Old/New Testament
Adoni-bezek Is Taken
1 After the death of Joshua, the people of Israel asked the Lord, “Who will be first to go up and fight against the Canaanites for us?” 2 The Lord said, “Judah will go up. See, I have given the land into his hand.” 3 Then Judah said to his brother Simeon, “Come with me into the land which is given to me. Let us fight against the Canaanites together. Then I will go with you into the land which is given to you.” So Simeon went with him. 4 Judah went up, and the Lord gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hands. They killed 10,000 men at Bezek. 5 They found Adoni-bezek in Bezek and fought against him, and they won the war against the Canaanites and the Perizzites. 6 Adoni-bezek tried to run away, but they went after him and caught him. They cut off his thumbs and big toes. 7 Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off had to gather their food under my table. Now God has paid me for what I have done.” So they brought him to Jerusalem and there he died.
8 Then the men of Judah fought against Jerusalem and took it. They destroyed it with the sword and set the city on fire. 9 After this the men of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites living in the hill country, in the Negev and in the plains. 10 Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron. (The name of Hebron was Kiriath-arba before.) They won the war against Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai.
11 From there Judah went against the people of Debir. (The name of Debir was Kiriath-sepher before.) 12 Caleb said, “I will give my daughter Achsah as a wife to the one who fights against Kiriath-sepher and takes it.” 13 Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took the city. So Caleb gave him his daughter Achsah for a wife. 14 When she came to Othniel, she talked him into asking her father for a field. As she came down from her donkey, Caleb said to her, “What do you want?” 15 She said to him, “Give me a special gift. You have given me the land of the Negev. Give me the wells of water also.” So Caleb gave her the wells in the high land and in the valley.
16 The children of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went with the people of Judah from Jericho to the desert of Judah south of Arad. They went and lived with the people. 17 Then Judah went with his brother Simeon. They killed the Canaanites living in Zephath and destroyed the whole city. The name of the city was called Hormah. 18 Judah took Gaza with its land, Ashkelon with its land, and Ekron with its land. 19 The Lord was with Judah. They took the hill country for their own. They could not drive out the people living in the valley, because they had iron war-wagons. 20 They gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had promised, and he drove out the three sons of Anak. 21 But the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem. So the Jebusites have lived with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.
22 The men of the family of Joseph went up against Bethel. And the Lord was with them. 23 Those of the family of Joseph spied out Bethel. (The name of the city was Luz before.) 24 The men who were spying out Bethel saw a man coming out of the city. They said to him, “Show us the way into the city, and we will be kind to you.” 25 So he showed them the way into the city. They destroyed the city with the sword. But they let the man and all his family go free. 26 The man went into the land of the Hittites. He built a city there and gave it the name of Luz. That is its name to this day.
Some of the People Were Not Driven Out of the Land
27 But the men of Manasseh did not take for their own Bethshean and its towns or Taanach and its towns. They did not drive out the people of Dor and its towns, or of Ibleam and its towns, or of Megiddo and its towns. So the Canaanites stayed in that land. 28 When Israel became strong, they made the Canaanites work for them. But they did not drive all of them out.
29 Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who were living in Gezer. So the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them.
30 Zebulun did not drive out the people of Kitron or the people of Nahalol. So the Canaanites lived among them and were made to work.
31 Asher did not drive out the people of Acco, or the people of Sidon, Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, or Rehob. 32 So the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the people of the land. For they did not drive them out.
33 Naphtali did not drive out the people of Beth-shemesh or the people of Beth-anath. But they lived among the Canaanites, the people of the land. The people of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath were made to work for them.
34 The Amorites drove the people of Dan into the hill country. They did not let them come down to the valley. 35 The Amorites would not leave Mount Heres, Aijalon or Shaalbim. But when the family of Joseph became strong, they made the Amorites work for them. 36 The land of the Amorites was from the hill-side of Akrabbim, up from Sela.
The Angel of the Lord Speaks to Israel
2 The angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you out of Egypt and led you into the land I promised your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break My agreement with you. 2 Do not make any agreement with the people of this land. Tear down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed Me. What is this you have done? 3 So now I say, ‘I will not drive them away from you. They will be like thorns in your sides. Their gods will be a trap to you.’” 4 When the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people cried in a loud voice. 5 So they called that place Bochim. And there they gave gifts in worship to the Lord.
The Death of Joshua
6 When Joshua sent the people of Israel away, each one went home to his own land. 7 The people served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the leaders who lived longer than Joshua and who had seen all the great works the Lord had done for Israel. 8 Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died when he was 110 years old. 9 They buried him within his land in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. 10 All the people of that day died. The children who came after them did not know the Lord. They did not know about the things He had done for Israel.
Israel Is No Longer Faithful to the Lord
11 Then the people of Israel sinned in the eyes of the Lord. They served the Baals, the gods of the Canaanites. 12 They turned away from the Lord, the God of their fathers, Who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They followed other gods of the nations around them, and worshiped them. So they made the Lord angry. 13 They turned away from the Lord and served Baal and the Ashtaroth. 14 The Lord was angry with Israel. He gave them into the hands of angry men who robbed them. He sold them into the hands of those around them who hated them. The people of Israel could no longer stand in front of those who hated them. 15 The Lord punished them everywhere they went. The Lord did what He had told them and promised them He would do. The people were very troubled.
16 Then the Lord gave them special men to judge between what was right or wrong. These men saved them from those who robbed them. 17 But the people did not listen to those chosen to judge. The people were not faithful to the Lord and they worshiped other gods. They were quick to turn aside from the way their fathers had walked in obeying the Laws of the Lord. They did not do as their fathers had done. 18 When the Lord gave them special men to judge them, the Lord was with the judge. And He saved them from those who hated them. For the Lord showed them pity because of their pain when others made it hard for them and hurt them. 19 But when the judge died, they would turn again and act worse than their fathers. They would follow other gods and serve them and worship them. They would not give up their sinful acts or their strong wills. 20 So the anger of the Lord was against Israel. He said, “This nation has sinned against My agreement I made with their fathers. They have not listened to My voice. 21 I will stop driving away from them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. 22 I will use them to test Israel. I will see if Israel will keep the way of the Lord to walk in it like their fathers did, or not.” 23 So the Lord let those nations stay. He was not quick to drive them out. And He did not give them into the power of Joshua.
The Nations That Are Still in the Land
3 These are the nations the Lord left to test Israel. They were left to test all those who had not fought in any of the wars in Canaan. 2 So the children of the people of Israel who had not fought in wars might be taught about war. 3 These nations are: the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath. 4 They were left to test Israel, to find out if Israel would obey the Laws the Lord gave their fathers through Moses. 5 The people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites. 6 They married their daughters. They gave their own daughters to their sons, and they worshiped their gods. 7 The people of Israel did what was sinful in the eyes of the Lord. They forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth. 8 So the anger of the Lord was against Israel. He sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia. The people of Israel worked for Cushan-rishathaim for eight years. 9 But the people of Israel cried to the Lord. And the Lord gave the people of Israel someone who would save them. He gave them Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. 10 The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he led Israel. When he went out to war, the Lord gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand. He was stronger than Cushan-rishathaim. 11 The land had rest for forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died.
12 The people of Israel sinned in the eyes of the Lord again. So the Lord gave Eglon king of Moab strength against Israel, because they had sinned in the eyes of the Lord. 13 Eglon gathered together with the people of Ammon and Amalek. They went and won the war against Israel. And they took the city of Jericho. 14 The people of Israel worked for Eglon the king of Moab for eighteen years.
15 But when the people of Israel cried to the Lord, the Lord gave them someone to save them. He gave them Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a left-handed man. The people of Israel sent taxes by him to Eglon the king of Moab. 16 Ehud made a sword for himself with two sharp sides, almost as long as an arm. He tied it to the top part of his right leg, under his coat. 17 Then he brought the taxes to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. 18 When Ehud had finished paying the taxes, he sent away the people who had carried the taxes. 19 But he himself turned around at the stone gods of Gilgal and returned to Eglon, saying, “I have secret news for you, O king.” Eglon said, “Keep quiet.” And all who stood by him went away from him. 20 Ehud came to him while Eglon was sitting alone in his summer room. And Ehud said, “I have news from God for you.” The king got up from his seat. 21 Ehud put out his left hand, took the sword from his right leg, and pushed it into Eglon’s stomach. 22 The whole sword went into his stomach and the fat closed over it. For he did not pull the sword out of his stomach. The insides of Eglon’s stomach ran out. 23 Then Ehud went out the back way. He closed the doors of the summer room behind him, and locked them.
24 When Ehud had gone out, Eglon’s servants came. They saw that the doors of the summer room were locked. So they said, “He is only resting in there away from the heat.” 25 They waited until they were afraid because Eglon did not open the doors of the summer room. So they opened the lock and looked in the doors. And they found their owner lying dead on the floor.
26 Ehud got away while they were waiting. He passed the stone gods and got away to Seirah. 27 When he got there, he blew the horn in the hill country of Ephraim. Then the people of Israel went down with him from the hill country. Ehud went in front of them. 28 He said to them, “Go after them. For the Lord has given into your hands the Moabites who hate you.” So they went down after him. They took over the crossing places of the Jordan beside Moab. And they did not let anyone cross. 29 At that time they killed about 10,000 Moabites, all strong men with strength of heart. No one got away. 30 So Moab was crushed under the power of Israel that day. And the land had rest for eighty years.
31 After Ehud, Shamgar the son of Anath became the leader. He killed 600 Philistines with a stick used to push cattle, and he also saved Israel.
Jesus Was Tempted (A)
4 Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit when He returned from the Jordan River. Then He was led by the Holy Spirit to a desert. 2 He was tempted by the devil for forty days and He ate nothing during that time. After that He was hungry. 3 The devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to be made into bread.” 4 Jesus said to him, “It is written, ‘Man is not to live by bread alone.’” (B) 5 The devil took Jesus up on a high mountain. He had Jesus look at all the nations of the world at one time. 6 The devil said to Jesus, “I will give You all this power and greatness. It has been given to me. I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 If You will worship me, all this will be Yours.” 8 Jesus said to the devil, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You must worship the Lord your God. You must obey Him only.’” (C) 9 Then the devil took Jesus up to Jerusalem. He had Jesus stand on the highest part of the house of God. The devil said to Jesus, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. 10 For it is written, ‘He has told His angels to care for You and to keep You. 11 In their hands they will hold You up. Then Your foot will not hit against a stone.’” (D) 12 Jesus said to the devil, “It is written, ‘You must not tempt the Lord your God.’” (E) 13 When the devil finished tempting Jesus in every way, he went away from Jesus for awhile.
Jesus Preaches in Galilee (F)
14 Jesus went back to Galilee in the power of the Holy Spirit. People talked about Him so much that He was well-known through all the country. 15 Jesus taught in their places of worship and was honored by all people.
In Nazareth They Do Not Believe in Jesus
16 Jesus came to Nazareth where He had grown up. As He had done before, He went into the Jewish place of worship on the Day of Rest. Then He stood up to read. 17 Someone handed Him the book of the early preacher Isaiah. He opened it and found the place where it was written, 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on Me. He has put His hand on Me to preach the Good News to poor people. He has sent Me to heal those with a sad heart. He has sent Me to tell those who are being held that they can go free. He has sent Me to make the blind to see and to free those who are held because of trouble. 19 He sent Me to tell of the time when men can receive favor with the Lord.” (G)
20 Jesus closed the book. Then He gave it back to the leader and sat down. All those in the Jewish place of worship kept their eyes on Him. 21 Then He began to say to them, “The Holy Writings you have just heard have been completed today.”
22 They all spoke well of Jesus and agreed with the words He spoke. They said, “Is not this the son of Joseph?” 23 He said to them, “I wonder if you will tell this old saying to Me, ‘Doctor, heal Yourself. What You did in the city of Capernaum, do in Your own country!’” 24 He said, “A man who speaks for God is not respected in his own country. 25 It is true that there were many women whose husbands had died in the Jewish land when Elijah lived. For three and a half years there was no rain and there was very little food in the land. 26 Elijah was sent to none of them, but he was sent to a woman in the city of Zarephath in the land of Sidon. This woman’s husband had died. 27 There were many people in the Jewish land who had a bad skin disease when the early preacher Elisha lived. None of them was healed. But Naaman from the country of Syria was healed.”
28 All those in the Jewish place of worship were angry when they heard His words. 29 They got up and took Jesus out of town to the top of a high hill. They wanted to throw Him over the side. 30 But Jesus got away from among them and went on His way.
Copyright © 1969, 2003 by Barbour Publishing, Inc.