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Joshua 24 - Judges 6
New American Standard Bible

Joshua Reviews Israel’s History

24 Then (A)Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel at Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, their heads, their judges, and their officers; and they presented themselves before God. 2 Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘From ancient times your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates River, namely, (B)Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, and they served other gods. 3 Then (C)I took your father Abraham from beyond the Euphrates River and led him through all the land of Canaan, and (D)multiplied his [a]descendants and gave him (E)Isaac. 4 To Isaac I gave (F)Jacob and Esau, and (G)to Esau I gave Mount Seir, to possess it; but (H)Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt. 5 Then (I)I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt [b]by what I did in its midst; and afterward I brought you out. 6 So I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and (J)you came to the sea; and Egypt pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the [c]Red Sea. 7 But when they cried out to the Lord, He put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them and covered them; and your own eyes saw what I did in Egypt. And (K)you lived in the wilderness for a long time. 8 Then (L)I brought you into the land of the Amorites, who lived beyond the Jordan, and they fought with you; but I handed them over to you, and you took possession of their land when I eliminated them before you. 9 Then (M)Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, rose up and fought against Israel, and he sent messengers and summoned Balaam the son of Beor to curse you. 10 But I (N)was not willing to listen to Balaam. So he had to bless you, and I saved you from his hand. 11 (O)You crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho; and the citizens of Jericho fought against you, and (P)the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Girgashite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. Therefore (Q)I handed them over to you. 12 Then I (R)sent the hornet before you and it [d]drove out the two kings of the Amorites from you—(S)not by your sword nor your bow. 13 And (T)I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and cities which you had not built, and you have lived in them; you are eating of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.’

“We Will Serve the Lord”

14 “Now, therefore, [e](U)fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and [f]truth; and do away with the gods which your fathers served beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 But if it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served, which were beyond the Euphrates River, or (V)the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

16 The people answered and said, “Far be it from us that we would abandon the Lord to serve other gods; 17 for the Lord our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slaves, and did these great signs in our sight and watched over us through all the way in which we went and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed. 18 The Lord drove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amorites who lived in the land. We also will serve the Lord, for He is our God.”

19 Then Joshua said to the people, “You will not be able to serve the Lord, (W)for He is a holy God. He is (X)a jealous God; (Y)He will not forgive your wrongdoing or your sins. 20 (Z)If you abandon the Lord and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and destroy you after He has done good to you.” 21 And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the Lord.” 22 So Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that (AA)you have chosen for yourselves the Lord, to serve Him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” 23 “Now then, do away with the foreign gods which are in your midst, and (AB)incline your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.” 24 And (AC)the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God and [g]obey His voice.” 25 (AD)So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. 26 And Joshua (AE)wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God; and he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the Lord. 27 Then Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, (AF)this stone shall be a witness against us, because it has heard all the words of the Lord which He spoke [h]to us; so it shall be a witness against you, so that you do not deny your God.” 28 Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to his inheritance.

Joshua’s Death and Burial

29 Now it came about after these things that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being 110 years old. 30 And they buried him in the territory of his inheritance, in (AG)Timnath-serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, on the north of Mount Gaash.

31 (AH)Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who [i]survived Joshua, and had known every deed of the Lord which He had done for Israel.

32 Now (AI)they buried the bones of Joseph, which the sons of Israel brought up from Egypt, at Shechem, in the plot of land (AJ)which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred [j]pieces of money; and they became the inheritance of Joseph’s sons. 33 And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him at Gibeah, the town of his son (AK)Phinehas, which was given to him in the hill country of Ephraim.

Jerusalem Is Captured

1 Now it came about after the death of Joshua that the sons of Israel (AL)inquired of the Lord, saying, “Who shall go up first for us (AM)against the Canaanites, to fight against them?” 2 The Lord said, “(AN)Judah shall go up; behold, I have handed the land over to him.” 3 Then Judah said to his brother Simeon, “Go up with me into [k]the territory allotted me, and let’s fight the Canaanites; and [l]I in turn will go with you into [m]the territory allotted you.” So Simeon went with him. 4 Judah went up, and (AO)the Lord handed over to them the Canaanites and the Perizzites, and they [n]defeated ten thousand men at Bezek. 5 They found Adoni-bezek in Bezek and fought against him, and they [o]defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites. 6 But Adoni-bezek fled; and they pursued him and caught him, and cut off his [p]thumbs and big toes. 7 And Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and their big toes cut off used to gather up scraps under my table; (AP)as I have done, so God has repaid me.” So they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.

8 Then the sons of Judah fought against (AQ)Jerusalem and captured it, and struck it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire. 9 Afterward, the sons of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites living in the hill country, and in the [q]Negev, and in the lowland. 10 (AR)So Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (the name of Hebron was previously Kiriath-arba); and they struck Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.

Capture of Other Cities

11 Then (AS)from there he went against the inhabitants of Debir (the name of Debir was previously Kiriath-sepher). 12 And Caleb said, “Whoever attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give him my daughter Achsah as a wife.” 13 Now (AT)Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, captured it; so he gave him his daughter Achsah as a wife. 14 Then (AU)it happened that when she came to him, she incited him to ask her father for a field. Then later, she dismounted from [r]her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What [s]do you want?” 15 She said to him, “Give me a blessing: since you have given me the land of the [t]Negev, give me springs of water also.” So Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

16 Now the [u]descendants of (AV)the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up from the (AW)city of palms with the sons of Judah, to the wilderness of Judah which is in the south of (AX)Arad; and they went and lived with the people. 17 Then Judah went with his brother Simeon, and they struck the Canaanites living in Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. So the name of the city was called (AY)Hormah. 18 And Judah took (AZ)Gaza with its territory, Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory. 19 Now the Lord was with Judah, and they took possession of the hill country; but they could not [v]drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had (BA)iron chariots. 20 Then they gave Hebron to Caleb, (BB)as Moses had [w]promised; and he drove out from there (BC)the three sons of Anak. 21 (BD)But the sons of Benjamin did not drive out the (BE)Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem; so the Jebusites have lived with the sons of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

22 Likewise the house of Joseph went up against Bethel, and the Lord was with them. 23 The house of Joseph had men spy out Bethel ((BF)the name of the city previously was Luz). 24 And the spies saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to him, “Please show us the entrance to the city, and (BG)we will treat you kindly.” 25 So he showed them the entrance to the city, and they struck the city with the edge of the sword, (BH)but they let the man and all his family go free. 26 Then the man went to the land of the Hittites and built a city, and named it Luz, [x]which is its name to this day.

Places Not Conquered

27 (BI)But Manasseh did not take possession of Beth-shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages; so (BJ)the Canaanites persisted in living in this land. 28 And it came about, when Israel became strong, that they put the Canaanites to forced labor; but they did not drive them out completely.

29 And (BK)Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who were living in Gezer; so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them.

30 Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of [y]Nahalol; so the Canaanites lived among them and became subject to forced labor.

31 Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon, or of Ahlab, or of Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, or of Rehob. 32 So the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not drive them out.

33 Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, but lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; and the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath became forced labor for them.

34 Then the Amorites [z]forced the sons of Dan into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the valley; 35 yet the Amorites persisted in living on Mount Heres, in Aijalon and Shaalbim; but when the [aa]power of the house of Joseph [ab]grew strong, they became forced labor. 36 The border of the Amorites ran from the (BL)ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela and upward.

Israel Rebuked

2 Now (BM)the angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to (BN)Bochim. And he said, “(BO)I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land which I have sworn to your fathers; and I said, ‘(BP)I will never break My covenant with you, 2 and as for you, (BQ)you shall not make a covenant with the inhabitants of this land; (BR)you shall tear down their altars.’ But you have not [ac]obeyed Me; what is this thing that you have done? 3 Therefore I also said, ‘(BS)I will not drive them out from you; but they will [ad]become (BT)like thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a snare to you.’” 4 Now when the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, the people raised their voices and wept. 5 So they named that place [ae]Bochim; and there they sacrificed to the Lord.

Joshua Dies

6 (BU)When Joshua had dismissed the people, the sons of Israel went, each one to his inheritance, to take possession of the land. 7 The people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who [af]survived Joshua, who had seen all the great work of the Lord which He had done for Israel. 8 Then Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110. 9 And they buried him in the territory of (BV)his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. 10 All that generation also were gathered to their fathers; and another generation rose up after them who (BW)did not know the Lord, nor even the work which He had done for Israel.

Israel Serves the Baals

11 Then the sons of Israel did (BX)evil in the sight of the Lord and [ag]served the (BY)Baals, 12 and (BZ)they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and they followed other gods from the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them; so they provoked the Lord to anger. 13 They abandoned the Lord and (CA)served Baal and the Ashtaroth. 14 (CB)Then the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He handed them over to plunderers, and they plundered them; and (CC)He sold them into the hands of their enemies around them, so that they could no longer stand [ah]against their enemies. 15 Wherever they went, the hand of the Lord was against them for [ai]evil, as the Lord had spoken and (CD)just as the Lord had sworn to them, so that they were severely distressed.

16 (CE)Then the Lord raised up judges [aj]who saved them from the hands of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they [ak]committed infidelity with other gods and bowed down to them. They turned aside quickly from the way (CF)in which their fathers had walked in obeying the commandments of the Lord; they did not do the same as their fathers. 18 And when the Lord raised up judges for them, (CG)the Lord was with the judge and saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the Lord was (CH)moved to pity by their groaning because of those who tormented and oppressed them. 19 But it came about, when the judge died, that they would turn back and act more corruptly than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them and bow down to them; they did not abandon their practices or their obstinate ways. 20 (CI)So the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He said, “Because this nation has violated My covenant which I commanded their fathers, and has not listened to My voice, 21 (CJ)I in turn will no longer drive out from them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died, 22 in order to (CK)test Israel by them, whether they will keep the way of the Lord to walk in it as their fathers [al]did, or not.” 23 So the Lord allowed those nations to remain, not driving them out quickly; and He did not hand them over to Joshua.

Idolatry Leads to Servitude

3 (CL)Now these are the nations that the Lord left, to test Israel by them (that is, all the Israelites who had not [am]experienced any of the wars of Canaan; 2 only in order that the generations of the sons of Israel might [an]be taught war, [ao]those who had not [ap]experienced it previously). 3 These nations are: the five governors of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians, and (CM)the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as [aq]Lebo-hamath. 4 They were left to (CN)test Israel by them, to find out if they would [ar]obey the commandments of the Lord, which He had commanded their fathers [as]through Moses. 5 (CO)The sons of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; 6 and (CP)they took their daughters for themselves as wives, and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.

7 So the sons of Israel did (CQ)what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and they (CR)forgot the Lord their God and (CS)served the Baals and the [at]Asheroth. 8 Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, so that He sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim, king of [au]Mesopotamia; and the sons of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim for eight years.

The First Judge Frees Israel

9 But the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord, and the Lord raised up a deliverer for the sons of Israel to set them free, (CT)Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. 10 And (CU)the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel. When he went to war, the Lord handed over to him Cushan-rishathaim king of [av]Mesopotamia, so that [aw]he prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim. 11 Then the land was at rest for forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.

12 Now the sons of Israel again (CV)did evil in the sight of the Lord. So (CW)the Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the Lord. 13 And he gathered to himself the sons of Ammon and Amalek; and he went and [ax]defeated Israel, and they took possession of (CX)the city of the palm trees. 14 And the sons of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab for eighteen years.

Ehud Kills Eglon

15 But when the sons of Israel (CY)cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for them, Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. And the sons of Israel sent tribute by [ay]him to Eglon the king of Moab. 16 Now Ehud made himself a sword which had two edges, a cubit in length, and he strapped it on his right thigh under his cloak. 17 Then he presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. 18 And it came about, when he had finished presenting the tribute, that Ehud sent away the people who had carried the tribute. 19 But he himself turned back from the idols which were at Gilgal, and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” And the king said, “Silence!” And all who were attending him left him. 20 Then Ehud came to him while he was sitting in his cool roof chamber alone. And Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And he got up from his seat. 21 Then Ehud reached out with his left hand and took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. 22 The hilt of the sword also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade because he did not pull the sword out of his belly; and [az]the refuse came out. 23 Then Ehud went out into the [ba]vestibule, and shut the doors of the roof chamber behind him, and locked them.

24 When he had left, [bb]the king’s servants came and looked, and behold, the doors of the roof chamber were locked; and they said, “(CZ)Undoubtedly he is [bc]relieving himself in the cool room.” 25 So they waited [bd]until it would have been shameful to wait longer; but behold, he did not open the doors of the roof chamber. So they took the key and opened them, and behold, their master had fallen to the [be]floor dead.

26 Now Ehud escaped while they were hesitating, and he passed by the idols and escaped to Seirah. 27 And [bf]when he arrived, (DA)he blew the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim; and the sons of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he was [bg]leading them. 28 Then he said to them, “Pursue them, for the Lord has handed your enemies the Moabites over to you.” So they went down after him and took control of (DB)the crossing places of the Jordan opposite Moab, and did not allow anyone to cross. 29 They struck and killed about ten thousand Moabites at that time, all robust and valiant men; and no one escaped. 30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land was at rest for eighty years.

Shamgar Saves Israel

31 Now after him came (DC)Shamgar the son of Anath, who struck and killed six hundred Philistines with an [bh]oxgoad; and he also saved Israel.

Deborah and Barak

4 Then (DD)the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, after Ehud died. 2 So the Lord sold them into the hand of (DE)Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; and the commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in (DF)Harosheth-hagoyim. 3 The sons of Israel cried out to the Lord; for he had nine hundred (DG)iron chariots, and he oppressed the sons of Israel severely for twenty years.

4 Now Deborah, a [bi]prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time. 5 She used to [bj]sit under the (DH)palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the sons of Israel went up to her for judgment. 6 Now she sent word and summoned (DI)Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali, and said to him, “[bk]The Lord, the God of Israel, has indeed commanded, ‘Go and march to Mount Tabor, and take with you ten thousand men from the sons of Naphtali and from the sons of Zebulun. 7 I will draw out to you Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his [bl]many troops to the river Kishon, and (DJ)I will hand him over to you.’” 8 Then Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” 9 She said, “I will certainly go with you; however, the fame shall not be yours on the journey that you are about to take, (DK)for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 Barak summoned (DL)Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh, and ten thousand men went up [bm](DM)with him; Deborah also went up with him.

11 Now Heber (DN)the Kenite had separated himself from the Kenites, from the sons of Hobab the [bn]father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the [bo]oak in (DO)Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh.

12 Then they told Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor. 13 Sisera summoned all his chariots, (DP)nine hundred iron chariots, and all the people who were with him, from (DQ)Harosheth-hagoyim to the river Kishon. 14 Then Deborah said to Barak, “Arise! For this is the day on which the Lord has handed Sisera over to you; [bp]behold, (DR)the Lord has gone out before you.” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him. 15 (DS)And the Lord [bq]routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army with the edge of the sword before Barak; and Sisera got down from his chariot and fled on foot. 16 But Barak pursued the chariots and the army as far as Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; (DT)not even one was left.

17 Now Sisera fled on foot to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite. 18 And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said to him, “Turn aside, my master, turn aside to me! Do not be afraid.” So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a [br]rug. 19 (DU)And he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a leather bottle of milk and gave him a drink; then she covered him. 20 And he said to her, “Stand in the doorway of the tent, and it shall be if anyone comes and inquires of you, and says, ‘Is there anyone here?’ that you shall say, ‘No.’” 21 But Jael, Heber’s wife, (DV)took a tent peg and [bs]a hammer in her hand, and went secretly to him and drove the peg into his temple, and it went through into the ground; for he was sound asleep and exhausted. So he died. 22 And behold, while Barak was pursuing Sisera, Jael came out to meet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” So he entered [bt]with her, and behold, Sisera was lying dead with the tent peg in his temple.

23 So (DW)God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan on that day before the sons of Israel. 24 And the hand of the sons of Israel pressed harder and harder upon Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had eliminated Jabin the king of Canaan.

The Song of Deborah and Barak

5 (DX)Then Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam sang on that day, saying,

2 “(DY)For [bu]the leaders leading in Israel,
For (DZ)the people volunteering,
Bless the Lord!
3 Hear, you kings; listen, you dignitaries!
(EA)I myself—to the Lord, I myself will sing,
I will sing praise to the Lord, the God of Israel!
4 (EB)Lord, when You went out from Seir,
When You marched from the field of Edom,
(EC)The earth quaked, the heavens also dripped,
The clouds also dripped water.
5 (ED)The mountains [bv]flowed with water at the presence of the Lord,
(EE)This Sinai, at the presence of the Lord, the God of Israel.

6 “In the days of (EF)Shamgar the son of Anath,
In the days of (EG)Jael, the roads [bw]were deserted,
And travelers went by [bx]roundabout ways.
7 The [by]peasantry came to an end, they came to an end in Israel,
Until I, Deborah, arose,
Until I arose, a mother in Israel.
8 (EH)New gods were chosen;
Then war was in the gates.
Not a shield or a spear was seen
Among forty thousand in Israel.
9 My heart goes out to (EI)the commanders of Israel,
The volunteers among the people;
Bless the Lord!
10 (EJ)You who ride on [bz]white donkeys,
You who sit on rich carpets,
And you who travel on the road—shout in praise!
11 At the sound of those who distribute water among (EK)the watering places,
There they will recount (EL)the righteous deeds of the Lord,
The righteous deeds for His [ca]peasantry in Israel.
Then the people of the Lord went down (EM)to the gates.

12 “(EN)Awake, awake, Deborah;
Awake, awake, [cb]sing a song!
Arise, Barak, and (EO)lead away your captives, son of Abinoam.
13 Then survivors came down to the nobles;
The people of the Lord came down to me as warriors.
14 From Ephraim those whose root is (EP)in Amalek came down,
Following you, Benjamin, with your peoples;
From Machir commanders came down,
And from Zebulun those who wield the staff of [cc]office.
15 And the [cd]princes of Issachar were with Deborah;
As was Issachar, so was Barak;
Into the valley they rushed (EQ)at his [ce]heels;
Among the divisions of Reuben
There were great determinations of heart.
16 Why did you sit among (ER)the [cf]sheepfolds,
To hear the piping for the flocks?
Among the divisions of Reuben
There were great searchings of heart.
17 (ES)Gilead [cg]remained across the Jordan;
And why did Dan stay on ships?
Asher sat at the seashore,
And [ch]remained by its landings.
18 (ET)Zebulun was a people who risked their lives,
And Naphtali too, on the high places of the field.

19 “(EU)The kings came and fought;
Then the kings of Canaan fought
(EV)At Taanach near the waters of Megiddo;
(EW)They took no plunder in silver.
20 (EX)The stars fought from heaven,
From their paths they fought against Sisera.
21 The torrent of Kishon swept them away,
The ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon.
(EY)My soul, march on with strength!
22 (EZ)Then the horses’ hoofs beat
From the galloping, the galloping of his mighty stallions.
23 ‘Curse Meroz,’ said the angel of the Lord,
‘Utterly curse its inhabitants,
(FA)Because they did not come to the help of the Lord,
To the help of the Lord against the warriors.’

24 “(FB)Most blessed of women is Jael,
The wife of Heber the Kenite;
Most blessed is she of women in the tent.
25 He asked for water, she gave him milk;
In a magnificent bowl she brought him curds.
26 She reached out her hand for the tent peg,
And her right hand for the workmen’s hammer.
Then she struck Sisera, she smashed his head;
And she shattered and pierced his temple.
27 Between her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay;
Between her feet he bowed, he fell;
Where he bowed, there he fell [ci]dead.

28 “Out of the window she looked and wailed,
The mother of Sisera through the [cj]lattice,
‘Why does his chariot delay in coming?
Why do the [ck]hoofbeats of his chariots delay?’
29 Her wise princesses would answer her,
Indeed she repeats her words to herself,
30 ‘(FC)Are they not finding, are they not dividing the spoils?
A concubine, two concubines for every warrior;
To Sisera a spoil of dyed cloth,
A spoil of dyed cloth embroidered,
Dyed cloth of double embroidery on the [cl]neck of the plunderer?’
31 (FD)May all Your enemies perish in this way, Lord;
(FE)But may those who love Him be like the rising of the sun in its might.”

And the land was at rest for forty years.

Israel Oppressed by Midian

6 Then the sons of Israel (FF)did what was evil in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord handed them over to (FG)Midian for seven years. 2 The [cm]power of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of Midian the sons of Israel made for themselves (FH)the dens which were in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds. 3 For whenever Israel had sown, the Midianites would come up with the Amalekites and the [cn]people of the east and [co]march against them. 4 So they would camp against them and (FI)destroy the produce of the earth [cp]as far as Gaza, and (FJ)leave no sustenance in Israel, nor a sheep, ox, or donkey. 5 For they would come up with their livestock and their tents, they would come in (FK)like locusts in number, and both they and their camels were innumerable; and they came into the land to ruin it. 6 So Israel was brought (FL)very low because of Midian, and the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord.

7 Now it came about, when the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord on account of Midian, 8 that the Lord sent a prophet to the sons of Israel, and (FM)he said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘It was I who brought you up from Egypt, and brought you out of the house of [cq]slavery. 9 And I rescued you from the hands of the Egyptians, and from the hands of all your oppressors, and I drove them out from you and gave you their land, 10 and I said to you, “I am the Lord your God; you (FN)shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live.” But you have not [cr]obeyed Me.’”

Gideon Is Visited

11 Then (FO)the angel of the Lord came and sat under the [cs]oak that was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the (FP)Abiezrite, as his son (FQ)Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press in order to save it from the Midianites. 12 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, valiant warrior.” 13 Then Gideon said to him, “O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did the Lord not bring us up from Egypt?’ But (FR)now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to Midian.” 14 And the Lord [ct]looked at him and said, “(FS)Go in this strength of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?” 15 (FT)But he said to Him, “O Lord, [cu]how am I to save Israel? Behold, my family is the least in (FU)Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house.” 16 (FV)Yet the Lord said to him, “I will certainly be with you, and you will [cv]defeat Midian as one man.” 17 So [cw]Gideon said to Him, “If now I have found favor in Your sight, then perform for me (FW)a sign that it is You speaking with me. 18 Please do not depart from here until I come back to You, and bring out my offering and lay it before You.” And He said, “I will remain until you return.”

19 Then Gideon went in and (FX)prepared a young goat and unleavened bread from an [cx]ephah of flour; he put the meat in a basket [cy]and the broth in a pot, and brought them out to him under the [cz]oak and presented them. 20 And the angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread and lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And he did so. 21 Then the angel of the Lord put out the end of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread; and (FY)fire came up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. Then the angel of the Lord [da]vanished from his sight. 22 (FZ)When Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the Lord, [db]he said, “Oh, Lord [dc]God! For I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!” 23 But the Lord said to him, “Peace to you, do not be afraid; you shall not die.” 24 Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and named it [dd]The Lord is Peace. To this day it is still (GA)in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

25 Now on the same night the Lord said to him, “Take your father’s bull [de]and a second bull seven years old, and tear down the altar of Baal which belongs to your father, and cut down the [df](GB)Asherah that is beside it; 26 and build an altar to the Lord your God on the top of this stronghold in an orderly way, and take a second bull and offer a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah which you shall cut down.” 27 Then Gideon took ten men from his servants and did as the Lord had spoken to him; and because he was too afraid of his father’s household and the men of the city to do it by day, he did it by night.

The Altar of Baal Destroyed

28 When the people of the city got up early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal had been torn down, and the Asherah which had been beside it had been cut down, and the second bull had been offered on the altar which had been built. 29 So they said to one another, “Who did this thing?” And when they searched and inquired, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash did this thing.” 30 Then the men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, for he has torn down the altar of Baal, and indeed, he has cut down the Asherah which was beside it.” 31 But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Will you contend for Baal, or will you save him? Whoever will contend for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, since someone has torn down his altar!” 32 Therefore on that day he named [dg]Gideon (GC)Jerubbaal, that is to say, “Let Baal contend against him,” because he had torn down his altar.

33 Then all the Midianites, the Amalekites, and the [dh]people of the east assembled together; and they crossed over and camped in (GD)the Valley of Jezreel. 34 So (GE)the Spirit of the Lord [di]covered Gideon like clothing; and he (GF)blew a trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called together to follow him. 35 And he sent messengers throughout Manasseh, and they also were called together to follow him; and he sent messengers to Asher, (GG)Zebulun, and Naphtali, and (GH)they came up to meet them.

Sign of the Fleece

36 Then Gideon said to God, “(GI)If You are going to save Israel [dj]through me, as You have spoken, 37 behold, I am putting a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I will know that You will save Israel [dk]through me, as You have spoken.” 38 And it was so. When he got up early the next morning and wrung out the fleece, he wrung the dew from the fleece, a bowl full of water. 39 Then Gideon said to God, “(GJ)Do not let Your anger burn against me, so that I may speak only one more time; please let me put You to the test only one more time with the fleece: let it now be dry only on the fleece, and let there be dew on all the ground.” 40 And God did so that night; for it was dry only on the fleece, and dew was on all the ground.

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 24:3 Lit seed
  2. Joshua 24:5 Lit according to
  3. Joshua 24:6 Lit Sea of Reeds
  4. Joshua 24:12 Lit drove them out
  5. Joshua 24:14 Or revere
  6. Joshua 24:14 Or faithfulness
  7. Joshua 24:24 Lit listen to
  8. Joshua 24:27 Lit with
  9. Joshua 24:31 Lit prolonged days after
  10. Joshua 24:32 Heb qesitah
  11. Judges 1:3 Lit my lot
  12. Judges 1:3 Lit I, even I
  13. Judges 1:3 Lit your lot
  14. Judges 1:4 Lit struck them
  15. Judges 1:5 Lit struck
  16. Judges 1:6 Lit thumbs of his hands and his feet
  17. Judges 1:9 I.e., South country
  18. Judges 1:14 Lit the
  19. Judges 1:14 Lit to you, an ancient idiom
  20. Judges 1:15 I.e., South country
  21. Judges 1:16 Lit sons
  22. Judges 1:19 Or dispossess
  23. Judges 1:20 Lit spoken
  24. Judges 1:26 Lit it
  25. Judges 1:30 Perhaps same as Nahalal
  26. Judges 1:34 Lit pushed
  27. Judges 1:35 Lit hand
  28. Judges 1:35 Lit was heavy
  29. Judges 2:2 Lit listened to My voice
  30. Judges 2:3 Some ancient mss become adversaries to you and
  31. Judges 2:5 I.e., weepers
  32. Judges 2:7 Lit prolonged days after
  33. Judges 2:11 Or worshiped
  34. Judges 2:14 Lit before
  35. Judges 2:15 Or misfortune
  36. Judges 2:16 Lit and they
  37. Judges 2:17 I.e., against God
  38. Judges 2:22 Lit kept
  39. Judges 3:1 Lit known
  40. Judges 3:2 Lit know, to teach them
  41. Judges 3:2 Lit only those
  42. Judges 3:2 Lit known
  43. Judges 3:3 Or the entrance of Hamath
  44. Judges 3:4 Lit listen to
  45. Judges 3:4 Lit by the hand of
  46. Judges 3:7 I.e., wooden symbols of a female deity (Asherah)
  47. Judges 3:8 Heb Aram-naharaim
  48. Judges 3:10 Heb Aram
  49. Judges 3:10 Lit his hand was strong
  50. Judges 3:13 Lit struck
  51. Judges 3:15 Lit his hand
  52. Judges 3:22 Meaning of the Heb uncertain, but perhaps excrement
  53. Judges 3:23 Meaning uncertain
  54. Judges 3:24 Lit his
  55. Judges 3:24 Lit covering his feet; a euphemism referring to a squatting position
  56. Judges 3:25 Lit until shaming
  57. Judges 3:25 Lit earth
  58. Judges 3:27 Lit it happened
  59. Judges 3:27 Lit before them
  60. Judges 3:31 I.e., a spiked stick for driving livestock
  61. Judges 4:4 Lit woman prophetess
  62. Judges 4:5 Or live
  63. Judges 4:6 Lit Has the Lord not commanded...?
  64. Judges 4:7 Lit multitude
  65. Judges 4:10 Lit at his feet
  66. Judges 4:11 Another reading is brother-in-law
  67. Judges 4:11 Or terebinth
  68. Judges 4:14 Lit has the Lord not gone...?
  69. Judges 4:15 Lit confused
  70. Judges 4:18 Or blanket
  71. Judges 4:21 Lit put a hammer
  72. Judges 4:22 Lit to
  73. Judges 5:2 Or the hair hanging free in
  74. Judges 5:5 As in MT; LXX quaked
  75. Judges 5:6 Lit had ceased
  76. Judges 5:6 Lit twisting
  77. Judges 5:7 Or rural dwellers
  78. Judges 5:10 Or tawny
  79. Judges 5:11 Or rural dwellers
  80. Judges 5:12 Lit speak
  81. Judges 5:14 Lit a scribe
  82. Judges 5:15 As in ancient versions; MT My princes
  83. Judges 5:15 Lit feet
  84. Judges 5:16 Or saddlebags
  85. Judges 5:17 Or dwelt
  86. Judges 5:17 Or dwelt
  87. Judges 5:27 Lit destroyed
  88. Judges 5:28 Or window
  89. Judges 5:28 Lit steps
  90. Judges 5:30 Lit necks of the spoil
  91. Judges 6:2 Lit hand
  92. Judges 6:3 Lit sons
  93. Judges 6:3 Lit go up against
  94. Judges 6:4 Lit until your coming to
  95. Judges 6:8 Lit slaves
  96. Judges 6:10 Lit listened to My voice
  97. Judges 6:11 Or terebinth
  98. Judges 6:14 Or turned toward
  99. Judges 6:15 Lit with what
  100. Judges 6:16 Lit strike
  101. Judges 6:17 Lit he
  102. Judges 6:19 About 1 cubic foot or 0.03 cubic meters
  103. Judges 6:19 Lit and he put
  104. Judges 6:19 Or terebinth
  105. Judges 6:21 Lit departed
  106. Judges 6:22 Lit Gideon
  107. Judges 6:22 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  108. Judges 6:24 Heb Yahweh-shalom
  109. Judges 6:25 Or even
  110. Judges 6:25 I.e., wooden symbol of a female deity; also vv 26, 28, 30
  111. Judges 6:32 Lit him
  112. Judges 6:33 Lit sons
  113. Judges 6:34 Lit clothed
  114. Judges 6:36 Lit by my hand
  115. Judges 6:37 Lit by my hand
Listen to Joshua 24 - Judges 6
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Joshua 24 - Judges 6
New International Version

The Covenant Renewed at Shechem

24 Then Joshua assembled(A) all the tribes of Israel at Shechem.(B) He summoned(C) the elders,(D) leaders, judges and officials of Israel,(E) and they presented themselves before God.

2 Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your ancestors, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor,(F) lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods.(G) 3 But I took your father Abraham from the land beyond the Euphrates and led him throughout Canaan(H) and gave him many descendants.(I) I gave him Isaac,(J) 4 and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau.(K) I assigned the hill country of Seir(L) to Esau, but Jacob and his family went down to Egypt.(M)

5 “‘Then I sent Moses and Aaron,(N) and I afflicted the Egyptians by what I did there, and I brought you out.(O) 6 When I brought your people out of Egypt, you came to the sea,(P) and the Egyptians pursued them with chariots and horsemen[a](Q) as far as the Red Sea.[b](R) 7 But they cried(S) to the Lord for help, and he put darkness(T) between you and the Egyptians; he brought the sea over them and covered them.(U) You saw with your own eyes what I did to the Egyptians.(V) Then you lived in the wilderness for a long time.(W)

8 “‘I brought you to the land of the Amorites(X) who lived east of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I gave them into your hands. I destroyed them from before you, and you took possession of their land.(Y) 9 When Balak son of Zippor,(Z) the king of Moab, prepared to fight against Israel, he sent for Balaam son of Beor(AA) to put a curse on you.(AB) 10 But I would not listen to Balaam, so he blessed you(AC) again and again, and I delivered you out of his hand.

11 “‘Then you crossed the Jordan(AD) and came to Jericho.(AE) The citizens of Jericho fought against you, as did also the Amorites, Perizzites,(AF) Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites,(AG) but I gave them into your hands.(AH) 12 I sent the hornet(AI) ahead of you, which drove them out(AJ) before you—also the two Amorite kings. You did not do it with your own sword and bow.(AK) 13 So I gave you a land(AL) on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.’(AM)

14 “Now fear the Lord(AN) and serve him with all faithfulness.(AO) Throw away the gods(AP) your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt,(AQ) and serve the Lord. 15 But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites,(AR) in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household,(AS) we will serve the Lord.”(AT)

16 Then the people answered, “Far be it from us to forsake(AU) the Lord to serve other gods! 17 It was the Lord our God himself who brought us and our parents up out of Egypt, from that land of slavery,(AV) and performed those great signs(AW) before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled. 18 And the Lord drove out(AX) before us all the nations,(AY) including the Amorites, who lived in the land.(AZ) We too will serve the Lord, because he is our God.(BA)”

19 Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord. He is a holy God;(BB) he is a jealous God.(BC) He will not forgive(BD) your rebellion(BE) and your sins. 20 If you forsake the Lord(BF) and serve foreign gods, he will turn(BG) and bring disaster(BH) on you and make an end of you,(BI) after he has been good to you.”

21 But the people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the Lord.”

22 Then Joshua said, “You are witnesses(BJ) against yourselves that you have chosen(BK) to serve the Lord.”

“Yes, we are witnesses,(BL)” they replied.

23 “Now then,” said Joshua, “throw away the foreign gods(BM) that are among you and yield your hearts(BN) to the Lord, the God of Israel.”

24 And the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God and obey him.”(BO)

25 On that day Joshua made a covenant(BP) for the people, and there at Shechem(BQ) he reaffirmed for them decrees and laws.(BR) 26 And Joshua recorded(BS) these things in the Book of the Law of God.(BT) Then he took a large stone(BU) and set it up there under the oak(BV) near the holy place of the Lord.

27 “See!” he said to all the people. “This stone(BW) will be a witness(BX) against us. It has heard all the words the Lord has said to us. It will be a witness against you if you are untrue(BY) to your God.”(BZ)

28 Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to their own inheritance.(CA)

Buried in the Promised Land(CB)

29 After these things, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died(CC) at the age of a hundred and ten.(CD) 30 And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Serah[c](CE) in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.(CF)

31 Israel served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders(CG) who outlived him and who had experienced everything the Lord had done for Israel.

32 And Joseph’s bones,(CH) which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt,(CI) were buried at Shechem in the tract of land(CJ) that Jacob bought for a hundred pieces of silver[d] from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem. This became the inheritance of Joseph’s descendants.

33 And Eleazar son of Aaron(CK) died and was buried at Gibeah,(CL) which had been allotted to his son Phinehas(CM) in the hill country(CN) of Ephraim.

Israel Fights the Remaining Canaanites(CO)

1 After the death(CP) of Joshua, the Israelites asked the Lord, “Who of us is to go up first(CQ) to fight against the Canaanites?(CR)”

2 The Lord answered, “Judah(CS) shall go up; I have given the land into their hands.(CT)”

3 The men of Judah then said to the Simeonites their fellow Israelites, “Come up with us into the territory allotted to us, to fight against the Canaanites. We in turn will go with you into yours.” So the Simeonites(CU) went with them.

4 When Judah attacked, the Lord gave the Canaanites and Perizzites(CV) into their hands, and they struck down ten thousand men at Bezek.(CW) 5 It was there that they found Adoni-Bezek(CX) and fought against him, putting to rout the Canaanites and Perizzites. 6 Adoni-Bezek fled, but they chased him and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes.

7 Then Adoni-Bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off have picked up scraps under my table. Now God has paid me back(CY) for what I did to them.” They brought him to Jerusalem,(CZ) and he died there.

8 The men of Judah attacked Jerusalem(DA) also and took it. They put the city to the sword and set it on fire.

9 After that, Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites living in the hill country,(DB) the Negev(DC) and the western foothills. 10 They advanced against the Canaanites living in Hebron(DD) (formerly called Kiriath Arba(DE)) and defeated Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai.(DF) 11 From there they advanced against the people living in Debir(DG) (formerly called Kiriath Sepher).

12 And Caleb said, “I will give my daughter Aksah in marriage to the man who attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher.” 13 Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it; so Caleb gave his daughter Aksah to him in marriage.

14 One day when she came to Othniel, she urged him[e] to ask her father for a field. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What can I do for you?”

15 She replied, “Do me a special favor. Since you have given me land in the Negev, give me also springs of water.” So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.(DH)

16 The descendants of Moses’ father-in-law,(DI) the Kenite,(DJ) went up from the City of Palms[f](DK) with the people of Judah to live among the inhabitants of the Desert of Judah in the Negev near Arad.(DL)

17 Then the men of Judah went with the Simeonites(DM) their fellow Israelites and attacked the Canaanites living in Zephath, and they totally destroyed[g] the city. Therefore it was called Hormah.[h](DN) 18 Judah also took[i] Gaza,(DO) Ashkelon(DP) and Ekron—each city with its territory.

19 The Lord was with(DQ) the men of Judah. They took possession of the hill country,(DR) but they were unable to drive the people from the plains, because they had chariots fitted with iron.(DS) 20 As Moses had promised, Hebron(DT) was given to Caleb, who drove from it the three sons of Anak.(DU) 21 The Benjamites, however, did not drive out(DV) the Jebusites, who were living in Jerusalem;(DW) to this day the Jebusites live there with the Benjamites.

22 Now the tribes of Joseph(DX) attacked Bethel,(DY) and the Lord was with them. 23 When they sent men to spy out Bethel (formerly called Luz),(DZ) 24 the spies saw a man coming out of the city and they said to him, “Show us how to get into the city and we will see that you are treated well.(EA)” 25 So he showed them, and they put the city to the sword but spared(EB) the man and his whole family. 26 He then went to the land of the Hittites,(EC) where he built a city and called it Luz,(ED) which is its name to this day.

27 But Manasseh did not(EE) drive out the people of Beth Shan or Taanach or Dor(EF) or Ibleam(EG) or Megiddo(EH) and their surrounding settlements, for the Canaanites(EI) were determined to live in that land. 28 When Israel became strong, they pressed the Canaanites into forced labor but never drove them out completely.(EJ) 29 Nor did Ephraim(EK) drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer,(EL) but the Canaanites continued to live there among them.(EM) 30 Neither did Zebulun drive out the Canaanites living in Kitron or Nahalol, so these Canaanites lived among them, but Zebulun did subject them to forced labor. 31 Nor did Asher(EN) drive out those living in Akko or Sidon(EO) or Ahlab or Akzib(EP) or Helbah or Aphek(EQ) or Rehob.(ER) 32 The Asherites lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land because they did not drive them out. 33 Neither did Naphtali drive out those living in Beth Shemesh(ES) or Beth Anath(ET); but the Naphtalites too lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land, and those living in Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath became forced laborers for them. 34 The Amorites(EU) confined the Danites(EV) to the hill country, not allowing them to come down into the plain.(EW) 35 And the Amorites were determined also to hold out in Mount Heres,(EX) Aijalon(EY) and Shaalbim,(EZ) but when the power of the tribes of Joseph increased, they too were pressed into forced labor. 36 The boundary of the Amorites was from Scorpion Pass(FA) to Sela(FB) and beyond.(FC)

The Angel of the Lord at Bokim

2 The angel of the Lord(FD) went up from Gilgal(FE) to Bokim(FF) and said, “I brought you up out of Egypt(FG) and led you into the land I swore to give to your ancestors.(FH) I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you,(FI) 2 and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land,(FJ) but you shall break down their altars.(FK)’ Yet you have disobeyed(FL) me. Why have you done this? 3 And I have also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you;(FM) they will become traps(FN) for you, and their gods will become snares(FO) to you.’”

4 When the angel of the Lord had spoken these things to all the Israelites, the people wept aloud,(FP) 5 and they called that place Bokim.[j](FQ) There they offered sacrifices to the Lord.

Disobedience and Defeat(FR)

6 After Joshua had dismissed the Israelites, they went to take possession of the land, each to their own inheritance. 7 The people served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had seen all the great things the Lord had done for Israel.(FS)

8 Joshua son of Nun,(FT) the servant of the Lord, died at the age of a hundred and ten. 9 And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Heres[k](FU) in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.

10 After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel.(FV) 11 Then the Israelites did evil(FW) in the eyes of the Lord(FX) and served the Baals.(FY) 12 They forsook the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods(FZ) of the peoples around them.(GA) They aroused(GB) the Lord’s anger(GC) 13 because they forsook(GD) him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths.(GE) 14 In his anger(GF) against Israel the Lord gave them into the hands(GG) of raiders who plundered(GH) them. He sold them(GI) into the hands of their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist.(GJ) 15 Whenever Israel went out to fight, the hand of the Lord was against them(GK) to defeat them, just as he had sworn to them. They were in great distress.(GL)

16 Then the Lord raised up judges,[l](GM) who saved(GN) them out of the hands of these raiders. 17 Yet they would not listen to their judges but prostituted(GO) themselves to other gods(GP) and worshiped them.(GQ) They quickly turned(GR) from the ways of their ancestors, who had been obedient to the Lord’s commands.(GS) 18 Whenever the Lord raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and saved(GT) them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the Lord relented(GU) because of their groaning(GV) under those who oppressed and afflicted(GW) them. 19 But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt(GX) than those of their ancestors,(GY) following other gods and serving and worshiping them.(GZ) They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn(HA) ways.

20 Therefore the Lord was very angry(HB) with Israel and said, “Because this nation has violated the covenant(HC) I ordained for their ancestors and has not listened to me, 21 I will no longer drive out(HD) before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. 22 I will use them to test(HE) Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the Lord and walk in it as their ancestors did.” 23 The Lord had allowed those nations to remain; he did not drive them out at once by giving them into the hands of Joshua.(HF)

3 These are the nations the Lord left to test(HG) all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan 2 (he did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience): 3 the five(HH) rulers of the Philistines,(HI) all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites(HJ) living in the Lebanon mountains from Mount Baal Hermon(HK) to Lebo Hamath.(HL) 4 They were left to test(HM) the Israelites to see whether they would obey the Lord’s commands, which he had given their ancestors through Moses.

5 The Israelites lived(HN) among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites,(HO) Hivites and Jebusites.(HP) 6 They took their daughters(HQ) in marriage and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.(HR)

Othniel

7 The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot the Lord(HS) their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs.(HT) 8 The anger of the Lord burned against Israel so that he sold(HU) them into the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim(HV) king of Aram Naharaim,[m](HW) to whom the Israelites were subject for eight years. 9 But when they cried out(HX) to the Lord, he raised up for them a deliverer,(HY) Othniel(HZ) son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, who saved them. 10 The Spirit of the Lord came on him,(IA) so that he became Israel’s judge[n] and went to war. The Lord gave Cushan-Rishathaim(IB) king of Aram(IC) into the hands of Othniel, who overpowered him. 11 So the land had peace(ID) for forty years,(IE) until Othniel son of Kenaz(IF) died.

Ehud

12 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord,(IG) and because they did this evil the Lord gave Eglon king of Moab(IH) power over Israel. 13 Getting the Ammonites(II) and Amalekites(IJ) to join him, Eglon came and attacked Israel, and they took possession of the City of Palms.[o](IK) 14 The Israelites were subject to Eglon king of Moab(IL) for eighteen years.

15 Again the Israelites cried out to the Lord, and he gave them a deliverer(IM)—Ehud(IN), a left-handed(IO) man, the son of Gera the Benjamite. The Israelites sent him with tribute(IP) to Eglon king of Moab. 16 Now Ehud(IQ) had made a double-edged sword about a cubit[p] long, which he strapped to his right thigh under his clothing. 17 He presented the tribute(IR) to Eglon king of Moab, who was a very fat man.(IS) 18 After Ehud had presented the tribute, he sent on their way those who had carried it. 19 But on reaching the stone images near Gilgal he himself went back to Eglon and said, “Your Majesty, I have a secret message for you.”

The king said to his attendants, “Leave us!” And they all left.

20 Ehud then approached him while he was sitting alone in the upper room of his palace[q](IT) and said, “I have a message from God for you.” As the king rose(IU) from his seat, 21 Ehud reached with his left hand, drew the sword(IV) from his right thigh and plunged it into the king’s belly. 22 Even the handle sank in after the blade, and his bowels discharged. Ehud did not pull the sword out, and the fat closed in over it. 23 Then Ehud went out to the porch[r]; he shut the doors of the upper room behind him and locked them.

24 After he had gone, the servants came and found the doors of the upper room locked. They said, “He must be relieving himself(IW) in the inner room of the palace.” 25 They waited to the point of embarrassment,(IX) but when he did not open the doors of the room, they took a key and unlocked them. There they saw their lord fallen to the floor, dead.

26 While they waited, Ehud got away. He passed by the stone images and escaped to Seirah. 27 When he arrived there, he blew a trumpet(IY) in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went down with him from the hills, with him leading them.

28 “Follow me,” he ordered, “for the Lord has given Moab,(IZ) your enemy, into your hands.(JA)” So they followed him down and took possession of the fords of the Jordan(JB) that led to Moab; they allowed no one to cross over. 29 At that time they struck down about ten thousand Moabites, all vigorous and strong; not one escaped. 30 That day Moab(JC) was made subject to Israel, and the land had peace(JD) for eighty years.

Shamgar

31 After Ehud came Shamgar son of Anath,(JE) who struck down six hundred(JF) Philistines(JG) with an oxgoad. He too saved Israel.

Deborah

4 Again the Israelites did evil(JH) in the eyes of the Lord,(JI) now that Ehud(JJ) was dead. 2 So the Lord sold them(JK) into the hands of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor.(JL) Sisera,(JM) the commander of his army, was based in Harosheth Haggoyim. 3 Because he had nine hundred chariots fitted with iron(JN) and had cruelly oppressed(JO) the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the Lord for help.

4 Now Deborah,(JP) a prophet,(JQ) the wife of Lappidoth, was leading[s] Israel at that time. 5 She held court(JR) under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah(JS) and Bethel(JT) in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went up to her to have their disputes decided. 6 She sent for Barak son of Abinoam(JU) from Kedesh(JV) in Naphtali and said to him, “The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you: ‘Go, take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali(JW) and Zebulun(JX) and lead them up to Mount Tabor.(JY) 7 I will lead Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s(JZ) army, with his chariots and his troops to the Kishon River(KA) and give him into your hands.(KB)’”

8 Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.”

9 “Certainly I will go with you,” said Deborah. “But because of the course you are taking, the honor will not be yours, for the Lord will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman.” So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh.(KC) 10 There Barak summoned(KD) Zebulun and Naphtali, and ten thousand men went up under his command. Deborah also went up with him.

11 Now Heber the Kenite had left the other Kenites,(KE) the descendants of Hobab,(KF) Moses’ brother-in-law,[t] and pitched his tent by the great tree(KG) in Zaanannim(KH) near Kedesh.

12 When they told Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor,(KI) 13 Sisera summoned from Harosheth Haggoyim to the Kishon River(KJ) all his men and his nine hundred chariots fitted with iron.(KK)

14 Then Deborah said to Barak, “Go! This is the day the Lord has given Sisera into your hands.(KL) Has not the Lord gone ahead(KM) of you?” So Barak went down Mount Tabor, with ten thousand men following him. 15 At Barak’s advance, the Lord routed(KN) Sisera and all his chariots and army by the sword, and Sisera got down from his chariot and fled on foot.

16 Barak pursued the chariots and army as far as Harosheth Haggoyim, and all Sisera’s troops fell by the sword; not a man was left.(KO) 17 Sisera, meanwhile, fled on foot to the tent of Jael,(KP) the wife of Heber the Kenite,(KQ) because there was an alliance between Jabin king of Hazor(KR) and the family of Heber the Kenite.

18 Jael(KS) went out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Come, my lord, come right in. Don’t be afraid.” So he entered her tent, and she covered him with a blanket.

19 “I’m thirsty,” he said. “Please give me some water.” She opened a skin of milk,(KT) gave him a drink, and covered him up.

20 “Stand in the doorway of the tent,” he told her. “If someone comes by and asks you, ‘Is anyone in there?’ say ‘No.’”

21 But Jael,(KU) Heber’s wife, picked up a tent peg and a hammer and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep,(KV) exhausted. She drove the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died.(KW)

22 Just then Barak came by in pursuit of Sisera, and Jael(KX) went out to meet him. “Come,” she said, “I will show you the man you’re looking for.” So he went in with her, and there lay Sisera with the tent peg through his temple—dead.(KY)

23 On that day God subdued(KZ) Jabin(LA) king of Canaan before the Israelites. 24 And the hand of the Israelites pressed harder and harder against Jabin king of Canaan until they destroyed him.(LB)

The Song of Deborah

5 On that day Deborah(LC) and Barak son of Abinoam(LD) sang this song:(LE)

2 “When the princes in Israel take the lead,
    when the people willingly offer(LF) themselves—
    praise the Lord!(LG)

3 “Hear this, you kings! Listen, you rulers!
    I, even I, will sing to[u] the Lord;(LH)
    I will praise the Lord, the God of Israel, in song.(LI)

4 “When you, Lord, went out(LJ) from Seir,(LK)
    when you marched from the land of Edom,
the earth shook,(LL) the heavens poured,
    the clouds poured down water.(LM)
5 The mountains quaked(LN) before the Lord, the One of Sinai,
    before the Lord, the God of Israel.

6 “In the days of Shamgar son of Anath,(LO)
    in the days of Jael,(LP) the highways(LQ) were abandoned;
    travelers took to winding paths.(LR)
7 Villagers in Israel would not fight;
    they held back until I, Deborah,(LS) arose,
    until I arose, a mother in Israel.
8 God chose new leaders(LT)
    when war came to the city gates,(LU)
but not a shield or spear(LV) was seen
    among forty thousand in Israel.
9 My heart is with Israel’s princes,
    with the willing volunteers(LW) among the people.
    Praise the Lord!

10 “You who ride on white donkeys,(LX)
    sitting on your saddle blankets,
    and you who walk along the road,
consider 11 the voice of the singers[v] at the watering places.
    They recite the victories(LY) of the Lord,
    the victories of his villagers in Israel.

“Then the people of the Lord
    went down to the city gates.(LZ)
12 ‘Wake up,(MA) wake up, Deborah!(MB)
    Wake up, wake up, break out in song!
Arise, Barak!(MC)
    Take captive your captives,(MD) son of Abinoam.’

13 “The remnant of the nobles came down;
    the people of the Lord came down to me against the mighty.
14 Some came from Ephraim,(ME) whose roots were in Amalek;(MF)
    Benjamin(MG) was with the people who followed you.
From Makir(MH) captains came down,
    from Zebulun those who bear a commander’s[w] staff.
15 The princes of Issachar(MI) were with Deborah;(MJ)
    yes, Issachar was with Barak,(MK)
    sent under his command into the valley.
In the districts of Reuben
    there was much searching of heart.
16 Why did you stay among the sheep pens[x](ML)
    to hear the whistling for the flocks?(MM)
In the districts of Reuben
    there was much searching of heart.
17 Gilead(MN) stayed beyond the Jordan.
    And Dan, why did he linger by the ships?
Asher(MO) remained on the coast(MP)
    and stayed in his coves.
18 The people of Zebulun(MQ) risked their very lives;
    so did Naphtali(MR) on the terraced fields.(MS)

19 “Kings came(MT), they fought,
    the kings of Canaan fought.
At Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo,(MU)
    they took no plunder of silver.(MV)
20 From the heavens(MW) the stars fought,
    from their courses they fought against Sisera.
21 The river Kishon(MX) swept them away,
    the age-old river, the river Kishon.
    March on, my soul; be strong!(MY)
22 Then thundered the horses’ hooves—
    galloping, galloping go his mighty steeds.(MZ)
23 ‘Curse Meroz,’ said the angel of the Lord.
    ‘Curse its people bitterly,
because they did not come to help the Lord,
    to help the Lord against the mighty.’

24 “Most blessed of women(NA) be Jael,(NB)
    the wife of Heber the Kenite,(NC)
    most blessed of tent-dwelling women.
25 He asked for water, and she gave him milk;(ND)
    in a bowl fit for nobles she brought him curdled milk.
26 Her hand reached for the tent peg,
    her right hand for the workman’s hammer.
She struck Sisera, she crushed his head,
    she shattered and pierced his temple.(NE)
27 At her feet he sank,
    he fell; there he lay.
At her feet he sank, he fell;
    where he sank, there he fell—dead(NF).

28 “Through the window(NG) peered Sisera’s mother;
    behind the lattice she cried out,(NH)
‘Why is his chariot so long in coming?
    Why is the clatter of his chariots delayed?’
29 The wisest of her ladies answer her;
    indeed, she keeps saying to herself,
30 ‘Are they not finding and dividing the spoils:(NI)
    a woman or two for each man,
colorful garments as plunder for Sisera,
    colorful garments embroidered,
highly embroidered garments(NJ) for my neck—
    all this as plunder?(NK)’

31 “So may all your enemies perish,(NL) Lord!
    But may all who love you be like the sun(NM)
    when it rises in its strength.”(NN)

Then the land had peace(NO) forty years.

Gideon

6 The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord,(NP) and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites.(NQ) 2 Because the power of Midian was so oppressive,(NR) the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves(NS) and strongholds.(NT) 3 Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites(NU) and other eastern peoples(NV) invaded the country. 4 They camped on the land and ruined the crops(NW) all the way to Gaza(NX) and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys. 5 They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts.(NY) It was impossible to count them or their camels;(NZ) they invaded the land to ravage it. 6 Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out(OA) to the Lord for help.

7 When the Israelites cried out(OB) to the Lord because of Midian, 8 he sent them a prophet,(OC) who said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt,(OD) out of the land of slavery.(OE) 9 I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians. And I delivered you from the hand of all your oppressors;(OF) I drove them out before you and gave you their land.(OG) 10 I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; do not worship(OH) the gods of the Amorites,(OI) in whose land you live.’ But you have not listened to me.”

11 The angel of the Lord(OJ) came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah(OK) that belonged to Joash(OL) the Abiezrite,(OM) where his son Gideon(ON) was threshing(OO) wheat in a winepress(OP) to keep it from the Midianites. 12 When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you,(OQ) mighty warrior.(OR)”

13 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders(OS) that our ancestors told(OT) us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned(OU) us and given us into the hand of Midian.”

14 The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have(OV) and save(OW) Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”

15 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan(OX) is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.(OY)”

16 The Lord answered, “I will be with you(OZ), and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.”

17 Gideon replied, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign(PA) that it is really you talking to me. 18 Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you.”

And the Lord said, “I will wait until you return.”

19 Gideon went inside, prepared a young goat,(PB) and from an ephah[y](PC) of flour he made bread without yeast. Putting the meat in a basket and its broth in a pot, he brought them out and offered them to him under the oak.(PD)

20 The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock,(PE) and pour out the broth.” And Gideon did so. 21 Then the angel of the Lord touched the meat and the unleavened bread(PF) with the tip of the staff(PG) that was in his hand. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the Lord disappeared. 22 When Gideon realized(PH) that it was the angel of the Lord, he exclaimed, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!”(PI)

23 But the Lord said to him, “Peace! Do not be afraid.(PJ) You are not going to die.”(PK)

24 So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called(PL) it The Lord Is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah(PM) of the Abiezrites.

25 That same night the Lord said to him, “Take the second bull from your father’s herd, the one seven years old.[z] Tear down your father’s altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole[aa](PN) beside it. 26 Then build a proper kind of[ab] altar to the Lord your God on the top of this height. Using the wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down, offer the second[ac] bull as a burnt offering.(PO)”

27 So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the Lord told him. But because he was afraid of his family and the townspeople, he did it at night rather than in the daytime.

28 In the morning when the people of the town got up, there was Baal’s altar,(PP) demolished, with the Asherah pole beside it cut down and the second bull sacrificed on the newly built altar!

29 They asked each other, “Who did this?”

When they carefully investigated, they were told, “Gideon son of Joash(PQ) did it.”

30 The people of the town demanded of Joash, “Bring out your son. He must die, because he has broken down Baal’s altar(PR) and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.”

31 But Joash replied to the hostile crowd around him, “Are you going to plead Baal’s cause?(PS) Are you trying to save him? Whoever fights for him shall be put to death by morning! If Baal really is a god, he can defend himself when someone breaks down his altar.” 32 So because Gideon broke down Baal’s altar, they gave him the name Jerub-Baal[ad](PT) that day, saying, “Let Baal contend with him.”

33 Now all the Midianites, Amalekites(PU) and other eastern peoples(PV) joined forces and crossed over the Jordan and camped in the Valley of Jezreel.(PW) 34 Then the Spirit of the Lord came on(PX) Gideon, and he blew a trumpet,(PY) summoning the Abiezrites(PZ) to follow him. 35 He sent messengers throughout Manasseh, calling them to arms, and also into Asher,(QA) Zebulun and Naphtali,(QB) so that they too went up to meet them.(QC)

36 Gideon said to God, “If you will save(QD) Israel by my hand as you have promised— 37 look, I will place a wool fleece(QE) on the threshing floor.(QF) If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know(QG) that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said.” 38 And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew—a bowlful of water.

39 Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request.(QH) Allow me one more test with the fleece, but this time make the fleece dry and let the ground be covered with dew.” 40 That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew.(QI)

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 24:6 Or charioteers
  2. Joshua 24:6 Or the Sea of Reeds
  3. Joshua 24:30 Also known as Timnath Heres (see Judges 2:9)
  4. Joshua 24:32 Hebrew hundred kesitahs; a kesitah was a unit of money of unknown weight and value.
  5. Judges 1:14 Hebrew; Septuagint and Vulgate Othniel, he urged her
  6. Judges 1:16 That is, Jericho
  7. Judges 1:17 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
  8. Judges 1:17 Hormah means destruction.
  9. Judges 1:18 Hebrew; Septuagint Judah did not take
  10. Judges 2:5 Bokim means weepers.
  11. Judges 2:9 Also known as Timnath Serah (see Joshua 19:50 and 24:30)
  12. Judges 2:16 Or leaders; similarly in verses 17-19
  13. Judges 3:8 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia
  14. Judges 3:10 Or leader
  15. Judges 3:13 That is, Jericho
  16. Judges 3:16 That is, about 18 inches or about 45 centimeters
  17. Judges 3:20 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain; also in verse 24.
  18. Judges 3:23 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  19. Judges 4:4 Traditionally judging
  20. Judges 4:11 Or father-in-law
  21. Judges 5:3 Or of
  22. Judges 5:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  23. Judges 5:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  24. Judges 5:16 Or the campfires; or the saddlebags
  25. Judges 6:19 That is, probably about 36 pounds or about 16 kilograms
  26. Judges 6:25 Or Take a full-grown, mature bull from your father’s herd
  27. Judges 6:25 That is, a wooden symbol of the goddess Asherah; also in verses 26, 28 and 30
  28. Judges 6:26 Or build with layers of stone an
  29. Judges 6:26 Or full-grown; also in verse 28
  30. Judges 6:32 Jerub-Baal probably means let Baal contend.
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