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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkJDG">
 <div class="chapter ch9" data-usfm="JDG.9">
 <div class="label">9</div><div class="s1">Abimelek</div><div class="p"> 1Abimelek son of Jerub-Baal went to his mother&#8217;s brothers in Shechem and said to them and to all his mother&#8217;s clan, 2&#8220;Ask all the citizens of Shechem, &#8216;Which is better for you: to have all seventy of Jerub-Baal&#8217;s sons rule over you, or just one man?&#8217; Remember, I am your flesh and blood.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 3When the brothers repeated all this to the citizens of Shechem, they were inclined to follow Abimelek, for they said, &#8220;He is related to us.&#8221; 4They gave him seventy shekels#9:4 That is, about 1 3/4 pounds or about 800 grams of silver from the temple of Baal-Berith, and Abimelek used it to hire reckless scoundrels, who became his followers. 5He went to his father&#8217;s home in Ophrah and on one stone murdered his seventy brothers, the sons of Jerub-Baal. But Jotham, the youngest son of Jerub-Baal, escaped by hiding. 6Then all the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo gathered beside the great tree at the pillar in Shechem to crown Abimelek king.</div><div class="p"> 7When Jotham was told about this, he climbed up on the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted to them, &#8220;Listen to me, citizens of Shechem, so that God may listen to you. 8One day the trees went out to anoint a king for themselves. They said to the olive tree, &#8216;Be our king.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 9&#8220;But the olive tree answered, &#8216;Should I give up my oil, by which both gods and humans are honored, to hold sway over the trees?&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 10&#8220;Next, the trees said to the fig tree, &#8216;Come and be our king.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 11&#8220;But the fig tree replied, &#8216;Should I give up my fruit, so good and sweet, to hold sway over the trees?&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 12&#8220;Then the trees said to the vine, &#8216;Come and be our king.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 13&#8220;But the vine answered, &#8216;Should I give up my wine, which cheers both gods and humans, to hold sway over the trees?&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 14&#8220;Finally all the trees said to the thornbush, &#8216;Come and be our king.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 15&#8220;The thornbush said to the trees, &#8216;If you really want to anoint me king over you, come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, then let fire come out of the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 16&#8220;Have you acted honorably and in good faith by making Abimelek king? Have you been fair to Jerub-Baal and his family? Have you treated him as he deserves? 17Remember that my father fought for you and risked his life to rescue you from the hand of Midian. 18But today you have revolted against my father&#8217;s family. You have murdered his seventy sons on a single stone and have made Abimelek, the son of his female slave, king over the citizens of Shechem because he is related to you. 19So have you acted honorably and in good faith toward Jerub-Baal and his family today? If you have, may Abimelek be your joy, and may you be his, too! 20But if you have not, let fire come out from Abimelek and consume you, the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo, and let fire come out from you, the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo, and consume Abimelek!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 21Then Jotham fled, escaping to Beer, and he lived there because he was afraid of his brother Abimelek.</div><div class="p"> 22After Abimelek had governed Israel three years, 23God stirred up animosity between Abimelek and the citizens of Shechem so that they acted treacherously against Abimelek. 24God did this in order that the crime against Jerub-Baal&#8217;s seventy sons, the shedding of their blood, might be avenged on their brother Abimelek and on the citizens of Shechem, who had helped him murder his brothers. 25In opposition to him these citizens of Shechem set men on the hilltops to ambush and rob everyone who passed by, and this was reported to Abimelek.</div><div class="p"> 26Now Gaal son of Ebed moved with his clan into Shechem, and its citizens put their confidence in him. 27After they had gone out into the fields and gathered the grapes and trodden them, they held a festival in the temple of their god. While they were eating and drinking, they cursed Abimelek. 28Then Gaal son of Ebed said, &#8220;Who is Abimelek, and why should we Shechemites be subject to him? Isn&#8217;t he Jerub-Baal&#8217;s son, and isn&#8217;t Zebul his deputy? Serve the family of Hamor, Shechem&#8217;s father! Why should we serve Abimelek? 29If only this people were under my command! Then I would get rid of him. I would say to Abimelek, &#8216;Call out your whole army!&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;#9:29 Septuagint; Hebrew him.&#8221; Then he said to Abimelek, &#8220;Call out your whole army!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 30When Zebul the governor of the city heard what Gaal son of Ebed said, he was very angry. 31Under cover he sent messengers to Abimelek, saying, &#8220;Gaal son of Ebed and his clan have come to Shechem and are stirring up the city against you. 32Now then, during the night you and your men should come and lie in wait in the fields. 33In the morning at sunrise, advance against the city. When Gaal and his men come out against you, seize the opportunity to attack them.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 34So Abimelek and all his troops set out by night and took up concealed positions near Shechem in four companies. 35Now Gaal son of Ebed had gone out and was standing at the entrance of the city gate just as Abimelek and his troops came out from their hiding place.</div><div class="p"> 36When Gaal saw them, he said to Zebul, &#8220;Look, people are coming down from the tops of the mountains!&#8221;</div><div class="p">Zebul replied, &#8220;You mistake the shadows of the mountains for men.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 37But Gaal spoke up again: &#8220;Look, people are coming down from the central hill,#9:37 The Hebrew for this phrase means the navel of the earth. and a company is coming from the direction of the diviners&#8217; tree.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 38Then Zebul said to him, &#8220;Where is your big talk now, you who said, &#8216;Who is Abimelek that we should be subject to him?&#8217; Aren&#8217;t these the men you ridiculed? Go out and fight them!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 39So Gaal led out#9:39 Or Gaal went out in the sight of the citizens of Shechem and fought Abimelek. 40Abimelek chased him all the way to the entrance of the gate, and many were killed as they fled. 41Then Abimelek stayed in Arumah, and Zebul drove Gaal and his clan out of Shechem.</div><div class="p"> 42The next day the people of Shechem went out to the fields, and this was reported to Abimelek. 43So he took his men, divided them into three companies and set an ambush in the fields. When he saw the people coming out of the city, he rose to attack them. 44Abimelek and the companies with him rushed forward to a position at the entrance of the city gate. Then two companies attacked those in the fields and struck them down. 45All that day Abimelek pressed his attack against the city until he had captured it and killed its people. Then he destroyed the city and scattered salt over it.</div><div class="p"> 46On hearing this, the citizens in the tower of Shechem went into the stronghold of the temple of El-Berith. 47When Abimelek heard that they had assembled there, 48he and all his men went up Mount Zalmon. He took an ax and cut off some branches, which he lifted to his shoulders. He ordered the men with him, &#8220;Quick! Do what you have seen me do!&#8221; 49So all the men cut branches and followed Abimelek. They piled them against the stronghold and set it on fire with the people still inside. So all the people in the tower of Shechem, about a thousand men and women, also died.</div><div class="p"> 50Next Abimelek went to Thebez and besieged it and captured it. 51Inside the city, however, was a strong tower, to which all the men and women&#8212;all the people of the city&#8212;had fled. They had locked themselves in and climbed up on the tower roof. 52Abimelek went to the tower and attacked it. But as he approached the entrance to the tower to set it on fire, 53a woman dropped an upper millstone on his head and cracked his skull.</div><div class="p"> 54Hurriedly he called to his armor-bearer, &#8220;Draw your sword and kill me, so that they can&#8217;t say, &#8216;A woman killed him.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221; So his servant ran him through, and he died. 55When the Israelites saw that Abimelek was dead, they went home.</div><div class="p"> 56Thus God repaid the wickedness that Abimelek had done to his father by murdering his seventy brothers. 57God also made the people of Shechem pay for all their wickedness. The curse of Jotham son of Jerub-Baal came on them.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkJDG">
 <div class="chapter ch10" data-usfm="JDG.10">
 <div class="label">10</div><div class="s1">Tola</div><div class="p"> 1After the time of Abimelek, a man of Issachar named Tola son of Puah, the son of Dodo, rose to save Israel. He lived in Shamir, in the hill country of Ephraim. 2He led#10:2 Traditionally judged; also in verse 3 Israel twenty-three years; then he died, and was buried in Shamir.</div><div class="s1">Jair</div><div class="p"> 3He was followed by Jair of Gilead, who led Israel twenty-two years. 4He had thirty sons, who rode thirty donkeys. They controlled thirty towns in Gilead, which to this day are called Havvoth Jair.#10:4 Or called the settlements of Jair 5When Jair died, he was buried in Kamon.</div><div class="s1">Jephthah</div><div class="p"> 6Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord. They served the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites and the gods of the Philistines. And because the Israelites forsook the Lord and no longer served him, 7he became angry with them. He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and the Ammonites, 8who that year shattered and crushed them. For eighteen years they oppressed all the Israelites on the east side of the Jordan in Gilead, the land of the Amorites. 9The Ammonites also crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah, Benjamin and Ephraim; Israel was in great distress. 10Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord, &#8220;We have sinned against you, forsaking our God and serving the Baals.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 11The Lord replied, &#8220;When the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, 12the Sidonians, the Amalekites and the Maonites#10:12 Hebrew; some Septuagint manuscripts Midianites oppressed you and you cried to me for help, did I not save you from their hands? 13But you have forsaken me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you. 14Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 15But the Israelites said to the Lord, &#8220;We have sinned. Do with us whatever you think best, but please rescue us now.&#8221; 16Then they got rid of the foreign gods among them and served the Lord. And he could bear Israel&#8217;s misery no longer.</div><div class="p"> 17When the Ammonites were called to arms and camped in Gilead, the Israelites assembled and camped at Mizpah. 18The leaders of the people of Gilead said to each other, &#8220;Whoever will take the lead in attacking the Ammonites will be head over all who live in Gilead.&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkPRO">
 <div class="chapter ch23" data-usfm="PRO.23">
 <div class="label">23</div><div class="s2">Saying 7</div><div class="q1"> 1When you sit to dine with a ruler,</div><div class="q2">note well what#23:1 Or who is before you,</div><div class="q1"> 2and put a knife to your throat</div><div class="q2">if you are given to gluttony.</div><div class="q1"> 3Do not crave his delicacies,</div><div class="q2">for that food is deceptive.</div><div class="s2">Saying 8</div><div class="q1"> 4Do not wear yourself out to get rich;</div><div class="q2">do not trust your own cleverness.</div><div class="q1"> 5Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone,</div><div class="q2">for they will surely sprout wings</div><div class="q2">and fly off to the sky like an eagle.</div><div class="s2">Saying 9</div><div class="q1"> 6Do not eat the food of a begrudging host,</div><div class="q2">do not crave his delicacies;</div><div class="q1"> 7for he is the kind of person</div><div class="q2">who is always thinking about the cost.#23:7 Or for as he thinks within himself, / so he is; or for as he puts on a feast, / so he is</div><div class="q1">&#8220;Eat and drink,&#8221; he says to you,</div><div class="q2">but his heart is not with you.</div><div class="q1"> 8You will vomit up the little you have eaten</div><div class="q2">and will have wasted your compliments.</div><div class="s2">Saying 10</div><div class="q1"> 9Do not speak to fools,</div><div class="q2">for they will scorn your prudent words.</div><div class="s2">Saying 11</div><div class="q1"> 10Do not move an ancient boundary stone</div><div class="q2">or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,</div><div class="q1"> 11for their Defender is strong;</div><div class="q2">he will take up their case against you.</div><div class="s2">Saying 12</div><div class="q1"> 12Apply your heart to instruction</div><div class="q2">and your ears to words of knowledge.</div><div class="s2">Saying 13</div><div class="q1"> 13Do not withhold discipline from a child;</div><div class="q2">if you punish them with the rod, they will not die.</div><div class="q1"> 14Punish them with the rod</div><div class="q2">and save them from death.</div><div class="s2">Saying 14</div><div class="q1"> 15My son, if your heart is wise,</div><div class="q2">then my heart will be glad indeed;</div><div class="q1"> 16my inmost being will rejoice</div><div class="q2">when your lips speak what is right.</div><div class="s2">Saying 15</div><div class="q1"> 17Do not let your heart envy sinners,</div><div class="q2">but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord.</div><div class="q1"> 18There is surely a future hope for you,</div><div class="q2">and your hope will not be cut off.</div><div class="s2">Saying 16</div><div class="q1"> 19Listen, my son, and be wise,</div><div class="q2">and set your heart on the right path:</div><div class="q1"> 20Do not join those who drink too much wine</div><div class="q2">or gorge themselves on meat,</div><div class="q1"> 21for drunkards and gluttons become poor,</div><div class="q2">and drowsiness clothes them in rags.</div><div class="s2">Saying 17</div><div class="q1"> 22Listen to your father, who gave you life,</div><div class="q2">and do not despise your mother when she is old.</div><div class="q1"> 23Buy the truth and do not sell it&#8212;</div><div class="q2">wisdom, instruction and insight as well.</div><div class="q1"> 24The father of a righteous child has great joy;</div><div class="q2">a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him.</div><div class="q1"> 25May your father and mother rejoice;</div><div class="q2">may she who gave you birth be joyful!</div><div class="s2">Saying 18</div><div class="q1"> 26My son, give me your heart</div><div class="q2">and let your eyes delight in my ways,</div><div class="q1"> 27for an adulterous woman is a deep pit,</div><div class="q2">and a wayward wife is a narrow well.</div><div class="q1"> 28Like a bandit she lies in wait</div><div class="q2">and multiplies the unfaithful among men.</div><div class="s2">Saying 19</div><div class="q1"> 29Who has woe? Who has sorrow?</div><div class="q2">Who has strife? Who has complaints?</div><div class="q2">Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?</div><div class="q1"> 30Those who linger over wine,</div><div class="q2">who go to sample bowls of mixed wine.</div><div class="q1"> 31Do not gaze at wine when it is red,</div><div class="q2">when it sparkles in the cup,</div><div class="q2">when it goes down smoothly!</div><div class="q1"> 32In the end it bites like a snake</div><div class="q2">and poisons like a viper.</div><div class="q1"> 33Your eyes will see strange sights,</div><div class="q2">and your mind will imagine confusing things.</div><div class="q1"> 34You will be like one sleeping on the high seas,</div><div class="q2">lying on top of the rigging.</div><div class="q1"> 35&#8220;They hit me,&#8221; you will say, &#8220;but I&#8217;m not hurt!</div><div class="q2">They beat me, but I don&#8217;t feel it!</div><div class="q1">When will I wake up</div><div class="q2">so I can find another drink?&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkACT">
 <div class="chapter ch19" data-usfm="ACT.19">
 <div class="label">19</div><div class="s1">Paul in Ephesus</div><div class="p"> 1While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2and asked them, &#8220;Did you receive the Holy Spirit when#19:2 Or after you believed?&#8221;</div><div class="p">They answered, &#8220;No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 3So Paul asked, &#8220;Then what baptism did you receive?&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;John&#8217;s baptism,&#8221; they replied.</div><div class="p"> 4Paul said, &#8220;John&#8217;s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.&#8221; 5On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues#19:6 Or other languages and prophesied. 7There were about twelve men in all.</div><div class="p"> 8Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. 9But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.</div><div class="p"> 11God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, 12so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.</div><div class="p"> 13Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, &#8220;In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.&#8221; 14Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15One day the evil spirit answered them, &#8220;Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?&#8221; 16Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.</div><div class="p"> 17When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. 18Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done. 19A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas.#19:19 A drachma was a silver coin worth about a day&#8217;s wages. 20In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.</div><div class="p"> 21After all this had happened, Paul decided#19:21 Or decided in the Spirit to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia. &#8220;After I have been there,&#8221; he said, &#8220;I must visit Rome also.&#8221; 22He sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he stayed in the province of Asia a little longer.</div><div class="s1">The Riot in Ephesus</div><div class="p"> 23About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way. 24A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in a lot of business for the craftsmen there. 25He called them together, along with the workers in related trades, and said: &#8220;You know, my friends, that we receive a good income from this business. 26And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that gods made by human hands are no gods at all. 27There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited; and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 28When they heard this, they were furious and began shouting: &#8220;Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!&#8221; 29Soon the whole city was in an uproar. The people seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul&#8217;s traveling companions from Macedonia, and all of them rushed into the theater together. 30Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples would not let him. 31Even some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, sent him a message begging him not to venture into the theater.</div><div class="p"> 32The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another. Most of the people did not even know why they were there. 33The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander to the front, and they shouted instructions to him. He motioned for silence in order to make a defense before the people. 34But when they realized he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: &#8220;Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 35The city clerk quieted the crowd and said: &#8220;Fellow Ephesians, doesn&#8217;t all the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven? 36Therefore, since these facts are undeniable, you ought to calm down and not do anything rash. 37You have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples nor blasphemed our goddess. 38If, then, Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a grievance against anybody, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. They can press charges. 39If there is anything further you want to bring up, it must be settled in a legal assembly. 40As it is, we are in danger of being charged with rioting because of what happened today. In that case we would not be able to account for this commotion, since there is no reason for it.&#8221; 41After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.</div>
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