The
Bible In Chronological Order:
This page details
the
major stories of the Bible in Chronoligical Order, as the events
actually happened:
The 66
books that make up what we call "The Bible", are not in listed in their
Chronological order. This 61 day reading plan will take you
through the major
events that took place in the Bible, in the actual order that they
happened.
The New International Version Bible
61 Day reading plan:
Read
through all of the major events of the Bible in their Chronological
order, in just 61 days.
Old Testament
New Testement
Day
1
The Story of the Creation and The Fall
Genesis 1-3
The Beginning
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2 Now the earth was [a] formless and empty, darkness was over
the
surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4
God saw
that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness.
5 God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And
there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
6 And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters
to
separate water from water." 7 So God made the expanse and separated the
water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God
called the expanse "sky." And there was evening, and there was
morning—the second day.
9 And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to
one place,
and let dry ground appear." And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground
"land," and the gathered waters he called "seas." And God saw that it
was good.
11 Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation:
seed-bearing
plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according
to their various kinds." And it was so. 12 The land produced
vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees
bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw
that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was
morning—the
third day.
14 And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the
sky to
separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark
seasons and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of
the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so. 16 God made two
great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the
lesser light
to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the
expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and
the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was
good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the
fourth day.
20 And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures,
and let
birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky." 21 So God
created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving
thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every
winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God
blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the
water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth." 23 And
there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.
24 And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures
according to
their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild
animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. 25 God made the
wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their
kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to
their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our
likeness, and
let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over
the livestock, over all the earth, [b] and over all the creatures that
move along the ground."
27 So God created man in his own image,
in the
image of God he created him;
male and
female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and
increase in
number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and
the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the
ground."
29 Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the
face of
the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They
will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all
the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the
ground—everything that has the breath of life in
it—I give every green
plant for food." And it was so.
31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And
there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
Genesis 2
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their
vast array.
2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been
doing; so
on the seventh day he rested [c] from all his work. 3 And God blessed
the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the
work of creating that he had done.
Adam and Eve
4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they
were created.
When the LORD God
made the earth and the heavens- 5 and no shrub
of the field had yet appeared on the earth [d] and no plant of the
field had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the
earth [e] and there was no man to work the ground, 6 but streams [f]
came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground- the
LORD God formed the man The Hebrew for man (adam) sounds like and may
be related to the Hebrew for ground (adamah) it is also the name Adam
(see Gen. 2:20). from the dust of the ground and breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
8 Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden;
and
there he put the man he had formed. 9 And the LORD God made all kinds
of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to
the eye and
good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and
the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
10 A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there
it was
separated into four headwaters. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon;
it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12
(The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin [g] and onyx are also
there.) 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through
the entire land of Cush. [h] 14 The name of the third river is the
Tigris; it runs along the east side of Asshur. And the fourth river is
the Euphrates.
15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of
Eden to work
it and take care of it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are
free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from
the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you
will surely die."
18 The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be
alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."
19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the
beasts of the
field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see
what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living
creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the
livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field.
But for Adam [i] no
suitable helper was found. 21 So the LORD God
caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he
took one of the man's ribs [j] and closed up the place with flesh. 22
Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib [k] he had taken out of the
man, and he brought her to the man.
23 The man said,
"This is
now bone of my bones
and flesh
of my flesh;
she shall
be called 'woman, [l] '
for she
was taken out of man."
24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and
be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
25 The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no
shame.
Genesis 3
The Fall of Man
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild
animals the
LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must
not eat from any tree in the garden'?"
2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the
trees in
the garden, 3 but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree
that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you
will die.' "
4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. 5
"For God
knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be
like God, knowing good and evil."
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for
food and
pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took
some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her,
and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they
realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made
coverings for themselves.
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God
as he was
walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the
LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to
the man, "Where are you?"
10 He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid
because I was naked; so I hid."
11 And he said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you
eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?"
12 The man said, "The woman you put here with
me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it."
13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you
have done?"
The woman said, "The
serpent deceived me, and I ate."
14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have
done this,
"Cursed
are you above all the livestock
and all
the wild animals!
You will
crawl on your belly
and you
will eat dust
all the
days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity
between
you and the woman,
and
between your offspring [m] and hers;
he will
crush [n] your head,
and you
will strike his heel."
16 To the woman he said,
"I will
greatly increase your pains in childbearing;
with pain
you will give birth to children.
Your
desire will be for your husband,
and he
will rule over you."
17 To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and
ate from
the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,'
"Cursed is
the ground because of you;
through
painful toil you will eat of it
all the
days of your life.
18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you
will eat the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your brow
you will
eat your food
until you
return to the ground,
since from
it you were taken;
for dust
you are
and to
dust you will return."
20 Adam [o] named his wife Eve, [p] because she would become
the mother of all the living.
21 The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife
and
clothed them. 22 And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like
one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out
his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live
forever." 23 So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to
work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man
out, he placed on the east side [q] of the Garden of Eden cherubim and
a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of
life.
Day
2
Go
Back
The Story of Abraham
and
Isaac:
Genesis 12, 15, 22
The Call of Abram
1 The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your
people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.
2 "I will make you into a great nation
and I will
bless you;
I will
make your name great,
and you
will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and
whoever curses you I will curse;
and all
peoples on earth
will be
blessed through you."
4 So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with
him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran. 5 He
took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had
accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out
for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.
6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the
great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the
land. 7 The LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring [a] I
will give this land." So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had
appeared to him.
8 From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and
pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he
built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD. 9 Then
Abram set out and continued toward the Negev.
Abram in Egypt
10 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to
Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. 11 As he
was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, "I know what a
beautiful woman you are. 12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say,
'This is his wife.' Then they will kill me but will let you live. 13
Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and
my life will be spared because of you."
14 When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that she was a
very beautiful woman. 15 And when Pharaoh's officials saw her, they
praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. 16 He
treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle,
male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels.
17 But the LORD inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his
household because of Abram's wife Sarai. 18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram.
"What have you done to me?" he said. "Why didn't you tell me she was
your wife? 19 Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her
to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!" 20 Then
Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his
way, with his wife and everything he had.
Genesis 15
God's Covenant With Abram
1 After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision:
"Do not be
afraid, Abram.
I am your
shield, [a]
your very
great reward. [b] "
2 But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me
since I remain childless and the one who will inherit [c] my estate is
Eliezer of Damascus?" 3 And Abram said, "You have given me no children;
so a servant in my household will be my heir."
4 Then the word of the LORD came to him: "This man will not
be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir." 5
He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the
stars—if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So
shall your offspring be."
6 Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as
righteousness.
7 He also said to him, "I am the LORD, who brought you out of
Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it."
8 But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I
will gain possession of it?"
9 So the LORD said to him, "Bring me a heifer, a goat and a
ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon."
10 Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and
arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not
cut in half. 11 Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but
Abram drove them away.
12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and
a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 13 Then the LORD said to
him, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a
country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four
hundred years. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,
and afterward they will come out with great possessions. 15 You,
however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old
age. 16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here,
for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure."
17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking
firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. 18
On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your
descendants I give this land, from the river [d] of Egypt to the great
river, the Euphrates- 19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites,
Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 21 Amorites,
Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites."
Genesis 22
Abraham Tested
1 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him,
"Abraham!"
"Here I am," he
replied.
2 Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom
you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a
burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."
3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his
donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he
had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place
God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw
the place in the distance. 5 He said to his servants, "Stay here with
the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then
we will come back to you."
6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it
on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the
two of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father
Abraham, "Father?"
"Yes, my son?"
Abraham replied.
"The fire and wood
are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"
8 Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for
the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together.
9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham
built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son
Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached
out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of
the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!"
"Here I am," he
replied.
12 "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do
anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not
withheld from me your son, your only son."
13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram [a]
caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as
a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place
The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of
the LORD it will be provided."
15 The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a
second time 16 and said, "I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that
because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only
son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous
as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your
descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and
through your offspring [b] all nations on earth will be blessed,
because you have obeyed me."
19 Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off
together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba.
Nahor's Sons
20 Some time later Abraham was told, "Milcah is also a
mother; she has borne sons to your brother Nahor: 21 Uz the firstborn,
Buz his brother, Kemuel (the father of Aram), 22 Kesed, Hazo, Pildash,
Jidlaph and Bethuel." 23 Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. Milcah
bore these eight sons to Abraham's brother Nahor. 24 His concubine,
whose name was Reumah, also had sons: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash and Maacah.
Day
3
Go
Back
The Story of Job's
Trials
Job 1-3 and 38-42
Prologue
1 In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job.
This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. 2
He had seven sons and three daughters, 3 and he owned seven thousand
sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five
hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the
greatest man among all the people of the East.
4 His sons used to take turns holding feasts in their homes,
and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5
When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would send and have
them purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering
for each of them, thinking, "Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed
God in their hearts." This was Job's regular custom.
Job's First Test
6 One day the angels [a] came to present themselves before
the LORD, and Satan [b] also came with them. 7 The LORD said to Satan,
"Where have you come from?"
Satan answered the
LORD, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it."
8 Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my
servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and
upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil."
9 "Does Job fear God for nothing?" Satan replied. 10 "Have
you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has?
You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds
are spread throughout the land. 11 But stretch out your hand and strike
everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face."
12 The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, everything he
has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger."
Then Satan went out
from the presence of the LORD.
13 One day when Job's sons and daughters were feasting and
drinking wine at the oldest brother's house, 14 a messenger came to Job
and said, "The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby,
15 and the Sabeans attacked and carried them off. They put the servants
to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"
16 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and
said, "The fire of God fell from the sky and burned up the sheep and
the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"
17 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and
said, "The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on
your camels and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword,
and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"
18 While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came
and said, "Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at
the oldest brother's house, 19 when suddenly a mighty wind swept in
from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed
on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to
tell you!"
20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head.
Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said:
"Naked I
came from my mother's womb,
and naked
I will depart. [c]
The LORD
gave and the LORD has taken away;
may the
name of the LORD be praised."
22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with
wrongdoing.
Job 2
Job's Second Test
1 On another day the angels [d] came to present themselves
before the LORD, and Satan also came with them to present himself
before him. 2 And the LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?"
Satan answered the
LORD, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it."
3 Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my
servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and
upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his
integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any
reason."
4 "Skin for skin!" Satan replied. "A man will give all he has
for his own life. 5 But stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and
bones, and he will surely curse you to your face."
6 The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, he is in your
hands; but you must spare his life."
7 So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and
afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top
of his head. 8 Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped
himself with it as he sat among the ashes.
9 His wife said to him, "Are you still holding on to your
integrity? Curse God and die!"
10 He replied, "You are talking like a foolish [e] woman.
Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?"
In all this, Job did
not sin in what he said.
Job's Three Friends
11 When Job's three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the
Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that
had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by
agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him. 12 When they
saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to
weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their
heads. 13 Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven
nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his
suffering was.
Job 3
Job Speaks
1 After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his
birth. 2 He said:
3 "May the day of my birth perish,
and the
night it was said, 'A boy is born!'
4 That day—may it turn to darkness;
may God
above not care about it;
may no
light shine upon it.
5 May darkness and deep shadow [f] claim it once more;
may a
cloud settle over it;
may
blackness overwhelm its light.
6 That night—may thick darkness seize it;
may it not
be included among the days of the year
nor be
entered in any of the months.
7 May that night be barren;
may no
shout of joy be heard in it.
8 May those who curse days [g] curse that day,
those who
are ready to rouse Leviathan.
9 May its morning stars become dark;
may it
wait for daylight in vain
and not
see the first rays of dawn,
10 for it did not shut the doors of the womb on me
to hide
trouble from my eyes.
11 "Why did I not perish at birth,
and die as
I came from the womb?
12 Why were there knees to receive me
and
breasts that I might be nursed?
13 For now I would be lying down in peace;
I would be
asleep and at rest
14 with kings and counselors of the earth,
who built
for themselves places now lying in ruins,
15 with rulers who had gold,
who filled
their houses with silver.
16 Or why was I not hidden in the ground like a stillborn
child,
like an
infant who never saw the light of day?
17 There the wicked cease from turmoil,
and there
the weary are at rest.
18 Captives also enjoy their ease;
they no
longer hear the slave driver's shout.
19 The small and the great are there,
and the
slave is freed from his master.
20 "Why is light given to those in misery,
and life
to the bitter of soul,
21 to those who long for death that does not come,
who search
for it more than for hidden treasure,
22 who are filled with gladness
and
rejoice when they reach the grave?
23 Why is life given to a man
whose way
is hidden,
whom God
has hedged in?
24 For sighing comes to me instead of food;
my groans
pour out like water.
25 What I feared has come upon me;
what I
dreaded has happened to me.
26 I have no peace, no quietness;
I have no
rest, but only turmoil."
Job 38
The LORD Speaks
1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm. He said:
2 "Who is this that darkens my counsel
with words
without knowledge?
3 Brace yourself like a man;
I will
question you,
and you
shall answer me.
4 "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation?
Tell me,
if you understand.
5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
Who
stretched a measuring line across it?
6 On what were its footings set,
or who
laid its cornerstone-
7 while the morning stars sang together
and all
the angels [a] shouted for joy?
8 "Who shut up the sea behind doors
when it
burst forth from the womb,
9 when I made the clouds its garment
and
wrapped it in thick darkness,
10 when I fixed limits for it
and set
its doors and bars in place,
11 when I said, 'This far you may come and no farther;
here is
where your proud waves halt'?
12 "Have you ever given orders to the morning,
or shown
the dawn its place,
13 that it might take the earth by the edges
and shake
the wicked out of it?
14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;
its
features stand out like those of a garment.
15 The wicked are denied their light,
and their
upraised arm is broken.
16 "Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea
or walked
in the recesses of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been shown to you?
Have you
seen the gates of the shadow of death [b] ?
18 Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?
Tell me,
if you know all this.
19 "What is the way to the abode of light?
And where
does darkness reside?
20 Can you take them to their places?
Do you
know the paths to their dwellings?
21 Surely you know, for you were already born!
You have
lived so many years!
22 "Have you entered the storehouses of the snow
or seen
the storehouses of the hail,
23 which I reserve for times of trouble,
for days
of war and battle?
24 What is the way to the place where the lightning is
dispersed,
or the
place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?
25 Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain,
and a path
for the thunderstorm,
26 to water a land where no man lives,
a desert
with no one in it,
27 to satisfy a desolate wasteland
and make
it sprout with grass?
28 Does the rain have a father?
Who
fathers the drops of dew?
29 From whose womb comes the ice?
Who gives
birth to the frost from the heavens
30 when the waters become hard as stone,
when the
surface of the deep is frozen?
31 "Can you bind the beautiful [c] Pleiades?
Can you
loose the cords of Orion?
32 Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons
[d]
or lead
out the Bear [e] with its cubs?
33 Do you know the laws of the heavens?
Can you
set up God's [f] dominion over the earth?
34 "Can you raise your voice to the clouds
and cover
yourself with a flood of water?
35 Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?
Do they
report to you, 'Here we are'?
36 Who endowed the heart [g] with wisdom
or gave
understanding to the mind [h] ?
37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?
Who can
tip over the water jars of the heavens
38 when the dust becomes hard
and the
clods of earth stick together?
39 "Do you hunt the prey for the lioness
and
satisfy the hunger of the lions
40 when they crouch in their dens
or lie in
wait in a thicket?
41 Who provides food for the raven
when its
young cry out to God
and wander
about for lack of food?
Job 39
1 "Do you know when the mountain goats give birth?
Do you
watch when the doe bears her fawn?
2 Do you count the months till they bear?
Do you
know the time they give birth?
3 They crouch down and bring forth their young;
their
labor pains are ended.
4 Their young thrive and grow strong in the wilds;
they leave
and do not return.
5 "Who let the wild donkey go free?
Who untied
his ropes?
6 I gave him the wasteland as his home,
the salt
flats as his habitat.
7 He laughs at the commotion in the town;
he does
not hear a driver's shout.
8 He ranges the hills for his pasture
and
searches for any green thing.
9 "Will the wild ox consent to serve you?
Will he
stay by your manger at night?
10 Can you hold him to the furrow with a harness?
Will he
till the valleys behind you?
11 Will you rely on him for his great strength?
Will you
leave your heavy work to him?
12 Can you trust him to bring in your grain
and gather
it to your threshing floor?
13 "The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully,
but they
cannot compare with the pinions and feathers of the stork.
14 She lays her eggs on the ground
and lets
them warm in the sand,
15 unmindful that a foot may crush them,
that some
wild animal may trample them.
16 She treats her young harshly, as if they were not hers;
she cares
not that her labor was in vain,
17 for God did not endow her with wisdom
or give
her a share of good sense.
18 Yet when she spreads her feathers to run,
she laughs
at horse and rider.
19 "Do you give the horse his strength
or clothe
his neck with a flowing mane?
20 Do you make him leap like a locust,
striking
terror with his proud snorting?
21 He paws fiercely, rejoicing in his strength,
and
charges into the fray.
22 He laughs at fear, afraid of nothing;
he does
not shy away from the sword.
23 The quiver rattles against his side,
along with
the flashing spear and lance.
24 In frenzied excitement he eats up the ground;
he cannot
stand still when the trumpet sounds.
25 At the blast of the trumpet he snorts, 'Aha!'
He catches
the scent of battle from afar,
the shout
of commanders and the battle cry.
26 "Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom
and spread
his wings toward the south?
27 Does the eagle soar at your command
and build
his nest on high?
28 He dwells on a cliff and stays there at night;
a rocky
crag is his stronghold.
29 From there he seeks out his food;
his eyes
detect it from afar.
30 His young ones feast on blood,
and where
the slain are, there is he."
Job 40
1 The LORD said to Job:
2 "Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him?
Let him
who accuses God answer him!"
3 Then Job answered the LORD :
4 "I am unworthy—how can I reply to you?
I put my
hand over my mouth.
5 I spoke once, but I have no answer—
twice, but
I will say no more."
6 Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm:
7 "Brace yourself like a man;
I will
question you,
and you
shall answer me.
8 "Would you discredit my justice?
Would you
condemn me to justify yourself?
9 Do you have an arm like God's,
and can
your voice thunder like his?
10 Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor,
and clothe
yourself in honor and majesty.
11 Unleash the fury of your wrath,
look at
every proud man and bring him low,
12 look at every proud man and humble him,
crush the
wicked where they stand.
13 Bury them all in the dust together;
shroud
their faces in the grave.
14 Then I myself will admit to you
that your
own right hand can save you.
15 "Look at the behemoth, [i]
which I
made along with you
and which
feeds on grass like an ox.
16 What strength he has in his loins,
what power
in the muscles of his belly!
17 His tail [j] sways like a cedar;
the sinews
of his thighs are close-knit.
18 His bones are tubes of bronze,
his limbs
like rods of iron.
19 He ranks first among the works of God,
yet his
Maker can approach him with his sword.
20 The hills bring him their produce,
and all
the wild animals play nearby.
21 Under the lotus plants he lies,
hidden
among the reeds in the marsh.
22 The lotuses conceal him in their shadow;
the
poplars by the stream surround him.
23 When the river rages, he is not alarmed;
he is
secure, though the Jordan should surge against his mouth.
24 Can anyone capture him by the eyes, [k]
or trap
him and pierce his nose?
Job 41
1 "Can you pull in the leviathan [l] with a fishhook
or tie
down his tongue with a rope?
2 Can you put a cord through his nose
or pierce
his jaw with a hook?
3 Will he keep begging you for mercy?
Will he
speak to you with gentle words?
4 Will he make an agreement with you
for you to
take him as your slave for life?
5 Can you make a pet of him like a bird
or put him
on a leash for your girls?
6 Will traders barter for him?
Will they
divide him up among the merchants?
7 Can you fill his hide with harpoons
or his
head with fishing spears?
8 If you lay a hand on him,
you will
remember the struggle and never do it again!
9 Any hope of subduing him is false;
the mere
sight of him is overpowering.
10 No one is fierce enough to rouse him.
Who then
is able to stand against me?
11 Who has a claim against me that I must pay?
Everything
under heaven belongs to me.
12 "I will not fail to speak of his limbs,
his
strength and his graceful form.
13 Who can strip off his outer coat?
Who would
approach him with a bridle?
14 Who dares open the doors of his mouth,
ringed
about with his fearsome teeth?
15 His back has [m] rows of shields
tightly
sealed together;
16 each is so close to the next
that no
air can pass between.
17 They are joined fast to one another;
they cling
together and cannot be parted.
18 His snorting throws out flashes of light;
his eyes
are like the rays of dawn.
19 Firebrands stream from his mouth;
sparks of
fire shoot out.
20 Smoke pours from his nostrils
as from a
boiling pot over a fire of reeds.
21 His breath sets coals ablaze,
and flames
dart from his mouth.
22 Strength resides in his neck;
dismay
goes before him.
23 The folds of his flesh are tightly joined;
they are
firm and immovable.
24 His chest is hard as rock,
hard as a
lower millstone.
25 When he rises up, the mighty are terrified;
they
retreat before his thrashing.
26 The sword that reaches him has no effect,
nor does
the spear or the dart or the javelin.
27 Iron he treats like straw
and bronze
like rotten wood.
28 Arrows do not make him flee;
slingstones are like chaff to him.
29 A club seems to him but a piece of straw;
he laughs
at the rattling of the lance.
30 His undersides are jagged potsherds,
leaving a
trail in the mud like a threshing sledge.
31 He makes the depths churn like a boiling caldron
and stirs
up the sea like a pot of ointment.
32 Behind him he leaves a glistening wake;
one would
think the deep had white hair.
33 Nothing on earth is his equal—
a creature
without fear.
34 He looks down on all that are haughty;
he is king
over all that are proud."
Job 42
1 Then Job replied to the LORD :
2 "I know that you can do all things;
no plan of
yours can be thwarted.
3 You asked, 'Who is this that obscures my counsel without
knowledge?'
Surely I
spoke of things I did not understand,
things too
wonderful for me to know.
4 "You said, 'Listen now, and I will speak;
I will
question you,
and you
shall answer me.'
5 My ears had heard of you
but now my
eyes have seen you.
6 Therefore I despise myself
and repent
in dust and ashes."
Epilogue
7 After the LORD had said these things to Job, he said to
Eliphaz the Temanite, "I am angry with you and your two friends,
because you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.
8 So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and
sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for
you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to
your folly. You have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job
has." 9 So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the
Naamathite did what the LORD told them; and the LORD accepted Job's
prayer.
10 After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD made him
prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before. 11 All
his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and
ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the
trouble the LORD had brought upon him, and each one gave him a piece of
silver [n] and a gold ring.
12 The LORD blessed the latter part of Job's life more than
the first. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a
thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. 13 And he also had seven
sons and three daughters. 14 The first daughter he named Jemimah, the
second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch. 15 Nowhere in all the land
were there found women as beautiful as Job's daughters, and their
father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers.
16 After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw
his children and their children to the fourth generation. 17 And so he
died, old and full of years.
Day
4
Go
Back
The Story of Moses
and the
Beginning of the Law
Exodus 1-5, 12-14, and 20
The Israelites Oppressed
1 These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt
with Jacob, each with his family: 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah; 3
Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin; 4 Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher. 5
The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy [a] in all; Joseph was
already in Egypt.
6 Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation
died, 7 but the Israelites were fruitful and multiplied greatly and
became exceedingly numerous, so that the land was filled with them.
8 Then a new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to
power in Egypt. 9 "Look," he said to his people, "the Israelites have
become much too numerous for us. 10 Come, we must deal shrewdly with
them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out,
will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country."
11 So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with
forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for
Pharaoh. 12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied
and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites 13 and worked
them ruthlessly. 14 They made their lives bitter with hard labor in
brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their
hard labor the Egyptians used them ruthlessly.
15 The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names
were Shiphrah and Puah, 16 "When you help the Hebrew women in
childbirth and observe them on the delivery stool, if it is a boy, kill
him; but if it is a girl, let her live." 17 The midwives, however,
feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do;
they let the boys live. 18 Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives
and asked them, "Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys
live?"
19 The midwives answered Pharaoh, "Hebrew women are not like
Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives
arrive."
20 So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased
and became even more numerous. 21 And because the midwives feared God,
he gave them families of their own.
22 Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: "Every boy
that is born [b] you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live."
Exodus 2
The Birth of Moses
1 Now a man of the house of Levi married a Levite woman, 2
and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he
was a fine child, she hid him for three months. 3 But when she could
hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with
tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the
reeds along the bank of the Nile. 4 His sister stood at a distance to
see what would happen to him.
5 Then Pharaoh's daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and
her attendants were walking along the river bank. She saw the basket
among the reeds and sent her slave girl to get it. 6 She opened it and
saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. "This is one
of the Hebrew babies," she said.
7 Then his sister asked Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I go and
get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?"
8 "Yes, go," she answered. And the girl went and got the
baby's mother. 9 Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Take this baby and
nurse him for me, and I will pay you." So the woman took the baby and
nursed him. 10 When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh's
daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, [c] saying, "I
drew him out of the water."
Moses Flees to Midian
11 One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where
his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an
Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. 12 Glancing this way
and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the
sand. 13 The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He
asked the one in the wrong, "Why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew?"
14 The man said, "Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are
you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?" Then Moses was
afraid and thought, "What I did must have become known."
15 When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but
Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian, where he sat down
by a well. 16 Now a priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came
to draw water and fill the troughs to water their father's flock. 17
Some shepherds came along and drove them away, but Moses got up and
came to their rescue and watered their flock.
18 When the girls returned to Reuel their father, he asked
them, "Why have you returned so early today?"
19 They answered, "An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds.
He even drew water for us and watered the flock."
20 "And where is he?" he asked his daughters. "Why did you
leave him? Invite him to have something to eat."
21 Moses agreed to stay with the man, who gave his daughter
Zipporah to Moses in marriage. 22 Zipporah gave birth to a son, and
Moses named him Gershom, [d] saying, "I have become an alien in a
foreign land."
23 During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The
Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for
help because of their slavery went up to God. 24 God heard their
groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and
with Jacob. 25 So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about
them.
Exodus 3
Moses and the Burning Bush
1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his
father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far
side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the
angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush.
Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So
Moses thought, "I will go over and see this strange sight—why
the bush does not burn up."
4 When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called
to him from within the bush, "Moses! Moses!"
And Moses said,
"Here I am."
5 "Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals,
for the place where you are standing is holy ground." 6 Then he said,
"I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and
the God of Jacob." At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid
to look at God.
7 The LORD said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people
in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers,
and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to
rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of
that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and
honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites,
Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9 And now the cry of the Israelites
has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing
them. 10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the
Israelites out of Egypt."
11 But Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to
Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?"
12 And God said, "I will be with you. And this will be the
sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the
people out of Egypt, you [e] will worship God on this mountain."
13 Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say
to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me,
'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?"
14 God said to Moses, "I am who I am . [f] This is what you
are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' "
15 God also said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites, 'The LORD,
[g] the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of
Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.' This is my
name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation
to generation.
16 "Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, 'The
LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob—appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and
have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. 17 And I have promised to
bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the
Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and
Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.'
18 "The elders of Israel will listen to you. Then you and the
elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, 'The LORD, the
God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey
into the desert to offer sacrifices to the LORD our God.' 19 But I know
that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels
him. 20 So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all
the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you
go.
21 "And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward
this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed. 22
Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house
for articles of silver and gold and for clothing, which you will put on
your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder the Egyptians."
Exodus 4
Signs for Moses
1 Moses answered, "What if they do not believe me or listen
to me and say, 'The LORD did not appear to you'?"
2 Then the LORD said to him, "What is that in your hand?"
"A staff," he
replied.
3 The LORD said, "Throw it on the ground."
Moses threw it on
the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. 4 Then the LORD
said to him, "Reach out your hand and take it by the tail." So Moses
reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff
in his hand. 5 "This," said the LORD, "is so that they may believe that
the LORD, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the
God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you."
6 Then the LORD said, "Put your hand inside your cloak." So
Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was
leprous, [h] like snow.
7 "Now put it back into your cloak," he said. So Moses put
his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored,
like the rest of his flesh.
8 Then the LORD said, "If they do not believe you or pay
attention to the first miraculous sign, they may believe the second. 9
But if they do not believe these two signs or listen to you, take some
water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take
from the river will become blood on the ground."
10 Moses said to the LORD, "O Lord, I have never been
eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your
servant. I am slow of speech and tongue."
11 The LORD said to him, "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes
him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I,
the LORD ? 12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to
say."
13 But Moses said, "O Lord, please send someone else to do
it."
14 Then the LORD's anger burned against Moses and he said,
"What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well.
He is already on his way to meet you, and his heart will be glad when
he sees you. 15 You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I
will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. 16 He will
speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth
and as if you were God to him. 17 But take this staff in your hand so
you can perform miraculous signs with it."
Moses Returns to Egypt
18 Then Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said
to him, "Let me go back to my own people in Egypt to see if any of them
are still alive."
Jethro said, "Go,
and I wish you well."
19 Now the LORD had said to Moses in Midian, "Go back to
Egypt, for all the men who wanted to kill you are dead." 20 So Moses
took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey and started back to Egypt.
And he took the staff of God in his hand.
21 The LORD said to Moses, "When you return to Egypt, see
that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the
power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the
people go. 22 Then say to Pharaoh, 'This is what the LORD says: Israel
is my firstborn son, 23 and I told you, "Let my son go, so he may
worship me." But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your
firstborn son.' "
24 At a lodging place on the way, the LORD met {Moses} [i]
and was about to kill him. 25 But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off
her son's foreskin and touched {Moses'} feet with it. [j] "Surely you
are a bridegroom of blood to me," she said. 26 So the LORD let him
alone. (At that time she said "bridegroom of blood," referring to
circumcision.)
27 The LORD said to Aaron, "Go into the desert to meet
Moses." So he met Moses at the mountain of God and kissed him. 28 Then
Moses told Aaron everything the LORD had sent him to say, and also
about all the miraculous signs he had commanded him to perform.
29 Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the
Israelites, 30 and Aaron told them everything the LORD had said to
Moses. He also performed the signs before the people, 31 and they
believed. And when they heard that the LORD was concerned about them
and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.
Exodus 5
Bricks Without Straw
1 Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, "This
is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'Let my people go, so that
they may hold a festival to me in the desert.' "
2 Pharaoh said, "Who is the LORD, that I should obey him and
let Israel go? I do not know the LORD and I will not let Israel go."
3 Then they said, "The God of the Hebrews has met with us.
Now let us take a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices
to the LORD our God, or he may strike us with plagues or with the
sword."
4 But the king of Egypt said, "Moses and Aaron, why are you
taking the people away from their labor? Get back to your work!" 5 Then
Pharaoh said, "Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you
are stopping them from working."
6 That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers
and foremen in charge of the people: 7 "You are no longer to supply the
people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own
straw. 8 But require them to make the same number of bricks as before;
don't reduce the quota. They are lazy; that is why they are crying out,
'Let us go and sacrifice to our God.' 9 Make the work harder for the
men so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies."
10 Then the slave drivers and the foremen went out and said
to the people, "This is what Pharaoh says: 'I will not give you any
more straw. 11 Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it, but
your work will not be reduced at all.' " 12 So the people scattered all
over Egypt to gather stubble to use for straw. 13 The slave drivers
kept pressing them, saying, "Complete the work required of you for each
day, just as when you had straw." 14 The Israelite foremen appointed by
Pharaoh's slave drivers were beaten and were asked, "Why didn't you
meet your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as before?"
15 Then the Israelite foremen went and appealed to Pharaoh:
"Why have you treated your servants this way? 16 Your servants are
given no straw, yet we are told, 'Make bricks!' Your servants are being
beaten, but the fault is with your own people."
17 Pharaoh said, "Lazy, that's what you are—lazy!
That is why you keep saying, 'Let us go and sacrifice to the LORD.' 18
Now get to work. You will not be given any straw, yet you must produce
your full quota of bricks."
19 The Israelite foremen realized they were in trouble when
they were told, "You are not to reduce the number of bricks required of
you for each day." 20 When they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and
Aaron waiting to meet them, 21 and they said, "May the LORD look upon
you and judge you! You have made us a stench to Pharaoh and his
officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us."
God Promises Deliverance
22 Moses returned to the LORD and said, "O Lord, why have you
brought trouble upon this people? Is this why you sent me? 23 Ever
since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble
upon this people, and you have not rescued your people at all."
Exodus 12
The Passover
1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, 2 "This month is
to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. 3 Tell the
whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man
is to take a lamb [a] for his family, one for each household. 4 If any
household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their
nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there
are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with
what each person will eat. 5 The animals you choose must be year-old
males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the
goats. 6 Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when
all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at
twilight. 7 Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the
sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the
lambs. 8 That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the
fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. 9 Do not
eat the meat raw or cooked in water, but roast it over the
fire—head, legs and inner parts. 10 Do not leave any of it
till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it. 11 This
is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your
sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it
is the LORD's Passover.
12 "On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike
down every firstborn—both men and animals—and I
will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD. 13 The
blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I
see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch
you when I strike Egypt.
14 "This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations
to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD -a lasting
ordinance. 15 For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast.
On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats
anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must
be cut off from Israel. 16 On the first day hold a sacred assembly, and
another one on the seventh day. Do no work at all on these days, except
to prepare food for everyone to eat—that is all you may do.
17 "Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because it was
on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate
this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. 18 In the
first month you are to eat bread made without yeast, from the evening
of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day. 19 For
seven days no yeast is to be found in your houses. And whoever eats
anything with yeast in it must be cut off from the community of Israel,
whether he is an alien or native-born. 20 Eat nothing made with yeast.
Wherever you live, you must eat unleavened bread."
21 Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to
them, "Go at once and select the animals for your families and
slaughter the Passover lamb. 22 Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the
blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both
sides of the doorframe. Not one of you shall go out the door of his
house until morning. 23 When the LORD goes through the land to strike
down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the
doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the
destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.
24 "Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you
and your descendants. 25 When you enter the land that the LORD will
give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. 26 And when your
children ask you, 'What does this ceremony mean to you?' 27 then tell
them, 'It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the
houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck
down the Egyptians.' " Then the people bowed down and worshiped. 28 The
Israelites did just what the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron.
29 At midnight the LORD struck down all the firstborn in
Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the
firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of
all the livestock as well. 30 Pharaoh and all his officials and all the
Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing in Egypt,
for there was not a house without someone dead.
The Exodus
31 During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and
said, "Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the
LORD as you have requested. 32 Take your flocks and herds, as you have
said, and go. And also bless me."
33 The Egyptians urged the people to hurry and leave the
country. "For otherwise," they said, "we will all die!" 34 So the
people took their dough before the yeast was added, and carried it on
their shoulders in kneading troughs wrapped in clothing. 35 The
Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles
of silver and gold and for clothing. 36 The LORD had made the Egyptians
favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they
asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians.
37 The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Succoth. There
were about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and
children. 38 Many other people went up with them, as well as large
droves of livestock, both flocks and herds. 39 With the dough they had
brought from Egypt, they baked cakes of unleavened bread. The dough was
without yeast because they had been driven out of Egypt and did not
have time to prepare food for themselves.
40 Now the length of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt
[b] was 430 years. 41 At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all
the LORD's divisions left Egypt. 42 Because the LORD kept vigil that
night to bring them out of Egypt, on this night all the Israelites are
to keep vigil to honor the LORD for the generations to come.
Passover Restrictions
43 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "These are the
regulations for the Passover:
"No foreigner is to
eat of it. 44 Any slave you have bought may eat of it after you have
circumcised him, 45 but a temporary resident and a hired worker may not
eat of it.
46 "It must be eaten inside one house; take none of the meat
outside the house. Do not break any of the bones. 47 The whole
community of Israel must celebrate it.
48 "An alien living among you who wants to celebrate the
LORD's Passover must have all the males in his household circumcised;
then he may take part like one born in the land. No uncircumcised male
may eat of it. 49 The same law applies to the native-born and to the
alien living among you."
50 All the Israelites did just what the LORD had commanded
Moses and Aaron. 51 And on that very day the LORD brought the
Israelites out of Egypt by their divisions.
Exodus 13
Consecration of the Firstborn
1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 "Consecrate to me every firstborn
male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to
me, whether man or animal."
3 Then Moses said to the people, "Commemorate this day, the
day you came out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery, because the LORD
brought you out of it with a mighty hand. Eat nothing containing yeast.
4 Today, in the month of Abib, you are leaving. 5 When the LORD brings
you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites and
Jebusites—the land he swore to your forefathers to give you,
a land flowing with milk and honey—you are to observe this
ceremony in this month: 6 For seven days eat bread made without yeast
and on the seventh day hold a festival to the LORD. 7 Eat unleavened
bread during those seven days; nothing with yeast in it is to be seen
among you, nor shall any yeast be seen anywhere within your borders. 8
On that day tell your son, 'I do this because of what the LORD did for
me when I came out of Egypt.' 9 This observance will be for you like a
sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that the law of the
LORD is to be on your lips. For the LORD brought you out of Egypt with
his mighty hand. 10 You must keep this ordinance at the appointed time
year after year.
11 "After the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites
and gives it to you, as he promised on oath to you and your
forefathers, 12 you are to give over to the LORD the first offspring of
every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the
LORD. 13 Redeem with a lamb every firstborn donkey, but if you do not
redeem it, break its neck. Redeem every firstborn among your sons.
14 "In days to come, when your son asks you, 'What does this
mean?' say to him, 'With a mighty hand the LORD brought us out of
Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused
to let us go, the LORD killed every firstborn in Egypt, both man and
animal. This is why I sacrifice to the LORD the first male offspring of
every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons.' 16 And it will be
like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the LORD
brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand."
Crossing the Sea
17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on
the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For
God said, "If they face war, they might change their minds and return
to Egypt." 18 So God led the people around by the desert road toward
the Red Sea. [c] The Israelites went up out of Egypt armed for battle.
19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had
made the sons of Israel swear an oath. He had said, "God will surely
come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up with you from
this place." [d]
20 After leaving Succoth they camped at Etham on the edge of
the desert. 21 By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud
to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give
them light, so that they could travel by day or night. 22 Neither the
pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place
in front of the people.
Exodus 14
1 Then the LORD said to Moses, 2 "Tell the Israelites to turn
back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. They are
to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon. 3 Pharaoh will
think, 'The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion,
hemmed in by the desert.' 4 And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he
will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and
all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD." So the
Israelites did this.
5 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled,
Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said,
"What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their
services!" 6 So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with
him. 7 He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the
other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them. 8 The LORD
hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the
Israelites, who were marching out boldly. 9 The Egyptians—all
Pharaoh's horses and chariots, horsemen [e] and
troops—pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they
camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon.
10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there
were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried
out to the LORD. 11 They said to Moses, "Was it because there were no
graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you
done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Didn't we say to you in
Egypt, 'Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians'? It would have been
better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!"
13 Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm
and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The
Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The LORD will
fight for you; you need only to be still."
15 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to
me? Tell the Israelites to move on. 16 Raise your staff and stretch out
your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can
go through the sea on dry ground. 17 I will harden the hearts of the
Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory
through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his
horsemen. 18 The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I gain
glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen."
19 Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of
Israel's army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also
moved from in front and stood behind them, 20 coming between the armies
of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to
the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the
other all night long.
21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all
that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and
turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, 22 and the Israelites
went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right
and on their left.
23 The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh's horses and
chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. 24 During the last
watch of the night the LORD looked down from the pillar of fire and
cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. 25 He made the
wheels of their chariots come off [f] so that they had difficulty
driving. And the Egyptians said, "Let's get away from the Israelites!
The LORD is fighting for them against Egypt."
26 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over
the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their
chariots and horsemen." 27 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea,
and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were
fleeing toward [g] it, and the LORD swept them into the sea. 28 The
water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the
entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea.
Not one of them survived.
29 But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground,
with a wall of water on their right and on their left. 30 That day the
LORD saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the
Egyptians lying dead on the shore. 31 And when the Israelites saw the
great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared
the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.
Exodus 20
The Ten Commandments
1 And God spoke all these words:
2 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out
of the land of slavery.
3 "You shall have no other gods before [a] me.
4 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of
anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters
below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the
LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of
the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6
but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and
keep my commandments.
7 "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for
the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
8 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days
you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a
Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither
you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor
your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11 For in six days the
LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them,
but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the
Sabbath day and made it holy.
12 "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live
long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
13 "You shall not murder.
14 "You shall not commit adultery.
15 "You shall not steal.
16 "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
17 "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not
covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or
donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
18 When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard
the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear.
They stayed at a distance 19 and said to Moses, "Speak to us yourself
and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die."
20 Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. God has come
to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from
sinning."
21 The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached
the thick darkness where God was.
Idols and Altars
22 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Tell the Israelites this:
'You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven: 23
Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves
gods of silver or gods of gold.
24 " 'Make an altar of earth for me and sacrifice on it your
burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, [b] your sheep and goats and
your cattle. Wherever I cause my name to be honored, I will come to you
and bless you. 25 If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build
it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it.
26 And do not go up to my altar on steps, lest your nakedness be
exposed on it.'
Day
5
Go
Back
Leviticus 1
The Burnt Offering
1 The LORD called to Moses and spoke to him from the Tent of
Meeting. He said, 2 "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When any
of you brings an offering to the LORD, bring as your offering an animal
from either the herd or the flock.
3 " 'If the offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he is
to offer a male without defect. He must present it at the entrance to
the Tent of Meeting so that it [a] will be acceptable to the LORD. 4 He
is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be
accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him. 5 He is to slaughter
the young bull before the LORD, and then Aaron's sons the priests shall
bring the blood and sprinkle it against the altar on all sides at the
entrance to the Tent of Meeting. 6 He is to skin the burnt offering and
cut it into pieces. 7 The sons of Aaron the priest are to put fire on
the altar and arrange wood on the fire. 8 Then Aaron's sons the priests
shall arrange the pieces, including the head and the fat, on the
burning wood that is on the altar. 9 He is to wash the inner parts and
the legs with water, and the priest is to burn all of it on the altar.
It is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to
the LORD.
10 " 'If the offering is a burnt offering from the flock,
from either the sheep or the goats, he is to offer a male without
defect. 11 He is to slaughter it at the north side of the altar before
the LORD, and Aaron's sons the priests shall sprinkle its blood against
the altar on all sides. 12 He is to cut it into pieces, and the priest
shall arrange them, including the head and the fat, on the burning wood
that is on the altar. 13 He is to wash the inner parts and the legs
with water, and the priest is to bring all of it and burn it on the
altar. It is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, an aroma
pleasing to the LORD.
14 " 'If the offering to the LORD is a burnt offering of
birds, he is to offer a dove or a young pigeon. 15 The priest shall
bring it to the altar, wring off the head and burn it on the altar; its
blood shall be drained out on the side of the altar. 16 He is to remove
the crop with its contents [b] and throw it to the east side of the
altar, where the ashes are. 17 He shall tear it open by the wings, not
severing it completely, and then the priest shall burn it on the wood
that is on the fire on the altar. It is a burnt offering, an offering
made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the LORD.
Leviticus 10
The Death of Nadab and Abihu
1 Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire
in them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before
the LORD, contrary to his command. 2 So fire came out from the presence
of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD. 3 Moses
then said to Aaron, "This is what the LORD spoke of when he said:
" 'Among
those who approach me
I will
show myself holy;
in the
sight of all the people
I will be
honored.' "
Aaron remained
silent.
4 Moses summoned Mishael and Elzaphan, sons of Aaron's uncle
Uzziel, and said to them, "Come here; carry your cousins outside the
camp, away from the front of the sanctuary." 5 So they came and carried
them, still in their tunics, outside the camp, as Moses ordered.
6 Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar,
"Do not let your hair become unkempt, [a] and do not tear your clothes,
or you will die and the LORD will be angry with the whole community.
But your relatives, all the house of Israel, may mourn for those the
LORD has destroyed by fire. 7 Do not leave the entrance to the Tent of
Meeting or you will die, because the LORD's anointing oil is on you."
So they did as Moses said.
8 Then the LORD said to Aaron, 9 "You and your sons are not
to drink wine or other fermented drink whenever you go into the Tent of
Meeting, or you will die. This is a lasting ordinance for the
generations to come. 10 You must distinguish between the holy and the
common, between the unclean and the clean, 11 and you must teach the
Israelites all the decrees the LORD has given them through Moses."
12 Moses said to Aaron and his remaining sons, Eleazar and
Ithamar, "Take the grain offering left over from the offerings made to
the LORD by fire and eat it prepared without yeast beside the altar,
for it is most holy. 13 Eat it in a holy place, because it is your
share and your sons' share of the offerings made to the LORD by fire;
for so I have been commanded. 14 But you and your sons and your
daughters may eat the breast that was waved and the thigh that was
presented. Eat them in a ceremonially clean place; they have been given
to you and your children as your share of the Israelites' fellowship
offerings. [b] 15 The thigh that was presented and the breast that was
waved must be brought with the fat portions of the offerings made by
fire, to be waved before the LORD as a wave offering. This will be the
regular share for you and your children, as the LORD has commanded."
16 When Moses inquired about the goat of the sin offering and
found that it had been burned up, he was angry with Eleazar and
Ithamar, Aaron's remaining sons, and asked, 17 "Why didn't you eat the
sin offering in the sanctuary area? It is most holy; it was given to
you to take away the guilt of the community by making atonement for
them before the LORD. 18 Since its blood was not taken into the Holy
Place, you should have eaten the goat in the sanctuary area, as I
commanded."
19 Aaron replied to Moses, "Today they sacrificed their sin
offering and their burnt offering before the LORD, but such things as
this have happened to me. Would the LORD have been pleased if I had
eaten the sin offering today?" 20 When Moses heard this, he was
satisfied.
Leviticus 11
Clean and Unclean Food
1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 2 "Say to the Israelites:
'Of all the animals that live on land, these are the ones you may eat:
3 You may eat any animal that has a split hoof completely divided and
that chews the cud.
4 " 'There are some that only chew the cud or only have a
split hoof, but you must not eat them. The camel, though it chews the
cud, does not have a split hoof; it is ceremonially unclean for you. 5
The coney, [c] though it chews the cud, does not have a split hoof; it
is unclean for you. 6 The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not
have a split hoof; it is unclean for you. 7 And the pig, though it has
a split hoof completely divided, does not chew the cud; it is unclean
for you. 8 You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they
are unclean for you.
9 " 'Of all the creatures living in the water of the seas and
the streams, you may eat any that have fins and scales. 10 But all
creatures in the seas or streams that do not have fins and
scales—whether among all the swarming things or among all the
other living creatures in the water—you are to detest. 11 And
since you are to detest them, you must not eat their meat and you must
detest their carcasses. 12 Anything living in the water that does not
have fins and scales is to be detestable to you.
13 " 'These are the birds you are to detest and not eat
because they are detestable: the eagle, the vulture, the black vulture,
14 the red kite, any kind of black kite, 15 any kind of raven, 16 the
horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, 17 the little
owl, the cormorant, the great owl, 18 the white owl, the desert owl,
the osprey, 19 the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe and the bat. [d]
20 " 'All flying insects that walk on all fours are to be
detestable to you. 21 There are, however, some winged creatures that
walk on all fours that you may eat: those that have jointed legs for
hopping on the ground. 22 Of these you may eat any kind of locust,
katydid, cricket or grasshopper. 23 But all other winged creatures that
have four legs you are to detest.
24 " 'You will make yourselves unclean by these; whoever
touches their carcasses will be unclean till evening. 25 Whoever picks
up one of their carcasses must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean
till evening.
26 " 'Every animal that has a split hoof not completely
divided or that does not chew the cud is unclean for you; whoever
touches the carcass of any of them will be unclean. 27 Of all the
animals that walk on all fours, those that walk on their paws are
unclean for you; whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean till
evening. 28 Anyone who picks up their carcasses must wash his clothes,
and he will be unclean till evening. They are unclean for you.
29 " 'Of the animals that move about on the ground, these are
unclean for you: the weasel, the rat, any kind of great lizard, 30 the
gecko, the monitor lizard, the wall lizard, the skink and the
chameleon. 31 Of all those that move along the ground, these are
unclean for you. Whoever touches them when they are dead will be
unclean till evening. 32 When one of them dies and falls on something,
that article, whatever its use, will be unclean, whether it is made of
wood, cloth, hide or sackcloth. Put it in water; it will be unclean
till evening, and then it will be clean. 33 If one of them falls into a
clay pot, everything in it will be unclean, and you must break the pot.
34 Any food that could be eaten but has water on it from such a pot is
unclean, and any liquid that could be drunk from it is unclean. 35
Anything that one of their carcasses falls on becomes unclean; an oven
or cooking pot must be broken up. They are unclean, and you are to
regard them as unclean. 36 A spring, however, or a cistern for
collecting water remains clean, but anyone who touches one of these
carcasses is unclean. 37 If a carcass falls on any seeds that are to be
planted, they remain clean. 38 But if water has been put on the seed
and a carcass falls on it, it is unclean for you.
39 " 'If an animal that you are allowed to eat dies, anyone
who touches the carcass will be unclean till evening. 40 Anyone who
eats some of the carcass must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean
till evening. Anyone who picks up the carcass must wash his clothes,
and he will be unclean till evening.
41 " 'Every creature that moves about on the ground is
detestable; it is not to be eaten. 42 You are not to eat any creature
that moves about on the ground, whether it moves on its belly or walks
on all fours or on many feet; it is detestable. 43 Do not defile
yourselves by any of these creatures. Do not make yourselves unclean by
means of them or be made unclean by them. 44 I am the LORD your God;
consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make
yourselves unclean by any creature that moves about on the ground. 45 I
am the LORD who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore
be holy, because I am holy.
46 " 'These are the regulations concerning animals, birds,
every living thing that moves in the water and every creature that
moves about on the ground. 47 You must distinguish between the unclean
and the clean, between living creatures that may be eaten and those
that may not be eaten.' "
Leviticus 16
The Day of Atonement
1 The LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of
Aaron who died when they approached the LORD. 2 The LORD said to Moses:
"Tell your brother Aaron not to come whenever he chooses into the Most
Holy Place behind the curtain in front of the atonement cover on the
ark, or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud over the
atonement cover.
3 "This is how Aaron is to enter the sanctuary area: with a
young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. 4 He is
to put on the sacred linen tunic, with linen undergarments next to his
body; he is to tie the linen sash around him and put on the linen
turban. These are sacred garments; so he must bathe himself with water
before he puts them on. 5 From the Israelite community he is to take
two male goats for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.
6 "Aaron is to offer the bull for his own sin offering to
make atonement for himself and his household. 7 Then he is to take the
two goats and present them before the LORD at the entrance to the Tent
of Meeting. 8 He is to cast lots for the two goats—one lot
for the LORD and the other for the scapegoat. [a] 9 Aaron shall bring
the goat whose lot falls to the LORD and sacrifice it for a sin
offering. 10 But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be
presented alive before the LORD to be used for making atonement by
sending it into the desert as a scapegoat.
11 "Aaron shall bring the bull for his own sin offering to
make atonement for himself and his household, and he is to slaughter
the bull for his own sin offering. 12 He is to take a censer full of
burning coals from the altar before the LORD and two handfuls of finely
ground fragrant incense and take them behind the curtain. 13 He is to
put the incense on the fire before the LORD, and the smoke of the
incense will conceal the atonement cover above the Testimony, so that
he will not die. 14 He is to take some of the bull's blood and with his
finger sprinkle it on the front of the atonement cover; then he shall
sprinkle some of it with his finger seven times before the atonement
cover.
15 "He shall then slaughter the goat for the sin offering for
the people and take its blood behind the curtain and do with it as he
did with the bull's blood: He shall sprinkle it on the atonement cover
and in front of it. 16 In this way he will make atonement for the Most
Holy Place because of the uncleanness and rebellion of the Israelites,
whatever their sins have been. He is to do the same for the Tent of
Meeting, which is among them in the midst of their uncleanness. 17 No
one is to be in the Tent of Meeting from the time Aaron goes in to make
atonement in the Most Holy Place until he comes out, having made
atonement for himself, his household and the whole community of Israel.
18 "Then he shall come out to the altar that is before the
LORD and make atonement for it. He shall take some of the bull's blood
and some of the goat's blood and put it on all the horns of the altar.
19 He shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven
times to cleanse it and to consecrate it from the uncleanness of the
Israelites.
20 "When Aaron has finished making atonement for the Most
Holy Place, the Tent of Meeting and the altar, he shall bring forward
the live goat. 21 He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat
and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the
Israelites—all their sins—and put them on the
goat's head. He shall send the goat away into the desert in the care of
a man appointed for the task. 22 The goat will carry on itself all
their sins to a solitary place; and the man shall release it in the
desert.
23 "Then Aaron is to go into the Tent of Meeting and take off
the linen garments he put on before he entered the Most Holy Place, and
he is to leave them there. 24 He shall bathe himself with water in a
holy place and put on his regular garments. Then he shall come out and
sacrifice the burnt offering for himself and the burnt offering for the
people, to make atonement for himself and for the people. 25 He shall
also burn the fat of the sin offering on the altar.
26 "The man who releases the goat as a scapegoat must wash
his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may come into
the camp. 27 The bull and the goat for the sin offerings, whose blood
was brought into the Most Holy Place to make atonement, must be taken
outside the camp; their hides, flesh and offal are to be burned up. 28
The man who burns them must wash his clothes and bathe himself with
water; afterward he may come into the camp.
29 "This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: On the tenth
day of the seventh month you must deny yourselves [b] and not do any
work—whether native-born or an alien living among you- 30
because on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you.
Then, before the LORD, you will be clean from all your sins. 31 It is a
sabbath of rest, and you must deny yourselves; it is a lasting
ordinance. 32 The priest who is anointed and ordained to succeed his
father as high priest is to make atonement. He is to put on the sacred
linen garments 33 and make atonement for the Most Holy Place, for the
Tent of Meeting and the altar, and for the priests and all the people
of the community.
34 "This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: Atonement is
to be made once a year for all the sins of the Israelites."
And it was done, as
the LORD commanded Moses.
Leviticus 25
The Sabbath Year
1 The LORD said to Moses on Mount Sinai, 2 "Speak to the
Israelites and say to them: 'When you enter the land I am going to give
you, the land itself must observe a sabbath to the LORD. 3 For six
years sow your fields, and for six years prune your vineyards and
gather their crops. 4 But in the seventh year the land is to have a
sabbath of rest, a sabbath to the LORD. Do not sow your fields or prune
your vineyards. 5 Do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the
grapes of your untended vines. The land is to have a year of rest. 6
Whatever the land yields during the sabbath year will be food for
you—for yourself, your manservant and maidservant, and the
hired worker and temporary resident who live among you, 7 as well as
for your livestock and the wild animals in your land. Whatever the land
produces may be eaten.
The Year of Jubilee
8 " 'Count off seven sabbaths of years—seven times
seven years—so that the seven sabbaths of years amount to a
period of forty-nine years. 9 Then have the trumpet sounded everywhere
on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement sound
the trumpet throughout your land. 10 Consecrate the fiftieth year and
proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall
be a jubilee for you; each one of you is to return to his family
property and each to his own clan. 11 The fiftieth year shall be a
jubilee for you; do not sow and do not reap what grows of itself or
harvest the untended vines. 12 For it is a jubilee and is to be holy
for you; eat only what is taken directly from the fields.
13 " 'In this Year of Jubilee everyone is to return to his
own property.
14 " 'If you sell land to one of your countrymen or buy any
from him, do not take advantage of each other. 15 You are to buy from
your countryman on the basis of the number of years since the Jubilee.
And he is to sell to you on the basis of the number of years left for
harvesting crops. 16 When the years are many, you are to increase the
price, and when the years are few, you are to decrease the price,
because what he is really selling you is the number of crops. 17 Do not
take advantage of each other, but fear your God. I am the LORD your God.
18 " 'Follow my decrees and be careful to obey my laws, and
you will live safely in the land. 19 Then the land will yield its
fruit, and you will eat your fill and live there in safety. 20 You may
ask, "What will we eat in the seventh year if we do not plant or
harvest our crops?" 21 I will send you such a blessing in the sixth
year that the land will yield enough for three years. 22 While you
plant during the eighth year, you will eat from the old crop and will
continue to eat from it until the harvest of the ninth year comes in.
23 " 'The land must not be sold permanently, because the land
is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants. 24 Throughout the
country that you hold as a possession, you must provide for the
redemption of the land.
25 " 'If one of your countrymen becomes poor and sells some
of his property, his nearest relative is to come and redeem what his
countryman has sold. 26 If, however, a man has no one to redeem it for
him but he himself prospers and acquires sufficient means to redeem it,
27 he is to determine the value for the years since he sold it and
refund the balance to the man to whom he sold it; he can then go back
to his own property. 28 But if he does not acquire the means to repay
him, what he sold will remain in the possession of the buyer until the
Year of Jubilee. It will be returned in the Jubilee, and he can then go
back to his property.
29 " 'If a man sells a house in a walled city, he retains the
right of redemption a full year after its sale. During that time he may
redeem it. 30 If it is not redeemed before a full year has passed, the
house in the walled city shall belong permanently to the buyer and his
descendants. It is not to be returned in the Jubilee. 31 But houses in
villages without walls around them are to be considered as open
country. They can be redeemed, and they are to be returned in the
Jubilee.
32 " 'The Levites always have the right to redeem their
houses in the Levitical towns, which they possess. 33 So the property
of the Levites is redeemable—that is, a house sold in any
town they hold—and is to be returned in the Jubilee, because
the houses in the towns of the Levites are their property among the
Israelites. 34 But the pastureland belonging to their towns must not be
sold; it is their permanent possession.
35 " 'If one of your countrymen becomes poor and is unable to
support himself among you, help him as you would an alien or a
temporary resident, so he can continue to live among you. 36 Do not
take interest of any kind [a] from him, but fear your God, so that your
countryman may continue to live among you. 37 You must not lend him
money at interest or sell him food at a profit. 38 I am the LORD your
God, who brought you out of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to
be your God.
39 " 'If one of your countrymen becomes poor among you and
sells himself to you, do not make him work as a slave. 40 He is to be
treated as a hired worker or a temporary resident among you; he is to
work for you until the Year of Jubilee. 41 Then he and his children are
to be released, and he will go back to his own clan and to the property
of his forefathers. 42 Because the Israelites are my servants, whom I
brought out of Egypt, they must not be sold as slaves. 43 Do not rule
over them ruthlessly, but fear your God.
44 " 'Your male and female slaves are to come from the
nations around you; from them you may buy slaves. 45 You may also buy
some of the temporary residents living among you and members of their
clans born in your country, and they will become your property. 46 You
can will them to your children as inherited property and can make them
slaves for life, but you must not rule over your fellow Israelites
ruthlessly.
47 " 'If an alien or a temporary resident among you becomes
rich and one of your countrymen becomes poor and sells himself to the
alien living among you or to a member of the alien's clan, 48 he
retains the right of redemption after he has sold himself. One of his
relatives may redeem him: 49 An uncle or a cousin or any blood relative
in his clan may redeem him. Or if he prospers, he may redeem himself.
50 He and his buyer are to count the time from the year he sold himself
up to the Year of Jubilee. The price for his release is to be based on
the rate paid to a hired man for that number of years. 51 If many years
remain, he must pay for his redemption a larger share of the price paid
for him. 52 If only a few years remain until the Year of Jubilee, he is
to compute that and pay for his redemption accordingly. 53 He is to be
treated as a man hired from year to year; you must see to it that his
owner does not rule over him ruthlessly.
54 " 'Even if he is not redeemed in any of these ways, he and
his children are to be released in the Year of Jubilee, 55 for the
Israelites belong to me as servants. They are my servants, whom I
brought out of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.
Leviticus 26
Reward for Obedience
1 " 'Do not make idols or set up an image or a sacred stone
for yourselves, and do not place a carved stone in your land to bow
down before it. I am the LORD your God.
2 " 'Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary.
I am the LORD.
3 " 'If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my
commands, 4 I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will
yield its crops and the trees of the field their fruit. 5 Your
threshing will continue until grape harvest and the grape harvest will
continue until planting, and you will eat all the food you want and
live in safety in your land.
6 " 'I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down
and no one will make you afraid. I will remove savage beasts from the
land, and the sword will not pass through your country. 7 You will
pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you. 8 Five
of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten
thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.
9 " 'I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and
increase your numbers, and I will keep my covenant with you. 10 You
will still be eating last year's harvest when you will have to move it
out to make room for the new. 11 I will put my dwelling place [b] among
you, and I will not abhor you. 12 I will walk among you and be your
God, and you will be my people. 13 I am the LORD your God, who brought
you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the
Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with
heads held high.
Punishment for Disobedience
14 " 'But if you will not listen to me and carry out all
these commands, 15 and if you reject my decrees and abhor my laws and
fail to carry out all my commands and so violate my covenant, 16 then I
will do this to you: I will bring upon you sudden terror, wasting
diseases and fever that will destroy your sight and drain away your
life. You will plant seed in vain, because your enemies will eat it. 17
I will set my face against you so that you will be defeated by your
enemies; those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee even
when no one is pursuing you.
18 " 'If after all this you will not listen to me, I will
punish you for your sins seven times over. 19 I will break down your
stubborn pride and make the sky above you like iron and the ground
beneath you like bronze. 20 Your strength will be spent in vain,
because your soil will not yield its crops, nor will the trees of the
land yield their fruit.
21 " 'If you remain hostile toward me and refuse to listen to
me, I will multiply your afflictions seven times over, as your sins
deserve. 22 I will send wild animals against you, and they will rob you
of your children, destroy your cattle and make you so few in number
that your roads will be deserted.
23 " 'If in spite of these things you do not accept my
correction but continue to be hostile toward me, 24 I myself will be
hostile toward you and will afflict you for your sins seven times over.
25 And I will bring the sword upon you to avenge the breaking of the
covenant. When you withdraw into your cities, I will send a plague
among you, and you will be given into enemy hands. 26 When I cut off
your supply of bread, ten women will be able to bake your bread in one
oven, and they will dole out the bread by weight. You will eat, but you
will not be satisfied.
27 " 'If in spite of this you still do not listen to me but
continue to be hostile toward me, 28 then in my anger I will be hostile
toward you, and I myself will punish you for your sins seven times
over. 29 You will eat the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your
daughters. 30 I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense
altars and pile your dead bodies on the lifeless forms of your idols,
and I will abhor you. 31 I will turn your cities into ruins and lay
waste your sanctuaries, and I will take no delight in the pleasing
aroma of your offerings. 32 I will lay waste the land, so that your
enemies who live there will be appalled. 33 I will scatter you among
the nations and will draw out my sword and pursue you. Your land will
be laid waste, and your cities will lie in ruins. 34 Then the land will
enjoy its sabbath years all the time that it lies desolate and you are
in the country of your enemies; then the land will rest and enjoy its
sabbaths. 35 All the time that it lies desolate, the land will have the
rest it did not have during the sabbaths you lived in it.
36 " 'As for those of you who are left, I will make their
hearts so fearful in the lands of their enemies that the sound of a
windblown leaf will put them to flight. They will run as though fleeing
from the sword, and they will fall, even though no one is pursuing
them. 37 They will stumble over one another as though fleeing from the
sword, even though no one is pursuing them. So you will not be able to
stand before your enemies. 38 You will perish among the nations; the
land of your enemies will devour you. 39 Those of you who are left will
waste away in the lands of their enemies because of their sins; also
because of their fathers' sins they will waste away.
40 " 'But if they will confess their sins and the sins of
their fathers—their treachery against me and their hostility
toward me, 41 which made me hostile toward them so that I sent them
into the land of their enemies—then when their uncircumcised
hearts are humbled and they pay for their sin, 42 I will remember my
covenant with Jacob and my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with
Abraham, and I will remember the land. 43 For the land will be deserted
by them and will enjoy its sabbaths while it lies desolate without
them. They will pay for their sins because they rejected my laws and
abhorred my decrees. 44 Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land
of their enemies, I will not reject them or abhor them so as to destroy
them completely, breaking my covenant with them. I am the LORD their
God. 45 But for their sake I will remember the covenant with their
ancestors whom I brought out of Egypt in the sight of the nations to be
their God. I am the LORD.' "
46 These are the decrees, the laws and the regulations that
the LORD established on Mount Sinai between himself and the Israelites
through Moses.
Day
6
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Numbers 3
The Levites
1 This is the account of the family of Aaron and Moses at the
time the LORD talked with Moses on Mount Sinai.
2 The names of the sons of Aaron were Nadab the firstborn and
Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 3 Those were the names of Aaron's sons, the
anointed priests, who were ordained to serve as priests. 4 Nadab and
Abihu, however, fell dead before the LORD when they made an offering
with unauthorized fire before him in the Desert of Sinai. They had no
sons; so only Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests during the lifetime
of their father Aaron.
5 The LORD said to Moses, 6 "Bring the tribe of Levi and
present them to Aaron the priest to assist him. 7 They are to perform
duties for him and for the whole community at the Tent of Meeting by
doing the work of the tabernacle. 8 They are to take care of all the
furnishings of the Tent of Meeting, fulfilling the obligations of the
Israelites by doing the work of the tabernacle. 9 Give the Levites to
Aaron and his sons; they are the Israelites who are to be given wholly
to him. [a] 10 Appoint Aaron and his sons to serve as priests; anyone
else who approaches the sanctuary must be put to death."
11 The LORD also said to Moses, 12 "I have taken the Levites
from among the Israelites in place of the first male offspring of every
Israelite woman. The Levites are mine, 13 for all the firstborn are
mine. When I struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, I set apart for
myself every firstborn in Israel, whether man or animal. They are to be
mine. I am the LORD."
14 The LORD said to Moses in the Desert of Sinai, 15 "Count
the Levites by their families and clans. Count every male a month old
or more." 16 So Moses counted them, as he was commanded by the word of
the LORD.
17 These were the names of the sons of Levi:
Gershon,
Kohath and Merari.
18 These were the names of the Gershonite clans:
Libni and
Shimei.
19 The Kohathite clans:
Amram,
Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel.
20 The Merarite clans:
Mahli and
Mushi.
These were the
Levite clans, according to their families.
21 To Gershon belonged the clans of the Libnites and
Shimeites; these were the Gershonite clans. 22 The number of all the
males a month old or more who were counted was 7,500. 23 The Gershonite
clans were to camp on the west, behind the tabernacle. 24 The leader of
the families of the Gershonites was Eliasaph son of Lael. 25 At the
Tent of Meeting the Gershonites were responsible for the care of the
tabernacle and tent, its coverings, the curtain at the entrance to the
Tent of Meeting, 26 the curtains of the courtyard, the curtain at the
entrance to the courtyard surrounding the tabernacle and altar, and the
ropes—and everything related to their use.
27 To Kohath belonged the clans of the Amramites, Izharites,
Hebronites and Uzzielites; these were the Kohathite clans. 28 The
number of all the males a month old or more was 8,600. [b] The
Kohathites were responsible for the care of the sanctuary. 29 The
Kohathite clans were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle. 30
The leader of the families of the Kohathite clans was Elizaphan son of
Uzziel. 31 They were responsible for the care of the ark, the table,
the lampstand, the altars, the articles of the sanctuary used in
ministering, the curtain, and everything related to their use. 32 The
chief leader of the Levites was Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest. He
was appointed over those who were responsible for the care of the
sanctuary.
33 To Merari belonged the clans of the Mahlites and the
Mushites; these were the Merarite clans. 34 The number of all the males
a month old or more who were counted was 6,200. 35 The leader of the
families of the Merarite clans was Zuriel son of Abihail; they were to
camp on the north side of the tabernacle. 36 The Merarites were
appointed to take care of the frames of the tabernacle, its crossbars,
posts, bases, all its equipment, and everything related to their use,
37 as well as the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases,
tent pegs and ropes.
38 Moses and Aaron and his sons were to camp to the east of
the tabernacle, toward the sunrise, in front of the Tent of Meeting.
They were responsible for the care of the sanctuary on behalf of the
Israelites. Anyone else who approached the sanctuary was to be put to
death.
39 The total number of Levites counted at the LORD's command
by Moses and Aaron according to their clans, including every male a
month old or more, was 22,000.
40 The LORD said to Moses, "Count all the firstborn Israelite
males who are a month old or more and make a list of their names. 41
Take the Levites for me in place of all the firstborn of the
Israelites, and the livestock of the Levites in place of all the
firstborn of the livestock of the Israelites. I am the LORD."
42 So Moses counted all the firstborn of the Israelites, as
the LORD commanded him. 43 The total number of firstborn males a month
old or more, listed by name, was 22,273.
44 The LORD also said to Moses, 45 "Take the Levites in place
of all the firstborn of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites in
place of their livestock. The Levites are to be mine. I am the LORD. 46
To redeem the 273 firstborn Israelites who exceed the number of the
Levites, 47 collect five shekels [c] for each one, according to the
sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs. 48 Give the money for the
redemption of the additional Israelites to Aaron and his sons."
49 So Moses collected the redemption money from those who
exceeded the number redeemed by the Levites. 50 From the firstborn of
the Israelites he collected silver weighing 1,365 shekels, [d]
according to the sanctuary shekel. 51 Moses gave the redemption money
to Aaron and his sons, as he was commanded by the word of the LORD.
Numbers 4
The Kohathites
1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron: 2 "Take a census of the
Kohathite branch of the Levites by their clans and families. 3 Count
all the men from thirty to fifty years of age who come to serve in the
work in the Tent of Meeting.
4 "This is the work of the Kohathites in the Tent of Meeting:
the care of the most holy things. 5 When the camp is to move, Aaron and
his sons are to go in and take down the shielding curtain and cover the
ark of the Testimony with it. 6 Then they are to cover this with hides
of sea cows, [e] spread a cloth of solid blue over that and put the
poles in place.
7 "Over the table of the Presence they are to spread a blue
cloth and put on it the plates, dishes and bowls, and the jars for
drink offerings; the bread that is continually there is to remain on
it. 8 Over these they are to spread a scarlet cloth, cover that with
hides of sea cows and put its poles in place.
9 "They are to take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand that
is for light, together with its lamps, its wick trimmers and trays, and
all its jars for the oil used to supply it. 10 Then they are to wrap it
and all its accessories in a covering of hides of sea cows and put it
on a carrying frame.
11 "Over the gold altar they are to spread a blue cloth and
cover that with hides of sea cows and put its poles in place.
12 "They are to take all the articles used for ministering in
the sanctuary, wrap them in a blue cloth, cover that with hides of sea
cows and put them on a carrying frame.
13 "They are to remove the ashes from the bronze altar and
spread a purple cloth over it. 14 Then they are to place on it all the
utensils used for ministering at the altar, including the firepans,
meat forks, shovels and sprinkling bowls. Over it they are to spread a
covering of hides of sea cows and put its poles in place.
15 "After Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy
furnishings and all the holy articles, and when the camp is ready to
move, the Kohathites are to come to do the carrying. But they must not
touch the holy things or they will die. The Kohathites are to carry
those things that are in the Tent of Meeting.
16 "Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest, is to have charge of
the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the regular grain offering
and the anointing oil. He is to be in charge of the entire tabernacle
and everything in it, including its holy furnishings and articles."
17 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 18 "See that the
Kohathite tribal clans are not cut off from the Levites. 19 So that
they may live and not die when they come near the most holy things, do
this for them: Aaron and his sons are to go into the sanctuary and
assign to each man his work and what he is to carry. 20 But the
Kohathites must not go in to look at the holy things, even for a
moment, or they will die."
The Gershonites
21 The LORD said to Moses, 22 "Take a census also of the
Gershonites by their families and clans. 23 Count all the men from
thirty to fifty years of age who come to serve in the work at the Tent
of Meeting.
24 "This is the service of the Gershonite clans as they work
and carry burdens: 25 They are to carry the curtains of the tabernacle,
the Tent of Meeting, its covering and the outer covering of hides of
sea cows, the curtains for the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, 26 the
curtains of the courtyard surrounding the tabernacle and altar, the
curtain for the entrance, the ropes and all the equipment used in its
service. The Gershonites are to do all that needs to be done with these
things. 27 All their service, whether carrying or doing other work, is
to be done under the direction of Aaron and his sons. You shall assign
to them as their responsibility all they are to carry. 28 This is the
service of the Gershonite clans at the Tent of Meeting. Their duties
are to be under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest.
The Merarites
29 "Count the Merarites by their clans and families. 30 Count
all the men from thirty to fifty years of age who come to serve in the
work at the Tent of Meeting. 31 This is their duty as they perform
service at the Tent of Meeting: to carry the frames of the tabernacle,
its crossbars, posts and bases, 32 as well as the posts of the
surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, ropes, all their
equipment and everything related to their use. Assign to each man the
specific things he is to carry. 33 This is the service of the Merarite
clans as they work at the Tent of Meeting under the direction of
Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest."
The Numbering of the Levite Clans
34 Moses, Aaron and the leaders of the community counted the
Kohathites by their clans and families. 35 All the men from thirty to
fifty years of age who came to serve in the work in the Tent of
Meeting, 36 counted by clans, were 2,750. 37 This was the total of all
those in the Kohathite clans who served in the Tent of Meeting. Moses
and Aaron counted them according to the LORD's command through Moses.
38 The Gershonites were counted by their clans and families.
39 All the men from thirty to fifty years of age who came to serve in
the work at the Tent of Meeting, 40 counted by their clans and
families, were 2,630. 41 This was the total of those in the Gershonite
clans who served at the Tent of Meeting. Moses and Aaron counted them
according to the LORD's command.
42 The Merarites were counted by their clans and families. 43
All the men from thirty to fifty years of age who came to serve in the
work at the Tent of Meeting, 44 counted by their clans, were 3,200. 45
This was the total of those in the Merarite clans. Moses and Aaron
counted them according to the LORD's command through Moses.
46 So Moses, Aaron and the leaders of Israel counted all the
Levites by their clans and families. 47 All the men from thirty to
fifty years of age who came to do the work of serving and carrying the
Tent of Meeting 48 numbered 8,580. 49 At the LORD's command through
Moses, each was assigned his work and told what to carry.
Thus they were
counted, as the LORD commanded Moses.
Numbers 6
The Nazirite
1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 "Speak to the Israelites and say
to them: 'If a man or woman wants to make a special vow, a vow of
separation to the LORD as a Nazirite, 3 he must abstain from wine and
other fermented drink and must not drink vinegar made from wine or from
other fermented drink. He must not drink grape juice or eat grapes or
raisins. 4 As long as he is a Nazirite, he must not eat anything that
comes from the grapevine, not even the seeds or skins.
5 " 'During the entire period of his vow of separation no
razor may be used on his head. He must be holy until the period of his
separation to the LORD is over; he must let the hair of his head grow
long. 6 Throughout the period of his separation to the LORD he must not
go near a dead body. 7 Even if his own father or mother or brother or
sister dies, he must not make himself ceremonially unclean on account
of them, because the symbol of his separation to God is on his head. 8
Throughout the period of his separation he is consecrated to the LORD.
9 " 'If someone dies suddenly in his presence, thus defiling
the hair he has dedicated, he must shave his head on the day of his
cleansing—the seventh day. 10 Then on the eighth day he must
bring two doves or two young pigeons to the priest at the entrance to
the Tent of Meeting. 11 The priest is to offer one as a sin offering
and the other as a burnt offering to make atonement for him because he
sinned by being in the presence of the dead body. That same day he is
to consecrate his head. 12 He must dedicate himself to the LORD for the
period of his separation and must bring a year-old male lamb as a guilt
offering. The previous days do not count, because he became defiled
during his separation.
13 " 'Now this is the law for the Nazirite when the period of
his separation is over. He is to be brought to the entrance to the Tent
of Meeting. 14 There he is to present his offerings to the LORD : a
year-old male lamb without defect for a burnt offering, a year-old ewe
lamb without defect for a sin offering, a ram without defect for a
fellowship offering, [a] 15 together with their grain offerings and
drink offerings, and a basket of bread made without
yeast—cakes made of fine flour mixed with oil, and wafers
spread with oil.
16 " 'The priest is to present them before the LORD and make
the sin offering and the burnt offering. 17 He is to present the basket
of unleavened bread and is to sacrifice the ram as a fellowship
offering to the LORD, together with its grain offering and drink
offering.
18 " 'Then at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the
Nazirite must shave off the hair that he dedicated. He is to take the
hair and put it in the fire that is under the sacrifice of the
fellowship offering.
19 " 'After the Nazirite has shaved off the hair of his
dedication, the priest is to place in his hands a boiled shoulder of
the ram, and a cake and a wafer from the basket, both made without
yeast. 20 The priest shall then wave them before the LORD as a wave
offering; they are holy and belong to the priest, together with the
breast that was waved and the thigh that was presented. After that, the
Nazirite may drink wine.
21 " 'This is the law of the Nazirite who vows his offering
to the LORD in accordance with his separation, in addition to whatever
else he can afford. He must fulfill the vow he has made, according to
the law of the Nazirite.' "
The Priestly Blessing
22 The LORD said to Moses, 23 "Tell Aaron and his sons, 'This
is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:
24 " ' "The LORD bless you
and keep
you;
25 the LORD make his face shine upon you
and be
gracious to you;
26 the LORD turn his face toward you
and give
you peace." '
27 "So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will
bless them."
Numbers 11
Fire From the LORD
1 Now the people complained about their hardships in the
hearing of the LORD, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then
fire from the LORD burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts
of the camp. 2 When the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the
LORD and the fire died down. 3 So that place was called Taberah, [a]
because fire from the LORD had burned among them.
Quail from the LORD
4 The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again
the Israelites started wailing and said, "If only we had meat to eat! 5
We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the
cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. 6 But now we have lost our
appetite; we never see anything but this manna!"
7 The manna was like coriander seed and looked like resin. 8
The people went around gathering it, and then ground it in a handmill
or crushed it in a mortar. They cooked it in a pot or made it into
cakes. And it tasted like something made with olive oil. 9 When the dew
settled on the camp at night, the manna also came down.
10 Moses heard the people of every family wailing, each at
the entrance to his tent. The LORD became exceedingly angry, and Moses
was troubled. 11 He asked the LORD, "Why have you brought this trouble
on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the
burden of all these people on me? 12 Did I conceive all these people?
Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as
a nurse carries an infant, to the land you promised on oath to their
forefathers? 13 Where can I get meat for all these people? They keep
wailing to me, 'Give us meat to eat!' 14 I cannot carry all these
people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. 15 If this is how you
are going to treat me, put me to death right now—if I have
found favor in your eyes—and do not let me face my own ruin."
16 The LORD said to Moses: "Bring me seventy of Israel's
elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people.
Have them come to the Tent of Meeting, that they may stand there with
you. 17 I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of
the Spirit that is on you and put the Spirit on them. They will help
you carry the burden of the people so that you will not have to carry
it alone.
18 "Tell the people: 'Consecrate yourselves in preparation
for tomorrow, when you will eat meat. The LORD heard you when you
wailed, "If only we had meat to eat! We were better off in Egypt!" Now
the LORD will give you meat, and you will eat it. 19 You will not eat
it for just one day, or two days, or five, ten or twenty days, 20 but
for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and you
loathe it—because you have rejected the LORD, who is among
you, and have wailed before him, saying, "Why did we ever leave Egypt?"
' "
21 But Moses said, "Here I am among six hundred thousand men
on foot, and you say, 'I will give them meat to eat for a whole month!'
22 Would they have enough if flocks and herds were slaughtered for
them? Would they have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for
them?"
23 The LORD answered Moses, "Is the LORD's arm too short? You
will now see whether or not what I say will come true for you."
24 So Moses went out and told the people what the LORD had
said. He brought together seventy of their elders and had them stand
around the Tent. 25 Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke with
him, and he took of the Spirit that was on him and put the Spirit on
the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied,
but they did not do so again. [b]
26 However, two men, whose names were Eldad and Medad, had
remained in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but did not go
out to the Tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them, and they
prophesied in the camp. 27 A young man ran and told Moses, "Eldad and
Medad are prophesying in the camp."
28 Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses' aide since youth,
spoke up and said, "Moses, my lord, stop them!"
29 But Moses replied, "Are you jealous for my sake? I wish
that all the LORD's people were prophets and that the LORD would put
his Spirit on them!" 30 Then Moses and the elders of Israel returned to
the camp.
31 Now a wind went out from the LORD and drove quail in from
the sea. It brought them [c] down all around the camp to about three
feet [d] above the ground, as far as a day's walk in any direction. 32
All that day and night and all the next day the people went out and
gathered quail. No one gathered less than ten homers. [e] Then they
spread them out all around the camp. 33 But while the meat was still
between their teeth and before it could be consumed, the anger of the
LORD burned against the people, and he struck them with a severe
plague. 34 Therefore the place was named Kibroth Hattaavah, [f] because
there they buried the people who had craved other food.
35 From Kibroth Hattaavah the people traveled to Hazeroth and
stayed there.
Numbers 12
Miriam and Aaron Oppose Moses
1 Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his
Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite. 2 "Has the LORD spoken only
through Moses?" they asked. "Hasn't he also spoken through us?" And the
LORD heard this.
3 (Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone
else on the face of the earth.)
4 At once the LORD said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, "Come out
to the Tent of Meeting, all three of you." So the three of them came
out. 5 Then the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud; he stood at the
entrance to the Tent and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When both of them
stepped forward, 6 he said, "Listen to my words:
"When a
prophet of the LORD is among you,
I reveal
myself to him in visions,
I speak to
him in dreams.
7 But this is not true of my servant Moses;
he is
faithful in all my house.
8 With him I speak face to face,
clearly
and not in riddles;
he sees
the form of the LORD.
Why then
were you not afraid
to speak
against my servant Moses?"
9 The anger of the LORD burned against them, and he left them.
10 When the cloud lifted from above the Tent, there stood
Miriam—leprous, [g] like snow. Aaron turned toward her and
saw that she had leprosy; 11 and he said to Moses, "Please, my lord, do
not hold against us the sin we have so foolishly committed. 12 Do not
let her be like a stillborn infant coming from its mother's womb with
its flesh half eaten away."
13 So Moses cried out to the LORD, "O God, please heal her!"
14 The LORD replied to Moses, "If her father had spit in her
face, would she not have been in disgrace for seven days? Confine her
outside the camp for seven days; after that she can be brought back."
15 So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the
people did not move on till she was brought back.
16 After that, the people left Hazeroth and encamped in the
Desert of Paran.
Numbers 13
Exploring Canaan
1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 "Send some men to explore the
land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each
ancestral tribe send one of its leaders."
3 So at the LORD's command Moses sent them out from the
Desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites. 4 These
are their names:
from the
tribe of Reuben, Shammua son of Zaccur;
5 from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori;
6 from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh;
7 from the tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph;
8 from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun;
9 from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti son of Raphu;
10 from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of Sodi;
11 from the tribe of Manasseh (a tribe of Joseph), Gaddi son
of Susi;
12 from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli;
13 from the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of Michael;
14 from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi son of Vophsi;
15 from the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Maki.
16 These are the names of the men Moses sent to explore the
land. (Moses gave Hoshea son of Nun the name Joshua.)
17 When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said, "Go up
through the Negev and on into the hill country. 18 See what the land is
like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or
many. 19 What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What
kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? 20 How
is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees on it or not? Do
your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land." (It was the
season for the first ripe grapes.)
21 So they went up and explored the land from the Desert of
Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo [h] Hamath. 22 They went up through
the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the
descendants of Anak, lived. (Hebron had been built seven years before
Zoan in Egypt.) 23 When they reached the Valley of Eshcol, [i] they cut
off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it
on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs. 24 That
place was called the Valley of Eshcol because of the cluster of grapes
the Israelites cut off there. 25 At the end of forty days they returned
from exploring the land.
Report on the Exploration
26 They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite
community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them
and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. 27
They gave Moses this account: "We went into the land to which you sent
us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. 28 But the
people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and
very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites
live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the
hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the
Jordan."
30 Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, "We
should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do
it."
31 But the men who had gone up with him said, "We can't
attack those people; they are stronger than we are." 32 And they spread
among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored.
They said, "The land we explored devours those living in it. All the
people we saw there are of great size. 33 We saw the Nephilim there
(the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like
grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them."
Numbers 14
The People Rebel
1 That night all the people of the community raised their
voices and wept aloud. 2 All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and
Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, "If only we had died in
Egypt! Or in this desert! 3 Why is the LORD bringing us to this land
only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken
as plunder. Wouldn't it be better for us to go back to Egypt?" 4 And
they said to each other, "We should choose a leader and go back to
Egypt."
5 Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole
Israelite assembly gathered there. 6 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of
Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their
clothes 7 and said to the entire Israelite assembly, "The land we
passed through and explored is exceedingly good. 8 If the LORD is
pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with
milk and honey, and will give it to us. 9 Only do not rebel against the
LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will
swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do
not be afraid of them."
10 But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the
glory of the LORD appeared at the Tent of Meeting to all the
Israelites. 11 The LORD said to Moses, "How long will these people
treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in
spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them? 12 I
will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make
you into a nation greater and stronger than they."
13 Moses said to the LORD, "Then the Egyptians will hear
about it! By your power you brought these people up from among them. 14
And they will tell the inhabitants of this land about it. They have
already heard that you, O LORD, are with these people and that you, O
LORD, have been seen face to face, that your cloud stays over them, and
that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of
fire by night. 15 If you put these people to death all at one time, the
nations who have heard this report about you will say, 16 'The LORD was
not able to bring these people into the land he promised them on oath;
so he slaughtered them in the desert.'
17 "Now may the Lord's strength be displayed, just as you
have declared: 18 'The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love and
forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty
unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the fathers to the
third and fourth generation.' 19 In accordance with your great love,
forgive the sin of these people, just as you have pardoned them from
the time they left Egypt until now."
20 The LORD replied, "I have forgiven them, as you asked. 21
Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the
LORD fills the whole earth, 22 not one of the men who saw my glory and
the miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert but who
disobeyed me and tested me ten times- 23 not one of them will ever see
the land I promised on oath to their forefathers. No one who has
treated me with contempt will ever see it. 24 But because my servant
Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will
bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit
it. 25 Since the Amalekites and Canaanites are living in the valleys,
turn back tomorrow and set out toward the desert along the route to the
Red Sea. [j] "
26 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron: 27 "How long will this
wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of
these grumbling Israelites. 28 So tell them, 'As surely as I live,
declares the LORD, I will do to you the very things I heard you say: 29
In this desert your bodies will fall—every one of you twenty
years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled
against me. 30 Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted
hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of
Nun. 31 As for your children that you said would be taken as plunder, I
will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected. 32 But
you—your bodies will fall in this desert. 33 Your children
will be shepherds here for forty years, suffering for your
unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the desert. 34
For forty years—one year for each of the forty days you
explored the land—you will suffer for your sins and know what
it is like to have me against you.' 35 I, the LORD, have spoken, and I
will surely do these things to this whole wicked community, which has
banded together against me. They will meet their end in this desert;
here they will die."
36 So the men Moses had sent to explore the land, who
returned and made the whole community grumble against him by spreading
a bad report about it- 37 these men responsible for spreading the bad
report about the land were struck down and died of a plague before the
LORD. 38 Of the men who went to explore the land, only Joshua son of
Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh survived.
39 When Moses reported this to all the Israelites, they
mourned bitterly. 40 Early the next morning they went up toward the
high hill country. "We have sinned," they said. "We will go up to the
place the LORD promised."
41 But Moses said, "Why are you disobeying the LORD's
command? This will not succeed! 42 Do not go up, because the LORD is
not with you. You will be defeated by your enemies, 43 for the
Amalekites and Canaanites will face you there. Because you have turned
away from the LORD, he will not be with you and you will fall by the
sword."
44 Nevertheless, in their presumption they went up toward the
high hill country, though neither Moses nor the ark of the LORD's
covenant moved from the camp. 45 Then the Amalekites and Canaanites who
lived in that hill country came down and attacked them and beat them
down all the way to Hormah.
Day
7
Go
Back
Deuteronomy 5
The Ten Commandments
1 Moses summoned all Israel and said:
Hear, O Israel, the
decrees and laws I declare in your hearing today. Learn them and be
sure to follow them. 2 The LORD our God made a covenant with us at
Horeb. 3 It was not with our fathers that the LORD made this covenant,
but with us, with all of us who are alive here today. 4 The LORD spoke
to you face to face out of the fire on the mountain. 5 (At that time I
stood between the LORD and you to declare to you the word of the LORD,
because you were afraid of the fire and did not go up the mountain.)
And he said:
6 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out
of the land of slavery.
7 "You shall have no other gods before [a] me.
8 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of
anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters
below. 9 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the
LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of
the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 10
but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and
keep my commandments.
11 "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for
the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
12 "Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD
your God has commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your
work, 14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it
you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor
your manservant or maidservant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your
animals, nor the alien within your gates, so that your manservant and
maidservant may rest, as you do. 15 Remember that you were slaves in
Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty
hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God has commanded
you to observe the Sabbath day.
16 "Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God
has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well
with you in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
17 "You shall not murder.
18 "You shall not commit adultery.
19 "You shall not steal.
20 "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
21 "You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. You shall not
set your desire on your neighbor's house or land, his manservant or
maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your
neighbor."
22 These are the commandments the LORD proclaimed in a loud
voice to your whole assembly there on the mountain from out of the
fire, the cloud and the deep darkness; and he added nothing more. Then
he wrote them on two stone tablets and gave them to me.
23 When you heard the voice out of the darkness, while the
mountain was ablaze with fire, all the leading men of your tribes and
your elders came to me. 24 And you said, "The LORD our God has shown us
his glory and his majesty, and we have heard his voice from the fire.
Today we have seen that a man can live even if God speaks with him. 25
But now, why should we die? This great fire will consume us, and we
will die if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any longer. 26 For
what mortal man has ever heard the voice of the living God speaking out
of fire, as we have, and survived? 27 Go near and listen to all that
the LORD our God says. Then tell us whatever the LORD our God tells
you. We will listen and obey."
28 The LORD heard you when you spoke to me and the LORD said
to me, "I have heard what this people said to you. Everything they said
was good. 29 Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and
keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and
their children forever!
30 "Go, tell them to return to their tents. 31 But you stay
here with me so that I may give you all the commands, decrees and laws
you are to teach them to follow in the land I am giving them to
possess."
32 So be careful to do what the LORD your God has commanded
you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. 33 Walk in all the
way that the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live and
prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.
Deuteronomy 6
Love the LORD Your God
1 These are the commands, decrees and laws the LORD your God
directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing
the Jordan to possess, 2 so that you, your children and their children
after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping
all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy
long life. 3 Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go
well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with
milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, promised you.
4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. [b] 5
Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and
with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are
to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about
them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you
lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and
bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your
houses and on your gates.
10 When the LORD your God brings you into the land he swore
to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a
land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, 11 houses filled
with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not
dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then
when you eat and are satisfied, 12 be careful that you do not forget
the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
13 Fear the LORD your God, serve him only and take your oaths
in his name. 14 Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples
around you; 15 for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous
God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from
the face of the land. 16 Do not test the LORD your God as you did at
Massah. 17 Be sure to keep the commands of the LORD your God and the
stipulations and decrees he has given you. 18 Do what is right and good
in the LORD's sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in
and take over the good land that the LORD promised on oath to your
forefathers, 19 thrusting out all your enemies before you, as the LORD
said.
20 In the future, when your son asks you, "What is the
meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the LORD our God has
commanded you?" 21 tell him: "We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but
the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 22 Before our eyes
the LORD sent miraculous signs and wonders—great and
terrible—upon Egypt and Pharaoh and his whole household. 23
But he brought us out from there to bring us in and give us the land
that he promised on oath to our forefathers. 24 The LORD commanded us
to obey all these decrees and to fear the LORD our God, so that we
might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today. 25 And if
we are careful to obey all this law before the LORD our God, as he has
commanded us, that will be our righteousness."
Deuteronomy 7
Driving Out the Nations
1 When the LORD your God brings you into the land you are
entering to possess and drives out before you many
nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites,
Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger
than you- 2 and when the LORD your God has delivered them over to you
and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. [c]
Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy. 3 Do not intermarry
with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their
daughters for your sons, 4 for they will turn your sons away from
following me to serve other gods, and the LORD's anger will burn
against you and will quickly destroy you. 5 This is what you are to do
to them: Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down
their Asherah poles [d] and burn their idols in the fire. 6 For you are
a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you
out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his
treasured possession.
7 The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you
because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the
fewest of all peoples. 8 But it was because the LORD loved you and kept
the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a
mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power
of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know therefore that the LORD your God is
God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand
generations of those who love him and keep his commands. 10 But
those who
hate him he will repay to their face by destruction;
he will
not be slow to repay to their face those who hate him.
11 Therefore, take care to follow the commands, decrees and
laws I give you today.
12 If you pay attention to these laws and are careful to
follow them, then the LORD your God will keep his covenant of love with
you, as he swore to your forefathers. 13 He will love you and bless you
and increase your numbers. He will bless the fruit of your womb, the
crops of your land—your grain, new wine and oil—the
calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks in the land that he
swore to your forefathers to give you. 14 You will be blessed more than
any other people; none of your men or women will be childless, nor any
of your livestock without young. 15 The LORD will keep you free from
every disease. He will not inflict on you the horrible diseases you
knew in Egypt, but he will inflict them on all who hate you. 16 You
must destroy all the peoples the LORD your God gives over to you. Do
not look on them with pity and do not serve their gods, for that will
be a snare to you.
17 You may say to yourselves, "These nations are stronger
than we are. How can we drive them out?" 18 But do not be afraid of
them; remember well what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all
Egypt. 19 You saw with your own eyes the great trials, the miraculous
signs and wonders, the mighty hand and outstretched arm, with which the
LORD your God brought you out. The LORD your God will do the same to
all the peoples you now fear. 20 Moreover, the LORD your God will send
the hornet among them until even the survivors who hide from you have
perished. 21 Do not be terrified by them, for the LORD your God, who is
among you, is a great and awesome God. 22 The LORD your God will drive
out those nations before you, little by little. You will not be allowed
to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals will multiply around
you. 23 But the LORD your God will deliver them over to you, throwing
them into great confusion until they are destroyed. 24 He will give
their kings into your hand, and you will wipe out their names from
under heaven. No one will be able to stand up against you; you will
destroy them. 25 The images of their gods you are to burn in the fire.
Do not covet the silver and gold on them, and do not take it for
yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it, for it is detestable to the
LORD your God. 26 Do not bring a detestable thing into your house or
you, like it, will be set apart for destruction. Utterly abhor and
detest it, for it is set apart for destruction.
Deuteronomy 8
Do Not Forget the LORD
1 Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today,
so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land
that the LORD promised on oath to your forefathers. 2 Remember how the
LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to
humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart,
whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled you, causing
you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor
your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread
alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. 4 Your
clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty
years. 5 Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so
the LORD your God disciplines you.
6 Observe the commands of the LORD your God, walking in his
ways and revering him. 7 For the LORD your God is bringing you into a
good land—a land with streams and pools of water, with
springs flowing in the valleys and hills; 8 a land with wheat and
barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; 9 a
land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land
where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.
10 When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD
your God for the good land he has given you. 11 Be careful that you do
not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws
and his decrees that I am giving you this day. 12 Otherwise, when you
eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, 13
and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold
increase and all you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart will become
proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of
Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 He led you through the vast and
dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous
snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. 16 He gave
you manna to eat in the desert, something your fathers had never known,
to humble and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you.
17 You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have
produced this wealth for me." 18 But remember the LORD your God, for it
is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his
covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.
19 If you ever forget the LORD your God and follow other gods
and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you
will surely be destroyed. 20 Like the nations the LORD destroyed before
you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the LORD your God.
Deuteronomy 28
Blessings for Obedience
1 If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow
all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high
above all the nations on earth. 2 All these blessings will come upon
you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God:
3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.
4 The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of
your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your
herds and the lambs of your flocks.
5 Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed.
6 You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you
go out.
7 The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against
you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one
direction but flee from you in seven.
8 The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on
everything you put your hand to. The LORD your God will bless you in
the land he is giving you.
9 The LORD will establish you as his holy people, as he
promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the LORD your God and
walk in his ways. 10 Then all the peoples on earth will see that you
are called by the name of the LORD, and they will fear you. 11 The LORD
will grant you abundant prosperity—in the fruit of your womb,
the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground—in
the land he swore to your forefathers to give you.
12 The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his
bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work
of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none.
13 The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention
to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and
carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the
bottom. 14 Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today,
to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them.
Curses for Disobedience
15 However, if you do not obey the LORD your God and do not
carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today,
all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
16 You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country.
17 Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed.
18 The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of
your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.
19 You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go
out.
20 The LORD will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in
everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to
sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him. [a] 21
The LORD will plague you with diseases until he has destroyed you from
the land you are entering to possess. 22 The LORD will strike you with
wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and
drought, with blight and mildew, which will plague you until you
perish. 23 The sky over your head will be bronze, the ground beneath
you iron. 24 The LORD will turn the rain of your country into dust and
powder; it will come down from the skies until you are destroyed.
25 The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your
enemies. You will come at them from one direction but flee from them in
seven, and you will become a thing of horror to all the kingdoms on
earth. 26 Your carcasses will be food for all the birds of the air and
the beasts of the earth, and there will be no one to frighten them
away. 27 The LORD will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with
tumors, festering sores and the itch, from which you cannot be cured.
28 The LORD will afflict you with madness, blindness and confusion of
mind. 29 At midday you will grope about like a blind man in the dark.
You will be unsuccessful in everything you do; day after day you will
be oppressed and robbed, with no one to rescue you.
30 You will be pledged to be married to a woman, but another
will take her and ravish her. You will build a house, but you will not
live in it. You will plant a vineyard, but you will not even begin to
enjoy its fruit. 31 Your ox will be slaughtered before your eyes, but
you will eat none of it. Your donkey will be forcibly taken from you
and will not be returned. Your sheep will be given to your enemies, and
no one will rescue them. 32 Your sons and daughters will be given to
another nation, and you will wear out your eyes watching for them day
after day, powerless to lift a hand. 33 A people that you do not know
will eat what your land and labor produce, and you will have nothing
but cruel oppression all your days. 34 The sights you see will drive
you mad. 35 The LORD will afflict your knees and legs with painful
boils that cannot be cured, spreading from the soles of your feet to
the top of your head.
36 The LORD will drive you and the king you set over you to a
nation unknown to you or your fathers. There you will worship other
gods, gods of wood and stone. 37 You will become a thing of horror and
an object of scorn and ridicule to all the nations where the LORD will
drive you.
38 You will sow much seed in the field but you will harvest
little, because locusts will devour it. 39 You will plant vineyards and
cultivate them but you will not drink the wine or gather the grapes,
because worms will eat them. 40 You will have olive trees throughout
your country but you will not use the oil, because the olives will drop
off. 41 You will have sons and daughters but you will not keep them,
because they will go into captivity. 42 Swarms of locusts will take
over all your trees and the crops of your land.
43 The alien who lives among you will rise above you higher
and higher, but you will sink lower and lower. 44 He will lend to you,
but you will not lend to him. He will be the head, but you will be the
tail.
45 All these curses will come upon you. They will pursue you
and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the
LORD your God and observe the commands and decrees he gave you. 46 They
will be a sign and a wonder to you and your descendants forever. 47
Because you did not serve the LORD your God joyfully and gladly in the
time of prosperity, 48 therefore in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and
dire poverty, you will serve the enemies the LORD sends against you. He
will put an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you.
49 The LORD will bring a nation against you from far away,
from the ends of the earth, like an eagle swooping down, a nation whose
language you will not understand, 50 a fierce-looking nation without
respect for the old or pity for the young. 51 They will devour the
young of your livestock and the crops of your land until you are
destroyed. They will leave you no grain, new wine or oil, nor any
calves of your herds or lambs of your flocks until you are ruined. 52
They will lay siege to all the cities throughout your land until the
high fortified walls in which you trust fall down. They will besiege
all the cities throughout the land the LORD your God is giving you.
53 Because of the suffering that your enemy will inflict on
you during the siege, you will eat the fruit of the womb, the flesh of
the sons and daughters the LORD your God has given you. 54 Even the
most gentle and sensitive man among you will have no compassion on his
own brother or the wife he loves or his surviving children, 55 and he
will not give to one of them any of the flesh of his children that he
is eating. It will be all he has left because of the suffering your
enemy will inflict on you during the siege of all your cities. 56 The
most gentle and sensitive woman among you—so sensitive and
gentle that she would not venture to touch the ground with the sole of
her foot—will begrudge the husband she loves and her own son
or daughter 57 the afterbirth from her womb and the children she bears.
For she intends to eat them secretly during the siege and in the
distress that your enemy will inflict on you in your cities.
58 If you do not carefully follow all the words of this law,
which are written in this book, and do not revere this glorious and
awesome name—the LORD your God- 59 the LORD will send fearful
plagues on you and your descendants, harsh and prolonged disasters, and
severe and lingering illnesses. 60 He will bring upon you all the
diseases of Egypt that you dreaded, and they will cling to you. 61 The
LORD will also bring on you every kind of sickness and disaster not
recorded in this Book of the Law, until you are destroyed. 62 You who
were as numerous as the stars in the sky will be left but few in
number, because you did not obey the LORD your God. 63 Just as it
pleased the LORD to make you prosper and increase in number, so it will
please him to ruin and destroy you. You will be uprooted from the land
you are entering to possess.
64 Then the LORD will scatter you among all nations, from one
end of the earth to the other. There you will worship other
gods—gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your
fathers have known. 65 Among those nations you will find no repose, no
resting place for the sole of your foot. There the LORD will give you
an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart. 66
You will live in constant suspense, filled with dread both night and
day, never sure of your life. 67 In the morning you will say, "If only
it were evening!" and in the evening, "If only it were
morning!"-because of the terror that will fill your hearts and the
sights that your eyes will see. 68 The LORD will send you back in ships
to Egypt on a journey I said you should never make again. There you
will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female
slaves, but no one will buy you.
Deuteronomy 29
Renewal of the Covenant
1 These are the terms of the covenant the LORD commanded
Moses to make with the Israelites in Moab, in addition to the covenant
he had made with them at Horeb.
2 Moses summoned all the Israelites and said to them:
Your eyes have seen
all that the LORD did in Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his officials and to
all his land. 3 With your own eyes you saw those great trials, those
miraculous signs and great wonders. 4 But to this day the LORD has not
given you a mind that understands or eyes that see or ears that hear. 5
During the forty years that I led you through the desert, your clothes
did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet. 6 You ate no bread
and drank no wine or other fermented drink. I did this so that you
might know that I am the LORD your God.
7 When you reached this place, Sihon king of Heshbon and Og
king of Bashan came out to fight against us, but we defeated them. 8 We
took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the
Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
9 Carefully follow the terms of this covenant, so that you
may prosper in everything you do. 10 All of you are standing today in
the presence of the LORD your God—your leaders and chief men,
your elders and officials, and all the other men of Israel, 11 together
with your children and your wives, and the aliens living in your camps
who chop your wood and carry your water. 12 You are standing here in
order to enter into a covenant with the LORD your God, a covenant the
LORD is making with you this day and sealing with an oath, 13 to
confirm you this day as his people, that he may be your God as he
promised you and as he swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
14 I am making this covenant, with its oath, not only with you 15 who
are standing here with us today in the presence of the LORD our God but
also with those who are not here today.
16 You yourselves know how we lived in Egypt and how we
passed through the countries on the way here. 17 You saw among them
their detestable images and idols of wood and stone, of silver and
gold. 18 Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you
today whose heart turns away from the LORD our God to go and worship
the gods of those nations; make sure there is no root among you that
produces such bitter poison.
19 When such a person hears the words of this oath, he
invokes a blessing on himself and therefore thinks, "I will be safe,
even though I persist in going my own way." This will bring disaster on
the watered land as well as the dry. [b] 20 The LORD will never be
willing to forgive him; his wrath and zeal will burn against that man.
All the curses written in this book will fall upon him, and the LORD
will blot out his name from under heaven. 21 The LORD will single him
out from all the tribes of Israel for disaster, according to all the
curses of the covenant written in this Book of the Law.
22 Your children who follow you in later generations and
foreigners who come from distant lands will see the calamities that
have fallen on the land and the diseases with which the LORD has
afflicted it. 23 The whole land will be a burning waste of salt and
sulfur—nothing planted, nothing sprouting, no vegetation
growing on it. It will be like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah,
Admah and Zeboiim, which the LORD overthrew in fierce anger. 24 All the
nations will ask: "Why has the LORD done this to this land? Why this
fierce, burning anger?"
25 And the answer will be: "It is because this people
abandoned the covenant of the LORD, the God of their fathers, the
covenant he made with them when he brought them out of Egypt. 26 They
went off and worshiped other gods and bowed down to them, gods they did
not know, gods he had not given them. 27 Therefore the LORD's anger
burned against this land, so that he brought on it all the curses
written in this book. 28 In furious anger and in great wrath the LORD
uprooted them from their land and thrust them into another land, as it
is now."
29 The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the
things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may
follow all the words of this law.
Deuteronomy 30
Prosperity After Turning to the LORD
1 When all these blessings and curses I have set before you
come upon you and you take them to heart wherever the LORD your God
disperses you among the nations, 2 and when you and your children
return to the LORD your God and obey him with all your heart and with
all your soul according to everything I command you today, 3 then the
LORD your God will restore your fortunes [c] and have compassion on you
and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you. 4
Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the
heavens, from there the LORD your God will gather you and bring you
back. 5 He will bring you to the land that belonged to your fathers,
and you will take possession of it. He will make you more prosperous
and numerous than your fathers. 6 The LORD your God will circumcise
your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love
him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live. 7 The LORD
your God will put all these curses on your enemies who hate and
persecute you. 8 You will again obey the LORD and follow all his
commands I am giving you today. 9 Then the LORD your God will make you
most prosperous in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your
womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your land. The LORD
will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as he delighted
in your fathers, 10 if you obey the LORD your God and keep his commands
and decrees that are written in this Book of the Law and turn to the
LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
The Offer of Life or Death
11 Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult
for you or beyond your reach. 12 It is not up in heaven, so that you
have to ask, "Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to
us so we may obey it?" 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to
ask, "Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may
obey it?" 14 No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in
your heart so you may obey it.
15 See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and
destruction. 16 For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to
walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you
will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the
land you are entering to possess.
17 But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and
if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, 18 I
declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will
not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and
possess.
19 This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you
that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now
choose life, so that you and your children may live 20 and that you may
love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For
the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he
swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Deuteronomy 31
Joshua to Succeed Moses
1 Then Moses went out and spoke these words to all Israel: 2
"I am now a hundred and twenty years old and I am no longer able to
lead you. The LORD has said to me, 'You shall not cross the Jordan.' 3
The LORD your God himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy
these nations before you, and you will take possession of their land.
Joshua also will cross over ahead of you, as the LORD said. 4 And the
LORD will do to them what he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the
Amorites, whom he destroyed along with their land. 5 The LORD will
deliver them to you, and you must do to them all that I have commanded
you. 6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because
of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you
nor forsake you."
7 Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence
of all Israel, "Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this
people into the land that the LORD swore to their forefathers to give
them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. 8 The
LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave
you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."
The Reading of the Law
9 So Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the priests,
the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and
to all the elders of Israel. 10 Then Moses commanded them: "At the end
of every seven years, in the year for canceling debts, during the Feast
of Tabernacles, 11 when all Israel comes to appear before the LORD your
God at the place he will choose, you shall read this law before them in
their hearing. 12 Assemble the people—men, women and
children, and the aliens living in your towns—so they can
listen and learn to fear the LORD your God and follow carefully all the
words of this law. 13 Their children, who do not know this law, must
hear it and learn to fear the LORD your God as long as you live in the
land you are crossing the Jordan to possess."
Israel's Rebellion Predicted
14 The LORD said to Moses, "Now the day of your death is
near. Call Joshua and present yourselves at the Tent of Meeting, where
I will commission him." So Moses and Joshua came and presented
themselves at the Tent of Meeting.
15 Then the LORD appeared at the Tent in a pillar of cloud,
and the cloud stood over the entrance to the Tent. 16 And the LORD said
to Moses: "You are going to rest with your fathers, and these people
will soon prostitute themselves to the foreign gods of the land they
are entering. They will forsake me and break the covenant I made with
them. 17 On that day I will become angry with them and forsake them; I
will hide my face from them, and they will be destroyed. Many disasters
and difficulties will come upon them, and on that day they will ask,
'Have not these disasters come upon us because our God is not with us?'
18 And I will certainly hide my face on that day because of all their
wickedness in turning to other gods.
19 "Now write down for yourselves this song and teach it to
the Israelites and have them sing it, so that it may be a witness for
me against them. 20 When I have brought them into the land flowing with
milk and honey, the land I promised on oath to their forefathers, and
when they eat their fill and thrive, they will turn to other gods and
worship them, rejecting me and breaking my covenant. 21 And when many
disasters and difficulties come upon them, this song will testify
against them, because it will not be forgotten by their descendants. I
know what they are disposed to do, even before I bring them into the
land I promised them on oath." 22 So Moses wrote down this song that
day and taught it to the Israelites.
23 The LORD gave this command to Joshua son of Nun: "Be
strong and courageous, for you will bring the Israelites into the land
I promised them on oath, and I myself will be with you."
24 After Moses finished writing in a book the words of this
law from beginning to end, 25 he gave this command to the Levites who
carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD : 26 "Take this Book of the
Law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God.
There it will remain as a witness against you. 27 For I know how
rebellious and stiff-necked you are. If you have been rebellious
against the LORD while I am still alive and with you, how much more
will you rebel after I die! 28 Assemble before me all the elders of
your tribes and all your officials, so that I can speak these words in
their hearing and call heaven and earth to testify against them. 29 For
I know that after my death you are sure to become utterly corrupt and
to turn from the way I have commanded you. In days to come, disaster
will fall upon you because you will do evil in the sight of the LORD
and provoke him to anger by what your hands have made."
The Song of Moses
30 And Moses recited the words of this song from beginning to
end in the hearing of the whole assembly of Israel:
Day
8
Go
Back
Joshua 1
The LORD Commands Joshua
1 After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD
said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses' aide: 2 "Moses my servant is dead.
Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River
into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. 3
I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised
Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and
from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite
country—to the Great Sea [a] on the west. 5 No one will be
able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with
Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.
6 "Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these
people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. 7
Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my
servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the
left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Do not let this
Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night,
so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you
will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be
strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for
the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."
10 So Joshua ordered the officers of the people: 11 "Go
through the camp and tell the people, 'Get your supplies ready. Three
days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take
possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you for your own.' "
12 But to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of
Manasseh, Joshua said, 13 "Remember the command that Moses the servant
of the LORD gave you: 'The LORD your God is giving you rest and has
granted you this land.' 14 Your wives, your children and your livestock
may stay in the land that Moses gave you east of the Jordan, but all
your fighting men, fully armed, must cross over ahead of your brothers.
You are to help your brothers 15 until the LORD gives them rest, as he
has done for you, and until they too have taken possession of the land
that the LORD your God is giving them. After that, you may go back and
occupy your own land, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you east
of the Jordan toward the sunrise."
16 Then they answered Joshua, "Whatever you have commanded us
we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17 Just as we fully
obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. Only may the LORD your God be with
you as he was with Moses. 18 Whoever rebels against your word and does
not obey your words, whatever you may command them, will be put to
death. Only be strong and courageous!"
Joshua 2
Rahab and the Spies
1 Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from
Shittim. "Go, look over the land," he said, "especially Jericho." So
they went and entered the house of a prostitute [b] named Rahab and
stayed there.
2 The king of Jericho was told, "Look! Some of the Israelites
have come here tonight to spy out the land." 3 So the king of Jericho
sent this message to Rahab: "Bring out the men who came to you and
entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land."
4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She
said, "Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come
from. 5 At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, the men left.
I don't know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch
up with them." 6 (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them
under the stalks of flax she had laid out on the roof.) 7 So the men
set out in pursuit of the spies on the road that leads to the fords of
the Jordan, and as soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut.
8 Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the
roof 9 and said to them, "I know that the LORD has given this land to
you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live
in this country are melting in fear because of you. 10 We have heard
how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea [c] for you when you
came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of
the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. [d] 11
When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone's courage failed
because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the
earth below. 12 Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that you will
show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give
me a sure sign 13 that you will spare the lives of my father and
mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and that
you will save us from death."
14 "Our lives for your lives!" the men assured her. "If you
don't tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully
when the LORD gives us the land."
15 So she let them down by a rope through the window, for the
house she lived in was part of the city wall. 16 Now she had said to
them, "Go to the hills so the pursuers will not find you. Hide
yourselves there three days until they return, and then go on your way."
17 The men said to her, "This oath you made us swear will not
be binding on us 18 unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this
scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless
you have brought your father and mother, your brothers and all your
family into your house. 19 If anyone goes outside your house into the
street, his blood will be on his own head; we will not be responsible.
As for anyone who is in the house with you, his blood will be on our
head if a hand is laid on him. 20 But if you tell what we are doing, we
will be released from the oath you made us swear."
21 "Agreed," she replied. "Let it be as you say." So she sent
them away and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the
window.
22 When they left, they went into the hills and stayed there
three days, until the pursuers had searched all along the road and
returned without finding them. 23 Then the two men started back. They
went down out of the hills, forded the river and came to Joshua son of
Nun and told him everything that had happened to them. 24 They said to
Joshua, "The LORD has surely given the whole land into our hands; all
the people are melting in fear because of us."
Joshua 3
Crossing the Jordan
1 Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out
from Shittim and went to the Jordan, where they camped before crossing
over. 2 After three days the officers went throughout the camp, 3
giving orders to the people: "When you see the ark of the covenant of
the LORD your God, and the priests, who are Levites, carrying it, you
are to move out from your positions and follow it. 4 Then you will know
which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a
distance of about a thousand yards [e] between you and the ark; do not
go near it."
5 Joshua told the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for
tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you."
6 Joshua said to the priests, "Take up the ark of the
covenant and pass on ahead of the people." So they took it up and went
ahead of them.
7 And the LORD said to Joshua, "Today I will begin to exalt
you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I
was with Moses. 8 Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant:
'When you reach the edge of the Jordan's waters, go and stand in the
river.' "
9 Joshua said to the Israelites, "Come here and listen to the
words of the LORD your God. 10 This is how you will know that the
living God is among you and that he will certainly drive out before you
the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites
and Jebusites. 11 See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the
earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you. 12 Now then, choose twelve
men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. 13 And as soon as
the priests who carry the ark of the LORD -the Lord of all the
earth—set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream
will be cut off and stand up in a heap."
14 So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the
priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. 15 Now the
Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests
who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the
water's edge, 16 the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up
in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity
of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (the
Salt Sea [f] ) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over
opposite Jericho. 17 The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of
the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while
all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing
on dry ground.
Joshua 4
1 When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the
LORD said to Joshua, 2 "Choose twelve men from among the people, one
from each tribe, 3 and tell them to take up twelve stones from the
middle of the Jordan from right where the priests stood and to carry
them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay
tonight."
4 So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed
from the Israelites, one from each tribe, 5 and said to them, "Go over
before the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each
of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number
of the tribes of the Israelites, 6 to serve as a sign among you. In the
future, when your children ask you, 'What do these stones mean?' 7 tell
them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the
covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the
Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of
Israel forever."
8 So the Israelites did as Joshua commanded them. They took
twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, according to the number of
the tribes of the Israelites, as the LORD had told Joshua; and they
carried them over with them to their camp, where they put them down. 9
Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been [g] in the middle of the
Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the
covenant had stood. And they are there to this day.
10 Now the priests who carried the ark remained standing in
the middle of the Jordan until everything the LORD had commanded Joshua
was done by the people, just as Moses had directed Joshua. The people
hurried over, 11 and as soon as all of them had crossed, the ark of the
LORD and the priests came to the other side while the people watched.
12 The men of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over,
armed, in front of the Israelites, as Moses had directed them. 13 About
forty thousand armed for battle crossed over before the LORD to the
plains of Jericho for war.
14 That day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all
Israel; and they revered him all the days of his life, just as they had
revered Moses.
15 Then the LORD said to Joshua, 16 "Command the priests
carrying the ark of the Testimony to come up out of the Jordan."
17 So Joshua commanded the priests, "Come up out of the
Jordan."
18 And the priests came up out of the river carrying the ark
of the covenant of the LORD. No sooner had they set their feet on the
dry ground than the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and
ran at flood stage as before.
19 On the tenth day of the first month the people went up
from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho.
20 And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken out of
the Jordan. 21 He said to the Israelites, "In the future when your
descendants ask their fathers, 'What do these stones mean?' 22 tell
them, 'Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.' 23 For the LORD your
God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The LORD
your God did to the Jordan just what he had done to the Red Sea [h]
when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. 24 He did this
so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the
LORD is powerful and so that you might always fear the LORD your God."
Joshua 5
Circumcision at Gilgal
1 Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all
the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the LORD had dried up the
Jordan before the Israelites until we had crossed over, their hearts
melted and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites.
2 At that time the LORD said to Joshua, "Make flint knives
and circumcise the Israelites again." 3 So Joshua made flint knives and
circumcised the Israelites at Gibeath Haaraloth. [i]
4 Now this is why he did so: All those who came out of
Egypt—all the men of military age—died in the
desert on the way after leaving Egypt. 5 All the people that came out
had been circumcised, but all the people born in the desert during the
journey from Egypt had not. 6 The Israelites had moved about in the
desert forty years until all the men who were of military age when they
left Egypt had died, since they had not obeyed the LORD. For the LORD
had sworn to them that they would not see the land that he had solemnly
promised their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey.
7 So he raised up their sons in their place, and these were the ones
Joshua circumcised. They were still uncircumcised because they had not
been circumcised on the way. 8 And after the whole nation had been
circumcised, they remained where they were in camp until they were
healed.
9 Then the LORD said to Joshua, "Today I have rolled away the
reproach of Egypt from you." So the place has been called Gilgal [j] to
this day.
10 On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while
camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated
the Passover. 11 The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate
some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain. 12
The manna stopped the day after [k] they ate this food from the land;
there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they
ate of the produce of Canaan.
The Fall of Jericho
13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a
man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua
went up to him and asked, "Are you for us or for our enemies?"
14 "Neither," he replied, "but as commander of the army of
the LORD I have now come." Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in
reverence, and asked him, "What message does my Lord [l] have for his
servant?"
15 The commander of the LORD's army replied, "Take off your
sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did
so.
Joshua 6
1 Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites.
No one went out and no one came in.
2 Then the LORD said to Joshua, "See, I have delivered
Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. 3
March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six
days. 4 Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams' horns in front of
the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with
the priests blowing the trumpets. 5 When you hear them sound a long
blast on the trumpets, have all the people give a loud shout; then the
wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up, every man
straight in."
6 So Joshua son of Nun called the priests and said to them,
"Take up the ark of the covenant of the LORD and have seven priests
carry trumpets in front of it." 7 And he ordered the people, "Advance!
March around the city, with the armed guard going ahead of the ark of
the LORD."
8 When Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests
carrying the seven trumpets before the LORD went forward, blowing their
trumpets, and the ark of the LORD's covenant followed them. 9 The armed
guard marched ahead of the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear
guard followed the ark. All this time the trumpets were sounding. 10
But Joshua had commanded the people, "Do not give a war cry, do not
raise your voices, do not say a word until the day I tell you to shout.
Then shout!" 11 So he had the ark of the LORD carried around the city,
circling it once. Then the people returned to camp and spent the night
there.
12 Joshua got up early the next morning and the priests took
up the ark of the LORD. 13 The seven priests carrying the seven
trumpets went forward, marching before the ark of the LORD and blowing
the trumpets. The armed men went ahead of them and the rear guard
followed the ark of the LORD, while the trumpets kept sounding. 14 So
on the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the
camp. They did this for six days.
15 On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak and marched
around the city seven times in the same manner, except that on that day
they circled the city seven times. 16 The seventh time around, when the
priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the people, "Shout!
For the LORD has given you the city! 17 The city and all that is in it
are to be devoted [m] to the LORD. Only Rahab the prostitute [n] and
all who are with her in her house shall be spared, because she hid the
spies we sent. 18 But keep away from the devoted things, so that you
will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them.
Otherwise you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and
bring trouble on it. 19 All the silver and gold and the articles of
bronze and iron are sacred to the LORD and must go into his treasury."
20 When the trumpets sounded, the people shouted, and at the
sound of the trumpet, when the people gave a loud shout, the wall
collapsed; so every man charged straight in, and they took the city. 21
They devoted the city to the LORD and destroyed with the sword every
living thing in it—men and women, young and old, cattle,
sheep and donkeys.
22 Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, "Go
into the prostitute's house and bring her out and all who belong to
her, in accordance with your oath to her." 23 So the young men who had
done the spying went in and brought out Rahab, her father and mother
and brothers and all who belonged to her. They brought out her entire
family and put them in a place outside the camp of Israel.
24 Then they burned the whole city and everything in it, but
they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron into
the treasury of the LORD's house. 25 But Joshua spared Rahab the
prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, because she
hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho—and she lives
among the Israelites to this day.
26 At that time Joshua pronounced this solemn oath: "Cursed
before the LORD is the man who undertakes to rebuild this city,
Jericho:
"At the
cost of his firstborn son
will he
lay its foundations;
at the
cost of his youngest
will he
set up its gates."
27 So the LORD was with Joshua, and his fame spread
throughout the land.
Joshua 23
Joshua's Farewell to the Leaders
1 After a long time had passed and the LORD had given Israel
rest from all their enemies around them, Joshua, by then old and well
advanced in years, 2 summoned all Israel—their elders,
leaders, judges and officials—and said to them: "I am old and
well advanced in years. 3 You yourselves have seen everything the LORD
your God has done to all these nations for your sake; it was the LORD
your God who fought for you. 4 Remember how I have allotted as an
inheritance for your tribes all the land of the nations that
remain—the nations I conquered—between the Jordan
and the Great Sea [a] in the west. 5 The LORD your God himself will
drive them out of your way. He will push them out before you, and you
will take possession of their land, as the LORD your God promised you.
6 "Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in
the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to
the left. 7 Do not associate with these nations that remain among you;
do not invoke the names of their gods or swear by them. You must not
serve them or bow down to them. 8 But you are to hold fast to the LORD
your God, as you have until now.
9 "The LORD has driven out before you great and powerful
nations; to this day no one has been able to withstand you. 10 One of
you routs a thousand, because the LORD your God fights for you, just as
he promised. 11 So be very careful to love the LORD your God.
12 "But if you turn away and ally yourselves with the
survivors of these nations that remain among you and if you intermarry
with them and associate with them, 13 then you may be sure that the
LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you.
Instead, they will become snares and traps for you, whips on your backs
and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land, which
the LORD your God has given you.
14 "Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know
with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the
LORD your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled;
not one has failed. 15 But just as every good promise of the LORD your
God has come true, so the LORD will bring on you all the evil he has
threatened, until he has destroyed you from this good land he has given
you. 16 If you violate the covenant of the LORD your God, which he
commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the
LORD's anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from
the good land he has given you."
Joshua 24
The Covenant Renewed at Shechem
1 Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem.
He summoned the elders, leaders, judges and officials of Israel, and
they presented themselves before God.
2 Joshua said to all the people, "This is what the LORD, the
God of Israel, says: 'Long ago your forefathers, including Terah the
father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the River [b] and worshiped
other gods. 3 But I took your father Abraham from the land beyond the
River and led him throughout Canaan and gave him many descendants. I
gave him Isaac, 4 and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I assigned the
hill country of Seir to Esau, but Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt.
5 " 'Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I afflicted the
Egyptians by what I did there, and I brought you out. 6 When I brought
your fathers out of Egypt, you came to the sea, and the Egyptians
pursued them with chariots and horsemen [c] as far as the Red Sea. [d]
7 But they cried to the LORD for help, and he put darkness between you
and the Egyptians; he brought the sea over them and covered them. You
saw with your own eyes what I did to the Egyptians. Then you lived in
the desert for a long time.
8 " 'I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived east
of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I gave them into your
hands. I destroyed them from before you, and you took possession of
their land. 9 When Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, prepared to
fight against Israel, he sent for Balaam son of Beor to put a curse on
you. 10 But I would not listen to Balaam, so he blessed you again and
again, and I delivered you out of his hand.
11 " 'Then you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The
citizens of Jericho fought against you, as did also the Amorites,
Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites,
but I gave them into your hands. 12 I sent the hornet ahead of you,
which drove them out before you—also the two Amorite kings.
You did not do it with your own sword and bow. 13 So I gave you a land
on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in
them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.'
14 "Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness.
Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in
Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable
to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve,
whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods
of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my
household, we will serve the LORD."
16 Then the people answered, "Far be it from us to forsake
the LORD to serve other gods! 17 It was the LORD our God himself who
brought us and our fathers up out of Egypt, from that land of slavery,
and performed those great signs before our eyes. He protected us on our
entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled. 18
And the LORD drove out before us all the nations, including the
Amorites, who lived in the land. We too will serve the LORD, because he
is our God."
19 Joshua said to the people, "You are not able to serve the
LORD. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your
rebellion and your sins. 20 If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign
gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you,
after he has been good to you."
21 But the people said to Joshua, "No! We will serve the
LORD."
22 Then Joshua said, "You are witnesses against yourselves
that you have chosen to serve the LORD."
"Yes, we are
witnesses," they replied.
23 "Now then," said Joshua, "throw away the foreign gods that
are among you and yield your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel."
24 And the people said to Joshua, "We will serve the LORD our
God and obey him."
25 On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and
there at Shechem he drew up for them decrees and laws. 26 And Joshua
recorded these things in the Book of the Law of God. Then he took a
large stone and set it up there under the oak near the holy place of
the LORD.
27 "See!" he said to all the people. "This stone will be a
witness against us. It has heard all the words the LORD has said to us.
It will be a witness against you if you are untrue to your God."
Buried in the Promised Land
28 Then Joshua sent the people away, each to his own
inheritance.
29 After these things, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the
LORD, died at the age of a hundred and ten. 30 And they buried him in
the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Serah [e] in the hill country
of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
31 Israel served the LORD throughout the lifetime of Joshua
and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced everything
the LORD had done for Israel.
32 And Joseph's bones, which the Israelites had brought up
from Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the tract of land that Jacob
bought for a hundred pieces of silver [f] from the sons of Hamor, the
father of Shechem. This became the inheritance of Joseph's descendants.
33 And Eleazar son of Aaron died and was buried at Gibeah,
which had been allotted to his son Phinehas in the hill country of
Ephraim.
Day
9
Go
Back
Judges 1
Israel Fights the Remaining Canaanites
1 After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked the LORD,
"Who will be the first to go up and fight for us against the
Canaanites?"
2 The LORD answered, "Judah is to go; I have given the land
into their hands."
3 Then the men of Judah said to the Simeonites their
brothers, "Come up with us into the territory allotted to us, to fight
against the Canaanites. We in turn will go with you into yours." So the
Simeonites went with them.
4 When Judah attacked, the LORD gave the Canaanites and
Perizzites into their hands and they struck down ten thousand men at
Bezek. 5 It was there that they found Adoni-Bezek and fought against
him, putting to rout the Canaanites and Perizzites. 6 Adoni-Bezek fled,
but they chased him and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes.
7 Then Adoni-Bezek said, "Seventy kings with their thumbs and
big toes cut off have picked up scraps under my table. Now God has paid
me back for what I did to them." They brought him to Jerusalem, and he
died there.
8 The men of Judah attacked Jerusalem also and took it. They
put the city to the sword and set it on fire.
9 After that, the men of Judah went down to fight against the
Canaanites living in the hill country, the Negev and the western
foothills. 10 They advanced against the Canaanites living in Hebron
(formerly called Kiriath Arba) and defeated Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai.
11 From there they advanced against the people living in
Debir (formerly called Kiriath Sepher). 12 And Caleb said, "I will give
my daughter Acsah in marriage to the man who attacks and captures
Kiriath Sepher." 13 Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, took
it; so Caleb gave his daughter Acsah to him in marriage.
14 One day when she came to Othniel, she urged him [a] to ask
her father for a field. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her,
"What can I do for you?"
15 She replied, "Do me a special favor. Since you have given
me land in the Negev, give me also springs of water." Then Caleb gave
her the upper and lower springs.
16 The descendants of Moses' father-in-law, the Kenite, went
up from the City of Palms [b] with the men of Judah to live among the
people of the Desert of Judah in the Negev near Arad.
17 Then the men of Judah went with the Simeonites their
brothers and attacked the Canaanites living in Zephath, and they
totally destroyed [c] the city. Therefore it was called Hormah. [d] 18
The men of Judah also took [e] Gaza, Ashkelon and Ekron—each
city with its territory.
19 The LORD was with the men of Judah. They took possession
of the hill country, but they were unable to drive the people from the
plains, because they had iron chariots. 20 As Moses had promised,
Hebron was given to Caleb, who drove from it the three sons of Anak. 21
The Benjamites, however, failed to dislodge the Jebusites, who were
living in Jerusalem; to this day the Jebusites live there with the
Benjamites.
22 Now the house of Joseph attacked Bethel, and the LORD was
with them. 23 When they sent men to spy out Bethel (formerly called
Luz), 24 the spies saw a man coming out of the city and they said to
him, "Show us how to get into the city and we will see that you are
treated well." 25 So he showed them, and they put the city to the sword
but spared the man and his whole family. 26 He then went to the land of
the Hittites, where he built a city and called it Luz, which is its
name to this day.
27 But Manasseh did not drive out the people of Beth Shan or
Taanach or Dor or Ibleam or Megiddo and their surrounding settlements,
for the Canaanites were determined to live in that land. 28 When Israel
became strong, they pressed the Canaanites into forced labor but never
drove them out completely. 29 Nor did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites
living in Gezer, but the Canaanites continued to live there among them.
30 Neither did Zebulun drive out the Canaanites living in Kitron or
Nahalol, who remained among them; but they did subject them to forced
labor. 31 Nor did Asher drive out those living in Acco or Sidon or
Ahlab or Aczib or Helbah or Aphek or Rehob, 32 and because of this the
people of Asher lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land. 33
Neither did Naphtali drive out those living in Beth Shemesh or Beth
Anath; but the Naphtalites too lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of
the land, and those living in Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath became forced
laborers for them. 34 The Amorites confined the Danites to the hill
country, not allowing them to come down into the plain. 35 And the
Amorites were determined also to hold out in Mount Heres, Aijalon and
Shaalbim, but when the power of the house of Joseph increased, they too
were pressed into forced labor. 36 The boundary of the Amorites was
from Scorpion [f] Pass to Sela and beyond.
Judges 2
The Angel of the LORD at Bokim
1 The angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bokim and
said, "I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land that I
swore to give to your forefathers. I said, 'I will never break my
covenant with you, 2 and you shall not make a covenant with the people
of this land, but you shall break down their altars.' Yet you have
disobeyed me. Why have you done this? 3 Now therefore I tell you that I
will not drive them out before you; they will be thorns in your sides
and their gods will be a snare to you."
4 When the angel of the LORD had spoken these things to all
the Israelites, the people wept aloud, 5 and they called that place
Bokim. [g] There they offered sacrifices to the LORD.
Disobedience and Defeat
6 After Joshua had dismissed the Israelites, they went to
take possession of the land, each to his own inheritance. 7 The people
served the LORD throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who
outlived him and who had seen all the great things the LORD had done
for Israel.
8 Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age
of a hundred and ten. 9 And they buried him in the land of his
inheritance, at Timnath Heres [h] in the hill country of Ephraim, north
of Mount Gaash.
10 After that whole generation had been gathered to their
fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the LORD nor what
he had done for Israel. 11 Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of
the LORD and served the Baals. 12 They forsook the LORD, the God of
their fathers, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and
worshiped various gods of the peoples around them. They provoked the
LORD to anger 13 because they forsook him and served Baal and the
Ashtoreths. 14 In his anger against Israel the LORD handed them over to
raiders who plundered them. He sold them to their enemies all around,
whom they were no longer able to resist. 15 Whenever Israel went out to
fight, the hand of the LORD was against them to defeat them, just as he
had sworn to them. They were in great distress.
16 Then the LORD raised up judges, [i] who saved them out of
the hands of these raiders. 17 Yet they would not listen to their
judges but prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped them.
Unlike their fathers, they quickly turned from the way in which their
fathers had walked, the way of obedience to the LORD's commands. 18
Whenever the LORD raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and
saved them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge
lived; for the LORD had compassion on them as they groaned under those
who oppressed and afflicted them. 19 But when the judge died, the
people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their fathers,
following other gods and serving and worshiping them. They refused to
give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.
20 Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel and said,
"Because this nation has violated the covenant that I laid down for
their forefathers and has not listened to me, 21 I will no longer drive
out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. 22 I will
use them to test Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the
LORD and walk in it as their forefathers did." 23 The LORD had allowed
those nations to remain; he did not drive them out at once by giving
them into the hands of Joshua.
Judges 3
1 These are the nations the LORD left to test all those
Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan 2 (he did
this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had
not had previous battle experience): 3 the five rulers of the
Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living
in the Lebanon mountains from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo [j] Hamath. 4
They were left to test the Israelites to see whether they would obey
the LORD's commands, which he had given their forefathers through Moses.
5 The Israelites lived among the Canaanites, Hittites,
Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 6 They took their
daughters in marriage and gave their own daughters to their sons, and
served their gods.
Othniel
7 The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD; they
forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs. 8 The
anger of the LORD burned against Israel so that he sold them into the
hands of Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram Naharaim, [k] to whom the
Israelites were subject for eight years. 9 But when they cried out to
the LORD, he raised up for them a deliverer, Othniel son of Kenaz,
Caleb's younger brother, who saved them. 10 The Spirit of the LORD came
upon him, so that he became Israel's judge [l] and went to war. The
LORD gave Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram into the hands of Othniel, who
overpowered him. 11 So the land had peace for forty years, until
Othniel son of Kenaz died.
Ehud
12 Once again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the
LORD, and because they did this evil the LORD gave Eglon king of Moab
power over Israel. 13 Getting the Ammonites and Amalekites to join him,
Eglon came and attacked Israel, and they took possession of the City of
Palms. [m] 14 The Israelites were subject to Eglon king of Moab for
eighteen years.
15 Again the Israelites cried out to the LORD, and he gave
them a deliverer—Ehud, a left-handed man, the son of Gera the
Benjamite. The Israelites sent him with tribute to Eglon king of Moab.
16 Now Ehud had made a double-edged sword about a foot and a half [n]
long, which he strapped to his right thigh under his clothing. 17 He
presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab, who was a very fat man. 18
After Ehud had presented the tribute, he sent on their way the men who
had carried it. 19 At the idols [o] near Gilgal he himself turned back
and said, "I have a secret message for you, O king."
The king said,
"Quiet!" And all his attendants left him.
20 Ehud then approached him while he was sitting alone in the
upper room of his summer palace [p] and said, "I have a message from
God for you." As the king rose from his seat, 21 Ehud reached with his
left hand, drew the sword from his right thigh and plunged it into the
king's belly. 22 Even the handle sank in after the blade, which came
out his back. Ehud did not pull the sword out, and the fat closed in
over it. 23 Then Ehud went out to the porch [q] ; he shut the doors of
the upper room behind him and locked them.
24 After he had gone, the servants came and found the doors
of the upper room locked. They said, "He must be relieving himself in
the inner room of the house." 25 They waited to the point of
embarrassment, but when he did not open the doors of the room, they
took a key and unlocked them. There they saw their lord fallen to the
floor, dead.
26 While they waited, Ehud got away. He passed by the idols
and escaped to Seirah. 27 When he arrived there, he blew a trumpet in
the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went down with him from
the hills, with him leading them.
28 "Follow me," he ordered, "for the LORD has given Moab,
your enemy, into your hands." So they followed him down and, taking
possession of the fords of the Jordan that led to Moab, they allowed no
one to cross over. 29 At that time they struck down about ten thousand
Moabites, all vigorous and strong; not a man escaped. 30 That day Moab
was made subject to Israel, and the land had peace for eighty years.
Shamgar
31 After Ehud came Shamgar son of Anath, who struck down six
hundred Philistines with an oxgoad. He too saved Israel.
Judges 4
Deborah
1 After Ehud died, the Israelites once again did evil in the
eyes of the LORD. 2 So the LORD sold them into the hands of Jabin, a
king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was
Sisera, who lived in Harosheth Haggoyim. 3 Because he had nine hundred
iron chariots and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty
years, they cried to the LORD for help.
4 Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading
[r] Israel at that time. 5 She held court under the Palm of Deborah
between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the
Israelites came to her to have their disputes decided. 6 She sent for
Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, "The
LORD, the God of Israel, commands you: 'Go, take with you ten thousand
men of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead the way to Mount Tabor. 7 I will
lure Sisera, the commander of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his
troops to the Kishon River and give him into your hands.' "
8 Barak said to her, "If you go with me, I will go; but if
you don't go with me, I won't go."
9 "Very well," Deborah said, "I will go with you. But because
of the way you are going about this, [s] the honor will not be yours,
for the LORD will hand Sisera over to a woman." So Deborah went with
Barak to Kedesh, 10 where he summoned Zebulun and Naphtali. Ten
thousand men followed him, and Deborah also went with him.
11 Now Heber the Kenite had left the other Kenites, the
descendants of Hobab, Moses' brother-in-law, [t] and pitched his tent
by the great tree in Zaanannim near Kedesh.
12 When they told Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam had gone
up to Mount Tabor, 13 Sisera gathered together his nine hundred iron
chariots and all the men with him, from Harosheth Haggoyim to the
Kishon River.
14 Then Deborah said to Barak, "Go! This is the day the LORD
has given Sisera into your hands. Has not the LORD gone ahead of you?"
So Barak went down Mount Tabor, followed by ten thousand men. 15 At
Barak's advance, the LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots and army
by the sword, and Sisera abandoned his chariot and fled on foot. 16 But
Barak pursued the chariots and army as far as Harosheth Haggoyim. All
the troops of Sisera fell by the sword; not a man was left.
17 Sisera, however, fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the
wife of Heber the Kenite, because there were friendly relations between
Jabin king of Hazor and the clan of Heber the Kenite.
18 Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, "Come, my
Lord , come right in. Don't be afraid." So he entered her tent, and she
put a covering over him.
19 "I'm thirsty," he said. "Please give me some water." She
opened a skin of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him up.
20 "Stand in the doorway of the tent," he told her. "If
someone comes by and asks you, 'Is anyone here?' say 'No.' "
21 But Jael, Heber's wife, picked up a tent peg and a hammer
and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep, exhausted. She drove
the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died.
22 Barak came by in pursuit of Sisera, and Jael went out to
meet him. "Come," she said, "I will show you the man you're looking
for." So he went in with her, and there lay Sisera with the tent peg
through his temple-dead.
23 On that day God subdued Jabin, the Canaanite king, before
the Israelites. 24 And the hand of the Israelites grew stronger and
stronger against Jabin, the Canaanite king, until they destroyed him.
Judges 13
The Birth of Samson
1 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, so
the LORD delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty
years.
2 A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the
Danites, had a wife who was sterile and remained childless. 3 The angel
of the LORD appeared to her and said, "You are sterile and childless,
but you are going to conceive and have a son. 4 Now see to it that you
drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything
unclean, 5 because you will conceive and give birth to a son. No razor
may be used on his head, because the boy is to be a Nazirite, set apart
to God from birth, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the
hands of the Philistines."
6 Then the woman went to her husband and told him, "A man of
God came to me. He looked like an angel of God, very awesome. I didn't
ask him where he came from, and he didn't tell me his name. 7 But he
said to me, 'You will conceive and give birth to a son. Now then, drink
no wine or other fermented drink and do not eat anything unclean,
because the boy will be a Nazirite of God from birth until the day of
his death.' "
8 Then Manoah prayed to the LORD : "O LORD, I beg you, let
the man of God you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up
the boy who is to be born."
9 God heard Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the
woman while she was out in the field; but her husband Manoah was not
with her. 10 The woman hurried to tell her husband, "He's here! The man
who appeared to me the other day!"
11 Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the
man, he said, "Are you the one who talked to my wife?"
"I am," he said.
12 So Manoah asked him, "When your words are fulfilled, what
is to be the rule for the boy's life and work?"
13 The angel of the LORD answered, "Your wife must do all
that I have told her. 14 She must not eat anything that comes from the
grapevine, nor drink any wine or other fermented drink nor eat anything
unclean. She must do everything I have commanded her."
15 Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, "We would like you
to stay until we prepare a young goat for you."
16 The angel of the LORD replied, "Even though you detain me,
I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering,
offer it to the LORD." (Manoah did not realize that it was the angel of
the LORD.)
17 Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the LORD, "What is
your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes true?"
18 He replied, "Why do you ask my name? It is beyond
understanding. [a] " 19 Then Manoah took a young goat, together with
the grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock to the LORD. And the
LORD did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched: 20 As the
flame blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the LORD
ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their
faces to the ground. 21 When the angel of the LORD did not show himself
again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized that it was the angel of
the LORD.
22 "We are doomed to die!" he said to his wife. "We have seen
God!"
23 But his wife answered, "If the LORD had meant to kill us,
he would not have accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our
hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this."
24 The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson. He
grew and the LORD blessed him, 25 and the Spirit of the LORD began to
stir him while he was in Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
Judges 14
Samson's Marriage
1 Samson went down to Timnah and saw there a young Philistine
woman. 2 When he returned, he said to his father and mother, "I have
seen a Philistine woman in Timnah; now get her for me as my wife."
3 His father and mother replied, "Isn't there an acceptable
woman among your relatives or among all our people? Must you go to the
uncircumcised Philistines to get a wife?"
But Samson said to
his father, "Get her for me. She's the right one for me." 4 (His
parents did not know that this was from the LORD, who was seeking an
occasion to confront the Philistines; for at that time they were ruling
over Israel.) 5 Samson went down to Timnah together with his father and
mother. As they approached the vineyards of Timnah, suddenly a young
lion came roaring toward him. 6 The Spirit of the LORD came upon him in
power so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as he might
have torn a young goat. But he told neither his father nor his mother
what he had done. 7 Then he went down and talked with the woman, and he
liked her.
8 Some time later, when he went back to marry her, he turned
aside to look at the lion's carcass. In it was a swarm of bees and some
honey, 9 which he scooped out with his hands and ate as he went along.
When he rejoined his parents, he gave them some, and they too ate it.
But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey from the lion's
carcass.
10 Now his father went down to see the woman. And Samson made
a feast there, as was customary for bridegrooms. 11 When he appeared,
he was given thirty companions.
12 "Let me tell you a riddle," Samson said to them. "If you
can give me the answer within the seven days of the feast, I will give
you thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes. 13 If you can't
tell me the answer, you must give me thirty linen garments and thirty
sets of clothes."
"Tell us your
riddle," they said. "Let's hear it."
14 He replied,
"Out of
the eater, something to eat;
out of the
strong, something sweet."
For three days they
could not give the answer.
15 On the fourth [b] day, they said to Samson's wife, "Coax
your husband into explaining the riddle for us, or we will burn you and
your father's household to death. Did you invite us here to rob us?"
16 Then Samson's wife threw herself on him, sobbing, "You
hate me! You don't really love me. You've given my people a riddle, but
you haven't told me the answer."
"I haven't even
explained it to my father or mother," he replied, "so why should I
explain it to you?" 17 She cried the whole seven days of the feast. So
on the seventh day he finally told her, because she continued to press
him. She in turn explained the riddle to her people.
18 Before sunset on the seventh day the men of the town said
to him,
"What is
sweeter than honey?
What is
stronger than a lion?"
Samson said to them,
"If you
had not plowed with my heifer,
you would
not have solved my riddle."
19 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon him in power. He
went down to Ashkelon, struck down thirty of their men, stripped them
of their belongings and gave their clothes to those who had explained
the riddle. Burning with anger, he went up to his father's house. 20
And Samson's wife was given to the friend who had attended him at his
wedding.
Judges 15
Samson's Vengeance on the Philistines
1 Later on, at the time of wheat harvest, Samson took a young
goat and went to visit his wife. He said, "I'm going to my wife's
room." But her father would not let him go in.
2 "I was so sure you thoroughly hated her," he said, "that I
gave her to your friend. Isn't her younger sister more attractive? Take
her instead."
3 Samson said to them, "This time I have a right to get even
with the Philistines; I will really harm them." 4 So he went out and
caught three hundred foxes and tied them tail to tail in pairs. He then
fastened a torch to every pair of tails, 5 lit the torches and let the
foxes loose in the standing grain of the Philistines. He burned up the
shocks and standing grain, together with the vineyards and olive groves.
6 When the Philistines asked, "Who did this?" they were told,
"Samson, the Timnite's son-in-law, because his wife was given to his
friend."
So the Philistines
went up and burned her and her father to death. 7 Samson said to them,
"Since you've acted like this, I won't stop until I get my revenge on
you." 8 He attacked them viciously and slaughtered many of them. Then
he went down and stayed in a cave in the rock of Etam.
9 The Philistines went up and camped in Judah, spreading out
near Lehi. 10 The men of Judah asked, "Why have you come to fight us?"
"We have come to
take Samson prisoner," they answered, "to do to him as he did to us."
11 Then three thousand men from Judah went down to the cave
in the rock of Etam and said to Samson, "Don't you realize that the
Philistines are rulers over us? What have you done to us?"
He answered, "I
merely did to them what they did to me."
12 They said to him, "We've come to tie you up and hand you
over to the Philistines."
Samson said, "Swear
to me that you won't kill me yourselves."
13 "Agreed," they answered. "We will only tie you up and hand
you over to them. We will not kill you." So they bound him with two new
ropes and led him up from the rock. 14 As he approached Lehi, the
Philistines came toward him shouting. The Spirit of the LORD came upon
him in power. The ropes on his arms became like charred flax, and the
bindings dropped from his hands. 15 Finding a fresh jawbone of a
donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men.
16 Then Samson said,
"With a
donkey's jawbone
I have
made donkeys of them. [c]
With a
donkey's jawbone
I have
killed a thousand men."
17 When he finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone; and
the place was called Ramath Lehi. [d]
18 Because he was very thirsty, he cried out to the LORD,
"You have given your servant this great victory. Must I now die of
thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?" 19 Then God
opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it. When
Samson drank, his strength returned and he revived. So the spring was
called En Hakkore, [e] and it is still there in Lehi.
20 Samson led [f] Israel for twenty years in the days of the
Philistines.
Judges 16
Samson and Delilah
1 One day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute. He
went in to spend the night with her. 2 The people of Gaza were told,
"Samson is here!" So they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him
all night at the city gate. They made no move during the night, saying,
"At dawn we'll kill him."
3 But Samson lay there only until the middle of the night.
Then he got up and took hold of the doors of the city gate, together
with the two posts, and tore them loose, bar and all. He lifted them to
his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron.
4 Some time later, he fell in love with a woman in the Valley
of Sorek whose name was Delilah. 5 The rulers of the Philistines went
to her and said, "See if you can lure him into showing you the secret
of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up
and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels [g]
of silver."
6 So Delilah said to Samson, "Tell me the secret of your
great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued."
7 Samson answered her, "If anyone ties me with seven fresh
thongs [h] that have not been dried, I'll become as weak as any other
man."
8 Then the rulers of the Philistines brought her seven fresh
thongs that had not been dried, and she tied him with them. 9 With men
hidden in the room, she called to him, "Samson, the Philistines are
upon you!" But he snapped the thongs as easily as a piece of string
snaps when it comes close to a flame. So the secret of his strength was
not discovered.
10 Then Delilah said to Samson, "You have made a fool of me;
you lied to me. Come now, tell me how you can be tied."
11 He said, "If anyone ties me securely with new ropes that
have never been used, I'll become as weak as any other man."
12 So Delilah took new ropes and tied him with them. Then,
with men hidden in the room, she called to him, "Samson, the
Philistines are upon you!" But he snapped the ropes off his arms as if
they were threads.
13 Delilah then said to Samson, "Until now, you have been
making a fool of me and lying to me. Tell me how you can be tied."
He replied, "If you
weave the seven braids of my head into the fabric on the loom and
tighten it with the pin, I'll become as weak as any other man." So
while he was sleeping, Delilah took the seven braids of his head, wove
them into the fabric 14 and [i] tightened it with the pin.
Again she called to
him, "Samson, the Philistines are upon you!" He awoke from his sleep
and pulled up the pin and the loom, with the fabric.
15 Then she said to him, "How can you say, 'I love you,' when
you won't confide in me? This is the third time you have made a fool of
me and haven't told me the secret of your great strength." 16 With such
nagging she prodded him day after day until he was tired to death.
17 So he told her everything. "No razor has ever been used on
my head," he said, "because I have been a Nazirite set apart to God
since birth. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I
would become as weak as any other man."
18 When Delilah saw that he had told her everything, she sent
word to the rulers of the Philistines, "Come back once more; he has
told me everything." So the rulers of the Philistines returned with the
silver in their hands. 19 Having put him to sleep on her lap, she
called a man to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to
subdue him. [j] And his strength left him.
20 Then she called, "Samson, the Philistines are upon you!"
He awoke from his
sleep and thought, "I'll go out as before and shake myself free." But
he did not know that the LORD had left him.
21 Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and
took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him
to grinding in the prison. 22 But the hair on his head began to grow
again after it had been shaved.
The Death of Samson
23 Now the rulers of the Philistines assembled to offer a
great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to celebrate, saying, "Our god
has delivered Samson, our enemy, into our hands."
24 When the people saw him, they praised their god, saying,
"Our god
has delivered our enemy
into our
hands,
the one
who laid waste our land
and
multiplied our slain."
25 While they were in high spirits, they shouted, "Bring out
Samson to entertain us." So they called Samson out of the prison, and
he performed for them.
When they stood him
among the pillars, 26 Samson said to the servant who held his hand,
"Put me where I can feel the pillars that support the temple, so that I
may lean against them." 27 Now the temple was crowded with men and
women; all the rulers of the Philistines were there, and on the roof
were about three thousand men and women watching Samson perform. 28
Then Samson prayed to the LORD, "O Sovereign LORD, remember me. O God,
please strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get
revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes." 29 Then Samson reached
toward the two central pillars on which the temple stood. Bracing
himself against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on
the other, 30 Samson said, "Let me die with the Philistines!" Then he
pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and
all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while
he lived.
31 Then his brothers and his father's whole family went down
to get him. They brought him back and buried him between Zorah and
Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had led [k] Israel twenty
years.
Day
10
Go
Back
Ruth 1
Naomi and Ruth
1 In the days when the judges ruled, [a] there was a famine
in the land, and a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife
and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. 2 The
man's name was Elimelech, his wife's name Naomi, and the names of his
two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem,
Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there.
3 Now Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died, and she was left with
her two sons. 4 They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the
other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years, 5 both Mahlon
and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her
husband.
6 When she heard in Moab that the LORD had come to the aid of
his people by providing food for them, Naomi and her daughters-in-law
prepared to return home from there. 7 With her two daughters-in-law she
left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that
would take them back to the land of Judah.
8 Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go back, each
of you, to your mother's home. May the LORD show kindness to you, as
you have shown to your dead and to me. 9 May the LORD grant that each
of you will find rest in the home of another husband."
Then she kissed them
and they wept aloud 10 and said to her, "We will go back with you to
your people."
11 But Naomi said, "Return home, my daughters. Why would you
come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your
husbands? 12 Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another
husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me—even
if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons- 13 would you
wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my
daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the LORD's
hand has gone out against me!"
14 At this they wept again. Then Orpah kissed her
mother-in-law good-by, but Ruth clung to her.
15 "Look," said Naomi, "your sister-in-law is going back to
her people and her gods. Go back with her."
16 But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn
back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay.
Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17 Where you die I
will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it
ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me." 18 When
Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped
urging her.
19 So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem.
When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of
them, and the women exclaimed, "Can this be Naomi?"
20 "Don't call me Naomi, [b] " she told them. "Call me Mara,
[c] because the Almighty [d] has made my life very bitter. 21 I went
away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi?
The LORD has afflicted [e] me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon
me."
22 So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the
Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley
harvest was beginning.
Ruth 2
Ruth Meets Boaz
1 Now Naomi had a relative on her husband's side, from the
clan of Elimelech, a man of standing, whose name was Boaz.
2 And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, "Let me go to the
fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I
find favor."
Naomi said to her,
"Go ahead, my daughter." 3 So she went out and began to glean in the
fields behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she found herself
working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of
Elimelech.
4 Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the
harvesters, "The LORD be with you!"
"The LORD bless
you!" they called back.
5 Boaz asked the foreman of his harvesters, "Whose young
woman is that?"
6 The foreman replied, "She is the Moabitess who came back
from Moab with Naomi. 7 She said, 'Please let me glean and gather among
the sheaves behind the harvesters.' She went into the field and has
worked steadily from morning till now, except for a short rest in the
shelter."
8 So Boaz said to Ruth, "My daughter, listen to me. Don't go
and glean in another field and don't go away from here. Stay here with
my servant girls. 9 Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and
follow along after the girls. I have told the men not to touch you. And
whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the
men have filled."
10 At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She
exclaimed, "Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice
me—a foreigner?"
11 Boaz replied, "I've been told all about what you have done
for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband—how
you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with
a people you did not know before. 12 May the LORD repay you for what
you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of
Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge."
13 "May I continue to find favor in your eyes, my lord," she
said. "You have given me comfort and have spoken kindly to your
servant—though I do not have the standing of one of your
servant girls."
14 At mealtime Boaz said to her, "Come over here. Have some
bread and dip it in the wine vinegar."
When she sat down
with the harvesters, he offered her some roasted grain. She ate all she
wanted and had some left over. 15 As she got up to glean, Boaz gave
orders to his men, "Even if she gathers among the sheaves, don't
embarrass her. 16 Rather, pull out some stalks for her from the bundles
and leave them for her to pick up, and don't rebuke her."
17 So Ruth gleaned in the field until evening. Then she
threshed the barley she had gathered, and it amounted to about an
ephah. [f] 18 She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw
how much she had gathered. Ruth also brought out and gave her what she
had left over after she had eaten enough.
19 Her mother-in-law asked her, "Where did you glean today?
Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!"
Then Ruth told her
mother-in-law about the one at whose place she had been working. "The
name of the man I worked with today is Boaz," she said.
20 "The LORD bless him!" Naomi said to her daughter-in-law.
"He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead."
She added, "That man is our close relative; he is one of our
kinsman-redeemers."
21 Then Ruth the Moabitess said, "He even said to me, 'Stay
with my workers until they finish harvesting all my grain.' "
22 Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, "It will be good
for you, my daughter, to go with his girls, because in someone else's
field you might be harmed."
23 So Ruth stayed close to the servant girls of Boaz to glean
until the barley and wheat harvests were finished. And she lived with
her mother-in-law.
Ruth 3
Ruth and Boaz at the Threshing Floor
1 One day Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, "My daughter,
should I not try to find a home [g] for you, where you will be well
provided for? 2 Is not Boaz, with whose servant girls you have been, a
kinsman of ours? Tonight he will be winnowing barley on the threshing
floor. 3 Wash and perfume yourself, and put on your best clothes. Then
go down to the threshing floor, but don't let him know you are there
until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 When he lies down, note
the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down.
He will tell you what to do."
5 "I will do whatever you say," Ruth answered. 6 So she went
down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law told
her to do.
7 When Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good
spirits, he went over to lie down at the far end of the grain pile.
Ruth approached quietly, uncovered his feet and lay down. 8 In the
middle of the night something startled the man, and he turned and
discovered a woman lying at his feet.
9 "Who are you?" he asked.
"I am your servant
Ruth," she said. "Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you
are a kinsman-redeemer."
10 "The LORD bless you, my daughter," he replied. "This
kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier: You have not
run after the younger men, whether rich or poor. 11 And now, my
daughter, don't be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. All my fellow
townsmen know that you are a woman of noble character. 12 Although it
is true that I am near of kin, there is a kinsman-redeemer nearer than
I. 13 Stay here for the night, and in the morning if he wants to
redeem, good; let him redeem. But if he is not willing, as surely as
the LORD lives I will do it. Lie here until morning."
14 So she lay at his feet until morning, but got up before
anyone could be recognized; and he said, "Don't let it be known that a
woman came to the threshing floor."
15 He also said, "Bring me the shawl you are wearing and hold
it out." When she did so, he poured into it six measures of barley and
put it on her. Then he [h] went back to town.
16 When Ruth came to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, "How did
it go, my daughter?"
Then she told her
everything Boaz had done for her 17 and added, "He gave me these six
measures of barley, saying, 'Don't go back to your mother-in-law
empty-handed.' "
18 Then Naomi said, "Wait, my daughter, until you find out
what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled
today."
Ruth 4
Boaz Marries Ruth
1 Meanwhile Boaz went up to the town gate and sat there. When
the kinsman-redeemer he had mentioned came along, Boaz said, "Come over
here, my friend, and sit down." So he went over and sat down.
2 Boaz took ten of the elders of the town and said, "Sit
here," and they did so. 3 Then he said to the kinsman-redeemer, "Naomi,
who has come back from Moab, is selling the piece of land that belonged
to our brother Elimelech. 4 I thought I should bring the matter to your
attention and suggest that you buy it in the presence of these seated
here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem
it, do so. But if you [i] will not, tell me, so I will know. For no one
has the right to do it except you, and I am next in line."
"I will redeem it,"
he said.
5 Then Boaz said, "On the day you buy the land from Naomi and
from Ruth the Moabitess, you acquire [j] the dead man's widow, in order
to maintain the name of the dead with his property."
6 At this, the kinsman-redeemer said, "Then I cannot redeem
it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I
cannot do it."
7 (Now in earlier times in Israel, for the redemption and
transfer of property to become final, one party took off his sandal and
gave it to the other. This was the method of legalizing transactions in
Israel.)
8 So the kinsman-redeemer said to Boaz, "Buy it yourself."
And he removed his sandal.
9 Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people,
"Today you are witnesses that I have bought from Naomi all the property
of Elimelech, Kilion and Mahlon. 10 I have also acquired Ruth the
Moabitess, Mahlon's widow, as my wife, in order to maintain the name of
the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from
among his family or from the town records. Today you are witnesses!"
11 Then the elders and all those at the gate said, "We are
witnesses. May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your home
like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May
you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. 12 Through
the offspring the LORD gives you by this young woman, may your family
be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah."
The Genealogy of David
13 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. Then he went to
her, and the LORD enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son.
14 The women said to Naomi: "Praise be to the LORD, who this day has
not left you without a kinsman-redeemer. May he become famous
throughout Israel! 15 He will renew your life and sustain you in your
old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to
you than seven sons, has given him birth."
16 Then Naomi took the child, laid him in her lap and cared
for him. 17 The women living there said, "Naomi has a son." And they
named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.
18 This, then, is the family line of Perez:
Perez was
the father of Hezron,
19 Hezron the father of Ram,
Ram the
father of Amminadab,
20 Amminadab the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon
the father of Salmon, [k]
21 Salmon the father of Boaz,
Boaz the
father of Obed,
22 Obed the father of Jesse,
and Jesse
the father of David.
Day
11
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1 Samuel 7
1 So the men of Kiriath Jearim came and took up the ark of
the LORD. They took it to Abinadab's house on the hill and consecrated
Eleazar his son to guard the ark of the LORD.
Samuel Subdues the Philistines at Mizpah
2 It was a long time, twenty years in all, that the ark
remained at Kiriath Jearim, and all the people of Israel mourned and
sought after the LORD. 3 And Samuel said to the whole house of Israel,
"If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then rid
yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves
to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand
of the Philistines." 4 So the Israelites put away their Baals and
Ashtoreths, and served the LORD only.
5 Then Samuel said, "Assemble all Israel at Mizpah and I will
intercede with the LORD for you." 6 When they had assembled 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 was leader [a] of Israel at Mizpah.
7 When the Philistines heard that Israel had assembled at
Mizpah, the rulers of the Philistines came up to attack them. And when
the Israelites heard of it, they were afraid because of the
Philistines. 8 They said to Samuel, "Do not stop crying out to the LORD
our God for us, that he may rescue us from the hand of the
Philistines." 9 Then Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it up as a
whole burnt offering to the LORD. He cried out to the LORD on Israel's
behalf, and the LORD answered him.
10 While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the
Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle. But that day the LORD
thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into
such a panic that they were routed before the Israelites. 11 The men of
Israel rushed out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, slaughtering
them along the way to a point below Beth Car.
12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and
Shen. He named it Ebenezer, [b] saying, "Thus far has the LORD helped
us." 13 So the Philistines were subdued and did not invade Israelite
territory again.
Throughout Samuel's
lifetime, the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines. 14 The
towns from Ekron to Gath that the Philistines had captured from Israel
were restored to her, and Israel delivered the neighboring territory
from the power of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel
and the Amorites.
15 Samuel continued as judge over Israel all the days of his
life. 16 From year to year he went on a circuit from Bethel to Gilgal
to Mizpah, judging Israel in all those places. 17 But he always went
back to Ramah, where his home was, and there he also judged Israel. And
he built an altar there to the LORD.
1 Samuel 8
Israel Asks for a King
1 When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges for
Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second
was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. 3 But his sons did not walk
in his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes
and perverted justice.
4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to
Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, "You are old, and your sons do not
walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead [c] us, such as all the
other nations have."
6 But when they said, "Give us a king to lead us," this
displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. 7 And the LORD told him:
"Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they
have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. 8 As they have
done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day,
forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. 9 Now
listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king
who will reign over them will do."
10 Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who
were asking him for a king. 11 He said, "This is what the king who will
reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with
his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. 12
Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of
fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still
others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 He
will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He
will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and
give them to his attendants. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and
of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. 16 Your
menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle [d] and
donkeys he will take for his own use. 17 He will take a tenth of your
flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. 18 When that day
comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and
the LORD will not answer you in that day."
19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. "No!" they
said. "We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other
nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our
battles."
21 When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it
before the LORD. 22 The LORD answered, "Listen to them and give them a
king."
Then Samuel said to
the men of Israel, "Everyone go back to his town."
1 Samuel 9
Samuel Anoints Saul
1 There was a Benjamite, a man of standing, whose name was
Kish son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of
Aphiah of Benjamin. 2 He had a son named Saul, an impressive young man
without equal among the Israelites—a head taller than any of
the others.
3 Now the donkeys belonging to Saul's father Kish were lost,
and Kish said to his son Saul, "Take one of the servants with you and
go and look for the donkeys." 4 So he passed through the hill country
of Ephraim and through the area around Shalisha, but they did not find
them. They went on into the district of Shaalim, but the donkeys were
not there. Then he passed through the territory of Benjamin, but they
did not find them.
5 When they reached the district of Zuph, Saul said to the
servant who was with him, "Come, let's go back, or my father will stop
thinking about the donkeys and start worrying about us."
6 But the servant replied, "Look, in this town there is a man
of God; he is highly respected, and everything he says comes true.
Let's go there now. Perhaps he will tell us what way to take."
7 Saul said to his servant, "If we go, what can we give the
man? The food in our sacks is gone. We have no gift to take to the man
of God. What do we have?"
8 The servant answered him again. "Look," he said, "I have a
quarter of a shekel [e] of silver. I will give it to the man of God so
that he will tell us what way to take." 9 (Formerly in Israel, if a man
went to inquire of God, he would say, "Come, let us go to the seer,"
because the prophet of today used to be called a seer.)
10 "Good," Saul said to his servant. "Come, let's go." So
they set out for the town where the man of God was.
11 As they were going up the hill to the town, they met some
girls coming out to draw water, and they asked them, "Is the seer here?"
12 "He is," they answered. "He's ahead of you. Hurry now; he
has just come to our town today, for the people have a sacrifice at the
high place. 13 As soon as you enter the town, you will find him before
he goes up to the high place to eat. The people will not begin eating
until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice; afterward, those
who are invited will eat. Go up now; you should find him about this
time."
14 They went up to the town, and as they were entering it,
there was Samuel, coming toward them on his way up to the high place.
15 Now the day before Saul came, the LORD had revealed this
to Samuel: 16 "About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the
land of Benjamin. Anoint him leader over my people Israel; he will
deliver my people from the hand of the Philistines. I have looked upon
my people, for their cry has reached me."
17 When Samuel caught sight of Saul, the LORD said to him,
"This is the man I spoke to you about; he will govern my people."
18 Saul approached Samuel in the gateway and asked, "Would
you please tell me where the seer's house is?"
19 "I am the seer," Samuel replied. "Go up ahead of me to the
high place, for today you are to eat with me, and in the morning I will
let you go and will tell you all that is in your heart. 20 As for the
donkeys you lost three days ago, do not worry about them; they have
been found. And to whom is all the desire of Israel turned, if not to
you and all your father's family?"
21 Saul answered, "But am I not a Benjamite, from the
smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans
of the tribe of Benjamin? Why do you say such a thing to me?"
22 Then Samuel brought Saul and his servant into the hall and
seated them at the head of those who were invited—about
thirty in number. 23 Samuel said to the cook, "Bring the piece of meat
I gave you, the one I told you to lay aside."
24 So the cook took up the leg with what was on it and set it
in front of Saul. Samuel said, "Here is what has been kept for you.
Eat, because it was set aside for you for this occasion, from the time
I said, 'I have invited guests.' " And Saul dined with Samuel that day.
25 After they came down from the high place to the town,
Samuel talked with Saul on the roof of his house. 26 They rose about
daybreak and Samuel called to Saul on the roof, "Get ready, and I will
send you on your way." When Saul got ready, he and Samuel went outside
together. 27 As they were going down to the edge of the town, Samuel
said to Saul, "Tell the servant to go on ahead of us"-and the servant
did so-"but you stay here awhile, so that I may give you a message from
God."
1 Samuel 10
1 Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on Saul's
head and kissed him, saying, "Has not the LORD anointed you leader over
his inheritance? [f] 2 When you leave me today, you will meet two men
near Rachel's tomb, at Zelzah on the border of Benjamin. They will say
to you, 'The donkeys you set out to look for have been found. And now
your father has stopped thinking about them and is worried about you.
He is asking, "What shall I do about my son?" '
3 "Then you will go on from there until you reach the great
tree of Tabor. Three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you there.
One will be carrying three young goats, another three loaves of bread,
and another a skin of wine. 4 They will greet you and offer you two
loaves of bread, which you will accept from them.
5 "After that you will go to Gibeah of God, where there is a
Philistine outpost. As you approach the town, you will meet a
procession of prophets coming down from the high place with lyres,
tambourines, flutes and harps being played before them, and they will
be prophesying. 6 The Spirit of the LORD will come upon you in power,
and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a
different person. 7 Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your
hand finds to do, for God is with you.
8 "Go down ahead of me to Gilgal. I will surely come down to
you to sacrifice burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, [g] but you
must wait seven days until I come to you and tell you what you are to
do."
Saul Made King
9 As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul's heart,
and all these signs were fulfilled that day. 10 When they arrived at
Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him; the Spirit of God came upon
him in power, and he joined in their prophesying. 11 When all those who
had formerly known him saw him prophesying with the prophets, they
asked each other, "What is this that has happened to the son of Kish?
Is Saul also among the prophets?"
12 A man who lived there answered, "And who is their father?"
So it became a saying: "Is Saul also among the prophets?" 13 After Saul
stopped prophesying, he went to the high place.
14 Now Saul's uncle asked him and his servant, "Where have
you been?"
"Looking for the
donkeys," he said. "But when we saw they were not to be found, we went
to Samuel."
15 Saul's uncle said, "Tell me what Samuel said to you."
16 Saul replied, "He assured us that the donkeys had been
found." But he did not tell his uncle what Samuel had said about the
kingship.
17 Samuel summoned the people of Israel to the LORD at Mizpah
18 and said to them, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says:
'I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the power
of Egypt and all the kingdoms that oppressed you.' 19 But you have now
rejected your God, who saves you out of all your calamities and
distresses. And you have said, 'No, set a king over us.' So now present
yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and clans."
20 When Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, the
tribe of Benjamin was chosen. 21 Then he brought forward the tribe of
Benjamin, clan by clan, and Matri's clan was chosen. Finally Saul son
of Kish was chosen. But when they looked for him, he was not to be
found. 22 So they inquired further of the LORD, "Has the man come here
yet?"
And the LORD said,
"Yes, he has hidden himself among the baggage."
23 They ran and brought him out, and as he stood among the
people he was a head taller than any of the others. 24 Samuel said to
all the people, "Do you see the man the LORD has chosen? There is no
one like him among all the people."
Then the people
shouted, "Long live the king!"
25 Samuel explained to the people the regulations of the
kingship. He wrote them down on a scroll and deposited it before the
LORD. Then Samuel dismissed the people, each to his own home.
26 Saul also went to his home in Gibeah, accompanied by
valiant men whose hearts God had touched. 27 But some troublemakers
said, "How can this fellow save us?" They despised him and brought him
no gifts. But Saul kept silent.
1 Samuel 12
Samuel's Farewell Speech
1 Samuel said to all Israel, "I have listened to everything
you said to me and have set a king over you. 2 Now you have a king as
your leader. As for me, I am old and gray, and my sons are here with
you. I have been your leader from my youth until this day. 3 Here I
stand. Testify against me in the presence of the LORD and his anointed.
Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated?
Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe to make
me shut my eyes? If I have done any of these, I will make it right."
4 "You have not cheated or oppressed us," they replied. "You
have not taken anything from anyone's hand."
5 Samuel said to them, "The LORD is witness against you, and
also his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything
in my hand."
"He is witness,"
they said.
6 Then Samuel said to the people, "It is the LORD who
appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your forefathers up out of Egypt.
7 Now then, stand here, because I am going to confront you with
evidence before the LORD as to all the righteous acts performed by the
LORD for you and your fathers.
8 "After Jacob entered Egypt, they cried to the LORD for
help, and the LORD sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your forefathers
out of Egypt and settled them in this place.
9 "But they forgot the LORD their God; so he sold them into
the hand of Sisera, the commander of the army of Hazor, and into the
hands of the Philistines and the king of Moab, who fought against them.
10 They cried out to the LORD and said, 'We have sinned; we have
forsaken the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths. But now
deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve you.' 11
Then the LORD sent Jerub-Baal, [a] Barak, [b] Jephthah and Samuel, [c]
and he delivered you from the hands of your enemies on every side, so
that you lived securely.
12 "But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was
moving against you, you said to me, 'No, we want a king to rule over
us'-even though the LORD your God was your king. 13 Now here is the
king you have chosen, the one you asked for; see, the LORD has set a
king over you. 14 If you fear the LORD and serve and obey him and do
not rebel against his commands, and if both you and the king who reigns
over you follow the LORD your God-good! 15 But if you do not obey the
LORD, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against
you, as it was against your fathers.
16 "Now then, stand still and see this great thing the LORD
is about to do before your eyes! 17 Is it not wheat harvest now? I will
call upon the LORD to send thunder and rain. And you will realize what
an evil thing you did in the eyes of the LORD when you asked for a
king."
18 Then Samuel called upon the LORD, and that same day the
LORD sent thunder and rain. So all the people stood in awe of the LORD
and of Samuel.
19 The people all said to Samuel, "Pray to the LORD your God
for your servants so that we will not die, for we have added to all our
other sins the evil of asking for a king."
20 "Do not be afraid," Samuel replied. "You have done all
this evil; yet do not turn away from the LORD, but serve the LORD with
all your heart. 21 Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do
you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. 22 For
the sake of his great name the LORD will not reject his people, because
the LORD was pleased to make you his own. 23 As for me, far be it from
me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you. And I
will teach you the way that is good and right. 24 But be sure to fear
the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what
great things he has done for you. 25 Yet if you persist in doing evil,
both you and your king will be swept away."
Day
12
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1 Samuel 15
The LORD Rejects Saul as King
1 Samuel said to Saul, "I am the one the LORD sent to anoint
you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the
LORD. 2 This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'I will punish the
Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they
came up from Egypt. 3 Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy
[a] everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death
men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and
donkeys.' "
4 So Saul summoned the men and mustered them at
Telaim—two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand
men from Judah. 5 Saul went to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in
the ravine. 6 Then he said to the Kenites, "Go away, leave the
Amalekites so that I do not destroy you along with them; for you showed
kindness to all the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt." So the
Kenites moved away from the Amalekites.
7 Then Saul attacked the Amalekites all the way from Havilah
to Shur, to the east of Egypt. 8 He took Agag king of the Amalekites
alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword. 9 But
Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the
fat calves [b] and lambs—everything that was good. These they
were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised
and weak they totally destroyed.
10 Then the word of the LORD came to Samuel: 11 "I am grieved
that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has
not carried out my instructions." Samuel was troubled, and he cried out
to the LORD all that night.
12 Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul,
but he was told, "Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a
monument in his own honor and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal."
13 When Samuel reached him, Saul said, "The LORD bless you! I
have carried out the LORD's instructions."
14 But Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of sheep in
my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?"
15 Saul answered, "The soldiers brought them from the
Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice
to the LORD your God, but we totally destroyed the rest."
16 "Stop!" Samuel said to Saul. "Let me tell you what the
LORD said to me last night."
"Tell me," Saul
replied.
17 Samuel said, "Although you were once small in your own
eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD
anointed you king over Israel. 18 And he sent you on a mission, saying,
'Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; make
war on them until you have wiped them out.' 19 Why did you not obey the
LORD ? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the
LORD ?"
20 "But I did obey the LORD," Saul said. "I went on the
mission the LORD assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and
brought back Agag their king. 21 The soldiers took sheep and cattle
from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to
sacrifice them to the LORD your God at Gilgal."
22 But Samuel replied:
"Does the
LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as
in obeying the voice of the LORD ?
To obey is
better than sacrifice,
and to
heed is better than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination,
and
arrogance like the evil of idolatry.
Because
you have rejected the word of the LORD,
he has
rejected you as king."
24 Then Saul said to Samuel, "I have sinned. I violated the
LORD's command and your instructions. I was afraid of the people and so
I gave in to them. 25 Now I beg you, forgive my sin and come back with
me, so that I may worship the LORD."
26 But Samuel said to him, "I will not go back with you. You
have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you as
king over Israel!"
27 As Samuel turned to leave, Saul caught hold of the hem of
his robe, and it tore. 28 Samuel said to him, "The LORD has torn the
kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your
neighbors—to one better than you. 29 He who is the Glory of
Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a man, that he
should change his mind."
30 Saul replied, "I have sinned. But please honor me before
the elders of my people and before Israel; come back with me, so that I
may worship the LORD your God." 31 So Samuel went back with Saul, and
Saul worshiped the LORD.
32 Then Samuel said, "Bring me Agag king of the Amalekites."
Agag came to him
confidently, [c] thinking, "Surely the bitterness of death is past."
33 But Samuel said,
"As your
sword has made women childless,
so will
your mother be childless among women."
And Samuel put Agag
to death before the LORD at Gilgal.
34 Then Samuel left for Ramah, but Saul went up to his home
in Gibeah of Saul. 35 Until the day Samuel died, he did not go to see
Saul again, though Samuel mourned for him. And the LORD was grieved
that he had made Saul king over Israel.
1 Samuel 16
Samuel Anoints David
1 The LORD said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul,
since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil
and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have
chosen one of his sons to be king."
2 But Samuel said, "How can I go? Saul will hear about it and
kill me."
The LORD said, "Take
a heifer with you and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.' 3
Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are
to anoint for me the one I indicate."
4 Samuel did what the LORD said. When he arrived at
Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They
asked, "Do you come in peace?"
5 Samuel replied, "Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to
the LORD. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me."
Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the
sacrifice.
6 When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, "Surely
the LORD's anointed stands here before the LORD."
7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his
appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not
look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance,
but the LORD looks at the heart."
8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of
Samuel. But Samuel said, "The LORD has not chosen this one either." 9
Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, "Nor has the LORD
chosen this one." 10 Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel,
but Samuel said to him, "The LORD has not chosen these." 11 So he asked
Jesse, "Are these all the sons you have?"
"There is still the
youngest," Jesse answered, "but he is tending the sheep."
Samuel said, "Send
for him; we will not sit down [d] until he arrives."
12 So he sent and had him brought in. He was ruddy, with a
fine appearance and handsome features.
Then the LORD said,
"Rise and anoint him; he is the one."
13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the
presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD
came upon David in power. Samuel then went to Ramah.
David in Saul's Service
14 Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an
evil [e] spirit from the LORD tormented him.
15 Saul's attendants said to him, "See, an evil spirit from
God is tormenting you. 16 Let our lord command his servants here to
search for someone who can play the harp. He will play when the evil
spirit from God comes upon you, and you will feel better."
17 So Saul said to his attendants, "Find someone who plays
well and bring him to me."
18 One of the servants answered, "I have seen a son of Jesse
of Bethlehem who knows how to play the harp. He is a brave man and a
warrior. He speaks well and is a fine-looking man. And the LORD is with
him."
19 Then Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, "Send me your
son David, who is with the sheep." 20 So Jesse took a donkey loaded
with bread, a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them with his son
David to Saul.
21 David came to Saul and entered his service. Saul liked him
very much, and David became one of his armor-bearers. 22 Then Saul sent
word to Jesse, saying, "Allow David to remain in my service, for I am
pleased with him."
23 Whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would
take his harp and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel
better, and the evil spirit would leave him.
1 Samuel 17
David and Goliath
1 Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war and
assembled at Socoh in Judah. They pitched camp at Ephes Dammim, between
Socoh and Azekah. 2 Saul and the Israelites assembled and camped in the
Valley of Elah and drew up their battle line to meet the Philistines. 3
The Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites another, with the
valley between them.
4 A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of
the Philistine camp. He was over nine feet [f] tall. 5 He had a bronze
helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing
five thousand shekels [g] ; 6 on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a
bronze javelin was slung on his back. 7 His spear shaft was like a
weaver's rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. [h] His
shield bearer went ahead of him.
8 Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, "Why do
you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you
not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. 9
If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but
if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve
us." 10 Then the Philistine said, "This day I defy the ranks of Israel!
Give me a man and let us fight each other." 11 On hearing the
Philistine's words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and
terrified.
12 Now David was the son of an Ephrathite named Jesse, who
was from Bethlehem in Judah. Jesse had eight sons, and in Saul's time
he was old and well advanced in years. 13 Jesse's three oldest sons had
followed Saul to the war: The firstborn was Eliab; the second,
Abinadab; and the third, Shammah. 14 David was the youngest. The three
oldest followed Saul, 15 but David went back and forth from Saul to
tend his father's sheep at Bethlehem.
16 For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning
and evening and took his stand.
17 Now Jesse said to his son David, "Take this ephah [i] of
roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread for your brothers and hurry
to their camp. 18 Take along these ten cheeses to the commander of
their unit. [j] See how your brothers are and bring back some assurance
[k] from them. 19 They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the
Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines."
20 Early in the morning David left the flock with a shepherd,
loaded up and set out, as Jesse had directed. He reached the camp as
the army was going out to its battle positions, shouting the war cry.
21 Israel and the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each
other. 22 David left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the
battle lines and greeted his brothers. 23 As he was talking with them,
Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines
and shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it. 24 When the
Israelites saw the man, they all ran from him in great fear.
25 Now the Israelites had been saying, "Do you see how this
man keeps coming out? He comes out to defy Israel. The king will give
great wealth to the man who kills him. He will also give him his
daughter in marriage and will exempt his father's family from taxes in
Israel."
26 David asked the men standing near him, "What will be done
for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from
Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the
armies of the living God?"
27 They repeated to him what they had been saying and told
him, "This is what will be done for the man who kills him."
28 When Eliab, David's oldest brother, heard him speaking
with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, "Why have you come
down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I
know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down
only to watch the battle."
29 "Now what have I done?" said David. "Can't I even speak?"
30 He then turned away to someone else and brought up the same matter,
and the men answered him as before. 31 What David said was overheard
and reported to Saul, and Saul sent for him.
32 David said to Saul, "Let no one lose heart on account of
this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him."
33 Saul replied, "You are not able to go out against this
Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a
fighting man from his youth."
34 But David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his
father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from
the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its
mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and
killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this
uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has
defied the armies of the living God. 37 The LORD who delivered me from
the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the
hand of this Philistine."
Saul said to David,
"Go, and the LORD be with you."
38 Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of
armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. 39 David fastened on his
sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used
to them.
"I cannot go in
these," he said to Saul, "because I am not used to them." So he took
them off. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth
stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd's bag
and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.
41 Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front
of him, kept coming closer to David. 42 He looked David over and saw
that he was only a boy, ruddy and handsome, and he despised him. 43 He
said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?" And the
Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 "Come here," he said, "and I'll
give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!"
45 David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with
sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the
LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
46 This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down
and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the
Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth,
and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47 All
those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the
LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give all of you
into our hands."
48 As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran
quickly toward the battle line to meet him. 49 Reaching into his bag
and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the
forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the
ground.
50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a
stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and
killed him.
51 David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the
Philistine's sword and drew it from the scabbard. After he killed him,
he cut off his head with the sword.
When the Philistines
saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran. 52 Then the men of
Israel and Judah surged forward with a shout and pursued the
Philistines to the entrance of Gath [l] and to the gates of Ekron.
Their dead were strewn along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron. 53
When the Israelites returned from chasing the Philistines, they
plundered their camp. 54 David took the Philistine's head and brought
it to Jerusalem, and he put the Philistine's weapons in his own tent.
55 As Saul watched David going out to meet the Philistine, he
said to Abner, commander of the army, "Abner, whose son is that young
man?"
Abner replied, "As
surely as you live, O king, I don't know."
56 The king said, "Find out whose son this young man is."
57 As soon as David returned from killing the Philistine,
Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with David still holding
the Philistine's head.
58 "Whose son are you, young man?" Saul asked him.
David said, "I am
the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem."
1 Samuel 18
Saul's Jealousy of David
1 After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became
one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. 2 From that day
Saul kept David with him and did not let him return to his father's
house. 3 And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him
as himself. 4 Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to
David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt.
5 Whatever Saul sent him to do, David did it so successfully
[m] that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the
people, and Saul's officers as well.
6 When the men were returning home after David had killed the
Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet
King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with
tambourines and lutes. 7 As they danced, they sang:
"Saul has
slain his thousands,
and David
his tens of thousands."
8 Saul was very angry; this refrain galled him. "They have
credited David with tens of thousands," he thought, "but me with only
thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?" 9 And from that time
on Saul kept a jealous eye on David.
10 The next day an evil [n] spirit from God came forcefully
upon Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the
harp, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand 11 and he hurled
it, saying to himself, "I'll pin David to the wall." But David eluded
him twice.
12 Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with David
but had left Saul. 13 So he sent David away from him and gave him
command over a thousand men, and David led the troops in their
campaigns. 14 In everything he did he had great success, [o] because
the LORD was with him. 15 When Saul saw how successful [p] he was, he
was afraid of him. 16 But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he
led them in their campaigns.
17 Saul said to David, "Here is my older daughter Merab. I
will give her to you in marriage; only serve me bravely and fight the
battles of the LORD." For Saul said to himself, "I will not raise a
hand against him. Let the Philistines do that!"
18 But David said to Saul, "Who am I, and what is my family
or my father's clan in Israel, that I should become the king's
son-in-law?" 19 So [q] when the time came for Merab, Saul's daughter,
to be given to David, she was given in marriage to Adriel of Meholah.
20 Now Saul's daughter Michal was in love with David, and
when they told Saul about it, he was pleased. 21 "I will give her to
him," he thought, "so that she may be a snare to him and so that the
hand of the Philistines may be against him." So Saul said to David,
"Now you have a second opportunity to become my son-in-law."
22 Then Saul ordered his attendants: "Speak to David
privately and say, 'Look, the king is pleased with you, and his
attendants all like you; now become his son-in-law.' "
23 They repeated these words to David. But David said, "Do
you think it is a small matter to become the king's son-in-law? I'm
only a poor man and little known."
24 When Saul's servants told him what David had said, 25 Saul
replied, "Say to David, 'The king wants no other price for the bride
than a hundred Philistine foreskins, to take revenge on his enemies.' "
Saul's plan was to have David fall by the hands of the Philistines.
26 When the attendants told David these things, he was
pleased to become the king's son-in-law. So before the allotted time
elapsed, 27 David and his men went out and killed two hundred
Philistines. He brought their foreskins and presented the full number
to the king so that he might become the king's son-in-law. Then Saul
gave him his daughter Michal in marriage.
28 When Saul realized that the LORD was with David and that
his daughter Michal loved David, 29 Saul became still more afraid of
him, and he remained his enemy the rest of his days.
30 The Philistine commanders continued to go out to battle,
and as often as they did, David met with more success [r] than the rest
of Saul's officers, and his name became well known.
1 Samuel 19
Saul Tries to Kill David
1 Saul told his son Jonathan and all the attendants to kill
David. But Jonathan was very fond of David 2 and warned him, "My father
Saul is looking for a chance to kill you. Be on your guard tomorrow
morning; go into hiding and stay there. 3 I will go out and stand with
my father in the field where you are. I'll speak to him about you and
will tell you what I find out."
4 Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to
him, "Let not the king do wrong to his servant David; he has not
wronged you, and what he has done has benefited you greatly. 5 He took
his life in his hands when he killed the Philistine. The LORD won a
great victory for all Israel, and you saw it and were glad. Why then
would you do wrong to an innocent man like David by killing him for no
reason?"
6 Saul listened to Jonathan and took this oath: "As surely as
the LORD lives, David will not be put to death."
7 So Jonathan called David and told him the whole
conversation. He brought him to Saul, and David was with Saul as before.
8 Once more war broke out, and David went out and fought the
Philistines. He struck them with such force that they fled before him.
9 But an evil [s] spirit from the LORD came upon Saul as he
was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand. While David was
playing the harp, 10 Saul tried to pin him to the wall with his spear,
but David eluded him as Saul drove the spear into the wall. That night
David made good his escape.
11 Saul sent men to David's house to watch it and to kill him
in the morning. But Michal, David's wife, warned him, "If you don't run
for your life tonight, tomorrow you'll be killed." 12 So Michal let
David down through a window, and he fled and escaped. 13 Then Michal
took an idol [t] and laid it on the bed, covering it with a garment and
putting some goats' hair at the head.
14 When Saul sent the men to capture David, Michal said, "He
is ill."
15 Then Saul sent the men back to see David and told them,
"Bring him up to me in his bed so that I may kill him." 16 But when the
men entered, there was the idol in the bed, and at the head was some
goats' hair.
17 Saul said to Michal, "Why did you deceive me like this and
send my enemy away so that he escaped?"
Michal told him, "He
said to me, 'Let me get away. Why should I kill you?' "
18 When David had fled and made his escape, he went to Samuel
at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel
went to Naioth and stayed there. 19 Word came to Saul: "David is in
Naioth at Ramah"; 20 so he sent men to capture him. But when they saw a
group of prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing there as their
leader, the Spirit of God came upon Saul's men and they also
prophesied. 21 Saul was told about it, and he sent more men, and they
prophesied too. Saul sent men a third time, and they also prophesied.
22 Finally, he himself left for Ramah and went to the great cistern at
Secu. And he asked, "Where are Samuel and David?"
"Over in Naioth at
Ramah," they said.
23 So Saul went to Naioth at Ramah. But the Spirit of God
came even upon him, and he walked along prophesying until he came to
Naioth. 24 He stripped off his robes and also prophesied in Samuel's
presence. He lay that way all that day and night. This is why people
say, "Is Saul also among the prophets?"
1 Samuel 20
David and Jonathan
1 Then David fled from Naioth at Ramah and went to Jonathan
and asked, "What have I done? What is my crime? How have I wronged your
father, that he is trying to take my life?"
2 "Never!" Jonathan replied. "You are not going to die! Look,
my father doesn't do anything, great or small, without confiding in me.
Why would he hide this from me? It's not so!"
3 But David took an oath and said, "Your father knows very
well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said to himself,
'Jonathan must not know this or he will be grieved.' Yet as surely as
the LORD lives and as you live, there is only a step between me and
death."
4 Jonathan said to David, "Whatever you want me to do, I'll
do for you."
5 So David said, "Look, tomorrow is the New Moon festival,
and I am supposed to dine with the king; but let me go and hide in the
field until the evening of the day after tomorrow. 6 If your father
misses me at all, tell him, 'David earnestly asked my permission to
hurry to Bethlehem, his hometown, because an annual sacrifice is being
made there for his whole clan.' 7 If he says, 'Very well,' then your
servant is safe. But if he loses his temper, you can be sure that he is
determined to harm me. 8 As for you, show kindness to your servant, for
you have brought him into a covenant with you before the LORD. If I am
guilty, then kill me yourself! Why hand me over to your father?"
9 "Never!" Jonathan said. "If I had the least inkling that my
father was determined to harm you, wouldn't I tell you?"
10 David asked, "Who will tell me if your father answers you
harshly?"
11 "Come," Jonathan said, "let's go out into the field." So
they went there together.
12 Then Jonathan said to David: "By the LORD, the God of
Israel, I will surely sound out my father by this time the day after
tomorrow! If he is favorably disposed toward you, will I not send you
word and let you know? 13 But if my father is inclined to harm you, may
the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if I do not let you know
and send you away safely. May the LORD be with you as he has been with
my father. 14 But show me unfailing kindness like that of the LORD as
long as I live, so that I may not be killed, 15 and do not ever cut off
your kindness from my family—not even when the LORD has cut
off every one of David's enemies from the face of the earth."
16 So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David,
saying, "May the LORD call David's enemies to account." 17 And Jonathan
had David reaffirm his oath out of love for him, because he loved him
as he loved himself.
18 Then Jonathan said to David: "Tomorrow is the New Moon
festival. You will be missed, because your seat will be empty. 19 The
day after tomorrow, toward evening, go to the place where you hid when
this trouble began, and wait by the stone Ezel. 20 I will shoot three
arrows to the side of it, as though I were shooting at a target. 21
Then I will send a boy and say, 'Go, find the arrows.' If I say to him,
'Look, the arrows are on this side of you; bring them here,' then come,
because, as surely as the LORD lives, you are safe; there is no danger.
22 But if I say to the boy, 'Look, the arrows are beyond you,' then you
must go, because the LORD has sent you away. 23 And about the matter
you and I discussed—remember, the LORD is witness between you
and me forever."
24 So David hid in the field, and when the New Moon festival
came, the king sat down to eat. 25 He sat in his customary place by the
wall, opposite Jonathan, [u] and Abner sat next to Saul, but David's
place was empty. 26 Saul said nothing that day, for he thought,
"Something must have happened to David to make him ceremonially
unclean—surely he is unclean." 27 But the next day, the
second day of the month, David's place was empty again. Then Saul said
to his son Jonathan, "Why hasn't the son of Jesse come to the meal,
either yesterday or today?"
28 Jonathan answered, "David earnestly asked me for
permission to go to Bethlehem. 29 He said, 'Let me go, because our
family is observing a sacrifice in the town and my brother has ordered
me to be there. If I have found favor in your eyes, let me get away to
see my brothers.' That is why he has not come to the king's table."
30 Saul's anger flared up at Jonathan and he said to him,
"You son of a perverse and rebellious woman! Don't I know that you have
sided with the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of the
mother who bore you? 31 As long as the son of Jesse lives on this
earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. Now send and
bring him to me, for he must die!"
32 "Why should he be put to death? What has he done?"
Jonathan asked his father. 33 But Saul hurled his spear at him to kill
him. Then Jonathan knew that his father intended to kill David.
34 Jonathan got up from the table in fierce anger; on that
second day of the month he did not eat, because he was grieved at his
father's shameful treatment of David.
35 In the morning Jonathan went out to the field for his
meeting with David. He had a small boy with him, 36 and he said to the
boy, "Run and find the arrows I shoot." As the boy ran, he shot an
arrow beyond him. 37 When the boy came to the place where Jonathan's
arrow had fallen, Jonathan called out after him, "Isn't the arrow
beyond you?" 38 Then he shouted, "Hurry! Go quickly! Don't stop!" The
boy picked up the arrow and returned to his master. 39 (The boy knew
nothing of all this; only Jonathan and David knew.) 40 Then Jonathan
gave his weapons to the boy and said, "Go, carry them back to town."
41 After the boy had gone, David got up from the south side
of the stone and bowed down before Jonathan three times, with his face
to the ground. Then they kissed each other and wept
together—but David wept the most.
42 Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace, for we have sworn
friendship with each other in the name of the LORD, saying, 'The LORD
is witness between you and me, and between your descendants and my
descendants forever.' " Then David left, and Jonathan went back to the
town.
1 Samuel 28
Saul and the Witch of Endor
1 In those days the Philistines gathered their forces to
fight against Israel. Achish said to David, "You must understand that
you and your men will accompany me in the army."
2 David said, "Then you will see for yourself what your
servant can do."
Achish replied,
"Very well, I will make you my bodyguard for life."
3 Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had mourned for him and
buried him in his own town of Ramah. Saul had expelled the mediums and
spiritists from the land.
4 The Philistines assembled and came and set up camp at
Shunem, while Saul gathered all the Israelites and set up camp at
Gilboa. 5 When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid; terror
filled his heart. 6 He inquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not
answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets. 7 Saul then said to his
attendants, "Find me a woman who is a medium, so I may go and inquire
of her."
"There is one in
Endor," they said.
8 So Saul disguised himself, putting on other clothes, and at
night he and two men went to the woman. "Consult a spirit for me," he
said, "and bring up for me the one I name."
9 But the woman said to him, "Surely you know what Saul has
done. He has cut off the mediums and spiritists from the land. Why have
you set a trap for my life to bring about my death?"
10 Saul swore to her by the LORD, "As surely as the LORD
lives, you will not be punished for this."
11 Then the woman asked, "Whom shall I bring up for you?"
"Bring up Samuel,"
he said.
12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out at the top of her
voice and said to Saul, "Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!"
13 The king said to her, "Don't be afraid. What do you see?"
The woman said, "I
see a spirit [a] coming up out of the ground."
14 "What does he look like?" he asked.
"An old man wearing
a robe is coming up," she said.
Then Saul knew it
was Samuel, and he bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to
the ground.
15 Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by
bringing me up?"
"I am in great
distress," Saul said. "The Philistines are fighting against me, and God
has turned away from me. He no longer answers me, either by prophets or
by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what to do."
16 Samuel said, "Why do you consult me, now that the LORD has
turned away from you and become your enemy? 17 The LORD has done what
he predicted through me. The LORD has torn the kingdom out of your
hands and given it to one of your neighbors—to David. 18
Because you did not obey the LORD or carry out his fierce wrath against
the Amalekites, the LORD has done this to you today. 19 The LORD will
hand over both Israel and you to the Philistines, and tomorrow you and
your sons will be with me. The LORD will also hand over the army of
Israel to the Philistines."
20 Immediately Saul fell full length on the ground, filled
with fear because of Samuel's words. His strength was gone, for he had
eaten nothing all that day and night.
21 When the woman came to Saul and saw that he was greatly
shaken, she said, "Look, your maidservant has obeyed you. I took my
life in my hands and did what you told me to do. 22 Now please listen
to your servant and let me give you some food so you may eat and have
the strength to go on your way."
23 He refused and said, "I will not eat."
But his men joined
the woman in urging him, and he listened to them. He got up from the
ground and sat on the couch.
24 The woman had a fattened calf at the house, which she
butchered at once. She took some flour, kneaded it and baked bread
without yeast. 25 Then she set it before Saul and his men, and they
ate. That same night they got up and left.
1 Samuel 31
Saul Takes His Life
1 Now the Philistines fought against Israel; the Israelites
fled before them, and many fell slain on Mount Gilboa. 2 The
Philistines pressed hard after Saul and his sons, and they killed his
sons Jonathan, Abinadab and Malki-Shua. 3 The fighting grew fierce
around Saul, and when the archers overtook him, they wounded him
critically.
4 Saul said to his armor-bearer, "Draw your sword and run me
through, or these uncircumcised fellows will come and run me through
and abuse me."
But his armor-bearer
was terrified and would not do it; so Saul took his own sword and fell
on it. 5 When the armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on
his sword and died with him. 6 So Saul and his three sons and his
armor-bearer and all his men died together that same day.
7 When the Israelites along the valley and those across the
Jordan saw that the Israelite army had fled and that Saul and his sons
had died, they abandoned their towns and fled. And the Philistines came
and occupied them.
8 The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead,
they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9 They cut
off his head and stripped off his armor, and they sent messengers
throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news in the
temple of their idols and among their people. 10 They put his armor in
the temple of the Ashtoreths and fastened his body to the wall of Beth
Shan.
11 When the people of Jabesh Gilead heard of what the
Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all their valiant men journeyed
through the night to Beth Shan. They took down the bodies of Saul and
his sons from the wall of Beth Shan and went to Jabesh, where they
burned them. 13 Then they took their bones and buried them under a
tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and they fasted seven days.
Day
13
Go
Back
2 Samuel 5
David Becomes King Over Israel
1 All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said,
"We are your own flesh and blood. 2 In the past, while Saul was king
over us, you were the one who led Israel on their military campaigns.
And the LORD said to you, 'You will shepherd my people Israel, and you
will become their ruler.' "
3 When all the elders of Israel had come to King David at
Hebron, the king made a compact with them at Hebron before the LORD,
and they anointed David king over Israel.
4 David was thirty years old when he became king, and he
reigned forty years. 5 In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and
six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah
thirty-three years.
David Conquers Jerusalem
6 The king and his men marched to Jerusalem to attack the
Jebusites, who lived there. The Jebusites said to David, "You will not
get in here; even the blind and the lame can ward you off." They
thought, "David cannot get in here." 7 Nevertheless, David captured the
fortress of Zion, the City of David.
8 On that day, David said, "Anyone who conquers the Jebusites
will have to use the water shaft [a] to reach those 'lame and blind'
who are David's enemies. [b] " That is why they say, "The 'blind and
lame' will not enter the palace."
9 David then took up residence in the fortress and called it
the City of David. He built up the area around it, from the supporting
terraces [c] inward. 10 And he became more and more powerful, because
the LORD God Almighty was with him.
11 Now Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, along
with cedar logs and carpenters and stonemasons, and they built a palace
for David. 12 And David knew that the LORD had established him as king
over Israel and had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people
Israel.
13 After he left Hebron, David took more concubines and wives
in Jerusalem, and more sons and daughters were born to him. 14 These
are the names of the children born to him there: Shammua, Shobab,
Nathan, Solomon, 15 Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, 16 Elishama, Eliada
and Eliphelet.
David Defeats the Philistines
17 When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed
king over Israel, they went up in full force to search for him, but
David heard about it and went down to the stronghold. 18 Now the
Philistines had come and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; 19 so
David inquired of the LORD, "Shall I go and attack the Philistines?
Will you hand them over to me?"
The LORD answered
him, "Go, for I will surely hand the Philistines over to you."
20 So David went to Baal Perazim, and there he defeated them.
He said, "As waters break out, the LORD has broken out against my
enemies before me." So that place was called Baal Perazim. [d] 21 The
Philistines abandoned their idols there, and David and his men carried
them off.
22 Once more the Philistines came up and spread out in the
Valley of Rephaim; 23 so David inquired of the LORD, and he answered,
"Do not go 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 that
will mean the LORD has gone out in front of you to strike the
Philistine army." 25 So David did as the LORD commanded him, and he
struck down the Philistines all the way from Gibeon [e] to Gezer.
2 Samuel 6
The Ark Brought to Jerusalem
1 David again brought together out of Israel chosen men,
thirty thousand in all. 2 He and all his men set out from Baalah of
Judah [f] to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the
Name, [g] the name of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the
cherubim that are on the ark. 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, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart 4 with the ark of
God on it, [h] and Ahio was walking in front of it. 5 David and the
whole house of Israel were celebrating with all their might before the
LORD, with songs [i] and with harps, lyres, tambourines, sistrums and
cymbals.
6 When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah
reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled.
7 The LORD's anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act;
therefore God struck him down and he died there beside the ark of God.
8 Then David was angry because the LORD's wrath had broken
out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah. [j]
9 David was afraid of the LORD that day and said, "How can
the ark of the LORD ever come to me?" 10 He was not willing to take the
ark of the LORD to be with him in the City of David. Instead, he took
it aside to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. 11 The ark of the LORD
remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months, and
the LORD blessed him and his entire household.
12 Now King David was told, "The LORD has blessed the
household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of
God." So David went down and brought up the ark of God from the house
of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. 13 When those who
were carrying the ark of the LORD had taken six steps, he sacrificed a
bull and a fattened calf. 14 David, wearing a linen ephod, danced
before the LORD with all his might, 15 while he and the entire house of
Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouts and the sound of
trumpets.
16 As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David,
Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King
David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she despised him in her
heart.
17 They brought the ark of the LORD and set it in its place
inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed
burnt offerings and fellowship offerings [k] before the LORD. 18 After
he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship
offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD Almighty. 19
Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to
each person in the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women. And
all the people went to their homes.
20 When David returned home to bless his household, Michal
daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, "How the king of Israel
has distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave
girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!"
21 David said to Michal, "It was before the LORD, who chose
me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed
me ruler over the LORD's people Israel—I will celebrate
before the LORD. 22 I will become even more undignified than this, and
I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke
of, I will be held in honor."
23 And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of
her death.
2 Samuel 7
God's Promise to David
1 After the king was settled in his palace and the LORD had
given him rest from all his enemies around him, 2 he said to Nathan the
prophet, "Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of God
remains in a tent."
3 Nathan replied to the king, "Whatever you have in mind, go
ahead and do it, for the LORD is with you."
4 That night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying:
5 "Go and tell my servant David, 'This is what the LORD says:
Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? 6 I have not dwelt in
a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this
day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling.
7 Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any
of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, "Why
have you not built me a house of cedar?" '
8 "Now then, tell my servant David, 'This is what the LORD
Almighty says: I took you from the pasture and from following the flock
to be ruler over my people Israel. 9 I have been with you wherever you
have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I
will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men of the
earth. 10 And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will
plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be
disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at
the beginning 11 and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders
[l] over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your
enemies.
" 'The
LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish a house for
you: 12 When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will
raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own
body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He is the one who will build
a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom
forever. 14 I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does
wrong, I will punish him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted
by men. 15 But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it
away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 Your house and your
kingdom will endure forever before me [m] ; your throne will be
established forever.' "
17 Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire
revelation.
David's Prayer
18 Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and he
said:
"Who am I,
O Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this
far? 19 And as if this were not enough in your sight, O Sovereign LORD,
you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant. Is
this your usual way of dealing with man, O Sovereign LORD ?
20 "What more can David say to you? For you know your
servant, O Sovereign LORD. 21 For the sake of your word and according
to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your
servant.
22 "How great you are, O Sovereign LORD! There is no one like
you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears.
23 And who is like your people Israel—the one nation on earth
that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, and to make a name
for himself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out
nations and their gods from before your people, whom you redeemed from
Egypt? [n] 24 You have established your people Israel as your very own
forever, and you, O LORD, have become their God.
25 "And now, LORD God, keep forever the promise you have made
concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised, 26 so that
your name will be great forever. Then men will say, 'The LORD Almighty
is God over Israel!' And the house of your servant David will be
established before you.
27 "O LORD Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to
your servant, saying, 'I will build a house for you.' So your servant
has found courage to offer you this prayer. 28 O Sovereign LORD, you
are God! Your words are trustworthy, and you have promised these good
things to your servant. 29 Now be pleased to bless the house of your
servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, O
Sovereign LORD, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your
servant will be blessed forever."
2 Samuel 8
David's Victories
1 In the course of time, David defeated the Philistines and
subdued them, and he took Metheg Ammah from the control of the
Philistines.
2 David also defeated the Moabites. He made them lie down on
the ground and measured them off with a length of cord. Every two
lengths of them were put to death, and the third length was allowed to
live. So the Moabites became subject to David and brought tribute.
3 Moreover, David fought Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of
Zobah, when he went to restore his control along the Euphrates River. 4
David captured a thousand of his chariots, seven thousand charioteers
[o] and twenty thousand foot soldiers. He hamstrung all but a hundred
of the chariot horses.
5 When the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king
of Zobah, David struck down twenty-two thousand of them. 6 He put
garrisons in the Aramean kingdom of Damascus, and the Arameans became
subject to him and brought tribute. The LORD gave David victory
wherever he went.
7 David took the gold shields that belonged to the officers
of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 From Tebah [p] and
Berothai, towns that belonged to Hadadezer, King David took a great
quantity of bronze.
9 When Tou [q] king of Hamath heard that David had defeated
the entire army of Hadadezer, 10 he sent his son Joram [r] to King
David to greet him and congratulate him on his victory in battle over
Hadadezer, who had been at war with Tou. Joram brought with him
articles of silver and gold and bronze.
11 King David dedicated these articles to the LORD, as he had
done with the silver and gold from all the nations he had subdued: 12
Edom [s] and Moab, the Ammonites and the Philistines, and Amalek. He
also dedicated the plunder taken from Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of
Zobah.
13 And David became famous after he returned from striking
down eighteen thousand Edomites [t] in the Valley of Salt.
14 He put garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites
became subject to David. The LORD gave David victory wherever he went.
David's Officials
15 David reigned over all Israel, doing what was just and
right for all his people. 16 Joab son of Zeruiah was over the army;
Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was recorder; 17 Zadok son of Ahitub and
Ahimelech son of Abiathar were priests; Seraiah was secretary; 18
Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Kerethites and Pelethites; and
David's sons were royal advisers.
1 Chronicles 15
The Ark Brought to Jerusalem
1 After David had constructed buildings for himself in the
City of David, he prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a
tent for it. 2 Then David said, "No one but the Levites may carry the
ark of God, because the LORD chose them to carry the ark of the LORD
and to minister before him forever."
3 David assembled all Israel in Jerusalem to bring up the ark
of the LORD to the place he had prepared for it. 4 He called together
the descendants of Aaron and the Levites:
5 From the descendants of Kohath,
Uriel the
leader and 120 relatives;
6 from the descendants of Merari,
Asaiah the
leader and 220 relatives;
7 from the descendants of Gershon, [a]
Joel the
leader and 130 relatives;
8 from the descendants of Elizaphan,
Shemaiah
the leader and 200 relatives;
9 from the descendants of Hebron,
Eliel the
leader and 80 relatives;
10 from the descendants of Uzziel,
Amminadab
the leader and 112 relatives.
11 Then David summoned Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and
Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel and Amminadab the Levites. 12 He
said to them, "You are the heads of the Levitical families; you and
your fellow Levites are to consecrate yourselves and bring up the ark
of the LORD, the God of Israel, to the place I have prepared for it. 13
It was because you, the Levites, did not bring it up the first time
that the LORD our God broke out in anger against us. We did not inquire
of him about how to do it in the prescribed way." 14 So the priests and
Levites consecrated themselves in order to bring up the ark of the
LORD, the God of Israel. 15 And the Levites carried the ark of God with
the poles on their shoulders, as Moses had commanded in accordance with
the word of the LORD.
16 David told the leaders of the Levites to appoint their
brothers as singers to sing joyful songs, accompanied by musical
instruments: lyres, harps and cymbals.
17 So the Levites appointed Heman son of Joel; from his
brothers, Asaph son of Berekiah; and from their brothers the Merarites,
Ethan son of Kushaiah; 18 and with them their brothers next in rank:
Zechariah, [b] Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah,
Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom and Jeiel, [c]
the gatekeepers.
19 The musicians Heman, Asaph and Ethan were to sound the
bronze cymbals; 20 Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab,
Maaseiah and Benaiah were to play the lyres according to alamoth , [d]
21 and Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom, Jeiel and Azaziah
were to play the harps, directing according to sheminith . [e] 22
Kenaniah the head Levite was in charge of the singing; that was his
responsibility because he was skillful at it.
23 Berekiah and Elkanah were to be doorkeepers for the ark.
24 Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah and
Eliezer the priests were to blow trumpets before the ark of God.
Obed-Edom and Jehiah were also to be doorkeepers for the ark.
25 So David and the elders of Israel and the commanders of
units of a thousand went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the
LORD from the house of Obed-Edom, with rejoicing. 26 Because God had
helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the
LORD, seven bulls and seven rams were sacrificed. 27 Now David was
clothed in a robe of fine linen, as were all the Levites who were
carrying the ark, and as were the singers, and Kenaniah, who was in
charge of the singing of the choirs. David also wore a linen ephod. 28
So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the LORD with
shouts, with the sounding of rams' horns and trumpets, and of cymbals,
and the playing of lyres and harps.
29 As the ark of the covenant of the LORD was entering the
City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when
she saw King David dancing and celebrating, she despised him in her
heart.
1 Chronicles 16
1 They brought the ark of God and set it inside the tent that
David had pitched for it, and they presented burnt offerings and
fellowship offerings [f] before God. 2 After David had finished
sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed
the people in the name of the LORD. 3 Then he gave a loaf of bread, a
cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each Israelite man and woman.
4 He appointed some of the Levites to minister before the ark
of the LORD, to make petition, to give thanks, and to praise the LORD,
the God of Israel: 5 Asaph was the chief, Zechariah second, then Jeiel,
Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-Edom and Jeiel.
They were to play the lyres and harps, Asaph was to sound the cymbals,
6 and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests were to blow the trumpets
regularly before the ark of the covenant of God.
David's Psalm of Thanks
7 That day David first committed to Asaph and his associates
this psalm of thanks to the LORD :
8 Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name;
make known
among the nations what he has done.
9 Sing to him, sing praise to him;
tell of
all his wonderful acts.
10 Glory in his holy name;
let the
hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
11 Look to the LORD and his strength;
seek his
face always.
12 Remember the wonders he has done,
his
miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,
13 O descendants of Israel his servant,
O sons of
Jacob, his chosen ones.
14 He is the LORD our God;
his
judgments are in all the earth.
15 He remembers [g] his covenant forever,
the word
he commanded, for a thousand generations,
16 the covenant he made with Abraham,
the oath
he swore to Isaac.
17 He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree,
to Israel
as an everlasting covenant:
18 "To you I will give the land of Canaan
as the
portion you will inherit."
19 When they were but few in number,
few
indeed, and strangers in it,
20 they [h] wandered from nation to nation,
from one
kingdom to another.
21 He allowed no man to oppress them;
for their
sake he rebuked kings:
22 "Do not touch my anointed ones;
do my
prophets no harm."
23 Sing to the LORD, all the earth;
proclaim
his salvation day after day.
24 Declare his glory among the nations,
his
marvelous deeds among all peoples.
25 For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise;
he is to
be feared above all gods.
26 For all the gods of the nations are idols,
but the
LORD made the heavens.
27 Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength
and joy in his dwelling place.
28 Ascribe to the LORD, O families of nations,
ascribe to
the LORD glory and strength,
29 ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name.
Bring an
offering and come before him;
worship
the LORD in the splendor of his [i] holiness.
30 Tremble before him, all the earth!
The world
is firmly established; it cannot be moved.
31 Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
let them
say among the nations, "The LORD reigns!"
32 Let the sea resound, and all that is in it;
let the
fields be jubilant, and everything in them!
33 Then the trees of the forest will sing,
they will
sing for joy before the LORD,
for he
comes to judge the earth.
34 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love
endures forever.
35 Cry out, "Save us, O God our Savior;
gather us
and deliver us from the nations,
that we
may give thanks to your holy name,
that we
may glory in your praise."
36 Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel,
from
everlasting to everlasting.
Then all the people
said "Amen" and "Praise the LORD."
37 David left Asaph and his associates before the ark of the
covenant of the LORD to minister there regularly, according to each
day's requirements. 38 He also left Obed-Edom and his sixty-eight
associates to minister with them. Obed-Edom son of Jeduthun, and also
Hosah, were gatekeepers.
39 David left Zadok the priest and his fellow priests before
the tabernacle of the LORD at the high place in Gibeon 40 to present
burnt offerings to the LORD on the altar of burnt offering regularly,
morning and evening, in accordance with everything written in the Law
of the LORD, which he had given Israel. 41 With them were Heman and
Jeduthun and the rest of those chosen and designated by name to give
thanks to the LORD, "for his love endures forever." 42 Heman and
Jeduthun were responsible for the sounding of the trumpets and cymbals
and for the playing of the other instruments for sacred song. The sons
of Jeduthun were stationed at the gate.
43 Then all the people left, each for his own home, and David
returned home to bless his family.
1 Chronicles 17
God's Promise to David
1 After David was settled in his palace, he said to Nathan
the prophet, "Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of
the covenant of the LORD is under a tent."
2 Nathan replied to David, "Whatever you have in mind, do it,
for God is with you."
3 That night the word of God came to Nathan, saying:
4 "Go and tell my servant David, 'This is what the LORD says:
You are not the one to build me a house to dwell in. 5 I have not dwelt
in a house from the day I brought Israel up out of Egypt to this day. I
have moved from one tent site to another, from one dwelling place to
another. 6 Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever
say to any of their leaders [j] whom I commanded to shepherd my people,
"Why have you not built me a house of cedar?" '
7 "Now then, tell my servant David, 'This is what the LORD
Almighty says: I took you from the pasture and from following the
flock, to be ruler over my people Israel. 8 I have been with you
wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before
you. Now I will make your name like the names of the greatest men of
the earth. 9 And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will
plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be
disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at
the beginning 10 and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders
over my people Israel. I will also subdue all your enemies.
" 'I
declare to you that the LORD will build a house for you: 11 When your
days are over and you go to be with your fathers, I will raise up your
offspring to succeed you, one of your own sons, and I will establish
his kingdom. 12 He is the one who will build a house for me, and I will
establish his throne forever. 13 I will be his father, and he will be
my son. I will never take my love away from him, as I took it away from
your predecessor. 14 I will set him over my house and my kingdom
forever; his throne will be established forever.' "
15 Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire
revelation.
David's Prayer
16 Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and he
said:
"Who am I,
O LORD God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?
17 And as if this were not enough in your sight, O God, you have spoken
about the future of the house of your servant. You have looked on me as
though I were the most exalted of men, O LORD God.
18 "What more can David say to you for honoring your servant?
For you know your servant, 19 O LORD. For the sake of your servant and
according to your will, you have done this great thing and made known
all these great promises.
20 "There is no one like you, O LORD, and there is no God but
you, as we have heard with our own ears. 21 And who is like your people
Israel—the one nation on earth whose God went out to redeem a
people for himself, and to make a name for yourself, and to perform
great and awesome wonders by driving out nations from before your
people, whom you redeemed from Egypt? 22 You made your people Israel
your very own forever, and you, O LORD, have become their God.
23 "And now, LORD, let the promise you have made concerning
your servant and his house be established forever. Do as you promised,
24 so that it will be established and that your name will be great
forever. Then men will say, 'The LORD Almighty, the God over Israel, is
Israel's God!' And the house of your servant David will be established
before you.
25 "You, my God, have revealed to your servant that you will
build a house for him. So your servant has found courage to pray to
you. 26 O LORD, you are God! You have promised these good things to
your servant. 27 Now you have been pleased to bless the house of your
servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, O LORD,
have blessed it, and it will be blessed forever."
Day
14
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2 Samuel 11
David and Bathsheba
1 In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David
sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army. They
destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in
Jerusalem.
2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on
the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman
was very beautiful, 3 and David sent someone to find out about her. The
man said, "Isn't this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of
Uriah the Hittite?" 4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came
to him, and he slept with her. (She had purified herself from her
uncleanness.) Then [a] she went back home. 5 The woman conceived and
sent word to David, saying, "I am pregnant."
6 So David sent this word to Joab: "Send me Uriah the
Hittite." And Joab sent him to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David
asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was
going. 8 Then David said to Uriah, "Go down to your house and wash your
feet." So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent
after him. 9 But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his
master's servants and did not go down to his house.
10 When David was told, "Uriah did not go home," he asked
him, "Haven't you just come from a distance? Why didn't you go home?"
11 Uriah said to David, "The ark and Israel and Judah are
staying in tents, and my master Joab and my lord's men are camped in
the open fields. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and lie
with my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!"
12 Then David said to him, "Stay here one more day, and
tomorrow I will send you back." So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day
and the next. 13 At David's invitation, he ate and drank with him, and
David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his
mat among his master's servants; he did not go home.
14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it
with Uriah. 15 In it he wrote, "Put Uriah in the front line where the
fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down
and die."
16 So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a
place where he knew the strongest defenders were. 17 When the men of
the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David's
army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died.
18 Joab sent David a full account of the battle. 19 He
instructed the messenger: "When you have finished giving the king this
account of the battle, 20 the king's anger may flare up, and he may ask
you, 'Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Didn't you know
they would shoot arrows from the wall? 21 Who killed Abimelech son of
Jerub-Besheth [b] ? Didn't a woman throw an upper millstone on him from
the wall, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you get so close to the
wall?' If he asks you this, then say to him, 'Also, your servant Uriah
the Hittite is dead.' "
22 The messenger set out, and when he arrived he told David
everything Joab had sent him to say. 23 The messenger said to David,
"The men overpowered us and came out against us in the open, but we
drove them back to the entrance to the city gate. 24 Then the archers
shot arrows at your servants from the wall, and some of the king's men
died. Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead."
25 David told the messenger, "Say this to Joab: 'Don't let
this upset you; the sword devours one as well as another. Press the
attack against the city and destroy it.' Say this to encourage Joab."
26 When Uriah's wife heard that her husband was dead, she
mourned for him. 27 After the time of mourning was over, David had her
brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But
the thing David had done displeased the LORD.
2 Samuel 12
Nathan Rebukes David
1 The LORD sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he
said, "There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other
poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but
the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He
raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his
food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a
daughter to him.
4 "Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man
refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal
for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb
that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come
to him."
5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan,
"As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die! 6
He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing
and had no pity."
7 Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man! This is what
the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'I anointed you king over Israel,
and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave your master's house
to you, and your master's wives into your arms. I gave you the house of
Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have
given you even more. 9 Why did you despise the word of the LORD by
doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with
the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the
sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart
from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the
Hittite to be your own.'
11 "This is what the LORD says: 'Out of your own household I
am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take
your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie
with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did it in secret, but I will
do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.' "
13 Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the
LORD."
Nathan replied, "The
LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because
by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter
contempt, [c] the son born to you will die."
15 After Nathan had gone home, the LORD struck the child that
Uriah's wife had borne to David, and he became ill. 16 David pleaded
with God for the child. He fasted and went into his house and spent the
nights lying on the ground. 17 The elders of his household stood beside
him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat
any food with them.
18 On the seventh day the child died. David's servants were
afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, "While
the child was still living, we spoke to David but he would not listen
to us. How can we tell him the child is dead? He may do something
desperate."
19 David noticed that his servants were whispering among
themselves and he realized the child was dead. "Is the child dead?" he
asked.
"Yes," they replied,
"he is dead."
20 Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed,
put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the
LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request
they served him food, and he ate.
21 His servants asked him, "Why are you acting this way?
While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child
is dead, you get up and eat!"
22 He answered, "While the child was still alive, I fasted
and wept. I thought, 'Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let
the child live.' 23 But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I
bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me."
24 Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to
her and lay with her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him
Solomon. The LORD loved him; 25 and because the LORD loved him, he sent
word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah. [d]
26 Meanwhile Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and
captured the royal citadel. 27 Joab then sent messengers to David,
saying, "I have fought against Rabbah and taken its water supply. 28
Now muster the rest of the troops and besiege the city and capture it.
Otherwise I will take the city, and it will be named after me."
29 So David mustered the entire army and went to Rabbah, and
attacked and captured it. 30 He took the crown from the head of their
king [e] —its weight was a talent [f] of gold, and it was set
with precious stones—and it was placed on David's head. He
took a great quantity of plunder from the city 31 and brought out the
people who were there, consigning them to labor with saws and with iron
picks and axes, and he made them work at brickmaking. [g] He did this
to all the Ammonite towns. Then David and his entire army returned to
Jerusalem.
2 Samuel 13
Amnon and Tamar
1 In the course of time, Amnon son of David fell in love with
Tamar, the beautiful sister of Absalom son of David.
2 Amnon became frustrated to the point of illness on account
of his sister Tamar, for she was a virgin, and it seemed impossible for
him to do anything to her.
3 Now Amnon had a friend named Jonadab son of Shimeah,
David's brother. Jonadab was a very shrewd man. 4 He asked Amnon, "Why
do you, the king's son, look so haggard morning after morning? Won't
you tell me?"
Amnon said to him,
"I'm in love with Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister."
5 "Go to bed and pretend to be ill," Jonadab said. "When your
father comes to see you, say to him, 'I would like my sister Tamar to
come and give me something to eat. Let her prepare the food in my sight
so I may watch her and then eat it from her hand.' "
6 So Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill. When the king
came to see him, Amnon said to him, "I would like my sister Tamar to
come and make some special bread in my sight, so I may eat from her
hand."
7 David sent word to Tamar at the palace: "Go to the house of
your brother Amnon and prepare some food for him." 8 So Tamar went to
the house of her brother Amnon, who was lying down. She took some
dough, kneaded it, made the bread in his sight and baked it. 9 Then she
took the pan and served him the bread, but he refused to eat.
"Send everyone out
of here," Amnon said. So everyone left him. 10 Then Amnon said to
Tamar, "Bring the food here into my bedroom so I may eat from your
hand." And Tamar took the bread she had prepared and brought it to her
brother Amnon in his bedroom. 11 But when she took it to him to eat, he
grabbed her and said, "Come to bed with me, my sister."
12 "Don't, my brother!" she said to him. "Don't force me.
Such a thing should not be done in Israel! Don't do this wicked thing.
13 What about me? Where could I get rid of my disgrace? And what about
you? You would be like one of the wicked fools in Israel. Please speak
to the king; he will not keep me from being married to you." 14 But he
refused to listen to her, and since he was stronger than she, he raped
her.
15 Then Amnon hated her with intense hatred. In fact, he
hated her more than he had loved her. Amnon said to her, "Get up and
get out!"
16 "No!" she said to him. "Sending me away would be a greater
wrong than what you have already done to me."
But he refused to
listen to her. 17 He called his personal servant and said, "Get this
woman out of here and bolt the door after her." 18 So his servant put
her out and bolted the door after her. She was wearing a richly
ornamented [h] robe, for this was the kind of garment the virgin
daughters of the king wore. 19 Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the
ornamented [i] robe she was wearing. She put her hand on her head and
went away, weeping aloud as she went.
20 Her brother Absalom said to her, "Has that Amnon, your
brother, been with you? Be quiet now, my sister; he is your brother.
Don't take this thing to heart." And Tamar lived in her brother
Absalom's house, a desolate woman.
21 When King David heard all this, he was furious. 22 Absalom
never said a word to Amnon, either good or bad; he hated Amnon because
he had disgraced his sister Tamar.
Absalom Kills Amnon
23 Two years later, when Absalom's sheepshearers were at Baal
Hazor near the border of Ephraim, he invited all the king's sons to
come there. 24 Absalom went to the king and said, "Your servant has had
shearers come. Will the king and his officials please join me?"
25 "No, my son," the king replied. "All of us should not go;
we would only be a burden to you." Although Absalom urged him, he still
refused to go, but gave him his blessing.
26 Then Absalom said, "If not, please let my brother Amnon
come with us."
The king asked him,
"Why should he go with you?" 27 But Absalom urged him, so he sent with
him Amnon and the rest of the king's sons.
28 Absalom ordered his men, "Listen! When Amnon is in high
spirits from drinking wine and I say to you, 'Strike Amnon down,' then
kill him. Don't be afraid. Have not I given you this order? Be strong
and brave." 29 So Absalom's men did to Amnon what Absalom had ordered.
Then all the king's sons got up, mounted their mules and fled.
30 While they were on their way, the report came to David:
"Absalom has struck down all the king's sons; not one of them is left."
31 The king stood up, tore his clothes and lay down on the ground; and
all his servants stood by with their clothes torn.
32 But Jonadab son of Shimeah, David's brother, said, "My
lord should not think that they killed all the princes; only Amnon is
dead. This has been Absalom's expressed intention ever since the day
Amnon raped his sister Tamar. 33 My lord the king should not be
concerned about the report that all the king's sons are dead. Only
Amnon is dead."
34 Meanwhile, Absalom had fled.
Now the man standing
watch looked up and saw many people on the road west of him, coming
down the side of the hill. The watchman went and told the king, "I see
men in the direction of Horonaim, on the side of the hill." [j]
35 Jonadab said to the king, "See, the king's sons are here;
it has happened just as your servant said."
36 As he finished speaking, the king's sons came in, wailing
loudly. The king, too, and all his servants wept very bitterly.
37 Absalom fled and went to Talmai son of Ammihud, the king
of Geshur. But King David mourned for his son every day.
38 After Absalom fled and went to Geshur, he stayed there
three years. 39 And the spirit of the king [k] longed to go to Absalom,
for he was consoled concerning Amnon's death.
2 Samuel 15
Absalom's Conspiracy
1 In the course of time, Absalom provided himself with a
chariot and horses and with fifty men to run ahead of him. 2 He would
get up early and stand by the side of the road leading to the city
gate. Whenever anyone came with a complaint to be placed before the
king for a decision, Absalom would call out to him, "What town are you
from?" He would answer, "Your servant is from one of the tribes of
Israel." 3 Then Absalom would say to him, "Look, your claims are valid
and proper, but there is no representative of the king to hear you." 4
And Absalom would add, "If only I were appointed judge in the land!
Then everyone who has a complaint or case could come to me and I would
see that he gets justice."
5 Also, whenever anyone approached him to bow down before
him, Absalom would reach out his hand, take hold of him and kiss him. 6
Absalom behaved in this way toward all the Israelites who came to the
king asking for justice, and so he stole the hearts of the men of
Israel.
7 At the end of four [a] years, Absalom said to the king,
"Let me go to Hebron and fulfill a vow I made to the LORD. 8 While your
servant was living at Geshur in Aram, I made this vow: 'If the LORD
takes me back to Jerusalem, I will worship the LORD in Hebron. [b] ' "
9 The king said to him, "Go in peace." So he went to Hebron.
10 Then Absalom sent secret messengers throughout the tribes
of Israel to say, "As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpets, then
say, 'Absalom is king in Hebron.' " 11 Two hundred men from Jerusalem
had accompanied Absalom. They had been invited as guests and went quite
innocently, knowing nothing about the matter. 12 While Absalom was
offering sacrifices, he also sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's
counselor, to come from Giloh, his hometown. And so the conspiracy
gained strength, and Absalom's following kept on increasing.
David Flees
13 A messenger came and told David, "The hearts of the men of
Israel are with Absalom."
14 Then David said to all his officials who were with him in
Jerusalem, "Come! We must flee, or none of us will escape from Absalom.
We must leave immediately, or he will move quickly to overtake us and
bring ruin upon us and put the city to the sword."
15 The king's officials answered him, "Your servants are
ready to do whatever our lord the king chooses."
16 The king set out, with his entire household following him;
but he left ten concubines to take care of the palace. 17 So the king
set out, with all the people following him, and they halted at a place
some distance away. 18 All his men marched past him, along with all the
Kerethites and Pelethites; and all the six hundred Gittites who had
accompanied him from Gath marched before the king.
19 The king said to Ittai the Gittite, "Why should you come
along with us? Go back and stay with King Absalom. You are a foreigner,
an exile from your homeland. 20 You came only yesterday. And today
shall I make you wander about with us, when I do not know where I am
going? Go back, and take your countrymen. May kindness and faithfulness
be with you."
21 But Ittai replied to the king, "As surely as the LORD
lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king may be,
whether it means life or death, there will your servant be."
22 David said to Ittai, "Go ahead, march on." So Ittai the
Gittite marched on with all his men and the families that were with him.
23 The whole countryside wept aloud as all the people passed
by. The king also crossed the Kidron Valley, and all the people moved
on toward the desert.
24 Zadok was there, too, and all the Levites who were with
him were carrying the ark of the covenant of God. They set down the ark
of God, and Abiathar offered sacrifices [c] until all the people had
finished leaving the city.
25 Then the king said to Zadok, "Take the ark of God back
into the city. If I find favor in the LORD's eyes, he will bring me
back and let me see it and his dwelling place again. 26 But if he says,
'I am not pleased with you,' then I am ready; let him do to me whatever
seems good to him."
27 The king also said to Zadok the priest, "Aren't you a
seer? Go back to the city in peace, with your son Ahimaaz and Jonathan
son of Abiathar. You and Abiathar take your two sons with you. 28 I
will wait at the fords in the desert until word comes from you to
inform me." 29 So Zadok and Abiathar took the ark of God back to
Jerusalem and stayed there.
30 But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he
went; his head was covered and he was barefoot. All the people with him
covered their heads too and were weeping as they went up. 31 Now David
had been told, "Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom." So
David prayed, "O LORD, turn Ahithophel's counsel into foolishness."
32 When David arrived at the summit, where people used to
worship God, Hushai the Arkite was there to meet him, his robe torn and
dust on his head. 33 David said to him, "If you go with me, you will be
a burden to me. 34 But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, 'I
will be your servant, O king; I was your father's servant in the past,
but now I will be your servant,' then you can help me by frustrating
Ahithophel's advice. 35 Won't the priests Zadok and Abiathar be there
with you? Tell them anything you hear in the king's palace. 36 Their
two sons, Ahimaaz son of Zadok and Jonathan son of Abiathar, are there
with them. Send them to me with anything you hear."
37 So David's friend Hushai arrived at Jerusalem as Absalom
was entering the city.
2 Samuel 18
Absalom's Death
1 David mustered the men who were with him and appointed over
them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. 2 David sent
the troops out—a third under the command of Joab, a third
under Joab's brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, and a third under Ittai
the Gittite. The king told the troops, "I myself will surely march out
with you."
3 But the men said, "You must not go out; if we are forced to
flee, they won't care about us. Even if half of us die, they won't
care; but you are worth ten thousand of us. [a] It would be better now
for you to give us support from the city."
4 The king answered, "I will do whatever seems best to you."
So the king stood
beside the gate while all the men marched out in units of hundreds and
of thousands. 5 The king commanded Joab, Abishai and Ittai, "Be gentle
with the young man Absalom for my sake." And all the troops heard the
king giving orders concerning Absalom to each of the commanders.
6 The army marched into the field to fight Israel, and the
battle took place in the forest of Ephraim. 7 There the army of Israel
was defeated by David's men, and the casualties that day were
great—twenty thousand men. 8 The battle spread out over the
whole countryside, and the forest claimed more lives that day than the
sword.
9 Now Absalom happened to meet David's men. He was riding his
mule, and as the mule went under the thick branches of a large oak,
Absalom's head got caught in the tree. He was left hanging in midair,
while the mule he was riding kept on going.
10 When one of the men saw this, he told Joab, "I just saw
Absalom hanging in an oak tree."
11 Joab said to the man who had told him this, "What! You saw
him? Why didn't you strike him to the ground right there? Then I would
have had to give you ten shekels [b] of silver and a warrior's belt."
12 But the man replied, "Even if a thousand shekels [c] were
weighed out into my hands, I would not lift my hand against the king's
son. In our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai,
'Protect the young man Absalom for my sake. [d] ' 13 And if I had put
my life in jeopardy [e] —and nothing is hidden from the
king—you would have kept your distance from me."
14 Joab said, "I'm not going to wait like this for you." So
he took three javelins in his hand and plunged them into Absalom's
heart while Absalom was still alive in the oak tree. 15 And ten of
Joab's armor-bearers surrounded Absalom, struck him and killed him.
16 Then Joab sounded the trumpet, and the troops stopped
pursuing Israel, for Joab halted them. 17 They took Absalom, threw him
into a big pit in the forest and piled up a large heap of rocks over
him. Meanwhile, all the Israelites fled to their homes.
18 During his lifetime Absalom had taken a pillar and erected
it in the King's Valley as a monument to himself, for he thought, "I
have no son to carry on the memory of my name." He named the pillar
after himself, and it is called Absalom's Monument to this day.
David Mourns
19 Now Ahimaaz son of Zadok said, "Let me run and take the
news to the king that the LORD has delivered him from the hand of his
enemies."
20 "You are not the one to take the news today," Joab told
him. "You may take the news another time, but you must not do so today,
because the king's son is dead."
21 Then Joab said to a Cushite, "Go, tell the king what you
have seen." The Cushite bowed down before Joab and ran off.
22 Ahimaaz son of Zadok again said to Joab, "Come what may,
please let me run behind the Cushite."
But Joab replied,
"My son, why do you want to go? You don't have any news that will bring
you a reward."
23 He said, "Come what may, I want to run."
So Joab said, "Run!"
Then Ahimaaz ran by way of the plain [f] and outran the Cushite.
24 While David was sitting between the inner and outer gates,
the watchman went up to the roof of the gateway by the wall. As he
looked out, he saw a man running alone. 25 The watchman called out to
the king and reported it.
The king said, "If
he is alone, he must have good news." And the man came closer and
closer.
26 Then the watchman saw another man running, and he called
down to the gatekeeper, "Look, another man running alone!"
The king said, "He
must be bringing good news, too."
27 The watchman said, "It seems to me that the first one runs
like Ahimaaz son of Zadok."
"He's a good man,"
the king said. "He comes with good news."
28 Then Ahimaaz called out to the king, "All is well!" He
bowed down before the king with his face to the ground and said,
"Praise be to the LORD your God! He has delivered up the men who lifted
their hands against my lord the king."
29 The king asked, "Is the young man Absalom safe?"
Ahimaaz answered, "I
saw great confusion just as Joab was about to send the king's servant
and me, your servant, but I don't know what it was."
30 The king said, "Stand aside and wait here." So he stepped
aside and stood there.
31 Then the Cushite arrived and said, "My lord the king, hear
the good news! The LORD has delivered you today from all who rose up
against you."
32 The king asked the Cushite, "Is the young man Absalom
safe?"
The Cushite replied,
"May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rise up to harm you be
like that young man."
33 The king was shaken. He went up to the room over the
gateway and wept. As he went, he said: "O my son Absalom! My son, my
son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you—O Absalom, my
son, my son!"
Day
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1 Chronicles 21
David Numbers the Fighting Men
1 Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a
census of Israel. 2 So David said to Joab and the commanders of the
troops, "Go and count the Israelites from Beersheba to Dan. Then report
back to me so that I may know how many there are."
3 But Joab replied, "May the LORD multiply his troops a
hundred times over. My lord the king, are they not all my lord's
subjects? Why does my lord want to do this? Why should he bring guilt
on Israel?"
4 The king's word, however, overruled Joab; so Joab left and
went throughout Israel and then came back to Jerusalem. 5 Joab reported
the number of the fighting men to David: In all Israel there were one
million one hundred thousand men who could handle a sword, including
four hundred and seventy thousand in Judah.
6 But Joab did not include Levi and Benjamin in the
numbering, because the king's command was repulsive to him. 7 This
command was also evil in the sight of God; so he punished Israel.
8 Then David said to God, "I have sinned greatly by doing
this. Now, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done
a very foolish thing."
9 The LORD said to Gad, David's seer, 10 "Go and tell David,
'This is what the LORD says: I am giving you three options. Choose one
of them for me to carry out against you.' "
11 So Gad went to David and said to him, "This is what the
LORD says: 'Take your choice: 12 three years of famine, three months of
being swept away [a] before your enemies, with their swords overtaking
you, or three days of the sword of the LORD -days of plague in the
land, with the angel of the LORD ravaging every part of Israel.' Now
then, decide how I should answer the one who sent me."
13 David said to Gad, "I am in deep distress. Let me fall
into the hands of the LORD, for his mercy is very great; but do not let
me fall into the hands of men."
14 So the LORD sent a plague on Israel, and seventy thousand
men of Israel fell dead. 15 And God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem.
But as the angel was doing so, the LORD saw it and was grieved because
of the calamity and said to the angel who was destroying the people,
"Enough! Withdraw your hand." The angel of the LORD was then standing
at the threshing floor of Araunah [b] the Jebusite.
16 David looked up and saw the angel of the LORD standing
between heaven and earth, with a drawn sword in his hand extended over
Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell
facedown.
17 David said to God, "Was it not I who ordered the fighting
men to be counted? I am the one who has sinned and done wrong. These
are but sheep. What have they done? O LORD my God, let your hand fall
upon me and my family, but do not let this plague remain on your
people."
18 Then the angel of the LORD ordered Gad to tell David to go
up and build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the
Jebusite. 19 So David went up in obedience to the word that Gad had
spoken in the name of the LORD.
20 While Araunah was threshing wheat, he turned and saw the
angel; his four sons who were with him hid themselves. 21 Then David
approached, and when Araunah looked and saw him, he left the threshing
floor and bowed down before David with his face to the ground.
22 David said to him, "Let me have the site of your threshing
floor so I can build an altar to the LORD, that the plague on the
people may be stopped. Sell it to me at the full price."
23 Araunah said to David, "Take it! Let my lord the king do
whatever pleases him. Look, I will give the oxen for the burnt
offerings, the threshing sledges for the wood, and the wheat for the
grain offering. I will give all this."
24 But King David replied to Araunah, "No, I insist on paying
the full price. I will not take for the LORD what is yours, or
sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing."
25 So David paid Araunah six hundred shekels [c] of gold for
the site. 26 David built an altar to the LORD there and sacrificed
burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. [d] He called on the LORD,
and the LORD answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt
offering.
27 Then the LORD spoke to the angel, and he put his sword
back into its sheath. 28 At that time, when David saw that the LORD had
answered him on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, he offered
sacrifices there. 29 The tabernacle of the LORD, which Moses had made
in the desert, and the altar of burnt offering were at that time on the
high place at Gibeon. 30 But David could not go before it to inquire of
God, because he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the LORD.
1 Chronicles 22
1 Then David said, "The house of the LORD God is to be here,
and also the altar of burnt offering for Israel."
Preparations for the Temple
2 So David gave orders to assemble the aliens living in
Israel, and from among them he appointed stonecutters to prepare
dressed stone for building the house of God. 3 He provided a large
amount of iron to make nails for the doors of the gateways and for the
fittings, and more bronze than could be weighed. 4 He also provided
more cedar logs than could be counted, for the Sidonians and Tyrians
had brought large numbers of them to David.
5 David said, "My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and
the house to be built for the LORD should be of great magnificence and
fame and splendor in the sight of all the nations. Therefore I will
make preparations for it." So David made extensive preparations before
his death.
6 Then he called for his son Solomon and charged him to build
a house for the LORD, the God of Israel. 7 David said to Solomon: "My
son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the LORD my
God. 8 But this word of the LORD came to me: 'You have shed much blood
and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name,
because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight. 9 But you
will have a son who will be a man of peace and rest, and I will give
him rest from all his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon,
[e] and I will grant Israel peace and quiet during his reign. 10 He is
the one who will build a house for my Name. He will be my son, and I
will be his father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over
Israel forever.'
11 "Now, my son, the LORD be with you, and may you have
success and build the house of the LORD your God, as he said you would.
12 May the LORD give you discretion and understanding when he puts you
in command over Israel, so that you may keep the law of the LORD your
God. 13 Then you will have success if you are careful to observe the
decrees and laws that the LORD gave Moses for Israel. Be strong and
courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged.
14 "I have taken great pains to provide for the temple of the
LORD a hundred thousand talents [f] of gold, a million talents [g] of
silver, quantities of bronze and iron too great to be weighed, and wood
and stone. And you may add to them. 15 You have many workmen:
stonecutters, masons and carpenters, as well as men skilled in every
kind of work 16 in gold and silver, bronze and iron—craftsmen
beyond number. Now begin the work, and the LORD be with you."
17 Then David ordered all the leaders of Israel to help his
son Solomon. 18 He said to them, "Is not the LORD your God with you?
And has he not granted you rest on every side? For he has handed the
inhabitants of the land over to me, and the land is subject to the LORD
and to his people. 19 Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the
LORD your God. Begin to build the sanctuary of the LORD God, so that
you may bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD and the sacred
articles belonging to God into the temple that will be built for the
Name of the LORD."
1 Chronicles 28
David's Plans for the Temple
1 David summoned all the officials of Israel to assemble at
Jerusalem: the officers over the tribes, the commanders of the
divisions in the service of the king, the commanders of thousands and
commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of all the property
and livestock belonging to the king and his sons, together with the
palace officials, the mighty men and all the brave warriors.
2 King David rose to his feet and said: "Listen to me, my
brothers and my people. I had it in my heart to build a house as a
place of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD, for the
footstool of our God, and I made plans to build it. 3 But God said to
me, 'You are not to build a house for my Name, because you are a
warrior and have shed blood.'
4 "Yet the LORD, the God of Israel, chose me from my whole
family to be king over Israel forever. He chose Judah as leader, and
from the house of Judah he chose my family, and from my father's sons
he was pleased to make me king over all Israel. 5 Of all my
sons—and the LORD has given me many—he has chosen
my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over
Israel. 6 He said to me: 'Solomon your son is the one who will build my
house and my courts, for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be
his father. 7 I will establish his kingdom forever if he is unswerving
in carrying out my commands and laws, as is being done at this time.'
8 "So now I charge you in the sight of all Israel and of the
assembly of the LORD, and in the hearing of our God: Be careful to
follow all the commands of the LORD your God, that you may possess this
good land and pass it on as an inheritance to your descendants forever.
9 "And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your
father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing
mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every motive
behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if
you forsake him, he will reject you forever. 10 Consider now, for the
LORD has chosen you to build a temple as a sanctuary. Be strong and do
the work."
11 Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the portico
of the temple, its buildings, its storerooms, its upper parts, its
inner rooms and the place of atonement. 12 He gave him the plans of all
that the Spirit had put in his mind for the courts of the temple of the
LORD and all the surrounding rooms, for the treasuries of the temple of
God and for the treasuries for the dedicated things. 13 He gave him
instructions for the divisions of the priests and Levites, and for all
the work of serving in the temple of the LORD, as well as for all the
articles to be used in its service. 14 He designated the weight of gold
for all the gold articles to be used in various kinds of service, and
the weight of silver for all the silver articles to be used in various
kinds of service: 15 the weight of gold for the gold lampstands and
their lamps, with the weight for each lampstand and its lamps; and the
weight of silver for each silver lampstand and its lamps, according to
the use of each lampstand; 16 the weight of gold for each table for
consecrated bread; the weight of silver for the silver tables; 17 the
weight of pure gold for the forks, sprinkling bowls and pitchers; the
weight of gold for each gold dish; the weight of silver for each silver
dish; 18 and the weight of the refined gold for the altar of incense.
He also gave him the plan for the chariot, that is, the cherubim of
gold that spread their wings and shelter the ark of the covenant of the
LORD.
19 "All this," David said, "I have in writing from the hand
of the LORD upon me, and he gave me understanding in all the details of
the plan."
20 David also said to Solomon his son, "Be strong and
courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the
LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you
until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is
finished. 21 The divisions of the priests and Levites are ready for all
the work on the temple of God, and every willing man skilled in any
craft will help you in all the work. The officials and all the people
will obey your every command."
1 Chronicles 29
Gifts for Building the Temple
1 Then King David said to the whole assembly: "My son
Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced. The
task is great, because this palatial structure is not for man but for
the LORD God. 2 With all my resources I have provided for the temple of
my God—gold for the gold work, silver for the silver, bronze
for the bronze, iron for the iron and wood for the wood, as well as
onyx for the settings, turquoise, [a] stones of various colors, and all
kinds of fine stone and marble—all of these in large
quantities. 3 Besides, in my devotion to the temple of my God I now
give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God,
over and above everything I have provided for this holy temple: 4 three
thousand talents [b] of gold (gold of Ophir) and seven thousand talents
[c] of refined silver, for the overlaying of the walls of the
buildings, 5 for the gold work and the silver work, and for all the
work to be done by the craftsmen. Now, who is willing to consecrate
himself today to the LORD ?"
6 Then the leaders of families, the officers of the tribes of
Israel, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the
officials in charge of the king's work gave willingly. 7 They gave
toward the work on the temple of God five thousand talents [d] and ten
thousand darics [e] of gold, ten thousand talents [f] of silver,
eighteen thousand talents [g] of bronze and a hundred thousand talents
[h] of iron. 8 Any who had precious stones gave them to the treasury of
the temple of the LORD in the custody of Jehiel the Gershonite. 9 The
people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had
given freely and wholeheartedly to the LORD. David the king also
rejoiced greatly.
David's Prayer
10 David praised the LORD in the presence of the whole
assembly, saying,
"Praise be
to you, O LORD,
God of our
father Israel,
from
everlasting to everlasting.
11 Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power
and the
glory and the majesty and the splendor,
for
everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, O
LORD, is the kingdom;
you are
exalted as head over all.
12 Wealth and honor come from you;
you are
the ruler of all things.
In your
hands are strength and power
to exalt
and give strength to all.
13 Now, our God, we give you thanks,
and praise
your glorious name.
14 "But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be
able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we
have given you only what comes from your hand. 15 We are aliens and
strangers in your sight, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth
are like a shadow, without hope. 16 O LORD our God, as for all this
abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy
Name, it comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you. 17 I know,
my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All
these things have I given willingly and with honest intent. And now I
have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to
you. 18 O LORD, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep this
desire in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts
loyal to you. 19 And give my son Solomon the wholehearted devotion to
keep your commands, requirements and decrees and to do everything to
build the palatial structure for which I have provided."
20 Then David said to the whole assembly, "Praise the LORD
your God." So they all praised the LORD, the God of their fathers; they
bowed low and fell prostrate before the LORD and the king.
Solomon Acknowledged as King
21 The next day they made sacrifices to the LORD and
presented burnt offerings to him: a thousand bulls, a thousand rams and
a thousand male lambs, together with their drink offerings, and other
sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. 22 They ate and drank with
great joy in the presence of the LORD that day.
Then they
acknowledged Solomon son of David as king a second time, anointing him
before the LORD to be ruler and Zadok to be priest. 23 So Solomon sat
on the throne of the LORD as king in place of his father David. He
prospered and all Israel obeyed him. 24 All the officers and mighty
men, as well as all of King David's sons, pledged their submission to
King Solomon.
25 The LORD highly exalted Solomon in the sight of all Israel
and bestowed on him royal splendor such as no king over Israel ever had
before.
The Death of David
26 David son of Jesse was king over all Israel. 27 He ruled
over Israel forty years—seven in Hebron and thirty-three in
Jerusalem. 28 He died at a good old age, having enjoyed long life,
wealth and honor. His son Solomon succeeded him as king.
29 As for the events of King David's reign, from beginning to
end, they are written in the records of Samuel the seer, the records of
Nathan the prophet and the records of Gad the seer, 30 together with
the details of his reign and power, and the circumstances that
surrounded him and Israel and the kingdoms of all the other lands.
Day
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Psalm 1
BOOK I : Psalms 1-41
1 Blessed is the man
who does
not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand
in the way of sinners
or sit in
the seat of mockers.
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his
law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which
yields its fruit in season
and whose
leaf does not wither.
Whatever
he does prospers.
4 Not so the wicked!
They are
like chaff
that the
wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor
sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
but the
way of the wicked will perish.
Psalm 8
For the director of music. According to gittith [a].
A psalm of David.
1 O LORD, our Lord,
how
majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have
set your glory
above the
heavens.
2 From the lips of children and infants
you have
ordained praise [b]
because of
your enemies,
to silence
the foe and the avenger.
3 When I consider your heavens,
the work
of your fingers,
the moon
and the stars,
which you
have set in place,
4 what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of
man that you care for him?
5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings [c]
and
crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands;
you put
everything under his feet:
7 all flocks and herds,
and the
beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the air,
and the
fish of the sea,
all that
swim the paths of the seas.
9 O LORD, our Lord,
how
majestic is your name in all the earth!
Psalm 19
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies
proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night
after night they display knowledge.
3 There is no speech or language
where
their voice is not heard. [a]
4 Their voice [b] goes out into all the earth,
their
words to the ends of the world.
In the
heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,
5 which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion,
like a
champion rejoicing to run his course.
6 It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes
its circuit to the other;
nothing is
hidden from its heat.
7 The law of the LORD is perfect,
reviving
the soul.
The
statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
making
wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the LORD are right,
giving joy
to the heart.
The
commands of the LORD are radiant,
giving
light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring
forever.
The
ordinances of the LORD are sure
and
altogether righteous.
10 They are more precious than gold,
than much
pure gold;
they are
sweeter than honey,
than honey
from the comb.
11 By them is your servant warned;
in keeping
them there is great reward.
12 Who can discern his errors?
Forgive my
hidden faults.
13 Keep your servant also from willful sins;
may they
not rule over me.
Then will
I be blameless,
innocent
of great transgression.
14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be
pleasing in your sight,
O LORD, my
Rock and my Redeemer.
Psalm 23
A psalm of David.
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads
me beside quiet waters,
3 he restores my soul.
He guides
me in paths of righteousness
for his
name's sake.
4 Even though I walk
through
the valley of the shadow of death, [a]
I will
fear no evil,
for you
are with me;
your rod
and your staff,
they
comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the
presence of my enemies.
You anoint
my head with oil;
my cup
overflows.
6 Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the
days of my life,
and I will
dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.
Psalm 51
For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan
came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.
1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according
to your unfailing love;
according
to your great compassion
blot out
my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity
and
cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin
is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done
what is evil in your sight,
so that
you are proved right when you speak
and
justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful
from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts [a] ;
you teach
[b] me wisdom in the inmost place.
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me,
and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the
bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins
and blot
out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew
a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take
your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant
me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and
sinners will turn back to you.
14 Save me from bloodguilt, O God,
the God
who saves me,
and my
tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips,
and my
mouth will declare your praise.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not
take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 The sacrifices of God are [c] a broken spirit;
a broken
and contrite heart,
O God, you
will not despise.
18 In your good pleasure make Zion prosper;
build up
the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then there will be righteous sacrifices,
whole
burnt offerings to delight you;
then bulls
will be offered on your altar.
Psalm 100
A psalm. For giving thanks.
1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
2 Worship the LORD with gladness;
come
before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the LORD is God.
It is he
who made us, and we are his [a] ;
we are his
people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his
courts with praise;
give
thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his
faithfulness continues through all generations.
Psalm 103
Of David.
1 Praise the LORD, O my soul;
all my
inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget
not all his benefits-
3 who forgives all your sins
and heals
all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns
you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that
your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
6 The LORD works righteousness
and
justice for all the oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds
to the people of Israel:
8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to
anger, abounding in love.
9 He will not always accuse,
nor will
he harbor his anger forever;
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay
us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great
is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has
he removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the
LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
14 for he knows how we are formed,
he
remembers that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are like grass,
he
flourishes like a flower of the field;
16 the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its
place remembers it no more.
17 But from everlasting to everlasting
the LORD's
love is with those who fear him,
and his
righteousness with their children's children-
18 with those who keep his covenant
and
remember to obey his precepts.
19 The LORD has established his throne in heaven,
and his
kingdom rules over all.
20 Praise the LORD, you his angels,
you mighty
ones who do his bidding,
who obey
his word.
21 Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts,
you his
servants who do his will.
22 Praise the LORD, all his works
everywhere
in his dominion.
Praise the
LORD, O my soul.
Psalm 139
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
1 O LORD, you have searched me
and you
know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you
perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are
familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you know
it completely, O LORD.
5 You hem me in—behind and before;
you have
laid your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty
for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can
I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make
my bed in the depths, [a] you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I
settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right
hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the
light become night around me,"
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night
will shine like the day,
for
darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit
me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works
are wonderful,
I know
that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was
made in the secret place.
When I was
woven together in the depths of the earth,
16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the
days ordained for me
were
written in your book
before one
of them came to be.
17 How precious to [b] me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast
is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,
they would
outnumber the grains of sand.
When I
awake,
I am still
with you.
19 If only you would slay the wicked, O God!
Away from
me, you bloodthirsty men!
20 They speak of you with evil intent;
your
adversaries misuse your name.
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD,
and abhor
those who rise up against you?
22 I have nothing but hatred for them;
I count
them my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me
and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead
me in the way everlasting.
Day
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1 Kings 3
Solomon Asks for Wisdom
1 Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt and
married his daughter. He brought her to the City of David until he
finished building his palace and the temple of the LORD, and the wall
around Jerusalem. 2 The people, however, were still sacrificing at the
high places, because a temple had not yet been built for the Name of
the LORD. 3 Solomon showed his love for the LORD by walking according
to the statutes of his father David, except that he offered sacrifices
and burned incense on the high places.
4 The king went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices, for that was
the most important high place, and Solomon offered a thousand burnt
offerings on that altar. 5 At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon
during the night in a dream, and God said, "Ask for whatever you want
me to give you."
6 Solomon answered, "You have shown great kindness to your
servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous
and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and
have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day.
7 "Now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in
place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know
how to carry out my duties. 8 Your servant is here among the people you
have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. 9 So give
your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to
distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this
great people of yours?"
10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. 11
So God said to him, "Since you have asked for this and not for long
life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your
enemies but for discernment in administering justice, 12 I will do what
you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that
there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. 13
Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both
riches and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no
equal among kings. 14 And if you walk in my ways and obey my statutes
and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life." 15
Then Solomon awoke—and he realized it had been a dream.
He returned to
Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the Lord's covenant and sacrificed
burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. [a] Then he gave a feast for
all his court.
A Wise Ruling
16 Now two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.
17 One of them said, "My lord, this woman and I live in the same house.
I had a baby while she was there with me. 18 The third day after my
child was born, this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there was no
one in the house but the two of us.
19 "During the night this woman's son died because she lay on
him. 20 So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from
my side while I your servant was asleep. She put him by her breast and
put her dead son by my breast. 21 The next morning, I got up to nurse
my son—and he was dead! But when I looked at him closely in
the morning light, I saw that it wasn't the son I had borne."
22 The other woman said, "No! The living one is my son; the
dead one is yours."
But the first one
insisted, "No! The dead one is yours; the living one is mine." And so
they argued before the king.
23 The king said, "This one says, 'My son is alive and your
son is dead,' while that one says, 'No! Your son is dead and mine is
alive.' "
24 Then the king said, "Bring me a sword." So they brought a
sword for the king. 25 He then gave an order: "Cut the living child in
two and give half to one and half to the other."
26 The woman whose son was alive was filled with compassion
for her son and said to the king, "Please, my lord, give her the living
baby! Don't kill him!"
But the other said,
"Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!"
27 Then the king gave his ruling: "Give the living baby to
the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother."
28 When all Israel heard the verdict the king had given, they
held the king in awe, because they saw that he had wisdom from God to
administer justice.
1 Kings 6
Solomon Builds the Temple
1 In the four hundred and eightieth [a] year after the
Israelites had come out of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign
over Israel, in the month of Ziv, the second month, he began to build
the temple of the LORD.
2 The temple that King Solomon built for the LORD was sixty
cubits long, twenty wide and thirty high. [b] 3 The portico at the
front of the main hall of the temple extended the width of the temple,
that is twenty cubits, [c] and projected ten cubits [d] from the front
of the temple. 4 He made narrow clerestory windows in the temple. 5
Against the walls of the main hall and inner sanctuary he built a
structure around the building, in which there were side rooms. 6 The
lowest floor was five cubits [e] wide, the middle floor six cubits [f]
and the third floor seven. [g] He made offset ledges around the outside
of the temple so that nothing would be inserted into the temple walls.
7 In building the temple, only blocks dressed at the quarry
were used, and no hammer, chisel or any other iron tool was heard at
the temple site while it was being built.
8 The entrance to the lowest [h] floor was on the south side
of the temple; a stairway led up to the middle level and from there to
the third. 9 So he built the temple and completed it, roofing it with
beams and cedar planks. 10 And he built the side rooms all along the
temple. The height of each was five cubits, and they were attached to
the temple by beams of cedar.
11 The word of the LORD came to Solomon: 12 "As for this
temple you are building, if you follow my decrees, carry out my
regulations and keep all my commands and obey them, I will fulfill
through you the promise I gave to David your father. 13 And I will live
among the Israelites and will not abandon my people Israel."
14 So Solomon built the temple and completed it. 15 He lined
its interior walls with cedar boards, paneling them from the floor of
the temple to the ceiling, and covered the floor of the temple with
planks of pine. 16 He partitioned off twenty cubits [i] at the rear of
the temple with cedar boards from floor to ceiling to form within the
temple an inner sanctuary, the Most Holy Place. 17 The main hall in
front of this room was forty cubits [j] long. 18 The inside of the
temple was cedar, carved with gourds and open flowers. Everything was
cedar; no stone was to be seen.
19 He prepared the inner sanctuary within the temple to set
the ark of the covenant of the LORD there. 20 The inner sanctuary was
twenty cubits long, twenty wide and twenty high. [k] He overlaid the
inside with pure gold, and he also overlaid the altar of cedar. 21
Solomon covered the inside of the temple with pure gold, and he
extended gold chains across the front of the inner sanctuary, which was
overlaid with gold. 22 So he overlaid the whole interior with gold. He
also overlaid with gold the altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary.
23 In the inner sanctuary he made a pair of cherubim of olive
wood, each ten cubits [l] high. 24 One wing of the first cherub was
five cubits long, and the other wing five cubits—ten cubits
from wing tip to wing tip. 25 The second cherub also measured ten
cubits, for the two cherubim were identical in size and shape. 26 The
height of each cherub was ten cubits. 27 He placed the cherubim inside
the innermost room of the temple, with their wings spread out. The wing
of one cherub touched one wall, while the wing of the other touched the
other wall, and their wings touched each other in the middle of the
room. 28 He overlaid the cherubim with gold.
29 On the walls all around the temple, in both the inner and
outer rooms, he carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers. 30 He
also covered the floors of both the inner and outer rooms of the temple
with gold.
31 For the entrance of the inner sanctuary he made doors of
olive wood with five-sided jambs. 32 And on the two olive wood doors he
carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid the cherubim
and palm trees with beaten gold. 33 In the same way he made four-sided
jambs of olive wood for the entrance to the main hall. 34 He also made
two pine doors, each having two leaves that turned in sockets. 35 He
carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers on them and overlaid them
with gold hammered evenly over the carvings.
36 And he built the inner courtyard of three courses of
dressed stone and one course of trimmed cedar beams.
37 The foundation of the temple of the LORD was laid in the
fourth year, in the month of Ziv. 38 In the eleventh year in the month
of Bul, the eighth month, the temple was finished in all its details
according to its specifications. He had spent seven years building it.
1 Kings 7
Solomon Builds His Palace
1 It took Solomon thirteen years, however, to complete the
construction of his palace. 2 He built the Palace of the Forest of
Lebanon a hundred cubits long, fifty wide and thirty high, [m] with
four rows of cedar columns supporting trimmed cedar beams. 3 It was
roofed with cedar above the beams that rested on the
columns—forty-five beams, fifteen to a row. 4 Its windows
were placed high in sets of three, facing each other. 5 All the
doorways had rectangular frames; they were in the front part in sets of
three, facing each other. [n]
6 He made a colonnade fifty cubits long and thirty wide. [o]
In front of it was a portico, and in front of that were pillars and an
overhanging roof.
7 He built the throne hall, the Hall of Justice, where he was
to judge, and he covered it with cedar from floor to ceiling. [p] 8 And
the palace in which he was to live, set farther back, was similar in
design. Solomon also made a palace like this hall for Pharaoh's
daughter, whom he had married.
9 All these structures, from the outside to the great
courtyard and from foundation to eaves, were made of blocks of
high-grade stone cut to size and trimmed with a saw on their inner and
outer faces. 10 The foundations were laid with large stones of good
quality, some measuring ten cubits [q] and some eight. [r] 11 Above
were high-grade stones, cut to size, and cedar beams. 12 The great
courtyard was surrounded by a wall of three courses of dressed stone
and one course of trimmed cedar beams, as was the inner courtyard of
the temple of the LORD with its portico.
The Temple's Furnishings
13 King Solomon sent to Tyre and brought Huram, [s] 14 whose
mother was a widow from the tribe of Naphtali and whose father was a
man of Tyre and a craftsman in bronze. Huram was highly skilled and
experienced in all kinds of bronze work. He came to King Solomon and
did all the work assigned to him.
15 He cast two bronze pillars, each eighteen cubits high and
twelve cubits around, [t] by line. 16 He also made two capitals of cast
bronze to set on the tops of the pillars; each capital was five cubits
[u] high. 17 A network of interwoven chains festooned the capitals on
top of the pillars, seven for each capital. 18 He made pomegranates in
two rows [v] encircling each network to decorate the capitals on top of
the pillars. [w] He did the same for each capital. 19 The capitals on
top of the pillars in the portico were in the shape of lilies, four
cubits [x] high. 20 On the capitals of both pillars, above the
bowl-shaped part next to the network, were the two hundred pomegranates
in rows all around. 21 He erected the pillars at the portico of the
temple. The pillar to the south he named Jakin [y] and the one to the
north Boaz. [z] 22 The capitals on top were in the shape of lilies. And
so the work on the pillars was completed.
23 He made the Sea of cast metal, circular in shape,
measuring ten cubits [aa] from rim to rim and five cubits high. It took
a line of thirty cubits [ab] to measure around it. 24 Below the rim,
gourds encircled it—ten to a cubit. The gourds were cast in
two rows in one piece with the Sea.
25 The Sea stood on twelve bulls, three facing north, three
facing west, three facing south and three facing east. The Sea rested
on top of them, and their hindquarters were toward the center. 26 It
was a handbreadth [ac] in thickness, and its rim was like the rim of a
cup, like a lily blossom. It held two thousand baths. [ad]
27 He also made ten movable stands of bronze; each was four
cubits long, four wide and three high. [ae] 28 This is how the stands
were made: They had side panels attached to uprights. 29 On the panels
between the uprights were lions, bulls and cherubim—and on
the uprights as well. Above and below the lions and bulls were wreaths
of hammered work. 30 Each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze
axles, and each had a basin resting on four supports, cast with wreaths
on each side. 31 On the inside of the stand there was an opening that
had a circular frame one cubit [af] deep. This opening was round, and
with its basework it measured a cubit and a half. [ag] Around its
opening there was engraving. The panels of the stands were square, not
round. 32 The four wheels were under the panels, and the axles of the
wheels were attached to the stand. The diameter of each wheel was a
cubit and a half. 33 The wheels were made like chariot wheels; the
axles, rims, spokes and hubs were all of cast metal.
34 Each stand had four handles, one on each corner,
projecting from the stand. 35 At the top of the stand there was a
circular band half a cubit [ah] deep. The supports and panels were
attached to the top of the stand. 36 He engraved cherubim, lions and
palm trees on the surfaces of the supports and on the panels, in every
available space, with wreaths all around. 37 This is the way he made
the ten stands. They were all cast in the same molds and were identical
in size and shape.
38 He then made ten bronze basins, each holding forty baths
[ai] and measuring four cubits across, one basin to go on each of the
ten stands. 39 He placed five of the stands on the south side of the
temple and five on the north. He placed the Sea on the south side, at
the southeast corner of the temple. 40 He also made the basins and
shovels and sprinkling bowls.
So Huram finished
all the work he had undertaken for King Solomon in the temple of the
LORD :
41 the two pillars;
the two
bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars;
the two
sets of network decorating the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the
pillars;
42 the four hundred pomegranates for the two sets of network
(two rows of pomegranates for each network, decorating the bowl-shaped
capitals on top of the pillars
43 the ten stands with their ten basins;
44 the Sea and the twelve bulls under it;
45 the pots, shovels and sprinkling bowls.
All these objects
that Huram made for King Solomon for the temple of the LORD were of
burnished bronze. 46 The king had them cast in clay molds in the plain
of the Jordan between Succoth and Zarethan. 47 Solomon left all these
things unweighed, because there were so many; the weight of the bronze
was not determined.
48 Solomon also made all the furnishings that were in the
LORD's temple:
the golden
altar;
the golden
table on which was the bread of the Presence;
49 the lampstands of pure gold (five on the right and five on
the left, in front of the inner sanctuary
the gold
floral work and lamps and tongs;
50 the pure gold basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls,
dishes and censers;
and the
gold sockets for the doors of the innermost room, the Most Holy Place,
and also for the doors of the main hall of the temple.
51 When all the work King Solomon had done for the temple of
the LORD was finished, he brought in the things his father David had
dedicated—the silver and gold and the
furnishings—and he placed them in the treasuries of the
LORD's temple.
1 Kings 8
The Ark Brought to the Temple
1 Then King Solomon summoned into his presence at Jerusalem
the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the
Israelite families, to bring up the ark of the LORD's covenant from
Zion, the City of David. 2 All the men of Israel came together to King
Solomon at the time of the festival in the month of Ethanim, the
seventh month.
3 When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the priests took
up the ark, 4 and they brought up the ark of the LORD and the Tent of
Meeting and all the sacred furnishings in it. The priests and Levites
carried them up, 5 and King Solomon and the entire assembly of Israel
that had gathered about him were before the ark, sacrificing so many
sheep and cattle that they could not be recorded or counted.
6 The priests then brought the ark of the LORD's covenant to
its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place,
and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim. 7 The cherubim spread
their wings over the place of the ark and overshadowed the ark and its
carrying poles. 8 These poles were so long that their ends could be
seen from the Holy Place in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from
outside the Holy Place; and they are still there today. 9 There was
nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed
in it at Horeb, where the LORD made a covenant with the Israelites
after they came out of Egypt.
10 When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud
filled the temple of the LORD. 11 And the priests could not perform
their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled
his temple.
12 Then Solomon said, "The LORD has said that he would dwell
in a dark cloud; 13 I have indeed built a magnificent temple for you, a
place for you to dwell forever."
14 While the whole assembly of Israel was standing there, the
king turned around and blessed them. 15 Then he said:
"Praise be
to the LORD, the God of Israel, who with his own hand has fulfilled
what he promised with his own mouth to my father David. For he said, 16
'Since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have not
chosen a city in any tribe of Israel to have a temple built for my Name
to be there, but I have chosen David to rule my people Israel.'
17 "My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for
the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel. 18 But the LORD said to my
father David, 'Because it was in your heart to build a temple for my
Name, you did well to have this in your heart. 19 Nevertheless, you are
not the one to build the temple, but your son, who is your own flesh
and blood—he is the one who will build the temple for my
Name.'
20 "The LORD has kept the promise he made: I have succeeded
David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the LORD
promised, and I have built the temple for the Name of the LORD, the God
of Israel. 21 I have provided a place there for the ark, in which is
the covenant of the LORD that he made with our fathers when he brought
them out of Egypt."
Solomon's Prayer of Dedication
22 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in front
of the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven 23
and said:
"O LORD,
God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth
below—you who keep your covenant of love with your servants
who continue wholeheartedly in your way. 24 You have kept your promise
to your servant David my father; with your mouth you have promised and
with your hand you have fulfilled it—as it is today.
25 "Now LORD, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my
father the promises you made to him when you said, 'You shall never
fail to have a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only
your sons are careful in all they do to walk before me as you have
done.' 26 And now, O God of Israel, let your word that you promised
your servant David my father come true.
27 "But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the
highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have
built! 28 Yet give attention to your servant's prayer and his plea for
mercy, O LORD my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is
praying in your presence this day. 29 May your eyes be open toward this
temple night and day, this place of which you said, 'My Name shall be
there,' so that you will hear the prayer your servant prays toward this
place. 30 Hear the supplication of your servant and of your people
Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your
dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.
31 "When a man wrongs his neighbor and is required to take an
oath and he comes and swears the oath before your altar in this temple,
32 then hear from heaven and act. Judge between your servants,
condemning the guilty and bringing down on his own head what he has
done. Declare the innocent not guilty, and so establish his innocence.
33 "When your people Israel have been defeated by an enemy
because they have sinned against you, and when they turn back to you
and confess your name, praying and making supplication to you in this
temple, 34 then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people
Israel and bring them back to the land you gave to their fathers.
35 "When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because
your people have sinned against you, and when they pray toward this
place and confess your name and turn from their sin because you have
afflicted them, 36 then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your
servants, your people Israel. Teach them the right way to live, and
send rain on the land you gave your people for an inheritance.
37 "When famine or plague comes to the land, or blight or
mildew, locusts or grasshoppers, or when an enemy besieges them in any
of their cities, whatever disaster or disease may come, 38 and when a
prayer or plea is made by any of your people Israel—each one
aware of the afflictions of his own heart, and spreading out his hands
toward this temple- 39 then hear from heaven, your dwelling place.
Forgive and act; deal with each man according to all he does, since you
know his heart (for you alone know the hearts of all men), 40 so that
they will fear you all the time they live in the land you gave our
fathers.
41 "As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people
Israel but has come from a distant land because of your name- 42 for
men will hear of your great name and your mighty hand and your
outstretched arm—when he comes and prays toward this temple,
43 then hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and do whatever the
foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know
your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that
this house I have built bears your Name.
44 "When your people go to war against their enemies,
wherever you send them, and when they pray to the LORD toward the city
you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name, 45 then hear
from heaven their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause.
46 "When they sin against you—for there is no one
who does not sin—and you become angry with them and give them
over to the enemy, who takes them captive to his own land, far away or
near; 47 and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are
held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their
conquerors and say, 'We have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted
wickedly'; 48 and if they turn back to you with all their heart and
soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive, and pray to
you toward the land you gave their fathers, toward the city you have
chosen and the temple I have built for your Name; 49 then from heaven,
your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their plea, and uphold their
cause. 50 And forgive your people, who have sinned against you; forgive
all the offenses they have committed against you, and cause their
conquerors to show them mercy; 51 for they are your people and your
inheritance, whom you brought out of Egypt, out of that iron-smelting
furnace.
52 "May your eyes be open to your servant's plea and to the
plea of your people Israel, and may you listen to them whenever they
cry out to you. 53 For you singled them out from all the nations of the
world to be your own inheritance, just as you declared through your
servant Moses when you, O Sovereign LORD, brought our fathers out of
Egypt."
54 When Solomon had finished all these prayers and
supplications to the LORD, he rose from before the altar of the LORD,
where he had been kneeling with his hands spread out toward heaven. 55
He stood and blessed the whole assembly of Israel in a loud voice,
saying:
56 "Praise be to the LORD, who has given rest to his people
Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good
promises he gave through his servant Moses. 57 May the LORD our God be
with us as he was with our fathers; may he never leave us nor forsake
us. 58 May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to
keep the commands, decrees and regulations he gave our fathers. 59 And
may these words of mine, which I have prayed before the LORD, be near
to the LORD our God day and night, that he may uphold the cause of his
servant and the cause of his people Israel according to each day's
need, 60 so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is
God and that there is no other. 61 But your hearts must be fully
committed to the LORD our God, to live by his decrees and obey his
commands, as at this time."
The Dedication of the Temple
62 Then the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices
before the LORD. 63 Solomon offered a sacrifice of fellowship offerings
[aj] to the LORD : twenty-two thousand cattle and a hundred and twenty
thousand sheep and goats. So the king and all the Israelites dedicated
the temple of the LORD.
64 On that same day the king consecrated the middle part of
the courtyard in front of the temple of the LORD, and there he offered
burnt offerings, grain offerings and the fat of the fellowship
offerings, because the bronze altar before the LORD was too small to
hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the fat of the
fellowship offerings.
65 So Solomon observed the festival at that time, and all
Israel with him—a vast assembly, people from Lebo [ak] Hamath
to the Wadi of Egypt. They celebrated it before the LORD our God for
seven days and seven days more, fourteen days in all. 66 On the
following day he sent the people away. They blessed the king and then
went home, joyful and glad in heart for all the good things the LORD
had done for his servant David and his people Israel.
1 Kings 9
The LORD Appears to Solomon
1 When Solomon had finished building the temple of the LORD
and the royal palace, and had achieved all he had desired to do, 2 the
LORD appeared to him a second time, as he had appeared to him at
Gibeon. 3 The LORD said to him:
"I have
heard the prayer and plea you have made before me; I have consecrated
this temple, which you have built, by putting my Name there forever. My
eyes and my heart will always be there.
4 "As for you, if you walk before me in integrity of heart
and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and
observe my decrees and laws, 5 I will establish your royal throne over
Israel forever, as I promised David your father when I said, 'You shall
never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.'
6 "But if you [al] or your sons turn away from me and do not
observe the commands and decrees I have given you [am] and go off to
serve other gods and worship them, 7 then I will cut off Israel from
the land I have given them and will reject this temple I have
consecrated for my Name. Israel will then become a byword and an object
of ridicule among all peoples. 8 And though this temple is now
imposing, all who pass by will be appalled and will scoff and say, 'Why
has the LORD done such a thing to this land and to this temple?' 9
People will answer, 'Because they have forsaken the LORD their God, who
brought their fathers out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods,
worshiping and serving them—that is why the LORD brought all
this disaster on them.' "
Solomon's Other Activities
10 At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon built
these two buildings—the temple of the LORD and the royal
palace- 11 King Solomon gave twenty towns in Galilee to Hiram king of
Tyre, because Hiram had supplied him with all the cedar and pine and
gold he wanted. 12 But when Hiram went from Tyre to see the towns that
Solomon had given him, he was not pleased with them. 13 "What kind of
towns are these you have given me, my brother?" he asked. And he called
them the Land of Cabul, [an] a name they have to this day. 14 Now Hiram
had sent to the king 120 talents [ao] of gold.
15 Here is the account of the forced labor King Solomon
conscripted to build the LORD's temple, his own palace, the supporting
terraces, [ap] the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, Megiddo and Gezer. 16
(Pharaoh king of Egypt had attacked and captured Gezer. He had set it
on fire. He killed its Canaanite inhabitants and then gave it as a
wedding gift to his daughter, Solomon's wife. 17 And Solomon rebuilt
Gezer.) He built up Lower Beth Horon, 18 Baalath, and Tadmor [aq] in
the desert, within his land, 19 as well as all his store cities and the
towns for his chariots and for his horses [ar] —whatever he
desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon and throughout all the
territory he ruled.
20 All the people left from the Amorites, Hittites,
Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites (these peoples were not Israelites),
21 that is, their descendants remaining in the land, whom the
Israelites could not exterminate [as] —these Solomon
conscripted for his slave labor force, as it is to this day. 22 But
Solomon did not make slaves of any of the Israelites; they were his
fighting men, his government officials, his officers, his captains, and
the commanders of his chariots and charioteers. 23 They were also the
chief officials in charge of Solomon's projects—550 officials
supervising the men who did the work.
24 After Pharaoh's daughter had come up from the City of
David to the palace Solomon had built for her, he constructed the
supporting terraces.
25 Three times a year Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings and
fellowship offerings [at] on the altar he had built for the LORD,
burning incense before the LORD along with them, and so fulfilled the
temple obligations.
26 King Solomon also built ships at Ezion Geber, which is
near Elath in Edom, on the shore of the Red Sea. [au] 27 And Hiram sent
his men—sailors who knew the sea—to serve in the
fleet with Solomon's men. 28 They sailed to Ophir and brought back 420
talents [av] of gold, which they delivered to King Solomon.
1 Kings 10
The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon
1 When the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon and
his relation to the name of the LORD, she came to test him with hard
questions. 2 Arriving at Jerusalem with a very great
caravan—with camels carrying spices, large quantities of
gold, and precious stones—she came to Solomon and talked with
him about all that she had on her mind. 3 Solomon answered all her
questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her. 4 When
the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon and the palace he had
built, 5 the food on his table, the seating of his officials, the
attending servants in their robes, his cupbearers, and the burnt
offerings he made at [aw] the temple of the LORD, she was overwhelmed.
6 She said to the king, "The report I heard in my own country
about your achievements and your wisdom is true. 7 But I did not
believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not
even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth you have far exceeded the
report I heard. 8 How happy your men must be! How happy your officials,
who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! 9 Praise be to
the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the
throne of Israel. Because of the LORD's eternal love for Israel, he has
made you king, to maintain justice and righteousness."
10 And she gave the king 120 talents [ax] of gold, large
quantities of spices, and precious stones. Never again were so many
spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
11 (Hiram's ships brought gold from Ophir; and from there
they brought great cargoes of almugwood [ay] and precious stones. 12
The king used the almugwood to make supports for the temple of the LORD
and for the royal palace, and to make harps and lyres for the
musicians. So much almugwood has never been imported or seen since that
day.)
13 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and
asked for, besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty. Then
she left and returned with her retinue to her own country.
Solomon's Splendor
14 The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was
666 talents, [az] 15 not including the revenues from merchants and
traders and from all the Arabian kings and the governors of the land.
16 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered
gold; six hundred bekas [ba] of gold went into each shield. 17 He also
made three hundred small shields of hammered gold, with three minas
[bb] of gold in each shield. The king put them in the Palace of the
Forest of Lebanon.
18 Then the king made a great throne inlaid with ivory and
overlaid with fine gold. 19 The throne had six steps, and its back had
a rounded top. On both sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion
standing beside each of them. 20 Twelve lions stood on the six steps,
one at either end of each step. Nothing like it had ever been made for
any other kingdom. 21 All King Solomon's goblets were gold, and all the
household articles in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure
gold. Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of
little value in Solomon's days. 22 The king had a fleet of trading
ships [bc] at sea along with the ships of Hiram. Once every three years
it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons.
23 King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the
other kings of the earth. 24 The whole world sought audience with
Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart. 25 Year after
year, everyone who came brought a gift—articles of silver and
gold, robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules.
26 Solomon accumulated chariots and horses; he had fourteen
hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses, [bd] which he kept in the
chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. 27 The king made silver
as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as
sycamore-fig trees in the foothills. 28 Solomon's horses were imported
from Egypt [be] and from Kue [bf]—the royal merchants
purchased them from Kue. 29 They imported a chariot from Egypt for six
hundred shekels [bg] of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty.
[bh] They also exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and of
the Arameans.
1 Kings 11
Solomon's Wives
1 King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides
Pharaoh's daughter—Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians
and Hittites. 2 They were from nations about which the LORD had told
the Israelites, "You must not intermarry with them, because they will
surely turn your hearts after their gods." Nevertheless, Solomon held
fast to them in love. 3 He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and
three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. 4 As Solomon
grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart
was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his
father had been. 5 He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians,
and Molech [bi] the detestable god of the Ammonites. 6 So Solomon did
evil in the eyes of the LORD; he did not follow the LORD completely, as
David his father had done.
7 On a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for
Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and for Molech the detestable god
of the Ammonites. 8 He did the same for all his foreign wives, who
burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods.
9 The LORD became angry with Solomon because his heart had
turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him
twice. 10 Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods,
Solomon did not keep the LORD's command. 11 So the LORD said to
Solomon, "Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant
and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the
kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates. 12
Nevertheless, for the sake of David your father, I will not do it
during your lifetime. I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13
Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom from him, but will give him one
tribe for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem,
which I have chosen."
Solomon's Adversaries
14 Then the LORD raised up against Solomon an adversary,
Hadad the Edomite, from the royal line of Edom. 15 Earlier when David
was fighting with Edom, Joab the commander of the army, who had gone up
to bury the dead, had struck down all the men in Edom. 16 Joab and all
the Israelites stayed there for six months, until they had destroyed
all the men in Edom. 17 But Hadad, still only a boy, fled to Egypt with
some Edomite officials who had served his father. 18 They set out from
Midian and went to Paran. Then taking men from Paran with them, they
went to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave Hadad a house and
land and provided him with food.
19 Pharaoh was so pleased with Hadad that he gave him a
sister of his own wife, Queen Tahpenes, in marriage. 20 The sister of
Tahpenes bore him a son named Genubath, whom Tahpenes brought up in the
royal palace. There Genubath lived with Pharaoh's own children.
21 While he was in Egypt, Hadad heard that David rested with
his fathers and that Joab the commander of the army was also dead. Then
Hadad said to Pharaoh, "Let me go, that I may return to my own country."
22 "What have you lacked here that you want to go back to
your own country?" Pharaoh asked.
"Nothing," Hadad
replied, "but do let me go!"
23 And God raised up against Solomon another adversary, Rezon
son of Eliada, who had fled from his master, Hadadezer king of Zobah.
24 He gathered men around him and became the leader of a band of rebels
when David destroyed the forces [bj] of Zobah ; the rebels went to
Damascus, where they settled and took control. 25 Rezon was Israel's
adversary as long as Solomon lived, adding to the trouble caused by
Hadad. So Rezon ruled in Aram and was hostile toward Israel.
Jeroboam Rebels Against Solomon
26 Also, Jeroboam son of Nebat rebelled against the king. He
was one of Solomon's officials, an Ephraimite from Zeredah, and his
mother was a widow named Zeruah.
27 Here is the account of how he rebelled against the king:
Solomon had built the supporting terraces [bk] and had filled in the
gap in the wall of the city of David his father. 28 Now Jeroboam was a
man of standing, and when Solomon saw how well the young man did his
work, he put him in charge of the whole labor force of the house of
Joseph.
29 About that time Jeroboam was going out of Jerusalem, and
Ahijah the prophet of Shiloh met him on the way, wearing a new cloak.
The two of them were alone out in the country, 30 and Ahijah took hold
of the new cloak he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces. 31 Then
he said to Jeroboam, "Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what
the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'See, I am going to tear the kingdom
out of Solomon's hand and give you ten tribes. 32 But for the sake of
my servant David and the city of Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of
all the tribes of Israel, he will have one tribe. 33 I will do this
because they have [bl] forsaken me and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess
of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Molech the god
of the Ammonites, and have not walked in my ways, nor done what is
right in my eyes, nor kept my statutes and laws as David, Solomon's
father, did.
34 " 'But I will not take the whole kingdom out of Solomon's
hand; I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of
David my servant, whom I chose and who observed my commands and
statutes. 35 I will take the kingdom from his son's hands and give you
ten tribes. 36 I will give one tribe to his son so that David my
servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I
chose to put my Name. 37 However, as for you, I will take you, and you
will rule over all that your heart desires; you will be king over
Israel. 38 If you do whatever I command you and walk in my ways and do
what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and commands, as David
my servant did, I will be with you. I will build you a dynasty as
enduring as the one I built for David and will give Israel to you. 39 I
will humble David's descendants because of this, but not forever.' "
40 Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam fled to
Egypt, to Shishak the king, and stayed there until Solomon's death.
Solomon's Death
41 As for the other events of Solomon's reign—all
he did and the wisdom he displayed—are they not written in
the book of the annals of Solomon? 42 Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over
all Israel forty years. 43 Then he rested with his fathers and was
buried in the city of David his father. And Rehoboam his son succeeded
him as king.
1 Kings 12
Israel Rebels Against Rehoboam
1 Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all the Israelites had gone
there to make him king. 2 When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard this (he was
still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), he returned from
[bm] Egypt. 3 So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and the whole assembly
of Israel went to Rehoboam and said to him: 4 "Your father put a heavy
yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put
on us, and we will serve you."
5 Rehoboam answered, "Go away for three days and then come
back to me." So the people went away.
6 Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who had served his
father Solomon during his lifetime. "How would you advise me to answer
these people?" he asked.
7 They replied, "If today you will be a servant to these
people and serve them and give them a favorable answer, they will
always be your servants."
8 But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and
consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him.
9 He asked them, "What is your advice? How should we answer these
people who say to me, 'Lighten the yoke your father put on us'?"
10 The young men who had grown up with him replied, "Tell
these people who have said to you, 'Your father put a heavy yoke on us,
but make our yoke lighter'-tell them, 'My little finger is thicker than
my father's waist. 11 My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make
it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you
with scorpions.' "
12 Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to
Rehoboam, as the king had said, "Come back to me in three days." 13 The
king answered the people harshly. Rejecting the advice given him by the
elders, 14 he followed the advice of the young men and said, "My father
made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged
you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions." 15 So the king did
not listen to the people, for this turn of events was from the LORD, to
fulfill the word the LORD had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through
Ahijah the Shilonite.
16 When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to
them, they answered the king:
"What
share do we have in David,
what part
in Jesse's son?
To your
tents, O Israel!
Look after
your own house, O David!"
So the Israelites
went home. 17 But as for the Israelites who were living in the towns of
Judah, Rehoboam still ruled over them.
18 King Rehoboam sent out Adoniram, [bn] who was in charge of
forced labor, but all Israel stoned him to death. King Rehoboam,
however, managed to get into his chariot and escape to Jerusalem. 19 So
Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.
20 When all the Israelites heard that Jeroboam had returned,
they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all
Israel. Only the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the house of David.
21 When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mustered the whole
house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin—a hundred and eighty
thousand fighting men—to make war against the house of Israel
and to regain the kingdom for Rehoboam son of Solomon.
22 But this word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God: 23
"Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah, to the whole house of
Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, 24 'This is what the
LORD says: Do not go up to fight against your brothers, the Israelites.
Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing.' " So they obeyed the
word of the LORD and went home again, as the LORD had ordered.
Golden Calves at Bethel and Dan
25 Then Jeroboam fortified Shechem in the hill country of
Ephraim and lived there. From there he went out and built up Peniel.
[bo]
26 Jeroboam thought to himself, "The kingdom will now likely
revert to the house of David. 27 If these people go up to offer
sacrifices at the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem, they will again give
their allegiance to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah. They will kill
me and return to King Rehoboam."
28 After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He
said to the people, "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here
are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt." 29 One he
set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan. 30 And this thing became a sin;
the people went even as far as Dan to worship the one there.
31 Jeroboam built shrines on high places and appointed
priests from all sorts of people, even though they were not Levites. 32
He instituted a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like
the festival held in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. This
he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves he had made. And at Bethel
he also installed priests at the high places he had made. 33 On the
fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month of his own choosing, he
offered sacrifices on the altar he had built at Bethel. So he
instituted the festival for the Israelites and went up to the altar to
make offerings.
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2 Chronicles 5
1 When all the work Solomon had done for the temple of the
LORD was finished, he brought in the things his father David had
dedicated—the silver and gold and all the
furnishings—and he placed them in the treasuries of God's
temple.
The Ark Brought to the Temple
2 Then Solomon summoned to Jerusalem the elders of Israel,
all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the Israelite families,
to bring up the ark of the LORD's covenant from Zion, the City of
David. 3 And all the men of Israel came together to the king at the
time of the festival in the seventh month.
4 When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the Levites took
up the ark, 5 and they brought up the ark and the Tent of Meeting and
all the sacred furnishings in it. The priests, who were Levites,
carried them up; 6 and King Solomon and the entire assembly of Israel
that had gathered about him were before the ark, sacrificing so many
sheep and cattle that they could not be recorded or counted.
7 The priests then brought the ark of the LORD's covenant to
its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place,
and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim. 8 The cherubim spread
their wings over the place of the ark and covered the ark and its
carrying poles. 9 These poles were so long that their ends, extending
from the ark, could be seen from in front of the inner sanctuary, but
not from outside the Holy Place; and they are still there today. 10
There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets that Moses had
placed in it at Horeb, where the LORD made a covenant with the
Israelites after they came out of Egypt.
11 The priests then withdrew from the Holy Place. All the
priests who were there had consecrated themselves, regardless of their
divisions. 12 All the Levites who were musicians—Asaph,
Heman, Jeduthun and their sons and relatives—stood on the
east side of the altar, dressed in fine linen and playing cymbals,
harps and lyres. They were accompanied by 120 priests sounding
trumpets. 13 The trumpeters and singers joined in unison, as with one
voice, to give praise and thanks to the LORD. Accompanied by trumpets,
cymbals and other instruments, they raised their voices in praise to
the LORD and sang:
"He is
good;
his love
endures forever."
Then the temple of
the LORD was filled with a cloud, 14 and the priests could not perform
their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled
the temple of God.
2 Chronicles 6
1 Then Solomon said, "The LORD has said that he would dwell
in a dark cloud; 2 I have built a magnificent temple for you, a place
for you to dwell forever."
3 While the whole assembly of Israel was standing there, the
king turned around and blessed them. 4 Then he said:
"Praise be
to the LORD, the God of Israel, who with his hands has fulfilled what
he promised with his mouth to my father David. For he said, 5 'Since
the day I brought my people out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city in
any tribe of Israel to have a temple built for my Name to be there, nor
have I chosen anyone to be the leader over my people Israel. 6 But now
I have chosen Jerusalem for my Name to be there, and I have chosen
David to rule my people Israel.'
7 "My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for
the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel. 8 But the LORD said to my
father David, 'Because it was in your heart to build a temple for my
Name, you did well to have this in your heart. 9 Nevertheless, you are
not the one to build the temple, but your son, who is your own flesh
and blood—he is the one who will build the temple for my
Name.'
10 "The LORD has kept the promise he made. I have succeeded
David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the LORD
promised, and I have built the temple for the Name of the LORD, the God
of Israel. 11 There I have placed the ark, in which is the covenant of
the LORD that he made with the people of Israel."
Solomon's Prayer of Dedication
12 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in front
of the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands. 13 Now he had
made a bronze platform, five cubits [a] long, five cubits wide and
three cubits [b] high, and had placed it in the center of the outer
court. He stood on the platform and then knelt down before the whole
assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven. 14 He said:
"O LORD,
God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven or on
earth—you who keep your covenant of love with your servants
who continue wholeheartedly in your way. 15 You have kept your promise
to your servant David my father; with your mouth you have promised and
with your hand you have fulfilled it—as it is today.
16 "Now LORD, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my
father the promises you made to him when you said, 'You shall never
fail to have a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only
your sons are careful in all they do to walk before me according to my
law, as you have done.' 17 And now, O LORD, God of Israel, let your
word that you promised your servant David come true.
18 "But will God really dwell on earth with men? The heavens,
even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple
I have built! 19 Yet give attention to your servant's prayer and his
plea for mercy, O LORD my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your
servant is praying in your presence. 20 May your eyes be open toward
this temple day and night, this place of which you said you would put
your Name there. May you hear the prayer your servant prays toward this
place. 21 Hear the supplications of your servant and of your people
Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your
dwelling place; and when you hear, forgive.
22 "When a man wrongs his neighbor and is required to take an
oath and he comes and swears the oath before your altar in this temple,
23 then hear from heaven and act. Judge between your servants, repaying
the guilty by bringing down on his own head what he has done. Declare
the innocent not guilty and so establish his innocence.
24 "When your people Israel have been defeated by an enemy
because they have sinned against you and when they turn back and
confess your name, praying and making supplication before you in this
temple, 25 then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people
Israel and bring them back to the land you gave to them and their
fathers.
26 "When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because
your people have sinned against you, and when they pray toward this
place and confess your name and turn from their sin because you have
afflicted them, 27 then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your
servants, your people Israel. Teach them the right way to live, and
send rain on the land you gave your people for an inheritance.
28 "When famine or plagu