The Daily Audio Bible
Today's audio is from the ESV. Switch to the ESV to read along with the audio.
18 Then Gideon said, “Zebah and Zalmunna, tell me about the men you killed at Tabor.”
“They were a lot like you,” the two kings answered. “They were dignified, almost like royalty.”
19 “They were my very own brothers!” Gideon said. “I swear by the living Lord that if you had let them live, I would let you live.”
20 Gideon turned to Jether, his oldest son. “Kill them!” Gideon said.
But Jether was young,[a] and he was too afraid to even pull out his sword.
21 “What's the matter, Gideon?” Zebah and Zalmunna asked. “Do it yourself, if you're not too much of a coward!”
Gideon jumped up and killed them both. Then he took the gold ornaments from the necks of their camels.
The Israelites Ask Gideon To Be Their King
22 After the battle with the Midianites, the Israelites said, “Gideon, you rescued us! Now we want you to be our king. Then after your death, your son and then your grandson will rule.”
23 “No,” Gideon replied, “I won't be your king, and my son won't be king either. Only the Lord is your ruler. 24 But I will ask you to do one thing: Give me all the earrings you took from the enemy.”
The enemy soldiers had been Ishmaelites,[b] and they wore gold earrings.
25 The Israelite soldiers replied, “Of course we will give you the earrings.” Then they spread out a robe on the ground and tossed the earrings on it. 26 The total weight of this gold was nearly 20 kilograms. In addition, there was the gold from the camels' ornaments and from the beautiful jewelry worn by the Midianite kings. Gideon also took their purple robes.
27-29 Gideon returned to his home in Ophrah and had the gold made into a statue, which the Israelites soon started worshiping. They were unfaithful to God, and even Gideon and his family were trapped into worshiping the statue.[c]
The Midianites had been defeated so badly that they were no longer strong enough to attack Israel. And so Israel was at peace for the remaining 40 years of Gideon's life.
Gideon Dies
30 Gideon had many wives and 70 sons. 31 He even had a wife[d] who lived at Shechem.[e] They had a son, and Gideon named him Abimelech.
32 Gideon lived to be an old man. And when he died, he was buried in the family tomb in his hometown of Ophrah, which belonged to the Abiezer clan.
33 Soon after Gideon's death, the Israelites turned their backs on God again. They set up idols of Baal and worshiped Baal Berith[f] as their god. 34 The Israelites forgot that the Lord was their God, and that he had rescued them from the enemies who lived around them. 35 Besides all that, the Israelites were unkind to Gideon's family, even though Gideon had done so much for Israel.
Abimelech Tries To Be King
9 Abimelech the son of Gideon[g] went to Shechem. While there, he met with his mother's relatives 2 and told them to say to the leaders of Shechem, “Do you think it would be good to have all 70 of Gideon's sons ruling us? Wouldn't you rather have just one man be king? Abimelech would make a good king, and he's related to us.”
3 Abimelech's uncles talked it over with the leaders of Shechem who agreed, “Yes, it would be better for one of our relatives to be king.” 4 Then they gave Abimelech 70 pieces[h] of silver from the temple of their god Baal Berith.[i]
Abimelech used the silver to hire a gang of rough soldiers who would do anything for money. 5 Abimelech and his soldiers went to his father's home in Ophrah and brought out Gideon's other sons to a large rock, where they murdered all 70 of them. Gideon's youngest son Jotham hid from the soldiers, but he was the only one who escaped.
6 The leaders of Shechem, including the priests and the military officers,[j] met at the tree next to the sacred rock[k] in Shechem to crown Abimelech king. 7 Jotham heard what they were doing. So he climbed to the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted down to the people who were there at the meeting:
Leaders of Shechem,
listen to me,
and maybe God
will listen to you.
8 Once the trees searched
for someone to be king;
they asked the olive tree,
“Will you be our king?”
9 But the olive tree replied,
“My oil brings honor
to people and gods.
I won't stop making oil,
just so my branches can wave
above the other trees.”
10 Then they asked the fig tree,
“Will you be our king?”
11 But the fig tree replied,
“I won't stop growing
my delicious fruit,
just so my branches can wave
above the other trees.”
12 Next they asked the grape vine,
“Will you be our king?”
13 But the grape vine replied,
“My wine brings cheer
to people and gods.
I won't stop making wine,
just so my branches can wave
above the other trees.”
14 Finally, they went
to the thornbush and asked,
“Will you be our king?”
15 The thornbush replied,
“If you really want me
to be your king,
then come into my shade
and I will protect you.
But if you're deceiving me,
I'll start a fire
that will spread out and destroy
the cedars of Lebanon.”[l]
After Jotham had finished telling this story, he said:
16-18 My father Gideon risked his life for you when he fought to rescue you from the Midianites. Did you reward Gideon by being kind to his family? No, you did not! You attacked his family and killed all 70 of his sons on that rock.
And was it right to make Abimelech your king? He's merely the son of my father's slave girl.[m] But just because he's your relative, you made him king of Shechem.
19 So, you leaders of Shechem, if you treated Gideon and his family the way you should have, then I hope you and Abimelech will make each other very happy. 20 But if it was wrong to treat Gideon and his family the way you did, then I pray that Abimelech will destroy you with fire, and I pray that you will do the same to him.
21 Jotham ran off and went to live in the town of Beer, where he could be safe from his brother Abimelech.
The Death of Jesus
(Matthew 27.45-56; Mark 15.33-41; John 19.28-30)
44 Around noon the sky turned dark and stayed that way until the middle of the afternoon. 45 (A) The sun stopped shining, and the curtain in the temple[a] split down the middle. 46 (B) Jesus shouted, “Father, I put myself in your hands!” Then he died.
47 When the Roman officer saw what had happened, he praised God and said, “Jesus must really have been a good man!”
48 A crowd had gathered to see the terrible sight. Then after they had seen it, they felt brokenhearted and went home. 49 (C) All of Jesus' close friends and the women who had come with him from Galilee stood at a distance and watched.
Jesus Is Buried
(Matthew 27.57-61; Mark 15.42-47; John 19.38-42)
50-51 There was a man named Joseph, who was from Arimathea in Judea. Joseph was a good and honest man, and he was eager for God's kingdom to come. He was also a member of the council, but he did not agree with what they had decided.
52 Joseph went to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body. 53 He took the body down from the cross and wrapped it in fine cloth. Then he put it in a tomb that had been cut out of solid rock and had never been used. 54 It was Friday, and the Sabbath was about to begin.[b]
55 The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and watched how Jesus' body was placed in the tomb. 56 (D) Then they went to prepare some sweet-smelling spices for his burial. But on the Sabbath they rested, as the Law of Moses commands.
Jesus Is Alive
(Matthew 28.1-10; Mark 16.1-8; John 20.1-10)
24 Very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb, carrying the spices they had prepared. 2 When they found the stone rolled away from the entrance, 3 they went in. But they did not find the body of the Lord[c] Jesus, 4 and they did not know what to think.
Suddenly two men in shining white clothes stood beside them. 5 The women were afraid and bowed to the ground. But the men said, “Why are you looking in the place of the dead for someone who is alive? 6 (E) Jesus isn't here! He has been raised from death. Remember that while he was still in Galilee, he told you, 7 ‘The Son of Man will be handed over to sinners who will nail him to a cross. But three days later he will rise to life.’ ” 8 Then they remembered what Jesus had said.
9-10 Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and some other women were the ones who had gone to the tomb. When they returned, they told the eleven apostles and the others what had happened. 11 The apostles thought it was all nonsense, and they would not believe.
12 But Peter ran to the tomb. And when he stooped down and looked in, he saw only the burial clothes. Then he returned, wondering what had happened.[d]
Our Lord Is King
1 (A) Our Lord, you are King!
You rule from your throne
above the winged creatures,[a]
as people tremble
and the earth shakes.
2 You are praised in Zion,
and you control all nations.
3 Only you are God!
And your power alone,
so great and fearsome,
is worthy of praise.
4 You are our mighty King,[b]
a lover of fairness,
who sees that justice is done
everywhere in Israel.
5 Our Lord and our God,
we praise you
and kneel down to worship you,
the God of holiness!
6 Moses and Aaron were two
of your priests.
Samuel was also one of those
who prayed in your name,
and you, our Lord,
answered their prayers.
7 (B) You spoke to them
from a thick cloud,
and they obeyed your laws.
8 Our Lord and our God,
you answered their prayers
and forgave their sins,
but when they did wrong,
you punished them.
9 We praise you, Lord God,
and we worship you
at your sacred mountain.
Only you are God!
9 Fools don't care
if they are wrong,[a]
but God is pleased
when people do right.
10 No one else can really know
how sad or happy you are.
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.