ”
“You did not go up to the gaps or restore the wall around the house of Israel so that it might stand in battle on the day of the LORD.
“My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and speak lying divinations. They will not be present in the council of my people or be recorded in the register of the house of Israel, and they will not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord GOD.
“ ‘So this is what the Lord GOD says: I will release a whirlwind in my wrath. Torrential rain will come in my anger, and hailstones will fall in destructive fury.
“You profane me among my people for handfuls of barley and scraps of bread; you put those to death who should not die and spare those who should not live, when you lie to my people, who listen to lies.
“I will also tear off your veils and rescue my people from your hands, so that they will no longer be prey in your hands. Then you will know that I am the LORD.
“Therefore, speak to them and tell them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: When anyone from the house of Israel sets up idols in his heart and puts his sinful stumbling block in front of himself, and then comes to the prophet, I, the LORD, will answer him appropriately.[fn] I will answer him according to his many idols,
“so that I may take hold of the house of Israel by their hearts. They are all estranged from me because of their idols.'
“For when anyone from the house of Israel or from the aliens who reside in Israel separates himself from me, setting up idols in his heart and putting his sinful stumbling block in front of himself, and then comes to the prophet to inquire of me, I, the LORD, will answer him myself.
“in order that the house of Israel may no longer stray from following me and no longer defile themselves with all their transgressions. Then they will be my people and I will be their God. This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.' ”
“Even if these three men — Noah, Daniel, and Job — were in it, they would rescue only themselves by their righteousness.” This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.
“Even if these three men were in it, as I live” — the declaration of the Lord GOD — “they could not rescue their sons or daughters. They alone would be rescued, but the land would be desolate.
“Even if these three men were in it, as I live” — the declaration of the Lord GOD — “they could not rescue their sons or daughters, but they alone would be rescued.
“Or suppose I send a plague into that land and pour out my wrath on it with bloodshed to wipe out both people and animals from it.
“Even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live” — the declaration of the Lord GOD — “they could not rescue their son or daughter. They would rescue only themselves by their righteousness.
“Even so, there will be survivors left in it, sons and daughters who will be brought out. Indeed, they will come out to you, and you will observe their conduct and actions. Then you will be consoled about the devastation I have brought on Jerusalem, about all I have brought on it.
“They will bring you consolation when you see their conduct and actions, and you will know that it was not without cause that I have done what I did to it.” This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.
“Son of man, how does the wood of the vine, that branch among the trees of the forest, compare to any other wood?
Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says, “Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire as fuel, so I will give up the residents of Jerusalem.
“I will turn against them. They may have escaped from the fire, but it will still consume them. And you will know that I am the LORD when I turn against them.
“As for your birth, your umbilical cord wasn't cut on the day you were born, and you weren't washed clean[fn] with water. You were not rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths.
“No one cared enough about you to do even one of these things out of compassion for you. But you were thrown out into the open field because you were despised on the day you were born.
“ ‘I passed by you and saw you thrashing around in your blood, and I said to you as you lay in your blood, “Live! ” Yes, I said to you as you lay in your blood, “Live! ”[fn]
“ ‘Then I passed by you and saw you, and you were indeed at the age for love. So I spread the edge of my garment over you and covered your nakedness. I pledged myself to you, entered into a covenant with you — this is the declaration of the Lord GOD — and you became mine.
“Your fame spread among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through my splendor, which I had bestowed on you. This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.
“ ‘But you trusted in your beauty and acted like a prostitute because of your fame. You lavished your sexual favors on everyone who passed by. Your beauty became his.[fn]
“You also took your beautiful jewelry made from the gold and silver I had given you, and you made male images so that you could engage in prostitution with them.
“You slaughtered my children and gave them up when you passed them through the fire to the images.
“In all your detestable practices and acts of prostitution, you did not remember the days of your youth when you were stark naked and thrashing around in your blood.
“So you extended your prostitution to Chaldea, the land of merchants, but you were not even satisfied with this!
“ ‘How your heart was inflamed with lust[fn] — the declaration of the Lord GOD — when you did all these things, the acts of a brazen prostitute,
“building your mound at the head of every street and making your elevated place in every square. But you were unlike a prostitute because you scorned payment.
“Men give gifts to all prostitutes, but you gave gifts to all your lovers. You bribed them to come to you from all around for your sexual favors.
“So you were the opposite of other women in your acts of prostitution; no one solicited you. When you paid a fee instead of one being paid to you, you were the opposite.
“This is what the Lord GOD says: Because your lust was poured out and your nakedness exposed by your acts of prostitution with your lovers, and because of all your detestable idols and the blood of your children that you gave to them,
“I am therefore going to gather all the lovers you pleased — all those you loved as well as all those you hated. I will gather them against you from all around and expose your nakedness to them so they see you completely naked.
“I will judge you the way adulteresses and those who shed blood are judged. Then I will bring about the shedding of your blood in jealous wrath.
“They will bring a mob against you to stone you and to cut you to pieces with their swords.
“They will burn your houses and execute judgments against you in the sight of many women. I will stop you from being a prostitute, and you will never again pay fees for lovers.
“Because you did not remember the days of your youth but enraged me with all these things, I will also bring your conduct down on your own head. This is the declaration of the Lord GOD. Haven't you committed depravity in addition to all your detestable practices?
“ ‘Look, everyone who uses proverbs will quote this proverb about you: “Like mother, like daughter.”
Didn't you walk in their ways and do their detestable practices? It was only a short time before all your ways were more corrupt than theirs.
“Now this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters had pride, plenty of food, and comfortable security, but didn't support[fn] the poor and needy.
“But Samaria did not commit even half your sins. You have multiplied your detestable practices beyond theirs and made your sisters appear righteous by all the detestable acts you have committed.
“You must also bear your disgrace, since you have helped your sisters out.[fn] For they appear more righteous than you because of your sins, which you committed more detestably than they did. So you also, be ashamed and bear your disgrace, since you have made your sisters appear righteous.
“ ‘I will restore their fortunes, the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters and those of Samaria and her daughters. I will also restore[fn] your fortunes among them,
“so you will bear your disgrace and be ashamed of all you did when you comforted them.
“ ‘For this is what the Lord GOD says: I will deal with you according to what you have done, since you have despised the oath by breaking the covenant.
“But I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish a permanent covenant with you.
“Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you[fn] receive your older and younger sisters. I will give them to you as daughters, but not because of your covenant.
“so that when I make atonement for all you have done, you will remember and be ashamed, and never open your mouth again because of your disgrace. This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.' ”
“You are to say, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: Will it flourish? Will he not tear out its roots and strip off its fruit so that it shrivels? All its fresh leaves will wither! Great strength and many people will not be needed to pull it from its roots.
“He took one of the royal family and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath. Then he took away the leading men of the land,
“ ‘As I live — this is the declaration of the Lord GOD — he will die in Babylon, in the land of the king who put him on the throne, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke.
“Pharaoh with his mighty army and vast company will not help him in battle, when ramps are built and siege walls constructed to destroy many lives.
“I will spread my net over him, and he will be caught in my snare. I will bring him to Babylon and execute judgment on him there for the treachery he committed against me.
“All the fugitives[fn] among his troops will fall by the sword, and those who survive will be scattered to every direction of the wind. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken.
“I will plant it on Israel's high mountain
so that it may bear branches, produce fruit,
and become a majestic cedar.
Birds of every kind will nest under it,
taking shelter in the shade of its branches.
“What do you mean by using this proverb concerning the land of Israel:
‘The fathers eat sour grapes,
and the children's teeth are set on edge'?
“As I live” — this is the declaration of the Lord GOD — “you will no longer use this proverb in Israel.
“He does not eat at the mountain shrines[fn] or look to the idols of the house of Israel. He does not defile his neighbor's wife or approach a woman during her menstrual impurity.
“though the father has done none of them. Indeed, when the son eats at the mountain shrines and defiles his neighbor's wife,
“He keeps his hand from harming the poor, not taking interest or profit on a loan. He practices my ordinances and follows my statutes. Such a person will not die for his father's iniquity. He will certainly live.
“As for his father, he will die for his own iniquity because he practiced fraud, robbed his brother, and did among his people what was not good.
“None of the transgressions he has committed will be held against him. He will live because of the righteousness he has practiced.
“But when a righteous person turns from his righteousness and acts unjustly, committing the same detestable acts that the wicked do, will he live? None of the righteous acts he did will be remembered. He will die because of the treachery he has engaged in and the sin he has committed.
“When a righteous person turns from his righteousness and acts unjustly, he will die for this. He will die because of the injustice he has committed.
“But if a wicked person turns from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he will preserve his life.
“and say:
What was your mother? A lioness!
She lay down among the lions;
she reared her cubs among the young lions.
“When the nations heard about him,
he was caught in their pit.
Then they led him away with hooks
to the land of Egypt.
“He prowled among the lions,
and he became a young lion.
After he learned to tear prey,
he devoured people.
“Then the nations from the surrounding provinces
set out against him.
They spread their net over him;
he was caught in their pit.
“They put a wooden yoke on him[fn] with hooks
and led him away to the king of Babylon.
They brought him into the fortresses
so his roar could no longer be heard
on the mountains of Israel.
“Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard,[fn]
planted by the water;
it was fruitful and full of branches
because of abundant water.
“It had strong branches, fit for the scepters of rulers;
its height towered among the clouds.[fn]
So it was conspicuous for its height
as well as its many branches.
“But it was uprooted in fury,
thrown to the ground,
and the east wind dried up its fruit.
Its strong branches were torn off and dried up;
fire consumed them.
“Fire has gone out from its main branch[fn]
and has devoured its fruit,
so that it no longer has a strong branch,
a scepter for ruling.
This is a lament and should be used as a lament.”
In the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, some of Israel's elders came to inquire of the LORD, and they sat down in front of me.
“Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: On the day I chose Israel, I swore an oath[fn] to the descendants of Jacob's house and made myself known to them in the land of Egypt. I swore to them, saying, “I am the LORD your God.”
On that day I swore[fn] to them that I would bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands.
I also said to them, “Throw away, each of you, the abhorrent things that you prize,[fn] and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.”
“ ‘But they rebelled against me and were unwilling to listen to me. None of them threw away the abhorrent things that they prized,[fn] and they did not abandon the idols of Egypt. So I considered pouring out my wrath on them, exhausting my anger against them within the land of Egypt.
“But I acted for the sake of my name, so that it would not be profaned in the eyes of the nations they were living among, in whose sight I had made myself known to Israel by bringing them out of Egypt.
“Then I gave them my statutes and explained my ordinances to them — the person who does them will live by them.
“ ‘But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. They did not follow my statutes and they rejected my ordinances — the person who does them will live by them. They also completely profaned my Sabbaths. So I considered pouring out my wrath on them in the wilderness to put an end to them.
“However, I swore to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land I had given them — the most beautiful of all lands, flowing with milk and honey —
“because they rejected my ordinances, profaned my Sabbaths, and did not follow my statutes. For their hearts went after their idols.
“Yet I spared them from destruction and did not bring them to an end in the wilderness.
“ ‘Then I said to their children in the wilderness, “Don't follow the statutes of your fathers, defile yourselves with their idols, or keep their ordinances.
“ ‘But the children rebelled against me. They did not follow my statutes or carefully keep my ordinances — the person who does them will live by them. They also profaned my Sabbaths. So I considered pouring out my wrath on them and exhausting my anger against them in the wilderness.
“However, I swore to them in the wilderness that I would disperse them among the nations and scatter them among the countries.
“I also gave them statutes that were not good and ordinances they could not live by.
“When they sacrificed every firstborn in the fire,[fn] I defiled them through their gifts in order to devastate them so they would know that I am the LORD.'
“Therefore, son of man, speak to the house of Israel, and tell them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: In this way also your ancestors blasphemed me by committing treachery against me:
“Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: Are you defiling yourselves the way your ancestors did, and prostituting yourselves with their abhorrent things?
“When you offer your gifts, sacrificing your children in the fire,[fn] you still continue to defile yourselves with all your idols today. So should I let you inquire of me, house of Israel? As I live — this is the declaration of the Lord GOD — I will not let you inquire of me!
As I live — the declaration of the Lord GOD — I will reign over you with a strong hand, an outstretched arm, and outpoured wrath.
I will bring you from the peoples and gather you from the countries where you were scattered, with a strong hand, an outstretched arm, and outpoured wrath.
Just as I entered into judgment with your ancestors in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you. This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.
I will make you pass under the rod and will bring you into the bond of the covenant.
“ ‘As for you, house of Israel, this is what the Lord GOD says: Go and serve your idols, each of you. But afterward you will surely listen to me, and you will no longer defile my holy name with your gifts and idols.
“For on my holy mountain, Israel's high mountain — the declaration of the Lord GOD — there the entire house of Israel, all of them, will serve me in the land. There I will accept them and will require your contributions and choicest gifts, all your holy offerings.
“When I bring you from the peoples and gather you from the countries where you have been scattered, I will accept you as a pleasing aroma. And I will demonstrate my holiness through you in the sight of the nations.
“When I lead you into the land of Israel, the land I swore to give your ancestors, you will know that I am the LORD.
“There you will remember your ways and all your deeds by which you have defiled yourself, and you will loathe yourselves for all the evil things you have done.
“You will know that I am the LORD, house of Israel, when I have dealt with you for the sake of my name rather than according to your evil ways and corrupt acts. This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.' ”
“and say to the forest there, ‘Hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Lord GOD says: I am about to ignite a fire in you, and it will devour every green tree and every dry tree in you. The blazing flame will not be extinguished, and every face from the south to the north will be scorched by it.
“But you, son of man, groan! Groan bitterly with a broken heart[fn] right before their eyes.
“Cry out and wail, son of man, for it is against my people. It is against all the princes of Israel! They are given over to the sword with my people. Therefore strike your thigh in grief.
“Now you, son of man, mark out two roads that the sword of Babylon's king can take. Both of them should originate from the same land. And make a signpost at the fork in the road to each city.
“Mark out a road that the sword can take to Rabbah of the Ammonites and to Judah into fortified Jerusalem.
“For the king of Babylon stands at the split in the road, at the fork of the two roads, to practice divination: he shakes the arrows, consults the idols, and observes the liver.
“Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says: Because you have drawn attention to your guilt, exposing your transgressions, so that your sins are revealed in all your actions — since you have done this, you will be captured by them.
“While they offer false visions
and lying divinations about you,
the time has come to put you
to the necks of the profane wicked ones;
the day has come
for final punishment.
“ ‘Return it to its sheath!
“ ‘I will judge you[fn]
in the place where you were created,
in the land of your origin.
“I will pour out my indignation on you;
I will blow the fire of my fury on you.
I will hand you over to brutal men,
skilled at destruction.
“You will be fuel for the fire.
Your blood will be spilled within the land.
You will not be remembered,
for I, the LORD, have spoken.' ”
“You are to say, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: A city that sheds blood within her walls so that her time of judgment has come and who makes idols for herself so that she is defiled!
“Those who are near and those far away from you will mock you, you infamous one full of turmoil.
“Father and mother are treated with contempt, and the resident alien is exploited within you. The fatherless and widow are oppressed in you.
“There are men within you who slander in order to shed blood. People who live in you eat at the mountain shrines;[fn] they commit depraved acts within you.
“Men within you have sexual intercourse with their father's wife and violate women during their menstrual impurity.
“One man within you commits a detestable act with his neighbor's wife; another defiles his daughter-in-law with depravity; and yet another violates his sister, his father's daughter.
“People who live in you accept bribes in order to shed blood. You take interest and profit on a loan and brutally extort your neighbors. You have forgotten me. This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.
“ ‘Now look, I clap my hands together against the dishonest profit you have made and against the blood shed among you.
“Will your courage endure or your hands be strong in the days when I deal with you? I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will act.
“I will disperse you among the nations and scatter you among the countries; I will purge your uncleanness.
“You[fn] will be profaned in the sight of the nations. Then you will know that I am the LORD.' ”
“Son of man, the house of Israel has become merely dross to me. All of them are copper, tin, iron, and lead inside the furnace; they are just dross from silver.
“Just as one gathers silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin into the furnace to blow fire on them and melt them, so I will gather you in my anger and wrath, put you inside, and melt you.
“Yes, I will gather you together and blow on you with the fire of my fury, and you will be melted within the city.
“As silver is melted inside a furnace, so you will be melted inside the city. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have poured out my wrath on you.”
“Son of man, say to her, ‘You are a land that has not been cleansed, that has not received rain in the day of indignation.'
“The conspiracy of her prophets within her is[fn] like a roaring lion tearing its prey: they devour people, seize wealth and valuables, and multiply the widows within her.
“Her priests do violence to my instruction and profane my holy things. They make no distinction between the holy and the common, and they do not explain the difference between the clean and the unclean. They close their eyes to my Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.
“Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey, shedding blood, and destroying lives in order to make profit dishonestly.
“I searched for a man among them who would repair the wall and stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land so that I might not destroy it, but I found no one.
“So I have poured out my indignation on them and consumed them with the fire of my fury. I have brought their conduct down on their own heads.” This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.
“who acted like prostitutes in Egypt, behaving promiscuously in their youth. Their breasts were fondled there, and their virgin nipples caressed.
“She offered her sexual favors to them; all of them were the elite of Assyria. She defiled herself with all those she lusted after and with all their idols.
“She didn't give up her promiscuity that began in Egypt, when men slept with her in her youth, caressed her virgin nipples, and poured out their lust on her.
“They exposed her nakedness, seized her sons and daughters, and killed her with the sword. Since they executed judgment against her, she became notorious among women.
“But she increased her promiscuity when she saw male figures carved on the wall, images of the Chaldeans, engraved in bright red,
“Then the Babylonians came to her, to the bed of love, and defiled her with their lust. But after she was defiled by them, she turned away from them in disgust.
“Yet she multiplied her acts of promiscuity, remembering the days of her youth when she acted like a prostitute in the land of Egypt
“So you revisited the depravity of your youth, when the Egyptians caressed your nipples to enjoy your youthful breasts.
“They will come against you with an assembly of peoples and with weapons, chariots, and[fn] wagons. They will set themselves against you on every side with large and small shields and helmets. I will delegate judgment to them, and they will judge you by their own standards.
“When I vent my jealous fury on you, they will deal with you in wrath. They will cut off your nose and ears, and the rest of you[fn] will fall by the sword. They will seize your sons and daughters, and the rest of you will be consumed by fire.
“They will treat you with hatred, take all you have worked for, and leave you stark naked, so that the shame of your debauchery will be exposed, both your depravity and promiscuity.
“These things will be done to you because you acted like a prostitute with the nations, defiling yourself with their idols.
“For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands; they have committed adultery with their idols. And the children they bore to me they have sacrificed in the fire[fn] as food for the idols.
“On the same day they slaughtered their children for their idols, they entered my sanctuary to profane it. Yes, that is what they did inside my house.
“You sat on a luxurious couch with a table spread before it, on which you had set my incense and oil.
“Then I said concerning this woman worn out by adultery: Will they[fn] now have illicit sex with her, even her?
“But righteous men will judge them the way adulteresses and those who shed blood are judged, for they are adulteresses and blood is on their hands.
“This is what the Lord GOD says: Summon[fn] an assembly against them and consign them to terror and plunder.
“The assembly will stone them and cut them down with their swords. They will kill their sons and daughters and burn their houses.
The word of the LORD came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month:
“Take the choicest of the flock
and also pile up the fuel[fn] under it.
Bring it to a boil
and cook the bones in it.
“ ‘Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says:
Woe to the city of bloodshed,
the pot that has corrosion inside it,
and its corrosion has not come out of it!
Empty it piece by piece;
lots should not be cast for its contents.
“For the blood she shed[fn] is still within her.
She put it out on the bare rock;
she didn't pour it on the ground
to cover it with dust.
“Set the empty pot on its coals
so that it becomes hot and its copper glows.
Then its impurity will melt inside it;
its corrosion will be consumed.
“Son of man, I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you with a fatal blow. But you must not lament or weep or let your tears flow.
“Groan quietly; do not observe mourning rites for the dead. Put on your turban and strap your sandals on your feet; do not cover your mustache or eat the bread of mourners.”[fn]
“Say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: I am about to desecrate my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and the desire of your heart. Also, the sons and daughters you left behind will fall by the sword.
“Your turbans will remain on your heads and your sandals on your feet. You will not lament or weep but will waste away because of your iniquities and will groan to one another.
“As for you, son of man, know that on that day I will take from them their stronghold — their pride and joy, the delight of their eyes, and the longing of their hearts — as well as their sons and daughters.
“On that day your mouth will be opened to talk with him; you will speak and no longer be mute. So you will be a sign for them, and they will know that I am the LORD.”
“Say to the Ammonites, ‘Hear the word of the Lord GOD: This is what the Lord GOD says: Because you said, “Aha! ” about my sanctuary when it was desecrated, about the land of Israel when it was laid waste, and about the house of Judah when they went into exile,
therefore I am about to give you to the people of the east as a possession. They will set up their encampments and pitch their tents among you. They will eat your fruit and drink your milk.
“therefore I am about to stretch out my hand against you and give you as plunder to the nations. I will cut you off from the peoples and eliminate you from the countries. I will destroy you, and you will know that I am the LORD.
“ ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: Because Edom acted vengefully against the house of Judah and incurred grievous guilt by taking revenge on them,
“therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: I will stretch out my hand against Edom and cut off both people and animals from it. I will make it a wasteland; they will fall by the sword from Teman to Dedan.
“I will take my vengeance on Edom through my people Israel, and they will deal with Edom according to my anger and wrath. So they will know my vengeance. This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.
“ ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: Because the Philistines acted in vengeance and took revenge with deep contempt, destroying because of their perpetual hatred,
“I will execute severe vengeance against them with furious rebukes. They will know that I am the LORD when I take my vengeance on them.' ”
In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me:
“She will become a place in the sea to spread nets, for I have spoken.” This is the declaration of the Lord GOD. “She will become plunder for the nations,
“and her villages on the mainland will be slaughtered by the sword. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”
“He will slaughter your villages on the mainland with the sword. He will set up siege works, build a ramp, and raise a wall of shields against you.
“He will direct the blows of his battering rams against your walls and tear down your towers with his iron tools.
“He will trample all your streets with the hooves of his horses. He will slaughter your people with the sword, and your mighty pillars will fall to the ground.
This is what the Lord GOD says to Tyre: “Won't the coasts and islands quake at the sound of your downfall, when the wounded groan and slaughter occurs within you?
For this is what the Lord GOD says: “When I make you a ruined city like other deserted cities, when I raise up the deep against you so that the mighty waters cover you,
The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad
were your rowers.
Your wise men were within you, Tyre;
they were your captains.
The elders of Gebal and its wise men
were within you, repairing your leaks.
“ ‘All the ships of the sea and their sailors
came to you to barter for your goods.
“Men of Persia, Lud, and Put
were in your army, serving as your warriors.
They hung shields and helmets in you;
they gave you splendor.
“Men of Arvad and Helech
were stationed on your walls all around,
and Gammadites were in your towers.
They hung their shields[fn] all around your walls;
they perfected your beauty.
“Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your merchants. They exchanged slaves[fn] and bronze utensils for your goods.
“Judah and the land of Israel were your merchants. They exchanged wheat from Minnith, meal,[fn] honey, oil, and balm, for your goods.
“Arabia and all the princes of Kedar were your business partners, trading with you in lambs, rams, and goats.
“Ships of Tarshish were the carriers for your goods.
“ ‘So you became full and heavily loaded[fn]
in the heart of the sea.
“Your rowers have brought you
onto the high seas,
but the east wind has wrecked you
in the heart of the sea.
“Your wealth, merchandise, and goods,
your sailors and captains,
those who repair your leaks,
those who barter for your goods,
and all the warriors on board,
with all the other people within you,
sink into the heart of the sea
on the day of your downfall.
“Now you are wrecked by the sea
in the depths of the waters;
your goods and the people within you
have gone down.
“Son of man, say to the ruler of Tyre, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: Your[fn] heart is proud, and you have said, “I am a god; I sit in the seat of gods in the heart of the sea.” Yet you are a man and not a god, though you have regarded your heart as that of a god.
By your wisdom and understanding you have acquired wealth for yourself. You have acquired gold and silver for your treasuries.
By your great skill in trading you have increased your wealth, but your heart has become proud because of your wealth.
“They will bring you down to the Pit,
and you will die a violent death
in the heart of the sea.
“Will you still say, “I am a god,”
in the presence of those who slay[fn] you?
Yet you will be only a man, not a god,
in the hands of those who kill you.
You will die the death of the uncircumcised
at the hands of strangers.
For I have spoken.
This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.' ”
“You were an anointed guardian cherub,
for[fn] I had appointed you.
You were on the holy mountain of God;
you walked among the fiery stones.
“From the day you were created
you were blameless in your ways
until wickedness was found in you.
“All those who know you among the peoples
are appalled at you.
You have become an object of horror
and will never exist again.' ”
“You are to say, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says:
Look! I am against you, Sidon,
and I will display my glory within you.
They will know that I am the LORD
when I execute judgments against her
and demonstrate my holiness through her.
“I will send a plague against her
and bloodshed in her streets;
the slain will fall within her,
while the sword is against her[fn] on every side.
Then they will know that I am the LORD.
“ ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples where they are scattered, I will demonstrate my holiness through them in the sight of the nations, and they will live in their own land, which I gave to my servant Jacob.
“They will live there securely, build houses, and plant vineyards. They will live securely when I execute judgments against all their neighbors who treat them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the LORD their God.' ”
In the tenth year, in the tenth month on the twelfth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me:
“Speak to him and say, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says:
Look, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt,
the great monster[fn] lying in the middle of his Nile,
who says, “My Nile is my own;
I made it for myself.”
I will leave you in the desert,
you and all the fish of your streams.
You will fall on the open ground
and will not be taken away
or gathered for burial.
I have given you
to the wild creatures of the earth
and the birds of the sky as food.
No human foot will pass through it, and no animal foot will pass through it. It will be uninhabited for forty years.
“I will restore the fortunes of Egypt and bring them back to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin. There they will be a lowly kingdom.
“Egypt will be the lowliest of kingdoms and will never again exalt itself over the nations. I will make them so small they cannot rule over the nations.
“It will never again be an object of trust for the house of Israel, drawing attention to their iniquity of turning to the Egyptians. Then they will know that I am the Lord GOD.' ”
In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me:
“In that day I will cause a horn to sprout for the house of Israel, and I will enable you to speak out among them. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”
A sword will come against Egypt,
and there will be anguish in Cush
when the slain fall in Egypt,
and its wealth is taken away,
and its foundations are demolished.
This is what the LORD says:
Those who support Egypt will fall,
and its proud strength will collapse.
From Migdol to Syene
they will fall within it by the sword.
This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.
On that day, messengers will go out from me in ships to terrify confident Cush. Anguish will come over them on the day of Egypt's doom.[fn] For indeed it is coming.
“I will make the streams dry
and sell the land to evil men.
I will bring desolation
on the land and everything in it
by the hands of foreigners.
I, the LORD, have spoken.
“I will set fire to Egypt;
Pelusium will writhe in anguish,
Thebes will be breached,
and Memphis will face foes in broad daylight.[fn]
“So I will execute judgments against Egypt,
and they will know that I am the LORD.' ”
In the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me:
“I will strengthen the arms of Babylon's king, but Pharaoh's arms will fall. They will know that I am the LORD when I place my sword in the hand of Babylon's king and he wields it against the land of Egypt.
In the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me:
“Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his hordes,
‘Who are you like in your greatness?
“Think of Assyria, a cedar in Lebanon,
with beautiful branches and shady foliage
and of lofty height.
Its top was among the clouds.[fn]
“All the birds of the sky
nested in its branches,
and all the animals of the field
gave birth beneath its boughs;
all the great nations lived in its shade.
“It was beautiful in its size,
in the length of its limbs,
for its roots extended to abundant water.
“The cedars in God's garden could not eclipse it;
the pine trees couldn't compare with its branches,
nor could the plane trees match its boughs.
No tree in the garden of God
could compare with it in beauty.
“Foreigners, ruthless men from the nations, cut it down and left it lying. Its limbs fell on the mountains and in every valley; its boughs lay broken in all the earth's ravines. All the peoples of the earth left its shade and abandoned it.
“This happened so that no trees planted beside water would become great in height and set their tops among the clouds, and so that no other well-watered trees would reach them in height. For they have all been consigned to death, to the underworld, among the people[fn] who descend to the Pit.
“ ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: I caused grieving on the day the cedar went down to Sheol. I closed off the underground deep because of it:[fn] I held back the rivers of the deep, and its abundant water was restrained. I made Lebanon mourn on account of it, and all the trees of the field fainted because of it.
“I made the nations quake at the sound of its downfall, when I threw it down to Sheol to be with those who descend to the Pit. Then all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all the well-watered trees, were comforted in the underworld.
“ ‘Who then are you like in glory and greatness among Eden's trees? You also will be brought down to the underworld to be with the trees of Eden. You will lie among the uncircumcised with those slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his hordes. This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.' ”
In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me:
“ ‘This is what the Lord GOD says:
I will spread my net over you
with an assembly of many peoples,
and they[fn] will haul you up in my net.
“ ‘When I snuff you out,
I will cover the heavens
and darken their stars.
I will cover the sun with a cloud,
and the moon will not give its light.
“I will darken all the shining lights
in the heavens over you,
and will bring darkness on your land.
This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.
“I will cause many peoples to be appalled at you,
and their kings will shudder with fear because of you
when I brandish my sword in front of them.
On the day of your downfall
each of them will tremble
every moment for his life.
“I will make your hordes fall
by the swords of warriors,
all of them ruthless men from the nations.
They will ravage Egypt's pride,
and all its hordes will be destroyed.
“When I make the land of Egypt a desolation,
so that it is emptied of everything in it,
when I strike down all who live there,
then they will know that I am the LORD.
In the twelfth year,[fn] on the fifteenth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me:
“They will fall among those slain by the sword.
A sword is appointed!
They drag her and all her hordes away.
“Warrior leaders will speak
from the middle of Sheol
about him[fn] and his allies:
‘They have come down;
the uncircumcised lie
slain by the sword.'
“Assyria is there with her whole assembly;
her graves are all around her.
All of them are slain, fallen by the sword.
“Among the slain
they prepare a bed for Elam
with all her hordes.
Her graves are all around her.
All of them are uncircumcised,
slain by the sword,
although their terror was once spread
in the land of the living.
They bear their disgrace
with those who descend to the Pit.
They are placed among the slain.
“But you will be shattered
and will lie down among the uncircumcised,
with those slain by the sword.
“For I will spread my[fn] terror
in the land of the living,
so Pharaoh and all his hordes
will be laid to rest among the uncircumcised,
with those slain by the sword.”
This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.
“If I say to the wicked, ‘Wicked one, you will surely die,' but you do not speak out to warn him about his way, that wicked person will die for his iniquity, yet I will hold you responsible for his blood.
“Now as for you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, ‘You have said this: “Our transgressions and our sins are heavy on us, and we are wasting away because of them! How then can we survive? ” '
“Now, son of man, say to your people, ‘The righteousness of the righteous person will not save him on the day of his transgression; neither will the wickedness of the wicked person cause him to stumble on the day he turns from his wickedness. The righteous person won't be able to survive by his righteousness on the day he sins.
“When I tell the righteous person that he will surely live, but he trusts in his righteousness and acts unjustly, then none of his righteousness will be remembered, and he will die because of the injustice he has committed.
“ ‘So when I tell the wicked person, “You will surely die,” but he repents of his sin and does what is just and right —
he returns collateral, makes restitution for what he has stolen, and walks in the statutes of life without committing injustice — he will certainly live; he will not die.
None of the sins he committed will be held[fn] against him. He has done what is just and right; he will certainly live.
When a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, he will die for it.
But if a wicked person turns from his wickedness and does what is just and right, he will live because of it.
Yet you say, “The Lord's way isn't fair.” I will judge each of you according to his ways, house of Israel.' ”
In the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, a fugitive from Jerusalem came to me and reported, “The city has been taken! ”
“Tell them this: ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: As surely as I live, those who are in the ruins will fall by the sword, those in the open field I have given to wild animals to be devoured, and those in the strongholds and caves will die by plague.
“As for you, son of man, your people are talking about you near the city walls and in the doorways of their houses. One person speaks to another, each saying to his brother, ‘Come and hear what the message is that comes from the LORD! '
“So my people come to you in crowds,[fn] sit in front of you, and hear your words, but they don't obey them. Their mouths go on passionately, but their hearts pursue dishonest profit.
“Yet when all this comes true — and it definitely will — then they will know that a prophet has been among them.”
“My flock went astray on all the mountains and every high hill. My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and there was no one searching or seeking for them.
“As a shepherd looks for his sheep on the day he is among his scattered flock, so I will look for my flock. I will rescue them from all the places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and total darkness.
“I will bring them out from the peoples, gather them from the countries, and bring them to their own soil. I will shepherd them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the land.
“I will tend them in good pasture, and their grazing place will be on Israel's lofty mountains. There they will lie down in a good grazing place; they will feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.
“I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David will be a prince among them. I, the LORD, have spoken.
“ ‘I will make a covenant of peace with them and eliminate dangerous creatures from the land, so that they may live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the forest.
“The trees of the field will yield their fruit, and the land will yield its produce; my flock will be secure in their land. They will know that I am the LORD when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the power of those who enslave them.
“They will no longer be prey for the nations, and the wild creatures of the earth will not consume them. They will live securely, and no one will frighten them.
“ ‘Because you maintained a perpetual hatred and gave the Israelites over to the power of the sword in the time of their disaster, the time of final punishment,
“I will fill its mountains with the slain; those slain by the sword will fall on your hills, in your valleys, and in all your ravines.
“ ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: While the whole world rejoices, I will make you a desolation.
“Therefore, prophesy concerning Israel's land, and say to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys: This is what the Lord GOD says: Look, I speak in my burning zeal because you have endured the insults of the nations.
“I will fill you with people and animals, and they will increase and be fruitful. I will make you inhabited as you once were and make you better off than you were before. Then you will know that I am the LORD.
“Son of man, while the house of Israel lived in their land, they defiled it with their conduct and actions. Their behavior before me was like menstrual impurity.
“When they came to the nations where they went, they profaned my holy name, because it was said about them, ‘These are the people of the LORD, yet they had to leave his land in exile.'
“Then I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel profaned among the nations where they went.
“Therefore, say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: It is not for your sake that I will act, house of Israel, but for my holy name, which you profaned among the nations where you went.
“I will honor the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations — the name you have profaned among them. The nations will know that I am the LORD — this is the declaration of the Lord GOD — when I demonstrate my holiness through you in their sight.
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone[fn] and give you a heart of flesh.
“I will place my Spirit within you and cause you to follow my statutes and carefully observe my ordinances.
“I will also make the fruit of the trees and the produce of the field plentiful, so that you will no longer experience reproach among the nations on account of famine.
“ ‘You will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and detestable practices.
“ ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: On the day I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the ruins will be rebuilt.
“So the ruined cities will be filled with a flock of people, just as Jerusalem is filled with a flock of sheep for sacrifice[fn] during its appointed festivals. Then they will know that I am the LORD.' ”
The hand of the LORD was on me, and he brought me out by his Spirit and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones.
So I prophesied as I had been commanded. While I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone.
As I looked, tendons appeared on them, flesh grew, and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
“You will know that I am the LORD, my people, when I open your graves and bring you up from them.
“tell them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: I am going to take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel associated with him, and put them together with the stick of Judah. I will make them into a single stick so that they become one in my hand.'
“When the sticks you have written on are in your hand and in full view of the people,
“I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and one king will rule over all of them. They will no longer be two nations and will no longer be divided into two kingdoms.
“They will not defile themselves anymore with their idols, their abhorrent things, and all their transgressions. I will save them from all their apostasies by which[fn] they sinned, and I will cleanse them. Then they will be my people, and I will be their God.
“My servant David will be king over them, and there will be one shepherd for all of them. They will follow my ordinances, and keep my statutes and obey them.
“I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be a permanent covenant with them. I will establish and multiply them and will set my sanctuary among them forever.
“My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people.
“When my sanctuary is among them forever, the nations will know that I, the LORD, sanctify Israel.' ”
“ ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: On that day, thoughts will arise in your mind, and you will devise an evil plan.
“You will say, “I will advance against a land of open villages; I will come against a tranquil people who are living securely, all of them living without walls and without bars or gates” —
“Therefore prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: On that day when my people Israel are dwelling securely, will you not know this
“You will advance against my people Israel like a cloud covering the land. It will happen in the last days, Gog, that I will bring you against my land so that the nations may know me, when I demonstrate my holiness through you in their sight.
“ ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: Are you the one I spoke about in former times through my servants, the prophets of Israel, who for years prophesied in those times that I would bring you against them?
“Now on that day, the day when Gog comes against the land of Israel — this is the declaration of the Lord GOD — my wrath will flare up.[fn]
“I swear in my zeal and fiery wrath: On that day there will be a great earthquake in the land of Israel.
“So I will make my holy name known among my people Israel and will no longer allow it to be profaned. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
“Yes, it is coming, and it will happen. This is the declaration of the Lord GOD. This is the day I have spoken about.
“ ‘Then the inhabitants of Israel's cities will go out, kindle fires, and burn the weapons — the small and large shields, the bows and arrows, the clubs and spears. For seven years they will use them to make fires.
“The house of Israel will spend seven months burying them in order to cleanse the land.
“I will display my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the judgment I have executed and the hand I have laid on them.
“When I bring them back from the peoples and gather them from the countries of their enemies, I will demonstrate my holiness through them in the sight of many nations.
“They will know that I am the LORD their God when I regather them to their own land after having exiled them among the nations. I will leave none of them behind.[fn]
In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month in the fourteenth year after Jerusalem had been captured, on that very day the LORD's hand was on me, and he brought me there.
In visions of God he took me to the land of Israel and set me down on a very high mountain. On its southern slope was a structure resembling a city.
He brought me there, and I saw a man whose appearance was like bronze, with a linen cord and a measuring rod in his hand. He was standing by the city gate.
He spoke to me: “Son of man, look with your eyes, listen with your ears, and pay attention to everything I am going to show you, for you have been brought here so that I might show it to you. Report everything you see to the house of Israel.”
Then he came to the gate that faced east and climbed its steps. He measured the threshold of the gate; it was 10½ feet deep — one threshold was 10½ feet deep.
Then he brought me into the outer court, and there were chambers and a paved surface laid out all around the court. Thirty chambers faced the pavement,
Its windows, portico, and palm trees had the same measurements as those of the gate that faced east. Seven steps led up to the gate, and its portico was ahead of them.
Inside the gate's portico there were two tables on each side, on which to slaughter the burnt offering, sin offering, and guilt offering.
There were also four tables of cut stone for the burnt offering, each 31½ inches[fn] long, 31½ inches wide, and 21 inches high. The utensils used to slaughter the burnt offerings and other sacrifices were placed on them.
The side rooms were arranged one above another in three stories of thirty rooms each.[fn] There were ledges on the wall of the temple all around to serve as supports for the side rooms, so that the supports would not be in the temple wall itself.
reaching to the top of the entrance, and as far as the inner temple and on the outside. On every wall all around, on the inside and outside, was a pattern
In the thickness of the wall of the court toward the south,[fn] there were chambers facing the temple yard and the western building,
Then the man said to me, “The northern and southern chambers that face the courtyard are the holy chambers where the priests who approach the LORD will eat the most holy offerings. There they will deposit the most holy offerings — the grain offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings — for the place is holy.
“Once the priests have entered, they are not to go out from the holy area to the outer court until they have removed the clothes they minister in, for these are holy. They are to put on other clothes before they approach the public area.”
When he finished measuring inside the temple complex, he led me out by way of the gate that faced east and measured all around the complex.
He measured the temple complex on all four sides. It had a wall all around it, 875 feet long and 875 feet wide, to separate the holy from the common.
He said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place for the soles of my feet, where I will dwell among the Israelites forever. The house of Israel and their kings will no longer defile my holy name by their religious prostitution and by the corpses[fn] of their kings at their high places.[fn]
“Whenever they placed their threshold next to my threshold and their doorposts beside my doorposts, with only a wall between me and them, they were defiling my holy name by the detestable acts they committed. So I destroyed them in my anger.
“Now let them remove their prostitution and the corpses of their kings far from me, and I will dwell among them forever.
Then he said to me, “Son of man, this is what the Lord GOD says: These are the statutes for the altar on the day it is constructed, so that burnt offerings may be sacrificed on it and blood may be splattered on it:
“Then you are to take away the bull for the sin offering, and it must be burned outside the sanctuary in the place appointed for the temple.
“On the second day you are to present an unblemished male goat as a sin offering. They will purify the altar just as they did with the bull.
“The prince himself will sit in the gate to eat a meal before the LORD. He is to enter by way of the portico of the gate and go out the same way.”
The LORD said to me, “Son of man, pay attention; look with your eyes and listen with your ears to everything I tell you about all the statutes and laws of the LORD's temple. Take careful note of the entrance of the temple along with all the exits of the sanctuary.
“When you brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in both heart and flesh, to occupy my sanctuary, you defiled my temple while you offered my food — the fat and the blood. You[fn] broke my covenant by all your detestable practices.
“You have not kept charge of my holy things but have appointed others to keep charge of my sanctuary for you.'
“This is what the Lord GOD says: No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, may enter my sanctuary, not even a foreigner who is among the Israelites.
“Surely the Levites who wandered away from me when Israel went astray, and who strayed from me after their idols, will bear the consequences of their iniquity.
“Yet they will occupy my sanctuary, serving as guards at the temple gates and ministering at the temple. They will slaughter the burnt offerings and other sacrifices for the people and will stand before them to serve them.
“They must not approach me to serve me as priests or come near any of my holy things or the most holy things. They will bear their disgrace and the consequences of the detestable acts they committed.
“But the Levitical priests descended from Zadok, who kept charge of my sanctuary when the Israelites went astray from me, will approach me to serve me. They will stand before me to offer me fat and blood.” This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.
“When they enter the gates of the inner court they are to wear linen garments; they must not have on them anything made of wool when they minister at the gates of the inner court and within it.
“Before they go out to the outer court,[fn] to the people, they must take off the clothes they have been ministering in, leave them in the holy chambers, and dress in other clothes so that they do not transmit holiness to the people through their clothes.
“In a dispute, they will officiate as judges and decide the case according to my ordinances. They are to observe my laws and statutes regarding all my appointed festivals, and keep my Sabbaths holy.
“On the day he goes into the sanctuary, into the inner court to minister in the sanctuary, he is to present his sin offering.” This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.
“This will be their inheritance: I am their inheritance. You are to give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession.
“They will eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering. Everything in Israel that is permanently dedicated to the LORD will belong to them.
“It will be a holy area of the land to be used by the priests who minister in the sanctuary, who approach to serve the LORD. It will be a place for their houses, as well as a holy area for the sanctuary.
“This will be his land as a possession in Israel. My princes will no longer oppress my people but give the rest of the land to the house of Israel according to their tribes.
“Then the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings for the festivals, New Moons, and Sabbaths — for all the appointed times of the house of Israel — will be the prince's responsibility. He will provide the sin offerings, grain offerings, burnt offerings, and fellowship offerings to make atonement on behalf of the house of Israel.
“This is what the Lord GOD says: In the first month, on the first day of the month, you are to take a young, unblemished bull and purify the sanctuary.
“You are to do the same thing on the seventh day of the month for everyone who sins unintentionally or through ignorance. In this way you will make atonement for the temple.
“In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you are to celebrate the Passover, a festival of seven days during which unleavened bread will be eaten.
“On that day the prince will provide a bull as a sin offering on behalf of himself and all the people of the land.
“At the festival that begins on the fifteenth day of the seventh month,[fn] he will provide the same things for seven days — the same sin offerings, burnt offerings, grain offerings, and oil.
“This is what the Lord GOD says: The gate of the inner court that faces east is to be closed during the six days of work, but it will be opened on the Sabbath day and opened on the day of the New Moon.
“The people of the land will also bow in worship before the LORD at the entrance of that gate on the Sabbaths and New Moons.
“The burnt offering that the prince presents to the LORD on the Sabbath day is to be six unblemished lambs and an unblemished ram.
“On the day of the New Moon, the burnt offering is to be a young, unblemished bull, as well as six lambs and a ram without blemish.
“When the prince enters, he is to go in by way of the gate's portico and go out the same way.
“When the people of the land come before the LORD at the appointed times,[fn] whoever enters by way of the north gate to worship is to go out by way of the south gate, and whoever enters by way of the south gate is to go out by way of the north gate. No one may return through the gate by which he entered, but is to go out by the opposite gate.
“When the people enter, the prince will enter with them, and when they leave, he will leave.
“At the festivals and appointed times, the grain offering will be half a bushel with the bull, half a bushel with the ram, and whatever he wants to give with the lambs, along with a gallon of oil for every half bushel.
“When the prince makes a freewill offering, whether a burnt offering or a fellowship offering as a freewill offering to the LORD, the gate that faces east is to be opened for him. He is to offer his burnt offering or fellowship offering just as he does on the Sabbath day. Then he will go out, and the gate is to be closed after he leaves.
“This is what the Lord GOD says: If the prince gives a gift to each of his sons as their inheritance, it will belong to his sons. It will become their property by inheritance.
There was a stone wall[fn] around the inside of them, around the four of them, with ovens built at the base of the walls on all sides.
As the man went out east with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a third of a mile[fn] and led me through the water. It came up to my ankles.
Then he measured off a third of a mile and led me through the water. It came up to my knees. He measured off another third of a mile and led me through the water. It came up to my waist.
When I had returned, I saw a very large number of trees along both sides of the riverbank.
“You will inherit it in equal portions, since I swore[fn] to give it to your ancestors. So this land will fall to you as an inheritance.
“You will allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the aliens residing among you, who have fathered children among you. You will treat them[fn] like native-born Israelites; along with you, they will be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel.
“In whatever tribe the alien resides, you will assign his inheritance there.” This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.
“Next to the territory of Judah, from the east side to the west, will be the portion you donate to the LORD, 8⅓ miles[fn] wide, and as long as one of the tribal portions from the east side to the west. The sanctuary will be in the middle of it.
“This holy donation will be set apart for the priests alone. It will be 8⅓ miles long on the northern side, 3⅓ miles wide on the western side, 3⅓ miles wide on the eastern side, and 8⅓ miles long on the southern side. The LORD's sanctuary will be in the middle of it.
“It is for the consecrated priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept my charge and did not go astray as the Levites did when the Israelites went astray.
“The remaining area, 1⅔ miles[fn] wide and 8⅓ miles long, will be for common use by the city, for both residential and open space. The city will be in the middle of it.
“The remaining area on both sides of the holy donation and the city property will belong to the prince. He will own the land adjacent to the tribal portions, next to the 8⅓ miles of the donation as far as the eastern border and[fn] next to the 8⅓ miles of the donation as far as the western border. The holy donation and the sanctuary of the temple will be in the middle of it.
“Except for the Levitical property and the city property in the middle of the area belonging to the prince, the area between the territory of Judah and that of Benjamin will belong to the prince.
“This is the land you are to allot as an inheritance to Israel's tribes, and these will be their portions.” This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.
In the third year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar[fn] of Babylon came to Jerusalem and laid siege to it.
young men without any physical defect, good-looking, suitable for instruction in all wisdom, knowledgeable, perceptive, and capable of serving in the king's palace. He was to teach them the Chaldean language and literature.
Daniel determined that he would not defile himself with the king's food or with the wine he drank. So he asked permission from the chief eunuch not to defile himself.
God gave these four young men knowledge and understanding in every kind of literature and wisdom. Daniel also understood visions and dreams of every kind.
In every matter of wisdom and understanding that the king consulted them about, he found them ten times[fn] better than all the magicians and mediums in his entire kingdom.
In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams that troubled him, and sleep deserted him.
Because of this, the king became violently angry and gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.
The mystery was then revealed to Daniel in a vision at night, and Daniel praised the God of the heavens
He reveals the deep and hidden things;
he knows what is in the darkness,
and light dwells with him.
Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king and said to him, “I have found a man among the Judean exiles who can let the king know the interpretation.”
“But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has let King Nebuchadnezzar know what will happen in the last days. Your dream and the visions that came into your mind as you lay in bed were these:
“As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but in order that the interpretation might be made known to the king, and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind.
“Wherever people live — or wild animals, or birds of the sky — he has handed them over to you and made you ruler over them all. You are the head of gold.
“You saw the feet and toes, partly of a potter's fired clay and partly of iron — it will be a divided kingdom, though some of the strength of iron will be in it. You saw the iron mixed with clay,
“You saw the iron mixed with clay — the peoples will mix with one another[fn] but will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with fired clay.
“In the days of those kings, the God of the heavens will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, and this kingdom will not be left to another people. It will crush all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself endure forever.
At Daniel's request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to manage the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained at the king's court.
King Nebuchadnezzar made a gold statue, ninety feet high and nine feet wide.[fn] He set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.
Then in a furious rage Nebuchadnezzar gave orders to bring in Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king.
And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego fell, bound, into the furnace of blazing fire.
Then King Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in alarm. He said to his advisers, “Didn't we throw three men, bound, into the fire? ”
“Yes, of course, Your Majesty,” they replied to the king.
He exclaimed, “Look! I see four men, not tied, walking around in the fire unharmed; and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”[fn]
When the satraps, prefects, governors, and the king's advisers gathered around, they saw that the fire had no effect on[fn] the bodies of these men: not a hair of their heads was singed, their robes were unaffected, and there was no smell of fire on them.
King Nebuchadnezzar,
To those of every people, nation, and language, who live on the whole earth:
May your prosperity increase.
Finally Daniel, named Belteshazzar after the name of my god — and a spirit of the holy gods is in him — came before me. I told him the dream:
“Belteshazzar, head of the magicians, because I know that you have the spirit of the holy gods and that no mystery puzzles you, explain to me the visions of my dream that I saw, and its interpretation.
“In the visions of my mind as I was lying in bed, I saw this:
There was a tree in the middle of the earth,
and it was very tall.
“Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit was abundant,
and on it was food for all.
Wild animals found shelter under it,
the birds of the sky lived in its branches,
and every creature was fed from it.
“As I was lying in my bed, I also saw in the visions of my mind a watcher, a holy one,[fn] coming down from heaven.
“He called out loudly:
Cut down the tree and chop off its branches;
strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit.
Let the animals flee from under it,
and the birds from its branches.
“But leave the stump with its roots in the ground
and with a band of iron and bronze around it
in the tender grass of the field.
Let him be drenched with dew from the sky
and share the plants of the earth
with the animals.
“This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, had. Now, Belteshazzar, tell me the interpretation, because none of the wise men of my kingdom can make the interpretation known to me. But you can, because you have a spirit of the holy gods.”
“and whose leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant — and on it was food for all, under it the wild animals lived, and in its branches the birds of the sky lived —
“The king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump with its roots in the ground and with a band of iron and bronze around it in the tender grass of the field. Let him be drenched with dew from the sky and share food with the wild animals for seven periods of time.'
“Therefore, may my advice seem good to you my king. Separate yourself from your sins by doing what is right, and from your injustices by showing mercy to the needy. Perhaps there will be an extension of your prosperity.”
At the end of twelve months, as he was walking on the roof of the royal palace in Babylon,
the king exclaimed, “Is this not Babylon the Great that I have built to be a royal residence by my vast power and for my majestic glory? ”
While the words were still in the king's mouth, a voice came from heaven: “King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared that the kingdom has departed from you.
All the inhabitants of the earth are counted as nothing,
and he does what he wants with the army of heaven
and the inhabitants of the earth.
There is no one who can block his hand
or say to him, “What have you done? ”
Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt, and glorify the King of the heavens, because all his works are true and his ways are just. He is able to humble those who walk in pride.
So they brought in the gold[fn] vessels that had been taken from the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, wives, and concubines drank from them.
At that moment the fingers of a man's hand appeared and began writing on the plaster of the king's palace wall next to the lampstand. As the king watched the hand[fn] that was writing,
The king shouted to bring in the mediums, Chaldeans, and diviners. He said to these wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this inscription and gives me its interpretation will be clothed in purple, have a gold chain around his neck, and have the third highest position in the kingdom.”
“There is a man in your kingdom who has a spirit of the holy gods in him. In the days of your predecessor he was found to have insight, intelligence, and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods. Your predecessor, King Nebuchadnezzar, appointed him chief of the magicians, mediums, Chaldeans, and diviners. Your own predecessor, the king,
“did this because Daniel, the one the king named Belteshazzar, was found to have an extraordinary spirit, knowledge and intelligence, and the ability to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve problems.[fn] Therefore, summon Daniel, and he will give the interpretation.”
“I've heard that you have a spirit of the gods in you, and that insight, intelligence, and extraordinary wisdom are found in you.
“However, I have heard about you that you can give interpretations and solve problems. Therefore, if you can read this inscription and give me its interpretation, you will be clothed in purple, have a gold chain around your neck, and have the third highest position in the kingdom.”
“Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of the heavens. The vessels from his house were brought to you, and as you and your nobles, wives, and concubines drank wine from them, you praised the gods made of silver and gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or understand. But you have not glorified the God who holds your life-breath in his hand and who controls the whole course of your life.[fn]
Then Belshazzar gave an order, and they clothed Daniel in purple, placed a gold chain around his neck, and issued a proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.
Darius decided[fn] to appoint 120 satraps over the kingdom, stationed throughout the realm,
Daniel[fn] distinguished himself above the administrators and satraps because he had an extraordinary spirit, so the king planned to set him over the whole realm.
Then these men said, “We will never find any charge against this Daniel unless we find something against him concerning the law of his God.”
When Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he went into his house. The windows in its upstairs room opened toward Jerusalem, and three times a day he got down on his knees, prayed, and gave thanks to his God, just as he had done before.
A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den. The king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signet rings of his nobles, so that nothing in regard to Daniel could be changed.
When he reached the den, he cried out in anguish to Daniel. “Daniel, servant of the living God,” the king said,[fn] “has your God, whom you continually serve, been able to rescue you from the lions? ”
The king was overjoyed and gave orders to take Daniel out of the den. When Daniel was brought up from the den, he was found to be unharmed, for he trusted in his God.
Then King Darius wrote to those of every people, nation, and language who live on the whole earth: “May your prosperity abound.
“I issue a decree that in all my royal dominion, people must tremble in fear before the God of Daniel:
For he is the living God,
and he endures forever;
his kingdom will never be destroyed,
and his dominion has no end.
“He rescues and delivers;
he performs signs and wonders
in the heavens and on the earth,
for he has rescued Daniel
from the power of the lions.”
So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and[fn] the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
In the first year of King Belshazzar of Babylon, Daniel had a dream with visions in his mind as he was lying in his bed. He wrote down the dream, and here is the summary[fn] of his account.
Daniel said, “In my vision at night I was watching, and suddenly the four winds of heaven stirred up the great sea.
“Suddenly, another beast appeared, a second one, that looked like a bear. It was raised up on one side, with three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, ‘Get up! Gorge yourself on flesh.'
“While I was considering the horns, suddenly another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. And suddenly in this horn there were eyes like the eyes of a human and a mouth that was speaking arrogantly.
“I continued watching in the night visions,
and suddenly one like a son of man
was coming with the clouds of heaven.
He approached the Ancient of Days
and was escorted before him.
“As for me, Daniel, my spirit was deeply distressed within me,[fn] and the visions in my mind terrified me.
“I also wanted to know about the ten horns on its head and about the other horn that came up, before which three fell — the horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spoke arrogantly, and that looked bigger than the others.
“This is what he said: ‘The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth, different from all the other kingdoms. It will devour the whole earth, trample it down, and crush it.
“This is the end of the account. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts terrified me greatly, and my face turned pale,[fn] but I kept the matter to myself.”
In the third year of King Belshazzar's reign, a vision appeared to me, Daniel, after the one that had appeared to me earlier.
I saw the vision, and as I watched, I was in the fortress city of Susa, in the province of Elam. I saw in the vision that I was beside the Ulai Canal.
He came toward the two-horned ram I had seen standing beside the canal and rushed at him with savage fury.
Then the male goat acted even more arrogantly, but when he became powerful, the large horn was broken. Four conspicuous horns came up in its place, pointing toward the four winds of heaven.
While I, Daniel, was watching the vision and trying to understand it, there stood before me someone who appeared to be a man.
So he approached where I was standing; when he came near, I was terrified and fell facedown. “Son of man,” he said to me, “understand that the vision refers to the time of the end.”
While he was speaking to me, I fell into a deep sleep, with my face to the ground. Then he touched me, made me stand up,
“The four horns that took the place of the broken horn represent four kingdoms. They will rise from that nation, but without its power.
“His power will be great,
but it will not be his own.
He will cause outrageous destruction
and succeed in whatever he does.
He will destroy the powerful
along with the holy people.
“He will cause deceit to prosper
through his cunning and by his influence,
and in his own mind he will exalt himself.
He will destroy many in a time of peace;
he will even stand against the Prince of princes.
Yet he will be broken — not by human hands.
In the first year of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus, a Mede by birth, who was made king over the Chaldean kingdom —
in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the books according to the word of the LORD to the prophet Jeremiah that the number of years for the desolation of Jerusalem would be seventy.
So I turned my attention to the Lord God to seek him by prayer and petitions, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.
We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, leaders, ancestors, and all the people of the land.
Lord, righteousness belongs to you, but this day public shame belongs to us: the men of Judah, the residents of Jerusalem, and all Israel — those who are near and those who are far, in all the countries where you have banished them because of the disloyalty they have shown toward you.
and have not obeyed the LORD our God by following his instructions that he set before us through his servants the prophets.
All Israel has broken your law and turned away, refusing to obey you. The promised curse[fn] written in the law of Moses, the servant of God, has been poured out on us because we have sinned against him.
He has carried out his words that he spoke against us and against our rulers[fn] by bringing on us a disaster that is so great that nothing like what has been done to Jerusalem has ever been done under all of heaven.
Just as it is written in the law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us, yet we have not sought the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our iniquities and paying attention to your truth.
Now, Lord our God — who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a strong hand and made your name renowned as it is this day — we have sinned, we have acted wickedly.
Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, may your anger and wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain; for because of our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors, Jerusalem and your people have become an object of ridicule to all those around us.
while I was praying, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the first vision, reached me in my extreme weariness, about the time of the evening offering.
“At the beginning of your petitions an answer went out, and I have come to give it, for you are treasured by God.[fn] So consider the message and understand the vision:
In the third year of King Cyrus of Persia, a message was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar. The message was true and was about a great conflict. He understood the message and had understanding of the vision.
On the twenty-fourth day of the first month,[fn] as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris,
I looked up, and there was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of gold from Uphaz[fn] around his waist.
Only I, Daniel, saw the vision. The men who were with me did not see it, but a great terror fell on them, and they ran and hid.
I was left alone, looking at this great vision. No strength was left in me; my face grew deathly pale,[fn] and I was powerless.
I heard the words he said, and when I heard them I fell into a deep sleep,[fn] with my face to the ground.
He said to me, “Daniel, you are a man treasured by God.[fn] Understand the words that I'm saying to you. Stand on your feet, for I have now been sent to you.” After he said this to me, I stood trembling.
“Don't be afraid, Daniel,” he said to me, “for from the first day that you purposed to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your prayers were heard. I have come because of your prayers.
While he was saying these words to me, I turned my face toward the ground and was speechless.
Suddenly one with human likeness touched my lips. I opened my mouth and said to the one standing in front of me, “My lord, because of the vision, anguish overwhelms me and I am powerless.
“How can someone like me, your servant,[fn] speak with someone like you, my lord? Now I have no strength, and there is no breath in me.”
He said, “Don't be afraid, you who are[fn] treasured by God. Peace to you; be very strong! ”
As he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.”
“However, I will tell you what is recorded in the book of truth. (No one has the courage to support me against those princes except Michael, your prince.
Now I will tell you the truth.
“Three more kings will arise in Persia, and the fourth will be far richer than the others. By the power he gains through his riches, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece.
“After some years they will form an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the South will go to the king of the North to seal the agreement. She will not retain power, and his strength will not endure. She will be given up, together with her entourage, her father,[fn] and the one who supported her during those times.
“In the place of the king of the South, one from her family[fn] will rise up, come against the army, and enter the fortress of the king of the North. He will take action against them and triumph.
“Infuriated, the king of the South will march out to fight with the king of the North, who will raise a large army, but they will be handed over to his enemy.
“The king of the North will again raise a multitude larger than the first. After some years[fn] he will advance with a great army and many supplies.
“In those times many will rise up against the king of the South. Violent ones among your own people will assert themselves to fulfill a vision, but they will fail.
“The king of the North who comes against him will do whatever he wants, and no one can oppose him. He will establish himself in the beautiful land[fn] with total destruction in his hand.
“In his place one will arise who will send out a tax collector for the glory of the kingdom; but within a few days he will be broken, though not in anger[fn] or in battle.
“In his place a despised person will arise; royal honors will not be given to him, but he will come during a time of peace[fn] and seize the kingdom by intrigue.
“After an alliance is made with him, he will act deceitfully. He will rise to power with a small nation.[fn]
“During a time of peace,[fn] he will come into the richest parts of the province and do what his fathers and predecessors never did. He will lavish plunder, loot, and wealth on his followers, and he will make plans against fortified cities, but only for a time.
“With a large army he will stir up his power and his courage against the king of the South. The king of the South will prepare for battle with an extremely large and powerful army, but he will not succeed, because plots will be made against him.
“The king of the North will return to his land with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant;[fn] he will take action, then return to his own land.
“At the appointed time he will come again to the South, but this time[fn] will not be like the first.
“Ships of Kittim[fn] will come against him, and being intimidated, he will withdraw. Then he will rage against the holy covenant and take action. On his return, he will favor those who abandon the holy covenant.
“With flattery he will corrupt those who act wickedly toward the covenant, but the people who know their God will be strong and take action.
“Those who have insight among the people will give understanding to many, yet they will fall by the sword and flame, and they will be captured and plundered for a time.
“When they fall, they will be helped by some, but many others will join them insincerely.
“Instead, he will honor a god of fortresses — a god his ancestors did not know — with gold, silver, precious stones, and riches.
“He will deal with the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god. He will greatly honor those who acknowledge him,[fn] making them rulers over many and distributing land as a reward.
“At the time of the end, the king of the South will engage him in battle, but the king of the North will storm against him with chariots, horsemen, and many ships. He will invade countries and sweep through them like a flood.
“He will get control over the hidden treasures of gold and silver and over all the riches of Egypt. The Libyans and Cushites will also be in submission.[fn]
“But reports from the east and the north will terrify him, and he will go out with great fury to annihilate and completely destroy many.
At that time
Michael, the great prince
who stands watch over your people, will rise up.
There will be a time of distress
such as never has occurred
since nations came into being until that time.
But at that time all your people
who are found written in the book will escape.
Many who sleep in the dust
of the earth will awake,
some to eternal life,
and some to disgrace and eternal contempt.
Then I heard the man dressed in linen, who was above the water of the river. He raised both his hands[fn] toward heaven and swore by him who lives eternally that it would be for a time, times, and half a time. When the power of the holy people is shattered, all these things will be completed.
The word of the LORD that came to Hosea son of Beeri during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and of Jeroboam son of Jehoash, king of Israel.
But I will have compassion on the house of Judah,
and I will deliver them by the LORD their God.
I will not deliver them by bow, sword, or war,
or by horses and cavalry.
Yet the number of the Israelites
will be like the sand of the sea,
which cannot be measured or counted.
And in the place where they were told:
You are not my people,
they will be called: Sons of the living God.
Otherwise, I will strip her naked
and expose her as she was on the day of her birth.
I will make her like a desert
and like a parched land,
and I will let her die of thirst.
Therefore, this is what I will do:
I will block her[fn] way with thorns;
I will enclose her with a wall,
so that she cannot find her paths.
Therefore, I will take back my grain in its time
and my new wine in its season;
I will take away my wool and linen,
which were to cover her nakedness.
And I will punish her for the days of the Baals,
to which she burned incense.
She put on her rings and her jewelry
and followed her lovers,
but she forgot me.
This is the LORD's declaration.
In that day —
this is the LORD's declaration —
you will call me “my husband”
and no longer call me “my Baal.”[fn]
On that day I will make a covenant for them
with the wild animals, the birds of the sky,
and the creatures that crawl on the ground.
I will shatter bow, sword,
and weapons of war in the land[fn]
and will enable the people to rest securely.
I will take you to be my wife forever.
I will take you to be my wife in righteousness,
justice, love, and compassion.
On that day I will respond —
this is the LORD's declaration.
I will respond to the sky,
and it will respond to the earth.
My people consult their wooden idols,
and their divining rods inform them.
For a spirit of promiscuity leads them astray;
they act promiscuously
in disobedience to[fn] their God.
For Israel is as obstinate as a stubborn cow.
Can the LORD now shepherd them
like a lamb in an open meadow?
A wind with its wings will carry them off,[fn]
and they will be ashamed of their sacrifices.
Their actions do not allow them
to return to their God,
for a spirit of promiscuity is among them,
and they do not know the LORD.
Israel's arrogance testifies against them.[fn]
Both Israel and Ephraim stumble
because of their iniquity;
even Judah will stumble with them.
Blow the ram's horn in Gibeah,
the trumpet in Ramah;
raise the war cry in Beth-aven:
Look behind you,[fn] Benjamin!
Ephraim will become a desolation
on the day of punishment;
I announce what is certain
among the tribes of Israel.
I will depart and return to my place
until they recognize their guilt and seek my face;
they will search for me in their distress.
He will revive us after two days,
and on the third day he will raise us up
so we can live in his presence.
I have seen something horrible in the house of Israel:
Ephraim's promiscuity is there; Israel is defiled.
when I heal Israel,
the iniquity of Ephraim and the crimes of Samaria
will be exposed.
For they practice fraud;
a thief breaks in;
a raiding party pillages outside.
For they — their hearts like an oven —
draw him into their oven.
Their anger smolders all night;
in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.
All of them are as hot as an oven,
and they consume their rulers.
All their kings fall;
not one of them calls on me.[fn]
Ephraim has allowed himself to get mixed up with the nations.
Ephraim is unturned bread baked on a griddle.
Israel's arrogance testifies against them,[fn]
yet they do not return to the LORD their God,
and for all this, they do not seek him.
As they are going, I will spread my net over them;
I will bring them down like birds of the sky.
I will discipline them in accordance
with the news that reaches[fn] their assembly.
They do not cry to me from their hearts;
rather, they wail on their beds.
They slash themselves[fn] for grain and new wine;
they turn away from me.
They turn, but not to what is above;[fn]
they are like a faulty bow.
Their leaders will fall by the sword
because of their insolent tongue.
They will be ridiculed for this in the land of Egypt.
For this thing is from Israel —
a craftsman made it, and it is not God.
The calf of Samaria will be smashed to bits!
Even though they hire lovers among the nations,
I will now round them up,
and they will begin to decrease in number
under the burden of the king and leaders.
Though they offer sacrificial gifts[fn]
and eat the flesh,
the LORD does not accept them.
Now he will remember their guilt
and punish their sins;
they will return to Egypt.
They will not stay in the land of the LORD.
Instead, Ephraim will return to Egypt,
and they will eat unclean food in Assyria.
For even if they flee from devastation,
Egypt will gather them, and Memphis will bury them.
Thistles will take possession of their precious silver;
thorns will invade their tents.
Ephraim's watchman is with my God.
Yet the prophet encounters a bird trap
on all his pathways.
Hostility is in the house of his God!
I discovered Israel
like grapes in the wilderness.
I saw your ancestors
like the first fruit of the fig tree in its first season.
But they went to Baal-peor,
consecrated themselves to Shame,[fn]
and became abhorrent,
like the thing they loved.
My God will reject them
because they have not listened to him;
they will become wanderers among the nations.
The calf itself will be taken to Assyria
as an offering to the great king.[fn]
Ephraim will experience shame;
Israel will be ashamed of its counsel.
Israel, you have sinned
since the days of Gibeah;
they have taken their stand there.
Will not war against the unjust
overtake them in Gibeah?
I will discipline them at my discretion;
nations will be gathered against them
to put them in bondage[fn]
for their double iniquity.
You have plowed wickedness and reaped injustice;
you have eaten the fruit of lies.
Because you have trusted in your own way[fn]
and in your large number of soldiers,
the roar of battle will rise against your people,
and all your fortifications will be demolished
in a day of war,
like Shalman's destruction of Beth-arbel.
Mothers will be dashed to pieces
along with their children.
I led them with human cords,
with ropes of love.
To them I was like one
who eases the yoke from their jaws;
I bent down to give them food.
Israel will not return to the land of Egypt
and Assyria will be his king,
because they refused to repent.
A sword will whirl through his cities;
it will destroy and devour the bars of his gates,[fn]
because of their schemes.
How can I give you up, Ephraim?
How can I surrender you, Israel?
How can I make you like Admah?
How can I treat you like Zeboiim?
I have had a change of heart;
my compassion is stirred!
I will not vent the full fury of my anger;
I will not turn back to destroy Ephraim.
For I am God and not man,
the Holy One among you;
I will not come in rage.[fn]
Ephraim surrounds me with lies,
the house of Israel, with deceit.
Judah still wanders with God
and is faithful to the holy ones.[fn]
Jacob struggled with the angel and prevailed;
he wept and sought his favor.
He found him at Bethel,
and there he spoke with him.[fn]
But you must return to your God.
Maintain love and justice,
and always put your hope in God.
I have been the LORD your God
ever since[fn] the land of Egypt.
I will make you live in tents again,
as in the festival days.
I will speak through the prophets
and grant many visions;
I will give parables through the prophets.
Since Gilead is full of evil,
they will certainly come to nothing.
They sacrifice bulls in Gilgal;
even their altars will be like piles of rocks
on the furrows of a field.
Jacob fled to the territory of Aram.
Israel worked to earn a wife;
he tended flocks for a wife.
When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling;
he was exalted in Israel.
But he incurred guilt through Baal and died.
Samaria will bear her guilt
because she has rebelled against her God.
They will fall by the sword;
their children will be dashed to pieces,
and their pregnant women ripped open.
“Assyria will not save us,
we will not ride on horses,
and we will no longer proclaim, ‘Our gods! '
to the work of our hands.
For the fatherless receives compassion in you.”
Let whoever is wise understand these things,
and whoever is insightful recognize them.
For the ways of the LORD are right,
and the righteous walk in them,
but the rebellious stumble in them.
Hear this, you elders;
listen, all you inhabitants of the land.
Has anything like this ever happened in your days
or in the days of your ancestors?
Dress in sackcloth and lament, you priests;
wail, you ministers of the altar.
Come and spend the night in sackcloth,
you ministers of my God,
because grain and drink offerings
are withheld from the house of your God.
Blow the ram's horn in Zion;
sound the alarm on my holy mountain!
Let all the residents of the land tremble,
for the day of the LORD is coming;
in fact, it is near —
They attack as warriors attack;
they scale walls as men of war do.
Each goes on his own path,
and they do not change their course.
They do not push each other;
each proceeds on his own path.
They dodge the arrows, never stopping.
Even now —
this is the LORD's declaration —
turn to me with all your heart,
with fasting, weeping, and mourning.
Let the priests, the LORD's ministers,
weep between the portico and the altar.
Let them say,
“Have pity on your people, LORD,
and do not make your inheritance a disgrace,
an object of scorn among the nations.
Why should it be said among the peoples,
‘Where is their God? ' ”
The LORD answered his people:
Look, I am about to send you
grain, new wine, and fresh oil.
You will be satiated with them,
and I will no longer make you
a disgrace among the nations.
You will know that I am present in Israel
and that I am the LORD your God,
and there is no other.
My people will never again be put to shame.
I will display wonders
in the heavens and on the earth:
blood, fire, and columns of smoke.
Then everyone who calls
on the name of the LORD will be saved,
for there will be an escape
for those on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
as the LORD promised,
among the survivors the LORD calls.
Yes, in those days and at that time,
when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,
I will gather all the nations
and take them to the Valley of Jehoshaphat.[fn]
I will enter into judgment with them there
because of my people, my inheritance Israel.
The nations have scattered the Israelites
in foreign countries
and divided up my land.
Proclaim this among the nations:
Prepare for holy war;
rouse the warriors;
let all the men of war advance and attack!
Multitudes, multitudes
in the valley of decision!
For the day of the LORD is near
in the valley of decision.
Then you will know
that I am the LORD your God,
who dwells in Zion, my holy mountain.
Jerusalem will be holy,
and foreigners will never overrun it again.
In that day
the mountains will drip with sweet wine,
and the hills will flow with milk.
All the streams of Judah will flow with water,
and a spring will issue from the LORD's house,
watering the Valley of Acacias.[fn]
Egypt will become desolate,
and Edom a desert wasteland,
because of the violence done to the people of Judah
in whose land they shed innocent blood.
The words of Amos, who was one of the sheep breeders[fn] from Tekoa — what he saw regarding Israel in the days of King Uzziah of Judah and Jeroboam son of Jehoash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.
The LORD says:
I will not relent from punishing Damascus
for three crimes, even four,
because they threshed Gilead with iron sledges.
The LORD says:
I will not relent from punishing Edom
for three crimes, even four,
because he pursued his brother with the sword.
He stifled his compassion,
his anger tore at him continually,
and he harbored his rage incessantly.
The LORD says:
I will not relent from punishing the Ammonites
for three crimes, even four,
because they ripped open
the pregnant women of Gilead
in order to enlarge their territory.
Therefore, I will set fire to the walls of Rabbah,
and it will consume its citadels.
There will be shouting on the day of battle
and a violent wind on the day of the storm.
Therefore, I will send fire against Moab,
and it will consume the citadels of Kerioth.
Moab will die with a tumult,
with shouting and the sound of the ram's horn.
They stretch out beside every altar
on garments taken as collateral,
and in the house of their God
they drink wine obtained through fines.
And I brought you from the land of Egypt
and led you forty years in the wilderness
in order to possess the land of the Amorite.
Even the most courageous of the warriors
will flee naked on that day —
this is the LORD's declaration.
If a ram's horn is blown in a city,
aren't people afraid?
If a disaster occurs in a city,
hasn't the LORD done it?
Proclaim on the citadels in Ashdod
and on the citadels in the land of Egypt:
Assemble on the mountains of Samaria,
and see the great turmoil in the city
and the acts of oppression within it.
The people are incapable of doing right —
this is the LORD's declaration —
those who store up violence and destruction
in their citadels.
I will punish the altars of Bethel
on the day I punish Israel for its crimes;
the horns of the altar will be cut off
and fall to the ground.
Listen to this message, you cows of Bashan
who are on the hill of Samaria,
women who oppress the poor
and crush the needy,
who say to their husbands,
“Bring us something to drink.”
The Lord GOD has sworn by his holiness:
Look, the days are coming[fn]
when you will be taken away with hooks,
every last one of you with fishhooks.
I gave you absolutely nothing to eat[fn] in all your cities,
a shortage of food in all your communities,
yet you did not return to me.
This is the LORD's declaration.
I struck you with blight and mildew;
the locust devoured
your many gardens and vineyards,
your fig trees and olive trees,
yet you did not return to me.
This is the LORD's declaration.
I sent plagues like those of Egypt;
I killed your young men with the sword,
along with your captured horses.
I caused the stench of your camp
to fill your nostrils,
yet you did not return to me.
This is the LORD's declaration.
They hate the one who convicts the guilty
at the city gate,
and they despise the one who speaks with integrity.
Therefore, because you trample on the poor
and exact a grain tax from him,
you will never live in the houses of cut stone
you have built;
you will never drink the wine
from the lush vineyards
you have planted.
For I know your crimes are many
and your sins innumerable.
They oppress the righteous, take a bribe,
and deprive the poor of justice at the city gates.
Hate evil and love good;
establish justice at the city gate.
Perhaps the LORD, the God of Armies, will be gracious
to the remnant of Joseph.
There will be wailing in all the vineyards,
for I will pass among you.
The LORD has spoken.
“House of Israel, was it sacrifices and grain offerings that you presented to me during the forty years in the wilderness?
Do horses gallop on the cliffs?
Does anyone plow there with oxen?[fn]
Yet you have turned justice into poison
and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood —
you who rejoice over Lo-debar
and say, “Didn't we capture Karnaim
for ourselves by our own strength? ”
The Lord GOD showed me this: The Lord GOD was calling for a judgment by fire. It consumed the great deep and devoured the land.
He showed me this: The Lord was standing there by a vertical wall with a plumb line in his hand.
The LORD asked me, “What do you see, Amos? ”
I replied, “A plumb line.”
Then the Lord said, “I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will no longer spare them:
“Isaac's high places will be deserted,
and Israel's sanctuaries will be in ruins;
I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam
with a sword.”
Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent word to King Jeroboam of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you right here in the house of Israel. The land cannot endure all his words,
“for Amos has said this: ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will certainly go into exile from its homeland.' ”
Therefore, this is what the LORD says:
Your wife will be a prostitute in the city,
your sons and daughters will fall by the sword,
and your land will be divided up
with a measuring line.
You yourself will die on pagan[fn] soil,
and Israel will certainly go into exile
from its homeland.
“In that day the temple[fn] songs will become wailing” — this is the Lord GOD's declaration. “Many dead bodies, thrown everywhere! Silence! ”
“We can buy the poor with silver
and the needy for a pair of sandals
and even sell the chaff! ”
Because of this, won't the land quake
and all who dwell in it mourn?
All of it will rise like the Nile;
it will surge and then subside
like the Nile in Egypt.
And in that day —
this is the declaration of the Lord GOD —
I will make the sun go down at noon;
I will darken the land in the daytime.
I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and he said:
Strike the capitals of the pillars
so that the thresholds shake;
knock them down on the heads of all the people.
Then I will kill the rest of them with the sword.
None of those who flee will get away;
none of the fugitives will escape.
And if they are driven
by their enemies into captivity,
from there I will command
the sword to kill them.
I will keep my eye on them
for harm and not for good.
for I am about to give the command,
and I will shake the house of Israel
among all the nations,
as one shakes a sieve,
but not a pebble will fall to the ground.
All the sinners among my people
who say, “Disaster will never overtake[fn]
or confront us,”
will die by the sword.
In that day
I will restore the fallen shelter of David:
I will repair its gaps,
restore its ruins,
and rebuild it as in the days of old,
Look, the days are coming —
this is the LORD's declaration —
when the plowman will overtake the reaper
and the one who treads grapes,
the sower of seed.
The mountains will drip with sweet wine,
and all the hills will flow with it.
In that day —
this is the LORD's declaration —
will I not eliminate the wise ones of Edom
and those who understand
from the hill country of Esau?
On the day you stood aloof,
on the day strangers captured his wealth,[fn]
while foreigners entered his city gate
and cast lots for Jerusalem,
you were just like one of them.
Do not enter my people's city gate
in the day of their disaster.
Yes, you — do not gloat over their misery
in the day of their disaster,
and do not appropriate their possessions
in the day of their disaster.
Do not stand at the crossroads[fn]
to cut off their fugitives,
and do not hand over their survivors
in the day of distress.
But there will be a deliverance on Mount Zion,
and it will be holy;
the house of Jacob will dispossess
those who dispossessed them.[fn]
People from the Negev will possess
the hill country of Esau;
those from the Judean foothills will possess
the land of the Philistines.
They[fn] will possess
the territories of Ephraim and Samaria,
while Benjamin will possess Gilead.
“Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it because their evil has come up before me.”
But the LORD threw a great wind onto the sea, and such a great storm arose on the sea that the ship threatened to break apart.
The sailors were afraid, and each cried out to his god. They threw the ship's cargo into the sea to lighten the load. Meanwhile, Jonah had gone down to the lowest part of the vessel and had stretched out and fallen into a deep sleep.
“Come on! ” the sailors said to each other. “Let's cast lots. Then we'll know who is to blame for this trouble we're in.” So they cast lots, and the lot singled out Jonah.
Then they said to him, “Tell us who is to blame for this trouble we're in. What is your business, and where are you from? What is your country, and what people are you from? ”
The LORD appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
I called to the LORD in my distress,
and he answered me.
I cried out for help from deep inside[fn] Sheol;
you heard my voice.
As my life was fading away,
I remembered the LORD,
and my prayer came to you,
to your holy temple.
Then he issued a decree in Nineveh:
By order of the king and his nobles: No person or animal, herd or flock, is to taste anything at all. They must not eat or drink water.
Furthermore, both people and animals must be covered with sackcloth, and everyone must call out earnestly to God. Each must turn from his evil ways and from his wrongdoing.[fn]
He prayed to the LORD, “Please, LORD, isn't this what I said while I was still in my own country? That's why I fled toward Tarshish in the first place. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger, abounding in faithful love, and one who relents from sending disaster.
Jonah left the city and found a place east of it. He made himself a shelter there and sat in its shade to see what would happen to the city.
“So may I not care about the great city of Nineveh, which has more than a hundred twenty thousand people who cannot distinguish between their right and their left, as well as many animals? ”
The word of the LORD that came to Micah the Moreshite — what he saw regarding Samaria and Jerusalem in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
Listen, all you peoples;
pay attention, earth[fn] and everyone in it!
The Lord GOD will be a witness against you,
the Lord, from his holy temple.
The mountains will melt beneath him,
and the valleys will split apart,
like wax near a fire,
like water cascading down a mountainside.
All her carved images will be smashed to pieces;
all her wages will be burned in the fire,
and I will destroy all her idols.
Since she collected the wages of a prostitute,
they will be used again for a prostitute.
Harness the horses to the chariot,
you residents of Lachish.
This was the beginning of sin for Daughter Zion
because Israel's acts of rebellion can be traced to you.
Woe to those who dream up wickedness
and prepare evil plans on their beds!
At morning light they accomplish it
because the power is in their hands.
In that day one will take up a taunt against you
and lament mournfully, saying,
“We are totally ruined!
He measures out the allotted land of my people.
How he removes it from me!
He allots our fields to traitors.”
I will indeed gather all of you, Jacob;
I will collect the remnant of Israel.
I will bring them together like sheep in a pen,
like a flock in the middle of its pasture.
It will be noisy with people.
Then they will cry out to the LORD,
but he will not answer them.
He will hide his face from them at that time
because of the crimes they have committed.
This is what the LORD says
concerning the prophets
who lead my people astray,
who proclaim peace
when they have food to sink their teeth into
but declare war against the one
who puts nothing in their mouths.
As for me, however, I am filled with power
by the Spirit of the LORD,
with justice and courage,
to proclaim to Jacob his rebellion
and to Israel his sin.
Her leaders issue rulings for a bribe,
her priests teach for payment,
and her prophets practice divination for silver.
Yet they lean on the LORD, saying,
“Isn't the LORD among us?
No disaster will overtake us.”
and many nations will come and say,
“Come, let's go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the house of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us about his ways
so we may walk in his paths.”
For instruction will go out of Zion
and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
Though all the peoples walk
in the name of their own gods,
we will walk in the name of the LORD our God
forever and ever.
On that day —
this is the LORD's declaration —
I will assemble the lame
and gather the scattered,
those I have injured.
I will make the lame into a remnant,
those far removed into a strong nation.
Then the LORD will reign over them in Mount Zion
from this time on and forever.
Writhe and cry out,[fn] Daughter Zion,
like a woman in labor,
for now you will leave the city
and camp in the open fields.
You will go to Babylon;
there you will be rescued;
there the LORD will redeem you
from the grasp of your enemies!
Rise and thresh, Daughter Zion,
for I will make your horns iron
and your hooves bronze
so you can crush many peoples.
Then you[fn] will set apart their plunder
for the LORD,
their wealth for the Lord of the whole earth.
Now, daughter who is under attack,
you slash yourself in grief;
a siege is set against us!
They are striking the judge of Israel
on the cheek with a rod.
Bethlehem Ephrathah,
you are small among the clans of Judah;
one will come from you
to be ruler over Israel for me.
His origin[fn] is from antiquity,
from ancient times.
He will stand and shepherd them
in the strength of the LORD,
in the majestic name of the LORD his God.
They will live securely,
for then his greatness will extend
to the ends of the earth.
They will shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword,
the land of Nimrod with a drawn blade.[fn]
So he will rescue us from Assyria
when it invades our land,
when it marches against our territory.
Then the remnant of Jacob
will be among many peoples
like dew from the LORD,
like showers on the grass,
which do not wait for anyone
or linger for mankind.
Then the remnant of Jacob
will be among the nations, among many peoples,
like a lion among animals of the forest,
like a young lion among flocks of sheep,
which tramples and tears as it passes through,
and there is no one to rescue them.
In that day —
this is the LORD's declaration —
I will remove your horses from you
and wreck your chariots.
I will remove sorceries from your hands,
and you will not have any more fortune-tellers.
What should I bring before the LORD
when I come to bow before God on high?
Should I come before him with burnt offerings,
with year-old calves?
Would the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams
or with ten thousand streams of oil?
Should I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the offspring of my body for my own sin?
“For the wealthy of the city are full of violence,
and its residents speak lies;
the tongues in their mouths are deceitful.
“You will eat but not be satisfied,
for there will be hunger within you.
What you acquire, you cannot save,
and what you do save,
I will give to the sword.[fn]
How sad for me!
For I am like one who —
when the summer fruit has been gathered
after the gleaning of the grape harvest —
finds no grape cluster to eat,
no early fig, which I crave.
Faithful people have vanished from the land;
there is no one upright among the people.
All of them wait in ambush to shed blood;
they hunt each other with a net.
The best of them is like a brier;
the most upright is worse than a hedge of thorns.
The day of your watchmen,
the day of your punishment, is coming;
at this time their panic is here.
Do not rely on a friend;
don't trust in a close companion.
Seal your mouth
from the woman who lies in your arms.
Surely a son considers his father a fool,
a daughter opposes her mother,
and a daughter-in-law is against her mother-in-law;
a man's enemies are the men of his own household.
Do not rejoice over me, my enemy!
Though I have fallen, I will stand up;
though I sit in darkness,
the LORD will be my light.
Then my enemy will see,
and she will be covered with shame,
the one who said to me,
“Where is the LORD your God? ”
My eyes will look at her in triumph;
at that time she will be trampled
like mud in the streets.
Shepherd your people with your staff,
the flock that is your possession.
They live alone in a woodland
surrounded by pastures.
Let them graze in Bashan and Gilead
as in ancient times.
They will lick the dust like a snake;
they will come trembling out of their hiding places
like reptiles slithering on the ground.
They will tremble in the presence of the LORD our God;
they will stand in awe of you.
The LORD is slow to anger but great in power;
the LORD will never leave the guilty unpunished.
His path is in the whirlwind and storm,
and clouds are the dust beneath his feet.
Who can withstand his indignation?
Who can endure his burning anger?
His wrath is poured out like fire;
even rocks are shattered before him.
The LORD is good,
a stronghold in a day of distress;
he cares for those who take refuge in him.
But he will completely destroy Nineveh[fn]
with an overwhelming flood,
and he will chase his enemies into darkness.
Whatever you[fn] plot against the LORD,
he will bring it to complete destruction;
oppression will not rise up a second time.
The shields of his[fn] warriors are dyed red;
the valiant men are dressed in scarlet.
The fittings of the chariot flash like fire
on the day of its battle preparations,
and the spears are brandished.
The chariots dash madly through the streets;
they rush around in the plazas.
They look like torches;
they dart back and forth like lightning.
He gives orders to his officers;
they stumble as they advance.
They race to its wall;
the protective shield is set in place.
Beware, I am against you.
This is the declaration of the LORD of Armies.
I will make your chariots go up in smoke,[fn]
and the sword will devour your young lions.
I will cut off your prey from the earth,
and the sound of your messengers
will never be heard again.
Charging horseman,
flashing sword,
shining spear;
heaps of slain,
mounds of corpses,
dead bodies without end —
they stumble over their dead.
Because of the continual prostitution of the prostitute,
the attractive mistress of sorcery,
who treats nations and clans like merchandise
by her prostitution and sorcery,
Look, your troops are like women among you;
your land's city gates
are wide open to your enemies.
Fire will devour the bars of your gates.
Draw water for the siege;
strengthen your fortresses.
Step into the clay and tread the mortar;
take hold of the brick-mold!
Your court officials are like the swarming locust,
and your scribes like clouds of locusts,
which settle on the walls on a cold day;
when the sun rises, they take off,
and no one knows where they are.
Look at the nations[fn] and observe —
be utterly astounded!
For I am doing something in your days
that you will not believe
when you hear about it.
They mock kings,
and rulers are a joke to them.
They laugh at every fortress
and build siege ramps to capture it.
The Chaldeans pull them all up with a hook,
catch them in their dragnet,
and gather them in their fishing net;
that is why they are glad and rejoice.
That is why they sacrifice to their dragnet
and burn incense to their fishing net,
for by these things their portion is rich
and their food plentiful.
I will stand at my guard post
and station myself on the lookout tower.
I will watch to see what he will say to me
and what I should[fn] reply about my complaint.
Is it not from the LORD of Armies
that the peoples labor only to fuel the fire
and countries exhaust themselves for nothing?
Woe to him who says to wood: Wake up!
or to mute stone: Come alive!
Can it teach?
Look! It may be plated with gold and silver,
yet there is no breath in it at all.
LORD, I have heard the report about you;
LORD, I stand in awe of your deeds.
Revive your work in these years;
make it known in these years.
In your wrath remember mercy!
His brilliance is like light;
rays are flashing from his hand.
This is where his power is hidden.
Are you angry at the rivers, LORD?
Is your wrath against the rivers?
Or is your fury against the sea
when you ride on your horses,
your victorious chariot?
Sun and moon stand still in their lofty residence,
at the flash of your flying arrows,
at the brightness of your shining spear.
You pierce his head
with his own spears;
his warriors storm out to scatter us,
gloating as if ready to secretly devour the weak.
I heard, and I trembled within;
my lips quivered at the sound.
Rottenness entered my bones;
I trembled where I stood.
Now I must quietly wait for the day of distress
to come against the people invading us.
Though the fig tree does not bud
and there is no fruit on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though the flocks disappear from the pen
and there are no herds in the stalls,
The LORD my Lord is my strength;
he makes my feet like those of a deer
and enables me to walk on mountain heights!
For the choir director: on[fn] stringed instruments.
The word of the LORD that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah.
On the day of the LORD's sacrifice
I will punish the officials, the king's sons,
and all who are dressed in foreign clothing.
On that day I will punish
all who skip over the threshold,[fn]
who fill their master's house
with violence and deceit.
On that day —
this is the LORD's declaration —
there will be an outcry from the Fish Gate,
a wailing from the Second District,
and a loud crashing from the hills.
And at that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps
and punish those who settle down comfortably,[fn]
who say to themselves:
The LORD will do nothing — good or bad.
Their wealth will become plunder
and their houses a ruin.
They will build houses but never live in them,
plant vineyards but never drink their wine.
Their silver and their gold
will be unable to rescue them
on the day of the LORD's wrath.
The whole earth will be consumed
by the fire of his jealousy,
for he will make a complete,
yes, a horrifying end
of all the inhabitants of the earth.
Seek the LORD, all you humble of the earth,
who carry out what he commands.
Seek righteousness, seek humility;
perhaps you will be concealed
on the day of the LORD's anger.
The coastland will belong
to the remnant of the house of Judah;
they will find pasture there.
They will lie down in the evening
among the houses of Ashkelon,
for the LORD their God will return to them
and restore their fortunes.
I have heard the taunting of Moab
and the insults of the Ammonites,
who have taunted my people
and threatened their territory.
This is the jubilant city
that lives in security,
that says to herself:
I exist, and there is no one else.
What a desolation she has become,
a place for wild animals to lie down!
Everyone who passes by her
scoffs[fn] and shakes his fist.
The righteous LORD is in her;
he does no wrong.
He applies his justice morning by morning;
he does not fail at dawn,
yet the one who does wrong knows no shame.
I have cut off nations;
their corner towers are destroyed.
I have laid waste their streets,
with no one to pass through.
Their cities lie devastated,
without a person, without an inhabitant.
Therefore, wait for me —
this is the LORD's declaration —
until the day I rise up for plunder.[fn]
For my decision is to gather nations,
to assemble kingdoms,
in order to pour out my indignation on them,
all my burning anger;
for the whole earth will be consumed
by the fire of my jealousy.
On that day you[fn] will not be put to shame
because of everything you have done
in rebelling against me.
For then I will remove
from among you your jubilant, arrogant people,
and you will never again be haughty
on my holy mountain.
I will leave
a meek and humble people among you,
and they will take refuge in the name of the LORD.
The remnant of Israel will no longer
do wrong or tell lies;
a deceitful tongue will not be found
in their mouths.
They will pasture and lie down,
with nothing to make them afraid.
The LORD has removed your punishment;
he has turned back your enemy.
The King of Israel, the LORD, is among you;
you need no longer fear harm.
On that day it will be said to Jerusalem:
“Do not fear;
Zion, do not let your hands grow weak.
“The LORD your God is among you,
a warrior who saves.
He will rejoice over you with gladness.
He will be quiet[fn] in his love.
He will delight in you with singing.”
Yes, at that time
I will deal with all who oppress you.
I will save the lame and gather the outcasts;
I will make those who were disgraced
throughout the earth
receive praise and fame.
At that time I will bring you[fn] back,
yes, at the time I will gather you.
I will give you fame and praise
among all the peoples of the earth,
when I restore your fortunes before your eyes.
The LORD has spoken.
In the second year of King Darius,[fn] on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, the governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest:
“Is it a time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses, while this house[fn] lies in ruins? ”
“You have planted much
but harvested little.
You eat
but never have enough to be satisfied.
You drink
but never have enough to be happy.
You put on clothes
but never have enough to get warm.
The wage earner puts his wages
into a bag with a hole in it.”
“Go up into the hills, bring down lumber, and build the house; and I will be pleased with it and be glorified,” says the LORD.
The LORD roused the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, the spirit of the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. They began work on the house of the LORD of Armies, their God,
On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai:
“‘Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Doesn't it seem to you like nothing by comparison?
“This is the promise I made to you when you came out of Egypt, and my Spirit is present among you; don't be afraid.' ”
“The final glory of this house[fn] will be greater than the first,” says the LORD of Armies. “I will provide peace in this place” — this is the declaration of the LORD of Armies.
“If a man is carrying consecrated meat in the fold of his garment, and it touches bread, stew, wine, oil, or any other food, does it become holy? ”
The priests answered, “No.”
Then Haggai replied, “So is this people, and so is this nation before me — this is the LORD's declaration. And so is every work of their hands; even what they offer there is defiled.
“Now from this day on, think carefully: Before one stone was placed on another in the LORD's temple,
“I struck you — all the work of your hands — with blight, mildew, and hail, but you didn't turn to me — this is the LORD's declaration.
“From this day on, think carefully; from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, from the day the foundation of the LORD's temple was laid; think carefully.
“I will overturn royal thrones and destroy the power of the Gentile kingdoms. I will overturn chariots and their riders. Horses and their riders will fall, each by his brother's sword.
“On that day” — this is the declaration of the LORD of Armies — “I will take you, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, my servant” — this is the LORD's declaration — “and make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you.” This is the declaration of the LORD of Armies.
In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah, son of Iddo:
“But didn't my words and my statutes that I commanded my servants the prophets overtake your ancestors? ' ”
So the people repented and said, “As the LORD of Armies decided to deal with us for our ways and our deeds, so he has dealt with us.”
On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah, son of Iddo:
I asked, “What are these, my lord? ”
The angel who was talking to me replied, “I will show you what they are.”
The LORD replied with kind and comforting words to the angel who was speaking with me.
So the angel who was speaking with me said, “Proclaim: The LORD of Armies says: I am extremely jealous for Jerusalem and Zion.
“Therefore, this is what the LORD says: In mercy, I have returned to Jerusalem; my house will be rebuilt within it — this is the declaration of the LORD of Armies — and a measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem.
“Proclaim further: This is what the LORD of Armies says: My cities will again overflow with prosperity; the LORD will once more comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.”
So I asked the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these? ”
And he said to me, “These are the horns that scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.”
Then the angel who was speaking with me went out, and another angel went out to meet him.
He said to him, “Run and tell this young man: Jerusalem will be inhabited without walls because of the number of people and animals in it.”
The declaration of the LORD: “I myself will be a wall of fire around it, and I will be the glory within it.”
“Daughter Zion, shout for joy and be glad, for I am coming to dwell among you” — this is the LORD's declaration.
“Many nations will join themselves to the LORD on that day and become my[fn] people. I will dwell among you, and you will know that the LORD of Armies has sent me to you.
The LORD[fn] said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, Satan! May the LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Isn't this man a burning stick snatched from the fire? ”
“This is what the LORD of Armies says: If you walk in my ways and keep my mandates, you will both rule my house and take care of my courts; I will also grant you access among these who are standing here.
“Notice the stone I have set before Joshua; on that one stone are seven eyes. I will engrave an inscription on it” — this is the declaration of the LORD of Armies — “and I will take away the iniquity of this land in a single day.
“On that day, each of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and fig tree.” This is the declaration of the LORD of Armies.
The angel who was speaking with me then returned and roused me as one awakened out of sleep.
“Don't you know what they are? ” replied the angel who was speaking with me.
I said, “No, my lord.”
So he answered me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by strength or by might, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD of Armies.
“For who despises the day of small things? These seven eyes of the LORD, which scan throughout the whole earth, will rejoice when they see the ceremonial stone[fn] in Zerubbabel's hand.”
And I questioned him further, “What are the two streams[fn] of the olive trees, from which the golden oil is pouring through the two golden conduits? ”
“I will send it out,” — this is the declaration of the LORD of Armies — “and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by my name. It will stay inside his house and destroy it along with its timbers and stones.”
Then the angel who was speaking with me came forward and told me, “Look up and see what this is that is approaching.”
“This is Wickedness,” he said. He shoved her down into the basket and pushed the lead weight over its opening.
Then I looked up and saw two women approaching with the wind in their wings. Their wings were like those of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between earth and sky.
“To build a shrine for it in the land of Shinar,” he told me. “When that is ready, the basket will be placed there on its pedestal.”
the third chariot white horses, and the fourth chariot dappled horses — all strong horses.
The angel told me, “These are the four spirits[fn] of heaven going out after presenting themselves to the Lord of the whole earth.
“The one with the black horses is going to the land of the north, the white horses are going after them, but the dappled horses are going to the land of the south.”
Then he summoned me saying, “See, those going to the land of the north have pacified my Spirit in the northern land.”
“Take an offering from the exiles, from Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon, and go that same day to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah.
“The crown will reside in the LORD's temple as a memorial to Heldai, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen[fn] son of Zephaniah.
“People who are far off will come and build the LORD's temple, and you will know that the LORD of Armies has sent me to you. This will happen when you fully obey the LORD your God.”
In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chislev.
by asking the priests who were at the house of the LORD of Armies as well as the prophets, “Should we mourn and fast in the fifth month as we have done these many years? ”
“Ask all the people of the land and the priests: When you fasted and lamented in the fifth and in the seventh months for these seventy years, did you really fast for me?
“Aren't these the words that the LORD proclaimed through the earlier prophets when Jerusalem was inhabited and secure,[fn] along with its surrounding cities, and when the southern region and the Judean foothills were inhabited? ”
“Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the resident alien or the poor, and do not plot evil in your hearts against one another.'
“They made their hearts like a rock so as not to obey the law or the words that the LORD of Armies had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. Therefore intense anger came from the LORD of Armies.
The LORD says this: “I will return to Zion and live in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City; the mountain of the LORD of Armies will be called the Holy Mountain.”
The LORD of Armies says this: “Old men and women will again sit along the streets of Jerusalem, each with a staff in hand because of advanced age.
The LORD of Armies says this: “Though it may seem impossible to the remnant of this people in those days, should it also seem impossible to me? ” — this is the declaration of the LORD of Armies.
“I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem. They will be my people, and I will be their faithful and righteous God.”
The LORD of Armies says this: “Let your hands be strong, you who now hear these words that the prophets spoke when the foundations were laid for the rebuilding of the temple, the house of the LORD of Armies.
“As you have been a curse among the nations, house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you, and you will be a blessing. Don't be afraid; let your hands be strong.”
For the LORD of Armies says this: “As I resolved to treat you badly when your ancestors provoked me to anger, and I did not relent,” says the LORD of Armies,
“so I have resolved again in these days to do what is good to Jerusalem and the house of Judah. Don't be afraid.
“These are the things you must do: Speak truth to one another; make true and sound decisions within your city gates.
“Do not plot evil in your hearts against your neighbor, and do not love perjury, for I hate all this” — this is the LORD's declaration.
“Many peoples and strong nations will come to seek the LORD of Armies in Jerusalem and to plead for the LORD's favor.”
The LORD of Armies says this: “In those days, ten men from nations of every language will grab the robe of a Jewish man tightly, urging: Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”
A pronouncement:
The word of the LORD
is against the land of Hadrach,
and Damascus is its resting place —
for the eyes of humanity
and all the tribes of Israel
are on the LORD[fn] —
and also against Hamath, which borders it,
as well as Tyre and Sidon,
though they are very shrewd.
Listen! The Lord will impoverish her
and cast her wealth into the sea;
she herself will be consumed by fire.
I will remove the blood from their mouths
and the abhorrent things
from between their teeth.
Then they too will become a remnant for our God;
they will become like a clan in Judah
and Ekron like the Jebusites.
I will encamp at my house as a guard,
against those who march back and forth,
and no oppressor will march against them again,
for now I have seen with my own eyes.
As for you,
because of the blood of your covenant,
I will release your prisoners
from the waterless cistern.
Return to a stronghold,
you prisoners who have hope;
today I declare that I will restore double to you.
Then the LORD will appear over them,
and his arrow will fly like lightning.
The Lord GOD will sound the ram's horn
and advance with the southern storms.
The LORD of Armies will defend them.
They will consume and conquer with slingstones;
they will drink and be rowdy as if with wine.
They will be as full as the sprinkling basin,
like those at the corners of the altar.
The LORD their God will save them on that day
as the flock of his people;
for they are like jewels in a crown,
sparkling over his land.
Ask the LORD for rain
in the season of spring rain.
The LORD makes the rain clouds,
and he will give them showers of rain
and crops in the field for everyone.
My anger burns against the shepherds,
so I will punish the leaders.[fn]
For the LORD of Armies has tended his flock,
the house of Judah;
he will make them like his majestic steed in battle.
The cornerstone, the tent peg,
the battle bow, and every ruler —
all will go out from him together.
They will be like warriors in battle
trampling down the mud of the streets.
They will fight because the LORD is with them,
and they will put horsemen to shame.
Ephraim will be like a warrior,
and their hearts will be glad as if with wine.
Their children will see it and be glad;
their hearts will rejoice in the LORD.
Though I sow them among the nations,
they will remember me in the distant lands;
they and their children will live and return.
The LORD[fn] will pass through the sea of distress
and strike the waves of the sea;
all the depths of the Nile will dry up.
The pride of Assyria will be brought down,
and the scepter of Egypt will come to an end.
I will strengthen them in the LORD,
and they will march in his name —
this is the LORD's declaration.
In one month I got rid of three shepherds. I became impatient with them, and they also detested me.
It was annulled on that day, and so the oppressed of the flock[fn] who were watching me knew that it was the word of the LORD.
A pronouncement:
The word of the LORD concerning Israel.
A declaration of the LORD,
who stretched out the heavens,
laid the foundation of the earth,
and formed the spirit of man within him.
“Look, I will make Jerusalem a cup that causes staggering for the peoples who surround the city. The siege against Jerusalem will also involve Judah.
“On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who try to lift it will injure themselves severely when all the nations of the earth gather against her.
“On that day” — this is the LORD's declaration — “I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness. I will keep a watchful eye on the house of Judah but strike all the horses of the nations with blindness.
“Then each of the leaders of Judah will think to himself: The residents of Jerusalem are my strength through the LORD of Armies, their God.
“On that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves; they will consume all the peoples around them on the right and the left, while Jerusalem continues to be inhabited on its site, in Jerusalem.
“On that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that on that day the one who is weakest among them will be like David on that day, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the LORD, before them.
“On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning of Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.
“On that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the residents of Jerusalem, to wash away sin and impurity.
“On that day” — this is the declaration of the LORD of Armies — “I will remove the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered. I will banish the prophets[fn] and the unclean spirit from the land.
“If a man still prophesies, his father and his mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You cannot remain alive because you have spoken a lie in the name of the LORD.' When he prophesies, his father and his mother who bore him will pierce him through.
“On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies; they will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive.
“If someone asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your chest?'[fn] — then he will answer, ‘I received the wounds in the house of my friends.'
“In the whole land —
this is the LORD's declaration —
two-thirds[fn] will be cut off and die,
but a third will be left in it.
Look, a day belonging to the LORD is coming when the plunder taken from you will be divided in your presence.
I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem for battle. The city will be captured, the houses looted, and the women raped. Half the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be removed from the city.
Then the LORD will go out to fight against those nations as he fights on a day of battle.
On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. The Mount of Olives will be split in half from east to west, forming a huge valley, so that half the mountain will move to the north and half to the south.
On that day the LORD will become King over the whole earth — the LORD alone, and his name alone.
People will live there, and never again will there be a curse of complete destruction. So Jerusalem will dwell in security.
This will be the plague with which the LORD strikes all the people who have warred against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.
On that day a great panic from the LORD will be among them, so that each will seize the hand of another, and the hand of one will rise against the other.
Judah will also fight at Jerusalem, and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected: gold, silver, and clothing in great abundance.
The same plague as the previous one will strike[fn] the horses, mules, camels, donkeys, and all the animals that are in those camps.
On that day, the words Holy to the LORD will be on the bells of the horses. The pots in the house of the LORD will be like the sprinkling basins before the altar.
Every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the LORD of Armies. All who sacrifice will come and use the pots to cook in. And on that day there will no longer be a Canaanite[fn] in the house of the LORD of Armies.
“I have loved you,” says the LORD.
Yet you ask, “How have you loved us? ”
“Wasn't Esau Jacob's brother? ” This is the LORD's declaration. “Even so, I loved Jacob,
“A son honors his father, and a servant his master. But if I am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is your fear of me? says the LORD of Armies to you priests, who despise my name.”
Yet you ask, “How have we despised your name? ”
“By presenting defiled food on my altar.”
“How have we defiled you? ” you ask.
When you say, “The LORD's table is contemptible.”
“And now plead for God's favor. Will he be gracious to us? Since this has come from your hands, will he show any of you favor? ” asks the LORD of Armies.
“I wish one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would no longer kindle a useless fire on my altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the LORD of Armies, “and I will accept no offering from your hands.
“But you are profaning it when you say, ‘The Lord's table is defiled, and its product, its food, is contemptible.'
“The deceiver is cursed who has an acceptable male in his flock and makes a vow but sacrifices a defective animal to the Lord. For I am a great King,” says the LORD of Armies, “and my name will be feared among the nations.
“If you don't listen, and if you don't take it to heart to honor my name,” says the LORD of Armies, “I will send a curse among you, and I will curse your blessings. In fact, I have already begun to curse them because you are not taking it to heart.
“My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave these to him; it called for reverence, and he revered me and stood in awe of my name.
“True instruction was in his mouth, and nothing wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and integrity and turned many from iniquity.
“You, on the other hand, have turned from the way. You have caused many to stumble by your instruction. You have violated[fn] the covenant of Levi,” says the LORD of Armies.
“So I in turn have made you despised and humiliated before all the people because you are not keeping my ways but are showing partiality in your instruction.”
You have wearied the LORD with your words.
Yet you ask, “How have we wearied him? ”
When you say, “Everyone who does what is evil is good in the LORD's sight, and he is delighted with them, or else where is the God of justice? ”
But who can endure the day of his coming? And who will be able to stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire and like launderer's bleach.[fn]
He will be like a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will present offerings to the LORD in righteousness.
“I will come to you in judgment, and I will be ready to witness against sorcerers and adulterers; against those who swear falsely; against those who oppress the hired worker, the widow, and the fatherless; and against those who deny justice to the resident alien. They do not fear me,” says the LORD of Armies.
“Since the days of your ancestors, you have turned from my statutes; you have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD of Armies.
Yet you ask, “How can we return? ”
“Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing me! ”
“How do we rob you? ” you ask.
“By not making the payments of the tenth and the contributions.
“Bring the full tenth into the storehouse so that there may be food in my house. Test me in this way,” says the LORD of Armies. “See if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out a blessing for you without measure.
“I will rebuke the devourer[fn] for you, so that it will not ruin the produce of your land and your vine in your field will not fail to produce fruit,” says the LORD of Armies.
“Your words against me are harsh,” says the LORD.
Yet you ask, “What have we spoken against you? ”
“But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings, and you will go out and playfully jump like calves from the stall.[fn]
“You will trample the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day I am preparing,” says the LORD of Armies.
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None — Jhn 1:1 KJVSquare — [Jhn 1:1 KJV]Curly — {Jhn 1:1 KJV}Parens — (Jhn 1:1 KJV) |
|
Paragraph Order:
Verse-ReferenceReference-VerseReference-Only |
Number Delimiters:*
No NumberNo Delimiter — 15Square — [15]Curly — {15}Parens — (15) |
|
Other Options:
Abbreviate BooksUse SBL Abbrev.En dash not Hyphen |
Quotes Around VersesRemove Square BracketsSort Canonically |
* 'Number Delimiters' only apply to 'Paragraph Order'
Translations available: King James Version, New King James Version, New Living Translation, New International Version, English Standard Version, Christian Standard Bible, New American Standard Bible 2020, New American Standard Bible 1995, Legacy Standard Bible 2021, New English Translation, Revised Standard Version, American Standard Version, Young's Literal Translation, Darby Translation, Webster's Bible, Hebrew Names Version, Reina-Valera 1960, Latin Vulgate, Westminster Leningrad Codex, Septuagint, Morphological Greek New Testament, and Textus Receptus.
Note: MLA no longer requires the URL as part of their citation standard. Individual instructors or editors may still require the use of URLs.
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