Judges 9 Cross References - LEB

¹ And Abimelech son of Jerub-Baal went to Shechem, to the relatives of his mother, and he said to them and to the house of his mother's father, ² "_⌊Speak to_⌋* the lords of Shechem, 'What is better for you, that seventy men all from the sons of Jerub-Baal rule over you, or that one man rules over you?' Remember that I am your bone and your flesh." ³ And his mother's relatives spoke all these words concerning him _⌊to_⌋* all the lords of Shechem; and _⌊they supported Abimelech_⌋,* for they said, "He is our relative."* ⁴ And they gave to him seventy pieces of silver from the temple* of Baal-Berith, and Abimelech hired with them* worthless and reckless men, and _⌊they followed him_⌋.* ⁵ And he went to his father's house at Ophrah, and he killed his brothers, the sons of Jerub-Baal, seventy men, on one stone. But Jotham the youngest son of Jerub-Baal survived, because he hid himself. ⁶ All the lords of Shechem and Beth-Millo gathered, and they went and made Abimelech as king, near the oak* of the pillar that is at Shechem. ⁷ And they told Jotham, and he went up and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim, and _⌊he cried out loud_⌋* and said to them, "Listen to me, lords of Shechem, so that God may listen to you. ⁸ "The trees went certainly, to anoint a king over themselves. And they said to the olive tree, 'Rule over us.' ⁹ And the olive tree replied, 'Should I stop producing my oil, which by me gods and men are honored, to go sway over the trees?' ¹⁰ Then the trees said to the fig tree, 'You, come rule over us.' ¹¹ But the fig tree said to them, 'Should I stop producing my sweetness, and my good crop, to go sway over the trees?' ¹² And the trees said to the vine, 'You, come rule over us.' ¹³ But the vine said to them, 'Should I stop producing my wine that makes the gods and men happy, to go sway over the trees?' ¹⁴ So all the trees said to the thornbush, 'You, come rule over us.' ¹⁵ And the thornbush said to the trees, 'If in good faith* you are anointing me as king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade; if not, may fire go out from the thornbush and devour the cedars of Lebanon.' ¹⁶ "So then, if you have acted in good faith* and sincerity in making Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerub-Baal and his house, and have dealt with him _⌊according to his accomplishments_⌋*— ¹⁷ for my father fought and _⌊risked his life_⌋* for you and delivered you from the hand of Midian; ¹⁸ but today you have risen against the house of my father and killed his sons, seventy men on one stone, and you have made Abimelech, the son of his slave woman, a king over the lords of Shechem, because he is your relative*— ¹⁹ if you have acted in good faith* and sincerity with Jerub-Baal and his house this day, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you. ²⁰ But if not, let a fire come out from Abimelech and let it devour the lords of Shechem and Beth-Millo; and let a fire come out from the lords of Shechem, and from Beth-Millo, and let it devour Abimelech." ²¹ And Jotham escaped and fled, and went to Beer; he remained there because of Abimelech his brother. ²² Abimelech ruled over Israel three years. ²³ And God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the lords of Shechem, and the lords of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech, ²⁴ so that the violence done to the seventy brothers of Abimelech would be avenged and their blood be placed on Abimelech their brother, who killed them, and on the lords of Shechem, _⌊who helped_⌋* to kill his brothers. ²⁵ And the lords of Shechem set for him ambushes on the top of the mountains, and they robbed all who passed by them along the road; and it was reported to Abimelech. ²⁶ And Gaal son of Ebel and his relatives came, and they crossed over into Shechem, and the lords of Shechem _⌊gave him confidence_⌋.* ²⁷ They went out into the field and harvested their vineyards and trod them, and they _⌊held a festival_⌋.* And they went into the temple* of their god, and they ate and drank and cursed Abimelech. ²⁸ Then Gaal son of Ebed said, "Who is Abimelech, and who are we of Shechem that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerub-Baal, and is not Zebul his chief officer?* Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem. Why should we serve him?* ²⁹ If only this people _⌊were in my command_⌋!* Then I would remove Abimelech, and I would have said,* 'Increase your army and come out!'" ³⁰ When Zebul the commander of the city heard the words of Gaal son of Ebed, _⌊he became angry_⌋,* ³¹ and he sent messengers to Abimelech in Tormah, saying, "Look, Gaal son of Ebed and his relatives are coming to Shechem, and they are stirring up the city against you. ³² So then, get up by night, you and the army that is with you, and lie in ambush in the field. ³³ And in the morning at sunrise, get up and rush the city; and look, when he and the troops who are with him come out to you, _⌊you must act according to whatever opportunity offers itself_⌋.* ³⁴ So Abimelech and all the army that was with him got up by night, and they lay in ambush against Shechem in four divisions.* ³⁵ Gaal son of Ebed went out and stood at the entrance of the city gate, and Abimelech and the army that was with him got up from the ambush. ³⁶ When Gaal saw the army, he said to Zebul, "Look, people are coming down from the top of the mountains!" And Zebul said to him, "_⌊The shadows of the mountains look like people to you_⌋."* ³⁷ _⌊And Gaal spoke again_⌋* and said, "Look, people are coming down from Tabbur-erez, and one division* is coming from the direction of Elon-meonenim."* ³⁸ And Zebul said to him, "Where then _⌊is your boast_⌋,* you who said, 'Who is Abimelech that we should serve him?' Is this not the army that you rejected? Please, go out now and fight against them."* ³⁹ So Gaal went out before the lords of Shechem and fought against Abimelech. ⁴⁰ And Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him; many fell slain up to the entrance of the gate. ⁴¹ So Abimelech resided at Arumah, and Zebul drove out Gaal and his relatives* from living in Shechem. ⁴² On the next day the people went out to the field; and it was reported to Abimelech, ⁴³ so he took the army and divided them into three divisions,* and he laid an ambush in the field. And he saw the people were coming out from the city, and he arose against them and killed them. ⁴⁴ Then Abimelech and the divisions* that were with him dashed out and stood at the entrance of the city gate, and the two divisions dashed out against all who were in the field, and they killed them. ⁴⁵ Abimelech fought against the city all that day, and he captured the city and killed the people that were in it; then he broke down the city and sowed it with salt. ⁴⁶ When all the lords of the tower of Shechem heard, they went to the vault* of the temple* of El-Berith. ⁴⁷ It was told to Abimelech that all the lords of the tower of Shechem had gathered. ⁴⁸ So Abimelech went up Mount Zalmon, he and all his army that were with him, and Abimelech took the ax* in his hand and cut down a bundle of brushwood, and he lifted it and put it on his shoulder. And he said to the army that was with him, "What you have seen me do, quickly do also." ⁴⁹ So the whole army cut down each one branch for himself and followed Abimelech, and they put them against the vault* and set the vault ablaze with fire on those inside, so that all the men of the tower of Shechem died, about a thousand men and women. ⁵⁰ Then Abimelech went to Thebez, and he encamped against Thebez and captured it. ⁵¹ But there was a strong tower in the middle of the city, and all the men, women, and lords of the city fled there and shut themselves in; and they went up to the roof of the tower. ⁵² Abimelech came up to the tower and fought against it, and he came near the entrance of the tower to burn it with fire. ⁵³ But a certain woman* threw an upper millstone on Abimelech's head and cracked open his skull. ⁵⁴ He called quickly to the young man carrying his weapons, and he said to him, "Draw your sword and kill me, so that they will not say of me, 'A woman killed him.'" So the young man* stabbed him, and he died. ⁵⁵ When the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, each one went to his home.* ⁵⁶ So God repaid* the wickedness* that Abimelech committed against his father by killing his seventy brothers. ⁵⁷ And God also repaid all the wickedness* of the men of Shechem on their heads, and the curse of Jotham son of Jerub-Baal fell on them.

¹⁸ And Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem which is in the land of Canaan, _⌊on his way_⌋* from Paddan-Aram. And he camped before the city.

² And Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her. And he took her and lay with her and raped her.

³¹ His concubine who was in Shechem also bore for him a son, and _⌊he named him_⌋* Abimelech.

⁶ Absalom did like this to all of Israel who came to the king for judgment; so Absalom stole the hearts* of the people of Israel.

¹ Then Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all of Israel had come to Shechem to make him king.

³ So they sent and summoned him, and Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came. Then they spoke to Rehoboam, saying,

²⁰ It happened that just when all of Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all of Israel. Not one followed after the house of David except the tribe of Judah alone.

² For look, your enemies roar, and those who hate you have lifted their head. ³ They devise cunning schemes* against your people, and consult together against your protected ones.* ⁴ They say, "Come, let us annihilate them from being a nation, so that the name of Israel will be remembered no more."

¹⁸ Then they said, "Come and let us plan plans against Jeremiah, for instruction will not be lost from the priest, nor advice from the wise man, nor the word from the prophet. Come and _⌊let us bring charges against him_⌋,* and let us not listen attentively to any of his words."

¹⁴ And Laban said to him, "Surely you are my flesh and my bone!" And he stayed with him a month.

³⁰ Now Gideon had seventy sons, _⌊his own offspring_⌋,* for he had many wives.

¹³ To Amasa you shall say: 'Are you not my bones and my flesh? _⌊May God punish me_⌋* if you are not the commander of my army before me forever, in place of Joab.'"

¹ Then all Israel gathered to David in Hebron, saying, "Look—we are your flesh and bones.

³⁰ because we are members of his body.

¹⁴ Therefore, since the children share in blood and flesh, he also in like manner shared in these same things, in order that through death he could destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,

¹⁵ Then Laban said to Jacob, "Just because you are my brother should you work for me for nothing? Tell me what your wage should be."

³ for the wicked boasts about the desire of his _⌊heart_⌋,* and the one greedy for gain curses and treats Yahweh with contempt.

¹¹ If they say, "Come with us! We shall lie in wait for blood; we shall ambush the innocent without cause.* ¹² Like Sheol,* we will swallow them alive and whole, _⌊like those who descend to the pit_⌋.* ¹³ We shall find all precious wealth, we shall fill our houses with booty, ¹⁴ you shall throw your lot in our midst, there will be one purse for all of us."

³³ And it happened, as soon as Gideon died, the _⌊Israelites_⌋* returned and prostituted themselves after the Baals, and they made for themselves Baal-Berith as god.

⁴⁶ When all the lords of the tower of Shechem heard, they went to the vault* of the temple* of El-Berith. ⁴⁷ It was told to Abimelech that all the lords of the tower of Shechem had gathered. ⁴⁸ So Abimelech went up Mount Zalmon, he and all his army that were with him, and Abimelech took the ax* in his hand and cut down a bundle of brushwood, and he lifted it and put it on his shoulder. And he said to the army that was with him, "What you have seen me do, quickly do also." ⁴⁹ So the whole army cut down each one branch for himself and followed Abimelech, and they put them against the vault* and set the vault ablaze with fire on those inside, so that all the men of the tower of Shechem died, about a thousand men and women.

³ So Jephthah fled from the presence of his brothers, and he lived in the land of Tob. And _⌊outlaws_⌋* gathered around Jephthah and went with him.

² Every man in distress and every man who had a creditor and every embittered man gathered to him, and he became _⌊their commander_⌋.* Now there were about four hundred men with him.

⁷ and worthless men, _⌊sons of wickedness_⌋,* were gathered about him and became hostile against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was a boy and gentle of heart and was not strong enough to stand before them.

⁸ _⌊A senseless crowd_⌋,* yes, _⌊a disreputable brood_⌋,* they were cast out from the land.

¹¹ He who works his land will have plenty of food, but he who follows worthless things lacks _⌊sense_⌋.*

⁵ But the Jews were filled with jealousy and, taking along some worthless men from the rabble in the marketplace and forming a mob, threw the city into an uproar. And attacking Jason's house, they were looking for them to bring them* out to the popular assembly.

²⁴ And Gideon built there an altar to Yahweh, and he called it "Yahweh is peace." To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.*

² "_⌊Speak to_⌋* the lords of Shechem, 'What is better for you, that seventy men all from the sons of Jerub-Baal rule over you, or that one man rules over you?' Remember that I am your bone and your flesh."

¹⁷ Then he came to Samaria and killed all who remained to Ahab in Samaria until he wiped them out according to the word of Yahweh which he had spoken to Elijah.

¹ Now Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, so she prepared to destroy all of the offspring of the royal family. ² But Jehosheba the daughter of King Joram and sister of Ahaziah took Jehoash the son of Ahaziah, and she stole him from among the sons of the king who were being put to death, putting him and his nurse in the inner bedroom. So they hid him from the presence of Athaliah, and he was not killed.

⁴ When Jehoram ascended to the kingdom of his father, he strengthened himself and murdered all his brothers with the sword, and even some of the princes of Israel.

¹⁶ Then Herod, when he* saw that he had been deceived by the wise men, became very angry, and he sent soldiers* and* executed all the children in Bethlehem and in all the region around it from the age of two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined precisely from the wise men.

²⁰ saying, "Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the life of the child are dead."

²⁶ Then Joshua wrote these words in a scroll of the law of God, and he took a large stone and set it up there under a large tree, which is at the shrine of Yahweh.

⁹ David occupied the fortress and called it the city of David. And David built all around it from the Millo and _⌊inward_⌋.*

²⁵ Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and he resided in it. Then he went out from there and built Penuel.

²⁰ Then his servants arose and conspired and killed Joash in the house of the Millo as he was going down toward Silla.

²⁹ "And it will happen that when Yahweh your God has brought you to _⌊the land that you are going to_⌋,* to take possession of it, then* you shall pronounce the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal.

¹² "These tribes shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people _⌊when you cross_⌋* the Jordan: Simeon and Levi and Judah and Issachar and Joseph and Benjamin.

³³ Then all Israel, _⌊foreigner as well as native_⌋,* with the elders, officials, and judges stood _⌊on either side_⌋* of the ark before the priests and the Levites, who carried the ark of the covenant of Yahweh. Half of them stood in front of Mount Gerizim, and the other half in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses Yahweh's servant had commanded before to bless the people of Israel.

⁴⁰ And you _⌊made my enemies turn their backs_⌋,* then I destroyed those who hated me. ⁴¹ They cried out but there was no rescuer, even to Yahweh, but he did not answer them.

¹⁵ And call me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will glorify me." ¹⁶ But to the wicked God says, "What right have you to recite my statutes and _⌊mention my covenant with your mouth_⌋,* ¹⁷ while you yourself hate discipline, and cast my words behind you? ¹⁸ When you see a thief, then you are pleased with him, and your association is with adulterers. ¹⁹ You give your mouth free rein for evil, and you harness your tongue to deceit. ²⁰ You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your mother's son. ²¹ These things you have done, and I have been silent; You imagined that I was just like you. I will rebuke you and present an argument before your eyes.

²⁸ then they will call* me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but not find me. ²⁹ Since they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of Yahweh,

¹³ He who closes his ear from the cry of the poor, he also will cry out and not be heard.

⁹ He who turns his ear from listening to instruction, even his prayer is an abomination.

¹⁵ And when you stretch out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers,* I will not be listening. Your hands are full of blood.

⁶ Is this not the fast I choose: to release the bonds of injustice, to untie the ropes of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and _⌊tear_⌋* every yoke to pieces? ⁷ Is it not to break your bread for the hungry? You must bring _⌊home_⌋* the poor, the homeless. When you see the naked, you must cover him, and you must not hide yourself from your _⌊relatives_⌋.* ⁸ Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall grow quickly. And your salvation shall go before you; the glory of Yahweh will be your rear guard. ⁹ Then you shall call, and Yahweh himself will answer. You shall cry for help, and he will say, 'Here I am!' If you remove from among you the yoke, the _⌊finger-pointing_⌋* and _⌊evil speech_⌋,* ¹⁰ if* you offer your soul to the hungry, and you satisfy the appetite of the afflicted, then* your light shall rise in the darkness, and your darkness will be like noon.

²⁶ Then the slave threw himself to the ground and* began to do obeisance to him, saying, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay back everything to you!' ²⁷ So the master of that slave, because he* had compassion, released him and forgave him the loan. ²⁸ But that slave went out and* found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii, and taking hold of him, he began to choke him,* saying, 'Pay back everything that you owe!' ²⁹ Then his fellow slave threw himself to the ground and* began to implore* him, saying, 'Be patient with me and I will repay you!' ³⁰ But he did not want to, but rather he went and* threw him into prison until he would repay what was owed. ³¹ So when* his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were extremely distressed, and went and* reported to their master everything that had happened. ³² Then his master summoned him and* said to him, 'Wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you implored me! ³³ Should you not also have shown mercy to your fellow slave as I also showed mercy to you?' ³⁴ And because he* was angry, his master handed him over to the merciless jailers* until he would repay everything that was owed.

²⁰ Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you people* say that in Jerusalem is the place where it is necessary to worship."

¹³ For judgment is merciless to the one who has not practiced mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

²² The men of Israel said to Gideon, "Rule over us, both you and your sons, and your sons' son, for you have delivered 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; Yahweh will rule over you."

⁹ So Jehoash the king of Israel sent to Amaziah, saying, "The thornbush which is in Lebanon sent to the cedar which is in Lebanon, saying, 'Give your daughter to my son as wife,' but an animal of the field which is in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thornbush.

³ and you must say, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "_⌊The great eagle with great wings and long feathers_⌋* and _⌊full of variegated plumage_⌋* came to Lebanon and he took the treetop of the cedar. ⁴ He plucked the top of its new plant shoot, and he brought it to the land of Canaan and put it in a city of merchants, ⁵ and he took from the seed of the land and placed it in _⌊fertile soil_⌋* on* many waters; like a willow he planted it. ⁶ And it sprouted, and _⌊it became a vine spreading out_⌋,* low of height, turning its branches to him, and its roots were under it, and _⌊it became a vine_⌋,* and it made* branches, and it sent out foliage. ⁷ " '"And there was another great eagle, great of wings and with abundant plumage, and look! This vine stretched out its roots toward him and extended its branches to him to water it from the garden bed _⌊where it was planted_⌋.* ⁸ It was planted in* a good field by* many waters* to produce branches* and to bear fruit to become* _⌊a beautiful vine_⌋." '* ⁹ Say, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Will it prosper? Will he not tear out its roots, and will he not make its fruit scaly, and it will wither, and all of the freshness of its vegetation will dry up? And to lift it from its roots _⌊will not require great strength or many people_⌋.* ¹⁰ And look! Though it is planted, will it prosper? _⌊When the east wind strikes it_⌋,* will it not dry up completely? On the garden bed of its vegetation it will dry up!" '"

¹⁰ Now these were the visions of my head as I was lying on my bed: I was _⌊gazing_⌋* and, look, a tree was in the midst of the earth, and its height was exalted. ¹¹ The tree grew and it became strong, and its height reached to heaven,* and _⌊it was visible to the end of the whole earth_⌋.* ¹² Its foliage was beautiful, and its fruit abundant, and in it was provision for all. Under it the animals* of the field sought shade, and in its branches the birds of heaven* nested, and from it all the living beings were fed. ¹³ " 'I was looking in the vision of my head as I lay on my bed, and look, a watcher,* and a holy one, came down from heaven. ¹⁴ He cried _⌊aloud_⌋* and so he said:
"Cut down the tree and chop off its branches; shake off its foliage and scatter its fruit. Let the animals flee from under it, and the birds from its branches. ¹⁵ But the stump of its roots leave in the earth, _⌊along with_⌋* a band of iron and bronze; leave it in the grass of the field. And in* the dew of heaven let it* be watered, and with the animals* let his lot be in the grass of the earth. ¹⁶ Let his mind be changed from that of a human,* and let the mind of an animal be given to him, and let seven times pass over him. ¹⁷ The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, and the decision by the command of the holy ones, _⌊in order that_⌋* the living will know that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdom of humankind, and _⌊to whomever_⌋* he wills he gives it, and he even sets the humblest of men over it." ¹⁸ " 'This is the dream that I, Nebuchadnezzar the king, saw. Now* you, Belteshazzar, declare its explanation, _⌊for_⌋* all of the wise men of my kingdom were not able to make the explanation known to me, but you are able because the spirit of holy gods is in you.'

² and unleavened bread and unleavened, ring-shaped bread cakes mixed with oil, and wafers of unleavened breads smeared with oil. You will make them with finely milled wheat flour,

⁷ And you will take the anointing oil and pour it on his head and anoint him.

¹⁴ and lampstand of the light and its equipment and its lamps and the oil for the light;

¹ " 'When a person* brings a grain offering to Yahweh, his offering must be finely milled flour, and he must pour out oil on it and place frankincense on it.

¹⁵ Then Yahweh said to him, "Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. Go and anoint Hazael as king over Aram; ¹⁶ and Jehu son of Nimshi you shall anoint as king over Israel. You shall also anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel-Meholah as prophet in your place.

⁷ So* Yahweh said to Satan,* "From where have you come?"
Then* Satan* answered Yahweh and said, "From roaming on the earth and from walking about in it."

² So* Yahweh _⌊asked_⌋* Satan,* "From where have you come?"
And Satan* answered Yahweh and said, "From roaming on the earth and from walking about in it."

²⁰ I have found David, my servant. With my holy oil I have anointed him,

¹⁵ and wine that makes glad the heart of man, so that their faces shine from oil, and bread that strengthens the heart of man.

²⁷ For in truth both Herod and Pontius Pilate, together with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, assembled together in this city against your holy servant Jesus whom you anointed,

³⁸ Jesus of Nazareth—how God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with him.

²⁰ And you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know.

⁶ And he told this parable: "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any.* ⁷ So he said to the gardener, 'Behold, _⌊for three years_⌋* I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree and did not find any.* Cut it down!* Why should it even exhaust the soil?'

⁵ and you will add a fourth of wine for the libation upon the burnt offering, or to the sacrifice for each ram-lamb.

⁷ You will present a third of the liquid measure of wine for the libation, a fragrance of appeasement for Yahweh.

¹⁰ and you will present half a liquid measure of wine as a libation, as an offering made by fire, a fragrance of appeasement for Yahweh.

⁶ Give strong drink to him who is perishing, and wine to those _⌊in bitter distress_⌋.*

¹⁹ _⌊Feasts are held for celebration_⌋,* wine cheers the living, and money answers everything.

²⁸ Because fire went out from Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon; it consumed Ar of Moab, the lords of the* high places of Arnon.

²⁰ But if not, let a fire come out from Abimelech and let it devour the lords of Shechem and Beth-Millo; and let a fire come out from the lords of Shechem, and from Beth-Millo, and let it devour Abimelech."

⁴⁹ So the whole army cut down each one branch for himself and followed Abimelech, and they put them against the vault* and set the vault ablaze with fire on those inside, so that all the men of the tower of Shechem died, about a thousand men and women.

¹⁶ The trees of Yahweh drink their fill, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted,

³¹ And the strong man shall become like tinder, and his work like a spark. And both of them shall burn together, and there is not one to quench them."

¹³ and against all the lofty and lifted up cedars of Lebanon, and against all the large trees of Bashan,

² Who go to go down to Egypt, but* they do not ask of my mouth, to take refuge in the protection of Pharaoh and to take refuge in the shadow of Egypt.

²⁴ By the hand of your servants you have taunted the Lord, and you have said, "With my many chariots,* I myself have gone up the height of the mountains, to the remote areas of Lebanon. And I cut off _⌊its tall cedars_⌋,* the choicest of its junipers. And I came to the height of its limit, the forest of its orchard.*

¹⁴ And so fire has gone out from the stem of its branches; its fruit it has consumed, and there was not in it _⌊a strong branch_⌋,* a scepter for ruling.'"
This is a lament, and _⌊it will be used as a lament_⌋.*

³ Look! Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon, with beautiful branches* and a forest giving shade, and _⌊very high_⌋,* and its treetop was between the clouds.

¹² Its foliage was beautiful, and its fruit abundant, and in it was provision for all. Under it the animals* of the field sought shade, and in its branches the birds of heaven* nested, and from it all the living beings were fed.

⁷ _⌊They will again dwell_⌋* in my* shadow; they will grow grain and they will blossom like the plant vine; his fame will be like the wine of Lebanon.

³² _⌊It_⌋* is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it is grown it is larger than the garden herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches."

³⁵ nor did they show favor* to the house of Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) in accordance with all the good that he did for Israel.

¹ Then Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) rose early, and all the army that was with him. They were camped beside the spring of Harod;* the camp of Midian was north of the hill of Moreh, in the valley. ² And Yahweh said to Gideon, "The troops that are with you are too many for me to give Midian into their hands; Israel will boast, saying, 'My hand has delivered me.' ³ So then, please proclaim in the _⌊hearing_⌋* of the troops, saying, 'Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return and depart from the Mount of Gilead.'" About twenty-two thousand troops returned, and ten thousand remained. ⁴ And Yahweh said to Gideon, "There are still too many troops; bring them down to the water, and I will sift through them* for you there. For whomever I say to you, 'This one will go with you,' he will go with you; and for all whom I say to you, 'This one will not go with you,' he will not go." ⁵ So he brought down the troops to the water, and Yahweh said to Gideon, "You must separate everyone who laps up the water to drink with his tongue like a dog from those _⌊who kneel_⌋."* ⁶ The number of those lapping up the water with their hand to their mouth was three hundred men; all the rest of the troops kneeled to drink the water. ⁷ And Yahweh said to Gideon, "I will deliver you with the three hundred men lapping up the water; I will give Midian into your hand, so let the other troops go, each to his own place. ⁸ So they took their provisions and their trumpets into their hand, and he sent all the men of Israel, each one, to his tent; but three hundred of the men he kept; the camp of Midian was below him in the valley. ⁹ And that night Yahweh said to him, "Get up; go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand. ¹⁰ But if you are afraid, go down to the camp with Purah your servant, ¹¹ and you will hear what they say; and afterward _⌊you will have courage_⌋,* and you will go down against the camp." Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outpost of the armed men* that were in the camp. ¹² Now the Midianites,* Amalekites,* and all the people of the east were lying in the valley, like a great multitude of locusts; their camels were without number, as numerous as the sand that is on the shore of the sea. ¹³ When Gideon came, a man was recounting a dream* to his friend, and he said, "Behold, _⌊I had a dream_⌋;* a round loaf of barley bread was tumbling into the camp of Midian, and it came up to the tent, it struck it, and it fell and turned it upside down so that the tent fell." ¹⁴ His friend answered him and said, "This cannot be anything except the sword of Gideon son of Jehoash, a man of Israel; God has given Midian and the entire camp into his hand." ¹⁵ When Gideon heard the recounting of the dream* and its interpretation, he bowed down and returned to the camp of Israel; and he said, "Get up, for Yahweh has given the camp of Midian into your hand." ¹⁶ He divided the three hundred men into three companies,* and he put trumpets and empty jars in everyone's hand, with torches inside the jars. ¹⁷ And he said to them, "Watch me and do the same. When I come to the edge of the camp, _⌊do just as I do_⌋.* ¹⁸ When I and all who are with me blow on the trumpet, you must also blow on the trumpets and surround the camp, and you must say, 'To Yahweh and to Gideon!'" ¹⁹ So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle night-watch, when they had just finished setting up the guards, and they blew on the trumpets and smashed the jars that were in their hands.* ²⁰ When three companies* blew on the trumpets and broke the jars, they held in their left hand the torches and in their right hand the trumpets for blowing, and they cried, "A sword for Yahweh and for Gideon!" ²¹ And each stood _⌊in his place_⌋* all around the camp, and all the camp ran, and they cried out as they fled. ²² When they blew the three hundred trumpets, Yahweh set the sword of each one against his neighbor throughout the whole camp, and the camp* fled as far as Beth Shittah toward Zererah, up to Abel Meholah, the border by Tabbath. ²³ And the men of Israel were called from Naphtali, from Asher, and from all of Manasseh, and they pursued after Midian. ²⁴ And Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, "Come down to oppose* Midian, and capture from them the waters up to Beth Barah and the Jordan." He called out all the men of Ephraim, and they captured the waters up to Beth Barah and the Jordan. ²⁵ And they captured the two commanders of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb, and they killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and they killed Zeeb at the wine press of Zeeb, while they chased Midian; and they brought the heads* of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon from beyond the Jordan.

⁴ Then Gideon came to the Jordan, crossing it with the three hundred men who were with him, weary and pursuing. ⁵ He said to the men of Succoth, "Please give loaves of bread to the people who are _⌊following me_⌋,* for they are weary, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian." ⁶ The officials of Succoth said, "Is the hand* of Zebah and Zalmunna in your hand now, that we should give bread to your army?" ⁷ Gideon said, "Well then, when Yahweh gives Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will trample your flesh with the thorns and briers of the wilderness." ⁸ He went from there to Penuel, and he spoke similarly to them; and the men of Penuel answered him just as the men of Succoth answered. ⁹ And he said also to the men of Penuel, saying, "When I return _⌊safely_⌋,* I will tear down this tower." ¹⁰ Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their armies with them, about fifteen thousand men remained from the entire army* of the people of the east; those that fell in battle were one hundred and twenty thousand _⌊swordsmen_⌋.*

¹⁶ "Go, gather all the Jews that are found in Susa and fast for me; do not eat or drink for three days, both night and day. I and my young girls will fast likewise, and then I will go to the king, which is not according to the law; if I perish, I perish.

⁸ but God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while* we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

⁴ who risked their own necks for my life, for which not only I am thankful, but also all the churches of the Gentiles;

¹¹ And they conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives until death.

³⁰ Now Gideon had seventy sons, _⌊his own offspring_⌋,* for he had many wives. ³¹ His concubine who was in Shechem also bore for him a son, and _⌊he named him_⌋* Abimelech.

⁵ And he went to his father's house at Ophrah, and he killed his brothers, the sons of Jerub-Baal, seventy men, on one stone. But Jotham the youngest son of Jerub-Baal survived, because he hid himself. ⁶ All the lords of Shechem and Beth-Millo gathered, and they went and made Abimelech as king, near the oak* of the pillar that is at Shechem.

¹⁴ So all the trees said to the thornbush, 'You, come rule over us.'

⁴ In return for my love they accuse me, though I am in prayer.*

⁶ "Because this people has refused the gently flowing waters of Shiloah and rejoices over Rezin and the son of Remaliah,

³ For we are the circumcision, the ones who worship* by the Spirit* of God and boast in Christ Jesus and do not put confidence in the flesh,

¹⁶ But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

²² When they blew the three hundred trumpets, Yahweh set the sword of each one against his neighbor throughout the whole camp, and the camp* fled as far as Beth Shittah toward Zererah, up to Abel Meholah, the border by Tabbath.

¹⁵ And the thornbush said to the trees, 'If in good faith* you are anointing me as king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade; if not, may fire go out from the thornbush and devour the cedars of Lebanon.'

²³ And God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the lords of Shechem, and the lords of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech,

⁵⁶ So God repaid* the wickedness* that Abimelech committed against his father by killing his seventy brothers. ⁵⁷ And God also repaid all the wickedness* of the men of Shechem on their heads, and the curse of Jotham son of Jerub-Baal fell on them.

²² And _⌊when_⌋* they began with singing and praise, Yahweh set ambushes against the people* of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir who were coming against Judah. And they were defeated ²³ when the people* of Ammon and Moab rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to destroy and demolish them. And when the inhabitants of Seir had made an end of them, each helped to destroy his comrade.

⁹ You will make them like your fiery furnace at the time of your appearance. Yahweh will swallow them in his wrath and fire will consume them. ¹⁰ You will destroy their _⌊offspring_⌋* from the earth, and their _⌊descendants_⌋* from among the children of humankind.

⁴ Give to them according to their work, even according to the evil of their deeds. Give to them according to the work of their hands; repay them their rightful due.

¹ For the music director. A maskil of David. When Doeg the Edomite came and informed Saul. And he said to him, "David has come to the house of Ahimelech."*
Why do you boast about evil, O mighty man? The loyal love of God endures _⌊continually_⌋.* ² Your tongue plans destruction, like a sharp razor, working deceit. ³ You love evil more than good, a lie more than speaking _⌊what is right_⌋.* Selah ⁴ You love all devouring words, O deceitful tongue, ⁵ but God will pull you down forever. He will snatch you and tear you away from your tent, and he will uproot you from the land of the living. Selah

³ What shall be given to you,* and what more shall be done to you, deceitful tongue? ⁴ The sharpened arrows of a warrior, with burning charcoals from broom trees.

¹⁰ Let burning coals fall on them; let them be dropped into the fire, into bottomless pits from which they cannot rise.

¹⁶ From there they went to Beer, which is the water well where Yahweh spoke to Moses, "Gather the people, that I may give them water."

⁸ and all the villages that were around these towns up to Baalat-Beor, Ramath of the Negev.* This was the inheritance of the tribe of the descendants* of Simeon according to their families.

¹⁴ (He* had passed through all the tribes of Israel to Abel and Beth Maacah; now all of the Berites had been treated badly, so they also followed after him.)

¹⁵ And the thornbush said to the trees, 'If in good faith* you are anointing me as king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade; if not, may fire go out from the thornbush and devour the cedars of Lebanon.' ¹⁶ "So then, if you have acted in good faith* and sincerity in making Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerub-Baal and his house, and have dealt with him _⌊according to his accomplishments_⌋*—

¹⁴ Now the Spirit of Yahweh departed from Saul and an evil spirit from Yahweh tormented him. ¹⁵ So the servants of Saul said to him, "Look please, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. ¹⁶ Please, let our lord command your servants who are before you! Let them seek a man skilled in playing on the lyre. _⌊When_⌋* the evil spirit from God is upon you, he can play _⌊on it_⌋* and _⌊you will feel better_⌋."*

⁹ So Saul was watching* David with suspicion from that day onward. ¹⁰ _⌊On_⌋* the next day, the evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he prophesied in the middle of the house. Now David was playing the lyre with his hand on that day _⌊as usual_⌋,* and the spear was in Saul's hand.

¹⁵ So the king did not listen to the people, for it was a turning of events from Yahweh in order to fulfill his word which Yahweh had spoken through the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

²² He said, 'I will go out and I will be a false spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' And he* said, 'You shall entice and succeed, go out and do so.' ²³ So then, see that Yahweh has placed a false spirit in the mouth of all of these your prophets, and Yahweh has spoken disaster concerning you."

¹⁵ So the king did not listen to the people, for it was a turning of events from God, so that Yahweh might fulfill his word that he had spoken by the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat.

¹⁹ And Yahweh said, 'Who will entice Ahab the king of Israel that he would go up and fall at Ramoth-Gilead?' And one said this, and another said that. ²⁰ Then a spirit came forth and stood before Yahweh and said, 'I will entice him.' Then Yahweh said to him, 'By what means?' ²¹ Then he said, 'I will go forth and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' And he said, 'You will entice him and will also succeed. Go out and do so.' ²² So now, behold, Yahweh has put a spirit of deception into the mouths of these your prophets. Yahweh has spoken disaster against you."

² "And I will stir up _⌊Egyptians_⌋* against _⌊Egyptians_⌋,* and each one will fight against his brother and each one against his neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom.

¹⁴ Yahweh has mixed a spirit of confusion into her midst, and they have caused Egypt to stagger in all of its doings, as _⌊when a drunkard staggers_⌋* in his vomit.

¹ Ah, destroyer, and yourself not destroyed! And treacherous one, and no one has dealt treacherously with him!* When you _⌊cease_⌋* destroying, you will be destroyed. When you stop dealing treacherously, one will deal treacherously with you.

² For by what judgment you judge, you will be judged, and by what measure you measure out, it will be measured out to you.

¹¹ And because of this, God sends them _⌊a powerful delusion_⌋* so that they will believe the lie, ¹² in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth, but delighted in unrighteousness.

³³ So you will not pollute the land in which you are; because blood pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is poured out on it except with the blood of the one who poured it out.

²⁵ 'Cursed be the one who takes a bribe _⌊to murder an innocent person_⌋.'* And all the people shall say, 'Amen.'

³³ Samuel said,
"Just as your sword bereaved women, so will your mother be bereaved among women!"
Then Samuel hacked Agag to pieces in the presence of Yahweh at Gilgal.

³² Yahweh will return his blood on his head, because he fell upon two men, more righteous and better than he, and he killed them with the sword, even though my father did not know it; namely Abner son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah.

²⁵ But when it came* _⌊to the attention of_⌋* the king, he _⌊gave orders in writing_⌋* that his evil plot that he had devised against the Jews should return on his head, and they hung him and his sons on the gallows.

¹⁶ His trouble comes back on his head, and his violence comes down on his skull.

³⁴ For this reason, behold, I am sending to you prophets and wise men and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues and will pursue from town to town, ³⁵ so that upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on the earth from the blood of righteous Abel up to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. ³⁶ Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation!

⁴ And he commanded them, saying, "Look, you are to lay an ambush against the city from behind. Do not go very far from the city and be ready.

¹² And he took about five thousand men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city. ¹³ So they stationed the forces; all the army was north of the city while _⌊the rear guard was west_⌋.* But Joshua went that night to the middle of the valley.

¹¹ If they say, "Come with us! We shall lie in wait for blood; we shall ambush the innocent without cause.* ¹² Like Sheol,* we will swallow them alive and whole, _⌊like those who descend to the pit_⌋.*

⁸ Then Abram said to Lot, "Please, let there not be quarreling between me and you, and between my shepherds and your shepherds, for we men are brothers.

⁷ And he said, "No, my brothers, please do not do such a wrong thing.

⁶ And they started early the next day, and they offered burnt offerings, and they presented fellowship offerings, and the people sat to eat and drink, and they rose up to revel.

¹⁹ _⌊And_⌋* as he came near to the camp, he saw the bull calf and dancing, and _⌊Moses became angry_⌋,* and he threw the tablets from his hand, and he broke them under the mountain.

¹¹ Then* the Israelite woman's son blasphemed the name, and he cursed, so* they brought him to Moses—and the name of his mother was Shelomith the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.

⁴ And they gave to him seventy pieces of silver from the temple* of Baal-Berith, and Abimelech hired with them* worthless and reckless men, and _⌊they followed him_⌋.*

⁴⁶ When all the lords of the tower of Shechem heard, they went to the vault* of the temple* of El-Berith.

²³ The rulers of the Philistines had gathered to sacrifice a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to rejoice. And they said, "Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hand."

⁴³ So the Philistine said to David, "Am I a dog, that you are coming to me with sticks?" Then the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

¹⁷ Because he loved cursing, let it come upon him. Because he did not delight in blessing, let it be far from him.

⁹ Therefore I weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vine of Sibmah. I drench you with my tears,* Heshbon and Elealeh, for a jubilant shout has fallen over your summer fruit and harvest. ¹⁰ And joy and gladness are* taken away from the fruitful land, and in the vineyards no one exults, no one shouts for joy; no treader treads wine in the presses; I have put to an end to the jubilant shout.

¹² And the Lord, Yahweh of hosts, called on that day
for weeping and mourning, and for baldness and girding _⌊with_⌋* sackcloth. ¹³ But look! Joy and gladness, the killing of oxen* and the slaughtering of sheep, the eating of meat and the drinking of wine! "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!" ¹⁴ And it was revealed in my ears by Yahweh of hosts:
"Surely this sin will not be atoned for you until you die!" says the Lord, Yahweh of hosts.

⁷ The new wine dries up; the vine languishes. All the merry of heart sigh; ⁸ the joy of the tambourine has stopped. The noise of the jubilant has ceased; the joy of the lyre has stopped. ⁹ They do not drink wine with song; strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.

³⁰ And you yourself shall prophesy against them all these words, and you shall say to them:
'Yahweh will roar from on high, and from _⌊his holy dwelling place_⌋* he will give his voice. He will roar mightily against his settlement, a jubilant shout like those who tread grapes, he will answer against all the inhabitants of the earth.

¹ Belshazzar the king made a great festival for a thousand of his lords,* and _⌊in the presence of_⌋* the thousand lords he was drinking wine.* ² _⌊When he tasted the wine_⌋,* Belshazzar commanded that they bring the vessels of gold and silver that Nebuchadnezzar his _⌊predecessor_⌋* had taken from the temple that was in Jerusalem, so that the king and his lords,* his wives and his concubines may drink from them. ³ Then they brought in the vessels of gold that they took from the temple, the house of God that was in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords,* his wives and his concubines drank from them. ⁴ They drank the wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone.*

²³ And now you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven, and the vessels of his temple you have brought in before you, and you and your lords,* your wives and your concubines, have been drinking wine from* them, and you have praised the gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone* that do not see and do not hear and do not know, but the God _⌊who holds your life in his hand_⌋* and all of your ways _⌊come from him_⌋,* you have not honored.

³ You that put off the day of disaster and bring near a reign of violence! ⁴ Alas for those who lie on beds of ivory and lounge on their couches, and those eating young rams from the sheep and goats, and bull-calves from the middle of the animal stall. ⁵ Alas for those who sing to the tune of the harp; like David they improvise on instruments of music. ⁶ Alas for those who drink from sprinkling bowls of wine and anoint themselves with the best of olive oils and are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph.

¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many possessions stored up for many years. Relax, eat, drink, celebrate!" ' ²⁰ But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your life* is demanded from you, and the things which you have prepared—whose will they be?'

²⁶ And just as it was in the days of Noah, so also it will be in the days of the Son of Man— ²⁷ they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. ²⁸ Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building. ²⁹ But on the day that Lot went out from Sodom, it rained fire and sulphur from heaven and destroyed them all.

⁶ And Hamor, father of Shechem, went out to Jacob to speak with him.

¹⁰ But Nabal answered David's servants and said, "Who is David? And who is the son of Jesse? Today, there are many servants breaking away from the presence of their masters.

¹ Now a man of wickedness was found there whose name was Sheba the son of Bichri, a Benjaminite. He blew the horn and said, "There is no share for us in David, and there is no inheritance for us in the son of Jesse; each to his tents, O Israel!"

¹⁶ When all of Israel saw that the king would not listen to them, the people answered the king, saying, "_⌊What share do we have in David_⌋?* There is no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, Israel! Now look to your house, David!" Then Israel went to their* tents.

¹⁴ Abner said to Joab, "Let the young men come up and fight in our presence." And Joab said, "Let them come up." ¹⁵ So they came forward and passed by in number: twelve for Benjamin and for Ish-Bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve from the servants of David. ¹⁶ Then each seized his _⌊opponent_⌋* by the head and each thrust his sword in the side of his opponent, so they fell together. So they* called the name of that place Helkath Hazzurim,* which is in Gibeon. ¹⁷ Then the battle _⌊became increasingly fierce_⌋* on that day, and Abner and the men of Israel were defeated before the servants of David.

⁴ Then Absalom would say, "_⌊Oh, that someone would_⌋* appoint me as judge in the land, that _⌊anyone_⌋* might come to me who had a legal dispute or a case, and I would give him justice."

¹¹ The king of Israel answered and said, "Tell him, 'Let not him who girds on his armor boast as one who takes off his armor.'"

⁸ Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz the son of Jehu king of Israel, saying, "Come let us meet _⌊face-to-face_⌋."*

²³ So then, please make a wager with my lord, with the king of Assyria, and I will give to you a thousand horses _⌊if you are able on your part to put riders on them._⌋*

⁸ And now please make a wager with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, that is, if you are able _⌊put_⌋* riders for yourself on them! ⁹ But how can you drive back _⌊one governor among the least of my master's servants_⌋,* when* you trust in Egypt for chariots* and horsemen?

³⁰ slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boasters, contrivers of evil, disobedient to parents, ³¹ senseless, faithless, unfeeling, unmerciful,

¹⁴ _⌊At dusk_⌋* the murderer rises; he kills the needy and the poor, and in the night he is like a* thief. ¹⁵ And the eye of the adulterer waits for dusk, saying, _⌊'No eye will see me,'_⌋* and he places a covering on his face. ¹⁶ He digs through houses in the darkness; by day they shut themselves in— they do not know the light ¹⁷ because morning likewise is to them deep darkness; indeed, they know about the terrors of deep darkness.

⁴ He plans sin on his bed. He puts himself on a way that is not good. He does not reject evil.

¹¹ If they say, "Come with us! We shall lie in wait for blood; we shall ambush the innocent without cause.* ¹² Like Sheol,* we will swallow them alive and whole, _⌊like those who descend to the pit_⌋.* ¹³ We shall find all precious wealth, we shall fill our houses with booty, ¹⁴ you shall throw your lot in our midst, there will be one purse for all of us." ¹⁵ My child, do not walk in their way.* Keep your foot from their paths, ¹⁶ for their feet run to evil, and they hurry to shed blood,

¹⁶ For they will not sleep if they have not done wrong, and they are robbed of their sleep if they do not cause stumbling.

¹⁵ Their feet are swift to shed blood;

²⁶ But* if* a man _⌊does not have_⌋* a redeemer, then* _⌊he prospers_⌋* and he finds enough for his redemption,

⁷ When these signs come to you, do for yourself what your hand finds to do, for God will be with you.

⁸ Ask your servants* and they will tell you! Let the young men* find favor in your eyes because we have come on a feast day. Please give _⌊whatever you have on hand_⌋* for your servants and for your son David."

¹⁰ Whatever your hand finds to do—do it with all your might; for in Sheol—where you are going—no one works, plans, knows, or thinks about anything.

⁷ Doom is coming against you, the dweller* of the land; the time comes, the day is near, panic and not joy is on the mountains.

²⁴ And looking up he said, "I see people, for I see them* like trees walking around."

¹⁴ For these nations that you are about to dispossess listen to interpreters of signs* and to diviners, but Yahweh your God has not allowed you to do the same.

²⁸ Then Gaal son of Ebed said, "Who is Abimelech, and who are we of Shechem that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerub-Baal, and is not Zebul his chief officer?* Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem. Why should we serve him?* ²⁹ If only this people _⌊were in my command_⌋!* Then I would remove Abimelech, and I would have said,* 'Increase your army and come out!'"

²⁶ Then Abner called to Joab and said, "Will the sword devour forever? Do you not know that there will be bitterness in the end? _⌊How long_⌋* will you not tell the people to turn _⌊away from pursuing_⌋* their brothers?" ²⁷ Joab said, "_⌊As God lives_⌋,* for if you had not spoken, the people would surely have gone up in the morning, each one of them _⌊from following after_⌋* his brother."

⁸ Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz the son of Jehu king of Israel, saying, "Come let us meet _⌊face-to-face_⌋."* ⁹ So Jehoash the king of Israel sent to Amaziah, saying, "The thornbush which is in Lebanon sent to the cedar which is in Lebanon, saying, 'Give your daughter to my son as wife,' but an animal of the field which is in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thornbush. ¹⁰ You have indeed defeated Edom and your heart is lifted up; enjoy the honor and stay home. Why should you provoke trouble so that you fall and Judah with you?" ¹¹ But Amaziah would not listen, so Jehoash king of Israel went up and they met face-to-face, he and Amaziah king of Judah, at Beth-Shemesh which belongs to Judah. ¹² Judah was defeated before Israel and they fled, each to this tent. ¹³ Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash, the son of Ahaziah, at Beth-Shemesh. Then they came to Jerusalem, and he broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim up to the Corner Gate, four hundred cubits! ¹⁴ He also took all of the gold and silver and all the vessels found in the temple of Yahweh and in the treasury rooms of the palace of the king, as well as the _⌊hostages_⌋;* then he returned to Samaria.

²⁸ But where are your gods that you made for yourself? Let them arise if they can save you in the time of your trouble. For according to the number of your towns are your gods, O Judah.

¹⁸ Then he said, "If they have come out for peace, seize them alive; and if they have come out for war, seize them alive." ¹⁹ But these had come out from the city, the servants of the commanders of the provinces, and the army that was after them. ²⁰ Each man killed his man, and the Arameans fled, so Israel pursued them, but Ben-Hadad king of Aram escaped on a horse with cavalry. ²¹ The king of Israel went out and attacked the horses and the chariots and defeated Aram with a great blow.

³⁰ Then those who remained fled to Aphek, to the city, and the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand men who had remained, so Ben-Hadad fled and went to the innermost rooms of the city.

²⁸ Then Gaal son of Ebed said, "Who is Abimelech, and who are we of Shechem that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerub-Baal, and is not Zebul his chief officer?* Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem. Why should we serve him?*

³⁰ When Zebul the commander of the city heard the words of Gaal son of Ebed, _⌊he became angry_⌋,*

¹⁵ But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

²³ 'All its land is brimstone and salt left by fire, _⌊none of its land will be sown_⌋,* and it will not make plants sprout out and it will not grow any vegetation; it is as the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Adman and Zeboiim, which Yahweh overturned in his anger and in his wrath.'

²⁵ The cities they tore down, on every good tract of land they threw stones until it was filled up, every spring of water they stopped up, and every good tree they felled. They let the stone walls at Kir Hareseth remain, but the slingers surrounded and attacked it.

³⁴ a fruitful land into a salty place, because of the evil of its inhabitants.

¹¹ But its marshes and its swamps will not be cured, for they were given for salt.

⁹ "Therefore, as I live"—a declaration of Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel— "Moab shall be as Sodom, and the _⌊Ammonites_⌋* like Gomorrah, a place of weeds and salt pits and a desolation forever. The remnant of my people shall plunder them, and the remainder of my nation shall possess them."

²⁷ They went out into the field and harvested their vineyards and trod them, and they _⌊held a festival_⌋.* And they went into the temple* of their god, and they ate and drank and cursed Abimelech.

²⁶ So then, O God of Israel, please let your word be confirmed which you have promised* to your servant David my father.

² Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice in his upper room, which was in Samaria, and he was injured. So he sent messengers, and he said to them, "Go, inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, if I will survive this injury." ³ Then the angel of Yahweh spoke to Elijah the Tishbite, "Get up, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and speak to them, 'Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?' ⁴ Therefore, thus says Yahweh, 'The bed upon which you have gone, you will not come down from it, but you shall surely die.'" So Elijah went.

⁸ Those who make them become like them, as does everyone who trusts in them.

¹⁵ Because you have said,
"We have _⌊made_⌋* a covenant with death, and we have made an agreement with Sheol.
The overwhelming flood, when it passes through, will not come to us,
for we have made lies* our refuge, and we have hidden ourselves in falsehood." ¹⁶ Therefore the Lord Yahweh says this:
"Look! I am laying a stone in Zion, a _⌊tested_⌋* stone, a precious cornerstone, a founded foundation:
'The one who trusts will not _⌊panic_⌋.'* ¹⁷ And I will make justice the measuring line, and righteousness the plumb line; and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,* and waters will flood over the hiding place. ¹⁸ And your covenant with death will be annulled, and your agreement with Sheol will not stand; you will become a trampling place for the overwhelming flood when it passes through.

³⁸ And this happened: he was bowing in worship in the house of Nisroch his god, and Adrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, struck him with the sword. And they themselves escaped to the land of Ararat, and Esar-haddon his son reigned as king in his place.

¹⁷ And he said to them, "Watch me and do the same. When I come to the edge of the camp, _⌊do just as I do_⌋.* ¹⁸ When I and all who are with me blow on the trumpet, you must also blow on the trumpets and surround the camp, and you must say, 'To Yahweh and to Gideon!'"

¹⁴ When Shaddai scattered kings on it, on Zalmon it snowed.*

¹⁶ For where there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there is disorder and every evil practice.

¹⁰ You have indeed defeated Edom and your heart is lifted up; enjoy the honor and stay home. Why should you provoke trouble so that you fall and Judah with you?"

¹⁶ At that time Menahem destroyed Tiphsah, all who were in it, and all its territory from Tirzah, because it had not opened to him, so he destroyed it and ripped open all of its pregnant women.

²¹ Who killed Abimelech the son of Jerub-bosheth,* if not a woman who threw an upper millstone on him from atop the wall and he died at Thebez? Why did you go near the wall?' Then you shall say, 'Your servant Uriah the Hittite also died.'"

²¹ That is not the matter. But a man from the mountains of Ephraim, whose name is Sheba the son Bicri, has lifted up his hand against the king, against David. Give only him to us, and I will depart from the city." The woman said to Joab, "Look, his head is being thrown down to you over the wall."

³ Is not disaster for the evil one and ruin for the workers of mischief?

²⁰ _⌊Therefore_⌋* hear the plan of Yahweh that he has planned against Edom, and his plans that he has planned against the inhabitants of Teman. _⌊Surely_⌋* they will drag them away, the little ones of the flock. _⌊Surely_⌋* he will cause to be desolated over them their grazing place.

⁴⁵ _⌊Therefore_⌋* hear the plan of Yahweh that he has planned against Babylon, and his plans that he has planned against the land of the Chaldeans. _⌊Surely_⌋* they will drag them away, the little ones of the flock. _⌊Surely_⌋* he will cause their grazing place to be desolate over them.

⁴ Then Saul said to _⌊his armor bearer_⌋,* "Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, so that these uncircumcised do not come and thrust me through and make a fool of me!" But _⌊his armor bearer_⌋* was not willing to do so because he was very afraid. So Saul took the sword and fell on it. ⁵ And when _⌊his armor bearer_⌋* saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword and died with him.

¹⁶ Then Joab blew on the trumpet and the troops returned from pursuing after Israel, for Joab kept back the troops.

²¹ That is not the matter. But a man from the mountains of Ephraim, whose name is Sheba the son Bicri, has lifted up his hand against the king, against David. Give only him to us, and I will depart from the city." The woman said to Joab, "Look, his head is being thrown down to you over the wall." ²² The woman went to all of the people with her wise plan, so they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bicri and threw it to Joab. Then he blew the horn and dispersed from the city, each to his tent. Then Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king.

³⁵ The battle intensified on that day, and the king was being propped up in the chariot opposite Aram, but he died in the evening, and the blood of the wound ran out to the floor of the chariot. ³⁶ Then the shout passed through the camp about sunset, saying, "Each man to his city and each to his land!"

¹⁰ Drive out a scoffer and strife will go out; quarrel and abuse will cease.

²⁴ so that the violence done to the seventy brothers of Abimelech would be avenged and their blood be placed on Abimelech their brother, who killed them, and on the lords of Shechem, _⌊who helped_⌋* to kill his brothers.

¹² for he who _⌊avenges bloodshed_⌋* remembers them. He does not forget the distressed cry of the afflicted.

⁶ He will rain coals* on the wicked. Burning sulfur and scorching wind will be the portion of their cup.

¹⁰ The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. ¹¹ And people* will say, "Surely there is a _⌊reward_⌋* for the righteous. Surely there is a God who judges in the land."*

²³ And he will repay on them their iniquity, and by* their evil he will destroy them. Yahweh our God will destroy them.

²² His iniquities shall ensnare him, the evildoer, and in the vanity of his sin he shall be caught.

⁴ And when the local people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they began saying* to one another, "Doubtless this man is a murderer whom, although he* was rescued from the sea, Justice* has not permitted to live!"

⁷ Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked, for whatever a person sows, this he will also reap,

²⁰ And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs before him, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who had worshiped his image. The two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulphur. ²¹ And the rest were killed by the sword of the one who is seated on the horse—the sword that comes out of his mouth—and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.

²⁶ And Joshua swore at that time, saying, "Cursed is anyone before Yahweh who gets up and builds Jericho, this city. At the cost of his firstborn he will lay its foundation, and at the cost of his youngest he will set up its gates."

⁴⁵ Abimelech fought against the city all that day, and he captured the city and killed the people that were in it; then he broke down the city and sowed it with salt.

³⁴ In his days, Hiel the Bethelite rebuilt Jericho; at the cost of Abiram his firstborn he laid its foundation, and at the cost of Segub his younger sibling, he set up its gates, according to the word of Yahweh which he spoke by the hand of Joshua the son of Nun.