LXX Concordance for αὐτῷ

Then God said, “Let the earth produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds.” And it was so.

Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper corresponding to him.”

The man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds of the sky, and to every wild animal; but for the man[fn] no helper was found corresponding to him.

So the LORD God called out to the man and said to him, “Where are you? ”

Then the LORD replied to him, “In that case,[fn] whoever kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” And he placed a mark on Cain so that whoever found him would not kill him.

And Noah did this. He did everything that God had commanded him.

And Noah did everything that the LORD commanded him.

two of each, male and female, came to Noah and entered the ark, just as God had commanded him.

When Noah awoke from his drinking and learned what his youngest son had done to him,

And Shem, Japheth's older brother, also had sons. Shem was the father of all the sons of Eber.

So Abram went, as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.

The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring[fn] I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to him.

He treated Abram well because of her, and Abram acquired flocks and herds, male and female donkeys, male and female slaves, and camels.

Then Pharaoh gave his men orders about him, and they sent him away with his wife and all he had.

After Abram returned from defeating Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him in the Shaveh Valley (that is, the King's Valley).

and blessed be God Most High

who has handed over your enemies to you.

And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

He took him outside and said, “Look at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “Your offspring will be that numerous.”

He said to him, “Bring me a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”

As the sun was setting, a deep sleep came over Abram, and suddenly great terror and darkness descended on him.

Abram's wife, Sarai, had not borne any children for him, but she owned an Egyptian slave named Hagar.

So Abram's wife, Sarai, took Hagar, her Egyptian slave, and gave her to her husband, Abram, as a wife for him. This happened after Abram had lived in the land of Canaan ten years.

So Hagar gave birth to Abram's son, and Abram named his son (whom Hagar bore) Ishmael.

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him, saying, “I am God Almighty. Live[fn] in my presence and be blameless.

Then Abram fell facedown and God spoke with him:

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 LORD appeared to Abraham at the oaks of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent during the heat of the day.

“Abraham is to become a great and powerful nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him.

And he said to him, “All right,[fn] I'll grant your request[fn] about this matter too and will not demolish the town you mentioned.

Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience.[fn] I have also kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I have not let you touch her.

Then Abimelech called Abraham in and said to him, “What have you done to us? How did I sin against you that you have brought such enormous guilt on me and on my kingdom? You have done things to me that should never be done.”

Then Abimelech took flocks and herds and male and female slaves, gave them to Abraham, and returned his wife Sarah to him.

Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time God had told him.

He settled in the Wilderness of Paran, and his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

Abimelech replied, “I don't know who did this thing. You didn't report anything to me, so I hadn't heard about it until today.”

So Abraham got up early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took with him two of his young men and his son Isaac. He split wood for a burnt offering and set out to go to the place God had told him about.

When they arrived at the place that God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood. He bound his son Isaac[fn] and placed him on the altar on top of the wood.

But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham! ”

He replied, “Here I am.”

“to give me the cave of Machpelah that belongs to him; it is at the end of his field. Let him give it to me in your presence, for the full price, as burial property.”

“No, my lord. Listen to me. I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. I give it to you in the sight[fn] of my people. Bury your dead.”

So Ephron's field at Machpelah near Mamre ​— ​the field with its cave and all the trees anywhere within the boundaries of the field ​— ​became

The field with its cave passed from the Hethites to Abraham as burial property.

So the servant placed his hand under his master Abraham's thigh and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.

She answered him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.”

Laban said, “Come, you who are blessed by the LORD. Why are you standing out here? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.”

“The LORD has greatly blessed my master, and he has become rich. He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female slaves, and camels and donkeys.

“Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you? ' She responded, ‘The daughter of Bethuel son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to him.' So I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists.

and she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.

Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for wild game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore to Jacob and sold his birthright to him.

The LORD appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt. Live in the land that I tell you about;

Abimelech sent for Isaac and said, “So she is really your wife! How could you say, ‘She is my sister'? ”

Isaac answered him, “Because I thought I might die on account of her.”

He had flocks of sheep, herds of cattle, and many slaves, and the Philistines were envious of him.

and the LORD appeared to him that night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your offspring because of my servant Abraham.”

On that same day Isaac's servants came to tell him about the well they had dug, saying to him, “We have found water! ”

When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could not see, he called his older son Esau and said to him, “My son.”

And he answered, “Here I am.”

His mother said to him, “Your curse be on me, my son. Just obey me and go get them for me.”

Then he said, “Bring it closer to me, and let me eat some of my son's game so that I can bless you.” Jacob brought it closer to him, and he ate; he brought him wine, and he drank.

But his father Isaac said to him, “Who are you? ”

He answered, “I am Esau your firstborn son.”

But he replied, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.”

His father Isaac answered him,

Look, your dwelling place will be

away from the richness of the land,

away from the dew of the sky above.

When the words of her older son Esau were reported to Rebekah, she summoned her younger son Jacob and said to him, “Listen, your brother Esau is consoling himself by planning to kill you.

“until your brother's rage turns away from you and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send for you and bring you back from there. Why should I lose you both in one day? ”

So Isaac summoned Jacob, blessed him, and commanded him, “Do not marry a Canaanite girl.

Esau noticed that Isaac blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-aram to get a wife there. When he blessed him, Isaac commanded Jacob, “Do not marry a Canaanite girl.”

When Laban heard the news about his sister's son Jacob, he ran to meet him, hugged him, and kissed him. Then he took him to his house, and Jacob told him all that had happened.

Laban replied, “Better that I give her to you than to some other man. Stay with me.”

And Jacob did just that. He finished the week of celebration, and Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as his wife.

Jacob slept with Rachel also, and indeed, he loved Rachel more than Leah. And he worked for Laban another seven years.

She conceived again, gave birth to a son, and said, “At last, my husband will become attached to me because I have borne three sons for him.” Therefore he was named Levi.[fn]

So Rachel gave her slave Bilhah to Jacob as a wife, and he slept with her.

When Jacob came in from the field that evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come with me, for I have hired you with my son's mandrakes.” So Jacob slept with her that night.

“God has given me a good gift,” Leah said. “This time my husband will honor me because I have borne six sons for him,” and she named him Zebulun.[fn]

But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor with you, stay. I have learned by divination that the LORD has blessed me because of you.”

So Jacob said to him, “You know how I have served you and how your herds have fared with me.

Laban asked, “What should I give you? ”

And Jacob said, “You don't need to give me anything. If you do this one thing for me, I will continue to shepherd and keep your flock.

“Good,” said Laban. “Let it be as you have said.”

And the man became very rich.[fn] He had many flocks, female and male slaves, and camels and donkeys.

“and that he has cheated me and changed my wages ten times. But God has not let him harm me.

Then Rachel and Leah answered him, “Do we have any portion or inheritance in our father's family?

And Jacob deceived[fn] Laban the Aramean, not telling him that he was fleeing.

But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night. “Watch yourself! ” God warned him. “Don't say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.”

“If you find your gods with anyone here, he will not live! Before our relatives, point out anything that is yours and take it.” Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the idols.

“Come now, let's make a covenant, you and I. Let it be a witness between the two of us.”

Then Jacob said to his relatives, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a mound, then ate there by the mound.

Jacob went on his way, and God's angels met him.

Then he said to Jacob, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”

But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

The sun shone on him as he passed by Penuel[fn] ​— ​limping because of his hip.

But Esau ran to meet him, hugged him, threw his arms around him, and kissed him. Then they wept.

Jacob replied, “My lord knows that the children are weak, and I have nursing flocks and herds. If they are driven hard for one day, the whole herd will die.

Meanwhile, Shechem's father Hamor came to speak with Jacob.

Hamor said to Jacob's sons, “My son Shechem has his heart set on your[fn] daughter. Please give her to him as a wife.

Jacob built an altar there and called the place El-bethel[fn] because it was there that God had revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother.

God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; you will no longer be named Jacob, but your name will be Israel.” So he named him Israel.

The sons of Leah's slave Zilpah

were Gad and Asher.

These are the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan-aram.

and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These were Esau's sons, who were born to him in the land of Canaan.

Now Israel loved Joseph more than his other sons because Joseph was a son born to him in his old age, and he made a long-sleeved robe[fn] for him.

“Are you really going to reign over us? ” his brothers asked him. “Are you really going to rule us? ” So they hated him even more because of his dream and what he had said.

He told his father and brothers, and his father rebuked him. “What kind of dream is this that you have had? ” he said. “Am I and your mother and your brothers really going to come and bow down to the ground before you? ”

Israel said to Joseph, “Your brothers, you know, are pasturing the flocks at Shechem. Get ready. I'm sending you to them.”

“I'm ready,” Joseph replied.

“They've moved on from here,” the man said. “I heard them say, ‘Let's go to Dothan.' ” So Joseph set out after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

Reuben also said to them, “Don't shed blood. Throw him into this pit in the wilderness, but don't lay a hand on him” ​— ​intending to rescue him from them and return him to his father.

But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his, so whenever he slept with his brother's wife, he released his semen on the ground so that he would not produce offspring for his brother.

So she took off her widow's clothes, veiled her face, covered herself, and sat at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the way to Timnah. For she saw that, though Shelah had grown up, she had not been given to him as a wife.

Joseph found favor with his master and became his personal attendant. Potiphar also put him in charge of his household and placed all that he owned under his authority.[fn]

But he refused. “Look,” he said to his master's wife, “with me here my master does not concern himself with anything in his house, and he has put all that he owns under my authority.[fn]

Then she told him the same story: “The Hebrew slave you brought to us came to make a fool of me,

But the LORD was with Joseph and extended kindness to him. He granted him favor with the prison warden.

“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.”

“This is its interpretation,” Joseph said to him. “The three branches are three days.

“This is its interpretation,” Joseph replied. “The three baskets are three days.

“Now a young Hebrew, a slave of the captain of the guards, was with us there. We told him our dreams, he interpreted our dreams for us, and each had its own interpretation.

and he said to them, “Can we find anyone like this, a man who has God's spirit[fn] in him? ”

Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-paneah and gave him a wife, Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest at On.[fn] And Joseph went throughout[fn] the land of Egypt.

Two sons were born to Joseph before the years of famine arrived. Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest at On, bore them to him.

But Jacob did not send Joseph's brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he thought, “Something might happen to him.”

Joseph was in charge of the country; he sold grain to all its people. His brothers came and bowed down before him with their faces to the ground.

When they reached their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them:

“But we told him, ‘We are honest and not spies.

But Judah said to him, “The man specifically warned us, ‘You will not see me again unless your brother is with you.'

They answered, “The man kept asking about us and our family: ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother? ' And we answered him accordingly. How could we know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother here'? ”

So they approached Joseph's steward[fn] and spoke to him at the doorway of the house.

When Joseph came home, they brought him the gift they had carried into the house, and they bowed to the ground before him.

They answered, “Your servant our father is well. He is still alive.” And they knelt low and paid homage to him.

They served him by himself, his brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians who were eating with him by themselves, because Egyptians could not eat with Hebrews, since that is detestable to them.

“Isn't this the cup that my master drinks from and uses for divination? What you have done is wrong! ' ”

They said to him, “Why does my lord say these things? Your servants could not possibly do such a thing.

But Judah approached him and said, “My lord, please let your servant speak personally to my lord. Do not be angry with your servant, for you are like Pharaoh.

“and we answered my lord, ‘We have an elderly father and a younger brother, the child of his old age. The boy's brother is dead. He is the only one of his mother's sons left, and his father loves him.'

“This is what happened when we went back to your servant my father: We reported to him the words of my lord.

“If you also take this one from me and anything happens to him, you will bring my gray hairs down to Sheol in sorrow.'

Joseph could no longer keep his composure in front of all his attendants,[fn] so he called out, “Send everyone away from me! ” No one was with him when he revealed his identity to his brothers.

Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still living? ” But they could not answer him because they were terrified in his presence.

“Return quickly to my father and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: “God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me without delay.

Then Joseph threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin wept on his shoulder.

They said, “Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt! ” Jacob was stunned,[fn] for he did not believe them.

Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph in the land of Egypt. They were born to him by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, a priest at On.[fn]

And Joseph's sons who were born to him in Egypt: two persons.

All those of Jacob's household who came to Egypt: seventy[fn] persons.

Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's family, “I will go up and inform Pharaoh, telling him, ‘My brothers and my father's family, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me.

When that year was over, they came the next year and said to him, “We cannot hide from our lord that the silver is gone and that all our livestock belongs to our lord. There is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land.

and Joseph made the people servants[fn] from one end of Egypt to the other.

When the time approached for him to die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor with you, put your hand under my thigh and promise me that you will deal with me in kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt.

And Jacob said, “Swear to me.” So Joseph swore to him. Then Israel bowed in thanks at the head of his bed.[fn]

Then Joseph took them from his father's knees and bowed with his face to the ground.

When Joseph saw that his father had placed his right hand on Ephraim's head, he thought it was a mistake[fn] and took his father's hand to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's.

“The scepter will not depart from Judah

or the staff from between his feet

until he whose right it is comes[fn]

and the obedience of the peoples belongs to him.

“The archers attacked him,

shot at him, and were hostile toward him.

“The field and the cave in it were purchased from the Hethites.”

So Jacob's sons did for him what he had commanded them.

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.”

Then he continued, “I am the God of your father,[fn] the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God.

Then Moses asked God, “If I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,' and they ask me, ‘What is his name? ' what should I tell them? ”

The LORD asked him, “What is that in your hand? ”

“A staff,” he replied.

In addition the LORD said to him, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” So he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, his hand was diseased, resembling snow.[fn]

“He will speak to the people for you. He will serve as a mouth for you, and you will serve as God to him.

On the trip, at an overnight campsite, it happened that the LORD confronted him and intended to put him to death.

Now the LORD had said to Aaron, “Go and meet Moses in the wilderness.” So he went and met him at the mountain of God and kissed him.

Later, Moses and Aaron went in and said to Pharaoh, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival for me in the wilderness.”

They answered, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go on a three-day trip into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God, or else he may strike us with plague or sword.”

Amram married his father's sister Jochebed,

and she bore him Aaron and Moses.

Amram lived 137 years.

Aaron married Elisheba,

daughter of Amminadab and sister of Nahshon.

She bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.

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.

“You must say whatever I command you; then Aaron your brother must declare it to Pharaoh so that he will let the Israelites go from his land.

“Go to Pharaoh in the morning. When you see him walking out to the water, stand ready to meet him by the bank of the Nile. Take in your hand the staff that turned into a snake.

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him: This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.

Moses said to him, “When I have left the city, I will spread out my hands to the LORD. The thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know the earth[fn] belongs to the LORD.

So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and told him, “This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, that they may worship me.

“If the household is too small for a whole animal, that person and the neighbor nearest his house are to select one based on the combined number of people; you should apportion the animal according to what each will eat.

“In the future, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean? ' say to him, ‘By the strength of his hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.

The LORD is a warrior;

the LORD is his name.

So he cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree. When he threw it into the water, the water became drinkable.

The LORD made a statute and ordinance for them at Marah, and he tested them there.

They gathered it every morning. Each gathered as much as he needed to eat, but when the sun grew hot, it melted.

So they set it aside until morning as Moses commanded, and it didn't stink or have maggots in it.

Joshua did as Moses had told him, and fought against Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, bowed down, and then kissed him. They asked each other how they had been[fn] and went into the tent.

Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said.

After Moses came back, he summoned the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the LORD had commanded him.

As the sound of the ram's horn grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him in the thunder.

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.”

“If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children belong to her master, and the man must leave alone.

“his master is to bring him to the judges[fn] and then bring him to the door or doorpost. His master will pierce his ear with an awl, and he will serve his master for life.

“Whoever kidnaps a person must be put to death, whether he sells him or the person is found in his possession.

“If instead a ransom is demanded of him, he can pay a redemption price for his life in the full amount demanded from him.

“the owner of the pit must give compensation; he must pay to its owner, but the dead animal will become his.

“If, however, it is known that the ox was in the habit of goring, yet its owner has not restrained it, he must compensate fully, ox for ox; the dead animal will become his.

“If a thief is caught in the act of breaking in, and he is beaten to death, no one is guilty of bloodshed.

“If a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged, and he sleeps with her, he must certainly pay the bridal price for her to be his wife.

“If you lend silver to my people, to the poor person among you, you must not be like a creditor to him; you must not charge him interest.

“If you come across your enemy's stray ox or donkey, you must return it to him.

“Observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread. As I commanded you, you are to eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib,[fn] because you came out of Egypt in that month. No one is to appear before me empty-handed.

“Be attentive to him and listen to him. Do not defy him, because he will not forgive your acts of rebellion, for my name is in him.

So Moses arose with his assistant Joshua and went up the mountain of God.

“Construct a grate for it of bronze mesh, and make four bronze rings on the mesh at its four corners.

“It must have two shoulder pieces attached to its two edges so that it can be joined together.

“These must be worn by Aaron and his sons whenever they enter the tent of meeting or approach the altar to minister in the sanctuary area, so that they do not incur guilt and die. This is to be a permanent statute for Aaron and for his future descendants.

“Then take the garments and clothe Aaron with the tunic, the robe for the ephod, the ephod itself, and the breastpiece; fasten the ephod on him with its woven waistband.

“Make a bronze basin for washing and a bronze stand for it. Set it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it.

“They must wash their hands and feet so that they will not die; this is to be a permanent statute for them, for Aaron and his descendants throughout their generations.”

When he finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the testimony, stone tablets inscribed by the finger of God.

When the people saw that Moses delayed in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said to him, “Come, make gods[fn] for us who will go before us because this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt ​— ​we don't know what has happened to him! ”

“They have quickly turned from the way I commanded them; they have made for themselves an image of a calf. They have bowed down to it, sacrificed to it, and said, ‘Israel, these are your gods, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.' ”

“They said to me, ‘Make gods for us who will go before us because this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt ​— ​we don't know what has happened to him! '

Moses cut two stone tablets like the first ones. He got up early in the morning, and taking the two stone tablets in his hand, he climbed Mount Sinai, just as the LORD had commanded him.

As Moses descended from Mount Sinai ​— ​with the two tablets of the testimony in his hands as he descended the mountain ​— ​he did not realize that the skin of his face shone as a result of his speaking with the LORD.[fn]

But whenever Moses went before the LORD to speak with him, he would remove the veil until he came out. After he came out, he would tell the Israelites what he had been commanded,

“He has also given[fn] both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach others.

Moses did everything just as the LORD had commanded him.

Then the LORD summoned Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting:

“He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering so it can be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him.

“or someone informs him about the sin he has committed, he is to bring an unblemished male goat as his offering.

“He must burn all its fat on the altar, like the fat of the fellowship sacrifice. In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf for that person's sin, and he will be forgiven.

“or if someone informs him about the sin he has committed, then he is to bring an unblemished female goat as his offering for the sin that he has committed.

“He is to remove all its fat just as the fat is removed from the fellowship sacrifice. The priest is to burn it on the altar as a pleasing aroma to the LORD. In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf, and he will be forgiven.

“He is to remove all its fat just as the fat of the lamb is removed from the fellowship sacrifice. The priest will burn it on the altar along with the food offerings to the LORD. In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven.

“He must bring his penalty for guilt for the sin he has committed to the LORD: a female lamb or goat from the flock as a sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf for his sin.

“He will prepare the second bird as a burnt offering according to the regulation. In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven.

“In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf concerning the sin he has committed in any of these cases, and he will be forgiven. The rest will belong to the priest, like the grain offering.”

“He is to make restitution for his sin regarding any holy thing, adding a fifth of its value to it, and give it to the priest. Then the priest will make atonement on his behalf with the ram of the guilt offering, and he will be forgiven.

“He must bring an unblemished ram from the flock according to your assessment of its value as a guilt offering to the priest. Then the priest will make atonement on his behalf for the error he has committed unintentionally, and he will be forgiven.

“once he has sinned and acknowledged his guilt ​— ​he must return what he stole or defrauded, or the deposit entrusted to him, or the lost item he found,

“In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf before the LORD, and he will be forgiven for anything he may have done to incur guilt.”

“The guilt offering is like the sin offering; the law is the same for both. It belongs to the priest who makes atonement with it.

“From the cakes he is to present one portion of each offering as a contribution to the LORD. It will belong to the priest who splatters the blood of the fellowship offering; it is his.

“If any of the meat of his fellowship sacrifice is eaten on the third day, it will not be accepted. It will not be credited to the one who presents it; it is repulsive. The person who eats any of it will bear his iniquity.[fn]

“The son of Aaron who presents the blood of the fellowship offering and the fat will have the right thigh as a portion.

So Moses did as the LORD commanded him, and the community assembled at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

They brought him the burnt offering piece by piece, along with the head, and he burned them on the altar.

When Moses heard this, it was acceptable to him.[fn]

“kites,[fn]

any kind of falcon,[fn]

“storks,[fn]

any kind of heron,[fn]

hoopoes, and bats.

“You may eat these:

any kind of locust, katydid, cricket, and grasshopper.

“But whenever raw flesh appears on him, he will be unclean.

“If a fabric is contaminated with mildew ​— ​in wool or linen fabric,

“This is uncleanness of his discharge: Whether his member secretes the discharge or retains it, he is unclean. All the days that his member secretes or retains anything because of his discharge,[fn] he is unclean.

“When the man with the discharge has been cured of it, he is to count seven days for his cleansing, wash his clothes, and bathe his body in fresh water; he will be clean.

“If a man sleeps with her, and blood from her menstruation gets on him, he will be unclean for seven days, and every bed he lies on will become unclean.

“The priest will make atonement on his behalf before the LORD with the ram of the guilt offering for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven for the sin he committed.

“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.

“He may make himself unclean for his unmarried virgin sister in his immediate family.

“He must not leave the sanctuary or he will desecrate the sanctuary of his God, for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him; I am the LORD.

“Tell Aaron: None of your descendants throughout your generations who has a physical defect is to come near to present the food of his God.

“Say to them: If any man from any of your descendants throughout your generations is in a state of uncleanness yet approaches the holy offerings that the Israelites consecrate to the LORD, that person will be cut off from my presence; I am the LORD.

“The priest will present the lambs with the bread of firstfruits as a presentation offering before the LORD; the bread and the two lambs will be holy to the LORD for the priest.

“It belongs to Aaron and his sons, who are to eat it in a holy place, for it is the holiest portion for him from the food offerings to the LORD; this is a permanent rule.”

“If any man inflicts a permanent injury on his neighbor, whatever he has done is to be done to him:

“If a man has no family redeemer, but he prospers[fn] and obtains enough to redeem his land,

“You are not to lend him your silver with interest or sell him your food for profit.

“he has the right of redemption after he has been sold. One of his brothers may redeem him.

“The one who purchased him is to calculate the time from the year he sold himself to him until the Year of Jubilee. The price of his sale will be determined by the number of years. It will be set for him like the daily wages of a hired worker.

“If only a few years remain until the Year of Jubilee, he will calculate and pay the price of his redemption in proportion to his remaining years.

“Do not make worthless idols for yourselves, set up a carved image or sacred pillar for yourselves, or place a sculpted stone in your land to bow down to it, for I am the LORD your God.

“But if the one who consecrated his house redeems it, he must add a fifth to the assessed value, and it will be his.

“But if he consecrates his field after the Jubilee, the priest will calculate the price for him in proportion to the years left until the next Year of Jubilee, so that your assessment will be reduced.

“If it is one of the unclean livestock, it can be ransomed according to your assessment by adding a fifth of its value to it. If it is not redeemed, it can be sold according to your assessment.

“If a man decides to redeem any part of this tenth, he must add a fifth to its value.

“Bring the tribe of Levi near and present them to the priest Aaron to assist him.

“The person is to confess the sin he has committed. He is to pay full compensation, add a fifth of its value to it, and give it to the individual he has wronged.

“and if a feeling of jealousy comes over the husband and he becomes jealous because of his wife who has defiled herself ​— ​or if a feeling of jealousy comes over him and he becomes jealous of her though she has not defiled herself ​— ​

“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.

“If someone suddenly dies near him, defiling his consecrated head, he must shave his head on the day of his purification; he is to shave it on the seventh day.

When Moses entered the tent of meeting to speak with the LORD, he heard the voice speaking to him from above the mercy seat that was on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim. He spoke to him that way.

Then the LORD descended in the cloud and spoke to him. He took some of the Spirit who was on Moses and placed the Spirit on the seventy elders. As the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but they never did it again.

But Moses asked him, “Are you jealous on my account? If only all the LORD's people were prophets and the LORD would place his Spirit on them! ”

he said:

“Listen to what I say:

If there is a prophet among you from the LORD,

I make myself known to him in a vision;

I speak with him in a dream.

“I speak with him directly,[fn]

openly, and not in riddles;

he sees the form of the LORD.

So why were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? ”

They reported to Moses, “We went into the land where you sent us. Indeed it is flowing with milk and honey, and here is some of its fruit.

Then Caleb quieted the people in the presence of Moses and said, “Let's go up now and take possession of the land because we can certainly conquer it! ”

“But since my servant Caleb has a different spirit and has remained loyal to me, I will bring him into the land where he has gone, and his descendants will inherit it.

So Aaron took his firepan as Moses had ordered, ran into the middle of the assembly, and saw that the plague had begun among the people. After he added incense, he made atonement for the people.

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.

“Anyone who touches a body of a person who has died, and does not purify himself, defiles the tabernacle of the LORD. That person will be cut off from Israel. He remains unclean because the water for impurity has not been sprinkled on him, and his uncleanness is still on him.

“and any open container without a lid tied on it is unclean.

“We will go on the main road,” the Israelites replied to them, “and if we or our herds drink your water, we will pay its price. There will be no problem; only let us travel through on foot.”

But the LORD said to Moses, “Do not fear him, for I have handed him over to you along with his whole army and his land. Do to him as you did to King Sihon of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon.”

The elders of Moab and Midian departed with fees for divination in hand. They came to Balaam and reported Balak's words to him.

Then God came to Balaam and asked, “Who are these men with you? ”

They came to Balaam and said to him, “This is what Balak son of Zippor says: ‘Let nothing keep you from coming to me,

God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “Since these men have come to summon you, get up and go with them, but you must only do what I tell you.”

The angel of the LORD asked him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? Look, I came out to oppose you, because I consider what you are doing to be evil.[fn]

When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the Moabite city[fn] on the Arnon border at the edge of his territory.

In the morning, Balak took Balaam and brought him to Bamoth-baal.[fn] From there he saw the outskirts of the people's camp.

So Balak did as Balaam directed, and they offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

Balaam proclaimed his poem:

Balak brought me from Aram;

the king of Moab, from the eastern mountains:

“Come, put a curse on Jacob for me;

come, denounce Israel! ”

So he returned to Balak, who was standing there by his burnt offering with the officials of Moab. Balak asked him, “What did the LORD say? ”

He considers no disaster for Jacob;

he sees no trouble for Israel.[fn]

The LORD their God is with them,

and there is rejoicing over the King among them.

So Balak did as Balaam said and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

When Balaam looked up and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe, the Spirit of God came on him,

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.

I see him, but not now;

I perceive him, but not near.

A star will come from Jacob,

and a scepter will arise from Israel.

He will smash the forehead[fn] of Moab

and strike down[fn] all the Shethites.[fn]

“Therefore declare: I grant him my covenant of peace.

Zelophehad son of Hepher had no sons ​— ​only daughters. The names of Zelophehad's daughters were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

“Our father died in the wilderness, but he was not among Korah's followers, who gathered together against the LORD. Instead, he died because of his own sin, and he had no sons.

“Tell the Israelites: When a man dies without having a son, transfer his inheritance to his daughter.

“Have him stand before the priest Eleazar and the whole community, and commission him in their sight.

Moses did as the LORD commanded him. He took Joshua, had him stand before the priest Eleazar and the entire community,

Then they approached him and said, “We want to build sheep pens here for our livestock and cities for our dependents.

“If anyone has in his hand a stone capable of causing death and strikes another person and he dies, the murderer must be put to death.

“or if in hostility he strikes him with his hand and he dies, the one who struck him must be put to death; he is a murderer. The avenger of blood is to kill the murderer when he finds him.

“or without looking drops a stone that could kill a person and he dies, but he was not his enemy and didn't intend to harm him,

In the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first of the month, Moses told the Israelites everything the LORD had commanded him to say to them.

“But the LORD said to me, ‘Do not fear him, for I have handed him over to you along with his whole army and his land. Do to him as you did to King Sihon of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon.'

“But the LORD selected you and brought you out of Egypt's iron furnace to be a people for his inheritance, as you are today.

“Fear the LORD your God, worship him, and take your oaths in his name.

“For you are a holy people belonging to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be his own possession out of all the peoples on the face of the earth.

“When the LORD sent you from Kadesh-barnea, he said, ‘Go up and possess the land I have given you'; you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God. You did not believe or obey him.

“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.

“He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the resident alien, giving him food and clothing.

“You are to fear the LORD your God and worship him. Remain faithful[fn] to him and take oaths in his name.

“If you carefully obey my commands I am giving you today, to love the LORD your God and worship him with all your heart and all your soul,

“For if you carefully observe every one of these commands I am giving you to follow ​— ​to love the LORD your God, walk in all his ways, and remain faithful[fn] to him ​— ​

“You will rejoice before the LORD your God ​— ​you, your sons and daughters, your male and female slaves, and the Levite who is within your city gates, since he has no portion or inheritance among you.

“You are to eat them in the presence of the LORD your God at the place the LORD your God chooses ​— ​you, your son and daughter, your male and female slave, and the Levite who is within your city gates. Rejoice before the LORD your God in everything you do,

“You must follow the LORD your God and fear him. You must keep his commands and listen to him; you must worship him and remain faithful[fn] to him.

“do not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity,[fn] and do not spare him or shield him.

“for you are a holy people belonging to the LORD your God. The LORD has chosen you to be his own possession out of all the peoples on the face of the earth.

“the kites,

any kind of falcon,[fn]

“eagle owls,

ospreys, cormorants,

“Do not neglect the Levite within your city gates, since he has no portion or inheritance among you.

“Then the Levite, who has no portion or inheritance among you, the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow within your city gates may come, eat, and be satisfied. And the LORD your God will bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.

“You may collect something from a foreigner, but you must forgive whatever your brother owes you.

“Instead, you are to open your hand to him and freely loan him enough for whatever need he has.

“Give generously to him from your flock, your threshing floor, and your winepress. You are to give him whatever the LORD your God has blessed you with.

“But if your slave says to you, ‘I don't want to leave you,' because he loves you and your family, and is well off with you,

“You are to hold a seven-day festival for the LORD your God in the place he chooses, because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, and you will have abundant joy.

“Do not sacrifice to the LORD your God an ox or sheep with a defect or any serious flaw, for that is detestable to the LORD your God.

“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.

“You are to give him the firstfruits of your grain, new wine, and fresh oil, and the first sheared wool of your flock.

“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.

“Do not look on him with pity but purge from Israel the guilt of shedding innocent blood, and you will prosper.

“you must do to him as he intended to do to his brother. You must purge the evil from you.

“Do not show pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot.

“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.

“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,

“He must acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the neglected wife, by giving him two shares[fn][fn] of his estate, for he is the firstfruits of his virility; he has the rights of the firstborn.

“If you see your brother Israelite's ox or sheep straying, do not ignore it; make sure you return it to your brother.

“Do not wear clothes made of both wool and linen.

“You are to have a digging tool in your equipment; when you relieve yourself, dig a hole with it and cover up your excrement.

“Let him live among you wherever he wants within your city gates. Do not mistreat him.

“When a man takes a bride, he must not go out with the army or be liable for any duty. He is free to stay at home for one year, so that he can bring joy to the wife he has married.

“Stand outside while the man you are making the loan to brings the security out to you.

“You are to pay him his wages each day before the sun sets, because he is poor and depends on them. Otherwise he will cry out to the LORD against you, and you will be held guilty.

“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.

“The elders of his city will summon him and speak with him. If he persists and says, ‘I don't want to marry her,'

“And today the LORD has affirmed that you are his own possession as he promised you, that you are to keep all his commands,

“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.

“and so that he may establish you today as his people and he may be your God as he promised you and as he swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

“The LORD will not be willing to forgive him. Instead, his anger and jealousy will burn against that person, and every curse written in this scroll will descend on him. The LORD will blot out his name under heaven,

Moses then summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you will go with[fn] this people into the land the LORD swore to give to their ancestors. You will enable them to take possession of it.

The LORD said to Moses, “The time of your death is now approaching. Call Joshua and present yourselves at the tent of meeting so that I may commission him.” When Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the tent of meeting,

The LORD commissioned Joshua son of Nun, “Be strong and courageous, for you will bring the Israelites into the land I swore to them, and I will be with you.”

His people have acted corruptly toward him;

this is their defect[fn] ​— ​they are not his children

but a devious and crooked generation.

Rejoice, you nations, concerning his people,[fn]

for he will avenge the blood of his servants.[fn]

He will take vengeance on his adversaries;[fn]

he will purify his land and his people.[fn]

He said this about Judah:

LORD, hear Judah's cry and bring him to his people.

He fights for his cause[fn] with his own hands,

but may you be a help against his foes.

LORD, bless his possessions,[fn]

and accept the work of his hands.

Break the back[fn] of his adversaries and enemies,

so that they cannot rise again.

So Israel dwells securely;

Jacob lives untroubled[fn]

in a land of grain and new wine;

even his skies drip with dew.

Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which faces Jericho, and the LORD showed him all the land: Gilead as far as Dan,

“This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth; you are to meditate on[fn] it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do.

“Anyone who rebels against your order and does not obey your words in all that you command him, will be put to death. Above all, be strong and courageous! ”

Then the men returned, came down from the hill country, and crossed the Jordan. They went to Joshua son of Nun and reported everything that had happened to them.

Joshua also set up twelve stones in the middle[fn] of the Jordan where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant were standing. The stones are still there today.

When Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua approached him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies? ”

“The one who is caught with the things set apart must be burned, along with everything he has, because he has violated the LORD's covenant and committed an outrage in Israel.”

and raised over him a large pile of rocks that remains still today. Then the LORD turned from his burning anger. Therefore that place is called the Valley of Achor[fn] still today.

When the king of Ai saw the Israelites, the men of the city hurried and went out early in the morning so that he and all his people could engage Israel in battle at a suitable place facing the Arabah. But he did not know there was an ambush waiting for him behind the city.

He hung[fn] the body of the king of Ai on a tree[fn] until evening, and at sunset Joshua commanded that they take his body down from the tree. They threw it down at the entrance of the city gate and put a large pile of rocks over it, which still remains today.

When they had brought the kings to him, Joshua summoned all the men of Israel and said to the military commanders who had accompanied him, “Come here and put your feet on the necks of these kings.” So the commanders came forward and put their feet on their necks.

Joshua treated them as the LORD had told him; he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots.

Just as the LORD had commanded his servant Moses, Moses commanded Joshua. That is what Joshua did, leaving nothing undone of all that the LORD had commanded Moses.

“I was forty years old when Moses the LORD's servant sent me from Kadesh-barnea to scout the land, and I brought back an honest report.

He gave Caleb son of Jephunneh the following portion among the descendants of Judah based on the LORD's instruction to Joshua: Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron; Arba was the father of Anak).

and Caleb said, “Whoever attacks and captures Kiriath-sepher, I will give my daughter Achsah to him as a wife.”

Now Zelophehad son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, had no sons, only daughters. These are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

“because the hill country will be yours also. It is a forest; clear it and its outlying areas will be yours. You can also drive out the Canaanites, even though they have iron chariots and are strong.”

By the LORD's command, they gave him the city Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim, which he requested. He rebuilt the city and lived in it.

Each of these cities had its own surrounding pasturelands; this was true for all the cities.

“Only carefully obey the command and instruction that Moses the LORD's servant gave you: to love the LORD your God, walk in all his ways, keep his commands, be loyal to him, and serve him with all your heart and all your soul.”

“But I took your father Abraham from the region beyond the Euphrates River, led him throughout the land of Canaan, and multiplied his descendants. I gave him Isaac,

“Therefore, fear the LORD and worship him in sincerity and truth. Get rid of the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and worship the LORD.

Joshua then told the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you yourselves have chosen to worship the LORD.”

“We are witnesses,” they said.

On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people at Shechem and established a statute and ordinance for them.

And Joshua said to all the people, “You see this stone ​— ​it will be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words the LORD said to us, and it will be a witness against you, so that you will not deny your God.”

And Eleazar son of Aaron died, and they buried him at Gibeah,[fn] which had been given to his son Phinehas in the hill country of Ephraim.

After the death of Joshua, the Israelites inquired of the LORD, “Who will be the first to fight for us against the Canaanites? ”

They found Adoni-bezek in Bezek, fought against him, and struck down the Canaanites and Perizzites.

Caleb said, “Whoever attacks and captures Kiriath-sepher, I will give my daughter Achsah to him as a wife.”

She answered him, “Give me a blessing. Since you have given me land in the Negev, give me springs also.” So Caleb gave her both the upper and lower springs.

The spies saw a man coming out of the town and said to him, “Please show us how to get into town, and we will show you kindness.”

Asher failed to drive out the residents of Acco or of Sidon, or Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, or Rehob.

The LORD's anger burned against Israel, and he sold them to King Cushan-rishathaim[fn] of Aram-naharaim,[fn] and the Israelites served him eight years.

At the carved images near Gilgal he returned and said, “King Eglon, I have a secret message for you.” The king said, “Silence! ” and all his attendants left him.

Ehud escaped while the servants waited. He passed the Jordan near the carved images and reached Seirah.

Then the Israelites cried out to the LORD, because Jabin had nine hundred iron chariots, and he harshly oppressed them twenty years.

Sisera summoned all his nine hundred iron chariots and all the troops who were with him from Harosheth of the Nations to the Wadi Kishon.

When Barak arrived in pursuit of Sisera, Jael went out to greet him and said to him, “Come and I will show you the man you are looking for.” So he went in with her, and there was Sisera lying dead with a tent peg through his temple!

He asked for water; she gave him milk.

She brought him cream in a majestic bowl.

Then the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said, “The LORD is with you, valiant warrior.”

The LORD turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and deliver Israel from the grasp of Midian. I am sending you! ”

But the LORD said to him, “Peace to you. Don't be afraid, for you will not die.”

On that very night the LORD said to him, “Take your father's young bull and a second bull seven years old. Then tear down the altar of Baal that belongs to your father and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.

When the men of the city got up in the morning, they found Baal's altar torn down, the Asherah pole beside it cut down, and the second bull offered up on the altar that had been built.

Then the men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son. He must die, because he tore down Baal's altar and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.”

Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the troops who were with him, got up early and camped beside the spring of Harod. The camp of Midian was north of them, below the hill of Moreh, in the valley.

He went from there to Penuel and asked the same thing from them. The men of Penuel answered just as the men of Succoth had answered.

Gideon had seventy sons, his own offspring, since he had many wives.

So they gave him seventy pieces of silver from the temple of Baal-berith.[fn] Abimelech used it to hire worthless and reckless men, and they followed him.

“Now if you have acted faithfully and honestly in making Abimelech king, if you have done well by Jerubbaal and his family, and if you have rewarded him appropriately for what he did ​— ​

The citizens of Shechem rebelled against him by putting men in ambush on the tops of the mountains, and they robbed everyone who passed by them on the road. So this was reported to Abimelech.

Gaal son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech and who is Shechem that we should serve him? Isn't he the son of Jerubbaal, and isn't Zebul his officer? You are to serve the men of Hamor, the father of Shechem. Why should we serve Abimelech?

“Then get up early, and at sunrise attack the city. When he and the troops who are with him come out against you, do to him whatever you can.”

Zebul replied, “What do you have to say now? You said, ‘Who is Abimelech that we should serve him? ' Aren't these the troops you despised? Now go and fight them! ”

He took the troops, divided them into three companies, and waited in ambush in the countryside. He looked, and the people were coming out of the city, so he arose against them and struck them down.

He quickly called his armor-bearer and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, or they'll say about me, ‘A woman killed him.' ” So his armor-bearer ran him through, and he died.

He had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys. They had thirty towns[fn] in Gilead, which are still called Jair's Villages[fn] today.

Then the Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. They worshiped the Baals and the Ashtoreths, the gods of Aram, Sidon, and Moab, and the gods of the Ammonites and the Philistines. They abandoned the LORD and did not worship him.

Gilead's wife bore him sons, and when they grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, “You will have no inheritance in our father's family, because you are the son of another woman.”

“Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, king of Heshbon. Israel said to him, ‘Please let us travel through your land to our country,'

When Jephthah went to his home in Mizpah, there was his daughter, coming out to meet him with tambourines and dancing! She was his only child; he had no other son or daughter besides her.

and had thirty sons. He gave his thirty daughters in marriage to men outside the tribe and brought back thirty wives for his sons from outside the tribe. Ibzan judged Israel seven years,

He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys. Abdon judged Israel eight years,

There was a certain man from Zorah, from the family of Dan, whose name was Manoah; his wife was unable to conceive and had no children.

So Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he asked, “Are you the man who spoke to my wife? ”

“I am,” he said.

“Why do you ask my name,” the angel of the LORD asked him, “since it is beyond understanding?”

But his wife said to him, “If the LORD had intended to kill us, he wouldn't have accepted the burnt offering and the grain offering from us, and he would not have shown us all these things or spoken to us like this.”

Then the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him in the Camp of Dan,[fn] between Zorah and Eshtaol.

But his father and mother said to him, “Can't you find a young woman among your relatives or among any of our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines for a wife? ”

But Samson told his father, “Get her for me. She's the right one for me.”

When the Philistines saw him, they brought thirty men to accompany him.

“But if you can't explain it to me, you must give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothes.”

“Tell us your riddle,” they replied.[fn] “Let's hear it.”

So Samson's wife came to him, weeping, and said, “You hate me and don't love me! You told my people the riddle, but haven't explained it to me.”

“Look,” he said,[fn] “I haven't even explained it to my father or mother, so why should I explain it to you? ”

On the seventh day, before sunset, the men of the city said to him:

What is sweeter than honey?

What is stronger than a lion?

So he said to them:

If you hadn't plowed with my young cow,

you wouldn't know my riddle now!

Samson said to them, “This time I will be blameless when I harm the Philistines.”

So the men of Judah said, “Why have you attacked us? ”

They replied, “We have come to tie Samson up and pay him back for what he did to us.”

They said to him, “We've come to tie you up and hand you over to the Philistines.”

Then Samson told them, “Swear to me that you yourselves won't kill me.”