Judges 11 Cross References - MSB

¹ Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor; he was the son of a prostitute, and Gilead was his father. ² And Gilead’s wife bore him sons who grew up, drove Jephthah out, and said to him, “You shall have no inheritance in our father’s house, because you are the son of another woman.” ³ So Jephthah fled from his brothers and settled in the land of Tob, where worthless men gathered around him and traveled with him. ⁴ Some time later, when the Ammonites fought against Israel ⁵ and made war with them, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. ⁶ “Come,” they said, “be our commander, so that we can fight against the Ammonites.” ⁷ Jephthah replied to the elders of Gilead, “Did you not hate me and expel me from my father’s house? Why then have you come to me now, when you are in distress?” ⁸ They answered Jephthah, “This is why we now turn to you, that you may go with us, fight the Ammonites, and become leader over all of us who live in Gilead.” ⁹ But Jephthah asked them, “If you take me back to fight the Ammonites and the LORD gives them to me, will I really be your leader?” ¹⁰ And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The LORD is our witness if we do not do as you say.” ¹¹ So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him their leader and commander. And Jephthah repeated all his terms in the presence of the LORD at Mizpah. ¹² Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites, saying, “What do you have against me that you have come to fight against my land?” ¹³ The king of the Ammonites answered Jephthah’s messengers, “When Israel came up out of Egypt, they seized my land, from the Arnon to the Jabbok and all the way to the Jordan. Now, therefore, restore it peaceably.” ¹⁴ Jephthah again sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites ¹⁵ to tell him, “This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not take away the land of Moab or of the Ammonites. ¹⁶ But when Israel came up out of Egypt, they traveled through the wilderness to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh. ¹⁷ Then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Please let us pass through your land,’ but the king of Edom would not listen. They also sent messengers to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel stayed in Kadesh. ¹⁸ Then Israel traveled through the wilderness and bypassed the lands of Edom and Moab. They came to the east side of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of the Arnon. But they did not enter the territory of Moab, since the Arnon was its border. ¹⁹ And Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon, and said to him, ‘Please let us pass through your land into our own place.’ ²⁰ But Sihon would not trust Israel to pass through his territory. So he gathered all his people, encamped in Jahaz, and fought with Israel. ²¹ Then the LORD, the God of Israel, delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, who defeated them. So Israel took possession of all the land of the Amorites who inhabited that country, ²² seizing all the land from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan. ²³ Now since the LORD, the God of Israel, has driven out the Amorites from before His people Israel, should you now possess it? ²⁴ Do you not possess whatever your god Chemosh grants you? So also, we possess whatever the LORD our God has granted us. ²⁵ Are you now so much better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend with Israel or fight against them? ²⁶ For three hundred years Israel has lived in Heshbon, Aroer, and their villages, as well as all the cities along the banks of the Arnon. Why did you not take them back during that time? ²⁷ I have not sinned against you, but you have done me wrong by waging war against me. May the LORD, the Judge, decide today between the Israelites and the Ammonites.” ²⁸ But the king of the Ammonites paid no heed to the message Jephthah sent him. ²⁹ Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh, then through Mizpah of Gilead. And from there he advanced against the Ammonites. ³⁰ Jephthah made this vow to the LORD: “If indeed You will deliver the Ammonites into my hand, ³¹ then whatever comes out the door of my house to greet me on my triumphant return from the Ammonites will belong to the LORD, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.” ³² So Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them, and the LORD delivered them into his hand. ³³ With a great blow he devastated twenty cities from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel-keramim. So the Ammonites were subdued before the Israelites. ³⁴ And when Jephthah returned home to Mizpah, there was his daughter coming out to meet him with tambourines and dancing! She was his only child; he had no son or daughter besides her. ³⁵ As soon as Jephthah saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “No! Not my daughter! You have brought me to my knees! You have brought great misery upon me, for I have given my word to the LORD and cannot take it back.” ³⁶ “My father,” she replied, “you have given your word to the LORD. Do to me as you have said, for the LORD has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites.” ³⁷ She also said to her father, “Let me do this one thing: Let me wander for two months through the mountains with my friends and mourn my virginity.” ³⁸ “Go,” he said. And he sent her away for two months. So she left with her friends and mourned her virginity upon the mountains. ³⁹ After two months, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. And she had never had relations with a man. So it has become a custom in Israel ⁴⁰ that each year the young women of Israel go out for four days to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.

¹² And the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon and said, “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.”

¹ Now Naaman, the commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man in his master’s sight and highly regarded, for through him the LORD had given victory to Aram. And he was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper.

³² And what more shall I say? Time will not allow me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets,

¹⁰ Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.

² No one of illegitimate birth may enter the assembly of the LORD, nor may any of his descendants, even to the tenth generation.

¹⁶ It will rescue you from the forbidden woman, from the stranger with seductive words

³ Though the lips of the forbidden woman drip honey and her speech is smoother than oil,

²⁰ Why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress, or embrace the bosom of a stranger?

²⁴ to keep you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress. ²⁵ Do not lust in your heart for her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes. ²⁶ For the levy of the prostitute is poverty, and the adulteress preys upon your very life.

³⁰ But what does the Scripture say? “Expel the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son.”

⁴ So they gave him seventy shekels of silver from the temple of Baal-berith, with which Abimelech hired some worthless and reckless men to follow him.

² And all who were distressed or indebted or discontented rallied around him, and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him.

² So David set out with his six hundred men and went to Achish son of Maoch, the king of Gath.

²² but all the wicked and worthless men among those who had gone with David said, “Because they did not go with us, we will not share with them the plunder we recovered, except for each man’s wife and children. They may take them and go.” ²³ But David said, “My brothers, you must not do this with what the LORD has given us. He has protected us and delivered into our hands the raiders who came against us. ²⁴ Who will listen to your proposal? The share of the one who went to battle will match the share of the one who stayed with the supplies. They will share alike.”

⁶ When the Ammonites realized that they had become a stench to David, they hired twenty thousand Aramean foot soldiers from Beth-rehob and Zoba, as well as a thousand men from the king of Maacah and twelve thousand men from Tob.

⁸ The Ammonites marched out and arrayed themselves for battle at the entrance of the city gate, while the Arameans of Zobah and Rehob and the men of Tob and Maacah were by themselves in the open country.

¹ “But now they mock me, men younger than I am, whose fathers I would have refused to entrust with my sheep dogs. ² What use to me was the strength of their hands, since their vigor had left them? ³ Gaunt from poverty and hunger, they gnawed the dry land, and the desolate wasteland by night. ⁴ They plucked mallow among the shrubs, and the roots of the broom tree were their food. ⁵ They were banished from among men, shouted down like thieves, ⁶ so that they lived on the slopes of the wadis, among the rocks and in holes in the ground. ⁷ They cried out among the shrubs and huddled beneath the nettles. ⁸ A senseless and nameless brood, they were driven off the land. ⁹ And now they mock me in song; I have become a byword among them. ¹⁰ They abhor me and keep far from me; they do not hesitate to spit in my face.

⁵ The Jews, however, brought in some troublemakers they took from the marketplace, formed a mob, and sent the city into an uproar. They raided Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas, hoping to bring them out to the people.

⁹ The Ammonites also crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah, Benjamin, and the house of Ephraim, and Israel was in deep distress.

¹⁷ Then the Ammonites were called to arms and camped in Gilead, and the Israelites assembled and camped at Mizpah. ¹⁸ And the rulers of Gilead said to one another, “Whoever will launch the attack against the Ammonites will be the head of all who live in Gilead.”

²⁷ But some worthless men said, “How can this man save us?” So they despised him and brought him no gifts; but Saul remained silent about it.

⁶ When Saul heard their words, the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he burned with great anger. ⁷ He took a pair of oxen, cut them into pieces, and sent them by messengers throughout the land of Israel, proclaiming, “This is what will be done to the oxen of anyone who does not march behind Saul and Samuel.” Then the terror of the LORD fell upon the people, and they turned out as one man.

¹² Then the people said to Samuel, “Who said that Saul should not reign over us? Bring those men here so we can kill them!”

²² The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. ²³ This is from the LORD, and it is marvelous in our eyes.

³⁵ This Moses, whom they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’ is the one whom God sent to be their ruler and redeemer through the angel who appeared to him in the bush. ³⁶ He led them out and performed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, at the Red Sea, and for forty years in the wilderness. ³⁷ This is the same Moses who told the Israelites, ‘The Lord our God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers.’ ³⁸ He was in the assembly in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. And he received living words to pass on to us. ³⁹ But our fathers refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt.

²⁷ But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. ²⁸ He chose the lowly and despised things of the world, and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are, ²⁹ so that no one may boast in His presence.

²⁷ “Why have you come to me?” Isaac asked them. “You hated me and sent me away.”

²⁷ Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay a hand on him; for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And they agreed.

⁴ Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near me.” And they did so. “I am Joseph, your brother,” he said, “the one you sold into Egypt! ⁵ And now, do not be distressed or angry with yourselves that you sold me into this place, because it was to save lives that God sent me before you.

¹⁷ A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

¹⁴ The sons of your oppressors will come and bow down to you; all who reviled you will fall facedown at your feet and call you the City of the LORD, Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

⁹ Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him ¹⁰ and rescued him from all his troubles. He granted Joseph favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler over Egypt and all his household. ¹¹ Then famine and great suffering swept across the land of Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers could not find food. ¹² When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers on their first visit. ¹³ On their second visit, Joseph revealed his identity to his brothers, and his family became known to Pharaoh. ¹⁴ Then Joseph sent for his father Jacob and all his relatives, seventy-five in all.

⁹ Look at those who belong to the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews but are liars instead. I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and they will know that I love you.

⁸ Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray to the LORD to take the frogs away from me and my people. Then I will let your people go, that they may sacrifice to the LORD.”

²⁸ Pharaoh answered, “I will let you go and sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness, but you must not go very far. Now pray for me.”

²⁸ Pray to the LORD, for there has been enough of God’s thunder and hail. I will let you go; you do not need to stay any longer.”

¹⁷ Now please forgive my sin once more and appeal to the LORD your God, that He may remove this death from me.” ¹⁸ And the rulers of Gilead said to one another, “Whoever will launch the attack against the Ammonites will be the head of all who live in Gilead.”

⁶ Then the king responded to the man of God, “Intercede with the LORD your God and pray that my hand may be restored.” So the man of God interceded with the LORD, and the king’s hand was restored to him as it was before.

³ Watch yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. ⁴ Even if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times returns to say, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

²⁰ Moses replied, “If you will do this—if you will arm yourselves before the LORD for battle, ²¹ and if every one of your armed men crosses the Jordan before the LORD, until He has driven His enemies out before Him, ²² then when the land is subdued before the LORD, you may return and be free of obligation to the LORD and to Israel. And this land will belong to you as a possession before the LORD. ²³ But if you do not do this, you will certainly sin against the LORD—and be assured that your sin will find you out. ²⁴ Build cities for your little ones and folds for your flocks, but do what you have promised.” ²⁵ The Gadites and Reubenites said to Moses, “Your servants will do just as our lord commands. ²⁶ Our children, our wives, our livestock, and all our animals will remain here in the cities of Gilead. ²⁷ But your servants are equipped for war, and every man will cross over to the battle before the LORD, just as our lord says.” ²⁸ So Moses gave orders about them to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua son of Nun, and to the family leaders of the tribes of Israel. ²⁹ And Moses said to them, “If the Gadites and Reubenites cross the Jordan with you, with every man armed for battle before the LORD, and the land is subdued before you, then you are to give them the land of Gilead as a possession.

⁵ Then Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be upon you! I delivered my servant into your arms, and ever since she saw that she was pregnant, she has treated me with contempt. May the LORD judge between you and me.”

²³ Now, therefore, swear to me here before God that you will not deal falsely with me or my children or descendants. Show to me and to the country in which you reside the same kindness that I have shown to you.”

⁵⁰ If you mistreat my daughters or take other wives, although no one is with us, remember that God is a witness between you and me.”

⁵³ May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” So Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac.

⁷ You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.

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.

⁵ Samuel said to them, “The LORD is a witness against you, and His anointed is a witness today, that you have not found anything in my hand.” “He is a witness,” they replied.

¹² May the LORD judge between you and me, and may the LORD take vengeance on you, but my hand will never be against you.

²³ For they have committed an outrage in Israel by committing adultery with the wives of their neighbors and speaking lies in My name, which I did not command them to do. I am He who knows, and I am a witness, declares the LORD.”

⁵ Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act upon every word that the LORD your God sends you to tell us.

⁴ I will send it out, declares the LORD of Hosts, and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of him who swears falsely by My name. It will remain inside his house and destroy it, down to its timbers and stones.”

⁵ “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the LORD of Hosts.

⁹ God, whom I serve with my spirit in preaching the gospel of His Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you

³¹ The God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is forever worthy of praise, knows that I am not lying.

³⁸ Dilan, Mizpeh, Joktheel,

¹⁷ Then the Ammonites were called to arms and camped in Gilead, and the Israelites assembled and camped at Mizpah.

¹ Then all the Israelites from Dan to Beersheba and from the land of Gilead came out, and the congregation assembled as one man before the LORD at Mizpah.

¹⁷ After this, Samuel summoned the people to the LORD at Mizpah

¹⁵ So all the people went to Gilgal and confirmed Saul as king in the presence of the LORD. There they sacrificed peace offerings before the LORD, and Saul and all the Israelites rejoiced greatly.

⁹ When David learned that Saul was plotting evil against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod.” ¹⁰ And David said, “O LORD, God of Israel, Your servant has heard that Saul intends to come to Keilah and destroy the city on my account. ¹¹ Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as Your servant has heard? O LORD, God of Israel, please tell Your servant.” “He will,” said the LORD. ¹² So David asked, “Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me and my men into the hand of Saul?” “They will,” said the LORD.

⁷ And now, O LORD my God, You have made Your servant king in my father David’s place. But I am only a little child, not knowing how to go out or come in. ⁸ Your servant is here among the people You have chosen, a people too numerous to count or number. ⁹ Therefore give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people and to discern between good and evil. For who is able to govern this great people of Yours?”

⁵ Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim that anything comes from us, but our competence comes from God.

⁵ Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

¹⁷ Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.

¹⁴ From Kadesh, Moses sent messengers to tell the king of Edom, “This is what your brother Israel says: You know all the hardship that has befallen us,

²¹ Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying,

²⁶ So from the Wilderness of Kedemoth I sent messengers with an offer of peace to Sihon king of Heshbon, saying,

¹⁰ When you approach a city to fight against it, you are to make an offer of peace. ¹¹ If they accept your offer of peace and open their gates, all the people there will become forced laborers to serve you.

⁸ Then Amaziah sent messengers to the king of Israel Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu. “Come, let us meet face to face,” he said. ⁹ But Jehoash king of Israel replied to Amaziah king of Judah: “A thistle in Lebanon sent a message to a cedar in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son in marriage.’ Then a wild beast in Lebanon came along and trampled the thistle. ¹⁰ You have indeed defeated Edom, and your heart has become proud. Glory in that and stay at home. Why should you stir up trouble so that you fall—you and Judah with you?” ¹¹ But Amaziah would not listen, and Jehoash king of Israel advanced. He and King Amaziah of Judah faced each other at Beth-shemesh in Judah. ¹² And Judah was routed before Israel, and every man fled to his home.

⁸ do not bring hastily to court. Otherwise, what will you do in the end when your neighbor puts you to shame? ⁹ Argue your case with your neighbor without betraying another’s confidence,

¹⁵ If your brother sins against you, go and confront him privately. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. ¹⁶ But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’

²² During the night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants, and his eleven sons, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.

²⁴ And Israel put him to the sword and took possession of his land, from the Arnon to the Jabbok—but only up to the border of the Ammonites, because it was fortified. ²⁵ Israel captured all the cities of the Amorites and occupied them, including Heshbon and all its villages. ²⁶ Heshbon was the city of Sihon king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and taken all his land as far as the Arnon.

³⁷ But you did not go near the land of the Ammonites, or the land along the banks of the Jabbok River, or the cities of the hill country, or any place that the LORD our God had forbidden.

¹⁶ and to the Reubenites and Gadites I gave the territory from Gilead to the Arnon Valley (the middle of the valley was the border) and up to the Jabbok River, the border of the Ammonites.

⁵ A false witness will not go unpunished, and one who utters lies will not escape.

⁹ A false witness will not go unpunished, and one who pours out lies will perish.

⁷ I am in favor of peace; but when I speak, they want war.

¹⁸ If it is possible on your part, live at peace with everyone.

¹⁴ Pursue peace with everyone, as well as holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.

¹¹ He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.

¹³ From there they moved on and camped on the other side of the Arnon, in the wilderness that extends into the Amorite territory. Now the Arnon is the border between the Moabites and the Amorites. ¹⁴ Therefore it is stated in the Book of the Wars of the LORD: “Waheb in Suphah and the wadis of the Arnon, ¹⁵ even the slopes of the wadis that extend to the site of Ar and lie along the border of Moab.”

²⁷ That is why the poets say: “Come to Heshbon, let it be rebuilt; let the city of Sihon be restored. ²⁸ For a fire went out from Heshbon, a blaze from the city of Sihon. It consumed Ar of Moab, the rulers of Arnon’s heights. ²⁹ Woe to you, O Moab! You are destroyed, O people of Chemosh! He gave up his sons as refugees, and his daughters into captivity to Sihon king of the Amorites. ³⁰ But we have overthrown them; Heshbon is destroyed as far as Dibon. We demolished them as far as Nophah, which reaches to Medeba.”

⁹ Then the LORD said to me, “Do not harass the Moabites or provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land, because I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as their possession.”

¹⁹ But when you get close to the Ammonites, do not harass them or provoke them, for I will not give you any of the land of the Ammonites. I have given it to the descendants of Lot as their possession.”

¹⁰ And now, here are the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, whom You did not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt; but Israel turned away from them and did not destroy them.

¹² Yet my accusers did not find me debating with anyone in the temple or riling up a crowd in the synagogues or in the city. ¹³ Nor can they prove any of their charges against me.

⁷ Then they turned back to invade En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and they conquered the whole territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who lived in Hazazon-tamar.

²⁶ and they went back to Moses, Aaron, and the whole congregation of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They brought back a report for the whole congregation and showed them the fruit of the land.

²⁵ Now since the Amalekites and Canaanites are living in the valleys, turn back tomorrow and head for the wilderness along the route to the Red Sea.”

¹ In the first month, the whole congregation of Israel entered the Wilderness of Zin and stayed in Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried.

⁴⁰ But you are to turn back and head for the wilderness along the route to the Red Sea.”

⁴⁶ For this reason you stayed in Kadesh for a long time—a very long time.

⁶ For the Israelites had wandered in the wilderness forty years, until all the nation’s men of war who had come out of Egypt had died, since they did not obey the LORD. So the LORD vowed never to let them see the land He had sworn to their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey.

¹⁴ From Kadesh, Moses sent messengers to tell the king of Edom, “This is what your brother Israel says: You know all the hardship that has befallen us, ¹⁵ how our fathers went down to Egypt, where we lived many years. The Egyptians mistreated us and our fathers, ¹⁶ and when we cried out to the LORD, He heard our voice, sent an angel, and brought us out of Egypt. Now look, we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your territory. ¹⁷ Please let us pass through your land. We will not cut through any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will stay on the King’s Highway; we will not turn to the right or to the left until we have passed through your territory.” ¹⁸ But Edom answered, “You may not travel through our land, or we will come out and confront you with the sword.” ¹⁹ “We will stay on the main road,” the Israelites replied, “and if we or our herds drink your water, we will pay for it. There will be no problem; only let us pass through on foot.” ²⁰ But Edom insisted, “You may not pass through.” And they came out to confront the Israelites with a large army and a strong hand. ²¹ So Edom refused to allow Israel to pass through their territory, and Israel turned away from them.

⁴ and command the people: ‘You will pass through the territory of your brothers, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, so you must be very careful. ⁵ Do not provoke them, for I will not give you any of their land, not even a footprint, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as his possession. ⁶ You are to pay them in silver for the food you eat and the water you drink.’” ⁷ Indeed, the LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast wilderness. The LORD your God has been with you these forty years, and you have lacked nothing. ⁸ So we passed by our brothers, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. We turned away from the Arabah road, which comes up from Elath and Ezion-geber, and traveled along the road of the Wilderness of Moab. ⁹ Then the LORD said to me, “Do not harass the Moabites or provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land, because I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as their possession.”

²⁹ just as the descendants of Esau who live in Seir and the Moabites who live in Ar did for us, until we cross the Jordan into the land that the LORD our God is giving us.”

⁹ Then Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, set out to fight against Israel. He sent for Balaam son of Beor to curse you,

²² After they had set out from Kadesh, the whole congregation of Israel came to Mount Hor.

⁴ Then they set out from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, in order to bypass the land of Edom. But the people grew impatient on the journey ⁵ and spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you led us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread or water, and we detest this wretched food!” ⁶ So the LORD sent venomous snakes among the people, and many of the Israelites were bitten and died. ⁷ Then the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the LORD and against you. Intercede with the LORD so He will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses interceded for the people. ⁸ Then the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and mount it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will live.” ⁹ So Moses made a bronze snake and mounted it on a pole. If anyone who was bitten looked at the bronze snake, he would live. ¹⁰ Then the Israelites set out and camped at Oboth. ¹¹ They journeyed from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim in the wilderness opposite Moab to the east. ¹² From there they set out and camped in the Valley of Zered. ¹³ From there they moved on and camped on the other side of the Arnon, in the wilderness that extends into the Amorite territory. Now the Arnon is the border between the Moabites and the Amorites.

³⁶ When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the Moabite city on the Arnon border, at the edge of his territory.

³⁷ They set out from Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor, on the outskirts of the land of Edom. ³⁸ At the LORD’s command, Aaron the priest climbed Mount Hor and died there on the first day of the fifth month, in the fortieth year after the Israelites had come out of the land of Egypt. ³⁹ Aaron was 123 years old when he died on Mount Hor. ⁴⁰ Now the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev in the land of Canaan, heard that the Israelites were coming. ⁴¹ And the Israelites set out from Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah. ⁴² They set out from Zalmonah and camped at Punon. ⁴³ They set out from Punon and camped at Oboth. ⁴⁴ They set out from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim on the border of Moab.

¹ Then we turned back and headed for the wilderness by way of the Red Sea, as the LORD had instructed me, and for many days we wandered around Mount Seir. ² At this time the LORD said to me, ³ “You have been wandering around this hill country long enough; turn to the north ⁴ and command the people: ‘You will pass through the territory of your brothers, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, so you must be very careful. ⁵ Do not provoke them, for I will not give you any of their land, not even a footprint, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as his possession. ⁶ You are to pay them in silver for the food you eat and the water you drink.’” ⁷ Indeed, the LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast wilderness. The LORD your God has been with you these forty years, and you have lacked nothing. ⁸ So we passed by our brothers, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. We turned away from the Arabah road, which comes up from Elath and Ezion-geber, and traveled along the road of the Wilderness of Moab.

²¹ Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, ²² “Let us pass through your land. We will not cut through any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will stay on the King’s Highway until we have passed through your territory.” ²³ But Sihon would not let Israel pass through his territory. Instead, he gathered his whole army and went out to confront Israel in the wilderness. When he came to Jahaz, he fought against Israel. ²⁴ And Israel put him to the sword and took possession of his land, from the Arnon to the Jabbok—but only up to the border of the Ammonites, because it was fortified. ²⁵ Israel captured all the cities of the Amorites and occupied them, including Heshbon and all its villages. ²⁶ Heshbon was the city of Sihon king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and taken all his land as far as the Arnon. ²⁷ That is why the poets say: “Come to Heshbon, let it be rebuilt; let the city of Sihon be restored. ²⁸ For a fire went out from Heshbon, a blaze from the city of Sihon. It consumed Ar of Moab, the rulers of Arnon’s heights. ²⁹ Woe to you, O Moab! You are destroyed, O people of Chemosh! He gave up his sons as refugees, and his daughters into captivity to Sihon king of the Amorites. ³⁰ But we have overthrown them; Heshbon is destroyed as far as Dibon. We demolished them as far as Nophah, which reaches to Medeba.” ³¹ So Israel lived in the land of the Amorites. ³² After Moses had sent spies to Jazer, Israel captured its villages and drove out the Amorites who were there. ³³ Then they turned and went up the road to Bashan, and Og king of Bashan and his whole army came out to meet them in battle at Edrei. ³⁴ But the LORD said to Moses, “Do not fear him, for I have delivered him into your hand, along with all his people and his land. Do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon.” ³⁵ So they struck down Og, along with his sons and his whole army, until no remnant was left. And they took possession of his land.

²⁶ So from the Wilderness of Kedemoth I sent messengers with an offer of peace to Sihon king of Heshbon, saying, ²⁷ “Let us pass through your land; we will stay on the main road. We will not turn to the right or to the left. ²⁸ You can sell us food to eat and water to drink in exchange for silver. Only let us pass through on foot, ²⁹ just as the descendants of Esau who live in Seir and the Moabites who live in Ar did for us, until we cross the Jordan into the land that the LORD our God is giving us.” ³⁰ But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass through, for the LORD your God had made his spirit stubborn and his heart obstinate, that He might deliver him into your hand, as is the case this day. ³¹ Then the LORD said to me, “See, I have begun to deliver Sihon and his land over to you. Now begin to conquer and possess his land.” ³² So Sihon and his whole army came out for battle against us at Jahaz. ³³ And the LORD our God delivered him over to us, and we defeated him and his sons and his whole army. ³⁴ At that time we captured all his cities and devoted to destruction the people of every city, including women and children. We left no survivors. ³⁵ We carried off for ourselves only the livestock and the plunder from the cities we captured. ³⁶ From Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the valley, even as far as Gilead, not one city had walls too high for us. The LORD our God gave us all of them.

¹ Then we turned and went up the road to Bashan, and Og king of Bashan and his whole army came out to meet us in battle at Edrei. ² But the LORD said to me, “Do not fear him, for I have delivered him into your hand, along with all his people and his land. Do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon.” ³ So the LORD our God also delivered Og king of Bashan and his whole army into our hands. We struck them down until no survivor was left. ⁴ At that time we captured all sixty of his cities. There was not a single city we failed to take—the entire region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. ⁵ All these cities were fortified with high walls and gates and bars, and there were many more unwalled villages. ⁶ We devoted them to destruction, as we had done to Sihon king of Heshbon, utterly destroying the men, women, and children of every city. ⁷ But all the livestock and plunder of the cities we carried off for ourselves. ⁸ At that time we took from the two kings of the Amorites the land across the Jordan, from the Arnon Valley as far as Mount Hermon— ⁹ which the Sidonians call Sirion but the Amorites call Senir— ¹⁰ all the cities of the plateau, all of Gilead, and all of Bashan as far as the cities of Salecah and Edrei in the kingdom of Og. ¹¹ (For only Og king of Bashan had remained of the remnant of the Rephaim. His bed of iron, nine cubits long and four cubits wide, is still in Rabbah of the Ammonites.) ¹² So at that time we took possession of this land. To the Reubenites and Gadites I gave the land beyond Aroer along the Arnon Valley, and half the hill country of Gilead, along with its cities. ¹³ To the half-tribe of Manasseh I gave the rest of Gilead and all of Bashan, the kingdom of Og. (The entire region of Argob, the whole territory of Bashan, used to be called the land of the Rephaim.) ¹⁴ Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, took the whole region of Argob as far as the border of the Geshurites and Maacathites. He renamed Bashan after himself, Havvoth-jair, by which it is called to this day. ¹⁵ To Machir I gave Gilead, ¹⁶ and to the Reubenites and Gadites I gave the territory from Gilead to the Arnon Valley (the middle of the valley was the border) and up to the Jabbok River, the border of the Ammonites. ¹⁷ The Jordan River in the Arabah bordered it from Chinnereth to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) with the slopes of Pisgah to the east.

⁸ The other half of Manasseh, along with the Reubenites and Gadites, had received the inheritance Moses had given them beyond the Jordan to the east, just as Moses the servant of the LORD had assigned to them: ⁹ The area from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the middle of the valley, the whole plateau of Medeba as far as Dibon, ¹⁰ and all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites who reigned in Heshbon, as far as the border of the Ammonites; ¹¹ also Gilead and the territory of the Geshurites and Maacathites, all of Mount Hermon, and all Bashan as far as Salecah— ¹² the whole kingdom of Og in Bashan, who had reigned in Ashtaroth and Edrei and had remained as a remnant of the Rephaim. Moses had struck them down and dispossessed them,

²³ But Sihon would not let Israel pass through his territory. Instead, he gathered his whole army and went out to confront Israel in the wilderness. When he came to Jahaz, he fought against Israel. ²⁴ And Israel put him to the sword and took possession of his land, from the Arnon to the Jabbok—but only up to the border of the Ammonites, because it was fortified. ²⁵ Israel captured all the cities of the Amorites and occupied them, including Heshbon and all its villages.

³² So Sihon and his whole army came out for battle against us at Jahaz. ³³ And the LORD our God delivered him over to us, and we defeated him and his sons and his whole army. ³⁴ At that time we captured all his cities and devoted to destruction the people of every city, including women and children. We left no survivors.

¹⁵ This is what Moses had given to the clans of the tribe of Reuben: ¹⁶ The territory from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the middle of the valley, to the whole plateau beyond Medeba, ¹⁷ to Heshbon and all its cities on the plateau, including Dibon, Bamoth-baal, Beth-baal-meon, ¹⁸ Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath, ¹⁹ Kiriathaim, Sibmah, Zereth-shahar on the hill in the valley, ²⁰ Beth-peor, the slopes of Pisgah, and Beth-jeshimoth— ²¹ all the cities of the plateau and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon until Moses killed him and the chiefs of Midian (Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba), the princes of Sihon who lived in the land. ²² The Israelites also killed the diviner Balaam son of Beor along with the others they put to the sword. ²³ And the border of the Reubenites was the bank of the Jordan. This was the inheritance of the clans of the Reubenites, including the cities and villages. ²⁴ This is what Moses had given to the clans of the tribe of Gad: ²⁵ The territory of Jazer, all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the Ammonites as far as Aroer, near Rabbah; ²⁶ the territory from Heshbon to Ramath-mizpeh and Betonim, and from Mahanaim to the border of Debir; ²⁷ and in the valley, Beth-haram, Beth-nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon, with the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon (the territory on the east side of the Jordan up to the edge of the Sea of Chinnereth). ²⁸ This was the inheritance of the clans of the Gadites, including the cities and villages. ²⁹ This is what Moses had given to the clans of the half-tribe of Manasseh, that is, to half the tribe of the descendants of Manasseh: ³⁰ The territory from Mahanaim through all Bashan—all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, including all the towns of Jair that are in Bashan, sixty cities; ³¹ half of Gilead; and Ashtaroth and Edrei, the royal cities of Og in Bashan. All this was for the clans of the descendants of Machir son of Manasseh, that is, half of the descendants of Machir. ³² These were the portions Moses had given them on the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan, east of Jericho.

²² You gave them kingdoms and peoples and allotted to them every corner of the land. So they took the land of Sihon king of Heshbon and of Og king of Bashan.

¹⁰ He struck down many nations and slaughtered mighty kings: ¹¹ Sihon king of the Amorites, Og king of Bashan, and all the kings of Canaan. ¹² He gave their land as an inheritance, as a heritage to His people Israel.

¹⁷ He struck down great kings His loving devotion endures forever. ¹⁸ and slaughtered mighty kings—His loving devotion endures forever. ¹⁹ Sihon king of the Amorites His loving devotion endures forever. ²⁰ and Og king of Bashan—His loving devotion endures forever. ²¹ and He gave their land as an inheritance, His loving devotion endures forever.

³⁶ From Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the valley, even as far as Gilead, not one city had walls too high for us. The LORD our God gave us all of them.

²⁹ Woe to you, O Moab! You are destroyed, O people of Chemosh! He gave up his sons as refugees, and his daughters into captivity to Sihon king of the Amorites.

⁴ When the LORD your God has driven them out before you, do not say in your heart, “Because of my righteousness the LORD has brought me in to possess this land.” Rather, the LORD is driving out these nations before you because of their wickedness. ⁵ It is not because of your righteousness or uprightness of heart that you are going in to possess their land, but it is because of their wickedness that the LORD your God is driving out these nations before you, to keep the promise He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

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.

¹⁰ He continued, “This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that He will surely drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites.

⁷ At that time on a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites.

² With Your hand You drove out the nations and planted our fathers there; You crushed the peoples and cast them out.

⁵⁵ He drove out nations before them and apportioned their inheritance; He settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.

⁷ Because you trust in your works and treasures, you too will be captured, and Chemosh will go into exile with his priests and officials.

⁴⁶ Woe to you, O Moab! The people of Chemosh have perished; for your sons have been taken into exile and your daughters have gone into captivity.

⁵ Though each of the peoples may walk in the name of his god, yet we will walk in the name of the LORD our God forever and ever.

² Now Balak son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites, ³ and Moab was terrified of the people because they were numerous. Indeed, Moab dreaded the Israelites. ⁴ So the Moabites said to the elders of Midian, “This horde will devour everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.” Since Balak son of Zippor was king of Moab at that time, ⁵ he sent messengers to Balaam son of Beor at Pethor, which is by the Euphrates in the land of his people. “Behold, a people has come out of Egypt,” said Balak. “They cover the face of the land and have settled next to me. ⁶ So please come now and put a curse on this people, because they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I may be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land; for I know that those you bless are blessed, and those you curse are cursed.” ⁷ The elders of Moab and Midian departed with the fees for divination in hand. They came to Balaam and relayed to him the words of Balak. ⁸ “Spend the night here,” Balaam replied, “and I will give you the answer that the LORD speaks to me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam. ⁹ Then God came to Balaam and asked, “Who are these men with you?” ¹⁰ And Balaam said to God, “Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent me this message: ¹¹ ‘Behold, a people has come out of Egypt, and they cover the face of the land. Now come and put a curse on them for me. Perhaps I may be able to fight against them and drive them away.’” ¹² But God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them. You are not to curse this people, for they are blessed.” ¹³ So Balaam got up the next morning and said to Balak’s princes, “Go back to your homeland, because the LORD has refused to let me go with you.” ¹⁴ And the princes of Moab arose, returned to Balak, and said, “Balaam refused to come with us.” ¹⁵ Then Balak sent other princes, more numerous and more distinguished than the first messengers. ¹⁶ They came to Balaam and said, “This is what Balak son of Zippor says: ‘Please let nothing hinder you from coming to me, ¹⁷ for I will honor you richly and do whatever you say. So please come and put a curse on this people for me!’” ¹⁸ But Balaam replied to the servants of Balak, “If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything small or great to go beyond the command of the LORD my God. ¹⁹ So now, please stay here overnight as the others did, that I may find out what else the LORD has to tell me.” ²⁰ That night God came to Balaam and said, “Since these men have come to summon you, get up and go with them, but you must only do what I tell you.” ²¹ So in the morning Balaam got up, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab.

³ No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the LORD, even to the tenth generation. ⁴ For they did not meet you with food and water on your way out of Egypt, and they hired Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in Aram-naharaim to curse you.

⁹ Then Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, set out to fight against Israel. He sent for Balaam son of Beor to curse you, ¹⁰ but I would not listen to Balaam. So he blessed you again and again, and I delivered you from his hand.

⁵ My people, remember what Balak king of Moab counseled and what Balaam son of Beor answered. Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, so that you may acknowledge the righteousness of the LORD.’”

²⁵ Israel captured all the cities of the Amorites and occupied them, including Heshbon and all its villages. ²⁶ Heshbon was the city of Sihon king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and taken all his land as far as the Arnon.

²⁴ “Arise, set out, and cross the Arnon Valley. See, I have delivered into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin to take possession of it and engage him in battle.

² But the LORD said to me, “Do not fear him, for I have delivered him into your hand, along with all his people and his land. Do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon.”

⁶ We devoted them to destruction, as we had done to Sihon king of Heshbon, utterly destroying the men, women, and children of every city.

¹⁸ Joshua waged war against all these kings for a long period of time.

² Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon. He ruled from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along the middle of the valley, up to the Jabbok River (the border of the Ammonites), that is, half of Gilead,

⁵ He ruled over Mount Hermon, Salecah, all of Bashan up to the border of the Geshurites and Maacathites, and half of Gilead to the border of Sihon king of Heshbon.

¹⁰ and all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites who reigned in Heshbon, as far as the border of the Ammonites;

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,

¹¹ So the land had rest for forty years, until Othniel son of Kenaz died.

³⁰ So Moab was subdued under the hand of Israel that day, and the land had rest for eighty years.

³¹ So may all Your enemies perish, O LORD! But may those who love You shine like the sun at its brightest.” And the land had rest for forty years.

²⁸ In this way Midian was subdued before the Israelites and did not raise its head again. So the land had rest for forty years in the days of Gideon,

²² After Abimelech had reigned over Israel for three years,

² Tola judged Israel twenty-three years, and when he died, he was buried in Shamir. ³ Tola was followed by Jair the Gileadite, who judged Israel twenty-two years.

⁸ who that very year harassed and oppressed the Israelites, and did so for eighteen years to all the Israelites on the other side of the Jordan in Gilead, the land of the Amorites.

²⁵ Far be it from You to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Will not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?”

¹⁰ Those who oppose the LORD will be shattered. He will thunder from heaven against them. The LORD will judge the ends of the earth and will give power to His king. He will exalt the horn of His anointed.”

¹⁵ May the LORD be our judge and decide between you and me. May He take notice and plead my case and deliver me from your hand.”

¹⁵ For even if I were right, I could not answer. I could only beg my Judge for mercy.

⁷ Then an upright man could reason with Him, and I would be delivered forever from my Judge.

⁸ The LORD judges the peoples; vindicate me, O LORD, according to my righteousness and integrity. ⁹ Put an end to the evil of the wicked, but establish the righteous, O righteous God who searches hearts and minds.

¹¹ God is a righteous judge and a God who feels indignation each day.

⁶ And the heavens proclaim His righteousness, for God Himself is Judge. Selah

⁷ but it is God who judges; He brings down one and exalts another.

⁸ Arise, O God, judge the earth, for all the nations are Your inheritance.

² Rise up, O Judge of the earth; render a reward to the proud.

⁹ before the LORD, for He comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity.

⁹ Rejoice, O young man, while you are young, and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of your eyes, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment.

¹⁴ For God will bring every deed into judgment, along with every hidden thing, whether good or evil.

²² Furthermore, the Father judges no one, but has assigned all judgment to the Son, ²³ so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.

¹⁰ Why, then, do you judge your brother? Or why do you belittle your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. ¹¹ It is written: “As surely as I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow before Me; every tongue will confess to God.” ¹² So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

¹⁰ For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad.

¹¹ Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do!

⁸ From now on there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but to all who crave His appearing.

²³ in joyful assembly, to the congregation of the firstborn, enrolled in heaven. You have come to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,

¹¹ But Amaziah would not listen, and Jehoash king of Israel advanced. He and King Amaziah of Judah faced each other at Beth-shemesh in Judah.

¹⁸ Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

²⁵ Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and He took some of the Spirit that was on Moses and placed that Spirit on the seventy elders. As the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied—but they never did so again.

¹⁰ The Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he became Israel’s judge and went out to war. And the LORD delivered Cushan-rishathaim king of Aram into the hand of Othniel, who prevailed against him.

³⁴ So the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, who blew the ram’s horn and rallied the Abiezrites behind him.

²⁵ And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him at Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

¹⁰ When Saul and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a group of prophets met him. Then the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied along with them.

¹³ So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward. Then Samuel set out and went to Ramah. ¹⁴ After the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, a spirit of distress from the LORD began to torment him. ¹⁵ Saul’s servants said to him, “Surely a spirit of distress from God is tormenting you.

¹⁸ Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, the chief of the Thirty, and he said: “We are yours, O David! We are with you, O son of Jesse! Peace, peace to you, and peace to your helpers, for your God helps you.” So David received them and made them leaders of his troops.

²⁰ Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and watch over me on this journey, and if He will provide me with food to eat and clothes to wear,

² If a man makes a vow to the LORD or swears an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word; he must do everything he has promised. ³ And if a woman in her father’s house during her youth makes a vow to the LORD or obligates herself by a pledge, ⁴ and her father hears about her vow or pledge but says nothing to her, then all the vows or pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand. ⁵ But if her father prohibits her on the day he hears about it, then none of the vows or pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand. The LORD will absolve her because her father has prohibited her. ⁶ If a woman marries while under a vow or rash promise by which she has bound herself, ⁷ and her husband hears of it but says nothing to her on that day, then the vows or pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand. ⁸ But if her husband prohibits her when he hears of it, he nullifies the vow that binds her or the rash promise she has made, and the LORD will absolve her. ⁹ Every vow a widow or divorced woman pledges to fulfill is binding on her. ¹⁰ If a woman in her husband’s house has made a vow or put herself under an obligation with an oath, ¹¹ and her husband hears of it but says nothing to her and does not prohibit her, then all the vows or pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand. ¹² But if her husband nullifies them on the day he hears of them, then nothing that came from her lips, whether her vows or pledges, shall stand. Her husband has nullified them, and the LORD will absolve her. ¹³ Her husband may confirm or nullify any vow or any sworn pledge to deny herself. ¹⁴ But if her husband says nothing to her from day to day, then he confirms all the vows and pledges that bind her. He has confirmed them, because he said nothing to her on the day he heard about them. ¹⁵ But if he nullifies them after he hears of them, then he will bear her iniquity.” ¹⁶ These are the statutes that the LORD commanded Moses concerning the relationship between a man and his wife, and between a father and a young daughter still in his home.

¹¹ And she made a vow, pleading, “O LORD of Hosts, if only You will look upon the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, not forgetting Your maidservant but giving her a son, then I will dedicate him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall ever come over his head.”

¹ Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong. ² Do not be quick to speak, and do not be hasty in your heart to utter a word before God. After all, God is in heaven and you are on earth. So let your words be few.

⁴ When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it, because He takes no pleasure in fools. Fulfill your vow. ⁵ It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it.

² “Speak to the Israelites and say to them, ‘When someone makes a special vow to the LORD involving the value of persons, ³ if the valuation concerns a male from twenty to sixty years of age, then your valuation shall be fifty shekels of silver, according to the sanctuary shekel.

¹¹ But if the vow involves any of the unclean animals that may not be brought as an offering to the LORD, the animal must be presented before the priest. ¹² The priest shall set its value, whether high or low; as the priest values it, the price will be set.

²⁸ Nothing that a man sets apart to the LORD from all he owns—whether a man, an animal, or his inherited land—can be sold or redeemed; everything so devoted is most holy to the LORD. ²⁹ No person set apart for destruction may be ransomed; he must surely be put to death.

¹⁸ You must not bring the wages of a prostitute, whether female or male, into the house of the LORD your God to fulfill any vow, because both are detestable to the LORD your God.

²⁸ I now dedicate the boy to the LORD. For as long as he lives, he is dedicated to the LORD.” So they worshiped the LORD there.

¹⁸ Now Samuel was ministering before the LORD—a boy wearing a linen ephod.

²⁴ Now the men of Israel were in distress that day, for Saul had placed the troops under an oath, saying, “Cursed is the man who eats any food before evening, before I have taken vengeance on my enemies.” So none of the troops tasted any food.

⁴⁴ And Saul declared, “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if you, Jonathan, do not surely die!”

¹³ I will enter Your house with burnt offerings; I will fulfill my vows to You— ¹⁴ the vows that my lips promised and my mouth spoke in my distress.

³ Whoever slaughters an ox is like one who slays a man; whoever sacrifices a lamb is like one who breaks a dog’s neck; whoever presents a grain offering is like one who offers pig’s blood; whoever offers frankincense is like one who blesses an idol. Indeed, they have chosen their own ways and delighted in their abominations.

⁴ When Judah attacked, the LORD delivered the Canaanites and Perizzites into their hands, and they struck down ten thousand men at Bezek.

¹⁸ Whenever the LORD raised up a judge for the Israelites, He was with that judge and saved them from the hands of their enemies while the judge was still alive; for the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning under those who oppressed them and afflicted them.

¹⁷ Judah and the land of Israel traded with you; they exchanged wheat from Minnith, cakes and honey, oil and balm for your merchandise.

²⁰ Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her with tambourines and dancing.

¹ On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this song: ² “When the princes take the lead in Israel, when the people volunteer, bless the LORD. ³ Listen, O kings! Give ear, O princes! I will sing to the LORD; I will sing praise to the LORD, the God of Israel. ⁴ O LORD, when You went out from Seir, when You marched from the land of Edom, the earth trembled, the heavens poured out rain, and the clouds poured down water. ⁵ The mountains quaked before the LORD, the One of Sinai, before the LORD, the God of Israel. ⁶ In the days of Shamgar son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were deserted and the travelers took the byways. ⁷ Life in the villages ceased; it ended in Israel, until I, Deborah, arose, a mother in Israel. ⁸ When they chose new gods, then war came to their gates. Not a shield or spear was found among forty thousand in Israel. ⁹ My heart is with the princes of Israel, with the volunteers among the people. Bless the LORD! ¹⁰ You who ride white donkeys, who sit on saddle blankets, and you who travel the road, ponder ¹¹ the voices of the singers at the watering places. There they shall recount the righteous acts of the LORD, the righteous deeds of His villagers in Israel. Then the people of the LORD went down to the gates: ¹² ‘Awake, awake, O Deborah! Awake, awake, sing a song! Arise, O Barak, and take hold of your captives, O son of Abinoam!’ ¹³ Then the survivors came down to the nobles; the people of the LORD came down to me against the mighty. ¹⁴ Some came from Ephraim, with their roots in Amalek; Benjamin came with your people after you. The commanders came down from Machir, the bearers of the marshal’s staff from Zebulun. ¹⁵ The princes of Issachar were with Deborah, and Issachar was with Barak, rushing into the valley at his heels. In the clans of Reuben there was great indecision. ¹⁶ Why did you sit among the sheepfolds to hear the whistling for the flocks? In the clans of Reuben there was great indecision. ¹⁷ Gilead remained beyond the Jordan. Dan, why did you linger by the ships? Asher stayed at the coast and remained in his harbors. ¹⁸ Zebulun was a people who risked their lives; Naphtali, too, on the heights of the battlefield. ¹⁹ Kings came and fought; then the kings of Canaan fought at Taanach by the waters of Megiddo, but they took no plunder of silver. ²⁰ From the heavens the stars fought; from their courses they fought against Sisera. ²¹ The River Kishon swept them away, the ancient river, the River Kishon. March on, O my soul, in strength! ²² Then the hooves of horses thundered—the mad galloping of his stallions. ²³ ‘Curse Meroz,’ says the angel of the LORD. ‘Bitterly curse her inhabitants; for they did not come to help the LORD, to help the LORD against the mighty.’ ²⁴ Most blessed among women is Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, most blessed of tent-dwelling women. ²⁵ He asked for water, and she gave him milk. In a magnificent bowl she brought him curds. ²⁶ She reached for the tent peg, her right hand for the workman’s hammer. She struck Sisera and crushed his skull; she shattered and pierced his temple. ²⁷ At her feet he collapsed, he fell, there he lay still; at her feet he collapsed, he fell; where he collapsed, there he fell dead. ²⁸ Sisera’s mother looked through the window; she peered through the lattice and lamented: ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming? What has delayed the clatter of his chariots?’ ²⁹ Her wisest ladies answer; indeed she keeps telling herself, ³⁰ ‘Are they not finding and dividing the spoil—a girl or two for each warrior, a plunder of dyed garments for Sisera, the spoil of embroidered garments for the neck of the looter?’ ³¹ So may all Your enemies perish, O LORD! But may those who love You shine like the sun at its brightest.” And the land had rest for forty years.

¹¹ So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him their leader and commander. And Jephthah repeated all his terms in the presence of the LORD at Mizpah.

⁶ As the troops were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs, and with tambourines and other instruments. ⁷ And as the women danced, they sang out: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.”

²⁵ The singers lead the way, the musicians follow after, among the maidens playing tambourines.

¹¹ kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth, ¹² young men and maidens, old and young together.

⁴ Praise Him with tambourine and dancing; praise Him with strings and flute.

⁴ Again I will build you, and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel. Again you will take up your tambourines and go out in joyful dancing.

¹³ Then the maidens will rejoice with dancing, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into joy, and give them comfort and joy for their sorrow.

¹⁰ Then I will pour out on the house of David and on the people of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and prayer, and they will look on Me, the One they have pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son.

¹² As He approached the town gate, He saw a dead man being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her.

⁴² because his only daughter, who was about twelve, was dying. As Jesus went with him, the crowds pressed around Him,

³⁸ Suddenly a man in the crowd cried out, “Teacher, I beg You to look at my son, for he is my only child.

²⁹ When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes, ³⁰ returned to his brothers, and said, “The boy is gone! What am I going to do?”

³⁴ Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth around his waist, and mourned for his son many days. ³⁵ All his sons and daughters tried to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said. “I will go down to Sheol mourning for my son.” So his father wept for him.

³⁶ Their father Jacob said to them, “You have deprived me of my sons. Joseph is gone and Simeon is no more. Now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is going against me!” ³⁷ Then Reuben said to his father, “You may kill my two sons if I fail to bring him back to you. Put him in my care, and I will return him.” ³⁸ But Jacob replied, “My son will not go down there with you, for his brother is dead, and he alone is left. If any harm comes to him on your journey, you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow.”

² If a man makes a vow to the LORD or swears an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word; he must do everything he has promised. ³ And if a woman in her father’s house during her youth makes a vow to the LORD or obligates herself by a pledge, ⁴ and her father hears about her vow or pledge but says nothing to her, then all the vows or pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand. ⁵ But if her father prohibits her on the day he hears about it, then none of the vows or pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand. The LORD will absolve her because her father has prohibited her.

¹ Now the men of Israel had sworn an oath at Mizpah, saying, “Not one of us will give his daughter in marriage to a Benjamite.” ² So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening, lifting up their voices and weeping bitterly. ³ “Why, O LORD God of Israel,” they cried out, “has this happened in Israel? Today in Israel one tribe is missing!” ⁴ The next day the people got up early, built an altar there, and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings. ⁵ The Israelites asked, “Who among all the tribes of Israel did not come to the assembly before the LORD?” For they had taken a solemn oath that anyone who failed to come up before the LORD at Mizpah would surely be put to death. ⁶ And the Israelites grieved for their brothers, the Benjamites, and said, “Today a tribe is cut off from Israel. ⁷ What should we do about wives for the survivors, since we have sworn by the LORD not to give them our daughters in marriage?”

⁴⁴ And Saul declared, “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if you, Jonathan, do not surely die!” ⁴⁵ But the people said to Saul, “Must Jonathan die—he who accomplished such a great deliverance for Israel? Never! As surely as the LORD lives, not a hair of his head will fall to the ground, for with God’s help he has accomplished this today.” So the people rescued Jonathan, and he did not die.

³⁰ While they were on the way, a report reached David: “Absalom has struck down all the sons of the king; not one of them is left!” ³¹ Then the king stood up, tore his clothes, and lay down on the ground; and all his servants stood by with their clothes torn.

³³ The king was shaken and went up to the gate chamber and wept. And as he walked, he cried out, “O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”

²⁰ Then Job stood up, tore his robe, and shaved his head. He fell to the ground and worshiped,

⁴ who despises the vile but honors those who fear the LORD, who does not revise a costly oath,

² Do not be quick to speak, and do not be hasty in your heart to utter a word before God. After all, God is in heaven and you are on earth. So let your words be few. ³ As a dream comes through many cares, so the speech of a fool comes with many words. ⁴ When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it, because He takes no pleasure in fools. Fulfill your vow. ⁵ It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it. ⁶ Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, and do not tell the messenger that your vow was a mistake. Why should God be angry with your words and destroy the work of your hands?

⁷ so much that he promised with an oath to give to her whatever she asked. ⁸ Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” ⁹ The king was grieved, but because of his oaths and his guests, he ordered that her wish be granted

¹⁴ They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have bound ourselves with a solemn oath not to eat anything until we have killed Paul.

²⁸ Then Samson called out to the LORD: “O Lord GOD, please remember me. Strengthen me, O God, just once more, so that with one vengeful blow I may pay back the Philistines for my two eyes.” ²⁹ And Samson reached out for the two central pillars supporting the temple. Bracing himself against them with his right hand on one pillar and his left hand on the other, ³⁰ Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” Then he pushed with all his might, and the temple fell on the lords and all the people in it. So in his death he killed more than he had killed in his life.

¹⁹ Then Ahimaaz son of Zadok said, “Please let me run and tell the king the good news that the LORD has avenged him of his enemies.”

³¹ Just then the Cushite came and said, “May my lord the king hear the good news: Today the LORD has avenged you of all who rose up against you!”

³⁰ And Mephibosheth said to the king, “Instead, since my lord the king has safely come to his own house, let Ziba take it all!”

²⁴ But I consider my life of no value to me, if only I may finish my course with joy and complete the ministry I have received from the Lord Jesus—the ministry of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.

¹³ Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

⁴ who have risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them.

³⁰ because he nearly died for the work of Christ, disregarding his life to make up for your deficit of service to me.

⁶ Because the LORD had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival would provoke her and taunt her viciously.

²⁵ “The Lord has done this for me. In these days He has shown me favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”

³¹ You must not worship the LORD your God in this way, because they practice for their gods every abomination which the LORD hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.

³¹ then whatever comes out the door of my house to greet me on my triumphant return from the Ammonites will belong to the LORD, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.”

²² but Hannah did not go. “After the boy is weaned,” she said to her husband, “I will take him to appear before the LORD and to stay there permanently.”

²⁴ Once she had weaned him, Hannah took the boy with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine. Though the boy was still young, she brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh.

¹¹ the voices of the singers at the watering places. There they shall recount the righteous acts of the LORD, the righteous deeds of His villagers in Israel. Then the people of the LORD went down to the gates:

²⁵ Three times a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar he had built for the LORD, burning incense with them before the LORD. So he completed the temple.