Judges 20 Cross References - MSB

¹ Then all the Israelites from Dan to Beersheba and from the land of Gilead came out, and the congregation assembled as one man before the LORD at Mizpah. ² The leaders of all the people and all the tribes of Israel presented themselves in the assembly of God’s people: 400,000 men on foot, armed with swords. ³ (Meanwhile the Benjamites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah.) And the Israelites asked, “Tell us, how did this wicked thing happen?” ⁴ So the Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, answered: “I and my concubine came to Gibeah in Benjamin to spend the night. ⁵ And during the night, the men of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house. They intended to kill me, but they abused my concubine, and she died. ⁶ Then I took my concubine, cut her into pieces, and sent her throughout the land of Israel’s inheritance, because they had committed a lewd and disgraceful act in Israel. ⁷ Behold, all you Israelites, give your advice and verdict here and now.” ⁸ Then all the people stood as one man and said, “Not one of us will return to his tent or to his house. ⁹ Now this is what we will do to Gibeah: We will go against it as the lot dictates. ¹⁰ We will take ten men out of every hundred from all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred out of every thousand, and a thousand out of every ten thousand, to supply provisions for the army when they go to Gibeah in Benjamin to punish them for the atrocity they have committed in Israel.” ¹¹ So all the men of Israel gathered as one man, united against the city. ¹² And the tribes of Israel sent men throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What is this wickedness that has occurred among you? ¹³ Hand over the wicked men of Gibeah so we can put them to death and purge Israel of this evil.” But the Benjamites refused to heed the voice of their fellow Israelites. ¹⁴ And from their cities they came together at Gibeah to go out and fight against the Israelites. ¹⁵ On that day the Benjamites mobilized 26,000 swordsmen from their cities, in addition to the 700 select men of Gibeah. ¹⁶ Among all these soldiers there were 700 select left-handers, each of whom could sling a stone at a hair without missing. ¹⁷ The Israelites, apart from Benjamin, mobilized 400,000 swordsmen, each one an experienced warrior. ¹⁸ The Israelites set out, went up to Bethel, and inquired of God, “Who of us shall go up first to fight against the Benjamites?” “Judah will be first,” the LORD replied. ¹⁹ The next morning the Israelites set out and camped near Gibeah. ²⁰ And the men of Israel went out to fight against Benjamin and took up their battle positions at Gibeah. ²¹ And the Benjamites came out of Gibeah and cut down 22,000 Israelites on the battlefield that day. ²² But the Israelite army took courage and again took their battle positions in the same place where they had arrayed themselves on the first day. ²³ They went up and wept before the LORD until evening, inquiring of Him, “Should we again draw near for battle against our brothers the Benjamites?” And the LORD answered, “Go up against them.” ²⁴ On the second day the Israelites advanced against the Benjamites. ²⁵ That same day the Benjamites came out against them from Gibeah and cut down another 18,000 Israelites, all of them armed with swords. ²⁶ Then the Israelites, all the people, went up to Bethel, where they sat weeping before the LORD. That day they fasted until evening and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings to the LORD. ²⁷ And the Israelites inquired of the LORD. (In those days the ark of the covenant of God was there, ²⁸ and Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, served before it.) The Israelites asked, “Should we again go out to battle against our brothers the Benjamites, or should we stop?” The LORD answered, “Fight, for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand.” ²⁹ So Israel set up an ambush around Gibeah. ³⁰ On the third day the Israelites went up against the Benjamites and arrayed themselves against Gibeah as they had done before. ³¹ The Benjamites came out against them and were drawn away from the city. They began to attack the people as before, killing about thirty men of Israel in the fields and on the roads, one of which led up to Bethel and the other to Gibeah. ³² “We are defeating them as before,” said the Benjamites. But the Israelites said, “Let us retreat and draw them away from the city onto the roads.” ³³ So all the men of Israel got up from their places and arrayed themselves at Baal-tamar, and the Israelites in ambush charged from their positions west of Gibeah. ³⁴ Then 10,000 select men from all Israel made a frontal assault against Gibeah, and the battle was fierce. But the Benjamites did not realize that disaster was upon them. ³⁵ The LORD defeated Benjamin in the presence of Israel, and on that day the Israelites slaughtered 25,100 Benjamites, all armed with swords. ³⁶ Then the Benjamites realized they had been defeated. Now the men of Israel had retreated before Benjamin because they were relying on the ambush they had set against Gibeah. ³⁷ The men in ambush rushed suddenly against Gibeah; they advanced and put the whole city to the sword. ³⁸ The men of Israel had arranged a signal with the men in ambush: When they sent up a great cloud of smoke from the city, ³⁹ the men of Israel would turn in the battle. When the Benjamites had begun to strike them down, killing about thirty men of Israel, they said, “They are defeated before us as in the first battle.” ⁴⁰ But when the column of smoke began to go up from the city, the Benjamites looked behind them and saw the whole city going up in smoke. ⁴¹ Then the men of Israel turned back on them, and the men of Benjamin were terrified when they realized that disaster had come upon them. ⁴² So they fled before the men of Israel toward the wilderness, but the battle overtook them, and the men coming out of the cities struck them down there. ⁴³ They surrounded the Benjamites, pursued them, and easily overtook them in the vicinity of Gibeah on the east. ⁴⁴ And 18,000 Benjamites fell, all men of valor. ⁴⁵ Then the Benjamites turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and Israel cut down 5,000 men on the roads. And they overtook them at Gidom and struck down 2,000 more. ⁴⁶ That day 25,000 Benjamite swordsmen fell, all men of valor. ⁴⁷ But 600 men turned and fled into the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, where they stayed four months. ⁴⁸ And the men of Israel turned back against the other Benjamites and put to the sword all the cities, including the animals and everything else they found. And they burned down all the cities in their path.

¹ Now the Reubenites and Gadites, who had very large herds and flocks, surveyed the lands of Jazer and Gilead, and they saw that the region was suitable for livestock.

⁴⁰ So Moses gave Gilead to the clan of Machir son of Manasseh, and they settled there.

¹² If, regarding one of the cities the LORD your God is giving you to inhabit, you hear it said ¹³ that wicked men have arisen from among you and have led the people of their city astray, saying, “Let us go and serve other gods” (which you have not known), ¹⁴ then you must inquire, investigate, and interrogate thoroughly. And if it is established with certainty that this abomination has been committed among you, ¹⁵ you must surely put the inhabitants of that city to the sword. Devote to destruction all its people and livestock. ¹⁶ And you are to gather all its plunder in the middle of the public square, and completely burn the city and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the LORD your God. The city must remain a mound of ruins forever, never to be rebuilt. ¹⁷ Nothing devoted to destruction shall cling to your hands, so that the LORD will turn from His fierce anger, grant you mercy, show you compassion, and multiply you as He swore to your fathers, ¹⁸ because you obey the LORD your God, keeping all His commandments I am giving you today and doing what is right in the eyes of the LORD your God.

³⁸ Dilan, Mizpeh, Joktheel,

¹ Now this was the allotment for the tribe of Manasseh as Joseph’s firstborn son, namely for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh and father of the Gileadites, who had received Gilead and Bashan because Machir was a man of war.

²⁶ Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah,

¹² And when they heard this, the whole congregation of Israel assembled at Shiloh to go to war against them.

¹⁷ Then the Ammonites were called to arms and camped in Gilead, and the Israelites assembled and camped at Mizpah.

¹¹ So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him their leader and commander. And Jephthah repeated all his terms in the presence of the LORD at Mizpah.

²⁹ They named it Dan, after their forefather Dan, who was born to Israel—though the city was formerly named Laish.

² The leaders of all the people and all the tribes of Israel presented themselves in the assembly of God’s people: 400,000 men on foot, armed with swords.

⁸ Then all the people stood as one man and said, “Not one of us will return to his tent or to his house.

¹¹ So all the men of Israel gathered as one man, united against the city.

¹⁸ The Israelites set out, went up to Bethel, and inquired of God, “Who of us shall go up first to fight against the Benjamites?” “Judah will be first,” the LORD replied.

²⁶ Then the Israelites, all the people, went up to Bethel, where they sat weeping before the LORD. That day they fasted until evening and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings to the LORD.

⁵ The Israelites asked, “Who among all the tribes of Israel did not come to the assembly before the LORD?” For they had taken a solemn oath that anyone who failed to come up before the LORD at Mizpah would surely be put to death.

²⁰ So all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the LORD.

⁵ Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the LORD on your behalf.” ⁶ When they had gathered at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the LORD. On that day they fasted, and there they confessed, “We have sinned against the LORD.” And Samuel judged the Israelites at Mizpah.

¹⁷ After this, Samuel summoned the people to the LORD at Mizpah

⁷ He took a pair of oxen, cut them into pieces, and sent them by messengers throughout the land of Israel, proclaiming, “This is what will be done to the oxen of anyone who does not march behind Saul and Samuel.” Then the terror of the LORD fell upon the people, and they turned out as one man. ⁸ And when Saul numbered them at Bezek, there were 300,000 Israelites and 30,000 men of Judah.

⁹ and made him king over Gilead, Asher, Jezreel, Ephraim, and Benjamin—over all Israel.

¹⁰ to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and to establish the throne of David over Israel and Judah, from Dan to Beersheba.”

¹⁴ So he swayed the hearts of all the men of Judah as though they were one man, and they sent word to the king: “Return, you and all your servants.”

² So the king said to Joab the commander of his army, who was with him, “Go now throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and register the troops, so that I may know their number.”

²³ When all the commanders of the armies and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah as governor, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah son of the Maacathite, as well as their men.

² So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, “Go and count the Israelites from Beersheba to Dan and bring me a report, so that I may know their number.”

⁵ So they established a decree to circulate a proclamation throughout Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, that the people should come to keep the Passover of the LORD, the God of Israel, in Jerusalem. For they had not observed it as a nation as prescribed.

¹ By the seventh month, the Israelites had settled in their towns, and the people assembled as one man in Jerusalem.

¹ At that time all the people gathered together in the square before the Water Gate, and they asked Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded for Israel.

¹⁰ Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their army of about fifteen thousand men—all that were left of the armies of the people of the east. A hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen had already fallen.

¹⁵ On that day the Benjamites mobilized 26,000 swordsmen from their cities, in addition to the 700 select men of Gibeah.

¹⁷ The Israelites, apart from Benjamin, mobilized 400,000 swordsmen, each one an experienced warrior.

⁹ And Joab reported to the king the total number of the troops. In Israel there were 800,000 men of valor who drew the sword, and in Judah there were 500,000.

²⁶ When the king of Moab saw that the battle was too fierce for him, he took with him seven hundred swordsmen to break through to the king of Edom, but they could not prevail.

²² While they were enjoying themselves, suddenly the wicked men of the city surrounded the house. Pounding on the door, they said to the old man who owned the house, “Bring out the man who came to your house, so we can have relations with him!” ²³ The owner of the house went out and said to them, “No, my brothers, do not do this wicked thing! After all, this man is a guest in my house. Do not commit this outrage. ²⁴ Look, let me bring out my virgin daughter and the man’s concubine, and you can use them and do with them as you wish. But do not do such a vile thing to this man.” ²⁵ But the men would not listen to him. So the Levite took his concubine and sent her outside to them, and they raped her and abused her throughout the night, and at dawn they let her go. ²⁶ Early that morning, the woman went back to the house where her master was staying, collapsed at the doorway, and lay there until it was light. ²⁷ In the morning, when her master got up and opened the doors of the house to go out on his journey, there was his concubine, collapsed in the doorway of the house, with her hands on the threshold.

³ The prudent see danger and take cover, but the simple keep going and suffer the consequences.

²⁵ Reconcile quickly with your adversary, while you are still on the way to court. Otherwise, he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison.

⁵⁸ Make every effort to reconcile with your adversary while you are on your way to the magistrate. Otherwise, he may drag you off to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and the officer may throw you into prison. ⁵⁹ I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the very last penny.”

³¹ Or what king on his way to war with another king will not first sit down and consider whether he can engage with ten thousand men the one coming against him with twenty thousand? ³² And if he is unable, he will send a delegation while the other king is still far off, to ask for terms of peace.

¹⁵ They stopped to go in and lodge in Gibeah. The Levite went in and sat down in the city square, but no one would take them into his home for the night. ¹⁶ That evening an old man from the hill country of Ephraim, who was residing in Gibeah (the men of that place were Benjamites), came in from his work in the field. ¹⁷ When he looked up and saw the traveler in the city square, the old man asked, “Where are you going, and where have you come from?” ¹⁸ The Levite replied, “We are traveling from Bethlehem in Judah to the remote hill country of Ephraim, where I am from. I went to Bethlehem in Judah, and now I am going to the house of the LORD; but no one has taken me into his home, ¹⁹ even though there is both straw and feed for our donkeys, and bread and wine for me and the maidservant and young man with me. There is nothing that we, your servants, lack.” ²⁰ “Peace to you,” said the old man. “Let me supply everything you need. Only do not spend the night in the square.” ²¹ So he brought him to his house and fed his donkeys. And they washed their feet and ate and drank. ²² While they were enjoying themselves, suddenly the wicked men of the city surrounded the house. Pounding on the door, they said to the old man who owned the house, “Bring out the man who came to your house, so we can have relations with him!” ²³ The owner of the house went out and said to them, “No, my brothers, do not do this wicked thing! After all, this man is a guest in my house. Do not commit this outrage. ²⁴ Look, let me bring out my virgin daughter and the man’s concubine, and you can use them and do with them as you wish. But do not do such a vile thing to this man.” ²⁵ But the men would not listen to him. So the Levite took his concubine and sent her outside to them, and they raped her and abused her throughout the night, and at dawn they let her go. ²⁶ Early that morning, the woman went back to the house where her master was staying, collapsed at the doorway, and lay there until it was light. ²⁷ In the morning, when her master got up and opened the doors of the house to go out on his journey, there was his concubine, collapsed in the doorway of the house, with her hands on the threshold. ²⁸ “Get up,” he told her. “Let us go.” But there was no response. So the man put her on his donkey and set out for home.

⁴ Before they had gone to bed, all the men of the city of Sodom, both young and old, surrounded the house. ⁵ They called out to Lot, saying, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Send them out to us so we can have relations with them!” ⁶ Lot went outside to meet them, shutting the door behind him. ⁷ “Please, my brothers,” he pleaded, “don’t do such a wicked thing! ⁸ Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them to you, and you can do to them as you please. But do not do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.”

²⁴ you must take both of them out to the gate of that city and stone them to death—the young woman because she did not cry out in the city, and the man because he has violated his neighbor’s wife. So you must purge the evil from among you.

²² While they were enjoying themselves, suddenly the wicked men of the city surrounded the house. Pounding on the door, they said to the old man who owned the house, “Bring out the man who came to your house, so we can have relations with him!”

²⁵ But the men would not listen to him. So the Levite took his concubine and sent her outside to them, and they raped her and abused her throughout the night, and at dawn they let her go. ²⁶ Early that morning, the woman went back to the house where her master was staying, collapsed at the doorway, and lay there until it was light.

¹⁰ In you they have uncovered the nakedness of their fathers; in you they violate women during their menstrual impurity. ¹¹ One man commits an abomination with his neighbor’s wife; another wickedly defiles his daughter-in-law; and yet another violates his sister, his own father’s daughter.

⁷ When Jacob’s sons heard what had happened, they returned from the field. They were filled with grief and fury, because Shechem had committed an outrage in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter—a thing that should not be done.

¹⁵ The one who is caught with the things devoted to destruction must be burned, along with all that belongs to him, because he has transgressed the covenant of the LORD and committed an outrage in Israel.’”

²³ The owner of the house went out and said to them, “No, my brothers, do not do this wicked thing! After all, this man is a guest in my house. Do not commit this outrage.

²⁹ When he reached his house, he picked up a knife, took hold of his concubine, cut her limb by limb into twelve pieces, and sent her throughout the territory of Israel.

¹⁰ We will take ten men out of every hundred from all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred out of every thousand, and a thousand out of every ten thousand, to supply provisions for the army when they go to Gibeah in Benjamin to punish them for the atrocity they have committed in Israel.”

¹² “No, my brother!” she cried. “Do not humiliate me, for such a thing should never be done in Israel. Do not do this disgraceful thing! ¹³ Where could I ever take my shame? And you would be like one of the fools in Israel! Please speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you.”

⁵ Now if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you will be My treasured possession out of all the nations—for the whole earth is Mine. ⁶ And unto Me you shall be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you are to speak to the Israelites.”

⁶ Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding in the sight of the peoples, who will hear of all these statutes and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”

¹ You are sons of the LORD your God; do not cut yourselves or shave your foreheads on behalf of the dead, ² for you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD has chosen you to be a people for His prized possession out of all the peoples on the face of the earth.

¹⁴ Then the men of Israel sampled their provisions, but did not seek the counsel of the LORD.

³⁰ And everyone who saw it said, “Nothing like this has been seen or done from the day the Israelites came out of the land of Egypt until this day. Think it over, take counsel, and speak up!”

¹⁸ Set plans by consultation, and wage war under sound guidance.

⁶ Only with sound guidance should you wage war, and victory lies in a multitude of counselors.

¹ It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not even named among pagans: A man has his father’s wife.

⁶ Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven works through the whole batch of dough?

¹⁰ I was not including the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy or swindlers or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. ¹¹ But now I am writing you not to associate with anyone who claims to be a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a verbal abuser, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat. ¹² What business of mine is it to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?

⁵ Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

¹ Then all the Israelites from Dan to Beersheba and from the land of Gilead came out, and the congregation assembled as one man before the LORD at Mizpah.

¹ Now the men of Israel had sworn an oath at Mizpah, saying, “Not one of us will give his daughter in marriage to a Benjamite.”

³ To do righteousness and justice is more desirable to the LORD than sacrifice.

¹⁰ Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, for in Sheol, where you are going, there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.

² Their inheritance was assigned by lot for the nine and a half tribes, as the LORD had commanded through Moses.

⁴¹ So Saul said to the LORD, the God of Israel, “Why have You not answered Your servant this day? If the fault is with me or my son Jonathan, respond with Urim; but if the fault is with the men of Israel, respond with Thummim.” And Jonathan and Saul were selected, but the people were cleared of the charge. ⁴² Then Saul said, “Cast the lot between me and my son Jonathan.” And Jonathan was selected.

⁵ Thus they were divided by lot, for there were officers of the sanctuary and officers of God among both Eleazar’s and Ithamar’s descendants.

¹ Now the leaders of the people settled in Jerusalem, and the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to live in the holy city of Jerusalem, while the remaining nine were to dwell in their own towns.

³³ The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.

⁷ “Come!” said the sailors to one another. “Let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity that is upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.

²⁶ Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.

¹⁴ then you must inquire, investigate, and interrogate thoroughly. And if it is established with certainty that this abomination has been committed among you,

¹⁰ When you approach a city to fight against it, you are to make an offer of peace.

¹³ The Israelites sent Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest to the land of Gilead, to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. ¹⁴ With him they sent ten chiefs—one family leader from each tribe of Israel, each the head of a family among the clans of Israel. ¹⁵ They went to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead and said to them, ¹⁶ “This is what the whole congregation of the LORD says: ‘What is this breach of faith you have committed today against the God of Israel by turning away from the LORD and building for yourselves an altar, that you might rebel against the LORD this day?

¹⁵ If your brother sins against you, go and confront him privately. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. ¹⁶ But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ ¹⁷ If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, regard him as you would a pagan or a tax collector. ¹⁸ Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

¹⁸ If it is possible on your part, live at peace with everyone.

⁵ Such a prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he has advocated rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery; he has tried to turn you from the way in which the LORD your God has commanded you to walk. So you must purge the evil from among you.

¹³ that wicked men have arisen from among you and have led the people of their city astray, saying, “Let us go and serve other gods” (which you have not known),

⁷ The hands of the witnesses shall be the first in putting him to death, and after that, the hands of all the people. So you must purge the evil from among you.

¹² But the man who acts presumptuously, refusing to listen either to the priest who stands there to serve the LORD your God, or to the judge, must be put to death. You must purge the evil from Israel.

¹⁹ you must do to him as he intended to do to his brother. So you must purge the evil from among you.

²¹ Then all the men of his city will stone him to death. So you must purge the evil from among you, and all Israel will hear and be afraid.

²¹ she shall be brought to the door of her father’s house, and there the men of her city will stone her to death. For she has committed an outrage in Israel by being promiscuous in her father’s house. So you must purge the evil from among you.

⁷ If a man is caught kidnapping one of his Israelite brothers, whether he treats him as a slave or sells him, the kidnapper must die. So you must purge the evil from among you.

²⁵ If a man sins against another man, God can intercede for him; but if a man sins against the LORD, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to their father, since the LORD intended to put them to death.

²² but all the wicked and worthless men among those who had gone with David said, “Because they did not go with us, we will not share with them the plunder we recovered, except for each man’s wife and children. They may take them and go.”

¹ Now a worthless man named Sheba son of Bichri, a Benjamite, happened to be there, and he blew the ram’s horn and shouted: “We have no share in David, no inheritance in Jesse’s son. Every man to his tent, O Israel!”

²¹ That is not the case. But a man named Sheba son of Bichri, from the hill country of Ephraim, has lifted up his hand against the king, against David. Deliver him alone, and I will depart from the city.” “Look,” the woman replied, “his head will be thrown to you over the wall.” ²² Then the woman went to all the people with her wise counsel, and they cut off the head of Sheba son of Bichri and threw it to Joab. So he blew the ram’s horn and his men dispersed from the city, each to his own home. And Joab returned to the king in Jerusalem.

⁶ But the worthless are all like thorns raked aside, for they can never be gathered by hand.

¹³ And the two scoundrels came in and sat opposite Naboth, and these men testified against him before the people, saying, “Naboth has cursed both God and the king!” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death.

⁷ Then worthless and wicked men gathered around him to resist Rehoboam son of Solomon when he was young, inexperienced, and unable to resist them.

¹⁶ While he was still speaking, the king asked, “Have we made you the counselor to the king? Stop! Why be struck down?” So the prophet stopped, but he said, “I know that God has determined to destroy you, because you have done this and have not heeded my advice.”

²⁰ But Amaziah would not listen, for this had come from God in order to deliver them into the hand of Jehoash, because they had sought the gods of Edom.

¹ A man who remains stiff-necked after much reproof will suddenly be shattered beyond recovery.

¹⁰ So banish sorrow from your heart, and cast off pain from your body, for youth and vigor are fleeting.

⁹ They have deeply corrupted themselves as in the days of Gibeah; He will remember their guilt; He will punish their sins.

⁹ Since the days of Gibeah you have sinned, O Israel, and there you have remained. Did not the battle in Gibeah overtake the sons of iniquity?

³² Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things are worthy of death, they not only continue to do these things, but also approve of those who practice them.

⁴ Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “Come out of her, My people, so that you will not share in her sins or contract any of her plagues. ⁵ For her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.

²⁰ But Edom insisted, “You may not pass through.” And they came out to confront the Israelites with a large army and a strong hand.

²³ But Sihon would not let Israel pass through his territory. Instead, he gathered his whole army and went out to confront Israel in the wilderness. When he came to Jahaz, he fought against Israel.

¹³ Now Jeroboam had sent troops around to ambush from the rear, so that while he was in front of Judah, the ambush was behind them.

²⁵ For he has stretched out his hand against God and has vaunted himself against the Almighty, ²⁶ rushing headlong at Him with a thick, studded shield.

³⁷ those registered to the tribe of Benjamin numbered 35,400.

⁴¹ These were the clans of Benjamin, and their registration numbered 45,600.

²⁵ That same day the Benjamites came out against them from Gibeah and cut down another 18,000 Israelites, all of them armed with swords.

³⁵ The LORD defeated Benjamin in the presence of Israel, and on that day the Israelites slaughtered 25,100 Benjamites, all armed with swords.

⁴⁶ That day 25,000 Benjamite swordsmen fell, all men of valor. ⁴⁷ But 600 men turned and fled into the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, where they stayed four months.

¹⁵ And again they cried out to the LORD, and He raised up Ehud son of Gera, a left-handed Benjamite, as their deliverer. So they sent him with tribute to Eglon king of Moab.

⁴⁰ And David took his staff in his hand, selected five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag. And with his sling in hand, he approached the Philistine.

⁴⁹ Then David reached into his bag, took out a stone, and slung it, striking the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground. ⁵⁰ Thus David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.

²⁹ And should someone pursue you and seek your life, then the life of my lord will be bound securely by the LORD your God in the bundle of the living. But He shall fling away the lives of your enemies like stones from a sling.

² they were archers using both the right and left hands to sling stones and shoot arrows; and they were Saul’s kinsmen from Benjamin):

¹⁴ Uzziah supplied the entire army with shields, spears, helmets, armor, bows, and slingstones.

⁴⁶ And all those counted totaled 603,550.

⁵¹ These men of Israel numbered 601,730 in all.

⁸ And when Saul numbered them at Bezek, there were 300,000 Israelites and 30,000 men of Judah.

⁴ So Saul summoned the troops and numbered them at Telaim—200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 men of Judah.

⁵ And Joab reported to David the total number of the troops. In all Israel there were 1,100,000 men who drew the sword, including 470,000 in Judah.

¹⁴ These are their numbers according to the houses of their fathers: From Judah, the commanders of thousands: Adnah the commander, and with him 300,000 mighty men of valor; ¹⁵ next to him, Jehohanan the commander, and with him 280,000; ¹⁶ and next to him, Amasiah son of Zichri, the volunteer for the LORD, and with him 200,000 mighty men of valor. ¹⁷ From Benjamin: Eliada, a mighty man of valor, and with him 200,000 armed with bows and shields; ¹⁸ and next to him, Jehozabad, and with him 180,000 armed for battle.

⁸ Judah, your brothers shall praise you. Your hand shall be on the necks of your enemies; your father’s sons shall bow down to you. ⁹ Judah is a young lion—my son, you return from the prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness, who dares to rouse him? ¹⁰ The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes and the allegiance of the nations is his.

⁵ So Moses brought their case before the LORD,

²¹ He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who will seek counsel for him before the LORD by the judgment of the Urim. At his command, he and all the Israelites with him—the entire congregation—will go out and come in.”

¹ Then the whole congregation of Israel assembled at Shiloh and set up the Tent of Meeting there. And though the land was subdued before them,

¹ After the death of Joshua, the Israelites inquired of the LORD, “Who will be the first to go up and fight for us against the Canaanites?” ² “Judah shall go up,” answered the LORD. “Indeed, I have delivered the land into their hands.”

³¹ So they set up for themselves Micah’s graven image, and it was there the whole time the house of God was in Shiloh.

¹⁸ The Levite replied, “We are traveling from Bethlehem in Judah to the remote hill country of Ephraim, where I am from. I went to Bethlehem in Judah, and now I am going to the house of the LORD; but no one has taken me into his home,

⁷ Behold, all you Israelites, give your advice and verdict here and now.”

²³ They went up and wept before the LORD until evening, inquiring of Him, “Should we again draw near for battle against our brothers the Benjamites?” And the LORD answered, “Go up against them.”

²⁶ Then the Israelites, all the people, went up to Bethel, where they sat weeping before the LORD. That day they fasted until evening and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings to the LORD. ²⁷ And the Israelites inquired of the LORD. (In those days the ark of the covenant of God was there,

¹⁴ Consecrate a fast; proclaim a solemn assembly! Gather the elders and all the residents of the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD.

¹ Early the next morning Joshua got up and left Shittim with all the Israelites. They went as far as the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over.

¹² Joshua got up early the next morning, and the priests took the ark of the LORD.

¹⁶ So Joshua arose early the next morning and had Israel come forward tribe by tribe, and the tribe of Judah was selected.

²⁷ Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder.”

⁹ When you are encamped against your enemies, then you shall keep yourself from every wicked thing.

¹⁰ And now you intend to reduce to slavery the men and women of Judah and Jerusalem. But are you not also guilty before the LORD your God?

¹⁶ No king is saved by his vast army; no warrior is delivered by his great strength.

¹⁸ Surely You set them on slick ground; You cast them down into ruin. ¹⁹ How suddenly they are laid waste, completely swept away by terrors!

¹⁹ Your path led through the sea, Your way through the mighty waters, but Your footprints were not to be found.

¹ So I took all this to heart and concluded that the righteous and the wise, as well as their deeds, are in God’s hands. Man does not know what lies ahead, whether love or hate. ² It is the same for all: There is a common fate for the righteous and the wicked, for the good and the bad, for the clean and the unclean, for the one who sacrifices and the one who does not. As it is for the good, so it is for the sinner; as it is for the one who makes a vow, so it is for the one who refuses to take a vow. ³ This is an evil in everything that is done under the sun: There is one fate for everyone. Furthermore, the hearts of men are full of evil and madness while they are alive, and afterward they join the dead.

¹ Righteous are You, O LORD, when I plead before You. Yet about Your judgments I wish to contend with You: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease?

⁶ And David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of every man grieved for his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God.

²⁵ Then David told the messenger, “Say this to Joab: ‘Do not let this matter upset you, for the sword devours one as well as another. Strengthen your attack against the city and demolish it.’ Encourage him with these words.”

⁵ They hold fast to their evil purpose; they speak of hiding their snares. “Who will see them?” they say.

⁶ Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown before the ark of the LORD until evening, as did the elders of Israel; and they all sprinkled dust on their heads.

³⁴ When He slew them, they would seek Him; they repented and searched for God. ³⁵ And they remembered that God was their Rock, that God Most High was their Redeemer. ³⁶ But they deceived Him with their mouths, and lied to Him with their tongues.

¹⁵ Then I will return to My place until they admit their guilt and seek My face; in their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.”

²⁵ Far be it from You to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Will not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?”

²¹ And the Benjamites came out of Gibeah and cut down 22,000 Israelites on the battlefield that day.

¹² If He takes away, who can stop Him? Who dares to ask Him, ‘What are You doing?’ ¹³ God does not restrain His anger; the helpers of Rahab cower beneath Him.

² Clouds and darkness surround Him; righteousness and justice are His throne’s foundation.

⁵ But because of your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

⁵ But if our unrighteousness highlights the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unjust to inflict His wrath on us? I am speaking in human terms.

³³ O, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and untraceable His ways!

⁶ When they had gathered at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the LORD. On that day they fasted, and there they confessed, “We have sinned against the LORD.” And Samuel judged the Israelites at Mizpah.

³ Jehoshaphat was alarmed and set his face to seek the LORD. And he proclaimed a fast throughout Judah.

²¹ And there by the Ahava Canal I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask Him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions.

⁴ Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel gathered around me because of the unfaithfulness of the exiles, while I sat there in horror until the evening offering. ⁵ At the evening offering, I got up from my humiliation with my tunic and cloak torn, and I fell on my knees, spread out my hands to the LORD my God,

¹² “Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to Me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning.” ¹³ So rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to the LORD your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion. And He relents from sending disaster. ¹⁴ Who knows? He may turn and relent and leave a blessing behind Him—grain and drink offerings for the LORD your God. ¹⁵ Blow the ram’s horn in Zion, consecrate a fast, proclaim a sacred assembly. ¹⁶ Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the aged, gather the children, even those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room, and the bride her chamber. ¹⁷ Let the priests who minister before the LORD weep between the portico and the altar, saying, “Spare Your people, O LORD, and do not make Your heritage a reproach, an object of scorn among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’” ¹⁸ Then the LORD became jealous for His land, and He spared His people.

⁵ And the Ninevites believed God. They proclaimed a fast and dressed in sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least. ⁶ When word reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. ⁷ Then he issued a proclamation in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let no man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything at all. They must not eat or drink. ⁸ Furthermore, let both man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and have everyone call out earnestly to God. Let each one turn from his evil ways and from the violence in his hands. ⁹ Who knows? God may turn and relent; He may turn from His fierce anger, so that we will not perish.” ¹⁰ When God saw their actions—that they had turned from their evil ways—He relented from the disaster He had threatened to bring upon them.

³ When the troops returned to the camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why has the LORD brought defeat on us before the Philistines today? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD from Shiloh, so that it may go with us to save us from the hand of our enemies.” ⁴ So the people sent men to Shiloh, and they brought back the ark of the covenant of the LORD of Hosts, who sits enthroned between the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

⁶⁰ He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent He had pitched among men. ⁶¹ He delivered His strength to captivity, and His splendor to the hand of the adversary.

¹ Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear.

¹² But go now to the place in Shiloh where I first made a dwelling for My Name, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel.

⁷ On seeing this, Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, got up from the assembly, took a spear in his hand, ⁸ followed the Israelite into his tent, and drove the spear through both of them—through the Israelite and on through the belly of the woman. So the plague against the Israelites was halted, ⁹ but those who died in the plague numbered 24,000. ¹⁰ Then the LORD said to Moses, ¹¹ “Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned My wrath away from the Israelites; for he was zealous for My sake among them, so that I did not consume the Israelites in My zeal. ¹² Declare, therefore, that I am granting him My covenant of peace. ¹³ It will be a covenant of permanent priesthood for him and his descendants, because he was zealous for his God and made atonement for the Israelites.”

⁸ At that time the LORD set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to serve Him, and to pronounce blessings in His name, as they do to this day.

⁵ For the LORD your God has chosen Levi and his sons out of all your tribes to stand and minister in His name for all time.

⁷ “O, Lord GOD,” Joshua said, “why did You ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites to be destroyed? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan!

¹³ The Israelites sent Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest to the land of Gilead, to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.

³⁰ When Phinehas the priest and the chiefs of the congregation—the heads of Israel’s clans who were with him—heard what the descendants of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh had to say, they were satisfied. ³¹ Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest said to the descendants of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, “Today we know that the LORD is among us, because you have not committed this breach of faith against Him. Consequently, you have delivered the Israelites from the hand of the LORD.” ³² Then Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest, together with the other leaders, returned to the Israelites in the land of Canaan and brought back a report regarding the Reubenites and Gadites in the land of Gilead.

³³ Eleazar son of Aaron also died, and they buried him at Gibeah, which had been given to his son Phinehas in the hill country of Ephraim.

² “Judah shall go up,” answered the LORD. “Indeed, I have delivered the land into their hands.”

⁹ That night the LORD said to Gideon, “Get up and go down against the camp, for I have delivered it into your hand.

³⁷ So Saul inquired of God, “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will You give them into the hand of Israel?” But God did not answer him that day.

⁴ Once again, David inquired of the LORD, and the LORD answered him: “Go at once to Keilah, for I will deliver the Philistines into your hand.” ⁵ Then David and his men went to Keilah, fought against the Philistines, and carried off their livestock, striking them with a mighty blow. So David saved the people of Keilah. ⁶ (Now Abiathar son of Ahimelech had brought the ephod with him when he fled to David at Keilah.) ⁷ When Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah, he said, “God has delivered him into my hand, for he has trapped himself by entering a town with gates and bars.” ⁸ Then Saul summoned all his troops to go to war at Keilah and besiege David and his men. ⁹ When David learned that Saul was plotting evil against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod.” ¹⁰ And David said, “O LORD, God of Israel, Your servant has heard that Saul intends to come to Keilah and destroy the city on my account. ¹¹ Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as Your servant has heard? O LORD, God of Israel, please tell Your servant.” “He will,” said the LORD. ¹² So David asked, “Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me and my men into the hand of Saul?” “They will,” said the LORD.

⁸ and David inquired of the LORD: “Should I pursue these raiders? Will I overtake them?” “Pursue them,” the LORD replied, “for you will surely overtake them and rescue the captives.”

¹⁹ So David inquired of the LORD, “Should I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?” “Go,” replied the LORD, “for I will surely deliver the Philistines into your hand.” ²⁰ So David went to Baal-perazim, where he defeated the Philistines and said, “Like a bursting flood, the LORD has burst out against my enemies before me.” So he called that place Baal-perazim. ²¹ There the Philistines abandoned their idols, and David and his men carried them away. ²² Once again the Philistines came up and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim. ²³ So David inquired of the LORD, who answered, “Do not march straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the balsam trees. ²⁴ As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, move quickly, because this will mean that the LORD has marched out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.”

³ They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart,

⁷ And the anger of the LORD burned against Uzzah, and God struck him down on the spot for his irreverence, and he died there beside the ark of God. ⁸ Then David became angry because the LORD had burst forth against Uzzah; so he named that place Perez-uzzah, as it is called to this day. ⁹ That day David feared the LORD and asked, “How can the ark of the LORD ever come to me?” ¹⁰ So he was unwilling to move the ark of the LORD to the City of David; instead, he took it aside to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. ¹¹ Thus the ark of the LORD remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite for three months, and the LORD blessed him and all his household. ¹² Now it was reported to King David, “The LORD has blessed the house of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and had the ark of God brought up from the house of Obed-edom into the City of David with rejoicing.

¹⁷ You need not fight this battle. Take up your positions, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out and face them tomorrow, for the LORD is with you.’”

⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; ⁶ in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

²³ I know, O LORD, that a man’s way is not his own; no one who walks directs his own steps.

⁴ with these orders: “Pay attention. You are to lie in ambush behind the city, not too far from it. All of you must be ready.

³⁴ Then 10,000 select men from all Israel made a frontal assault against Gibeah, and the battle was fierce. But the Benjamites did not realize that disaster was upon them.

²³ So David inquired of the LORD, who answered, “Do not march straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the balsam trees.

⁵ And the men of Ai struck down about thirty-six of them, chasing them from the gate as far as the quarries and striking them down on the slopes. So the hearts of the people melted and became like water.

¹⁴ When the king of Ai saw the Israelites, he hurried out early in the morning with the men of the city to engage them in battle at an appointed place overlooking the Arabah. But he did not know that an ambush had been set up against him behind the city. ¹⁵ Joshua and all Israel let themselves be beaten back before them, and they fled toward the wilderness. ¹⁶ Then all the men of Ai were summoned to pursue them, and they followed Joshua and were drawn away from the city.

¹³ He continued, “Come, let us try to reach one of these towns to spend the night in Gibeah or Ramah.” ¹⁴ So they continued on their journey, and the sun set as they neared Gibeah in Benjamin.

²⁹ They have crossed at the ford: “We will spend the night at Geba.” Ramah trembles; Gibeah of Saul flees.

¹⁸ Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Hold out your battle lance toward Ai, for into your hand I will deliver the city.” So Joshua held out his battle lance toward Ai, ¹⁹ and as soon as he did so, the men in ambush rose quickly from their position. They rushed forward, entered the city, captured it, and immediately set it on fire. ²⁰ When the men of Ai turned and looked back, the smoke of the city was rising into the sky. They could not escape in any direction, and the troops who had fled to the wilderness now became the pursuers. ²¹ When Joshua and all Israel saw that the men in ambush had captured the city and that smoke was rising from it, they turned around and struck down the men of Ai. ²² Meanwhile, those in the ambush came out of the city against them, and the men of Ai were trapped between the Israelite forces on both sides. So Israel struck them down until no survivor or fugitive remained.

¹⁴ When the king of Ai saw the Israelites, he hurried out early in the morning with the men of the city to engage them in battle at an appointed place overlooking the Arabah. But he did not know that an ambush had been set up against him behind the city.

¹³ They spend their days in prosperity and go down to Sheol in peace.

¹⁹ But the way of the wicked is like the darkest gloom; they do not know what makes them stumble.

⁶ An evil man is caught by his own sin, but a righteous one sings and rejoices.

¹¹ When the sentence for a crime is not speedily executed, the hearts of men become fully set on doing evil. ¹² Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and still lives long, yet I also know that it will go well with those who fear God, who are reverent in His presence.

¹² For surely no man knows his time: Like fish caught in a cruel net or birds trapped in a snare, so men are ensnared in an evil time that suddenly falls upon them.

¹⁰ Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their labor. ¹¹ Woe to the wicked; disaster is upon them! For they will be repaid with what their hands have done.

¹¹ But disaster will come upon you; you will not know how to charm it away. A calamity will befall you that you will be unable to ward off. Devastation will happen to you suddenly and unexpectedly.

⁴⁴ For this reason, you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect.

³⁴ But watch yourselves, or your hearts will be weighed down by dissipation, drunkenness, and the worries of life—and that day will spring upon you suddenly like a snare.

³ For while people are saying, “Peace and security,” destruction will come upon them suddenly, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

⁴⁴ And 18,000 Benjamites fell, all men of valor. ⁴⁵ Then the Benjamites turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and Israel cut down 5,000 men on the roads. And they overtook them at Gidom and struck down 2,000 more. ⁴⁶ That day 25,000 Benjamite swordsmen fell, all men of valor.

⁵ the triumph of the wicked has been brief and the joy of the godless momentary?

¹⁵ Joshua and all Israel let themselves be beaten back before them, and they fled toward the wilderness. ¹⁶ Then all the men of Ai were summoned to pursue them, and they followed Joshua and were drawn away from the city. ¹⁷ Not a man was left in Ai or Bethel who did not go out after Israel, leaving the city wide open while they pursued Israel. ¹⁸ Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Hold out your battle lance toward Ai, for into your hand I will deliver the city.” So Joshua held out his battle lance toward Ai, ¹⁹ and as soon as he did so, the men in ambush rose quickly from their position. They rushed forward, entered the city, captured it, and immediately set it on fire. ²⁰ When the men of Ai turned and looked back, the smoke of the city was rising into the sky. They could not escape in any direction, and the troops who had fled to the wilderness now became the pursuers. ²¹ When Joshua and all Israel saw that the men in ambush had captured the city and that smoke was rising from it, they turned around and struck down the men of Ai. ²² Meanwhile, those in the ambush came out of the city against them, and the men of Ai were trapped between the Israelite forces on both sides. So Israel struck them down until no survivor or fugitive remained. ²³ But they took the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua. ²⁴ When Israel had finished killing all the men of Ai who had pursued them into the field and wilderness, and when every last one of them had fallen by the sword, all the Israelites returned to Ai and put it to the sword as well. ²⁵ A total of twelve thousand men and women fell that day—all the people of Ai. ²⁶ Joshua did not draw back the hand that held his battle lance until he had devoted to destruction all who lived in Ai. ²⁷ Israel took for themselves only the cattle and plunder of that city, as the LORD had commanded Joshua. ²⁸ So Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanent heap of ruins, a desolation to this day. ²⁹ He hung the king of Ai on a tree until evening, and at sunset Joshua commanded that they take down the body from the tree and throw it down at the entrance of the city gate. And over it they raised a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day.

¹³ No hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with arrows—whether man or beast, he must not live.’ Only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast may they approach the mountain.”

⁵ And when there is a long blast of the ram’s horn and you hear its sound, have all the people give a mighty shout. Then the wall of the city will collapse and all your people will charge straight into the city.”

¹⁹ and as soon as he did so, the men in ambush rose quickly from their position. They rushed forward, entered the city, captured it, and immediately set it on fire.

²¹ But I will establish My covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year.”

²⁰ When the men of Ai turned and looked back, the smoke of the city was rising into the sky. They could not escape in any direction, and the troops who had fled to the wilderness now became the pursuers.

¹⁶ And Elisha declared, “At this time next year, you will hold a son in your arms.” “No, my lord,” she said. “Do not lie to your maidservant, O man of God.”

³² “We are defeating them as before,” said the Benjamites. But the Israelites said, “Let us retreat and draw them away from the city onto the roads.”

²⁸ He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of the plain, and he saw the smoke rising from the land like smoke from a furnace.

⁶ Who is this coming up from the wilderness like a column of smoke, scented with myrrh and frankincense from all the spices of the merchant?

³⁰ I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke.

³ And a second time they called out: “Hallelujah! Her smoke rises forever and ever.”

⁹ The enemy declared, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake. I will divide the spoils; I will gorge myself on them. I will draw my sword; my hand will destroy them.’ ¹⁰ But You blew with Your breath, and the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters.

⁸ Terror, pain, and anguish will seize them; they will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look at one another, their faces flushed with fear. ⁹ Behold, the Day of the LORD is coming—cruel, with fury and burning anger—to make the earth a desolation and to destroy the sinners within it.

¹⁴ The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling grips the ungodly: “Who of us can dwell with a consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting flames?”

²⁷ People were eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. ²⁸ It was the same in the days of Lot: People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building.

²⁶ Men will faint from fear and anxiety over what is coming upon the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

¹² These men are like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be captured and destroyed. They blaspheme in matters they do not understand, and like such creatures, they will be destroyed.

¹⁵ Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, the commanders, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and free man hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. ¹⁶ And they said to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. ¹⁷ For the great day of Their wrath has come, and who is able to withstand it?”

⁸ Therefore her plagues will come in one day—death and grief and famine—and she will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.” ⁹ Then the kings of the earth who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her will weep and wail at the sight of the smoke rising from the fire that consumes her. ¹⁰ In fear of her torment, they will stand at a distance and cry out: “Woe, woe to the great city, the mighty city of Babylon! For in a single hour your judgment has come.”

¹⁵ Joshua and all Israel let themselves be beaten back before them, and they fled toward the wilderness.

²⁴ When Israel had finished killing all the men of Ai who had pursued them into the field and wilderness, and when every last one of them had fallen by the sword, all the Israelites returned to Ai and put it to the sword as well.

³ Judah has gone into exile under affliction and harsh slavery; she dwells among the nations but finds no place to rest. All her pursuers have overtaken her in the midst of her distress.

³² Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon—twenty-nine cities in all, along with their villages.

¹³ Then the whole congregation sent a message of peace to the Benjamites who were at the rock of Rimmon.

⁷⁷ The Merarites (the rest of the Levites) received the following: From the tribe of Zebulun they were given Rimmono and Tabor, together with their pasturelands.

¹⁰ All the land from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem will be turned into a plain, but Jerusalem will be raised up and will remain in her place, from the Benjamin Gate to the site of the First Gate to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the royal winepresses.

⁹ He will not always accuse us, nor harbor His anger forever. ¹⁰ He has not dealt with us according to our sins or repaid us according to our iniquities.

⁹ Unless the LORD of Hosts had left us a few survivors, we would have become like Sodom, we would have resembled Gomorrah.

⁷ Although our iniquities testify against us, O LORD, act for the sake of Your name. Indeed, our rebellions are many; we have sinned against You.

³² Even if He causes grief, He will show compassion according to His abundant loving devotion.

² O LORD, I have heard the report of You; I stand in awe, O LORD, of Your deeds. Revive them in these years; make them known in these years. In Your wrath, remember mercy!

¹⁵ you must surely put the inhabitants of that city to the sword. Devote to destruction all its people and livestock. ¹⁶ And you are to gather all its plunder in the middle of the public square, and completely burn the city and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the LORD your God. The city must remain a mound of ruins forever, never to be rebuilt. ¹⁷ Nothing devoted to destruction shall cling to your hands, so that the LORD will turn from His fierce anger, grant you mercy, show you compassion, and multiply you as He swore to your fathers,

¹³ Meanwhile the troops that Amaziah had dismissed from battle raided the cities of Judah, from Samaria to Beth-horon. They struck down 3,000 people and carried off a great deal of plunder.

⁶ For in one day Pekah son of Remaliah killed 120,000 valiant men in Judah. This happened because they had forsaken the LORD, the God of their fathers. ⁷ Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, killed Maaseiah the son of the king, Azrikam the governor of the palace, and Elkanah the second to the king. ⁸ Then the Israelites took 200,000 captives from their kinsmen—women, sons, and daughters. They also carried off a great deal of plunder and brought it to Samaria. ⁹ But a prophet of the LORD named Oded was there, and he went out to meet the army that returned to Samaria. “Look,” he said to them, “because of His wrath against Judah, the LORD, the God of your fathers, has delivered them into your hand. But you have slaughtered them in a rage that reaches up to heaven.

¹⁹ An offended brother is harder to win than a fortified city, and disputes are like the bars of a castle.