¹⁸ And he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men were they whom you killed at ^(A)Tabor?”

So they answered, “As you are, so were they; each one resembled the son of a king.”

¹⁹ Then he said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As the Lord lives, if you had let them live, I would not kill you.” ²⁰ And he said to Jether his firstborn, “Rise, kill them!” But the youth would not draw his sword; for he was afraid, because he was still a youth.

²¹ So Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Rise yourself, and kill us; for as a man is, so is his strength.” So Gideon arose and ^(B)killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescent ornaments that were on their camels’ necks.

Gideon’s Ephod

²² Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, ^(C)“Rule over us, both you and your son, and your grandson also; for you have ^(D)delivered us from the hand of Midian.”

²³ But Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you; ^(E)the Lord shall rule over you.” ²⁴ Then Gideon said to them, “I would like to ^[a]make a request of you, that each of you would give me the earrings from his plunder.” For they had golden earrings, ^(F)because they were Ishmaelites.

²⁵ So they answered, “We will gladly give them.” And they spread out a garment, and each man threw into it the earrings from his plunder. ²⁶ Now the weight of the gold earrings that he requested was one thousand seven hundred shekels of gold, besides the crescent ornaments, pendants, and purple robes which were on the kings of Midian, and besides the chains that were around their camels’ necks. ²⁷ Then Gideon ^(G)made it into an ephod and set it up in his city, ^(H)Ophrah. And all Israel ^(I)played the harlot with it there. It became ^(J)a snare to Gideon and to his house.

²⁸ Thus Midian was subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted their heads no more. ^(K)And the country was quiet for forty years in the days of Gideon.

Death of Gideon

²⁹ Then ^(L)Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his own house. ³⁰ Gideon had ^(M)seventy sons who were his own offspring, for he had many wives. ^31 (N)And his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, whose name he called Abimelech. ³² Now Gideon the son of Joash died ^(O)at a good old age, and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father, ^(P)in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

³³ So it was, ^(Q)as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel again ^(R)played the harlot with the Baals, ^(S)and made Baal-Berith their god. ³⁴ Thus the children of Israel ^(T)did not remember the Lord their God, who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side; ^35 (U)nor did they show kindness to the house of Jerubbaal (Gideon) in accordance with the good he had done for Israel.

Abimelech’s Conspiracy

9 Then Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem, to ^(V)his mother’s brothers, and spoke with them and with all the family of the house of his mother’s father, saying, ² “Please speak in the hearing of all the men of Shechem: ‘Which is better for you, that all ^(W)seventy of the sons of Jerubbaal reign over you, or that one reign over you?’ Remember that I am your own flesh and ^(X)bone.”

³ And his mother’s brothers spoke all these words concerning him in the hearing of all the men of Shechem; and their heart was inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, “He is our ^(Y)brother.” ⁴ So they gave him seventy shekels of silver from the temple of ^(Z)Baal-Berith, with which Abimelech hired ^(AA)worthless and reckless men; and they followed him. ⁵ Then he went to his father’s house ^(AB)at Ophrah and ^(AC)killed his brothers, the seventy sons of Jerubbaal, on one stone. But Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left, because he hid himself. ⁶ And all the men of Shechem gathered together, all of Beth Millo, and they went and made Abimelech king beside the terebinth tree at the pillar that was in Shechem.

The Parable of the Trees

⁷ Now when they told Jotham, he went and stood on top of ^(AD)Mount Gerizim, and lifted his voice and cried out. And he said to them:

¹⁶ “Now therefore, if you have acted in truth and sincerity in making Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done to him ^(AL)as^[b] he deserves— ¹⁷ for my ^(AM)father fought for you, risked his life, and ^(AN)delivered you out of the hand of Midian; ^18 (AO)but you have risen up against my father’s house this day, and killed his seventy sons on one stone, and made Abimelech, the son of his ^(AP)female servant, king over the men of Shechem, because he is your brother— ¹⁹ if then you have acted in truth and sincerity with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then ^(AQ)rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you. ²⁰ But if not, ^(AR)let fire come from Abimelech and devour the men of Shechem and Beth Millo; and let fire come from the men of Shechem and from Beth Millo and devour Abimelech!” ²¹ And Jotham ran away and fled; and he went to ^(AS)Beer and dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his brother.

Jesus Dies on the Cross^(A)

^44 (B)Now it ^[a]was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. ⁴⁵ Then the sun was ^[b]darkened, and ^(C)the veil of the temple was torn in ^[c]two. ⁴⁶ And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ^(D)‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ ” ^(E)Having said this, He breathed His last.

^47 (F)So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, “Certainly this was a righteous Man!”

⁴⁸ And the whole crowd who came together to that sight, seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and returned. ^49 (G)But all His acquaintances, and the women who followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

Jesus Buried in Joseph’s Tomb^(H)

^50 (I)Now behold, there was a man named Joseph, a council member, a good and just man. ⁵¹ He had not consented to their decision and deed. He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, ^(J)who^[d] himself was also waiting for the kingdom of God. ⁵² This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ^53 (K)Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before. ⁵⁴ That day was ^(L)the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near.

⁵⁵ And the women ^(M)who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and ^(N)they observed the tomb and how His body was laid. ⁵⁶ Then they returned and ^(O)prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath ^(P)according to the commandment.

He Is Risen^(Q)

24 Now ^(R)on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, ^[e]and certain other women with them, came to the tomb ^(S)bringing the spices which they had prepared. ^2 (T)But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. ^3 (U)Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴ And it happened, as they were ^[f]greatly perplexed about this, that ^(V)behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. ⁵ Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? ⁶ He is not here, but is risen! ^(W)Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, ⁷ saying, ‘The Son of Man must be ^(X)delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’ ”

⁸ And ^(Y)they remembered His words. ^9 (Z)Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. ¹⁰ It was Mary Magdalene, ^(AA)Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles. ^11 (AB)And their words seemed to them like ^[g]idle tales, and they did not believe them. ^12 (AC)But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths ^[h]lying by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself at what had happened.

Praise to the Lord for His Holiness