Add parallel Print Page Options

27 There is Benjamin, the least of them, in the lead,
    the princes of Judah in a body,
    the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.(A)

Read full chapter

27 There is the little tribe(A) of Benjamin,(B) leading them,
    there the great throng of Judah’s princes,
    and there the princes of Zebulun and of Naphtali.(C)

Read full chapter

21 Saul answered, “I am only a Benjaminite, from the least of the tribes of Israel, and my family is the humblest of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin. Why then have you spoken to me in this way?”(A)

Read full chapter

21 Saul answered, “But am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest tribe(A) of Israel, and is not my clan the least(B) of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin?(C) Why do you say such a thing to me?”

Read full chapter

19 say to them, “Thus says the Lord God: I am about to take the stick of Joseph (which is in the hand of Ephraim) and the tribes of Israel associated with it, and I will put the stick of Judah upon it[a] and make them one stick, in order that they may be one in my hand.”(A) 20 When the sticks on which you write are in your hand before their eyes, 21 then say to them, “Thus says the Lord God: I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone and will gather them from every quarter and bring them to their own land.(B) 22 I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and one king shall be king over them all. Never again shall they be two nations, and never again shall they be divided into two kingdoms.(C) 23 They shall never again defile themselves with their idols and their detestable things or with any of their transgressions. I will save them from all the apostasies into which they have fallen[b] and will cleanse them. Then they shall be my people, and I will be their God.(D)

24 “My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall follow my ordinances and be careful to observe my statutes.(E) 25 They shall live in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, in which your ancestors lived; they and their children and their children’s children shall live there forever, and my servant David shall be their prince forever.(F) 26 I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them, and I will bless[c] them and multiply them and will set my sanctuary among them forevermore.(G) 27 My dwelling place shall be over them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.(H)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 37.19 Heb I will put them upon it
  2. 37.23 Cn: MT from all the settlements in which they have sinned
  3. 37.26 Tg: Heb give

19 say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am going to take the stick of Joseph—which is in Ephraim’s hand—and of the Israelite tribes associated with him, and join it to Judah’s stick. I will make them into a single stick of wood, and they will become one in my hand.’(A) 20 Hold before their eyes the sticks you have written on 21 and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land.(B) 22 I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel.(C) There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms.(D) 23 They will no longer defile(E) themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offenses, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding,[a](F) and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.(G)

24 “‘My servant David(H) will be king(I) over them, and they will all have one shepherd.(J) They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees.(K) 25 They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your ancestors lived.(L) They and their children and their children’s children will live there forever,(M) and David my servant will be their prince forever.(N) 26 I will make a covenant of peace(O) with them; it will be an everlasting covenant.(P) I will establish them and increase their numbers,(Q) and I will put my sanctuary among them(R) forever.(S) 27 My dwelling place(T) will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people.(U)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 37:23 Many Hebrew manuscripts (see also Septuagint); most Hebrew manuscripts all their dwelling places where they sinned

13 The jealousy of Ephraim shall depart;
    the hostility of Judah shall be cut off;
Ephraim shall not be jealous of Judah,
    and Judah shall not be hostile toward Ephraim.(A)

Read full chapter

13 Ephraim’s jealousy will vanish,
    and Judah’s enemies[a] will be destroyed;
Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah,
    nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim.(A)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 11:13 Or hostility

Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine;
    Ephraim is my helmet;
    Judah is my scepter.(A)

Read full chapter

Gilead(A) is mine, and Manasseh is mine;
    Ephraim(B) is my helmet,
    Judah(C) is my scepter.(D)

Read full chapter

The princes of the peoples gather
    as the people of the God of Abraham.
For the shields of the earth belong to God;
    he is highly exalted.(A)

Read full chapter

The nobles of the nations assemble
    as the people of the God of Abraham,
for the kings[a] of the earth belong to God;(A)
    he is greatly exalted.(B)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 47:9 Or shields

12 Ninth, for the ninth month, was Abiezer of Anathoth, a Benjaminite; in his division were twenty-four thousand.(A)

Read full chapter

12 The ninth, for the ninth month, was Abiezer(A) the Anathothite, a Benjamite. There were 24,000 men in his division.

Read full chapter

David assembled all Israel in Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the Lord to its place, which he had prepared for it.(A)

Read full chapter

David assembled all Israel(A) in Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the Lord to the place he had prepared for it.

Read full chapter

29 Of the Benjaminites, the kindred of Saul, three thousand, of whom the majority had continued to keep their allegiance to the house of Saul.(A)

Read full chapter

29 from Benjamin,(A) Saul’s tribe—3,000, most(B) of whom had remained loyal to Saul’s house until then;

Read full chapter

16 Some Benjaminites and Judahites came to the stronghold to David.

Read full chapter

16 Other Benjamites(A) and some men from Judah also came to David in his stronghold.

Read full chapter

But the Israelites had compassion for Benjamin their kin and said, “One tribe is cut off from Israel this day. What shall we do for wives for those who are left, since we have sworn by the Lord that we will not give them any of our daughters as wives?”(A)

Then they said, “Is there anyone from the tribes of Israel who did not come up to the Lord to Mizpah?” It turned out that no one from Jabesh-gilead had come to the camp, to the assembly. For when the roll was called among the people, not one of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead was there. 10 So the congregation sent twelve thousand soldiers there and commanded them, “Go, put the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead to the sword, including the women and the little ones. 11 This is what you shall do; every male and every woman who has lain with a male you shall devote to destruction.”(B) 12 And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young virgins who had never slept with a man and brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.

13 Then the whole congregation sent word to the Benjaminites who were at the rock of Rimmon and proclaimed peace to them.(C) 14 Benjamin returned at that time, and they gave them the women whom they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh-gilead, but they did not suffice for them.

15 The people had compassion on Benjamin because the Lord had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.(D) 16 So the elders of the congregation said, “What shall we do for wives for those who are left, since there are no women left in Benjamin?” 17 And they said, “There must be heirs for the survivors of Benjamin, in order that a tribe may not be blotted out from Israel. 18 Yet we cannot give any of our daughters to them as wives.” For the Israelites had sworn, “Cursed be anyone who gives a wife to Benjamin.”(E) 19 So they said, “Look, the yearly festival of the Lord is taking place at Shiloh, which is north of Bethel, on the east of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem and south of Lebonah.”(F) 20 And they instructed the Benjaminites, saying, “Go and lie in wait in the vineyards 21 and watch; when the young women of Shiloh come out to dance in the dances, then come out of the vineyards and each of you carry off a wife for himself from the young women of Shiloh and go to the land of Benjamin.(G) 22 Then if their fathers or their brothers come to complain to us, we will say to them, ‘Be generous and allow us to have them, because we did not capture in battle a wife for each man. But neither did you incur guilt by giving your daughters to them.’ ”(H) 23 The Benjaminites did so; they took wives for each of them from the dancers whom they abducted. Then they went and returned to their territory and rebuilt the towns and lived in them.(I) 24 So the Israelites departed from there at that time by tribes and families, and they went out from there to their own territories.

25 In those days there was no king in Israel; all the people did what was right in their own eyes.(J)

Read full chapter

Now the Israelites grieved for the tribe of Benjamin, their fellow Israelites. “Today one tribe is cut off from Israel,” they said. “How can we provide wives for those who are left, since we have taken an oath(A) by the Lord not to give them any of our daughters in marriage?” Then they asked, “Which one of the tribes of Israel failed to assemble before the Lord at Mizpah?” They discovered that no one from Jabesh Gilead(B) had come to the camp for the assembly. For when they counted the people, they found that none of the people of Jabesh Gilead were there.

10 So the assembly sent twelve thousand fighting men with instructions to go to Jabesh Gilead and put to the sword those living there, including the women and children. 11 “This is what you are to do,” they said. “Kill every male(C) and every woman who is not a virgin.(D) 12 They found among the people living in Jabesh Gilead four hundred young women who had never slept with a man, and they took them to the camp at Shiloh(E) in Canaan.

13 Then the whole assembly sent an offer of peace(F) to the Benjamites at the rock of Rimmon.(G) 14 So the Benjamites returned at that time and were given the women of Jabesh Gilead who had been spared. But there were not enough for all of them.

15 The people grieved for Benjamin,(H) because the Lord had made a gap in the tribes of Israel. 16 And the elders of the assembly said, “With the women of Benjamin destroyed, how shall we provide wives for the men who are left? 17 The Benjamite survivors must have heirs,” they said, “so that a tribe of Israel will not be wiped out.(I) 18 We can’t give them our daughters as wives, since we Israelites have taken this oath:(J) ‘Cursed be anyone who gives(K) a wife to a Benjamite.’ 19 But look, there is the annual festival of the Lord in Shiloh,(L) which lies north of Bethel(M), east of the road that goes from Bethel to Shechem,(N) and south of Lebonah.”

20 So they instructed the Benjamites, saying, “Go and hide in the vineyards 21 and watch. When the young women of Shiloh come out to join in the dancing,(O) rush from the vineyards and each of you seize one of them to be your wife. Then return to the land of Benjamin. 22 When their fathers or brothers complain to us, we will say to them, ‘Do us the favor of helping them, because we did not get wives for them during the war. You will not be guilty of breaking your oath because you did not give(P) your daughters to them.’”

23 So that is what the Benjamites did. While the young women were dancing,(Q) each man caught one and carried her off to be his wife. Then they returned to their inheritance(R) and rebuilt the towns and settled in them.(S)

24 At that time the Israelites left that place and went home to their tribes and clans, each to his own inheritance.

25 In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.(T)

Read full chapter

35 The Lord defeated Benjamin before Israel, and the Israelites struck down twenty-five thousand one hundred men of Benjamin that day, all of them armed.

Read full chapter

35 The Lord defeated Benjamin(A) before Israel, and on that day the Israelites struck down 25,100 Benjamites, all armed with swords.

Read full chapter

18 Zebulun is a people that scorned death;
    Naphtali, too, on the heights of the field.(A)

Read full chapter

18 The people of Zebulun(A) risked their very lives;
    so did Naphtali(B) on the terraced fields.(C)

Read full chapter