Heart-Tongues

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Acts 20 | Encouragement in Goodbyes

God's Great Story

Over the Fence: Lessons From Ephesus

Spiritual Training: The Discipline of Fasting and Solitude

The Joy

Adventure in Evangelism

Go Into All the World

Seeing Disabilities Through God's Eyes: A 5-Day Devotional With Sandra Peoples

The Listener’s Bible®: NIV Edition

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Holy Bible, New International Version™ (Anglicised), South Asian Audio Edition

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 <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="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="chapter ch11" data-usfm="JDG.11">
 <div class="label">11</div><div class="p"> 1Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior. His father was Gilead; his mother was a prostitute. 2Gilead&#8217;s wife also bore him sons, and when they were grown up, they drove Jephthah away. &#8220;You are not going to get any inheritance in our family,&#8221; they said, &#8220;because you are the son of another woman.&#8221; 3So Jephthah fled from his brothers and settled in the land of Tob, where a gang of scoundrels gathered around him and followed him.</div><div class="p"> 4Some time later, when the Ammonites were fighting against Israel, 5the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. 6&#8220;Come,&#8221; they said, &#8220;be our commander, so we can fight the Ammonites.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 7Jephthah said to them, &#8220;Didn&#8217;t you hate me and drive me from my father&#8217;s house? Why do you come to me now, when you&#8217;re in trouble?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 8The elders of Gilead said to him, &#8220;Nevertheless, we are turning to you now; come with us to fight the Ammonites, and you will be head over all of us who live in Gilead.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 9Jephthah answered, &#8220;Suppose you take me back to fight the Ammonites and the Lord gives them to me&#8212;will I really be your head?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 10The elders of Gilead replied, &#8220;The Lord is our witness; we will certainly do as you say.&#8221; 11So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over them. And he repeated all his words before the Lord in Mizpah.</div><div class="p"> 12Then Jephthah sent messengers to the Ammonite king with the question: &#8220;What do you have against me that you have attacked my country?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 13The king of the Ammonites answered Jephthah&#8217;s messengers, &#8220;When Israel came up out of Egypt, they took away my land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, all the way to the Jordan. Now give it back peaceably.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 14Jephthah sent back messengers to the Ammonite king, 15saying:</div><div class="pmo">&#8220;This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not take the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites. 16But when they came up out of Egypt, Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea#11:16 Or the Sea of Reeds and on to Kadesh. 17Then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, &#8216;Give us permission to go through your country,&#8217; but the king of Edom would not listen. They sent also to the king of Moab, and he refused. So Israel stayed at Kadesh.</div><div class="pm"> 18&#8220;Next they traveled through the wilderness, skirted the lands of Edom and Moab, passed along the eastern side of the country of Moab, and camped on the other side of the Arnon. They did not enter the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was its border.</div><div class="pm"> 19&#8220;Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon, and said to him, &#8216;Let us pass through your country to our own place.&#8217; 20Sihon, however, did not trust Israel#11:20 Or however, would not make an agreement for Israel to pass through his territory. He mustered all his troops and encamped at Jahaz and fought with Israel.</div><div class="pm"> 21&#8220;Then the Lord, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and his whole army into Israel&#8217;s hands, and they defeated them. Israel took over all the land of the Amorites who lived in that country, 22capturing all of it from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the desert to the Jordan.</div><div class="pm"> 23&#8220;Now since the Lord, the God of Israel, has driven the Amorites out before his people Israel, what right have you to take it over? 24Will you not take what your god Chemosh gives you? Likewise, whatever the Lord our God has given us, we will possess. 25Are you any better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever quarrel with Israel or fight with them? 26For three hundred years Israel occupied Heshbon, Aroer, the surrounding settlements and all the towns along the Arnon. Why didn&#8217;t you retake them during that time? 27I have not wronged you, but you are doing me wrong by waging war against me. Let the Lord, the Judge, decide the dispute this day between the Israelites and the Ammonites.&#8221;</div><div class="m"> 28The king of Ammon, however, paid no attention to the message Jephthah sent him.</div><div class="p"> 29Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jephthah. He crossed Gilead and Manasseh, passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from there he advanced against the Ammonites. 30And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord: &#8220;If you give the Ammonites into my hands, 31whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the Lord&#8217;s, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 32Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and the Lord gave them into his hands. 33He devastated twenty towns from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel Keramim. Thus Israel subdued Ammon.</div><div class="p"> 34When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of timbrels! She was an only child. Except for her he had neither son nor daughter. 35When he saw her, he tore his clothes and cried, &#8220;Oh no, my daughter! You have brought me down and I am devastated. I have made a vow to the Lord that I cannot break.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 36&#8220;My father,&#8221; she replied, &#8220;you have given your word to the Lord. Do to me just as you promised, now that the Lord has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites. 37But grant me this one request,&#8221; she said. &#8220;Give me two months to roam the hills and weep with my friends, because I will never marry.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 38&#8220;You may go,&#8221; he said. And he let her go for two months. She and her friends went into the hills and wept because she would never marry. 39After the two months, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. And she was a virgin.</div><div class="p">From this comes the Israelite tradition 40that each year the young women of Israel go out for four days to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.</div>
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 <div class="label">12</div><div class="s1">Jephthah and Ephraim</div><div class="p"> 1The Ephraimite forces were called out, and they crossed over to Zaphon. They said to Jephthah, &#8220;Why did you go to fight the Ammonites without calling us to go with you? We&#8217;re going to burn down your house over your head.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 2Jephthah answered, &#8220;I and my people were engaged in a great struggle with the Ammonites, and although I called, you didn&#8217;t save me out of their hands. 3When I saw that you wouldn&#8217;t help, I took my life in my hands and crossed over to fight the Ammonites, and the Lord gave me the victory over them. Now why have you come up today to fight me?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4Jephthah then called together the men of Gilead and fought against Ephraim. The Gileadites struck them down because the Ephraimites had said, &#8220;You Gileadites are renegades from Ephraim and Manasseh.&#8221; 5The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan leading to Ephraim, and whenever a survivor of Ephraim said, &#8220;Let me cross over,&#8221; the men of Gilead asked him, &#8220;Are you an Ephraimite?&#8221; If he replied, &#8220;No,&#8221; 6they said, &#8220;All right, say &#8216;Shibboleth.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221; If he said, &#8220;Sibboleth,&#8221; because he could not pronounce the word correctly, they seized him and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. Forty-two thousand Ephraimites were killed at that time.</div><div class="p"> 7Jephthah led#12:7 Traditionally judged; also in verses 8-14 Israel six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried in a town in Gilead.</div><div class="s1">Ibzan, Elon and Abdon</div><div class="p"> 8After him, Ibzan of Bethlehem led Israel. 9He had thirty sons and thirty daughters. He gave his daughters away in marriage to those outside his clan, and for his sons he brought in thirty young women as wives from outside his clan. Ibzan led Israel seven years. 10Then Ibzan died and was buried in Bethlehem.</div><div class="p"> 11After him, Elon the Zebulunite led Israel ten years. 12Then Elon died and was buried in Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.</div><div class="p"> 13After him, Abdon son of Hillel, from Pirathon, led Israel. 14He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys. He led Israel eight years. 15Then Abdon son of Hillel died and was buried at Pirathon in Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.</div>
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 <div class="label">17</div><div class="s1">Micah&#8217;s Idols</div><div class="p"> 1Now a man named Micah from the hill country of Ephraim 2said to his mother, &#8220;The eleven hundred shekels#17:2 That is, about 28 pounds or about 13 kilograms of silver that were taken from you and about which I heard you utter a curse&#8212;I have that silver with me; I took it.&#8221;</div><div class="p">Then his mother said, &#8220;The Lord bless you, my son!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 3When he returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, she said, &#8220;I solemnly consecrate my silver to the Lord for my son to make an image overlaid with silver. I will give it back to you.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4So after he returned the silver to his mother, she took two hundred shekels#17:4 That is, about 5 pounds or about 2.3 kilograms of silver and gave them to a silversmith, who used them to make the idol. And it was put in Micah&#8217;s house.</div><div class="p"> 5Now this man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and some household gods and installed one of his sons as his priest. 6In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.</div><div class="p"> 7A young Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, who had been living within the clan of Judah, 8left that town in search of some other place to stay. On his way#17:8 Or To carry on his profession he came to Micah&#8217;s house in the hill country of Ephraim.</div><div class="p"> 9Micah asked him, &#8220;Where are you from?&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;I&#8217;m a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah,&#8221; he said, &#8220;and I&#8217;m looking for a place to stay.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 10Then Micah said to him, &#8220;Live with me and be my father and priest, and I&#8217;ll give you ten shekels#17:10 That is, about 4 ounces or about 115 grams of silver a year, your clothes and your food.&#8221; 11So the Levite agreed to live with him, and the young man became like one of his sons to him. 12Then Micah installed the Levite, and the young man became his priest and lived in his house. 13And Micah said, &#8220;Now I know that the Lord will be good to me, since this Levite has become my priest.&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="chapter ch18" data-usfm="JDG.18">
 <div class="label">18</div><div class="s1">The Danites Settle in Laish</div><div class="p"> 1In those days Israel had no king.</div><div class="p">And in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking a place of their own where they might settle, because they had not yet come into an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. 2So the Danites sent five of their leading men from Zorah and Eshtaol to spy out the land and explore it. These men represented all the Danites. They told them, &#8220;Go, explore the land.&#8221;</div><div class="p">So they entered the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah, where they spent the night. 3When they were near Micah&#8217;s house, they recognized the voice of the young Levite; so they turned in there and asked him, &#8220;Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? Why are you here?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4He told them what Micah had done for him, and said, &#8220;He has hired me and I am his priest.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 5Then they said to him, &#8220;Please inquire of God to learn whether our journey will be successful.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 6The priest answered them, &#8220;Go in peace. Your journey has the Lord&#8217;s approval.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 7So the five men left and came to Laish, where they saw that the people were living in safety, like the Sidonians, at peace and secure. And since their land lacked nothing, they were prosperous.#18:7 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain. Also, they lived a long way from the Sidonians and had no relationship with anyone else.#18:7 Hebrew; some Septuagint manuscripts with the Arameans</div><div class="p"> 8When they returned to Zorah and Eshtaol, their fellow Danites asked them, &#8220;How did you find things?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 9They answered, &#8220;Come on, let&#8217;s attack them! We have seen the land, and it is very good. Aren&#8217;t you going to do something? Don&#8217;t hesitate to go there and take it over. 10When you get there, you will find an unsuspecting people and a spacious land that God has put into your hands, a land that lacks nothing whatever.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 11Then six hundred men of the Danites, armed for battle, set out from Zorah and Eshtaol. 12On their way they set up camp near Kiriath Jearim in Judah. This is why the place west of Kiriath Jearim is called Mahaneh Dan#18:12 Mahaneh Dan means Dan&#8217;s camp. to this day. 13From there they went on to the hill country of Ephraim and came to Micah&#8217;s house.</div><div class="p"> 14Then the five men who had spied out the land of Laish said to their fellow Danites, &#8220;Do you know that one of these houses has an ephod, some household gods and an image overlaid with silver? Now you know what to do.&#8221; 15So they turned in there and went to the house of the young Levite at Micah&#8217;s place and greeted him. 16The six hundred Danites, armed for battle, stood at the entrance of the gate. 17The five men who had spied out the land went inside and took the idol, the ephod and the household gods while the priest and the six hundred armed men stood at the entrance of the gate.</div><div class="p"> 18When the five men went into Micah&#8217;s house and took the idol, the ephod and the household gods, the priest said to them, &#8220;What are you doing?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 19They answered him, &#8220;Be quiet! Don&#8217;t say a word. Come with us, and be our father and priest. Isn&#8217;t it better that you serve a tribe and clan in Israel as priest rather than just one man&#8217;s household?&#8221; 20The priest was very pleased. He took the ephod, the household gods and the idol and went along with the people. 21Putting their little children, their livestock and their possessions in front of them, they turned away and left.</div><div class="p"> 22When they had gone some distance from Micah&#8217;s house, the men who lived near Micah were called together and overtook the Danites. 23As they shouted after them, the Danites turned and said to Micah, &#8220;What&#8217;s the matter with you that you called out your men to fight?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 24He replied, &#8220;You took the gods I made, and my priest, and went away. What else do I have? How can you ask, &#8216;What&#8217;s the matter with you?&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 25The Danites answered, &#8220;Don&#8217;t argue with us, or some of the men may get angry and attack you, and you and your family will lose your lives.&#8221; 26So the Danites went their way, and Micah, seeing that they were too strong for him, turned around and went back home.</div><div class="p"> 27Then they took what Micah had made, and his priest, and went on to Laish, against a people at peace and secure. They attacked them with the sword and burned down their city. 28There was no one to rescue them because they lived a long way from Sidon and had no relationship with anyone else. The city was in a valley near Beth Rehob.</div><div class="p">The Danites rebuilt the city and settled there. 29They named it Dan after their ancestor Dan, who was born to Israel&#8212;though the city used to be called Laish. 30There the Danites set up for themselves the idol, and Jonathan son of Gershom, the son of Moses,#18:30 Many Hebrew manuscripts, some Septuagint manuscripts and Vulgate; many other Hebrew manuscripts and some other Septuagint manuscripts Manasseh and his sons were priests for the tribe of Dan until the time of the captivity of the land. 31They continued to use the idol Micah had made, all the time the house of God was in Shiloh.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="label">19</div><div class="s1">A Levite and His Concubine</div><div class="p"> 1In those days Israel had no king.</div><div class="p">Now a Levite who lived in a remote area in the hill country of Ephraim took a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah. 2But she was unfaithful to him. She left him and went back to her parents&#8217; home in Bethlehem, Judah. After she had been there four months, 3her husband went to her to persuade her to return. He had with him his servant and two donkeys. She took him into her parents&#8217; home, and when her father saw him, he gladly welcomed him. 4His father-in-law, the woman&#8217;s father, prevailed on him to stay; so he remained with him three days, eating and drinking, and sleeping there.</div><div class="p"> 5On the fourth day they got up early and he prepared to leave, but the woman&#8217;s father said to his son-in-law, &#8220;Refresh yourself with something to eat; then you can go.&#8221; 6So the two of them sat down to eat and drink together. Afterward the woman&#8217;s father said, &#8220;Please stay tonight and enjoy yourself.&#8221; 7And when the man got up to go, his father-in-law persuaded him, so he stayed there that night. 8On the morning of the fifth day, when he rose to go, the woman&#8217;s father said, &#8220;Refresh yourself. Wait till afternoon!&#8221; So the two of them ate together.</div><div class="p"> 9Then when the man, with his concubine and his servant, got up to leave, his father-in-law, the woman&#8217;s father, said, &#8220;Now look, it&#8217;s almost evening. Spend the night here; the day is nearly over. Stay and enjoy yourself. Early tomorrow morning you can get up and be on your way home.&#8221; 10But, unwilling to stay another night, the man left and went toward Jebus (that is, Jerusalem), with his two saddled donkeys and his concubine.</div><div class="p"> 11When they were near Jebus and the day was almost gone, the servant said to his master, &#8220;Come, let&#8217;s stop at this city of the Jebusites and spend the night.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 12His master replied, &#8220;No. We won&#8217;t go into any city whose people are not Israelites. We will go on to Gibeah.&#8221; 13He added, &#8220;Come, let&#8217;s try to reach Gibeah or Ramah and spend the night in one of those places.&#8221; 14So they went on, and the sun set as they neared Gibeah in Benjamin. 15There they stopped to spend the night. They went and sat in the city square, but no one took them in for the night.</div><div class="p"> 16That evening an old man from the hill country of Ephraim, who was living in Gibeah (the inhabitants of the place were Benjamites), came in from his work in the fields. 17When he looked and saw the traveler in the city square, the old man asked, &#8220;Where are you going? Where did you come from?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 18He answered, &#8220;We are on our way from Bethlehem in Judah to a remote area in the hill country of Ephraim where I live. I have been to Bethlehem in Judah and now I am going to the house of the Lord.#19:18 Hebrew, Vulgate, Syriac and Targum; Septuagint going home No one has taken me in for the night. 19We have both straw and fodder for our donkeys and bread and wine for ourselves your servants&#8212;me, the woman and the young man with us. We don&#8217;t need anything.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 20&#8220;You are welcome at my house,&#8221; the old man said. &#8220;Let me supply whatever you need. Only don&#8217;t spend the night in the square.&#8221; 21So he took him into his house and fed his donkeys. After they had washed their feet, they had something to eat and drink.</div><div class="p"> 22While they were enjoying themselves, some of the wicked men of the city surrounded the house. Pounding on the door, they shouted to the old man who owned the house, &#8220;Bring out the man who came to your house so we can have sex with him.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 23The owner of the house went outside and said to them, &#8220;No, my friends, don&#8217;t be so vile. Since this man is my guest, don&#8217;t do this outrageous thing. 24Look, here is my virgin daughter, and his concubine. I will bring them out to you now, and you can use them and do to them whatever you wish. But as for this man, don&#8217;t do such an outrageous thing.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 25But the men would not listen to him. So the man took his concubine and sent her outside to them, and they raped her and abused her throughout the night, and at dawn they let her go. 26At daybreak the woman went back to the house where her master was staying, fell down at the door and lay there until daylight.</div><div class="p"> 27When her master got up in the morning and opened the door of the house and stepped out to continue on his way, there lay his concubine, fallen in the doorway of the house, with her hands on the threshold. 28He said to her, &#8220;Get up; let&#8217;s go.&#8221; But there was no answer. Then the man put her on his donkey and set out for home.</div><div class="p"> 29When he reached home, he took a knife and cut up his concubine, limb by limb, into twelve parts and sent them into all the areas of Israel. 30Everyone who saw it was saying to one another, &#8220;Such a thing has never been seen or done, not since the day the Israelites came up out of Egypt. Just imagine! We must do something! So speak up!&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="label">20</div><div class="s1">The Israelites Punish the Benjamites</div><div class="p"> 1Then all Israel from Dan to Beersheba and from the land of Gilead came together as one and assembled before the Lord in Mizpah. 2The leaders of all the people of the tribes of Israel took their places in the assembly of God&#8217;s people, four hundred thousand men armed with swords. 3(The Benjamites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah.) Then the Israelites said, &#8220;Tell us how this awful thing happened.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4So the Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, said, &#8220;I and my concubine came to Gibeah in Benjamin to spend the night. 5During the night the men of Gibeah came after me and surrounded the house, intending to kill me. They raped my concubine, and she died. 6I took my concubine, cut her into pieces and sent one piece to each region of Israel&#8217;s inheritance, because they committed this lewd and outrageous act in Israel. 7Now, all you Israelites, speak up and tell me what you have decided to do.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 8All the men rose up together as one, saying, &#8220;None of us will go home. No, not one of us will return to his house. 9But now this is what we&#8217;ll do to Gibeah: We&#8217;ll go up against it in the order decided by casting lots. 10We&#8217;ll take ten men out of every hundred from all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred from a thousand, and a thousand from ten thousand, to get provisions for the army. Then, when the army arrives at Gibeah#20:10 One Hebrew manuscript; most Hebrew manuscripts Geba, a variant of Gibeah in Benjamin, it can give them what they deserve for this outrageous act done in Israel.&#8221; 11So all the Israelites got together and united as one against the city.</div><div class="p"> 12The tribes of Israel sent messengers throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, &#8220;What about this awful crime that was committed among you? 13Now turn those wicked men of Gibeah over to us so that we may put them to death and purge the evil from Israel.&#8221;</div><div class="p">But the Benjamites would not listen to their fellow Israelites. 14From their towns they came together at Gibeah to fight against the Israelites. 15At once the Benjamites mobilized twenty-six thousand swordsmen from their towns, in addition to seven hundred able young men from those living in Gibeah. 16Among all these soldiers there were seven hundred select troops who were left-handed, each of whom could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.</div><div class="p"> 17Israel, apart from Benjamin, mustered four hundred thousand swordsmen, all of them fit for battle.</div><div class="p"> 18The Israelites went up to Bethel#20:18 Or to the house of God; also in verse 26 and inquired of God. They said, &#8220;Who of us is to go up first to fight against the Benjamites?&#8221;</div><div class="p">The Lord replied, &#8220;Judah shall go first.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 19The next morning the Israelites got up and pitched camp near Gibeah. 20The Israelites went out to fight the Benjamites and took up battle positions against them at Gibeah. 21The Benjamites came out of Gibeah and cut down twenty-two thousand Israelites on the battlefield that day. 22But the Israelites encouraged one another and again took up their positions where they had stationed themselves the first day. 23The Israelites went up and wept before the Lord until evening, and they inquired of the Lord. They said, &#8220;Shall we go up again to fight against the Benjamites, our fellow Israelites?&#8221;</div><div class="p">The Lord answered, &#8220;Go up against them.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 24Then the Israelites drew near to Benjamin the second day. 25This time, when the Benjamites came out from Gibeah to oppose them, they cut down another eighteen thousand Israelites, all of them armed with swords.</div><div class="p"> 26Then all the Israelites, the whole army, went up to Bethel, and there they sat weeping before the Lord. They fasted that day until evening and presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the Lord. 27And the Israelites inquired of the Lord. (In those days the ark of the covenant of God was there, 28with Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, ministering before it.) They asked, &#8220;Shall we go up again to fight against the Benjamites, our fellow Israelites, or not?&#8221;</div><div class="p">The Lord responded, &#8220;Go, for tomorrow I will give them into your hands.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 29Then Israel set an ambush around Gibeah. 30They went up against the Benjamites on the third day and took up positions against Gibeah as they had done before. 31The Benjamites came out to meet them and were drawn away from the city. They began to inflict casualties on the Israelites as before, so that about thirty men fell in the open field and on the roads&#8212;the one leading to Bethel and the other to Gibeah. 32While the Benjamites were saying, &#8220;We are defeating them as before,&#8221; the Israelites were saying, &#8220;Let&#8217;s retreat and draw them away from the city to the roads.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 33All the men of Israel moved from their places and took up positions at Baal Tamar, and the Israelite ambush charged out of its place on the west#20:33 Some Septuagint manuscripts and Vulgate; the meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain. of Gibeah.#20:33 Hebrew Geba, a variant of Gibeah 34Then ten thousand of Israel&#8217;s able young men made a frontal attack on Gibeah. The fighting was so heavy that the Benjamites did not realize how near disaster was. 35The Lord defeated Benjamin before Israel, and on that day the Israelites struck down 25,100 Benjamites, all armed with swords. 36Then the Benjamites saw that they were beaten.</div><div class="p">Now the men of Israel had given way before Benjamin, because they relied on the ambush they had set near Gibeah. 37Those who had been in ambush made a sudden dash into Gibeah, spread out and put the whole city to the sword. 38The Israelites had arranged with the ambush that they should send up a great cloud of smoke from the city, 39and then the Israelites would counterattack.</div><div class="p">The Benjamites had begun to inflict casualties on the Israelites (about thirty), and they said, &#8220;We are defeating them as in the first battle.&#8221; 40But when the column of smoke began to rise from the city, the Benjamites turned and saw the whole city going up in smoke. 41Then the Israelites counterattacked, and the Benjamites were terrified, because they realized that disaster had come on them. 42So they fled before the Israelites in the direction of the wilderness, but they could not escape the battle. And the Israelites who came out of the towns cut them down there. 43They surrounded the Benjamites, chased them and easily#20:43 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain. overran them in the vicinity of Gibeah on the east. 44Eighteen thousand Benjamites fell, all of them valiant fighters. 45As they turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, the Israelites cut down five thousand men along the roads. They kept pressing after the Benjamites as far as Gidom and struck down two thousand more.</div><div class="p"> 46On that day twenty-five thousand Benjamite swordsmen fell, all of them valiant fighters. 47But six hundred of them turned and fled into the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, where they stayed four months. 48The men of Israel went back to Benjamin and put all the towns to the sword, including the animals and everything else they found. All the towns they came across they set on fire.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="label">21</div><div class="s1">Wives for the Benjamites</div><div class="p"> 1The men of Israel had taken an oath at Mizpah: &#8220;Not one of us will give his daughter in marriage to a Benjamite.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 2The people went to Bethel,#21:2 Or to the house of God where they sat before God until evening, raising their voices and weeping bitterly. 3&#8220;Lord, God of Israel,&#8221; they cried, &#8220;why has this happened to Israel? Why should one tribe be missing from Israel today?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4Early the next day the people built an altar and presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings.</div><div class="p"> 5Then the Israelites asked, &#8220;Who from all the tribes of Israel has failed to assemble before the Lord?&#8221; For they had taken a solemn oath that anyone who failed to assemble before the Lord at Mizpah was to be put to death.</div><div class="p"> 6Now the Israelites grieved for the tribe of Benjamin, their fellow Israelites. &#8220;Today one tribe is cut off from Israel,&#8221; they said. 7&#8220;How can we provide wives for those who are left, since we have taken an oath by the Lord not to give them any of our daughters in marriage?&#8221; 8Then they asked, &#8220;Which one of the tribes of Israel failed to assemble before the Lord at Mizpah?&#8221; They discovered that no one from Jabesh Gilead had come to the camp for the assembly. 9For when they counted the people, they found that none of the people of Jabesh Gilead were there.</div><div class="p"> 10So the assembly sent twelve thousand fighting men with instructions to go to Jabesh Gilead and put to the sword those living there, including the women and children. 11&#8220;This is what you are to do,&#8221; they said. &#8220;Kill every male and every woman who is not a virgin.&#8221; 12They found among the people living in Jabesh Gilead four hundred young women who had never slept with a man, and they took them to the camp at Shiloh in Canaan.</div><div class="p"> 13Then the whole assembly sent an offer of peace to the Benjamites at the rock of Rimmon. 14So the Benjamites returned at that time and were given the women of Jabesh Gilead who had been spared. But there were not enough for all of them.</div><div class="p"> 15The people grieved for Benjamin, because the Lord had made a gap in the tribes of Israel. 16And the elders of the assembly said, &#8220;With the women of Benjamin destroyed, how shall we provide wives for the men who are left? 17The Benjamite survivors must have heirs,&#8221; they said, &#8220;so that a tribe of Israel will not be wiped out. 18We can&#8217;t give them our daughters as wives, since we Israelites have taken this oath: &#8216;Cursed be anyone who gives a wife to a Benjamite.&#8217; 19But look, there is the annual festival of the Lord in Shiloh, which lies north of Bethel, east of the road that goes from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 20So they instructed the Benjamites, saying, &#8220;Go and hide in the vineyards 21and watch. When the young women of Shiloh come out to join in the dancing, rush from the vineyards and each of you seize one of them to be your wife. Then return to the land of Benjamin. 22When their fathers or brothers complain to us, we will say to them, &#8216;Do us the favor of helping them, because we did not get wives for them during the war. You will not be guilty of breaking your oath because you did not give your daughters to them.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 23So that is what the Benjamites did. While the young women were dancing, each man caught one and carried her off to be his wife. Then they returned to their inheritance and rebuilt the towns and settled in them.</div><div class="p"> 24At that time the Israelites left that place and went home to their tribes and clans, each to his own inheritance.</div><div class="p"> 25In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.</div>
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