The Daily Audio Bible
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22 When Abimelech had reigned three years over Israel,
23 then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech,
24 that the cruelty done to the threescore and ten sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid upon Abimelech their brother, who slew them, and upon the men of Shechem, who aided him in the killing of his brethren.
25 And the men of Shechem set liersinwait for him in the top of the mountains, and they robbed all who came along that way by them; and it was told Abimelech.
26 And Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brethren and went over to Shechem, and the men of Shechem put their confidence in him.
27 And they went out into the fields, and gathered their vineyards, and trod the grapes, and made merry, and went into the house of their god, and ate and drank and cursed Abimelech.
28 And Gaal the son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? Is not he the son of Jerubbaal, and Zebul his officer? Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem. For why should we serve him?
29 And would to God this people were under my hand! Then would I remove Abimelech.” And he said to Abimelech, “Increase thine army, and come out!”
30 And when Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was kindled.
31 And he sent messengers unto Abimelech privily, saying, “Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his brethren have come to Shechem; and behold, they fortify the city against thee.
32 Now therefore, up by night, thou and the people who are with thee, and lie in wait in the field.
33 And it shall be that in the morning, as soon as the sun is up, thou shalt rise early and set upon the city; and behold, when he and the people who are with him come out against thee, then mayest thou do to them as thou shalt find occasion.”
34 And Abimelech rose up, and all the people that were with him, by night, and they lay in wait against Shechem in four companies.
35 And Gaal the son of Ebed went out and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city; and Abimelech rose up, and the people who were with him, from lying in wait.
36 And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, “Behold, there come people down from the top of the mountains.” And Zebul said unto him, “Thou seest the shadow of the mountains as if they were men.”
37 And Gaal spoke again and said, “See, there come people down by the middle of the land, and another company come along by the plain of Meonenim.”
38 Then said Zebul unto him, “Where now is thy mouth, wherewith thou saidst, ‘Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him?’ Are not these the people whom thou hast despised? Go out, I pray now, and fight with them.”
39 And Gaal went out before the men of Shechem, and fought with Abimelech.
40 And Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him; and many were overthrown and wounded, even unto the entrance of the gate.
41 And Abimelech dwelt at Arumah; and Zebul thrust out Gaal and his brethren, that they should not dwell in Shechem.
42 And it came to pass on the morrow that the people went out into the field, and they told Abimelech.
43 And he took the people and divided them into three companies, and lay in wait in the field, and looked, and behold, the people had come forth out of the city; and he rose up against them and smote them.
44 And Abimelech and the company that was with him rushed forward, and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city; and the two other companies ran upon all the people who were in the fields and slew them.
45 And Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he took the city, and slew the people who were therein, and beat down the city and sowed it with salt.
46 And when all the men of the tower of Shechem heard that, they entered into a stronghold of the house of the god Berith.
47 And it was told Abimelech that all the men of the tower of Shechem were gathered together.
48 And Abimelech went up to Mount Zalmon, he and all the people who were with him; and Abimelech took an ax in his hand and cut down a bough from the trees, and took it and laid it on his shoulder, and said unto the people who were with him, “What ye have seen me do, make haste and do as I have done.”
49 And all the people likewise cut down every man his bough and followed Abimelech, and put them to the stronghold, and set the stronghold on fire upon them, so that all the men of the tower of Shechem died also, about a thousand men and women.
50 Then went Abimelech to Thebez, and encamped against Thebez and took it.
51 But there was a strong tower within the city, and thither fled all the men and women and all those of the city, and shut it to them and went up to the top of the tower.
52 And Abimelech came unto the tower and fought against it, and went hard unto the door of the tower to burn it with fire.
53 And a certain woman cast a piece of a millstone upon Abimelech’s head and broke his skull.
54 Then he called hastily unto the young man, his armorbearer, and said unto him, “Draw thy sword and slay me, that men say not of me, ‘A woman slew him.’” And his young man thrust him through, and he died.
55 And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they departed every man unto his place.
56 Thus God repaid the wickedness of Abimelech, which he did unto his father in slaying his seventy brethren.
57 And all the evil of the men of Shechem God returned upon their heads, and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.
10 And after Abimelech there arose to defend Israel Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar; and he dwelt in Shamir in Mount Ephraim.
2 And he judged Israel twenty and three years, and died and was buried in Shamir.
3 And after him arose Jair, a Gileadite, and judged Israel twenty and two years.
4 And he had thirty sons who rode on thirty ass colts; and they had thirty cities, which are called Havothjair [the villages of Jair] unto this day, which are in the land of Gilead.
5 And Jair died, and was buried in Camon.
6 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Sidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the Lord and served not Him.
7 And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and into the hands of the children of Ammon.
8 And that year they vexed and oppressed the children of Israel eighteen years — all the children of Israel who were on the other side of the Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead.
9 Moreover the children of Ammon passed over the Jordan to fight also against Judah and against Benjamin and against the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was sore distressed.
10 And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, saying, “We have sinned against Thee, both because we have forsaken our God and also served the Baalim.”
11 And the Lord said unto the children of Israel, “Did not I deliver you from the Egyptians and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon and from the Philistines?
12 The Sidonians also and the Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you; and ye cried to Me, and I delivered you out of their hand.
13 Yet ye have forsaken Me and served other gods: therefore I will deliver you no more.
14 Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen. Let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.”
15 And the children of Israel said unto the Lord, “We have sinned! Do Thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto Thee. Deliver us only, we pray Thee, this day.”
16 And they put away the strange gods from among them and served the Lord; and His soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.
17 Then the children of Ammon were gathered together and encamped in Gilead. And the children of Israel assembled themselves together and encamped in Mizpah.
18 And the people and princes of Gilead said one to another, “What man is he that will begin to fight against the children of Ammon? He shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”
13 And behold, two of them were going that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about seven miles.
14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened.
15 And it came to pass that while they communed and reasoned together, Jesus Himself drew near and went with them.
16 But their eyes were held, that they should not know Him.
17 And He said unto them, “What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another as ye walk and are sad?”
18 And one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto Him, “Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which have come to pass there in these days?”
19 And He said unto them, “What things?” And they said unto Him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people;
20 and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death and have crucified Him.
21 But we trusted that it had been He who should have redeemed Israel. And besides all this, today is the third day since these things were done.
22 Yea, and certain women also of our company, who were early at the sepulcher, made us astonished.
23 And when they found not His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels, who said that He was alive.
24 And certain of those who were with us went to the sepulcher and found it even so as the women had said, but Him they saw not.”
25 Then He said unto them, “O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!
26 Ought not Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?”
27 And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.
28 And they drew nigh unto the village whither they were going, and He made as though He would have gone further.
29 But they constrained Him, saying, “Abide with us, for it is toward evening and the day is far spent.” And He went in to tarry with them.
30 And it came to pass, as He sat at meat with them, He took bread and blessed it, and broke and gave it to them.
31 And their eyes were opened and they knew Him. And He vanished out of their sight.
32 And they said to one another, “Did not our hearts burn within us while He talked with us on the way and while He opened to us the Scriptures?”
33 And they rose up that same hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together and those who were with them,
34 saying, “The Lord is risen indeed and hath appeared to Simon!”
35 And they told what things were done on the way, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread.
36 And as they thus spoke, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them and said unto them, “Peace be unto you.”
37 But they were terrified and afraid, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.
38 And He said unto them, “Why are ye troubled, and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?
39 Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see Me to have.”
40 And when He had thus spoken, He showed them His hands and His feet.
41 And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, He said unto them, “Have ye here any meat?”
42 And they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and of a honeycomb.
43 And He took it and ate before them.
44 And He said unto them, “These are the words which I spoke unto you while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and in the Prophets and in the Psalms concerning Me.”
45 Then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures,
46 and said unto them, “Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day,
47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
48 And ye are witnesses of these things.
49 And behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you; but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until ye be endued with power from on high.”
50 And He led them out as far as to Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them.
51 And it came to pass, while He blessed them, He was parted from them and carried up into Heaven.
52 And they worshiped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy,
53 and were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.
100 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands!
2 Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing!
3 Know ye that the Lord, He is God; it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves. We are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.
4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise! Be thankful unto Him, and bless His name!
5 For the Lord is good, His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endureth to all generations.
11 The house of the wicked shall be overthrown, but the tabernacle of the upright shall flourish.
12 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
Copyright © 1994 by Deuel Enterprises, Inc.