LXX Concordance for αὐτοὺς

God placed them in the expanse of the sky to provide light on the earth,

God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.”

Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let's go out to the field.”[fn] And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

he created them male and female. When they were created, he blessed them and called them mankind.[fn]

And the LORD said, “My Spirit will not remain[fn] with[fn] mankind forever, because they are corrupt.[fn] Their days will be 120 years.”

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.

As people migrated from the east,[fn] they found a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there.

So from there the LORD scattered them throughout the earth, and they stopped building the city.

Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (Haran's son), and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram's wife, and they set out together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they settled there.

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,

And he and his servants deployed against them by night, defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah to the north of Damascus.

Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know this for certain: Your offspring will be resident aliens for four hundred years in a land that does not belong to them and will be enslaved and oppressed.[fn]

They called out to Lot and said, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Send them out to us so we can have sex with them! ”

As soon as the angels got them outside, one of them[fn] said, “Run for your lives! Don't look back and don't stop anywhere on the plain! Run to the mountains, or you will be swept away! ”

He said to them, “If you are willing for me to bury my dead, listen to me and ask Ephron son of Zohar on my behalf

But Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines, and while he was still alive he sent them eastward, away from his son Isaac, to the land of the East.

After this, his brother came out grasping Esau's heel with his hand. So he was named Jacob.[fn] Isaac was sixty years old when they were born.

They got up early in the morning and swore an oath to each other.[fn] Isaac sent them on their way, and they left him in peace.

“Go to the flock and bring me two choice young goats, and I will make them into a delicious meal for your father ​— ​the kind he loves.

He took them and sent them across the stream, along with all his possessions.

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.

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.

“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.

and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guards in the prison where Joseph was confined.

When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they looked distraught.

So Joseph imprisoned them together for three days.

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.

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.

When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to his steward, “Take the men to my house. Slaughter an animal and prepare it, for they will eat with me at noon.”

Then the steward said, “May you be well. Don't be afraid. Your God and the God of your father must have put treasure in your bags. I received your silver.” Then he brought Simeon out to them.

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?

When he overtook them, he said these words to them.

He took five of his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh.

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Now that your father and brothers have come to you,

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.

Now his eyesight was poor because of old age; he could hardly[fn] see. Joseph brought them to him, and he kissed and embraced them.

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

Then he blessed Joseph and said:

The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,

the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day,

So he blessed them that day, putting Ephraim before Manasseh when he said, “The nation Israel will invoke blessings by you, saying, ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.' ”

“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.

“Therefore don't be afraid. I will take care of you and your children.” And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.[fn]

So the Egyptians assigned taskmasters over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor. They built Pithom and Rameses as supply cities for Pharaoh.

and made their lives bitter with difficult labor in brick and mortar and in all kinds of fieldwork. They ruthlessly imposed all this work on them.

“and I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and to bring them from that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey ​— ​the territory of the Canaanites, Hethites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.

Pharaoh also said, “Look, the people of the land are so numerous, and you would stop them from their labor.”

So the overseers and foremen of the people went out and said to them, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I am not giving you straw.

The overseers insisted, “Finish your assigned work each day, just as you did when straw was provided.”

But the LORD replied to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: because of a strong hand he will let them go, and because of a strong hand he will drive them from his land.”

“I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land they lived in as aliens.

They piled them in countless heaps, and there was a terrible odor in the land.

“No, go ​— ​just able-bodied men ​— ​worship the LORD, since that's what you want.” And they were driven from Pharaoh's presence.

Now the Egyptians pressured the people in order to send them quickly out of the country, for they said, “We're all going to die! ”

The people baked the dough they had brought out of Egypt into unleavened loaves, since it had no yeast; for when they were driven out of Egypt, they could not delay and had not prepared provisions for themselves.

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.

When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them along the road to the land of the Philistines, even though it was nearby; for God said, “The people will change their minds and return to Egypt if they face war.”

“Pharaoh will say of the Israelites: They are wandering around the land in confusion; the wilderness has boxed them in.

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.

But Moses said to the people, “Don't be afraid. Stand firm and see the LORD's salvation that he will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again.

He caused their chariot wheels to swerve[fn][fn] and made them drive[fn] with difficulty. “Let's get away from Israel,” the Egyptians said, “because the LORD is fighting for them against Egypt! ”

You overthrew your adversaries

by your great majesty.

You unleashed your burning wrath;

it consumed them like stubble.

But you blew with your breath,

and the sea covered them.

They sank like lead

in the mighty waters.

You stretched out your right hand,

and the earth swallowed them.

Then the chiefs of Edom will be terrified;

trembling will seize the leaders of Moab;

all the inhabitants of Canaan will panic;

When Pharaoh's horses with his chariots and horsemen went into the sea, the LORD brought the water of the sea back over them. But the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.

Then Moses led Israel on from the Red Sea, and they went out to the Wilderness of Shur. They journeyed for three days in the wilderness without finding water.

The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the LORD's hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by pots of meat and ate all the bread we wanted. Instead, you brought us into this wilderness to make this whole assembly die of hunger! ”

“I have heard the complaints of the Israelites. Tell them: At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will eat bread until you are full. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.”

Moses recounted to his father-in-law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel's sake, all the hardships that confronted them on the way, and how the LORD rescued them.

“Whenever they have a dispute, it comes to me, and I make a decision between one man and another. I teach them God's statutes and laws.”

“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.

and the LORD told Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. They must wash their clothes

“If you make a stone altar for me, do not build it out of cut stones. If you use your chisel on it, you will defile it.

“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 you do mistreat them, they will no doubt cry to me, and I will certainly hear their cry.

“I will not drive them out ahead of you in a single year; otherwise, the land would become desolate, and wild animals would multiply against you.

“Make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold, and the table can be carried by them.

“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.

“Set it below, under the altar's ledge,[fn] so that the mesh comes halfway up[fn] the altar.

“Put these on your brother Aaron and his sons; then anoint, ordain,[fn] and consecrate them, so that they may serve me as priests.

“This is what you are to do for them to consecrate them to serve me as priests. Take a young bull and two unblemished rams,

“Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the tent of meeting and wash them with water.

“You must also bring his sons and clothe them with tunics.

“and put all of them in the hands of Aaron and his[fn] sons and present them as a presentation offering before 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.

“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.

“Anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them to serve me as priests.

“Now leave me alone, so that my anger can burn against them and I can destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”

“Why should the Egyptians say, ‘He brought them out with an evil intent to kill them in the mountains and eliminate them from the face of the earth'? Turn from your fierce anger and relent concerning this disaster planned for your people.

Then Moses asked Aaron, “What did these people do to you that you have led them into such a grave sin? ”

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.”

But Moses called out to them, so Aaron and all the leaders of the community returned to him, and Moses spoke to them.

“He has filled them with skill[fn] to do all the work of a gem cutter; a designer; an embroiderer[fn] in blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine linen; and a weaver. They can do every kind of craft and design artistic designs.

He made the poles for carrying the table from acacia wood and overlaid them with gold.

He fastened them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial stones for the Israelites, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

Moses inspected all the work they had accomplished. They had done just as the LORD commanded. Then Moses blessed them.

“Then bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the tent of meeting and wash them with water.

“Have his sons come forward and clothe them in tunics.

This is the portion from the food offerings to the LORD for Aaron and his sons since the day they were presented to serve the LORD as priests.

Then Moses presented Aaron and his sons and washed them with water.

Then Moses presented Aaron's sons, clothed them with tunics, wrapped sashes around them, and fastened headbands on them, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

“and teach the Israelites all the statutes that the LORD has given to them through Moses.”

“the priest must order that the stones with the contamination be pulled out and thrown into an unclean place outside the city.

“You must keep the Israelites from their uncleanness, so that they do not die by defiling my tabernacle that is among them.

The LORD spoke to Moses after the death of two of Aaron's sons when they approached the presence of[fn] the LORD and died.

“Next he will take the two goats and place them before the LORD at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

“Therefore you are to distinguish the clean animal from the unclean one, and the unclean bird from the clean one. Do not become contaminated by any land animal, bird, or whatever crawls on the ground; I have set these apart as unclean for you.

“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 ​— ​

“so that your generations may know that I made the Israelites live in shelters when I brought them out of the land of Egypt; I am the LORD your God.”

“Arrange them in two rows, six to a row, on the pure gold table before the LORD.

“You may leave them to your sons after you to inherit as property; you can make them slaves for life. But concerning your brothers, the Israelites, you must not rule over one another harshly.

“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.

“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,

“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.

“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]

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

So Moses registered them in obedience to the LORD as he had been commanded:

“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.

“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.

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.

The Israelites did this, sending them outside the camp. The Israelites did as the LORD instructed Moses.

“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.

“You are to have the Levites stand before Aaron and his sons, and you are to present them before the LORD as a presentation offering.

“After that the Levites may come to serve at the tent of meeting, once you have ceremonially cleansed them and presented them as a presentation offering.

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.

Moses replied to them, “Wait here until I hear what the LORD commands for you.”

Meanwhile, the cloud of the LORD was over them by day when they set out from the camp.

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.

Moses went out and told the people the words of the LORD. He brought seventy men from the elders of the people and had them stand around the tent.

Two men had remained in the camp, one named Eldad and the other Medad; the Spirit rested on them ​— ​they were among those listed, but had not gone out to the tent ​— ​and they prophesied in the camp.

Moses sent them from the Wilderness of Paran at the LORD's command. All the men were leaders in Israel.

When Moses sent them to scout out the land of Canaan, he told them, “Go up this way to the Negev, then go up into the hill country.

All the Israelites complained about Moses and Aaron, and the whole community told them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this wilderness!

While the whole community threatened to stone them, the glory of the LORD appeared to all the Israelites at the tent of meeting.

“I will strike them with a plague and destroy them. Then I will make you into a greater and mightier nation than they are.”

“‘Since the LORD wasn't able to bring this people into the land he swore to give them, he has slaughtered them in the wilderness.'

“I will bring your children whom you said would become plunder into the land you rejected, and they will enjoy it.

Then the Amalekites and Canaanites who lived in that part of the hill country came down, attacked them, and routed them as far as Hormah.

“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.

After Korah assembled the whole community against them at the entrance to the tent of meeting, the glory of the LORD appeared to the whole community.

“Separate yourselves from this community so I may consume them instantly.”

“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.

“Get away from this community so that I may consume them instantly.” But they fell facedown.

“Take Aaron and his son Eleazar and bring them up Mount Hor.

“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.”

Balaam replied to God, “Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent this message to me:

God brought them out of Egypt;

he is like the horns of a wild ox for them.[fn]

The women invited them to the sacrifices for their gods, and the people ate and bowed in worship to their gods.

The LORD said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and execute[fn] them in broad daylight before the LORD so that his burning anger may turn away from Israel.”

The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them with Korah, when his followers died and the fire consumed 250 men. They serve as a warning sign.

but Nadab and Abihu died when they presented unauthorized fire before the LORD.

“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.”

“Command the Israelites and say to them: Be sure to present to me at its appointed time my offering and my food as my food offering, a pleasing aroma to me.

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.

“That's what your ancestors did when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land.

“The LORD's anger burned against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years until the whole generation that had done what was evil in the LORD's sight was gone.

“But we will arm ourselves and be ready to go ahead of the Israelites until we have brought them into their place. Meanwhile, our dependents will remain in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land.

Moses replied to them, “If you do this ​— ​if you arm yourselves for battle before the LORD,

Moses told them, “If the Gadites and Reubenites cross the Jordan with you, every man in battle formation before the LORD, and the land is subdued before you, you are to give them the land of Gilead as a possession.

“So I took the leaders of your tribes, wise and respected men, and set them over you as leaders: commanders for thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, and officers for your tribes.

“The LORD your God who goes before you will fight for you, just as you saw him do for you in Egypt.

“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.

“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.' ”

They were also regarded as Rephaim, like the Anakim, though the Moabites called them Emim.

“Indeed, the LORD's hand was against them, to eliminate them from the camp until they had all perished.

This too used to be regarded as the land of the Rephaim. The Rephaim lived there previously, though the Ammonites called them Zamzummim,

The Caphtorim, who came from Caphtor,[fn] destroyed the Avvites, who lived in villages as far as Gaza, and settled in their place.

“Because he loved your ancestors, he chose their descendants after them and brought you out of Egypt by his presence and great power,

“and when the LORD your God delivers them over to you and you defeat them, you must completely destroy them. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy.

“The LORD your God will drive out these nations before you little by little. You will not be able to destroy them all at once; otherwise, the wild animals will become too numerous for you.

“But understand that today the LORD your God will cross over ahead of you as a consuming fire; he will devastate and subdue them before you. You will drive them out and destroy them swiftly, as the LORD has told you.

“Otherwise, those in the land you brought us from will say, ‘Because the LORD wasn't able to bring them into the land he had promised them, and because he hated them, he brought them out to kill them in the wilderness.'

“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.

“When the LORD your God annihilates the nations before you, which you are entering to take possession of, and you drive them out and live in their land,

“you are to bring out to your city gates that man or woman who has done this evil thing and stone them to death.

“Everyone who does these acts is detestable to the LORD, and the LORD your God is driving out the nations before you because of these detestable acts.

“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,

“When you approach a city to fight against it, make an offer of peace.

“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.

“This is because they did not meet you with food and water on the journey after you came out of Egypt, and because Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in Aram-naharaim was hired to curse you.

“When you cross the Jordan into the land the LORD your God is giving you, set up large stones and cover them with plaster.

“When you have crossed the Jordan, you are to set up these stones on Mount Ebal, as I am commanding you today, and you are to cover them with plaster.

“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.

“When you reached this place, King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan came out against us in battle, but we defeated 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 deliver them over to you, and you must do to them exactly as I have commanded you.

“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? '

“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.

He watches over[fn] his nest like an eagle

and hovers over his young;

he spreads his wings, catches him,

and carries him on his feathers.

He made him ride on the heights of the land

and eat the produce of the field.

He nourished him with honey from the rock

and oil from flinty rock,

“They have provoked my jealousy

with what is not a god;[fn]

they have enraged me with their worthless idols.

So I will provoke their jealousy

with what is not a people;[fn]

I will enrage them with a foolish nation.

“I will pile disasters on them;

I will use up my arrows against them.

How could one pursue a thousand,

or two put ten thousand to flight,

unless their Rock had sold them,

unless the LORD had given them up?

The LORD will indeed vindicate his people

and have compassion on his servants

when he sees that their strength is gone

and no one is left ​— ​slave or free.[fn]

But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. So she said, “Yes, the men did come to me, but I didn't know where they were from.

But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them among the stalks of flax that she had arranged on the roof.

Before the men fell asleep, she went up on the roof

Then she let them down by a rope through the window, since she lived in a house that was built into the wall of the city.

“and command them: Take twelve stones from this place in the middle of the Jordan where the priests[fn] are standing, carry them with you, and set them down at the place where you spend the night.”

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.

And the day after they ate from the produce of the land, the manna ceased. Since there was no more manna for the Israelites, they ate from the crops of the land of Canaan that year.

The men of Ai struck down about thirty-six of them and chased them from outside the city gate to the quarries,[fn] striking them down on the descent. As a result, the people lost heart.[fn]

Then Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the cloak, and the bar of gold, his sons and daughters, his ox, donkey, and sheep, his tent, and all that he had, and brought them up to the Valley of Achor.

So Joshua and all the troops set out to attack Ai. Joshua selected thirty thousand of his best soldiers and sent them out at night.

“They will come after us until we have drawn them away from the city, for they will say, ‘They are fleeing from us as before.' While we are fleeing from them,

So Joshua sent them out, and they went to the ambush site and waited between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai. But he spent that night with the troops.

When Israel had finished killing everyone living in Ai who had pursued them into the open country, and when every last one of them had fallen by the sword, all Israel returned to Ai and struck it down with the sword.

They said to Joshua, “We are your servants.”

Then Joshua asked them, “Who are you and where do you come from? ”

This bread of ours was warm when we took it from our houses as food on the day we left to come to you; but see, it is now dry and crumbly.

So Joshua established peace with them and made a treaty to let them live, and the leaders of the community swore an oath to them.

Joshua summoned the Gibeonites and said to them, “Why did you deceive us by telling us you live far away from us, when in fact you live among us?

This is what Joshua did to them: he rescued them from the Israelites, and they did not kill them.

So Joshua caught them by surprise, after marching all night from Gilgal.

“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.

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.”

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.

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.

“all the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon to Misrephoth-maim, all the Sidonians.

I will drive them out before the Israelites, only distribute the land as an inheritance for Israel, as I have commanded you.

However, when the Israelites grew stronger, they imposed forced labor on the Canaanites but did not drive them out completely.

This was the inheritance of the tribe of Dan's descendants by their clans, these cities with their settlements.

At Shiloh, in the land of Canaan, they told them, “The LORD commanded through Moses that we be given cities to live in, with their pasturelands for our livestock.”

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.

Joshua blessed them and sent them on their way, and they went to their homes.

They went to the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead, and told them,

The Israelites were pleased with the report, and they blessed God. They spoke no more about going to war against them to ravage the land where the Reubenites and Gadites lived.

“The LORD your God will force them back on your account and drive them out before you so that you can take possession of their land, as the LORD your God promised you.

“The LORD has driven out great and powerful nations before you, and no one is able to stand against you to this day.

“If you ever turn away and become loyal to the rest of these nations remaining among you, and if you intermarry or associate with them and they with you,

Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem and summoned Israel's elders, leaders, judges, and officers, and they presented themselves before God.

“I sent Moses and Aaron, and I defeated Egypt by what I did within it, and afterward I brought you out.

“Your ancestors cried out to the LORD, so he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea over them, engulfing them. Your own eyes saw what I did to Egypt. After that, you lived in the wilderness a long time.

“ ‘You then crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. Jericho's citizens ​— ​as well as the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hethites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites ​— ​fought against you, but I handed them over to you.

They buried him in his allotted territory at Timnath-serah, in the hill country of Ephraim north of Mount Gaash.

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.

When Judah attacked, the LORD handed the Canaanites and Perizzites over to them. They struck down ten thousand men in Bezek.

“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.”

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.

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.

This was to teach the future generations of the Israelites how to fight in battle, especially those who had not fought before.

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.

The Israelites again did what was evil in the LORD's sight. He gave King Eglon of Moab power over Israel, because they had done what was evil in the LORD's sight.

Moab became subject to Israel that day, and the land had peace for eighty years.

So the LORD sold them to King Jabin of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera who lived in Harosheth of the Nations.[fn]

Those with their roots in Amalek[fn] came from Ephraim;

Benjamin came with your people after you.

The leaders came down from Machir,

and those who carry a marshal's staff came from Zebulun.

The river Kishon swept them away,

the ancient river, the river Kishon.

March on, my soul, in strength!

The Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. So the LORD handed them over to Midian seven years,

They encamped against them and destroyed the produce of the land, even as far as Gaza. They left nothing for Israel to eat, as well as no sheep, ox, or donkey.

“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.

Then the LORD said to Gideon, “There are still too many troops. Take them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. If I say to you, ‘This one can go with you,' he can go. But if I say about anyone, ‘This one cannot go with you,' he cannot go.”

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.

He captured a youth from the men of Succoth and interrogated him. The youth wrote down for him the names of the seventy-seven leaders and elders of Succoth.

So he took the elders of the city, and he took some thorns and briers from the wilderness, and he disciplined the men of Succoth with them.

But Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the LORD will rule over you.”

The Israelites did not remember the LORD their God who had rescued them from the hand of the enemies around them.

Abimelech son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem and spoke to his uncles and to his mother's whole clan, saying,

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.

Each of the troops also cut his own branch and followed Abimelech. They put the branches against the inner chamber and set it on fire; about a thousand men and women died, including all the men of the Tower of Shechem.

God also brought back to the men of Shechem all their evil. So the curse of Jotham son of Jerubbaal came upon them.

So the LORD's anger burned against Israel, and he sold them to the Philistines and the Ammonites.

So Jephthah said to them, “If you are bringing me back to fight the Ammonites and the LORD gives them to me, I will be your leader.”

“While Israel lived three hundred years in Heshbon and Aroer and their surrounding villages, and in all the cities that are on the banks of the Arnon, why didn't you take them back at that time?

Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them, and the LORD handed them over to him.

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.

The Israelites again did what was evil in the LORD's sight, so the LORD handed them over to the Philistines forty years.

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

He tore them limb from limb[fn] and then went down and stayed in the cave at the rock of Etam.

When they entered Micah's house and took the carved image, the ephod, the household idols, and the silver idol, the priest said to them, “What are you doing? ”

After they had taken the gods Micah had made and the priest that belonged to him, they went to Laish, to a quiet and unsuspecting people. They killed them with their swords and burned the city.

They stopped[fn] to go in and spend the night in Gibeah. The Levite went in and sat down in the city square, but no one took them into their home to spend the night.

The owner of the house went out and said to them, “Please don't do this evil, my brothers. After all, this man has come into my house. Don't commit this horrible outrage.

But the men would not listen to him, so the man seized his concubine and took her outside to them. They raped her and abused her all night until morning. At daybreak they let her go.

“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.

The Benjaminites said, “We are defeating them as before.”

But the Israelites said, “Let's flee and draw them away from the city to the highways.”

The men of Israel had a prearranged signal with the men in ambush: when they sent up a great cloud of smoke from the city,

The men of Israel turned back against the other Benjaminites and killed them with their swords ​— ​the entire city, the animals, and everything that remained. They also burned all the cities that remained.

The whole congregation sent a message of peace to the Benjaminites who were at Rimmon Rock.

“would you be willing to wait for them to grow up? Would you restrain yourselves from remarrying?[fn] No, my daughters, my life is much too bitter for you to share,[fn] because the LORD's hand has turned against me.”

On one occasion, Hannah got up after they ate and drank at Shiloh.[fn] The priest Eli was sitting on a chair by the doorpost of the LORD's temple.

“I told him that I am going to judge his family forever because of the iniquity he knows about: his sons are cursing God,[fn] and he has not stopped them.

they panicked. “A god has entered their camp! ” they said. “Woe to us! Nothing like this has happened before.

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.

So they called all the Philistine rulers together and asked, “What should we do with the ark of Israel's God? ”

“The ark of Israel's God should be moved to Gath,” they replied. So they moved the ark of Israel's God.

Then the men of Israel charged out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines striking them down all the way to a place below Beth-car.

“They are doing the same thing to you that they have done to me,[fn] since the day I brought them out of Egypt until this day, abandoning me and worshiping other gods.

He said, “These are the rights of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and put them to his use in his chariots, on his horses, or running in front of his chariots.

Samuel listened to all the people's words and then repeated them to the LORD.

Samuel took Saul and his servant, brought them to the banquet hall, and gave them a place at the head of the thirty[fn] or so men who had been invited.

Nahash the Ammonite replied, “I'll make one with you on this condition: that I gouge out everyone's right eye and humiliate all Israel.”

When Saul heard these words, the Spirit of God suddenly came powerfully on him, and his anger burned furiously.

Saul counted them at Bezek. There were three hundred thousand[fn] Israelites and thirty thousand[fn] men from Judah.

“When Jacob went to Egypt,[fn] your ancestors cried out to the LORD, and he sent them Moses and Aaron, who led your ancestors out of Egypt and settled them in this place.

“But if they say, ‘Come on up,' then we'll go up, because the LORD has handed them over to us ​— ​that will be our sign.”

The men of the garrison called to Jonathan and his armor-bearer. “Come on up, and we'll teach you a lesson! ” they said.

“Follow me,” Jonathan told his armor-bearer, “for the LORD has handed them over to Israel.”

So Saul inquired of God, “Should I go after the Philistines? Will you hand them over to Israel? ” But God did not answer him that day.

The conflict with the Philistines was fierce all of Saul's days, so whenever Saul noticed any strong or valiant man, he enlisted him.

Then Saul summoned the troops and counted them at Telaim: two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand men from Judah.

He warned the Kenites, “Since you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came out of Egypt, go on and leave! Get away from the Amalekites, or I'll sweep you away with them.” So the Kenites withdrew from the Amalekites.

“In peace,” he replied. “I've come to sacrifice to the LORD. Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.”[fn] Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

Instead, he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the wadi and put them in the pouch, in his shepherd's bag. Then, with his sling in his hand, he approached the Philistine.

“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 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.

When David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to go with him and had been left at the Wadi Besor, they came out to meet him and to meet the troops with him. When David approached the men, he greeted them,

all their brave men set out, journeyed all night, and retrieved the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan. When they arrived at Jabesh, they burned the bodies there.

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.

Then David inquired of the LORD: “Should I attack the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me? ”

The LORD replied to David, “Attack, for I will certainly hand the Philistines over to you.”

The Philistines abandoned their idols there, and David and his men carried them off.

He also defeated the Moabites, and after making them lie down on the ground, he measured them off with a cord. He measured every two cord lengths of those to be put to death and one full length of those to be kept alive. So the Moabites became David's subjects and brought tribute.

The messenger reported to David, “The men gained the advantage over us and came out against us in the field, but we counterattacked right up to the entrance of the city gate.

He removed the people who were in the city and put them to work with saws, iron picks, and iron axes, and to labor at brickmaking. He did the same to all the Ammonite cities. Then he and all his troops returned to Jerusalem.

However, a young man did see them and informed Absalom. So the two left quickly and came to the house of a man in Bahurim. He had a well in his courtyard, and they climbed down into it.

After they had gone, Ahimaaz and Jonathan climbed out of the well and went and informed King David. They told him, “Get up and immediately ford the river, for Ahithophel has given this advice against you.”

“I will do whatever you think is best,” the king replied to them. So he stood beside the city gate while all the troops marched out by hundreds and thousands.

So they returned to the city quietly that day like troops come in when they are humiliated after fleeing in battle.

The Gibeonites were not Israelites but rather a remnant of the Amorites. The Israelites had taken an oath concerning them, but Saul had tried to kill them in his zeal for the Israelites and Judah. So David summoned the Gibeonites and spoke to them.

“let seven of his male descendants be handed over to us so we may hang[fn] them in the presence of the LORD at Gibeah of Saul, the LORD's chosen.”

The king answered, “I will hand them over.”

and handed them over to the Gibeonites. They hanged[fn] them on the hill in the presence of the LORD; the seven of them died together. They were executed in the first days of the harvest at the beginning of the barley harvest.[fn]

I pursue my enemies and destroy them;

I do not turn back until they are wiped out.

I pulverize them like dust of the earth;

I crush them and trample them like mud in the streets.

Joab replied to the king, “May the LORD your God multiply the troops a hundred times more than they are ​— ​while my lord the king looks on! But why does my lord the king want to do this? ”

“You also know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me and what he did to the two commanders of Israel's army, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. He murdered them in a time of peace to avenge blood shed in war. He spilled that blood on his own waistband and on the sandals of his feet.[fn]

“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.

“You know my father David was not able to build a temple for the name of the LORD his God. This was because of the warfare all around him until the LORD put his enemies under his feet.

He 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.

Nothing was in the ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had put there at Horeb,[fn] where the LORD made a covenant with the Israelites when they came out of the land of Egypt.

I have provided a place there for the ark,

where the LORD's covenant is

that he made with our ancestors

when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.

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 they sin against you —

for there is no one who does not sin —

and you are angry with them

and hand them over to the enemy,

and their captors deport them to the enemy's country —

whether distant or nearby —

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.

For you, Lord GOD, have set them apart as your inheritance

from all peoples of the earth,

as you spoke through your servant Moses

when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt.

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.

and spoke to them according to the young men's advice: “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with barbed whips.”

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.

So Asa withdrew all the silver and gold that remained in the treasuries of the LORD's temple and the treasuries of the royal palace and gave it to his servants. Then King Asa sent them to Ben-hadad son of Tabrimmon son of Hezion king of Aram who lived in Damascus, saying,

and took a hundred prophets and hid them, fifty men to a cave, and provided them with food and water when Jezebel slaughtered the LORD's prophets.

At noon Elijah mocked them. He said, “Shout loudly, for he's a god! Maybe he's thinking it over; maybe he has wandered away;[fn] or maybe he's on the road. Perhaps he's sleeping and will wake up! ”

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 he said, “If they have marched out in peace, take them alive, and if they have marched out for battle, take them alive.”

and each one struck down his opponent. So the Arameans fled and Israel pursued them, but King Ben-hadad of Aram escaped on a horse with the cavalry.

Now the king of Aram's servants said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hill country. That's why they were stronger than we were. Instead, we should fight with them on the plain; then we will certainly be stronger than they are.

“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 men of his city, the elders and nobles who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had sent word to them, just as it was written in the letters she had sent them.

The king asked them, “What sort of man came up to meet you and spoke those words to you? ”

When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I can do for you before I am taken from you.”

So Elisha answered, “Please, let me inherit two shares of your spirit.”

Then the king of Israel said, “Oh no, the LORD has summoned these three kings, only to hand them over to Moab.”

However, Elisha said to King Joram of Israel, “What do we have in common? Go to the prophets of your father and your mother! ”

But the king of Israel replied, “No, because it is the LORD who has summoned these three kings to hand them over to Moab.”

They served some for the men to eat, but when they ate the stew they cried out, “There's death in the pot, man of God! ” And they were unable to eat it.

When the Arameans came against him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, “Please strike this nation with blindness.”[fn] So he struck them with blindness, according to Elisha's word.

So the king got up in the night and said to his servants, “Let me tell you what the Arameans have done to us. They know we are starving, so they have left the camp to hide in the open country, thinking, ‘When they come out of the city, we will take them alive and go into the city.' ”

Then Jehu wrote them a second letter, saying:

If you are on my side, and if you will obey me, bring me the heads of your master's sons[fn] at this time tomorrow at Jezreel.

All seventy of the king's sons were being cared for by the city's prominent men.

Then Jehu 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.

In those days the LORD began to reduce the size of Israel. Hazael defeated the Israelites throughout their territory

In the seventh year, Jehoiada sent for the commanders of hundreds, the Carites, and the guards. He had them come to him in the LORD's temple, where he made a covenant with them and put them under oath. He showed them the king's son

So the LORD's anger burned against Israel, and he handed them over to King Hazael of Aram and to his son Ben-hadad during their reigns.

Jehoahaz did not have an army left, except for fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand foot soldiers, because the king of Aram had destroyed them, making them like dust at threshing.

but the LORD was gracious to them, had compassion on them, and turned toward them because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He was not willing to destroy them. Even now he has not banished them from his presence.

The LORD had not said he would blot out the name of Israel under heaven, so he delivered them by the hand of Jeroboam son of Jehoash.

In the days of King Pekah of Israel, King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee ​— ​all the land of Naphtali ​— ​and deported the people to Assyria.

In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria. He deported the Israelites to Assyria and settled them in Halah, along the Habor (Gozan's river), and in the cities of the Medes.

Therefore, the LORD was very angry with Israel, and he removed them from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah remained.

So the LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel, punished them, and handed them over to plunderers until he had banished them from his presence.

The settlers said to the king of Assyria, “The nations that you have deported and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the requirements of the god of the land. Therefore he has sent lions among them that are killing them because the people don't know the requirements of the god of the land.”

They feared the LORD, but they also worshiped their own gods according to the practice of the nations from which they had been deported.

The king of Assyria deported the Israelites to Assyria and put them in Halah, along the Habor (Gozan's river), and in the cities of the Medes,

Then the royal spokesman said to them, “Tell Hezekiah this is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: ‘What are you relying on?[fn]

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? ”

“Did the gods of the nations that my predecessors destroyed rescue them ​— ​nations such as Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the Edenites in Telassar?

But they did not listen; Manasseh caused them to stray so that they did worse evil than the nations the LORD had destroyed before the Israelites.

“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,

“But no accounting is to be required from them for the silver given to them since they work with integrity.”

Then Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah and changed Eliakim's name to Jehoiakim. But Neco took Jehoahaz and went to Egypt, and he died there.

The LORD sent Chaldean, Aramean, Moabite, and Ammonite raiders against Jehoiakim. He sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the LORD he had spoken through his servants the prophets.

Jokim, the men of Cozeba; and Joash and Saraph, who married Moabites[fn] and returned to Lehem.[fn] These names are from ancient records.

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.

So the God of Israel roused the spirit of King Pul (that is, Tiglath-pileser[fn]) of Assyria, and he took the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh into exile. He took them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and Gozan's river, where they are until today.

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.

These were Ehud's sons, who were the heads of the families living in Geba and who were deported to Manahath:

They spent the night in the vicinity of God's temple, because they had guard duty and were in charge of opening it every morning.

Then the Spirit enveloped[fn] Amasai, chief of the Thirty, and he said:

We are yours, David,

we are with you, son of Jesse!

Peace, peace to you,

and peace to him who helps you,

for your God helps you.

So David received them and made them leaders of his troops.

so David inquired of God, “Should I attack the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me? ”

The LORD replied, “Attack, and I will hand them over to you.”

Then David said, “No one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, because the LORD has chosen them to carry the ark of the LORD and to minister before him forever.”

When they[fn] were few in number,

very few indeed, and resident aliens in Canaan

he allowed no one to oppress them;

he rebuked kings on their behalf:

After this, David defeated the Philistines, subdued them, and took Gath and its surrounding villages from Philistine control.

David took the gold shields carried by Hadadezer's officers and brought them to Jerusalem.

So Hanun took David's emissaries, shaved them, cut their clothes in half at the hips, and sent them away.

When this was reported to David, he gathered all Israel and crossed the Jordan. He came up to the Arameans and lined up against them. When David lined up to engage them, they fought against him.

Then David divided them into divisions according to Levi's sons: Gershom,[fn] Kohath, and Merari.

“but their duty will be to assist the descendants of Aaron with the service of the LORD's temple, being responsible for the courts and the chambers, the purification of all the holy things, and the work of the service of God's temple ​— ​

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.

They were assigned by lot, for there were officers of the sanctuary and officers of God among both Eleazar's and Ithamar's descendants.

There were among Jerijah's relatives 2,700 capable men who were family heads. King David appointed them over the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh as overseers in every matter relating to God and the king.

Then King Hiram of Tyre wrote a letter[fn] and sent it to Solomon:

Because the LORD loves his people, he set you over them as king.

Solomon took a census of all the resident alien men in the land of Israel, after the census that his father David had conducted, and the total was 153,600.

Nothing was in the ark except the two tablets that Moses had put in it at Horeb,[fn] where the LORD had made a covenant with the Israelites when they came out of Egypt.

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 they sin against you —

for there is no one who does not sin —

and you are angry with them

and hand them over to the enemy,

and their captors deport them

to a distant or nearby country,

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,

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.

“Blessed be the LORD your God! He delighted in you and put you on his throne as king for the LORD your God. Because your God loved Israel enough to establish them forever, he has set you over them as king to carry out justice and righteousness.”

Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. He stationed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.

and spoke to them according to the young men's advice, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy,[fn] but I will add to it; my father disciplined you with whips, but I, with barbed whips.”

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.

When the LORD saw that they had humbled themselves, the LORD's message came to Shemaiah: “They have humbled themselves; I will not destroy them but will grant them a little deliverance. My wrath will not be poured out on Jerusalem through Shishak.

So the Israelites fled before Judah, and God handed them over to them.

Then Zerah the Cushite came against them with an army of one million men and three hundred[fn] chariots. They came as far as Mareshah.

“Nation was crushed by nation and city by city, for God troubled them with every possible distress.

Then he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, as well as those from the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who were residing among them, for they had defected to him from Israel in great numbers when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.

When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they shouted, “He must be the king of Israel! ” So they turned to attack him, but Jehoshaphat cried out and the LORD helped him. God drew them away from him.

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.

He commanded them, saying, “In the fear of the LORD, with integrity, and wholeheartedly, you are to do the following:

“Tomorrow, go down against them. You will see them coming up the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley facing the Wilderness of Jeruel.

Then all the men of Judah and Jerusalem turned back with Jehoshaphat their leader, returning joyfully to Jerusalem, for the LORD enabled them to rejoice over their enemies.

The terror of God was on all the kingdoms of the lands when they heard that the LORD had fought against the enemies of Israel.

Nevertheless, he sent them prophets to bring them back to the LORD; they admonished them, but the people would not listen.

When the Arameans saw that Joash had many wounds, they left him. His servants conspired against him, and killed him on his bed, because he had shed the blood of the sons of the priest Jehoiada. So he died, and they buried him in the city of David, but they did not bury him in the tombs of the kings.

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.

and the Judahites captured ten thousand alive. They took them to the top of a cliff where they threw them off, and all of them were dashed to pieces.