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“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.”
“The fear and terror of you will be in every living creature on the earth, every bird of the sky, every creature that crawls on the ground, and all the fish of the sea. They are placed under your authority.
“And I will require a penalty for your lifeblood;[fn] I will require it from any animal and from any human; if someone murders a fellow human, I will require that person's life.
“Understand that I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you,
“and with every living creature that is with you — birds, livestock, and all wildlife of the earth that are with you — all the animals of the earth that came out of the ark.
And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all future generations:
“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.
“This is my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you, which you are to keep: Every one of your males must be circumcised.
“You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskin to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and you.[fn]
“Throughout your generations, every male among you is to be circumcised at eight days old — every male born in your household or purchased from any foreigner and not your offspring.
“Whether born in your household or purchased, he must be circumcised. My covenant will be marked in your flesh as a permanent covenant.
“Let a little water be brought, that you may wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree.
“I will bring a bit of bread so that you may strengthen yourselves. This is why you have passed your servant's way. Later, you can continue on.”
“Yes,” they replied, “do as you have said.”
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.”
“I am an alien residing among you. Give me burial property among you so that I can bury my dead.”[fn]
He said to them, “If you are willing for me to bury my dead, listen to me and ask Ephron son of Zohar on my behalf
Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me? You hated me and sent me away from you.”
“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? ”
He said to them, “I can see from your father's face that his attitude toward me is not the same as before, but the God of my father has been with me.
“and that he has cheated me and changed my wages ten times. But God has not let him harm me.
Hamor said to Jacob's sons, “My son Shechem has his heart set on your[fn] daughter. Please give her to him as a wife.
“Intermarry with us; give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves.
“Live with us. The land is before you. Settle here, move about, and acquire property in it.”
Then Shechem said to Dinah's father and brothers, “Grant me this favor,[fn] and I'll give you whatever you say.
“We will agree with you only on this condition: if all your males are circumcised as we are.
“Then we will give you our daughters, take your daughters for ourselves, live with you, and become one people.
So Jacob said to his family and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you. Purify yourselves and change your clothes.
“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.”
So he asked Pharaoh's officers who were in custody with him in his master's house, “Why do you look so sad today? ”
“This is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here.
“Send one from among you to get your brother. The rest of you will be imprisoned so that your words can be tested to see if they are true. If they are not, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies! ”
“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.
“Bring your youngest brother to me so that your words can be confirmed; then you won't die.” And they consented to this.
“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.
“Bring back your youngest brother to me, and I will know that you are not spies but honest men. I will then give your brother back to you, and you can trade in the country.' ”
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.”
But Judah said to him, “The man specifically warned us, ‘You will not see me again unless your brother is with you.'
“But if you will not send him, we will not go, for the man said to us, ‘You will not see me again unless your brother is with you.' ”
They answered, “The man kept asking about us and our family: ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother? ' And we answered him accordingly. How could we know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother here'? ”
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.
“May God Almighty cause the man to be merciful to you so that he will release your other brother and Benjamin to you. As for me, if I am deprived of my sons, then I am deprived.”
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.
He asked if they were well, and he said, “How is your elderly father that you told me about? Is he still alive? ”
When he looked up and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, he asked, “Is this your youngest brother that you told me about? ” Then he said, “May God be gracious to you, my son.”
Then Joseph said, “I swear that I will not do this. The man in whose possession the cup was found will be my slave. The rest of you can go in peace to your father.”
“Then you said to your servants, ‘If your younger brother does not come down with you, you will not see me again.'
Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Please, come near me,” and they came near. “I am Joseph, your brother,” he said, “the one you sold into Egypt.
“And now don't be grieved or angry with yourselves for selling me here, because God sent me ahead of you to preserve life.
“God sent me ahead of you to establish you as a remnant within the land and to keep you alive by a great deliverance.[fn]
Look! Your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin can see that I'm[fn] the one speaking to you.
Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘Do this: Load your animals and go on back to the land of Canaan.
“Get your father and your families, and come back to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you can eat from the richness of the land.'
“You are also commanded to tell them, ‘Do this: Take wagons from the land of Egypt for your dependents and your wives and bring your father here.
“Do not be concerned about your belongings, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.' ”
And Pharaoh asked his brothers, “What is your occupation? ”
They said to Pharaoh, “Your servants, both we and our ancestors, are shepherds.”
But Joseph said, “Give me your livestock. Since the silver is gone, I will give you food in exchange for your livestock.”
Joseph said to the people, “Understand today that I have acquired you and your land for Pharaoh. Here is seed for you. Sow it in the 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 said to Joseph, “Look, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you back to the land of your fathers.
When the days of mourning were over, Joseph said to Pharaoh's household, “If I have found favor with you, please tell Pharaoh that
“Therefore don't be afraid. I will take care of you and your children.” And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.[fn]
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.”
Then Moses asked God, “If I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,' and they ask me, ‘What is his name? ' what should I tell them? ”
God also said to Moses, “Say this to the Israelites: The LORD, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is my name forever; this is how I am to be remembered in every generation.
“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.
“Each woman will ask her neighbor and any woman staying in her house for silver and gold jewelry, and clothing, and you will put them on your sons and daughters. So you will plunder the Egyptians.”
The king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why are you causing the people to neglect their work? Get to your labor! ”
“Go get straw yourselves wherever you can find it, but there will be no reduction at all in your workload.' ”
Then the Israelite foremen, whom Pharaoh's slave drivers had set over the people, were beaten and asked, “Why haven't you finished making your prescribed number of bricks yesterday or today, as you did before? ”
“Furthermore, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are forcing to work as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant.
“I will take you as my people, and I will be your God. You will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from the forced labor of the Egyptians.
“Pharaoh will not listen to you, but I will put my hand into Egypt and bring the military divisions of my people the Israelites out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment.
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 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.”
“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.”
So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. “Go, worship the LORD your God,” Pharaoh said. “But exactly who will be going? ”
He said to them, “The LORD would have to be with you if I would ever let you and your families go! Look out — you're heading for trouble.
Pharaoh urgently sent for Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you.
“Please forgive my sin once more and make an appeal to the LORD your God, so that he will just take this death away from me.”
Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, “Go, worship the LORD. Even your families may go with you; only your flocks and herds must stay behind.”
The LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not listen to you, so that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.”
“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.
“This day is to be a memorial for you, and you must celebrate it as a festival to the LORD. You are to celebrate it throughout your generations as a permanent statute.
“You must eat unleavened bread for seven days. On the first day you must remove yeast from your houses. Whoever eats what is leavened from the first day through the seventh day must be cut off from Israel.
“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.
Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go, select an animal from the flock according to your families, and slaughter the Passover animal.
“When the LORD passes through to strike Egypt and sees the blood on the lintel and the two doorposts, he will pass over the door and not let the destroyer enter your houses to strike you.
He summoned Moses and Aaron during the night and said, “Get out immediately from among my people, both you and the Israelites, and go, worship the LORD as you have said.
Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, because Joseph had made the Israelites swear a solemn oath, saying, “God will certainly come to your aid; then you must take my bones with you from this place.”
“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.”
Then Moses told Aaron, “Say to the entire Israelite community, ‘Come before the LORD, for he has heard your complaints.' ”
“I have heard the complaints of the Israelites. Tell them: At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will eat bread until you are full. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.”
“This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Gather as much of it as each person needs to eat. You may take two quarts[fn] per individual, according to the number of people each of you has in his tent.' ”
“Understand that the LORD has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he will give you two days' worth of bread. Each of you stay where you are; no one is to leave his place on the seventh day.”
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.' ”
Moses told Aaron, “Take a container and put two quarts[fn] of manna in it. Then place it before the LORD to be preserved throughout your generations.”
“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.
“My anger will burn, and I will kill you with the sword; then your wives will be widows and your children fatherless.
“Pay strict attention to everything I have said to you. You must not invoke the names of other gods; they must not be heard on your lips.[fn]
“Serve the LORD your God, and he[fn] will bless your bread and your water. I will remove illnesses from you.
He told the elders, “Wait here for us until we return to you. Aaron and Hur are here with you. Whoever has a dispute should go to them.”
“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.
“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.
“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.
“Take the atonement price[fn] from the Israelites and use it for the service of the tent of meeting. It will serve as a reminder for the Israelites before the LORD to atone for your lives.”
“Tell the Israelites: This will be my holy anointing oil throughout your generations.
“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.
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.”
“Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel — you swore to them by yourself and declared, ‘I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky and will give your offspring all this land that I have promised, and they will inherit it forever.' ”
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.”
The following day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a grave sin. Now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I will be able to atone for your sin.”
The LORD spoke to Moses: “Go up from here, you and the people you brought up from the land of Egypt, to the land I promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying: I will give it to your offspring.
For the LORD said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites: You are a stiff-necked people. If I went up with you for a single moment, I would destroy you. Now take off your jewelry, and I will decide what to do with you.”
“Observe what I command you today. I am going to drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hethites, Perizzites, Hivites,[fn] and Jebusites.
“Take up an offering among you for the LORD. Let everyone whose heart is willing bring this as the LORD's offering: gold, silver, and bronze;
“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When any of you brings an offering to the LORD from the livestock, you may bring your offering from the herd or the flock.
“You are to season each of your grain offerings with salt; you must not omit from your grain offering the salt of the covenant with your God. You are to present salt with each of your offerings.
“This is a permanent statute throughout your generations, wherever you live: you must not eat any fat or any blood.”
“Any male among Aaron's descendants may eat it. It is a permanent portion[fn] throughout your generations from the food offerings to the LORD. Anything that touches the offerings will become holy.”
“You are to give the right thigh to the priest as a contribution from your fellowship sacrifices.
“I have taken from the Israelites the breast of the presentation offering and the thigh of the contribution from their fellowship sacrifices, and have assigned them to the priest Aaron and to his sons as a permanent portion[fn] from the Israelites.”
“Do not go outside the entrance to the tent of meeting for seven days, until the time your days of ordination are completed, because it will take seven days to ordain you.[fn]
Moses summoned Mishael and Elzaphan, sons of Aaron's uncle Uzziel, and said to them, “Come here and carry your relatives away from the front of the sanctuary to a place outside the camp.”
Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not let your hair hang loose and do not tear your clothes, or else you will die, and the LORD will become angry with the whole community. However, your brothers, the whole house of Israel, may weep over the fire that the LORD caused.
“You and your sons are not to drink wine or beer when you enter the tent of meeting, or else you will die; this is a permanent statute throughout your generations.
“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.
“For I am the LORD, who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God, so you must be holy because I am holy.
“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.
“It is a Sabbath of complete rest for you, and you must practice self-denial; it is a permanent statute.
“They must no longer offer their sacrifices to the goat-demons that they have prostituted themselves with. This will be a permanent statute for them throughout their generations.
“For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have appointed it to you to make atonement on the altar for[fn] your lives, since it is the lifeblood that makes atonement.
“Therefore I say to the Israelites: None of you and no alien who resides among you may eat blood.
“You are to practice my ordinances and you are to keep my statutes by following them; I am the LORD your God.
“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.
“For the people who were in the land prior to you have committed all these detestable acts, and the land has become defiled.
“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.”
“Speak to the entire Israelite community and tell them: Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.
“Each of you is to respect his mother and father. You are to keep my Sabbaths; I am the LORD your God.
“Do not turn to worthless idols or make cast images of gods for yourselves; I am the LORD your God.
“When you offer a fellowship sacrifice to the LORD, sacrifice it so that you may be accepted.
“When you reap the harvest of your land, you are not to reap to the very edge of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.
“Do not strip your vineyard bare or gather its fallen grapes. Leave them for the poor and the resident alien; I am the LORD your God.
“Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but you are to fear your God; I am the LORD.
“Do not go about spreading slander among your people; do not jeopardize[fn] your neighbor's life; I am the LORD.
“When you come into the land and plant any kind of tree for food, you are to consider the fruit forbidden.[fn] It will be forbidden to you for three years; it is not to be eaten.
“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 cut off the hair at the sides of your head or mar the edge of your beard.
“You are not to make gashes on your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves; I am the LORD.
“You are to rise in the presence of the elderly and honor the old. Fear your God; 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.
“You must not follow the statutes of the nations I am driving out before you, for they did all these things, and I abhorred them.
“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.
“You are to be holy to me because I, the LORD, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be mine.
“You are to consider him holy since he presents the food of your God. He will be holy to you because I, the LORD who sets you apart, am holy.
“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.
“Say to them: If any man from any of your descendants throughout your generations is in a state of uncleanness yet approaches the holy offerings that the Israelites consecrate to the LORD, that person will be cut off from my presence; I am the LORD.
“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.
“You are not to present to the LORD anything that has bruised, crushed, torn, or severed testicles; you must not sacrifice them in your land.
“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.”
“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.
“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you enter the land I am giving you and reap its harvest,[fn] you are to bring the first sheaf of your harvest to the priest.
“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.
“Bring two loaves of bread from your settlements as a presentation offering, each of them made from four quarts of fine flour, baked with yeast, as firstfruits to the LORD.
“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.”
“The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. You are to hold a sacred assembly and practice self-denial; you are to present a food offering to the LORD.
“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.
“You are not to do any work. This is a permanent statute throughout your generations wherever you live.
“It will be a Sabbath of complete rest for you, and you must practice self-denial. You are to observe your Sabbath from the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening.”
“These are in addition to the offerings for the LORD's Sabbaths, your gifts, all your vow offerings, and all your freewill offerings that you give to the LORD.
“On the first day you are to take the product of majestic trees — palm fronds, boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook — and rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days.
“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.
“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.
“You are to have the same law for the resident alien and the native, because I am the LORD your God.”
“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.
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.
“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.
“For the Israelites are my servants. They are my servants that I brought out of the land of Egypt; I am the LORD your God.
“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.
“Your threshing will continue until grape harvest, and the grape harvest will continue until sowing time; you will have plenty of food to eat and live securely in your land.
“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.
“Five of you will pursue a hundred, and a hundred of you will pursue ten thousand; your enemies will fall before you by the sword.
“I will turn to you, make you fruitful and multiply you, and confirm my covenant with you.
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, so that you would no longer be their slaves. I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to live in freedom.[fn]
“if you reject my statutes and despise my ordinances, and do not observe all my commands — and break my covenant,
“then I will do this to you: I will bring terror on you — wasting disease and fever that will cause your eyes to fail and your life to ebb away. You will sow your seed in vain because your enemies will eat it.
“I will turn[fn] against you, so that you will be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee even though no one is pursuing you.
“But if after these things you will not obey me, I will proceed to discipline you seven times for your sins.
“I will break down your strong pride. I will make your sky like iron and your land like bronze,
“and your strength will be used up for nothing. Your land will not yield its produce, and the trees of the land will not bear their fruit.
“If you act with hostility toward me and are unwilling to obey me, I will multiply your plagues seven times for your sins.
“I will send wild animals against you that will deprive you of your children, ravage your livestock, and reduce your numbers until your roads are deserted.
“then I will act with hostility toward you; I also will strike you seven times for your sins.
“I will bring a sword against you to execute the vengeance of the covenant. Though you withdraw into your cities, I will send a pestilence among you, and you will be delivered into enemy hands.
“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 will destroy your high places, cut down your shrines,[fn] and heap your lifeless bodies on the lifeless bodies of your idols; I will reject you.
“I will reduce your cities to ruins and devastate your sanctuaries. I will not smell the pleasing aroma of your sacrifices.
“I also will devastate the land, so that your enemies who come to live there will be appalled by it.
“But I will scatter you among the nations, and I will draw a sword to chase after you. So your land will become desolate, and your cities will become ruins.
“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.
“A man from each tribe is to be with you, each one the head of his ancestral family.[fn]
“These are the names of the men who are to assist you:
Elizur son of Shedeur from Reuben;
“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.
“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.”
“The sons of Aaron, the priests, are to sound the trumpets. Your use of these is a permanent statute throughout your generations.
“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.”
“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? ' ”
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.
“How long must I endure this evil community that keeps complaining about me? I have heard the Israelites' complaints that they make against me.
“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.
“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.
“Don't go, because the LORD is not among you and you will be defeated by your enemies.
“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.”
“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you enter the land I am giving you to settle in,
“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.
“You are to offer a loaf from your first batch of dough as a contribution; offer it just like a contribution from the threshing floor.
“Throughout your generations, you are to give the LORD a contribution from the first batch of your dough.
“all that the LORD has commanded you through Moses, from the day the LORD issued the commands and onward throughout your generations —
“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.
“I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God; I am the LORD your God.”
The LORD said to Aaron, “You, your sons, and your ancestral family[fn] will be responsible for iniquity against the sanctuary. You and your sons will be responsible for iniquity involving your priesthood.
“Look, I have selected your fellow Levites from the Israelites as a gift for you, assigned by the LORD to work at the tent of meeting.
“But you and your sons will carry out your priestly responsibilities for everything concerning the altar and for what is inside the curtain, and you will do that work. I am giving you the work of the priesthood as a gift,[fn] but an unauthorized person who comes near the sanctuary will be put to death.”
“Your offering will be credited to you as if it were your grain from the threshing floor or the full harvest from the winepress.
“You are to present an offering to the LORD from every tenth you receive from the Israelites. Give some of it to the priest Aaron as an offering to the LORD.
“You must present the entire offering due the LORD from all your gifts. The best part of the tenth is to be consecrated.
“then you and your household may eat it anywhere. It is your wage in return for your work at the tent of meeting.
So Balaam got up the next morning and said to Balak's officials, “Go back to your land, because the LORD has refused to let me go with you.”
“You are to hold a sacred assembly on the tenth day of this seventh month and practice self-denial; do not do any work.
“Offer one male goat for a sin offering. The regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offerings are in addition to the sin offering of atonement.
“Offer these to the LORD at your appointed times in addition to your vow and freewill offerings, whether burnt, grain, drink, or fellowship offerings.”
So Moses spoke to the people, “Equip some of your men for war. They will go against Midian to inflict the LORD's vengeance on them.
“You are to remain outside the camp for seven days. All of you and your prisoners who have killed a person or touched the dead are to purify yourselves on the third day and the seventh day.
But Moses asked the Gadites and Reubenites, “Should your brothers go to war while you stay here?
“And here you, a brood of sinners, stand in your ancestors' place adding even more to the LORD's burning anger against Israel.
“and every one of your armed men crosses the Jordan before the LORD until he has driven his enemies from his presence,
“But if you don't do this, you will certainly sin against the LORD; be sure your sin will catch up with you.
“Build cities for your dependents and pens for your flocks, but do what you have promised.”
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.”
“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 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 instructions will be a statutory ordinance for you throughout your generations wherever you live.
“See, I have set the land before you. Enter and take possession of the land the LORD swore to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their future descendants.'
“The LORD your God has so multiplied you that today you are as numerous as the stars of the sky.
“May the LORD, the God of your ancestors, increase you a thousand times more, and bless you as he promised you.
“Appoint for yourselves wise, understanding, and respected men from each of your tribes, and I will make them your leaders.
“So I took the leaders of your tribes, wise and respected men, and set them over you as leaders: commanders for thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, and officers for your tribes.
“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.
“See, the LORD your God has set the land before you. Go up and take possession of it as the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has told you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.
“The plan seemed good to me, so I selected twelve men from among you, one man for each tribe.
“But you were not willing to go up. You rebelled against the command of the LORD your God.
“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.
“Where can we go? Our brothers have made us lose heart,[fn] saying: The people are larger and taller than we are; the cities are large, fortified to the heavens. We also saw the descendants of the Anakim there.'
“The LORD your God who goes before you will fight for you, just as you saw him do for you in Egypt.
“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.
“But the LORD said to me, ‘Tell them: Don't go up and fight, for I am not with you to keep you from being defeated by your enemies.'
“When you returned, you wept before the LORD, but he didn't listen to your requests or pay attention to you.
“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.
a great and numerous people, tall as the Anakim. The LORD destroyed the Rephaim at the advance of the Ammonites, so that they drove them out and settled in their place.
“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.
“But the LORD was angry with me because of you[fn] and would not listen to me. The LORD said to me, ‘That's enough! Do not speak to me again about this matter.
“Now, Israel, listen to the statutes and ordinances I am teaching you to follow, so that you may live, enter, and take possession of the land the LORD, the God of your ancestors, is giving you.
“You must not add anything to what I command you or take anything away from it, so that you may keep the commands of the LORD your God I am giving you.
“Your eyes have seen what the LORD did at Baal-peor, for the LORD your God destroyed every one of you who followed Baal of Peor.
“Carefully follow them, for this will show your wisdom and understanding in the eyes of the peoples. When they hear about all these statutes, they will say, ‘This great nation is indeed a wise and understanding people.'
“And what great nation has righteous statutes and ordinances like this entire law I set before you today?
“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.'
“Diligently watch yourselves — because you did not see any form on the day the LORD spoke to you out of the fire at Horeb —
“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.
“Be careful not to forget the covenant of the LORD your God that he made with you, and make an idol for yourselves in the shape of anything he has forbidden you.
“When you have children and grandchildren and have been in the land a long time, and if you act corruptly, make an idol in the form of anything, and do what is evil in the sight of the LORD your God, angering him,
“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.
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.
“He did not make this covenant with our ancestors, but with all of us who are alive here today.
“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:
“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.
“All of you approached me with your tribal leaders and elders when you heard the voice from the darkness and while the mountain was blazing with fire.
“The LORD heard your[fn] words when you spoke to me. He said to me, ‘I have heard the words that these people have spoken to you. Everything they have said is right.
“Do this so that you may fear the LORD your God all the days of your life by keeping all his statutes and commands I am giving you, your son, and your grandson, and so that you may have a long life.
“Do what is right and good in the LORD's sight, so that you may prosper and so that you may enter and possess the good land the LORD your God swore to give your ancestors,
“When the LORD your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess, and he drives out many nations before you — the Hethites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations more numerous and powerful than you —
“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.
“If you listen to and are careful to keep these ordinances, the LORD your God will keep his covenant loyalty with you, as he swore to your ancestors.
“He will hand their kings over to you, and you will wipe out their names under heaven. No one will be able to stand against you; you will annihilate them.
“Carefully follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase, and may enter and take possession of the land the LORD swore to your ancestors.
“Like the nations the LORD is about to destroy before you, you will perish if you do not obey the LORD your God.
“You are not going to take possession of their land because of your righteousness or your integrity. Instead, the LORD your God will drive out these nations before you because of their wickedness, in order to fulfill the promise he swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
“I saw how you had sinned against the LORD your God; you had made a calf image for yourselves. You had quickly turned from the way the LORD had commanded for you.
“So I took hold of the two tablets and threw them from my hands, shattering them before your eyes.
“I fell down like the first time in the presence of the LORD for forty days and forty nights; I did not eat food or drink water because of all the sin you committed, doing what was evil in the LORD's sight and angering him.
“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.
“When the LORD sent you from Kadesh-barnea, he said, ‘Go up and possess the land I have given you'; you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God. You did not believe or obey him.
“Yet the LORD had his heart set on your ancestors and loved them. He chose their descendants after them — he chose you out of all the peoples, as it is today.
“For the LORD your God is the God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, mighty, and awe-inspiring God, showing no partiality and taking no bribe.
“Understand today that it is not your children who experienced or saw the discipline of the LORD your God:
His greatness, strong hand, and outstretched arm;
“what he did to Egypt's army, its horses and chariots, when he made the water of the Red Sea flow over them as they pursued you, and he destroyed them completely;[fn]
“and so that you may live long in the land the LORD swore to your ancestors to give them and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey.
“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.
“so that as long as the heavens are above the earth, your days and those of your children may be many in the land the LORD swore to give your ancestors.
“the LORD will drive out all these nations before you, and you will drive out nations greater and stronger than you are.
“Every place the sole of your foot treads will be yours. Your territory will extend from the wilderness to Lebanon and from the Euphrates River[fn] to the Mediterranean Sea.
“No one will be able to stand against you; the LORD your God will put fear and dread of you in all the land where you set foot, as he has promised you.
“there will be a blessing, if you obey the commands of the LORD your God I am giving you today,
“and a curse, if you do not obey the commands of the LORD your God and you turn aside from the path I command you today by following other gods you have not known.
“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.
“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 are to bring there your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tenths and personal contributions,[fn] your vow offerings and freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks.
“You will eat there in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice with your household in everything you do,[fn] because the LORD your God has blessed you.
“Indeed, you have not yet come into the resting place and the inheritance the LORD your God is giving you.
“When you cross the Jordan and live in the land the LORD your God is giving you to inherit, and he gives you rest from all the enemies around you and you live in security,
“then the LORD your God will choose the place to have his name dwell. Bring there everything I command you: your burnt offerings, sacrifices, offerings of the tenth, personal contributions,[fn] and all your choice offerings you vow to the LORD.
“You will rejoice before the LORD your God — you, your sons and daughters, your male and female slaves, and the Levite who is within your city gates, since he has no portion or inheritance among you.
“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,
“do not listen to that prophet's words or to that dreamer. For the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and all your soul.
“You must follow the LORD your God and fear him. You must keep his commands and listen to him; you must worship him and remain faithful[fn] to him.
“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.
“any of the gods of the peoples around you, near you or far from you, from one end of the earth to the other —
“that wicked men have sprung up among you, led the inhabitants of their city astray, and said, ‘Let's go and worship other gods,' which you have not known,
“You are sons of the LORD your God; do not cut yourselves or make a bald spot on your head[fn] on behalf of the dead,
“if only you obey the LORD your God and are careful to follow every one of these commands I am giving you today.
“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.
“Everyone must appear with a gift suited to his means, according to the blessing the LORD your God has given you.
“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.
“When a Levite leaves one of your towns in Israel where he was staying and wants to go to the place the LORD chooses,
“you must do to him as he intended to do to his brother. You must purge the evil from you.
“He is to say to them, ‘Listen, Israel: Today you are about to engage in battle with your enemies. Do not be cowardly. Do not be afraid, alarmed, or terrified because of them.
“For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.'
“so that they won't teach you to do all the detestable acts they do for their gods, and you sin against the LORD your God.
“You must purge from yourselves the guilt of shedding innocent blood, for you will be doing what is right in the LORD's sight.
“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.
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.
“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.
“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.
“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.
“If a man is discovered kidnapping one of his Israelite brothers, whether he treats him as a slave or sells him, the kidnapper must die. You must purge the evil from you.
“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.
“Now if you faithfully obey the LORD your God and are careful to follow all his commands I am giving you today, the LORD your God will put you far above all the nations of the earth.
“Your corpses will be food for all the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the earth, with no one to scare them away.
“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.
“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.”
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;
“you did not eat food or drink wine or beer — so that you might know that I am the LORD your God.
“All of you are standing today before the LORD your God — your leaders, tribes, elders, officials, all the men of Israel,
“your dependents, your wives, and the resident aliens in your camps who cut your wood and draw your water —
“but also with those who are standing here with us today in the presence of the LORD our God and with those who are not here today.
“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.
“Future generations of your children who follow you and the foreigner who comes from a distant country will see the plagues of that land and the sicknesses the LORD has inflicted on it.
“I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live,
“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.”
“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.
“Then their children who do not know the law will listen and learn to fear the LORD your God as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”
“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 how rebellious and stiff-necked you are. If you are rebelling against the LORD now, while I am still alive, how much more will you rebel after I am dead!
“Assemble all your tribal elders and officers before me so that I may speak these words directly to them and call heaven and earth as witnesses against them.
“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 said to them, “Take to heart all these words I am giving as a warning to you today, so that you may command your children to follow all the words of this law carefully.
“For they are not meaningless words to you but they are your life, and by them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”
The LORD then said to him, “This is the land I promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, ‘I will give it to your descendants.' I have let you see it with your own eyes, but you will not cross into it.”
“I have given you every place where the sole of your foot treads, just as I promised Moses.
“Your territory will be from the wilderness and Lebanon to the great river, the Euphrates River — all the land of the Hittites — and west to the Mediterranean Sea.
“No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. I will be with you, just as I was with Moses. I will not leave you or abandon you.
“Be strong and courageous, for you will distribute the land I swore to their ancestors to give them as an inheritance.
“Go through the camp and tell the people, ‘Get provisions ready for yourselves, for within three days you will be crossing the Jordan to go in and take possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you to inherit.' ”
“Remember what Moses the LORD's servant commanded you when he said, ‘The LORD your God will give you rest, and he will give you this land.'
“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
“until the LORD gives your brothers rest, as he has given you, and they too possess the land the LORD your God is giving them. You may then return to the land of your inheritance and take possession of what Moses the LORD's servant gave you on the east side of the Jordan.”
and said to them, “I know that the LORD has given you this land and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and everyone who lives in the land is panicking because of you.[fn]
“For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings you completely destroyed across the Jordan.
“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.
The men answered her, “We will give our lives for yours. If you don't report our mission, we will show kindness and faithfulness to you when the LORD gives us the land.”
“Go to the hill country so that the men pursuing you won't find you,” she said to them. “Hide there for three days until they return; afterward, go on your way.”
“Let it be as you say,” she replied, and she sent them away. After they had gone, she tied the scarlet cord to the window.
and commanded the people, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God carried by the Levitical priests, you are to break camp and follow it.
“But keep a distance of about a thousand yards[fn] between yourselves and the ark. Don't go near it, so that you can see the way to go, for you haven't traveled this way before.”
“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.”
and he said to the Israelites, “In the future, when your children ask their fathers, ‘What is the meaning of these stones? '
“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.”
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.
But Joshua had commanded the troops, “Do not shout or let your voice be heard. Don't let one word come out of your mouth until the time I say, ‘Shout! ' Then you are to shout.”
“This is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies. They will turn their backs and run from their enemies, because they have been set apart for destruction. I will no longer be with you unless you remove from among you what is set apart.
“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.
“Therefore you are cursed and will always be slaves — woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.”
The Gibeonites answered him, “It was clearly communicated to your servants that the LORD your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land before you. We greatly feared for our lives because of you, and that is why we did this.
The LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for I have handed them over to you. Not one of them will be able to stand against you.”
“But as for the rest of you, don't stay there. Pursue your enemies and attack them from behind. Don't let them enter their cities, for the LORD your God has handed them over to you.”
When they had brought the kings to him, Joshua summoned all the men of Israel and said to the military commanders who had accompanied him, “Come here and put your feet on the necks of these kings.” So the commanders came forward and put their feet on their necks.
Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid or discouraged. Be strong and courageous, for the LORD will do this to all the enemies you fight.”
“Appoint for yourselves three men from each tribe, and I will send them out. They are to go and survey the land, write a description of it for the purpose of their inheritance, and return to me.
“You have not deserted your brothers even once this whole time but have carried out the requirement of the command of the LORD your God.
“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.
“Only carefully obey the command and instruction that Moses the LORD's servant gave you: to love the LORD your God, walk in all his ways, keep his commands, be loyal to him, and serve him with all your heart and all your soul.”
“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.
“We actually did this from a specific concern that in the future your descendants might say to our descendants, ‘What relationship do you have with the LORD, the God of Israel?
“For the LORD has made the Jordan a border between us and you descendants of Reuben and Gad. You have no share in the LORD! ' So your descendants may cause our descendants to stop fearing 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 thought that if they said this to us or to our generations in the future, we would reply: Look at the replica of the LORD's altar that our ancestors made, not for burnt offering or sacrifice, but as a witness between us and you.
“and you have seen for yourselves everything the LORD your God did to all these nations on your account, because it was the LORD your God who was fighting for you.
“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.
“The LORD your God will force them back on your account and drive them out before you so that you can take possession of their land, as the LORD your God promised you.
“The LORD has driven out great and powerful nations before you, and no one is able to stand against you to this day.
“One of you routed a thousand because the LORD your God was fighting for you, as he promised.[fn]
“If you ever turn away and become loyal to the rest of these nations remaining among you, and if you intermarry or associate with them and they with you,
“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.
“I am now going the way of the whole earth, and you know with all your heart and all your soul that none of the good promises the LORD your God made to you has failed. Everything was fulfilled for you; not one promise has failed.
“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.”
Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your ancestors, including Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods.
“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,
“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.
“ ‘Later, I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived beyond the Jordan. They fought against you, but I handed them over to you. You possessed their land, and I annihilated them before you.
“ ‘You then crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. Jericho's citizens — as well as the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hethites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites — fought against you, but I handed them over to you.
“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.
“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.”
But Joshua told the people, “You will not be able to worship the LORD, because he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions and sins.
Joshua then told the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you yourselves have chosen to worship the LORD.”
“We are witnesses,” they said.
“Then get rid of the foreign gods that are among you and turn your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.”
The angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim and said, “I brought you out of Egypt and led you into the land I had promised to your ancestors. I also said: I will never break my covenant with you.
“Therefore, I now say: I will not drive out these people before you. They will be thorns[fn] in your sides, and their gods will be a trap for you.”
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.
“I rescued you from the power of Egypt and the power of all who oppressed you. I drove them out before you and gave you their land.
“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.' ”
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.”
“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.
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! ”
But Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the LORD will rule over you.”
Then he said to them, “Let me make a request of you: Everyone give me an earring from his plunder.” Now the enemy had gold earrings because they were Ishmaelites.
“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]
When they told Jotham, he climbed to the top of Mount Gerizim, raised his voice, and called to them:
Listen to me, citizens of Shechem,
and may God listen to you:
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.”
“and now you have attacked my father's family today, killed his seventy sons on top of a large stone, and made Abimelech, the son of his slave woman, king over the citizens of Shechem ‘because he is your brother' —
“Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them deliver you whenever you are oppressed.”
Jephthah replied to the elders of Gilead, “Didn't you hate me and drive me out of my father's family? Why then have you come to me now when you're in trouble? ”
Then Samson told them, “Because you did this, I swear that I won't rest until I have taken vengeance on you.”
The priest told them, “Go in peace. The LORD is watching over the journey you are going on.”
“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.”
The man got up to go with his concubine and his servant, when his father-in-law, the girl's father, said to him, “Look, night is coming. Please spend the night. See, the day is almost over. Spend the night here, enjoy yourself, then you can get up early tomorrow for your journey and go home.”
“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.”
Later, when Boaz arrived from Bethlehem, he said to the harvesters, “The LORD be with you.”
“The LORD bless you,” they replied.
Do not boast so proudly,
or let arrogant words come out of your mouth,
for the LORD is a God of knowledge,
and actions are weighed by him.
They replied, “If you send the ark of Israel's God away, do not send it without an offering. Send back a guilt offering to him, and you will be healed. Then the reason his hand hasn't been removed from you will be revealed.”[fn]
They asked, “What guilt offering should we send back to him? ”
And they answered, “Five gold tumors and five gold mice corresponding to the number of Philistine rulers, since there was one plague for both you[fn] and your rulers.
“Make images of your tumors and of your mice that are destroying the land. Give glory to Israel's God, and perhaps he will stop oppressing you,[fn] your gods, and your land.
“Why harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened theirs? When he afflicted them, didn't they send Israel away, and Israel left?
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.”
Samuel said, “Gather all Israel at Mizpah, and I will pray to the LORD on your behalf.”
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.
“He can take your best fields, vineyards, and olive orchards and give them to his servants.
“He can take a tenth of your grain and your vineyards and give them to his officials and servants.
“He can take your male servants, your female servants, your best cattle,[fn] and your donkeys and use them for his work.
“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.”
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.
“But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your troubles and afflictions. You said to him, ‘You[fn] must set a king over us.' Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and clans.”
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.”
Then the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Tomorrow we will come out, and you can do whatever you want to us.”
Then Samuel said to all Israel, “I have carefully listened to everything you said to me and placed a king over you.
“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.
“Here I am. Bring charges against me before the LORD and his anointed: Whose ox or donkey have I taken? Who have I wronged or mistreated? Who gave me a bribe to overlook something?[fn] I will return it to you.”
“Now present yourselves, so I may confront you before the LORD about all the righteous acts he has done for you and your ancestors.
“So the LORD sent Jerubbaal, Barak,[fn] Jephthah, and Samuel. He rescued you from the power of the enemies around you, and you lived securely.
“If you fear the LORD, worship and obey him, and if you don't rebel against the LORD's command, then both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the LORD your God.
“However, if you disobey the LORD and rebel against his command, the LORD's hand will be against you as it was against your ancestors.[fn]
“Now, therefore, present yourselves and see this great thing that the LORD will do before your eyes.
“Isn't the wheat harvest today? I will call on the LORD, and he will send thunder and rain so that you will recognize what an immense evil you committed in the LORD's sight by requesting a king for yourselves.”
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.
“As for me, I vow that I will not sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you. I will teach you the good and right way.
“Above all, fear the LORD and worship him faithfully with all your heart; consider the great things he has done for you.
“However, if you continue to do what is evil, both you and your king will be swept away.”
So Saul said to the troops with him, “Call the roll and determine who has left us.” They called the roll and saw that Jonathan and his armor-bearer were gone.
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.”
“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.”
Then she said to her male servants, “Go ahead of me. I will be right behind you.” But she did not tell her husband, Nabal.
“What you have done is not good. As the LORD lives, all of you deserve to die[fn] since you didn't protect your lord, the LORD's anointed. Now look around; where are the king's spear and water jug that were by his head? ”
“Who can agree to your proposal? The share of the one who goes into battle is to be the same as the share of the one who remains with the supplies. They will share equally.”
Daughters of Israel, weep for Saul,
who clothed you in scarlet, with luxurious things,
who decked your garments with gold ornaments.
David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead and said to them, “The LORD bless you because you have shown this kindness to Saul your lord when you buried him.
“Now, may the LORD show kindness and faithfulness to you, and I will also show the same goodness to you because you have done this deed.
“Therefore, be strong[fn] and valiant, for though Saul your lord is dead, the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.”
Abner conferred with the elders of Israel: “In the past you wanted David to be king over you.
David then ordered Joab and all the people who were with him, “Tear your clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourn over Abner.” And King David walked behind the coffin.[fn]
“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? ”
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.”
“Now the whole clan has risen up against your servant and said, ‘Hand over the one who killed his brother so we may put him to death for the life of the brother he murdered. We will eliminate the heir! ' They would extinguish my one remaining ember by not preserving my husband's name or posterity on earth.”
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.”
After they had gone, Ahimaaz and Jonathan climbed out of the well and went and informed King David. They told him, “Get up and immediately ford the river, for Ahithophel has given this advice against you.”
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.”
“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.
The king said to them, “Take my servants with you, have my son Solomon ride on my own mule, and take him down to Gihon.
If you or your sons turn away from following me and do not keep my commands — my statutes that I have set before you — and if you go and serve other gods and bow in worship to them,
from the nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, and they must not intermarry with you, because they will turn your heart away to follow their gods.” To these women Solomon was deeply attached[fn] in love.
“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]
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.”
“‘This is what the LORD says: You are not to march up and fight against your brothers, the Israelites. Each of you return home, for this situation is from me.' ”
So they listened to the word of the LORD and went back according to the word of the LORD.
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 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.
“For the LORD says, ‘You will not see wind or rain, but the wadi will be filled with water, and you will drink — you and your cattle and your animals.'
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.”
Your master's sons are with you, and you have chariots, horses, a fortified city, and weaponry, so when this letter arrives
select the most qualified[fn] of your master's sons, set him on his father's throne, and fight for your master's house.
Then Jehu wrote them a second letter, saying:
If you are on my side, and if you will obey me, bring me the heads of your master's sons[fn] at this time tomorrow at Jezreel.
All seventy of the king's sons were being cared for by the city's prominent men.
Then Jehu and Jehonadab son of Rechab entered the temple of Baal, and Jehu said to the servants of Baal, “Look carefully to see that there are no servants of the LORD here among you — only servants of Baal.”
Then they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings.
Now Jehu had stationed eighty men outside, and he warned them, “Whoever allows any of the men I am placing in your hands to escape will forfeit his life for theirs.”
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.
So King Joash called the priest Jehoiada and the other priests and asked, “Why haven't you repaired the temple's damage? Since you haven't, don't take any silver from your assessors; instead, hand it over for the repair of the temple.”
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.”
But the royal spokesman said to them, “Has my master sent me to speak these words only to your master and to you? Hasn't he also sent me to the men who sit on the wall, destined with you to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine? ”
“until I come and take you away to a land like your own land — a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey — so that you may live and not die. But don't listen to Hezekiah when he misleads you, saying, “The LORD will rescue us.”
who said to them, “Tell your master, ‘The LORD says this: Don't be afraid because of the words you have heard, with which the king of Assyria's attendants have blasphemed me.
He said to them, “You are the heads of the Levite families. You and your relatives must consecrate yourselves so that you may bring the ark of the LORD God of Israel to the place I have prepared for it.
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 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.
“Now determine in your mind and heart to seek the LORD your God. Get started building the LORD God's sanctuary so that you may bring the ark of the LORD's covenant and the holy articles of God to the temple that is to be built for the name of the LORD.”
“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.
Then David said to the whole assembly, “Blessed be the LORD your God.” So the whole assembly praised the LORD God of their ancestors. They knelt low and paid homage to the LORD and the king.
However, if you turn away and abandon my statutes and my commands that I have set before you and if you go and serve other gods and bow in worship to them,
“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.”
“‘This is what the LORD says: You are not to march up and fight against your brothers. Each of you return home, for this incident has come from me.' ”
So they listened to what the LORD said and turned back from going against Jeroboam.
“And now you are saying you can assert yourselves against the LORD's kingdom, which is in the hand of one of David's sons. You are a vast number and have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made for you as gods.[fn]
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.
So he went to the king, and the king asked him, “Micaiah, should we go to Ramoth-gilead for war, or should I[fn] refrain? ”
Micaiah said, “March up and succeed, for they will be handed over to you.”
Then he said to the judges, “Consider what you are doing, for you do not judge for a man, but for the LORD, who is with you in the matter of judgment.
“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.
“Note that Amariah, the chief priest, is over you in all matters related to the LORD, and Zebadiah son of Ishmael, the ruler of the house of Judah, in all matters related to the king, and the Levites are officers in your presence. Be strong; may the LORD be with those who do what is good.”
“You do not have to fight this battle. Position yourselves, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD. He is with you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Tomorrow, go out to face them, for the LORD is with you.' ”
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.”
“This is what you are to do: a third of you, priests and Levites who are coming on duty on the Sabbath, are to be gatekeepers.
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.
“Now you plan to reduce the people of Judah and Jerusalem, male and female, to slavery. Are you not also guilty before the LORD your God?
“Listen to me and return the captives you took from your brothers, for the LORD's burning anger is on you.”
He said to them, “Hear me, Levites. Consecrate yourselves now and consecrate the temple of the LORD, the God of your ancestors. Remove everything impure from the holy place.
“Therefore, the wrath of the LORD was on Judah and Jerusalem, and he made them an object of terror, horror, and mockery,[fn] as you see with your own eyes.
“Our fathers fell by the sword, and our sons, our daughters, and our wives are in captivity because of this.
Hezekiah concluded, “Now you are consecrated[fn] to the LORD. Come near and bring sacrifices and thanksgiving offerings to the LORD's temple.” So the congregation brought sacrifices and thanksgiving offerings, and all those with willing hearts brought burnt offerings.
“Don't be like your ancestors and your brothers who were unfaithful to the LORD, the God of their ancestors so that he made them an object of horror as you yourselves see.
“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.”
“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?
“So now, don't let Hezekiah deceive you, and don't let him mislead you like this. Don't believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to rescue his people from my power or the power of my predecessors. How much less will your God rescue you from my power! ' ”
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.
“Organize your ancestral families[fn] by your divisions according to the written instruction of King David of Israel and that of his son Solomon.
“Slaughter the Passover lambs, consecrate yourselves, and make preparations for your brothers to carry out the word of the LORD through Moses.”
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.
they approached Zerubbabel and the family heads and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we also worship your God and have been sacrificing to him[fn] since the time King Esar-haddon of Assyria brought us here.”
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.
Then I said to them, “You are holy to the LORD, and the articles are holy. The silver and gold are a freewill offering to the LORD God of your ancestors.
“So do not give your daughters to their sons in marriage or take their daughters for your sons. Never pursue their welfare or prosperity, so that you will be strong, eat the good things of the land, and leave it as an inheritance to your sons forever.”
“Therefore, make a confession to the LORD, the God of your ancestors, and do his will. Separate yourselves from the surrounding peoples and your foreign wives.”
“But if you return to me and carefully observe my commands, even though your exiles were banished to the farthest horizon,[fn] I will gather them from there and bring them to the place where I chose to have my name dwell.”
After I made an inspection, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “Don't be afraid of them. Remember the great and awe-inspiring Lord, and fight for your countrymen, your sons and daughters, your wives and homes.”
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 he said to them, “Go and eat what is rich, drink what is sweet, and send portions to those who have nothing prepared, since today is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, because the joy of the LORD is your strength.”[fn]
Then the Levites — Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah — said, “Stand up. Blessed be the LORD your God from everlasting to everlasting.”
Blessed be your glorious name,
and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise.
“Didn't your ancestors do the same, so that our God brought all this disaster on us and on this city? And now you are rekindling his anger against Israel by profaning 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!
“Why then should we hear about you doing all this terrible evil and acting unfaithfully against our God by marrying foreign women? ”
Do you think that you can disprove my words
or that a despairing man's words are mere wind?
No doubt you would cast lots for a fatherless child
and negotiate a price to sell your friend.
If you were in my place I could also talk like you.
I could string words together against you
and shake my head at you.
Look, I waited for your conclusions;
I listened to your insights
as you sought for words.
I paid close attention to you.
Yet no one proved Job wrong;
not one of you refuted his arguments.
“Now take seven bulls and seven rams, go to my servant Job, and offer a burnt offering for yourselves. Then my servant Job will pray for you. I will surely accept his prayer and not deal with you as your folly deserves. For you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.”
Be angry[fn] and do not sin;
reflect in your heart while on your bed and be silent.Selah
Lift up your heads, you gates!
Rise up, ancient doors!
Then the King of glory will come in.
Lift up your heads, you gates!
Rise up, ancient doors!
Then the King of glory will come in.
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]
Trust in him at all times, you people;
pour out your hearts before him.
God is our refuge.Selah
Make and keep your vows
to the LORD your God;
let all who are around him bring tribute
to the awe-inspiring one.[fn]
“Then they will call me, but I won't answer;
they will search for me, but won't find me.
Your land is desolate,
your cities burned down;
foreigners devour your fields
right in front of you —
a desolation, like a place demolished by foreigners.
“What are all your sacrifices to me? ”
asks the LORD.
“I have had enough of burnt offerings and rams
and the fat of well-fed cattle;
I have no desire for the blood of bulls,
lambs, or male goats.
“When you come to appear before me,
who requires this from you —
this trampling of my courts?
“Stop bringing useless offerings.
Your incense is detestable to me.
New Moons and Sabbaths,
and the calling of solemn assemblies —
I cannot stand iniquity with a festival.
“I hate your New Moons and prescribed festivals.
They have become a burden to me;
I am tired of putting up with them.
“When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I will refuse to look at you;
even if you offer countless prayers,
I will not listen.
Your hands are covered with blood.
“Wash yourselves. Cleanse yourselves.
Remove your evil deeds from my sight.
Stop doing evil.
“Come, let's settle this,”
says the LORD.
“Though your sins are scarlet,
they will be as white as snow;
though they are crimson red,
they will be like wool.
Youths oppress my people,
and women rule over them.
My people, your leaders mislead you;
they confuse the direction of your paths.
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.
Because these people rejected
the slowly flowing water of Shiloah
and rejoiced with[fn] Rezin
and the son of Remaliah,
the Lord will certainly bring against them
the mighty rushing water of the Euphrates River —
the king of Assyria and all his glory.
It will overflow its channels
and spill over all its banks.
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?
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]
Their bows will cut young men to pieces.
They will have no compassion on offspring;
they will not look with pity on children.
Dibon went up to its temple
to weep at its high places.
Moab wails on Nebo and at[fn] Medeba.
Every head is shaved;
every beard is chopped short.
Is this your jubilant city,
whose origin was in ancient times,
whose feet have taken her
to reside far away?
Your covenant with Death will be dissolved,
and your agreement with Sheol will not last.
When the overwhelming catastrophe passes through,
you will be trampled.
So now, do not scoff,
or your shackles will become stronger.
Indeed, I have heard from the Lord GOD of Armies
a decree of destruction for the whole land.
For the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, has said:
“You will be delivered by returning and resting;
your strength will lie in quiet confidence.
But you are not willing.”
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.
The oxen and donkeys that work the ground will eat salted fodder scattered with winnowing shovel and fork.
Your spoil will be gathered as locusts are gathered;
people will swarm over it like an infestation of locusts.
Listen! Their warriors cry loudly in the streets;
the messengers of peace weep bitterly.
“You will conceive chaff;
you will give birth to stubble.
Your breath is fire that will consume you.
But the royal spokesman replied, “Has my master sent me to speak these words to your master and to you, and not to the men who are sitting on the wall, who are destined with you to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine? ”
Don't listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: “Make peace[fn] with me and surrender to me. Then every one of you may eat from his own vine and his own fig tree and drink water from his own cistern
“until I come and take you away to a land like your own land — a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards.
“Beware that Hezekiah does not mislead you by saying, ‘The LORD will rescue us.' Has any one of the gods of the nations rescued his land from the power of the king of Assyria?
who said to them, “Tell your master, ‘The LORD says this: Don't be afraid because of the words you have heard, with which the king of Assyria's attendants have blasphemed me.
Zion, herald of good news,
go up on a high mountain.
Jerusalem, herald of good news,
raise your voice loudly.
Raise it, do not be afraid!
Say to the cities of Judah,
“Here is your God! ”
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.
“Look, you are nothing
and your work is worthless.
Anyone who chooses you is detestable.
“Who told about this from the beginning,
so that we might know,
and from times past,
so that we might say, ‘He is right'?
No one announced it,
no one told it,
no one heard your words.
“I will be the same until your old age,
and I will bear you up when you turn gray.
I have made you, and I will carry you;
I will bear and rescue you.
This is what the LORD says:
Where is your mother's divorce certificate
that I used to send her away?
Or to which of my creditors did I sell you?
Look, you were sold for your iniquities,
and your mother was sent away
because of your transgressions.
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.
Look to Abraham your father,
and to Sarah who gave birth to you.
When I called him, he was only one;
I blessed him and made him many.
Look up to the heavens,
and look at the earth beneath;
for the heavens will vanish like smoke,
the earth will wear out like a garment,
and its inhabitants will die like gnats.[fn]
But my salvation will last forever,
and my righteousness will never be shattered.
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.
For you will not leave in a hurry,
and you will not have to take flight;
because the LORD is going before you,
and the God of Israel is your rear guard.
“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]
Let the wicked one abandon his way
and the sinful one his thoughts;
let him return to the LORD,
so he may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for he will freely forgive.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
and your ways are not my ways.”
This is the LORD's declaration.
“For as heaven is higher than earth,
so my ways are higher than your ways,
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
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,
“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.
But your iniquities are separating you
from your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you
so that he does not listen.
For your hands are defiled with blood
and your fingers, with iniquity;
your lips have spoken lies,
and your tongues mutter injustice.
“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.
“You will leave your name behind
as a curse for my chosen ones,
and the Lord GOD will kill you;
but he will give his servants another name.
You will see, you will rejoice,
and you[fn] will flourish like grass;
then the LORD's power will be revealed to his servants,
but he will show his wrath against his enemies.
“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.
“For just as the new heavens and the new earth,
which I will make,
will remain before me” —
this is the LORD's declaration —
“so your offspring and your name will remain.
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?
Therefore, I will bring a case against you again.
This is the LORD's declaration.
I will bring a case against your children's children.
I have struck down your children in vain;
they would not accept discipline.
Your own sword has devoured your prophets
like a ravaging lion.
“ ‘Return, you faithless children — this is the LORD's declaration — for I am your master,[fn] and I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion.
Return, you faithless children.
I will heal your unfaithfulness.
“Here we are, coming to you,
for you are the LORD our God.
Circumcise yourselves to the LORD;
remove the foreskin of your hearts,
men of Judah and residents of Jerusalem.
Otherwise, my wrath will break out like fire
and burn with no one to extinguish it
because of your evil deeds.
Because of this, put on sackcloth;
mourn and wail,
for the LORD's burning anger
has not turned away from us.
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.
“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.'
“Your guilty acts have diverted these things from you.
Your sins have withheld my bounty from you,
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! ”
What use to me is frankincense from Sheba
or sweet cane from a distant land?
Your burnt offerings are not acceptable;
your sacrifices do not please me.
“ ‘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.
Instead, if you really correct your ways and your actions, if you act justly toward one another,[fn]
I will allow you to live in this place, the land I gave to your ancestors long ago and forever.
Has this house, which bears my name, become a den of robbers in your view? Yes, I too have seen it.
This is the LORD's declaration.
“what I did to Shiloh I will do to the house that bears my name, the house in which you trust, the place that I gave you and your ancestors.
“I will banish you from my presence, just as I banished all of your brothers, all the descendants of Ephraim.'
This is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices, and eat the meat yourselves,
“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.
Let them come quickly to raise a lament over us
so that our eyes may overflow with tears,
our eyelids be soaked with weeping.
Now hear the word of the LORD, you women.
Pay attention to[fn] the words from his mouth.
Teach your daughters a lament
and one another a dirge,
for Death has climbed through our windows;
it has entered our fortresses,
cutting off children from the streets,
young men from the squares.
“Speak as follows: ‘This is what the LORD declares: Human corpses will fall like manure on the surface of the field, like newly cut grain after the reaper with no one to gather it.
“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,”
in order to establish the oath I swore to your ancestors, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is today.' ”
I answered, “Amen, LORD.”
They have sown wheat but harvested thorns.
They have exhausted themselves but have no profit.
Be put to shame by your harvests
because of the LORD's burning anger.
Give glory to the LORD your God
before he brings darkness,
before your feet stumble
on the mountains at dusk.
You wait for light,
but he brings darkest gloom[fn]
and makes total darkness.
But if you will not listen,
my innermost being will weep in secret
because of your pride.
My eyes will overflow with tears,
for the LORD's flock has been taken captive.
Say to the king and the queen mother:
Take a humble seat,
for your glorious crowns
have fallen from your heads.
You are to speak this word to them:
Let my eyes overflow with tears;
day and night may they not stop,
for my dearest people[fn]
have been destroyed by a crushing blow,
an extremely severe wound.
“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.
“Then you will answer them, ‘Because your ancestors abandoned me — this is the LORD's declaration — and followed other gods, served them, and bowed in worship to them. Indeed, they abandoned me and did not keep my instruction.
“You did more evil than your ancestors. Look, each one of you was following the stubbornness of his evil heart, not obeying me.
“So I will hurl you from this land into a land that you and your ancestors have not known. There you will worship other gods both day and night, for I will not grant you grace.'[fn]
“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.
“So now, say to the men of Judah and to the residents of Jerusalem, ‘This is what the LORD says: Look, I am about to bring harm to you and make plans against you. Turn now, each from your evil way, and correct your ways and your deeds.'
“But tell this people, ‘This is what the LORD says: Look, I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death.
“Therefore, this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the shepherds who tend my people: You have scattered my flock, banished them, and have not attended to them. I am about to attend to you because of your evil acts” — this is the LORD's declaration.
“I will surely forget you.[fn] I will throw you away from my presence — both you and the city that I gave you and your ancestors.
“He announced, ‘Turn, each of you, from your evil way of life and from your evil deeds. Live in the land the LORD gave to you and your ancestors long ago and forever.
“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.
“Then you are to say to them, ‘This is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Drink, get drunk, and vomit. Fall down and never get up again, as a result of the sword I am sending among you.'
Wail, you shepherds, and cry out.
Roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock.
Because the days of your slaughter have come,
you will fall and become shattered like a precious vase.
“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
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.”
“So now, correct your ways and deeds, and obey the LORD your God so that he might relent concerning the disaster he had pronounced against you.
“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.”
“Command them to go to their masters, saying, ‘This is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Tell this to your masters:
“So you should not listen to your prophets, diviners, dreamers, fortune-tellers, or sorcerers who say to you, ‘Don't serve the king of Babylon! '
“They are prophesying a lie to you so that you will be removed from your land. I will banish you, and you will perish.
I spoke to King Zedekiah of Judah in the same way: “Put your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, serve him and his people, and live!
“‘I have not sent them' — this is the LORD's declaration — ‘and they are prophesying falsely in my name; therefore, I will banish you, and you will perish — you and the prophets who are prophesying to you.' ”
“Only listen to this message I am speaking in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people.
“The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, disaster,[fn] and plague against many lands and great kingdoms.
“Find wives for yourselves, and have sons and daughters. Find wives for your sons and give your daughters to men in marriage so that they may bear sons and daughters. Multiply there; do not decrease.
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,
For this is what the LORD says: “When seventy years for Babylon are complete, I will attend to you and will confirm my promise concerning you to restore you to this place.
This is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says about Ahab son of Kolaiah and concerning Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, the ones prophesying a lie to you in my name: “I am about to hand them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, and he will kill them before your very eyes.
“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.' ”
But I will bring you health
and will heal you of your wounds —
this is the LORD's declaration —
for they call you Outcast,
Zion whom no one cares about.
“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,
But they replied, “We do not drink wine, for Jonadab, son of our ancestor Rechab, commanded, ‘You and your descendants must never drink wine.
“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.'
“Time and time again[fn] I have sent you all my servants the prophets, proclaiming, “Turn, each one from his evil way, and correct your actions. Stop following other gods to serve them. Live in the land that I gave you and your ancestors.” But you did not pay attention or obey me.
“This is what the LORD says: Don't deceive yourselves by saying, “The Chaldeans will leave us for good,” for they will not leave.
“Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, claiming, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you and this land'?
King Zedekiah said, “Here he is; he's in your hands since the king can't do anything against 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.”
So the prophet Jeremiah said to them, “I have heard. I will now pray to the LORD your God according to your words, and I will tell you every word that the LORD answers you; I won't withhold a word from you.”
“Don't be afraid of the king of Babylon whom you now fear; don't be afraid of him' — this is the LORD's declaration — ‘because I am with you to save you and rescue you from him.
“I will grant you compassion, and he[fn] will have compassion on you and allow you to return to your own soil.'
“then hear the word of the LORD, remnant of Judah! This is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you are firmly resolved to go to Egypt and stay there for a while,
“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.
“For this is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Just as my anger and fury were poured out on Jerusalem's residents, so will my fury pour out on you if you go to Egypt. You will become an example for cursing, scorn, execration, and disgrace, and you will never see this place again.'
“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.'
“So now, this is what the LORD, the God of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Why are you doing such terrible harm to yourselves? You are cutting off man and woman, infant and nursing baby from Judah, leaving yourselves without a remnant.
“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?
“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.”
“This is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘As for you and your wives, you women have spoken with your mouths, and you men fulfilled it by your deeds, saying, “We will keep our vows that we have made to burn incense to the queen of heaven and to pour out drink offerings for her.” Go ahead, confirm your vows! Keep your vows! '
Harness the horses;
mount the steeds;[fn]
take your positions with helmets on!
Polish the lances;
put on armor!
your mother will be utterly humiliated;
she who bore you will be put to shame.
Look! She will lag behind all[fn] the nations —
an arid wilderness, a desert.
Line up in battle formation around Babylon,
all you archers!
Shoot at her! Do not spare an arrow,
for she has sinned against the LORD.
“Before your very eyes, I will repay Babylon and all the residents of Chaldea for all their evil they have done in Zion.”
This is the LORD's declaration.
You who have escaped the sword,
go and do not stand still!
Remember the LORD from far away,
and let Jerusalem come to your mind.
“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 —
“You are to say: Mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD! This is what the Lord GOD says to the mountains and the hills, to the ravines and the valleys: I am about to bring a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places.
“Your altars will be desolated and your shrines[fn] smashed. I will throw down your slain in front of your idols.
“I will lay the corpses of the Israelites in front of their idols and scatter your bones around your altars.
“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.
“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.
He spoke to the others in my hearing: “Pass through the city after him and start killing; do not show pity or spare them!
Then the Spirit of the LORD came on me, and he told me, “You are to say, ‘This is what the LORD says: That is what you are thinking, house of Israel; and I know the thoughts that arise in your mind.
“ ‘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.
“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.' ”
“ ‘Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says: You have spoken falsely and had lying visions; that's why you discover that I am against you. This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.
When the wall has fallen, will you not be asked, “Where's the whitewash you plastered on it? ”
“ ‘Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says: I am against your magic bands with which you ensnare people like birds, and I will tear them from your arms. I will free the people you have ensnared like birds.
“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 you will no longer see false visions or practice divination. I will rescue my people from your hands. Then you will know that I am the LORD.' ”
“Therefore, say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: Repent and turn away from your idols; turn your faces away from all your detestable things.
You are the daughter of your mother, who despised her husband and children. You are the sister of your sisters, who despised their husbands and children. Your mother was a Hethite and your father an Amorite.
Your older sister was Samaria, who lived with her daughters to the north of you, and your younger sister was Sodom, who lived with her daughters to the south of you.
“But you say, ‘The Lord's way isn't fair.' Now listen, house of Israel: Is it my way that is unfair? Instead, isn't it your ways that are unfair?
“But the house of Israel says, ‘The Lord's way isn't fair.' Is it my ways that are unfair, house of Israel? Instead, isn't it your ways that are unfair?
“Therefore, house of Israel, I will judge each one of you according to his ways.” This is the declaration of the Lord GOD. “Repent and turn from all your rebellious acts, so they will not become a sinful stumbling block to you.
“Throw off all the transgressions you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, house of Israel?
“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.”
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.”
“ ‘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.
“Keep my Sabbaths holy, and they will be a sign between me and you, so you may know that I am the LORD your God.”
“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!
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 purge you of those who rebel and transgress against me. I will bring them out of the land where they live as foreign residents, but they will not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD.
“ ‘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 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.' ”
“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.
“They will punish you for your depravity, and you will bear the consequences for your sins of idolatry. Then you will know that I am the Lord GOD.”
“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.
Tell them, ‘As I live — this is the declaration of the Lord GOD — I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked person should turn from his way and live. Repent, repent of your evil ways! Why will you die, house of Israel? '
“Isn't it enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of the pasture with your feet? Or isn't it enough that you drink the clear water? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet?
“Yet my flock has to feed on what your feet have trampled, and drink what your feet have muddied.
“Since you have pushed with flank and shoulder and butted all the weak ones with your horns until you scattered them all over,
“You are my flock, the human flock of my pasture, and I am your God. This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.' ”
therefore, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: Because they have made you desolate and have trampled you from every side, so that you became a possession for the rest of the nations and an object of people's gossip and slander,
“Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says: I swear[fn] that the nations all around you will endure their own insults.
“ ‘You, mountains of Israel, will produce your branches and bear your fruit for my people Israel, since their arrival is near.
“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.
“ ‘For I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries, and will bring you into your own land.
“I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.
“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.
“You will live in the land that I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God.
“I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will summon the grain and make it plentiful, and I will not bring famine on you.
“ ‘You will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and detestable practices.
“It is not for your sake that I will act — this is the declaration of the Lord GOD — let this be known to you. Be ashamed and humiliated because of your ways, house of Israel!
“ ‘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.
Then the nations that remain around you will know that I, the LORD, have rebuilt what was demolished and have replanted what was desolate. I, the LORD, have spoken and I will do it.
“Therefore, prophesy and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them, my people, and lead you into the land of Israel.
“You will know that I am the LORD, my people, when I open your graves and bring you up from them.
“I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I am the LORD. I have spoken, and I will do it. This is the declaration of the LORD.' ”
“and complete the days of purification. Then on the eighth day and afterward, the priests will offer your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar, and I will accept you.” This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.
“Say to the rebellious people, the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: I have had enough of all your detestable practices, house of Israel.
“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.
“The best of all the firstfruits of every kind and contribution of every kind from all your gifts will belong to the priests. You are to give your first batch of dough to the priest so that a blessing may rest on your homes.
“And the quota from the flock is one animal out of every two hundred from the well-watered pastures of Israel. These are for the grain offerings, burnt offerings, and fellowship offerings, to make atonement for the people.” This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.
“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.
yet he said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and drink. What if he sees your faces looking thinner than the other young men your age? You would endanger my life[fn] with the king.”
The king replied to the Chaldeans, “My word is final: If you don't tell me the dream and its interpretation, you will be torn limb from limb,[fn] and your houses will be made a garbage dump.
The king said to Daniel, “Your God is indeed God of gods, Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, since you were able to reveal this mystery.”
“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.
Rebuke your mother; rebuke her.
For she is not my wife and I am not her husband.
Let her remove the promiscuous look from her face
and her adultery from between her breasts.
They sacrifice on the mountaintops,
and they burn offerings on the hills,
and under oaks, poplars, and terebinths,
because their shade is pleasant.
And so your daughters act promiscuously
and your daughters-in-law commit adultery.
I will not punish your daughters
when they act promiscuously
or your daughters-in-law
when they commit adultery,
for the men themselves go off with prostitutes
and make sacrifices with cult prostitutes.
People without discernment are doomed.
When Ephraim saw his sickness
and Judah his wound,
Ephraim went to Assyria
and sent a delegation to the great king.[fn]
But he cannot cure you or heal your wound.
What am I going to do with you, Ephraim?
What am I going to do with you, Judah?
Your love is like the morning mist
and like the early dew that vanishes.
On the day of our king,
the princes are sick with the heat of wine —
there is a conspiracy with traitors.[fn]
So it will be done to you, Bethel,
because of your extreme evil.
At dawn the king of Israel will be totally destroyed.
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?
Tell your children about it,
and let your children tell their children,
and their children the next generation.
Wake up, you drunkards, and weep;
wail, all you wine drinkers,
because of the sweet wine,
for it has been taken from your mouth.
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.
Announce a sacred fast;
proclaim a solemn assembly!
Gather the elders
and all the residents of the land
at the house of the LORD your God,
and cry out to the LORD.
Hasn't the food been cut off
before our eyes,
joy and gladness
from the house of our God?
Even now —
this is the LORD's declaration —
turn to me with all your heart,
with fasting, weeping, and mourning.
Tear your hearts,
not just your clothes,
and return to the LORD your God.
For he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger, abounding in faithful love,
and he relents from sending disaster.
I will drive the northerner far from you
and banish him to a dry and desolate land,
his front ranks into the Dead Sea,
and his rear guard into the Mediterranean Sea.
His stench will rise;
yes, his rotten smell will rise,
for he has done astonishing things.
You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied.
You will praise the name of the LORD your God,
who has dealt wondrously with you.
My people will never again be put to shame.
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.
After this
I will pour out my Spirit on all humanity;
then your sons and your daughters will prophesy,
your old men will have dreams,
and your young men will see visions.
And also: Tyre, Sidon, and all the territories of Philistia — what are you to me? Are you paying me back or trying to get even with me? I will quickly bring retribution on your heads.
Look, I am about to rouse them up from the place where you sold them; I will bring retribution on your heads.
I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans,[fn] to a distant nation, for the LORD has spoken.
Beat your plows into swords
and your pruning knives into spears.
Let even the weakling say, “I am a warrior.”
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.
I raised up some of your sons as prophets
and some of your young men as Nazirites.
Is this not the case, Israelites?
This is the LORD's declaration.
Look, I am about to crush[fn] you in your place
as a wagon crushes when full of grain.
I have known only you
out of all the clans of the earth;
therefore, I will punish you for all your iniquities.
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.
Come to Bethel and rebel;
rebel even more at Gilgal!
Bring your sacrifices every morning,
your tenths every three days.
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 also withheld the rain from you
while there were still three months until harvest.
I sent rain on one city
but no rain on another.
One field received rain
while a field with no rain withered.
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.
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.
Pursue good and not evil
so that you may live,
and the LORD, the God of Armies,
will be with you
as you have claimed.
Even if you offer me
your burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them;
I will have no regard
for your fellowship offerings of fattened cattle.
I will turn your feasts into mourning
and all your songs into lamentation;
I will cause everyone[fn] to wear sackcloth
and every head to be shaved.
I will make that grief
like mourning for an only son
and its outcome like a bitter day.
He answered them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea so that it will calm down for you, for I know that I'm to blame for this great storm that is against you.”
Depart in shameful nakedness,
you residents of Shaphir;
the residents of Zaanan will not come out.
Beth-ezel is lamenting;
its support[fn] is taken from you.
Therefore, the LORD says:
I am now planning a disaster
against this nation;
you cannot free your necks from it.
Then you will not walk so proudly
because it will be an evil time.
He will be their peace.
When Assyria invades our land,
when it marches against our fortresses,
we will raise against it seven shepherds,
even eight leaders of men.
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.
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.
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.
“Is it a time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses, while this house[fn] lies in ruins? ”
Then Haggai, the LORD's messenger, delivered the LORD's message to the people: “I am with you — this is the LORD's declaration.”
“‘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?
“Even so, be strong, Zerubbabel — this is the LORD's declaration. Be strong, Joshua son of Jehozadak, high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land — this is the LORD's declaration. Work! For I am with you — the declaration of the LORD of Armies.
“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.' ”
“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.
“Do not be like your ancestors; the earlier prophets proclaimed to them: This is what the LORD of Armies says: Turn from your evil ways and your evil deeds. But they did not listen or pay attention to me — this is the LORD's declaration.
“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.”
“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.”
“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.'
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,
“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.
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.”
Then I said to them, “If it seems right to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” So they weighed my wages, thirty pieces of silver.
“Your own eyes will see this, and you yourselves will say, ‘The LORD is great, even beyond[fn] the borders of Israel.'
“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.
“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.
“Look, I am going to rebuke your descendants, and I will spread animal waste[fn] over your faces, the waste from your festival sacrifices, and you will be taken away with it.
Don't all of us have one Father? Didn't one God create us? Why then do we act treacherously against one another, profaning the covenant of our ancestors?
This is another thing you do. You are covering the LORD's altar with tears, with weeping and groaning, because he no longer respects your offerings or receives them gladly from your hands.
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? ”
“Because I, the LORD, have not changed, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed.[fn]
“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.
“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? ”
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