36 Now Saul said, “Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and plunder them until the morning light; and let us not leave a man of them.”

And they said, “Do whatever seems good to you.”

Then the priest said, “Let us draw near to God here.”

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36 Saul said, “Let us go down and pursue the Philistines by night and plunder them till dawn, and let us not leave one of them alive.”

“Do whatever seems best to you,” they replied.

But the priest said, “Let us inquire(A) of God here.”

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Israel Refined for God’s Glory

48 “Hear this, O house of Jacob,
Who are called by the name of Israel,
And have come forth from the wellsprings of Judah;
Who swear by the name of the Lord,
And make mention of the God of Israel,
But (A)not in truth or in righteousness;
For they call themselves (B)after the holy city,
And (C)lean on the God of Israel;
The Lord of hosts is His name:

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Stubborn Israel

48 “Listen to this, you descendants of Jacob,
    you who are called by the name of Israel(A)
    and come from the line of Judah,(B)
you who take oaths(C) in the name of the Lord(D)
    and invoke(E) the God of Israel—
    but not in truth(F) or righteousness—
you who call yourselves citizens of the holy city(G)
    and claim to rely(H) on the God of Israel—
    the Lord Almighty is his name:(I)

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(A)Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. (B)Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and (C)purify your hearts, you double-minded.

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Come near to God and he will come near to you.(A) Wash your hands,(B) you sinners, and purify your hearts,(C) you double-minded.(D)

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“For(A) the lips of a priest should keep knowledge,
And people should seek the law from his mouth;
(B)For he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.

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“For the lips of a priest(A) ought to preserve knowledge, because he is the messenger(B) of the Lord Almighty and people seek instruction from his mouth.(C)

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Arise, and let us go by night,
And let us destroy her palaces.”

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So arise, let us attack at night
    and destroy her fortresses!”

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Yet they seek Me daily,
And delight to know My ways,
As a nation that did righteousness,
And did not forsake the ordinance of their God.
They ask of Me the ordinances of justice;
They take delight in approaching God.

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For day after day they seek(A) me out;
    they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
    and has not forsaken(B) the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
    and seem eager for God to come near(C) them.

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28 But it is good for me to (A)draw near to God;
I have put my trust in the Lord God,
That I may (B)declare all Your works.

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28 But as for me, it is good to be near God.(A)
    I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge;(B)
    I will tell of all your deeds.(C)

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18 And Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring the [a]ark of God here” (for at that time the ark of God was with the children of Israel). 19 Now it happened, while Saul (A)talked to the priest, that the noise which was in the camp of the Philistines continued to increase; so Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.”

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 14:18 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX ephod

18 Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring(A) the ark(B) of God.” (At that time it was with the Israelites.)[a] 19 While Saul was talking to the priest, the tumult in the Philistine camp increased more and more. So Saul said to the priest,(C) “Withdraw your hand.”

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 14:18 Hebrew; Septuagint “Bring the ephod.” (At that time he wore the ephod before the Israelites.)

(A)Ahijah the son of Ahitub, (B)Ichabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the Lord’s priest in Shiloh, was (C)wearing an ephod. But the people did not know that Jonathan had gone.

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among whom was Ahijah, who was wearing an ephod. He was a son of Ichabod’s(A) brother Ahitub(B) son of Phinehas, the son of Eli,(C) the Lord’s priest in Shiloh.(D) No one was aware that Jonathan had left.

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11 So it was, on the next day, that (A)Saul put the people (B)in three companies; and they came into the midst of the camp in the morning watch, and killed Ammonites until the heat of the day. And it happened that those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.

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11 The next day Saul separated his men into three divisions;(A) during the last watch of the night they broke into the camp of the Ammonites(B) and slaughtered them until the heat of the day. Those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.

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14 And all the (A)spoil of these cities and the livestock, the children of Israel took as booty for themselves; but they struck every man with the edge of the sword until they had destroyed them, and they left none breathing.

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14 The Israelites carried off for themselves all the plunder and livestock of these cities, but all the people they put to the sword until they completely destroyed them, not sparing anyone that breathed.(A)

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19 And do not stay there yourselves, but pursue your enemies, and attack their rear guard. Do not allow them to enter their cities, for the Lord your God has delivered them into your hand.”

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19 But don’t stop; pursue your enemies! Attack them from the rear and don’t let them reach their cities, for the Lord your God has given them into your hand.”

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Joshua therefore came upon them suddenly, having marched all night from Gilgal. 10 So the Lord (A)routed them before Israel, killed them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, chased them along the road that goes (B)to Beth Horon, and struck them down as far as (C)Azekah and Makkedah. 11 And it happened, as they fled before Israel and were on the descent of Beth Horon, (D)that the Lord cast down large hailstones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died. There were more who died from the hailstones than the children of Israel killed with the sword.

12 Then Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel:

(E)“Sun, stand still over Gibeon;
And Moon, in the Valley of (F)Aijalon.”
13 So the sun stood still,
And the moon stopped,
Till the people had revenge
Upon their enemies.

(G)Is this not written in the Book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. 14 And there has been (H)no day like that, before it or after it, that the Lord heeded the voice of a man; for (I)the Lord fought for Israel.

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After an all-night march from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise. 10 The Lord threw them into confusion(A) before Israel,(B) so Joshua and the Israelites defeated them completely at Gibeon.(C) Israel pursued them along the road going up to Beth Horon(D) and cut them down all the way to Azekah(E) and Makkedah.(F) 11 As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the Lord hurled large hailstones(G) down on them,(H) and more of them died from the hail than were killed by the swords of the Israelites.

12 On the day the Lord gave the Amorites(I) over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel:

“Sun, stand still over Gibeon,
    and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.(J)
13 So the sun stood still,(K)
    and the moon stopped,
    till the nation avenged itself on[a] its enemies,

as it is written in the Book of Jashar.(L)

The sun stopped(M) in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. 14 There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a human being. Surely the Lord was fighting(N) for Israel!

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Footnotes

  1. Joshua 10:13 Or nation triumphed over