Abimelech Rules over Shechem
9One day Gideon's son Abimelech went to Shechem to visit his uncles—his mother's brothers. He said to them and to the rest of his mother's family,H40Jotham’s Parable
7When Jotham heard about this, he climbed to the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted, "Listen to me, citizens of Shechem! Listen to me if you want God to listen to you!H5046Shechem Rebels against Abimelech
22After Abimelech had ruled over Israel for three years,H40Tola Becomes Israel’s Judge
10After Abimelech died, Tola son of Puah, son of Dodo, was the next person to rescue Israel. He was from the tribe of Issachar but lived in the town of Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim.H310Jair Becomes Israel’s Judge
3After Tola died, Jair from Gilead judged Israel for twenty-two years.H310The Ammonites Oppress Israel
6Again the Israelites did evil in the LORD's sight. They served the images of Baal and Ashtoreth, and the gods of Aram, Sidon, Moab, Ammon, and Philistia. They abandoned the LORD and no longer served him at all.H1121Jephthah Becomes Israel’s Judge
11Now Jephthah of Gilead was a great warrior. He was the son of Gilead, but his mother was a prostitute.H33162Gilead's wife also had several sons, and when these half brothers grew up, they chased Jephthah off the land. "You will not get any of our father's inheritance," they said, "for you are the son of a prostitute."H1568H802H3205H1121H802H1121H1431H1644H3316H559H5157H1H1004H1121H312H802
3So Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob. Soon he had a band of worthless rebels following him.H3316H1272H6440H251H3427H776H2897H3950H7386H582H3316H3318
4At about this time, the Ammonites began their war against Israel.H3117H1121H5983H3898H3478
5When the Ammonites attacked, the elders of Gilead sent for Jephthah in the land of Tob. The elders said,H1121H5983H3898H3478H2205H1568H3212H3947H3316H776H2897
6"Come and be our commander! Help us fight the Ammonites!"H559H3316H3212H7101H3898H1121H5983
7But Jephthah said to them, "Aren't you the ones who hated me and drove me from my father's house? Why do you come to me now when you're in trouble?"H3316H559H2205H1568H8130H1644H1H1004H935H6887
8"Because we need you," the elders replied. "If you lead us in battle against the Ammonites, we will make you ruler over all the people of Gilead."H2205H1568H559H3316H7725H1980H3898H1121H5983H7218H3427H1568
9Jephthah said to the elders, "Let me get this straight. If I come with you and if the LORD gives me victory over the Ammonites, will you really make me ruler over all the people?"H3316H559H2205H1568H7725H3898H1121H5983H3068H5414H6440H7218
10"The LORD is our witness," the elders replied. "We promise to do whatever you say."H2205H1568H559H3316H3068H8085H6213H1697
11So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him their ruler and commander of the army. At Mizpah, in the presence of the LORD, Jephthah repeated what he had said to the elders.H3316H3212H2205H1568H5971H7760H7218H7101H3316H1696H1697H6440H3068H4709
12Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of Ammon, asking, "Why have you come out to fight against my land?"H3316H7971H4397H4428H1121H5983H559H935H3898H776
13The king of Ammon answered Jephthah's messengers, "When the Israelites came out of Egypt, they stole my land from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River and all the way to the Jordan. Now then, give back the land peaceably."H4428H1121H5983H559H4397H3316H3478H3947H776H5927H4714H769H2999H3383H7725H7965
14Jephthah sent this message back to the Ammonite king.H3316H7971H4397H3254H4428H1121H5983
15"This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not steal any land from Moab or Ammon.H559H559H3316H3478H3947H776H4124H776H1121H5983
16When the people of Israel arrived at Kadesh on their journey from Egypt after crossing the Red Sea,H3478H5927H4714H3212H4057H5488H3220H935H6946
17they sent messengers to the king of Edom asking for permission to pass through his land. But their request was denied. Then they asked the king of Moab for similar permission, but he wouldn't let them pass through either. So the people of Israel stayed in Kadesh.H3478H7971H4397H4428H123H559H5674H776H4428H123H8085H7971H4428H4124H14H3478H3427H6946
18"Finally, they went around Edom and Moab through the wilderness. They traveled along Moab's eastern border and camped on the other side of the Arnon River. But they never once crossed the Arnon River into Moab, for the Arnon was the border of Moab.H3212H4057H5437H776H123H776H4124H935H4217H8121H776H4124H2583H5676H769H935H1366H4124H769H1366H4124
19"Then Israel sent messengers to King Sihon of the Amorites, who ruled from Heshbon, asking for permission to cross through his land to get to their destination.H3478H7971H4397H5511H4428H567H4428H2809H3478H559H5674H776H5704H4725
20But King Sihon didn't trust Israel to pass through his land. Instead, he mobilized his army at Jahaz and attacked them.H5511H539H3478H5674H1366H5511H622H5971H622H2583H3096H3898H3478
21But the LORD, the God of Israel, gave his people victory over King Sihon. So Israel took control of all the land of the Amorites, who lived in that region,H3068H430H3478H5414H5511H5971H3027H3478H5221H3478H3423H776H567H3427H776
22from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River, and from the eastern wilderness to the Jordan.H3423H1366H567H769H2999H4057H3383
23"So you see, it was the LORD, the God of Israel, who took away the land from the Amorites and gave it to Israel. Why, then, should we give it back to you?H3068H430H3478H3423H567H6440H5971H3478H3423
24You keep whatever your god Chemosh gives you, and we will keep whatever the LORD our God gives us.H3423H3645H430H3423H3068H430H3423H6440H3423
25Are you any better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he try to make a case against Israel for disputed land? Did he go to war against them?H2896H1111H1121H6834H4428H4124H7378H7378H3478H3898H3898
26"Israel has been living here for 300 years, inhabiting Heshbon and its surrounding settlements, all the way to Aroer and its settlements, and in all the towns along the Arnon River. Why have you made no effort to recover it before now?H3478H3427H2809H1323H6177H1323H5892H3027H769H7969H3967H8141H5337H6256
27Therefore, I have not sinned against you. Rather, you have wronged me by attacking me. Let the LORD, who is judge, decide today which of us is right—Israel or Ammon."H2398H6213H853H7451H3898H3068H8199H8199H3117H1121H3478H1121H5983
28But the king of Ammon paid no attention to Jephthah's message.H4428H1121H5983H8085H1697H3316H7971 H3068H3316H5674H1568H4519H5674H4708H1568H4708H1568H5674H1121H5983
Jephthah’s Vow
29At that time the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he went throughout the land of Gilead and Manasseh, including Mizpah in Gilead, and from there he led an army against the Ammonites.H730730And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD. He said, "If you give me victory over the Ammonites,H3316H5087H5088H3068H559H5414H5414H1121H5983H3027
31I will give to the LORD whatever comes out of my house to meet me when I return in triumph. I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering."H3318H3318H1817H1004H7125H7725H7965H1121H5983H3068H5927H5930
32So Jephthah led his army against the Ammonites, and the LORD gave him victory.H3316H5674H1121H5983H3898H3068H5414H3027
33He crushed the Ammonites, devastating about twenty towns from Aroer to an area near Minnith and as far away as Abel-keramim. In this way Israel defeated the Ammonites.H5221H6177H935H4511H6242H5892H58H3754H64H3966H1419H4347H1121H5983H3665H6440H1121H3478
34When Jephthah returned home to Mizpah, his daughter came out to meet him, playing on a tambourine and dancing for joy. She was his one and only child; he had no other sons or daughters.H3316H935H4709H1004H1323H3318H7125H8596H4246H3173H1121H176H1323
35When he saw her, he tore his clothes in anguish. "Oh, my daughter!" he cried out. "You have completely destroyed me! You've brought disaster on me! For I have made a vow to the LORD, and I cannot take it back."H7200H7167H899H559H162H1323H3766H3766H3766H5916H6475H6310H3068H3201H7725
36And she said, "Father, if you have made a vow to the LORD, you must do to me what you have vowed, for the LORD has given you a great victory over your enemies, the Ammonites.H559H1H6475H6310H3068H6213H834H3318H6310H310H3068H6213H5360H341H1121H5983
37But first let me do this one thing: Let me go up and roam in the hills and weep with my friends for two months, because I will die a virgin."H559H1H1697H6213H7503H8147H2320H3212H3381H2022H1058H1331H7464H7474
38"You may go," Jephthah said. And he sent her away for two months. She and her friends went into the hills and wept because she would never have children.H559H3212H7971H8147H2320H3212H7464H1058H1331H2022
39When she returned home, her father kept the vow he had made, and she died a virgin. So it has become a custom in IsraelH7093H8147H2320H7725H1H6213H5088H5087H3045H376H2706H3478
40for young Israelite women to go away for four days each year to lament the fate of Jephthah's daughter.H1323H3478H3212H3117H3117H8567H1323H3316H1569H702H3117H8141
H669H6817H5674H6828H559H3316H5674H3898H1121H5983H7121H3212H8313H1004H784
Ephraim Fights with Jephthah
12Then the people of Ephraim mobilized an army and crossed over the Jordan River to Zaphon. They sent this message to Jephthah: "Why didn't you call for us to help you fight against the Ammonites? We are going to burn down your house with you in it!"H3762Jephthah replied, "I summoned you at the beginning of the dispute, but you refused to come! You failed to help us in our struggle against Ammon.H3316H559H5971H1961H3966H376H7379H1121H5983H2199H3467H3027
3So when I realized you weren't coming, I risked my life and went to battle without you, and the LORD gave me victory over the Ammonites. So why have you now come to fight me?"H7200H3467H7760H5315H3709H5674H1121H5983H3068H5414H3027H5927H3117H3898
4The people of Ephraim responded, "You men of Gilead are nothing more than fugitives from Ephraim and Manasseh." So Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and attacked the men of Ephraim and defeated them.H3316H6908H582H1568H3898H669H582H1568H5221H669H559H1568H6412H669H8432H669H8432H4519
5Jephthah captured the shallow crossings of the Jordan River, and whenever a fugitive from Ephraim tried to go back across, the men of Gilead would challenge him. "Are you a member of the tribe of Ephraim?" they would ask. If the man said, "No, I'm not,"H1568H3920H4569H3383H669H669H6412H559H5674H582H1568H559H673H559
6they would tell him to say "Shibboleth." If he was from Ephraim, he would say "Sibboleth," because people from Ephraim cannot pronounce the word correctly. Then they would take him and kill him at the shallow crossings of the Jordan. In all, 42,000 Ephraimites were killed at that time.H559H559H7641H559H5451H3559H1696H3559H270H7819H4569H3383H5307H6256H669H705H8147H505
7Jephthah judged Israel for six years. When he died, he was buried in one of the towns of Gilead.H3316H8199H3478H8337H8141H4191H3316H1569H6912H5892H1568 H78H1035H8199H3478
Ibzan Becomes Israel’s Judge
8After Jephthah died, Ibzan from Bethlehem judged Israel.H3109He had thirty sons and thirty daughters. He sent his daughters to marry men outside his clan, and he brought in thirty young women from outside his clan to marry his sons. Ibzan judged Israel for seven years.H7970H1121H7970H1323H7971H2351H935H7970H1323H2351H1121H8199H3478H7651H8141
10When he died, he was buried at Bethlehem.H4191H78H6912H1035 H356H2075H8199H3478H8199H3478H6235H8141
Elon Becomes Israel’s Judge
11After Ibzan died, Elon from the tribe of Zebulun judged Israel for ten years.H31012When he died, he was buried at Aijalon in Zebulun.H356H2075H4191H6912H357H776H2074 H5658H1121H1985H6553H8199H3478
Abdon Becomes Israel’s Judge
13After Elon died, Abdon son of Hillel, from Pirathon, judged Israel.H31014He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys. He judged Israel for eight years.H705H1121H7970H1121H1121H7392H7657H5895H8199H3478H8083H8141
15When he died, he was buried at Pirathon in Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.H5658H1121H1985H6553H4191H6912H6552H776H669H2022H6003
73[A psalm of Asaph.] Truly God is good to Israel, to those whose hearts are pure.H4210H623H430H2896H3478H1249H3824
2But as for me, I almost lost my footing. My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone.H7272H4592H5186H5186H838H369H8210
3For I envied the proud when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness.H7065H1984H7200H7965H7563
4They seem to live such painless lives; their bodies are so healthy and strong.H2784H4194H193H1277
5They don’t have troubles like other people; they’re not plagued with problems like everyone else.H5999H582H5060H5973H120
6They wear pride like a jeweled necklace and clothe themselves with cruelty.H1346H6059H2555H5848H7897
7These fat cats have everything their hearts could ever wish for!H5869H3318H2459H5674H3824H4906
8They scoff and speak only evil; in their pride they seek to crush others.H4167H1696H7451H6233H1696H4791
9They boast against the very heavens, and their words strut throughout the earth.H8371H6310H8064H3956H1980H776
10And so the people are dismayed and confused, drinking in all their words.H5971H7725H7725H1988H4325H4392H4680
11“What does God know?” they ask. “Does the Most High even know what’s happening?”H559H410H3045H3426H1844H5945
12Look at these wicked people—enjoying a life of ease while their riches multiply.H7563H7961H5769H7685H2428
13Did I keep my heart pure for nothing? Did I keep myself innocent for no reason?H2135H3824H7385H7364H3709H5356
14I get nothing but trouble all day long; every morning brings me pain.H3117H5060H8433H1242
15If I had really spoken this way to others, I would have been a traitor to your people.H559H5608H3644H898H1755H1121
16So I tried to understand why the wicked prosper. But what a difficult task it is!H2803H3045H5999H5869
17Then I went into your sanctuary, O God, and I finally understood the destiny of the wicked.H935H4720H410H995H319
18Truly, you put them on a slippery path and send them sliding over the cliff to destruction.H7896H2513H5307H4876
19In an instant they are destroyed, completely swept away by terrors.H8047H7281H5486H8552H1091
20When you arise, O Lord, you will laugh at their silly ideas as a person laughs at dreams in the morning.H2472H6974H136H5782H959H6754
21Then I realized that my heart was bitter, and I was all torn up inside.H3824H2556H8150H3629
22I was so foolish and ignorant—I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you.H1198H3045H929
23Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand.H8548H270H3225H3027
24You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny.H5148H6098H310H3947H3519
25Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth.H8064H776H2654
26My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.H7607H3824H3615H430H6697H3824H2506H5769
New Testament
27Those who desert him will perish, for you destroy those who abandon you.H7369H6H6789H2181
28But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.H589H2896H7132H430H7896H4268H136H3069H5608H4399
New Living Translation (NLT). Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. More details.
Old Testament
- 1. Genesis (50)
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- 20
- 21
- 22
- 23
- 24
- 25
- 26
- 27
- 28
- 29
- 30
- 31
- 32
- 33
- 34
- 35
- 36
- 37
- 38
- 39
- 40
- 41
- 42
- 43
- 44
- 45
- 46
- 47
- 48
- 49
- 50
- 19. Psalms (150)
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- 20
- 21
- 22
- 23
- 24
- 25
- 26
- 27
- 28
- 29
- 30
- 31
- 32
- 33
- 34
- 35
- 36
- 37
- 38
- 39
- 40
- 41
- 42
- 43
- 44
- 45
- 46
- 47
- 48
- 49
- 50
- 51
- 52
- 53
- 54
- 55
- 56
- 57
- 58
- 59
- 60
- 61
- 62
- 63
- 64
- 65
- 66
- 67
- 68
- 69
- 70
- 71
- 72
- 73
- 74
- 75
- 76
- 77
- 78
- 79
- 80
- 81
- 82
- 83
- 84
- 85
- 86
- 87
- 88
- 89
- 90
- 91
- 92
- 93
- 94
- 95
- 96
- 97
- 98
- 99
- 100
- 101
- 102
- 103
- 104
- 105
- 106
- 107
- 108
- 109
- 110
- 111
- 112
- 113
- 114
- 115
- 116
- 117
- 118
- 119
- 120
- 121
- 122
- 123
- 124
- 125
- 126
- 127
- 128
- 129
- 130
- 131
- 132
- 133
- 134
- 135
- 136
- 137
- 138
- 139
- 140
- 141
- 142
- 143
- 144
- 145
- 146
- 147
- 148
- 149
- 150
- 23. Isaiah (66)
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- 20
- 21
- 22
- 23
- 24
- 25
- 26
- 27
- 28
- 29
- 30
- 31
- 32
- 33
- 34
- 35
- 36
- 37
- 38
- 39
- 40
- 41
- 42
- 43
- 44
- 45
- 46
- 47
- 48
- 49
- 50
- 51
- 52
- 53
- 54
- 55
- 56
- 57
- 58
- 59
- 60
- 61
- 62
- 63
- 64
- 65
- 66
- 24. Jeremiah (52)
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- 20
- 21
- 22
- 23
- 24
- 25
- 26
- 27
- 28
- 29
- 30
- 31
- 32
- 33
- 34
- 35
- 36
- 37
- 38
- 39
- 40
- 41
- 42
- 43
- 44
- 45
- 46
- 47
- 48
- 49
- 50
- 51
- 52
- 26. Ezekiel (48)
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- 20
- 21
- 22
- 23
- 24
- 25
- 26
- 27
- 28
- 29
- 30
- 31
- 32
- 33
- 34
- 35
- 36
- 37
- 38
- 39
- 40
- 41
- 42
- 43
- 44
- 45
- 46
- 47
- 48
- 31. Obadiah (1)
- 1
New Testament
- 57. Philemon (1)
- 1
- 63. 2 John (1)
- 1
- 64. 3 John (1)
- 1
- 65. Jude (1)
- 1