Bible in 90 Days

¹³ So they said to ^[a]him, “No, but we will bind you fast and give you into their hands; yet surely we will not put you to death.” Then they bound him with two new ropes and brought him up from the rock.

¹⁴ When he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they met him. And ^(A)the Spirit of Yahweh ^[b]came upon him mightily so that the ropes that were on his arms were as flax that is burned with fire, and his bonds ^[c]dropped from his hands. ¹⁵ And he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, so he sent forth his hand and took it and struck down ^(B)1,000 men with it. ¹⁶ Then Samson said,

¹⁷ Now it happened that when he had finished speaking, he threw the jawbone from his hand; and he named that place ^[e]Ramath-lehi. ¹⁸ Then he became very thirsty, and he ^(C)called to Yahweh and said, “You have given this great salvation by the hand of Your slave, but now ^[f]shall I die of thirst ^[g]and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?” ¹⁹ So God split the hollow place that is in Lehi and water came out of it. Then he drank, ^(D)and his spirit returned, and he revived. Therefore he named it ^[h]En-hakkore, which is in Lehi to this day. ²⁰ And ^(E)he judged Israel twenty years in ^(F)the days of the Philistines.

Samson and Delilah

16 Then Samson went to ^(G)Gaza and saw a harlot there and went in to her. ² And it was told to the Gazites, saying, “Samson has come here,” so they ^(H)surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the gate of the city. And they kept silent all night, saying, “Let us wait until the morning light; then we will kill him.” ³ But Samson lay until midnight, and at midnight he arose and seized the doors of the city gate and the two posts and pulled them up along with the bars; then he put them on his shoulders and brought them up to the top of the mountain which is opposite Hebron.

⁴ Now it happened afterwards that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, and her name was Delilah. ⁵ And the ^(I)lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, “^(J)Entice him, and see where his great strength lies and ^[i]how we may overpower him that we may bind him to afflict him. Then we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver.” ⁶ So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength is and ^[j]how you may be bound to afflict you.” ⁷ Samson said to her, “If they bind me with seven fresh cords that have not been dried, then I will become weak and be like any other man.” ⁸ Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh cords that had not been dried, and she bound him with them. ⁹ Now she had men lying in wait, sitting in an inner room. And she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he snapped the cords as a string of tinder snaps when it ^[k]touches fire. So his strength was still not known.

¹⁰ Then Delilah said to Samson, “Behold, you have deceived me and told me lies; now please tell me ^[l]how you may be bound.” ¹¹ And he said to her, “If they bind me tightly with new ropes ^[m]which have not been used for work, then I will become weak and be like any other man.” ¹² So Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” Now the men lying in wait were sitting in the inner room. But he snapped ^[n]the ropes from his arms like a thread.

¹³ Then Delilah said to Samson, “Up to now you have deceived me and told me lies; tell me ^[o]how you may be bound.” And he said to her, “If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web ^[p][and fasten it with a pin, then I will become weak and be like any other man.” ¹⁴ So while he slept, Delilah took the seven locks of his ^[q]hair and wove them into the web]. And she fastened it with the pin and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he awoke from his sleep and pulled out the pin of the loom and the web.

¹⁵ Then she said to him, “^(K)How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have deceived me these three times and have not told me where your great strength is.” ¹⁶ Now it happened when she pressed him daily with her words and urged him, that his soul was ^[r]annoyed to death. ¹⁷ So he told her all that was in his heart and said to her, “A razor has never come on my head, for I have been a ^(L)Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaved, then my strength will leave me and I will become weak and be like every other man.”

¹⁸ And Delilah saw that he had told her all that was in his heart, so she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up once more, for he has told me all that is in his heart.” Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought up the silver in their hands. ¹⁹ Then she made him sleep on her knees and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to afflict him, and his strength left him. ²⁰ And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that ^(M)Yahweh had left him. ²¹ Then the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze chains, and he was a grinder in the prison. ²² However, the hair of his head began to grow again after it was shaved off.

²³ Now the lords of the Philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice to ^(N)Dagon their god and to be glad; and they said,

²⁴ Then the people saw him and ^(O)praised their god, for they said,

²⁵ So it happened when their hearts were merry, that they said, “Call for Samson, that he may amuse us.” So they called for Samson from the prison, and he ^[s]entertained them. And they made him stand between the pillars. ²⁶ Then Samson said to the boy who was holding his hand, “Let me feel the pillars on which the house is established, that I may lean against them.” ²⁷ Now the house was full of men and women, and all the lords of the Philistines were there. And about 3,000 men and women were on the roof looking on while Samson was amusing them.

Samson’s Revenge

^28 (P)Then Samson called to Yahweh and said, “O Lord Yahweh, please remember me and please strengthen me just this time, O God, that I may at once ^(Q)be avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.” ²⁹ Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house was established and supported himself against them, the one with his right hand and the other with his left. ³⁰ And Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” And he bent with his strength so that the house fell on the lords and all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he put to death by his death were more than those whom he put to death in his life. ³¹ Then his brothers and all his father’s household came down, carried him, brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol, in the tomb of Manoah his father. ^(R)Thus he had judged Israel twenty years.

Micah’s Idolatry

17 Now there was a man of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Micah. ² He said to his mother, “The 1,100 pieces of silver which were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse and spoke of it ^[t]in my hearing, behold, the silver is with me; it was I who took it.” And his mother said, “Blessed be my son by Yahweh.” ³ And he then returned the 1,100 pieces of silver to his mother, and his mother said, “I wholly set apart the silver from my hand as holy to Yahweh for my son ^(S)to make a graven image and a molten image; so now I will return ^[u]them to you.” ⁴ So he returned the silver to his mother, and his mother took 200 pieces of silver and gave them to the silversmith. And he made ^[v]them into a graven image and a molten image, and ^[w]they were in the house of Micah. ⁵ And the man Micah had a ^[x](T)shrine, and he made an ^(U)ephod and ^[y](V)household idols and ^[z]ordained one of his sons, ^(W)and he became his priest. ⁶ In those days ^(X)there was no king in Israel; ^(Y)every man did what was right in his own eyes.

⁷ And there was a young man from ^(Z)Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite; and he was sojourning there. ⁸ Then the man went from the city, from Bethlehem in Judah, to sojourn wherever he might find a place; and as he made his journey, he came to the ^(AA)hill country of Ephraim to the house of Micah. ⁹ And Micah said to him, “Where do you come from?” And he said to him, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to sojourn wherever I may find a place.” ¹⁰ Micah then said to him, “Remain with me and be ^(AB)a father and a priest to me, and I will give you ten pieces of silver a year, a suit of clothes, and your sustenance.” So the Levite went in. ¹¹ And the Levite was willing to remain with the man, and the young man became to him like one of his sons. ¹² So Micah ^[aa]ordained the Levite, and the young man ^(AC)became his priest and ^[ab]lived in the house of Micah. ¹³ Then Micah said, “Now I know that Yahweh will prosper me because I have a Levite as priest.”

Danites Seek an Inheritance

18 ^(AD)In those days there was no king of Israel; and ^(AE)in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking an inheritance for themselves to live in, for until that day the land among the tribes of Israel had not fallen to them as an inheritance. ² So the sons of Dan sent from their family five men out of their whole number, ^[ac]men of valor from ^(AF)Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to search it; and they said to them, “Go, search the land.” And they came to ^(AG)the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there. ³ They were near the house of Micah, and they recognized the voice of the young man, the Levite. So they turned aside there and said to him, “Who brought you here? And what are you doing in this place? And what do you have here?” ⁴ And he said to them, “Thus and so has Micah done to me, and he has hired me, and ^(AH)I have become his priest.” ⁵ And they said to him, “Ask of God, please, that we may know whether our way on which we are going will be successful.” ⁶ So the priest said to them, “Go in peace; your way in which you are going is before Yahweh.”

⁷ Then the five men went forth and came to ^(AI)Laish and saw the people who were in it living in security, after the ^[ad]manner of the Sidonians, quiet and secure; for there was no ^[ae]oppressive conqueror dishonoring them for anything in the land, and they were far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone. ⁸ So they came back to their brothers at Zorah and Eshtaol, and their brothers said to them, “What do you report?” ⁹ And they said, “Arise, and let us go up against them; for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good. And will you be silent? Do not delay to go, to enter, to possess the land. ¹⁰ When you enter, you will come to a secure people and a spacious land; for God has given it into your hand, ^(AJ)a place where there is no lack of anything that is on the earth.”

¹¹ Then from the family of the Danites, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, 600 men armed with weapons of war set out. ¹² And they went up and camped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. Therefore they called that place ^[af](AK)Mahaneh-dan to this day; behold, it is ^[ag]west of Kiriath-jearim. ¹³ Then they passed from there to the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah.

Danites Take Micah’s Idols

¹⁴ And the five men who went to spy out the country of Laish answered and said to their relatives, “Do you know that there are in these houses ^(AL)an ephod and ^[ah]household idols and a graven image and a molten image? So now, know what you should do.” ¹⁵ Then they turned aside there and came to the house of the young man, the Levite, to the house of Micah, and asked him of his welfare. ¹⁶ Now the 600 men armed with their weapons of war, who were of the sons of Dan, were standing by the entrance of the gate. ¹⁷ Then the five men who went to spy out the land went up and entered there, and took ^(AM)the graven image and the ephod and household idols and the molten image. And the priest was standing by the entrance of the gate with the 600 men armed with weapons of war. ¹⁸ Now these had entered into Micah’s house and took the graven image, the ephod and household idols and the molten image. Then the priest said to them, “What are you doing?” ¹⁹ And they said to him, “Be silent; ^(AN)put your hand over your mouth and come with us and be to us ^(AO)a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be a priest to the house of one man or to be priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?” ²⁰ And the priest’s heart was merry, and he took the ephod and household idols and the graven image and entered among the people.

²¹ Then they turned and went away and put the little ones and the livestock and the valuables in front of them. ²² They had gone some distance from the house of Micah, and the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house were summoned and then overtook the sons of Dan. ²³ And they called out to the sons of Dan, who turned ^[ai]around and said to Micah, “What is the matter with you, that you were summoned together?” ²⁴ And he said, “You have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and have gone away, and what do I have besides? So how can you say to me, ‘What is the matter with you?’” ²⁵ Then the sons of Dan said to him, “Do not let your voice be heard among us, lest men, bitter of soul, fall upon you and you ^[aj]lose your life, with the lives of your household.” ²⁶ So the sons of Dan went on their way; and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his house.

²⁷ Now they took what Micah had made and the priest who had belonged to him, and they came to ^(AP)Laish, to a people quiet and secure, and struck them with the edge of the sword; and they burned the city with fire. ²⁸ And there was no one to deliver them because it was far from Sidon and they had no dealings with anyone, and it was in the valley which is near ^(AQ)Beth-rehob. And they rebuilt the city and lived in it. ^29 (AR)And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father who was born in Israel; however, the name of the city formerly was Laish. ³⁰ Then the sons of Dan set up for themselves ^(AS)the graven image; and Jonathan, the son of ^(AT)Gershom, the son of ^[ak]Moses, ^(AU)he and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the exile of the land. ³¹ So they set up for themselves Micah’s graven image which he had made, all the time that the ^(AV)house of God was at Shiloh.

Benjamites Violate a Levite’s Concubine

19 Now it happened in those days, when ^(AW)there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning in the remote part of the hill country of Ephraim, who took a concubine for himself from Bethlehem in Judah. ² But his concubine played the harlot against him, and she went away from him to her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah and was there for a period of four months. ³ Then her husband arose and went after her to ^(AX)speak to her heart in order to bring her back, and his young man was with him as well as a pair of donkeys. So she brought him into her father’s house, and the girl’s father saw him and was glad to meet him. ⁴ And his father-in-law, the girl’s father, prevailed upon him; and he remained with him three days. So they ate and drank and spent the night there. ⁵ Now it happened on the fourth day that they got up early in the morning, and he arose to go; and the girl’s father said to his son-in-law, “^(AY)Sustain ^[al]yourself with a piece of bread, and afterward you may go.” ⁶ So both of them sat down and ate and drank together; and the girl’s father said to the man, “Please be willing to spend the night, and ^(AZ)let your heart be merry.” ⁷ Then the man arose to go, but his father-in-law pressed him so that he turned back and spent the night there. ⁸ And on the fifth day he arose to go early in the morning, and the girl’s father said, “Please sustain ^[am]yourself and wait until ^[an]afternoon”; so both of them ate. ⁹ Then the man arose to go along with his concubine and young man, and his father-in-law, the girl’s father, said to him, “Behold now, the day has drawn ^[ao]to a close; please spend the night. Behold, the day is ^[ap]coming to an end; spend the night here that your heart may be merry. Then tomorrow you may arise early for your journey so that you may go to your tent.”

¹⁰ But the man was not willing to spend the night, so he arose and went and came to a place before ^(BA)Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). And there were with him a pair of saddled donkeys; his concubine also was with him. ¹¹ They were alongside of Jebus, and the day was almost gone. And ^(BB)the young man said to his master, “Come, please, and let us turn aside into this city of the Jebusites and spend the night in it.” ¹² However, his master said to him, “We will not turn aside into the city of foreigners who are not of the sons of Israel; but we will pass on by until Gibeah.” ¹³ Then he said to his young man, “Come and let us draw near to one of these places; and we will spend the night in Gibeah or Ramah.” ¹⁴ So they passed along and went their way, and the sun set on them near Gibeah which belongs to Benjamin. ¹⁵ Then they turned aside there in order to enter and to spend the night in Gibeah. So ^[aq]they entered and sat down in the open square of the city. Now no one was taking them into his house to spend the night.

¹⁶ But behold, an old man was coming from his work, from the field, at evening. Now the man was from ^(BC)the hill country of Ephraim, and he was sojourning in Gibeah, but the men of the place ^(BD)were Benjamites. ¹⁷ And he lifted up his eyes and saw the traveler in the open square of the city; and the old man said, “Where are you going, and where do you come from?” ¹⁸ And he said to him, “We are passing from Bethlehem in Judah to the remote part of the hill country of Ephraim. I am from there, and I went to Bethlehem in Judah. But I am now going to ^[ar]the house of Yahweh, and no man is taking me into his house. ¹⁹ Yet there is both straw and fodder for our donkeys, and also bread and wine for me, ^[as]your maidservant, and ^(BE)the young man who is with your servants; there is no lack of anything.” ²⁰ Then the old man said, “^(BF)Peace be to you. Only let me take care of all that you lack; however, do not spend the night in the open square.” ^21 (BG)So he brought him into his house and gave the donkeys fodder, and they washed their feet and ate and drank.

²² They were making their hearts merry, and behold, ^(BH)the men of the city, certain ^[at](BI)vile fellows, surrounded the house, pounding the door; and they spoke to the owner of the house, the old man, saying, “Bring out the man who came into your house that we may ^[au]know him.” ²³ Then the man, the owner of the house, went out to them and said to them, “No, my brothers, please do not do evil. Since this man has come into my house, ^(BJ)do not commit this disgraceful act. ^24 (BK)Behold, my daughter who is a virgin, and his concubine—please let me bring them out that you may violate them and do to them whatever is good in your eyes. But do not commit such a disgraceful act against this man.” ²⁵ But the men were not willing to listen to him. So the man took hold of his concubine and brought her out to them; and they knew her and abused her all night until morning, and they let her go at the ^[av]breaking of dawn. ^26 [aw]As the day began to dawn, the woman came and fell down at the doorway of the man’s house where her master was, until full daylight.

²⁷ Then her master arose in the morning and opened the doors of the house and went out to go on his way, and behold, the woman, his concubine, was lying at the doorway of the house with her hands on the threshold. ²⁸ And he said to her, “Get up and let us go,” ^(BL)but there was no answer. Then he took her on the donkey; and the man arose and went to his ^[ax]home. ²⁹ Then he entered his house and took a knife and took hold of his concubine and ^(BM)cut her in twelve pieces, limb by limb, and sent her throughout the territory of Israel. ³⁰ And all who saw it said, “Nothing like this has ever happened or been seen from the day when the sons of Israel came up from the land of Egypt to this day. Consider it; ^(BN)take counsel and speak up!”

A Battle Between Israel and Benjamin

20 Then all the sons of Israel from Dan to Beersheba, including the land of Gilead, came out, and the congregation assembled as one man to Yahweh at ^(BO)Mizpah. ² And the ^[ay]chiefs of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel, took their stand in the assembly of the people of God, 400,000 foot ^[az]soldiers ^(BP)who draw the sword. ³ (Then the sons of Benjamin heard that the sons of Israel had gone up to Mizpah.) And the sons of Israel said, “Tell us, how did this evil take place?” ⁴ So the Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered and said, “I came with my concubine to spend the night at Gibeah which belongs to Benjamin. ⁵ Then the ^(BQ)men of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house at night because of me. They intended to kill me; instead, they ^(BR)violated my concubine, and she died. ⁶ And I ^(BS)seized my concubine and cut her in pieces and sent her throughout the land of Israel’s inheritance; for ^(BT)they have committed a lewd and disgraceful act in Israel. ⁷ Behold, all you sons of Israel, ^(BU)give your advice and counsel here.”

⁸ Then all the people arose as one man, saying, “Not one of us will go to his tent, nor will any of us turn aside to his house. ⁹ But now this is the thing which we will do to Gibeah; we will go up against it by lot. ¹⁰ And we will take 10 men out of 100 throughout the tribes of Israel, and 100 out of 1,000, and 1,000 out of 10,000 in order to take up provisions for the people, that when they come to ^[ba]Gibeah of Benjamin, they may do to them according to all the disgraceful acts that they have done in Israel.” ¹¹ Thus all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, united as one man.

¹² Then the tribes of Israel sent men through the entire ^[bb]tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What is this evil that has taken place among you? ¹³ So now, give up the men, the ^[bc](BV)vile fellows in Gibeah, that we may put them to death and ^(BW)purge this evil from Israel.” But the sons of Benjamin were not willing to listen to the voice of their brothers, the sons of Israel. ¹⁴ Then the sons of Benjamin gathered from the cities to Gibeah, to go out to battle against the sons of Israel. ¹⁵ And from the cities on that day the ^(BX)sons of Benjamin were ^[bd]numbered, 26,000 men who draw the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah who were ^[be]numbered, 700 choice men. ¹⁶ Out of all these people 700 ^(BY)choice men were left-handed; each one could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.

¹⁷ And the men of Israel besides Benjamin were ^[bf]numbered, 400,000 men who draw the sword; all these were men of war.

¹⁸ Then the sons of Israel arose, went up to Bethel, and ^(BZ)asked of God and said, “Who shall go up for us to begin the battle against the sons of Benjamin?” Then Yahweh said, “Judah shall begin it.”

¹⁹ So the sons of Israel arose in the morning and camped against Gibeah. ²⁰ And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin, and the men of Israel arranged themselves for battle against them at Gibeah. ²¹ Then the sons of Benjamin came out of Gibeah and ^(CA)destroyed to the ground on that day 22,000 men of Israel. ²² But the people, the men of Israel, strengthened themselves and arranged themselves for battle again in the place where they had arranged themselves the first day. ^23 (CB)And the sons of Israel went up and wept before Yahweh until evening and ^(CC)asked of Yahweh, saying, “Shall we again approach for battle against the sons of my brother Benjamin?” And Yahweh said, “Go up against him.”

²⁴ Then the sons of Israel drew near to the sons of Benjamin the second day. ²⁵ And Benjamin went out to meet them from Gibeah the second day and destroyed to the ground again 18,000 men of the sons of Israel; all these drew the sword. ²⁶ Then ^(CD)all the sons of Israel and all the people went up and came to Bethel and wept; thus they remained there before Yahweh and fasted that day until evening. And they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before Yahweh. ²⁷ Then the sons of Israel ^(CE)asked of Yahweh (now the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days, ²⁸ and Phinehas the son of Eleazar, Aaron’s son, stood before it to minister in those days), saying, “Shall I yet again go out to battle against the sons of my brother Benjamin, or shall I cease?” And Yahweh said, “Go up, ^(CF)for tomorrow I will give them into your hand.”

^29 (CG)So Israel set men in ambush around Gibeah. ³⁰ And the sons of Israel went up against the sons of Benjamin on the third day and arrayed themselves against Gibeah as at other times. ^31 (CH)So the sons of Benjamin went out to meet the people and were drawn away from the city, and they began to strike ^[bg]and slay some of the people as at other times, on the highways, one of which goes up to Bethel and the other to Gibeah, and in the field, about thirty men of Israel. ³² The sons of Benjamin said, “They are ^[bh]defeated before us, as at the first.” But the sons of Israel said, “Let us flee that we may draw them away from the city to the highways.” ³³ Then all the men of Israel arose from their place and arrayed themselves at Baal-tamar; ^(CI)and the men of Israel in ambush burst forth of their place, even out of Maareh-geba. ³⁴ Then 10,000 choice men from all Israel came against Gibeah, and the battle became heavy; ^(CJ)but ^[bi]Benjamin did not know that ^[bj]calamity was ^[bk]about to reach them. ³⁵ Then Yahweh ^[bl]defeated Benjamin before Israel, so that the sons of Israel destroyed 25,100 men of Benjamin that day, all ^[bm]who drew the sword.

³⁶ So the sons of Benjamin saw that they were ^[bn]defeated. ^(CK)Now the men of Israel had given ^[bo]ground to Benjamin because they relied on the men in ambush whom they had set against Gibeah. ^37 (CL)So the men in ambush hurried and rushed against Gibeah. Then the men in ambush deployed and struck all the city with the edge of the sword. ³⁸ Now the appointed sign between the men of Israel and the men in ambush was ^(CM)that they would make a great cloud of smoke rise from the city. ³⁹ So the men of Israel had turned around in the battle, and Benjamin had begun to strike ^[bp]and slay about thirty men of Israel, ^(CN)for they said, “Surely they are ^[bq]defeated before us, as in the first battle.” ⁴⁰ But the cloud began to rise from the city in a column of smoke, and Benjamin turned ^(CO)behind them; and behold, the whole city was going up in smoke to heaven. ⁴¹ Then the men of Israel turned around again, and the men of Benjamin were dismayed; for they saw that ^[br](CP)calamity had ^[bs]reached them. ⁴² Therefore, they turned their backs before the men of Israel ^(CQ)toward the direction of the wilderness, but the battle overtook them, and those who came out of the cities destroyed them in the midst of them. ^43 (CR)They surrounded Benjamin, pursued them without rest, and trod them down opposite Gibeah to the east toward the sunrise. ⁴⁴ Thus 18,000 men of Benjamin fell; all these were valiant men. ^45 [bt]And the rest turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of ^(CS)Rimmon, but they ^[bu]caught 5,000 of them on the highways and overtook them ^[bv]at Gidom and struck down 2,000 of them. ⁴⁶ So all of Benjamin who fell that day were 25,000 men who drew the sword; all these were valiant men. ⁴⁷ But 600 men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and they remained at the rock of Rimmon four months. ⁴⁸ Now the men of Israel returned to the sons of Benjamin and struck them with the edge of the sword, both the entire city with the cattle and all that they found; they also set on fire all the cities which they found.

A Tribe Is Cut Off

21 Now the men of Israel ^(CT)had sworn in Mizpah, saying, “None of us shall give his daughter to Benjamin as a wife.” ^2 (CU)So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening and lifted up their voices and wept ^[bw]bitterly. ³ And they said, “Why, O Yahweh, God of Israel, has this come about in Israel, so that one tribe should be missing today from Israel?” ⁴ Now it happened the next day that the people arose early and built ^(CV)an altar there and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.

⁵ Then the sons of Israel said, “Who is there among all the tribes of Israel who did not come up in the assembly to Yahweh?” For ^[bx]they had taken a great oath concerning him ^(CW)who did not come up to Yahweh at Mizpah, saying, “He shall surely be put to death.” ⁶ And the sons of Israel were sorry for their brother Benjamin and said, “One tribe is cut off from Israel today. ⁷ What shall we do for wives for those who are left? But we have ^(CX)sworn by Yahweh not to give them any of our daughters in marriage.”

Sons of Benjamin Steal the Daughters of Shiloh

⁸ So they said, “What one is there of the tribes of Israel who did not come up to Yahweh at Mizpah?” And behold, no one had come to the camp from Jabesh-gilead to the assembly. ⁹ Indeed the people were ^[by]numbered, but behold, not one of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead was there. ¹⁰ And the congregation sent 12,000 of the men of valor there and commanded them, saying, “Go and ^(CY)strike the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the little ones. ¹¹ Now this is the thing that you shall do: you ^(CZ)shall devote to destruction every man and every woman who has known, that is lain with, a man.” ¹² And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead 400 young virgins who had not known a man by lying with ^[bz]him; and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.

¹³ Then the whole congregation sent word and spoke to the sons of Benjamin who were ^(DA)at the rock of Rimmon and ^(DB)called out peace to them. ¹⁴ Then Benjamin returned at that time, and they gave them the women whom they had kept alive from the women of Jabesh-gilead; yet they did not find ^[ca]enough for them. ¹⁵ And the people were sorry for Benjamin because Yahweh had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.

¹⁶ Then the elders of the congregation said, “What shall we do for wives for those who are left, since the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?” ¹⁷ And they said, “There must be a possession for the survivors of Benjamin, so that a tribe will not be blotted out from Israel. ¹⁸ But we cannot give them wives of our daughters.” For the sons of Israel ^(DC)had sworn, saying, “Cursed is he who gives a wife to Benjamin.”

¹⁹ So they said, “Behold, there is a feast of Yahweh from year to year in ^(DD)Shiloh, which is on the north side of Bethel, on ^[cb]the east side of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south side of Lebonah.” ²⁰ And they commanded the sons of Benjamin, saying, “Go and lie in wait in the vineyards, ²¹ and watch; and behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to ^[cc](DE)take part in the dances, then you shall come out of the vineyards, and each of you shall catch his wife from the daughters of Shiloh and go to the land of Benjamin. ²² And it will be when their fathers or their brothers come to contend with us, that we shall say to them, ‘Be gracious to us concerning them because we did not take for each man of Benjamin ^[cd]a wife in the battle, ^[ce](DF)and you did not give your daughters to them; otherwise you would now be guilty.’” ²³ And the sons of Benjamin did so and carried away wives according to their number from those who danced, whom they stole away. And they went and returned to their inheritance and ^(DG)rebuilt the cities and lived in them. ²⁴ Then the sons of Israel went away from there at that time, every man to his tribe and family, and each one of them went out from there to his inheritance.

^25 (DH)In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Naomi’s Husband and Sons Die

1 Now it happened in the days ^(DI)when the judges judged, that there was ^(DJ)a famine in the land. And a certain man ^(DK)of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the fields of Moab ^[cf]with his wife and his two sons. ² The name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife, Naomi; and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem in Judah. Now they ^(DL)came to the fields of Moab and remained there. ³ Then Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died; and she was left with her two sons. ⁴ They took for themselves Moabite women as wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. And they lived there about ten years. ⁵ Then ^[cg]both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and the woman was left without her two children and her husband.

Ruth Is Determined to Go with Naomi

⁶ Then she arose with her daughters-in-law and returned from the fields of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that ^[ch]Yahweh had ^(DM)visited His people to ^(DN)give them ^[ci]food. ⁷ So she went forth from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. ⁸ And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. ^(DO)May Yahweh ^[cj]show lovingkindness with you as you have ^[ck]shown with the dead and with me. ⁹ May Yahweh grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband.” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. ¹⁰ And they said to her, “No, but we will return with you to your people.” ¹¹ But Naomi said, “Return, my daughters. Why should you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb, that ^(DP)they may be your husbands? ¹² Return, my daughters! Go, for I am too old to have a husband. If I said I have hope, if I should even have a husband tonight and also bear sons, ¹³ would you therefore wait until they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters; for it is more bitter for me than for you, for ^(DQ)the hand of Yahweh has gone forth against me.” ¹⁴ And they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.

¹⁵ Then she said, “Behold, your sister-in-law has returned to her people and her ^(DR)gods; return after your sister-in-law.” ¹⁶ But Ruth said, “Do not press me to forsake you in turning back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. ¹⁷ Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may ^(DS)Yahweh do to me, and more, if anything but death separates you and me.” ¹⁸ So ^(DT)she saw that she was determined to go with her, and she ^[cl]said no more to her.

¹⁹ Then they both went until they came to Bethlehem. Now it happened, when they had come to Bethlehem, ^(DU)all the city was stirred because of them, and ^[cm]the women said, “Is this Naomi?” ²⁰ She said to them, “Do not call me ^[cn]Naomi; call me ^[co]Mara, for ^[cp](DV)the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. ²¹ I went out full, but ^(DW)Yahweh has caused me to return empty. Why do you call me Naomi? Yahweh has answered against me, and ^[cq]the Almighty has brought calamity against me.”

²² So Naomi returned, and with her Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, who returned from the fields of Moab. Now they came to Bethlehem at ^(DX)the beginning of barley harvest.

Ruth Gleans in Boaz’ Field

2 Now Naomi had ^[cr]a kinsman of her husband, a ^[cs]mighty man of excellence, of the family of ^(DY)Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. ² And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field and ^(DZ)glean among the ears of grain after one whom I may find favor in his eyes.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” ³ So she went. And she came and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And ^[ct]it so happened that she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. ⁴ Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, “^(EA)May Yahweh be with you.” And they said to him, “May Yahweh bless you.” ⁵ Then Boaz said to his young man who was ^[cu]in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” ⁶ The young man ^[cv]in charge of the reapers replied, “She is the young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from the fields of Moab. ⁷ And she said, ‘Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.’ Thus she came and has remained from the morning until now; she has been sitting in the house for a little while.”

⁸ Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Have you not heard, my daughter? Do not go to glean in another field; furthermore, do not go on from this one, but ^[cw]stay here with my young women. ⁹ Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Indeed, I have commanded the young men not to touch you. And if you are thirsty, go to the ^[cx]water jars and drink from what the young men draw.” ¹⁰ Then she ^(EB)fell on her face, bowing to the ground and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your sight that you should take notice of me, though I am a foreigner?” ¹¹ Boaz replied to her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you forsook your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and came to a people that you did not previously know. ^12 (EC)May Yahweh fully repay your work, and may your wages be full from Yahweh, the God of Israel, ^(ED)under whose wings you have come to seek refuge.” ¹³ Then she said, “May I find favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and indeed have spoken to the heart of your servant-woman, though I am not like one of your servant-women.”

¹⁴ At mealtime Boaz said to her, “^[cy]Come here, that you may eat of the bread and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar.” So she sat beside the reapers; and he ^[cz]served her roasted grain, and she ate and was satisfied ^(EE)and had some left. ¹⁵ Then she rose to glean, and Boaz commanded his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not dishonor her. ¹⁶ Also you shall purposely pull out for her some grain from the bundles and ^[da]leave it that she may glean, and do not rebuke her.”

¹⁷ So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ^[db]ephah of barley. ¹⁸ She took it up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also took it out and ^(EF)gave ^[dc]Naomi what she had left after ^[dd]she was satisfied. ¹⁹ Her mother-in-law then said to her, “Where did you glean today and where did you ^[de]work? May he who ^(EG)took notice of you be blessed.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had ^[df]worked and said, “The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz.” ²⁰ Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “^(EH)May he be blessed of Yahweh who has not forsaken his lovingkindness to the living and to the dead.” Then Naomi said to her, “The man is ^[dg]our relative; he is one of our kinsman redeemers.” ²¹ Then Ruth the Moabitess said, “^[dh]Furthermore, he said to me, ‘You should ^[di]stay close to my young men until they have finished all my harvest.’” ²² Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, so that others do not oppress you in another field.” ²³ So she ^[dj]stayed close by the young women of Boaz in order to glean until ^(EI)the end of the barley harvest and the wheat harvest. And she lived with her mother-in-law.

Boaz Will Redeem Ruth

3 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, shall I not seek a state of rest for you, that it may be well with you? ² And now, is not Boaz ^(EJ)our ^[dk]kinsman, with whose young women you were? Behold, he is winnowing barley at the threshing floor tonight. ³ So you shall wash yourself and anoint yourself and put on your best clothes, and you shall go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. ⁴ Let it be that when he lies down, you shall know the place where he lies, and you shall go and uncover his feet and lie down; then he will tell you what you shall do.” ⁵ She said to her, “^(EK)All that you say I will do.”

⁶ So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law had commanded her. ⁷ And Boaz ate and drank and ^(EL)his heart was merry, and he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain; and she came secretly and uncovered his feet and lay down. ⁸ Then it happened in the middle of the night that the man was startled and ^[dl]bent forward; and behold, a woman was lying at his feet. ⁹ And he said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth your maidservant. So spread your ^(EM)wing over your maidservant, for you are a kinsman redeemer.” ¹⁰ Then he said, “^(EN)May you be blessed of Yahweh, my daughter. You have shown your last lovingkindness to be better than the first by not going after young men, whether poor or rich. ¹¹ So now, my daughter, do not fear. All that you say, I will do for you; for all my people within the gates of the city know that you are ^(EO)a woman of excellence. ¹² But now it is true I am a kinsman redeemer; however, there is a kinsman redeemer closer than I. ¹³ Stay this night, and it will be in the morning that, ^(EP)if he will ^[dm]redeem you, good; let him redeem you. But if he does not desire to ^[dn]redeem you, then I will redeem you, ^(EQ)as Yahweh lives. Lie down until morning.”

¹⁴ So she lay at his feet until morning and rose before one could recognize another; and he said, “^(ER)Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” ¹⁵ And he said, “Give me the cloak that is on you and hold it.” So she held it, and he measured six measures of barley and placed it on her. Then ^[do]she went into the city. ¹⁶ Then she came to her mother-in-law, and she said, “^[dp]How did it go, my daughter?” And she told her all that the man had done for her. ¹⁷ She said, “These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said, ‘Do not go to your mother-in-law empty.’” ¹⁸ Then she said, “Sit, then, my daughter, until you know how the matter falls into place; for the man will not remain quiet until he has finished the matter today.”

Ruth Becomes Boaz’ Wife

4 Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there, and behold, ^(ES)the kinsman redeemer of whom Boaz spoke was passing by, so he said, “Turn aside, ^[dq]my fellow, sit down here.” And he turned aside and sat down. ² Then he took ten men of the ^(ET)elders of the city and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down. ³ Then he said to the kinsman redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from the fields of Moab, has to sell the portion of the field ^(EU)which belonged to our brother Elimelech. ⁴ So I thought to uncover this matter in your hearing, saying, ‘^(EV)Acquire it before those who are sitting here and before the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if no one redeems it, tell me that I may know; for ^(EW)there is no one but you to redeem it, and I am after you.’” And he said, “I will redeem it.” ⁵ Then Boaz said, “On the day you acquire the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also ^[dr]acquire Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of the one who had died, in order ^(EX)to raise up the name of the one who had died, on behalf of his inheritance.” ^6 (EY)So the kinsman redeemer said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I ruin my own inheritance. You redeem my right of redemption for yourself, for I cannot redeem it.”

⁷ Now this was ^(EZ)the custom in former times in Israel concerning the right of redemption and the exchange of land to establish any matter: a man removed his sandal and gave it to another; and this was the manner of attestation in Israel. ⁸ So the kinsman redeemer said to Boaz, “Acquire this for yourself.” And he removed his sandal. ⁹ Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses today that I have acquired all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and Mahlon from the hand of Naomi. ¹⁰ And also, I have acquired Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, to be my wife in order to raise up the name of the one who had died, on behalf of his inheritance, so ^(FA)that the name of the one who had died will not be cut off from his brothers or from the gate of his birth place; you are witnesses today.” ¹¹ And all the people who were in the gate, and the elders, said, “We are witnesses. May Yahweh grant the woman who is coming into your home to be ^(FB)like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built the house of Israel, and so you shall ^[ds]achieve ^[dt]excellence in Ephrathah and shall ^[du]proclaim your name in Bethlehem. ¹² Moreover, may your house be like the house of ^(FC)Perez whom Tamar bore to Judah, through the seed which Yahweh will grant you by this young woman.”

¹³ So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife, and he went in to her. And ^(FD)Yahweh granted her conception, and she gave birth to a son. ¹⁴ Then the ^(FE)women said to Naomi, “Blessed is Yahweh who has not left you without a ^[dv]kinsman redeemer today, and may his name ^[dw]be proclaimed in Israel. ¹⁵ May he also be to you a restorer of your soul and a sustainer of your ^[dx]old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you ^[dy](FF)and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.”

The Generations of David

¹⁶ Then Naomi took the child ^[dz]and put him on her bosom and became his nurse. ¹⁷ The neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi!” So they named him Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.

¹⁸ Now these are the generations of Perez:

Elkanah and His Wives

1 Now there was a certain man from ^(FH)Ramathaim-zophim from the ^(FI)hill country of Ephraim, and his name was ^(FJ)Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. ² Now he had ^(FK)two wives: the name of one was ^(FL)Hannah and the name of the other Peninnah; and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

³ Now that man would go up from his city ^(FM)yearly ^(FN)to worship and to sacrifice to ^[eb]Yahweh of hosts in ^(FO)Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests to Yahweh there. ⁴ And the day came that Elkanah sacrificed, and he ^(FP)would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and her daughters; ⁵ but to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, ^(FQ)but Yahweh had closed her womb. ⁶ Her rival, however, ^(FR)would provoke her bitterly to irritate her because Yahweh had closed her womb. ⁷ And so it would happen year after year, as often as she went up to the house of Yahweh, she would provoke her; so she wept and would not eat. ⁸ Then Elkanah her husband said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep and why do you not eat and why is your heart sad? ^(FS)Am I not better to you than ten sons?”

⁹ Then Hannah rose after eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of ^(FT)the temple of Yahweh. ¹⁰ And she, bitter of soul, prayed to Yahweh and wept despondently. ¹¹ And she ^(FU)made a vow and said, “O Yahweh of hosts, if You will indeed ^(FV)look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a seed amongst men, then I will give him to Yahweh all the days of his life, and ^(FW)a razor shall never come on his head.”

¹² Now it happened, as she multiplied her praying before Yahweh, that Eli was watching her mouth. ¹³ As for Hannah, ^(FX)she was speaking in her heart; only her lips were moving, but her voice was not heard. So Eli thought she was drunk. ¹⁴ Then Eli said to her, “^(FY)How long will you make yourself drunk? Put away your wine from you.” ¹⁵ But Hannah answered and said, “No, my lord, I am a woman ^[ec]oppressed in spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I ^(FZ)have poured out my soul before Yahweh. ¹⁶ Do not ^[ed]consider your maidservant as a vile woman, for I have spoken until now out of my great complaint and ^[ee]provocation.” ¹⁷ Then Eli answered and said, “^(GA)Go in peace; and may the God of Israel ^(GB)grant your petition that you have asked of Him.” ¹⁸ And she said, “^(GC)Let your servant-woman find favor in your sight.” So the woman went her way and ate, and ^(GD)her face was no longer sad.

The Birth of Samuel

¹⁹ Then they arose early in the morning and worshiped before Yahweh and turned back and came to their house in ^(GE)Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and ^(GF)Yahweh remembered her. ²⁰ Now it happened ^[ef]in due time that Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son; and she named him Samuel, saying, “^(GG)Because I have asked him of Yahweh.”

²¹ Then the man Elkanah ^(GH)went up with all his household to offer to Yahweh the yearly sacrifice and pay his vow. ²² But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “I will not go up until the young boy is weaned; then I will ^(GI)bring him, that he may appear before Yahweh and ^(GJ)stay there forever.” ^23 (GK)And Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do what is good in your eyes. Remain until you have weaned him; only ^(GL)may Yahweh establish His word.” So the woman remained and nursed her son until she weaned him. ²⁴ Now when she had weaned him, ^(GM)she took him up with her, with a three-year-old bull and one ^[eg]ephah of flour and a jug of wine and brought him to ^(GN)the house of Yahweh in Shiloh, although the boy was young. ²⁵ Then ^(GO)they slaughtered the bull and ^(GP)brought the young boy to Eli. ²⁶ And she said, “Oh, my lord! ^(GQ)As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you, praying to Yahweh. ^27 (GR)For this young boy I prayed, and Yahweh has given me my petition which I asked of Him. ^28 (GS)So I have also ^[eh]dedicated him to Yahweh; as long as he lives, he is ^[ei]dedicated to Yahweh.” So ^(GT)he worshiped Yahweh there.

Hannah’s Song of Thanksgiving

2 Then Hannah ^(GU)prayed and said,

¹¹ Then Elkanah went to his home at ^(HX)Ramah. ^(HY)But the young boy ministered to Yahweh before Eli the priest.

The Sin of Eli’s Sons

¹² Now the sons of Eli were ^[em](HZ)vile men; they did not know Yahweh. ^13 (IA)And this was the legal judgment for the priests with the people: when any man was offering a sacrifice, the priest’s young man would come while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand. ¹⁴ Then he would thrust it into the pan or kettle or caldron or pot; all that the fork would bring up the priest would take for himself. Thus they would do in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. ¹⁵ Also, before ^(IB)they offered up the fat in smoke, the priest’s young man would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the priest meat for roasting; he will not take boiled meat from you, only raw.” ¹⁶ Then the man would say to him, “They must surely offer up the fat in smoke ^[en]first, and then take as much as your soul desires,” then he would say, “No, you shall give it now; and if not, I will take it by force.” ¹⁷ Thus the sin of the young men was very great before Yahweh, for the men ^(IC)spurned the offering of Yahweh.

Samuel Before Yahweh as a Boy

¹⁸ Now ^(ID)Samuel was ministering before Yahweh, as a ^[eo]young boy ^(IE)girded with a linen ephod. ¹⁹ And his mother would make him a little ^(IF)robe and bring it to him from year to year when she would come up with her husband to offer ^(IG)the yearly sacrifice. ²⁰ Then Eli would ^(IH)bless Elkanah and his wife and say, “May Yahweh establish for you a seed from this woman in place of ^[ep]the one she ^(II)dedicated to Yahweh.” And they went to their own ^[eq]home.

^21 (IJ)Yahweh indeed visited Hannah; and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. And ^(IK)the young boy Samuel grew before Yahweh.

Eli Hears About His Sons’ Evils

²² Now Eli was very old; and he heard ^(IL)all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with ^(IM)the women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting. ²³ So he said to them, “Why do you do such things, the evil things that I hear from all these people? ²⁴ No, my sons; for the report is not good ^(IN)which I hear the people of Yahweh ^[er]passing about. ²⁵ If one man sins against another, ^(IO)God will mediate for him; but ^(IP)if a man sins against Yahweh, who can pray for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for ^(IQ)Yahweh desired to put them to death.

²⁶ Now the young boy ^(IR)Samuel ^[es]was growing in stature and in favor both with Yahweh and with men.

Eli Honors His Sons Above Yahweh

²⁷ Then ^(IS)a man of God came to Eli and said to him, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘^(IT)Did I not indeed reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt, enslaved to Pharaoh’s house? ^28 (IU)And did I not choose them from all the tribes of Israel to be My priests, to go up to My altar, to burn incense, to carry an ephod before Me; and did I not ^(IV)give to the house of your father all the fire offerings of the sons of Israel? ²⁹ Why do you ^(IW)kick at My sacrifice and at My offering ^(IX)which I have commanded in My ^(IY)habitation, and ^(IZ)honor your sons above Me, by making yourselves fat with the ^[et]choicest of every offering of My people Israel?’