The Daily Audio Bible

¹⁸ Then Gideon said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men were they whom you killed at Tabor?” And they replied, “They were like you, each one of them resembled the son of a king.” ¹⁹ He said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As the Lord lives, if only you had let them live, I would not kill you.” ²⁰ So [to humiliate them] Gideon said to Jether his firstborn, “Stand up, and kill them!” But the youth did not draw his sword, because he was afraid, for he was still [just] a boy. ²¹ Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Rise up yourself and strike us; for as the man is, so is his strength.” So Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescent amulets that were on their camels’ necks.

²² Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule [as king] over us, both you and your son, also your son’s son, for you have rescued us from the hand of Midian.” ²³ But Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord shall rule over you.” ²⁴ And Gideon said to them, “I would make a request of you, that each one of you give me an earring from his spoil.” For the Midianites had gold earrings, because they were ^[a]Ishmaelites [who customarily wore them]. ²⁵ They answered, “We will certainly give them to you.” And they spread out a garment, and every one of them threw an earring there from his spoil. ²⁶ And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was ^[b]seventeen hundred shekels of gold, apart from the crescent amulets and pendants and the purple garments which were worn by the kings of Midian, and apart from the chains that were on their camels’ necks. ²⁷ Gideon made [all the golden earrings into] an ephod [a sacred, high priest’s garment], and put it in his city of Ophrah, and all Israel ^[c]worshiped it as an idol there, and ^[d]it became a trap for Gideon and his household.

Forty Years of Peace

²⁸ So Midian was subdued and humbled before the sons of Israel, and they no longer lifted up their heads [in pride]. And the land was at rest for forty years in the days of Gideon.

²⁹ Jerubbaal (Gideon) the son of Joash went and lived in his own house. ³⁰ Now Gideon had seventy sons born to him, because he had many wives. ³¹ And his ^[e]concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, whom he named Abimelech. ³² Gideon the son of Joash died at a good advanced age and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

³³ Then it came about, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the Israelites again played the prostitute with the Baals, and made Baal-berith their god. ³⁴ And the Israelites did not remember the Lord their God, who had rescued them from the hand of all their enemies on every side; ³⁵ nor did they show kindness to the family of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) in return for all the good that he had done for Israel.

Abimelech’s Conspiracy

9 Now Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal (Gideon) went to Shechem to his mother’s relatives, and said to them and to the whole clan of the household of his mother’s father, ² “Speak now in the hearing of all the leaders of Shechem, ‘Which is better for you, that seventy men, all of the sons of Jerubbaal rule over you, or that one man rule over you?’ Also, remember that I am your own bone and flesh.” ³ So his mother’s relatives spoke all these words concerning him so that all the leaders of Shechem could hear; and their hearts were inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, “He is our relative.” ⁴ And they gave him seventy pieces of silver from the house of Baal-berith, with which Abimelech hired worthless and undisciplined men, and they followed (supported) him. ⁵ Then he went to his father’s house at Ophrah and murdered his brothers the sons of Jerubbaal, seventy men, [in a public execution] on one stone. But Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left alive, because he had hidden himself. ⁶ All the men of Shechem and all of ^[f]Beth-millo assembled together, and they went and made Abimelech king, by the oak (terebinth) of the pillar (memorial stone) at Shechem.

⁷ When they told Jotham, he went and stood at the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted to them, “Hear me, O men of Shechem, so that God may hear you. ^8 [g]Once the trees went forth to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us!’ ⁹ But the olive tree said to them, ‘Should I give up my fatness by which God and men are honored, and go to wave over the trees?’ ¹⁰ Then the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and reign over us!’ ¹¹ But the fig tree said to them, ‘Should I give up my sweetness and my good fruit, and go to wave over the trees?’ ¹² Then the trees said to the vine, ‘You come and reign over us.’ ¹³ And the vine replied, ‘Should I give up my new wine, which makes God and men happy, and go to wave over the trees?’ ¹⁴ Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come and reign over us.’ ¹⁵ So the bramble said to the trees, ‘If in truth you are anointing me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’

¹⁶ “Now then, if you acted in truth and integrity when you made Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have dealt with him as he deserved— ¹⁷ for my father fought for you and risked his life and rescued you from the hand of Midian; ¹⁸ but you have risen against my father’s house today and have murdered his sons, seventy men, on one stone, and have made Abimelech, son of his maidservant, king over the people of Shechem, because he is your relative— ¹⁹ if then you have acted in truth and integrity with Jerubbaal and his house this day, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you. ²⁰ But if not, may fire come out from Abimelech and devour the people of Shechem and Beth-millo; and may fire come out from the people of Shechem and Beth-millo, and devour Abimelech.” ²¹ Then Jotham escaped and fled, and went to Beer and lived there because of Abimelech his brother.

⁴⁴ It was now about the sixth hour (noon), and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour (3:00 p.m.),^{(A) 45} because the sun was ^[a]obscured; and the veil [of the Holy of Holies] of the temple was ^[b]torn in two [from top to bottom].^{(B) 46} And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit!” Having said this, He breathed His last.^{(C) 47} Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he began praising and honoring God, saying, “Certainly this Man was innocent.” ⁴⁸ All the crowds who had gathered for this spectacle, when they saw what had happened, began to return [to their homes], beating their breasts [as a sign of mourning or repentance]. ⁴⁹ And all His acquaintances and the women who had accompanied Him from Galilee were standing at a distance, watching these things.

Jesus Is Buried

⁵⁰ A man named Joseph, who was a member of the Council (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court), a good and honorable man^{(D) 51} (he had not consented to the Council’s plan and action) a man from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who was waiting for and expecting the kingdom of God; ⁵² this man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ⁵³ And [after receiving permission] he took it down and wrapped it in a linen [burial] cloth and laid Him in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had yet been laid. ⁵⁴ It was the day of preparation [for the Sabbath], and the Sabbath was dawning. ⁵⁵ Now the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed [closely], and saw the tomb and how His body was laid. ⁵⁶ Then they went back and prepared spices and ointments and sweet-smelling herbs.

And on the Sabbath they rested in accordance with the commandment [forbidding work].^(E)

The Resurrection

24 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, the women went to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared [to finish anointing the body].^{(F) 2} And they found the [large, circular] stone rolled back from the tomb, ³ but when they went inside, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴ While they were perplexed and wondering about this, suddenly, two men in dazzling clothing stood near them; ⁵ and as the women were terrified and were bowing their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why are you looking for the living One among the dead? ⁶ He is not here, but has risen. Remember how He told you, while He was still in Galilee, ⁷ saying that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise [from death to life].”^{(G) 8} And they remembered His words, ⁹ and after returning from the tomb, they reported all these things to the eleven [apostles] and to all the rest. ¹⁰ Now they were Mary Magdalene and Joanna [the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward] and Mary the mother of James; also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles. ¹¹ But their report seemed to them like idle talk and nonsense, and they would not believe them. ¹² But Peter got up and ran to the tomb. Stooping [at the small entrance] and looking in, he saw only the linen ^[c]wrappings; and he went away, wondering about what had happened.^(H)

Praise to the Lord for His Fidelity to Israel.