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God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, for on it he rested from all his work of creation.
Then the LORD God formed the man out of the dust from the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.
And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree of the garden,
“but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.”
Then the LORD God made the rib he had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man.
Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can't eat from any tree in the garden'? ”
“But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.' ”
Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze,[fn] and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
Then he asked, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from? ”
The man replied, “The woman you gave to be with me — she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate.”
So the LORD God said to the serpent:
Because you have done this,
you are cursed more than any livestock
and more than any wild animal.
You will move on your belly
and eat dust all the days of your life.
And he said to the man, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘Do not eat from it':
The ground is cursed because of you.
You will eat from it by means of painful labor[fn]
all the days of your life.
In the course of time Cain presented some of the land's produce as an offering to the LORD.
And Abel also presented an offering — some of the firstborn of his flock and their fat portions. The LORD had regard for Abel and his offering,
“So now you are cursed, alienated from the ground that opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood you have shed.[fn]
“Since you are banishing me today from the face of the earth, and I must hide from your presence and become a restless wanderer on the earth, whoever finds me will kill me.”
Then Cain went out from the LORD's presence and lived in the land of Nod,[fn] east of Eden.
And he named him Noah,[fn] saying, “This one will bring us relief from the agonizing labor of our hands, caused by the ground the LORD has cursed.”
the sons of God saw that the daughters of mankind were beautiful, and they took any they chose as wives for themselves.
Then the LORD said, “I will wipe mankind, whom I created, off the face of the earth, together with the animals, creatures that crawl, and birds of the sky — for I regret that I made them.”
“You are also to bring into the ark two of all the living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you.
“Two of everything — from the birds according to their kinds, from the livestock according to their kinds, and from the animals that crawl on the ground according to their kinds — will come to you so that you can keep them alive.
“Take with you every kind of food that is eaten; gather it as food for you and for them.”
“You are to take with you seven pairs, a male and its female, of all the clean animals, and two of the animals that are not clean, a male and its female,
“and seven pairs, male and female, of the birds of the sky — in order to keep offspring alive throughout the earth.
“Seven days from now I will make it rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and every living thing I have made I will wipe off the face of the earth.”
From the animals that are clean, and from the animals that are not clean, and from the birds and every creature that crawls on the ground,
Two of every creature that has the breath of life in it came to Noah and entered the ark.
Those that entered, male and female of every creature, entered just as God had commanded him. Then the LORD shut him in.
The flood continued for forty days on the earth; the water increased and lifted up the ark so that it rose above the earth.
He wiped out every living thing that was on the face of the earth, from mankind to livestock, to creatures that crawl, to the birds of the sky, and they were wiped off the earth. Only Noah was left, and those that were with him in the ark.
The sources of the watery depths and the floodgates of the sky were closed, and the rain from the sky stopped.
The water steadily receded from the earth, and by the end of 150 days the water had decreased significantly.
and he sent out a raven. It went back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth.
Then he sent out a dove to see whether the water on the earth's surface had gone down,
When the dove came to him at evening, there was a plucked olive leaf in its beak. So Noah knew that the water on the earth's surface had gone down.
In the six hundred first year,[fn] in the first month, on the first day of the month, the water that had covered the earth was dried up. Then Noah removed the ark's cover and saw that the surface of the ground was drying.
“Bring out all the living creatures that are with you — birds, livestock, those that crawl on the earth — and they will spread over the earth and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.”
Then Noah built an altar to the LORD. He took some of every kind of clean animal and every kind of clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
“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.
“I establish my covenant with you that never again will every creature be wiped out by floodwaters; there will never again be a flood to destroy the earth.”
The Canaanite border went from Sidon going toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and going toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim as far as Lasha.
These are the clans of Noah's sons, according to their family records, in their nations. The nations on earth spread out from these after the flood.
As people migrated from the east,[fn] they found a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there.
So Lot chose the entire plain of the Jordan for himself. Then Lot journeyed eastward, and they separated from each other.
After Lot had separated from him, the LORD said to Abram, “Look from the place where you are. Look north and south, east and west,
After Abram returned from defeating Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him in the Shaveh Valley (that is, the King's Valley).
and blessed be God Most High
who has handed over your enemies to you.
And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
“that I will not take a thread or sandal strap or anything that belongs to you, so you can never say, ‘I made Abram rich.'
On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “I give this land to your offspring, from the Brook of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River:
Abram replied to Sarai, “Here, your slave is in your power; do whatever you want with her.” Then Sarai mistreated her so much that she ran away from her.
He said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going? ”
She replied, “I'm running away from my mistress Sarai.”
The angel of the LORD said to her, “I will greatly multiply your offspring, and they will be too many to count.”
“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.
He looked up, and he saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them, bowed to the ground,
Before they went to bed, the men of the city of Sodom, both young and old, the whole population, surrounded the house.
They struck the men who were at the entrance of the house, both young and old, with blindness[fn] so that they were unable to find the entrance.
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
“and I will have you swear by the LORD, God of heaven and God of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I live,
“If the woman is unwilling to follow you, then you are free from this oath to me, but don't let my son go back there.”
The servant took ten of his master's camels, and with all kinds of his master's goods in hand, he went to Aram-naharaim, to Nahor's town.
and said, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not withheld his kindness and faithfulness from my master. As for me, the LORD has led me on the journey to the house of my master's relatives.”
“My master put me under this oath: ‘You will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose land I live
“Then you will be free from my oath if you go to my family and they do not give her to you — you will be free from my oath.'
But Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines, and while he was still alive he sent them eastward, away from his son Isaac, to the land of the East.
He said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stuff, because I'm exhausted.” That is why he was also named Edom.[fn]
Now Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army.
Then he said, “Bring it closer to me, and let me eat some of my son's game so that I can bless you.” Jacob brought it closer to him, and he ate; he brought him wine, and he drank.
May God give to you —
from the dew of the sky
and from the richness of the land —
an abundance of grain and new wine.
As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob and Jacob had left the presence of his father Isaac, his brother Esau arrived from his hunting.
Isaac began to tremble uncontrollably. “Who was it then,” he said, “who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it all before you came in, and I blessed him. Indeed, he will be blessed! ”
His father Isaac answered him,
Look, your dwelling place will be
away from the richness of the land,
away from the dew of the sky above.
You will live by your sword,
and you will serve your brother.
But when you rebel,[fn]
you will break his yoke from your neck.
“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? ”
So Rebekah said to Isaac, “I'm sick of my life because of these Hethite girls. If Jacob marries someone from around here,[fn] like these Hethite girls, what good is my life? ”
Esau noticed that Isaac blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-aram to get a wife there. When he blessed him, Isaac commanded Jacob, “Do not marry a Canaanite girl.”
He reached a certain place and spent the night there because the sun had set. He took one of the stones from the place, put it there at his head, and lay down in that place.
When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.”
The shepherds would roll the stone from the opening of the well and water the sheep when all the flocks[fn] were gathered there. Then they would return the stone to its place over the well's opening.
But they replied, “We can't until all the flocks have been gathered and the stone is rolled from the well's opening. Then we will water the sheep.”
As soon as Jacob saw his uncle Laban's daughter Rachel with his sheep,[fn] he went up and rolled the stone from the opening and watered his uncle Laban's sheep.
“You've searched all my possessions! Have you found anything of yours?[fn] Put it here before my relatives and yours, and let them decide between the two of us.
“There I was — the heat consumed me by day and the frost by night, and sleep fled from my eyes.
and also Mizpah,[fn] for he said, “May the LORD watch between you and me when we are out of each other's sight.
“I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. Indeed, I crossed over the Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two camps.
“You have said, ‘I will cause you to prosper, and I will make your offspring like the sand of the sea, too numerous to be counted.' ”
Esau said, “Let me leave some of my people with you.”
But he replied, “Why do that? Please indulge me,[fn] my lord.”
“Then we will give you our daughters, take your daughters for ourselves, live with you, and become one people.
God said to Jacob, “Get up! Go to Bethel and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.”
Jacob built an altar there and called the place El-bethel[fn] because it was there that God had revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother.
Esau took his wives from the Canaanite women: Adah daughter of Elon the Hethite, Oholibamah daughter of Anah and granddaughter[fn] of Zibeon the Hivite,
Esau took his wives, sons, daughters, and all the people of his household, as well as his herds, all his livestock, and all the property he had acquired in Canaan; he went to a land away from his brother Jacob.
For their possessions were too many for them to live together, and because of their herds, the land where they stayed could not support them.
“In the top basket were all sorts of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.”
“The abundance in the land will not be remembered because of the famine that follows it, for the famine will be very severe.
Pharaoh removed his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph's hand, clothed him with fine linen garments, and placed a gold chain around his neck.
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.
The steward searched, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest, and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack.
He sent his father the following: ten donkeys carrying the best products of Egypt and ten female donkeys carrying grain, food, and provisions for his father on the journey.
Jacob left Beer-sheba. The sons of Israel took their father Jacob in the wagons Pharaoh had sent to carry him, along with their dependents and their wives.
Then Israel said to Joseph, “I'm ready to die now because I have seen your face and you are still alive! ”
But there was no food in the entire region, for the famine was very severe. The land of Egypt and the land of Canaan were exhausted by the famine.
When that year was over, they came the next year and said to him, “We cannot hide from our lord that the silver is gone and that all our livestock belongs to our lord. There is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land.
Now his eyesight was poor because of old age; he could hardly[fn] see. Joseph brought them to him, and he kissed and embraced them.
Then Joseph took them from his father's knees and bowed with his face to the ground.
When Joseph saw that his father had placed his right hand on Ephraim's head, he thought it was a mistake[fn] and took his father's hand to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's.
But the more they oppressed them, the more they multiplied and spread so that the Egyptians came to dread[fn] the Israelites.
opened it, and saw him, the child — and there he was, a little boy, crying. She felt sorry for him and said, “This is one of the Hebrew boys.”
When Pharaoh heard about this, he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in the land of Midian, and sat down by a well.
They answered, “An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds. He even drew water for us and watered the flock.”
After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned because of their difficult labor, they cried out, and their cry for help because of the difficult labor ascended to God.
Then the LORD said, “I have observed the misery of my people in Egypt, and have heard them crying out because of their oppressors. I know about their sufferings,
“And if they don't believe even these two signs or listen to what you say, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the Nile will become blood on the ground.”
The king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why are you causing the people to neglect their work? Get to your labor! ”
Pharaoh also said, “Look, the people of the land are so numerous, and you would stop them from their labor.”
“Go get straw yourselves wherever you can find it, but there will be no reduction at all in your workload.' ”
When they left Pharaoh, they confronted Moses and Aaron, who stood waiting to meet them.
“Therefore tell the Israelites: I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from the forced labor of the Egyptians and rescue you from slavery to them. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and great acts of judgment.
Moses told this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their broken spirit and hard labor.
“The fish in the Nile will die, the river will stink, and the Egyptians will be unable to drink water from it.”
All the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink because they could not drink the water from the river.
Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Appeal to the LORD to remove the frogs from me and my people. Then I will let the people go and they can sacrifice to the LORD.”
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.”
After Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, Moses cried out to the LORD for help concerning the frogs that he had brought against Pharaoh.
And the LORD did this. Thick swarms of flies went into Pharaoh's palace and his officials' houses. Throughout Egypt the land was ruined because of the swarms of flies.
“As soon as I leave you,” Moses said, “I will appeal to the LORD, and tomorrow the swarms of flies will depart from Pharaoh, his officials, and his people. But Pharaoh must not act deceptively again by refusing to let the people go and sacrifice to the LORD.”
The LORD did as Moses had said: He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, his officials, and his people; not one was left.
“But the LORD will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing of all that the Israelites own will die.”
The LORD did this the next day. All the Egyptian livestock died, but none among the Israelite livestock died.
Pharaoh sent messengers who saw that not a single one of the Israelite livestock was dead. But Pharaoh's heart was hard, and he did not let the people go.
“By now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague, and you would have been obliterated from the earth.
Throughout the land of Egypt, the hail struck down everything in the field, both people and animals. The hail beat down every plant of the field and shattered every tree in the field.
Moses left Pharaoh and the city, and spread out his hands to the LORD. Then the thunder and hail ceased, and rain no longer poured down on the land.
“They will fill your houses, all your officials' houses, and the houses of all the Egyptians — something your fathers and grandfathers never saw since the time they occupied the land until today.” Then he turned and left Pharaoh's presence.
“No, go — just able-bodied men — worship the LORD, since that's what you want.” And they were driven from Pharaoh's presence.
They covered the surface of the whole land so that the land was black, and they consumed all the plants on the ground and all the fruit on the trees that the hail had left. Nothing green was left on the trees or the plants in the field throughout the land of Egypt.
Then the LORD changed the wind to a strong west[fn] wind, and it carried off the locusts and blew them into the Red Sea. Not a single locust was left in all the territory of Egypt.
“and every firstborn male in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne to the firstborn of the servant girl who is at the grindstones, as well as every firstborn of the livestock.
“But against all the Israelites, whether people or animals, not even a dog will snarl,[fn] so that you may know that the LORD makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.
“All these officials of yours will come down to me and bow before me, saying: Get out, you and all the people who follow you.[fn] After that, I will get out.” And he went out from Pharaoh's presence fiercely angry.
“You must have an unblemished animal, a year-old male; you may take it from either the sheep or the goats.
“They must take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses where they eat them.
“I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night and strike every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, both people and animals. I am the LORD; I will execute judgments against all the gods of Egypt.
“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.
“Take a cluster of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and brush the lintel and the two doorposts with some of the blood in the basin. None of you may go out the door of his house until morning.
Now at midnight the LORD struck every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the prisoner who was in the dungeon, and every firstborn of the livestock.
“Consecrate every firstborn male to me, the firstborn from every womb among the Israelites, both man and domestic animal; it is mine.”
“When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of humans and the firstborn of livestock. That is why I sacrifice to the LORD all the firstborn of the womb that are males, but I redeem all the firstborn of my sons.'
Then the angel of God, who was going in front of the Israelite forces, moved and went behind them. The pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and stood behind them.
Then Moses led Israel on from the Red Sea, and they went out to the Wilderness of Shur. They journeyed for three days in the wilderness without finding water.
The LORD answered Moses, “Go on ahead of the people and take some of the elders of Israel with you. Take the staff you struck the Nile with in your hand and go.
He said, “Indeed, my hand is lifted up toward[fn] the LORD's throne. The LORD will be at war with Amalek from generation to generation.”
The next day Moses sat down to judge the people, and they stood around Moses from morning until evening.
When Moses's father-in-law saw everything he was doing for them he asked, “What is this you're doing for the people? Why are you alone sitting as judge, while all the people stand around you from morning until evening? ”
“But you should select from all the people able men, God-fearing, trustworthy, and hating dishonest profit. Place them over the people as commanders of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens.
“They should judge the people at all times. Then they can bring you every major case but judge every minor case themselves. In this way you will lighten your load,[fn] and they will bear it with you.
So Moses chose able men from all Israel and made them leaders over the people as commanders of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens.
“Now if you will carefully listen to me and keep my covenant, you will be my own possession out of all the peoples, although the whole earth is mine,
“No hand may touch him;[fn] instead he will be stoned or shot with arrows and not live, whether animal or human. When the ram's horn sounds a long blast, they may go up the mountain.”
“If a person schemes and willfully[fn] acts against his neighbor to murder him, you must take him from my altar to be put to death.
“Stay far away from a false accusation. Do not kill the innocent and the just, because I will not justify the guilty.
“You must not offer the blood of my sacrifices with anything leavened. The fat of my festival offering must not remain until morning.
“But if you will carefully obey him and do everything I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes.
“I will send hornets[fn] in front of you, and they will drive the Hivites, Canaanites, and Hethites away from you.
“I will drive them out little by little ahead of you until you have become numerous[fn] and take possession of the land.
“The central crossbar is to run through the middle of the supports from one end to the other.
“Make them linen undergarments to cover their naked bodies; they must extend from the waist to the thighs.
“Take some of the bull's blood and apply it to the horns of the altar with your finger; then pour out all the rest of the blood at the base of the altar.
“Take some of the blood that is on the altar and some of the anointing oil, and sprinkle them on Aaron and his garments, as well as on his sons and their garments. So he and his garments will be holy, as well as his sons and their garments.
“Take the fat from the ram, the fat tail, the fat covering the entrails, the fatty lobe of the liver, the two kidneys and the fat on them, and the right thigh (since this is a ram for ordination[fn]);
“take one loaf of bread, one cake of bread made with oil, and one wafer from the basket of unleavened bread that is before the LORD;
“Take the breast from the ram of Aaron's ordination and present it as a presentation offering before the LORD; it is to be your portion.
“Consecrate for Aaron and his sons the breast of the presentation offering that is presented and the thigh of the contribution that is lifted up from the ram of ordination.
“This will belong to Aaron and his sons as a regular portion from the Israelites, for it is a contribution. It will be the Israelites' contribution from their fellowship sacrifices, their contribution to the LORD.
“If any of the meat of ordination or any of the bread is left until morning, burn what is left over. It must not be eaten because it is holy.
“Once a year Aaron is to perform the atonement ceremony for the altar. Throughout your generations he is to perform the atonement ceremony for[fn] it once a year, with the blood of the sin offering for atonement on the horns. The altar is especially holy to the LORD.”
“Each man who is registered, twenty years old or more, must give this contribution to the LORD.
“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.
“Why should the Egyptians say, ‘He brought them out with an evil intent to kill them in the mountains and eliminate them from the face of the earth'? Turn from your fierce anger and relent concerning this disaster planned for your people.
Then Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides — inscribed front and back.
As he approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses became enraged and threw the tablets out of his hands, smashing them at the base of the mountain.
He told them, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says, ‘Every man fasten his sword to his side; go back and forth through the camp from entrance to entrance, and each of you kill his brother, his friend, and his neighbor.' ”
Now Moses took a tent and pitched it outside the camp, at a distance from the camp; he called it the tent of meeting. Anyone who wanted to consult the LORD would go to the tent of meeting that was outside the camp.
As all the people saw the pillar of cloud remaining at the entrance to the tent, they would stand up, then bow in worship, each one at the door of his tent.
one-fifth of an ounce[fn] per man, that is, half a shekel according to the sanctuary shekel, from everyone twenty years old or more who had crossed over to the registered group, 603,550 men.
Then they tied the breastpiece from its rings to the rings of the ephod with a cord of blue yarn, so that the breastpiece was above the ephod's waistband and did not come loose from the ephod. They did just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
The Israelites set out whenever the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle throughout all the stages of their journey.
“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.
“But if his offering for a burnt offering is from the flock, from sheep or goats, he is to present an unblemished male.
“If his offering to the LORD is a burnt offering of birds, he is to present his offering from the turtledoves or young pigeons.[fn]
“and bring it to Aaron's sons the priests. The priest will take a handful of fine flour and oil from it, along with all its frankincense, and will burn this memorial portion of it on the altar, a food offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.
“But the rest of the grain offering will belong to Aaron and his sons; it is the holiest part of the food offerings to the LORD.
“If your offering is a grain offering prepared on a griddle, it is to be unleavened bread made of fine flour mixed with oil.
“If your offering is a grain offering prepared in a pan, it is to be made of fine flour with oil.
“The priest will remove the memorial portion[fn] from the grain offering and burn it on the altar, a food offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.
“But the rest of the grain offering will belong to Aaron and his sons; it is the holiest part of the food offerings to the LORD.
“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.
“The priest will then burn some of its crushed kernels and oil with all its frankincense as a food offering to the LORD.
“He will present part of the fellowship sacrifice as a food offering to the LORD: the fat surrounding the entrails, all the fat that is on the entrails,
“If his offering as a fellowship sacrifice to the LORD is from the flock, he is to present a male or female without blemish.
“He will then present part of the fellowship sacrifice as a food offering to the LORD consisting of its fat and the entire fat tail, which he is to remove close to the backbone. He will also remove the fat surrounding the entrails, all the fat on the entrails,
“Tell the Israelites: When someone sins unintentionally against any of the LORD's commands and does anything prohibited by them —
“The anointed priest will then take some of the bull's blood and bring it into the tent of meeting.
“The priest is to dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle some of it seven times before the LORD in front of the curtain of the sanctuary.
“The priest is to apply some of the blood to the horns of the altar of fragrant incense that is before the LORD in the tent of meeting. He must pour out the rest of the bull's blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering that is at the entrance to the tent of meeting.
“just as the fat is removed from the ox of the fellowship sacrifice. The priest is to burn them on the altar of burnt offering.
“Now if the whole community of Israel errs, and the matter escapes the notice of the assembly, so that they violate any of the LORD's commands and incur guilt by doing what is prohibited,
“The priest is to dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD in front of the curtain.
“He is to apply some of the blood to the horns of the altar that is before the LORD in the tent of meeting. He will pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering that is at the entrance to the tent of meeting.
“When a leader[fn] sins and unintentionally violates any of the commands of the LORD his God by doing what is prohibited, and incurs guilt,
“Then the priest is to take some of the blood from the sin offering with his finger and apply it to the horns of the altar of burnt offering. The rest of its blood he is to pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering.
“He must burn all its fat on the altar, like the fat of the fellowship sacrifice. In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf for that person's sin, and he will be forgiven.
“Now if any of the common people[fn] sins unintentionally by violating one of the LORD's commands, does what is prohibited, and incurs guilt,
“Then the priest is to take some of its blood with his finger and apply it to the horns of the altar of burnt offering. He is to pour out the rest of its blood at the base of the altar.
“He is to remove all its fat just as the fat is removed from the fellowship sacrifice. The priest is to burn it on the altar as a pleasing aroma to the LORD. In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf, and he will be forgiven.
“Then the priest is to take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and apply it to the horns of the altar of burnt offering. He is to pour out the rest of its blood at the base of the altar.
“Or if he touches human uncleanness — any uncleanness by which one can become defiled — without being aware of it, but later recognizes it, he incurs guilt.
“He must bring his penalty for guilt for the sin he has committed to the LORD: a female lamb or goat from the flock as a sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf for his sin.
“He is to bring them to the priest, who will first present the one for the sin offering. He is to twist its head at the back of the neck without severing it.
“Then he will sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering on the side of the altar, while the rest of the blood is to be drained out at the base of the altar; it is a sin offering.
“If someone offends by sinning unintentionally in regard to any of the LORD's holy things,[fn] he must bring his penalty for guilt to the LORD: an unblemished ram from the flock (based on your assessment of its value in silver shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel) as a guilt offering.
“He is to make restitution for his sin regarding any holy thing, adding a fifth of its value to it, and give it to the priest. Then the priest will make atonement on his behalf with the ram of the guilt offering, and he will be forgiven.
“If someone sins and without knowing it violates any of the LORD's commands concerning anything prohibited, he is guilty, and he will bear his iniquity.
“or finds something lost and lies about it; or swears falsely about any of the sinful things a person may do —
“or anything else about which he swore falsely. He will make full restitution for it and add a fifth of its value to it. He is to pay it to its owner on the day he acknowledges his guilt.
“Then he is to bring his guilt offering to the LORD: an unblemished ram from the flock according to your assessment of its value as a guilt offering to the priest.
“In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf before the LORD, and he will be forgiven for anything he may have done to incur guilt.”
“The priest is to put on his linen robe and linen undergarments.[fn] He is to remove the ashes of the burnt offering the fire has consumed on the altar, and place them beside the altar.
“The priest is to remove a handful of fine flour and olive oil from the grain offering, with all the frankincense that is on the offering, and burn its memorial portion on the altar as a pleasing aroma to the LORD.
“It must not be baked with yeast; I have assigned it as their portion from my food offerings. It is especially holy, like the sin offering and the guilt offering.
“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.”
“Anything that touches its flesh will become holy, and if any of its blood spatters on a garment, then you must wash that garment[fn] in a holy place.
“But no sin offering may be eaten if its blood has been brought into the tent of meeting to make atonement in the holy place; it must be burned.
“From the cakes he is to present one portion of each offering as a contribution to the LORD. It will belong to the priest who splatters the blood of the fellowship offering; it is his.
“If any of the meat of his fellowship sacrifice is eaten on the third day, it will not be accepted. It will not be credited to the one who presents it; it is repulsive. The person who eats any of it will bear his iniquity.[fn]
“But the one who eats meat from the LORD's fellowship sacrifice while he is unclean, that person must be cut off from his people.
“If someone touches anything unclean, whether human uncleanness, an unclean animal, or any unclean, abhorrent[fn] creature, and eats meat from the LORD's fellowship sacrifice, that person is to be cut off from his people.”
“If anyone eats animal fat from a food offering presented to the LORD, the person who eats it is to be cut off from his people.
“Tell the Israelites: The one who presents a fellowship sacrifice to the LORD is to bring an offering to the LORD from his sacrifice.
“You are to give the right thigh to the priest as a contribution from your fellowship sacrifices.
“The son of Aaron who presents the blood of the fellowship offering and the fat will have the right thigh as a portion.
“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.”
This is the portion from the food offerings to the LORD for Aaron and his sons since the day they were presented to serve the LORD as priests.
Then Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and everything in it to consecrate them.
He poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron's head and anointed and consecrated him.
Moses slaughtered it,[fn] took some of its blood, and put it on Aaron's right earlobe, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.
Moses also presented Aaron's sons and put some of the blood on their right earlobes, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. Then Moses splattered the blood on all sides of the altar.
From the basket of unleavened bread that was before the LORD he took one cake of unleavened bread, one cake of bread made with oil, and one wafer, and placed them on the fat portions and the right thigh.
Then Moses took them from their hands and burned them on the altar with the burnt offering. This was an ordination offering for a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the LORD.
He also took the breast and presented it before the LORD as a presentation offering; it was Moses's portion of the ordination ram as the LORD had commanded him.
Then Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood that was on the altar and sprinkled them on Aaron and his garments, as well as on his sons and their garments. In this way he consecrated Aaron and his garments, as well as his sons and their garments.
“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]
They also brought the fat portions from the ox and the ram — the fat tail, the fat surrounding the entrails, the kidneys, and the fatty lobe of the liver —
“You must not go outside the entrance to the tent of meeting or you will die, for the LORD's anointing oil is on you.” So they did as Moses said.
Moses spoke to Aaron and his remaining sons, Eleazar and Ithamar: “Take the grain offering that is left over from the food offerings to the LORD, and eat it prepared without yeast beside the altar, because it is especially holy.
“You must eat it in a holy place because it is your portion[fn] and your sons' from the food offerings to the LORD, for this is what I was commanded.
“But you and your sons and your daughters may eat the breast of the presentation offering and the thigh of the contribution in any ceremonially clean place, because these portions have been assigned to you and your children from the Israelites' fellowship sacrifices.
“But among the ones that chew the cud or have divided hooves you are not to eat these:
camels, though they chew the cud,
do not have divided hooves — they are unclean for you;
“This is what you may eat from all that is in the water: You may eat everything in the water that has fins and scales, whether in the seas or streams.
“But these are to be abhorrent to you: everything in the seas or streams that does not have fins and scales among all the swarming things and other living creatures in the water.
“They are to remain abhorrent to you; you must not eat any of their meat, and you must abhor their carcasses.
“But you may eat these kinds of all the winged insects that walk on all fours: those that have jointed legs above their feet for hopping on the ground.
“These are unclean for you among all the swarming creatures. Whoever touches them when they are dead will be unclean until evening.
“When any one of them dies and falls on anything it becomes unclean — any item of wood, clothing, leather, sackcloth, or any implement used for work. It is to be rinsed with water and will remain unclean until evening; then it will be clean.
“If any of them falls into any clay pot, everything in it will become unclean; you are to break it.
“Anything one of their carcasses falls on will become unclean. If it is an oven or stove, it is to be smashed; it is unclean and will remain unclean for you.
“Anyone who eats some of its carcass is to wash his clothes and will be unclean until evening. Anyone who carries its carcass must wash his clothes and will be unclean until evening.
“He will present them before the LORD and make atonement on her behalf; she will be clean from her discharge of blood. This is the law for a woman giving birth, whether to a male or female.
“The priest will examine the sore on the skin of his body. If the hair in the sore has turned white and the sore appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is in fact a serious skin disease. After the priest examines him, he must pronounce him unclean.
“But if the spot on the skin of his body is white and does not appear to be deeper than the skin, and the hair in it has not turned white, the priest will quarantine the stricken person for seven days.
“The priest will examine him. If there is a white swelling on the skin that has turned the hair white, and there is a patch of raw flesh in the swelling,
“But if the skin disease breaks out all over the skin so that it covers all the skin of the stricken person from his head to his feet so far as the priest can see,
“But when the priest examines it, if there is no white hair in it, and it is not beneath the skin but is faded, the priest will quarantine him seven days.
“the priest is to examine it. If the hair in the spot has turned white and the spot appears to be deeper than the skin, it is a serious skin disease that has broken out in the burn. The priest must pronounce him unclean; it is a serious skin disease.
“But when the priest examines it, if there is no white hair in the spot and it is not beneath the skin but is faded, the priest will quarantine him seven days.
“The priest will reexamine the condition on the seventh day. If the scaly outbreak has not spread and there is no yellow hair in it and it does not appear to be deeper than the skin,
“The priest will examine the scaly outbreak on the seventh day, and if it has not spread on the skin and does not appear to be deeper than the skin, the priest is to pronounce the person clean. He is to wash his clothes, and he will be clean.
“If the priest examines it, and the contamination has faded after it has been washed, he is to cut the contaminated section out of the fabric, the leather, or the warp or weft.
“who will go outside the camp and examine him. If the skin disease has disappeared from the afflicted person,[fn]
“He will then sprinkle the blood seven times on the one who is to be cleansed from the skin disease. He is to pronounce him clean and release the live bird over the open countryside.
“The priest is to take some of the blood from the guilt offering and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.
“Then the priest will take some of the one-third quart of olive oil and pour it into his left palm.
“The priest will dip his right finger into the oil in his left palm and sprinkle some of the oil with his finger seven times before the LORD.
“The priest is to sacrifice the sin offering and make atonement for the one to be cleansed from his uncleanness. Afterward he will slaughter the burnt offering.
“After he slaughters the male lamb for the guilt offering, the priest is to take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the right earlobe of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.
“With his right finger the priest will sprinkle some of the oil in his left palm seven times before the LORD.
“The priest will also put some of the oil in his palm on the right earlobe of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the same place as the blood of the guilt offering.
“What is left of the oil in the priest's palm he is to put on the head of the one to be cleansed to make atonement for him before the LORD.
“He is to then sacrifice one type of what he can afford, either the turtledoves or young pigeons,
“The priest is to sacrifice them, one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for him before the LORD because of his discharge.
“When she is cured of her discharge, she is to count seven days, and after that she will be clean.
“The priest is to sacrifice one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for her before the LORD because of her unclean discharge.
“You must keep the Israelites from their uncleanness, so that they do not die by defiling my tabernacle that is among them.
“Then he is to take a firepan full of blazing coals from the altar before the LORD and two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense, and bring them inside the curtain.
“He is to take some of the bull's blood and sprinkle it with his finger against the east side of the mercy seat; then he will sprinkle some of the blood with his finger before the mercy seat seven times.
“When he slaughters the male goat for the people's sin offering and brings its blood inside the curtain, he will do the same with its blood as he did with the bull's blood: He is to sprinkle it against the mercy seat and in front of it.
“He will make atonement for the most holy place in this way for all their sins because of the Israelites' impurities and rebellious acts. He will do the same for the tent of meeting that remains among them, because it is surrounded by their impurities.
“Then he will go out to the altar that is before the LORD and make atonement for it. He is to take some of the bull's blood and some of the goat's blood and put it on the horns on all sides of the altar.
“He is to sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times to cleanse and set it apart from the Israelites' impurities.
“Atonement will be made for you on this day to cleanse you, and you will be clean from all your sins before the LORD.
“This is to be a permanent statute for you, to make atonement for the Israelites once a year because of all their sins.” And all this was done as the LORD commanded Moses.
“Say to them: Anyone from the house of Israel or from the aliens who reside among them who offers a burnt offering or a sacrifice
“You are not to sacrifice any of your children in the fire[fn] to Molech. Do not profane the name of your God; I am the LORD.
“But you are to keep my statutes and ordinances. You must not commit any of these detestable acts — not the native or the alien who resides among you.
“Any person who does any of these detestable practices is to be cut off from his people.
“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.”
“You are to rise in the presence of the elderly and honor the old. Fear your God; I am the LORD.
“Say to the Israelites: Any Israelite or alien residing in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech must be put to death; the people of the country are to stone him.
“But if the people of the country look the other way when that man[fn] gives any of his children to Molech, and do not put him to death,
“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.
“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.
“They are not to marry a woman defiled by prostitution.[fn] They are not to marry one divorced by her husband, for the priest is holy to his God.
“He may eat the food of his God from what is especially holy as well as from what is holy.
“Tell Aaron and his sons to deal respectfully with the holy offerings of the Israelites that they have consecrated to me, so they do not profane my holy name; I am the LORD.
“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.
“the man who touches any of these will remain unclean until evening and is not to eat from the holy offerings unless he has bathed his body with water.
“But if the priest's daughter becomes widowed or divorced, has no children, and returns to her father's house as in her youth, she may share her father's food. But no outsider may share it.
“Speak to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites and tell them: Any man of the house of Israel or of the resident aliens in Israel who presents his offering — whether they present payment of vows or freewill gifts to the LORD as burnt offerings —
“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.”
“It is to be eaten on the same day. Do not let any of it remain until morning; I am the LORD.
“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.
“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.”
“Aaron is to tend it continually from evening until morning before the LORD outside the curtain of the testimony in the tent of meeting. This is a permanent statute throughout your generations.
“It belongs to Aaron and his sons, who are to eat it in a holy place, for it is the holiest portion for him from the food offerings to the LORD; this is a permanent rule.”
“It is to be holy to you because it is the Jubilee; you may only eat its produce directly from the field.
“When you sow in the eighth year, you will be eating from the previous harvest. You will be eating this until the ninth year when its harvest comes in.
“If your brother becomes destitute and sells part of his property, his nearest relative may come and redeem what his brother has sold.
“Your male and female slaves are to be from the nations around you; you may purchase male and female slaves.
“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.
“His uncle or cousin may redeem him, or any of his close relatives from his clan may redeem him. If he prospers, he may redeem himself.
“The one who purchased him is to calculate the time from the year he sold himself to him until the Year of Jubilee. The price of his sale will be determined by the number of years. It will be set for him like the daily wages of a hired worker.
“If many years are still left, he must pay his redemption price in proportion to them based on his purchase price.
“If only a few years remain until the Year of Jubilee, he will calculate and pay the price of his redemption in proportion to his remaining years.
“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.
“if the assessment concerns a male from twenty to sixty years old, your assessment is fifty silver shekels measured by the standard sanctuary shekel.
“If the person is from five to twenty years old, your assessment for a male is twenty shekels and for a female ten shekels.
“If the person is from one month to five years old, your assessment for a male is five silver shekels, and for a female your assessment is three shekels of silver.
“If the person is sixty years or more, your assessment is fifteen shekels for a male and ten shekels for a female.
“If the vow involves one of the animals that may be brought as an offering to the LORD, any of these he gives to the LORD will be holy.
“If he consecrates his field during the Year of Jubilee, the price will stand according to your assessment.
“But if he consecrates his field after the Jubilee, the priest will calculate the price for him in proportion to the years left until the next Year of Jubilee, so that your assessment will be reduced.
“If a person consecrates to the LORD a field he has purchased that is not part of his inherited landholding,
“Nothing that a man permanently sets apart to the LORD from all he owns, whether a person, an animal, or his inherited landholding, can be sold or redeemed; everything set apart is especially holy to the LORD.
“No person who has been set apart for destruction is to be ransomed; he must be put to death.
“Every tenth of the land's produce, grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD.
“You and Aaron are to register those who are twenty years old or more by their military divisions — everyone who can serve in Israel's army.[fn]
and they assembled the whole community on the first day of the second month. They recorded their ancestry by their clans and their ancestral families, counting one by one the names of those twenty years old or more,
The descendants of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting one by one the names of every male twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army,
The descendants of Simeon: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, those registered counting one by one the names of every male twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army,
The descendants of Gad: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army,
The descendants of Judah: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army,
The descendants of Issachar: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army,
The descendants of Zebulun: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army,
The descendants of Joseph:
The descendants of Ephraim: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army,
The descendants of Manasseh: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army,
The descendants of Benjamin: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army,
The descendants of Dan: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army,
The descendants of Asher: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army,
The descendants of Naphtali: according to their family records by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of those twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in the army,
So all the Israelites twenty years old or more, everyone who could serve in Israel's army, were registered by their ancestral families.
“Assign the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they have been assigned exclusively to him[fn] from the Israelites.
“because every firstborn belongs to me. At the time I struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated every firstborn in Israel to myself, both man and animal. They are mine; I am the LORD.”
“Register the Levites by their ancestral families[fn] and their clans. You are to register every male one month old or more.”
The total number of all the Levite males one month old or more that Moses and Aaron[fn] registered by their clans at the LORD's command was 22,000.
The LORD told Moses, “Register every firstborn male of the Israelites one month old or more, and list their names.
The total number of the firstborn males one month old or more listed by name was 22,273.
“men from thirty years old to fifty years old — everyone who is qualified[fn] to do work at the tent of meeting.
“Register men from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who is qualified to perform service, to do work at the tent of meeting.
“Register men from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who is qualified to do the work of the tent of meeting.
men from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting.
men from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting.
those from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting.
from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who was qualified to do the work of serving at the tent of meeting and transporting it.
“Send away both male or female; send them outside the camp, so that they will not defile their camps where I dwell among them.”
“Tell the Israelites: When a man or woman commits any sin against another, that person acts unfaithfully toward the LORD and is guilty.
“The priest will require the woman to take an oath and will say to her, ‘If no man has slept with you, if you have not gone astray and become defiled while under your husband's authority, be unaffected by this bitter water that brings a curse.
“The priest is to take a handful of the grain offering as a memorial portion and burn it on the altar. Afterward, he will require the woman to drink the water.
“he is to abstain from wine and beer. He must not drink vinegar made from wine or from beer. He must not drink any grape juice or eat fresh grapes or raisins.
“He is not to eat anything produced by the grapevine, from seeds to skin, during the period of his consecration.
“The priest is to take the boiled shoulder from the ram, one unleavened cake from the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and put them into the hands of the Nazirite after he has shaved his consecrated head.
“For every firstborn among the Israelites is mine, both man and animal. I consecrated them to myself on the day I struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt.
“In regard to the Levites: From twenty-five years old or more, a man enters the service in the work at the tent of meeting.
“But at fifty years old he is to retire from his service in the work and no longer serve.
Whenever the cloud was lifted up above the tent, the Israelites would set out; at the place where the cloud stopped, there the Israelites camped.
“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.
During the second year, in the second month on the twentieth day of the month, the cloud was lifted up above the tabernacle of the testimony.
The LORD answered Moses, “Bring me seventy men from Israel known to you as elders and officers of the people. Take them to the tent of meeting and have them stand there with you.
“Then I will come down and speak with you there. I will take some of the Spirit who is on you and put the Spirit on them. They will help you bear the burden of the people, so that you do not have to bear it by yourself.
Moses went out and told the people the words of the LORD. He brought seventy men from the elders of the people and had them stand around the tent.
Then the LORD descended in the cloud and spoke to him. He took some of the Spirit who was on Moses and placed the Spirit on the seventy elders. As the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but they never did it again.
As the cloud moved away from the tent, Miriam's skin suddenly became diseased, resembling snow.[fn] When Aaron turned toward her, he saw that she was diseased
“Is the land fertile or unproductive? Are there trees in it or not? Be courageous. Bring back some fruit from the land.” It was the season for the first ripe grapes.
When they came to Eshcol Valley, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes, which was carried on a pole by two men. They also took some pomegranates and figs.
“Only don't rebel against the LORD, and don't be afraid of the people of the land, for we will devour them. Their protection has been removed from them, and the LORD is with us. Don't be afraid of them! ”
“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.
Only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh remained alive of those men who went to scout out the land.
“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,
“If you prepare a young bull as a burnt offering or as a sacrifice, to fulfill a vow, or as a fellowship offering to the LORD,
“you are to offer a contribution to the LORD when you eat from the food of the land.
“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.
“all that the LORD has commanded you through Moses, from the day the LORD issued the commands and onward throughout your generations —
“But the person who acts defiantly,[fn] whether native or resident alien, blasphemes the LORD. That person is to be cut off from his people.
He warned the community, “Get away now from the tents of these wicked men. Don't touch anything that belongs to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins.”
So they got away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Meanwhile, Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrance of their tents with their wives, children, and infants.
At their cries, all the people of Israel who were around them fled because they thought, “The earth may swallow us too! ”
Then Moses told Aaron, “Take your firepan, place fire from the altar in it, and add incense. Go quickly to the community and make atonement for them, because wrath has come from the LORD; the plague has begun.”
Moses then brought out all the staffs from the LORD's presence to all the Israelites. They saw them, and each man took his own staff.
Then the LORD spoke to Aaron, “Look, I have put you in charge of the contributions brought to me. As for all the holy offerings of the Israelites, I have given them to you and your sons as a portion and a permanent statute.
“A portion of the holiest offerings kept from the fire will be yours; every one of their offerings that they give me, whether the grain offering, sin offering, or guilt offering will be most holy for you and your sons.
“The contribution of their gifts also belongs to you. I have given all the Israelites' presentation offerings to you and to your sons and daughters as a permanent statute. Every ceremonially clean person in your house may eat it.
“The firstborn of every living thing, human or animal, presented to the LORD belongs to you. But you must certainly redeem a human firstborn, and redeem the firstborn of an unclean animal.
“You will pay the redemption price for a month-old male according to your assessment: five shekels[fn] of silver by the standard sanctuary shekel, which is twenty gerahs.
“Speak to the Levites and tell them: When you receive from the Israelites the tenth that I have given you as your inheritance, you are to present part of it as an offering to the LORD — a tenth of the tenth.
“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.
“Tell them further: Once you have presented the best part of the tenth, and it is credited to you Levites as the produce of the threshing floor or the winepress,
“The priest Eleazar is to take some of its blood with his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the tent of meeting.
“Anyone who touches a body of a person who has died, and does not purify himself, defiles the tabernacle of the LORD. That person will be cut off from Israel. He remains unclean because the water for impurity has not been sprinkled on him, and his uncleanness is still on him.
“For the purification of the unclean person, they are to take some of the ashes of the burnt sin offering, put them in a jar, and add fresh water to them.
Then Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the doorway of the tent of meeting. They fell facedown, and the glory of the LORD appeared to them.
They set out from there and camped on the other side of the Arnon River, in the wilderness that extends from the Amorite border, because the Arnon was the Moabite border between Moab and the Amorites.
The princes dug the well;
the nobles of the people hollowed it out
with a scepter and with their staffs.
They went from the wilderness to Mattanah,
from Bamoth to the valley in the territory of Moab near the Pisgah highlands that overlook the wasteland.[fn]
Israel struck him with the sword and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, but only up to the Ammonite border, because it was fortified.[fn]
Heshbon was the city of King Sihon of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and had taken control of all his land as far as the Arnon.
Moab was terrified of the people because they were numerous, and Moab dreaded the Israelites.
“‘Look, a people has come out of Egypt, and they cover the surface of the land. Now come and put a curse on them for me. I may be able to fight against them and drive them away.' ”
But the donkey said, “Am I not the donkey you've ridden all your life until today? Have I ever treated you this way before? ”
“No,” he replied.
I see them from the top of rocky cliffs,
and I watch them from the hills.
There is a people living alone;
it does not consider itself among the nations.
The LORD said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and execute[fn] them in broad daylight before the LORD so that his burning anger may turn away from Israel.”
followed the Israelite man into the tent,[fn] and drove it through both the Israelite man and the woman — through her belly. Then the plague on the Israelites was stopped,
“Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the Israelites because he was zealous among them with my zeal,[fn] so that I did not destroy the Israelites in my zeal.
“Take a census of the entire Israelite community by their ancestral families[fn] of those twenty years old or more who can serve in Israel's army.”
“Take a census of those twenty years old or more, as the LORD had commanded Moses and the Israelites who came out of the land of Egypt.”
Those registered were 23,000, every male one month old or more; they were not registered among the other Israelites, because no inheritance was given to them among the Israelites.
“You, the priest Eleazar, and the family heads of the community are to take a count of what was captured, people and animals.
“Set aside a tribute for the LORD from what belongs to the fighting men who went out to war: one out of every five hundred people, cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats.
“Take the tribute from their half and give it to the priest Eleazar as a contribution to the LORD.
“From the Israelites' half, take one out of every fifty from the people, cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats, all the livestock, and give them to the Levites who perform the duties of[fn] the LORD's tabernacle.”
The captives remaining from the plunder the army had taken totaled:
675,000 sheep and goats,
Moses took one out of every fifty, selected from the people and the livestock of the Israelites' half. He gave them to the Levites who perform the duties of the LORD's tabernacle, as the LORD had commanded him.
“‘Because they did not remain loyal to me, none of the men twenty years old or more who came up from Egypt will see the land I swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob —
“Yet we will not have an inheritance with them across the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance will be across the Jordan to the east.”
“and every one of your armed men crosses the Jordan before the LORD until he has driven his enemies from his presence,
“and the land is subdued before the LORD — afterward you may return and be free from obligation to the LORD and to Israel. And this land will belong to you as a possession before the LORD.
They traveled from the Abarim range and camped on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho.
“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.
“Your southern side will be from the Wilderness of Zin along the boundary of Edom. Your southern border on the east will begin at the east end of the Dead Sea.
“Your border will turn south of the Scorpions' Ascent,[fn] proceed to Zin, and end south of Kadesh-barnea. It will go to Hazar-addar and proceed to Azmon.
“The border will turn from Azmon to the Brook of Egypt, where it will end at the Mediterranean Sea.
“This will be your northern border: From the Mediterranean Sea draw a line to Mount Hor;
“from Mount Hor draw a line to the entrance of Hamath,[fn] and the border will reach Zedad.
“Then the border will go to Ziphron and end at Hazar-enan. This will be your northern border.
“The border will go down from Shepham to Riblah east of Ain. It will continue down and reach the eastern slope of the Sea of Chinnereth.[fn]
“The two and a half tribes have received their inheritance across the Jordan east of Jericho, toward the sunrise.”
“Command the Israelites to give cities out of their hereditary property for the Levites to live in and pastureland around the cities.
“The pasturelands of the cities you are to give the Levites will extend from the city wall five hundred yards[fn] on every side.
“Of the cities that you give from the Israelites' territory, you should take more from a larger tribe and less from a smaller one. Each tribe is to give some of its cities to the Levites in proportion to the inheritance it receives.”
“You will have the cities as a refuge from the avenger, so that the one who kills someone will not die until he stands trial before the assembly.
“The assembly is to protect the one who kills someone from the avenger of blood. Then the assembly will return him to the city of refuge he fled to, and he must live there until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil.
“Do not defile the land where you live, for bloodshed defiles the land, and there can be no atonement for the land because of the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of the person who shed it.
“When the Jubilee comes for the Israelites, their inheritance will be added to that of the tribe into which they marry, and their inheritance will be taken away from the inheritance of our ancestral tribe.”
“No inheritance belonging to the Israelites is to transfer from tribe to tribe, because each of the Israelites is to retain the inheritance of his ancestral tribe.
“They took some of the fruit from the land in their hands, carried it down to us, and brought us back a report: ‘The land the LORD our God is giving us is good.'
“Then the Amorites who lived there came out against you and chased you like a swarm of bees. They routed you from Seir as far as Hormah.
“Don't provoke them, for I will not give you any of their land, not even a foot of it,[fn] because I have given Esau the hill country of Seir as his possession.
“So we bypassed our brothers, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. We turned away from the Arabah road and from Elath and Ezion-geber. We traveled along the road to the Wilderness of Moab.
“The LORD said to me, ‘Show no hostility toward Moab, and do not provoke them to battle, for I will not give you any of their land as a possession, since I have given Ar as a possession to the descendants of Lot.' ”
The Horites had previously lived in Seir, but the descendants of Esau drove them out, destroying them completely[fn] and settling in their place, just as Israel did in the land of its possession the LORD gave them.
“The time we spent traveling from Kadesh-barnea until we crossed the Zered Valley was thirty-eight years until the entire generation of fighting men had perished from the camp, as the LORD had sworn to them.
“When you get close to the Ammonites, don't show any hostility to them or provoke them, for I will not give you any of the Ammonites' land as a possession; I have given it as a possession to the descendants of Lot.' ”
This was just as he had done for the descendants of Esau who lived in Seir, when he destroyed the Horites before them; they drove them out and have lived in their place until now.
“Today I will begin to put the fear and dread of you on the peoples everywhere under heaven. They will hear the report about you, tremble, and be in anguish because of you.'
“At that time we took the land from the two Amorite kings across the Jordan, from the Arnon Valley as far as Mount Hermon,
“At that time we took possession of this land. I gave to the Reubenites and Gadites the area extending from Aroer by the Arnon Valley, and half the hill country of Gilead along with its cities.
“and I gave to the Reubenites and Gadites the area extending from Gilead to the Arnon Valley (the middle of the valley was the border) and up to the Jabbok River, the border of the Ammonites.
“Only be on your guard and diligently watch yourselves, so that you don't forget the things your eyes have seen and so that they don't slip from your mind[fn] as long as you live. Teach them to your children and your grandchildren.
“I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that you will quickly perish from the land you are about to cross the Jordan to possess. You will not live long there, but you will certainly be destroyed.
“Indeed, ask about the earlier days that preceded you, from the day God created mankind[fn] on the earth and from one end of the heavens to the other: Has anything like this great event ever happened, or has anything like it been heard of?
“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:
“for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God. Otherwise, the LORD your God will become angry with you and obliterate you from the face of the earth.
“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 —
“The LORD will remove all sickness from you; he will not put on you all the terrible diseases of Egypt that you know about, but he will inflict them on all who hate you.
“the great trials that you saw, the signs and wonders, the strong hand and outstretched arm, by which the LORD your God brought you out. The LORD your God will do the same to all the peoples you fear.
“The LORD your God will also send hornets against them until all the survivors and those hiding from you perish.
“Don't be terrified of them, for the LORD your God, a great and awesome God, is among you.
“The LORD your God will drive out these nations before you little by little. You will not be able to destroy them all at once; otherwise, the wild animals will become too numerous for you.
“But understand that today the LORD your God will cross over ahead of you as a consuming fire; he will devastate and subdue them before you. You will drive them out and destroy them swiftly, as the LORD has told you.
“When the LORD your God drives them out before you, do not say to yourself, ‘The LORD brought me in to take possession of this land because of my righteousness.' Instead, the LORD will drive out these nations before you because of their wickedness.
“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.
They traveled from there to Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a land with flowing streams.
“Then the LORD's anger will burn against you. He will shut the sky, and there will be no rain; the land will not yield its produce, and you will perish quickly from the good land the LORD is giving you.
“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.
“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.
“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,
“If the place where the LORD your God chooses to put his name is too far from you, you may slaughter any of your herd or flock he has given you, as I have commanded you, and you may eat it within your city gates whenever you want.
“When the LORD your God annihilates the nations before you, which you are entering to take possession of, and you drive them out and live in their land,
“be careful not to be ensnared by their ways after they have been destroyed before you. Do not inquire about their gods, asking, ‘How did these nations worship their gods? I'll also do the same.'
“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 —
“Stone him to death for trying to turn you away from the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.
“Nothing set apart for destruction is to remain in your hand, so that the LORD will turn from his burning anger and grant you mercy, show you compassion, and multiply you as he swore to your ancestors.
“for you are a holy people belonging to the LORD your God. The LORD has chosen you to be his own possession out of all the peoples on the face of the earth.
“But among the ones that chew the cud or have divided hooves, you are not to eat these:
camels, hares, and hyraxes,
though they chew the cud, they do not have hooves —
they are unclean for you;
“and pigs, though they have hooves, they do not chew the cud —
they are unclean for you.
Do not eat their meat or touch their carcasses.
“But if the distance is too great for you to carry it, since the place where the LORD your God chooses to put his name is too far away from you and since the LORD your God has blessed you,
“If there is a poor person among you, one of your brothers within any of your city gates in the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother.
“For there will never cease to be poor people in the land; that is why I am commanding you, ‘Open your hand willingly to your poor and needy brother in your land.'
“If your fellow Hebrew, a man or woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, you must set him free in the seventh year.
“Give generously to him from your flock, your threshing floor, and your winepress. You are to give him whatever the LORD your God has blessed you with.
“But if your slave says to you, ‘I don't want to leave you,' because he loves you and your family, and is well off with you,
“Do not regard it as a hardship[fn] when you set him free, because he worked for you six years — worth twice the wages of a hired worker. Then the LORD your God will bless you in everything you do.
“No yeast is to be found anywhere in your territory for seven days, and none of the meat you sacrifice in the evening of the first day is to remain until morning.
“You are to celebrate the Festival of Shelters for seven days when you have gathered in everything from your threshing floor and winepress.
“If a case is too difficult for you — concerning bloodshed, lawsuits, or assaults — cases disputed at your city gates, then go up to the place the LORD your God chooses.
“You must abide by the instruction they give you and the verdict they announce to you. Do not turn to the right or the left from the decision they declare to you.
“Then his heart will not be exalted above his countrymen, he will not turn from this command to the right or the left, and he and his sons will continue reigning many years[fn] in Israel.
“Everyone who does these acts is detestable to the LORD, and the LORD your God is driving out the nations before you because of these detestable acts.
“If, for example, he goes into the forest with his neighbor to cut timber, and his hand swings the ax to chop down a tree, but the blade flies off the handle and strikes his neighbor so that he dies, that person may flee to one of these cities and live.
“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.
“This is how you are to treat all the cities that are far away from you and are not among the cities of these nations.
“However, you must not let any living thing survive among the cities of these people the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.
“When you lay siege to a city for a long time, fighting against it in order to capture it, do not destroy its trees by putting an ax to them, because you can get food from them. Do not cut them down. Are trees of the field human, to come under siege by you?
“For the LORD your God walks throughout your camp to protect you and deliver your enemies to you; so your encampments must be holy. He must not see anything indecent among you or he will turn away from you.
“No Israelite woman is to be a cult prostitute, and no Israelite man is to be a cult prostitute.
“then his sister-in-law will go up to him in the sight of the elders, remove his sandal from his foot, and spit in his face. Then she will declare, ‘This is what is done to a man who will not build up his brother's house.'
“When the LORD your God gives you rest from all the enemies around you in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance, blot out the memory of Amalek under heaven. Do not forget.
“take some of the first of all the land's produce that you harvest from the land the LORD your God is giving you and put it in a basket. Then go to the place where the LORD your God chooses to have his name dwell.
“The LORD will cause the enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you. They will march out against you from one direction but flee from you in seven directions.
“Do not turn aside to the right or the left from all the things I am commanding you today, and do not follow other gods to worship them.
“The LORD will make pestilence cling to you until he has exterminated you from the land you are entering to possess.
“The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will march out against them from one direction but flee from them in seven directions. You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
“Your ox will be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will not eat any of it. Your donkey will be taken away from you and not returned to you. Your flock will be given to your enemies, and no one will help you.
“The LORD will afflict you with painful and incurable boils on your knees and thighs — from the sole of your foot to the top of your head.
“refusing to share with any of them his children's flesh that he will eat because he has nothing left during the siege and hardship your enemy imposes on you in all your towns.
“He will afflict you again with all the diseases of Egypt, which you dreaded, and they will cling to you.
“Just as the LORD was glad to cause you to prosper and to multiply you, so he will also be glad to cause you to perish and to destroy you. You will be ripped out of the land you are entering to possess.
“In the morning you will say, ‘If only it were evening! ' and in the evening you will say, ‘If only it were morning! ' — because of the dread you will have in your heart and because of what you will see.
“I led you forty years in the wilderness; your clothes and the sandals on your feet did not wear out;
“your dependents, your wives, and the resident aliens in your camps who cut your wood and draw your water —
“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.
“The LORD uprooted them from their land in his anger, rage, and intense wrath, and threw them into another land where they are today.'
“This command that I give you today is certainly not too difficult or beyond your reach.
“The LORD your God is the one who will cross ahead of you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you will drive them out. Joshua is the one who will cross ahead of you, as the LORD has said.
“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.”
“I will make my arrows drunk with blood
while my sword devours flesh —
the blood of the slain and the captives,
the heads of the enemy leaders.”[fn]
He said about Joseph:
May his land be blessed by the LORD
with the dew of heaven's bounty
and the watery depths that lie beneath;
He said about Asher:
May Asher[fn] be the most blessed of the sons;
may he be the most favored among his brothers
and dip his foot in olive oil.
The God of old is your dwelling place,
and underneath are the everlasting arms.
He drives out the enemy before you
and commands, “Destroy! ”
Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which faces Jericho, and the LORD showed him all the land: Gilead as far as Dan,
“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.
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.
He said, “You will know that the living God is among you and that he will certainly dispossess before you the Canaanites, Hethites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites
So Joshua summoned the twelve men he had selected from the Israelites, one man for each tribe,
“you should tell them, ‘The water of the Jordan was cut off in front of the ark of the LORD's covenant. When it crossed the Jordan, the Jordan's water was cut off.' Therefore these stones will always be a memorial for the Israelites.”
The people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and camped at Gilgal on the eastern limits of Jericho.
When all the Amorite kings across the Jordan to the west and all the Canaanite kings near the sea heard how the LORD had dried up the water of the Jordan before the Israelites until they had crossed over, they lost heart and their courage failed because of the Israelites.
While the Israelites camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, they observed the Passover on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month.
The day after Passover they ate unleavened bread and roasted grain from the produce of the land.
“But keep yourselves from the things set apart, or you will be set apart for destruction. If you[fn] take any of those things, you will set apart the camp of Israel for destruction and make trouble for it.
They completely destroyed everything in the city with the sword — every man and woman, both young and old, and every ox, sheep, and donkey.
The Israelites, however, were unfaithful regarding the things set apart for destruction. Achan son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of what was set apart, and the LORD's anger burned against the Israelites.
“When the Canaanites and all who live in the land hear about this, they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. Then what will you do about your great name? ”
“Israel has sinned. They have violated my covenant that I appointed for them. They have taken some of what was set apart. They have stolen, deceived, and put those things with their own belongings.
He commanded them, “Pay attention. Lie in ambush behind the city, not too far from it, and all of you be ready.
“Then I and all the people who are with me will approach the city. When they come out against us as they did the first time, we will flee from them.
“They will come after us until we have drawn them away from the city, for they will say, ‘They are fleeing from us as before.' While we are fleeing from them,
So Joshua sent them out, and they went to the ambush site and waited between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai. But he spent that night with the troops.
Now Joshua had taken about five thousand men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city.
Joshua and all Israel pretended to be beaten back by them and fled toward the wilderness.
Then all the troops of Ai were summoned to pursue them, and they pursued Joshua and were drawn away from the city.
The total of those who fell that day, both men and women, was twelve thousand — all the people of Ai.
There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read before the entire assembly of Israel, including the women, the dependents, and the resident aliens who lived among them.
These wineskins were new when we filled them; but see, they are cracked. And these clothes and sandals of ours are worn out from the extremely long journey.”
Joshua summoned the Gibeonites and said to them, “Why did you deceive us by telling us you live far away from us, when in fact you live among us?
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.
Then the men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal: “Don't give up on your servants. Come quickly and save us! Help us, for all the Amorite kings living in the hill country have joined forces against us.”
The LORD threw them into confusion before Israel. He defeated them in a great slaughter at Gibeon, chased them through the ascent of Beth-horon, and struck them down as far as Azekah and Makkedah.
As they fled before Israel, the LORD threw large hailstones on them from the sky along the descent of Beth-horon all the way to Azekah, and they died. More of them died from the hail than the Israelites killed with the sword.
On the day the LORD gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the LORD in the presence of Israel:
“Sun, stand still over Gibeon,
and moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.”
At sunset Joshua commanded that they be taken down from the trees and thrown into the cave where they had hidden. Then large stones were placed against the mouth of the cave, and the stones are still there today.
Joshua conquered everyone from Kadesh-barnea to Gaza, and all the land of Goshen as far as Gibeon.
the Canaanites in the east and west, the Amorites, Hethites, Perizzites, and Jebusites in the hill country, and the Hivites at the foot of Hermon in the land of Mizpah.
The LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for at this time tomorrow I will cause all of them to be killed before Israel. You are to hamstring their horses and burn their chariots.”
Just as the LORD had commanded his servant Moses, Moses commanded Joshua. That is what Joshua did, leaving nothing undone of all that the LORD had commanded Moses.
from Mount Halak, which ascends to Seir, as far as Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon at the foot of Mount Hermon. He captured all their kings and struck them down, putting them to death.
No Anakim were left in the land of the Israelites, except for some remaining in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod.
The Israelites struck down the following kings of the land and took possession of their land beyond the Jordan to the east and from the Arnon River to Mount Hermon, including all the Arabah eastward:
King Sihon of the Amorites lived in Heshbon. He ruled from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon River, along the middle of the valley, and half of Gilead up to the Jabbok River (the border of the Ammonites),
He ruled over Mount Hermon, Salecah, all Bashan up to the Geshurite and Maacathite border, and half of Gilead to the border of King Sihon of Heshbon.
“from the Shihor east of Egypt to the border of Ekron on the north (considered to be Canaanite territory) — the five Philistine rulers of Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron, as well as the Avvites
“the land of the Gebalites; and all Lebanon east from Baal-gad below Mount Hermon to the entrance of Hamath[fn] —
“all the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon to Misrephoth-maim, all the Sidonians.
I will drive them out before the Israelites, only distribute the land as an inheritance for Israel, as I have commanded you.
“Therefore, divide this land as an inheritance to the nine tribes and half the tribe of Manasseh.”
From Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the middle of the valley, all the Medeba plateau as far as Dibon,
the whole kingdom of Og in Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and Edrei; he was one of the remaining Rephaim.
Moses struck them down and drove them out,
this as their territory:
From Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the middle of the valley, the whole plateau as far as[fn] Medeba,
from Heshbon to Ramath-mizpeh and Betonim, and from Mahanaim to the border of Debir;[fn]
this as their territory:
From Mahanaim through all Bashan — all the kingdom of King Og of Bashan, including all of Jair's Villages[fn] that are in Bashan — sixty cities.
These were the portions Moses gave them on the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan east of Jericho.
because Moses had given the inheritance to the two and a half tribes beyond the Jordan. But he gave no inheritance among them to the Levites.
Now the allotment for the tribe of the descendants of Judah by their clans was in the southernmost region, south to the Wilderness of Zin and over to the border of Edom.
and went south of the Scorpions' Ascent, proceeded to Zin, ascended to the south of Kadesh-barnea, passed Hezron, ascended to Addar, and turned to Karka.
It proceeded to Azmon and to the Brook of Egypt and so the border ended at the Mediterranean Sea. This is your[fn] southern border.
Now the eastern border was along the Dead Sea to the mouth of the Jordan.
The border on the north side was from the bay of the sea at the mouth of the Jordan.
It ascended to Beth-hoglah, proceeded north of Beth-arabah, and ascended to the Stone of Bohan son of Reuben.
From there the border ascended Ben Hinnom Valley to the southern Jebusite slope (that is, Jerusalem) and ascended to the top of the hill that faces Hinnom Valley on the west, at the northern end of Rephaim Valley.
From the top of the hill the border curved to the spring of the Waters of Nephtoah, went to the cities of Mount Ephron, and then curved to Baalah (that is, Kiriath-jearim).
The border turned westward from Baalah to Mount Seir, went to the northern slope of Mount Jearim (that is, Chesalon), descended to Beth-shemesh, and proceeded to Timnah.
Now the western border was the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea.
This was the boundary of the descendants of Judah around their clans.
The allotment for the descendants of Joseph went from the Jordan at Jericho to the Waters of Jericho on the east, through the wilderness ascending from Jericho into the hill country of Bethel.
This was the territory of the descendants of Ephraim by their clans:
The border of their inheritance went from Ataroth-addar on the east to Upper Beth-horon.
In the north the border went westward from Michmethath; it turned eastward from Taanath-shiloh and passed it east of Janoah.
From Tappuah the border went westward along the Brook of Kanah and ended at the Mediterranean Sea.
This was the inheritance of the tribe of the descendants of Ephraim by their clans, together with
As a result, ten tracts fell to Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan, which are beyond the Jordan,[fn]
Ephraim's territory was to the south and Manasseh's to the north, with the Sea as its border. They reached Asher on the north and Issachar on the east.
“Then they are to divide it into seven portions. Judah is to remain in its territory in the south and Joseph's family in their territory in the north.
Their border on the north side began at the Jordan, ascended to the slope of Jericho on the north, through the hill country westward, and ended at the wilderness around Beth-aven.
From there the border went toward Luz, to the southern slope of Luz (that is, Bethel); it then went down by Ataroth-addar, over the hill south of Lower Beth-horon.
On the west side, from the hill facing Beth-horon on the south, the border curved, turning southward, and ended at Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), a city of the descendants of Judah. This was the west side of their border.
The south side began at the edge of Kiriath-jearim, and the border extended westward; it went to the spring at the Waters of Nephtoah.
The border descended to the foot of the hill that faces Ben Hinnom Valley at the northern end of Rephaim Valley. It ran down Hinnom Valley toward the south Jebusite slope and downward to En-rogel.
The border continued to the north slope of Beth-hoglah and ended at the northern bay of the Dead Sea, at the southern end of the Jordan. This was the southern border.
The Jordan formed the border on the east side.
This was the inheritance of Benjamin's descendants, by their clans, according to its surrounding borders.
The inheritance of Simeon's descendants was within the territory of Judah's descendants, because the share for Judah's descendants was too large. So Simeon's descendants received an inheritance within Judah's portion.
From Sarid, it turned due east along the border of Chisloth-tabor, went to Daberath, and went up to Japhia.
The boundary then turned to Ramah as far as the fortified city of Tyre; it turned back to Hosah and ended at the Mediterranean Sea, including Mahalab, Achzib,[fn]
To the west, the boundary turned to Aznoth-tabor and went from there to Hukkok, reaching Zebulun on the south, Asher on the west, and Judah[fn] at the Jordan on the east.
Across the Jordan east of Jericho, they selected Bezer on the wilderness plateau from Reuben's tribe, Ramoth in Gilead from Gad's tribe, and Golan in Bashan from Manasseh's tribe.
The lot came out for the Kohathite clans: The Levites who were the descendants of the priest Aaron received thirteen cities by lot from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin.
The remaining descendants of Kohath received ten cities by lot from the clans of the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and half the tribe of Manasseh.
Gershon's descendants received thirteen cities by lot from the clans of the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and half the tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.
Merari's descendants received twelve cities for their clans from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.
The Israelites gave these cities by name from the tribes of the descendants of Judah and Simeon
to the descendants of Aaron from the Kohathite clans of the Levites, because they received the first lot.
The allotted cities to the remaining clans of Kohath's descendants, who were Levites, came from the tribe of Ephraim.
From half the tribe of Manasseh they gave:
Taanach with its pasturelands and Gath-rimmon[fn] with its pasturelands — two cities.
From the tribe of Gad they gave:
Ramoth in Gilead, the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasturelands, Mahanaim with its pasturelands,
All twelve cities were allotted to the clans of Merari's descendants, the remaining Levite clans.
The LORD gave them rest on every side according to all he had sworn to their ancestors. None of their enemies were able to stand against them, for the LORD handed over all their enemies to them.
None of the good promises the LORD had made to the house of Israel failed. Everything was fulfilled.
The Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh left the Israelites at Shiloh in the land of Canaan to return to their own land of Gilead, which they took possession of according to the LORD's command through Moses.
They sent ten leaders with him — one family leader for each tribe of Israel. All of them were heads of their ancestral families among the clans of Israel.
“This is what the LORD's entire community says: ‘What is this treachery you have committed today against the God of Israel by turning away from the LORD and building an altar for yourselves, so that you are in rebellion against the LORD today?
“and now would you turn away from the LORD? If you rebel against the LORD today, tomorrow he will be angry with the entire community of Israel.
“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.
“Wasn't Achan son of Zerah unfaithful regarding what was set apart for destruction, bringing wrath on the entire community of Israel? He was not the only one who perished because of his iniquity.' ”
“that we have built for ourselves an altar to turn away from him. May the LORD himself hold us accountable if we intended to offer burnt offerings and grain offerings on it, or to sacrifice fellowship offerings on it.
“We would never ever rebel against the LORD or turn away from him today by building an altar for burnt offering, grain offering, or sacrifice, other than the altar of the LORD our God, which is in front of his tabernacle.”
Then the priest Phinehas son of Eleazar and the leaders returned from the Reubenites and Gadites in the land of Gilead to the Israelites in the land of Canaan and brought back a report to them.
A long time after the LORD had given Israel rest from all the enemies around them, Joshua was old, advanced in age.
“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.
“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.
“Since every good thing the LORD your God promised you has come about, so he will bring on you every bad thing until he has annihilated you from this good land the LORD your God has given you.
“ ‘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.
“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.
“The LORD drove out before us all the peoples, including the Amorites who lived in the land. We too will worship the LORD, because he is our God.”
They buried him in his allotted territory at Timnath-serah, in the hill country of Ephraim north of Mount Gaash.
When she arrived, she persuaded Othniel to ask her father for a field. As she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What do you want? ”
The 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.
They buried him in the territory of his inheritance, in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
and abandoned the LORD, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed other gods from the surrounding peoples and bowed down to them. They angered the LORD,
Whenever the LORD raised up a judge for the Israelites, the LORD was with him and saved the people from the power of their enemies while the judge was still alive. The LORD was moved to pity whenever they groaned because of those who were oppressing and afflicting them.
Whenever the judge died, the Israelites would act even more corruptly than their ancestors, following other gods to serve them and bow in worship to them. They did not turn from their evil practices or their obstinate ways.
These nations included the five rulers of the Philistines and all of the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived in the Lebanese mountains from Mount Baal-hermon as far as the entrance to Hamath.[fn]
At the carved images near Gilgal he returned and said, “King Eglon, I have a secret message for you.” The king said, “Silence! ” and all his attendants left him.
Then Ehud approached him while he was sitting alone in his upstairs room where it was cool. Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you,” and the king stood up from his throne.
Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and plunged it into Eglon's belly.
She summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, “Hasn't the LORD, the God of Israel, commanded you, ‘Go, deploy the troops on Mount Tabor, and take with you ten thousand men from the Naphtalites and Zebulunites?
Now Heber the Kenite had moved away from the Kenites, the sons of Hobab, Moses's father-in-law, and pitched his tent beside the oak tree of Zaanannim, which was near Kedesh.
Sisera summoned all his nine hundred iron chariots and all the troops who were with him from Harosheth of the Nations to the Wadi Kishon.
Then Deborah said to Barak, “Go! This is the day the LORD has handed Sisera over to you. Hasn't the LORD gone before you? ” So Barak came down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him.
The LORD threw Sisera, all his charioteers, and all his army into a panic before Barak's assault. Sisera left his chariot and fled on foot.
The mountains melted before the LORD,
even Sinai,[fn] before the LORD, the God of Israel.
and they oppressed Israel. Because of Midian, the Israelites made hiding places for themselves in the mountains, caves, and strongholds.
So Israel became poverty-stricken because of Midian, and the Israelites cried out to the LORD.
So Gideon took ten of his male servants and did as the LORD had told him. But because he was too afraid of his father's family and the men of the city to do it in the daytime, he did it at night.
Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the troops who were with him, got up early and camped beside the spring of Harod. The camp of Midian was north of them, below the hill of Moreh, in the valley.
“Now announce to the troops, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.' ” So twenty-two thousand of the troops turned back, but ten thousand remained.
“But if not, may fire come from Abimelech and consume the citizens of Shechem and Beth-millo, and may fire come from the citizens of Shechem and Beth-millo and consume Abimelech.”
Then Jotham fled, escaping to Beer, and lived there because of his brother Abimelech.
When Gaal saw the troops, he said to Zebul, “Look, troops are coming down from the mountaintops! ” But Zebul said to him, “The shadows of the mountains look like men to you.”
Then Gaal spoke again, “Look, troops are coming down from the central part of the land, and one unit is coming from the direction of the Diviners' Oak.”
but Abimelech pursued him, and Gaal fled before him. Numerous bodies were strewn as far as the entrance of the city gate.
The king of the Ammonites said to Jephthah's messengers, “When Israel came from Egypt, they seized my land from the Arnon to the Jabbok and the Jordan. Now restore it peaceably.”
“They took possession of all the territory of the Amorites from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan.
“Isn't it true that you can have whatever your god Chemosh conquers for you, and we can have whatever the LORD our God conquers for us?
The Spirit of the LORD came on Jephthah, who traveled through Gilead and Manasseh, and then through Mizpah of Gilead. He crossed over to the Ammonites from Mizpah of Gilead.
“whoever comes out the doors of my house to greet me when I return safely from the Ammonites will belong to the LORD, and I will offer that person as a burnt offering.”
He defeated twenty of their cities with a great slaughter from Aroer all the way to the entrance of Minnith and to Abel-keramim. So the Ammonites were subdued before the Israelites.
“He said to me, ‘You will conceive and give birth to a son. Therefore, do not drink wine or beer, and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from birth until the day of his death.' ”
The angel of the LORD answered Manoah, “Your wife needs to do everything I told her.
“She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine or drink wine or beer. And she must not eat anything unclean. Your wife must do everything I have commanded her.”
He went back and told his father and his mother, “I have seen a young Philistine woman in Timnah. Now get her for me as a wife.”
But his father and mother said to him, “Can't you find a young woman among your relatives or among any of our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines for a wife? ”
But Samson told his father, “Get her for me. She's the right one for me.”
Then he ignited the torches and released the foxes into the standing grain of the Philistines. He burned the piles of grain and the standing grain as well as the vineyards and olive groves.
When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came to meet him shouting. The Spirit of the LORD came powerfully on him, and the ropes that were on his arms and wrists became like burnt flax and fell off.
When he finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone and named that place Jawbone Hill.[fn]
Delilah took new ropes, tied him up with them, and shouted, “Samson, the Philistines are here! ” But while the men in ambush were waiting in her room, he snapped the ropes off his arms like a thread.
he told her the whole truth and said to her, “My hair has never been cut,[fn] because I am a Nazirite to God from birth. If I am shaved, my strength will leave me, and I will become weak and be like any other man.”
When Delilah realized that he had told her the whole truth, she sent this message to the Philistine leaders: “Come one more time, for he has told me the whole truth.” The Philistine leaders came to her and brought the silver with them.
So the Danites sent out five brave men from all their clans, from Zorah and Eshtaol, to scout out the land and explore it. They told them, “Go and explore the land.”
They came to the hill country of Ephraim as far as the home of Micah and spent the night there.
After they were some distance from Micah's house, the men who were in the houses near it were mustered and caught up with the Danites.
There was no one to rescue them because it was far from Sidon and they had no alliance with anyone. It was in a valley that belonged to Beth-rehob. They rebuilt the city and lived in it.
In the evening, an old man came in from his work in the field. He was from the hill country of Ephraim, but he was residing in Gibeah where the people were Benjaminites.
Everyone who saw it said, “Nothing like this has ever happened or has been seen since the day the Israelites came out of the land of Egypt until now.[fn] Think it over, discuss it, and speak up! ”
All the Israelites from Dan to Beer-sheba and from the land of Gilead came out, and the community assembled as one body before the LORD at Mizpah.
So all the men of Israel got up from their places and took their battle positions at Baal-tamar, while the Israelites in ambush charged out of their places west of[fn] Geba.
They retreated before the men of Israel toward the wilderness, but the battle overtook them, and those who came out of the cities[fn] slaughtered those between them.
They surrounded the Benjaminites, pursued them, and easily overtook them near Gibeah toward the east.
The men of Israel turned back against the other Benjaminites and killed them with their swords — the entire city, the animals, and everything that remained. They also burned all the cities that remained.
“What should we do about wives for the survivors? We've sworn to the LORD not to give them any of our daughters as wives.”
They asked, “Which city among the tribes of Israel didn't come to the LORD at Mizpah? ” It turned out that no one from Jabesh-gilead had come to the camp and the assembly.
For when the roll was called, no men were there from the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead.
The congregation sent twelve thousand brave warriors there and commanded them, “Go and kill the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the sword, including women and dependents.
They found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young virgins, who had not been intimate with a man, and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh in the land of Canaan.
“But we can't give them our daughters as wives.” For the Israelites had sworn, “Anyone who gives a wife to a Benjaminite is cursed.”
They also said, “Look, there's an annual festival to the LORD in Shiloh, which is north of Bethel, east of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.”
“Watch, and when you see the young women of Shiloh come out to perform the dances, each of you leave the vineyards and catch a wife for yourself from the young women of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.
The Benjaminites did this and took the number of women they needed from the dancers they caught. They went back to their own inheritance, rebuilt their cities, and lived in them.
During the time[fn] of the judges, there was a famine in the land. A man left Bethlehem in Judah with his wife and two sons to stay in the territory of Moab for a while.
both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and the woman was left without her two children and without her husband.
“She asked, ‘Will you let me gather fallen grain among the bundles behind the harvesters? ' She came and has been on her feet since early morning, except that she rested a little in the shelter.”[fn]
He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the trash heap.
He seats them with noblemen
and gives them a throne of honor.[fn]
For the foundations of the earth are the LORD's;
he has set the world on them.
Samuel grew. The LORD was with him, and he fulfilled everything Samuel prophesied.[fn]
All Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a confirmed prophet of the LORD.
When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell backward off the chair by the city gate, and since he was old and heavy, his neck broke and he died. Eli had judged Israel forty years.
After they had moved it, the LORD's hand was against the city of Gath, causing a great panic. He afflicted the people of the city, from the youngest to the oldest, with an outbreak of tumors.
“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.
“Now then, prepare one new cart and two milk cows that have never been yoked. Hitch the cows to the cart, but take their calves away and pen them up.
When the Philistines heard that the Israelites had gathered at Mizpah, their rulers marched up toward Israel. When the Israelites heard about it, they were afraid because of the Philistines.
The cities from Ekron to Gath, which they had taken from Israel, were restored; Israel even rescued their surrounding territories from Philistine control. There was also peace between Israel and the Amorites.
When Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed his heart,[fn] and all the signs came about that day.
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.
one stood to the north in front of Michmash and the other to the south in front of Geba.
Then Saul gave up the pursuit of the Philistines, and the Philistines returned to their own territory.
“Now go and attack the Amalekites and completely destroy everything they have. Do not spare them. Kill men and women, infants and nursing babies, oxen and sheep, camels and donkeys.' ”
Then Saul struck down the Amalekites from Havilah all the way to Shur, which is next to Egypt.
“I regret that I made Saul king, for he has turned away from following me and has not carried out my instructions.” So Samuel became angry and cried out to the LORD all night.
So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully on David from that day forward. Then Samuel set out and went to Ramah.
Now the Spirit of the LORD had left Saul, and an evil spirit sent from the LORD began to torment him,
“Today, the LORD will hand you over to me. Today, I'll strike you down, remove your head, and give the corpses[fn] of the Philistine camp to the birds of the sky and the wild creatures of the earth. Then all the world will know that Israel has a God,
and he became even more afraid of David. As a result, Saul was David's enemy from then on.
“don't ever withdraw your kindness from my household — not even when the LORD cuts off every one of David's enemies from the face of the earth.”
Then Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the LORD hold David's enemies accountable.”[fn]
“Then I will send a servant and say, ‘Go and find the arrows! ' Now, if I expressly say to the servant, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you — get them,' then come, because as the LORD lives, it is safe for you and there is no problem.
“But if I say this to the youth, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you! ' then go, for the LORD is sending you away.
He got up from the table fiercely angry and did not eat any food that second day of the New Moon, for he was grieved because of his father's shameful behavior toward David.
He came to the location of the arrow that Jonathan had shot, but Jonathan called to him and said, “The arrow is beyond you, isn't it? ”
When the servant had gone, David got up from the south side of the stone Ezel, fell facedown to the ground, and paid homage three times. Then he and Jonathan kissed each other and wept with each other, though David wept more.
The priest told him, “There is no ordinary bread on hand. However, there is consecrated bread, but the young men may eat it[fn] only if they have kept themselves from women.”
David answered him, “I swear that women are being kept from us, as always when I go out to battle. The young men's bodies[fn] are consecrated even on an ordinary mission, so of course their bodies are consecrated today.”
He also struck down Nob, the city of the priests, with the sword — both men and women, infants and nursing babies, oxen, donkeys, and sheep.
Saul went along one side of the mountain and David and his men went along the other side. Even though David was hurrying to get away from Saul, Saul and his men were closing in on David and his men to capture them.
When Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, “David is in the wilderness near En-gedi.”
When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off the donkey and knelt down with her face to the ground and paid homage to David.
“However, as the LORD is my witness, I will never lift my hand against the LORD's anointed. Instead, take the spear and the water jug by his head, and let's go.”
So David took the spear and the water jug by Saul's head, and they went their way. No one saw them, no one knew, and no one woke up; they all remained asleep because a deep sleep from the LORD came over them.
David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites,[fn] and the Amalekites. From ancient times they had been the inhabitants of the region through Shur as far as the land of Egypt.
By this time Samuel had died, all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his city, and Saul had removed the mediums and spiritists from the land.
But the woman said to him, “You surely know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and spiritists from the land. Why are you setting a trap for me to get me killed? ”
Samuel answered, “Since the LORD has turned away from you and has become your enemy, why are you asking me?
Immediately, Saul fell flat on the ground. He was terrified by Samuel's words and was also weak because he had not eaten anything all day and all night.
He refused, saying, “I won't eat,” but when his servants and the woman urged him, he listened to them. He got up off the ground and sat on the bed.
They also had kidnapped the women and everyone[fn] in it from youngest to oldest. They had killed no one but had carried them off as they went on their way.
David slaughtered them from twilight until the evening of the next day. None of them escaped, except four hundred young men who got on camels and fled.
Nothing of theirs was missing from the youngest to the oldest, including the sons and daughters, and all the plunder the Amalekites had taken. David got everything back.
And it has been so from that day forward. David established this policy[fn] as a law and an ordinance for Israel and it still continues today.
When David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to his friends, the elders of Judah, saying, “Here is a gift for you from the plunder of the LORD's enemies.”
all their brave men set out, journeyed all night, and retrieved the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan. When they arrived at Jabesh, they burned the bodies there.
Then Abner called out to Joab, “Must the sword devour forever? Don't you realize this will only end in bitterness? How long before you tell the troops to stop pursuing their brothers? ”
When Joab had turned back from pursuing Abner, he gathered all the troops. In addition to Asahel, nineteen of David's soldiers were missing,
“to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and establish the throne of David over Israel and Judah from Dan to Beer-sheba.”
Then Joab left David and sent messengers after Abner. They brought him back from the well[fn] of Sirah, but David was unaware of it.
David heard about it later and said, “I and my kingdom are forever innocent before the LORD concerning the blood of Abner son of Ner.
Then they came to urge David to eat food while it was still day, but David took an oath: “May God punish me and do so severely if I taste bread or anything else before sunset! ”
David took up residence in the stronghold, which he named the city of David. He built it up all the way around from the supporting terraces inward.
So David did exactly as the LORD commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Geba to Gezer.
He and all his troops set out to bring the ark of God from Baale-judah.[fn] The ark bears the Name, the name of the LORD of Armies who is enthroned between the cherubim.
Then he distributed a loaf of bread, a date cake, and a raisin cake to each one in the entire Israelite community, both men and women. Then all the people went home.
When the king had settled into his palace and the LORD had given him rest on every side from all his enemies,
“I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have destroyed all your enemies before you. I will make a great name for you like that of the greatest on the earth.
“ever since the day I ordered judges to be over my people Israel. I will give you rest from all your enemies.
“ ‘The LORD declares to you: The LORD himself will make a house for you.
Now, please bless your servant's house so that it will continue before you forever. For you, Lord GOD, have spoken, and with your blessing your servant's house will be blessed forever.
Joab and his troops advanced to fight against the Arameans, and they fled before him.
When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans had fled, they too fled before Abishai and entered the city. So Joab withdrew from the attack against the Ammonites and went to Jerusalem.
But the Arameans fled before Israel, and David killed seven hundred of their charioteers and forty thousand foot soldiers.[fn] He also struck down Shobach commander of their army, who died there.
One evening David got up from his bed and strolled around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing — a very beautiful woman.
David sent messengers to get her, and when she came to him, he slept with her. Now she had just been purifying herself from her uncleanness. Afterward, she returned home.
In the letter he wrote:
Put Uriah at the front of the fiercest fighting, then withdraw from him so that he is struck down and dies.
Then the messenger left.
When he arrived, he reported to David all that Joab had sent him to tell.
The elders of his house stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he was unwilling and would not eat anything with them.
She brought the pan and set it down in front of him, but he refused to eat. Amnon said, “Everyone leave me! ” And everyone left him.
“Where could I ever go with my humiliation? And you — you would be like one of the outrageous fools in Israel! Please, speak to the king, for he won't keep me from you.”
Absalom didn't say anything to Amnon, either good or bad, because he hated Amnon since he disgraced his sister Tamar.
But Jonadab, son of David's brother Shimeah, spoke up: “My lord must not think they have killed all the young men, the king's sons, because only Amnon is dead. In fact, Absalom has planned this[fn] ever since the day Amnon disgraced his sister Tamar.
She replied, “Please, may the king invoke the LORD your God, so that the avenger of blood will not increase the loss, and they will not eliminate my son! ”
“As the LORD lives,” he vowed, “not a hair of your son will fall to the ground.”
“The king will surely listen in order to keep his servant from the grasp of this man who would eliminate both me and my son from God's inheritance.
No man in all Israel was as handsome and highly praised as Absalom. From the sole of his foot to the top of his head, he did not have a single flaw.
When four[fn] years had passed, Absalom said to the king, “Please let me go to Hebron to fulfill a vow I made to the LORD.
David said to all the servants with him in Jerusalem, “Get up. We have to flee, or we will not escape from Absalom! Leave quickly, or he will overtake us quickly, heap disaster on us, and strike the city with the edge of the sword.”
Zadok was also there, and all the Levites with him were carrying the ark of the covenant of God. They set the ark of God down, and Abiathar offered sacrifices[fn] until the people had finished marching past.
When David had gone a little beyond the summit,[fn] Ziba, Mephibosheth's servant, was right there to meet him. He had a pair of saddled donkeys loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, one hundred clusters of raisins, one hundred bunches of summer fruit, and a clay jar of wine.
“Instead, I advise that all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba — as numerous as the sand by the sea — be gathered to you and that you personally go into battle.
“If I had jeopardized my own[fn] life — and nothing is hidden from the king — you would have abandoned me.”
People throughout all the tribes of Israel were arguing among themselves, saying, “The king rescued us from the grasp of our enemies, and he saved us from the grasp of the Philistines, but now he has fled from the land because of Absalom.
Mephibosheth, Saul's grandson, also went down to meet the king. He had not taken care of his feet, trimmed his mustache, or washed his clothes from the day the king left until the day he returned safely.
So all the men of Israel deserted David and followed Sheba son of Bichri, but the men of Judah from the Jordan all the way to Jerusalem remained loyal to their king.
The woman went to all the people with her wise counsel, and they cut off the head of Sheba son of Bichri and threw it to Joab. So he blew the ram's horn, and they dispersed from the city, each to his own tent. Joab returned to the king in Jerusalem.
The depths of the sea became visible,
the foundations of the world were exposed
at the rebuke of the LORD,
at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.
“is like the morning light when the sun rises
on a cloudless morning,
the glisten of rain on sprouting grass.”
Three of the thirty leading warriors went down at harvest time and came to David at the cave of Adullam, while a company of Philistines was camping in Rephaim Valley.
So the king said to Joab, the commander of his army, “Go through all the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba and register the troops so I can know their number.”
When they had gone through the whole land, they returned to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.
So the LORD sent a plague on Israel from that morning until the appointed time, and from Dan to Beer-sheba seventy thousand men died.
Adonijah was afraid of Solomon, so he got up and went to take hold of the horns of the altar.
“Show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite and let them be among those who eat at your table because they supported me when I fled from your brother Absalom.
He replied, “Please speak to King Solomon since he won't turn you down. Let him give me Abishag the Shunammite as a wife.”
It was reported to King Solomon, “Joab has fled to the LORD's tabernacle and is now beside the altar.”
Then Solomon sent[fn] Benaiah son of Jehoiada and told him, “Go and strike him down! ”
The king said to him, “Do just as he says. Strike him down and bury him in order to remove from me and from my father's family the blood that Joab shed without just cause.
All Israel heard about the judgment the king had given, and they stood in awe of the king because they saw that God's wisdom was in him to carry out justice.
He spoke about trees, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop growing out of the wall. He also spoke about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish.
“You know my father David was not able to build a temple for the name of the LORD his God. This was because of the warfare all around him until the LORD put his enemies under his feet.
he paneled the interior temple walls with cedar boards; from the temple floor to the surface of the ceiling he overlaid the interior with wood. He also overlaid the floor with cypress boards.
Then he lined thirty feet of the rear of the temple with cedar boards from the floor to the surface of the ceiling,[fn] and he built the interior as an inner sanctuary, the most holy place.
One wing of the first cherub was 7½ feet long, and the other wing was 7½ feet long. The wingspan was 15 feet from tip to tip.
All the doors and doorposts had rectangular frames, the openings facing each other[fn] in three tiers.
He was a widow's son from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a bronze craftsman. Hiram had great skill, understanding, and knowledge to do every kind of bronze work. So he came to King Solomon and carried out all his work.
He set five water carts on the right side of the temple and five on the left side. He put the basin near the right side of the temple toward the southeast.
and because of the cloud, the priests were not able to continue ministering, for the glory of the LORD filled the temple.
When the skies are shut and there is no rain,
because they have sinned against you,
and they pray toward this place
and praise your name,
and they turn from their sins
because you are afflicting them,
Even for the foreigner who is not of your people Israel
but has come from a distant land
because of your name —
When Solomon finished praying this entire prayer and petition to the LORD, he got up from kneeling before the altar of the LORD, with his hands spread out toward heaven,
I will cut off Israel from the land I gave them, and I will reject[fn] the temple I have sanctified for my name. Israel will become an object of scorn and ridicule among all the peoples.
As for all the peoples who remained of the Amorites, Hethites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not Israelites —
Solomon accumulated 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen and stationed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.
The LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice.
“Your father made our yoke harsh. You, therefore, lighten your father's harsh service and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.”
He asked them, “What message do you advise that we send back to this people who said to me, ‘Lighten the yoke your father put on us'? ”
He offered sacrifices on[fn] the altar he had set up in Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month. He chose this month on his own. He made a festival for the Israelites, offered sacrifices on the altar, and burned incense.
When the king heard the message that the man of God had cried out against the altar at Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar and said, “Arrest him! ” But the hand he stretched out against him withered, and he could not pull it back to himself.
The altar was ripped apart, and the ashes poured from the altar, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of the LORD.
Even after this, Jeroboam did not repent of his evil way but again made priests for the high places from the ranks of the people. He ordained whoever so desired it, and they became priests of the high places.
This was the sin that caused the house of Jeroboam to be cut off and obliterated from the face of the earth.
there were even male cult prostitutes in the land. They imitated all the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had dispossessed before the Israelites.
For David did what was right in the LORD's sight, and he did not turn aside from anything he had commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hethite.
He banished the male cult prostitutes from the land and removed all of the idols that his ancestors had made.
“Because I raised you up from the dust and made you ruler over my people Israel, but you have walked in the ways of Jeroboam and have caused my people Israel to sin, angering me with their sins,
Omri rested with his ancestors and was buried in Samaria. His son Ahab became king in his place.
Then Elijah took the boy, brought him down from the upstairs room into the house, and gave him to his mother. Elijah said, “Look, your son is alive.”
Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go throughout the land to every spring and to every wadi. Perhaps we'll find grass so we can keep the horses and mules alive and not have to destroy any cattle.”
But when I leave you, the Spirit of the LORD may carry you off to some place I don't know. Then when I go report to Ahab and he doesn't find you, he will kill me. But I, your servant, have feared the LORD from my youth.
Wasn't it reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel slaughtered the LORD's prophets? I hid a hundred of the prophets of the LORD, fifty men to a cave, and I provided them with food and water.
All afternoon they kept on raving until the offering of the evening sacrifice, but there was no sound; no one answered, no one paid attention.
Then the angel of the LORD returned for a second time and touched him. He said, “Get up and eat, or the journey will be too much for you.”
“You are to anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel and Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel-meholah as prophet in your place.
“Raise another army for yourself like the army you lost — horse for horse, chariot for chariot — and let's fight with them on the plain; and we will certainly be stronger than they are.” The king listened to them and did it.
He quickly removed the bandage from his eyes. The king of Israel recognized that he was one of the prophets.
He committed the most detestable acts by following idols as the Amorites had, whom the LORD had dispossessed before the Israelites.
When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put sackcloth over his body, and fasted. He lay down in sackcloth and walked around subdued.
“Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? I will not bring the disaster during his lifetime, because he has humbled himself before me. I will bring the disaster on his house during his son's lifetime.”
The battle raged throughout that day, and the king was propped up in his chariot facing the Arameans. He died that evening, and blood from his wound flowed into the bottom of the chariot.
The angel of the LORD said to Elijah, “Go down with him. Don't be afraid of him.” So he got up and went down with him to the king.
When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I can do for you before I am taken from you.”
So Elisha answered, “Please, let me inherit two shares of your spirit.”
Elijah replied, “You have asked for something difficult. If you see me being taken from you, you will have it. If not, you won't.”
However, when the Moabites came to Israel's camp, the Israelites attacked them, and they fled from them. So Israel went into the land attacking the Moabites.
One of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant, my husband, has died. You know that your servant feared the LORD. Now the creditor is coming to take my two children as his slaves.”
She said to her mistress, “If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria, he would cure him of his skin disease.”
He brought the letter to the king of Israel, and it read:
When this letter comes to you, note that I have sent you my servant Naaman for you to cure him of his skin disease.
When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and asked, “Am I God, killing and giving life, that this man expects me to cure a man of his skin disease? Recognize[fn] that he is only picking a fight with me.”
So Gehazi pursued Naaman. When Naaman saw someone running after him, he got down from the chariot to meet him and asked, “Is everything all right? ”
Gehazi said, “It's all right. My master has sent me to say, ‘I have just now discovered that two young men from the sons of the prophets have come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them seventy-five pounds[fn] of silver and two sets of clothing.' ”
“And my heart didn't go[fn] when the man got down from his chariot to meet you,” Elisha said. “Is this a time to accept silver and clothing, olive orchards and vineyards, flocks and herds, and male and female slaves?
He answered, “If the LORD doesn't help you, where can I get help for you? From the threshing floor or the winepress? ”
When the king asked the woman, she told him the story. So the king appointed a court official for her, saying, “Restore all that was hers, along with all the income from the field from the day she left the country until now.”
Hazael left Elisha and went to his master, who asked him, “What did Elisha say to you? ”
He responded, “He told me you are sure to recover.”
So King Joram returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds that the Arameans had inflicted on him in Ramoth-gilead[fn] when he fought against Aram's King Hazael. Then Judah's King Ahaziah son of Jehoram went down to Jezreel to visit Joram son of Ahab since Joram was ill.
Then Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi, conspired against Joram. Joram and all Israel had been at Ramoth-gilead on guard against King Hazael of Aram.
But King Joram had returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds that the Arameans had inflicted on him when he fought against Aram's King Hazael. Jehu said, “If you commanders wish to make me king,[fn] then don't let anyone escape from the city to go tell about it in Jezreel.”
Jehu got into his chariot and went to Jezreel since Joram was laid up there and King Ahaziah of Judah had gone down to visit Joram.
“Know, then, that not a word the LORD spoke against the house of Ahab will fail, for the LORD has done what he promised through his servant Elijah.”
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.”
but he did not turn away from the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit — worshiping the gold calves that were in Bethel and Dan.
from the Jordan eastward: the whole land of Gilead — the Gadites, the Reubenites, and the Manassites — from Aroer which is by the Arnon Valley through Gilead to Bashan.[fn]
Jehosheba, who was King Jehoram's daughter and Ahaziah's sister, secretly rescued Joash son of Ahaziah from among the king's sons who were being killed and put him and the one who nursed him in a bedroom. So he was hidden from Athaliah and was not killed.
Then the guards stood with their weapons in hand surrounding the king — from the right side of the temple to the left side, by the altar and by the temple.
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.”
So King Joash of Judah took all the items consecrated by himself and by his ancestors — Judah's kings Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah — as well as all the gold found in the treasuries of the LORD's temple and in the king's palace, and he sent them to King Hazael of Aram. Then Hazael withdrew from Jerusalem.
but they didn't turn away from the sins that the house of Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit. Jehoahaz continued them, and the Asherah pole also remained standing in Samaria.
He did what was evil in the LORD's sight. He did not turn away from all the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit, but he continued them.
but the LORD was gracious to them, had compassion on them, and turned toward them because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He was not willing to destroy them. Even now he has not banished them from his presence.
He did what was evil in the LORD's sight. He did not turn away from all the sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit.
He restored Israel's border from Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word the LORD, the God of Israel, had spoken through his servant, the prophet Jonah son of Amittai from Gath-hepher.
He did what was evil in the LORD's sight as his predecessors had done. He did not turn away from the sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit.
At that time, starting from Tirzah, Menahem attacked Tiphsah, all who were in it, and its territory because they wouldn't surrender. He ripped open all the pregnant women.
He did what was evil in the LORD's sight. Throughout his reign, he did not turn away from the sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit.
He did what was evil in the LORD's sight and did not turn away from the sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit.
Then his officer, Pekah son of Remaliah, conspired against him and struck him down in Samaria at the citadel of the king's palace — with Argob and Arieh.[fn] There were fifty Gileadite men with Pekah. He killed Pekahiah and became king in his place.
He did what was evil in the LORD's sight. He did not turn away from the sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit.
but walked in the ways of the kings of Israel. He even sacrificed his son in the fire,[fn] imitating the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had dispossessed before the Israelites.
He took the bronze altar that was before the LORD in front of the temple between his altar and the LORD's temple, and put it on the north side of his altar.
To satisfy the king of Assyria, he removed from the LORD's temple the Sabbath canopy they had built in the palace, and he closed the outer entrance for the king.
They lived according to the customs of the nations that the LORD had dispossessed before the Israelites and according to what the kings of Israel did.
The Israelites secretly did things[fn] against the LORD their God that were not right. They built high places in all their towns from watchtower to fortified city.
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.”
Therefore, the LORD was very angry with Israel, and he removed them from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah remained.
So the LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel, punished them, and handed them over to plunderers until he had banished them from his presence.
Finally, the LORD removed Israel from his presence just as he had declared through all his servants the prophets. So Israel has been exiled to Assyria from their homeland to this very day.
Then the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and settled them in place of the Israelites in the cities of Samaria. The settlers took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities.
So one of the priests they had deported came and lived in Bethel, and he began to teach them how they should fear the LORD.
He defeated the Philistines as far as Gaza and its borders, from watchtower to fortified city.
The Assyrians captured it at the end of three years. In the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Israel's King Hoshea, Samaria was captured.
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.
When the royal spokesman heard that the king of Assyria had pulled out of Lachish, he left and found him fighting against Libnah.
He did what was evil in the LORD's sight, imitating the detestable practices of the nations that the LORD had dispossessed before the Israelites.
“I will never again cause the feet of the Israelites to wander from the land I gave to their ancestors if only they will be careful to do all I have commanded them — the whole law that my servant Moses commanded them.”
“Since King Manasseh of Judah has committed all these detestable acts — worse evil than the Amorites who preceded him had done — and by means of his idols has also caused Judah to sin,
“because they have done what is evil in my sight and have angered me from the day their ancestors came out of Egypt until today.' ”
“because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before the LORD when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they would become a desolation and a curse, and because you have torn your clothes and wept before me, I myself have heard' — this is the LORD's declaration.
Then the king went to the LORD's temple with all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, as well as the priests and the prophets — all the people from the youngest to the oldest. He read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant that had been found in the LORD's temple.
Then Josiah brought all the priests from the cities of Judah, and he defiled the high places from Geba to Beer-sheba, where the priests had burned incense. He tore down the high places of the city gates at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city (on the left at the city gate).
In spite of all that, the LORD did not turn from the fury of his intense burning anger, which burned against Judah because of all the affronts with which Manasseh had angered him.
For the LORD had said, “I will also remove Judah from my presence just as I have removed Israel. I will reject this city Jerusalem, that I have chosen, and the temple about which I said, ‘My name will be there.' ”
Indeed, this happened to Judah at the LORD's command to remove them from his presence. It was because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all he had done,
Now the king of Egypt did not march out of his land again, for the king of Babylon took everything that had belonged to the king of Egypt, from the Brook of Egypt to the Euphrates River.
Because of the LORD's anger, it came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that he finally banished them from his presence. Then Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
But the captain of the guards left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and farmers.
Then all the people, from the youngest to the oldest, and the commanders of the army, left and went to Egypt, for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.
Now five hundred men from these sons of Simeon went with Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah, and Uzziel, the descendants of Ishi, as their leaders to Mount Seir.
They also settled in the east as far as the edge of the desert that extends to the Euphrates River, because their herds had increased in the land of Gilead.
The descendants of half the tribe of Manasseh settled in the land from Bashan to Baal-hermon (that is, Senir or Mount Hermon); they were numerous.
But they were unfaithful to the God of their ancestors. They prostituted themselves with the gods of the nations[fn] God had destroyed before them.
Some of the families of the Kohathites were given towns from the tribe of Ephraim for their territory:
From half the tribe of Manasseh, Aner and its pasturelands, and Bileam and its pasturelands were given to the rest of the families of the Kohathites.
The Gershomites received:
Golan in Bashan and its pasturelands, and Ashtaroth and its pasturelands from the families of half the tribe of Manasseh.
From the tribe of Naphtali they received Kedesh in Galilee and its pasturelands, Hammon and its pasturelands, and Kiriathaim and its pasturelands.
These people from the descendants of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh settled in Jerusalem:
Their relatives came from their settlements at fixed times to be with them seven days,
The Philistines fought against Israel, and Israel's men fled from them. Many were killed on Mount Gilboa.
When the battle intensified against Saul, the archers spotted him and severely wounded him.
He was with David at Pas-dammim when the Philistines had gathered there for battle. There was a portion of a field full of barley, where the troops had fled from the Philistines.
He was more honored than the Three and became their commander even though he did not become one of the Three.
The following were the men who came to David at Ziklag while he was still banned from the presence of Saul son of Kish. They were among the warriors who helped him in battle.
Some Gadites defected to David at his stronghold in the desert. They were valiant warriors, trained for battle, expert with shield and spear. Their faces were like the faces of lions, and they were as swift as gazelles on the mountains.
These are the men who crossed the Jordan in the first month[fn] when it was overflowing all its banks, and put to flight all those in the valleys to the east and to the west.
Some Manassites defected to David when he went with the Philistines to fight against Saul. However, they did not help the Philistines because the Philistine rulers sent David away after a discussion. They said, “It will be our heads if he defects to his master Saul.”
When David went to Ziklag, some men from Manasseh defected to him: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai, chiefs of thousands in Manasseh.
From the Ephraimites: 20,800 valiant warriors who were famous men in their ancestral families.[fn]
From half the tribe of Manasseh: 18,000 designated by name to come and make David king.
From the Issacharites, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do: 200 chiefs with all their relatives under their command.
From Zebulun: 50,000 who could serve in the army, trained for battle with all kinds of weapons of war, with one purpose to help David.[fn]
From across the Jordan — from the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh: 120,000 men equipped with all the military weapons of war.
So David assembled all Israel, from the Shihor of Egypt to the entrance of Hamath,[fn] to bring the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim.
So David did as God commanded him, and they struck down the Philistine army from Gibeon to Gezer.
Then he distributed to each and every Israelite, both men and women, a loaf of bread, a date cake, and a raisin cake.
let the whole earth tremble before him.
The world is firmly established;
it cannot be shaken.
Then the trees of the forest will shout for joy before the LORD,
for he is coming to judge the earth.
“Blessed be the LORD God of Israel
from everlasting to everlasting.”
Then all the people said, “Amen” and “Praise the LORD.”
“From the time I brought Israel out of Egypt until today I have not dwelt in a house; instead, I have moved from one tent site to another, and from one tabernacle location to another.[fn]
“I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have destroyed all your enemies before you. I will make a name for you like that of the greatest on the earth.
“I will be his father, and he will be my son. I will not remove my faithful love from him as I removed it from the one who was before you.
And who is like your people Israel? God, you came to one nation on earth to redeem a people for yourself, to make a name for yourself through great and awesome works by driving out nations before your people you redeemed from Egypt.
When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans had fled, they likewise fled before Joab's brother Abishai and entered the city. Then Joab went to Jerusalem.
But the Arameans fled before Israel, and David killed seven thousand of their charioteers and forty thousand foot soldiers. He also killed Shophach, commander of the army.
When Hadadezer's subjects saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and became his subjects. After this, the Arameans were never willing to help the Ammonites again.
After this, a war broke out with the Philistines at Gezer. At that time Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Sippai, a descendant of the Rephaim,[fn] and the Philistines were subdued.
So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, “Go and count Israel from Beer-sheba to Dan and bring a report to me so I can know their number.”
but David could not go before it to inquire of God, because he was terrified of the sword of the LORD's angel.
“But a son will be born to you; he will be a man of rest. I will give him rest from all his surrounding enemies, for his name will be Solomon,[fn] and I will give peace and quiet to Israel during his reign.
The Levites thirty years old or more were counted; the total number of men was thirty-eight thousand by headcount.
“Of these,” David said, “twenty-four thousand are to be in charge of the work on the LORD's temple, six thousand are to be officers and judges,
These were the descendants of Levi by their ancestral families[fn] — the family heads, according to their registration by name in the headcount — twenty years old or more, who worked in the service of the LORD's temple.
for according to the last words of David, the Levites twenty years old or more were to be counted —
All of these were among the sons of Obed-edom with their sons and relatives; they were capable men with strength for the work — sixty-two from Obed-edom.
He was a descendant of Perez and chief of all the army commanders for the first month.
The seventh, for the seventh month, was Helez the Pelonite from the descendants of Ephraim; 24,000 were in his division.
David didn't count the men aged twenty or under, for the LORD had said he would make Israel as numerous as the stars of the sky.
“Yet the LORD God of Israel chose me out of all my father's family to be king over Israel forever. For he chose Judah as leader, and from the house of Judah, my father's family, and from my father's sons, he was pleased to make me king over all Israel.
“And out of all my sons — for the LORD has given me many sons — he has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the LORD's kingdom over Israel.
Then David blessed the LORD in the sight of all the assembly. David said,
May you be blessed, LORD God of our father Israel, from eternity to eternity.
Yours, LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the splendor and the majesty, for everything in the heavens and on earth belongs to you. Yours, LORD, is the kingdom, and you are exalted as head over all.
So Solomon went to Jerusalem from[fn] the high place that was in Gibeon in front of the tent of meeting, and he reigned over Israel.
He is the son of a woman from the daughters of Dan. His father is a man of Tyre. He knows how to work with gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood, with purple, blue, crimson yarn, and fine linen. He knows how to do all kinds of engraving and to execute any design that may be given him. I have sent him to be with your artisans and the artisans of my lord, your father David.
King Solomon and the entire congregation of Israel who had gathered around him were in front of the ark sacrificing sheep, goats, and cattle that could not be counted or numbered because there were so many.
And because of the cloud, the priests were not able to continue ministering, for the glory of the LORD filled God's temple.
“Since the day I brought my people Israel
out of the land of Egypt,
I have not chosen a city to build a temple in
among any of the tribes of Israel,
so that my name would be there,
and I have not chosen a man
to be ruler over my people Israel.
Therefore, LORD God of Israel,
keep what you promised
to your servant, my father David:
“You will never fail to have a man
to sit before me on the throne of Israel,
if only your sons take care to walk in my Law
as you have walked before me.”
When the skies are shut and there is no rain
because they have sinned against you,
and they pray toward this place
and praise your name,
and they turn from their sins
because you are afflicting[fn] them,
So Solomon and all Israel with him — a very great assembly, from the entrance to Hamath[fn] to the Brook of Egypt — observed the festival at that time for seven days.
and my people, who bear my name, humble themselves, pray and seek my face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.
then I will uproot Israel from the soil that I gave them, and this temple that I have sanctified for my name I will banish from my presence; I will make it an object of scorn and ridicule among all the peoples.
As for all the peoples who remained of the Hethites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not from Israel —
So Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too difficult for Solomon to explain to her.
He ruled over all the kings from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines and as far as the border of Egypt.
When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard about it — for he was in Egypt where he had fled from King Solomon's presence — Jeroboam returned from Egypt.
“Your father made our yoke harsh. Therefore, lighten your father's harsh service and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.”
He asked them, “What message do you advise we send back to this people who said to me, ‘Lighten the yoke your father put on us'? ”
Those from every tribe of Israel who had determined in their hearts to seek the LORD their God followed the Levites to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the LORD, the God of their ancestors.
Then the prophet Shemaiah went to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah who were gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak. He said to them, “This is what the LORD says: You have abandoned me; therefore, I have abandoned you to Shishak.”
and he reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Micaiah[fn] daughter of Uriel; she was from Gibeah.
There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.
Then Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, and said, “Jeroboam and all Israel, hear me.
“But Jeroboam son of Nebat, a servant of Solomon son of David, rose up and rebelled against his lord.
Then Abijah and his people struck them with a mighty blow, and five hundred thousand fit young men of Israel were killed.
He also removed the high places and the shrines[fn] from all the cities of Judah, and the kingdom experienced peace under him.
When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of Oded the prophet, he took courage and removed the abhorrent idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. He renovated the altar of the LORD that was in front of the portico of the LORD's temple.
Then he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, as well as those from the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who were residing among them, for they had defected to him from Israel in great numbers when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.
At that time they sacrificed to the LORD seven hundred cattle and seven thousand sheep and goats from all the plunder they had brought.
Whoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel would be put to death, young or old,[fn] man or woman.
At that time, the seer Hanani came to King Asa of Judah and said to him, “Because you depended on the king of Aram and have not depended on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from you.
“For the eyes of the LORD roam throughout the earth to show himself strong for those who are wholeheartedly devoted to him. You have been foolish in this matter. Therefore, you will have wars from now on.”
He took great pride in the LORD's ways, and he again removed the high places and Asherah poles from Judah.
Some of the Philistines also brought gifts and silver as tribute to Jehoshaphat, and the Arabs brought him flocks: 7,700 rams and 7,700 male goats.
“However, some good is found in you, for you have eradicated the Asherah poles from the land and have determined in your heart to seek God.”
Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem, and once again he went out among the people from Beer-sheba to the hill country of Ephraim and brought them back to the LORD, the God of their ancestors.
People came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast number from beyond the Dead Sea and from Edom[fn] has come to fight against you; they are already in Hazazon-tamar” (that is, En-gedi).
who gathered to seek the LORD. They even came from all the cities of Judah to seek him.
Are you not our God who drove out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and who gave it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend?
“If disaster comes on us — sword or judgment, pestilence or famine — we will stand before this temple and before you, for your name is in this temple. We will cry out to you because of our distress, and you will hear and deliver.”
Look how they repay us by coming to drive us out of your possession that you gave us as an inheritance.
In the middle of the congregation, the Spirit of the LORD came on Jahaziel (son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite from Asaph's descendants),
and he said, “Listen carefully, all Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat. This is what the LORD says: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast number, for the battle is not yours, but God's.
Then the Levites from the sons of the Kohathites and the Korahites stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel shouting loudly.
Then all the men of Judah and Jerusalem turned back with Jehoshaphat their leader, returning joyfully to Jerusalem, for the LORD enabled them to rejoice over their enemies.
Then Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you formed an alliance with Ahaziah, the LORD has broken up what you have made.” So the ships were wrecked and were not able to go to Tarshish.
When Jehoram had established himself over his father's kingdom, he strengthened his position by killing with the sword all his brothers as well as some of the princes of Israel.
During Jehoram's reign, Edom rebelled against Judah's control and appointed their own king.
And now Edom is still in rebellion against Judah's control today. Libnah also rebelled at that time against his control because he had abandoned the LORD, the God of his ancestors.
Jehoshabeath,[fn] the king's daughter, rescued Joash son of Ahaziah from the king's sons who were being killed and put him and the one who nursed him in a bedroom. Now Jehoshabeath was the daughter of King Jehoram and the wife of the priest Jehoiada. Since she was Ahaziah's sister, she hid Joash from Athaliah so that she did not kill him.
Then he stationed all the troops with their weapons in hand surrounding the king — from the right side of the temple to the left side, by the altar and by the temple.
So he gathered the priests and Levites and said, “Go out to the cities of Judah and collect silver from all Israel to repair the temple of your God as needed year by year, and do it quickly.”
However, the Levites did not hurry.
So the king called Jehoiada the high priest and said, “Why haven't you required the Levites to bring from Judah and Jerusalem the tax imposed by the LORD's servant Moses and the assembly of Israel for the tent of the testimony?
Amaziah became king when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jehoaddan; she was from Jerusalem.
Then Amaziah gathered Judah and assembled them according to ancestral families,[fn] according to commanders of thousands, and according to commanders of hundreds. He numbered those twenty years old or more for all Judah and Benjamin. He found there to be three hundred thousand fit young men who could serve in the army, bearing spear and shield.
Then for 7,500 pounds[fn] of silver he hired one hundred thousand valiant warriors from Israel.
So Amaziah released the division that came to him from Ephraim to go home. But they got very angry with Judah and returned home in a fierce rage.
and the Judahites captured ten thousand alive. They took them to the top of a cliff where they threw them off, and all of them were dashed to pieces.
As for the men of the division that Amaziah sent back so they would not go with him into battle, they raided the cities of Judah from Samaria to Beth-horon, struck down three thousand of their people, and took a great deal of plunder.
From the time Amaziah turned from following the LORD, a conspiracy was formed against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish. However, men were sent after him to Lachish, and they put him to death there.
Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jecoliah; she was from Jerusalem.
They took their stand against King Uzziah and said, “Uzziah, you have no right to offer incense to the LORD — only the consecrated priests, the descendants of Aaron, have the right to offer incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have acted unfaithfully! You will not receive honor from the LORD God.”
So King Uzziah was diseased to the time of his death. He lived in quarantine[fn] with a serious skin disease and was excluded from access to the LORD's temple, while his son Jotham was over the king's household governing the people of the land.
He burned incense in Ben Hinnom Valley and burned his children in[fn] the fire, imitating the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had dispossessed before the Israelites.
Then the Israelites took two hundred thousand captives from their brothers — women, sons, and daughters. They also took a great deal of plunder from them and brought it to Samaria.
So some men who were leaders of the Ephraimites — Azariah son of Jehohanan, Berechiah son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai — stood in opposition to those coming from the war.
Then the men who were designated by name took charge of the captives and provided clothes for their naked ones from the plunder. They clothed them, gave them sandals, food and drink, dressed their wounds, and provided donkeys for all the feeble. The Israelites brought them to Jericho, the City of Palms, among their brothers. Then they returned to Samaria.
The Philistines also raided the cities of the Judean foothills[fn] and the Negev of Judah. They captured and occupied Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, and Gederoth, as well as Soco, Timnah, and Gimzo with their surrounding villages.
For the LORD humbled Judah because of King Ahaz of Judah,[fn] who threw off restraint in Judah and was unfaithful to the LORD.
“For our ancestors were unfaithful and did what is evil in the sight of the LORD our God. They abandoned him, turned their faces away from the LORD's dwelling place, and turned their backs on him.[fn]
Then the Levites stood up:
Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah from the Kohathites;
Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehallelel from the Merarites;
Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah from the Gershonites;
So the couriers went throughout Israel and Judah with letters from the hand of the king and his officials, and according to the king's command, saying, “Israelites, return to the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel so that he may return to those of you who remain, who have escaped the grasp of the kings of Assyria.
“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.
But some from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem.
A large number of the people — many from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun — were ritually unclean, yet they had eaten the Passover contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah had interceded for them, saying, “May the good LORD provide atonement on behalf of
Then the whole assembly of Judah with the priests and Levites, the whole assembly that came from Israel, the resident aliens who came from the land of Israel, and those who were living in Judah, rejoiced.
There was great rejoicing in Jerusalem, for nothing like this was known since the days of Solomon son of David, the king of Israel.
When all this was completed, all Israel who had attended went out to the cities of Judah and broke up the sacred pillars, chopped down the Asherah poles, and tore down the high places and altars throughout Judah and Benjamin, as well as in Ephraim and Manasseh, to the last one.[fn] Then all the Israelites returned to their cities, each to his own possession.
In addition, they distributed it to males registered by genealogy three[fn] years old and above; to all who would enter the LORD's temple for their daily duty, for their service in their responsibilities according to their divisions.
They distributed also to those recorded by genealogy of the priests by their ancestral families[fn] and the Levites twenty years old and above, by their responsibilities in their divisions;
and to the descendants of Aaron, the priests, in the common fields of their cities, in each and every city. There were men who were registered by name to distribute a portion to every male among the priests and to every Levite recorded by genealogy.
“Be strong and courageous! Don't be afraid or discouraged before the king of Assyria or before the large army that is with him, for there are more with us than with him.
Then Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart — he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem — so the LORD's wrath didn't come on them during Hezekiah's lifetime.
When the ambassadors of Babylon's rulers were sent[fn] to him to inquire about the miraculous sign that happened in the land, God left him to test him and discover what was in his heart.
He did what was evil in the LORD's sight, imitating the detestable practices of the nations that the LORD had dispossessed before the Israelites.
“I will never again remove the feet of the Israelites from the land where I stationed your[fn] ancestors, if only they will be careful to do all I have commanded them through Moses — all the law, statutes, and judgments.”
So Manasseh caused Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to stray so that they did worse evil than the nations the LORD had destroyed before the Israelites.
When he was in distress, he sought the favor of the LORD his God and earnestly humbled himself before the God of his ancestors.
After this, he built the outer wall of the city of David from west of Gihon in the valley to the entrance of the Fish Gate; he brought it around Ophel, and he heightened it considerably. He also placed military commanders in all the fortified cities of Judah.
In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still a youth, Josiah began to seek the God of his ancestor David, and in the twelfth year he began to cleanse Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherah poles, the carved images, and the cast images.
He tore down the altars, and he smashed the Asherah poles and the carved images to powder. He chopped down all the shrines throughout the land of Israel and returned to Jerusalem.
So they went to the high priest Hilkiah and gave him the silver brought into God's temple. The Levites and the doorkeepers had collected it from Manasseh, Ephraim, and from the entire remnant of Israel, and from all Judah, Benjamin, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
They were also over the porters and were supervising all those doing the work task by task. Some of the Levites were secretaries, officers, and gatekeepers.
“because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard his words against this place and against its inhabitants, and because you humbled yourself before me, and you tore your clothes and wept before me, I myself have heard' — this is the LORD's declaration.
The king went up to the LORD's temple with all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, as well as the priests and the Levites — all the people from the oldest to the youngest. He read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant that had been found in the LORD's temple.
So Josiah removed everything that was detestable from all the lands belonging to the Israelites, and he required all who were present in Israel to serve the LORD their God. Throughout his reign they did not turn aside from following the LORD, the God of their ancestors.
Then Josiah donated thirty thousand sheep, lambs, and young goats, plus three thousand cattle from his own possessions, for the Passover sacrifices for all the lay people who were present.
The singers, the descendants of Asaph, were at their stations according to the command of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king's seer. Also, the gatekeepers were at each temple gate. None of them left their tasks because their Levite brothers had made preparations for them.
No Passover had been observed like it in Israel since the days of the prophet Samuel. None of the kings of Israel ever observed a Passover like the one that Josiah observed with the priests, the Levites, all Judah, the Israelites who were present in Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
So his servants took him out of the war chariot, carried him in his second chariot, and brought him to Jerusalem. Then he died, and they buried him in the tomb of his ancestors. All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.
Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD his God.
He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD his God and did not humble himself before the prophet Jeremiah at the LORD's command.
In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken through Jeremiah, the LORD roused the spirit of King Cyrus to issue a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom and to put it in writing:
“Any of his people among you, may his God be with him, and may he go to Jerusalem in Judah and build the house of the LORD, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem.
“Let every survivor, wherever he resides, be assisted by the men of that region with silver, gold, goods, and livestock, along with a freewill offering for the house of God in Jerusalem.”
King Cyrus also brought out the articles of the LORD's house that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem and had placed in the house of his gods.
The gold and silver articles totaled 5,400. Sheshbazzar brought all of them when the exiles went up from Babylon to Jerusalem.
These now are the people of the province who came from those captive exiles King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon[fn] had deported to Babylon. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town.
The following are those who came from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer but were unable to prove that their ancestral families[fn] and their lineage were Israelite:
and from the descendants of the priests: the descendants of Hobaiah, the descendants of Hakkoz, the descendants of Barzillai — who had taken a wife from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and who bore their name.
These searched for their entries in the genealogical records, but they could not be found, so they were disqualified from the priesthood.
The governor ordered them not to eat the most holy things until there was a priest who could consult the Urim and Thummim.
After they arrived at the LORD's house in Jerusalem, some of the family heads gave freewill offerings for the house of God in order to have it rebuilt on its original site.
The priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, temple servants, and some of the people settled in their towns, and the rest of Israel settled in their towns.
They set up the altar on its foundation and offered burnt offerings for the morning and evening on it to the LORD even though they feared the surrounding peoples.
They gave money to the stonecutters and artisans, and gave food, drink, and oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre, so they would bring cedar wood from Lebanon to Joppa by sea, according to the authorization given them by King Cyrus of Persia.
In the second month of the second year after they arrived at God's house in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Jeshua son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brothers, including the priests, the Levites, and all who had returned to Jerusalem from the captivity, began to build. They appointed the Levites who were twenty years old or more to supervise the work on the LORD's house.
But many of the older priests, Levites, and family heads, who had seen the first temple, wept loudly when they saw the foundation of this temple, but many others shouted joyfully.
The people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shouting from that of the[fn] weeping, because the people were shouting so loudly. And the sound was heard far away.
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.”
Let it be known to the king that the Jews who came from you have returned to us at Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and evil city, finishing its walls, and repairing its foundations.
that a search should be made in your predecessors' record books. In these record books you will discover and verify that the city is a rebellious city, harmful to kings and provinces. There have been revolts in it since ancient times. That is why this city was destroyed.
Therefore, issue an order for these men to stop, so that this city will not be rebuilt until a further decree has been pronounced by me.
He also took from the temple in Babylon the gold and silver articles of God's house that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and carried them to the temple in Babylon. He released them from the temple in Babylon to a man named Sheshbazzar, the governor by the appointment of King Cyrus.
Then this same Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundation of God's house in Jerusalem. It has been under construction from that time until now, but it has not been completed.
So if it pleases the king, let a search of the royal archives[fn] in Babylon be conducted to see if it is true that a decree was issued by King Cyrus to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. Let the king's decision regarding this matter be sent to us.
The gold and silver articles of God's house that Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and carried to Babylon must also be returned. They are to be brought to the temple in Jerusalem where they belong[fn] and put into the house of God.
I hereby issue a decree concerning what you are to do, so that the elders of the Jews can rebuild the house of God:
The cost is to be paid in full to these men out of the royal revenues from the taxes of the region west of the Euphrates River, so that the work will not stop.
So the Jewish elders continued successfully with the building under the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah son of Iddo. They finished the building according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus, Darius, and King Artaxerxes of Persia.
The Israelites who had returned from exile ate it, together with all who had separated themselves from the uncleanness of the Gentiles of the land[fn] in order to worship the LORD, the God of Israel.
Some of the Israelites, priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and temple servants accompanied him to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes.
He began the journey from Babylon on the first day of the first month and arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month since the gracious hand of his God was on him.
I issue a decree that any of the Israelites in my kingdom, including their priests and Levites, who want to go to Jerusalem, may go with you.
You are sent by the king and his seven counselors to evaluate Judah and Jerusalem according to the law of your God, which is in your possession.
You may use the royal treasury[fn] to pay for anything else needed for the house of your God.
and who has shown favor to me before the king, his counselors, and all his powerful officers. So I took courage because I was strengthened by the hand of the LORD my God,[fn] and I gathered Israelite leaders to return with me.
Gershom, from Phinehas's descendants;
Daniel, from Ithamar's descendants;
Hattush, from David's descendants,
who was of Shecaniah's descendants;
Zechariah, from Parosh's descendants,
and 150 men[fn] with him who were registered by genealogy;
these are the last ones, from Adonikam's descendants,
and their names are
Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah,
and 60 men with them;
I gathered them at the river[fn] that flows to Ahava, and we camped there for three days. I searched among the people and priests, but found no Levites there.
Since the gracious hand of our God was on us, they brought us Sherebiah — a man of insight from the descendants of Mahli, a descendant of Levi son of Israel — along with his sons and brothers, 18 men,
plus Hashabiah, along with Jeshaiah, from the descendants of Merari, and his brothers and their sons, 20 men.
There were also 220 of the temple servants, who had been appointed by David and the leaders for the work of the Levites. All were identified by name.
I did this because I was ashamed to ask the king for infantry and cavalry to protect us from enemies during the journey, since we had told him, “The hand of our God is gracious to all who seek him, but his fierce anger is against all who abandon him.”
I selected twelve of the leading priests, along with Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brothers.
We set out from the Ahava River on the twelfth day of the first month to go to Jerusalem. We were strengthened by our God,[fn] and he kept us from the grasp of the enemy and from ambush along the way.
The exiles who had returned from the captivity offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel: twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, and seventy-seven lambs, along with twelve male goats as a sin offering. All this was a burnt offering for the LORD.
After these things had been done, the leaders approached me and said, “The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated themselves from the surrounding peoples whose detestable practices are like those of the Canaanites, Hethites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites.
When I heard this report, I tore my tunic and robe, pulled out some of the hair from my head and beard, and sat down devastated.
At the evening offering, I got up from my time of humiliation, with my tunic and robe torn. Then I fell on my knees and spread out my hands to the LORD my God.
Our guilt has been terrible from the days of our ancestors until the present. Because of our iniquities we have been handed over, along with our kings and priests, to the surrounding kings, and to the sword, captivity, plundering, and open shame, as it is today.
you gave through your servants the prophets, saying, “The land you are entering to possess is an impure land. The surrounding peoples have filled it from end to end with their uncleanness by their impurity and detestable practices.
“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.”
While Ezra prayed and confessed, weeping and falling facedown before the house of God, an extremely large assembly of Israelite men, women, and children gathered around him. The people also wept bitterly.
Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, an Elamite, responded to Ezra, “We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women from the surrounding peoples, but there is still hope for Israel in spite of this.
Ezra then went from the house of God and walked to the chamber of Jehohanan son of Eliashib, where he spent the night.[fn] He did not eat food or drink water, because he was mourning over the unfaithfulness of the exiles.
Whoever did not come within three days would forfeit all his possessions,[fn] according to the decision of the leaders and elders, and would be excluded from the assembly of the exiles.
So all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered in Jerusalem within the three days. On the twentieth day of the ninth month, all the people sat in the square at the house of God, trembling because of this matter and because of the heavy rain.
“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.”
“Let our leaders represent the entire assembly. Then let all those in our towns who have married foreign women come at appointed times, together with the elders and judges of each town, in order to avert the fierce anger of our God concerning[fn] this matter.”
The following were found to have married foreign women from the descendants of the priests:
from the descendants of Jeshua son of Jozadak and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah.
Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah from Pashhur's descendants.
The Levites:
Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (that is Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.
The Israelites:
Parosh's descendants: Ramiah, Izziah, Malchijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malchijah,[fn] and Benaiah;
Pahath-moab's descendants: Adna, Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh;
Hashum's descendants: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei;
Hanani, one of my brothers, arrived with men from Judah, and I questioned them about Jerusalem and the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile.
They said to me, “The remnant in the province, who survived the exile, are in great trouble and disgrace. Jerusalem's wall has been broken down, and its gates have been burned.”
Next to them Meremoth son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz, made repairs. Beside them Meshullam son of Berechiah, son of Meshezabel, made repairs. Next to them Zadok son of Baana made repairs.
Shallun[fn] son of Col-hozeh, ruler of the district of Mizpah, repaired the Fountain Gate. He rebuilt it and roofed it. Then he installed its doors, bolts, and bars. He also made repairs to the wall of the Pool of Shelah near the king's garden, as far as the stairs that descend from the city of David.
After him Baruch son of Zabbai[fn] diligently repaired another section, from the Angle to the door of the house of the high priest Eliashib.
Beside him Meremoth son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz, made repairs to another section, from the door of Eliashib's house to the end of his house.
After him Binnui son of Henadad made repairs to another section, from the house of Azariah to the Angle and the corner.
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.”
From that day on, half of my men did the work while the other half held spears, shields, bows, and armor. The officers supported all the people of Judah,
Then I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “The work is enormous and spread out, and we are separated far from one another along the wall.
So we continued the work, while half of the men were holding spears from daybreak until the stars came out.
“We and our children are just like our countrymen and their children, yet we are subjecting our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters are already enslaved, but we are powerless[fn] because our fields and vineyards belong to others.”
Then I said, “What you are doing isn't right. Shouldn't you walk in the fear of our God and not invite the reproach of our foreign enemies?
“Return their fields, vineyards, olive groves, and houses to them immediately, along with the percentage[fn] of the money, grain, new wine, and fresh oil that you have been assessing them.”
Furthermore, from the day King Artaxerxes appointed me to be their governor in the land of Judah — from the twentieth year until his thirty-second year, twelve years — I and my associates never ate from the food allotted to the governor.
The governors who preceded me had heavily burdened the people, taking from them food and wine as well as a pound[fn] of silver. Their subordinates also oppressed the people, but because of the fear of God, I didn't do this.
There were 150 Jews and officials, as well as guests from the surrounding nations at my table.
Then I replied to him, “There is nothing to these rumors you are spreading; you are inventing them in your own mind.”
For they were all trying to intimidate us, saying, “They will drop their hands from[fn] the work, and it will never be finished.”
But now, my God, strengthen my hands.
During those days, the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah's letters came to them.
These are the people of the province who went up among the captive exiles deported by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Each of them returned to Jerusalem and Judah, to his own town.
The following are those who came from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer, but were unable to prove that their ancestral families[fn] and their lineage were Israelite:
and from the priests: the descendants of Hobaiah, the descendants of Hakkoz, and the descendants of Barzillai — who had taken a wife from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and who bore their name.
These searched for their entries in the genealogical records, but they could not be found, so they were disqualified from the priesthood.
The governor ordered them not to eat the most holy things until there was a priest who could consult the Urim and Thummim.
Some of the family heads contributed to the project. The governor gave 1,000 gold coins,[fn] 50 bowls, and 530 priestly garments to the treasury.
Some of the family heads gave 20,000 gold coins and 2,200 silver minas to the treasury for the project.
The priests, Levites, gatekeepers, temple singers, some of the people, temple servants, and all Israel settled in their towns.
When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns,
On the first day of the seventh month, the priest Ezra brought the law before the assembly of men, women, and all who could listen with understanding.
While he was facing the square in front of the Water Gate, he read out of it from daybreak until noon before the men, the women, and those who could understand. All the people listened attentively[fn] to the book of the law.
The whole community that had returned from exile made shelters and lived in them. The Israelites had not celebrated like this from the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day. And there was tremendous joy.
Ezra[fn] read out of the book of the law of God every day, from the first day to the last. The Israelites celebrated the festival for seven days, and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly, according to the ordinance.
Those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all foreigners, and they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their ancestors.
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.
You sent your good Spirit to instruct them.
You did not withhold your manna from their mouths,
and you gave them water for their thirst.
But they were disobedient and rebelled against you.
They flung your law behind their backs
and killed your prophets
who warned them
in order to turn them back to you.
They committed terrible blasphemies.
So now, our God — the great, mighty,
and awe-inspiring God who keeps his gracious covenant —
do not view lightly all the hardships that have afflicted us,
our kings and leaders,
our priests and prophets,
our ancestors and all your people,
from the days of the Assyrian kings until today.
When they were in their kingdom,
with your abundant goodness that you gave them,
and in the spacious and fertile land you set before them,
they would not serve you or turn from their wicked ways.
The rest of the people — the priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, and temple servants, along with their wives, sons, and daughters, everyone who is able to understand and who has separated themselves from the surrounding peoples to obey the law of God —
We have cast lots among the priests, Levites, and people for the donation of wood by our ancestral families[fn] at the appointed times each year. They are to bring the wood to our God's house to burn on the altar of the LORD our God, as it is written in the law.
Now the leaders of the people stayed in Jerusalem, and the rest of the people cast lots for one out of ten to come and live in Jerusalem, the holy city, while the other nine-tenths remained in their towns.
while some of the descendants of Judah and Benjamin settled in Jerusalem):
Judah's descendants:
Athaiah son of Uzziah, son of Zechariah, son of Amariah, son of Shephatiah, son of Mahalalel, of Perez's descendants;
The Levites:
Shemaiah son of Hasshub, son of Azrikam, son of Hashabiah, son of Bunni;
The leader of the Levites in Jerusalem was Uzzi son of Bani, son of Hashabiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Mica, of the descendants of Asaph, who were singers for the service of God's house.
As for the farming settlements with their fields:
Some of Judah's descendants lived in Kiriath-arba
and Dibon and their surrounding villages, and Jekabzeel and its settlements;
The singers gathered from the region around Jerusalem, from the settlements of the Netophathites,
from Beth-gilgal, and from the fields of Geba and Azmaveth, for they had built settlements for themselves around Jerusalem.
and some of the priests' sons with trumpets, and Zechariah son of Jonathan, son of Shemaiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Micaiah, son of Zaccur, son of Asaph followed
On that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced because God had given them great joy. The women and children also celebrated, and Jerusalem's rejoicing was heard far away.
I was greatly displeased and threw all of Tobiah's household possessions out of the room.
I appointed as treasurers over the storehouses the priest Shelemiah, the scribe Zadok, and Pedaiah of the Levites, with Hanan son of Zaccur, son of Mattaniah to assist them, because they were considered trustworthy. They were responsible for the distribution to their colleagues.
but I warned them, “Why are you camping in front of the wall? If you do it again, I'll use force[fn] against you.” After that they did not come again on the Sabbath.
I rebuked them, cursed them, beat some of their men, and pulled out their hair. I forced them to take an oath before God and said, “You must not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters as wives for your sons or yourselves!
Even one of the sons of Jehoiada, son of the high priest Eliashib, had become a son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite. So I drove him away from me.
So I purified them from everything foreign and assigned specific duties to each of the priests and Levites.
I also arranged for the donation of wood at the appointed times and for the firstfruits.
Remember me, my God, with favor.
These events took place during the days of Ahasuerus, who ruled 127 provinces from India to Cush.
Drinks were served in an array of gold goblets, each with a different design. Royal wine flowed freely, according to the king's bounty.
“The decree the king issues will be heard throughout his vast kingdom, so all women will honor their husbands, from the greatest to the least.”
When the young woman would go to the king, she was given whatever she requested to take with her from the harem to the palace.
The royal scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and the order was written exactly as Haman commanded. It was intended for the royal satraps, the governors of each of the provinces, and the officials of each ethnic group and written for each province in its own script and to each ethnic group in its own language. It was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the royal signet ring.
On the third day, Esther dressed in her royal clothing and stood in the inner courtyard of the palace facing it. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the royal courtroom,[fn] facing its entrance.
As soon as the king saw Queen Esther standing in the courtyard, she gained favor with him. The king extended the gold scepter in his hand toward Esther, and she approached and touched the tip of the scepter.
That day Haman left full of joy and in good spirits.[fn] But when Haman saw Mordecai at the King's Gate, and Mordecai didn't rise or tremble in fear at his presence, Haman was filled with rage toward Mordecai.
That night sleep escaped the king, so he ordered the book recording daily events to be brought and read to the king.
Esther answered, “The adversary and enemy is this evil Haman.”
Haman stood terrified before the king and queen.
On the twenty-third day of the third month — that is, the month Sivan — the royal scribes were summoned. Everything was written exactly as Mordecai commanded for the Jews, to the satraps, the governors, and the officials of the 127 provinces from India to Cush. The edict was written for each province in its own script, for each ethnic group in its own language, and to the Jews in their own script and language.
The rest of the Jews in the royal provinces assembled, defended themselves, and gained relief from their enemies. They killed seventy-five thousand[fn] of those who hated them, but they did not seize any plunder.
because during those days the Jews gained relief from their enemies. That was the month when their sorrow was turned into rejoicing and their mourning into a holiday. They were to be days of feasting, rejoicing, and of sending gifts to one another and to the poor.
There was a man in the country of Uz named Job. He was a man of complete integrity, who feared God and turned away from evil.
Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? No one else on earth is like him, a man of perfect integrity, who fears God and turns away from evil.”
Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? No one else on earth is like him, a man of perfect integrity, who fears God and turns away from evil. He still retains his integrity, even though you incited me against him, to destroy him for no good reason.”
So Satan left the LORD's presence and infected Job with terrible boils from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.
His wife said to him, “Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die! ”
For that night did not shut
the doors of my mother's womb,
and hide sorrow from my eyes.
They perish at a single blast from God
and come to an end by the breath of his nostrils.
They are smashed to pieces from dawn to dusk;
they perish forever while no one notices.
His children are far from safety.
They are crushed at the city gate,
with no one to rescue them.
When I lie down I think,
“When will I get up? ”
But the evening drags on endlessly,
and I toss and turn until dawn.
He would show you the secrets of wisdom,
for true wisdom has two sides.
Know then that God has chosen to overlook some of your iniquity.
if there is iniquity in your hand, remove it,
and don't allow injustice to dwell in your tents —
Only grant these two things to me, God,
so that I will not have to hide from your presence:
then be afraid of the sword,
because wrath brings punishment by the sword,
so that you may know there is a judgment.
How often is the lamp of the wicked put out?
Does disaster[fn] come on them?
Does he apportion destruction in his anger?
If you return to the Almighty, you will be renewed.
If you banish injustice from your tent
I have not departed from the commands from his lips;
I have treasured[fn] the words from his mouth
more than my daily food.
The fatherless infant is snatched from the breast;
the nursing child of the poor is seized as collateral.[fn]
They are exalted for a moment, then gone;
they are brought low and shrivel up like everything else.[fn]
They wither like heads of grain.
He cuts a shaft far from human habitation,
in places unknown to those who walk above ground.
Suspended far away from people,
the miners swing back and forth.
It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing
and concealed from the birds of the sky.
He said to mankind,
“The fear of the Lord — that is wisdom.
And to turn from evil is understanding.”
They despise me and keep their distance from me;
they do not hesitate to spit in my face.
For disaster from God terrifies me,
and because of his majesty I could not do these things.
People cry out because of severe oppression;
they shout for help because of the power of the mighty.
“who gives us more understanding than the animals of the earth
and makes us wiser than the birds of the sky? ”
He does not withdraw his gaze from the righteous,
but he seats them forever with enthroned kings,
and they are exalted.
Yet now you are obsessed with the judgment due the wicked;
judgment and justice have seized you.
Be careful that you do not turn to iniquity,
for that is why you have been tested by[fn] affliction.
I will not be afraid of thousands of people
who have taken their stand against me on every side.
Punish them, God;
let them fall by their own schemes.
Drive them out because of their many crimes,
for they rebel against you.
if I have done harm to one at peace with me
or have plundered[fn] my adversary without cause,
He says to himself, “I will never be moved —
from generation to generation I will be without calamity.”
Help, LORD, for no faithful one remains;
the loyal have disappeared from the human race.[fn]
“Because of the devastation of the needy
and the groaning of the poor,
I will now rise up,” says the LORD.
“I will provide safety for the one who longs for it.”
Rise up, LORD!
Confront him; bring him down.
With your sword, save me from the wicked.
With your hand, LORD, save me from men,
from men of the world
whose portion is in this life:
You fill their bellies with what you have in store;
their sons are satisfied,
and they leave their surplus to their children.
Smoke rose from his nostrils,
and consuming fire came from his mouth;
coals were set ablaze by it.[fn]
From the radiance of his presence,
his clouds swept onward with hail and blazing coals.
The depths of the sea became visible,
the foundations of the world were exposed,
at your rebuke, LORD,
at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.
He frees me from my enemies.
You exalt me above my adversaries;
you rescue me from violent men.
Moreover, keep your servant from willful sins;
do not let them rule me.
Then I will be blameless
and cleansed from blatant rebellion.
You will wipe their progeny from the earth
and their offspring from the human race.[fn]
My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
Why are you so far from my deliverance
and from my words of groaning?
The LORD is my light and my salvation —
whom should I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life —
whom should I dread?
Do not hide your face from me;
do not turn your servant away in anger.
You have been my helper;
do not leave me or abandon me,
God of my salvation.
You hide them in the protection of your presence;
you conceal them in a shelter
from human schemes,
from quarrelsome tongues.
In my alarm I said,
“I am cut off from your sight.”
But you heard the sound of my pleading
when I cried to you for help.
You are my hiding place;
you protect me from trouble.
You surround me with joyful shouts of deliverance.Selah
All my bones will say,
“LORD, who is like you,
rescuing the poor from one too strong for him,
the poor or the needy from one who robs him? ”
Lord, how long will you look on?
Rescue me from their ravages;
rescue my precious life from the young lions.
They are filled from the abundance of your house.
You let them drink from your refreshing stream.
Refrain from anger and give up your rage;
do not be agitated — it can only bring harm.
There is no soundness in my body
because of your indignation;
there is no health[fn] in my bones
because of my sin.
My loved ones and friends stand back from my affliction,
and my relatives stand at a distance.
He brought me up from a desolate[fn] pit,
out of the muddy clay,
and set my feet on a rock,
making my steps secure.
I did not hide your righteousness in my heart;
I spoke about your faithfulness and salvation;
I did not conceal your constant love and truth
from the great assembly.
I[fn] am deeply depressed;
therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan
and the peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
[fn]Vindicate me, God, and champion my cause
against an unfaithful nation;
rescue me from the deceitful and unjust person.
because of the taunts[fn] of the scorner and reviler,
because of the enemy and avenger.
Myrrh, aloes, and cassia perfume all your garments;
from ivory palaces harps bring you joy.
The Mighty One, God,[fn] the LORD, speaks;
he summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to its setting.
This is why God will bring you down forever.
He will take you, ripping you out of your tent;
he will uproot you from the land of the living.Selah
His buttery words are smooth,
but war is in his heart.
His words are softer than oil,
but they are drawn swords.
Be gracious to me, God, for a man is trampling me;
he fights and oppresses me all day long.
Be gracious to me, God, be gracious to me,
for I take refuge in you.
I will seek refuge in the shadow of your wings
until danger passes.
You have given a signal flag to those who fear you,
so that they can flee before the archers.[fn]Selah
I call to you from the ends of the earth
when my heart is without strength.
Lead me to a rock that is high above me,
God, hear my voice when I am in anguish.
Protect my life from the terror of the enemy.
As smoke is blown away,
so you blow them away.
As wax melts before the fire,
so the wicked are destroyed before God.
the earth trembled and the skies poured rain
before God, the God of Sinai,[fn]
before God, the God of Israel.
Rescue me from the miry mud; don't let me sink.
Let me be rescued from those who hate me
and from the deep water.
I have leaned on you from birth;
you took me from my mother's womb.
My praise is always about you.
They said in their hearts,
“Let's oppress them relentlessly.”
They burned every place throughout the land
where God met with us.[fn]
We will not hide them from their children,
but will tell a future generation
the praiseworthy acts of the LORD,
his might, and the wondrous works
he has performed.
Before they had turned from what they craved,
while the food was still in their mouths,
He cleared a path for his anger.
He did not spare them from death
but delivered their lives to the plague.
He drove out nations before them.
He apportioned their inheritance by lot
and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.
“I relieved his shoulder from the burden;
his hands were freed from carrying the basket.
My eyes are worn out from crying.
LORD, I cry out to you all day long;
I spread out my hands to you.
Before the mountains were born,
before you gave birth to the earth and the world,
from eternity to eternity, you are God.
Who understands the power of your anger?
Your wrath matches the fear that is due you.
Greater than the roar of a huge torrent —
the mighty breakers of the sea —
the LORD on high is majestic.
Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness;
let the whole earth tremble before him.
The mountains melt like wax
at the presence of the LORD —
at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
because of your indignation and wrath;
for you have picked me up and thrown me aside.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his faithful love
toward those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed
our transgressions from us.
But from eternity to eternity
the LORD's faithful love is toward those who fear him,
and his righteousness toward the grandchildren
He waters the mountains from his palace;
the earth is satisfied by the fruit of your labor.
May sinners vanish from the earth
and wicked people be no more.
My soul, bless the LORD!
Hallelujah!
Blessed be the LORD God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
Let all the people say, “Amen! ”
Hallelujah!
and has gathered them from the lands —
from the east and the west,
from the north and the south.
and fruitful land into salty wasteland,
because of the wickedness of its inhabitants.
The mountains surround Jerusalem
and the LORD surrounds his people,
both now and forever.
I wait for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning —
more than watchmen for the morning.
Though the LORD is exalted,
he takes note of the humble;
but he knows the haughty from a distance.
You know when I sit down and when I stand up;
you understand my thoughts from far away.
even the darkness is not dark to you.
The night shines like the day;
darkness and light are alike to you.
My bones were not hidden from you
when I was made in secret,
when I was formed in the depths of the earth.
Protect me, LORD,
from the power of the wicked.
Keep me safe from violent men
who plan to make me stumble.[fn]
LORD, do not grant the desires of the wicked;
do not let them achieve their goals.
Otherwise, they will become proud.Selah
“But whoever listens to me will live securely
and be undisturbed by the dread of danger.”
It will rescue you from a forbidden woman,
from a wayward woman with her flattering talk,
Honor the LORD with your possessions
and with the first produce of your entire harvest;
Though the lips of the forbidden woman drip honey
and her words are[fn] smoother than oil,
They will protect you from an evil woman,[fn]
from the flattering tongue of a wayward woman.
But he doesn't know that the departed spirits are there,
that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.
The son who gathers during summer is prudent;
the son who sleeps during harvest is disgraceful.
A person will be satisfied with good
by the fruit of his mouth,
and the work of a person's hands will reward him.
From the fruit of his mouth,
a person will enjoy good things,
but treacherous people have an appetite for violence.
Desire fulfilled is sweet to the taste,
but to turn from evil is detestable to fools.
The disloyal one will get what his conduct deserves,
and a good one, what his deeds deserve.
A wise person is cautious and turns from evil,
but a fool is easily angered and is careless.[fn]
The one who profits dishonestly troubles his household,
but the one who hates bribes will live.
The highway of the upright avoids evil;
the one who guards his way protects his life.
From the fruit of a person's mouth his stomach is satisfied;
he is filled with the product of his lips.
The mouth of the forbidden woman is a deep pit;
a man cursed by the LORD will fall into it.
for destruction will come suddenly from them;
who knows what distress these two can bring?
There is a generation whose teeth are swords,
whose fangs are knives,
devouring the oppressed from the land
and the needy from among mankind.
Give her the reward of her labor,[fn]
and let her works praise her at the city gates.
All things[fn] are wearisome,
more than anyone can say.
The eye is not satisfied by seeing
or the ear filled with hearing.
Can one say about anything,
“Look, this is new”?
It has already existed in the ages before us.
All that my eyes desired, I did not deny them. I did not refuse myself any pleasure, for I took pleasure in all my struggles. This was my reward for all my struggles.
a time to throw stones and a time to gather stones;
a time to embrace and a time to avoid embracing;
I know that everything God does will last forever; there is no adding to it or taking from it. God works so that people will be in awe of him.
Again, I observed all the acts of oppression being done under the sun. Look at the tears of those who are oppressed; they have no one to comfort them. Power is with those who oppress them; they have no one to comfort them.
I saw that all labor and all skillful work is due to one person's jealousy of another. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.[fn]
There is a person without a companion,[fn] without even a son or brother, and though there is no end to all his struggles, his eyes are still not content with riches. “Who am I struggling for,” he asks, “and depriving myself of good things? ” This too is futile and a miserable task.
As he came from his mother's womb, so he will go again, naked as he came; he will take nothing for his efforts that he can carry in his hands.
God gives a person riches, wealth, and honor so that he lacks nothing of all he desires for himself, but God does not allow him to enjoy them. Instead, a stranger will enjoy them. This is futile and a sickening tragedy.
A man may father a hundred children and live many years. No matter how long he lives,[fn] if he is not satisfied by good things and does not even have a proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he.
It is good that you grasp the one and do not let the other slip from your hand. For the one who fears God will end up with both of them.
“which my soul continually searches for but does not find: I found one person in a thousand, but none of those was a woman.
Do not be in a hurry; leave his presence, and don't persist in a bad cause, since he will do whatever he wants.
Because the sentence against an evil act is not carried out quickly, the heart of people is filled with the desire to commit evil.
Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and prolongs his life, I also know that it will go well with God-fearing people, for they are reverent before him.
However, it will not go well with the wicked, and they will not lengthen their days like a shadow, for they are not reverent before God.
There is an evil I have seen under the sun, an error proceeding from the presence of the ruler:
Remove sorrow from your heart,
and put away pain from your flesh,
because youth and the prime of life are fleeting.
Also, they are afraid of heights and dangers on the road;
the almond tree blossoms,
the grasshopper loses its spring,[fn]
and the caper berry has no effect;
for the mere mortal is headed to his eternal home,
and mourners will walk around in the street;
Oh, that he would kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your caresses[fn] are more delightful than wine.
Who is this coming up from the wilderness
like columns of smoke,
scented with myrrh and frankincense
from every fragrant powder of the merchant?
All of them are skilled with swords
and trained in warfare.
Each has his sword at his side
to guard against the terror of the night.
How beautiful you are, my darling.
How very beautiful!
Behind your veil,
your eyes are doves.
Your hair is like a flock of goats
streaming down Mount Gilead.
Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn sheep
coming up from washing,
each one bearing twins,
and none has lost its young.[fn]
Come with me from Lebanon,[fn] my bride;
come with me from Lebanon!
Descend from the peak of Amana,
from the summit of Senir and Hermon,
from the dens of the lions,
from the mountains of the leopards.
You have captured my heart, my sister, my bride.
You have captured my heart with one glance of your eyes,
with one jewel of your necklace.
How delightful your caresses are, my sister, my bride.
Your caresses are much better than wine,
and the fragrance of your perfume than any balsam.
What makes the one you love better than another,
most beautiful of women?
What makes him better than another,
that you would give us this charge?
Turn your eyes away from me,
for they captivate me.
Your hair is like a flock of goats
streaming down from Gilead.
Your teeth are like a flock of ewes
coming up from washing,
each one having a twin,
and not one missing.[fn]
I would lead you, I would take you,
to the house of my mother who taught me.[fn]
I would give you spiced wine to drink
from the juice of my pomegranate.
From the sole of the foot even to the head,
no spot is uninjured —
wounds, welts, and festering sores
not cleansed, bandaged,
or soothed with oil.
“Wash yourselves. Cleanse yourselves.
Remove your evil deeds from my sight.
Stop doing evil.
“I will turn my hand against you
and will burn away your dross completely;[fn]
I will remove all your impurities.
Go into the rocks
and hide in the dust
from the terror of the LORD
and from his majestic splendor.
People will go into caves in the rocks
and holes in the ground,
away from the terror of the LORD
and from his majestic splendor,
when he rises to terrify the earth.
They will go into the caves of the rocks
and the crevices in the cliffs,
away from the terror of the LORD
and from his majestic splendor,
when he rises to terrify the earth.
Note this: The Lord GOD of Armies
is about to remove from Jerusalem and from Judah
every kind of security:
the entire supply of bread and water,
and there will be a shelter for shade from heat by day and a refuge and shelter from storm and rain.
None of them grows weary or stumbles;
no one slumbers or sleeps.
No belt is loose
and no sandal strap broken.
The foundations of the doorways shook at the sound of their voices, and the temple was filled with smoke.
Then one of the seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a glowing coal that he had taken from the altar with tongs.
Though a tenth will remain in the land,
it will be burned again.
Like the terebinth or the oak
that leaves a stump when felled,
the holy seed is the stump.
“Say to him: Calm down and be quiet. Don't be afraid or cowardly because of these two smoldering sticks, the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram, and the son of Remaliah.
The chief city of Aram is Damascus,
the chief of Damascus is Rezin
(within sixty-five years
Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people),
“For before the boy knows to reject what is bad and choose what is good, the land of the two kings you dread will be abandoned.
“The LORD will bring on you, your people, and your father's house such a time as has never been since Ephraim separated from Judah: He will bring the king of Assyria.”
and from the abundant milk they give
he will eat curds,
for every survivor in the land will eat curds and honey.
You will not go to all the hills
that were once tilled with a hoe,
for fear of the thorns and briers.
Those hills will be places for oxen to graze
and for sheep to trample.
It will pour into Judah,
flood over it, and sweep through,
reaching up to the neck;
and its flooded banks[fn]
will fill your entire land, Immanuel!
I will wait for the LORD,
who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob.
I will wait for him.
When they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the spiritists who chirp and mutter,” shouldn't a people inquire of their God?[fn] Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living?
The dominion will be vast,
and its prosperity will never end.
He will reign on the throne of David
and over his kingdom,
to establish and sustain it
with justice and righteousness from now on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD of Armies will accomplish this.
He will completely destroy
the glory of its forests and orchards
as a sickness consumes a person.
Therefore, the Lord GOD of Armies says this: “My people who dwell in Zion, do not fear Assyria, though they strike you with a rod and raise their staff over you as the Egyptians did.
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]
On that day the Lord will extend his hand a second time to recover the remnant of his people who survive — from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and the coasts and islands of the west.
I will break Assyria in my land;
I will tread him down on my mountain.
Then his yoke will be taken from them,
and his burden will be removed from their shoulders.
Wail, you gates! Cry out, city!
Tremble with fear, all Philistia!
For a cloud of dust is coming from the north,
and there is no one missing from the invader's ranks.
Let my refugees stay with you;
be a refuge for Moab[fn] from the aggressor.
When the oppressor has gone,
destruction has ended,
and marauders have vanished from the land,
A pronouncement concerning Damascus:
Look, Damascus is no longer a city.
It has become a ruined heap.
On that day their strong cities will be
like the abandoned woods and mountaintops
that were abandoned because of the Israelites;
there will be desolation.
All you inhabitants of the world
and you who live on the earth,
when a banner is raised on the mountains, look!
When a ram's horn sounds, listen!
At that time a gift will be brought to the LORD of Armies from[fn] a people tall and smooth-skinned, a people feared far and near, a powerful nation with a strange language, whose land is divided by rivers — to Mount Zion, the place of the name of the LORD of Armies.
A pronouncement concerning Egypt:
Look, the LORD rides on a swift cloud
and is coming to Egypt.
Egypt's worthless idols will tremble before him,
and Egypt will lose heart.
On that day Egypt will be like women and will tremble with fear because of the threatening hand of the LORD of Armies when he raises it against them.
during that time the LORD had spoken through Isaiah son of Amoz, saying, “Go, take off your sackcloth from your waist and remove the sandals from your feet,” and he did that, going stripped and barefoot —
“And the inhabitants of this coastland will say on that day, ‘Look, this is what has happened to those we relied on and fled to for help to rescue us from the king of Assyria! Now, how will we escape? ' ”
For the Lord GOD of Armies
had a day of tumult, trampling, and confusion
in the Valley of Vision —
people shouting[fn] and crying to the mountains;
“They will hang on him all the glory of his father's family: the descendants and the offshoots — all the small vessels, from bowls to every kind of jar.
Look at the land of the Chaldeans —
a people who no longer exist.
Assyria destined it for desert creatures.
They set up their siege towers
and stripped its palaces.
They made it a ruin.
From the ends of the earth we hear songs:
The Splendor of the Righteous One.
But I said, “I waste away! I waste away![fn]
Woe is me.”
The treacherous act treacherously;
the treacherous deal very treacherously.
For you have been a stronghold for the poor person,
a stronghold for the needy in his distress,
a refuge from storms and a shade from heat.
When the breath of the violent
is like a storm against a wall,
like heat in a dry land,
you will subdue the uproar of barbarians.
As the shade of a cloud cools the heat of the day,
so he will silence the song of the violent.
When he has swallowed up death once and for all,
the Lord GOD will wipe away the tears
from every face
and remove his people's disgrace
from the whole earth,
for the LORD has spoken.
For look, the LORD is coming from his place
to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity.
The earth will reveal the blood shed on it
and will no longer conceal her slain.
When its branches dry out, they will be broken off.
Women will come and make fires with them,
for they are not a people with understanding.
Therefore their Maker will not have compassion on them,
and their Creator will not be gracious to them.
On that day
the LORD will thresh grain from the Euphrates River
as far as the Wadi of Egypt,
and you Israelites will be gathered one by one.
Even these stagger because of wine
and stumble under the influence of beer:
Priest and prophet stagger because of beer.
They are confused by wine.
They stumble because of beer.
They are muddled in their visions.
They stumble in their judgments.
Your many foes[fn] will be like fine dust,
and many of the ruthless, like blowing chaff.
Then suddenly, in an instant,
Then Assyria will fall,
but not by human sword;
a sword will devour him,
but not one made by man.
He will flee from the sword;
his young men will be put to forced labor.
The peoples flee at the thunderous noise;
the nations scatter when you rise in your majesty.
The one who lives righteously
and speaks rightly,
who refuses profit from extortion,
whose hand never takes a bribe,
who stops his ears from listening to murderous plots
and shuts his eyes against evil schemes —
Their slain will be thrown out,
and the stench of their corpses will rise;
the mountains will flow[fn] with their blood.
All[fn] the stars in the sky will dissolve.
The sky will roll up like a scroll,
and its stars will all wither
as leaves wither on the vine,
and foliage on the fig tree.
The LORD's sword is covered with blood.
It drips with fat,
with the blood of lambs and goats,
with the fat of the kidneys of rams.
For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah,
a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
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.
I thought until the morning:
He will break all my bones like a lion.
By nightfall you make an end of me.
The living, only the living can thank you,
as I do today;
a father will make your faithfulness known to children.
“‘Some of your descendants — who come from you, whom you father — will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.' ”
Look, the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are considered as a speck of dust on the scales;
he lifts up the islands like fine dust.
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.
Jacob, why do you say,
and Israel, why do you assert,
“My way is hidden from the LORD,
and my claim is ignored by my God”?
“Who has performed and done this,
calling the generations from the beginning?
I am the LORD, the first
and with the last — I am he.”
The poor and the needy seek water, but there is none;
their tongues are parched with thirst.
I will answer them.
I am the LORD, the God of Israel. I will not abandon them.
“I have stirred up one from the north, and he has come,
one from the east who invokes my[fn] name.
He will march over rulers as if they were mud,
like a potter who treads the clay.
“When I look, there is no one;
there is no counselor among them;
when I ask them, they have nothing to say.
“Do not fear, for I am with you;
I will bring your descendants from the east,
and gather you from the west.
“I will say to the north, ‘Give them up! '
and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back! '
Bring my sons from far away,
and my daughters from the ends of the earth —
Look, all its worshipers will be put to shame,
and the craftsmen are humans.
They all will assemble and stand;
they all will be startled and put to shame.
who destroys the omens of the false prophets
and makes fools of diviners;
who confounds the wise
and makes their knowledge foolishness;
“so that all may know from the rising of the sun to its setting
that there is no one but me.
I am the LORD, and there is no other.
“Come, gather together,
and approach, you fugitives of the nations.
Those who carry their wooden idols
and pray to a god who cannot save
have no knowledge.
The gods cower; they crouch together;
they are not able to rescue the burden,
but they themselves go into captivity.
“They lift it to their shoulder and bear it along;
they set it in its place, and there it stands;
it does not budge from its place.
They cry out to it but it doesn't answer;
it saves no one from his trouble.
“Remember what happened long ago,
for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and no one is like me.
“I call a bird of prey[fn] from the east,
a man for my purpose from a far country.
Yes, I have spoken; so I will also bring it about.
I have planned it; I will also do it.
“You have heard it. Observe it all.
Will you not acknowledge it?
From now on I will announce new things to you,
hidden things that you have not known.
Leave Babylon,
flee from the Chaldeans!
Declare with a shout of joy,
proclaim this,
let it go out to the end of the earth;
announce,
“The LORD has redeemed his servant Jacob! ”
“For your waste and desolate places
and your land marked by ruins
will now be indeed too small for the inhabitants,
and those who swallowed you up will be far away.
Why was no one there when I came?
Why was there no one to answer when I called?
Is my arm too weak to redeem?
Or do I have no power to rescue?
Look, I dry up the sea by my rebuke;
I turn the rivers into a wilderness;
their fish rot because of lack of water
and die of thirst.
I gave my back to those who beat me,
and my cheeks to those who tore out my beard.
I did not hide my face from scorn and spitting.
I — I am the one who comforts you.
Who are you that you should fear humans who die,
or a son of man who is given up like grass?
There is no one to guide her
among all the children she has raised;
there is no one to take hold of her hand
among all the offspring she has brought up.
Just as many were appalled at you[fn] —
his appearance was so disfigured
that he did not look like a man,
and his form did not resemble a human being —
He was taken away because of oppression and judgment,
and who considered his fate?[fn]
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
he was struck because of my people's rebellion.
After his anguish,
he will see light[fn] and be satisfied.
By his knowledge,
my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will carry their iniquities.
“In a surge of anger
I hid my face from you for a moment,
but I will have compassion on you
with everlasting love,”
says the LORD your Redeemer.
“For this is like the days[fn] of Noah to me:
when I swore that the water of Noah
would never flood the earth again,
so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you
or rebuke you.
“and you will be established
on a foundation of righteousness.
You will be far from oppression,
you will certainly not be afraid;
you will be far from terror,
it will certainly not come near you.
“For as heaven is higher than earth,
so my ways are higher than your ways,
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
No foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD
should say,
“The LORD will exclude me from his people,”
and the eunuch should not say,
“Look, I am a dried-up tree.”
The righteous person perishes,
and no one takes it to heart;
the faithful are taken away,
with no one realizing
that the righteous person is taken away
because of[fn] evil.
You went to the king with oil
and multiplied your perfumes;
you sent your envoys far away
and sent them down even to Sheol.
He said,
“Build it up, build it up, prepare the way,
remove every obstacle from my people's way.”
“Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
to bring the poor and homeless into your house,
to clothe the naked when you see him,
and not to ignore your own flesh and blood?[fn]
“At that time, when you call, the LORD will answer;
when you cry out, he will say, ‘Here I am.'
If you get rid of the yoke among you,
the finger-pointing and malicious speaking,
Their webs cannot become clothing,
and they cannot cover themselves with their works.
Their works are sinful works,
and violent acts are in their hands.
transgression and deception against the LORD,
turning away from following our God,
speaking oppression and revolt,
conceiving and uttering lying words from the heart.
They will fear the name of the LORD in the west
and his glory in the east;[fn]
for he will come like a rushing stream
driven by the wind of the LORD.
“The Redeemer will come to Zion,
and to those in Jacob who turn from transgression.”
This is the LORD's declaration.
“As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the LORD: “My Spirit who is on you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, will not depart from your mouth, or from the mouths of your children, or from the mouths of your children's children, from now on and forever,” says the LORD.
He made his glorious strength
available at the right hand of Moses,
divided the water before them
to make an eternal name for himself,
Why, LORD, do you make us stray from your ways?
You harden our hearts so we do not fear[fn] you.
Return, because of your servants,
the tribes of your heritage.
just as fire kindles brushwood,
and fire boils water —
to make your name known to your enemies,
so that nations would tremble at your presence!
When you did awesome works
that we did not expect,
you came down,
and the mountains quaked at your presence.
From ancient times no one has heard,
no one has listened to,
no eye has seen any God except you
who acts on behalf of the one who waits for him.
“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.
so that you may nurse and be satisfied
from her comforting breast
and drink deeply and delight yourselves
from her glorious breasts.
Do not be afraid of anyone,
for I will be with you to rescue you.
This is the LORD's declaration.
Again the word of the LORD came to me asking, “What do you see? ”
And I replied, “I see a boiling pot, its lip tilted from the north to the south.”
Then the LORD said to me, “Disaster will be poured out[fn] from the north on all who live in the land.
“Indeed, I am about to summon all the clans and kingdoms of the north.”
This is the LORD's declaration.
They will come, and each king will set up his throne
at the entrance to Jerusalem's gates.
They will attack all her surrounding walls
and all the other cities of Judah.
“Now, get ready. Stand up and tell them everything that I command you. Do not be intimidated by them or I will cause you to cower before them.
Keep your feet from going bare
and your throat from thirst.
But you say, “It's hopeless;
I love strangers,
and I will continue to follow them.”
How unstable you are,
constantly changing your ways!
You will be put to shame by Egypt
just as you were put to shame by Assyria.
The LORD announced to me, “Unfaithful Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah.
In those days the house of Judah will join with the house of Israel, and they will come together from the land of the north to the land I have given your ancestors to inherit.' ”
“From the time of our youth
the shameful one[fn] has consumed
what our ancestors have worked for —
their flocks and their herds,
their sons and their daughters.
“Let us lie down in our shame;
let our disgrace cover us.
We have sinned against the LORD our God,
both we and our ancestors,
from the time of our youth even to this day.
We have not obeyed the LORD our God.”
If you return,[fn] Israel —
this is the LORD's declaration —
you will return to me,
if you remove your abhorrent idols
from my presence
and do not waver,
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.
Lift up a signal flag toward Zion.
Run for cover! Don't stand still!
For I am bringing disaster from the north —
a crushing blow.
Wash the evil from your heart, Jerusalem,
so that you will be delivered.
How long will you harbor
malicious thoughts?
I looked, and the fertile field was a wilderness.
All its cities were torn down
because of the LORD
and his burning anger.
Every city flees
at the sound of the horseman and the archer.
They enter the thickets
and climb among the rocks.
Every city is abandoned;
no inhabitant is left.
“Do you not fear me?
This is the LORD's declaration.
Do you not tremble before me,
the one who set the sand as the boundary of the sea,
an enduring barrier that it cannot cross?
The waves surge, but they cannot prevail.
They roar but cannot pass over it.
“Run for cover
out of Jerusalem, Benjaminites.
Sound the ram's horn in Tekoa;
raise a smoke signal over Beth-haccherem,[fn]
for disaster threatens from the north,
even a crushing blow.
Be warned, Jerusalem,
or I will turn away from you;
I will make you a desolation,
a land without inhabitants.
For from the least to the greatest of them,
everyone is making profit dishonestly.
From prophet to priest,
everyone deals falsely.
This is what the LORD says:
Look, an army is coming from a northern land;
a great nation will be stirred up
from the remote regions of the earth.
The bellows blow,
blasting the lead with fire.
The refining is completely in vain;
the evil ones are not separated out.
“ ‘But return to my place that was at Shiloh, where I made my name dwell at first. See what I did to it because of the evil of my people Israel.
“I will banish you from my presence, just as I banished all of your brothers, all the descendants of Ephraim.'
“Death will be chosen over life by all the survivors of this evil family, those who remain wherever I have banished them.” This is the declaration of the LORD of Armies.
“I have paid careful attention.
They do not speak what is right.
No one regrets his evil,
asking, ‘What have I done? '
Everyone has stayed his course
like a horse rushing into battle.
From Dan, the snorting of horses is heard.
At the sound of the neighing of mighty steeds,
the whole land quakes.
They come to devour the land and everything in it,
the city and all its residents.
Listen — the cry of my dear people
from a faraway land,
“Is the LORD no longer in Zion,
her King not within her? ”
Why have they angered me
with their carved images,
with their worthless foreign idols?
Everyone has to be on guard against his friend.
Don't trust any brother,
for every brother will certainly deceive,
and every friend spread slander.
I will raise weeping and a lament
over the mountains,
a dirge over the wilderness grazing land,
for they have been so scorched
that no one passes through.
The sound of cattle is no longer heard.
From the birds of the sky to the animals,
everything has fled — they have gone away.
for Death has climbed through our windows;
it has entered our fortresses,
cutting off children from the streets,
young men from the squares.
This is what the LORD says:
Do not learn the way of the nations
or be terrified by signs in the heavens,
although the nations are terrified by them,
Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish
and gold from Uphaz.[fn]
The work of a craftsman
and of a goldsmith's hands
is clothed in blue and purple,
all the work of skilled artisans.
You are to say this to them: “The gods that did not make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from under these heavens.”[fn]
Everyone is stupid and ignorant.
Every goldsmith is put to shame
by his carved image,
for his cast images are a lie;
there is no breath in them.
How long will the land mourn
and the grass of every field wither?
Because of the evil of its residents,
animals and birds have been swept away,
for the people have said,
“He cannot see what our end will be.”[fn]
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.
This is what the LORD says: “Concerning all my evil neighbors who attack the inheritance that I bequeathed to my people, Israel, I am about to uproot them from their land, and I will uproot the house of Judah from them.
“I will smash them against each other, fathers and sons alike — this is the LORD's declaration. I will allow no mercy, pity, or compassion to keep me from destroying them.' ”
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.
Look up and see
those coming from the north.
Where is the flock entrusted to you,
the sheep that were your pride?
Wild donkeys stand on the barren heights
panting for air like jackals.
Their eyes fail
because there are no green plants.
“The people they are prophesying to will be thrown into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword. There will be no one to bury them — they, their wives, their sons, and their daughters. I will pour out their own evil on them.”
Have you completely rejected Judah?
Do you detest Zion?
Why do you strike us
with no hope of healing for us?
We hoped for peace,
but there was nothing good;
for a time of healing,
but there was only terror.
You know, LORD;
remember me and take note of me.
Avenge me against my persecutors.
In your patience,[fn] don't take me away.
Know that I suffer disgrace for your honor.
I never sat with the band of revelers,
and I did not celebrate with them.
Because your hand was on me, I sat alone,
for you filled me with indignation.
Therefore, this is what the LORD says:
If you return, I will take you back;
you will stand in my presence.
And if you speak noble words,
rather than worthless ones,
you will be my spokesman.
It is they who must return to you;
you must not return to them.
“For this is what the LORD says: Don't enter a house where a mourning feast is taking place.[fn] Don't go to lament or sympathize with them, for I have removed my peace from these people as well as my faithful love and compassion.” This is the LORD's declaration.
“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]
“but rather, ‘As the LORD lives who brought the Israelites from the land of the north and from all the other lands where he had banished them.' For I will return them to their land that I gave to their ancestors.
This is what the LORD says:
Cursed is the person who trusts in mankind.
He makes human flesh his strength,
and his heart turns from the LORD.
“However, if that nation about which I have made the announcement turns from its evil, I will relent concerning the disaster I had planned to do to it.
“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.'
Does the snow of Lebanon ever leave the highland crags?
Or does cold water flowing from a distance ever fail?
Then certain ones said, “Come, let's make plans against Jeremiah, for instruction will never be lost from the priest, or counsel from the wise, or a word from the prophet. Come, let's denounce him[fn] and pay no attention to all his words.”
But you, LORD, know
all their deadly plots against me.
Do not wipe out their iniquity;
do not blot out their sin before you.
Let them be forced to stumble before you;
deal with them in the time of your anger.
This is what the LORD says: “Go, buy a potter's clay jar. Take[fn] some of the elders of the people and some of the leading priests
Jeremiah returned from Topheth, where the LORD had sent him to prophesy, stood in the courtyard of the LORD's temple, and proclaimed to all the people,
“Afterward — this is the LORD's declaration — King Zedekiah of Judah, his officers, and the people — those in this city who survive the plague, the sword, and the famine — I will hand over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, to their enemies, yes, to those who intend to take their lives. He will put them to the sword; he won't spare them or show pity or compassion.'
The wind will take charge of[fn] all your shepherds,
and your lovers will go into captivity.
Then you will be ashamed and humiliated
because of all your evil.
“In fact, I will hand you over to those you dread, who intend to take your life, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the Chaldeans.
“I will gather the remnant of my flock from all the lands where I have banished them, and I will return them to their grazing land. They will become fruitful and numerous.
“but, ‘As the LORD lives, who brought and led the descendants of the house of Israel from the land of the north and from all the other countries where I[fn] had banished them.' They will dwell once more in their own land.”
Concerning the prophets:
My heart is broken within me,
and all my bones tremble.
I have become like a drunkard,
like a man overcome by wine,
because of the LORD,
because of his holy words.
For the land is full of adulterers;
the land mourns because of the curse,
and the grazing lands in the wilderness have dried up.
Their way of life[fn] has become evil,
and their power is not rightly used
Among the prophets of Jerusalem also
I saw a horrible thing:
They commit adultery and walk in lies.
They strengthen the hands of evildoers,
and none turns his back on evil.
They are all like Sodom to me;
Jerusalem's residents are like Gomorrah.
Therefore, this is what the LORD of Armies says concerning the prophets:
I am about to feed them wormwood
and give them poisoned water to drink,
for from the prophets of Jerusalem
ungodliness[fn] has spread throughout the land.
This is what the LORD of Armies says: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They are deluding you. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the LORD's mouth.
The LORD's anger will not turn away
until he has completely fulfilled the purposes of his heart.
In time to come you will understand it clearly.
If they had really stood in my council,
they would have enabled my people to hear my words
and would have turned them from their evil ways
and their evil deeds.
One basket contained very good figs, like early figs, but the other basket contained very bad figs, so bad they were inedible.
The LORD said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah? ”
I said, “Figs! The good figs are very good, but the bad figs are extremely bad, so bad they are inedible.”
“But as for the bad figs, so bad they are inedible, this is what the LORD says: In this way I will deal with King Zedekiah of Judah, his officials, and the remnant of Jerusalem — those remaining in this land or living in the land of Egypt.
“I will send the sword, famine, and plague against them until they have perished from the land I gave to them and their 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.
“I am going to send for all the families of the north' — this is the LORD's declaration — ‘and send for my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I will bring them against this land, against its residents, and against all these surrounding nations, and I will completely destroy them and make them an example of horror and scorn, and ruins forever.
“They will drink, stagger,[fn] and go out of their minds because of the sword I am sending among them.”
all the kings of the north, both near and far from one another;
that is, all the kingdoms of the world throughout the earth.
Finally, the king of Sheshak[fn] will drink after them.
“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.'
“As for you, you are to prophesy all these things to them, and say to them:
The LORD roars from on high;
he makes his voice heard from his holy dwelling.
He roars loudly over his grazing land;
he calls out with a shout, like those who tread grapes,
against all the inhabitants of the earth.
“This is what the LORD of Armies says:
Pay attention! Disaster spreads
from nation to nation.
A huge storm is stirred up
from the ends of the earth.”
Flight will be impossible for the shepherds,
and escape, for the leaders of the flock.
He has left his den like a lion,
for their land has become a desolation
because of the sword[fn] of the oppressor,
because of his burning anger.
“Perhaps they will listen and turn — each from his evil way of life — so that I might relent concerning the disaster that I plan to do to them because of the evil of their deeds.
“How dare you prophesy in the name of the LORD, ‘This temple will become like Shiloh and this city will become an uninhabited ruin'! ” Then all the people crowded around Jeremiah at the LORD's temple.
“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.
“Did King Hezekiah of Judah and all the people of Judah put him to death? Did not the king fear the LORD and plead for the LORD's favor,[fn] and did not the LORD relent concerning the disaster he had pronounced against them? We are about to bring a terrible disaster on ourselves! ”
“They are prophesying a lie to you so that you will be removed from your land. I will banish you, and you will perish.
In that same year, at the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah, in the fifth month of the fourth year, the prophet Hananiah son of Azzur from Gibeon said to me in the temple of the LORD in the presence of the priests and all the people,
“The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, disaster,[fn] and plague against many lands and great kingdoms.
The prophet Hananiah then took the yoke bar from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it.
In the presence of all the people Hananiah proclaimed, “This is what the LORD says: ‘In this way, within two years I will break the yoke of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon from the neck of all the nations.' ” The prophet Jeremiah then went on his way.
After the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke bar from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah:
“Therefore, this is what the LORD says: ‘I am about to send you off the face of the earth. You will die this year because you have preached rebellion against the LORD.' ”
This is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the exiles I deported from Jerusalem to Babylon:
How awful that day will be!
There will be no other like it!
It will be a time of trouble for Jacob,
but he will be saved out of it.
On that day —
this is the declaration of the LORD of Armies —
I will break his yoke from your neck
and tear off your chains,
and strangers will never again enslave him.
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.
Watch! I am going to bring them from the northern land.
I will gather them from remote regions of the earth —
the blind and the lame will be with them,
along with those who are pregnant and those about to give birth.
They will return here as a great assembly!
This is what the LORD says:
Keep your voice from weeping
and your eyes from tears,
for the reward for your work will come —
this is the LORD's declaration —
and your children will return from the enemy's land.
“No longer will one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,' for they will all know me, from the least to the greatest of them” — this is the LORD's declaration. “For I will forgive their iniquity and never again remember their sin.
“If this fixed order departs from before me —
this is the LORD's declaration —
only then will Israel's descendants cease
to be a nation before me forever.
“Look, the days are coming” — the LORD's declaration — “when the city[fn] from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate will be rebuilt for the LORD.
“Oh, Lord GOD! You yourself made the heavens and earth by your great power and with your outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for you!
“Look! Siege ramps have come against the city to capture it, and the city, as a result of the sword, famine, and plague, has been handed over to the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What you have spoken has happened. Look, you can see it!
“for this city has caused my wrath and fury from the day it was built until now. I will therefore remove it from my presence
“Fields will be bought in this land about which you are saying, ‘It's a desolation without people or animals; it has been handed over to the Chaldeans! '
“I will purify them from all the iniquity they have committed against me, and I will forgive all the iniquities they have committed against me, rebelling against me.
“This is what the LORD says: In this place, which you say is a ruin, without people or animals — that is, in Judah's cities and Jerusalem's streets that are a desolation without people, without inhabitants, and without animals — there will be heard again
“I am about to give the command — this is the LORD's declaration — and I will bring them back to this city. They will fight against it, capture it, and burn it. I will make Judah's cities a desolation, without inhabitant.”
“However, when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon marched into the land, we said, ‘Come, let's go into Jerusalem to get away from the Chaldean and Aramean armies.' So we have been living in Jerusalem.”
“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.
“Perhaps when the house of Judah hears about all the disaster I am planning to bring on them, each one of them will turn from his evil way. Then I will forgive their iniquity and their sin.”
So Jeremiah summoned Baruch son of Neriah. At Jeremiah's dictation,[fn] Baruch wrote on a scroll all the words the LORD had spoken to Jeremiah.
Baruch said to them, “At his dictation. He recited all these words to me while I was writing on the scroll in ink.”
After the king had burned the scroll and the words Baruch had written at Jeremiah's dictation,[fn] the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah:
Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch son of Neriah, the scribe, and he wrote on it at Jeremiah's dictation[fn] all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim, Judah's king, had burned in the fire. And many other words like them were added.
Pharaoh's army had left Egypt, and when the Chaldeans, who were besieging Jerusalem, heard the report, they withdrew from Jerusalem.
Jeremiah started to leave Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to claim his portion there among the people.
“My lord the king, these men have been evil in all they have done to the prophet Jeremiah. They have dropped him into the cistern where he will die from hunger, because there is no more bread in the city.”
“But I will rescue you on that day — this is the LORD's declaration — and you will not be handed over to the men you dread.
“Now pay attention: Today I am setting you free from the chains that were on your hands. If it pleases you to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will take care of you. But if it seems wrong to you to come with me to Babylon, go no farther.[fn] Look — the whole land is in front of you. Wherever it seems good and right for you to go, go there.”
Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, swore an oath to them and their men, assuring them, “Don't be afraid to serve the Chaldeans. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well for you.
In the seventh month, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family and one of the king's chief officers, came with ten men to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah. They ate a meal together there in Mizpah,
eighty men came from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria who had shaved their beards, torn their clothes, and gashed themselves, and who were carrying grain and incense offerings to bring to the temple of the LORD.
Now the cistern where Ishmael had thrown all the corpses of the men he had struck down was a large one[fn] that King Asa had made in the encounter with King Baasha of Israel. Ishmael son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain.
Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies with him then took from Mizpah all the remnant of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael son of Nethaniah after Ishmael had killed Gedaliah son of Ahikam — men, soldiers, women, children, and court officials whom he brought back from Gibeon.
away from the Chaldeans. For they feared them because Ishmael son of Nethaniah had struck down Gedaliah son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the land.
Then all the commanders of the armies, along with Johanan son of Kareah, Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least to the greatest, approached
the prophet Jeremiah and said, “May our petition come before you; pray to the LORD your God on our behalf, on behalf of this entire remnant (for few of us remain out of the many, as you can see with your own eyes),
and he summoned Johanan son of Kareah, all the commanders of the armies who were with him, and all the people from the least to the greatest.
“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.
“then the sword you fear will overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine you are worried about will follow on your heels[fn] there to Egypt, and you will die there.
“All who resolve to go to Egypt to stay there for a while will die by the sword, famine, and plague. They will have no survivor or fugitive from the disaster I will bring on them.'
“This is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: You have seen all the disaster I brought against Jerusalem and all Judah's cities. Look, they are a ruin today without an inhabitant in them
“because of the evil they committed to anger me, by going and burning incense to serve other gods that they, you, and your ancestors did not know.
“But they did not listen or pay attention; they did not turn from their evil or stop burning incense to other gods.
“And I will take away the remnant of Judah, those who have set their face to go to the land of Egypt to stay there. All of them will meet their end in the land of Egypt. They will fall by the sword; they will meet their end by famine. From the least to the greatest, they will die by the sword and by famine. Then they will become an example for cursing, scorn, execration, and disgrace.
“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.”
Those who escape the sword will return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah only few in number, and the whole remnant of Judah, the ones going to the land of Egypt to stay there for a while, will know whose word stands, mine or theirs!
This is the word that the prophet Jeremiah spoke to Baruch son of Neriah when he wrote these words on a scroll at Jeremiah's dictation[fn] in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah:
That day belongs to the Lord, the GOD of Armies,
a day of vengeance to avenge himself
against his adversaries.
The sword will devour and be satisfied;
it will drink its fill of their blood,
because it will be a sacrifice to the Lord, the GOD of Armies,
in the northern land by the Euphrates River.
He continues to stumble.
Indeed, each falls over the other.
They say, “Get up! Let's return to our people
and to our native land,
away from the oppressor's sword.”
Egypt is a beautiful young cow,
but a horsefly from the north is coming against her.[fn]
This is what the LORD says:
Look, water is rising from the north
and becoming an overflowing wadi.
It will overflow the land and everything in it,
the cities and their inhabitants.
The people will cry out,
and every inhabitant of the land will wail.
At the sound of the stomping hooves of his stallions,
the rumbling of his chariots,
and the clatter of their wheels,
fathers will not turn back for their sons.
They will be utterly helpless[fn]
There is no longer praise for Moab;
they plan harm against her in Heshbon:
Come, let's cut her off from nationhood.
Also, Madmen, you will be silenced;
the sword will follow you.
Moab will be put to shame because of Chemosh,
just as the house of Israel was put to shame
because of Bethel that they trusted in.
Come down from glory; sit on parched ground,
resident of the daughter of Dibon,
for the destroyer of Moab has come against you;
he has destroyed your fortresses.
“There is a cry from Heshbon to Elealeh; they make their voices heard as far as Jahaz — from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah — because even the Waters of Nimrim have become desolate.
“Therefore, my heart moans like flutes for Moab, and my heart moans like flutes for the people of Kir-heres. And therefore, the wealth he has gained has perished.
He who flees from the panic will fall in the pit,
and he who climbs from the pit
will be captured in the trap,
for I will bring against Moab
the year of their punishment.
This is the LORD's declaration.
Look, I am about to bring terror on you —
this is the declaration of the Lord GOD of Armies —
from all those around you.
You will be banished, each person headlong,
with no one to gather up the fugitives.
At the sound of their fall the earth will quake; the sound of her cry will be heard at the Red Sea.
For a nation from the north will attack her;
it will make her land desolate.
No one will be living in it —
both people and animals will escape.[fn]
Escape from Babylon;
depart from the Chaldeans' land.
Be like the rams that lead the flock.
Because of the LORD's wrath,
she will not be inhabited;
she will become a desolation, every bit of her.
Everyone who passes through Babylon
will be appalled
and scoff because of all her wounds.
Cut off the sower from Babylon
as well as him who wields the sickle at harvest time.
Because of the oppressor's sword,
each will turn to his own people,
each will flee to his own land.
Look! A people comes from the north.
A great nation and many kings will be stirred up
from the remote regions of the earth.
At the sound of Babylon's conquest the earth will quake; a cry will be heard among the nations.
For Israel and Judah are not left widowed
by their God, the LORD of Armies,
though their land is full of guilt
against the Holy One of Israel.
Babylon was a gold cup in the LORD's hand,
making the whole earth drunk.
The nations drank her wine;
therefore, the nations go mad.
Everyone is stupid and ignorant.
Every goldsmith is put to shame by his carved image,
for his cast images are a lie;
there is no breath in them.
Look, I am against you, devastating mountain.
This is the LORD's declaration.
You devastate the whole earth.
I will stretch out my hand against you,
roll you down from the cliffs,
and turn you into a charred mountain.
No one will be able to retrieve a cornerstone
or a foundation stone from you,
because you will become desolate forever.
This is the LORD's declaration.
“King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has devoured me;
he has crushed me.
He has set me aside like an empty dish;
he has swallowed me like a sea monster;
he filled his belly with my delicacies;
he has vomited me out.[fn]
“Say, ‘LORD, you have threatened to cut off this place so that no one will live in it — people or animals. Indeed, it will remain desolate forever.'
“Then say, ‘In the same way, Babylon will sink and never rise again because of the disaster I am bringing on her. They will grow weary.' ”
The words of Jeremiah end here.
She weeps bitterly during the night,
with tears on her cheeks.
There is no one to offer her comfort,
not one from all her lovers.[fn]
All her friends have betrayed her;
they have become her enemies.
Judah has gone into exile
following[fn] affliction and harsh slavery;
she lives among the nations
but finds no place to rest.
All her pursuers have overtaken her
in narrow places.
He has cut off every horn of Israel
in his burning anger
and withdrawn his right hand
in the presence of the enemy.
He has blazed against Jacob like a flaming fire
that consumes everything.
The LORD determined to destroy
the wall of Daughter Zion.
He stretched out a measuring line
and did not restrain himself from destroying.
He made the ramparts and walls grieve;
together they waste away.
Those slain by the sword are better off
than those slain by hunger,
who waste away, pierced with pain
because the fields lack produce.
I looked, and there was a whirlwind coming from the north, a huge cloud with fire flashing back and forth and brilliant light all around it. In the center of the fire, there was a gleam like amber.
When the living creatures moved, the wheels moved beside them, and when the creatures rose from the earth, the wheels also rose.
When the creatures moved, the wheels moved; when the creatures stopped, the wheels stopped; and when the creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose alongside them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
From what seemed to be his waist up, I saw a gleam like amber, with what looked like fire enclosing it all around. From what seemed to be his waist down, I also saw what looked like fire. There was a brilliant light all around him.
“But you, son of man, do not be afraid of them and do not be afraid of their words, even though briers and thorns are beside you and you live among scorpions. Don't be afraid of their words or discouraged by the look on their faces, for they are a rebellious house.
“I have made your forehead like a diamond, harder than flint. Don't be afraid of them or discouraged by the look on their faces, though they are a rebellious house.”
“If I say to the wicked person, ‘You will surely die,' but you do not warn him — you don't speak out to warn him about his wicked way in order to save his life — that wicked person will die for his iniquity. Yet I will hold you responsible for his blood.
“But if you warn a wicked person and he does not turn from his wickedness or his wicked way, he will die for his iniquity, but you will have rescued yourself.
“Now if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and acts unjustly, and I put a stumbling block in front of him, he will die. If you did not warn him, he will die because of his sin, and the righteous acts he did will not be remembered. Yet I will hold you responsible for his blood.
“Be aware that I will put cords on you so you cannot turn from side to side until you have finished the days of your siege.
“You will also drink a ration of water, a sixth of a gallon,[fn] which you will drink at set times.
But I said, “Oh, Lord GOD, I have never been defiled. From my youth until now I have not eaten anything that died naturally or was mauled by wild beasts. And impure meat has never entered my mouth.”
“I will stretch out my hand against them, and wherever they live I will make the land a desolate waste, from the wilderness to Riblah.[fn] Then they will know that I am the LORD.”
I looked, and there was someone who looked like a man.[fn] From what seemed to be his waist down was fire, and from his waist up was something that looked bright, like the gleam of amber.
The LORD said to me, “Son of man, look toward the north.” I looked to the north, and there was this offensive statue north of the Altar Gate, at the entrance.
He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing here — more detestable acts that the house of Israel is committing — so that I must depart from my sanctuary? You will see even more detestable acts.”
And I saw six men coming from the direction of the Upper Gate, which faces north, each with a war club in his hand. There was another man among them, clothed in linen, carrying writing equipment. They came and stood beside the bronze altar.
Then the glory of the God of Israel rose from above the cherub where it had been, to the threshold of the temple. He called to the man clothed in linen and carrying writing equipment.
“Slaughter the old men, the young men and women, as well as the children and older women, but do not come near anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were in front of the temple.
Then the glory of the LORD rose from above the cherub to the threshold of the temple. The temple was filled with the cloud, and the court was filled with the brightness of the LORD's glory.
When the cherubim moved, the wheels moved beside them, and when they lifted their wings to rise from the earth, even then the wheels did not veer away from them.
Then the glory of the LORD moved away from the threshold of the temple and stopped above the cherubim.
The cherubim lifted their wings and ascended from the earth right before my eyes; the wheels were beside them as they went. The glory of the God of Israel was above them, and it stopped at the entrance to the eastern gate of the LORD's house.
The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to Chaldea and to the exiles in a vision from the Spirit of God. After the vision I had seen left me,
“This is what the Lord GOD says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing.
“Now you, son of man, face[fn] the women among your people who prophesy out of their own imagination, and prophesy against them.
“ ‘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.
“Because you have disheartened the righteous person with lies (when I intended no distress), and because you have supported[fn] the wicked person so that he does not turn from his evil way to save his life,
“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.
“Suppose I allow dangerous animals to pass through the land and depopulate it so that it becomes desolate, with no one passing through it for fear of the animals.
“so that when I make atonement for all you have done, you will remember and be ashamed, and never open your mouth again because of your disgrace. This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.' ”
“Then he took some of the land's seed and put it in a fertile field; he set it like a willow, a plant[fn] by abundant water.
“But if a wicked person turns from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he will preserve his life.
“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?
“He devastated their strongholds[fn]
and destroyed their cities.
The land and everything in it shuddered
at the sound of his roaring.
“and say to the forest there, ‘Hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Lord GOD says: I am about to ignite a fire in you, and it will devour every green tree and every dry tree in you. The blazing flame will not be extinguished, and every face from the south to the north will be scorched by it.
“Since I will cut off[fn] both the righteous and the wicked, my sword will therefore come out of its sheath against all humanity from the south to the north.
“Those who are near and those far away from you will mock you, you infamous one full of turmoil.
“Her priests do violence to my instruction and profane my holy things. They make no distinction between the holy and the common, and they do not explain the difference between the clean and the unclean. They close their eyes to my Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.
“When she flaunted her promiscuity and exposed her nakedness, I turned away from her in disgust just as I turned away from her sister.
“They will come against you with an assembly of peoples and with weapons, chariots, and[fn] wagons. They will set themselves against you on every side with large and small shields and helmets. I will delegate judgment to them, and they will judge you by their own standards.
“Son of man, write down today's date, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day.
“Place the pieces of meat in it,
every good piece —
thigh and shoulder.
Fill it with choice bones.
“Then you will do just as I have done: You will not cover your mustache or eat the bread of mourners.
Therefore I am about to expose Moab's flank beginning with its[fn] frontier cities, the splendor of the land: Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim.
For this is what the Lord GOD says: “See, I am about to bring King Nebuchadnezzar[fn] of Babylon, king of kings, against Tyre from the north with horses, chariots, cavalry, and a huge assembly of troops.
“His horses will be so numerous that their dust will cover you. When he enters your gates as an army entering a breached city, your walls will shake from the noise of cavalry, wagons, and chariots.
This is what the Lord GOD says to Tyre: “Won't the coasts and islands quake at the sound of your downfall, when the wounded groan and slaughter occurs within you?
“All the princes of the sea will descend from their thrones, remove their robes, and strip off their embroidered garments. They will clothe themselves with trembling; they will sit on the ground, tremble continually, and be appalled at you.
“Say to Tyre, who is situated at the entrance of the sea, merchant of the peoples to many coasts and islands, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says:
Tyre, you declared,
“I am perfect in beauty.”
They made your oars of oaks from Bashan.
They made your deck of cypress wood
from the coasts of Cyprus,
inlaid with ivory.
“ ‘Tarshish was your trading partner because of your abundant wealth of every kind. They exchanged silver, iron, tin, and lead for your merchandise.
“Men of Dedan[fn] were also your merchants; many coasts and islands were your regular markets. They brought back ivory tusks and ebony as your payment.
“All the oarsmen
disembark from their ships.
The sailors and all the captains of the sea
stand on the shore.
“When your merchandise was unloaded from the seas,
you satisfied many peoples.
You enriched the kings of the earth
with your abundant wealth and goods.
“Those who trade among the peoples
scoff[fn] at you;
you have become an object of horror
and will never exist again.” ' ”
“I am about to bring strangers against you,
ruthless men from the nations.
They will draw their swords
against your magnificent wisdom
and will pierce your splendor.
“Through the abundance of your trade,
you were filled with violence, and you sinned.
So I expelled you in disgrace
from the mountain of God,
and banished you, guardian cherub,[fn]
from among the fiery stones.
“ ‘The house of Israel will no longer be hurt by[fn] prickly briers or painful thorns from all their neighbors who treat them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the Lord GOD.
“ ‘Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says: I am going to bring a sword against you and cut off both people and animals from you.
therefore, I am against you and your Nile. I will turn the land of Egypt into ruins, a desolate waste from Migdol to Syene, as far as the border of Cush.
“ ‘For this is what the Lord GOD says: At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples where they were dispersed.
This is what the LORD says:
Those who support Egypt will fall,
and its proud strength will collapse.
From Migdol to Syene
they will fall within it by the sword.
This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.
“He along with his people,
ruthless men from the nations,
will be brought in to destroy the land.
They will draw their swords against Egypt
and fill the land with the slain.
“ ‘This is what the Lord GOD says:
I will destroy the worthless idols
and put an end to the false gods in Memphis.
There will no longer be
a prince from the land of Egypt.
And I will instill fear in that land.
“Foreigners, ruthless men from the nations, cut it down and left it lying. Its limbs fell on the mountains and in every valley; its boughs lay broken in all the earth's ravines. All the peoples of the earth left its shade and abandoned it.
“I made the nations quake at the sound of its downfall, when I threw it down to Sheol to be with those who descend to the Pit. Then all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all the well-watered trees, were comforted in the underworld.
“I will drench the land
with the flow of your blood,
even to the mountains;
the ravines will be filled with your gore.
“I will make your hordes fall
by the swords of warriors,
all of them ruthless men from the nations.
They will ravage Egypt's pride,
and all its hordes will be destroyed.
“Meshech and Tubal[fn] are there,
with all their hordes.
Their graves are all around them.
All of them are uncircumcised, slain by the sword,
although their terror was once spread
in the land of the living.
“If I say to the wicked, ‘Wicked one, you will surely die,' but you do not speak out to warn him about his way, that wicked person will die for his iniquity, yet I will hold you responsible for his blood.
“But if you warn a wicked person to turn from his way and he doesn't turn from it, he will die for his iniquity, but you will have rescued yourself.
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? '
“Now, son of man, say to your people, ‘The righteousness of the righteous person will not save him on the day of his transgression; neither will the wickedness of the wicked person cause him to stumble on the day he turns from his wickedness. The righteous person won't be able to survive by his righteousness on the day he sins.
“ ‘So when I tell the wicked person, “You will surely die,” but he repents of his sin and does what is just and right —
When a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, he will die for it.
But if a wicked person turns from his wickedness and does what is just and right, he will live because of it.
In the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, a fugitive from Jerusalem came to me and reported, “The city has been taken! ”
“As a shepherd looks for his sheep on the day he is among his scattered flock, so I will look for my flock. I will rescue them from all the places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and total darkness.
“I will bring them out from the peoples, gather them from the countries, and bring them to their own soil. I will shepherd them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the land.
“ ‘I will make a covenant of peace with them and eliminate dangerous creatures from the land, so that they may live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the forest.
“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.
“tell them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: I am going to take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them into their own land.
“They will not defile themselves anymore with their idols, their abhorrent things, and all their transgressions. I will save them from all their apostasies by which[fn] they sinned, and I will cleanse them. Then they will be my people, and I will be their God.
“After a long time you will be summoned. In the last years you will enter a land that has been restored from war[fn] and regathered from many peoples to the mountains of Israel, which had long been a ruin. They were brought out from the peoples, and all of them now live securely.
in order to seize spoil and carry off plunder, to turn your hand against ruins now inhabited and against a people gathered from the nations, who have been acquiring cattle and possessions and who live at the center of the world.
“The fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the animals of the field, every creature that crawls on the ground, and every human being on the face of the earth will tremble before me. The mountains will be demolished, the cliffs will collapse, and every wall will fall to the ground.
“Then I will knock your bow from your left hand and make your arrows drop from your right hand.
“Son of man, this is what the Lord GOD says: Tell every kind of bird and all the wild animals, ‘Assemble and come! Gather from all around to my sacrificial feast that I am slaughtering for you, a great feast on the mountains of Israel; you will eat flesh and drink blood.
“You will eat fat until you are satisfied and drink blood until you are drunk, at my sacrificial feast that I have prepared for you.
Then he measured the gate from the roof of one recess to the roof of the opposite one; the distance was 43¾ feet.[fn] The openings of the recesses faced each other.
Then he measured the distance from the front of the lower gate to the exterior front of the inner court; it was 175 feet.[fn] This was the east; next the north is described.
The inner court had a gate facing the north gate, like the one on the east. He measured the distance from gate to gate; it was 175 feet.
The inner court had a gate on the south. He measured from gate to gate on the south; it was 175 feet.
For they were arranged in three stories and had no pillars like the pillars of the courts; therefore the upper chambers were set back from the ground more than the lower and middle stories.
and I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice sounded like the roar of a huge torrent, and the earth shone with his glory.
“As for you, son of man, describe the temple to the house of Israel, so that they may be ashamed of their iniquities. Let them measure its pattern,
“The altar hearth[fn] is 7 feet high, and four horns project upward from the hearth.
“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 they enter the gates of the inner court they are to wear linen garments; they must not have on them anything made of wool when they minister at the gates of the inner court and within it.
“It will be a holy area of the land to be used by the priests who minister in the sanctuary, who approach to serve the LORD. It will be a place for their houses, as well as a holy area for the sanctuary.
“And the prince will have the area on each side of the holy donation of land and the city's property, adjacent to the holy donation and the city's property, stretching to the west on the west side and to the east on the east side. Its length will correspond to one of the tribal portions from the western boundary to the eastern boundary.
“This is what the Lord GOD says: You have gone too far,[fn] princes of Israel! Put away violence and oppression and do what is just and right. Put an end to your evictions of my people.” This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.
“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.
“The priest is to take some of the blood from the sin offering and apply it to the temple doorposts, the four corners of the altar's ledge, and the doorposts of the gate of the inner court.
Then he brought me back to the entrance of the temple and there was water flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the temple faced east. The water was coming down from under the south side of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar.
Next he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around the outside to the outer gate that faced east; there the water was trickling from the south side.
“Fishermen will stand beside it from En-gedi to En-eglaim.[fn] These will become places where nets are spread out to dry. Their fish will consist of many different kinds, like the fish of the Mediterranean Sea.
“This is to be the border of the land:
On the north side it will extend from the Mediterranean Sea by way of Hethlon and Lebo-hamath to Zedad,[fn]
“So the border will run from the sea to Hazar-enon at the border of Damascus, with the territory of Hamath to the north. This will be the northern side.
“On the south side it will run from Tamar to the Waters of Meribath-kadesh,[fn] and on to the Brook of Egypt as far as the Mediterranean Sea. This will be the southern side.
“Now these are the names of the tribes:
From the northern end, along the road of Hethlon, to Lebo-hamath as far as Hazar-enon, at the northern border of Damascus, alongside Hamath and extending from the eastern side to the sea, will be Dan — one portion.
“Next to the territory of Dan, from the east side to the west, will be Asher — one portion.
“Next to the territory of Asher, from the east side to the west, will be Naphtali — one portion.
“Next to the territory of Naphtali, from the east side to the west, will be Manasseh — one portion.
“Next to the territory of Manasseh, from the east side to the west, will be Ephraim — one portion.
“Next to the territory of Ephraim, from the east side to the west, will be Reuben — one portion.
“Next to the territory of Reuben, from the east side to the west, will be Judah — one portion.
“Next to the territory of Judah, from the east side to the west, will be the portion you donate to the LORD, 8⅓ miles[fn] wide, and as long as one of the tribal portions from the east side to the west. The sanctuary will be in the middle of it.
“It will be a special donation for them out of the holy donation of the land, a most holy place adjacent to the territory of the Levites.
“These are the city's measurements:
1½ miles[fn] on the north side;
1½ miles on the south side;
1½ miles on the east side;
and 1½ miles on the west side.
“The entire donation will be 8⅓ miles by 8⅓ miles; you are to set apart the holy donation along with the city property as a square area.
“The remaining area on both sides of the holy donation and the city property will belong to the prince. He will own the land adjacent to the tribal portions, next to the 8⅓ miles of the donation as far as the eastern border and[fn] next to the 8⅓ miles of the donation as far as the western border. The holy donation and the sanctuary of the temple will be in the middle of it.
“Except for the Levitical property and the city property in the middle of the area belonging to the prince, the area between the territory of Judah and that of Benjamin will belong to the prince.
“As for the rest of the tribes:
From the east side to the west, will be Benjamin — one portion.
“Next to the territory of Benjamin, from the east side to the west, will be Simeon — one portion.
“Next to the territory of Simeon, from the east side to the west, will be Issachar — one portion.
“Next to the territory of Issachar, from the east side to the west, will be Zebulun — one portion.
“Next to the territory of Zebulun, from the east side to the west, will be Gad — one portion.
“Next to the territory of Gad toward the south side, the border will run from Tamar to the Waters of Meribath-kadesh, to the Brook of Egypt, and out to the Mediterranean Sea.
The king ordered Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the Israelites from the royal family and from the nobility —
The king assigned them daily provisions from the royal food and from the wine that he drank. They were to be trained for three years, and at the end of that time they were to attend the king.[fn]
“Please test your servants for ten days. Let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink.
and declared:
May the name of God
be praised forever and ever,
for wisdom and power belong to him.
“Then the iron, the fired clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were shattered and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors. The wind carried them away, and not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
“You saw the feet and toes, partly of a potter's fired clay and partly of iron — it will be a divided kingdom, though some of the strength of iron will be in it. You saw the iron mixed with clay,
“You saw a stone break off from the mountain without a hand touching it,[fn] and it crushed the iron, bronze, fired clay, silver, and gold. The great God has told the king what will happen in the future. The dream is certain, and its interpretation reliable.”
“He called out loudly:
Cut down the tree and chop off its branches;
strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit.
Let the animals flee from under it,
and the birds from its branches.
“The king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump with its roots in the ground and with a band of iron and bronze around it in the tender grass of the field. Let him be drenched with dew from the sky and share food with the wild animals for seven periods of time.'
“You will be driven away from people to live with the wild animals. You will feed on grass like cattle and be drenched with dew from the sky for seven periods of time, until you acknowledge that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms, and he gives them to anyone he wants.
While the words were still in the king's mouth, a voice came from heaven: “King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared that the kingdom has departed from you.
“You will be driven away from people to live with the wild animals, and you will feed on grass like cattle for seven periods of time, until you acknowledge that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms, and he gives them to anyone he wants.”
At that moment the message against Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from people. He ate grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with dew from the sky, until his hair grew like eagles' feathers and his nails like birds' claws.
Then Daniel was brought before the king. The king said to him, “Are you Daniel, one of the Judean exiles that my predecessor the king brought from Judah?
“Because of the greatness he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages were terrified and fearful of him. He killed anyone he wanted and kept alive anyone he wanted; he exalted anyone he wanted and humbled anyone he wanted.
“But when his heart was exalted and his spirit became arrogant, he was deposed from his royal throne and his glory was taken from him.
“He was driven away from people, his mind was like an animal's, he lived with the wild donkeys, he was fed grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with dew from the sky until he acknowledged that the Most High God is ruler over human kingdoms and sets anyone he wants over them.
Then they replied to the king, “Daniel, one of the Judean exiles, has ignored you, the king, and the edict you signed, for he prays three times a day.”
“I issue a decree that in all my royal dominion, people must tremble in fear before the God of Daniel:
For he is the living God,
and he endures forever;
his kingdom will never be destroyed,
and his dominion has no end.
“The first was like a lion but had eagle's wings. I continued watching until its wings were torn off. It was lifted up from the ground, set on its feet like a man, and given a human mind.
“While I was considering the horns, suddenly another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. And suddenly in this horn there were eyes like the eyes of a human and a mouth that was speaking arrogantly.
“I watched, then, because of the sound of the arrogant words the horn was speaking. As I continued watching, the beast was killed and its body destroyed and given over to the burning fire.
As I was observing, a male goat appeared, coming from the west across the surface of the entire earth without touching the ground. The goat had a conspicuous horn[fn] between his eyes.
It grew as high as the heavenly army, made some of the army and some of the stars[fn] fall to the earth, and trampled them.
In the first year of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus, a Mede by birth, who was made king over the Chaldean kingdom —
we have sinned, done wrong, acted wickedly, rebelled, and turned away from your commands and ordinances.
Just as it is written in the law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us, yet we have not sought the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our iniquities and paying attention to your truth.
Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, may your anger and wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain; for because of our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors, Jerusalem and your people have become an object of ridicule to all those around us.
“Know and understand this:
From the issuing of the decree
to restore and rebuild Jerusalem
until an Anointed One, the ruler,[fn]
will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks.
It will be rebuilt with a plaza and a moat,
but in difficult times.
“Don't be afraid, Daniel,” he said to me, “for from the first day that you purposed to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your prayers were heard. I have come because of your prayers.
“How can someone like me, your servant,[fn] speak with someone like you, my lord? Now I have no strength, and there is no breath in me.”
“A flood of forces will be swept away before him; they will be broken, as well as the covenant prince.
“After an alliance is made with him, he will act deceitfully. He will rise to power with a small nation.[fn]
“Some of those who have insight will fall so that they may be refined, purified, and cleansed until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.
“But reports from the east and the north will terrify him, and he will go out with great fury to annihilate and completely destroy many.
Those who have insight will shine
like the bright expanse of the heavens,
and those who lead many to righteousness,
like the stars forever and ever.
“From the time the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days.
When the LORD first spoke to Hosea, he said this to him:
Go and marry a woman of promiscuity,
and have children of promiscuity,
for the land is committing blatant acts of promiscuity
by abandoning the LORD.
On that day I will make a covenant for them
with the wild animals, the birds of the sky,
and the creatures that crawl on the ground.
I will shatter bow, sword,
and weapons of war in the land[fn]
and will enable the people to rest securely.
My people consult their wooden idols,
and their divining rods inform them.
For a spirit of promiscuity leads them astray;
they act promiscuously
in disobedience to[fn] their God.
All of them commit adultery;
they are like an oven heated by a baker
who stops stirring the fire
from the kneading of the dough until it is leavened.
Israel, do not rejoice jubilantly as the nations do,
for you have acted promiscuously, leaving your God.
You love the wages of a prostitute
on every grain-threshing floor.
So it will be done to you, Bethel,
because of your extreme evil.
At dawn the king of Israel will be totally destroyed.
Therefore, they will be like the morning mist,
like the early dew that vanishes,
like chaff blown from a threshing floor,
or like smoke from a window.
I will ransom them from the power of Sheol.
I will redeem[fn] them from death.
Death, where are your barbs?
Sheol, where is your sting?
Compassion is hidden from my eyes.
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and total darkness,
like the dawn spreading over the mountains;
a great and strong people appears,
such as never existed in ages past
and never will again
in all the generations to come.
They do not push each other;
each proceeds on his own path.
They dodge the arrows, never stopping.
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.
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.
“for Amos has said this: ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will certainly go into exile from its homeland.' ”
Therefore, this is what the LORD says:
Your wife will be a prostitute in the city,
your sons and daughters will fall by the sword,
and your land will be divided up
with a measuring line.
You yourself will die on pagan[fn] soil,
and Israel will certainly go into exile
from its homeland.
“We can buy the poor with silver
and the needy for a pair of sandals
and even sell the chaff! ”
People will stagger from sea to sea
and roam from north to east
seeking the word of the LORD,
but they will not find it.
Look, the eyes of the Lord GOD
are on the sinful kingdom,
and I will obliterate it
from the face of the earth.
However, I will not totally destroy
the house of Jacob —
this is the LORD's declaration —
I will plant them on their land,
and they will never again be uprooted
from the land I have given them.
The LORD your God has spoken.
Then the people of Nineveh believed God. They proclaimed a fast and dressed in sackcloth — from the greatest of them to the least.
When word reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
Furthermore, both people and animals must be covered with sackcloth, and everyone must call out earnestly to God. Each must turn from his evil ways and from his wrongdoing.[fn]
God saw their actions — that they had turned from their evil ways — so God relented from the disaster he had threatened them with. And he did not do it.
Then the LORD God appointed a plant, and it grew over Jonah to provide shade for his head to rescue him from his trouble.[fn] Jonah was greatly pleased with the plant.
The mountains will melt beneath him,
and the valleys will split apart,
like wax near a fire,
like water cascading down a mountainside.
Shave yourselves bald and cut off your hair
in sorrow for your precious children;
make yourselves as bald as an eagle,
for they have been taken from you into exile.
“You hate good and love evil.
You tear off people's skin
and strip their flesh from their bones.
“You eat the flesh of my people
after you strip their skin from them
and break their bones.
You chop them up
like flesh for the cooking pot,
like meat in a cauldron.”
I will make the lame into a remnant,
those far removed into a strong nation.
Then the LORD will reign over them in Mount Zion
from this time on and forever.
My people,
remember what King Balak of Moab proposed,
what Balaam son of Beor answered him,
and what happened from the Acacia Grove[fn] to Gilgal
so that you may acknowledge
the LORD's righteous acts.
Faithful people have vanished from the land;
there is no one upright among the people.
All of them wait in ambush to shed blood;
they hunt each other with a net.
Do not rely on a friend;
don't trust in a close companion.
Seal your mouth
from the woman who lies in your arms.
On that day people will come to you
from Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
even from Egypt to the Euphrates River
and from sea to sea
and mountain to mountain.
They will lick the dust like a snake;
they will come trembling out of their hiding places
like reptiles slithering on the ground.
They will tremble in the presence of the LORD our God;
they will stand in awe of you.
Who can withstand his indignation?
Who can endure his burning anger?
His wrath is poured out like fire;
even rocks are shattered before him.
Because of the continual prostitution of the prostitute,
the attractive mistress of sorcery,
who treats nations and clans like merchandise
by her prostitution and sorcery,
Then all who see you will recoil from you, saying,
“Nineveh is devastated;
who will show sympathy to her? ”
Where can I find anyone to comfort you?
I heard, and I trembled within;
my lips quivered at the sound.
Rottenness entered my bones;
I trembled where I stood.
Now I must quietly wait for the day of distress
to come against the people invading us.
Though the fig tree does not bud
and there is no fruit on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though the flocks disappear from the pen
and there are no herds in the stalls,
I will completely sweep away everything
from the face of the earth —
this is the LORD's declaration.
I will sweep away people and animals;
I will sweep away the birds of the sky
and the fish of the sea,
and the ruins[fn] along with the wicked.
I will cut off mankind
from the face of the earth.
This is the LORD's declaration.
and those who turn back from following the LORD,
who do not seek the LORD or inquire of him.
Be silent in the presence of the Lord GOD,
for the day of the LORD is near.
Indeed, the LORD has prepared a sacrifice;
he has consecrated his guests.
On that day —
this is the LORD's declaration —
there will be an outcry from the Fish Gate,
a wailing from the Second District,
and a loud crashing from the hills.
The coastland will belong
to the remnant of the house of Judah;
they will find pasture there.
They will lie down in the evening
among the houses of Ashkelon,
for the LORD their God will return to them
and restore their fortunes.
On that day you[fn] will not be put to shame
because of everything you have done
in rebelling against me.
For then I will remove
from among you your jubilant, arrogant people,
and you will never again be haughty
on my holy mountain.
I will leave
a meek and humble people among you,
and they will take refuge in the name of the LORD.
Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, and the entire remnant of the people obeyed the LORD their God and the words of the prophet Haggai, because the LORD their God had sent him. So the people feared the LORD.
Then Haggai asked, “If someone defiled by contact with a corpse touches any of these, does it become defiled? ”
The priests answered, “It becomes defiled.”
Then Haggai replied, “So is this people, and so is this nation before me — this is the LORD's declaration. And so is every work of their hands; even what they offer there is defiled.
“Now from this day on, think carefully: Before one stone was placed on another in the LORD's temple,
“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.
“Is there still seed left in the granary? The vine, the fig, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have not yet produced. But from this day on I will bless you.”
“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.
He said to him, “Run and tell this young man: Jerusalem will be inhabited without walls because of the number of people and animals in it.”
“Listen! Listen! Flee from the land of the north” — this is the LORD's declaration — “for I have scattered you like the four winds of heaven” — this is the LORD's declaration.
“Let all humanity be silent before the LORD, for from his holy dwelling he has roused himself.”
The LORD of Armies says this: “Old men and women will again sit along the streets of Jerusalem, each with a staff in hand because of advanced age.
The LORD of Armies says this: “I will save my people from the land of the east and the land of the west.[fn]
“For prior to those days neither people nor animals had wages. There was no safety from the enemy for anyone who came or went, for I turned everyone against his neighbor.
“On that day” — this is the declaration of the LORD of Armies — “I will remove the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered. I will banish the prophets[fn] and the unclean spirit from the land.
“My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave these to him; it called for reverence, and he revered me and stood in awe of my name.
“True instruction was in his mouth, and nothing wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and integrity and turned many from iniquity.
Translations available: King James Version, New King James Version, New Living Translation, New International Version, English Standard Version, Christian Standard Bible, New American Standard Bible 2020, New American Standard Bible 1995, Legacy Standard Bible 2021, New English Translation, Revised Standard Version, American Standard Version, Young's Literal Translation, Darby Translation, Webster's Bible, Hebrew Names Version, Reina-Valera 1960, Latin Vulgate, Westminster Leningrad Codex, Septuagint, Morphological Greek New Testament, and Textus Receptus.
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