²⁶ Now Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brothers and went over to Shechem; and the men of Shechem put their confidence in him. ²⁷ So they went out into the fields, and gathered grapes from their vineyards and trod them, and ^[a]made merry. And they went into ^(A)the house of their god, and ate and drank, and cursed Abimelech. ²⁸ Then Gaal the son of Ebed said, ^(B)“Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerubbaal, and is not Zebul his officer? Serve the men of ^(C)Hamor the father of Shechem; but why should we serve him? ^29 (D)If only this people were under my ^[b]authority! Then I would remove Abimelech.” So ^[c]he said to Abimelech, “Increase your army and come out!”

³⁰ When Zebul, the ruler of the city, heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was aroused. ³¹ And he sent messengers to Abimelech secretly, saying, “Take note! Gaal the son of Ebed and his brothers have come to Shechem; and here they are, fortifying the city against you. ³² Now therefore, get up by night, you and the people who are with you, and ^[d]lie in wait in the field. ³³ And it shall be, as soon as the sun is up in the morning, that you shall rise early and rush upon the city; and when he and the people who are with him come out against you, you may then do to them ^[e]as you find opportunity.”

³⁴ So Abimelech and all the people who were with him rose by night, and ^[f]lay in wait against Shechem in four companies. ³⁵ When Gaal the son of Ebed went out and stood in the entrance to the city gate, Abimelech and the people who were with him rose from lying in wait. ³⁶ And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, “Look, people are coming down from the tops of the mountains!”

But Zebul said to him, “You see the shadows of the mountains as if they were men.”

³⁷ So Gaal spoke again and said, “See, people are coming down from the center of the land, and another company is coming from the ^[g]Diviners’ Terebinth Tree.”

³⁸ Then Zebul said to him, “Where indeed is your mouth now, with which you ^(E)said, ‘Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him?’ Are not these the people whom you despised? Go out, if you will, and fight with them now.”

³⁹ So Gaal went out, leading the men of Shechem, and fought with Abimelech. ⁴⁰ And Abimelech chased him, and he fled from him; and many fell wounded, to the very entrance of the gate. ⁴¹ Then Abimelech dwelt at Arumah, and Zebul ^[h]drove out Gaal and his brothers, so that they would not dwell in Shechem.

⁴² And it came about on the next day that the people went out into the field, and they told Abimelech. ⁴³ So he took his people, divided them into three companies, and lay in wait in the field. And he looked, and there were the people, coming out of the city; and he rose against them and ^[i]attacked them. ⁴⁴ Then Abimelech and the company that was with him rushed forward and stood at the entrance of the gate of the city; and the other two companies rushed upon all who were in the fields and killed them. ⁴⁵ So Abimelech fought against the city all that day; ^(F)he took the city and killed the people who were in it; and he ^(G)demolished the city and sowed it with salt.

⁴⁶ Now when all the men of the tower of Shechem had heard that, they entered the ^[j]stronghold of the temple ^(H)of the god Berith. ⁴⁷ And it was told Abimelech that all the men of the tower of Shechem were gathered together. ⁴⁸ Then Abimelech went up to Mount ^(I)Zalmon, he and all the people who were with him. And Abimelech took an ax in his hand and cut down a bough from the trees, and took it and laid it on his shoulder; then he said to the people who were with him, “What you have seen me do, make haste and do as I have done.” ⁴⁹ So each of the people likewise cut down his own bough and followed Abimelech, put them against the ^[k]stronghold, and set the stronghold on fire above them, so that all the people of the tower of Shechem died, about a thousand men and women.

⁵⁰ Then Abimelech went to Thebez, and he ^[l]encamped against Thebez and took it. ⁵¹ But there was a strong tower in the city, and all the men and women—all the people of the city—fled there and shut themselves in; then they went up to the top of the tower. ⁵² So Abimelech came as far as the tower and fought against it; and he drew near the door of the tower to burn it with fire. ⁵³ But a certain woman ^(J)dropped an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head and crushed his skull. ⁵⁴ Then ^(K)he called quickly to the young man, his armorbearer, and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, lest men say of me, ‘A woman killed him.’ ” So his young man thrust him through, and he died. ⁵⁵ And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they departed, every man to his ^[m]place.

^56 (L)Thus God repaid the wickedness of Abimelech, which he had done to his father by killing his seventy brothers. ⁵⁷ And all the evil of the men of Shechem God returned on their own heads, and on them came ^(M)the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.

¹⁵ And for this reason ^(A)He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that ^(B)those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.

The Mediator’s Death Necessary

¹⁶ For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. ¹⁷ For ^(C)a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives. ^18 (D)Therefore not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood. ¹⁹ For when Moses had spoken every ^[a]precept to all the people according to the law, ^(E)he took the blood of calves and goats, ^(F)with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, ²⁰ saying, ^(G)“This is the ^(H)blood of the covenant which God has commanded you.” ²¹ Then likewise ^(I)he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry. ²² And according to the law almost all things are ^[b]purified with blood, and ^(J)without shedding of blood there is no ^[c]remission.

Greatness of Christ’s Sacrifice

²³ Therefore it was necessary that ^(K)the copies of the things in the heavens should be ^[d]purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. ²⁴ For ^(L)Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are ^[e]copies of ^(M)the true, but into heaven itself, now ^(N)to appear in the presence of God for us; ²⁵ not that He should offer Himself often, as ^(O)the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another— ²⁶ He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. ^27 (P)And as it is appointed for men to die once, ^(Q)but after this the judgment, ²⁸ so ^(R)Christ was ^(S)offered once to bear the sins ^(T)of many. To those who ^(U)eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.

¹⁷ Then the people of Ammon gathered together and encamped in Gilead. And the children of Israel assembled together and encamped in ^(A)Mizpah. ¹⁸ And the people, the leaders of Gilead, said to one another, “Who is the man who will begin the fight against the people of Ammon? He shall ^(B)be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”

Jephthah

11 Now ^(C)Jephthah the Gileadite was ^(D)a mighty man of valor, but he was the son of a harlot; and Gilead begot Jephthah. ² Gilead’s wife bore sons; and when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out, and said to him, “You shall have ^(E)no inheritance in our father’s house, for you are the son of another woman.” ³ Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and dwelt in the land of ^(F)Tob; and ^(G)worthless men banded together with Jephthah and went out raiding with him.

⁴ It came to pass after a time that the ^(H)people of Ammon made war against Israel. ⁵ And so it was, when the people of Ammon made war against Israel, that the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. ⁶ Then they said to Jephthah, “Come and be our commander, that we may fight against the people of Ammon.”

⁷ So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, ^(I)“Did you not hate me, and expel me from my father’s house? Why have you come to me now when you are in ^[a]distress?”

^8 (J)And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “That is why we have ^(K)turned^[b] again to you now, that you may go with us and fight against the people of Ammon, and be ^(L)our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”

⁹ So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “If you take me back home to fight against the people of Ammon, and the Lord delivers them to me, shall I be your head?”

¹⁰ And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, ^(M)“The Lord will be a witness between us, if we do not do according to your words.” ¹¹ Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him ^(N)head and commander over them; and Jephthah spoke all his words ^(O)before the Lord in Mizpah.

¹² Now Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the people of Ammon, saying, ^(P)“What do you have against me, that you have come to fight against me in my land?”

¹³ And the king of the people of Ammon answered the messengers of Jephthah, ^(Q)“Because Israel took away my land when they came up out of Egypt, from ^(R)the Arnon as far as ^(S)the Jabbok, and to the Jordan. Now therefore, restore those lands peaceably.”

¹⁴ So Jephthah again sent messengers to the king of the people of Ammon, ¹⁵ and said to him, “Thus says Jephthah: ^(T)‘Israel did not take away the land of Moab, nor the land of the people of Ammon; ¹⁶ for when Israel came up from Egypt, they walked through the wilderness as far as the Red Sea and ^(U)came to Kadesh. ¹⁷ Then ^(V)Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, “Please let me pass through your land.” ^(W)But the king of Edom would not heed. And in like manner they sent to the ^(X)king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel ^(Y)remained in Kadesh. ¹⁸ And they ^(Z)went along through the wilderness and ^(AA)bypassed the land of Edom and the land of Moab, came to the east side of the land of Moab, and encamped on the other side of the Arnon. But they did not enter the border of Moab, for the Arnon was the border of Moab. ¹⁹ Then ^(AB)Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, king of Heshbon; and Israel said to him, “Please ^(AC)let us pass through your land into our place.” ^20 (AD)But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory. So Sihon gathered all his people together, encamped in Jahaz, and fought against Israel. ²¹ And the Lord God of Israel ^(AE)delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they ^(AF)defeated^[c] them. Thus Israel gained possession of all the land of the Amorites, who inhabited that country. ²² They took possession of ^(AG)all the territory of the Amorites, from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan.

²³ ‘And now the Lord God of Israel has ^[d]dispossessed the Amorites from before His people Israel; should you then possess it? ²⁴ Will you not possess whatever ^(AH)Chemosh your god gives you to possess? So whatever ^(AI)the Lord our God takes possession of before us, we will possess. ²⁵ And now, are you any better than ^(AJ)Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever strive against Israel? Did he ever fight against them? ²⁶ While Israel dwelt in ^(AK)Heshbon and its villages, in ^(AL)Aroer and its villages, and in all the cities along the banks of the Arnon, for three hundred years, why did you not recover them within that time? ²⁷ Therefore I have not sinned against you, but you wronged me by fighting against me. May the Lord, ^(AM)the Judge, ^(AN)render judgment this day between the children of Israel and the people of Ammon.’ ” ²⁸ However, the king of the people of Ammon did not heed the words which Jephthah sent him.

Animal Sacrifices Insufficient

10 For the law, having a ^(A)shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, ^(B)can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. ² For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once ^[a]purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. ³ But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. ⁴ For ^(C)it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.

Christ’s Death Fulfills God’s Will^(D)

⁵ Therefore, when He came into the world, He said:

⁸ Previously saying, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the law), ⁹ then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, ^[b]O God.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second. ^10 (F)By that will we have been ^[c]sanctified ^(G)through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Christ’s Death Perfects the Sanctified

¹¹ And every priest stands ^(H)ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. ^12 (I)But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down ^(J)at the right hand of God, ¹³ from that time waiting ^(K)till His enemies are made His footstool. ¹⁴ For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being ^[d]sanctified.

¹⁵ But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before,

^16 (L)“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,” ¹⁷ then He adds, ^(M)“Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” ¹⁸ Now where there is ^[e]remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.