Old/New Testament
Deborah
4 After Ehud died, the Israelites again did things that the Lord saw were evil. 2 So the Lord put them under the power of King Jabin. He was a Canaanite king who ruled in Hazor.[a] The leader of Jabin's army was called Sisera. Sisera lived in Harosheth Haggoyim. 3 He had 900 iron chariots for his army. He used his power to be cruel to the Israelites for 20 years. So they called out to the Lord for help.
4 At that time, Lappidoth's wife Deborah was leading the Israelites. She was a prophetess. 5 She would sit under a palm tree between Ramah and Bethel to judge people's problems. That was in the hill country of Ephraim. The Israelites would come to her when they had arguments. She would decide who was right.
6 One day, Deborah told Abinoam's son Barak to come to her. He lived in Kedesh, a town in Naphtali. She said to Barak, ‘The Lord, Israel's God, has given you this command: “March to Mount Tabor with 10,000 men who belong to the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun.[b] 7 I will deceive Sisera, the leader of King Jabin's army. He will go to the Kishon river with his great army and all their chariots. I will put them all under your power.” ’
8 Barak said to Deborah, ‘I will go if you will come with me. But if you do not agree to go, I will not go either.’ 9 Deborah said, ‘Yes, I will go with you. But you will not receive honour for the battle. Instead, the Lord will put Sisera under the power of a woman.’
So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 Barak told the men from Zebulun and Naphtali to go with him to Kedesh. 10,000 men came to follow him. Deborah also went with him.
11 A certain Kenite man called Heber, did not live with the other Kenites. They were descendants of Hobab, the father of Moses' wife. Heber was living in a tent beside the big tree in Zaanannim, near Kedesh.
12 Sisera heard news that Abinoam's son Barak had gone up to Mount Tabor. 13 So he gave a command to all his soldiers. He told them to go with him from Harosheth Haggoyim to the Kishon river. They had 900 iron chariots. 14 Then Deborah said to Barak, ‘Get ready! This is the day that the Lord will put Sisera under your power! The Lord will lead you into battle!’
So Barak led his 10,000 soldiers down from Mount Tabor. 15 When they started to attack, the Lord caused Sisera and all his army with their chariots to have great trouble. The Israelites chased them with their swords. Sisera jumped off his chariot and he ran away. 16 Barak and his soldiers chased after Sisera's army and their chariots. They chased them to Harosheth Haggoyim. They killed Sisera's whole army. Not one of their soldiers was still alive!
17 Sisera himself ran to hide in the tent of Heber's wife, Jael. He did that because King Jabin of Hazor had agreed to be friends with Heber's family. 18 Jael came out of her tent to say ‘hello’ to Sisera. She said to him, ‘Please come into my tent, sir. You can rest safely here. Do not be afraid.’ So Sisera went into her tent to rest. Jael put a cloth over him. 19 Sisera said to her, ‘I am thirsty. Please give me some water to drink.’ She gave him some milk from a leather bottle. Then she covered him again with the cloth. 20 Sisera said to her, ‘Stand at the door of your tent and watch. If someone comes to ask if anyone is here, say, “No.” ’
21 But Heber's wife Jael got a tent peg and a hammer.[c] Sisera was very tired and he was asleep. Jael used the hammer to hit the peg into the side of Sisera's head. The peg went through his head into the ground. Sisera died. 22 Barak had been chasing Sisera. Jael went out of her tent to say ‘hello’ to him. She said to Barak, ‘Come here! I will show you the man that you are looking for.’ Barak went with her into the tent. He saw Sisera there. He was lying on the ground and he was dead. Barak saw the peg that had gone through Sisera's head.
23 On that day, God caused King Jabin of Canaan to be very ashamed because the Israelites had won against his army. 24 From that time, the Israelite army became stronger, and King Jabin became weaker. Finally, the Israelites destroyed him.
Deborah's song
5 On that day Deborah sang this song, with Abinoam's son Barak:
2 ‘The leaders of Israel led their people out.
The people were happy to follow them to the battle.
Praise the Lord!
3 Hear this, you kings! Listen, you rulers!
I will sing to worship the Lord.
Yes, I will praise him with a song.
He is the Lord, Israel's God.
4 Lord, you came from Seir mountains.
Yes, you marched from the land of Edom.[d]
As you came, the earth shook.
Rain poured down from the clouds in the sky.
5 The mountains shook when you appeared,
as they shook at Sinai mountain when you showed your power.
You are the Lord, the God of Israel.
6 When Anath's son Shamgar ruled the land,
nobody travelled on the roads.
When Jael ruled, people walked on secret paths,
because they were afraid.
7 Nobody lived in the small villages.
Then I, Deborah, became their leader.
I became like a mother for Israel's people,
to keep them safe.
8 When the Israelites chose new gods to worship,
enemies attacked their cities.
No one in Israel was ready to fight.
Not one of their 40,000 soldiers had a shield or a spear.
9 I thank God for Israel's leaders,
and the people who are ready to fight our enemies.
Praise the Lord!
10 Listen to me, you rich people who ride on white donkeys,
with beautiful cloths to sit on.
And you people who walk along the road,
you should listen too!
11 Listen to the voices of the singers near the wells of water.
They sing about the great things that the Lord has done.
They tell how Israel's soldiers have won against their enemies.
Then the Lord's people marched down to the city gates.
12 “Wake up, Deborah! Wake up and sing a song!
Get up, Barak, son of Abinoam!
Take your enemies away as your prisoners.”
13 The faithful men who remained returned to their leaders.
The Lord's people came to me.
They were ready to fight against our enemies.
14 Some men of Ephraim's tribe came to help,
from the land where Amalek lived.
They followed men of Benjamin's tribe, with their soldiers.
Leaders also came from Makir.
Army officers came from Zebulun's tribe.
15 The leaders of Issachar's tribe were with Deborah.
Yes, the men of Issachar joined with Barak.
Barak led them into the valley.
But the men of Reuben's tribe could not decide what to do.
16 Instead, they stayed to take care of their sheep.
Did they want to listen to the shepherds as they called out to their sheep?
The clans of Reuben's tribe could not agree what they should do.
17 The men of Gilead stayed at home,
on the east side of the Jordan River.
The men of Dan's tribe stayed with their ships.
The men of Asher's tribe also stayed in their homes near the sea.
18 But the men of Zebulun's tribe were not afraid to die in war.
The men of Naphtali's tribe were also ready to attack the enemy.
19 Kings of Canaan came and they fought against us.
They attacked us at Taanach, near the stream at Megiddo.
But they could not take any valuable silver from us.
20 Even the stars fought against Sisera!
They travelled across the sky to attack him.
21 The Kishon river carried away Sisera's soldiers.
It used its power to stop them.
So I will be brave and I will continue to fight!
22 As for the horses of Sisera's army,
their feet made a loud noise as they ran away.
23 The Lord's angel says, “Punish Meroz!
Punish the people who live there,
because they did not come to help the Lord.
They did not agree to fight against the Lord's strong enemy.”
24 But Jael should receive great honour!
Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite,
should receive more honour than all other women who live in tents.
25 Sisera asked her for water to drink, and she gave him milk.
She gave him the best cream in a beautiful bowl.
26 She took a tent peg in her left hand.
She took a worker's hammer in her right hand.
She hit the peg through Sisera's head.
She broke his skull. She broke it completely.
She knocked the sharp peg through his head.
27 He fell to the floor at her feet.
He lay there and he did not move.
He died at the place where he fell.
Jael had killed him!
28 Sisera's mother looked out from the window of her house.
She waited for Sisera to return.
She said, “His chariot has taken a long time to come!
Why do I not yet hear the sound of his horse's feet?”
29 Her wise ladies replied,
and she herself thought the same thing:
30 “They are taking valuable things from their enemies.
They are sharing the things between them.
Each soldier will bring one or two women for himself.
Sisera's share will be some beautiful cloth.
Yes, he is bringing pieces of valuable cloth,
and a beautiful necklace for me!
That is why he is so late to return home.”
31 I pray that all your enemies will die as Sisera died, Lord!
But I pray that those who love you will shine brightly.
May they be strong like the sun at dawn.’
After that, there was peace in Israel for 40 years.
The Midianites give Israel trouble
6 The Israelites did things that the Lord saw were evil. So the Lord put them under the power of the Midianites for seven years. 2 They used their power to be cruel to the Israelites. The Israelites built huts in the hills to live in. They hid themselves in caves and other safe places. 3 When they planted seeds to grow food, their enemies would attack them. The Midianites, Amalekites and people from the east would come to rob them. 4 They made their camps on Israel's land. They took all their crops, as far south as Gaza. They left nothing for the Israelites to eat. They took away their sheep, cows and donkeys. 5 The groups of enemies came with their animals. They put up their tents all across the land. They came like a cloud of locusts. They were too many to count as they arrived on their camels. They took everything that grew on the land. 6 Because of the Midianites, the Israelites became poor and weak. So they called out to the Lord for help.
7 When the Israelites asked the Lord to rescue them from the Midianites, 8 he sent a prophet to them. The prophet said to them, ‘This is what the Lord, Israel's God, says: “I brought you out of Egypt, where you were slaves. 9 I saved you from the power of the Egyptians and all those who were cruel to you. I chased away your enemies and I gave their land to you. 10 I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God. You are now living in the land of the Amorites, but you must not worship their gods.’ But you have not obeyed me.” ’
The Lord chooses Gideon
11 The Lord's angel came to sit under a big oak tree in Ophrah. It belonged to Joash, from Abiezer's clan. When the angel arrived, Joash's son Gideon was threshing wheat. He was doing it in a winepress because he wanted to hide his food from the Midianites. 12 The Lord's angel appeared to Gideon. He said to him, ‘The Lord is with you, brave fighter.’[e] 13 Gideon replied, ‘But sir, if the Lord is with us, why has all this trouble happened to us? Our ancestors told us about all the great things that the Lord did for them. They told us how he brought them safely out of Egypt. But the Lord has not helped us like that. He has turned away from us. He has put us under the power of the Midianites.’
14 The Lord himself then said to Gideon, ‘Go now and use the strength that you have. Rescue Israel from the power of the Midianites. I myself am sending you to do this.’
15 Gideon said, ‘But sir, how can I rescue Israel? Look at me! My clan is the weakest in the tribe of Manasseh. And I am the youngest person in my family.’
16 The Lord answered him, ‘Understand that I will be with you! You will destroy the Midianites as if they were only one man.’
17 Gideon replied, ‘If you are pleased with me, please do something special. I want to know that you really are the Lord who is speaking to me. 18 Please stay here so that I can bring a gift for you.’ The Lord answered, ‘I will stay here until you come back.’
19 Gideon went home and he cooked a young goat. He also used an ephah of flour to make some flat bread. He put the meat in a basket and he put the soup in a pot. He took the food to the one who was sitting under the oak tree.
20 God's angel said to him, ‘Put the meat and the bread on this rock. Pour the soup over them.’ Gideon did what the angel told him to do. 21 Then the Lord's angel touched the meat and the bread with the end of the stick that he held in his hand. Fire came from the rock and it burnt up the meat and the bread. Then the Lord's angel disappeared.
22 Gideon realized that he had been talking to the Lord's angel. He cried out, ‘Oh no! Almighty Lord, I have seen your angel, face to face.’
23 But the Lord said to him, ‘Do not worry. Do not be afraid. You will not die because of this.’[f]
24 So Gideon built an altar there to give honour to the Lord. He called it ‘The Lord is Peace’. The altar is still there, in Ophrah, on the land of Abiezer's clan.
Gideon destroys Baal's altar
25 On the same night, the Lord said to Gideon, ‘Take your father's bull from among his animals. Also take a second bull, one that is seven years old. Use them to pull down your father's altar to Baal. Also cut down the Asherah pole that is there. 26 Then build an altar in their place to give honour to the Lord your God. Build it in the proper way, on top of that hill. Then use the wood from the Asherah pole to burn the second bull as a burnt offering to me.’
27 So Gideon took ten of his servants, and he did what the Lord had said. He was afraid of the people in his father's family and the men of the town. So he did this at night, not in the day.
28 Early the next morning, the men of the town saw that someone had destroyed Baal's altar. They saw that someone had cut down the Asherah pole. They saw that someone had burned the second bull as a sacrifice on a new altar.
29 They asked each other, ‘Who has done this?’ They asked many people until someone told them, ‘Joash's son Gideon has done this.’
30 Then the men of the town said to Joash, ‘Bring Gideon out of your house. We must punish him with death. He has destroyed Baal's altar, and he has cut down the Asherah pole that was beside it.’
31 Joash said to the angry men who were against him, ‘Are you trying to save Baal because he is in trouble? Why should you do that? Anyone who tries to help Baal will die before tomorrow arrives. If Baal really is a god, he should fight for himself. It is his altar that someone has pulled down!’
32 So after that, people called Gideon ‘Jerub-Baal’. That was because Joash had said, ‘Baal should fight for himself. He himself should punish the person who pulled down his altar.’
33 At that time, the Midianites, Amalekites and people of the east made an agreement to fight together. They crossed the Jordan River and they made their camp in the Jezreel valley. 34 Then the Lord's Spirit came to Gideon with power. Gideon made a loud noise with a trumpet. He called the men of Abiezer's clan to follow him. 35 He sent men to take a message to Manasseh's tribe. He told them to send their men to join him. He also told the men of the tribes of Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali to come and join him too. They all came to meet with Gideon.
36 Gideon said to God, ‘I want to know that you will do what you have promised to me. If you will really use me to rescue Israel, please show me that it is true. 37 I will do this: I will put the wool of a sheep's skin out on the stone floor. During the night, please cause the dew to make it wet. If it is wet but the ground around it is dry, I will know that it is true. You will use me to rescue Israel, as you have promised.’
38 That is what happened. When Gideon got up the next morning, the wool was wet. Gideon squeezed water out of it. It was enough to fill a bowl!
39 Then Gideon said to God. ‘Please do not be angry with me. Let me ask you to do one more thing. I will put out the sheep's wool again to see what happens. This time please make the ground wet with dew, but keep only the wool dry.’ 40 That night God did what Gideon had asked. The sheep's wool was dry, but the ground around it was wet with dew.
Jesus causes a bad spirit to leave a man
31 Jesus went to a town in Galilee called Capernaum. On the Jewish day of rest, he taught the people there. 32 The people were very surprised at the things that Jesus taught them. He spoke with authority. 33 There was a sick man in the meeting place. He had a spirit of a bad demon that was living inside him. The spirit caused the man to shout loudly. 34 He said, ‘Jesus from Nazareth, leave us alone! Do not destroy us! I know who you are. You are God's Holy One!’
35 Jesus said to the spirit, ‘Be quiet! Come out of the man!’ Then the bad spirit caused the man to fall to the ground in front of the people. It came out of the man but it did not hurt him.
36 All the people were very surprised and they said to each other, ‘Listen to what this man says! He has power and authority. He tells bad spirits to come out of people, and they come out.’ 37 So they began to tell everyone about Jesus. Because of this, people in all the places near Capernaum heard the news about Jesus.
Jesus makes many people well
38 Jesus then left the meeting place and he went to Simon's home. The mother of Simon's wife was ill and her body was very hot. So they asked Jesus to make her well. 39 Jesus came and he stood near her. He told the illness to go away and immediately she was well again. She got up and she prepared food for her visitors.
40 When the sun was going down, people in the town brought to Jesus all those people who were ill. They had many different kinds of illness. Jesus put his hands on each ill person and they became well again.
41 Also, bad spirits came out of many people. They were shouting, ‘You are the Son of God.’ The spirits knew that Jesus was the Messiah. Because of this, Jesus stopped them. He would not let them speak.
42 Early the next morning, Jesus went to a place where he could be alone. The people went to look for him. When they found him they said, ‘Do not leave us! Please stay here with us.’ 43 Jesus replied, ‘I must go to other towns to tell everyone the good news. I will tell them how God rules in the lives of his people. That is what God sent me to do.’
44 Then he travelled to many towns in the country called Judea. He went into the Jewish meeting places and taught people there.
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