Deuteronomy 25 Cross References - BSB

¹ If there is a dispute between men, they are to go to court to be judged, so that the innocent may be acquitted and the guilty condemned. ² If the guilty man deserves to be beaten, the judge shall have him lie down and be flogged in his presence with the number of lashes his crime warrants. ³ He may receive no more than forty lashes, lest your brother be beaten any more than that and be degraded in your sight. ⁴ Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain. ⁵ When brothers dwell together and one of them dies without a son, the widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband’s brother is to take her as his wife and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law for her. ⁶ The first son she bears will carry on the name of the dead brother, so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel. ⁷ But if the man does not want to marry his brother’s widow, she is to go to the elders at the city gate and say, “My husband’s brother refuses to preserve his brother’s name in Israel. He is not willing to perform the duty of a brother-in-law for me.” ⁸ Then the elders of his city shall summon him and speak with him. If he persists and says, “I do not want to marry her,” ⁹ his brother’s widow shall go up to him in the presence of the elders, remove his sandal, spit in his face, and declare, “This is what is done to the man who will not maintain his brother’s line.” ¹⁰ And his family name in Israel will be called “The House of the Unsandaled.” ¹¹ If two men are fighting, and the wife of one steps in to rescue her husband from the one striking him, and she reaches out her hand and grabs his genitals, ¹² you are to cut off her hand. You must show her no pity. ¹³ You shall not have two differing weights in your bag, one heavy and one light. ¹⁴ You shall not have two differing measures in your house, one large and one small. ¹⁵ You must maintain accurate and honest weights and measures, so that you may live long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. ¹⁶ For everyone who behaves dishonestly in regard to these things is detestable to the LORD your God. ¹⁷ Remember what the Amalekites did to you along your way from Egypt, ¹⁸ how they met you on your journey when you were tired and weary, and they attacked all your stragglers; they had no fear of God. ¹⁹ When the LORD your God gives you rest from the enemies around you in the land that He is giving you to possess as an inheritance, you are to blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!

⁶ You shall not deny justice to the poor in their lawsuits. ⁷ Stay far away from a false accusation. Do not kill the innocent or the just, for I will not acquit the guilty.

¹⁶ At that time I charged your judges: “Hear the disputes between your brothers, and judge fairly between a man and his brother or a foreign resident. ¹⁷ Show no partiality in judging; hear both small and great alike. Do not be intimidated by anyone, for judgment belongs to God. And bring to me any case too difficult for you, and I will hear it.”

¹⁸ You are to appoint judges and officials for your tribes in every town that the LORD your God is giving you. They are to judge the people with righteous judgment. ¹⁹ Do not deny justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous. ²⁰ Pursue justice, and justice alone, so that you may live, and you may possess the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

⁸ If a case is too difficult for you to judge, whether the controversy within your gates is regarding bloodshed, lawsuits, or assaults, you must go up to the place the LORD your God will choose. ⁹ You are to go to the Levitical priests and to the judge who presides at that time. Inquire of them, and they will give you a verdict in the case.

¹⁷ both parties to the dispute must stand in the presence of the LORD, before the priests and judges who are in office at that time. ¹⁸ The judges shall investigate thoroughly, and if the witness is proven to be a liar who has falsely accused his brother, ¹⁹ you must do to him as he intended to do to his brother. So you must purge the evil from among you.

³ The God of Israel spoke; the Rock of Israel said to me, ‘He who rules the people with justice, who rules in the fear of God,

⁶ Then he said to the judges, “Consider carefully what you do, for you are not judging for man, but for the LORD, who is with you when you render judgment. ⁷ And now, may the fear of the LORD be upon you. Be careful what you do, for with the LORD our God there is no injustice or partiality or bribery.” ⁸ Moreover, Jehoshaphat appointed in Jerusalem some of the Levites, priests, and heads of the Israelite families to judge on behalf of the LORD and to settle disputes. And they lived in Jerusalem. ⁹ He commanded them, saying, “You must serve faithfully and wholeheartedly in the fear of the LORD. ¹⁰ For every dispute that comes before you from your brothers who dwell in their cities—whether it regards bloodshed or some other violation of law, commandments, statutes, or ordinances—you are to warn them, so that they will not incur guilt before the LORD and wrath will not come upon you and your brothers. Do this, and you will not incur guilt.

⁷ When I went out to the city gate and took my seat in the public square, ⁸ the young men saw me and withdrew, and the old men rose to their feet. ⁹ The princes refrained from speaking and covered their mouths with their hands. ¹⁰ The voices of the nobles were hushed, and their tongues stuck to the roofs of their mouths. ¹¹ For those who heard me called me blessed, and those who saw me commended me, ¹² because I rescued the poor who cried out and the fatherless who had no helper. ¹³ The dying man blessed me, and I made the widow’s heart sing for joy. ¹⁴ I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; justice was my robe and my turban. ¹⁵ I served as eyes to the blind and as feet to the lame. ¹⁶ I was a father to the needy, and I took up the case of the stranger. ¹⁷ I shattered the fangs of the unjust and snatched the prey from his teeth.

¹ For the choirmaster. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam of David. Do you indeed speak justly, O rulers? Do you judge uprightly, O sons of men? ² No, in your hearts you devise injustice; with your hands you mete out violence on the earth.

² “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah ³ Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; uphold the rights of the afflicted and oppressed. ⁴ Rescue the weak and needy; save them from the hand of the wicked.

¹⁵ Acquitting the guilty and condemning the righteous—both are detestable to the LORD.

⁸ Open your mouth for those with no voice, for the cause of all the dispossessed. ⁹ Open your mouth, judge righteously, and defend the cause of the poor and needy.

¹⁷ Learn to do right; seek justice and correct the oppressor. Defend the fatherless and plead the case of the widow.”

²³ Your rulers are rebels, friends of thieves. They all love bribes and chasing after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, and the plea of the widow never comes before them.

²³ who acquit the guilty for a bribe and deprive the innocent of justice.

⁴ but with righteousness He will judge the poor, and with equity He will decide for the lowly of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth and slay the wicked with the breath of His lips.

¹ Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule with justice. ² Each will be like a shelter from the wind, a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in a dry land, like the shadow of a great rock in an arid land.

¹² O house of David, this is what the LORD says: ‘Administer justice every morning, and rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor, or My wrath will go forth like fire and burn with no one to extinguish it because of their evil deeds.

²⁴ In any dispute, they shall officiate as judges and judge according to My ordinances. They must keep My laws and statutes regarding all My appointed feasts, and they must keep My Sabbaths holy.

¹ Then I said: “Hear now, O leaders of Jacob, you rulers of the house of Israel. Should you not know justice? ² You hate good and love evil. You tear the skin from my people and strip the flesh from their bones.

⁴ Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted.

¹³ Your eyes are too pure to look upon evil, and You cannot tolerate wrongdoing. So why do You tolerate the faithless? Why are You silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?

¹⁸ So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”

¹⁰ The axe lies ready at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

¹⁷ But beware of men; for they will hand you over to their councils and flog you in their synagogues.

²⁶ So Pilate released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed Him over to be crucified.

⁴⁷ That servant who knows his master’s will but does not get ready or follow his instructions will be beaten with many blows. ⁴⁸ But the one who unknowingly does things worthy of punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and from him who has been entrusted with much, even more will be demanded.

⁴⁰ At this, they yielded to Gamaliel. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and released them.

²² The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered that they be stripped and beaten with rods. ²³ And after striking them with many blows, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to guard them securely. ²⁴ On receiving this order, he placed them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

²⁰ How is it to your credit if you are beaten for doing wrong and you endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.

²⁴ He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. “By His stripes you are healed.”

³ Why are we regarded as cattle, as stupid in your sight?

³⁰ But when this son of yours returns from squandering your wealth with prostitutes, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

⁹ To some who trusted in their own righteousness and viewed others with contempt, He also told this parable: ¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like the other men—swindlers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week and pay tithes of all that I acquire.’

²⁴ Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. ²⁵ Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked. I spent a night and a day in the open sea.

² Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. ³ If you lavish attention on the man in fine clothes and say, “Here is a seat of honor,” but say to the poor man, “You must stand” or “Sit at my feet,”

¹⁰ A righteous man regards the life of his animal, but the tender mercies of the wicked are only cruelty.

²⁷ Surely caraway is not threshed with a sledge, and the wheel of a cart is not rolled over the cumin. But caraway is beaten out with a stick, and cumin with a rod.

¹¹ Ephraim is a well-trained heifer that loves to thresh; but I will place a yoke on her fair neck. I will harness Ephraim, Judah will plow, and Jacob will break the hard ground.

⁹ For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” Is it about oxen that God is concerned? ¹⁰ Isn’t He actually speaking on our behalf? Indeed, this was written for us, because when the plowman plows and the thresher threshes, they should also expect to share in the harvest.

¹⁷ Elders who lead effectively are worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. ¹⁸ For the Scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” and, “The worker is worthy of his wages.”

⁸ Then Judah said to Onan, “Sleep with your brother’s wife. Perform your duty as her brother-in-law and raise up offspring for your brother.” ⁹ But Onan knew that the offspring would not belong to him; so whenever he would sleep with his brother’s wife, he would spill his seed on the ground so that he would not produce offspring for his brother.

¹² Return home, my daughters. Go on, for I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me to have a husband tonight and to bear sons, ¹³ would you wait for them to grow up? Would you refrain from having husbands? No, my daughters, it grieves me very much for your sakes that the hand of the LORD has gone out against me.”

⁹ “Who are you?” he asked. “I am your servant Ruth,” she replied. “Spread the corner of your garment over me, for you are a kinsman-redeemer.”

⁵ Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the land from Naomi and also from Ruth the Moabitess, you must also acquire the widow of the deceased in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance.”

²⁴ “Teacher,” they said, “Moses declared that if a man dies without having children, his brother is to marry the widow and raise up offspring for him.

¹⁹ “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man is to marry his brother’s widow and raise up offspring for him.

²⁸ “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man is to marry his brother’s widow and raise up offspring for him.

⁸ And seeing that his father Isaac disapproved of the Canaanite women, ⁹ Esau went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael, in addition to the wives he already had. ¹⁰ Meanwhile Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran.

¹⁴ Leave Me alone, so that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven. Then I will make you into a nation mightier and greater than they are.”

¹⁹ his father and mother are to lay hold of him and bring him to the elders of his city, to the gate of his hometown,

²⁰ The LORD will never be willing to forgive him. Instead, His anger and jealousy will burn against that man, and every curse written in this book will fall upon him. The LORD will blot out his name from under heaven

¹ Meanwhile, Boaz went to the gate and sat down there. Soon the kinsman-redeemer of whom he had spoken came along, and Boaz said, “Come over here, my friend, and sit down.” So he went over and sat down. ² Then Boaz took ten of the elders of the city and said, “Sit here,” and they did so. ³ And he said to the kinsman-redeemer, “Naomi, who has returned from the land of Moab, is selling the piece of land that belonged to our brother Elimelech. ⁴ I thought I should inform you that you may buy it back in the presence of those seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you want to redeem it, do so. But if you will not redeem it, tell me so I may know, because there is no one but you to redeem it, and I am next after you.” “I will redeem it,” he replied. ⁵ Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the land from Naomi and also from Ruth the Moabitess, you must also acquire the widow of the deceased in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance.” ⁶ The kinsman-redeemer replied, “I cannot redeem it myself, or I would jeopardize my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption, because I cannot redeem it.” ⁷ Now in former times in Israel, concerning the redemption or exchange of property, to make any matter legally binding a man would remove his sandal and give it to the other party, and this was a confirmation in Israel.

¹⁰ Moreover, I have acquired Ruth the Moabitess, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife, to raise up the name of the deceased through his inheritance, so that his name will not disappear from among his brothers or from the gate of his home. You are witnesses today.” ¹¹ “We are witnesses,” said the elders and all the people at the gate. “May the LORD make the woman entering your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you be prosperous in Ephrathah and famous in Bethlehem. ¹² And may your house become like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring the LORD will give you by this young woman.”

⁵ You have rebuked the nations; You have destroyed the wicked; You have erased their name forever and ever.

¹³ May his descendants be cut off; may their name be blotted out from the next generation.

¹ Meanwhile, Boaz went to the gate and sat down there. Soon the kinsman-redeemer of whom he had spoken came along, and Boaz said, “Come over here, my friend, and sit down.” So he went over and sat down. ² Then Boaz took ten of the elders of the city and said, “Sit here,” and they did so.

⁵ Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the land from Naomi and also from Ruth the Moabitess, you must also acquire the widow of the deceased in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance.” ⁶ The kinsman-redeemer replied, “I cannot redeem it myself, or I would jeopardize my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption, because I cannot redeem it.”

⁶ The kinsman-redeemer replied, “I cannot redeem it myself, or I would jeopardize my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption, because I cannot redeem it.”

⁸ Then Judah said to Onan, “Sleep with your brother’s wife. Perform your duty as her brother-in-law and raise up offspring for your brother.” ⁹ But Onan knew that the offspring would not belong to him; so whenever he would sleep with his brother’s wife, he would spill his seed on the ground so that he would not produce offspring for his brother. ¹⁰ What he did was wicked in the sight of the LORD, so He put Onan to death as well.

¹⁴ But the LORD answered Moses, “If her father had but spit in her face, would she not have been in disgrace for seven days? Let her be confined outside the camp for seven days; after that she may be brought back in.”

⁷ Now in former times in Israel, concerning the redemption or exchange of property, to make any matter legally binding a man would remove his sandal and give it to the other party, and this was a confirmation in Israel. ⁸ So the kinsman-redeemer removed his sandal and said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself.”

¹⁰ Moreover, I have acquired Ruth the Moabitess, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife, to raise up the name of the deceased through his inheritance, so that his name will not disappear from among his brothers or from the gate of his home. You are witnesses today.” ¹¹ “We are witnesses,” said the elders and all the people at the gate. “May the LORD make the woman entering your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you be prosperous in Ephrathah and famous in Bethlehem.

³⁰ Therefore, the LORD, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever. But now the LORD declares: Far be it from Me! For I will honor those who honor Me, but those who despise Me will be disdained.

¹⁰ They abhor me and keep far from me; they do not hesitate to spit in my face.

² the LORD had already spoken through Isaiah son of Amoz, saying, “Go, remove the sackcloth from your waist and the sandals from your feet.” And Isaiah did so, walking around naked and barefoot.

⁶ I offered My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who tore out My beard. I did not hide My face from scorn and spittle.

⁶⁷ Then they spit in His face and struck Him. Others slapped Him

³⁰ Then they spit on Him and took the staff and struck Him on the head repeatedly.

⁷ And he began to proclaim: “After me will come One more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.

³⁴ who will mock Him and spit on Him and flog Him and kill Him. And after three days He will rise again.”

²⁷ He is the One who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”

⁸ Why not say, as some slanderously claim that we say, “Let us do evil that good may result”? Their condemnation is deserved!

⁹ Likewise, I want the women to adorn themselves with respectable apparel, with modesty, and with self-control, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes,

² and when the LORD your God has delivered them over to you to defeat them, then you must devote them to complete destruction. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy.

¹³ You must show him no pity. You are to purge from Israel the guilt of shedding innocent blood, that it may go well with you.

²¹ You must show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot.

³⁵ You must not use dishonest measures of length, weight, or volume. ³⁶ You shall maintain honest scales and weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. ³⁷ You must keep all My statutes and all My ordinances and follow them. I am the LORD.”

¹ Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, but an accurate weight is His delight.

¹¹ Honest scales and balances are from the LORD; all the weights in the bag are His concern.

¹⁰ Differing weights and unequal measures—both are detestable to the LORD.

¹⁰ You must use honest scales, a just ephah, and a just bath. ¹¹ The ephah and the bath shall be the same quantity so that the bath will contain a tenth of a homer, and the ephah a tenth of a homer; the homer will be the standard measure for both.

⁵ asking, “When will the New Moon be over, that we may sell grain? When will the Sabbath end, that we may market wheat? Let us reduce the ephah and increase the shekel; let us cheat with dishonest scales.

¹¹ Can I excuse dishonest scales or bags of false weights? ¹² For the wealthy of the city are full of violence, and its residents speak lies; their tongues are deceitful in their mouths.

¹² Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

⁴⁰ Keep His statutes and commandments, which I am giving you today, so that you and your children after you may prosper, and that you may live long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you for all time.

¹⁶ Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that your days may be long and that it may go well with you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

³³ You must walk in all the ways that the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.

¹⁸ Do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD, so that it may be well with you and that you may enter and possess the good land that the LORD your God swore to give your fathers,

⁹ and so that you may live long in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers to give them and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey.

²⁰ Then his heart will not be exalted above his countrymen, and he will not turn aside from the commandment, to the right or to the left, in order that he and his sons may reign many years over his kingdom in Israel.

¹² Who is the man who delights in life, who desires to see good days?

³ “that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life on the earth.”

¹⁰ For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech.

¹² For whoever does these things is detestable to the LORD. And because of these detestable things, the LORD your God is driving out the nations before you.

⁵ A woman must not wear men’s clothing, and a man must not wear women’s clothing, for whoever does these things is detestable to the LORD your God.

²³ Unequal weights are detestable to the LORD, and dishonest scales are no good.

⁵ asking, “When will the New Moon be over, that we may sell grain? When will the Sabbath end, that we may market wheat? Let us reduce the ephah and increase the shekel; let us cheat with dishonest scales. ⁶ Let us buy the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, selling even the chaff with the wheat!” ⁷ The LORD has sworn by the Pride of Jacob: “I will never forget any of their deeds.

⁹ Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual acts, ¹⁰ nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹ And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

⁶ and no one should ever violate or exploit his brother in this regard, because the Lord will avenge all such acts, as we have already told you and solemnly warned you.

²⁷ But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who practices an abomination or a lie, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

⁸ After this, the Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. ⁹ So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on the hilltop with the staff of God in my hand.” ¹⁰ Joshua did as Moses had instructed him and fought against the Amalekites, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. ¹¹ As long as Moses held up his hands, Israel prevailed; but when he lowered them, Amalek prevailed. ¹² When Moses’ hands grew heavy, they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Then Aaron and Hur held his hands up, one on each side, so that his hands remained steady until the sun went down. ¹³ So Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his army with the sword. ¹⁴ Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as a reminder and recite it to Joshua, because I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” ¹⁵ And Moses built an altar and named it The LORD Is My Banner. ¹⁶ “Indeed,” he said, “a hand was lifted up toward the throne of the LORD. The LORD will war against Amalek from generation to generation.”

²⁰ Then Balaam saw Amalek and lifted up an oracle, saying: “Amalek was first among the nations, but his end is destruction.”

¹⁷ “Attack the Midianites and strike them dead. ¹⁸ For they assailed you deceitfully when they seduced you in the matter of Peor and their sister Cozbi, the daughter of the Midianite leader, the woman who was killed on the day the plague came because of Peor.”

⁹ So I continued, “What you are doing is not right. Shouldn’t you walk in the fear of our God to avoid the reproach of our foreign enemies?

¹⁵ The governors before me had heavily burdened the people, taking from them bread and wine plus forty shekels of silver. Their servants also oppressed the people, but I did not do this because of my fear of God.

¹ For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD. An oracle is in my heart regarding the transgression of the wicked man: There is no fear of God before his eyes.

⁶ By loving devotion and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the LORD one turns aside from evil.

¹⁸ “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

¹⁴ Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as a reminder and recite it to Joshua, because I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.”

¹⁶ “Indeed,” he said, “a hand was lifted up toward the throne of the LORD. The LORD will war against Amalek from generation to generation.”

³ March around the city with all the men of war, circling the city one time. Do this for six days.

¹² This is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies. They will turn their backs and run from their enemies, because they themselves have been set apart for destruction. I will no longer be with you unless you remove from among you whatever is devoted to destruction.

²² So Joshua sent messengers who ran to the tent, and there it all was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath. ²³ They took the things from inside the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites, and spread them out before the LORD. ²⁴ Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the cloak, the bar of gold, his sons and daughters, his oxen and donkeys and sheep, his tent, and everything else he owned, and brought them to the Valley of Achor. ²⁵ “Why have you brought this trouble upon us?” said Joshua. “Today the LORD will bring trouble upon you!” And all Israel stoned him to death. Then they stoned the others and burned their bodies.

¹ A long time after the LORD had given Israel rest from all the enemies around them, when Joshua was old and well along in years,

⁴⁸ He fought valiantly and defeated the Amalekites, delivering Israel from the hands of its plunderers.

¹ Then Samuel said to Saul, “The LORD sent me to anoint you king over His people Israel. Now therefore, listen to the words of the LORD. ² This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘I witnessed what the Amalekites did to the Israelites when they ambushed them on their way up from Egypt. ³ Now go and attack the Amalekites and devote to destruction all that belongs to them. Do not spare them, but put to death men and women, children and infants, oxen and sheep, camels and donkeys.’” ⁴ So Saul summoned the troops and numbered them at Telaim—200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 men of Judah. ⁵ Saul came to the city of Amalek and lay in wait in the valley. ⁶ And he warned the Kenites, “Since you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt, go on and get away from the Amalekites. Otherwise I will sweep you away with them.” So the Kenites moved away from the Amalekites. ⁷ Then Saul struck down the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, which is east of Egypt. ⁸ He captured Agag king of Amalek alive, but devoted all the others to destruction with the sword. ⁹ Saul and his troops spared Agag, along with the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs, and the best of everything else. They were unwilling to destroy them, but they devoted to destruction all that was despised and worthless. ¹⁰ Then the word of the LORD came to Samuel, saying, ¹¹ “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned away from following Me and has not carried out My instructions.” And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the LORD all that night. ¹² Early in the morning Samuel got up to confront Saul, but he was told, “Saul has gone to Carmel, and behold, he has set up a monument for himself and has turned and gone down to Gilgal.” ¹³ When Samuel reached him, Saul said to him, “May the LORD bless you. I have carried out the LORD’s instructions.” ¹⁴ But Samuel replied, “Then what is this bleating of sheep and lowing of cattle that I hear?” ¹⁵ Saul answered, “The troops brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the LORD your God, but the rest we devoted to destruction.” ¹⁶ “Stop!” exclaimed Samuel. “Let me tell you what the LORD said to me last night.” “Tell me,” Saul replied. ¹⁷ And Samuel said, “Although you were once small in your own eyes, have you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel ¹⁸ and sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and devote to destruction the sinful Amalekites. Fight against them until you have wiped them out.’ ¹⁹ So why did you not obey the LORD? Why did you rush upon the plunder and do evil in the sight of the LORD?” ²⁰ “But I did obey the LORD,” Saul replied. “I went on the mission that the LORD gave me. I brought back Agag king of Amalek and devoted the Amalekites to destruction. ²¹ The troops took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of the things devoted to destruction, in order to sacrifice them to the LORD your God at Gilgal.” ²² But Samuel declared: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to His voice? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, and attentiveness is better than the fat of rams. ²³ For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance is like the wickedness of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has rejected you as king.” ²⁴ Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned; I have transgressed the LORD’s commandment and your instructions, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. ²⁵ Now therefore, please forgive my sin and return with me so I can worship the LORD.” ²⁶ “I will not return with you,” Samuel replied. “For you have rejected the word of the LORD, and He has rejected you as king over Israel.” ²⁷ As Samuel turned to go, Saul grabbed the hem of his robe, and it tore. ²⁸ So Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor who is better than you. ²⁹ Moreover, the Glory of Israel does not lie or change His mind, for He is not a man, that He should change His mind.” ³⁰ “I have sinned,” Saul replied. “Please honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel. Come back with me, so that I may worship the LORD your God.” ³¹ So Samuel went back with Saul, and Saul worshiped the LORD. ³² Then Samuel said, “Bring me Agag king of the Amalekites.” Agag came to him cheerfully, for he thought, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.” ³³ But Samuel declared: “As your sword has made women childless, so your mother will be childless among women.” And Samuel hacked Agag to pieces before the LORD at Gilgal. ³⁴ Then Samuel went to Ramah, but Saul went up to his home in Gibeah of Saul. ³⁵ And to the day of his death, Samuel never again visited Saul. Samuel mourned for Saul, and the LORD regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel.

⁸ Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. (From ancient times these people had inhabited the land extending to Shur and Egypt.)

¹ On the third day David and his men arrived in Ziklag, and the Amalekites had raided the Negev, attacked Ziklag, and burned it down. ² They had taken captive the women and all who were there, both young and old. They had not killed anyone, but had carried them off as they went on their way. ³ When David and his men came to the city, they found it burned down and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. ⁴ So David and the troops with him lifted up their voices and wept until they had no strength left to weep. ⁵ David’s two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel, had been taken captive. ⁶ And David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of every man grieved for his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God. ⁷ Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought it to him,

⁴³ and struck down the remnant of the Amalekites who had escaped. And they have lived there to this day.

¹ After these events, King Xerxes honored Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, elevating him to a position above all the princes who were with him.

¹⁰ So they hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the fury of the king subsided.

⁷ including Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, ⁸ Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, ⁹ Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha. ¹⁰ They killed these ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews, but they did not lay a hand on the plunder.

⁷ of Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek, of Philistia with the people of Tyre. ⁸ Even Assyria has joined them, lending strength to the sons of Lot. Selah ⁹ Do to them as You did to Midian, as to Sisera and Jabin at the River Kishon, ¹⁰ who perished at Endor and became like dung on the ground. ¹¹ Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb, and all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna, ¹² who said, “Let us possess for ourselves the pastures of God.” ¹³ Make them like tumbleweed, O my God, like chaff before the wind. ¹⁴ As fire consumes a forest, as a flame sets the mountains ablaze, ¹⁵ so pursue them with Your tempest, and terrify them with Your storm. ¹⁶ Cover their faces with shame, that they may seek Your name, O LORD. ¹⁷ May they be ever ashamed and terrified; may they perish in disgrace.