Israel's War with the Tribe of Benjamin

20 Then ^(A)all the people of Israel came out, ^(B)from Dan to Beersheba, including the land of Gilead, and the congregation assembled as one man to the Lord at ^(C)Mizpah. ² And the ^(D)chiefs of all the people, of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, 400,000 men on foot ^(E)that drew the sword. ³ (Now the people of Benjamin heard that the people of Israel had gone up to Mizpah.) And the people of Israel said, “Tell us, how did this evil happen?” ⁴ And the Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered and said, ^(F)“I came to Gibeah that belongs to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to spend the night. ^5 (G)And the leaders of Gibeah rose against me and surrounded the house against me by night. They meant to kill me, and they violated my concubine, and she is dead. ^6 (H)So I took hold of my concubine and cut her in pieces and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel, for they have committed abomination and ^(I)outrage in Israel. ⁷ Behold, you people of Israel, all of you, ^(J)give your advice and counsel here.”

⁸ And all the people arose as one man, saying, “None of us will go to his tent, and none of us will return to his house. ⁹ But now this is what we will do to Gibeah: we will go up against it by lot, ¹⁰ and we will take ten men of a hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred of a thousand, and a thousand of ten thousand, to bring provisions for the people, that when they come they may repay Gibeah of Benjamin, for all the outrage that they have committed in Israel.” ¹¹ So all the men of Israel gathered against the city, united as one man.

^12 (K)And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What evil is this that has taken place among you? ¹³ Now therefore give up the men, ^(L)the worthless fellows in Gibeah, that we may put them to death ^(M)and purge evil from Israel.” But the Benjaminites would not listen to the voice of their brothers, the people of Israel. ¹⁴ Then the people of Benjamin came together out of the cities to Gibeah to go out to battle against the people of Israel. ¹⁵ And the people of Benjamin mustered out of their cities on that day ^(N)26,000 men ^(O)who drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who mustered 700 chosen men. ¹⁶ Among all these were 700 chosen men who were ^(P)left-handed; every one could sling a stone at a hair and not miss. ¹⁷ And the men of Israel, apart from Benjamin, mustered ^(Q)400,000 men who drew the sword; all these were men of war.

¹⁸ The people of Israel arose and went up to ^(R)Bethel and enquired of God, ^(S)“Who shall go up first for us to fight against the people of Benjamin?” And the Lord said, ^(T)“Judah shall go up first.”

¹⁹ Then the people of Israel rose in the morning and encamped against Gibeah. ²⁰ And the men of Israel went out to fight against Benjamin, and the men of Israel drew up the battle line against them at Gibeah. ^21 (U)The people of Benjamin came out of Gibeah and destroyed on that day 22,000 men of the Israelites. ²² But the people, the men of Israel, took courage, and again formed the battle line in the same place where they had formed it on the first day. ^23 (V)And the people of Israel went up and wept before the Lord until the evening. And they enquired of the Lord, “Shall we again draw near to fight against our brothers, the people of Benjamin?” And the Lord said, “Go up against them.”

²⁴ So the people of Israel came near against the people of Benjamin the second day. ²⁵ And Benjamin ^(W)went against them out of Gibeah on the second day, and destroyed 18,000 men of the people of Israel. All these were men who ^(X)drew the sword. ²⁶ Then all the people of Israel, the whole army, went up and came to ^(Y)Bethel and wept. They sat there before the Lord and fasted that day until evening, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. ²⁷ And the people of Israel enquired of the Lord ^(Z)(for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days, ²⁸ and ^(AA)Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, ^(AB)ministered before it in those days), saying, “Shall we go out once more to battle against our brothers, the people of Benjamin, or shall we cease?” And the Lord said, “Go up, for tomorrow I will give them into your hand.”

^29 (AC)So Israel set men in ambush around Gibeah. ³⁰ And the people of Israel went up against the people of Benjamin on the third day and set themselves in array against Gibeah, as at other times. ³¹ And the people of Benjamin went out against the people and were drawn away from the city. And as at other times they began to strike and kill some of the people in the highways, ^(AD)one of which goes up to ^(AE)Bethel and the other to Gibeah, and in the open country, about thirty men of Israel. ³² And the people of Benjamin said, ^(AF)“They are routed before us, as at the first.” But the people of Israel said, “Let us flee and draw them away from the city to the highways.” ³³ And all the men of Israel rose up out of their place and set themselves in array at Baal-tamar, and the men of Israel who were in ambush rushed out of their place from Maareh-geba.^{[a] 34} And there came against Gibeah 10,000 chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was hard, ^(AG)but the Benjaminites did not know that disaster was close upon them. ³⁵ And the Lord defeated Benjamin before Israel, and the people of Israel destroyed 25,100 men of Benjamin that day. All these were men who ^(AH)drew the sword. ³⁶ So the people of Benjamin saw that they were defeated.

The men of Israel gave ground to Benjamin, because they trusted the men in ambush whom they had set against Gibeah. ^37 (AI)Then the men in ambush hurried and rushed against Gibeah; the men in ambush moved out and struck all the city with the edge of the sword. ³⁸ Now the appointed signal between the men of Israel and the men in the main ambush was that when they made a great cloud of smoke rise up out of the city ³⁹ the men of Israel should turn in battle. Now Benjamin had begun to strike and kill about thirty men of Israel. They said, ^(AJ)“Surely they are defeated before us, as in the first battle.” ⁴⁰ But when the signal began to rise out of the city in a column of smoke, the Benjaminites looked behind them, and behold, ^(AK)the whole of the city went up in smoke to heaven. ⁴¹ Then the men of Israel turned, and the men of Benjamin were dismayed, ^(AL)for they saw that disaster was close upon them. ⁴² Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel in ^(AM)the direction of the wilderness, but the battle overtook them. And those who came out of the cities were destroying them in their midst. ⁴³ Surrounding the Benjaminites, they pursued them and trod them down from Nohah^[b] as far as opposite Gibeah on the east. ⁴⁴ Eighteen thousand men of Benjamin fell, all of them men of valour. ⁴⁵ And they turned ^(AN)and fled towards the wilderness to the rock of ^(AO)Rimmon. Five thousand men of them were cut down in the highways. And they were pursued hard to Gidom, and 2,000 men of them were struck down. ⁴⁶ So all who fell that day of Benjamin were 25,000 men who drew the sword, all of them men of valour. ⁴⁷ But 600 men turned and ^(AP)fled towards the wilderness to the rock of ^(AQ)Rimmon and remained at the rock of Rimmon four months. ⁴⁸ And the men of Israel turned back against the people of Benjamin and struck them with the edge of the sword, the city, men and beasts and all that they found. And all the towns that they found they set on fire.

Paul Before Felix at Caesarea

24 And ^(A)after five days the high priest ^(B)Ananias came down with some elders and a spokesman, one Tertullus. They laid before ^(C)the governor their case against Paul. ² And when he had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying:

“Since through you we enjoy much peace, and since by your foresight, ^(D)most excellent Felix, reforms are being made for this nation, ³ in every way and everywhere we accept this with all gratitude. ⁴ But, to detain^[a] you no further, I beg you in your kindness to hear us briefly. ⁵ For we have found this man a plague, ^(E)one who stirs up riots among all the Jews throughout the world and is a ringleader of ^(F)the sect of the Nazarenes. ^6 (G)He even tried to profane the temple, but we seized him.^{[b] 8} By examining him yourself you will be able to find out from him about everything of which we accuse him.”

⁹ The Jews also joined in the charge, affirming that all these things were so.

¹⁰ And when the governor had nodded to him to speak, Paul replied:

“Knowing that for many years you have been a judge over this nation, I cheerfully make my defence. ¹¹ You can verify that ^(H)it is not more than twelve days since I ^(I)went up ^(J)to worship in Jerusalem, ¹² and ^(K)they did not find me disputing with anyone or stirring up a crowd, either in the temple or in the synagogues or in the city. ^13 (L)Neither can they prove to you what they now bring up against me. ¹⁴ But this I confess to you, that according to ^(M)the Way, which they call ^(N)a sect, ^(O)I worship ^(P)the God of our fathers, believing everything ^(Q)laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets, ^15 (R)having ^(S)a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be ^(T)a resurrection ^(U)of both the just and the unjust. ¹⁶ So I always ^(V)take pains to have a ^(W)clear conscience towards both God and man. ¹⁷ Now ^(X)after several years ^(Y)I came to bring alms to ^(Z)my nation and to present ^(AA)offerings. ¹⁸ While I was doing this, they found me ^(AB)purified in the temple, without any crowd or tumult. But ^(AC)some Jews from Asia— ^19 (AD)they ought to be here before you and to make an accusation, should they have anything against me. ²⁰ Or else let these men themselves say what wrongdoing they found when I stood before the council, ²¹ other than this one thing ^(AE)that I cried out while standing among them: ‘It is with respect to the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you this day.’”

Paul Kept in Custody

²² But Felix, having a rather accurate knowledge of ^(AF)the Way, put them off, saying, “When Lysias the tribune comes down, I will decide your case.” ²³ Then he gave orders to the centurion that he ^(AG)should be kept in custody but have some liberty, and that ^(AH)none of his friends should be prevented from attending to his needs.

²⁴ After some days Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, and he sent for Paul and heard him speak about ^(AI)faith ^(AJ)in Christ Jesus. ²⁵ And as he reasoned ^(AK)about righteousness and self-control and the coming judgement, Felix was alarmed and said, “Go away for the present. ^(AL)When I get an opportunity I will summon you.” ²⁶ At the same time he hoped ^(AM)that money would be given him by Paul. So he sent for him often and conversed with him. ²⁷ When two years had elapsed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius ^(AN)Festus. And ^(AO)desiring to do the Jews a favour, ^(AP)Felix left Paul in prison.

The Lord Promises Peace

33 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still ^(A)shut up in the court of the guard: ² “Thus says ^(B)the Lord who made the earth,^[a] the Lord who formed it to establish it—^(C)the Lord is his name: ^3 (D)Call to me and I will answer you, ^(E)and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. ⁴ For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city and the houses of the kings of Judah that were torn down to make a defence against ^(F)the siege mounds and against the sword: ⁵ They are coming in ^(G)to fight against the Chaldeans and to fill them^[b] with the dead bodies of men whom I shall strike down ^(H)in my anger and my wrath, ^(I)for I have hidden my face from this city because of all their evil. ^6 (J)Behold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them and reveal to them abundance of prosperity and security. ^7 (K)I will restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel, ^(L)and rebuild them as they were ^(M)at first. ^8 (N)I will cleanse them from all the guilt of their sin against me, ^(O)and I will forgive all the guilt of their sin and rebellion against me. ^9 (P)And this city^[c] shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and a glory before all the nations of the earth who shall hear of all the good that I do for them. They shall ^(Q)fear and tremble because of all the good and all the prosperity I provide for it.

¹⁰ “Thus says the Lord: In this place ^(R)of which you say, ‘It is a waste without man or beast’, in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man or inhabitant or beast, there shall be heard again ^11 (S)the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voices of those who sing, as they bring ^(T)thank offerings to the house of the Lord:

^(V)For I will restore the fortunes of the land as at first, says the Lord.

¹² “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(W)In this place that is waste, without man or beast, and in all of its cities, there shall again be ^(X)habitations of shepherds ^(Y)resting their flocks. ^13 (Z)In the cities of the hill country, ^(AA)in the cities of the Shephelah, ^(AB)and in the cities of the Negeb, in the land of Benjamin, ^(AC)the places about Jerusalem, ^(AD)and in the cities of Judah, ^(AE)flocks shall again pass under the hands ^(AF)of the one who counts them, says the Lord.

The Lord's Eternal Covenant with David

^14 (AG)“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when ^(AH)I will fulfil the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. ¹⁵ In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous ^(AI)Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. ¹⁶ In those days Judah will be saved, ^(AJ)and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ^(AK)‘The Lord is our righteousness.’

¹⁷ “For thus says the Lord: ^(AL)David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel, ^18 (AM)and the Levitical priests shall never lack a man in my presence to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings, and to make sacrifices for ever.”

¹⁹ The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ^20 (AN)“Thus says the Lord: ^(AO)If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, ^(AP)so that day and night will not come at their appointed time, ^21 (AQ)then also my covenant with David my servant may be broken, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, and my covenant with the Levitical priests my ministers. ²² As ^(AR)the host of heaven cannot be numbered and ^(AS)the sands of the sea cannot be measured, so I will multiply the offspring of David my servant, and the Levitical priests who minister to me.”

²³ The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ²⁴ “Have you not observed that these people are saying, ‘The Lord has rejected the two clans that he chose’? Thus they have despised my people so that they are no longer a nation in their sight. ²⁵ Thus says the Lord: ^(AT)If I have not established my covenant with day and night and the fixed order of heaven and earth, ²⁶ then I will reject the offspring of Jacob and David my servant and will not choose one of his offspring to rule over the offspring of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. ^(AU)For I will restore their fortunes and will have mercy on them.”