Judges 20 Cross References - ACV

¹ Then all the sons of Israel went out. And the congregation was assembled as one man, from Dan even to Beersheba, with the land of Gilead, to LORD at Mizpah. ² And the chiefs of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand footmen who drew a sword. ³ (Now the sons of Benjamin heard that the sons of Israel had gone up to Mizpah.) And the sons of Israel said, Tell us, how was this wickedness brought to pass? ⁴ And the Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered and said, I came into Gibeah that belongs to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to lodge. ⁵ And the men of Gibeah rose against me, and beset the house round about me by night. They thought to have me slain, and they forced my concubine, and she is dead. ⁶ And I took my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel, for they have committed lewdness and folly in Israel. ⁷ Behold, ye sons of Israel, all of you, give here your advice and counsel. ⁸ And all the people arose as one man, saying, We will not any of us go to his tent, neither will we any of us turn to his house. ⁹ But now this is the thing which we will do to Gibeah: We will go up against it by lot, ¹⁰ and we will take ten men of a hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to fetch provision for the people, that they may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the folly that they have wrought in Israel. ¹¹ So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, knit together as one man. ¹² And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, What wickedness is this that has come to pass among you? ¹³ Now therefore deliver up the men, the base fellows, who are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from Israel. But Benjamin would not hearken to the voice of their brothers the sons of Israel. ¹⁴ And the sons of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities to Gibeah, to go out to battle against the sons of Israel. ¹⁵ And the sons of Benjamin were numbered on that day out of the cities twenty-six thousand men who drew a sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who were numbered seven hundred chosen men. ¹⁶ Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men left-handed. Every one could sling stones at a hair-breadth, and not miss. ¹⁷ And the men of Israel, besides Benjamin, were numbered four hundred thousand men who drew a sword. All these were men of war. ¹⁸ And the sons of Israel arose, and went up to Bethel, and asked counsel of God. And they said, Who shall go up for us first to battle against the sons of Benjamin? And LORD said, Judah first. ¹⁹ And the sons of Israel rose up in the morning, and encamped against Gibeah. ²⁰ And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin. And the men of Israel set the battle in array against them at Gibeah. ²¹ And the sons of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah, and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites on that day twenty-two thousand men. ²² And the people, the men of Israel, encouraged themselves, and set the battle again in array in the place where they set themselves in array the first day. ²³ And the sons of Israel went up and wept before LORD until evening. And they asked of LORD, saying, Shall I again draw near to battle against the sons of Benjamin my brother? And LORD said, Go up against him. ²⁴ And the sons of Israel came near against the sons of Benjamin the second day. ²⁵ And Benjamin went forth against them out of Gibeah the second day, and destroyed down to the ground of the sons of Israel again eighteen thousand men. All these drew the sword. ²⁶ Then all the sons of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came to Bethel, and wept, and sat there before LORD, and fasted that day until evening, and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before LORD. ²⁷ And the sons of Israel asked of LORD (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days, ²⁸ and Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days), saying, Shall I yet again go out to battle against the sons of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease? And LORD said, Go up, for tomorrow I will deliver him into thy hand. ²⁹ And Israel set an ambushment against Gibeah round about. ³⁰ And the sons of Israel went up against the sons of Benjamin on the third day, and set themselves in array against Gibeah, as at other times. ³¹ And the sons of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city. And they began to smite and kill of the people as at other times, in the highways, of which one goes up to Bethel, and the other to Gibeah, in the field about thirty men of Israel. ³² And the sons of Benjamin said, They are smitten down before us as at the first. But the sons of Israel said, Let us flee, and draw them away from the city to the highways. ³³ And all the men of Israel rose up out of their place, and set themselves in array at Baal-tamar, and the ambushment of Israel broke forth out of their place, even out of Maareh-geba. ³⁴ And there came opposite Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was severe, but they knew not that evil was close upon them. ³⁵ And LORD smote Benjamin before Israel, and the sons of Israel destroyed of Benjamin that day twenty-five thousand and a hundred men. All these drew the sword. ³⁶ So the sons of Benjamin saw that they were smitten, for the men of Israel gave place to Benjamin because they trusted to the ambushment whom they had set against Gibeah. ³⁷ And the ambushment hastened, and rushed upon Gibeah. And the ambushment drew themselves along, and smote all the city with the edge of the sword. ³⁸ Now the appointed sign between the men of Israel and the ambushment was, that they should make a great cloud of smoke rise up out of the city. ³⁹ And the men of Israel turned in the battle, and Benjamin began to smite and kill of the men of Israel about thirty persons, for they said, Surely they are smitten down before us as in the first battle. ⁴⁰ But when the cloud began to arise up out of the city in a pillar of smoke, the Benjamites looked behind them, and, behold, the whole of the city went up in smoke to heaven. ⁴¹ And the men of Israel turned, and the men of Benjamin were dismayed, for they saw that evil had come upon them. ⁴² Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel to the way of the wilderness. But the battle followed hard after them, and those who came out of the cities destroyed them in the midst of it. ⁴³ They enclosed the Benjamites round about, and chased them, and trod them down at their resting-place, as far as opposite Gibeah toward the sunrise. ⁴⁴ And there fell of Benjamin eighteen thousand men. All these were men of valor. ⁴⁵ And they turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon. And they gleaned of them in the highways five thousand men, and followed hard after them to Gidom, and smote of them two thousand men. ⁴⁶ So that all who fell that day of Benjamin were twenty-five thousand men who drew the sword. All these were men of valor. ⁴⁷ But six hundred men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and abode in the rock of Rimmon four months. ⁴⁸ And the men of Israel turned again upon the sons of Benjamin, and smote them with the edge of the sword, both the entire city, and the cattle, and all that they found. Moreover they set on fire all the cities which they found.

¹ Now the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle. And when they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, behold, the place was a place for cattle,

⁴⁰ And Moses gave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh, and he dwelt in it.

¹² If thou shall hear tell concerning one of thy cities, which LORD thy God gives thee to dwell there, saying, ¹³ Certain base fellows have gone out from the midst of thee, and have drawn away the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known, ¹⁴ then thou shall inquire, and make search, and ask diligently. And, behold, if it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in the midst of thee, ¹⁵ thou shall surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and all that is in it, and the cattle in it, with the edge of the sword. ¹⁶ And thou shall gather all the spoil of it into the midst of the street of it, and shall burn the city with fire, and all the spoil of it, every whit, to LORD thy God, and it shall be a heap forever. It shall not be built again. ¹⁷ And nothing of the devoted thing shall cling to thy hand, that LORD may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and show thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as he has sworn to thy fathers, ¹⁸ when thou shall hearken to the voice of LORD thy God, to keep all his commandments which I command thee this day, to do that which is right in the eyes of LORD thy God.

³⁸ and Dilean, and Mizpeh, and Joktheel,

¹ And this was the lot for the tribe of Manasseh, for he was the firstborn of Joseph. As for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, because he was a man of war, therefore he had Gilead and Bashan.

²⁶ and Mizpeh, and Chephirah, and Mozah,

¹² And when the sons of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the sons of Israel gathered themselves together at Shiloh, to go up against them to war.

¹⁷ Then the sons of Ammon were gathered together, and encamped in Gilead. And the sons of Israel assembled themselves together, and encamped in Mizpah.

¹¹ Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and chief over them. And Jephthah spoke all his words before LORD in Mizpah.

²⁹ And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father who was born to Israel. However the name of the city was Laish at first.

² And the chiefs of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand footmen who drew a sword.

⁸ And all the people arose as one man, saying, We will not any of us go to his tent, neither will we any of us turn to his house.

¹¹ So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, knit together as one man.

¹⁸ And the sons of Israel arose, and went up to Bethel, and asked counsel of God. And they said, Who shall go up for us first to battle against the sons of Benjamin? And LORD said, Judah first.

²⁶ Then all the sons of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came to Bethel, and wept, and sat there before LORD, and fasted that day until evening, and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before LORD.

⁵ And the sons of Israel said, Who is there among all the tribes of Israel that did not come up in the assembly to LORD? For they had made a great oath concerning him who did not come up to LORD to Mizpah, saying, He shall surely be put to death.

²⁰ And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of LORD.

⁵ And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray for you to LORD. ⁶ And they gathered together to Mizpah, and drew water, and poured it out before LORD, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against LORD. And Samuel judged the sons of Israel in Mizpah.

¹⁷ And Samuel called the people together to LORD to Mizpah.

⁷ And he took a yoke of oxen, and cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the borders of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying, Whoever does not come forth behind Saul and behind Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen. And the dread of LORD fell on the people, and they came out as one man. ⁸ And he numbered them in Bezek, and the sons of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand.

⁹ And he made him king over Gilead, and over the Ashurites, and over Jezreel, and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and over all Israel.

¹⁰ to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul, and to set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan even to Beersheba.

¹⁴ And he inclined the heart of all the men of Judah, even as the heart of one man, so that they sent to the king, saying, Return thou, and all thy servants.

² And the king said to Joab the captain of the army, who was with him, Go now to and fro through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan even to Beersheba, and number ye the people, that I may know the sum of the people.

²³ Now when all the captains of the forces, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, they came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men.

² And David said to Joab and to the princes of the people, Go, number Israel from Beersheba even to Dan, and bring me word that I may know the sum of them.

⁵ So they established a decree to make proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba even to Dan, that they should come to keep the Passover to LORD, the God of Israel, at Jerusalem. For they had not kept it in great numbers in such sort as it is written.

¹ And when the seventh month came, and the sons of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem.

¹ And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the broad place that was before the water gate. And they spoke to Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which LORD had commanded to Israel.

¹⁰ Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their armies with them, about fifteen thousand men, all who were left of all the army of the sons of the east, for there fell a hundred and twenty thousand men who drew a sword.

¹⁵ And the sons of Benjamin were numbered on that day out of the cities twenty-six thousand men who drew a sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who were numbered seven hundred chosen men.

¹⁷ And the men of Israel, besides Benjamin, were numbered four hundred thousand men who drew a sword. All these were men of war.

⁹ And Joab gave the sum of the numbering of the people to the king. And there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men.

²⁶ And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too hard for him, he took with him seven hundred men that drew sword to break through to the king of Edom, but they could not.

²² As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain base fellows, beset the house round about, beating at the door. And they spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man who came into thy house, that we may know him. ²³ And the man, the master of the house, went out to them, and said to them, No, my brothers, I pray you, do not so wickedly, seeing that this man has come into my house. Do not this folly. ²⁴ Behold, here is my daughter a virgin, and his concubine. I will bring them out now, and humble ye them, and do with them what seems good to you, but to this man do not any such folly. ²⁵ But the men would not hearken to him. So the man laid hold on his concubine, and brought her forth to them. And they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning, and when the day began to spring, they let her go. ²⁶ Then the woman came in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man's house where her lord was, till it was light. ²⁷ And her lord rose up in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way, and, behold, the woman his concubine was fallen down at the door of the house, with her hands upon the threshold.

³ A prudent man sees the evil, and hides himself, but the simple pass on, and suffer for it.

²⁵ Be agreeing with thine opponent quickly, while thou are with him on the way, lest the opponent deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the subordinate, and thou will be cast into prison.

⁵⁸ For when thou go with thine opponent to the magistrate on the way give effort to be delivered from him, lest he may drag thee to the judge, and the judge may deliver thee to the officer, and the officer would cast thee into prison. ⁵⁹ I say to thee, thou will, no, not come out from there, until thou have paid even the last mite.

³¹ Or what king going to encounter another king in war, will not, having first sat down, consult whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? ³² And if not, while he is still far off, having sent a delegation, he asks the things about peace.

¹⁵ And they turned aside there, to go in to lodge in Gibeah. And he went in, and sat down in the street of the city, for there was no man that took them into his house to lodge. ¹⁶ And, behold, there came an old man from his work out of the field at evening. Now the man was of the hill-country of Ephraim, and he sojourned in Gibeah, but the men of the place were Benjamites. ¹⁷ And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the wayfaring man in the street of the city. And the old man said, Where do thou go? And from where do thou come? ¹⁸ And he said to him, We are passing from Bethlehem-judah to the farther side of the hill-country of Ephraim. I am from there, and I went to Bethlehem-judah. And I am now going to the house of LORD, and there is no man that takes me into his house. ¹⁹ Yet there is both straw and provender for our donkeys, and there is bread and wine also for me, and for thy handmaid, and for the young man who is with thy servants. There is no want of anything. ²⁰ And the old man said, Peace be to thee. However let all thy wants lie upon me, only do not lodge in the street. ²¹ So he brought him into his house, and gave the donkeys fodder. And they washed their feet, and ate and drank. ²² As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain base fellows, beset the house round about, beating at the door. And they spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man who came into thy house, that we may know him. ²³ And the man, the master of the house, went out to them, and said to them, No, my brothers, I pray you, do not so wickedly, seeing that this man has come into my house. Do not this folly. ²⁴ Behold, here is my daughter a virgin, and his concubine. I will bring them out now, and humble ye them, and do with them what seems good to you, but to this man do not any such folly. ²⁵ But the men would not hearken to him. So the man laid hold on his concubine, and brought her forth to them. And they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning, and when the day began to spring, they let her go. ²⁶ Then the woman came in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man's house where her lord was, till it was light. ²⁷ And her lord rose up in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way, and, behold, the woman his concubine was fallen down at the door of the house, with her hands upon the threshold. ²⁸ And he said to her, Up, and let us be going, but there was no answering. Then he took her up upon the donkey, and the man rose up, and got to his place.

⁴ But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, encompassed the house around, both young and old, all the people from every quarter. ⁵ And they called to Lot, and said to him, Where are the men who came in to thee this night? Bring them out to us, that we may know them. ⁶ And Lot went out to them to the door, and shut the door after him. ⁷ And he said, I pray you, my brothers, do not so wickedly. ⁸ Behold now, I have two daughters who have not known a man. Let me, I pray you, bring them out to you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes. Only do nothing to these men, inasmuch as they have come under the shadow of my roof.

²⁴ then ye shall bring them both out to the gate of that city. And ye shall stone them to death with stones, the damsel, because she did not cry out, being in the city, and the man, because he has humbled his neighbor's wife. So thou shall put away the evil from the midst of thee.

²² As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain base fellows, beset the house round about, beating at the door. And they spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man who came into thy house, that we may know him.

²⁵ But the men would not hearken to him. So the man laid hold on his concubine, and brought her forth to them. And they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning, and when the day began to spring, they let her go. ²⁶ Then the woman came in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man's house where her lord was, till it was light.

¹⁰ In thee they have uncovered their fathers' nakedness. In thee they have humbled her who was unclean in her impurity. ¹¹ And one has committed abomination with his neighbor's wife, and another has lewdly defiled his daughter-in-law, and another in thee has humbled his sister, his father's daughter.

⁷ And the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it. And the men were grieved, and they were very angry, because he had wrought folly in Israel in lying with Jacob's daughter, which thing ought not to be done.

¹⁵ And it shall be, that he who is taken with the devoted thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he has, because he has transgressed the covenant of LORD, and because he has wrought folly in Israel.

²³ And the man, the master of the house, went out to them, and said to them, No, my brothers, I pray you, do not so wickedly, seeing that this man has come into my house. Do not this folly.

²⁹ And when he came into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, limb by limb, into twelve pieces, and sent her throughout all the borders of Israel.

¹⁰ and we will take ten men of a hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to fetch provision for the people, that they may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the folly that they have wrought in Israel.

¹² And she answered him, No, my brother, do not force me, for no such thing ought to be done in Israel. Do not do thou this folly. ¹³ And I, where shall I carry my shame? And as for thee, thou will be as one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, I pray thee, speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from thee.

⁵ Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be my own possession from among all peoples, for all the earth is mine, ⁶ and ye shall be to me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shall speak to the sons of Israel.

⁶ Keep therefore and do them, for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.

¹ Ye are the sons of LORD your God. Ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead. ² For thou are a holy people to LORD thy God, and LORD has chosen thee to be a people for his own possession, above all peoples that are upon the face of the earth.

¹⁴ And the men took of their provision, and did not ask counsel at the mouth of LORD.

³⁰ And it was so, that all who saw it said, There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the sons of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt to this day. Consider it, take counsel, and speak.

¹⁸ Every purpose is established by counsel, and by wise guidance make thou war.

⁶ For by wise guidance thou shall make thy war, and in the multitude of counselors there is safety.

¹ Fornication is actually heard among you, and such fornication that is not even named among the Gentiles, for some man to have his father's wife.

⁶ Your boasting is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?

¹⁰ and not at all with the fornicators of this world, or with greedy men, or with predators, or with idolaters, since then ye would need to go out of the world. ¹¹ But now I write to you not to associate if any man who is called a brother is a fornicator, or a greedy man, or an idolater, or a slanderer, or a drunkard, or a predator, not even to eat with such kind. ¹² For what is in me to also judge those outside? Do ye not judge those inside?

⁵ And if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask from God who gives to all generously and not reproaching, and it will be given to him.

¹ Then all the sons of Israel went out. And the congregation was assembled as one man, from Dan even to Beersheba, with the land of Gilead, to LORD at Mizpah.

¹ Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpah, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter to Benjamin to wife.

³ To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to LORD than sacrifice.

¹⁰ Whatever thy hand finds to do, do with thy might, for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in Sheol, where thou go.

² by the lot of their inheritance, as LORD commanded by Moses, for the nine tribes, and for the half-tribe.

⁴¹ Therefore Saul said to LORD, the God of Israel, Show the right. And Jonathan and Saul were taken by lot, but the people escaped. ⁴² And Saul said, Cast lots between me and Jonathan my son. And Jonathan was taken.

⁵ Thus they were divided by lot, one sort with another. For there were rulers of the sanctuary, and rulers for God, both of the sons of Eleazar, and of the sons of Ithamar.

¹ And the rulers of the people dwelt in Jerusalem. The rest of the people also cast lots to bring one of ten to dwell in Jerusalem the holy city, and nine parts in the other cities.

³³ The lot is cast into the lap, but the whole disposing thereof is of LORD.

⁷ And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.

²⁶ And they gave their lots, and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

¹⁴ then thou shall inquire, and make search, and ask diligently. And, behold, if it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in the midst of thee,

¹⁰ When thou draw near to a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace to it.

¹³ And the sons of Israel sent Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, to the sons of Reuben, and to the sons of Gad, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, into the land of Gilead, ¹⁴ and with him ten rulers, one ruler of a fathers' house for each of the tribes of Israel. And they were each man of them head of their fathers' houses among the thousands of Israel. ¹⁵ And they came to the sons of Reuben, and to the sons of Gad, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, and they spoke with them, saying, ¹⁶ Thus says the whole congregation of LORD, What trespass is this that ye have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following LORD, in that ye have built for you an altar, to rebel this day against LORD?

¹⁵ But if thy brother should sin against thee, go and reprove him between thee and him alone. If he should hear thee, thou have gained thy brother. ¹⁶ But if he should not hear, take with thee one or two besides, so that at the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. ¹⁷ And if he is heedless of them, speak to the church. But if he is also heedless of the church, let him be to thee as the heathen and the tax collector. ¹⁸ Truly I say to you, however many things ye may bind on the earth will be things that are bound in heaven, and however many things ye may loose on the earth will be things that that are loosed in heaven.

¹⁸ If possible from you, keeping peace with all men,

⁵ And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death, because he has spoken rebellion against LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of bondage, to draw thee aside out of the way which LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shall thou put away the evil from the midst of thee.

¹³ Certain base fellows have gone out from the midst of thee, and have drawn away the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known,

⁷ The hand of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. So thou shall put away the evil from the midst of thee.

¹² And the man who does presumptuously, in not hearkening to the priest who stands to minister there before LORD thy God, or to the judge, even that man shall die, and thou shall put away the evil from Israel.

¹⁹ then ye shall do to him, as he had thought to do to his brother. So shall thou put away the evil from the midst of thee.

²¹ And all the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones. So thou shall put away the evil from the midst of thee, and all Israel shall hear, and fear.

²¹ then they shall bring the damsel out to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death with stones, because she has wrought folly in Israel, to play the harlot in her father's house. So shall thou put away the evil from the midst of thee.

⁷ If a man is found stealing any of his brothers of the sons of Israel, and he deals with him harshly, or sells him, then that thief shall die. So shall thou put away the evil from the midst of thee.

²⁵ If one man sins against another, God shall judge him, but if a man sins against LORD, who shall entreat for him? Notwithstanding, they did not hearken to the voice of their father, because LORD intended to kill them.

²² Then answered all the wicked men and base fellows of those who went with David, and said, Because they went not with us, we will not give them anything of the spoil that we have recovered except to every man his wife and his children that he may lead them away, and depart.

¹ And there happened to be there a base fellow whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite. And he blew the trumpet, and said, We have no portion in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse. Every man to his tents, O Israel.

²¹ The matter is not so, but a man of the hill-country of Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, has lifted up his hand against the king, even against David. Deliver him only, and I will depart from the city. And the woman said to Joab, Behold, his head shall be thrown to thee over the wall. ²² Then the woman went to all the people in her wisdom. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and threw it out to Joab. And he blew the trumpet, and they were dispersed from the city, every man to his tent. And Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king.

⁶ But the worthless shall be as thorns to be thrust away, all of them, because they cannot be taken with the hand.

¹³ And the two men, the base fellows, came in and sat before him. And the base fellows bore witness against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth cursed God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him to death with stones.

⁷ And there were gathered to him worthless men, base fellows, who strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon when Rehoboam was young and tender-hearted, and could not withstand them.

¹⁶ And it came to pass, as he talked with him, that the king said to him, Have we made thee of the king's counsel? Cease. Why should thou be smitten? Then the prophet ceased, and said, I know that God has determined to destroy thee, because thou have done this, and have not hearkened to my counsel.

²⁰ But Amaziah would not hear, for it was of God, that he might deliver them into the hand of their enemies, because they had sought after the gods of Edom.

¹ He who, being often reproved, hardens his neck shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.

¹⁰ Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.

⁹ They have deeply corrupted themselves, as in the days of Gibeah. He will remember their iniquity. He will visit their sins.

⁹ O Israel, thou have sinned from the days of Gibeah. There they stood. The battle against the sons of iniquity does not overtake them in Gibeah.

³² Who, knowing the righteousness of God, that those who commit such things are worthy of death, not only do them, but also favor those who do.

⁴ And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out from her, my people, so that ye may not participate with her sins, and that ye may not receive from her plagues. ⁵ Because her sins have reached as far as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.

²⁰ And he said, Thou shall not pass through. And Edom came out against him with many people, and with a strong hand.

²³ And Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his border, but Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against Israel into the wilderness, and came to Jahaz, and he fought against Israel.

¹³ But Jeroboam caused an ambushment to come around behind them, so they were before Judah, and the ambushment was behind them.

²⁵ Because he has stretched out his hand against God, and behaves himself proudly against the Almighty. ²⁶ He runs upon him with a stiff neck, with the thick studs of his bucklers,

³⁷ those who were numbered of them, of the tribe of Benjamin, were thirty-five thousand and four hundred.

⁴¹ These are the sons of Benjamin according to their families, and those who were numbered of them were forty-five thousand and six hundred.

²⁵ And Benjamin went forth against them out of Gibeah the second day, and destroyed down to the ground of the sons of Israel again eighteen thousand men. All these drew the sword.

³⁵ And LORD smote Benjamin before Israel, and the sons of Israel destroyed of Benjamin that day twenty-five thousand and a hundred men. All these drew the sword.

⁴⁶ So that all who fell that day of Benjamin were twenty-five thousand men who drew the sword. All these were men of valor. ⁴⁷ But six hundred men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and abode in the rock of Rimmon four months.

¹⁵ But when the sons of Israel cried to LORD, LORD raised up for them a savior, Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a left-handed man. And the sons of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab.

⁴⁰ And he took his staff in his hand, and chose for him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in the shepherd's bag which he had, even in his wallet. And his sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine.

⁴⁹ And David put his hand in his bag, and took from there a stone, and slung it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead. And the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell upon his face to the earth. ⁵⁰ So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David.

²⁹ And though men be risen up to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul, yet the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with LORD thy God. And the souls of thine enemies, them he shall sling out as from the hollow of a sling.

² They were armed with bows, and could use both the right hand and the left in slinging stones and in shooting arrows from the bow. They were of Saul's brothers of Benjamin.

¹⁴ And Uzziah prepared for them, even for all the army, shields, and spears, and helmets, and coats of mail, and bows, and stones for slinging.

⁴⁶ even all those who were numbered were six hundred three thousand and five hundred and fifty.

⁵¹ These are those who were numbered of the sons of Israel, six hundred one thousand seven hundred and thirty.

⁸ And he numbered them in Bezek, and the sons of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand.

⁴ And Saul summoned the people, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah.

⁵ And Joab gave up the sum of the numbering of the people to David. And all those of Israel were a million and a hundred thousand men who drew a sword. And Judah was four hundred seventy thousand men who drew a sword.

¹⁴ And this was the numbering of them according to their fathers' houses. Of Judah, the captains of thousands: Adnah the captain, and with him three hundred thousand mighty men of valor; ¹⁵ and next to him Jehohanan the captain, and with him two hundred and eighty thousand; ¹⁶ and next to him Amasiah the son of Zichri, who willingly offered himself to LORD, and with him two hundred thousand mighty men of valor. ¹⁷ And of Benjamin: Eliada a mighty man of valor, and with him two hundred thousand armed with bow and shield; ¹⁸ and next to him Jehozabad, and with him a hundred and eighty thousand ready prepared for war.

⁸ Judah, thy brothers shall praise thee. Thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies. Thy father's sons shall bow down before thee. ⁹ Judah is a lion's whelp. From the prey, my son, thou have gone up. He stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as a lioness, who shall rouse him up? ¹⁰ The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs, and to him shall the obedience of the peoples be.

⁵ And Moses brought their case before LORD.

²¹ And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before LORD. At his word shall they go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he, and all the sons of Israel with him, even all the congregation.

¹ And the whole congregation of the sons of Israel assembled themselves together at Shiloh, and set up the tent of meeting there, and the land was subdued before them.

¹ And it came to pass after the death of Joshua, that the sons of Israel asked of LORD, saying, Who shall go up for us first against the Canaanites, to fight against them? ² And LORD said, Judah shall go up. Behold, I have delivered the land into his hand.

³¹ So they set up for them Micah's graven image which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.

¹⁸ And he said to him, We are passing from Bethlehem-judah to the farther side of the hill-country of Ephraim. I am from there, and I went to Bethlehem-judah. And I am now going to the house of LORD, and there is no man that takes me into his house.

⁷ Behold, ye sons of Israel, all of you, give here your advice and counsel.

²³ And the sons of Israel went up and wept before LORD until evening. And they asked of LORD, saying, Shall I again draw near to battle against the sons of Benjamin my brother? And LORD said, Go up against him.

²⁶ Then all the sons of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came to Bethel, and wept, and sat there before LORD, and fasted that day until evening, and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before LORD. ²⁷ And the sons of Israel asked of LORD (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,

¹⁴ Sanctify a fast. Call a solemn assembly. Gather the old men and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of LORD your God, and cry to LORD.

¹ And Joshua rose up early in the morning. And they moved from Shittim, and came to the Jordan, he and all the sons of Israel, and they lodged there before they passed over.

¹² And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of LORD.

¹⁶ So Joshua rose up early in the morning, and brought Israel near by their tribes, and the tribe of Judah was taken.

²⁷ Benjamin is a wolf that ravens. In the morning he shall devour the prey, and at evening he shall divide the spoil.

⁹ When the army goes forth against thine enemies, then thou shall keep thee from every evil thing.

¹⁰ And now ye propose to keep under the sons of Judah and Jerusalem for bondmen and bondwomen to you. Are there not even with you trespasses of your own against LORD your God?

¹⁶ There is no king saved by the multitude of an army. A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.

¹⁸ Surely thou set them in slippery places. Thou cast them down to destruction. ¹⁹ How they have become a desolation in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors.

¹⁹ Thy way was in the sea, and thy paths in the great waters. And thy footsteps were not known.

¹ For all this I laid to my heart, even to explore all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God. No man understands, either love or hatred. All is before them. ² All things come alike to all. There is one event to the righteous man and to the wicked man, to the good man, and to the clean man, and to the unclean man, to him who sacrifices and to him who does not sacrifice, as is the good man, so is the sinner, and he who swears, as he who fears an oath. ³ This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is one event to all. Yea also, the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.

¹ Thou are righteous, O LORD, when I contend with thee. Yet I would reason the case with thee. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are all those at ease who deal very treacherously?

⁶ And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters. But David strengthened himself in LORD his God.

²⁵ Then David said to the messenger, Thus thou shall say to Joab, Let not this thing displease thee, for the sword devours one as well as another. Make thy battle stronger against the city, and overthrow it. And encourage thou him.

⁵ They encourage themselves in an evil purpose. They converse of laying snares secretly. They say, Who will see them?

⁶ And Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of LORD until the evening, he and the elders of Israel, and they put dust upon their heads.

³⁴ When he killed them, then they inquired after him, and they returned and sought God earnestly. ³⁵ And they remembered that God was their rock, and the Most High God their redeemer. ³⁶ But they flattered him with their mouth, and lied to him with their tongue.

¹⁵ I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offense, and seek my face. In their affliction they will seek me earnestly.

²⁵ That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay a righteous man with a wicked man, that so the righteous man should be as the wicked man. Far be it from thee. Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?

²¹ And the sons of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah, and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites on that day twenty-two thousand men.

¹² Behold, he seizes; who can hinder him? Who will say to him, What are thou doing? ¹³ God will not withdraw his anger. The helpers of Rahab stoop under him.

² Clouds and darkness are round about him. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.

⁵ But according to thy hardness, and thy impenitent heart, thou store up wrath to thyself in the day of wrath, and revelation, and righteous judgment of God,

⁵ But if our unrighteousness commends the righteousness of God, what will we say? Is God unrighteous inflicting wrath? (I speak according to a man.)

³³ O the depth of wealth, both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways beyond finding out!

⁶ And they gathered together to Mizpah, and drew water, and poured it out before LORD, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against LORD. And Samuel judged the sons of Israel in Mizpah.

³ And Jehoshaphat was afraid, and set himself to seek for LORD. And he proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.

²¹ Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek of him a straight way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.

⁴ Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel were assembled to me, because of the trespass of those of the captivity, and I sat confounded until the evening oblation. ⁵ And at the evening oblation I arose up from my humiliation, even with my garment and my robe torn, and I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands to LORD my God,

¹² Yet even now, says LORD, turn ye to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning. ¹³ And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn to LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and relents of the evil. ¹⁴ Who knows whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, even a meal offering and a drink offering to LORD your God? ¹⁵ Blow the trumpet in Zion. Sanctify a fast. Call a solemn assembly. ¹⁶ Gather the people. Sanctify the assembly. Assemble the old men. Gather the sons, and those who suck the breasts. Let the bridegroom go forth from his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. ¹⁷ Let the priests, the ministers of LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and do not give thy heritage to reproach, that the nations should rule over them. Why should they say among the peoples, Where is their God? ¹⁸ Then LORD was jealous for his land, and had pity on his people.

⁵ And the people of Nineveh believed God, and they proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. ⁶ And the news reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and laid his robe from him, and covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. ⁷ And he made proclamation and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed, nor drink water, ⁸ but let them be covered with sackcloth, both man and beast, and let them cry mightily to God. Yea, let them turn each one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in his hands. ⁹ Who knows whether God will not turn and relent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we not perish? ¹⁰ And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way. And God relented of the evil which he said he would do to them, and he did not do it.

³ And when the people came into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Why has LORD smitten us today before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of LORD out of Shiloh to us, that it may come among us, and save us out of the hand of our enemies. ⁴ So the people sent to Shiloh, and they brought from there the ark of the covenant of LORD of hosts, who sits above the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

⁶⁰ so that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent which he placed among men, ⁶¹ and delivered their strength into captivity, and their glory into the adversary's hand.

¹ Behold, LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, nor his ear heavy, that it cannot hear.

¹² But go ye now to my place which was in Shiloh, where I caused my name to dwell at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel.

⁷ And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from the midst of the congregation, and took a spear in his hand. ⁸ And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her body. So the plague was stayed from the sons of Israel. ⁹ And those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand. ¹⁰ And LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ¹¹ Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned my wrath away from the sons of Israel, in that he was jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the sons of Israel in my jealousy. ¹² Therefore say, Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace. ¹³ And it shall be to him, and to his seed after him, the covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was jealous for his God, and made atonement for the sons of Israel.

⁸ At that time LORD set apart the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of LORD, to stand before LORD to minister to him, and to bless in his name, to this day.

⁵ For LORD thy God has chosen him out of all thy tribes to stand to minister in the name of LORD, him and his sons forever.

⁷ And Joshua said, Alas, O lord LORD, why have thou at all brought this people over the Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to cause us to perish? Would that we had been content and dwelt beyond the Jordan!

¹³ And the sons of Israel sent Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, to the sons of Reuben, and to the sons of Gad, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, into the land of Gilead,

³⁰ And when Phinehas the priest, and the rulers of the congregation, even the heads of the thousands of Israel that were with him, heard the words that the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the sons of Manasseh spoke, it pleased them well. ³¹ And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said to the sons of Reuben, and to the sons of Gad, and to the sons of Manasseh, This day we know that LORD is in the midst of us, because ye have not committed this trespass against LORD. Now ye have delivered the sons of Israel out of the hand of LORD. ³² And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the rulers, returned from the sons of Reuben, and from the sons of Gad, out of the land of Gilead, to the land of Canaan, to the sons of Israel, and brought them word again.

³³ And Eleazar the son of Aaron died. And they buried him in the hill of Phinehas his son, which was given him in the hill-country of Ephraim.

² And LORD said, Judah shall go up. Behold, I have delivered the land into his hand.

⁹ And it came to pass the same night, that LORD said to him, Arise, get thee down into the camp, for I have delivered it into thy hand.

³⁷ And Saul asked counsel of God, Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will thou deliver them into the hand of Israel? But he did not answer him that day.

⁴ Then David inquired of LORD yet again. And LORD answered him, and said, Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will deliver the Philistines into thy hand. ⁵ And David and his men went to Keilah, and fought with the Philistines, and brought away their cattle, and killed them with a great slaughter. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah. ⁶ And it came to pass, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David to Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand. ⁷ And it was told Saul that David came to Keilah. And Saul said, God has delivered him into my hand, for he is shut in by entering into a town that has gates and bars. ⁸ And Saul summoned all the people to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men. ⁹ And David knew that Saul was devising mischief against him, and he said to Abiathar the priest, Bring here the ephod. ¹⁰ Then said David, O LORD, the God of Israel, thy servant has surely heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah to destroy the city for my sake. ¹¹ Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? Will Saul come down as thy servant has heard? O LORD, the God of Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy servant. And LORD said, He will come down. ¹² Then David said, Will the men of Keilah deliver up me and my men into the hand of Saul? And LORD said, They will deliver thee up.

⁸ And David inquired of LORD, saying, If I pursue after this troop, shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue, for thou shall surely overtake them, and shall without fail recover all.

¹⁹ And David inquired of LORD, saying, Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will thou deliver them into my hand? And LORD said to David, Go up, for I will certainly deliver the Philistines into thy hand. ²⁰ And David came to Baal-perazim, and David smote them there. And he said, LORD has broken my enemies before me, like the breach of waters. Therefore he called the name of that place Baal-perazim. ²¹ And they left their images there, and David and his men took them away. ²² And the Philistines came up yet again, and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim. ²³ And when David inquired of LORD, he said, Thou shall not go up. Make a circuit behind them, and come upon them opposite the mulberry trees. ²⁴ And it shall be, when thou hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shall bestir thyself, for then LORD has gone out before thee to smite the army of the Philistines.

³ And they set the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab that was on the hill. And Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the new cart.

⁷ And the anger of LORD was kindled against Uzzah, and God smote him there for his error, and he died there by the ark of God. ⁸ And David was displeased, because LORD had broken forth upon Uzzah. And he called that place Perez-uzzah, to this day. ⁹ And David was afraid of LORD that day, and he said, How shall the ark of LORD come to me? ¹⁰ So David would not remove the ark of LORD to him into the city of David, but David carried it aside into the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. ¹¹ And the ark of LORD remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months, and LORD blessed Obed-edom, and all his house. ¹² And it was told king David, saying, LORD has blessed the house of Obed-edom, and all that pertains to him, because of the ark of God. And David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom into the city of David with joy.

¹⁷ Ye shall not need to fight in this battle. Set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Fear not, nor be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, for LORD is with you.

⁵ Trust in LORD with all thy heart, and lean not upon thine own understanding. ⁶ In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he will direct thy paths.

²³ O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself. It is not in man who walks to direct his steps.

⁴ And he commanded them, saying, Behold, ye shall lie in ambush against the city, behind the city. Go not very far from the city, but be ye all ready,

³⁴ And there came opposite Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was severe, but they knew not that evil was close upon them.

²³ And when David inquired of LORD, he said, Thou shall not go up. Make a circuit behind them, and come upon them opposite the mulberry trees.

⁵ And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty-six men. And they chased them from before the gate even to Shebarim, and smote them at the descent. And the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.

¹⁴ And it came to pass, when the king of Ai saw it, that they hastened and rose up early, and the men of the city went out against Israel to battle, he and all his people, at the time appointed, before the Arabah, but he did not know that there was an ambush against him behind the city. ¹⁵ And Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness. ¹⁶ And all the people that were in the city were called together to pursue after them, and they pursued after Joshua, and were drawn away from the city.

¹³ And he said to his servant, Come and let us draw near to one of these places, and we will lodge in Gibeah, or in Ramah. ¹⁴ So they passed on and went their way. And the sun went down upon them near to Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin.

²⁹ They have gone over the pass. They have taken up their lodging at Geba. Ramah trembles. Gibeah of Saul has fled.

¹⁸ And LORD said to Joshua, Stretch out the javelin that is in thy hand toward Ai, for I will give it into thy hand. And Joshua stretched out the javelin that was in his hand toward the city. ¹⁹ And the ambush arose quickly out of their place, and they ran as soon as he had stretched out his hand, and entered into the city, and took it. And they hastened and set the city on fire. ²⁰ And when the men of Ai looked behind them, they saw, and, behold, the smoke of the city ascended up to heaven, and they had no power to flee this way or that way. And the people who fled to the wilderness turned back upon the pursuers. ²¹ And when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city, and that the smoke of the city ascended, then they turned again, and killed the men of Ai. ²² And the others came forth out of the city against them, so they were in the midst of Israel, some on this side, and some on that side. And they smote them so that they let none of them remain or escape.

¹⁴ And it came to pass, when the king of Ai saw it, that they hastened and rose up early, and the men of the city went out against Israel to battle, he and all his people, at the time appointed, before the Arabah, but he did not know that there was an ambush against him behind the city.

¹³ They spend their days in prosperity, and in a moment they go down to Sheol.

¹⁹ The way of the wicked is as darkness. They know not at what they stumble.

⁶ In the transgression of an evil man there is a snare, but a righteous man sings and rejoices.

¹¹ Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. ¹² Though a sinner does evil a hundred times, and prolongs his days, yet surely I know that it shall be well with those who fear God, who fear before him.

¹² For man also does not know his time. As the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare, even so are the sons of men snared in an evil time when it falls suddenly upon them.

¹⁰ Say ye of the righteous, that it is well, for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. ¹¹ Woe to the wicked! It is ill with him, for what his hands have done shall be done to him.

¹¹ Therefore evil shall come upon thee. Thou shall not know the dawning of it. And mischief shall fall upon thee. Thou shall not be able to put it away. And desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou know not.

⁴⁴ Because of this ye also be ready, because in that hour ye think not the Son of man comes.

³⁴ But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down in debauchery and drunkenness and mundane cares, and that day come upon you sudden.

³ For when they say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction approaches them, as the woman having birth pangs in her womb, and they will, no, not escape.

⁴⁴ And there fell of Benjamin eighteen thousand men. All these were men of valor. ⁴⁵ And they turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon. And they gleaned of them in the highways five thousand men, and followed hard after them to Gidom, and smote of them two thousand men. ⁴⁶ So that all who fell that day of Benjamin were twenty-five thousand men who drew the sword. All these were men of valor.

⁵ that the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the profane but for a moment?

¹⁵ And Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness. ¹⁶ And all the people that were in the city were called together to pursue after them, and they pursued after Joshua, and were drawn away from the city. ¹⁷ And there was not a man left in Ai or Bethel who did not go out after Israel. And they left the city open, and pursued after Israel. ¹⁸ And LORD said to Joshua, Stretch out the javelin that is in thy hand toward Ai, for I will give it into thy hand. And Joshua stretched out the javelin that was in his hand toward the city. ¹⁹ And the ambush arose quickly out of their place, and they ran as soon as he had stretched out his hand, and entered into the city, and took it. And they hastened and set the city on fire. ²⁰ And when the men of Ai looked behind them, they saw, and, behold, the smoke of the city ascended up to heaven, and they had no power to flee this way or that way. And the people who fled to the wilderness turned back upon the pursuers. ²¹ And when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city, and that the smoke of the city ascended, then they turned again, and killed the men of Ai. ²² And the others came forth out of the city against them, so they were in the midst of Israel, some on this side, and some on that side. And they smote them so that they let none of them remain or escape. ²³ And they took the king of Ai alive, and brought him to Joshua. ²⁴ And it came to pass, when Israel had made an end of killing all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness in which they pursued them, and they were all fallen by the edge of the sword until they were consumed, that all Israel returned to Ai, and smote it with the edge of the sword. ²⁵ And all who fell that day, both of men and women, were twelve thousand, even all the men of Ai. ²⁶ For Joshua did not draw back his hand, with which he stretched out the javelin, until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai. ²⁷ Only the cattle and the spoil of that city Israel took for prey to themselves, according to the word of LORD which he commanded Joshua. ²⁸ So Joshua burnt Ai, and made it a heap forever, even a desolation, to this day. ²⁹ And he hanged the king of Ai on a tree until the evening. And at the going down of the sun Joshua commanded, and they took his body down from the tree, and cast it at the entrance of the gate of the city, and raised a great heap of stones on it, to this day.

¹³ no hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through, whether it be beast or man, he shall not live. When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come up to the mount.

⁵ And it shall be, that, when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout. And the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall go up every man straight before him.

¹⁹ And the ambush arose quickly out of their place, and they ran as soon as he had stretched out his hand, and entered into the city, and took it. And they hastened and set the city on fire.

²¹ But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to thee at this set time in the next year.

²⁰ And when the men of Ai looked behind them, they saw, and, behold, the smoke of the city ascended up to heaven, and they had no power to flee this way or that way. And the people who fled to the wilderness turned back upon the pursuers.

¹⁶ And he said, At this season, when the time comes round, thou shall embrace a son. And she said, No, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie to thy handmaid.

³² And the sons of Benjamin said, They are smitten down before us as at the first. But the sons of Israel said, Let us flee, and draw them away from the city to the highways.

²⁸ And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the Plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the land went up as the smoke of a furnace.

⁶ Who is this who comes up from the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant?

³⁰ And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.

³ And a second time they said, Praise the Lord! And the smoke of her ascended into the ages of the ages.

⁹ The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil, my desire shall be satisfied upon them. I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them. ¹⁰ Thou did blow with thy wind, the sea covered them. They sank as lead in the mighty waters.

⁸ And they shall be dismayed. Pangs and sorrows shall take hold. They shall be in pain as a woman in travail. They shall look in amazement one at another, their faces, faces of flame. ⁹ Behold, the day of LORD comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land a desolation, and to destroy the sinners thereof out of it.

¹⁴ The sinners in Zion are afraid. Trembling has seized the profane. Who among us can dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings?

²⁷ They ate, they drank, they married, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. ²⁸ And likewise as it happened in the days of Lot. They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built.

²⁶ fainting of men from fear, and of anticipation of the things coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

¹² But these men, like irrational beasts of nature, having been born for capture and destruction, speaking evil at which things they do not understand, will be destroyed in their corruption,

¹⁵ And the kings of the earth, and the rulers, and the chief captains, and the rich, and the strong, and every bondman and freeman, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains. ¹⁶ And they say to the mountains and to the rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. ¹⁷ Because the great day of his wrath has come, and who is able to stand?

⁸ Because of this her plagues will come in one day, death, and grief, and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, because strong is the Lord, the God who judged her. ⁹ And the kings of the earth who fornicated and lived wantonly with her, will weep and will beat their breasts for her when they see the smoke of her burning, ¹⁰ having stood from afar because of the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, the great city, Babylon, the mighty city! Because thy judgment has come in one hour.

¹⁵ And Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness.

²⁴ And it came to pass, when Israel had made an end of killing all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness in which they pursued them, and they were all fallen by the edge of the sword until they were consumed, that all Israel returned to Ai, and smote it with the edge of the sword.

³ Judah has gone into captivity because of affliction. And because of great servitude she dwells among the nations. She finds no rest. All her persecutors overtook her in the distress.

³² and Lebaoth, and Shilhim, and Ain, and Rimmon. All the cities are twenty-nine, with their villages.

¹³ And the whole congregation sent and spoke to the sons of Benjamin who were in the rock of Rimmon, and proclaimed peace to them.

⁷⁷ To the rest of the Levites, the sons of Merari, were given out of the tribe of Zebulun, Rimmono with its suburbs, Tabor with its suburbs.

¹⁰ All the land shall be made like the Arabah, from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. And she shall be lifted up, and shall dwell in her place, from Benjamin's gate to the place of the first gate, to the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananel to the king's wine-presses.

⁹ He will not always chide, nor will he keep it forever. ¹⁰ He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

⁹ Unless LORD of hosts had left to us a seed, we should have been as Sodom, we should have been like Gomorrah.

⁷ Though our iniquities testify against us, work thou for thy name's sake, O LORD. For our backslidings are many. We have sinned against thee.

³² For though he causes grief, yet he will have compassion according to the multitude of his loving kindnesses.

² O LORD, I have heard the report of thee, and am afraid. O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years. In the midst of the years make it known. In wrath remember mercy.

¹⁵ thou shall surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and all that is in it, and the cattle in it, with the edge of the sword. ¹⁶ And thou shall gather all the spoil of it into the midst of the street of it, and shall burn the city with fire, and all the spoil of it, every whit, to LORD thy God, and it shall be a heap forever. It shall not be built again. ¹⁷ And nothing of the devoted thing shall cling to thy hand, that LORD may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and show thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as he has sworn to thy fathers,

¹³ But the men of the army whom Amaziah sent back, that they should not go with him to battle, fell upon the cities of Judah, from Samaria even to Beth-horon, and smote three thousand of them, and took much spoil.

⁶ For Pekah the son of Remaliah killed in Judah a hundred and twenty thousand in one day, all of them valiant men, because they had forsaken LORD, the God of their fathers. ⁷ And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, killed Maaseiah the king's son, and Azrikam the ruler of the house, and Elkanah who was next to the king. ⁸ And the sons of Israel carried away captive of their brothers two hundred thousand, women, sons, and daughters, and also took away much spoil from them, and brought the spoil to Samaria. ⁹ But a prophet of LORD was there, whose name was Oded. And he went out to meet the army that came to Samaria, and said to them, Behold, because LORD, the God of your fathers, was angry with Judah, he has delivered them into your hand. And ye have slain them in a rage which has reached up to heaven.

¹⁹ A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city, and such contentions are like the bars of a castle.