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Then God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so.
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,
he created them male and female. When they were created, he blessed them and called them mankind.[fn]
Then God said to Noah, “I have decided to put an end to every creature, for the earth is filled with wickedness because of them; therefore I am going to destroy them along with the earth.
All the animals, all the creatures that crawl, and all the flying creatures — everything that moves on the earth — came out of the ark by their families.
Then Shem and Japheth took a cloak and placed it over both their shoulders, and walking backward, they covered their father's nakedness. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father naked.
From these descendants, the peoples of the coasts and islands spread out into their lands according to their clans in their nations, each with its own language.
These are Ham's sons by their clans, according to their languages, in their lands and their nations.
These are Shem's sons by their clans, according to their languages, in their lands and their nations.
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.
The LORD said, “If they have begun to do this as one people all having the same language, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.
“Come, let's go down there and confuse their language so that they will not understand one another's speech.”
He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated, and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan,
But the land was unable to support them as long as they stayed together, for they had so many possessions that they could not stay together,
The four kings took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food and went on.
When Abram heard that his relative had been taken prisoner, he assembled[fn] his 318 trained men, born in his household, and they went in pursuit as far as Dan.
“I will confirm my covenant that is between me and you and your future offspring throughout their generations. It is a permanent covenant to be your God and the God of your offspring after you.
God also said to Abraham, “As for you, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations are to keep my covenant.
“This is my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you, which you are to keep: Every one of your males must be circumcised.
So Abraham took his son Ishmael and those born in his household or purchased — every male among the members of Abraham's household — and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskin on that very day, just as God had said to him.
The men got up from there and looked out over Sodom, and Abraham was walking with them to see them off.
Then the LORD said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is immense, and their sin is extremely serious.
“I will go down to see if what they have done justifies the cry that has come up to me. If not, I will find out.”
“for we are about to destroy this place because the outcry against its people is so great before the LORD, that the LORD has sent us to destroy it.”
That night they again got their father to drink wine, and the younger went and slept with him; he did not know when she lay down or when she got up.
Early in the morning Abimelech got up, called all his servants together, and personally[fn] told them all these things, and the men were terrified.
As the camels finished drinking, the man took a gold ring weighing half a shekel, and for her wrists two bracelets weighing ten shekels of gold.
“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
So they sent away their sister Rebekah with the one who had nursed and raised her,[fn] and Abraham's servant and his men.
They blessed Rebekah, saying to her:
Our sister, may you become
thousands upon ten thousands.
May your offspring possess
the city gates of their[fn] enemies.
But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen and said, “The water is ours! ” So he named the well Esek[fn] because they argued with him.
He put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob. Jacob, meanwhile, was shepherding the rest of Laban's flock.
Then Laban answered Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters; the children, my children; and the flocks, my flocks! Everything you see is mine! But what can I do today for these daughters of mine or for the children they have borne?
thirty milk camels with their young, forty cows, ten bulls, twenty female donkeys, and ten male donkeys.
He put the slaves and their children first, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last.
He himself went on ahead and bowed to the ground seven times until he approached his brother.
But Jacob's sons answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully because he had defiled their sister Dinah.
So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city.
“These men are peaceful toward us,” they said. “Let them live in our land and move about in it, for indeed, the region is large enough for them. Let's take their daughters as our wives and give our daughters to them.
“Won't their livestock, their possessions, and all their animals become ours? Only let's agree with them, and they will live with us.”
All the men who had come to the city gates listened to Hamor and his son Shechem, and all those men were circumcised.
Jacob's sons came to the slaughter and plundered the city because their sister had been defiled.
They took their flocks, herds, donkeys, and whatever was in the city and in the field.
They captured all their possessions, dependents, and wives and plundered everything in the houses.
Then they gave Jacob all their foreign gods and their earrings, and Jacob hid them under the oak near Shechem.
When they set out, a terror from God came over the cities around them, and they did not pursue Jacob's sons.
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.
chief Dishon, chief Ezer, and chief Dishan.
These are the chiefs among the Horites,
clan by clan,[fn] in the land of Seir.
These are the names of Esau's chiefs,
according to their families and their localities,
by their names:
chief Timna, chief Alvah, chief Jetheth,
chief Magdiel, and chief Iram.
These are Edom's chiefs,
according to their settlements in the land they possessed.
Esau[fn] was father of the Edomites.
These are the family records of Jacob.
At seventeen years of age, Joseph tended sheep with his brothers. The young man was working with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives, and he brought a bad report about them to their father.
“They've moved on from here,” the man said. “I heard them say, ‘Let's go to Dothan.' ” So Joseph set out after his brothers and found them at Dothan.
When Reuben heard this, he tried to save him from them.[fn] He said, “Let's not take his life.”
Reuben also said to them, “Don't shed blood. Throw him into this pit in the wilderness, but don't lay a hand on him” — intending to rescue him from them and return him to his father.
They sat down to eat a meal, and when they looked up, there was a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying aromatic gum, balsam, and resin, going down to Egypt.
They sent the long-sleeved robe to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it. Is it your son's robe or not? ”
After this, the king of Egypt's cupbearer and baker offended their master, the king of Egypt.
“We had dreams,” they said to him, “but there is no one to interpret them.”
Then Joseph said to them, “Don't interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.”
“After them, seven other cows — weak, very sickly, and thin — came up. I've never seen such sickly ones as these in all the land of Egypt.
“When they had devoured them, you could not tell that they had devoured them; their appearance was as bad as it had been before. Then I woke up.
“After them, seven heads of grain — withered, thin, and scorched by the east wind — sprouted up.
When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke harshly to them.
“Where do you come from? ” he asked.
“From the land of Canaan to buy food,” they replied.
They did not realize that Joseph understood them, since there was an interpreter between them.
He turned away from them and wept. When he turned back and spoke to them, he took Simeon from them and had him bound before their eyes.
Joseph then gave orders to fill their containers with grain, return each man's silver to his sack, and give them provisions for their journey. This order was carried out.
He said to his brothers, “My silver has been returned! It's here in my bag.” Their hearts sank. Trembling, they turned to one another and said, “What has God done to us? ”
When they reached their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them:
As they began emptying their sacks, there in each man's sack was his bag of silver! When they and their father saw their bags of silver, they were afraid.
Their father Jacob said to them, “It's me that you make childless. Joseph is gone, and Simeon is gone. Now you want to take Benjamin. Everything happens to me! ”
When they had used up the grain they had brought back from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go back and buy us a little food.”
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 men took this gift, double the amount of silver, and Benjamin. They immediately went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.
The steward brought the men into Joseph's house, gave them water to wash their feet, and got feed for their donkeys.
When Joseph came home, they brought him the gift they had carried into the house, and they bowed to the ground before him.
They had not gone very far from the city when Joseph said to his steward, “Get up. Pursue the men, and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good?
Then they tore their clothes, and each one loaded his donkey and returned to the city.
But when they told Jacob all that Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to transport him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived.
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.
They also took their cattle and possessions they had acquired in the land of Canaan. Then Jacob and all his offspring with him came to Egypt.
Asher's sons: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and their sister Serah.
Beriah's sons were Heber and Malchiel.
“The men are shepherds; they also raise livestock. They have brought their flocks and herds and all that they have.'
So Joseph went and informed Pharaoh: “My father and my brothers, with their flocks and herds and all that they own, have come from the land of Canaan and are now in the land of Goshen.”
So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for the horses, the flocks of sheep, the herds of cattle, and the donkeys. That year he provided them with food in exchange for all their livestock.
In this way, Joseph acquired all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh, because every Egyptian sold his field since the famine was so severe for them. The land became Pharaoh's,
The only land he did not acquire belonged to the priests, for they had an allowance from Pharaoh. They ate from their allowance that Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their land.
“When I rest with my ancestors, carry me away from Egypt and bury me in their burial place.”
Joseph answered, “I will do what you have asked.”
“Children born to you after them will be yours and will be recorded under the names of their brothers with regard to their inheritance.
“May I never enter their council;
may I never join their assembly.
For in their anger they kill men,
and on a whim they hamstring oxen.
“Their anger is cursed, for it is strong,
and their fury, for it is cruel!
I will disperse them throughout Jacob
and scatter them throughout Israel.
“Yet his bow remained steady,
and his strong arms were made agile
by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,
by the name of[fn] the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
These are the tribes of Israel, twelve in all, and this is what their father said to them. He blessed them, and he blessed each one with a suitable blessing.
When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said to one another, “If Joseph is holding a grudge against us, he will certainly repay us for all the suffering we caused him.”
“‘Say this to Joseph: Please forgive your brothers' transgression and their sin — the suffering they caused you.' Therefore, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when their message came to him.
“Therefore don't be afraid. I will take care of you and your children.” And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.[fn]
These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob; each came with his family:
and made their lives bitter with difficult labor in brick and mortar and in all kinds of fieldwork. They ruthlessly imposed all this work on them.
The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives — the first, whose name was Shiphrah, and the second, whose name was Puah —
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.
God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.
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,
“This will take place,” he continued, “so that they will believe that the LORD, the God of their ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”
The people believed, and when they heard that the LORD had paid attention to them and that he had seen their misery, they knelt low and worshiped.
When they left Pharaoh, they confronted Moses and Aaron, who stood waiting to meet them.
“I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but I was not known to them by my name ‘the LORD.'[fn]
These are the heads of their fathers' families:
The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel:
Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi.
These are the clans of Reuben.
These are the names of the sons of Levi
according to their family records;
Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
Levi lived 137 years.
The sons of Merari:
Mahli and Mushi.
These are the clans of the Levites
according to their family records.
Amram married his father's sister Jochebed,
and she bore him Aaron and Moses.
Amram lived 137 years.
Aaron's son Eleazar married
one of the daughters of Putiel,
and she bore him Phinehas.
These are the heads of the Levite families by their clans.
It was this Aaron and Moses whom the LORD told, “Bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt according to their military divisions.”
“The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the Israelites from among them.”
But then Pharaoh called the wise men and sorcerers — the magicians of Egypt, and they also did the same thing by their occult practices.
However, Pharaoh's heart was hard, and he did not listen to them, as the LORD had said.
So the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron: Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt — over their rivers, canals, ponds, and all their water reservoirs — and they will become blood. There will be blood throughout the land of Egypt, even in wooden and stone containers.”
But the magicians of Egypt did the same thing by their occult practices. So Pharaoh's heart was hard, and he would not listen to them, as the LORD had said.
But the magicians did the same thing by their occult practices and brought frogs up onto the land of Egypt.
But when Pharaoh saw there was relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen to them, as the LORD had said.
The magicians tried to produce gnats using their occult practices, but they could not. The gnats remained on people and animals.
“This is the finger of God,” the magicians said to Pharaoh. But Pharaoh's heart was hard, and he would not listen to them, as the LORD had said.
But Moses said, “It would not be right[fn] to do that, because what we will sacrifice to the LORD our God is detestable to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice what the Egyptians detest in front of them, won't they stone us?
But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart and he did not listen to them, as the LORD had told Moses.
“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.
Pharaoh's officials asked him, “How long must this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, so that they may worship the LORD their God. Don't you realize yet that Egypt is devastated? ”
“Even our livestock must go with us; not a hoof will be left behind because we will take some of them to worship the LORD our God. We will not know what we will use to worship the LORD until we get there.”
“Do not eat any of it raw or cooked in boiling[fn] water, but only roasted over fire — its head as well as its legs and inner organs.
So the people took their dough before it was leavened, with their kneading bowls wrapped up in their clothes on their shoulders.
It was a night of vigil in honor of the LORD, because he would bring them out of the land of Egypt. This same night is in honor of the LORD, a night vigil for all the Israelites throughout their generations.
On that same day the LORD brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt according to their military divisions.
The LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to lead them on their way during the day and in a pillar of fire to give them light at night, so that they could travel day or night.
“Tell the Israelites to turn back and camp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea; you must camp in front of Baal-zephon, facing it by the sea.
“I will harden Pharaoh's heart so that he will pursue them. Then I will receive glory by means of Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.” So the Israelites did this.
The Egyptians — all Pharaoh's horses and chariots, his horsemen,[fn] and his army — chased after them and caught up with them as they camped by the sea beside Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.
As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and there were the Egyptians coming after them! The Israelites were terrified and cried out to the LORD for help.
“As for me, I am going to harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them, and I will receive glory by means of Pharaoh, all his army, and his chariots and horsemen.
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.
The Egyptians set out in pursuit — all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen — and went into the sea after them.
The water came back and covered the chariots and horsemen, plus the entire army of Pharaoh that had gone after them into the sea. Not even one of them survived.
The entire Israelite community departed from Elim and came to the Wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left the land of Egypt.
The entire Israelite community left the Wilderness of Sin, moving from one place to the next according to the LORD's command. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.
along with her two sons, one of whom was named Gershom[fn] (because Moses had said, “I have been a resident alien in a foreign land”)
“Now listen to me; I will give you some advice, and God be with you. You be the one to represent the people before God and bring their cases to him.
“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.
So Moses chose able men from all Israel and made them leaders over the people as commanders of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens.
The LORD directed Moses, “Go down and warn the people not to break through to see the LORD; otherwise many of them will die.
“Even the priests who come near the LORD must consecrate themselves, or the LORD will break out in anger against them.”
And the LORD replied to him, “Go down and come back with Aaron. But the priests and the people must not break through to come up to the LORD, or he will break out in anger against them.”
“When a man strikes the eye of his male or female slave and destroys it, he must let the slave go free in compensation for his eye.
“If he knocks out the tooth of his male or female slave, he must let the slave go free in compensation for his tooth.
“If the ox gores a male or female slave, he must give thirty shekels of silver[fn] to the slave's master, and the ox must be stoned.
“the owner of the pit must give compensation; he must pay to its owner, but the dead animal will become his.
“If you do mistreat them, they will no doubt cry to me, and I will certainly hear their cry.
“Do not bow in worship to their gods, and do not serve them. Do not imitate their practices. Instead, demolish them[fn] and smash their sacred pillars to pieces.
“They must not remain in your land, or else they will make you sin against me. If you serve their gods, it will be a snare for you.”
“Moses alone is to approach the LORD, but the others are not to approach, and the people are not to go up with him.”
“The cherubim are to have wings spread out above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and are to face one another. The faces of the cherubim should be toward the mercy seat.
“along with their forty silver bases, two bases under the first support and two bases under each support;
“There are to be eight supports with their silver bases: sixteen bases; two bases under the first support and two bases under each support.
“Hang it on four gold-plated pillars of acacia wood that have gold hooks and that stand on four silver bases.
“Make five pillars of acacia wood for the screen and overlay them with gold; their hooks are to be gold, and you are to cast five bronze bases for them.
“including twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, with silver hooks and silver bands[fn] for the posts.
“And so make hangings 150 feet long for the north side, including twenty posts and their twenty bronze bases, with silver hooks and silver bands for the posts.
“For the width of the courtyard, make hangings 75 feet[fn] long for the west side, including their ten posts and their ten bases.
“make hangings 22½ feet[fn] long for one side of the gate, including their three posts and their three bases.
“And make hangings 22½ feet long for the other side, including their three posts and their three bases.
“All the posts around the courtyard are to be banded with silver and have silver hooks and bronze bases.
“The courtyard is to be 150 feet long, 75 feet wide at each end, and 7½ feet high,[fn] all of it made of finely spun linen. The bases of the posts are to be bronze.
“six of their names on the first stone and the remaining six names on the second stone, in the order of their birth.
“Fasten both stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial stones for the Israelites. Aaron will carry their names on his two shoulders before the LORD as a reminder.
“and two chains of pure gold; you will make them of braided cord work, and attach the cord chains to the settings.
“and the fourth row,
a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper.
They should be adorned with gold filigree in their settings.
“The twelve stones are to correspond to the names of Israel's sons. Each stone must be engraved like a seal, with one of the names of the twelve tribes.
“It will be on Aaron's forehead so that Aaron may bear the guilt connected with the holy offerings that the Israelites consecrate as all their holy gifts. It is always to be on his forehead, so that they may find acceptance with the LORD.
“Put these on your brother Aaron and his sons; then anoint, ordain,[fn] and consecrate them, so that they may serve me as priests.
“Make them linen undergarments to cover their naked bodies; they must extend from the waist to the thighs.
“You are to bring the bull to the front of the tent of meeting, and Aaron and his sons must lay their hands on the bull's head.
“Take all the fat that covers the entrails, the fatty lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys with the fat on them, and burn them on the altar.
“You are to take the second ram, and Aaron and his sons must lay their hands on the ram's head.
“Slaughter the ram, take some of its blood, and put it on Aaron's right earlobe, on his sons' right earlobes, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. Splatter the remaining blood on all sides of the altar.
“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 them from their hands and burn them on the altar on top of the burnt offering, as a pleasing aroma before the LORD; it is a food offering to the LORD.
“The holy garments that belong to Aaron are to belong to his sons after him, so that they can be anointed and ordained[fn] in them.
“They must eat those things by which atonement was made at the time of their ordination[fn] and consecration. An unauthorized person must not eat them, for these things are holy.
“This is what you are to do for Aaron and his sons based on all I have commanded you. Take seven days to ordain them.
“And they will know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, so that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God.
“When Aaron sets up the lamps at twilight, he must burn incense. There is to be an incense offering before the LORD throughout your generations.
“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.”
“When you take a census of the Israelites to register them, each of the men must pay a ransom for his life to the LORD as they are registered. Then no plague will come on them as they are registered.
“The Israelites must observe the Sabbath, celebrating it throughout their generations as a permanent covenant.
So all the people took off the gold rings that were on their ears and brought them to Aaron.
He took the gold from them, fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made it into an image of a calf.
Then they said, “Israel, these are your gods,[fn] who brought you up from the land of Egypt! ”
“Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel — you swore to them by yourself and declared, ‘I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky and will give your offspring all this land that I have promised, and they will inherit it forever.' ”
Moses saw that the people were out of control, for Aaron had let them get out of control, making them a laughingstock to their enemies.[fn]
“Now go, lead the people to the place I told you about; see, my angel will go before you. But on the day I settle accounts, I will hold them accountable for their sin.”
“Instead, you must tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, and chop down their Asherah poles.
“Do not make a treaty with the inhabitants of the land, or else when they prostitute themselves with their gods and sacrifice to their gods, they will invite you, and you will eat their sacrifices.
“Then you will take some of their daughters as brides for your sons. Their daughters will prostitute themselves with their gods and cause your sons to prostitute themselves with their gods.
“Take up an offering among you for the LORD. Let everyone whose heart is willing bring this as the LORD's offering: gold, silver, and bronze;
Everyone whose heart was moved and whose spirit prompted him came and brought an offering to the LORD for the work on the tent of meeting, for all its services, and for the holy garments.
So the Israelites brought a freewill offering to the LORD, all the men and women whose hearts prompted them to bring something for all the work that the LORD, through Moses, had commanded to be done.
They had wings spread out. They faced each other and covered the mercy seat with their wings. The faces of the cherubim were looking toward the mercy seat.
For the six branches that extended from it, a bud was under the first pair of branches from it, a bud under the second pair of branches from it, and a bud under the third pair of branches from it.
The bases for the posts were bronze; the hooks and bands of the posts were silver; and the plating for the tops of the posts was silver. All the posts of the courtyard were banded with silver.
With the remaining 44 pounds[fn] he made the hooks for the posts, overlaid their tops, and supplied bands for them.
The twelve stones corresponded to the names of Israel's sons. Each stone was engraved like a seal with one of the names of the twelve tribes.
“Anoint them just as you anointed their father, so that they may also serve me as priests. Their anointing will serve to inaugurate a permanent priesthood for them throughout their generations.”
The tabernacle was set up in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month.[fn]
He set the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing.
The Israelites set out whenever the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle throughout all the stages of their journey.
For the cloud of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and there was a fire inside the cloud by night, visible to the entire house of Israel throughout all the stages of their journey.
“and the two kidneys with the fat on them at the loins; he will also remove the fatty lobe of the liver with the kidneys.
“the two kidneys with the fat on them at the loins, and the fatty lobe of the liver above the kidneys.
“and the two kidneys with the fat on them at the loins; he will also remove the fatty lobe of the liver with the kidneys.
“and the two kidneys with the fat on them at the loins. He will also remove the fatty lobe of the liver with the kidneys,
“The elders of the community are to lay their hands on the bull's head before the LORD and it is to be slaughtered before the LORD.
“He is to offer this bull just as he did with the bull in the sin offering; he will offer it the same way. So the priest will make atonement on their behalf, and they will be forgiven.
“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,
“and the two kidneys with the fat on them at the loins; he will also remove the fatty lobe of the liver with the kidneys.
The LORD commanded this to be given to them by the Israelites on the day he anointed them. It is a permanent portion throughout their generations.
which the LORD commanded Moses on Mount Sinai on the day he commanded the Israelites to present their offerings to the LORD in the Wilderness of Sinai.
Moses took all the fat that was on the entrails, the fatty lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys with their fat, and he burned them on the altar.
Then he presented the ram for the burnt offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram.
Next he presented the second ram, the ram of ordination, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram.
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.
He took the fat — the fat tail, all the fat that was on the entrails, the fatty lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys with their fat — as well as 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.
Then Moses said to Aaron, “Approach the altar and sacrifice your sin offering and your burnt offering; make atonement for yourself and the people.[fn] Sacrifice the people's offering and make atonement for them, as the LORD commanded.”
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 —
So they came forward and carried them in their tunics outside the camp, as Moses had said.
“Why didn't you eat the sin offering in the sanctuary area? For it is especially holy, and he has assigned it to you to take away the guilt of the community and make atonement for them before the LORD.
But Aaron replied to Moses, “See, today they presented their sin offering and their burnt offering before the LORD. Since these things have happened to me, if I had eaten the sin offering today, would it have been acceptable in the LORD's sight? ”
“All animals that have hooves but do not have a divided hoof and do not chew the cud are unclean for you. Whoever touches them becomes unclean.
“You must keep the Israelites from their uncleanness, so that they do not die by defiling my tabernacle that is among them.
“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.
“Aaron will lay both his hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the Israelites' iniquities and rebellious acts — all their sins. He is to put them on the goat's head and send it away into the wilderness by the man appointed for the task.[fn]
“The goat will carry all their iniquities into a desolate land, and the man will release it there.
“The bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought into the most holy place to make atonement, must be brought outside the camp and their hide, flesh, and waste burned.
“This is to be a permanent statute for you, to make atonement for the Israelites once a year because of all their sins.” And all this was done as the LORD commanded Moses.
“This is so the Israelites will bring to the LORD the sacrifices they have been offering in the open country. They are to bring them to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting and offer them as fellowship sacrifices to the LORD.
“They must no longer offer their sacrifices to the goat-demons that they have prostituted themselves with. This will be a permanent statute for them throughout their generations.
“Do not follow the practices of the land of Egypt, where you used to live, or follow the practices of the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. You must not follow their customs.
“Any person who does any of these detestable practices is to be cut off from his people.
“Anyone who eats it will bear his iniquity, for he has profaned what is holy to the LORD. That person is to be cut off from his people.
“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,
“then I will turn against that man and his family, and cut off from their people both him and all who follow[fn] him in prostituting themselves with Molech.
“If a man marries his sister, whether his father's daughter or his mother's daughter, and they have sexual relations,[fn] it is a disgrace. They are to be cut off publicly from their people. He has had sexual intercourse with his sister; he will bear his iniquity.
“If a man sleeps with a menstruating woman and has sexual intercourse with her, he has exposed the source of her flow, and she has uncovered the source of her blood. Both of them are to be cut off from their people.
“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.
“A man or a woman who is[fn] a medium or a spiritist must be put to death. They are to be stoned; their death is their own fault.”
The LORD said to Moses, “Speak to Aaron's sons, the priests, and tell them: A priest is not to make himself ceremonially unclean for a dead person among his relatives,
“Priests may not make bald spots on their heads, shave the edge of their beards, or make gashes on their bodies.
“They are to be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God. For they present the food offerings to the LORD, the food of their God, and they must be holy.
“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.
“by letting the people eat their holy offerings and having them bear the penalty of restitution. For I am the LORD who sets them apart.”
“Speak to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites and tell them: Any man of the house of Israel or of the resident aliens in Israel who presents his offering — whether they present payment of vows or freewill gifts to the LORD as burnt offerings —
“These are the LORD's appointed times, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times.
“You are to present with the bread seven unblemished male lambs a year old, one young bull, and two rams. They will be a burnt offering to the LORD, with their grain offerings and drink offerings, a food offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.
“These are the LORD's appointed times that you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies for presenting food offerings to the LORD, burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, each on its designated day.
“Bring the one who has cursed to the outside of the camp and have all who heard him lay their hands on his head; then have the whole community stone him.
“Concerning the Levitical cities, the Levites always have the right to redeem houses in the cities they possess.
“Whatever property one of the Levites can redeem[fn] — a house sold in a city they possess — is to be released at the Jubilee, because the houses in the Levitical cities are their possession among the Israelites.
“The open pastureland around their cities may not be sold, for it is their permanent possession.
“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.
“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.
“Those[fn] who survive in the lands of your enemies will waste away because of their iniquity; they will also waste away because of their ancestors' iniquities along with theirs.
“But when they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their ancestors — their unfaithfulness that they practiced against me, and how they acted with hostility toward me,
“and I acted with hostility toward them and brought them into the land of their enemies — and when their uncircumcised hearts are humbled and they make amends for their iniquity,
“For the land abandoned by them will make up for its Sabbaths by lying desolate without the people, while they make amends for their iniquity, because they rejected my ordinances and abhorred my statutes.
“Yet in spite of this, while they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject or abhor them so as to destroy them and break my covenant with them, since I am the LORD their God.
“For their sake I will remember the covenant with their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations to be their God; I am the LORD.”
The LORD spoke to Moses in the tent of meeting in the Wilderness of Sinai, on the first day of the second month of the second year after Israel's departure from the land of Egypt:
“Take a census of the entire Israelite community by their clans and their ancestral families,[fn] counting the names of every male one by one.
“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.
“The Israelites are to camp by their military divisions, each man with his encampment and under his banner.
“The Israelites are to camp under their respective banners beside the flags of their ancestral families.[fn] They are to camp around the tent of meeting at a distance from it:
“Judah's military divisions will camp on the east side toward the sunrise under their banner. The leader of the descendants of Judah is Nahshon son of Amminadab.
“The total number in their military divisions who belong to Judah's encampment is 186,400; they will move out first.
“Reuben's military divisions will camp on the south side under their banner. The leader of the Reubenites is Elizur son of Shedeur.
“The total number in their military divisions who belong to Reuben's encampment is 151,450; they will move out second.
“Ephraim's military divisions will camp on the west side under their banner. The leader of the Ephraimites is Elishama son of Ammihud.
“The total in their military divisions who belong to Ephraim's encampment number 108,100; they will move out third.
“Dan's military divisions will camp on the north side under their banner. The leader of the Danites is Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai.
“The total number who belong to Dan's encampment is 157,600; they are to move out last, with their banners.”
These are the Israelites registered by their ancestral families. The total number in the camps by their military divisions is 603,550.
The Israelites did everything the LORD commanded Moses; they camped by their banners in this way and moved out the same way, each man by his clan and by his ancestral family.[fn]
These are the names of Aaron's sons, the anointed priests, who were ordained to serve as priests.
But Nadab and Abihu died in the LORD's presence when they presented unauthorized fire before the LORD in the Wilderness of Sinai, and they had no sons. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests under the direction of Aaron their father.
“You are to appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out their priestly responsibilities, but any unauthorized person who comes near the sanctuary is to be put to death.”
“See, I have taken the Levites from the Israelites in place of every firstborn Israelite from the womb. The Levites belong to me,
“Register the Levites by their ancestral families[fn] and their clans. You are to register every male one month old or more.”
Merari's sons by their clans were Mahli and Mushi. These were the Levite clans by their ancestral families.
Their duties involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the sanctuary utensils that were used with these, and the screen[fn] — and all the work relating to them.
The assigned duties of Merari's descendants involved the tabernacle's supports, crossbars, pillars, bases, all its equipment, and all the work related to these,
in addition to the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, and ropes.
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 total number of the firstborn males one month old or more listed by name was 22,273.
“Take the Levites in place of every firstborn among the Israelites, and the Levites' cattle in place of their cattle. The Levites belong to me; I am the LORD.
“Among the Levites, take a census of the Kohathites by their clans and their ancestral families,[fn]
“Do this for them so that they may live and not die when they come near the most holy objects: Aaron and his sons are to go in and assign each man his task and transportation duty.
“All the service of the Gershonites, all their transportation duties and all their other work, is to be done at the command of Aaron and his sons; you are to assign to them all that they are responsible to carry.
“This is the service of the Gershonite clans at the tent of meeting, and their duties will be under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.
“As for the Merarites, you are to register them by their clans and their ancestral families.
“This is what they are responsible to carry as the whole of their service at the tent of meeting: the supports of the tabernacle, with its crossbars, pillars, and bases,
“the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, and ropes, including all their equipment and all the work related to them. You are to assign by name the items that they are responsible to carry.
“This is the service of the Merarite clans regarding all their work at the tent of meeting, under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.”
So Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of the community registered the Kohathites by their clans and their ancestral families,
The men of the Merarite clans were registered by their clans and their ancestral families,
Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel registered all the Levites by their clans and their ancestral families,
At the LORD's command they were registered under the direction of Moses, each one according to his work and transportation duty, and his assignment was as the LORD commanded Moses.
“Send away both male or female; send them outside the camp, so that they will not defile their camps where I dwell among them.”
“He is not to defile himself for his father or mother, or his brother or sister, when they die, while the mark of consecration to his God is on his head.
the leaders of Israel, the heads of their ancestral families,[fn] presented an offering. They were the tribal leaders who supervised the registration.
They brought as their offering before the LORD six covered carts and twelve oxen, a cart from every two leaders and an ox from each one, and presented them in front of the tabernacle.
“Accept these from them to be used in the work of the tent of meeting, and give this offering to the Levites, to each division according to their service.”
and gave the Merarites four carts and eight oxen corresponding to their service, under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.
The leaders also presented the dedication gift for the altar when it was anointed. The leaders presented their offerings in front of the altar.
The LORD told Moses, “Each day have one leader present his offering for the dedication of the altar.”
All the livestock for the burnt offering totaled twelve bulls, twelve rams, and twelve male lambs a year old, with their grain offerings, and twelve male goats for the sin offering.
“Do this to them for their purification: Sprinkle them with the purification water. Have them shave their entire bodies and wash their clothes, and so purify themselves.
“Then present the Levites before the LORD, and have the Israelites lay their hands on them.
“Next the Levites are to lay their hands on the heads of the bulls. Sacrifice one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to the LORD, to make atonement for the Levites.
The Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes; then Aaron presented[fn] them before the LORD as a presentation offering. Aaron also made atonement for them to cleanse them ceremonially.
After that, the Levites came to do their work at the tent of meeting in the presence of Aaron and his sons. So they did to them as the LORD had commanded Moses concerning the Levites.
“He may assist his brothers to fulfill responsibilities[fn] at the tent of meeting, but he must not do the work. This is how you are to deal with the Levites regarding their duties.”
In the first month of the second year after their departure from the land of Egypt, the LORD told Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai,
“When you sound short blasts a second time, the camps pitched on the south are to set out. Short blasts are to be sounded for them to set out.
The Israelites traveled on from the Wilderness of Sinai, moving from one place to the next until the cloud stopped in the Wilderness of Paran.
The military divisions of the camp of Judah's descendants with their banner set out first, and Nahshon son of Amminadab was over their divisions.
The military divisions of the camp of Reuben with their banner set out, and Elizur son of Shedeur was over their divisions.
Next the military divisions of the camp of Ephraim's descendants with their banner set out, and Elishama son of Ammihud was over their divisions.
The military divisions of the camp of Dan's descendants with their banner set out, serving as rear guard for all the camps, and Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai was over their divisions.
This was the order of march for the Israelites by their military divisions as they set out.
They set out from the mountain of the LORD on a three-day journey with the ark of the LORD's covenant traveling ahead of them for those three days to seek a resting place for them.
Moses heard the people, family after family, weeping at the entrance of their tents. The LORD was very angry; Moses was also provoked.[fn]
“Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth so you should tell me, ‘Carry them at your breast, as a nursing mother carries a baby,' to the land that you swore to give their ancestors?
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.
While the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the LORD's anger burned against the people, and the LORD struck them with a very severe plague.
“Send men to scout out the land of Canaan I am giving to the Israelites. Send one man who is a leader among them from each of their ancestral tribes.”
“We even saw the Nephilim there — the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim! To ourselves we seemed like grasshoppers, and we must have seemed the same to them.”
Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who scouted out the land, tore their clothes
“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! ”
But Moses replied to the LORD, “The Egyptians will hear about it, for by your strength you brought up this people from them.
“They will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you, LORD, are among these people, how you, LORD, are seen face to face, how your cloud stands over them, and how you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night.
“will ever see the land I swore to give their ancestors. None of those who have despised me will see it.
“The priest will then make atonement for the entire Israelite community so that they may be forgiven, for the sin was unintentional. They are to bring their offering, a food offering to the LORD, and their sin offering before the LORD for their unintentional sin.
“Speak to the Israelites and tell them that throughout their generations they are to make tassels for the corners of their garments, and put a blue cord on the tassel at each corner.
“These will serve as tassels for you to look at, so that you may remember all the LORD's commands and obey them and not prostitute yourselves by following your own heart and your own eyes.
Then Moses became angry and said to the LORD, “Don't respect their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them or mistreated a single one of them.”
But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and said, “God, God who gives breath to all,[fn] when one man sins, will you vent your wrath on the whole community? ”
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.
“If these men die naturally as all people would, and suffer the fate of all, then the LORD has not sent me.
“But if the LORD brings about something unprecedented, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them along with all that belongs to them so that they go down alive into Sheol, then you will know that these men have despised the LORD.”
The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, all Korah's people, and all their possessions.
They went down alive into Sheol with all that belonged to them. The earth closed over them, and they vanished from the assembly.
At their cries, all the people of Israel who were around them fled because they thought, “The earth may swallow us too! ”
“As for the firepans of those who sinned at the cost of their own lives, make them into hammered sheets as plating for the altar, for they presented them before the LORD, and the firepans are holy. They will be a sign to the Israelites.”
“Get away from this community so that I may consume them instantly.” But they fell facedown.
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.”
“Write Aaron's name on Levi's staff, because there is to be one staff for the head of each tribe.
So Moses spoke to the Israelites, and each of their leaders gave him a staff, one for each of the leaders of their tribes, twelve staffs in all. Aaron's staff was among them.
The LORD told Moses, “Put Aaron's staff back in front of the testimony to be kept as a sign for the rebels, so that you may put an end to their complaints before me, or else they will die.”
“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.
“I am giving you all the best of the fresh oil, new wine, and grain, which the Israelites give to the LORD as their firstfruits.
“The firstfruits of all that is in their land, which they bring to the LORD, belong to you. Every clean person in your house may eat them.
The LORD told Aaron, “You will not have an inheritance in their land; there will be no portion among them for you. I am your portion and your inheritance among the Israelites.
“Look, I have given the Levites every tenth in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work they do, the work of the tent of meeting.
“The Levites will do the work of the tent of meeting, and they will bear the consequences of their iniquity. The Levites will not receive an inheritance among the Israelites; this is a permanent statute throughout your generations.
“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.
“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.
“Take the staff and assemble the community. You and your brother Aaron are to speak to the rock while they watch, and it will yield its water. You will bring out water for them from the rock and provide drink for the community and their livestock.”
Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff, so that abundant water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.
When the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that Israel was coming on the Atharim road, he fought against Israel and captured some prisoners.
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,
Woe to you, Moab!
You have been destroyed, people of Chemosh!
He gave up his sons as refugees,
and his daughters into captivity
to Sihon the Amorite king.
We threw them down;
Heshbon has been destroyed as far as Dibon.
We caused desolation as far as Nophah,
which reaches as far as Medeba.
So they struck him, his sons, and his whole army until no one was left,[fn] and they took possession of his land.
“Please come and put a curse on these people for me because they are more powerful than I am. I may be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land, for I know that those you bless are blessed and those you curse are cursed.”
The elders of Moab and Midian departed with fees for divination in hand. They came to Balaam and reported Balak's words to him.
Then God said to Balaam, “You are not to go with them. You are not to curse this people, for they are blessed.”
God brought him out of Egypt;
he is like[fn] the horns of a wild ox for them.
He will feed on enemy nations
and gnaw their bones;
he will strike them with his arrows.
Then Balaam saw Amalek and proclaimed his poem:
Amalek was first among the nations,
but his future is destruction.
The women invited them to the sacrifices for their gods, and the people ate and bowed in worship to their gods.
“For they attacked you with the treachery that they used against you in the Peor incident. They did the same in the case involving their sister Cozbi, daughter of the Midianite leader who was killed the day the plague came at Peor.”
“Take a census of the entire Israelite community by their ancestral families[fn] of those twenty years old or more who can serve in Israel's army.”
Gad's descendants by their clans:
the Zephonite clan from Zephon;
the Haggite clan from Haggi;
the Shunite clan from Shuni;
Judah's descendants by their clans:
the Shelanite clan from Shelah;
the Perezite clan from Perez;
the Zerahite clan from Zerah.
Zebulun's descendants by their clans:
the Seredite clan from Sered;
the Elonite clan from Elon;
the Jahleelite clan from Jahleel.
These were the Ephraimite clans numbered by their registered men: 32,500.
These were Joseph's descendants by their clans.
Benjamin's descendants by their clans:
the Belaite clan from Bela;
the Ashbelite clan from Ashbel;
the Ahiramite clan from Ahiram;
These were Dan's descendants by their clans:
the Shuhamite clan from Shuham.
These were the clans of Dan by their clans.
Asher's descendants by their clans:
the Imnite clan from Imnah;
the Ishvite clan from Ishvi;
the Beriite clan from Beriah.
Naphtali's descendants by their clans:
the Jahzeelite clan from Jahzeel;
the Gunite clan from Guni;
“Increase the inheritance for a large tribe and decrease it for a small one. Each is to be given its inheritance according to those who were registered in it.
“The land is to be divided by lot; they will receive an inheritance according to the names of their ancestral tribes.
These were the Levites registered by their clans:
the Gershonite clan from Gershon;
the Kohathite clan from Kohath;
the Merarite clan from Merari.
The name of Amram's wife was Jochebed, a descendant of Levi, born to Levi in Egypt. She bore to Amram: Aaron, Moses, and their sister Miriam.
Those registered were 23,000, every male one month old or more; they were not registered among the other Israelites, because no inheritance was given to them among the Israelites.
For the LORD had said to them that they would all die in the wilderness. None of them was left except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.
The daughters of Zelophehad approached; Zelophehad was the son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh from the clans of Manasseh, the son of Joseph. These were the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.
“When the community quarreled in the Wilderness of Zin, both of you rebelled against my command to demonstrate my holiness in their sight at the waters.” Those were the Waters of Meribah-kadesh[fn] in the Wilderness of Zin.
“who will go out before them and come back in before them, and who will bring them out and bring them in, so that the LORD's community won't be like sheep without a shepherd.”
“Have him stand before the priest Eleazar and the whole community, and commission him in their sight.
“Also offer one male goat as a sin offering. These are in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain and drink offerings.
“with their grain and drink offerings for the bulls, rams, and lambs, in proportion to their number.
“Also offer one male goat as a sin offering. These are in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain and drink offerings.
“Also offer one male goat as a sin offering. These are in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain and drink offerings.
Moses sent one thousand from each tribe to war. They went with Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest, in whose care were the holy objects and signal trumpets.
Along with the others slain by them, they killed the Midianite kings — Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword.
The Israelites took the Midianite women and their dependents captive, and they plundered all their cattle, flocks, and property.
Then they burned all the cities where the Midianites lived, as well as all their encampments,
“Take the tribute from their half and give it to the priest Eleazar as a contribution to the LORD.
and told him, “Your servants have taken a census of the fighting men under our command, and not one of us is missing.
“But if they don't go across with you in battle formation, they must accept land in Canaan with you.”
as well as Nebo and Baal-meon (whose names were changed), and Sibmah. They gave names to the cities they rebuilt.
Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, went and captured their villages, which he renamed Jair's Villages.[fn]
These were the stages of the Israelites' journey when they went out of the land of Egypt by their military divisions under the leadership of Moses and Aaron.
At the LORD's command, Moses wrote down the starting points for the stages of their journey; these are the stages listed by their starting points:
Meanwhile, the Egyptians were burying every firstborn male the LORD had struck down among them, for the LORD had executed judgment against their gods.
“you must drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you, destroy all their stone images and cast images, and demolish all their high places.
“You are to take possession of the land and settle in it because I have given you the land to possess.
“You are to receive the land as an inheritance by lot according to your clans. Increase the inheritance for a large clan and decrease it for a small one. Whatever place the lot indicates for someone will be his. You will receive an inheritance according to your ancestral tribes.
“But if you don't drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, those you allow to remain will become barbs for your eyes and thorns for your sides; they will harass you in the land where you will live.
“For the tribe of Reuben's descendants and the tribe of Gad's descendants have received their inheritance according to their ancestral families,[fn] and half the tribe of Manasseh has received its inheritance.
“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 cities will be for them to live in, and their pasturelands will be for their herds, flocks, and all their other animals.
“The total number of cities you give the Levites will be forty-eight, along with their pasturelands.
“See, I have set the land before you. Enter and take possession of the land the LORD swore to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their future descendants.'
“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.'
“‘None of these men in this evil generation will see the good land I swore to give your ancestors,
“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.
“You may purchase food from them, so that you may eat, and buy water from them to drink.
“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.
a great and numerous people, tall as the Anakim. The LORD destroyed the Rephaim at the advance of the Ammonites, so that they drove them out and settled in their place.
This was just as he had done for the descendants of Esau who lived in Seir, when he destroyed the Horites before them; they drove them out and have lived in their place until now.
The Caphtorim, who came from Caphtor,[fn] destroyed the Avvites, who lived in villages as far as Gaza, and settled in their place.
“At that time we captured all his cities and completely destroyed the people of every city, including the women and children. We left no survivors.
“We captured all his cities at that time. There wasn't a city that we didn't take from them: sixty cities, the entire region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan.
“The day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, the LORD said to me, ‘Assemble the people before me, and I will let them hear my words, so that they may learn to fear me all the days they live on the earth and may instruct their children.'
“Because he loved your ancestors, he chose their descendants after them and brought you out of Egypt by his presence and great power,
“to drive out before you nations greater and stronger than you and to bring you in and give you their land as an inheritance, as is now taking place.
These are the decrees, statutes, and ordinances Moses proclaimed to them after they came out of Egypt,
across the Jordan in the valley facing Beth-peor in the land of King Sihon of the Amorites. He lived in Heshbon, and Moses and the Israelites defeated him after they came out of Egypt.
“If only they had such a heart to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that they and their children would prosper forever.
“Instead, this is what you are to do to them: tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, cut down their Asherah poles, and burn their carved images.
“You must destroy all the peoples the LORD your God is delivering over to you and not look on them with pity. Do not worship their gods, for that will be a snare to you.
“Don't be terrified of them, for the LORD your God, a great and awesome God, is among you.
“He will hand their kings over to you, and you will wipe out their names under heaven. No one will be able to stand against you; you will annihilate them.
“Burn up the carved images of their gods. Don't covet the silver and gold on the images and take it for yourself, or else you will be ensnared by it, for it is detestable to the LORD your God.
“You are not going to take possession of their land because of your righteousness or your integrity. Instead, the LORD your God will drive out these nations before you because of their wickedness, in order to fulfill the promise he swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
“Leave me alone, and I will destroy them and blot out their name under heaven. Then I will make you into a nation stronger and more numerous than they.'
“Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Disregard this people's stubbornness, and their wickedness and sin.
“For this reason, Levi does not have a portion or inheritance like his brothers; the LORD is his inheritance, as the LORD your God told him.
“Then the LORD said to me, ‘Get up. Continue your journey ahead of the people, so that they may enter and possess the land I swore to give their ancestors.'
“Yet the LORD had his heart set on your ancestors and loved them. He chose their descendants after them — he chose you out of all the peoples, as it is today.
“what he did to Egypt's army, its horses and chariots, when he made the water of the Red Sea flow over them as they pursued you, and he destroyed them completely;[fn]
“and what he did to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab the Reubenite, when in the middle of the whole Israelite camp the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, their households, their tents, and every living thing with them.
“and so that you may live long in the land the LORD swore to your ancestors to give them and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey.
“Destroy completely all the places where the nations that you are driving out worship their gods — on the high mountains, on the hills, and under every green tree.
“Tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, burn their Asherah poles, cut down the carved images of their gods, and wipe out their names from every[fn] place.
“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.'
“You must not do the same to the LORD your God, because they practice every detestable act, which the LORD hates, for their gods. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.
“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.
“that wicked men have sprung up among you, led the inhabitants of their city astray, and said, ‘Let's go and worship other gods,' which you have not known,
“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.
“The witnesses' hands are to be the first in putting him to death, and after that, the hands of all the people. You must purge the evil from you.
“Although Levi has no inheritance among his brothers, the LORD is his inheritance, as he promised him.
“I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him.
“When the LORD your God annihilates the nations whose land he is giving you, so that you drive them out and live in their cities and houses,
“you must do to him as he intended to do to his brother. You must purge the evil from you.
“When you go out to war against your enemies and see horses, chariots, and an army larger than yours, do not be afraid of them, for the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, is with you.
“He is to say to them, ‘Listen, Israel: Today you are about to engage in battle with your enemies. Do not be cowardly. Do not be afraid, alarmed, or terrified because of them.
“Then the priests, the sons of Levi, will come forward, for the LORD your God has chosen them to serve him and pronounce blessings in his name, and they are to give a ruling in[fn] every dispute and case of assault.
“You must purge from yourselves the guilt of shedding innocent blood, for you will be doing what is right in the LORD's sight.
“When you go to war against your enemies and the LORD your God hands them over to you and you take some of them prisoner, and
“If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father or mother and doesn't listen to them even after they discipline him,
“They will say to the elders of his city, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he doesn't obey us. He's a glutton and a drunkard.'
“Then all the men of his city will stone him to death. You must purge the evil from you, and all Israel will hear and be afraid.
they will bring the woman to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city will stone her to death. For she has committed an outrage in Israel by being promiscuous while living in her father's house. You must purge the evil from you.
“take the two of them out to the gate of that city and stone them to death — the young woman because she did not cry out in the city and the man because he has violated his neighbor's fiancée. You must purge the evil from you.
“If a man is discovered kidnapping one of his Israelite brothers, whether he treats him as a slave or sells him, the kidnapper must die. You must purge the evil from you.
“If the guilty party deserves to be flogged, the judge will make him lie down and be flogged in his presence with the number of lashes appropriate for his crime.
“When brothers live on the same property[fn] and one of them dies without a son, the wife of the dead man may not marry a stranger outside the family. Her brother-in-law is to take her as his wife, have sexual relations with her, and perform the duty of a brother-in-law for her.
“If two men are fighting with each other, and the wife of one steps in to rescue her husband from the one striking him, and she puts out her hand and grabs his genitals,
“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.
“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.
“We took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh.
“You saw their abhorrent images and idols made of wood, stone, silver, and gold, which were among them.
“Then people will answer, ‘It is because they abandoned the covenant of the LORD, the God of their ancestors, which he had made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.
“The LORD uprooted them from their land in his anger, rage, and intense wrath, and threw them into another land where they are today.'
“The LORD will deal with them as he did Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and their land when he destroyed them.
“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.”
“when all Israel assembles in the presence of the LORD your God at the place he chooses, you are to read this law aloud before all Israel.
“Then their children who do not know the law will listen and learn to fear the LORD your God as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”
“My anger will burn against them on that day; I will abandon them and hide my face from them so that they will become easy prey. Many troubles and afflictions will come to them. On that day they will say, ‘Haven't these troubles come to us because our God is no longer with us? '
“I will certainly hide my face on that day because of all the evil they have done by turning to other gods.
“Therefore write down this song for yourselves and teach it to the Israelites; have them sing it,[fn] so that this song may be a witness for me against the Israelites.
“When I bring them into the land I swore to give their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey, they will eat their fill and prosper.[fn] They will turn to other gods and worship them, despising me and breaking my covenant.
“Assemble all your tribal elders and officers before me so that I may speak these words directly to them and call heaven and earth as witnesses against them.
They provoked his jealousy with different gods;
they enraged him with detestable practices.
They sacrificed to demons, not God,
to gods they had not known,
new gods that had just arrived,
which your ancestors did not fear.
He said, “I will hide my face from them;
I will see what will become of them,
for they are a perverse generation —
unfaithful children.
“I would have said: I will cut them to pieces[fn]
and blot out the memory of them from mankind,
For their vine is from the vine of Sodom
and from the fields of Gomorrah.
Their grapes are poisonous;
their clusters are bitter.
“Vengeance and retribution belong to me.[fn]
In time their foot will slip,
for their day of disaster is near,
and their doom is coming quickly.”
“Who ate the fat of their sacrifices
and drank the wine of their drink offerings?
Let them rise up and help you;
let it[fn] be a shelter for you.
How happy you are, Israel!
Who is like you,
a people saved by the LORD?
He is the shield that protects you,
the sword you boast in.
Your enemies will cringe before you,
and you will tread on their backs.[fn]
“At nightfall, when the city gate was about to close, the men went out, and I don't know where they were going. Chase after them quickly, and you can catch up with them! ”
The men pursued them along the road to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as they left to pursue them, the city gate was shut.
When the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carried the ark of the covenant ahead of the people.
and after everyone had finished crossing, the priests with the ark of the LORD crossed in the sight of the people.
“For the LORD your God dried up the water of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, just as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up before us until we had crossed over.
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.
For the Israelites wandered in the wilderness forty years until all the nation's men of war who came out of Egypt had died off because they did not obey the LORD. So the LORD vowed never to let them see the land he had sworn to their ancestors to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey.
He raised up their sons in their place; it was these Joshua circumcised. They were still uncircumcised, since they had not been circumcised along the way.
“When there is a prolonged blast of the horn and you hear its sound, have all the troops give a mighty shout. Then the city wall will collapse, and the troops will advance, each man straight ahead.”
Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown to the ground before the ark of the LORD until evening, as did the elders of Israel; they all put dust on their heads.
“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.
“This is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies. They will turn their backs and run from their enemies, because they have been set apart for destruction. I will no longer be with you unless you remove from among you what is set apart.
“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.
Joshua and all Israel pretended to be beaten back by them and fled toward the wilderness.
Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Hold out the javelin in your hand toward Ai, for I will hand the city over to you.” So Joshua held out his javelin toward it.
When he held out his hand, the men in ambush rose quickly from their position. They ran, entered the city, captured it, and immediately set it on fire.
The men of Ai turned and looked back, and smoke from the city was rising to the sky! They could not escape in any direction, and the troops who had fled to the wilderness now became the pursuers.
Then men in ambush came out of the city against them, and the men of Ai were trapped between the Israelite forces, some on one side and some on the other. They struck them down until no survivor or fugitive remained,
All Israel — resident alien and citizen alike — with their elders, officers, and judges, stood on either side of the ark of the LORD's covenant facing the Levitical priests who carried it. Half of them were in front of Mount Gerizim and half in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the LORD's servant had commanded earlier concerning blessing the people of Israel.
they acted deceptively. They gathered provisions[fn] and took worn-out sacks on their donkeys and old wineskins, cracked and mended.
They wore old, patched sandals on their feet and threadbare clothing on their bodies. Their entire provision of bread was dry and crumbly.
“So our elders and all the inhabitants of our land told us, ‘Take provisions with you for the journey; go and meet them and say, “We are your servants. Please make a treaty with us.” '
Then the men of Israel took some of their provisions, but did not seek the LORD's decision.
Three days after making the treaty with them, they heard that the Gibeonites were their neighbors, living among them.
So the Israelites set out and reached the Gibeonite cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim.
All the leaders answered them, “We have sworn an oath to them by the LORD, the God of Israel, and now we cannot touch them.
So the five Amorite kings — the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon — joined forces, advanced with all their armies, besieged Gibeon, and fought against it.
The LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for I have handed them over to you. Not one of them will be able to stand against you.”
And the sun stood still
and the moon stopped
until the nation took vengeance on its enemies.
Isn't this written in the Book of Jashar?[fn]
So the sun stopped
in the middle of the sky
and delayed its setting
almost a full day.
“But as for the rest of you, don't stay there. Pursue your enemies and attack them from behind. Don't let them enter their cities, for the LORD your God has handed them over to you.”
When they had brought the kings to him, Joshua summoned all the men of Israel and said to the military commanders who had accompanied him, “Come here and put your feet on the necks of these kings.” So the commanders came forward and put their feet on their necks.
At that time King Horam of Gezer went to help Lachish, but Joshua struck him down along with his people, leaving no survivors.
So Joshua conquered the whole region — the hill country, the Negev, the Judean foothills,[fn] and the slopes — with all their kings, leaving no survivors. He completely destroyed every living being, as the LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded.
Joshua captured all these kings and their land in one campaign, because the LORD, the God of Israel, fought for Israel.
They went out with all their armies — a multitude as numerous as the sand on the seashore — along with a vast number of horses and chariots.
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.”
The LORD handed them over to Israel, and they struck them down, pursuing them as far as greater Sidon and Misrephoth-maim, and to the east as far as the Valley of Mizpeh. They struck them down, leaving no survivors.
Joshua treated them as the LORD had told him; he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots.
Joshua captured all these kings and their cities and struck them down with the sword. He completely destroyed them, as Moses the LORD's servant had commanded.
The Israelites plundered all the spoils and cattle of these cities for themselves. But they struck down every person with the sword until they had annihilated them, leaving no one alive.
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.
For it was the LORD's intention to harden their hearts, so that they would engage Israel in battle, be completely destroyed without mercy, and be annihilated, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
At that time Joshua proceeded to exterminate the Anakim from the hill country — Hebron, Debir, Anab — all the hill country of Judah and of Israel. Joshua completely destroyed them with their cities.
So Joshua took the entire land, in keeping with all that the LORD had told Moses. Joshua then gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal allotments. After this, the land had rest from war.
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:
Joshua and the Israelites struck down the following kings of the land beyond the Jordan to the west, from Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon to Mount Halak, which ascends toward Seir (Joshua gave their land as an inheritance to the tribes of Israel according to their allotments:
He did not, however, give any inheritance to the tribe of Levi. This was their inheritance, just as he had promised: the food offerings made to the LORD, the God of Israel.
this as their territory:
From Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the middle of the valley, the whole plateau as far as[fn] Medeba,
The border of the Reubenites was the Jordan and its plain. This was the inheritance of the Reubenites by their clans, with the cities and their settlements.
this as their territory:
Jazer and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the Ammonites to Aroer, near Rabbah;
This was the inheritance of the Gadites by their clans, with the cities and their settlements.
And to half the tribe of Manasseh (that is, to half the tribe of Manasseh's descendants by their clans) Moses gave
this as their territory:
From Mahanaim through all Bashan — all the kingdom of King Og of Bashan, including all of Jair's Villages[fn] that are in Bashan — sixty cities.
But half of Gilead, and Og's royal cities in Bashan — Ashtaroth and Edrei — are for the descendants of Machir son of Manasseh (that is, half the descendants of Machir by their clans).
The descendants of Joseph became two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim. No portion of the land was given to the Levites except cities to live in, along with pasturelands for their cattle and livestock.
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.
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.
Now the western border was the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea.
This was the boundary of the descendants of Judah around their clans.
These were the outermost cities of the tribe of the descendants of Judah toward the border of Edom in the Negev: Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur,
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.
From Janoah it descended to Ataroth and Naarah, and then reached Jericho and went to the Jordan.
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
So the allotment was for the rest of Manasseh's descendants by their clans, for the sons of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida. These are the male descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph, by their clans.
Within Issachar and Asher, Manasseh had Beth-shean, Ibleam, and the inhabitants of Dor with their surrounding villages; the inhabitants of En-dor, Taanach, and Megiddo — the three cities of[fn] Naphath — with their surrounding villages.
The entire Israelite community assembled at Shiloh and set up the tent of meeting there. The land had been subdued before them,
“But the Levites among you do not get a portion, because their inheritance is the priesthood of the LORD. Gad, Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh have taken their inheritance beyond the Jordan to the east, which Moses the LORD's servant gave them.”
The lot came up for the tribe of Benjamin's descendants by their clans, and their allotted territory lay between Judah's descendants and Joseph's descendants.
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.
These were the cities of the tribe of Benjamin's descendants by their clans:
Jericho, Beth-hoglah, Emek-keziz,
The second lot came out for Simeon, for the tribe of his descendants by their clans, but their inheritance was within the inheritance given to Judah's descendants.
and all the settlements surrounding these cities as far as Baalath-beer (Ramah in the south[fn]).
This was the inheritance of the tribe of Simeon's descendants by their clans.
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.
The third lot came up for Zebulun's descendants by their clans.
The territory of their inheritance stretched as far as Sarid;
their border went up westward to Maralah, reached Dabbesheth, and met the brook east of Jokneam.
This was the inheritance of Zebulun's descendants by their clans, these cities, with their settlements.
This was the inheritance of the tribe of Issachar's descendants by their clans, the cities, with their settlements.
This was the inheritance of the tribe of Asher's descendants by their clans, these cities with their settlements.
Their boundary went from Heleph and from the oak in Zaanannim, including Adami-nekeb and Jabneel, as far as Lakkum, and ended at the Jordan.
This was the inheritance of the tribe of Dan's descendants by their clans, these cities with their settlements.
When they had finished distributing the land into its territories, the Israelites gave Joshua son of Nun an inheritance among them.
So the Israelites, by the LORD's command, gave the Levites these cities with their pasturelands from their inheritance.
Merari's descendants received twelve cities for their clans from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.
The Israelites gave these cities with their pasturelands around them to the Levites by lot, as the LORD had commanded through Moses.
The allotted cities to the remaining clans of Kohath's descendants, who were Levites, came from the tribe of Ephraim.
All twelve cities were allotted to the clans of Merari's descendants, the remaining Levite clans.
Each of these cities had its own surrounding pasturelands; this was true for all the cities.
So the LORD gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there.
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.
Moses had given territory to half the tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, but Joshua had given territory to the other half,[fn] with their brothers, on the west side of the Jordan. When Joshua sent them to their homes and blessed them,
he said, “Return to your homes with great wealth: a huge number of cattle, and silver, gold, bronze, iron, and a large quantity of clothing. Share the spoil of your enemies with your brothers.”
The Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh left the Israelites at Shiloh in the land of Canaan to return to their own land of Gilead, which they took possession of according to the LORD's command through Moses.
So the Reubenites and Gadites named the altar: It[fn] is a witness between us that the LORD is God.
A long time after the LORD had given Israel rest from all the enemies around them, Joshua was old, advanced in age.
So Joshua summoned all Israel, including its elders, leaders, judges, and officers, and said to them, “I am old, advanced in age,
“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.
“and so that you do not associate with these nations remaining among you. Do not call on the names of their gods or make an oath to them; do not serve them or bow in worship to them.
“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.
“ ‘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.
“but I would not listen to Balaam. Instead, he repeatedly blessed you, and I rescued you from him.
“But if it doesn't please you to worship the LORD, choose for yourselves today: Which will you worship — the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living? As for me and my family, we will worship the LORD.”
“For the LORD our God brought us and our ancestors out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery, and performed these great signs before our eyes. He also protected us all along the way we went and among all the peoples whose lands we traveled through.
And Eleazar son of Aaron died, and they buried him at Gibeah,[fn] which had been given to his son Phinehas in the hill country of Ephraim.
Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off used to pick up scraps[fn] under my table. God has repaid me for what I have done.” They brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.
“You are not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of this land. You are to tear down their altars. But you have not obeyed me. What have you done?
“Therefore, I now say: I will not drive out these people before you. They will be thorns[fn] in your sides, and their gods will be a trap for you.”
When the angel of the LORD had spoken these words to all the Israelites, the people wept loudly.
That whole generation was also gathered to their ancestors. After them another generation rose up who did not know the LORD or the works he had done for Israel.
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,
The LORD's anger burned against Israel, and he handed them over to marauders who raided them. He sold them to the enemies around them, and they could no longer resist their enemies.
but they did not listen to their judges. Instead, they prostituted themselves with other gods, bowing down to them. They quickly turned from the way of their ancestors, who had walked in obedience to the LORD's commands. They did not do as their ancestors did.
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.
The LORD's anger burned against Israel, and he declared, “Because this nation has violated my covenant that I made with their ancestors and disobeyed me,
“I did this to test Israel and to see whether or not they would keep the LORD's way by walking in it, as their ancestors had.”
This was to teach the future generations of the Israelites how to fight in battle, especially those who had not fought before.
The LORD left them to test Israel, to determine if they would keep the LORD's commands he had given their ancestors through Moses.
The Israelites took their daughters as wives for themselves, gave their own daughters to their sons, and worshiped their gods.
The Israelites did what was evil in the LORD's sight; they forgot the LORD their God and worshiped the Baals and the Asherahs.
The servants waited until they became embarrassed and saw that he had still not opened the doors of the upstairs room. So they took the key and opened the doors — and there was their lord lying dead on the floor!
After he arrived, he sounded the ram's horn throughout the hill country of Ephraim. The Israelites came down with him from the hill country, and he became their leader.
For the Midianites came with their cattle and their tents like a great swarm of locusts. They and their camels were without number, and they entered the land to lay waste to it.
“I rescued you from the power of Egypt and the power of all who oppressed you. I drove them out before you and gave you their land.
“I said to you: I am the LORD your God. Do not fear the gods of the Amorites whose land you live in. But you did not obey me.' ”
The LORD said to Gideon, “You have too many troops for me to hand the Midianites over to them, or else Israel might elevate themselves over me and say,[fn] ‘I saved myself.'
The number of those who lapped with their hands to their mouths was three hundred men, and all the rest of the troops knelt to drink water.
So Gideon sent all the Israelites to their tents but kept the three hundred troops, who took the provisions and their rams' horns. The camp of Midian was below him in the valley.
Now the Midianites, Amalekites, and all the people of the east had settled down in the valley like a swarm of locusts, and their camels were as innumerable as the sand on the seashore.
Gideon and the hundred men who were with him went to the outpost of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch after the sentries had been stationed. They blew their rams' horns and broke the pitchers that were in their hands.
The three companies blew their rams' horns and shattered their pitchers. They held their torches in their left hands and their rams' horns to blow in their right hands, and they shouted, “A sword for the LORD and for Gideon! ”
“God handed over to you Oreb and Zeeb, the two princes of Midian. What was I able to do compared to you? ” When he said this, their anger against him subsided.
Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and with them was their army of about fifteen thousand men, who were all those left of the entire army of the people of the east. Those who had been killed were one hundred twenty thousand armed men.
Zebah and Zalmunna fled, and he pursued them. He captured these two kings of Midian and routed the entire army.
He asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men did you kill at Tabor? ”
“They were like you,” they said. “Each resembled the son of a king.”
Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Get up and strike us down yourself, for a man is judged by his strength.” So Gideon got up, killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescent ornaments that were on the necks of their camels.
The weight of the gold earrings he requested was forty-three pounds[fn] of gold, in addition to the crescent ornaments and ear pendants, the purple garments on the kings of Midian, and the chains on the necks of their camels.
So Midian was subdued before the Israelites, and they were no longer a threat. The land had peace for forty years during the days of Gideon.
The Israelites did not remember the LORD their God who had rescued them from the hand of the enemies around them.
His mother's relatives spoke all these words about him in the hearing of all the citizens of Shechem, and they were favorable to Abimelech, for they said, “He is our brother.”
so that the crime against the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come to justice and their blood would be avenged on their brother Abimelech, who killed them, and on the citizens of Shechem, who had helped him kill his brothers.
So they went out to the countryside and harvested grapes from their vineyards. They trampled the grapes and held a celebration. Then they went to the house of their god, and as they ate and drank, they cursed Abimelech.
God also brought back to the men of Shechem all their evil. So the curse of Jotham son of Jerubbaal came upon them.
“Sidonians, Amalekites, and Maonites[fn] oppressed you, and you cried out to me, did I not deliver you from them?
So they got rid of the foreign gods among them and worshiped the LORD, and he became weary of Israel's misery.
So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead. The people made him their leader and commander, and Jephthah repeated all his terms in the presence of the LORD at Mizpah.
“But when they came from Egypt, Israel traveled through the wilderness to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh.
Then Jephthah said to them, “My people and I had a bitter conflict with the Ammonites. So I called for you, but you didn't deliver me from their power.
they told him, “Please say Shibboleth.” If he said, “Sibboleth,” because he could not pronounce it correctly, they seized him and executed him at the fords of the Jordan. At that time forty-two thousand from Ephraim died.
When the flame went up from the altar to the sky, the angel of the LORD went up in its flame. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell facedown on the ground.
The Spirit of the LORD came powerfully on him, and he went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty of their men. He stripped them and gave their clothes to those who had explained the riddle. In a rage, Samson returned to his father's house,
“No,” they said,[fn] “we won't kill you, but we will tie you up securely and hand you over to them.” So they tied him up with two new ropes and led him away from the rock.
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.
Now the Philistine leaders gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon. They rejoiced and said:
Our god has handed over
our enemy Samson to us.
When the people saw him, they praised their god and said:
Our god has handed over to us
our enemy who destroyed our land
and who multiplied our dead.
When they were in good spirits,[fn] they said, “Bring Samson here to entertain us.” So they brought Samson from prison, and he entertained them. They had him stand between the pillars.
Samson said to the young man who was leading him by the hand, “Lead me where I can feel the pillars supporting the temple, so I can lean against them.”
Samson took hold of the two middle pillars supporting the temple and leaned against them, one on his right hand and the other on his left.
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.
While they were near Micah's home, they recognized the accent of the young Levite. So they went over to him and asked, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What is keeping you here? ”
When the men went back to their relatives at Zorah and Eshtaol, their relatives asked them, “What did you find out? ”
The five men who had gone to scout out the land of Laish told their brothers, “Did you know that there are an ephod, household gods, and a carved image and a silver idol[fn] in these houses? Now think about what you should do.”
They prepared to leave, putting their dependents, livestock, and possessions in front of them.
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.
They called to the Danites, who turned to face them, and said to Micah, “What's the matter with you that you mustered the men? ”
The Danites went on their way, and Micah turned to go back home, because he saw that they were stronger than he was.
They named the city Dan, after the name of their ancestor Dan, who was born to Israel. The city was formerly named Laish.
When they were near Jebus and the day was almost gone, the servant said to his master, “Please, why not let us stop at this Jebusite city and spend the night here? ”
So he brought him to his house and fed the donkeys. Then they washed their feet and ate and drank.
While they were enjoying themselves, all of a sudden, wicked men of the city surrounded the house and beat on the door. They said to the old man who was the owner of the house, “Bring out the man who came to your house so we can have sex with him! ”
“Hand over the wicked men in Gibeah so we can put them to death and purge evil from Israel.” But the Benjaminites would not listen to their fellow Israelites.
Instead, the Benjaminites gathered together from their cities to Gibeah to go out and fight against the Israelites.
The men of Israel went out to fight against Benjamin and took their battle positions against Gibeah.
That same day the Benjaminites came out from Gibeah to meet them and slaughtered an additional eighteen thousand Israelites on the field; all were armed.
Then ten thousand fit young men from all Israel made a frontal assault against Gibeah, and the battle was fierce, but the Benjaminites did not know that disaster was about to strike them.
They retreated before the men of Israel toward the wilderness, but the battle overtook them, and those who came out of the cities[fn] slaughtered those between them.
Then Benjamin turned and fled toward the wilderness to Rimmon Rock, and Israel killed five thousand men on the highways. They overtook them at Gidom and struck two thousand more dead.
So the people went to Bethel and sat there before God until evening. They wept loudly and bitterly,
But the Israelites had compassion on their brothers, the Benjaminites, and said, “Today a tribe has been cut off from Israel.
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.
“See which field they are harvesting, and follow them. Haven't I ordered the young men not to touch you? When you are thirsty, go and drink from the jars the young men have filled.”
The next morning Elkanah and Hannah got up early to worship before the LORD. Afterward, they returned home to Ramah. Then Elkanah was intimate with his wife Hannah, and the LORD remembered her.
“If one person sins against another, God can intercede for him, but if a person sins against the LORD, who can intercede for him? ” But they would not listen to their father, since the LORD intended to kill them.
A man of God came to Eli and said to him, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Didn't I reveal myself to your forefather's family[fn] when they were in Egypt and belonged to Pharaoh's palace?
The LORD continued to appear in Shiloh, because there he revealed himself to Samuel by his word.
When the people of Ashdod got up early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen with his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and returned him to his place.
After they had moved it, the LORD's hand was against the city of Gath, causing a great panic. He afflicted the people of the city, from the youngest to the oldest, with an outbreak of tumors.
the Philistines summoned the priests and the diviners and pleaded, “What should we do with the ark of the LORD? Tell us how we can send it back to its place.”
“Why harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened theirs? When he afflicted them, didn't they send Israel away, and Israel left?
“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.
The men did this: They took two milk cows, hitched them to the cart, and confined their calves in the pen.
The people of Beth-shemesh were harvesting wheat in the valley, and when they looked up and saw the ark, they were overjoyed to see it.
But the LORD told him, “Listen to the people and everything they say to you. They have not rejected you; they have rejected me as their king.
“Listen to them, but solemnly warn them and tell them about the customary rights of the king who will reign over them.”
“Listen to them,” the LORD told Samuel. “Appoint a king for them.”
Then Samuel told the men of Israel, “Each of you, go back to your city.”
When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to the servant who was with him, “Come on, let's go back, or my father will stop worrying about the donkeys and start worrying about us.”
As they were climbing the hill to the city, they found some young women coming out to draw water and asked, “Is the seer here? ”
So they went up toward the city.
Saul and his servant were entering the city when they saw Samuel coming toward them on his way to the high place.
“At this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin. Anoint him ruler over my people Israel. He will save them from the Philistines because I have seen the affliction of my people, for their cry has come to me.”
As they were going down to the edge of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to go on ahead of us, but you stay for a while, and I'll reveal the word of God to you.” So the servant went on.
“They will ask how you are and give you two loaves[fn] of bread, which you will accept from them.
“After that you will come to Gibeah of God where there are Philistine garrisons.[fn] When you arrive at the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place prophesying. They will be preceded by harps, tambourines, flutes, and lyres.
“The Spirit of the LORD will come powerfully on you, you will prophesy with them, and you will be transformed.
When Saul and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a group of prophets met him. Then the Spirit of God came powerfully on him, and he prophesied along with them.
Then a man who was from there asked, “And who is their father? ”
As a result, “Is Saul also among the prophets? ” became a popular saying.
Saul also went to his home in Gibeah, and brave men whose hearts God had touched went with him.
When the messengers came to Gibeah, Saul's hometown, and told the terms to the people, all wept aloud.
“But they forgot the LORD their God, so he handed them over to Sisera commander of the army of Hazor, to the Philistines, and to the king of Moab. These enemies fought against them.
Then Samuel went[fn] from Gilgal to Gibeah in Benjamin. Saul registered the troops who were with him, about six hundred men.
Saul, his son Jonathan, and the troops who were with them were staying in Geba of Benjamin, and the Philistines were camped at Michmash.
They let themselves be seen by the Philistine garrison, and the Philistines said, “Look, the Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they've been hiding! ”
When all the Israelite men who had been hiding in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were fleeing, they also joined Saul and Jonathan in the battle.
“How much better if the troops had eaten freely today from the plunder they took from their enemies! Then the slaughter of the Philistines would have been much greater.”
Then Saul gave up the pursuit of the Philistines, and the Philistines returned to their own territory.
Saul answered Samuel, “I have sinned. I have transgressed the LORD's command and your words. Because I was afraid of the people, I obeyed them.
The Philistines gathered their forces for war at Socoh in Judah and camped between Socoh and Azekah in Ephes-dammim.
The Philistines were standing on one hill, and the Israelites were standing on another hill with a ravine between them.
David ran and stood over him. He grabbed the Philistine's sword, pulled it from its sheath, and used it to kill him. Then he cut off his head. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they fled.
The men of Israel and Judah rallied, shouting their battle cry, and chased the Philistines to the entrance of the valley and to the gates of Ekron.[fn] Philistine bodies were strewn all along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron.
When the Israelites returned from the pursuit of the Philistines, they plundered their camps.
David and his men went out and killed two hundred[fn] Philistines. He brought their foreskins and presented them as full payment to the king to become his son-in-law. Then Saul gave his daughter Michal to David as his wife.
he sent agents to seize David. However, when they saw the group of prophets prophesying with Samuel leading them, the Spirit of God came on Saul's agents, and they also started prophesying.
Saul then removed his clothes and also prophesied before Samuel; he collapsed and lay naked all that day and all that night. That is why they say, “Is Saul also among the prophets? ”
In addition, every man who was desperate, in debt, or discontented rallied around him, and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him.
Then the king ordered the guards standing by him, “Turn and kill the priests of the LORD because they sided with David. For they knew he was fleeing, but they didn't tell me.” But the king's servants would not lift a hand to execute the priests of the LORD.
Then David and his men went to Keilah, fought against the Philistines, drove their livestock away, and inflicted heavy losses on them. So David rescued the inhabitants of Keilah.
“I hear that you are shearing.[fn] When your shepherds were with us, we did not harass them, and nothing of theirs was missing the whole time they were in Carmel.
David's young men retraced their steps. When they returned to him, they reported all these words.
One of Nabal's young men informed Abigail, Nabal's wife, “Look, David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master, but he screamed at them.
David crossed to the other side and stood on top of the mountain at a distance; there was a considerable space between them.
At that time, the Philistines gathered their military units into one army to fight against Israel. So Achish said to David, “You know, of course, that you and your men must march out in the army[fn] with me.”
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.
The Philistines brought all their military units together at Aphek while Israel was camped by the spring in Jezreel.
They also had kidnapped the women and everyone[fn] in it from youngest to oldest. They had killed no one but had carried them off as they went on their way.
When David and his men arrived at the town, they found it burned. Their wives, sons, and daughters had been kidnapped.
David 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.
When the men of Israel on the other side of the valley and on the other side of the Jordan saw that Israel's men had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned the cities and fled. So the Philistines came and settled in them.
They cut off Saul's head, stripped off his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to spread the good news in the temples of their idols and among the people.
Afterward, they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh and fasted seven days.
Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and all the men with him did the same.
Saul and Jonathan,
loved and delightful,
they were not parted in life or in death.
They were swifter than eagles, stronger than lions.
“Now take action, because the LORD has spoken concerning David: ‘Through my servant David I will save my people Israel from the power of the Philistines and the power of all Israel's enemies.' ”
Just then David's soldiers and Joab returned from a raid and brought a large amount of plundered goods with them. Abner was not with David in Hebron because David had dismissed him, and he had gone in peace.
Joab and his brother Abishai killed Abner because he had put their brother Asahel to death in the battle at Gibeon.
All the people took note of this, and it pleased them. In fact, everything the king did pleased them.
So David gave orders to the young men, and they killed Rechab and Baanah. They cut off their hands and feet and hung their bodies by the pool in Hebron, but they took Ish-bosheth's head and buried it in Abner's tomb in Hebron.
So David inquired of the LORD, and he answered, “Do not attack directly, but circle around behind them and come at them opposite the balsam trees.
When those carrying the ark of the LORD advanced six steps, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened calf.
the Ammonite leaders said to Hanun their lord, “Just because David has sent men with condolences for you, do you really believe he's showing respect for your father? Instead, hasn't David sent his emissaries in order to scout out the city, spy on it, and demolish it? ”
So Hanun took David's emissaries, shaved off half their beards, cut their clothes in half at the hips, and sent them away.
When this was reported to David, he sent someone to meet them, since they were deeply humiliated. The king said, “Stay in Jericho until your beards grow back; then return.”
Hadadezer sent messengers to bring the Arameans who were beyond the Euphrates River, and they came to Helam with Shobach, commander of Hadadezer's army, leading them.
Amnon's servant threw her out and bolted the door behind her. Now Tamar was wearing a long-sleeved[fn] robe, because this is what the king's virgin daughters wore.
While they were on the way, a report reached David: “Absalom struck down all the king's sons; not even one of them survived! ”
In response the king stood up, tore his clothes, and lay down on the ground, and all his servants stood by with their clothes torn.
Just as he finished speaking, the king's sons entered and wept loudly. Then the king and all his servants also wept very bitterly.
“Your servant had two sons. They were fighting in the field with no one to separate them, and one struck the other and killed him.
Then Absalom said to his servants, “See, Joab has a field right next to mine, and he has barley there. Go and set fire to it! ” So Absalom's servants set the field on fire.[fn]
Two hundred men from Jerusalem went with Absalom. They had been invited and were going innocently, for they did not know the whole situation.
Then the king set out, and his entire household followed him. But he left behind ten concubines to take care of the palace.
while all his servants marched past him. Then all the Cherethites, the Pelethites, and the people of Gath— six hundred men who came with him from there — marched past the king.
“Take note: their two sons are there with them — Zadok's son Ahimaaz and Abiathar's son Jonathan. Send them to tell me everything you hear.”
Hushai continued, “You know your father and his men. They are warriors and are desperate like a wild bear robbed of her cubs. Your father is an experienced soldier who won't spend the night with the people.
“Instead, I advise that all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba — as numerous as the sand by the sea — be gathered to you and that you personally go into battle.
David reviewed his troops and appointed commanders of thousands and of hundreds over them.
Ahimaaz called out to the king, “All is well,” and paid homage to the king with his face to the ground. He continued, “Blessed be the LORD your God! He delivered up the men who rebelled against my lord the king.”
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.
They were at the great stone in Gibeon when Amasa joined them. Joab was wearing his uniform and over it was a belt around his waist with a sword in its sheath. As he approached, the sword fell out.
David spared Mephibosheth, the son of Saul's son Jonathan, because of the oath of the LORD that was between David and Jonathan, Saul's son.
They look, but there is no one to save them —
they look to the LORD, but he does not answer them.
The man who touches them
must be armed with iron and the shaft of a spear.
They will be completely burned up on the spot.
David said, “LORD, I would never do such a thing! Is this not the blood of men who risked their lives? ” So he refused to drink it. Such were the exploits of the three warriors.
All the people went up after him, playing flutes and rejoicing with such a great joy that the earth split open from the sound.[fn]
“and so that the LORD will fulfill his promise that he made to me: ‘If your sons take care to walk faithfully before me with all their heart and all their soul, you will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.'
“The LORD will bring back his own blood on his head because he struck down two men more righteous and better than he, without my father David's knowledge. With his sword, Joab murdered Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel's army, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of Judah's army.
“The responsibility for their deaths will come back to Joab and to his descendants[fn] forever, but for David, his descendants, his dynasty, and his throne, there will be peace from the LORD forever.”
He sent ten thousand to Lebanon each month in shifts; one month they were in Lebanon, two months they were at home. Adoniram was in charge of the forced labor.
Then he put the cherubim inside the inner temple. Since their wings were spread out, the first one's wing touched one wall while the second cherub's wing touched the other[fn] wall, and in the middle of the temple their wings were touching wing to wing.
The two doors were made of olive wood. He carved cherubim, palm trees, and flower blossoms on them and overlaid them with gold, hammering gold over the cherubim and palm trees.
The two doors were made of cypress wood; the first door had two folding sides, and the second door had two folding panels.
He made the hall of pillars seventy-five feet long and forty-five feet wide. A portico was in front of the pillars, and a canopy with pillars[fn] was in front of them.
It stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The basin was on top of them and all their hindquarters were toward the center.
and on the frames between the cross-pieces were lions, oxen, and cherubim. On the cross-pieces there was a pedestal above, and below the lions and oxen were wreaths of hanging[fn] work.
Each cart had four bronze wheels with bronze axles. Underneath the four corners of the basin were cast supports, each next to a wreath.
The wheels' design was similar to that of chariot wheels: their axles, rims, spokes, and hubs were all of cast metal.
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 before me
as you have walked before me.
may you hear in heaven
and forgive the sin of your people Israel.
May you restore them to the land
you gave their ancestors.
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,
and when they come to their senses[fn]
in the land where they were deported
and repent and petition you in their captors' land:
“We have sinned and done wrong;
we have been wicked,”
and when they return to you with all their heart and all their soul
in the land of their enemies who took them captive,
and when they pray to you in the direction of their land
that you gave their ancestors,
the city you have chosen,
and the temple I have built for your name,
May you forgive your people
who sinned against you
and all their rebellions[fn] against you,
and may you grant them compassion
before their captors,
so that they may treat them compassionately.
May your eyes be open to your servant's petition
and to the petition of your people Israel,
listening to them whenever they call to you.
Then they will say, “Because they abandoned the LORD their God who brought their ancestors out of the land of Egypt. They held on to other gods and bowed in worship to them and served them. Because of this, the LORD brought all this ruin on them.”
As for all the peoples who remained of the Amorites, Hethites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not Israelites —
“Blessed be the LORD your God! He delighted in you and put you on the throne of Israel, because of the LORD's eternal love for Israel. He has made you king to carry out justice and righteousness.”
from the nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, and they must not intermarry with you, because they will turn your heart away to follow their gods.” To these women Solomon was deeply attached[fn] in love.
When Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away to follow other gods. He was not wholeheartedly devoted to the LORD his God, as his father David had been.
At that time, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh, the abhorrent idol of Moab, and for Milcom,[fn] the abhorrent idol of the Ammonites, on the hill across from Jerusalem.
He did the same for all his foreign wives, who were burning incense and offering sacrifices to their gods.
Hadad and his men set out from Midian and went to Paran. They took men with them from Paran and went to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave Hadad a house, ordered that he be given food, and gave him land.
“For they have abandoned me; they have bowed down to Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, to Chemosh, the god of Moab, and to Milcom, the god of the Ammonites. They have not walked in my ways to do what is right in my sight and to carry out my statutes and my judgments as his father David did.
When all Israel saw that the king had not listened to them, the people answered him:
What portion do we have in David?
We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse.
Israel, return to your tents;
David, now look after your own house!
So Israel went to their tents,
“If these people regularly go to offer sacrifices in the LORD's temple in Jerusalem, the heart of these people will return to their lord, King Rehoboam of Judah. They will kill me and go back to the king of Judah.”
Now a certain old prophet was living in Bethel. His son[fn] came and told him all the deeds that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. His sons also told their father the words that he had spoken to the king.
Then their father asked them, “Which way did he go? ” His sons had seen[fn] the way taken by the man of God who had come from Judah.
While they were sitting at the table, the word of the LORD came to the prophet who had brought him back,
Judah did what was evil in the LORD's sight. They provoked him to jealous anger more than all that their ancestors had done with the sins they committed.
King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and committed them into the care of the captains of the guards[fn] who protected the entrance to the king's palace.
“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,
This happened because of all the sins of Baasha and those of his son Elah, which they committed and caused Israel to commit, angering the LORD God of Israel with their worthless idols.
He walked in all the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat in every respect and continued in his sins that he caused Israel to commit, angering the LORD God of Israel with their worthless idols.
They shouted loudly, and cut themselves with knives and spears, according to their custom, until blood gushed over them.
When all the people saw it, they fell facedown and said, “The LORD, he is God! The LORD, he is God! ”
Then Elijah ordered them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let even one of them escape.” So they seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the Wadi Kishon and slaughtered them there.
So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “May the gods punish me and do so severely if I don't make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow! ”
But at this time tomorrow I will send my servants to you,[fn] and they will search your palace and your servants' houses. They will lay their hands on and take away whatever is precious to you.' ”
The young men of the provincial leaders and the army behind them marched out from the city,
“Also do this: remove each king from his position and appoint captains in their 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.
The Israelites mobilized, gathered supplies, and went to fight them. The Israelites camped in front of them like two little flocks of goats, while the Arameans filled the landscape.
So they dressed with sackcloth around their waists and ropes around their heads, went to the king of Israel, and said, “Your servant Ben-hadad says, ‘Please spare my life.' ”
So he said, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.”
Now the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah, clothed in royal attire, were each sitting on his own throne. They were on the threshing floor at the entrance to the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying in front of them.
“Already fire has come down from heaven and consumed the first two captains with their companies, but this time let my life be precious to you.”
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.
The rest of the events of Ahaziah's reign, along with his accomplishments, are written in the Historical Record of Israel's Kings.[fn]
As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire with horses of fire suddenly appeared and separated the two of them. Then Elijah went up into heaven in the whirlwind.
He turned around, looked at them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the children.
So the king of Israel, the king of Judah, and the king of Edom set out. After they had traveled their indirect route for seven days, they had no water for the army or the animals with them.
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.
When Gehazi came to the hill,[fn] he took the gifts from them and deposited them in the house. Then he dismissed the men, and they left.
Elisha said, “Don't be afraid, for those who are with us outnumber those who are with them.”
When they entered Samaria, Elisha said, “LORD, open these men's eyes and let them see.” So the LORD opened their eyes, and they saw that they were in the middle of Samaria.
Elisha replied, “Don't kill them. Do you kill those you have captured with your sword or your bow? Set food and water in front of them so they can eat and drink and go to their master.”
So he prepared a big feast for them. When they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. The Aramean raiders did not come into Israel's land again.
While Elisha was still speaking with them, the messenger[fn] came down to him. Then he said, “This disaster is from the LORD. Why should I wait for the LORD any longer? ”
So they had gotten up and fled at twilight, abandoning their tents, horses, and donkeys. The camp was intact, and they had fled for their lives.
The diseased men came and called to the city's gatekeepers and told them, “We went to the Aramean camp and no one was there — no human sounds. There was nothing but tethered horses and donkeys, and the tents were intact.”
So they followed them as far as the Jordan. They saw that the whole way was littered with clothes and equipment the Arameans had thrown off in their haste. The messengers returned and told the king.
and Hazael asked, “Why is my lord weeping? ”
He replied, “Because I know the evil you will do to the people of Israel. You will set their fortresses on fire. You will kill their young men with the sword. You will dash their children to pieces. You will rip open their pregnant women.”
So Jehoram crossed over to Zair with all his chariots. Then at night he set out to attack the Edomites who had surrounded him and the chariot commanders, but his troops fled to their tents.
Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel. He saw Jehu's mob approaching and shouted, “I see a mob! ”
Joram responded, “Choose a rider and send him to meet them and have him ask, ‘Do you come in peace? ' ”
So a horseman went to meet Jehu and said, “This is what the king asks: ‘Do you come in peace? ' ”
Jehu replied, “What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me.”
The watchman reported, “The messenger reached them but hasn't started back.”
Again the watchman reported, “He reached them but hasn't started back. Also, the driving is like that of Jehu son of Nimshi — he drives like a madman.”
When the letter came to them, they took the king's sons and slaughtered all seventy, put their heads in baskets, and sent them to Jehu at Jezreel.
Then Jehu ordered, “Take them alive.” So they took them alive and then slaughtered them at the pit of Beth-eked — forty-two men. He didn't spare any of them.
When he finished offering the burnt offering, Jehu said to the guards and officers, “Go in and kill them. Don't let anyone out.” So they struck them down with the sword. Then the guards and officers threw the bodies out and went into the inner room of the temple of Baal.
but he did not turn away from the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit — worshiping the gold calves that were in Bethel and Dan.
No accounting was required from the men who received the silver to pay those doing the work, since they worked with integrity.
He did what was evil in the LORD's sight and followed the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit; he did not turn away from them.
Therefore, the LORD gave Israel a deliverer, and they escaped from the power of the Arameans. Then the people of Israel returned to their former way of life,[fn]
Once, as the Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a raiding party, so they threw the man into Elisha's tomb. When he touched Elisha's bones, the man revived and stood up!
Then King Ahaz commanded the priest Uriah, “Offer on the great altar the morning burnt offering, the evening grain offering, and the king's burnt offering and his grain offering. Also offer the burnt offering of all the people of the land, their grain offering, and their drink offerings. Splatter on the altar all the blood of the burnt offering and all the blood of sacrifice. The bronze altar will be for me to seek guidance.”[fn]
This disaster happened because the people of Israel sinned against the LORD their God who had brought them out of the land of Egypt from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt and because they worshiped[fn] other gods.
The Israelites secretly did things[fn] against the LORD their God that were not right. They built high places in all their towns from watchtower to fortified city.
They burned incense there on all the high places just like the nations that the LORD had driven out before them had done. They did evil things, angering the LORD.
But they would not listen. Instead they became obstinate like[fn] their ancestors who did not believe the LORD their God.
They rejected his statutes and his covenant he had made with their ancestors and the warnings he had given them. They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves, following the surrounding nations the LORD had commanded them not to imitate.
They abandoned all the commands of the LORD their God. They made cast images for themselves, two calves, and an Asherah pole. They bowed in worship to all the stars in the sky and served Baal.
They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire[fn] and practiced divination and interpreted omens. They devoted themselves to do what was evil in the LORD's sight and angered him.
Even Judah did not keep the commands of the LORD their God but lived according to the customs Israel had practiced.
When they first lived there, they did not fear the LORD. So the LORD sent lions among them, which killed some of them.
But the people of each nation were still making their own gods in the cities where they lived and putting them in the shrines of the high places that the people of Samaria had made.
the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.
They feared the LORD, but they also made from their ranks priests for the high places, who were working for them at the shrines of the high places.
They feared the LORD, but they also worshiped their own gods according to the practice of the nations from which they had been deported.
They are still observing the former practices to this day. None of them fear the LORD or observe the statutes and ordinances, the law and commandments that the LORD had commanded the descendants of Jacob, whom he had given the name Israel.
The LORD made a covenant with Jacob's descendants and commanded them, “Do not fear other gods; do not bow in worship to them; do not serve them; do not sacrifice to them.
However, these nations would not listen but continued observing their former practices.
They feared the LORD but also served their idols. Still today, their children and grandchildren continue doing as their ancestors did.
because they did not listen to the LORD their God but violated his covenant — all he had commanded Moses the servant of the LORD. They did not listen, and they did not obey.
But the royal spokesman said to them, “Has my master sent me to speak these words only to your master and to you? Hasn't he also sent me to the men who sit on the wall, destined with you to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine? ”
Who among all the gods of the lands has rescued his land from my power? So will the LORD rescue Jerusalem from my power? ' ”
They have thrown their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but made by human hands — wood and stone. So they have destroyed them.
“This will be the sign for you: This year you will eat what grows on its own, and in the second year what grows from that. But in the third year sow and reap, plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
“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,
“I will abandon the remnant of my inheritance and hand them over to their enemies. They will become plunder and spoil to all their enemies,
“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 they have abandoned me and burned incense to other gods in order to anger me with all the work of their hands. My wrath will be kindled against this place, and it will not be quenched.'
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 the king commanded the high priest Hilkiah and the priests of the second rank and the doorkeepers to bring out of the LORD's sanctuary all the articles made for Baal, Asherah, and all the stars in the sky. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel.
The priests of the high places, however, did not come up to the altar of the LORD in Jerusalem; instead, they ate unleavened bread with their fellow priests.
The king tore down the altars that the kings of Judah had made on the roof of Ahaz's upper chamber. He also tore down the altars that Manasseh had made in the two courtyards of the LORD's temple. Then he smashed them[fn] there and threw their dust into the Kidron Valley.
He broke the sacred pillars into pieces, cut down the Asherah poles, then filled their places with human bones.
These were the kings who reigned in the land of Edom
before any king reigned over the Israelites:
Bela son of Beor.
Bela's town was named Dinhabah.
Their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail. Zeruiah's three sons: Abishai, Joab, and Asahel.
These were all David's sons, with their sister Tamar, in addition to the sons by his concubines.
Pedaiah's sons: Zerubbabel and Shimei.
Zerubbabel's sons: Meshullam and Hananiah, with their sister Shelomith;
These were Etam's sons:[fn] Jezreel, Ishma, and Idbash, and their sister was named Hazzelelponi.
Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters, but his brothers did not have many children, so their whole family did not become as numerous as the Judeans.
Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susim, Beth-biri, and Shaaraim. These were their cities until David became king.
and all their surrounding villages as far as Baal. These were their settlements, and they kept a genealogical record for themselves.
these mentioned by name were leaders in their families. Their ancestral houses increased greatly.
They found rich, good pasture, and the land was broad, peaceful, and quiet, for some Hamites had lived there previously.
These who were recorded by name came in the days of King Hezekiah of Judah, attacked the Hamites' tents and the Meunites who were found there, and set them apart for destruction, as they are today. Then they settled in their place because there was pasture for their flocks.
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.
His relatives by their families as they are recorded in their family records:
Jeiel the chief, Zechariah,
They also settled in the east as far as the edge of the desert that extends to the Euphrates River, because their herds had increased in the land of Gilead.
During Saul's reign they waged war against the Hagrites, who were defeated by their power. And they lived in their tents throughout the region east of Gilead.
Their relatives according to their ancestral houses: Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jacan, Zia, and Eber — seven.
They received help against these enemies because they cried out to God in battle, and the Hagrites and all their allies were handed over to them. He was receptive to their prayer because they trusted in him.
They captured the Hagrites' livestock — fifty thousand of their camels, two hundred fifty thousand sheep, and two thousand donkeys — as well as one hundred thousand people.
Many of the Hagrites were killed because it was God's battle. And they lived there in the Hagrites' place until the exile.
These were the heads of their ancestral families: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel. They were valiant warriors, famous men, and heads of their ancestral houses.
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.
Merari's sons: Mahli and Mushi.
These are the Levites' families according to their fathers:
They ministered with song in front of the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, until Solomon built the LORD's temple in Jerusalem, and they performed their task according to the regulations given to them.
These are the men who served with their sons.
From the Kohathites: Heman the singer,
son of Joel, son of Samuel,
On the left, their relatives were Merari's sons:
Ethan son of Kishi, son of Abdi,
son of Malluch,
Their relatives, the Levites, were assigned to all the service of the tabernacle, God's temple.
These were the places assigned to Aaron's descendants from the Kohathite family for their settlements in their territory, because the first lot was for them.
From the tribe of Benjamin they were given Geba and its pasturelands, Alemeth and its pasturelands, and Anathoth and its pasturelands. They had thirteen towns in all among their families.
The Gershomites were assigned thirteen towns from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and Manasseh in Bashan according to their families.
The Merarites were assigned by lot twelve towns from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun according to their families.
Some of the families of the Kohathites were given towns from the tribe of Ephraim for their territory:
Tola's sons: Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Ibsam, and Shemuel, the heads of their ancestral families.[fn] During David's reign, 22,600 descendants of Tola were recorded as valiant warriors in their family records.
Along with them, they had 36,000 troops for battle according to the family records of their ancestral families, for they had many wives and children.
Their tribesmen who were valiant warriors belonging to all the families of Issachar totaled 87,000 in their genealogies.
Bela's sons: Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, and Iri — five. They were valiant warriors and heads of their ancestral families; 22,034 were listed in their genealogies.
Their family records were recorded according to the heads of their ancestral families — 20,200 valiant warriors.
his son Zabad,
his son Shuthelah, also Ezer, and Elead.
The men of Gath, born in the land, killed them because they went down to raid their cattle.
Their holdings and settlements were Bethel and its surrounding villages; Naaran to the east, Gezer and its villages to the west, and Shechem and its villages as far as Ayyah and its villages,
All these were Asher's descendants. They were the heads of their ancestral families, chosen men, valiant warriors, and chiefs among the leaders. The number of men listed in their genealogies for military service was 26,000.
These were family heads, chiefs according to their family records; they lived in Jerusalem.
and Mikloth who fathered Shimeah. These also lived opposite their relatives in Jerusalem, with their other relatives.
Azel had six sons, and these were their names: Azrikam, Bocheru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan. All these were Azel's sons.
All Israel was registered in the genealogies that are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel. But Judah was exiled to Babylon because of their unfaithfulness.
The first to live in their towns on their own property again were Israelites, priests, Levites, and temple servants.
and their relatives according to their family records — 956 in all. All these men were heads of their ancestral families.[fn]
and their relatives, the heads of their ancestral families — 1,760 in all. They were capable men employed in the ministry of God's temple.
The gatekeepers: Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, Ahiman, and their relatives.
Shallum was their chief;
Shallum son of Kore, son of Ebiasaph, son of Korah and his relatives from his ancestral family, the Korahites, were assigned to guard the thresholds of the tent.[fn] Their ancestors had been assigned to the LORD's camp as guardians of the entrance.
In earlier times Phinehas son of Eleazar had been their leader, and the LORD was with him.
The total number of those chosen to be gatekeepers at the thresholds was 212. They were registered by genealogy in their settlements. David and the seer Samuel had appointed them to their trusted positions.
So they and their sons were assigned as guards to the gates of the LORD's temple, which had been the tent-temple.
Their relatives came from their settlements at fixed times to be with them seven days,
Some of them were in charge of the utensils used in worship. They would count them when they brought them in and when they took them out.
Others were put in charge of the furnishings and all the utensils of the sanctuary, as well as the fine flour, wine, oil, incense, and spices.
Some of the Kohathites' relatives were responsible for preparing the rows of the Bread of the Presence every Sabbath.
These were the heads of the Levite families, chiefs according to their family records; they lived in Jerusalem.
Mikloth fathered Shimeam. These also lived opposite their relatives in Jerusalem with their other relatives.
Azel had six sons, and these were their names: Azrikam, Bocheru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan. These were Azel's sons.
When all the men of Israel in the valley saw that the army had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled. So the Philistines came and settled in them.
They stripped Saul, cut off his head, took his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to spread the good news to their idols and the people.
Then they put his armor in the temple of their gods and hung his skull in the temple of Dagon.
all their brave men set out and retrieved the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons and brought them to Jabesh. They buried their bones under the oak[fn] in Jabesh and fasted seven days.
David said, “I would never do such a thing in the presence of my God! How can I drink the blood of these men who risked their lives? ” For they brought it at the risk of their lives. So he would not drink it. Such were the exploits of the three warriors.
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.
David went out to meet them and said to them, “If you have come in peace to help me, my heart will be united with you, but if you have come to betray me to my enemies even though my hands have done no wrong, may the God of our ancestors look on it and judge.”
From the Benjaminites, the relatives of Saul: 3,000 (up to that time the majority of the Benjaminites maintained their allegiance to the house of Saul).
From the Ephraimites: 20,800 valiant warriors who were famous men in their ancestral families.[fn]
From the Issacharites, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do: 200 chiefs with all their relatives under their command.
They spent three days there eating and drinking with David, for their relatives had provided for them.
Then he said to the whole assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you, and if this is from the LORD our God, let's spread out and send the message to the rest of our relatives in all the districts of Israel, including the priests and Levites in their cities with pasturelands, that they should gather together with us.
These are the names of the children born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon,
The Philistines abandoned their idols there, and David ordered that they be burned in the fire.
So David again inquired of God, and God answered him, “Do not pursue them directly. Circle around them and attack them opposite the balsam trees.
Then David told the leaders of the Levites to appoint their relatives as singers and to have them raise their voices with joy accompanied by musical instruments — harps, lyres, and cymbals.
With them were their relatives second in rank: Zechariah, Jaaziel,[fn] Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, and the gatekeepers Obed-edom and Jeiel.
Heman and Jeduthun had with them trumpets and cymbals to play and musical instruments of God. Jeduthun's sons were at the city gate.
David captured one thousand chariots, seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand foot soldiers from him, hamstrung all the horses, and kept a hundred chariots.[fn]
So Hanun took David's emissaries, shaved them, cut their clothes in half at the hips, and sent them away.
They hired thirty-two thousand chariots and the king of Maacah with his army, who came and camped near Medeba. The Ammonites also came together from their cities for the battle.
When the Arameans realized that they had been defeated by Israel, they sent messengers to summon the Arameans who were beyond the Euphrates River. They were led by Shophach, the commander of Hadadezer's army.
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 he did not include Levi and Benjamin in the count because the king's command was detestable to him.
“Go and say to David, ‘This is what the LORD says: I am offering you three choices. Choose one of them for yourself, and I will do it to you.' ”
When David looked up and saw the angel of the LORD standing between earth and heaven, with his drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem, David and the elders, covered in sackcloth, fell facedown.
The Levites thirty years old or more were counted; the total number of men was thirty-eight thousand by headcount.
Eleazar died having no sons, only daughters. Their cousins, the sons of Kish, married them.
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.
“They are to carry out their responsibilities for the tent of meeting, for the holy place, and for their relatives, the descendants of Aaron, in the service of the LORD's temple.”
But Nadab and Abihu died before their father, and they had no sons, so Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests.
Together with Zadok from the descendants of Eleazar and Ahimelech from the descendants of Ithamar, David divided them according to the assigned duties of their service.
These had their assigned duties for service when they entered the LORD's temple, according to their regulations, which they received from their ancestor Aaron, as the LORD God of Israel had commanded him.
Mushi's sons: Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth.
Those were the descendants of the Levites according to their ancestral families.[fn]
They also cast lots the same way as their relatives the descendants of Aaron did in the presence of King David, Zadok, Ahimelech, and the heads of the families of the priests and Levites — the family heads and their younger brothers alike.
David and the officers of the army also set apart some of the sons of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, who were to prophesy accompanied by lyres, harps, and cymbals. This is the list of the men who performed their service:
From Jeduthun: Jeduthun's sons:
Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei,[fn] Hashabiah, and Mattithiah — six — under the authority of their father Jeduthun, prophesying to the accompaniment of lyres, giving thanks and praise to the LORD.
All these men were under their own fathers' authority for the music in the LORD's temple, with cymbals, harps, and lyres for the service of God's temple. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were under the king's authority.
They numbered 288 together with their relatives who were all trained and skillful in music for the LORD.
All of these were among the sons of Obed-edom with their sons and relatives; they were capable men with strength for the work — sixty-two from Obed-edom.
These divisions of the gatekeepers, under their leading men, had duties for ministering in the LORD's temple, just as their relatives did.
They cast lots for each temple gate according to their ancestral families, young and old alike.
From the Levites, Ahijah was in charge of the treasuries of God's temple and the treasuries of what had been dedicated.
They dedicated part of the plunder from their battles for the repair of the LORD's temple.
From the Hebronites: Jerijah was the head of the Hebronites, according to the family records of his ancestors. A search was made in the fortieth year of David's reign and strong, capable men were found among them at Jazer in Gilead.
This is the list of the Israelites, the family heads, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, and their officers who served the king in every matter to do with the divisions that were on rotated military duty each month throughout[fn] the year. There were 24,000 in each 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.
the weight of gold for all the articles for every kind of service; the weight of all the silver articles for every kind of service;
LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our ancestors, keep this desire forever in the thoughts of the hearts of your people, and confirm their hearts toward you.
Then David said to the whole assembly, “Blessed be the LORD your God.” So the whole assembly praised the LORD God of their ancestors. They knelt low and paid homage to the LORD and the king.
The following day they offered sacrifices to the LORD and burnt offerings to the LORD: a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, along with their drink offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel.
so he assigned 70,000 men as porters, 80,000 men as stonecutters in the mountains, and 3,600 as supervisors over them.
Solomon made 70,000 of them porters, 80,000 stonecutters in the mountains, and 3,600 supervisors to make the people work.
The wingspan of these cherubim was 30 feet. They stood on their feet and faced the larger room.[fn]
In front of the temple he made two pillars, each 27 feet[fn] high. The capital on top of each was 7½ feet high.
It stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The basin was on top of them and all their hindquarters were toward the center.
He made the ten gold lampstands according to their specifications and put them in the sanctuary, five on the right and five on the left.
He made the courtyard of the priests and the large court, and doors for the court. He overlaid the doors with bronze.
two pillars; the bowls and the capitals on top of the two pillars; the two gratings for covering both bowls of the capitals that were on top of the pillars;
Solomon also made all the equipment in God's temple: the gold altar; the tables on which to put the Bread of the Presence;
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.
the Levitical singers dressed in fine linen and carrying cymbals, harps, and lyres were standing east of the altar, and with them were 120 priests blowing trumpets. The Levitical singers were descendants of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun and their sons and relatives.
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.”
may you hear in heaven
and forgive the sin of your people Israel.
May you restore them to the land
you gave them and their ancestors.
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,
and when they come to their senses
in the land where they were deported
and repent and petition you in their captors' land,
saying, “We have sinned and done wrong;
we have been wicked,”
and when they return to you with all their mind and all their heart
in the land of their captivity where they were taken captive,
and when they pray in the direction of their land
that you gave their ancestors,
and the city you have chosen,
and toward the temple I have built for your name,
may you hear their prayer and petitions in heaven,
your dwelling place,
and uphold their cause.[fn]
May you forgive your people
who sinned against you.
The priests and the Levites were standing at their stations. The Levites had the musical instruments of the LORD, which King David had made to give thanks to the LORD — “for his faithful love endures forever” — when he offered praise with them. Across from the Levites, the priests were blowing trumpets, and all the people were standing.
On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people home,[fn] rejoicing and with happy hearts for the goodness the LORD had done for David, for Solomon, and for his people Israel.
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 they will say, “Because they abandoned the LORD God of their ancestors who brought them out of the land of Egypt. They clung to other gods and bowed in worship to them and served them. Because of this, he brought all this ruin on them.”
their descendants who remained in the land after them, those the Israelites had not completely destroyed — Solomon imposed forced labor on them; it is this way today.
According to the ordinances of his father David, he appointed the divisions of the priests over their service, of the Levites over their responsibilities to offer praise and to minister before the priests following the daily requirement, and of the gatekeepers by their divisions with respect to each temple gate, for this had been the command of David, the man of God.
the food at his table, his servants' residence, his attendants' service and their attire, his cupbearers and their attire, and the burnt offerings he offered at the LORD's temple, it took her breath away.
When all Israel saw[fn] that the king had not listened to them, the people answered the king:
What portion do we have in David?
We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse.
Israel, each to your tent;
David, look after your own house now!
So all Israel went to their tents.
But as for the Israelites living in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.
for the Levites left their pasturelands and their possessions and went to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons refused to let them serve as priests of the LORD.
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.
King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and committed them into the care of the captains of the guards[fn] who protected the entrance to the king's palace.
“But as for us, the LORD is our God. We have not abandoned him; the priests ministering to the LORD are descendants of Aaron, and the Levites serve at their tasks.
Now Jeroboam had sent an ambush around to advance from behind them. So they were in front of Judah, and the ambush was behind them.
The Israelites were subdued at that time. The Judahites succeeded because they depended on the LORD, the God of their ancestors.
He told the people of Judah to seek the LORD God of their ancestors and to carry out the instruction and the commands.
Then they attacked all the cities around Gerar because the terror of the LORD was on them. They also plundered all the cities, since there was a great deal of plunder in them.
Then they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their ancestors with all their heart and all their soul.
The Levites with them were Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah,[fn] Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tob-adonijah; the priests, Elishama and Jehoram, were with these Levites.
They taught throughout Judah, having the book of the LORD's instruction with them. They went throughout the towns of Judah and taught the people.
These are their numbers according to their ancestral families.[fn] For Judah, the commanders of thousands:
Adnah the commander and three hundred thousand valiant warriors with him;
Now the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah, clothed in royal attire, were each sitting on his own throne. They were sitting on the threshing floor at the entrance to Samaria's gate, and all the prophets were prophesying in front of them.
The messenger who went to call Micaiah instructed him, “Look, the words of the prophets are unanimously favorable for the king. So let your words be like theirs, and speak favorably.”
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.
“For every dispute that comes to you from your brothers who dwell in their cities — whether it regards differences of bloodguilt, law, commandment, statutes, or judgments — you are to warn them, so they will not incur guilt before the LORD and wrath will not come on you and your brothers. Do this, and you will not incur guilt.
After this, the Moabites and Ammonites, together with some of the Meunites,[fn] came to fight against Jehoshaphat.
Now here are the Ammonites, Moabites, and the inhabitants of Mount Seir. You did not let Israel invade them when Israel came out of the land of Egypt, but Israel turned away from them and did not destroy them.
All Judah was standing before the LORD with their dependents, their wives, and their children.
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.
However, the high places were not taken away; the people had not yet set their hearts on the God of their ancestors.
Their father had given them many gifts of silver, gold, and valuable things, along with fortified cities in Judah, but he gave the kingdom to Jehoram because he was the firstborn.
So Jehoram crossed into Edom with his commanders and all his chariots. Then at night he set out to attack the Edomites who had surrounded him and the chariot commanders.
The workmen did their work, and through them the repairs progressed. They restored God's temple to its specifications and reinforced it.
and they abandoned the temple of the LORD, the God of their ancestors, and served the Asherah poles and the idols. So there was wrath against Judah and Jerusalem for this guilt of theirs.
At the turn of the year, an Aramean army attacked Joash. They entered Judah and Jerusalem and destroyed all the leaders of the people among them and sent all the plunder to the king of Damascus.
Although the Aramean army came with only a few men, the LORD handed over a vast army to them because the people of Judah had abandoned the LORD, the God of their ancestors. So they executed judgment on Joash.
However, he did not put their children to death, because — as it is written in the Law, in the book of Moses, where the LORD commanded — “Fathers are not to die because of children, and children are not to die because of fathers, but each one will die for his own sin.”
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.
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.
After Amaziah came from the attack on the Edomites, he brought the gods of the Seirites and set them up as his gods. He worshiped before them and burned incense to them.
So the LORD's anger was against Amaziah, and he sent a prophet to him, who said, “Why have you sought a people's gods that could not rescue their own people from you? ”
Uzziah had an army equipped for combat that went out to war by division according to their assignments, as recorded by Jeiel the court secretary and Maaseiah the officer under the authority of Hananiah, one of the king's commanders.
Under their authority was an army of 307,500 equipped for combat, a powerful force to help the king against the enemy.
He made skillfully designed devices in Jerusalem to shoot arrows and catapult large stones for use on the towers and on the corners. So his fame spread even to distant places, for he was wondrously helped until he became strong.
So the LORD his God handed Ahaz over to the king of Aram. He attacked him and took many captives to Damascus.
Ahaz was also handed over to the king of Israel, who struck him with great force:
Pekah son of Remaliah killed one hundred twenty thousand in Judah in one day — all brave men — because they had abandoned the LORD God of their ancestors.
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.
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.
He made high places in every city of Judah to offer incense to other gods, and he angered the LORD, the God of his ancestors.
“Our fathers fell by the sword, and our sons, our daughters, and our wives are in captivity because of this.
They gathered their brothers together, consecrated themselves, and went according to the king's command by the words of the LORD to cleanse the LORD's temple.
Then they brought the goats for the sin offering right into the presence of the king and the congregation, who laid their hands on them.
The priests slaughtered the goats and put their blood on the altar for a sin offering, to make atonement for all Israel, for the king said that the burnt offering and sin offering were for all Israel.
However, since there were not enough priests, they weren't able to skin all the burnt offerings, so their Levite brothers helped them until the work was finished and until the priests consecrated themselves. For the Levites were more conscientious[fn] to consecrate themselves than the priests were.
“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.
The couriers traveled from city to city in the land of Ephraim and Manasseh as far as Zebulun, but the inhabitants[fn] laughed at them and mocked them.
They stood at their prescribed posts, according to the law of Moses, the man of God. The priests splattered the blood received from the Levites,
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
“whoever sets his whole heart on seeking God, the LORD, the God of his ancestors, even though not according to the purification rules of the sanctuary.”
Then Hezekiah encouraged[fn] all the Levites who performed skillfully before the LORD. They ate at the appointed festival for seven days, sacrificing fellowship offerings and giving thanks to the LORD, the God of their ancestors.
Then the priests and the Levites stood to bless the people, and God heard them, and their prayer came into his holy dwelling place in heaven.
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.
As for the Israelites and Judahites who lived in the cities of Judah, they also brought a tenth of the herds and flocks, and a tenth of the dedicated things that were consecrated to the LORD their God. They gathered them into large piles.
The offering, the tenth, and the dedicated things were brought faithfully. Conaniah the Levite was the officer in charge of them, and his brother Shimei was second.
Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah in the cities of the priests were to distribute it faithfully under his authority to their brothers by divisions, whether large or small.
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;
to those registered by genealogy — with all their dependents, wives, sons, and daughters — of the whole assembly (for they had faithfully consecrated themselves as holy);
and to the descendants of Aaron, the priests, in the common fields of their cities, in each and every city. There were men who were registered by name to distribute a portion to every male among the priests and to every Levite recorded by genealogy.
He set military commanders over the people and gathered the people in the square of the city gate. Then he encouraged them,[fn] saying,
“ ‘Don't you know what I and my predecessors have done to all the peoples of the lands? Have any of the national gods of the lands been able to rescue their land from my power?
“Who among all the gods of these nations that my predecessors completely destroyed was able to rescue his people from my power, that your God should be able to deliver you from my power?
He also wrote letters to mock the LORD, the God of Israel, saying against him:
Just like the national gods of the lands that did not rescue their people from my power, so Hezekiah's God will not rescue his people from my power.
“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.”
However, the people still sacrificed at the high places, but only to the LORD their God.
He did the same in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, and as far as Naphtali and on their surrounding mountain shrines.[fn]
The men were doing the work with integrity. Their overseers were Jahath and Obadiah, Levites from the Merarites, and Zechariah and Meshullam from the Kohathites as supervisors. The Levites were all skilled with musical instruments.
“because they have abandoned me and burned incense to other gods so as to anger me with all the works of their hands. My wrath will be poured out on this place, and it will not be quenched.'
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.
He had all those present in Jerusalem and Benjamin agree[fn] to it. So all the inhabitants of Jerusalem carried out the covenant of God, the God of their ancestors.
So Josiah removed everything that was detestable from all the lands belonging to the Israelites, and he required all who were present in Israel to serve the LORD their God. Throughout his reign they did not turn aside from following the LORD, the God of their ancestors.
He appointed the priests to their responsibilities and encouraged them to serve in the LORD's temple.
So the service was established; the priests stood at their posts and the Levites in their divisions according to the king's command.
Afterward, they made preparations for themselves and for the priests, since the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were busy offering up burnt offerings and fat until night. So the Levites made preparations for themselves and for the priests, the descendants of Aaron.
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.
But the LORD, the God of their ancestors sent word against them by the hand of his messengers, sending them time and time again, for he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place.
So he brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their fit young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary. He had no pity on young men or young women, elderly or aged; he handed them all over to him.
So the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, along with the priests and Levites — everyone whose spirit God had roused — prepared to go up and rebuild the LORD's house in Jerusalem.
All their neighbors supported them[fn] with silver articles, gold, goods, livestock, and valuables, in addition to all that was given as a freewill offering.
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 priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, temple servants, and some of the people settled in their towns, and the rest of Israel settled in their towns.
When the seventh month arrived, and the Israelites were in their towns, the people gathered as one in Jerusalem.
In the second month of the second year after they arrived at God's house in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Jeshua son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brothers, including the priests, the Levites, and all who had returned to Jerusalem from the captivity, began to build. They appointed the Levites who were twenty years old or more to supervise the work on the LORD's house.
Jeshua with his sons and brothers, Kadmiel with his sons, and the sons of Judah[fn] and of Henadad, with their sons and brothers, the Levites, joined together to supervise those working on the house of God.
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.
They also bribed officials to act against them to frustrate their plans throughout the reign of King Cyrus of Persia and until the reign of King Darius of Persia.
The king sent a reply to his chief deputy Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their colleagues living in Samaria and elsewhere in the region west of the Euphrates River:
Greetings.
As soon as the text of King Artaxerxes's letter was read to Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and their colleagues, they immediately went to the Jews in Jerusalem and forcibly stopped them.
Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak began to rebuild God's house in Jerusalem. The prophets of God were with them, helping them.
At that time Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates River, Shethar-bozenai, and their colleagues came to the Jews and asked, “Who gave you the order to rebuild this temple and finish this structure? ”[fn]
This is the text of the letter that Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates River, Shethar-bozenai, and their colleagues, the officials in the region, sent to King Darius.
Let it be known to the king that we went to the house of the great God in the province of Judah. It is being built with cut[fn] stones, and its beams are being set in the walls. This work is being done diligently and succeeding through the people's efforts.
We also asked them for their names, so that we could write down the names of their leaders for your information.
Therefore, you must stay away from that place, Tattenai governor of the region west of the Euphrates River, Shethar-bozenai, and your[fn] colleagues, the officials in the region.
They also appointed the priests by their divisions and the Levites by their groups to the service of God in Jerusalem, according to what is written in the book of Moses.
All of the priests and Levites were ceremonially clean, because they had purified themselves. They killed the Passover lamb for themselves, their priestly brothers, and all the exiles.
They observed the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days with joy, because the LORD had made them joyful, having changed the Assyrian king's attitude toward them, so that he supported them[fn] in the work on the house of the God of Israel.
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.
Then you are to be diligent to buy with this money bulls, rams, and lambs, along with their grain and drink offerings, and offer them on the altar at the house of your God in Jerusalem.
These are the family heads and the genealogical records of those who returned with me from Babylon during the reign of King Artaxerxes:
these are the last ones, from Adonikam's descendants,
and their names are
Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah,
and 60 men with them;
I sent them to Iddo, the leader at Casiphia, with a message for[fn] him and his brothers, the temple servants at Casiphia, that they should bring us ministers for the house of our God.
plus Hashabiah, along with Jeshaiah, from the descendants of Merari, and his brothers and their sons, 20 men.
I selected twelve of the leading priests, along with Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brothers.
On the fourth day the silver, the gold, and the articles were weighed out in the house of our God into the care of the priest Meremoth son of Uriah. Eleazar son of Phinehas was with him. The Levites Jozabad son of Jeshua and Noadiah son of Binnui were also with them.
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.
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.”
“Therefore, let's make a covenant before our God to send away all the foreign wives and their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the command of our God. Let it be done according to the law.
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.
“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.”
They pledged[fn] to send their wives away, and being guilty, they offered a ram from the flock for their guilt;
I told them how the gracious hand of my God had been on me, and what the king had said to me.
They said, “Let's start rebuilding,” and their hands were strengthened[fn] to do this good work.
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.
Beside them the Tekoites made repairs, but their nobles did not lift a finger to help[fn] their supervisors.
After him Uzziel son of Harhaiah, the goldsmith, made repairs, and next to him Hananiah son of the perfumer made repairs. They restored Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall.
Next to them Rephaiah son of Hur, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, made repairs.
After them Jedaiah son of Harumaph made repairs across from his house. Next to him Hattush the son of Hashabneiah made repairs.
After him their fellow Levites made repairs under Binnui[fn] son of Henadad, ruler of half the district of Keilah.
After them Benjamin and Hasshub made repairs opposite their house. Beside them Azariah son of Maaseiah, son of Ananiah, made repairs beside his house.
Then Tobiah the Ammonite, who was beside him, said, “Indeed, even if a fox climbed up what they are building, he would break down their stone wall! ”
Listen, our God, for we are despised. Make their insults return on their own heads and let them be taken as plunder to a land of captivity.
And our enemies said, “They won't realize it[fn] until we're among them and can kill them and stop the work.”
So I stationed people behind the lowest sections of the wall, at the vulnerable areas. I stationed them by families with their swords, spears, and bows.
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.”
When our enemies heard that we knew their scheme and that God had frustrated it, every one of us returned to his own work on the wall.
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,
So we continued the work, while half of the men were holding spears from daybreak until the stars came out.
There was a widespread outcry from the people and their wives against their Jewish countrymen.
“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.”
“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.”
They responded, “We will return these things and require nothing more from them. We will do as you say.”
So I summoned the priests and made everyone take an oath to do this.
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.
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.
When all our enemies heard this, all the surrounding nations were intimidated and lost their confidence,[fn] for they realized that this task had been accomplished by our God.
I said to them, “Do not open the gates of Jerusalem until the sun is hot, and let the doors be shut and securely fastened while the guards are on duty. Station the citizens of Jerusalem as guards, some at their posts and some at their homes.”
The 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 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,
Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and with their hands uplifted all the people said, “Amen, Amen! ” Then they knelt low and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.
So they proclaimed and spread this news throughout their towns and in Jerusalem, saying, “Go out to the hill country and bring back branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees to make shelters, just as it is written.”
The people went out, brought back branches, and made shelters for themselves on each of their rooftops and courtyards, the court of the house of God, the square by the Water Gate, and the square by the Ephraim Gate.
Those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all foreigners, and they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their ancestors.
While they stood in their places, they read from the book of the law of the LORD their God for a fourth of the day and spent another fourth of the day in confession and worship of the LORD their God.
Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani stood on the raised platform built for the Levites and cried out loudly to the LORD their God.
You divided the sea before them,
and they crossed through it on dry ground.
You hurled their pursuers into the depths
like a stone into raging water.
You provided bread from heaven for their hunger;
you brought them water from the rock for their thirst.
You told them to go in and possess the land
you had sworn[fn] to give them.
But our ancestors acted arrogantly;
they became stiff-necked and did not listen to your commands.
They refused to listen
and did not remember your wonders
you performed among them.
They became stiff-necked and appointed a leader
to return to their slavery in Egypt.[fn]
But you are a forgiving God,
gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in faithful love,
and you did not abandon them.
you did not abandon them in the wilderness
because of your great compassion.
During the day the pillar of cloud
never turned away from them,
guiding them on their journey.
And during the night the pillar of fire
illuminated the way they should go.
You sent your good Spirit to instruct them.
You did not withhold your manna from their mouths,
and you gave them water for their thirst.
You provided for them in the wilderness forty years,
and they lacked nothing.
Their clothes did not wear out,
and their feet did not swell.
You multiplied their descendants
like the stars of the sky
and brought them to the land
you told their ancestors to go in and possess.
So their descendants went in and possessed the land:
You subdued the Canaanites who inhabited the land before them
and handed their kings and the surrounding peoples over to them,
to do as they pleased with them.
But they were disobedient and rebelled against you.
They flung your law behind their backs
and killed your prophets
who warned them
in order to turn them back to you.
They committed terrible blasphemies.
So you handed them over to their enemies,
who oppressed them.
In their time of distress, they cried out to you,
and you heard from heaven.
In your abundant compassion
you gave them deliverers, who rescued them
from the power of their enemies.
But as soon as they had relief,
they again did what was evil in your sight.
So you abandoned them to the power of their enemies,
who dominated them.
When they cried out to you again,
you heard from heaven and rescued them
many times in your compassion.
You warned them to turn back to your law,
but they acted arrogantly
and would not obey your commands.
They sinned against your ordinances,
which a person will live by if he does them.
They stubbornly resisted,[fn]
stiffened their necks, and would not obey.
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 —
join with their noble brothers and commit themselves with a sworn oath[fn] to follow the law of God given through God's servant Moses and to obey carefully all the commands, ordinances, and statutes of the LORD our Lord.
We will not give our daughters in marriage to the surrounding peoples and will not take their daughters as wives for our sons.
When the surrounding peoples bring merchandise or any kind of grain to sell on the Sabbath day, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or a holy day. We will also leave the land uncultivated in the seventh year and will cancel every debt.
These are the heads of the province who stayed in Jerusalem (but in the villages of Judah each lived on his own property in their towns — the Israelites, priests, Levites, temple servants, and descendants of Solomon's servants —
and their relatives who did the work at the temple: 822. Adaiah son of Jeroham, son of Pelaliah, son of Amzi, son of Zechariah, son of Pashhur, son of Malchijah
The gatekeepers:
Akkub, Talmon, and their relatives, who guarded the city gates: 172.
As for the farming settlements with their fields:
Some of Judah's descendants lived in Kiriath-arba
and Dibon and their surrounding villages, and Jekabzeel and its settlements;
Zanoah and Adullam with their settlements;
in Lachish with its fields and Azekah and its surrounding villages.
So they settled from Beer-sheba to Hinnom Valley.
Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah.
These were the heads of the priests and their relatives in the days of Jeshua.
The heads of the Levites — Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua son of Kadmiel, along with their relatives opposite them — gave praise and thanks, division by division, as David the man of God had prescribed.
At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, they sent for the Levites wherever they lived and brought them to Jerusalem to celebrate the joyous dedication with thanksgiving and singing accompanied by cymbals, harps, and lyres.
as well as his relatives — Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, with the musical instruments of David, the man of God. Ezra the scribe went in front of them.
At the Fountain Gate they climbed the steps of the city of David on the ascent of the wall and went above the house of David to the Water Gate on the east.
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.
They performed the service of their God and the service of purification, along with the singers and gatekeepers, as David and his son Solomon had prescribed.
Therefore, I rebuked the officials, asking, “Why has the house of God been neglected? ” I gathered the Levites and singers together and stationed them at their posts.
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.
At that time I saw people in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath. They were also bringing in stores of grain and loading them on donkeys, along with wine, grapes, and figs. All kinds of goods were being brought to Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. So I warned them against selling food on that day.
Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod or the language of one of the other peoples but could not speak Hebrew.[fn]
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!
He sent letters to all the royal provinces, to each province in its own script and to each ethnic group in its own language, that every man should be master of his own house and speak in the language of his own people.
When they had warned him day after day and he still would not listen to them, they told Haman in order to see if Mordecai's actions would be tolerated, since he had told them he was a Jew.
Then Haman informed King Ahasuerus, “There is one ethnic group, scattered throughout the peoples in every province of your kingdom, keeping themselves separate. Their laws are different from everyone else's and they do not obey the king's laws. It is not in the king's best interest to tolerate them.
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.
Letters were sent by couriers to each of the royal provinces telling the officials to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jewish people — young and old, women and children — and plunder their possessions on a single day, the thirteenth day of Adar, the twelfth month.[fn]
While they were still speaking with him, the king's eunuchs arrived and rushed Haman to the banquet Esther had prepared.
The king's edict gave the Jews in each and every city the right to assemble and defend themselves, to destroy, kill, and annihilate every ethnic and provincial army hostile to them, including women and children, and to take their possessions as spoils of war.
A copy of the text, issued as law throughout every province, was distributed to all the peoples so the Jews could be ready to avenge themselves against their enemies on that day.
The 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.
For this reason these days are called Purim, from the word pur. Because of all the instructions in this letter as well as what they had witnessed and what had happened to them,
the Jews bound themselves, their descendants, and all who joined with them to a commitment that they would not fail to celebrate these two days each and every year according to the written instructions and according to the time appointed.
in order to confirm these days of Purim at their proper time just as Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had established them and just as they had committed themselves and their descendants to the practices of fasting and lamentation.
His sons used to take turns having banquets at their homes. They would send an invitation to their three sisters to eat and drink with them.
Whenever a round of banqueting was over, Job would send for his children and purify them, rising early in the morning to offer burnt offerings for[fn] all of them. For Job thought, “Perhaps my children have sinned, having cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job's regular practice.
One day the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan[fn] also came with them.
One day when Job's sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house,
He was still speaking when another messenger came and reported, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house.
One day the sons of God came again to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them to present himself before the LORD.
Then they sat on the ground with him seven days and nights, but no one spoke a word to him because they saw that his suffering was very intense.
His children are far from safety.
They are crushed at the city gate,
with no one to rescue them.
But the sight of the wicked will fail.
Their way of escape will be cut off,
and their only hope is their last breath.
so people lie down never to rise again.
They will not wake up until the heavens are no more;
they will not stir from their sleep.
My house guests[fn] and female servants regard me as a stranger;
I am a foreigner in their sight.
then be afraid of the sword,
because wrath brings punishment by the sword,
so that you may know there is a judgment.
Their children are established while they are still alive,[fn]
and their descendants, before their eyes.
But their prosperity is not of their own doing.
The counsel of the wicked is far from me!
Have you never consulted those who travel the roads?
Don't you accept their reports?[fn]
They were snatched away before their time,
and their foundations were washed away by a river.
But it was he who filled their houses with good things.
The counsel of the wicked is far from me!
The wicked are those who rebel against the light.
They do not recognize its ways
or stay on its paths.
The murderer rises at dawn
to kill the poor and needy,
and by night he becomes a thief.
They float[fn] on the surface of the water.
Their section of the land is cursed,
so that they never go to their vineyards.
As dry ground and heat snatch away the melted snow,
so Sheol steals those who have sinned.
Those who survive him will be buried by the plague,
yet their widows will not weep for them.
The noblemen's voices were hushed,
and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.
I directed their course and presided as chief.
I lived as a king among his troops,
like one who comforts those who mourn.
But now they mock me,
men younger than I am,
whose fathers I would have refused to put
with my sheep dogs.
They plucked mallow[fn] among the shrubs,
and the roots of the broom tree were their food.
They are living on the slopes of the wadis,
among the rocks and in holes in the ground.
If I have dismissed the case of my male or female servants
when they made a complaint against me,
because I greatly feared the crowds
and because the contempt of the clans terrified me,
so I grew silent and would not go outside?
If there is an angel on his side,
one mediator out of a thousand,
to tell a person what is right for him[fn]
For he repays a person according to his deeds,
and he gives him what his conduct deserves.[fn]
God is not partial to princes
and does not favor the rich over the poor,
for they are all the work of his hands.
Therefore, he recognizes their deeds
and overthrows them by night, and they are crushed.
If they listen and serve him,
they will end their days in prosperity
and their years in happiness.
They swirl about,
turning round and round at his direction,
accomplishing everything he commands them
over the surface of the inhabited world.
Can you count the months they are pregnant[fn]
so you can know the time they give birth?
Their offspring are healthy and grow up in the open field.
They leave and do not return.[fn]
No women as beautiful as Job's daughters could be found in all the land, and their father granted them an inheritance with their brothers.
For there is nothing reliable in what they say;
destruction is within them;
their throat is an open grave;
they flatter with their tongues.
Punish them, God;
let them fall by their own schemes.
Drive them out because of their many crimes,
for they rebel against you.
You have rebuked the nations:
You have destroyed the wicked;
you have erased their name forever and ever.
The enemy has come to eternal ruin;
you have uprooted the cities,
and the very memory of them has perished.
For the one who seeks an accounting
for bloodshed remembers them;
he does not forget the cry of the oppressed.
The nations have fallen into the pit they made;
their foot is caught in the net they have concealed.
LORD, you have heard the desire of the humble;
you will strengthen their hearts.
You will listen carefully,
Let him rain burning coals[fn] and sulfur on the wicked;
let a scorching wind be the portion in their cup.
All have turned away;
all alike have become corrupt.
There is no one who does good,
not even one.
The sorrows of those who take another god
for themselves will multiply;
I will not pour out their drink offerings of blood,
and I will not speak their names with my lips.
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.
They cry for help, but there is no one to save them —
they cry to the LORD, but he does not answer them.
Their message[fn] has gone out to the whole earth,
and their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun.
You will wipe their progeny from the earth
and their offspring from the human race.[fn]
Instead, you will put them to flight
when you ready your bowstrings to shoot at them.
The humble will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek the LORD will praise him.
May your hearts live forever!
Do not drag me away with the wicked,
with the evildoers,
who speak in friendly ways with their neighbors
while malice is in their hearts.
Repay them according to what they have done —
according to the evil of their deeds.
Repay them according to the work of their hands;
give them back what they deserve.
Do not be like a horse or mule,
without understanding,
that must be controlled with bit and bridle
or else it will not come near you.
The heavens were made by the word of the LORD,
and all the stars, by the breath of his mouth.
The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their cry for help.
The face of the LORD is set
against those who do what is evil,
to remove[fn] all memory of them from the earth.
The righteous[fn] cry out, and the LORD hears,
and rescues them from all their troubles.
Lord, how long will you look on?
Rescue me from their ravages;
rescue my precious life from the young lions.
Do not let them say in their hearts,
“Aha! Just what we wanted.”
Do not let them say,
“We have swallowed him up! ”
The wicked have drawn the sword and strung the[fn] bow
to bring down the poor and needy
and to slaughter those whose way is upright.
The LORD watches over the blameless all their days,
and their inheritance will last forever.
God, we have heard with our ears —
our ancestors have told us —
the work you accomplished in their days,
in days long ago:
For they did not take the land by their sword —
their arm did not bring them victory —
but by your right hand, your arm,
and the light of your face,
because you were favorable toward them.
For one can see that the wise die;
the foolish and stupid also pass away.
Then they leave their wealth to others.
Their graves are their permanent homes,[fn]
their dwellings from generation to generation,
though they have named estates after themselves.
This is the way of those who are arrogant,
and of their followers,
who approve of their words.[fn]Selah
Like sheep they are headed for Sheol;
Death will shepherd them.
The upright will rule over them in the morning,
and their form will waste away in Sheol,[fn]
far from their lofty abode.
For strangers rise up against me,
and violent men intend to kill me.
They do not let God guide them.[fn]Selah
Let death take them by surprise;
let them go down to Sheol alive,
because evil is in their homes and within them.
God, you will bring them down
to the Pit of destruction;
men of bloodshed and treachery
will not live out half their days.
But I will trust in you.
I am surrounded by lions;
I lie down among devouring lions —
people whose teeth are spears and arrows,
whose tongues are sharp swords.
Look, they spew from their mouths —
sharp words from[fn] their lips.
“For who,” they say, “will hear? ”
For the sin of their mouths and the words of their lips,
let them be caught in their pride.
They utter curses and lies.
They only plan to bring him down
from his high position.
They take pleasure in lying;
they bless with their mouths,
but they curse inwardly.Selah
They will be made to stumble;
their own tongues work against them.
All who see them will shake their heads.
You visit the earth and water it abundantly,
enriching it greatly.
God's stream is filled with water,
for you prepare the earth in this way,
providing people with grain.
Surely God crushes the heads of his enemies,
the hairy brow of one who goes on in his guilty acts.
There is Benjamin, the youngest, leading them,
the rulers of Judah in their assembly,[fn]
the rulers of Zebulun, the rulers of Naphtali.
Make your way[fn] to the perpetual ruins,
to all that the enemy has destroyed in the sanctuary.
Your adversaries roared in the meeting place
where you met with us.[fn]
They set up their emblems as signs.
They said in their hearts,
“Let's oppress them relentlessly.”
They burned every place throughout the land
where God met with us.[fn]
The brave-hearted have been plundered;
they have slipped into their final sleep.
None of the warriors was able to lift a hand.
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.
He established a testimony in Jacob
and set up a law in Israel,
which he commanded our ancestors
to teach to their children
so that a future generation —
children yet to be born — might know.
They were to rise and tell their children
so that they might put their confidence in God
and not forget God's works,
but keep his commands.
Then they would not be like their ancestors,
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation whose heart was not loyal
and whose spirit was not faithful to God.
He worked wonders in the sight of their ancestors
in the land of Egypt, the territory of Zoan.
Before they had turned from what they craved,
while the food was still in their mouths,
God's anger flared up against them,
and he killed some of their best men.
He struck down Israel's fit young men.
Yet he was compassionate;
he atoned for their iniquity
and did not destroy them.
He often turned his anger aside
and did not unleash[fn] all his wrath.
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.
They treacherously turned away like their ancestors;
they became warped like a faulty bow.
They enraged him with their high places
and provoked his jealousy with their carved images.
They poured out their blood
like water all around Jerusalem,
and there was no one to bury them.
Why should the nations ask,
“Where is their God? ”
Before our eyes,
let vengeance for the shed blood of your servants
be known among the nations.
Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,
and all their tribal leaders like Zebah and Zalmunna,
God, arrogant people have attacked me;
a gang of ruthless men intends to kill me.
They do not let you guide them.[fn]
The floods have lifted up, LORD,
the floods have lifted up their voice;
the floods lift up their pounding waves.
He will pay them back for their sins
and destroy them for their evil.
The LORD our God will destroy them.
All who serve carved images,
those who boast in worthless idols, will be put to shame.
All the gods[fn] must worship him.
Moses and Aaron were among his priests;
Samuel also was among those calling on his name.
They called to the LORD and he answered them.
LORD our God, you answered them.
You were a forgiving God to them,
but an avenger of their sinful actions.
He will pay attention to the prayer of the destitute
and will not despise their prayer.
“Your servants' children will dwell securely,
and their offspring will be established before you.”
When you hide your face,
they are terrified;
when you take away their breath,
they die and return to the dust.
whose hearts he turned to hate his people
and to deal deceptively with his servants.
They devoured all the vegetation in their land
and consumed the produce of their land.
Then he brought Israel out with silver and gold,
and no one among his tribes stumbled.
They shed innocent blood —
the blood of their sons and daughters
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan;
so the land became polluted with blood.
He rescued them many times,
but they continued to rebel deliberately
and were beaten down by their iniquity.
Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble;
he rescued them from their distress.
He broke their spirits[fn] with hard labor;
they stumbled, and there was no one to help.
Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble;
he saved them from their distress.
Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble;
he saved them from their distress.
Rising up to the sky, sinking down to the depths,
their courage[fn] melting away in anguish,
Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
and he brought them out of their distress.
They rejoiced when the waves grew quiet.
Then he guided them to the harbor they longed for.
He blesses them, and they multiply greatly;
he does not let their livestock decrease.
Let his children wander as beggars,
searching for food far[fn] from their demolished homes.
I have become an object of ridicule to my accusers;[fn]
when they see me, they shake their heads in scorn.
They have hands but cannot feel,
feet, but cannot walk.
They cannot make a sound with their throats.
He stores up success[fn] for the upright;
He is a shield for those who live with integrity
For they can't sleep
unless they have done what is evil;
they are robbed of sleep
unless they make someone stumble.
The righteousness of the upright rescues them,
but the treacherous are trapped by their own desires.
Those with twisted minds are detestable to the LORD,
but those with blameless conduct are his delight.
By rebellious speech an evil person is trapped,
but a righteous person escapes from trouble.
The sensible person's wisdom is to consider his way,
but the stupidity of fools deceives them.
The mind of the righteous person thinks before answering,
but the mouth of the wicked blurts out evil things.
Grandchildren are the crown of the elderly,
and the pride of children is their fathers.
There are thorns and snares on the way of the crooked;
the one who guards himself stays far from them.
The mouth of the forbidden woman is a deep pit;
a man cursed by the LORD will fall into it.
The one who hires a fool or who hires those passing by
is like an archer who wounds everyone indiscriminately.
There is a generation whose teeth are swords,
whose fangs are knives,
devouring the oppressed from the land
and the needy from among mankind.
I explored with my mind the pull of wine on my body — my mind still guiding me with wisdom — and how to grasp folly, until I could see what is good for people to do under heaven[fn] during the few days of their lives.
I constructed reservoirs for myself from which to irrigate a grove of flourishing trees.
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.
There is no limit to all the people who were before them, yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.
The one who loves silver is never satisfied with silver, and whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with income. This too is futile.
Indeed, I took all this to heart and explained it all: The righteous, the wise, and their works are in God's hands. People don't know whether to expect love or hate. Everything lies ahead of them.
This is an evil in all that is done under the sun: there is one fate for everyone. In addition, the hearts of people are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live; after that they go to the dead.
For the living know that they will die, but the dead don't know anything. There is no longer a reward for them because the memory of them is forgotten.
Their love, their hate, and their envy have already disappeared, and there is no longer a portion for them in all that is done under the sun.
The sayings of the wise are like cattle prods, and those from masters of collections are like firmly embedded nails. The sayings are given by one Shepherd.[fn]
I had just passed them
when I found the one I love.
I held on to him and would not let him go
until I brought him to my mother's house —
to the chamber of the one who conceived me.
Indeed, they[fn] will be ashamed of the sacred trees
you desired,
and you will be embarrassed because of the garden shrines
you have chosen.
Their land is full of worthless idols;
they worship the work of their hands,
what their fingers have made.
For Jerusalem has stumbled
and Judah has fallen
because they have spoken and acted against the LORD,
defying his glorious presence.
The look on their faces testifies against them,
and like Sodom, they flaunt their sin;
they do not conceal it.
Woe to them,
for they have brought disaster on themselves.
Tell the righteous that it will go well for them,
for they will eat the fruit of their labor.
the Lord will put scabs on the heads
of the daughters of Zion,
and the LORD will shave their foreheads bare.
when the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodguilt from the heart of Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of burning.
Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes straw
and as dry grass shrivels in the flame,
so their roots will become like something rotten
and their blossoms will blow away like dust,
for they have rejected
the instruction of the LORD of Armies,
and they have despised
the word of the Holy One of Israel.
Therefore the LORD's anger burned against his people.
He raised his hand against them and struck them;
the mountains quaked,
and their corpses were like garbage in the streets.
In all this, his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is still raised to strike.
Make the minds[fn] of these people dull;
deafen their ears and blind their eyes;
otherwise they might see with their eyes
and hear with their ears,
understand with their minds,
turn back, and be healed.
For you have shattered their oppressive yoke
and the rod on their shoulders,
the staff of their oppressor,
just as you did on the day of Midian.
Therefore the Lord does not rejoice
over[fn] Israel's young men
and has no compassion
on its fatherless and widows,
for everyone is a godless evildoer,
and every mouth speaks folly.
In all this, his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is still raised to strike.
For he said:
I have done this by my own strength
and wisdom, for I am clever.
I abolished the borders of nations
and plundered their treasures;
like a mighty warrior, I subjugated the inhabitants.[fn]
The remaining trees of its forest
will be so few in number
that a child could count them.
Israel, even if your people were as numerous
as the sand of the sea,
only a remnant of them will return.
Destruction has been decreed;
justice overflows.
“In just a little while my wrath will be spent and my anger will turn to their destruction.”
They will be horrified;
pain and agony will seize them;
they will be in anguish like a woman in labor.
They will look at each other,
their faces flushed with fear.
I will punish the world for its evil,
and wicked people for their iniquities.
I will put an end to the pride of the arrogant
and humiliate the insolence of tyrants.
Their children will be dashed to pieces before their eyes;
their houses will be looted,
and their wives raped.
Their bows will cut young men to pieces.
They will have no compassion on offspring;
they will not look with pity on children.
Hyenas will howl in the fortresses,
and jackals, in the luxurious palaces.
Babylon's time is almost up;
her days are almost over.
For the LORD will have compassion on Jacob and will choose Israel again. He will settle them on their own land. The resident alien will join them and be united with the house of Jacob.
The nations will escort Israel and bring it to its homeland. Then the house of Israel will possess them as male and female slaves in the LORD's land. They will make captives of their captors and will rule over their oppressors.
Sheol below is eager to greet your coming,
stirring up the spirits of the departed for you —
all the rulers[fn] of the earth —
making all the kings of the nations
rise from their thrones.
“I will rise up against them” — this is the declaration of the LORD of Armies — “and I will cut off from Babylon her reputation, remnant, offspring, and posterity” — this is the LORD's declaration.
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.
Heshbon and Elealeh cry out;
their voices are heard as far away as Jahaz.
Therefore the soldiers of Moab cry out,
and they tremble.
The fortress disappears from Ephraim,
and a kingdom from Damascus.
The remnant of Aram will be
like the splendor of the Israelites.
This is the declaration of the LORD of Armies.
Only gleanings will be left in Israel,
as if an olive tree had been beaten —
two or three olives at the very top of the tree,
four or five on its fruitful branches.
This is the declaration of the LORD,
the God of Israel.
They will not look to the altars they made with their hands or to the Asherahs and shrines[fn] they made with their fingers.
A pronouncement concerning Egypt:
Look, the LORD rides on a swift cloud
and is coming to Egypt.
Egypt's worthless idols will tremble before him,
and Egypt will lose heart.
Egypt's spirit will be disturbed within it,
and I will frustrate its plans.
Then they will inquire of worthless idols, ghosts,
mediums, and spiritists.
I will hand over Egypt to harsh masters,
and a strong king will rule it.
This is the declaration of the Lord GOD of Armies.
The LORD will strike Egypt, striking and healing. Then they will turn to the LORD, and he will be receptive to their prayers and heal them.
They will be gathered together
like prisoners in a pit.
They will be confined to a dungeon;
after many days they will be punished.
The dead do not live;
departed spirits do not rise up.
Indeed, you have punished and destroyed them;
you have wiped out all memory of them.
Therefore Jacob's iniquity will be atoned for in this way,
and the result of the removal of his sin will be this:
when he makes all the altar stones
like crushed bits of chalk,
no Asherah poles or incense altars will remain standing.
It will be like a hungry one who dreams he is eating,
then wakes and is still hungry;
and like a thirsty one who dreams he is drinking,
then wakes and is still thirsty, longing for water.
So it will be for all the many nations
who go to battle against Mount Zion.
For the LORD has poured out on you
an overwhelming urge to[fn] sleep;
he has shut your eyes (the prophets)
and covered your heads (the seers).
Woe to those who go to great lengths
to hide their plans from the LORD.
They do their works in the dark,
and say, “Who sees us? Who knows us? ”
For when he sees his children,
the work of my hands within his nation,
they will honor my name,
they will honor the Holy One of Jacob
and stand in awe of the God of Israel.
A pronouncement concerning the animals of the Negev:[fn]
Through a land of trouble and distress,
of lioness and lion,
of viper and flying serpent,
they carry their wealth on the backs of donkeys
and their treasures on the humps of camels,
to a people who will not help them.
But he also is wise and brings disaster.
He does not go back on what he says;
he will rise up against the house of the wicked
and against the allies of evildoers.
For on that day, every one of you will reject the worthless idols of silver and gold that your own hands have sinfully made.
Her palaces will be overgrown with thorns;
her fortified cities, with thistles and briers.
She will become a dwelling for jackals,
an abode[fn] for ostriches.
Search and read the scroll of the LORD:
Not one of them will be missing,
none will be lacking its mate,
because he has ordered it by my[fn] mouth,
and he will gather them by his Spirit.
and the ransomed of the LORD will return
and come to Zion with singing,
crowned with unending joy.
Joy and gladness will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee.
LORD, it is true that the kings of Assyria have devastated all these countries and their lands.
They have thrown their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but made from wood and stone by human hands. So they have destroyed them.
Now, LORD our God, save us from his power so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, LORD, are God[fn] — you alone.
“ ‘This will be the sign for you: This year you will eat what grows on its own, and in the second year what grows from that. But in the third year sow and reap, plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
They are barely planted, barely sown,
their stem hardly takes root in the ground
when he blows on them and they wither,
and a whirlwind carries them away like stubble.
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.
“Who is blind but my servant,
or deaf like my messenger I am sending?
Who is blind like my dedicated one,[fn]
or blind like the servant of the LORD?
So he poured out his furious anger
and the power of war on Jacob.
It surrounded him with fire, but he did not know it;
it burned him, but he didn't take it to heart.
All who make idols are nothing,
and what they treasure benefits no one.
Their witnesses do not see or know anything,
so they will be 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;
“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.
Bel crouches; Nebo cowers.
Idols depicting them are consigned to beasts and cattle.
The images you carry are loaded,
as a burden for the weary animal.
“Look, they are like stubble;
fire burns them.
They cannot rescue themselves
from the power of the flame.
This is not a coal for warming themselves,
or a fire to sit beside!
saying to the prisoners, “Come out,”
and to those who are in darkness, “Show yourselves.”
They will feed along the pathways,
and their pastures will be on all the barren heights.
“I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh,
and they will be drunk with their own blood
as with sweet wine.
Then all humanity will know
that I, the LORD, am your Savior,
and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”
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.
Listen to me, you who know righteousness,
the people in whose heart is my instruction:
do not fear disgrace by men,
and do not be shattered by their taunts.
And the ransomed of the LORD will return
and come to Zion with singing,
crowned with unending joy.
Joy and gladness will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee.
so he will sprinkle many nations.[fn]
Kings will shut their mouths because of him,
for they will see what had not been told them,
and they will understand what they had not heard.
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.
Happy is the person who does this,
the son of man who holds it fast,
who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it,
and keeps his hand from doing any evil.
“I will bring them to my holy mountain
and let them rejoice in my house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and sacrifices
will be acceptable on my altar,
for my house will be called a house of prayer
for all nations.”
These dogs have fierce appetites;
they never have enough.
And they are shepherds
who have no discernment;
all of them turn to their own way,
every last one for his own profit.
who burn with lust among the oaks,
under every green tree,
who slaughter children in the wadis
below the clefts of the rocks?
You went to the king with oil
and multiplied your perfumes;
you sent your envoys far away
and sent them down even to Sheol.
“Cry out loudly, don't hold back!
Raise your voice like a ram's horn.
Tell my people their transgression
and the house of Jacob their sins.
They hatch viper's eggs
and weave spider's webs.
Whoever eats their eggs will die;
crack one open, and a viper is hatched.
Their webs cannot become clothing,
and they cannot cover themselves with their works.
Their works are sinful works,
and violent acts are in their hands.
Their feet run after evil,
and they rush to shed innocent blood.
Their thoughts are sinful thoughts;
ruin and wretchedness are in their paths.
They have not known the path of peace,
and there is no justice in their ways.
They have made their roads crooked;
no one who walks on them will know peace.
Therefore justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not reach us.
We hope for light, but there is darkness;
for brightness, but we live in the night.
Justice is turned back,
and righteousness stands far off.
For truth has stumbled in the public square,
and honesty cannot enter.
Yes, the coasts and islands will wait for me
with the ships of Tarshish in the lead,
to bring your children from far away,
their silver and gold with them,
for the honor of the LORD your God,
the Holy One of Israel,
who has glorified you.
Foreigners will rebuild your walls,
and their kings will serve you.
Although I struck you in my wrath,
yet I will show mercy to you with my favor.
But you will be called the LORD's priests;
they will speak of you as ministers of our God;
you will eat the wealth of the nations,
and you will boast in their riches.
In place of your shame, you will have a double portion;
in place of disgrace, they will rejoice over their share.
So they will possess double in their land,
and eternal joy will be theirs.
For I the LORD love justice;
I hate robbery and injustice;[fn]
I will faithfully reward my people
and make a permanent covenant with them.
Their descendants will be known among the nations,
and their posterity among the peoples.
All who see them will recognize
that they are a people the LORD has blessed.
I trampled the winepress alone,
and no one from the nations was with me.
I trampled them in my anger
and ground them underfoot in my fury;
their blood spattered my garments,
and all my clothes were stained.
I crushed nations in my anger;
I made them drunk with my wrath
and poured out their blood on the ground.
In all their suffering, he suffered,[fn]
and the angel of his presence saved them.
He redeemed them
because of his love and compassion;
he lifted them up and carried them
all the days of the past.
“I spread out my hands all day long
to a rebellious people
who walk in the path that is not good,
following their own thoughts.
“sitting among the graves,
spending nights in secret places,
eating the meat of pigs,
and putting polluted broth in their bowls.[fn]
“Look, it is written in front of me:
I will not keep silent, but I will repay;
I will repay them fully[fn]
“Whoever asks for a blessing in the land
will ask for a blessing by the God of truth,
and whoever swears in the land
will swear by the God of truth.
For the former troubles will be forgotten
and hidden from my sight.
“For I will create new heavens and a new earth;
the past events will not be remembered or come to mind.
“People will build houses and live in them;
they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
“They will not build and others live in them;
they will not plant and others eat.
For my people's lives will be
like the lifetime of a tree.
My chosen ones will fully enjoy
the work of their hands.
“They will not labor without success
or bear children destined for disaster,
for they will be a people blessed by the LORD
along with their descendants.
One person slaughters an ox, another kills a person;
one person sacrifices a lamb, another breaks a dog's neck;
one person offers a grain offering, another offers pig's blood;
one person offers incense, another praises an idol —
all these have chosen their ways
and delight in their abhorrent practices.
So I will choose their punishment,
and I will bring on them what they dread
because I called and no one answered;
I spoke and they did not listen;
they did what was evil in my sight
and chose what I did not delight in.
You who tremble at his word,
hear the word of the LORD:
“Your brothers who hate and exclude you
for my name's sake have said,
‘Let the LORD be glorified
so that we can see your joy! '
But they will be put to shame.”
For this is what the LORD says:
I will make peace flow to her like a river,
and the wealth[fn] of nations like a flood;
you will nurse and be carried on her hip
and bounced on her lap.
“Knowing[fn] their works and their thoughts, I have come to gather all nations and languages; they will come and see my glory.
“I will establish a sign among them, and I will send survivors from them to the nations — to Tarshish, Put,[fn] Lud (who are archers), Tubal, Javan, and the coasts and islands far away — who have not heard about me or seen my glory. And they will proclaim my glory among the nations.
“They will bring all your brothers from all the nations as a gift to the LORD on horses and chariots, in litters, and on mules and camels, to my holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the LORD, “just as the Israelites bring an offering in a clean vessel to the house of the LORD.
“As they leave, they will see the dead bodies of those who have rebelled against me; for their worm will never die, their fire will never go out, and they will be a horror to all humanity.”
Do not be afraid of anyone,
for I will be with you to rescue you.
This is the LORD's declaration.
“I will pronounce my judgments against them for all the evil they did when they abandoned me to burn incense to other gods and to worship the works of their own hands.
“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.
The young lions have roared at him;
they have roared loudly.
They have laid waste his land.
His cities are in ruins, without inhabitants.
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.”
Like the shame of a thief when he is caught,
so the house of Israel has been put to shame.
They, their kings, their officials,
their priests, and their prophets
say to a tree, “You are my father,”
and to a stone, “You gave birth to me.”
For they have turned their back to me
and not their face,
yet in their time of disaster they beg,
“Rise up and save us! ”
At that time Jerusalem will be called The LORD's Throne, and all the nations will be gathered to it, to the name of the LORD in Jerusalem. They will cease to follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts.
In those days the house of Judah will join with the house of Israel, and they will come together from the land of the north to the land I have given your ancestors to inherit.' ”
A sound is heard on the barren heights:
the children of Israel weeping and begging for mercy,
for they have perverted their way;
they have forgotten the LORD their God.
“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.
I said, “Oh no, Lord GOD, you have certainly deceived this people and Jerusalem, by announcing, ‘You will have peace,' while a sword is at[fn] our throats.”
LORD, don't your eyes look for faithfulness?
You have struck them, but they felt no pain.
You finished them off,
but they refused to accept discipline.
They made their faces harder than rock,
and they refused to return.
Therefore, a lion from the forest will strike them down.
A wolf from arid plains will ravage them.
A leopard stalks their cities.
Anyone who leaves them will be torn to pieces
because their rebellious acts are many,
their unfaithful deeds numerous.
“They have not said to themselves,
‘Let's fear the LORD our God,
who gives the seasonal rains, both autumn and spring,
who guarantees to us the fixed weeks of the harvest.'
“Like a cage full of birds,
so their houses are full of deceit.
Therefore they have grown powerful and rich.
“The prophets prophesy falsely,
and the priests rule by their own authority.
My people love it like this.
But what will you do at the end of it?
“Shepherds and their flocks will come against her;
they will pitch their tents all around her.
Each will pasture his own portion.
Their houses will be turned over to others,
their fields and wives as well,
for I will stretch out my hand
against the inhabitants of the land.
This is the LORD's declaration.
For from the least to the greatest of them,
everyone is making profit dishonestly.
From prophet to priest,
everyone deals falsely.
Were they ashamed when they acted so detestably?
They weren't at all ashamed.
They can no longer feel humiliation.
Therefore, they will fall among the fallen.
When I punish them, they will collapse,
says the LORD.
Therefore listen, you nations
and you witnesses,
learn what the charge is against them.
Listen, earth!
I am about to bring disaster on these people,
the fruit of their own plotting,
for they have paid no attention to my words.
They have rejected my instruction.
We have heard about it,
and our hands have become weak.
Distress has seized us —
pain, like a woman in labor.
I have appointed you to be an assayer among my people —
a refiner[fn] —
so you may know and assay their way of life.
The bellows blow,
blasting the lead with fire.
The refining is completely in vain;
the evil ones are not separated out.
“As for you, do not pray for these people. Do not offer a cry or a prayer on their behalf, and do not beg me, for I will not listen to you.
“The sons gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead dough to make cakes for the queen of heaven,[fn] and they pour out drink offerings to other gods so that they provoke me to anger.
“But are they really provoking me? ” This is the LORD's declaration. “Isn't it they themselves being provoked to disgrace? ”
Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says: “Look, my anger — my burning wrath — is about to be poured out on this place, on people and animals, on the tree of the field, and on the produce of the land. My wrath will burn and not be quenched.”
“Yet they didn't listen or pay attention but followed their own advice and their own stubborn, evil heart. They went backward and not forward.
“Since the day your ancestors came out of the land of Egypt until today, I have sent all my servants the prophets to you time and time again.[fn]
“However, my people wouldn't listen to me or pay attention but became obstinate; they did more evil than their ancestors.
“When you speak all these things to them, they will not listen to you. When you call to them, they will not answer you.
“For the Judeans have done what is evil in my sight.” This is the LORD's declaration. “They have set up their abhorrent things in the house that bears my name in order to defile it.
“At that time” — this is the LORD's declaration — “the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of her officials, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the residents of Jerusalem will be brought out of their graves.
“They will be exposed to the sun, the moon, and all the stars in the sky, which they have loved, served, followed, consulted, and worshiped. Their bones will not be collected and buried but will become like manure on the soil's surface.
“Why have these people turned away?
Why is Jerusalem always turning away?
They take hold of deceit;
they refuse to return.
“Therefore, I will give their wives to other men,
their fields to new occupants,
for from the least to the greatest,
everyone is making profit dishonestly.
From prophet to priest,
everyone deals falsely.
“I will gather them and bring them to an end.”[fn]
This is the LORD's declaration.
“There will be no grapes on the vine,
no figs on the fig tree,
and even the leaf will wither.
Whatever I have given them will be lost to them.”
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?
If only I had a traveler's lodging place
in the wilderness,
I would abandon my people
and depart from them,
for they are all adulterers,
a solemn assembly of treacherous people.
They bent their tongues like their bows;
lies and not faithfulness prevail in the land,
for they proceed from one evil to another,
and they do not take me into account.
This is the LORD's declaration.
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.
Each one betrays his friend;
no one tells the truth.
They have taught their tongues to speak lies;
they wear themselves out doing wrong.
Their tongues are deadly arrows —
they speak deception.
With his mouth
one speaks peaceably with his friend,
but inwardly he sets up an ambush.
The LORD said, “It is because they abandoned my instruction, which I set before them, and did not obey my voice or walk according to it.
“Instead, they followed the stubbornness of their hearts and followed the Baals as their ancestors taught them.”
“I will scatter them among the nations that they and their ancestors have not known. I will send a sword after them until I have finished them off.”
“ ‘Look, the days are coming — this is the LORD's declaration — when I will punish all the circumcised yet uncircumcised:
“Egypt, Judah, Edom, the Ammonites, Moab, and all the inhabitants of the desert who clip the hair on their temples.[fn] All these nations are uncircumcised, and the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.' ”
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,
They are worthless, a work to be mocked.
At the time of their punishment
they will be destroyed.
“They have returned to the iniquities of their ancestors who refused to obey my words and have followed other gods to worship them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah broke my covenant I made with their ancestors.
“Therefore, this is what the LORD says: I am about to bring on them disaster that they cannot escape. They will cry out to me, but I will not hear them.
“Then the cities of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods they have been burning incense to, but they certainly will not save them in their time of disaster.
“As for you, do not pray for these people. Do not raise up a cry or a prayer on their behalf, for I will not be listening when they call out to me at the time of their disaster.
But, LORD of Armies, who judges righteously,
who tests heart[fn] and mind,
let me see your vengeance on them,
for I have presented my case to you.
Therefore, this is what the LORD of Armies says: “I am about to punish them. The young men will die by the sword; their sons and daughters will die by famine.
“They will have no remnant, for I will bring disaster on the people of Anathoth in the year of their punishment.”
As for you, LORD, you know me; you see me.
You test whether my heart is with you.
Drag the wicked away like sheep to slaughter
and set them apart for the day of killing.
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.
“And you will say to them, ‘This is what the LORD says: I am about to fill all who live in this land — the kings who reign for David on his throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the residents of Jerusalem — with drunkenness.
“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.' ”
Their nobles send their servants[fn] for water.
They go to the cisterns;
they find no water;
their containers return empty.
They are ashamed and humiliated;
they cover their heads.
The ground is cracked
since no rain has fallen on the land.
The farmers are ashamed;
they cover their heads.
Wild donkeys stand on the barren heights
panting for air like jackals.
Their eyes fail
because there are no green plants.
This is what the LORD says concerning these people:
Truly they love to wander;
they never rest their feet.
So the LORD does not accept them.
Now he will remember their iniquity
and punish their sins.
“If they fast, I will not hear their cry of despair. If they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. Rather, I will finish them off by sword, famine, and plague.”
And I replied, “Oh no, Lord GOD! The prophets are telling them, ‘You won't see sword or suffer famine. I will certainly give you lasting peace in this place.' ”
But the LORD said to me, “These prophets are prophesying a lie in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a false vision, worthless divination, the deceit of their own minds.
“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.”
“I scattered them with a winnowing fork
at the city gates of the land.
I made them childless; I destroyed my people.
They would not turn from their ways.
“I made their widows more numerous
than the sand of the seas.
I brought a destroyer at noon
against the mother of young men.
I suddenly released on her
agitation and terrors.
“The mother of seven grew faint;
she breathed her last breath.
Her sun set while it was still day;
she was ashamed and humiliated.
The rest of them I will give over to the sword
in the presence of their enemies.”
This is the LORD's declaration.
The LORD said:
Haven't I set you loose for your good?
Haven't I punished you
in a time of trouble,
in a time of distress with the enemy?[fn]
I never sat with the band of revelers,
and I did not celebrate with them.
Because your hand was on me, I sat alone,
for you filled me with indignation.
“For this is what the LORD says concerning sons and daughters born in this place as well as concerning the mothers who bear them and the fathers who father them in this land:
“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.
“Food won't be provided for the mourner to comfort him because of the dead. A consoling drink won't be given him for the loss of his father or mother.
“Do not enter the house where feasting is taking place to sit with them to eat and drink.
“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.
“for my gaze takes in all their ways. They are not concealed from me, and their iniquity is not hidden from my sight.
“I will first repay them double for their iniquity and sin because they have polluted my land. They have filled my inheritance with the carcasses of their abhorrent and detestable idols.”
“Do not carry a load out of your houses on the Sabbath day or do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy, just as I commanded your ancestors.
“They wouldn't listen or pay attention but became obstinate, not listening or accepting discipline.
“kings and princes will enter through the gates of this city. They will sit on the throne of David; they will ride in chariots and on horses with their officials, the men of Judah, and the residents of Jerusalem. This city will be inhabited forever.
“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.
Yet my people have forgotten me.
They burn incense to worthless idols
that make them stumble in their ways
on the ancient roads,
and make them walk on new paths, not the highway.
They have made their land a horror,
a perpetual object of scorn;[fn]
all who pass by it will be appalled
and shake their heads.
I will scatter them before the enemy like the east wind.
I will show them[fn] my back and not my face
on the day of their calamity.
Should good be repaid with evil?
Yet they have dug a pit for me.
Remember how I stood before you
to speak good on their behalf,
to turn your anger from them.
Therefore, hand their children over to famine,
and give them over to the power of the sword.
Let their wives become childless and widowed,
their husbands slain by deadly disease,[fn]
their young men struck down by the sword in battle.
Let a cry be heard from their houses
when you suddenly bring raiders against them,
for they have dug a pit to capture me
and have hidden snares for my feet.
But you, LORD, know
all their deadly plots against me.
Do not wipe out their iniquity;
do not blot out their sin before you.
Let them be forced to stumble before you;
deal with them in the time of your anger.
“and go out to Ben Hinnom Valley near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. Proclaim there the words I speak to you.
“because they have abandoned me and made this a foreign place. They have burned incense in it to other gods that they, their ancestors, and the kings of Judah have never known. They have filled this place with the blood of the innocent.
“They have built high places to Baal on which to burn their children in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, something I have never commanded or mentioned; I never entertained the thought.[fn]
“I will spoil the plans of Judah and Jerusalem in this place. I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies, by the hand of those who intend to take their life. I will provide their corpses as food for the birds of the sky and for the wild animals of the land.
“I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and their daughters, and they will eat each other's flesh in the distressing siege inflicted on them by their enemies who intend to take their life.'
“The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will become impure like that place Topheth — all the houses on whose rooftops they have burned incense to all the stars in the sky and poured out drink offerings to other gods.' ”
“This is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘I am about to bring on this city — and on all its cities — every disaster that I spoke against it, for they have become obstinate, not obeying my words.' ”
“for this is what the LORD says, ‘I am about to make you a terror to both yourself and those you love. They will fall by the sword of their enemies before your very eyes. I will hand Judah over to the king of Babylon, and he will deport them to Babylon and put them to the sword.
But the LORD is with me like a violent warrior.
Therefore, my persecutors will stumble and not prevail.
Since they have not succeeded, they will be utterly shamed,
an everlasting humiliation that will never be forgotten.
“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.'
“For if you conscientiously carry out this word, then kings sitting on David's throne will enter through the gates of this palace riding on chariots and horses — they, their officers, and their people.
“They will answer, ‘Because they abandoned the covenant of the LORD their God and bowed in worship to other gods and served them.' ”
“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.”
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
because both prophet and priest are ungodly,
even in my house I have found their evil.
This is the LORD's declaration.
Therefore, their way will seem
like slippery paths in the gloom.
They will be driven away and fall down there,
for I will bring disaster on them,
the year of their punishment.
This is the LORD's declaration.
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.
“They keep on saying to those who despise me, ‘The LORD has spoken: You will have peace.' They have said to everyone who follows the stubbornness of his heart, ‘No harm will come to you.' ”
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.
“How long will this continue in the minds of the prophets prophesying lies, prophets of the deceit of their own minds?
“Through their dreams that they tell one another, they plan to cause my people to forget my name as their ancestors forgot my name through Baal worship.
“I am against those who prophesy false dreams” — the LORD's declaration — “telling them and leading my people astray with their reckless lies. It was not I who sent or commanded them, and they are of no benefit at all to these people” — this is the LORD's declaration.
“I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God because they will return to me with all their heart.
“I will eliminate the sound of joy and gladness from them — the voice of the groom and the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp.
“They will drink, stagger,[fn] and go out of their minds because of the sword I am sending among them.”
Hear the sound of the shepherds' cry,
the wail of the leaders of the flock,
for the LORD is destroying their pasture.
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.
“Send word to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the Ammonites, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidon through messengers who are coming to King Zedekiah of Judah in Jerusalem.
“Command them to go to their masters, saying, ‘This is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Tell this to your masters:
“ ‘ “As for the nation or kingdom that does not serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and does not place its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation I will punish by sword, famine, and plague — this is the LORD's declaration — until through him I have destroyed it.
“Go say to Hananiah, ‘This is what the LORD says: You broke a wooden yoke bar, but in its place you will make an iron yoke bar.
“Pursue the well-being[fn] of the city I have deported you to. Pray to the LORD on its behalf, for when it thrives, you will thrive.”
“Based on what happens to them, all the exiles of Judah who are in Babylon will create a curse that says, ‘May the LORD make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire! '
“because they have committed an outrage in Israel by committing adultery with their neighbors' wives and have spoken in my name a lie, which I did not command them. I am he who knows, and I am a witness.” This is the LORD's declaration.
“For he has sent word to us in Babylon, claiming, “The exile will be long. Build houses and settle down. Plant gardens and eat their produce.” ' ”
“this is what the LORD says: I am about to punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants. There will not be even one of his descendants living among these people, nor will any ever see the good that I will bring to my people — this is the LORD's declaration — for he has preached rebellion against the LORD.' ”
“for look, the days are coming” — this is the LORD's declaration — “when I will restore the fortunes[fn] of my people Israel and Judah,” says the LORD. “I will restore them to the land I gave to their ancestors and they will possess 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.
They will serve the LORD their God
and David their king,
whom I will raise up for them.
Nevertheless, all who devoured you will be devoured,
and all your adversaries — all of them —
will go off into exile.
Those who plunder you will be plundered,
and all who raid you will be raided.
Thanksgiving will come out of them,
a sound of rejoicing.
I will multiply them, and they will not decrease;
I will honor them, and they will not be insignificant.
His children will be as in past days;
his congregation will be established in my presence.
I will punish all his oppressors.
They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion;
they will be radiant with joy
because of the LORD's goodness,
because of the grain, the new wine, the fresh oil,
and because of the young of the flocks and herds.
Their life will be like an irrigated garden,
and they will no longer grow weak from hunger.
Then the young women will rejoice with dancing,
while young and old men rejoice together.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
give them consolation,
and bring happiness out of grief.
“This one will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt — my covenant that they broke even though I am their master”[fn] — the LORD's declaration.
“Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days” — the LORD's declaration. “I will put my teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
“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.
“A measuring line will once again stretch out straight to the hill of Gareb and then turn toward Goah.
“You show faithful love to thousands but lay the fathers' iniquity on their sons' laps after them, great and mighty God whose name is the LORD of Armies,
“You gave them this land you swore to give to their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey.
“The Chaldeans who are fighting against this city will come and set this city on fire. They will burn it, including the houses where incense has been burned to Baal on their rooftops and where drink offerings have been poured out to other gods to anger me.
“From their youth, the Israelites and Judeans have done nothing but what is evil in my sight! They have done nothing but anger me by the work of their hands” — this is the LORD's declaration —
“because of all the evil the Israelites and Judeans have done to anger me — they, their kings, their officials, their priests, and their prophets, the men of Judah, and the residents of Jerusalem.
“They have placed their abhorrent things in the house that bears my name and have defiled it.
“I will give them integrity of heart and action[fn] so that they will fear me always, for their good and for the good of their descendants after them.
“I will make a permanent covenant with them: I will never turn away from doing good to them, and I will put fear of me in their hearts so they will never again turn away from me.
“Fields will be purchased, the transaction written on a scroll and sealed, and witnesses will be called on in the land of Benjamin, in the areas surrounding Jerusalem, and in Judah's cities — the cities of the hill country, the cities of the Judean foothills, and the cities of the Negev — because I will restore their fortunes.”[fn]
This is the LORD's declaration.
“The people coming to fight the Chaldeans will fill the houses with the corpses of their own men that I strike down in my wrath and fury. I have hidden my face from this city because of all their evil.
“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.
“‘At the end of seven years, each of you must let his fellow Hebrew who sold himself[fn] to you go. He may serve you six years, but then you must let him go free from your service.' But your ancestors did not obey me or pay any attention.
“But you have changed your minds and profaned my name. Each has taken back his male and female slaves who had been set free to go wherever they wanted, and you have again forced them to be your slaves.
“all these I will hand over to their enemies, to those who intend to take their life. Their corpses will become food for the birds of the sky and for the wild animals of the land.
“I will hand King Zedekiah of Judah and his officials over to their enemies, to those who intend to take their lives, to the king of Babylon's army that is withdrawing.
I set jars filled with wine and some cups before the sons of the house of the Rechabites and said to them, “Drink wine! ”
Yes, the sons of Jonadab son of Rechab carried out their ancestor's command he gave them, but these people have not obeyed me.
But to the house of the Rechabites Jeremiah said, “This is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Because you have obeyed the command of your ancestor Jonadab and have kept all his commands and have done everything he commanded you,
“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 you must go and read from the scroll — which you wrote at my dictation[fn] — the words of the LORD in the hearing of the people at the temple of the LORD on a day of fasting. Read his words in the hearing of all the Judeans who are coming from their cities.
“Perhaps their petition will come before the LORD, and each one will turn from his evil way, for the anger and fury that the LORD has pronounced against this people are intense.”
As they heard all these words, the king and all his servants did not become terrified or tear their clothes.
Pharaoh's army had left Egypt, and when the Chaldeans, who were besieging Jerusalem, heard the report, they withdrew from Jerusalem.
But King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am worried about the Judeans who have defected to the Chaldeans. They may hand me over to the Judeans to abuse me.”
“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.
All the commanders of the armies that were in the countryside — they and their men — heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam over the land. He had been put in charge of the men, women, and children from among the poorest of the land, who had not been deported to Babylon.
So they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah. The commanders included Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah son of the Maacathite — they and their men.
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.
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.
But when they came into the city, Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the men with him slaughtered them and threw them into[fn] a cistern.
However, there were ten men among them who said to Ishmael, “Don't kill us, for we have hidden treasure in the field — wheat, barley, oil, and honey! ” So he stopped and did not kill them along with their companions.
they took all their men and went to fight with Ishmael son of Nethaniah. They found him by the great pool in Gibeon.
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.
“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.'
“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.
“They have not become humble to this day, and they have not feared or followed my instruction or my statutes that I set before you and your ancestors.
“Then the remnant of Judah — those going to live for a while there in the land of Egypt — will have no fugitive or survivor to return to the land of Judah where they are longing[fn] to return to stay, for they will not return except for a few fugitives.”
However, all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, all the women standing by — a great assembly — and all the people who were living in the land of Egypt at Pathros answered Jeremiah,
Why have I seen this?
They are terrified,
they are retreating,
their warriors are crushed,
they flee headlong,
they never look back,
terror is on every side!
This is the LORD's declaration.
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.
Even her mercenaries among her
are like stall-fed calves.
They too will turn back;
together they will flee;
they will not take their stand,
for the day of their calamity is coming on them,
the time of their punishment.
But you, my servant Jacob, do not be afraid,
and do not be discouraged, Israel,
for without fail I will save you from far away,
and your descendants from the land of their captivity!
Jacob will return and have calm and quiet
with no one to frighten him.
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]
on account of the day that is coming
to destroy all the Philistines,
to cut off from Tyre and Sidon
every remaining ally.
Indeed, the LORD is about to destroy the Philistines,
the remnant of the coastland of Caphtor.[fn]
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.
“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.
About Edom, this is what the LORD of Armies says:
Is there no longer wisdom in Teman?
Has counsel perished from the prudent?
Has their wisdom rotted away?
Run! Turn back! Lie low,
residents of Dedan,
for I will bring Esau's calamity on him
at the time I punish him.
If grape harvesters came to you,
wouldn't they leave a few grapes?
Were thieves to come in the night,
they would destroy only what they wanted.
But I will strip Esau bare;
I will uncover his secret places.
He will try to hide, but he will be unable.
His descendants will be destroyed
along with his relatives and neighbors.
He will exist no longer.
Therefore, hear the plans that the LORD has drawn up against Edom and the strategies he has devised against the people of Teman: The flock's little lambs will certainly be dragged away, and their grazing land will be made desolate because of them.
At the sound of their fall the earth will quake; the sound of her cry will be heard at the Red Sea.
They will take their tents and their flocks
along with their tent curtains and all their equipment.
They will take their camels for themselves.
They will call out to them,
“Terror is on every side! ”
Their camels will become plunder,
and their massive herds of cattle will become spoil.
I will scatter them to the wind in every direction,
those who clip the hair on their temples;
I will bring calamity on them across all their borders.
This is the LORD's declaration.
This is what the LORD of Armies says:
I am about to shatter Elam's bow,
the source[fn] of their might.
I will devastate Elam before their enemies,
before those who intend to take their lives.
I will bring disaster on them,
my burning anger.
This is the LORD's declaration.
I will send the sword after them
until I finish them off.
In those days and at that time —
this is the LORD's declaration —
the Israelites and Judeans will come together,
weeping as they come,
and will seek the LORD their God.
They will ask about Zion,
turning their faces to this road.
They will come and join themselves[fn] to the LORD
in a permanent covenant that will never be forgotten.
My people were lost sheep;
their shepherds led them astray,
guiding them the wrong way in the mountains.
They wandered from mountain to hill;
they forgot their resting place.
Whoever found them devoured them.
Their adversaries said, “We're not guilty;
instead, they have sinned against the LORD,
their righteous grazing land,
the hope of their ancestors, the LORD.”
Put all her young bulls to the sword;
let them go down to the slaughter.
Woe to them because their day has come,
the time of their punishment.
A sword is against his horses and chariots
and against all the foreigners among them,
and they will be like women.
A sword is against her treasuries,
and they will be plundered.
They grasp bow and javelin.
They are cruel and show no mercy.
Their voice roars like the sea,
and they ride on horses,
lined up like men in battle formation
against you, Daughter Babylon.
The king of Babylon has heard about them;
his hands have become weak.
Distress has seized him —
pain, like a woman in labor.
Therefore, hear the plans that the LORD has drawn up against Babylon and the strategies he has devised against the land of the Chaldeans: Certainly the flock's little lambs will be dragged away; certainly the grazing land will be made desolate because of them.
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.
They are worthless, a work to be mocked.
At the time of their punishment they will be destroyed.
With you I will smash the horse and its rider;
with you I will smash the chariot and its rider.
“Before your very eyes, I will repay Babylon and all the residents of Chaldea for all their evil they have done in Zion.”
This is the LORD's declaration.
Babylon's warriors have stopped fighting;
they sit in their strongholds.
Their might is exhausted;
they have become like women.
Babylon's homes have been set ablaze,
her gate bars are shattered.
The fords have been seized,
the marshes set on fire,
and the fighting men are terrified.
While they are flushed with heat, I will serve them a feast,
and I will make them drunk so that they celebrate.[fn]
Then they will fall asleep forever
and never wake up.
This is the LORD's declaration.
for a destroyer is coming against her,
against Babylon.
Her warriors will be captured,
their bows shattered,
for the LORD is a God of retribution;
he will certainly repay.
Now the Chaldeans broke into pieces the bronze pillars for the LORD's temple and the water carts and the bronze basin[fn] that were in the LORD's temple, and they carried all the bronze to Babylon.
As for the two pillars, the one basin, with the twelve bronze oxen under it, and the water carts[fn] that King Solomon had made for the LORD's temple, the weight of the bronze of all these articles was beyond measure.
Zion stretches out her hands;
there is no one to comfort her.
The LORD has issued a decree against Jacob
that his neighbors should be his adversaries.
Jerusalem has become
something impure among them.
I called to my lovers,
but they betrayed me.
My priests and elders
perished in the city
while searching for food
to keep themselves alive.
Let all their wickedness come before you,
and deal with them
as you have dealt with me
because of all my transgressions.
For my groans are many,
and I am sick at heart.
The elders of Daughter Zion
sit on the ground in silence.
They have thrown dust on their heads
and put on sackcloth.
The young women of Jerusalem
have bowed their heads to the ground.
They cry out to their mothers,
“Where is the grain and wine? ”
as they faint like the wounded
in the streets of the city,
as their life pours out
in the arms of their mothers.
All who pass by
scornfully clap their hands at you.
They hiss and shake their heads
at Daughter Jerusalem:
Is this the city that was called
the perfection of beauty,
the joy of the whole earth?
All your enemies
open their mouths against you.
They hiss and gnash their teeth,
saying, “We have swallowed her up.
This is the day we have waited for!
We have lived to see it.”
The hearts of the people cry out to the Lord.
Wall of Daughter Zion,
let your tears run down like a river
day and night.
Give yourself no relief
and your[fn] eyes no rest.
LORD, look and consider
to whom you have done this.
Should women eat their own children,
the infants they have nurtured?[fn]
Should priests and prophets
be killed in the Lord's sanctuary?
Even jackals offer their breasts
to nurse their young,
but my dear people have become cruel
like ostriches in the wilderness.
Her dignitaries were brighter than snow,
whiter than milk;
their bodies[fn] were more ruddy than coral,
their appearance like lapis lazuli.
Now they appear darker than soot;
they are not recognized in the streets.
Their skin has shriveled on their bones;
it has become dry like wood.
Blind, they stumbled in the streets,
defiled by this blood,
so that no one dared
to touch their garments.
The LORD himself has scattered them;
he no longer watches over them.
The priests are not respected;
the elders find no favor.
The LORD's anointed, the breath of our life,[fn]
was captured in their traps.
We had said about him,
“We will live under his protection among the nations.”
The appearance of the wheels and their craftsmanship was like the gleam of beryl, and all four had the same likeness. Their appearance and craftsmanship was like a wheel within a wheel.
When they moved, they went in any of the four directions, without turning as they moved.
He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to[fn] the rebellious pagans who have rebelled against me. The Israelites and their ancestors have transgressed against me to this day.
“Whether they listen or refuse to listen — for they are a rebellious house — they will know that a prophet has been among them.
“But you, son of man, do not be afraid of them and do not be afraid of their words, even though briers and thorns are beside you and you live among scorpions. Don't be afraid of their words or discouraged by the look on their faces, for they are a rebellious house.
“not to the many peoples of unintelligible speech or a difficult language, whose words you cannot understand. No doubt, if I sent you to them, they would listen to you.
“Look, I have made your face as hard as their faces and your forehead as hard as their foreheads.
“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.”
I came to the exiles at Tel-abib, who were living by the Chebar Canal, and I sat there among them stunned for seven days.
“As for you, son of man, they will put ropes on you and bind you with them so you cannot go out among them.
“Then lie down on your left side and place the iniquity[fn] of the house of Israel on it. You will bear their iniquity for the number of days you lie on your side.
“For I have assigned you the years of their iniquity according to the number of days you lie down, 390 days; so you will bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.
“You will eat it as you would a barley cake and bake it over dried human excrement in their sight.”
“for lack of bread and water. Everyone will be devastated and waste away because of their iniquity.
“You are to burn a third of it in the city when the days of the siege have ended; you are to take a third and slash it with the sword all around the city; and you are to scatter a third to the wind, for I will draw a sword to chase after them.
“A third of your people will die by plague and be consumed by famine within you; a third will fall by the sword all around you; and I will scatter a third to every direction of the wind, and I will draw a sword to chase after them.
“Then your survivors will remember me among the nations where they are taken captive, how I was crushed by their promiscuous hearts that turned away from me and by their eyes that lusted after their idols. They will loathe themselves because of the evil things they did, their detestable actions of every kind.
“You will all know that I am the LORD when their slain lie among their idols around their altars, on every high hill, on all the mountaintops, and under every green tree and every leafy oak — the places where they offered pleasing aromas to all their idols.
The survivors among them will escape
and live on the mountains.
Like doves of the valley,
all of them will moan,
each over his own iniquity.
They will throw their silver into the streets,
and their gold will seem like something filthy.
Their silver and gold will be unable to save them
in the day of the LORD's wrath.
They will not satisfy their appetites
or fill their stomachs,
for these were the stumbling blocks
that brought about their iniquity.
He appointed his beautiful ornaments for majesty,
but[fn] they made their detestable images from them,
their abhorrent things.
Therefore, I have made these
into something filthy to them.
I will turn my face from them
as they profane my treasured place.
Violent men will enter it and profane it.
So I will bring the most evil of nations
to take possession of their houses.
I will put an end to the pride of the strong,
and their sacred places will be profaned.
The king will mourn;
the prince will be clothed in grief;
and the hands of the people of the land will tremble.
I will deal with them according to their own conduct,
and I will judge them by their own standards.
Then they will know that I am the LORD.
Seventy elders from the house of Israel were standing before them, with Jaazaniah son of Shaphan standing among them. Each had a firepan in his hand, and a fragrant cloud of incense was rising up.
He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his idol? For they are saying, ‘The LORD does not see us. The LORD has abandoned the land.' ”
So he brought me to the inner court of the LORD's house, and there were about twenty-five men at the entrance of the LORD's temple, between the portico and the altar, with their backs to the LORD's temple and their faces turned to the east. They were bowing to the east in worship of the sun.
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.
“But as for me, I will not show pity or spare them. I will bring their conduct down on their own heads.”
Then I looked, and there above the expanse over the heads of the cherubim was something like a throne with the appearance of lapis lazuli.
When they moved, they would go in any of the four directions, without pivoting as they moved. But wherever the head faced, they would go in that direction, without pivoting as they went.
Their entire bodies, including their backs, hands, wings, and the wheels that the four of them had, were full of eyes all around.
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.
The cherubim lifted their wings and ascended from the earth right before my eyes; the wheels were beside them as they went. The glory of the God of Israel was above them, and it stopped at the entrance to the eastern gate of the LORD's house.
The Spirit then lifted me up and brought me to the eastern gate of the LORD's house, which faces east, and at the gate's entrance were twenty-five men. Among them I saw Jaazaniah son of Azzur, and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, leaders of the people.
“But as for those whose hearts pursue their desire for abhorrent acts and detestable practices, I will bring their conduct down on their own heads.” This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.
“Son of man, you are living among a rebellious house. They have eyes to see but do not see, and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious house.
“Now you, son of man, get your bags ready for exile and go into exile in their sight during the day. You will go into exile from your place to another place while they watch; perhaps they will understand, though they are a rebellious house.
“During the day, bring out your bags like an exile's bags while they look on. Then in the evening go out in their sight like those going into exile.
“And while they look on, lift the bags to your shoulder and take them out in the dark; cover your face so that you cannot see the land. For I have made you a sign to the house of Israel.”
So I did just as I was commanded. In the daytime I brought out my bags like an exile's bags. In the evening I dug through the wall by hand; I took them out in the dark, carrying them on my shoulder in their sight.
“The prince who is among them will lift his bags to his shoulder in the dark and go out. They[fn] will dig through the wall to bring him out through it. He will cover his face so he cannot see the land with his eyes.
“I will also scatter all the attendants who surround him and all his troops to every direction of the wind, and I will draw a sword to chase after them.
“But I will spare a few of them from the sword, famine, and plague, so that among the nations where they go they can tell about all their detestable practices. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”
“Then say to the people of the land, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says about the residents of Jerusalem in the land of Israel: They will eat their bread with anxiety and drink their water in dread, for their[fn][fn] land will be stripped of everything in it because of the violence of all who live there.
“The inhabited cities will be destroyed, and the land will become dreadful. Then you will know that I am the LORD.' ”
“This is what the Lord GOD says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing.
therefore, tell those plastering it with whitewash that it will fall. Torrential rain will come, and I will send hailstones plunging[fn] down, and a whirlwind will be released.
“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.
“Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and have put their sinful stumbling blocks in front of themselves. Should I actually let them inquire of me?
“so that I may take hold of the house of Israel by their hearts. They are all estranged from me because of their idols.'
“They will bear their punishment — the punishment of the one who inquires will be the same as that of the prophet —
“in order that the house of Israel may no longer stray from following me and no longer defile themselves with all their transgressions. Then they will be my people and I will be their God. This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.' ”
“Even if these three men — Noah, Daniel, and Job — were in it, they would rescue only themselves by their righteousness.” This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.
“Even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live” — the declaration of the Lord GOD — “they could not rescue their son or daughter. They would rescue only themselves by their righteousness.
“Even so, there will be survivors left in it, sons and daughters who will be brought out. Indeed, they will come out to you, and you will observe their conduct and actions. Then you will be consoled about the devastation I have brought on Jerusalem, about all I have brought on it.
“They will bring you consolation when you see their conduct and actions, and you will know that it was not without cause that I have done what I did to it.” This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.
“Then you took your embroidered clothing to cover them and set my oil and incense before them.
“The food that I gave you — the fine flour, oil, and honey that I fed you — you set it before them as a pleasing aroma. That is what happened. This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.
“I will hand you over to them, and they will demolish your mounds and tear down your elevated places. They will strip off your clothes, take your beautiful jewelry, and leave you stark naked.
“They will bring a mob against you to stone you and to cut you to pieces with their swords.
You are the daughter of your mother, who despised her husband and children. You are the sister of your sisters, who despised their husbands and children. Your mother was a Hethite and your father an Amorite.
Didn't you walk in their ways and do their detestable practices? It was only a short time before all your ways were more corrupt than theirs.
“ ‘I will restore their fortunes, the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters and those of Samaria and her daughters. I will also restore[fn] your fortunes among them,
“ ‘This is what the Lord GOD says:
I will take a sprig
from the lofty top of the cedar and plant it.
I will pluck a tender sprig
from its topmost shoots,
and I will plant it
on a high towering mountain.
“When the nations heard about him,
he was caught in their pit.
Then they led him away with hooks
to the land of Egypt.
“He devastated their strongholds[fn]
and destroyed their cities.
The land and everything in it shuddered
at the sound of his roaring.
“Then the nations from the surrounding provinces
set out against him.
They spread their net over him;
he was caught in their pit.
“Will you pass judgment against them, will you pass judgment, son of man? Explain the detestable practices of their ancestors to them.
“Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: On the day I chose Israel, I swore an oath[fn] to the descendants of Jacob's house and made myself known to them in the land of Egypt. I swore to them, saying, “I am the LORD your God.”
On that day I swore[fn] to them that I would bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands.
“ ‘But they rebelled against me and were unwilling to listen to me. None of them threw away the abhorrent things that they prized,[fn] and they did not abandon the idols of Egypt. So I considered pouring out my wrath on them, exhausting my anger against them within the land of Egypt.
“I also gave them my Sabbaths to serve as a sign between me and them, so that they would know that I am the LORD who consecrates them.
“because they rejected my ordinances, profaned my Sabbaths, and did not follow my statutes. For their hearts went after their idols.
“ ‘Then I said to their children in the wilderness, “Don't follow the statutes of your fathers, defile yourselves with their idols, or keep their ordinances.
“ ‘But the children rebelled against me. They did not follow my statutes or carefully keep my ordinances — the person who does them will live by them. They also profaned my Sabbaths. So I considered pouring out my wrath on them and exhausting my anger against them in the wilderness.
“For they did not practice my ordinances but rejected my statutes and profaned my Sabbaths, and their eyes were fixed on their fathers' idols.
“When they sacrificed every firstborn in the fire,[fn] I defiled them through their gifts in order to devastate them so they would know that I am the LORD.'
“Therefore, son of man, speak to the house of Israel, and tell them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: In this way also your ancestors blasphemed me by committing treachery against me:
“When I brought them into the land that I swore to give them and they saw any high hill or leafy tree, they offered their sacrifices and presented their offensive offerings there. They also sent up their pleasing aromas and poured out their drink offerings there.
“Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: Are you defiling yourselves the way your ancestors did, and prostituting yourselves with their abhorrent things?
I will purge you of those who rebel and transgress against me. I will bring them out of the land where they live as foreign residents, but they will not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD.
“Son of man, face Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuaries. Prophesy against the land of Israel,
“But you, son of man, groan! Groan bitterly with a broken heart[fn] right before their eyes.
“It will seem like false divination to those who have sworn an oath to the Babylonians,[fn] but it will draw attention to their guilt so that they will be captured.
“Now you, son of man, prophesy, and say, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says concerning the Ammonites and their contempt.' You are to proclaim,
‘A sword! A sword
is drawn for slaughter,
polished to consume, to flash like lightning.
“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.
“I searched for a man among them who would repair the wall and stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land so that I might not destroy it, but I found no one.
“So I have poured out my indignation on them and consumed them with the fire of my fury. I have brought their conduct down on their own heads.” This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.
“who acted like prostitutes in Egypt, behaving promiscuously in their youth. Their breasts were fondled there, and their virgin nipples caressed.
“She didn't give up her promiscuity that began in Egypt, when men slept with her in her youth, caressed her virgin nipples, and poured out their lust on her.
“wearing belts on their waists and flowing turbans on their heads; all of them looked like officers, a depiction of the Babylonians in Chaldea, their native land.
“Then the Babylonians came to her, to the bed of love, and defiled her with their lust. But after she was defiled by them, she turned away from them in disgust.
“and lusted after their lovers, whose sexual members[fn] were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of stallions.
“Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Lord GOD says: I am going to incite your lovers against you, those you turned away from in disgust. I will bring them against you from every side:
“the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans; Pekod, Shoa, and Koa; and all the Assyrians with them — desirable young men, all of them governors and prefects, officers and administrators, all of them riding on steeds.
“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.
“For this is what the Lord GOD says: I am going to hand you over to those you hate, to those you turned away from in disgust.
“These things will be done to you because you acted like a prostitute with the nations, defiling yourself with their idols.
“On the same day they slaughtered their children for their idols, they entered my sanctuary to profane it. Yes, that is what they did inside my house.
“The sound of a carefree crowd was there. Drunkards[fn] from the desert were brought in, along with common men. They put bracelets on the women's hands and beautiful tiaras on their heads.
“But righteous men will judge them the way adulteresses and those who shed blood are judged, for they are adulteresses and blood is on their hands.
“The assembly will stone them and cut them down with their swords. They will kill their sons and daughters and burn their houses.
“So I will put an end to depravity in the land, and all the women will be admonished not to imitate your depraved behavior.
“Groan quietly; do not observe mourning rites for the dead. Put on your turban and strap your sandals on your feet; do not cover your mustache or eat the bread of mourners.”[fn]
“Then you will do just as I have done: You will not cover your mustache or eat the bread of mourners.
“As for you, son of man, know that on that day I will take from them their stronghold — their pride and joy, the delight of their eyes, and the longing of their hearts — as well as their sons and daughters.
therefore I am about to give you to the people of the east as a possession. They will set up their encampments and pitch their tents among you. They will eat your fruit and drink your milk.
“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.
“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.
The elders of Gebal and its wise men
were within you, repairing your leaks.
“ ‘All the ships of the sea and their sailors
came to you to barter for your goods.
“Men of Arvad and Helech
were stationed on your walls all around,
and Gammadites were in your towers.
They hung their shields[fn] all around your walls;
they perfected your beauty.
“Because of you, they raise their voices
and cry out bitterly.
They throw dust on their heads;
they roll in ashes.
“ ‘In their wailing they lament for you,
mourning over you:
“Who was like Tyre,
silenced[fn] in the middle of the sea?
“All the inhabitants of the coasts and islands
are appalled at you.
Their kings shudder with fear;
their faces are contorted.
“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.
“ ‘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.
“ ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples where they are scattered, I will demonstrate my holiness through them in the sight of the nations, and they will live in their own land, which I gave to my servant Jacob.
“They will live there securely, build houses, and plant vineyards. They will live securely when I execute judgments against all their neighbors who treat them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the LORD their God.' ”
“When Israel grasped you by the hand,
you splintered, tearing all their shoulders;
when they leaned on you,
you shattered and made all their hips unsteady.[fn]
“It will never again be an object of trust for the house of Israel, drawing attention to their iniquity of turning to the Egyptians. Then they will know that I am the Lord GOD.' ”
“In that day I will cause a horn to sprout for the house of Israel, and I will enable you to speak out among them. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”
“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.
“I will make the streams dry
and sell the land to evil men.
I will bring desolation
on the land and everything in it
by the hands of foreigners.
I, the LORD, have spoken.
“Foreigners, ruthless men from the nations, cut it down and left it lying. Its limbs fell on the mountains and in every valley; its boughs lay broken in all the earth's ravines. All the peoples of the earth left its shade and abandoned it.
“This happened so that no trees planted beside water would become great in height and set their tops among the clouds, and so that no other well-watered trees would reach them in height. For they have all been consigned to death, to the underworld, among the people[fn] who descend to the Pit.
“I will cause many peoples to be appalled at you,
and their kings will shudder with fear because of you
when I brandish my sword in front of them.
On the day of your downfall
each of them will tremble
every moment for his life.
“Then I will let their waters settle
and will make their rivers flow like oil.
This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.
“Assyria is there with her whole assembly;
her graves are all around her.
All of them are slain, fallen by the sword.
“Her graves are set in the deepest regions of the Pit,
and her assembly is all around her burial place.
All of them are slain, fallen by the sword —
those who once spread terror
in the land of the living.
“Elam is there
with all her hordes around her grave.
All of them are slain, fallen by the sword —
those who went down to the underworld uncircumcised,
who once spread their terror
in the land of the living.
They bear their disgrace
with those who descend to the Pit.
“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.
“All the leaders of the north
and all the Sidonians are there.
They went down in shame with the slain,
despite the terror their strength inspired.
They lie down uncircumcised
with those slain by the sword.
They bear their disgrace
with those who descend to the Pit.
“Pharaoh will see them
and be comforted over all his hordes —
Pharaoh and his whole army,
slain by the sword.”
This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.
“Son of man, speak to your people and tell them, ‘Suppose I bring the sword against a land, and the people of that land select a man from among them, appointing him as their watchman.
“However, suppose the watchman sees the sword coming but doesn't blow the ram's horn, so that the people aren't warned, and the sword comes and takes away their lives. Then they have been taken away because of their iniquity, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood.'
“ ‘But your people say, “The Lord's way isn't fair,” even though it is their own way that isn't fair.
“They will know that I am the LORD when I make the land a desolate waste because of all the detestable acts they have committed.'
“So my people come to you in crowds,[fn] sit in front of you, and hear your words, but they don't obey them. Their mouths go on passionately, but their hearts pursue dishonest profit.
“Yet when all this comes true — and it definitely will — then they will know that a prophet has been among them.”
“ ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: Look, I am against the shepherds. I will demand my flock from them[fn] and prevent them from shepherding the flock. The shepherds will no longer feed themselves, for I will rescue my flock from their mouths so that they will not be food for them.
“I will bring them out from the peoples, gather them from the countries, and bring them to their own soil. I will shepherd them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the land.
“I will tend them in good pasture, and their grazing place will be on Israel's lofty mountains. There they will lie down in a good grazing place; they will feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.
“I will establish over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will shepherd them. He will tend them himself and will be their shepherd.
“I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David will be a prince among them. I, the LORD, have spoken.
“The trees of the field will yield their fruit, and the land will yield its produce; my flock will be secure in their land. They will know that I am the LORD when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the power of those who enslave them.
“Then they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people. This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.
“Just as you rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel because it became a desolation, I will deal the same way with you: you will become a desolation, Mount Seir, and so will all Edom in its entirety. Then they will know that I am the LORD.'
“Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says: I swear[fn] that the nations all around you will endure their own insults.
“I will cause people, my people Israel, to walk on you; they will possess you, and you will be their inheritance. You will no longer deprive them of their children.
“Son of man, while the house of Israel lived in their land, they defiled it with their conduct and actions. Their behavior before me was like menstrual impurity.
“I dispersed them among the nations, and they were scattered among the countries. I judged them according to their conduct and actions.
“Then I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel profaned among the nations where they went.
“I will honor the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations — the name you have profaned among them. The nations will know that I am the LORD — this is the declaration of the Lord GOD — when I demonstrate my holiness through you in their sight.
“ ‘You will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and detestable practices.
So I prophesied as he commanded me; the breath entered them, and they came to life and stood on their feet, a vast army.
“When the sticks you have written on are in your hand and in full view of the people,
“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.
“I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and one king will rule over all of them. They will no longer be two nations and will no longer be divided into two kingdoms.
“They will not defile themselves anymore with their idols, their abhorrent things, and all their transgressions. I will save them from all their apostasies by which[fn] they sinned, and I will cleanse them. Then they will be my people, and I will be their God.
“My servant David will be king over them, and there will be one shepherd for all of them. They will follow my ordinances, and keep my statutes and obey them.
“ ‘They will live in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your ancestors lived. They will live in it forever with their children and grandchildren, and my servant David will be their prince forever.
“I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be a permanent covenant with them. I will establish and multiply them and will set my sanctuary among them forever.
“When my sanctuary is among them forever, the nations will know that I, the LORD, sanctify Israel.' ”
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.
Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish with all its rulers[fn] will ask you, “Have you come to seize spoil? Have you mobilized your assembly to carry off plunder, to make off with silver and gold, to take cattle and possessions, to seize plenty of spoil? ” '
“And the nations will know that the house of Israel went into exile on account of their iniquity, because they dealt unfaithfully with me. Therefore, I hid my face from them and handed them over to their enemies, so that they all fell by the sword.
“I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and transgressions, and I hid my face from them.
“They will know that I am the LORD their God when I regather them to their own land after having exiled them among the nations. I will leave none of them behind.[fn]
“I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the house of Israel.” This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.
Then the man measured the temple; it was 175 feet[fn] long. In addition, the temple yard and the building, including its walls, were 175 feet long.
Cherubim and palm trees were carved on the doors of the great hall like those carved on the walls. There was a wooden canopy[fn] outside, in front of the portico.
At the base of these chambers there was an entryway on the east side as one enters them from the outer court.
with a passageway in front of them, just like the chambers that faced north. Their length and width, as well as all their exits, measurements, and entrances, were identical.
“Once the priests have entered, they are not to go out from the holy area to the outer court until they have removed the clothes they minister in, for these are holy. They are to put on other clothes before they approach the public area.”
He measured the temple complex on all four sides. It had a wall all around it, 875 feet long and 875 feet wide, to separate the holy from the common.
He said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place for the soles of my feet, where I will dwell among the Israelites forever. The house of Israel and their kings will no longer defile my holy name by their religious prostitution and by the corpses[fn] of their kings at their high places.[fn]
“Whenever they placed their threshold next to my threshold and their doorposts beside my doorposts, with only a wall between me and them, they were defiling my holy name by the detestable acts they committed. So I destroyed them in my anger.
“Now let them remove their prostitution and the corpses of their kings far from me, and I will dwell among them forever.
“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,
“and they will be ashamed of all that they have done. Reveal[fn] the design of the temple to them — its layout with its exits and entrances — its complete design along with all its statutes, design specifications, and laws. Write it down in their sight so that they may observe its complete design and all its statutes and may carry them out.
“For seven days the priests are to make atonement for the altar and cleanse it. In this way they will consecrate it[fn]
“Surely the Levites who wandered away from me when Israel went astray, and who strayed from me after their idols, will bear the consequences of their iniquity.
“Because they ministered to the house of Israel before their idols and became a sinful stumbling block to them, therefore I swore an oath[fn] against them” — this is the declaration of the Lord GOD — “that they would bear the consequences of their iniquity.
“They must not approach me to serve me as priests or come near any of my holy things or the most holy things. They will bear their disgrace and the consequences of the detestable acts they committed.
“They are to wear linen turbans on their heads and linen undergarments around their waists. They are not to put on anything that makes them sweat.
“Before they go out to the outer court,[fn] to the people, they must take off the clothes they have been ministering in, leave them in the holy chambers, and dress in other clothes so that they do not transmit holiness to the people through their clothes.
“They may not shave their heads or let their hair grow long, but are to carefully trim their hair.
“This will be their inheritance: I am their inheritance. You are to give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession.
“It will be a holy area of the land to be used by the priests who minister in the sanctuary, who approach to serve the LORD. It will be a place for their houses, as well as a holy area for the sanctuary.
“This will be his land as a possession in Israel. My princes will no longer oppress my people but give the rest of the land to the house of Israel according to their tribes.
“When the people enter, the prince will enter with them, and when they leave, he will leave.
“All kinds of trees providing food will grow along both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. Each month they will bear fresh fruit because the water comes from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be used for eating and their leaves for healing.”
“You will inherit it in equal portions, since I swore[fn] to give it to your ancestors. So this land will fall to you as an inheritance.
“In whatever tribe the alien resides, you will assign his inheritance there.” This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.
“This is the land you are to allot as an inheritance to Israel's tribes, and these will be their portions.” This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.
At the end of ten days they looked better and healthier[fn] than all the young men who were eating the king's food.
So the guard continued to remove their food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables.
The king interviewed them, and among all of them, no one was found equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they began to attend the king.
In every matter of wisdom and understanding that the king consulted them about, he found them ten times[fn] better than all the magicians and mediums in his entire kingdom.
So these men, in their trousers, robes, head coverings,[fn] and other clothes, were tied up and thrown into the furnace of blazing fire.
Then King Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in alarm. He said to his advisers, “Didn't we throw three men, bound, into the fire? ”
“Yes, of course, Your Majesty,” they replied to the king.
When the satraps, prefects, governors, and the king's advisers gathered around, they saw that the fire had no effect on[fn] the bodies of these men: not a hair of their heads was singed, their robes were unaffected, and there was no smell of fire on them.
Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed, “Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent his angel[fn] and rescued his servants who trusted in him. They violated the king's command and risked their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.
“Therefore I issue a decree that anyone of any people, nation, or language who says anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego will be torn limb from limb and his house made a garbage dump. For there is no other god who is able to deliver like this.”
When the magicians, mediums, Chaldeans, and diviners came in, I told them the dream, but they could not make its interpretation known to me.
and over them three administrators, including Daniel. These satraps would be accountable to them so that the king would not be defrauded.
The king then gave the command, and those men who had maliciously accused Daniel[fn] were brought and thrown into the lions' den — they, their children, and their wives. They had not reached the bottom of the den before the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.
“The ten horns are ten kings who will rise from this kingdom. Another king, different from the previous ones, will rise after them and subdue three kings.
Lord, righteousness belongs to you, but this day public shame belongs to us: the men of Judah, the residents of Jerusalem, and all Israel — those who are near and those who are far, in all the countries where you have banished them because of the disloyalty they have shown toward you.
“He will take even their gods captive to Egypt, with their metal images and their precious articles of silver and gold. For some years he will stay away from the king of the North,
“Then he will turn his attention to the coasts and islands[fn] and capture many. But a commander will put an end to his taunting; instead, he will turn his taunts against him.
“The two kings, whose hearts are bent on evil, will speak lies at the same table but to no avail, for still the end will come at the appointed time.
“He will get control over the hidden treasures of gold and silver and over all the riches of Egypt. The Libyans and Cushites will also be in submission.[fn]
But I will have compassion on the house of Judah,
and I will deliver them by the LORD their God.
I will not deliver them by bow, sword, or war,
or by horses and cavalry.
Yes, their mother is promiscuous;
she conceived them and acted shamefully.
For she thought, “I will follow my lovers,
the men who give me my food and water,
my wool and flax, my oil and drink.”
For I will remove the names of the Baals
from her mouth;
they will no longer be remembered by their names.
Afterward, the people of Israel will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They will come with awe to the LORD and to his goodness in the last days.
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.
A wind with its wings will carry them off,[fn]
and they will be ashamed of their sacrifices.
Their actions do not allow them
to return to their God,
for a spirit of promiscuity is among them,
and they do not know the LORD.
Israel's arrogance testifies against them.[fn]
Both Israel and Ephraim stumble
because of their iniquity;
even Judah will stumble with them.
They go with their flocks and herds
to seek the LORD
but do not find him;
he has withdrawn from them.
They betrayed the LORD;
indeed, they gave birth to illegitimate children.
Now the New Moon will devour them
along with their fields.
I will depart and return to my place
until they recognize their guilt and seek my face;
they will search for me in their distress.
But they never consider that I remember all their evil.
Now their actions are all around them;
they are right in front of my face.
For they — their hearts like an oven —
draw him into their oven.
Their anger smolders all night;
in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.
All of them are as hot as an oven,
and they consume their rulers.
All their kings fall;
not one of them calls on me.[fn]
Israel's arrogance testifies against them,[fn]
yet they do not return to the LORD their God,
and for all this, they do not seek him.
As they are going, I will spread my net over them;
I will bring them down like birds of the sky.
I will discipline them in accordance
with the news that reaches[fn] their assembly.
They do not cry to me from their hearts;
rather, they wail on their beds.
They slash themselves[fn] for grain and new wine;
they turn away from me.
They turn, but not to what is above;[fn]
they are like a faulty bow.
Their leaders will fall by the sword
because of their insolent tongue.
They will be ridiculed for this in the land of Egypt.
Put the ram's horn to your mouth!
One like an eagle comes
against the house of the LORD,
because they transgress my covenant
and rebel against my law.
They have installed kings,
but not through me.
They have appointed leaders,
but without my approval.
They make their silver and gold
into idols for themselves
for their own destruction.[fn]
Indeed, they sow the wind
and reap the whirlwind.
There is no standing grain;
what sprouts fails to yield flour.
Even if they did,
foreigners would swallow it up.
Though they offer sacrificial gifts[fn]
and eat the flesh,
the LORD does not accept them.
Now he will remember their guilt
and punish their sins;
they will return to Egypt.
Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces;
Judah has also multiplied fortified cities.
I will send fire on their cities,
and it will consume their citadels.
They will not pour out
their wine offerings to the LORD,
and their sacrifices will not please him.
Their food will be like the bread of mourners;
all who eat it become defiled.
For their bread will be for their appetites alone;
it will not enter the house of the LORD.
For even if they flee from devastation,
Egypt will gather them, and Memphis will bury them.
Thistles will take possession of their precious silver;
thorns will invade their tents.
I discovered Israel
like grapes in the wilderness.
I saw your ancestors
like the first fruit of the fig tree in its first season.
But they went to Baal-peor,
consecrated themselves to Shame,[fn]
and became abhorrent,
like the thing they loved.
Even if they raise children,
I will bereave them of each one.
Yes, woe to them when I depart from them!
I have seen Ephraim like Tyre,
planted in a meadow,
so Ephraim will bring out his children
to the executioner.
All their evil appears at Gilgal,
for there I began to hate them.
I will drive them from my house
because of their evil, wicked actions.
I will no longer love them;
all their leaders are rebellious.
Ephraim is struck down;
their roots are withered;
they cannot bear fruit.
Even if they bear children,
I will kill the precious offspring of their wombs.
Their hearts are devious;[fn]
now they must bear their guilt.
The LORD will break down their altars
and demolish their sacred pillars.
The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel,
will be destroyed;
thorns and thistles will grow over their altars.
They will say to the mountains, “Cover us! ”
and to the hills, “Fall on us! ”
I will discipline them at my discretion;
nations will be gathered against them
to put them in bondage[fn]
for their double iniquity.
A sword will whirl through his cities;
it will destroy and devour the bars of his gates,[fn]
because of their schemes.
They will be roused like birds from Egypt
and like doves from the land of Assyria.
Then I will settle them in their homes.
This is the LORD's declaration.
Since Gilead is full of evil,
they will certainly come to nothing.
They sacrifice bulls in Gilgal;
even their altars will be like piles of rocks
on the furrows of a field.
Now they continue to sin
and make themselves a cast image,
idols skillfully made from their silver,
all of them the work of craftsmen.
People say about them,
“Let the men who sacrifice[fn] kiss the calves.”
I have been the LORD your God
ever since[fn] the land of Egypt;
you know no God but me,
and no Savior exists besides me.
When they had pasture,
they became satisfied;
they were satisfied,
and their hearts became proud.
Therefore they forgot me.
I will attack them
like a bear robbed of her cubs
and tear open the rib cage over their hearts.
I will devour them there like a lioness,
like a wild beast that would rip them open.
Samaria will bear her guilt
because she has rebelled against her God.
They will fall by the sword;
their children will be dashed to pieces,
and their pregnant women ripped open.
I will heal their apostasy;
I will freely love them,
for my anger will have turned from him.
Tell your children about it,
and let your children tell their children,
and their children the next generation.
Wake up, you drunkards, and weep;
wail, all you wine drinkers,
because of the sweet wine,
for it has been taken from your mouth.
The seeds lie shriveled in their casings.[fn]
The storehouses are in ruin,
and the granaries are broken down,
because the grain has withered away.
They attack as warriors attack;
they scale walls as men of war do.
Each goes on his own path,
and they do not change their course.
They do not push each other;
each proceeds on his own path.
They dodge the arrows, never stopping.
The earth quakes before them;
the sky shakes.
The sun and moon grow dark,
and the stars cease their shining.
Let the priests, the LORD's ministers,
weep between the portico and the altar.
Let them say,
“Have pity on your people, LORD,
and do not make your inheritance a disgrace,
an object of scorn among the nations.
Why should it be said among the peoples,
‘Where is their God? ' ”
The LORD answered his people:
Look, I am about to send you
grain, new wine, and fresh oil.
You will be satiated with them,
and I will no longer make you
a disgrace among the nations.
You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks to remove them far from their own territory.
Swing the sickle
because the harvest is ripe.
Come and trample the grapes
because the winepress is full;
the wine vats overflow
because the wickedness of the nations is extreme.
Egypt will become desolate,
and Edom a desert wasteland,
because of the violence done to the people of Judah
in whose land they shed innocent blood.
The LORD says:
I will not relent from punishing the Ammonites
for three crimes, even four,
because they ripped open
the pregnant women of Gilead
in order to enlarge their territory.
The LORD says:
I will not relent from punishing Judah
for three crimes, even four,
because they have rejected the instruction of the LORD
and have not kept his statutes.
The lies that their ancestors followed
have led them astray.
They trample the heads of the poor
on the dust of the ground
and obstruct the path of the needy.
A man and his father have sexual relations
with the same girl,
profaning my holy name.
They stretch out beside every altar
on garments taken as collateral,
and in the house of their God
they drink wine obtained through fines.
Yet I destroyed the Amorite as Israel advanced;
his height was like the cedars,
and he was as sturdy as the oaks;
I destroyed his fruit above and his roots beneath.
The people are incapable of doing right —
this is the LORD's declaration —
those who store up violence and destruction
in their citadels.
Listen to this message, you cows of Bashan
who are on the hill of Samaria,
women who oppress the poor
and crush the needy,
who say to their husbands,
“Bring us something to drink.”
Therefore, because you trample on the poor
and exact a grain tax from him,
you will never live in the houses of cut stone
you have built;
you will never drink the wine
from the lush vineyards
you have planted.
Cross over to Calneh and see;
go from there to great Hamath;
then go down to Gath of the Philistines.
Are you better than these kingdoms?
Is their territory larger than yours?
They lie on beds inlaid with ivory,
sprawled out on their couches,
and dine on lambs from the flock
and calves from the stall.
I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and he said:
Strike the capitals of the pillars
so that the thresholds shake;
knock them down on the heads of all the people.
Then I will kill the rest of them with the sword.
None of those who flee will get away;
none of the fugitives will escape.
And if they are driven
by their enemies into captivity,
from there I will command
the sword to kill them.
I will keep my eye on them
for harm and not for good.
I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel.[fn]
They will rebuild and occupy ruined cities,
plant vineyards and drink their wine,
make gardens and eat their produce.
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.
On the day you stood aloof,
on the day strangers captured his wealth,[fn]
while foreigners entered his city gate
and cast lots for Jerusalem,
you were just like one of them.
Do not enter my people's city gate
in the day of their disaster.
Yes, you — do not gloat over their misery
in the day of their disaster,
and do not appropriate their possessions
in the day of their disaster.
Do not stand at the crossroads[fn]
to cut off their fugitives,
and do not hand over their survivors
in the day of distress.
Jonah got up to flee to Tarshish from the LORD's presence. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. He paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the LORD's presence.
The sailors were afraid, and each cried out to his god. They threw the ship's cargo into the sea to lighten the load. Meanwhile, Jonah had gone down to the lowest part of the vessel and had stretched out and fallen into a deep sleep.
Then the people of Nineveh believed God. They proclaimed a fast and dressed in sackcloth — from the greatest of them to the least.
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.
“So may I not care about the great city of Nineveh, which has more than a hundred twenty thousand people who cannot distinguish between their right and their left, as well as many animals? ”
Woe to those who dream up wickedness
and prepare evil plans on their beds!
At morning light they accomplish it
because the power is in their hands.
You force the women of my people
out of their comfortable homes,
and you take my blessing[fn]
from their children forever.
I will indeed gather all of you, Jacob;
I will collect the remnant of Israel.
I will bring them together like sheep in a pen,
like a flock in the middle of its pasture.
It will be noisy with people.
One who breaks open the way
will advance before them;
they will break out, pass through the city gate,
and leave by it.
Their King will pass through before them,
the LORD as their leader.
“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.”
Then they will cry out to the LORD,
but he will not answer them.
He will hide his face from them at that time
because of the crimes they have committed.
This is what the LORD says
concerning the prophets
who lead my people astray,
who proclaim peace
when they have food to sink their teeth into
but declare war against the one
who puts nothing in their mouths.
Then the seers will be ashamed
and the diviners disappointed.
They will all cover their mouths[fn]
because there will be no answer from God.
He will settle disputes among many peoples
and provide arbitration for strong nations
that are far away.
They will beat their swords into plows
and their spears into pruning knives.
Nation will not take up the sword against nation,
and they will never again train for war.
Rise and thresh, Daughter Zion,
for I will make your horns iron
and your hooves bronze
so you can crush many peoples.
Then you[fn] will set apart their plunder
for the LORD,
their wealth for the Lord of the whole earth.
Therefore, Israel will be abandoned until the time
when she who is in labor has given birth;
then the rest of the ruler's brothers will return
to the people of Israel.
He will stand and shepherd them
in the strength of the LORD,
in the majestic name of the LORD his God.
They will live securely,
for then his greatness will extend
to the ends of the earth.
“For the wealthy of the city are full of violence,
and its residents speak lies;
the tongues in their mouths are deceitful.
Both hands are good at accomplishing evil:
the official and the judge demand a bribe;
when the powerful man communicates his evil desire,
they plot it together.
The best of them is like a brier;
the most upright is worse than a hedge of thorns.
The day of your watchmen,
the day of your punishment, is coming;
at this time their panic is here.
Then the earth will become a wasteland
because of its inhabitants
and as a result of their actions.
Nations will see and be ashamed
of[fn] all their power.
They will put their hands over their mouths,
and their ears will become deaf.
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.
For they will be consumed
like entangled thorns,
like the drink of a drunkard
and like straw that is fully dry.[fn]
For the LORD will restore the majesty of Jacob,
yes,[fn] the majesty of Israel,
though ravagers have ravaged them
and ruined their vine branches.
The shields of his[fn] warriors are dyed red;
the valiant men are dressed in scarlet.
The fittings of the chariot flash like fire
on the day of its battle preparations,
and the spears are brandished.
The chariots dash madly through the streets;
they rush around in the plazas.
They look like torches;
they dart back and forth like lightning.
He gives orders to his officers;
they stumble as they advance.
They race to its wall;
the protective shield is set in place.
Charging horseman,
flashing sword,
shining spear;
heaps of slain,
mounds of corpses,
dead bodies without end —
they stumble over their dead.
All of them come to do violence;
their faces are set in determination.[fn]
They gather prisoners like sand.
Woe to him who gives his neighbors drink,
pouring out your wrath[fn]
and even making them drunk,
in order to look at their nakedness!
You pierce his head
with his own spears;
his warriors storm out to scatter us,
gloating as if ready to secretly devour the weak.
those who bow in worship on the rooftops
to the stars in the sky;
those who bow and pledge loyalty to the LORD
but also pledge loyalty to Milcom;[fn]
On that day I will punish
all who skip over the threshold,[fn]
who fill their master's house
with violence and deceit.
And at that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps
and punish those who settle down comfortably,[fn]
who say to themselves:
The LORD will do nothing — good or bad.
Their wealth will become plunder
and their houses a ruin.
They will build houses but never live in them,
plant vineyards but never drink their wine.
I will bring distress on mankind,
and they will walk like the blind
because they have sinned against the LORD.
Their blood will be poured out like dust
and their flesh like dung.
Their silver and their gold
will be unable to rescue them
on the day of the LORD's wrath.
The whole earth will be consumed
by the fire of his jealousy,
for he will make a complete,
yes, a horrifying end
of all the inhabitants of the earth.
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.
This is what they get for their pride,
because they have taunted and acted arrogantly
against the people of the LORD of Armies.
I have cut off nations;
their corner towers are destroyed.
I have laid waste their streets,
with no one to pass through.
Their cities lie devastated,
without a person, without an inhabitant.
I said: You will certainly fear me
and accept correction.
Then her dwelling place[fn]
would not be cut off
based on all that I had allocated to her.
However, they became more corrupt
in all their actions.
The remnant of Israel will no longer
do wrong or tell lies;
a deceitful tongue will not be found
in their mouths.
They will pasture and lie down,
with nothing to make them afraid.
“I have summoned a drought
on the fields and the hills,
on the grain, new wine, fresh oil,
and whatever the ground yields,
on people and animals,
and on all that your hands produce.”
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.
The LORD roused the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, the spirit of the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. They began work on the house of the LORD of Armies, their God,
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.
“I will overturn royal thrones and destroy the power of the Gentile kingdoms. I will overturn chariots and their riders. Horses and their riders will fall, each by his brother's sword.
I asked, “What are they coming to do? ”
He replied, “These are the horns that scattered Judah so no one could raise his head. These craftsmen have come to terrify them, to cut off[fn] the horns of the nations that raised a horn against the land of Judah to scatter it.”
“The one with the black horses is going to the land of the north, the white horses are going after them, but the dappled horses are going to the land of the south.”
“People who are far off will come and build the LORD's temple, and you will know that the LORD of Armies has sent me to you. This will happen when you fully obey the LORD your God.”
“But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder; they closed their ears so they could not hear.
“They made their hearts like a rock so as not to obey the law or the words that the LORD of Armies had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. Therefore intense anger came from the LORD of Armies.
“I scattered them with a windstorm over all the nations that had not known them, and the land was left desolate behind them, with no one coming or going. They turned a pleasant land into a desolation.”
I will remove the blood from their mouths
and the abhorrent things
from between their teeth.
Then they too will become a remnant for our God;
they will become like a clan in Judah
and Ekron like the Jebusites.
The LORD of Armies will defend them.
They will consume and conquer with slingstones;
they will drink and be rowdy as if with wine.
They will be as full as the sprinkling basin,
like those at the corners of the altar.
They will be like warriors in battle
trampling down the mud of the streets.
They will fight because the LORD is with them,
and they will put horsemen to shame.
Ephraim will be like a warrior,
and their hearts will be glad as if with wine.
Their children will see it and be glad;
their hearts will rejoice in the LORD.
Though I sow them among the nations,
they will remember me in the distant lands;
they and their children will live and return.
I will bring them back from the land of Egypt
and gather them from Assyria.
I will bring them to the land of Gilead
and to Lebanon,
but it will not be enough for them.
I will strengthen them in the LORD,
and they will march in his name —
this is the LORD's declaration.
Listen to the wail of the shepherds,
for their glory is destroyed.
Listen to the roar of young lions,
for the thickets of the Jordan are[fn] destroyed.
“Those who buy them slaughter them but are not punished. Those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the LORD because I have become rich!' Even their own shepherds have no compassion for them.
“Indeed, I will no longer have compassion on the inhabitants of the land” — this is the LORD's declaration. “Instead, I will turn everyone over to his neighbor and his king. They will devastate the land, and I will not rescue it from their hand.”
In one month I got rid of three shepherds. I became impatient with them, and they also detested me.
“Then each of the leaders of Judah will think to himself: The residents of Jerusalem are my strength through the LORD of Armies, their God.
“On that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that on that day the one who is weakest among them will be like David on that day, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the LORD, before them.
“The land will mourn, every family by itself: the family of David's house by itself and their women by themselves; the family of Nathan's[fn] house by itself and their women by themselves;
“the family of Levi's house by itself and their women by themselves; the family of Shimei[fn] by itself and their women by themselves;
This will be the plague with which the LORD strikes all the people who have warred against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.
Every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the LORD of Armies. All who sacrifice will come and use the pots to cook in. And on that day there will no longer be a Canaanite[fn] in the house of the LORD of Armies.
So God created the large sea-creatures and every living creature that moves and swarms in the water, according to their kinds. He also created every winged creature according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
So God made the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that crawl on the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
“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.
He set the peeled branches in the troughs in front of the sheep — in the water channels where the sheep came to drink. And the sheep bred when they came to drink.
“make hangings 22½ feet[fn] long for one side of the gate, including their three posts and their three bases.
“They must eat those things by which atonement was made at the time of their ordination[fn] and consecration. An unauthorized person must not eat them, for these things are holy.
“Consecrate them and they will be especially holy. Whatever touches them will be consecrated.
He made four pillars of acacia wood for it and overlaid them with gold; their hooks were of gold. And he cast four silver bases for the pillars.
together with its five pillars and their hooks. He overlaid the tops of the pillars and their bands with gold, but their five bases were bronze.
For the six branches that extended from it, a bud was under the first pair of branches from it, a bud under the second pair of branches from it, and a bud under the third pair of branches from it.
including their twenty posts and their twenty bronze bases, with silver hooks and silver bands[fn] for the posts.
The hangings on the north side were also 150 feet long, including their twenty posts and twenty bronze bases. The hooks and bands of the posts were silver.
the hangings on one side of the gate were 22½ feet,[fn] including their three posts and their three bases.
It had four posts with their four bronze bases. Their hooks were silver, and their top plating and their bands were silver.
and the sash of finely spun linen expertly embroidered with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn. They did just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
“Tell the Israelites: When someone sins unintentionally against any of the LORD's commands and does anything prohibited by them —
“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.”
“But no sin offering may be eaten if its blood has been brought into the tent of meeting to make atonement in the holy place; it must be burned.
“The guilt offering is like the sin offering; the law is the same for both. It belongs to the priest who makes atonement with it.
“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.
“They are to remain abhorrent to you; you must not eat any of their meat, and you must abhor their carcasses.
“These will make you unclean. Whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean until evening,
“and whoever carries any of their carcasses is to wash his clothes and will be unclean until evening.
“All the four-footed animals that walk on their paws are unclean for you. Whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean until evening,
“and anyone who carries their carcasses is to wash his clothes and will be unclean until evening. They are unclean for you.
“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.
“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.
“A spring or cistern containing water will remain clean, but someone who touches a carcass in it will become unclean.
“but if water has been put on the seed and one of their carcasses falls on it, it is unclean for you.
“If one of the animals that you use for food dies, anyone who touches its carcass will be unclean until evening.
“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.
“You are not to present any animal to the LORD that is blind, injured, maimed, or has a running sore, festering rash, or scabs; you may not put any of them on the altar as a food offering to the LORD.
“I will give you rain at the right time, and the land will yield its produce, and the trees of the field will bear their fruit.
“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 the vow involves any of the unclean animals that may not be brought as an offering to the LORD, the animal must be presented before the priest.
Their duties involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the sanctuary utensils that were used with these, and the screen[fn] — and all the work relating to them.
“This is what they are responsible to carry as the whole of their service at the tent of meeting: the supports of the tabernacle, with its crossbars, pillars, and bases,
“the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, and ropes, including all their equipment and all the work related to them. You are to assign by name the items that they are responsible to carry.
“along with their grain offerings and drink offerings, and a basket of unleavened cakes made from fine flour mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers coated with oil.
“However, you must not redeem the firstborn of an ox, a sheep, or a goat; they are holy. You are to splatter their blood on the altar and burn their fat as a food offering for a pleasing aroma to the LORD.
“The grain offering with them is to be of fine flour mixed with oil; offer six quarts with each bull and four quarts with the ram.
“with their grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, six quarts with each bull, four quarts with the ram,
“Offer them with their drink offerings in addition to the regular burnt offering and its grain offering. Your animals are to be unblemished.
“These are in addition to the monthly and regular burnt offerings with their prescribed grain offerings and drink offerings. They are a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the LORD.
“Their grain offering is to be of fine flour mixed with oil, six quarts with the bull, four quarts with the ram,
“Their grain offering is to be of fine flour mixed with oil, six quarts with each of the thirteen bulls, four quarts with each of the two rams,
“Also offer one male goat as a sin offering. These are in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain and drink offerings.
“with their grain and drink offerings for the bulls, rams, and lambs, in proportion to their number.
“Also offer one male goat as a sin offering. These are in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain and drink and their drink offerings.
“with their grain and drink offerings for the bulls, rams, and lambs, in proportion to their number.
“Also offer one male goat as a sin offering. These are in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain and drink offerings.
“with their grain and drink offerings for the bulls, rams, and lambs, in proportion to their number.
“Also offer one male goat as a sin offering. These are in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain and drink offerings.
“with their grain and drink offerings for the bulls, rams, and lambs, in proportion to their number.
“Also offer one male goat as a sin offering. These are in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain and drink offerings.
“with their grain and drink offerings for the bulls, rams, and lambs, in proportion to their number.
“Also offer one male goat as a sin offering. These are in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain and drink offerings.
“with their grain and drink offerings for the bulls, rams, and lambs, in proportion to their number.
“Also offer one male goat as a sin offering. These are in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain and drink offerings.
“with their grain and drink offerings for the bulls, rams, and lambs, in proportion to their number.
“Also offer one male goat as a sin offering. These are in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain and drink offerings.
“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.
“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.
“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.
“so that they won't teach you to do all the detestable acts they do for their gods, and you sin against the LORD your God.
“I have not eaten any of it while in mourning, or removed any of it while unclean, or offered any of it for the dead. I have obeyed the LORD my God; I have done all you commanded me.
“Above all, be strong and very courageous to observe carefully the whole instruction my servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or the left, so that you will have success wherever you go.
So Joshua sent messengers who ran to the tent, and there was the cloak, concealed in his tent, with the silver underneath.
It then descended westward to the border of the Japhletites as far as the border of Lower Beth-horon, then to Gezer, and ended at the Mediterranean Sea.
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
The border then circled around Neah on the north to Hannathon and ended at Iphtah-el Valley,
“Go and say to David, ‘This is what the LORD says: I am offering you three choices. Choose one of them, and I will do it to you.' ”
Then he put the cherubim inside the inner temple. Since their wings were spread out, the first one's wing touched one wall while the second cherub's wing touched the other[fn] wall, and in the middle of the temple their wings were touching wing to wing.
the pots, the shovels, the forks, and all their utensils — Huram-abi[fn] made them for King Solomon for the LORD's temple. All these were made of polished bronze.
And the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark so that the cherubim formed a cover above the ark and its poles.
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.
Surely the arrows of the Almighty have pierced[fn] me;
my spirit drinks their poison.
God's terrors are arrayed against me.
None of them grows weary or stumbles;
no one slumbers or sleeps.
No belt is loose
and no sandal strap broken.
Their arrows are sharpened,
and all their bows strung.
Their horses' hooves are like flint;
their chariot wheels are like a whirlwind.
On that day they will roar over it,
like the roaring of the sea.
When one looks at the land,
there will be darkness and distress;
light will be obscured by clouds.[fn]
The cow and the bear will graze,
their young ones will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like cattle.
The nations will escort Israel and bring it to its homeland. Then the house of Israel will possess them as male and female slaves in the LORD's land. They will make captives of their captors and will rule over their oppressors.
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!
The LORD is angry with all the nations,
furious with all their armies.
He will set them apart for destruction,
giving them over to slaughter.
Their slain will be thrown out,
and the stench of their corpses will rise;
the mountains will flow[fn] with their blood.
“When I look, there is no one;
there is no counselor among them;
when I ask them, they have nothing to say.
All the nations are gathered together,
and the peoples are assembled.
Who among them can declare this,
and tell us the former things?
Let them present their witnesses
to vindicate themselves,
so that people may hear and say, “It is true.”
A person can use it for fuel.
He takes some of it and warms himself;
also he kindles a fire and bakes bread;
he even makes it into a god and worships it;
he makes an idol from it and bows down to it.
He burns half of it in a fire,
and he roasts meat on that half.
He eats the roast and is satisfied.
He warms himself and says, “Ah!
I am warm, I see the blaze.”
He feeds on[fn] ashes.
His deceived mind has led him astray,
and he cannot rescue himself,
or say, “Isn't there a lie in my right hand? ”
Has a nation ever exchanged its gods?
(But they were not gods!)
Yet my people have exchanged their[fn] Glory
for useless idols.
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.
The likeness of four living creatures came from it, and this was their appearance: They looked something like a human,
Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the hooves of a calf, sparkling like the gleam of polished bronze.
They had human hands under their wings on their four sides. All four of them had faces and wings.
Their wings were touching. The creatures did not turn as they moved; each one went straight ahead.
Their faces looked something like the face of a human, and each of the four had the face of a lion on the right, the face of an ox on the left, and the face of an eagle.
That is what their faces were like. Their wings were spread upward; each had two wings touching that of another and two wings covering its body.
When the living creatures moved, the wheels moved beside them, and when the creatures rose from the earth, the wheels also rose.
Over the heads of the living creatures the likeness of an expanse was spread out. It gleamed like awe-inspiring crystal,
and under the expanse their wings extended one toward another. They each also had two wings covering their bodies.
When they moved, I heard the sound of their wings like the roar of a huge torrent, like the voice of the Almighty, and a sound of tumult like the noise of an army. When they stopped, they lowered their wings.
A voice came from above the expanse over their heads; when they stopped, they lowered their wings.
with the[fn] sound of the living creatures' wings brushing against each other and the sound of the wheels beside them, a loud rumbling sound.
He replied to me, “Look, I will let you use cow dung instead of human excrement, and you can make your bread over that.”
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.
When the cherubim moved, the wheels moved beside them, and when they lifted their wings to rise from the earth, even then the wheels did not veer away from them.
When the cherubim stopped, the wheels stood still, and when they ascended, the wheels ascended with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in them.
The cherubim lifted their wings and ascended from the earth right before my eyes; the wheels were beside them as they went. The glory of the God of Israel was above them, and it stopped at the entrance to the eastern gate of the LORD's house.
Each had four faces and each had four wings, with what looked something like human hands under their wings.
Their faces looked like the same faces I had seen by the Chebar Canal. Each creature went straight ahead.
Then the cherubim, with the wheels beside them, lifted their wings, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.
“But I acted for the sake of my name, so that it would not be profaned in the eyes of the nations they were living among, in whose sight I had made myself known to Israel by bringing them out of Egypt.
“But I acted for the sake of my name, so that it would not be profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.
“But I withheld my hand and acted for the sake of my name, so that it would not be profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I brought them out.
“Take the choicest of the flock
and also pile up the fuel[fn] under it.
Bring it to a boil
and cook the bones in it.
“I will honor the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations — the name you have profaned among them. The nations will know that I am the LORD — this is the declaration of the Lord GOD — when I demonstrate my holiness through you in their sight.
“You will advance against my people Israel like a cloud covering the land. It will happen in the last days, Gog, that I will bring you against my land so that the nations may know me, when I demonstrate my holiness through you in their sight.
“And the nations will know that the house of Israel went into exile on account of their iniquity, because they dealt unfaithfully with me. Therefore, I hid my face from them and handed them over to their enemies, so that they all fell by the sword.
“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.
“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.
So they got their father to drink wine that night, and the firstborn came and slept with her father; he did not know when she lay down or when she got up.
“When they had devoured them, you could not tell that they had devoured them; their appearance was as bad as it had been before. Then I woke up.
“The seven thin, sickly cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind are seven years of famine.
“Yet his bow remained steady,
and his strong arms were made agile
by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,
by the name of[fn] the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters. They came to draw water and filled the troughs to water their father's flock.
Then some shepherds arrived and drove them away, but Moses came to their rescue and watered their flock.
When they returned to their father Reuel,[fn] he asked, “Why have you come back so quickly today? ”
Miriam sang to them:
Sing to the LORD,
for he is highly exalted;
he has thrown the horse
and its rider into the sea.
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.
And all the women whose hearts were moved spun the goat hair by virtue of their skill.
The hangings on the west side were 75 feet[fn] long, including their ten posts and their ten bases, with silver hooks and silver bands for the posts.
the hangings on one side of the gate were 22½ feet,[fn] including their three posts and their three bases.
It was the same for the other side of the courtyard gate. The hangings were 22½ feet, including their three posts and their three bases.
“He will examine it, and if the contamination in the walls of the house consists of green or red indentations[fn] that appear to be beneath the surface of the wall,
“You are not to have sexual intercourse with your son's daughter or your daughter's daughter, for they are your family.[fn]
“You are not to have sexual intercourse with a woman and her daughter. You are not to marry her son's daughter or her daughter's daughter and have sex with her. They are close relatives; it is depraved.
“What Zelophehad's daughters say is correct. You are to give them hereditary property among their father's brothers and transfer their father's inheritance to them.
“If they marry any of the men from the other Israelite tribes, their inheritance will be taken away from our fathers' inheritance and added to that of the tribe into which they marry. Therefore, part of our allotted inheritance would be taken away.
“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.”
“This is what the LORD has commanded concerning Zelophehad's daughters: They may marry anyone they like provided they marry within a clan of their ancestral tribe.
Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, married cousins on their father's side.
They married men from the clans of the descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained within the tribe of their father's clan.
“If a man has two wives, one loved and the other neglected, and both the loved and the neglected bear him sons, and if the neglected wife has the firstborn son,
Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon — twenty-nine cities in all, with their settlements.
Shaaraim, Adithaim, Gederah, and Gederothaim — fourteen cities, with their settlements;
Gederoth, Beth-dagon, Naamah, and Makkedah — sixteen cities, with their settlements;
Humtah, Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), and Zior — nine cities, with their settlements;
Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), and Rabbah — two cities, with their settlements.
the cities set apart for the descendants of Ephraim within the inheritance of the descendants of Manasseh — all these cities with their settlements.
They came before the priest Eleazar, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders, saying, “The LORD commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our male relatives.” So they gave them an inheritance among their father's brothers, in keeping with the LORD's instruction.
As a result, ten tracts fell to Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan, which are beyond the Jordan,[fn]
because Manasseh's daughters received an inheritance among his sons. The land of Gilead belonged to the rest of Manasseh's sons.
and all the settlements surrounding these cities as far as Baalath-beer (Ramah in the south[fn]).
This was the inheritance of the tribe of Simeon's descendants by their clans.
This was the inheritance of the tribe of Issachar's descendants by their clans, the cities, with their settlements.
This was the inheritance of the tribe of Asher's descendants by their clans, these cities with their settlements.
All thirteen cities with their pasturelands were for the Gershonites by their clans.
Within the Israelite possession there were forty-eight cities in all with their pasturelands for the Levites.
Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem and summoned Israel's elders, leaders, judges, and officers, and they presented themselves before God.
“When their fathers or brothers come to us and protest, we will tell them, ‘Show favor to them, since we did not get enough wives for each of them in the battle. You didn't actually give the women to them, so[fn] you are not guilty of breaking your oath.' ”
“May the LORD grant each of you rest in the house of a new husband.” She kissed them, and they wept loudly.
When David came to his palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten concubines he had left to take care of the palace and placed them under guard. He provided for them, but he was not intimate with them. They were confined until the day of their death, living as widows.
and all their surrounding villages as far as Baal. These were their settlements, and they kept a genealogical record for themselves.
They went to the entrance of Gedor, to the east side of the valley to seek pasture for their flocks.
They lived in Gilead, in Bashan and its surrounding villages, and throughout the pasturelands of Sharon.
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 in his presence the altars of the Baals were torn down, and he chopped down the shrines[fn] that were above them. He shattered the Asherah poles, the carved images, and the cast images, crushed them to dust, and scattered them over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.
All of these had married foreign women, and some of the wives had given birth to children.
“Before this day is over, the noble women of Persia and Media who hear about the queen's act will say the same thing to all the king's officials, resulting in more contempt and fury.
These days are remembered and celebrated by every generation, family, province, and city, so that these days of Purim will not lose their significance in Jewish life[fn] and their memory will not fade from their descendants.
a messenger came to Job and reported, “While the oxen were plowing and the donkeys grazing nearby,
The strong one will become tinder,
and his work a spark;
both will burn together,
with no one to extinguish the flames.
He will settle disputes among the nations
and provide arbitration for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plows
and their spears into pruning knives.
Nation will not take up the sword against nation,
and they will never again train for war.
For you have abandoned your people,
the house of Jacob,
because they are full of divination from the East
and of fortune-tellers like the Philistines.
They are in league[fn] with foreigners.
For Jerusalem has stumbled
and Judah has fallen
because they have spoken and acted against the LORD,
defying his glorious presence.
Don't rejoice, all of you in Philistia,
because the rod of the one who struck you is broken.
For a viper will come from the root[fn] of a snake,
and from its egg comes a flying serpent.
The LORD has mixed within her a spirit of confusion.
The leaders have made Egypt stagger in all she does,
as a drunkard staggers in his vomit.
For you have turned the city into a pile of rocks,
a fortified city, into ruins;
the fortress of barbarians is no longer a city;
it will never be rebuilt.
His breath is like an overflowing torrent
that rises to the neck.
He comes to sift the nations in a sieve of destruction
and to put a bridle on the jaws of the peoples
to lead them astray.
Warn the nations: Look!
Proclaim to Jerusalem:
Those who besiege are coming
from a distant land;
they raise their voices
against the cities of Judah.
“Even storks in the sky
know their seasons.
Turtledoves, swallows, and cranes[fn]
are aware of their migration,
but my people do not know
the requirements of the LORD.
The hands of compassionate women
have cooked their own children;
they became their food
during the destruction of my dear people.
Then the LORD said to me, “Son of man, will you pass judgment against Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare their detestable practices to them.
“For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands; they have committed adultery with their idols. And the children they bore to me they have sacrificed in the fire[fn] as food for the idols.
with a passageway in front of them, just like the chambers that faced north. Their length and width, as well as all their exits, measurements, and entrances, were identical.
The entrance at the beginning of the passageway, the way in front of the corresponding[fn] wall as one enters on the east side, was similar to the entrances of the chambers that were on the south side.
Don't be afraid, wild animals,
for the wilderness pastures have turned green,
the trees bear their fruit,
and the fig tree and grapevine yield their riches.
Their wealth will become plunder
and their houses a ruin.
They will build houses but never live in them,
plant vineyards but never drink their wine.
Then I looked up and saw two women approaching with the wind in their wings. Their wings were like those of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between earth and sky.
Now the Chaldeans broke into pieces the bronze pillars of the LORD's temple, the water carts, and the bronze basin,[fn] which were in the LORD's temple, and carried the bronze to Babylon.
King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, over the rest of the people he left in the land of Judah.
When all the commanders of the armies — they and their men — heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah. The commanders included Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah son of the Maacathite — they and their men.
Gedaliah swore an oath to them and their men, assuring them, “Don't be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well for you.”
and Mikloth who fathered Shimeah. These also lived opposite their relatives in Jerusalem, with their other relatives.
Like a servant's eyes on his master's hand,
like a servant girl's eyes on her mistress's hand,
so our eyes are on the LORD our God
until he shows us favor.
The scepter of the wicked will not remain
over the land allotted to the righteous,
so that the righteous will not apply their hands to injustice.
Our mouths were filled with laughter then,
and our tongues with shouts of joy.
Then they said among the nations,
“The LORD has done great things for them.”
Though one goes along weeping,
carrying the bag of seed,
he will surely come back with shouts of joy,
carrying his sheaves.
Happy is the man who has filled his quiver with them.
They will never be put to shame
when they speak with their enemies at the city gate.
“If your sons keep my covenant
and my decrees that I will teach them,
their sons will also sit on your throne forever.”
They make their tongues
as sharp as a snake's bite;
viper's venom is under their lips.Selah
When those who surround me rise up,[fn]
may the trouble their lips cause overwhelm them.
Do not let my heart turn to any evil thing
or perform wicked acts with evildoers.
Do not let me feast on their delicacies.
Set me free and rescue me
from foreigners
whose mouths speak lies,
whose right hands are deceptive.
Then our sons will be like plants
nurtured in their youth,
our daughters, like corner pillars
that are carved in the palace style.
Our storehouses will be full,
supplying all kinds of produce;
our flocks will increase by thousands
and tens of thousands in our open fields.
He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cry for help and saves them.
Let the exaltation of God be in their mouths[fn]
and a double-edged sword in their hands,
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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