new-king-james-version-en.pdf

The Holy Bible containing the Old and New Testaments REFERENCE EDITION center-column references, translation notes, significant textual variants, concordance, and maps Words of Christ in Red

The Holy Bible, New King James Version® © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Published by Thomas Nelson in Nashville, TN. Thomas Nelson is a trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc. The text of the New King James Version (NKJV) may be quoted or reprinted without prior written permission with the following qualifications: (1) up to and including 1,000 verses may be quoted in printed form as long as the verses quoted amount to less than 50% of a complete book of the Bible and make up less than 50% of the total work in which they are quoted; (2) all NKJV quotations must conform accurately to the NKJV text. Any use of the NKJV text must include a proper acknowledgement as follows: Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. However, when quotations from the NKJV text are used in church bulletins, orders of service, Sunday School lessons, church newsletters, and similar works in the course of religious instruction or services at a place of worship or other religious assembly, the following notice may be used at the end of each quotations: NKJV. For quotation requests not covered by the above guidelines, write to Thomas Nelson Publishers, Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, Tennessee 37214-1000. All Rights Reserved 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 – 14 13 12 11 10 09 08

Purpose In the preface to the 1611 edition, the translators of the Authorized Version, known popularly as the King James Bible, state that it was not their purpose “to make a new translation . . . but to make a good one better.” Indebted to the earlier work of William Tyndale and others, they saw their best contribution to consist in revising and enhancing the excellence of the English versions which had sprung from the Reformation of the sixteenth century. In harmony with the purpose of the King James scholars, the translators and editors of the present work have not pursued a goal of innovation. They have perceived the Holy Bible, New King James Version, as a continuation of the labors of the earlier translators, thus un- locking for today’s readers the spiritual treasures found especially in the Autho- rized Version of the Holy Scriptures. A Living Legacy For nearly four hundred years, and throughout several revisions of its English form, the King James Bible has been deeply revered among the English-speaking peo- ples of the world. The precision of transla- tion for which it is historically renowned, and its majesty of style, have enabled that monumental version of the word of God to become the mainspring of the religion, language, and legal foundations of our civilization. Although the Elizabethan period and our own era share in zeal for technical ad- vance, the former period was more ag- gressively devoted to classical learning. Along with this awakened concern for the classics came a flourishing companion in- terest in the Scriptures, an interest that was enlivened by the conviction that the manuscripts were providentially handed down and were a trustworthy record of the inspired Word of God. The King James translators were committed to producing an English Bible that would be a precise translation, and by no means a para- phrase or a broadly approximate render- ing. On the one hand, the scholars were almost as familiar with the original lan- guages of the Bible as with their native English. On the other hand, their rever- ence for the divine Author and His Word assured a translation of the Scriptures in which only a principle of utmost accuracy could be accepted. In 1786 Catholic scholar Alexander Geddes said of the King James Bible, “If accuracy and strictest attention to the let- ter of the text be supposed to constitute an excellent version, this is of all versions the most excellent.” George Bernard Shaw became a literary legend in our century because of his severe and often humorous criticisms of our most cherished values. Surprisingly, however, Shaw pays the fol- lowing tribute to the scholars commis- sioned by King James: “The translation was extraordinarily well done because to the translators what they were translating was not merely a curious collection of an- cient books written by different authors in different stages of culture, but the Word of God divinely revealed through His chosen and expressly inspired scribes. In this conviction they carried out their work with boundless reverence and care and achieved a beautifully artistic result.” His- tory agrees with these estimates. There- fore, while seeking to unveil the excellent form of the traditional English Bible, spe- cial care has also been taken in the pres- ent edition to preserve the work of preci- sion which is the legacy of the 1611 translators. Complete Equivalence in Translation Where new translation has been neces- sary in the New King James Version, the most complete representation of the orig- inal has been rendered by considering the history of usage and etymology of words in their contexts. This principle of com- plete equivalence seeks to preserve all of the information in the text, while present- ing it in good literary form. Dynamic equivalence, a recent procedure in Bible translation, commonly results in para- phrasing where a more literal rendering is needed to reflect a specific and vital sense.

sary in the New King James Version, the most complete representation of the orig- inal has been rendered by considering the history of usage and etymology of words in their contexts. This principle of com- plete equivalence seeks to preserve all of the information in the text, while present- ing it in good literary form. Dynamic equivalence, a recent procedure in Bible translation, commonly results in para- phrasing where a more literal rendering is needed to reflect a specific and vital sense. For example, complete equivalence truly renders the original text in expres- sions such as “lifted her voice and wept” (Gen. 21:16); “I gave you cleanness of teeth” (Amos 4:6); “Jesus met them, say- ing, ‘Rejoice!’” (Matt. 28:9); and “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me?” (John 2:4). Complete equivalence translates fully, in order to provide an English text that is both accurate and readable. In keeping with the principle of com- plete equivalence, it is the policy to trans- late interjections which are commonly omitted in modern language renderings Preface to the New King James Version®

PREFACE TO THE NKJV iv of the Bible. As an example, the interjec- tion behold, in the older King James edi- tions, continues to have a place in English usage, especially in dramatically calling attention to a spectacular scene, or an event of profound importance such as the Immanuel prophecy of Isaiah 7:14. Conse- quently, behold is retained for these occa- sions in the present edition. However, the Hebrew and Greek originals for this word can be translated variously, depending on the circumstances in the passage. There- fore, in addition to behold, words such as indeed, look, see, and surely are also ren- dered to convey the appropriate sense suggested by the context in each case. In faithfulness to God and to our read- ers, it was deemed appropriate that all participating scholars sign a statement af- firming their belief in the verbal and ple- nary inspiration of Scripture, and in the inerrancy of the original autographs. Devotional Quality The King James scholars readily appre- ciated the intrinsic beauty of divine reve- lation. They accordingly disciplined their talents to render well-chosen English words of their time, as well as a graceful, often musical arrangement of language, which has stirred the hearts of Bible readers through the years. The transla- tors, the committees, and the editors of the present edition, while sensitive to the late-twentieth-century English idiom, and while adhering faithfully to the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts, have sought to maintain those lyrical and devotional qualities that are so highly regarded in the Authorized Version. This devotional quality is especially apparent in the poetic and prophetic books, although even the relatively plain style of the Gospels and Epistles cannot strictly be likened, as sometimes suggested, to modern newspa- per style. The Koine Greek of the New Testament is influenced by the Hebrew background of the writers, for whom even the gospel narratives were not merely flat utterance, but often song in various de- grees of rhythm. The Style Students of the Bible applaud the time- less devotional character of our historic Bible.Yet it is also universally understood that our language, like all living lan- guages, has undergone profound change since 1611. Subsequent revisions of the King James Bible have sought to keep abreast of changes in English speech. The present work is a further step toward this objective. Where obsolescence and other reading difficulties exist, present-day vo- cabulary, punctuation, and grammar have been carefully integrated. Words repre- senting ancient objects, such as chariot and phylactery, have no modern substi- tutes and are therefore retained. A special feature of the New King James Version is its conformity to the thought flow of the 1611 Bible. The reader discovers that the sequence and selection of words, phrases, and clauses of the new edition, while much clearer, are so close to the traditional that there is remarkable ease in listening to the reading of either edition while following with the other. In the discipline of translating biblical and other ancient languages, a standard method of transliteration, that is, the En- glish spelling of untranslated words, such as names of persons and places, has never been commonly adopted. In keeping with the design of the present work, the King James spelling of untranslated words is re- tained, although made uniform through- out. For example, instead of the spellings Isaiah and Elijah in the Old Testament, and Esaias and Elias in the New Testa- ment, Isaiah and Elijah now appear in both Testaments. King James doctrinal and theological terms, for example, propitiation, justifica- tion, and sanctification, are generally fa- miliar to English-speaking peoples.

een commonly adopted. In keeping with the design of the present work, the King James spelling of untranslated words is re- tained, although made uniform through- out. For example, instead of the spellings Isaiah and Elijah in the Old Testament, and Esaias and Elias in the New Testa- ment, Isaiah and Elijah now appear in both Testaments. King James doctrinal and theological terms, for example, propitiation, justifica- tion, and sanctification, are generally fa- miliar to English-speaking peoples. Such terms have been retained except where the original language indicates need for a more precise translation. Readers of the Authorized Version will immediately be struck by the absence of several pronouns: thee, thou, and ye are replaced by the simple you, while your and yours are substituted for thy and thine as applicable. Thee, thou, thy, and thine were once forms of address to ex- press a special relationship to human as well as divine persons. These pronouns are no longer part of our language. How- ever, reverence for God in the present work is preserved by capitalizing pro- nouns, including You, Your, and Yours, which refer to Him. Additionally, capital- ization of these pronouns benefits the reader by clearly distinguishing divine and human persons referred to in a pas- sage. Without such capitalization the dis- tinction is often obscure, because the an- tecedent of a pronoun is not always clear in the English translation. In addition to the pronoun usages of the seventeenth century, the -eth and -est verb endings, so familiar in the earlier King James editions, are now obsolete. Unless a speaker is schooled in these verb endings, there is common difficulty in se- lecting the correct form to be used with a given subject of the verb in vocal prayer. That is, should we use love, loveth, or lovest? do, doeth, doest, or dost? have, hath, or hast? Because these forms are obsolete, contemporary English usage has been substituted for the previous verb endings.

v PREFACE TO THE NKJV In older editions of the King James Ver- sion, the frequency of the connective and far exceeded the limits of present English usage. Also, biblical linguists agree that the Hebrew and Greek original words for this conjunction may commonly be trans- lated otherwise, depending on the imme- diate context. Therefore, instead of and, alternatives such as also, but, however, now, so, then, and thus are accordingly rendered in the present edition, when the original language permits. The real character of the Authorized Version does not reside in its archaic pro- nouns or verbs or other grammatical forms of the seventeenth century, but rather in the care taken by its scholars to impart the letter and spirit of the original text in a majestic and reverent style. The Format The format of the New King James Ver- sion is designed to enhance the vividness and devotional quality of the Holy Scrip- tures: —Subject headings assist the reader to identify topics and transitions in the biblical content. —Words or phrases in italics indicate ex- pressions in the original language which require clarification by addi- tional English words, as also done throughout the history of the King James Bible. —Oblique type in the New Testament in- dicates a quotation from the Old Testa- ment. —Prose is divided into paragraphs to indi- cate the structure of thought. —Poetry is structured as contemporary verse to reflect the poetic form and beauty of the passage in the original language. —The covenant name of God was usually translated from the Hebrew as LORD or GOD (using capital letters as shown) in the King James Old Testament. This tra- dition is maintained. In the present edi- tion the name is so capitalized when- ever the covenant name is quoted in the New Testament from a passage in the Old Testament. The Old Testament Text The Hebrew Bible has come down to us through the scrupulous care of ancient scribes who copied the original text in successive generations. By the sixth cen- tury A.D. the scribes were succeeded by a group known as the Masoretes, who con- tinued to preserve the sacred Scriptures for another five hundred years in a form known as the Masoretic Text. Babylonia, Palestine, and Tiberias were the main cen- ters of Masoretic activity; but by the tenth century A.D. the Masoretes of Tiberias, led by the family of ben Asher, gained the as- cendancy. Through subsequent editions, the ben Asher text became in the twelfth century the only recognized form of the Hebrew Scriptures. Daniel Bomberg printed the first Rab- binic Bible in 1516–17; that work was fol- lowed in 1524–25 by a second edition pre- pared by Jacob ben Chayyim and also published by Bomberg. The text of ben Chayyim was adopted in most subsequent Hebrew Bibles, including those used by the King James translators. The ben Chayyim text was also used for the first two editions of Rudolph Kittel’s Biblia He- braica of 1906 and 1912. In 1937 Paul Kahle published a third edition of Biblia Hebraica. This edition was based on the oldest dated manuscript of the ben Asher text, the Leningrad Manuscript B19a (A.D. 1008), which Kahle regarded as superior to that used by ben Chayyim. For the New King James Version the text used was the 1967/1977 Stuttgart edi- tion of the Biblia Hebraica, with frequent comparisons being made with the Bomberg edition of 1524–25. The Septu- agint (Greek) Version of the Old Testa- ment and the Latin Vulgate also were con- sulted. In addition to referring to a variety of ancient versions of the Hebrew Scrip- tures, the New King James Version draws on the resources of relevant manuscripts from the Dead Sea caves. In the few places where the Hebrew was so obscure that the 1611 King James was compelled to follow one of the versions, but where information is now available to resolve the problems, the New King James Ver- sion follows the Hebrew text.

) Version of the Old Testa- ment and the Latin Vulgate also were con- sulted. In addition to referring to a variety of ancient versions of the Hebrew Scrip- tures, the New King James Version draws on the resources of relevant manuscripts from the Dead Sea caves. In the few places where the Hebrew was so obscure that the 1611 King James was compelled to follow one of the versions, but where information is now available to resolve the problems, the New King James Ver- sion follows the Hebrew text. Significant variations are recorded in the center ref- erence column. The New Testament Text There is more manuscript support for the New Testament than for any other body of ancient literature. Over five thou- sand Greek, eight thousand Latin, and many more manuscripts in other lan- guages attest the integrity of the New Tes- tament. There is only one basic New Tes- tament used by Protestants, Roman Catholics, and Orthodox, by conserva- tives and liberals. Minor variations in hand copying have appeared through the centuries, before mechanical printing be- gan about A.D. 1450. Some variations exist in the spelling of Greek words, in word order, and in similar details. These ordinarily do not show up in translation and do not affect the sense of the text in any way. Other manuscript differences such as omission or inclusion of a word or a clause, and two paragraphs in the Gospels, should not overshadow the over- whelming degree of agreement which

PREFACE TO THE NKJV vi exists among the ancient records. Bible readers may be assured that the most im- portant differences in English New Testa- ments of today are due, not to manuscript divergence, but to the way in which trans- lators view the task of translation: How literally should the text be rendered? How does the translator view the matter of bib- lical inspiration? Does the translator adopt a paraphrase when a literal render- ing would be quite clear and more to the point? The New King James Version fol- lows the historic precedent of the Autho- rized Version in maintaining a literal ap- proach to translation, except where the idiom of the original language cannot be translated directly into our tongue. The King James New Testament was based on the traditional text of the Greek- speaking churches, first published in 1516, and later called the Textus Receptus or Received Text. Although based on the relatively few available manuscripts, these were representative of many more which existed at the time but only became known later. In the late nineteenth cen- tury, B. Westcott and F. Hort taught that this text had been officially edited by the fourth-century church, but a total lack of historical evidence for this event has forced a revision of the theory. It is now widely held that the Byzantine Text that largely supports the Textus Receptus has as much right as the Alexandrian or any other tradition to be weighed in determin- ing the text of the New Testament. Since the 1880s most contemporary translations of the New Testament have relied upon a relatively few manuscripts discovered chiefly in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Such trans- lations depend primarily on two manu- scripts, Codex Vaticanus and Codex Sinaiticus, because of their greater age. The Greek text obtained by using these sources and the related papyri (our most ancient manuscripts) is known as the Alexandrian Text. However, some schol- ars have grounds for doubting the faith- fulness of Vaticanus and Sinaiticus, since they often disagree with one another, and Sinaiticus exhibits excessive omission. A third viewpoint of New Testament scholarship holds that the best text is based on the consensus of the majority of existing Greek manuscripts. This text is called the Majority Text. Most of these manuscripts are in substantial agreement. Even though many are late, and none is earlier than the fifth century, usually their readings are verified by papyri, ancient versions, quotations from the early church fathers, or a combination of these. The Majority Text is similar to the Textus Receptus, but it corrects those readings which have little or no support in the Greek manuscript tradition. Today, scholars agree that the science of New Testament textual criticism is in a state of flux. Very few scholars still favor the Textus Receptus as such, and then of- ten for its historical prestige as the text of Luther, Calvin, Tyndale, and the King James Version. For about a century most have followed a Critical Text (so called be- cause it is edited according to specific principles of textual criticism) which de- pends heavily upon the Alexandrian type of text. More recently many have aban- doned this Critical Text (which is quite similar to the one edited by Westcott and Hort) for one that is more eclectic. Finally, a small but growing number of scholars prefer the Majority Text, which is close to the traditional text except in the Revela- tion. In light of these facts, and also because the New King James Version is the fifth re- vision of a historic document translated from specific Greek texts, the editors de- cided to retain the traditional text in the body of the New Testament and to indi- cate major Critical and Majority Text vari- ant readings in the center reference col- umn.

more eclectic. Finally, a small but growing number of scholars prefer the Majority Text, which is close to the traditional text except in the Revela- tion. In light of these facts, and also because the New King James Version is the fifth re- vision of a historic document translated from specific Greek texts, the editors de- cided to retain the traditional text in the body of the New Testament and to indi- cate major Critical and Majority Text vari- ant readings in the center reference col- umn. Although these variations are duly indicated in the center-column notes of the present edition, it is most important to emphasize that fully eighty-five percent of the New Testament text is the same in the Textus Receptus, the Alexandrian Text, and the Majority Text. Center-Column Notes Significant explanatory notes, alternate translations, and cross-references, as well as New Testament citations of Old Testa- ment passages, are supplied in the center reference column. Important textual variants in the Old Testament are identified in a standard form. The textual notes in the present edition of the New Testament make no evaluation of readings, but do clearly indicate the manuscript sources of readings. They ob- jectively present the facts without such tendentious remarks as “the best manu- scripts omit” or “the most reliable manu- scripts read.” Such notes are value judg- ments that differ according to varying viewpoints on the text. By giving a clearly defined set of variants the New King James Version benefits readers of all tex- tual persuasions. Where significant variations occur in the New Testament Greek manuscripts, textual notes are classified as follows: NU-Text These variations from the traditional text generally represent the Alexan- drian or Egyptian type of text de- scribed previously in “The New Testa-

vii PREFACE TO THE NKJV ment Text.” They are found in the Critical Text published in the twenty- seventh edition of the Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament (N) and in the United Bible Societies’ fourth edition (U), hence the acronym, “NU-Text.” M-Text This symbol indicates points of varia- tion in the Majority Text from the tra- ditional text, as also previously dis- cussed in “The New Testament Text.” It should be noted that M stands for whatever reading is printed in the published Greek New Testament Ac- cording to the Majority Text, whether supported by overwhelming, strong, or only a divided majority textual tra- dition. The textual notes reflect the scholarship of the past 150 years and will assist the reader to observe the variations between the different manuscript traditions of the New Testament. Such information is gen- erally not available in English transla- tions of the New Testament.

A SUPERIOR NUMERAL indicates an equivalent translation, alter- nate translation, language note, explanatory note, or textual note. An ALTERNATE TRANSLATION is different in meaning from the words in the text, but is justified by the original languages. That is, the translators could have un- derstood the original word or phrase this way, although they felt their choice was more appro- priate. SQUARE BRACKETS around a cross-reference mark it as a con- ceptual cross-reference, which identifies a passage similar in concept to the referenced pas- sage in the text. An EXPLANATORY NOTE explains the word or phrase in the text. Words set in roman type in trans- lation notes are explanatory only and are not translated from the original languages. A SUPERIOR LETTER (usually preceding the referenced word or phrase in the text as space per- mits) indicates a cross-reference. How to Use This Reference Bible Greeting PAUL, acalled to be an apostle of Jesus Christ bthrough the will of God, and cSosthenes our brother, 2 To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who aare 1sancti- fied in Christ Jesus, bcalled to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ cour Lord, dboth theirs and ours: 3 aGrace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Spiritual Gifts at Corinth 4 aI thank my God always con- cerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, 5 that you were enriched in every- thing by Him ain all 1utterance and all knowledge, 6 even as athe testimony of Christ was confirmed 1in you, 7 so that you come short in no gift, eagerly awaiting for the revela- tion of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 awho will also confirm you to the end, bthat you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 aGod is faithful, by whom you were called into bthe fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Sectarianism Is Sin 10 Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, athat you all 1speak the same thing, and that there be no 2divi- sions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. 11 For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are 1contentions among you. 12 Now I say this, that aeach of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of bApollos,” or “I am of cCephas,” or “I am of Christ.” 13 aIs Christ divided? Was Paul cru- cified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I baptized anone of you except bCrispus and cGaius, 15 lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name. 16 Yes, I also baptized the house- hold of aStephanas. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized any other. 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, CHAPTER 1 1 aRom. 1:1 b2 Cor. 1:1 cActs 18:17 2 a[Acts 15:9] bRom. 1:7 c[1 Cor. 8:6] d[Rom. 3:22] 1set apart 3 aRom. 1:7 4 aRom. 1:8 5 a[1 Cor. 12:8] 1speech 6 a2 Tim. 1:8 1Or among 7 aPhil. 3:20 8 a1 Thess. 3:13; 5:23 bCol. 1:22; 2:7 9 aIs. 49:7 b[John 15:4] 10 a2 Cor. 13:11 1Have a uniform testi- mony 2schisms or dissensions 11 1quarrels 12 a1 Cor. 3:4 bActs 18:24 cJohn 1:42 13 a2 Cor. 11:4 14 aJohn 4:2 bActs 18:8 cRom. 16:23 16 a1 Cor. 16:15, 17 17 a[1 Cor. 2:1, 4, 13] 18 a1 Cor. 2:14 b2 Cor. 2:15 c[1 Cor. 15:2] dRom. 1:16 1Lit. word 19 aIs. 29:14 20 aIs. 19:12; 33:18 bJob 12:17 1debater 21 aDan. 2:20 22 aMatt. 12:38 23 aLuke 2:34 b[1 Cor. 2:14] 1Gr. skan- dalon, offense 2NU Gentiles 24 a[Rom. 1:4] bCol. 2:3 26 aJohn 7:48 1consider 2well-born 27 aMatt. 11:25 28 1insignifi- cant or lowly 30 a[2 Cor. 5:21] 31 aJer. 9:23, 24

ix HOW TO USE A BOLD-FACE NUMERAL in the center column indicates the verse to which an entry applies. A LITERAL TRANSLATION gives the literal meaning of the word or phrase. A LANGUAGE NOTE gives the He- brew, Greek, or Aramaic word or phrase that underlies the English translation. An EQUIVALENT TRANSLATION is similar in meaning to the transla- tion in the text. It helps you un- derstand the text by showing you a synonym. A TEXTUAL NOTE points out one or more significant textual vari- ants. The sources of the variant readings are identified by abbre- viations listed on page xii. (See also Preface, “Center-Column Notes.”) anot with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect. Christ the Power and Wisdom of God 18 For the 1message of the cross is afoolishness to bthose who are per- ishing, but to us cwho are being saved it is the dpower of God. 19 For it is written: a“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.” 20 aWhere is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the 1disputer of this age? bHas not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21 For since, in the awisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. 22 For aJews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; 23 but we preach Christ crucified, ato the Jews a 1stumbling block and to the 2Greeks bfoolishness, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ athe power of God and bthe wisdom of God. 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weak- ness of God is stronger than men. Glory Only in the Lord 26 For 1you see your calling, brethren, athat not many wise ac- cording to the flesh, not many mighty, not many 2noble, are called. 27 But aGod has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28 and the 1base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29 that no flesh should glory in His presence. 30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and arighteousness and sanctification and redemption— 31 that, as it is written, a“He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.” Christ Crucified 2 And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excel- lence of speech or of wisdom de- claring to you the 1testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know anything among you aexcept Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 3 aI was with you bin weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. CHAPTER 1 1 aRom. 1:1 b2 Cor. 1:1 cActs 18:17 2 a[Acts 15:9] bRom. 1:7 c[1 Cor. 8:6] d[Rom. 3:22] 1set apart 3 aRom. 1:7 4 aRom. 1:8 5 a[1 Cor. 12:8] 1speech 6 a2 Tim. 1:8 1Or among 7 aPhil. 3:20 8 a1 Thess. 3:13; 5:23 bCol. 1:22; 2:7 9 aIs. 49:7 b[John 15:4] 10 a2 Cor. 13:11 1Have a uniform testi- mony 2schisms or dissensions 11 1quarrels 12 a1 Cor. 3:4 bActs 18:24 cJohn 1:42 13 a2 Cor. 11:4 14 aJohn 4:2 bActs 18:8 cRom. 16:23 16 a1 Cor. 16:15, 17 17 a[1 Cor. 2:1, 4, 13] 18 a1 Cor. 2:14 b2 Cor. 2:15 c[1 Cor. 15:2] dRom. 1:16 1Lit. word 19 aIs. 29:14 20 aIs. 19:12; 33:18 bJob 12:17 1debater 21 aDan. 2:20 22 aMatt. 12:38 23 aLuke 2:34 b[1 Cor. 2:14] 1Gr. skan- dalon, offense 2NU Gentiles 24 a[Rom. 1:4] bCol. 2:3 26 aJohn 7:48 1consider 2well-born 27 aMatt. 11:25 28 1insignifi- cant or lowly 30 a[2 Cor. 5:21] 31 aJer. 9:23, 24 CHAPTER 2 1 1NU mys- tery 2 aGal. 6:14 3 aActs 18:1 b[2 Cor. 4:7]

HOW TO USE x OBLIQUE TYPE in the New Testa- ment indicates a quotation from the Old Testament. The sources of the quotations are found in cross-references. ITALIC TYPE in the text indicates words that the original texts do not contain but which English re- quires for clarity. A BOLD-FACE VERSE NUMERAL in the text indicates a paragraph break. When a new paragraph begins within a verse, the new paragraph is indented (see, for example, Nehemiah 13:22). QUOTATION MARKS in the text follow modern English usage. For easier reading, only the marks denoting the most recently opened quotation are repeated in a new paragraph. SUBJECT HEADINGS have been added to help you follow the flow of thought in the biblical mate- rial. PERSONAL PRONOUNS and cer- tain nouns are capitalized when they refer to Deity. POETRY is structured as contem- porary verse to reflect the poetic form and beauty of the original language. The COVENANT NAME OF GOD in the Old Testament, represented by the Hebrew consonants YHWH, is translated “LORD” or “GOD” (using capital letters as shown), as it has been through- out the history of the King James Bible. In this edition the capital- ized form is also used whenever the covenant name is quoted in the New Testament from a pas- sage in the Old Testament. 30 “For in the resurrection they nei- ther marry nor are given in marriage, but aare like angels 1of God in heaven. 31 “But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 32 a‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’ ? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” 33 And when the multitudes heard this, athey were astonished at His teaching. The Scribes: Which Is the First Commandment of All? 34 aBut when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 Then one of them, aa lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” 37 Jesus said to him, a“‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 “This is the first and great com- mandment. 39 “And the second is like it: a‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 a“On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” Jesus: How Can David Call His Descendant Lord? 41 aWhile the Pharisees were gath- ered together, Jesus asked them, 42 saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?” They said to Him, “The aSon of David.” 43 He said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying: 44 ‘The a LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool” ’ ? 45 “If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his Son?” 46 aAnd no one was able to answer Him a word, bnor from that day on did anyone dare question Him any- more. Woe to the Scribes and Pharisees 23 Then Jesus spoke to the mul- titudes and to His disciples, 2 saying: a“The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 “Therefore whatever they tell you 1to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for athey say, and do not do. 4 a“For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will 30 a[1 John 3:2] 1NU omits of God 32 aGen. 17:7; 26:24; 28:21; Ex. 3:6, 15; Mark 12:26; Luke 20:37; Acts 7:32; [Heb. 11:16] 33 aMatt. 7:28 34 aMark 12:28–31; Luke 10:25–37 35 aLuke 7:30; 10:25; 11:45, 46, 52; 14:3; Titus 3:13 37 aDeut. 6:5; 10:12; 30:6 39 aLev. 19:18; Matt. 19:19; Mark 12:31; Luke 10:27; [Rom. 13:9; Gal. 5:14; James 2:8] 40 a[Matt. 7:12; Rom. 13:10; 1 Tim. 1:5] 41 aLuke 20:41–44 42 aMatt. 1:1; 21:9 44 aPs. 110:1; Acts 2:32–35; Eph. 1:19–23 46 aLuke 14:6 bMark 12:34 CHAPTER 23 2 aNeh. 8:4, 8 3 a[Rom. 2:19] 1NU omits to observe 4 aLuke 11:46 5 a[Matt. 6:1–6, 16–18] 6 aLuke 11:43; 20:46 1Or place of honor 8 a[James 3:1] 1Leader 2NU omits the Christ 9 a[Mal.

e 7:30; 10:25; 11:45, 46, 52; 14:3; Titus 3:13 37 aDeut. 6:5; 10:12; 30:6 39 aLev. 19:18; Matt. 19:19; Mark 12:31; Luke 10:27; [Rom. 13:9; Gal. 5:14; James 2:8] 40 a[Matt. 7:12; Rom. 13:10; 1 Tim. 1:5] 41 aLuke 20:41–44 42 aMatt. 1:1; 21:9 44 aPs. 110:1; Acts 2:32–35; Eph. 1:19–23 46 aLuke 14:6 bMark 12:34 CHAPTER 23 2 aNeh. 8:4, 8 3 a[Rom. 2:19] 1NU omits to observe 4 aLuke 11:46 5 a[Matt. 6:1–6, 16–18] 6 aLuke 11:43; 20:46 1Or place of honor 8 a[James 3:1] 1Leader 2NU omits the Christ 9 a[Mal. 1:6] 11 aMatt. 20:26, 27 12 aLuke 14:11; 18:14 1put down 2lifted up 13 aLuke 11:52 14 aMark 12:40 1NU omits v. 14. 15 1Gr. Gehenna 16 aMatt. 15:14; 23:24 b[Matt. 5:33, 34]

Table of Contents Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .iii How to Use This Reference Bible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .viii Special Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xii The Old Testament Genesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Exodus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47 Leviticus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87 Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115 Deuteronomy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .156 Joshua . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .190 Judges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .213 Ruth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .236 1 Samuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .240 2 Samuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .269 1 Kings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .295 2 Kings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .324 1 Chronicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .352 2 Chronicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .379 Ezra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .410 Nehemiah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .420 Esther . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .435 Job . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .442 Psalms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .472 Proverbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .554 Ecclesiastes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .583 Song of Solomon . . . . . . . . . . . .591 Isaiah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .597 Jeremiah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .659 Lamentations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .719 Ezekiel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .726 Daniel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .775 Hosea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .790 Joel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .799 Amos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .803 Obadiah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .811 Jonah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .812 Micah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .814 Nahum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .820 Habakkuk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .823 Zephaniah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .826 Haggai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .829 Zechariah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .831 Malachi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .840 The New Testament Matthew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .847 Mark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .878 Luke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .898 John . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .932 Acts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .957 Romans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .989 1 Corinthians . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1002 2 Corinthians . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1014 Galatians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1023 Ephesians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1027 Philippians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1032 Colossians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1035 1 Thessalonians . . . . . . . . . . . .1038 2 Thessalonians . . . . . . . . . . . .1041 1 Timothy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1043 2 Timothy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1047 Titus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1049 Philemon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1051 Hebrews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1052 James . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1062 1 Peter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1066 2 Peter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1070 1 John . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1072 2 John . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1076 3 John . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1077 Jude . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1078 Revelation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1080 Concordance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1097 Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .After Concordance

Special Abbreviations Arab. Arabic Aram. Aramaic Bg. the 1524–25 edition of the He- brew Old Testament pub- lished by Daniel Bomberg (see Preface, “The Old Testa- ment Text”) cf. compare ch., chs. chapter, chapters DSS Dead Sea Scrolls fem. feminine f., ff. following verse, following verses Gr. Greek Heb. Hebrew i.e. that is Kt. Kethib (literally, in Aramaic, “written”)—the written words of the Hebrew Old Testament preserved by the Masoretes (see “Qr.”) Lat. Latin lit. literally LXX Septuagint—an ancient trans- lation of the Old Testament into Greek M Majority Text (see Preface, “The New Testament Text”) ms., mss. manuscript, manuscripts masc. masculine MT Masoretic Text—the tradi- tional Hebrew Old Testament (see Preface, “The Old Testa- ment Text”) NU the most prominent modern Critical Text of the Greek New Testament, published in the twenty-sixth edition of the Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament and in the third edition of the United Bible Societies’ Greek New Testa- ment (see Preface, “The New Testament Text”) pl. plural Qr. Qere (literally, in Aramaic, “read”)—certain words read aloud, differing from the written words, in the Ma- soretic tradition of the He- brew Old Testament (see “Kt.”) Sam. Samaritan Pentateuch—a variant Hebrew edition of the books of Moses, used by the Samaritan community sing. singular Syr. Syriac Tg. Targum—an Aramaic para- phrase of the Old Testament TR Textus Receptus or Received Text (see Preface, “The New Testament Text”) v., vv. verse, verses vss. Versions—ancient transla- tions of the Bible Vg. Vulgate—an ancient transla- tion of the Bible into Latin, translated and edited by Jerome

The Old Testament

The First Book of Moses Called GENESIS THE first part of Genesis focuses on the beginning and spread of sin in the world and culminates in the devastating flood in the days of Noah. The second part of the book focuses on God’s dealings with one man, Abraham, through whom God promises to bring salvation and blessing to the world. Abraham and his descendants learn firsthand that it is always safe to trust the Lord in times of famine and feasting, blessing and bondage. From Abraham . . . to Isaac . . . to Jacob . . . to Joseph . . . God’s promises begin to come to fruition in a great nation pos- sessing a great land. Genesis is a Greek word meaning “origin,” “source,” “generation,” or “begin- ning.” The original Hebrew title Bereshith means “In the Beginning.” The literary structure of Genesis is clear and is built around eleven separate units, each including the word genealogy in the phrase “This is the genealogy” or “The book of the genealogy”: (1) Introduction to the Genealogies (1:1—2:3); (2) Heaven and Earth (2:4—4:26); (3) Adam (5:1—6:8); (4) Noah (6:9—9:29); (5) Sons of Noah (10:1—11:9); (6) Shem (11:10–26); (7) Terah (11:27—25:11); (8) Ishmael (25:12–18); (9) Isaac (25:19—35:29); (10) Esau (36:1—37:1); (11) Jacob (37:2—50:26). The History of Creation IN the abeginning bGod created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was awithout form, and void; and darkness 1was on the face of the deep. bAnd the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3 aThen God said, b“Let there be clight”; and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the adarkness He called Night. 1So the evening and the morning were the first day. 6 Then God said, a“Let there be a 1firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” 7 Thus God made the firmament, aand divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were babove the fir- mament; and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day. 9 Then God said, a“Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and blet the dry land appear”; and it was so. 10 And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, “Let the earth abring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the bfruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 So the evening and the morning were the third day. 14 Then God said, “Let there be alights in the firmament of the heav- ens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and bsea- sons, and for days and years; 15 “and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. 16 Then God made two great 1lights: the agreater light to rule the day, and the blesser light to rule the night. He made cthe stars also. 17 God set them in the firmament of the aheavens to give light on the earth, 18 and to arule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 So the evening and the morning were the fourth day. 20 Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living 1creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the 2fir- mament of the heavens.” 21 So aGod created great sea crea- tures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind.

he day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 So the evening and the morning were the fourth day. 20 Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living 1creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the 2fir- mament of the heavens.” 21 So aGod created great sea crea- tures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, a“Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 So the evening and the morning were the fifth day. 24 Then God said, “Let the earth CHAPTER 1 1 a[John 1:1–3] bActs 17:24 2 aJer. 4:23 bIs. 40:13, 14 1Words in italic type have been added for clarity. They are not found in the original Hebrew or Aramaic. 3 aPs. 33:6, 9 b2 Cor. 4:6 c[Heb. 11:3] 5 aPs. 19:2; 33:6; 74:16; 104:20; 136:5 1Lit. And evening was, and morning was, a day, one. 6 aJer. 10:12 1expanse 7 aProv. 8:27– 29 bPs. 148:4 9 aJob 26:10 bPs. 24:1, 2; 33:7; 95:5 11 aHeb. 6:7 b2 Sam. 16:1 14 aPs. 74:16; 136:5–9 bPs. 104:19 16 aPs. 136:8 bPs. 8:3 cJob 38:7 1lumi- naries 17 aGen. 15:5 18 aJer. 31:35 20 1souls 2expanse 21 aPs. 104:25– 28 22 aGen. 8:17

GENESIS 1:25 2 bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind”; and it was so. 25 And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and every- thing that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 26 Then God said, a“Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; blet them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over 1all the earth and over every creep- ing thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man ain His own image; in the image of God He created him; bmale and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, a“Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and bsubdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that 1moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; ato you it shall be for food. 30 “Also, to aevery beast of the earth, to every bbird of the air, and to every- thing that creeps on the earth, in which there is 1life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so. 31 Then aGod saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day. 2 Thus the heavens and the earth, and aall the host of them, were finished. 2 aAnd on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 3 Then God ablessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made. 4 aThis is the 1history of the heav- ens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, 5 before any aplant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the LORD God had not bcaused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man cto till the ground; 6 but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground. 7 And the LORD God formed man of the adust of the ground, and bbreathed into his cnostrils the breath of life; and dman became a living being. Life in God’s Garden 8 The LORD God planted aa garden beastward in cEden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. 9 And out of the ground the LORD God made aevery tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. bThe tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and cevil. 10 Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads. 11 The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts athe whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 And the gold of that land is good. aBdellium and the onyx stone are there. 13 The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which goes around the whole land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is aHiddekel;1 it is the one which goes toward the east of 2Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates. 15 Then the LORD God took 1the man and put him in the garden of Eden to 2tend and keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 “but of the tree of the knowl- edge of good and evil ayou shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it byou1 shall surely cdie.” 18 And the LORD God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; aI will make him a helper compara- ble to him.” 19 aOut of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and bbrought them to 1Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So Adam gave names to all cat- tle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field.

not eat, for in the day that you eat of it byou1 shall surely cdie.” 18 And the LORD God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; aI will make him a helper compara- ble to him.” 19 aOut of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and bbrought them to 1Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So Adam gave names to all cat- tle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him. 21 And the LORD God caused a adeep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. 22 Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He 1made into a woman, aand He bbrought her to the man. 23 And Adam said: “This is now abone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called 1Woman, Because she was btaken out of 2Man.” 24 aTherefore a man shall leave his father and mother and bbe1 joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 26 a[Eph. 4:24] bGen. 9:2 1Syr. all the wild ani- mals of 27 aGen. 5:2 bMatt. 19:4 28 aGen. 9:1, 7 b1 Cor. 9:27 1moves about on 29 aGen. 9:3 30 aPs. 145:15 bJob 38:41 1a living soul 31 a[Ps. 104:24] CHAPTER 2 1 aPs. 33:6 2 aEx. 20:9–11; 31:17 3 a[Is. 58:13] 4 aGen. 1:1 1Heb. tole- doth; lit. gen- erations 5 aGen. 1:11, 12 bGen. 7:4 cGen. 3:23 7 aGen. 3:19, 23 bJob 33:4 cGen. 7:22 d1 Cor. 15:45 8 aIs. 51:3 bGen. 3:23, 24 cGen. 4:16 9 aEzek. 31:8 b[Gen. 3:22] c[Deut. 1:39] 11 aGen. 25:18 12 aNum. 11:7 14 aDan. 10:4 1Or Tigris 2Heb. Ashshur 15 1Or Adam 2cultivate 17 aGen. 3:1, 3, 11, 17 bGen. 3:3, 19 cRom. 5:12 1Lit. dying you shall die 18 a1 Cor. 11:8, 9 19 aGen. 1:20, 24 bPs. 8:6 1Or the man 21 a1 Sam. 26:12 22 a1 Tim. 2:13 bHeb. 13:4 1Lit. built 23 aGen. 29:14 b1 Cor. 11:8, 9 1Heb. Ishshah 2Heb. Ish 24 aMatt. 19:5 bMark 10:6–8 1Lit. cling

3 GENESIS 4:4 25 aAnd they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not bashamed. The Temptation and Fall of Man 3 Now athe serpent was bmore cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the ser- pent, “We may eat the afruit of the trees of the garden; 3 “but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you atouch it, lest you die.’ ” 4 aThen the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 “For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman asaw that the tree was good for food, that it was 1pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit band ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, aand they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made them- selves 1coverings. 8 And they heard athe 1sound of the LORD God walking in the gar- den in the 2cool of the day, and Adam and his wife bhid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, aand I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” 11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” 12 Then the man said, a“The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” 13 And the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, a“The ser- pent deceived me, and I ate.” 14 So the LORD God said to the ser- pent: “Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And ayou shall eat dust All the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between ayour seed and bher Seed; cHe shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.” 16 To the woman He said: “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; aIn pain you shall bring forth children; bYour desire shall be 1for your husband, And he shall crule over you.” 17 Then to Adam He said, a“Be- cause you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree bof which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: c“Cursed is the ground for your sake; dIn toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. 18 Both thorns and thistles it shall 1bring forth for you, And ayou shall eat the herb of the field. 19 aIn the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; bFor dust you are, And cto dust you shall return.” 20 And Adam called his wife’s name aEve,1 because she was the mother of all living. 21 Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them. 22 Then the LORD God said, “Be- hold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— 23 therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden ato till the ground from which he was taken. 24 So aHe drove out the man; and He placed bcherubim cat the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of dlife. Cain Murders Abel 4 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore 1Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the LORD.” 2 Then she bore again, this time his brother 1Abel.

ee of life, and eat, and live forever”— 23 therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden ato till the ground from which he was taken. 24 So aHe drove out the man; and He placed bcherubim cat the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of dlife. Cain Murders Abel 4 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore 1Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the LORD.” 2 Then she bore again, this time his brother 1Abel. Now aAbel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3 And 1in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit aof the ground to the LORD. 4 Abel also brought of athe first- born of his flock and of btheir fat. 25 aGen. 3:7, 10 bIs. 47:3 CHAPTER 3 1 a1 Chr. 21:1 b2 Cor. 11:3 2 aGen. 2:16, 17 3 aEx. 19:12, 13 4 a[2 Cor. 11:3] 6 a1 John 2:16 b1 Tim. 2:14 1Lit. a desir- able thing 7 aGen. 2:25 1girding cov- erings 8 aJob 38:1 bJob 31:33 1Or voice 2Or wind, breeze 10 aGen. 2:25 12 a[Prov. 28:13] 13 a2 Cor. 11:3 14 aDeut. 28:15–20 15 aJohn 8:44 bIs. 7:14 cRom. 16:20 16 aJohn 16:21 bGen. 4:7 c1 Cor. 11:3 1Lit. toward 17 a1 Sam. 15:23 bGen. 2:17 cRom. 8:20–22 dEccl. 2:23 18 aPs. 104:14 1cause to grow 19 a2 Thess. 3:10 bGen. 2:7; 5:5 cJob 21:26 20 a2 Cor. 11:3 1Lit. Life or Living 23 aGen. 4:2; 9:20 24 aEzek. 31:3, 11 bPs. 104:4 cGen. 2:8 dGen. 2:9 CHAPTER 4 1 1Lit. Acquire 2 aLuke 11:50, 51 1Lit. Breath or Nothing 3 aNum. 18:12 1Lit. at the end of days 4 aNum. 18:17 bLev. 3:16

GENESIS 4:5 4 And the LORD crespected Abel and his offering, 5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. 6 So the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 “If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is 1for you, but you should rule over it.” 8 Now Cain 1talked with Abel his 2brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and akilled him. 9 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, a“I do not know. Am I bmy brother’s keeper?” 10 And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood acries out to Me from the ground. 11 “So now ayou are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 “When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth.” 13 And Cain said to the LORD, “My 1punishment is greater than I can bear! 14 “Surely You have driven me out this day from the face of the ground; aI shall be bhidden from Your face; I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth, and it will happen that canyone who finds me will kill me.” 15 And the LORD said to him, 1“Therefore, whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him asevenfold.” And the LORD set a bmark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him. The Family of Cain 16 Then Cain awent out from the bpresence of the LORD and dwelt in the land of 1Nod on the east of Eden. 17 And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. And he built a city, aand called the name of the city after the name of his son—Enoch. 18 To Enoch was born Irad; and Irad begot Mehujael, and Mehujael begot Methushael, and Methushael begot Lamech. 19 Then Lamech took for himself atwo wives: the name of one was Adah, and the name of the second was Zillah. 20 And Adah bore Jabal. He was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. 21 His brother’s name was Jubal. He was the father of all those who play the harp and 1flute. 22 And as for Zillah, she also bore Tubal-Cain, an instructor of every craftsman in bronze and iron. And the sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah. 23 Then Lamech said to his wives: “Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; Wives of Lamech, listen to my speech! For I have 1killed a man for wounding me, Even a young man 2for hurting me. 24 aIf Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, Then Lamech seventy- sevenfold.” A New Son 25 And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and anamed him 1Seth, “For God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed.” 26 And as for Seth, ato him also a son was born; and he named him 1Enosh. Then men began bto call on the name of the LORD. The Family of Adam 5 This is the book of the ageneal- ogy of Adam.

or I have 1killed a man for wounding me, Even a young man 2for hurting me. 24 aIf Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, Then Lamech seventy- sevenfold.” A New Son 25 And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and anamed him 1Seth, “For God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed.” 26 And as for Seth, ato him also a son was born; and he named him 1Enosh. Then men began bto call on the name of the LORD. The Family of Adam 5 This is the book of the ageneal- ogy of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in bthe likeness of God. 2 He created them amale and fe- male, and bblessed them and called them Mankind in the day they were created. 3 And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son ain his own likeness, after his image, and bnamed him Seth. 4 After he begot Seth, athe days of Adam were eight hundred years; band he had sons and daughters. 5 So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years; aand he died. 6 Seth lived one hundred and five years, and begot aEnosh. 7 After he begot Enosh, Seth lived eight hundred and seven years, and had sons and daughters. 8 So all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years; and he died. 9 Enosh lived ninety years, and begot 1Cainan. 10 After he begot Cainan, Enosh lived eight hundred and fifteen years, and had sons and daughters. 11 So all the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years; and he died. 12 Cainan lived seventy years, and begot Mahalalel. 13 After he begot Mahalalel, Cainan lived eight hundred and forty years, and had sons and daughters. 14 So all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years; and he died. 4 cHeb. 11:4 7 1Lit. toward 8 a[1 John 3:12–15] 1Lit. said to 2Sam., LXX, Syr., Vg. add “Let us go out to the field.” 9 aJohn 8:44 b1 Cor. 8:11–13 10 aHeb. 12:24 11 aGen. 3:14 13 1iniquity 14 aPs. 51:11 bIs. 1:15 cNum. 35:19, 21, 27 15 aGen. 4:24 bEzek. 9:4, 6 1So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Syr., Vg. Not so; 16 a2 Kin. 13:23; 24:20 bJon. 1:3 1Lit. Wandering 17 aPs. 49:11 19 aGen. 2:24; 16:3 21 1pipe 23 1slain a man for my wound 2for my hurt 24 aGen. 4:15 25 aGen. 5:3 1Lit. Ap- pointed 26 aGen. 5:6 bZeph. 3:9 1Gr. Enos, Luke 3:38 CHAPTER 5 1 aGen. 2:4; 6:9 bGen. 1:26; 9:6 2 aMark 10:6 bGen. 1:28; 9:1 3 a1 Cor. 15:48, 49 bGen. 4:25 4 aLuke 3:36–38 bGen. 1:28; 4:25 5 a[Heb. 9:27] 6 aGen. 4:26 9 1Heb. Qenan

5 GENESIS 6:20 15 Mahalalel lived sixty-five years, and begot Jared. 16 After he begot Jared, Mahalalel lived eight hundred and thirty years, and had sons and daughters. 17 So all the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred and ninety-five years; and he died. 18 Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years, and begot aEnoch. 19 After he begot Enoch, Jared lived eight hundred years, and had sons and daughters. 20 So all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years; and he died. 21 Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. 22 After he begot Methuselah, Enoch awalked with God three hun- dred years, and had sons and daugh- ters. 23 So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. 24 And aEnoch walked with God; and he was not, for God btook him. 25 Methuselah lived one hundred and eighty-seven years, and begot Lamech. 26 After he begot Lamech, Methu- selah lived seven hundred and eighty-two years, and had sons and daughters. 27 So all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years; and he died. 28 Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and had a son. 29 And he called his name aNoah,1 saying, “This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground bwhich the LORD has cursed.” 30 After he begot Noah, Lamech lived five hundred and ninety-five years, and had sons and daughters. 31 So all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy-seven years; and he died. 32 And Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah begot aShem, Ham, band Japheth. The Wickedness and Judgment of Man 6 Now it came to pass, awhen men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, 2 that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they atook wives for themselves of all whom they chose. 3 And the LORD said, a“My Spirit shall not bstrive1 with man forever, cfor he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” 4 There were 1giants on the earth in those adays, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore chil- dren to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. 5 Then 1the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every aintent2 of the thoughts of his heart was only evil 3continually. 6 And athe LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and bHe was grieved in His cheart. 7 So the LORD said, “I will ade- stroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8 But Noah afound grace in the eyes of the LORD. Noah Pleases God 9 This is the genealogy of Noah. aNoah was a just man, 1perfect in his generations. Noah bwalked with God. 10 And Noah begot three sons: aShem, Ham, and Japheth. 11 The earth also was corrupt abefore God, and the earth was bfilled with violence. 12 So God alooked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for ball flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. The Ark Prepared 13 And God said to Noah, a“The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; band behold, cI will destroy them with the earth. 14 “Make yourself an ark of go- pherwood; make 1rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. 15 “And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred 1cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. 16 “You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side.

e before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; band behold, cI will destroy them with the earth. 14 “Make yourself an ark of go- pherwood; make 1rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. 15 “And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred 1cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. 16 “You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third decks. 17 a“And behold, I Myself am bring- ing bfloodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; every- thing that is on the earth shall cdie. 18 “But I will establish My acove- nant with you; and byou shall go into the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. 19 “And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring atwo of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. 20 “Of the birds after their kind, of animals after their kind, and of every creeping thing of the earth after its kind, two of every kind awill come to you to keep them alive. 18 aJude 14, 15 22 aGen. 6:9; 17:1; 24:40; 48:15 24 a2 Kin. 2:11 bHeb. 11:5 29 aLuke 3:36 bGen. 3:17–19; 4:11 1Lit. Rest 32 aGen. 6:10; 7:13 bGen. 10:21 CHAPTER 6 1 aGen. 1:28 2 aDeut. 7:3, 4 3 a[Gal. 5:16, 17] b2 Thess. 2:7 cPs. 78:39 1LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. abide 4 aNum. 13:32, 33 1Heb. nephilim, fallen or mighty ones 5 aGen. 8:21 1So with MT, Tg.; Vg. God; LXX LORD God 2thought 3all the day 6 a1 Sam. 15:11, 29 bIs. 63:10 cMark 3:5 7 aGen. 7:4, 23 8 aGen. 19:19 9 a2 Pet. 2:5 bGen. 5:22, 24 1blameless or having integrity 10 aGen. 5:32; 7:13 11 aRom. 2:13 bEzek. 8:17 12 aPs. 14:2; 53:2, 3 bPs. 14:1–3 13 a1 Pet. 4:7 bGen. 6:17 c2 Pet. 2:4–10 14 1Lit. com- partments or nests 15 1A cubit is about 18 inches. 17 a2 Pet. 2:5 b2 Pet. 3:6 cLuke 16:22 18 aGen. 8:20—9:17; 17:7 bGen. 7:1, 7, 13 19 aGen. 7:2, 8, 9, 14–16 20 aGen. 7:9, 15

GENESIS 6:21 6 21 “And you shall take for yourself of all food that is eaten, and you shall gather it to yourself; and it shall be food for you and for them.” 22 aThus Noah did; baccording to all that cGod commanded him, so he did. The Great Flood 7 Then the aLORD said to Noah, b“Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that cyou are righteous before Me in this generation. 2 “You shall take with you seven each of every aclean animal, a male and his female; btwo each of ani- mals that are unclean, a male and his female; 3 “also seven each of birds of the air, male and female, to keep 1the species alive on the face of all the earth. 4 “For after aseven more days I will cause it to rain on the earth bforty days and forty nights, and I will 1destroy from the face of the earth all living things that I have made.” 5 aAnd Noah did according to all that the LORD commanded him. 6 Noah was asix hundred years old when the floodwaters were on the earth. 7 aSo Noah, with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, went into the ark because of the waters of the flood. 8 Of clean animals, of animals that are unclean, of birds, and of everything that creeps on the earth, 9 two by two they went into the ark to Noah, male and female, as God had commanded Noah. 10 And it came to pass after seven days that the waters of the flood were on the earth. 11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on athat day all bthe fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the cwindows of heaven were opened. 12 aAnd the rain was on the earth forty days and forty nights. 13 On the very same day Noah and Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark— 14 athey and every beast after its kind, all cattle after their kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, every bird of every bsort. 15 And they awent into the ark to Noah, two by two, of all flesh in which is the breath of life. 16 So those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in aas God had commanded him; and the LORD shut him in. 17 aNow the flood was on the earth forty days. The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. 18 The waters prevailed and greatly increased on the earth, aand the ark moved about on the surface of the waters. 19 And the waters prevailed exceed- ingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered. 20 The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered. 21 aAnd all flesh died that moved on 1the earth: birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man. 22 All in awhose nostrils was the breath 1of the spirit of life, all that was on the dry land, died. 23 So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creep- ing thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only aNoah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive. 24 aAnd the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days. Noah’s Deliverance 8 Then God aremembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the animals that were with him in the ark. bAnd God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided. 2 aThe fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were also bstopped, and cthe rain from heaven was restrained. 3 And the waters receded contin- ually from the earth. At the end aof the hundred and fifty days the waters decreased. 4 Then the ark rested in the seventh month, the seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat. 5 And the waters decreased con- tinually until the tenth month.

ere with him in the ark. bAnd God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided. 2 aThe fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were also bstopped, and cthe rain from heaven was restrained. 3 And the waters receded contin- ually from the earth. At the end aof the hundred and fifty days the waters decreased. 4 Then the ark rested in the seventh month, the seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat. 5 And the waters decreased con- tinually until the tenth month. In the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen. 6 So it came to pass, at the end of forty days, that Noah opened athe window of the ark which he had made. 7 Then he sent out a raven, which kept going to and fro until the waters had dried up from the earth. 8 He also sent out from himself a dove, to see if the waters had re- ceded from the face of the ground. 9 But the dove found no resting place for the sole of her foot, and she returned into the ark to him, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took her, and drew her into the ark to himself. 22 aGen. 7:5; 12:4, 5; Heb. 11:7 bGen. 7:5, 9, 16 c[1 John 5:3] CHAPTER 7 1 aMatt. 11:28 bMatt. 24:38; Luke 17:26; Heb. 11:7; 1 Pet. 3:20; 2 Pet. 2:5 cGen. 6:9; Ps. 33:18; Prov. 10:9; 2 Pet. 2:9 2 aLev. 11; Deut. 14:3–20 bLev. 10:10; Ezek. 44:23 3 1Lit. seed 4 aGen. 7:10; Ex. 7:25 bGen. 7:12, 17 1Lit. blot out 5 aGen. 6:22 6 aGen. 5:4, 32 7 aGen. 6:18; 7:1, 13; Matt. 24:38; Luke 17:27 11 aMatt. 24:39; Luke 17:27; 2 Pet. 2:5; 3:6 bGen. 8:2; Prov. 8:28; Is. 51:10; Ezek. 26:19 cGen. 8:2; Ps. 78:23 12 aGen. 7:4, 17; 1 Sam. 12:18 14 aGen. 6:19 bGen. 1:21 15 aGen. 6:19, 20; 7:9 16 aGen. 7:2, 3 17 aGen. 7:4, 12; 8:6 18 aPs. 104:26 21 aGen. 6:7, 13, 17; 7:4 1the land 22 aGen. 2:7 1LXX, Vg. omit of the spirit 23 aMatt. 24:38, 39; Luke 17:26, 27; Heb. 11:7; 1 Pet. 3:20; 2 Pet. 2:5 24 aGen. 8:3, 4 CHAPTER 8 1 aGen. 19:29; Ex. 2:24; 1 Sam. 1:19; Ps. 105:42; 106:4 bEx. 14:21; 15:10; Job 12:15; Ps. 29:10; Is. 44:27; Nah. 1:4 2 aGen. 7:11 bDeut. 11:17 cGen. 7:4, 12; Job 38:37 3 aGen. 7:24 6 aGen. 6:16

7 GENESIS 9:19 10 And he waited yet another seven days, and again he sent the dove out from the ark. 11 Then the dove came to him in the evening, and behold, a freshly plucked olive leaf was in her mouth; and Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth. 12 So he waited yet another seven days and sent out the dove, which did not return again to him anymore. 13 And it came to pass in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, that the waters were dried up from the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked, and indeed the surface of the ground was dry. 14 And in the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dried. 15 Then God spoke to Noah, say- ing, 16 “Go out of the ark, ayou and your wife, and your sons and your sons’ wives with you. 17 “Bring out with you every living thing of all flesh that is with you: birds and cattle and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, so that they may abound on the earth, and abe fruitful and multiply on the earth.” 18 So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him. 19 Every animal, every creeping thing, every bird, and whatever creeps on the earth, according to their families, went out of the ark. God’s Covenant with Creation 20 Then Noah built an aaltar to the LORD, and took of bevery clean ani- mal and of every clean bird, and offered cburnt offerings on the altar. 21 And the LORD smelled aa sooth- ing aroma. Then the LORD said in His heart, “I will never again bcurse the ground for man’s sake, although the cimagination1 of man’s heart is evil from his youth; dnor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done. 22 “While the earth aremains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And bday and night Shall not cease.” 9 So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: a“Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. 2 a“And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand. 3 a“Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you ball things, even as the cgreen herbs. 4 a“But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. 5 “Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; afrom the hand of every beast I will require it, and bfrom the hand of man.

ar of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand. 3 a“Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you ball things, even as the cgreen herbs. 4 a“But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. 5 “Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; afrom the hand of every beast I will require it, and bfrom the hand of man. From the hand of every cman’s brother I will require the life of man. 6 “Whoever asheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed; bFor in the image of God He made man. 7 And as for you, abe fruitful and multiply; Bring forth abundantly in the earth And multiply in it.” 8 Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying: 9 “And as for Me, abehold, I estab- lish bMy covenant with you and with your 1descendants after you, 10 a“and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ark, every beast of the earth. 11 “Thus aI establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” 12 And God said: a“This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: 13 “I set aMy rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. 14 “It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; 15 “and aI will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 “The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember athe everlasting covenant between God and every living crea- ture of all flesh that is on the earth.” 17 And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.” Noah and His Sons 18 Now the sons of Noah who went out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. aAnd Ham was the father of Canaan. 19 aThese three were the sons of Noah, band from these the whole earth was populated. 16 aGen. 7:13 17 aGen. 1:22, 28; 9:1, 7 20 aGen. 12:7; Ex. 29:18, 25 bGen. 7:2; Lev. 11 cGen. 22:2; Ex. 10:25 21 aEx. 29:18, 25; Lev. 1:9; Ezek. 20:41; 2 Cor. 2:15; Eph. 5:2 bGen. 3:17; 6:7, 13, 17; Is. 54:9 cGen. 6:5; 11:6; Job 14:4; Ps. 51:5; Jer. 17:9; Rom. 1:21; 3:23; Eph. 2:1–3 dGen. 9:11, 15 1intent or thought 22 aIs. 54:9 bPs. 74:16; Jer. 33:20, 25 CHAPTER 9 1 aGen. 1:28, 29; 8:17; 9:7, 19; 10:32 2 aGen. 1:26, 28; Ps. 8:6 3 aDeut. 12:15; 14:3, 9, 11; Acts 10:12, 13 bRom. 14:14, 20; 1 Cor. 10:23, 26; Col. 2:16; [1 Tim. 4:3, 4] cGen. 1:29 4 aLev. 7:26; 17:10–16; 19:26; Deut. 12:16, 23; 15:23; 1 Sam. 14:33, 34; Acts 15:20, 29 5 aEx. 21:28 bGen. 4:9, 10; Ps. 9:12 cActs 17:26 6 aEx. 21:12– 14; Lev. 24:17; Num. 35:33; Matt. 26:52 bGen. 1:26, 27 7 aGen. 9:1, 19 9 aGen. 6:18 bIs. 54:9 1Lit. seed 10 aPs. 145:9 11 aGen. 8:21; Is. 54:9 12 aGen. 9:13, 17; 17:11 13 aEzek. 1:28; Rev. 4:3 15 aLev. 26:42, 45; Deut. 7:9; Ezek. 16:60 16 aGen. 17:13, 19; 2 Sam. 23:5; Is. 55:3; Jer. 32:40; Heb. 13:20 18 aGen. 9:25–27; 10:6 19 aGen. 5:32 bGen. 9:1, 7; 10:32; 1 Chr. 1:4

GENESIS 9:20 8 20 And Noah began to be aa farmer, and he planted a vineyard. 21 Then he drank of the wine aand was drunk, and became uncovered in his tent. 22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. 23 aBut Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoul- ders, and went backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were 1turned away, and they did not see their father’s nakedness. 24 So Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done to him. 25 Then he said: a“Cursed be Canaan; A bservant of servants He shall be to his brethren.” 26 And he said: a“Blessed be the LORD, The God of Shem, And may Canaan be his servant. 27 May God aenlarge Japheth, bAnd may he dwell in the tents of Shem; And may Canaan be his servant.” 28 And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years. 29 So all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years; and he died. Nations Descended from Noah 10 Now this is the genealogy of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. aAnd sons were born to them after the flood. 2 aThe sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. 3 The sons of Gomer were Ashke- naz, 1Riphath, and Togarmah. 4 The sons of Javan were Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and 1Dodanim. 5 From these athe coastland peo- ples of the Gentiles were separated into their lands, everyone according to his language, according to their families, into their nations. 6 aThe sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, 1Put, and Canaan. 7 The sons of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabtechah; and the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan. 8 Cush begot aNimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth. 9 He was a mighty ahunter bbefore the LORD; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.” 10 aAnd the beginning of his king- dom was bBabel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. 11 From that land he went ato As- syria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah, 12 and Resen between Nineveh and Calah (that is the principal city). 13 Mizraim begot Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, 14 Pathrusim, and Casluhim a(from whom came the Philistines and Caphtorim). 15 Canaan begot Sidon his first- born, and aHeth; 16 athe Jebusite, the Amorite, and the Girgashite; 17 the Hivite, the Arkite, and the Sinite; 18 the Arvadite, the Zemarite, and the Hamathite. Afterward the fami- lies of the Canaanites were dis- persed. 19 aAnd the border of the Canaan- ites was from Sidon as you go toward Gerar, as far as Gaza; then as you go toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha. 20 These were the sons of Ham, according to their families, accord- ing to their languages, in their lands and in their nations. 21 And children were born also to Shem, the father of all the children of Eber, 1the brother of Japheth the elder. 22 The asons of Shem were Elam, Asshur, bArphaxad, Lud, and Aram. 23 The sons of Aram were Uz, Hul, Gether, and 1Mash. 24 1Arphaxad begot aSalah, and Salah begot Eber. 25 aTo Eber were born two sons: the name of one was 1Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan. 26 Joktan begot Almodad, She- leph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, 27 Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, 28 1Obal, Abimael, Sheba, 29 Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab.

all the children of Eber, 1the brother of Japheth the elder. 22 The asons of Shem were Elam, Asshur, bArphaxad, Lud, and Aram. 23 The sons of Aram were Uz, Hul, Gether, and 1Mash. 24 1Arphaxad begot aSalah, and Salah begot Eber. 25 aTo Eber were born two sons: the name of one was 1Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan. 26 Joktan begot Almodad, She- leph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, 27 Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, 28 1Obal, Abimael, Sheba, 29 Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these were the sons of Joktan. 30 And their dwelling place was from Mesha as you go toward Sephar, the mountain of the east. 31 These were the sons of Shem, according to their families, accord- ing to their languages, in their lands, according to their nations. 32 aThese were the families of the sons of Noah, according to their generations, in their nations; band from these the nations were divided on the earth after the flood. The Tower of Babel 11 Now the whole earth had one language and one 1speech. 2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land aof Shinar, and they dwelt there. 3 Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and 1bake them thoroughly.” They had brick 20 aGen. 3:19, 23; 4:2 21 aProv. 20:1 23 aEx. 20:12 1Lit. back- wards 25 aDeut. 27:16 bJosh. 9:23 26 aGen. 14:20; 24:27 27 aGen. 10:2–5; 39:3 bEph. 2:13, 14; 3:6 CHAPTER 10 1 aGen. 9:1, 7, 19 2 a1 Chr. 1:5–7 3 1Diphath, 1 Chr. 1:6 4 1Sam. Rodanim and 1 Chr. 1:7 5 aPs. 72:10 6 a1 Chr. 1:8–16 1Or Phut 8 aMic. 5:6 9 aJer. 16:16 bGen. 21:20 10 aMic. 5:6 bGen. 11:9 11 aMic. 5:6 14 a1 Chr. 1:12 15 aGen. 23:3 16 aGen. 14:7; 15:19–21 19 aNum. 34:2–12 21 1Or the older brother of Japheth 22 a1 Chr. 1:17–28 bLuke 3:36 23 1LXX Meshech and 1 Chr. 1:17 24 aGen. 11:12 1So with MT, Vg., Tg.; LXX Arphaxad begot Cainan, and Cainan begot Salah (cf. Luke 3:35, 36) 25 a1 Chr. 1:19 1Lit. Division 28 1Ebal, 1 Chr. 1:22 32 aGen. 10:1 bGen. 9:19; 11:8 CHAPTER 11 1 1Lit. lip 2 aGen. 10:10; 14:1 3 1Lit. burn

9 GENESIS 12:7 for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. 4 And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower awhose top is in the heavens; let us make a bname for ourselves, lest we cbe scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” 5 aBut the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. 6 And the LORD said, “Indeed athe people are one and they all have bone language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they cpropose to do will be withheld from them. 7 “Come, alet Us go down and there bconfuse their language, that they may not understand one anoth- er’s speech.” 8 So athe LORD scattered them abroad from there bover the face of all the earth, and they ceased build- ing the city. 9 Therefore its name is called 1Babel, abecause there the LORD confused the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth. Shem’s Descendants 10 aThis is the genealogy of Shem: Shem was one hundred years old, and begot Arphaxad two years after the flood. 11 After he begot Arphaxad, Shem lived five hundred years, and begot sons and daughters. 12 Arphaxad lived thirty-five years, aand begot Salah. 13 After he begot Salah, Arphaxad lived four hundred and three years, and begot sons and daughters. 14 Salah lived thirty years, and begot Eber. 15 After he begot Eber, Salah lived four hundred and three years, and begot sons and daughters. 16 aEber lived thirty-four years, and begot bPeleg. 17 After he begot Peleg, Eber lived four hundred and thirty years, and begot sons and daughters. 18 Peleg lived thirty years, and begot Reu. 19 After he begot Reu, Peleg lived two hundred and nine years, and begot sons and daughters. 20 Reu lived thirty-two years, and begot aSerug. 21 After he begot Serug, Reu lived two hundred and seven years, and begot sons and daughters. 22 Serug lived thirty years, and begot Nahor. 23 After he begot Nahor, Serug lived two hundred years, and begot sons and daughters. 24 Nahor lived twenty-nine years, and begot aTerah. 25 After he begot Terah, Nahor lived one hundred and nineteen years, and begot sons and daughters. 26 Now Terah lived seventy years, and abegot 1Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Terah’s Descendants 27 This is the genealogy of Terah: Terah begot aAbram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran begot Lot. 28 And Haran died before his father Terah in his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans. 29 Then Abram and Nahor took wives: the name of Abram’s wife was aSarai,1 and the name of Nahor’s wife, bMilcah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and the father of Iscah. 30 But aSarai was barren; she had no child. 31 And Terah atook his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they went out with them from bUr of the Chaldeans to go to cthe land of Canaan; and they came to Haran and dwelt there. 32 So the days of Terah were two hundred and five years, and Terah died in Haran. Promises to Abram 12 Now the aLORD had said to Abram: “Get bout of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. 2 aI will make you a great nation; bI will bless you And make your name great; cAnd you shall be a blessing. 3 aI will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in byou all the families of the earth shall be cblessed.” 4 So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy- five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and athe 1people whom they had acquired bin Haran, and they cdeparted to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan. 6 Abram apassed through the land to the place of Shechem, bas far as 1the terebinth tree of Moreh. cAnd the Canaanites were then in the land. 7 aThen the LORD appeared to Abram and said, b“To your 1descen- 4 aDeut.

e years old when he departed from Haran. 5 Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and athe 1people whom they had acquired bin Haran, and they cdeparted to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan. 6 Abram apassed through the land to the place of Shechem, bas far as 1the terebinth tree of Moreh. cAnd the Canaanites were then in the land. 7 aThen the LORD appeared to Abram and said, b“To your 1descen- 4 aDeut. 1:28; 9:1 bGen. 6:4 cDeut. 4:27 5 aGen. 18:21 6 aGen. 9:19 bGen. 11:1 cPs. 2:1 7 aGen. 1:26 bEx. 4:11 8 a[Luke 1:51] bGen. 10:25, 32 9 a1 Cor. 14:23 1Lit. Confusion, Babylon 10 aGen. 10:22–25 12 aLuke 3:35 16 a1 Chr. 1:19 bLuke 3:35 20 aLuke 3:35 24 aJosh. 24:2 26 a1 Chr. 1:26 1Abraham, Gen. 17:5 27 aGen. 11:31; 17:5 29 aGen. 17:15; 20:12 bGen. 22:20, 23; 24:15 1Sarah, Gen. 17:15 30 aGen. 16:1, 2 31 aGen. 12:1 bActs 7:4 cGen. 10:19 CHAPTER 12 1 aActs 7:2, 3 bGen. 13:9 2 aDeut. 26:5 bGen. 22:17; 24:35 cGen. 28:4 3 aNum. 24:9 bActs 3:25 cIs. 41:27 5 aGen. 14:14 bGen. 11:31 cGen. 13:18 1Lit. souls 6 aHeb. 11:9 bDeut. 11:30 cGen. 10:18, 19 1Heb. Alon Moreh 7 aGen. 17:1; 18:1 bGen. 13:15; 15:18; 17:8 1Lit. seed

GENESIS 12:8 10 dants I will give this land.” And there he built an caltar to the LORD, who had appeared to him. 8 And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the LORD and acalled on the name of the LORD. 9 So Abram journeyed, agoing on still toward the 1South. Abram in Egypt 10 Now there was aa famine in the land, and Abram bwent down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was csevere in the land. 11 And it came to pass, when he was close to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “Indeed I know that you are aa woman of beautiful countenance. 12 “Therefore it will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they awill kill me, but they will let you live. 13 a“Please say you are my bsister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that 1I may live because of you.” 14 So it was, when Abram came into Egypt, that the Egyptians saw the woman, that she was very beau- tiful. 15 The princes of Pharaoh also saw her and commended her to Pha- raoh. And the woman was taken to Pharaoh’s house. 16 He atreated Abram well for her sake. He bhad sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female servants, female donkeys, and camels. 17 But the LORD aplagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. 18 And Pharaoh called Abram and said, a“What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? 19 “Why did you say, ‘She is my sis- ter’? I might have taken her as my wife. Now therefore, here is your wife; take her and go your way.” 20 aSo Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they sent him away, with his wife and all that he had. Abram Inherits Canaan 13 Then Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and aLot with him, bto the 1South. 2 aAbram was very rich in live- stock, in silver, and in gold. 3 And he went on his journey afrom the South as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, 4 to the aplace of the altar which he had made there at first. And there Abram bcalled on the name of the LORD. 5 Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents. 6 Now athe land was not able to 1support them, that they might dwell together, for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together. 7 And there was astrife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. bThe Canaanites and the Perizzites then dwelt in the land. 8 So Abram said to Lot, a“Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren. 9 a“Is not the whole land before you? Please bseparate from me. cIf you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left.” 10 And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all athe plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the LORD bdestroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) clike the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go toward dZoar. 11 Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot jour- neyed east.

en; for we are brethren. 9 a“Is not the whole land before you? Please bseparate from me. cIf you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left.” 10 And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all athe plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the LORD bdestroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) clike the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go toward dZoar. 11 Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot jour- neyed east. And they separated from each other. 12 Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot adwelt in the cities of the plain and bpitched his tent even as far as Sodom. 13 But the men of Sodom awere exceedingly wicked and bsinful against the LORD. 14 And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot ahad separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—bnorth- ward, southward, eastward, and westward; 15 “for all the land which you see aI give to you and byour 1descendants forever. 16 “And aI will make your descen- dants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered. 17 “Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.” 18 aThen Abram moved his tent, and went and bdwelt by 1the tere- binth trees of Mamre, cwhich are in Hebron, and built an daltar there to the LORD. Lot’s Captivity and Rescue 14 And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king aof Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedor- laomer king of bElam, and Tidal king of 1nations, 7 cGen. 13:4, 18; 22:9 8 aGen. 4:26; 13:4; 21:33 9 aGen. 13:1, 3; 20:1; 24:62 1Heb. Negev 10 aGen. 26:1 bPs. 105:13 cGen. 43:1 11 aGen. 12:14; 26:7; 29:17 12 aGen. 20:11; 26:7 13 aGen. 20:1–18; 26:6–11 bGen. 20:12 1Lit. my soul 16 aGen. 20:14 bGen. 13:2 17 a1 Chr. 16:21 18 aGen. 20:9, 10; 26:10 20 a[Prov. 21:1] CHAPTER 13 1 aGen. 12:4; 14:12, 16 bGen. 12:9 1Heb. Negev 2 aGen. 24:35; 26:14 3 aGen. 12:8, 9 4 aGen. 12:7, 8; 21:33 bPs. 116:17 6 aGen. 36:7 1Lit. bear 7 aGen. 26:20 bGen. 12:6; 15:20, 21 8 a1 Cor. 6:7 9 aGen. 20:15; 34:10 bGen. 13:11, 14 c[Rom. 12:18] 10 aGen. 19:17–29 bGen. 19:24 cGen. 2:8, 10 dDeut. 34:3 12 aGen. 19:24, 25, 29 bGen. 14:12; 19:1 13 aGen. 18:20, 21 bGen. 6:11; 39:9 14 aGen. 13:11 bGen. 28:14 15 aActs 7:5 b2 Chr. 20:7 1Lit. seed 16 aGen. 22:17 18 aGen. 26:17 bGen. 14:13 cGen. 23:2; 35:27 dGen. 8:20; 22:8, 9 1Heb. Alon Mamre CHAPTER 14 1 aGen. 10:10; 11:2 bIs. 11:11; 21:2 1Heb. goyim

11 GENESIS 15:10 2 that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of aAdmah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, bZoar). 3 All these joined together in theVal- ley of Siddim a(that is, the Salt Sea). 4 Twelve years athey served Ched- orlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled. 5 In the fourteenth year Chedor- laomer and the kings that were with him came and attacked athe Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim, bthe Zuzim in Ham, cthe Emim in Shaveh Kiriathaim, 6 aand the Horites in their moun- tain of Seir, as far as El Paran, which is by the wilderness. 7 Then they turned back and came to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and attacked all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who dwelt ain Hazezon Tamar. 8 And the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out and joined together in battle in the Val- ley of Siddim 9 against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of 1nations, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Ari- och king of Ellasar—four kings against five. 10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of aasphalt pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled; some fell there, and the remainder fled bto the mountains. 11 Then they took aall the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way. 12 They also took Lot, Abram’s abrother’s son bwho dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed. 13 Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the aHebrew, for bhe dwelt by 1the terebinth trees of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner; cand they were allies with Abram. 14 Now awhen Abram heard that bhis brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eigh- teen trained servants who were cborn in his own house, and went in pursuit das far as Dan. 15 He divided his forces against them by night, and he and his ser- vants aattacked them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is 1north of Damascus. 16 So he abrought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people. 17 And the king of Sodom awent out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the bKing’s Valley), cafter his return from 1the defeat of Chedor- laomer and the kings who were with him. Abram and Melchizedek 18 Then aMelchizedek king of Sa- lem brought out bbread and wine; he was cthe priest of dGod Most High. 19 And he blessed him and said: a“Blessed be Abram of God Most High, bPossessor of heaven and earth; 20 And ablessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” And he bgave him 1a tithe of all. 21 Now the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the 1persons, and take the goods for yourself.” 22 But Abram asaid to the king of Sodom, “I bhave raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, cthe Pos- sessor of heaven and earth, 23 “that aI will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich’— 24 “except only what the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.” God’s Covenant with Abram 15 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram ain a vision, saying, b“Do not be afraid, Abram.

he LORD, God Most High, cthe Pos- sessor of heaven and earth, 23 “that aI will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich’— 24 “except only what the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.” God’s Covenant with Abram 15 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram ain a vision, saying, b“Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your cshield, 1your exceedingly dgreat reward.” 2 aBut Abram said, “Lord GOD, what will You give me, bseeing I 1go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed aone1 born in my house is my heir!” 4 And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who awill come from your own body shall be your heir.” 5 Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and acount the bstars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, c“So shall your ddescendants be.” 6 And he abelieved in the LORD, and He baccounted it to him for righteousness. 7 Then He said to him, “I am the LORD, who abrought you out of bUr of the Chaldeans, cto give you this land to inherit it.” 8 And he said, “Lord GOD, ahow shall I know that I will inherit it?” 9 So He said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10 Then he brought all these to Him and acut them in two, down the 2 aDeut. 29:23 bGen. 13:10; 19:22 3 aNum. 34:12 4 aGen. 9:26 5 aGen. 15:20 bDeut. 2:20 cDeut. 2:10 6 aDeut. 2:12, 22 7 a2 Chr. 20:2 9 1Heb. goyim 10 aGen. 11:3 bGen. 19:17, 30 11 aGen. 14:16, 21 12 aGen. 11:27; 12:5 bGen. 13:12 13 aGen. 39:14; 40:15 bGen. 13:18 cGen. 14:24; 21:27, 32 1Heb. Alon Mamre 14 aGen. 19:29 bGen. 13:8; 14:12 cGen. 12:5; 15:3; 17:27 dDeut. 34:1 15 aIs. 41:2, 3 1Lit. on the left hand of 16 aGen. 31:18 17 a1 Sam. 18:6 b2 Sam. 18:18 cHeb. 7:1 1Lit. strik- ing 18 aHeb. 7:1–10 bGen. 18:5 cPs. 110:4 dActs 16:17 19 aRuth 3:10 bGen. 14:22 20 aGen. 24:27 bHeb. 7:4 1one-tenth 21 1Lit. souls 22 aGen. 14:2, 8, 10 bDan. 12:7 cGen. 14:19 23 a2 Kin. 5:16 CHAPTER 15 1 aDan. 10:1 bGen. 21:17; 26:24 cDeut. 33:29 dProv. 11:18 1Or your reward shall be very great 2 aGen. 17:18 bActs 7:5 1am childless 3 aGen. 14:14 1a servant 4 a2 Sam. 7:12 5 aPs. 147:4 bJer. 33:22 cEx. 32:13 dGen. 17:19 6 aRom. 4:3, 9, 22 bPs. 32:2; 106:31 7 aGen. 12:1 bGen. 11:28, 31 cPs. 105:42, 44 8 aLuke 1:18 10 aJer. 34:18

GENESIS 15:11 12 middle, and placed each piece oppo- site the other; but he did not cut bthe birds in two. 11 And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. 12 Now when the sun was going down, aa deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly athat your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and bthey will afflict them four hundred years. 14 “And also the nation whom they serve aI will judge; afterward bthey shall come out with great posses- sions. 15 “Now as for you, ayou shall 1go bto your fathers in peace; cyou shall be buried at a good old age. 16 “But ain the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity bof the Amorites cis not yet complete.” 17 And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that apassed between those pieces. 18 On the same day the LORD amade a covenant with Abram, saying: b“To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates— 19 “the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, 20 “the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21 “the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.” Hagar and Ishmael 16 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, ahad borne him no children. And she had ban Egyptian maidser- vant whose name was cHagar. 2 aSo Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the LORD bhas restrained me from bearing children. Please, cgo in to my maid; perhaps I shall 1obtain children by her.” And Abram dheeded the voice of Sarai. 3 Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram ahad dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. 4 So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became adespised in her 1eyes. 5 Then Sarai said to Abram, 1“My wrong be upon you! I gave my maid into your embrace; and when she saw that she had conceived, I became despised in her eyes. aThe LORD judge between you and me.” 6 aSo Abram said to Sarai, “Indeed your maid is in your hand; do to her as you please.” And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, bshe fled from her presence. 7 Now the aAngel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, bby the spring on the way to cShur. 8 And He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.” 9 The Angel of the LORD said to her, “Return to your mistress, and asubmit yourself under her hand.” 10 Then the Angel of the LORD said to her, a“I will multiply your descen- dants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.” 11 And the Angel of the LORD said to her: “Behold, you are with child, aAnd you shall bear a son. You shall call his name 1Ishmael, Because the LORD has heard your affliction. 12 aHe shall be a wild man; His hand shall be against every man, And every man’s hand against him. bAnd he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.” 13 Then she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, You-Are- 1the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here 2seen Him awho sees me?” 14 Therefore the well was called aBeer Lahai Roi;1 observe, it is bbe- tween Kadesh and Bered. 15 So aHagar bore Abram a son; and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram. The Sign of the Covenant 17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD aappeared to Abram and said to him, b“I am 1Almighty God; cwalk before Me and be dblameless. 2 “And I will make My acovenant between Me and you, and bwill mul- tiply you exceedingly.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: 4 “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be aa father of 1many nations. 5 “No longer shall ayour name be

ghty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram. The Sign of the Covenant 17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD aappeared to Abram and said to him, b“I am 1Almighty God; cwalk before Me and be dblameless. 2 “And I will make My acovenant between Me and you, and bwill mul- tiply you exceedingly.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: 4 “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be aa father of 1many nations. 5 “No longer shall ayour name be called 1Abram, but your name shall be 2Abraham; bfor I have made you a father of 3many nations. 6 “I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make anations of you, and bkings shall come from you. 10 bLev. 1:17 12 aGen. 2:21; 28:11 13 aEx. 1:11 bEx. 12:40 14 aEx. 6:6 bEx. 12:36 15 aJob 5:26 bGen. 25:8; 47:30 cGen. 25:8 1Die and join your ancestors 16 aEx. 12:41 b1 Kin. 21:26 cMatt. 23:32 17 aJer. 34:18, 19 18 aGen. 24:7 bGen. 12:7; 17:8 CHAPTER 16 1 aGen. 11:30; 15:2, 3 bGen. 12:16; 21:9 cGal. 4:24 2 aGen. 30:3 bGen. 20:18 cGen. 30:3, 9 dGen. 3:17 1Lit. be built up from 3 aGen. 12:4, 5 4 a[Prov. 30:21, 23] 1sight 5 aGen. 31:53 1The wrong done to me be 6 a1 Pet. 3:7 bEx. 2:15 7 aGen. 21:17, 18; 22:11, 15; 31:11 bGen. 20:1; 25:18 cEx. 15:22 9 a[Titus 2:9] 10 aGen. 17:20 11 aLuke 1:13, 31 1Lit. God Hears 12 aGen. 21:20 bGen. 25:18 13 aGen. 31:42 1Heb. El Roi 2Seen the back of 14 aGen. 24:62 bNum. 13:26 1Lit. Well of the One Who Lives and Sees Me 15 aGal. 4:22 CHAPTER 17 1 aGen. 12:7; 18:1 bGen. 28:3; 35:11 c2 Kin. 20:3 dDeut. 18:13 1Heb. El Shaddai 2 aGen. 15:18 bGen. 12:2; 13:16; 15:5; 18:18 4 a[Rom. 4:11, 12, 16] 1Lit. multitude of nations 5 aNeh. 9:7 bRom. 4:17 1Lit. Exalted Father 2Lit. Father of a Multitude 3a multitude of 6 aGen. 17:16; 35:11 bMatt. 1:6

13 GENESIS 18:12 7 “And I will aestablish My cove- nant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their gener- ations, for an everlasting cove- nant, bto be God to you and cyour descendants after you. 8 “Also aI give to you and your descendants after you the land bin1 which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and cI will be their God.” 9 And God said to Abraham: “As for you, ayou shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. 10 “This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: aEvery male child among you shall be cir- cumcised; 11 “and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be aa sign of the covenant between Me and you. 12 “He who is eight days old among you ashall be circumcised, every male child in your genera- tions, he who is born in your house or bought with money from any for- eigner who is not your descendant. 13 “He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. 14 “And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person ashall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.” 15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but 1Sarah shall be her name. 16 “And I will bless her aand also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother bof nations; ckings of peoples shall be from her.” 17 Then Abraham fell on his face aand laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” 18 And Abraham asaid to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!” 19 Then God said: “No, aSarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My bcovenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him. 20 “And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and awill multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget btwelve princes, cand I will make him a great nation. 21 “But My acovenant I will establish with Isaac, bwhom Sarah shall bear to you at this cset time next year.” 22 Then He finished talking with him, and God went up from Abra- ham. 23 So Abraham took Ishmael his son, all who were born in his house and all who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very same day, as God had said to him. 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 25 And Ishmael his son was thir- teen years old when he was circum- cised in the flesh of his foreskin. 26 That very same day Abraham was circumcised, and his son Ish- mael; 27 and aall the men of his house, born in the house or bought with money from a foreigner, were cir- cumcised with him. The Son of Promise 18 Then the LORD appeared to him by 1the aterebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. 2 aSo he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; band when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground, 3 and said, “My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant. 4 “Please let aa little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. 5 “And aI will bring a morsel of bread, that byou may refresh your hearts.

he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. 2 aSo he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; band when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground, 3 and said, “My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant. 4 “Please let aa little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. 5 “And aI will bring a morsel of bread, that byou may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, cinasmuch as you have come to your servant.” They said, “Do as you have said.” 6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quickly, make ready three measures of fine meal; knead it and make cakes.” 7 And Abraham ran to the herd, took a tender and good calf, gave it to a young man, and he hastened to prepare it. 8 So ahe took butter and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree as they ate. 9 Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” So he said, “Here, ain the tent.” 10 And He said, “I will certainly return to you aaccording to the time of life, and behold, bSarah your wife shall have a son.” (Sarah was listen- ing in the tent door which was behind him.) 11 Now aAbraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and 1Sarah bhad passed the age of childbearing. 12 Therefore Sarah alaughed within 7 a[Gal. 3:17] bGen. 26:24; 28:13 cRom. 9:8 8 aActs 7:5 bGen. 23:4; 28:4 cLev. 26:12 1Lit. of your sojourn- ings 9 aEx. 19:5 10 aActs 7:8 11 aEx. 12:13, 48 12 aLev. 12:3 14 aEx. 4:24–26 15 1Lit. Princess 16 aGen. 18:10 bGen. 35:11 cGen. 17:6; 36:31 17 aGen. 17:3; 18:12; 21:6 18 aGen. 18:23 19 aGen. 18:10; 21:2; bGen. 22:16 20 aGen. 16:10 bGen. 25:12–16 cGen. 21:13, 18 21 aGen. 26:2–5 bGen. 21:2 cGen. 18:14 27 aGen. 18:19 CHAPTER 18 1 aGen. 13:18; 14:13 1Heb. Alon Mamre 2 aHeb. 13:2 bGen. 19:1 4 aGen. 19:2; 24:32; 43:24 5 aJudg. 6:18, 19; 13:15, 16 bJudg. 19:5 cGen. 19:8; 33:10 8 aGen. 19:3 9 aGen. 24:67 10 a2 Kin. 4:16 bRom. 9:9 11 aGen. 17:17 bGen. 31:35 1Lit. the man- ner of women had ceased to be with Sarah 12 aGen. 17:17

GENESIS 18:13 14 herself, saying, b“After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my clord being old also?” 13 And the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’ 14 a“Is anything too hard for the LORD? bAt the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.” 15 But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh!” Abraham Intercedes for Sodom 16 Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them ato send them on the way. 17 And the LORD said, a“Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, 18 “since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be ablessed in him? 19 “For I have known him, in order athat he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.” 20 And the LORD said, “Because athe outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their bsin is very grave, 21 a“I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, bI will know.” 22 Then the men turned away from there aand went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD. 23 And Abraham acame near and said, b“Would You also cdestroy the drighteous with the wicked? 24 “Suppose there were fifty righ- teous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it? 25 “Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so athat the righ- teous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! bShall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” 26 So the LORD said, a“If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.” 27 Then Abraham answered and said, “Indeed now, I who am abut dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: 28 “Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous; would You destroy all of the city for lack of five?” So He said, “If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it.” 29 And he spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose there should be forty found there?” So He said, “I will not do it for the sake of forty.” 30 Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Suppose thirty should be found there?” So He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” 31 And he said, “Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: Suppose twenty should be found there?” So He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty.” 32 Then he said, a“Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?” bAnd He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.” 33 So the LORD went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place. Sodom’s Depravity 19 Now athe two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and bLot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground. 2 And he said, “Here now, my lords, please aturn in to your ser- vant’s house and spend the night, and bwash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way.” And they said, c“No, but we will spend the night in the open square.” 3 But he insisted strongly; so they turned in to him and entered his house. aThen he made them a feast, and baked bunleavened bread, and they ate. 4 Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house. 5 aAnd they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight?

r feet; then you may rise early and go on your way.” And they said, c“No, but we will spend the night in the open square.” 3 But he insisted strongly; so they turned in to him and entered his house. aThen he made them a feast, and baked bunleavened bread, and they ate. 4 Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house. 5 aAnd they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? bBring them out to us that we cmay know them carnally.” 6 So aLot went out to them through the doorway, shut the door behind him, 7 and said, “Please, my brethren, do not do so wickedly! 8 a“See now, I have two daughters who have not known a man; please, let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you wish; only do nothing to these men, bsince this is the reason they have come under the shadow of my roof.” 9 And they said, “Stand back!” Then they said, “This one acame in to 1stay here, band he keeps acting as a judge; now we will deal worse with you than with them.” So they pressed hard against the man Lot, and came near to break down the door. 10 But the men reached out their 12 bLuke 1:18 c1 Pet. 3:6 14 aJer. 32:17 bGen. 17:21; 18:10 16 aRom. 15:24 17 aPs. 25:14 18 a[Acts 3:25, 26 19 a[Deut. 4:9, 10; 6:6, 7] 20 aGen. 4:10; 19:13 bGen. 13:13 21 aGen. 11:5 bDeut. 8:2; 13:3 22 aGen. 18:16; 19:1 23 a[Heb. 10:22] bNum. 16:22 cJob 9:22 dGen. 20:4 25 aIs. 3:10, 11 bDeut. 1:16, 17; 32:4 26 aJer. 5:1 27 a[Gen. 3:19] 32 aJudg. 6:39 bJames 5:16 CHAPTER 19 1 aGen. 18:2, 16, 22 bGen. 18:1–5 2 a[Heb. 13:2] bGen. 18:4; 24:32 cLuke 24:28 3 aGen. 18:6–8 bEx. 12:8 5 aIs. 3:9 bJudg. 19:22 cGen. 4:1 6 aJudg. 19:23 8 aJudg. 19:24 bGen. 18:5 9 a2 Pet. 2:7, 8 bEx. 2:14 1As a resident alien

15 GENESIS 20:3 hands and pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. 11 And they astruck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they became weary trying to find the door. Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed 12 Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Son-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whomever you have in the city— atake them out of this place! 13 “For we will destroy this place, because the aoutcry against them has grown great before the face of the LORD, and bthe LORD has sent us to destroy it.” 14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, awho had married his daughters, and said, b“Get up, get out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city!” cBut to his sons- in-law he seemed to be joking. 15 When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, a“Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city.” 16 And while he lingered, the men atook hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the bLORD being merciful to him, cand they brought him out and set him outside the city. 17 So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that 1he said, a“Escape for your life! bDo not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape cto the moun- tains, lest you be 2destroyed.” 18 Then Lot said to them, “Please, ano, my lords! 19 “Indeed now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have increased your mercy which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, lest some evil overtake me and I die. 20 “See now, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one; please let me escape there (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.” 21 And he said to him, “See, aI have favored you concerning this thing also, in that I will not overthrow this city for which you have spoken. 22 “Hurry, escape there. For aI can- not do anything until you arrive there.” Therefore bthe name of the city was called 1Zoar. 23 The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Zoar. 24 Then the LORD rained abrimstone and bfire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the LORD out of the heavens. 25 So He 1overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and awhat grew on the ground. 26 But his wife looked back behind him, and she became aa pillar of salt. 27 And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where ahe had stood before the LORD. 28 Then he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain; and he saw, and behold, athe smoke of the land which went up like the smoke of a furnace. 29 And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God aremembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the over- throw, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot had dwelt. The Descendants of Lot 30 Then Lot went up out of Zoar and adwelt in the mountains, and his two daughters were with him; for he was afraid to dwell in Zoar. And he and his two daughters dwelt in a cave. 31 Now the firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man on the earth ato come in to us as is the custom of all the earth. 32 “Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we amay preserve the 1lineage of our father.” 33 So they made their father drink wine that night. And the firstborn went in and lay with her father, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. 34 It happened on the next day that the firstborn said to the younger, “Indeed I lay with my father last night; let us make him drink wine tonight also, and you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve the 1lineage of our father.” 35 Then they made their father drink wine that night also.

we amay preserve the 1lineage of our father.” 33 So they made their father drink wine that night. And the firstborn went in and lay with her father, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. 34 It happened on the next day that the firstborn said to the younger, “Indeed I lay with my father last night; let us make him drink wine tonight also, and you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve the 1lineage of our father.” 35 Then they made their father drink wine that night also. And the younger arose and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. 36 Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father. 37 The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab; ahe is the father of the Moabites to this day. 38 And the younger, she also bore a son and called his name Ben- Ammi; ahe is the father of the people of Ammon to this day. Abraham and Abimelech 20 And Abraham journeyed from athere to the South, and dwelt between bKadesh and Shur, and cstayed in Gerar. 2 Now Abraham said of Sarah his wife, a“She is my sister.” And Abim- elech king of Gerar sent and btook Sarah. 3 But aGod came to Abimelech bin a dream by night, and said to him, c“Indeed you are a dead man 11 aGen. 20:17 12 a2 Pet. 2:7, 9 13 aGen. 18:20 b1 Chr. 21:15 14 aMatt. 1:18 bNum. 16:21, 24, 26, 45 cEx. 9:21 15 aRev. 18:4 16 a2 Pet. 2:7 bLuke 18:13 cPs. 34:22 17 aJer. 48:6 bMatt. 24:16–18 cGen. 14:10 1LXX, Syr., Vg. they 2Lit. swept away 18 aActs 10:14 21 aJob 42:8, 9 22 aEx. 32:10 bGen. 13:10; 14:2 1Lit. Lit- tle or Insig- nificant 24 aDeut. 29:23 bLev. 10:2 25 aPs. 107:34 1devastated 26 aLuke 17:32 27 aGen. 18:22 28 aRev. 9:2; 18:9 29 aGen. 8:1; 18:23 30 aGen. 19:17, 19 31 aGen. 16:2, 4; 38:8, 9 32 a[Mark 12:19] 1Lit. seed 34 1Lit. seed 37 aDeut. 2:9 38 aDeut. 2:19 CHAPTER 20 1 aGen. 18:1 bGen. 12:9; 16:7, 14 cGen. 26:1, 6 2 aGen. 12:11– 13; 26:7 bGen. 12:15 3 aPs. 105:14 bJob 33:15 cGen. 20:7

GENESIS 20:4 16 because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is 1a man’s wife.” 4 But Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, “Lord, awill You slay a righteous nation also? 5 “Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she, even she her- self said, ‘He is my brother.’ aIn the 1integrity of my heart and inno- cence of my hands I have done this.” 6 And God said to him in a dream, “Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For aI also withheld you from sinning bagainst Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. 7 “Now therefore, restore the man’s wife; afor he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you shall live. But if you do not restore her, bknow that you shall surely die, you cand all who are yours.” 8 So Abimelech rose early in the morning, called all his servants, and told all these things in their hearing; and the men were very much afraid. 9 And Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? How have I 1offended you, athat you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done deeds to me bthat ought not to be done.” 10 Then Abimelech said to Abra- ham, “What did you have in view, that you have done this thing?” 11 And Abraham said, “Because I thought, surely athe fear of God is not in this place; and bthey will kill me on account of my wife. 12 “But indeed ashe is truly my sis- ter. She is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife. 13 “And it came to pass, when aGod caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said to her, ‘This is your kindness that you should do for me: in every place, wherever we go, bsay of me, “He is my brother.” ’ ” 14 Then Abimelech atook sheep, oxen, and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham; and he restored Sarah his wife to him. 15 And Abimelech said, “See, amy land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.” 16 Then to Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thou- sand pieces of silver; aindeed this 1vindicates you bbefore all who are with you and before everybody.” Thus she was 2rebuked. 17 So Abraham aprayed to God; and God bhealed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants. Then they bore children; 18 for the LORD ahad closed up all the wombs of the house of Abim- elech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife. Isaac Is Born 21 And the LORD avisited Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah bas He had spoken. 2 For Sarah aconceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, bat the set time of which God had spoken to him. 3 And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him— whom Sarah bore to him—aIsaac.1 4 Then Abraham acircumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, bas God had commanded him. 5 Now aAbraham was one hun- dred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 And Sarah said, a“God has 1made me laugh, and all who hear bwill laugh with me.” 7 She also said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? aFor I have borne him a son in his old age.” Hagar and Ishmael Depart 8 So the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the same day that Isaac was weaned. 9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar athe Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, bscoffing.1 10 Therefore she said to Abraham, a“Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac.” 11 And the matter was very 1dis- pleasing in Abraham’s sight abe- cause of his son. 12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad or because of your bondwoman. Whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice; for ain Isaac your seed shall be called. 13 “Yet I will also make aa nation of the son of the bondwoman, because he is your 1seed.” 14 So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and 1a skin of water; and putting it on her shoulder, he gave it and the boy to Hagar, and asent her away.

’s sight abe- cause of his son. 12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad or because of your bondwoman. Whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice; for ain Isaac your seed shall be called. 13 “Yet I will also make aa nation of the son of the bondwoman, because he is your 1seed.” 14 So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and 1a skin of water; and putting it on her shoulder, he gave it and the boy to Hagar, and asent her away. Then she departed and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba. 15 And the water in the skin was used up, and she placed the boy under one of the shrubs. 16 Then she went and sat down across from him at a distance of about a bowshot; for she said to her- self, “Let me not see the death of the boy.” So she sat opposite him, and lifted her voice and wept. 17 And aGod heard the voice of the lad. Then the bangel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, “What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. 3 1Lit. married to a husband 4 aGen. 18:23–25 5 a2 Kin. 20:3 1innocence 6 a1 Sam. 25:26, 34 bGen. 39:9 7 a1 Sam. 7:5 bGen. 2:17 cNum. 16:32, 33 9 aGen. 26:10; 39:9 bGen. 34:7 1sinned against 11 aProv. 16:6 bGen. 12:12; 26:7 12 aGen. 11:29 13 aGen. 12:1–9, 11 bGen. 12:13; 20:5 14 aGen. 12:16 15 aGen. 13:9; 34:10; 47:6 16 aGen. 26:11 bGen. 24:65 1Lit. is a cov- ering of the eyes for you to all 2Or jus- tified 17 aJob 42:9 bGen. 21:2 18 aGen. 12:17 CHAPTER 21 1 a1 Sam. 2:21 b[Gal. 4:23, 28] 2 aHeb. 11:11, 12 bGen. 17:21; 18:10, 14 3 aGen. 17:19, 21 1Lit. Laughter 4 aActs 7:8 bGen. 17:10, 12 5 aGen. 17:1, 17 6 aIs. 54:1 bLuke 1:58 1Lit. made laughter for me 7 aGen. 18:11, 12 9 aGen. 16:1, 4, 15 b[Gal. 4:29] 1Lit. laughing 10 aGal. 3:18; 4:30 11 aGen. 17:18 1distressing 12 a[Rom. 9:7, 8] 13 aGen. 16:10; 17:20; 21:18; 25:12–18 1descendant 14 aJohn 8:35 1A water bot- tle made of skins 17 aEx. 3:7 bGen. 22:11

17 GENESIS 22:17 18 “Arise, lift up the lad and hold him with your hand, for aI will make him a great nation.” 19 Then aGod opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water, and gave the lad a drink. 20 So God awas with the lad; and he grew and dwelt in the wilder- ness, band became an archer. 21 He dwelt in the Wilderness of Paran; and his mother atook a wife for him from the land of Egypt. A Covenant with Abimelech 22 And it came to pass at that time that aAbimelech and Phichol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, b“God is with you in all that you do. 23 “Now therefore, aswear1 to me by God that you will not deal falsely with me, with my offspring, or with my posterity; but that according to the kindness that I have done to you, you will do to me and to the land in which you have dwelt.” 24 And Abraham said, “I will swear.” 25 Then Abraham rebuked Abim- elech because of a well of water which Abimelech’s servants ahad seized. 26 And Abimelech said, “I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, nor had I heard of it until today.” 27 So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them amade a 1covenant. 28 And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves. 29 Then Abimelech asked Abra- ham, a“What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs which you have set by themselves?” 30 And he said, “You will take these seven ewe lambs from my hand, that athey may be my witness that I have dug this well.” 31 Therefore he acalled that place 1Beersheba, because the two of them swore an oath there. 32 Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba. So Abimelech rose with Phichol, the commander of his army, and they returned to the land of the Philistines. 33 Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and athere called on the name of the LORD, bthe Everlasting God. 34 And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines many days. Abraham’s Faith Confirmed 22 Now it came to pass after these things that aGod tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abra- ham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 Then He said, “Take now your son, ayour only son Isaac, whom you blove, and go cto the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a dburnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. 5 And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the 1lad and I will go yonder and wor- ship, and we will acome back to you.” 6 So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and alaid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. 7 But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the 1lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the alamb for a bburnt offering.” So the two of them went together. 9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abra- ham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and alaid him on the altar, upon the wood. 10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the aAngel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.” 12 And He said, a“Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for bnow I know that you fear God, since you have not cwithheld your son, your only son, from Me.” 13 Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns.

him on the altar, upon the wood. 10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the aAngel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.” 12 And He said, a“Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for bnow I know that you fear God, since you have not cwithheld your son, your only son, from Me.” 13 Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 And Abraham called the name of the place, 1The-LORD-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the LORD it shall be provided.” 15 Then the Angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, 16 and said: a“By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son— 17 “blessing I will abless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants bas the stars of the heaven cand as the sand which is on 18 aGen. 16:10; 21:13; 25:12–16 19 aNum. 22:31 20 aGen. 28:15; 39:2, 3, 21 bGen. 16:12 21 aGen. 24:4 22 aGen. 20:2, 14; 26:26 bGen. 26:28 23 aJosh. 2:12 1take an oath 25 aGen. 26:15, 18, 20–22 27 aGen. 26:31; 31:44 1treaty 29 aGen. 33:8 30 aGen. 31:48, 52 31 aGen. 21:14; 26:33 1Lit. Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven 33 aGen. 4:26; 12:8; 13:4; 26:25 bDeut. 32:40; 33:27 CHAPTER 22 1 aHeb. 11:17 2 aGen. 22:12, 16 bJohn 5:20 c2 Chr. 3:1 dGen. 8:20; 31:54 5 a[Heb. 11:19] 1Or young man 6 aJohn 19:17 7 1Or goat 8 aJohn 1:29, 36 bEx. 12:3–6 9 a[Heb. 11:17–19] 11 aGen. 16:7– 11; 21:17, 18; 31:11 12 a1 Sam. 15:22 bJames 2:21, 22 cGen. 22:2, 16 14 1Heb. YHWH Yireh 16 aPs. 105:9 17 aGen. 17:16; 26:3, 24 bGen. 15:5; 26:4 cGen. 13:16; 32:12

GENESIS 22:18 18 the seashore; and dyour descendants shall possess the gate of their ene- mies. 18 a“In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, bbecause you have obeyed My voice.” 19 So Abraham returned to his young men, and they rose and went together to aBeersheba; and Abra- ham dwelt at Beersheba. The Family of Nahor 20 Now it came to pass after these things that it was told Abraham, say- ing, “Indeed aMilcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor: 21 a“Huz his firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father bof Aram, 22 “Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” 23 And aBethuel begot 1Rebekah. These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. 24 His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore Tebah, Gaham, Thahash, and Maachah. Sarah’s Death and Burial 23 Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. 2 So Sarah died in aKirjath Arba (that is, bHebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. 3 Then Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spoke to the sons of aHeth, saying, 4 a“I am a foreigner and a visitor among you. bGive me property for a burial place among you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.” 5 And the sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him, 6 “Hear us, my lord: You are aa 1mighty prince among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places. None of us will withhold from you his burial place, that you may bury your dead.” 7 Then Abraham stood up and bowed himself to the people of the land, the sons of Heth. 8 And he spoke with them, saying, “If it is your wish that I bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and 1meet with Ephron the son of Zohar for me, 9 “that he may give me the cave of aMachpelah which he has, which is at the end of his field. Let him give it to me at the full price, as property for a burial place among you.” 10 Now Ephron dwelt among the sons of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the presence of the sons of Heth, all who aentered at the gate of his city, saying, 11 a“No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field and the cave that is in it; I give it to you in the presence of the sons of my people. I give it to you. Bury your dead!” 12 Then Abraham bowed himself down before the people of the land; 13 and he spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, “If you will give it, please hear me. I will give you money for the field; take it from me and I will bury my dead there.” 14 And Ephron answered Abra- ham, saying to him, 15 “My lord, listen to me; the land is worth four hundred ashekels of silver. What is that between you and me?

n the presence of the sons of my people. I give it to you. Bury your dead!” 12 Then Abraham bowed himself down before the people of the land; 13 and he spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, “If you will give it, please hear me. I will give you money for the field; take it from me and I will bury my dead there.” 14 And Ephron answered Abra- ham, saying to him, 15 “My lord, listen to me; the land is worth four hundred ashekels of silver. What is that between you and me? So bury your dead.” 16 And Abraham listened to Ephron; and Abraham aweighed out the silver for Ephron which he had named in the hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, currency of the merchants. 17 So athe field of Ephron which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field and the cave which was in it, and all the trees that were in the field, which were within all the surrounding borders, were deeded 18 to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the sons of Heth, before all who went in at the gate of his city. 19 And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20 So the field and the cave that is in it awere deeded to Abraham by the sons of Heth as property for a burial place. A Bride for Isaac 24 Now Abraham awas old, well advanced in age; and the LORD bhad blessed Abraham in all things. 2 So Abraham said ato the oldest servant of his house, who bruled over all that he had, “Please, cput your hand under my thigh, 3 “and I will make you aswear1 by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that byou will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell; 4 a“but you shall go bto my coun- try and to my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” 5 And the servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I take your son back to the land from which you came?” 6 But Abraham said to him, “Beware that you do not take my son back there. 7 “The LORD God of heaven, who atook me from my father’s house and from the land of my family, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, b‘To your 1descendants I give this land,’ cHe will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. 8 “And if the woman is not willing 17 dGen. 24:60 18 aGen. 12:3; 18:18; 26:4; bGen. 18:19; 22:3, 10; 26:5 19 aGen. 21:31 20 aGen. 11:29; 24:15 21 aJob 1:1 bJob 32:2 23 aGen. 24:15 1Rebecca, Rom. 9:10 CHAPTER 23 2 aJosh. 14:15; 15:13; 21:11 bGen. 13:18; 23:19 3 aGen. 10:15; 15:20 4 a[Gen. 17:8] bActs 7:5, 16 6 aGen. 13:2; 14:14; 24:35 1Lit. prince of God 8 1entreat 9 aGen. 25:9 10 aGen. 23:18; 34:20, 24 11 a2 Sam. 24:21–24 15 aEx. 30:13 16 aJer. 32:9, 10 17 aGen. 25:9; 49:29–32; 50:13 20 aJer. 32:10, 11 CHAPTER 24 1 aGen. 18:11; 21:5 bGen. 12:2; 13:2; 24:35 2 aGen. 15:2 bGen. 24:10; 39:4–6 cGen. 47:29 3 aGen. 14:19, 22 bDeut. 7:3 1take an oath 4 aGen. 28:2 bGen. 12:1 7 aGen. 12:1; 24:3 bGen. 12:7; 13:15; 15:18; 17:8 cEx. 23:20, 23; 33:2 1Lit. seed

19 GENESIS 24:41 to follow you, then ayou will be released from this oath; only do not take my son back there.” 9 So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concern- ing this matter. 10 Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, afor all his master’s goods were in his hand. And he arose and went to Mesopotamia, to bthe city of Nahor. 11 And he made his camels kneel down outside the city by a well of water at evening time, the time awhen women go out to draw water. 12 Then he asaid, “O LORD God of my master Abraham, please bgive me success this day, and show kind- ness to my master Abraham. 13 “Behold, here aI stand by the well of water, and bthe daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. 14 “Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink’—let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And aby this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.” 15 And it happened, abefore he had finished speaking, that behold, bRe- bekah,1 who was born to Bethuel, son of cMilcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, came out with her pitcher on her shoulder. 16 Now the young woman awas very beautiful to behold, a virgin; no man had known her. And she went down to the well, filled her pitcher, and came up. 17 And the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please let me drink a lit- tle water from your pitcher.” 18 aSo she said, “Drink, my lord.” Then she quickly let her pitcher down to her hand, and gave him a drink. 19 And when she had finished giv- ing him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” 20 Then she quickly emptied her pitcher into the trough, ran back to the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels. 21 And the man, wondering at her, remained silent so as to know whether athe LORD had made his journey prosperous or not. 22 So it was, when the camels had finished drinking, that the man took a golden anose ring weighing half a shekel, and two bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels of gold, 23 and said, “Whose daughter are you? Tell me, please, is there room in your father’s house for us 1to lodge?” 24 So she said to him, a“I am the daughter of Bethuel, Milcah’s son, whom she bore to Nahor.” 25 Moreover she said to him, “We have both straw and feed enough, and room to lodge.” 26 Then the man abowed down his head and worshiped the LORD. 27 And he said, a“Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken bHis mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the LORD cled me to the house of my master’s brethren.” 28 So the young woman ran and told her mother’s household these things. 29 Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was aLaban, and Laban ran out to the man by the well. 30 So it came to pass, when he saw the nose ring, and the bracelets on his sister’s wrists, and when he heard the words of his sister Rebekah, saying, “Thus the man spoke to me,” that he went to the man. And there he stood by the camels at the well. 31 And he said, “Come in, aO blessed of the LORD! Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house, and a place for the camels.” 32 Then the man came to the house.

had a brother whose name was aLaban, and Laban ran out to the man by the well. 30 So it came to pass, when he saw the nose ring, and the bracelets on his sister’s wrists, and when he heard the words of his sister Rebekah, saying, “Thus the man spoke to me,” that he went to the man. And there he stood by the camels at the well. 31 And he said, “Come in, aO blessed of the LORD! Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house, and a place for the camels.” 32 Then the man came to the house. And he unloaded the camels, and aprovided straw and feed for the camels, and water to bwash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. 33 Food was set before him to eat, but he said, a“I will not eat until I have told about my errand.” And he said, “Speak on.” 34 So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant. 35 “The LORD ahas blessed my master greatly, and he has become great; and He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. 36 “And Sarah my master’s wife abore a son to my master when she was old; and bto him he has given all that he has. 37 “Now my master amade me swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell; 38 a‘but you shall go to my father’s house and to my family, and take a wife for my son.’ 39 a“And I said to my master, ‘Per- haps the woman will not follow me.’ 40 a“But he said to me, ‘The LORD, bbefore whom I walk, will send His angel with you and 1prosper your way; and you shall take a wife for my son from my family and from my father’s house. 41 a‘You will be clear from this oath 8 aJosh. 2:17–20 10 aGen. 24:2, 22 bGen. 11:31, 32; 22:20; 27:43; 29:5 11 aEx. 2:16 12 aEx. 3:6, 15 bNeh. 1:11 13 aGen. 24:43 bEx. 2:16 14 aJudg. 6:17, 37 15 aIs. 65:24 bGen. 24:45; 25:20 cGen. 22:20, 23 1Rebecca, Rom. 9:10 16 aGen. 12:11; 26:7; 29:17 18 a[1 Pet. 3:8, 9] 21 aGen. 24:12–14, 27, 52 22 aEx. 32:2, 3 23 1to spend the night 24 aGen. 22:23; 24:15 26 aEx. 4:31 27 aEx. 18:10 bGen. 32:10 cGen. 24:21, 48 29 aGen. 29:5, 13 31 aJudg. 17:2 32 aGen. 43:24 bGen. 19:2 33 aJohn 4:34 35 aGen. 13:2; 24:1 36 aGen. 21:1–7 bGen. 21:10; 25:5 37 aGen. 24:2–4 38 aGen. 24:4 39 aGen. 24:5 40 aGen. 24:7 bGen. 5:22, 24; 17:1 1make your way successful 41 aGen. 24:8

GENESIS 24:42 20 when you arrive among my family; for if they will not give her to you, then you will be released from my oath.’ 42 “And this day I came to the well and said, a‘O LORD God of my mas- ter Abraham, if You will now pros- per the way in which I go, 43 a‘behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass that when the virgin comes out to draw water, and I say to her, “Please give me a little water from your pitcher to drink,” 44 ‘and she says to me, “Drink, and I will draw for your camels also,”—let her be the woman whom the LORD has appointed for my master’s son.’ 45 a“But before I had finished bspeaking in my heart, there was Rebekah, coming out with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down to the well and drew water. And I said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’ 46 “And she made haste and let her pitcher down from her shoulder, and said, ‘Drink, and I will give your camels a drink also.’ So I drank, and she gave the camels a drink also. 47 “Then I asked her, and said, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ And she said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him.’ So I put the nose ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. 48 a“And I bowed my head and worshiped the LORD, and blessed the LORD God of my master Abra- ham, who had led me in the way of truth to btake the daughter of my master’s brother for his son. 49 “Now if you will adeal kindly and truly with my master, tell me. And if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand or to the left.” 50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, a“The thing comes from the LORD; we cannot bspeak to you either bad or good. 51 a“Here is Rebekah before you; take her and go, and let her be your master’s son’s wife, as the LORD has spoken.” 52 And it came to pass, when Abra- ham’s servant heard their words, that ahe worshiped the LORD, bow- ing himself to the earth. 53 Then the servant brought out ajewelry of silver, jewelry of gold, and clothing, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave bprecious things to her brother and to her mother. 54 And he and the men who were with him ate and drank and stayed all night. Then they arose in the morning, and he said, a“Send me away to my master.” 55 But her brother and her mother said, “Let the young woman stay with us a few days, at least ten; after that she may go.” 56 And he said to them, “Do not 1hinder me, since the LORD has prospered my way; send me away so that I may go to my master.” 57 So they said, “We will call the young woman and ask her person- ally.” 58 Then they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” And she said, “I will go.” 59 So they sent away Rebekah their sister aand her nurse, and Abraham’s servant and his men. 60 And they blessed Rebekah and said to her: “Our sister, may you become aThe mother of thousands of ten thousands; bAnd may your descendants possess The gates of those who hate them.” 61 Then Rebekah and her maids arose, and they rode on the camels and followed the man. So the ser- vant took Rebekah and departed. 62 Now Isaac came from the way of aBeer Lahai Roi, for he dwelt in the South. 63 And Isaac went out ato meditate in the field in the evening; and he lifted his eyes and looked, and there, the camels were coming. 64 Then Rebekah lifted her eyes, and when she saw Isaac ashe dis- mounted from her camel; 65 for she had said to the servant, “Who is this man walking in the field to meet us?” The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took a veil and covered herself. 66 And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. 67 Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent; and he atook Rebekah and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac bwas comforted after his mother’s death. Abraham and Keturah 25 Abraham again took a wife, and her name was aKeturah. 2 And ashe bore him Zimran, Jok- shan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 Jokshan begot Sheba and Dedan.

et us?” The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took a veil and covered herself. 66 And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. 67 Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent; and he atook Rebekah and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac bwas comforted after his mother’s death. Abraham and Keturah 25 Abraham again took a wife, and her name was aKeturah. 2 And ashe bore him Zimran, Jok- shan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 Jokshan begot Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leum- mim. 4 And the sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abidah, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah. 5 And aAbraham gave all that he had to Isaac. 6 But Abraham gave gifts to the sons of the concubines which Abra- ham had; and while he was still liv- ing he asent them eastward, away from Isaac his son, to bthe country of the east. 42 aGen. 24:12 43 aGen. 24:13 45 aGen. 24:15 b1 Sam. 1:13 48 aGen. 24:26, 52 bGen. 22:23; 24:27 49 aJosh. 2:14 50 aPs. 118:23 bGen. 31:24, 29 51 aGen. 20:15 52 aGen. 24:26, 48 53 aEx. 3:22; 11:2; 12:35 b2 Chr. 21:3 54 aGen. 24:56, 59; 30:25 56 1delay 59 aGen. 35:8 60 aGen. 17:16 bGen. 22:17; 28:14 62 aGen. 16:14; 25:11 63 aJosh. 1:8 64 aJosh. 15:18 67 aGen. 25:20; 29:20 bGen. 23:1, 2; 38:12 CHAPTER 25 1 a1 Chr. 1:32, 33 2 a1 Chr. 1:32, 33 5 aGen. 24:35, 36 6 aGen. 21:14 bJudg. 6:3

21 GENESIS 26:7 Abraham’s Death and Burial 7 This is the sum of the years of Abraham’s life which he lived: one hundred and seventy-five years. 8 Then Abraham breathed his last and adied in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and bwas gathered to his people. 9 And ahis sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of bMach- pelah, which is before Mamre, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, 10 athe field which Abraham pur- chased from the sons of Heth. bThere Abraham was buried, and Sarah his wife. 11 And it came to pass, after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac. And Isaac dwelt at aBeer Lahai Roi. The Families of Ishmael and Isaac 12 Now this is the agenealogy of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s maid- servant, bore to Abraham. 13 And athese were the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: The firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 1Hadar, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16 These were the sons of Ishmael and these were their names, by their towns and their 1settlements, atwelve princes according to their nations. 17 These were the years of the life of Ishmael: one hundred and thirty- seven years; and ahe breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people. 18 a(They dwelt from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt as you go toward Assyria.) He 1died bin the presence of all his brethren. 19 This is the agenealogy of Isaac, Abraham’s son. bAbraham begot Isaac. 20 Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah as wife, athe daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan Aram, bthe sister of Laban the Syrian. 21 Now Isaac pleaded with the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; aand the LORD granted his plea, band Rebekah his wife con- ceived. 22 But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If all is well, why am I like this?” aSo she went to inquire of the LORD. 23 And the LORD said to her: a“Two nations are in your womb, Two peoples shall be separated from your body; One people shall be stronger than bthe other, cAnd the older shall serve the younger.” 24 So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb. 25 And the first came out red. He was alike a hairy garment all over; so they called his name 1Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out, and ahis hand took hold of Esau’s heel; so bhis name was called 1Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them. 27 So the boys grew.

peoples shall be separated from your body; One people shall be stronger than bthe other, cAnd the older shall serve the younger.” 24 So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb. 25 And the first came out red. He was alike a hairy garment all over; so they called his name 1Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out, and ahis hand took hold of Esau’s heel; so bhis name was called 1Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them. 27 So the boys grew. And Esau was aa skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was ba 1mild man, cdwell- ing in tents. 28 And Isaac loved Esau because he aate of his game, bbut Rebekah loved Jacob. Esau Sells His Birthright 29 Now Jacob cooked a stew; and Esau came in from the field, and he was weary. 30 And Esau said to Jacob, “Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary.” Therefore his name was called 1Edom. 31 But Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright as of this day.” 32 And Esau said, “Look, I am about to die; so awhat is this birthright to me?” 33 Then Jacob said, 1“Swear to me as of this day.” So he swore to him, and asold his birthright to Jacob. 34 And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then ahe ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau bdespised his birthright. Isaac and Abimelech 26 There was a famine in the land, besides athe first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to bAbimelech king of the Philistines, in Gerar. 2 Then the LORD appeared to him and said: a“Do not go down to Egypt; live in bthe land of which I shall tell you. 3 a“Dwell in this land, and bI will be with you and cbless you; for to you and your descendants dI give all these lands, and I will perform ethe oath which I swore to Abraham your father. 4 “And aI will make your descen- dants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; band in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; 5 a“because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My com- mandments, My statutes, and My laws.” 6 So Isaac dwelt in Gerar. 7 And the men of the place asked about his wife. And ahe said, “She is my sister”; for bhe was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” because he 8 aGen. 15:15; 47:8, 9 bGen. 25:17; 35:29; 49:29, 33 9 aGen. 35:29; 50:13 bGen. 23:9, 17; 49:30 10 aGen. 23:3–16 bGen. 49:31 11 aGen. 16:14 12 aGen. 11:10, 27; 16:15 13 a1 Chr. 1:29–31 15 1MT Hadad 16 aGen. 17:20 1camps 17 aGen. 25:8; 49:33 18 a1 Sam. 15:7 bGen. 16:12 1fell 19 aGen. 36:1, 9 bMatt. 1:2 20 aGen. 22:23; 24:15, 29, 67 bGen. 24:29 21 a1 Chr. 5:20 bRom. 9:10–13 22 a1 Sam. 1:15; 9:9; 10:22 23 aGen. 17:4–6, 16; 24:60 b2 Sam. 8:14 cRom. 9:12 25 aGen. 27:11, 16, 23 1Lit. Hairy 26 aHos. 12:3 bGen. 27:36 1Supplanter or Deceitful, lit. One Who Takes the Heel 27 aGen. 27:3, 5 bJob 1:1, 8 cHeb. 11:9 1Lit. complete 28 aGen. 27:4, 19, 25, 31 bGen. 27:6–10 30 1Lit. Red 32 aMark 8:36, 37 33 aHeb. 12:16 1Take an oath 34 aEccl. 8:15 bHeb. 12:16, 17 CHAPTER 26 1 aGen. 12:10 bGen. 20:1, 2 2 aGen. 12:7; 17:1; 18:1; 35:9 bGen. 12:1 3 aHeb. 11:9 bGen. 28:13, 15 cGen. 12:2 dGen. 12:7; 13:15; 15:18 eGen. 22:16 4 aGen. 15:5; 22:17 bGen. 12:3; 22:18 5 aGen. 22:16, 18 7 aGen. 12:13; 20:2, 12, 13 bProv. 29:25

GENESIS 26:8 22 thought, “lest the men of the place kill me for Rebekah, because she is cbeautiful to behold.” 8 Now it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked through a window, and saw, and there was Isaac, 1showing endearment to Rebekah his wife. 9 Then Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Quite obviously she is your wife; so how could you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac said to him, “Because I said, ‘Lest I die on account of her.’ ” 10 And Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might soon have lain with your wife, and ayou would have brought guilt on us.” 11 So Abimelech charged all his people, saying, “He who atouches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.” 12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year aa hun- dredfold; and the LORD bblessed him. 13 The man abegan to prosper, and continued prospering until he be- came very prosperous; 14 for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines aenvied him. 15 Now the Philistines had stopped up all the wells awhich his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, and they had filled them with earth. 16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for ayou are much mightier than we.” 17 Then Isaac departed from there and 1pitched his tent in the Valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. 18 And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham. aHe called them by the names which his father had called them. 19 Also Isaac’s servants dug in the valley, and found a well of running water there. 20 But the herdsmen of Gerar aquarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well 1Esek, because they quarreled with him. 21 Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that one also. So he called its name 1Sitnah. 22 And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name 1Rehoboth, because he said, “For now the LORD has made room for us, and we shall abe fruitful in the land.” 23 Then he went up from there to Beersheba. 24 And the LORD aappeared to him the same night and said, b“I am the God of your father Abraham; cdo not fear, for dI am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for My servant Abraham’s sake.” 25 So he abuilt an altar there and bcalled on the name of the LORD, and he pitched his tent there; and there Isaac’s servants dug a well. 26 Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath, one of his friends, aand Phichol the com- mander of his army. 27 And Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, asince you hate me and have bsent me away from you?” 28 But they said, “We have certainly seen that the LORD ais with you. So we said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us, between you and us; and let us make a 1covenant with you, 29 ‘that you will do us no harm, since we have not touched you, and since we have done nothing to you but good and have sent you away in peace. aYou are now the blessed of the LORD.’ ” 30 aSo he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. 31 Then they arose early in the morning and aswore an oath with one another; and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace. 32 It came to pass the same day that Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well which they had dug, and said to him, “We have found water.” 33 So he called it 1Shebah.

ouched you, and since we have done nothing to you but good and have sent you away in peace. aYou are now the blessed of the LORD.’ ” 30 aSo he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. 31 Then they arose early in the morning and aswore an oath with one another; and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace. 32 It came to pass the same day that Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well which they had dug, and said to him, “We have found water.” 33 So he called it 1Shebah. aThere- fore the name of the city is 2Beer- sheba to this day. 34 aWhen Esau was forty years old, he took as wives Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35 And athey were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah. Isaac Blesses Jacob 27 Now it came to pass, when Isaac was aold and bhis eyes were so dim that he could not see, that he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.” And he answered him, “Here I am.” 2 Then he said, “Behold now, I am old. I ado not know the day of my death. 3 a“Now therefore, please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me. 4 “And make me 1savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul amay bless you before I die.” 5 Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt game and to bring it. 6 So Rebekah spoke to Jacob her 7 cGen. 12:11; 24:16; 29:17 8 1caressing 10 aGen. 20:9 11 aPs. 105:15 12 aMatt. 13:8, 23; Mark 4:8 bGen. 24:1; 25:3, 11; 26:3; Job 42:12; Prov. 10:22 13 aGen. 24:35; [Prov. 10:22] 14 aGen. 37:11; Eccl. 4:4 15 aGen. 21:25, 30 16 aEx. 1:9 17 1camped 18 aGen. 21:31 20 aGen. 21:25 1Lit. Quarrel 21 1Lit. En- mity 22 aGen. 17:6; 28:3; 41:52; Ex. 1:7 1Lit. Spaciousness 24 aGen. 26:2 bGen. 17:7, 8; 24:12; Ex. 3:6; Acts 7:32 cGen. 15:1 dGen. 26:3, 4 25 aGen. 12:7, 8; 13:4, 18; 22:9; 33:20 bGen. 21:33; Ps. 116:17 26 aGen. 21:22 27 aJudg. 11:7 bGen. 26:16 28 aGen. 21:22, 23 1treaty 29 aGen. 24:31; Ps. 115:15 30 aGen. 19:3 31 aGen. 21:31 33 aGen. 21:31; 28:10 1Lit. Oath or Seven 2Lit. Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven 34 aGen. 28:8; 36:2 35 aGen. 27:46; 28:1, 8 CHAPTER 27 1 aGen. 35:28 bGen. 48:10; 1 Sam. 3:2 2 a[Prov. 27:1; James 4:14] 3 aGen. 25:27, 28 4 aGen. 27:19, 25, 27, 31; 48:9, 15, 16; 49:28; Deut. 33:1; Heb. 11:20 1tasty

23 GENESIS 27:38 son, saying, “Indeed I heard your father speak to Esau your brother, saying, 7 ‘Bring me game and make 1savory food for me, that I may eat it and bless you in the presence of the LORD before my death.’ 8 “Now therefore, my son, aobey my voice according to what I com- mand you. 9 “Go now to the flock and bring me from there two choice kids of the goats, and I will make asavory food from them for your father, such as he loves. 10 “Then you shall take it to your father, that he may eat it, and that he amay bless you before his death.” 11 And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Look, aEsau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth- skinned man. 12 “Perhaps my father will afeel me, and I shall seem to be a deceiver to him; and I shall bring ba curse on myself and not a blessing.” 13 But his mother said to him, a“Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, get them for me.” 14 And he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and his mother amade 1savory food, such as his father loved. 15 Then Rebekah took athe choice clothes of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. 16 And she put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. 17 Then she gave the savory food and the bread, which she had pre- pared, into the hand of her son Jacob. 18 So he went to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?” 19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn; I have done just as you told me; please arise, sit and eat of my game, athat your soul may bless me.” 20 But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” And he said, “Because the LORD your God brought it to me.” 21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I amay feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not.” 22 So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23 And he did not recognize him, because ahis hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him. 24 Then he said, “Are you really my son Esau?” He said, “I am.” 25 He said, “Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s game, so athat my soul may bless you.” So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank. 26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near now and kiss me, my son.” 27 And he came near and akissed him; and he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him and said: “Surely, bthe smell of my son Is like the smell of a field Which the LORD has blessed. 28 Therefore may aGod give you Of bthe dew of heaven, Of cthe fatness of the earth, And dplenty of grain and wine. 29 aLet peoples serve you, And nations bow down to you. Be master over your brethren, And blet your mother’s sons bow down to you. cCursed be everyone who curses you, And blessed be those who bless you!” Esau’s Lost Hope 30 Now it happened, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. 31 He also had made 1savory food, and brought it to his father, and said to his father, “Let my father arise and aeat of his son’s game, that your soul may bless me.” 32 And his father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?” So he said, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.” 33 Then Isaac trembled exceed- ingly, and said, “Who? Where is the one who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it before you came, and I have blessed him—aand indeed he shall be blessed.” 34 When Esau heard the words of his father, ahe cried with an exceed- ingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me—me also, O my father!” 35 But he said, “Your brother came with deceit and has taken away your blessing.” 36 And Esau said, a“Is he not rightly named 1Jacob? For he has supplant- ed me these two times.

ingly, and said, “Who? Where is the one who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it before you came, and I have blessed him—aand indeed he shall be blessed.” 34 When Esau heard the words of his father, ahe cried with an exceed- ingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me—me also, O my father!” 35 But he said, “Your brother came with deceit and has taken away your blessing.” 36 And Esau said, a“Is he not rightly named 1Jacob? For he has supplant- ed me these two times. He took away my birthright, and now look, he has taken away my blessing!” And he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?” 37 Then Isaac answered and said to Esau, a“Indeed I have made him your master, and all his brethren I have given to him as servants; with bgrain and wine I have 1sustained him. What shall I do now for you, my son?” 38 And Esau said to his father, 7 1tasty 8 aGen. 27:13, 43 9 aGen. 27:4 10 aGen. 27:4; 48:16 11 aGen. 25:25 12 aGen. 27:21, 22 bGen. 9:25; Deut. 27:18 13 aGen. 43:9; 1 Sam. 25:24; 2 Sam. 14:9; Matt. 27:25 14 aProv. 23:3; Luke 21:34 1tasty 15 aGen. 27:27 19 aGen. 27:4 21 aGen. 27:12 23 aGen. 27:16 25 aGen. 27:4, 10, 19, 31 27 aGen. 29:13 bSong 4:11; Hos. 14:6 28 aHeb. 11:20 bGen. 27:39; Deut. 33:13, 28; 2 Sam. 1:21; Ps. 133:3; Prov. 3:20; Mic. 5:7; Zech. 8:12 cGen. 45:18; Num. 18:12 dDeut. 7:13; 33:28 29 aGen. 9:25; 25:23; Is. 45:14; 49:7; 60:12, 14 bGen. 37:7, 10; 49:8 cGen. 12:2, 3; Zeph. 2:8, 9 31 aGen. 27:4 1tasty 33 aGen. 25:23; 28:3, 4; Num. 23:20; Rom. 11:29 34 a[Heb. 12:17] 36 aGen. 25:26, 32–34 1Sup- planter or Deceitful, lit. One Who Takes the Heel 37 a2 Sam. 8:14 bGen. 27:28, 29 1provided support for

GENESIS 27:39 24 “Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me—me also, O my father!” And Esau lifted up his voice aand wept. 39 Then Isaac his father answered and said to him: “Behold, ayour dwelling shall be of the 1fatness of the earth, And of the dew of heaven from above. 40 By your sword you shall live, And ayou shall serve your brother; And bit shall come to pass, when you become restless, That you shall break his yoke from your neck.” Jacob Escapes from Esau 41 So Esau ahated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, and Esau said in his heart, b“The days of mourning for my father 1are at hand; cthen I will kill my brother Jacob.” 42 And the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. So she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said to him, “Surely your brother Esau acomforts himself con- cerning you by intending to kill you. 43 “Now therefore, my son, obey my voice: arise, flee to my brother Laban ain Haran. 44 “And stay with him a afew days, until your brother’s fury turns away, 45 “until your brother’s anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him; then I will send and bring you from there. Why should I be bereaved also of you both in one day?” 46 And Rebekah said to Isaac, a“I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth; bif Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Heth, like these who are the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?” 28 Then Isaac called Jacob and ablessed him, and 1charged him, and said to him: b“You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. 2 a“Arise, go to bPadan Aram, to the house of cBethuel your mother’s father; and take yourself a wife from there of the daughters of dLa- ban your mother’s brother. 3 “May aGod Almighty bless you, And make you bfruitful and multiply you, That you may be an assembly of peoples; 4 And give you athe blessing of Abraham, To you and your descendants with you, That you may inherit the land bIn1 which you are a stranger, Which God gave to Abraham.” 5 So Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Padan Aram, to Laban the son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau. Esau Marries Mahalath 6 Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Padan Aram to take himself a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan,” 7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and had gone to Padan Aram. 8 Also Esau saw athat the daugh- ters of Canaan did not please his father Isaac. 9 So Esau went to Ishmael and atook bMahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, cthe sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife in addi- tion to the wives he had. Jacob’s Vow at Bethel 10 Now Jacob awent out from Beer- sheba and went toward bHaran. 11 So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep. 12 Then he adreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there bthe angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 aAnd behold, the LORD stood above it and said: b“I am the LORD God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; cthe land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. 14 “Also your adescendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad bto the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and cin your seed all the fam- ilies of the earth shall be blessed. 15 “Behold, aI am with you and will bkeep1 you wherever you go, and will cbring you back to this land; for dI will not leave you euntil I have done what I have spoken to you.” 16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in athis place, and I did not know it.” 17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place!

h; you shall spread abroad bto the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and cin your seed all the fam- ilies of the earth shall be blessed. 15 “Behold, aI am with you and will bkeep1 you wherever you go, and will cbring you back to this land; for dI will not leave you euntil I have done what I have spoken to you.” 16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in athis place, and I did not know it.” 17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!” 18 Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, aset it up as a pillar, band poured oil on top of it. 19 And he called the name of athat place 1Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously. 20 aThen Jacob made a vow, saying, “If bGod will be with me, and keep 38 aHeb. 12:17 39 aHeb. 11:20 1fertility 40 aGen. 25:23; 27:29 b2 Kin. 8:20–22 41 aGen. 26:27; 32:3–11; 37:4, 5, 8 bGen. 50:2–4, 10 cObad. 10 1are soon here 42 aPs. 64:5 43 aGen. 11:31; 25:20; 28:2, 5 44 aGen. 31:41 46 aGen. 26:34, 35; 28:8 bGen. 24:3 CHAPTER 28 1 aGen. 27:33 bGen. 24:3 1commanded 2 aHos. 12:12 bGen. 25:20 cGen. 22:23 dGen. 24:29; 27:43; 29:5 3 aGen. 17:16; 35:11; 48:3 bGen. 26:4, 24 4 aGen. 12:2, 3; 22:17 bGen. 17:8; 23:4; 36:7 1Lit. Of your sojourn- ings 8 aGen. 24:3; 26:34, 35; 27:46 9 aGen. 26:34, 35 bGen. 36:2, 3 cGen. 25:13 10 aHos. 12:12 bGen. 12:4, 5; 27:43; 29:4 12 aGen. 31:10; 41:1 bJohn 1:51 13 aGen. 35:1; 48:3 bGen. 26:24 cGen. 13:15, 17; 26:3; 35:12 14 aGen. 13:16; 22:17 bGen. 13:14, 15 cGen. 12:3; 18:18; 22:18; 26:4 15 aGen. 26:3, 24; 31:3 bGen. 48:16 cGen. 35:6; 48:21 dDeut. 7:9; 31:6, 8 eNum. 23:19 1protect 16 aEx. 3:5 18 aGen. 31:13, 45 bLev. 8:10–12 19 aJudg. 1:23, 26 1Lit. House of God 20 aJudg. 11:30 bGen. 28:15

25 GENESIS 29:33 me in this way that I am going, and give me cbread to eat and clothing to put on, 21 “so that aI come back to my father’s house in peace, bthen the LORD shall be my God. 22 “And this stone which I have set as a pillar ashall be God’s house, band of all that You give me I will surely give a 1tenth to You.” Jacob Meets Rachel 29 So Jacob went on his journey aand came to the land of the people of the East. 2 And he looked, and saw a awell in the field; and behold, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks. A large stone was on the well’s mouth. 3 Now all the flocks would be gathered there; and they would roll the stone from the well’s mouth, water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place on the well’s mouth. 4 And Jacob said to them, “My brethren, where are you from?” And they said, “We are from aHaran.” 5 Then he said to them, “Do you know aLaban the son of Nahor?” And they said, “We know him.” 6 So he said to them, a“Is he well?” And they said, “He is well. And look, his daughter Rachel bis coming with the sheep.” 7 Then he said, “Look, it is still 1high day; it is not time for the cattle to be gathered together. Water the sheep, and go and feed them.” 8 But they said, “We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together, and they have rolled the stone from the well’s mouth; then we water the sheep.” 9 Now while he was still speaking with them, aRachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shep- herdess. 10 And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, that Jacob went near and arolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother. 11 Then Jacob akissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice and wept. 12 And Jacob told Rachel that he was aher father’s relative and that he was Rebekah’s son. bSo she ran and told her father. 13 Then it came to pass, when Laban heard the report about Jacob his sister’s son, that ahe ran to meet him, and embraced him and kissed him, and brought him to his house. So he told Laban all these things. 14 And Laban said to him, a“Surely you are my bone and my flesh.” And he stayed with him for a month. Jacob Marries Leah and Rachel 15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Be- cause you are my relative, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, awhat should your wages be?” 16 Now Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17 Leah’s eyes were 1delicate, but Rachel was abeautiful of form and appearance. 18 Now Jacob loved Rachel; so he said, a“I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter.” 19 And Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to another man. Stay with me.” 20 So Jacob aserved seven years for Rachel, and they seemed only a few days to him because of the love he had for her. 21 Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my days are ful- filled, that I may ago in to her.” 22 And Laban gathered together all the men of the place and amade a feast. 23 Now it came to pass in the eve- ning, that he took Leah his daughter and brought her to Jacob; and he went in to her. 24 And Laban gave his maid aZil- pah to his daughter Leah as a maid. 25 So it came to pass in the morn- ing, that behold, it was Leah. And he said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served you? Why then have you adeceived me?” 26 And Laban said, “It must not be done so in our 1country, to give the younger before the firstborn. 27 a“Fulfill her week, and we will give you this one also for the service which you will serve with me still another seven years.” 28 Then Jacob did so and fulfilled her week. So he gave him his daughter Rachel as wife also. 29 And Laban gave his maid aBilhah to his daughter Rachel as a maid. 30 Then Jacob also went in to Rachel, and he also aloved Rachel more than Leah.

have you adeceived me?” 26 And Laban said, “It must not be done so in our 1country, to give the younger before the firstborn. 27 a“Fulfill her week, and we will give you this one also for the service which you will serve with me still another seven years.” 28 Then Jacob did so and fulfilled her week. So he gave him his daughter Rachel as wife also. 29 And Laban gave his maid aBilhah to his daughter Rachel as a maid. 30 Then Jacob also went in to Rachel, and he also aloved Rachel more than Leah. And he served with Laban bstill another seven years. The Children of Jacob 31 When the LORD asaw that Leah was 1unloved, He bopened her womb; but Rachel was barren. 32 So Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name 1Reu- ben; for she said, “The LORD has surely alooked on my affliction. Now therefore, my husband will love me.” 33 Then she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the LORD has heard that I am 1unloved, He has therefore given me this son 20 c1 Tim. 6:8 21 aJudg. 11:31; 2 Sam. 19:24, 30 bDeut. 26:17; 2 Sam. 15:8 22 aGen. 35:7, 14 bGen. 14:20; [Lev. 27:30]; Deut. 14:22 1tithe CHAPTER 29 1 aGen. 25:6; Num. 23:7; Judg. 6:3, 33; Hos. 12:12 2 aGen. 24:10, 11; Ex. 2:15, 16 4 aGen. 11:31; 28:10 5 aGen. 24:24, 29; 28:2 6 aGen. 43:27 bGen. 24:11; Ex. 2:16, 17 7 1early in the day 9 aEx. 2:16 10 aEx. 2:17 11 aGen. 33:4; 45:14, 15 12 aGen. 13:8; 14:14, 16; 28:5 bGen. 24:28 13 aGen. 24:29–31; Luke 15:20 14 aGen. 2:23; 37:27; Judg. 9:2; 2 Sam. 5:1; 19:12, 13 15 aGen. 30:28; 31:41 17 aGen. 12:11, 14; 26:7 1Or weak 18 aGen. 31:41; 2 Sam. 3:14; Hos. 12:12 20 aGen. 30:26; Hos. 12:12 21 aJudg. 15:1 22 aJudg. 14:10; John 2:1, 2 24 aGen. 30:9, 10 25 aGen. 27:35; 31:7; 1 Sam. 28:12 26 1Lit. place 27 aGen. 31:41; Judg. 14:2 29 aGen. 30:3–5 30 aGen. 29:17–20; Deut. 21:15–17 bGen. 30:26; 31:41; Hos. 12:12 31 aPs. 127:3 bGen. 30:1 1Lit. hated 32 aGen. 16:11; 31:42; Ex. 3:7; 4:31; Deut. 26:7; Ps. 25:18 1Lit. See, a Son 33 1Lit. hated

GENESIS 29:34 26 also.” And she called his name 2Simeon. 34 She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my hus- band will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name was called 1Levi. 35 And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now I will praise the LORD.” Therefore she called his name aJudah.1 Then she stopped bearing. 30 Now when Rachel saw that ashe bore Jacob no children, Rachel benvied her sister, and said to Jacob, “Give me children, cor else I die!” 2 And Jacob’s anger was aroused against Rachel, and he said, a“Am I in the place of God, who has with- held from you the fruit of the womb?” 3 So she said, “Here is amy maid Bilhah; go in to her, band she will bear a child on my knees, cthat I also may 1have children by her.” 4 Then she gave him Bilhah her maid aas wife, and Jacob went in to her. 5 And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. 6 Then Rachel said, “God has ajudged my case; and He has also heard my voice and given me a son.” Therefore she called his name 1Dan. 7 And Rachel’s maid Bilhah con- ceived again and bore Jacob a sec- ond son. 8 Then Rachel said, “With 1great wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and indeed I have prevailed.” So she called his name 2Naphtali. 9 When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, she took Zilpah her maid and agave her to Jacob as wife. 10 And Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11 Then Leah said, 1“A troop comes!” So she called his name 2Gad. 12 And Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. 13 Then Leah said, “I am happy, for the daughters awill call me blessed.” So she called his name 1Asher. 14 Now Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, a“Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” 15 But she said to her, a“Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes also?” And Rachel said, “Therefore he will lie with you tonight for your son’s mandrakes.” 16 When Jacob came out of the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have surely hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” And he lay with her that night. 17 And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18 Leah said, “God has given me my wages, because I have given my maid to my husband.” So she called his name 1Issachar. 19 Then Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. 20 And Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good endow- ment; now my husband will dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons.” So she called his name 1Zebulun. 21 Afterward she bore a adaughter, and called her name 1Dinah. 22 Then God aremembered Rachel, and God listened to her and bopened her womb. 23 And she conceived and bore a son, and said, “God has taken away amy reproach.” 24 So she called his name 1Joseph, and said, a“The LORD shall add to me another son.” Jacob’s Agreement with Laban 25 And it came to pass, when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said to Laban, a“Send me away, that I may go to bmy own place and to my country. 26 “Give me my wives and my chil- dren afor whom I have served you, and let me go; for you know my service which I have done for you.” 27 And Laban said to him, “Please stay, if I have found favor in your eyes, for aI have learned by experi- ence that the LORD has blessed me for your sake.” 28 Then he said, a“Name me your wages, and I will give it.” 29 So Jacob said to him, a“You know how I have served you and how your livestock has been with me. 30 “For what you had before I came was little, and it has increased to a great amount; the LORD has blessed you 1since my coming. And now, when shall I also aprovide for my own house?” 31 So he said, “What shall I give you?” And Jacob said, “You shall not give me anything.

earned by experi- ence that the LORD has blessed me for your sake.” 28 Then he said, a“Name me your wages, and I will give it.” 29 So Jacob said to him, a“You know how I have served you and how your livestock has been with me. 30 “For what you had before I came was little, and it has increased to a great amount; the LORD has blessed you 1since my coming. And now, when shall I also aprovide for my own house?” 31 So he said, “What shall I give you?” And Jacob said, “You shall not give me anything. If you will do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep your flocks: 32 “Let me pass through all your flock today, removing from there all the speckled and spotted sheep, and all the brown ones among the lambs, and the spotted and speckled among the goats; and athese shall be my wages. 33 “So my arighteousness will answer for me in time to come, when the subject of my wages comes before you: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the lambs, will be con- sidered stolen, if it is with me.” 33 2Lit. Heard 34 1Lit. Attached 35 aGen. 49:8; Matt. 1:2 1Lit. Praise CHAPTER 30 1 aGen. 16:1, 2; 29:31 bGen. 37:11 c1 Sam. 1:5, 6; [Job 5:2] 2 aGen. 16:2; 1 Sam. 1:5 3 aGen. 16:2 bGen. 50:23; Job 3:12 cGen. 16:2, 3 1Lit. be built up by her 4 aGen. 16:3, 4 6 aGen. 18:25; Ps. 35:24; 43:1; Lam. 3:59 1Lit. Judge 8 1Lit. wrestlings of God 1Lit. My Wrestling 9 aGen. 30:4 11 1So with Qr., Syr., Tg.; Kt., LXX, Vg. in fortune 2Lit. Troop or Fortune 13 aProv. 31:28; Luke 1:48 1Lit. Happy 14 aGen. 25:30 15 a[Num. 16:9, 13] 18 1Lit. Wages 20 1Lit. Dwelling 21 aGen. 34:1 1Lit. Judg- ment 22 aGen. 19:29; 1 Sam. 1:19, 20 bGen. 29:31 23 a1 Sam. 1:6; Is. 4:1; Luke 1:25 24 aGen. 35:16–18 1Lit. He Will Add 25 aGen. 24:54, 56 bGen. 18:33 26 aGen. 29:18–20, 27, 30; Hos. 12:12 27 aGen. 26:24; 39:3; Is. 61:9 28 aGen. 29:15; 31:7, 41 29 aGen. 31:6, 38–40; Matt. 24:45; Titus 2:10 30 a[1 Tim. 5:8] 1Lit. at my foot 32 aGen. 31:8 33 aPs. 37:6

27 GENESIS 31:24 34 And Laban said, “Oh, that it were according to your word!” 35 So he removed that day the male goats that were aspeckled and spot- ted, all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had some white in it, and all the brown ones among the lambs, and gave them into the hand of his sons. 36 Then he put three days’ journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks. 37 Now aJacob took for himself rods of green poplar and of the almond and chestnut trees, peeled white strips in them, and exposed the white which was in the rods. 38 And the rods which he had peeled, he set before the flocks in the gutters, in the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink, so that they should conceive when they came to drink. 39 So the flocks conceived before the rods, and the flocks brought forth streaked, speckled, and spotted. 40 Then Jacob separated the lambs, and made the flocks face toward the streaked and all the brown in the flock of Laban; but he put his own flocks by themselves and did not put them with Laban’s flock. 41 And it came to pass, whenever the stronger livestock conceived, that Jacob placed the rods before the eyes of the livestock in the gut- ters, that they might conceive among the rods. 42 But when the flocks were feeble, he did not put them in; so the fee- bler were Laban’s and the stronger Jacob’s. 43 Thus the man abecame exceed- ingly prosperous, and bhad large flocks, female and male servants, and camels and donkeys. Jacob Flees from Laban 31 Now Jacob heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, “Jacob has taken away all that was our father’s, and from what was our father’s he has acquired all this awealth.” 2 And Jacob saw the acounte- nance of Laban, and indeed it was not bfavorable toward him as before. 3 Then the LORD said to Jacob, a“Return to the land of your fathers and to your family, and I will bbe with you.” 4 So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field, to his flock, 5 and said to them, a“I see your father’s 1countenance, that it is not favorable toward me as before; but the God of my father bhas been with me. 6 “And ayou know that with all my might I have served your father. 7 “Yet your father has deceived me and achanged my wages bten times, but God cdid not allow him to hurt me. 8 “If he said thus: a‘The speckled shall be your wages,’ then all the flocks bore speckled. And if he said thus: ‘The streaked shall be your wages,’ then all the flocks bore streaked. 9 “So God has ataken away the livestock of your father and given them to me. 10 “And it happened, at the time when the flocks conceived, that I lifted my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the rams which leaped upon the flocks were streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted. 11 “Then athe Angel of God spoke to me in a dream, saying, ‘Jacob.’ And I said, ‘Here I am.’ 12 “And He said, ‘Lift your eyes now and see, all the rams which leap on the flocks are streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted; for aI have seen all that Laban is doing to you. 13 ‘I am the God of Bethel, awhere you anointed the pillar and where you made a vow to Me. Now barise, get out of this land, and return to the land of your family.’ ” 14 Then Rachel and Leah an- swered and said to him, a“Is there still any portion or inheritance for us in our father’s house? 15 “Are we not considered strangers by him?

said, ‘Lift your eyes now and see, all the rams which leap on the flocks are streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted; for aI have seen all that Laban is doing to you. 13 ‘I am the God of Bethel, awhere you anointed the pillar and where you made a vow to Me. Now barise, get out of this land, and return to the land of your family.’ ” 14 Then Rachel and Leah an- swered and said to him, a“Is there still any portion or inheritance for us in our father’s house? 15 “Are we not considered strangers by him? For ahe has sold us, and also completely consumed our money. 16 “For all these riches which God has taken from our father are really ours and our children’s; now then, whatever God has said to you, do it.” 17 Then Jacob rose and set his sons and his wives on camels. 18 And he carried away all his live- stock and all his possessions which he had gained, his acquired live- stock which he had gained in Padan Aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of aCanaan. 19 Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel had stolen the ahousehold1 idols that were her father’s. 20 And Jacob stole away, unknown to Laban the Syrian, in that he did not tell him that he intended to flee. 21 So he fled with all that he had. He arose and crossed the river, and aheaded1 toward the mountains of Gilead. Laban Pursues Jacob 22 And Laban was told on the third day that Jacob had fled. 23 Then he took ahis brethren with him and pursued him for seven days’ journey, and he overtook him in the mountains of Gilead. 24 But God ahad come to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said to him, “Be careful that you bspeak to Jacob neither good nor bad.” 35 aGen. 31:9–12 37 aGen. 31:9–12 43 aGen. 12:16; 30:30 bGen. 13:2; 24:35; 26:13, 14 CHAPTER 31 1 aPs. 49:16 2 aGen. 4:5 bDeut. 28:54 3 aGen. 28:15, 20, 21; 32:9 bGen. 46:4 5 aGen. 31:2, 3 bGen. 21:22; 28:13, 15; 31:29, 42, 53; Is. 41:10; Heb. 13:5 1Lit. face 6 aGen. 30:29; 31:38–41 7 aGen. 29:25; 31:41 bNum. 14:22; Neh. 4:12; Job 19:3; Zech. 8:23 cGen. 15:1; 20:6; 31:29; Job 1:10; Ps. 37:28; 105:14 8 aGen. 30:32 9 aGen. 31:1, 16 11 aGen. 16:7–11; 22:11, 15; 31:13; 48:16 12 aGen. 31:42; Ex. 3:7; Ps. 139:3; Eccl. 5:8 13 aGen. 28:16–22; 35:1, 6, 15 bGen. 31:3; 32:9 14 aGen. 2:24 15 aGen. 29:15, 20, 23, 27; Neh. 5:8 18 aGen. 17:8; 33:18; 35:27 19 aGen. 31:30, 34; 35:2; Judg. 17:5; 1 Sam. 19:13; Hos. 3:4 1Heb. teraphim 21 aGen. 46:28; 2 Kin. 12:17; Luke 9:51, 53 1Lit. set his face toward 23 aGen. 13:8 24 aGen. 20:3; 31:29; 46:2–4; Job 33:15; Matt. 1:20 bGen. 24:50; 31:7, 29

GENESIS 31:25 28 25 So Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountains, and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mountains of Gilead. 26 And Laban said to Jacob: “What have you done, that you have stolen away unknown to me, and acarried away my daughters like captives taken with the sword? 27 “Why did you flee away secretly, and steal away from me, and not tell me; for I might have sent you away with joy and songs, with timbrel and harp? 28 “And you did not allow me ato kiss my sons and my daughters. Now byou have done foolishly in so doing. 29 “It is in my power to do you harm, but the aGod of your father spoke to me blast night, saying, ‘Be careful that you speak to Jacob nei- ther good nor bad.’ 30 “And now you have surely gone because you greatly long for your father’s house, but why did you asteal my gods?” 31 Then Jacob answered and said to Laban, “Because I was aafraid, for I said, ‘Perhaps you would take your daughters from me by force.’ 32 “With whomever you find your gods, ado not let him live. In the presence of our brethren, identify what I have of yours and take it with you.” For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them. 33 And Laban went into Jacob’s tent, into Leah’s tent, and into the two maids’ tents, but he did not find them. Then he went out of Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s tent. 34 Now Rachel had taken the 1household idols, put them in the camel’s saddle, and sat on them. And Laban 2searched all about the tent but did not find them. 35 And she said to her father, “Let it not displease my lord that I can- not arise before you, for the manner of women is with me.” And he searched but did not find the 1household idols. 36 Then Jacob was angry and rebuked Laban, and Jacob answered and said to Laban: “What is my 1trespass? What is my sin, that you have so hotly pursued me? 37 “Although you have searched all my things, what part of your house- hold things have you found? Set it here before my brethren and your brethren, that they may judge be- tween us both! 38 “These twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried their young, and I have not eaten the rams of your flock. 39 a“That which was torn by beasts I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it. bYou required it from my hand, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. 40 “There I was! In the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep departed from my eyes. 41 “Thus I have been in your house twenty years; I aserved you four- teen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and byou have changed my wages ten times. 42 a“Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and bthe Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. cGod has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, and drebuked you last night.” Laban’s Covenant with Jacob 43 And Laban answered and said to Jacob, “These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and this flock is my flock; all that you see is mine.

, and six years for your flock, and byou have changed my wages ten times. 42 a“Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and bthe Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. cGod has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, and drebuked you last night.” Laban’s Covenant with Jacob 43 And Laban answered and said to Jacob, “These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and this flock is my flock; all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day to these my daughters or to their children whom they have borne? 44 “Now therefore, come, alet us make a 1covenant, byou and I, and let it be a witness between you and me.” 45 So Jacob atook a stone and set it up as a pillar. 46 Then Jacob said to his brethren, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there on the heap. 47 Laban called it 1Jegar Sahadu- tha, but Jacob called it 2Galeed. 48 And Laban said, a“This heap is a witness between you and me this day.” Therefore its name was called Galeed, 49 also aMizpah,1 because he said, “May the LORD watch between you and me when we are absent one from another. 50 “If you afflict my daughters, or if you take other wives besides my daughters, although no man is with us—see, God is witness between you and me!” 51 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Here is this heap and here is this pillar, which I have placed between you and me. 52 “This heap is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not pass beyond this heap to you, and you will not pass beyond this heap and this pillar to me, for harm. 53 “The God of Abraham, the God of Nahor, and the God of their father ajudge between us.” And Jacob bswore by cthe 1Fear of his father Isaac. 54 Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain, and called his brethren to eat bread. And they ate bread and stayed all night on the mountain. 55 And early in the morning Laban arose, and akissed his sons and 26 a1 Sam. 30:2 28 aGen. 31:55; Ruth 1:9, 14; 1 Kin. 19:20; Acts 20:37 b1 Sam. 13:13 29 aGen. 28:13; 31:5, 24, 42, 53 bGen. 31:24 30 aGen. 31:19; Josh. 24:2; Judg. 17:5; 18:24 31 aGen. 26:7; 32:7, 11 32 aGen. 44:9 34 1Heb. teraphim 1Lit. felt 35 aEx. 20:12; Lev. 19:32 1Heb. teraphim 36 1transgres- sion 39 aEx. 22:10 bEx. 22:10–13 41 aGen. 29:20, 27–30 bGen. 31:7 42 aGen. 31:5, 29, 53; Ps. 124:1, 2 bGen. 31:53; Is. 8:13 cGen. 29:32; Ex. 3:7 dGen. 31:24, 29; 1 Chr. 12:17 44 aGen. 21:27, 32; 26:28 bJosh. 24:27 1treaty 45 aGen. 28:18; 35:14; Josh. 24:26, 27 47 1Lit., in Aram., Heap of Witness 2Lit., in Heb., Heap of Wit- ness 48 aJosh. 24:27 49 aJudg. 10:17; 11:29; 1 Sam. 7:5, 6 1Lit. Watch 53 aGen. 16:5 bGen. 21:23 cGen. 31:42 1A reference to God 55 aGen. 29:11, 13; 31:28, 43

29 GENESIS 33:1 daughters and bblessed them. Then Laban departed and creturned to his place. Esau Comes to Meet Jacob 32 So Jacob went on his way, and athe angels of God met him. 2 When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is God’s acamp.” And he called the name of that place 1Mahanaim. 3 Then Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother ain the land of Seir, bthe 1country of Edom. 4 And he commanded them, say- ing, a“Speak thus to my lord Esau, ‘Thus your servant Jacob says: “I have dwelt with Laban and stayed there until now. 5 a“I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, and male and female servants; and I have sent to tell my lord, that bI may find favor in your sight.” ’ ” 6 Then the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and ahe also is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.” 7 So Jacob was greatly afraid and adistressed; and he divided the peo- ple that were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two companies. 8 And he said, “If Esau comes to the one company and 1attacks it, then the other company which is left will escape.” 9 aThen Jacob said, b“O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the LORD cwho said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your family, and I will deal well with you’: 10 “I am not worthy of the least of all the amercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant; for I crossed over this Jordan with bmy staff, and now I have become two companies. 11 a“Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he come and 1attack me and bthe mother with the children. 12 “For aYou said, ‘I will surely treat you well, and make your descendants as the bsand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for mul- titude.’ ” 13 So he lodged there that same night, and took what 1came to his hand as aa present for Esau his brother: 14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 15 thirty milk camels with their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten foals. 16 Then he delivered them to the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass over before me, and put some dis- tance between successive droves.” 17 And he commanded the first one, saying, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, saying, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going? Whose are these in front of you?’ 18 “then you shall say, ‘They are your servant Jacob’s.

amels with their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten foals. 16 Then he delivered them to the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass over before me, and put some dis- tance between successive droves.” 17 And he commanded the first one, saying, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, saying, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going? Whose are these in front of you?’ 18 “then you shall say, ‘They are your servant Jacob’s. It is a present sent to my lord Esau; and behold, he also is behind us.’ ” 19 So he commanded the second, the third, and all who followed the droves, saying, “In this manner you shall speak to Esau when you find him; 20 “and also say, ‘Behold, your ser- vant Jacob is behind us.’ ” For he said, “I will aappease him with the present that goes before me, and afterward I will see his face; per- haps he will accept me.” 21 So the present went on over before him, but he himself lodged that night in the camp. Wrestling with God 22 And he arose that night and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons, aand crossed over the ford of Jabbok. 23 He took them, sent them 1over the brook, and sent over what he had. 24 Then Jacob was left alone; and aa Man wrestled with him until the 1breaking of day. 25 Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He 1touched the socket of his hip; and athe socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. 26 And aHe said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.” But he said, b“I will not let You go unless You bless me!” 27 So He said to him, “What is your name?” He said, “Jacob.” 28 And He said, a“Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but 1Israel; for you have bstruggled with God and cwith men, and have pre- vailed.” 29 Then Jacob asked, saying, “Tell me Your name, I pray.” And He said, a“Why is it that you ask about My name?” And He bblessed him there. 30 So Jacob called the name of the place 1Peniel: “For aI have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.” 31 Just as he crossed over 1Penuel the sun rose on him, and he limped on his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the chil- dren of Israel do not eat the muscle that shrank, which is on the hip socket, because He 1touched the socket of Jacob’s hip in the muscle that shrank. Jacob and Esau Meet 33 Now Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and there, aEsau was coming, and with him were four 55 bGen. 28:1 cGen. 18:33; 30:25; Num. 24:25 CHAPTER 32 1 aNum. 22:31; 2 Kin. 6:16, 17; [Ps. 34:7; 91:1; Heb. 1:14] 2 aJosh. 5:14; Ps. 103:21; 148:2; Luke 2:13 1Lit. Dou- ble Camp 3 aGen. 14:6; 33:14, 16 bGen. 25:30; 36:6–9; Deut. 2:5; Josh. 24:4 1Lit. field 4 aProv. 15:1 5 aGen. 30:43 bGen. 33:8, 15 6 aGen. 33:1 7 aGen. 32:11; 35:3 8 1Lit. strikes 9 a[Ps. 50:15] bGen. 28:13; 31:42 cGen. 31:3, 13 10 aGen. 24:27 bJob 8:7 11 aPs. 59:1, 2 bHos. 10:14 1Lit. strike 12 aGen. 28:13–15 bGen. 22:17 13 aGen. 43:11 1he had received 20 a[Prov. 21:14] 22 aNum. 21:24; Deut. 3:16; Josh. 12:2 23 1across 24 aJosh. 5:13–15; Hos. 12:2–4 1dawn 25 aMatt. 26:41; 2 Cor. 12:7 1struck 26 aLuke 24:28 bHos. 12:4 28 aGen. 35:10; 1 Kin. 18:31; 2 Kin. 17:34 bHos. 12:3, 4 cGen. 25:31; 27:33 1Lit. Prince with God 29 aJudg. 13:17, 18 bGen. 35:9 30 aGen. 16:13; Ex. 24:10, 11; 33:20; Num. 12:8; Deut. 5:24; Judg. 6:22; Is. 6:5; [Matt. 5:8; 1 Cor. 13:12] 1Lit. Face of God 31 1Lit. Face of God; same as Peniel, v. 30 32 1struck CHAPTER 33 1 aGen. 32:6

GENESIS 33:2 30 hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two maidservants. 2 And he put the maidservants and their children in front, Leah and her children behind, and Rachel and Joseph last. 3 Then he crossed over before them and abowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. 4 aBut Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, band fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept. 5 And he lifted his eyes and saw the women and children, and said, “Who are these with you?” So he said, “The children awhom God has graciously given your servant.” 6 Then the maidservants came near, they and their children, and bowed down. 7 And Leah also came near with her children, and they bowed down. Afterward Joseph and Rachel came near, and they bowed down. 8 Then Esau said, “What do you mean by aall this company which I met?” And he said, “These are bto find favor in the sight of my lord.” 9 But Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself.” 10 And Jacob said, “No, please, if I have now found favor in your sight, then receive my present from my hand, inasmuch as I ahave seen your face as though I had seen the face of God, and you were pleased with me. 11 “Please, take amy blessing that is brought to you, because God has dealt bgraciously with me, and because I have 1enough.” cSo he urged him, and he took it. 12 Then Esau said, “Let us take our journey; let us go, and I will go before you.” 13 But Jacob said to him, “My lord knows that the children are weak, and the flocks and herds which are nursing are with me. And if the men should drive them hard one day, all the flock will die. 14 “Please let my lord go on ahead before his servant. I will lead on slowly at a pace which the livestock that go before me, and the children, 1are able to endure, until I come to my lord ain Seir.” 15 And Esau said, “Now let me leave with you some of the people who are with me.” But he said, “What need is there? aLet me find favor in the sight of my lord.” 16 So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir. 17 And Jacob journeyed to aSuc- coth, built himself a house, and made 1booths for his livestock. Therefore the name of the place is called 2Succoth. Jacob Comes to Canaan 18 Then Jacob came 1safely to athe city of bShechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padan Aram; and he pitched his tent before the city. 19 And ahe bought the parcel of 1land, where he had pitched his tent, from the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for one hundred pieces of money. 20 Then he erected an altar there and called it aEl1 Elohe Israel. The Dinah Incident 34 Now aDinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. 2 And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he atook her and lay with her, and violated her. 3 His soul 1was strongly attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young woman and spoke 2kindly to the young woman. 4 So Shechem aspoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this young woman as a wife.” 5 And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter. Now his sons were with his livestock in the field; so Jacob aheld1 his peace until they came. 6 Then Hamor the father of She- chem went out to Jacob to speak with him. 7 And the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it; and the men were grieved and very angry, because he ahad done a dis- graceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, ba thing which ought not to be done. 8 But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as a wife. 9 “And make marriages with us; give your daughters to us, and take our daughters to yourselves. 10 “So you shall dwell with us, and the land shall be before you.

of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it; and the men were grieved and very angry, because he ahad done a dis- graceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, ba thing which ought not to be done. 8 But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as a wife. 9 “And make marriages with us; give your daughters to us, and take our daughters to yourselves. 10 “So you shall dwell with us, and the land shall be before you. Dwell and trade in it, and acquire posses- sions for yourselves in it.” 11 Then Shechem said to her father and her brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and what- ever you say to me I will give. 12 “Ask me ever so much adowry1 and gift, and I will give according to what you say to me; but give me the young woman as a wife.” 13 But the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father, and spoke adeceitfully, because he had defiled Dinah their sister. 14 And they said to them, “We can- not do this thing, to give our sister to one who is auncircumcised, for bthat would be a reproach to us. 3 aGen. 18:2; 42:6 4 aGen. 32:28 bGen. 45:14, 15 5 aGen. 48:9; [Ps. 127:3]; Is. 8:18 8 aGen. 32:13–16 bGen. 32:5 10 aGen. 43:3; 2 Sam. 3:13; 14:24, 28, 32 11 aJudg. 1:15; 1 Sam. 25:27; 30:26 bGen. 30:43; Ex. 33:19 c2 Kin. 5:23 1Lit. all 14 aGen. 32:3; 36:8 1can stand it 15 aGen. 34:11; 47:25; Ruth 2:13 17 aJosh. 13:27; Judg. 8:5; Ps. 60:6 1shelters 2Lit. Booths 18 aJohn 3:23 bGen. 12:6; 35:4; Josh. 24:1; Judg. 9:1; Ps. 60:6 1Or to Shalem, a city of 19 aJosh. 24:32; John 4:5 1Lit. the field 20 aGen. 35:7 1Lit. God, the God of Israel CHAPTER 34 1 aGen. 30:21 2 aGen. 20:2 3 1Lit. clung to 2tenderly 4 aJudg. 14:2 5 a2 Sam. 13:22 1kept silent 7 aDeut. 22:20–30; Josh. 7:15; Judg. 20:6 bDeut. 23:17; 2 Sam. 13:12 12 aEx. 22:16, 17; Deut. 22:29 1bride- price 13 aGen. 31:7; Ex. 8:29 14 aEx. 12:48 bJosh. 5:2–9

31 GENESIS 35:16 15 “But on this condition we will consent to you: If you will become as we are, if every male of you is cir- cumcised, 16 “then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daugh- ters to us; and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people. 17 “But if you will not heed us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and be gone.” 18 And their words pleased Hamor and Shechem, Hamor’s son. 19 So the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he delighted in Jacob’s daughter. He was amore honorable than all the household of his father. 20 And Hamor and Shechem his son came to the agate of their city, and spoke with the men of their city, saying: 21 “These men are at peace with us. Therefore let them dwell in the land and trade in it. For indeed the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters to us as wives, and let us give them our daughters. 22 “Only on this condition will the men consent to dwell with us, to be one people: if every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised. 23 “Will not their livestock, their property, and every animal of theirs be ours? Only let us consent to them, and they will dwell with us.” 24 And all who went out of the gate of his city heeded Hamor and Shechem his son; every male was circumcised, all who awent out of the gate of his city. 25 Now it came to pass on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of the sons of Jacob, aSimeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword and came boldly upon the city and killed all the males. 26 And they akilled Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah from Shechem’s house, and went out. 27 The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and plundered the city, because their sister had been defiled. 28 They took their sheep, their oxen, and their donkeys, what was in the city and what was in the field, 29 and all their wealth. All their lit- tle ones and their wives they took captive; and they plundered even all that was in the houses. 30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, a“You have btroubled me cby making me obnoxious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; dand since I am few in number, they will gather themselves together against me and kill me. I shall be destroyed, my household and I.” 31 But they said, “Should he treat our sister like a harlot?” Jacob’s Return to Bethel 35 Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to aBethel and dwell there; and make an altar there to God, bwho appeared to you cwhen you fled from the face of Esau your brother.” 2 And Jacob said to his ahouse- hold and to all who were with him, “Put away bthe foreign gods that are among you, cpurify yourselves, and change your garments. 3 “Then let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God, awho answered me in the day of my distress band has been with me in the way which I have gone.” 4 So they gave Jacob all the for- eign 1gods which were in their hands, and the aearrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under bthe terebinth tree which was by Shechem. 5 And they journeyed, and athe terror of God was upon the cities that were all around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. 6 So Jacob came to aLuz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. 7 And he abuilt an altar there and called the place 1El Bethel, because bthere God appeared to him when he fled from the face of his brother. 8 Now aDeborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the terebinth tree. So the name of it was called 1Allon Bachuth. 9 Then aGod appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Padan Aram, and bblessed him. 10 And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; ayour name shall not be called Jacob anymore, bbut Israel shall be your name.” So He called his name Israel. 11 Also God said to him: a“I am God Almighty.

use bthere God appeared to him when he fled from the face of his brother. 8 Now aDeborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the terebinth tree. So the name of it was called 1Allon Bachuth. 9 Then aGod appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Padan Aram, and bblessed him. 10 And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; ayour name shall not be called Jacob anymore, bbut Israel shall be your name.” So He called his name Israel. 11 Also God said to him: a“I am God Almighty. bBe fruitful and mul- tiply; ca nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body. 12 “The aland which I gave Abra- ham and Isaac I give to you; and to your descendants after you I give this land.” 13 Then God awent1 up from him in the place where He talked with him. 14 So Jacob aset up a pillar in the place where He talked with him, a pillar of stone; and he poured a drink offering on it, and he poured oil on it. 15 And Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him, aBethel. Death of Rachel 16 Then they journeyed from Bethel. And when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath, 19 a1 Chr. 4:9 20 aGen. 19:1; 23:10; Ruth 4:1, 11; 2 Sam. 15:2 24 aGen. 23:10, 18 25 aGen. 29:33, 34; 42:24; 49:5–7 26 aGen. 49:5, 6 30 aGen. 49:6 bJosh. 7:25 cEx. 5:21; 1 Sam. 13:4; 2 Sam. 10:6 dGen. 46:26, 27; Deut. 4:27; 1 Chr. 16:19; Ps. 105:12 CHAPTER 35 1 aGen. 28:19; 31:13 bGen. 28:13 cGen. 27:43 2 aGen. 18:19; Josh. 24:15 bGen. 31:19, 30, 34; Josh. 24:2, 14, 23 cEx. 19:10, 14; Lev. 13:6 3 aGen. 32:7, 24; Ps. 107:6 bGen. 28:15, 20; 31:3, 42 4 aHos. 2:13 bJosh. 24:26; Judg. 9:6 1idols 5 aEx. 15:16; 23:27; [Deut. 2:25; 11:25]; Josh. 2:9; 1 Sam. 14:15 6 aGen. 28:19, 22; 48:3 7 aGen. 33:20; 35:3; Eccl. 5:4 bGen. 28:13 1Lit. God of the House of God 8 aGen. 24:59 1Lit. Tere- binth of Weeping 9 aJosh. 5:13; Dan. 10:5 bGen. 32:29; Hos. 12:4 10 aGen. 17:5 bGen. 32:28 11 aGen. 17:1; 28:3; 48:3, 4; Ex. 6:3 bGen. 9:1, 7 cGen. 17:5, 6, 16; 28:3; 48:4 12 aGen. 12:7; 13:15; 26:3, 4; 28:13; 48:4; Ex. 32:13 13 aGen. 17:22; 18:33 1departed 14 aGen. 28:18, 19; 31:45 15 aGen. 28:19

GENESIS 35:17 32 Rachel labored in childbirth, and she had hard labor. 17 Now it came to pass, when she was in hard labor, that the midwife said to her, “Do not fear; ayou will have this son also.” 18 And so it was, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she called his name 1Ben-Oni; but his father called him 2Benjamin. 19 So aRachel died and was buried on the way to bEphrath (that is, Bethlehem). 20 And Jacob set a pillar on her grave, which is the pillar of Rachel’s grave ato this day. 21 Then Israel journeyed and pitched his tent beyond athe tower of Eder. 22 And it happened, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and alay with Bilhah his father’s con- cubine; and Israel heard about it. Jacob’s Twelve Sons Now the sons of Jacob were twelve: 23 the sons of Leah were aReuben, Jacob’s firstborn, and Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun; 24 the sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin; 25 the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s maidservant, were Dan and Naphtali; 26 and the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s maidservant, were Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Padan Aram. Death of Isaac 27 Then Jacob came to his father Isaac at aMamre, or bKirjath Arba1 (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had dwelt. 28 Now the days of Isaac were one hundred and eighty years. 29 So Isaac breathed his last and died, and awas 1gathered to his peo- ple, being old and full of days. And bhis sons Esau and Jacob buried him. The Family of Esau 36 Now this is the genealogy of Esau, awho is Edom. 2 aEsau took his wives from the daughters of Canaan: Adah the daughter of Elon the bHittite; cAhol- ibamah1 the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite; 3 and aBasemath, Ishmael’s daughter, sister of Nebajoth. 4 Now aAdah bore Eliphaz to Esau, and Basemath bore Reuel. 5 And 1Aholibamah bore Jeush, Jaalam, and Korah. These were the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan. 6 Then Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the per- sons of his household, his cattle and all his animals, and all his goods which he had gained in the land of Canaan, and went to a country away from the presence of his brother Jacob. 7 aFor their possessions were too great for them to dwell together, and bthe land where they were strangers could not support them because of their livestock. 8 So Esau dwelt in aMount Seir. bEsau is Edom. 9 And this is the genealogy of Esau the father of the Edomites in Mount Seir. 10 These were the names of Esau’s sons: aEliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, and Reuel the son of Basemath the wife of Esau. 11 And the sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, 1Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. 12 Now Timna was the concubine of Eliphaz, Esau’s son, and she bore aAmalek to Eliphaz. These were the sons of Adah, Esau’s wife. 13 These were the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Miz- zah. These were the sons of Base- math, Esau’s wife. 14 These were the sons of 1Ahol- ibamah, Esau’s wife, the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon. And she bore to Esau: Jeush, Jaalam, and Korah. The Chiefs of Edom 15 These were the chiefs of the sons of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz, the firstborn son of Esau, were Chief Teman, Chief Omar, Chief Zepho, Chief Kenaz, 16 1Chief Korah, Chief Gatam, and Chief Amalek. These were the chiefs of Eliphaz in the land of Edom. They were the sons of Adah. 17 These were the sons of Reuel, Esau’s son: Chief Nahath, Chief Zerah, Chief Shammah, and Chief Mizzah. These were the chiefs of Reuel in the land of Edom. These were the sons of Basemath, Esau’s wife. 18 And these were the sons of 1Aholibamah, Esau’s wife: Chief Jeush, Chief Jaalam, and Chief Korah. These were the chiefs who descended from Aholibamah, Esau’s wife, the daughter of Anah. 19 These were the sons of Esau, who is Edom, and these were their chiefs. The Sons of Seir 20 aThese were the sons of Seir bthe Horite who inhabited the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan.

ese were the chiefs of Reuel in the land of Edom. These were the sons of Basemath, Esau’s wife. 18 And these were the sons of 1Aholibamah, Esau’s wife: Chief Jeush, Chief Jaalam, and Chief Korah. These were the chiefs who descended from Aholibamah, Esau’s wife, the daughter of Anah. 19 These were the sons of Esau, who is Edom, and these were their chiefs. The Sons of Seir 20 aThese were the sons of Seir bthe Horite who inhabited the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These were the chiefs of the Horites, the sons of Seir, in the land of Edom. 22 And the sons of Lotan were Hori and 1Hemam. Lotan’s sister was Timna. 23 These were the sons of Shobal: 17 aGen. 30:24; 1 Sam. 4:20 18 1Lit. Son of My Sorrow 2Lit. Son of the Right Hand 19 aGen. 48:7 bRuth 1:2; 4:11; Mic. 5:2; Matt. 2:6 20 a1 Sam. 10:2 21 aMic. 4:8 22 aGen. 49:4; 1 Chr. 5:1 23 aGen. 29:31–35; 30:18–20; 46:8; Ex. 1:1–4 27 aGen. 13:18; 18:1; 23:19 bJosh. 14:15 1Lit. Town or City of Arba 29 aGen. 15:15; 25:8; 49:33 bGen. 25:9; 49:31 1Joined his ancestors CHAPTER 36 1 aGen. 25:30 2 aGen. 26:34; 28:9 b2 Kin. 7:6 cGen. 36:25 1Or Oholibamah 3 aGen. 28:9 4 a1 Chr. 1:35 5 1Or Oholi- bamah 7 aGen. 13:6, 11 bGen. 17:8; 28:4; Heb. 11:9 8 aGen. 32:3; Deut. 2:5; Josh. 24:4 bGen. 36:1, 19 10 a1 Chr. 1:35 11 1Zephi, 1 Chr. 1:36 12 aEx. 17:8–16; Num. 24:20; Deut. 25:17–19; 1 Sam. 15:2, 3 14 1Or Oholi- bamah 16 1Sam. omits Chief Korah 18 1Or Oholi- bamah 20 a1 Chr. 1:38–42 bGen. 14:6; Deut. 2:12, 22 22 1Homam, 1 Chr. 1:39

33 GENESIS 37:15 1Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, 2Shepho, and Onam. 24 These were the sons of Zibeon: both Ajah and Anah. This was the Anah who found the 1water in the wilderness as he pastured athe don- keys of his father Zibeon. 25 These were the children of Anah: Dishon and 1Aholibamah the daughter of Anah. 26 These were the sons of 1Dishon: 2Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran. 27 These were the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and 1Akan. 28 These were the sons of Dishan: aUz and Aran. 29 These were the chiefs of the Horites: Chief Lotan, Chief Shobal, Chief Zibeon, Chief Anah, 30 Chief Dishon, Chief Ezer, and Chief Dishan. These were the chiefs of the Horites, according to their chiefs in the land of Seir. The Kings of Edom 31 aNow these were the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the children of Israel: 32 Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom, and the name of his city was Dinhabah. 33 And when Bela died, Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his place. 34 When Jobab died, Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his place. 35 And when Husham died, Hadad the son of Bedad, who attacked Mid- ian in the field of Moab, reigned in his place. And the name of his city was Avith. 36 When Hadad died, Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place. 37 And when Samlah died, Saul of aRehoboth-by-the-River reigned in his place. 38 When Saul died, Baal-Hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his place. 39 And when Baal-Hanan the son of Achbor died, 1Hadar reigned in his place; and the name of his city was 2Pau. His wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab. The Chiefs of Esau 40 And these were the names of the chiefs of Esau, according to their families and their places, by their names: Chief Timnah, Chief 1Alvah, Chief Jetheth, 41 Chief 1Aholibamah, Chief Elah, Chief Pinon, 42 Chief Kenaz, Chief Teman, Chief Mibzar, 43 Chief Magdiel, and Chief Iram. These were the chiefs of Edom, according to their dwelling places in the land of their possession. Esau was the father of 1the Edomites. Joseph Dreams of Greatness 37 Now Jacob dwelt in the land awhere his father was a 1stranger, in the land of Canaan. 2 This is the history of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his broth- ers. And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought aa bad report of them to his father. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was athe son of his old age. Also he bmade him a tunic of many colors. 4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they ahated him and could not speak peaceably to him. 5 Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. 6 So he said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: 7 a“There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.” 8 And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. 9 Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, athe sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.” 10 So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and ayour brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?” 11 And ahis brothers envied him, but his father bkept the matter in mind. Joseph Sold by His Brothers 12 Then his brothers went to feed their father’s flock in aShechem. 13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem?

bowed down to me.” 10 So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and ayour brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?” 11 And ahis brothers envied him, but his father bkept the matter in mind. Joseph Sold by His Brothers 12 Then his brothers went to feed their father’s flock in aShechem. 13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” So he said to him, “Here I am.” 14 Then he said to him, “Please go and see if it is well with your brothers and well with the flocks, and bring back word to me.” So he sent him out of the Valley of aHebron, and he went to Shechem. 15 Now a certain man found him, and there he was, wandering in the field. And the man asked him, say- ing, “What are you seeking?” 23 1Alian, 1 Chr. 1:40 2Shephi, 1 Chr. 1:40 24 aLev. 19:19 1So with MT, Vg. (hot springs); LXX Jamin; Tg. mighty men; Talmud mules 25 1Or Oholi- bamah 26 1Heb. Dis- han 2Hamran, 1 Chr. 1:41 27 1Jaakan, 1 Chr. 1:42 28 aJob 1:1 31 aGen. 17:6, 16; 35:11; 1 Chr. 1:43 37 aGen. 10:11 39 1Sam., Syr. Hadad and 1 Chr. 1:50 2Pai, 1 Chr. 1:50 40 1Aliah, 1 Chr. 1:51 41 1Or Oholi- bamah 43 1Heb. Edom CHAPTER 37 1 aGen. 17:8; 23:4; 28:4; 36:7; Heb. 11:9 1sojourner, temporary resident 2 aGen. 35:25, 26; 1 Sam. 2:22–24 3 aGen. 44:20 bGen. 37:23, 32; Judg. 5:30; 1 Sam. 2:19 4 aGen. 27:41; 49:23; 1 Sam. 17:28; John 15:18–20 7 aGen. 42:6, 9; 43:26; 44:14 9 aGen. 46:29; 47:25 10 aGen. 27:29 11 aMatt. 27:17, 18; Acts 7:9 bDan. 7:28; Luke 2:19, 51 12 aGen. 33:18–20 14 aGen. 13:18; 23:2, 19; 35:27; Josh. 14:14, 15; Judg. 1:10

GENESIS 37:16 34 16 So he said, “I am seeking my brothers. aPlease tell me where they are feeding their flocks.” 17 And the man said, “They have departed from here, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them in aDothan. 18 Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, athey conspired against him to kill him. 19 Then they said to one another, “Look, this 1dreamer is coming! 20 a“Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will become of his dreams!” 21 But aReuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, “Let us not kill him.” 22 And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit which is in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him”—that he might deliver him out of their hands, and bring him back to his father. 23 So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they astripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him. 24 Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it. 25 aAnd they sat down to eat a meal. Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of bIshmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, cbalm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt. 26 So Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and aconceal his blood? 27 “Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and alet not our hand be upon him, for he is bour brother and cour flesh.” And his brothers lis- tened. 28 Then aMidianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, band sold him to the Ishmaelites for ctwenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt. 29 Then Reuben returned to the pit, and indeed Joseph was not in the pit; and he atore his clothes. 30 And he returned to his brothers and said, “The lad ais no more; and I, where shall I go?” 31 So they took aJoseph’s tunic, killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood. 32 Then they sent the tunic of many colors, and they brought it to their father and said, “We have found this. Do you know whether it is your son’s tunic or not?” 33 And he recognized it and said, “It is my son’s tunic. A awild beast has devoured him. Without doubt Joseph is torn to pieces.” 34 Then Jacob atore his clothes, put sackcloth on his waist, and bmourned for his son many days. 35 And all his sons and all his daughters aarose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, “For bI shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning.” Thus his father wept for him. 36 Now athe 1Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard. Judah and Tamar 38 It came to pass at that time that Judah departed from his brothers, and avisited a certain Adullamite whose name was Hirah. 2 And Judah asaw there a daugh- ter of a certain Canaanite whose name was bShua, and he married her and went in to her. 3 So she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name aEr. 4 She conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name aOnan. 5 And she conceived yet again and bore a son, and called his name aShelah.

raoh and captain of the guard. Judah and Tamar 38 It came to pass at that time that Judah departed from his brothers, and avisited a certain Adullamite whose name was Hirah. 2 And Judah asaw there a daugh- ter of a certain Canaanite whose name was bShua, and he married her and went in to her. 3 So she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name aEr. 4 She conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name aOnan. 5 And she conceived yet again and bore a son, and called his name aShelah. He was at Chezib when she bore him. 6 Then Judah atook a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was bTa- mar. 7 But aEr, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD, band the LORD killed him. 8 And Judah said to Onan, “Go in to ayour brother’s wife and marry her, and raise up an heir to your brother.” 9 But Onan knew that the heir would not be ahis; and it came to pass, when he went in to his broth- er’s wife, that he emitted on the ground, lest he should give an heir to his brother. 10 And the thing which he did 1dis- pleased the LORD; therefore He killed ahim also. 11 Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, a“Remain a widow in your father’s house till my son Shelah is grown.” For he said, “Lest he also die like his brothers.” And Tamar went and dwelt bin her father’s house. 12 Now in the process of time the daughter of Shua, Judah’s wife, died; and Judah awas comforted, and went up to his sheepshearers at Timnah, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. 13 And it was told Tamar, saying, “Look, your father-in-law is going up ato Timnah to shear his sheep.” 14 So she took off her widow’s gar- ments, covered herself with a veil and wrapped herself, and asat in an open place which was on the way 16 aSong 1:7 17 a2 Kin. 6:13 18 a1 Sam. 19:1; Ps. 31:13; 37:12, 32; Matt. 21:38; 26:3, 4; 27:1; Mark 14:1; John 11:53; Acts 23:12 19 1Lit. master of dreams 20 aGen. 37:22; Prov. 1:11 21 aGen. 42:22 23 aMatt. 27:28 25 aProv. 30:20 bGen. 16:11, 12; 37:28, 36; 39:1 cJer. 8:22 26 aGen. 37:20 27 a1 Sam. 18:17 bGen. 42:21 cGen. 29:14 28 aGen. 37:25; Judg. 6:1–3; 8:22, 24 bGen. 45:4, 5; Ps. 105:17; Acts 7:9 cMatt. 27:9 29 aGen. 37:34; 44:13; Job 1:20 30 aGen. 42:13, 36 31 aGen. 37:3, 23 33 aGen. 37:20 34 aGen. 37:29; 2 Sam. 3:31 bGen. 50:10 35 a2 Sam. 12:17 bGen. 25:8; 35:29; 42:38; 44:29, 31 36 aGen. 39:1 1MT Medan- ites CHAPTER 38 1 a2 Kin. 4:8 2 aGen. 34:2 b1 Chr. 2:3 3 aGen. 46:12; Num. 26:19 4 aGen. 46:12; Num. 26:19 5 aNum. 26:20 6 aGen. 21:21 bRuth 4:12 7 aGen. 46:12; Num. 26:19 b1 Chr. 2:3 8 aDeut. 25:5, 6; Matt. 22:24 9 aDeut. 25:6 10 aGen. 46:12; Num. 26:19 1Lit. was evil in the eyes of 11 aRuth 1:12, 13 bLev. 22:13 12 a2 Sam. 13:39 13 aJosh. 15:10, 57; Judg. 14:1 14 aProv. 7:12

35 GENESIS 39:14 to Timnah; for she saw bthat Shelah was grown, and she was not given to him as a wife. 15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a harlot, because she had covered her face. 16 Then he turned to her by the way, and said, “Please let me come in to you”; for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. So she said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?” 17 And he said, a“I will send a young goat from the flock.” So she said, b“Will you give me a pledge till you send it?” 18 Then he said, “What pledge shall I give you?” So she said, a“Your signet and cord, and your staff that is in your hand.” Then he gave them to her, and went in to her, and she conceived by him. 19 So she arose and went away, and alaid aside her veil and put on the garments of her widowhood. 20 And Judah sent the young goat by the hand of his friend the Adul- lamite, to receive his pledge from the woman’s hand, but he did not find her. 21 Then he asked the men of that place, saying, “Where is the harlot who was 1openly by the roadside?” And they said, “There was no harlot in this place.” 22 So he returned to Judah and said, “I cannot find her. Also, the men of the place said there was no harlot in this place.” 23 Then Judah said, “Let her take them for herself, lest we be shamed; for I sent this young goat and you have not found her.” 24 And it came to pass, about three months after, that Judah was told, saying, “Tamar your daughter-in- law has aplayed the harlot; further- more she is 1with child by harlotry.” So Judah said, “Bring her out band let her be burned!” 25 When she was brought out, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, “By the man to whom these belong, I am with child.” And she said, a“Please determine whose these are—the signet and cord, and staff.” 26 So Judah aacknowledged them and said, b“She has been more righ- teous than I, because cI did not give her to Shelah my son.” And he dnever knew her again. 27 Now it came to pass, at the time for giving birth, that behold, twins were in her womb. 28 And so it was, when she was giving birth, that the one put out his hand; and the midwife took a scar- let thread and bound it on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.” 29 Then it happened, as he drew back his hand, that his brother came out unexpectedly; and she said, “How did you break through? This breach be upon you!” Therefore his name was called aPerez.1 30 Afterward his brother came out who had the scarlet thread on his hand. And his name was called aZerah. Joseph a Slave in Egypt 39 Now Joseph had been taken adown to Egypt. And bPotiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, cbought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there. 2 aThe LORD was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. 3 And his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD amade all he did 1to prosper in his hand. 4 So Joseph afound favor in his sight, and served him. Then he made him boverseer of his house, and all that he had he put 1under his authority. 5 So it was, from the time that he had made him overseer of his house and all that he had, that athe LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the LORD was on all that he had in the house and in the field. 6 Thus he left all that he had in Joseph’s 1hand, and he did not know what he had except for the 2bread which he ate. Now Joseph awas handsome in form and appearance. 7 And it came to pass after these things that his master’s wife 1cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, a“Lie with me.” 8 But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand. 9 “There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife.

what he had except for the 2bread which he ate. Now Joseph awas handsome in form and appearance. 7 And it came to pass after these things that his master’s wife 1cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, a“Lie with me.” 8 But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand. 9 “There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. aHow then can I do this great wickedness, and bsin against God?” 10 So it was, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he adid not heed her, to lie with her or to be with her. 11 But it happened about this time, when Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house was inside, 12 that she acaught him by his gar- ment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside. 13 And so it was, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and fled outside, 14 that she called to the men of her house and spoke to them, saying, “See, he has brought in to us a aHe- brew to 1mock us. He came in to me 14 bGen. 38:11, 26 17 aJudg. 15:1; Ezek. 16:33 bGen. 38:20 18 aGen. 38:25; 41:42 19 aGen. 38:14 21 1in full view 24 aJudg. 19:2 bLev. 20:14; 21:9; Deut. 22:21 1preg- nant 25 aGen. 37:32; 38:18 26 aGen. 37:33 b1 Sam. 24:17 cGen. 38:14 dJob 34:31, 32 29 aGen. 46:12; Num. 26:20; Ruth 4:12; 1 Chr. 2:4; Matt. 1:3 1Lit. Breach or Breakthrough 30 aGen. 46:12; 1 Chr. 2:4; Matt. 1:3 CHAPTER 39 1 aGen. 12:10; 43:15 bGen. 37:36; Ps. 105:17 cGen. 37:28; 45:4 2 aGen. 26:24, 28; 28:15; 35:3; 39:3, 21, 23; 1 Sam. 16:18; 18:14, 28; Acts 7:9 3 aPs. 1:3 1to be a success 4 aGen. 18:3; 19:19; 39:21 bGen. 24:2, 10; 39:8, 22; 41:40 1Lit. in his hand 5 aGen. 18:26; 30:27; 2 Sam. 6:11 6 aGen. 29:17; 1 Sam. 16:12 1Care 2Food 7 a2 Sam. 13:11 1Lit. lifted up her eyes toward 9 aLev. 20:10; Prov. 6:29, 32 bGen. 20:6; 42:18; 2 Sam. 12:13; Ps. 51:4 10 aProv. 1:10 12 aProv. 7:13 14 aGen. 14:13; 41:12 1laugh at

GENESIS 39:15 36 to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. 15 “And it happened, when he heard that I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me, and fled and went outside.” 16 So she kept his garment with her until his master came home. 17 Then she aspoke to him with words like these, saying, “The Hebrew servant whom you brought to us came in to me to mock me; 18 “so it happened, as I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me and fled outside.” 19 So it was, when his master heard the words which his wife spoke to him, saying, “Your servant did to me after this manner,” that his aanger was aroused. 20 Then Joseph’s master took him and aput him into the bprison, a place where the king’s prisoners were con- fined. And he was there in the prison. 21 But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He agave1 him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. 22 And the keeper of the prison acommitted to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners who were in the prison; whatever they did there, it was his doing. 23 The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under 1Joseph’s authority, because athe LORD was with him; and whatever he did, the LORD made it prosper. The Prisoners’ Dreams 40 It came to pass after these things that the abutler and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their lord, the king of Egypt. 2 And Pharaoh was aangry with his two officers, the chief butler and the chief baker. 3 aSo he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison, the place where Joseph was confined. 4 And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them; so they were in custody for a while. 5 Then the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were con- fined in the prison, ahad a dream, both of them, each man’s dream in one night and each man’s dream with its own interpretation. 6 And Joseph came in to them in the morning and looked at them, and saw that they were 1sad. 7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in the custody of his lord’s house, saying, a“Why do you look so sad today?” 8 And they said to him, a“We each have had a dream, and there is no interpreter of it.” So Joseph said to them, b“Do not interpretations belong to God?

ined in the prison, ahad a dream, both of them, each man’s dream in one night and each man’s dream with its own interpretation. 6 And Joseph came in to them in the morning and looked at them, and saw that they were 1sad. 7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in the custody of his lord’s house, saying, a“Why do you look so sad today?” 8 And they said to him, a“We each have had a dream, and there is no interpreter of it.” So Joseph said to them, b“Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell them to me, please.” 9 Then the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, “Behold, in my dream a vine was before me, 10 “and in the vine were three branches; it was as though it bud- ded, its blossoms shot forth, and its clusters brought forth ripe grapes. 11 “Then Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.” 12 And Joseph said to him, a“This is the interpretation of it: The three branches bare three days. 13 “Now within three days Pha- raoh will alift up your head and restore you to your 1place, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand according to the former manner, when you were his butler. 14 “But aremember me when it is well with you, and bplease show kindness to me; make mention of me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house. 15 “For indeed I was astolen away from the land of the Hebrews; band also I have done nothing here that they should put me into the dun- geon.” 16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said to Joseph, “I also was in my dream, and there were three 1white baskets on my head. 17 “In the uppermost basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, and the birds ate them out of the basket on my head.” 18 So Joseph answered and said, a“This is the interpretation of it: The three baskets are three days. 19 a“Within three days Pharaoh will lift 1off your head from you and bhang you on a tree; and the birds will eat your flesh from you.” 20 Now it came to pass on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s abirthday, that he bmade a feast for all his ser- vants; and he clifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants. 21 Then he arestored the chief but- ler to his butlership again, and bhe placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand. 22 But he ahanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them. 23 Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but aforgot him. Pharaoh’s Dreams 41 Then it came to pass, at the end of two full years, that aPharaoh had a dream; and behold, he stood by the river. 2 Suddenly there came up out of the river seven cows, fine looking and fat; and they fed in the meadow. 3 Then behold, seven other cows 17 aEx. 23:1 19 aProv. 6:34, 35 20 aPs. 105:18 bGen. 40:3, 15; 41:14 21 aActs 7:9, 10 1Caused him to be viewed with favor by 22 aGen. 39:4; 40:3, 4 23 aGen. 39:2, 3 1Lit. his hand CHAPTER 40 1 aNeh. 1:11 2 aProv. 16:14 3 aGen. 39:1, 20, 23; 41:10 5 aGen. 37:5; 41:1 6 1dejected 7 aNeh. 2:2 8 aGen. 41:15 b[Dan. 2:11, 20–22, 27, 28, 47] 12 aDan. 2:36; 4:18, 19 bGen. 40:18; 42:17 13 a2 Kin. 25:27 1posi- tion 14 aLuke 23:42 bJosh. 2:12 15 aGen. 37:26–28 bGen. 39:20 16 1Or baskets of white bread 18 aGen. 40:12 19 aGen. 40:13 bDeut. 21:22 1Lit. up 20 aMatt. 14:6–10 bMark 6:21 cGen. 40:13, 19 21 aGen. 40:13 bNeh. 2:1 22 aGen. 40:19 23 aEccl. 9:15, 16 CHAPTER 41 1 aGen. 40:5

37 GENESIS 41:39 came up after them out of the river, ugly and gaunt, and stood by the other cows on the bank of the river. 4 And the ugly and gaunt cows ate up the seven fine looking and fat cows. So Pharaoh awoke. 5 He slept and dreamed a second time; and suddenly seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, plump and good. 6 Then behold, seven thin heads, blighted by the aeast wind, sprang up after them. 7 And the seven thin heads de- voured the seven plump and full heads. So Pharaoh awoke, and indeed, it was a dream. 8 Now it came to pass in the morn- ing athat his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all bthe magi- cians of Egypt and all its cwise men. And Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them for Pharaoh. 9 Then the achief butler spoke to Pharaoh, saying: “I remember my faults this day. 10 “When Pharaoh was aangry with his servants, band put me in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, both me and the chief baker, 11 a“we each had a dream in one night, he and I. Each of us dreamed according to the interpretation of his own dream. 12 “Now there was a young aHe- brew man with us there, a bservant of the captain of the guard. And we told him, and he cinterpreted our dreams for us; to each man he inter- preted according to his own dream. 13 “And it came to pass, just aas he interpreted for us, so it happened. He restored me to my office, and he hanged him.” 14 aThen Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they bbrought him quickly cout of the dungeon; and he shaved, dchanged his clothing, and came to Pharaoh. 15 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. aBut I have heard it said of you that you can understand a dream, to interpret it.” 16 So Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, a“It is not in me; bGod will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.” 17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph: “Behold, ain my dream I stood on the bank of the river. 18 “Suddenly seven cows came up out of the river, fine looking and fat; and they fed in the meadow. 19 “Then behold, seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ugly and gaunt, such ugliness as I have never seen in all the land of Egypt. 20 “And the gaunt and ugly cows ate up the first seven, the fat cows. 21 “When they had eaten them up, no one would have known that they had eaten them, for they were just as ugly as at the beginning. So I awoke. 22 “Also I saw in my dream, and suddenly seven 1heads came up on one stalk, full and good. 23 “Then behold, seven heads, withered, thin, and blighted by the east wind, sprang up after them. 24 “And the thin heads devoured the seven good heads. So aI told this to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me.” 25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one; aGod has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do: 26 “The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good 1heads are seven years; the dreams are one. 27 “And the seven thin and ugly cows which came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty heads blighted by the east wind are aseven years of famine. 28 a“This is the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh.

his to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me.” 25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one; aGod has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do: 26 “The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good 1heads are seven years; the dreams are one. 27 “And the seven thin and ugly cows which came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty heads blighted by the east wind are aseven years of famine. 28 a“This is the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do. 29 “Indeed aseven years of great plenty will come throughout all the land of Egypt; 30 “but after them seven years of famine will aarise, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine bwill deplete the land. 31 “So the plenty will not be known in the land because of the famine following, for it will be very severe. 32 “And the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice because the athing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass. 33 “Now therefore, let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt. 34 “Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint 1officers over the land, ato collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven plentiful years. 35 “And alet them gather all the food of those good years that are coming, and store up grain under the 1authority of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. 36 “Then that food shall be as a 1reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which shall be in the land of Egypt, that the land amay not 2perish during the famine.” Joseph’s Rise to Power 37 So athe advice was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants. 38 And Pharaoh said to his ser- vants, “Can we find such a one as this, a man ain whom is the Spirit of God?” 39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. 6 aEx. 10:13; Ezek. 17:10 8 aDan. 2:1, 3; 4:5, 19 bEx. 7:11, 22; Is. 29:14; Dan. 1:20; 2:2; 4:7 cMatt. 2:1 9 aGen. 40:1, 14, 23 10 aGen. 40:2, 3 bGen. 39:20 11 aGen. 40:5; Judg. 7:15 12 aGen. 39:14; 43:32 bGen. 37:36 cGen. 40:12 13 aGen. 40:21, 22 14 aPs. 105:20 bDan. 2:25 c[1 Sam. 2:8] d2 Kin. 25:27–29 15 aGen. 41:8, 12; Dan. 5:16 16 aDan. 2:30; Acts 3:12; [2 Cor. 3:5] bGen. 40:8; 41:25, 28, 32; Deut. 29:29; Dan. 2:22, 28, 47 17 aGen. 41:1 22 1Heads of grain 24 aGen. 41:8; Ex. 7:11; Is. 8:19; Dan. 4:7 25 aGen. 41:28, 32; Dan. 2:28, 29, 45; Rev. 4:1 26 1Heads of grain 27 a2 Kin. 8:1 28 a[Gen. 41:25, 32; Dan. 2:28] 29 aGen. 41:47 30 aGen. 41:54, 56 bGen. 47:13; Ps. 105:16 32 aGen. 41:25, 28; Num. 23:19; Is. 46:10, 11 34 a[Prov. 6:6–8] 1over- seers 35 aGen. 41:48 1Lit. hand 36 aGen. 47:15, 19 1Lit. supply 2be cut off 37 aPs. 105:19; Acts 7:10 38 aNum. 27:18; [Job 32:8; Prov. 2:6]; Dan. 4:8, 9, 18; 5:11, 14; 6:3

GENESIS 41:40 38 40 a“You shall be 1over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you.” 41 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have aset you over all the land of Egypt.” 42 Then Pharaoh atook his signet ring off his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand; and he bclothed him in garments of fine linen cand put a gold chain around his neck. 43 And he had him ride in the sec- ond achariot which he had; band they cried out before him, “Bow the knee!” So he set him cover all the land of Egypt. 44 Pharaoh also said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, and without your con- sent no man may lift his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.” 45 And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name 1Zaphnath-Paaneah. And he gave him as a wife aAsenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On. So Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt. 46 Joseph was thirty years old when he astood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt. 47 Now in the seven plentiful years the ground brought forth 1abun- dantly. 48 So he gathered up all the food of the seven years which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities; he laid up in every city the food of the fields which sur- rounded them. 49 Joseph gathered very much grain, aas the sand of the sea, until he stopped counting, for it was immeasurable. 50 aAnd to Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On, bore to him. 51 Joseph called the name of the firstborn 1Manasseh: “For God has made me forget all my toil and all my afather’s house.” 52 And the name of the second he called 1Ephraim: “For God has caused me to be afruitful in the land of my affliction.” 53 Then the seven years of plenty which were in the land of Egypt ended, 54 aand the seven years of famine began to come, bas Joseph had said. The famine was in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. 55 So when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Then Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph; awhatever he says to you, do.” 56 The famine was over all the face of the earth, and Joseph opened 1all the storehouses and asold to the Egyptians. And the famine became severe in the land of Egypt. 57 aSo all countries came to Joseph in Egypt to bbuy grain, because the famine was severe in all lands. Joseph’s Brothers Go to Egypt 42 When aJacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?” 2 And he said, “Indeed I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down to that place and buy for us there, that we may alive and not die.” 3 So Joseph’s ten brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. 4 But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, a“Lest some calamity befall him.” 5 And the sons of Israel went to buy grain among those who jour- neyed, for the famine was ain the land of Canaan. 6 Now Joseph was governor aover the land; and it was he who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bbowed down before him with their faces to the earth. 7 Joseph saw his brothers and rec- ognized them, but he acted as aa stranger to them and spoke 1roughly to them. Then he said to them, “Where do you come from?” And they said, “From the land of Canaan to buy food.” 8 So Joseph recognized his broth- ers, but they did not recognize him. 9 Then Joseph aremembered the dreams which he had dreamed about them, and said to them, “You are spies!

l the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bbowed down before him with their faces to the earth. 7 Joseph saw his brothers and rec- ognized them, but he acted as aa stranger to them and spoke 1roughly to them. Then he said to them, “Where do you come from?” And they said, “From the land of Canaan to buy food.” 8 So Joseph recognized his broth- ers, but they did not recognize him. 9 Then Joseph aremembered the dreams which he had dreamed about them, and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see the 1nakedness of the land!” 10 And they said to him, “No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food. 11 “We are all one man’s sons; we are honest men; your servants are not spies.” 12 But he said to them, “No, but you have come to see the nakedness of the land.” 13 And they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and in fact, the youngest is with our father today, and one ais no more.” 14 But Joseph said to them, “It is as I spoke to you, saying, ‘You are spies!’ 15 “In this manner you shall be tested: aBy the life of Pharaoh, you shall not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. 16 “Send one of you, and let him bring your brother; and you shall be 1kept in prison, that your words may be tested to see whether there is any 40 aPs. 105:21; Acts 7:10 1In charge of 41 aGen. 42:6; Ps. 105:21; Dan. 6:3; Acts 7:10 42 aEsth. 3:10 bEsth. 8:2, 15 cDan. 5:7, 16, 29 43 aGen. 46:29 bEsth. 6:9 cGen. 42:6 45 aGen. 46:20 1Probably Egyptian for God Speaks and He Lives 46 a1 Sam. 16:21; 1 Kin. 12:6, 8; Dan. 1:19 47 1Lit. by handfuls 49 aGen. 22:17; Judg. 7:12; 1 Sam. 13:5 50 aGen. 46:20; 48:5 51 aPs. 45:10 1Lit. Making Forgetful 52 aGen. 17:6; 28:3; 49:22 1Lit. Fruitful- ness 54 aPs. 105:16; Acts 7:11 bGen. 41:30 55 aJohn 2:5 56 aGen. 42:6 1Lit. all that was in them 57 aEzek. 29:12 bGen. 27:28, 37; 42:3 CHAPTER 42 1 aActs 7:12 2 aGen. 43:8; Ps. 33:18, 19; Is. 38:1 4 aGen. 42:38 5 aGen. 12:10; 26:1; 41:57; Acts 7:11 6 aGen. 41:41, 55 bGen. 37:7–10; 41:43; Is. 60:14 7 aGen. 45:1, 2 1harshly 9 aGen. 37:5–9 1Exposed parts 13 aGen. 37:30; 42:32; 44:20; Lam. 5:7 15 a1 Sam. 1:26; 17:55 16 1Lit. bound

39 GENESIS 43:9 truth in you; or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies!” 17 So he 1put them all together in prison athree days. 18 Then Joseph said to them the third day, “Do this and live, afor I fear God: 19 “If you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined to your prison house; but you, go and carry grain for the famine of your houses. 20 “And abring your youngest brother to me; so your words will be verified, and you shall not die.” And they did so. 21 Then they said to one another, a“We are truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear; btherefore this dis- tress has come upon us.” 22 And Reuben answered them, saying, a“Did I not speak to you, say- ing, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; and you would not listen? Therefore behold, his blood is now brequired of us.” 23 But they did not know that Joseph understood them, for he spoke to them through an interpreter. 24 And he turned himself away from them and awept. Then he returned to them again, and talked with them. And he took bSimeon from them and bound him before their eyes. The Brothers Return to Canaan 25 Then Joseph agave a command to fill their sacks with grain, to brestore every man’s money to his sack, and to give them provisions for the jour- ney. cThus he did for them. 26 So they loaded their donkeys with the grain and departed from there. 27 But as aone of them opened his sack to give his donkey feed at the encampment, he saw his money; and there it was, in the mouth of his sack. 28 So he said to his brothers, “My money has been restored, and there it is, in my sack!” Then their hearts 1failed them and they were afraid, saying to one another, “What is this that God has done to us?” 29 Then they went to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan and told him all that had happened to them, saying: 30 “The man who is lord of the land aspoke 1roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country. 31 “But we said to him, ‘We are hon- est men; we are not spies. 32 ‘We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no more, and the youngest is with our father this day in the land of Canaan.’ 33 “Then the man, the lord of the country, said to us, a‘By this I will know that you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me, take food for the famine of your households, and be gone. 34 ‘And bring your ayoungest brother to me; so I shall know that you are not spies, but that you are honest men. I will grant your brother to you, and you may btrade in the land.’ ” 35 Then it happened as they emp- tied their sacks, that surprisingly aeach man’s bundle of money was in his sack; and when they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid. 36 And Jacob their father said to them, “You have abereaved me: Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and you want to take bBenjamin. All these things are against me.” 37 Then Reuben spoke to his father, saying, “Kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you; put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you.” 38 But he said, “My son shall not go down with you, for ahis brother is dead, and he is left alone.

ack; and when they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid. 36 And Jacob their father said to them, “You have abereaved me: Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and you want to take bBenjamin. All these things are against me.” 37 Then Reuben spoke to his father, saying, “Kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you; put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you.” 38 But he said, “My son shall not go down with you, for ahis brother is dead, and he is left alone. bIf any calamity should befall him along the way in which you go, then you would cbring down my gray hair with sor- row to the grave.” Joseph’s Brothers Return with Benjamin 43 Now the famine was asevere in the land. 2 And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the grain which they had brought from Egypt, that their father said to them, “Go aback, buy us a little food.” 3 But Judah spoke to him, saying, “The man solemnly warned us, say- ing, ‘You shall not see my face unless your abrother is with you.’ 4 “If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food. 5 “But if you will not send him, we will not go down; for the man said to us, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ ” 6 And Israel said, “Why did you deal so 1wrongfully with me as to tell the man whether you had still another brother?” 7 But they said, “The man asked us pointedly about ourselves and our family, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ And we told him according to these words. Could we possibly have known that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?” 8 Then Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go, that we may alive and not die, both we and you and also our little ones. 9 “I myself will be surety for him; from my hand you shall require him. aIf I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever. 17 aGen. 40:4, 7, 12 1Lit. gathered 18 aGen. 22:12; 39:9; Ex. 1:17; Lev. 25:43; Neh. 5:15; Prov. 1:7; 9:10 20 aGen. 42:34; 43:5; 44:23 21 aGen. 37:26–28; 44:16; 45:3; Job 36:8, 9; Hos. 5:15 bProv. 21:13; Matt. 7:2 22 aGen. 37:21, 22, 29 bGen. 9:5, 6; 1 Kin. 2:32; 2 Chr. 24:22; Ps. 9:12; Luke 11:50, 51 24 aGen. 43:30; 45:14, 15 bGen. 34:25, 30; 43:14, 23 25 aGen. 44:1 bGen. 43:12 c[Matt. 5:44; Rom. 12:17, 20, 21; 1 Pet. 3:9] 27 aGen. 43:21, 22 28 1sank 30 aGen. 42:7 1harshly 33 aGen. 42:15, 19, 20 34 aGen. 42:20; 43:3, 5 bGen. 34:10 35 aGen. 43:12, 15, 21 36 aGen. 43:14 bGen. 35:18; [Rom. 8:28, 31] 38 aGen. 37:22; 42:13; 44:20, 28 bGen. 42:4; 44:29 cGen. 37:35; 44:31 CHAPTER 43 1 aGen. 41:54, 57; 42:5; 45:6, 11 2 aGen. 42:2; 44:25 3 aGen. 42:20; 43:5; 44:23 6 1Lit. wickedly 8 aGen. 42:2; 47:19 9 aGen. 42:37; 44:32; Philem. 18, 19

GENESIS 43:10 40 10 “For if we had not lingered, surely by now we would have returned this second time.” 11 And their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Take some of the best fruits of the land in your vessels and acarry down a present for the man—a little bbalm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds. 12 “Take double money in your hand, and take back in your hand the money athat was returned in the mouth of your sacks; perhaps it was an oversight. 13 “Take your brother also, and arise, go back to the man. 14 “And may God aAlmighty bgive you mercy before the man, that he may release your other brother and Benjamin. cIf I am bereaved, I am bereaved!” 15 So the men took that present and Benjamin, and they took double money in their hand, and arose and went adown to Egypt; and they stood before Joseph. 16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the asteward of his house, “Take these men to my home, and slaughter 1an animal and make ready; for these men will dine with me at noon.” 17 Then the man did as Joseph ordered, and the man brought the men into Joseph’s house. 18 Now the men were aafraid because they were brought into Joseph’s house; and they said, “It is because of the money, which was returned in our sacks the first time, that we are brought in, so that he may 1make a case against us and seize us, to take us as slaves with our donkeys.” 19 When they drew near to the steward of Joseph’s house, they talked with him at the door of the house, 20 and said, “O sir, awe indeed came down the first time to buy food; 21 “but ait happened, when we came to the encampment, that we opened our sacks, and there, each man’s money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight; so we have brought it back in our hand. 22 “And we have brought down other money in our hands to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our sacks.” 23 But he said, “Peace be with you, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks; I had your money.” Then he brought aSimeon out to them. 24 So the man brought the men into Joseph’s house and agave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their donkeys feed. 25 Then they made the present ready for Joseph’s coming at noon, for they heard that they would eat bread there. 26 And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and abowed down before him to the earth. 27 Then he asked them about their well-being, and said, “Is your father well, the old man aof whom you spoke? Is he still alive?” 28 And they answered, “Your ser- vant our father is in good health; he is still alive.” aAnd they bowed their heads down and prostrated them- selves. 29 Then he lifted his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, ahis mother’s son, and said, “Is this your younger brother bof whom you spoke to me?” And he said, “God be gracious to you, my son.” 30 Now ahis heart yearned for his brother; so Joseph made haste and sought somewhere to weep. And he went into his chamber and bwept there. 31 Then he washed his face and came out; and he restrained himself, and said, “Serve the abread.” 32 So they set him a place by him- self, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves; because the Egyptians could not eat food with the aHe- brews, for that is ban abomination to the Egyptians. 33 And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his abirth- right and the youngest according to his youth; and the men looked in astonishment at one another. 34 Then he took servings to them from before him, but Benjamin’s serving was afive times as much as any of theirs.

So they set him a place by him- self, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves; because the Egyptians could not eat food with the aHe- brews, for that is ban abomination to the Egyptians. 33 And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his abirth- right and the youngest according to his youth; and the men looked in astonishment at one another. 34 Then he took servings to them from before him, but Benjamin’s serving was afive times as much as any of theirs. So they drank and were merry with him. Joseph’s Cup 44 And he commanded 1the asteward of his house, saying, b“Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man’s money in the mouth of his sack. 2 “Also put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, and his grain money.” So he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken. 3 As soon as the morning dawned, the men were sent away, they and their donkeys. 4 When they had gone out of the city, and were not yet far off, Joseph said to his steward, “Get up, follow the men; and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you arepaid evil for good? 5 ‘Is not this the one from which my lord drinks, and with which he indeed practices divination? You have done evil in so doing.’ ” 11 aGen. 32:20; 33:10; 43:25, 26; [Prov. 18:16] bGen. 37:25; Jer. 8:22; Ezek. 27:17 12 aGen. 42:25, 35; 43:21, 22 14 aGen. 17:1; 28:3; 35:11; 48:3 bGen. 39:21; Ps. 106:46 cGen. 42:36; Esth. 4:16 15 aGen. 39:1; 46:3, 6 16 aGen. 24:2; 39:4; 44:1 1Lit. a slaughter 18 aGen. 42:28 1Lit. roll him- self upon us 20 aGen. 42:3, 10 21 aGen. 42:27, 35 23 aGen. 42:24 24 aGen. 18:4; 19:2; 24:32 26 aGen. 37:7, 10; 42:6; 44:14 27 aGen. 29:6; 42:11, 13; 43:7; 45:3; 2 Kin. 4:26 28 aGen. 37:7, 10 29 aGen. 35:17, 18 bGen. 42:13 30 a1 Kin. 3:26 bGen. 42:24; 45:2, 14, 15; 46:29 31 aGen. 43:25 32 aGen. 41:12; Ex. 1:15 bGen. 46:34; Ex. 8:26 33 aGen. 27:36; 42:7; Deut. 21:16, 17 34 aGen. 35:24; 45:22 CHAPTER 44 1 aGen. 43:16 bGen. 42:25 1Lit. the one over 4 a1 Sam. 25:21

41 GENESIS 45:6 6 So he overtook them, and he spoke to them these same words. 7 And they said to him, “Why does my lord say these words? Far be it from us that your servants should do such a thing. 8 “Look, we brought back to you from the land of Canaan athe money which we found in the mouth of our sacks. How then could we steal sil- ver or gold from your lord’s house? 9 “With whomever of your ser- vants it is found, alet him die, and we also will be my lord’s slaves.” 10 And he said, “Now also let it be according to your words; he with whom it is found shall be my slave, and you shall be blameless.” 11 Then each man speedily let down his sack to the ground, and each opened his sack. 12 So he searched. He began with the oldest and 1left off with the youngest; and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. 13 Then they atore their clothes, and each man loaded his donkey and returned to the city. 14 So Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, and he was still there; and they afell before him on the ground. 15 And Joseph said to them, “What deed is this you have done? Did you not know that such a man as I can certainly practice divination?” 16 Then Judah said, “What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? Or how shall we clear our- selves? God has afound out the iniq- uity of your servants; here bwe are, my lord’s slaves, both we and he also with whom the cup was found.” 17 But he said, a“Far be it from me that I should do so; the man in whose hand the cup was found, he shall be my slave. And as for you, go up in peace to your father.” Judah Intercedes for Benjamin 18 Then Judah came near to him and said: “O my lord, please let your servant speak a word in my lord’s hearing, and ado not let your anger burn against your servant; for you are even like Pharaoh. 19 “My lord asked his servants, say- ing, ‘Have you a father or a brother?’ 20 “And we said to my lord, ‘We have a father, an old man, and aa child of his old age, who is young; his brother is bdead, and he calone is left of his mother’s children, and his dfather loves him.’ 21 “Then you said to your servants, a‘Bring him down to me, that I may set my eyes on him.’ 22 “And we said to my lord, ‘The lad cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die.’ 23 “But you said to your servants, a‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you shall see my face no more.’ 24 “So it was, when we went up to your servant my father, that we told him the words of my lord. 25 “And aour father said, ‘Go back and buy us a little food.’ 26 “But we said, ‘We cannot go down; if our youngest brother is with us, then we will go down; for we may not see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’ 27 “Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that amy wife bore me two sons; 28 ‘and the one went out from me, and I said, a“Surely he is torn to pieces”; and I have not seen him since. 29 ‘But if you atake this one also from me, and calamity befalls him, you shall bring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave.’ 30 “Now therefore, when I come to your servant my father, and the lad is not with us, since ahis life is bound up in the lad’s life, 31 “it will happen, when he sees that the lad is not with us, that he will die.

o us, ‘You know that amy wife bore me two sons; 28 ‘and the one went out from me, and I said, a“Surely he is torn to pieces”; and I have not seen him since. 29 ‘But if you atake this one also from me, and calamity befalls him, you shall bring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave.’ 30 “Now therefore, when I come to your servant my father, and the lad is not with us, since ahis life is bound up in the lad’s life, 31 “it will happen, when he sees that the lad is not with us, that he will die. So your servants will bring down the gray hair of your servant our father with sorrow to the grave. 32 “For your servant became surety for the lad to my father, saying, a‘If I do not bring him back to you, then I shall bear the blame before my fa- ther forever.’ 33 “Now therefore, please alet your servant remain instead of the lad as a slave to my lord, and let the lad go up with his brothers. 34 “For how shall I go up to my father if the lad is not with me, lest perhaps I see the evil that would 1come upon my father?” Joseph Revealed to His Brothers 45 Then Joseph could not restrain himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, “Make everyone go out from me!” So no one stood with him awhile Joseph made himself known to his brothers. 2 And he awept aloud, and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard it. 3 Then Joseph said to his broth- ers, a“I am Joseph; does my father still live?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in his presence. 4 And Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near to me.” So they came near. Then he said: “I am Joseph your brother, awhom you sold into Egypt. 5 “But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; afor God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 “For these two years the afamine has been in the land, and there are 8 aGen. 43:21 9 aGen. 31:32 12 1finished with 13 aGen. 37:29, 34; Num. 14:6; 2 Sam. 1:11 14 aGen. 37:7, 10 16 a[Num. 32:23] bGen. 44:9 17 aProv. 17:15 18 aGen. 18:30, 32; Ex. 32:22 20 aGen. 37:3; 43:8; 44:30 bGen. 42:38 cGen. 46:19 dGen. 42:4 21 aGen. 42:15, 20 23 aGen. 43:3, 5 25 aGen. 43:2 27 aGen. 30:22–24; 35:16–18; 46:19 28 aGen. 37:31–35 29 aGen. 42:36, 38; 44:31 30 a[1 Sam. 18:1; 25:29] 32 aGen. 43:9 33 aEx. 32:32 34 1Lit. find CHAPTER 45 1 aActs 7:13 2 aGen. 43:30; 46:29 3 aGen. 43:27; Acts 7:13 4 aGen. 37:28; 39:1; Ps. 105:17 5 aGen. 45:7, 8; 50:20; Ps. 105:16, 17 6 aGen. 43:1; 47:4, 13

GENESIS 45:7 42 still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. 7 “And God asent me before you to preserve a 1posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. 8 “So now it was not you who sent me here, but aGod; and He has made me ba father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a cruler throughout all the land of Egypt. 9 “Hurry and go up to my father, and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph: “God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not 1tarry. 10 a“You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near to me, you and your children, your children’s children, your flocks and your herds, and all that you have. 11 “There I will aprovide for you, lest you and your household, and all that you have, come to poverty; for there are still five years of famine.” ’ 12 “And behold, your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is amy mouth that speaks to you. 13 “So you shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that you have seen; and you shall hurry and abring my father down here.” 14 Then he fell on his brother Ben- jamin’s neck and wept, and Ben- jamin wept on his neck. 15 Moreover he akissed all his brothers and wept over them, and after that his brothers talked with him. 16 Now the report of it was heard in Pharaoh’s house, saying, “Joseph’s brothers have come.” So it pleased Pharaoh and his servants well. 17 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: Load your animals and depart; go to the land of Canaan. 18 ‘Bring your father and your households and come to me; I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you will eat athe 1fat of the land. 19 ‘Now you are commanded—do this: Take carts out of the land of Egypt for your little ones and your wives; bring your father and come. 20 ‘Also do not be concerned about your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’ ” 21 Then the sons of Israel did so; and Joseph gave them acarts,1 according to the command of Pharaoh, and he gave them provi- sions for the journey. 22 He gave to all of them, to each man, achanges of garments; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and bfive changes of garments. 23 And he sent to his father these things: ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and food for his father for the jour- ney. 24 So he sent his brothers away, and they departed; and he said to them, “See that you do not become troubled along the way.” 25 Then they went up out of Egypt, and came to the land of Canaan to Jacob their father. 26 And they told him, saying, “Joseph is still alive, and he is gov- ernor over all the land of Egypt.” aAnd Jacob’s heart stood still, be- cause he did not believe them. 27 But when they told him all the words which Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the carts which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit aof Jacob their father revived. 28 Then Israel said, “It is enough. Joseph my son is still alive.

5 Then they went up out of Egypt, and came to the land of Canaan to Jacob their father. 26 And they told him, saying, “Joseph is still alive, and he is gov- ernor over all the land of Egypt.” aAnd Jacob’s heart stood still, be- cause he did not believe them. 27 But when they told him all the words which Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the carts which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit aof Jacob their father revived. 28 Then Israel said, “It is enough. Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.” Jacob’s Journey to Egypt 46 So Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to aBeersheba, and offered sacrifices bto the God of his father Isaac. 2 Then God spoke to Israel ain the visions of the night, and said, “Jacob, Jacob!” And he said, “Here I am.” 3 So He said, “I am God, athe God of your father; do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will bmake of you a great nation there. 4 a“I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bbring you up again; and cJoseph 1will put his hand on your eyes.” 5 Then aJacob arose from Beer- sheba; and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob, their little ones, and their wives, in the 1carts bwhich Pharaoh had sent to carry him. 6 So they took their livestock and their goods, which they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and went to Egypt, aJacob and all his descendants with him. 7 His sons and his sons’ sons, his daughters and his sons’ daughters, and all his descendants he brought with him to Egypt. 8 Now athese were the names of the children of Israel, Jacob and his sons, who went to Egypt: bReuben was Jacob’s firstborn. 9 The asons of Reuben were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. 10 aThe sons of Simeon were 1Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, 2Jachin, 3Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman. 11 The sons of aLevi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 12 The sons of aJudah were bEr, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (but Er and Onan died in the land of 7 aGen. 45:5; 50:20 1remnant 8 a[Rom. 8:28] bIs. 22:21 cGen. 41:43; 42:6 9 1delay 10 aGen. 46:28, 34; 47:1, 6 11 aGen. 47:12 12 aGen. 42:23 13 aActs 7:14 15 aGen. 48:10 18 aGen. 27:28; 47:6 1The choicest produce 21 aGen. 45:19; 46:5 1wagons 22 a2 Kin. 5:5 bGen. 43:34 26 aJob 29:24 27 aJudg. 15:19 CHAPTER 46 1 aGen. 21:31, 33; 26:32, 33; 28:10 bGen. 26:24, 25; 28:13; 31:42; 32:9 2 aGen. 15:1; 22:11; 31:11 3 aGen. 17:1; 28:13 bDeut. 26:5 4 aGen. 28:15; 31:3; 48:21 bGen. 15:16; 50:12, 24, 25 cGen. 50:1 1Will close your eyes when you die 5 aActs 7:15 bGen. 45:19–21 1wagons 6 aDeut. 26:5 8 aEx. 1:1–4 bNum. 26:4, 5 9 aEx. 6:14 10 aEx. 6:15 1Nemuel, 1 Chr. 4:24 2Jarib, 1 Chr. 4:24 3Zerah, 1 Chr. 4:24 11 a1 Chr. 6:1, 16 12 a1 Chr. 2:3; 4:21 bGen. 38:3, 7, 10

43 GENESIS 47:12 Canaan). cThe sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. 13 The sons of Issachar were Tola, 1Puvah, 2Job, and Shimron. 14 The asons of Zebulun were Sered, Elon, and Jahleel. 15 These were the asons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Padan Aram, with his daughter Dinah. All the persons, his sons and his daugh- ters, were thirty-three. 16 The sons of Gad were 1Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, 2Ezbon, Eri, 3Arodi, and Areli. 17 aThe sons of Asher were Jim- nah, Ishuah, Isui, Beriah, and Serah, their sister. And the sons of Beriah were Heber and Malchiel. 18 aThese were the sons of Zilpah, bwhom Laban gave to Leah his daughter; and these she bore to Jacob: sixteen persons. 19 The asons of Rachel, bJacob’s wife, were Joseph and Benjamin. 20 aAnd to Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, the daugh- ter of Poti-Pherah priest of On, bore to him. 21 aThe sons of Benjamin were Belah, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naa- man, bEhi, Rosh, cMuppim, 1Hup- pim, and Ard. 22 These were the sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob: fourteen persons in all. 23 The son of Dan was 1Hushim. 24 aThe sons of Naphtali were 1Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and 2Shillem. 25 aThese were the sons of Bilhah, bwhom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter, and she bore these to Jacob: seven persons in all. 26 aAll the persons who went with Jacob to Egypt, who came from his body, bbesides Jacob’s sons’ wives, were sixty-six persons in all. 27 And the sons of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt were two persons. aAll the persons of the house of Jacob who went to Egypt were seventy. Jacob Settles in Goshen 28 Then he sent Judah before him to Joseph, ato point out before him the way to Goshen. And they came bto the land of Goshen. 29 So Joseph made ready his achar- iot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel; and he presented himself to him, and bfell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while. 30 And Israel said to Joseph, a“Now let me die, since I have seen your face, because you are still alive.” 31 Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, a“I will go up and tell Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘My brothers and those of my father’s house, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me. 32 ‘And the men are ashepherds, for their occupation has been to feed livestock; and they have brought their flocks, their herds, and all that they have.’ 33 “So it shall be, when Pharaoh calls you and says, a‘What is your occupation?’ 34 “that you shall say, ‘Your ser- vants’ aoccupation has been with livestock bfrom our youth even till now, both we and also our fathers,’ that you may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is can1 abomination to the Egyptians.” 47 Then Joseph awent and told Pharaoh, and said, “My father and my brothers, their flocks and their herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan; and indeed they are in bthe land of Goshen.” 2 And he took five men from among his brothers and apresented them to Pharaoh. 3 Then Pharaoh said to his broth- ers, a“What is your occupation?” And they said to Pharaoh, b“Your servants are shepherds, both we and also our fathers.” 4 And they said to Pharaoh, a“We have come to dwell in the land, because your servants have no pas- ture for their flocks, bfor the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now therefore, please let your servants cdwell in the land of Goshen.” 5 Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, “Your father and your broth- ers have come to you. 6 a“The land of Egypt is before you.

s broth- ers, a“What is your occupation?” And they said to Pharaoh, b“Your servants are shepherds, both we and also our fathers.” 4 And they said to Pharaoh, a“We have come to dwell in the land, because your servants have no pas- ture for their flocks, bfor the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now therefore, please let your servants cdwell in the land of Goshen.” 5 Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, “Your father and your broth- ers have come to you. 6 a“The land of Egypt is before you. Have your father and brothers dwell in the best of the land; let them dwell bin the land of Goshen. And if you know any competent men among them, then make them chief herdsmen over my livestock.” 7 Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and set him before Pharaoh; and Jacob ablessed Pha- raoh. 8 Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How old are you?” 9 And Jacob said to Pharaoh, a“The days of the years of my 1pil- grimage are bone hundred and thirty years; cfew and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and dthey have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.” 10 So Jacob ablessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh. 11 And Joseph situated his father and his brothers, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of aRameses, bas Pharaoh had com- manded. 12 Then Joseph provided ahis father, his brothers, and all his father’s 12 cGen. 38:29 13 1Puah, Num. 26:23; 1 Chr. 7:1 2Jashub, Num. 26:24; 1 Chr. 7:1 14 aNum. 26:26 15 aGen. 35:23; 49:31 16 1Sam., LXX Zephon and Num. 26:15 2Ozni, Num. 26:16 3Arod, Num. 26:17 17 a1 Chr. 7:30 18 aGen. 30:10; 37:2 bGen. 29:24 19 aGen. 35:24 bGen. 44:27 20 aGen. 41:45, 50–52; 48:1 21 a1 Chr. 7:6; 8:1 bNum. 26:38 cNum. 26:39 1Hupham, Num. 26:39 23 1Shuham, Num. 26:42 24 aNum. 26:48 1Jahziel, 1 Chr. 7:13 2Shallum, 1 Chr. 7:13 25 aGen. 30:5, 7 bGen. 29:29 26 aEx. 1:5 bGen. 35:11 27 aDeut. 10:22 28 aGen. 31:21 bGen. 47:1 29 aGen. 41:43 bGen. 45:14, 15 30 aLuke 2:29, 30 31 aGen. 47:1 32 aGen. 47:3 33 aGen. 47:2, 3 34 aGen. 47:3 bGen. 30:35; 34:5; 37:17 cGen. 43:32 1loathsome CHAPTER 47 1 aGen. 46:31 bGen. 45:10; 46:28; 50:8 2 aActs 7:13 3 aGen. 46:33 bGen. 46:32, 34 4 aDeut. 26:5 bGen. 43:1 cGen. 46:34 6 aGen. 20:15; 45:10, 18; 47:11 bGen. 47:4 7 aGen. 47:10; 48:15, 20 9 a[Heb. 11:9, 13] bGen. 47:28 c[Job 14:1] dGen. 5:5; 11:10, 11; 25:7, 8; 35:28 1Lit. sojourn- ing 10 aGen. 47:7 11 aEx. 1:11; 12:37 bGen. 47:6, 27 12 aGen. 45:11; 50:21

GENESIS 47:13 44 household with bread, according to the number in their families. Joseph Deals with the Famine 13 Now there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very severe, aso that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine. 14 aAnd Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, for the grain which they bought; and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house. 15 So when the money failed in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us bread, for awhy should we die in your pres- ence? For the money has failed.” 16 Then Joseph said, “Give your livestock, and I will give you bread for your livestock, if the money is gone.” 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the cattle of the herds, and for the donkeys. Thus he 1fed them with bread in exchange for all their livestock that year. 18 When that year had ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord that our money is gone; my lord also has our herds of livestock. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our lands. 19 “Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants of Pharaoh; give us seed, that we may alive and not die, that the land may not be desolate.” 20 Then Joseph abought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for every man of the Egyptians sold his field, because the famine was severe upon them. So the land became Pha- raoh’s. 21 And as for the people, he 1moved them into the cities, from one end of the borders of Egypt to the other end. 22 aOnly the land of the bpriests he did not buy; for the priests had ra- tions allotted to them by Pharaoh, and they ate their rations which Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their lands. 23 Then Joseph said to the people, “Indeed I have bought you and your land this day for Pharaoh. Look, here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land. 24 “And it shall come to pass in the harvest that you shall give one-fifth to Pharaoh. Four-fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and for your food, for those of your households and as food for your little ones.” 25 So they said, “You have saved aour lives; let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.” 26 And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt to this day, that Pharaoh should have one-fifth, aex- cept for the land of the priests only, which did not become Pharaoh’s. Joseph’s Vow to Jacob 27 So Israel adwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions there and bgrew and multiplied exceedingly. 28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the length of Jacob’s life was one hun- dred and forty-seven years. 29 When the time adrew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “Now if I have found favor in your sight, please bput your hand under my thigh, and cdeal kindly and truly with me. dPlease do not bury me in Egypt, 30 “but alet me lie with my fathers; you shall carry me out of Egypt and bbury me in their burial place.” And he said, “I will do as you have said.” 31 Then he said, “Swear to me.” And he swore to him.

of Jacob’s life was one hun- dred and forty-seven years. 29 When the time adrew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “Now if I have found favor in your sight, please bput your hand under my thigh, and cdeal kindly and truly with me. dPlease do not bury me in Egypt, 30 “but alet me lie with my fathers; you shall carry me out of Egypt and bbury me in their burial place.” And he said, “I will do as you have said.” 31 Then he said, “Swear to me.” And he swore to him. So aIsrael bowed himself on the head of the bed. Jacob Blesses Joseph’s Sons 48 Now it came to pass after these things that Joseph was told, “Indeed your father is sick”; and he took with him his two sons, aManasseh and Ephraim. 2 And Jacob was told, “Look, your son Joseph is coming to you”; and Israel 1strengthened himself and sat up on the bed. 3 Then Jacob said to Joseph: “God aAlmighty appeared to me at bLuz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, 4 “and said to me, ‘Behold, I will amake you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a multitude of people, and bgive this land to your descendants after you cas an ever- lasting possession.’ 5 “And now your atwo sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. 6 “Your 1offspring 2whom you beget after them shall be yours; they will be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance. 7 “But as for me, when I came from Padan, aRachel died beside me in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath; and I buried her 13 aGen. 41:30; Acts 7:11 14 aGen. 41:56; 42:6 15 aGen. 47:19 17 1supplied 19 aGen. 43:8 20 aJer. 32:43 21 1So with MT, Tg.; Sam., LXX, Vg. made the people virtual slaves 22 aLev. 25:34; Ezra 7:24 bGen. 41:45 25 aGen. 33:15 26 aGen. 47:22 27 aGen. 47:11 bGen. 17:6; 26:4; 35:11; 46:3; Ex. 1:7; Deut. 26:5; Acts 7:17 29 aDeut. 31:14; 1 Kin. 2:1 bGen. 24:2–4 cGen. 24:49; Josh. 2:14 dGen. 50:25 30 a2 Sam. 19:37 bGen. 49:29; 50:5–13; Heb. 11:21 31 aGen. 48:2; 1 Kin. 1:47; Heb. 11:21 CHAPTER 48 1 aGen. 41:51, 56; 46:20; 50:23; Josh. 14:4 2 1Collected his strength 3 aGen. 43:14; 49:25 bGen. 28:13, 19; 35:6, 9 4 aGen. 46:3 bGen. 35:12; Ex. 6:8 cGen. 17:8 5 aGen. 41:50; 46:20; 48:8; Josh. 13:7; 14:4 6 1children 2Who are born to you 7 aGen. 35:9, 16, 19, 20

45 GENESIS 49:11 there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).” 8 Then Israel saw Joseph’s sons, and said, “Who are these?” 9 And Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me in this place.” And he said, “Please bring them to me, and aI will bless them.” 10 Now athe eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. Then Joseph brought them near him, and he bkissed them and embraced them. 11 And Israel said to Joseph, a“I had not thought to see your face; but in fact, God has also shown me your offspring!” 12 So Joseph brought them from beside his knees, and he bowed down with his face to the earth. 13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near him. 14 Then Israel stretched out his right hand and alaid it on Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, bguiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was the cfirstborn. 15 And ahe blessed Joseph, and said: “God, bbefore whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, The God who has fed me all my life long to this day, 16 The Angel awho has redeemed me from all evil, Bless the lads; Let bmy name be named upon them, And the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; And let them cgrow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.” 17 Now when Joseph saw that his father alaid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him; so he took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.” 19 But his father refused and said, a“I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly bhis younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.” 20 So he blessed them that day, say- ing, a“By you Israel will bless, say- ing, ‘May God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh!’ ” And thus he set Ephraim before Manasseh. 21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am dying, but aGod will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers. 22 “Moreover aI have given to you one 1portion above your brothers, which I took from the hand bof the Amorite with my sword and my bow.” Jacob’s Last Words to His Sons 49 And Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather together, that I may atell you what shall befall you bin the last days: 2 “Gather together and hear, you sons of Jacob, And listen to Israel your father. 3 “Reuben, you are amy firstborn, My might and the beginning of my strength, The excellency of dignity and the excellency of power. 4 Unstable as water, you shall not excel, Because you awent up to your father’s bed; Then you defiled it— He went up to my couch. 5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers; Instruments of 1cruelty are in their dwelling place. 6 aLet not my soul enter their council; Let not my honor be united bto their assembly; cFor in their anger they slew a man, And in their self-will they 1hamstrung an ox. 7 Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; And their wrath, for it is cruel! aI will divide them in Jacob And scatter them in Israel. 8 “Judah,a you are he whom your brothers shall praise; bYour hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; cYour father’s children shall bow down before you. 9 Judah is aa lion’s whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. bHe 1bows down, he lies down as a lion; And as a lion, who shall rouse him? 10 aThe 1scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor ba lawgiver from between his feet, cUntil Shiloh comes; dAnd to Him shall be the obedience of the people. 11 Binding his donkey to the vine, And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, 9 aGen. 27:4; 47:15 10 aGen. 27:1 bGen. 27:27; 45:15; 50:1 11 aGen. 45:26 14 aMatt. 19:15 bGen. 48:19 cJosh. 17:1 15 a[Heb. 11:21] bGen. 17:1; 24:40 16 aGen. 22:11, 15–18; 28:13–15; 31:11 bAmos 9:12 cNum. 26:34, 37 17 aGen.

a lion; And as a lion, who shall rouse him? 10 aThe 1scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor ba lawgiver from between his feet, cUntil Shiloh comes; dAnd to Him shall be the obedience of the people. 11 Binding his donkey to the vine, And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, 9 aGen. 27:4; 47:15 10 aGen. 27:1 bGen. 27:27; 45:15; 50:1 11 aGen. 45:26 14 aMatt. 19:15 bGen. 48:19 cJosh. 17:1 15 a[Heb. 11:21] bGen. 17:1; 24:40 16 aGen. 22:11, 15–18; 28:13–15; 31:11 bAmos 9:12 cNum. 26:34, 37 17 aGen. 48:14 19 aGen. 48:14 bNum. 1:33, 35 20 aRuth 4:11, 12 21 aGen. 28:15; 46:4; 50:24 22 aJosh. 24:32 bGen. 34:28 1Lit. shoulder CHAPTER 49 1 aDeut. 33:1, 6–25 bIs. 2:2; 39:6 3 aGen. 29:32 4 aGen. 35:22 5 1violence 6 aProv. 1:15, 16 bPs. 26:9 cGen. 34:26 1lamed 7 aJosh. 19:1, 9; 21:1–42 8 aDeut. 33:7 bPs. 18:40 c1 Chr. 5:2 9 a[Rev. 5:5] bNum. 23:24; 24:9 1couches 10 aNum. 24:17; bPs. 60:7 cIs. 11:1 dPs. 2:6–9; 72:8–11 1A symbol of kingship

GENESIS 49:12 46 He washed his garments in wine, And his clothes in the blood of grapes. 12 His eyes are darker than wine, And his teeth whiter than milk. 13 “Zebuluna shall dwell by the haven of the sea; He shall become a haven for ships, And his border shall badjoin Sidon. 14 “Issachara is a strong donkey, Lying down between two burdens; 15 He saw that rest was good, And that the land was pleasant; He bowed ahis shoulder to bear a burden, And became a band of slaves. 16 “Dana shall judge his people As one of the tribes of Israel. 17 aDan shall be a serpent by the way, A viper by the path, That bites the horse’s heels So that its rider shall fall backward. 18 aI have waited for your salvation, O LORD! 19 “Gad,a1 a troop shall 2tramp upon him, But he shall 2triumph at last. 20 “Bread from aAsher shall be rich, And he shall yield royal dainties. 21 “Naphtalia is a deer let loose; He uses beautiful words. 22 “Joseph is a fruitful bough, A fruitful bough by a well; His branches run over the wall. 23 The archers have abitterly grieved him, Shot at him and hated him. 24 But his abow remained in strength, And the arms of his hands were 1made strong By the hands of bthe Mighty God of Jacob c(From there dis the Shepherd, ethe Stone of Israel), 25 aBy the God of your father who will help you, bAnd by the Almighty cwho will bless you With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that lies beneath, Blessings of the breasts and of the womb. 26 The blessings of your father Have excelled the blessings of my ancestors, aUp to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills. bThey shall be on the head of Joseph, And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers. 27 “Benjamin is a aravenous wolf; In the morning he shall devour the prey, bAnd at night he shall divide the spoil.” 28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father spoke to them. And he blessed them; he blessed each one accord- ing to his own blessing. Jacob’s Death and Burial 29 Then he charged them and said to them: “I aam to be gathered to my people; bbury me with my fathers cin the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30 “in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre in the land of Canaan, awhich Abra- ham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite as a possession for a burial place. 31 a“There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, bthere they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah. 32 “The field and the cave that is there were purchased from the sons of Heth.” 33 And when Jacob had finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people. 50 Then Joseph afell on his fa- ther’s face, and bwept over him, and kissed him. 2 And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to aembalm his father. So the physicians em- balmed Israel. 3 Forty days were required for him, for such are the days required for those who are embalmed; and the Egyptians amourned1 for him seventy days. 4 Now when the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spoke to athe household of Pharaoh, say- ing, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, please speak in the hear- ing of Pharaoh, saying, 5 a‘My father made me swear, say- ing, “Behold, I am dying; in my grave bwhich I dug for myself in the land of Canaan, there you shall bury me.” Now therefore, please let me go up and bury my father, and I will come back.’ ” 6 And Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear.” 7 So Joseph went up to bury his father; and with him went up all the 13 aDeut. 33:18, 19 bGen. 10:19 14 a1 Chr. 12:32 15 a1 Sam. 10:9 16 aDeut. 33:22 17 aJudg. 18:27 18 aIs. 25:9 19 aDeut. 33:20 1Lit. Troop 2Lit. raid 20 aDeut. 33:24 21 aDeut. 33:23 23 aGen. 37:4, 24 24 aJob 29:20 bPs. 132:2, 5 cGen. 45:11; 47:12 d[Ps. 23:1; 80:1] eIs. 28:16 1Or supple 25 aGen. 28:13; 32:9; 35:3; 43:23; 50:17 bGen.

, and I will come back.’ ” 6 And Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear.” 7 So Joseph went up to bury his father; and with him went up all the 13 aDeut. 33:18, 19 bGen. 10:19 14 a1 Chr. 12:32 15 a1 Sam. 10:9 16 aDeut. 33:22 17 aJudg. 18:27 18 aIs. 25:9 19 aDeut. 33:20 1Lit. Troop 2Lit. raid 20 aDeut. 33:24 21 aDeut. 33:23 23 aGen. 37:4, 24 24 aJob 29:20 bPs. 132:2, 5 cGen. 45:11; 47:12 d[Ps. 23:1; 80:1] eIs. 28:16 1Or supple 25 aGen. 28:13; 32:9; 35:3; 43:23; 50:17 bGen. 17:1; 35:11 cDeut. 33:13 26 aDeut. 33:15 bDeut. 33:16 27 aJudg. 20:21, 25 bZech. 14:1 29 aGen. 15:15; 25:8; 35:29 bGen. 47:30 cGen. 23:16–20; 50:13 30 aGen. 23:3–20 31 aGen. 23:19, 20; 25:9 bGen. 35:29; 50:13 CHAPTER 50 1 aGen. 46:4, 29 b2 Kin. 13:14 2 aGen. 50:26 3 aDeut. 34:8 1Lit. wept 4 aEsth. 4:2 5 aGen. 47:29–31 bIs. 22:16

47 GENESIS 50:26 servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, 8 as well as all the house of Jo- seph, his brothers, and his father’s house. Only their little ones, their flocks, and their herds they left in the land of Goshen. 9 And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen, and it was a very great gathering. 10 Then they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, and they amourned there with a great and very solemn lamentation. bHe observed seven days of mourning for his father. 11 And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a deep mourning of the Egyptians.” There- fore its name was called 1Abel Mizraim, which is beyond the Jor- dan. 12 So his sons did for him just as he had commanded them. 13 For ahis sons carried him to the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre, which Abraham bbought with the field from Ephron the Hittite as property for a burial place. 14 And after he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers and all who went up with him to bury his father. Joseph Reassures His Brothers 15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, athey said, “Perhaps Joseph will hate us, and may 1actually repay us for all the evil which we did to him.” 16 So they sent messengers to Joseph, saying, “Before your father died he commanded, saying, 17 ‘Thus you shall say to Joseph: “I beg you, please forgive the trespass of your brothers and their sin; afor they did evil to you.” ’ Now, please, forgive the trespass of the servants of bthe God of your father.” And Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 18 Then his brothers also went and afell down before his face, and they said, “Behold, we are your servants.” 19 Joseph said to them, a“Do not be afraid, bfor am I in the place of God? 20 a“But as for you, you meant evil against me; but bGod meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. 21 “Now therefore, do not be afraid; aI will provide for you and your little ones.” And he comforted them and spoke 1kindly to them. Death of Joseph 22 So Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he and his father’s household. And Joseph lived one hundred and ten years. 23 Joseph saw Ephraim’s children ato the third generation. bThe chil- dren of Machir, the son of Ma- nasseh, cwere also brought up on Joseph’s knees. 24 And Joseph said to his brethren, “I am dying; but aGod will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land to the land bof which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” 25 Then aJoseph took an oath from the children of Israel, saying, “God will surely 1visit you, and byou shall carry up my cbones from here.” 26 So Joseph died, being one hun- dred and ten years old; and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt. 10 aActs 8:2 b1 Sam. 31:13 11 1Lit. Mourning of Egypt 13 aActs 7:16 bGen. 23:16–20 15 a[Job 15:21] 1fully 17 a[Prov. 28:13] bGen. 49:25 18 aGen. 37:7–10; 41:43; 44:14 19 aGen. 45:5 b2 Kin. 5:7 20 aPs. 56:5 b[Acts 3:13–15] 21 a[Matt. 5:44] 1Lit. to their hearts 23 aJob 42:16 bNum. 26:29; 32:39 cGen. 30:3 24 aEx. 3:16, 17 bGen. 26:3; 35:12; 46:4 25 aEx. 13:19 bDeut. 1:8; 30:1–8 cEx. 13:19 1give attention to The Second Book of Moses Called EXODUS EXODUS is the record of Israel’s birth as a nation. Within the protective “womb” of Egypt, the Jewish family of seventy rapidly multiplies. At the right time, accompanied with severe “birth pains,” an infant nation, numbering between two and three million people, is brought into the world where it is divinely protected, fed, and nurtured. The Hebrew title, We’elleh Shemoth, “Now These Are the Names,” comes from the first phrase in 1:1. Exodus begins with “Now” to show it as a continuation of Genesis.

S is the record of Israel’s birth as a nation. Within the protective “womb” of Egypt, the Jewish family of seventy rapidly multiplies. At the right time, accompanied with severe “birth pains,” an infant nation, numbering between two and three million people, is brought into the world where it is divinely protected, fed, and nurtured. The Hebrew title, We’elleh Shemoth, “Now These Are the Names,” comes from the first phrase in 1:1. Exodus begins with “Now” to show it as a continuation of Genesis. The Greek title is Exodus, a word meaning “exit,” “departure,” or “going out.” The Septuagint uses this word to describe the book by its key event

EXODUS 1:1 48 Israel’s Suffering in Egypt NOW athese are the names of the children of Israel who came to Egypt; each man and his household came with Jacob: 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Ju- dah; 3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benja- min; 4 Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. 5 All those 1who were descendants of Jacob were aseventy2 persons (for Joseph was in Egypt already). 6 And aJoseph died, all his broth- ers, and all that generation. 7 aBut the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and 1grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them. 8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, awho did not know Joseph. 9 And he said to his people, “Look, the people of the children of Israel are more and amightier than we; 10 a“come, let us bdeal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and it happen, in the event of war, that they also join our enemies and fight against us, and so go up out of the land.” 11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them ato afflict them with their bburdens. And they built for Pharaoh csupply cities, Pithom dand Raamses. 12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were in dread of the chil- dren of Israel. 13 So the Egyptians made the chil- dren of Israel aserve with 1rigor. 14 And they amade their lives bitter with hard bondage—bin mortar, in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. All their service in which they made them serve was with rigor. 15 Then the king of Egypt spoke to the aHebrew midwives, of whom the name of one was Shiphrah and the name of the other Puah; 16 and he said, “When you do the duties of a midwife for the Hebrew women, and see them on the birth- stools, if it is a ason, then you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.” 17 But the midwives afeared God, and did not do bas the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive. 18 So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, and saved the male children alive?” 19 And athe midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they 1are lively and give birth before the midwives come to them.” 20 aTherefore God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multi- plied and 1grew very mighty. 21 And so it was, because the mid- wives feared God, athat He 1pro- vided households for them. 22 So Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, a“Every son who is 1born you shall cast into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive.” Moses Is Born 2 And aa man of the house of Levi went and took as wife a daugh- ter of Levi. 2 So the woman conceived and bore a son. And awhen she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him three months. 3 But when she could no longer hide him, she took an ark of abul- rushes for him, daubed it with bas- phalt and cpitch, put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds dby the river’s bank. 4 aAnd his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him. 5 Then the adaughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river. And her maidens walked along the riverside; and when she saw the ark among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it. 6 And when she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby wept. So she had compassion on him, and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.” 7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for you?” 8 And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the maiden went and called the child’s mother. 9 Then Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. 10 And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became aher son. So she called his name 1Moses, saying, “Because I drew him out of the water.” CHAPTER 1 1 aGen. 46:8–27 5 aGen. 46:26, 27 1Lit.

ay nurse the child for you?” 8 And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the maiden went and called the child’s mother. 9 Then Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. 10 And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became aher son. So she called his name 1Moses, saying, “Because I drew him out of the water.” CHAPTER 1 1 aGen. 46:8–27 5 aGen. 46:26, 27 1Lit. who came from the loins of 2DSS, LXX seventy-five; cf. Acts 7:14 6 aGen. 50:26 7 aActs 7:17 1became very numerous 8 aActs 7:18, 19 9 aGen. 26:16 10 aPs. 83:3, 4 bActs 7:19 11 aEx. 3:7; 5:6 bEx. 1:14; 2:11; 5:4–9; 6:6 c1 Kin. 9:19 dGen. 47:11 13 aGen. 15:13 1harshness 14 aNum. 20:15 bPs. 81:6 15 aEx. 2:6 16 aActs 7:19 17 aProv. 16:6 bDan. 3:16, 18 19 aJosh. 2:4 1have vigor of life, bear quickly, easily 20 a[Prov. 11:18] 1became very numerous 21 a1 Sam. 2:35 1gave them families 22 aActs 7:19 1Sam., LXX, Tg. add to the Hebrews CHAPTER 2 1 aEx. 6:16–20 2 aActs 7:20 3 aIs. 18:2 bGen. 14:10 cGen. 6:14 dIs. 19:6 4 aNum. 26:59 5 aActs 7:21 10 aActs 7:21 1Heb. Mosheh, lit. Drawn Out (see 19:1, “gone out”). In Luke 9:31 and in Second Peter 1:15, the word exodus speaks of physical death (Jesus and Peter). This embodies Exodus’s theme of redemption, because redemption is accomplished only through death. The Latin title is Liber Exodus, “Book of Departure,” taken from the Greek title.

49 EXODUS 3:15 Moses Flees to Midian 11 Now it came to pass in those days, awhen Moses was grown, that he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens. And he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren. 12 So he looked this way and that way, and when he saw no one, he akilled the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 13 And awhen he went out the sec- ond day, behold, two Hebrew men bwere fighting, and he said to the one who did the wrong, “Why are you striking your companion?” 14 Then he said, a“Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” So Moses bfeared and said, “Surely this thing is known!” 15 When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But aMoses fled from 1the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of bMidian; and he sat down by ca well. 16 aNow the priest of Midian had seven daughters. bAnd they came and drew water, and they filled the ctroughs to water their father’s flock. 17 Then the ashepherds came and bdrove them away; but Moses stood up and helped them, and cwatered their flock. 18 When they came to aReuel1 their father, bhe said, “How is it that you have come so soon today?” 19 And they said, “An Egyptian delivered us from the hand of the shepherds, and he also drew enough water for us and watered the flock.” 20 So he said to his daughters, “And where is he? Why is it that you have left the man? Call him, that he may aeat bread.” 21 Then Moses was content to live with the man, and he gave aZippo- rah his daughter to Moses. 22 And she bore him a son. He called his name aGershom,1 for he said, “I have been ba 2stranger in a foreign land.” 23 Now it happened ain the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel bgroaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and ctheir cry came up to God because of the bondage. 24 So God aheard their groaning, and God bremembered His ccovenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 And God alooked upon the chil- dren of Israel, and God backnowl- edged them. Moses at the Burning Bush 3 Now Moses was tending the flock of aJethro his father-in-law, bthe priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to cHoreb, dthe mountain of God. 2 And athe Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. 3 Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this agreat sight, why the bush does not burn.” 4 So when the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called ato him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. aTake your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.” 6 Moreover He said, a“I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for bhe was afraid to look upon God. 7 And the LORD said: a“I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry bbecause of their taskmasters, cfor I know their 1sor- rows. 8 “So aI have come down to bde- liver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land cto a good and large land, to a land dflowing with milk and honey, to the place of ethe Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. 9 “Now therefore, behold, athe cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the bop- pression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 a“Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, a“Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 So He said, a“I will certainly be with you.

erizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. 9 “Now therefore, behold, athe cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the bop- pression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 a“Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, a“Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 So He said, a“I will certainly be with you. And this shall be a bsign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” 13 Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, a‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” 15 Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The LORD God of your 11 aHeb. 11:24–26 12 aActs 7:24, 25 13 aActs 7:26–28 bProv. 25:8 14 aActs 7:27, 28 bJudg. 6:27 15 aActs 7:29 bEx. 3:1 cGen. 24:11; 29:2 1the presence of Pharaoh 16 aEx. 3:1; 4:18; 18:12 bGen. 24:11, 13, 19; 29:6–10 cGen. 30:38 17 aGen. 47:3 bGen. 26:19–21 cGen. 29:3, 10 18 aNum. 10:29 bEx. 3:1; 4:18 1Jethro, Ex. 3:1 20 aGen. 31:54; 43:25 21 aEx. 4:25; 18:2 22 aEx. 4:20; 18:3, 4 bActs 7:29 1Lit. Stranger There 2sojourner, temporary resident 23 aActs 7:34 bDeut. 26:7 cJames 5:4 24 aEx. 6:5 bGen. 15:13; 22:16–18; 26:2–5; 28:13–15 cGen. 12:1–3; 15:14; 17:1–14 25 aEx. 4:31 bEx. 3:7 CHAPTER 3 1 aEx. 4:18 bEx. 2:16 cEx. 18:5 dEx. 17:6 2 aDeut. 33:16 3 aActs 7:31 4 aDeut. 33:16 5 aJosh. 5:15 6 a[Matt. 22:32] b1 Kin. 19:13 7 aEx. 2:23–25 bEx. 1:11 cEx. 2:25 1pain 8 aGen. 15:13–16; 46:4; 50:24, 25 bEx. 6:6–8; 12:51 cDeut. 1:25; 8:7–9 dJer. 11:5 eGen. 15:19–21 9 aEx. 2:23 bEx. 1:11, 13, 14 10 a[Mic. 6:4] 11 aEx. 4:10; 6:12 12 aGen. 31:3 bEx. 4:8; 19:3 14 a[John 8:24, 28, 58]

EXODUS 3:16 50 fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is aMy name forever, and this is My memo- rial to all generations.’ 16 “Go and agather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, ‘The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared to me, saying, b“I have surely visited you and seen what is done to you in Egypt; 17 “and I have said aI will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jeb- usites, to a land flowing with milk and honey.” ’ 18 “Then athey will heed your voice; and byou shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt; and you shall say to him, ‘The LORD God of the Hebrews has cmet with us; and now, please, let us go three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.’ 19 “But I am sure that the king of Egypt awill not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand. 20 “So I will astretch out My hand and strike Egypt with ball My won- ders which I will do in its midst; and cafter that he will let you go. 21 “And aI will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be, when you go, that you shall not go empty-handed. 22 a“But every woman shall ask of her neighbor, namely, of her who dwells near her house, barticles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing; and you shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So cyou shall plunder the Egyptians.” Miraculous Signs for Pharaoh 4 Then Moses answered and said, “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The LORD has not appeared to you.’ ” 2 So the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A rod.” 3 And He said, “Cast it on the ground.” So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. 4 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail” (and he reached out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand), 5 “that they may abelieve that the bLORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.” 6 Furthermore the LORD said to him, “Now put your hand in your bo- som.” And he put his hand in his bo- som, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, alike snow. 7 And He said, “Put your hand in your bosom again.” So he put his hand in his bosom again, and drew it out of his bosom, and behold, ait was restored like his other flesh. 8 “Then it will be, if they do not believe you, nor heed the message of the afirst sign, that they may believe the message of the latter sign. 9 “And it shall be, if they do not believe even these two signs, or lis- ten to your voice, that you shall take water from 1the river and pour it on the dry land. aThe water which you take from the river will become blood on the dry land.” 10 Then Moses said to the LORD, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, nei- ther before nor since You have spo- ken to Your servant; but aI am slow of speech and 1slow of tongue.” 11 So the LORD said to him, a“Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the LORD? 12 “Now therefore, go, and I will be awith your mouth and teach you what you shall say.” 13 But he said, “O my Lord, aplease send by the hand of whomever else You may send.” 14 So athe anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and He said: “Is not Aaron the Levite your bbrother? I know that he can speak well. And look, che is also coming out to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15 “Now ayou shall speak to him and bput the words in his mouth. And I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and cI will teach you what you shall do. 16 “So he shall be your spokesman to the people.

ord, aplease send by the hand of whomever else You may send.” 14 So athe anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and He said: “Is not Aaron the Levite your bbrother? I know that he can speak well. And look, che is also coming out to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15 “Now ayou shall speak to him and bput the words in his mouth. And I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and cI will teach you what you shall do. 16 “So he shall be your spokesman to the people. And he himself shall be as a mouth for you, and ayou shall be to him as God. 17 “And you shall take this rod in your hand, with which you shall do the signs.” Moses Goes to Egypt 18 So Moses went and returned to aJethro his father-in-law, and said to him, “Please let me go and return to my brethren who are in Egypt, and see whether they are still alive.” And Jethro said to Moses, b“Go in peace.” 19 Now the LORD said to Moses in aMidian, “Go, return to bEgypt; for call the men who sought your life are dead.” 20 Then Moses atook his wife and his sons and set them on a donkey, and he returned to the land of Egypt. And Moses took bthe rod of God in his hand. 21 And the LORD said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do all those awonders before 15 aPs. 30:4; 97:12; 102:12; 135:13 16 aEx. 4:29 bEx. 2:25; 4:31 17 aGen. 15:13–21; 46:4; 50:24, 25 18 aEx. 4:31 bEx. 5:1, 3 cNum. 23:3, 4, 15, 16 19 aEx. 5:2 20 aEx. 6:6; 9:15 bDeut. 6:22 cEx. 11:1; 12:31–37 21 aEx. 11:3; 12:36 22 aEx. 11:2 bEx. 33:6 cJob 27:17 CHAPTER 4 5 aEx. 4:31; 19:9 bEx. 3:6, 15 6 aNum. 12:10 7 aDeut. 32:39 8 aEx. 7:6–13 9 aEx. 7:19, 20 1The Nile 10 aEx. 3:11; 4:1; 6:12 1heavy or dull of tongue; cannot talk very well 11 aPs. 94:9; 146:8 12 aIs. 50:4 13 aJon. 1:3 14 aNum. 11:1, 33 bNum. 26:59 cEx. 4:27 15 aEx. 4:12, 30; 7:1, 2 bNum. 23:5, 12 cDeut. 5:31 16 aEx. 7:1, 2 18 aEx. 2:21; 3:1; 4:18 bJudg. 18:6 19 aEx. 3:1; 18:1 bGen. 46:3, 6 cEx. 2:15, 23 20 aEx. 18:2–5 bNum. 20:8, 9, 11 21 aEx. 3:20; 11:9, 10

51 EXODUS 5:23 Pharaoh which I have put in your hand. But bI will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. 22 “Then you shall asay to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the LORD: b“Israel is My son, cMy firstborn. 23 “So I say to you, let My son go that he may serve Me. But if you refuse to let him go, indeed aI will kill your son, your firstborn.” ’ ” 24 And it came to pass on the way, at the aencampment, that the LORD bmet him and sought to ckill him. 25 Then aZipporah took ba sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son and 1cast it at 2Moses’ feet, and said, “Surely you are a husband of blood to me!” 26 So He let him go. Then she said, “You are a 1husband of blood!”— because of the circumcision. 27 And the LORD said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness ato meet Moses.” So he went and met him on bthe mountain of God, and kissed him. 28 So Moses atold Aaron all the words of the LORD who had sent him, and all the bsigns which He had commanded him. 29 Then Moses and Aaron awent and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel. 30 aAnd Aaron spoke all the words which the LORD had spoken to Moses. Then he did the signs in the sight of the people. 31 So the people abelieved; and when they heard that the LORD had bvisited the children of Israel and that He chad looked on their afflic- tion, then dthey bowed their heads and worshiped. First Encounter with Pharaoh 5 Afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘Let My people go, that they may 1hold aa feast to Me in the wilderness.’ ” 2 And Pharaoh said, a“Who is the LORD, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, bnor will I let Israel go.” 3 So they said, a“The God of the Hebrews has bmet with us. Please, let us go three days’ journey into the desert and sacrifice to the LORD our God, lest He fall upon us with cpesti- lence or with the sword.” 4 Then the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people from their work? Get back to your alabor.” 5 And Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are amany now, and you make them rest from their labor!” 6 So the same day Pharaoh com- manded the ataskmasters of the people and their officers, saying, 7 “You shall no longer give the people straw to make abrick as be- fore. Let them go and gather straw for themselves. 8 “And you shall lay on them the quota of bricks which they made before. You shall not reduce it. For they are idle; therefore they cry out, saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ 9 “Let more work be laid on the men, that they may labor in it, and let them not regard false words.” 10 And the taskmasters of the peo- ple and their officers went out and spoke to the people, saying, “Thus says Pharaoh: ‘I will not give you straw. 11 ‘Go, get yourselves straw where you can find it; yet none of your work will be reduced.’ ” 12 So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw. 13 And the taskmasters forced them to hurry, saying, “Fulfill your work, your daily quota, as when there was straw.” 14 Also the aofficers of the children of Israel, whom Pharaoh’s taskmas- ters had set over them, were bbeaten and were asked, “Why have you not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and today, as before?” 15 Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried out to Pharaoh, saying, “Why are you deal- ing thus with your servants? 16 “There is no straw given to your servants, and they say to us, ‘Make brick!’ And indeed your servants are beaten, but the fault is in your own people.” 17 But he said, “You are idle!

of Israel, whom Pharaoh’s taskmas- ters had set over them, were bbeaten and were asked, “Why have you not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and today, as before?” 15 Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried out to Pharaoh, saying, “Why are you deal- ing thus with your servants? 16 “There is no straw given to your servants, and they say to us, ‘Make brick!’ And indeed your servants are beaten, but the fault is in your own people.” 17 But he said, “You are idle! Idle! Therefore you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the LORD.’ 18 “Therefore go now and work; for no straw shall be given you, yet you shall deliver the quota of bricks.” 19 And the officers of the children of Israel saw that they were in trou- ble after it was said, “You shall not reduce any bricks from your daily quota.” 20 Then, as they came out from Pharaoh, they met Moses and Aaron who stood there to meet them. 21 aAnd they said to them, “Let the LORD look on you and judge, because you have made 1us abhor- rent in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us.” Israel’s Deliverance Assured 22 So Moses returned to the LORD and said, “Lord, why have You brought trouble on this people? Why is it You have sent me? 23 “For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done evil 21 bEx. 7:3, 13; 9:12, 35; 10:1, 20, 27; 14:4, 8; Deut. 2:30; Josh. 11:20; 1 Sam. 6:6; Is. 63:17; John 12:40; Rom. 9:18 22 aEx. 5:1 bIs. 63:16; 64:8; Hos. 11:1; [Rom. 9:4; 2 Cor. 6:16, 18] cJer. 31:9; [James 1:18] 23 aEx. 11:5; 12:29; Ps. 105:36; 135:8; 136:10 24 aGen. 42:27 bEx. 3:18; 5:3; Num. 22:22 cGen. 17:14 25 aEx. 2:21; 18:2 bGen. 17:14; Josh. 5:2, 3 1Lit. made it touch 2Lit. his 26 1bride- groom 27 aEx. 4:14 bEx. 3:1; 18:5; 24:13 28 aEx. 4:15, 16 bEx. 4:8, 9 29 aEx. 3:16; 12:21 30 aEx. 4:15, 16 31 aEx. 3:18; 4:8, 9; 19:9 bGen. 50:24; Ex. 3:16 cEx. 2:25; 3:7 dGen. 24:26; Ex. 12:27; 1 Chr. 29:20 CHAPTER 5 1 aEx. 3:18; 7:16; 10:9 1keep a pil- grim-feast 2 a2 Kin. 18:35; 2 Chr. 32:14; Job 21:15 bEx. 3:19; 7:14 3 aEx. 3:18; 7:16 bEx. 4:24; Num. 23:3 cEx. 9:15 4 aEx. 1:11; 2:11; 6:6 5 aEx. 1:7, 9 6 aEx. 1:11; 3:7; 5:10, 13, 14 7 aEx. 1:14 14 aEx. 5:6 bIs. 10:24 21 aEx. 6:9; 14:11; 15:24; 16:2 1Lit. our scent to stink before

EXODUS 6:1 52 to this people; neither have You delivered Your people at all.” 6 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh. For awith a strong hand he will let them go, and with a strong hand bhe will drive them out of his land.” 2 And God spoke to Moses and said to him: “I am 1the LORD. 3 a“I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as bGod Almighty, but by My name cLORD1 I was not known to them. 4 a“I have also 1established My covenant with them, bto give them the land of Canaan, the land of their 2pilgrimage, cin which they were 3strangers. 5 “And aI have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians keep in bond- age, and I have remembered My co- venant. 6 “Therefore say to the children of Israel: a‘I am the LORD; bI will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will crescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with 1an outstretched arm and with great judgments. 7 ‘I will atake you as My people, and bI will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God who brings you out cfrom under the burdens of the Egyptians. 8 ‘And I will bring you into the land which I aswore1 to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a heritage: I am the LORD.’ ” 9 So Moses spoke thus to the chil- dren of Israel; abut they did not heed Moses, because of banguish1 of spirit and cruel bondage. 10 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 11 “Go in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the children of Israel go out of his land.” 12 And Moses spoke before the LORD, saying, “The children of Israel have not heeded me. How then shall Pharaoh heed me, for aI am 1of uncir- cumcised lips?” 13 Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, and gave them a acom- mand1 for the children of Israel and for Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt. The Family of Moses and Aaron 14 These are the heads of their fathers’ houses: aThe sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. These are the families of Reuben. 15 aAnd the sons of Simeon were 1Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zo- har, and Shaul the son of a Canaan- ite woman. These are the families of Simeon. 16 These are the names of athe sons of Levi according to their genera- tions: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. And the years of the life of Levi were one hundred and thirty-seven. 17 aThe sons of Gershon were Libni and Shimi according to their families. 18 And athe sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. And the years of the life of Kohath were one hundred and thirty-three. 19 aThe sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of Levi according to their genera- tions. 20 Now aAmram took for himself bJochebed, his father’s sister, as wife; and she bore him cAaron and Moses. And the years of the life of Amram were one hundred and thirty-seven. 21 aThe sons of Izhar were Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri. 22 And athe sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan, and Zithri. 23 Aaron took to himself Elisheba, daughter of aAmminadab, sister of Nahshon, as wife; and she bore him bNadab, Abihu, cEleazar, and Itha- mar. 24 And athe sons of Korah were As- sir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph. These are the families of the Korahites. 25 Eleazar, Aaron’s son, took for himself one of the daughters of Putiel as wife; and ashe bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites according to their families. 26 These are the same Aaron and Moses to whom the LORD said, “Bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their aarmies.”1 27 These are the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt, ato bring out the children of Israel from Egypt. These are the same Moses and Aaron. Aaron Is Moses’ Spokesman 28 And it came to pass, on the day the LORD spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, 29 that the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “I am the LORD.

s of the Levites according to their families. 26 These are the same Aaron and Moses to whom the LORD said, “Bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their aarmies.”1 27 These are the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt, ato bring out the children of Israel from Egypt. These are the same Moses and Aaron. Aaron Is Moses’ Spokesman 28 And it came to pass, on the day the LORD spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, 29 that the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “I am the LORD. aSpeak to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you.” 30 But Moses said before the LORD, “Behold, aI am 1of uncircum- cised lips, and how shall Pharaoh heed me?” 7 So the LORD said to Moses: “See, I have made you aas God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother shall be byour prophet. 2 “You ashall speak all that I com- mand you. And Aaron your brother shall tell Pharaoh to send the chil- dren of Israel out of his land. 3 “And aI will harden Pharaoh’s CHAPTER 6 1 aEx. 3:19 bEx. 12:31, 33, 39 2 1Heb. YHWH 3 aGen. 17:1; 35:9; 48:3 bGen. 28:3; 35:11 cPs. 68:4; 83:18 1Heb. YHWH, traditionally Jehovah 4 aGen. 12:7; 15:18; 17:4, 7, 8; 26:3; 28:4, 13 bLev. 25:23 cGen. 28:4 1made or rati- fied 2sojourn- ings 3sojourn- ers, temporary residents 5 aEx. 2:24 6 aDeut. 6:12 bDeut. 26:8 cDeut. 7:8 1Mighty power 7 a2 Sam. 7:24 bEx. 29:45, 46 cEx. 5:4, 5 8 aGen. 15:18; 26:3 1prom- ised, lit. lifted up My hand 9 aEx. 5:21 bEx. 2:23 1Lit. shortness 12 aJer. 1:6 1One who does not speak well 13 aDeut. 31:14 1charge 14 aGen. 46:9 15 aGen. 46:10 1Nemuel, Num. 26:12 16 aGen. 46:11 17 a1 Chr. 6:17 18 a1 Chr. 6:2, 18 19 a1 Chr. 6:19; 23:21 20 aEx. 2:1, 2 bNum. 26:59 cNum. 26:59 21 a1 Chr. 6:37, 38 22 aLev. 10:4 23 aRuth 4:19, 20 bLev. 10:1 cEx. 28:1 24 aNum. 26:11 25 aNum. 25:7, 11 26 aEx. 7:4; 12:17, 51 1hosts 27 aPs. 77:20 29 aEx. 6:11; 7:2 30 aEx. 4:10; 6:12 1One who does not speak well CHAPTER 7 1 aEx. 4:16 bEx. 4:15, 16 2 aEx. 4:15 3 aEx. 4:21; 9:12

53 EXODUS 8:8 heart, and bmultiply My csigns and My wonders in the land of Egypt. 4 “But aPharaoh will not heed you, so bthat I may lay My hand on Egypt and bring My 1armies and My peo- ple, the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt cby great judgments. 5 “And the Egyptians ashall know that I am the LORD, when I bstretch out My hand on Egypt and cbring out the children of Israel from among them.” 6 Then Moses and Aaron adid so; just as the LORD commanded them, so they did. 7 And Moses was aeighty years old and bAaron eighty-three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh. Aaron’s Miraculous Rod 8 Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 9 “When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, a‘Show a miracle for your- selves,’ then you shall say to Aaron, b‘Take your rod and cast it before Pharaoh, and let it become a ser- pent.’ ” 10 So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and they did so, just aas the LORD commanded. And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it bbe- came a serpent. 11 But Pharaoh also acalled the wise men and bthe 1sorcerers; so the magicians of Egypt, they also cdid in like manner with their 2enchant- ments. 12 For every man threw down his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods. 13 And Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the LORD had said. The First Plague: Waters Become Blood 14 So the LORD said to Moses: a“Pharaoh’s heart is hard; he refuses to let the people go. 15 “Go to Pharaoh in the morning, when he goes out to the awater, and you shall stand by the river’s bank to meet him; and bthe rod which was turned to a serpent you shall take in your hand. 16 “And you shall say to him, a‘The LORD God of the Hebrews has sent me to you, saying, “Let My people go, bthat they may 1serve Me in the wilderness”; but indeed, until now you would not hear! 17 ‘Thus says the LORD: “By this ayou shall know that I am the LORD. Behold, I will strike the waters which are in the river with the rod that is in my hand, and bthey shall be turned cto blood. 18 “And the fish that are in the river shall die, the river shall stink, and the Egyptians will aloathe1 to drink the water of the river.” ’ ” 19 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod and astretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their streams, over their rivers, over their ponds, and over all their pools of water, that they may become blood. And there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in buckets of wood and pitchers of stone.’ ” 20 And Moses and Aaron did so, just as the LORD commanded. So he alifted up the rod and struck the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his ser- vants. And all the bwaters that were in the river were turned to blood. 21 The fish that were in the river died, the river stank, and the Egyp- tians acould not drink the water of the river. So there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. 22 aThen the magicians of Egypt did bso with their 1enchantments; and Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, cas the LORD had said. 23 And Pharaoh turned and went into his house.

the river, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his ser- vants. And all the bwaters that were in the river were turned to blood. 21 The fish that were in the river died, the river stank, and the Egyp- tians acould not drink the water of the river. So there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. 22 aThen the magicians of Egypt did bso with their 1enchantments; and Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, cas the LORD had said. 23 And Pharaoh turned and went into his house. Neither was his heart moved by this. 24 So all the Egyptians dug all around the river for water to drink, because they could not drink the water of the river. 25 And seven days passed after the LORD had struck the river. The Second Plague: Frogs 8 And the LORD spoke to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Let My peo- ple go, athat they may serve Me. 2 “But if you arefuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all your terri- tory with bfrogs. 3 “So the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into your house, into your abedroom, on your bed, into the houses of your servants, on your people, into your ovens, and into your kneading bowls. 4 “And the frogs shall come up on you, on your people, and on all your servants.” ’ ” 5 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, “Say to Aaron, a‘Stretch out your hand with your rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up on the land of Egypt.’ ” 6 So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and athe frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. 7 aAnd the magicians did so with their 1enchantments, and brought up frogs on the land of Egypt. 8 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, a“Entreat1 the LORD that He may take away the frogs from me and from my people; 3 bEx. 11:9; Acts 7:36 cEx. 4:7; Deut. 4:34 4 aEx. 3:19, 20; 10:1; 11:9 bEx. 9:14 cEx. 6:6; 12:12 1hosts 5 aEx. 7:17; 8:22; 14:4, 18; Ps. 9:16 bEx. 9:15 cEx. 3:20; 6:6; 12:51 6 aEx. 7:2 7 aDeut. 29:5; 31:2; 34:7; Acts 7:23, 30 bNum. 33:39 9 aEx. 10:1; Is. 7:11; John 2:18; 6:30 bEx. 4:2, 3, 17 10 aEx. 7:9 bEx. 4:3 11 aGen. 41:8 bDan. 2:2; 2 Tim. 3:8 cEx. 7:22; 8:7, 18; 2 Tim. 3:9; Rev. 13:13, 14 1soothsayers 2secret arts 14 aEx. 8:15; 10:1, 20, 27 15 aEx. 2:5; 8:20 bEx. 4:2, 3; 7:10 16 aEx. 3:13, 18; 4:22 bEx. 3:12, 18; 4:23; 5:1, 3; 8:1 1worship 17 aEx. 5:2; 7:5; 10:2; Ps. 9:16; Ezek. 25:17 bEx. 4:9; 7:20 cRev. 11:6; 16:4, 6 18 aEx. 7:24 1be weary of drinking 19 aEx. 8:5, 6, 16; 9:22; 10:12, 21; 14:21, 26 20 aEx. 17:5 bPs. 78:44; 105:29, 30 21 aEx. 7:18 22 aEx. 7:11 bEx. 8:7 cEx. 3:19; 7:3 1secret arts CHAPTER 8 1 aEx. 3:12, 18; 4:23; 5:1, 3 2 aEx. 7:14; 9:2 bRev. 16:13 3 aPs. 105:30 5 aEx. 7:19 6 aPs. 78:45; 105:30 7 aEx. 7:11, 22 1secret arts 8 aEx. 8:28; 9:28; 10:17; Num. 21:7; 1 Kin. 13:6 1Pray to, Make suppli- cation to

EXODUS 8:9 54 and I will let the people bgo, that they may sacrifice to the LORD.” 9 And Moses said to Pharaoh, “Accept the honor of saying when I shall intercede for you, for your ser- vants, and for your people, to destroy the frogs from you and your houses, that they may remain in the river only.” 10 So he said, “Tomorrow.” And he said, “Let it be according to your word, that you may know that athere is no one like the LORD our God. 11 “And the frogs shall depart from you, from your houses, from your servants, and from your people. They shall remain in the river only.” 12 Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh. And Moses acried out to the LORD concerning the frogs which He had brought against Pharaoh. 13 So the LORD did according to the word of Moses. And the frogs died out of the houses, out of the courtyards, and out of the fields. 14 They gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank. 15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was arelief, bhe hardened his heart and did not heed them, as the LORD had said. The Third Plague: Lice 16 So the LORD said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your rod, and strike the dust of the land, so that it may become 1lice throughout all the land of Egypt.’ ” 17 And they did so. For Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod and struck the dust of the earth, and ait became lice on man and beast. All the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt. 18 Now athe magicians so worked with their 1enchantments to bring forth lice, but they bcould not. So there were lice on man and beast. 19 Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is athe1 finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s bheart grew hard, and he did not heed them, just as the LORD had said. The Fourth Plague: Flies 20 And the LORD said to Moses, a“Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh as he comes out to the water. Then say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD: b“Let My peo- ple go, that they may serve Me. 21 “Or else, if you will not let My people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants, on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand. 22 “And in that day aI will set apart the land of bGoshen, in which My people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there, in order that you may cknow that I am the LORD in the midst of the dland. 23 “I will 1make a difference between My people and your people. Tomorrow this asign shall be.” ’ ” 24 And the LORD did so. aThick swarms of flies came into the house of Pharaoh, into his servants’ houses, and into all the land of Egypt. The land was corrupted because of the swarms of flies. 25 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God in the land.” 26 And Moses said, “It is not right to do so, for we would be sacrificing athe abomination of the Egyptians to the LORD our God. If we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, then will they not 1stone us? 27 “We will go athree days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the LORD our God as bHe will com- mand us.” 28 So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. aIntercede for me.” 29 Then Moses said, “Indeed I am going out from you, and I will entreat the LORD, that the swarms of flies may depart tomorrow from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his peo- ple.

heir eyes, then will they not 1stone us? 27 “We will go athree days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the LORD our God as bHe will com- mand us.” 28 So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. aIntercede for me.” 29 Then Moses said, “Indeed I am going out from you, and I will entreat the LORD, that the swarms of flies may depart tomorrow from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his peo- ple. But let Pharaoh not adeal deceit- fully anymore in not letting the peo- ple go to sacrifice to the LORD.” 30 So Moses went out from Pharaoh and aentreated the LORD. 31 And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. Not one remained. 32 But Pharaoh ahardened his heart at this time also; neither would he let the people go. The Fifth Plague: Livestock Diseased 9 Then the LORD said to Moses, a“Go in to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘Thus says the LORD God of the Hebrews: “Let My people go, that they may bserve Me. 2 “For if you arefuse to let them go, and still hold them, 3 “behold, the ahand of the LORD will be on your cattle in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the oxen, and on the sheep—a very severe pestilence. 4 “And athe LORD will make a dif- ference between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt. So nothing shall die of all that belongs to the children of Israel.” ’ ” 5 Then the LORD appointed a set time, saying, “Tomorrow the LORD will do this thing in the land.” 6 So the LORD did this thing on the next day, and aall the livestock of 8 bEx. 10:8, 24 10 aEx. 9:14; 15:11; Deut. 4:35, 39; 33:26; 2 Sam. 7:22; 1 Chr. 17:20; Ps. 86:8; Is. 46:9; [Jer. 10:6, 7] 12 aEx. 8:30; 9:33; 10:18; 32:11; [James 5:16–18] 15 aEccl. 8:11 bEx. 7:14, 22; 9:34; 1 Sam. 6:6 16 1gnats 17 aPs. 105:31 18 aEx. 7:11, 12; 8:7 bDan. 5:8; 2 Tim. 3:8, 9 1secret arts 19 aEx. 7:5; 10:7; 1 Sam. 6:3, 9; Ps. 8:3; Luke 11:20 bEx. 8:15 1An act of God 20 aEx. 7:15; 9:13 bEx. 3:18; 4:23; 5:1, 3; 8:1 22 aEx. 9:4, 6, 26; 10:23; 11:6, 7; 12:13 bGen. 50:8 cEx. 7:5, 17; 10:2; 14:4 dEx. 9:29 23 aEx. 4:8 1Lit. set a ran- som, Ex. 9:4; 11:7 24 aPs. 78:45; 105:31 26 aGen. 43:32; 46:34; [Deut. 7:25, 26; 12:31] 1Put us to death by stoning 27 aEx. 3:18; 5:3 bEx. 3:12 28 aEx. 8:8, 15, 29, 32; 9:28; 1 Kin. 13:6 29 aEx. 8:8, 15 30 aEx. 8:12 32 aEx. 4:21; 8:8, 15; Ps. 52:2 CHAPTER 9 1 aEx. 4:23; 8:1 bEx. 7:16 2 aEx. 8:2 3 aEx. 7:4; 1 Sam. 5:6; Ps. 39:10; Acts 13:11 4 aEx. 8:22 6 aEx. 9:19, 20, 25; Ps. 78:48, 50

55 EXODUS 10:2 Egypt died; but of the livestock of the children of Israel, not one died. 7 Then Pharaoh sent, and indeed, not even one of the livestock of the Israelites was dead. But the aheart of Pharaoh became hard, and he did not let the people go. The Sixth Plague: Boils 8 So the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Take for yourselves hand- fuls of ashes from a furnace, and let Moses scatter it toward the heavens in the sight of Pharaoh. 9 “And it will become fine dust in all the land of Egypt, and it will cause aboils that break out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt.” 10 Then they took ashes from the furnace and stood before Pharaoh, and Moses scattered them toward heaven. And they caused aboils that break out in sores on man and beast. 11 And the amagicians could not stand before Moses because of the bboils, for the boils were on the magicians and on all the Egyptians. 12 But the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh; and he adid not heed them, just bas the LORD had spoken to Moses. The Seventh Plague: Hail 13 Then the LORD said to Moses, a“Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD God of the Hebrews: “Let My people go, that they may bserve Me, 14 “for at this time I will send all My plagues to your very heart, and on your servants and on your peo- ple, athat you may know that there is none like Me in all the earth. 15 “Now if I had astretched out My hand and struck you and your peo- ple with bpestilence, then you would have been cut off from the earth. 16 “But indeed for athis purpose I have raised you up, that I may bshow My power in you, and that My cname may be declared in all the earth. 17 “As yet you exalt yourself against My people in that you will not let them go. 18 “Behold, tomorrow about this time I will cause very heavy hail to rain down, such as has not been in Egypt since its founding until now. 19 “Therefore send now and gather your livestock and all that you have in the field, for the hail shall come down on every man and every ani- mal which is found in the field and is not brought home; and they shall die.” ’ ” 20 He who afeared the word of the LORD among the bservants of Pharaoh made his servants and his livestock flee to the houses. 21 But he who did not regard the word of the LORD left his servants and his livestock in the field. 22 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be ahail in all the land of Egypt—on man, on beast, and on every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.” 23 And Moses stretched out his rod toward heaven; and athe LORD sent thunder and hail, and fire darted to the ground. And the LORD rained hail on the land of Egypt. 24 So there was hail, and fire min- gled with the hail, so very heavy that there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. 25 And the ahail struck throughout the whole land of Egypt, all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail struck every herb of the field and broke every tree of the field. 26 aOnly in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, there was no hail. 27 And Pharaoh sent and acalled for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, b“I have sinned this time. cThe LORD is righteous, and my people and I are wicked. 28 a“Entreat1 the LORD, that there may be no more 2mighty thundering and hail, for it is enough.

k throughout the whole land of Egypt, all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail struck every herb of the field and broke every tree of the field. 26 aOnly in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, there was no hail. 27 And Pharaoh sent and acalled for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, b“I have sinned this time. cThe LORD is righteous, and my people and I are wicked. 28 a“Entreat1 the LORD, that there may be no more 2mighty thundering and hail, for it is enough. I will let you bgo, and you shall stay no longer.” 29 So Moses said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will aspread out my hands to the LORD; the thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, that you may know that the bearth is the LORD’s. 30 “But as for you and your ser- vants, aI know that you will not yet fear the LORD God.” 31 Now the flax and the barley were struck, afor the barley was in the head and the flax was in bud. 32 But the wheat and the spelt were not struck, for they are 1late crops. 33 So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and aspread out his hands to the LORD; then the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain was not poured on the earth. 34 And when Pharaoh saw that the rain, the hail, and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet more; and he hardened his heart, he and his ser- vants. 35 So athe heart of Pharaoh was hard; neither would he let the chil- dren of Israel go, as the LORD had spoken by Moses. The Eighth Plague: Locusts 10 Now the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh; afor I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his servants, bthat I may show these signs of Mine before him, 2 “and that ayou may tell in the hearing of your son and your son’s son the mighty things I have done 7 aEx. 7:14; 8:32 9 aRev. 16:2 10 aDeut. 28:27 11 a[Ex. 8:18, 19] bJob 2:7 12 aEx. 7:13 bEx. 4:21 13 aEx. 8:20 bEx. 9:1 14 aEx. 8:10 15 aEx. 3:20; 7:5 bEx. 5:3 16 a[Rom. 9:17, 18] bEx. 7:4, 5; 10:1; 11:9; 14:17 c1 Kin. 8:43 20 a[Prov. 13:13] bEx. 8:19; 10:7 22 aRev. 16:21 23 aJosh. 10:11 25 aPs. 78:47, 48; 105:32, 33 26 aEx. 8:22, 23; 9:4, 6; 10:23; 11:7; 12:13 27 aEx. 8:8 bEx. 9:34; 10:16, 17 c2 Chr. 12:6 28 aEx. 8:8, 28; 10:17 bEx. 8:25; 10:8, 24 1Pray to, Make suppli- cation to 2Lit. voices of God or sounds of God 29 aIs. 1:15 bPs. 24:1 30 a[Is. 26:10] 31 aRuth 1:22; 2:23 32 1Lit. dark- ened 33 aEx. 8:12; 9:29 35 aEx. 4:21 CHAPTER 10 1 aJohn 12:40 bEx. 7:4; 9:16 2 aJoel 1:3

EXODUS 10:3 56 in Egypt, and My signs which I have done among them, that you may bknow that I am the LORD.” 3 So Moses and Aaron came in to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the LORD God of the Hebrews: ‘How long will you refuse to ahumble yourself before Me? Let My people go, that they may bserve Me. 4 ‘Or else, if you refuse to let My people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring alocusts into your territory. 5 ‘And they shall cover the face of the earth, so that no one will be able to see the earth; and athey shall eat the residue of what is left, which remains to you from the hail, and they shall eat every tree which grows up for you out of the field. 6 ‘They shall afill your houses, the houses of all your servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians—which neither your fathers nor your fathers’ fathers have seen, since the day that they were on the earth to this day.’ ” And he turned and went out from Pharaoh. 7 Then Pharaoh’s aservants said to him, “How long shall this man be ba snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God. Do you not yet know that Egypt is destroyed?” 8 So Moses and Aaron were brought again to Pharaoh, and he said to them, “Go, serve the LORD your God. Who are the ones that are going?” 9 And Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old; with our sons and our daughters, with our flocks and our herds we will go, for awe must hold a feast to the LORD.” 10 Then he said to them, “The LORD had better be with you when I let you and your little ones go! Beware, for evil is ahead of you. 11 “Not so! Go now, you who are men, and serve the LORD, for that is what you desired.” And they were driven aout from Pharaoh’s pres- ence. 12 Then the LORD said to Moses, a“Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come upon the land of Egypt, and beat every herb of the land—all that the hail has left.” 13 So Moses stretched out his rod over the land of Egypt, and the LORD brought an east wind on the land all that day and all that night. When it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. 14 And athe locusts went up over all the land of Egypt and rested on all the territory of Egypt. They were very severe; bpreviously there had been no such locusts as they, nor shall there be such after them. 15 For they acovered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they bate every herb of the land and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left. So there remained nothing green on the trees or on the plants of the field throughout all the land of Egypt. 16 Then Pharaoh called afor Moses and Aaron in haste, and said, b“I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you. 17 “Now therefore, please forgive my sin only this once, and aentreat1 the LORD your God, that He may take away from me this death only.” 18 So he awent out from Pharaoh and entreated the LORD. 19 And the LORD turned a very strong west wind, which took the locusts away and blew them ainto the Red Sea. There remained not one locust in all the territory of Egypt. 20 But the LORD ahardened Pha- raoh’s heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go. The Ninth Plague: Darkness 21 Then the LORD said to Moses, a“Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, 1darkness which may even be felt.” 22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was athick darkness in all the land of Egypt bthree days. 23 They did not see one another; nor did anyone rise from his place for three days. aBut all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings. 24 Then Pharaoh called to Moses and asaid, “Go, serve the LORD; only let your flocks and your herds be kept back. Let your blittle ones also go with you.” 25 But Moses said, “You must also give 1us sacrifices and burnt offer- ings, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God. 26 “Our alivestock also shall go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind.

ays. 23 They did not see one another; nor did anyone rise from his place for three days. aBut all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings. 24 Then Pharaoh called to Moses and asaid, “Go, serve the LORD; only let your flocks and your herds be kept back. Let your blittle ones also go with you.” 25 But Moses said, “You must also give 1us sacrifices and burnt offer- ings, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God. 26 “Our alivestock also shall go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind. For we must take some of them to serve the LORD our God, and even we do not know with what we must serve the LORD until we arrive there.” 27 But the LORD ahardened Pha- raoh’s heart, and he would not let them go. 28 Then Pharaoh said to him, a“Get away from me! Take heed to yourself and see my face no more! For in the day you see my face you shall die!” 29 So Moses said, “You have spo- ken well. aI will never see your face again.” Death of the Firstborn Announced 11 And the LORD said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. aAfterward he will let you go from here. bWhen he lets you go, he will surely drive you out of here altogether. 2 “Speak now in the hearing of the 2 bEx. 7:5, 17; 8:22 3 a[1 Kin. 21:29; 2 Chr. 34:27]; Job 42:6; [James 4:10; 1 Pet. 5:6] bEx. 4:23; 8:1; 9:1 4 aProv. 30:27; Rev. 9:3 5 aEx. 9:32; Joel 1:4; 2:25 6 aEx. 8:3, 21 7 aEx. 7:5; 8:19; 9:20; 12:33 bEx. 23:33; Josh. 23:13; 1 Sam. 18:21; Eccl. 7:26; 1 Cor. 7:35 9 aEx. 5:1; 7:16 11 aEx. 10:28 12 aEx. 7:19 bEx. 10:5, 15 14 aDeut. 28:38; Ps. 78:46; 105:34 bJoel 1:4, 7; 2:1–11; Rev. 9:3 15 aEx. 10:5 bPs. 105:35 16 aEx. 8:8 bEx. 9:27 17 aEx. 8:8, 28; 9:28; 1 Kin. 13:6 1make supplication to 18 aEx. 8:30 19 aJoel 2:20 20 aEx. 4:21; 10:1; 11:10 21 aEx. 9:22 1Lit. that one may feel the darkness 22 aPs. 105:28; Rev. 16:10 bEx. 3:18 23 aEx. 8:22, 23 24 aEx. 8:8, 25; 10:8 bEx. 10:10 25 1Lit. into our hands 26 aEx. 10:9 27 aEx. 4:21; 10:1, 20; 14:4, 8 28 aEx. 10:11 29 aEx. 11:8; Heb. 11:27 CHAPTER 11 1 aEx. 12:31, 33, 39 bEx. 6:1; 12:39

57 EXODUS 12:21 people, and let every man ask from his neighbor and every woman from her neighbor, aarticles of silver and articles of gold.” 3 aAnd the LORD gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man bMoses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people. 4 Then Moses said, “Thus says the LORD: a‘About midnight I will go out into the midst of Egypt; 5 ‘and aall the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the female servant who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the animals. 6 a‘Then there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, bsuch as was not like it before, nor shall be like it again. 7 a‘But against none of the chil- dren of Israel bshall a dog 1move its tongue, against man or beast, that you may know that the LORD does make a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.’ 8 “And aall these your servants shall come down to me and bow down to me, saying, ‘Get out, and all the people who follow you!’ After that I will go out.” bThen he went out from Pharaoh in great anger. 9 But the LORD said to Moses, a“Pharaoh will not heed you, so that bMy wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.” 10 So Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh; aand the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go out of his land. The Passover Instituted 12 Now the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2 a“This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. 3 “Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ‘On the atenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. 4 ‘And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neigh- bor next to his house take it accord- ing to the number of the persons; according to each man’s need you shall make your count for the lamb. 5 ‘Your lamb shall be awithout1 blemish, a male 2of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 6 ‘Now you shall keep it until the afourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. 7 ‘And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two door- posts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. 8 ‘Then they shall eat the flesh on that anight; broasted in fire, with cunleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9 ‘Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but aroasted in fire— its head with its legs and its entrails. 10 a‘You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire. 11 ‘And thus you shall eat it: 1with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. aIt is the LORD’s Passover. 12 ‘For I awill pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and bagainst all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: cI am the LORD. 13 ‘Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. 14 ‘So this day shall be to you aa memorial; and you shall keep it as a bfeast to the LORD throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast cby an everlasting ordinance. 15 a‘Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, bthat 1person shall be 2cut off from Israel. 16 ‘On the first day there shall be aa holy convocation, and on the sev- enth day there shall be a holy con- vocation for you.

aa memorial; and you shall keep it as a bfeast to the LORD throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast cby an everlasting ordinance. 15 a‘Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, bthat 1person shall be 2cut off from Israel. 16 ‘On the first day there shall be aa holy convocation, and on the sev- enth day there shall be a holy con- vocation for you. No manner of work shall be done on them; but that which everyone must eat—that only may be prepared by you. 17 ‘So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for aon this same day I will have brought your 1armies bout of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance. 18 a‘In the first month, on the four- teenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. 19 ‘For aseven days no leaven shall be found in your houses, since who- ever eats what is leavened, that same person shall be cut off from the con- gregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land. 20 ‘You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.’ ” 21 Then aMoses called for all the 2 aEx. 3:22; 12:35, 36 3 aEx. 3:21; 12:36 bDeut. 34:10–12 4 aEx. 12:12, 23, 29 5 aEx. 4:23; 12:12, 29 6 aEx. 12:30 bEx. 10:14 7 aEx. 8:22 bJosh. 10:21 1sharpen 8 aEx. 12:31–33 bHeb. 11:27 9 aEx. 3:19; 7:4; 10:1 bEx. 7:3; 9:16 10 aRom. 2:5 CHAPTER 12 2 aDeut. 16:1 3 aJosh. 4:19 5 a[1 Pet. 1:19] 1perfect or sound 2a year old 6 aLev. 23:5 8 aNum. 9:12 bDeut. 16:7 c1 Cor. 5:8 9 aDeut. 16:7 10 aEx. 16:19; 23:18; 34:25 11 aEx. 12:13, 21, 27, 43 1Made ready to travel 12 aEx. 11:4, 5 bNum. 33:4 cEx. 6:2 14 aEx. 13:9 bLev. 23:4, 5 cEx. 12:17, 24; 13:10 15 aLev. 23:6 bGen. 17:14 1soul 2Put to death 16 aLev. 23:2, 7, 8 17 aEx. 12:14; 13:3, 10 bNum. 33:1 1hosts 18 aLev. 23:5–8 19 aEx. 12:15; 23:15; 34:18 21 a[Heb. 11:28]

EXODUS 12:22 58 belders of Israel and said to them, c“Pick out and take lambs for your- selves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb. 22 a“And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and bstrike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning. 23 a“For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the bblood on the 1lin- tel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and cnot allow dthe destroyer to come into your houses to strike you. 24 “And you shall aobserve this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever. 25 “It will come to pass when you come to the land which the LORD will give you, ajust as He promised, that you shall keep this service. 26 a“And it shall be, when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ 27 “that you shall say, a‘It is the Passover sacrifice of the LORD, who passed over the houses of the chil- dren of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households.’ ” So the people bbowed their heads and worshiped. 28 Then the children of Israel went away and adid so; just as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did. The Tenth Plague: Death of the Firstborn 29 aAnd it came to pass at midnight that bthe LORD struck all the first- born in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was 1in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of clivestock. 30 So Pharaoh rose in the night, he, all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead. The Exodus 31 Then he acalled for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, “Rise, go out from among my people, bboth you and the children of Israel. And go, serve the LORD as you have csaid. 32 a“Also take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone; and bless me also.” 33 aAnd the Egyptians burged the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste. For they said, “We shall all be dead.” 34 So the people took their dough before it was leavened, having their kneading bowls bound up in their clothes on their shoulders. 35 Now the children of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, and they had asked from the Egyptians aarticles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing. 36 aAnd the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested. Thus bthey plundered the Egyptians. 37 Then athe children of Israel journeyed from bRameses to Suc- coth, about csix hundred thousand men on foot, besides children. 38 A amixed multitude went up with them also, and flocks and herds—a great deal of blivestock. 39 And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they had brought out of Egypt; for it was not leavened, because athey were driven out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared provisions for themselves. 40 Now the 1sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in 2Egypt was afour hundred and thirty years. 41 And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years— on that very same day—it came to pass that aall the armies of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt. 42 It is aa 1night of solemn obser- vance to the LORD for bringing them out of the land of Egypt.

as not leavened, because athey were driven out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared provisions for themselves. 40 Now the 1sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in 2Egypt was afour hundred and thirty years. 41 And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years— on that very same day—it came to pass that aall the armies of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt. 42 It is aa 1night of solemn obser- vance to the LORD for bringing them out of the land of Egypt. This is that night of the LORD, a solemn observance for all the children of Israel throughout their generations. Passover Regulations 43 And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “This is athe ordinance of the Passover: No foreigner shall eat it. 44 “But every man’s servant who is bought for money, when you have acircumcised him, then he may eat it. 45 a“A sojourner and a hired ser- vant shall not eat it. 46 “In one house it shall be eaten; you shall not carry any of the flesh outside the house, anor shall you break one of its bones. 47 a“All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. 48 “And awhen a stranger 1dwells with you and wants to keep the Passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as a native of the land. For no uncircumcised person shall eat it. 49 a“One law shall be for the native-born and for the stranger who dwells among you.” 50 Thus all the children of Israel did; as the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did. 51 aAnd it came to pass, on that very same day, that the LORD brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt baccording to their armies. 21 bEx. 3:16 cNum. 9:4 22 aHeb. 11:28 bEx. 12:7 23 aEx. 11:4; 12:12, 13 bEx. 24:8 cRev. 7:3; 9:4 dHeb. 11:28 1Cross- piece at top of door 24 aEx. 12:14, 17; 13:5, 10 25 aEx. 3:8, 17 26 aEx. 10:2; 13:8, 14, 15 27 aEx. 12:11 bEx. 4:31 28 a[Heb. 11:28] 29 aEx. 11:4, 5 bNum. 8:17; 33:4 cEx. 9:6 1in prison 31 aEx. 10:28, 29 bEx. 8:25; 11:1 cEx. 10:9 32 aEx. 10:9, 26 33 aEx. 10:7 bPs. 105:38 35 aEx. 3:21, 22; 11:2, 3 36 aEx. 3:21 bGen. 15:14 37 aNum. 33:3, 5 bGen. 47:11 cEx. 38:26 38 aNum. 11:4 bDeut. 3:19 39 aEx. 6:1; 11:1; 12:31–33 40 aActs 7:6 1Length of the stay 2Sam., LXX Egypt and Canaan 41 aEx. 3:8, 10; 6:6; 7:4 42 aDeut. 16:1, 6 1night of vigil 43 aNum. 9:14 44 aGen. 17:12, 13 45 aLev. 22:10 46 a[John 19:33, 36] 47 aEx. 12:6 48 aNum. 9:14 1As a resident alien 49 aNum. 15:15, 16 51 aEx. 12:41; 20:2 bEx. 6:26

59 EXODUS 14:7 The Firstborn Consecrated 13 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 a“Consecrate1 to Me all the first- born, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and beast; it is Mine.” The Feast of Unleavened Bread 3 And Moses said to the people: a“Remember this day in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of 1bondage; for bby strength of hand the LORD brought you out of this place. cNo leavened bread shall be eaten. 4 a“On this day you are going out, in the month Abib. 5 “And it shall be, when the LORD abrings you into the bland of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Hivites and the Jeb- usites, which He cswore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, dthat you shall keep this service in this month. 6 a“Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the sev- enth day there shall be a feast to the LORD. 7 “Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days. And ano leavened bread shall be seen among you, nor shall leaven be seen among you in all your quarters. 8 “And you shall atell your son in that day, saying, ‘This is done because of what the LORD did for me when I came up from Egypt.’ 9 “It shall be as aa sign to you on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the LORD’s law may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand the LORD has brought you out of Egypt. 10 a“You shall therefore keep this 1ordinance in its season from year to year. The Law of the Firstborn 11 “And it shall be, when the LORD abrings you into the land of the bCanaanites, as He swore to you and your fathers, and gives it to you, 12 a“that you shall 1set apart to the LORD all that open the womb, that is, every firstborn that comes from an animal which you have; the males shall be the LORD’s. 13 “But aevery firstborn of a don- key you shall redeem with a lamb; and if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. And all the firstborn of man among your sons byou shall redeem. 14 a“So it shall be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ that you shall say to him, b‘By strength of hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 15 ‘And it came to pass, when Pha- raoh was stubborn about letting us go, that athe LORD killed all the first- born in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all males that open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ 16 “It shall be as aa sign on your hand and as frontlets between your eyes, for by strength of hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt.” The Wilderness Way 17 Then it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, “Lest per- haps the people achange their minds when they see war, and breturn to Egypt.” 18 So God aled the people around by way of the wilderness of the Red Sea.

my sons I redeem.’ 16 “It shall be as aa sign on your hand and as frontlets between your eyes, for by strength of hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt.” The Wilderness Way 17 Then it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, “Lest per- haps the people achange their minds when they see war, and breturn to Egypt.” 18 So God aled the people around by way of the wilderness of the Red Sea. And the children of Israel went up in orderly ranks out of the land of Egypt. 19 And Moses took the abones of bJoseph with him, for he had placed the children of Israel under solemn oath, saying, c“God will surely 1visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here with you.” 20 So athey took their journey from bSuccoth and camped in Etham at the edge of the wilderness. 21 And athe LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night. 22 He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people. The Red Sea Crossing 14 Now the LORD spoke to Mo- ses, saying: 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, athat they turn and camp before bPi Hahiroth, between cMigdol and the sea, opposite Baal Zephon; you shall camp before it by the sea. 3 “For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, a‘They are bewil- dered by the land; the wilderness has closed them in.’ 4 “Then aI will harden Pharaoh’s heart, so that he will pursue them; and I bwill gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, cthat the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD.” And they did so. 5 Now it was told the king of Egypt that the people had fled, and athe heart of Pharaoh and his ser- vants was turned against the peo- ple; and they said, “Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” 6 So he 1made ready his chariot and took his people with him. 7 Also, he took asix hundred choice chariots, and all the chariots CHAPTER 13 2 aLuke 2:23 1Set apart 3 aDeut. 16:3 bEx. 3:20; 6:1 cEx. 12:8, 19 1Lit. slaves 4 aEx. 12:2; 23:15; 34:18 5 aEx. 3:8, 17 bGen. 17:8 cEx. 6:8 dEx. 12:25, 26 6 aEx. 12:15–20 7 aEx. 12:19 8 aEx. 10:2; 12:26; 13:14 9 aDeut. 6:8; 11:18 10 aEx. 12:14, 24 1regulation 11 aEx. 13:5 bNum. 21:3 12 aLev. 27:26 1Lit. cause to pass over 13 aEx. 34:20 bNum. 3:46, 47; 18:15, 16 14 aDeut. 6:20 bEx. 13:3, 9 15 aEx. 12:29 16 aEx. 13:9 17 aEx. 14:11 bDeut. 17:16 18 aNum. 33:6 19 aGen. 50:24, 25 bEx. 1:6; Deut. 33:13–17 cEx. 4:31 1give at- tention to 20 aNum. 33:6–8 bEx. 12:37 21 aDeut. 1:33 CHAPTER 14 2 aEx. 13:18 bNum. 33:7 cJer. 44:1 3 aPs. 71:11 4 aEx. 4:21; 7:3; 14:17 bEx. 9:16; 14:17, 18, 23 cEx. 7:5; 14:25 5 aPs. 105:25 6 1harnessed 7 aEx. 15:4

EXODUS 14:8 60 of Egypt with captains over every one of them. 8 And the LORD ahardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel; and bthe children of Israel went out with boldness. 9 So the aEgyptians pursued them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and overtook them camping by the sea beside Pi Hahiroth, before Baal Zephon. 10 And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel acried out to the LORD. 11 aThen they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? 12 a“Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.” 13 And Moses said to the people, a“Do not be afraid. bStand still, and see the csalvation1 of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall dsee again no more forever. 14 a“The LORD will fight for you, and you shall bhold1 your peace.” 15 And the LORD said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. 16 “But alift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. 17 “And I indeed will aharden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them. So I will bgain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, his chariots, and his horsemen. 18 “Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gained honor for Myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.” 19 And the Angel of God, awho went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. 20 So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night. 21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and amade the sea into dry land, and the waters were bdivided. 22 So athe children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were ba wall to them on their right hand and on their left. 23 And the Egyptians pursued and went after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chari- ots, and his horsemen. 24 Now it came to pass, in the morning awatch, that bthe LORD looked down upon the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and He 1troubled the army of the Egyptians. 25 And He 1took off their chariot wheels, so that they drove them with difficulty; and the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the LORD afights for them against the Egyptians.” 26 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, on their chari- ots, and on their horsemen.” 27 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and when the morning appeared, the sea are- turned to its full depth, while the Egyptians were fleeing into it. So the LORD boverthrew1 the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. 28 Then athe waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them.

d to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, on their chari- ots, and on their horsemen.” 27 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and when the morning appeared, the sea are- turned to its full depth, while the Egyptians were fleeing into it. So the LORD boverthrew1 the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. 28 Then athe waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. Not so much as one of them remained. 29 But athe children of Israel had walked on dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. 30 So the LORD asaved1 Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyp- tians, and Israel bsaw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 Thus Israel saw the great 1work which the LORD had done in Egypt; so the people feared the LORD, and abelieved the LORD and His servant Moses. The Song of Moses 15 Then aMoses and the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD, and spoke, saying: “I will bsing to the LORD, For He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea! 2 The LORD is my strength and asong, And He has become my salvation; He is my God, and bI will praise Him; My cfather’s God, and I dwill exalt Him. 8 aEx. 14:4 bNum. 33:3 9 aJosh. 24:6 10 aNeh. 9:9 11 aPs. 106:7, 8 12 aEx. 5:21; 6:9 13 a2 Chr. 20:15, 17 bPs. 46:10, 11 cEx. 14:30; 15:2 dDeut. 28:68 1deliverance 14 aDeut. 1:30; 3:22 b[Is. 30:15] 1Lit. be quiet 16 aNum. 20:8, 9, 11 17 aEx. 14:8 bEx. 14:4 19 a[Is. 63:9] 21 aPs. 66:6; 106:9; 136:13, 14 bIs. 63:12, 13 22 aEx. 15:19 bEx. 14:29; 15:8 24 aJudg. 7:19 bEx. 13:21 1confused 25 aEx. 7:5; 14:4, 14, 18 1Sam., LXX, Syr. bound 27 aJosh. 4:18 bEx. 15:1, 7 1Lit. shook off 28 aPs. 78:53; 106:11 29 aPs. 66:6; 78:52, 53 30 aPs. 106:8, 10 bPs. 58:10; 59:10 1delivered 31 aJohn 2:11; 11:45 1Lit. hand with which the LORD worked CHAPTER 15 1 aPs. 106:12 bIs. 12:1–6 2 aIs. 12:2 bGen. 28:21, 22 cEx. 3:6, 15, 16 dIs. 25:1

61 EXODUS 15:27 3 The LORD is a man of awar; The LORD is His bname. 4 aPharaoh’s chariots and his army He has cast into the sea; bHis chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea. 5 The depths have covered them; aThey sank to the bottom like a stone. 6 “Your aright hand, O LORD, has become glorious in power; Your right hand, O LORD, has dashed the enemy in pieces. 7 And in the greatness of Your aexcellence You have overthrown those who rose against You; You sent forth bYour wrath; It cconsumed them dlike stubble. 8 And awith the blast of Your nostrils The waters were gathered together; bThe floods stood upright like a heap; The depths 1congealed in the heart of the sea. 9 aThe enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will bdivide the spoil; My desire shall be satisfied on them. I will draw my sword, My hand shall destroy them.’ 10 You blew with Your wind, The sea covered them; They sank like lead in the mighty waters. 11 “Whoa is like You, O LORD, among the 1gods? Who is like You, bglorious in holiness, Fearful in cpraises, ddoing wonders? 12 You stretched out Your right hand; The earth swallowed them. 13 You in Your mercy have aled forth The people whom You have redeemed; You have guided them in Your strength To bYour holy habitation. 14 “The apeople will hear and be afraid; bSorrow1 will take hold of the inhabitants of Philistia. 15 aThen bthe chiefs of Edom will be dismayed; cThe mighty men of Moab, Trembling will take hold of them; dAll the inhabitants of Canaan will emelt away. 16 aFear and dread will fall on them; By the greatness of Your arm They will be bas still as a stone, Till Your people pass over, O LORD, Till the people pass over cWhom You have purchased. 17 You will bring them in and aplant them In the bmountain of Your inheritance, In the place, O LORD, which You have made For Your own dwelling, The csanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established. 18 “Thea LORD shall reign forever and ever.” 19 For the ahorses of Pharaoh went with his chariots and his horsemen into the sea, and bthe LORD brought back the waters of the sea upon them. But the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea. The Song of Miriam 20 Then Miriam athe prophetess, bthe sister of Aaron, ctook the tim- brel in her hand; and all the women went out after her dwith timbrels and with dances. 21 And Miriam aanswered them: b“Sing to the LORD, For He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!” Bitter Waters Made Sweet 22 So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; then they went out into the Wilderness of aShur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no bwater. 23 Now when they came to aMarah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. There- fore the name of it was called 1Marah. 24 And the people acomplained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” 25 So he cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree. aWhen he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet. There He bmade a statute and an 1ordinance for them, and there cHe tested them, 26 and said, a“If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the bdiseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD cwho heals you.” 27 aThen they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees; so they camped there by the waters. 3 aRev. 19:11 bPs. 24:8; 83:18 4 aEx. 14:28 bEx. 14:7 5 aNeh. 9:11 6 aPs. 17:7; 118:15 7 aDeut. 33:26 bPs. 78:49, 50 cPs. 59:13 dIs. 5:24 8 aEx. 14:21, 22, 29 bPs. 78:13 1became firm 9 aJudg. 5:30 bIs. 53:12 11 a1 Kin. 8:23 bIs. 6:3 c1 Chr. 16:25 dPs. 77:11, 14 1mighty ones 13 a[Ps. 77:20] bPs. 78:54 14 aJosh. 2:9 bPs. 48:6 1Anguish 15 aGen. 36:15, 40 bDeut. 2:4 cNum. 22:3, 4 dJosh. 5:1 eJosh. 2:9–11, 24 16 aJosh. 2:9 b1 Sam. 25:37 cJer. 31:11 17 aPs. 44:2; 80:8, 15 bPs. 2:6; 78:54, 68 cPs.

ers. 3 aRev. 19:11 bPs. 24:8; 83:18 4 aEx. 14:28 bEx. 14:7 5 aNeh. 9:11 6 aPs. 17:7; 118:15 7 aDeut. 33:26 bPs. 78:49, 50 cPs. 59:13 dIs. 5:24 8 aEx. 14:21, 22, 29 bPs. 78:13 1became firm 9 aJudg. 5:30 bIs. 53:12 11 a1 Kin. 8:23 bIs. 6:3 c1 Chr. 16:25 dPs. 77:11, 14 1mighty ones 13 a[Ps. 77:20] bPs. 78:54 14 aJosh. 2:9 bPs. 48:6 1Anguish 15 aGen. 36:15, 40 bDeut. 2:4 cNum. 22:3, 4 dJosh. 5:1 eJosh. 2:9–11, 24 16 aJosh. 2:9 b1 Sam. 25:37 cJer. 31:11 17 aPs. 44:2; 80:8, 15 bPs. 2:6; 78:54, 68 cPs. 68:16; 76:2; 132:13, 14 18 aIs. 57:15 19 aEx. 14:23 bEx. 14:28 20 aJudg. 4:4 bNum. 26:59 c1 Sam. 18:6 dJudg. 11:34; 21:21 21 a1 Sam. 18:7 bEx. 15:1 22 aGen. 16:7; 20:1; 25:18 bNum. 20:2 23 aNum. 33:8 1Lit. Bitter 24 aEx. 14:11; 16:2 25 a2 Kin. 2:21 bJosh. 24:25 cDeut. 8:2, 16 1regulation 26 aDeut. 7:12, 15 bDeut. 28:27, 58, 60 cEx. 23:25 27 aNum. 33:9

EXODUS 16:1 62 Bread from Heaven 16 And they ajourneyed from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the Wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and bSinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they departed from the land of Egypt. 2 Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel acomplained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3 And the children of Israel said to them, a“Oh, that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, bwhen we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” 4 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain abread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather 1a certain quota every day, that I may btest them, whether they will cwalk in My law or not. 5 “And it shall be on the sixth day that they shall prepare what they bring in, and ait shall be twice as much as they gather daily.” 6 Then Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, a“At evening you shall know that the LORD has brought you out of the land of Egypt. 7 “And in the morning you shall see athe glory of the LORD; for He bhears your complaints against the LORD. But cwhat are we, that you complain against us?” 8 Also Moses said, “This shall be seen when the LORD gives you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to the full; for the LORD hears your complaints which you make against Him. And what are we? Your complaints are not against us but aagainst the LORD.” 9 Then Moses spoke to Aaron, “Say to all the congregation of the children of Israel, a‘Come near before the LORD, for He has heard your complaints.’ ” 10 Now it came to pass, as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the LORD aap- peared in the cloud. 11 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 12 a“I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, b‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and cin the morning you shall be filled with bread. And you shall know that I am the LORD your God.’ ” 13 So it was that aquails came up at evening and covered the camp, and in the morning bthe dew lay all around the camp. 14 And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the wilder- ness, was aa small round bsub- stance, as fine as frost on the ground. 15 So when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, a“This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat. 16 “This is the thing which the LORD has commanded: ‘Let every man gather it aaccording to each one’s need, one bomer for each per- son, according to the number of persons; let every man take for those who are in his tent.’ ” 17 Then the children of Israel did so and gathered, some more, some less. 18 So when they measured it by omers, ahe who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gath- ered little had no lack. Every man had gathered according to each one’s need. 19 And Moses said, “Let no one aleave any of it till morning.” 20 Notwithstanding they did not 1heed Moses. But some of them left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. 21 So they gathered it every morn- ing, every man according to his need. And when the sun became hot, it melted. 22 And so it was, on the sixth day, that they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. And all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. 23 Then he said to them, “This is what the LORD has said: ‘Tomorrow is aa Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD.

es. But some of them left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. 21 So they gathered it every morn- ing, every man according to his need. And when the sun became hot, it melted. 22 And so it was, on the sixth day, that they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. And all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. 23 Then he said to them, “This is what the LORD has said: ‘Tomorrow is aa Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. Bake what you will bake today, and boil what you will boil; and lay up for yourselves all that remains, to be kept until morning.’ ” 24 So they laid it up till morning, as Moses commanded; and it did not astink, nor were there any worms in it. 25 Then Moses said, “Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to the LORD; today you will not find it in the field. 26 a“Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none.” 27 Now it happened that some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather, but they found none. 28 And the LORD said to Moses, “How long ado you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws? 29 “See! For the LORD has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you on the sixth day bread for two days. Let every man remain in his place; CHAPTER 16 1 aNum. 33:10, 11; Ezek. 30:15 bEx. 12:6, 51; 19:1 2 aEx. 14:11; 15:24; Ps. 106:25; 1 Cor. 10:10 3 aEx. 17:3; Num. 14:2, 3; 20:3; Lam. 4:9 bNum. 11:4, 5 4 aNeh. 9:15; Ps. 78:23–25; 105:40; [John 6:31–35]; 1 Cor. 10:3 bEx. 15:25; Deut. 8:2, 16 cJudg. 2:22 1Lit. the por- tion of a day in its day 5 aEx. 16:22, 29; Lev. 25:21 6 aEx. 6:7 7 aEx. 16:10, 12; Is. 35:2; 40:5; John 11:4, 40 bNum. 14:27; 17:5 cNum. 16:11 8 a1 Sam. 8:7; Luke 10:16; [Rom. 13:2]; 1 Thess. 4:8 9 aNum. 16:16 10 aEx. 13:21; 16:7; Num. 16:19; 1 Kin. 8:10 12 aEx. 16:8; Num. 14:27 bEx. 16:6 cEx. 16:7; 1 Kin. 20:28; Joel 3:17 13 aNum. 11:31; Ps. 78:27–29; 105:40 bNum. 11:9 14 aEx. 16:31; Num. 11:7, 8; Deut. 8:3; Neh. 9:15; Ps. 78:24; 105:40 bPs. 147:16 15 aEx. 16:4; Neh. 9:15; Ps. 78:24; [John 6:31, 49, 58]; 1 Cor. 10:3 16 aEx. 12:4 bEx. 16:32, 36 18 a2 Cor. 8:15 19 aEx. 12:10; 16:23; 23:18 20 1listen to 23 aGen. 2:3; Ex. 20:8–11; 23:12; 31:15; 35:2; Lev. 23:3; Neh. 9:13, 14 24 aEx. 16:20 26 aEx. 20:9, 10 28 a2 Kin. 17:14; Ps. 78:10; 106:13

63 EXODUS 18:7 let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.” 30 So the people rested on the sev- enth day. 31 And the house of Israel called its name 1Manna. And ait was like white coriander seed, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. 32 Then Moses said, “This is the thing which the LORD has com- manded: ‘Fill an omer with it, to be kept for your generations, that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’ ” 33 And Moses said to Aaron, a“Take a pot and put an omer of manna in it, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept for your genera- tions.” 34 As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up abefore the Testimony, to be kept. 35 And the children of Israel aate manna bforty years, cuntil they came to an inhabited land; they ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan. 36 Now an omer is one-tenth of an ephah. Water from the Rock 17 Then aall the congregation of the children of Israel set out on their journey from the Wilder- ness of bSin, according to the com- mandment of the LORD, and camped in Rephidim; but there was no water for the people to cdrink. 2 aTherefore the people contended with Moses, and said, “Give us water, that we may drink.” So Moses said to them, “Why do you contend with me? Why do you btempt the LORD?” 3 And the people thirsted there for water, and the people acom- plained against Moses, and said, “Why is it you have brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our chil- dren and our blivestock with thirst?” 4 So Moses acried out to the LORD, saying, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to bstone1 me!” 5 And the LORD said to Moses, a“Go on before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel. Also take in your hand your rod with which byou struck the river, and go. 6 a“Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 So he called the name of the place aMassah1 and 2Meribah, because of the contention of the children of Israel, and because they 3tempted the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?” Victory over the Amalekites 8 aNow Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim. 9 And Moses said to Joshua, “Choose us some men and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with athe rod of God in my hand.” 10 So Joshua did as Moses said to him, and fought with Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 And so it was, when Moses aheld up his hand, that Israel pre- vailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses’ hands became 1heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it.

im. 9 And Moses said to Joshua, “Choose us some men and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with athe rod of God in my hand.” 10 So Joshua did as Moses said to him, and fought with Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 And so it was, when Moses aheld up his hand, that Israel pre- vailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses’ hands became 1heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. 14 Then the LORD said to Moses, a“Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that bI will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 And Moses built an altar and called its name, 1The-LORD-Is-My- Banner; 16 for he said, “Because 1the LORD has asworn: the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.” Jethro’s Advice 18 And aJethro, the priest of Mid- ian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that bGod had done for Moses and for Israel His people— that the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt. 2 Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in- law, took aZipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her back, 3 with her atwo sons, of whom the name of one was 1Gershom (for he said, b“I have been a 2stranger in a foreign land”) 4 and the name of the other was 1Eliezer (for he said, “The God of my father was my ahelp, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh”); 5 and Jethro, Moses’ father-in- law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness, where he was encamped at athe mountain of God. 6 Now he had said to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am com- ing to you with your wife and her two sons with her.” 7 So Moses awent out to meet his 31 aNum. 11:7–9 1Lit. What, Ex. 16:15 33 aHeb. 9:4 34 aNum. 17:10 35 aDeut. 8:3, 16 bNum. 33:38 cJosh. 5:12 CHAPTER 17 1 aEx. 16:1 bNum. 33:11–15 cEx. 15:22 2 aNum. 20:2, 3, 13 b[Deut. 6:16] 3 aEx. 16:2, 3 bEx. 12:38 4 aEx. 14:15 bJohn 8:59; 10:31 1Put me to death by stoning 5 aEzek. 2:6 bNum. 20:8 6 aNum. 20:10, 11 7 aNum. 20:13, 24; 27:14 1Lit. Tempted 2Lit. Contention 3tested 8 aGen. 36:12 9 aEx. 4:20 11 a[James 5:16] 12 1Weary of being held up 14 aEx. 24:4; 34:27 b1 Sam. 15:3 15 1Heb. YHWH Nissi 16 aGen. 22:14–16 1Lit. a hand is upon the throne of the LORD CHAPTER 18 1 aEx. 2:16, 18; 3:1 b[Ps. 106:2, 8] 2 aEx. 2:21; 4:20–26 3 aActs 7:29 bEx. 2:22 1Lit. Stranger There 2sojourner, temporary resident 4 aGen. 49:25 1Lit. My God Is Help 5 aEx. 3:1, 12; 4:27; 24:13 7 aGen. 18:2

EXODUS 18:8 64 father-in-law, bowed down, and bkissed him. And they asked each other about their well-being, and they went into the tent. 8 And Moses told his father-in-law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had come upon them on the way, and how the LORD had adelivered them. 9 Then Jethro rejoiced for all the agood which the LORD had done for Israel, whom He had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians. 10 And Jethro said, a“Blessed be the LORD, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh, and who has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. 11 “Now I know that the LORD is agreater than all the gods; bfor in the very thing in which they 1behaved cproudly, He was above them.” 12 Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in- law, 1took a burnt aoffering and other sacrifices to offer to God. And Aaron came with all the elders of Israel bto eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law before God. 13 And so it was, on the next day, that Moses asat to judge the people; and the people stood before Moses from morning until evening. 14 So when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he did for the people, he said, “What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone 1sit, and all the people stand before you from morning until evening?” 15 And Moses said to his father-in- law, “Because athe people come to me to inquire of God. 16 “When they have aa 1difficulty, they come to me, and I judge between one and another; and I make known the statutes of God and His laws.” 17 So Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you do is not good. 18 “Both you and these people who are with you will surely wear your- selves out. For this thing is too much for you; ayou are not able to perform it by yourself. 19 “Listen now to my voice; I will give you 1counsel, and God will be with you: Stand abefore God for the people, so that you may bbring the difficulties to God. 20 “And you shall ateach them the statutes and the laws, and show them the way in which they must walk and bthe work they must do. 21 “Moreover you shall select from all the people aable men, such as bfear God, cmen of truth, dhating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. 22 “And let them judge the people at all times. aThen it will be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they themselves shall judge. So it will be easier for you, for bthey will bear the burden with you. 23 “If you do this thing, and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all this people will also go to their aplace in peace.” 24 So Moses heeded the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said. 25 And aMoses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people: rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. 26 So they judged the people at all times; the ahard1 cases they brought to Moses, but they judged every small case themselves. 27 Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and ahe went his way to his own land. Israel at Mount Sinai 19 In the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on the same day, athey came to the Wilder- ness of Sinai. 2 For they had departed from aRephidim, had come to the Wilder- ness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness.

rulers of tens. 26 So they judged the people at all times; the ahard1 cases they brought to Moses, but they judged every small case themselves. 27 Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and ahe went his way to his own land. Israel at Mount Sinai 19 In the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on the same day, athey came to the Wilder- ness of Sinai. 2 For they had departed from aRephidim, had come to the Wilder- ness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness. So Israel camped there before bthe mountain. 3 And aMoses went up to God, and the LORD bcalled to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: 4 a‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how bI 1bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. 5 ‘Now atherefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and bkeep My covenant, then cyou shall be a spe- cial treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is dMine. 6 ‘And you shall be to Me a aking- dom of priests and a bholy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.” 7 So Moses came and called for the aelders of the people, and 1laid before them all these words which the LORD commanded him. 8 Then aall the people answered together and said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do.” So Moses brought back the words of the people to the LORD. 9 And the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I come to you ain the thick cloud, bthat the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever.” So Moses told the words of the people to the LORD. 10 Then the LORD said to Moses, 7 bEx. 4:27 8 aEx. 15:6, 16 9 a[Is. 63:7–14] 10 aGen. 14:20 11 a2 Chr. 2:5 bEx. 1:10, 16, 22; 5:2, 7 cLuke 1:51 1acted pre- sumptuously 12 aEx. 24:5 bDeut. 12:7 1So with MT, LXX; Syr., Tg., Vg. offered 13 aMatt. 23:2 14 1Sit as judge 15 aLev. 24:12 16 aEx. 24:14 1dispute 18 aNum. 11:14, 17 19 aEx. 4:16; 20:19 bNum. 9:8; 27:5 1advice 20 aDeut. 5:1 bDeut. 1:18 21 aActs 6:3 b2 Sam. 23:3 cEzek. 18:8 dDeut. 16:19 22 aDeut. 1:17 bNum. 11:17 23 aEx. 16:29 25 aDeut. 1:15 26 aJob 29:16 1difficult mat- ters 27 aNum. 10:29, 30 CHAPTER 19 1 aNum. 33:15 2 aEx. 17:1 bEx. 3:1, 12; 18:5 3 aActs 7:38 bEx. 3:4 4 aDeut. 29:2 bIs. 63:9 1sus- tained 5 aEx. 15:26; 23:22 bDeut. 5:2 cPs. 135:4 dEx. 9:29 6 a[1 Pet. 2:5, 9] bDeut. 7:6; 14:21; 26:19 7 aEx. 4:29, 30 1set 8 aDeut. 5:27; 26:17 9 aEx. 19:16; 20:21; 24:15 bDeut. 4:12, 36

65 EXODUS 20:17 “Go to the people and aconsecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes. 11 “And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. 12 “You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, ‘Take heed to yourselves that you do not go up to the mountain or touch its base. aWhoever touches the moun- tain shall surely be put to death. 13 ‘Not a hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with an arrow; whether man or beast, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come near the mountain.” 14 So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sancti- fied the people, and they washed their clothes. 15 And he said to the people, “Be ready for the third day; ado not come near your wives.” 16 Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were athunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp btrembled. 17 And aMoses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now aMount Sinai was com- pletely in smoke, because the LORD descended upon bit in fire. cIts smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and 1the dwhole mountain quaked greatly. 19 And when the blast of the trum- pet sounded long and became louder and louder, aMoses spoke, and bGod answered him by voice. 20 Then the LORD came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. 21 And the LORD said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people, lest they break through ato gaze at the LORD, and many of them perish. 22 “Also let the apriests who come near the LORD bconsecrate them- selves, lest the LORD cbreak out against them.” 23 But Moses said to the LORD, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai; for You warned us, say- ing, a‘Set bounds around the moun- tain and consecrate it.’ ” 24 Then the LORD said to him, “Away! Get down and then come up, you and Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the LORD, lest He break out against them.” 25 So Moses went down to the peo- ple and spoke to them. The Ten Commandments 20 And God spoke aall these words, saying: 2 a“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, bout of the house of 1bondage. 3 a“You shall have no other gods before Me. 4 a“You shall not make for your- self a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 ayou shall not bow down to them nor 1serve them. bFor I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, cvisiting2 the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth genera- tions of those who hate Me, 6 but ashowing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. 7 a“You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD bwill not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain. 8 a“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 aSix days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the aseventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, bnor your stranger who is within your gates. 11 For ain six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. 12 a“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be blong upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you. 13 a“You shall not murder. 14 a“You shall not commit badultery. 15 a“You shall not steal. 16 a“You shall not bear false wit- ness against your neigh- bor. 17 a“You shall not covet your neigh- bor’s house; byou shall 10 aLev.

made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. 12 a“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be blong upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you. 13 a“You shall not murder. 14 a“You shall not commit badultery. 15 a“You shall not steal. 16 a“You shall not bear false wit- ness against your neigh- bor. 17 a“You shall not covet your neigh- bor’s house; byou shall 10 aLev. 11:44, 45 12 aHeb. 12:20 15 a[1 Cor. 7:5] 16 aHeb. 12:18, 19 bHeb. 12:21 17 aDeut. 4:10 18 aDeut. 4:11 bEx. 3:2; 24:17 cGen. 15:17; 19:28 dPs. 68:8 1LXX all the people 19 aHeb. 12:21 bPs. 81:7 21 a1 Sam. 6:19 22 aEx. 19:24; 24:5 bLev. 10:3; 21:6–8 c2 Sam. 6:7, 8 23 aEx. 19:12 CHAPTER 20 1 aDeut. 5:22 2 aHos. 13:4 bEx. 13:3 1slaves 3 aJer. 25:6; 35:15 4 aDeut. 4:15–19; 27:15 5 aIs. 44:15, 19 bDeut. 4:24 cNum. 14:18, 33 1worship 2punishing 6 aDeut. 7:9 7 aLev. 19:12 bMic. 6:11 8 aLev. 26:2 9 aLuke 13:14 10 aGen. 2:2, 3 bNeh. 13:16–19 11 aEx. 31:17 12 aLev. 19:3 bDeut. 5:16, 33; 6:2; 11:8, 9 13 aRom. 13:9 14 aMatt. 5:27 bDeut. 5:18 15 aLev. 19:11, 13 16 aDeut. 5:20 17 a[Eph. 5:3, 5] b[Matt. 5:28]

EXODUS 20:18 66 not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.” The People Afraid of God’s Presence 18 Now aall the people bwitnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain csmoking; and when the people saw it, they trem- bled and stood afar off. 19 Then they said to Moses, a“You speak with us, and we will hear; but blet not God speak with us, lest we die.” 20 And Moses said to the people, a“Do not fear; bfor God has come to test you, and cthat His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.” 21 So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near athe thick dark- ness where God was. The Law of the Altar 22 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘You have seen that I have talked with you afrom heaven. 23 ‘You shall not make anything to be awith Me—gods of silver or gods of gold you shall not make for your- selves. 24 ‘An altar of aearth you shall make for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, byour sheep and your oxen. In every cplace where I 1record My name I will come to you, and I will dbless you. 25 ‘And aif you make Me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stone; for if you buse your tool on it, you have profaned it. 26 ‘Nor shall you go up by steps to My altar, that your anakedness may not be exposed on it.’ The Law Concerning Servants 21 “Now these are the 1judg- ments which you shall aset before them: 2 a“If you buy a Hebrew servant, he shall serve six years; and in the seventh he shall go out free and pay nothing. 3 “If he comes in by himself, he shall go out by himself; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. 4 “If his master has given him a wife, and she has borne him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself. 5 a“But if the servant plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ 6 “then his master shall bring him to the ajudges. He shall also bring him to the door, or to the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him forever. 7 “And if a man asells his daughter to be a female slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do. 8 “If she 1does not please her mas- ter, who has betrothed her to him- self, then he shall let her be redeemed.

f the servant plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ 6 “then his master shall bring him to the ajudges. He shall also bring him to the door, or to the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him forever. 7 “And if a man asells his daughter to be a female slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do. 8 “If she 1does not please her mas- ter, who has betrothed her to him- self, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has dealt deceitfully with her. 9 “And if he has betrothed her to his son, he shall deal with her accord- ing to the custom of daughters. 10 “If he takes another wife, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, aand her marriage rights. 11 “And if he does not do these three for her, then she shall go out free, without paying money. The Law Concerning Violence 12 a“He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death. 13 “However, aif he did not lie in wait, but God bdelivered him into his hand, then cI will appoint for you a place where he may flee. 14 “But if a man acts with apremed- itation against his neighbor, to kill him by treachery, byou shall take him from My altar, that he may die. 15 “And he who strikes his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. 16 a“He who kidnaps a man and bsells him, or if he is cfound in his hand, shall surely be put to death. 17 “And ahe who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. 18 “If men contend with each other, and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist, and he does not die but is confined to his bed, 19 “if he rises again and walks about outside awith his staff, then he who struck him shall be 1acquitted. He shall only pay for the loss of his time, and shall provide for him to be thoroughly healed. 20 “And if a man beats his male or female servant with a rod, so that he dies under his hand, he shall surely be punished. 21 “Notwithstanding, if he remains alive a day or two, he shall not be punished; for he is his aproperty. 22 “If men 1fight, and hurt a woman with child, so that 2she gives birth prematurely, yet no harm fol- lows, he shall surely be punished accordingly as the woman’s hus- band imposes on him; and he shall apay as the judges determine. 23 “But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, 24 a“eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 “burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. 18 aHeb. 12:18, 19 bRev. 1:10, 12 cEx. 19:16, 18 19 aHeb. 12:19 bDeut. 5:5, 23–27 20 a[Is. 41:10, 13] b[Deut. 13:3] cIs. 8:13 21 aEx. 19:16 22 aDeut. 4:36; 5:24, 26 23 aEx. 32:1, 2, 4 24 aEx. 20:25; 27:1–8 bEx. 24:5 c2 Chr. 6:6 dGen. 12:2 1cause My name to be remembered 25 aDeut. 27:5 bJosh. 8:30, 31 26 aEx. 28:42, 43 CHAPTER 21 1 aDeut. 4:14; 6:1 1ordi- nances 2 aJer. 34:14 5 aDeut. 15:16, 17 6 aEx. 12:12; 22:8, 9 7 aNeh. 5:5 8 1Lit. is evil in the eyes of 10 a[1 Cor. 7:3, 5] 12 a[Matt. 26:52] 13 aDeut. 19:4, 5 b1 Sam. 24:4, 10, 18 cNum. 35:11 14 aDeut. 19:11, 12 b1 Kin. 2:28–34 16 aDeut. 24:7 bGen. 37:28 cEx. 22:4 17 aMark 7:10 19 a2 Sam. 3:29 1exempt from punish- ment 21 aLev. 25:44–46 22 aEx. 18:21, 22; 21:30 1struggle 2Lit. her children come out 24 aLev. 24:20

67 EXODUS 22:23 26 “If a man strikes the eye of his male or female servant, and destroys it, he shall let him go free for the sake of his eye. 27 “And if he knocks out the tooth of his male or female servant, he shall let him go free for the sake of his tooth. Animal Control Laws 28 “If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, then athe ox shall surely be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be 1acquitted. 29 “But if the ox 1tended to thrust with its horn in times past, and it has been made known to his owner, and he has not kept it confined, so that it has killed a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned and its owner also shall be put to death. 30 “If there is imposed on him a sum of money, then he shall pay ato redeem his life, whatever is imposed on him. 31 “Whether it has gored a son or gored a daughter, according to this judgment it shall be done to him. 32 “If the ox gores a male or female servant, he shall give to their master athirty shekels of silver, and the box shall be stoned. 33 “And if a man opens a pit, or if a man digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls in it, 34 “the owner of the pit shall make it good; he shall give money to their owner, but the dead animal shall be his. 35 “If one man’s ox hurts anoth- er’s, so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and divide the money from it; and the dead ox they shall also divide. 36 “Or if it was known that the ox tended to thrust in time past, and its owner has not kept it confined, he shall surely pay ox for ox, and the dead animal shall be his own. Responsibility for Property 22 “If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and slaughters it or sells it, he shall arestore five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep. 2 “If the thief is found abreaking in, and he is struck so that he dies, there shall be bno guilt for his blood- shed. 3 “If the sun has risen on him, there shall be guilt for his blood- shed. He should make full restitu- tion; if he has nothing, then he shall be asold1 for his theft. 4 “If the theft is certainly afound alive in his hand, whether it is an ox or donkey or sheep, he shall brestore double. 5 “If a man causes a field or vine- yard to be grazed, and lets loose his animal, and it feeds in another man’s field, he shall make restitution from the best of his own field and the best of his own vineyard. 6 “If fire breaks out and catches in thorns, so that stacked grain, stand- ing grain, or the field is consumed, he who kindled the fire shall surely make restitution. 7 “If a man adelivers to his neigh- bor money or articles to keep, and it is stolen out of the man’s house, bif the thief is found, he shall pay dou- ble. 8 “If the thief is not found, then the master of the house shall be brought to the ajudges to see whether he has put his hand into his neighbor’s goods. 9 “For any kind of trespass, whether it concerns an ox, a donkey, a sheep, or clothing, or for any kind of lost thing which another claims to be his, the acause of both parties shall come before the judges; and whomever the judges condemn shall pay double to his neighbor. 10 “If a man delivers to his neigh- bor a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any animal to keep, and it dies, is hurt, or driven away, no one seeing it, 11 “then an aoath of the LORD shall be between them both, that he has not put his hand into his neighbor’s goods; and the owner of it shall accept that, and he shall not make it good. 12 “But aif, in fact, it is stolen from him, he shall make restitution to the owner of it. 13 “If it is atorn to pieces by a beast, then he shall bring it as evi- dence, and he shall not make good what was torn. 14 “And if a man borrows anything from his neighbor, and it becomes injured or dies, the owner of it not being with it, he shall surely make it good. 15 “If its owner was with it, he shall not make it good; if it was hired, it came for its hire. Moral and Ceremonial Principles 16 a“If a man entices a virgin who

is stolen from him, he shall make restitution to the owner of it. 13 “If it is atorn to pieces by a beast, then he shall bring it as evi- dence, and he shall not make good what was torn. 14 “And if a man borrows anything from his neighbor, and it becomes injured or dies, the owner of it not being with it, he shall surely make it good. 15 “If its owner was with it, he shall not make it good; if it was hired, it came for its hire. Moral and Ceremonial Principles 16 a“If a man entices a virgin who is not betrothed, and lies with her, he shall surely pay the bride-price for her to be his wife. 17 “If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money according to the abride-price of vir- gins. 18 a“You shall not permit a sorcer- ess to live. 19 a“Whoever lies with an animal shall surely be put to death. 20 a“He who sacrifices to any god, except to the LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed. 21 a“You shall neither mistreat a 1stranger nor oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. 22 a“You shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child. 23 “If you afflict them in any way, 28 aGen. 9:5 1exempt from punishment 29 1was inclined 30 aEx. 21:22; Num. 35:31 32 aZech. 11:12, 13; Matt. 26:15; 27:3, 9 bEx. 21:28 CHAPTER 22 1 a2 Sam. 12:6; Prov. 6:31; Luke 19:8 2 aJob 24:16; Matt. 6:19; 24:43; 1 Pet. 4:15 bNum. 35:27 3 aEx. 21:2; Matt. 18:25 1Sold as a slave 4 aEx. 21:16 bProv. 6:31 7 aLev. 6:1–7 bEx. 22:4 8 aEx. 21:6, 22; 22:28; Deut. 17:8, 9; 19:17 9 aDeut. 25:1; 2 Chr. 19:10 11 aHeb. 6:16 12 aGen. 31:39 13 aGen. 31:39 16 aDeut. 22:28, 29 17 aGen. 34:12; 1 Sam. 18:25 18 aLev. 19:31; 20:6, 27; Deut. 18:10, 11; 1 Sam. 28:3–10; Jer. 27:9, 10 19 aLev. 18:23; 20:15, 16; Deut. 27:21 20 aEx. 32:8; 34:15; Lev. 17:7; Num. 25:2; Deut. 17:2, 3, 5; 1 Kin. 18:40; 2 Kin. 10:25 21 aEx. 23:9; Deut. 10:19; Zech. 7:10 1sojourner 22 aDeut. 24:17, 18; Prov. 23:10, 11; Jer. 7:6, 7; [James 1:27]

EXODUS 22:24 68 and they acry at all to Me, I will surely bhear their cry; 24 “and My awrath will become hot, and I will kill you with the sword; byour wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless. 25 a“If you lend money to any of My people who are poor among you, you shall not be like a money- lender to him; you shall not charge him binterest. 26 a“If you ever take your neigh- bor’s garment as a pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down. 27 “For that is his only covering, it is his garment for his skin. What will he sleep in? And it will be that when he cries to Me, I will hear, for I am agracious. 28 a“You shall not revile God, nor curse a bruler of your people. 29 “You shall not delay to offer athe first of your ripe produce and your juices. bThe firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me. 30 a“Likewise you shall do with your oxen and your sheep. It shall be with its mother bseven days; on the eighth day you shall give it to Me. 31 “And you shall be aholy men to Me: byou shall not eat meat torn by beasts in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs. Justice for All 23 “You ashall not circulate a false report. Do not put your hand with the wicked to be an bun- righteous witness. 2 a“You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; bnor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice. 3 “You shall not show partiality to a apoor man in his dispute. 4 a“If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again. 5 a“If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its bur- den, and you would refrain from helping it, you shall surely help him with it. 6 a“You shall not pervert the judg- ment of your poor in his dispute. 7 a“Keep yourself far from a false matter; bdo not kill the innocent and righteous. For cI will not justify the wicked. 8 “And ayou shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous. 9 “Also ayou shall not oppress a 1stranger, for you know the heart of a stranger, because you were strangers in the land of Egypt. The Law of Sabbaths 10 a“Six years you shall sow your land and gather in its produce, 11 “but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave, the beasts of the field may eat. In like manner you shall do with your vineyard and your 1olive grove. 12 a“Six days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest, that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female servant and the stranger may be refreshed. 13 “And in all that I have said to you, abe circumspect and bmake no mention of the name of other gods, nor let it be heard from your mouth. Three Annual Feasts 14 a“Three times you shall keep a feast to Me in the year: 15 a“You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread (you shall eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt; bnone shall appear before Me empty); 16 a“and the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors which you have sown in the field; and bthe Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labors from the field. 17 a“Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord 1GOD. 18 a“You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bbread; nor shall the fat of My 1sac- rifice remain until morning. 19 a“The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the LORD your God.

st, the firstfruits of your labors which you have sown in the field; and bthe Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labors from the field. 17 a“Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord 1GOD. 18 a“You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bbread; nor shall the fat of My 1sac- rifice remain until morning. 19 a“The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the LORD your God. bYou shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk. The Angel and the Promises 20 a“Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. 21 “Beware of Him and obey His voice; ado not provoke Him, for He will bnot pardon your transgres- sions; for cMy name is in Him. 22 “But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then aI will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. 23 a“For My Angel will go before you and bbring you in to the Amo- rites and the Hittites and the Per- izzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will 1cut them off. 24 “You shall not abow down to their gods, nor serve them, bnor do according to their works; cbut you shall utterly overthrow them and completely break down their sacred pillars. 25 “So you shall aserve the LORD your God, and bHe will bless your 23 a[Luke 18:7] bPs. 18:6 24 aPs. 69:24 bPs. 109:9 25 aLev. 25:35–37 bPs. 15:5 26 aDeut. 24:6, 10–13 27 aEx. 34:6, 7 28 aEccl. 10:20 bActs 23:5 29 aEx. 23:16, 19 bEx. 13:2, 12, 15 30 aDeut. 15:19 bLev. 22:27 31 aLev. 11:44; 19:2 bEzek. 4:14 CHAPTER 23 1 aPs. 101:5 bDeut. 19:16–21 2 aGen. 7:1 bLev. 19:15 3 aDeut. 1:17; 16:19 4 a[Rom. 12:20] 5 aDeut. 22:4 6 aEccl. 5:8 7 aEph. 4:25 bMatt. 27:4 cRom. 1:18 8 aProv. 15:27; 17:8, 23 9 aEx. 22:21 1sojourner 10 aLev. 25:1–7 11 1olive yards 12 aLuke 13:14 13 a1 Tim. 4:16 bJosh. 23:7 14 aEx. 23:17; 34:22–24 15 aEx. 12:14–20 bEx. 22:29; 34:20 16 aEx. 34:22 bDeut. 16:13 17 aDeut. 16:16 1Heb. YHWH, usu- ally trans- lated LORD 18 aEx. 34:25 bDeut. 16:4 1feast 19 aDeut. 26:2, 10 bDeut. 14:21 20 aEx. 3:2; 13:15; 14:19 21 aPs. 78:40, 56 bDeut. 18:19 cIs. 9:6 22 aDeut. 30:7 23 aEx. 23:20 bJosh. 24:8, 11 1annihilate them 24 aEx. 20:5; 23:13, 33 bDeut. 12:30, 31 cNum. 33:52 25 aDeut. 6:13 bDeut. 28:5

69 EXODUS 25:9 bread and your water. And cI will take sickness away from the midst of you. 26 a“No one shall suffer miscar- riage or be barren in your land; I will bfulfill the number of your days. 27 “I will send aMy fear before you, I will bcause confusion among all the people to whom you come, and will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. 28 “And aI will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hit- tite from before you. 29 a“I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. 30 “Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit the land. 31 “And aI will set your 1bounds from the Red Sea to the sea, Philis- tia, and from the desert to the 2River. For I will bdeliver the inhabi- tants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you. 32 a“You shall make no 1covenant with them, nor with their gods. 33 “They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, ait will surely be a snare to you.” Israel Affirms the Covenant 24 Now He said to Moses, “Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, aNadab and Abihu, band sev- enty of the elders of Israel, and wor- ship from afar. 2 “And Moses alone shall come near the LORD, but they shall not come near; nor shall the people go up with him.” 3 So Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the 1judgments. And all the people answered with one voice and said, a“All the words which the LORD has said we will do.” 4 And Moses awrote all the words of the LORD. And he rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve bpillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 Then he sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered aburnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the LORD. 6 And Moses atook half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar. 7 Then he atook the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the LORD has said we will do, and be obedient.” 8 And Moses took the blood, sprin- kled it on the people, and said, “This is athe blood of the covenant which the LORD has made with you accord- ing to all these words.” On the Mountain with God 9 Then Moses went up, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and sev- enty of the elders of Israel, 10 and they asaw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of bsapphire stone, and it was like the cvery1 heavens in its clarity. 11 But on the nobles of the chil- dren of Israel He adid not 1lay His hand. So bthey saw God, and they cate and drank. 12 Then the LORD said to Moses, a“Come up to Me on the mountain and be there; and I will give you btablets of stone, and the law and commandments which I have writ- ten, that you may teach them.” 13 So Moses arose with ahis assis- tant Joshua, and Moses went up to the mountain of God. 14 And he said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we come back to you. Indeed, Aaron and aHur are with you. If any man has a difficulty, let him go to them.” 15 Then Moses went up into the mountain, and aa cloud covered the mountain. 16 Now athe glory of the LORD rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the sev- enth day He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. 17 The sight of the glory of the LORD was like aa consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel. 18 So Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up into the mountain.

you. If any man has a difficulty, let him go to them.” 15 Then Moses went up into the mountain, and aa cloud covered the mountain. 16 Now athe glory of the LORD rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the sev- enth day He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. 17 The sight of the glory of the LORD was like aa consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel. 18 So Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up into the mountain. And aMoses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights. Offerings for the Sanctuary 25 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring Me an 1offering. aFrom everyone who gives it will- ingly with his heart you shall take My offering. 3 “And this is the offering which you shall take from them: gold, sil- ver, and bronze; 4 “blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen, and goats’ hair; 5 “ram skins dyed red, 1badger skins, and acacia wood; 6 a“oil for the light, and bspices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense; 7 “onyx stones, and stones to be set in the aephod and in the breastplate. 8 “And let them make Me a asanc- tuary,1 that bI may dwell among them. 9 “According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the 25 cEx. 15:26 26 aDeut. 7:14; 28:4 b1 Chr. 23:1 27 aEx. 15:16 bDeut. 7:23 28 aJosh. 24:12 29 aDeut. 7:22 31 aGen. 15:18 bJosh. 21:44 1boundaries 2Heb. Nahar, the Euphrates 32 aEx. 34:12, 15 1treaty 33 aPs. 106:36 CHAPTER 24 1 aLev. 10:1, 2 bNum. 11:16 3 aEx. 19:8; 24:7 1ordinances 4 aDeut. 31:9 bGen. 28:18 5 aEx. 18:12; 20:24 6 aHeb. 9:18 7 aHeb. 9:19 8 a[Luke 22:20] 10 a[John 1:18; 6:46] bEzek. 1:26 cMatt. 17:2 1Lit. sub- stance of heaven 11 aEx. 19:21 bGen. 32:30 c1 Cor. 10:18 1stretch out His 12 aEx. 24:2, 15 bEx. 31:18; 32:15 13 aEx. 32:17 14 aEx. 17:10, 12 15 aEx. 19:9 16 aEx. 16:10; 33:18 17 aDeut. 4:26, 36; 9:3 18 aEx. 34:28 CHAPTER 25 2 aEx. 35:4–9, 21 1heave offering 5 1Or dolphin 6 aEx. 27:20 bEx. 30:23 7 aEx. 28:4, 6–14 8 aHeb. 9:1, 2 b[2 Cor. 6:16] 1sacred place

EXODUS 25:10 70 tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it. The Ark of the Testimony 10 a“And they shall make an ark of acacia wood; two and a half cubits shall be its length, a cubit and a half its width, and a cubit and a half its height. 11 “And you shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and out you shall overlay it, and shall make on it a molding of agold all around. 12 “You shall cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in its four cor- ners; two rings shall be on one side, and two rings on the other side. 13 “And you shall make poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold. 14 “You shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, that the ark may be carried by them. 15 a“The poles shall be in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it. 16 “And you shall put into the ark athe Testimony which I will give you. 17 a“You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold; two and a half cubits shall be its length and a cubit and a half its width. 18 “And you shall make two cheru- bim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat. 19 “Make one cherub at one end, and the other cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim at the two ends of it of one piece with the mercy seat. 20 “And athe cherubim shall stretch out their wings above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and they shall face one another; the faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat. 21 a“You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and bin the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you. 22 “And athere I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from bbetween the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about every- thing which I will give you in com- mandment to the children of Israel. The Table for the Showbread 23 a“You shall also make a table of acacia wood; two cubits shall be its length, a cubit its width, and a cubit and a half its height. 24 “And you shall overlay it with pure gold, and make a molding of gold all around. 25 “You shall make for it a frame of a handbreadth all around, and you shall make a gold molding for the frame all around. 26 “And you shall make for it four rings of gold, and put the rings on the four corners that are at its four legs. 27 “The rings shall be close to the frame, as holders for the poles to bear the table. 28 “And you shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold, that the table may be car- ried with them. 29 “You shall make aits dishes, its pans, its pitchers, and its bowls for pouring. You shall make them of pure gold. 30 “And you shall set the ashow- bread on the table before Me always. The Gold Lampstand 31 a“You shall also make a lamp- stand of pure gold; the lampstand shall be of hammered work.

e rings shall be close to the frame, as holders for the poles to bear the table. 28 “And you shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold, that the table may be car- ried with them. 29 “You shall make aits dishes, its pans, its pitchers, and its bowls for pouring. You shall make them of pure gold. 30 “And you shall set the ashow- bread on the table before Me always. The Gold Lampstand 31 a“You shall also make a lamp- stand of pure gold; the lampstand shall be of hammered work. Its shaft, its branches, its bowls, its ornamental knobs, and flowers shall be of one piece. 32 “And six branches shall come out of its sides: three branches of the lampstand out of one side, and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side. 33 a“Three bowls shall be made like almond blossoms on one branch, with an ornamental knob and a flower, and three bowls made like almond blossoms on the other branch, with an ornamental knob and a flower—and so for the six branches that come out of the lamp- stand. 34 a“On the lampstand itself four bowls shall be made like almond blossoms, each with its ornamental knob and flower. 35 “And there shall be a knob under the first two branches of the same, a knob under the second two branches of the same, and a knob under the third two branches of the same, according to the six branches that extend from the lampstand. 36 “Their knobs and their branches shall be of one piece; all of it shall be one hammered piece of pure gold. 37 “You shall make seven lamps for it, and athey shall arrange its lamps so that they bgive light in front of it. 38 “And its wick-trimmers and their trays shall be of pure gold. 39 “It shall be made of a talent of pure gold, with all these utensils. 40 “And asee to it that you make them according to the pattern which was shown you on the moun- tain. The Tabernacle 26 “Moreover ayou shall make the tabernacle with ten cur- tains of fine woven linen and blue, purple, and scarlet thread; with artistic designs of cherubim you shall weave them. 2 “The length of each curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits, and the 10 aEx. 37:1–9; Deut. 10:3; Heb. 9:4 11 aEx. 37:2; Heb. 9:4 15 aNum. 4:6; 1 Kin. 8:8 16 aEx. 16:34; 31:18; Deut. 10:2; 31:26; 1 Kin. 8:9; Heb. 9:4 17 aEx. 37:6; Heb. 9:5 20 a1 Kin. 8:7; 1 Chr. 28:18; Heb. 9:5 21 aEx. 26:34; 40:20 bEx. 25:16 22 aEx. 29:42, 43; 30:6, 36; Lev. 16:2; Num. 17:4 bNum. 7:89; 1 Sam. 4:4; 2 Sam. 6:2; 2 Kin. 19:15; Ps. 80:1; Is. 37:16 23 aEx. 37:10–16; 1 Kin. 7:48; 2 Chr. 4:8; Heb. 9:2 29 aEx. 37:16; Num. 4:7 30 aEx. 39:36; 40:23; Lev. 24:5–9 31 aEx. 37:17–24; 1 Kin. 7:49; Zech. 4:2; Heb. 9:2; Rev. 1:12 33 aEx. 37:19 34 aEx. 37:20–22 37 aEx. 27:21; 30:8; Lev. 24:3, 4; 2 Chr. 13:11 bNum. 8:2 40 aEx. 25:9; 26:30; Num. 8:4; 1 Chr. 28:11, 19; Acts 7:44; [Heb. 8:5] CHAPTER 26 1 aEx. 36:8–19

71 EXODUS 26:37 width of each curtain four cubits. And every one of the curtains shall have 1the same measurements. 3 “Five curtains shall be coupled to one another, and the other five curtains shall be coupled to one another. 4 “And you shall make loops of blue yarn on the edge of the curtain on the selvedge of one set, and like- wise you shall do on the outer edge of the other curtain of the second set. 5 “Fifty loops you shall make in the one curtain, and fifty loops you shall make on the edge of the cur- tain that is on the end of the second set, that the loops may be clasped to one another. 6 “And you shall make fifty clasps of gold, and couple the curtains together with the clasps, so that it may be one tabernacle. 7 a“You shall also make curtains of goats’ hair, to be a tent over the tabernacle. You shall make eleven curtains. 8 “The length of each curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits; and the eleven curtains shall all have the same measurements. 9 “And you shall couple five cur- tains by themselves and six curtains by themselves, and you shall double over the sixth curtain at the fore- front of the tent. 10 “You shall make fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is outer- most in one set, and fifty loops on the edge of the curtain of the second set. 11 “And you shall make fifty bronze clasps, put the clasps into the loops, and couple the tent together, that it may be one. 12 “The remnant that remains of the curtains of the tent, the half cur- tain that remains, shall hang over the back of the tabernacle. 13 “And a cubit on one side and a cubit on the other side, of what remains of the length of the curtains of the tent, shall hang over the sides of the tabernacle, on this side and on that side, to cover it. 14 a“You shall also make a cover- ing of ram skins dyed red for the tent, and a covering of badger skins above that. 15 “And for the tabernacle you shall amake the boards of acacia wood, standing upright. 16 “Ten cubits shall be the length of a board, and a cubit and a half shall be the width of each board. 17 “Two 1tenons shall be in each board for binding one to another. Thus you shall make for all the boards of the tabernacle. 18 “And you shall make the boards for the tabernacle, twenty boards for the south side. 19 “You shall make forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards: two sockets under each of the boards for its two tenons. 20 “And for the second side of the tabernacle, the north side, there shall be twenty boards 21 “and their forty sockets of sil- ver: two sockets under each of the boards. 22 “For the far side of the taberna- cle, westward, you shall make six boards. 23 “And you shall also make two boards for the two back corners of the tabernacle. 24 “They shall be 1coupled together at the bottom and they shall be cou- pled together at the top by one ring. Thus it shall be for both of them. They shall be for the two corners. 25 “So there shall be eight boards with their sockets of silver—sixteen sockets—two sockets under each of the boards. 26 “And you shall make bars of acacia wood: five for the boards on one side of the tabernacle, 27 “five bars for the boards on the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the side of the tabernacle, for the far side west- ward. 28 “The amiddle bar shall pass through the midst of the boards from end to end. 29 “You shall overlay the boards with gold, make their rings of gold as holders for the bars, and overlay the bars with gold. 30 “And you shall raise up the tab- ernacle aaccording to its pattern which you were shown on the mountain. 31 a“You shall make a veil woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen. It shall be woven with an artistic design of cherubim. 32 “You shall hang it upon the four pillars of acacia wood overlaid with gold. Their hooks shall be gold, upon four sockets of silver. 33 “And you shall hang the veil from the clasps.

gold as holders for the bars, and overlay the bars with gold. 30 “And you shall raise up the tab- ernacle aaccording to its pattern which you were shown on the mountain. 31 a“You shall make a veil woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen. It shall be woven with an artistic design of cherubim. 32 “You shall hang it upon the four pillars of acacia wood overlaid with gold. Their hooks shall be gold, upon four sockets of silver. 33 “And you shall hang the veil from the clasps. Then you shall bring athe ark of the Testimony in there, behind the veil. The veil shall be a divider for you between bthe holy place and the Most Holy. 34 a“You shall put the mercy seat upon the ark of the Testimony in the Most Holy. 35 a“You shall set the table outside the veil, and bthe lampstand across from the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south; and you shall put the table on the north side. 36 a“You shall make a screen for the door of the tabernacle, woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, made by a weaver. 37 “And you shall make for the 2 1Lit. one measure 7 aEx. 36:14 14 aEx. 35:7, 23; 36:19 15 aEx. 36:20–34 17 1Projections for joining, lit. hands 24 1Lit. dou- bled 28 aEx. 36:33 30 aEx. 25:9, 40; 27:8; 39:32; Num. 8:4; Acts 7:44; [Heb. 8:2, 5] 31 aEx. 27:21; 36:35–38; Lev. 16:2; 2 Chr. 3:14; Matt. 27:51; Heb. 9:3; 10:20 33 aEx. 25:10–16; 40:21 bLev. 16:2; Heb. 9:2, 3 34 aEx. 25:17–22; 40:20; Heb. 9:5 35 aEx. 40:22; Heb. 9:2 bEx. 40:24 36 aEx. 36:37

EXODUS 27:1 72 screen afive pillars of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold; their hooks shall be gold, and you shall cast five sockets of bronze for them. The Altar of Burnt Offering 27 “You shall make aan altar of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits wide—the altar shall be square—and its height shall be three cubits. 2 “You shall make its horns on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it. And you shall overlay it with bronze. 3 “Also you shall make its pans to receive its ashes, and its shovels and its basins and its forks and its firepans; you shall make all its uten- sils of bronze. 4 “You shall make a grate for it, a network of bronze; and on the net- work you shall make four bronze rings at its four corners. 5 “You shall put it under the rim of the altar beneath, that the net- work may be midway up the altar. 6 “And you shall make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with bronze. 7 “The poles shall be put in the rings, and the poles shall be on the two sides of the altar to bear it. 8 “You shall make it hollow with boards; aas it was shown you on the mountain, so shall they make it. The Court of the Tabernacle 9 a“You shall also make the court of the tabernacle. For the south side there shall be hangings for the court made of fine woven linen, one hun- dred cubits long for one side. 10 “And its twenty pillars and their twenty sockets shall be bronze. The hooks of the pillars and their bands shall be silver. 11 “Likewise along the length of the north side there shall be hang- ings one hundred cubits long, with its twenty pillars and their twenty sockets of bronze, and the hooks of the pillars and their bands of silver. 12 “And along the width of the court on the west side shall be hang- ings of fifty cubits, with their ten pil- lars and their ten sockets. 13 “The width of the court on the east side shall be fifty cubits. 14 “The hangings on one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and their three sockets. 15 “And on the other side shall be hangings of fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and their three sockets. 16 “For the gate of the court there shall be a screen twenty cubits long, woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, made by a weaver. It shall have four pil- lars and four sockets. 17 “All the pillars around the court shall have bands of silver; their ahooks shall be of silver and their sockets of bronze. 18 “The length of the court shall be one hundred cubits, the width fifty throughout, and the height five cubits, made of fine woven linen, and its sockets of bronze. 19 “All the utensils of the taberna- cle for all its service, all its pegs, and all the pegs of the court, shall be of bronze. The Care of the Lampstand 20 “And ayou shall command the children of Israel that they bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to cause the lamp to 1burn continually. 21 “In the tabernacle of meeting, aoutside the veil which is before the Testimony, bAaron and his sons shall tend it from evening until morning before the LORD.

linen, and its sockets of bronze. 19 “All the utensils of the taberna- cle for all its service, all its pegs, and all the pegs of the court, shall be of bronze. The Care of the Lampstand 20 “And ayou shall command the children of Israel that they bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to cause the lamp to 1burn continually. 21 “In the tabernacle of meeting, aoutside the veil which is before the Testimony, bAaron and his sons shall tend it from evening until morning before the LORD. cIt shall be a statute forever to their generations on behalf of the children of Israel. Garments for the Priesthood 28 “Now take aAaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister to Me as bpriest, Aaron and Aaron’s sons: cNadab, Abihu, dEleazar, and Ithamar. 2 “And ayou shall make 1holy gar- ments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. 3 “So ayou shall speak to all who are gifted artisans, bwhom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron’s garments, to consecrate him, that he may minister to Me as priest. 4 “And these are the garments which they shall make: aa breast- plate, ban 1ephod, ca robe, da skillfully woven tunic, a turban, and ea sash. So they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons, that he may minister to Me as priest. The Ephod 5 “They shall take the gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and the fine linen, 6 a“and they shall make the ephod of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, artisti- cally worked. 7 “It shall have two shoulder straps joined at its two edges, and so it shall be joined together. 8 “And the 1intricately woven band of the ephod, which is on it, shall be of the same workmanship, made of gold, blue, purple, and scar- let thread, and fine woven linen. 9 “Then you shall take two onyx astones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel: 10 “six of their names on one stone 37 aEx. 36:38 CHAPTER 27 1 aEx. 38:1; Ezek. 43:13 8 aEx. 25:40; 26:30; Acts 7:44; [Heb. 8:5] 9 aEx. 38:9–20 17 aEx. 38:19 20 aEx. 35:8, 28; Lev. 24:1–4 1Lit. ascend 21 aEx. 26:31, 33 bEx. 30:8; 1 Sam. 3:3; 2 Chr. 13:11 cEx. 28:43; 29:9; Lev. 3:17; 16:34; Num. 18:23; 19:21; 1 Sam. 30:25 CHAPTER 28 1 aNum. 3:10; 18:7 bPs. 99:6; Heb. 5:4 cEx. 24:1, 9; Lev. 10:1 dEx. 6:23; Lev. 10:6, 16 2 aEx. 29:5, 29; 31:10; 39:1–31; Lev. 8:7–9, 30 1sacred 3 aEx. 31:6; 36:1 bEx. 31:3; 35:30, 31; Is. 11:2; Eph. 1:17 4 aEx. 28:15 bEx. 28:6 cEx. 28:31 dEx. 28:39 eLev. 8:7 1Ornamented vest 6 aEx. 39:2–7; Lev. 8:7 8 1ingenious work of 9 aEx. 35:27

73 EXODUS 28:41 and six names on the other stone, in order of their abirth. 11 “With the work of an aengraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, you shall engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel. You shall set them in settings of gold. 12 “And you shall put the two stones on the shoulders of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel. So aAaron shall bear their names before the LORD on his two shoulders bas a memorial. 13 “You shall also make settings of gold, 14 “and you shall make two chains of pure gold like braided cords, and fasten the braided chains to the set- tings. The Breastplate 15 a“You shall make the breastplate of judgment. Artistically woven according to the workmanship of the ephod you shall make it: of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, you shall make it. 16 “It shall be doubled into a square: a span shall be its length, and a span shall be its width. 17 a“And you shall put settings of stones in it, four rows of stones: The first row shall be a 1sardius, a topaz, and an emerald; this shall be the first row; 18 “the second row shall be a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond; 19 “the third row, a 1jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; 20 “and the fourth row, a 1beryl, an 2onyx, and a jasper. They shall be set in gold settings. 21 “And the stones shall have the names of the sons of Israel, twelve according to their names, like the engravings of a signet, each one with its own name; they shall be according to the twelve tribes. 22 “You shall make chains for the breastplate at the end, like braided cords of pure gold. 23 “And you shall make two rings of gold for the breastplate, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate. 24 “Then you shall put the two braided chains of gold in the two rings which are on the ends of the breastplate; 25 “and the other two ends of the two braided chains you shall fasten to the two settings, and put them on the shoulder straps of the ephod in the front. 26 “You shall make two rings of gold, and put them on the two ends of the breastplate, on the edge of it, which is on the inner side of the ephod. 27 “And two other rings of gold you shall make, and put them on the two shoulder straps, underneath the ephod toward its front, right at the seam above the 1intricately woven band of the ephod. 28 “They shall bind the breastplate by means of its rings to the rings of the ephod, using a blue cord, so that it is above the intricately woven band of the ephod, and so that the breastplate does not come loose from the ephod. 29 “So Aaron shall abear the names of the sons of Israel on the breastplate of judgment over his heart, when he goes into the holy place, as a memo- rial before the LORD continually. 30 “And ayou shall put in the breastplate of judgment the 1Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be over Aaron’s heart when he goes in before the LORD.

he rings of the ephod, using a blue cord, so that it is above the intricately woven band of the ephod, and so that the breastplate does not come loose from the ephod. 29 “So Aaron shall abear the names of the sons of Israel on the breastplate of judgment over his heart, when he goes into the holy place, as a memo- rial before the LORD continually. 30 “And ayou shall put in the breastplate of judgment the 1Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be over Aaron’s heart when he goes in before the LORD. So Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel over his heart before the LORD continually. Other Priestly Garments 31 a“You shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue. 32 “There shall be an opening for his head in the middle of it; it shall have a woven binding all around its opening, like the opening in a coat of mail, so that it does not tear. 33 “And upon its hem you shall make pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet, all around its hem, and bells of gold between them all around: 34 “a golden bell and a pomegran- ate, a golden bell and a pomegran- ate, upon the hem of the robe all around. 35 “And it shall be upon Aaron when he ministers, and its sound will be heard when he goes into the holy place before the LORD and when he comes out, that he may not die. 36 a“You shall also make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet: HOLINESS TO THE LORD. 37 “And you shall put it on a blue cord, that it may be on the turban; it shall be on the front of the turban. 38 “So it shall be on Aaron’s fore- head, that Aaron may abear the iniquity of the holy things which the children of Israel hallow in all their 1holy gifts; and it shall always be on his forehead, that they may be baccepted before the LORD. 39 “You shall askillfully weave the tunic of fine linen thread, you shall make the turban of fine linen, and you shall make the sash of woven work. 40 a“For Aaron’s sons you shall make tunics, and you shall make sashes for them. And you shall make 1hats for them, for glory and bbeauty. 41 “So you shall put them on Aaron your brother and on his sons with him. You shall aanoint them, 10 aGen. 29:31–30:24; 35:16–18 11 aEx. 35:35 12 aEx. 28:29, 30; 39:6, 7 bLev. 24:7; Num. 31:54; Josh. 4:7; Zech. 6:14; 1 Cor. 11:24 15 aEx. 39:8–21 17 aEx. 39:10 1Or ruby 19 1Or amber 20 1Or yellow jasper 2Or carnelian 27 1ingenious work of 29 aEx. 28:12 30 aLev. 8:8; Num. 27:21; Deut. 33:8; 1 Sam. 28:6; Ezra 2:63; Neh. 7:65 1Lit. Lights and the Perfec- tions 31 aEx. 39:22–26 36 aEx. 39:30, 31; Lev. 8:9; Zech. 14:20 38 aEx. 28:43; Lev. 10:17; 22:9, 16; Num. 18:1; [Is. 53:11]; Ezek. 4:4–6; [John 1:29; Heb. 9:28; 1 Pet. 2:24] bLev. 1:4; 22:27; 23:11; Is. 56:7 1sacred 39 aEx. 35:35; 39:27–29 40 aEx. 28:4; 39:27–29, 41; Ezek. 44:17, 18 bEx. 28:2 1headpieces or turbans 41 aEx. 29:7–9; 30:30; 40:15; Lev. 10:7

EXODUS 28:42 74 bconsecrate them, and 1sanctify them, that they may minister to Me as priests. 42 “And you shall make afor them linen trousers to cover their 1naked- ness; they shall 2reach from the waist to the thighs. 43 “They shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they come into the tabernacle of meeting, or when they come near athe altar to minister in the holy place, that they bdo not incur 1iniquity and die. cIt shall be a statute forever to him and his descendants after him. Aaron and His Sons Consecrated 29 “And this is what you shall do to them to hallow them for ministering to Me as priests: aTake one young bull and two rams with- out blemish, 2 “and aunleavened bread, unleav- ened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil (you shall make them of wheat flour). 3 “You shall put them in one bas- ket and bring them in the basket, with the bull and the two rams. 4 “And Aaron and his sons you shall bring to the door of the taber- nacle of meeting, aand you shall wash them with water. 5 a“Then you shall take the gar- ments, put the tunic on Aaron, and the robe of the ephod, the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with bthe intricately woven band of the ephod. 6 a“You shall put the turban on his head, and put the holy crown on the turban. 7 “And you shall take the anoint- ing aoil, pour it on his head, and anoint him. 8 “Then ayou shall bring his sons and put tunics on them. 9 “And you shall gird them with sashes, Aaron and his sons, and put the hats on them. aThe priesthood shall be theirs for a perpetual statute. So you shall bconsecrate Aaron and his sons. 10 “You shall also have the bull brought before the tabernacle of meeting, and aAaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the bull. 11 “Then you shall kill the bull before the LORD, by the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 12 “You shall take some of the blood of the bull and put it on athe horns of the altar with your finger, and bpour all the blood beside the base of the altar. 13 “And ayou shall take all the fat that covers the entrails, the fatty lobe attached to the liver, and the two kidneys and the fat that is on them, and burn them on the altar. 14 “But athe flesh of the bull, with its skin and its offal, you shall burn with fire outside the camp. It is a sin offering. 15 a“You shall also take one ram, and Aaron and his sons shall bput their hands on the head of the ram; 16 “and you shall kill the ram, and you shall take its blood and asprin- kle it all around on the altar. 17 “Then you shall cut the ram in pieces, wash its entrails and its legs, and put them with its pieces and with its head. 18 “And you shall burn the whole ram on the altar.

athe flesh of the bull, with its skin and its offal, you shall burn with fire outside the camp. It is a sin offering. 15 a“You shall also take one ram, and Aaron and his sons shall bput their hands on the head of the ram; 16 “and you shall kill the ram, and you shall take its blood and asprin- kle it all around on the altar. 17 “Then you shall cut the ram in pieces, wash its entrails and its legs, and put them with its pieces and with its head. 18 “And you shall burn the whole ram on the altar. It is a aburnt offer- ing to the LORD; it is a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD. 19 a“You shall also take the other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the ram. 20 “Then you shall kill the ram, and take some of its blood and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron and on the tip of the right ear of his sons, on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood all around on the altar. 21 “And you shall take some of the blood that is on the altar, and some of athe anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron and on his garments, on his sons and on the garments of his sons with him; and bhe and his garments shall be hallowed, and his sons and his sons’ garments with him. 22 “Also you shall take the fat of the ram, the fat tail, the fat that covers the entrails, the fatty lobe attached to the liver, the two kidneys and the fat on them, the right thigh (for it is a ram of consecration), 23 a“one loaf of bread, one cake made with oil, and one wafer from the basket of the unleavened bread that is before the LORD; 24 “and you shall put all these in the hands of Aaron and in the hands of his sons, and you shall awave them as a wave offering before the LORD. 25 a“You shall receive them back from their hands and burn them on the altar as a burnt offering, as a sweet aroma before the LORD. It is an offering made by fire to the LORD. 26 “Then you shall take athe breast of the ram of Aaron’s consecration and wave it as a wave offering before the LORD; and it shall be your portion. 27 “And from the ram of the conse- cration you shall consecrate athe breast of the wave offering which is waved, and the thigh of the heave offering which is raised, of that which is for Aaron and of that which is for his sons. 28 “It shall be from the children of Israel for Aaron and his sons aby a statute forever. For it is a heave offering; bit shall be a heave offering 41 bEx. 29:9; Lev. 8; Heb. 7:28 1set them apart 42 aEx. 39:28; Lev. 6:10; 16:4; Ezek. 44:18 1bare flesh 2Lit. be 43 aEx. 20:26 bLev. 5:1, 17; 20:19, 20; 22:9; Num. 9:13; 18:22 cEx. 27:21; Lev. 17:7 1guilt CHAPTER 29 1 aLev. 8; [Heb. 7:26–28] 2 aLev. 2:4; 6:19–23 4 aEx. 40:12; Lev. 8:6; [Heb. 10:22] 5 aEx. 28:2; Lev. 8:7 bEx. 28:8 6 aEx. 28:36, 37; Lev. 8:9 7 aEx. 25:6; 30:25–31; Lev. 8:12; 10:7; 21:10; Num. 35:25; Ps. 133:2 8 aEx. 28:39, 40; Lev. 8:13 9 aEx. 40:15; Num. 3:10; 18:7; 25:13; Deut. 18:5 bEx. 28:41; Lev. 8 10 aLev. 1:4; 8:14 12 aLev. 8:15 bEx. 27:2; 30:2; Lev. 4:7 13 aLev. 1:8; 3:3, 4 14 aLev. 4:11, 12, 21; Heb. 13:11 15 aLev. 8:18 bLev. 1:4–9 16 aEx. 24:6; Lev. 1:5, 11 18 aEx. 20:24 19 aLev. 8:22 21 aEx. 30:25, 31; Lev. 8:30 bEx. 28:41; 29:1; [Heb. 9:22] 23 aLev. 8:26 24 aLev. 7:30; 10:14 25 aLev. 8:28 26 aLev. 7:31, 34; 8:29 27 aLev. 7:31, 34; Num. 18:11, 18; Deut. 18:3 28 aLev. 10:15 bLev. 3:1; 7:34

75 EXODUS 30:13 from the children of Israel from the sacrifices of their peace offerings, that is, their heave offering to the LORD. 29 “And the aholy garments of Aaron bshall be his sons’ after him, cto be anointed in them and to be consecrated in them. 30 a“That son who becomes priest in his place shall put them on for bseven days, when he enters the tab- ernacle of meeting to minister in the 1holy place. 31 “And you shall take the ram of the consecration and aboil its flesh in the holy place. 32 “Then Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the abread that is in the basket, by the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 33 a“They shall eat those things with which the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them; bbut an outsider shall not eat them, because they are holy. 34 “And if any of the flesh of the consecration offerings, or of the bread, remains until the morning, then ayou shall burn the remainder with fire. It shall not be eaten, because it is holy. 35 “Thus you shall do to Aaron and his sons, according to all that I have commanded you. aSeven days you shall consecrate them. 36 “And you ashall offer a bull every day as a sin offering for atonement. bYou shall cleanse the altar when you make atonement for it, and you shall anoint it to sanctify it. 37 “Seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and sanctify it. And the altar shall be most holy. aWhatever touches the altar must be holy. The Daily Offerings 38 “Now this is what you shall offer on the altar: atwo lambs of the first year, bday by day continually. 39 “One lamb you shall offer ain the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer 1at twilight. 40 “With the one lamb shall be one- tenth of an ephah of flour mixed with one-fourth of a hin of pressed oil, and one-fourth of a hin of wine as a drink offering. 41 “And the other lamb you shall aoffer 1at twilight; and you shall offer with it the grain offering and the drink offering, as in the morn- ing, for a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD. 42 “This shall be aa continual burnt offering throughout your genera- tions at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the LORD, bwhere I will meet you to speak with you. 43 “And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the taberna- cle ashall be sanctified by My glory. 44 “So I will consecrate the taber- nacle of meeting and the altar. I will also aconsecrate both Aaron and his sons to minister to Me as priests. 45 a“I will dwell among the chil- dren of Israel and will bbe their God. 46 “And they shall know that aI am the LORD their God, who bbrought them up out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them. I am the LORD their God. The Altar of Incense 30 “You shall make aan altar to burn incense on; you shall make it of acacia wood. 2 “A cubit shall be its length and a cubit its width—it shall be square— and two cubits shall be its height. Its horns shall be of one piece with it. 3 “And you shall overlay its top, its sides all around, and its horns with pure gold; and you shall make for it a 1molding of gold all around. 4 “Two gold rings you shall make for it, under the molding on both its sides.

I am the LORD their God. The Altar of Incense 30 “You shall make aan altar to burn incense on; you shall make it of acacia wood. 2 “A cubit shall be its length and a cubit its width—it shall be square— and two cubits shall be its height. Its horns shall be of one piece with it. 3 “And you shall overlay its top, its sides all around, and its horns with pure gold; and you shall make for it a 1molding of gold all around. 4 “Two gold rings you shall make for it, under the molding on both its sides. You shall place them on its two sides, and they will be holders for the poles with which to bear it. 5 “You shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold. 6 “And you shall put it before the aveil that is before the ark of the Tes- timony, before the bmercy seat that is over the Testimony, where I will meet with you. 7 “Aaron shall burn on it asweet incense every morning; when bhe tends the lamps, he shall burn incense on it. 8 “And when Aaron lights the lamps 1at twilight, he shall burn incense on it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations. 9 “You shall not offer astrange incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering; nor shall you pour a drink offering on it. 10 “And aAaron shall make atone- ment upon its horns once a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonement; once a year he shall make atonement upon it throughout your generations. It is most holy to the LORD.” The Ransom Money 11 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 12 a“When you take the census of the children of Israel for their num- ber, then every man shall give ba1 ransom for himself to the LORD, when you number them, that there may be no cplague among them when you number them. 13 a“This is what everyone among those who are numbered shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary b(a shekel is twenty gerahs). cThe half-shekel shall be an offering to the LORD. 29 aEx. 28:2 bNum. 20:26, 28 cNum. 18:8 30 aNum. 20:28 bLev. 8:35 1sanctuary 31 aLev. 8:31 32 aMatt. 12:4 33 aLev. 10:14, 15, 17 bLev. 22:10 34 aLev. 7:18; 8:32 35 aLev. 8:33–35 36 aHeb. 10:11 bEx. 30:26–29; 40:10, 11 37 aNum. 4:15; Hag. 2:11–13; Matt. 23:19 38 aNum. 28:3–31; 29:6–38 bDan. 12:11 39 aEzek. 46:13–15 1Lit. between the two evenings 41 a2 Kin. 16:15 1Lit. between the two evenings 42 aEx. 30:8 bEx. 25:22; 33:7, 9 43 a1 Kin. 8:11 44 aLev. 21:15 45 a [Rev. 21:3] bGen. 17:8 46 aEx. 16:12; 20:2 bLev. 11:45 CHAPTER 30 1 aEx. 37:25–29 3 1border 6 aEx. 26:31–35 bEx. 25:21, 22 7 a1 Sam. 2:28 bEx. 27:20, 21 8 1Lit. between the two evenings 9 aLev. 10:1 10 aLev. 16:3–34 12 aNum. 1:2; 26:2 b[1 Pet. 1:18, 19] c2 Sam. 24:15 1the price of a life 13 aMatt. 17:24 bNum. 3:47 cEx. 38:26

EXODUS 30:14 76 14 “Everyone included among those who are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an 1offering to the LORD. 15 “The arich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when you give an offering to the LORD, to make atone- ment for yourselves. 16 “And you shall take the atone- ment money of the children of Israel, and ashall 1appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of meeting, that it may be ba memorial for the children of Israel before the LORD, to make atonement for yourselves.” The Bronze Laver 17 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 18 a“You shall also make a 1laver of bronze, with its base also of bronze, for washing. You shall bput it between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar. And you shall put water in it, 19 “for Aaron and his sons ashall wash their hands and their feet in water from it. 20 “When they go into the taberna- cle of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn an offering made by fire to the LORD, they shall wash with water, lest they die. 21 “So they shall wash their hands and their feet, lest they die. And ait shall be a 1statute forever to them— to him and his descendants through- out their generations.” The Holy Anointing Oil 22 Moreover the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 23 “Also take for yourself aquality spices—five hundred shekels of liq- uid bmyrrh, half as much sweet- smelling cinnamon (two hundred and fifty shekels), two hundred and fifty shekels of sweet-smelling ccane, 24 “five hundred shekels of acassia, according to the shekel of the sanc- tuary, and a bhin of olive oil. 25 “And you shall make from these a holy anointing oil, an ointment compounded according to the art of the perfumer. It shall be aa holy anointing oil. 26 a“With it you shall anoint the tabernacle of meeting and the ark of the Testimony; 27 “the table and all its utensils, the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense; 28 “the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the laver and its base. 29 “You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy; awhatever touches them must be holy. 30 a“And you shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister to Me as priests. 31 “And you shall speak to the chil- dren of Israel, saying: ‘This shall be a holy anointing oil to Me through- out your generations. 32 ‘It shall not be poured on man’s flesh; nor shall you make any other like it, according to its composition. aIt is holy, and it shall be holy to you. 33 a‘Whoever 1compounds any like it, or whoever puts any of it on an outsider, bshall be 2cut off from his people.’ ” The Incense 34 And the LORD said to Moses: a“Take sweet spices, stacte and ony- cha and galbanum, and pure frank- incense with these sweet spices; there shall be equal amounts of each. 35 “You shall make of these an incense, a compound aaccording to the art of the perfumer, salted, pure, and holy. 36 “And you shall beat some of it very fine, and put some of it before the Testimony in the tabernacle of meeting awhere I will meet with you. bIt shall be most holy to you. 37 “But as for the incense which you shall make, ayou shall not make any for yourselves, according to its 1composition.

anum, and pure frank- incense with these sweet spices; there shall be equal amounts of each. 35 “You shall make of these an incense, a compound aaccording to the art of the perfumer, salted, pure, and holy. 36 “And you shall beat some of it very fine, and put some of it before the Testimony in the tabernacle of meeting awhere I will meet with you. bIt shall be most holy to you. 37 “But as for the incense which you shall make, ayou shall not make any for yourselves, according to its 1composition. It shall be to you holy for the LORD. 38 a“Whoever makes any like it, to smell it, he shall be cut off from his people.” Artisans for Building the Tabernacle 31 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 2 a“See, I have called by name Bezalel the bson of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 3 “And I have afilled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in under- standing, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, 4 “to design artistic works, to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, 5 “in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of workmanship. 6 “And I, indeed I, have appointed with him aAholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and I have put wisdom in the hearts of all the bgifted artisans, that they may make all that I have com- manded you: 7 a“the tabernacle of meeting, bthe ark of the Testimony and cthe mercy seat that is on it, and all the furni- ture of the tabernacle— 8 a“the table and its utensils, bthe pure gold lampstand with all its utensils, the altar of incense, 9 a“the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and bthe laver and its base— 14 1contribu- tion 15 aJob 34:19; Prov. 22:2; [Eph. 6:9] 16 aEx. 38:25–31 bNum. 16:40 1give 18 aEx. 38:8; 1 Kin. 7:38 bEx. 40:30; 1basin 19 aEx. 40:31, 32; Ps. 26:6; Is. 52:11; John 13:8, 10; Heb. 10:22 21 aEx. 28:43 1requirement 23 aSong 4:14; Ezek. 27:22 bPs. 45:8; Prov. 7:17 cSong 4:14; Jer. 6:20 24 aPs. 45:8 bEx. 29:40 25 aEx. 37:29; 40:9; Lev. 8:10; Num. 35:25; Ps. 89:20; 133:2 26 aEx. 40:9; Lev. 8:10; Num. 7:1 29 aEx. 29:37; Num. 4:15; Hag. 2:11–13 30 aEx. 29:7; Lev. 8:12 32 aEx. 30:25, 37 33 aEx. 30:38 bGen. 17:14; Ex. 12:15; Lev. 7:20, 21 1mixes 1Put to death 34 aEx. 25:6; 37:29 35 aEx. 30:25 36 aEx. 29:42; Lev. 16:2 b[Ex. 29:37; 30:32]; Lev. 2:3 37 aEx. 30:32 1Lit. propor- tion 38 aEx. 30:33 CHAPTER 31 2 aEx. 35:30–36:1 b1 Chr. 2:20 3 aEx. 28:3; 35:31; 1 Kin. 7:14; Eph. 1:17 6 aEx. 35:34 bEx. 28:3; 35:10, 35; 36:1 7 aEx. 36:8 bEx. 37:1–5 cEx. 37:6–9 8 aEx. 37:10–16 bEx. 37:17–24; Lev. 24:4 9 aEx. 38:1–7 bEx. 38:8

77 EXODUS 32:19 10 a“the 1garments of ministry, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, to minister as priests, 11 a“and the anointing oil and bsweet incense for the holy place. According to all that I have com- manded you they shall do.” The Sabbath Law 12 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 13 “Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: a‘Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who bsanctifies1 you. 14 a‘You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. Every- one who 1profanes it shall surely be put to death; for bwhoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people. 15 ‘Work shall be done for asix days, but the bseventh is the Sab- bath of rest, holy to the LORD. Who- ever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. 16 ‘Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their gener- ations as a perpetual covenant. 17 ‘It is aa sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for bin six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.’ ” 18 And when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses atwo tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, writ- ten with the finger of God. The Gold Calf 32 Now when the people saw that Moses adelayed coming down from the mountain, the people bgathered together to Aaron, and said to him, c“Come, make us 1gods that shall dgo before us; for as for this Moses, the man who ebrought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” 2 And Aaron said to them, “Break off the agolden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. 4 aAnd he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, “This is your god, O Israel, that bbrought you out of the land of Egypt!” 5 So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a aproclamation and said, “Tomor- row is a feast to the LORD.” 6 Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people asat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. 7 And the LORD said to Moses, a“Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt bhave corrupted themselves. 8 “They have turned aside quickly out of the way which aI commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, b‘This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!’ ” 9 And the LORD said to Moses, a“I have seen this people, and indeed it is a 1stiff-necked people! 10 “Now therefore, alet Me alone, that bMy wrath may burn hot against them and I may 1consume them. And cI will make of you a great nation.” 11 aThen Moses pleaded with 1the LORD his God, and said: “LORD, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 a“Why should the Egyptians speak, and say, ‘He brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your fierce wrath, and brelent from this harm to Your people. 13 “Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You aswore by Your own self, and said to them, b‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’ ” 14 So the LORD arelented from the harm which He said He would do to His people. 15 And aMoses turned and went down from the mountain, and the two tablets of the Testimony were in his hand.

lent from this harm to Your people. 13 “Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You aswore by Your own self, and said to them, b‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’ ” 14 So the LORD arelented from the harm which He said He would do to His people. 15 And aMoses turned and went down from the mountain, and the two tablets of the Testimony were in his hand. The tablets were written on both sides; on the one side and on the other they were written. 16 Now the atablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets. 17 And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a noise of war in the camp.” 18 But he said: “It is not the noise of the shout of victory, Nor the noise of the cry of defeat, But the sound of singing I hear.” 19 So it was, as soon as he came near the camp, that ahe saw the calf 10 aEx. 39:1, 41 1Or woven garments 11 aEx. 30:23–33 bEx. 30:34–38 13 aEzek. 20:12, 20 bLev. 20:8 1conse- crates 14 aEx. 20:8 bNum. 15:32–36 1defiles 15 aEx. 20:9–11 bGen. 2:2 17 aEx. 31:13 bGen. 1:31; 2:2, 3 18 a[Ex. 24:12; 32:15, 16] CHAPTER 32 1 aEx. 24:18; Deut. 9:9–12 bEx. 17:1–3 cActs 7:40 dEx. 13:21 eEx. 32:8 1Or a god 2 aEx. 11:2; 35:22 4 aEx. 20:3, 4, 23 bEx. 29:45, 46 5 a2 Kin. 10:20 6 aNum. 25:2 7 aDeut. 9:8–21 bGen. 6:11, 12 8 aEx. 20:3, 4, 23 b1 Kin. 12:28 9 a[Acts 7:51] 1stubborn 10 aDeut. 9:14, 19 bEx. 22:24 cNum. 14:12 1destroy 11 aDeut. 9:18, 26–29 1Lit. the face of the LORD 12 aNum. 14:13–19 bEx. 32:14 13 a[Heb. 6:13] bGen. 12:7; 13:15; 15:7, 18; 22:17; 26:4; 35:11, 12 14 a2 Sam. 24:16 15 aDeut. 9:15 16 aEx. 31:18 19 aDeut. 9:16, 17

EXODUS 32:20 78 and the dancing. So Moses’ anger became hot, and he cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. 20 aThen he took the calf which they had made, burned it in the fire, and ground it to powder; and he scattered it on the water and made the children of Israel drink it. 21 And Moses said to Aaron, a“What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?” 22 So Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my lord become hot. aYou know the people, that they are set on evil. 23 “For they said to me, ‘Make us gods that shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ 24 “And I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them break it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I cast it into the fire, and this calf came out.” 25 Now when Moses saw that the people were aunrestrained (for Aaron bhad not restrained them, to their shame among their enemies), 26 then Moses stood in the entrance of the camp, and said, “Whoever is on the LORD’s side— come to me!” And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him. 27 And he said to them, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘Let every man put his sword on his side, and go in and out from entrance to entrance throughout the camp, and alet every man kill his brother, every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.’ ” 28 So the sons of Levi did accord- ing to the word of Moses. And about three thousand men of the people fell that day. 29 aThen Moses said, 1“Consecrate yourselves today to the LORD, that He may bestow on you a blessing this day, for every man has opposed his son and his brother.” 30 Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses said to the people, a“You have committed a great sin. So now I will go up to the LORD; bperhaps I can cmake atonement for your sin.” 31 Then Moses areturned to the LORD and said, “Oh, these people have committed a great sin, and have bmade for themselves a god of gold! 32 “Yet now, if You will forgive their sin—but if not, I pray, ablot me bout of Your book which You have writ- ten.” 33 And the LORD said to Moses, a“Whoever has sinned against Me, I will bblot him out of My book. 34 “Now therefore, go, lead the peo- ple to the place of which I have aspo- ken to you. bBehold, My Angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, cin the day when I dvisit for punishment, I will visit punishment upon them for their sin.” 35 So the LORD plagued the people because of awhat they did with the calf which Aaron made. The Command to Leave Sinai 33 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Depart and go up from here, you aand the people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abra- ham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, b‘To your descendants I will give it.’ 2 a“And I will send My Angel before you, band I will drive out the Canaanite and the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. 3 “Go up ato a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, lest bI 1consume you on the way, for you are a cstiff- necked2 people.” 4 And when the people heard this bad news, athey mourned, band no one put on his ornaments. 5 For the LORD had said to Moses, “Say to the children of Israel, ‘You are a stiff-necked people. I could come up into your midst in one moment and consume you. Now therefore, take off your 1ornaments, that I may aknow what to do to you.’ ” 6 So the children of Israel stripped themselves of their orna- ments by Mount Horeb. Moses Meets with the LORD 7 Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and acalled it the tabernacle of meeting.

and no one put on his ornaments. 5 For the LORD had said to Moses, “Say to the children of Israel, ‘You are a stiff-necked people. I could come up into your midst in one moment and consume you. Now therefore, take off your 1ornaments, that I may aknow what to do to you.’ ” 6 So the children of Israel stripped themselves of their orna- ments by Mount Horeb. Moses Meets with the LORD 7 Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and acalled it the tabernacle of meeting. And it came to pass that everyone who bsought the LORD went out to the tabernacle of meet- ing which was outside the camp. 8 So it was, whenever Moses went out to the tabernacle, that all the people rose, and each man stood aat his tent door and watched Moses until he had gone into the tabernacle. 9 And it came to pass, when Moses entered the tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the LORD atalked with Moses. 10 All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and awor- shiped, each man in his tent door. 11 So athe LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but bhis servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle. The Promise of God’s Presence 12 Then Moses said to the LORD, “See, aYou say to me, ‘Bring up this 20 aNum. 5:17, 24; Deut. 9:21 21 aGen. 26:10 22 aEx. 14:11; Deut. 9:24 25 aEx. 33:4, 5 b2 Chr. 28:19 27 aNum. 25:5–13 29 aEx. 28:41; 1 Sam. 15:18, 22; Prov. 21:3; Zech. 13:3 1Lit. Fill your hand 30 a1 Sam. 12:20, 23 b2 Sam. 16:12 cNum. 25:13 31 aDeut. 9:18 bEx. 20:23 32 aPs. 69:28; Is. 4:3; Mal. 3:16; Rom. 9:3 bDan. 12:1; Phil. 4:3; Rev. 3:5; 21:27 33 aLev. 23:30; [Ezek. 18:4; 33:2, 14, 15] bEx. 17:14; Deut. 29:20; Ps. 9:5; Rev. 3:5; 21:27 34 aEx. 3:17 bEx. 23:20; Josh. 5:14 cDeut. 32:35; Rom. 2:5, 6 dPs. 89:32 35 aNeh. 9:18 CHAPTER 33 1 aEx. 32:1, 7, 13; Josh. 3:17 bGen. 12:7 2 aEx. 32:34; Josh. 5:14 bEx. 23:27–31; Josh. 24:11 3 aEx. 3:8 bNum. 16:21, 45 cEx. 32:9; 33:5 1destroy 2stubborn 4 aNum. 14:1, 39 bEzra 9:3; Esth. 4:1, 4; Ezek. 24:17, 23 5 a[Ps. 139:23] 1jewelry 7 aEx. 29:42, 43 bDeut. 4:29 8 aNum. 16:27 9 aEx. 25:22; 31:18; Ps. 99:7 10 aEx. 4:31 11 aNum. 12:8; Deut. 34:10 bEx. 24:13 12 aEx. 3:10; 32:34

79 EXODUS 34:19 people.’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, b‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’ 13 “Now therefore, I pray, aif I have found grace in Your sight, bshow me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is cYour people.” 14 And He said, a“My Presence will go with you, and I will give you brest.” 15 Then he said to Him, a“If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. 16 “For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, aexcept You go with us? So we bshall be separate, Your people and I, from all the peo- ple who are upon the face of the earth.” 17 So the LORD said to Moses, a“I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.” 18 And he said, “Please, show me aYour glory.” 19 Then He said, “I will make all My agoodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you. bI will be gracious to whom I will be cgracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” 20 But He said, “You cannot see My face; for ano man shall see Me, and live.” 21 And the LORD said, “Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. 22 “So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you ain the cleft of the rock, and will bcover you with My hand while I pass by. 23 “Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall anot be seen.” Moses Makes New Tablets 34 And the LORD said to Moses, a“Cut two tablets of stone like the first ones, and bI will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke. 2 “So be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself to Me there aon the top of the mountain. 3 “And no man shall acome up with you, and let no man be seen throughout all the mountain; let nei- ther flocks nor herds feed before that mountain.” 4 So he cut two tablets of stone like the first ones. Then Moses rose early in the morning and went up Mount Sinai, as the LORD had com- manded him; and he took in his hand the two tablets of stone. 5 Now the LORD descended in the acloud and stood with him there, and bproclaimed the name of the LORD. 6 And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD aGod, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in bgoodness and ctruth, 7 a“keeping mercy for thousands, bforgiving iniquity and transgres- sion and sin, cby no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.” 8 So Moses made haste and abowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped. 9 Then he said, “If now I have found grace in Your sight, O Lord, alet my Lord, I pray, go among us, even though we are a bstiff-necked1 people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as cYour inheri- tance.” The Covenant Renewed 10 And He said: “Behold, aI make a covenant. Before all your people I will bdo 1marvels such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the LORD. For it is can awe- some thing that I will do with you. 11 a“Observe what I command you this day.

O Lord, alet my Lord, I pray, go among us, even though we are a bstiff-necked1 people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as cYour inheri- tance.” The Covenant Renewed 10 And He said: “Behold, aI make a covenant. Before all your people I will bdo 1marvels such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the LORD. For it is can awe- some thing that I will do with you. 11 a“Observe what I command you this day. Behold, bI am driving out from before you the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. 12 a“Take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabi- tants of the land where you are going, lest it be a snare in your midst. 13 “But you shall adestroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and bcut down their wooden images 14 “(for you shall worship ano other god, for the LORD, whose bname is Jealous, is a cjealous God), 15 “lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they aplay the harlot with their gods and make sacrifice to their gods, and one of them binvites you and you ceat of his sacrifice, 16 “and you take of ahis daughters for your sons, and his daughters bplay the harlot with their gods and make your sons play the harlot with their gods. 17 a“You shall make no molded gods for yourselves. 18 “The Feast of aUnleavened Bread you shall keep. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, in the appointed time of the month of Abib; for in the bmonth of Abib you came out from Egypt. 19 a“All 1that open the womb are Mine, and every male firstborn 12 bEx. 33:17 13 aEx. 34:9 bPs. 25:4; 27:11; 86:11; 119:33 cDeut. 9:26, 29 14 aIs. 63:9 bJosh. 21:44; 22:4 15 aEx. 33:3 16 aNum. 14:14 bEx. 34:10 17 a[James 5:16] 18 a[1 Tim. 6:16] 19 aEx. 34:6, 7 b[Rom. 9:15, 16, 18] c[Rom. 4:4, 16] 20 a[Gen. 32:30] 22 aIs. 2:21 bPs. 91:1, 4 23 a[John 1:18] CHAPTER 34 1 a[Ex. 24:12; 31:18; 32:15, 16, 19] bDeut. 10:2, 4 2 aEx. 19:11, 18, 20 3 aEx. 19:12, 13; 24:9–11 5 aEx. 19:9 bEx. 33:19 6 aNeh. 9:17 bRom. 2:4 cPs. 108:4 7 aEx. 20:6 bPs. 103:3, 4 cJob 10:14 8 aEx. 4:31 9 aEx. 33:12–16 bEx. 33:3 cPs. 33:12; 94:14 1stubborn 10 aDeut. 5:2 bPs. 77:14 cPs. 145:6 1wonderful acts 11 aDeut. 6:25 bEx. 23:20–33; 33:2 12 aEx. 23:32, 33 13 aDeut. 12:3 b2 Kin. 18:4 14 a[Ex. 20:3–5] b[Is. 9:6; 57:15] c[Deut. 4:24] 15 aJudg. 2:17 bNum. 25:1, 2 c1 Cor. 8:4, 7, 10 16 aGen. 28:1 bNum. 25:1, 2 17 aEx. 20:4, 23; 32:8 18 aEx. 12:15, 16 bEx. 12:2; 13:4 19 aEx. 13:2; 22:29 1the firstborn

EXODUS 34:20 80 among your livestock, whether ox or sheep. 20 “But athe firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb. And if you will not redeem him, then you shall break his neck. All the first- born of your sons you shall redeem. And none shall appear before Me bempty-handed. 21 a“Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; in plowing time and in harvest you shall rest. 22 “And you shall observe the Feast of Weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingather- ing at the year’s end. 23 a“Three times in the year all your men shall appear before the Lord, the LORD God of Israel. 24 “For I will acast out the nations before you and enlarge your bor- ders; neither will any man covet your land when you go up to appear before the LORD your God three times in the year. 25 “You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leaven, anor shall the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover be left until morning. 26 a“The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring to the house of the LORD your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.” 27 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write athese words, for according to the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” 28 aSo he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he nei- ther ate bread nor drank water. And bHe wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the 1Ten Command- ments. The Shining Face of Moses 29 Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai (and the atwo tablets of the Testimony were in Moses’ hand when he came down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that bthe skin of his face shone while he talked with Him. 30 So when Aaron and all the chil- dren of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 Then Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the rulers of the con- gregation returned to him; and Moses talked with them. 32 Afterward all the children of Israel came near, aand he gave them as commandments all that the LORD had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. 33 And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put aa veil on his face. 34 But awhenever Moses went in be- fore the LORD to speak with Him, he would take the veil off until he came out; and he would come out and speak to the children of Israel what- ever he had been commanded. 35 And whenever the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone, then Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with Him. Sabbath Regulations 35 Then Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said to them, a“These are the words which the LORD has commanded you to do: 2 “Work shall be done for asix days, but the seventh day shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of rest to the LORD. Whoever does any work on it shall be put to bdeath. 3 a“You shall kindle no fire throughout your dwellings on the Sabbath day.” Offerings for the Tabernacle 4 And Moses spoke to all the con- gregation of the children of Israel, saying, a“This is the thing which the LORD commanded, saying: 5 ‘Take from among you an offer- ing to the LORD.

rds which the LORD has commanded you to do: 2 “Work shall be done for asix days, but the seventh day shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of rest to the LORD. Whoever does any work on it shall be put to bdeath. 3 a“You shall kindle no fire throughout your dwellings on the Sabbath day.” Offerings for the Tabernacle 4 And Moses spoke to all the con- gregation of the children of Israel, saying, a“This is the thing which the LORD commanded, saying: 5 ‘Take from among you an offer- ing to the LORD. aWhoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as an offering to the LORD: bgold, silver, and bronze; 6 a‘blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen, and bgoats’ hair; 7 ‘ram skins dyed red, badger skins, and acacia wood; 8 ‘oil for the light, aand spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense; 9 ‘onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod and in the breast- plate. Articles of the Tabernacle 10 a‘All who are gifted artisans among you shall come and make all that the LORD has commanded: 11 a‘the tabernacle, its tent, its cov- ering, its clasps, its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets; 12 a‘the ark and its poles, with the mercy seat, and the veil of the cover- ing; 13 ‘the atable and its poles, all its utensils, band the showbread; 14 ‘also athe lampstand for the light, its utensils, its lamps, and the oil for the light; 15 a‘the incense altar, its poles, bthe anointing oil, cthe sweet incense, and the screen for the door at the entrance of the tabernacle; 16 a‘the altar of burnt offering with its bronze grating, its poles, all its utensils, and the laver and its base; 17 a‘the hangings of the court, its pillars, their sockets, and the screen for the gate of the court; 20 aEx. 13:13 bEx. 22:29; 23:15; Deut. 16:16 21 aEx. 20:9; 23:12; 31:15; 35:2; Lev. 23:3; Deut. 5:13 23 aEx. 23:14–17 24 a[Ex. 33:2]; Josh. 11:23; 1 Kin. 4:21; 2 Chr. 36:14–16; Ps. 78:55 25 aEx. 12:10 26 aEx. 23:19; Deut. 26:2 27 aEx. 17:14; 24:4; Deut. 31:9 28 aEx. 24:18 bEx. 34:1, 4; Deut. 4:31; 10:2, 4 1Lit. Ten Words 29 aEx. 32:15 bMatt. 17:2; 2 Cor. 3:7 32 aEx. 24:3 33 a[2 Cor. 3:13, 14] 34 a[2 Cor. 3:13–16] CHAPTER 35 1 aEx. 34:32 2 aEx. 20:9, 10; Lev. 23:3; Deut. 5:13 bNum. 15:32–36 3 aEx. 12:16; 16:23 4 aEx. 25:1, 2 5 aEx. 25:2; 1 Chr. 29:14; Mark 12:41–44; 2 Cor. 8:10–12; 9:7 bEx. 38:24 6 aEx. 36:8 bEx. 36:14 8 aEx. 25:6; 30:23–25 10 aEx. 31:2–6; 36:1, 2 11 aEx. 26:1, 2; 36:14 12 aEx. 25:10–22 13 aEx. 25:23 bEx. 25:30; Lev. 24:5, 6 14 aEx. 25:31 15 aEx. 30:1 bEx. 30:25 cEx. 30:34–38 16 aEx. 27:1–8 17 aEx. 27:9–18

81 EXODUS 36:11 18 ‘the pegs of the tabernacle, the pegs of the court, and their cords; 19 a‘the 1garments of ministry, for ministering in the holy place—the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, to minister as priests.’ ” The Tabernacle Offerings Presented 20 And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. 21 Then everyone came awhose heart 1was stirred, and everyone whose spirit was willing, and they bbrought the LORD’s offering for the work of the tabernacle of meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments. 22 They came, both men and women, as many as had a willing heart, and brought aearrings and nose rings, rings and necklaces, all bjewelry of gold, that is, every man who made an offering of gold to the LORD. 23 And aevery man, with whom was found blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen, and goats’ hair, red skins of rams, and 1badger skins, brought them. 24 Everyone who offered an offer- ing of silver or bronze brought the LORD’s offering. And everyone with whom was found acacia wood for any work of the service, brought it. 25 All the women who were agifted artisans spun yarn with their hands, and brought what they had spun, of blue, purple, and scarlet, and fine linen. 26 And all the women whose hearts 1stirred with wisdom spun yarn of goats’ hair. 27 aThe rulers brought onyx stones, and the stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate, 28 and aspices and oil for the light, for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense. 29 The children of Israel brought a afreewill offering to the LORD, all the men and women whose hearts were willing to bring material for all kinds of work which the LORD, by the hand of Moses, had com- manded to be done. The Artisans Called by God 30 And Moses said to the children of Israel, “See, athe LORD has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; 31 “and He has filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom and under- standing, in knowledge and all man- ner of workmanship, 32 “to design artistic works, to work in gold and silver and bronze, 33 “in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of artistic workmanship. 34 “And He has put in his heart the ability to teach, in him and aAholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. 35 “He has afilled them with skill to do all manner of work of the engraver and the designer and the tapestry maker, in blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine linen, and of the weaver—those who do every work and those who design artistic works. 36 “And Bezalel and Aholiab, and every agifted artisan in whom the LORD has put wisdom and understanding, to know how to do all manner of work for the ser- vice of the bsanctuary,1 shall do according to all that the LORD has commanded.” The People Give More than Enough 2 Then Moses called Bezalel and Aholiab, and every gifted artisan in whose heart the LORD had put wis- dom, everyone awhose heart 1was stirred, to come and do the work. 3 And they received from Moses all the aoffering which the children of Israel bhad brought for the work of the service of making the sanctu- ary.

om and understanding, to know how to do all manner of work for the ser- vice of the bsanctuary,1 shall do according to all that the LORD has commanded.” The People Give More than Enough 2 Then Moses called Bezalel and Aholiab, and every gifted artisan in whose heart the LORD had put wis- dom, everyone awhose heart 1was stirred, to come and do the work. 3 And they received from Moses all the aoffering which the children of Israel bhad brought for the work of the service of making the sanctu- ary. So they continued bringing to him freewill offerings every morn- ing. 4 Then all the craftsmen who were doing all the work of the sanc- tuary came, each from the work he was doing, 5 and they spoke to Moses, say- ing, a“The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work which the LORD commanded us to do.” 6 So Moses gave a command- ment, and they caused it to be pro- claimed throughout the camp, say- ing, “Let neither man nor woman do any more work for the offering of the sanctuary.” And the people were restrained from bringing, 7 for the material they had was sufficient for all the work to be done—indeed too amuch. Building the Tabernacle 8 aThen all the gifted artisans among them who worked on the tabernacle made ten curtains woven of fine linen, and of blue, purple, and scarlet thread; with artistic designs of cherubim they made them. 9 The length of each curtain was twenty-eight cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits; the cur- tains were all the same size. 10 And he coupled five curtains to one another, and the other five cur- tains he coupled to one another. 11 He made loops of blue yarn on the edge of the curtain on the selvedge of one set; likewise he did on the outer edge of the other cur- tain of the second set. 19 aEx. 31:10; 39:1, 41 1Or woven gar- ments 21 aEx. 25:2; 35:5, 22, 26, 29; 36:2 bEx. 35:24 1Lit. lifted him up 22 aEx. 32:2, 3 bEx. 11:2 23 a1 Chr. 29:8 1Or dolphin 25 aEx. 28:3; 31:6; 36:1 26 1Lit. lifted them up 27 a1 Chr. 29:6; Ezra 2:68 28 aEx. 30:23 29 aEx. 35:5, 21; 36:3; 1 Chr. 29:9 30 aEx. 31:1–6 34 aEx. 31:6 35 aEx. 31:3, 6; 35:31; 1 Kin. 7:14; 2 Chr. 2:14; Is. 28:26 CHAPTER 36 1 aEx. 28:3; 31:6; 35:10, 35 bEx. 25:8 1holy place 2 aEx. 35:21, 26; 1 Chr. 29:5, 9, 17 1lifted him up 3 aEx. 35:5 bEx. 35:27 5 a2 Chr. 24:14; 31:6–10; [2 Cor. 8:2, 3] 7 a1 Kin. 8:64 8 aEx. 26:1–14

EXODUS 36:12 82 12 aFifty loops he made on one cur- tain, and fifty loops he made on the edge of the curtain on the end of the second set; the loops held one cur- tain to another. 13 And he made fifty clasps of gold, and coupled the curtains to one another with the clasps, that it might be one tabernacle. 14 aHe made curtains of goats’ hair for the tent over the tabernacle; he made eleven curtains. 15 The length of each curtain was thirty cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits; the eleven cur- tains were the same size. 16 He coupled five curtains by themselves and six curtains by themselves. 17 And he made fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in one set, and fifty loops he made on the edge of the curtain of the sec- ond set. 18 He also made fifty bronze clasps to couple the tent together, that it might be one. 19 aThen he made a covering for the tent of ram skins dyed red, and a cov- ering of 1badger skins above that. 20 For the tabernacle ahe made boards of acacia wood, standing upright. 21 The length of each board was ten cubits, and the width of each board a cubit and a half. 22 Each board had two 1tenons afor binding one to another. Thus he made for all the boards of the taber- nacle. 23 And he made boards for the tab- ernacle, twenty boards for the south side. 24 Forty sockets of silver he made to go under the twenty boards: two sockets under each of the boards for its two tenons. 25 And for the other side of the tabernacle, the north side, he made twenty boards 26 and their forty sockets of silver: two sockets under each of the boards. 27 For the west side of the taberna- cle he made six boards. 28 He also made two boards for the two back corners of the tabernacle. 29 And they were coupled at the bottom and 1coupled together at the top by one ring. Thus he made both of them for the two corners. 30 So there were eight boards and their sockets—sixteen sockets of sil- ver—two sockets under each of the boards. 31 And he made abars of acacia wood: five for the boards on one side of the tabernacle, 32 five bars for the boards on the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the tabernacle on the far side westward. 33 And he made the middle bar to pass through the boards from one end to the other. 34 He overlaid the boards with gold, made their rings of gold to be holders for the bars, and overlaid the bars with gold. 35 And he made aa veil of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen; it was worked with an artistic design of cherubim. 36 He made for it four pillars of acacia wood, and overlaid them with gold, with their hooks of gold; and he cast four sockets of silver for them. 37 He also made a ascreen for the tabernacle door, of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, made by a 1weaver, 38 and its five pillars with their hooks. And he overlaid their capi- tals and their rings with gold, but their five sockets were bronze. Making the Ark of the Testimony 37 Then aBezalel made bthe ark of acacia wood; two and a half cubits was its length, a cubit and a half its width, and a cubit and a half its height. 2 He overlaid it with pure gold inside and outside, and made a molding of gold all around it. 3 And he cast for it four rings of gold to be set in its four corners: two rings on one side, and two rings on the other side of it. 4 He made poles of acacia wood, and overlaid them with gold. 5 And he put the poles into the rings at the sides of the ark, to bear the ark. 6 He also made the amercy seat of pure gold; two and a half cubits was its length and a cubit and a half its width. 7 He made two cherubim of beaten gold; he made them of one piece at the two ends of the mercy seat: 8 one cherub at one end on this side, and the other cherub at the other end on that side. He made the cherubim at the two ends of one piece with the mercy seat. 9 The cherubim spread out their wings above, and covered the amercy seat with their wings.

des of the ark, to bear the ark. 6 He also made the amercy seat of pure gold; two and a half cubits was its length and a cubit and a half its width. 7 He made two cherubim of beaten gold; he made them of one piece at the two ends of the mercy seat: 8 one cherub at one end on this side, and the other cherub at the other end on that side. He made the cherubim at the two ends of one piece with the mercy seat. 9 The cherubim spread out their wings above, and covered the amercy seat with their wings. They faced one another; the faces of the cherubim were toward the mercy seat. Making the Table for the Showbread 10 He made athe table of acacia wood; two cubits was its length, a cubit its width, and a cubit and a half its height. 11 And he overlaid it with pure gold, and made a molding of gold all around it. 12 Also he made a frame of a hand- breadth all around it, and made a molding of gold for the frame all around it. 12 aEx. 26:5 14 aEx. 26:7 19 aEx. 26:14 1Or dolphin 20 aEx. 26:15–29 22 aEx. 26:17 1Projections for joining, lit. hands 29 1Lit. dou- bled 31 aEx. 26:26–29 35 aEx. 26:31–37 37 aEx. 26:36 1Lit. variega- tor, a weaver in colors CHAPTER 37 1 aEx. 35:30; 36:1 bEx. 25:10–20 6 aEx. 25:17 9 aEx. 25:20 10 aEx. 25:23–29

83 EXODUS 38:15 13 And he cast for it four rings of gold, and put the rings on the four corners that were at its four legs. 14 The rings were close to the frame, as holders for the poles to bear the table. 15 And he made the poles of acacia wood to bear the table, and overlaid them with gold. 16 He made of pure gold the uten- sils which were on the table: its adishes, its cups, its bowls, and its pitchers for pouring. Making the Gold Lampstand 17 He also made the alampstand of pure gold; of hammered work he made the lampstand. Its shaft, its branches, its bowls, its ornamental knobs, and its flowers were of the same piece. 18 And six branches came out of its sides: three branches of the lampstand out of one side, and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side. 19 There were three bowls made like almond blossoms on one branch, with an ornamental knob and a flower, and three bowls made like almond blossoms on the other branch, with an ornamental knob and a flower—and so for the six branches coming out of the lamp- stand. 20 And on the lampstand itself were four bowls made like almond blos- soms, each with its ornamental knob and flower. 21 There was a knob under the first two branches of the same, a knob under the second two branches of the same, and a knob under the third two branches of the same, according to the six branches extending from it. 22 Their knobs and their branches were of one piece; all of it was one hammered piece of pure gold. 23 And he made its seven lamps, its awick-trimmers, and its trays of pure gold. 24 Of a talent of pure gold he made it, with all its utensils. Making the Altar of Incense 25 aHe made the incense altar of acacia wood. Its length was a cubit and its width a cubit—it was square—and two cubits was its height. Its horns were of one piece with it. 26 And he overlaid it with pure gold: its top, its sides all around, and its horns. He also made for it a molding of gold all around it. 27 He made two rings of gold for it under its molding, by its two cor- ners on both sides, as holders for the poles with which to bear it. 28 And he amade the poles of aca- cia wood, and overlaid them with gold. Making the Anointing Oil and the Incense 29 He also made athe holy anoint- ing oil and the pure incense of sweet spices, according to the work of the perfumer. Making the Altar of Burnt Offering 38 He made athe altar of burnt offering of acacia wood; five cubits was its length and five cubits its width—it was square—and its height was three cubits. 2 He made its horns on its four corners; the horns were of one piece with it. And he overlaid it with bronze. 3 He made all the utensils for the altar: the pans, the shovels, the basins, the forks, and the firepans; all its utensils he made of bronze. 4 And he made a grate of bronze network for the altar, under its rim, midway from the bottom. 5 He cast four rings for the four corners of the bronze grating, as holders for the poles. 6 And he made the poles of acacia wood, and overlaid them with bronze. 7 Then he put the poles into the rings on the sides of the altar, with which to bear it. He made the altar hollow with boards. Making the Bronze Laver 8 He made athe laver of bronze and its base of bronze, from the bronze mirrors of the serving women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Making the Court of the Tabernacle 9 Then he made athe court on the south side; the hangings of the court were of fine woven linen, one hun- dred cubits long. 10 There were twenty pillars for them, with twenty bronze sockets. The hooks of the pillars and their bands were silver. 11 On the north side the hangings were one hundred cubits long, with twenty pillars and their twenty bronze sockets. The hooks of the pillars and their bands were silver. 12 And on the west side there were hangings of fifty cubits, with ten pil- lars and their ten sockets.

e court on the south side; the hangings of the court were of fine woven linen, one hun- dred cubits long. 10 There were twenty pillars for them, with twenty bronze sockets. The hooks of the pillars and their bands were silver. 11 On the north side the hangings were one hundred cubits long, with twenty pillars and their twenty bronze sockets. The hooks of the pillars and their bands were silver. 12 And on the west side there were hangings of fifty cubits, with ten pil- lars and their ten sockets. The hooks of the pillars and their bands were silver. 13 For the east side the hangings were fifty cubits. 14 The hangings of one side of the gate were fifteen cubits long, with their three pillars and their three sockets, 15 and the same for the other side of the court gate; on this side and that were hangings of fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and their three sockets. 16 aEx. 25:29 17 aEx. 25:31–39 23 aNum. 4:9 25 aEx. 30:1–5 28 aEx. 30:5 29 aEx. 30:23–25 CHAPTER 38 1 aEx. 27:1–8 8 aEx. 30:18 9 aEx. 27:9–19

EXODUS 38:16 84 16 All the hangings of the court all around were of fine woven linen. 17 The sockets for the pillars were bronze, the hooks of the pillars and their bands were silver, and the overlay of their capitals was silver; and all the pillars of the court had bands of silver. 18 The screen for the gate of the court was woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and of fine woven linen. The length was twenty cubits, and the height along its width was five cubits, correspon- ding to the hangings of the court. 19 And there were four pillars with their four sockets of bronze; their hooks were silver, and the overlay of their capitals and their bands was silver. 20 All the apegs of the tabernacle, and of the court all around, were bronze. Materials of the Tabernacle 21 1This is the inventory of the tab- ernacle, athe tabernacle of the Testi- mony, which was counted according to the commandment of Moses, for the service of the Levites, bby the hand of cIthamar, son of Aaron the priest. 22 aBezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the LORD had commanded Moses. 23 And with him was aAholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver and 1designer, a weaver of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and of fine linen. 24 All the gold that was used in all the work of the holy place, that is, the gold of the aoffering, was twenty- nine talents and seven hundred and thirty shekels, according to bthe shekel of the sanctuary. 25 And the silver from those who were anumbered of the congregation was one hundred talents and one thousand seven hundred and seventy- five shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary: 26 aa bekah for 1each man (that is, half a shekel, according to the shekel of the sanctuary), for everyone included in the numbering from twenty years old and above, for bsix hundred and three thousand, five hundred and fifty men. 27 And from the hundred talents of silver were cast athe sockets of the sanctuary and the bases of the veil: one hundred sockets from the hun- dred talents, one talent for each socket. 28 Then from the one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five shekels he made hooks for the pil- lars, overlaid their capitals, and amade bands for them. 29 The offering of bronze was sev- enty talents and two thousand four hundred shekels. 30 And with it he made the sockets for the door of the tabernacle of meeting, the bronze altar, the bronze grating for it, and all the utensils for the altar, 31 the sockets for the court all around, the bases for the court gate, all the pegs for the tabernacle, and all the pegs for the court all around. Making the Garments of the Priesthood 39 Of the ablue, purple, and scar- let thread they made bgar- ments1 of ministry, for ministering in the 2holy place, and made the holy garments for Aaron, cas the LORD had commanded Moses. Making the Ephod 2 aHe made the bephod of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and of fine woven linen. 3 And they beat the gold into thin sheets and cut it into threads, to work it in with the blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and the fine linen, into artistic designs. 4 They made shoulder straps for it to couple it together; it was coupled together at its two edges. 5 And the intricately woven band of his ephod that was on it was of the same workmanship, woven of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and of fine woven linen, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 6 aAnd they set onyx stones, enclosed in 1settings of gold; they were engraved, as signets are engraved, with the names of the sons of Israel. 7 He put them on the shoulders of the ephod as amemorial stones for the sons of Israel, as the LORD had commanded Moses. Making the Breastplate 8 aAnd he made the breastplate, artistically woven like the workman- ship of the ephod, of gold, blue, pur- ple, and scarlet thread, and of fine woven linen. 9 They made the breastplate square by doubling it; a span was its length and a span its width when doubled.

f gold; they were engraved, as signets are engraved, with the names of the sons of Israel. 7 He put them on the shoulders of the ephod as amemorial stones for the sons of Israel, as the LORD had commanded Moses. Making the Breastplate 8 aAnd he made the breastplate, artistically woven like the workman- ship of the ephod, of gold, blue, pur- ple, and scarlet thread, and of fine woven linen. 9 They made the breastplate square by doubling it; a span was its length and a span its width when doubled. 10 aAnd they set in it four rows of stones: a row with a sardius, a topaz, and an emerald was the first row; 11 the second row, a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond; 12 the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; 13 the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They were enclosed in settings of gold in their mountings. 14 There were atwelve stones according to the names of the sons of Israel: according to their names, engraved like a signet, each one with its own name according to the twelve tribes. 20 aEx. 27:19 21 aNum. 1:50, 53; 9:15; 10:11; 17:7, 8; 2 Chr. 24:6; Acts 7:44 bNum. 4:28, 33 cEx. 28:1; Lev. 10:6, 16 1Lit. These are the things appointed for 22 aEx. 31:2, 6; 1 Chr. 2:18–20 23 aEx. 31:6; 36:1 1skillful workman 24 aEx. 35:5, 22 bEx. 30:13, 24; Lev. 5:15; 27:3, 25; Num. 3:47; 18:16 25 aEx. 30:11–16; Num. 1:2 26 aEx. 30:13, 15 bEx. 12:37; Num. 1:46; 26:51 1Lit. a head 27 aEx. 26:19, 21, 25, 32 28 aEx. 27:17 CHAPTER 39 1 aEx. 25:4; 35:23 bEx. 31:10; 35:19 cEx. 28:4 1Or woven gar- ments 2sanc- tuary 2 aEx. 28:6–14 bLev. 8:7 6 aEx. 28:9–11 1plaited work 7 aEx. 28:12, 29; Josh. 4:7 8 aEx. 28:15–30 10 aEx. 28:17 14 aRev. 21:12

85 EXODUS 40:8 15 And they made chains for the breastplate at the ends, like braided cords of pure gold. 16 They also made two settings of gold and two gold rings, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate. 17 And they put the two braided chains of gold in the two rings on the ends of the breastplate. 18 The two ends of the two braided chains they fastened in the two set- tings, and put them on the shoulder straps of the ephod in the front. 19 And they made two rings of gold and put them on the two ends of the breastplate, on the edge of it, which was on the inward side of the ephod. 20 They made two other gold rings and put them on the two shoulder straps, underneath the ephod toward its front, right at the seam above the intricately woven band of the ephod. 21 And they bound the breastplate by means of its rings to the rings of the ephod with a blue cord, so that it would be above the intricately woven band of the ephod, and that the breastplate would not come loose from the ephod, as the LORD had commanded Moses. Making the Other Priestly Garments 22 aHe made the brobe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue. 23 And there was an opening in the middle of the robe, like the opening in a coat of mail, with a woven bind- ing all around the opening, so that it would not tear. 24 They made on the hem of the robe pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet, and of fine woven linen. 25 And they made abells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates on the hem of the robe all around between the pome- granates: 26 a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, all around the hem of the robe to 1minister in, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 27 aThey made tunics, artistically woven of fine linen, for Aaron and his sons, 28 aa turban of fine linen, exquisite hats of fine linen, bshort trousers of fine woven linen, 29 aand a sash of fine woven linen with blue, purple, and scarlet thread, made by a weaver, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 30 aThen they made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote on it an inscription like the engrav- ing of a signet: bHOLINESS TO THE LORD. 31 And they tied to it a blue cord, to fasten it above on the turban, as the LORD had commanded Moses. The Work Completed 32 Thus all the work of the taberna- cle of the tent of meeting was afin- ished. And the children of Israel did baccording to all that the LORD had commanded Moses; so they did. 33 And they brought the tabernacle to Moses, the tent and all its furnish- ings: its clasps, its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets; 34 the covering of ram skins dyed red, the covering of badger skins, and the veil of the covering; 35 the ark of the Testimony with its poles, and the mercy seat; 36 the table, all its utensils, and the ashowbread; 37 the pure gold lampstand with its lamps (the lamps set in order), all its utensils, and the oil for light; 38 the gold altar, the anointing oil, and the sweet incense; the screen for the tabernacle door; 39 the bronze altar, its grate of bronze, its poles, and all its utensils; the laver with its base; 40 the hangings of the court, its pil- lars and its sockets, the screen for the court gate, its cords, and its pegs; all the utensils for the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of meeting; 41 and the 1garments of ministry, to 2minister in the holy place: the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and his sons’ garments, to minister as priests. 42 According to all that the LORD had commanded Moses, so the chil- dren of Israel adid all the work. 43 Then Moses looked over all the work, and indeed they had done it; as the LORD had commanded, just so they had done it.

for the court gate, its cords, and its pegs; all the utensils for the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of meeting; 41 and the 1garments of ministry, to 2minister in the holy place: the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and his sons’ garments, to minister as priests. 42 According to all that the LORD had commanded Moses, so the chil- dren of Israel adid all the work. 43 Then Moses looked over all the work, and indeed they had done it; as the LORD had commanded, just so they had done it. And Moses ablessed them. The Tabernacle Erected and Arranged 40 Then the LORD aspoke to Mo- ses, saying: 2 “On the first day of the afirst month you shall set up bthe taberna- cle of the tent of meeting. 3 a“You shall put in it the ark of the Testimony, and 1partition off the ark with the veil. 4 a“You shall bring in the table and barrange the things that are to be set in order on it; cand you shall bring in the lampstand and 1light its lamps. 5 a“You shall also set the altar of gold for the incense before the ark of the Testimony, and put up the screen for the door of the tabernacle. 6 “Then you shall set the aaltar of the burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. 7 “And ayou shall set the laver between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. 8 “You shall set up the court all around, and hang up the screen at the court gate. 22 aEx. 28:31–35 bEx. 29:5; Lev. 8:7 25 aEx. 28:33 26 1serve 27 aEx. 28:39, 40 28 aEx. 28:4, 39; Lev. 8:9; Ezek. 44:18 bEx. 28:42; Lev. 6:10 29 aEx. 28:39 30 aEx. 28:36, 37 bZech. 14:20 32 aEx. 40:17 bEx. 25:40; 39:42, 43 36 aEx. 25:23–30 41 1Or woven garments 2serve 42 aEx. 35:10 43 aLev. 9:22, 23; Num. 6:23–26; Josh. 22:6; 2 Sam. 6:18; 1 Kin. 8:14; 2 Chr. 30:27 CHAPTER 40 1 aEx. 25:1–31:18 2 aEx. 12:2; 13:4 bEx. 26:1, 30; 40:17 3 aEx. 26:33; 40:21; Lev. 16:2; Num. 4:5 1screen 4 aEx. 26:35; 40:22 bEx. 25:30; 40:23 cEx. 40:24, 25 1set up 5 aEx. 40:26 6 aEx. 39:39 7 aEx. 30:18; 40:30

EXODUS 40:9 86 9 “And you shall take the anoint- ing oil, and aanoint the tabernacle and all that is in it; and you shall hal- low it and all its utensils, and it shall be holy. 10 “You shall aanoint the altar of the burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar. bThe altar shall be most holy. 11 “And you shall anoint the laver and its base, and consecrate it. 12 a“Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the taber- nacle of meeting and wash them with water. 13 “You shall put the holy agar- ments on Aaron, band anoint him and consecrate him, that he may minister to Me as priest. 14 “And you shall bring his sons and clothe them with tunics. 15 “You shall anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may minister to Me as priests; for their anointing shall surely be aan ever- lasting priesthood throughout their generations.” 16 Thus Moses did; according to all that the LORD had commanded him, so he did. 17 And it came to pass in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month, that the ataberna- cle was 1raised up. 18 So Moses raised up the taberna- cle, fastened its sockets, set up its boards, put in its bars, and raised up its pillars. 19 And he spread out the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent on top of it, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 20 He took athe Testimony and put it into the ark, inserted the poles through the rings of the ark, and put the mercy seat on top of the ark. 21 And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, ahung up the veil of the covering, and partitioned off the ark of the Testimony, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 22 aHe put the table in the taberna- cle of meeting, on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil; 23 aand he set the bread in order upon it before the LORD, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 24 aHe put the lampstand in the tab- ernacle of meeting, across from the table, on the south side of the taber- nacle; 25 and ahe lit the lamps before the LORD, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 26 aHe put the gold altar in the tab- ernacle of meeting in front of the veil; 27 aand he burned sweet incense on it, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 28 aHe hung up the screen at the door of the tabernacle. 29 aAnd he put the altar of burnt offering before the door of the tab- ernacle of the tent of meeting, and boffered upon it the burnt offering and the grain offering, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 30 aHe set the laver between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar, and put water there for washing; 31 and Moses, Aaron, and his sons would awash their hands and their feet with water from it. 32 Whenever they went into the tabernacle of meeting, and when they came near the altar, they washed, aas the LORD had com- manded Moses. 33 aAnd he raised up the court all around the tabernacle and the altar, and hung up the screen of the court gate. So Moses bfinished the work. The Cloud and the Glory 34 aThen the bcloud covered the tab- ernacle of meeting, and the cglory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. 35 And Moses awas not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. 36 aWhenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would 1go onward in all their journeys. 37 But aif the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey till the day that it was taken up. 38 For athe cloud of the LORD was above the tabernacle by day, and fire was over it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys. 9 aEx. 30:26 10 aEx. 30:26–30 bEx. 29:36, 37 12 aLev. 8:1–13 13 aEx. 29:5; 39:1, 41 b[Ex. 28:41] 15 aNum. 25:13 17 aEx. 40:2 1erected 20 aEx. 25:16 21 aEx. 26:33 22 aEx. 26:35 23 aEx. 40:4 24 aEx. 26:35 25 aEx. 25:37; 30:7, 8; 40:4 26 aEx. 30:1, 6; 40:5 27 aEx. 30:7 28 aEx. 26:36; 40:5 29 aEx. 40:6 bEx. 29:38–42 30 aEx. 30:18; 40:7 31 aEx. 30:19, 20 32 aEx. 30:19 33 aEx. 27:9–18; 40:8 b[Heb.

y, and fire was over it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys. 9 aEx. 30:26 10 aEx. 30:26–30 bEx. 29:36, 37 12 aLev. 8:1–13 13 aEx. 29:5; 39:1, 41 b[Ex. 28:41] 15 aNum. 25:13 17 aEx. 40:2 1erected 20 aEx. 25:16 21 aEx. 26:33 22 aEx. 26:35 23 aEx. 40:4 24 aEx. 26:35 25 aEx. 25:37; 30:7, 8; 40:4 26 aEx. 30:1, 6; 40:5 27 aEx. 30:7 28 aEx. 26:36; 40:5 29 aEx. 40:6 bEx. 29:38–42 30 aEx. 30:18; 40:7 31 aEx. 30:19, 20 32 aEx. 30:19 33 aEx. 27:9–18; 40:8 b[Heb. 3:2–5] 34 aNum. 9:15 b1 Kin. 8:10, 11 cLev. 9:6, 23 35 a1 Kin. 8:11 36 aNum. 9:17 1journey 37 aNum. 9:19–22 38 aEx. 13:21

The Third Book of Moses Called LEVITICUS LEVITICUS is God’s guidebook for His newly redeemed people, showing them how to worship, serve, and obey a holy God. Fellowship with God through sac- rifice and obedience show the awesome holiness of the God of Israel. Indeed, “ ‘you shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy’ ” (19:2). Leviticus focuses on the worship and walk of the nation of God. In Exodus, Israel was redeemed and established as a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Leviticus shows how God’s people are to fulfill their priestly calling. The Hebrew title is Wayyiqra, “And He Called.” The Talmud refers to Leviticus as the “Law of the Priests,” and the “Law of the Offerings.” The Greek title appear- ing in the Septuagint is Leuitikon, “That Which Pertains to the Levites.” From this word, the Latin Vulgate derived its name Leviticus which was adopted as the En- glish title. This title is slightly misleading because the book does not deal with the Levites as a whole but more with the priests, a segment of the Levites. The Burnt Offering NOW the LORD acalled to Moses, and spoke to him bfrom the tab- ernacle of meeting, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: a‘When any one of you brings an offering to the LORD, you shall bring your offering of the livestock—of the herd and of the flock. 3 ‘If his offering is a burnt sacri- fice of the herd, let him offer a male awithout blemish; he shall offer it of his own free will at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the LORD. 4 a‘Then he shall put his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be baccepted on his behalf cto make atonement for him. 5 ‘He shall kill the abull before the LORD; band the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall bring the blood cand sprinkle the blood all around on the altar that is by the door of the taber- nacle of meeting. 6 ‘And he shall askin the burnt offering and cut it into its pieces. 7 ‘The sons of Aaron the priest shall put afire on the altar, and blay the wood in order on the fire. 8 ‘Then the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat in order on the wood that is on the fire upon the altar; 9 ‘but he shall wash its entrails and its legs with water. And the priest shall burn all on the altar as a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a asweet1 aroma to the LORD. 10 ‘If his offering is of the flocks— of the sheep or of the goats—as a burnt sacrifice, he shall bring a male awithout blemish. 11 a‘He shall kill it on the north side of the altar before the LORD; and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall sprinkle its blood all around on the altar. 12 ‘And he shall cut it into its pieces, with its head and its fat; and the priest shall lay them in order on the wood that is on the fire upon the altar; 13 ‘but he shall wash the entrails and the legs with water. Then the priest shall bring it all and burn it on the altar; it is a burnt sacrifice, an aoffering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the LORD. 14 ‘And if the burnt sacrifice of his offering to the LORD is of birds, then he shall bring his offering of aturtle- doves or young pigeons. 15 ‘The priest shall bring it to the altar, 1wring off its head, and burn it on the altar; its blood shall be drained out at the side of the altar. 16 ‘And he shall remove its crop with its feathers and cast it abeside the altar on the east side, into the place for ashes. 17 ‘Then he shall split it at its wings, but ashall not divide it com- pletely; and the priest shall burn it on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire. bIt is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a 1sweet aroma to the LORD. The Grain Offering 2 ‘When anyone offers aa grain offering to the LORD, his offer- ing shall be of fine flour.

ut at the side of the altar. 16 ‘And he shall remove its crop with its feathers and cast it abeside the altar on the east side, into the place for ashes. 17 ‘Then he shall split it at its wings, but ashall not divide it com- pletely; and the priest shall burn it on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire. bIt is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a 1sweet aroma to the LORD. The Grain Offering 2 ‘When anyone offers aa grain offering to the LORD, his offer- ing shall be of fine flour. And he shall pour oil on it, and put bfrankin- cense on it. 2 ‘He shall bring it to Aaron’s sons, the priests, one of whom shall take from it his handful of fine flour and oil with all the frankincense. And the priest shall burn ait as a memorial on the altar, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the LORD. 3 a‘The rest of the grain offering shall be Aaron’s and his bsons’. cIt is most holy of the offerings to the LORD made by fire. 4 ‘And if you bring as an offering a grain offering baked in the oven, CHAPTER 1 1 aEx. 19:3; 25:22 bEx. 40:34 2 aLev. 22:18, 19 3 aEph. 5:27 4 aLev. 3:2, 8, 13; 4:15 b[Rom. 12:1] c2 Chr. 29:23, 24 5 aMic. 6:6 b2 Chr. 35:11 c[Heb. 12:24] 6 aLev. 7:8 7 aMal. 1:10 bGen. 22:9 9 aGen. 8:21 1soothing or pleasing aroma 10 aLev. 1:3 11 aLev. 1:5 13 aNum. 15:4–7; 28:12–14 14 aLev. 5:7, 11; 12:8 15 1Lit. nip or chop off 16 aLev. 6:10 17 aGen. 15:10 bLev. 1:9, 13 1soothing or pleasing aroma CHAPTER 2 1 aNum. 15:4 bLev. 5:11 2 aLev. 2:9; 5:12; 6:15; 24:7 3 aLev. 7:9 bLev. 6:6; 10:12, 13 cNum. 18:9

LEVITICUS 2:5 88 it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, or unleavened wafers aanointed1 with oil. 5 ‘But if your offering is a grain offering baked in a 1pan, it shall be of fine flour, unleavened, mixed with oil. 6 ‘You shall break it in pieces and pour oil on it; it is a grain offering. 7 ‘If your offering is a grain offer- ing baked in a acovered pan, it shall be made of fine flour with oil. 8 ‘You shall bring the grain offer- ing that is made of these things to the LORD. And when it is presented to the priest, he shall bring it to the altar. 9 ‘Then the priest shall take from the grain offering aa memorial por- tion, and burn it on the altar. It is an boffering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the LORD. 10 ‘And awhat is left of the grain offering shall be Aaron’s and his sons’. It is most holy of the offerings to the LORD made by fire. 11 ‘No grain offering which you bring to the LORD shall be made with aleaven, for you shall burn no leaven nor any honey in any offer- ing to the LORD made by fire. 12 a‘As for the offering of the first- fruits, you shall offer them to the LORD, but they shall not be burned on the altar for a sweet aroma. 13 ‘And every offering of your grain offering ayou shall season with salt; you shall not allow bthe salt of the covenant of your God to be lacking from your grain offering. cWith all your offerings you shall offer salt. 14 ‘If you offer a grain offering of your firstfruits to the LORD, ayou shall offer for the grain offering of your firstfruits green heads of grain roasted on the fire, grain beaten from bfull heads. 15 ‘And ayou shall put oil on it, and lay frankincense on it. It is a grain offering. 16 ‘Then the priest shall burn athe memorial portion: part of its beaten grain and part of its oil, with all the frankincense, as an offering made by fire to the LORD. The Peace Offering 3 ‘When his offering is a asacrifice of a peace offering, if he offers it of the herd, whether male or female, he shall offer it bwithout 1blemish before the LORD. 2 ‘And ahe shall lay his hand on the head of his offering, and kill it at the door of the tabernacle of meet- ing; and Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall bsprinkle the blood all around on the altar. 3 ‘Then he shall offer from the sacrifice of the peace offering an offering made by fire to the LORD. aThe fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails, 4 ‘the two kidneys and the fat that is on them by the flanks, and the fatty lobe attached to the liver above the kidneys, he shall remove; 5 ‘and Aaron’s sons ashall burn it on the altar upon the bburnt sacri- fice, which is on the wood that is on the fire, as an coffering made by fire, a dsweet aroma to the LORD. 6 ‘If his offering as a sacrifice of a peace offering to the LORD is of the flock, whether male or female, ahe shall offer it without blemish. 7 ‘If he offers a alamb as his offer- ing, then he shall boffer it cbefore the LORD. 8 ‘And he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering, and kill it before the tabernacle of meeting; and Aaron’s sons shall sprinkle its blood all around on the altar. 9 ‘Then he shall offer from the sacrifice of the peace offering, as an offering made by fire to the LORD, its fat and the whole fat tail which he shall remove close to the backbone. And the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails, 10 ‘the two kidneys and the fat that is on them by the flanks, and the fatty lobe attached to the liver above the kidneys, he shall remove; 11 ‘and the priest shall burn them on the altar as afood, an offering made by fire to the LORD. 12 ‘And if his aoffering is a goat, then bhe shall offer it before the LORD. 13 ‘He shall lay his hand on its head and kill it before the taberna- cle of meeting; and the sons of Aaron shall sprinkle its blood all around on the altar. 14 ‘Then he shall offer from it his offering, as an offering made by fire to the LORD.

anks, and the fatty lobe attached to the liver above the kidneys, he shall remove; 11 ‘and the priest shall burn them on the altar as afood, an offering made by fire to the LORD. 12 ‘And if his aoffering is a goat, then bhe shall offer it before the LORD. 13 ‘He shall lay his hand on its head and kill it before the taberna- cle of meeting; and the sons of Aaron shall sprinkle its blood all around on the altar. 14 ‘Then he shall offer from it his offering, as an offering made by fire to the LORD. The fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails, 15 ‘the two kidneys and the fat that is on them by the flanks, and the fatty lobe attached to the liver above the kidneys, he shall remove; 16 ‘and the priest shall burn them on the altar as food, an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma; aall the fat is the LORD’s. 17 ‘This shall be a aperpetual1 statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings: you shall eat neither fat nor bblood.’ ” The Sin Offering 4 Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: a‘If a person sins 1uninten- tionally against any of the com- mandments of the LORD in anything which ought not to be done, and does any of them, 3 a‘if the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, then let him offer to the LORD for his sin 4 aEx. 29:2 1spread 5 1flat plate or griddle 7 aLev. 7:9 9 aLev. 2:2, 16; 5:12; 6:15 bEx. 29:18 10 aLev. 2:3; 6:16 11 aLev. 6:16, 17 12 aLev. 23:10, 11, 17, 18 13 a[Col. 4:6] bNum. 18:19 cEzek. 43:24 14 aLev. 23:10, 14 b2 Kin. 4:42 15 aLev. 2:1 16 aLev. 2:2 CHAPTER 3 1 aLev. 7:11, 29 bLev. 1:3; 22:20–24 1imperfection or defect 2 aLev. 1:4, 5; 16:21 bLev. 1:5 3 aLev. 1:8; 3:16; 4:8, 9 5 aEx. 29:13 b2 Chr. 35:14 cNum. 28:3–10 dNum. 15:8–10 6 aLev. 3:1; 22:20–24 7 aNum. 15:4, 5 b1 Kin. 8:62 cLev. 17:8, 9 11 aNum. 28:2 12 aNum. 15:6–11 bLev. 3:1, 7 16 aLev. 7:23–25 17 aLev. 6:18; 7:36; 17:7; 23:14 bLev. 7:23, 26; 17:10, 14 1everlasting or never- ending CHAPTER 4 2 aLev. 5:15–18 1through error 3 aLev. 8:12

89 LEVITICUS 4:33 which he has sinned ba young bull without blemish as a csin offering. 4 ‘He shall bring the bull ato the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the LORD, lay his hand on the bull’s head, and kill the bull before the LORD. 5 ‘Then the anointed priest ashall take some of the bull’s blood and bring it to the tabernacle of meeting. 6 ‘The priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle some of the blood seven times before the LORD, in front of the aveil of the sanctuary. 7 ‘And the priest shall aput some of the blood on the horns of the altar of sweet incense before the LORD, which is in the tabernacle of meeting; and he shall pour bthe remaining blood of the bull at the base of the altar of the burnt offer- ing, which is at the door of the tab- ernacle of meeting. 8 ‘He shall take from it all the fat of the bull as the sin offering. The fat that covers the entrails and all the fat which is on the entrails, 9 ‘the two kidneys and the fat that is on them by the flanks, and the fatty lobe attached to the liver above the kidneys, he shall remove, 10 a‘as it was taken from the bull of the sacrifice of the peace offering; and the priest shall burn them on the altar of the burnt offering. 11 a‘But the bull’s hide and all its flesh, with its head and legs, its entrails and offal— 12 ‘the whole bull he shall carry outside the camp to a clean place, awhere the ashes are poured out, and bburn it on wood with fire; where the ashes are poured out it shall be burned. 13 ‘Now aif the whole congregation of Israel sins unintentionally, band the thing is hidden from the eyes of the assembly, and they have done something against any of the com- mandments of the LORD in anything which should not be done, and are guilty; 14 ‘when the sin which they have committed becomes known, then the assembly shall offer a young bull for the sin, and bring it before the tabernacle of meeting. 15 ‘And the elders of the congrega- tion ashall lay their hands on the head of the bull before the LORD. Then the bull shall be killed before the LORD. 16 a‘The anointed priest shall bring some of the bull’s blood to the taber- nacle of meeting. 17 ‘Then the priest shall dip his fin- ger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD, in front of the veil. 18 ‘And he shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar which is before the LORD, which is in the tabernacle of meeting; and he shall pour the remaining blood at the base of the altar of burnt offer- ing, which is at the door of the tab- ernacle of meeting. 19 ‘He shall take all the fat from it and burn it on the altar. 20 ‘And he shall do awith the bull as he did with the bull as a sin offer- ing; thus he shall do with it. bSo the priest shall make 1atonement for them, and it shall be forgiven them. 21 ‘Then he shall carry the bull out- side the camp, and burn it as he burned the first bull. It is a sin offer- ing for the assembly. 22 ‘When a 1ruler has sinned, and adone something unintentionally against any of the commandments of the LORD his God in anything which should not be done, and is guilty, 23 ‘or aif his sin which he has com- mitted 1comes to his knowledge, he shall bring as his offering a kid of the goats, a male without blemish. 24 ‘And ahe shall lay his hand on the head of the goat, and kill it at the place where they kill the burnt offering before the LORD. It is a sin offering. 25 a‘The priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and pour its blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering. 26 ‘And he shall burn all its fat on the altar, like athe fat of the sacrifice of the peace offering.

ng a kid of the goats, a male without blemish. 24 ‘And ahe shall lay his hand on the head of the goat, and kill it at the place where they kill the burnt offering before the LORD. It is a sin offering. 25 a‘The priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and pour its blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering. 26 ‘And he shall burn all its fat on the altar, like athe fat of the sacrifice of the peace offering. bSo the priest shall make 1atonement for him con- cerning his sin, and it shall be for- given him. 27 a‘If 1anyone of the 2common people sins unintentionally by doing something against any of the commandments of the LORD in any- thing which ought not to be done, and is guilty, 28 ‘or aif his sin which he has com- mitted comes to his knowledge, then he shall bring as his offering a kid of the goats, a female without blemish, for his sin which he has committed. 29 a‘And he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering, and kill the sin offering at the place of the burnt offering. 30 ‘Then the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger, put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offer- ing, and pour all the remaining blood at the base of the altar. 31 a‘He shall remove all its fat, bas fat is removed from the sacrifice of the peace offering; and the priest shall burn it on the altar for a csweet aroma to the LORD. dSo the priest shall make atonement for him, and it shall be forgiven him. 32 ‘If he brings a lamb as his sin offering, ahe shall bring a female without blemish. 33 ‘Then he shall alay his hand on 3 bLev. 3:1; 9:2 cLev. 9:7 4 aLev. 1:3, 4; 4:15; Num. 8:12 5 aLev. 16:14; Num. 19:4 6 aEx. 40:21, 26 7 aLev. 4:18, 25, 30, 34; 8:15; 9:9; 16:18 bEx. 40:5, 6; Lev. 5:9 10 aLev. 3:3–5 11 aEx. 29:14; Lev. 9:11; Num. 19:5 12 aLev. 4:21; 6:10, 11; 16:27 b[Heb. 13:11, 12] 13 aNum. 15:24–26; Josh. 7:11 bLev. 5:2–4, 17 15 aLev. 1:3, 4 16 aLev. 4:5; [Heb. 9:12–14] 20 aLev. 4:3 bLev. 1:4; Num. 15:25 1Lit. covering 22 aLev. 4:2, 13, 27 1leader 23 aLev. 4:14; 5:4 1is made known to him 24 aLev. 4:4; [Is. 53:6] 25 aLev. 4:7, 18, 30, 34 26 aLev. 3:3–5 bLev. 4:20; Num. 15:28 1Lit. covering 27 aLev. 4:2; Num. 15:27 1Lit. any soul 2Lit. people of the land 28 aLev. 4:23 29 aLev. 1:4; 4:4, 24 31 aLev. 3:14 bLev. 3:3, 4 cGen. 8:21; Ex. 29:18; Lev. 1:9, 13; 2:2, 9, 12 dLev. 4:26 32 aLev. 4:28 33 aLev. 1:4; Num. 8:12

LEVITICUS 4:34 90 the head of the sin offering, and kill it as a sin offering at the place where they kill the burnt offering. 34 ‘The priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and pour all the remaining blood at the base of the altar. 35 ‘He shall remove all its fat, as the fat of the lamb is removed from the sacrifice of the peace offering. Then the priest shall burn it on the altar, aaccording to the offerings made by fire to the LORD. bSo the priest shall make atonement for his sin that he has committed, and it shall be forgiven him. The Trespass Offering 5 ‘If a person sins in ahearing the utterance of an oath, and is a witness, whether he has seen or known of the matter—if he does not tell it, he bbears 1guilt. 2 ‘Or aif a person touches any unclean thing, whether it is the car- cass of an unclean beast, or the car- cass of unclean livestock, or the car- cass of unclean creeping things, and he is unaware of it, he also shall be unclean and bguilty. 3 ‘Or if he touches ahuman uncleanness—whatever uncleanness with which a man may be defiled, and he is unaware of it—when he realizes it, then he shall be guilty. 4 ‘Or if a person 1swears, speak- ing thoughtlessly with his lips ato do evil or bto do good, whatever it is that a man may pronounce by an oath, and he is unaware of it—when he realizes it, then he shall be guilty in any of these matters. 5 ‘And it shall be, when he is guilty in any of these matters, that he shall aconfess that he has sinned in that thing; 6 ‘and he shall bring his trespass offering to the LORD for his sin which he has committed, a female from the flock, a lamb or a kid of the goats as a sin offering. So the priest shall make atonement for him con- cerning his sin. 7 a‘If he is not able to bring a lamb, then he shall bring to the LORD, for his trespass which he has committed, two bturtledoves or two young pigeons: one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. 8 ‘And he shall bring them to the priest, who shall offer that which is for the sin offering first, and awring off its head from its neck, but shall not divide it 1completely. 9 ‘Then he shall sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering on the side of the altar, and the arest of the blood shall be drained out at the base of the altar. It is a sin offering. 10 ‘And he shall offer the second as a burnt offering according to the aprescribed manner. So bthe priest shall make atonement on his behalf for his sin which he has committed, and it shall be forgiven him. 11 ‘But if he is anot able to bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons, then he who sinned shall bring for his offering one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a sin offering. bHe shall put no oil on it, nor shall he put frank- incense on it, for it is a sin offering. 12 ‘Then he shall bring it to the priest, and the priest shall take his handful of it aas a memorial portion, and burn it on the altar baccording to the offerings made by fire to the LORD. It is a sin offering. 13 a‘The priest shall make atone- ment for him, 1for his sin that he has committed in any of these matters; and it shall be forgiven him. bThe rest shall be the priest’s as a grain offering.’ ” Offerings with Restitution 14 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 15 a“If a person commits a tres- pass, and sins unintentionally in regard to the holy things of the LORD, then bhe shall bring to the LORD as his trespass offering a ram without blemish from the flocks, with your valuation in shekels of sil- ver according to cthe shekel of the sanctuary, as a trespass offering. 16 “And he shall make restitution for the harm that he has done in regard to the holy thing, aand shall add one-fifth to it and give it to the priest.

hen the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 15 a“If a person commits a tres- pass, and sins unintentionally in regard to the holy things of the LORD, then bhe shall bring to the LORD as his trespass offering a ram without blemish from the flocks, with your valuation in shekels of sil- ver according to cthe shekel of the sanctuary, as a trespass offering. 16 “And he shall make restitution for the harm that he has done in regard to the holy thing, aand shall add one-fifth to it and give it to the priest. bSo the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering, and it shall be forgiven him. 17 “If a person sins, and commits any of these things which are for- bidden to be done by the command- ments of the LORD, athough he does not know it, yet he is bguilty and shall bear his 1iniquity. 18 a“And he shall bring to the priest a ram without blemish from the flock, with your valuation, as a tres- pass offering. So the priest shall make atonement for him regarding his ignorance in which he erred and did not know it, and it shall be for- given him. 19 “It is a trespass offering; ahe has certainly trespassed against the LORD.” 6 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 2 “If a person sins and acommits a trespass against the LORD by blying1 to his neighbor about cwhat was delivered to him for safekeeping, or about 2a pledge, or about a robbery, or if he has dextorted from his neighbor, 3 “or if he ahas found what was lost and lies concerning it, and bswears falsely—in any one of these 35 aLev. 3:5 bLev. 4:26, 31 CHAPTER 5 1 aProv. 29:24 bNum. 9:13 1his iniquity 2 aNum. 19:11–16 bLev. 5:17 3 aLev. 5:12, 13, 15 4 aActs 23:12 b[James 5:12] 1vows 5 aProv. 28:13 7 aLev. 12:6, 8; 14:21 bLev. 1:14 8 aLev. 1:15–17 1Lit. apart 9 aLev. 4:7, 18, 30, 34 10 aLev. 1:14–17 bLev. 4:20, 26; 5:13, 16 11 aLev. 14:21–32 bNum. 5:15 12 aLev. 2:2 bLev. 4:35 13 aLev. 4:26 bLev. 2:3; 6:17, 26 1concern- ing his sin 15 aLev. 4:2; 22:14 bEzra 10:19 cEx. 30:13 16 aNum. 5:7 bLev. 4:26 17 aLev. 4:2, 13, 22, 27 bLev. 5:1, 2 1punishment 18 aLev. 5:15 19 aEzra 10:2 CHAPTER 6 2 aNum. 5:6 bLev. 19:11 cEx. 22:7, 10 dProv. 24:28 1deceiving his associate 2an entrusted security 3 aDeut. 22:1–4 bEx. 22:11

91 LEVITICUS 7:4 things that a man may do in which he sins: 4 “then it shall be, because he has sinned and is guilty, that he shall 1restore awhat he has stolen, or the thing which he has extorted, or what was delivered to him for safekeep- ing, or the lost thing which he found, 5 “or all that about which he has sworn falsely. He shall arestore its full value, add one-fifth more to it, and give it to whomever it belongs, on the day of his trespass offering. 6 “And he shall bring his trespass offering to the LORD, aa ram without blemish from the flock, with your 1valuation, as a trespass offering, to the priest. 7 a“So the priest shall make atonement for him before the LORD, and he shall be forgiven for any one of these things that he may have done in which he trespasses.” The Law of the Burnt Offering 8 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 9 “Command Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the alaw of the burnt offering: The burnt offering shall be on the hearth upon the altar all night until morning, and the fire of the altar shall be kept burning on it. 10 a‘And the priest shall put on his linen garment, and his linen trousers he shall put on his body, and take up the ashes of the burnt offering which the fire has con- sumed on the altar, and he shall put them bbeside the altar. 11 ‘Then ahe shall take off his gar- ments, put on other garments, and carry the ashes outside the camp bto a clean place. 12 ‘And the fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not be put out. And the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order on it; and he shall burn on it athe fat of the peace offerings. 13 ‘A fire shall always be burning on the aaltar; it shall never go out. The Law of the Grain Offering 14 ‘This is the law of the grain offering: The sons of Aaron shall offer it on the altar before the LORD. 15 ‘He shall take from it his hand- ful of the fine flour of the grain offering, with its oil, and all the frankincense which is on the grain offering, and shall burn it on the altar for a sweet aroma, as a memo- rial to the LORD. 16 ‘And the remainder of it Aaron and his sons shall eat; with unleav- ened bread it shall be eaten in a holy place; in the court of the taber- nacle of meeting they shall eat it. 17 ‘It shall not be baked with leaven. I have given it as their 1por- tion of My offerings made by fire; it is most holy, like the sin offering and the atrespass offering. 18 a‘All the males among the chil- dren of Aaron may eat it. bIt shall be a statute forever in your generations concerning the offerings made by fire to the LORD. cEveryone who touches them must be holy.’ ” 19 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 20 a“This is the offering of Aaron and his sons, which they shall offer to the LORD, beginning on the day when he is anointed: one-tenth of an bephah of fine flour as a daily grain offering, half of it in the morning and half of it at night. 21 “It shall be made in a apan with oil. When it is mixed, you shall bring it in. The baked pieces of the grain offering you shall offer for a 1sweet aroma to the LORD. 22 “The priest from among his sons, awho is anointed in his place, shall offer it. It is a statute forever to the LORD. bIt shall be 1wholly burned. 23 “For every grain offering for the priest shall be wholly burned. It shall not be eaten.” The Law of the Sin Offering 24 Also the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 25 “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘This is the law of the sin offering: aIn the place where the burnt offering is killed, the sin offer- ing shall be killed before the LORD. It is most holy. 26 a‘The priest who offers it for sin shall eat it. In a holy place it shall be eaten, in the court of the tabernacle of meeting. 27 a‘Everyone who touches its flesh 1must be holy. And when its blood is sprinkled on any garment, you shall wash that on which it was sprin- kled, in a holy place. 28 ‘But the earthen vessel in which it is boiled ashall be broken.

f the sin offering: aIn the place where the burnt offering is killed, the sin offer- ing shall be killed before the LORD. It is most holy. 26 a‘The priest who offers it for sin shall eat it. In a holy place it shall be eaten, in the court of the tabernacle of meeting. 27 a‘Everyone who touches its flesh 1must be holy. And when its blood is sprinkled on any garment, you shall wash that on which it was sprin- kled, in a holy place. 28 ‘But the earthen vessel in which it is boiled ashall be broken. And if it is boiled in a bronze pot, it shall be both scoured and rinsed in water. 29 ‘All the males among the priests may eat it. It is most holy. 30 a‘But no sin offering from which any of the blood is brought into the tabernacle of meeting, to make atonement in 1the holy bplace, shall be ceaten. It shall be dburned in the fire. The Law of the Trespass Offering 7 ‘Likewise athis is the law of the trespass offering (it is most holy): 2 ‘In the place where they kill the burnt offering they shall kill the trespass offering. And its blood he shall sprinkle all around on the altar. 3 ‘And he shall offer from it all its fat. The fat tail and the fat that cov- ers the entrails, 4 ‘the two kidneys and the fat that 4 aLev. 24:18, 21 1return 5 aLev. 5:16; Num. 5:7, 8; 2 Sam. 12:6 6 aLev. 1:3; 5:15 1appraisal 7 aLev. 4:26 9 aEx. 29:38–42; Num. 28:3–10 10 aEx. 28:39–43; Lev. 16:4; Ezek. 44:17, 18 bLev. 1:16 11 aEzek. 44:19 bLev. 4:12 12 aLev. 3:3, 5, 9, 14 13 aLev. 1:7 17 aLev. 7:7 1share 18 aLev. 6:29; 7:6; Num. 18:10; 1 Cor. 9:13 bLev. 3:17 cEx. 29:37; Lev. 22:3–7; Num. 4:15; Hag. 2:11–13 20 aEx. 29:2 bEx. 16:36 21 aLev. 2:5; 7:9 1pleasing 22 aLev. 4:3 bEx. 29:25 1completely 25 aLev. 1:1, 3, 5, 11 26 a[Lev. 10:17, 18]; Num. 18:9, 10; [Ezek. 44:28, 29] 27 aEx. 29:37; Num. 4:15; Hag. 2:11–13 1Lit. shall 28 aLev. 11:33; 15:12 30 aLev. 4:7, 11, 12, 18, 21; 10:18; 16:27; [Heb. 13:11, 12] bEx. 26:33 cLev. 6:16, 23, 26 dLev. 16:27 1The Most Holy Place when capital- ized CHAPTER 7 1 aLev. 5:14–6:7

LEVITICUS 7:5 92 is on them by the flanks, and the fatty lobe attached to the liver above the kidneys, he shall remove; 5 ‘and the priest shall burn them on the altar as an offering made by fire to the LORD. It is a trespass offering. 6 a‘Every male among the priests may eat it. It shall be eaten in a holy place. bIt is most holy. 7 a‘The trespass offering is like the sin offering; there is one law for them both: the priest who makes atonement with it shall have it. 8 ‘And the priest who offers any- one’s burnt offering, that priest shall have for himself the skin of the burnt offering which he has offered. 9 ‘Also aevery grain offering that is baked in the oven and all that is pre- pared in the covered pan, or 1in a pan, shall be the priest’s who offers it. 10 ‘Every grain offering, whether mixed with oil or dry, shall belong to all the sons of Aaron, to one as much as the other. The Law of Peace Offerings 11 a‘This is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings which he shall offer to the LORD: 12 ‘If he offers it for a thanksgiv- ing, then he shall offer, with the sac- rifice of thanksgiving, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, unleavened wafers aanointed with oil, or cakes of blended flour mixed with oil. 13 ‘Besides the cakes, as his offer- ing he shall offer aleavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offering. 14 ‘And from it he shall offer one cake from each offering as a heave offering to the LORD. aIt shall belong to the priest who sprinkles the blood of the peace offering. 15 a‘The flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offering for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day it is offered. He shall not leave any of it until morning. 16 ‘But aif the sacrifice of his offer- ing is a vow or a voluntary offering, it shall be eaten the same day that he offers his sacrifice; but on the next day the remainder of it also may be eaten; 17 ‘the remainder of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day must be burned with fire. 18 ‘And if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offering is eaten at all on the third day, it shall not be accepted, nor shall it be aim- puted to him; it shall be an babomi- nation to him who offers it, and the person who eats of it shall bear 1guilt. 19 ‘The flesh that touches any unclean thing shall not be eaten. It shall be burned with fire.

the next day the remainder of it also may be eaten; 17 ‘the remainder of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day must be burned with fire. 18 ‘And if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offering is eaten at all on the third day, it shall not be accepted, nor shall it be aim- puted to him; it shall be an babomi- nation to him who offers it, and the person who eats of it shall bear 1guilt. 19 ‘The flesh that touches any unclean thing shall not be eaten. It shall be burned with fire. And as for the clean flesh, all who are 1clean may eat of it. 20 ‘But the person who eats the flesh of the sacrifice of the peace offering that belongs to the aLORD, bwhile he is unclean, that person cshall be cut off from his people. 21 ‘Moreover the person who touches any unclean thing, such as ahuman uncleanness, an bunclean animal, or any cabominable1 unclean thing, and who eats the flesh of the sacrifice of the peace offering that belongs to the LORD, that person dshall be cut off from his people.’ ” Fat and Blood May Not Be Eaten 22 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 23 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: a‘You shall not eat any fat, of ox or sheep or goat. 24 ‘And the fat of an animal that dies naturally, and the fat of what is torn by wild beasts, may be used in any other way; but you shall by no means eat it. 25 ‘For whoever eats the fat of the animal of which men offer an offer- ing made by fire to the LORD, the person who eats it shall be cut off from his people. 26 a‘Moreover you shall not eat any blood in any of your dwellings, whether of bird or beast. 27 ‘Whoever eats any blood, that person shall be cut off from his peo- ple.’ ” The Portion of Aaron and His Sons 28 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 29 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: a‘He who offers the sacrifice of his peace offering to the LORD shall bring his offering to the LORD from the sacrifice of his peace offer- ing. 30 a‘His own hands shall bring the offerings made by fire to the LORD. The fat with the breast he shall bring, that the bbreast may be waved as a wave offering before the LORD. 31 a‘And the priest shall burn the fat on the altar, but the bbreast shall be Aaron’s and his sons’. 32 a‘Also the right thigh you shall give to the priest as a heave offering from the sacrifices of your peace offerings. 33 ‘He among the sons of Aaron, who offers the blood of the peace offering and the fat, shall have the right thigh for his part. 34 ‘For athe breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the heave offering I have taken from the chil- dren of Israel, from the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and I have given them to Aaron the priest and to his sons from the children of Israel by a statute forever.’ ” 35 This is the consecrated portion for Aaron and his sons, from the of- 6 aLev. 6:16–18, 29; Num. 18:9 bLev. 2:3 7 aLev. 6:24–30; 14:13 9 aLev. 2:3, 10; Num. 18:9; Ezek. 44:29 1on a griddle 11 aLev. 3:1; 22:18, 21; Ezek. 45:15 12 aLev. 2:4; Num. 6:15 13 aLev. 2:12; 23:17, 18; Amos 4:5 14 aNum. 18:8, 11, 19 15 aLev. 22:29, 30 16 aLev. 19:5–8 18 aNum. 18:27 bLev. 11:10, 11, 41; 19:7; [Prov. 15:8] 1his iniquity 19 1pure 20 a[Heb. 2:17] bLev. 5:3; 15:3; 22:3–7; Num. 19:13; [1 Cor. 11:28] cGen. 17:14; Ex. 31:14 21 aLev. 5:2, 3, 5 bLev. 11:24, 28 cEzek. 4:14 dLev. 7:20 1So with MT, LXX, Vg.; Sam., Syr., Tg. swarming thing (cf. 5:2) 23 aLev. 3:17; 17:10–15; Deut. 14:21; Ezek. 4:14; 44:31 26 aGen. 9:4; Lev. 3:17; 17:10–16; 19:26; Deut. 12:23; 1 Sam. 14:33; Ezek. 33:25; [John 6:53]; Acts 15:20, 29 29 aLev. 3:1; 22:21; Ezek. 45:15 30 aLev. 3:3, 4, 9, 14 bEx. 29:24, 27; Lev. 8:27; 9:21; Num. 6:20 31 aLev. 3:5, 11, 16 bNum. 18:11; Deut. 18:3 32 aEx. 29:27; Lev. 7:34; 9:21; Num. 6:20 34 aEx. 29:28; Lev. 10:14, 15; Num. 18:18, 19; Deut. 18:3

93 LEVITICUS 8:29 ferings made by fire to the LORD, on the day when Moses presented them to 1minister to the LORD as priests. 36 The LORD commanded this to be given to them by the children of Israel, aon the day that He anointed them, by a statute forever through- out their generations. 37 This is the law aof the burnt offering, bthe grain offering, cthe sin offering, dthe trespass offering, ethe consecrations, and fthe sacrifice of the peace offering, 38 which the LORD commanded Moses on Mount Sinai, on the day when He commanded the children of Israel ato offer their offerings to the LORD in the Wilderness of Sinai. Aaron and His Sons Consecrated 8 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 2 a“Take Aaron and his sons with him, and bthe garments, cthe anoint- ing oil, a dbull as the sin offering, two erams, and a basket of unleav- ened bread; 3 “and gather all the congregation together at the door of the taberna- cle of meeting.” 4 So Moses did as the LORD com- manded him. And the congregation was gathered together at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 5 And Moses said to the congre- gation, “This is what the LORD com- manded to be done.” 6 Then Moses brought Aaron and his sons and awashed them with water. 7 And he aput the tunic on him, girded him with the sash, clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod on him; and he girded him with the intricately woven band of the ephod, and with it tied the ephod on him. 8 Then he put the breastplate on him, and he aput the 1Urim and the Thummim in the breastplate. 9 aAnd he put the turban on his head. Also on the turban, on its front, he put the golden plate, the holy crown, as the LORD had com- manded Moses. 10 aAlso Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and consecrated them. 11 He sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times, anointed the altar and all its utensils, and the laver and its base, to 1consecrate them. 12 And he apoured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him, to consecrate him. 13 aThen Moses brought Aaron’s sons and put tunics on them, girded them with sashes, and put 1hats on them, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 14 aAnd he brought the bull for the sin offering. Then Aaron and his sons blaid their hands on the head of the bull for the sin offering, 15 and Moses killed it. aThen he took the blood, and put some on the horns of the altar all around with his finger, and purified the altar. And he poured the blood at the base of the altar, and consecrated it, to make 1atonement for it. 16 aThen he took all the fat that was on the entrails, the fatty lobe attached to the liver, and the two kidneys with their fat, and Moses burned them on the altar. 17 But the bull, its hide, its flesh, and its offal, he burned with fire outside the camp, as the LORD ahad commanded Moses. 18 aThen he brought the ram as the burnt offering. And Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram, 19 and Moses killed it. Then he sprinkled the blood all around on the altar. 20 And he cut the ram into pieces; and Moses aburned the head, the pieces, and the fat. 21 Then he washed the entrails and the legs in water. And Moses burned the whole ram on the altar. It was a burnt sacrifice for a 1sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD, aas the LORD had com- manded Moses. 22 And ahe brought the second ram, the ram of consecration. Then Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram, 23 and Moses killed it. Also he took some of aits blood and put it on the tip of Aaron’s right ear, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. 24 Then he brought Aaron’s sons. And Moses put some of the ablood on the tips of their right ears, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet.

e LORD had com- manded Moses. 22 And ahe brought the second ram, the ram of consecration. Then Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram, 23 and Moses killed it. Also he took some of aits blood and put it on the tip of Aaron’s right ear, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. 24 Then he brought Aaron’s sons. And Moses put some of the ablood on the tips of their right ears, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. And Moses sprinkled the blood all around on the altar. 25 aThen he took the fat and the fat tail, all the fat that was on the entrails, the fatty lobe attached to the liver, the two kidneys and their fat, and the right thigh; 26 aand from the basket of unleav- ened bread that was before the LORD he took one unleavened cake, a cake of bread anointed with oil, and one wafer, and put them on the fat and on the right thigh; 27 and he put all these ain Aaron’s hands and in his sons’ hands, and waved them as a wave offering before the LORD. 28 aThen Moses took them from their hands and burned them on the altar, on the burnt offering. They were consecration offerings for a sweet aroma. That was an offering made by fire to the LORD. 29 And aMoses took the bbreast and 35 1serve 36 aEx. 40:13–15; Lev. 8:12, 30 37 aLev. 6:9 bLev. 6:14 cLev. 6:25 dLev. 7:1 eEx. 29:1; Lev. 6:20 fLev. 7:11 38 aLev. 1:1, 2; Deut. 4:5 CHAPTER 8 2 aEx. 29:1–3 bEx. 28:2, 4 cEx. 30:24, 25 dEx. 29:10 eEx. 29:15, 19 6 aEx. 30:20; Heb. 10:22 7 aEx. 39:1–31 8 aEx. 28:30; Num. 27:21; Deut. 33:8; 1 Sam. 28:6; Ezra 2:63; Neh. 7:65 1Lit. Lights and the Perfec- tions, Ex. 28:30 9 aEx. 28:36, 37; 29:6 10 aEx. 30:26–29; 40:10, 11; Lev. 8:2 11 1set them apart for the LORD 12 aEx. 29:7; 30:30; Lev. 21:10, 12; Ps. 133:2 13 aEx. 29:8, 9 1headpieces 14 aEx. 29:10; Ps. 66:15; Ezek. 43:19 bLev. 4:4 15 aEx. 29:12, 36; Lev. 4:7; Ezek. 43:20, 26; [Heb. 9:22] 1Lit. covering 16 aEx. 29:13; Lev. 4:8 17 aEx. 29:14; Lev. 4:11, 12 18 aEx. 29:15 20 aLev. 1:8 21 aEx. 29:18 1pleasing 22 aEx. 29:19, 31; Lev. 8:2 23 aEx. 29:20, 21; Lev. 14:14 24 a[Heb. 9:13, 14, 18–23] 25 aEx. 29:22 26 aEx. 29:23 27 aEx. 29:24; Lev. 7:30, 34 28 aEx. 29:25 29 aPs. 99:6 bEx. 29:27

LEVITICUS 8:30 94 waved it as a wave offering before the LORD. It was Moses’ cpart of the ram of consecration, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 30 Then aMoses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood which was on the altar, and sprin- kled it on Aaron, on his garments, on his sons, and on the garments of his sons with him; and he conse- crated Aaron, his garments, his sons, and the garments of his sons with him. 31 And Moses said to Aaron and his sons, a“Boil the flesh at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and eat it there with the bread that is in the basket of consecration offer- ings, as I commanded, saying, ‘Aaron and his sons shall eat it.’ 32 a“What remains of the flesh and of the bread you shall burn with fire. 33 “And you shall not go outside the door of the tabernacle of meet- ing for seven days, until the days of your consecration are ended. For aseven days he shall consecrate you. 34 a“As he has done this day, so the LORD has commanded to do, to make atonement for you. 35 “Therefore you shall stay at the door of the tabernacle of meeting day and night for seven days, and akeep the 1charge of the LORD, so that you may not die; for so I have been commanded.” 36 So Aaron and his sons did all the things that the LORD had com- manded by the hand of Moses. The Priestly Ministry Begins 9 It came to pass on the aeighth day that Moses called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel. 2 And he said to Aaron, “Take for yourself a young abull as a sin offer- ing and a ram as a burnt offering, without blemish, and offer them before the LORD. 3 “And to the children of Israel you shall speak, saying, a‘Take a kid of the goats as a sin offering, and a calf and a lamb, both of the first year, without blemish, as a burnt offering, 4 ‘also a bull and a ram as peace offerings, to sacrifice before the LORD, and aa grain offering mixed with oil; for btoday the LORD will appear to you.’ ” 5 So they brought what Moses commanded before the tabernacle of meeting. And all the congrega- tion drew near and stood 1before the LORD. 6 Then Moses said, “This is the thing which the LORD commanded you to do, and the glory of the LORD will appear to you.” 7 And Moses said to Aaron, “Go to the altar, aoffer your sin offering and your burnt offering, and make atonement for yourself and for the people. bOffer the offering of the people, and make atonement for them, as the LORD commanded.” 8 Aaron therefore went to the altar and killed the calf of the sin offering, which was for himself. 9 Then the sons of Aaron brought the blood to him. And he dipped his finger in the blood, put it on the horns of the altar, and poured the blood at the base of the altar. 10 aBut the fat, the kidneys, and the fatty lobe from the liver of the sin offering he burned on the altar, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 11 aThe flesh and the hide he burned with fire outside the camp. 12 And he killed the burnt offering; and Aaron’s sons presented to him the blood, awhich he sprinkled all around on the altar. 13 aThen they presented the burnt offering to him, with its pieces and head, and he burned them on the altar. 14 aAnd he washed the entrails and the legs, and burned them with the burnt offering on the altar. 15 aThen he brought the people’s offering, and took the goat, which was the sin offering for the people, and killed it and offered it for sin, like the first one. 16 And he brought the burnt offer- ing and offered it aaccording to the 1prescribed manner. 17 Then he brought the grain offer- ing, took a handful of it, and burned it on the altar, abesides the burnt sacrifice of the morning. 18 He also killed the bull and the ram as asacrifices of peace offer- ings, which were for the people. And Aaron’s sons presented to him the blood, which he sprinkled all around on the altar, 19 and the fat from the bull and the ram—the fatty tail, what covers the entrails and the kidneys, and the fatty lobe attached to the liver; 20 and they put the fat on the breasts.

he brought the grain offer- ing, took a handful of it, and burned it on the altar, abesides the burnt sacrifice of the morning. 18 He also killed the bull and the ram as asacrifices of peace offer- ings, which were for the people. And Aaron’s sons presented to him the blood, which he sprinkled all around on the altar, 19 and the fat from the bull and the ram—the fatty tail, what covers the entrails and the kidneys, and the fatty lobe attached to the liver; 20 and they put the fat on the breasts. aThen he burned the fat on the altar; 21 but the breasts and the right thigh Aaron waved aas a wave offer- ing before the LORD, as Moses had commanded. 22 Then Aaron lifted his hand toward the people, ablessed them, and came down from offering the sin offering, the burnt offering, and peace offerings. 23 And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of meeting, and came out and blessed the people. Then the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people, 24 and afire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people saw it, they bshouted and fell on their cfaces. 29 cEx. 29:26 30 aEx. 29:21; 30:30; Num. 3:3 31 aEx. 29:31, 32 32 aEx. 29:34 33 aEx. 29:30, 35; Lev. 10:7; Ezek. 43:25, 26 34 a[Heb. 7:16] 35 aNum. 1:53; 3:7; 9:19; Deut. 11:1; 1 Kin. 2:3; Ezek. 48:11 1office CHAPTER 9 1 aEzek. 43:27 2 aEx. 29:21; Lev. 4:1–12 3 aLev. 4:23, 28; Ezra 6:17; 10:19 4 aLev. 2:4 bEx. 29:43; Lev. 9:6, 23 5 1in the pres- ence of 7 aLev. 4:3; 1 Sam. 3:14; [Heb. 5:3–5; 7:27] bLev. 4:16, 20; Heb. 5:1 10 aEx. 23:18; Lev. 8:16 11 aLev. 4:11, 12; 8:17 12 aLev. 1:5; 8:19 13 aLev. 8:20 14 aLev. 8:21 15 a[Is. 53:10; Heb. 2:17; 5:3] 16 aLev. 1:1–13 1ordinance 17 aEx. 29:38, 39 18 aLev. 3:1–11 20 aLev. 3:5, 16 21 aEx. 29:24, 26, 27; Lev. 7:30–34 22 aNum. 6:22–26; Deut. 21:5; Luke 24:50 24 aGen. 4:4; Judg. 6:21; 2 Chr. 7:1; Ps. 20:3 bEzra 3:11 c1 Kin. 18:38, 39

95 LEVITICUS 11:9 The Profane Fire of Nadab and Abihu 10aNadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, beach took his cen- ser and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered cprofane fire before the LORD, which He had not com- manded them. 2 So afire went out from the LORD and devoured them, and they died before the LORD. 3 And Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD spoke, saying: ‘By those awho come near Me I must be regarded as holy; And before all the people I must be glorified.’ ” So Aaron held his peace. 4 Then Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, “Come near, acarry your brethren from 1before the sanctuary out of the camp.” 5 So they went near and carried them by their tunics out of the camp, as Moses had said. 6 And Moses said to Aaron, and to Eleazar and Ithamar, his sons, “Do not 1uncover your heads nor tear your clothes, lest you die, and awrath come upon all the people. But let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, 2bewail the burning which the LORD has kindled. 7 a“You shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die, bfor the anointing oil of the LORD is upon you.” And they did according to the word of Moses. Conduct Prescribed for Priests 8 Then the LORD spoke to Aaron, saying: 9 a“Do not drink wine or intoxi- cating drink, you, nor your sons with you, when you go into the tab- ernacle of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, 10 “that you may adistinguish between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean, 11 a“and that you may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD has spoken to them by the hand of Moses.” 12 And Moses spoke to Aaron, and to Eleazar and Ithamar, his sons who were left: a“Take the grain offering that remains of the offer- ings made by fire to the LORD, and eat it without leaven beside the altar; bfor it is most holy. 13 “You shall eat it in a aholy place, because it is your 1due and your sons’ due, of the sacrifices made by fire to the LORD; for bso I have been commanded. 14 a“The breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the heave offering you shall eat in a clean place, you, your sons, and your bdaughters with you; for they are your due and your sons’ cdue, which are given from the sacrifices of peace offerings of the children of Israel. 15 a“The thigh of the heave offer- ing and the breast of the wave of- fering they shall bring with the offerings of fat made by fire, to offer as a wave offering before the LORD. And it shall be yours and your sons’ with you, by a statute forever, as the LORD has commanded.” 16 Then Moses made careful inquiry about athe goat of the sin offering, and there it was—burned up. And he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron who were left, saying, 17 a“Why have you not eaten the sin offering in a holy place, since it is most holy, and God has given it to you to bear bthe guilt of the congre- gation, to make atonement for them before the LORD? 18 “See! aIts blood was not brought inside 1the holy place; indeed you should have eaten it in a holy place, bas I commanded.” 19 And Aaron said to Moses, “Look, athis day they have offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the LORD, and such things have befallen me!

re left, saying, 17 a“Why have you not eaten the sin offering in a holy place, since it is most holy, and God has given it to you to bear bthe guilt of the congre- gation, to make atonement for them before the LORD? 18 “See! aIts blood was not brought inside 1the holy place; indeed you should have eaten it in a holy place, bas I commanded.” 19 And Aaron said to Moses, “Look, athis day they have offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the LORD, and such things have befallen me! If I had eaten the sin offering today, bwould it have been accepted in the sight of the LORD?” 20 So when Moses heard that, he was content. Foods Permitted and Forbidden 11 Now the LORD spoke to Mo- ses and Aaron, saying to them, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, a‘These are the animals which you may eat among all the animals that are on the earth: 3 ‘Among the animals, whatever divides the hoof, having cloven hooves and chewing the cud—that you may eat. 4 ‘Nevertheless these you shall anot eat among those that chew the cud or those that have cloven hooves: the camel, because it chews the cud but does not have cloven hooves, is 1unclean to you; 5 ‘the 1rock hyrax, because it chews the cud but does not have cloven hooves, is 2unclean to you; 6 ‘the hare, because it chews the cud but does not have cloven hooves, is unclean to you; 7 ‘and the swine, though it divides the hoof, having cloven hooves, yet does not chew the cud, ais unclean to you. 8 ‘Their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch. aThey are unclean to you. 9 a‘These you may eat of all that CHAPTER 10 1 aNum. 3:2–4 bLev. 16:12 cEx. 30:9 2 aNum. 11:1; 16:35 3 aEx. 19:22 4 aActs 5:6, 10 1in front of 6 a2 Sam. 24:1 1An act of mourning 2weep bitterly 7 aLev. 8:33; 21:12 bLev. 8:30 9 aEzek. 44:21 10 aEzek. 22:26; 44:23 11 aDeut. 24:8 12 aNum. 18:9 bLev. 21:22 13 aNum. 18:10 bLev. 2:3; 6:16 1portion 14 aNum. 18:11 bLev. 22:13 cNum. 18:10 15 aLev. 7:29, 30, 34 16 aLev. 9:3, 15 17 aLev. 6:24–30 bEx. 28:38 18 aLev. 6:30 bLev. 6:26, 30 1The Most Holy Place when capital- ized 19 aLev. 9:8, 12 b[Is. 1:11–15] CHAPTER 11 2 aDeut. 14:4 4 aActs 10:14 1impure 5 1rock badger 2impure 7 aIs. 65:4; 66:3, 17 8 aIs. 52:11 9 aDeut. 14:9

LEVITICUS 11:10 96 are in the water: whatever in the water has fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the rivers—that you may eat. 10 ‘But all in the seas or in the rivers that do not have fins and scales, all that move in the water or any living thing which is in the water, they are 1an aabomination to you. 11 ‘They shall be an abomination to you; you shall not eat their flesh, but you shall regard their carcasses as an abomination. 12 ‘Whatever in the water does not have fins or scales—that shall be an abomination to you. 13 a‘And these you shall regard as an abomination among the birds; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, the vulture, the buzzard, 14 ‘the kite, and the falcon after its kind; 15 ‘every raven after its kind, 16 ‘the ostrich, the short-eared owl, the sea gull, and the hawk after its kind; 17 ‘the little owl, the fisher owl, and the screech owl; 18 ‘the white owl, the jackdaw, and the carrion vulture; 19 ‘the stork, the heron after its kind, the hoopoe, and the bat. 20 ‘All flying insects that creep on all fours shall be an abomination to you. 21 ‘Yet these you may eat of every flying insect that creeps on all fours: those which have jointed legs above their feet with which to leap on the earth. 22 ‘These you may eat: athe locust after its kind, the destroying locust after its kind, the cricket after its kind, and the grasshopper after its kind. 23 ‘But all other flying insects which have four feet shall be an abomination to you. Unclean Animals 24 ‘By these you shall become 1unclean; whoever touches the car- cass of any of them shall be unclean until evening; 25 ‘whoever carries part of the car- cass of any of them ashall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening: 26 ‘The carcass of any animal which divides the foot, but is not cloven-hoofed or does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. Everyone who touches it shall be unclean. 27 ‘And whatever goes on its paws, among all kinds of animals that go on all fours, those are unclean to you. Whoever touches any such car- cass shall be unclean until evening. 28 ‘Whoever carries any such car- cass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening. It is unclean to you. 29 ‘These also shall be unclean to you among the creeping things that creep on the earth: the mole, athe mouse, and the large lizard after its kind; 30 ‘the gecko, the monitor lizard, the sand reptile, the sand lizard, and the chameleon. 31 ‘These are unclean to you among all that creep. Whoever atouches them when they are dead shall be unclean until evening. 32 ‘Anything on which any of them falls, when they are dead shall be 1unclean, whether it is any item of wood or clothing or skin or sack, whatever item it is, in which any work is done, ait must be put in water. And it shall be unclean until evening; then it shall be clean. 33 ‘Any aearthen vessel into which any of them falls byou shall break; and whatever is in it shall be unclean: 34 ‘in such a vessel, any edible food upon which water falls becomes unclean, and any drink that may be drunk from it becomes unclean. 35 ‘And everything on which a part of any such carcass falls shall be unclean; whether it is an oven or cooking stove, it shall be broken down; for they are unclean, and shall be unclean to you. 36 ‘Nevertheless a spring or a cis- tern, in which there is plenty of water, shall be clean, but whatever touches any such carcass becomes unclean. 37 ‘And if a part of any such carcass falls on any planting seed which is to be sown, it remains clean. 38 ‘But if water is put on the seed, and if a part of any such carcass falls on it, it becomes 1unclean to you. 39 ‘And if any animal which you may eat dies, he who touches its car- cass shall be aunclean until evening. 40 a‘He who eats of its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening.

is plenty of water, shall be clean, but whatever touches any such carcass becomes unclean. 37 ‘And if a part of any such carcass falls on any planting seed which is to be sown, it remains clean. 38 ‘But if water is put on the seed, and if a part of any such carcass falls on it, it becomes 1unclean to you. 39 ‘And if any animal which you may eat dies, he who touches its car- cass shall be aunclean until evening. 40 a‘He who eats of its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening. He also who carries its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening. 41 ‘And every creeping thing that creeps on the earth shall be 1an abomination. It shall not be eaten. 42 ‘Whatever crawls on its belly, whatever goes on all fours, or what- ever has many feet among all creep- ing things that creep on the earth— these you shall not eat, for they are an abomination. 43 a‘You shall not make 1yourselves 2abominable with any creeping thing that creeps; nor shall you make yourselves unclean with them, lest you be defiled by them. 44 ‘For I am the LORD your aGod. You shall therefore consecrate your- selves, and byou shall be holy; for I am holy. Neither shall you defile yourselves with any creeping thing that creeps on the earth. 45 a‘For I am the LORD who brings you up out of the land of Egypt, to 10 aLev. 7:18, 21; Deut. 14:3 1detestable 13 aDeut. 14:12–19; Is. 66:17 22 aMatt. 3:4; Mark 1:6 24 1impure 25 aLev. 14:8; 15:5; Num. 19:10, 21, 22; 31:24; Zech. 13:1; [Heb. 9:10; 10:22; Rev. 7:14] 29 aIs. 66:17 31 aHag. 2:13 32 aLev. 15:12 1impure 33 aLev. 6:28 bLev. 15:12; Ps. 2:9; Jer. 48:38; [2 Tim. 2:21]; Rev. 2:27 38 1impure 39 aHag. 2:11–13 40 aEx. 22:31; Lev. 17:15; 22:8; Deut. 14:21; Ezek. 4:14; 44:31 41 1detestable 43 aLev. 20:25 1Lit. your souls 2impure 44 aEx. 6:7; Lev. 22:33; 25:38; 26:45 bEx. 19:6; Lev. 19:2; 20:7, 26; [Amos 3:3]; Matt. 5:48; 1 Thess. 4:7; 1 Pet. 1:15, 16; [Rev. 22:11, 14] 45 aEx. 6:7; 20:2; Lev. 22:33; 25:38; 26:45; Ps. 105:43–45; Hos. 11:1

97 LEVITICUS 13:20 be your God. bYou shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. 46 ‘This is the law 1of the animals and the birds and every living crea- ture that moves in the waters, and of every creature that creeps on the earth, 47 a‘to distinguish between the unclean and the clean, and between the animal that may be eaten and the animal that may not be eaten.’ ” The Ritual After Childbirth 12 Then the LORD spoke to Mo- ses, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘If a awoman has conceived, and borne a male child, then bshe shall be 1unclean seven days; cas in the days of her customary impurity she shall be unclean. 3 ‘And on the aeighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. 4 ‘She shall then continue in the blood of her purification thirty- three days. She shall not touch any 1hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary until the days of her purification are fulfilled. 5 ‘But if she bears a female child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her customary impurity, and she shall continue in the blood of her purification sixty-six days. 6 a‘When the days of her purifica- tion are fulfilled, whether for a son or a daughter, she shall bring to the priest a blamb 1of the first year as a burnt offering, and a young pigeon or a turtledove as a csin offering, to the door of the taberna- cle of meeting. 7 ‘Then he shall offer it before the LORD, and make 1atonement for her. And she shall be clean from the flow of her blood. This is the law for her who has borne a male or a female. 8 a‘And if she is not able to bring a lamb, then she may bring two turtle- doves or two young pigeons—one as a burnt offering and the other as a sin offering. bSo the priest shall make atonement for her, and she will be 1clean.’ ” The Law Concerning Leprosy 13 And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: 2 “When a man has on the skin of his body a swelling, aa scab, or a bright spot, and it becomes on the skin of his body like a 1leprous sore, bthen he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests. 3 “The priest shall examine the sore on the skin of the body; and if the hair on the sore has turned white, and the sore appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is a leprous sore. Then the priest shall examine him, and pronounce him 1unclean. 4 “But if the bright spot is white on the skin of his body, and does not appear to be deeper than the skin, and its hair has not turned white, then the priest shall isolate the one who has the sore aseven days. 5 “And the priest shall examine him on the seventh day; and indeed if the sore appears to be as it was, and the sore has not spread on the skin, then the priest shall isolate him another seven days. 6 “Then the priest shall examine him again on the seventh day; and indeed if the sore has faded, and the sore has not spread on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean; it is only a scab, and he ashall wash his clothes and be clean. 7 “But if the scab should at all spread over the skin, after he has been seen by the priest for his cleansing, he shall be seen by the priest again. 8 “And if the priest sees that the scab has indeed spread on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him 1unclean. It is leprosy. 9 “When the leprous sore is on a person, then he shall be brought to the priest. 10 a“And the priest shall examine him; and indeed if the swelling on the skin is white, and it has turned the hair white, and there is a spot of raw flesh in the swelling, 11 “it is an old leprosy on the skin of his body. The priest shall pro- nounce him 1unclean, and shall not isolate him, for he is unclean. 12 “And if leprosy breaks out all over the skin, and the leprosy cov- ers all the skin of the one who has the sore, from his head to his foot, wherever the priest looks, 13 “then the priest shall consider; and indeed if the leprosy has cov- ered all his body, he shall pro- nounce him clean who has the sore. It has all turned awhite.

raw flesh in the swelling, 11 “it is an old leprosy on the skin of his body. The priest shall pro- nounce him 1unclean, and shall not isolate him, for he is unclean. 12 “And if leprosy breaks out all over the skin, and the leprosy cov- ers all the skin of the one who has the sore, from his head to his foot, wherever the priest looks, 13 “then the priest shall consider; and indeed if the leprosy has cov- ered all his body, he shall pro- nounce him clean who has the sore. It has all turned awhite. He is clean. 14 “But when raw flesh appears on him, he shall be unclean. 15 “And the priest shall examine the raw flesh and pronounce him to be unclean; for the raw flesh is unclean. It is leprosy. 16 “Or if the raw flesh changes and turns white again, he shall come to the priest. 17 “And the priest shall examine him; and indeed if the sore has turned white, then the priest shall pronounce him clean who has the sore. He is clean. 18 “If the body develops a aboil in the skin, and it is healed, 19 “and in the place of the boil there comes a white swelling or a bright spot, reddish-white, then it shall be shown to the priest; 20 “and if, when the priest sees it, it indeed appears deeper than the skin, and its hair has turned white, 45 bLev. 11:44 46 1concerning 47 aLev. 10:10; Ezek. 44:23; Mal. 3:18 CHAPTER 12 2 aLev. 15:19; [Job 14:4; Ps. 51:5] bEx. 22:30; Lev. 8:33; 13:4; Luke 2:22 cLev. 18:19 1impure 3 aGen. 17:12; Luke 1:59; 2:21; John 7:22, 23; Gal. 5:3 4 1consecrated 6 aLuke 2:22 b[John 1:29; 1 Pet. 1:18, 19] cLev. 5:7 1Lit. a son of his year 7 1Lit. cover- ing 8 aLev. 5:7; Luke 2:22–24 bLev. 4:26 1pure CHAPTER 13 2 aDeut. 28:27; Is. 3:17 bDeut. 17:8, 9; 24:8; Mal. 2:7; Luke 17:14 1Heb. saraath, dis- figuring skin diseases, including lep- rosy, and so in vv. 2–46 and 14:1–32 3 1defiled 4 aLev. 14:8 6 aLev. 11:25; 14:8; [John 13:8, 10] 8 1defiled 10 aNum. 12:10, 12; 2 Kin. 5:27; 2 Chr. 26:19, 20 11 1defiled 13 aEx. 4:6 18 aEx. 9:9; 15:26

LEVITICUS 13:21 98 the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is a leprous sore which has broken out of the boil. 21 “But if the priest examines it, and indeed there are no white hairs in it, and it is not deeper than the skin, but has faded, then the priest shall isolate him seven days; 22 “and if it should at all spread over the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is a 1lep- rous sore. 23 “But if the bright spot stays in one place, and has not spread, it is the scar of the boil; and the priest shall pronounce him clean. 24 “Or if the body receives a aburn on its skin by fire, and the raw flesh of the burn becomes a bright spot, reddish-white or white, 25 “then the priest shall examine it; and indeed if the hair of the bright spot has turned white, and it appears deeper than the skin, it is leprosy broken out in the burn. Therefore the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is a leprous sore. 26 “But if the priest examines it, and indeed there are no white hairs in the bright spot, and it is not deeper than the skin, but has faded, then the priest shall isolate him seven days. 27 “And the priest shall examine him on the seventh day. If it has at all spread over the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is a leprous sore. 28 “But if the bright spot stays in one place, and has not spread on the skin, but has faded, it is a swelling from the burn. The priest shall pro- nounce him clean, for it is the scar from the burn. 29 “If a man or woman has a sore on the head or the beard, 30 “then the priest shall examine the sore; and indeed if it appears deeper than the skin, and there is in it thin yellow hair, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is a scaly leprosy of the head or beard. 31 “But if the priest examines the scaly sore, and indeed it does not appear deeper than the skin, and there is no black hair in it, then the priest shall isolate the one who has the scale seven days. 32 “And on the seventh day the priest shall examine the sore; and indeed if the scale has not spread, and there is no yellow hair in it, and the scale does not appear deeper than the skin, 33 “he shall shave himself, but the scale he shall not shave. And the priest shall isolate the one who has the scale another seven days. 34 “On the seventh day the priest shall examine the scale; and indeed if the scale has not spread over the skin, and does not appear deeper than the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean. He shall wash his clothes and be clean. 35 “But if the scale should at all spread over the skin after his cleansing, 36 “then the priest shall examine him; and indeed if the scale has spread over the skin, the priest need not seek for yellow hair. He is unclean. 37 “But if the scale appears to be at a standstill, and there is black hair grown up in it, the scale has healed. He is clean, and the priest shall pro- nounce him clean. 38 “If a man or a woman has bright spots on the skin of the body, specif- ically white bright spots, 39 “then the priest shall look; and indeed if the bright spots on the skin of the body are dull white, it is a white spot that grows on the skin. He is clean. 40 “As for the man whose hair has fallen from his head, he is bald, but he is clean. 41 “He whose hair has fallen from his forehead, he is bald on the fore- head, but he is clean. 42 “And if there is on the bald head or bald aforehead a reddish-white sore, it is leprosy breaking out on his bald head or his bald forehead. 43 “Then the priest shall examine it; and indeed if the swelling of the sore is reddish-white on his bald head or on his bald forehead, as the appearance of leprosy on the skin of the body, 44 “he is a leprous man. He is unclean. The priest shall surely pro- nounce him 1unclean; his sore is on his ahead. 45 “Now the leper on whom the sore is, his clothes shall be torn and his head abare; and he shall bcover his mustache, and cry, c‘Unclean! Unclean!’ 46 “He shall be unclean.

r his bald forehead. 43 “Then the priest shall examine it; and indeed if the swelling of the sore is reddish-white on his bald head or on his bald forehead, as the appearance of leprosy on the skin of the body, 44 “he is a leprous man. He is unclean. The priest shall surely pro- nounce him 1unclean; his sore is on his ahead. 45 “Now the leper on whom the sore is, his clothes shall be torn and his head abare; and he shall bcover his mustache, and cry, c‘Unclean! Unclean!’ 46 “He shall be unclean. All the days he has the sore he shall be unclean. He is unclean, and he shall 1dwell alone; his dwelling shall be aoutside the camp. The Law Concerning Leprous Garments 47 “Also, if a garment has a 1lep- rous plague in it, whether it is a woolen garment or a linen garment, 48 “whether it is in the warp or woof of linen or wool, whether in leather or in anything made of leather, 49 “and if the plague is greenish or reddish in the garment or in the leather, whether in the warp or in the woof, or in anything made of leather, it is a leprous 1plague and shall be shown to the priest. 50 “The priest shall examine the plague and isolate that which has the plague seven days. 51 “And he shall examine the 22 1infection 24 aIs. 3:24 42 a2 Chr. 26:19 44 aIs. 1:5 1altogether defiled 45 aLev. 10:6; 21:10 bEzek. 24:17, 22; Mic. 3:7 cIs. 6:5; 64:6; Lam. 4:15; Luke 5:8 46 aNum. 5:1–4; 12:14; 2 Kin. 7:3; 15:5; 2 Chr. 26:21; Ps. 38:11; Luke 17:12 1live alone 47 1A mold, fungus, or similar infes- tation, and so in vv. 47–59 49 1mark

99 LEVITICUS 14:19 plague on the seventh day. If the plague has spread in the garment, either in the warp or in the woof, in the leather or in anything made of leather, the plague is aan active lep- rosy. It is unclean. 52 “He shall therefore burn that garment in which is the plague, whether warp or woof, in wool or in linen, or anything of leather, for it is an active leprosy; the garment shall be burned in the fire. 53 “But if the priest examines it, and indeed the plague has not spread in the garment, either in the warp or in the woof, or in anything made of leather, 54 “then the priest shall command that they wash the thing in which is the plague; and he shall isolate it another seven days. 55 “Then the priest shall examine the plague after it has been washed; and indeed if the plague has not changed its color, though the plague has not spread, it is unclean, and you shall burn it in the fire; it con- tinues eating away, whether the damage is outside or inside. 56 “If the priest examines it, and indeed the plague has faded after washing it, then he shall tear it out of the garment, whether out of the warp or out of the woof, or out of the leather. 57 “But if it appears again in the garment, either in the warp or in the woof, or in anything made of leather, it is a spreading plague; you shall burn with fire that in which is the plague. 58 “And if you wash the garment, either warp or woof, or whatever is made of leather, if the plague has disappeared from it, then it shall be washed a second time, and shall be clean. 59 “This is the law of the leprous plague in a garment of wool or linen, either in the warp or woof, or in anything made of leather, to pro- nounce it clean or to pronounce it unclean.” The Ritual for Cleansing Healed Lepers 14 Then the LORD spoke to Mo- ses, saying, 2 “This shall be the law of the 1leper for the day of his cleansing: He ashall be brought to the priest. 3 “And the priest shall go out of the camp, and the priest shall exam- ine him; and indeed, if the 1leprosy is healed in the leper, 4 “then the priest shall command to take for him who is to be cleansed two living and clean birds, acedar wood, bscarlet, and chyssop. 5 “And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water. 6 “As for the living bird, he shall take it, the cedar wood and the scar- let and the hyssop, and dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water. 7 “And he shall asprinkle it bseven times on him who is to be cleansed from the leprosy, and shall pro- nounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose in the open field. 8 “He who is to be cleansed ashall wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and bwash himself in water, that he may be clean. After that he shall come into the camp, and cshall stay outside his tent seven days. 9 “But on the aseventh day he shall shave all the hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows—all his hair he shall shave off. He shall wash his clothes and wash his body in water, and he shall be clean. 10 “And on the eighth day ahe shall take two male lambs without blem- ish, one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish, three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as ba grain offering, and one log of oil. 11 “Then the priest who makes him clean shall present the man who is to be made clean, and those things, before the LORD, at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 12 “And the priest shall take one male lamb and aoffer it as a trespass offering, and the log of oil, and bwave them as a wave offering before the LORD. 13 “Then he shall kill the lamb ain the place where he kills the sin offering and the burnt offering, in a holy place; for bas the sin offering is the priest’s, so is the trespass offer- ing.

the priest who makes him clean shall present the man who is to be made clean, and those things, before the LORD, at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 12 “And the priest shall take one male lamb and aoffer it as a trespass offering, and the log of oil, and bwave them as a wave offering before the LORD. 13 “Then he shall kill the lamb ain the place where he kills the sin offering and the burnt offering, in a holy place; for bas the sin offering is the priest’s, so is the trespass offer- ing. cIt is most holy. 14 “The priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and the priest shall put it aon the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. 15 “And the priest shall take some of the log of oil, and pour it into the palm of his own left hand. 16 “Then the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand, and shall asprinkle some of the oil with his finger seven times before the LORD. 17 “And of the rest of the oil in his hand, the priest shall put some on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the blood of the tres- pass offering. 18 “The rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed. aSo the priest shall make 1atone- ment for him before the LORD. 19 “Then the priest shall offer athe sin offering, and make atonement for 51 aLev. 14:44 CHAPTER 14 2 aMatt. 8:2, 4; Mark 1:40, 44; Luke 5:12, 14; 17:14 1See note at 13:2 3 1Heb. saraath, dis- figuring skin diseases, including lep- rosy, and so in vv. 1–32 4 aLev. 14:6, 49, 51, 52; Num. 19:6; Heb. 9:19 bEx. 25:4 cEx. 12:22; Ps. 51:7 7 aNum. 19:18, 19; [Heb. 9:13, 21; 12:24] b2 Kin. 5:10, 14; Ps. 51:2 8 aLev. 11:25; 13:6; Num. 8:7 bLev. 11:25; [Eph. 5:26; Heb. 10:22; Rev. 1:5, 6] cLev. 13:5; Num. 5:2, 3; 12:14, 15; 2 Chr. 26:21 9 aNum. 19:19 10 aMatt. 8:4; Mark 1:44; Luke 5:14 bLev. 2:1; Num. 15:4 12 aLev. 5:6, 18; 6:6; 14:19 bEx. 29:22–24, 26 13 aEx. 29:11; Lev. 1:5, 11; 4:4, 24 bLev. 6:24–30; 7:7 cLev. 2:3; 7:6; 21:22 14 aEx. 29:20; Lev. 8:23, 24 16 aLev. 4:6 18 aLev. 4:26; 5:6; Num. 15:28; [Heb. 2:17] 1Lit. cov- ering 19 aLev. 5:1, 6; 12:7; [2 Cor. 5:21]

LEVITICUS 14:20 100 him who is to be cleansed from his uncleanness. Afterward he shall kill the burnt offering. 20 “And the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the grain offer- ing on the altar. So the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be aclean. 21 “But aif he is poor and cannot afford it, then he shall take one male lamb as a trespass offering to be waved, to make atonement for him, 1one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, a log of oil, 22 a“and two turtledoves or two young pigeons, such as he is able to afford: one shall be a sin offering and the other a burnt offering. 23 a“He shall bring them to the priest on the eighth day for his cleansing, to the door of the taber- nacle of meeting, before the LORD. 24 a“And the priest shall take the lamb of the trespass offering and the log of oil, and the priest shall wave them as a wave offering before the LORD. 25 “Then he shall kill the lamb of the trespass offering, aand the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering and put it on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. 26 “And the priest shall pour some of the oil into the palm of his own left hand. 27 “Then the priest shall sprinkle with his right finger some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before the LORD. 28 “And the priest shall put some of the oil that is in his hand on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, on the thumb of the right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the place of the blood of the trespass offering. 29 “The rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed, to make atonement for him before the LORD. 30 “And he shall offer one of athe turtledoves or young pigeons, such as he can afford— 31 “such as he is able to afford, the one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, with the grain offering. So the priest shall make atonement for him who is to be cleansed before the LORD. 32 “This is the law for one who had a leprous sore, who cannot afford athe usual cleansing.” The Law Concerning Leprous Houses 33 And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: 34 a“When you have come into the land of Canaan, which I give you as a possession, and bI put the 1leprous plague in a house in the land of your possession, 35 “and he who owns the house comes and tells the priest, saying, ‘It seems to me that there is asome plague in the house,’ 36 “then the priest shall command that they empty the house, before the priest goes into it to examine the plague, that all that is in the house may not be made unclean; and afterward the priest shall go in to examine the house. 37 “And he shall examine the plague; and indeed if the plague is on the walls of the house with ingrained streaks, greenish or reddish, which appear to be 1deep in the wall, 38 “then the priest shall go out of the house, to the door of the house, and 1shut up the house seven days. 39 “And the priest shall come again on the seventh day and look; and indeed if the plague has spread on the walls of the house, 40 “then the priest shall command that they take away the stones in which is the plague, and they shall cast them into an unclean place out- side the city. 41 “And he shall cause the house to be scraped inside, all around, and the dust that they scrape off they shall pour out in an unclean place outside the city. 42 “Then they shall take other stones and put them in the place of those stones, and he shall take other mortar and plaster the house. 43 “Now if the plague comes back and breaks out in the house, after he has taken away the stones, after he has scraped the house, and after it is plastered, 44 “then the priest shall come and look; and indeed if the plague has spread in the house, it is aan active leprosy in the house.

that they scrape off they shall pour out in an unclean place outside the city. 42 “Then they shall take other stones and put them in the place of those stones, and he shall take other mortar and plaster the house. 43 “Now if the plague comes back and breaks out in the house, after he has taken away the stones, after he has scraped the house, and after it is plastered, 44 “then the priest shall come and look; and indeed if the plague has spread in the house, it is aan active leprosy in the house. It is unclean. 45 “And he shall break down the house, its stones, its timber, and all the plaster of the house, and he shall carry them outside the city to an unclean place. 46 “Moreover he who goes into the house at all while it is shut up shall be 1unclean auntil evening. 47 “And he who lies down in the house shall awash his clothes, and he who eats in the house shall wash his clothes. 48 “But if the priest comes in and examines it, and indeed the plague has not spread in the house after the house was plastered, then the priest shall pronounce the house clean, because the plague is healed. 49 “And ahe shall take, to cleanse the house, two birds, cedar wood, scarlet, and hyssop. 50 “Then he shall kill one of the birds in an earthen vessel over run- ning water; 20 aLev. 14:8, 9 21 aLev. 5:7, 11; 12:8; 27:8 1Approxi- mately two dry quarts 22 aLev. 12:8; 15:14, 15 23 aLev. 14:10, 11 24 aLev. 14:12 25 aLev. 14:14, 17 30 aLev. 14:22; 15:14, 15 32 aLev. 14:10 34 aGen. 12:7; 13:17; 17:8; Num. 32:22; Deut. 7:1; 32:49 b[Prov. 3:33] 1Decom- position by mildew, mold, dry rot, etc., and so in vv. 34–53 35 a[Ps. 91:9, 10; Prov. 3:33; Zech. 5:4] 37 1Lit. lower than the wall 38 1quarantine 44 aLev. 13:51; [Zech. 5:4] 46 aLev. 11:24; 15:5 1defiled 47 aLev. 14:8 49 aLev. 14:4

101 LEVITICUS 15:26 51 “and he shall take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the scarlet, and the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird and in the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times. 52 “And he shall 1cleanse the house with the blood of the bird and the running water and the living bird, with the cedar wood, the hyssop, and the scarlet. 53 “Then he shall let the living bird loose outside the city in the open field, and amake atonement for the house, and it shall be clean. 54 “This is the law for any aleprous sore and scale, 55 “for the aleprosy of a garment band of a house, 56 a“for a swelling and a scab and a bright spot, 57 “to ateach when it is unclean and when it is clean. This is the law of leprosy.” The Law Concerning Bodily Discharges 15 And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: a‘When any man has a discharge from his body, his discharge is unclean. 3 ‘And this shall be his unclean- ness in regard to his discharge— whether his body runs with his dis- charge, or his body is stopped up by his discharge, it is his uncleanness. 4 ‘Every bed is 1unclean on which he who has the discharge lies, and everything on which he sits shall be unclean. 5 ‘And whoever atouches his bed shall bwash his clothes and cbathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 6 ‘He who sits on anything on which he who has the adischarge sat shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 7 ‘And he who touches the body of him who has the discharge shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 8 ‘If he who has the discharge aspits on him who is clean, then he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 9 ‘Any saddle on which he who has the discharge rides shall be unclean. 10 ‘Whoever touches anything that was under him shall be unclean until evening. He who carries any of those things shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 11 ‘And whomever the one who has the discharge touches, and has not rinsed his hands in water, he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 12 ‘The avessel of earth that he who has the discharge touches shall be broken, and every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water. 13 ‘And when he who has a dis- charge is cleansed of his discharge, then ahe shall count for himself seven days for his cleansing, wash his clothes, and bathe his body in running water; then he shall be clean. 14 ‘On the eighth day he shall take for himself atwo turtledoves or two young pigeons, and come before the LORD, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and give them to the priest. 15 ‘Then the priest shall offer them, athe one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering.

water. 13 ‘And when he who has a dis- charge is cleansed of his discharge, then ahe shall count for himself seven days for his cleansing, wash his clothes, and bathe his body in running water; then he shall be clean. 14 ‘On the eighth day he shall take for himself atwo turtledoves or two young pigeons, and come before the LORD, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and give them to the priest. 15 ‘Then the priest shall offer them, athe one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. bSo the priest shall make 1atonement for him before the LORD because of his discharge. 16 a‘If any man has an emission of semen, then he shall wash all his body in water, and be unclean until evening. 17 ‘And any garment and any leather on which there is semen, it shall be washed with water, and be unclean until evening. 18 ‘Also, when a woman lies with a man, and there is an emission of semen, they shall bathe in water, and abe unclean until evening. 19 a‘If a woman has a discharge, and the discharge from her body is blood, she shall be 1set apart seven days; and whoever touches her shall be unclean until evening. 20 ‘Everything that she lies on dur- ing her impurity shall be unclean; also everything that she sits on shall be unclean. 21 ‘Whoever touches her bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 22 ‘And whoever touches anything that she sat on shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 23 ‘If anything is on her bed or on anything on which she sits, when he touches it, he shall be unclean until evening. 24 ‘And aif any man lies with her at all, so that her impurity is on him, he shall be 1unclean seven days; and every bed on which he lies shall be unclean. 25 ‘If aa woman has a discharge of blood for many days, other than at the time of her customary impurity, or if it runs beyond her usual time of impurity, all the days of her unclean discharge shall be as the days of her customary impurity. She shall be unclean. 26 ‘Every bed on which she lies all the days of her discharge shall be to her as the bed of her impurity; and whatever she sits on shall be unclean, as the uncleanness of her impurity. 52 1ceremoni- ally cleanse 53 aLev. 14:20 54 aLev. 13:30; 26:21 55 aLev. 13:47–52 bLev. 14:34 56 aLev. 13:2 57 aLev. 11:47; 20:25; Deut. 24:8; Ezek. 44:23 CHAPTER 15 2 aLev. 22:4; Num. 5:2; 2 Sam. 3:29 4 1defiled 5 aLev. 5:2; 14:46 bLev. 14:8, 47 cLev. 11:25; 17:15 6 aLev. 15:10; Deut. 23:10 8 aNum. 12:14 12 aLev. 6:28; 11:32, 33 13 aLev. 14:8; 15:28; Num. 19:11, 12 14 aLev. 14:22, 23, 30, 31 15 aLev. 14:30, 31 bLev. 14:19, 31 1Lit. cover- ing 16 aLev. 22:4; Deut. 23:10, 11 18 a[Ex. 19:15; 1 Sam. 21:4; 1 Cor. 6:18] 19 aLev. 12:2 1Lit. in her impurity 24 aLev. 18:19; 20:18 1defiled 25 aMatt. 9:20; Mark 5:25; Luke 8:43

LEVITICUS 15:27 102 27 ‘Whoever touches those things shall be unclean; he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 28 ‘But aif she is cleansed of her discharge, then she shall count for herself seven days, and after that she shall be clean. 29 ‘And on the eighth day she shall take for herself two turtledoves or two young pigeons, and bring them to the priest, to the door of the tab- ernacle of meeting. 30 ‘Then the priest shall offer the one as a sin offering and the other as a aburnt offering, and the priest shall make atonement for her before the LORD for the discharge of her uncleanness. 31 ‘Thus you shall aseparate the children of Israel from their uncleanness, lest they die in their uncleanness when they bdefile My tabernacle that is among them. 32 a‘This is the law for one who has a discharge, band for him who emits semen and is unclean thereby, 33 a‘and for her who is indisposed because of her customary impurity, and for one who has a discharge, either man bor woman, cand for him who lies with her who is unclean.’ ” The Day of Atonement 16 Now the LORD spoke to Mo- ses after athe death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered profane fire before the LORD, and died; 2 and the LORD said to Moses: “Tell Aaron your brother anot to come at just any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, lest he die; for bI will appear in the cloud above the mercy seat. 3 1“Thus Aaron shall acome into the Holy Place: bwith the blood of a young bull as a sin offering, and of a ram as a burnt offering. 4 “He shall put the aholy linen tunic and the linen trousers on his body; he shall be girded with a linen sash, and with the linen turban he shall be attired. These are holy gar- ments. Therefore bhe shall wash his body in water, and put them on. 5 “And he shall take from athe congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats as a sin offering, and one ram as a burnt offering. 6 “Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering, which is for himself, and amake atonement for himself and for his house. 7 “He shall take the two goats and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 8 “Then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for the LORD and the other lot for the scapegoat. 9 “And Aaron shall bring the goat on which the LORD’s lot fell, and offer it as a sin offering. 10 “But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be pre- sented alive before the LORD, to make aatonement upon it, and to let it go as the scapegoat into the wilderness. 11 “And Aaron shall bring the bull of the sin offering, which is for ahimself, and make atonement for himself and for his house, and shall kill the bull as the sin offering which is for himself. 12 “Then he shall take aa censer full of burning coals of fire from the altar before the LORD, with his hands full of bsweet incense beaten fine, and bring it inside the veil. 13 a“And he shall put the incense on the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of incense may cover the bmercy seat that is on the Testimony, lest he cdie. 14 a“He shall take some of the blood of the bull and bsprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat on the east side; and before the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times. 15 a“Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering, which is for the people, bring its blood binside the veil, do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprin- kle it on the mercy seat and before the mercy seat. 16 “So he shall amake atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their trans- gressions, for all their sins; and so he shall do for the tabernacle of meeting which remains among them in the midst of their uncleanness. 17 “There shall be ano man in the tabernacle of meeting when he goes in to make atonement in the Holy Place, until he comes out, that he

ith the blood of the bull, and sprin- kle it on the mercy seat and before the mercy seat. 16 “So he shall amake atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their trans- gressions, for all their sins; and so he shall do for the tabernacle of meeting which remains among them in the midst of their uncleanness. 17 “There shall be ano man in the tabernacle of meeting when he goes in to make atonement in the Holy Place, until he comes out, that he may make atonement for himself, for his household, and for all the assembly of Israel. 18 “And he shall go out to the altar that is before the LORD, and make atonement for ait, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and some of the blood of the goat, and put it on the horns of the altar all around. 19 “Then he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times, cleanse it, and aconsecrate1 it from the 2uncleanness of the chil- dren of Israel. 20 “And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place, the tabernacle of meeting, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat. 21 “Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, aconfess over it all the iniquities of the chil- dren of Israel, and all their transgres- sions, concerning all their sins, 28 aLev. 15: 13–15 30 aLev. 5:7 31 aDeut. 24:8 bNum. 5:3; 19:13, 20 32 aLev. 15:2 bLev. 15:16 33 aLev. 15:19 bLev. 15:25 cLev. 15:24 CHAPTER 16 1 aLev. 10:1, 2 2 aEx. 30:10 bEx. 25:21, 22; 40:34 3 a[Heb. 9:7, 12, 24, 25] bLev. 4:3 1Lit. With this 4 aEx. 28:39, 42, 43 bEx. 30:20 5 aLev. 4:14 6 a[Heb. 5:3; 7:27, 28; 9:7] 10 a[1 John 2:2] 11 a[Heb. 7:27; 9:7] 12 aLev. 10:1 bEx. 30:34–38 13 aEx. 30:7, 8 bEx. 25:21 cEx. 28:43 14 a[Heb. 9:25; 10:4] bLev. 4:6, 17 15 a[Heb. 2:17] b[Heb. 6:19; 7:27; 9:3, 7, 12] 16 aEx. 29:36; 30:10 17 aLuke 1:10 18 aEx. 29:36 19 aEzek. 43:20 1set it apart 2impu- rity 21 aLev. 5:5; 26:40

103 LEVITICUS 17:15 bputting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man. 22 “The goat 1shall abear on itself all their iniquities to an 2uninhab- ited land; and he shall brelease the goat in the wilderness. 23 “Then Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of meeting, ashall take off the linen garments which he put on when he went into the Holy Place, and shall leave them there. 24 “And he shall wash his body with water in a holy place, put on his garments, come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offer- ing of the people, and make 1atone- ment for himself and for the people. 25 a“The fat of the sin offering he shall burn on the altar. 26 “And he who released the goat as the scapegoat shall wash his clothes aand bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp. 27 a“The bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place, shall be carried outside the camp. And they shall burn in the fire their skins, their flesh, and their offal. 28 “Then he who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp. 29 “This shall be a statute forever for you: aIn the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall 1afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether a native of your own country or a stranger who 2dwells among you. 30 “For on that day the priest shall make 1atonement for you, to acleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before the LORD. 31 a“It is a sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is a statute forever. 32 a“And the priest, who is anointed and bconsecrated to minister as priest in his father’s place, shall make atonement, and put on the linen clothes, the holy garments; 33 “then he shall make 1atonement for 2the Holy Sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the taber- nacle of meeting and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. 34 a“This shall be an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the children of Israel, for all their sins, bonce a year.” And he did as the LORD commanded Moses. The Sanctity of Blood 17 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to Aaron, to his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘This is the thing which the LORD has commanded, saying: 3 “Whatever man of the house of Israel who akills an ox or lamb or goat in the camp, or who kills it out- side the camp, 4 “and does not bring it to the door of the tabernacle of meeting to offer an offering to the LORD before the tabernacle of the LORD, the guilt of bloodshed shall be aimputed to that man. He has shed blood; and that man shall be 1cut off from among his people, 5 “to the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices awhich they offer in the open field, that they may bring them to the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, to the priest, and offer them as peace offerings to the LORD. 6 “And the priest ashall sprinkle the blood on the altar of the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and bburn the fat for a sweet aroma to the LORD. 7 “They shall no more offer their sacrifices ato 1demons, after whom they bhave played the harlot.

the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices awhich they offer in the open field, that they may bring them to the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, to the priest, and offer them as peace offerings to the LORD. 6 “And the priest ashall sprinkle the blood on the altar of the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and bburn the fat for a sweet aroma to the LORD. 7 “They shall no more offer their sacrifices ato 1demons, after whom they bhave played the harlot. This shall be a statute forever for them throughout their generations.” ’ 8 “Also you shall say to them: ‘Whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, awho offers a burnt offering or sacrifice, 9 ‘and does not abring it to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, to offer it to the LORD, that man shall be 1cut off from among his people. 10 a‘And whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who eats any blood, bI will set My face against that person who eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people. 11 ‘For the alife of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar bto make atonement for your souls; for cit is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’ 12 “Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘No one among you shall eat blood, nor shall any stranger who dwells among you eat blood.’ 13 “Whatever man of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who ahunts and catches any animal or bird that may be eaten, he shall bpour out its blood and ccover it with dust; 14 a“for it is the life of all flesh. Its blood sustains its life. Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘You shall not eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off.’ 15 a“And every person who eats what died naturally or what was torn by beasts, whether he is a native of your own country or a stranger, bhe shall both wash his clothes and 21 b[Is. 53:6] 22 a[Is. 53:6, 11, 12] bLev. 14:7 1shall carry 2solitary land 23 aEzek. 42:14; 44:19 24 1Lit. cover- ing 25 aLev. 1:8; 4:10 26 aLev. 15:5 27 aHeb. 13:11 29 aLev. 23:27–32 1humble your- selves 2As a resident alien 30 aJer. 33:8 1Lit. covering 31 aLev. 23:27, 32 32 aLev. 4:3, 5, 16; 21:10 bEx. 29:29, 30 33 1Lit. cover- ing 2The Most Holy Place 34 aLev. 23:31 b[Heb. 9:7, 25, 28] CHAPTER 17 3 aDeut. 12:5, 15, 21 4 aRom. 5:13 1Put to death 5 aDeut. 12:1–27 6 aLev. 3:2 bNum. 18:17 7 aDeut. 32:17 bEzek. 23:8 1Having the form of a goat or satyr 8 aLev. 1:2, 3; 18:26 9 aLev. 14:23 1Put to death 10 aGen. 9:4 bLev. 20:3, 5, 6 11 aGen. 9:4 b[Matt. 26:28] c[Heb. 9:22] 13 aLev. 7:26 bDeut. 12:16, 24 cEzek. 24:7 14 aGen. 9:4 15 aEx. 22:31 bLev. 11:25

LEVITICUS 17:16 104 cbathe in water, and be unclean until evening. Then he shall be clean. 16 “But if he does not wash them or bathe his body, then ahe shall bear his 1guilt.” Laws of Sexual Morality 18 Then the LORD spoke to Mo- ses, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: a‘I am the LORD your God. 3 a‘According to 1the doings of the land of Egypt, where you dwelt, you shall not do; and baccording to the doings of the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you, you shall not do; nor shall you walk in their 2ordi- nances. 4 a‘You shall observe My judgments and keep My ordinances, to walk in them: I am the LORD your God. 5 ‘You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them: I am the LORD. 6 ‘None of you shall approach anyone who is near of kin to him, to uncover his nakedness: I am the LORD. 7 ‘The nakedness of your father or the nakedness of your mother you shall not uncover. She is your mother; you shall not uncover her nakedness. 8 ‘The nakedness of your afather’s wife you shall not uncover; it is your father’s nakedness. 9 a‘The nakedness of your sister, the daughter of your father, or the daughter of your mother, whether born at home or elsewhere, their nakedness you shall not uncover. 10 ‘The nakedness of your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daugh- ter, their nakedness you shall not uncover; for theirs is your own nakedness. 11 ‘The nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter, begotten by your father—she is your sister—you shall not uncover her nakedness. 12 a‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister; she is near of kin to your father. 13 ‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister, for she is near of kin to your mother. 14 a‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s brother. You shall not approach his wife; she is your aunt. 15 ‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in- law—she is your son’s wife—you shall not uncover her nakedness. 16 ‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife; it is your brother’s nakedness. 17 ‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her adaughter, nor shall you take her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness. They are near of kin to her. It is wickedness. 18 ‘Nor shall you take a woman aas a rival to her sister, to uncover her nakedness while the other is alive. 19 ‘Also you shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness as along as she is in her bcustomary impurity. 20 a‘Moreover you shall not lie car- nally with your bneighbor’s wife, to defile yourself with her. 21 ‘And you shall not let any of your descendants apass through bthe fire to cMolech, nor shall you pro- fane the name of your God: I am the LORD. 22 ‘You shall not lie with aa male as with a woman. It is an abomination. 23 ‘Nor shall you mate with any aanimal, to defile yourself with it. Nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it.

ess as along as she is in her bcustomary impurity. 20 a‘Moreover you shall not lie car- nally with your bneighbor’s wife, to defile yourself with her. 21 ‘And you shall not let any of your descendants apass through bthe fire to cMolech, nor shall you pro- fane the name of your God: I am the LORD. 22 ‘You shall not lie with aa male as with a woman. It is an abomination. 23 ‘Nor shall you mate with any aanimal, to defile yourself with it. Nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it. It is per- version. 24 a‘Do not defile yourselves with any of these things; bfor by all these the nations are defiled, which I am casting out before you. 25 ‘For athe land is defiled; there- fore I bvisit1 the punishment of its iniquity upon it, and the land cvom- its out its inhabitants. 26 a‘You shall therefore 1keep My statutes and My judgments, and shall not commit any of these abom- inations, either any of your own nation or any stranger who dwells among you 27 ‘(for all these abominations the men of the land have done, who were before you, and thus the land is defiled), 28 ‘lest athe land vomit you out also when you defile it, as it vomited out the nations that were before you. 29 ‘For whoever commits any of these abominations, the persons who commit them shall be 1cut off from among their people. 30 ‘Therefore you shall keep My 1ordinance, so athat you do not com- mit any of these abominable customs which were committed before you, and that you do not defile yourselves by them: bI am the LORD your God.’ ” Moral and Ceremonial Laws 19 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: a‘You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy. 3 a‘Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and bkeep My Sabbaths: I am the LORD your God. 4 a‘Do not turn to idols, bnor make for yourselves 1molded gods: I am the LORD your God. 5 ‘And aif you offer a sacrifice of 15 cLev. 15:5 16 aLev. 5:1 1iniquity CHAPTER 18 2 aEx. 6:7 3 aEzek. 20:7, 8 bLev. 18:24–30; 20:23 1what is done in 2statutes 4 aEzek. 20:19 8 aGen. 35:22 9 aDeut. 27:22 12 aLev. 20:19 14 aLev. 20:20 17 aLev. 20:14 18 a1 Sam. 1:6, 8 19 aEzek. 18:6 bLev. 15:24; 20:18 20 a[Prov. 6:25–33] bLev. 20:10 21 aLev. 20:2–5 b2 Kin. 16:3 c1 Kin. 11:7, 33 22 aLev. 20:13 23 aEx. 22:19 24 aMatt. 15:18–20 bDeut. 18:12 25 aNum. 35:33, 34 bJer. 5:9 cLev. 18:28; 20:22 1bring judg- ment for 26 aLev. 18:5, 30 1obey 28 aJer. 9:19 29 1Put to death 30 aLev. 18:3; 22:9 bLev. 18:2 1charge CHAPTER 19 2 aLev. 11:44; 20:7, 26 3 aEx. 20:12 bEx. 16:23; 20:8; 31:13 4 aEx. 20:4 bEx. 34:17 1molten 5 aLev. 7:16

105 LEVITICUS 20:2 a peace offering to the LORD, you shall offer it of your own free will. 6 ‘It shall be eaten the same day you offer it, and on the next day. And if any remains until the third day, it shall be burned in the fire. 7 ‘And if it is eaten at all on the third day, it is an abomination. It shall not be accepted. 8 ‘Therefore everyone who eats it shall bear his iniquity, because he has profaned the hallowed offering of the LORD; and that person shall be cut off from his people. 9 a‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 ‘And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather every grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am the LORD your God. 11 a‘You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, bnor lie to one another. 12 ‘And you shall not aswear by My name falsely, bnor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the LORD. 13 a‘You shall not cheat your neigh- bor, nor rob him. bThe wages of him who is hired shall not remain with you all night until morning. 14 ‘You shall not curse the deaf, anor put a stumbling block before the blind, but shall fear your God: I am the LORD. 15 ‘You shall do no injustice in ajudgment. You shall not bbe partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. In righteousness you shall judge your neighbor. 16 ‘You shall not go about as a atalebearer among your people; nor shall you btake a stand against the life of your neighbor: I am the LORD. 17 a‘You shall not hate your brother in your heart. bYou shall surely 1rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him. 18 a‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, bbut you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD. 19 ‘You shall keep My statutes.You shall not let your livestock breed with another kind.You shall not sow your field with mixed seed. Nor shall a garment of mixed linen and wool come upon you. 20 ‘Whoever lies carnally with a woman who is abetrothed to a man as a concubine, and who has not at all been redeemed nor given her freedom, for this there shall be 1scourging; but they shall not be put to death, because she was not free. 21 ‘And he shall bring his trespass offering to the LORD, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, a ram as a trespass offering. 22 ‘The priest shall make 1atone- ment for him with the ram of the trespass offering before the LORD for his sin which he has committed. And the sin which he has committed shall be forgiven him. 23 ‘When you come into the land, and have planted all kinds of trees for food, then you shall count their fruit as 1uncircumcised. Three years it shall be as uncircumcised to you.

And he shall bring his trespass offering to the LORD, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, a ram as a trespass offering. 22 ‘The priest shall make 1atone- ment for him with the ram of the trespass offering before the LORD for his sin which he has committed. And the sin which he has committed shall be forgiven him. 23 ‘When you come into the land, and have planted all kinds of trees for food, then you shall count their fruit as 1uncircumcised. Three years it shall be as uncircumcised to you. It shall not be eaten. 24 ‘But in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, a praise to the LORD. 25 ‘And in the fifth year you may eat its fruit, that it may yield to you its increase: I am the LORD your God. 26 ‘You shall not eat anything with the blood, nor shall you practice divination or soothsaying. 27 ‘You shall not shave around the sides of your head, nor shall you disfigure the edges of your beard. 28 ‘You shall not amake any cut- tings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the LORD. 29 a‘Do not prostitute your daugh- ter, to cause her to be a harlot, lest the land fall into harlotry, and the land become full of wickedness. 30 ‘You shall 1keep My Sabbaths and areverence My sanctuary: I am the LORD. 31 ‘Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after athem, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God. 32 a‘You shall 1rise before the gray headed and honor the presence of an old man, and bfear your God: I am the LORD. 33 ‘And aif a stranger dwells with you in your land, you shall not mis- treat him. 34 a‘The stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as 1one born among you, and byou shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. 35 ‘You shall do no injustice in judgment, in measurement of length, weight, or volume. 36 ‘You shall have ahonest scales, honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin: I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. 37 a‘Therefore you shall observe all My statutes and all My judgments, and perform them: I am the LORD.’ ” Penalties for Breaking the Law 20 Then the LORD spoke to Mo- ses, saying, 2 a“Again, you shall say to the chil- dren of Israel: b‘Whoever of the chil- dren of Israel, or of the strangers who 1dwell in Israel, who gives any of his descendants to Molech, he shall surely be put to death. The peo- ple of the land shall cstone him with stones. 9 aDeut. 24:19–22 11 aEx. 20:15, 16 bEph. 4:25 12 aDeut. 5:11 bLev. 18:21 13 aEx. 22:7–15, 21–27 bDeut. 24:15 14 aDeut. 27:18 15 aDeut. 16:19 bEx. 23:3, 6 16 aProv. 11:13; 18:8; 20:19 b1 Kin. 21:7–19 17 a[1 John 2:9, 11; 3:15] bMatt. 18:15 1reprove 18 a[Deut. 32:35] bMark 12:31 20 aDeut. 22:23–27 1punishment 22 1Lit. cover- ing 23 1unclean 28 aJer. 16:6 29 aDeut. 22:21; 23:17, 18 30 aLev. 26:2 1observe 31 aLev. 20:6, 27 32 a1 Tim. 5:1 bLev. 19:14 1rise to give honor 33 aEx. 22:21 34 aEx. 12:48 bDeut. 10:19 1native among you 36 aDeut. 25:13–15 37 aLev. 18:4, 5 CHAPTER 20 2 aLev. 18:2 bLev. 18:21 cDeut. 17:2–5 1As resident aliens

LEVITICUS 20:3 106 3 a‘I will set My face against that man, and will 1cut him off from his people, because he has given some of his descendants to Molech, to defile My sanctuary and profane My holy name. 4 ‘And if the people of the land should in any way 1hide their eyes from the man, when he gives some of his descendants to Molech, and they do not kill him, 5 ‘then I will set My face against that man and against his family; and I will cut him off from his peo- ple, and all who prostitute them- selves with him to commit harlotry with Molech. 6 ‘And athe person who turns to mediums and familiar spirits, to prostitute himself with them, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from his people. 7 a‘Consecrate1 yourselves there- fore, and be holy, for I am the LORD your God. 8 ‘And you shall keep aMy statutes, and perform them: bI am the LORD who 1sanctifies you. 9 ‘For aeveryone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother. bHis blood shall be upon him. 10 a‘The man who commits adul- tery with another man’s wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death. 11 ‘The man who lies with his afa- ther’s wife has uncovered his father’s nakedness; both of them shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them. 12 ‘If a man lies with his adaughter- in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death. They have committed perversion. Their blood shall be upon them. 13 a‘If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them. 14 ‘If a man marries a woman and her amother, it is wickedness. They shall be burned with fire, both he and they, that there may be no wickedness among you. 15 ‘If a man mates with an aanimal, he shall surely be put to death, and you shall kill the animal. 16 ‘If a woman approaches any animal and mates with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood is upon them. 17 ‘If a man takes his asister, his father’s daughter or his mother’s daughter, and sees her nakedness and she sees his nakedness, it is a wicked thing. And they shall be 1cut off in the sight of their people. He has uncovered his sister’s naked- ness. He shall bear his 2guilt. 18 a‘If a man lies with a woman during her 1sickness and uncovers her nakedness, he has 2exposed her flow, and she has uncovered the flow of her blood. Both of them shall be 3cut off from their people. 19 ‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your amother’s sister nor of your bfather’s sister, for that would uncover his near of kin. They shall bear their guilt. 20 ‘If a man lies with his auncle’s wife, he has uncovered his uncle’s nakedness. They shall bear their sin; they shall die childless. 21 ‘If a man takes his abrother’s wife, it is an 1unclean thing.

her nakedness, he has 2exposed her flow, and she has uncovered the flow of her blood. Both of them shall be 3cut off from their people. 19 ‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your amother’s sister nor of your bfather’s sister, for that would uncover his near of kin. They shall bear their guilt. 20 ‘If a man lies with his auncle’s wife, he has uncovered his uncle’s nakedness. They shall bear their sin; they shall die childless. 21 ‘If a man takes his abrother’s wife, it is an 1unclean thing. He has uncovered his brother’s nakedness. They shall be childless. 22 ‘You shall therefore keep all My astatutes and all My judgments, and perform them, that the land where I am bringing you to dwell bmay not vomit you out. 23 a‘And you shall not walk in the statutes of the nation which I am casting out before you; for they commit all these things, and bthere- fore I abhor them. 24 ‘But aI have said to you, “You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess, a land flow- ing with milk and honey.” I am the LORD your God, bwho has separated you from the peoples. 25 a‘You shall therefore distinguish between clean animals and unclean, between unclean birds and clean, band you shall not make yourselves 1abominable by beast or by bird, or by any kind of living thing that creeps on the ground, which I have separated from you as 2unclean. 26 ‘And you shall be holy to Me, afor I the LORD am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine. 27 a‘A man or a woman who is a medium, or who has familiar spirits, shall surely be put to death; they shall stone them with stones. Their blood shall be upon them.’ ” Regulations for Conduct of Priests 21 And the LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: a‘None shall defile himself for the dead among his people, 2 ‘except for his relatives who are nearest to him: his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, and his brother; 3 ‘also his virgin sister who is near to him, who has had no hus- band, for her he may defile himself. 4 ‘Otherwise he shall not defile himself, being a 1chief man among his people, to profane himself. 5 a‘They shall not make any bald 3 aLev. 17:10 1Put him to death 4 1disregard 6 aLev. 19:31 7 aLev. 19:2 1Set your- selves apart for the LORD 8 aLev. 19:19, 37 bEx. 31:13 1sets you apart 9 aEx. 21:17 b2 Sam. 1:16 10 aEx. 20:14 11 aLev. 18:7, 8 12 aLev. 18:15 13 aLev. 18:22 14 aLev. 18:17 15 aLev. 18:23 17 aLev. 18:9 1Put to death 2iniquity 18 aLev. 15:24; 18:19 1Or cus- tomary impu- rity 2Lit. made bare 3Put to death 19 aLev. 18:13 bLev. 18:12 20 aLev. 18:14 21 aLev. 18:16 1indecent, impure 22 aLev. 18:26; 19:37 bLev. 18:25, 28 23 aLev. 18:3, 24 bDeut. 9:5 24 aEx. 3:17; 6:8; 13:5; 33:1–3 bEx. 19:5; 33:16 25 aLev. 10:10; 11:1–47 bLev. 11:43 1detestable or loathsome 2defiled 26 aLev. 19:2 27 aLev. 19:31 CHAPTER 21 1 aEzek. 44:25 4 1Lit. master or husband 5 aDeut. 14:1

107 LEVITICUS 22:15 place on their heads, nor shall they shave the edges of their beards nor make any cuttings in their flesh. 6 ‘They shall be aholy to their God and not profane the name of their God, for they offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and the bbread of their God; ctherefore they shall be holy. 7 a‘They shall not take a wife who is a harlot or a defiled woman, nor shall they take a woman bdivorced from her husband; for 1the priest is holy to his God. 8 ‘Therefore you shall 1consecrate him, for he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you, for aI the LORD, who bsanctify you, am holy. 9 ‘The daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by playing the harlot, she profanes her father. She shall be aburned with fire. 10 ‘He who is the high priest among his brethren, on whose head the anointing oil was apoured and who is consecrated to wear the gar- ments, shall not buncover1 his head nor tear his clothes; 11 ‘nor shall he go anear any dead body, nor defile himself for his father or his mother; 12 a‘nor shall he go out of the sanc- tuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the bconsecration of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the LORD. 13 ‘And he shall take a wife in her virginity. 14 ‘A widow or a divorced woman or a defiled woman or a harlot— these he shall not marry; but he shall take a virgin of his own people as wife. 15 ‘Nor shall he profane his poster- ity among his people, for I the LORD sanctify him.’ ” 16 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “Speak to Aaron, saying: ‘No man of your descendants in suc- ceeding generations, who has any defect, may approach to offer the bread of his God. 18 ‘For any man who has a adefect shall not approach: a man blind or lame, who has a marred face or any limb btoo long, 19 ‘a man who has a broken foot or broken hand, 20 ‘or is a hunchback or a dwarf, or a man who has a defect in his eye, or eczema or scab, or is a eunuch. 21 ‘No man of the descendants of Aaron the priest, who has a defect, shall come near to offer the offer- ings made by fire to the LORD. He has a defect; he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God. 22 ‘He may eat the bread of his God, both the most holy and the holy; 23 ‘only he shall not go near the aveil or approach the altar, because he has a defect, lest bhe profane My sanctuaries; for I the LORD sanctify them.’ ” 24 And Moses told it to Aaron and his sons, and to all the children of Israel. 22 Then the LORD spoke to Mo- ses, saying, 2 “Speak to Aaron and his sons, that they aseparate1 themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel, and that they bdo not pro- fane My holy name by what they cdedicate to Me: I am the LORD. 3 “Say to them: ‘Whoever of all your descendants throughout your generations, who goes near the holy things which the children of Israel dedicate to the LORD, awhile he has 1uncleanness upon him, that person shall be cut off from My presence: I am the LORD. 4 ‘Whatever man of the descen- dants of Aaron, who is a aleper or has ba discharge, shall not eat the holy offerings cuntil he is clean.

dren of Israel, and that they bdo not pro- fane My holy name by what they cdedicate to Me: I am the LORD. 3 “Say to them: ‘Whoever of all your descendants throughout your generations, who goes near the holy things which the children of Israel dedicate to the LORD, awhile he has 1uncleanness upon him, that person shall be cut off from My presence: I am the LORD. 4 ‘Whatever man of the descen- dants of Aaron, who is a aleper or has ba discharge, shall not eat the holy offerings cuntil he is clean. And dwhoever touches anything made unclean by a corpse, or ea man who has had an emission of semen, 5 ‘or awhoever touches any creep- ing thing by which he would be made unclean, or bany person by whom he would become unclean, whatever his uncleanness may be— 6 ‘the person who has touched any such thing shall be unclean until evening, and shall not eat the holy offerings unless he awashes his body with water. 7 ‘And when the sun goes down he shall be clean; and afterward he may eat the holy offerings, because ait is his food. 8 a‘Whatever dies naturally or is torn by beasts he shall not eat, to defile himself with it: I am the LORD. 9 ‘They shall therefore keep aMy 1ordinance, blest they bear sin for it and die thereby, if they profane it: I the LORD sanctify them. 10 a‘No outsider shall eat the holy offering; one who 1dwells with the priest, or a hired servant, shall not eat the holy thing. 11 ‘But if the priest abuys a person with his money, he may eat it; and one who is born in his house may eat his food. 12 ‘If the priest’s daughter is mar- ried to an outsider, she may not eat of the holy offerings. 13 ‘But if the priest’s daughter is a widow or divorced, and has no child, and has returned to her father’s house as in her youth, she may eat her father’s food; but no outsider shall eat it. 14 ‘And if a man eats the holy offer- ing unintentionally, then he shall restore a holy offering to the priest, and add one-fifth to it. 15 ‘They shall not profane the aholy 6 aEx. 22:31 bLev. 3:11 cIs. 52:11 7 aEzek. 44:22 bDeut. 24:1, 2 1Lit. he 8 aLev. 11:44, 45 bLev. 8:12, 30 1set him apart 9 aDeut. 22:21 10 aLev. 8:12 bLev. 10:6, 7 1In mourning 11 aNum. 19:14 12 aLev. 10:7 bEx. 29:6, 7 18 aLev. 22:19–25 bLev. 22:23 23 aLev. 16:2 bLev. 21:12 CHAPTER 22 2 aNum. 6:3 bLev. 18:21 cEx. 28:38; Lev. 16:19; 25:10; Num. 18:32; Deut. 15:19 1keep themselves apart from 3 aLev. 7:20, 21; Num. 19:13 1defile- ment 4 aNum. 5:2 bLev. 15:2 cLev. 14:2; 15:13 dLev. 11:24–28, 39, 40; Num. 19:11 eLev. 15:16, 17 5 aLev. 11:23–28 bLev. 15:7, 19 6 aLev. 15:5 7 aLev. 21:22; Num. 18:11, 13 8 aEx. 22:31; Lev. 7:24; 11:39, 40; 17:15; Ezek. 44:31 9 aLev. 18:30 bEx. 28:43; Lev. 22:16; Num. 18:22 1charge 10 aEx. 29:33; Lev. 22:13; Num. 3:10 1As a visitor 11 aEx. 12:44 15 aNum. 18:32

LEVITICUS 22:16 108 offerings of the children of Israel, which they offer to the LORD, 16 ‘or allow them to bear the guilt of trespass when they eat their holy offerings; for I the LORD sanctify them.’ ” Offerings Accepted and Not Accepted 17 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 18 “Speak to Aaron and his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and say to them: a‘Whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers in Israel, who 1offers his sacrifice for any of his vows or for any of his freewill offerings, which they offer to the LORD as a burnt offering— 19 a‘you shall offer of your own free will a male without blemish from the cattle, from the sheep, or from the goats. 20 a‘Whatever has a defect, you shall not offer, for it shall not be acceptable on your behalf. 21 ‘And awhoever offers a sacrifice of a peace offering to the LORD, bto fulfill his vow, or a freewill offering from the cattle or the sheep, it must be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no defect in it. 22 a‘Those that are blind or broken or maimed, or have an 1ulcer or eczema or scabs, you shall not offer to the LORD, nor make ban offering by fire of them on the altar to the LORD. 23 ‘Either a bull or a lamb that has any limb atoo long or too short you may offer as a freewill offering, but for a vow it shall not be accepted. 24 ‘You shall not offer to the LORD what is bruised or crushed, or torn or cut; nor shall you make any offer- ing of them in your land. 25 ‘Nor afrom a foreigner’s hand shall you offer any of these as bthe bread of your God, because their ccorruption is in them, and defects are in them. They shall not be accepted on your behalf.’ ” 26 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 27 a“When a bull or a sheep or a goat is born, it shall be seven days with its mother; and from the eighth day and thereafter it shall be accepted as an offering made by fire to the LORD. 28 “Whether it is a cow or ewe, do not kill both her aand her young on the same day. 29 “And when you aoffer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the LORD, offer it of your own free will. 30 “On the same day it shall be eaten; you shall leave anone of it until morning: I am the LORD. 31 a“Therefore you shall keep My commandments, and perform them: I am the LORD. 32 a“You shall not profane My holy name, but bI will be 1hallowed among the children of Israel. I am the LORD who csanctifies you, 33 a“who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the LORD.” Feasts of the LORD 23 And the LORD spoke to Mo- ses, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘The feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be aholy convocations, these are My feasts. The Sabbath 3 a‘Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings. The Passover and Unleavened Bread 4 a‘These are the feasts of the LORD, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times. 5 a‘On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the LORD’s Passover. 6 ‘And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleav- ened Bread to the LORD; seven days you must eat unleavened bread. 7 a‘On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no 1customary work on it. 8 ‘But you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD for seven days.

Bread 4 a‘These are the feasts of the LORD, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times. 5 a‘On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the LORD’s Passover. 6 ‘And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleav- ened Bread to the LORD; seven days you must eat unleavened bread. 7 a‘On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no 1customary work on it. 8 ‘But you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD for seven days. The seventh day shall be a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it.’ ” The Feast of Firstfruits 9 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 10 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: a‘When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of bthe firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. 11 ‘He shall awave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted on your behalf; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. 12 ‘And you shall offer on that day, when you wave the sheaf, a male lamb of the first year, without blem- ish, as a burnt offering to the LORD. 13 ‘Its grain offering shall be two- tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering made by fire to the LORD, for a 1sweet aroma; and its drink offering shall be of wine, one-fourth of a hin. 14 ‘You shall eat neither bread nor parched grain nor fresh grain until the same day that you have brought an offering to your God; it shall be 18 aLev. 1:2, 3, 10 1brings his offering 19 aLev. 1:3; Deut. 15:21 20 aDeut. 15:21; 17:1; Mal. 1:8, 14; [Eph. 5:27; Heb. 9:14; 1 Pet. 1:19] 21 aLev. 3:1, 6 bNum. 15:3, 8; Ps. 61:8; 65:1; Eccl. 5:4, 5 22 aLev. 22:20; Mal. 1:8 bLev. 1:9, 13; 3:3, 5 1running sore 23 aLev. 21:18 25 aNum. 15:15, 16 bLev. 21:6, 17 cMal. 1:14 27 aEx. 22:30 28 aDeut. 22:6, 7 29 aLev. 7:12; Ps. 107:22; 116:17; Amos 4:5 30 aLev. 7:15 31 aLev. 19:37; Num. 15:40; Deut. 4:40 32 aLev. 18:21 bLev. 10:3; Matt. 6:9; Luke 11:2 cLev. 20:8 1treated as holy 33 aLev. 19:36, 37; Num. 15:40; Deut. 4:40 CHAPTER 23 2 aEx. 12:16 3 aEx. 20:9; 23:12; 31:15; Lev. 19:3; Deut. 5:13, 14; Luke 13:14 4 aEx. 23:14–16; Lev. 23:2, 37 5 aEx. 12:1–28; Num. 9:1–5; 28:16–25; Deut. 16:1–8; Josh. 5:10 7 aEx. 12:16; Num. 28:18, 25 1occupa- tional 10 aEx. 23:19; 34:26 b[Rom. 11:16]; James 1:18; Rev. 14:4 11 aEx. 29:24 13 1pleasing

109 LEVITICUS 23:43 a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. The Feast of Weeks 15 ‘And you shall count for your- selves from the day after the Sab- bath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed. 16 ‘Count afifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer ba new grain offering to the LORD. 17 ‘You shall bring from your dwellings two wave loaves of two- tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven. They are athe firstfruits to the LORD. 18 ‘And you shall offer with the bread seven lambs of the first year, without blemish, one young bull, and two rams. They shall be as a burnt offering to the LORD, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma to the LORD. 19 ‘Then you shall sacrifice aone kid of the goats as a sin offering, and two male lambs of the first year as a sacrifice of a bpeace offering. 20 ‘The priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs. aThey shall be holy to the LORD for the priest. 21 ‘And you shall proclaim on the same day that it is a holy convoca- tion to you.You shall do no custom- ary work on it. It shall be a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations. 22 a‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field when you reap, nor shall you gather any glean- ing from your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger: I am the LORD your God.’ ” The Feast of Trumpets 23 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘In the aseventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath-rest, ba memorial of blow- ing of trumpets, a holy convocation. 25 ‘You shall do no customary work on it; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD.’ ” The Day of Atonement 26 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 27 a“Also the tenth day of this sev- enth month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convo- cation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. 28 “And you shall do no work on that same day, for it is the Day of Atonement, ato make atonement for you before the LORD your God. 29 “For any person who is not aaf- flicted in soul on that same day bshall be cut off from his people. 30 “And any person who does any work on that same day, athat person I will destroy from among his people. 31 “You shall do no manner of work; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 32 “It shall be to you a sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall 1afflict your souls; on the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall 2celebrate your sabbath.” The Feast of Tabernacles 33 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 34 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: a‘The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the LORD. 35 ‘On the first day there shall be a holy convocation.

ut your generations in all your dwellings. 32 “It shall be to you a sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall 1afflict your souls; on the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall 2celebrate your sabbath.” The Feast of Tabernacles 33 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 34 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: a‘The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the LORD. 35 ‘On the first day there shall be a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it. 36 ‘For seven days you shall offer an aoffering made by fire to the LORD. bOn the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. It is a csacred1 assembly, and you shall do no customary work on it. 37 a‘These are the feasts of the LORD which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire to the LORD, a burnt offering and a grain offering, a sacrifice and drink offerings, everything on its day— 38 a‘besides the Sabbaths of the LORD, besides your gifts, besides all your vows, and besides all your freewill offerings which you give to the LORD. 39 ‘Also on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have agathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep the feast of the LORD for seven days; on the first day there shall be a sabbath-rest, and on the eighth day a sabbath-rest. 40 ‘And ayou shall take for your- selves on the first day the 1fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, the boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; band you shall rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days. 41 a‘You shall keep it as a feast to the LORD for seven days in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations.You shall celebrate it in the seventh month. 42 a‘You shall dwell in 1booths for seven days. bAll who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths, 43 a‘that your generations may 16 aActs 2:1 bNum. 28:26 17 aEx. 23:16, 19; Num. 15:17–21 19 aLev. 4:23, 28; Num. 28:30; [2 Cor. 5:21] bLev. 3:1 20 aLev. 14:13; Num. 18:12; Deut. 18:4 22 aLev. 19:9, 10; Deut. 24:19–22; Ruth 2:2, 15 24 aNum. 29:1 bLev. 25:9 27 aLev. 16:1–34; 25:9; Num. 29:7 28 aLev. 16:34 29 aIs. 22:12; Jer. 31:9; Ezek. 7:16 bGen. 17:14; Lev. 13:46; Num. 5:2 30 aLev. 20:3–6 32 1humble yourselves 2observe your sabbath 34 aEx. 23:16; Num. 29:12; Deut. 16:13–16; Ezra 3:4; Neh. 8:14; Zech. 14:16–19; John 7:2 36 aNum. 29:12–34 bNum. 29:35–38; Neh. 8:18; John 7:37 cDeut. 16:8; 2 Chr. 7:8 1solemn 37 aLev. 23:2, 4 38 aNum. 29:39 39 aEx. 23:16; Deut. 16:13 40 aNeh. 8:15 bDeut. 12:7; 16:14, 15 1foliage 41 aNum. 29:12; Neh. 8:18 42 a[Is. 4:6] bNeh. 8:14–16 1tabernacles; shelters made of boughs 43 aEx. 13:14; Deut. 31:13; Ps. 78:5

LEVITICUS 23:44 110 bknow that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when cI brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.’ ” 44 So Moses adeclared to the chil- dren of Israel the feasts of the LORD. Care of the Tabernacle Lamps 24 Then the LORD spoke to Mo- ses, saying: 2 a“Command the children of Israel that they bring to you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to make the lamps burn continually. 3 “Outside the veil of the Testi- mony, in the tabernacle of meeting, Aaron shall be in charge of it from evening until morning before the LORD continually; it shall be a statute forever in your generations. 4 “He shall 1be in charge of the lamps on athe pure gold lampstand before the LORD continually. The Bread of the Tabernacle 5 “And you shall take fine flour and bake twelve acakes with it. Two- tenths of an ephah shall be in each cake. 6 “You shall set them in two rows, six in a row, aon the pure gold table before the LORD. 7 “And you shall put pure frankin- cense on each row, that it may be on the bread for a amemorial, an offer- ing made by fire to the LORD. 8 a“Every Sabbath he shall set it in order before the LORD continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant. 9 “And ait shall be for Aaron and his sons, band they shall eat it in a holy place; for it is most holy to him from the offerings of the LORD made by fire, by a perpetual statute.” The Penalty for Blasphemy 10 Now the son of an Israelite woman, whose father was an Egyp- tian, went out among the children of Israel; and this Israelite woman’s son and a man of Israel fought each other in the camp. 11 And the Israelite woman’s son ablasphemed the name of the LORD and bcursed; and so they cbrought him to Moses. (His mother’s name was Shelomith the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.) 12 Then they aput him 1in custody, bthat 2the mind of the LORD might be shown to them. 13 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 14 “Take outside the camp him who has cursed; then let all who heard him alay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him. 15 “Then you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Whoever curses his God ashall 1bear his sin. 16 ‘And whoever ablasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall certainly stone him, the stranger as well as him who is born in the land. When he blasphemes the name of the LORD, he shall be put to death. 17 a‘Whoever kills any man shall surely be put to death. 18 a‘Whoever kills an animal shall make it good, animal for animal. 19 ‘If a man causes disfigurement of his neighbor, as ahe has done, so shall it be done to him— 20 ‘fracture for afracture, beye for eye, tooth for tooth; as he has caused disfigurement of a man, so shall it be done to him. 21 ‘And whoever kills an animal shall restore it; but whoever kills a man shall be put to death. 22 ‘You shall have athe1 same law for the stranger and for one from your own country; for I am the LORD your God.’ ” 23 Then Moses spoke to the chil- dren of Israel; and they took outside the camp him who had cursed, and stoned him with stones.

e, so shall it be done to him— 20 ‘fracture for afracture, beye for eye, tooth for tooth; as he has caused disfigurement of a man, so shall it be done to him. 21 ‘And whoever kills an animal shall restore it; but whoever kills a man shall be put to death. 22 ‘You shall have athe1 same law for the stranger and for one from your own country; for I am the LORD your God.’ ” 23 Then Moses spoke to the chil- dren of Israel; and they took outside the camp him who had cursed, and stoned him with stones. So the chil- dren of Israel did as the LORD com- manded Moses. The Sabbath of the Seventh Year 25 And the LORD spoke to Moses on Mount aSinai, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you come into the land which I give you, then the land shall akeep a sabbath to the LORD. 3 ‘Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather its fruit; 4 ‘but in the aseventh year there shall be a sabbath of solemn brest for the land, a sabbath to the LORD. You shall neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard. 5 a‘What grows of its own accord of your harvest you shall not reap, nor gather the grapes of your untended vine, for it is a year of rest for the land. 6 ‘And the sabbath produce of the land shall be food for you: for you, your male and female servants, your hired man, and the stranger who dwells with you, 7 ‘for your livestock and the beasts that are in your land—all its produce shall be for food. The Year of Jubilee 8 ‘And you shall count seven sab- baths of years for yourself, seven times seven years; and the time of the seven sabbaths of years shall be to you forty-nine years. 9 ‘Then you shall cause the trum- pet of the Jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month; aon the Day of Atonement you shall make the trumpet to sound through- out all your land. 10 ‘And you shall consecrate the fifti- 43 bEx. 10:2 cLev. 22:33 44 aLev. 23:2 CHAPTER 24 2 aEx. 27:20, 21 4 aEx. 25:31; 31:8; 37:17 1arrange or set in order 5 aEx. 25:30; 39:36; 40:23 6 aEx. 25:23, 24; 1 Kin. 7:48; 2 Chr. 4:19; 13:11; Heb. 9:2 7 aLev. 2:2, 9, 16 8 aNum. 4:7; 1 Chr. 9:32; 2 Chr. 2:4; Matt. 12:4, 5 9 a1 Sam. 21:6; Matt. 12:4; Mark 2:26; Luke 6:4 bEx. 29:33; Lev. 8:31 11 aEx. 22:28 bJob 1:5, 11, 22; Is. 8:21 cEx. 18:22, 26 12 aNum. 15:34 bNum. 27:5 1under guard 2Lit. it might be declared to them from the mouth of the LORD 14 aDeut. 13:9; 17:7 15 aLev. 20:17; Num. 9:13 1be responsible for 16 aEx. 20:7; 1 Kin. 21:10, 13; [Matt. 12:31; Mark 3:28, 29] 17 aGen. 9:6; Ex. 21:12; Num. 35:30, 31; Deut. 19:11, 12; 27:24 18 aLev. 24:21 19 aEx. 21:24 20 aEx. 21:23; Deut. 19:21 b[Matt. 5:38, 39] 22 aEx. 12:49; Lev. 19:33–37; Num. 9:14; 15:15, 16, 29 1one standard of judgment CHAPTER 25 1 aLev. 26:46 2 aLev. 26:34, 35 4 aDeut. 15:1; Neh. 10:31 b[Heb. 4:9] 5 a2 Kin. 19:29 9 aLev. 23:24, 27

111 LEVITICUS 25:42 eth year, and aproclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you; band each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family. 11 ‘That fiftieth year shall be a Jubilee to you; in it ayou shall nei- ther sow nor reap what grows of its own accord, nor gather the grapes of your untended vine. 12 ‘For it is the Jubilee; it shall be holy to you; ayou shall eat its pro- duce from the field. 13 a‘In this Year of Jubilee, each of you shall return to his possession. 14 ‘And if you sell anything to your neighbor or buy from your neigh- bor’s hand, you shall not aoppress one another. 15 a‘According to the number of years after the Jubilee you shall buy from your neighbor, and according to the number of years of crops he shall sell to you. 16 ‘According to the multitude of years you shall increase its price, and according to the fewer number of years you shall diminish its price; for he sells to you according to the number of the years of the crops. 17 ‘Therefore ayou shall not 1oppress one another, bbut you shall fear your God; for I am the LORD your God. Provisions for the Seventh Year 18 a‘So you shall observe My statutes and keep My judgments, and perform them; band you will dwell in the land in safety. 19 ‘Then the land will yield its fruit, and ayou will eat your fill, and dwell there in safety. 20 ‘And if you say, a“What shall we eat in the seventh year, since bwe shall not sow nor gather in our produce?” 21 ‘Then I will acommand My blessing on you in the bsixth year, and it will bring forth produce enough for three years. 22 a‘And you shall sow in the eighth year, and eat bold produce until the ninth year; until its pro- duce comes in, you shall eat of the old harvest. Redemption of Property 23 ‘The land shall not be sold per- manently, for athe land is Mine; for you are bstrangers and sojourners with Me. 24 ‘And in all the land of your pos- session you shall grant redemption of the land. 25 a‘If one of your brethren becomes poor, and has sold some of his pos- session, and if bhis redeeming rela- tive comes to redeem it, then he may redeem what his brother sold. 26 ‘Or if the man has no one to redeem it, but he himself becomes able to redeem it, 27 ‘then alet him count the years since its sale, and restore the remain- der to the man to whom he sold it, that he may return to his possession. 28 ‘But if he is not able to have it restored to himself, then what was sold shall remain in the hand of him who bought it until the Year of Jubilee; aand in the Jubilee it shall be released, and he shall return to his possession. 29 ‘If a man sells a house in a walled city, then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold; within a full year he may redeem it. 30 ‘But if it is not redeemed within the space of a full year, then the house in the walled city shall belong permanently to him who bought it, throughout his generations. It shall not be released in the Jubilee. 31 ‘However the houses of villages which have no wall around them shall be counted as the fields of the country.

shall return to his possession. 29 ‘If a man sells a house in a walled city, then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold; within a full year he may redeem it. 30 ‘But if it is not redeemed within the space of a full year, then the house in the walled city shall belong permanently to him who bought it, throughout his generations. It shall not be released in the Jubilee. 31 ‘However the houses of villages which have no wall around them shall be counted as the fields of the country. They may be redeemed, and they shall be released in the Jubilee. 32 ‘Nevertheless athe cities of the Levites, and the houses in the cities of their possession, the Levites may redeem at any time. 33 ‘And if a man purchases a house from the Levites, then the house that was sold in the city of his pos- session shall be released in the Jubilee; for the houses in the cities of the Levites are their possession among the children of Israel. 34 ‘But athe field of the common- land of their cities may not be bsold, for it is their perpetual possession. Lending to the Poor 35 ‘If one of your brethren becomes poor, and 1falls into pov- erty among you, then you shall ahelp him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you. 36 a‘Take no usury or interest from him; but bfear your God, that your brother may live with you. 37 ‘You shall not lend him your money for usury, nor lend him your food at a profit. 38 a‘I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God. The Law Concerning Slavery 39 ‘And if one of your brethren who dwells by you becomes poor, and sells himself to you, you shall not compel him to serve as a slave. 40 ‘As a hired servant and a so- journer he shall be with you, and shall serve you until the Year of Jubilee. 41 ‘And then he shall depart from you—he and his children awith him—and shall return to his own family. He shall return to the pos- session of his fathers. 42 ‘For they are aMy servants, 10 aIs. 61:2; 63:4; Jer. 34:8, 15, 17; [Luke 4:19] bLev. 25:13, 28, 54; Num. 36:4 11 aLev. 25:5 12 aLev. 25:6, 7 13 aLev. 25:10; 27:24; Num. 36:4 14 aLev. 19:13 15 aLev. 27:18, 23 17 aLev. 25:14; Prov. 14:31; 22:22; Jer. 7:5, 6; 1 Thess. 4:6 bLev. 19:14, 32; 25:43 1mistreat 18 aLev. 19:37 bLev. 26:5; Deut. 12:10; Ps. 4:8; Jer. 23:6 19 aLev. 26:5; Ezek. 34:25 20 aMatt. 6:25, 31 bLev. 25:4, 5 21 aDeut. 28:8 bEx. 16:29 22 a2 Kin. 19:29 bLev. 26:10; Josh. 5:11 23 aEx. 19:5; 2 Chr. 7:20 bGen. 23:4; Ex. 6:4; 1 Chr. 29:15; Ps. 39:12; Heb. 11:13; 1 Pet. 2:11 25 aRuth 2:20; 4:4, 6 bNum. 5:8; Ruth 3:2, 9, 12; [Job 19:25]; Jer. 32:7, 8 27 aLev. 25:50–52 28 aLev. 25:10, 13 32 aNum. 35:1–8; Josh. 21:2 34 aNum. 35:2–5 bActs 4:36, 37 35 aDeut. 15:7–11; 24:14, 15; Luke 6:35; 1 John 3:17 1Lit. his hand fails 36 aEx. 22:25; Deut. 23:19, 20 bNeh. 5:9 38 aLev. 11:45; 22:32, 33 41 aEx. 21:3 42 aLev. 25:55; [Rom. 6:22; 1 Cor. 7:22, 23]

LEVITICUS 25:43 112 whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves. 43 a‘You shall not rule over him bwith 1rigor, but you cshall fear your God. 44 ‘And as for your male and female slaves whom you may have—from the nations that are around you, from them you may buy male and female slaves. 45 ‘Moreover you may buy athe children of the strangers who dwell among you, and their families who are with you, which they beget in your land; and they shall become your property. 46 ‘And ayou may take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them as a possession; they shall be your permanent slaves. But regarding your brethren, the children of Israel, you shall not rule over one another with rigor. 47 ‘Now if a sojourner or stranger close to you becomes rich, and one of your brethren who dwells by him becomes poor, and sells himself to the stranger or sojourner close to you, or to a member of the stranger’s family, 48 ‘after he is sold he may be redeemed again. One of his brothers may redeem him; 49 ‘or his uncle or his uncle’s son may redeem him; or anyone who is near of kin to him in his family may redeem him; or if he is able he may redeem himself. 50 ‘Thus he shall reckon with him who bought him: The price of his release shall be according to the number of years, from the year that he was sold to him until the Year of Jubilee; it shall be aaccording to the time of a hired servant for him. 51 ‘If there are still many years remaining, according to them he shall repay the price of his redemp- tion from the money with which he was bought. 52 ‘And if there remain but a few years until the Year of Jubilee, then he shall reckon with him, and according to his years he shall repay him the price of his redemption. 53 ‘He shall be with him as a yearly hired servant, and he shall not rule with rigor over him in your sight. 54 ‘And if he is not redeemed in these years, then he shall be released in the Year of Jubilee—he and his children with him. 55 ‘For the children of Israel are servants to Me; they are My ser- vants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. Promise of Blessing and Retribution 26 ‘You shall anot make idols for yourselves; neither a carved image nor a sacred pillar shall you rear up for yourselves; nor shall you set up an engraved stone in your land, to bow down to it; for I am the LORD your God. 2 aYou shall 1keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary: I am the LORD. 3 a‘If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them, 4 athen I will give you rain in its season, bthe land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. 5 aYour threshing shall last till the time of vintage, and the vintage shall last till the time of sowing; you shall eat your bread to the full, and bdwell in your land safely. 6 aI will give peace in the land, and byou shall lie down, and none will make you afraid; I will rid the land of cevil1 beasts, and dthe sword will not go through your land. 7 You will chase your enemies, and they shall fall by the sword before you. 8 aFive of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight; your enemies shall fall by the sword before you. 9 ‘For I will alook on you favorably and bmake you fruitful, multiply you and confirm My ccovenant with you. 10 You shall eat the aold harvest, and clear out the old because of the new. 11 aI will set My 1tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor you. 12 aI will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people. 13 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves; I have broken the bands of your ayoke and made you walk 1upright. 14 ‘But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments, 15 and if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My com- mandments, but break My covenant, 43 aEph. 6:9; Col.

hall not abhor you. 12 aI will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people. 13 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves; I have broken the bands of your ayoke and made you walk 1upright. 14 ‘But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments, 15 and if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My com- mandments, but break My covenant, 43 aEph. 6:9; Col. 4:1 bEx. 1:13, 14; Lev. 25:46, 53; Ezek. 34:4 cEx. 1:17; Deut. 25:18; Mal. 3:5 1severity 45 a[Is. 56:3, 6, 7] 46 aIs. 14:2 50 aJob 7:1; Is. 16:14 CHAPTER 26 1 aEx. 20:4, 5; Deut. 4:15–18; 5:8 2 aLev. 19:30 1observe 3 aDeut. 28:1–14 4 aIs. 30:23 bPs. 67:6 5 aDeut. 11:15; Joel 2:19, 26; Amos 9:13 bLev. 25:18, 19; Ezek. 34:25 6 aIs. 45:7 bJob 11:19; Ps. 4:8; Zeph. 3:13 c2 Kin. 17:25; Hos. 2:18 dEzek. 14:17 1wild beasts 8 aDeut. 32:30; Judg. 7:7–12 9 aEx. 2:25; 2 Kin. 13:23 bGen. 17:6, 7; Ps. 107:38 cGen. 17:1–7 10 aLev. 25:22 11 aEx. 25:8; 29:45, 46; Josh. 22:19; Ps. 76:2; Ezek. 37:26; Rev. 21:3 1dwelling place 12 aDeut. 23:14; [2 Cor. 6:16] 13 aGen. 27:40 1erect

113 LEVITICUS 26:41 16 I also will do this to you: I will even appoint terror over you, awasting disease and fever which shall bconsume the eyes and ccause sorrow of heart. And dyou shall sow your seed 1in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. 17 I will 1set aMy face against you, and byou shall be defeated by your enemies. cThose who hate you shall reign over you, and you shall dflee when no one pursues you. 18 ‘And after all this, if you do not obey Me, then I will punish you aseven times more for your sins. 19 I will abreak the pride of your power; I bwill make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze. 20 And your astrength shall be spent in vain; for your bland shall not yield its produce, nor shall the trees of the land yield their fruit. 21 ‘Then, if you walk contrary to Me, and are not willing to obey Me, I will bring on you seven times more plagues, according to your sins. 22 aI will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, destroy your livestock, and make you few in number; and byour highways shall be des- olate. 23 ‘And if aby these things you are not reformed by Me, but walk contrary to Me, 24 athen I also will walk contrary to you, and I will punish you yet seven times for your sins. 25 And aI will bring a sword against you that will execute the vengeance of the covenant; when you are gathered together within your cities bI will send pestilence among you; and you shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy. 26 aWhen I have cut off your supply of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall bring back your bread by weight, band you shall eat and not be satisfied. 27 ‘And after all this, if you do not obey Me, but walk contrary to Me, 28 then I also will walk contrary to you in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins. 29 aYou1 shall eat the flesh of your sons, and you shall eat the flesh of your daughters. 30 aI will destroy your high places, cut down your incense altars, and cast your carcasses on the lifeless forms of your idols; and My soul shall abhor you. 31 I will lay your acities waste and bbring your sanctuaries to desolation, and I will not csmell the fragrance of your 1sweet aromas. 32 aI will bring the land to desolation, and your enemies who dwell in it shall be astonished at it. 33 aI will scatter you among the nations and draw out a sword after you; your land shall be desolate and your cities waste. 34 aThen the land shall enjoy its sabbaths as long as it lies desolate and you are in your enemies’ land; then the land shall rest and enjoy its sabbaths. 35 As long as it lies desolate it shall rest— for the time it did not rest on your asabbaths when you dwelt in it. 36 ‘And as for those of you who are left, I will send afaintness1 into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; the sound of a shaken leaf shall cause them to flee; they shall flee as though fleeing from a sword, and they shall fall when no one pursues. 37 aThey shall stumble over one another, as it were before a sword, when no one pur- sues; and byou shall have no power to stand before your enemies. 38 You shall aperish among the nations, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up. 39 And those of you who are left ashall 1waste away in their iniquity in your enemies’ lands; also in their bfathers’ iniquities, which are with them, they shall waste away. 40 ‘But aif they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, with their unfaith- fulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, and that they also have walked contrary to Me, 41 and that I also have walked 16 aDeut. 28:22 b1 Sam. 2:33 cEzek. 24:23; 33:10 dJudg. 6:3–6 1without profit 17 aPs. 34:16 bDeut. 28:25 cPs. 106:41 dProv. 28:1 1oppose you 18 a1 Sam. 2:5 19 aIs. 25:11 bDeut. 28:23 20 aPs. 127:1 bGen. 4:12 22 aDeut. 32:24 bJudg. 5:6 23 aAmos 4:6–12 24 aLev. 26:28, 41 25 aEzek. 5:17 bDeut. 28:21 26 aPs. 105:16 bMic. 6:14 29 a2 Kin. 6:28, 29 1In time of famine 30 a2 Chr.

th- fulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, and that they also have walked contrary to Me, 41 and that I also have walked 16 aDeut. 28:22 b1 Sam. 2:33 cEzek. 24:23; 33:10 dJudg. 6:3–6 1without profit 17 aPs. 34:16 bDeut. 28:25 cPs. 106:41 dProv. 28:1 1oppose you 18 a1 Sam. 2:5 19 aIs. 25:11 bDeut. 28:23 20 aPs. 127:1 bGen. 4:12 22 aDeut. 32:24 bJudg. 5:6 23 aAmos 4:6–12 24 aLev. 26:28, 41 25 aEzek. 5:17 bDeut. 28:21 26 aPs. 105:16 bMic. 6:14 29 a2 Kin. 6:28, 29 1In time of famine 30 a2 Chr. 34:3 31 a2 Kin. 25:4, 10 bPs. 74:7 cIs. 1:11–15 1pleasing 32 aJer. 9:11; 18:16 33 aDeut. 4:27 34 a2 Chr. 36:21 35 aLev. 25:2 36 aEzek. 21:7, 12, 15 1fear 37 a1 Sam. 14:15, 16 bJosh. 7:12, 13 38 aDeut. 4:26 39 aEzek. 4:17; 33:10 bEx. 34:7 1rot away 40 aNeh. 9:2

LEVITICUS 26:42 114 contrary to them and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if their auncircumcised hearts are bhumbled, and they caccept their guilt— 42 then I will aremember My covenant with Jacob, and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham I will remember; I will bremember the land. 43 aThe land also shall be left empty by them, and will enjoy its sabbaths while it lies desolate without them; they will accept their guilt, because they bdespised My judgments and because their soul abhorred My statutes. 44 Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, aI will not cast them away, nor shall I abhor them, to utterly destroy them and break My covenant with them; for I am the LORD their God. 45 But afor their sake I will remember the covenant of their ancestors, bwhom I brought out of the land of Egypt cin the sight of the nations, that I might be their God: I am the LORD.’ ” 46 aThese are the statutes and judg- ments and laws which the LORD made between Himself and the chil- dren of Israel bon Mount Sinai by the hand of Moses. Redeeming Persons and Property Dedicated to God 27 Now the LORD spoke to Mo- ses, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: a‘When a man 1consecrates by a vow certain per- sons to the LORD, according to your 2valuation, 3 ‘if your valuation is of a male from twenty years old up to sixty years old, then your valuation shall be fifty shekels of silver, aac- cording to the shekel of the sanc- tuary. 4 ‘If it is a female, then your valu- ation shall be thirty shekels; 5 ‘and if from five years old up to twenty years old, then your valua- tion for a male shall be twenty shekels, and for a female ten shekels; 6 ‘and if from a month old up to five years old, then your valuation for a male shall be five shekels of silver, and for a female your valua- tion shall be three shekels of sil- ver; 7 ‘and if from sixty years old and above, if it is a male, then your val- uation shall be fifteen shekels, and for a female ten shekels. 8 ‘But if he is too poor to pay your valuation, then he shall present himself before the priest, and the priest shall set a value for ahim; according to the ability of him who vowed, the priest shall value him. 9 ‘If it is an animal that men may bring as an offering to the LORD, all that anyone gives to the LORD shall be holy. 10 ‘He shall not substitute it or exchange it, good for bad or bad for good; and if he at all exchanges ani- mal for animal, then both it and the one exchanged for it shall be aholy. 11 ‘If it is an unclean animal which they do not offer as a sacrifice to the LORD, then he shall present the ani- mal before the priest; 12 ‘and the priest shall set a value for it, whether it is good or bad; as you, the priest, value it, so it shall be. 13 a‘But if he wants at all to redeem it, then he must add one- fifth to your valuation. 14 ‘And when a man 1dedicates his house to be holy to the LORD, then the priest shall set a value for it, whether it is good or bad; as the priest values it, so it shall stand. 15 ‘If he who dedicated it wants to 1redeem his house, then he must add one-fifth of the money of your valuation to it, and it shall be his. 16 ‘If a man 1dedicates to the LORD part of a field of his possession, then your valuation shall be accord- ing to the seed for it.

it, then he must add one- fifth to your valuation. 14 ‘And when a man 1dedicates his house to be holy to the LORD, then the priest shall set a value for it, whether it is good or bad; as the priest values it, so it shall stand. 15 ‘If he who dedicated it wants to 1redeem his house, then he must add one-fifth of the money of your valuation to it, and it shall be his. 16 ‘If a man 1dedicates to the LORD part of a field of his possession, then your valuation shall be accord- ing to the seed for it. A homer of barley seed shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver. 17 ‘If he dedicates his field from the Year of Jubilee, according to your valuation it shall stand. 18 ‘But if he dedicates his field after the Jubilee, then the priest shall areckon to him the money due according to the years that remain till the Year of Jubilee, and it shall be deducted from your valuation. 19 ‘And if he who dedicates the field ever wishes to redeem it, then he must add one-fifth of the money of your valuation to it, and it shall belong to him. 20 ‘But if he does not want to redeem the field, or if he has sold the field to another man, it shall not be redeemed anymore; 21 ‘but the field, awhen it is released in the Jubilee, shall be holy to the LORD, as a bdevoted field; it shall be cthe possession of the priest. 22 ‘And if a man dedicates to the LORD a field which he has bought, which is not the field of ahis posses- sion, 23 ‘then the priest shall reckon to him the worth of your valuation, up 41 aActs 7:51; Rom. 2:29 b2 Chr. 12:6, 7, 12; 1 Pet. 5:5, 6 cPs. 39:9; 51:3, 4; Dan. 9:7 42 aEx. 2:24; 6:5; Ps. 106:45; Ezek. 16:60 bPs. 136:23 43 aLev. 26:34, 35 bLev. 26:15 44 aDeut. 4:31; 2 Kin. 13:23; Jer. 30:11; [Rom. 11:1–36] 45 a[Rom. 11:28] bLev. 22:33; 25:38 cPs. 98:2; Ezek. 20:9, 14, 22 46 aLev. 27:34; Deut. 6:1; 12:1; [John 1:17] bLev. 25:1 CHAPTER 27 2 aLev. 7:16; Num. 6:2; Deut. 23:21–23; Judg. 11:30, 31, 39 1Or makes a diffi- cult or extraordinary vow 2appraisal 3 aEx. 30:13; Lev. 27:25; Num. 3:47; 18:16 8 aLev. 5:11; 14:21–24 10 aLev. 27:33 13 aLev. 6:5; 22:14; 27:15, 19 14 1sets apart 15 1buy back 16 1sets apart 18 aLev. 25:15, 16, 28 21 aLev. 25:10, 28, 31 bLev. 27:28 cNum. 18:14; Ezek. 44:29 22 aLev. 25:10, 25

115 NUMBERS 1:4 to the Year of Jubilee, and he shall give your valuation on that day as a holy offering to the LORD. 24 a‘In the Year of Jubilee the field shall return to him from whom it was bought, to the one who owned the land as a possession. 25 ‘And all your valuations shall be according to the shekel of the sanc- tuary: atwenty gerahs to the shekel. 26 ‘But the afirstborn of the ani- mals, which should be the LORD’s firstborn, no man shall dedicate; whether it is an ox or sheep, it is the LORD’s. 27 ‘And if it is an unclean animal, then he shall redeem it according to your valuation, and ashall add one- fifth to it; or if it is not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to your valuation. 28 a‘Nevertheless no 1devoted offer- ing that a man may devote to the LORD of all that he has, both man and beast, or the field of his posses- sion, shall be sold or redeemed; every devoted offering is most holy to the LORD. 29 a‘No person under the ban, who may become doomed to destruction among men, shall be redeemed, but shall surely be put to death. 30 ‘And aall the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD’s. It is holy to the LORD. 31 a‘If a man wants at all to redeem any of his tithes, he shall add one- fifth to it. 32 ‘And concerning the tithe of the herd or the flock, of whatever apasses under the rod, the tenth one shall be holy to the LORD. 33 ‘He shall not inquire whether it is good or bad, anor shall he exchange it; and if he exchanges it at all, then both it and the one exchanged for it shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.’ ” 34 aThese are the commandments which the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel on Mount bSinai. 24 aLev. 25:10–13, 28 25 aEx. 30:13 26 aEx. 13:2, 12; 22:30 27 aLev. 27:11, 12 28 aJosh. 6:17–19 1Given exclu- sively and irrevocably 29 aNum. 21:2 30 aGen. 28:22 31 aLev. 27:13 32 aJer. 33:13 33 aLev. 27:10 34 aLev. 26:46 b[Heb. 12:18–29] The Fourth Book of Moses Called NUMBERS NUMBERS is the book of wanderings. It takes its name from the two number- ings of the Israelites—the first at Mount Sinai and the second on the plains of Moab. Most of the book, however, describes Israel’s experiences as they wander in the wilderness. The lesson of Numbers is clear. While it may be necessary to pass through wilderness experiences, one does not have to live there. For Israel, an eleven-day journey became a forty-year agony. The title of Numbers comes from the first word in the Hebrew text, Wayyedab- ber, “And He Said.” Jewish writings, however, usually refer to it by the fifth Hebrew word in 1:1, Bemidbar, “In the Wilderness,” which more nearly indicates the content of the book. The Greek title in the Septuagint is Arithmoi, “Numbers.” The Latin Vulgate followed this title and translated it Liber Numeri, “Book of Num- bers.” These titles are based on the two numberings: the generation of Exodus (Num. 1) and the generation that grew up in the wilderness and conquered Canaan (Num. 26). Numbers has also been called the “Book of the Journeyings,” the “Book of the Murmurings,” and the “Fourth Book of Moses.” The First Census of Israel NOW the LORD spoke to Moses ain the Wilderness of Sinai, bin the tabernacle of meeting, on the cfirst day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, say- ing: 2 a“Take a census of all the con- gregation of the children of Israel, CHAPTER 1 1 aEx. 19:1 bEx. 25:22 cNum. 9:1; 10:11 2 aNum. 26:2, 63, 64 bEx. 30:12, 13; 38:26 3 aEx. 30:14; 38:26 by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, every male bindividually, 3 “from atwenty years old and above—all who are able to go to war in Israel. You and Aaron shall number them by their armies. 4 “And with you there shall be a man from every tribe, each one the head of his father’s house.

NUMBERS 1:5 116 5 “These are the names of the men who shall stand with you: from Reuben, Elizur the son of Shedeur; 6 “from Simeon, Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai; 7 “from Judah, Nahshon the son of Amminadab; 8 “from Issachar, Nethanel the son of Zuar; 9 “from Zebulun, Eliab the son of Helon; 10 “from the sons of Joseph: from Ephraim, Elishama the son of Ammi- hud; from Manasseh, Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur; 11 “from Benjamin, Abidan the son of Gideoni; 12 “from Dan, Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai; 13 “from Asher, Pagiel the son of Ocran; 14 “from Gad, Eliasaph the son of aDeuel;1 15 “from Naphtali, Ahira the son of Enan.” 16 aThese were bchosen1 from the congregation, leaders of their fathers’ tribes, cheads of the divi- sions in Israel. 17 Then Moses and Aaron took these men who had been 1men- tioned aby name, 18 and they assembled all the con- gregation together on the first day of the second month; and they recited their aancestry by families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, each one individually. 19 As the LORD commanded Mo- ses, so he numbered them in the Wilderness of Sinai. 20 Now the achildren of Reuben, Israel’s oldest son, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, according to the number of names, every male individually, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: 21 those who were numbered of the tribe of Reuben were forty-six thousand five hundred. 22 From the achildren of Simeon, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, of those who were numbered, according to the number of names, every male indi- vidually, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: 23 those who were numbered of the tribe of Simeon were fifty-nine thousand three hundred. 24 From the achildren of Gad, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: 25 those who were numbered of the tribe of Gad were forty-five thousand six hundred and fifty. 26 From the achildren of Judah, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: 27 those who were numbered of the tribe of Judah were aseventy- four thousand six hundred. 28 From the achildren of Issachar, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: 29 those who were numbered of the tribe of Issachar were fifty-four thousand four hundred. 30 From the achildren of Zebulun, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: 31 those who were numbered of the tribe of Zebulun were fifty- seven thousand four hundred. 32 From the sons of Joseph, the achildren of Ephraim, their genealo- gies by their families, by their fathers’ house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: 33 those who were numbered of the tribe of Ephraim were forty thousand five hundred. 34 From the achildren of Manas- seh, their genealogies by their fami- lies, by their fathers’ house, accord- ing to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: 35 those who were numbered of the tribe of Manasseh were thirty- two thousand two hundred. 36 From the achildren of Benjamin, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: 37 those who were numbered of the tribe of Benjamin were thirty- five thousand four hundred. 38 From the achildren of Dan, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, according to the number of names, from twenty

numbered of the tribe of Manasseh were thirty- two thousand two hundred. 36 From the achildren of Benjamin, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: 37 those who were numbered of the tribe of Benjamin were thirty- five thousand four hundred. 38 From the achildren of Dan, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: 39 those who were numbered of the tribe of Dan were sixty-two thousand seven hundred. 40 From the achildren of Asher, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: 41 those who were numbered of the tribe of Asher were forty-one thousand five hundred. 14 aNum. 7:42 1Reuel, Num. 2:14 16 aEx. 18:21; Num. 7:2; 1 Chr. 27:16–22 bNum. 16:2 cEx. 18:21, 25; Jer. 5:5; Mic. 3:1, 9; 5:2 1called 17 aIs. 43:1 1designated 18 aEzra 2:59; Heb. 7:3 20 aNum. 2:10, 11; 26:5–11; 32:6, 15, 21, 29 22 aNum. 2:12, 13; 26:12–14 24 aGen. 30:11; Num. 26:15–18; Josh. 4:12; Jer. 49:1 26 aGen. 29:35; Num. 26:19–22; 2 Sam. 24:9; Ps. 78:68; Matt. 1:2 27 a2 Chr. 17:14 28 aNum. 2:5, 6 30 aNum. 2:7, 8; 26:26, 27 32 aGen. 48:1–22; Num. 26:28–37; Deut. 33:13–17; Jer. 7:15; Obad. 19 34 aNum. 2:20, 21; 26:28–34 36 aGen. 49:27; Num. 26:38–41; 2 Chr. 17:17; Rev. 7:8 38 aGen. 30:6; 46:23; Num. 2:25, 26; 26:42, 43 40 aNum. 2:27, 28; 26:44–47

117 NUMBERS 2:23 42 From the children of Naphtali, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers’ house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: 43 those who were numbered of the tribe of Naphtali were fifty-three thousand four hundred. 44 aThese are the ones who were numbered, whom Moses and Aaron numbered, with the leaders of Israel, twelve men, each one repre- senting his father’s house. 45 So all who were numbered of the children of Israel, by their fathers’ houses, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war in Israel— 46 all who were numbered were asix hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty. 47 But athe Levites were not num- bered among them by their fathers’ tribe; 48 for the LORD had spoken to Moses, saying: 49 a“Only the tribe of Levi you shall not number, nor take a census of them among the children of Israel; 50 a“but you shall appoint the Le- vites over the tabernacle of the Testi- mony, over all its furnishings, and over all things that belong to it; they shall carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings; they shall attend to it band camp around the tabernacle. 51 a“And when the tabernacle is to go forward, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle is to be set up, the Levites shall set it bup. cThe outsider who comes near shall be put to death. 52 “The children of Israel shall pitch their tents, aeveryone by his own camp, everyone by his own standard, according to their armies; 53 a“but the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the Testi- mony, that there may be no bwrath on the congregation of the children of Israel; and the Levites shall ckeep1 charge of the tabernacle of the Testimony.” 54 Thus the children of Israel did; according to all that the LORD com- manded Moses, so they did. The Tribes and Leaders by Armies 2 And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: 2 a“Everyone of the children of Israel shall camp by his own 1stan- dard, beside the emblems of his father’s house; they shall camp bsome distance from the tabernacle of meeting. 3 “On the aeast side, toward the rising of the sun, those of the stan- dard of the forces with Judah shall camp according to their armies; and bNahshon the son of Amminadab shall be the leader of the children of Judah.” 4 And his army was numbered at seventy-four thousand six hundred. 5 “Those who camp next to him shall be the tribe of Issachar, and Nethanel the son of Zuar shall be the leader of the children of Issachar.” 6 And his army was numbered at fifty-four thousand four hundred. 7 “Then comes the tribe of Zebu- lun, and Eliab the son of Helon shall be the leader of the children of Zebulun.” 8 And his army was numbered at fifty-seven thousand four hundred. 9 “All who were numbered ac- cording to their armies of the forces with Judah, one hundred and eighty-six thousand four hundred— athese shall 1break camp first. 10 “On the asouth side shall be the standard of the forces with Reuben according to their armies, and the leader of the children of Reuben shall be Elizur the son of Shedeur.” 11 And his army was numbered at forty-six thousand five hundred. 12 “Those who camp next to him shall be the tribe of Simeon, and the leader of the children of Simeon shall be Shelumiel the son of Zuri- shaddai.” 13 And his army was numbered at fifty-nine thousand three hundred. 14 “Then comes the tribe of Gad, and the leader of the children of Gad shall be Eliasaph the son of 1Reuel.” 15 And his army was numbered at forty-five thousand six hundred and fifty. 16 “All who were numbered ac- cording to their armies of the forces with Reuben, one hundred and fifty- one thousand four hundred and fifty—athey shall 1be the second to break camp. 17 a“And the tabernacle of meeting shall move out with the 1camp of the Levites bin the middle of the 2camps; as they camp, so they shall move out, everyone in his place, by their 3standards. 18 “On the west side shall be the

e son of 1Reuel.” 15 And his army was numbered at forty-five thousand six hundred and fifty. 16 “All who were numbered ac- cording to their armies of the forces with Reuben, one hundred and fifty- one thousand four hundred and fifty—athey shall 1be the second to break camp. 17 a“And the tabernacle of meeting shall move out with the 1camp of the Levites bin the middle of the 2camps; as they camp, so they shall move out, everyone in his place, by their 3standards. 18 “On the west side shall be the standard of the forces with Ephraim according to their armies, and the leader of the children of Ephraim shall be Elishama the son of Ammi- hud.” 19 And his army was numbered at forty thousand five hundred. 20 “Next to him comes the tribe of Manasseh, and the leader of the children of Manasseh shall be Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.” 21 And his army was numbered at thirty-two thousand two hundred. 22 “Then comes the tribe of Ben- jamin, and the leader of the children of Benjamin shall be Abidan the son of Gideoni.” 23 And his army was numbered at 44 aNum. 26:64 46 aEx. 12:37; 38:26; Num. 2:32; 26:51, 63; Heb. 11:12; Rev. 7:4–8 47 aNum. 2:33; 3:14–22; 26:57–62; 1 Chr. 6:1–47; 21:6 49 aNum. 2:33; 26:62 50 aEx. 38:21; Num. 3:7, 8; 4:15, 25–27, 33 bNum. 3:23, 29, 35, 38 51 aNum. 4:5–15; 10:17, 21 bNum. 10:21 cNum. 3:10, 38; 4:15, 19, 20; 18:22 52 aNum. 2:2, 34; 24:2 53 aNum. 1:50 bLev. 10:6; Num. 8:19; 16:46; 18:5; 1 Sam. 6:19 cNum. 8:24; 18:2–4; 1 Chr. 23:32 1have in their care CHAPTER 2 2 aNum. 1:52; 24:2 bJosh. 3:4 1banner 3 aNum. 10:5 bNum. 1:7; 7:12; 10:14; Ruth 4:20; 1 Chr. 2:10; Matt. 1:4; Luke 3:32, 33 9 aNum. 10:14 1Lit. set forth 10 aNum. 10:6 14 1Deuel, Num. 1:14; 7:42 16 aNum. 10:18 1Lit. set forth second 17 aNum. 10:17, 21 bNum. 1:53 1company 2whole com- pany 3ban- ners

NUMBERS 2:24 118 thirty-five thousand four hundred. 24 “All who were numbered ac- cording to their armies of the forces with Ephraim, one hundred and eight thousand one hundred— athey shall 1be the third to break camp. 25 “The 1standard of the forces with Dan shall be on the north side according to their armies, and the leader of the children of Dan shall be Ahiezer the son of Ammishad- dai.” 26 And his army was numbered at sixty-two thousand seven hundred. 27 “Those who camp next to him shall be the tribe of Asher, and the leader of the children of Asher shall be Pagiel the son of Ocran.” 28 And his army was numbered at forty-one thousand five hundred. 29 “Then comes the tribe of Naph- tali, and the leader of the children of Naphtali shall be Ahira the son of Enan.” 30 And his army was numbered at fifty-three thousand four hundred. 31 “All who were numbered of the forces with Dan, one hundred and fifty-seven thousand six hundred— athey shall 1break camp last, with their 2standards.” 32 These are the ones who were numbered of the children of Israel by their fathers’ houses. aAll who were numbered according to their armies of the forces were six hun- dred and three thousand five hun- dred and fifty. 33 But athe Levites were not num- bered among the children of Israel, just as the LORD commanded Moses. 34 Thus the children of Israel adid according to all that the LORD com- manded Moses; bso they camped by their 1standards and so they broke camp, each one by his family, according to their fathers’ houses. The Sons of Aaron 3 Now these are the arecords1 of Aaron and Moses when the LORD spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. 2 And these are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab, the afirstborn, and bAbihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, athe anointed priests, 1whom he consecrated to minister as priests. 4 aNadab and Abihu had died before the LORD when they offered profane fire before the LORD in the Wilderness of Sinai; and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar ministered as priests in the pres- ence of Aaron their father. The Levites Serve in the Tabernacle 5 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 6 a“Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him. 7 “And they shall attend to his needs and the needs of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of meeting, to do athe work of the tabernacle. 8 “Also they shall attend to all the furnishings of the tabernacle of meeting, and to the needs of the children of Israel, to do the work of the tabernacle. 9 “And ayou shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are given entirely to 1him from among the children of Israel. 10 “So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, aand they shall attend to their priesthood; bbut the outsider who comes near shall be put to death.” 11 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 12 “Now behold, aI Myself have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the children of Israel. There- fore the Levites shall be bMine, 13 “because aall the firstborn are Mine. bOn the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast. They shall be Mine: I am the LORD.” Census of the Levites Commanded 14 Then the LORD spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, saying: 15 “Number the children of Levi by their fathers’ houses, by their fami- lies; you shall number aevery male from a month old and above.” 16 So Moses numbered them ac- cording to the 1word of the LORD, as he was commanded. 17 aThese were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 18 And these are the names of the sons of aGershon by their families: bLibni and Shimei. 19 And the sons of aKohath by their families: bAmram, Izehar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 20 aAnd the sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi.

by their fathers’ houses, by their fami- lies; you shall number aevery male from a month old and above.” 16 So Moses numbered them ac- cording to the 1word of the LORD, as he was commanded. 17 aThese were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 18 And these are the names of the sons of aGershon by their families: bLibni and Shimei. 19 And the sons of aKohath by their families: bAmram, Izehar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 20 aAnd the sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites by their fathers’ houses. 21 From Gershon came the family of the Libnites and the family of the Shimites; these were the families of the Gershonites. 22 Those who were numbered, according to the number of all the males from a month old and above—of those who were num- bered there were seven thousand five hundred. 23 aThe families of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle westward. 24 And the leader of the father’s 24 aNum. 10:22 1Lit. set forth third 25 1banner 31 aNum. 10:25 1Lit. set forth last 2banners 32 aEx. 38:26; Num. 1:46; 11:21 33 aNum. 1:47; 26:57–62 34 aNum. 1:54 bNum. 24:2, 5, 6 1banners CHAPTER 3 1 aEx. 6:16–27 1Lit. genera- tions 2 aEx. 6:23 bLev. 10:1, 2; Num. 26:60, 61; 1 Chr. 24:2 3 aEx. 28:41; Lev. 8 1Lit. whose hands he filled 4 aLev. 10:1, 2; Num. 26:61; 1 Chr. 24:2 6 aNum. 8:6–22; 18:1–7; Deut. 10:8; 33:8–11 7 aNum. 1:50; 8:11, 15, 24, 26 9 aNum. 8:19; 18:6, 7 1Sam., LXX Me 10 aEx. 29:9; Num. 18:7 bNum. 1:51; 3:38; 16:40 12 aNum. 3:41; 8:16; 18:6 bEx. 13:2; Num. 3:45; 8:14 13 aEx. 13:2; Lev. 27:26; Num. 8:16, 17; Neh. 10:36; Luke 2:23 bEx. 13:12, 15; Num. 8:17 15 aNum. 3:39; 26:62 16 1Lit. mouth 17 aGen. 46:11; Ex. 6:16–22; Num. 26:57; 1 Chr. 6:1, 16; 23:6 18 aNum. 4:38–41 bEx. 6:17 19 aNum. 4:34–37 bEx. 6:18 20 aEx. 6:19; Num. 4:42–45 23 aNum. 1:53

119 NUMBERS 4:3 house of the Gershonites was Elia- saph the son of Lael. 25 aThe duties of the children of Gershon in the tabernacle of meet- ing included bthe tabernacle, cthe tent with dits covering, ethe screen for the door of the tabernacle of meeting, 26 athe screen for the door of the court, bthe hangings of the court which are around the tabernacle and the altar, and ctheir cords, according to all the work relating to them. 27 aFrom Kohath came the family of the Amramites, the family of the Izharites, the family of the Hebron- ites, and the family of the Uzzielites; these were the families of the Kohathites. 28 According to the number of all the males, from a month old and above, there were eight thousand 1six hundred 2keeping charge of the sanctuary. 29 aThe families of the children of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle. 30 And the leader of the fathers’ house of the families of the Kohathites was Elizaphan the son of aUzziel. 31 aTheir duty included bthe ark, cthe table, dthe lampstand, ethe altars, the utensils of the sanctuary with which they ministered, fthe screen, and all the work relating to them. 32 And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was to be chief over the leaders of the Levites, with over- sight of those who kept charge of the sanctuary. 33 From Merari came the family of the Mahlites and the family of the Mushites; these were the families of Merari. 34 And those who were numbered, according to the number of all the males from a month old and above, were six thousand two hundred. 35 The leader of the fathers’ house of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. aThese were to camp on the north side of the taber- nacle. 36 And athe appointed duty of the children of Merari included the boards of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, its utensils, all the work relating to them, 37 and the pillars of the court all around, with their sockets, their pegs, and their cords. 38 aMoreover those who were to camp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tabernacle of meet- ing, were Moses, Aaron, and his sons, bkeeping charge of the sanctu- ary, cto meet the needs of the chil- dren of Israel; but dthe outsider who came near was to be put to death. 39 aAll who were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the commandment of the LORD, by their families, all the males from a month old and above, were twenty-two thousand. Levites Dedicated Instead of the Firstborn 40 Then the LORD said to Moses: a“Number1 all the firstborn males of the children of Israel from a month old and above, and take the number of their names. 41 a“And you shall take the Levites for Me—I am the LORD—instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the livestock of the children of Israel.” 42 So Moses numbered all the first- born among the children of Israel, as the LORD commanded him. 43 And all the firstborn males, according to the number of names from a month old and above, of those who were numbered of them, were twenty-two thousand two hundred and seventy-three. 44 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 45 a“Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites instead of their livestock.

estock of the children of Israel.” 42 So Moses numbered all the first- born among the children of Israel, as the LORD commanded him. 43 And all the firstborn males, according to the number of names from a month old and above, of those who were numbered of them, were twenty-two thousand two hundred and seventy-three. 44 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 45 a“Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites instead of their livestock. The Levites shall be Mine: I am the LORD. 46 “And for athe redemption of the two hundred and seventy-three of the firstborn of the children of Israel, bwho are more than the num- ber of the Levites, 47 “you shall take afive shekels for each one bindividually; you shall take them in the currency of the shekel of the sanctuary, cthe shekel of twenty gerahs. 48 “And you shall give the money, with which the excess number of them is redeemed, to Aaron and his sons.” 49 So Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those who were re- deemed by the Levites. 50 From the firstborn of the chil- dren of Israel he took the money, aone thousand three hundred and sixty-five shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary. 51 And Moses agave their redemp- tion money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses. Duties of the Sons of Kohath 4 Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: 2 “Take a census of the sons of aKohath from among the children of Levi, by their families, by their fathers’ house, 3 a“from thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, all who enter the service to do the work in the tabernacle of meeting. 25 aNum. 4:24–26 bEx. 25:9 cEx. 26:1 dEx. 26:7, 14 eEx. 26:36 26 aEx. 27:9, 12, 14, 15 bEx. 27:16 cEx. 35:18 27 a1 Chr. 26:23 28 1Some LXX mss. three 2taking care of 29 aEx. 6:18; Num. 1:53 30 aLev. 10:4 31 aNum. 4:15 bEx. 25:10 cEx. 25:23 dEx. 25:31 eEx. 27:1; 30:1 fEx. 26:31–33 35 aNum. 1:53; 2:25 36 aNum. 4:31, 32 38 aNum. 1:53 bNum. 18:5 cNum. 3:7, 8 dNum. 3:10 39 aNum. 3:43; 4:48; 26:62 40 aNum. 3:15 1Take a cen- sus of 41 aNum. 3:12, 45 45 aNum. 3:12, 41 46 aEx. 13:13, 15; Num. 18:15, 16 bNum. 3:39, 43 47 aLev. 27:6; Num. 18:16 bNum. 1:2, 18, 20 cEx. 30:13 50 aNum. 3:46, 47 51 aNum. 3:48 CHAPTER 4 2 aNum. 3:27–32 3 aNum. 4:23, 30, 35; 8:24; 1 Chr. 23:3, 24, 27; Ezra 3:8

NUMBERS 4:4 120 4 a“This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of meet- ing, relating to bthe most holy things: 5 “When the camp prepares to journey, Aaron and his sons shall come, and they shall take down athe covering veil and cover the bark of the Testimony with it. 6 “Then they shall put on it a cov- ering of badger skins, and spread over that a cloth entirely of ablue; and they shall insert bits poles. 7 “On the atable of showbread they shall spread a blue cloth, and put on it the dishes, the pans, the bowls, and the 1pitchers for pouring; and the bshowbread2 shall be on it. 8 “They shall spread over them a scarlet cloth, and cover the same with a covering of badger skins; and they shall insert its poles. 9 “And they shall take a blue cloth and cover the alampstand of the light, bwith its lamps, its wick- trimmers, its trays, and all its oil vessels, with which they service it. 10 “Then they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of badger skins, and put it on a carrying beam. 11 “Over athe golden altar they shall spread a blue cloth, and cover it with a covering of badger skins; and they shall insert its poles. 12 “Then they shall take all the autensils of service with which they minister in the sanctuary, put them in a blue cloth, cover them with a covering of badger skins, and put them on a carrying beam. 13 “Also they shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth over it. 14 “They shall put on it all its implements with which they minis- ter there—the firepans, the forks, the shovels, the 1basins, and all the utensils of the altar—and they shall spread on it a covering of badger skins, and insert its poles. 15 “And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctu- ary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is set to go, then athe sons of Kohath shall come to carry them; bbut they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. cThese are the things in the tab- ernacle of meeting which the sons of Kohath are to carry. 16 “The appointed duty of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest is athe oil for the light, the bsweet incense, cthe daily grain offering, the danointing oil, the oversight of all the taberna- cle, of all that is in it, with the sanc- tuary and its furnishings.” 17 Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: 18 “Do not cut off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites; 19 “but do this in regard to them, that they may live and not die when they approach athe most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and 1appoint each of them to his service and his task. 20 a“But they shall not go in to watch while the holy things are being covered, lest they die.” Duties of the Sons of Gershon 21 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 22 “Also take a census of the sons of aGershon, by their fathers’ house, by their families. 23 a“From thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, you shall number them, all who enter to perform the service, to do the work in the tabernacle of meeting. 24 “This is the aservice of the fami- lies of the Gershonites, in serving and carrying: 25 a“They shall carry the bcurtains of the tabernacle and the tabernacle of meeting with its covering, the covering of cbadger skins that is on it, the screen for the door of the tab- ernacle of meeting, 26 “the screen for the door of the gate of the court, the hangings of the court which are around the tab- ernacle and altar, and their cords, all the furnishings for their service and all that is made for these things: so shall they serve. 27 “Aaron and his sons shall 1assign all the service of the sons of the Gershonites, all their tasks and all their service. And you shall 2appoint to them all their tasks as their duty. 28 “This is the service of the fami- lies of the sons of Gershon in the tab- ernacle of meeting.

door of the gate of the court, the hangings of the court which are around the tab- ernacle and altar, and their cords, all the furnishings for their service and all that is made for these things: so shall they serve. 27 “Aaron and his sons shall 1assign all the service of the sons of the Gershonites, all their tasks and all their service. And you shall 2appoint to them all their tasks as their duty. 28 “This is the service of the fami- lies of the sons of Gershon in the tab- ernacle of meeting. And their duties shall be aunder the 1authority of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. Duties of the Sons of Merari 29 “As for the sons of aMerari, you shall number them by their families and by their fathers’ house. 30 a“From thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, you shall number them, everyone who enters the service to do the work of the tabernacle of meeting. 31 “And athis is bwhat they must carry as all their service for the tab- ernacle of meeting: cthe boards of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, 32 “and the pillars around the court with their sockets, pegs, and cords, with all their furnishings and all their service; and you shall aas- sign to each man by name the items he must carry. 33 “This is the service of the fami- lies of the sons of Merari, as all their service for the tabernacle of meet- ing, under the 1authority of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.” 4 aNum. 4:15 bNum. 4:19 5 aEx. 26:31; Heb. 9:3 bEx. 25:10, 16 6 aEx. 39:1 bEx. 25:13; 1 Kin. 8:7, 8 7 aEx. 25:23, 29, 30 bLev. 24:5–9 1jars for the drink offering 2Lit. continual bread 9 aEx. 25:31 bEx. 25:37, 38 11 aEx. 30:1–5 12 aEx. 25:9; 1 Chr. 9:29 14 1bowls 15 aNum. 7:9; 10:21; Deut. 31:9; Josh. 4:10; 2 Sam. 6:13; 1 Chr. 15:2, 15 b2 Sam. 6:6, 7; 1 Chr. 13:9, 10 cNum. 3:31 16 aEx. 25:6; Lev. 24:2 bEx. 30:34 cEx. 29:38 dEx. 30:23–25 19 aNum. 4:4 1assign 20 aEx. 19:21; 1 Sam. 6:19 22 aNum. 3:22 23 aNum. 4:3; 1 Chr. 23:3, 24, 27 24 aNum. 7:7 25 aNum. 3:25, 26 bEx. 36:8 cEx. 26:14 27 1command 2assign 28 aNum. 4:33 1Lit. hand 29 aNum. 3:33–37 30 aNum. 4:3; 8:24–26 31 aNum. 3:36, 37 bNum. 7:8 cEx. 26:15 32 aEx. 25:9; 38:21 33 1Lit. hand

121 NUMBERS 5:15 Census of the Levites 34 aAnd Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of the congregation num- bered the sons of the Kohathites by their families and by their fathers’ house, 35 from thirty ayears old and above, even to fifty years old, everyone who entered the service for work in the tabernacle of meet- ing; 36 and those who were numbered by their families were two thousand seven hundred and fifty. 37 These were the ones who were numbered of the families of the Kohathites, all who might serve in the tabernacle of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered accord- ing to the commandment of the LORD by the hand of Moses. 38 And those who were numbered of the sons of Gershon, by their fam- ilies and by their fathers’ house, 39 from thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, everyone who entered the service for work in the tabernacle of meeting— 40 those who were numbered by their families, by their fathers’ house, were two thousand six hun- dred and thirty. 41 aThese are the ones who were numbered of the families of the sons of Gershon, of all who might serve in the tabernacle of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered accord- ing to the commandment of the LORD. 42 Those of the families of the sons of Merari who were numbered, by their families, by their fathers’ 1house, 43 from thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, everyone who entered the service for work in the tabernacle of meeting— 44 those who were numbered by their families were three thousand two hundred. 45 These are the ones who were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron numbered aaccording to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses. 46 All who were anumbered of the Levites, whom Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel numbered, by their families and by their fathers’ houses, 47 afrom thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, every- one who came to do the work of service and the work of bearing bur- dens in the tabernacle of meeting— 48 those who were numbered were eight thousand five hundred and eighty. 49 According to the commandment of the LORD they were numbered by the hand of Moses, aeach according to his service and according to his task; thus were they numbered by him, bas the LORD commanded Moses. Ceremonially Unclean Persons Isolated 5 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 2 “Command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp every aleper, everyone who has a bdischarge, and whoever becomes cdefiled 1by a corpse. 3 “You shall put out both male and female; you shall put them out- side the camp, that they may not defile their camps ain the midst of which I dwell.” 4 And the children of Israel did so, and put them outside the camp; as the LORD spoke to Moses, so the children of Israel did. Confession and Restitution 5 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Speak to the children of Israel: a‘When a man or woman commits any sin that men commit in unfaith- fulness against the LORD, and that person is guilty, 7 a‘then he shall confess the sin which he has committed.

hem out- side the camp, that they may not defile their camps ain the midst of which I dwell.” 4 And the children of Israel did so, and put them outside the camp; as the LORD spoke to Moses, so the children of Israel did. Confession and Restitution 5 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Speak to the children of Israel: a‘When a man or woman commits any sin that men commit in unfaith- fulness against the LORD, and that person is guilty, 7 a‘then he shall confess the sin which he has committed. He shall make restitution for his trespass bin full, plus one-fifth of it, and give it to the one he has wronged. 8 ‘But if the man has no 1relative to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the restitution for the wrong must go to the LORD for the priest, in addition to athe ram of the atonement with which atonement is made for him. 9 ‘Every aoffering1 of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they bring to the priest, shall be bhis. 10 ‘And every man’s 1holy things shall be his; whatever any man gives the priest shall be ahis.’ ” Concerning Unfaithful Wives 11 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘If any man’s wife goes astray and behaves unfaithfully toward him, 13 ‘and a man alies with her car- nally, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband, and it is concealed that she has defiled herself, and there was no witness against her, nor was she bcaught— 14 ‘if the spirit of jealousy comes upon him and he becomes ajealous of his wife, who has defiled herself; or if the spirit of jealousy comes upon him and he becomes jealous of his wife, although she has not defiled herself— 15 ‘then the man shall bring his wife to the priest. He shall abring the offering required for her, one-tenth of 34 aNum. 4:2 35 aNum. 4:47 41 aNum. 4:22 42 1household 45 aNum. 4:29 46 aNum. 3:39; 26:57–62; 1 Chr. 23:3–23 47 aNum. 4:3, 23, 30 49 aNum. 4:15, 24, 31 bNum. 4:1, 21 CHAPTER 5 2 aLev. 13:3, 8, 46; Num. 12:10, 14, 15 bLev. 15:2 cLev. 21:1; Num. 9:6, 10; 19:11, 13; 31:19 1by con- tact with 3 aLev. 26:11, 12; Num. 35:34; [2 Cor. 6:16] 6 aLev. 5:14–6:7 7 aLev. 5:5; 26:40, 41; Josh. 7:19; Ps. 32:5; 1 John 1:9 bLev. 6:4, 5 8 aLev. 5:15; 6:6, 7; 7:7 1redeemer, Heb. goel 9 aEx. 29:28; Lev. 6:17, 18, 26; 7:6–14 bLev. 7:32–34; 10:14, 15 1heave offer- ing 10 aLev. 10:13 1consecrated 13 aLev. 18:20; 20:10 bJohn 8:4 14 aProv. 6:34; Song 8:6 15 aLev. 5:11

NUMBERS 5:16 122 an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil on it and put no frankin- cense on it, because it is a grain offering of jealousy, an offering for remembering, for bbringing iniquity to remembrance. 16 ‘And the priest shall bring her near, and set her before the LORD. 17 ‘The priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel, and take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water. 18 ‘Then the priest shall stand the woman before the aLORD, uncover the woman’s head, and put the offering for remembering in her hands, which is the grain offering of jealousy. And the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that brings a curse. 19 ‘And the priest shall put her under oath, and say to the woman, “If no man has lain with you, and if you have not gone astray to uncleanness while under your hus- band’s authority, be free from this bitter water that brings a curse. 20 “But if you have gone astray while under your husband’s author- ity, and if you have defiled yourself and some man other than your hus- band has lain with you”— 21 ‘then the priest shall aput the woman under the oath of the curse, and he shall say to the woman— b“the LORD make you a curse and an oath among your people, when the LORD makes your thigh 1rot and your belly swell; 22 “and may this water that causes the curse ago into your stomach, and make your belly swell and your thigh rot.” bThen the woman shall say, “Amen, so be it.” 23 ‘Then the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall scrape them off into the bitter water. 24 ‘And he shall make the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and the water that brings the curse shall enter her to become bit- ter. 25 a‘Then the priest shall take the grain offering of jealousy from the woman’s hand, shall bwave the offering before the LORD, and bring it to the altar; 26 ‘and the priest shall take a handful of the offering, aas its memorial portion, burn it on the altar, and afterward make the woman drink the water. 27 ‘When he has made her drink the water, then it shall be, if she has defiled herself and behaved unfaith- fully toward her husband, that the water that brings a acurse will enter her and become bitter, and her belly will swell, her thigh will rot, and the woman bwill become a curse among her people. 28 ‘But if the woman has not defiled herself, and is clean, then she shall be free and may conceive children. 29 ‘This is the law of jealousy, when a wife, while under her hus- band’s authority, agoes astray and defiles herself, 30 ‘or when the spirit of jealousy comes upon a man, and he becomes jealous of his wife; then he shall stand the woman before the LORD, and the priest shall execute all this law upon her. 31 ‘Then the man shall be free from 1iniquity, but that woman ashall bear her 2guilt.’ ” The Law of the Nazirite 6 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When either a man or woman 1consecrates an offering to take the vow of a Nazirite, ato sep- arate himself to the LORD, 3 a‘he shall separate himself from wine and similar drink; he shall drink neither vinegar made from wine nor vinegar made from similar drink; neither shall he drink any grape juice, nor eat fresh grapes or raisins. 4 ‘All the days of his 1separation he shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, from seed to skin. 5 ‘All the days of the vow of his separation no arazor shall come upon his head; until the days are ful- filled for which he separated him- self to the LORD, he shall be holy. Then he shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow. 6 ‘All the days that he separates himself to the LORD ahe shall not go near a dead body. 7 a‘He shall not 1make himself unclean even for his father or his mother, for his brother or his sister, when they die, because his separa- tion to God is on his head. 8 a‘All the days of his separation he shall be holy to the LORD. 9 ‘And if anyone dies very sud-

the days are ful- filled for which he separated him- self to the LORD, he shall be holy. Then he shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow. 6 ‘All the days that he separates himself to the LORD ahe shall not go near a dead body. 7 a‘He shall not 1make himself unclean even for his father or his mother, for his brother or his sister, when they die, because his separa- tion to God is on his head. 8 a‘All the days of his separation he shall be holy to the LORD. 9 ‘And if anyone dies very sud- denly beside him, and he defiles his consecrated head, then he shall ashave his head on the day of his cleansing; on the seventh day he shall shave it. 10 ‘Then aon the eighth day he shall bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting; 11 ‘and the priest shall offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, and make atonement for him, because he sinned in regard to the corpse; and he shall sanctify his head that same day. 12 ‘He shall consecrate to the LORD the days of his separation, and bring a male lamb in its first year aas a trespass offering; but the former days shall be 1lost, because his separation was defiled. 13 ‘Now this is the law of the Nazi- 15 b1 Kin. 17:18; Ezek. 29:16; Heb. 10:3 18 aHeb. 13:4 21 aJosh. 6:26; 1 Sam. 14:24; Neh. 10:29 bJer. 29:22 1Lit. fall away 22 aPs. 109:18 bDeut. 27:15–26 25 aLev. 8:27 bLev. 2:2, 9 26 aLev. 2:2, 9 27 aDeut. 28:37; Is. 65:15; Jer. 24:9; 29:18, 22; 42:18 bNum. 5:21 29 aNum. 5:19 31 aLev. 20:17, 19, 20 1guilt 2iniquity CHAPTER 6 2 aLev. 27:2; Judg. 13:5; [Lam. 4:7; Amos 2:11, 12]; Acts 21:23; Rom. 1:1 1Or makes a difficult vow 3 aLev. 10:9; Amos 2:12; Luke 1:15 4 1Separation as a Nazirite 5 aJudg. 13:5; 16:17; 1 Sam. 1:11 6 aLev. 21:1–3, 11; Num. 19:11–22 7 aLev. 21:1, 2, 11; Num. 9:6 1By touching a dead body 8 a[2 Cor. 6:17, 18] 9 aLev. 14:8, 9; Acts 18:18; 21:24 10 aLev. 5:7; 14:22; 15:14, 29 12 aLev. 5:6 1void

123 NUMBERS 7:17 rite: aWhen the days of his separa- tion are fulfilled, he shall be brought to the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 14 ‘And he shall present his offer- ing to the LORD: one male lamb in its first year without blemish as a burnt offering, one ewe lamb in its first year without blemish aas a sin offering, one ram without blemish bas a peace offering, 15 ‘a basket of unleavened bread, acakes of fine flour mixed with oil, unleavened wafers banointed with oil, and their grain offering with their cdrink offerings. 16 ‘Then the priest shall bring them before the LORD and offer his sin offering and his burnt offering; 17 ‘and he shall offer the ram as a sacrifice of a peace offering to the LORD, with the basket of unleavened bread; the priest shall also offer its grain offering and its drink offering. 18 a‘Then the Nazirite shall shave his consecrated head at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and shall take the hair from his consecrated head and put it on the fire which is under the sacrifice of the peace offering. 19 ‘And the priest shall take the aboiled shoulder of the ram, one bun- leavened cake from the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and cput them upon the hands of the Nazirite after he has shaved his consecrated hair, 20 ‘and the priest shall wave them as a wave offering before the LORD; athey are holy for the priest, together with the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the heave offering. After that the Nazirite may drink wine.’ 21 “This is the law of the Nazirite who vows to the LORD the offering for his separation, and besides that, whatever else his hand is able to pro- vide; according to the vow which he takes, so he must do according to the law of his separation.” The Priestly Blessing 22 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 23 “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. Say to them: 24 “The LORD abless you and bkeep you; 25 The LORD amake His face shine upon you, And bbe gracious to you; 26 aThe LORD 1lift up His countenance upon you, And bgive you peace.” ’ 27 a“So they shall 1put My name on the children of Israel, and bI will bless them.” Offerings of the Leaders 7 Now it came to pass, when Moses had finished asetting up the tabernacle, that he banointed it and consecrated it and all its fur- nishings, and the altar and all its utensils; so he anointed them and consecrated them. 2 Then athe leaders of Israel, the heads of their fathers’ houses, who were the leaders of the tribes 1and over those who were numbered, made an offering. 3 And they brought their offering before the LORD, six covered carts and twelve oxen, a cart for every two of the leaders, and for each one an ox; and they presented them before the tabernacle. 4 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 5 “Accept these from them, that they may be used in doing the work of the tabernacle of meeting; and you shall give them to the Levites, to every man according to his ser- vice.” 6 So Moses took the carts and the oxen, and gave them to the Levites. 7 Two carts and four oxen ahe gave to the sons of Gershon, accord- ing to their service; 8 aand four carts and eight oxen he gave to the sons of Merari, according to their service, under the 1authority of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. 9 But to the sons of Kohath he gave none, because theirs was athe service of the holy things, bwhich they carried on their shoulders. 10 Now the leaders offered athe dedication offering for the altar when it was anointed; so the leaders offered their offering before the altar. 11 For the LORD said to Moses, “They shall offer their offering, one leader each day, for the dedication of the altar.” 12 And the one who offered his offering on the first day was aNahshon the son of Amminadab, from the tribe of Judah. 13 His offering was one silver plat- ter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to athe shekel of the sanc-

the altar when it was anointed; so the leaders offered their offering before the altar. 11 For the LORD said to Moses, “They shall offer their offering, one leader each day, for the dedication of the altar.” 12 And the one who offered his offering on the first day was aNahshon the son of Amminadab, from the tribe of Judah. 13 His offering was one silver plat- ter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to athe shekel of the sanc- tuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a bgrain offering; 14 one gold pan of ten shekels, full of aincense; 15 aone young bull, one ram, and one male lamb bin its first year, as a burnt offering; 16 one kid of the goats as a asin offering; 17 and for athe sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Nahshon the son of Amminadab. 13 aActs 21:26 14 aLev. 4:2, 27, 32 bLev. 3:6 15 aLev. 2:4 bEx. 29:2 cNum. 15:5, 7, 10 18 aNum. 6:9; Acts 21:23, 24 19 a1 Sam. 2:15 bEx. 29:23, 24 cLev. 7:30 20 aEx. 29:27, 28 24 aDeut. 28:3–6 bPs. 121:7; John 7:11 25 aPs. 31:16; 67:1; 80:3, 7, 19; 119:135; Dan. 9:17 bGen. 43:29; Ex. 33:19; Mal. 1:9 26 aPs. 4:6; 89:15 bLev. 26:6; Is. 26:3, 12; John 14:27; Phil. 4:7 1Look upon you with favor 27 aDeut. 28:10; 2 Sam. 7:23; 2 Chr. 7:14; Is. 43:7; Dan. 9:18, 19 bEx. 20:24; Num. 23:20; Ps. 5:12; 67:7; 115:12, 13; Eph. 1:3 1invoke CHAPTER 7 1 aEx. 40:17–33 bLev. 8:10, 11 2 aNum. 1:4 1Lit. who stood over 7 aNum. 4:24–28 8 aNum. 4:29–33 1Lit. hand 9 aNum. 4:15 bNum. 4:6–14 10 aNum. 7:1; Deut. 20:5; 1 Kin. 8:63; 2 Chr. 7:5, 9; Ezra 6:16; Neh. 12:27 12 aNum. 2:3 13 aEx. 30:13 bLev. 2:1 14 aEx. 30:34, 35 15 aLev. 1:2 bEx. 12:5 16 aLev. 4:23 17 aLev. 3:1

NUMBERS 7:18 124 18 On the second day Nethanel the son of Zuar, leader of Issachar, pre- sented an offering. 19 For his offering he offered one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; 20 one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense; 21 one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as a burnt offering; 22 one kid of the goats as a sin offering; 23 and as the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Nethanel the son of Zuar. 24 On the third day Eliab the son of Helon, leader of the children of Zebulun, presented an offering. 25 His offering was one silver plat- ter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanc- tuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; 26 one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense; 27 one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as a burnt offering; 28 one kid of the goats as a sin offering; 29 and for the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Eliab the son of Helon. 30 On the fourth day aElizur the son of Shedeur, leader of the children of Reuben, presented an offering. 31 His offering was one silver plat- ter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanc- tuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; 32 one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense; 33 one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as a burnt offering; 34 one kid of the goats as a sin offering; 35 and as the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Elizur the son of Shedeur. 36 On the fifth day aShelumiel the son of Zurishaddai, leader of the children of Simeon, presented an offering. 37 His offering was one silver plat- ter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanc- tuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; 38 one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense; 39 one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as a burnt offering; 40 one kid of the goats as a sin offering; 41 and as the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. 42 On the sixth day aEliasaph the son of 1Deuel, leader of the children of Gad, presented an offering. 43 His offering was one silver plat- ter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanc- tuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; 44 one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense; 45 one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as aa burnt offering; 46 one kid of the goats as a sin offering; 47 and as the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year.

t of which was one hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanc- tuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; 44 one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense; 45 one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as aa burnt offering; 46 one kid of the goats as a sin offering; 47 and as the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Eliasaph the son of Deuel. 48 On the seventh day aElishama the son of Ammihud, leader of the children of Ephraim, presented an offering. 49 His offering was one silver plat- ter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanc- tuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; 50 one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense; 51 one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as a burnt offering; 52 one kid of the goats as a sin offering; 53 and as the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Elishama the son of Ammihud. 54 On the eighth day aGamaliel the son of Pedahzur, leader of the chil- dren of Manasseh, presented an offering. 55 His offering was one silver plat- ter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanc- tuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; 30 aNum. 1:5; 2:10 36 aNum. 1:6; 2:12; 7:41 42 aNum. 1:14; 2:14; 10:20 1Reuel, Num. 2:14 45 aPs. 40:6 48 aNum. 1:10; 2:18; 1 Chr. 7:26 54 aNum. 1:10; 2:20

125 NUMBERS 8:2 56 one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense; 57 one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as a burnt offering; 58 one kid of the goats as a sin offering; 59 and as the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. 60 On the ninth day aAbidan the son of Gideoni, leader of the chil- dren of Benjamin, presented an offering. 61 His offering was one silver plat- ter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanc- tuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; 62 one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense; 63 one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as a burnt offering; 64 one kid of the goats as a sin offering; 65 and as the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Abidan the son of Gideoni. 66 On the tenth day aAhiezer the son of Ammishaddai, leader of the children of Dan, presented an offer- ing. 67 His offering was one silver plat- ter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanc- tuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; 68 one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense; 69 one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as a burnt offering; 70 one kid of the goats as a sin offering; 71 and as the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. 72 On the eleventh day aPagiel the son of Ocran, leader of the children of Asher, presented an offering. 73 His offering was one silver plat- ter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanc- tuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; 74 one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense; 75 one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as a burnt offering; 76 one kid of the goats as a sin offering; 77 and as the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Pagiel the son of Ocran. 78 On the twelfth day aAhira the son of Enan, leader of the children of Naphtali, presented an offering. 79 His offering was one silver plat- ter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanc- tuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; 80 one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense; 81 one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as a burnt offering; 82 one kid of the goats as a sin offering; 83 and as the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Ahira the son of Enan. 84 This was athe dedication offer- ing for the altar from the leaders of Israel, when it was anointed: twelve silver platters, twelve silver bowls, and twelve gold pans. 85 Each silver platter weighed one hundred and thirty shekels and each bowl seventy shekels.

r, as a burnt offering; 82 one kid of the goats as a sin offering; 83 and as the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Ahira the son of Enan. 84 This was athe dedication offer- ing for the altar from the leaders of Israel, when it was anointed: twelve silver platters, twelve silver bowls, and twelve gold pans. 85 Each silver platter weighed one hundred and thirty shekels and each bowl seventy shekels. All the silver of the vessels weighed two thousand four hundred shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary. 86 The twelve gold pans full of incense weighed ten shekels apiece, according to the shekel of the sanc- tuary; all the gold of the pans weighed one hundred and twenty shekels. 87 All the oxen for the burnt offer- ing were twelve young bulls, the rams twelve, the male lambs in their first year twelve, with their grain offering, and the kids of the goats as a sin offering twelve. 88 And all the oxen for the sacri- fice of peace offerings were twenty- four bulls, the rams sixty, the male goats sixty, and the lambs in their first year sixty. This was the dedica- tion offering for the altar after it was aanointed. 89 Now when Moses went into the tabernacle of meeting ato speak with Him, he heard bthe voice of One speaking to him from above the mercy seat that was on the ark of the Testimony, from cbetween the two cherubim; thus He spoke to him. Arrangement of the Lamps 8 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 2 “Speak to Aaron, and say to him, ‘When you aarrange the lamps, the 60 aNum. 1:11; 2:22 66 aNum. 1:12; 2:25 72 aNum. 1:13; 2:27 78 aNum. 1:15; 2:29 84 aNum. 7:10 88 aNum. 7:1, 10 89 a[Ex. 33:9, 11]; Num. 12:8 bEx. 25:21, 22 cPs. 80:1; 99:1 CHAPTER 8 2 aLev. 24:2–4

NUMBERS 8:3 126 seven blamps shall give light in front of the lampstand.’ ” 3 And Aaron did so; he arranged the lamps to face toward the front of the lampstand, as the LORD com- manded Moses. 4 aNow this workmanship of the lampstand was hammered gold; from its shaft to its flowers it was bhammered work. cAccording to the pattern which the LORD had shown Moses, so he made the lampstand. Cleansing and Dedication of the Levites 5 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 6 “Take the Levites from among the children of Israel and cleanse them ceremonially. 7 “Thus you shall do to them to cleanse them: Sprinkle awater of purification on them, and blet1 them shave all their body, and let them wash their clothes, and so make themselves clean. 8 “Then let them take a young bull with aits grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, and you shall take another young bull as a sin offering. 9 a“And you shall bring the Levites before the tabernacle of meeting, band you shall gather together the whole congregation of the children of Israel. 10 “So you shall bring the Levites before the LORD, and the children of Israel ashall lay their hands on the Levites; 11 “and Aaron shall 1offer the Levites before the LORD like a awave offering from the children of Israel, that they may perform the work of the LORD. 12 a“Then the Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the young bulls, and you shall offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to the LORD, to make atonement for the Levites. 13 “And you shall stand the Levites before Aaron and his sons, and then offer them like a wave offering to the LORD. 14 “Thus you shall aseparate the Levites from among the children of Israel, and the Levites shall be bMine. 15 “After that the Levites shall go in to service the tabernacle of meet- ing. So you shall cleanse them and aoffer them, like a wave offering. 16 “For they are awholly given to Me from among the children of Israel; I have taken them for Myself binstead of all who open the womb, the firstborn of all the children of Israel. 17 a“For all the firstborn among the children of Israel are Mine, both man and beast; on the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I 1sanctified them to Myself. 18 “I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn of the children of Israel. 19 “And aI have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the work for the children of Israel in the tabernacle of meeting, and to make atonement for the children of Israel, bthat there be no plague among the children of Israel when the children of Israel come near the sanctuary.” 20 Thus Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel did to the Levites; according to all that the LORD commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so the children of Israel did to them. 21 aAnd the Levites purified them- selves and washed their clothes; then Aaron presented them, like a wave offering before the LORD, and Aaron made atonement for them to cleanse them. 22 aAfter that the Levites went in to do their work in the tabernacle of meeting before Aaron and his sons; bas the LORD commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them. 23 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “This is what pertains to the Levites: aFrom twenty-five years old and above one may enter to perform service in the work of the taberna- cle of meeting; 25 “and at the age of fifty years they must cease performing this work, and shall work no more. 26 “They may minister with their brethren in the tabernacle of meet- ing, ato attend to needs, but they themselves shall do no work.

bas the LORD commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them. 23 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “This is what pertains to the Levites: aFrom twenty-five years old and above one may enter to perform service in the work of the taberna- cle of meeting; 25 “and at the age of fifty years they must cease performing this work, and shall work no more. 26 “They may minister with their brethren in the tabernacle of meet- ing, ato attend to needs, but they themselves shall do no work. Thus you shall do to the Levites regard- ing their duties.” The Second Passover 9 Now the LORD spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying: 2 “Let the children of Israel keep athe Passover at its appointed btime. 3 “On the fourteenth day of this month, 1at twilight, you shall 2keep it at its appointed time. According to all its 3rites and ceremonies you shall keep it.” 4 So Moses told the children of Israel that they should keep the Passover. 5 And athey kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month, at twilight, in the Wilderness of Sinai; according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did. 6 Now there were certain men who were adefiled by a human corpse, so that they could not keep 2 bEx. 25:37; 40:25 4 aEx. 25:31 bEx. 25:18 cEx. 25:40; Acts 7:44 7 aNum. 19:9, 13, 17, 20; Ps. 51:2, 7; [Heb. 9:13, 14] bLev. 14:8, 9 1Heb. let them cause a razor to pass over 8 aLev. 2:1; Num. 15:8–10 9 aEx. 29:4; 40:12 bLev. 8:3 10 aLev. 1:4 11 aNum. 18:6 1present 12 aEx. 29:10 14 aNum. 16:9 bNum. 3:12, 45; 16:9 15 aNum. 8:11, 13 16 aNum. 3:9 bEx. 13:2; Num. 3:12, 45 17 aEx. 12:2, 12, 13, 15; Num. 3:13; Luke 2:23 1set them apart 19 aNum. 3:9 bNum. 1:53; 16:46; 18:5; 2 Chr. 26:16 21 aNum. 8:7 22 aNum. 8:15 bNum. 8:5 24 aNum. 4:3; 1 Chr. 23:3, 24, 27 26 aNum. 1:53 CHAPTER 9 2 aEx. 12:1–16; Lev. 23:5; Num. 28:16; Deut. 16:1, 2 b2 Chr. 30:1–15; Luke 22:7; [1 Cor. 5:7, 8] 3 1Lit. between the evenings 2observe 3statutes 5 aJosh. 5:10 6 aNum. 5:2; 19:11–22; John 18:28

127 NUMBERS 10:11 the Passover on that day; band they came before Moses and Aaron that day. 7 And those men said to him, “We became defiled by a human corpse. Why are we kept from presenting the offering of the LORD at its appointed time among the children of Israel?” 8 And Moses said to them, “Stand still, that aI may hear what the LORD will command concerning you.” 9 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 10 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘If anyone of you or your 1posterity is unclean because of a corpse, or is far away on a journey, he may still keep the LORD’s Passover. 11 ‘On athe fourteenth day of the second month, at twilight, they may keep it. They shall beat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 12 a‘They shall leave none of it until morning, bnor break one of its bones. cAccording to all the 1ordinances of the Passover they shall keep it. 13 ‘But the man who is clean and is not on a journey, and ceases to keep the Passover, that same person ashall be cut off from among his people, because he bdid not bring the offer- ing of the LORD at its appointed time; that man shall cbear his sin. 14 ‘And if a stranger 1dwells among you, and would keep the LORD’s Passover, he must do so according to the rite of the Passover and accord- ing to its ceremony; ayou shall have one 2ordinance, both for the stranger and the native of the land.’ ” The Cloud and the Fire 15 Now aon the day that the taber- nacle was raised up, the cloud bcov- ered the tabernacle, the tent of the Testimony; cfrom evening until morning it was above the tabernacle like the appearance of fire. 16 So it was always: the cloud cov- ered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night. 17 Whenever the cloud awas 1taken up from above the tabernacle, after that the children of Israel would journey; and in the place where the cloud settled, there the children of Israel would pitch their tents. 18 At the 1command of the LORD the children of Israel would journey, and at the command of the LORD they would camp; aas long as the cloud stayed above the tabernacle they remained encamped. 19 Even when the cloud continued long, many days above the taberna- cle, the children of Israel akept the charge of the LORD and did not jour- ney. 20 So it was, when the cloud was above the tabernacle a few days: according to the command of the LORD they would remain encamped, and according to the command of the LORD they would journey. 21 So it was, when the cloud remained only from evening until morning: when the cloud was taken up in the morning, then they would journey; whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud was taken up, they would journey. 22 Whether it was two days, a month, or a year that the cloud remained above the tabernacle, the children of Israel awould remain encamped and not journey; but when it was taken up, they would journey. 23 At the command of the LORD they remained encamped, and at the command of the LORD they jour- neyed; they akept the charge of the LORD, at the command of the LORD by the hand of Moses. Two Silver Trumpets 10 And the LORD spoke to Mo- ses, saying: 2 “Make two silver trumpets for yourself; you shall make them of hammered work; you shall use them for acalling the congregation and for directing the movement of the camps. 3 “When athey blow both of them, all the congregation shall gather before you at the door of the taberna- cle of meeting. 4 “But if they blow only one, then the leaders, the aheads of the divi- sions of Israel, shall gather to you. 5 “When you sound the aadvance, bthe camps that lie on the east side shall then begin their journey. 6 “When you sound the advance the second time, then the camps that lie aon the south side shall begin their journey; they shall sound the call for them to begin their journeys. 7 “And when the assembly is to be gathered together, ayou shall blow, but not bsound the advance. 8 a“The sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets; and these shall be to you as an 1ordinance for-

gather to you. 5 “When you sound the aadvance, bthe camps that lie on the east side shall then begin their journey. 6 “When you sound the advance the second time, then the camps that lie aon the south side shall begin their journey; they shall sound the call for them to begin their journeys. 7 “And when the assembly is to be gathered together, ayou shall blow, but not bsound the advance. 8 a“The sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets; and these shall be to you as an 1ordinance for- ever throughout your generations. 9 a“When you go to war in your land against the enemy who bop- presses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, and you will be cremembered before the LORD your God, and you will be saved from your enemies. 10 “Also ain the day of your glad- ness, in your appointed feasts, and at the beginning of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; and they shall be ba memorial for you before your God: I am the LORD your God.” Departure from Sinai 11 Now it came to pass on the twen- tieth day of the second month, in the 6 bEx. 18:15, 19, 26; Num. 27:2 8 aEx. 18:22; Num. 27:5 10 1descen- dants 11 a2 Chr. 30:2, 15 bEx. 12:8 12 aEx. 12:10 bEx. 12:46; [John 19:36] cEx. 12:43 1statutes 13 aGen. 17:14; Ex. 12:15, 47 bNum. 9:7 cNum. 5:31 14 aEx. 12:49; Lev. 24:22; Num. 15:15, 16, 29 1As a resident alien 2statute 15 aEx. 40:33, 34; Neh. 9:12, 19; Ps. 78:14 bIs. 4:5 cEx. 13:21, 22; 40:38 17 aEx. 40:36–38; Num. 10:11, 12, 33, 34; Ps. 80:1 1lifted up 18 a1 Cor. 10:1 1Lit. mouth 19 aNum. 1:53; 3:8 22 aEx. 40:36, 37 23 aNum. 9:19 CHAPTER 10 2 aIs. 1:13 3 aJer. 4:5; Joel 2:15 4 aEx. 18:21; Num. 1:16; 7:2 5 aJoel 2:1 bNum. 2:3 6 aNum. 2:10 7 aNum. 10:3 bJoel 2:1 8 aNum. 31:6; Josh. 6:4; 1 Chr. 15:24; 2 Chr. 13:12 1statute 9 aNum. 31:6; Josh. 6:5; 2 Chr. 13:14 bJudg. 2:18; 4:3; 6:9; 10:8, 12 cGen. 8:1; Ps. 106:4 10 aLev. 23:24; Num. 29:1; 1 Chr. 15:24; 2 Chr. 5:12; Ps. 81:3 bLev. 23:24; Num. 10:9

NUMBERS 10:12 128 second year, that the cloud awas taken up from above the tabernacle of the Testimony. 12 And the children of Israel set out from the aWilderness of Sinai on btheir journeys; then the cloud set- tled down in the cWilderness of Paran. 13 So they started out for the first time aaccording to the command of the LORD by the hand of Moses. 14 The 1standard of the camp of the children of Judah aset out first according to their armies; over their army was bNahshon the son of Amminadab. 15 Over the army of the tribe of the children of Issachar was Nethanel the son of Zuar. 16 And over the army of the tribe of the children of Zebulun was Eliab the son of Helon. 17 Then athe tabernacle was taken down; and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari set out, bcarrying the tabernacle. 18 And athe standard of the camp of Reuben set out according to their armies; over their army was Elizur the son of Shedeur. 19 Over the army of the tribe of the children of Simeon was Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. 20 And over the army of the tribe of the children of Gad was Eliasaph the son of Deuel. 21 Then the Kohathites set out, car- rying the aholy things. (The taberna- cle would be 1prepared for their arrival.) 22 And athe standard of the camp of the children of Ephraim set out according to their armies; over their army was Elishama the son of Ammihud. 23 Over the army of the tribe of the children of Manasseh was Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. 24 And over the army of the tribe of the children of Benjamin was Abidan the son of Gideoni. 25 Then athe standard of the camp of the children of Dan (the rear guard of all the camps) set out according to their armies; over their army was Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. 26 Over the army of the tribe of the children of Asher was Pagiel the son of Ocran. 27 And over the army of the tribe of the children of Naphtali was Ahira the son of Enan. 28 aThus was the order of march of the children of Israel, according to their armies, when they began their journey. 29 Now Moses said to aHobab the son of bReuel1 the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, “We are setting out for the place of which the LORD said, c‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us, and dwe will treat you well; for ethe LORD has promised good things to Israel.” 30 And he said to him, “I will not go, but I will depart to my own land and to my relatives.” 31 So Moses said, “Please do not leave, inasmuch as you know how we are to camp in the wilderness, and you can 1be our aeyes. 32 “And it shall be, if you go with us—indeed it shall be—that awhat- ever good the LORD will do to us, the same we will do to you.” 33 So they departed from athe mountain of the LORD on a journey of three days; and the ark of the covenant of the LORD bwent before them for the three days’ journey, to search out a resting place for them. 34 And athe cloud of the LORD was above them by day when they went out from the camp. 35 So it was, whenever the ark set out, that Moses said: a“Rise up, O LORD! Let Your enemies be scattered, And let those who hate You flee before You.” 36 And when it rested, he said: “Return, O LORD, To the many thousands of Israel.” The People Complain 11 Now awhen the people com- plained, it displeased the LORD; bfor the LORD heard it, and His anger was aroused.

urney, to search out a resting place for them. 34 And athe cloud of the LORD was above them by day when they went out from the camp. 35 So it was, whenever the ark set out, that Moses said: a“Rise up, O LORD! Let Your enemies be scattered, And let those who hate You flee before You.” 36 And when it rested, he said: “Return, O LORD, To the many thousands of Israel.” The People Complain 11 Now awhen the people com- plained, it displeased the LORD; bfor the LORD heard it, and His anger was aroused. So the cfire of the LORD burned among them, and consumed some in the outskirts of the camp. 2 Then the people acried out to Moses, and when Moses bprayed to the LORD, the fire was 1quenched. 3 So he called the name of the place 1Taberah, because the fire of the LORD had burned among them. 4 Now the amixed multitude who were among them 1yielded to bin- tense craving; so the children of Israel also wept again and said: c“Who will give us meat to eat? 5 a“We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucum- bers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; 6 “but now aour whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!” 7 Now athe manna was like coriander seed, and its color like the color of bdellium. 8 The people went about and gathered it, ground it on millstones or beat it in the mortar, cooked it in pans, and made cakes of it; and aits taste was like the taste of pastry prepared with oil. 9 And awhen the dew fell on the 11 aNum. 9:17 12 aEx. 19:1; Num. 1:1; 9:5 bEx. 40:36 cGen. 21:21; Num. 12:16; Deut. 1:1 13 aNum. 10:5, 6 14 aNum. 2:3–9 bNum. 1:7 1banner 17 aNum. 1:51 bNum. 4:21–32; 7:7–9 18 aNum. 2:10–16 21 aNum. 4:4–20; 7:9 1Prepared by the Gershon- ites and the Merarites 22 aNum. 2:18–24 25 aNum. 2:25–31; Josh. 6:9 28 aNum. 2:34 29 aJudg. 4:11 bEx. 2:18; 3:1; 18:12 cGen. 12:7; Ex. 6:4–8 dJudg. 1:16 eGen. 32:12; Ex. 3:8 1Jethro, Ex. 3:1; LXX Raguel 31 aJob 29:15 1Act as our guide 32 aEx. 18:9; Lev. 19:34; Judg. 1:16 33 aEx. 3:1; Deut. 1:6 bDeut. 1:33; Josh. 3:3–6; Ezek. 20:6 34 aEx. 13:21; Neh. 9:12, 19 35 aPs. 68:1, 2; 132:8; Is. 17:12–14 CHAPTER 11 1 aNum. 14:2; 16:11; 17:5; Deut. 9:22 bPs. 78:21 cLev. 10:2; 2 Kin. 1:12 2 aNum. 12:11, 13; 21:7 b[James 5:16] 1extinguished 3 1Lit. Burning 4 aEx. 12:38 b1 Cor. 10:6 c[Ps. 78:18] 1Lit. lusted intensely 5 aEx. 16:3 6 aNum. 21:5 7 aEx. 16:14, 31 8 aEx. 16:31 9 aEx. 16:13, 14

129 NUMBERS 11:35 camp in the night, the manna fell on it. 10 Then Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, everyone at the door of his tent; and athe anger of the LORD was greatly aroused; Moses also was dis- pleased. 11 aSo Moses said to the LORD, “Why have You afflicted Your ser- vant? And why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have laid the 1burden of all these people on me? 12 “Did I conceive all these people? Did I beget them, that You should say to me, a‘Carry them in your bosom, as a bguardian carries a nursing child,’ to the land which You cswore1 to their fathers? 13 a“Where am I to get meat to give to all these people? For they weep all over me, saying, ‘Give us meat, that we may eat.’ 14 a“I am not able to bear all these people alone, because the burden is too heavy for me. 15 “If You treat me like this, please kill me here and now—if I have found favor in Your sight—and ado not let me see my wretchedness!” The Seventy Elders 16 So the LORD said to Moses: “Gather to Me aseventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and boffi- cers over them; bring them to the tabernacle of meeting, that they may stand there with you. 17 “Then I will come down and talk with you there. aI will take of the Spirit that is upon you and will put the same upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, that you may not bear it your- self alone. 18 “Then you shall say to the people, 1‘Consecrate yourselves for tomor- row, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept ain the hearing of the LORD, saying, “Who will give us meat to eat? For it was well with us in Egypt.” Therefore the LORD will give you meat, and you shall eat. 19 ‘You shall eat, not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days, 20 a‘but for a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have bdespised the LORD who is among you, and have wept before Him, saying, c“Why did we ever come up out of Egypt?” ’ ” 21 And Moses said, a“The people whom I am among are six hundred thousand men on foot; yet You have said, ‘I will give them meat, that they may eat for a whole month.’ 22 a“Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to provide enough for them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to provide enough for them?” 23 And the LORD said to Moses, a“Has1 the LORD’s arm been short- ened? Now you shall see whether bwhat I say will happen to you or not.” 24 So Moses went out and told the people the words of the LORD, and he agathered the seventy men of the elders of the people and placed them around the tabernacle. 25 Then the LORD came down in the cloud, and spoke to him, and took of the Spirit that was upon him, and placed the same upon the seventy elders; and it happened, awhen the Spirit rested upon them, that bthey prophesied, 1although they never did so again. 26 But two men had remained in the camp: the name of one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad. And the Spirit rested upon them. Now they were among those listed, but who ahad not gone out to the tabernacle; yet they prophesied in the camp. 27 And a young man ran and told Moses, and said, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” 28 So Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, one of his choice men, answered and said, “Moses my lord, aforbid them!” 29 Then Moses said to him, “Are you 1zealous for my sake?

remained in the camp: the name of one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad. And the Spirit rested upon them. Now they were among those listed, but who ahad not gone out to the tabernacle; yet they prophesied in the camp. 27 And a young man ran and told Moses, and said, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” 28 So Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, one of his choice men, answered and said, “Moses my lord, aforbid them!” 29 Then Moses said to him, “Are you 1zealous for my sake? aOh, that all the LORD’s people were prophets and that the LORD would put His Spirit upon them!” 30 And Moses returned to the camp, he and the elders of Israel. The LORD Sends Quail 31 Now a awind went out from the LORD, and it brought quail from the sea and left them fluttering near the camp, about a day’s journey on this side and about a day’s journey on the other side, all around the camp, and about two cubits above the surface of the ground. 32 And the people stayed up all that day, all night, and all the next day, and gathered the quail (he who gath- ered least gathered ten ahomers); and they spread them out for them- selves all around the camp. 33 But while the ameat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the wrath of the LORD was aroused against the people, and the LORD struck the people with a very great plague. 34 So he called the name of that place 1Kibroth Hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had yielded to craving. 35 aFrom Kibroth Hattaavah the people moved to Hazeroth, and camped at Hazeroth. 10 aPs. 78:21 11 aEx. 5:22; Deut. 1:12 1responsibility 12 aIs. 40:11 bIs. 49:23; 1 Thess. 2:7 cGen. 26:3 1solemnly promised 13 aMatt. 15:33; Mark 8:4 14 aEx. 18:18; Deut. 1:12 15 aRev. 3:17 16 aEx. 18:25; 24:1, 9 bDeut. 16:18 17 a1 Sam. 10:6; 2 Kin. 2:15; [Joel 2:28] 18 aEx. 16:7 1Set your- selves apart 20 aPs. 78:29; 106:15 b1 Sam. 10:19 cNum. 21:5 21 aGen. 12:2; Ex. 12:37; Num. 1:46; 2:32 22 a2 Kin. 7:2 23 aIs. 50:2; 59:1 bNum. 23:19 1Is the LORD’s power limited? 24 aNum. 11:16 25 a2 Kin. 2:15 b1 Sam. 10:5, 6, 10; Joel 2:28; Acts 2:17, 18; 1 Cor. 14:1 1Tg., Vg. and they did not cease 26 aJer. 36:5 28 a[Mark 9:38–40; Luke 9:49] 29 a1 Cor. 14:5 1jealous 31 aEx. 16:13; Ps. 78:26–28; 105:40 32 aEx. 16:36; Ezek. 45:11 33 aPs. 78:29–31; 106:15 34 1Lit. Graves of Craving 35 aNum. 33:17

NUMBERS 12:1 130 Dissension of Aaron and Miriam 12 Then aMiriam and Aaron 1spoke bagainst Moses be- cause of the 2Ethiopian woman whom he had married; for che had married an Ethiopian woman. 2 So they said, “Has the LORD in- deed spoken only through aMoses? bHas He not spoken through us also?” And the LORD cheard it. 3 (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.) 4 aSuddenly the LORD said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tabernacle of meeting!” So the three came out. 5 aThen the LORD came down in the pillar of cloud and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam. And they both went forward. 6 Then He said, “Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, make Myself known to him ain a vision; I speak to him bin a dream. 7 Not so with aMy servant Moses; bHe is faithful in all cMy house. 8 I speak with him aface to face, Even bplainly,1 and not in 2dark sayings; And he sees cthe form of the LORD. Why then dwere you not afraid To speak against My servant Moses?” 9 So the anger of the LORD was aroused against them, and He departed. 10 And when the cloud departed from above the tabernacle, asud- denly Miriam became bleprous, as white as snow. Then Aaron turned toward Miriam, and there she was, a leper. 11 So Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord! Please ado not lay 1this sin on us, in which we have done foolishly and in which we have sinned. 12 “Please ado not let her be as one dead, whose flesh is half consumed when he comes out of his mother’s womb!” 13 So Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, “Please aheal her, O God, I pray!” 14 Then the LORD said to Moses, “If her father had but aspit in her face, would she not be shamed seven days? Let her be bshut1 out of the camp seven days, and afterward she may be received again.” 15 aSo Miriam was shut out of the camp seven days, and the people did not journey till Miriam was brought in again. 16 And afterward the people moved from aHazeroth and camped in the Wilderness of Paran. Spies Sent into Canaan 13 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 a“Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among them.” 3 So Moses sent them afrom the Wilderness of Paran according to the command of the LORD, all of them men who were heads of the children of Israel. 4 Now these were their names: from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur; 5 from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori; 6 afrom the tribe of Judah, bCaleb the son of Jephunneh; 7 from the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph; 8 from the tribe of Ephraim, 1Hoshea the son of Nun; 9 from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu; 10 from the tribe of Zebulun, Gad- diel the son of Sodi; 11 from the tribe of Joseph, that is, from the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi; 12 from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli; 13 from the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael; 14 from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi; 15 from the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi. 16 These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to 1spy out the land. And Moses called aHoshea2 the son of Nun, Joshua. 17 Then Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, “Go up this way into the South, and go up to athe mountains, 18 “and see what the land is like: whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, few or many; 19 “whether the land they dwell in is good or bad; whether the cities they inhabit are like camps or strongholds; 20 “whether the land is 1rich or poor; and whether there are forests there or not.

py out the land. And Moses called aHoshea2 the son of Nun, Joshua. 17 Then Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, “Go up this way into the South, and go up to athe mountains, 18 “and see what the land is like: whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, few or many; 19 “whether the land they dwell in is good or bad; whether the cities they inhabit are like camps or strongholds; 20 “whether the land is 1rich or poor; and whether there are forests there or not. aBe of good courage. And bring some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes. 21 So they went up and spied out the land afrom the Wilderness of Zin as far as bRehob, near the entrance of cHamath. 22 And they went up through the South and came to aHebron; Ahi- CHAPTER 12 1 aNum. 20:1 bNum. 11:1 cEx. 2:21 1criticized 2Cushite 2 aNum. 16:3 bMic. 6:4 cEzek. 35:12, 13 4 a[Ps. 76:9] 5 aEx. 19:9; 34:5 6 aGen. 46:2 bGen. 31:10 7 aJosh. 1:1 bHeb. 3:2, 5 c1 Tim. 1:12 8 aDeut. 34:10 b[1 Cor. 13:12] cEx. 33:19–23 d2 Pet. 2:10 1appearing 2riddles 10 aDeut. 24:9 b2 Kin. 5:27; 15:5 11 a2 Sam. 19:19; 24:10 1the penalty for this 12 aPs. 88:4 13 aPs. 103:3 14 aDeut. 25:9 bLev. 13:46 1exiled 15 aDeut. 24:9 16 aNum. 11:35; 33:17, 18 CHAPTER 13 2 aDeut. 1:22; 9:23 3 aNum. 12:16; 32:8 6 aNum. 34:19 bJosh. 14:6, 7 8 1LXX, Vg. Oshea 16 aEx. 17:9 1secretly search 2LXX, Vg. Oshea 17 aJudg. 1:9 20 aDeut. 31:6, 7, 23 1fertile or barren 21 aNum. 20:1; 27:14; 33:36 bJosh. 19:28 cJosh. 13:5 22 aJosh. 15:13, 14

131 NUMBERS 14:18 man, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of bAnak, were there. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) 23 aThen they came to the 1Valley of Eshcol, and there cut down a branch with one cluster of grapes; they carried it between two of them on a pole. They also brought some of the pomegranates and figs. 24 The place was called the Valley of 1Eshcol, because of the cluster which the men of Israel cut down there. 25 And they returned from spying out the land after forty days. 26 Now they departed and came back to Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran, at aKadesh; they brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 Then they told him, and said: “We went to the land where you sent us. It truly 1flows with amilk and honey, band this is its fruit. 28 “Nevertheless the apeople who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of bAnak there. 29 a“The Amalekites dwell in the land of the South; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains; and the Canaan- ites dwell by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan.” 30 Then aCaleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.” 31 aBut the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” 32 And they agave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and ball the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. 33 “There we saw the 1giants (athe descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were blike2 grasshop- pers in our own sight, and so we were cin their sight.” Israel Refuses to Enter Canaan 14 So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people awept that night. 2 aAnd all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! 3 “Why has the LORD brought us to this land to 1fall by the sword, that our wives and achildren should be- come victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” 4 So they said to one another, a“Let us select a leader and breturn to Egypt.” 5 Then Moses and Aaron 1fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel. 6 But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; 7 and they spoke to all the congre- gation of the children of Israel, say- ing: a“The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. 8 “If the LORD adelights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, b‘a land which flows with milk and honey.’ 9 “Only ado not rebel against the LORD, bnor fear the people of the land, for cthey1 are our bread; their protection has departed from them, dand the LORD is with us. Do not fear them.” 10 aAnd all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Now bthe glory of the LORD appeared in the tabernacle of meeting before all the children of Israel. Moses Intercedes for the People 11 Then the LORD said to Moses: “How long will these people areject1 Me? And how long will they not bbe- lieve Me, with all the 2signs which I have performed among them? 12 “I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will amake of you a nation greater and mightier than they.” 13 And aMoses said to the LORD: b“Then the Egyptians will hear it, for by Your might You brought these people up from among them, 14 “and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land.

the People 11 Then the LORD said to Moses: “How long will these people areject1 Me? And how long will they not bbe- lieve Me, with all the 2signs which I have performed among them? 12 “I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will amake of you a nation greater and mightier than they.” 13 And aMoses said to the LORD: b“Then the Egyptians will hear it, for by Your might You brought these people up from among them, 14 “and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have aheard that You, LORD, are among these people; that You, LORD, are seen face to face and Your cloud stands above them, and You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. 15 “Now if You kill these people as one man, then the nations which have heard of Your fame will speak, saying, 16 ‘Because the LORD was not aable to bring this people to the land which He swore to give them, there- fore He killed them in the wilder- ness.’ 17 “And now, I pray, let the power of my Lord be great, just as You have spoken, saying, 18 a‘The LORD is longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniq- uity and transgression; but He by no means clears the guilty, bvisiting the iniquity of the fathers on the 22 bJosh. 11:21, 22 23 aDeut. 1:24, 25 1Wadi 24 1Lit. Clus- ter 26 aDeut. 1:19 27 aEx. 3:8, 17; 13:5; 33:3 bDeut. 1:25 1Has an abun- dance of food 28 aDeut. 1:28; 9:1, 2 bJosh. 11:21, 22 29 aJudg. 6:3 30 aNum. 14:6, 24 31 aDeut. 1:28; 9:1–3 32 aNum. 14:36, 37 bAmos 2:9 33 aDeut. 1:28; 9:2 bIs. 40:22 c1 Sam. 17:42 1Heb. nephilim 2As mere insects CHAPTER 14 1 aDeut. 1:45 2 aEx. 16:2; 17:3 3 aDeut. 1:39 1be killed in battle 4 aNeh. 9:17 bActs 7:39 5 1prostrated themselves 7 aNum. 13:27 8 aDeut. 10:15 bNum. 13:27 9 aDeut. 1:26; 9:7, 23, 24 bDeut. 7:18 cNum. 24:8 dDeut. 20:1, 3, 4; 31:6–8 1They shall be as food for our consump- tion. 10 aEx. 17:4 bEx. 16:10 11 aHeb. 3:8 bDeut. 9:23 1despise 2miraculous signs 12 aEx. 32:10 13 aPs. 106:23 bEx. 32:12 14 aDeut. 2:25 16 aDeut. 9:28 18 aEx. 34:6, 7 bEx. 20:5

NUMBERS 14:19 132 children to the third and fourth gen- eration.’ 19 a“Pardon the iniquity of this people, I pray, baccording to the greatness of Your mercy, just cas You have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.” 20 Then the LORD said: “I have par- doned, aaccording to your word; 21 “but truly, as I live, aall the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD— 22 a“because all these men who have seen My glory and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put Me to the test now bthese ten times, and have not heeded My voice, 23 “they certainly shall not asee the land of which I 1swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it. 24 “But My servant aCaleb, because he has a different spirit in him and bhas followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it. 25 “Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valley; tomorrow turn and amove out into the wilderness by the Way of the Red Sea.” Death Sentence on the Rebels 26 And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 27 a“How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who complain against Me? bI have heard the com- plaints which the children of Israel make against Me. 28 “Say to them, a‘As I live,’ says the LORD, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you: 29 ‘The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness, aall of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from twenty years old and above. 30 a‘Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I 1swore I would make you dwell in. 31 a‘But your little ones, whom you said would be victims, I will bring in, and they shall 1know the land which byou have despised. 32 ‘But as for you, ayour1 carcasses shall fall in this wilderness. 33 ‘And your sons shall abe 1shep- herds in the wilderness bforty years, and cbear the brunt of your infidelity, until your carcasses are consumed in the wilderness. 34 a‘According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, bforty days, for each day you shall bear your 1guilt one year, namely forty years, cand you shall know My 2rejection. 35 a‘I the LORD have spoken this. I will surely do so to all bthis evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. In this wilder- ness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.’ ” 36 Now the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made all the congregation com- plain against him by bringing a bad report of the land, 37 those very men who brought the evil report about the land, adied by the plague before the LORD. 38 aBut Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive, of the men who went to spy out the land. A Futile Invasion Attempt 39 Then Moses told these words to all the children of Israel, aand the people mourned greatly. 40 And they rose early in the morning and went up to the top of the mountain, saying, a“Here we are, and we will go up to the place which the LORD has promised, for we have sinned!” 41 And Moses said, “Now why do you 1transgress the command of the LORD? For this will not succeed. 42 a“Do not go up, lest you be defeated by your enemies, for the LORD is not among you. 43 “For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and you shall fall by the sword; abecause you have turned away from the LORD, the LORD will not be with you.” 44 aBut they presumed to go up to the mountaintop.

we are, and we will go up to the place which the LORD has promised, for we have sinned!” 41 And Moses said, “Now why do you 1transgress the command of the LORD? For this will not succeed. 42 a“Do not go up, lest you be defeated by your enemies, for the LORD is not among you. 43 “For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and you shall fall by the sword; abecause you have turned away from the LORD, the LORD will not be with you.” 44 aBut they presumed to go up to the mountaintop. Nevertheless, nei- ther the ark of the covenant of the LORD nor Moses departed from the camp. 45 Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who dwelt in that moun- tain came down and attacked them, and drove them back as far as aHormah. Laws of Grain and Drink Offerings 15 And the LORD spoke to Mo- ses, saying, 2 a“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you have come into the land you are to inhabit, which I am giving to you, 3 ‘and you amake an offering by fire to the LORD, a burnt offering or a sacrifice, bto fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering or cin your appoint- ed feasts, to make a dsweet1 aroma to the LORD, from the herd or the flock, 4 ‘then ahe who presents his offer- ing to the LORD shall bring ba grain offering of one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed cwith one-fourth of a hin of oil; 5 a‘and one-fourth of a hin of wine as a drink offering you shall pre- pare with the burnt offering or the sacrifice, for each blamb. 6 a‘Or for a ram you shall prepare 19 aEx. 32:32; 34:9 bPs. 51:1; 106:45 cPs. 78:38 20 aMic. 7:18–20 21 aPs. 72:19 22 aDeut. 1:35 bGen. 31:7 23 aNum. 26:65; 32:11 1solemnly promised 24 aJosh. 14:6, 8, 9 bNum. 32:12 25 aDeut. 1:40 27 aEx. 16:28 bEx. 16:12 28 aHeb. 3:16–19 29 aNum. 1:45, 46; 26:64 30 aDeut. 1:36–38 1solemnly promised 31 aDeut. 1:39 bPs. 106:24 1be ac- quainted with 32 aNum. 26:64, 65; 32:13 1You shall die. 33 aPs. 107:40 bDeut. 2:14 cEzek. 23:35 1Vg. wander- ers 34 aNum. 13:25 bEzek. 4:6 c[Heb. 4:1] 1iniquity 2opposition 35 aNum. 23:19 b1 Cor. 10:5 37 a[1 Cor. 10:10] 38 aJosh. 14:6, 10 39 aEx. 33:4 40 aDeut. 1:41–44 41 1overstep 42 aDeut. 1:42; 31:17 43 a2 Chr. 15:2 44 aDeut. 1:43 45 aNum. 21:3 CHAPTER 15 2 aLev. 23:10 3 aLev. 1:2, 3 bLev. 7:16; 22:18, 21 cLev. 23:2, 8, 12, 38 dEx. 29:18 1pleasing 4 aLev. 2:1; 6:14 bEx. 29:40 cNum. 28:5 5 aNum. 28:7, 14 bLev. 1:10; 3:6 6 aNum. 28:12, 14

133 NUMBERS 15:37 as a grain offering two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with one- third of a hin of oil; 7 ‘and as a drink offering you shall offer one-third of a hin of wine as a sweet aroma to the LORD. 8 ‘And when you prepare a young bull as a burnt offering, or as a sac- rifice to fulfill a vow, or as a apeace offering to the LORD, 9 ‘then shall be offered awith the young bull a grain offering of three- tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with half a hin of oil; 10 ‘and you shall bring as the drink offering half a hin of wine as an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the LORD. 11 a‘Thus it shall be done for each young bull, for each ram, or for each lamb or young goat. 12 ‘According to the number that you prepare, so you shall do with everyone according to their number. 13 ‘All who are native-born shall do these things in this manner, in presenting an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the LORD. 14 ‘And if a stranger 1dwells with you, or whoever is among you throughout your generations, and would present an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the LORD, just as you do, so shall he do. 15 a‘One 1ordinance shall be for you of the assembly and for the stranger who dwells with you, an ordinance forever throughout your generations; as you are, so shall the stranger be before the LORD. 16 ‘One law and one custom shall be for you and for the stranger who dwells with you.’ ” 17 Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 18 a“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you come into the land to which I bring you, 19 ‘then it will be, when you eat of athe bread of the land, that you shall offer up a heave offering to the LORD. 20 a‘You shall offer up a cake of the first of your ground meal as a heave offering; as ba heave offering of the threshing floor, so shall you offer it up. 21 ‘Of the first of your ground meal you shall give to the LORD a heave offering throughout your generations. Laws Concerning Unintentional Sin 22 a‘If you sin unintentionally, and do not observe all these command- ments which the LORD has spoken to Moses— 23 ‘all that the LORD has com- manded you by the hand of Moses, from the day the LORD gave com- mandment and onward throughout your generations— 24 ‘then it will be, aif it is uninten- tionally committed, 1without the knowledge of the congregation, that the whole congregation shall offer one young bull as a burnt offering, as a sweet aroma to the LORD, bwith its grain offering and its drink offering, according to the ordinance, and cone kid of the goats as a sin offering. 25 a‘So the priest shall make atone- ment for the whole congregation of the children of Israel, and it shall be forgiven them, for it was uninten- tional; they shall bring their offer- ing, an offering made by fire to the LORD, and their sin offering before the LORD, for their unintended sin. 26 ‘It shall be forgiven the whole congregation of the children of Israel and the stranger who dwells among them, because all the people did it unintentionally. 27 ‘And aif a person sins uninten- tionally, then he shall bring a female goat in its first year as a sin offering. 28 a‘So the priest shall make atone- ment for the person who sins unin- tentionally, when he sins uninten- tionally before the LORD, to make atonement for him; and it shall be forgiven him. 29 a‘You shall have one law for him who sins unintentionally, for him who is native-born among the chil- dren of Israel and for the stranger who dwells among them. Law Concerning Presumptuous Sin 30 a‘But the person who does any- thing 1presumptuously, whether he is native-born or a stranger, that one 2brings reproach on the LORD, and he shall be 3cut off from among his people. 31 ‘Because he has adespised the word of the LORD, and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his 1guilt shall be upon him.’ ” Penalty for Violating the Sabbath 32 Now while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, athey found

o dwells among them. Law Concerning Presumptuous Sin 30 a‘But the person who does any- thing 1presumptuously, whether he is native-born or a stranger, that one 2brings reproach on the LORD, and he shall be 3cut off from among his people. 31 ‘Because he has adespised the word of the LORD, and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his 1guilt shall be upon him.’ ” Penalty for Violating the Sabbath 32 Now while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, athey found a man gathering sticks on the Sab- bath day. 33 And those who found him gather- ing sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron, and to all the congregation. 34 They put him aunder guard, because it had not been explained what should be done to him. 35 Then the LORD said to Moses, a“The man must surely be put to death; all the congregation shall bstone him with stones outside the camp.” 36 So, as the LORD commanded Moses, all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him with stones, and he died. Tassels on Garments 37 Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 8 aLev. 7:11 9 aNum. 28:12, 14 11 aNum. 28 14 1As a resi- dent alien 15 aEx. 12:49; Num. 9:14; 15:29 1statute 18 aNum. 15:2; Deut. 26:1 19 aJosh. 5:11, 12 20 aEx. 34:26; Lev. 23:10, 14, 17; Deut. 26:2, 10; Prov. 3:9, 10 bLev. 2:14; 23:10, 16 22 aLev. 4:2 24 aLev. 4:13 bNum. 15:8–10 cLev. 4:23 1Lit. away from the eyes 25 aLev. 4:20; [Heb. 2:17] 27 aLev. 4:27–31 28 aLev. 4:35 29 aNum. 15:15 30 aNum. 14:40–44; Deut. 1:43; 17:12; Ps. 19:13; Heb. 10:26 1defi- antly, lit. with a high hand 2blasphemes 3Put to death 31 a2 Sam. 12:9; Prov. 13:13 1iniquity 32 aEx. 31:14, 15; 35:2, 3 34 aLev. 24:12 35 aEx. 31:14, 15 bLev. 24:14; Deut. 21:21; 1 Kin. 21:13; Acts 7:58

NUMBERS 15:38 134 38 “Speak to the children of Israel: Tell athem to make tassels on the cor- ners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue thread in the tassels of the corners. 39 “And you shall have the tassel, that you may look upon it and are- member all the commandments of the LORD and do them, and that you bmay not cfollow the harlotry to which your own heart and your own eyes are inclined, 40 “and that you may remember and do all My commandments, and be aholy for your God. 41 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the LORD your God.” Rebellion Against Moses and Aaron 16 Now aKorah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with bDathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men; 2 and they rose up before Moses with some of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, arepresentatives of the congregation, men of renown. 3 aThey gathered together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “You 1take too much upon your- selves, for ball the congregation is holy, every one of them, cand the LORD is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?” 4 So when Moses heard it, he afell on his face; 5 and he spoke to Korah and all his company, saying, “Tomorrow morning the LORD will show who is aHis and who is bholy,1 and will cause him to come near to Him. That one whom He chooses He will cause to ccome near to Him. 6 “Do this: Take censers, Korah and all your company; 7 “put fire in them and put incense in them before the LORD tomorrow, and it shall be that the man whom the LORD chooses is the holy one. You take too much upon yourselves, you sons of Levi!” 8 Then Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi: 9 “Is it aa small thing to you that the God of Israel has bseparated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to Himself, to do the work of the tabernacle of the LORD, and to stand before the congrega- tion to serve them; 10 “and that He has brought you near to Himself, you and all your brethren, the sons of Levi, with you? And are you seeking the priesthood also? 11 “Therefore you and all your company are gathered together against the LORD. aAnd what is Aaron that you complain against him?” 12 And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, but they said, “We will not come up! 13 “Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of aa land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that you should bkeep acting like a prince over us? 14 “Moreover ayou have not brought us into ba land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inher- itance of fields and vineyards. Will you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up!” 15 Then Moses was very angry, and said to the LORD, a“Do not 1respect their offering. bI have not taken one donkey from them, nor have I hurt one of them.” 16 And Moses said to Korah, “Tomorrow, you and all your compa- ny be present abefore the LORD— you and they, as well as Aaron. 17 “Let each take his censer and put incense in it, and each of you bring his censer before the LORD, two hun- dred and fifty censers; both you and Aaron, each with his censer.” 18 So every man took his censer, put fire in it, laid incense on it, and stood at the door of the tabernacle of meeting with Moses and Aaron. 19 And Korah gathered all the con- gregation against them at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.

all your compa- ny be present abefore the LORD— you and they, as well as Aaron. 17 “Let each take his censer and put incense in it, and each of you bring his censer before the LORD, two hun- dred and fifty censers; both you and Aaron, each with his censer.” 18 So every man took his censer, put fire in it, laid incense on it, and stood at the door of the tabernacle of meeting with Moses and Aaron. 19 And Korah gathered all the con- gregation against them at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Then athe glory of the LORD appeared to all the congregation. 20 And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 21 a“Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may bconsume them in a moment.” 22 Then they afell1 on their faces, and said, “O God, bthe God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and You be angry with all the ccongregation?” 23 So the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “Speak to the congregation, say- ing, ‘Get away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.’ ” 25 Then Moses rose and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. 26 And he spoke to the congrega- tion, saying, a“Depart now from the tents of these wicked men! Touch nothing of theirs, lest you be con- sumed in all their sins.” 27 So they got away from around the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abi- ram; and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the door of their tents, with their wives, their sons, and their little achildren. 28 And Moses said: a“By this you shall know that the LORD has sent me to do all these works, for I have not done them bof my own will. 38 aDeut. 22:12; Matt. 23:5 39 aPs. 103:18 bDeut. 29:19 cPs. 73:27; 106:39; James 4:4 40 a[Lev. 11:44, 45; Rom. 12:1; Col. 1:22; 1 Pet. 1:15, 16] CHAPTER 16 1 aEx. 6:21 bNum. 26:9; Deut. 11:6 2 aNum. 1:16; 26:9 3 aNum. 12:2; 14:2; Ps. 106:16 bEx. 19:6 cEx. 29:45 1assume too much for 4 aNum. 14:5; 20:6 5 a[2 Tim. 2:19] bLev. 21:6–8, 12 cEzek. 40:46; 44:15, 16 1set aside for His use only 9 a1 Sam. 18:23; Is. 7:13 bNum. 3:41, 45; 8:13–16; Deut. 10:8 11 aEx. 16:7, 8 13 aEx. 16:3; Num. 11:4–6 bEx. 2:14; Acts 7:27, 35 14 aNum. 14:1–4 bEx. 3:8; Lev. 20:24 15 aGen. 4:4, 5 b1 Sam. 12:3; Acts 20:33 1graciously regard 16 a1 Sam. 12:3, 7 19 aEx. 16:7, 10; Lev. 9:6, 23; Num. 14:10 21 aGen. 19:17; Jer. 51:6 bEx. 32:10; 33:5 22 aNum. 14:5 bNum. 27:16; Job 12:10; Eccl. 12:7; Heb. 12:9 cGen. 18:23–32; 20:4 1prostrated themselves 26 aGen. 19:12, 14, 15, 17 27 aEx. 20:5; Num. 26:11 28 aEx. 3:12; John 5:36 bNum. 24:13; John 5:30

135 NUMBERS 17:10 29 “If these men die naturally like all men, or if they are avisited by the common fate of all men, then the LORD has not sent me. 30 “But if the LORD creates aa new thing, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they bgo down alive into the pit, then you will understand that these men have rejected the LORD.” 31 aNow it came to pass, as he fin- ished speaking all these words, that the ground split apart under them, 32 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and aall the men with Korah, with all their goods. 33 So they and all those with them went down alive into the pit; the earth closed over them, and they perished from among the assembly. 34 Then all Israel who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, “Lest the earth swallow us up also!” 35 And aa fire came out from the LORD and consumed the two hun- dred and fifty men who were offer- ing incense. 36 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 37 “Tell Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, to pick up the censers out of the blaze, for athey are holy, and scatter the fire some distance away. 38 “The censers of athese men who sinned 1against their own souls, let them be made into hammered plates as a covering for the altar. Because they presented them before the LORD, therefore they are holy; band they shall be a sign to the chil- dren of Israel.” 39 So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers, which those who were burned up had presented, and they were hammered out as a cover- ing on the altar, 40 to be a 1memorial to the chil- dren of Israel athat no outsider, who is not a descendant of Aaron, should come near to offer incense before the LORD, that he might not become like Korah and his companions, just as the LORD had said to him through Moses. Complaints of the People 41 On the next day aall the congre- gation of the children of Israel com- plained against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the people of the LORD.” 42 Now it happened, when the con- gregation had gathered against Moses and Aaron, that they turned toward the tabernacle of meeting; and suddenly athe cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD appeared. 43 Then Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of meeting. 44 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “Get away from among this con- gregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” And they fell on their faces. 46 So Moses said to Aaron, “Take a censer and put fire in it from the altar, put incense on it, and take it quickly to the congregation and make 1atonement for them; afor wrath has gone out from the LORD. The plague has begun.” 47 Then Aaron took it as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the assembly; and already the plague had begun among the peo- ple. So he put in the incense and made atonement for the people. 48 And he stood between the dead and the living; so athe plague was stopped. 49 Now those who died in the plague were fourteen thousand seven hundred, besides those who died in the Korah incident. 50 So Aaron returned to Moses at the door of the tabernacle of meet- ing, for the plague had stopped. The Budding of Aaron’s Rod 17 And the LORD spoke to Mo- ses, saying: 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and get from them a rod from each father’s house, all their leaders according to their fathers’ houses— twelve rods. Write each man’s name on his rod. 3 “And you shall write Aaron’s name on the rod of Levi.

ue were fourteen thousand seven hundred, besides those who died in the Korah incident. 50 So Aaron returned to Moses at the door of the tabernacle of meet- ing, for the plague had stopped. The Budding of Aaron’s Rod 17 And the LORD spoke to Mo- ses, saying: 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and get from them a rod from each father’s house, all their leaders according to their fathers’ houses— twelve rods. Write each man’s name on his rod. 3 “And you shall write Aaron’s name on the rod of Levi. For there shall be one rod for the head of each father’s house. 4 “Then you shall place them in the tabernacle of meeting before athe Testimony, bwhere I meet with you. 5 “And it shall be that the rod of the man awhom I choose will blos- som; thus I will rid Myself of the complaints of the children of Israel, bwhich they make against you.” 6 So Moses spoke to the children of Israel, and each of their leaders gave him a rod apiece, for each leader according to their fathers’ houses, twelve rods; and the rod of Aaron was among their rods. 7 And Moses placed the rods before the LORD in athe tabernacle of witness. 8 Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses went into the taber- nacle of witness, and behold, the arod of Aaron, of the house of Levi, had sprouted and put forth buds, had produced blossoms and yielded ripe almonds. 9 Then Moses brought out all the rods from before the LORD to all the children of Israel; and they looked, and each man took his rod. 10 And the LORD said to Moses, “Bring aAaron’s rod back before the Testimony, to be kept bas a sign against the rebels, cthat you may put 29 aEx. 20:5; Job 35:15; Is. 10:3 30 aJob 31:3; Is. 28:21 b[Ps. 55:15] 31 aNum. 26:10; Ps. 106:17 32 aNum. 26:11; 1 Chr. 6:22, 37 35 aLev. 10:2; Num. 11:1–3; 26:10; Ps. 106:18 37 aLev. 27:28 38 aProv. 20:2; Hab. 2:10 bNum. 17:10; Ezek. 14:8 1Or at the cost of their own lives 40 aNum. 3:10; 2 Chr. 26:18 1reminder 41 aNum. 14:2; Ps. 106:25 42 aEx. 40:34 46 aLev. 10:6; Num. 18:5 1Lit. covering 48 aNum. 25:8; Ps. 106:30 CHAPTER 17 4 aEx. 25:16 bEx. 25:22; 29:42, 43; 30:36; Num. 17:7 5 aNum. 16:5 bNum. 16:11 7 aEx. 38:21; Num. 1:50, 51; 9:15; 18:2; Acts 7:44 8 a[Ezek. 17:24]; Heb. 9:4 10 aHeb. 9:4 bNum. 16:38; Deut. 9:7, 24 cNum. 17:5

NUMBERS 17:11 136 their complaints away from Me, lest they die.” 11 Thus did Moses; just as the LORD had commanded him, so he did. 12 So the children of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, “Surely we die, we perish, we all perish! 13 a“Whoever even comes near the tabernacle of the LORD must die. Shall we all utterly die?” Duties of Priests and Levites 18 Then the LORD said to Aaron: a“You and your sons and your father’s house with you shall bbear the 1iniquity related to the sanctu- ary, and you and your sons with you shall bear the iniquity associated with your priesthood. 2 “Also bring with you your brethren of the atribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may be bjoined with you and serve you while you and your sons are with you before the tabernacle of 1witness. 3 “They shall attend to your 1needs and aall the needs of the tabernacle; bbut they shall not come near the arti- cles of the sanctuary and the altar, clest they die—they and you also. 4 “They shall be joined with you and attend to the needs of the taber- nacle of meeting, for all the work of the tabernacle; abut an outsider shall not come near you. 5 “And you shall attend to athe duties of the sanctuary and the duties of the altar, bthat there may be no more wrath on the children of Israel. 6 “Behold, I Myself have ataken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel; bthey are a gift to you, given by the LORD, to do the work of the tabernacle of meeting. 7 “Therefore ayou and your sons with you shall attend to your priest- hood for everything at the altar and bbehind the veil; and you shall serve. I give your priesthood to you as a cgift for service, but the outsider who comes near shall be put to death.” Offerings for Support of the Priests 8 And the LORD spoke to Aaron: “Here, aI Myself have also given you 1charge of My heave offerings, all the holy gifts of the children of Israel; I have given them bas a por- tion to you and your sons, as an ordinance forever. 9 “This shall be yours of the most holy things reserved from the fire: every offering of theirs, every agrain offering and every bsin offering and every ctrespass offering which they render to Me, shall be most holy for you and your sons. 10 a“In a most holy place you shall eat it; every male shall eat it. It shall be holy to you. 11 “This also is yours: athe heave offering of their gift, with all the wave offerings of the children of Israel; I have given them to you, and your sons and daughters with you, as an ordinance forever. bEveryone who is 1clean in your house may eat it. 12 a“All the 1best of the oil, all the best of the new wine and the grain, btheir firstfruits which they offer to the LORD, I have given them to you. 13 “Whatever first ripe fruit is in their land, awhich they bring to the LORD, shall be yours. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it. 14 a“Every 1devoted thing in Israel shall be yours. 15 “Everything that first opens athe womb of all flesh, which they bring to the LORD, whether man or beast, shall be yours; nevertheless bthe firstborn of man you shall surely redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem. 16 “And those redeemed of the devoted things you shall redeem when one month old, aaccording to your valuation, for five shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, which is btwenty gerahs. 17 a“But the firstborn of a cow, the firstborn of a sheep, or the firstborn of a goat you shall not redeem; they are holy.

ring to the LORD, whether man or beast, shall be yours; nevertheless bthe firstborn of man you shall surely redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem. 16 “And those redeemed of the devoted things you shall redeem when one month old, aaccording to your valuation, for five shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, which is btwenty gerahs. 17 a“But the firstborn of a cow, the firstborn of a sheep, or the firstborn of a goat you shall not redeem; they are holy. bYou shall sprinkle their blood on the altar, and burn their fat as an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma to the LORD. 18 “And their flesh shall be yours, just as the awave1 breast and the right thigh are yours. 19 “All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer to the LORD, I have given to you and your sons and daughters with you as an ordinance forever; ait is a covenant of salt for- ever before the LORD with you and your descendants with you.” 20 Then the LORD said to Aaron: “You shall have ano inheritance in their land, nor shall you have any portion among them; bI am your portion and your inheritance among the children of Israel. Tithes for Support of the Levites 21 “Behold, aI have given the chil- dren of Levi all the tithes in Israel as 1an inheritance in return for the work which they perform, bthe work of the tabernacle of meeting. 22 a“Hereafter the children of Israel shall not come near the taber- nacle of meeting, blest they bear sin and die. 23 “But the Levites shall perform the work of the tabernacle of meet- ing, and they shall bear their iniq- uity; it shall be a statute forever, throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance. 24 “For the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer up as a heave 13 aNum. 1:51, 53; 18:4, 7 CHAPTER 18 1 aNum. 17:13 bEx. 28:38 1guilt 2 aNum. 1:47 bNum. 3:5–10 1testimony 3 aNum. 3:25, 31, 36 bNum. 16:40 cNum. 4:15 1service 4 aNum. 3:10 5 aLev. 24:3 bNum. 8:19; 16:46 6 aNum. 3:12, 45 bNum. 3:9 7 aNum. 3:10; 18:5 bHeb. 9:3, 6 c1 Pet. 5:2, 3 8 aLev. 6:16, 18; 7:28–34 bEx. 29:29; 40:13, 15 1custody 9 aLev. 2:2, 3; 10:12, 13 bLev. 6:25, 26 cLev. 7:7 10 aLev. 6:16, 26 11 aDeut. 18:3–5 bLev. 22:1–16 1purified 12 aEx. 23:19 bEx. 22:29 1Lit. fat 13 aEx. 22:29; 23:19; 34:26 14 aLev. 27:1–33 1consecrated 15 aEx. 13:2 bEx. 13:12–15 16 aLev. 27:6 bEx. 30:13 17 aDeut. 15:19 bLev. 3:2, 5 18 aEx. 29:26–28 1breast of the wave offering 19 a2 Chr. 13:5 20 aJosh. 13:14, 33 bEzek. 44:28 21 aLev. 27:30–33 bNum. 3:7, 8 1a possession 22 aNum. 1:51 bLev. 22:9

137 NUMBERS 19:20 offering to the LORD, I have given to the Levites 1as an inheritance; there- fore I have said to them, ‘Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.’ ” The Tithe of the Levites 25 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 26 “Speak thus to the Levites, and say to them: ‘When you take from the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them as your inheritance, then you shall offer up a heave offering of it to the LORD, aa tenth of the tithe. 27 ‘And your heave offering shall be reckoned to you as though it were the grain of the athreshing floor and as the fullness of the wine- press. 28 ‘Thus you shall also offer a heave offering to the LORD from all your tithes which you receive from the children of Israel, and you shall give the LORD’s heave offering from it to Aaron the priest. 29 ‘Of all your gifts you shall offer up every heave offering due to the LORD, from all the 1best of them, the consecrated part of them.’ 30 “Therefore you shall say to them: ‘When you have lifted up the best of it, then the rest shall be accounted to the Levites as the pro- duce of the threshing floor and as the produce of the winepress. 31 ‘You may eat it in any place, you and your households, for it is ayour 1reward for your work in the taber- nacle of meeting. 32 ‘And you shall abear no sin because of it, when you have lifted up the best of it. But you shall not bprofane the holy gifts of the chil- dren of Israel, lest you die.’ ” Laws of Purification 19 Now the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “This is the 1ordinance of the law which the LORD has com- manded, saying: ‘Speak to the chil- dren of Israel, that they bring you a red heifer without 2blemish, in which there is no adefect band on which a yoke has never come. 3 ‘You shall give it to Eleazar the priest, that he may take it aoutside the camp, and it shall be slaugh- tered before him; 4 ‘and Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his fin- ger, and asprinkle some of its blood seven times directly in front of the tabernacle of meeting. 5 ‘Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight: aits hide, its flesh, its blood, and its offal shall be burned. 6 ‘And the priest shall take acedar wood and bhyssop and scarlet, and cast them into the midst of the fire burning the heifer. 7 a‘Then the priest shall wash his clothes, he shall bathe in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp; the priest shall be unclean until evening. 8 ‘And the one who burns it shall wash his clothes in water, bathe in water, and shall be unclean until evening. 9 ‘Then a man who is clean shall gather up athe ashes of the heifer, and store them outside the camp in a clean place; and they shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel bfor the water of 1purifica- tion; it is for purifying from sin. 10 ‘And the one who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until evening. It shall be a statute forever to the children of Israel and to the stranger who dwells among them. 11 a‘He who touches the dead 1body of anyone shall be unclean seven days. 12 a‘He shall purify himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day; then he will be clean. But if he does not purify him- self on the third day and on the sev- enth day, he will not be clean. 13 ‘Whoever touches the body of anyone who has died, and adoes not purify himself, bdefiles the taberna- cle of the LORD. That person shall be cut off from Israel.

of Israel and to the stranger who dwells among them. 11 a‘He who touches the dead 1body of anyone shall be unclean seven days. 12 a‘He shall purify himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day; then he will be clean. But if he does not purify him- self on the third day and on the sev- enth day, he will not be clean. 13 ‘Whoever touches the body of anyone who has died, and adoes not purify himself, bdefiles the taberna- cle of the LORD. That person shall be cut off from Israel. He shall be unclean, because cthe water of purification was not sprinkled on him; dhis uncleanness is still on him. 14 ‘This is the law when a man dies in a tent: All who come into the tent and all who are in the tent shall be unclean seven days; 15 ‘and every aopen vessel, which has no cover fastened on it, is unclean. 16 a‘Whoever in the open field touches one who is slain by a sword or who has died, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days. 17 ‘And for an unclean person they shall take some of the aashes of the heifer burnt for purification from sin, and 1running water shall be put on them in a vessel. 18 ‘A clean person shall take ahys- sop and dip it in the water, sprinkle it on the tent, on all the vessels, on the persons who were there, or on the one who touched a bone, the slain, the dead, or a grave. 19 ‘The clean person shall sprinkle the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day; aand on the seventh day he shall purify himself, wash his clothes, and bathe in water; and at evening he shall be clean. 20 ‘But the man who is unclean and does not purify himself, that person shall be cut off from among the assembly, because he has adefiled the sanctuary of the LORD. The water of 24 1for a pos- session 26 aNeh. 10:38 27 aNum. 15:20; [2 Cor. 8:12] 29 1Lit. fat 31 a[Matt. 10:10; Luke 10:7]; 1 Cor. 9:13; [1 Tim. 5:18] 1wages 32 aLev. 19:8; 22:16; Ezek. 22:26 bLev. 22:2, 15 CHAPTER 19 2 aLev. 22:20–25 bDeut. 21:3; 1 Sam. 6:7 1statute 2defect 3 aLev. 4:12, 21; Num. 19:9; Heb. 13:11 4 aLev. 4:6; Heb. 9:13 5 aEx. 29:14; Lev. 4:11, 12; 9:11 6 aLev. 14:4, 6, 49 bEx. 12:22; 1 Kin. 4:33 7 aLev. 11:25; 15:5; 16:26, 28 9 a[Heb. 9:13, 14] bNum. 19:13, 20, 21 1Lit. impurity 11 aLev. 21:1, 11; Num. 5:2; 6:6; 9:6, 10; 31:19; Lam. 4:14; Hag. 2:13 1Lit. soul of man 12 aNum. 19:19; 31:19 13 aLev. 22:3–7 bLev. 15:31 cNum. 8:7; 19:9 dLev. 7:20; 22:3 15 aLev. 11:32; Num. 31:20 16 aNum. 19:11; 31:19 17 aNum. 19:9 1Lit. living 18 aPs. 51:7 19 aLev. 14:9 20 aNum. 19:13

NUMBERS 19:21 138 purification has not been sprinkled on him; he is unclean. 21 ‘It shall be a perpetual statute for them. He who sprinkles the water of purification shall wash his clothes; and he who touches the water of purification shall be unclean until evening. 22 a‘Whatever the unclean person touches shall be unclean; and bthe person who touches it shall be unclean until evening.’ ” Moses’ Error at Kadesh 20 Thena the children of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the Wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in bKadesh; and cMiriam died there and was buried there. 2 aNow there was no water for the congregation; bso they gathered together against Moses and Aaron. 3 And the people acontended with Moses and spoke, saying: “If only we had died bwhen our brethren died before the LORD! 4 a“Why have you brought up the assembly of the LORD into this wilderness, that we and our animals should die here? 5 “And why have you made us come up out of Egypt, to bring us to this evil place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegran- ates; nor is there any water to drink.” 6 So Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and athey 1fell on their faces. And bthe glory of the LORD appeared to them. 7 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 8 a“Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congrega- tion together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus byou shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals.” 9 So Moses took the rod afrom before the LORD as He commanded him. 10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, a“Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?” 11 Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; aand water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their ani- mals drank. 12 Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because ayou did not believe Me, to bhallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, there- fore you shall not bring this assem- bly into the land which I have given them.” 13 aThis was the water of 1Meri- bah, because the children of Israel contended with the LORD, and He was hallowed among them. Passage Through Edom Refused 14 aNow Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of bEdom. c“Thus says your brother Israel: ‘You know all the hardship that has befallen us, 15 a‘how our fathers went down to Egypt, band we dwelt in Egypt a long time, cand the Egyptians 1afflicted us and our fathers. 16 a‘When we cried out to the LORD, He heard our voice and bsent the Angel and brought us up out of Egypt; now here we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your border. 17 ‘Please alet us pass through your country.

Edom Refused 14 aNow Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of bEdom. c“Thus says your brother Israel: ‘You know all the hardship that has befallen us, 15 a‘how our fathers went down to Egypt, band we dwelt in Egypt a long time, cand the Egyptians 1afflicted us and our fathers. 16 a‘When we cried out to the LORD, He heard our voice and bsent the Angel and brought us up out of Egypt; now here we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your border. 17 ‘Please alet us pass through your country. We will not pass through fields or vineyards, nor will we drink water from wells; we will go along the King’s Highway; we will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left until we have passed through your territory.’ ” 18 Then aEdom said to him, “You shall not pass through my land, lest I come out against you with the sword.” 19 So the children of Israel said to him, “We will go by the Highway, and if I or my livestock drink any of your water, athen I will pay for it; let me only pass through on foot, noth- ing more.” 20 Then he said, a“You shall not pass through.” So Edom came out against them with many men and with a strong hand. 21 Thus Edom arefused to give Israel passage through his territory; so Israel bturned away from him. Death of Aaron 22 Now the children of Israel, the whole congregation, journeyed from aKadesh band came to Mount Hor. 23 And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in Mount Hor by the bor- der of the land of Edom, saying: 24 “Aaron shall 1be agathered to his people, for he shall not enter the land which I have given to the chil- dren of Israel, because you rebelled against My word at the water of Meribah. 25 a“Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up to Mount Hor; 26 “and strip Aaron of his gar- ments and put them on Eleazar his son; for Aaron shall be gathered to his people and die there.” 27 So Moses did just as the LORD commanded, and they went up to Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. 28 aMoses stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son; and bAaron died there on 22 aHag. 2:11–13 bLev. 15:5 CHAPTER 20 1 aNum. 13:21; 33:36 bNum. 13:26 cEx. 15:20 2 aEx. 17:1 bNum. 16:19, 42 3 aEx. 17:2 bNum. 11:1, 33; 14:37; 16:31–35, 49 4 aEx. 17:3 6 aNum. 14:5; 16:4, 22, 45 bNum. 14:10 1prostrated themselves 8 aEx. 4:17, 20; 17:5, 6 bNeh. 9:15 9 aNum. 17:10 10 aPs. 106:33 11 a[1 Cor. 10:4] 12 aDeut. 1:37; 3:26, 27; 34:5 bLev. 10:3 13 aDeut. 33:8 1Lit. Con- tention 14 aJudg. 11:16, 17 bGen. 36:31–39 cDeut. 2:4 15 aGen. 46:6 bEx. 12:40 cDeut. 26:6 1did evil to 16 aEx. 2:23; 3:7 bEx. 3:2; 14:19 17 aNum. 21:22 18 aNum. 24:18 19 aDeut. 2:6, 28 20 aJudg. 11:17 21 aDeut. 2:27, 30 bJudg. 11:18 22 aNum. 33:37 bNum. 21:4 24 aGen. 25:8 1Die and join his ancestors 25 aNum. 33:38 28 aEx. 29:29, 30 bNum. 33:38

139 NUMBERS 21:27 the top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. 29 Now when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, all the house of Israel mourned for Aaron athirty days. Canaanites Defeated at Hormah 21 The aking of Arad, the Ca- naanite, who dwelt in the South, heard that Israel was coming on the road to Atharim. Then he fought against Israel and took some of them prisoners. 2 aSo Israel made a vow to the LORD, and said, “If You will indeed deliver this people into my hand, then bI will utterly destroy their cities.” 3 And the LORD listened to the voice of Israel and delivered up the Canaanites, and they utterly destroyed them and their cities. So the name of that place was called 1Hormah. The Bronze Serpent 4 Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to ago around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very 1dis- couraged on the way. 5 And the people aspoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul 1loathes this worthless bread.” 6 So athe LORD sent bfiery ser- pents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the peo- ple of Israel died. 7 aTherefore the people came to Moses, and said, “We have bsinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you; cpray to the LORD that He take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8 Then the LORD said to Moses, a“Make a bfiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that every- one who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.” 9 So aMoses made a bronze ser- pent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze ser- pent, he lived. From Mount Hor to Moab 10 Now the children of Israel moved on and acamped in Oboth. 11 And they journeyed from Oboth and camped at 1Ije Abarim, in the wilderness which is east of Moab, toward the sunrise. 12 aFrom there they moved and camped in the Valley of Zered. 13 From there they moved and camped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness that extends from the border of the Amo- rites; for athe Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amor- ites. 14 Therefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of the LORD: 1“Waheb in Suphah, The brooks of the Arnon, 15 And the slope of the brooks That reaches to the dwelling of aAr, And lies on the border of Moab.” 16 From there they went ato Beer, which is the well where the LORD said to Moses, “Gather the people together, and I will give them water.” 17 aThen Israel sang this song: “Spring up, O well! All of you sing to it— 18 The well the leaders sank, Dug by the nation’s nobles, By the alawgiver, with their staves.” And from the wilderness they went to Mattanah, 19 from Mattanah to Nahaliel, from Nahaliel to Bamoth, 20 and from Bamoth, in the valley that is in the 1country of Moab, to the top of Pisgah which looks adown on the 2wasteland. King Sihon Defeated 21 Then aIsrael sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, 22 a“Let me pass through your land. We will not turn aside into fields or vineyards; we will not drink water from wells.

by the nation’s nobles, By the alawgiver, with their staves.” And from the wilderness they went to Mattanah, 19 from Mattanah to Nahaliel, from Nahaliel to Bamoth, 20 and from Bamoth, in the valley that is in the 1country of Moab, to the top of Pisgah which looks adown on the 2wasteland. King Sihon Defeated 21 Then aIsrael sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, 22 a“Let me pass through your land. We will not turn aside into fields or vineyards; we will not drink water from wells. We will go by the King’s Highway until we have passed through your territory.” 23 aBut Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his territory. So Sihon gathered all his people together and 1went out against Israel in the wilderness, band he came to Jahaz and fought against Israel. 24 Then aIsrael defeated him with the edge of the sword, and took pos- session of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as the people of Ammon; for the border of the peo- ple of Ammon was fortified. 25 So Israel took all these cities, and Israel adwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon and in all its villages. 26 For Heshbon was the city of Sihon king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and had taken all his land from his hand as far as the Arnon. 27 Therefore those who speak in 1proverbs say: “Come to Heshbon, let it be built; Let the city of Sihon be repaired. 29 aGen. 50:3, 10; Deut. 34:8 CHAPTER 21 1 aNum. 33:40; Josh. 12:14; Judg. 1:16 2 aGen. 28:20; Judg. 11:30 bDeut. 2:34 3 1Lit. Utter Destruction 4 aJudg. 11:18 1impatient 5 aNum. 20:4, 5 1detests 6 a1 Cor. 10:9 bDeut. 8:15 7 aNum. 11:2; Ps. 78:34; Is. 26:16; Hos. 5:15 bLev. 26:40 cEx. 8:8; 1 Sam. 12:19; 1 Kin. 13:6; Acts 8:24 8 a[John 3:14, 15] bIs. 14:29; 30:6 9 a2 Kin. 18:4; John 3:14, 15 10 aNum. 33:43, 44 11 1Lit. The Heaps of Abarim 12 aDeut. 2:13 13 aNum. 22:36; Judg. 11:18 14 1Ancient unknown places; Vg. What He did in the Red Sea 15 aNum. 21:28; Deut. 2:9, 18, 29 16 aJudg. 9:21 17 aEx. 15:1 18 aIs. 33:22 20 aNum. 23:28 1Lit. field 2Heb. Jeshi- mon 21 aNum. 32:33; Deut. 2:26–37; Judg. 11:19 22 aNum. 20:16, 17 23 aDeut. 29:7 bDeut. 2:32; Judg. 11:20 1attacked 24 aDeut. 2:33; Josh. 12:1; Neh. 9:22; Ps. 135:10; 136:19; Amos 2:9 25 aAmos 2:10 27 1parables

NUMBERS 21:28 140 28 “For afire went out from Heshbon, A flame from the city of Sihon; It consumed bAr of Moab, The lords of the cheights of the Arnon. 29 Woe to you, aMoab! You have perished, O people of bChemosh! He has given his csons as fugitives, And his ddaughters into captivity, To Sihon king of the Amorites. 30 “But we have shot at them; Heshbon has perished aas far as Dibon. Then we laid waste as far as Nophah, Which reaches to bMedeba.” 31 Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites. 32 Then Moses sent to 1spy out aJazer; and they took its villages and drove out the Amorites who were there. King Og Defeated 33 aAnd they turned and went up by the way to bBashan. So Og king of Bashan went out against them, he and all his people, to battle cat Edrei. 34 Then the LORD said to Moses, a“Do not fear him, for I have 1deliv- ered him into your hand, with all his people and his land; and byou shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Hesh- bon.” 35 aSo they defeated him, his sons, and all his people, until there was no survivor left him; and they took possession of his land. Balak Sends for Balaam 22 Then athe children of Israel moved, and camped in the plains of Moab on the side of the Jordan across from Jericho. 2 Now aBalak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. 3 And aMoab was exceedingly afraid of the people because they were many, and Moab was sick with dread because of the children of Israel. 4 So Moab said to athe elders of Midian, “Now this company will 1lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.” And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time. 5 Then ahe sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor at bPethor, which is near 1the River in the land of 2the sons of his people, to call him, saying: “Look, a people has come from Egypt. See, they cover the face of the earth, and are set- tling next to me! 6 a“Therefore please come at once, bcurse this people for me, for they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.” 7 So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with athe diviner’s fee in their hand, and they came to Balaam and spoke to him the words of Balak. 8 And he said to them, a“Lodge here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, as the LORD speaks to me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam. 9 aThen God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?” 10 So Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, saying, 11 ‘Look, a people has come out of Egypt, and they cover the face of the earth. Come now, curse them for me; perhaps I shall be able to over- power them and drive them out.’ ” 12 And God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for athey are blessed.” 13 So Balaam rose in the morning and said to the princes of Balak, “Go back to your land, for the LORD has refused to give me permission to go with you.” 14 And the princes of Moab rose and went to Balak, and said, “Ba- laam refuses to come with us.” 15 Then Balak again sent princes, more numerous and more 1honor- able than they. 16 And they came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: ‘Please let nothing hinder you from coming to me; 17 ‘for I will certainly ahonor you greatly, and I will do whatever you say to me.

the princes of Balak, “Go back to your land, for the LORD has refused to give me permission to go with you.” 14 And the princes of Moab rose and went to Balak, and said, “Ba- laam refuses to come with us.” 15 Then Balak again sent princes, more numerous and more 1honor- able than they. 16 And they came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: ‘Please let nothing hinder you from coming to me; 17 ‘for I will certainly ahonor you greatly, and I will do whatever you say to me. bTherefore please come, curse this people for me.’ ” 18 Then Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, a“Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, bI could not go beyond the word of the LORD my God, to do less or more. 19 “Now therefore, please, you also astay here tonight, that I may know what more the LORD will say to me.” 20 aAnd God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men come to call you, rise and go with them; but bonly the word which I speak to you—that you shall do.” 21 So Balaam rose in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab. Balaam, the Donkey, and the Angel 22 Then God’s anger was aroused because he went, aand the Angel of the LORD took His stand in the way 28 aJer. 48:45, 46 bDeut. 2:9, 18; Is. 15:1 cNum. 22:41; 33:52 29 aJer. 48:46 bJudg. 11:24; 1 Kin. 11:33; 2 Kin. 23:13 cIs. 15:2, 5 dIs. 16:2 30 aNum. 32:3, 34; Jer. 48:18, 22 bIs. 15:2 32 aNum. 32:1, 3, 35; Jer. 48:32 1se- cretly search 33 aDeut. 29:7 bDeut. 3:1 cJosh. 13:12 34 aDeut. 3:2 bNum. 21:24; Ps. 135:10; 136:20 1given you victory over him 35 aDeut. 3:3, 4; 29:7; Josh. 13:12 CHAPTER 22 1 aNum. 33:48, 49 2 aJosh. 24:9; Judg. 11:25; Mic. 6:5; Rev. 2:14 3 aEx. 15:15 4 aNum. 25:15–18; 31:1–3; Josh. 13:21 1con- sume 5 aNum. 31:8, 16; Deut. 23:4; Josh. 13:22; 24:9; Neh. 13:1, 2; Mic. 6:5; 2 Pet. 2:15; Jude 11; Rev. 2:14 bDeut. 23:4 1The Euphrates 2Or the people of Amau 6 aNum. 22:17; 23:7, 8 bNum. 22:12; 24:9 7 a1 Sam. 9:7, 8 8 aNum. 22:19 9 aGen. 20:3 12 aNum. 23:20; [Rom. 11:28] 15 1distin- guished 17 aNum. 24:11 bNum. 22:6 18 aNum. 22:38; 24:13 b1 Kin. 22:14; 2 Chr. 18:13 19 aNum. 22:8 20 aNum. 22:9 bNum. 22:35; 23:5, 12, 16, 26; 24:13 22 aEx. 4:24

141 NUMBERS 23:10 as an adversary against him. And he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23 Now athe donkey saw the Angel of the LORD standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand, and the donkey turned aside out of the way and went into the field. So Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back onto the road. 24 Then the Angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a wall on that side. 25 And when the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD, she pushed her- self against the wall and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall; so he struck her again. 26 Then the Angel of the LORD went further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. 27 And when the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam’s anger was aroused, and he struck the don- key with his staff. 28 Then the LORD aopened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” 29 And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have 1abused me. I wish there were a sword in my hand, afor now I would kill you!” 30 aSo the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden, ever since I became yours, to this day? Was I ever 1disposed to do this to you?” And he said, “No.” 31 Then the LORD aopened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the Angel of the LORD standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand; and he bowed his head and fell flat on his face. 32 And the Angel of the LORD said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out 1to stand against you, because your way is aperverse2 before Me. 33 “The donkey saw Me and turned aside from Me these three times. If she had not turned aside from Me, surely I would also have killed you by now, and let her live.” 34 And Balaam said to the Angel of the LORD, a“I have sinned, for I did not know You stood in the way against me. Now therefore, if it 1dis- pleases You, I will turn back.” 35 Then the Angel of the LORD said to Balaam, “Go with the men, abut only the word that I speak to you, that you shall speak.” So Balaam went with the princes of Balak. 36 Now when Balak heard that Ba- laam was coming, ahe went out to meet him at the city of Moab, bwhich is on the border at the Arnon, the boundary of the territory. 37 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not earnestly send to you, calling for you? Why did you not come to me? Am I not able ato honor you?” 38 And Balaam said to Balak, “Look, I have come to you! Now, have I any power at all to say any- thing?

e word that I speak to you, that you shall speak.” So Balaam went with the princes of Balak. 36 Now when Balak heard that Ba- laam was coming, ahe went out to meet him at the city of Moab, bwhich is on the border at the Arnon, the boundary of the territory. 37 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not earnestly send to you, calling for you? Why did you not come to me? Am I not able ato honor you?” 38 And Balaam said to Balak, “Look, I have come to you! Now, have I any power at all to say any- thing? aThe word that God puts in my mouth, that I must speak.” 39 So Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kirjath Huzoth. 40 Then Balak offered oxen and sheep, and he sent some to Balaam and to the princes who were with him. Balaam’s First Prophecy 41 So it was, the next day, that Balak took Balaam and brought him up to the ahigh places of Baal, that from there he might observe 1the extent of the people. 23 Then Balaam said to Balak, a“Build seven altars for me here, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” 2 And Balak did just as Balaam had spoken, and Balak and Balaam aoffered a bull and a ram on each altar. 3 Then Balaam said to Balak, a“Stand by your burnt offering, and I will go; perhaps the LORD will come bto meet me, and whatever He shows me I will tell you.” So he went to a desolate height. 4 aAnd God met Balaam, and he said to Him, “I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.” 5 Then the LORD aput a word in Balaam’s mouth, and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” 6 So he returned to him, and there he was, standing by his burnt offer- ing, he and all the princes of Moab. 7 And he atook up his 1oracle and said: “Balak the king of Moab has brought me from Aram, From the mountains of the east. b‘Come, curse Jacob for me, And come, cdenounce Israel!’ 8 “Howa shall I curse whom God has not cursed? And how shall I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? 9 For from the top of the rocks I see him, And from the hills I behold him; There! aA people dwelling alone, bNot reckoning itself among the nations. 10 “Whoa can count the 1dust of Jacob, 23 aJosh. 5:13; 2 Kin. 6:17; Dan. 10:7; Acts 22:9 28 a2 Pet. 2:16 29 a[Prov. 12:10; Matt. 15:19] 1mocked 30 a2 Pet. 2:16 1accustomed 31 aGen. 21:19; 2 Kin. 6:17; Luke 24:16, 31 32 a[2 Pet. 2:14, 15] 1as an adversary 2contrary 34 a1 Sam. 15:24, 30; 26:21; 2 Sam. 12:13 1Lit. is evil in your eyes 35 aNum. 22:20 36 aGen. 14:17 bNum. 21:13 37 aNum. 22:17; 24:11 38 aNum. 23:26; 24:13; 1 Kin. 22:14; 2 Chr. 18:13 41 aNum. 21:28; Deut. 12:2 1the far- thest extent CHAPTER 23 1 aNum. 23:29 2 aNum. 23:14, 30 3 aNum. 23:15 bNum. 23:4, 16 4 aNum. 23:16 5 aNum. 22:20, 35, 38; 23:16; Deut. 18:18; Jer. 1:9 7 aDeut. 23:4; Job 27:1; 29:1; Ps. 78:2 bNum. 22:6, 11, 17 c1 Sam. 17:10 1prophetic discourse 8 aNum. 22:12 9 aDeut. 32:8; 33:28; Josh. 11:23 bEx. 33:16; Ezra 9:2; [Eph. 2:14] 10 aGen. 13:16; 22:17; 28:14; 2 Chr. 1:9 1Or dust cloud

NUMBERS 23:11 142 Or number one-fourth of Israel? Let me die bthe death of the righteous, And let my end be like his!” 11 Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? aI took you to curse my enemies, and look, you have blessed them bountifully!” 12 So he answered and said, a“Must I not take heed to speak what the LORD has put in my mouth?” Balaam’s Second Prophecy 13 Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place from which you may see them; you shall see only the outer part of them, and shall not see them all; curse them for me from there.” 14 So he brought him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, aand built seven altars, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 15 And he said to Balak, “Stand here by your burnt offering while I 1meet the LORD over there.” 16 Then the LORD met Balaam, and aput a word in his mouth, and said, “Go back to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” 17 So he came to him, and there he was, standing by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab were with him. And Balak said to him, “What has the LORD spoken?” 18 Then he took up his oracle and said: a“Rise up, Balak, and hear! Listen to me, son of Zippor! 19 “Goda is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He bsaid, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? 20 Behold, I have received a command to bless; aHe has blessed, and I cannot reverse it. 21 “Hea has not observed iniquity in Jacob, Nor has He seen 1wickedness in Israel. The LORD his God is with him, bAnd the shout of a King is among them. 22 aGod brings them out of Egypt; He has bstrength like a wild ox. 23 “For there is no 1sorcery against Jacob, Nor any 2divination against Israel. It now must be said of Jacob And of Israel, ‘Oh, awhat God has done!’ 24 Look, a people rises alike a lioness, And lifts itself up like a lion; bIt shall not lie down until it devours the prey, And drinks the blood of the slain.” 25 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all!” 26 So Balaam answered and said to Balak, “Did I not tell you, saying, a‘All that the LORD speaks, that I must do’?” Balaam’s Third Prophecy 27 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Please come, I will take you to another place; perhaps it will please God that you may curse them for me from there.” 28 So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, that aoverlooks the 1waste- land. 29 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me here seven altars, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” 30 And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on every altar. 24 Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he did not go as at aother times, to seek to use 1sorcery, but he set his face toward the wilderness. 2 And Balaam raised his eyes, and saw Israel aencamped according to their tribes; and bthe Spirit of God came upon him. 3 aThen he took up his oracle and said: “The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor, The utterance of the man whose eyes are opened, 4 The utterance of him who hears the words of God, Who sees the vision of the Almighty, Who afalls down, with eyes wide open: 5 “How lovely are your tents, O Jacob! Your dwellings, O Israel! 6 Like valleys that stretch out, Like gardens by the riverside, aLike aloes bplanted by the LORD, Like cedars beside the waters. 7 He shall pour water from his buckets, And his seed shall be ain many waters. “His king shall be higher than bAgag, And his ckingdom shall be exalted. 10 bPs.116:15 11 aNum. 22:11 12 aNum. 22:38 14 aNum. 23:1, 2 15 1So with MT, Tg., Vg.; Syr. call; LXX go and ask God 16 aNum. 22:35; 23:5 18 aJudg. 3:20 19 a1 Sam. 15:29; Mal. 3:6; James 1:17 bNum. 11:23; 1 Kin. 8:56 20 aGen. 12:2; 22:17; Num. 22:12 21 aPs. 32:2; [Rom. 4:7, 8] bPs. 89:15–18 1trouble 22 aNum. 24:8 bDeut. 33:17; Job 39:10 23 aPs. 31:19; 44:1 1enchant- ment 2fortune- telling 24 aGen. 49:9 bGen. 49:27; Josh. 11:23 26 aNum. 22:38 28 aNum. 21:20 1Heb. Jeshi- mon CHAPTER 24 1 aNum.

ed. 10 bPs.116:15 11 aNum. 22:11 12 aNum. 22:38 14 aNum. 23:1, 2 15 1So with MT, Tg., Vg.; Syr. call; LXX go and ask God 16 aNum. 22:35; 23:5 18 aJudg. 3:20 19 a1 Sam. 15:29; Mal. 3:6; James 1:17 bNum. 11:23; 1 Kin. 8:56 20 aGen. 12:2; 22:17; Num. 22:12 21 aPs. 32:2; [Rom. 4:7, 8] bPs. 89:15–18 1trouble 22 aNum. 24:8 bDeut. 33:17; Job 39:10 23 aPs. 31:19; 44:1 1enchant- ment 2fortune- telling 24 aGen. 49:9 bGen. 49:27; Josh. 11:23 26 aNum. 22:38 28 aNum. 21:20 1Heb. Jeshi- mon CHAPTER 24 1 aNum. 23:3, 15 1enchant- ments 2 aNum. 2:2, 34 bNum. 11:25; 1 Sam. 10:10; 19:20, 23; 2 Chr. 15:1 3 aNum. 23:7, 18 4 aEzek. 1:28 6 aPs. 1:3; Jer. 17:8 bPs. 104:16 7 aJer. 51:13; Rev. 17:1, 15 b1 Sam. 15:8, 9 c2 Sam. 5:12; 1 Chr. 14:2

143 NUMBERS 25:8 8 “Goda brings him out of Egypt; He has strength like a wild ox; He shall bconsume the nations, his enemies; He shall cbreak their bones And dpierce them with his arrows. 9 ‘Hea bows down, he lies down as a lion; And as a lion, who shall rouse him?’ b“Blessed is he who blesses you, And cursed is he who curses you.” 10 Then Balak’s anger was aroused against Balaam, and he astruck his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, b“I called you to curse my enemies, and look, you have bounti- fully blessed them these three times! 11 “Now therefore, flee to your place. aI said I would greatly honor you, but in fact, the LORD has kept you back from honor.” 12 So Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not also speak to your messengers whom you sent to me, saying, 13 ‘If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the LORD, to do good or bad of my own will. What the LORD says, that I must speak’? 14 “And now, indeed, I am going to my people. Come, aI will advise you what this people will do to your peo- ple in the blatter days.” Balaam’s Fourth Prophecy 15 So he took up his oracle and said: “The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor, And the utterance of the man whose eyes are opened; 16 The utterance of him who hears the words of God, And has the knowledge of the Most High, Who sees the vision of the Almighty, Who falls down, with eyes wide open: 17 “Ia see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; bA Star shall come out of Jacob; cA Scepter shall rise out of Israel, And 1batter the brow of Moab, And destroy all the sons of 2tumult. 18 “And aEdom shall be a possession; Seir also, his enemies, shall be a possession, While Israel does 1valiantly. 19 aOut of Jacob One 1shall have dominion, And destroy the remains of the city.” 20 Then he looked on Amalek, and he took up his oracle and said: “Amalek was first among the nations, But shall be last until he perishes.” 21 Then he looked on the Kenites, and he took up his oracle and said: “Firm is your dwelling place, And your nest is set in the rock; 22 Nevertheless Kain shall be burned. How long until Asshur carries you away captive?” 23 Then he took up his oracle and said: “Alas! Who shall live when God does this? 24 But ships shall come from the coasts of aCyprus,1 And they shall afflict Asshur and afflict bEber, And so shall 2Amalek, until he perishes.” 25 So Balaam rose and departed and areturned to his place; Balak also went his way. Israel’s Harlotry in Moab 25 Now Israel remained in aAca- cia Grove,1 and the bpeople began to commit harlotry with the women of Moab. 2 aThey invited the people to bthe sacrifices of their gods, and the peo- ple ate and cbowed down to their gods. 3 So Israel was joined to Baal of Peor, and athe anger of the LORD was aroused against Israel. 4 Then the LORD said to Moses, a“Take all the leaders of the people and hang the offenders before the LORD, out in the sun, bthat the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel.” 5 So Moses said to athe judges of Israel, b“Every one of you kill his men who were joined to Baal of Peor.” 6 And indeed, one of the children of Israel came and presented to his brethren a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, awho were weeping at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 7 Now awhen Phinehas bthe son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose from among the congregation and took a javelin in his hand; 8 and he went after the man of 8 aNum. 23:22 bNum. 14:9; 23:24 cPs. 2:9; Jer. 50:17 dPs. 45:5 9 aGen. 49:9; Num. 23:24 bGen. 12:3; 27:29 10 aEzek. 21:14, 17 bNum. 23:11; Neh. 13:2 11 aNum. 22:17, 37 14 a[Mic. 6:5] bGen. 49:1; Deut. 4:30; Dan. 2:28 17 aRev. 1:7; Matt. 1:2; Luke 3:34 bMatt. 2:2 cGen. 49:10 1shatter the forehead 2Heb. Sheth, Jer. 48:45 18 a2 Sam. 8:14 1mightily 19 aGen. 49:10; Amos 9:11, 12 1shall rule 24 aGen. 10:4; Ezek. 27:6; Dan. 11:30 bGen. 10:21, 25 1Heb. Kit- tim 2Lit.

hand; 8 and he went after the man of 8 aNum. 23:22 bNum. 14:9; 23:24 cPs. 2:9; Jer. 50:17 dPs. 45:5 9 aGen. 49:9; Num. 23:24 bGen. 12:3; 27:29 10 aEzek. 21:14, 17 bNum. 23:11; Neh. 13:2 11 aNum. 22:17, 37 14 a[Mic. 6:5] bGen. 49:1; Deut. 4:30; Dan. 2:28 17 aRev. 1:7; Matt. 1:2; Luke 3:34 bMatt. 2:2 cGen. 49:10 1shatter the forehead 2Heb. Sheth, Jer. 48:45 18 a2 Sam. 8:14 1mightily 19 aGen. 49:10; Amos 9:11, 12 1shall rule 24 aGen. 10:4; Ezek. 27:6; Dan. 11:30 bGen. 10:21, 25 1Heb. Kit- tim 2Lit. he or that one 25 aNum. 21:34; 31:8 CHAPTER 25 1 aNum. 33:49; Josh. 2:1 bRev. 2:14 1Heb. Shittim 2 aJosh. 22:17; Hos. 9:10 bEx. 34:15; Deut. 32:38; 1 Cor. 10:20 cEx. 20:5 3 aPs. 106:28, 29 4 aDeut. 4:3 bNum. 25:11; Deut. 13:17 5 aEx. 18:21 bDeut. 13:6, 9 6 aJoel 2:17 7 aPs. 106:30 bEx. 6:25

NUMBERS 25:9 144 Israel into the tent and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her body. So athe plague was bstopped among the children of Israel. 9 And athose who died in the plague were twenty-four thousand. 10 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 11 a“Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned back My wrath from the chil- dren of Israel, because he was zeal- ous with My zeal among them, so that I did not consume the children of Israel in bMy zeal. 12 “Therefore say, a‘Behold, I give to him My bcovenant of peace; 13 ‘and it shall be to him and ahis descendants after him a covenant of ban everlasting priesthood, because he was czealous for his God, and dmade 1atonement for the children of Israel.’ ” 14 Now the name of the Israelite who was killed, who was killed with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, a leader of a father’s house among the Simeonites. 15 And the name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi the daughter of aZur; he was head of the people of a father’s house in Midian. 16 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 17 a“Harass the Midianites, and 1attack them; 18 “for they harassed you with their aschemes1 by which they seduced you in the matter of Peor and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of a leader of Midian, their sister, who was killed in the day of the plague because of Peor.” The Second Census of Israel 26 And it came to pass, after the aplague, that the LORD spoke to Moses and Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, saying: 2 a“Take a census of all the con- gregation of the children of Israel bfrom twenty years old and above, by their fathers’ houses, all who are able to go to war in Israel.” 3 So Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them ain the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho, saying: 4 “Take a census of the people from twenty years old and above, just as the LORD acommanded Moses and the children of Israel who came out of the land of Egypt.” 5 aReuben was the firstborn of Israel. The children of Reuben were: of Hanoch, the family of the Hanochites; of Pallu, the family of the Palluites; 6 of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites; of Carmi, the family of the Carmites. 7 These are the families of the Reubenites: those who were num- bered of them were forty-three thousand seven hundred and thirty. 8 And the son of Pallu was Eliab. 9 The sons of Eliab were Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram.

children of Israel who came out of the land of Egypt.” 5 aReuben was the firstborn of Israel. The children of Reuben were: of Hanoch, the family of the Hanochites; of Pallu, the family of the Palluites; 6 of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites; of Carmi, the family of the Carmites. 7 These are the families of the Reubenites: those who were num- bered of them were forty-three thousand seven hundred and thirty. 8 And the son of Pallu was Eliab. 9 The sons of Eliab were Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. These are the Dathan and Abiram, arepresenta- tives of the congregation, who contended against Moses and Aaron in the company of Korah, when they contended against the LORD; 10 aand the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up together with Korah when that company died, when the fire devoured two hundred and fifty men; band they became a sign. 11 Nevertheless athe children of Korah did not die. 12 The sons of Simeon according to their families were: of 1Nemuel, the family of the Nemuelites; of Jamin, the family of the Jaminites; of 2Jachin, the family of the Jachinites; 13 of 1Zerah, the family of the Zarhites; of Shaul, the family of the Shaulites. 14 These are the families of the Simeonites: twenty-two thousand two hundred. 15 The sons of Gad according to their families were: of 1Zephon, the family of the Zephonites; of Haggi, the family of the Haggites; of Shuni, the family of the Shunites; 16 of 1Ozni, the family of the Oznites; of Eri, the family of the Erites; 17 of 1Arod, the family of the Aro- dites; of Areli, the family of the Are- lites. 18 These are the families of the sons of Gad according to those who were numbered of them: forty thou- sand five hundred. 19 aThe sons of Judah were Er and Onan; and Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. 20 And athe sons of Judah accord- ing to their families were: of Shelah, the family of the Shelanites; of Perez, the family of the Parzites; of Zerah, the family of the Zarhites. 21 And the sons of Perez were: of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites; of Hamul, the family of the Hamulites. 22 These are the families of Judah according to those who were num- bered of them: seventy-six thousand five hundred. 23 The sons of Issachar according to their families were: of Tola, the family of the Tolaites; of 1Puah, the family of the 2Punites; 24 of 1Jashub, the family of the Jashubites; of Shimron, the family of the Shimronites. 25 These are the families of Issachar according to those who were numbered of them: sixty-four thousand three hundred. 26 aThe sons of Zebulun according 8 aPs. 106:30 bNum. 16:46–48 9 aDeut. 4:3 11 aPs. 106:30 b[Ex. 20:5]; Deut. 32:16, 21; 1 Kin. 14:22; Ps. 78:58; Ezek. 16:38 12 a[Mal. 2:4, 5; 3:1] bIs. 54:10; Ezek. 34:25; 37:26; Mal. 2:5 13 a1 Chr. 6:4 bEx. 40:15 cActs 22:3; Rom. 10:2 d[Heb. 2:17] 1Lit. covering 15 aNum. 31:8; Josh. 13:21 17 aNum. 31:1–3 1be hostile toward 18 aNum. 31:16; Rev. 2:14 1tricks CHAPTER 26 1 aNum. 25:9 2 aEx. 30:12; 38:25, 26; Num. 1:2; 14:29 bNum. 1:3 3 aNum. 22:1; 31:12; 33:48; 35:1 4 aNum. 1:1 5 aGen. 46:8; Ex. 6:14; 1 Chr. 5:1–3 9 aNum. 1:16; 16:1, 2 10 aNum. 16:32–35 bNum. 16:38–40; 1 Cor. 10:6; 2 Pet. 2:6 11 aEx. 6:24; 1 Chr. 6:22, 23 12 1Jemuel, Gen. 46:10; Ex. 6:15 2Jarib, 1 Chr. 4:24 13 1Zohar, Gen. 46:10 15 1Ziphion, Gen. 46:16 16 1Ezbon, Gen. 46:16 17 1Sam., Syr. Arodi and Gen. 46:16 19 aGen. 38:2; 46:12 20 a1 Chr. 2:3 23 1So with Sam., LXX, Syr., Vg.; Heb. Puvah, Gen. 46:13; 1 Chr. 7:1 2Sam., LXX, Syr., Vg. Puaites 24 1Job, Gen. 46:13 26 aGen. 46:14

145 NUMBERS 26:62 to their families were: of Sered, the family of the Sardites; of Elon, the family of the Elonites; of Jahleel, the family of the Jahleelites. 27 These are the families of the Zebulunites according to those who were numbered of them: sixty thou- sand five hundred. 28 aThe sons of Joseph according to their families, by Manasseh and Ephraim, were: 29 The sons of aManasseh: of bMachir, the family of the Machirites; and Machir begot Gilead; of Gilead, the family of the Gileadites. 30 These are the sons of Gilead: of 1Jeezer, the family of the Jeezerites; of Helek, the family of the Helekites; 31 of Asriel, the family of the Asrielites; of Shechem, the family of the Shechemites; 32 of Shemida, the family of the Shemidaites; of Hepher, the family of the Hepherites. 33 Now aZelophehad the son of Hepher had no sons, but daughters; and the names of the daughters of Zelophehad were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 34 These are the families of Manas- seh; and those who were numbered of them were fifty-two thousand seven hundred. 35 These are the sons of Ephraim according to their families: of Shuthelah, the family of the Shuthal- hites; of 1Becher, the family of the Bachrites; of Tahan, the family of the Tahanites. 36 And these are the sons of Shuthelah: of Eran, the family of the Eranites. 37 These are the families of the sons of Ephraim according to those who were numbered of them: thirty- two thousand five hundred. These are the sons of Joseph according to their families. 38 aThe sons of Benjamin accord- ing to their families were: of Bela, the family of the Belaites; of Ashbel, the family of the Ashbelites; of bAhi- ram, the family of the Ahiramites; 39 of aShupham,1 the family of the Shuphamites; of 2Hupham, the fam- ily of the Huphamites. 40 And the sons of Bela were 1Ard and Naaman: aof Ard, the family of the Ardites; of Naaman, the family of the Naamites. 41 These are the sons of Benjamin according to their families; and those who were numbered of them were forty-five thousand six hundred. 42 These are the sons of Dan according to their families: of 1Shuham, the family of the Shuham- ites. These are the families of Dan according to their families. 43 All the families of the Shuham- ites, according to those who were numbered of them, were sixty-four thousand four hundred. 44 aThe sons of Asher according to their families were: of Jimna, the family of the Jimnites; of Jesui, the family of the Jesuites; of Beriah, the family of the Beriites. 45 Of the sons of Beriah: of Heber, the family of the Heberites; of Mal- chiel, the family of the Malchielites. 46 And the name of the daughter of Asher was Serah. 47 These are the families of the sons of Asher according to those who were numbered of them: fifty- three thousand four hundred. 48 aThe sons of Naphtali according to their families were: of 1Jahzeel, the family of the Jahzeelites; of Guni, the family of the Gunites; 49 of Jezer, the family of the Jezerites; of aShillem, the family of the Shillemites. 50 These are the families of Naph- tali according to their families; and those who were numbered of them were forty-five thousand four hun- dred. 51 aThese are those who were numbered of the children of Israel: six hundred and one thousand seven hundred and thirty. 52 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 53 a“To these the land shall be bdi- vided as an inheritance, according to the number of names. 54 a“To a large tribe you shall give a larger inheritance, and to a small tribe you shall give a smaller inher- itance.

ies of Naph- tali according to their families; and those who were numbered of them were forty-five thousand four hun- dred. 51 aThese are those who were numbered of the children of Israel: six hundred and one thousand seven hundred and thirty. 52 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 53 a“To these the land shall be bdi- vided as an inheritance, according to the number of names. 54 a“To a large tribe you shall give a larger inheritance, and to a small tribe you shall give a smaller inher- itance. Each shall be given its inher- itance according to those who were numbered of them. 55 “But the land shall be adivided by lot; they shall inherit according to the names of the tribes of their fathers. 56 “According to the lot their inher- itance shall be divided between the larger and the smaller.” 57 aAnd these are those who were numbered of the Levites according to their families: of Gershon, the family of the Gershonites; of Kohath, the family of the Kohathites; of Me- rari, the family of the Merarites. 58 These are the families of the Le- vites: the family of the Libnites, the family of the Hebronites, the family of the Mahlites, the family of the Mushites, and the family of the Ko- rathites. And Kohath begot Amram. 59 The name of Amram’s wife was aJochebed the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt; and to Amram she bore Aaron and Moses and their sister Miriam. 60 aTo Aaron were born Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 61 And aNadab and Abihu died when they offered profane fire before the LORD. 62 aNow those who were numbered of them were twenty-three thousand, every male from a month old and 28 aGen. 46:20; Deut. 33:16 29 aJosh. 17:1 b1 Chr. 7:14, 15 30 1Abiezer, Josh. 17:2 33 aNum. 27:1; 36:11 35 1Bered, 1 Chr. 7:20 38 aGen. 46:21; 1 Chr. 7:6 bGen. 46:21; 1 Chr. 8:1, 2 39 a1 Chr. 7:12 1MT Sheph- upham; Shephuphan, 1 Chr. 8:5 2Huppim, Gen. 46:21 40 a1 Chr. 8:3 1Addar, 1 Chr. 8:3 42 1Hushim, Gen. 46:23 44 aGen. 46:17; 1 Chr. 7:30 48 aGen. 46:24; 1 Chr. 7:13 1Jahziel, 1 Chr. 7:13 49 a1 Chr. 7:13 51 aEx. 12:37; 38:26; Num. 1:46; 11:21 53 aJosh. 11:23; 14:1 bNum. 33:54 54 aNum. 33:54 55 aNum. 33:54; 34:13; Josh. 11:23; 14:2 57 aGen. 46:11; Ex. 6:16–19; Num. 3:15; 1 Chr. 6:1, 16 59 aEx. 2:1, 2; 6:20 60 aNum. 3:2 61 aLev. 10:1, 2; Num. 3:3, 4; 1 Chr. 24:2 62 aNum. 3:39

NUMBERS 26:63 146 above; bfor they were not numbered among the other children of Israel, because there was cno inheritance given to them among the children of Israel. 63 These are those who were num- bered by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who numbered the children of Israel ain the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho. 64 aBut among these there was not a man of those who were numbered by Moses and Aaron the priest when they numbered the children of Israel in the bWilderness of Sinai. 65 For the LORD had said of them, “They ashall surely die in the wilder- ness.” So there was not left a man of them, bexcept Caleb the son of Je- phunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. Inheritance Laws 27 Then came the daughters of aZelophehad the son of He- pher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, from the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph; and these were the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 2 And they stood before Moses, before Eleazar the priest, and before the leaders and all the con- gregation, by the doorway of the tabernacle of meeting, saying: 3 “Our father adied in the wilder- ness; but he was not in the company of those who gathered together against the LORD, bin company with Korah, but he died in his own sin; and he had no sons. 4 “Why should the name of our father be aremoved1 from among his family because he had no son? bGive us a 2possession among our father’s brothers.” 5 So Moses abrought their case before the LORD. 6 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 7 “The daughters of Zelophehad speak what is right; ayou shall sure- ly give them a possession of inheri- tance among their father’s brothers, and cause the inheritance of their father to pass to them. 8 “And you shall speak to the chil- dren of Israel, saying: ‘If a man dies and has no son, then you shall cause his inheritance to pass to his daugh- ter. 9 ‘If he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers. 10 ‘If he has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. 11 ‘And if his father has no broth- ers, then you shall give his inheri- tance to the relative closest to him in his family, and he shall possess it.’ ” And it shall be to the children of Israel aa statute of judgment, just as the LORD commanded Moses. Joshua the Next Leader of Israel 12 Now the LORD said to Moses: a“Go up into this Mount Abarim, and see the land which I have given to the children of Israel. 13 “And when you have seen it, you also ashall 1be gathered to your peo- ple, as Aaron your brother was gathered. 14 “For in the Wilderness of Zin, during the strife of the congrega- tion, you arebelled against My com- mand to hallow Me at the waters before their eyes.” (These are the bwaters of Meribah, at Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.) 15 Then Moses spoke to the LORD, saying: 16 “Let the LORD, athe God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, 17 a“who may go out before them and go in before them, who may lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the LORD may not be blike sheep which have no shepherd.” 18 And the LORD said to Moses: “Take Joshua the son of Nun with you, a man ain whom is the Spirit, and blay your hand on him; 19 “set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congrega- tion, and ainaugurate1 him in their sight. 20 “And ayou shall give some of your authority to him, that all the congre- gation of the children of Israel bmay be obedient. 21 a“He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire before the LORD for him bby the judgment of the Urim. cAt his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, he and all the children of Israel with him—all the congrega- tion.” 22 So Moses did as the LORD com- manded him.

t and before all the congrega- tion, and ainaugurate1 him in their sight. 20 “And ayou shall give some of your authority to him, that all the congre- gation of the children of Israel bmay be obedient. 21 a“He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire before the LORD for him bby the judgment of the Urim. cAt his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, he and all the children of Israel with him—all the congrega- tion.” 22 So Moses did as the LORD com- manded him. He took Joshua and set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation. 23 And he laid his hands on him aand 1inaugurated him, just as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses. Daily Offerings 28 Now the LORD spoke to Mo- ses, saying, 2 “Command the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘My offer- ing, aMy food for My offerings made by fire as a sweet aroma to Me, you shall be careful to offer to Me at their appointed time.’ 3 “And you shall say to them, a‘This is the offering made by fire which you shall offer to the LORD: two male lambs in their first year 62 bNum. 1:49 cNum. 18:20, 23, 24 63 aNum. 26:3 64 aNum. 14:29–35 bNum. 1:1–46 65 aNum. 14:26–35 bNum. 14:30 CHAPTER 27 1 aNum. 26:33; 36:1, 11 3 aNum. 14:35; 26:64, 65 bNum. 16:1, 2 4 aDeut. 25:6 bJosh. 17:4 1withdrawn 2inheritance 5 aEx. 18:13–26 7 aNum. 36:2 11 aNum. 35:29 12 aNum. 33:47 13 aDeut. 10:6; 34:5, 6 1Die and join your ancestors 14 aPs. 106:32, 33 bEx. 17:7 16 aNum. 16:22 17 aDeut. 31:2 bZech. 10:2 18 aGen. 41:38 bDeut. 34:9 19 aDeut. 3:28; 31:3, 7, 8, 23 1commission 20 aNum. 11:17 bJosh. 1:16–18 21 a1 Sam. 23:9; 30:7 bEx. 28:30 c1 Sam. 22:10 23 aDeut. 3:28; 31:7, 8 1com- missioned CHAPTER 28 2 aLev. 3:11; 21:6, 8 3 aEx. 29:38–42

147 NUMBERS 29:5 without blemish, day by day, as a regular burnt offering. 4 ‘The one lamb you shall offer in the morning, the other lamb you shall offer in the evening, 5 ‘and aone-tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a bgrain offering mixed with one-fourth of a hin of pressed oil. 6 ‘It is aa regular burnt offering which was ordained at Mount Sinai for a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD. 7 ‘And its drink offering shall be one-fourth of a hin for each lamb; ain a holy place you shall pour out the drink to the LORD as an offering. 8 ‘The other lamb you shall offer in the evening; as the morning grain offering and its drink offering, you shall offer it as an offering made by fire, a 1sweet aroma to the LORD. Sabbath Offerings 9 ‘And on the Sabbath day two lambs in their first year, without blemish, and two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour as a grain offering, mixed with oil, with its drink offer- ing— 10 ‘this is athe burnt offering for every Sabbath, besides the regular burnt offering with its drink offer- ing. Monthly Offerings 11 a‘At the beginnings of your months you shall present a burnt offering to the LORD: two young bulls, one ram, and seven lambs in their first year, without blemish; 12 a‘three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour as a grain offering, mixed with oil, for each bull; two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour as a grain offer- ing, mixed with oil, for the one ram; 13 ‘and one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour, mixed with oil, as a grain offering for each lamb, as a burnt offering of sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD. 14 ‘Their drink offering shall be half a hin of wine for a bull, one- third of a hin for a ram, and one- fourth of a hin for a lamb; this is the burnt offering for each month throughout the months of the year. 15 ‘Also aone kid of the goats as a sin offering to the LORD shall be offered, besides the regular burnt offering and its drink offering. Offerings at Passover 16 a‘On the fourteenth day of the first month is the Passover of the LORD. 17 a‘And on the fifteenth day of this month is the feast; unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days. 18 ‘On the afirst day you shall have a holy 1convocation.You shall do no 2customary work. 19 ‘And you shall present an offer- ing made by fire as a burnt offering to the LORD: two young bulls, one ram, and seven lambs in their first year. aBe sure they are without blemish. 20 ‘Their grain offering shall be of fine flour mixed with oil: three- tenths of an ephah you shall offer for a bull, and two-tenths for a ram; 21 ‘you shall offer one-tenth of an ephah for each of the seven lambs; 22 ‘also aone goat as a sin offering, to make 1atonement for you. 23 ‘You shall offer these besides the burnt offering of the morning, which is for a regular burnt offer- ing. 24 ‘In this manner you shall offer the food of the offering made by fire daily for seven days, as a sweet aroma to the LORD; it shall be offered besides the regular burnt offering and its drink offering. 25 ‘And aon the seventh day you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work. Offerings at the Feast of Weeks 26 ‘Also aon the day of the first- fruits, when you bring a new grain offering to the LORD at your Feast of Weeks, you shall have a holy con- vocation.You shall do no customary work. 27 ‘You shall present a burnt offer- ing as a sweet aroma to the LORD: atwo young bulls, one ram, and seven lambs in their first year, 28 ‘with their grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an ephah for each bull, two-tenths for the one ram, 29 ‘and one-tenth for each of the seven lambs; 30 ‘also one kid of the goats, to make 1atonement for you. 31 a‘Be sure they are without 1blemish. You shall present them with their drink offerings, besides the regular burnt offering with its grain offering. Offerings at the Feast of Trumpets 29 ‘And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work.

ed with oil: three-tenths of an ephah for each bull, two-tenths for the one ram, 29 ‘and one-tenth for each of the seven lambs; 30 ‘also one kid of the goats, to make 1atonement for you. 31 a‘Be sure they are without 1blemish. You shall present them with their drink offerings, besides the regular burnt offering with its grain offering. Offerings at the Feast of Trumpets 29 ‘And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work. For you ait is a day of blowing the trum- pets. 2 ‘You shall offer a burnt offering as a sweet aroma to the LORD: one young bull, one ram, and seven lambs in their first year, without blemish. 3 ‘Their grain offering shall be fine flour mixed with oil: three- tenths of an ephah for the bull, two- tenths for the ram, 4 ‘and one-tenth for each of the seven lambs; 5 ‘also one kid of the goats as a sin offering, to make atonement for you; 5 aEx. 16:36; Num. 15:4 bLev. 2:1 6 aEx. 29:42; Amos 5:25 7 aEx. 29:42 8 1pleasing 10 aEzek. 46:4 11 aNum. 10:10; 1 Sam. 20:5; 1 Chr. 23:31; 2 Chr. 2:4; Ezra 3:5; Neh. 10:33; Is. 1:13, 14; Ezek. 45:17; 46:6, 7; Hos. 2:11; Col. 2:16 12 aNum. 15:4–12 15 aNum. 15:24; 28:3, 22 16 aEx. 12:1–20; Lev. 23:5–8; Num. 9:2–5; Deut. 16:1–8; Ezek. 45:21 17 aLev. 23:6 18 aEx. 12:16; Lev. 23:7 1assembly or gathering 2occupational 19 aLev. 22:20; Num. 28:31; 29:8; Deut. 15:21 22 aNum. 28:15 1Lit. covering 25 aEx. 12:16; 13:6; Lev. 23:8 26 aEx. 23:16; 34:22; Lev. 23:10–21; Deut. 16:9–12; Acts 2:1 27 aLev. 23:18, 19 30 1Lit. cover- ing 31 aNum. 28:3, 19 1defect CHAPTER 29 1 aEx. 23:16; 34:22; Lev. 23:23–25

NUMBERS 29:6 148 6 ‘besides athe burnt offering with its grain offering for the New Moon, bthe regular burnt offering with its grain offering, and their drink offer- ings, caccording to their ordinance, as a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD. Offerings on the Day of Atonement 7 a‘On the tenth day of this sev- enth month you shall have a holy convocation. You shall bafflict your souls; you shall not do any work. 8 ‘You shall present a burnt offer- ing to the LORD as a sweet aroma: one young bull, one ram, and seven lambs in their first year. aBe sure they are without blemish. 9 ‘Their grain offering shall be of fine flour mixed with oil: three- tenths of an ephah for the bull, two- tenths for the one ram, 10 ‘and one-tenth for each of the seven lambs; 11 ‘also one kid of the goats as a sin offering, besides athe sin offer- ing for atonement, the regular burnt offering with its grain offering, and their drink offerings. Offerings at the Feast of Tabernacles 12 a‘On the fifteenth day of the sev- enth month you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no cus- tomary work, and you shall keep a feast to the LORD seven days. 13 a‘You shall present a burnt offer- ing, an offering made by fire as a sweet aroma to the LORD: thirteen young bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs in their first year. They shall be without blemish. 14 ‘Their grain offering shall be of fine flour mixed with oil: three- tenths of an ephah for each of the thirteen bulls, two-tenths for each of the two rams, 15 ‘and one-tenth for each of the fourteen lambs; 16 ‘also one kid of the goats as a sin offering, besides the regular burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offering. 17 ‘On the asecond day present twelve young bulls, two rams, four- teen lambs in their first year with- out blemish, 18 ‘and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, by their number, aaccording to the ordi- nance; 19 ‘also one kid of the goats as a sin offering, besides the regular burnt offering with its grain offer- ing, and their drink offerings. 20 ‘On the third day present eleven bulls, two rams, fourteen lambs in their first year without blemish, 21 ‘and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, by their number, aaccording to the ordinance; 22 ‘also one goat as a sin offering, besides the regular burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offering. 23 ‘On the fourth day present ten bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs in their first year, without blemish, 24 ‘and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, by their number, according to the ordinance; 25 ‘also one kid of the goats as a sin offering, besides the regular burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offering. 26 ‘On the fifth day present nine bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs in their first year without blemish, 27 ‘and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, by their number, according to the ordinance; 28 ‘also one goat as a sin offering, besides the regular burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offering. 29 ‘On the sixth day present eight bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs in their first year without blemish, 30 ‘and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, by their number, according to the ordinance; 31 ‘also one goat as a sin offering, besides the regular burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offering. 32 ‘On the seventh day present seven bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs in their first year without blemish, 33 ‘and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, by their number, according to the ordinance; 34 ‘also one goat as a sin offering, besides the regular burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offering.

dinance; 31 ‘also one goat as a sin offering, besides the regular burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offering. 32 ‘On the seventh day present seven bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs in their first year without blemish, 33 ‘and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, by their number, according to the ordinance; 34 ‘also one goat as a sin offering, besides the regular burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offering. 35 ‘On the eighth day you shall have a asacred1 assembly. You shall do no customary work. 36 ‘You shall present a burnt offer- ing, an offering made by fire as a sweet aroma to the LORD: one bull, one ram, seven lambs in their first year without blemish, 37 ‘and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bull, for the ram, and for the lambs, by their number, according to the ordinance; 38 ‘also one goat as a sin offering, besides the regular burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offering. 39 ‘These you shall present to the LORD at your aappointed feasts (besides your bvowed offerings and your freewill offerings) as your burnt offerings and your grain offerings, as your drink offerings and your peace offerings.’ ” 40 So Moses told the children of Israel everything, just as the LORD commanded Moses. 6 aNum. 28:11–15 bNum. 28:3 cNum. 15:11, 12 7 aLev. 16:29–34; 23:26–32 bPs. 35:13; Is. 58:5 8 aNum. 28:19 11 aLev. 16:3, 5 12 aLev. 23:33–35; Deut. 16:13–15; Ezek. 45:25 13 aEzra 3:4 17 aLev. 23:36 18 aNum. 15:12; 28:7, 14; 29:3, 4, 9, 10 21 aNum. 29:18 35 aLev. 23:36 1solemn 39 aLev. 23:1–44; 1 Chr. 23:31; 2 Chr. 31:3; Ezra 3:5; Neh. 10:33; Is. 1:14 bLev. 7:16; 22:18, 21, 23; 23:38

149 NUMBERS 31:14 The Law Concerning Vows 30 Then Moses spoke to athe heads of the tribes concerning the children of Israel, saying, “This is the thing which the LORD has commanded: 2 a“If a man makes a vow to the LORD, or bswears an oath to bind himself by some agreement, he shall not break his word; he shall cdo according to all that proceeds out of his mouth. 3 “Or if a woman makes a vow to the LORD, and binds herself by some agreement while in her father’s house in her youth, 4 “and her father hears her vow and the agreement by which she has bound herself, and her father 1holds his peace, then all her vows shall stand, and every agreement with which she has bound herself shall stand. 5 “But if her father overrules her on the day that he hears, then none of her vows nor her agreements by which she has bound herself shall stand; and the LORD will release her, because her father overruled her. 6 “If indeed she takes a husband, while bound by her vows or by a rash utterance from her lips by which she bound herself, 7 “and her husband hears it, and makes no response to her on the day that he hears, then her vows shall stand, and her agreements by which she bound herself shall stand. 8 “But if her husband aoverrules her on the day that he hears it, he shall make void her vow which she took and what she uttered with her lips, by which she bound herself, and the LORD will release her. 9 “Also any vow of a widow or a divorced woman, by which she has bound herself, shall stand against her. 10 “If she vowed in her husband’s house, or bound herself by an agree- ment with an oath, 11 “and her husband heard it, and made no response to her and did not overrule her, then all her vows shall stand, and every agreement by which she bound herself shall stand. 12 “But if her husband truly made them void on the day he heard them, then whatever proceeded from her lips concerning her vows or concerning the agreement bind- ing her, it shall not stand; her hus- band has made them 1void, and the LORD will release her. 13 “Every vow and every binding oath to afflict her soul, her husband may confirm it, or her husband may make it void. 14 “Now if her husband makes no response whatever to her from day to day, then he confirms all her vows or all the agreements that bind her; he confirms them, because he made no response to her on the day that he heard them. 15 “But if he does make them void after he has heard them, then he shall bear her guilt.” 16 These are the statutes which the LORD commanded Moses, between a man and his wife, and between a father and his daughter in her youth in her father’s house. Vengeance on the Midianites 31 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 2 a“Take vengeance on the Midi- anites for the children of Israel. Afterward you shall bbe gathered to your people.” 3 So Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm some of yourselves for war, and let them go against the Midianites to take vengeance for the LORD on aMidian. 4 “A thousand from each tribe of all the tribes of Israel you shall send to the war.” 5 So there were recruited from the divisions of Israel one thousand from each tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. 6 Then Moses sent them to the war, one thousand from each tribe; he sent them to the war with Phine- has the son of Eleazar the priest, with the holy articles and athe sig- nal trumpets in his hand. 7 And they warred against the Midianites, just as the LORD com- manded Moses, and athey killed all the bmales. 8 They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of those who were killed—aEvi, Rekem, bZur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian.

thousand from each tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. 6 Then Moses sent them to the war, one thousand from each tribe; he sent them to the war with Phine- has the son of Eleazar the priest, with the holy articles and athe sig- nal trumpets in his hand. 7 And they warred against the Midianites, just as the LORD com- manded Moses, and athey killed all the bmales. 8 They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of those who were killed—aEvi, Rekem, bZur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. cBa- laam the son of Beor they also killed with the sword. 9 And the children of Israel took the women of Midian captive, with their little ones, and took as spoil all their cattle, all their flocks, and all their goods. 10 They also burned with fire all the cities where they dwelt, and all their forts. 11 And athey took all the spoil and all the booty—of man and beast. Return from the War 12 Then they brought the captives, the booty, and the spoil to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the con- gregation of the children of Israel, to the camp in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho. 13 And Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the congrega- tion, went to meet them outside the camp. 14 But Moses was angry with the officers of the army, with the cap- tains over thousands and captains CHAPTER 30 1 aNum. 1:4, 16; 7:2 2 aLev. 27:2; Deut. 23:21–23; Judg. 11:30, 31, 35; Eccl. 5:4 bLev. 5:4; Matt. 14:9; Acts 23:14 cJob 22:27; Ps. 22:25; 50:14; 66:13, 14; Nah. 1:15 4 1says noth- ing to inter- fere 8 a[Gen. 3:16] 12 1annulled or invalidated CHAPTER 31 2 aNum. 25:17 bNum. 27:12, 13 3 aJosh. 13:21 6 aNum. 10:9 7 aDeut. 20:13; Judg. 21:11; 1 Sam. 27:9; 1 Kin. 11:15, 16 bGen. 34:25 8 aJosh. 13:21 bNum. 25:15 cNum. 31:16; Josh. 13:22 11 aDeut. 20:14

NUMBERS 31:15 150 over hundreds, who had come from the battle. 15 And Moses said to them: “Have you kept aall the women alive? 16 “Look, athese women caused the children of Israel, through the bcoun- sel of Balaam, to trespass against the LORD in the incident of Peor, and cthere was a plague among the con- gregation of the LORD. 17 “Now therefore, akill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a man inti- mately. 18 “But keep alive afor yourselves all the young girls who have not known a man intimately. 19 “And as for you, aremain outside the camp seven days; whoever has killed any person, and bwhoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves and your captives on the third day and on the seventh day. 20 “Purify every garment, every- thing made of leather, everything woven of goats’ hair, and everything made of wood.” 21 Then Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who had gone to the battle, “This is the 1ordinance of the law which the LORD commanded Moses: 22 “Only the gold, the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead, 23 “everything that can endure fire, you shall put through the fire, and it shall be clean; and it shall be puri- fied awith the water of purification. But all that cannot endure fire you shall put through water. 24 a“And you shall wash your clothes on the seventh day and be clean, and afterward you may come into the camp.” Division of the Plunder 25 Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 26 “Count up the plunder that was 1taken—of man and beast—you and Eleazar the priest and the chief fathers of the congregation; 27 “and adivide the plunder into two parts, between those who took part in the war, who went out to bat- tle, and all the congregation. 28 “And levy a 1tribute for the LORD on the men of war who went out to battle: aone of every five hun- dred of the persons, the cattle, the donkeys, and the sheep; 29 “take it from their half, and agive it to Eleazar the priest as a heave offering to the LORD. 30 “And from the children of Israel’s half you shall take aone of every fifty, drawn from the persons, the cattle, the donkeys, and the sheep, from all the livestock, and give them to the Levites bwho 1keep charge of the tab- ernacle of the LORD.” 31 So Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses. 32 The booty remaining from the plunder, which the men of war had taken, was six hundred and seventy- five thousand sheep, 33 seventy-two thousand cattle, 34 sixty-one thousand donkeys, 35 and thirty-two thousand per- sons in all, of women who had not known a man intimately. 36 And the half, the portion for those who had gone out to war, was in number three hundred and thirty- seven thousand five hundred sheep; 37 and the LORD’s 1tribute of the sheep was six hundred and seventy- five. 38 The cattle were thirty-six thou- sand, of which the LORD’s tribute was seventy-two. 39 The donkeys were thirty thou- sand five hundred, of which the LORD’s tribute was sixty-one. 40 The persons were sixteen thou- sand, of which the LORD’s tribute was thirty-two persons. 41 So Moses gave the tribute which was the LORD’s heave offering to Eleazar the priest, aas the LORD commanded Moses. 42 And from the children of Israel’s half, which Moses separated from the men who fought— 43 now the half belonging to the congregation was three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hun- dred sheep, 44 thirty-six thousand cattle, 45 thirty thousand five hundred donkeys, 46 and sixteen thousand persons— 47 and afrom the children of Israel’s half Moses took one of every fifty, drawn from man and beast, and gave them to the Levites, who kept charge of the tabernacle of the LORD, as the LORD command- ed Moses. 48 Then the officers who were over thousands of the army, the captains of thousands and captains of hun- dreds, came near to Moses; 49 and they said to Moses, “Your servants have taken a count of the men of war who are under our com- mand, and not a man of us is missing.

en thousand persons— 47 and afrom the children of Israel’s half Moses took one of every fifty, drawn from man and beast, and gave them to the Levites, who kept charge of the tabernacle of the LORD, as the LORD command- ed Moses. 48 Then the officers who were over thousands of the army, the captains of thousands and captains of hun- dreds, came near to Moses; 49 and they said to Moses, “Your servants have taken a count of the men of war who are under our com- mand, and not a man of us is missing. 50 “Therefore we have brought an offering for the LORD, what every man found of ornaments of gold: armlets and bracelets and signet rings and earrings and necklaces, ato make 1atonement for ourselves before the LORD.” 51 So Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from them, all the fashioned ornaments. 52 And all the gold of the offering that they offered to the LORD, from the captains of thousands and cap- tains of hundreds, was sixteen thou- sand seven hundred and fifty shekels. 53 a(The men of war had taken spoil, every man for himself.) 15 aDeut. 20:14 16 aNum. 25:2 bNum. 24:14; 2 Pet. 2:15; Rev. 2:14 cNum. 25:9 17 aDeut. 7:2; 20:16–18; Judg. 21:11 18 aDeut. 21:10–14 19 aNum. 5:2 bNum. 19:11–22 21 1statute 23 aNum. 19:9, 17 24 aLev. 11:25 26 1captured 27 aJosh. 22:8; 1 Sam. 30:24 28 aNum. 31:30, 47 1tax 29 aDeut. 18:1–5 30 aNum. 31:42–47 bNum. 3:7, 8, 25, 31, 36; 18:3, 4 1per- form the ser- vice 37 1tax 41 aNum. 5:9, 10; 18:8, 19 47 aNum. 31:30 50 aEx. 30:12–16 1Lit. covering 53 aNum. 31:32; Deut. 20:14

151 NUMBERS 32:31 54 And Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from the cap- tains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tabernacle of meeting aas a memorial for the chil- dren of Israel before the LORD. The Tribes Settling East of the Jordan 32 Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of livestock; and when they saw the land of aJazer and the land of bGilead, that indeed the region was a place for livestock, 2 the children of Gad and the chil- dren of Reuben came and spoke to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the leaders of the congregation, say- ing, 3 “Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, aNimrah, bHeshbon, Elealeh, cShebam, Nebo, and dBeon, 4 “the country awhich the LORD defeated before the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock.” 5 Therefore they said, “If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants as a posses- sion. Do not take us over the Jordan.” 6 And Moses said to the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben: “Shall your brethren go to war while you sit here? 7 “Now why will you adiscourage the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the LORD has given them? 8 “Thus your fathers did awhen I sent them away from Kadesh Barnea bto see the land. 9 “For awhen they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, so that they did not go into the land which the LORD had given them. 10 a“So the LORD’s anger was aroused on that day, and He swore an oath, saying, 11 ‘Surely none of the men who came up from Egypt, afrom twenty years old and above, shall see the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because bthey have not wholly followed Me, 12 ‘except Caleb the son of Jephun- neh, the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun, afor they have wholly followed the LORD.’ 13 “So the LORD’s anger was aroused against Israel, and He made them awander in the wilderness forty years, until ball the generation that had done evil in the sight of the LORD was gone. 14 “And look! You have risen in your fathers’ place, a brood of sinful men, to increase still more the afierce anger of the LORD against Israel. 15 “For if you aturn away from fol- lowing Him, He will once again leave them in the wilderness, and you will destroy all these people.” 16 Then they came near to him and said: “We will build sheepfolds here for our livestock, and cities for our little ones, 17 “but awe ourselves will be armed, ready to go before the chil- dren of Israel until we have brought them to their place; and our little ones will dwell in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land. 18 a“We will not return to our homes until every one of the chil- dren of Israel has 1received his inheritance. 19 “For we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan and beyond, abecause our inheri- tance has fallen to us on this eastern side of the Jordan.” 20 Then aMoses said to them: “If you do this thing, if you arm your- selves before the LORD for the war, 21 “and all your armed men cross over the Jordan before the LORD until He has driven out His enemies from before Him, 22 “and athe land is subdued before the LORD, then afterward byou may return and be blameless before the LORD and before Israel; and cthis land shall be your possession before the LORD. 23 “But if you do not do so, then take note, you have sinned against the LORD; and be sure ayour sin will find you out. 24 a“Build cities for your little ones and folds for your sheep, and do 1what has proceeded out of your mouth.” 25 And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spoke to Moses, saying: “Your servants will do as my lord commands. 26 a“Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our livestock will be there in the cities of Gilead; 27 a“but your servants will cross over, every man armed for war, before the LORD to battle, just as my lord says.”

ORD; and be sure ayour sin will find you out. 24 a“Build cities for your little ones and folds for your sheep, and do 1what has proceeded out of your mouth.” 25 And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spoke to Moses, saying: “Your servants will do as my lord commands. 26 a“Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our livestock will be there in the cities of Gilead; 27 a“but your servants will cross over, every man armed for war, before the LORD to battle, just as my lord says.” 28 So Moses gave command acon- cerning them to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the chief fathers of the tribes of the chil- dren of Israel. 29 And Moses said to them: “If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben cross over the Jordan with you, every man armed for battle before the LORD, and the land is subdued before you, then you shall give them the land of Gilead as a possession. 30 “But if they do not cross over armed with you, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.” 31 Then the children of Gad and the 54 aEx. 30:16 CHAPTER 32 1 aNum. 21:32; Josh. 13:25; 2 Sam. 24:5 bDeut. 3:13 3 aNum. 32:36 bJosh. 13:17, 26 cNum. 32:38 dNum. 32:38 4 aNum. 21:24, 34, 35 7 aNum. 13:27–14:4 8 aNum. 13:3, 26 bDeut. 1:19–25 9 aNum. 13:24, 31; Deut. 1:24, 28 10 aNum. 14:11; Deut. 1:34–36 11 aNum. 14:28, 29; 26:63–65; Deut. 1:35 bNum. 14:24, 30 12 aNum. 14:6–9, 24, 30; Deut. 1:36; Josh. 14:8, 9 13 aNum. 14:33–35 bNum. 26:64, 65 14 aNum. 11:1; Deut. 1:34 15 aDeut. 30:17, 18; Josh. 22:16–18; 2 Chr. 7:19; 15:2 17 aJosh. 4:12, 13 18 aJosh. 22:1–4 1pos- sessed 19 aJosh. 12:1; 13:8 20 aDeut. 3:18; Josh. 1:14 22 aDeut. 3:20; Josh. 11:23 bJosh. 22:4 cDeut. 3:12, 15, 16, 18; Josh. 1:15; 13:8, 32; 22:4, 9 23 aGen. 4:7; 44:16; Josh. 7:1–26; Is. 59:12; [Gal. 6:7] 24 aNum. 32:16 1what you said you would do 26 aJosh. 1:14 27 aJosh. 4:12 28 aJosh. 1:13

NUMBERS 32:32 152 children of Reuben answered, say- ing: “As the LORD has said to your servants, so we will do. 32 “We will cross over armed before the LORD into the land of Canaan, but the possession of our inheritance shall remain with us on this side of the Jordan.” 33 So aMoses gave to the children of Gad, to the children of Reuben, and to half the tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, bthe kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the king- dom of Og king of Bashan, the land with its cities within the borders, the cities of the surrounding country. 34 And the children of Gad built aDibon and Ataroth and bAroer, 35 Atroth and Shophan and aJazer and Jogbehah, 36 aBeth Nimrah and Beth Haran, bfortified cities, and folds for sheep. 37 And the children of Reuben built aHeshbon and Elealeh and Kir- jathaim, 38 aNebo and bBaal Meon c(their names being changed ) and Shibmah; and they gave other names to the cities which they built. 39 And the children of aMachir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead and took it, and 1dispossessed the Amo- rites who were in it. 40 So Moses agave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh, and he dwelt in it. 41 Also aJair the son of Manasseh went and took its small towns, and called them bHavoth Jair.1 42 Then Nobah went and took Kenath and its villages, and he called it Nobah, after his own name. Israel’s Journey from Egypt Reviewed 33 These are the journeys of the children of Israel, who went out of the land of Egypt by their armies under the ahand of Moses and Aaron. 2 Now Moses wrote down the starting points of their journeys at the command of the LORD. And these are their journeys according to their starting points: 3 They adeparted from Rameses in bthe first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the day after the Passover the children of Israel went out cwith boldness in the sight of all the Egyptians. 4 For the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn, awhom the LORD had killed among them. Also bon their gods the LORD had executed judgments. 5 aThen the children of Israel moved from Rameses and camped at Succoth. 6 They departed from aSuccoth and camped at Etham, which is on the edge of the wilderness. 7 aThey moved from Etham and turned back to Pi Hahiroth, which is east of Baal Zephon; and they camped near Migdol. 8 They departed 1from before Hahiroth and apassed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness, went three days’ journey in the Wilderness of Etham, and camped at Marah. 9 They moved from Marah and acame to Elim.

ts. 5 aThen the children of Israel moved from Rameses and camped at Succoth. 6 They departed from aSuccoth and camped at Etham, which is on the edge of the wilderness. 7 aThey moved from Etham and turned back to Pi Hahiroth, which is east of Baal Zephon; and they camped near Migdol. 8 They departed 1from before Hahiroth and apassed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness, went three days’ journey in the Wilderness of Etham, and camped at Marah. 9 They moved from Marah and acame to Elim. At Elim were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees; so they camped there. 10 They moved from Elim and camped by the Red Sea. 11 They moved from the Red Sea and camped in the aWilderness of Sin. 12 They journeyed from the Wilderness of Sin and camped at Dophkah. 13 They departed from Dophkah and camped at Alush. 14 They moved from Alush and camped at aRephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink. 15 They departed from Rephidim and camped in the aWilderness of Sinai. 16 They moved from the Wilder- ness of Sinai and camped aat 1Kibroth Hattaavah. 17 They departed from Kibroth Hat- taavah and acamped at Hazeroth. 18 They departed from Hazeroth and camped at aRithmah. 19 They departed from Rithmah and camped at Rimmon Perez. 20 They departed from Rimmon Perez and camped at Libnah. 21 They moved from Libnah and camped at Rissah. 22 They journeyed from Rissah and camped at Kehelathah. 23 They went from Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher. 24 They moved from Mount She- pher and camped at Haradah. 25 They moved from Haradah and camped at Makheloth. 26 They moved from Makheloth and camped at Tahath. 27 They departed from Tahath and camped at Terah. 28 They moved from Terah and camped at Mithkah. 29 They went from Mithkah and camped at Hashmonah. 30 They departed from Hashmo- nah and acamped at Moseroth. 31 They departed from Moseroth and camped at Bene Jaakan. 32 They moved from aBene Jaakan and bcamped at Hor Hagidgad. 33 They went from Hor Hagidgad and camped at Jotbathah. 34 They moved from Jotbathah and camped at Abronah. 35 They departed from Abronah aand camped at Ezion Geber. 36 They moved from Ezion Geber and camped in the aWilderness of Zin, which is Kadesh. 37 They moved from aKadesh and 33 aDeut. 3:8–17; 29:8; Josh. 12:1–6; 13:8–31; 22:4 bNum. 21:24, 33, 35 34 aNum. 33:45, 46 bDeut. 2:36 35 aNum. 32:1, 3 36 aNum. 32:3 bNum. 32:24 37 aNum. 21:27 38 aIs. 46:1 bEzek. 25:9 cEx. 23:13; Josh. 23:7 39 aGen. 50:23; Num. 27:1; 36:1 1drove out 40 aDeut. 3:12, 13, 15; Josh. 13:31 41 aDeut. 3:14; Josh. 13:30 bJudg. 10:4; 1 Kin. 4:13 1Lit. Towns of Jair CHAPTER 33 1 aPs. 77:20 3 aEx. 12:37 bEx. 12:2; 13:4 cEx. 14:8 4 aEx. 12:29 b[Ex. 12:12; 18:11]; Is. 19:1 5 aEx. 12:37 6 aEx. 13:20 7 aEx. 14:1, 2, 9 8 aEx. 14:22; 15:22, 23 1Many Heb. mss., Sam., Syr., Tg., Vg. from Pi Hahi- roth; cf. Num. 33:7 9 aEx. 15:27 11 aEx. 16:1 14 aEx. 17:1; 19:2 15 aEx. 16:1; 19:1, 2 16 aNum. 11:34 1Lit. Graves of Craving 17 aNum. 11:35 18 aNum. 12:16 30 aDeut. 10:6 32 aDeut. 10:6 bDeut. 10:7 35 aDeut. 2:8; 1 Kin. 9:26; 22:48 36 aNum. 20:1; 27:14 37 aNum. 20:22, 23; 21:4

153 NUMBERS 34:15 camped at Mount Hor, on the boundary of the land of Edom. 38 Then aAaron the priest went up to Mount Hor at the command of the LORD, and died there in the fortieth year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, on the first day of the fifth month. 39 Aaron was one hundred and twenty-three years old when he died on Mount Hor. 40 Now athe king of Arad, the Canaanite, who dwelt in the South in the land of Canaan, heard of the coming of the children of Israel. 41 So they departed from Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah. 42 They departed from Zalmonah and camped at Punon. 43 They departed from Punon and acamped at Oboth. 44 aThey departed from Oboth and camped at Ije Abarim, at the border of Moab. 45 They departed from 1Ijim and camped aat Dibon Gad. 46 They moved from Dibon Gad and camped at aAlmon Diblathaim. 47 They moved from Almon Diblathaim aand camped in the mountains of Abarim, before Nebo. 48 They departed from the moun- tains of Abarim and acamped in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho. 49 They camped by the Jordan, from Beth Jesimoth as far as the aAbel Acacia Grove1 in the plains of Moab. Instructions for the Conquest of Canaan 50 Now the LORD spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho, saying, 51 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: a‘When you have crossed the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 52 a‘then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, destroy all their engraved stones, destroy all their molded images, and demolish all their 1high places; 53 ‘you shall dispossess the inhabi- tants of the land and dwell in it, for I have given you the land to apos- sess. 54 ‘And ayou shall divide the land by lot as an inheritance among your families; to the larger you shall give a larger inheritance, and to the smaller you shall give a smaller inheritance; there everyone’s inheri- tance shall be whatever falls to him by lot.You shall inherit according to the tribes of your fathers. 55 ‘But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall be that those whom you let remain shall be airritants in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall harass you in the land where you dwell. 56 ‘Moreover it shall be that I will do to you as I thought to do to them.’ ” The Appointed Boundaries of Canaan 34 Then the LORD spoke to Mo- ses, saying, 2 “Command the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you come into athe land of Canaan, this is the land that shall fall to you as an inheritance—the land of Canaan to its boundaries. 3 a‘Your southern border shall be from the Wilderness of Zin along the border of Edom; then your southern border shall extend east- ward to the end of bthe Salt Sea; 4 ‘your border shall turn from the southern side of athe Ascent of Akrabbim, continue to Zin, and be on the south of bKadesh Barnea; then it shall go on to cHazar Addar, and continue to Azmon; 5 ‘the border shall turn from Azmon ato the Brook of Egypt, and it shall end at the Sea. 6 ‘As for the awestern border, you shall have the Great Sea for a border; this shall be your western border. 7 ‘And this shall be your northern border: From the Great Sea you shall mark out your border line to aMount Hor; 8 ‘from Mount Hor you shall mark out your border ato the entrance of Hamath; then the direction of the border shall be toward bZedad; 9 ‘the border shall proceed to Ziphron, and it shall end at aHazar Enan. This shall be your northern border. 10 ‘You shall mark out your east- ern border from Hazar Enan to Shepham; 11 ‘the border shall go down from Shepham ato Riblah on the east side of Ain; the border shall go down and reach to the eastern 1side of the Sea bof Chinnereth; 12 ‘the border shall go down along the Jordan, and it shall end at athe Salt Sea.

ntrance of Hamath; then the direction of the border shall be toward bZedad; 9 ‘the border shall proceed to Ziphron, and it shall end at aHazar Enan. This shall be your northern border. 10 ‘You shall mark out your east- ern border from Hazar Enan to Shepham; 11 ‘the border shall go down from Shepham ato Riblah on the east side of Ain; the border shall go down and reach to the eastern 1side of the Sea bof Chinnereth; 12 ‘the border shall go down along the Jordan, and it shall end at athe Salt Sea. This shall be your land with its surrounding boundaries.’ ” 13 Then Moses commanded the children of Israel, saying: a“This is the land which you shall inherit by lot, which the LORD has command- ed to give to the nine tribes and to the half-tribe. 14 a“For the tribe of the children of Reuben according to the house of their fathers, and the tribe of the children of Gad according to the house of their fathers, have received their inheritance; and the half-tribe of Manasseh has received its inheri- tance. 15 “The two tribes and the half- tribe have received their inheritance 38 aNum. 20:25, 28 40 aNum. 21:1 43 aNum. 21:10 44 aNum. 21:11 45 aNum. 32:34 1Same as Ije Abarim, v. 44 46 aJer. 48:22 47 aDeut. 32:49 48 aNum. 22:1; 31:12; 35:1 49 aNum. 25:1 1Heb. Abel Shittim 51 aJosh. 3:17 52 aDeut. 7:2, 5; 12:3 1Places for pagan worship 53 aDeut. 11:31 54 aNum. 26:53–56 55 aJosh. 23:13 CHAPTER 34 2 aGen. 17:8 3 aJosh. 15:1–3 bGen. 14:3 4 aJosh. 15:3 bNum. 13:26; 32:8 cJosh. 15:3, 4 5 aJosh. 15:4, 47 6 aEzek. 47:20 7 aNum. 33:37 8 aNum. 13:21 bEzek. 47:15 9 aEzek. 47:17 11 a2 Kin. 23:33 bDeut. 3:17 1Lit. shoulder 12 aNum. 34:3 13 aJosh. 14:1–5 14 aNum. 32:33

NUMBERS 34:16 154 on this side of the Jordan, across from Jericho eastward, toward the sunrise.” The Leaders Appointed to Divide the Land 16 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “These are the names of the men who shall divide the land among you as an inheritance: aEleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun. 18 “And you shall take one aleader of every tribe to divide the land for the inheritance. 19 “These are the names of the men: from the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh; 20 “from the tribe of the children of Simeon, Shemuel the son of Ammi- hud; 21 “from the tribe of Benjamin, Eli- dad the son of Chislon; 22 “a leader from the tribe of the children of Dan, Bukki the son of Jogli; 23 “from the sons of Joseph: a leader from the tribe of the children of Manasseh, Hanniel the son of Ephod, 24 “and a leader from the tribe of the children of Ephraim, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan; 25 “a leader from the tribe of the children of Zebulun, Elizaphan the son of Parnach; 26 “a leader from the tribe of the children of Issachar, Paltiel the son of Azzan; 27 “a leader from the tribe of the children of Asher, Ahihud the son of Shelomi; 28 “and a leader from the tribe of the children of Naphtali, Pedahel the son of Ammihud.” 29 These are the ones the LORD commanded to 1divide the inheri- tance among the children of Israel in the land of Canaan. Cities for the Levites 35 And the LORD spoke to Moses in athe plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho, saying: 2 a“Command the children of Israel that they give the Levites cities to dwell in from the inheri- tance of their possession, and you shall also give the Levites bcom- mon-land around the cities. 3 “They shall have the cities to dwell in; and their common-land shall be for their cattle, for their herds, and for all their animals. 4 “The common-land of the cities which you will give the Levites shall extend from the wall of the city out- ward a thousand cubits all around. 5 “And you shall measure outside the city on the east side two thou- sand cubits, on the south side two thousand cubits, on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two thousand cubits. The city shall be in the middle. This shall belong to them as common-land for the cities. 6 “Now among the cities which you will give to the Levites you shall appoint asix cities of refuge, to which a manslayer may flee.

hall extend from the wall of the city out- ward a thousand cubits all around. 5 “And you shall measure outside the city on the east side two thou- sand cubits, on the south side two thousand cubits, on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two thousand cubits. The city shall be in the middle. This shall belong to them as common-land for the cities. 6 “Now among the cities which you will give to the Levites you shall appoint asix cities of refuge, to which a manslayer may flee. And to these you shall add forty-two cities. 7 “So all the cities you will give to the Levites shall be aforty-eight; these you shall give with their common-land. 8 “And the cities which you will give shall be afrom the possession of the children of Israel; bfrom the larger tribe you shall give many, from the smaller you shall give few. Each shall give some of its cities to the Levites, in proportion to the inheritance that each receives.” Cities of Refuge 9 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 10 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: a‘When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 11 ‘then ayou shall appoint cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the manslayer who kills any person accidentally may flee there. 12 a‘They shall be cities of refuge for you from the avenger, that the manslayer may not die until he stands before the congregation in judgment. 13 ‘And of the cities which you give, you shall have asix cities of refuge. 14 a‘You shall appoint three cities on this side of the Jordan, and three cities you shall appoint in the land of Canaan, which will be cities of refuge. 15 ‘These six cities shall be for refuge for the children of Israel, afor the stranger, and for the sojourner among them, that anyone who kills a person accidentally may flee there. 16 a‘But if he strikes him with an iron implement, so that he dies, he is a murderer; the murderer shall surely be put to death. 17 ‘And if he strikes him with a stone in the hand, by which one could die, and he does die, he is a murderer; the murderer shall surely be put to death. 18 ‘Or if he strikes him with a wooden hand weapon, by which one could die, and he does die, he is a murderer; the murderer shall surely be put to death. 19 a‘The1 avenger of blood himself shall put the murderer to death; when he meets him, he shall put him to death. 20 a‘If he pushes him out of hatred or, bwhile lying in wait, hurls some- thing at him so that he dies, 21 ‘or in enmity he strikes him with his hand so that he dies, the one who 17 aJosh. 14:1, 2; 19:51 18 aNum. 1:4, 16 29 1apportion CHAPTER 35 1 aNum. 33:50 2 aJosh. 14:3, 4; 21:2, 3; Ezek. 45:1; 48:10–20 bLev. 25:32–34 6 aDeut. 4:41; Josh. 20:2, 7, 8; 21:3, 13 7 aJosh. 21:41 8 aJosh. 21:3 bNum. 26:54; 33:54 10 aDeut. 19:2; Josh. 20:1–9 11 aEx. 21:13; Num. 35:22–25; Deut. 19:1–13 12 aDeut. 19:6; Josh. 20:3, 5, 6 13 aNum. 35:6 14 aDeut. 4:41; Josh. 20:8 15 aNum. 15:16 16 aEx. 21:12, 14; Lev. 24:17; Deut. 19:11, 12 19 aNum. 35:21, 24, 27; Deut. 19:6, 12 1A family member who is to avenge the victim 20 aGen. 4:8; 2 Sam. 3:27; 20:10; 1 Kin. 2:31, 32 bEx. 21:14; Deut. 19:11, 12

155 NUMBERS 36:13 struck him shall surely be put to death. He is a murderer. The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death when he meets him. 22 ‘However, if he pushes him sud- denly awithout enmity, or throws anything at him without lying in wait, 23 ‘or uses a stone, by which a man could die, throwing it at him with- out seeing him, so that he dies, while he was not his enemy or seek- ing his harm, 24 ‘then athe congregation shall judge between the manslayer and the avenger of blood according to these judgments. 25 ‘So the congregation shall deliv- er the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood, and the con- gregation shall return him to the city of refuge where he had fled, and ahe shall remain there until the death of the high priest bwho was anointed with the holy oil. 26 ‘But if the manslayer at any time goes outside the limits of the city of refuge where he fled, 27 ‘and the avenger of blood finds him outside the limits of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the manslayer, he shall not be guilty of 1blood, 28 ‘because he should have remained in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest. But after the death of the high priest the manslayer may return to the land of his possession. 29 ‘And these things shall be aa statute of judgment to you through- out your generations in all your dwellings. 30 ‘Whoever kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death on the atestimony of witnesses; but one witness is not sufficient testimony against a person for the death penalty. 31 ‘Moreover you shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death. 32 ‘And you shall take no ransom for him who has fled to his city of refuge, that he may return to dwell in the land before the death of the priest. 33 ‘So you shall not pollute the land where you are; for blood ade- files the land, and no 1atonement can be made for the land, for the blood that is shed on it, except bby the blood of him who shed it. 34 ‘Therefore ado not defile the land which you inhabit, in the midst of which I dwell; for bI the LORD dwell among the children of Israel.’ ” Marriage of Female Heirs 36 Now the chief fathers of the families of the achildren of Gilead the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near and bspoke before Moses and before the leaders, the chief fathers of the chil- dren of Israel. 2 And they said: a“The LORD com- manded my lord Moses to give the land as an inheritance by lot to the children of Israel, and bmy lord was commanded by the LORD to give the inheritance of our brother Zelophe- had to his daughters. 3 “Now if they are married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the children of Israel, then their inheri- tance will be ataken from the inheri- tance of our fathers, and it will be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry; so it will be taken from the lot of our inheritance. 4 “And when athe Jubilee of the children of Israel comes, then their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry; so their inheritance will be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.” 5 Then Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of the LORD, saying: a“What the tribe of the sons of Joseph speaks is right. 6 “This is what the LORD com- mands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, ‘Let them 1marry whom they think best, abut they may marry only within the fam- ily of their father’s tribe.’ 7 “So the inheritance of the chil- dren of Israel shall not change hands from tribe to tribe, for every one of the children of Israel shall akeep the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. 8 “And aevery daughter who pos- sesses an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel shall be the wife of one of the family of her father’s tribe, so that the children of Israel each may possess the inheri- tance of his fathers.

, abut they may marry only within the fam- ily of their father’s tribe.’ 7 “So the inheritance of the chil- dren of Israel shall not change hands from tribe to tribe, for every one of the children of Israel shall akeep the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. 8 “And aevery daughter who pos- sesses an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel shall be the wife of one of the family of her father’s tribe, so that the children of Israel each may possess the inheri- tance of his fathers. 9 “Thus no inheritance shall change hands from one tribe to another, but every tribe of the chil- dren of Israel shall keep its own inheritance.” 10 Just as the LORD commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad; 11 afor Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married to the sons of their father’s brothers. 12 They were married into the fam- ilies of the children of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in the tribe of their fa- ther’s family. 13 These are the commandments and the judgments which the LORD commanded the children of Israel by the hand of Moses ain the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho. 22 aEx. 21:13 24 aNum. 35:12; Josh. 20:6 25 aJosh. 20:6 bEx. 29:7; Lev. 4:3; 21:10 27 1Murder 29 aNum. 27:11 30 aDeut. 17:6; 19:15; Matt. 18:16; John 7:51; 8:17, 18; 2 Cor. 13:1; Heb. 10:28 33 aDeut. 21:7, 8; Ps. 106:38 bGen. 9:6 1Lit. covering 34 aLev. 18:24, 25; Deut. 21:23 bEx. 29:45, 46 CHAPTER 36 1 aNum. 26:29 bNum. 27:1–11 2 aNum. 26:55; 33:54; Josh. 17:4 bNum. 27:1, 5–7 3 aNum. 27:4 4 aLev. 25:10 5 aNum. 27:7 6 aNum. 36:11, 12 1Lit. be wives to 7 a1 Kin. 21:3 8 a1 Chr. 23:22 11 aNum. 26:33; 27:1 13 aNum. 26:3; 33:50

The Previous Command to Enter Canaan THESE are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel aon this side of the Jordan in the wilderness, in the 1plain opposite 2Suph, between Pa- ran, Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab. 2 It is eleven days’ journey from Horeb by way of Mount Seir ato Kadesh Barnea. 3 Now it came to pass ain the for- tieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spoke to the children of Israel according to all that the LORD had given him as commandments to them, 4 aafter he had killed Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Hesh- bon, and Og king of Bashan, who dwelt at Ashtaroth bin1 Edrei. 5 On this side of the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses began to explain this law, saying, 6 “The LORD our God spoke to us ain Horeb, saying: ‘You have dwelt long benough at this mountain. 7 ‘Turn and take your journey, and go to the mountains of the Amorites, to all the neighboring places in the 1plain, in the moun- tains and in the lowland, in the South and on the seacoast, to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great river, the River Euphrates. 8 ‘See, I have set the land before you; go in and possess the land which the LORD 1swore to your fathers—to aAbraham, Isaac, and Jacob—to give to them and their descendants after them.’ Tribal Leaders Appointed 9 “And aI spoke to you at that time, saying: ‘I 1alone am not able to bear you. 10 ‘The LORD your God has multi- plied you, aand here you are today, as the stars of heaven in multitude. 11 a‘May the LORD God of your fathers make you a thousand times more numerous than you are, and bless you bas He has promised you! 12 a‘How can I alone bear your problems and your burdens and your complaints? 13 ‘Choose wise, understanding, and knowledgeable men from among your tribes, and I will make them 1heads over you.’ 14 “And you answered me and said, ‘The thing which you have told us to do is good.’ 15 “So I took athe heads of your tribes, wise and knowledgeable men, and 1made them heads over you, leaders of thousands, leaders of hundreds, leaders of fifties, lead- ers of tens, and officers for your tribes. 16 “Then I commanded your judges at that time, saying, ‘Hear the cases between your brethren, and ajudge righteously between a man and his bbrother or the stranger who is with him. 17 a‘You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small as well as the great; you shall not be afraid in any man’s presence, for bthe judgment is God’s. The case that is too hard for you, cbring to me, and I will hear it.’ 18 “And I commanded you at that CHAPTER 1 1 aDeut. 4:44–46 1Heb. arabah 2One LXX ms., Tg., Vg. Red Sea 2 aNum. 13:26; 32:8 3 aNum. 33:38 4 aNum. 21:23, 24, 33–35 bJosh. 13:12 1LXX, Syr., Vg. and; cf. Josh. 12:4 6 aEx. 3:1, 12 bEx. 19:1, 2 7 1Heb. arabah 8 aGen. 12:7; 15:5; 22:17; 26:3; 28:13 1promised 9 aEx. 18:18, 24 1am not able to bear you by myself 10 aGen. 15:5; 22:17 11 a2 Sam. 24:3 bGen. 15:5 12 a1 Kin. 3:8, 9 13 1rulers 15 aEx. 18:25 1appointed 16 aDeut. 16:18 bLev. 24:22 17 aProv. 24:23–26 b2 Chr. 19:6 cEx. 18:22, 26 The Fifth Book of Moses Called DEUTERONOMY DEUTERONOMY, Moses’ “Upper Desert Discourse,” consists of a series of farewell messages by Israel’s 120-year-old leader. It is addressed to the new generation destined to possess the Land of Promise—those who survived the forty years of wilderness wandering. Like Leviticus, Deuteronomy contains a vast amount of legal detail, but its emphasis is on the laymen rather than the priests. Moses reminds the new gener- ation of the importance of obedience if they are to learn from the sad example of their parents. The Hebrew title of Deuteronomy is Haddebharim, “The Words,” taken from the opening phrase in 1:1, “These are the words.” The parting words of Moses to the new generation are given in oral and written form so that they will endure to all generations. Deuteronomy has been called “five-fifths of the Law” since it com- pletes the five books of Moses.

rather than the priests. Moses reminds the new gener- ation of the importance of obedience if they are to learn from the sad example of their parents. The Hebrew title of Deuteronomy is Haddebharim, “The Words,” taken from the opening phrase in 1:1, “These are the words.” The parting words of Moses to the new generation are given in oral and written form so that they will endure to all generations. Deuteronomy has been called “five-fifths of the Law” since it com- pletes the five books of Moses. The Jewish people have also called it Mishneh Hat- torah, “Repetition of the Law,” which is translated in the Septuagint as To Deuteronomion Touto, “This Second Law.” Deuteronomy, however, is not a second law but an adaptation and expansion of much of the original law given on Mount Sinai. The English title comes from the Greek title Deuteronomion, “Second Law.” Deuteronomy has also been appropriately called the “Book of Remembrance.”

157 DEUTERONOMY 2:4 time all the things which you should do. Israel’s Refusal to Enter the Land 19 “So we departed from Horeb, aand went through all that great and terrible wilderness which you saw on the way to the mountains of the Amorites, as the LORD our God had commanded us. Then bwe came to Kadesh Barnea. 20 “And I said to you, ‘You have come to the mountains of the Amo- rites, which the LORD our God is giv- ing us. 21 ‘Look, the LORD your God has set the land before you; go up and possess it, as the LORD God of your fathers has spoken to you; ado not fear or be discouraged.’ 22 “And every one of you came near to me and said, ‘Let us send men before us, and let them search out the land for us, and bring back word to us of the way by which we should go up, and of the cities into which we shall come.’ 23 “The plan pleased me well; so aI took twelve of your men, one man from each tribe. 24 a“And they departed and went up into the mountains, and came to the Valley of Eshcol, and spied it out. 25 “They also took some of the fruit of the land in their hands and brought it down to us; and they brought back word to us, saying, ‘It is a agood land which the LORD our God is giving us.’ 26 a“Nevertheless you would not go up, but rebelled against the com- mand of the LORD your God; 27 “and you acomplained in your tents, and said, ‘Because the LORD bhates us, He has brought us out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us. 28 ‘Where can we go up? Our brethren have 1discouraged our hearts, saying, a“The people are greater and taller than we; the cities are great and fortified up to heaven; moreover we have seen the sons of the bAnakim there.” ’ 29 “Then I said to you, ‘Do not be terrified, aor afraid of them. 30 a‘The LORD your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you, according to all He did for you in Egypt before your eyes, 31 ‘and in the wilderness where you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a aman carries his son, in all the way that you went until you came to this place.’ 32 “Yet, for all that, ayou did not believe the LORD your God, 33 a“who went in the way before you bto search out a place for you to pitch your tents, to show you the way you should go, in the fire by night and in the cloud by day. The Penalty for Israel’s Rebellion 34 “And the LORD heard the sound of your words, and was angry, aand took an oath, saying, 35 a‘Surely not one of these men of this evil generation shall see that good land of which I 1swore to give to your fathers, 36 a‘except Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him and his children I am giving the land on which he walked, because bhe 1wholly followed the LORD.’ 37 a“The LORD was also angry with me for your sakes, saying, ‘Even you shall not go in there. 38 a‘Joshua the son of Nun, bwho stands before you, he shall go in there.

and was angry, aand took an oath, saying, 35 a‘Surely not one of these men of this evil generation shall see that good land of which I 1swore to give to your fathers, 36 a‘except Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him and his children I am giving the land on which he walked, because bhe 1wholly followed the LORD.’ 37 a“The LORD was also angry with me for your sakes, saying, ‘Even you shall not go in there. 38 a‘Joshua the son of Nun, bwho stands before you, he shall go in there. cEncourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it. 39 a‘Moreover your little ones and your children, who byou say will be victims, who today chave no knowl- edge of good and evil, they shall go in there; to them I will give it, and they shall possess it. 40 a‘But as for you, turn and take your journey into the wilderness by the Way of the Red Sea.’ 41 “Then you answered and said to me, a‘We have sinned against the LORD; we will go up and fight, just as the LORD our God commanded us.’ And when everyone of you had gird- ed on his weapons of war, you were ready to go up into the mountain. 42 “And the LORD said to me, ‘Tell them, a“Do not go up nor fight, for I am not among you; lest you be defeated before your enemies.” ’ 43 “So I spoke to you; yet you would not listen, but arebelled against the command of the LORD, and bpresumptuously1 went up into the mountain. 44 “And the Amorites who dwelt in that mountain came out against you and chased you aas bees do, and drove you back from Seir to Hormah. 45 “Then you returned and wept before the LORD, but the LORD would not listen to your voice nor give ear to you. 46 a“So you remained in Kadesh many days, according to the days that you spent there. The Desert Years 2 “Then we turned and ajourneyed into the wilderness of the Way of the Red Sea, bas the LORD spoke to me, and we 1skirted Mount Seir for many days. 2 “And the LORD spoke to me, saying: 3 ‘You have skirted this mountain along enough; turn northward. 4 ‘And command the people, say- ing, a“You are about to pass through the territory of byour brethren, the 19 aDeut. 2:7; 8:15; 32:10 bNum. 13:26 21 aJosh. 1:6, 9 23 aNum. 13:2, 3 24 aNum. 13:21–25 25 aNum. 13:27 26 aNum. 14:1–4 27 aPs. 106:25 bDeut. 9:28 28 aDeut. 9:1, 2 bNum. 13:28 1Lit. melted 29 aNum. 14:9 30 aEx. 14:14 31 aIs. 46:3, 4; 63:9 32 aJude 5 33 aEx. 13:21 bNum. 10:33 34 aDeut. 2:14, 15 35 aNum. 14:22, 23 1promised 36 a[Josh. 14:9] bNum. 32:11, 12 1fully 37 aDeut. 3:26; 4:21; 34:4 38 aNum. 14:30 b1 Sam. 16:22 cDeut. 31:7, 23 39 aNum. 14:31 bNum. 14:3 cIs. 7:15, 16 40 aNum. 14:25 41 aNum. 14:40 42 aNum. 14:41–43 43 aNum. 14:44 bDeut. 17:12, 13 1willfully 44 aPs. 118:12 46 aDeut. 2:7, 14 CHAPTER 2 1 aDeut. 1:40 bNum. 14:25 1circled around 3 aDeut. 2:7, 14 4 aNum. 20:14–21 bDeut. 23:7

DEUTERONOMY 2:5 158 descendants of Esau, who live in Seir; and they will be afraid of you. Therefore watch yourselves care- fully. 5 “Do not meddle with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as one footstep, abecause I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession. 6 “You shall buy food from them with money, that you may eat; and you shall also buy water from them with money, that you may drink. 7 “For the LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hand. He knows your 1trudging through this great wilderness. aThese forty years the LORD your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing.” ’ 8 “And when we passed beyond our brethren, the descendants of Esau who dwell in Seir, away from the road of the plain, away from aElath and Ezion Geber, we bturned and passed by way of the Wilder- ness of Moab. 9 “Then the LORD said to me, ‘Do not harass Moab, nor contend with them in battle, for I will not give you any of their land as a possession, because I have given aAr to bthe descendants of Lot as a possession.’ ” 10 a(The Emim had dwelt there in times past, a people as great and numerous and tall as bthe Anakim. 11 They were also regarded as 1giants, like the Anakim, but the Moabites call them Emim. 12 aThe Horites formerly dwelt in Seir, but the descendants of Esau dispossessed them and destroyed them from before them, and dwelt in their 1place, just as Israel did to the land of their possession which the LORD gave them.) 13 “ ‘Now rise and cross over athe 1Valley of the Zered.’ So we crossed over the Valley of the Zered. 14 “And the time we took to come afrom Kadesh Barnea until we crossed over the Valley of the Zered was thirty-eight years, buntil all the generation of the men of war 1was consumed from the midst of the camp, cjust as the LORD had sworn to them. 15 “For indeed the hand of the LORD was against them, to destroy them from the midst of the camp until they 1were consumed. 16 “So it was, when all the men of war had finally perished from among the people, 17 “that the LORD spoke to me, saying: 18 ‘This day you are to cross over at Ar, the boundary of Moab. 19 ‘And when you come near the people of Ammon, do not harass them or meddle with them, for I will not give you any of the land of the people of Ammon as a possession, because I have given it to athe de- scendants of Lot as a possession.’ ” 20 (That was also regarded as a land of 1giants; giants formerly dwelt there. But the Ammonites call them aZamzummim, 21 aa people as great and numer- ous and tall as the Anakim. But the LORD destroyed them before them, and they dispossessed them and dwelt in their place, 22 just as He had done for the descendants of Esau, awho dwelt in Seir, when He destroyed bthe Horites from before them. They dis- possessed them and dwelt in their place, even to this day. 23 And athe Avim, who dwelt in vil- lages as far as Gaza—bthe Caph- torim, who came from Caphtor, destroyed them and dwelt in their place.) 24 “ ‘Rise, take your journey, and across over the River Arnon. Look, I have given into your hand bSihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land.

dwelt in their place, 22 just as He had done for the descendants of Esau, awho dwelt in Seir, when He destroyed bthe Horites from before them. They dis- possessed them and dwelt in their place, even to this day. 23 And athe Avim, who dwelt in vil- lages as far as Gaza—bthe Caph- torim, who came from Caphtor, destroyed them and dwelt in their place.) 24 “ ‘Rise, take your journey, and across over the River Arnon. Look, I have given into your hand bSihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin 1to possess it, and engage him in battle. 25 a‘This day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you upon the nations 1under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report of you, and shall btremble and be in anguish because of you.’ King Sihon Defeated 26 “And I asent messengers from the Wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon king of Heshbon, bwith words of peace, saying, 27 a‘Let me pass through your land; I will keep strictly to the road, and I will turn neither to the right nor to the left. 28 ‘You shall sell me food for money, that I may eat, and give me water for money, that I may drink; aonly let me pass through on foot, 29 a‘just as the descendants of Esau who dwell in Seir and the Moabites who dwell in Ar did for me, until I cross the Jordan to the land which the LORD our God is giving us.’ 30 a“But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass through, for bthe LORD your God chardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, that He might deliver him into your hand, as it is this day. 31 “And the LORD said to me, ‘See, I have begun to agive Sihon and his land over to you. Begin to possess it, that you may inherit his land.’ 32 a“Then Sihon and all his people came out against us to fight at Jahaz. 33 “And athe LORD our God deliv- ered him 1over to us; so bwe defeated him, his sons, and all his people. 34 “We took all his cities at that time, and we autterly destroyed the men, women, and little ones of every city; we left none remaining. 35 “We took only the livestock as 5 aGen. 36:8; Josh. 24:4 7 aDeut. 8:2–4; [Matt. 6:8, 32] 1Lit. goings 8 aJudg. 11:18; 1 Kin. 9:26 bNum. 21:4 9 aNum. 21:15, 28; Deut. 2:18, 29 bGen. 19:36–38 10 aGen. 14:5 bNum. 13:22, 33; Deut. 9:2 11 1Heb. rephaim 12 aGen. 14:6; 36:20; Deut. 2:22 1stead 13 aNum. 21:12 1Wadi or Brook 14 aNum. 13:26 bNum. 14:33; 26:64; Deut. 1:34, 35 cNum. 14:35; Ezek. 20:15 1per- ished 15 1perished 19 aGen. 19:38; Num. 21:24 20 aGen. 14:5 1Heb. rephaim 21 aDeut. 2:10 22 aGen. 36:8; Deut. 2:5 bGen. 14:6; 36:20–30 23 aJosh. 13:3 bGen. 10:14; 1 Chr. 1:12; Jer. 47:4; Amos 9:7 24 aNum. 21:13, 14; Judg. 11:18 bDeut. 1:4 1to take posses- sion 25 aEx. 23:27; Deut. 11:25; Josh. 2:9 bEx. 15:14–16 1everywhere under the heavens 26 aNum. 21:21–32; Deut. 1:4; Judg. 11:19–21 bDeut. 20:10 27 aNum. 21:21, 22; Judg. 11:19 28 aNum. 20:19 29 aNum. 20:18; Deut. 23:3, 4; Judg. 11:17 30 aNum. 21:23 bJosh. 11:20 cEx. 4:21 31 aDeut. 1:3, 8 32 aNum. 21:23 33 aEx. 23:31; Deut. 7:2 bNum. 21:24 1Lit. before us 34 aLev. 27:28

159 DEUTERONOMY 3:27 plunder for ourselves, with the spoil of the cities which we took. 36 a“From Aroer, which is on the bank of the River Arnon, and from bthe city that is in the ravine, as far as Gilead, there was not one city too strong for us; cthe LORD our God delivered all to us. 37 “Only you did not go near the land of the people of Ammon—any- where along the River aJabbok, or to the cities of the mountains, or bwherever the LORD our God had forbidden us. King Og Defeated 3 “Then we turned and went up the road to Bashan; and aOg king of Bashan came out against us, he and all his people, to battle bat Edrei. 2 “And the LORD said to me, ‘Do not fear him, for I have delivered him and all his people and his land into your hand; you shall do to him as you did to aSihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon.’ 3 “So the LORD our God also delivered into our hands Og king of Bashan, with all his people, and we 1attacked him until he had no sur- vivors remaining. 4 “And we took all his cities at that time; there was not a city which we did not take from them: sixty cities, aall the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. 5 “All these cities were fortified with high walls, gates, and bars, besides a great many rural towns. 6 “And we utterly destroyed them, as we did to Sihon king aof Hesh- bon, utterly destroying the men, women, and children of every city. 7 “But all the livestock and the spoil of the cities we took as booty for ourselves. 8 “And at that time we took the aland from the hand of the two kings of the Amorites who were on this side of the Jordan, from the River Arnon to Mount bHermon 9 “(the Sidonians call aHermon Sirion, and the Amorites call it Senir), 10 a“all the cities of the plain, all Gilead, and ball Bashan, as far as Salcah and Edrei, cities of the king- dom of Og in Bashan. 11 a“For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of bthe 1giants. Indeed his bedstead was an iron bedstead. (Is it not in cRabbah of the people of Ammon?) Nine cubits is its length and four cubits its width, according to the standard cubit. The Land East of the Jordan Divided 12 “And this aland, which we pos- sessed at that time, bfrom Aroer, which is by the River Arnon, and half the mountains of Gilead and cits cities, I gave to the Reubenites and the Gadites. 13 a“The rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to half the tribe of Manasseh. (All the region of Argob, with all Bashan, was called the land of the 1giants. 14 a“Jair the son of Manasseh took all the region of Argob, bas far as the border of the Geshurites and the Maachathites, and ccalled Bashan after his own name, 1Havoth Jair, to this day.) 15 “Also I gave aGilead to Machir. 16 “And to the Reubenites aand the Gadites I gave from Gilead as far as the River Arnon, the middle of the river as the border, as far as the River Jabbok, bthe border of the people of Ammon; 17 “the plain also, with the Jordan as the border, from Chinnereth aas far as the east side of the Sea of the Arabah b(the Salt Sea), below the slopes of Pisgah. 18 “Then I commanded you at that time, saying: ‘The LORD your God has given you this land to possess. aAll you men of valor shall cross over armed before your brethren, the children of Israel. 19 ‘But your wives, your little ones, and your livestock (I know that you have much livestock) shall stay in your cities which I have given you, 20 ‘until the LORD has given arest to your brethren as to you, and they also possess the land which the LORD your God is giving them beyond the Jordan.

of Pisgah. 18 “Then I commanded you at that time, saying: ‘The LORD your God has given you this land to possess. aAll you men of valor shall cross over armed before your brethren, the children of Israel. 19 ‘But your wives, your little ones, and your livestock (I know that you have much livestock) shall stay in your cities which I have given you, 20 ‘until the LORD has given arest to your brethren as to you, and they also possess the land which the LORD your God is giving them beyond the Jordan. Then each of you may breturn to his possession which I have given you.’ 21 “And aI commanded Joshua at that time, saying, ‘Your eyes have seen all that the LORD your God has done to these two kings; so will the LORD do to all the kingdoms through which you pass. 22 ‘You must not fear them, for athe LORD your God Himself fights for you.’ Moses Forbidden to Enter the Land 23 “Then aI pleaded with the LORD at that time, saying: 24 ‘O Lord GOD,You have begun to show Your servant aYour greatness and Your 1mighty hand, for bwhat god is there in heaven or on earth who can do anything like Your works and Your mighty deeds? 25 ‘I pray, let me cross over and see athe good land beyond the Jordan, those pleasant mountains, and Lebanon.’ 26 “But the LORD awas angry with me on your account, and would not listen to me. So the LORD said to me: ‘Enough of that! Speak no more to Me of this matter. 27 a‘Go up to the top of Pisgah, and lift your eyes toward the west, the north, the south, and the east; behold 36 aDeut. 3:12; 4:48 bJosh. 13:9, 16 cPs. 44:3 37 aGen. 32:22 bDeut. 2:5, 9, 19 CHAPTER 3 1 aNum. 21:33–35 bDeut. 1:4 2 aNum. 21:34 3 1struck 4 aDeut. 3:13, 14 6 aDeut. 2:24, 34, 35 8 aJosh. 12:6; 13:8–12 b1 Chr. 5:23 9 a1 Chr. 5:23 10 aDeut. 4:49 bJosh. 12:5; 13:11 11 aAmos 2:9 bDeut. 2:11, 20 cJer. 49:2 1Heb. rephaim 12 aNum. 32:33 bDeut. 2:36 cNum. 34:14 13 aJosh. 13:29–31; 17:1 1Heb. rephaim 14 a1 Chr. 2:22 bJosh. 13:13 cNum. 32:41 1Lit. Towns of Jair 15 aNum. 32:39, 40 16 a2 Sam. 24:5 bNum. 21:24 17 aNum. 34:11, 12 bGen. 14:3 18 aNum. 32:20 20 aDeut. 12:9, 10 bJosh. 22:4 21 a[Num. 27:22, 23] 22 aEx. 14:14 23 a[2 Cor. 12:8, 9] 24 aDeut. 5:24; 11:2 b2 Sam. 7:22 1strong 25 aDeut. 4:22 26 aNum. 20:12; 27:14 27 aNum. 23:14; 27:12

DEUTERONOMY 3:28 160 it with your eyes, for you shall not cross over this Jordan. 28 ‘But acommand1 Joshua, and encourage him and strengthen him; for he shall go over before this peo- ple, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which you will see.’ 29 “So we stayed in athe valley opposite Beth Peor. Moses Commands Obedience 4 “Now, O Israel, listen to athe statutes and the judgments which I teach you to observe, that you may live, and go in and 1possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers is giving you. 2 a“You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the com- mandments of the LORD your God which I command you. 3 “Your eyes have seen what the LORD did at aBaal Peor; for the LORD your God has destroyed from among you all the men who fol- lowed Baal of Peor. 4 “But you who held fast to the LORD your God are alive today, every one of you. 5 “Surely I have taught you statutes and judgments, just as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should act according to them in the land which you go to possess. 6 “Therefore be careful to observe them; for this is ayour wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes, and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ 7 “For awhat great nation is there that has bGod1 so near to it, as the LORD our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him? 8 “And what great nation is there that has such statutes and righteous judgments as are in all this law which I set before you this day? 9 “Only take heed to yourself, and diligently akeep yourself, lest you bforget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And cteach them to your children and your grandchildren, 10 “especially concerning athe day you stood before the LORD your God in Horeb, when the LORD said to me, ‘Gather the people to Me, and I will let them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.’ 11 “Then you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the midst of heaven, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness. 12 a“And the LORD spoke to you out of the midst of the fire.

, 10 “especially concerning athe day you stood before the LORD your God in Horeb, when the LORD said to me, ‘Gather the people to Me, and I will let them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.’ 11 “Then you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the midst of heaven, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness. 12 a“And the LORD spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of the words, but saw no 1form; byou only heard a voice. 13 a“So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, bthe Ten Command- ments; and cHe wrote them on two tablets of stone. 14 “And athe LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that you might 1observe them in the land which you cross over to possess. Beware of Idolatry 15 a“Take careful heed to your- selves, for you saw no bform when the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, 16 “lest you aact corruptly and bmake for yourselves a carved image in the 1form of any figure: cthe likeness of male or female, 17 “the likeness of any animal that is on the earth or the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, 18 “the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground or the likeness of any fish that is in the water beneath the earth. 19 “And take heed, lest you alift your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, ball the host of heaven, you feel driven to cworship them and serve them, which the LORD your God has 1given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage. 20 “But the LORD has taken you and abrought you out of the iron fur- nace, out of Egypt, to be bHis peo- ple, an inheritance, as you are this day. 21 “Furthermore athe LORD was angry with me for your sakes, and swore that bI would not cross over the Jordan, and that I would not enter the good land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheri- tance. 22 “But aI must die in this land, bI must not cross over the Jordan; but you shall cross over and 1possess cthat good land. 23 “Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the LORD your God which He made with you, aand make for yourselves a carved image in the form of anything which the LORD your God has forbidden you. 24 “For athe LORD your God is a consuming fire, ba jealous God. 25 “When you beget children and grandchildren and have grown old in the land, and act corruptly and make a carved image in the form of anything, and ado evil in the sight of the LORD your God to provoke Him to anger, 26 a“I call heaven and earth to wit- ness against you this day, that you will soon utterly perish from the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess; you will not 1prolong your 28 aNum. 27:18, 23 1charge 29 aDeut. 4:46; 34:6 CHAPTER 4 1 a[Rom. 10:5] 1take posses- sion of 2 aProv. 30:6 3 aNum. 25:1–9 6 a[2 Tim. 3:15] 7 a[2 Sam. 7:23] b[Is. 55:6] 1Or a god 9 aProv. 4:23 bDeut. 29:2–8 cGen. 18:19 10 aEx. 19:9, 16, 17 12 aDeut. 5:4, 22 b1 Kin. 19:11–18 1similitude 13 aDeut. 9:9, 11 bEx. 34:28 cEx. 24:12 14 aEx. 21:1 1do or per- form 15 aJosh. 23:11 bIs. 40:18 16 aDeut. 9:12; 31:29 bEx. 20:4, 5 cRom. 1:23 1simili- tude 19 aDeut. 17:3 b2 Kin. 21:3 c[Rom. 1:25] 1divided 20 aJer. 11:4 bDeut. 7:6; 27:9 21 aNum. 20:12 bNum. 27:13, 14 22 a2 Pet. 1:13–15 bDeut. 3:27 cDeut. 3:25 1take possession of 23 aDeut. 4:16 24 aDeut. 9:3 bEx. 20:5; 34:14 25 a2 Kin. 17:17 26 aDeut. 30:18, 19 1live long on it

161 DEUTERONOMY 5:8 days in it, but will be utterly de- stroyed. 27 “And the LORD awill scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the LORD will drive you. 28 “And athere you will serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, bwhich neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell. 29 a“But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. 30 “When you are in 1distress, and all these things come upon you in the alatter days, when you bturn to the LORD your God and obey His voice 31 “(for the LORD your God is a merciful God), He will not forsake you nor adestroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them. 32 “For aask now concerning the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and ask bfrom one end of heaven to the other, whether any great thing like this has happened, or anything like it has been heard. 33 a“Did any people ever hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and live? 34 “Or did God ever try to go and take for Himself a nation from the midst of another nation, aby trials, bby signs, by wonders, by war, cby a mighty hand and dan outstretched arm, eand by great 1terrors, accord- ing to all that the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? 35 “To you it was shown, that you might know that the LORD Himself is God; athere is none other besides Him. 36 a“Out of heaven He let you hear His voice, that He might instruct you; on earth He showed you His great fire, and you heard His words out of the midst of the fire. 37 “And because aHe loved your fathers, therefore He chose their 1descendants after them; and bHe brought you out of Egypt with His Presence, with His mighty power, 38 a“driving out from before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land as an inheritance, as it is this day. 39 “Therefore know this day, and consider it in your heart, that athe LORD Himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other. 40 a“You shall therefore keep His statutes and His commandments which I command you today, that 1it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may 2prolong your days in the land which the LORD your God is giving you for all time.” Cities of Refuge East of the Jordan 41 Then Moses aset apart three cities on this side of the Jordan, toward the rising of the sun, 42 athat the manslayer might flee there, who kills his neighbor unin- tentionally, without having hated him in time past, and that by fleeing to one of these cities he might live: 43 aBezer in the wilderness on the plateau for the Reubenites, Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadites, and Golan in Bashan for the Manassites. Introduction to God’s Law 44 Now this is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel. 45 These are the testimonies, the statutes, and the judgments which Moses spoke to the children of Israel after they came out of Egypt, 46 on this side of the Jordan, ain the valley opposite Beth Peor, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon, whom Moses and the children of Israel bdefeated1 after they came out of Egypt. 47 And they took possession of his land and the land aof Og king of Bashan, two kings of the Amorites, who were on this side of the Jordan, toward the 1rising of the sun, 48 afrom Aroer, which is on the bank of the River Arnon, even to Mount 1Sion (that is, bHermon), 49 and all the plain on the east side of the Jordan as far as the Sea of the Arabah, below the aslopes of Pisgah. The Ten Commandments Reviewed 5 And Moses called all Israel, and said to them: “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your hearing today, that you may learn them and be careful to observe them. 2 a“The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. 3 “The LORD adid not make this

er, which is on the bank of the River Arnon, even to Mount 1Sion (that is, bHermon), 49 and all the plain on the east side of the Jordan as far as the Sea of the Arabah, below the aslopes of Pisgah. The Ten Commandments Reviewed 5 And Moses called all Israel, and said to them: “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your hearing today, that you may learn them and be careful to observe them. 2 a“The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. 3 “The LORD adid not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, those who are here today, all of us who are alive. 4 a“The LORD talked with you face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire. 5 a“I stood between the LORD and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the LORD; for byou were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up the mountain. He said: 6 a‘I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of 1bondage. 7 a‘You shall have no other gods 1before Me. 8 a‘You shall not make for your- self a carved image—any 27 aDeut. 28:62 28 aJer. 16:13 bPs. 115:4–7; 135:15–17 29 a[2 Chr. 15:4] 30 aHos. 3:5 bJoel 2:12 1tribulation 31 aJer. 30:11 32 aJob 8:8 bMatt. 24:31 33 aDeut. 5:24–26 34 aDeut. 7:19 bEx. 7:3 cEx. 13:3 dEx. 6:6 eDeut. 26:8 1calamities 35 aMark 12:32 36 aHeb. 12:19, 25 37 aDeut. 7:7, 8; 10:15; 33:3 bEx. 13:3, 9, 14 1Lit. seed 38 aDeut. 7:1 39 aJosh. 2:11 40 aLev. 22:31 1you may prosper 2live long 41 aNum. 35:6 42 aDeut. 19:4 43 aJosh. 20:8 46 aDeut. 3:29 bNum. 21:24 1struck 47 aNum. 21:33–35 1east 48 aDeut. 2:36; 3:12 bDeut. 3:9 1Syr. Sirion 49 aDeut. 3:17 CHAPTER 5 2 aEx. 19:5 3 aHeb. 8:9 4 aEx. 19:9 5 aGal. 3:19 bEx. 19:16 6 aEx. 20:2–17 1slavery 7 aHos. 13:4 1besides 8 aEx. 20:4

DEUTERONOMY 5:9 162 likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 9 you shall not abow1 down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, 2visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 10 abut showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and 1keep My commandments. 11 a‘You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him 1guiltless who takes His name in vain. 12 a‘Observe the Sabbath day, to 1keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you. 13 aSix days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is the aSabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. 15 aAnd remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there bby a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day. 16 a‘Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, bthat your days may be long, and that it may be well with cyou in the land which the LORD your God is giving you. 17 a‘You shall not murder. 18 a‘You shall not commit adultery. 19 a‘You shall not steal. 20 a‘You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 21 a‘You shall not covet your neigh- bor’s wife; and you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field, his male servant, his female servant, his ox, his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.’ 22 “These words the LORD spoke to all your assembly, in the mountain from the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and He added no more. And aHe wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. The People Afraid of God’s Presence 23 a“So it was, when you heard the voice from the midst of the dark- ness, while the mountain was burn- ing with fire, that you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes and your elders. 24 “And you said: ‘Surely the LORD our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and awe have heard His voice from the midst of the fire. We have seen this day that God speaks with man; yet he bstill lives. 25 ‘Now therefore, why should we die? For this great fire will consume us; aif we hear the voice of the LORD our God anymore, then we shall die. 26 a‘For who is there of all flesh who has heard the voice of the liv- ing God speaking from the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived? 27 ‘You go near and hear all that the LORD our God may say, and atell us all that the LORD our God says to you, and we will hear and do it.’ 28 “Then the LORD heard the voice of your words when you spoke to me, and the LORD said to me: ‘I have heard the voice of the words of this people which they have spoken to you.

e LORD our God anymore, then we shall die. 26 a‘For who is there of all flesh who has heard the voice of the liv- ing God speaking from the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived? 27 ‘You go near and hear all that the LORD our God may say, and atell us all that the LORD our God says to you, and we will hear and do it.’ 28 “Then the LORD heard the voice of your words when you spoke to me, and the LORD said to me: ‘I have heard the voice of the words of this people which they have spoken to you. aThey are right in all that they have spoken. 29 a‘Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and balways keep all My com- mandments, cthat it might be well with them and with their children forever! 30 ‘Go and say to them, “Return to your tents.” 31 ‘But as for you, stand here by Me, aand I will speak to you all the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments which you shall teach them, that they may observe them in the land which I am giving them to possess.’ 32 “Therefore you shall 1be careful to do as the LORD your God has commanded you; ayou shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 33 “You shall walk in aall the ways which the LORD your God has com- manded you, that you may live band that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess. The Greatest Commandment 6 “Now this is athe command- ment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the LORD your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the 9 aEx. 34:7, 14–16 1wor- ship them 2punishing 10 aDan. 9:4 1observe 11 aEx. 20:7 1innocent 12 aEx. 20:8 1sanctify it 13 aEx. 23:12; 35:2 14 a[Heb. 4:4] 15 aDeut. 15:15 bDeut. 4:34, 37 16 aLev. 19:3 bDeut. 6:2 cDeut. 4:40 17 aMatt. 5:21 18 aEx. 20:14 19 a[Rom. 13:9] 20 aEx. 20:16; 23:1 21 aEx. 20:17 22 aDeut. 4:13 23 aEx. 20:18, 19 24 aEx. 19:19 bDeut. 4:33 25 aDeut. 18:16 26 aDeut. 4:33 27 aEx. 20:19 28 aDeut. 18:17 29 aPs. 81:13 bDeut. 11:1 cDeut. 4:40 31 a[Gal. 3:19] 32 aDeut. 17:20; 28:14 1observe 33 aDeut. 10:12 bDeut. 4:40 CHAPTER 6 1 aDeut. 12:1

163 DEUTERONOMY 7:7 land which you are crossing over to possess, 2 a“that you may fear the LORD your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, band that your days may be prolonged. 3 “Therefore hear, O Israel, and 1be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that you may amultiply greatly bas the LORD God of your fathers has promised you— c‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’ 4 a“Hear, O Israel: 1The LORD our God, the LORD is one! 5 a“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, bwith all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 “And athese words which I com- mand you today shall be in your heart. 7 a“You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 a“You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 a“You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Caution Against Disobedience 10 “So it shall be, when the LORD your God brings you into the land of which He 1swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you large and beautiful cities awhich you did not build, 11 “houses full of all good things, which you did not fill, hewn-out wells which you did not dig, vine- yards and olive trees which you did not plant—awhen you have eaten and are full— 12 “then beware, lest you forget the aLORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. 13 “You shall afear the LORD your God and serve Him, and bshall take oaths in His name. 14 “You shall not go after other gods, athe gods of the peoples who are all around you 15 “(for athe LORD your God is a jealous God bamong you), lest the anger of the LORD your God be aroused against you and destroy you from the face of the earth. 16 a“You shall not 1tempt the LORD your God bas you 2tempted Him in Massah. 17 “You shall adiligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, His testimonies, and His statutes which He has commanded you. 18 “And you ashall do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD, that it may be well with you, and that you may go in and possess the good land of which the LORD swore to your fathers, 19 a“to cast out all your enemies from before you, as the LORD has spoken. 20 a“When your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies, the statutes, and the judgments which the LORD our God has commanded you?’ 21 “then you shall say to your son: ‘We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, and the LORD brought us out of Egypt awith a mighty hand; 22 ‘and the LORD showed signs and wonders before our eyes, great and severe, against Egypt, Pharaoh, and all his household. 23 ‘Then He brought us out from there, that He might bring us in, to give us the land of which He 1swore to our fathers. 24 ‘And the LORD commanded us to 1observe all these 2statutes, ato fear the LORD our God, bfor our good always, that cHe might preserve us alive, as it is 3this day. 25 ‘Then ait will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to observe all these commandments before the LORD our God, as He has com- manded us.’ A Chosen People 7 “When the Lord your God brings you into the land which you go to apossess, and has cast out many bnations before you, cthe Hit- tites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than you, 2 “and when the LORD your God delivers athem over to you, you shall conquer them and utterly destroy them. bYou shall make no covenant with them nor show mercy to them. 3 a“Nor shall you make marriages with them.

When the Lord your God brings you into the land which you go to apossess, and has cast out many bnations before you, cthe Hit- tites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than you, 2 “and when the LORD your God delivers athem over to you, you shall conquer them and utterly destroy them. bYou shall make no covenant with them nor show mercy to them. 3 a“Nor shall you make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to their son, nor take their daughter for your son. 4 “For they will turn your sons away from following Me, to serve other gods; aso the anger of the LORD will be aroused against you and destroy you suddenly. 5 “But thus you shall deal with them: you shall adestroy their altars, and break down their sacred pillars, and cut down their 1wooden images, and burn their carved images with fire. 6 “For you are a 1holy people to the LORD your God; athe LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. 7 “The LORD did not set His alove on you nor choose you because you 2 a[Eccl. 12:13] bDeut. 4:40 3 aDeut. 7:13 bGen. 22:17 cEx. 3:8, 17 1Lit. observe to do 4 a[1 Cor. 8:4, 6] 1Or The LORD is our God, the LORD alone, i.e., the only one 5 aMatt. 22:37 b2 Kin. 23:25 6 aDeut. 11:18–20 7 aDeut. 4:9; 11:19 8 aProv. 3:3; 6:21; 7:3 9 aDeut. 11:20 10 aJosh. 24:13 1promised 11 aDeut. 8:10; 11:15; 14:29 12 aDeut. 8:11–18 13 aMatt. 4:10 bDeut. 5:11 14 aDeut. 13:7 15 aEx. 20:5 bEx. 33:3 16 aLuke 4:12 b[1 Cor. 10:9] 1test 2tested 17 aDeut. 11:22 18 aEx. 15:26 19 aNum. 33:52, 53 20 aEx. 13:8, 14 21 aEx. 13:3 23 1promised 24 aDeut. 6:2 bJer. 32:39 cDeut. 4:1 1do 2ordinances 3today 25 a[Rom. 10:3, 5] CHAPTER 7 1 aDeut. 6:10 bGen. 15:19–21 cEx. 33:2 2 aNum. 31:17 bJosh. 2:14 3 a1 Kin. 11:2 4 aDeut. 6:15 5 aEx. 23:24; 34:13 1Heb. Asherim, Canaanite deities 6 aEx. 19:5, 6 1set-apart 7 aDeut. 4:37

DEUTERONOMY 7:8 164 were more in number than any other people, for you were bthe least of all peoples; 8 “but abecause the LORD loves you, and because He would keep bthe oath which He swore to your fathers, cthe LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of 1bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 “Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, athe faithful God bwho keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments; 10 “and He repays those who hate Him to their face, to destroy them. He will not 1be aslack with him who hates Him; He will repay him to his face. 11 “Therefore you shall keep the commandment, the statutes, and the judgments which I command you today, to observe them. Blessings of Obedience 12 “Then it shall come to pass, because you listen to these judg- ments, and keep and do them, that the LORD your God will keep with you the covenant and the mercy which He swore to your fathers. 13 “And He will alove you and bless you and 1multiply you; bHe will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the off- spring of your flock, in the land of which He 2swore to your fathers to give you. 14 “You shall be blessed above all peoples; there shall not be a male or female abarren among you or among your livestock. 15 “And the LORD will take away from you all sickness, and will afflict you with none of the aterrible diseases of Egypt which you have known, but will lay them on all those who hate you. 16 “Also you shall 1destroy all the peoples whom the LORD your God delivers over to you; your eye shall have no pity on them; nor shall you serve their gods, for that will abe a snare to you. 17 “If you should say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I; how can I dispossess them?’— 18 “you shall not be afraid of them, but you shall aremember well what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt: 19 a“the great trials which your eyes saw, the signs and the wonders, the mighty hand and the outstretched arm, by which the LORD your God brought you out. So shall the LORD your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid. 20 a“Moreover the LORD your God will send the hornet among them until those who are left, who hide themselves from you, are destroyed. 21 “You shall not be terrified of them; for the LORD your God, the great and awesome God, is among you. 22 “And the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you alittle by little; you will be unable to 1destroy them at once, lest the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. 23 “But the LORD your God will deliver them over to you, and will inflict defeat upon them until they are destroyed. 24 “And aHe will deliver their kings into your hand, and you will destroy their name from under heaven; bno one shall be able to stand 1against you until you have destroyed them. 25 “You shall burn the carved images of their gods with fire; you shall not acovet1 the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it for yourselves, lest you be snared by it; for it is an abomination to the LORD your God. 26 “Nor shall you bring an abomi- nation into your house, lest you be doomed to destruction like it.

24 “And aHe will deliver their kings into your hand, and you will destroy their name from under heaven; bno one shall be able to stand 1against you until you have destroyed them. 25 “You shall burn the carved images of their gods with fire; you shall not acovet1 the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it for yourselves, lest you be snared by it; for it is an abomination to the LORD your God. 26 “Nor shall you bring an abomi- nation into your house, lest you be doomed to destruction like it. You shall utterly detest it and utterly abhor it, afor it is an 1accursed thing. Remember the LORD Your God 8 “Every commandment which I command you today ayou must 1be careful to observe, that you may live and bmultiply,2 and go in and possess the land of which the LORD 3swore to your fathers. 2 “And you shall remember that the LORD your God aled you all the way these forty years in the wilder- ness, to humble you and btest you, cto know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His com- mandments or not. 3 “So He humbled you, aallowed you to hunger, and bfed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall cnot live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that pro- ceeds from the mouth of the LORD. 4 a“Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. 5 a“You should 1know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the LORD your God chastens you. 6 “Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, ato walk in His ways and to fear Him. 7 “For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, aa land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; 8 “a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegran- 7 bDeut. 10:22 8 aDeut. 10:15 bLuke 1:55, 72, 73 cEx. 13:3, 14 1slav- ery 9 a1 Cor. 1:9; 2 Thess. 3:3; 2 Tim. 2:13 bEx. 20:6; Deut. 5:10; Neh. 1:5; Dan. 9:4 10 a[2 Pet. 3:9, 10] 1delay 13 aPs. 146:8; Prov. 15:9; John 14:21 bDeut. 28:4 1cause you to increase 2promised 14 aEx. 23:26 15 aEx. 9:14; 15:26; Deut. 28:27, 60 16 aEx. 23:33; Judg. 8:27; Ps. 106:36 1con- sume 18 aPs. 105:5 19 aDeut. 4:34; 29:3 20 aEx. 23:28; Josh. 24:12 22 aEx. 23:29, 30 1consume 24 aJosh. 10:24, 42; 12:1–24 bJosh. 23:9 1before 25 aProv. 23:6 1desire 26 aDeut. 13:17 1devoted or banned CHAPTER 8 1 aDeut. 4:1; 6:24 bDeut. 30:16 1observe to do 2increase in number 3promised 2 aDeut. 1:3; 2:7; 29:5; Ps. 136:16; Amos 2:10 bEx. 16:4 c[John 2:25] 3 aEx. 16:2, 3 bEx. 16:12, 14, 35 cMatt. 4:4; Luke 4:4 4 aDeut. 29:5; Neh. 9:21 5 a2 Sam. 7:14; Ps. 89:30–33; Prov. 3:11, 12; Heb. 12:5–11; Rev. 3:19 1consider 6 a[Deut. 5:33] 7 aDeut. 11:9–12; Jer. 2:7

165 DEUTERONOMY 9:14 ates, a land of olive oil and honey; 9 “a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper. 10 a“When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you. 11 “Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, 12 a“lest—when you have eaten and are 1full, and have built beauti- ful houses and dwell in them; 13 “and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are 1multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; 14 a“when your heart 1is lifted up, and you bforget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; 15 “who aled you through that great and terrible wilderness, bin which were fiery serpents and scor- pions and thirsty land where there was no water; cwho brought water for you out of the flinty rock; 16 “who fed you in the wilderness with amanna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, bto do you good in the end— 17 “then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’ 18 “And you shall remember the LORD your God, afor it is He who gives you power to get wealth, bthat He may 1establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. 19 “Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the LORD your God, and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them, aI testify against you this day that you shall surely perish. 20 “As the nations which the LORD destroys before you, aso you shall perish, because you would not be obedient to the voice of the LORD your God. Israel’s Rebellions Reviewed 9 “Hear, O Israel: You are to cross over the Jordan today, and go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourself, cities great and fortified up to heaven, 2 “a people great and tall, the ade- scendants of the Anakim, whom you know, and of whom you heard it said, ‘Who can stand before the descendants of Anak?’ 3 “Therefore understand today that the LORD your God is He who agoes over before you as a bconsum- ing fire. cHe will destroy them and bring them down before you; dso you shall drive them out and destroy them quickly, as the LORD has said to you. 4 a“Do not think in your heart, after the LORD your God has cast them out before you, saying, ‘Because of my righteousness the LORD has brought me in to possess this land’; but it is bbecause of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is driving them out from before you. 5 a“It is not because of your righ- teousness or the uprightness of your heart that you go in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD your God drives them out from before you, and that He may 1fulfill the bword which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 6 “Therefore understand that the LORD your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a astiff-necked1 people. 7 “Remember! Do not forget how you aprovoked the LORD your God to wrath in the wilderness. bFrom the day that you departed from the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against the LORD. 8 “Also ain Horeb you provoked the LORD to wrath, so that the LORD was angry enough with you to have destroyed you. 9 a“When I went up into the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant which the LORD made with you, then I stayed on the mountain forty days and bforty nights.

rget how you aprovoked the LORD your God to wrath in the wilderness. bFrom the day that you departed from the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against the LORD. 8 “Also ain Horeb you provoked the LORD to wrath, so that the LORD was angry enough with you to have destroyed you. 9 a“When I went up into the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant which the LORD made with you, then I stayed on the mountain forty days and bforty nights. I neither ate bread nor drank water. 10 a“Then the LORD delivered to me two tablets of stone written with the finger of God, and on them were all the words which the LORD had spoken to you on the mountain from the midst of the fire bin1 the day of the assembly. 11 “And it came to pass, at the end of forty days and forty nights, that the LORD gave me the two tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant. 12 “Then the LORD said to me, a‘Arise, go down quickly from here, for your people whom you brought out of Egypt have acted corruptly; they have bquickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them; they have made themselves a molded image.’ 13 “Furthermore athe LORD spoke to me, saying, ‘I have seen this peo- ple, and indeed bthey are a 1stiff- necked people. 14 a‘Let Me alone, that I may destroy them and bblot out their name from under heaven; cand I will make of you a nation mightier and greater than they.’ 10 aDeut. 6:11, 12 12 aDeut. 28:47; Prov. 30:9; Hos. 13:6 1satisfied 13 1increased 14 a1 Cor. 4:7 bDeut. 8:11; Ps. 106:21 1becomes proud 15 aIs. 63:12–14 bNum. 21:6 cEx. 17:6; Num. 20:11 16 aEx. 16:15 bJer. 24:5, 6; [Heb. 12:11] 18 aProv. 10:22; Hos. 2:8 bDeut. 7:8, 12 1confirm 19 aDeut. 4:26; 30:18 20 a[Dan. 9:11, 12] CHAPTER 9 2 aNum. 13:22, 28, 33; Josh. 11:21, 22 3 aDeut. 1:33; 31:3; Josh. 3:11; 5:14; John 10:4 bDeut. 4:24; Heb. 12:29 cDeut. 7:24 dEx. 23:31 4 aDeut. 8:17; [Rom. 11:6, 20; 1 Cor. 4:4, 7] bGen. 15:16; Lev. 18:3, 24–30; Deut. 12:31; 18:9–14 5 a[Titus 3:5] bGen. 50:24 1perform 6 aEx. 34:9; Deut. 31:27 1stubborn or rebellious 7 aNum. 14:22 bEx. 14:11 8 aEx. 32:1–8; Ps. 106:19 9 aEx. 24:12, 15; Deut. 5:2–22 bEx. 24:18 10 aEx. 31:18; Deut. 4:13 bEx. 19:17 1when you were all gath- ered together 12 aEx. 32:7, 8 bDeut. 31:29 13 aEx. 32:9 bDeut. 9:6 1stubborn or rebellious 14 aEx. 32:10 bDeut. 29:20 cNum. 14:12

DEUTERONOMY 9:15 166 15 a“So I turned and came down from the mountain, and bthe moun- tain burned with fire; and the two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands. 16 “And aI looked, and behold, you had sinned against the LORD your God—had made for yourselves a molded calf! You had turned aside quickly from the way which the LORD had commanded you. 17 “Then I took the two tablets and threw them out of my two hands and abroke them before your eyes. 18 “And I afell1 down before the LORD, as at the first, forty days and forty nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water, because of all your sin which you committed in doing wickedly in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger. 19 a“For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure with which the LORD was angry with you, to destroy you. bBut the LORD listened to me at that time also. 20 “And the LORD was very angry with Aaron and would have destroyed him; so I prayed for Aaron also at the same time. 21 “Then I took your sin, the calf which you had made, and burned it with fire and crushed it and ground it very small, until it was as fine as dust; and I athrew its dust into the brook that descended from the mountain. 22 “Also at aTaberah and bMassah and cKibroth Hattaavah you 1pro- voked the LORD to wrath. 23 “Likewise, awhen the LORD sent you from Kadesh Barnea, saying, ‘Go up and possess the land which I have given you,’ then you rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God, and byou did not believe Him nor obey His voice. 24 a“You have been rebellious against the LORD from the day that I knew you. 25 a“Thus I 1prostrated myself be- fore the LORD; forty days and forty nights I kept prostrating myself, because the LORD had said He would destroy you. 26 “Therefore I prayed to the LORD, and said: ‘O Lord GOD, do not destroy Your people and aYour inher- itance whom You have redeemed through Your greatness, whom You have brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 27 ‘Remember Your servants, Abra- ham, Isaac, and Jacob; do not look on the stubbornness of this peo- ple, or on their wickedness or their sin, 28 ‘lest the land from which You brought us should say, “Because the LORD was not able to bring them to the land which He promised them, and because He hated them, He has brought them out to kill them in the wilderness.” 29 ‘Yet they are Your people and Your inheritance, whom You brought out by Your mighty power and by Your outstretched arm.’ The Second Pair of Tablets 10 “At that time the LORD said to me, 1‘Hew for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and come up to Me on the mountain and make yourself an aark of wood. 2 ‘And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke; and ayou shall put them in the ark.’ 3 “So I made an ark of acacia wood, hewed two tablets of stone like the first, and went up the moun- tain, having the two tablets in my hand. 4 “And He wrote on the tablets according to the first writing, the Ten 1Commandments, awhich the LORD had spoken to you in the mountain from the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly; and the LORD gave them to me. 5 “Then I turned and acame down from the mountain, and bput the tablets in the ark which I had made; cand there they are, just as the LORD commanded me.” 6 (Now the children of Israel jour- neyed from the wells of Bene Jaakan to Moserah, where Aaron adied, and where he was buried; and Eleazar his son ministered as priest in his 1stead. 7 aFrom there they journeyed to Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a land of 1rivers of water. 8 At that time athe LORD 1sepa- rated the tribe of Levi bto bear the ark of the covenant of the LORD, cto stand before the LORD to minister to Him and dto bless in His name, to this day. 9 aTherefore Levi has no portion nor inheritance with his brethren; the LORD is his inheritance, just as the LORD your God promised him.) 10 “As at the first time, aI stayed in the mountain forty days and forty nights; bthe LORD also heard me at

dgodah, and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a land of 1rivers of water. 8 At that time athe LORD 1sepa- rated the tribe of Levi bto bear the ark of the covenant of the LORD, cto stand before the LORD to minister to Him and dto bless in His name, to this day. 9 aTherefore Levi has no portion nor inheritance with his brethren; the LORD is his inheritance, just as the LORD your God promised him.) 10 “As at the first time, aI stayed in the mountain forty days and forty nights; bthe LORD also heard me at that time, and the LORD chose not to destroy you. 11 a“Then the LORD said to me, ‘Arise, begin your journey before the people, that they may go in and possess the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.’ The Essence of the Law 12 “And now, Israel, awhat does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to blove Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 “and to keep the command- ments of the LORD and His statutes 15 aEx. 32:15–19 bEx. 19:18 16 aEx. 32:19 17 aEx. 32:19 18 aEx. 34:28; Ps. 106:23 1prostrated myself 19 aEx. 32:10, 11; Heb. 12:21 bEx. 32:14 21 aEx. 32:20 22 aNum. 11:1, 3 bEx. 17:7 cNum. 11:4, 34 1caused the LORD to be angry 23 aNum. 13:3 bPs. 106:24, 25 24 aDeut. 9:7; 31:27 25 aDeut. 9:18 1fell down 26 aDeut. 32:9 CHAPTER 10 1 aEx. 25:10 1Cut out 2 aEx. 25:16, 21 4 aEx. 20:1; 34:28 1Lit. Words 5 aEx. 34:29 bEx. 40:20 c1 Kin. 8:9 6 aNum. 20:25–28; 33:38 1place 7 aNum. 33:32–34 1brooks 8 aNum. 3:6 bNum. 4:5, 15; 10:21 cDeut. 18:5 dNum. 6:23 1set apart 9 aNum. 18:20, 24; Deut. 18:1, 2; Ezek. 44:28 10 aEx. 34:28; Deut. 9:18 bEx. 32:14 11 aEx. 33:1 12 aMic. 6:8 bDeut. 6:5; Matt. 22:37; 1 Tim. 1:5

167 DEUTERONOMY 11:23 which I command you today afor your 1good? 14 “Indeed heaven and the highest heavens belong to the aLORD your God, also the earth with all that is in it. 15 “The LORD delighted only in your fathers, to love them; and He chose their 1descendants after them, you above all peoples, as it is this day. 16 “Therefore circumcise the fore- skin of your aheart, and be bstiff- necked1 no longer. 17 “For the LORD your God is aGod of gods and bLord of lords, the great God, cmighty and awesome, who dshows no partiality nor takes a bribe. 18 a“He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing. 19 “Therefore love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. 20 a“You shall fear the LORD your God; you shall serve Him, and to Him you shall hold fast, and take oaths in His name. 21 “He is your praise, and He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things which your eyes have seen. 22 “Your fathers went down to Egypt with seventy persons, and now the LORD your God has made you as the stars of heaven in multitude. Love and Obedience Rewarded 11 “Therefore you shall love the LORD your God, and keep His charge, His statutes, His judgments, and His commandments always. 2 “Know today that I do not speak with your children, who have not known and who have not seen the 1chastening of the LORD your God, His greatness and His mighty hand and His outstretched arm— 3 “His signs and His acts which He did in the midst of Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to all his land; 4 “what He did to the army of Egypt, to their horses and their char- iots: ahow He made the waters of the Red Sea overflow them as they pur- sued you, and how the LORD has destroyed them to this day; 5 “what He did for you in the wilderness until you came to this place; 6 “and awhat He did to Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben: how the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, their households, their tents, and all the substance that was 1in their posses- sion, in the midst of all Israel— 7 “but your eyes have aseen every great 1act of the LORD which He did. 8 “Therefore you shall keep every commandment which I command you today, that you may abe strong, and go in and possess the land which you cross over to possess, 9 “and athat you may prolong your days in the land bwhich the LORD 1swore to give your fathers, to them and their descendants, c‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’ 10 “For the land which you go to possess is not like the land of Egypt from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and watered it by foot, as a vegetable garden; 11 a“but the land which you cross over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water from the rain of heaven, 12 “a land for which the LORD your God cares; athe eyes of the LORD your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year. 13 ‘And it shall be that if you earnestly 1obey My commandments which I command you today, to love the LORD your God and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, 14 ‘then aI1 will give you the rain for your land in its season, bthe early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine, and your oil. 15 a‘And I will send grass in your fields for your livestock, that you may beat and be 1filled.’ 16 “Take heed to yourselves, alest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and bserve other gods and worship them, 17 “lest athe LORD’s anger be aroused against you, and He bshut up the heavens so that there be no rain, and the land yield no produce, and cyou perish quickly from the good land which the LORD is giving you. 18 “Therefore ayou shall 1lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your bsoul, and cbind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 19 a“You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you

and worship them, 17 “lest athe LORD’s anger be aroused against you, and He bshut up the heavens so that there be no rain, and the land yield no produce, and cyou perish quickly from the good land which the LORD is giving you. 18 “Therefore ayou shall 1lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your bsoul, and cbind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 19 a“You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 20 a“And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, 21 “that ayour days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers to give them, like bthe days of the heavens above the earth. 22 “For if ayou carefully keep all these commandments which I com- mand you to do—to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, and bto hold fast to Him— 23 “then the LORD will adrive out all these nations from before you, and 13 aDeut. 6:24 1benefit or welfare 14 a[Neh. 9:6] 15 1Lit. seed 16 aJer. 4:4 bDeut. 9:6, 13 1rebellious 17 aDan. 2:47 bRev. 19:16 cDeut. 7:21 dActs 10:34 18 aPs. 68:5; 146:9 20 aMatt. 4:10 CHAPTER 11 2 1discipline 4 aPs. 106:11 6 aPs. 106:16–18 1at their feet 7 aDeut. 10:21; 29:2 1work 8 aJosh. 1:6, 7 9 aDeut. 4:40; 5:16, 33; 6:2 bDeut. 9:5 cEx. 3:8 1promised 11 aDeut. 8:7 12 a1 Kin. 9:3 13 1Lit. listen to 14 aDeut. 28:12 bJoel 2:23 1So with MT, Tg.; Sam., LXX, Vg. He 15 aPs. 104:14 bDeut. 6:11 1satisfied 16 aJob 31:27 bDeut. 8:19 17 aDeut. 6:15; 9:19 b2 Chr. 6:26; 7:13 cDeut. 4:26 18 aDeut. 6:6–9 bPs. 119:2, 34 cDeut. 6:8 1Lit. put 19 aDeut. 4:9, 10; 6:7 20 aDeut. 6:9 21 aDeut. 4:40 bPs. 72:5; 89:29 22 aDeut. 11:1 bDeut. 10:20 23 aDeut. 4:38

DEUTERONOMY 11:24 168 you will bdispossess greater and mightier nations than yourselves. 24 a“Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours: bfrom the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the River Euphrates, even to the 1Western Sea, shall be your territory. 25 “No man shall be able to astand 1against you; the LORD your God will put the bdread of you and the fear of you upon all the land where you tread, just as He has said to you. 26 a“Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse: 27 a“the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you today; 28 “and the acurse, if you do not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside from the way which I command you today, to go after other gods which you have not known. 29 “Now it shall be, when the LORD your God has brought you into the land which you go to possess, that you shall put the ablessing on Mount Gerizim and the bcurse on Mount Ebal. 30 “Are they not on the other side of the Jordan, toward the setting sun, in the land of the Canaanites who dwell in the plain opposite Gil- gal, abeside the terebinth trees of Moreh? 31 “For you will cross over the Jor- dan and go in to possess the land which the LORD your God is giving you, and you will possess it and dwell in it. 32 “And you shall be careful to observe all the statutes and judg- ments which I set before you today. A Prescribed Place of Worship 12 “These aare the statutes and judgments which you shall be careful to observe in the land which the LORD God of your fathers is giv- ing you to possess, ball1 the days that you live on the earth. 2 a“You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations which you shall dispossess served their gods, bon the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. 3 “And ayou shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and burn their 1wooden images with fire; you shall cut down the carved images of their gods and destroy their names from that place. 4 “You shall not aworship the LORD your God with such things. 5 “But you shall seek the aplace where the LORD your God chooses, out of all your tribes, to put His name for His bdwelling1 place; and there you shall go. 6 a“There you shall take your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the heave offerings of your hand, your vowed offerings, your freewill offerings, and the bfirstborn of your herds and flocks. 7 “And athere you shall eat before the LORD your God, and byou shall rejoice in 1all to which you have put your hand, you and your house- holds, in which the LORD your God has blessed you. 8 “You shall not at all do as we are doing here today—aevery man doing whatever is right in his own eyes— 9 “for as yet you have not come to the arest1 and the inheritance which the LORD your God is giving you. 10 “But when you cross over the Jordan and dwell in the land which the LORD your God is giving you to inherit, and He gives you arest from all your enemies round about, so that you dwell in safety, 11 “then there will be the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name abide.

u. 8 “You shall not at all do as we are doing here today—aevery man doing whatever is right in his own eyes— 9 “for as yet you have not come to the arest1 and the inheritance which the LORD your God is giving you. 10 “But when you cross over the Jordan and dwell in the land which the LORD your God is giving you to inherit, and He gives you arest from all your enemies round about, so that you dwell in safety, 11 “then there will be the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name abide. There you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings, your sacri- fices, your tithes, the heave offer- ings of your hand, and all your choice offerings which you vow to the LORD. 12 “And ayou shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your sons and your daughters, your male and female servants, and the bLevite who is within your gates, since he has no portion nor inheritance with you. 13 “Take heed to yourself that you do not offer your burnt offerings in every place that you see; 14 “but in the place which the LORD chooses, in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I command you. 15 “However, ayou may slaughter and eat meat within all your gates, whatever your heart desires, accord- ing to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you; bthe unclean and the clean may eat of it, cof the gazelle and the deer alike. 16 a“Only you shall not eat the blood; you shall pour it on the earth like water. 17 “You may not eat within your gates the tithe of your grain or your new wine or your oil, of the first- born of your herd or your flock, of any of your offerings which you vow, of your freewill offerings, or of the 1heave offering of your hand. 18 “But you must eat them before the LORD your God in the place which the LORD your God chooses, you and your son and your daugh- ter, your male servant and your female servant, and the Levite who is within your gates; and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God in 1all to which you put your hands. 19 1“Take heed to yourself that you 23 bDeut. 9:1 24 aJosh. 1:3; 14:9 bGen. 15:18; Ex. 23:31; Deut. 1:7, 8 1Mediter- ranean 25 aDeut. 7:24 bEx. 23:27; Deut. 2:25; Josh. 2:9–11 1before 26 aDeut. 30:1, 15, 19 27 aDeut. 28:1–14 28 aDeut. 28:15–68 29 aDeut. 27:12, 13; Josh. 8:33 bDeut. 27:13–26 30 aGen. 12:6 CHAPTER 12 1 aDeut. 6:1 bDeut. 4:9, 10; 1 Kin. 8:40 1As long as 2 aEx. 34:13 b2 Kin. 16:4; 17:10, 11 3 aNum. 33:52; Deut. 7:5; Judg. 2:2 1Heb. Ashe- rim 4 aDeut. 12:31 5 aEx. 20:24 bEx. 15:13; 1 Sam. 2:29 1home 6 aLev. 17:3, 4 bDeut. 14:23 7 aDeut. 14:26 bDeut. 12:12, 18 1all that you under- take 8 aJudg. 17:6; 21:25 9 aDeut. 3:20; 25:19; Ps. 95:11 1Or place of rest 10 aJosh. 11:23 12 aDeut. 12:18; 26:11 bDeut. 10:9; 14:29 15 aDeut. 12:21 bDeut. 12:22 cDeut. 14:5 16 aGen. 9:4; Lev. 7:26; 17:10–12; 1 Sam. 14:33; Acts 15:20, 29 17 1contribu- tion 18 1all your undertakings 19 1Be careful

169 DEUTERONOMY 13:15 do not forsake the Levite as long as you live in your land. 20 “When the LORD your God aen- larges your border as He has prom- ised you, and you say, ‘Let me eat meat,’ because you long to eat meat, you may eat as much meat as your heart desires. 21 “If the place where the LORD your God chooses to put His name is too far from ayou, then you may slaughter from your herd and from your flock which the LORD has given you, just as I have commanded you, and you may eat within your gates as much as your heart desires. 22 “Just as the gazelle and the deer are eaten, so you may eat them; the unclean and the clean alike may eat them. 23 “Only be sure that you do not eat the blood, afor the blood is the life; you may not eat the life with the meat. 24 “You shall not eat it; you shall pour it on the earth like water. 25 “You shall not eat it, athat it may go well with you and your children after you, bwhen you do what is right in the sight of the LORD. 26 “Only the aholy things which you have, and your vowed offerings, you shall take and go to the place which the LORD chooses. 27 “And ayou shall offer your burnt offerings, the meat and the blood, on the altar of the LORD your God; and the blood of your sacrifices shall be poured out on the altar of the LORD your God, and you shall eat the meat. 28 “Observe and obey all these words which I command you, athat it may go well with you and your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the sight of the LORD your God. Beware of False Gods 29 “When athe LORD your God cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess, and you displace them and dwell in their land, 30 “take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.’ 31 a“You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way; for every 1abomination to the LORD which He hates they have done to their gods; for bthey burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods. 32 “Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; ayou shall not add to it nor take away from it. Punishment of Apostates 13 “If there arises among you a prophet or a adreamer of dreams, band he gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 “and athe sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’—which you have not known—‘and let us serve them,’ 3 “you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the LORD your God ais testing you to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 “You shall awalk1 after the LORD your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and bhold fast to Him. 5 “But athat prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage, to entice you from the way in which the LORD your God com- manded you to walk.

God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 “You shall awalk1 after the LORD your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and bhold fast to Him. 5 “But athat prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage, to entice you from the way in which the LORD your God com- manded you to walk. bSo you shall 1put away the evil from your midst. 6 a“If your brother, the son of your mother, your son or your daughter, bthe wife 1of your bosom, or your friend cwho is as your own soul, secretly entices you, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’ which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers, 7 “of the gods of the people which are all around you, near to you or far off from you, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth, 8 “you shall anot 1consent to him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him or conceal him; 9 “but you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first against him to put him to adeath, and afterward the hand of all the people. 10 “And you shall stone him with stones until he dies, because he sought to entice you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. 11 “So all Israel shall hear and afear, and not again do such wickedness as this among you. 12 a“If you hear someone in one of your cities, which the LORD your God gives you to dwell in, saying, 13 1‘Corrupt men have gone out from among you and enticed the inhabitants of their city, saying, “Let us go and serve other gods” ’— which you have not known— 14 “then you shall inquire, search out, and ask diligently. And if it is indeed true and certain that such an 1abomination was committed among you, 15 “you shall surely strike the 20 aGen. 15:18; Ex. 34:24; Deut. 11:24; 19:8 21 aDeut. 14:24 23 aGen. 9:4; Lev. 17:10–14; Deut. 12:16 25 aDeut. 4:40; 6:18; Is. 3:10 bEx. 15:26; 1 Kin. 11:38 26 aNum. 5:9, 10; 18:19 27 aLev. 1:5, 9, 13, 17 28 aDeut. 12:25 29 aEx. 23:23; Deut. 19:1; Josh. 23:4 31 aLev. 18:3, 26, 30; 20:1, 2 bDeut. 18:10; Ps. 106:37; Jer. 32:35 1detestable action 32 aDeut. 4:2; 13:18; Josh. 1:7; Prov. 30:6; Rev. 22:18, 19 CHAPTER 13 1 aNum. 12:6; Jer. 23:28; Zech. 10:2 bMatt. 24:24; Mark 13:22; 2 Thess. 2:9 2 aDeut. 18:22 3 aEx. 20:20; Deut. 8:2, 16 4 aDeut. 10:12, 20; 2 Kin. 23:3 bDeut. 30:20 1follow the LORD 5 aDeut. 18:20; Jer. 14:15 bDeut. 17:5, 7; 1 Cor. 5:13 1exterminate 6 aDeut. 17:2 bGen. 16:5 c1 Sam. 18:1, 3 1Whom you cherish 8 aDeut. 7:16; Prov. 1:10 1yield 9 aLev. 24:14; Deut. 17:7 11 aDeut. 17:13 12 aJudg. 20:1–48 13 1Lit. Sons of Belial 14 1detestable action

DEUTERONOMY 13:16 170 inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, utterly destroy- ing it, all that is in it and its live- stock—with the edge of the sword. 16 “And you shall gather all its plunder into the middle of the street, and 1completely aburn with fire the city and all its plunder, for the LORD your God. It shall be ba 2heap forever; it shall not be built again. 17 a“So none of the accursed things shall remain in your hand, that the LORD may bturn from the fierceness of His anger and show you mercy, have compassion on you and 1multiply you, just as He swore to your fathers, 18 “because you have listened to the voice of the LORD your God, ato keep all His commandments which I command you today, to do what is right in the eyes of the LORD your God. Improper Mourning 14 “You are athe children of the LORD your God; byou shall not cut yourselves nor 1shave the front of your head for the dead. 2 a“For you are a holy people to the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. Clean and Unclean Meat 3 a“You shall not eat any 1detest- able thing. 4 a“These are the animals which you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat, 5 “the deer, the gazelle, the roe deer, the wild goat, the 1mountain goat, the antelope, and the moun- tain sheep. 6 “And you may eat every animal with cloven hooves, having the hoof split into two parts, and that chews the cud, among the animals. 7 “Nevertheless, of those that chew the cud or have cloven hooves, you shall not eat, such as these: the camel, the hare, and the rock hyrax; for they chew the cud but do not have cloven hooves; they are unclean for you. 8 “Also the swine is unclean for you, because it has cloven hooves, yet does not chew the cud; you shall not eat their flesh aor touch their dead carcasses. 9 a“These you may eat of all that are in the waters: you may eat all that have fins and scales. 10 “And whatever does not have fins and scales you shall not eat; it is unclean for you. 11 “All clean birds you may eat. 12 a“But these you shall not eat: the eagle, the vulture, the buzzard, 13 “the red kite, the falcon, and the kite after their kinds; 14 “every raven after its kind; 15 “the ostrich, the short-eared owl, the sea gull, and the hawk after their kinds; 16 “the little owl, the screech owl, the white owl, 17 “the jackdaw, the carrion vul- ture, the fisher owl, 18 “the stork, the heron after its kind, and the hoopoe and the bat. 19 “Also aevery 1creeping thing that flies is unclean for you; bthey shall not be eaten. 20 “You may eat all clean birds. 21 a“You shall not eat anything that dies of itself; you may give it to the alien who is within your gates, that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner; bfor you are a holy people to the LORD your God.

ttle owl, the screech owl, the white owl, 17 “the jackdaw, the carrion vul- ture, the fisher owl, 18 “the stork, the heron after its kind, and the hoopoe and the bat. 19 “Also aevery 1creeping thing that flies is unclean for you; bthey shall not be eaten. 20 “You may eat all clean birds. 21 a“You shall not eat anything that dies of itself; you may give it to the alien who is within your gates, that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner; bfor you are a holy people to the LORD your God. cYou shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk. Tithing Principles 22 a“You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year. 23 a“And you shall eat before the LORD your God, in the place where He chooses to make His name abide, the tithe of your grain and your new wine and your oil, of bthe firstborn of your herds and your flocks, that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always. 24 “But if the journey is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, or aif the place where the LORD your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, when the LORD your God has blessed you, 25 “then you shall exchange it for money, take the money in your hand, and go to the place which the LORD your God chooses. 26 “And you shall spend that money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen or sheep, for wine or similar drink, for whatever your heart desires; you shall eat there before the LORD your God, and you shall are- joice, you and your household. 27 “You shall not 1forsake the aLe- vite who is within your gates, for he has no part nor inheritance with you. 28 a“At the end of every third year you shall bring out the btithe of your produce of that year and store it up within your gates. 29 “And the Levite, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are within your gates, may come and eat and be sat- isfied, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do. Debts Canceled Every Seven Years 15 “At the end of aevery seven years you shall grant a 1release of debts. 16 aJosh. 6:24 bJosh. 8:28; Is. 17:1; 25:2; Jer. 49:2 1Or as a whole- offering 2Lit. mound or ruin 17 aJosh. 6:18 bJosh. 7:26 1increase 18 aDeut. 12:25, 28, 32 CHAPTER 14 1 a[Rom. 8:16; Gal. 3:26] bLev. 19:28; 21:1–5 1make any baldness between your eyes 2 aLev. 20:26; Deut. 7:6; [Rom. 12:1] 3 aEzek. 4:14 1abominable 4 aLev. 11:2–45 5 1Or addax 8 aLev. 11:26, 27 9 aLev. 11:9 12 aLev. 11:13 19 aLev. 11:20 bLev. 11:23 1swarming 21 aLev. 17:15; 22:8; Ezek. 4:14; 44:31 bDeut. 14:2 cEx. 23:19; 34:26 22 aLev. 27:30; Deut. 12:6, 17; Neh. 10:37 23 aDeut. 12:5–7 bDeut. 15:19, 20 24 aDeut. 12:5, 21 26 aDeut. 12:7 27 aDeut. 12:12 1neglect 28 aDeut. 26:12; Amos 4:4 bNum. 18:21–24 CHAPTER 15 1 aEx. 21:2; 23:10, 11; Lev. 25:4; Jer. 34:14 1remis- sion

171 DEUTERONOMY 16:6 2 “And this is the form of the release: Every creditor who has lent anything to his neighbor shall 1release it; he shall not 2require it of his neighbor or his brother, because it is called the LORD’s release. 3 “Of a foreigner you may require it; but you shall give up your claim to what is owed by your brother, 4 “except when there may be no poor among you; for the LORD will greatly abless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance— 5 “only if you carefully obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe with care all these com- mandments which I command you today. 6 “For the LORD your God will bless you just as He promised you; ayou shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow; you shall reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over you. Generosity to the Poor 7 “If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the 1gates in your land which the LORD your God is giving you, ayou shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother, 8 “but ayou shall 1open your hand wide to him and willingly lend him sufficient for his need, whatever he needs. 9 “Beware lest there be a wicked thought in your heart, saying, ‘The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand,’ and your aeye be evil against your poor brother and you give him nothing, and bhe cry out to the LORD against you, and cit become sin among you. 10 “You shall surely give to him, and ayour heart should not be grieved when you give to him, because bfor this thing the LORD your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which you put your hand. 11 “For athe poor will never cease from the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall 1open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land.’ The Law Concerning Bondservants 12 a“If your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is bsold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you. 13 “And when you 1send him away free from you, you shall not let him go away empty-handed; 14 “you shall supply him liberally from your flock, from your threshing floor, and from your winepress. From what the LORD your God has ablessed you with, you shall give to him. 15 a“You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this thing today. 16 “And aif it happens that he says to you, ‘I will not go away from you,’ because he loves you and your house, since he prospers with you, 17 “then you shall take an awl and thrust it through his ear to the door, and he shall be your servant forever. Also to your female servant you shall do likewise. 18 “It shall not seem hard to you when you send him away free from you; for he has been worth aa double hired servant in serving you six years.

deemed you; therefore I command you this thing today. 16 “And aif it happens that he says to you, ‘I will not go away from you,’ because he loves you and your house, since he prospers with you, 17 “then you shall take an awl and thrust it through his ear to the door, and he shall be your servant forever. Also to your female servant you shall do likewise. 18 “It shall not seem hard to you when you send him away free from you; for he has been worth aa double hired servant in serving you six years. Then the LORD your God will bless you in all that you do. The Law Concerning Firstborn Animals 19 a“All the firstborn males that come from your herd and your flock you shall 1sanctify to the LORD your God; you shall do no work with the firstborn of your herd, nor shear the firstborn of your flock. 20 a“You and your household shall eat it before the LORD your God year by year in the place which the LORD chooses. 21 a“But if there is a defect in it, if it is lame or blind or has any serious defect, you shall not sacrifice it to the LORD your God. 22 “You may eat it within your gates; athe unclean and the clean person alike may eat it, as if it were a gazelle or a deer. 23 “Only you shall not eat its blood; you shall pour it on the ground like water. The Passover Reviewed 16 “Observe the amonth of Abib, and keep the Passover to the LORD your God, for bin the month of Abib the LORD your God brought you out of Egypt by night. 2 “Therefore you shall sacrifice the Passover to the LORD your God, from the flock and athe herd, in the bplace where the LORD chooses to put His name. 3 “You shall eat no leavened bread with it; aseven days you shall eat unleavened bread with it, that is, the bread of affliction (for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste), that you may bremember the day in which you came out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life. 4 a“And no leaven shall be seen among you in all your territory for seven days, nor shall any of the meat which you sacrifice the first day at twilight remain overnight until bmorning. 5 “You may not sacrifice the Passover within any of your gates which the LORD your God gives you; 6 “but at the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name 2 1cancel the debt 2exact it 4 aDeut. 7:13 6 aDeut. 28:12, 44 7 aEx. 23:6; Lev. 25:35–37; Deut. 24:12–14; [1 John 3:17] 1towns 8 aMatt. 5:42; Gal. 2:10 1freely open 9 aDeut. 28:54, 56 bEx. 22:23; Deut. 24:15; Job 34:28; Ps. 12:5; James 5:4 c[Matt. 25:41, 42] 10 a2 Cor. 9:5, 7 bDeut. 14:29; Ps. 41:1; Prov. 22:9 11 aMatt. 26:11; Mark 14:7; John 12:8 1freely open 12 aEx. 21:2–6; Jer. 34:14 bLev. 25:39–46 13 1set him free 14 aProv. 10:22 15 aDeut. 5:15 16 aEx. 21:5, 6 18 aIs. 16:14 19 aEx. 13:2, 12 1set apart or consecrate 20 aLev. 7:15–18; Deut. 12:5; 14:23 21 aLev. 22:19–25; Deut. 17:1 22 aDeut. 12:15, 16, 22 CHAPTER 16 1 aEx. 12:2 bEx. 13:4 2 aNum. 28:19 bDeut. 12:5, 26; 15:20 3 aNum. 29:12 bEx. 13:3; Deut. 4:9 4 aEx. 13:7 bNum. 9:12

DEUTERONOMY 16:7 172 abide, there you shall sacrifice the Passover aat twilight, at the going down of the sun, at the time you came out of Egypt. 7 “And you shall roast and eat it ain the place which the LORD your God chooses, and in the morning you shall turn and go to your tents. 8 “Six days you shall eat unleav- ened bread, and aon the seventh day there shall be a 1sacred assembly to the LORD your God.You shall do no work on it. The Feast of Weeks Reviewed 9 “You shall count seven weeks for yourself; begin to count the seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the grain. 10 “Then you shall keep the aFeast of Weeks to the LORD your God with the tribute of a freewill offering from your hand, which you shall give bas the LORD your God blesses you. 11 a“You shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your son and your daughter, your male ser- vant and your female servant, the Levite who is within your gates, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are among you, at the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name abide. 12 a“And you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and you shall be careful to observe these statutes. The Feast of Tabernacles Reviewed 13 a“You shall observe the Feast of Tabernacles seven days, when you have gathered from your threshing floor and from your winepress. 14 “And ayou shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant and the Levite, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow, who are within your 1gates. 15 a“Seven days you shall keep a sacred feast to the LORD your God in the place which the LORD chooses, because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you surely rejoice. 16 a“Three times a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles; and bthey shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed. 17 “Every man shall give as he is able, aaccording to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you. Justice Must Be Administered 18 “You shall appoint ajudges and officers in all your 1gates, which the LORD your God gives you, accord- ing to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with just judgment. 19 a“You shall not pervert justice; byou shall not 1show partiality, cnor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and 2twists the words of the righteous. 20 “You shall follow what is alto- gether just, that you may alive and inherit the land which the LORD your God is giving you. 21 a“You shall not plant for your- self any tree, as a 1wooden image, near the altar which you build for yourself to the LORD your God. 22 a“You shall not set up a sacred pillar, which the LORD your God hates. 17 “You ashall not sacrifice to the LORD your God a bull or sheep which has any 1blemish or defect, for that is an 2abomination to the LORD your God. 2 a“If there is found among you, within any of your 1gates which the LORD your God gives you, a man or a woman who has been wicked in the sight of the LORD your God, bin transgressing His covenant, 3 “who has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, either athe sun or moon or any of the host of heaven, bwhich I have not com- manded, 4 a“and it is told you, and you hear of it, then you shall inquire diligently. And if it is indeed true and certain that such an 1abomination has been committed in Israel, 5 “then you shall bring out to your gates that man or woman who has committed that wicked thing, and ashall stone bto death that man or woman with stones. 6 “Whoever is deserving of death shall be put to death on the testi- mony of two or three awitnesses; he shall not be put to death on the tes- timony of one witness. 7 “The hands of the witnesses shall be the first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people.

hat such an 1abomination has been committed in Israel, 5 “then you shall bring out to your gates that man or woman who has committed that wicked thing, and ashall stone bto death that man or woman with stones. 6 “Whoever is deserving of death shall be put to death on the testi- mony of two or three awitnesses; he shall not be put to death on the tes- timony of one witness. 7 “The hands of the witnesses shall be the first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So you shall put away the evil from among ayou. 8 a“If a matter arises which is too hard for you to judge, between degrees of guilt for bloodshed, between one judgment or another, or between one punishment or another, matters of controversy within your gates, then you shall arise and go up to the bplace which the LORD your God chooses. 9 “And ayou shall come to the priests, the Levites, and bto the judge there in those days, and inquire of them; cthey shall pronounce upon you the sentence of judgment. 10 “You shall do according to the sentence which they pronounce upon you in that place which the LORD chooses. And you shall be care- 6 aEx. 12:7–10 7 a2 Kin. 23:23 8 aEx. 12:16; 13:6; Lev. 23:8, 36 1Lit. restraint 10 aEx. 34:22; Lev. 23:15, 16; Num. 28:26 b1 Cor. 16:2 11 aDeut. 16:14 12 aDeut. 15:15 13 aEx. 23:16 14 aNeh. 8:9 1towns 15 aLev. 23:39–41 16 aEx. 23:14–17; 34:22–24 bEx. 23:15 17 aLev. 14:30, 31; Deut. 16:10 18 aEx. 23:1–8; Deut. 1:16, 17; John 7:24 1towns 19 aEx. 23:2, 6 bDeut. 1:17 cEx. 23:8 1Lit. regard faces 2perverts 20 aEzek. 18:5–9 21 aEx. 34:13 1Or Asherah 22 aLev. 26:1 CHAPTER 17 1 aDeut. 15:21; Mal. 1:8, 13 1Lit. evil thing 2detestable thing 2 aDeut. 13:6 bJosh. 7:11 1towns 3 aDeut. 4:19 bJer. 7:22 4 aDeut. 13:12, 14 1detestable thing 5 aLev. 24:14–16; Josh. 7:25 bDeut. 13:6–18 6 aNum. 35:30; Deut. 19:15; Matt. 18:16; John 8:17; 2 Cor. 13:1; 1 Tim. 5:19; Heb. 10:28 7 aDeut. 13:5; 19:19; 1 Cor. 5:13 8 aDeut. 1:17; 2 Chr. 19:10 bDeut. 12:5; 16:2 9 aJer. 18:18 bDeut. 19:17–19 cEzek. 44:24

173 DEUTERONOMY 18:19 ful to do according to all that they order you. 11 “According to the sentence of the law in which they instruct you, according to the judgment which they tell you, you shall do; you shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left from the sentence which they pronounce upon you. 12 “Now athe man who acts pre- sumptuously and will not heed the priest who stands to minister there before the LORD your God, or the judge, that man shall die. So you shall put away the evil from Israel. 13 a“And all the people shall hear and fear, and no longer act pre- sumptuously. Principles Governing Kings 14 “When you come to the land which the LORD your God is giving you, and possess it and dwell in it, and say, a‘I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me,’ 15 “you shall surely set a king over you awhom the LORD your God chooses; one bfrom among your brethren you shall set as king over you; you may not set a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. 16 “But he shall not multiply ahorses for himself, nor cause the people bto return to Egypt to multi- ply horses, for cthe LORD has said to you, d‘You shall not return that way again.’ 17 “Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply silver and agold for himself. 18 “Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one abefore the priests, the Levites. 19 “And ait shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes, 20 “that his heart may not 1be lifted above his brethren, that he amay not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may 2prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel. The Portion of the Priests and Levites 18 “The priests, the Levites—all the tribe of Levi—shall have 1no part nor ainheritance with Israel; they shall eat the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and His portion. 2 “Therefore they shall have no inheritance among their brethren; the LORD is their inheritance, as He said to them. 3 “And this shall be the priest’s adue1 from the people, from those who offer a sacrifice, whether it is bull or sheep: they shall give to the priest the shoulder, the cheeks, and the stomach. 4 a“The firstfruits of your grain and your new wine and your oil, and the first of the fleece of your sheep, you shall give him. 5 “For athe LORD your God has chosen him out of all your tribes bto stand to minister in the name of the LORD, him and his sons forever. 6 “So if a Levite comes from any of your 1gates, from where he adwells among all Israel, and comes with all the desire of his mind bto the place which the LORD chooses, 7 “then he may serve in the name of the LORD his God aas all his brethren the Levites do, who stand there before the LORD. 8 “They shall have equal apor- tions to eat, besides what comes from the sale of his inheritance. Avoid Wicked Customs 9 “When you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you, ayou shall not learn to follow the 1abominations of those nations. 10 “There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter apass1 through the fire, bor one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, 11 a“or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or bone who calls up the dead. 12 “For all who do these things are 1an abomination to the LORD, and abecause of these abominations the LORD your God drives them out from before you. 13 “You shall be 1blameless before the LORD your God. 14 “For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsay- ers and diviners; but as for you, the LORD your God has not 1appointed such for you. A New Prophet Like Moses 15 a“The LORD your God will raise

who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or bone who calls up the dead. 12 “For all who do these things are 1an abomination to the LORD, and abecause of these abominations the LORD your God drives them out from before you. 13 “You shall be 1blameless before the LORD your God. 14 “For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsay- ers and diviners; but as for you, the LORD your God has not 1appointed such for you. A New Prophet Like Moses 15 a“The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear, 16 “according to all you desired of the LORD your God in Horeb ain the day of the assembly, saying, b‘Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, nor let me see this great fire anymore, lest I die.’ 17 “And the LORD said to me: a‘What they have spoken is good. 18 a‘I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and bwill put My words in His mouth, cand He shall speak to them all that I command Him. 19 a‘And it shall be that whoever 12 aNum. 15:30 13 aDeut. 13:11 14 a1 Sam. 8:5, 19, 20; 10:19 15 a1 Sam. 9:15, 16; 10:24; 16:12, 13 bJer. 30:21 16 a1 Kin. 4:26; 10:26–29 bEzek. 17:15 cEx. 13:17, 18 dDeut. 28:68 17 a1 Kin. 10:14 18 aDeut. 31:24–26 19 aPs. 119:97, 98 20 aDeut. 5:32 1become proud 2con- tinue long in his kingdom CHAPTER 18 1 aDeut. 10:9 1no portion 3 aLev. 7:32–34; 1 Sam. 2:13–16, 29 1right 4 aEx. 22:29 5 aEx. 28:1 bDeut. 10:8 6 aNum. 35:2 bDeut. 12:5; 14:23 1towns 7 a2 Chr. 31:2 8 a2 Chr. 31:4 9 aDeut. 12:29, 30; 20:16–18 1detestable acts 10 aDeut. 12:31 bIs. 8:19 1Be burned as an offering to an idol 11 aLev. 20:27 b1 Sam. 28:7 12 aLev. 18:24 1detestable 13 1Lit. perfect 14 1allowed you to do so 15 aActs 3:22 16 aDeut. 5:23–27 bEx. 20:18, 19 17 aDeut. 5:28 18 aJohn 1:45 bIs. 49:2; 51:16 c[John 4:25; 8:28] 19 a[Heb. 12:25]

DEUTERONOMY 18:20 174 will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him. 20 ‘But athe prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or bwho speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ 21 “And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?’— 22 a“when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, bif the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it cpresumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him. Three Cities of Refuge 19 “When the Lord your God ahas cut off the nations whose land the LORD your God is giving you, and you dispossess them and dwell in their cities and in their houses, 2 a“you shall separate three cities for yourself in the midst of your land which the LORD your God is giving you to possess. 3 “You shall prepare roads for yourself, and divide into three parts the territory of your land which the LORD your God is giving you to inherit, that any manslayer may flee there. 4 “And athis is the case of the manslayer who flees there, that he may live: Whoever kills his neigh- bor 1unintentionally, not having hated him in time past— 5 “as when a man goes to the woods with his neighbor to cut tim- ber, and his hand swings a stroke with the ax to cut down the tree, and the head slips from the handle and strikes his neighbor so that he dies—he shall flee to one of these cities and live; 6 a“lest the avenger of blood, while his anger is hot, pursue the man- slayer and overtake him, because the way is long, and kill him, though he was not deserving of death, since he had not hated the victim in time past. 7 “Therefore I command you, say- ing, ‘You shall separate three cities for yourself.’ 8 “Now if the LORD your God aen- larges your territory, as He swore to byour fathers, and gives you the land which He promised to give to your fathers, 9 “and if you keep all these com- mandments and do them, which I command you today, to love the LORD your God and to walk always in His ways, athen you shall add three more cities for yourself besides these three, 10 a“lest innocent blood be shed in the midst of your land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and thus guilt of blood- shed be upon you. 11 “But aif anyone hates his neigh- bor, lies in wait for him, rises against him and strikes him mor- tally, so that he dies, and he flees to one of these cities, 12 “then the elders of his city shall send and bring him from there, and deliver him over to the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die. 13 a“Your eye shall not pity him, bbut you shall 1put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with you. Property Boundaries 14 a“You shall not remove your neighbor’s landmark, which the men of old have set, in your inheri- tance which you will inherit in the land that the LORD your God is giv- ing you to possess. The Law Concerning Witnesses 15 a“One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniq- uity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established. 16 “If a false witness arises against any man to testify against him of wrongdoing, 17 “then both men in the contro- versy shall stand before the LORD, abefore the priests and the judges who serve in those days. 18 “And the judges shall make careful inquiry, and indeed, if the witness is a false witness, who has testified falsely against his brother, 19 a“then you shall do to him as he thought to have done to his brother; so byou shall put away the evil from among you. 20 a“And those who remain shall hear and fear, and hereafter they shall not again commit such evil among you. 21 a“Your eye shall not pity: blife shall be for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. Principles Governing Warfare 20 “When you go out to battle against your enemies, and see ahorses and chariots and people

fied falsely against his brother, 19 a“then you shall do to him as he thought to have done to his brother; so byou shall put away the evil from among you. 20 a“And those who remain shall hear and fear, and hereafter they shall not again commit such evil among you. 21 a“Your eye shall not pity: blife shall be for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. Principles Governing Warfare 20 “When you go out to battle against your enemies, and see ahorses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be bafraid of them; for the LORD your God is cwith you, who brought you up from the land of Egypt. 2 “So it shall be, when you are on the verge of battle, that the priest shall approach and speak to the people. 3 “And he shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel: Today you are on the verge of battle with your enemies. Do not let your heart faint, do not be afraid, and do not tremble or be terrified because of them; 20 aDeut. 13:5; Jer. 14:14, 15; Zech. 13:2–5 bDeut. 13:1–3; Jer. 2:8cJer. 28:9 bDeut. 13:2 22 aJer. 28:9 bDeut. 13:2 cDeut. 18:20 CHAPTER 19 1 aDeut. 12:29 2 aEx. 21:13; Num. 35:10–15; Deut. 4:41; Josh. 20:2 4 aNum. 35:9–34; Deut. 4:42 1igno- rantly, lit. without knowledge 6 aNum. 35:12 8 aDeut. 12:20 fGen. 15:18–21 9 aJosh. 20:7–9 10 aNum. 35:33; Deut. 21:1–9 11 aNum. 35:16, 24; Deut. 27:24; [1 John 3:15] 13 aDeut. 13:8 bNum. 35:33, 34; 1 Kin. 2:31 1purge the blood of the innocent 14 aDeut. 27:17; Job 24:2; Prov. 22:28; Hos. 5:10 15 aNum. 35:30; Deut. 17:6; Matt. 18:16; John 8:17; 2 Cor. 13:1; 1 Tim. 5:19; Heb. 10:28 16 aEx. 23:1; Ps. 27:12; 35:11 17 aDeut. 17:8–11; 21:5 19 aProv. 19:5; Dan. 6:24 bDeut. 13:5; 17:7; 21:21; 22:21 20 aDeut. 17:13; 21:21 21 aDeut. 19:13 bEx. 21:23, 24; Lev. 24:20; Matt. 5:38, 39 CHAPTER 20 1 aPs. 20:7; Is. 31:1 bDeut. 7:18 cNum. 23:21; Deut. 5:6; 31:6, 8; 2 Chr. 13:12; 32:7, 8; Ps. 23:4; Is. 41:10

175 DEUTERONOMY 21:13 4 ‘for the LORD your God is He who goes with you, ato fight for you against your enemies, to save you.’ 5 “Then the officers shall speak to the people, saying: ‘What man is there who has built a new house and has not adedicated it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man dedicate it. 6 ‘Also what man is there who has planted a vineyard and has not eaten of it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man eat of it. 7 a‘And what man is there who is betrothed to a woman and has not married her? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man marry her.’ 8 “The officers shall speak fur- ther to the people, and say, a‘What man is there who is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go and return to his house, 1lest the heart of his brethren faint like his heart.’ 9 “And so it shall be, when the offi- cers have finished speaking to the people, that they shall make captains of the armies to lead the people. 10 “When you go near a city to fight against it, athen proclaim an offer of peace to it. 11 “And it shall be that if they accept your offer of peace, and open to you, then all the people who are found in it shall be placed under tribute to you, and serve you. 12 “Now if the city will not make peace with you, but makes war against you, then you shall besiege it. 13 “And when the LORD your God delivers it into your hands, ayou shall strike every male in it with the edge of the sword. 14 “But the women, the little ones, athe livestock, and all that is in the city, all its spoil, you shall plunder for yourself; and byou shall eat the enemies’ plunder which the LORD your God gives you. 15 “Thus you shall do to all the cities which are very far from you, which are not of the cities of these nations. 16 “But aof the cities of these peo- ples which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance, you shall let nothing that breathes remain alive, 17 “but you shall utterly destroy them: the Hittite and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, just as the LORD your God has com- manded you, 18 “lest athey teach you to do according to all their 1abominations which they have done for their gods, and you bsin against the LORD your God. 19 “When you besiege a city for a long time, while making war against it to take it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them; if you can eat of them, do not cut them down to use in the siege, for the tree of the field is man’s food. 20 “Only the trees which you know are not trees for food you may destroy and cut down, to build siege- works against the city that makes war with you, until it is subdued. The Law Concerning Unsolved Murder 21 “If anyone is found slain, lying in the field in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him, 2 “then your elders and your judges shall go out and measure the distance from the slain man to the surrounding cities. 3 “And it shall be that the elders of the city nearest to the slain man will take a heifer which has not been worked and which has not pulled with a ayoke. 4 “The elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a valley with flowing water, which is neither plowed nor sown, and they shall break the heifer’s neck there in the valley. 5 “Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come near, for athe LORD your God has chosen them to minis- ter to Him and to bless in the name of the LORD; bby their word every controversy and every 1assault shall be settled. 6 “And all the elders of that city nearest to the slain man ashall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley. 7 “Then they shall answer and say, ‘Our hands have not shed this blood, nor have our eyes seen it. 8 ‘Provide atonement, O LORD, for Your people Israel, whom You have redeemed, aand do not lay innocent blood to the charge of Your people

minis- ter to Him and to bless in the name of the LORD; bby their word every controversy and every 1assault shall be settled. 6 “And all the elders of that city nearest to the slain man ashall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley. 7 “Then they shall answer and say, ‘Our hands have not shed this blood, nor have our eyes seen it. 8 ‘Provide atonement, O LORD, for Your people Israel, whom You have redeemed, aand do not lay innocent blood to the charge of Your people Israel.’ And atonement shall be pro- vided on their behalf for the blood. 9 “So ayou shall put away the guilt of innocent blood from among you when you do what is right in the sight of the LORD. Female Captives 10 “When you go out to war against your enemies, and the LORD your God delivers them into your hand, and you take them captive, 11 “and you see among the cap- tives a beautiful woman, and desire her and would take her for your awife, 12 “then you shall bring her home to your house, and she shall ashave her head and trim her nails. 13 “She shall put off the clothes of her captivity, remain in your house, and amourn her father and her mother a full month; after that you 4 aDeut. 1:30; 3:22; Josh. 23:10 5 aNeh. 12:27 7 aDeut. 24:5 8 aJudg. 7:3 1So with MT, Tg.; Sam., LXX, Syr., Vg. lest he make his brother’s heart faint 10 a2 Sam. 10:19 13 aNum. 31:7 14 aJosh. 8:2 b1 Sam. 14:30 16 aEx. 23:31–33; Num. 21:2, 3; Deut. 7:1–5; Josh. 11:14 18 aEx. 34:12–16; Deut. 7:4; 12:30; 18:9 bEx. 23:33; 2 Kin. 21:3–15; Ps. 106:34–41 1detestable things CHAPTER 21 3 aNum. 19:2 5 aDeut. 10:8; 1 Chr. 23:13 bDeut. 17:8, 9 1Lit. stroke 6 aPs. 19:12; 26:6; Matt. 27:24 8 aDeut. 19:10, 13; Jon. 1:14 9 aDeut. 19:13 11 aNum. 31:18 12 aLev. 14:8, 9; Num. 6:9 13 aPs. 45:10

DEUTERONOMY 21:14 176 may go in to her and be her hus- band, and she shall be your wife. 14 “And it shall be, if you have no delight in her, then you shall set her free, but you certainly shall not sell her for money; you shall not treat her brutally, because you have ahumbled her. Firstborn Inheritance Rights 15 “If a man has two wives, one loved aand the other unloved, and they have borne him children, both the loved and the unloved, and if the firstborn son is of her who is unloved, 16 “then it shall be, aon the day he bequeaths his possessions to his sons, that he must not bestow first- born status on the son of the loved wife in preference to the son of the unloved, the true firstborn. 17 “But he shall acknowledge the son of the unloved wife as the first- born aby giving him a double por- tion of all that he has, for he bis the beginning of his strength; cthe right of the firstborn is his. The Rebellious Son 18 “If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and who, when they have chastened him, will not heed them, 19 “then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city, to the gate of his city. 20 “And they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This son of ours is stub- born and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.’ 21 “Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones; aso you shall put away the evil from among you, band all Israel shall hear and fear. Miscellaneous Laws 22 “If a man has committed a sin adeserving of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, 23 a“his body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him that day, so that byou do not defile the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance; for che who is hanged is accursed of God. 22 “You ashall not see your brother’s ox or his sheep going astray, and 1hide yourself from them; you shall certainly bring them back to your brother. 2 “And if your brother is not near you, or if you do not know him, then you shall bring it to your own house, and it shall remain with you until your brother seeks it; then you shall restore it to him. 3 “You shall do the same with his donkey, and so shall you do with his garment; with any lost thing of your brother’s, which he has lost and you have found, you shall do likewise; you 1must not hide yourself. 4 a“You shall not see your broth- er’s donkey or his ox fall down along the road, and hide yourself from them; you shall surely help him lift them up again. 5 “A woman shall not wear any- thing that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman’s gar- ment, for all who do so are 1an abomination to the LORD your God. 6 “If a bird’s nest happens to be before you along the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, with the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, ayou shall not take the mother with the young; 7 “you shall surely let the mother go, and take the young for yourself, athat it may be well with you and that you may prolong your days. 8 “When you build a new house, then you shall make a parapet for your roof, that you may not bring guilt of bloodshed on your house- hold if anyone falls from it. 9 a“You shall not sow your vine- yard with different kinds of seed, lest the yield of the seed which you have sown and the fruit of your vineyard be defiled. 10 a“You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together. 11 a“You shall not wear a garment of different sorts, such as wool and linen mixed together. 12 “You shall make atassels on the four corners of the clothing with which you cover yourself. Laws of Sexual Morality 13 “If any man takes a wife, and goes in to her, and adetests her, 14 “and charges her with shameful conduct, and brings a bad name on her, and says, ‘I took this woman, and when I came to her I found she was not a virgin,’ 15 “then the father and mother of

h an ox and a donkey together. 11 a“You shall not wear a garment of different sorts, such as wool and linen mixed together. 12 “You shall make atassels on the four corners of the clothing with which you cover yourself. Laws of Sexual Morality 13 “If any man takes a wife, and goes in to her, and adetests her, 14 “and charges her with shameful conduct, and brings a bad name on her, and says, ‘I took this woman, and when I came to her I found she was not a virgin,’ 15 “then the father and mother of the young woman shall take and bring out the evidence of the young woman’s virginity to the elders of the city at the gate. 16 “And the young woman’s father shall say to the elders, ‘I gave my daughter to this man as wife, and he detests her. 17 ‘Now he has charged her with shameful conduct, saying, “I found your daughter was not a virgin,” and yet these are the evidences of my daughter’s virginity.’ And they shall spread the cloth before the eld- ers of the city. 18 “Then the elders of that city shall take that man and punish him; 19 “and they shall fine him one hun- dred shekels of silver and give them 14 aGen. 34:2; Deut. 22:29; Judg. 19:24 15 aGen. 29:33 16 a1 Chr. 5:2; 26:10 17 a2 Kin. 2:9 bGen. 49:3 cGen. 25:31, 33 21 aDeut. 13:5; 19:19, 20; 22:21, 24 bDeut. 13:11 22 aDeut. 22:26; Matt. 26:66; Mark 14:64; Acts 23:29 23 aJosh. 8:29; 10:26, 27; John 19:31 bLev. 18:25; Num. 35:34 cGal. 3:13 CHAPTER 22 1 aEx. 23:4 1ignore them 3 1may not avoid respon- sibility 4 aEx. 23:5 5 1detestable 6 aLev. 22:28 7 aDeut. 4:40 9 aLev. 19:19 10 a[2 Cor. 6:14–16] 11 aLev. 19:19 12 aNum. 15:37–41; Matt. 23:5 13 aDeut. 21:15; 24:3

177 DEUTERONOMY 23:18 to the father of the young woman, because he has brought a bad name on a virgin of Israel. And she shall be his wife; he cannot divorce her all his days. 20 “But if the thing is true, and evi- dences of virginity are not found for the young woman, 21 “then they shall bring out the young woman to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death with astones, because she has bdone a disgraceful thing in Israel, to play the harlot in her father’s house. cSo you shall 1put away the evil from among you. 22 a“If a man is found lying with a woman married to a husband, then both of them shall die—the man that lay with the woman, and the woman; so you shall put away the evil from Israel. 23 “If a young woman who is a vir- gin is abetrothed to a husband, and a man finds her in the city and lies with her, 24 “then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones, the young woman because she did not cry out in the city, and the man because he ahumbled his neighbor’s wife; bso you shall put away the evil from among you. 25 “But if a man finds a betrothed young woman in the countryside, and the man forces her and lies with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die. 26 “But you shall do nothing to the young woman; there is in the young woman no sin deserving of death, for just as when a man rises against his neighbor and kills him, even so is this matter. 27 “For he found her in the coun- tryside, and the betrothed young woman cried out, but there was no one to save her. 28 a“If a man finds a young woman who is a virgin, who is not be- trothed, and he seizes her and lies with her, and they are found out, 29 “then the man who lay with her shall give to the young woman’s father afifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife bbecause he has humbled her; he shall not be permit- ted to divorce her all his days. 30 a“A man shall not take his father’s wife, nor buncover his father’s bed. Those Excluded from the Congregation 23 “He who is emasculated by crushing or mutilation shall anot enter the assembly of the LORD. 2 “One of illegitimate birth shall not enter the assembly of the LORD; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the LORD. 3 a“An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter the assembly of the LORD; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the LORD forever, 4 a“because they did not meet you with bread and water on the road when you came out of Egypt, and bbecause they hired against you Ba- laam the son of Beor from Pethor of 1Mesopotamia, to curse you. 5 “Nevertheless the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam, but the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God aloves you. 6 a“You shall not seek their peace nor their prosperity all your days forever. 7 “You shall not abhor an Edom- ite, afor he is your brother.You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because byou were an alien in his land. 8 “The children of the third gener- ation born to them may enter the assembly of the LORD. Cleanliness of the Campsite 9 “When the army goes out against your enemies, then keep yourself from every wicked thing. 10 a“If there is any man among you who becomes unclean by some occurrence in the night, then he shall go outside the camp; he shall not come inside the camp. 11 “But it shall be, when evening comes, that ahe shall wash with water; and when the sun sets, he may come into the camp. 12 “Also you shall have a place out- side the camp, where you may go out; 13 “and you shall have an imple- ment among your equipment, and when you sit down outside, you shall dig with it and turn and cover your refuse. 14 “For the LORD your God awalks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and give your enemies over to you; therefore your camp shall be holy, that He may see no unclean thing among you, and turn away from you. Miscellaneous Laws

and when the sun sets, he may come into the camp. 12 “Also you shall have a place out- side the camp, where you may go out; 13 “and you shall have an imple- ment among your equipment, and when you sit down outside, you shall dig with it and turn and cover your refuse. 14 “For the LORD your God awalks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and give your enemies over to you; therefore your camp shall be holy, that He may see no unclean thing among you, and turn away from you. Miscellaneous Laws 15 a“You shall not give back to his master the slave who has escaped from his master to you. 16 “He may dwell with you in your midst, in the place which he chooses within one of your gates, where it 1seems best to him; ayou shall not oppress him. 17 “There shall be no ritual 1harlot aof the daughters of Israel, or a bper- verted2 one of the sons of Israel. 18 “You shall not bring the wages of a harlot or the price of a dog to the house of the LORD your God for any vowed offering, for both of these 21 aDeut. 21:21 bGen. 34:7; Judg. 20:5–10; 2 Sam. 13:12, 13 cDeut. 13:5 1purge the evil person 22 aLev. 20:10; Num. 5:22–27; Ezek. 16:38; [Matt. 5:27, 28]; John 8:5; [1 Cor. 6:9; Heb. 13:4] 23 aLev. 19:20–22; Matt. 1:18, 19 24 aDeut. 21:14 bDeut. 22:21, 22; 1 Cor. 5:2, 13 28 aEx. 22:16, 17 29 aEx. 22:16, 17 bDeut. 22:24 30 aLev. 18:8; 20:11; Deut. 27:20; 1 Cor. 5:1 bRuth 3:9; Ezek. 16:8 CHAPTER 23 1 aLev. 21:20; 22:24 3 aNeh. 13:1, 2 4 aDeut. 2:27–30 bNum. 22:5, 6; 23:7; Josh. 24:9; 2 Pet. 2:15; Jude 11 1Heb. Aram Naharaim 5 aDeut. 4:37 6 aEzra 9:12 7 aGen. 25:24–26; Deut. 2:4, 8; Amos 1:11; Obad. 10, 12 bEx. 22:21; 23:9; Lev. 19:34; Deut. 10:19 10 aLev. 15:16 11 aLev. 15:5 14 aLev. 26:12; Deut. 7:21 15 a1 Sam. 30:15 16 aEx. 22:21; Prov. 22:22 1pleases him best 17 aLev. 19:29; Deut. 22:21 bGen. 19:5; 2 Kin. 23:7 1Heb. qedeshah, fem. of qadesh (note 2) 2Heb. qadesh, one practicing sodomy and prostitution in religious ritu- als

DEUTERONOMY 23:19 178 are 1an abomination to the LORD your God. 19 a“You shall not charge interest to your brother—interest on money or food or anything that is lent out at interest. 20 a“To a foreigner you may charge interest, but to your brother you shall not charge interest, bthat the LORD your God may bless you in all to which you set your hand in the land which you are entering to pos- sess. 21 a“When you make a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not delay to pay it; for the LORD your God will surely require it of you, and it would be sin to you. 22 “But if you abstain from vow- ing, it shall not be sin to you. 23 a“That which has gone from your lips you shall keep and per- form, for you voluntarily vowed to the LORD your God what you have promised with your mouth. 24 “When you come into your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes at your pleasure, but you shall not put any in your container. 25 “When you come into your neighbor’s standing grain, ayou may pluck the heads with your hand, but you shall not use a sickle on your neighbor’s standing grain. Law Concerning Divorce 24 “When a aman takes a wife and marries her, and it hap- pens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some 1uncleanness in her, and he writes her a bcertificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house, 2 “when she has departed from his house, and goes and becomes another man’s wife, 3 “if the latter husband detests her and writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house, or if the latter husband dies who took her as his wife, 4 a“then her former husband who divorced her must not take her back to be his wife after she has been defiled; for that is 1an abomination before the LORD, and you shall not bring sin on the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance. Miscellaneous Laws 5 a“When a man has taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war or be charged with any business; he shall be free at home one year, and bbring happiness to his wife whom he has taken. 6 “No man shall take the lower or the upper millstone in pledge, for he takes 1one’s living in pledge. 7 “If a man is afound 1kidnapping any of his brethren of the children of Israel, and mistreats him or sells him, then that kidnapper shall die; band you shall put away the evil from among you. 8 “Take heed in aan outbreak of leprosy, that you carefully observe and do according to all that the priests, the Levites, shall teach you; just as I commanded them, so you shall be careful to do. 9 a“Remember what the LORD your God did bto Miriam on the way when you came out of Egypt! 10 “When you alend your brother anything, you shall not go into his house to get his pledge. 11 “You shall stand outside, and the man to whom you lend shall bring the pledge out to you. 12 “And if the man is poor, you shall not 1keep his pledge over- night. 13 a“You shall in any case return the pledge to him again when the sun goes down, that he may sleep in his own garment and bbless you; and cit shall be righteousness to you before the LORD your God. 14 “You shall not aoppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether one of your brethren or one of the aliens who is in your land within your gates. 15 “Each day ayou shall give him his wages, and not let the sun go down on it, for he is poor and has set his heart on it; blest he cry out against you to the LORD, and it be sin to you. 16 a“Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for their fathers; a person shall be put to death for his own sin. 17 a“You shall not pervert justice due the stranger or the fatherless, bnor take a widow’s garment as a pledge. 18 “But ayou shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this thing. 19 a“When you reap your harvest in your field, and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to

put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for their fathers; a person shall be put to death for his own sin. 17 a“You shall not pervert justice due the stranger or the fatherless, bnor take a widow’s garment as a pledge. 18 “But ayou shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this thing. 19 a“When you reap your harvest in your field, and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that the LORD your God may bbless you in all the work of your hands. 20 “When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over the boughs again; it shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. 21 “When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not glean it afterward; it shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. 22 “And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; 18 1detestable 19 aEx. 22:25; Lev. 25:35–37; Neh. 5:2–7; Ps. 15:5 20 aDeut. 15:3 bDeut. 15:10 21 aNum. 30:1, 2; Job 22:27; Ps. 61:8; Eccl. 5:4, 5; Matt. 5:33 23 aNum. 30:2; Ps. 66:13, 14 25 aMatt. 12:1; Mark 2:23; Luke 6:1 CHAPTER 24 1 a[Matt. 5:31; 19:7; Mark 10:4] b[Jer. 3:8] 1inde- cency, lit. nakedness of a thing 4 a[Jer. 3:1] 1a detestable thing 5 aDeut. 20:7 bProv. 5:18 6 1life 7 aEx. 21:16 bDeut. 19:19 1Lit. stealing 8 aLev. 13:2; 14:2 9 a[1 Cor. 10:6] bNum. 12:10 10 aMatt. 5:42 12 1Lit. sleep with his pledge 13 aEx. 22:26; Ezek. 18:7 bJob 29:11; 2 Tim. 1:18 cDeut. 6:25; Ps. 106:31; Dan. 4:27 14 aLev. 19:13; Deut. 15:7–18; [Prov. 14:31]; Amos 4:1; [Mal. 3:5; 1 Tim. 5:18] 15 aLev. 19:13; Jer. 22:13 bEx. 22:23; Deut. 15:9; Job 35:9; James 5:4 16 a2 Kin. 14:6; 2 Chr. 25:4; Jer. 31:29, 30; Ezek. 18:20 17 aEx. 23:6 bEx. 22:26 18 aDeut. 24:22 19 aLev. 19:9, 10 bDeut. 15:10; Ps. 41:1; Prov. 19:17

179 DEUTERONOMY 26:10 therefore I command you to do this thing. 25 “If there is a adispute between men, and they come to 1court, that the judges may judge them, and they bjustify the righteous and con- demn the wicked, 2 “then it shall be, if the wicked man adeserves to be beaten, that the judge will cause him to lie down band be beaten in his presence, according to his guilt, with a certain number of blows. 3 a“Forty blows he may give him and no more, lest he should exceed this and beat him with many blows above these, and your brother bbe humiliated in your sight. 4 a“You shall not muzzle an ox while it 1treads out the grain. Marriage Duty of the Surviving Brother 5 a“If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the widow of the dead man shall not be married to a stranger outside the family; her husband’s brother shall go in to her, take her as his wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. 6 “And it shall be that the firstborn son which she bears awill succeed to the name of his dead brother, that bhis name may not be blotted out of Israel. 7 “But if the man does not want to take his brother’s wife, then let his brother’s wife go up to the agate to the elders, and say, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to raise up a name to his brother in Israel; he will not perform the duty of my husband’s brother.’ 8 “Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak to him. But if he stands firm and says, a‘I do not want to take her,’ 9 “then his brother’s wife shall come to him in the presence of the elders, aremove his sandal from his foot, spit in his face, and answer and say, ‘So shall it be done to the man who will not bbuild up his brother’s house.’ 10 “And his name shall be called in Israel, ‘The house of him who had his sandal removed.’ Miscellaneous Laws 11 “If two men fight together, and the wife of one draws near to rescue her husband from the hand of the one attacking him, and puts out her hand and seizes him by the genitals, 12 “then you shall cut off her hand; ayour eye shall not pity her. 13 a“You shall not have in your bag differing weights, a heavy and a light. 14 “You shall not have in your house differing measures, a large and a small. 15 “You shall have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just mea- sure, athat your days may be length- ened in the land which the LORD your God is giving you. 16 “For aall who do such things, all who behave unrighteously, are 1an abomination to the LORD your God. Destroy the Amalekites 17 a“Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you were com- ing out of Egypt, 18 “how he met you on the way and attacked your rear ranks, all the stragglers at your rear, when you were tired and weary; and he adid not fear God. 19 “Therefore it shall be, awhen the LORD your God has given you rest from your enemies all around, in the land which the LORD your God is giving you to possess as an inheri- tance, that you will bblot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.You shall not forget. Offerings of Firstfruits and Tithes 26 “And it shall be, when you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you possess it and dwell in it, 2 a“that you shall take some of the first of all the produce of the ground, which you shall bring from your land that the LORD your God is giving you, and put it in a basket and bgo to the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name abide. 3 “And you shall go to the one who is priest in those days, and say to him, ‘I declare today to the LORD 1your God that I have come to the country which the LORD swore to our fathers to give us.’ 4 “Then the priest shall take the basket out of your hand and set it down before the altar of the LORD your God. 5 “And you shall answer and say before the LORD your God: ‘My father was aa 1Syrian, babout to per- ish, and che went down to Egypt and 2dwelt there, dfew in number; and there he became a nation, egreat, mighty, and populous.

is priest in those days, and say to him, ‘I declare today to the LORD 1your God that I have come to the country which the LORD swore to our fathers to give us.’ 4 “Then the priest shall take the basket out of your hand and set it down before the altar of the LORD your God. 5 “And you shall answer and say before the LORD your God: ‘My father was aa 1Syrian, babout to per- ish, and che went down to Egypt and 2dwelt there, dfew in number; and there he became a nation, egreat, mighty, and populous. 6 ‘But the aEgyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and laid hard bond- age on us. 7 a‘Then we cried out to the LORD God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression. 8 ‘So athe LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm, bwith great ter- ror and with signs and wonders. 9 ‘He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, a“a land flowing with milk and honey”; 10 ‘and now, behold, I have brought CHAPTER 25 1 aDeut. 17:8–13; 19:17 bProv. 17:15 1Lit. the judg- ment 2 aProv. 19:29 bMatt. 10:17 3 a2 Cor. 11:24 bJob 18:3 4 a[Prov. 12:10] 1threshes 5 aMatt. 22:24 6 aGen. 38:9 bRuth 4:5, 10 7 aRuth 4:1, 2 8 aRuth 4:6 9 aRuth 4:7, 8 bRuth 4:11 12 aDeut. 7:2; 19:13 13 aMic. 6:11 15 aEx. 20:12 16 aProv. 11:1 1detestable 17 aEx. 17:8–16 18 aRom. 3:18 19 a1 Sam. 15:3 bEx. 17:14 CHAPTER 26 2 aEx. 22:29; 23:16, 19 bDeut. 12:5 3 1LXX my 5 aHos. 12:12 bGen. 43:1, 2; 45:7, 11 cActs 7:15 dDeut. 10:22 eDeut. 1:10 1Or Aramean 2As a resident alien 6 aEx. 1:8–11, 14 7 aEx. 2:23–25; 3:9; 4:31 8 aDeut. 5:15 bDeut. 4:34; 34:11, 12 9 aEx. 3:8, 17

DEUTERONOMY 26:11 180 the firstfruits of the land which you, O LORD, have given me.’ Then you shall set it before the LORD your God, and worship before the LORD your God. 11 “So ayou shall rejoice in every good thing which the LORD your God has given to you and your house, you and the Levite and the stranger who is among you. 12 “When you have finished laying aside all the atithe of your increase in the third year—bthe year of tithing—and have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your gates and be filled, 13 “then you shall say before the LORD your God: ‘I have removed the 1holy tithe from my house, and also have given them to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all Your com- mandments which You have com- manded me; I have not transgressed Your commandments, anor have I forgotten them. 14 a‘I have not eaten any of it 1when in mourning, nor have I removed any of it 2for an unclean use, nor given any of it for the dead. I have obeyed the voice of the LORD my God, and have done according to all that You have commanded me. 15 a‘Look down from Your holy 1habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel and the land which You have given us, just as You swore to our fathers, b“a land flow- ing with milk and honey.” ’ A Special People of God 16 “This day the LORD your God commands you to observe these statutes and judgments; therefore you shall be careful to observe them with all your heart and with all your soul. 17 “Today you have aproclaimed the LORD to be your God, and that you will walk in His ways and keep His statutes, His commandments, and His judgments, and that you will bobey His voice. 18 “Also today athe LORD has pro- claimed you to be His special people, just as He promised you, that you should keep all His commandments, 19 “and that He will set you ahigh above all nations which He has made, in praise, in name, and in honor, and that you may be ba 1holy people to the LORD your God, just as He has spoken.” The Law Inscribed on Stones 27 Now Moses, with the elders of Israel, commanded the peo- ple, saying: “Keep all the command- ments which I command you today. 2 “And it shall be, on the day awhen you cross over the Jordan to the land which the LORD your God is giving you, that byou shall set up for yourselves large stones, and whitewash them with lime. 3 “You shall write on them all the words of this law, when you have crossed over, that you may enter the land which the LORD your God is giving you, a‘a land flowing with milk and honey,’ just as the LORD God of your fathers promised you. 4 “Therefore it shall be, when you have crossed over the Jordan, that aon Mount Ebal you shall set up these stones, which I command you today, and you shall whitewash them with lime. 5 “And there you shall build an altar to the LORD your God, an altar of stones; ayou shall not use an iron tool on them. 6 “You shall build with 1whole stones the altar of the LORD your God, and offer burnt offerings on it to the LORD your God. 7 “You shall offer peace offerings, and shall eat there, and arejoice before the LORD your God. 8 “And you shall awrite very plainly on the stones all the words of this law.” 9 Then Moses and the priests, the Levites, spoke to all Israel, saying, “Take heed and listen, O Israel: aThis day you have become the peo- ple of the LORD your God. 10 “Therefore you shall obey the voice of the LORD your God, and observe His commandments and His statutes which I command you today.” Curses Pronounced from Mount Ebal 11 And Moses commanded the people on the same day, saying, 12 “These shall stand aon Mount Gerizim to bless the people, when you have crossed over the Jordan: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin; 13 “and athese shall stand on Mount Ebal to curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. 14 “And athe Levites shall speak with a loud voice and say to all the men of Israel:

observe His commandments and His statutes which I command you today.” Curses Pronounced from Mount Ebal 11 And Moses commanded the people on the same day, saying, 12 “These shall stand aon Mount Gerizim to bless the people, when you have crossed over the Jordan: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin; 13 “and athese shall stand on Mount Ebal to curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. 14 “And athe Levites shall speak with a loud voice and say to all the men of Israel: 15 a‘Cursed is the one who makes a carved or molded image, 1an abom- ination to the LORD, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and sets it up in secret.’ a“And all the people shall answer and say, ‘Amen!’ 16 a‘Cursed is the one who treats his father or his mother with contempt.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’ 17 a‘Cursed is the one who moves his neighbor’s landmark.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’ 18 a‘Cursed is the one who makes the blind to wander off the road.’ 11 aDeut. 12:7; 16:11; Eccl. 3:12, 13; 5:18–20 12 aLev. 27:30; Num. 18:24 bDeut. 14:28, 29 13 aPs. 119:141, 153, 176 1hallowed things 14 aLev. 7:20; Jer. 16:7; Hos. 9:4 1Lit. in my mourning 1Or while I was unclean 15 aPs. 80:14; Is. 63:15; Zech. 2:13 bEx. 3:8 1home 17 aEx. 20:19 bDeut. 15:5 18 aEx. 6:7; 19:5; Deut. 7:6; 14:2; 28:9; [Titus 2:14; 1 Pet. 2:9] 19 aDeut. 4:7, 8; 28:1 bEx. 19:6; Deut. 7:6; 28:9; Is. 62:12; [1 Pet. 2:9] 1conse- crated CHAPTER 27 2 aJosh. 4:1 bJosh. 8:32 3 aEx. 3:8 4 aDeut. 11:29; Josh. 8:30, 31 5 aEx. 20:25; Josh. 8:31 6 1uncut 7 aDeut. 26:11 8 aJosh. 8:32 9 aDeut. 26:18 12 aDeut. 11:29; Josh. 8:33; Judg. 9:7 13 aDeut. 11:29; Josh. 8:33 14 aDeut. 33:10; Josh. 8:33; Dan. 9:11 15 aEx. 20:4, 23; 34:17; Lev. 19:4; 26:1; Deut. 4:16, 23; Is. 44:9; Hos. 13:2 bNum. 5:22; Jer. 11:5; 1 Cor. 14:16 1a detestable thing 16 aEx. 20:12; Lev. 19:3; 20:9; Deut. 5:16; 21:18–21; Ezek. 22:7 17 aDeut. 19:14; Prov. 22:28 18 aLev. 19:14

181 DEUTERONOMY 28:22 “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’ 19 a‘Cursed is the one who perverts the justice due the stranger, the fatherless, and widow.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’ 20 a‘Cursed is the one who lies with his father’s wife, because he has uncovered his father’s bed.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’ 21 a‘Cursed is the one who lies with any kind of animal.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’ 22 a‘Cursed is the one who lies with his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his moth- er.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’ 23 a‘Cursed is the one who lies with his mother-in-law.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’ 24 a‘Cursed is the one who attacks his neighbor secretly.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’ 25 a‘Cursed is the one who takes a bribe to slay an innocent person.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’ 26 a‘Cursed is the one who does not confirm all the words of this law by observing them.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’ Blessings on Obedience 28 “Now it shall come to pass, aif you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God bwill set you high above all nations of the earth. 2 “And all these blessings shall come upon you and aovertake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God: 3 a“Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be bin the country. 4 “Blessed shall be athe 1fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. 5 “Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. 6 a“Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. 7 “The LORD awill cause your ene- mies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. 8 “The LORD will acommand the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you bset your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you. 9 a“The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways. 10 “Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are acalled by the name of the LORD, and they shall be bafraid of you. 11 “And athe LORD will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your live- stock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the LORD 1swore to your fathers to give you. 12 “The LORD will open to you His good 1treasure, the heavens, ato give the rain to your land in its season, and bto bless all the work of your hand.

n His ways. 10 “Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are acalled by the name of the LORD, and they shall be bafraid of you. 11 “And athe LORD will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your live- stock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the LORD 1swore to your fathers to give you. 12 “The LORD will open to you His good 1treasure, the heavens, ato give the rain to your land in its season, and bto bless all the work of your hand. cYou shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. 13 “And the LORD will make ayou the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you 1heed the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them. 14 a“So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I com- mand you this day, to the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them. Curses on Disobedience 15 “But it shall come to pass, aif you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you: 16 “Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the coun- try. 17 “Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. 18 “Cursed shall be the 1fruit of your body and the produce of your land, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. 19 “Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out. 20 “The LORD will send on you acursing, bconfusion, and crebuke in all that you set your hand to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, because of the wickedness of your doings in which you have forsaken Me. 21 “The LORD will make the 1plague cling to you until He has consumed you from the land which you are going to possess. 22 a“The LORD will strike you with consumption, with fever, with inflam- mation, with severe burning fever, with the sword, with bscorching,1 19 aEx. 22:21, 22; 23:9; Lev. 19:33; Deut. 10:18; 24:17 20 aLev. 18:8; 20:11; Deut. 22:30; 1 Cor. 5:1 21 aEx. 22:19; Lev. 18:23; 20:15, 16 22 aLev. 18:9 23 aLev. 18:17; 20:14 24 aEx. 20:13; 21:12; Lev. 24:17; Num. 35:30, 31 25 aEx. 23:7; Ps. 15:5; Ezek. 22:12 26 aPs. 119:21; Jer. 11:3; Gal. 3:10 CHAPTER 28 1 aEx. 15:26; Lev. 26:3–13; Deut. 7:12–26; 11:13 bDeut. 26:19; 1 Chr. 14:2 2 aDeut. 28:15 3 aPs. 128:1, 4 bGen. 39:5 4 aGen. 22:17 1offspring 6 aPs. 121:8 7 aLev. 26:7, 8 8 aLev. 25:21 bDeut. 15:10 9 aEx. 19:5, 6 10 aNum. 6:27; 2 Chr. 7:14; Is. 63:19; Dan. 9:18, 19 bDeut. 11:25 11 aDeut. 30:9 1promised 12 aLev. 26:4; Deut. 11:14 bDeut. 14:29 cDeut. 15:6 1storehouse 13 a[Is. 9:14, 15] 1listen to 14 aDeut. 5:32; Josh. 1:7 15 aLev. 26:14–39; Josh. 23:15; Dan. 9:10–14; Mal. 2:2 18 1offspring 20 aMal. 2:2 bIs. 65:14 cPs. 80:16; Is. 30:17 21 1pestilence 22 aLev. 26:16 bAmos 4:9 1blight

DEUTERONOMY 28:23 182 and with mildew; they shall pursue you until you perish. 23 “And ayour heavens which are over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you shall be iron. 24 “The LORD will change the rain of your land to powder and dust; from the heaven it shall come down on you until you are destroyed. 25 a“The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies; you shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them; and you shall become 1troublesome to all the kingdoms of the earth. 26 a“Your carcasses shall be food for all the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and no one shall frighten them away. 27 “The LORD will strike you with athe boils of Egypt, with btumors, with the scab, and with the itch, from which you cannot be healed. 28 “The LORD will strike you with madness and blindness and aconfu- sion of heart. 29 “And you shall agrope at noon- day, as a blind man gropes in dark- ness; you shall not prosper in your ways; you shall be only oppressed and plundered continually, and no one shall save you. 30 a“You shall betroth a wife, but another man shall lie with her; byou shall build a house, but you shall not dwell in it; cyou shall plant a vine- yard, but shall not gather its grapes. 31 “Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, but you shall not eat of it; your donkey shall be vio- lently taken away from before you, and shall not be restored to you; your sheep shall be given to your enemies, and you shall have no one to rescue them. 32 “Your sons and your daughters shall be given to aanother people, and your eyes shall look and bfail with longing for them all day long; and there shall be 1no strength in your chand. 33 “A nation whom you have not known shall eat athe fruit of your land and the produce of your labor, and you shall be only oppressed and crushed continually. 34 “So you shall be driven mad because of the sight which your eyes see. 35 “The LORD will strike you in the knees and on the legs with severe boils which cannot be healed, and from the sole of your foot to the top of your head. 36 “The LORD will abring you and the king whom you set over you to a nation which neither you nor your fathers have known, and bthere you shall serve other gods—wood and stone. 37 “And you shall become aan1 astonishment, a proverb, band a by- word among all nations where the LORD will drive you. 38 a“You shall carry much seed out to the field but gather little in, for bthe locust shall 1consume it. 39 “You shall plant vineyards and tend them, but you shall neither drink of the awine nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them. 40 “You shall have olive trees throughout all your territory, but you shall not anoint yourself with the oil; for your olives shall drop off. 41 “You shall beget sons and daugh- ters, but they shall not be yours; for athey shall go into captivity. 42 “Locusts shall 1consume all your trees and the produce of your land. 43 “The alien who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower. 44 “He shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to him; he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail. 45 “Moreover all these curses shall come upon you and pursue and over- take you, until you are destroyed, be- cause you 1did not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep His com- mandments and His statutes which He commanded you. 46 “And they shall be upon ayou for a sign and a wonder, and on your descendants forever. 47 a“Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and glad- ness of heart, bfor the abundance of everything, 48 “therefore you shall serve your enemies, whom the LORD will send against you, in ahunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in need of every- thing; and He bwill put a yoke of iron on your neck until He has destroyed you. 49 a“The LORD will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, bas swift as the eagle flies, a nation whose language you will not understand,

47 a“Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and glad- ness of heart, bfor the abundance of everything, 48 “therefore you shall serve your enemies, whom the LORD will send against you, in ahunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in need of every- thing; and He bwill put a yoke of iron on your neck until He has destroyed you. 49 a“The LORD will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, bas swift as the eagle flies, a nation whose language you will not understand, 50 “a nation of fierce countenance, awhich does not respect the elderly nor show favor to the young. 51 “And they shall eat the increase of your livestock and the produce of your land, until you are destroyed; they shall not leave you grain or new wine or oil, or the increase of your cattle or the offspring of your flocks, until they have destroyed you. 52 “They shall abesiege you at all your gates until your high and forti- fied walls, in which you trust, come down throughout all your land; and they shall besiege you at all your gates throughout all your land which the LORD your God has given you. 53 a“You shall eat the 1fruit of your own body, the flesh of your sons and your daughters whom the LORD your God has given you, in the siege 23 aLev. 26:19 25 aDeut. 32:30 1a terror 26 a1 Sam. 17:44; Ps. 79:2 27 aEx. 15:26 b1 Sam. 5:6 28 aJer. 4:9 29 aJob 5:14 30 a2 Sam. 12:11; Job 31:10; Jer. 8:10 bAmos 5:11; Zeph. 1:13 cDeut. 20:6; Job 31:8; Jer. 12:13; Mic. 6:15 32 a2 Chr. 29:9 bPs. 119:82 cNeh. 5:5 1nothing you can do 33 aLev. 26:16; Jer. 5:15, 17 36 a2 Kin. 17:4, 6; 24:12, 14; 25:7, 11; 2 Chr. 36:1–21; Jer. 39:1–9 bDeut. 4:28; Jer. 16:13 37 a1 Kin. 9:7, 8; Jer. 24:9; 25:9 bPs. 44:14 1a thing of horror 38 aMic. 6:15; Hag. 1:6 bEx. 10:4; Joel 1:4 1devour 39 aZeph. 1:13 41 aLam. 1:5 42 1possess 45 1did not lis- ten to 46 aNum. 26:10; Is. 8:18; Ezek. 14:8 47 aDeut. 12:7; Neh. 9:35–37 bDeut. 32:15 48 aLam. 4:4–6 bJer. 28:13, 14 49 aIs. 5:26–30; 7:18–20; Jer. 5:15 bJer. 48:40; 49:22; Lam. 4:19; Hos. 8:1 50 a2 Chr. 36:17 52 a2 Kin. 25:1, 2, 4 53 aLev. 26:29; 2 Kin. 6:28, 29; Jer. 19:9; Lam. 2:20; 4:10 1offspring

183 DEUTERONOMY 29:13 and desperate straits in which your enemy shall distress you. 54 “The 1sensitive and very refined man among you awill2 be hostile toward his brother, toward bthe wife of his bosom, and toward the rest of his children whom he leaves behind, 55 “so that he will not give any of them the flesh of his children whom he will eat, because he has nothing left in the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy shall distress you at all your gates. 56 “The 1tender and 2delicate woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground because of her delicate- ness and sensitivity, 3will refuse to the husband of her bosom, and to her son and her daughter, 57 “her 1placenta which comes out afrom between her feet and her chil- dren whom she bears; for she will eat them secretly for lack of every- thing in the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy shall distress you at all your gates. 58 “If you do not carefully observe all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear athis glorious and awesome name, THE LORD YOUR GOD, 59 “then the LORD will bring upon you and your descendants aextraordi- nary plagues—great and prolonged plagues—and serious and prolonged sicknesses. 60 “Moreover He will bring back on you all athe diseases of Egypt, of which you were afraid, and they shall cling to you. 61 “Also every sickness and every plague, which is not written in this Book of the Law, will the LORD bring upon you until you are destroyed. 62 “You ashall be left few in num- ber, whereas you were bas the stars of heaven in multitude, because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your God. 63 “And it shall be, that just as the LORD arejoiced over you to do you good and multiply you, so the LORD bwill rejoice over you to destroy you and bring you to nothing; and you shall be cplucked1 from off the land which you go to possess. 64 “Then the LORD awill scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and bthere you shall serve other gods, which neither you nor your fathers have known—wood and stone. 65 “And aamong those nations you shall find no rest, nor shall the sole of your foot have a resting place; bbut there the LORD will give you a 1trembling heart, failing eyes, and canguish of soul. 66 “Your life shall hang in doubt before you; you shall fear day and night, and have no assurance of life. 67 a“In the morning you shall say, ‘Oh, that it were evening!’ And at evening you shall say, ‘Oh, that it were morning!’ because of the fear which terrifies your heart, and bbe- cause of the sight which your eyes see. 68 “And the LORD awill take you back to Egypt in ships, by the way of which I said to you, b‘You shall never see it again.’ And there you shall be offered for sale to your ene- mies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.” The Covenant Renewed in Moab 29 These are the words of the covenant which the LORD commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the acovenant which He made with them in Horeb. 2 Now Moses called all Israel and said to them: a“You have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land— 3 a“the great trials which your eyes have seen, the signs, and those great wonders. 4 “Yet athe LORD has not given you a heart to 1perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear, to this very day. 5 a“And I have led you forty years in the wilderness.

the land of Moab, besides the acovenant which He made with them in Horeb. 2 Now Moses called all Israel and said to them: a“You have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land— 3 a“the great trials which your eyes have seen, the signs, and those great wonders. 4 “Yet athe LORD has not given you a heart to 1perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear, to this very day. 5 a“And I have led you forty years in the wilderness. bYour clothes have not worn out on you, and your san- dals have not worn out on your feet. 6 a“You have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or similar drink, that you may know that I am the LORD your God. 7 “And when you came to this place, aSihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan came out against us to battle, and we conquered them. 8 “We took their land and agave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, to the Gadites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh. 9 “Therefore akeep the words of this covenant, and do them, that you may bprosper in all that you do. 10 “All of you stand today before the LORD your God: your leaders and your tribes and your elders and your officers, all the men of Israel, 11 “your little ones and your wives—also the stranger who is in your camp, from athe one who cuts your wood to the one who draws your water— 12 “that you may enter into covenant with the LORD your God, and ainto His oath, which the LORD your God makes with you today, 13 “that He may aestablish you today as a people for Himself, and that He may be God to you, bjust as He has spoken to you, and cjust as He has sworn to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 54 aDeut. 15:9 bDeut. 13:6 1Lit. tender 2Lit. his eye shall be evil toward 56 1sensitive 2refined 3Lit. her eye shall be evil toward 57 aGen. 49:10 1afterbirth 58 aEx. 6:3 59 aDan. 9:12 60 aDeut. 7:15 62 aDeut. 4:27 bDeut. 10:22; Neh. 9:23 63 aDeut. 30:9; Jer. 32:41 bProv. 1:26; [Is. 1:24] cJer. 12:14; 45:4 1torn 64 aLev. 26:33; Deut. 4:27, 28; Neh. 1:8; Jer. 16:13; Amos 9:9 bDeut. 28:36 65 aLam. 1:3; Amos 9:4 bLev. 26:36 cLev. 26:16 1anxious 67 aJob 7:4 bDeut. 28:34 68 aJer. 43:7; Hos. 8:13 bDeut. 17:16 CHAPTER 29 1 aLev. 26:46; Deut. 5:2, 3 2 aEx. 19:4; Deut. 11:7 3 aDeut. 4:34; 7:19 4 a[Is. 6:9, 10; Ezek. 12:2]; Matt. 13:14; [Acts 28:26, 27]; Rom. 11:8; [Eph. 4:18] 1under- stand or know 5 aDeut. 1:3; 8:2 bDeut. 8:4 6 aEx. 16:12; Deut. 8:3 7 aNum. 21:23, 24; Deut. 2:26–3:3 8 aNum. 32:33; Deut. 3:12, 13 9 aDeut. 4:6; 1 Kin. 2:3 bJosh. 1:7 11 aJosh. 9:21, 23, 27 12 aNeh. 10:29 13 aDeut. 28:9 bEx. 6:7 cGen. 17:7, 8

DEUTERONOMY 29:14 184 14 “I make this covenant and this oath, anot with you alone, 15 “but with him who stands here with us today before the LORD our God, aas well as with him who is not here with us today 16 (for you know that we dwelt in the land of Egypt and that we came through the nations which you passed by, 17 and you saw their 1abomina- tions and their idols which were among them—wood and stone and silver and gold); 18 “so that there may not be among you man or woman or family or tribe, awhose heart turns away today from the LORD our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations, band that there may not be among you a root bearing cbitterness or wormwood; 19 “and so it may not happen, when he hears the words of this curse, that he blesses himself in his heart, say- ing, ‘I shall have peace, even though I 1follow the adictates of my heart’— bas though the drunkard could be included with the sober. 20 a“The LORD would not spare him; for then bthe anger of the LORD and cHis jealousy would burn against that man, and every curse that is written in this book would set- tle on him, and the LORD dwould blot out his name from under heaven. 21 “And the LORD awould separate him from all the tribes of Israel for adversity, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this Book of the bLaw, 22 “so that the coming generation of your children who rise up after you, and the foreigner who comes from a far land, would say, when they asee the plagues of that land and the sicknesses which the LORD has laid on it: 23 ‘The whole land is brimstone, asalt, and burning; it is not sown, nor does it bear, nor does any grass grow there, blike the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which the LORD overthrew in His anger and His wrath.’ 24 “All nations would say, a‘Why has the LORD done so to this land? What does the heat of this great anger mean?’ 25 “Then people would say: ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt; 26 ‘for they went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods that they did not know and that He had not given to them. 27 ‘Then the anger of the LORD was aroused against this land, ato bring on it every curse that is writ- ten in this book. 28 ‘And the LORD auprooted them from their land in anger, in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this day.’ 29 “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. The Blessing of Returning to God 30 “Now ait shall come to pass, when ball these things come upon you, the blessing and the ccurse which I have set before you, and dyou 1call them to mind among all the nations where the LORD your God drives you, 2 “and you areturn to the LORD your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul, 3 a“that the LORD your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and bgather you again from all the nations where the LORD your God has scattered you. 4 a“If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you. 5 “Then the LORD your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall pos- sess it.

and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul, 3 a“that the LORD your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and bgather you again from all the nations where the LORD your God has scattered you. 4 a“If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you. 5 “Then the LORD your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall pos- sess it. He will prosper you and mul- tiply you more than your fathers. 6 “And athe LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. 7 “Also the LORD your God will put all these acurses on your ene- mies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you. 8 “And you will aagain obey the voice of the LORD and do all His commandments which I command you today. 9 a“The LORD your God will make you abound in all the work of your hand, in the 1fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your land for good. For the LORD will again bre- joice over you for good as He rejoiced over your fathers, 10 “if you obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep His com- mandments and His statutes which are written in this Book of the Law, and if you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. The Choice of Life or Death 11 “For this commandment which I command you today ais 1not too 14 a[Jer. 31:31; Heb. 8:7, 8] 15 aActs 2:39 17 1detestable things 18 aDeut. 11:16 bHeb. 12:15 cDeut. 32:32; Acts 8:23 19 aJer. 3:17; 7:24 bIs. 30:1 1walk in the stubbornness or imagina- tion 20 aEzek. 14:7 bPs. 74:1 cPs. 79:5; Ezek. 23:25 dEx. 32:33; Deut. 9:14; 2 Kin. 14:27 21 a[Matt. 24:51] bDeut. 30:10 22 aJer. 19:8; 49:17; 50:13 23 aJer. 17:6; Zeph. 2:9 bGen. 19:24, 25; Is. 1:9; Jer. 20:16; Hos. 11:8 24 a1 Kin. 9:8; Jer. 22:8 27 aDan. 9:11 28 a1 Kin. 14:15; 2 Chr. 7:20; Ps. 52:5; Prov. 2:22 CHAPTER 30 1 aLev. 26:40 bDeut. 28:2 cDeut. 28:15–45 dDeut. 4:29, 30 1Lit. cause them to return to your heart 2 aDeut. 4:29, 30; Neh. 1:9; Is. 55:7; Lam. 3:40; Joel 2:12 3 aPs. 106:45; Jer. 29:14; Lam. 3:22, 32 bPs. 147:2; Jer. 32:37; Ezek. 34:13 4 aDeut. 28:64; Neh. 1:9; Is. 62:11 6 aDeut. 10:16; Jer. 32:39; Ezek. 11:19 7 aIs. 54:15–17; Jer. 30:16, 20 8 aZeph. 3:20 9 aDeut. 28:11 bDeut. 28:63; Jer. 32:41 1off- spring 11 aIs. 45:19 1not hidden from

185 DEUTERONOMY 31:17 mysterious for you, nor is it far off. 12 a“It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 13 “Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 14 “But the word is very near you, ain your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it. 15 “See, aI have set before you today life and good, death and evil, 16 “in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His com- mandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the LORD your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess. 17 “But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, 18 a“I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess. 19 a“I call heaven and earth as wit- nesses today against you, that bI have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; 20 “that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your alife and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abra- ham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.” Joshua the New Leader of Israel 31 Then Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel. 2 And he said to them: “I aam one hundred and twenty years old today. I can no longer bgo out and come in. Also the LORD has said to me, c‘You shall not cross over this Jordan.’ 3 “The LORD your God aHimself crosses over before you; He will destroy these nations from before you, and you shall dispossess them. bJoshua himself crosses over before you, just cas the LORD has said. 4 a“And the LORD will do to them bas He did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites and their land, when He destroyed them. 5 a“The LORD will give them over to you, that you may do to them according to every commandment which I have commanded you. 6 a“Be strong and of good courage, bdo not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, cHe is the One who goes with you. dHe will not leave you nor forsake you.” 7 Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, a“Be strong and of good courage, for you must go with this people to the land which the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall cause them to inherit it. 8 “And the LORD, aHe is the One who goes before you.

dment which I have commanded you. 6 a“Be strong and of good courage, bdo not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, cHe is the One who goes with you. dHe will not leave you nor forsake you.” 7 Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, a“Be strong and of good courage, for you must go with this people to the land which the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall cause them to inherit it. 8 “And the LORD, aHe is the One who goes before you. bHe will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dis- mayed.” The Law to Be Read Every Seven Years 9 So Moses wrote this law aand delivered it to the priests, the sons of Levi, bwho bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and to all the elders of Israel. 10 And Moses commanded them, saying: “At the end of every seven years, at the appointed time in the ayear of release, bat the Feast of Tabernacles, 11 “when all Israel comes to aap- pear before the LORD your God in the bplace which He chooses, cyou shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. 12 a“Gather the people together, men and women and little ones, and the stranger who is within your gates, that they may hear and that they may learn to fear the LORD your God and carefully observe all the words of this law, 13 “and that their children, awho have not known it, bmay hear and learn to fear the LORD your God as long as you live in the land which you cross the Jordan to possess.” Prediction of Israel’s Rebellion 14 Then the LORD said to Moses, a“Behold, the days approach when you must die; call Joshua, and pre- sent yourselves in the tabernacle of meeting, that bI may 1inaugurate him.” So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves in the tabernacle of meeting. 15 Now athe LORD appeared at the tabernacle in a pillar of cloud, and the pillar of cloud stood above the door of the tabernacle. 16 And the LORD said to Moses: “Behold, you will 1rest with your fathers; and this people will arise and bplay the harlot with the gods of the foreigners of the land, where they go to be among them, and they will cfor- sake Me and dbreak My covenant which I have made with them. 17 “Then My anger shall be aaroused against them in that day, and bI will forsake them, and I will chide My face from them, and they shall be 1devoured. And many evils and troubles shall befall them, so that they will say in that day, d‘Have not these evils come upon us because our God is enot among us?’ 12 aProv. 30:4; Rom. 10:6–8 14 aRom. 10:8 15 aDeut. 30:1, 19 18 aDeut. 4:26; 8:19 19 aDeut. 4:26 bDeut. 30:15 20 aPs. 27:1; [John 11:25; 14:6; Col. 3:4] CHAPTER 31 2 aEx. 7:7; Deut. 34:7 bNum. 27:17; 1 Kin. 3:7 cNum. 20:12 3 aDeut. 9:3; Josh. 11:23 bNum. 27:18 cNum. 27:21 4 aDeut. 3:21 bNum. 21:24, 33 5 aDeut. 7:2; 20:10–20 6 aJosh. 10:25; 1 Chr. 22:13 bDeut. 1:29 cDeut. 20:4 dJosh. 1:5; Heb. 13:5 7 aNum. 27:19; Deut. 31:23; Josh. 1:6 8 aEx. 13:21 bDeut. 31:6; Josh. 1:5; 1 Chr. 28:20; Heb. 13:5 9 aDeut. 17:18; 31:25, 26 bNum. 4:5, 6, 15; Deut. 10:8; 31:25, 26; Josh. 3:3 10 aDeut. 15:1, 2 bLev. 23:34; Deut. 16:13 11 aDeut. 16:16 bDeut. 12:5 cJosh. 8:34; 2 Kin. 23:2 12 aDeut. 4:10 13 aDeut. 11:2 bPs. 78:6, 7 14 aNum. 27:13 bNum. 27:19; Deut. 3:28 1commission 15 aEx. 33:9 16 aDeut. 29:22 bEx. 34:15; Deut. 4:25–28; Judg. 2:11, 12, 17 cDeut. 32:15 dJudg. 2:20 1Die and join your ancestors 17 aJudg. 2:14; 6:13 b2 Chr. 15:2 cDeut. 32:20 dJudg. 6:13 eNum. 14:42 1con- sumed

DEUTERONOMY 31:18 186 18 “And aI will surely hide My face in that day because of all the evil which they have done, in that they have turned to other gods. 19 “Now therefore, write down this song for yourselves, and teach it to the children of Israel; put it in their mouths, that this song may be aa witness for Me against the children of Israel. 20 “When I have brought them to the land flowing with milk and honey, of which I swore to their fathers, and they have eaten and filled themselves aand grown fat, bthen they will turn to other gods and serve them; and they will pro- voke Me and break My covenant. 21 “Then it shall be, awhen many evils and troubles have come upon them, that this song will testify against them as a witness; for it will not be forgotten in the mouths of their descendants, for bI know the inclina- tion cof their behavior today, even before I have brought them to the land of which I swore to give them.” 22 Therefore Moses wrote this song the same day, and taught it to the children of Israel. 23 aThen He inaugurated Joshua the son of Nun, and said, b“Be strong and of good courage; for you shall bring the children of Israel into the land of which I swore to them, and I will be with you.” 24 So it was, when Moses had com- pleted writing the words of this law in a book, when they were finished, 25 that Moses commanded the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying: 26 “Take this Book of the Law, aand put it beside the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there bas a witness against you; 27 a“for I know your rebellion and your bstiff neck. If today, while I am yet alive with you, you have been rebellious against the LORD, then how much more after my death? 28 “Gather to me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their hearing aand call heaven and earth to witness against them. 29 “For I know that after my death you will abecome utterly corrupt, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you. And bevil will befall you cin the latter days, because you will do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger through the work of your hands.” The Song of Moses 30 Then Moses spoke in the hear- ing of all the assembly of Israel the words of this song until they were ended: 32 “Give aear, O heavens, and I will speak; And hear, O bearth, the words of my mouth. 2 Let amy 1teaching drop as the rain, My speech distill as the dew, bAs raindrops on the tender herb, And as showers on the grass. 3 For I proclaim the aname of the LORD: bAscribe greatness to our God. 4 He is athe Rock, bHis work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, cA God of truth and dwithout injustice; Righteous and upright is He. 5 “Theya have corrupted themselves; They are not His children, Because of their blemish: A bperverse and crooked generation. 6 Do you thus adeal1 with the LORD, O foolish and unwise people? Is He not byour Father, who cbought you? Has He not dmade you and established you? 7 “Remembera the days of old, Consider the years of many generations. bAsk your father, and he will show you; Your elders, and they will tell you: 8 When the Most High adivided their inheritance to the nations, When He bseparated the sons of Adam, He set the boundaries of the peoples According to the number of the 1children of Israel. 9 For athe LORD’s portion is His people; Jacob is the place of His inheritance. 10 “He found him ain a desert land And in the wasteland, a howling wilderness; He encircled him, He instructed him, He bkept him as the 1apple of His eye. 11 aAs an eagle stirs up its nest, Hovers over its young, Spreading out its wings, taking them up, Carrying them on its wings, 12 So the LORD alone led him, And there was no foreign god with him. 13 “Hea made him ride in the heights of the earth, That he might eat the produce of the fields; He made him draw honey from the rock, 18 aDeut. 31:17; [Is. 1:15, 16] 19 aDeut. 31:22, 26 20 aDeut. 32:15–17 bDeut.

ling wilderness; He encircled him, He instructed him, He bkept him as the 1apple of His eye. 11 aAs an eagle stirs up its nest, Hovers over its young, Spreading out its wings, taking them up, Carrying them on its wings, 12 So the LORD alone led him, And there was no foreign god with him. 13 “Hea made him ride in the heights of the earth, That he might eat the produce of the fields; He made him draw honey from the rock, 18 aDeut. 31:17; [Is. 1:15, 16] 19 aDeut. 31:22, 26 20 aDeut. 32:15–17 bDeut. 31:16 21 aDeut. 31:17 bHos. 5:3 cAmos 5:25, 26 23 aNum. 27:23; Deut. 31:14 bDeut. 31:7 26 a2 Kin. 22:8 bDeut. 31:19 27 aDeut. 9:7, 24 bEx. 32:9; Deut. 9:6, 13 28 aDeut. 30:19 29 aDeut. 32:5; Judg. 2:19; [Acts 20:29, 30] bDeut. 28:15 cGen. 49:1; Deut. 4:30 CHAPTER 32 1 aDeut. 4:26; Ps. 50:4; Is. 1:2 bJer. 6:19 2 aIs. 55:10, 11 bPs. 72:6 1doc- trine 3 aDeut. 28:58 b1 Chr. 29:11 4 aDeut. 32:15, 18, 30; Ps. 18:2 b2 Sam. 22:31 cDeut. 7:9; Is. 65:16; Jer. 10:10 dJob 34:10 5 aDeut. 4:25; 31:29 bPhil. 2:15 6 aPs. 116:12 bEx. 4:22; Deut. 1:31; Is. 63:16 cPs. 74:2 dDeut. 32:15 1repay the 7 aPs. 44:1 bEx. 12:26; 13:14; Ps. 78:5–8 8 aActs 17:26 bGen. 11:8 1LXX, DSS angels of God; Symmachus, Lat. sons of God 9 aEx. 19:5 10 aJer. 2:6; Hos. 13:5 bPs. 17:8; Prov. 7:2; Zech. 2:8 1pupil 11 aIs. 31:5 13 aIs. 58:14

187 DEUTERONOMY 32:37 And oil from the flinty rock; 14 Curds from the cattle, and milk of the flock, aWith fat of lambs; And rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, With the choicest wheat; And you drank wine, the bblood of the grapes. 15 “But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked; aYou grew fat, you grew thick, You are obese! Then he bforsook God who cmade him, And scornfully esteemed the dRock of his salvation. 16 aThey provoked Him to jealousy with foreign gods; With 1abominations they provoked Him to anger. 17 aThey sacrificed to demons, not to God, To gods they did not know, To new gods, new arrivals That your fathers did not fear. 18 aOf the Rock who begot you, you are unmindful, And have bforgotten the God who fathered you. 19 “Anda when the LORD saw it, He spurned them, Because of the provocation of His sons and His daughters. 20 And He said: ‘I will hide My face from them, I will see what their end will be, For they are a perverse generation, aChildren in whom is no faith. 21 aThey have provoked Me to jealousy by what is not God; They have moved Me to anger bby their 1foolish idols. But cI will provoke them to jealousy by those who are not a nation; I will move them to anger by a foolish nation. 22 For aa fire is kindled in My anger, And shall burn to the 1lowest 2hell; It shall consume the earth with her increase, And set on fire the foundations of the mountains. 23 ‘I will aheap disasters on them; bI will spend My arrows on them. 24 They shall be wasted with hunger, Devoured by pestilence and bitter destruction; I will also send against them the ateeth of beasts, With the poison of serpents of the dust. 25 The sword shall destroy outside; There shall be terror within For the young man and virgin, The nursing child with the man of gray hairs. 26 aI would have said, “I will dash them in pieces, I will make the memory of them to cease from among men,” 27 Had I not feared the wrath of the enemy, Lest their adversaries should misunderstand, Lest they should say, a“Our hand is high; And it is not the LORD who has done all this.” ’ 28 “For they are a nation void of counsel, Nor is there any understanding in them. 29 aOh, that they were wise, that they understood this, That they would consider their blatter end! 30 How could one chase a thousand, And two put ten thousand to flight, Unless their Rock ahad sold them, And the LORD had surrendered them? 31 For their rock is not like our Rock, aEven our enemies themselves being judges. 32 For atheir vine is of the vine of Sodom And of the fields of Gomorrah; Their grapes are grapes of gall, Their clusters are bitter. 33 Their wine is athe poison of serpents, And the cruel bvenom of cobras. 34 ‘Is this not alaid up in store with Me, Sealed up among My treasures? 35 aVengeance is Mine, and recompense; Their foot shall slip in due time; bFor the day of their calamity is at hand, And the things to come hasten upon them.’ 36 “Fora the LORD will judge His people bAnd have compassion on His servants, When He sees that their power is gone, And cthere is no one remaining, bond or free. 37 He will say: a‘Where are their gods, The rock in which they sought refuge? 14 aPs. 81:16 bGen. 49:11 15 aDeut. 31:20 bIs. 1:4 cIs. 51:13 dPs. 95:1 16 aPs. 78:58; 1 Cor. 10:22 1detestable acts 17 aRev. 9:20 18 aIs. 17:10 bJer. 2:32 19 aJudg. 2:14 20 aMatt. 17:17 21 aPs. 78:58 bPs. 31:6 cRom. 10:19 1foolishness, lit. vanities 22 aNum. 16:33–35; Ps. 18:7, 8; Lam. 4:11 1lowest part of 2Or Sheol 23 aEx. 32:12; Deut. 29:21, 24 bPs. 7:12, 13 24 aLev. 26:22 26 aEzek. 20:23 27 aIs. 10:12–15 29 aPs. 81:13; [Luke 19:42] bDeut. 31:29 30 aJudg. 2:14; Ps. 44:12 31 a[1 Sam. 4:7, 8; Jer. 40:2, 3] 32 aIs. 1:8–10 33 aPs. 58:4 bRom. 3:13 34 a[Jer. 2:22] 35 aPs. 94:1; Rom. 12:19; Heb. 10:30 b2 Pet. 2:3 36 aPs. 135:14; Heb. 10:30 bPs. 106:45; Jer. 31:20 c2 Kin. 14:26 37 aJudg. 10:14; Jer. 2:28

DEUTERONOMY 32:38 188 38 Who ate the fat of their sacrifices, And drank the wine of their drink offering? Let them rise and help you, And be your refuge. 39 ‘Now see that aI, even I, am He, And bthere is no God besides Me; cI kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; Nor is there any who can deliver from My hand. 40 For I raise My hand to heaven, And say, “As I live forever, 41 aIf I 1whet My glittering sword, And My hand takes hold on judgment, I will render vengeance to My enemies, And repay those who hate Me. 42 I will make My arrows drunk with blood, And My sword shall devour flesh, With the blood of the slain and the captives, From the heads of the leaders of the enemy.” ’ 43 “Rejoice,a O Gentiles, with His 1people; For He will bavenge the blood of His servants, And render vengeance to His adversaries; He cwill provide atonement for His land and His people.” 44 So Moses came with 1Joshua the son of Nun and spoke all the words of this song in the hearing of the people. 45 Moses finished speaking all these words to all Israel, 46 and he said to them: a“Set your hearts on all the words which I tes- tify among you today, which you shall command your bchildren to be careful to observe—all the words of this law. 47 “For it is not a 1futile thing for you, because it is your alife, and by this word you shall prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess.” Moses to Die on Mount Nebo 48 Then the LORD spoke to Moses that very same day, saying: 49 a“Go up this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, across from Jeri- cho; view the land of Canaan, which I give to the children of Israel as a possession; 50 “and die on the mountain which you ascend, and be 1gathered to your people, just as aAaron your brother died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people; 51 “because ayou trespassed against Me among the children of Israel at the waters of 1Meribah Kadesh, in the Wilderness of Zin, because you bdid not hallow Me in the midst of the children of Israel. 52 a“Yet you shall see the land before you, though you shall not go there, into the land which I am giv- ing to the children of Israel.” Moses’ Final Blessing on Israel 33 Now this is athe blessing with which Moses bthe man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death. 2 And he said: a“The LORD came from Sinai, And dawned on them from bSeir; He shone forth from cMount Paran, And He came with dten thousands of saints; From His right hand Came a fiery law for them. 3 Yes, aHe loves the people; bAll His saints are in Your hand; They csit down at Your feet; Everyone dreceives Your words. 4 aMoses 1commanded a law for us, bA heritage of the congregation of Jacob. 5 And He was aKing in bJeshurun, When the leaders of the people were gathered, All the tribes of Israel together. 6 “Let aReuben live, and not die, Nor let his men be few.” 7 And this he said of aJudah: “Hear, LORD, the voice of Judah, And bring him to his people; bLet his hands be sufficient for him, And may You be ca help against his enemies.” 8 And of aLevi he said: b“Let Your 1Thummim and Your Urim be with Your holy one, cWhom You tested at Massah, And with whom You contended at the waters of Meribah, 9 aWho says of his father and mother, ‘‘I have not bseen them’; cNor did he acknowledge his brothers, Or know his own children; For dthey have observed Your word And kept Your covenant. 10 aThey shall teach Jacob Your judgments, And Israel Your law. They shall put incense before You, bAnd a whole burnt sacrifice on Your altar. 39 aIs. 41:4; 43:10 bIs. 45:5 c1 Sam. 2:6 41 aIs. 1:24; 66:16 1sharpen 43 aRom. 15:10 bRev. 6:10; 19:2 cPs. 65:3; 79:9; 85:1 1DSS frag- ment adds And let all the gods (angels) wor- ship Him; cf. LXX and Heb. 1:6 44 1Heb. Hoshea, Num. 13:8, 16 46 aEzek. 40:4; 44:5 bDeut. 11:19 47 aDeut. 8:3; 30:15–20 1vain 49 aNum. 27:12–14 50 aNum. 20:25, 28; 33:38 1Join your ances- tors 51 aNum. 20:11–13 bLev. 10:3 1Lit.

el Your law. They shall put incense before You, bAnd a whole burnt sacrifice on Your altar. 39 aIs. 41:4; 43:10 bIs. 45:5 c1 Sam. 2:6 41 aIs. 1:24; 66:16 1sharpen 43 aRom. 15:10 bRev. 6:10; 19:2 cPs. 65:3; 79:9; 85:1 1DSS frag- ment adds And let all the gods (angels) wor- ship Him; cf. LXX and Heb. 1:6 44 1Heb. Hoshea, Num. 13:8, 16 46 aEzek. 40:4; 44:5 bDeut. 11:19 47 aDeut. 8:3; 30:15–20 1vain 49 aNum. 27:12–14 50 aNum. 20:25, 28; 33:38 1Join your ances- tors 51 aNum. 20:11–13 bLev. 10:3 1Lit. Con- tention at Kadesh 52 aDeut. 34:1–5 CHAPTER 33 1 aGen. 49:28 bPs. 90 2 aPs. 68:8, 17 bDeut. 2:1, 4 cNum. 10:12 dDan. 7:10 3 aHos. 11:1 b1 Sam. 2:9 c[Luke 10:39] dProv. 2:1 4 aJohn 1:17; 7:19 bPs. 119:111 1charged us with 5 aEx. 15:18 bDeut. 32:15 6 aGen. 49:3, 4 7 aGen. 49:8–12 bGen. 49:8 cPs. 146:5 8 aGen. 49:5 bEx. 28:30 cPs. 81:7 1Lit. Per- fections and Your Lights 9 a[Num. 25:5–8] b[Gen. 29:32] cEx. 32:26–28 dMal. 2:5, 6 10 aLev. 10:11 bPs. 51:19

189 DEUTERONOMY 34:3 11 Bless his substance, LORD, And aaccept the work of his hands; Strike the loins of those who rise against him, And of those who hate him, that they rise not again.” 12 Of Benjamin he said: “The beloved of the LORD shall dwell in safety by Him, Who shelters him all the day long; And he shall dwell between His shoulders.” 13 And of Joseph he said: a“Blessed of the LORD is his land, With the precious things of heaven, with the bdew, And the deep lying beneath, 14 With the precious fruits of the sun, With the precious produce of the months, 15 With the best things of athe ancient mountains, With the precious things bof the everlasting hills, 16 With the precious things of the earth and its fullness, And the favor of aHim who dwelt in the bush. Let the blessing come b‘on the head of Joseph, And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.’ 17 His glory is like a afirstborn bull, And his horns like the bhorns of the wild ox; Together with them cHe shall push the peoples To the ends of the earth; dThey are the ten thousands of Ephraim, And they are the thousands of Manasseh.” 18 And of Zebulun he said: a“Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out, And Issachar in your tents! 19 They shall acall the peoples to the mountain; There bthey shall offer sacrifices of righteousness; For they shall partake of the abundance of the seas And of treasures hidden in the sand.” 20 And of Gad he said: “Blessed is he who aenlarges Gad; He dwells as a lion, And tears the arm and the crown of his head. 21 aHe provided the first part for himself, Because a lawgiver’s portion was reserved there. bHe came with the heads of the people; He administered the justice of the LORD, And His judgments with Israel.” 22 And of Dan he said: “Dan is a lion’s whelp; aHe shall leap from Bashan.” 23 And of Naphtali he said: “O Naphtali, asatisfied with favor, And full of the blessing of the LORD, bPossess the west and the south.” 24 And of Asher he said: a“Asher is most blessed of sons; Let him be favored by his brothers, And let him bdip his foot in oil. 25 Your sandals shall be airon and bronze; As your days, so shall your strength be. 26 “There is ano one like the God of bJeshurun, cWho rides the heavens to help you, And in His excellency on the clouds. 27 The eternal God is your arefuge, And underneath are the everlasting arms; bHe will thrust out the enemy from before you, And will say, ‘Destroy!’ 28 Then aIsrael shall dwell in safety, bThe fountain of Jacob calone, In a land of grain and new wine; His dheavens shall also drop dew. 29 aHappy are you, O Israel! bWho is like you, a people saved by the LORD, cThe shield of your help And the sword of your majesty! Your enemies dshall submit to you, And eyou shall tread down their 1high places.” Moses Dies on Mount Nebo 34 Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab ato Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is across from Jericho. And the LORD showed him all the land of Gilead as far as Dan, 2 all Naphtali and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the 1Western Sea, 3 the South, and the plain of the 11 a2 Sam. 24:23 13 aGen. 49:22–26 bGen. 27:28 15 aGen. 49:26 bHab. 3:6 16 aEx. 3:2–4; Acts 7:30–35 bGen. 49:26 17 a1 Chr. 5:1 bNum. 23:22 c1 Kin. 22:11; Ps. 44:5 dGen. 48:19 18 aGen. 49:13–15 19 aEx. 15:17; Ps. 2:6; Is. 2:3 bPs. 4:5; 51:19 20 a1 Chr. 12:8 21 aNum. 32:16, 17 bJosh. 4:12 22 aGen. 49:16, 17; Josh. 19:47 23 aGen. 49:21 bJosh. 19:32 24 aGen. 49:20 bJob 29:6 25 aDeut. 8:9 26 aEx. 15:11; Deut. 4:35; Ps. 86:8; Jer. 10:6 bDeut. 32:15 cDeut. 10:14; Ps. 68:3, 33, 34; 104:3 27 a[Ps. 90:1; 91:2, 9] bDeut. 9:3–5 28 aDeut. 33:12; Jer. 23:6; 33:16 bDeut. 8:7, 8 cNum. 23:9 dGen. 27:28 29 aPs. 144:15 bDeut. 4:32–34; 2 Sam. 7:23 cGen. 15:1; Ps. 115:9 dPs. 18:44; 66:3 eNum. 33:52 1Places for pagan wor- ship CHAPTER 34 1 aNum. 27:12; Deut. 32:49 2 1Mediter- ranean

DEUTERONOMY 34:4 190 Valley of Jericho, athe city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. 4 Then the LORD said to him, a“This is the land of which I swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descen- dants.’ bI have caused you to see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there.” 5 aSo Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD. 6 And He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth Peor; but ano one knows his grave to this day. 7 aMoses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died. bHis 1eyes were not dim nor his natural vigor 2diminished. 8 And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab athirty days. So the days of weeping and mourning for Moses ended. 9 Now Joshua the son of Nun was full of the aspirit of wisdom, for bMoses had laid his hands on him; so the children of Israel heeded him, and did as the LORD had command- ed Moses. 10 But since then there ahas not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses, bwhom the LORD knew face to face, 11 in all athe signs and wonders which the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt, before Pharaoh, before all his servants, and in all his land, 12 and by all that mighty power and all the great terror which Moses performed in the sight of all Israel. 3 a2 Chr. 28:15 4 aGen. 12:7 bDeut. 3:27 5 aDeut. 32:50; Josh. 1:1, 2 6 aJude 9 7 aDeut. 31:2 bGen. 27:1; 48:10 1eye- sight was not weakened 2reduced 8 aGen. 50:3, 10 9 aIs. 11:2 bNum. 27:18, 23 10 aDeut. 18:15, 18 bEx. 33:11 11 aDeut. 7:19 The Book of JOSHUA JOSHUA, the first of the twelve historical books (Joshua–Esther), forges a link between the Pentateuch and the remainder of Israel’s history. Through three major military campaigns involving more than thirty enemy armies, the people of Israel learn a crucial lesson under Joshua’s capable leadership: victory comes through faith in God and obedience to His word, rather than through military might or numerical superiority. The title of this book is appropriately named after its central figure, Joshua. His original name is Hoshea, “Salvation” (Num. 13:8); but Moses evidently changes it to Yehoshua, “Yahweh is Salvation” (Num. 13:16). He is also called Yeshua, a short- ened form of Yehoshua. This is the Hebrew equivalent of the Greek name Iesous (Jesus). Thus, the Greek title given to the book in the Septuagint is Iesous Naus, “Joshua the Son of Nun.” The Latin title is Liber Josue, the “Book of Joshua.” His name is symbolic of the fact that although he is the leader of the Israelite nation during the conquest, the Lord is the Conqueror. God’s Commission to Joshua AFTER the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, it came to pass that the LORD spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ aassistant, saying: 2 a“Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel. 3 a“Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. 4 a“From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory. 5 a“No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; bas I was with Moses, so cI will be with you. dI will not leave you nor forsake you. 6 a“Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall 1divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 “Only be strong and very coura- geous, that you may observe to do according to all the law awhich Moses My servant commanded you; bdo not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may 1prosper wherever you go. 8 a“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but byou1 shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do accord- ing to all that is written in it. For then CHAPTER 1 1 aEx. 24:13 2 aDeut.

tance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 “Only be strong and very coura- geous, that you may observe to do according to all the law awhich Moses My servant commanded you; bdo not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may 1prosper wherever you go. 8 a“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but byou1 shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do accord- ing to all that is written in it. For then CHAPTER 1 1 aEx. 24:13 2 aDeut. 34:5 3 aDeut. 11:24 4 aGen. 15:18 5 aDeut. 7:24 bEx. 3:12 cDeut. 31:8, 23 dDeut. 31:6, 7 6 aDeut. 31:7, 23 1give as a possession 7 aDeut. 31:7 bDeut. 5:32 1have success or act wisely 8 aJosh. 8:34 bPs. 1:1–3 1you shall be constantly in

191 JOSHUA 2:18 you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 a“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; bdo not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” The Order to Cross the Jordan 10 Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, 11 “Pass through the camp and command the people, saying, ‘Pre- pare provisions for yourselves, for awithin three days you will cross over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the LORD your God is giving you to possess.’ ” 12 And to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Ma- nasseh Joshua spoke, saying, 13 “Remember athe word which Moses the servant of the LORD com- manded you, saying, ‘The LORD your God is giving you rest and is giving you this land.’ 14 “Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan. But you shall 1pass before your brethren armed, all your mighty men of valor, and help them, 15 “until the LORD has given your brethren rest, as He gave you, and they also have taken possession of the land which the LORD your God is giving them. aThen you shall return to the land of your possession and enjoy it, which Moses the LORD’s servant gave you on this side of the Jordan toward the sunrise.” 16 So they answered Joshua, say- ing, “All that you command us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17 “Just as we heeded Moses in all things, so we will heed you. Only the LORD your God abe with you, as He was with Moses. 18 “Whoever rebels against your command and does not heed your words, in all that you command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and of good courage.” Rahab Hides the Spies 2 Now Joshua the son of Nun sent out two men afrom 1Acacia Grove to spy secretly, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” So they went, and bcame to the house of a harlot named cRahab, and 2lodged there. 2 And ait was told the king of Jeri- cho, saying, “Behold, men have come here tonight from the children of Israel to search out the country.” 3 So the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come to search out all the country.” 4 aThen the woman took the two men and hid them. So she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. 5 “And it happened as the gate was being shut, when it was dark, that the men went out. Where the men went I do not know; pursue them quickly, for you may overtake them.” 6 (But ashe had brought them up to the roof and hidden them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order on the roof.) 7 Then the men pursued them by the road to the Jordan, to the fords. And as soon as those who pursued them had gone out, they shut the gate. 8 Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof, 9 and said to the men: a“I know that the LORD has given you the land, that bthe terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabi- tants of the land care fainthearted because of you. 10 “For we have heard how the LORD adried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and bwhat you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you cutterly de- stroyed. 11 “And as soon as we aheard these things, bour hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for cthe LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. 12 “Now therefore, I beg you, aswear to me by the LORD, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to bmy father’s house, and cgive me 1a true token, 13 “and aspare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.” 14 So the men answered her, “Our lives for yours, if none of you tell this business of ours.

ny more courage in anyone because of you, for cthe LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. 12 “Now therefore, I beg you, aswear to me by the LORD, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to bmy father’s house, and cgive me 1a true token, 13 “and aspare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.” 14 So the men answered her, “Our lives for yours, if none of you tell this business of ours. And it shall be, when the LORD has given us the land, that awe will deal kindly and truly with you.” 15 Then she alet them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall; she dwelt on the wall. 16 And she said to them, “Get to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you. Hide there three days, until the pursuers have returned. Afterward you may go your way.” 17 So the men said to her: “We will be ablameless1 of this oath of yours which you have made us swear, 18 a“unless, when we come into the land, you bind this line of scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, band unless you 9 aDeut. 31:7 bPs. 27:1 11 aDeut. 9:1; Josh. 3:17 13 aNum. 32:20–28 14 1cross over ahead of 15 aJosh. 22:1–4 17 a1 Sam. 20:13; 1 Kin. 1:37 CHAPTER 2 1 aNum. 25:1; Josh. 3:1 bHeb. 11:31; James 2:25 cMatt. 1:5 1Heb. Shittim 2Lit. lay down 2 aJosh. 2:22 4 a2 Sam. 17:19, 20 6 aEx. 1:17; 2 Sam. 17:19 9 aDeut. 1:8 bGen. 35:5; Ex. 23:27; Deut. 2:25; 11:25; Josh. 9:9, 10 cEx. 15:15; Josh. 5:1 10 aEx. 14:21; Josh. 4:23 bNum. 21:21–35 cDeut. 20:17; Josh. 6:21 11 aEx. 15:14, 15 bJosh. 5:1; 7:5; Ps. 22:14; Is. 13:7 cDeut. 4:39 12 a1 Sam. 20:14, 15, 17 b1 Tim. 5:8 cEx. 12:13; Josh. 2:18 1a pledge of truth 13 aJosh. 6:23–25 14 aGen. 47:29; Judg. 1:24; [Matt. 5:7] 15 aActs 9:25 17 aEx. 20:7 1free from obligation to this oath 18 aJosh. 2:12 bJosh. 6:23

JOSHUA 2:19 192 1bring your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father’s house- hold to your own home. 19 “So it shall be that whoever goes outside the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we will be 1guiltless. And whoever is with you in the house, ahis 2blood shall be on our head if a hand is laid on him. 20 “And if you tell this business of ours, then we will be 1free from your oath which you made us swear.” 21 Then she said, “According to your words, so be it.” And she sent them away, and they departed. And she bound the scarlet cord in the window. 22 They departed and went to the mountain, and stayed there three days until the pursuers returned. The pursuers sought them all along the way, but did not find them. 23 So the two men returned, descended from the mountain, and crossed over; and they came to Joshua the son of Nun, and told him all that had befallen them. 24 And they said to Joshua, “Truly athe LORD has delivered all the land into our hands, for indeed all the inhabitants of the country are faint- hearted because of us.” Israel Crosses the Jordan 3 Then Joshua rose early in the morning; and they set out afrom 1Acacia Grove and came to the Jor- dan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they crossed over. 2 So it was, aafter three days, that the officers went through the camp; 3 and they commanded the peo- ple, saying, a“When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, band the priests, the Levites, 1bearing it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it. 4 a“Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thou- sand cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before.” 5 And Joshua said to the people, a“Sanctify1 yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.” 6 Then Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, a“Take up the ark of the covenant and cross over before the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people. 7 And the LORD said to Joshua, “This day I will begin to aexalt1 you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, bas I was with Moses, so I will be with you. 8 “You shall command athe priests who bear the ark of the covenant, saying, ‘When you have come to the edge of the water of the Jordan, byou shall stand in the Jordan.’ ” 9 So Joshua said to the children of Israel, “Come here, and hear the words of the LORD your God.” 10 And Joshua said, “By this you shall know that athe living God is among you, and that He will with- out fail bdrive out from before you the cCanaanites and the Hittites and the Hivites and the Perizzites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Jebusites: 11 “Behold, the ark of the covenant of athe Lord of all the earth is cross- ing over before you into the Jordan. 12 “Now therefore, atake for your- selves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from every tribe. 13 “And it shall come to pass, aas soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the LORD, bthe Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jor- dan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, the waters that come down from upstream, and they cshall stand as a heap.” 14 So it was, when the people set out from their camp to cross over the Jordan, with the priests bearing the aark of the covenant before the people, 15 and as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and athe feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water (for the bJordan overflows all its banks cdur- ing the whole time of harvest), 16 that the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap very far away 1at Adam, the city that is beside aZare- tan.

14 So it was, when the people set out from their camp to cross over the Jordan, with the priests bearing the aark of the covenant before the people, 15 and as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and athe feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water (for the bJordan overflows all its banks cdur- ing the whole time of harvest), 16 that the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap very far away 1at Adam, the city that is beside aZare- tan. So the waters that went down binto the Sea of the Arabah, cthe Salt Sea, failed, and were cut off; and the people crossed over opposite Jeri- cho. 17 Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; aand all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan. The Memorial Stones 4 And it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed aover the Jordan, that the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying: 2 a“Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from every tribe, 3 “and command them, saying, ‘Take for yourselves twelve stones from here, out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where athe priests’ feet stood firm. You shall carry them over with you and leave them in bthe lodging place where you lodge tonight.’ ” 4 Then Joshua called the twelve 18 1Lit. gather 19 a1 Kin. 2:32 1free from obligation 2guilt of bloodshed 20 1free from obligation to 24 aEx. 23:31 CHAPTER 3 1 aJosh. 2:1 1Heb. Shittim 2 aJosh. 1:10, 11 3 aNum. 10:33 bDeut. 31:9, 25 1carrying 4 aEx. 19:12 5 aJosh. 7:13 1Consecrate 6 aNum. 4:15 7 aJosh. 4:14 bJosh. 1:5, 9 1make you great 8 aJosh. 3:3 bJosh. 3:17 10 aMatt. 16:16; 1 Thess. 1:9 bEx. 33:2 cActs 13:19 11 aZech. 4:14; 6:5 12 aJosh. 4:2, 4 13 aJosh. 3:15, 16 bJosh. 3:11 cPs. 78:13; 114:3 14 aActs 7:44, 45 15 aJosh. 3:13 b1 Chr. 12:15 cJosh. 4:18; 5:10, 12 16 a1 Kin. 4:12; 7:46 bDeut. 3:17 cGen. 14:3 1Many mss., vss., and Qr. from Adam 17 aEx. 3:8; 6:1–8; 14:21, 22, 29; 33:1 CHAPTER 4 1 aDeut. 27:2 2 aJosh. 3:12 3 aJosh. 3:13 bJosh. 4:19, 20

193 JOSHUA 5:7 men whom he had appointed from the children of Israel, one man from every tribe; 5 and Joshua said to them: “Cross over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of the Jor- dan, and each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the chil- dren of Israel, 6 “that this may be aa sign among you bwhen your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ 7 “Then you shall answer them that athe waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for ba memorial to the children of Israel forever.” 8 And the children of Israel did so, just as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the midst of the Jordan, as the LORD had spoken to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them to the place where they lodged, and laid them down there. 9 Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant stood; and they are there to this day. 10 So the priests who bore the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan until everything was finished that the LORD had commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua; and the people hurried and crossed over. 11 Then it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over, that the aark of the LORD and the priests crossed over in the pres- ence of the people. 12 And athe men of Reuben, the men of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses had spoken to them. 13 About forty thousand 1prepared for war crossed over before the LORD for battle, to the plains of Jericho. 14 On that day the LORD aexalted1 Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they had feared Moses, all the days of his life. 15 Then the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying, 16 “Command the priests who bear athe ark of the Testimony to come up from the Jordan.” 17 Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, “Come up from the Jordan.” 18 And it came to pass, when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD had come from the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet touched the dry land, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place aand over- flowed all its banks as before. 19 Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they camped ain Gilgal on the east border of Jericho. 20 And athose twelve stones which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal. 21 Then he spoke to the children of Israel, saying: a“When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What are these stones?’ 22 “then you shall let your children know, saying, a‘Israel crossed over this Jordan on bdry land’; 23 “for the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea, awhich He dried up before us until we had crossed over, 24 a“that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the LORD, that it is bmighty, that you may cfear the LORD your God 1forever.” The Second Generation Circumcised 5 So it was, when all the kings of the Amorites who were on the west side of the Jordan, and all the kings of the Canaanites awho were by the sea, bheard that the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan from before the children of Israel until 1we had crossed over, that 2their heart melted; cand there was no spirit in them any longer because of the children of Israel. 2 At that time the LORD said to Joshua, “Make aflint knives for yourself, and circumcise the sons of Israel again the second time.” 3 So Joshua made flint knives for himself, and circumcised the sons of Israel at 1the hill of the foreskins. 4 And this is the reason why

ea, bheard that the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan from before the children of Israel until 1we had crossed over, that 2their heart melted; cand there was no spirit in them any longer because of the children of Israel. 2 At that time the LORD said to Joshua, “Make aflint knives for yourself, and circumcise the sons of Israel again the second time.” 3 So Joshua made flint knives for himself, and circumcised the sons of Israel at 1the hill of the foreskins. 4 And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: aAll the people who came out of Egypt who were males, all the men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way, after they had come out of Egypt. 5 For all the people who came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness, on the way as they came out of Egypt, had not been circumcised. 6 For the children of Israel walked aforty years in the wilder- ness, till all the people who were men of war, who came out of Egypt, were 1consumed, because they did not obey the voice of the LORD—to whom the LORD swore that bHe would not show them the land which the LORD had sworn to their fathers that He would give us, c“a land flowing with milk and honey.” 7 Then Joshua circumcised atheir sons whom He raised up in their 6 aDeut. 27:2; Ps. 103:2 bEx. 12:26; 13:14; Deut. 6:20 7 aJosh. 3:13, 16 bEx. 12:14; Num. 16:40 11 aJosh. 3:11; 6:11 12 aNum. 32:17, 20, 27, 28; Josh. 1:14 13 1equipped 14 aJosh. 3:7; 1 Chr. 29:25 1made Joshua great 16 aEx. 25:16, 22 18 aJosh. 3:15; 1 Chr. 12:15 19 aJosh. 5:9 20 aDeut. 11:30; Josh. 4:3; 5:9, 10 21 aJosh. 4:6 22 aEx. 12:26, 27; 13:8–14; Deut. 26:5–9 bJosh. 3:17 23 aEx. 14:21 24 a1 Kin. 8:42; 2 Kin. 19:19; Ps. 106:8 bEx. 15:16; 1 Chr. 29:12; Ps. 89:13 cEx. 14:31; Deut. 6:2; Ps. 76:7; Jer. 10:7 1Lit. all days CHAPTER 5 1 aNum. 13:29 bEx. 15:14, 15 cJosh. 2:10, 11; 9:9; 1 Kin. 10:5 1So with Kt.; Qr., some Heb. mss. and editions, LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. they 2their courage failed 2 aEx. 4:25 3 1Heb. Gibeath Haaraloth 4 aNum. 14:29; 26:64, 65; Deut. 2:14–16 6 aNum. 14:33; Deut. 1:3; 29:5 bNum. 14:23, 29–35; 26:23–65; Heb. 3:11 cEx. 3:8 1destroyed 7 aNum. 14:31; Deut. 1:39

JOSHUA 5:8 194 place; for they were uncircumcised, because they had not been circum- cised on the way. 8 So it was, when they had fin- ished circumcising all the people, that they stayed in their places in the camp atill they were healed. 9 Then the LORD said to Joshua, “This day I have rolled away athe reproach of Egypt from you.” There- fore the name of the place is called bGilgal1 to this day. 10 Now the children of Israel camped in Gilgal, and kept the Passover aon the fourteenth day of the month at twilight on the plains of Jericho. 11 And they ate of the produce of the land on the day after the Passover, unleavened bread and 1parched grain, on the very same day. 12 Then athe manna ceased on the day after they had eaten the pro- duce of the land; and the children of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate the food of the land of Canaan that year. The Commander of the Army of the LORD 13 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, aa Man stood opposite him bwith His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, “Are You for us or for our adversaries?” 14 So He said, “No, but as Com- mander of the army of the LORD I have now come.” And Joshua afell on his face to the earth and bwor- shiped, and said to Him, “What does my Lord say to His servant?” 15 Then the Commander of the LORD’s army said to Joshua, a“Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy.” And Joshua did so. The Destruction of Jericho 6 Now aJericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in. 2 And the LORD said to Joshua: “See! aI have given Jericho into your hand, its bking, and the mighty men of valor. 3 “You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days. 4 “And seven priests shall bear seven atrumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city bseven times, and cthe priests shall blow the trumpets. 5 “It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him.” 6 Then Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD.” 7 And he said to the people, “Pro- ceed, and march around the city, and let him who is armed advance before the ark of the LORD.” 8 So it was, when Joshua had spo- ken to the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the LORD advanced and blew the trumpets, and the ark of the covenant of the LORD followed them. 9 The armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets, aand the rear guard came after the ark, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets. 10 Now Joshua had commanded the people, saying, “You shall not shout or make any noise with your voice, nor shall a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I say to you, ‘Shout!’ Then you shall shout.” 11 So he had athe ark of the LORD circle the city, going around it once. Then they came into the camp and 1lodged in the camp. 12 And Joshua rose early in the morning, aand the priests took up the ark of the LORD. 13 Then seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD went on continually and blew with the trum- pets. And the armed men went before them. But the rear guard came after the ark of the LORD, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets. 14 And the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. So they did six days. 15 But it came to pass on the sev- enth day that they rose early, about the dawning of the day, and marched around the city seven times in the same manner.

en trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD went on continually and blew with the trum- pets. And the armed men went before them. But the rear guard came after the ark of the LORD, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets. 14 And the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. So they did six days. 15 But it came to pass on the sev- enth day that they rose early, about the dawning of the day, and marched around the city seven times in the same manner. On that day only they marched around the city seven times. 16 And the seventh time it hap- pened, when the priests blew the trumpets, that Joshua said to the people: “Shout, for the LORD has given you the city! 17 “Now the city shall be adoomed by the LORD to destruction, it and all who are in it. Only bRahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because cshe hid the messengers that we sent. 18 “And you, aby all means abstain from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of 8 aGen. 34:25 9 aGen. 34:14 bJosh. 4:19 1Lit. Rolling 10 aEx. 12:6; Num. 9:5 11 1roasted 12 aEx. 16:35 13 aGen. 18:1, 2; 32:24, 30; Ex. 23:23; Num. 22:31; Zech. 1:8; Acts 1:10 bNum. 22:23; 1 Chr. 21:16 14 aGen. 17:3; Num. 20:6 bEx. 34:8 15 aEx. 3:5; Acts 7:33 CHAPTER 6 1 aJosh. 2:1 2 aJosh. 2:9, 24; 8:1 bDeut. 7:24 4 aLev. 25:9; Judg. 7:16, 22 b1 Kin. 18:43; 2 Kin. 4:35; 5:10 cNum. 10:8 9 aNum. 10:25 11 aJosh. 4:11 1spent the night 12 aDeut. 31:25 17 aDeut. 13:17; Josh. 7:1 bJosh. 2:1; Matt. 1:5 cJosh. 2:4, 6 18 aDeut. 7:26

195 JOSHUA 7:15 the accursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, band trouble it. 19 “But all the silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are 1con- secrated to the LORD; they 2shall come into the treasury of the LORD.” 20 So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. And it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that athe wall fell down flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. 21 And they autterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword. 22 But Joshua had said to the two men who had spied out the country, “Go into the harlot’s house, and from there bring out the woman and all that she has, aas you swore to her.” 23 And the young men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab, aher father, her mother, her brothers, and all that she had. So they brought out all her relatives and left them outside the camp of Israel. 24 But they burned the city and all that was in it with fire. Only the sil- ver and gold, and the vessels of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD. 25 And Joshua spared Rahab the harlot, her father’s household, and all that she had. So ashe dwells in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. 26 Then Joshua 1charged them at that time, saying, a“Cursed be the man before the LORD who rises up and builds this city Jericho; he shall lay its foundation with his firstborn, and with his youngest he shall set up its gates.” 27 So the LORD was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout all the country. Defeat at Ai 7 But the children of Israel 1com- mitted a atrespass regarding the baccursed2 things, for cAchan the son of Carmi, the son of 3Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed things; so the anger of the LORD burned against the children of Israel. 2 Now Joshua sent men from Jeri- cho to Ai, which is beside Beth Aven, on the east side of Bethel, and spoke to them, saying, “Go up and spy out the country.” So the men went up and spied out Ai. 3 And they returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not let all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not weary all the people there, for the people of Ai are few.” 4 So about three thousand men went up there from the people, abut they fled before the men of Ai. 5 And the men of Ai struck down about thirty-six men, for they chased them from before the gate as far as Shebarim, and struck them down on the descent; therefore athe1 hearts of the people melted and became like water. 6 Then Joshua atore his clothes, and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the LORD until evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they bput dust on their heads. 7 And Joshua said, “Alas, Lord 1GOD, awhy have You brought this people over the Jordan at all—to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? Oh, that we had been content, and dwelt on the other side of the Jordan! 8 “O Lord, what shall I say when Israel turns its 1back before its ene- mies? 9 “For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear it, and surround us, and acut off our name from the earth. Then bwhat will You do for Your great name?” The Sin of Achan 10 So the LORD said to Joshua: “Get up! Why do you lie thus on your face? 11 “Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. aFor they have even taken some of the 1accursed things, and have both stolen and bdeceived; and they have also put it among their own stuff. 12 a“Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because bthey have become doomed to destruc- tion.

ame?” The Sin of Achan 10 So the LORD said to Joshua: “Get up! Why do you lie thus on your face? 11 “Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. aFor they have even taken some of the 1accursed things, and have both stolen and bdeceived; and they have also put it among their own stuff. 12 a“Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because bthey have become doomed to destruc- tion. Neither will I be with you any- more, unless you destroy the accursed from among you. 13 “Get up, asanctify1 the people, and say, b‘Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, because thus says the LORD God of Israel: “There is an accursed thing in your midst, O Israel; you cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the accursed thing from among you.” 14 ‘In the morning therefore you shall be brought according to your tribes. And it shall be that the tribe which athe LORD takes shall come according to families; and the family which the LORD takes shall come by households; and the household which the LORD takes shall come man by man. 15 a‘Then it shall be that he who is taken with the accursed thing shall be burned with fire, he and all that 18 bJosh. 7:1, 12, 25; 1 Kin. 18:17, 18; [Jon. 1:12] 19 1set apart 2shall go 20 aHeb. 11:30 21 aDeut. 7:2; 20:16, 17 22 aJosh. 2:12–19; Heb. 11:31 23 aJosh. 2:13 25 a[Matt. 1:5] 26 a1 Kin. 16:34 1warned CHAPTER 7 1 aJosh. 7:20, 21 bJosh. 6:17–19 cJosh. 22:20 1acted unfaithfully 2devoted 3Zimri, 1 Chr. 2:6 4 aLev. 26:17; Deut. 28:25 5 aLev. 26:36; Josh. 2:9, 11 1the people’s courage failed 6 aGen. 37:29, 34 b1 Sam. 4:12 7 aEx. 17:3; Num. 21:5 1Heb. YHWH, LORD 8 1Lit. neck 9 aDeut. 32:26 bEx. 32:12; Num. 14:13 11 aJosh. 6:17–19 bActs 5:1, 2 1de- voted 12 aJudg. 2:14 bDeut. 7:26; [Hag. 2:13, 14] 13 aEx. 19:10 bJosh. 3:5 1set apart 14 a[Prov. 16:33] 15 a1 Sam. 14:38, 39

JOSHUA 7:16 196 he has, because he has btrans- gressed1 the covenant of the LORD, and because he chas done a dis- graceful thing in Israel.’ ” 16 So Joshua rose early in the morning and brought Israel by their tribes, and the tribe of Judah was taken. 17 He brought the clan of Judah, and he took the family of the Zarhites; and he brought the family of the Zarhites man by man, and Zabdi was taken. 18 Then he brought his household man by man, and Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, awas taken. 19 Now Joshua said to Achan, “My son, I beg you, agive glory to the LORD God of Israel, band make con- fession to Him, and ctell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me.” 20 And Achan answered Joshua and said, “Indeed aI have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and this is what I have done: 21 “When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I 1coveted them and took them. And there they are, hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent, with the silver under it.” 22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the sil- ver under it. 23 And they took them from the midst of the tent, brought them to Joshua and to all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the LORD. 24 Then Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the garment, the wedge of gold, his sons, his daugh- ters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and aall that he had, and they brought them to bthe Valley of Achor. 25 And Joshua said, a“Why have you troubled us? The LORD will trouble you this day.” bSo all Israel stoned him with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones. 26 Then they araised over him a great heap of stones, still there to this day. So bthe LORD turned from the fierceness of His anger. There- fore the name of that place has been called cthe Valley of 1Achor to this day. The Fall of Ai 8 Now the LORD said to Joshua: a“Do not be afraid, nor be dis- mayed; take all the people of war with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, bI have given into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land. 2 “And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to aJericho and its king. Only bits spoil and its cattle you shall take as booty for your- selves. Lay an ambush for the city behind it.” 3 So Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up against Ai; and Joshua chose thirty thousand mighty men of valor and sent them away by night. 4 And he commanded them, say- ing: “Behold, ayou shall lie in ambush against the city, behind the city. Do not go very far from the city, but all of you be ready. 5 “Then I and all the people who are with me will approach the city; and it will come about, when they come out against us as at the first, that awe shall flee before them. 6 “For they will come out after us till we have drawn them from the city, for they will say, ‘They are flee- ing before us as at the first.’ There- fore we will flee before them. 7 “Then you shall rise from the ambush and seize the city, for the LORD your God will deliver it into your hand. 8 “And it will be, when you have taken the city, that you shall set the city on fire. According to the com- mandment of the LORD you shall do.

out against us as at the first, that awe shall flee before them. 6 “For they will come out after us till we have drawn them from the city, for they will say, ‘They are flee- ing before us as at the first.’ There- fore we will flee before them. 7 “Then you shall rise from the ambush and seize the city, for the LORD your God will deliver it into your hand. 8 “And it will be, when you have taken the city, that you shall set the city on fire. According to the com- mandment of the LORD you shall do. aSee, I have commanded you.” 9 Joshua therefore sent them out; and they went to lie in ambush, and stayed between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai; but Joshua lodged that night among the people. 10 Then Joshua rose up early in the morning and mustered the peo- ple, and went up, he and the elders of Israel, before the people to Ai. 11 aAnd all the people of war who were with him went up and drew near; and they came before the city and camped on the north side of Ai. Now a valley lay between them and Ai. 12 So he took about five thousand men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of 1the city. 13 And when they had set the peo- ple, all the army that was on the north of the city, and its rear guard on the west of the city, Joshua went that night into the midst of the valley. 14 Now it happened, when the king of Ai saw it, that the men of the city hurried and rose early and went out against Israel to battle, he and all his people, at an appointed place before the plain. But he adid not know that there was an ambush against him behind the city. 15 And Joshua and all Israel amade as if they were beaten before them, 15 bJosh. 7:11 cGen. 34:7; Judg. 20:6 1overstepped 18 a1 Sam. 14:42 19 a1 Sam. 6:5; Jer. 13:16; John 9:24 bNum. 5:6, 7; 2 Chr. 30:22; Ezra 10:10, 11; Ps. 32:5; Prov. 28:13; Jer. 3:12, 13; Dan. 9:4 c1 Sam. 14:43 20 aNum. 22:34; 1 Sam. 15:24 21 1desired 24 aNum. 16:32, 33; Dan. 6:24 bJosh. 7:26; 15:7 25 aJosh. 6:18; 1 Chr. 2:7; [Gal. 5:12] bDeut. 17:5 26 aJosh. 8:29; 2 Sam. 18:17; Lam. 3:53 bDeut. 13:17 cJosh. 7:24; Is. 65:10; Hos. 2:15 1Lit. Trouble CHAPTER 8 1 aDeut. 1:21; 7:18; 31:8; Josh. 1:9; 10:8 bJosh. 6:2 2 aJosh. 6:21 bDeut. 20:14; Josh. 8:27 4 aJudg. 20:29 5 aJosh. 7:5; Judg. 20:32 8 a2 Sam. 13:28 11 aJosh. 8:5 12 1Ai 14 aJudg. 20:34; Eccl. 9:12 15 aJudg. 20:36

197 JOSHUA 9:7 and fled by the way of the wilder- ness. 16 So all the people who were in Ai were called together to pursue them. And they pursued Joshua and were drawn away from the city. 17 There was not a man left in Ai or Bethel who did not go out after Israel. So they left the city open and pursued Israel. 18 Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Stretch out the spear that is in your hand toward Ai, for I will give it into your hand.” And Joshua stretched out the spear that was in his hand toward the city. 19 So those in ambush arose quickly out of their place; they ran as soon as he had stretched out his hand, and they entered the city and took it, and hurried to set the city on fire. 20 And when the men of Ai looked behind them, they saw, and behold, the smoke of the city ascended to heaven. So they had no power to flee this way or that way, and the people who had fled to the wilder- ness turned back on the pursuers. 21 Now when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city and that the smoke of the city ascended, they turned back and struck down the men of Ai. 22 Then the others came out of the city against them; so they were caught in the midst of Israel, some on this side and some on that side. And they struck them down, so that they alet none of them remain or escape. 23 But the king of Ai they took alive, and brought him to Joshua. 24 And it came to pass when Israel had made an end of slaying all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness where they pursued them, and when they all had fallen by the edge of the sword until they were consumed, that all the Israelites returned to Ai and struck it with the edge of the sword. 25 So it was that all who fell that day, both men and women, were twelve thousand—all the people of Ai. 26 For Joshua did not draw back his hand, with which he stretched out the spear, until he had autterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai. 27 aOnly the livestock and the spoil of that city Israel took as booty for themselves, according to the word of the LORD which He had bcom- manded Joshua. 28 So Joshua burned Ai and made it aa heap forever, a desolation to this day. 29 aAnd the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until evening. bAnd as soon as the sun was down, Joshua com- manded that they should take his corpse down from the tree, cast it at the entrance of the gate of the city, and craise over it a great heap of stones that remains to this day. Joshua Renews the Covenant 30 Now Joshua built an altar to the LORD God of Israel ain Mount Ebal, 31 as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded the children of Is- rael, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses: a“an altar of whole stones over which no man has wielded an iron tool.” And bthey of- fered on it burnt offerings to the LORD, and sacrificed peace offerings. 32 And there, in the presence of the children of Israel, ahe wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written. 33 Then all Israel, with their elders and officers and judges, stood on either side of the ark before the priests, the Levites, awho bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD, bthe stranger as well as he who was born among them.

le stones over which no man has wielded an iron tool.” And bthey of- fered on it burnt offerings to the LORD, and sacrificed peace offerings. 32 And there, in the presence of the children of Israel, ahe wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written. 33 Then all Israel, with their elders and officers and judges, stood on either side of the ark before the priests, the Levites, awho bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD, bthe stranger as well as he who was born among them. Half of them were in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, cas Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel. 34 And afterward ahe read all the words of the law, bthe blessings and the cursings, according to all that is written in the cBook of the Law. 35 There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded which Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, awith the women, the little ones, band the strangers who were living among them. The Treaty with the Gibeonites 9 And it came to pass when aall the kings who were on this side of the Jordan, in the hills and in the lowland and in all the coasts of bthe Great Sea toward Lebanon—cthe Hit- tite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite—heard about it, 2 that they agathered together to fight with Joshua and Israel with one 1accord. 3 But when the inhabitants of aGibeon bheard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, 4 they worked craftily, and went and 1pretended to be ambassadors. And they took old sacks on their donkeys, old wineskins torn and 2mended, 5 old and patched sandals on their feet, and old garments on themselves; and all the bread of their provision was dry and moldy. 6 And they went to Joshua, ato the camp at Gilgal, and said to him and to the men of Israel, “We have come from a far country; now therefore, make a 1covenant with us.” 7 Then the men of Israel said to the aHivites, “Perhaps you dwell 22 aDeut. 7:2 26 aJosh. 6:21 27 aNum. 31:22, 26 bJosh. 8:2 28 aDeut. 13:16 29 aJosh. 10:26 bDeut. 21:22, 23; Josh. 10:27 cJosh. 7:26; 10:27 30 aDeut. 27:4–8 31 aEx. 20:25; Deut. 27:5, 6 bEx. 20:24 32 aDeut. 27:2, 3, 8 33 aDeut. 31:9, 25 bDeut. 31:12 cDeut. 11:29; 27:12 34 aDeut. 31:11; Neh. 8:3 bDeut. 28:2, 15, 45; 29:20, 21; 30:19 cJosh. 1:8 35 aEx. 12:38; Deut. 31:12 bJosh. 8:33 CHAPTER 9 1 aNum. 13:29; Josh. 3:10 bNum. 34:6 cEx. 3:17; 23:23 2 aJosh. 10:5; Ps. 83:3, 5 1Lit. mouth 3 aJosh. 9:17, 22; 10:2; 21:17; 2 Sam. 21:1, 2 bJosh. 6:27 4 1acted as envoys 2Lit. tied up 6 aJosh. 5:10 1treaty 7 aJosh. 9:1; 11:19

JOSHUA 9:8 198 among us; so bhow can we make a covenant with you?” 8 But they said to Joshua, a“We are your servants.” And Joshua said to them, “Who are you, and where do you come from?” 9 So they said to him: a“From a very far country your servants have come, because of the name of the LORD your God; for we have bheard of His fame, and all that He did in Egypt, 10 “and aall that He did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan—to Sihon king of Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who was at Ashtaroth. 11 “Therefore our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spoke to us, saying, ‘Take provisions with you for the journey, and go to meet them, and say to them, “We are your servants; now therefore, make a covenant with us.” ’ 12 “This bread of ours we took hot for our provision from our houses on the day we departed to come to you. But now look, it is dry and moldy. 13 “And these wineskins which we filled were new, and see, they are torn; and these our garments and our sandals have become old because of the very long journey.” 14 Then the men of Israel took some of their provisions; abut they 1did not ask counsel of the LORD. 15 So Joshua amade peace with them, and made a covenant with them to let them live; and the rulers of the congregation swore to them. 16 And it happened at the end of three days, after they had made a covenant with them, that they heard that they were their neighbors who dwelt near them. 17 Then the children of Israel jour- neyed and came to their cities on the third day. Now their cities were aGibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kirjath Jearim. 18 But the children of Israel did not 1attack them, abecause the rulers of the congregation had sworn to them by the LORD God of Israel. And all the congregation complained against the rulers. 19 Then all the rulers said to all the congregation, “We have sworn to them by the LORD God of Israel; now therefore, we may not touch them. 20 “This we will do to them: We will let them live, lest awrath be upon us because of the oath which we swore to them.” 21 And the rulers said to them, “Let them live, but let them be awoodcutters and water carriers for all the congregation, as the rulers had bpromised them.” 22 Then Joshua called for them, and he spoke to them, saying, “Why have you deceived us, saying, a‘We are very far from you,’ when byou dwell near us? 23 “Now therefore, you are acursed, and none of you shall be freed from being slaves—woodcut- ters and water carriers for the house of my God.” 24 So they answered Joshua and said, “Because your servants were clearly told that the LORD your God acommanded His servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you; therefore bwe were very much afraid for our lives because of you, and have done this thing. 25 “And now, here we are, ain your hands; do with us as it seems good and right to do to us.” 26 So he did to them, and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, so that they did not kill them. 27 And that day Joshua made them awoodcutters and water carriers for the congregation and for the altar of the LORD, bin the place which He would choose, even to this day. The Sun Stands Still 10 Now it came to pass when Adoni-Zedek king of Jeru- salem aheard how Joshua had taken bAi and had utterly destroyed it—cas he had done to Jericho and its king, so he had done to dAi and its king— and ehow the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were among them, 2 that they afeared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all its men were mighty. 3 Therefore Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem sent to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish, and Debir king of Eglon, saying, 4 “Come up to me and help me, that we may attack Gibeon, for ait has made peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel.” 5 Therefore the five kings of the

ith Israel and were among them, 2 that they afeared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all its men were mighty. 3 Therefore Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem sent to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish, and Debir king of Eglon, saying, 4 “Come up to me and help me, that we may attack Gibeon, for ait has made peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel.” 5 Therefore the five kings of the aAmorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jar- muth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, bgathered together and went up, they and all their armies, and camped before Gibeon and made war against it. 6 And the men of Gibeon sent to Joshua at the camp aat Gilgal, saying, “Do not forsake your servants; come up to us quickly, save us and help us, for all the kings of the Amorites who dwell in the mountains have gath- ered together against us.” 7 So Joshua ascended from Gilgal, he and aall the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valor. 8 And the LORD said to Joshua, a“Do not fear them, for I have deliv- 7 bEx. 23:32; Deut. 7:2 8 aDeut. 20:11; 2 Kin. 10:5 9 aDeut. 20:15 bEx. 15:14; Josh. 2:9, 10; 5:1 10 aNum. 21:24, 33 14 aNum. 27:21; Is. 30:1 1Lit. did not inquire at the mouth of 15 a2 Sam. 21:2 17 aJosh. 18:25 18 aPs. 15:4 1strike 20 a2 Sam. 21:1, 2, 6; Ezek. 17:13, 15 21 aDeut. 29:11 bJosh. 9:15 22 aJosh. 9:6, 9 bJosh. 9:16 23 aGen. 9:25 24 aEx. 23:31–33; Deut. 7:1, 2 bEx. 15:14 25 aGen. 16:6 27 aJosh. 9:21, 23 bDeut. 12:5 CHAPTER 10 1 aJosh. 9:1 bJosh. 8:1 cJosh. 6:21 dJosh. 8:22, 26, 28 eJosh. 9:15 2 aEx. 15:14–16; Deut. 11:25; 1 Chr. 14:17 4 aJosh. 9:15; 10:1 5 aNum. 13:29 bJosh. 9:2 6 aJosh. 5:10; 9:6 7 aJosh. 8:1 8 aJosh. 11:6; Judg. 4:14

199 JOSHUA 10:35 ered them into your hand; bnot a man of them shall cstand before you.” 9 Joshua therefore came upon them suddenly, having marched all night from Gilgal. 10 So the LORD arouted them before Israel, killed them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, chased them along the road that goes bto Beth Horon, and struck them down as far as cAzekah and Makkedah. 11 And it happened, as they fled before Israel and were on the descent of Beth Horon, athat the LORD cast down large hailstones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died. There were more who died from the hailstones than the children of Israel killed with the sword. 12 Then Joshua spoke to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel: a“Sun, stand still over Gibeon; And Moon, in the Valley of bAijalon.” 13 So the sun stood still, And the moon stopped, Till the people had revenge Upon their enemies. aIs this not written in the Book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. 14 And there has been ano day like that, before it or after it, that the LORD heeded the voice of a man; for bthe LORD fought for Israel. 15 aThen Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal. The Amorite Kings Executed 16 But these five kings had fled and hidden themselves in a cave at Makkedah. 17 And it was told Joshua, saying, “The five kings have been found hidden in the cave at Makkedah.” 18 So Joshua said, “Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave, and set men by it to guard them. 19 “And do not stay there your- selves, but pursue your enemies, and attack their rear guard. Do not allow them to enter their cities, for the LORD your God has delivered them into your hand.” 20 Then it happened, while Joshua and the children of Israel made an end of slaying them with a very great slaughter, till they had fin- ished, that those who escaped entered fortified cities. 21 And all the people returned to the camp, to Joshua at Makkedah, in peace. aNo one 1moved his tongue against any of the children of Israel. 22 Then Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave, and bring out those five kings to me from the cave.” 23 And they did so, and brought out those five kings to him from the cave: the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jar- muth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon. 24 So it was, when they brought out those kings to Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said to the captains of the men of war who went with him, “Come near, put your feet on the necks of these kings.” And they drew near and aput their feet on their necks. 25 Then Joshua said to 1them, a“Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed; be strong and of good courage, for bthus the LORD will do to all your enemies against whom you fight.” 26 And afterward Joshua struck 1them and killed them, and hanged them on five trees; and they awere hanging on the trees until evening. 27 So it was at the time of the going down of the sun that Joshua commanded, and they atook them down from the trees, cast them into the cave where they had been hid- den, and laid large stones against the cave’s mouth, which remain until this very day. Conquest of the Southland 28 On that day Joshua took Makkedah, and struck it and its king with the edge of the sword. He utterly adestroyed 1them—all the people who were in it. He let none remain. He also did to the king of Makkedah bas he had done to the king of Jericho. 29 Then Joshua passed from Mak- kedah, and all Israel with him, to aLibnah; and they fought against Libnah. 30 And the LORD also delivered it and its king into the hand of Israel; he struck it and all the people who were in it with the edge of the sword.

8 On that day Joshua took Makkedah, and struck it and its king with the edge of the sword. He utterly adestroyed 1them—all the people who were in it. He let none remain. He also did to the king of Makkedah bas he had done to the king of Jericho. 29 Then Joshua passed from Mak- kedah, and all Israel with him, to aLibnah; and they fought against Libnah. 30 And the LORD also delivered it and its king into the hand of Israel; he struck it and all the people who were in it with the edge of the sword. He let none remain in it, but did to its king as he had done to the king of Jericho. 31 Then Joshua passed from Lib- nah, and all Israel with him, to Lachish; and they encamped against it and fought against it. 32 And the LORD delivered Lachish into the hand of Israel, who took it on the second day, and struck it and all the people who were in it with the edge of the sword, according to all that he had done to Libnah. 33 Then Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lachish; and Joshua struck him and his people, until he left him none remaining. 34 From Lachish Joshua passed to Eglon, and all Israel with him; and they encamped against it and fought against it. 35 They took it on that day and 8 bJosh. 1:5, 9 cJosh. 21:44 10 aJudg. 4:15; 1 Sam. 7:10, 12; Is. 28:21 bJosh. 16:3, 5 cJosh. 15:35 11 aIs. 30:30; Rev. 16:21 12 aIs. 28:21; Hab. 3:11 bJudg. 12:12 13 a2 Sam. 1:18 14 aIs. 38:7, 8 bEx. 14:14; Deut. 1:30; 20:4; Josh. 10:42; 23:3 15 aJosh. 10:43 21 aEx. 11:7 1criticized, lit. sharpened his tongue 24 aPs. 107:40; Is. 26:5, 6; Mal. 4:3 25 aDeut. 31:6–8; Josh. 1:9 bDeut. 3:21; 7:19 1The captains 26 aJosh. 8:29; 2 Sam. 21:9 1The kings 27 aDeut. 21:22, 23; Josh. 8:29 28 aDeut. 7:2, 16 bJosh. 6:21 1So with MT and most authorities; many Heb. mss., some LXX mss., and some Tg. mss. it 29 aJosh. 15:42; 21:13; 2 Kin. 8:22; 19:8

JOSHUA 10:36 200 struck it with the edge of the sword; all the people who were in it he utterly destroyed that day, accord- ing to all that he had done to Lachish. 36 So Joshua went up from Eglon, and all Israel with him, to aHebron; and they fought against it. 37 And they took it and struck it with the edge of the sword—its king, all its cities, and all the people who were in it; he left none remaining, according to all that he had done to Eglon, but utterly destroyed it and all the people who were in it. 38 Then Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to aDebir; and they fought against it. 39 And he took it and its king and all its cities; they struck them with the edge of the sword and utterly destroyed all the people who were in it. He left none remaining; as he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir and its king, as he had done also to Libnah and its king. 40 So Joshua conquered all the land: the amountain country and the 1South and the lowland and the wilderness slopes, and ball their kings; he left none remaining, but cutterly destroyed all that breathed, as the LORD God of Israel had com- manded. 41 And Joshua conquered them from aKadesh Barnea as far as bGaza, cand all the country of Goshen, even as far as Gibeon. 42 All these kings and their land Joshua took at one time, abecause the LORD God of Israel fought for Israel. 43 Then Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal. The Northern Conquest 11 And it came to pass, when Jabin king of Hazor heard these things, that he asent to Jobab king of Madon, to the king bof Shim- ron, to the king of Achshaph, 2 and to the kings who were from the north, in the mountains, in the plain south of aChinneroth, in the lowland, and in the heights bof Dor on the west, 3 to the Canaanites in the east and in the west, the aAmorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite in the mountains, band the Hivite below cHermon din the land of Mizpah. 4 So they went out, they and all their armies with them, as many people aas the sand that is on the seashore in multitude, with very many horses and chariots. 5 And when all these kings had 1met together, they came and camped together at the waters of Merom to fight against Israel. 6 But the LORD said to Joshua, a“Do not be afraid because of them, for tomorrow about this time I will deliver all of them slain before Israel. You shall bhamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire.” 7 So Joshua and all the people of war with him came against them suddenly by the waters of Merom, and they attacked them. 8 And the LORD delivered them into the hand of Israel, who de- feated them and chased them to 1Greater aSidon, to the 2Brook bMis- rephoth, and to the Valley of Mizpah eastward; they attacked them until they left none of them remaining. 9 So Joshua did to them as the LORD had told him: he hamstrung their horses and burned their chari- ots with fire. 10 Joshua turned back at that time and took Hazor, and struck its king with the sword; for Hazor was for- merly the head of all those kingdoms. 11 And they struck all the people who were in it with the edge of the sword, autterly destroying them. There was none left bbreathing. Then he burned Hazor with fire. 12 So all the cities of those kings, and all their kings, Joshua took and struck with the edge of the sword. He utterly destroyed them, aas Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded. 13 But as for the cities that stood on their 1mounds, Israel burned none of them, except Hazor only, which Joshua burned. 14 And all the aspoil of these cities and the livestock, the children of Israel took as booty for themselves; but they struck every man with the edge of the sword until they had destroyed them, and they left none breathing. 15 aAs the LORD had commanded Moses his servant, so bMoses com- manded Joshua, and cso Joshua did. 1He left nothing undone of all that the LORD had commanded Moses. Summary of Joshua’s Conquests 16 Thus Joshua took all this land:

them, except Hazor only, which Joshua burned. 14 And all the aspoil of these cities and the livestock, the children of Israel took as booty for themselves; but they struck every man with the edge of the sword until they had destroyed them, and they left none breathing. 15 aAs the LORD had commanded Moses his servant, so bMoses com- manded Joshua, and cso Joshua did. 1He left nothing undone of all that the LORD had commanded Moses. Summary of Joshua’s Conquests 16 Thus Joshua took all this land: athe mountain country, all the South, ball the land of Goshen, the lowland, and the Jordan 1plain— the mountains of Israel and its low- lands, 17 afrom 1Mount Halak and the ascent to Seir, even as far as Baal Gad in the Valley of Lebanon below Mount Hermon. He captured ball their kings, and struck them down and killed them. 18 Joshua made war a long time with all those kings. 19 There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel, except athe Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon. All the others they took in battle. 20 For ait was of the LORD 1to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that He might utterly destroy them, and that they 36 aJosh. 14:13–15; 15:13 38 aJosh. 15:15 40 aDeut. 1:7 bDeut. 7:24 cDeut. 20:16, 17 1Heb. Negev, and so throughout the book 41 aDeut. 9:23 bGen. 10:19 cJosh. 11:16; 15:51 42 aJosh. 10:14 CHAPTER 11 1 aJosh. 10:3 bJosh. 19:15 2 aNum. 34:11 bJosh. 17:11 3 aJosh. 9:1 bJudg. 3:3, 5 cJosh. 11:17; 13:5, 11 dGen. 31:49 4 aJudg. 7:12 5 1Lit. assem- bled by appointment 6 aJosh. 10:8 b2 Sam. 8:4 8 aGen. 49:13 bJosh. 13:6 1Heb. Sidon Rabbah 2Heb. Misrephoth Maim, lit. Burnings of Water 11 aDeut. 20:16 bJosh. 10:40 12 aNum. 33:50–56 13 1Heb. tel, a heap of suc- cessive city ruins 14 aDeut. 20:14–18 15 aEx. 34:10–17 bDeut. 31:7, 8 cJosh. 1:7 1Lit. He turned aside from nothing 16 aJosh. 12:8 bJosh. 10:40, 41 1Heb. arabah 17 aJosh. 12:7 bDeut. 7:24 1Lit. The Smooth or Bald Moun- tain 19 aJosh. 9:3–7 20 aDeut. 2:30 1Lit. to make strong

201 JOSHUA 13:6 might receive no mercy, but that He might destroy them, bas the LORD had commanded Moses. 21 And at that time Joshua came and cut off athe Anakim from the mountains: from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, from all the mountains of Judah, and from all the mountains of Israel; Joshua utterly destroyed them with their cities. 22 None of the Anakim were left in the land of the children of Israel; they remained only ain Gaza, in Gath, band in Ashdod. 23 So Joshua took the whole land, aaccording to all that the LORD had said to Moses; and Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel baccording to their divisions by their tribes. Then the land crested from war. The Kings Conquered by Moses 12 These are the kings of the land whom the children of Israel defeated, and whose land they possessed on the other side of the Jordan toward the rising of the sun, afrom the River Arnon bto Mount Hermon, and all the eastern Jordan plain: 2 One king was aSihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon and ruled half of Gilead, from Aroer, which is on the bank of the River Arnon, from the middle of that river, even as far as the River Jabbok, which is the border of the Ammonites, 3 and athe eastern Jordan plain from the 1Sea of Chinneroth as far as the 2Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea), bthe road to Beth Jeshimoth, and 3southward below cthe4 slopes of Pisgah. 4 The other king was aOg king of Bashan and his territory, who was of bthe remnant of the giants, cwho dwelt at Ashtaroth and at Edrei, 5 and reigned over aMount Her- mon, bover Salcah, over all Bashan, cas far as the border of the Geshu- rites and the Maachathites, and over half of Gilead to the border of Sihon king of Heshbon. 6 aThese Moses the servant of the LORD and the children of Israel had conquered; and bMoses the servant of the LORD had given it as a posses- sion to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh. The Kings Conquered by Joshua 7 And these are the kings of the country awhich Joshua and the chil- dren of Israel conquered on this side of the Jordan, on the west, from Baal Gad in the Valley of Lebanon as far as 1Mount Halak and the ascent to bSeir, which Joshua cgave to the tribes of Israel as a posses- sion according to their divisions, 8 ain the mountain country, in the lowlands, in the Jordan plain, in the slopes, in the wilderness, and in the South—bthe Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: 9 athe king of Jericho, one; bthe king of Ai, which is beside Bethel, one; 10 athe king of Jerusalem, one; the king of Hebron, one; 11 the king of Jarmuth, one; the king of Lachish, one; 12 the king of Eglon, one; athe king of Gezer, one; 13 athe king of Debir, one; the king of Geder, one; 14 the king of Hormah, one; the king of Arad, one; 15 athe king of Libnah, one; the king of Adullam, one; 16 athe king of Makkedah, one; bthe king of Bethel, one; 17 the king of Tappuah, one; athe king of Hepher, one; 18 the king of Aphek, one; the king of 1Lasharon, one; 19 the king of Madon, one; athe king of Hazor, one; 20 the king of aShimron Meron, one; the king of Achshaph, one; 21 the king of Taanach, one; the king of Megiddo, one; 22 athe king of Kedesh, one; the king of Jokneam in Carmel, one; 23 the king of Dor in the aheights of Dor, one; the king of bthe people of Gilgal, one; 24 the king of Tirzah, one—aall the kings, thirty-one. Remaining Land to Be Conquered 13 Now Joshua awas old, ad- vanced in years.

ing of Aphek, one; the king of 1Lasharon, one; 19 the king of Madon, one; athe king of Hazor, one; 20 the king of aShimron Meron, one; the king of Achshaph, one; 21 the king of Taanach, one; the king of Megiddo, one; 22 athe king of Kedesh, one; the king of Jokneam in Carmel, one; 23 the king of Dor in the aheights of Dor, one; the king of bthe people of Gilgal, one; 24 the king of Tirzah, one—aall the kings, thirty-one. Remaining Land to Be Conquered 13 Now Joshua awas old, ad- vanced in years. And the LORD said to him: “You are old, advanced in years, and there remains very much land yet to be possessed. 2 a“This is the land that yet re- mains: ball the territory of the Philis- tines and all cthat of the Geshurites, 3 a“from Sihor, which is east of Egypt, as far as the border of Ekron northward (which is counted as Canaanite); the bfive lords of the Philistines—the Gazites, the Ash- dodites, the Ashkelonites, the Gittites, and the Ekronites; also cthe Avites; 4 “from the south, all the land of the Canaanites, and Mearah that belongs to the Sidonians aas far as Aphek, to the border of bthe Amorites; 5 “the land of athe 1Gebalites, and all Lebanon, toward the sunrise, bfrom Baal Gad below Mount Her- mon as far as the entrance to Hamath; 6 “all the inhabitants of the moun- tains from Lebanon as far as athe 1Brook Misrephoth, and all the Sido- nians—them bI will drive out from before the children of Israel; only 20 bDeut. 20:16, 17 21 aNum. 13:22, 33 22 a1 Sam. 17:4 bJosh. 15:46 23 aNum. 34:2–15 bNum. 26:53 cDeut. 12:9, 10; 25:19 CHAPTER 12 1 aNum. 21:24 bDeut. 3:8 2 aDeut. 2:24–27 3 aDeut. 3:17 bJosh. 13:20 cDeut. 3:17; 4:49 1Sea of Galilee 2Lit. Sea of the Plain, the Dead Sea 3Or Teman 4Or Ashdoth Pis- gah 4 aNum. 21:33 bDeut. 3:11 cDeut. 1:4 5 aDeut. 3:8 bDeut. 3:10 cDeut. 3:14 6 aNum. 21:24, 35 bNum. 32:29–33 7 aJosh. 11:17 bGen. 14:6; 32:3 cJosh. 11:23 1Lit. The Bald Moun- tain 8 aJosh. 10:40; 11:16 bEx. 3:8; 23:23 9 aJosh. 6:2 bJosh. 8:29 10 aJosh. 10:23 12 aJosh. 10:33 13 aJosh. 10:38, 39 15 aJosh. 10:29, 30 16 aJosh. 10:28 bJudg. 1:22 17 a1 Kin. 4:10 18 1Or Sharon 19 aJosh. 11:10 20 aJosh. 11:1; 19:15 22 aJosh. 19:37; 20:7; 21:32 23 aJosh. 11:2 bIs. 9:1 24 aDeut. 7:24 CHAPTER 13 1 aJosh. 14:10; 23:1, 2 2 aJudg. 3:1–3 bJoel 3:4 c2 Sam. 3:3 3 aJer. 2:18 bJudg. 3:3 cDeut. 2:23 4 aJosh. 12:18; 19:30 bJudg. 1:34 5 a1 Kin. 5:18; Ezek. 27:9 5 bJosh. 12:7 1Or Giblites 6 aJosh. 11:8 bJosh. 23:13 1Heb. Misrephoth Maim, lit. Burnings of Water

JOSHUA 13:7 202 cdivide2 it by lot to Israel as an inher- itance, as I have commanded you. 7 “Now therefore, divide this land as an inheritance to the nine tribes and half the tribe of Manasseh.” The Land Divided East of the Jordan 8 With the other half-tribe the Reubenites and the Gadites re- ceived their inheritance, awhich Moses had given them, bbeyond the Jordan eastward, as Moses the ser- vant of the LORD had given them: 9 from Aroer which is on the bank of the River Arnon, and the town that is in the midst of the ravine, aand all the plain of Medeba as far as Dibon; 10 aall the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, as far as the border of the children of Ammon; 11 aGilead, and the border of the Geshurites and Maachathites, all Mount Hermon, and all Bashan as far as Salcah; 12 all the kingdom of Og in Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and Edrei, who remained of athe remnant of the giants; bfor Moses had 1defeated and 2cast out these. 13 Nevertheless the children of Israel adid not drive out the Geshu- rites or the Maachathites, but the Geshurites and the Maachathites dwell among the Israelites until this day. 14 aOnly to the tribe of Levi he had given 1no inheritance; the sacrifices of the LORD God of Israel made by fire are their inheritance, bas He said to them. The Land of Reuben 15 aAnd Moses had given to the tribe of the children of Reuben an inheritance according to their fami- lies. 16 Their territory was afrom Aroer, which is on the bank of the River Arnon, band the city that is in the midst of the ravine, cand all the plain by Medeba; 17 aHeshbon and all its cities that are in the plain: Dibon, Bamoth Baal, Beth Baal Meon, 18 aJahaza, Kedemoth, Mephaath, 19 aKirjathaim, bSibmah, Zereth Shahar on the mountain of the valley, 20 Beth Peor, athe slopes of Pisgah, and Beth Jeshimoth— 21 aall the cities of the plain and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, bwhom Moses had struck cwith the princes of Midian: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, who were princes of Sihon dwelling in the country. 22 The children of Israel also killed with the sword aBalaam the son of Beor, the 1soothsayer, among those who were killed by them. 23 And the border of the children of Reuben was the bank of the Jordan. This was the inheritance of the chil- dren of Reuben according to their families, the cities and their villages. The Land of Gad 24 aMoses also had given an inher- itance to the tribe of Gad, to the children of Gad according to their families. 25 aTheir territory was Jazer, and all the cities of Gilead, band half the land of the Ammonites as far as Aroer, which is before cRabbah, 26 and from Heshbon to Ramath Mizpah and Betonim, and from Mahanaim to the border of Debir, 27 and in the valley aBeth Haram, Beth Nimrah, bSuccoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon, with the Jordan as its border, as far as the edge cof the 1Sea of Chinnereth, on the other side of the Jordan eastward. 28 This is the inheritance of the children of Gad according to their families, the cities and their villages. Half the Tribe of Manasseh (East) 29 aMoses also had given an inher- itance to half the tribe of Manasseh; it was for half the tribe of the chil- dren of Manasseh according to their families: 30 Their territory was from Mahanaim, all Bashan, all the king- dom of Og king of Bashan, and aall the towns of Jair which are in Bashan, sixty cities; 31 half of Gilead, and aAshtaroth and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan, were for the bchildren of Machir the son of Manasseh, for half of the children of Machir according to their families. 32 These are the areas which Moses had 1distributed as an inheri- tance in the plains of Moab on the other side of the Jordan, by Jericho eastward. 33 aBut to the tribe of Levi Moses had given no inheritance; the LORD God of Israel was their inheritance, bas He had said to them. The Land Divided West of the Jordan

, and aAshtaroth and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan, were for the bchildren of Machir the son of Manasseh, for half of the children of Machir according to their families. 32 These are the areas which Moses had 1distributed as an inheri- tance in the plains of Moab on the other side of the Jordan, by Jericho eastward. 33 aBut to the tribe of Levi Moses had given no inheritance; the LORD God of Israel was their inheritance, bas He had said to them. The Land Divided West of the Jordan 14 These are the areas which the children of Israel inherited in the land of Canaan, awhich Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel dis- tributed as an inheritance to them. 2 Their inheritance was aby lot, as the LORD had commanded by the hand of Moses, for the nine tribes and the half-tribe. 3 aFor Moses had given the inher- itance of the two tribes and the half- tribe on the other side of the Jordan; 6 cJosh. 14:1, 2 2apportion 8 aNum. 32:33 bJosh. 12:1–6 9 aNum. 21:30 10 aNum. 21:24, 25 11 aJosh. 12:5 12 aDeut. 3:11 bNum. 21:24, 34, 35 1Lit. struck 2dis- possessed 13 aJosh. 13:11 14 aJosh. 14:3, 4 bJosh. 13:33 1no land as a possession 15 aNum. 34:14 16 aJosh. 12:2 bNum. 21:28 cNum. 21:30 17 aNum. 21:28, 30 18 aNum. 21:23 19 aNum. 32:37 bNum. 32:38 20 aDeut. 3:17 21 aDeut. 3:10 bNum. 21:24 cNum. 31:8 22 aNum. 22:5; 31:8 1diviner 24 aNum. 34:14 25 aNum. 32:1, 35 bJudg. 11:13, 15 cDeut. 3:11 27 aNum. 32:36 bGen. 33:17 cNum. 34:11 1Sea of Galilee 29 aNum. 34:14 30 aNum. 32:41 31 aJosh. 9:10; 12:4; 13:12 bNum. 32:39, 40 32 1appor- tioned 33 aJosh. 13:14; 18:7 bNum. 18:20 CHAPTER 14 1 aNum. 34:16–29 2 aNum. 26:55; 33:54; 34:13 3 aJosh. 13:8, 32, 33

203 JOSHUA 15:13 but to the Levites he had given no inheritance among them. 4 For athe children of Joseph were two tribes: Manasseh and Ephraim. And they gave no part to the Levites in the land, except bcities to dwell in, with their common-lands for their livestock and their property. 5 aAs the LORD had commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did; and they divided the land. Caleb Inherits Hebron 6 Then the children of Judah came to Joshua in Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the aKenizzite said to him: “You know bthe word which the LORD said to Moses the man of God concerning cyou and me in Kadesh Barnea. 7 “I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD asent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land, and I brought back word to him as it was in my heart. 8 “Nevertheless amy brethren who went up with me made the 1heart of the people melt, but I wholly bfollowed the LORD my God. 9 “So Moses swore on that day, saying, a‘Surely the land bwhere your foot has trodden shall be your inheritance and your children’s for- ever, because you have wholly fol- lowed the LORD my God.’ 10 “And now, behold, the LORD has kept me aalive, bas He said, these forty-five years, ever since the LORD spoke this word to Moses while Israel 1wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty- five years old. 11 a“As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both bfor going out and for coming in. 12 “Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the LORD spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how athe Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and forti- fied. bIt may be that the LORD will be with me, and cI shall be able to drive them out as the LORD said.” 13 And Joshua ablessed him, band gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as an inheritance. 14 aHebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he bwholly followed the LORD God of Israel. 15 And athe name of Hebron for- merly was Kirjath Arba (Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim). bThen the land had rest from war. The Land of Judah 15 So this was the 1lot of the tribe of the children of Judah ac- cording to their families: aThe border of Edom at the bWilderness of Zin southward was the extreme south- ern boundary. 2 And their asouthern border began at the shore of the Salt Sea, from the bay that faces southward. 3 Then it went out to the southern side of athe Ascent of Akrabbim, passed along to Zin, ascended on the south side of Kadesh Barnea, passed along to Hezron, went up to Adar, and went around to Karkaa. 4 From there it passed atoward Azmon and went out to the Brook of Egypt; and the border ended at the sea. This shall be your southern bor- der. 5 The east border was the Salt Sea as far as the mouth of the Jor- dan. And the aborder on the north- ern quarter began at the bay of the sea at the mouth of the Jordan. 6 The border went up to aBeth Hoglah and passed north of Beth Arabah; and the border went up bto the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben. 7 Then the border went up toward aDebir from bthe Valley of Achor, and it turned northward toward Gil- gal, which is before the Ascent of Adummim, which is on the south side of the valley. The border contin- ued toward the waters of En Shemesh and ended at cEn Rogel. 8 And the border went up aby the Valley of the Son of Hinnom to the southern slope of the bJebusite city (which is Jerusalem). The border went up to the top of the mountain that lies before the Valley of Hinnom westward, which is at the end of the Valley cof 1Rephaim northward. 9 Then the border went around from the top of the hill to athe foun- tain of the water of Nephtoah, and extended to the cities of Mount Ephron.

he border contin- ued toward the waters of En Shemesh and ended at cEn Rogel. 8 And the border went up aby the Valley of the Son of Hinnom to the southern slope of the bJebusite city (which is Jerusalem). The border went up to the top of the mountain that lies before the Valley of Hinnom westward, which is at the end of the Valley cof 1Rephaim northward. 9 Then the border went around from the top of the hill to athe foun- tain of the water of Nephtoah, and extended to the cities of Mount Ephron. And the border went around bto Baalah (which is cKirjath Jearim). 10 Then the border 1turned west- ward from Baalah to Mount Seir, passed along to the side of Mount Jearim on the north (which is Chesa- lon), went down to Beth Shemesh, and passed on to aTimnah. 11 And the border went out to the side of aEkron northward. Then the border went around to Shicron, passed along to Mount Baalah, and extended to Jabneel; and the border ended at the sea. 12 The west border was athe coast- line of the Great Sea. This is the boundary of the children of Judah all around according to their families. Caleb Occupies Hebron and Debir 13 aNow to Caleb the son of Je- phunneh he gave a share among the children of bJudah, according to the commandment of the LORD to Joshua, namely, cKirjath Arba, 4 a2 Chr. 30:1 bNum. 35:2–8 5 aJosh. 21:2 6 aNum. 32:11, 12 bNum. 14:24, 30 cNum. 13:26 7 aNum. 13:6, 17; 14:6 8 aNum. 13:31, 32 bNum. 14:24 1courage of the people fail 9 aNum. 14:23, 24 bDeut. 1:36 10 aNum. 14:24, 30, 38 bJosh. 5:6 1Lit. walked 11 aDeut. 34:7 bDeut. 31:2 12 aNum. 13:28, 33 bRom. 8:31 cJosh. 15:14 13 aJosh. 22:6 bJosh. 10:37; 15:13 14 aJosh. 21:12 bJosh. 14:8, 9 15 aGen. 23:2 bJosh. 11:23 CHAPTER 15 1 aNum. 34:3 bNum. 33:36 1allotment 2 aNum. 34:3, 4 3 aNum. 34:4 4 aNum. 34:5 5 aJosh. 18:15–19 6 aJosh. 18:19, 21 bJosh. 18:17 7 aJosh. 13:26 bJosh. 7:26 c2 Sam. 17:17 8 aJosh. 18:16 bJudg. 1:21; 19:10 cJosh. 18:16 1Lit. Giants 9 aJosh. 18:15 b1 Chr. 13:6 cJudg. 18:12 10 aGen. 38:13 1turned around 11 aJosh. 19:43 12 aNum. 34:6, 7 13 aJosh. 14:13 bNum. 13:6 cJosh. 14:15

JOSHUA 15:14 204 which is Hebron (Arba was the father of Anak). 14 Caleb drove out athe three sons of Anak from there: bSheshai, Ahi- man, and Talmai, the children of Anak. 15 Then ahe went up from there to the inhabitants of Debir (formerly the name of Debir was Kirjath Sepher). 16 aAnd Caleb said, “He who 1attacks Kirjath Sepher and takes it, to him I will give Achsah my daugh- ter as wife.” 17 So aOthniel the bson of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, took it; and he gave him cAchsah his daughter as wife. 18 aNow it was so, when she came to him, that she persuaded him to ask her father for a field. So bshe dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you wish?” 19 She answered, “Give me a ablessing; since you have given me land in the South, give me also springs of water.” So he gave her the upper springs and the lower springs. The Cities of Judah 20 This was the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families: 21 The cities at the limits of the tribe of the children of Judah, toward the border of Edom in the South, were Kabzeel, aEder, Jagur, 22 Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, 23 Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan, 24 aZiph, Telem, Bealoth, 25 Hazor, Hadattah, Kerioth, Hez- ron (which is Hazor), 26 Amam, Shema, Moladah, 27 Hazar Gaddah, Heshmon, Beth Pelet, 28 Hazar Shual, aBeersheba, Biz- jothjah, 29 Baalah, Ijim, Ezem, 30 Eltolad, Chesil, aHormah, 31 aZiklag, Madmannah, Sansan- nah, 32 Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and aRim- mon: all the cities are twenty-nine, with their villages. 33 In the lowland: aEshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, 34 Zanoah, En Gannim, Tappuah, Enam, 35 Jarmuth, aAdullam, Socoh, Aze- kah, 36 Sharaim, Adithaim, Gederah, and Gederothaim: fourteen cities with their villages; 37 Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal Gad, 38 Dilean, Mizpah, aJoktheel, 39 aLachish, Bozkath, bEglon, 40 Cabbon, 1Lahmas, Kithlish, 41 Gederoth, Beth Dagon, Naa- mah, and Makkedah: sixteen cities with their villages; 42 aLibnah, Ether, Ashan, 43 Jiphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, 44 Keilah, Achzib, and Mareshah: nine cities with their villages; 45 Ekron, with its towns and vil- lages; 46 from Ekron to the sea, all that lay near aAshdod, with their vil- lages; 47 Ashdod with its towns and vil- lages, Gaza with its towns and vil- lages—as far as athe Brook of Egypt and bthe Great Sea with its coast- line. 48 And in the mountain country: Shamir, Jattir, Sochoh, 49 Dannah, Kirjath Sannah (which is Debir), 50 Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, 51 aGoshen, Holon, and Giloh: eleven cities with their villages; 52 Arab, Dumah, Eshean, 53 Janum, Beth Tappuah, Aphekah, 54 Humtah, aKirjath Arba (which is Hebron), and Zior: nine cities with their villages; 55 aMaon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, 56 Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, 57 Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah: ten cities with their villages; 58 Halhul, Beth Zur, Gedor, 59 Maarath, Beth Anoth, and Eltekon: six cities with their villages; 60 aKirjath Baal (which is Kirjath Jearim) and Rabbah: two cities with their villages. 61 In the wilderness: Beth Arabah, Middin, Secacah, 62 Nibshan, the City of Salt, and aEn Gedi: six cities with their vil- lages. 63 As for the Jebusites, the inhabi- tants of Jerusalem, athe children of Judah could not drive them out; bbut the Jebusites dwell with the children of Judah at Jerusalem to this day. Ephraim and West Manasseh 16 The lot 1fell to the children of Joseph from the Jordan, by Jericho, to the waters of Jericho on the east, to the awilderness that goes up from Jericho through the moun- tains to 2Bethel, 2 then went out 1from aBethel to Luz, passed along to the border of the Archites at Ataroth, 3 and went down westward to the boundary of the Japhletites, aas far as the boundary of Lower Beth Horon to bGezer; and 1it ended at the sea. 4 aSo the children of Joseph, Ma- nasseh and Ephraim, took their 1inheritance. The Land of Ephraim 5 aThe border of the children of Ephraim, according to their families, was thus: The border of their inheri- tance on the east side was bAtaroth

un- tains to 2Bethel, 2 then went out 1from aBethel to Luz, passed along to the border of the Archites at Ataroth, 3 and went down westward to the boundary of the Japhletites, aas far as the boundary of Lower Beth Horon to bGezer; and 1it ended at the sea. 4 aSo the children of Joseph, Ma- nasseh and Ephraim, took their 1inheritance. The Land of Ephraim 5 aThe border of the children of Ephraim, according to their families, was thus: The border of their inheri- tance on the east side was bAtaroth Addar cas far as Upper Beth Horon. 6 And the border went out toward the sea on the north side of aMich- methath; then the border went around eastward to Taanath 14 aJudg. 1:10, 20 bNum. 13:22 15 aJosh. 10:38; Judg. 1:11 16 aJudg. 1:12 1Lit. strikes 17 aJudg. 1:13; 3:9 bNum. 32:12; Josh. 14:6 cJudg. 1:12 18 aJudg. 1:14 bGen. 24:64; 1 Sam. 25:23 19 aGen. 33:11 21 aGen. 35:21 24 a1 Sam. 23:14 28 aGen. 21:31; Josh. 19:2 30 aJosh. 19:4 31 aJosh. 19:5; 1 Sam. 27:6; 30:1 32 aJudg. 20:45, 47 33 aJudg. 13:25; 16:31 35 a1 Sam. 22:1 38 a2 Kin. 14:7 39 a2 Kin. 14:19 bJosh. 10:3 40 1Or Lah- mam 42 aJosh. 21:13 46 aJosh. 11:22 47 aJosh. 15:4 bNum. 34:6 51 aJosh. 10:41; 11:16 54 aJosh. 14:15 55 a1 Sam. 23:24, 25 60 aJosh. 18:14; 1 Sam. 7:1, 2 62 a1 Sam. 23:29; Ezek. 47:10 63 aJudg. 1:8, 21; 2 Sam. 5:6; 1 Chr. 11:4 bJudg. 1:21 CHAPTER 16 1 aJosh. 8:15; 18:12 1Lit. went out 2LXX Bethel Luz 2 aJosh. 18:13; Judg. 1:26 1LXX to Bethel, 3 aJosh. 18:13; 1 Kin. 9:17; 2 Chr. 8:5 bJosh. 21:21; 1 Kin. 9:15; 1 Chr. 7:28 1Lit. the goings out of it were at the sea 4 aJosh. 17:14 1possession 5 aJudg. 1:29; 1 Chr. 7:28, 29 bJosh. 18:13 c2 Chr. 8:5 6 aJosh. 17:7

205 JOSHUA 18:1 Shiloh, and passed by it on the east of Janohah. 7 Then it went down from Jano- hah to Ataroth and 1Naarah, reached to Jericho, and came out at the Jor- dan. 8 The border went out from aTap- puah westward to the bBrook Ka- nah, and 1it ended at the sea. This was the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Ephraim according to their families. 9 aThe separate cities for the chil- dren of Ephraim were among the inheritance of the children of Ma- nasseh, all the cities with their villages. 10 aAnd they did not drive out the Canaanites who dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites to this day and have become forced laborers. The Other Half-Tribe of Manasseh (West) 17 There was also a lot for the tribe of Manasseh, for he was the afirstborn of Joseph: namely for bMachir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, because he was a man of war; therefore he was given cGilead and Bashan. 2 And there was a lot for athe rest of the children of Manasseh accord- ing to their families: bfor the chil- dren of 1Abiezer, the children of Helek, cthe children of Asriel, the children of Shechem, dthe children of Hepher, and the children of Shemida; these were the male chil- dren of Manasseh the son of Joseph according to their families. 3 But aZelophehad the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but only daughters. And these are the names of his daugh- ters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 4 And they came near before aEleazar the priest, before Joshua the son of Nun, and before the rulers, saying, b“The LORD commanded Moses to give us an 1inheritance among our brothers.” Therefore, according to the commandment of the LORD, he gave them an inheri- tance among their father’s brothers. 5 Ten shares fell to aManasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan, which were on the other side of the Jordan, 6 because the daughters of Ma- nasseh received an inheritance among his sons; and the rest of Manasseh’s sons had the land of Gilead. 7 And the territory of Manasseh was from Asher to aMichmethath, that lies east of Shechem; and the border went along south to the inhabitants of En Tappuah. 8 Manasseh had the land of Tap- puah, but aTappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the children of Ephraim. 9 And the 1border descended to the 2Brook Kanah, southward to the brook. aThese cities of Ephraim are among the cities of Manasseh. The border of Manasseh was on the north side of the brook; and it ended at the sea. 10 Southward it was Ephraim’s, northward it was Manasseh’s, and the sea was its border.

east of Shechem; and the border went along south to the inhabitants of En Tappuah. 8 Manasseh had the land of Tap- puah, but aTappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the children of Ephraim. 9 And the 1border descended to the 2Brook Kanah, southward to the brook. aThese cities of Ephraim are among the cities of Manasseh. The border of Manasseh was on the north side of the brook; and it ended at the sea. 10 Southward it was Ephraim’s, northward it was Manasseh’s, and the sea was its border. Manasseh’s territory was adjoining Asher on the north and Issachar on the east. 11 And in Issachar and in Asher, aManasseh had bBeth Shean and its towns, Ibleam and its towns, the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, the inhabitants of En Dor and its towns, the inhabitants of Taanach and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns—three hilly regions. 12 Yet athe children of Manasseh could not drive out the inhabitants of those cities, but the Canaanites were determined to dwell in that land. 13 And it happened, when the chil- dren of Israel grew strong, that they put the Canaanites to aforced labor, but did not utterly drive them out. More Land for Ephraim and Manasseh 14 aThen the children of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, “Why have you given us only bone 1lot and one share to inherit, since we are ca great people, inasmuch as the LORD has blessed us until now?” 15 So Joshua answered them, “If you are a great people, then go up to the forest country and clear a place for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and the giants, since the mountains of Ephraim are too con- fined for you.” 16 But the children of Joseph said, “The mountain country is not enough for us; and all the Canaan- ites who dwell in the land of the val- ley have achariots of iron, both those who are of Beth Shean and its towns and those who are bof the Val- ley of Jezreel.” 17 And Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph—to Ephraim and Ma- nasseh—saying, “You are a great people and have great power; you shall not have only one 1lot, 18 “but the mountain country shall be yours. Although it is wooded, you shall cut it down, and its 1farthest extent shall be yours; for you shall drive out the Canaanites, athough they have iron chariots and are strong.” The Remainder of the Land Divided 18 Now the whole congregation of the children of Israel 7 1Naaran, 1 Chr. 7:28 8 aJosh. 17:8 bJosh. 17:9 1Lit. the goings out of it were at the sea 9 aJosh. 17:9 10 aJosh. 15:63; 17:12, 13; Judg. 1:29; 1 Kin. 9:16 CHAPTER 17 1 aGen. 41:51; 46:20; 48:18 bGen. 50:23; Judg. 5:14 cDeut. 3:15 2 aNum. 26:29–33 b1 Chr. 7:18 cNum. 26:31 dNum. 26:32 1Jeezer, Num. 26:30 3 aNum. 26:33; 27:1; 36:2 4 aJosh. 14:1 bNum. 27:2–11 1possession 5 aJosh. 22:7 7 aJosh. 16:6 8 aJosh. 16:8 9 aJosh. 16:9 1boundary 2Wadi 11 a1 Chr. 7:29 bJudg. 1:27; 1 Sam. 31:10; 1 Kin. 4:12 12 aJudg. 1:19, 27, 28 13 aJosh. 16:10 14 aJosh. 16:4 bGen. 48:22 cGen. 48:19; Num. 26:34, 37 1allotment 16 aJosh. 17:18; Judg. 1:19; 4:3 bJosh. 19:18; 1 Kin. 4:12 17 1allotment 18 aDeut. 20:1 1Lit. goings out

JOSHUA 18:2 206 assembled together aat Shiloh, and bset up the tabernacle of meeting there. And the land was subdued before them. 2 But there remained among the children of Israel seven tribes which had not yet received their inheri- tance. 3 Then Joshua said to the chil- dren of Israel: a“How long will you neglect to go and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers has given you? 4 “Pick out from among you three men for each tribe, and I will send them; they shall rise and go through the land, survey it according to their inheritance, and come back to me. 5 “And they shall divide it into seven parts. aJudah shall remain in their territory on the south, and the bhouse of Joseph shall remain in their territory on the north. 6 “You shall therefore 1survey the land in seven parts and bring the survey here to me, athat I may cast lots for you here before the LORD our God. 7 a“But the Levites have no part among you, for the priesthood of the LORD is their inheritance. bAnd Gad, Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh have received their inher- itance beyond the Jordan on the east, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave them.” 8 Then the men arose to go away; and Joshua charged those who went to 1survey the land, saying, “Go, walk athrough the land, survey it, and come back to me, that I may cast lots for you here before the LORD in Shiloh.” 9 So the men went, passed through the land, and 1wrote the survey in a book in seven parts by cities; and they came to Joshua at the camp in Shiloh. 10 Then Joshua cast alots for them in Shiloh before the LORD, and there bJoshua divided the land to the children of Israel according to their 1divisions. The Land of Benjamin 11 aNow the lot of the tribe of the children of Benjamin came up according to their families, and the territory of their lot came out between the children of Judah and the children of Joseph. 12 aTheir border on the north side began at the Jordan, and the border went up to the side of Jericho on the north, and went up through the mountains westward; it ended at the Wilderness of Beth Aven. 13 The border went over from there toward Luz, to the side of Luz a(which is Bethel) southward; and the border descended to Ataroth Ad- dar, near the hill that lies on the south side bof Lower Beth Horon. 14 Then the border extended around the west side to the south, from the hill that lies before Beth Horon southward; and 1it ended at aKirjath Baal (which is Kirjath Jearim), a city of the children of Judah. This was the west side. 15 The south side began at the end of Kirjath Jearim, and the border extended on the west and went out to athe spring of the waters of Neph- toah. 16 Then the border came down to the end of the mountain that lies before athe Valley of the Son of Hin- nom, which is in the Valley of the 1Rephaim on the north, descended to the Valley of Hinnom, to the side of the Jebusite city on the south, and descended to bEn Rogel. 17 And it went around from the north, went out to En Shemesh, and extended toward Geliloth, which is before the Ascent of Adummim, and descended to athe stone of Bohan the son of Reuben. 18 Then it passed along toward the north side of 1Arabah, and went down to Arabah. 19 And the border passed along to the north side of Beth Hoglah; then 1the border ended at the north bay at the aSalt Sea, at the south end of the Jordan. This was the southern boundary. 20 The Jordan was its border on the east side.

And it went around from the north, went out to En Shemesh, and extended toward Geliloth, which is before the Ascent of Adummim, and descended to athe stone of Bohan the son of Reuben. 18 Then it passed along toward the north side of 1Arabah, and went down to Arabah. 19 And the border passed along to the north side of Beth Hoglah; then 1the border ended at the north bay at the aSalt Sea, at the south end of the Jordan. This was the southern boundary. 20 The Jordan was its border on the east side. This was the inheri- tance of the children of Benjamin, according to its boundaries all around, according to their fami- lies. 21 Now the cities of the tribe of the children of Benjamin, according to their families, were Jericho, Beth Hoglah, Emek Keziz, 22 Beth Arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, 23 Avim, Parah, Ophrah, 24 Chephar Haammoni, Ophni, and Gaba: twelve cities with their villages; 25 aGibeon, bRamah, Beeroth, 26 Mizpah, Chephirah, Mozah, 27 Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, 28 Zelah, Eleph, aJebus (which is Jerusalem), Gibeath, and Kirjath: fourteen cities with their villages. This was the inheritance of the chil- dren of Benjamin according to their families. Simeon’s Inheritance with Judah 19 The asecond lot came out for Simeon, for the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families. bAnd their inheritance was within the inheritance of the children of Judah. 2 aThey had in their inheritance Beersheba (Sheba), Moladah, 3 Hazar Shual, Balah, Ezem, 4 Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, CHAPTER 18 1 aJosh. 19:51; 21:2; 22:9; Jer. 7:12 bJudg. 18:31; 1 Sam. 1:3, 24; 4:3, 4 3 aJudg. 18:9 5 aJosh. 15:1 bJosh. 16:1–17:18 6 aJosh. 14:2; 18:10 1describe in writing 7 aNum. 18:7, 20; Josh. 13:33 bJosh. 13:8 8 aGen. 13:17 1describe in writing 9 1described it in writing 10 aActs 13:19 bNum. 34:16–29; Josh. 19:51 1portions 11 aJudg. 1:21 12 aJosh. 16:1 13 aGen. 28:19; Josh. 16:2; Judg. 1:23 bJosh. 16:3 14 aJosh. 15:9 1Lit. its goings out were 15 aJosh. 15:9 16 aJosh. 15:8 bJosh. 15:7 1Lit. Giants 17 aJosh. 15:6 18 1Beth Arabah, Josh. 15:6; 18:22 19 aJosh. 15:2, 5 1Lit. the goings out of the border were 25 aJosh. 11:19; 21:17; 1 Kin. 3:4, 5 bJer. 31:15 28 aJosh. 15:8, 63 CHAPTER 19 1 aJudg. 1:3 bJosh. 19:9 2 a1 Chr. 4:28

207 JOSHUA 19:44 5 Ziklag, Beth Marcaboth, Hazar Susah, 6 Beth Lebaoth, and Sharuhen: thirteen cities and their villages; 7 Ain, Rimmon, Ether, and Ashan: four cities and their villages; 8 and all the villages that were all around these cities as far as Baalath Beer, aRamah of the South. This was the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families. 9 The inheritance of the children of Simeon was included in the share of the children of Judah, for the share of the children of Judah was 1too much for them. aTherefore the children of Simeon had their inher- itance within the inheritance of 2that people. The Land of Zebulun 10 The third lot came out for the children of Zebulun according to their families, and the border of their inheritance was as far as Sarid. 11 aTheir border went toward the west and to Maralah, went to Dab- basheth, and extended along the brook that is beast of Jokneam. 12 Then from Sarid it went east- ward toward the sunrise along the border of Chisloth Tabor, and went out toward aDaberath, bypassing Japhia. 13 And from there it passed along on the east of aGath Hepher, toward Eth Kazin, and extended to Rim- mon, which borders on Neah. 14 Then the border went around it on the north side of Hannathon, and 1it ended in the Valley of Jiphthah El. 15 Included were Kattath, Nahal- lal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethle- hem: twelve cities with their vil- lages. 16 This was the inheritance of the children of Zebulun according to their families, these cities with their villages. The Land of Issachar 17 The fourth lot came out to Issa- char, for the children of Issachar according to their families. 18 And their territory went to Jezreel, and included Chesulloth, Shunem, 19 Haphraim, Shion, Anaharath, 20 Rabbith, Kishion, Abez, 21 Remeth, En Gannim, En Had- dah, and Beth Pazzez. 22 And the border reached to Tabor, Shahazimah, and aBeth She- mesh; their border ended at the Jor- dan: sixteen cities with their vil- lages. 23 This was the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Issachar according to their families, the cities and their villages. The Land of Asher 24 aThe fifth lot came out for the tribe of the children of Asher ac- cording to their families. 25 And their territory included Helkath, Hali, Beten, Achshaph, 26 Alammelech, Amad, and Mi- shal; it reached to aMount Carmel westward, along the Brook Shihor Libnath. 27 It turned toward the sunrise to Beth Dagon; and it reached to Zebu- lun and to the Valley of Jiphthah El, then northward beyond Beth Emek and Neiel, bypassing aCabul which was on the left, 28 including 1Ebron, Rehob, Ham- mon, and Kanah, aas far as Greater Sidon. 29 And the border turned to Ra- mah and to the fortified city of Tyre; then the border turned to Hosah, and ended at the sea by the region of aAchzib. 30 Also Ummah, Aphek, and Rehob were included: twenty-two cities with their villages. 31 This was the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Asher according to their families, these cities with their villages. The Land of Naphtali 32 aThe sixth lot came out to the children of Naphtali, for the chil- dren of Naphtali according to their families. 33 And their border began at Heleph, enclosing the territory from the terebinth tree in Zaanannim, Adami Nekeb, and Jabneel, as far as Lakkum; 1it ended at the Jordan. 34 aFrom Heleph the border ex- tended westward to Aznoth Tabor, and went out from there toward Hukkok; it adjoined Zebulun on the south side and Asher on the west side, and ended at Judah by the Jor- dan toward the sunrise. 35 And the fortified cities are Zid- dim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Chin- nereth, 36 Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, 37 aKedesh, Edrei, En Hazor, 38 Iron, Migdal El, Horem, Beth Anath, and Beth Shemesh: nineteen cities with their villages. 39 This was the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Naphtali according to their families, the cities and their villages. The Land of Dan 40 aThe seventh lot came out for the tribe of the children of Dan

t side, and ended at Judah by the Jor- dan toward the sunrise. 35 And the fortified cities are Zid- dim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Chin- nereth, 36 Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, 37 aKedesh, Edrei, En Hazor, 38 Iron, Migdal El, Horem, Beth Anath, and Beth Shemesh: nineteen cities with their villages. 39 This was the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Naphtali according to their families, the cities and their villages. The Land of Dan 40 aThe seventh lot came out for the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families. 41 And the territory of their inher- itance was Zorah, aEshtaol, Ir Shemesh, 42 aShaalabbin, bAijalon, Jethlah, 43 Elon, Timnah, aEkron, 44 Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, 8 a1 Sam. 30:27 9 aJosh. 19:1 1too large 2Lit. them 11 aGen. 49:13 bJosh. 12:22 12 a1 Chr. 6:72 13 a2 Kin. 14:25 14 1Lit. the goings out of it were 22 aJosh. 15:10; Judg. 1:33 24 aJudg. 1:31, 32 26 a1 Sam. 15:12; 1 Kin. 18:20; Is. 33:9; 35:2; Jer. 46:18 27 a1 Kin. 9:13 28 aGen. 10:19; Josh. 11:8; Judg. 1:31; Acts 27:3 1So with MT, Tg., Vg.; a few Heb. mss. Abdon (cf. 21:30 and 1 Chr. 6:74) 29 aJudg. 1:31 32 aJosh. 19:32–39; Judg. 1:33 33 1Lit. its goings out were 34 aDeut. 33:23 37 aJosh. 20:7 40 aJosh. 19:40–48; Judg. 1:34–36 41 aJosh. 15:33 42 aJudg. 1:35; 1 Kin. 4:9 bJosh. 10:12; 21:24 43 aJosh. 15:11; Judg. 1:18

JOSHUA 19:45 208 45 Jehud, Bene Berak, Gath Rim- mon, 46 Me Jarkon, and Rakkon, with the region 1near 2Joppa. 47 And the aborder of the children of Dan went beyond these, because the children of Dan went up to fight against Leshem and took it; and they struck it with the edge of the sword, took possession of it, and dwelt in it. They called Leshem, bDan, after the name of Dan their father. 48 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Dan accord- ing to their families, these cities with their villages. Joshua’s Inheritance 49 When they had 1made an end of dividing the land as an inheritance according to their borders, the chil- dren of Israel gave an inheritance among them to Joshua the son of Nun. 50 According to the word of the LORD they gave him the city which he asked for, aTimnath bSerah in the mountains of Ephraim; and he built the city and dwelt in it. 51 aThese were the inheritances which Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel divided as an inheritance by lot bin Shiloh before the LORD, at the door of the tabernacle of meet- ing. So they made an end of dividing the country. The Cities of Refuge 20 The LORD also spoke to Joshua, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: a‘Appoint1 for yourselves cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you through Moses, 3 ‘that the slayer who kills a per- son accidentally or unintentionally may flee there; and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood. 4 ‘And when he flees to one of those cities, and stands at the entrance of the gate of the city, and 1declares his case in the hearing of the elders of that city, they shall take him into the city as one of them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them. 5 a‘Then if the avenger of blood pursues him, they shall not deliver the slayer into his hand, because he struck his neighbor unintentionally, but did not hate him beforehand. 6 ‘And he shall dwell in that city auntil he stands before the congre- gation for judgment, and until the death of the one who is high priest in those days. Then the slayer may return and come to his own city and his own house, to the city from which he fled.’ ” 7 So they appointed aKedesh in Galilee, in the mountains of Naph- tali, bShechem in the mountains of Ephraim, and cKirjath Arba (which is Hebron) in dthe mountains of Judah. 8 And on the other side of the Jor- dan, by Jericho eastward, they assigned aBezer in the wilderness on the plain, from the tribe of Reuben, bRamoth in Gilead, from the tribe of Gad, and cGolan in Bashan, from the tribe of Manasseh. 9 aThese were the cities appointed for all the children of Israel and for the stranger who 1dwelt among them, that whoever killed a person accidentally might flee there, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood buntil he stood before the congregation. Cities of the Levites 21 Then the heads of the fathers’ houses of the aLevites came near to bEleazar the priest, to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the heads of the fathers’ houses of the tribes of the children of Israel. 2 And they spoke to them at aShiloh in the land of Canaan, say- ing, b“The LORD commanded through Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with their common-lands for our livestock.” 3 So the children of Israel gave to the Levites from their inheritance, at the commandment of the LORD, these cities and their common- lands: 4 Now the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites.

r the priest, to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the heads of the fathers’ houses of the tribes of the children of Israel. 2 And they spoke to them at aShiloh in the land of Canaan, say- ing, b“The LORD commanded through Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with their common-lands for our livestock.” 3 So the children of Israel gave to the Levites from their inheritance, at the commandment of the LORD, these cities and their common- lands: 4 Now the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites. And athe children of Aaron the priest, who were of the Levites, bhad thirteen cities by lot from the tribe of Judah, from the tribe of Simeon, and from the tribe of Benjamin. 5 aThe rest of the children of Kohath had ten cities by lot from the families of the tribe of Ephraim, from the tribe of Dan, and from the half- tribe of Manasseh. 6 And athe children of Gershon had thirteen cities by lot from the families of the tribe of Issachar, from the tribe of Asher, from the tribe of Naphtali, and from the half- tribe of Manasseh in Bashan. 7 aThe children of Merari accord- ing to their families had twelve cities from the tribe of Reuben, from the tribe of Gad, and from the tribe of Zebulun. 8 aAnd the children of Israel gave these cities with their common- lands by lot to the Levites, bas the LORD had commanded by the hand of Moses. 9 So they gave from the tribe of the children of Judah and from the tribe of the children of Simeon these cities which are 1designated by name, 10 which were for the children of 46 1over against 2Heb. Japho 47 aJudg. 18 bJudg. 18:29 49 1finished 50 aJosh. 24:30 b1 Chr. 7:24 51 aNum. 34:17; Josh. 14:1 bJosh. 18:1, 10 CHAPTER 20 2 aEx. 21:13; Num. 35:6–34; Deut. 19:2, 9 1Designate 4 1states 5 aNum. 35:12 6 aNum. 35:12, 24, 25 7 aJosh. 21:32; 1 Chr. 6:76 bJosh. 21:21; 2 Chr. 10:1 cJosh. 14:15; 21:11, 13 dLuke 1:39 8 aDeut. 4:43; Josh. 21:36; 1 Chr. 6:78 bJosh. 21:38; 1 Kin. 22:3 cJosh. 21:27 9 aNum. 35:15 bJosh. 20:6 1As a resident alien CHAPTER 21 1 aNum. 35:1–8 bNum. 34:16–29; Josh. 14:1; 17:4 2 aJosh. 18:1 bNum. 35:2 4 aJosh. 21:8, 19 bJosh. 19:51 5 aJosh. 21:20 6 aJosh. 21:27 7 aJosh. 21:34 8 aJosh. 21:3 bNum. 35:2 9 1Lit. called

209 JOSHUA 22:3 Aaron, one of the families of the Kohathites, who were of the children of Levi; for the lot was theirs first. 11 aAnd they gave them 1Kirjath Arba (Arba was the father of bAnak), cwhich is Hebron, in the mountains of Judah, with the com- mon-land surrounding it. 12 But athe fields of the city and its villages they gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as his possession. 13 Thus ato the children of Aaron the priest they gave bHebron with its common-land (a city of refuge for the slayer), cLibnah with its com- mon-land, 14 aJattir with its common-land, bEshtemoa with its common-land, 15 aHolon with its common-land, bDebir with its common-land, 16 aAin with its common-land, bJut- tah with its common-land, and cBeth Shemesh with its common-land: nine cities from those two tribes; 17 and from the tribe of Benjamin, aGibeon with its common-land, bGeba with its common-land, 18 Anathoth with its common-land, and aAlmon with its common-land: four cities. 19 All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their common-lands. 20 aAnd the families of the chil- dren of Kohath, the Levites, the rest of the children of Kohath, even they had the cities of their 1lot from the tribe of Ephraim. 21 For they gave them aShechem with its common-land in the moun- tains of Ephraim (a city of refuge for the slayer), bGezer with its common- land, 22 Kibzaim with its common-land, and Beth Horon with its common- land: four cities; 23 and from the tribe of Dan, Eltekeh with its common-land, Gib- bethon with its common-land, 24 aAijalon with its common-land, and Gath Rimmon with its common- land: four cities; 25 and from the half-tribe of Ma- nasseh, Tanach with its common- land and Gath Rimmon with its common-land: two cities. 26 All the ten cities with their com- mon-lands were for the rest of the families of the children of Kohath. 27 aAlso to the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, from the other half-tribe of Manasseh, they gave bGolan in Bashan with its common-land (a city of refuge for the slayer), and Be Eshterah with its common-land: two cities; 28 and from the tribe of Issachar, Kishion with its common-land, Daberath with its common-land, 29 Jarmuth with its common-land, and En Gannim with its common- land: four cities; 30 and from the tribe of Asher, Mishal with its common-land, Abdon with its common-land, 31 Helkath with its common-land, and Rehob with its common-land: four cities; 32 and from the tribe of Naphtali, aKedesh in Galilee with its common- land (a city of refuge for the slayer), Hammoth Dor with its common- land, and Kartan with its common- land: three cities. 33 All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were thir- teen cities with their common-lands. 34 aAnd to the families of the chil- dren of Merari, the rest of the Levites, from the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with its common-land, Kartah with its common-land, 35 Dimnah with its common-land, and Nahalal with its common-land: four cities; 36 1and from the tribe of Reuben, aBezer with its common-land, Jahaz with its common-land, 37 Kedemoth with its common- land, and Mephaath with its com- mon-land: four cities; 38 and from the tribe of Gad, aRamoth in Gilead with its common- land (a city of refuge for the slayer), Mahanaim with its common-land, 39 Heshbon with its common-land, and Jazer with its common-land: four cities in all. 40 So all the cities for the children of Merari according to their families, the rest of the families of the Levites, were by their lot twelve cities. 41 aAll the cities of the Levites within the possession of the chil- dren of Israel were forty-eight cities with their common-lands. 42 Every one of these cities had its common-land surrounding it; thus were all these cities. The Promise Fulfilled 43 So the LORD gave to Israel aall the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they btook possession of it and dwelt in it. 44 aThe LORD gave them brest all

ies, the rest of the families of the Levites, were by their lot twelve cities. 41 aAll the cities of the Levites within the possession of the chil- dren of Israel were forty-eight cities with their common-lands. 42 Every one of these cities had its common-land surrounding it; thus were all these cities. The Promise Fulfilled 43 So the LORD gave to Israel aall the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they btook possession of it and dwelt in it. 44 aThe LORD gave them brest all around, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers. And cnot a man of all their enemies stood against them; the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand. 45 aNot a word failed of any good thing which the LORD had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass. Eastern Tribes Return to Their Lands 22 Then Joshua called the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, 2 and said to them: “You have kept aall that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, band have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you. 3 “You have not 1left your brethren 11 aJosh. 20:7; 1 Chr. 6:55 bJosh. 14:15; 15:13, 14 cJosh. 20:7; Luke 1:39 1Lit. City of Arba 12 aJosh. 14:14; 1 Chr. 6:56 13 a1 Chr. 6:57 bJosh. 15:54; 20:2, 7 cJosh. 15:42; 2 Kin. 8:22 14 aJosh. 15:48 bJosh. 15:50 15 a1 Chr. 6:58 bJosh. 15:49 16 a1 Chr. 6:59 bJosh. 15:55 cJosh. 15:10 17 aJosh. 18:25 bJosh. 18:24 18 a1 Chr. 6:60 20 a1 Chr. 6:66 1allotment 21 aJosh. 20:7 bJudg. 1:29 24 aJosh. 10:12 27 aJosh. 21:6; 1 Chr. 6:71 bJosh. 20:8 32 aJosh. 20:7 34 aJosh. 21:7; 1 Chr. 6:77–81 36 aDeut. 4:43; Josh. 20:8 1So with LXX, Vg. (cf. 1 Chr. 6:78, 79); MT, Bg., Tg. omit vv. 36, 37 38 aJosh. 20:8 41 aNum. 35:7 43 aGen. 12:7; 26:3, 4; 28:4, 13, 14 bNum. 33:53; Josh. 1:11 44 aDeut. 7:23, 24; Josh. 11:23; 22:4 bJosh. 1:13, 15; 11:23 cDeut. 7:24 45 a[Num. 23:19]; Josh. 23:14; 1 Kin. 8:56 CHAPTER 22 2 aNum. 32:20–22; Deut. 3:18 bJosh. 1:12–18 3 1forsaken

JOSHUA 22:4 210 these many days, up to this day, but have kept the charge of the com- mandment of the LORD your God. 4 “And now the LORD your God has given arest to your brethren, as He promised them; now therefore, return and go to your tents and to the land of your possession, bwhich Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on the other side of the Jordan. 5 “But atake1 careful heed to do the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the LORD com- manded you, bto love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.” 6 So Joshua ablessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents. 7 Now to half the tribe of Ma- nasseh Moses had given a posses- sion in Bashan, abut to the other half of it Joshua gave a possession among their brethren on this side of the Jordan, westward. And indeed, when Joshua sent them away to their tents, he blessed them, 8 and spoke to them, saying, “Return with much riches to your tents, with very much livestock, with silver, with gold, with bronze, with iron, and with very much clothing. aDivide the 1spoil of your enemies with your brethren.” 9 So the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh returned, and departed from the children of Israel at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go to athe country of Gilead, to the land of their possession, which they had obtained according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses. An Altar by the Jordan 10 And when they came to the region of the Jordan which is in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh built an altar there by the Jordan—a great, impressive altar. 11 Now the children of Israel aheard someone say, “Behold, the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh have built an altar on the 1frontier of the land of Canaan, in the region of the Jordan—on the children of Israel’s side.” 12 And when the children of Israel heard of it, athe whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered together at Shiloh to go to war against them. 13 Then the children of Israel asent bPhinehas the son of Eleazar the priest to the children of Reuben, to the children of Gad, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, into the land of Gilead, 14 and with him ten rulers, one ruler each from the chief house of every tribe of Israel; and aeach one was the head of the house of his father among the 1divisions of Israel. 15 Then they came to the children of Reuben, to the children of Gad, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, and they spoke with them, saying, 16 “Thus says the whole congrega- tion of the LORD: ‘What atreachery1 is this that you have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following the LORD, in that you have built for yourselves an altar, bthat you might rebel this day against the LORD? 17 ‘Is the iniquity aof Peor not enough for us, from which we are not cleansed till this day, although there was a plague in the congrega- tion of the LORD, 18 ‘but that you must turn away this day from following the LORD? And it shall be, if you rebel today against the LORD, that tomorrow aHe will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel. 19 1‘Nevertheless, if the land of your possession is unclean, then cross over to the land of the possession of the LORD, awhere the LORD’s taber- nacle stands, and take possession among us; but do not rebel against the LORD, nor rebel against us, by building yourselves an altar besides the altar of the LORD our God. 20 a‘Did not Achan the son of Zerah 1commit a trespass in the 2accursed thing, and wrath fell on all the con- gregation of Israel?

ill be angry with the whole congregation of Israel. 19 1‘Nevertheless, if the land of your possession is unclean, then cross over to the land of the possession of the LORD, awhere the LORD’s taber- nacle stands, and take possession among us; but do not rebel against the LORD, nor rebel against us, by building yourselves an altar besides the altar of the LORD our God. 20 a‘Did not Achan the son of Zerah 1commit a trespass in the 2accursed thing, and wrath fell on all the con- gregation of Israel? And that man did not perish alone in his iniquity.’ ” 21 Then the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh answered and said to the heads of the 1divisions of Israel: 22 “The LORD aGod of gods, the LORD God of gods, He bknows, and let Israel itself know—if it is in rebellion, or if in treachery against the LORD, do not save us this day. 23 “If we have built ourselves an altar to turn from following the LORD, or if to offer on it burnt offer- ings or grain offerings, or if to offer peace offerings on it, let the LORD Himself arequire an account. 24 “But in fact we have done it 1for fear, for a reason, saying, ‘In time to come your descendants may speak to our descendants, saying, “What have you to do with the LORD God of Israel? 25 “For the LORD has made the Jordan a border between you and us, you children of Reuben and chil- dren of Gad.You have no part in the LORD.” So your descendants would make our descendants cease fearing the LORD.’ 26 “Therefore we said, ‘Let us now prepare to build ourselves an altar, 4 aJosh. 21:44 bNum. 32:33 5 aDeut. 6:6, 17; 11:22; Jer. 12:16 bDeut. 10:12; 11:13, 22 1be very careful to do 6 aGen. 47:7; Ex. 39:43; Josh. 14:13; 2 Sam. 6:18; Luke 24:50 7 aJosh. 17:1–13 8 aNum. 31:27; 1 Sam. 30:24 1plunder 9 aNum. 32:1, 26, 29 11 aDeut. 13:12–18; Judg. 20:12, 13 1Lit. front 12 aJosh. 18:1; Judg. 20:1 13 aDeut. 13:14; Judg. 20:12 bEx. 6:25; Num. 25:7, 11–13 14 aNum. 1:4 1Lit. thou- sands 16 aDeut. 12:5–14 bLev. 17:8, 9 1unfaithful act 17 aNum. 25:1–9; Deut. 4:3 18 aNum. 16:22 19 aJosh. 18:1 1However 20 aJosh. 7:1–26 1act unfaithfully 2devoted thing 21 1Lit. thou- sands 22 aDeut. 4:35; 10:17; Is. 44:8; 45:5; 46:9; [1 Cor. 8:5, 6] b[Job 10:7; 23:10; Jer. 12:3; 2 Cor. 11:11, 31] 23 aDeut. 18:19; 1 Sam. 20:16 24 1Lit. from fear

211 JOSHUA 23:16 not for burnt offering nor for sacri- fice, 27 ‘but that it may be aa 1witness between you and us and our gener- ations after us, that we may bper- form the service of the LORD before Him with our burnt offerings, with our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings; that your descendants may not say to our descendants in time to come, “You have no part in the LORD.” ’ 28 “Therefore we said that it will be, when they say this to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may say, ‘Here is the replica of the altar of the LORD which our fathers made, though not for burnt offerings nor for sacrifices; but it is a witness between you and us.’ 29 “Far be it from us that we should rebel against the LORD, and turn from following the LORD this day, ato build an altar for burnt offerings, for grain offerings, or for sacrifices, besides the altar of the LORD our God which is before His tabernacle.” 30 Now when Phinehas the priest and the rulers of the congregation, the heads of the 1divisions of Israel who were with him, heard the words that the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and the children of Manasseh spoke, it pleased them. 31 Then Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said to the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and the children of Manasseh, “This day we perceive that the LORD is aamong us, because you have not committed this treachery against the LORD. Now you have delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of the LORD.” 32 And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the rulers, returned from the children of Reuben and the children of Gad, from the land of Gilead to the land of Canaan, to the children of Israel, and brought back word to them. 33 So the thing pleased the children of Israel, and the children of Israel ablessed God; they spoke no more of going against them in battle, to destroy the land where the children of Reuben and Gad dwelt. 34 The children of Reuben and the children of 1Gad called the altar, Witness, “For it is a witness be- tween us that the LORD is God.” Joshua’s Farewell Address 23 Now it came to pass, a long time after the LORD ahad given rest to Israel from all their enemies round about, that Joshua bwas old, advanced in age. 2 And Joshua acalled for all Israel, for their elders, for their heads, for their judges, and for their officers, and said to them: “I am old, advanced in age. 3 “You have seen all that the aLORD your God has done to all these nations because of you, for the bLORD your God is He who has fought for you. 4 “See, aI have divided to you by lot these nations that remain, to be an inheritance for your tribes, from the Jordan, with all the nations that I have cut off, as far as the Great Sea westward. 5 “And the LORD your God awill expel them from before you and drive them out of your sight. So you shall possess their land, bas the LORD your God promised you. 6 a“Therefore be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, blest you turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left, 7 “and lest you ago1 among these nations, these who remain among you.

r tribes, from the Jordan, with all the nations that I have cut off, as far as the Great Sea westward. 5 “And the LORD your God awill expel them from before you and drive them out of your sight. So you shall possess their land, bas the LORD your God promised you. 6 a“Therefore be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, blest you turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left, 7 “and lest you ago1 among these nations, these who remain among you. You shall not bmake mention of the name of their gods, nor cause any- one to cswear by them; you shall not dserve them nor bow down to them, 8 “but you shall ahold fast to the LORD your God, as you have done to this day. 9 a“For the LORD has 1driven out from before you great and strong nations; but as for you, no one has been able to stand against you to this day. 10 a“One man of you shall chase a thousand, for the LORD your God is He who fights for you, bas He prom- ised you. 11 a“Therefore take careful heed to yourselves, that you love the LORD your God. 12 “Or else, if indeed you do ago back, and cling to the remnant of these nations—these that remain among you—and bmake marriages with them, and go in to them and they to you, 13 “know for certain that athe LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations from before you. bBut they shall be snares and traps to you, and scourges on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land which the LORD your God has given you. 14 “Behold, this day aI1 am going the way of all the earth. And you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that bnot one thing has failed of all the good things which the LORD your God spoke concern- ing you. All have come to pass for you; not one word of them has failed. 15 a“Therefore it shall come to pass, that as all the good things have come upon you which the LORD your God promised you, so the LORD will bring upon you ball harmful things, until He has destroyed you from this good land which the LORD your God has given you. 16 1“When you have transgressed the covenant of the LORD your God, 27 aGen. 31:48; Josh. 22:34; 24:27 bDeut. 12:5, 14 1testi- mony 29 aDeut. 12:13, 14 30 1Lit. thou- sands 31 aEx. 25:8; Lev. 26:11, 12; 2 Chr. 15:2; Zech. 8:23 33 a1 Chr. 29:20; Neh. 8:6; Dan. 2:19; Luke 2:28 34 1LXX adds and half the tribe of Ma- nasseh CHAPTER 23 1 aJosh. 21:44; 22:4 bJosh. 13:1; 24:29 2 aDeut. 31:28 3 aPs. 44:3 bEx. 14:14; Deut. 1:30; Josh. 10:14, 42 4 aJosh. 13:2, 6; 18:10 5 aEx. 23:30; 33:2 bNum. 33:53 6 aJosh. 1:7 bDeut. 5:32 7 aEx. 23:33; Deut. 7:2, 3; [Prov. 4:14; Eph. 5:11] bEx. 23:13; Ps. 16:4; Jer. 5:7; Hos. 2:17 cDeut. 6:13; 10:20 dEx. 20:5 1associ- ate with 8 aDeut. 10:20 9 aDeut. 7:24; 11:23; Josh. 1:5 1dispos- sessed 10 aLev. 26:8; Deut. 28:7; Is. 30:17 bEx. 14:14 11 aJosh. 22:5 12 a[2 Pet. 2:20, 21] bDeut. 7:3, 4; Ezra 9:2; Neh. 13:25 13 aJudg. 2:3 bEx. 23:33; 34:12; Deut. 7:16 14 a1 Kin. 2:2 bJosh. 21:45; [Luke 21:33] 1I am going to die. 15 aDeut. 28:63 bLev. 26:14–39; Deut. 28:15–68 16 1Or if ever

JOSHUA 24:1 212 which He commanded you, and have gone and served other gods, and bowed down to them, then the aanger of the LORD will burn against you, and you shall perish quickly from the good land which He has given you.” The Covenant at Shechem 24 Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to aShechem and bcalled for the elders of Israel, for their heads, for their judges, and for their officers; and they cpre- sented themselves before God. 2 And Joshua said to all the peo- ple, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: a‘Your fathers, including Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, dwelt on the other side of 1the River in old times; and bthey served other gods. 3 a‘Then I took your father Abra- ham from the other side of 1the River, led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his 2descendants and bgave him Isaac. 4 ‘To Isaac I gave aJacob and Esau. To bEsau I gave the mountains of Seir to possess, cbut Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. 5 a‘Also I sent Moses and Aaron, and bI plagued Egypt, according to what I did among them. Afterward I brought you out. 6 ‘Then I abrought your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea; and the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. 7 ‘So they cried out to the LORD; and He put adarkness between you and the Egyptians, brought the sea upon them, and covered them. And byour eyes saw what I did in Egypt. Then you dwelt in the wilderness ca long time. 8 ‘And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, who dwelt on the other side of the Jordan, aand they fought with you. But I gave them into your hand, that you might pos- sess their land, and I destroyed them from before you. 9 ‘Then aBalak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose to make war against Israel, and bsent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you. 10 a‘But I would not listen to Ba- laam; btherefore he continued to bless you. So I delivered you out of his hand. 11 ‘Then ayou went over the Jordan and came to Jericho. And bthe men of Jericho fought against you—also the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Gir- gashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. But I delivered them into your hand. 12 a‘I sent the hornet before you which drove them out from before you, also the two kings of the Am- orites, but bnot with your sword or with your bow. 13 ‘I have given you a land for which you did not labor, and acities which you did not build, and you dwell in them; you eat of the vine- yards and olive groves which you did not plant.’ 14 a“Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in bsincerity and in truth, and cput away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of 1the River and din Egypt. Serve the LORD! 15 “And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, achoose for your- selves this day whom you will serve, whether bthe gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of 1the River, or cthe gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. dBut as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” 16 So the people answered and said: “Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods; 17 “for the LORD our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, who did those great signs in our sight, and pre- served us in all the way that we went and among all the people through whom we passed. 18 “And the LORD drove out from before us all the people, including the Amorites who dwelt in the land. aWe also will serve the LORD, for He is our God.” 19 But Joshua said to the people, a“You cannot serve the LORD, for He is a bholy God.

gods; 17 “for the LORD our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, who did those great signs in our sight, and pre- served us in all the way that we went and among all the people through whom we passed. 18 “And the LORD drove out from before us all the people, including the Amorites who dwelt in the land. aWe also will serve the LORD, for He is our God.” 19 But Joshua said to the people, a“You cannot serve the LORD, for He is a bholy God. He is ca jealous God; dHe will not forgive your transgres- sions nor your sins. 20 a“If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, bthen He will turn and do you harm and consume you, after He has done you good.” 21 And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the LORD!” 22 So Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against your- selves that ayou have chosen the LORD for yourselves, to serve Him.” And they said, “We are witnesses!” 23 “Now therefore,” he said, a“put away the foreign gods which are among you, and bincline your heart to the LORD God of Israel.” 24 And the people asaid to Joshua, “The LORD our God we will serve, and His voice we will obey!” 25 So Joshua amade1 a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance bin Shechem. 26 Then Joshua awrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. And he took ba large stone, and cset it up there dunder the oak that was by the sanctuary of the LORD. 27 And Joshua said to all the peo- 16 aDeut. 4:24–28 CHAPTER 24 1 aGen. 35:4 bJosh. 23:2 c1 Sam. 10:19 2 aGen. 11:7–32 bJosh. 24:14 1The Euphrates 3 aGen. 12:1; Acts 7:2, 3 b[Ps. 127:3] 1The Euphrates 2Lit. seed 4 aGen. 25:24–26 bDeut. 2:5 cGen. 46:1, 3, 6 5 aEx. 3:10 bEx. 7—10 6 aEx. 12:37, 51; 14:2–31 7 aEx. 14:20 bDeut. 4:34 cJosh. 5:6 8 aNum. 21:21–35 9 aJudg. 11:25 bNum. 22:2–14 10 aDeut. 23:5 bNum. 23:11, 20; 24:10 11 aJosh. 3:14, 17 bJosh. 6:1; 10:1 12 aEx. 23:28 bPs. 44:3 13 aDeut. 6:10, 11 14 a1 Sam. 12:24 b2 Cor. 1:12 cEzek. 20:18 dEzek. 20:7, 8 1The Euphrates 15 a1 Kin. 18:21 bJosh. 24:2 cEx. 23:24, 32 dGen. 18:19 1The Euphrates 18 aPs. 116:16 19 aMatt. 6:24 b1 Sam. 6:20 cEx. 20:5 dEx. 23:21 20 aEzra 8:22 bDeut. 4:24–26 22 aPs. 119:173 23 aGen. 35:2 b1 Kin. 8:57, 58 24 aDeut. 5:24–27 25 aEx. 15:25 bJosh. 24:1 1Lit. cut a covenant 26 aDeut. 31:24 bJudg. 9:6 cGen. 28:18 dGen. 35:4

213 JUDGES 1:6 ple, “Behold, this stone shall be aa witness to us, for bit has heard all the words of the LORD which He spoke to us. It shall therefore be a witness to you, lest you deny your God.” 28 So aJoshua let the people depart, each to his own inheritance. Death of Joshua and Eleazar 29 aNow it came to pass after these things that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being one hundred and ten years old. 30 And they buried him within the border of his inheritance at aTim- nath Serah, which is in the moun- tains of Ephraim, on the north side of Mount Gaash. 31 aIsrael served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had bknown all the works of the LORD which He had done for Israel. 32 aThe bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel had brought up out of Egypt, they buried at Shechem, in the plot of ground bwhich Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for one hundred 1pieces of silver, and which had become an inheritance of the chil- dren of Joseph. 33 And aEleazar the son of Aaron died. They buried him in a hill belonging to bPhinehas his son, which was given to him in the mountains of Ephraim. 27 aGen. 31:48 bDeut. 32:1 28 aJudg. 2:6, 7 29 aJudg. 2:8 30 aJosh. 19:50 31 aJudg. 2:7 bDeut. 11:2 32 aGen. 50:25 bGen. 33:19 1Heb. qesitah, an unknown ancient mea- sure of weight 33 aEx. 28:1 bEx. 6:25 The Book of JUDGES THE Book of Judges stands in stark contrast to Joshua. In Joshua an obedient people conquered the land through trust in the power of God. In Judges, how- ever, a disobedient and idolatrous people are defeated time and time again because of their rebellion against God. In seven distinct cycles of sin to salvation, Judges shows how Israel had set aside God’s law and in its place substituted “what was right in his own eyes” (21:25). The recurring result of abandonment from God’s law is corruption from within and oppression from without. During the nearly four centuries spanned by this book, God raises up military champions to throw off the yoke of bondage and to restore the nation to pure worship. But all too soon the “sin cycle” begins again as the nation’s spiritual temperature grows steadily colder. The Hebrew title is Shophetim, meaning “judges,” “rulers,” “deliverers,” or “sav- iors.” Shophet not only carries the idea of maintaining justice and settling dis- putes, but it is also used to mean “liberating” and “delivering.” First the judges deliver the people; then they rule and administer justice. The Septuagint used the Greek equivalent of this word, Kritai (“Judges”). The Latin Vulgate called it Liber Judicum, the “Book of Judges.” This book could also appropriately be titled the “Book of Failure.” The Continuing Conquest of Canaan NOW after the adeath of Joshua it came to pass that the children of Israel basked the LORD, saying, “Who shall be first to go up for us against the cCanaanites to fight against them?” 2 And the LORD said, a“Judah shall go up. Indeed I have delivered the land into his hand.” 3 So Judah said to aSimeon his brother, “Come up with me to my allotted territory, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and bI will likewise go with you to your allotted territory.” And Simeon went with him. 4 Then Judah went up, and the LORD delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand; and they killed ten thousand men at aBezek. 5 And they found Adoni-Bezek in Bezek, and fought against him; and they defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites. 6 Then Adoni-Bezek fled, and they pursued him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and big toes. CHAPTER 1 1 aJosh. 24:29 bNum. 27:21 cJosh. 17:12, 13 2 aGen. 49:8, 9 3 aJosh. 19:1 bJudg. 1:17 4 a1 Sam. 11:8

JUDGES 1:7 214 7 aLev. 24:19; 1 Sam. 15:33; [James 2:13] 8 aJosh. 15:63; Judg. 1:21 9 aJosh. 10:36; 11:21; 15:13 1Heb. Negev, and so throughout the book 10 aJosh. 15:13–19 bJosh. 14:15 1attacked 11 aJosh. 15:15 12 aJosh. 15:16, 17 13 aJudg. 3:9 14 aJosh. 15:18, 19 1LXX, Vg. he urged her 15 aGen. 33:11 16 aNum. 10:29–32; Judg. 4:11, 17; 1 Sam. 15:6; 1 Chr. 2:55 bDeut. 34:3; Judg. 3:13 cJosh. 12:14 d1 Sam. 15:6 17 aJudg. 1:3 bNum. 21:3; Josh. 19:4 18 aJosh. 11:22 19 aJosh. 17:16, 18; Judg. 4:3, 13 20 aNum. 14:24; Josh. 14:9, 14 bJosh. 15:14; Judg. 1:10 1drove out from there 21 aJosh. 15:63; Judg. 1:8 22 aJudg. 1:19 1family 23 aJosh. 2:1; 7:2 bGen. 28:19 1family 24 aJosh. 2:12, 14 27 aJosh. 17:11–13 bJosh. 21:25 cJosh. 17:11 28 1to forced labor 29 aJosh. 16:10; 1 Kin. 9:16 30 aJosh. 19:10–16 1became forced labor- ers 31 aJosh. 19:24–31 32 aPs. 106:34, 35 33 aJosh. 19:32–39 35 aJosh. 19:42 1Shaalabbin, Josh. 19:42 2became forced labor- ers 36 aNum. 34:4; Josh. 15:3 7 And Adoni-Bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off used to gather scraps under my table; aas I have done, so God has repaid me.” Then they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died. 8 Now athe children of Judah fought against Jerusalem and took it; they struck it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire. 9 aAnd afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who dwelt in the mountains, in the 1South, and in the lowland. 10 Then Judah 1went against the Canaanites who dwelt in aHebron. (Now the name of Hebron was for- merly bKirjath Arba.) And they killed Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai. 11 aFrom there they went against the inhabitants of Debir. (The name of Debir was formerly Kirjath Sepher.) 12 aThen Caleb said, “Whoever attacks Kirjath Sepher and takes it, to him I will give my daughter Achsah as wife.” 13 And Othniel the son of Kenaz, aCaleb’s younger brother, took it; so he gave him his daughter Achsah as wife. 14 aNow it happened, when she came to him, that 1she urged him to ask her father for a field. And she dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you wish?” 15 So she said to him, a“Give me a blessing; since you have given me land in the South, give me also springs of water.” And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs. 16 aNow the children of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up bfrom the City of Palms with the children of Judah into the Wilderness of Judah, which lies in the South near cArad; dand they went and dwelt among the people. 17 aAnd Judah went with his brother Simeon, and they attacked the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. So the name of the city was called bHormah. 18 Also Judah took aGaza with its territory, Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory. 19 So the LORD was with Judah. And they drove out the moun- taineers, but they could not drive out the inhabitants of the lowland, because they had achariots of iron. 20 aAnd they gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had said. Then he 1expelled from there the bthree sons of Anak. 21 aBut the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem; so the Jebu- sites dwell with the children of Ben- jamin in Jerusalem to this day. 22 And the 1house of Joseph also went up against Bethel, aand the LORD was with them. 23 So the 1house of Joseph asent men to spy out Bethel.

drive out the inhabitants of the lowland, because they had achariots of iron. 20 aAnd they gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had said. Then he 1expelled from there the bthree sons of Anak. 21 aBut the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem; so the Jebu- sites dwell with the children of Ben- jamin in Jerusalem to this day. 22 And the 1house of Joseph also went up against Bethel, aand the LORD was with them. 23 So the 1house of Joseph asent men to spy out Bethel. (The name of the city was formerly bLuz.) 24 And when the spies saw a man coming out of the city, they said to him, “Please show us the entrance to the city, and awe will show you mercy.” 25 So he showed them the en- trance to the city, and they struck the city with the edge of the sword; but they let the man and all his fam- ily go. 26 And the man went to the land of the Hittites, built a city, and called its name Luz, which is its name to this day. Incomplete Conquest of the Land 27 aHowever, Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shean and its villages, or bTaanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of cDor and its villages, or the inhabi- tants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages; for the Canaanites were determined to dwell in that land. 28 And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites 1under tribute, but did not completely drive them out. 29 aNor did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites who dwelt in Gezer; so the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them. 30 Nor did aZebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron or the inhabi- tants of Nahalol; so the Canaanites dwelt among them, and 1were put under tribute. 31 aNor did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Acco or the inhabi- tants of Sidon, or of Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, or Rehob. 32 So the Asherites adwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not drive them out. 33 aNor did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh or the inhabitants of Beth Anath; but they dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. Neverthe- less the inhabitants of Beth She- mesh and Beth Anath were put under tribute to them. 34 And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountains, for they would not allow them to come down to the valley; 35 and the Amorites were deter- mined to dwell in Mount Heres, ain Aijalon, and in 1Shaalbim; yet when the strength of the house of Joseph became greater, they 2were put under tribute. 36 Now the boundary of the Amo- rites was afrom the Ascent of Akrab- bim, from Sela, and upward.

215 JUDGES 3:5 CHAPTER 2 1 aEx. 20:2; Judg. 6:8, 9 bDeut. 1:8 cGen. 17:7, 8; Lev. 26:42, 44; Deut. 7:9; Ps. 89:34 2 aEx. 23:32; Deut. 7:2 bEx. 34:12, 13; Deut. 12:3 cPs. 106:34 1treaty 3 aNum. 33:55; Josh. 23:13 bJudg. 3:6 cEx. 23:33; Deut. 7:16; Ps. 106:36 1LXX, Tg., Vg. ene- mies to you 2entrap you 5 1Lit. Weep- ing 6 aJosh. 22:6; 24:28–31 7 aJosh. 24:31 8 aJosh. 24:29 9 aJosh. 24:30 bJosh. 19:49, 50 10 aEx. 5:2; 1 Sam. 2:12; Gal. 4:8; [Titus 1:16] 1Died and joined their ances- tors 11 aJudg. 3:7, 12; 4:1; 6:1 12 aDeut. 31:16; Judg. 8:33; 10:6 bDeut. 6:14 cEx. 20:5 13 aJudg. 10:6; Ps. 106:36 1A Canaanite god 2Canaan- ite goddesses 14 aDeut. 31:17; Judg. 3:8; Ps. 106:40–42 b2 Kin. 17:20 cIs. 50:1 dLev. 26:37; Josh. 7:12, 13 15 aLev. 26:14–26; Deut. 28:15–68 16 aJudg. 3:9, 10, 15; Ps. 106:43–45 17 aEx. 34:15 18 aJosh. 1:5 bGen. 6:6 19 aJudg. 3:12 20 a[Josh. 23:16] 21 aJosh. 23:4, 5, 13 22 aJudg. 3:1, 4 bDeut. 8:2, 16; 13:3 CHAPTER 3 1 aJudg. 1:1; 2:21, 22 1experienced 3 aJosh. 13:3 4 1find out 5 aPs. 106:35 Israel’s Disobedience 2 Then the Angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said: a“I led you up from Egypt and bbrought you to the land of which I swore to your fathers; and cI said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you. 2 ‘And ayou shall make no 1covenant with the inhabitants of this land; byou shall tear down their altars.’ cBut you have not obeyed My voice. Why have you done this? 3 “Therefore I also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; but they shall be athorns1 in your side, and btheir gods shall 2be a csnare to you.’ ” 4 So it was, when the Angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voices and wept. 5 Then they called the name of that place 1Bochim; and they sacri- ficed there to the LORD. 6 And when aJoshua had dis- missed the people, the children of Israel went each to his own inheri- tance to possess the land. Death of Joshua 7 aSo the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD which He had done for Israel. 8 Now aJoshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died when he was one hundred and ten years old. 9 aAnd they buried him within the border of his inheritance at bTimnath Heres, in the mountains of Ephraim, on the north side of Mount Gaash. 10 When all that generation had 1been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who adid not know the LORD nor the work which He had done for Israel. Israel’s Unfaithfulness 11 Then the children of Israel did aevil in the sight of the LORD, and served the Baals; 12 and they aforsook the LORD God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; and they followed bother gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them, and they cbowed down to them; and they provoked the LORD to anger. 13 They forsook the LORD aand served 1Baal and the 2Ashtoreths. 14 aAnd the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel. So He bdelivered them into the hands of plunderers who despoiled them; and cHe sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, so that they dcould no longer stand before their enemies. 15 Wherever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for calamity, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had asworn to them. And they were greatly distressed. 16 Nevertheless, athe LORD raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they would not listen to their judges, but they aplayed the harlot with other gods, and bowed down to them.

them into the hands of their enemies all around, so that they dcould no longer stand before their enemies. 15 Wherever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for calamity, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had asworn to them. And they were greatly distressed. 16 Nevertheless, athe LORD raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they would not listen to their judges, but they aplayed the harlot with other gods, and bowed down to them. They turned quickly from the way in which their fathers walked, in obeying the commandments of the LORD; they did not do so. 18 And when the LORD raised up judges for them, athe LORD was with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; bfor the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed them and harassed them. 19 And it came to pass, awhen the judge was dead, that they reverted and behaved more corruptly than their fathers, by following other gods, to serve them and bow down to them. They did not cease from their own doings nor from their stubborn way. 20 Then the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel; and He said, “Because this nation has atrans- gressed My covenant which I com- manded their fathers, and has not heeded My voice, 21 “I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua aleft when he died, 22 “so athat through them I may btest Israel, whether they will keep the ways of the LORD, to walk in them as their fathers kept them, or not.” 23 Therefore the LORD left those nations, without driving them out immediately; nor did He deliver them into the hand of Joshua. The Nations Remaining in the Land 3 Now these are athe nations which the LORD left, that He might test Israel by them, that is, all who had not 1known any of the wars in Canaan 2 (this was only so that the gener- ations of the children of Israel might be taught to know war, at least those who had not formerly known it), 3 namely, afive lords of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who dwelt in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal Hermon to the entrance of Hamath. 4 And they were left, that He might test Israel by them, to 1know whether they would obey the com- mandments of the LORD, which He had commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. 5 aThus the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, the Hittites,

JUDGES 3:6 216 6 aEx. 34:15, 16; Deut. 7:3, 4; Josh. 23:12 7 aJudg. 2:11 bDeut. 32:18 1Name or symbol for Canaanite goddesses 8 aDeut. 32:30; Judg. 2:14 bHab. 3:7 9 aJudg. 3:15 bJudg. 2:16 cJudg. 1:13 10 aNum. 27:18; 1 Sam. 11:6; 2 Chr. 15:1 12 aJudg. 2:19 b1 Sam. 12:9 13 aJudg. 5:14 bDeut. 34:3; Judg. 1:16; 2 Chr. 28:15 1struck 14 aDeut. 28:48 15 aPs. 78:34 bJudg. 20:16 19 aJosh. 4:20 1Tg. quarries 22 1handle 24 a1 Sam. 24:3 1Lit. his 1Lit. covering his feet 25 a2 Kin. 2:17; 8:11 26 1Tg. quar- ries 27 aJudg. 6:34; 1 Sam. 13:3 bJosh. 17:15 1Lit. he went before them 28 aJudg. 7:9, 15; 1 Sam. 17:47 bJosh. 2:7; Judg. 12:5 30 aJudg. 3:11 31 aJudg. 5:6 b1 Sam. 17:47 cJudg. 2:16 d1 Sam. 4:1 CHAPTER 4 1 aJudg. 2:19 bJudg. 2:11 2 aJudg. 2:14 bJosh. 11:1, 10 c1 Sam. 12:9; Ps. 83:9 dJudg. 4:13, 16 3 aDeut. 20:1; Judg. 1:19 bPs. 106:42 the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 6 And athey took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons; and they served their gods. Othniel 7 So the children of Israel did aevil in the sight of the LORD. They bforgot the LORD their God, and served the Baals and 1Asherahs. 8 Therefore the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and He asold them into the hand of bCushan- Rishathaim king of Mesopotamia; and the children of Israel served Cushan-Rishathaim eight years. 9 When the children of Israel acried out to the LORD, the LORD braised up a deliverer for the chil- dren of Israel, who delivered them: cOthniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. 10 aThe Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the LORD deliv- ered Cushan-Rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand prevailed over Cushan- Rishathaim. 11 So the land had rest for forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died. Ehud 12 aAnd the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD. So the LORD strengthened bEglon king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD. 13 Then he gathered to himself the people of Ammon and aAmalek, went and 1defeated Israel, and took possession of bthe City of Palms. 14 So the children of Israel aserved Eglon king of Moab eighteen years. 15 But when the children of Israel acried out to the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer for them: Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a bleft-handed man. By him the chil- dren of Israel sent tribute to Eglon king of Moab. 16 Now Ehud made himself a dag- ger (it was double-edged and a cubit in length) and fastened it under his clothes on his right thigh. 17 So he brought the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. (Now Eglon was a very fat man.) 18 And when he had finished pre- senting the tribute, he sent away the people who had carried the tribute. 19 But he himself turned back afrom the 1stone images that were at Gilgal, and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” He said, “Keep silence!” And all who attend- ed him went out from him. 20 So Ehud came to him (now he was sitting upstairs in his cool pri- vate chamber). Then Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” So he arose from his seat. 21 Then Ehud reached with his left hand, took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. 22 Even the 1hilt went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not draw the dag- ger out of his belly; and his entrails came out. 23 Then Ehud went out through the porch and shut the doors of the upper room behind him and locked them. 24 When he had gone out, 1Eglon’s servants came to look, and to their surprise, the doors of the upper room were locked. So they said, “He is probably aattending2 to his needs in the cool chamber.” 25 So they waited till they were aembarrassed, and still he had not opened the doors of the upper room. Therefore they took the key and opened them.

ger out of his belly; and his entrails came out. 23 Then Ehud went out through the porch and shut the doors of the upper room behind him and locked them. 24 When he had gone out, 1Eglon’s servants came to look, and to their surprise, the doors of the upper room were locked. So they said, “He is probably aattending2 to his needs in the cool chamber.” 25 So they waited till they were aembarrassed, and still he had not opened the doors of the upper room. Therefore they took the key and opened them. And there was their master, fallen dead on the floor. 26 But Ehud had escaped while they delayed, and passed beyond the 1stone images and escaped to Seirah. 27 And it happened, when he arrived, that ahe blew the trumpet in the bmountains of Ephraim, and the children of Israel went down with him from the mountains; and 1he led them. 28 Then he said to them, “Follow me, for athe LORD has delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” So they went down after him, seized the bfords of the Jordan leading to Moab, and did not allow anyone to cross over. 29 And at that time they killed about ten thousand men of Moab, all stout men of valor; not a man escaped. 30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And athe land had rest for eighty years. Shamgar 31 After him was aShamgar the son of Anath, who killed six hundred men of the Philistines bwith an ox goad; cand he also delivered dIsrael. Deborah 4 When Ehud was dead, athe chil- dren of Israel again did bevil in the sight of the LORD. 2 So the LORD asold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in bHazor. The commander of his army was cSisera, who dwelt in dHarosheth Hagoyim. 3 And the children of Israel cried out to the LORD; for Jabin had nine hundred achariots of iron, and for twenty years bhe had harshly oppressed the children of Israel. 4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, the

217 JUDGES 5:7 5 aGen. 35:8 6 aHeb. 11:32 bJosh. 19:37; 21:32 cJudg. 8:18 1march 7 aEx. 14:4 bJudg. 5:21; 1 Kin. 18:40; Ps. 83:9, 10 1Lit. draw 9 aJudg. 2:14 10 aJudg. 5:18 bEx. 11:8; 1 Kin. 20:10 1Lit. at his feet 11 aJudg. 1:16 bNum. 10:29 cJudg. 4:6 14 aDeut. 9:3; 31:3; 2 Sam. 5:24; Ps. 68:7; Is. 52:12 1Arise! 16 aEx. 14:28; Ps. 83:9 17 aJudg. 5:6 18 1rug 19 aJudg. 5:24–27 21 aJudg. 5:24–27 CHAPTER 5 1 aEx. 15:1; Judg. 4:4 2 aPs. 18:47 b2 Chr. 17:16 1Or When locks are loosed 2volun- teer 3 aDeut. 32:1, 3 bPs. 27:6 4 aDeut. 33:2; Ps. 68:7 bPs. 68:8 5 aPs. 97:5 bEx. 19:18 1flowed 6 aJudg. 3:31 bJudg. 4:17 cIs. 33:8 wife of Lapidoth, was judging Israel at that time. 5 aAnd she would sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the mountains of Ephraim. And the children of Israel came up to her for judgment. 6 Then she sent and called for aBarak the son of Abinoam from bKedesh in Naphtali, and said to him, “Has not the LORD God of Israel commanded, ‘Go and 1deploy troops at Mount cTabor; take with you ten thousand men of the sons of Naphtali and of the sons of Zebulun; 7 ‘and against you aI will deploy Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his mul- titude at the bRiver Kishon; and I will 1deliver him into your hand’?” 8 And Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go!” 9 So she said, “I will surely go with you; nevertheless there will be no glory for you in the journey you are taking, for the LORD will asell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 And Barak called aZebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; he went up with ten thousand men bunder1 his com- mand, and Deborah went up with him. 11 Now Heber athe Kenite, of the children of bHobab the father-in-law of Moses, had separated himself from the Kenites and pitched his tent near the terebinth tree at Zaanaim, cwhich is beside Kedesh. 12 And they reported to Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor. 13 So Sisera gathered together all his chariots, nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people who were with him, from Harosheth Hagoyim to the River Kishon. 14 Then Deborah said to Barak, 1“Up! For this is the day in which the LORD has delivered Sisera into your hand. aHas not the LORD gone out before you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with ten thou- sand men following him. 15 And the LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army with the edge of the sword before Barak; and Sisera alighted from his chariot and fled away on foot. 16 But Barak pursued the chariots and the army as far as Harosheth Hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was aleft. 17 However, Sisera had fled away on foot to the tent of aJael, the wife of Heber the Kenite; for there was peace between Jabin king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite. 18 And Jael went out to meet Sis- era, and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord, turn aside to me; do not fear.” And when he had turned aside with her into the tent, she covered him with a 1blanket. 19 Then he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened aa jug of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him. 20 And he said to her, “Stand at the door of the tent, and if any man comes and inquires of you, and says, ‘Is there any man here?’ you shall say, ‘No.’ ” 21 Then Jael, Heber’s wife, atook a tent peg and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple, and it went down into the ground; for he was fast asleep and weary.

en he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened aa jug of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him. 20 And he said to her, “Stand at the door of the tent, and if any man comes and inquires of you, and says, ‘Is there any man here?’ you shall say, ‘No.’ ” 21 Then Jael, Heber’s wife, atook a tent peg and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple, and it went down into the ground; for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died. 22 And then, as Barak pursued Sis- era, Jael came out to meet him, and said to him, “Come, I will show you the man whom you seek.” And when he went into her tent, there lay Sis- era, dead with the peg in his temple. 23 So on that day God subdued Jabin king of Canaan in the pres- ence of the children of Israel. 24 And the hand of the children of Israel grew stronger and stronger against Jabin king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan. The Song of Deborah 5 Then Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam asang on that day, saying: 2 “When1 leaders alead in Israel, bWhen the people 2willingly offer themselves, Bless the LORD! 3 “Hear,a O kings! Give ear, O princes! I, even bI, will sing to the LORD; I will sing praise to the LORD God of Israel. 4 “LORD, awhen You went out from Seir, When You marched from bthe field of Edom, The earth trembled and the heavens poured, The clouds also poured water; 5 aThe mountains 1gushed before the LORD, bThis Sinai, before the LORD God of Israel. 6 “In the days of aShamgar, son of Anath, In the days of bJael, cThe highways were deserted, And the travelers walked along the byways. 7 Village life ceased, it ceased in Israel,

JUDGES 5:8 218 8 aDeut. 32:17 10 aJudg. 10:4; 12:14 12 aPs. 57:8 14 aJudg. 3:13 15 1So with LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg.; MT And my princes in Issachar 2Lit. at his feet 17 aJosh. 22:9 bJosh. 19:29, 31 1Or at ease 18 aJudg. 4:6, 10 19 aJudg. 1:27 21 aJudg. 4:7 23 1Or Angel 24 a[Luke 1:28] 27 aJudg. 4:18–21 29 1princesses 2Lit. repeats her words to herself 31 aPs. 92:9 Until I, Deborah, arose, Arose a mother in Israel. 8 They chose anew gods; Then there was war in the gates; Not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel. 9 My heart is with the rulers of Israel Who offered themselves willingly with the people. Bless the LORD! 10 “Speak, you who ride on white adonkeys, Who sit in judges’ attire, And who walk along the road. 11 Far from the noise of the archers, among the watering places, There they shall recount the righteous acts of the LORD, The righteous acts for His villagers in Israel; Then the people of the LORD shall go down to the gates. 12 “Awake,a awake, Deborah! Awake, awake, sing a song! Arise, Barak, and lead your captives away, O son of Abinoam! 13 “Then the survivors came down, the people against the nobles; The LORD came down for me against the mighty. 14 From Ephraim were those whose roots were in aAmalek. After you, Benjamin, with your peoples, From Machir rulers came down, And from Zebulun those who bear the recruiter’s staff. 15 And 1the princes of Issachar were with Deborah; As Issachar, so was Barak Sent into the valley 2under his command; Among the divisions of Reuben There were great resolves of heart. 16 Why did you sit among the sheepfolds, To hear the pipings for the flocks? The divisions of Reuben have great searchings of heart. 17 aGilead stayed beyond the Jordan, And why did Dan remain 1on ships? bAsher continued at the seashore, And stayed by his inlets. 18 aZebulun is a people who jeopardized their lives to the point of death, Naphtali also, on the heights of the battlefield. 19 “The kings came and fought, Then the kings of Canaan fought In aTaanach, by the waters of Megiddo; They took no spoils of silver. 20 They fought from the heavens; The stars from their courses fought against Sisera. 21 aThe torrent of Kishon swept them away, That ancient torrent, the torrent of Kishon. O my soul, march on in strength! 22 Then the horses’ hooves pounded, The galloping, galloping of his steeds. 23 ‘Curse Meroz,’ said the 1angel of the LORD, ‘Curse its inhabitants bitterly, Because they did not come to the help of the LORD, To the help of the LORD against the mighty.’ 24 “Most blessed among women is Jael, The wife of Heber the Kenite; aBlessed is she among women in tents. 25 He asked for water, she gave milk; She brought out cream in a lordly bowl. 26 She stretched her hand to the tent peg, Her right hand to the workmen’s hammer; She pounded Sisera, she pierced his head, She split and struck through his temple. 27 At her feet he sank, he fell, he lay still; At her feet he sank, he fell; Where he sank, there he fell adead. 28 “The mother of Sisera looked through the window, And cried out through the lattice, ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why tarries the clatter of his chariots?’ 29 Her wisest 1ladies answered her, Yes, she 2answered herself, 30 ‘Are they not finding and dividing the spoil: To every man a girl or two; For Sisera, plunder of dyed garments, Plunder of garments embroidered and dyed, Two pieces of dyed embroidery for the neck of the looter?’ 31 “Thus let all Your enemies aperish, O LORD!

219 JUDGES 6:26 31 b2 Sam. 23:4 cPs. 37:6; 89:36, 37 dPs. 19:5 CHAPTER 6 1 aJudg. 2:11 bNum. 22:4; 31:1–3 2 a1 Sam. 13:6; Heb. 11:38 3 aJudg. 7:12 4 aLev. 26:16 bDeut. 28:31 5 1innumer- able 6 aPs. 50:15; Hos. 5:15 8 aJosh. 24:17 1slavery 9 aPs. 44:2, 3 10 a2 Kin. 17:35, 37, 38; Jer. 10:2 bJudg. 2:1, 2 11 aJosh. 17:2; Judg. 6:15 bJudg. 7:1; Heb. 11:32 12 aJudg. 13:3; Luke 1:11, 28 bJosh. 1:5 13 a[Is. 59:1] bJosh. 4:6, 21; Ps. 44:1 cDeut. 31:17; 2 Chr. 15:2; Ps. 44:9–16 1Heb. adoni, used of man 14 a1 Sam. 12:11 bJosh. 1:9 15 a1 Sam. 9:21 1Heb. Adonai, used of God 16 aEx. 3:12; Josh. 1:5 1Lit. strike 17 aJudg. 6:36, 37; 2 Kin. 20:8; Ps. 86:17; Is. 7:11; 38:7, 8 18 aGen. 18:3, 5 19 aGen. 18:6–8 20 aJudg. 13:19 b1 Kin. 18:33, 34 21 aLev. 9:24 22 aGen. 32:30; Ex. 33:20; Judg. 13:21, 22 bGen. 16:13 23 aDan. 10:19 24 aJudg. 8:32 1Heb. YHWH Shalom 25 aJudg. 2:2 bJudg. 3:7 cEx. 34:13; Deut. 7:5 1Heb. Ashe- rah, a Canaanite goddess 26 1stronghold But let those who love Him be blike the csun When it comes out in full dstrength.” So the land had rest for forty years. Midianites Oppress Israel 6 Then the children of Israel did aevil in the sight of the LORD. So the LORD delivered them into the hand of bMidian for seven years, 2 and the hand of Midian pre- vailed against Israel. Because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made for themselves the dens, athe caves, and the strongholds which are in the mountains. 3 So it was, whenever Israel had sown, Midianites would come up; also Amalekites and the apeople of the East would come up against them. 4 Then they would encamp against them and adestroy the pro- duce of the earth as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance for Israel, nei- ther sheep nor ox nor bdonkey. 5 For they would come up with their livestock and their tents, com- ing in as numerous as locusts; both they and their camels were 1without number; and they would enter the land to destroy it. 6 So Israel was greatly impover- ished because of the Midianites, and the children of Israel acried out to the LORD. 7 And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried out to the LORD because of the Midianites, 8 that the LORD sent a prophet to the children of Israel, who said to them, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘I brought you up from Egypt and brought you out of the ahouse of 1bondage; 9 ‘and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of all who oppressed you, and adrove them out before you and gave you their land. 10 ‘Also I said to you, “I am the LORD your God; ado not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.” But you have not obeyed My bvoice.’ ” Gideon 11 Now the Angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash athe Abiezrite, while his son bGideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites. 12 And the aAngel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, “The LORD is bwith you, you mighty man of valor!” 13 Gideon said to Him, “O 1my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And awhere are all His miracles bwhich our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has cfor- saken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.” 14 Then the LORD turned to him and said, a“Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. bHave I not sent you?” 15 So he said to Him, “O 1my Lord, how can I save Israel?

id to Him, “O 1my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And awhere are all His miracles bwhich our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has cfor- saken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.” 14 Then the LORD turned to him and said, a“Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. bHave I not sent you?” 15 So he said to Him, “O 1my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed amy clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” 16 And the LORD said to him, a“Surely I will be with you, and you shall 1defeat the Midianites as one man.” 17 Then he said to Him, “If now I have found favor in Your sight, then ashow me a sign that it is You who talk with me. 18 a“Do not depart from here, I pray, until I come to You and bring out my offering and set it before You.” And He said, “I will wait until you come back.” 19 aSo Gideon went in and pre- pared a young goat, and unleavened bread from an ephah of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot; and he brought them out to Him under the terebinth tree and presented them. 20 The Angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread and alay them on this rock, and bpour out the broth.” And he did so. 21 Then the Angel of the LORD put out the end of the staff that was in His hand, and touched the meat and the unleavened bread; and afire rose out of the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. And the Angel of the LORD departed out of his sight. 22 Now Gideon aperceived that He was the Angel of the LORD. So Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord GOD! bFor I have seen the Angel of the LORD face to face.” 23 Then the LORD said to him, a“Peace be with you; do not fear, you shall not die.” 24 So Gideon built an altar there to the LORD, and called it 1The-LORD- Is-Peace. To this day it is still ain Ophrah of the Abiezrites. 25 Now it came to pass the same night that the LORD said to him, “Take your father’s young bull, the second bull of seven years old, and atear down the altar of bBaal that your father has, and ccut down the 1wooden image that is beside it; 26 “and build an altar to the LORD your God on top of this 1rock in the proper arrangement, and take the second bull and offer a burnt sacri- fice with the wood of the image which you shall cut down.”

JUDGES 6:27 220 31 1contend 32 aJudg. 7:1; 1 Sam. 12:11; 2 Sam. 11:21 1Lit. Let Baal Plead 33 aJudg. 6:3 bJosh. 17:16; Hos. 1:5 34 aJudg. 3:10; 1 Chr. 12:18; 2 Chr. 24:20 bNum. 10:3; Judg. 3:27 35 aJudg. 5:17; 7:23 bJudg. 4:6, 10; 5:18 37 a[Ex. 4:3–7] 39 aGen. 18:32 CHAPTER 7 1 aJudg. 6:32 2 aDeut. 8:17; Is. 10:13 3 aDeut. 20:8 7 a1 Sam. 14:6 1home 9 aGen. 46:2, 3; Judg. 6:25 11 aGen. 24:14; 1 Sam. 14:9, 10 1you shall be encour- aged 27 So Gideon took ten men from among his servants and did as the LORD had said to him. But because he feared his father’s household and the men of the city too much to do it by day, he did it by night. Gideon Destroys the Altar of Baal 28 And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, there was the altar of Baal, torn down; and the wooden image that was beside it was cut down, and the sec- ond bull was being offered on the altar which had been built. 29 So they said to one another, “Who has done this thing?” And when they had inquired and asked, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.” 30 Then the men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, because he has torn down the altar of Baal, and because he has cut down the wooden image that was beside it.” 31 But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Would you 1plead for Baal? Would you save him? Let the one who would plead for him be put to death by morning! If he is a god, let him plead for himself, because his altar has been torn down!” 32 Therefore on that day he called him aJerubbaal,1 saying, “Let Baal plead against him, because he has torn down his altar.” 33 Then all athe Midianites and Amalekites, the people of the East, gathered together; and they crossed over and encamped in bthe Valley of Jezreel. 34 But athe Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon; then he bblew the trumpet, and the Abiezrites gathered behind him. 35 And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, who also gathered behind him. He also sent messengers to aAsher, bZebulun, and Naphtali; and they came up to meet them. The Sign of the Fleece 36 So Gideon said to God, “If You will save Israel by my hand as You have said— 37 a“look, I shall put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor; if there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that You will save Israel by my hand, as You have said.” 38 And it was so. When he rose early the next morning and squeezed the fleece together, he wrung the dew out of the fleece, a bowlful of water. 39 Then Gideon said to God, a“Do not be angry with me, but let me speak just once more: Let me test, I pray, just once more with the fleece; let it now be dry only on the fleece, but on all the ground let there be dew.” 40 And God did so that night. It was dry on the fleece only, but there was dew on all the ground. Gideon’s Valiant Three Hundred 7 Then aJerubbaal (that is, Gid- eon) and all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside the well of Harod, so that the camp of the Midianites was on the north side of them by the hill of Moreh in the valley. 2 And the LORD said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midian- ites into their hands, lest Israel aclaim glory for itself against Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ 3 “Now therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, a‘Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead.’ ” And twenty-two thousand of the people returned, and ten thousand remained. 4 But the LORD said to Gideon, “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. Then it will be, that of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ the same shall go with you; and of whomever I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ the same shall not go.” 5 So he brought the people down to the water.

fraid, let him turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead.’ ” And twenty-two thousand of the people returned, and ten thousand remained. 4 But the LORD said to Gideon, “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. Then it will be, that of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ the same shall go with you; and of whomever I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ the same shall not go.” 5 So he brought the people down to the water. And the LORD said to Gideon, “Everyone who laps from the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set apart by himself; likewise everyone who gets down on his knees to drink.” 6 And the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was three hundred men; but all the rest of the people got down on their knees to drink water. 7 Then the LORD said to Gideon, a“By the three hundred men who lapped I will save you, and deliver the Midianites into your hand. Let all the other people go, every man to his 1place.” 8 So the people took provisions and their trumpets in their hands. And he sent away all the rest of Israel, every man to his tent, and retained those three hundred men. Now the camp of Midian was below him in the valley. 9 It happened on the same anight that the LORD said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have delivered it into your hand. 10 “But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant, 11 “and you shall ahear what they say; and afterward 1your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.” Then he went down with

221 JUDGES 8:11 12 aJudg. 6:3, 33; 8:10 bJudg. 6:5 1innumerable 14 aJudg. 6:14, 16 21 aEx. 14:13, 14; 2 Chr. 20:17 b2 Kin. 7:7 22 aJosh. 6:4, 16, 20 bPs. 83:9; Is. 9:4 c1 Sam. 14:20; 2 Chr. 20:23 d1 Kin. 4:12 1Heb. Beth Shittah 23 aJudg. 6:35 24 aJudg. 3:27 bJudg. 3:28 cJohn 1:28 25 aJudg. 8:3 bPs. 83:11; Is. 10:26 cJudg. 8:4 CHAPTER 8 1 aJudg. 12:1; 2 Sam. 19:41 2 aJudg. 6:11 1Few grapes left after the harvest 2The whole harvest 3 aJudg. 7:24, 25 bProv. 15:1 4 aJudg. 7:25 bJudg. 7:6 5 aGen. 33:17; Ps. 60:6 6 a1 Kin. 20:11; Judg. 8:15 b1 Sam. 25:11 1Lit. Is the palm 7 aJudg. 8:16 8 aGen. 32:30, 31; 1 Kin. 12:25 9 a1 Kin. 22:27 bJudg. 8:17 10 aJudg. 7:12 bJudg. 6:5 Purah his servant to the outpost of the armed men who were in the camp. 12 Now the Midianites and Ama- lekites, aall the people of the East, were lying in the valley bas numer- ous as locusts; and their camels were 1without number, as the sand by the seashore in multitude. 13 And when Gideon had come, there was a man telling a dream to his companion. He said, “I have had a dream: To my surprise, a loaf of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian; it came to a tent and struck it so that it fell and over- turned, and the tent collapsed.” 14 Then his companion answered and said, “This is nothing else but the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel! Into his hand aGod has delivered Midian and the whole camp.” 15 And so it was, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, that he wor- shiped. He returned to the camp of Israel, and said, “Arise, for the LORD has delivered the camp of Midian into your hand.” 16 Then he divided the three hun- dred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet into every man’s hand, with empty pitchers, and torches inside the pitchers. 17 And he said to them, “Look at me and do likewise; watch, and when I come to the edge of the camp you shall do as I do: 18 “When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then you also blow the trumpets on every side of the whole camp, and say, ‘The sword of the LORD and of Gideon!’ ” 19 So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outpost of the camp at the begin- ning of the middle watch, just as they had posted the watch; and they blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers that were in their hands. 20 Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitch- ers—they held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands for blowing—and they cried, “The sword of the LORD and of Gideon!” 21 And aevery man stood in his place all around the camp; band the whole army ran and cried out and fled. 22 When the three hundred ablew the trumpets, bthe LORD set cevery man’s sword against his companion throughout the whole camp; and the army fled to 1Beth Acacia, toward Zererah, as far as the border of dAbel Meholah, by Tabbath. 23 And the men of Israel gathered together from aNaphtali, Asher, and all Manasseh, and pursued the Mid- ianites. 24 Then Gideon sent messengers throughout all the amountains of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites, and seize from them the watering places as far as Beth Barah and the Jordan.” Then all the men of Ephraim gath- ered together and bseized the water- ing places as far as cBeth Barah and the Jordan. 25 And they captured atwo princes of the Midianites, bOreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the winepress of Zeeb. They pursued Midian and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the cother side of the Jordan. Gideon Subdues the Midianites 8 Now athe men of Ephraim said to him, “Why have you done this to us by not calling us when you went to fight with the Midianites?” And they reprimanded him sharply. 2 So he said to them, “What have I done now in comparison with you? Is not the 1gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than 2the vintage of aAbiezer? 3 a“God has delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb.

ought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the cother side of the Jordan. Gideon Subdues the Midianites 8 Now athe men of Ephraim said to him, “Why have you done this to us by not calling us when you went to fight with the Midianites?” And they reprimanded him sharply. 2 So he said to them, “What have I done now in comparison with you? Is not the 1gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than 2the vintage of aAbiezer? 3 a“God has delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. And what was I able to do in comparison with you?” Then their banger toward him subsided when he said that. 4 When Gideon came ato the Jor- dan, he and bthe three hundred men who were with him crossed over, exhausted but still in pursuit. 5 Then he said to the men of aSuc- coth, “Please give loaves of bread to the people who follow me, for they are exhausted, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Mid- ian.” 6 And the leaders of Succoth said, a“Are1 the hands of Zebah and Zal- munna now in your hand, that bwe should give bread to your army?” 7 So Gideon said, “For this cause, when the LORD has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, athen I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers!” 8 Then he went up from there ato Penuel and spoke to them in the same way. And the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Suc- coth had answered. 9 So he also spoke to the men of Penuel, saying, “When I acome back in peace, bI will tear down this tower!” 10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were at Karkor, and their armies with them, about fifteen thousand, all who were left of aall the army of the people of the East; for bone hun- dred and twenty thousand men who drew the sword had fallen. 11 Then Gideon went up by the road of those who dwell in tents on

JUDGES 8:12 222 11 aNum. 32:35, 42 bJudg. 18:27; [1 Thess. 5:3] 1Lit. struck 12 aPs. 83:11 15 aJudg. 8:6 16 aJudg. 8:7 1disciplined 17 aJudg. 8:9 b1 Kin. 12:25 18 aJudg. 4:6; Ps. 89:12 21 aPs. 83:11 22 a[Judg. 9:8] bJudg. 3:9; 9:17 23 a1 Sam. 8:7; 10:19; 12:12; Ps. 10:16 24 aGen. 37:25, 28 1Lit. request a request 27 aJudg. 17:5 bJudg. 6:11, 24 c[Ps. 106:39] dDeut. 7:16 28 aJudg. 5:31 29 aJudg. 6:32; 7:1 30 aJudg. 9:2, 5 31 aJudg. 9:1 32 aGen. 25:8; Job 5:26 bJudg. 6:24; 8:27 33 aJudg. 2:19 bJudg. 2:17 cJudg. 9:4, 46 34 aDeut. 4:9; Judg. 3:7; Ps. 78:11, 42; 106:13, 21 35 aJudg. 9:16–18 CHAPTER 9 1 aJudg. 8:31, 35 2 aJudg. 8:30; 9:5, 18 bGen. 29:14 3 aGen. 29:15 4 aJudg. 8:33 bJudg. 11:3; 2 Chr. 13:7; Acts 17:5 5 aJudg. 6:24 bJudg. 8:30; 9:2, 18; 2 Kin. 11:1, 2 the east of aNobah and Jogbehah; and he 1attacked the army while the camp felt bsecure. 12 When Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued them; and he atook the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and routed the whole army. 13 Then Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle, from the Ascent of Heres. 14 And he caught a young man of the men of Succoth and interro- gated him; and he wrote down for him the leaders of Succoth and its elders, seventy-seven men. 15 Then he came to the men of Succoth and said, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you aridiculed me, saying, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your weary men?’ ” 16 aAnd he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he 1taught the men of Succoth. 17 aThen he tore down the tower of bPenuel and killed the men of the city. 18 And he said to Zebah and Zal- munna, “What kind of men were they whom you killed at aTabor?” So they answered, “As you are, so were they; each one resembled the son of a king.” 19 Then he said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As the LORD lives, if you had let them live, I would not kill you.” 20 And he said to Jether his first- born, “Rise, kill them!” But the youth would not draw his sword; for he was afraid, because he was still a youth. 21 So Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Rise yourself, and kill us; for as a man is, so is his strength.” So Gideon arose and akilled Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescent ornaments that were on their camels’ necks. Gideon’s Ephod 22 Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, a“Rule over us, both you and your son, and your grandson also; for you have bdelivered us from the hand of Midian.” 23 But Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you; athe LORD shall rule over you.” 24 Then Gideon said to them, “I would like to 1make a request of you, that each of you would give me the earrings from his plunder.” For they had golden earrings, abecause they were Ishmaelites. 25 So they answered, “We will gladly give them.” And they spread out a garment, and each man threw into it the earrings from his plunder. 26 Now the weight of the gold ear- rings that he requested was one thousand seven hundred shekels of gold, besides the crescent orna- ments, pendants, and purple robes which were on the kings of Midian, and besides the chains that were around their camels’ necks. 27 Then Gideon amade it into an ephod and set it up in his city, bOphrah. And all Israel cplayed the harlot with it there.

will gladly give them.” And they spread out a garment, and each man threw into it the earrings from his plunder. 26 Now the weight of the gold ear- rings that he requested was one thousand seven hundred shekels of gold, besides the crescent orna- ments, pendants, and purple robes which were on the kings of Midian, and besides the chains that were around their camels’ necks. 27 Then Gideon amade it into an ephod and set it up in his city, bOphrah. And all Israel cplayed the harlot with it there. It became da snare to Gideon and to his house. 28 Thus Midian was subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted their heads no more. aAnd the country was quiet for forty years in the days of Gideon. Death of Gideon 29 Then aJerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his own house. 30 Gideon had aseventy sons who were his own offspring, for he had many wives. 31 aAnd his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, whose name he called Abimelech. 32 Now Gideon the son of Joash died aat a good old age, and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father, bin Ophrah of the Abiezrites. 33 So it was, aas soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel again bplayed the harlot with the Baals, cand made Baal-Berith their god. 34 Thus the children of Israel adid not remember the LORD their God, who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side; 35 anor did they show kindness to the house of Jerubbaal (Gideon) in accordance with the good he had done for Israel. Abimelech’s Conspiracy 9 Then Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem, to ahis mother’s brothers, and spoke with them and with all the family of the house of his mother’s father, saying, 2 “Please speak in the hearing of all the men of Shechem: ‘Which is better for you, that all aseventy of the sons of Jerubbaal reign over you, or that one reign over you?’ Remember that I am your own flesh and bbone.” 3 And his mother’s brothers spoke all these words concerning him in the hearing of all the men of Shechem; and their heart was inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, “He is our abrother.” 4 So they gave him seventy shekels of silver from the temple of aBaal-Berith, with which Abimelech hired bworthless and reckless men; and they followed him. 5 Then he went to his father’s house aat Ophrah and bkilled his

223 JUDGES 9:33 7 aDeut. 11:29; 27:12; Josh. 8:33; John 4:20 8 a2 Kin. 14:9 bJudg. 8:22, 23 9 a[John 5:23] 13 aPs. 104:15 15 aIs. 30:2; Dan. 4:12; Hos. 14:7 bNum. 21:28; Judg. 9:20; Ezek. 19:14 c2 Kin. 14:9; Is. 2:13; Ezek. 31:3 16 aJudg. 8:35 1Lit. accord- ing to the doing of his hands 17 aJudg. 7 bJudg. 8:22 18 aJudg. 8:30, 35; 9:2, 5, 6 bJudg. 8:31 19 aIs. 8:6; [Phil. 3:3] 20 aJudg. 9:15, 45, 56, 57 21 aNum. 21:16 23 a1 Kin. 12:15; Is. 19:14 b1 Sam. 16:14; 18:9, 10; 1 Kin. 22:22; 2 Chr. 18:22 cIs. 33:1 24 a1 Kin. 2:32; Esth. 9:25; Matt. 23:35, 36 bNum. 35:33 25 1Lit. liers- in-wait for 27 aJudg. 9:4 1rejoiced 28 a1 Sam. 25:10; 1 Kin. 12:16 bGen. 34:2, 6; Josh. 24:32 29 a2 Sam. 15:4 1Lit. hand 2So with MT, Tg.; DSS they; LXX I 32 1Set up an ambush brothers, the seventy sons of Jerub- baal, on one stone. But Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left, because he hid himself. 6 And all the men of Shechem gathered together, all of Beth Millo, and they went and made Abimelech king beside the terebinth tree at the pillar that was in Shechem. The Parable of the Trees 7 Now when they told Jotham, he went and stood on top of aMount Gerizim, and lifted his voice and cried out. And he said to them: “Listen to me, you men of Shechem, That God may listen to you! 8 “Thea trees once went forth to anoint a king over them. And they said to the olive tree, b‘Reign over us!’ 9 But the olive tree said to them, ‘Should I cease giving my oil, aWith which they honor God and men, And go to sway over trees?’ 10 “Then the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and reign over us!’ 11 But the fig tree said to them, ‘Should I cease my sweetness and my good fruit, And go to sway over trees?’ 12 “Then the trees said to the vine, ‘You come and reign over us!’ 13 But the vine said to them, ‘Should I cease my new wine, aWhich cheers both God and men, And go to sway over trees?’ 14 “Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come and reign over us!’ 15 And the bramble said to the trees, ‘If in truth you anoint me as king over you, Then come and take shelter in my ashade; But if not, blet fire come out of the bramble And devour the ccedars of Lebanon!’ 16 “Now therefore, if you have acted in truth and sincerity in mak- ing Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done to him aas1 he deserves— 17 “for my afather fought for you, risked his life, and bdelivered you out of the hand of Midian; 18 a“but you have risen up against my father’s house this day, and killed his seventy sons on one stone, and made Abimelech, the son of his bfemale servant, king over the men of Shechem, because he is your brother— 19 “if then you have acted in truth and sincerity with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then are- joice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you. 20 “But if not, alet fire come from Abimelech and devour the men of Shechem and Beth Millo; and let fire come from the men of Shechem and from Beth Millo and devour Abimelech!” 21 And Jotham ran away and fled; and he went to aBeer and dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his brother. Downfall of Abimelech 22 After Abimelech had reigned over Israel three years, 23 aGod sent a bspirit of ill will between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem cdealt treacherously with Abimelech, 24 athat the crime done to the sev- enty sons of Jerubbaal might be set- tled and their bblood be laid on Abimelech their brother, who killed them, and on the men of Shechem, who aided him in the killing of his brothers. 25 And the men of Shechem set 1men in ambush against him on the tops of the mountains, and they robbed all who passed by them along that way; and it was told Abimelech. 26 Now Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brothers and went over to Shechem; and the men of Shechem put their confidence in him. 27 So they went out into the fields, and gathered grapes from their vineyards and trod them, and 1made merry.

r, who killed them, and on the men of Shechem, who aided him in the killing of his brothers. 25 And the men of Shechem set 1men in ambush against him on the tops of the mountains, and they robbed all who passed by them along that way; and it was told Abimelech. 26 Now Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brothers and went over to Shechem; and the men of Shechem put their confidence in him. 27 So they went out into the fields, and gathered grapes from their vineyards and trod them, and 1made merry. And they went into athe house of their god, and ate and drank, and cursed Abimelech. 28 Then Gaal the son of Ebed said, a“Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerubbaal, and is not Zebul his officer? Serve the men of bHamor the father of Shechem; but why should we serve him? 29 a“If only this people were under my 1authority! Then I would remove Abimelech.” So 2he said to Abim- elech, “Increase your army and come out!” 30 When Zebul, the ruler of the city, heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was aroused. 31 And he sent messengers to Abimelech secretly, saying, “Take note! Gaal the son of Ebed and his brothers have come to Shechem; and here they are, fortifying the city against you. 32 “Now therefore, get up by night, you and the people who are with you, and 1lie in wait in the field. 33 “And it shall be, as soon as the

JUDGES 9:34 224 33 1Lit. as your hand can find 34 1Set up an ambush 37 1Heb. Meo- nenim 38 aJudg. 9:28, 29 41 1exiled 43 1Lit. struck 45 aJudg. 9:20 bDeut. 29:23; 2 Kin. 3:25 46 aJudg. 8:33 1fortified room 48 aPs. 68:14 49 1fortified room 50 1besieged 53 a2 Sam. 11:21 54 a1 Sam. 31:4 55 1home 56 aJudg. 9:24; Job 31:3; Prov. 5:22 57 aJudg. 9:20 CHAPTER 10 1 aJudg. 2:16 4 aJudg. 5:10; 12:14 bDeut. 3:14 1Lit. Towns of Jair, Num. 32:41; Deut. 3:14 sun is up in the morning, that you shall rise early and rush upon the city; and when he and the people who are with him come out against you, you may then do to them 1as you find opportunity.” 34 So Abimelech and all the people who were with him rose by night, and 1lay in wait against Shechem in four companies. 35 When Gaal the son of Ebed went out and stood in the entrance to the city gate, Abimelech and the people who were with him rose from lying in wait. 36 And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, “Look, people are coming down from the tops of the mountains!” But Zebul said to him, “You see the shadows of the moun- tains as if they were men.” 37 So Gaal spoke again and said, “See, people are coming down from the center of the land, and another company is coming from the 1Divin- ers’ Terebinth Tree.” 38 Then Zebul said to him, “Where indeed is your mouth now, with which you asaid, ‘Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him?’ Are not these the people whom you despised? Go out, if you will, and fight with them now.” 39 So Gaal went out, leading the men of Shechem, and fought with Abimelech. 40 And Abimelech chased him, and he fled from him; and many fell wounded, to the very entrance of the gate. 41 Then Abimelech dwelt at Arumah, and Zebul 1drove out Gaal and his brothers, so that they would not dwell in Shechem. 42 And it came about on the next day that the people went out into the field, and they told Abimelech. 43 So he took his people, divided them into three companies, and lay in wait in the field. And he looked, and there were the people, coming out of the city; and he rose against them and 1attacked them. 44 Then Abimelech and the com- pany that was with him rushed for- ward and stood at the entrance of the gate of the city; and the other two companies rushed upon all who were in the fields and killed them. 45 So Abimelech fought against the city all that day; ahe took the city and killed the people who were in it; and he bdemolished the city and sowed it with salt. 46 Now when all the men of the tower of Shechem had heard that, they entered the 1stronghold of the temple aof the god Berith. 47 And it was told Abimelech that all the men of the tower of Shechem were gathered together. 48 Then Abimelech went up to Mount aZalmon, he and all the peo- ple who were with him.

in the fields and killed them. 45 So Abimelech fought against the city all that day; ahe took the city and killed the people who were in it; and he bdemolished the city and sowed it with salt. 46 Now when all the men of the tower of Shechem had heard that, they entered the 1stronghold of the temple aof the god Berith. 47 And it was told Abimelech that all the men of the tower of Shechem were gathered together. 48 Then Abimelech went up to Mount aZalmon, he and all the peo- ple who were with him. And Abim- elech took an ax in his hand and cut down a bough from the trees, and took it and laid it on his shoulder; then he said to the people who were with him, “What you have seen me do, make haste and do as I have done.” 49 So each of the people likewise cut down his own bough and fol- lowed Abimelech, put them against the 1stronghold, and set the strong- hold on fire above them, so that all the people of the tower of Shechem died, about a thousand men and women. 50 Then Abimelech went to The- bez, and he 1encamped against The- bez and took it. 51 But there was a strong tower in the city, and all the men and women—all the people of the city— fled there and shut themselves in; then they went up to the top of the tower. 52 So Abimelech came as far as the tower and fought against it; and he drew near the door of the tower to burn it with fire. 53 But a certain woman adropped an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head and crushed his skull. 54 Then ahe called quickly to the young man, his armorbearer, and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, lest men say of me, ‘A woman killed him.’ ” So his young man thrust him through, and he died. 55 And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they departed, every man to his 1place. 56 aThus God repaid the wicked- ness of Abimelech, which he had done to his father by killing his sev- enty brothers. 57 And all the evil of the men of Shechem God returned on their own heads, and on them came athe curse of Jotham the son of Jerub- baal. Tola 10 After Abimelech there aarose to save Israel Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar; and he dwelt in Shamir in the mountains of Ephraim. 2 He judged Israel twenty-three years; and he died and was buried in Shamir. Jair 3 After him arose Jair, a Gileadite; and he judged Israel twenty-two years. 4 Now he had thirty sons who arode on thirty donkeys; they also had thirty towns, bwhich are called 1“Havoth Jair” to this day, which are in the land of Gilead. 5 And Jair died and was buried in Camon.

225 JUDGES 11:16 6 aJudg. 2:11; 3:7; 6:1; 13:1 bJudg. 2:13 cJudg. 2:12 d1 Kin. 11:33; Ps. 106:36 7 aJudg. 2:14; 4:2; 1 Sam. 12:9 bJudg. 13:1 cJudg. 3:13 8 aNum. 32:33 1Lit. shat- tered 10 aJudg. 6:6; 1 Sam. 12:10 bDeut. 1:41 11 aEx. 14:30 bNum. 21:21, 24, 25 cJudg. 3:12, 13 dJudg. 3:31 12 aJudg. 1:31; 5:19 bJudg. 6:3; 7:12 cPs. 106:42, 43 1LXX mss. Midianites 13 a[Deut. 32:15; Judg. 2:12; Jer. 2:13] 14 aDeut. 32:37, 38 15 a1 Sam. 3:18; 2 Sam. 15:26 16 a2 Chr. 7:14; Jer. 18:7, 8 bPs. 106:44, 45; Is. 63:9 17 aGen. 31:49; Judg. 11:11, 29 18 aJudg. 11:8, 11 CHAPTER 11 1 aHeb. 11:32 bJudg. 6:12; 2 Kin. 5:1 2 aGen. 21:10; Deut. 23:2 3 a2 Sam. 10:6, 8 b1 Sam. 22:2 4 aJudg. 10:9, 17 7 aGen. 26:27 1trouble 8 aJudg. 10:18 b[Luke 17:4] cJudg. 10:18 1returned 10 aGen. 31:49, 50; Jer. 29:23; 42:5 11 aJudg. 11:8 bJudg. 10:17; 20:1; 1 Sam. 10:17 12 a2 Sam. 16:10 13 aNum. 21:24–26 bJosh. 13:9 cGen. 32:22 15 aDeut. 2:9, 19 Israel Oppressed Again 6 Then athe children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, and bserved the Baals and the Ashtoreths, cthe gods of Syria, the gods of dSidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the people of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; and they forsook the LORD and did not serve Him. 7 So the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel; and He asold them into the hands of the bPhil- istines and into the hands of the people of cAmmon. 8 From that year they 1harassed and oppressed the children of Israel for eighteen years—all the children of Israel who were on the other side of the Jordan in the aland of the Amorites, in Gilead. 9 Moreover the people of Ammon crossed over the Jordan to fight against Judah also, against Ben- jamin, and against the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was severely distressed. 10 aAnd the children of Israel cried out to the LORD, saying, “We have bsinned against You, because we have both forsaken our God and served the Baals!” 11 So the LORD said to the children of Israel, “Did I not deliver you afrom the Egyptians and bfrom the Amorites and cfrom the people of Ammon and dfrom the Philistines? 12 “Also athe Sidonians band Amalekites and 1Maonites cop- pressed you; and you cried out to Me, and I delivered you from their hand. 13 a“Yet you have forsaken Me and served other gods. Therefore I will deliver you no more. 14 “Go and acry out to the gods which you have chosen; let them deliver you in your time of distress.” 15 And the children of Israel said to the LORD, “We have sinned! aDo to us whatever seems best to You; only deliver us this day, we pray.” 16 aSo they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the LORD. And bHis soul could no longer endure the misery of Israel. 17 Then the people of Ammon gathered together and encamped in Gilead. And the children of Israel assembled together and encamped in aMizpah. 18 And the people, the leaders of Gilead, said to one another, “Who is the man who will begin the fight against the people of Ammon? He shall abe head over all the inhabi- tants of Gilead.” Jephthah 11 Now aJephthah the Gileadite was ba mighty man of valor, but he was the son of a harlot; and Gilead begot Jephthah. 2 Gilead’s wife bore sons; and when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out, and said to him, “You shall have ano inheritance in our father’s house, for you are the son of another woman.” 3 Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and dwelt in the land of aTob; and bworthless men banded together with Jephthah and went out raiding with him. 4 It came to pass after a time that the apeople of Ammon made war against Israel. 5 And so it was, when the people of Ammon made war against Israel, that the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. 6 Then they said to Jephthah, “Come and be our commander, that we may fight against the people of Ammon.” 7 So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, a“Did you not hate me, and expel me from my father’s house?

rthless men banded together with Jephthah and went out raiding with him. 4 It came to pass after a time that the apeople of Ammon made war against Israel. 5 And so it was, when the people of Ammon made war against Israel, that the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. 6 Then they said to Jephthah, “Come and be our commander, that we may fight against the people of Ammon.” 7 So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, a“Did you not hate me, and expel me from my father’s house? Why have you come to me now when you are in 1distress?” 8 aAnd the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “That is why we have bturned1 again to you now, that you may go with us and fight against the people of Ammon, and be cour head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.” 9 So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “If you take me back home to fight against the people of Ammon, and the LORD delivers them to me, shall I be your head?” 10 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, a“The LORD will be a wit- ness between us, if we do not do according to your words.” 11 Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him ahead and commander over them; and Jephthah spoke all his words bbefore the LORD in Miz- pah. 12 Now Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the people of Ammon, saying, a“What do you have against me, that you have come to fight against me in my land?” 13 And the king of the people of Ammon answered the messengers of Jephthah, a“Because Israel took away my land when they came up out of Egypt, from bthe Arnon as far as cthe Jabbok, and to the Jordan. Now therefore, restore those lands peaceably.” 14 So Jephthah again sent messen- gers to the king of the people of Ammon, 15 and said to him, “Thus says Jephthah: a‘Israel did not take away the land of Moab, nor the land of the people of Ammon; 16 ‘for when Israel came up from Egypt, they walked through the

JUDGES 11:17 226 16 aNum. 13:26; 20:1 17 aNum. 20:14 bNum. 20:14–21 cJosh. 24:9 dNum. 20:1 18 aDeut. 2:9, 18, 19 bNum. 21:4 19 aNum. 21:21; Deut. 2:26–36 bNum. 21:22; Deut. 2:27 20 aNum. 21:23; Deut. 2:27 21 aJosh. 24:8 bNum. 21:24, 25 1Lit. struck 22 aDeut. 2:36, 37 23 1driven out 24 aNum. 21:29; 1 Kin. 11:7; Jer. 48:7 b[Deut. 9:4, 5; Josh. 3:10] 25 aNum. 22:2; Josh. 24:9; Mic. 6:5 26 aNum. 21:25, 26 bDeut. 2:36 27 aGen. 18:25 bGen. 16:5; 31:53; [1 Sam. 24:12, 15] 29 aJudg. 3:10 30 aGen. 28:20; Num. 30:2; 1 Sam. 1:11 31 aLev. 27:2, 3, 28; 1 Sam. 1:11 bPs. 66:13 33 aEzek. 27:17 1Lit. struck 2Lit. Plain of Vine- yards 34 aJudg. 10:17; 11:11 bEx. 15:20; 1 Sam. 18:6; Ps. 68:25; Jer. 31:4 35 aGen. 37:29, 34 bEccl. 5:2, 4, 5 cNum. 30:2 1Lit. opened my mouth 2Lit. take it back 36 aNum. 30:2 b2 Sam. 18:19, 31 37 1lament 2companions 39 aJudg. 11:31 1Remained a virgin 40 1commem- orate CHAPTER 12 1 aJudg. 8:1 1were sum- moned wilderness as far as the Red Sea and acame to Kadesh. 17 ‘Then aIsrael sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, “Please let me pass through your land.” bBut the king of Edom would not heed. And in like manner they sent to the cking of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel dremained in Kadesh. 18 ‘And they awent along through the wilderness and bbypassed the land of Edom and the land of Moab, came to the east side of the land of Moab, and encamped on the other side of the Arnon. But they did not enter the border of Moab, for the Arnon was the border of Moab. 19 ‘Then aIsrael sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, king of Heshbon; and Israel said to him, “Please blet us pass through your land into our place.” 20 a‘But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory. So Sihon gathered all his people together, encamped in Jahaz, and fought against Israel. 21 ‘And the LORD God of Israel ade- livered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they bdefeated1 them. Thus Israel gained possession of all the land of the Amorites, who inhabited that country. 22 ‘They took possession of aall the territory of the Amorites, from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan. 23 ‘And now the LORD God of Israel has 1dispossessed the Amor- ites from before His people Israel; should you then possess it? 24 ‘Will you not possess whatever aChemosh your god gives you to possess? So whatever bthe LORD our God takes possession of before us, we will possess. 25 ‘And now, are you any better than aBalak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever strive against Israel? Did he ever fight against them? 26 ‘While Israel dwelt in aHeshbon and its villages, in bAroer and its vil- lages, and in all the cities along the banks of the Arnon, for three hun- dred years, why did you not recover them within that time? 27 ‘Therefore I have not sinned against you, but you wronged me by fighting against me. May the LORD, athe Judge, brender judgment this day between the children of Israel and the people of Ammon.’ ” 28 However, the king of the people of Ammon did not heed the words which Jephthah sent him. Jephthah’s Vow and Victory 29 Then athe Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh, and passed through Mizpah of Gilead; and from Mizpah of Gilead he ad- vanced toward the people of Ammon. 30 And Jephthah amade a vow to the LORD, and said, “If You will indeed deliver the people of Ammon into my hands, 31 “then it will be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the people of Ammon, ashall surely be the LORD’s, band I will offer it up as a burnt offering.” 32 So Jephthah advanced toward the people of Ammon to fight against them, and the LORD deliv- ered them into his hands. 33 And he 1defeated them from Aroer as far as aMinnith—twenty cities—and to 2Abel Keramim, with a very great slaughter.

will indeed deliver the people of Ammon into my hands, 31 “then it will be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the people of Ammon, ashall surely be the LORD’s, band I will offer it up as a burnt offering.” 32 So Jephthah advanced toward the people of Ammon to fight against them, and the LORD deliv- ered them into his hands. 33 And he 1defeated them from Aroer as far as aMinnith—twenty cities—and to 2Abel Keramim, with a very great slaughter. Thus the peo- ple of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel. Jephthah’s Daughter 34 When Jephthah came to his house at aMizpah, there was bhis daughter, coming out to meet him with timbrels and dancing; and she was his only child. Besides her he had neither son nor daughter. 35 And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he atore his clothes, and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low! You are among those who trouble me! For I bhave 1given my word to the LORD, and cI cannot 2go back on it.” 36 So she said to him, “My father, if you have given your word to the LORD, ado to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, because bthe LORD has avenged you of your enemies, the people of Ammon.” 37 Then she said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me: let me alone for two months, that I may go and wander on the mountains and 1bewail my virginity, my 2friends and I.” 38 So he said, “Go.” And he sent her away for two months; and she went with her friends, and bewailed her virginity on the mountains. 39 And it was so at the end of two months that she returned to her father, and he acarried out his vow with her which he had vowed. She 1knew no man. And it became a cus- tom in Israel 40 that the daughters of Israel went four days each year to 1lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite. Jephthah’s Conflict with Ephraim 12 Then athe men of Ephraim 1gathered together, crossed over toward Zaphon, and said to Jephthah, “Why did you cross over to fight against the people of Ammon, and did not call us to go with you? We will burn your house down on you with fire!”

227 JUDGES 13:16 3 a1 Sam. 19:5; 28:21; Job 13:14 4 a1 Sam. 25:10 5 aJosh. 22:11 6 aPs. 69:2, 15 1Lit. a flowing stream; used as a test of dialect 2Lit. speak so 14 aJudg. 5:10; 10:4 15 aJudg. 3:13, 27; 5:14 CHAPTER 13 1 aJudg. 2:11 bJudg. 10:7; 1 Sam. 12:9 2 aJosh. 19:41; Judg. 16:31 3 aJudg. 6:12 4 aNum. 6:2, 3, 20; Judg. 13:4; Luke 1:15 5 aNum. 6:5; 1 Sam. 1:11 bNum. 6:2 c1 Sam. 7:13; 2 Sam. 8:1; 1 Chr. 18:1 6 aGen. 32:24–30 bMatt. 28:3; Luke 9:29; Acts 6:15 cJudg. 13:17, 18 1appear- ance 14 aNum. 6:3, 4; Judg. 13:4 15 aGen. 18:5; Judg. 6:18 2 And Jephthah said to them, “My people and I were in a great struggle with the people of Ammon; and when I called you, you did not deliv- er me out of their hands. 3 “So when I saw that you would not deliver me, I atook my life in my hands and crossed over against the people of Ammon; and the LORD delivered them into my hand. Why then have you come up to me this day to fight against me?” 4 Now Jephthah gathered to- gether all the men of Gilead and fought against Ephraim. And the men of Gilead defeated Ephraim, because they said, “You Gileadites aare fugitives of Ephraim among the Ephraimites and among the Manas- sites.” 5 The Gileadites seized the afords of the Jordan before the Ephraimites arrived. And when any Ephraimite who escaped said, “Let me cross over,” the men of Gilead would say to him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he said, “No,” 6 then they would say to him, “Then say, a‘Shibboleth’!”1 And he would say, “Sibboleth,” for he could not 2pronounce it right. Then they would take him and kill him at the fords of the Jordan. There fell at that time forty-two thousand Ephraimites. 7 And Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried in among the cities of Gilead. Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon 8 After him, Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel. 9 He had thirty sons. And he gave away thirty daughters in marriage, and brought in thirty daughters from elsewhere for his sons. He judged Israel seven years. 10 Then Ibzan died and was buried at Bethlehem. 11 After him, Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel. He judged Israel ten years. 12 And Elon the Zebulunite died and was buried at Aijalon in the country of Zebulun. 13 After him, Abdon the son of Hil- lel the Pirathonite judged Israel. 14 He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who arode on seventy young donkeys. He judged Israel eight years. 15 Then Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, ain the mountains of the Amalekites. The Birth of Samson 13 Again the children of Israel adid evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD delivered them binto the hand of the Philistines for forty years. 2 Now there was a certain man from aZorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and had no children. 3 And the aAngel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, “Indeed now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. 4 “Now therefore, please be care- ful anot to drink wine or similar drink, and not to eat anything unclean. 5 “For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son.

nd of the Philistines for forty years. 2 Now there was a certain man from aZorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and had no children. 3 And the aAngel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, “Indeed now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. 4 “Now therefore, please be care- ful anot to drink wine or similar drink, and not to eat anything unclean. 5 “For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no arazor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be ba Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall cbegin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.” 6 So the woman came and told her husband, saying, a“A Man of God came to me, and His bcountenance1 was like the countenance of the Angel of God, very awesome; but I cdid not ask Him where He was from, and He did not tell me His name. 7 “And He said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. Now drink no wine or similar drink, nor eat anything unclean, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’ ” 8 Then Manoah prayed to the LORD, and said, “O my Lord, please let the Man of God whom You sent come to us again and teach us what we shall do for the child who will be born.” 9 And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the Angel of God came to the woman again as she was sitting in the field; but Manoah her husband was not with her. 10 Then the woman ran in haste and told her husband, and said to him, “Look, the Man who came to me the other day has just now appeared to me!” 11 So Manoah arose and followed his wife. When he came to the Man, he said to Him, “Are You the Man who spoke to this woman?” And He said, “I am.” 12 Manoah said, “Now let Your words come to pass! What will be the boy’s rule of life, and his work?” 13 So the Angel of the LORD said to Manoah, “Of all that I said to the woman let her be careful. 14 “She may not eat anything that comes from the vine, anor may she drink wine or similar drink, nor eat anything unclean. All that I com- manded her let her observe.” 15 Then Manoah said to the Angel of the LORD, “Please alet us detain You, and we will prepare a young goat for You.” 16 And the Angel of the LORD said to Manoah, “Though you detain Me, I will not eat your food. But if you offer a burnt offering, you must offer

JUDGES 13:17 228 18 aGen. 32:29 19 aJudg. 6:19–21 20 aLev. 9:24; 1 Chr. 21:16; Ezek. 1:28; Matt. 17:6 21 aJudg. 6:22 22 aGen. 32:30; Ex. 33:20; Deut. 5:26; Judg. 6:22, 23 24 aHeb. 11:32 b1 Sam. 3:19; Luke 1:80 25 aJudg. 3:10; 1 Sam. 11:6; Matt. 4:1 bJosh. 15:33; Judg. 18:11 cJudg. 16:31 1Lit. Camp of Dan, Judg. 18:12 CHAPTER 14 1 aGen. 38:13; Josh. 15:10, 57 bGen. 34:2 2 aGen. 21:21 3 aGen. 24:3, 4 bGen. 34:14; Ex. 34:16; Deut. 7:3 1Lit. she is right in my eyes 4 aJosh. 11:20; 1 Kin. 12:15; 2 Kin. 6:33; 2 Chr. 10:15 bDeut. 28:48; Judg. 13:1 6 aJudg. 3:10 9 aLev. 11:27 12 a1 Kin. 10:1; Ezek. 17:2 bGen. 29:27 cGen. 45:22; 2 Kin. 5:22 13 aEzek. 17:2 15 aJudg. 16:5 bJudg. 15:6 1So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX, Syr. fourth 16 aJudg. 16:15 it to the LORD.” (For Manoah did not know He was the Angel of the LORD.) 17 Then Manoah said to the Angel of the LORD, “What is Your name, that when Your words come to pass we may honor You?” 18 And the Angel of the LORD said to him, a“Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?” 19 So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, aand offered it upon the rock to the LORD. And He did a wondrous thing while Manoah and his wife looked on— 20 it happened as the flame went up toward heaven from the altar—the Angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar! When Manoah and his wife saw this, they afell on their faces to the ground. 21 When the Angel of the LORD appeared no more to Manoah and his wife, athen Manoah knew that He was the Angel of the LORD. 22 And Manoah said to his wife, a“We shall surely die, because we have seen God!” 23 But his wife said to him, “If the LORD had desired to kill us, He would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering from our hands, nor would He have shown us all these things, nor would He have told us such things as these at this time.” 24 So the woman bore a son and called his name aSamson; and bthe child grew, and the LORD blessed him. 25 aAnd the Spirit of the LORD began to move upon him at 1Mahaneh Dan bbetween Zorah and cEshtaol. Samson’s Philistine Wife 14 Now Samson went down ato Timnah, and bsaw a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines. 2 So he went up and told his father and mother, saying, “I have seen a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines; now therefore, aget her for me as a wife.” 3 Then his father and mother said to him, “Is there no woman among the daughters of ayour brethren, or among all my people, that you must go and get a wife from the buncir- cumcised Philistines?” And Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for 1she pleases me well.” 4 But his father and mother did not know that it was aof the LORD— that He was seeking an occasion to move against the Philistines. For at that time bthe Philistines had domin- ion over Israel. 5 So Samson went down to Tim- nah with his father and mother, and came to the vineyards of Timnah. Now to his surprise, a young lion came roaring against him. 6 And athe Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he tore the lion apart as one would have torn apart a young goat, though he had nothing in his hand. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done. 7 Then he went down and talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson well. 8 After some time, when he returned to get her, he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion. And behold, a swarm of bees and honey were in the carcass of the lion. 9 He took some of it in his hands and went along, eating. When he came to his father and mother, he gave some to them, and they also ate. But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey out of the acar- cass of the lion. 10 So his father went down to the woman. And Samson gave a feast there, for young men used to do so. 11 And it happened, when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him. 12 Then Samson said to them, “Let me apose a riddle to you.

e carcass of the lion. 9 He took some of it in his hands and went along, eating. When he came to his father and mother, he gave some to them, and they also ate. But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey out of the acar- cass of the lion. 10 So his father went down to the woman. And Samson gave a feast there, for young men used to do so. 11 And it happened, when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him. 12 Then Samson said to them, “Let me apose a riddle to you. If you can correctly solve and explain it to me bwithin the seven days of the feast, then I will give you thirty linen gar- ments and thirty cchanges of cloth- ing. 13 “But if you cannot explain it to me, then you shall give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothing.” And they said to him, a“Pose your riddle, that we may hear it.” 14 So he said to them: “Out of the eater came something to eat, And out of the strong came something sweet.” Now for three days they could not explain the riddle. 15 But it came to pass on the 1sev- enth day that they said to Samson’s wife, a“Entice your husband, that he may explain the riddle to us, bor else we will burn you and your father’s house with fire. Have you invited us in order to take what is ours? Is that not so?” 16 Then Samson’s wife wept on him, and said, a“You only hate me! You do not love me! You have posed a riddle to the sons of my people, but you have not explained it to me.” And he said to her, “Look, I have not ex- plained it to my father or my mother; so should I explain it to you?” 17 Now she had wept on him the seven days while their feast lasted. And it happened on the seventh day that he told her, because she pressed him so much. Then she explained the riddle to the sons of her people. 18 So the men of the city said to him

229 JUDGES 16:3 19 aJudg. 3:10; 13:25 20 aJudg. 15:2 bJohn 3:29 CHAPTER 15 1 aGen. 38:17 2 aJudg. 14:20 6 aJudg. 14:15 8 a2 Chr. 11:6 9 aJudg. 15:19 10 1Lit. bind 11 aLev. 26:25; Deut. 28:43; Judg. 13:1; 14:4; Ps. 106:40–42 13 aJudg. 16:11, 12 14 aJudg. 3:10; 14:6 1Lit. were melted 15 aLev. 26:8; Josh. 23:10; Judg. 3:31 17 1Lit. Jaw- bone Height 18 aPs. 3:7 19 aGen. 45:27; Is. 40:29 1Lit. Jawbone, Judg. 15:14 1Lit. Spring of the Caller 20 aJudg. 10:2; 12:7–14 bJudg. 16:31 cJudg. 13:1 CHAPTER 16 1 aJosh. 15:47 2 a1 Sam. 23:26; Ps. 118:10–12 on the seventh day before the sun went down: “What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than a lion?” And he said to them: “If you had not plowed with my heifer, You would not have solved my riddle!” 19 Then athe Spirit of the LORD came upon him mightily, and he went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty of their men, took their apparel, and gave the changes of clothing to those who had explained the riddle. So his anger was aroused, and he went back up to his father’s house. 20 And Samson’s wife awas given to his companion, who had been bhis best man. Samson Defeats the Philistines 15 After a while, in the time of wheat harvest, it happened that Samson visited his wife with a ayoung goat. And he said, “Let me go in to my wife, into her room.” But her father would not permit him to go in. 2 Her father said, “I really thought that you thoroughly ahated her; therefore I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sis- ter better than she? Please, take her instead.” 3 And Samson said to them, “This time I shall be blameless regarding the Philistines if I harm them!” 4 Then Samson went and caught three hundred foxes; and he took torches, turned the foxes tail to tail, and put a torch between each pair of tails. 5 When he had set the torches on fire, he let the foxes go into the standing grain of the Philistines, and burned up both the shocks and the standing grain, as well as the vineyards and olive groves. 6 Then the Philistines said, “Who has done this?” And they answered, “Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken his wife and given her to his compan- ion.” aSo the Philistines came up and burned her and her father with fire. 7 Samson said to them, “Since you would do a thing like this, I will surely take revenge on you, and after that I will cease.” 8 So he attacked them hip and thigh with a great slaughter; then he went down and dwelt in the cleft of the rock of aEtam. 9 Now the Philistines went up, encamped in Judah, and deployed themselves aagainst Lehi. 10 And the men of Judah said, “Why have you come up against us?” So they answered, “We have come up to 1arrest Samson, to do to him as he has done to us.” 11 Then three thousand men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and said to Samson, “Do you not know that the Philistines arule over us? What is this you have done to us?” And he said to them, “As they did to me, so I have done to them.” 12 But they said to him, “We have come down to arrest you, that we may deliver you into the hand of the Philistines.” Then Samson said to them, “Swear to me that you will not kill me yourselves.” 13 So they spoke to him, saying, “No, but we will tie you securely and deliver you into their hand; but we will surely not kill you.” And they bound him with two anew ropes and brought him up from the rock. 14 When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting against him.

me, so I have done to them.” 12 But they said to him, “We have come down to arrest you, that we may deliver you into the hand of the Philistines.” Then Samson said to them, “Swear to me that you will not kill me yourselves.” 13 So they spoke to him, saying, “No, but we will tie you securely and deliver you into their hand; but we will surely not kill you.” And they bound him with two anew ropes and brought him up from the rock. 14 When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting against him. Then athe Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him; and the ropes that were on his arms became like flax that is burned with fire, and his bonds 1broke loose from his hands. 15 He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand and took it, and akilled a thousand men with it. 16 Then Samson said: “With the jawbone of a donkey, Heaps upon heaps, With the jawbone of a donkey I have slain a thousand men!” 17 And so it was, when he had fin- ished speaking, that he threw the jawbone from his hand, and called that place 1Ramath Lehi. 18 Then he became very thirsty; so he cried out to the LORD and said, a“You have given this great deliver- ance by the hand of Your servant; and now shall I die of thirst and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?” 19 So God split the hollow place that is in 1Lehi, and water came out, and he drank; and ahis spirit returned, and he revived. Therefore he called its name 2En Hakkore, which is in Lehi to this day. 20 And ahe judged Israel btwenty years cin the days of the Philistines. Samson and Delilah 16 Now Samson went to aGaza and saw a harlot there, and went in to her. 2 When the Gazites were told, “Samson has come here!” they asur- rounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the gate of the city. They were quiet all night, say- ing, “In the morning, when it is day- light, we will kill him.” 3 And Samson lay low till

JUDGES 16:4 230 5 aJosh. 13:3 bJudg. 14:15 11 aJudg. 15:13 1Lit. with which work has never been done 15 aJudg. 14:16 16 1Lit. impa- tient to the point of 17 a[Mic. 7:5] bNum. 6:5; Judg. 13:5 19 aProv. 7:26, 27 1So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX he began to be weak, 20 aNum. 14:9, 42, 43; [Josh. 7:12]; 1 Sam. 16:14; 18:12; 28:15, 16; 2 Chr. 15:2 21 a2 Kin. 25:7 1Lit. bored out 23 a1 Sam. 5:2 24 aDan. 5:4 25 aJudg. 9:27 midnight; then he arose at midnight, took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and the two gateposts, pulled them up, bar and all, put them on his shoulders, and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron. 4 Afterward it happened that he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. 5 And the alords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, b“Entice him, and find out where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and every one of us will give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.” 6 So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength lies, and with what you may be bound to afflict you.” 7 And Samson said to her, “If they bind me with seven fresh bow- strings, not yet dried, then I shall become weak, and be like any other man.” 8 So the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh bow- strings, not yet dried, and she bound him with them. 9 Now men were lying in wait, staying with her in the room. And she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he broke the bow- strings as a strand of yarn breaks when it touches fire. So the secret of his strength was not known. 10 Then Delilah said to Samson, “Look, you have mocked me and told me lies. Now, please tell me what you may be bound with.” 11 So he said to her, “If they bind me securely with anew ropes 1that have never been used, then I shall become weak, and be like any other man.” 12 Therefore Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them, and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And men were lying in wait, staying in the room. But he broke them off his arms like a thread. 13 Delilah said to Samson, “Until now you have mocked me and told me lies. Tell me what you may be bound with.” And he said to her, “If you weave the seven locks of my head into the web of the loom”— 14 So she wove it tightly with the batten of the loom, and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Sam- son!” But he awoke from his sleep, and pulled out the batten and the web from the loom. 15 Then she said to him, a“How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and have not told me where your great strength lies.” 16 And it came to pass, when she pestered him daily with her words and pressed him, so that his soul was 1vexed to death, 17 that he atold her all his heart, and said to her, b“No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.” 18 When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up once more, for he has told me all his heart.” So the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hand. 19 aThen she lulled him to sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then 1she began to tor- ment him, and his strength left him. 20 And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” So he awoke from his sleep, and said, “I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!” But he did not know that the LORD ahad departed from him. 21 Then the Philistines took him and 1put out his aeyes, and brought him down to Gaza.

in their hand. 19 aThen she lulled him to sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then 1she began to tor- ment him, and his strength left him. 20 And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” So he awoke from his sleep, and said, “I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!” But he did not know that the LORD ahad departed from him. 21 Then the Philistines took him and 1put out his aeyes, and brought him down to Gaza. They bound him with bronze fetters, and he became a grinder in the prison. 22 However, the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaven. Samson Dies with the Philistines 23 Now the lords of the Philistines gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to aDagon their god, and to rejoice. And they said: “Our god has delivered into our hands Samson our enemy!” 24 When the people saw him, they apraised their god; for they said: “Our god has delivered into our hands our enemy, The destroyer of our land, And the one who multiplied our dead.” 25 So it happened, when their hearts were amerry, that they said, “Call for Samson, that he may per- form for us.” So they called for Sam- son from the prison, and he per- formed for them. And they stationed him between the pillars. 26 Then Samson said to the lad who held him by the hand, “Let me feel the pillars which support the temple, so that I can lean on them.” 27 Now the temple was full of men and women. All the lords of the Philistines were there—about three

231 JUDGES 18:9 27 aDeut. 22:8 28 aJer. 15:15 31 aJudg. 13:25 bJudg. 15:20 CHAPTER 17 1 aJudg. 18:2 2 aLev. 5:1 bGen. 14:19 3 aEx. 20:4, 23; 34:17; Lev. 19:4 4 aIs. 46:6 5 aJudg. 18:24 bJudg. 8:27; 18:14 cGen. 31:19, 30; Hos. 3:4 1Heb. teraphim 6 aJudg. 18:1; 19:1 bDeut. 12:8; Judg. 21:25 7 aJosh. 19:15; Judg. 19:1; Ruth 1:1, 2; Mic. 5:2; Matt. 2:1, 5, 6 bDeut. 18:6 10 aJudg. 18:19 bGen. 45:8; Job 29:16 12 aJudg. 17:5 bJudg. 18:30 1Lit. filled the hand of 13 aJudg. 18:4 CHAPTER 18 1 aJudg. 17:6; 19:1; 21:25 bJosh. 19:40–48 2 aJudg. 13:25 bNum. 13:17; Josh. 2:1 cJudg. 17:1 4 aJudg. 17:10, 12 5 a1 Kin. 22:5; [Is. 30:1]; Hos. 4:12 bJudg. 1:1; 17:5; 18:14 6 a1 Kin. 22:6 1Lit. The LORD is before the way in which you go 7 aJosh. 19:47 bJudg. 18:27–29 cJudg. 10:12 1So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX with Syria 8 aJudg. 18:2 9 aNum. 13:30; Josh. 2:23, 24 b1 Kin. 22:3 thousand men and women on the aroof watching while Samson per- formed. 28 Then Samson called to the LORD, saying, “O Lord GOD, are- member me, I pray! Strengthen me, I pray, just this once, O God, that I may with one blow take vengeance on the Philistines for my two eyes!” 29 And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars which supported the temple, and he braced himself against them, one on his right and the other on his left. 30 Then Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” And he pushed with all his might, and the temple fell on the lords and all the people who were in it. So the dead that he killed at his death were more than he had killed in his life. 31 And his brothers and all his father’s household came down and took him, and brought him up and aburied him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father Manoah. He had judged Israel btwenty years. Micah’s Idolatry 17 Now there was a man from the mountains of Ephraim, whose name was aMicah. 2 And he said to his mother, “The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you, and on which you aput a curse, even saying it in my ears—here is the silver with me; I took it.” And his mother said, b“May you be blessed by the LORD, my son!” 3 So when he had returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, “I had wholly dedicated the silver from my hand to the LORD for my son, to amake a carved image and a molded image; now therefore, I will return it to you.” 4 Thus he returned the silver to his mother. Then his mother atook two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to the silversmith, and he made it into a carved image and a molded image; and they were in the house of Micah. 5 The man Micah had a ashrine, and made an bephod and chouse- hold1 idols; and he consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest. 6 aIn those days there was no king in Israel; beveryone did what was right in his own eyes. 7 Now there was a young man from aBethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah; he was a Levite, and bwas staying there. 8 The man departed from the city of Bethlehem in Judah to stay wher- ever he could find a place. Then he came to the mountains of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, as he jour- neyed. 9 And Micah said to him, “Where do you come from?” So he said to him, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am on my way to find a place to stay.” 10 Micah said to him, “Dwell with me, aand be a bfather and a priest to me, and I will give you ten shekels of silver per year, a suit of clothes, and your sustenance.” So the Levite went in. 11 Then the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man became like one of his sons to him. 12 So Micah aconsecrated1 the Levite, and the young man bbecame his priest, and lived in the house of Micah. 13 Then Micah said, “Now I know that the LORD will be good to me, since I have a Levite as apriest!” The Danites Adopt Micah’s Idolatry 18 In athose days there was no king in Israel.

you ten shekels of silver per year, a suit of clothes, and your sustenance.” So the Levite went in. 11 Then the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man became like one of his sons to him. 12 So Micah aconsecrated1 the Levite, and the young man bbecame his priest, and lived in the house of Micah. 13 Then Micah said, “Now I know that the LORD will be good to me, since I have a Levite as apriest!” The Danites Adopt Micah’s Idolatry 18 In athose days there was no king in Israel. And in those days bthe tribe of the Danites was seeking an inheritance for itself to dwell in; for until that day their inheritance among the tribes of Israel had not fallen to them. 2 So the children of Dan sent five men of their family from their territory, men of valor from aZorah and Eshtaol, bto spy out the land and search it. They said to them, “Go, search the land.” So they went to the mountains of Ephraim, to the chouse of Micah, and lodged there. 3 While they were at the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young Levite. They turned aside and said to him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What do you have here?” 4 He said to them, “Thus and so Micah did for me. He has ahired me, and I have become his priest.” 5 So they said to him, “Please ain- quire bof God, that we may know whether the journey on which we go will be prosperous.” 6 And the priest said to them, a“Go in peace. 1The presence of the LORD be with you on your way.” 7 So the five men departed and went to aLaish. They saw the people who were there, bhow they dwelt safely, in the manner of the Sido- nians, quiet and secure. There were no rulers in the land who might put them to shame for anything. They were far from the cSidonians, and they had no ties 1with anyone. 8 Then the spies came back to their brethren at aZorah and Esh- taol, and their brethren said to them, “What is your report?” 9 So they said, a“Arise, let us go up against them. For we have seen the land, and indeed it is very good. Would you bdo nothing? Do not

JUDGES 18:10 232 10 aJudg. 18:7, 27 bDeut. 8:9 12 aJosh. 15:60 bJudg. 13:25 1Lit. Camp of Dan 13 aJudg. 18:2 14 a1 Sam. 14:28 bJudg. 17:5 16 aJudg. 18:11 17 aJudg. 18:2, 14 bJudg. 17:4, 5 19 aJob 21:5; 29:9; 40:4; Mic. 7:16 bJudg. 17:10 23 a2 Kin. 6:28 24 aGen. 31:30; Judg. 17:5 1idols 25 1Lit. bitter of soul 27 aJosh. 19:47 28 aJudg. 18:7 bNum. 13:21; 2 Sam. 10:6 29 aJosh. 19:47 bJudg. 20:1; 1 Kin. 12:29, 30; 15:20 30 a2 Kin. 15:29 1LXX, Vg. Moses 31 aDeut. 12:1–32; Josh. 18:1, 8; Judg. 19:18; 21:12 CHAPTER 19 1 aJudg. 17:6; 18:1; 21:25 bJudg. 17:7; Ruth 1:1 3 aGen. 34:3; 50:21 1Lit. to her heart hesitate to go, and enter to possess the land. 10 “When you go, you will come to a asecure people and a large land. For God has given it into your hands, ba place where there is no lack of anything that is on the earth.” 11 And six hundred men of the family of the Danites went from there, from Zorah and Eshtaol, armed with weapons of war. 12 Then they went up and en- camped in aKirjath Jearim in Judah. (Therefore they call that place bMa- haneh Dan1 to this day. There it is, west of Kirjath Jearim.) 13 And they passed from there to the mountains of Ephraim, and came to athe house of Micah. 14 aThen the five men who had gone to spy out the country of Laish answered and said to their brethren, “Do you know that bthere are in these houses an ephod, household idols, a carved image, and a molded image? Now therefore, consider what you should do.” 15 So they turned aside there, and came to the house of the young Levite man—to the house of Micah—and greeted him. 16 The asix hundred men armed with their weapons of war, who were of the children of Dan, stood by the entrance of the gate. 17 Then athe five men who had gone to spy out the land went up. Entering there, they took bthe carved image, the ephod, the household idols, and the molded image. The priest stood at the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men who were armed with weapons of war. 18 When these went into Micah’s house and took the carved image, the ephod, the household idols, and the molded image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?” 19 And they said to him, “Be quiet, aput your hand over your mouth, and come with us; bbe a father and a priest to us. Is it better for you to be a priest to the household of one man, or that you be a priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?” 20 So the priest’s heart was glad; and he took the ephod, the house- hold idols, and the carved image, and took his place among the people. 21 Then they turned and departed, and put the little ones, the livestock, and the goods in front of them. 22 When they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house gathered together and overtook the children of Dan. 23 And they called out to the chil- dren of Dan. So they turned around and said to Micah, a“What ails you, that you have gathered such a com- pany?” 24 So he said, “You have ataken away my 1gods which I made, and the priest, and you have gone away. Now what more do I have? How can you say to me, ‘What ails you?’ ” 25 And the children of Dan said to him, “Do not let your voice be heard among us, lest 1angry men fall upon you, and you lose your life, with the lives of your household!” 26 Then the children of Dan went their way. And when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his house. Danites Settle in Laish 27 So they took the things Micah had made, and the priest who had belonged to him, and went to Laish, to a people quiet and secure; aand they struck them with the edge of the sword and burned the city with fire. 28 There was no deliverer, because it was afar from Sidon, and they had no ties with anyone.

with the lives of your household!” 26 Then the children of Dan went their way. And when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his house. Danites Settle in Laish 27 So they took the things Micah had made, and the priest who had belonged to him, and went to Laish, to a people quiet and secure; aand they struck them with the edge of the sword and burned the city with fire. 28 There was no deliverer, because it was afar from Sidon, and they had no ties with anyone. It was in the valley that belongs bto Beth Rehob. So they rebuilt the city and dwelt there. 29 And athey called the name of the city bDan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born to Israel. However, the name of the city for- merly was Laish. 30 Then the children of Dan set up for themselves the carved image; and Jonathan the son of Gershom, the son of 1Manasseh, and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan aun- til the day of the captivity of the land. 31 So they set up for themselves Micah’s carved image which he made, aall the time that the house of God was in Shiloh. The Levite’s Concubine 19 And it came to pass in those days, awhen there was no king in Israel, that there was a cer- tain Levite staying in the remote mountains of Ephraim. He took for himself a concubine from bBethle- hem in Judah. 2 But his concubine played the harlot against him, and went away from him to her father’s house at Bethlehem in Judah, and was there four whole months. 3 Then her husband arose and went after her, to aspeak 1kindly to her and bring her back, having his servant and a couple of donkeys with him. So she brought him into her father’s house; and when the father of the young woman saw him, he was glad to meet him. 4 Now his father-in-law, the young woman’s father, detained him; and he stayed with him three days. So they ate and drank and lodged there. 5 Then it came to pass on the

233 JUDGES 19:30 5 aGen. 18:5; Judg. 19:8; Ps. 104:15 9 1Lit. to your tent 10 aJosh. 18:28; 1 Chr. 11:4, 5 11 aJosh. 15:8, 63; Judg. 1:21; 2 Sam. 5:6 12 aJosh. 18:28 13 aJosh. 18:25 15 aMatt. 25:43 16 aPs. 104:23 18 aJosh. 18:1; Judg. 18:31; 20:18; 1 Sam. 1:3, 7 20 aGen. 43:23; Judg. 6:23; 1 Sam. 25:6 bGen. 19:2 21 aGen. 24:32; 43:24 bGen. 18:4; John 13:5 22 aJudg. 16:25; 19:6, 9 bGen. 19:4, 5; Judg. 20:5; Hos. 9:9; 10:9 cDeut. 13:13; 1 Sam. 2:12; 1 Kin. 21:10; [2 Cor. 6:15] dGen. 19:5; [Rom. 1:26, 27] 1Lit. sons of Belial 23 aGen. 19:6, 7 bGen. 34:7; Deut. 22:21; Judg. 20:6, 10; 2 Sam. 13:12 24 aGen. 19:8 bGen. 34:2; Deut. 21:14 1Lit. his 25 aGen. 4:1 28 aJudg. 20:5 29 aJudg. 20:6; 1 Sam. 11:7 1Lit. with her bones fourth day that they arose early in the morning, and he stood to depart; but the young woman’s father said to his son-in-law, a“Refresh your heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward go your way.” 6 So they sat down, and the two of them ate and drank together. Then the young woman’s father said to the man, “Please be content to stay all night, and let your heart be merry.” 7 And when the man stood to depart, his father-in-law urged him; so he lodged there again. 8 Then he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart, but the young woman’s father said, “Please refresh your heart.” So they delayed until afternoon; and both of them ate. 9 And when the man stood to depart—he and his concubine and his servant—his father-in-law, the young woman’s father, said to him, “Look, the day is now drawing toward evening; please spend the night. See, the day is coming to an end; lodge here, that your heart may be merry. Tomorrow go your way early, so that you may get 1home.” 10 However, the man was not will- ing to spend that night; so he rose and departed, and came to opposite aJebus (that is, Jerusalem). With him were the two saddled donkeys; his concubine was also with him. 11 They were near Jebus, and the day was far spent; and the servant said to his master, “Come, please, and let us turn aside into this city aof the Jebusites and lodge in it.” 12 But his master said to him, “We will not turn aside here into a city of foreigners, who are not of the chil- dren of Israel; we will go on ato Gibeah.” 13 So he said to his servant, “Come, let us draw near to one of these places, and spend the night in Gibeah or in aRamah.” 14 And they passed by and went their way; and the sun went down on them near Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin. 15 They turned aside there to go in to lodge in Gibeah. And when he went in, he sat down in the open square of the city, for no one would atake them into his house to spend the night. 16 Just then an old man came in from ahis work in the field at evening, who also was from the mountains of Ephraim; he was stay- ing in Gibeah, whereas the men of the place were Benjamites. 17 And when he raised his eyes, he saw the traveler in the open square of the city; and the old man said, “Where are you going, and where do you come from?” 18 So he said to him, “We are pass- ing from Bethlehem in Judah toward the remote mountains of Ephraim; I am from there. I went to Bethlehem in Judah; now I am going to athe house of the LORD. But there is no one who will take me into his house, 19 “although we have both straw and fodder for our donkeys, and bread and wine for myself, for your female servant, and for the young man who is with your servant; there is no lack of anything.” 20 And the old man said, a“Peace be with you! However, let all your needs be my responsibility; bonly do not spend the night in the open square.” 21 aSo he brought him into his house, and gave fodder to the don- keys. bAnd they washed their feet, and ate and drank. Gibeah’s Crime 22 As they were aenjoying them- selves, suddenly bcertain men of the city, cperverted1 men, surrounded the house and beat on the door.

vant, and for the young man who is with your servant; there is no lack of anything.” 20 And the old man said, a“Peace be with you! However, let all your needs be my responsibility; bonly do not spend the night in the open square.” 21 aSo he brought him into his house, and gave fodder to the don- keys. bAnd they washed their feet, and ate and drank. Gibeah’s Crime 22 As they were aenjoying them- selves, suddenly bcertain men of the city, cperverted1 men, surrounded the house and beat on the door. They spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying, d“Bring out the man who came to your house, that we may know him carnally!” 23 But athe man, the master of the house, went out to them and said to them, “No, my brethren! I beg you, do not act so wickedly! Seeing this man has come into my house, bdo not commit this outrage. 24 a“Look, here is my virgin daugh- ter and 1the man’s concubine; let me bring them out now. bHumble them, and do with them as you please; but to this man do not do such a vile thing!” 25 But the men would not heed him. So the man took his concubine and brought her out to them. And they aknew her and abused her all night until morning; and when the day began to break, they let her go. 26 Then the woman came as the day was dawning, and fell down at the door of the man’s house where her master was, till it was light. 27 When her master arose in the morning, and opened the doors of the house and went out to go his way, there was his concubine, fallen at the door of the house with her hands on the threshold. 28 And he said to her, “Get up and let us be going.” But athere was no answer. So the man lifted her onto the donkey; and the man got up and went to his place. 29 When he entered his house he took a knife, laid hold of his concu- bine, and adivided her into twelve pieces, 1limb by limb, and sent her throughout all the territory of Israel. 30 And so it was that all who saw it said, “No such deed has been done or seen from the day that the chil- dren of Israel came up from the land

JUDGES 20:1 234 30 aJudg. 20:7; Prov. 13:10 CHAPTER 20 1 aJosh. 22:12; Judg. 20:11; 21:5 bJudg. 18:29; 1 Sam. 3:20; 2 Sam. 3:10; 24:2 cJosh. 19:2 dJudg. 10:17; 1 Sam. 7:5 2 aJudg. 8:10 4 aJudg. 19:15 5 aJudg. 19:22 bJudg. 19:25, 26 6 aJudg. 19:29 bJosh. 7:15 7 aJudg. 19:30 9 aJudg. 1:3 12 aDeut. 13:14; Josh. 22:13, 16 13 aDeut. 13:13; Judg. 19:22 bDeut. 17:12; 1 Cor. 5:13 1Lit. sons of Belial 15 aNum. 1:36, 37; 2:23; 26:41 16 aJudg. 3:15; 1 Chr. 12:2 18 aJudg. 20:23, 26 bNum. 27:21 cJudg. 1:1, 2 1Or Bethel 21 a[Gen. 49:27] 23 aJudg. 20:26, 27 25 aJudg. 20:21 26 aJudg. 20:18, 23; 21:2 1Or Bethel 27 aJosh. 18:1; 1 Sam. 1:3; 3:3; 4:3, 4 28 aNum. 25:7, 13; Josh. 24:33 bDeut. 10:8; 18:5 of Egypt until this day. Consider it, aconfer, and speak up!” Israel’s War with the Benjamites 20 So aall the children of Israel came out, from bDan to cBeer- sheba, as well as from the land of Gilead, and the congregation gath- ered together as one man before the LORD dat Mizpah. 2 And the leaders of all the peo- ple, all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thou- sand foot soldiers awho drew the sword. 3 (Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel had gone up to Mizpah.) Then the chil- dren of Israel said, “Tell us, how did this wicked deed happen?” 4 So the Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered and said, “My concubine and aI went into Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin, to spend the night. 5 a“And the men of Gibeah rose against me, and surrounded the house at night because of me. They intended to kill me, bbut instead they ravished my concubine so that she died. 6 “So aI took hold of my concu- bine, cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the territory of the inheritance of Israel, because they bcommitted lewdness and outrage in Israel. 7 “Look! All of you are children of Israel; agive your advice and coun- sel here and now!” 8 So all the people arose as one man, saying, “None of us will go to his tent, nor will any turn back to his house; 9 “but now this is the thing which we will do to Gibeah: We will go up aagainst it by lot. 10 “We will take ten men out of every hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, a hundred out of every thousand, and a thousand out of every ten thousand, to make pro- visions for the people, that when they come to Gibeah in Benjamin, they may repay all the vileness that they have done in Israel.” 11 So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, united together as one man. 12 aThen the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Ben- jamin, saying, “What is this wicked- ness that has occurred among you? 13 “Now therefore, deliver up the men, athe 1perverted men who are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death and bremove the evil from Israel!” But the children of Benjamin would not listen to the voice of their brethren, the children of Israel. 14 Instead, the children of Ben- jamin gathered together from their cities to Gibeah, to go to battle against the children of Israel. 15 And from their cities at that time athe children of Benjamin num- bered twenty-six thousand men who drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who num- bered seven hundred select men. 16 Among all this people were seven hundred select men who were aleft-handed; every one could sling a stone at a hair’s breadth and not miss. 17 Now besides Benjamin, the men of Israel numbered four hundred thousand men who drew the sword; all of these were men of war. 18 Then the children of Israel arose and awent up to 1the house of God to binquire of God.

Benjamin num- bered twenty-six thousand men who drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who num- bered seven hundred select men. 16 Among all this people were seven hundred select men who were aleft-handed; every one could sling a stone at a hair’s breadth and not miss. 17 Now besides Benjamin, the men of Israel numbered four hundred thousand men who drew the sword; all of these were men of war. 18 Then the children of Israel arose and awent up to 1the house of God to binquire of God. They said, “Which of us shall go up first to battle against the children of Benjamin?” The LORD said, c“Judah first!” 19 So the children of Israel rose in the morning and encamped against Gibeah. 20 And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin, and the men of Israel put themselves in bat- tle array to fight against them at Gibeah. 21 Then athe children of Benjamin came out of Gibeah, and on that day cut down to the ground twenty-two thousand men of the Israelites. 22 And the people, that is, the men of Israel, encouraged themselves and again formed the battle line at the place where they had put them- selves in array on the first day. 23 aThen the children of Israel went up and wept before the LORD until evening, and asked counsel of the LORD, saying, “Shall I again draw near for battle against the children of my brother Benjamin?” And the LORD said, “Go up against him.” 24 So the children of Israel approached the children of Ben- jamin on the second day. 25 And aBenjamin went out against them from Gibeah on the second day, and cut down to the ground eighteen thousand more of the children of Israel; all these drew the sword. 26 Then all the children of Israel, that is, all the people, awent up and came to 1the house of God and wept. They sat there before the LORD and fasted that day until evening; and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD. 27 So the children of Israel inquired of the LORD (athe ark of the covenant of God was there in those days, 28 aand Phinehas the son of Elea- zar, the son of Aaron, bstood before it in those days), saying, “Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of my brother Benjamin, or shall I cease?” And the LORD said,

235 JUDGES 21:9 29 aJosh. 8:4 31 aJudg. 21:19 34 aJosh. 8:14; Job 21:13; Is. 47:11 1Lit. they 35 1Lit. struck 36 aJosh. 8:15 37 aJosh. 8:19 38 aJosh. 8:20 39 1Lit. to strike the slain ones 40 aJosh. 8:20 42 1fled 45 aJosh. 15:32; 1 Chr. 6:77; Zech. 14:10 1LXX the rest 46 1valiant warriors 47 aJudg. 21:13 CHAPTER 21 1 aJudg. 20:1 2 aJudg. 20:18, 26 1Heb. Bethel 4 aDeut. 12:5; 2 Sam. 24:25 5 aJudg. 20:1–3 8 a1 Sam. 11:1; 31:11 “Go up, for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand.” 29 Then Israel aset men in ambush all around Gibeah. 30 And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day, and put themselves in battle array against Gibeah as at the other times. 31 So the children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city. They began to strike down and kill some of the people, as at the other times, in the highways a(one of which goes up to Bethel and the other to Gibeah) and in the field, about thirty men of Israel. 32 And the children of Benjamin said, “They are defeated before us, as at first.” But the children of Israel said, “Let us flee and draw them away from the city to the highways.” 33 So all the men of Israel rose from their place and put themselves in battle array at Baal Tamar. Then Israel’s men in ambush burst forth from their position in the plain of Geba. 34 And ten thousand select men from all Israel came against Gibeah, and the battle was fierce. aBut 1the Benjamites did not know that disas- ter was upon them. 35 The LORD 1defeated Benjamin before Israel. And the children of Israel destroyed that day twenty- five thousand one hundred Ben- jamites; all these drew the sword. 36 So the children of Benjamin saw that they were defeated. aThe men of Israel had given ground to the Benjamites, because they relied on the men in ambush whom they had set against Gibeah. 37 aAnd the men in ambush quickly rushed upon Gibeah; the men in ambush spread out and struck the whole city with the edge of the sword. 38 Now the appointed signal between the men of Israel and the men in ambush was that they would make a great cloud of asmoke rise up from the city, 39 whereupon the men of Israel would turn in battle. Now Benjamin had begun 1to strike and kill about thirty of the men of Israel. For they said, “Surely they are defeated before us, as in the first battle.” 40 But when the cloud began to rise from the city in a column of smoke, the Benjamites alooked behind them, and there was the whole city going up in smoke to heaven. 41 And when the men of Israel turned back, the men of Benjamin panicked, for they saw that disaster had come upon them. 42 Therefore they 1turned their backs before the men of Israel in the direction of the wilderness; but the battle overtook them, and whoever came out of the cities they destroyed in their midst. 43 They surrounded the Ben- jamites, chased them, and easily trampled them down as far as the front of Gibeah toward the east. 44 And eighteen thousand men of Benjamin fell; all these were men of valor. 45 Then 1they turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of aRimmon; and they cut down five thousand of them on the highways. Then they pursued them relentless- ly up to Gidom, and killed two thou- sand of them. 46 So all who fell of Benjamin that day were twenty-five thousand men who drew the sword; all these were 1men of valor. 47 aBut six hundred men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and they stayed at the rock of Rimmon for four months. 48 And the men of Israel turned back against the children of Ben- jamin, and struck them down with the edge of the sword—from every city, men and beasts, all who were found.

hem relentless- ly up to Gidom, and killed two thou- sand of them. 46 So all who fell of Benjamin that day were twenty-five thousand men who drew the sword; all these were 1men of valor. 47 aBut six hundred men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and they stayed at the rock of Rimmon for four months. 48 And the men of Israel turned back against the children of Ben- jamin, and struck them down with the edge of the sword—from every city, men and beasts, all who were found. They also set fire to all the cities they came to. Wives Provided for the Benjamites 21 Now athe men of Israel had sworn an oath at Mizpah, say- ing, “None of us shall give his daughter to Benjamin as a wife.” 2 Then the people came ato 1the house of God, and remained there before God till evening. They lifted up their voices and wept bitterly, 3 and said, “O LORD God of Israel, why has this come to pass in Israel, that today there should be one tribe missing in Israel?” 4 So it was, on the next morning, that the people rose early and abuilt an altar there, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. 5 The children of Israel said, “Who is there among all the tribes of Israel who did not come up with the assembly to the LORD?” aFor they had made a great oath con- cerning anyone who had not come up to the LORD at Mizpah, saying, “He shall surely be put to death.” 6 And the children of Israel grieved for Benjamin their brother, and said, “One tribe is cut off from Israel today. 7 “What shall we do for wives for those who remain, seeing we have sworn by the LORD that we will not give them our daughters as wives?” 8 And they said, “What one is there from the tribes of Israel who did not come up to Mizpah to the LORD?” And, in fact, no one had come to the camp from aJabesh Gilead to the assembly. 9 For when the people were

JUDGES 21:10 236 10 aNum. 31:17; Judg. 5:23; 1 Sam. 11:7 11 aNum. 31:17; Deut. 20:13, 14 12 aJosh. 18:1; Judg. 18:31 13 aJudg. 20:47 15 aJudg. 21:6 18 aJudg. 11:35; 21:1 19 aLev. 23:2 bDeut. 12:5; Josh. 18:1; Judg. 18:31; 1 Sam. 1:3 cJudg. 20:31 21 aEx. 15:20; Judg. 11:34; 1 Sam. 18:6 23 aJudg. 20:48 25 aJudg. 17:6; 18:1; 19:1 bDeut. 12:8; Judg. 17:6 counted, indeed, not one of the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead was there. 10 So the congregation sent out there twelve thousand of their most valiant men, and commanded them, saying, a“Go and strike the inhabi- tants of Jabesh Gilead with the edge of the sword, including the women and children. 11 “And this is the thing that you shall do: aYou shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman who has known a man intimately.” 12 So they found among the inhab- itants of Jabesh Gilead four hun- dred young virgins who had not known a man intimately; and they brought them to the camp at aShiloh, which is in the land of Canaan. 13 Then the whole congregation sent word to the children of Ben- jamin awho were at the rock of Rim- mon, and announced peace to them. 14 So Benjamin came back at that time, and they gave them the women whom they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh Gilead; and yet they had not found enough for them. 15 And the people agrieved for Benjamin, because the LORD had made a void in the tribes of Israel. 16 Then the elders of the congrega- tion said, “What shall we do for wives for those who remain, since the women of Benjamin have been destroyed?” 17 And they said, “There must be an inheritance for the survivors of Benjamin, that a tribe may not be destroyed from Israel. 18 “However, we cannot give them wives from our daughters, afor the children of Israel have sworn an oath, saying, ‘Cursed be the one who gives a wife to Benjamin.’ ” 19 Then they said, “In fact, there is a yearly afeast of the LORD in bShiloh, which is north of Bethel, on the east side of the chighway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.” 20 Therefore they instructed the children of Benjamin, saying, “Go, lie in wait in the vineyards, 21 “and watch; and just when the daughters of Shiloh come out ato perform their dances, then come out from the vineyards, and every man catch a wife for himself from the daughters of Shiloh; then go to the land of Benjamin. 22 “Then it shall be, when their fathers or their brothers come to us to complain, that we will say to them, ‘Be kind to them for our sakes, because we did not take a wife for any of them in the war; for it is not as though you have given the women to them at this time, making yourselves guilty of your oath.’ ” 23 And the children of Benjamin did so; they took enough wives for their number from those who danced, whom they caught. Then they went and returned to their inheritance, and they arebuilt the cities and dwelt in them. 24 So the children of Israel de- parted from there at that time, every man to his tribe and family; they went out from there, every man to his inheritance. 25 aIn those days there was no king in Israel; beveryone did what was right in his own eyes. The Book of RUTH RUTH is a cameo story of love, devotion, and redemption set in the black con- text of the days of the judges. It is the story of a Moabite woman who forsakes her pagan heritage in order to cling to the people of Israel and to the God of Israel. Because of the faithfulness in a time of national faithlessness, God rewards her by giving her a new husband (Boaz), a son (Obed), and a privileged position in the lineage of David and Christ (she is the great-grandmother of David). Ruth is the Hebrew title of this book. This name may be a Moabite modification of the Hebrew word reuit, meaning “friendship” or “association.” The Septuagint entitles the book Routh, the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew name. The Latin title of Ruth, a transliteration of Routh.

237 RUTH 2:6 CHAPTER 1 1 aJudg. 2:16–18 bGen. 12:10; 26:1; 2 Kin. 8:1 cJudg. 17:8; Mic. 5:2 dGen. 19:37 1Lit. judged 2As a resident alien 2 aGen. 35:19; 1 Sam. 1:1; 1 Kin. 11:26 bJudg. 3:30 4 1lived 6 aEx. 3:16; 4:31; Jer. 29:10; Zeph. 2:7; Luke 1:68 bPs. 132:15; Matt. 6:11 1attended to 8 aJosh. 24:15 b2 Tim. 1:16–18 cRuth 2:20 9 aRuth 3:1 11 aGen. 38:11; Deut. 25:5 13 aJudg. 2:15; Job 19:21; Ps. 32:4; 38:2 14 a[Prov. 17:17] 15 aJudg. 11:24 bJosh. 1:15 16 a2 Kin. 2:2, 4, 6 bRuth 2:11, 12 1Urge me not 17 a1 Sam. 3:17; 2 Sam. 19:13; 2 Kin. 6:31 18 aActs 21:14 1Lit. made herself strong to go 19 aMatt. 21:10 bIs. 23:7; Lam. 2:15 20 1Lit. Pleas- ant 2Lit. Bit- ter 21 aJob 1:21 1Heb. Shaddai 22 aRuth 2:23; 2 Sam. 21:9 CHAPTER 2 1 aRuth 3:2, 12 bRuth 1:2 cRuth 4:21 2 aLev. 19:9, 10; 23:22; Deut. 24:19 4 aRuth 1:1 bPs. 129:7, 8; Luke 1:28; 2 Thess. 3:16 6 aRuth 1:22 Elimelech’s Family Goes to Moab NOW it came to pass, in the days when athe judges 1ruled, that there was ba famine in the land. And a certain man of cBethlehem, Judah, went to 2dwell in the country of dMoab, he and his wife and his two sons. 2 The name of the man was Elim- elech, the name of his wife was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion— aEphrathites of Bethlehem, Judah. And they went bto the country of Moab and remained there. 3 Then Elimelech, Naomi’s hus- band, died; and she was left, and her two sons. 4 Now they took wives of the women of Moab: the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth. And they 1dwelt there about ten years. 5 Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died; so the woman survived her two sons and her husband. Naomi Returns with Ruth 6 Then she arose with her daugh- ters-in-law that she might return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the LORD had avisited1 His peo- ple by bgiving them bread. 7 Therefore she went out from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. 8 And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, a“Go, return each to her mother’s house. bThe LORD deal kindly with you, as you have dealt cwith the dead and with me. 9 “The LORD grant that you may find arest, each in the house of her husband.” So she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. 10 And they said to her, “Surely we will return with you to your people.” 11 But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Are there still sons in my womb, athat they may be your husbands? 12 “Turn back, my daughters, go— for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, if I should have a husband tonight and should also bear sons, 13 “would you wait for them till they were grown? Would you restrain yourselves from having husbands? No, my daughters; for it grieves me very much for your sakes that athe hand of the LORD has gone out against me!” 14 Then they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth aclung to her. 15 And she said, “Look, your sister- in-law has gone back to aher people and to her gods; breturn after your sister-in-law.” 16 But Ruth said: a“Entreat1 me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; bYour people shall be my people, And your God, my God. 17 Where you die, I will die, And there will I be buried. aThe LORD do so to me, and more also, If anything but death parts you and me.” 18 aWhen she saw that she 1was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her. 19 Now the two of them went until they came to Bethlehem.

” 16 But Ruth said: a“Entreat1 me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; bYour people shall be my people, And your God, my God. 17 Where you die, I will die, And there will I be buried. aThe LORD do so to me, and more also, If anything but death parts you and me.” 18 aWhen she saw that she 1was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her. 19 Now the two of them went until they came to Bethlehem. And it hap- pened, when they had come to Beth- lehem, that aall the city was excited because of them; and the women said, b“Is this Naomi?” 20 But she said to them, “Do not call me 1Naomi; call me 2Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21 “I went out full, aand the LORD has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the LORD has testified against me, and 1the Almighty has afflicted me?” 22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. Now they came to Bethlehem aat the beginning of bar- ley harvest. Ruth Meets Boaz 2 There was a arelative of Naomi’s husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of bElimelech. His name was cBoaz. 2 So Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the afield, and glean heads of grain after him in whose sight I may find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” 3 Then she left, and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. 4 Now behold, Boaz came from aBethlehem, and said to the reapers, b“The LORD be with you!” And they answered him, “The LORD bless you!” 5 Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” 6 So the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered and said, “It is the young Moabite woman awho came back with Naomi from the country of Moab.

RUTH 2:7 238 10 a1 Sam. 25:23 b1 Sam. 1:18 11 aRuth 1:14–18 12 a1 Sam. 24:19; Ps. 58:11 bRuth 1:16; Ps. 17:8; 36:7; 57:1; 61:4; 63:7; 91:4 13 aGen. 33:15; 1 Sam. 1:18 b1 Sam. 25:41 1Lit. to the heart of 14 aRuth 2:18 15 1Gather after the reapers 2rebuke 17 aRuth 1:22 18 aRuth 2:14 19 aRuth 2:10; [Ps. 41:1] 20 aRuth 3:10; 2 Sam. 2:5 bProv. 17:17 cRuth 3:9; 4:4, 6 1our redeemers, Heb. goalenu 22 1encounter CHAPTER 3 1 a1 Cor. 7:36; 1 Tim. 5:8 bRuth 1:9 1Lit. rest 2 aRuth 2:3, 8 3 a2 Sam. 14:2 7 aJudg. 19:6, 9, 22; 2 Sam. 13:28; Esth. 1:10 9 aEzek. 16:8 bRuth 2:20; 3:12 1Or Spread the corner of your garment over your maidser- vant 2redeemer, Heb. goel 10 aRuth 2:20 bRuth 1:8 7 “And she said, ‘Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.’ So she came and has continued from morning until now, though she rested a little in the house.” 8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “You will listen, my daughter, will you not? Do not go to glean in another field, nor go from here, but stay close by my young women. 9 “Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Have I not commanded the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink from what the young men have drawn.” 10 So she afell on her face, bowed down to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found bfavor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” 11 And Boaz answered and said to her, “It has been fully reported to me, aall that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you have left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and have come to a people whom you did not know before. 12 a“The LORD repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the LORD God of Israel, bunder whose wings you have come for refuge.” 13 Then she said, a“Let me find favor in your sight, my lord; for you have comforted me, and have spo- ken 1kindly to your maidservant, bthough I am not like one of your maidservants.” 14 Now Boaz said to her at meal- time, “Come here, and eat of the bread, and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed parched grain to her; and she ate and awas satisfied, and kept some back. 15 And when she rose up to 1glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not 2reproach her. 16 “Also let grain from the bundles fall purposely for her; leave it that she may glean, and do not rebuke her.” 17 So she gleaned in the field until evening, and beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of abarley. 18 Then she took it up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. So she brought out and gave to her awhat she had kept back after she had been satisfied. 19 And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where have you gleaned today? And where did you work? Blessed be the one who atook notice of you.” So she told her mother-in- law with whom she had worked, and said, “The man’s name with whom I worked today is Boaz.” 20 Then Naomi said to her daugh- ter-in-law, a“Blessed be he of the LORD, who bhas not forsaken His kindness to the living and the dead!” And Naomi said to her, “This man is a relation of ours, cone of 1our close relatives.” 21 Ruth the Moabitess said, “He also said to me, ‘You shall stay close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.’ ” 22 And Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, and that people do not 1meet you in any other field.” 23 So she stayed close by the young women of Boaz, to glean until the end of barley harvest and wheat harvest; and she dwelt with her mother-in-law. Ruth’s Redemption Assured 3 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, ashall I not seek bsecurity1 for you, that it may be well with you? 2 “Now Boaz, awhose young women you were with, is he not our relative?

er-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, and that people do not 1meet you in any other field.” 23 So she stayed close by the young women of Boaz, to glean until the end of barley harvest and wheat harvest; and she dwelt with her mother-in-law. Ruth’s Redemption Assured 3 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, ashall I not seek bsecurity1 for you, that it may be well with you? 2 “Now Boaz, awhose young women you were with, is he not our relative? In fact, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. 3 “Therefore wash yourself and aanoint yourself, put on your best garment and go down to the thresh- ing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has fin- ished eating and drinking. 4 “Then it shall be, when he lies down, that you shall notice the place where he lies; and you shall go in, uncover his feet, and lie down; and he will tell you what you should do.” 5 And she said to her, “All that you say to me I will do.” 6 So she went down to the thresh- ing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law instructed her. 7 And after Boaz had eaten and drunk, and ahis heart was cheerful, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain; and she came softly, uncovered his feet, and lay down. 8 Now it happened at midnight that the man was startled, and turned himself; and there, a woman was lying at his feet. 9 And he said, “Who are you?” So she answered, “I am Ruth, your maidservant. aTake1 your maidser- vant under your wing, for you are ba 2close relative.” 10 Then he said, a“Blessed are you of the LORD, my daughter! For you have shown more kindness at the end than bat the beginning, in that you did not go after young men, whether poor or rich. 11 “And now, my daughter, do not

239 RUTH 4:22 11 aProv. 12:4; 31:10–31 12 aRuth 3:9 bRuth 4:1 13 aDeut. 25:5–10 bJer. 4:2; 12:16 14 a[1 Cor. 10:32] 15 1cloak 2Many Heb. mss., Syr., Vg. she; MT, LXX, Tg. he 16 1Or How are you, 18 a[Ps. 37:3, 5] CHAPTER 4 1 aRuth 3:12 1Lit. so and so, Heb. peloni almoni 2 a1 Kin. 21:8 3 aLev. 25:25 4 aJer. 32:7, 8 bGen. 23:18 cLev. 25:25 1Lit. uncover your ear 2So with many Heb. mss., LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg.; MT he 5 aMatt. 22:24 1Lit. raise up 6 aRuth 3:12, 13 7 aDeut. 25:7–10 10 aDeut. 25:6 1Probably his civic office 11 aPs. 127:3; 128:3 bGen. 29:25–30 cGen. 35:16–18 dMic. 5:2 12 aMatt. 1:3 bGen. 38:6–29 c1 Sam. 2:20 13 aRuth 3:11 bGen. 29:31; 33:5 14 aLuke 1:58 1redeemer, Heb. goel 15 a1 Sam. 1:8 1sustainer 17 aLuke 1:58 18 a1 Chr. 2:4, 5 bNum. 26:20, 21 20 aNum. 1:7 bMatt. 1:4 1Heb. Salmah 22 aMatt. 1:6 fear. I will do for you all that you request, for all the people of my town know that you are aa virtuous woman. 12 “Now it is true that I am a aclose relative; however, bthere is a relative closer than I. 13 “Stay this night, and in the morning it shall be that if he will aperform the duty of a close relative for you—good; let him do it. But if he does not want to perform the duty for you, then I will perform the duty for you, bas the LORD lives! Lie down until morning.” 14 So she lay at his feet until morn- ing, and she arose before one could recognize another. Then he said, a“Do not let it be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” 15 Also he said, “Bring the 1shawl that is on you and hold it.” And when she held it, he measured six ephahs of barley, and laid it on her. Then 2she went into the city. 16 When she came to her mother- in-law, she said, 1“Is that you, my daughter?” Then she told her all that the man had done for her. 17 And she said, “These six ephahs of barley he gave me; for he said to me, ‘Do not go empty-handed to your mother-in-law.’ ” 18 Then she said, a“Sit still, my daughter, until you know how the matter will turn out; for the man will not rest until he has con- cluded the matter this day.” Boaz Redeems Ruth 4 Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there; and behold, athe close relative of whom Boaz had spoken came by. So Boaz said, “Come aside, 1friend, sit down here.” So he came aside and sat down. 2 And he took ten men of athe el- ders of the city, and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down. 3 Then he said to the close rela- tive, “Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, sold the piece of land awhich belonged to our brother Elimelech. 4 “And I thought to 1inform you, saying, a‘Buy it back bin the pres- ence of the inhabitants and the el- ders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if 2you will not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know; cfor there is no one but you to redeem it, and I am next after you.’ ” And he said, “I will redeem it.” 5 Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also buy it from Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, ato 1perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance.” 6 aAnd the close relative said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I ruin my own inheritance. You re- deem my right of redemption for yourself, for I cannot redeem it.” 7 aNow this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning re- deeming and exchanging, to confirm anything: one man took off his san- dal and gave it to the other, and this was a confirmation in Israel. 8 Therefore the close relative said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself.” So he took off his sandal. 9 And Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are wit- nesses this day that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s, and all that was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s, from the hand of Naomi. 10 “Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, I have acquired as my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance, athat the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brethren and from 1his position at the gate.

id to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself.” So he took off his sandal. 9 And Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are wit- nesses this day that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s, and all that was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s, from the hand of Naomi. 10 “Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, I have acquired as my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance, athat the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brethren and from 1his position at the gate. You are witnesses this day.” 11 And all the people who were at the gate, and the elders, said, “We are witnesses. aThe LORD make the woman who is coming to your house like Rachel and Leah, the two who bbuilt the house of Israel; and may you prosper in cEphrathah and be famous in dBethlehem. 12 “May your house be like the house of aPerez, bwhom Tamar bore to Judah, because of cthe offspring which the LORD will give you from this young woman.” Descendants of Boaz and Ruth 13 So Boaz atook Ruth and she became his wife; and when he went in to her, bthe LORD gave her con- ception, and she bore a son. 14 Then athe women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a 1close relative; and may his name be famous in Israel! 15 “And may he be to you a restorer of life and a 1nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is abetter to you than seven sons, has borne him.” 16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her bosom, and became a nurse to him. 17 aAlso the neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “There is a son born to Naomi.” And they called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David. 18 aNow this is the genealogy of Perez: bPerez begot Hezron; 19 Hezron begot Ram, and Ram begot Amminadab; 20 Amminadab begot aNahshon, and Nahshon begot bSalmon;1 21 Salmon begot Boaz, and Boaz begot Obed; 22 Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot aDavid.

The Family of Elkanah NOW there was a certain man of Ramathaim Zophim, of the amountains of Ephraim, and his name was bElkanah the son of Jero- ham, the son of 1Elihu, the son of 2Tohu, the son of Zuph, can Ephra- imite. 2 And he had atwo wives: the name of one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah. Penin- nah had children, but Hannah had no children. 3 This man went up from his city ayearly bto worship and sacrifice to the LORD of hosts in cShiloh. Also the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the LORD, were there. 4 And whenever the time came for Elkanah to make an aoffering, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daugh- ters. 5 But to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Han- nah, aalthough the LORD had closed her womb. 6 And her rival also aprovoked her severely, to make her miserable, because the LORD had closed her womb. 7 So it was, year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, that she provoked her; there- fore she wept and did not eat. Hannah’s Vow 8 Then Elkanah her husband said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? And why is your heart grieved? Am I not abetter to you than ten sons?” 9 So Hannah arose after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of athe 1tabernacle of the LORD. 10 aAnd she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the LORD and 1wept in anguish. 11 Then she amade a vow and said, “O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed blook on the affliction of Your maid- servant and cremember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and dno razor shall come upon his head.” 12 And it happened, as she contin- ued praying before the LORD, that Eli watched her mouth. 13 Now Hannah spoke in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli thought she was drunk. 14 So Eli said to her, “How long will you be drunk? Put your wine away from you!” 15 But Hannah answered and said, “No, my lord, I am a woman of sor- rowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor intoxicating drink, but have apoured out my soul before the LORD. 16 “Do not consider your maidser- vant a awicked1 woman, for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief I have spoken until now.” 17 Then Eli answered and said, a“Go in peace, and bthe God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of Him.” 18 And she said, a“Let your maid- servant find favor in your sight.” So the woman bwent her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad. Samuel Is Born and Dedicated 19 Then they rose early in the morn- ing and worshiped before the LORD, and returned and came to their CHAPTER 1 1 aJosh. 17:17, 18; 24:33 b1 Chr. 6:27, 33–38 cRuth 1:2 1Eliel, 1 Chr. 6:34 2Toah, 1 Chr. 6:34 2 aDeut. 21:15–17 3 aLuke 2:41 bDeut. 12:5–7; 16:16 cJosh. 18:1 4 aDeut. 12:17, 18 5 aGen. 16:1; 30:1, 2 6 aJob 24:21 8 aRuth 4:15 9 a1 Sam. 3:3 1palace or temple, Heb. heykal 10 aJob 7:11 1Lit. wept greatly 11 aNum. 30:6–11 bPs. 25:18 cGen. 8:1 dNum. 6:5 15 aPs. 42:4; 62:8 16 aDeut. 13:13 1Lit. daughter of Belial 17 aMark 5:34 bPs. 20:3–5 18 aRuth 2:13 bRom. 15:13 The First Book of SAMUEL THE Book of First Samuel describes the transition of leadership in Israel from judges to kings. Three characters are prominent in the book: Samuel, the last judge and first prophet; Saul, the first king of Israel; and David, the king-elect, anointed but not yet recognized as Saul’s successor. The books of First and Second Samuel were originally one book in the Hebrew Bible, known as the “Book of Samuel” or simply “Samuel.” This name has been variously translated “The Name of God,” “His Name Is God,” “Heard of God,” and “Asked of God.” The Septuagint divides Samuel into two books even though it is one continuous account.

in the book: Samuel, the last judge and first prophet; Saul, the first king of Israel; and David, the king-elect, anointed but not yet recognized as Saul’s successor. The books of First and Second Samuel were originally one book in the Hebrew Bible, known as the “Book of Samuel” or simply “Samuel.” This name has been variously translated “The Name of God,” “His Name Is God,” “Heard of God,” and “Asked of God.” The Septuagint divides Samuel into two books even though it is one continuous account. This division artificially breaks up the history of David. The Greek (Septuagint) title is Bibloi Basileion, “Books of Kingdoms,” referring to the later kingdoms of Israel and Judah. First Samuel is called Basileion Alpha, “First Kingdoms.” Second Samuel and First and Second Kings are called “Second, Third, and Fourth Kingdoms.” The Latin Vulgate originally called the books of Samuel and Kings Libri Regum, “Books of the Kings.” Later the Latin Bible com- bined the Hebrew and Greek titles for the first of these books, calling it Liber I Samuelis, the “First Book of Samuel,” or simply “First Samuel.”

241 1 SAMUEL 2:16 house at Ramah. And Elkanah aknew Hannah his wife, and the LORD bre- membered her. 20 So it came to pass in the process of time that Hannah conceived and bore a son, and called his name 1Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked for him from the LORD.” 21 Now the man Elkanah and all his house awent up to offer to the LORD the yearly sacrifice and his vow. 22 But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “Not until the child is weaned; then I will atake him, that he may appear before the LORD and bremain there cforever.” 23 So aElkanah her husband said to her, “Do what seems best to you; wait until you have weaned him. Only let the LORD 1establish 2His word.” Then the woman stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him. 24 Now when she had weaned him, she atook him up with her, with 1three bulls, one ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and brought him to bthe house of the LORD in Shiloh. And the child was young. 25 Then they slaughtered a bull, and abrought the child to Eli. 26 And she said, “O my lord! aAs your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood by you here, praying to the LORD. 27 a“For this child I prayed, and the LORD has granted me my petition which I asked of Him. 28 “Therefore I also have lent him to the LORD; as long as he lives he shall be 1lent to the LORD.” So they aworshiped the LORD there. Hannah’s Prayer 2And Hannah aprayed and said: b“My heart rejoices in the LORD; cMy 1horn is exalted in the LORD. 2I smile at my enemies, Because I drejoice in Your salvation. 2 “Noa one is holy like the LORD, For there is bnone besides You, Nor is there any crock like our God. 3 “Talk no more so very proudly; aLet no arrogance come from your mouth, For the LORD is the God of bknowledge; And by Him actions are weighed. 4 “Thea bows of the mighty men are broken, And those who stumbled are girded with strength. 5 Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, And the hungry have ceased to hunger. Even athe barren has borne seven, And bshe who has many children has become feeble. 6 “Thea LORD kills and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and brings up. 7 The LORD amakes poor and makes rich; bHe brings low and lifts up. 8 aHe raises the poor from the dust And lifts the beggar from the ash heap, bTo set them among princes And make them inherit the throne of glory. c“For the pillars of the earth are the LORD’s, And He has set the world upon them. 9 aHe will guard the feet of His saints, But the bwicked shall be silent in darkness. “For by strength no man shall prevail. 10 The adversaries of the LORD shall be abroken in pieces; bFrom heaven He will thunder against them. cThe LORD will judge the ends of the earth. d“He will give estrength to His king, And fexalt the 1horn of His anointed.” 11 Then Elkanah went to his house at Ramah. But the child 1ministered to the LORD before Eli the priest. The Wicked Sons of Eli 12 Now the sons of Eli were acor- rupt;1 bthey did not know the LORD. 13 And the priests’ custom with the people was that when any man offered a sacrifice, the priest’s ser- vant would come with a three- pronged fleshhook in his hand while the meat was boiling. 14 Then he would thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; and the priest would take for himself all that the fleshhook brought up. So they did in aShiloh to all the Israelites who came there. 15 Also, before they aburned the fat, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who sacrificed, “Give meat for roasting to the priest, for he will not take boiled meat from you, but raw.” 16 And if the man said to him, “They should really burn the fat 19 aGen. 4:1 bGen. 21:1; 30:22 20 1Lit. Heard by God 21 a1 Sam. 1:3 22 aLuke 2:22 b1 Sam. 1:11, 28 cEx. 21:6 23 aNum. 30:7, 10, 11 1con- firm 2So with MT, Tg., Vg.; DSS, LXX, Syr. your 24 aNum. 15:9, 10 bJosh. 18:1 1DSS, LXX, Syr. a three- year-old bull 25 aLuke 2:22 26 a2 Kin. 2:2, 4, 6; 4:30 27 a[Matt. 7:7] 28 aGen. 24:26, 52 1granted CHAPTER 2 1 aPhil.

r roasting to the priest, for he will not take boiled meat from you, but raw.” 16 And if the man said to him, “They should really burn the fat 19 aGen. 4:1 bGen. 21:1; 30:22 20 1Lit. Heard by God 21 a1 Sam. 1:3 22 aLuke 2:22 b1 Sam. 1:11, 28 cEx. 21:6 23 aNum. 30:7, 10, 11 1con- firm 2So with MT, Tg., Vg.; DSS, LXX, Syr. your 24 aNum. 15:9, 10 bJosh. 18:1 1DSS, LXX, Syr. a three- year-old bull 25 aLuke 2:22 26 a2 Kin. 2:2, 4, 6; 4:30 27 a[Matt. 7:7] 28 aGen. 24:26, 52 1granted CHAPTER 2 1 aPhil. 4:6 bLuke 1:46–55 cPs. 75:10; 89:17, 24; 92:10; 112:9 dPs. 9:14; 13:5; 35:9 1Strength 2Lit. My mouth is enlarged 2 aEx. 15:11 bDeut. 4:35 cDeut. 32:4, 30, 31 3 aPs. 94:4 b1 Sam. 16:7 4 aPs. 37:15; 46:9 5 aPs. 113:9 bIs. 54:1 6 aDeut. 32:39 7 aDeut. 8:17, 18 bPs. 75:7 8 aLuke 1:52 bJob 36:7 cJob 38:4–6 9 a[1 Pet. 1:5] b[Rom. 3:19] 10 aPs. 2:9 bPs. 18:13, 14 cPs. 96:13; 98:9 d[Matt. 28:18] ePs. 21:1, 7 fPs. 89:24 1Strength 11 1served 12 aDeut. 13:13 bJudg. 2:10 1Lit. sons of Belial 14 a1 Sam. 1:3 15 aLev. 3:3–5, 16

1 SAMUEL 2:17 242 first; then you may take as much as your heart desires,” he would then answer him, “No, but you must give it now; and if not, I will take it by force.” 17 Therefore the sin of the young men was very great abefore the LORD, for men babhorred1 the offer- ing of the LORD. Samuel’s Childhood Ministry 18 aBut Samuel ministered before the LORD, even as a child, bwearing a linen ephod. 19 Moreover his mother used to make him a little robe, and bring it to him year by year when she acame up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. 20 And Eli awould bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, “The LORD give you descendants from this woman for the 1loan that was bgiven to the LORD.” Then they would go to their own home. 21 And the LORD avisited1 Hannah, so that she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile the child Samuel bgrew before the LORD. Prophecy Against Eli’s Household 22 Now Eli was very old; and he heard everything his sons did to all Israel, 1and how they lay with athe women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 23 So he said to them, “Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all the people. 24 “No, my sons! For it is not a good report that I hear. You make the LORD’s people transgress. 25 “If one man sins against anoth- er, aGod1 will judge him. But if a man bsins against the LORD, who will intercede for him?” Neverthe- less they did not heed the voice of their father, cbecause the LORD desired to kill them. 26 And the child Samuel agrew in stature, and bin favor both with the LORD and men. 27 Then a aman of God came to Eli and said to him, “Thus says the LORD: b‘Did I not clearly reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh’s house? 28 ‘Did I not achoose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be My priest, to offer upon My altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod before Me? And bdid I not give to the house of your father all the offerings of the children of Israel made by fire? 29 ‘Why do you akick at My sacri- fice and My offering which I have commanded in My bdwelling place, and honor your sons more than cMe, to make yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel My peo- ple?’ 30 “Therefore the LORD God of Israel says: a‘I said indeed that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever.’ But now the LORD says: b‘Far be it from Me; for those who honor Me I will honor, and cthose who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed. 31 ‘Behold, athe days are coming that I will cut off your 1arm and the arm of your father’s house, so that there will not be an old man in your house. 32 ‘And you will see an enemy in My dwelling place, despite all the good which God does for Israel. And there shall not be aan old man in your house forever. 33 ‘But any of your men whom I do not cut off from My altar shall con- sume your eyes and grieve your heart. And all the descendants of your house shall die in the flower of their age. 34 ‘Now this shall be aa sign to you that will come upon your two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: bin one day they shall die, both of them. 35 ‘Then aI will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who shall do according to what is in My heart and in My mind.

l. And there shall not be aan old man in your house forever. 33 ‘But any of your men whom I do not cut off from My altar shall con- sume your eyes and grieve your heart. And all the descendants of your house shall die in the flower of their age. 34 ‘Now this shall be aa sign to you that will come upon your two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: bin one day they shall die, both of them. 35 ‘Then aI will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who shall do according to what is in My heart and in My mind. bI will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before cMy anointed forever. 36 a‘And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left in your house will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and say, “Please, 1put me in one of the priestly positions, that I may eat a piece of bread.” ’ ” Samuel’s First Prophecy 3 Now athe boy Samuel minis- tered to the LORD before Eli. And bthe word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no wide- spread revelation. 2 And it came to pass at that time, while Eli was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow aso dim that he could not see, 3 and before athe lamp of God went out in the 1tabernacle of the LORD where the ark of God was, and while Samuel was lying down, 4 that the LORD called Samuel. And he answered, “Here I am!” 5 So he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” And he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” And he went and lay down. 6 Then the LORD called yet again, “Samuel!” So Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” He answered, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” 7 (Now Samuel adid not yet know the LORD, nor was the word of the LORD yet revealed to him.) 8 And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. So he arose and 17 aGen. 6:11 b[Mal. 2:7–9] 1despised 18 a1 Sam. 2:11; 3:1 bEx. 28:4 19 a1 Sam. 1:3, 21 20 aGen. 14:19 b1 Sam. 1:11, 27, 28 1gift 21 aGen. 21:1 b1 Sam. 2:26; 3:19–21 1attended to 22 aEx. 38:8 1So with MT, Tg., Vg.; DSS, LXX omit rest of verse 25 aDeut. 1:17; 25:1, 2 bNum. 15:30 cJosh. 11:20 1Tg. the Judge 26 a1 Sam. 2:21 bProv. 3:4 27 a1 Kin. 13:1 bEx. 4:14–16; 12:1 28 aEx. 28:1, 4 bNum. 5:9 29 aDeut. 32:15 bDeut. 12:5 cMatt. 10:37 30 aEx. 29:9 bJer. 18:9, 10 cMal. 2:9–12 31 a1 Kin. 2:27, 35 1strength 32 aZech. 8:4 34 a1 Kin. 13:3 b1 Sam. 4:11, 17 35 a1 Kin. 2:35 b1 Kin. 11:38 cPs. 18:50 36 a1 Kin. 2:27 1assign CHAPTER 3 1 a1 Sam. 2:11, 18 bPs. 74:9 2 a1 Sam. 4:15 3 aEx. 27:20, 21 1palace or temple 7 a1 Sam. 2:12

243 1 SAMUEL 4:16 went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you did call me.” Then Eli perceived that the LORD had called the boy. 9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say, a‘Speak, LORD, for Your servant hears.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10 Now the LORD came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant hears.” 11 Then the LORD said to Samuel: “Behold, I will do something in Israel aat which both ears of every- one who hears it will tingle. 12 “In that day I will perform against Eli aall that I have spoken concerning his house, from begin- ning to end. 13 a“For I have told him that I will bjudge his house forever for the iniquity which he knows, because chis sons made themselves vile, and he ddid not 1restrain them. 14 “And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house ashall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.” 15 So Samuel lay down until 1morning, and opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision. 16 Then Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son!” He an- swered, “Here I am.” 17 And he said, “What is the word that the LORD spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. aGod do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the things that He said to you.” 18 Then Samuel told him every- thing, and hid nothing from him. And he said, a“It is the LORD. Let Him do what seems good to Him.” 19 So Samuel agrew, and bthe LORD was with him cand let none of his words 1fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel afrom Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel had been 1established as a prophet of the LORD. 21 Then the LORD appeared again in Shiloh. For the LORD revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by athe word of the LORD. 4 And the word of Samuel came to all 1Israel. The Ark of God Captured Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines, and en- camped beside aEbenezer; and the Philistines encamped in Aphek. 2 Then the aPhilistines put them- selves in battle array against Israel. And when they joined battle, Israel was 1defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men of the army in the field. 3 And when the people had come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the LORD defeated us today before the Philistines? aLet us bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD from Shiloh to us, that when it comes among us it may save us from the hand of our enemies.” 4 So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from there the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, awho dwells between bthe cherubim. And the ctwo sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. 5 And when the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth shook. 6 Now when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, “What does the sound of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” Then they understood that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp. 7 So the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “God has come into the camp!” And they said, a“Woe to us! For such a thing has never hap- pened before. 8 “Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness. 9 a“Be strong and conduct your- selves like men, you Philistines, that you do not become servants of the Hebrews, bas they have been to you. 1Conduct yourselves like men, and fight!” 10 So the Philistines fought, and aIsrael was 1defeated, and every man fled to his tent.

And they said, a“Woe to us! For such a thing has never hap- pened before. 8 “Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness. 9 a“Be strong and conduct your- selves like men, you Philistines, that you do not become servants of the Hebrews, bas they have been to you. 1Conduct yourselves like men, and fight!” 10 So the Philistines fought, and aIsrael was 1defeated, and every man fled to his tent. There was a very great slaughter, and there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers. 11 Also athe ark of God was cap- tured; and bthe two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died. Death of Eli 12 Then a man of Benjamin ran from the battle line the same day, and acame to Shiloh with his clothes torn and bdirt on his head. 13 Now when he came, there was Eli, sitting on aa seat 1by the wayside watching, for his heart 2trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city and told it, all the city cried out. 14 When Eli heard the noise of the outcry, he said, “What does the sound of this tumult mean?” And the man came quickly and told Eli. 15 Eli was ninety-eight years old, and ahis eyes were so 1dim that he could not see. 16 Then the man said to Eli, “I am he who came from the battle. And I 9 a1 Kin. 2:17 11 a2 Kin. 21:12 12 a1 Sam. 2:27–36 13 a1 Sam. 2:29–31 b1 Sam. 2:22 c1 Sam. 2:12, 17, 22 d1 Sam. 2:23, 25 1Lit. rebuke 14 aNum. 15:30, 31 15 1So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX adds and he arose in the morn- ing 17 aRuth 1:17 18 aIs. 39:8 19 a1 Sam. 2:21 bGen. 21:22; 28:15; 39:2, 21, 23 c1 Sam. 9:6 1fail 20 aJudg. 20:1 1confirmed 21 a1 Sam.3:1, 4 CHAPTER 4 1 a1 Sam. 7:12 1So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Vg. add And it came to pass in those days that the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight; LXX adds further against Israel 2 a1 Sam. 12:9 1Lit. struck 3 aJosh. 6:6–21 4 a1 Sam. 6:2 bNum. 7:89 c1 Sam. 2:12 7 aEx. 15:14 9 a1 Cor. 16:13 bJudg. 13:1 1Lit. Be men 10 aDeut. 28:15, 25 1Lit. struck down 11 aPs. 78:60, 61 b1 Sam. 2:34 12 a2 Sam. 1:2 bJosh. 7:6 13 a1 Sam. 1:9; 4:18 1So with MT, Vg.; LXX beside the gate watch- ing the road 2trembled with anxiety 15 a1 Sam. 3:2 1fixed

1 SAMUEL 4:17 244 fled today from the battle line.” And he said, a“What happened, my son?” 17 So the messenger answered and said, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has been a great slaughter among the people. Also your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead; and the ark of God has been captured.” 18 Then it happened, when he made mention of the ark of God, that Eli fell off the seat backward by the side of the gate; and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years. Ichabod 19 Now his daughter-in-law, Phine- has’ wife, was with child, due to be delivered; and when she heard the news that the ark of God was cap- tured, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and gave birth, for her labor pains came upon her. 20 And about the time of her death athe women who stood by her said to her, “Do not fear, for you have borne a son.” But she did not answer, nor did she 1regard it. 21 Then she named the child aIcha- bod,1 saying, b“The glory has departed from Israel!” because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband. 22 And she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.” The Philistines and the Ark 5 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it afrom Ebenezer to Ashdod. 2 When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of aDagon1 and set it by Dagon. 3 And when the people of Ashdod arose early in the morning, there was Dagon, afallen on its face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and bset it in its place again. 4 And when they arose early the next morning, there was Dagon, fall- en on its face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. aThe head of Dagon and both the palms of its hands were broken off on the threshold; only 1Dagon’s torso was left of it. 5 Therefore neither the priests of Dagon nor any who come into Dagon’s house atread on the thresh- old of Dagon in Ashdod to this day. 6 But the ahand of the LORD was heavy on the people of Ashdod, and He bravaged them and struck them with ctumors,1 both Ashdod and its dterritory. 7 And when the men of Ashdod saw how it was, they said, “The ark of the aGod of Israel must not remain with us, for His hand is harsh toward us and Dagon our god.” 8 Therefore they sent and gath- ered to themselves all the alords of the Philistines, and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” And they answered, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be car- ried away to bGath.” So they carried the ark of the God of Israel away. 9 So it was, after they had carried it away, that athe hand of the LORD was against the city with a very great destruction; and He struck the men of the city, both small and great, 1and tumors broke out on them. 10 Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron. So it was, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekron- ites cried out, saying, “They have brought the ark of the God of Israel to us, to kill us and our people!” 11 So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go back to its own place, so that it does not kill us and our people.” For there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there. 12 And the men who did not die were stricken with the tumors, and the acry of the city went up to heaven. The Ark Returned to Israel 6 Now the ark of the LORD was in the country of the Philistines seven months. 2 And the Philistines acalled for the priests and the diviners, saying, “What shall we do with the ark of the LORD? Tell us how we should send it to its place.” 3 So they said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it aempty; but by all means return it to Him with ba trespass offering.

did not die were stricken with the tumors, and the acry of the city went up to heaven. The Ark Returned to Israel 6 Now the ark of the LORD was in the country of the Philistines seven months. 2 And the Philistines acalled for the priests and the diviners, saying, “What shall we do with the ark of the LORD? Tell us how we should send it to its place.” 3 So they said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it aempty; but by all means return it to Him with ba trespass offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why His hand is not removed from you.” 4 Then they said, “What is the trespass offering which we shall return to Him?” They answered, a“Five golden tumors and five gold- en rats, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines. For the same plague was on all of 1you and on your lords. 5 “Therefore you shall make images of your tumors and images of your rats that aravage the land, and you shall bgive glory to the God of Israel; perhaps He will clighten1 His hand from you, from dyour gods, and from your land. 6 “Why then do you harden your hearts aas the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When He did mighty things among 16 a2 Sam. 1:4 20 aGen. 35:16–19 1pay any attention to 21 a1 Sam. 14:3 bPs. 26:8; 78:61 1Lit. Inglorious CHAPTER 5 1 a1 Sam. 4:1; 7:12 2 a1 Chr. 10:8–10 1A Philistine idol 3 aIs. 19:1; 46:1, 2 bIs. 46:7 4 aMic. 1:7 1So with LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg.; MT Dagon 5 aZeph. 1:9 6 aEx. 9:3 b1 Sam. 6:5 cDeut. 28:27; Ps. 78:66 dJosh. 15:46, 47 1Probably bubonic plague. LXX, Vg. add And in the midst of their land rats sprang up, and there was a great death panic in the city. 7 a1 Sam. 6:5 8 a1 Sam. 6:4 bJosh. 11:22 9 aDeut. 2:15 1Vg. and they had tumors in their secret parts 12 aJer. 14:2 CHAPTER 6 2 aGen. 41:8 3 aDeut. 16:16 bLev. 5:15, 16 4 a1 Sam. 5:6, 9, 12; 6:17 1Lit. them 5 a1 Sam. 5:6 bJosh. 7:19 c1 Sam. 5:6, 11 d1 Sam. 5:3, 4, 7 1ease 6 aEx. 7:13; 8:15; 9:34; 14:17

245 1 SAMUEL 7:10 them, bdid they not let the people go, that they might depart? 7 “Now therefore, make aa new cart, take two milk cows bwhich have never been yoked, and hitch the cows to the cart; and take their calves home, away from them. 8 “Then take the ark of the LORD and set it on the cart; and put athe articles of gold which you are returning to Him as a trespass offer- ing in a chest by its side. Then send it away, and let it go. 9 “And watch: if it goes up the road to its own territory, to aBeth Shemesh, then He has done 1us this great evil. But if not, then bwe shall know that it is not His hand that struck us—it happened to us by chance.” 10 Then the men did so; they took two milk cows and hitched them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home. 11 And they set the ark of the LORD on the cart, and the chest with the gold rats and the images of their tumors. 12 Then the cows headed straight for the road to Beth Shemesh, and went along the ahighway, lowing as they went, and did not turn aside to the right hand or the left. And the lords of the Philistines went after them to the border of Beth Shemesh. 13 Now the people of Beth Shemesh were reaping their awheat harvest in the valley; and they lifted their eyes and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it. 14 Then the cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh, and stood there; a large stone was there. So they split the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the LORD. 15 The Levites took down the ark of the LORD and the chest that was with it, in which were the articles of gold, and put them on the large stone. Then the men of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices the same day to the LORD. 16 So when athe five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day. 17 aThese are the golden tumors which the Philistines returned as a trespass offering to the LORD: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for bGath, one for Ekron; 18 and the golden rats, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both fortified cities and coun- try villages, even as far as the large stone of Abel on which they set the ark of the LORD, which stone remains to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh. 19 Then aHe struck the men of Beth Shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the LORD. 1He bstruck fifty thousand and seventy men of the people, and the people lamented because the LORD had struck the people with a great slaughter. The Ark at Kirjath Jearim 20 And the men of Beth Shemesh said, a“Who is able to stand before this holy LORD God? And to whom shall it go up from us?” 21 So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of aKirjath Jearim, say- ing, “The Philistines have brought back the ark of the LORD; come down and take it up with you.” 7 Then the men of aKirjath Jearim came and took the ark of the LORD, and brought it into the house of bAbinadab on the hill, and cconse- crated Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the LORD. Samuel Judges Israel 2 So it was that the ark remained in Kirjath Jearim a long time; it was there twenty years. And all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD. 3 Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you are- turn to the LORD with all your hearts, then bput away the foreign gods and the cAshtoreths1 from among you, and dprepare your hearts for the LORD, and eserve Him only; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.” 4 So the children of Israel put away the aBaals and the 1Ash- toreths, and served the LORD only. 5 And Samuel said, a“Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and bI will pray to the LORD for you.” 6 So they gathered together at Mizpah, adrew water, and poured it out before the LORD.

turn to the LORD with all your hearts, then bput away the foreign gods and the cAshtoreths1 from among you, and dprepare your hearts for the LORD, and eserve Him only; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.” 4 So the children of Israel put away the aBaals and the 1Ash- toreths, and served the LORD only. 5 And Samuel said, a“Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and bI will pray to the LORD for you.” 6 So they gathered together at Mizpah, adrew water, and poured it out before the LORD. And they bfasted that day, and said there, c“We have sinned against the LORD.” And Samuel judged the children of Israel at Mizpah. 7 Now when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel had gath- ered together at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines. 8 So the children of Israel said to Samuel, a“Do not cease to cry out to the LORD our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines.” 9 And Samuel took a asuckling lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the LORD. Then bSamuel cried out to the LORD for Israel, and the LORD answered him. 10 Now as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. aBut the LORD thundered with a loud thunder upon the Philistines that 6 bEx. 12:31 7 a2 Sam. 6:3 bNum. 19:2 8 a1 Sam. 6:4, 5 9 aJosh. 15:10; 21:16 b1 Sam. 6:3 1this calamity to us 12 aNum. 20:19 13 a1 Sam. 12:17 16 aJosh. 13:3 17 a1 Sam. 6:4 b1 Sam. 5:8 19 aEx. 19:21 b2 Sam. 6:7 1Or He struck seventy men of the people and fifty oxen of a man 20 aMal. 3:2 21 a1 Chr. 13:5, 6 CHAPTER 7 1 a1 Sam. 6:21 b2 Sam. 6:3, 4 cLev. 21:8 3 aDeut. 30:2–10 bGen. 35:2 cJudg. 2:13 dJob 11:13 eLuke 4:8 1Images of Canaanite goddesses 4 aJudg. 2:11; 10:16 1Images of Canaanite goddesses 5 aJudg. 10:17; 20:1 b1 Sam. 12:17–19 6 a2 Sam. 14:14 bNeh. 9:1, 2 c1 Sam. 12:10 8 aIs. 37:4 9 aLev. 22:27 b1 Sam. 12:18 10 a2 Sam. 22:14, 15

1 SAMUEL 7:11 246 day, and so confused them that they were overcome before Israel. 11 And the men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philis- tines, and 1drove them back as far as below Beth Car. 12 Then Samuel atook a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name 1Ebenezer, say- ing, “Thus far the LORD has helped us.” 13 aSo the Philistines were subdued, and they bdid not come anymore into the territory of Israel. And the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. 14 Then the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath; and Israel recovered its ter- ritory from the hands of the Philistines. Also there was peace between Israel and the Amorites. 15 And Samuel ajudged Israel all the days of his life. 16 He went from year to year on a circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, and judged Israel in all those places. 17 But ahe always returned to Ramah, for his home was there. There he judged Israel, and there he bbuilt an altar to the LORD. Israel Demands a King 8 Now it came to pass when Samuel was aold that he bmade his csons judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abi- jah; they were judges in Beersheba. 3 But his sons adid not walk in his ways; they turned aside bafter dis- honest gain, ctook bribes, and per- verted justice. 4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, 5 and said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now amake us a king to judge us like all the nations.” 6 But the thing adispleased Sam- uel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” So Samuel bprayed to the LORD. 7 And the LORD said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for athey have not rejected you, but bthey have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. 8 “According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day—with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also. 9 “Now therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and ashow them the behavior of the king who will reign over them.” 10 So Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who asked him for a king. 11 And he said, a“This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your bsons and appoint them for his own cchar- iots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots. 12 “He will aappoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 “He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. 14 “And ahe will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. 15 “He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants. 16 “And he will take your male ser- vants, your female servants, your finest 1young men, and your don- keys, and put them to his work. 17 “He will take a tenth of your sheep.

ns of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 “He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. 14 “And ahe will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. 15 “He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants. 16 “And he will take your male ser- vants, your female servants, your finest 1young men, and your don- keys, and put them to his work. 17 “He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants. 18 “And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the LORD awill not hear you in that day.” 19 Nevertheless the people are- fused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, “No, but we will have a king over us, 20 “that we also may be alike all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” 21 And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he repeated them in the hearing of the LORD. 22 So the LORD said to Samuel, a“Heed their voice, and make them a king.” And Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Every man go to his city.” Saul Chosen to Be King 9 There was a man of Benjamin whose name was aKish the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of 1power. 2 And he had a choice and hand- some son whose name was Saul. There was not a more handsome person than he among the children of Israel. aFrom his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people. 3 Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost. And Kish said to his son Saul, “Please take one of the servants with you, and arise, go and look for the donkeys.” 4 So he passed through the moun- tains of Ephraim and through the land of aShalisha, but they did not find them. Then they passed through the land of Shaalim, and they were not there. Then he passed through 11 1struck them down 12 aGen. 28:18; 35:14; Josh. 4:9; 24:26 1Lit. Stone of Help 13 aJudg. 13:1 b1 Sam. 13:5 15 a1 Sam. 12:11 17 a1 Sam. 8:4 bJudg. 21:4 CHAPTER 8 1 a1 Sam. 12:2 bDeut. 16:18, 19; 2 Chr. 19:5 cJudg. 10:4 3 aJer. 22:15–17 bEx. 18:21 cEx. 23:6–8; Deut. 16:19; 1 Sam. 12:3 5 aDeut. 17:14, 15; Hos. 13:10, 11; Acts 13:21 6 a1 Sam. 12:17 b1 Sam. 7:9 7 aEx. 16:8 b1 Sam. 10:19 9 a1 Sam. 8:11–18 11 aDeut. 17:14–20 b1 Sam. 14:52 c2 Sam. 15:1 12 a1 Sam. 22:7 14 a1 Kin. 21:7; [Ezek. 46:18] 16 1LXX cattle 18 aProv. 1:25–28; Is. 1:15; Mic. 3:4 19 aIs. 66:4; Jer. 44:16 20 a1 Sam. 8:5 22 a1 Sam. 8:7; Hos. 13:11 CHAPTER 9 1 a1 Sam. 14:51; 1 Chr. 8:33; 9:36–39 1wealth 2 a1 Sam. 10:23 4 a2 Kin. 4:42

247 1 SAMUEL 10:3 the land of the Benjamites, but they did not find them. 5 When they had come to the land of aZuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come, let bus return, lest my father cease caring about the donkeys and become wor- ried about us.” 6 And he said to him, “Look now, there is in this city aa man of God, and he is an honorable man; ball that he says surely comes to pass. So let us go there; perhaps he can show us the way that we should go.” 7 Then Saul said to his servant, “But look, if we go, awhat shall we bring the man? For the bread in our vessels is all gone, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?” 8 And the servant answered Saul again and said, “Look, I have here at hand one-fourth of a shekel of sil- ver. I will give that to the man of God, to tell us our way.” 9 (Formerly in Israel, when a man awent 1to inquire of God, he spoke thus: “Come, let us go to the seer”; for he who is now called a prophet was formerly called ba seer.) 10 Then Saul said to his servant, 1“Well said; come, let us go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was. 11 As they went up the hill to the city, athey met some young women going out to draw water, and said to them, “Is the seer here?” 12 And they answered them and said, “Yes, there he is, just ahead of you. Hurry now; for today he came to this city, because athere is a sacri- fice of the people today bon the high place. 13 “As soon as you come into the city, you will surely find him before he goes up to the high place to eat. For the people will not eat until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice; afterward those who are invited will eat. Now therefore, go up, for about this time you will find him.” 14 So they went up to the city. As they were coming into the city, there was Samuel, coming out toward them on his way up to the high place. 15 aNow the LORD had told Samuel in his ear the day before Saul came, saying, 16 “Tomorrow about this time aI will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, band you shall anoint him 1commander over My people Israel, that he may save My people from the hand of the Philistines; for I have clooked upon My people, because their cry has come to Me.” 17 So when Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said to him, a“There he is, the man of whom I spoke to you. This one shall reign over My people.” 18 Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, “Please tell me, where is the seer’s house?” 19 Samuel answered Saul and said, “I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, for you shall eat with me today; and tomorrow I will let you go and will tell you all that is in your heart. 20 “But as for ayour donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not be anxious about them, for they have been found. And 1on whom bis all the desire of Israel? Is it not on you and on all your father’s house?” 21 And Saul answered and said, a“Am I not a Benjamite, of the bsmallest of the tribes of Israel, and cmy family the least of all the fami- lies of the 1tribe of Benjamin? Why then do you speak like this to me?” 22 Now Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the hall, and had them sit in the place of honor among those who were invited; there were about thirty persons. 23 And Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the portion which I gave you, of which I said to you, ‘Set it apart.’ ” 24 So the cook took up athe thigh with its upper part and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, “Here it is, what was kept back. It was set apart for you.

e 1tribe of Benjamin? Why then do you speak like this to me?” 22 Now Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the hall, and had them sit in the place of honor among those who were invited; there were about thirty persons. 23 And Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the portion which I gave you, of which I said to you, ‘Set it apart.’ ” 24 So the cook took up athe thigh with its upper part and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, “Here it is, what was kept back. It was set apart for you. Eat; for until this time it has been kept for you, since I said I invited the people.” So Saul ate with Samuel that day. 25 When they had come down from the high place into the city, 1Samuel spoke with Saul on athe top of the house. 26 They arose early; and it was about the dawning of the day that Samuel called to Saul on the top of the house, saying, “Get up, that I may send you on your way.” And Saul arose, and both of them went outside, he and Samuel. Saul Anointed King 27 As they were going down to the outskirts of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to go on ahead of us.” And he went on. “But you stand here 1awhile, that I may announce to you the word of God.” 10 Then aSamuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head, band kissed him and said: “Is it not because cthe LORD has anointed you commander over dHis 1inheritance? 2 “When you have departed from me today, you will find two men by aRachel’s tomb in the territory of Benjamin bat Zelzah; and they will say to you, ‘The donkeys which you went to look for have been found. And now your father has ceased caring about the donkeys and is worrying about cyou, saying, “What shall I do about my son?” ’ 3 “Then you shall go on forward from there and come to the terebinth 5 a1 Sam. 1:1 b1 Sam. 10:2 6 aDeut. 33:1 b1 Sam. 3:19 7 aJudg. 6:18; 13:17 9 aGen. 25:22 b2 Kin. 17:13 1Lit. to seek God 10 1Lit. Your word is good 11 aEx. 2:16 12 aGen. 31:54 b1 Kin. 3:2 15 a1 Sam. 15:1 16 aDeut. 17:15 b1 Sam. 10:1 cEx. 2:23–25; 3:7, 9 1prince or ruler 17 a1 Sam. 16:12 20 a1 Sam. 9:3 b1 Sam. 8:5, 19; 12:13 1for whom 21 a1 Sam. 15:17 bJudg. 20:46–48 cJudg. 6:15 1Lit. tribes 24 aLev. 7:32, 33 25 aDeut. 22:8 1So with MT, Tg.; LXX omits He spoke with Saul on the top of the house; LXX, Vg. afterward add And he prepared a bed for Saul on the top of the house, and he slept. 27 1now CHAPTER 10 1 a2 Kin. 9:3, 6 bPs. 2:12 cActs 13:21 dDeut. 32:9 1So with MT, Tg.,Vg.; LXX people Israel; and you shall rule the people of the Lord; LXX,Vg. add And you shall deliver His people from the hands of their enemies all around them. And this shall be a sign to you, that God has anointed you to be a prince. 2 aGen. 35:16–20; 48:7 bJosh. 18:28 c1 Sam. 9:3–5

1 SAMUEL 10:4 248 tree of Tabor. There three men going up ato God at Bethel will meet you, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine. 4 “And they will 1greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall receive from their hands. 5 “After that you shall come to the hill of God awhere the Philistine gar- rison is. And it will happen, when you have come there to the city, that you will meet a group of prophets coming down bfrom the high place with a stringed instrument, a tam- bourine, a flute, and a harp before them; cand they will be prophesying. 6 “Then athe Spirit of the LORD will come upon you, and byou will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. 7 “And let it be, when these asigns come to you, that you do as the occa- sion demands; for bGod is with you. 8 “You shall go down before me ato Gilgal; and surely I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and make sacrifices of peace offer- ings. bSeven days you shall wait, till I come to you and show you what you should do.” 9 So it was, when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, that God 1gave him another heart; and all those signs came to pass that day. 10 aWhen they came there to the hill, there was ba group of prophets to meet him; then the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them. 11 And it happened, when all who knew him formerly saw that he indeed prophesied among the prophets, that the people said to one another, “What is this that has come upon the son of Kish? aIs Saul also among the prophets?” 12 Then a man from there answered and said, “But awho is their father?” Therefore it became a proverb: “Is Saul also among the prophets?” 13 And when he had finished prophesying, he went to the high place. 14 Then Saul’s auncle said to him and his servant, “Where did you go?” So he said, “To look for the donkeys. When we saw that they were nowhere to be found, we went to Samuel.” 15 And Saul’s uncle said, “Tell me, please, what Samuel said to you.” 16 So Saul said to his uncle, “He told us plainly that the donkeys had been afound.” But about the matter of the kingdom, he did not tell him what Samuel had said. Saul Proclaimed King 17 Then Samuel called the people together ato the LORD bat Mizpah, 18 and said to the children of Israel, a“Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all kingdoms and from those who oppressed you.’ 19 a“But you have today rejected your God, who Himself saved you from all your adversities and your tribulations; and you have said to Him, ‘No, set a king over us!’ Now therefore, present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and by your 1clans.” 20 And when Samuel had acaused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was chosen. 21 When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was chosen. And Saul the son of Kish was chosen. But when they sought him, he could not be found. 22 Therefore they ainquired of the LORD further, “Has the man come here yet?” And the LORD answered, “There he is, hidden among the equipment.” 23 So they ran and brought him from there; and when he stood among the people, ahe was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. 24 And Samuel said to all the peo- ple, “Do you see him awhom the LORD has chosen, that there is no one like him among all the people?” So all the people shouted and said, b“Long1 live the king!” 25 Then Samuel explained to the people athe behavior of royalty, and wrote it in a book and laid it up before the LORD. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house. 26 And Saul also went home ato Gibeah; and valiant men went with him, whose hearts God had touched. 27 aBut some brebels said, “How can this man save us?” So they despised him, cand brought him no presents.

that there is no one like him among all the people?” So all the people shouted and said, b“Long1 live the king!” 25 Then Samuel explained to the people athe behavior of royalty, and wrote it in a book and laid it up before the LORD. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house. 26 And Saul also went home ato Gibeah; and valiant men went with him, whose hearts God had touched. 27 aBut some brebels said, “How can this man save us?” So they despised him, cand brought him no presents. But he 1held his peace. Saul Saves Jabesh Gilead 11 Then aNahash the Ammonite came up and 1encamped against bJabesh Gilead; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, c“Make a covenant with us, and we will serve you.” 2 And Nahash the Ammonite answered them, “On this condition I will make a covenant with you, that I may put out all your right eyes, and bring areproach on all Israel.” 3 Then the elders of Jabesh said to him, “Hold off for seven days, that we may send messengers to all the territory of Israel. And then, if there is no one to 1save us, we will come out to you.” 4 So the messengers came ato Gibeah of Saul and told the news in the hearing of the people. And ball 3 aGen. 28:22; 35:1, 3, 7 4 1ask you about your welfare 5 a1 Sam. 13:2, 3 b1 Sam. 19:12, 20 c2 Kin. 3:15 6 aNum. 11:25, 29 b1 Sam. 10:10; 19:23, 24 7 aEx. 4:8 bJudg. 6:12 8 a1 Sam. 11:14, 15; 13:8 b1 Sam. 13:8–10 9 1changed his heart 10 a1 Sam. 10:5 b1 Sam. 19:20 11 aMatt. 13:54–57 12 aJohn 5:30, 36 14 a1 Sam. 14:50 16 a1 Sam. 9:20 17 aJudg. 20:1 b1 Sam. 7:5, 6 18 aJudg. 6:8, 9 19 a1 Sam. 8:7, 19; 12:12 1thousands 20 aActs 1:24, 26 22 a1 Sam. 23:2, 4, 10, 11 23 a1 Sam. 9:2 24 a2 Sam. 21:6 b1 Kin. 1:25, 39 1Lit. May the king live 25 a1 Sam. 8:11–18 26 aJudg. 20:14 27 a1 Sam. 11:12 bDeut. 13:13 c1 Kin. 4:21; 10:25 1kept silent CHAPTER 11 1 a1 Sam. 12:12 bJudg. 21:8 cGen. 26:28 1besieged 2 aGen. 34:14 3 1deliver 4 a1 Sam. 10:26; 15:34 bJudg. 2:4; 20:23, 26; 21:2

249 1 SAMUEL 12:15 the people lifted up their voices and wept. 5 Now there was Saul, coming behind the herd from the field; and Saul said, “What troubles the peo- ple, that they weep?” And they told him the words of the men of Jabesh. 6 aThen the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard this news, and his anger was greatly aroused. 7 So he took a yoke of oxen and acut them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, b“Whoever does not go out with Saul and Samuel to battle, so it shall be done to his oxen.” And the fear of the LORD fell on the people, and they came out 1with one consent. 8 When he numbered them in aBezek, the children bof Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand. 9 And they said to the messengers who came, “Thus you shall say to the men of Jabesh Gilead: ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you shall have help.’ ” Then the messengers came and reported it to the men of Jabesh, and they were glad. 10 Therefore the men of Jabesh said, “Tomorrow we will come out to you, and you may do with us what- ever seems good to you.” 11 So it was, on the next day, that aSaul put the people bin three com- panies; and they came into the midst of the camp in the morning watch, and killed Ammonites until the heat of the day. And it happened that those who survived were scat- tered, so that no two of them were left together. 12 Then the people said to Samuel, a“Who is he who said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ bBring the men, that we may put them to death.” 13 But Saul said, a“Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today bthe LORD has accomplished salva- tion in Israel.” 14 Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go ato Gilgal and renew the kingdom there.” 15 So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king abefore the LORD in Gilgal. bThere they made sacrifices of peace offer- ings before the LORD, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly. Samuel’s Address at Saul’s Coronation 12 Now Samuel said to all Israel: “Indeed I have 1heeded ayour voice in all that you said to me, and bhave made a king over you. 2 “And now here is the king, awalking before you; band I am old and grayheaded, and look, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my childhood to this day. 3 “Here I am. Witness against me before the LORD and before aHis anointed: bWhose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed, or from whose hand have I received any cbribe with which to dblind my eyes?

1heeded ayour voice in all that you said to me, and bhave made a king over you. 2 “And now here is the king, awalking before you; band I am old and grayheaded, and look, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my childhood to this day. 3 “Here I am. Witness against me before the LORD and before aHis anointed: bWhose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed, or from whose hand have I received any cbribe with which to dblind my eyes? I will restore it to you.” 4 And they said, a“You have not cheated us or oppressed us, nor have you taken anything from any man’s hand.” 5 Then he said to them, “The LORD is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day, athat you have not found anything bin my hand.” And they answered, “He is witness.” 6 Then Samuel said to the people, a“It is the LORD who raised up Moses and Aaron, and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt. 7 “Now therefore, stand still, that I may areason with you before the LORD concerning all the brighteous acts of the LORD which He did to you and your fathers: 8 a“When Jacob had gone into 1Egypt, and your fathers bcried out to the LORD, then the LORD csent Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place. 9 “And when they aforgot the LORD their God, He sold them into the hand of bSisera, commander of the army of Hazor, into the hand of the cPhilistines, and into the hand of the king of dMoab; and they fought against them. 10 “Then they cried out to the LORD, and said, a‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken the LORD band served the Baals and 1Ashtoreths; but now deliver us from the hand of our enemies, and we will serve You.’ 11 “And the LORD sent 1Jerubbaal, 2Bedan, aJephthah, and bSamuel,3 and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side; and you dwelt in safety. 12 “And when you saw that aNa- hash king of the Ammonites came against you, byou said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ when cthe LORD your God was your king. 13 “Now therefore, ahere is the king bwhom you have chosen and whom you have desired. And take note, cthe LORD has set a king over you. 14 “If you afear the LORD and serve Him and obey His voice, and do not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then both you and the king who reigns over you will con- tinue following the LORD your God. 15 “However, if you do anot obey the voice of the LORD, but brebel against the commandment of the LORD, then the hand of the LORD will be against you, as it was against your fathers. 6 aJudg. 3:10; 6:34; 11:29; 13:25; 14:6 7 aJudg. 19:29 bJudg. 21:5, 8, 10 1Lit. as one man 8 aJudg. 1:5 b2 Sam. 24:9 11 a1 Sam. 31:11 bJudg. 7:16, 20 12 a1 Sam. 10:27 bLuke 19:27 13 a2 Sam. 19:22 bEx. 14:13, 30 14 a1 Sam. 7:16; 10:8 15 a1 Sam. 10:17 b1 Sam. 10:8 CHAPTER 12 1 a1 Sam. 8:5, 7, 9, 20, 22 b1 Sam. 10:24; 11:14, 15 1lis- tened to 2 aNum. 27:17 b1 Sam. 8:1, 5 3 a1 Sam. 10:1; 24:6 bNum. 16:15 cEx. 23:8 dDeut. 16:19 4 aLev. 19:13 5 aActs 23:9; 24:20 bEx. 22:4 6 aMic. 6:4 7 aIs. 1:18 bJudg. 5:11 8 aGen. 46:5, 6 bEx. 2:23–25 cEx. 3:10; 4:14–16 1So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX adds and the Egyptians afflicted them 9 aJudg. 3:7 bJudg. 4:2 cJudg. 3:31; 10:7; 13:1 dJudg. 3:12–30 10 aJudg. 10:10 bJudg. 2:13; 3:7 1Images of Canaanite goddesses 11 aJudg. 11:1 b1 Sam. 7:13 1Gideon, cf. Judg. 6:25–32; Syr. Deborah; Tg. Gideon 2LXX, Syr. Barak; Tg. Simson 3Syr. Simson 12 a1 Sam. 11:1, 2 b1 Sam. 8:5, 19, 20 cJudg. 8:23 13 a1 Sam. 10:24 b1 Sam. 8:5; 12:17, 19 cHos. 13:11 14 aJosh. 24:14 15 aDeut. 28:15 bIs. 1:20

1 SAMUEL 12:16 250 16 “Now therefore, astand and see this great thing which the LORD will do before your eyes: 17 “Is today not the awheat har- vest? bI will call to the LORD, and He will send thunder and crain, that you may perceive and see that dyour wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking a king for yourselves.” 18 So Samuel called to the LORD, and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day; and aall the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel. 19 And all the people said to Samuel, a“Pray for your servants to the LORD your God, that we may not die; for we have added to all our sins the evil of asking a king for our- selves.” 20 Then Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have done all this wickedness; ayet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. 21 “And ado not turn aside; bfor then you would go after empty things which cannot profit or deliv- er, for they are nothing. 22 “For athe LORD will not forsake bHis people, cfor His great name’s sake, because dit has pleased the LORD to make you His people. 23 “Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD ain ceasing to pray for you; but bI will teach you the cgood and the right way. 24 a“Only fear the LORD, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for bconsider what cgreat things He has done for you. 25 “But if you still do wickedly, ayou shall be swept away, bboth you and your king.” Saul’s Unlawful Sacrifice 13 Saul 1reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel, 2 Saul chose for himself three thou- sand men of Israel. Two thousand were with Saul in aMichmash and in the mountains of Bethel, and a thou- sand were with bJonathan in cGibeah of Benjamin. The rest of the people he sent away, every man to his tent. 3 And Jonathan attacked athe garrison of the Philistines that was in bGeba, and the Philistines heard of it. Then Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear!” 4 Now all Israel heard it said that Saul had attacked a garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel had also become 1an abomination to the Philistines. And the people were called together to Saul at Gilgal. 5 Then the Philistines gathered together to fight with Israel, 1thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen, and people aas the sand which is on the seashore in multi- tude. And they came up and encamped in Michmash, to the east of bBeth Aven. 6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in danger (for the people were distressed), then the people ahid in caves, in thickets, in rocks, in holes, and in pits. 7 And some of the Hebrews crossed over the Jordan to the aland of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was still in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling. 8 aThen he waited seven days, according to the time set by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. 9 So Saul said, “Bring a burnt offering and peace offerings here to me.” And he offered the burnt offer- ing. 10 Now it happened, as soon as he had finished presenting the burnt offering, that Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might 1greet him. 11 And Samuel said, “What have you done?” Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come with- in the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash, 12 “then I said, ‘The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the LORD.’ Therefore I felt com- pelled, and offered a burnt offering.” 13 And Samuel said to Saul, a“You have done foolishly. bYou have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which He commanded you. For now the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. 14 a“But now your kingdom shall not continue.

appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash, 12 “then I said, ‘The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the LORD.’ Therefore I felt com- pelled, and offered a burnt offering.” 13 And Samuel said to Saul, a“You have done foolishly. bYou have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which He commanded you. For now the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. 14 a“But now your kingdom shall not continue. bThe LORD has sought for Himself a man cafter His own heart, and the LORD has command- ed him to be commander over His people, because you have dnot kept what the LORD commanded you.” 15 Then Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of 1Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people present with him, aabout six hun- dred men. No Weapons for the Army 16 Saul, Jonathan his son, and the people present with them remained in 1Gibeah of Benjamin. But the Philistines encamped in Michmash. 17 Then raiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies. One company turned onto the road to aOphrah, to the land of Shual, 18 another company turned to the road to aBeth Horon, and another company turned to the road of the 16 aEx. 14:13, 31 17 aGen. 30:14 b[James 5:16–18] cEzra 10:9 d1 Sam. 8:7 18 aEx. 14:31 19 aEx. 9:28 20 aDeut. 11:16 21 a2 Chr. 25:15 bIs. 41:29 22 aDeut. 31:6 bIs. 43:21 cJer. 14:21 dDeut. 7:6–11 23 aRom. 1:9 bPs. 34:11 c1 Kin. 8:36 24 aEccl. 12:13 bIs. 5:12 cDeut. 10:21 25 aJosh. 24:20 bDeut. 28:36 CHAPTER 13 1 1Heb. is dif- ficult; cf. 2 Sam. 5:4; 2 Kin. 14:2; see also 2 Sam. 2:10; Acts 13:21 2 a1 Sam. 14:5, 31 b1 Sam. 14:1 c1 Sam. 10:26 3 a1 Sam. 10:5 b2 Sam. 5:25 4 1odious 5 aJudg. 7:12 bJosh. 7:2 1So with MT, LXX, Tg., Vg.; Syr. and some mss. of LXX three thou- sand 6 aJudg. 6:2 7 aNum. 32:1–42 8 a1 Sam. 10:8 10 1Lit. bless him 13 a2 Chr. 16:9 b1 Sam. 15:11, 22, 28 14 a1 Sam. 15:28; 31:6 b1 Sam. 16:1 cActs 7:46; 13:22 d1 Sam. 15:11, 19 15 a1 Sam. 13:2, 6, 7; 14:2 1So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Vg. add And the rest of the people went up after Saul to meet the people who fought against them, going from Gilgal to Gibeah in the hill of Ben- jamin. 16 1Heb. Geba 17 aJosh. 18:23 18 aJosh. 16:3; 18:13, 14

251 1 SAMUEL 14:23 border that overlooks the Valley of bZeboim toward the wilderness. 19 Now athere was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, “Lest the Hebrews make swords or spears.” 20 But all the Israelites would go down to the Philistines to sharpen each man’s plowshare, his mattock, his ax, and his sickle; 21 and the charge for a sharpening was a 1pim for the plowshares, the mattocks, the forks, and the axes, and to set the points of the goads. 22 So it came about, on the day of battle, that athere was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan. But they were found with Saul and Jonathan his son. 23 aAnd the garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass of Michmash. Jonathan Defeats the Philistines 14 Now it happened one day that Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who 1bore his armor, “Come, let us go over to the Philistines’ garrison that is on the other side.” But he did not tell his father. 2 And Saul was sitting in the out- skirts of aGibeah under a pome- granate tree which is in Migron. The people who were with him were about six hundred men. 3 aAhijah the son of Ahitub, bIcha- bod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the LORD’s priest in Shiloh, was cwearing an ephod. But the people did not know that Jonathan had gone. 4 Between the passes, by which Jonathan sought to go over ato the Philistines’ garrison, there was a sharp rock on one side and a sharp rock on the other side. And the name of one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. 5 The front of one faced north- ward opposite Michmash, and the other southward opposite Gibeah. 6 Then Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these auncircumcised; it may be that the LORD will work for us. For nothing restrains the LORD bfrom saving by many or by few.” 7 So his armorbearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Go then; here I am with you, according to your heart.” 8 Then Jonathan said, “Very well, let us cross over to these men, and we will show ourselves to them. 9 “If they say thus to us, ‘Wait until we come to you,’ then we will stand still in our place and not go up to them. 10 “But if they say thus, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up. For the LORD has delivered them into our hand, and athis will be a sign to us.” 11 So both of them showed them- selves to the garrison of the Philis- tines. And the Philistines said, “Look, the Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have ahid- den.” 12 Then the men of the garrison called to Jonathan and his armor- bearer, and said, “Come up to us, and we will 1show you something.” Jonathan said to his armorbearer, “Come up after me, for the LORD has delivered them into the hand of Israel.” 13 And Jonathan climbed up on his hands and knees with his armor- bearer after him; and they afell before Jonathan. And as he came after him, his armorbearer killed them. 14 That first slaughter which Jonathan and his armorbearer made was about twenty men within about 1half an acre of land. 15 And athere was 1trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people.

you something.” Jonathan said to his armorbearer, “Come up after me, for the LORD has delivered them into the hand of Israel.” 13 And Jonathan climbed up on his hands and knees with his armor- bearer after him; and they afell before Jonathan. And as he came after him, his armorbearer killed them. 14 That first slaughter which Jonathan and his armorbearer made was about twenty men within about 1half an acre of land. 15 And athere was 1trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison and bthe raiders also trembled; and the earth quaked, so that it was ca very great trembling. 16 Now the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and there was the multitude, melting away; and they awent here and there. 17 Then Saul said to the people who were with him, “Now call the roll and see who has gone from us.” And when they had called the roll, surprisingly, Jonathan and his armorbearer were not there. 18 And Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring the 1ark of God here” (for at that time the 2ark of God was with the children of Israel). 19 Now it happened, while Saul atalked to the priest, that the noise which was in the camp of the Philistines continued to increase; so Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.” 20 Then Saul and all the people who were with him assembled, and they went to the battle; and indeed aevery man’s sword was against his neighbor, and there was very great confusion. 21 Moreover the Hebrews who were with the Philistines before that time, who went up with them into the camp from the surrounding country, they also joined the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. 22 Likewise all the men of Israel who ahad hidden in the mountains of Ephraim, when they heard that the Philistines fled, they also fol- lowed hard after them in the battle. 23 aSo the LORD saved Israel that day, and the battle shifted bto Beth Aven. 18 bGen. 14:2; Neh. 11:34 19 aJudg. 5:8; 2 Kin. 24:14; Jer. 24:1; 29:2 21 1About two- thirds shekel weight 22 aJudg. 5:8 23 a1 Sam. 14:1, 4 CHAPTER 14 1 1carried 2 a1 Sam. 13:15, 16 3 a1 Sam. 22:9, 11, 20 b1 Sam. 4:21 c1 Sam. 2:28 4 a1 Sam. 13:23 6 a1 Sam. 17:26, 36; Jer. 9:25, 26 bJudg. 7:4, 7; 1 Sam. 17:46, 47; 2 Chr. 14:11; [Ps. 115:3; 135:6; Zech. 4:6; Matt. 19:26; Rom. 8:31] 10 aGen. 24:14; Judg. 6:36–40 11 a1 Sam. 13:6; 14:22 12 1teach 13 aLev. 26:8; Josh. 23:10 14 1Lit. half the area plowed by a yoke of oxen in a day 15 aDeut. 28:7; 2 Kin. 7:6, 7; Job 18:11 b1 Sam. 13:17 cGen. 35:5 1terror 16 a1 Sam. 14:20 18 1So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX ephod 2See preced- ing note 19 aNum. 27:21 20 aJudg. 7:22; 2 Chr. 20:23 22 a1 Sam. 13:6 23 aEx. 14:30; 2 Chr. 32:22; Hos. 1:7 b1 Sam. 13:5

1 SAMUEL 14:24 252 Saul’s Rash Oath 24 And the men of Israel were dis- tressed that day, for Saul had aplaced the people under oath, say- ing, “Cursed is the man who eats any food until evening, before I have taken vengeance on my enemies.” So none of the people tasted food. 25 aNow all the people of the land came to a forest; and there was bhoney on the ground. 26 And when the people had come into the woods, there was the honey, dripping; but no one put his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the oath. 27 But Jonathan had not heard his father charge the people with the oath; therefore he stretched out the end of the rod that was in his hand and dipped it in a honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his 1countenance brightened. 28 Then one of the people said, “Your father strictly charged the people with an oath, saying, ‘Cursed is the man who eats food this day.’ ” And the people were faint. 29 But Jonathan said, “My father has troubled the land. Look now, how my countenance has bright- ened because I tasted a little of this honey. 30 “How much better if the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies which they found! For now would there not have been a much greater slaughter among the Philistines?” 31 Now they had 1driven back the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon. So the people were very faint. 32 And the people rushed on the 1spoil, and took sheep, oxen, and calves, and slaughtered them on the ground; and the people ate them awith the blood. 33 Then they told Saul, saying, “Look, the people are sinning against the LORD by eating with the blood!” So he said, “You have dealt treacherously; roll a large stone to me this day.” 34 Then Saul said, “Disperse your- selves among the people, and say to them, ‘Bring me here every man’s ox and every man’s sheep, slaughter them here, and eat; and do not sin against the LORD by eating with the blood.’ ” So every one of the people brought his ox with him that night, and slaughtered it there. 35 Then Saul abuilt an altar to the LORD. This was the first altar that he built to the LORD. 36 Now Saul said, “Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and plunder them until the morning light; and let us not leave a man of them.” And they said, “Do whatever seems good to you.” Then the priest said, “Let us draw near to God here.” 37 So Saul aasked counsel of God, “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will You deliver them into the hand of Israel?” But bHe did not answer him that day. 38 And Saul said, a“Come over here, all you chiefs of the people, and know and see what this sin was today. 39 “For aas the LORD lives, who saves Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die.” But not a man among all the people answered him. 40 Then he said to all Israel, “You be on one side, and my son Jonathan and I will be on the other side.” And the people said to Saul, “Do what seems good to you.” 41 Therefore Saul said to the LORD God of Israel, a“Give1 a perfect lot.” bSo Saul and Jonathan were taken, but the people escaped. 42 And Saul said, “Cast lots between my son Jonathan and me.” So Jonathan was taken. 43 Then Saul said to Jonathan, a“Tell me what you have done.” And Jonathan told him, and said, b“I only tasted a little honey with the end of the rod that was in my hand. So now I must die!” 44 Saul answered, a“God do so and more also; bfor you shall surely die, Jonathan.” 45 But the people said to Saul, “Shall Jonathan die, who has accomplished this great deliverance in Israel? Certainly not!

he people escaped. 42 And Saul said, “Cast lots between my son Jonathan and me.” So Jonathan was taken. 43 Then Saul said to Jonathan, a“Tell me what you have done.” And Jonathan told him, and said, b“I only tasted a little honey with the end of the rod that was in my hand. So now I must die!” 44 Saul answered, a“God do so and more also; bfor you shall surely die, Jonathan.” 45 But the people said to Saul, “Shall Jonathan die, who has accomplished this great deliverance in Israel? Certainly not! aAs the LORD lives, not one hair of his head shall fall to the ground, for he has worked bwith God this day.” So the people rescued Jonathan, and he did not die. 46 Then Saul returned from pursu- ing the Philistines, and the Philis- tines went to their own place. Saul’s Continuing Wars 47 So Saul established his sover- eignty over Israel, and fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, against the peo- ple of aAmmon, against Edom, against the kings of bZobah, and against the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he 1harassed them. 48 And he gathered an army and aattacked1 the Amalekites, and delivered Israel from the hands of those who plundered them. 49 aThe sons of Saul were Jonathan, 1Jishui, and Malchishua. And the names of his two daughters were these: the name of the first- born Merab, and the name of the younger bMichal. 50 The name of Saul’s wife was Ahinoam the daughter of Ahimaaz. And the name of the commander of his army was Abner the son of Ner, Saul’s auncle. 51 aKish was the father of Saul, and 24 aJosh. 6:26 25 aDeut. 9:28; Matt. 3:5 bEx. 3:8; Num. 13:27; Matt. 3:4 27 1Lit. eyes 31 1Lit. struck 32 aGen. 9:4; Lev. 3:17; 17:10–14; 19:26; Deut. 12:16, 23, 24; Acts 15:20 1plunder 35 a1 Sam. 7:12, 17; 2 Sam. 24:25 37 aJudg. 20:18 b1 Sam. 28:6 38 aJosh. 7:14; 1 Sam. 10:19 39 a1 Sam. 14:24, 44; 2 Sam. 12:5 41 aProv. 16:33; Acts 1:24–26 bJosh. 7:16; 1 Sam. 10:20, 21 1So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Vg. Why do You not answer Your servant today? If the injustice is with me or Jonathan my son, O LORD God of Israel, give proof; and if You say it is with Your people Israel, give holiness. 43 aJosh. 7:19 b1 Sam. 14:27 44 aRuth 1:17; 1 Sam. 25:22 b1 Sam. 14:39 45 a2 Sam. 14:11; 1 Kin. 1:52; Luke 21:18; Acts 27:34 b[2 Cor. 6:1; Phil. 2:12, 13] 47 a1 Sam. 11:1–13 b2 Sam. 10:6 1LXX, Vg. prospered 48 aEx. 17:16; 1 Sam. 15:3–7 1Lit. struck 49 a1 Sam. 31:2; 1 Chr. 8:33 b1 Sam. 18:17–20, 27; 19:12 1Abi- nadab, 1 Chr. 8:33; 9:39 50 a1 Sam. 10:14 51 a1 Sam. 9:1, 21

253 1 SAMUEL 15:26 Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel. 52 Now there was fierce war with the Philistines all the days of Saul. And when Saul saw any strong man or any valiant man, ahe took him for himself. Saul Spares King Agag 15 Samuel also said to Saul, a“The LORD sent me to anoint you king over His people, over Israel. Now therefore, heed the voice of the words of the LORD. 2 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, ahow he ambushed him on the way when he came up from Egypt. 3 ‘Now go and aattack1 Amalek, and butterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’ ” 4 So Saul gathered the people together and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand men of Judah. 5 And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and lay in wait in the valley. 6 Then Saul said to athe Kenites, b“Go, depart, get down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. For cyou showed kind- ness to all the children of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. 7 aAnd Saul attacked the Amalek- ites, from bHavilah all the way to cShur, which is east of Egypt. 8 aHe also took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and butterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. 9 But Saul and the people aspared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But every- thing despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed. Saul Rejected as King 10 Now the word of the LORD came to Samuel, saying, 11 a“I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king, for he has bturned back from following Me, cand has not performed My commandments.” And it dgrieved Samuel, and he cried out to the LORD all night. 12 So when Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul, it was told Samuel, saying, “Saul went to aCarmel, and indeed, he set up a monument for himself; and he has gone on around, passed by, and gone down to Gilgal.” 13 Then Samuel went to Saul, and Saul said to him, a“Blessed are you of the LORD! I have performed the commandment of the LORD.” 14 But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?” 15 And Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites; afor the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen, to sacrifice to the LORD your God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.” 16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Be quiet! And I will tell you what the LORD said to me last night.” And he said to him, “Speak on.” 17 So Samuel said, a“When you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the LORD anoint you king over Israel? 18 “Now the LORD sent you on a mission, and said, ‘Go, and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are 1consumed.’ 19 “Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD?

estroyed.” 16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Be quiet! And I will tell you what the LORD said to me last night.” And he said to him, “Speak on.” 17 So Samuel said, a“When you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the LORD anoint you king over Israel? 18 “Now the LORD sent you on a mission, and said, ‘Go, and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are 1consumed.’ 19 “Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD? Why did you swoop down on the 1spoil, and do evil in the sight of the LORD?” 20 And Saul said to Samuel, a“But I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and gone on the mission on which the LORD sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Ama- lekites. 21 a“But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal.” 22 So Samuel said: a“Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, bto obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is as the sin of 1witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, aHe also has rejected you from being king.” 24 aThen Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD and your words, because I bfeared the people and obeyed their voice. 25 “Now therefore, please pardon my sin, and return with me, that I may worship the LORD.” 26 But Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you, afor you have rejected the word of the LORD, and 52 a1 Sam. 8:11 CHAPTER 15 1 a1 Sam. 9:16; 10:1 2 aDeut. 25:17–19 3 aDeut. 25:19 bNum. 24:20 1Lit. strike 6 aNum. 24:21 bGen. 18:25; 19:12, 14 cEx. 18:10, 19 7 a1 Sam. 14:48 bGen. 2:11; 25:17, 18 cGen. 16:7 8 a1 Sam. 15:32, 33 b1 Sam. 27:8, 9 9 a1 Sam. 15:3, 15, 19 11 aGen. 6:6, 7 b1 Kin. 9:6 c1 Sam. 13:13; 15:3, 9 d1 Sam. 15:35; 16:1 12 aJosh. 15:55 13 aJudg. 17:2 15 a[Gen. 3:12, 13]; 1 Sam. 15:9, 21 17 a1 Sam. 9:21; 10:22 18 1extermi- nated 19 1plunder 20 a1 Sam. 15:13 21 a1 Sam. 15:15 22 a[Is. 1:11–17] b[Hos. 6:6] 23 a1 Sam. 13:14; 16:1 1divination 24 aJosh. 7:20 b[Is. 51:12, 13] 26 a1 Sam. 2:30

1 SAMUEL 15:27 254 the LORD has rejected you from being king over Israel.” 27 And as Samuel turned around to go away, aSaul seized the edge of his robe, and it tore. 28 So Samuel said to him, a“The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. 29 “And also the Strength of Israel awill not lie nor relent. For He is not a man, that He should relent.” 30 Then he said, “I have sinned; yet ahonor me now, please, before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may worship the LORD your God.” 31 So Samuel turned back after Saul, and Saul worshiped the LORD. 32 Then Samuel said, “Bring Agag king of the Amalekites here to me.” So Agag came to him cautiously. And Agag said, “Surely the bitter- ness of death is past.” 33 But Samuel said, a“As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel hacked Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal. 34 Then Samuel went to aRamah, and Saul went up to his house at bGibeah of Saul. 35 And aSamuel went no more to see Saul until the day of his death. Nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul, and the LORD regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel. David Anointed King 16 Now the LORD said to Samuel, a“How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? bFill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to cJesse the Bethlehemite. For dI have 1provided Myself a king among his sons.” 2 And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” But the LORD said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, a‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’ 3 “Then invite Jesse to the sacri- fice, and I will show you what you shall do; you shall anoint for Me the one I name to you.” 4 So Samuel did what the LORD said, and went to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town atrembled at his coming, and said, b“Do you come peaceably?” 5 And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. aSanctify1 yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons, and invited them to the sacrifice. 6 So it was, when they came, that he looked at aEliab and bsaid, “Sure- ly the LORD’s anointed is before Him!” 7 But the LORD said to Samuel, a“Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have 1refused him. bFor2 the LORD does not see as man sees; for man clooks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the dheart.” 8 So Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the LORD cho- sen this one.” 9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one.” 10 Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The LORD has not chosen these.” 11 And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all the young men here?” Then he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the asheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him. For we will not 1sit down till he comes here.” 12 So he sent and brought him in. Now he was aruddy, bwith 1bright eyes, and good-looking. cAnd the LORD said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!” 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and athe Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah. A Distressing Spirit Troubles Saul 14 aBut the Spirit of the LORD de- parted from Saul, and ba distressing spirit from the LORD troubled him. 15 And Saul’s servants said to him, “Surely, a distressing spirit from God is troubling you. 16 “Let our master now command your servants, who are before you, to seek out a man who is a skillful player on the harp.

nointed him in the midst of his brothers; and athe Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah. A Distressing Spirit Troubles Saul 14 aBut the Spirit of the LORD de- parted from Saul, and ba distressing spirit from the LORD troubled him. 15 And Saul’s servants said to him, “Surely, a distressing spirit from God is troubling you. 16 “Let our master now command your servants, who are before you, to seek out a man who is a skillful player on the harp. And it shall be that he will aplay it with his hand when the 1distressing spirit from God is upon you, and you shall be well.” 17 So Saul said to his servants, 1“Provide me now a man who can play well, and bring him to me.” 18 Then one of the servants answered and said, “Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethle- hemite, who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and athe LORD is with him.” 19 Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.” 20 And Jesse atook a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine, and a young goat, and sent them by his son David to Saul. 21 So David came to Saul and astood before him. And he loved him greatly, and he became his armor- bearer. 22 Then Saul sent to Jesse, saying, 27 a1 Kin. 11:30, 31 28 a1 Kin. 11:31 29 aNum. 23:19 30 a[John 5:44; 12:43] 33 a[Gen. 9:6] 34 a1 Sam. 7:17 b1 Sam. 11:4 35 a1 Sam. 19:24 CHAPTER 16 1 a1 Sam. 15:23, 35 b1 Sam. 9:16; 10:1 cRuth 4:18–22 dActs 13:22 1Lit. seen 2 a1 Sam. 9:12 4 a1 Sam. 21:1 b1 Kin. 2:13 5 aEx. 19:10 1Consecrate 6 a1 Sam. 17:13, 28 b1 Kin. 12:26 7 aPs. 147:10 bIs. 55:8, 9 c2 Cor. 10:7 d1 Kin. 8:39 1rejected 2LXX For God does not see as man sees; Tg. It is not by the appearance of a man; Vg. Nor do I judge accord- ing to the looks of a man 11 a2 Sam. 7:8 1So with LXX, Vg.; MT turn around; Tg., Syr. turn away 12 a1 Sam. 17:42 bGen. 39:6 c1 Sam. 9:17 1Lit. beautiful 13 aNum. 27:18 14 aJudg. 16:20 bJudg. 9:23 16 a1 Sam. 18:10; 19:9 1Lit. evil 17 1Lit. Look now for a man for me 18 a1 Sam. 3:19; 18:12, 14 20 a1 Sam. 10:4, 27 21 aGen. 41:46

255 1 SAMUEL 17:29 “Please let David stand before me, for he has found favor in my sight.” 23 And so it was, whenever the spirit from God was upon Saul, that David would take a harp and play it with his hand. Then Saul would become refreshed and well, and the distressing spirit would depart from him. David and Goliath 17 Now the Philistines gathered their armies together to bat- tle, and were gathered at aSochoh, which belongs to Judah; they en- camped between Sochoh and Azekah, in Ephes Dammim. 2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and they encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in battle array against the Philistines. 3 The Philistines stood on a mountain on one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side, with a valley between them. 4 And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines, named aGoliath, from bGath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was 1armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. 6 And he had bronze armor on his legs and a bronze javelin between his shoulders. 7 Now the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his iron spearhead weighed six hundred shekels; and a shield-bearer went before him. 8 Then he stood and cried out to the armies of Israel, and said to them, “Why have you come out to line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and you the aservants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. 9 “If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and aserve us.” 10 And the Philistine said, “I adefy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight to- gether.” 11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid. 12 Now David was athe son of that bEphrathite of Bethlehem Judah, whose name was Jesse, and who had ceight sons. And the man was old, advanced in years, in the days of Saul. 13 The three oldest sons of Jesse had gone to follow Saul to the bat- tle. The anames of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. 14 David was the youngest. And the three oldest followed Saul. 15 But David occasionally went and returned from Saul ato feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem. 16 And the Philistine drew near and presented himself forty days, morning and evening. 17 Then Jesse said to his son David, “Take now for your brothers an ephah of this dried grain and these ten loaves, and run to your brothers at the camp. 18 “And carry these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand, and asee how your brothers fare, and bring back news of them.” 19 Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. 20 So David rose early in the morn- ing, left the sheep with a keeper, and took the things and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the camp as the army was going out to the fight and shouting for the battle. 21 For Israel and the Philistines had drawn up in battle array, army against army. 22 And David left his supplies in the hand of the supply keeper, ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers. 23 Then as he talked with them, there was the champion, the Philis- tine of Gath, Goliath by name, com- ing up from the armies of the Philistines; and he spoke aaccording to the same words. So David heard them. 24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid. 25 So the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up?

army. 22 And David left his supplies in the hand of the supply keeper, ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers. 23 Then as he talked with them, there was the champion, the Philis- tine of Gath, Goliath by name, com- ing up from the armies of the Philistines; and he spoke aaccording to the same words. So David heard them. 24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid. 25 So the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel; and it shall be that the man who kills him the king will enrich with great riches, awill give him his daughter, and give his father’s house exemption from taxes in Israel.” 26 Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away athe reproach from Israel? For who is this buncircumcised Philistine, that he should cdefy the armies of dthe living God?” 27 And the people answered him in this manner, saying, a“So shall it be done for the man who kills him.” 28 Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s aanger was aroused against David, and he said, “Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.” 29 And David said, “What have I CHAPTER 17 1 aJosh. 15:35; 2 Chr. 28:18 4 a2 Sam. 21:19 bJosh. 11:21, 22 5 1clothed with scaled body armor 8 a1 Sam. 8:17 9 a1 Sam. 11:1 10 a1 Sam. 17:26, 36, 45; 2 Sam. 21:21 12 aRuth 4:22; 1 Sam. 16:1, 18; 17:58 bGen. 35:19 c1 Sam. 16:10, 11; 1 Chr. 2:13–15 13 a1 Sam. 16:6, 8, 9; 1 Chr. 2:13 15 a1 Sam. 16:11, 19; 2 Sam. 7:8 18 aGen. 37:13, 14 23 a1 Sam. 17:8–10 25 aJosh. 15:16 26 a1 Sam. 11:2 b1 Sam. 14:6; 17:36; Jer. 9:25, 26 c1 Sam. 17:10 dDeut. 5:26; 2 Kin. 19:4; Jer. 10:10 27 a1 Sam. 17:25 28 aGen. 37:4, 8–36; [Prov. 18:19; Matt. 10:36]

1 SAMUEL 17:30 256 done now? aIs1 there not a cause?” 30 Then he turned from him toward another and asaid the same thing; and these people answered him as the first ones did. 31 Now when the words which David spoke were heard, they reported them to Saul; and he sent for him. 32 Then David said to Saul, a“Let no man’s heart fail because of him; byour servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” 33 And Saul said to David, a“You are not able to go against this Philis- tine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.” 34 But David said to Saul, “Your ser- vant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a alion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, 35 “I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. 36 “Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircum- cised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.” 37 Moreover David said, a“The LORD, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, b“Go, and the LORD be with you!” 38 So Saul clothed David with his 1armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head; he also clothed him with a coat of mail. 39 David fastened his sword to his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. And David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them.” So David took them off. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine. 41 So the Philistine came, and began drawing near to David, and the man who bore the shield went before him. 42 And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he adisdained1 him; for he was only a youth, bruddy and good-looking. 43 So the Philistine asaid to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 And the Philistine asaid to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!” 45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. aBut I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have bdefied. 46 “This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give athe car- casses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, bthat all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 47 “Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD adoes not save with sword and spear; for bthe battle is the LORD’s, and He will give you into our hands.” 48 So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried and aran toward the army to meet the Philistine. 49 Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth. 50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a asling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David. 51 Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his asword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it.

49 Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth. 50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a asling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David. 51 Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his asword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, bthey fled. 52 Now the men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted, and pursued the Philistines as far as the entrance of 1the valley and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell along the road to aShaaraim, even as far as Gath and Ekron. 53 Then the children of Israel returned from chasing the Philis- tines, and they plundered their tents. 54 And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusa- lem, but he put his armor in his tent. 55 When Saul saw David going out against the Philistine, he said to aAbner, the commander of the army, “Abner, bwhose son is this youth?” And Abner said, “As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.” 56 So the king said, “Inquire whose son this young man is.” 57 Then, as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul awith the head of the Philistine in his hand. 58 And Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” So David answered, a“I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.” 29 a1 Sam. 17:17 1Lit. Is it not a word or matter? 30 a1 Sam. 17:26, 27 32 aDeut. 20:1–4 b1 Sam. 16:18 33 aNum. 13:31; Deut. 9:2 34 aJudg. 14:5 37 a[2 Cor. 1:10; 2 Tim. 4:17, 18] b1 Sam. 20:13; 1 Chr. 22:11, 16 38 1Lit. clothes 42 a[Ps. 123:4; Prov. 16:18; 1 Cor. 1:27, 28] b1 Sam. 16:12 1belit- tled 43 a1 Sam. 24:14; 2 Sam. 3:8; 9:8; 16:9; 2 Kin. 8:13 44 a1 Sam. 17:46; 1 Kin. 20:10, 11 45 a2 Sam. 22:33, 35; 2 Chr. 32:8; Ps. 124:8; [2 Cor. 10:4]; Heb. 11:33, 34 b1 Sam. 17:10 46 aDeut. 28:26 bJosh. 4:24; 1 Kin. 8:43; 18:36; 2 Kin. 19:19; Is. 52:10 47 a1 Sam. 14:6; 2 Chr. 14:11; 20:15; Ps. 44:6; Hos. 1:7; Zech. 4:6 b2 Chr. 20:15 48 aPs. 27:3 50 aJudg. 3:31; 15:15; 20:16 51 a1 Sam. 21:9; 2 Sam. 23:21 bHeb. 11:34 52 aJosh. 15:36 1So with MT, Syr., Tg., Vg.; LXX Gath 55 a1 Sam. 14:50 b1 Sam. 16:21, 22 57 a1 Sam. 17:54 58 a1 Sam. 17:12

257 1 SAMUEL 18:30 Saul Resents David 18 Now when he had finished speaking to Saul, athe 1soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, band Jonathan loved him as his own soul. 2 Saul took him that day, aand would not let him go home to his father’s house anymore. 3 Then Jonathan and David made a acovenant, because he loved him as his own soul. 4 And Jonathan took off the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armor, even to his sword and his bow and his belt. 5 So David went out wherever Saul sent him, and 1behaved wisely. And Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul’s servants. 6 Now it had happened as they were coming home, when David was returning from the slaughter of the 1Philistine, that athe women had come out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with joy, and with musical instru- ments. 7 So the women asang as they danced, and said: b“Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands.” 8 Then Saul was very angry, and the saying adispleased him; and he said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed only thousands. Now what more can he have but bthe king- dom?” 9 So Saul 1eyed David from that day forward. 10 And it happened on the next day that athe distressing spirit from God came upon Saul, band he prophesied inside the house. So David cplayed music with his hand, as at other times; dbut there was a spear in Saul’s hand. 11 And Saul acast the spear, for he said, “I will pin David to the wall!” But David escaped his presence twice. 12 Now Saul was aafraid of David, because bthe LORD was with him, but had cdeparted from Saul. 13 Therefore Saul removed him from 1his presence, and made him his captain over a thousand; and ahe went out and came in before the people. 14 And David behaved wisely in all his ways, and athe LORD was with him. 15 Therefore, when Saul saw that he behaved very wisely, he was afraid of him. 16 But aall Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and came in before them. David Marries Michal 17 Then Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter Merab; aI will give her to you as a wife. Only be valiant for me, and fight bthe LORD’s battles.” For Saul thought, c“Let my hand not be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him.” 18 So David said to Saul, a“Who am I, and what is my life or my father’s family in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king?” 19 But it happened at the time when Merab, Saul’s daughter, should have been given to David, that she was given to aAdriel the bMeholathite as a wife. 20 aNow Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved David. And they told Saul, and the thing pleased him. 21 So Saul said, “I will give her to him, that she may 1be a snare to him, and that athe hand of the Philistines may be against him.” Therefore Saul said to David a sec- ond time, b“You shall be my son-in- law today.” 22 And Saul commanded his ser- vants, “Communicate with David secretly, and say, ‘Look, the king has delight in you, and all his servants love you. Now therefore, become the king’s son-in-law.’ ” 23 So Saul’s servants spoke those words in the hearing of David. And David said, “Does it seem to you a light thing to be a king’s son-in-law, seeing I am a poor and lightly esteemed man?” 24 And the servants of Saul told him, saying, 1“In this manner David spoke.” 25 Then Saul said, “Thus you shall say to David: ‘The king does not desire any adowry but one hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to take bvengeance on the king’s enemies.’ ” But Saul cthought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. 26 So when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to become the king’s son-in-law. Now athe days had not expired; 27 therefore David arose and went, he and ahis men, and killed two hun- dred men of the Philistines.

anner David spoke.” 25 Then Saul said, “Thus you shall say to David: ‘The king does not desire any adowry but one hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to take bvengeance on the king’s enemies.’ ” But Saul cthought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. 26 So when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to become the king’s son-in-law. Now athe days had not expired; 27 therefore David arose and went, he and ahis men, and killed two hun- dred men of the Philistines. And bDavid brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full count to the king, that he might become the king’s son-in-law. Then Saul gave him Michal his daughter as a wife. 28 Thus Saul saw and knew that the LORD was with David, and that Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved him; 29 and Saul was still more afraid of David. So Saul became David’s enemy 1continually. 30 Then the princes of the Philis- tines awent out to war. And so it was, whenever they went out, that David CHAPTER 18 1 aGen. 44:30 b1 Sam. 20:17 1life of Jonathan was bound up with the life of 2 a1 Sam. 17:15 3 a1 Sam. 20:8–17 5 1Or pros- pered 6 aEx. 15:20, 21 1Philistines 7 aEx. 15:21 b1 Sam. 21:11; 29:5 8 aEccl. 4:4 b1 Sam. 15:28 9 1Viewed with suspi- cion 10 a1 Sam. 16:14 b1 Sam. 19:24 c1 Sam. 16:23 d1 Sam. 19:9, 10 11 a1 Sam. 19:10; 20:33 12 a1 Sam. 18:15, 29 b1 Sam. 16:13, 18 c1 Sam. 16:14; 28:15 13 aNum. 27:17 1Lit. himself 14 aJosh. 6:27 16 a1 Sam. 18:5 17 a1 Sam. 14:49; 17:25 bNum. 32:20, 27, 29 c1 Sam. 18:21, 25 18 a2 Sam. 7:18 19 a2 Sam. 21:8 bJudg. 7:22 20 a1 Sam. 18:28 21 a1 Sam. 18:17 b1 Sam. 18:26 1be bait for 24 1Lit. According to these words 25 aEx. 22:17 b1 Sam. 14:24 c1 Sam. 18:17 26 a1 Sam. 18:21 27 a1 Sam. 18:13 b2 Sam. 3:14 29 1all the days 30 a2 Sam. 11:1

1 SAMUEL 19:1 258 bbehaved more wisely than all the servants of Saul, so that his name became highly esteemed. Saul Persecutes David 19 Now Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants, that they should kill aDavid; but Jonathan, Saul’s son, bdelighted greatly in David. 2 So Jonathan told David, saying, “My father Saul seeks to kill you. Therefore please be on your guard until morning, and stay in a secret place and hide. 3 “And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak with my father about you. Then what I observe, I will tell ayou.” 4 Thus Jonathan aspoke well of David to Saul his father, and said to him, “Let not the king bsin against his servant, against David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his works have been very good toward you. 5 “For he took his alife in his hands and bkilled the Philistine, and cthe LORD brought about a great deliverance for all Israel.You saw it and rejoiced. dWhy then will you esin against innocent blood, to kill David without a cause?” 6 So Saul heeded the voice of Jonathan, and Saul swore, “As the LORD lives, he shall not be killed.” 7 Then Jonathan called David, and Jonathan told him all these things. So Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence aas in times past. 8 And there was war again; and David went out and fought with the Philistines, aand struck them with a mighty blow, and they fled from him. 9 Now athe distressing spirit from the LORD came upon Saul as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand. And David was playing music with his hand. 10 Then Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he slipped away from Saul’s presence; and he drove the spear into the wall. So David fled and escaped that night. 11 aSaul also sent messengers to David’s house to watch him and to kill him in the morning. And Michal, David’s wife, told him, saying, “If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.” 12 So Michal alet David down through a window. And he went and fled and escaped. 13 And Michal took 1an image and laid it in the bed, put a cover of goats’ hair for his head, and covered it with clothes. 14 So when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, “He is sick.” 15 Then Saul sent the messengers back to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him.” 16 And when the messengers had come in, there was the image in the bed, with a cover of goats’ hair for his head. 17 Then Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me like this, and sent my enemy away, so that he has escaped?” And Michal answered Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go! aWhy should I kill you?’ ” 18 So David fled and escaped, and went to aSamuel at bRamah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and stayed in Naioth. 19 Now it was told Saul, saying, “Take note, David is at Naioth in Ramah!” 20 Then aSaul sent messengers to take David. bAnd when they saw the group of prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as leader over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also cprophesied. 21 And when Saul was told, he sent other messengers, and they prophesied likewise. Then Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they prophesied also. 22 Then he also went to Ramah, and came to the great well that is at Sechu. So he asked, and said, “Where are Samuel and David?” And someone said, “Indeed they are at Naioth in Ramah.” 23 So he went there to Naioth in Ramah. Then athe Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on and prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah. 24 aAnd he also stripped off his clothes and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down bnaked all that day and all that night.

me, and they prophesied also. 22 Then he also went to Ramah, and came to the great well that is at Sechu. So he asked, and said, “Where are Samuel and David?” And someone said, “Indeed they are at Naioth in Ramah.” 23 So he went there to Naioth in Ramah. Then athe Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on and prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah. 24 aAnd he also stripped off his clothes and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down bnaked all that day and all that night. Therefore they say, c“Is Saul also among the prophets?” Jonathan’s Loyalty to David 20 Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and went and said to Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my iniquity, and what is my sin before your father, that he seeks my life?” 2 So Jonathan said to him, “By no means! You shall not die! Indeed, my father will do nothing either great or small without first telling me. And why should my father hide this thing from me? It is not so!” 3 Then David took an oath again, and said, “Your father cer- tainly knows that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved.’ But atruly, as the LORD lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death.” 4 So Jonathan said to David, 30 b1 Sam. 18:5 CHAPTER 19 1 a1 Sam. 8:8, 9 b1 Sam. 18:1 3 a1 Sam. 20:8–13 4 a1 Sam. 20:32; [Prov. 31:8, 9] bGen. 42:22; [Prov. 17:13]; Jer. 18:20 5 aJudg. 9:17; 12:3 b1 Sam. 17:49, 50 c1 Sam. 11:13; 1 Chr. 11:14 d1 Sam. 20:32 e[Deut. 19:10–13] 7 a1 Sam. 16:21; 18:2, 10, 13 8 a1 Sam. 18:27; 23:5 9 a1 Sam. 16:14; 18:10, 11 11 aJudg. 16:2; Ps. 59:title 12 aJosh. 2:15; Acts 9:25; 2 Cor. 11:33 13 1household idols, Heb. teraphim 17 a2 Sam. 2:22 18 a1 Sam. 16:13 b1 Sam. 7:17 20 a1 Sam. 19:11, 14; John 7:32 b1 Sam. 10:5, 6, 10; [1 Cor. 14:3, 24, 25] cNum. 11:25; Joel 2:28 23 a1 Sam. 10:10 24 aIs. 20:2 bMic. 1:8 c1 Sam. 10:10–12 CHAPTER 20 3 a1 Sam. 27:1; 2 Kin. 2:6

259 1 SAMUEL 20:34 “Whatever you yourself desire, I will do it for you.” 5 And David said to Jonathan, “Indeed tomorrow is the aNew Moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king to eat. But let me go, that I may bhide in the field until the third day at evening. 6 “If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David earnestly asked permission of me that he might run over ato Bethlehem, his city, for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family.’ 7 a“If he says thus: ‘It is well,’ your servant will be safe. But if he is very angry, be sure that bevil is deter- mined by him. 8 “Therefore you shall adeal kindly with your servant, for byou have brought your servant into a covenant of the LORD with you. Nev- ertheless, cif there is iniquity in me, kill me yourself, for why should you bring me to your father?” 9 But Jonathan said, “Far be it from you! For if I knew certainly that evil was determined by my father to come upon you, then would I not tell you?” 10 Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me, or what if your father answers you roughly?” 11 And Jonathan said to David, “Come, let us go out into the field.” So both of them went out into the field. 12 Then Jonathan said to David: “The LORD God of Israel is witness! When I have 1sounded out my father sometime tomorrow, or the third day, and indeed there is good toward David, and I do not send to you and tell you, 13 “may athe LORD do so and much more to Jonathan. But if it pleases my father to do you evil, then I will report it to you and send you away, that you may go in safety. And bthe LORD be with you as He has cbeen with my father. 14 “And you shall not only show me the kindness of the LORD while I still live, that I may not die; 15 “but ayou shall not 1cut off your kindness from my 2house forever, no, not when the LORD has cut off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.” 16 So Jonathan made a covenant with the 1house of David, saying, a“Let the LORD require it at the hand of David’s enemies.” 17 Now Jonathan again caused David to vow, because he loved him; afor he loved him as he loved his own soul. 18 Then Jonathan said to David, a“Tomorrow is the New Moon; and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty. 19 “And when you have stayed three days, go down quickly and come to athe place where you hid on the day of the deed; and remain by the stone Ezel. 20 “Then I will shoot three arrows to the side, as though I shot at a tar- get; 21 “and there I will send a lad, say- ing, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I expressly say to the lad, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you; get them and come’—then, aas the LORD lives, there is safety for you and no harm. 22 “But if I say thus to the young man, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you’—go your way, for the LORD has sent you away. 23 “And as for athe matter which you and I have spoken of, indeed the LORD be between you and me for- ever.” 24 Then David hid in the field. And when the New Moon had come, the king sat down to eat the feast. 25 Now the king sat on his seat, as at other times, on a seat by the wall. And 1Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul’s side, but David’s place was empty. 26 Nevertheless Saul did not say anything that day, for he thought, “Something has happened to him; he is unclean, surely he is aunclean.” 27 And it happened the next day, the second day of the month, that David’s place was empty. And Saul said to Jonathan his son, “Why has the son of Jesse not come to eat, either yesterday or today?” 28 So Jonathan aanswered Saul, “David earnestly asked permission of me to go to Bethlehem. 29 “And he said, ‘Please let me go, for our family has a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has com- manded me to be there. And now, if I have found favor in your eyes, please let me get away and see my brothers.’ Therefore he has not come to the king’s table.” 30 Then Saul’s anger was aroused against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse, rebel- lious woman!

, either yesterday or today?” 28 So Jonathan aanswered Saul, “David earnestly asked permission of me to go to Bethlehem. 29 “And he said, ‘Please let me go, for our family has a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has com- manded me to be there. And now, if I have found favor in your eyes, please let me get away and see my brothers.’ Therefore he has not come to the king’s table.” 30 Then Saul’s anger was aroused against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse, rebel- lious woman! Do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness? 31 “For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, you shall not be established, nor your kingdom. Now therefore, send and bring him to me, for he 1shall surely die.” 32 And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said to him, a“Why should he be killed? What has he done?” 33 Then Saul acast a spear at him to 1kill him, bby which Jonathan knew that it was determined by his father to kill David. 34 So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and ate no food the second day of the month, for he was 5 aNum. 10:10; 28:11–15 b1 Sam. 19:2, 3 6 a1 Sam. 16:4; 17:12; John 7:42 7 aDeut. 1:23; 2 Sam. 17:4 b1 Sam. 25:17; Esth. 7:7 8 aJosh. 2:14 b1 Sam. 18:3; 20:16; 23:18 c2 Sam. 14:32 12 1searched out 13 aRuth 1:17; 1 Sam. 3:17 bJosh. 1:5; 1 Sam. 17:37; 18:12; 1 Chr. 22:11, 16 c1 Sam. 10:7 15 a1 Sam. 24:21; 2 Sam. 9:1, 3, 7; 21:7 1stop being kind 2family 16 aDeut. 23:21; 1 Sam. 25:22; 31:2; 2 Sam. 4:7; 21:8 1family 17 a1 Sam. 18:1 18 a1 Sam. 20:5, 24 19 a1 Sam. 19:2 21 aJer. 4:2 23 a1 Sam. 20:14, 15 25 1So with MT, Syr., Tg., Vg.; LXX he sat across from Jonathan 26 aLev. 7:20, 21; 15:5 28 a1 Sam. 20:6 31 1Lit. is a son of death 32 aGen. 31:36; 1 Sam. 19:5; [Prov. 31:9]; Matt. 27:23; Luke 23:22 33 a1 Sam. 18:11; 19:10 b1 Sam. 20:7 1strike him down

1 SAMUEL 20:35 260 grieved for David, because his father had treated him shamefully. 35 And so it was, in the morning, that Jonathan went out into the field at the time appointed with David, and a little lad was with him. 36 Then he said to his lad, “Now run, find the arrows which I shoot.” As the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. 37 When the lad had come to the place where the arrow was which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried out after the lad and said, “Is not the arrow beyond you?” 38 And Jonathan cried out after the lad, “Make haste, hurry, do not delay!” So Jonathan’s lad gathered up the arrows and came back to his master. 39 But the lad did not know any- thing. Only Jonathan and David knew of the matter. 40 Then Jonathan gave his 1weapons to his lad, and said to him, “Go, carry them to the city.” 41 As soon as the lad had gone, David arose from a place toward the south, fell on his face to the ground, and bowed down three times. And they kissed one another; and they wept together, but David more so. 42 Then Jonathan said to David, a“Go in peace, since we have both sworn in the name of the LORD, say- ing, ‘May the LORD be between you and me, and between your descen- dants and my descendants, forever.’ ” So he arose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city. David and the Holy Bread 21 Now David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. And aAhimelech was bafraid when he met David, and said to him, “Why are you alone, and no one is with you?” 2 So David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has ordered me on some business, and said to me, ‘Do not let anyone know anything about the business on which I send you, or what I have commanded you.’ And I have directed my young men to such and such a place. 3 “Now therefore, what have you on hand? Give me five loaves of bread in my hand, or whatever can be found.” 4 And the priest answered David and said, “There is no 1common bread on hand; but there is aholy2 bread, bif the young men have at least kept themselves from women.” 5 Then David answered the priest, and said to him, “Truly, women have been kept from us about three days since I came out. And 1the avessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in effect common, even though it was conse- crated bin the vessel this day.” 6 So the priest agave him holy bread; for there was no bread there but the showbread bwhich had been taken from before the LORD, in order to put hot bread in its place on the day when it was taken away. 7 Now a certain man of the ser- vants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD. And his name was aDoeg, an Edomite, the chief of the herdsmen who belonged to Saul. 8 And David said to Ahimelech, “Is there not here on hand a spear or a sword? For I have brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s business required haste.” 9 So the priest said, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in athe Valley of Elah, bthere it is, wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, take it. For there is no other except that one here.” And David said, “There is none like it; give it to me.” David Flees to Gath 10 Then David arose and fled that day from before Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath. 11 And athe servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing of him to one another in dances, saying: b‘Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands’?” 12 Now David atook these words 1to heart, and was very much afraid of Achish the king of Gath. 13 So ahe changed his behavior before them, pretended 1madness in their hands, 2scratched on the doors of the gate, and let his saliva fall down on his beard. 14 Then Achish said to his servants, “Look, you see the man is insane. Why have you brought him to me? 15 “Have I need of madmen, that you have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence?

n his thousands, And David his ten thousands’?” 12 Now David atook these words 1to heart, and was very much afraid of Achish the king of Gath. 13 So ahe changed his behavior before them, pretended 1madness in their hands, 2scratched on the doors of the gate, and let his saliva fall down on his beard. 14 Then Achish said to his servants, “Look, you see the man is insane. Why have you brought him to me? 15 “Have I need of madmen, that you have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?” David’s Four Hundred Men 22 David therefore departed from there and aescaped bto the cave of Adullam. So when his broth- ers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him. 2 aAnd everyone who was in dis- tress, everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was 1discontented gathered to him. So he became cap- tain over them. And there were about bfour hundred men with him. 3 Then David went from there to Mizpah of aMoab; and he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and mother come here with you, till I know what God will do for me.” 4 So he brought them before the 40 1equipment 42 a1 Sam. 1:17 CHAPTER 21 1 a1 Sam. 14:3; Mark 2:26 b1 Sam. 16:4 4 aEx. 25:30; Lev. 24:5–9; Matt. 12:4 bEx. 19:15 1ordinary 2consecrated 5 aEx. 19:14, 15; 1 Thess. 4:4 bLev. 8:26 1The young men are cere- monially undefiled 6 aMatt. 12:3, 4; Mark 2:25, 26; Luke 6:3, 4 bLev. 24:8, 9 7 a1 Sam. 14:47; 22:9; Ps. 52:title 9 a1 Sam. 17:2, 50 b1 Sam. 31:10 11 aPs. 56:title b1 Sam. 18:6–8; 29:5 12 aLuke 2:19 1Lit. in his heart 13 aPs. 34:title 1insanity 2scribbled CHAPTER 22 1 aPs. 57:title; 142:title bJosh. 12:15; 15:35; 2 Sam. 23:13 2 aJudg. 11:3 b1 Sam. 25:13 1Lit. bitter of soul 3 a2 Sam. 8:2

261 1 SAMUEL 23:9 king of Moab, and they dwelt with him all the time that David was in the stronghold. 5 Now the prophet aGad said to David, “Do not stay in the strong- hold; depart, and go to the land of Judah.” So David departed and went into the forest of Hereth. Saul Murders the Priests 6 When Saul heard that David and the men who were with him had been discovered—now Saul was staying in aGibeah under a tamarisk tree in Ramah, with his spear in his hand, and all his servants standing about him— 7 then Saul said to his servants who stood about him, “Hear now, you Benjamites! Will the son of Jesse agive every one of you fields and vineyards, and make you all captains of thousands and captains of hundreds? 8 “All of you have conspired against me, and there is no one who reveals to me that amy son has made a covenant with the son of Jesse; and there is not one of you who is sorry for me or reveals to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as it is this day.” 9 Then answered aDoeg the Edom- ite, who was set over the servants of Saul, and said, “I saw the son of Jesse going to Nob, to bAhimelech the son of cAhitub. 10 a“And he inquired of the LORD for him, bgave him provisions, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.” 11 So the king sent to call Ahim- elech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s house, the priests who were in Nob. And they all came to the king. 12 And Saul said, “Hear now, son of Ahitub!” He answered, “Here I am, my lord.” 13 Then Saul said to him, “Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, in that you have given him bread and a sword, and have inquired of God for him, that he should rise against me, to lie in wait, as it is this day?” 14 So Ahimelech answered the king and said, “And who among all your servants is as afaithful as David, who is the king’s son-in-law, who goes at your bidding, and is honorable in your house? 15 “Did I then begin to inquire of God for him? Far be it from me! Let not the king impute anything to his servant, or to any in the house of my father. For your servant knew noth- ing of all this, little or much.” 16 And the king said, “You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all ayour father’s house!” 17 Then the king said to the guards who stood about him, “Turn and kill the priests of the LORD, because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled and did not tell it to me.” But the servants of the king awould not lift their hands to strike the priests of the LORD. 18 And the king said to Doeg, “You turn and kill the priests!” So Doeg the Edomite turned and 1struck the priests, and akilled on that day eighty-five men who wore a linen ephod. 19 aAlso Nob, the city of the priests, he struck with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and nursing infants, oxen and donkeys and sheep—with the edge of the sword. 20 aNow one of the sons of Ahim- elech the son of Ahitub, named Abi- athar, bescaped and fled after David. 21 And Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the LORD’s priests. 22 So David said to Abiathar, “I knew that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have caused the death of all the persons of your father’s 1house. 23 “Stay with me; do not fear. aFor he who seeks my life seeks your life, but with me you shall be safe.” David Saves the City of Keilah 23 Then they told David, saying, “Look, the Philistines are fighting against aKeilah, and they are robbing the threshing floors.” 2 Therefore David ainquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I go and 1attack these Philistines?” And the LORD said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines, and save Keilah.” 3 But David’s men said to him, “Look, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?” 4 Then David inquired of the LORD once again. And the LORD answered him and said, “Arise, go down to Keilah.

s are fighting against aKeilah, and they are robbing the threshing floors.” 2 Therefore David ainquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I go and 1attack these Philistines?” And the LORD said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines, and save Keilah.” 3 But David’s men said to him, “Look, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?” 4 Then David inquired of the LORD once again. And the LORD answered him and said, “Arise, go down to Keilah. For I will deliver the Philistines into your hand.” 5 And David and his men went to Keilah and afought with the Philistines, struck them with a mighty blow, and took away their livestock. So David saved the inhab- itants of Keilah. 6 Now it happened, when Abi- athar the son of Ahimelech afled to David at Keilah, that he went down with an ephod in his hand. 7 And Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah. So Saul said, “God has delivered him into my hand, for he has shut himself in by entering a town that has gates and bars.” 8 Then Saul called all the people together for war, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men. 9 When David knew that Saul 5 a2 Sam. 24:11; 1 Chr. 21:9; 29:29; 2 Chr. 29:25 6 a1 Sam. 15:34 7 a1 Sam. 8:14 8 a1 Sam. 18:3; 20:16, 30 9 a1 Sam. 21:7; 22:22; Ps. 52:title b1 Sam. 21:1 c1 Sam. 14:3 10 aNum. 27:21; 1 Sam. 10:22 b1 Sam. 21:6, 9 14 a1 Sam. 19:4, 5; 20:32; 24:11 16 aDeut. 24:16 17 aEx. 1:17 18 a1 Sam. 2:31 1attacked 19 aJosh. 21:1–45; 1 Sam. 22:9, 11 20 a1 Sam. 23:6, 9; 30:7; 1 Kin. 2:26, 27 b1 Sam. 2:33 22 1family 23 a1 Kin. 2:26 CHAPTER 23 1 aJosh. 15:44; Neh. 3:17, 18 2 a1 Sam. 22:10; 23:4, 6, 9; 28:6; 30:8; 2 Sam. 5:19, 23 1Lit. strike 5 a1 Sam. 19:8; 2 Sam. 5:20 6 a1 Sam. 22:20

1 SAMUEL 23:10 262 plotted evil against him, ahe said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod here.” 10 Then David said, “O LORD God of Israel, Your servant has certainly heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah ato destroy the city for my sake. 11 “Will the men of Keilah deliver me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as Your servant has heard? O LORD God of Israel, I pray, tell Your servant.” And the LORD said, “He will come down.” 12 Then David said, “Will the men of Keilah 1deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul?” And the LORD said, “They will deliver you.” 13 So David and his men, aabout six hundred, arose and departed from Keilah and went wherever they could go. Then it was told Saul that David had escaped from Keilah; so he halted the expedition. David in Wilderness Strongholds 14 And David stayed in strong- holds in the wilderness, and remained in athe mountains in the Wilderness of bZiph. Saul csought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand. 15 So David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. And David was in the Wilderness of Ziph 1in a forest. 16 Then Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went to David in the woods and 1strengthened his hand in God. 17 And he said to him, a“Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. bEven my father Saul knows that.” 18 So the two of them amade a covenant before the LORD. And David stayed in the woods, and Jonathan went to his own house. 19 Then the Ziphites acame up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is David not hiding with us in strongholds in the woods, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of Jeshimon? 20 “Now therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of your soul to come down; and aour part shall be to deliver him into the king’s hand.” 21 And Saul said, “Blessed are you of the LORD, for you have compas- sion on me. 22 “Please go and find out for sure, and see the place where his hideout is, and who has seen him there. For I am told he is very crafty. 23 “See therefore, and take knowl- edge of all the lurking places where he hides; and come back to me with certainty, and I will go with you. And it shall be, if he is in the land, that I will search for him throughout all the 1clans of Judah.” 24 So they arose and went to Ziph before Saul. But David and his men were in the Wilderness aof Maon, in the plain on the south of Jeshimon. 25 When Saul and his men went to seek him, they told David. Therefore he went down 1to the rock, and stayed in the Wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pur- sued David in the Wilderness of Maon. 26 Then Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the moun- tain. aSo David made haste to get away from Saul, for Saul and his men bwere encircling David and his men to take them. 27 aBut a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Hurry and come, for the Philistines have invaded the land!” 28 Therefore Saul returned from pursuing David, and went against the Philistines; so they called that place 1the Rock of Escape. 29 Then David went up from there and dwelt in strongholds at aEn Gedi. David Spares Saul 24 Now it happened, awhen Saul had returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, “Take note! David is in the Wilderness of En Gedi.” 2 Then Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel, and awent to seek David and his men on the Rocks of the Wild Goats. 3 So he came to the sheepfolds by the road, where there was a cave; and aSaul went in to battend to his needs.

ock of Escape. 29 Then David went up from there and dwelt in strongholds at aEn Gedi. David Spares Saul 24 Now it happened, awhen Saul had returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, “Take note! David is in the Wilderness of En Gedi.” 2 Then Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel, and awent to seek David and his men on the Rocks of the Wild Goats. 3 So he came to the sheepfolds by the road, where there was a cave; and aSaul went in to battend to his needs. (cDavid and his men were staying in the recesses of the cave.) 4 aThen the men of David said to him, “This is the day of which the LORD said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do to him as it seems good to you.’ ” And David arose and secretly cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. 5 Now it happened afterward that aDavid’s heart troubled him because he had cut Saul’s robe. 6 And he said to his men, a“The LORD forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the LORD’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD.” 7 So David arestrained his ser- vants with these words, and did not allow them to rise against Saul. And Saul got up from the cave and went on his way. 8 David also arose afterward, went out of the cave, and called out to Saul, saying, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed down. 9 aNum. 27:21; 1 Sam. 23:6; 30:7 10 a1 Sam. 22:19 12 1Lit. shut up 13 a1 Sam. 22:2; 25:13 14 aPs. 11:1 bJosh. 15:55; 2 Chr. 11:8 cPs. 32:7; 54:3, 4 15 1Or in Horesh 16 1encour- aged him 17 a[Ps. 27:1–3; Heb. 13:6] b1 Sam. 20:31; 24:20 18 a1 Sam. 18:3; 20:12–17, 42; 2 Sam. 9:1; 21:7 19 a1 Sam. 26:1; Ps. 54:title 20 aPs. 54:3 23 1thousands 24 aJosh. 15:55; 1 Sam. 25:2 25 1Or from the rock 26 aPs. 31:22 bPs. 17:9 27 a2 Kin. 19:9 28 1Heb. Sela Hammahle- koth 29 aJosh. 15:62; 2 Chr. 20:2 CHAPTER 24 1 a1 Sam. 23:19, 28, 29 2 a1 Sam. 26:2; Ps. 38:12 3 a1 Sam. 24:10 bJudg. 3:24 cPs. 57:title; 142:title 4 a1 Sam. 26:8–11 5 a2 Sam. 24:10 6 a1 Sam. 26:11 7 aPs. 7:4; [Matt. 5:44; Rom. 12:17, 19]

263 1 SAMUEL 25:15 9 And David said to Saul: a“Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Indeed David seeks your harm’? 10 “Look, this day your eyes have seen that the LORD delivered you today into my hand in the cave, and someone urged me to kill you. But my eye spared you, and I said, ‘I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is the LORD’s anointed.’ 11 “Moreover, my father, see! Yes, see the corner of your robe in my hand! For in that I cut off the corner of your robe, and did not kill you, know and see that there is aneither evil nor rebellion in my hand, and I have not sinned against you.Yet you bhunt my life to take it. 12 a“Let the LORD judge between you and me, and let the LORD avenge me on you. But my hand shall not be against you. 13 “As the proverb of the ancients says, a‘Wickedness proceeds from the wicked.’ But my hand shall not be against you. 14 “After whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom do you pur- sue? aA dead dog? bA flea? 15 a“Therefore let the LORD be judge, and judge between you and me, and bsee and cplead my case, and deliver me out of your hand.” 16 So it was, when David had fin- ished speaking these words to Saul, that Saul said, a“Is this your voice, my son David?” And Saul lifted up his voice and wept. 17 aThen he said to David: “You are bmore righteous than I; for cyou have rewarded me with good, whereas I have rewarded you with evil. 18 “And you have shown this day how you have dealt well with me; for when athe LORD delivered me into your hand, you did not kill me. 19 “For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him get away safely? Therefore may the LORD reward you with good for what you have done to me this day. 20 “And now aI know indeed that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be estab- lished in your hand. 21 a“Therefore swear now to me by the LORD bthat you will not cut off my descendants after me, and that you will not destroy my name from my father’s house.” 22 So David swore to Saul. And Saul went home, but David and his men went up to athe stronghold. Death of Samuel 25 Then aSamuel died; and the Israelites gathered together and blamented for him, and buried him at his home in Ramah. And David arose and went down cto the Wilderness of 1Paran. David and the Wife of Nabal 2 Now there was a man ain Maon whose business was in bCarmel, and the man was very rich. He had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. And he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. 3 The name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. And she was a woman of good un- derstanding and beautiful appear- ance; but the man was harsh and evil in his doings. He was of the house of aCaleb. 4 When David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was ashear- ing his sheep, 5 David sent ten young men; and David said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel, go to Nabal, and greet him in my name. 6 “And thus you shall say to him who lives in prosperity: a‘Peace be to you, peace to your house, and peace to all that you have! 7 ‘Now I have heard that you have shearers. Your shepherds were with us, and we did not hurt them, anor was there anything missing from them all the while they were in Carmel. 8 ‘Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore 1let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we come on aa feast day. Please give whatever comes to your hand to your servants and to your son David.’ ” 9 So when David’s young men came, they spoke to Nabal accord- ing to all these words in the name of David, and waited. 10 Then Nabal answered David’s servants, and said, a“Who is David, and who is the son of Jesse?

r was there anything missing from them all the while they were in Carmel. 8 ‘Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore 1let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we come on aa feast day. Please give whatever comes to your hand to your servants and to your son David.’ ” 9 So when David’s young men came, they spoke to Nabal accord- ing to all these words in the name of David, and waited. 10 Then Nabal answered David’s servants, and said, a“Who is David, and who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants nowadays who break away each one from his mas- ter. 11 a“Shall I then take my bread and my water and my 1meat that I have killed for my shearers, and give it to men when I do not know where they are from?” 12 So David’s young men turned on their heels and went back; and they came and told him all these words. 13 Then David said to his men, “Ev- ery man gird on his sword.” So every man girded on his sword, and David also girded on his sword. And about four hundred men went with David, and two hundred astayed with the supplies. 14 Now one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saying, “Look, David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master; and he 1reviled them. 15 “But the men were very good to us, and awe were not hurt, nor did we miss anything as long as we accompanied them, when we were in the fields. 9 aPs. 141:6; [Prov. 16:28; 17:9] 11 aJudg. 11:27; Ps. 7:3; 35:7 b1 Sam. 26:20 12 aGen. 16:5; Judg. 11:27; 1 Sam. 26:10–23; Job 5:8 13 a[Matt. 7:16–20] 14 a1 Sam. 17:43; 2 Sam. 9:8 b1 Sam. 26:20 15 a1 Sam. 24:12 b2 Chr. 24:22 cPs. 35:1; 43:1; 119:154; Mic. 7:9 16 a1 Sam. 26:17 17 a1 Sam. 26:21 bGen. 38:26 c[Matt. 5:44] 18 a1 Sam. 26:23 20 a1 Sam. 23:17 21 aGen. 21:23; 1 Sam. 20:14–17 b2 Sam. 21:6–8 22 a1 Sam. 23:29 CHAPTER 25 1 a1 Sam. 28:3 bNum. 20:29; Deut. 34:8 cGen. 21:21; Num. 10:12; 13:3 1So with MT, Syr., Tg., Vg.; LXX Maon 2 a1 Sam. 23:24 bJosh. 15:55 3 aJosh. 15:13; 1 Sam. 30:14 4 aGen. 38:13; 2 Sam. 13:23 6 aJudg. 19:20; 1 Chr. 12:18; Ps. 122:7; Luke 10:5 7 a1 Sam. 25:15, 21 8 aNeh. 8:10–12; Esth. 8:17; 9:19, 22 1be gracious to the young men 10 aJudg. 9:28 11 aJudg. 8:6, 15 1Lit. slaughter 13 a1 Sam. 30:24 14 1scolded or scorned at 15 a1 Sam. 25:7, 21

1 SAMUEL 25:16 264 16 “They were aa wall to us both by night and day, all the time we were with them keeping the sheep. 17 “Now therefore, know and con- sider what you will do, for aharm is determined against our master and against all his household. For he is such a bscoundrel1 that one cannot speak to him.” 18 Then Abigail made haste and atook two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five sheep al- ready dressed, five seahs of roasted grain, one hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and loaded them on donkeys. 19 And she said to her servants, a“Go on before me; see, I am coming after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal. 20 So it was, as she rode on the donkey, that she went down under cover of the hill; and there were David and his men, coming down toward her, and she met them. 21 Now David had said, “Surely in vain I have protected all that this fel- low has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belongs to him. And he has arepaid me evil for good. 22 a“May God do so, and more also, to the enemies of David, if I bleave cone male of all who belong to him by morning light.” 23 Now when Abigail saw David, she adismounted quickly from the donkey, fell on her face before David, and bowed down to the ground. 24 So she fell at his feet and said: “On me, my lord, on me let this iniq- uity be! And please let your maid- servant 1speak in your ears, and hear the words of your maidservant. 25 “Please, let not my lord 1regard this scoundrel Nabal. For as his name is, so is he: 2Nabal is his name, and folly is with him! But I, your maidservant, did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent. 26 “Now therefore, my lord, aas the LORD lives and as your soul lives, since the LORD has bheld you back from coming to bloodshed and from cavenging1 yourself with your own hand, now then, dlet your enemies and those who seek harm for my lord be as Nabal. 27 “And now athis present which your maidservant has brought to my lord, let it be given to the young men who follow my lord. 28 “Please forgive the trespass of your maidservant. For athe LORD will certainly make for my lord an enduring house, because my lord bfights the battles of the LORD, cand evil is not found in you throughout your days. 29 “Yet a man has risen to pursue you and seek your life, but the life of my lord shall be abound in the bun- dle of the living with the LORD your God; and the lives of your ene- mies He shall bsling out, as from the pocket of a sling. 30 “And it shall come to pass, when the LORD has done for my lord according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and has appointed you aruler over Israel, 31 “that this will be no grief to you, nor offense of heart to my lord, either that you have shed blood without cause, or that my lord has avenged himself. But when the LORD has dealt well with my lord, then remember your maidservant.” 32 Then David said to Abigail: a“Blessed is the LORD God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me! 33 “And blessed is your advice and blessed are you, because you have akept me this day from coming to bloodshed and from avenging myself with my own hand. 34 “For indeed, as the LORD God of Israel lives, who has akept me back from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, surely bby morning light no males would have been left to Nabal!” 35 So David received from her hand what she had brought him, and said to her, a“Go up in peace to your house. See, I have heeded your voice and brespected your person.” 36 Now Abigail went to Nabal, and there he was, aholding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king.

ng myself with my own hand. 34 “For indeed, as the LORD God of Israel lives, who has akept me back from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, surely bby morning light no males would have been left to Nabal!” 35 So David received from her hand what she had brought him, and said to her, a“Go up in peace to your house. See, I have heeded your voice and brespected your person.” 36 Now Abigail went to Nabal, and there he was, aholding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk; there- fore she told him nothing, little or much, until morning light. 37 So it was, in the morning, when the wine had gone from Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became like a stone. 38 Then it happened, after about ten days, that the LORD astruck Nabal, and he died. 39 So when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, a“Blessed be the LORD, who has bpleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and has ckept His servant from evil! For the LORD has dreturned the wickedness of Nabal on his own head.” And David sent and proposed to Abigail, to take her as his wife. 40 When the servants of David had come to Abigail at Carmel, they spoke to her saying, “David sent us to you, to ask you to become his wife.” 41 Then she arose, bowed her face to the earth, and said, “Here is your maidservant, a servant to awash the feet of the servants of my lord.” 42 So Abigail rose in haste and rode on a donkey, 1attended by five of her maidens; and she followed the messengers of David, and became his wife. 43 David also took Ahinoam aof 16 aEx. 14:22 17 a1 Sam. 20:7 bDeut. 13:13 1Lit. son of Belial 18 aGen. 32:13 19 aGen. 32:16, 20 21 aPs. 109:5 22 a1 Sam. 3:17; 20:13, 16 b1 Sam. 25:34 c1 Kin. 14:10; 21:21 23 aJudg. 1:14 24 1speak to you 25 1pay atten- tion to 2Lit. Fool 26 a2 Kin. 2:2 bGen. 20:6 c[Rom. 12:19] d2 Sam. 18:32 1Lit. saving yourself 27 aGen. 33:11 28 a2 Sam. 7:11–16, 27 b1 Sam. 18:17 c1 Sam. 24:11 29 a[Col. 3:3] bJer. 10:18 30 a1 Sam. 13:14; 15:28 32 aLuke 1:68 33 a1 Sam. 25:26 34 a1 Sam. 25:26 b1 Sam. 25:22 35 a2 Kin. 5:19 bGen. 19:21 36 a2 Sam. 13:28 38 a1 Sam. 26:10 39 a1 Sam. 25:32 bProv. 22:23 c1 Sam. 25:26, 34 d1 Kin. 2:44 41 aLuke 7:38, 44 42 1Lit. with five of her maidens at her feet 43 aJosh. 15:56

265 1 SAMUEL 26:25 Jezreel, band so both of them were his wives. 44 But Saul had given aMichal his daughter, David’s wife, to 1Palti the son of Laish, who was from bGallim. David Spares Saul a Second Time 26 Now the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, a“Is David not hiding in the hill of Hachilah, opposite Jeshimon?” 2 Then Saul arose and went down to the Wilderness of Ziph, having athree thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the Wilderness of Ziph. 3 And Saul encamped in the hill of Hachilah, which is opposite Jeshimon, by the road. But David stayed in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness. 4 David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul had indeed come. 5 So David arose and came to the place where Saul had encamped. And David saw the place where Saul lay, and aAbner the son of Ner, the commander of his army. Now Saul lay within the camp, with the people encamped all around him. 6 Then David answered, and said to Ahimelech the Hittite and to Abishai athe son of Zeruiah, brother of bJoab, saying, “Who will cgo down with me to Saul in the camp?” And dAbishai said, “I will go down with you.” 7 So David and Abishai came to the people by night; and there Saul lay sleeping within the camp, with his spear stuck in the ground by his head. And Abner and the people lay all around him. 8 Then Abishai said to David, a“God has delivered your enemy into your hand this day. Now there- fore, please, let me strike him 1at once with the spear, right to the earth; and I will not have to strike him a second time!” 9 But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him; afor who can stretch out his hand against the LORD’s anointed, and be guiltless?” 10 David said furthermore, “As the LORD lives, athe LORD shall strike him, or bhis day shall come to die, or he shall cgo out to battle and per- ish. 11 a“The LORD forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the LORD’s anointed. But please, take now the spear and the jug of water that are by his head, and let us go.” 12 So David took the spear and the jug of water by Saul’s head, and they got away; and no man saw or knew it or awoke. For they were all asleep, because aa deep sleep from the LORD had fallen on them. 13 Now David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of a hill afar off, a great distance being between them. 14 And David called out to the peo- ple and to Abner the son of Ner, say- ing, “Do you not answer, Abner?” Then Abner answered and said, “Who are you, calling out to the king?” 15 So David said to Abner, “Are you not a man? And who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not guarded your lord the king? For one of the people came in to destroy your lord the king. 16 “This thing that you have done is not good. As the LORD lives, you deserve to die, because you have not guarded your master, the LORD’s anointed. And now see where the king’s spear is, and the jug of water that was by his head.” 17 Then Saul knew David’s voice, and said, a“Is that your voice, my son David?” David said, “It is my voice, my lord, O king.” 18 And he said, a“Why does my lord thus pursue his servant? For what have I done, or what evil is in my hand? 19 “Now therefore, please, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant: If the LORD has astirred you up against me, let Him accept an offering. But if it is the children of men, may they be cursed before the LORD, bfor they have driven me out this day from sharing in the cinheri- tance of the LORD, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’ 20 “So now, do not let my blood fall to the earth before the face of the LORD. For the king of Israel has come out to seek aa flea, as when one hunts a partridge in the moun- tains.” 21 Then Saul said, a“I have sinned. Return, my son David. For I will harm you no more, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Indeed I have played the fool and erred exceedingly.” 22 And David answered and said, “Here is the king’s spear.

n the cinheri- tance of the LORD, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’ 20 “So now, do not let my blood fall to the earth before the face of the LORD. For the king of Israel has come out to seek aa flea, as when one hunts a partridge in the moun- tains.” 21 Then Saul said, a“I have sinned. Return, my son David. For I will harm you no more, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Indeed I have played the fool and erred exceedingly.” 22 And David answered and said, “Here is the king’s spear. Let one of the young men come over and get it. 23 a“May the LORD brepay every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness; for the LORD delivered you into my hand today, but I would not stretch out my hand against the LORD’s anointed. 24 “And indeed, as your life was valued much this day in my eyes, so let my life be valued much in the eyes of the LORD, and let Him deliv- er me out of all tribulation.” 25 Then Saul said to David, “May you be blessed, my son David! You shall both do great things and also still aprevail.” So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place. 43 b1 Sam. 27:3; 30:5 44 a1 Sam. 18:20; 2 Sam. 3:14 bIs. 10:30 1Paltiel, 2 Sam. 3:15 CHAPTER 26 1 a1 Sam. 23:19; Ps. 54:title 2 a1 Sam. 13:2; 24:2 5 a1 Sam. 14:50, 51; 17:55 6 a1 Chr. 2:16 b2 Sam. 2:13 cJudg. 7:10, 11 d2 Sam. 2:18, 24 8 a1 Sam. 24:4 1Or one time 9 a1 Sam. 24:6, 7; 2 Sam. 1:14, 16 10 a[Deut. 32:35]; 1 Sam. 25:26, 38; [Luke 18:7; Rom. 12:19; Heb. 10:30] bGen. 47:29; Deut. 31:14; [Job 7:1; 14:5]; Ps. 37:13 c1 Sam. 31:6 11 a1 Sam. 24:6–12; [Rom. 12:17, 19] 12 aGen. 2:21; 15:12; Is. 29:10 17 a1 Sam. 24:16 18 a1 Sam. 24:9, 11–14 19 a2 Sam. 16:11; 24:1 bDeut. 4:27, 28 c2 Sam. 14:16; 20:19 20 a1 Sam. 24:14 21 aEx. 9:27; 1 Sam. 15:24, 30; 24:17; 2 Sam. 12:13 23 a1 Sam. 24:19; Ps. 7:8; 18:20; 62:12 b2 Sam. 22:21 25 aGen. 32:28; 1 Sam. 24:20

1 SAMUEL 27:1 266 David Allied with the Philistines 27 And David said in his heart, “Now I shall perish someday by the hand of Saul. There is noth- ing better for me than that I should speedily escape to the land of the Philistines; and Saul will 1despair of me, to seek me anymore in any part of Israel. So I shall escape out of his hand.” 2 Then David arose aand went over with the six hundred men who were with him bto Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath. 3 So David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, each man with his household, and David awith his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreel- itess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal’s widow. 4 And it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath; so he sought him no more. 5 Then David said to Achish, “If I have now found favor in your eyes, let them give me a place in some town in the country, that I may dwell there. For why should your servant dwell in the royal city with you?” 6 So Achish gave him Ziklag that day. Therefore aZiklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day. 7 Now 1the time that David adwelt in the country of the Philistines was one full year and four months. 8 And David and his men went up and raided athe Geshurites, bthe 1Girzites, and the cAmalekites. For those nations were the inhabitants of the land from 2of old, das you go to Shur, even as far as the land of Egypt. 9 Whenever David 1attacked the land, he left neither man nor woman alive, but took away the sheep, the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the apparel, and returned and came to Achish. 10 Then Achish would say, “Where have you made a raid today?” And David would say, “Against the southern area of Judah, or against the southern area of athe Jerahmeel- ites, or against the southern area of bthe Kenites.” 11 David would save neither man nor woman alive, to bring news to Gath, saying, “Lest they should inform on us, saying, ‘Thus David did.’ ” And thus was his behavior all the time he dwelt in the country of the Philistines. 12 So Achish believed David, say- ing, “He has made his people Israel utterly abhor him; therefore he will be my servant forever.” 28 Now ait happened in those days that the Philistines gath- ered their armies together for war, to fight with Israel. And Achish said to David, “You assuredly know that you will go out with me to battle, you and your men.” 2 So David said to Achish, “Surely you know what your servant can do.” And Achish said to David, “Therefore I will make you one of my chief guardians forever.” Saul Consults a Medium 3 Now aSamuel had died, and all Israel had lamented for him and buried him in bRamah, in his own city. And Saul had put cthe mediums and the spiritists out of the land. 4 Then the Philistines gathered together, and came and encamped at aShunem. So Saul gathered all Israel together, and they encamped at bGilboa. 5 When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was aafraid, and his heart trembled greatly. 6 And when Saul inquired of the LORD, athe LORD did not answer him, either by bdreams or cby Urim or by the prophets. 7 Then Saul said to his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, athat I may go to her and inquire of her.” And his servants said to him, “In fact, there is a woman who is a medium at En Dor.” 8 So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothes, and he went, and two men with him; and they came to the woman by night. And ahe said, “Please conduct a séance for me, and bring up for me the one I shall name to you.” 9 Then the woman said to him, “Look, you know what Saul has done, how he has acut off the medi- ums and the spiritists from the land. Why then do you lay a snare for my life, to cause me to die?” 10 And Saul swore to her by the LORD, saying, “As the LORD lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.” 11 Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” And he said, “Bring up Samuel for me.” 12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice.

he one I shall name to you.” 9 Then the woman said to him, “Look, you know what Saul has done, how he has acut off the medi- ums and the spiritists from the land. Why then do you lay a snare for my life, to cause me to die?” 10 And Saul swore to her by the LORD, saying, “As the LORD lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.” 11 Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” And he said, “Bring up Samuel for me.” 12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman spoke to Saul, saying, “Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul!” 13 And the king said to her, “Do not be afraid. What did you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I saw aa1 spirit ascending out of the earth.” 14 So he said to her, “What is his form?” And she said, “An old man is coming up, and he is covered with aa mantle.” And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground and bowed down. 15 Now Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you adisturbed me by bringing me up?” And Saul answered, “I am deeply distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and bGod has CHAPTER 27 1 1despair of searching for 2 a1 Sam. 25:13 b1 Sam. 21:10; 1 Kin. 2:39 3 a1 Sam. 25:42, 43 6 aJosh. 15:31; 19:5; 1 Chr. 12:1; Neh. 11:28 7 a1 Sam. 29:3 1Lit. the num- ber of days 8 aJosh. 13:2, 13 bJosh. 16:10; Judg. 1:29 cEx. 17:8, 16; 1 Sam. 15:7, 8 dGen. 25:18; Ex. 15:22 1Or Gezrites 2ancient times 9 1Lit. struck 10 a1 Chr. 2:9, 25 bJudg. 1:16 CHAPTER 28 1 a1 Sam. 29:1, 2 3 a1 Sam. 25:1 b1 Sam. 1:19 cEx. 22:18; Lev. 19:31; 20:27; Deut. 18:10, 11; 1 Sam. 15:23; 28:9 4 aJosh. 19:18; 1 Sam. 28:4; 1 Kin. 1:3; 2 Kin. 4:8 b1 Sam. 31:1 5 aJob 18:11; [Is. 57:20] 6 a1 Sam. 14:37; Prov. 1:28; Lam. 2:9 bNum. 12:6; Joel 2:28 cEx. 28:30; Num. 27:21; Deut. 33:8 7 a1 Chr. 10:13 8 aDeut. 18:10, 11; 1 Chr. 10:13; Is. 8:19 9 a1 Sam. 28:3 13 aEx. 22:28; Ps. 138:1 1Heb. elohim 14 a1 Sam. 15:27; 2 Kin. 2:8, 13 15 aIs. 14:9 b1 Sam. 16:14; 18:12

267 1 SAMUEL 30:3 departed from me and cdoes not answer me anymore, neither by prophets nor by dreams. Therefore I have called you, that you may reveal to me what I should do.” 16 Then Samuel said: “So why do you ask me, seeing the LORD has departed from you and has become your enemy? 17 “And the LORD has done for 1Himself aas He spoke by me. For the LORD has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David. 18 a“Because you did not obey the voice of the LORD nor execute His fierce wrath upon bAmalek, there- fore the LORD has done this thing to you this day. 19 “Moreover the LORD will also deliver Israel with you into the hand of the Philistines. And tomorrow you and your sons will be with ame. The LORD will also deliver the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.” 20 Immediately Saul fell full length on the ground, and was dreadfully afraid because of the words of Samuel. And there was no strength in him, for he had eaten no food all day or all night. 21 And the woman came to Saul and saw that he was severely trou- bled, and said to him, “Look, your maidservant has obeyed your voice, and I have aput my life in my hands and heeded the words which you spoke to me. 22 “Now therefore, please, heed also the voice of your maidservant, and let me set a piece of bread before you; and eat, that you may have strength when you go on your way.” 23 But he refused and said, “I will not eat.” So his servants, together with the woman, urged him; and he heeded their voice. Then he arose from the ground and sat on the bed. 24 Now the woman had a fatted calf in the house, and she hastened to kill it. And she took flour and kneaded it, and baked unleavened bread from it. 25 So she brought it before Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they rose and went away that night. The Philistines Reject David 29 Then athe Philistines gathered together all their armies bat Aphek, and the Israelites encamped by a fountain which is in Jezreel. 2 And the alords of the Philistines 1passed in review by hundreds and by thousands, but bDavid and his men passed in review at the rear with Achish. 3 Then the princes of the Philis- tines said, “What are these Hebrews doing here?” And Achish said to the princes of the Philistines, “Is this not David, the servant of Saul king of Israel, who has been with me athese days, or these years? And to this day I have bfound no fault in him since he defected to me.” 4 But the princes of the Philis- tines were angry with him; so the princes of the Philistines said to him, a“Make this fellow return, that he may go back to the place which you have appointed for him, and do not let him go down with us to bbat- tle, lest cin the battle he become our adversary. For with what could he reconcile himself to his master, if not with the heads of these dmen? 5 “Is this not David, aof whom they sang to one another in dances, saying: b‘Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands’?” 6 Then Achish called David and said to him, “Surely, as the LORD lives, you have been upright, and ayour going out and your coming in with me in the army is good in my sight. For to this day bI have not found evil in you since the day of your coming to me. Nevertheless the lords do not favor you. 7 “Therefore return now, and go in peace, that you may not displease the lords of the Philistines.” 8 So David said to Achish, “But what have I done?

slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands’?” 6 Then Achish called David and said to him, “Surely, as the LORD lives, you have been upright, and ayour going out and your coming in with me in the army is good in my sight. For to this day bI have not found evil in you since the day of your coming to me. Nevertheless the lords do not favor you. 7 “Therefore return now, and go in peace, that you may not displease the lords of the Philistines.” 8 So David said to Achish, “But what have I done? And to this day what have you found in your ser- vant as long as I have been with you, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?” 9 Then Achish answered and said to David, “I know that you are as good in my sight aas an angel of God; nevertheless bthe princes of the Philistines have said, ‘He shall not go up with us to the battle.’ 10 “Now therefore, rise early in the morning with your master’s ser- vants awho have come with 1you. And as soon as you are up early in the morning and have light, depart.” 11 So David and his men rose early to depart in the morning, to return to the land of the Philistines. aAnd the Philistines went up to Jezreel. David’s Conflict with the Amalekites 30 Now it happened, when David and his men came to aZiklag, on the third day, that the bAmalekites had invaded the South and Ziklag, attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire, 2 and had taken captive the awomen and those who were there, from small to great; they did not kill anyone, but carried them away and went their way. 3 So David and his men came to 15 c1 Sam. 28:6 17 a1 Sam. 15:28 1Or him, i.e., David 18 a1 Sam. 13:9–13; 15:1–26; 1 Kin. 20:42; 1 Chr. 10:13; Jer. 48:10 b1 Sam. 15:3–9 19 a1 Sam. 31:1–6; Job 3:17–19 21 aJudg. 12:3; 1 Sam. 19:5; Job 13:14 CHAPTER 29 1 a1 Sam. 28:1 bJosh. 12:18; 19:30; 1 Sam. 4:1; 1 Kin. 20:30 2 a1 Sam. 6:4; 7:7 b1 Sam. 28:1, 2 1passed on in the rear 3 a1 Sam. 27:7 b1 Sam. 27:1–6; 1 Chr. 12:19, 20; Dan. 6:5 4 a1 Sam. 27:6 b1 Sam. 14:21 c1 Sam. 29:9 d1 Chr. 12:19, 20 5 a1 Sam. 21:11 b1 Sam. 18:7 6 a2 Sam. 3:25; 2 Kin. 19:27 b1 Sam. 29:3 9 a2 Sam. 14:17, 20; 19:27 b1 Sam. 29:4 10 a1 Chr. 12:19, 22 1So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX adds and go to the place which I have selected for you there; and set no bothersome word in your heart, for you are good before me. And rise on your way 11 a2 Sam. 4:4 CHAPTER 30 1 a1 Sam. 27:6 b1 Sam. 15:7; 27:8 2 a1 Sam. 27:2, 3

1 SAMUEL 30:4 268 the city, and there it was, burned with fire; and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive. 4 Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep. 5 And David’s two awives, Ahi- noam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had been taken captive. 6 Now David was greatly dis- tressed, for athe people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was 1grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. bBut David strengthened himself in the LORD his God. 7 aThen David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, “Please bring the ephod here to me.” And bAbiathar brought the ephod to David. 8 aSo David inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?” And He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all.” 9 So David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and came to the Brook Besor, where those stayed who were left behind. 10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men; afor two hundred stayed behind, who were so weary that they could not cross the Brook Besor. 11 Then they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David; and they gave him bread and he ate, and they let him drink water. 12 And they gave him a piece of aa cake of figs and two clusters of raisins. So bwhen he had eaten, his strength came back to him; for he had eaten no bread nor drunk water for three days and three nights. 13 Then David said to him, “To whom do you belong, and where are you from?” And he said, “I am a young man from Egypt, servant of an Amalekite; and my master left me behind, because three days ago I fell sick. 14 “We made an invasion of the southern area of athe Cherethites, in the territory which belongs to Judah, and of the southern area bof Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire.” 15 And David said to him, “Can you take me down to this troop?” So he said, “Swear to me by God that you will neither kill me nor deliver me into the hands of my amaster, and I will take you down to this troop.” 16 And when he had brought him down, there they were, spread out over all the land, aeating and drink- ing and dancing, because of all the great spoil which they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. 17 Then David attacked them from twilight until the evening of the next day. Not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men who rode on camels and fled. 18 So David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away, and David rescued his two wives. 19 And nothing of theirs was lack- ing, either small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything which they had taken from them; aDavid recovered all. 20 Then David took all the flocks and herds they had driven before those other livestock, and said, “This is David’s spoil.” 21 Now David came to the atwo hundred men who had been so weary that they could not follow David, whom they also had made to stay at the Brook Besor. So they went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him. And when David came near the people, he 1greeted them. 22 Then all the wicked and aworthless1 men of those who went with David answered and said, “Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered, except for every man’s wife and children, that they may lead them away and depart.” 23 But David said, “My brethren, you shall not do so with what the LORD has given us, who has pre- served us and delivered into our hand the troop that came against us. 24 “For who will heed you in this matter?

he 1greeted them. 22 Then all the wicked and aworthless1 men of those who went with David answered and said, “Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered, except for every man’s wife and children, that they may lead them away and depart.” 23 But David said, “My brethren, you shall not do so with what the LORD has given us, who has pre- served us and delivered into our hand the troop that came against us. 24 “For who will heed you in this matter? But aas his part is who goes down to the battle, so shall his part be who stays by the supplies; they shall share alike.” 25 So it was, from that day for- ward; he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day. 26 Now when David came to Zik- lag, he sent some of the 1spoil to the elders of Judah, to his friends, say- ing, “Here is a present for you from the spoil of the enemies of the LORD”— 27 to those who were in Bethel, those who were in aRamoth of the South, those who were in bJattir, 28 those who were in aAroer, those who were in bSiphmoth, those who were in cEshtemoa, 29 those who were in Rachal, those who were in the cities of athe Jerahmeelites, those who were in the cities of the bKenites, 30 those who were in aHormah, those who were in 1Chorashan, those who were in Athach, 31 those who were in aHebron, and to all the places where David him- self and his men were accustomed to brove. 5 a1 Sam. 25:42, 43 6 aEx. 17:4; John 8:59 b1 Sam. 23:16; Is. 25:4; Hab. 3:17–19 1Lit. bitter 7 a1 Sam. 23:2–9 b1 Sam. 23:6 8 a1 Sam. 23:2, 4; Ps. 50:15; 91:15 10 a1 Sam. 30:9, 21 12 a1 Sam. 25:18; 1 Kin. 20:7 bJudg. 15:19; 1 Sam. 14:27 14 a2 Sam. 8:18; 1 Kin. 1:38, 44; Ezek. 25:16; Zeph. 2:5 bJosh. 14:13; 15:13 15 aDeut. 23:15 16 a1 Thess. 5:3 19 a1 Sam. 30:8 21 a1 Sam. 30:10 1asked them con- cerning their welfare 22 aDeut. 13:13; Judg. 19:22 1Lit. men of Belial 24 aNum. 31:27; Josh. 22:8 26 1booty 27 aJosh. 19:8 bJosh. 15:48; 21:14 28 aJosh. 13:16 b1 Chr. 27:27 cJosh. 15:50 29 a1 Sam. 27:10 bJudg. 1:16; 1 Sam. 15:6; 27:10 30 aNum. 14:45; 21:3; Josh. 12:14; 15:30; 19:4; Judg. 1:17 1Or Borashan 31 aNum. 13:22; Josh. 14:13–15; 21:11–13; 2 Sam. 2:1 b1 Sam. 23:22

269 2 SAMUEL 1:6 The Tragic End of Saul and His Sons 31 Now athe Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Phi- listines, and fell slain on Mount bGil- boa. 2 Then the Philistines followed hard after Saul and his sons. And the Philistines killed aJonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul’s sons. 3 aThe battle became fierce against Saul. The archers 1hit him, and he was severely wounded by the archers. 4 aThen Saul said to his armor- bearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest bthese uncircumcised men come and thrust me through and 1abuse me.” But his armorbearer would not, cfor he was greatly afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword and dfell on it. 5 And when his armorbearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword, and died with him. 6 So Saul, his three sons, his armorbearer, and all his men died together that same day. 7 And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley, and those who were on the other side of the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them. 8 So it happened the next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9 And they cut off his head and stripped off his armor, and sent word throughout the land of the Philistines, to aproclaim it in the temple of their idols and among the people. 10 aThen they put his armor in the temple of the bAshtoreths, and cthey fastened his body to the wall of dBeth1 Shan. 11 aNow when the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 aall the valiant men arose and traveled all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth Shan; and they came to Jabesh and bburned them there. 13 Then they took their bones and aburied them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, band fasted seven days. CHAPTER 31 1 a1 Chr. 10:1–12 b1 Sam. 28:4 2 a1 Sam. 14:49; 1 Chr. 8:33 3 a2 Sam. 1:6 1Lit. found him 4 aJudg. 9:54; 1 Chr. 10:4 bJudg. 14:3; 1 Sam. 14:6; 17:26, 36 c2 Sam. 1:14 d2 Sam. 1:6, 10 1torture 9 aJudg. 16:23, 24; 2 Sam. 1:20 10 a1 Sam. 21:9 bJudg. 2:13; 1 Sam. 7:3 c2 Sam. 21:12 dJudg. 1:27 1Beth Shean, Josh. 17:11 11 a1 Sam. 11:1–13 12 a1 Sam. 11:1–11; 2 Sam. 2:4–7 b2 Chr. 16:14; Jer. 34:5; Amos 6:10 13 a2 Sam. 2:4, 5; 21:12–14 bGen. 50:10 The Second Book of SAMUEL THE Book of Second Samuel records the highlights of David’s reign, first over the territory of Judah, and finally over the entire nation of Israel. It traces the ascension of David to the throne, his climactic sins of adultery and murder, and the shattering consequences of those sins upon his family and the nation. See First Samuel for details on the titles of the books of Samuel. The Hebrew title for both books (originally one) is “Samuel.” The Greek title for Second Samuel is Basileion Beta, “Second Kingdoms.” The Latin title is Liber II Samuelis, the “Second Book of Samuel,” or simply “Second Samuel.” The Report of Saul’s Death NOW it came to pass after the adeath of Saul, when David had returned from bthe slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had stayed two days in Ziklag, 2 on the third day, behold, it hap- pened that aa man came from Saul’s camp bwith his clothes 1torn and dust on his head. So it was, when he came to David, that he cfell to the ground and prostrated himself. 3 And David said to him, “Where have you come from?” So he said to him, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.” 4 Then David said to him, a“How did the matter go? Please tell me.” And he answered, “The people have fled from the battle, many of the peo- ple are fallen and dead, and Saul and bJonathan his son are dead also.” 5 So David said to the young man who told him, “How do you know that Saul and Jonathan his son are dead?” 6 Then the young man who told CHAPTER 1 1 a1 Sam. 31:6 b1 Sam. 30:1, 17, 26 2 a2 Sam. 4:10 b1 Sam.

have you come from?” So he said to him, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.” 4 Then David said to him, a“How did the matter go? Please tell me.” And he answered, “The people have fled from the battle, many of the peo- ple are fallen and dead, and Saul and bJonathan his son are dead also.” 5 So David said to the young man who told him, “How do you know that Saul and Jonathan his son are dead?” 6 Then the young man who told CHAPTER 1 1 a1 Sam. 31:6 b1 Sam. 30:1, 17, 26 2 a2 Sam. 4:10 b1 Sam. 4:12 c1 Sam. 25:23 1To show grief 4 a1 Sam. 4:16; 31:3 b1 Sam. 31:2

2 SAMUEL 1:7 270 him said, “As I happened by chance to be on aMount Gilboa, there was bSaul, leaning on his spear; and indeed the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him. 7 “Now when he looked behind him, he saw me and called to me. And I answered, ‘Here I am.’ 8 “And he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ So I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’ 9 “He said to me again, ‘Please stand over me and kill me, for 1anguish has come upon me, but my life still remains in me.’ 10 “So I stood over him and akilled him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown that was on his head and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them here to my lord.” 11 Therefore David took hold of his own clothes and atore them, and so did all the men who were with him. 12 And they amourned and wept and bfasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son, for the cpeople of the LORD and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword. 13 Then David said to the young man who told him, “Where are you from?” And he answered, “I am the son of an alien, an Amalekite.” 14 So David said to him, “How awas it you were not bafraid to cput forth your hand to destroy the LORD’s anointed?” 15 Then aDavid called one of the young men and said, “Go near, and execute him!” And he struck him so that he died. 16 So David said to him, a“Your blood is on your own head, for byour own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have killed the LORD’s anointed.’ ” The Song of the Bow 17 Then David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jon- athan his son, 18 aand he told them to teach the children of Judah the Song of the Bow; indeed it is written bin the Book 1of Jasher: 19 “The beauty of Israel is slain on your high places! aHow the mighty have fallen! 20 aTell it not in Gath, Proclaim it not in the streets of bAshkelon— Lest cthe daughters of the Philistines rejoice, Lest the daughters of dthe uncircumcised triumph. 21 “O amountains of Gilboa, bLet there be no dew nor rain upon you, Nor fields of offerings. For the shield of the mighty is 1cast away there! The shield of Saul, not canointed with oil. 22 From the blood of the slain, From the fat of the mighty, aThe bow of Jonathan did not turn back, And the sword of Saul did not return empty. 23 “Saul and Jonathan were beloved and pleasant in their lives, And in their adeath they were not divided; They were swifter than eagles, They were bstronger than lions. 24 “O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, Who clothed you in scarlet, with luxury; Who put ornaments of gold on your apparel. 25 “How the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle! Jonathan was slain in your high places. 26 I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; You have been very pleasant to me; aYour love to me was wonderful, Surpassing the love of women. 27 “Howa the mighty have fallen, And the weapons of war perished!” David Anointed King of Judah 2 It happened after this that David ainquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I go up to any of the cities of Judah?” And the LORD said to him, “Go up.” David said, “Where shall I go up?” And He said, “To bHebron.” 2 So David went up there, and his atwo wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite. 3 And David brought up athe men who were with him, every man with his household. So they dwelt in the cities of Hebron. 4 aThen the men of Judah came, and there they banointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, saying, c“The men of Jabesh Gilead were the ones who buried Saul.” 5 So David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh Gilead, and said to them, a“You are blessed of the LORD, for you have shown this kind- ness to your lord, to Saul, and have buried him. 6 “And now may athe LORD show kindness and truth to you. I also will repay you this kindness, because you have done this thing. 6 a1 Sam. 31:1 b1 Sam. 31:2–4 9 1agony 10 aJudg. 9:54; 2 Kin.

ed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, saying, c“The men of Jabesh Gilead were the ones who buried Saul.” 5 So David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh Gilead, and said to them, a“You are blessed of the LORD, for you have shown this kind- ness to your lord, to Saul, and have buried him. 6 “And now may athe LORD show kindness and truth to you. I also will repay you this kindness, because you have done this thing. 6 a1 Sam. 31:1 b1 Sam. 31:2–4 9 1agony 10 aJudg. 9:54; 2 Kin. 11:12 11 a2 Sam. 3:31; 13:31 12 a2 Sam. 3:31 b1 Sam. 31:13 c2 Sam. 6:21 14 aNum. 12:8 b1 Sam. 31:4 c1 Sam. 24:6; 26:9 15 a2 Sam. 4:10, 12 16 a1 Sam. 26:9; 2 Sam. 3:28; 1 Kin. 2:32–37 b2 Sam. 1:10; Luke 19:22 18 a1 Sam. 31:3 bJosh. 10:13 1Lit. of the Upright 19 a2 Sam. 1:27 20 a1 Sam. 27:2; 31:8–13; Mic. 1:10 b1 Sam. 6:17; Jer. 25:20 cEx. 15:20; Judg. 11:34; 1 Sam. 18:6 d1 Sam. 31:4 21 a1 Sam. 31:1 bEzek. 31:15 c1 Sam. 10:1 1Lit. de- filed 22 aDeut. 32:42; 1 Sam. 18:4 23 a1 Sam. 31:2–4 bJudg. 14:18 26 a1 Sam. 18:1–4; 19:2; 20:17 27 a2 Sam. 1:19, 25 CHAPTER 2 1 aJudg. 1:1; 1 Sam. 23:2, 4, 9; 30:7, 8 b1 Sam. 30:31; 2 Sam. 2:11; 5:1–3; 1 Kin. 2:11 2 a1 Sam. 25:42, 43; 30:5 3 a1 Sam. 27:2, 3; 30:1; 1 Chr. 12:1 4 a1 Sam. 30:26; 2 Sam. 2:11; 5:5; 19:14, 41–43 b1 Sam. 16:13; 2 Sam. 5:3 c1 Sam. 31:11–13 5 aRuth 2:20; 3:10 6 aEx. 34:6; 2 Tim. 1:16, 18

271 2 SAMUEL 3:4 7 “Now therefore, let your hands be strengthened, and be valiant; for your master Saul is dead, and also the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.” Ishbosheth Made King of Israel 8 But aAbner the son of Ner, com- mander of Saul’s army, took 1Ish- bosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to bMahanaim; 9 and he made him king over aGilead, over the bAshurites, over cJezreel, over Ephraim, over Ben- jamin, and over all Israel. 10 Ishbosheth, Saul’s son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. Only the house of Judah followed David. 11 And athe 1time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months. Israel and Judah at War 12 Now Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ishbosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to aGibeon. 13 And aJoab the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went out and met them by bthe pool of Gibeon. So they sat down, one on one side of the pool and the other on the other side of the pool. 14 Then Abner said to Joab, “Let the young men now arise and com- pete before us.” And Joab said, “Let them arise.” 15 So they arose and went over by number, twelve from Benjamin, fol- lowers of Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and twelve from the servants of David. 16 And each one grasped his oppo- nent by the head and thrust his sword in his opponent’s side; so they fell down together. Therefore that place was called 1the Field of Sharp Swords, which is in Gibeon. 17 So there was a very fierce battle that day, and Abner and the men of Israel were beaten before the ser- vants of David. 18 Now the athree sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab and Abishai and Asahel. And Asahel was bas fleet of foot cas a wild gazelle. 19 So Asahel pursued Abner, and in going he did not turn to the right hand or to the left from following Abner. 20 Then Abner looked behind him and said, “Are you Asahel?” He answered, “I am.” 21 And Abner said to him, “Turn aside to your right hand or to your left, and lay hold on one of the young men and take his armor for yourself.” But Asahel would not turn aside from following him. 22 So Abner said again to Asahel, “Turn aside from following me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How then could I face your brother Joab?” 23 However, he refused to turn aside. Therefore Abner struck him ain the stomach with the blunt end of the spear, so that the spear came out of his back; and he fell down there and died on the spot. So it was that as many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died, stood bstill. 24 Joab and Abishai also pursued Abner. And the sun was going down when they came to the hill of Ammah, which is before Giah by the road to the Wilderness of Gibeon. 25 Now the children of Benjamin gathered together behind Abner and became 1a unit, and took their stand on top of a hill. 26 Then Abner called to Joab and said, “Shall the sword devour for- ever? Do you not know that it will be bitter in the latter end? How long will it be then until you tell the peo- ple to return from pursuing their brethren?” 27 And Joab said, “As God lives, 1unless ayou had spoken, surely then by morning all the people would have given up pursuing their brethren.” 28 So Joab blew a trumpet; and all the people stood still and did not pursue Israel anymore, nor did they fight anymore. 29 Then Abner and his men went on all that night through the plain, crossed over the Jordan, and went through all Bithron; and they came to Mahanaim. 30 So Joab returned from pursuing Abner. And when he had gathered all the people together, there were missing of David’s servants nine- teen men and Asahel. 31 But the servants of David had struck down, of Benjamin and Abner’s men, three hundred and sixty men who died. 32 Then they took up Asahel and buried him in his father’s tomb, which was in aBethlehem.

bner and his men went on all that night through the plain, crossed over the Jordan, and went through all Bithron; and they came to Mahanaim. 30 So Joab returned from pursuing Abner. And when he had gathered all the people together, there were missing of David’s servants nine- teen men and Asahel. 31 But the servants of David had struck down, of Benjamin and Abner’s men, three hundred and sixty men who died. 32 Then they took up Asahel and buried him in his father’s tomb, which was in aBethlehem. And Joab and his men went all night, and they came to Hebron at daybreak. 3 Now there was a long awar between the house of Saul and the house of David. But David grew stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker. Sons of David 2 Sons were born ato David in Hebron: His firstborn was Amnon bby Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; 3 his second, 1Chileab, by Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite; the third, aAbsalom the son of Maacah, the daughter of Talmai, king bof Geshur; 4 the fourth, aAdonijah the son of 8 a1 Sam. 14:50; 2 Sam. 3:6 bGen. 32:2; Josh. 21:38; 2 Sam. 17:24 1Esh- Baal, 1 Chr. 8:33; 9:39 9 aJosh. 22:9 bJudg. 1:32 c1 Sam. 29:1 11 a2 Sam. 5:5; 1 Kin. 2:11 1Lit. number of days 12 aJosh. 10:2–12; 18:25 13 a1 Sam. 26:6; 2 Sam. 8:16; 1 Chr. 2:16; 11:6 bJer. 41:12 16 1Heb. Helkath Hazzurim 18 a1 Chr. 2:16 b1 Chr. 12:8; Hab. 3:19 cPs. 18:33 23 a2 Sam. 3:27; 4:6; 20:10 b2 Sam. 20:12 25 1one band 27 a2 Sam. 2:14 1if you had not spo- ken 32 a1 Sam. 20:6 CHAPTER 3 1 a1 Kin. 14:30; [Ps. 46:9] 2 a1 Chr. 3:1–4 b1 Sam. 25:42, 43 3 a2 Sam. 15:1–10 bJosh. 13:13; 1 Sam. 27:8; 2 Sam. 13:37; 14:32; 15:8 1Daniel, 1 Chr. 3:1 4 a1 Kin. 1:5

2 SAMUEL 3:5 272 Haggith; the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital; 5 and the sixth, Ithream, by Da- vid’s wife Eglah. These were born to David in Hebron. Abner Joins Forces with David 6 Now it was so, while there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, that Abner was strengthening his hold on the house of Saul. 7 And Saul had a concubine, whose name was aRizpah, the daughter of Aiah. So Ishbosheth said to Abner, “Why have you bgone in to my father’s concubine?” 8 Then Abner became very angry at the words of Ishbosheth, and said, “Am I aa dog’s head that belongs to Judah? Today I show loyalty to the house of Saul your father, to his brothers, and to his friends, and have not delivered you into the hand of David; and you charge me today with a fault concerning this woman? 9 a“May God do so to Abner, and more also, if I do not do for David bas the LORD has sworn to him— 10 “to transfer the kingdom from the 1house of Saul, and set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, afrom Dan to Beersheba.” 11 And he could not answer Abner another word, because he feared him. 12 Then Abner sent messengers on his behalf to David, saying, “Whose is the land?” saying also, “Make your covenant with me, and indeed my hand shall be with you to bring all Israel to you.” 13 And David said, “Good, I will make a covenant with you. But one thing I require of you: ayou shall not see my face unless you first bring bMichal, Saul’s daughter, when you come to see my face.” 14 So David sent messengers to aIshbosheth, Saul’s son, saying, “Give me my wife Michal, whom I betrothed to myself bfor a hundred foreskins of the Philistines.” 15 And Ishbosheth sent and took her from her husband, from 1Paltiel the son of Laish. 16 Then her husband went along with her to aBahurim, 1weeping behind her. So Abner said to him, “Go, return!” And he returned. 17 Now Abner had communicated with the elders of Israel, saying, “In time past you were seeking for David to be king over you. 18 “Now then, do it! aFor the LORD has spoken of David, saying, ‘By the hand of My servant David, 1I will save My people Israel from the hand of the Philistines and the hand of all their enemies.’ ” 19 And Abner also spoke in the hearing of aBenjamin. Then Abner also went to speak in the hearing of David in Hebron all that seemed good to Israel and the whole house of Benjamin. 20 So Abner and twenty men with him came to David at Hebron. And David made a feast for Abner and the men who were with him. 21 Then Abner said to David, “I will arise and go, and agather all Israel to my lord the king, that they may make a covenant with you, and that you may breign over all that your heart desires.” So David sent Abner away, and he went in peace. Joab Murders Abner 22 At that moment the servants of David and Joab came from a raid and brought much 1spoil with them. But Abner was not with David in Hebron, for he had sent him away, and he had gone in peace. 23 When Joab and all the troops that were with him had come, they told Joab, saying, “Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he sent him away, and he has gone in peace.” 24 Then Joab came to the king and said, “What have you done? Look, Abner came to you; why is it that you sent him away, and he has already gone? 25 “Surely you realize that Abner the son of Ner came to deceive you, to know ayour going out and your coming in, and to know all that you are doing.” 26 And when Joab had gone from David’s presence, he sent messen- gers after Abner, who brought him back from the well of Sirah.

on of Ner came to the king, and he sent him away, and he has gone in peace.” 24 Then Joab came to the king and said, “What have you done? Look, Abner came to you; why is it that you sent him away, and he has already gone? 25 “Surely you realize that Abner the son of Ner came to deceive you, to know ayour going out and your coming in, and to know all that you are doing.” 26 And when Joab had gone from David’s presence, he sent messen- gers after Abner, who brought him back from the well of Sirah. But David did not know it. 27 Now when Abner had returned to Hebron, Joab atook him aside in the gate to speak with him privately, and there 1stabbed him bin the stom- ach, so that he died for the blood of cAsahel his brother. 28 Afterward, when David heard it, he said, “My kingdom and I are 1guiltless before the LORD forever of the blood of Abner the son of Ner. 29 a“Let it rest on the head of Joab and on all his father’s house; and let there never fail to be in the 1house of Joab one bwho has a discharge or is a leper, who leans on a staff or falls by the sword, or who lacks bread.” 30 So Joab and Abishai his brother killed Abner, because he had killed their brother aAsahel at Gibeon in the battle. David’s Mourning for Abner 31 Then David said to Joab and to all the people who were with him, a“Tear your clothes, bgird yourselves with sackcloth, and mourn for Abner.” And King David followed the coffin. 32 So they buried Abner in Hebron; 7 a2 Sam. 21:8–11 b2 Sam. 16:21 8 aDeut. 23:18; 1 Sam. 24:14; 2 Sam. 9:8; 16:9 9 aRuth 1:17; 1 Kin. 19:2 b1 Sam. 15:28; 16:1, 12; 28:17; 1 Chr. 12:23 10 aJudg. 20:1; 1 Sam. 3:20; 2 Sam. 17:11; 1 Kin. 4:25 1family 13 aGen. 43:3 b1 Sam. 18:20; 19:11; 25:44; 2 Sam. 6:16 14 a2 Sam. 2:10 b1 Sam. 18:25–27 15 1Palti, 1 Sam. 25:44 16 a2 Sam. 16:5; 19:16 1Lit. going and weeping 18 a2 Sam. 3:9 1So with many Heb. mss., LXX, Syr., Tg.; MT he 19 a1 Sam. 10:20, 21; 1 Chr. 12:29 21 a2 Sam. 3:10, 12 b1 Kin. 11:37 22 1booty 25 aDeut. 28:6; 1 Sam. 29:6; Is. 37:28 27 a2 Sam. 20:9, 10; 1 Kin. 2:5 b2 Sam. 4:6 c2 Sam. 2:23 1Lit. struck 28 1innocent 29 aDeut. 21:6–9; 1 Kin. 2:32, 33 bLev. 15:2 1family 30 a2 Sam. 2:23 31 aJosh. 7:6; 2 Sam. 1:2, 11 bGen. 37:34

273 2 SAMUEL 5:7 and the king lifted up his voice and wept at the grave of Abner, and all the people wept. 33 And the king sang a lament over Abner and said: “Should Abner die as a afool dies? 34 Your hands were not bound Nor your feet put into fetters; As a man falls before wicked men, so you fell.” Then all the people wept over him again. 35 And when all the people came ato persuade David to eat food while it was still day, David took an oath, saying, b“God do so to me, and more also, if I taste bread or anything else ctill the sun goes down!” 36 Now all the people took note of it, and it pleased them, since what- ever the king did pleased all the people. 37 For all the people and all Israel understood that day that it had not been the king’s intent to kill Abner the son of Ner. 38 Then the king said to his ser- vants, “Do you not know that a prince and a great man has fallen this day in Israel? 39 “And I am weak today, though anointed king; and these men, the sons of Zeruiah, aare too harsh for me. bThe LORD shall repay the evil- doer according to his wickedness.” Ishbosheth Is Murdered 4 When Saul’s 1son heard that Ab- ner had died in Hebron, ahe2 lost heart, and all Israel was btroubled. 2 Now Saul’s son had two men who were captains of troops. The name of one was Baanah and the name of the other Rechab, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, of the children of Benjamin. (For aBeeroth also was 1part of Benjamin, 3 because the Beerothites fled to aGittaim and have been sojourners there until this day.) 4 aJonathan, Saul’s son, had a son who was lame in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came bfrom Jezreel; and his nurse took him up and fled. And it happened, as she made haste to flee, that he fell and became lame. His name was cMephibosheth.1 5 Then the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, set out and came at about the heat of the day to the ahouse of Ishbosheth, who was lying on his bed at noon. 6 And they came there, all the way into the house, as though to get wheat, and they 1stabbed him ain the stomach. Then Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped. 7 For when they came into the house, he was lying on his bed in his bedroom; then they struck him and killed him, beheaded him and took his head, and were all night escap- ing through the plain. 8 And they brought the head of Ishbosheth to David at Hebron, and said to the king, “Here is the head of Ishbosheth, the son of Saul your enemy, awho sought your life; and the LORD has avenged my lord the king this day of Saul and his descendants.” 9 But David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said to them, “As the LORD lives, awho has redeemed my life from all adversity, 10 “when asomeone told me, say- ing, ‘Look, Saul is dead,’ thinking to have brought good news, I arrested him and had him executed in Zik- lag—the one who thought I would give him a reward for his news. 11 “How much more, when wicked men have killed a righteous person in his own house on his bed? There- fore, shall I not now arequire his 1blood at your hand and 2remove you from the earth?” 12 So David acommanded his young men, and they executed them, cut off their hands and feet, and hanged them by the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ishbosheth and buried it in the btomb of Abner in Hebron. David Reigns over All Israel 5 Then all the tribes of Israel acame to David at Hebron and spoke, saying, “Indeed bwe are your bone and your flesh. 2 “Also, in time past, when Saul was king over us, ayou were the one who led Israel out and brought them in; and the LORD said to you, b‘You shall shepherd My people Israel, and be ruler over Israel.’ ” 3 aTherefore all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, band King David made a covenant with them at Hebron cbefore the LORD.

ner in Hebron. David Reigns over All Israel 5 Then all the tribes of Israel acame to David at Hebron and spoke, saying, “Indeed bwe are your bone and your flesh. 2 “Also, in time past, when Saul was king over us, ayou were the one who led Israel out and brought them in; and the LORD said to you, b‘You shall shepherd My people Israel, and be ruler over Israel.’ ” 3 aTherefore all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, band King David made a covenant with them at Hebron cbefore the LORD. And they anointed David king over Israel. 4 David was athirty years old when he began to reign, and bhe reigned forty years. 5 In Hebron he reigned over Judah aseven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty- three years over all Israel and Judah. The Conquest of Jerusalem 6 aAnd the king and his men went to Jerusalem against bthe Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who spoke to David, saying, “You shall not come in here; but the blind and the lame will repel you,” thinking, “David cannot come in here.” 7 Nevertheless David took the 33 a2 Sam. 13:12, 13 35 a2 Sam. 12:17; Jer. 16:7, 8 bRuth 1:17 cJudg. 20:26; 2 Sam. 1:12 39 a2 Sam. 19:5–7 b1 Kin. 2:5, 6, 32–34; 2 Tim. 4:14 CHAPTER 4 1 aEzra 4:4; Is. 13:7 bMatt. 2:3 1Ishbo- sheth 1Lit. his hands dropped 2 aJosh. 18:25 1considered part of 3 aNeh. 11:33 4 a2 Sam. 9:3 b1 Sam. 29:1, 11 c2 Sam. 9:6 1Merib-Baal, 1 Chr. 8:34; 9:40 5 a2 Sam. 2:8, 9 6 a2 Sam. 2:23; 20:10 1Lit. struck 8 a1 Sam. 19:2, 10, 11; 23:15; 25:29 9 aGen. 48:16; 1 Kin. 1:29; Ps. 31:7 10 a2 Sam. 1:2–16 11 a[Gen. 9:5, 6; Ps. 9:12] 1Or blood- shed 2Lit. consume you 12 a2 Sam. 1:15 b2 Sam. 3:32 CHAPTER 5 1 a1 Chr. 11:1–3 bGen. 29:14; Judg. 9:2; 2 Sam. 19:12, 13 2 a1 Sam. 18:5, 13, 16 b1 Sam. 16:1 3 a2 Sam. 3:17; 1 Chr. 11:3 b2 Sam. 2:4; 3:21; 2 Kin. 11:17 cJudg. 11:11; 1 Sam. 23:18 4 aGen. 41:46; Num. 4:3; Luke 3:23 b1 Kin. 2:11; 1 Chr. 26:31; 29:27 5 a2 Sam. 2:11; 1 Chr. 3:4; 29:27 6 aJudg. 1:21 bJosh. 15:63; Judg. 1:8; 19:11, 12

2 SAMUEL 5:8 274 stronghold of Zion a(that is, the City of David). 8 Now David said on that day, “Whoever climbs up by way of the water shaft and defeats the Jebusites (the lame and the blind, who are hated by David’s soul), ahe shall be chief and captain.” There- fore they say, “The blind and the lame shall not come into the house.” 9 Then David dwelt in the strong- hold, and called it athe City of David. And David built all around from 1the Millo and inward. 10 So David went on and became great, and athe LORD God of hosts was with bhim. 11 Then aHiram bking of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters and masons. And they built David a house. 12 So David knew that the LORD had established him as king over Israel, and that He had aexalted His kingdom bfor the sake of His people Israel. 13 And aDavid took more concu- bines and wives from Jerusalem, after he had come from Hebron. Also more sons and daughters were born to David. 14 Now athese are the names of those who were born to him in Jerusalem: 1Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, bSolomon, 15 Ibhar, 1Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, 16 Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet. The Philistines Defeated 17 aNow when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. And David heard of it band went down to the stronghold. 18 The Philistines also went and deployed themselves in athe Valley of Rephaim. 19 So David ainquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?” And the LORD said to David, “Go up, for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into your hand.” 20 So David went to aBaal Perazim, and David defeated them there; and he said, “The LORD has broken through my enemies before me, like a breakthrough of water.” Therefore he called the name of that place 1Baal Perazim. 21 And they left their 1images there, and David and his men acar- ried them away. 22 aThen the Philistines went up once again and deployed them- selves in the Valley of Rephaim. 23 Therefore aDavid inquired of the LORD, and He said, “You shall not go up; circle around behind them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees. 24 “And it shall be, when you ahear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly.

lled the name of that place 1Baal Perazim. 21 And they left their 1images there, and David and his men acar- ried them away. 22 aThen the Philistines went up once again and deployed them- selves in the Valley of Rephaim. 23 Therefore aDavid inquired of the LORD, and He said, “You shall not go up; circle around behind them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees. 24 “And it shall be, when you ahear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly. For then bthe LORD will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.” 25 And David did so, as the LORD commanded him; and he drove back the Philistines from aGeba1 as far as bGezer. The Ark Brought to Jerusalem 6 Again David gathered all the choice men of Israel, thirty thousand. 2 And aDavid arose and went with all the people who were with him from 1Baale Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, whose name is called 2by the Name, the LORD of Hosts, bwho dwells between the cherubim. 3 So they set the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on athe hill; and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the new 1cart. 4 And they brought it out of athe house of Abinadab, which was on the hill, accompanying the ark of God; and Ahio went before the ark. 5 Then David and all the house of Israel aplayed music before the LORD on all kinds of instruments of fir wood, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on sistrums, and on cymbals. 6 And when they came to aNa- chon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put out his bhand to the ark of God and 1took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. 7 Then the anger of the LORD was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his 1error; and he died there by the ark of God. 8 And David became angry because of the LORD’s outbreak against Uzzah; and he called the name of the place 1Perez Uzzah to this day. 9 aDavid was afraid of the LORD that day; and he said, “How can the ark of the LORD come to me?” 10 So David would not move the ark of the LORD with him into the aCity of David; but David took it aside into the house of Obed-Edom the bGittite. 11 aThe ark of the LORD remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Git- tite three months. And the LORD bblessed Obed-Edom and all his household. 12 Now it was told King David, saying, “The LORD has blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” aSo David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with gladness. 13 And so it was, when athose bear- ing the ark of the LORD had gone six 7 a1 Kin. 2:10; 8:1; 9:24 8 a1 Chr. 11:6–9 9 a2 Sam. 5:7 1Lit. The Landfill 10 a1 Sam. 17:45 b1 Sam. 18:12, 28 11 a1 Kin. 5:1–18 b1 Chr. 14:1 12 aNum. 24:7 bIs. 45:4 13 a[Deut. 17:17] 14 a1 Chr. 3:5–8 b2 Sam. 12:24 1Shimea, 1 Chr. 3:5 15 1Elishama, 1 Chr. 3:6 17 a1 Chr. 11:16 b2 Sam. 23:14 18 a1 Chr. 11:15 19 a1 Sam. 23:2 20 aIs. 28:21 1Lit. Master of Break- throughs 21 aDeut. 7:5, 25 1idols 22 a1 Chr. 14:13 23 a2 Sam. 5:19 24 a1 Chr. 14:15 bJudg. 4:14 25 a1 Chr. 14:16 bJosh. 16:10 1So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX Gibeon CHAPTER 6 2 a1 Chr. 13:5, 6 bPs. 80:1 1Baalah, Kir- jath Jearim, Josh. 15:9; 1 Chr. 13:6 2LXX, Tg., Vg. omit by the Name; many Heb. mss., Syr. there 3 a1 Sam. 26:1 1LXX adds with the ark 4 a1 Sam. 7:1 5 a1 Sam. 18:6, 7 6 a1 Chr. 13:9 bNum. 4:15, 19, 20 1held it 7 1Or irrever- ence 8 1Lit. Out- burst Against Uz- zah 9 aPs. 119:120 10 a2 Sam. 5:7 b1 Chr. 13:13; 26:4–8 11 a1 Chr. 13:14 bGen. 30:27; 39:5 12 a1 Chr. 15:25—16:3 13 aJosh. 3:3

275 2 SAMUEL 7:19 paces, that he sacrificed boxen and fatted sheep. 14 Then David adanced1 before the LORD with all his might; and David was wearing ba linen ephod. 15 aSo David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet. 16 Now as the ark of the LORD came into the City of David, aMichal, Saul’s daughter, looked through a window and saw King David leaping and whirling before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart. 17 So athey brought the ark of the LORD, and set it in bits place in the midst of the tabernacle that David had erected for it. Then David cof- fered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD. 18 And when David had finished offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, ahe blessed the people in the name of the LORD of hosts. 19 aThen he distributed among all the people, among the whole multi- tude of Israel, both the women and the men, to everyone a loaf of bread, a piece of meat, and a cake of raisins. So all the people de- parted, everyone to his house. 20 aThen David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, “How glorious was the king of Israel today, buncovering himself today in the eyes of the maids of his servants, as one of the cbase fellows 1shamelessly uncovers himself!” 21 So David said to Michal, “It was before the LORD, awho chose me instead of your father and all his house, to appoint me ruler over the bpeople of the LORD, over Israel. Therefore I will play music before the LORD. 22 “And I will be even more undig- nified than this, and will be humble in my own sight. But as for the maidservants of whom you have spoken, by them I will be held in honor.” 23 Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no children ato the day of her death. God’s Covenant with David 7 Now it came to pass awhen the king was dwelling in his house, and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies all around, 2 that the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in aa house of cedar, bbut the ark of God dwells inside tent ccurtains.” 3 Then Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that is in your aheart, for the LORD is with you.” 4 But it happened that night that the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying, 5 “Go and tell My servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD: a“Would you build a house for Me to dwell in? 6 “For I have not dwelt in a house asince the time that I brought the children of Israel up from Egypt, even to this day, but have moved about in ba tent and in a tabernacle. 7 “Wherever I have amoved about with all the children of Israel, have I ever spoken a word to anyone from the tribes of Israel, whom I com- manded bto shepherd My people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?’ ” ’ 8 “Now therefore, thus shall you say to My servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: a“I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people, over Israel. 9 “And aI have been with you wherever you have gone, band have 1cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a great name, like the name of the great men who are on the earth. 10 “Moreover I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will aplant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more; bnor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore, as previously, 11 a“since the time that I com- manded judges to be over My peo- ple Israel, and have caused you to rest from all your enemies. Also the LORD 1tells you bthat He will make you a 2house. 12 a“When your days are fulfilled and you brest with your fathers, cI will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 a“He shall build a house for My name, and I will bestablish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 a“I will be his Father, and he shall be bMy son.

a“since the time that I com- manded judges to be over My peo- ple Israel, and have caused you to rest from all your enemies. Also the LORD 1tells you bthat He will make you a 2house. 12 a“When your days are fulfilled and you brest with your fathers, cI will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 a“He shall build a house for My name, and I will bestablish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 a“I will be his Father, and he shall be bMy son. If he commits iniq- uity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the 1blows of the sons of men. 15 “But My mercy shall not depart from him, aas I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 “And ayour house and your kingdom shall be established for- ever before 1you. Your throne shall be established forever.” ’ ” 17 According to all these words and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David. David’s Thanksgiving to God 18 Then King David went in and sat before the LORD; and he said: a“Who am I, O Lord GOD? And what is my house, that You have brought me this far? 19 “And yet this was a small thing in Your sight, O Lord GOD; andYou have also spoken of Your servant’s house for a great while to come. aIs this the manner of man, O Lord GOD? 13 b1 Kin. 8:5 14 aPs. 30:11; 149:3 b1 Sam. 2:18, 28 1whirled about 15 a1 Chr. 15:28 16 a2 Sam. 3:14 17 a1 Chr. 16:1 b1 Chr. 15:1 c1 Kin. 8:5, 62, 63 18 a1 Kin. 8:14, 15, 55 19 a1 Chr. 16:3 20 aPs. 30:title b2 Sam. 6:14, 16 cJudg. 9:4 1openly 21 a1 Sam. 13:14; 15:28 b2 Kin. 11:17 23 aIs. 22:14 CHAPTER 7 1 a1 Chr. 17:1–27 2 a2 Sam. 5:11 bActs 7:46 cEx. 26:1 3 a1 Kin. 8:17, 18 5 a1 Kin. 5:3, 4; 8:19 6 a1 Kin. 8:16 bEx. 40:18, 34 7 aLev. 26:11, 12 b2 Sam. 5:2 8 a1 Sam. 16:11, 12 9 a2 Sam. 5:10 b1 Sam. 31:6 1destroyed 10 aPs. 44:2; 80:8 bPs. 89:22, 23 11 aJudg. 2:14–16 b2 Sam. 7:27 1declares to you 2Royal dynasty 12 a1 Kin. 2:1 bDeut. 31:16 cPs. 132:11 13 a1 Kin. 5:5; 8:19 b[Is. 9:7; 49:8] 14 a[Heb. 1:5] b[Ps. 2:7; 89:26, 27, 30] 1strokes 15 a1 Sam. 15:23, 28; 16:14 16 a2 Sam. 7:13 1LXX Me 18 aEx. 3:11 19 a[Is. 55:8, 9]

2 SAMUEL 7:20 276 20 “Now what more can David say to You? For You, Lord GOD, aknow Your servant. 21 “For Your word’s sake, and according to Your own heart, You have done all these great things, to make Your servant know them. 22 “Therefore aYou are great, 1O Lord GOD. For bthere is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our cears. 23 “And who is likeYour people, like Israel, athe one nation on the earth whom God went to redeem for Him- self as a people, to make for Himself a name—and to do for Yourself great and awesome deeds for Your land— before bYour people whom You redeemed for Yourself from Egypt, the nations, and their gods? 24 “For aYou have made Your peo- ple Israel Your very own people for- ever; band You, LORD, have become their God. 25 “Now, O LORD God, the word which You have spoken concerning Your servant and concerning his house, establish it forever and do as You have said. 26 “So let Your name be magnified forever, saying, ‘The LORD of hosts is the God over Israel.’ And let the house of Your servant David be established before You. 27 “For You, O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, have revealed this to Your servant, saying, ‘I will build you a house.’ Therefore Your servant has found it in his heart to pray this prayer to You. 28 “And now, O Lord GOD, You are God, and aYour words are true, and You have promised this goodness to Your servant. 29 “Now therefore, let it please You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue before You for- ever; for You, O Lord GOD, have spo- ken it, and with Your blessing let the house of Your servant be blessed aforever.” David’s Further Conquests 8 After this it came to pass that David 1attacked the Philistines and subdued them. And David took 2Metheg Ammah from the hand of the Philistines. 2 Then ahe defeated Moab. Forc- ing them down to the ground, he measured them off with a line. With two lines he measured off those to be put to death, and with one full line those to be kept alive. So the Moabites became David’s bservants, and cbrought tribute. 3 David also defeated Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of aZobah, as he went to recover bhis territory at the River Euphrates. 4 David took from him one thou- sand chariots, 1seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand foot soldiers. Also David aham- strung all the chariot horses, except that he spared enough of them for one hundred chariots. 5 aWhen the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David killed twenty-two thousand of the Syrians. 6 Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus; and the Syrians became David’s servants, and brought tribute. So athe LORD pre- served David wherever he went. 7 And David took athe shields of gold that had belonged to the ser- vants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 Also from 1Betah and from aBerothai,2 cities of Hadadezer, King David took a large amount of bronze. 9 When 1Toi king of aHamath heard that David had defeated all the army of Hadadezer, 10 then Toi sent 1Joram his son to King David, to 2greet him and bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him (for Hadadezer had been at war with Toi); and Joram brought with him articles of silver, articles of gold, and articles of bronze. 11 King David also adedicated these to the LORD, along with the silver and gold that he had dedicated from all the nations which he had subdued— 12 from 1Syria, from Moab, from the people of Ammon, from the aPhilis- tines, from Amalek, and from the spoil of Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah. 13 And David made himself a aname when he returned from killing beighteen thousand 1Syrians in cthe Valley of Salt. 14 He also put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom he put gar- risons, and aall the Edomites became David’s servants.

o the LORD, along with the silver and gold that he had dedicated from all the nations which he had subdued— 12 from 1Syria, from Moab, from the people of Ammon, from the aPhilis- tines, from Amalek, and from the spoil of Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah. 13 And David made himself a aname when he returned from killing beighteen thousand 1Syrians in cthe Valley of Salt. 14 He also put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom he put gar- risons, and aall the Edomites became David’s servants. And the LORD pre- served David wherever he went. David’s Administration 15 So David reigned over all Israel; and David administered judgment and justice to all his people. 16 aJoab the son of Zeruiah was over the army; bJehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder; 17 aZadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were the priests; 1Seraiah was the 2scribe; 18 aBenaiah the son of Jehoiada was over both the bCherethites and the Pelethites; and David’s sons were 1chief ministers. David’s Kindness to Mephibosheth 9 Now David said, “Is there still anyone who is left of the house of Saul, that I may ashow him 1kind- ness for Jonathan’s sake?” 2 And there was a servant of the 20 aJohn 21:17 22 aDeut. 10:17 bEx. 15:11 cEx. 10:2 1Tg., Syr. O LORD God 23 aPs. 147:20 bDeut. 9:26; 33:29 24 a[Deut. 26:18] bPs. 48:14 28 aJohn 17:17 29 a2 Sam. 22:51 CHAPTER 8 1 1Lit. struck 2Lit. The Bri- dle of the Mother City 2 aNum. 24:17 b2 Sam. 12:31 c1 Kin. 4:21 3 a1 Sam. 14:47 b2 Sam. 10:15–19 4 aJosh. 11:6, 9 1seven thousand, 1 Chr. 18:4 5 a1 Kin. 11:23–25 6 a2 Sam. 7:9; 8:14 7 a1 Kin. 10:16 8 aEzek. 47:16 1Tibhath, 1 Chr. 18:8 2Chun, 1 Chr. 18:8 9 a1 Kin. 8:65 1Tou, 1 Chr. 18:9 10 1Hadoram, 1 Chr. 18:10 2Lit. ask him of his welfare 11 a1 Kin. 7:51 12 a2 Sam. 5:17–25 1LXX, Syr., Heb. mss. Edom 13 a2 Sam. 7:9 b2 Kin. 14:7 c1 Chr. 18:12 1LXX, Syr., Heb. mss. Edomites and 1 Chr. 18:12 14 aGen. 27:29, 37–40 16 a2 Sam. 19:13; 20:23 b1 Kin. 4:3 17 a1 Chr. 6:4–8; 24:3 1Shavsha, 1 Chr. 18:16 2secretary 18 a1 Chr. 18:17 b1 Sam. 30:14 1Lit. priests CHAPTER 9 1 a1 Sam. 18:3; 20:14–16 1covenant faithfulness

277 2 SAMUEL 10:15 house of Saul whose name was aZiba. So when they had called him to David, the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” He said, “At your service!” 3 Then the king said, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, to whom I may show athe kindness of God?” And Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan who is blame in his feet.” 4 So the king said to him, “Where is he?” And Ziba said to the king, “Indeed he is in the house of aMachir the son of Ammiel, in Lo Debar.” 5 Then King David sent and brought him out of the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo Debar. 6 Now when aMephibosheth1 the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, had come to David, he fell on his face and prostrated himself. Then David said, “Mephibosheth?” And he answered, “Here is your ser- vant!” 7 So David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will surely show you kind- ness for Jonathan your father’s sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather; and you shall eat bread at my table con- tinually.” 8 Then he bowed himself, and said, “What is your servant, that you should look upon such aa dead dog as I?” 9 And the king called to Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said to him, a“I have given to your master’s son all that belonged to Saul and to all his house. 10 “You therefore, and your sons and your servants, shall work the land for him, and you shall bring in the harvest, that your master’s son may have food to eat. But Me- phibosheth your master’s son ashall eat bread at my table always.” Now Ziba had bfifteen sons and twenty servants. 11 Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king has commanded his servant, so will your servant do.” “As for Me- phibosheth,” said the king, “he shall eat at 1my table like one of the king’s sons.” 12 Mephibosheth had a young son awhose name was Micha. And all who dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants of Mephibosheth. 13 So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem, afor he ate continually at the king’s table. And he bwas lame in both his feet. The Ammonites and Syrians Defeated 10 It happened after this that the aking of the people of Ammon died, and Hanun his son reigned in his place. 2 Then David said, “I will show akindness to Hanun the son of bNa- hash, as his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent by the hand of his servants to comfort him con- cerning his father. And David’s ser- vants came into the land of the peo- ple of Ammon. 3 And the princes of the people of Ammon said to Hanun their lord, “Do you think that David really honors your father because he has sent comforters to you? Has David not rather sent his servants to you to search the city, to spy it out, and to overthrow it?” 4 Therefore Hanun took David’s servants, shaved off half of their beards, cut off their garments in the middle, aat their buttocks, and sent them away. 5 When they told David, he sent to meet them, because the men were greatly 1ashamed.

on. 3 And the princes of the people of Ammon said to Hanun their lord, “Do you think that David really honors your father because he has sent comforters to you? Has David not rather sent his servants to you to search the city, to spy it out, and to overthrow it?” 4 Therefore Hanun took David’s servants, shaved off half of their beards, cut off their garments in the middle, aat their buttocks, and sent them away. 5 When they told David, he sent to meet them, because the men were greatly 1ashamed. And the king said, “Wait at Jericho until your beards have grown, and then return.” 6 When the people of Ammon saw that they ahad made themselves repulsive to David, the people of Ammon sent and hired bthe Syrians of cBeth Rehob and the Syrians of Zoba, twenty thousand foot sol- diers; and from the king of dMaacah one thousand men, and from eIsh- Tob twelve thousand men. 7 Now when David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the army of athe mighty men. 8 Then the people of Ammon came out and put themselves in bat- tle array at the entrance of the gate. And athe Syrians of Zoba, Beth Rehob, Ish-Tob, and Maacah were by themselves in the field. 9 When Joab saw that the battle line was against him before and behind, he chose some of Israel’s best and put them in battle array against the Syrians. 10 And the rest of the people he put under the command of aAbishai his brother, that he might set them in battle array against the people of Ammon. 11 Then he said, “If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the people of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will come and help you. 12 a“Be of good courage, and let us bbe strong for our people and for the cities of our God. And may cthe LORD do what is good in His sight.” 13 So Joab and the people who were with him drew near for the bat- tle against the Syrians, and they fled before him. 14 When the people of Ammon saw that the Syrians were fleeing, they also fled before Abishai, and entered the city. So Joab returned from the people of Ammon and went to aJerusalem. 15 When the Syrians saw that they 2 a2 Sam. 16:1–4; 19:17, 29 3 a1 Sam. 20:14 b2 Sam. 4:4 4 a2 Sam. 17:27–29 6 a2 Sam. 16:4; 19:24–30 1Or Merib-Baal 8 a2 Sam. 16:9 9 a2 Sam. 16:4; 19:29 10 a2 Sam. 9:7, 11, 13; 19:28 b2 Sam. 19:17 11 1LXX David’s table 12 a1 Chr. 8:34 13 a2 Sam. 9:7, 10, 11; 1 Kin. 2:7; 2 Kin. 25:29 b2 Sam. 9:3 CHAPTER 10 1 a2 Sam. 11:1; 1 Chr. 19:1 2 a2 Sam. 9:1; 1 Kin. 2:7 b1 Sam. 11:1 4 aIs. 20:4; 47:2 5 1humiliated 6 aGen. 34:30; Ex. 5:21 b2 Sam. 8:3, 5 cJudg. 18:28 dDeut. 3:14; Josh. 13:11, 13 eJudg. 11:3, 5 7 a2 Sam. 23:8 8 a2 Sam. 10:6 10 a1 Sam. 26:6; 2 Sam. 3:30 12 aDeut. 31:6; Josh. 1:6, 7, 9; Neh. 4:14 b1 Sam. 4:9; 1 Cor. 16:13 c1 Sam. 3:18 14 a2 Sam. 11:1

2 SAMUEL 10:16 278 had been defeated by Israel, they gathered together. 16 Then 1Hadadezer sent and brought out the Syrians who were beyond 2the River, and they came to Helam. And 3Shobach the com- mander of Hadadezer’s army went before them. 17 When it was told David, he gathered all Israel, crossed over the Jordan, and came to Helam. And the Syrians set themselves in battle array against David and fought with him. 18 Then the Syrians fled before Israel; and David killed seven hun- dred charioteers and forty thousand ahorsemen of the Syrians, and struck Shobach the commander of their army, who died there. 19 And when all the kings who were servants to 1Hadadezer saw that they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and aserved them. So the Syrians were afraid to help the people of Ammon anymore. David, Bathsheba, and Uriah 11 It happened in the spring of the year, at the atime when kings go out to battle, that bDavid sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged cRabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. 2 Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed aand walked on the roof of the king’s house. And from the roof he bsaw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold. 3 So David sent and inquired about the woman. And someone said, “Is this not 1Bathsheba, the daughter of 2Eliam, the wife aof Uriah the bHittite?” 4 Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and ahe lay with her, for she was bcleansed from her impurity; and she returned to her house. 5 And the woman conceived; so she sent and told David, and said, “I am with child.” 6 Then David sent to Joab, saying, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent Uriah to David. 7 When Uriah had come to him, David asked how Joab was doing, and how the people were doing, and how the war prospered. 8 And David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and awash your feet.” So Uriah departed from the king’s house, and a gift of food from the king followed him. 9 But Uriah slept at the adoor of the king’s house with all the ser- vants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. 10 So when they told David, saying, “Uriah did not go down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “Did you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?” 11 And Uriah said to David, a“The ark and Israel and Judah are dwelling in tents, and bmy lord Joab and the servants of my lord are encamped in the open fields. Shall I then go to my house to eat and drink, and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing.” 12 Then David said to Uriah, “Wait here today also, and tomorrow I will let you depart.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 Now when David called him, he ate and drank before him; and he made him adrunk. And at evening he went out to lie on his bed bwith the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house. 14 In the morning it happened that David awrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. 15 And he wrote in the letter, say- ing, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the 1hottest battle, and retreat from him, that he may abe struck down and die.” 16 So it was, while Joab besieged the city, that he assigned Uriah to a place where he knew there were valiant men. 17 Then the men of the city came out and fought with Joab. And some of the people of the servants of David fell; and Uriah the Hittite died also. 18 Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war, 19 and charged the messenger, say- ing, “When you have finished telling the matters of the war to the king, 20 “if it happens that the king’s wrath rises, and he says to you: ‘Why did you approach so near to the city when you fought? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall? 21 ‘Who struck aAbimelech the son of 1Jerubbesheth? Was it not a woman who cast a piece of a mill- stone on him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez?

oab sent and told David all the things concerning the war, 19 and charged the messenger, say- ing, “When you have finished telling the matters of the war to the king, 20 “if it happens that the king’s wrath rises, and he says to you: ‘Why did you approach so near to the city when you fought? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall? 21 ‘Who struck aAbimelech the son of 1Jerubbesheth? Was it not a woman who cast a piece of a mill- stone on him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you go near the wall?’—then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.’ ” 22 So the messenger went, and came and told David all that Joab had sent by him. 23 And the messenger said to David, “Surely the men prevailed against us and came out to us in the field; then we drove them back as far as the entrance of the gate. 24 “The archers shot from the wall at your servants; and some of the king’s servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.” 25 Then David said to the messen- ger, “Thus you shall say to Joab: ‘Do not let this thing 1displease you, for 16 1Heb. Hadarezer 2The Euphrates 3Shophach, 1 Chr. 19:16 18 a1 Chr. 19:18 19 a2 Sam. 8:6 1Heb. Hadarezer CHAPTER 11 1 a1 Kin. 20:22–26 b1 Chr. 20:1 c2 Sam. 12:26; Jer. 49:2, 3; Amos 1:14 2 aDeut. 22:8; 1 Sam. 9:25; Matt. 24:17; Acts 10:9 bGen. 34:2; [Ex. 20:17]; Job 31:1; [Matt. 5:28] 3 a2 Sam. 23:39 b1 Sam. 26:6 1Bathshua, 1 Chr. 3:5 1Ammiel, 1 Chr. 3:5 4 a[Lev. 20:10; Deut. 22:22]; Ps. 51:title; [James 1:14, 15] bLev. 15:19, 28 8 aGen. 18:4; 19:2 9 a1 Kin. 14:27, 28 11 a2 Sam. 7:2, 6 b2 Sam. 20:6–22 13 aGen. 19:33, 35 b2 Sam. 11:9 14 a1 Kin. 21:8, 9 15 a2 Sam. 12:9 1fiercest 21 aJudg. 9:50–54 1Gideon; Jerubbaal Judg. 6:32ff 25 1Lit. be evil in your sight

279 2 SAMUEL 12:24 the sword devours one as well as another. Strengthen your attack against the city, and overthrow it.’ So encourage him.” 26 When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband. 27 And when her mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she abecame his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done bdispleased1 the LORD. Nathan’s Parable and David’s Confession 12 Then the LORD sent Nathan to David. And ahe came to him, and bsaid to him: “There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. 2 “The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds. 3 “But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom; and it was like a daughter to him. 4 “And a traveler came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him; but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” 5 So David’s anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the LORD lives, the man who has done this 1shall surely die! 6 “And he shall restore afourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity.” 7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘I aanointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 ‘I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more! 9 a‘Why have you bdespised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in His sight? cYou have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon. 10 ‘Now therefore, athe sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hit- tite to be your wife.’ 11 “Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will atake your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. 12 ‘For you did it secretly, abut I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.’ ” 13 aSo David said to Nathan, b“I have sinned against the LORD.” And Nathan said to David, “The LORD also has cput away your sin; you shall not die. 14 “However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD ato blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die.” 15 Then Nathan departed to his house. The Death of David’s Son And the aLORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became ill. 16 David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and alay all night on the ground. 17 So the elders of his house arose and went to him, to raise him up from the ground. But he would not, nor did he eat food with them. 18 Then on the seventh day it came to pass that the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead. For they said, “Indeed, while the child was alive, we spoke to him, and he would not heed our voice. How can we tell him that the child is dead? He may do some harm!” 19 When David saw that his ser- vants were whispering, David per- ceived that the child was dead. Therefore David said to his ser- vants, “Is the child dead?” And they said, “He is dead.” 20 So David arose from the ground, washed and aanointed him- self, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the LORD and bworshiped.

or they said, “Indeed, while the child was alive, we spoke to him, and he would not heed our voice. How can we tell him that the child is dead? He may do some harm!” 19 When David saw that his ser- vants were whispering, David per- ceived that the child was dead. Therefore David said to his ser- vants, “Is the child dead?” And they said, “He is dead.” 20 So David arose from the ground, washed and aanointed him- self, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the LORD and bworshiped. Then he went to his own house; and when he requested, they set food before him, and he ate. 21 Then his servants said to him, “What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive, but when the child died, you arose and ate food.” 22 And he said, “While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; afor I said, ‘Who can tell whether 1the LORD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ 23 “But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go ato him, but bhe shall not return to me.” Solomon Is Born 24 Then David comforted Bath- sheba his wife, and went in to her and lay with her. So ashe bore 27 a2 Sam. 12:9 b1 Chr. 21:7; [Heb. 13:4] 1Lit. was evil in the eyes of CHAPTER 12 1 aPs. 51:title b1 Kin. 20:35–41 5 1deserves to die, lit. is a son of death 6 a[Ex. 22:1]; Luke 19:8 7 a1 Sam. 16:13; 2 Sam. 5:3 9 a1 Sam. 15:19 bNum. 15:31 c2 Sam. 11:14–17, 27 10 a2 Sam. 13:28; 18:14; 1 Kin. 2:25; [Amos 7:9] 11 aDeut. 28:30; 2 Sam. 16:21, 22 12 a2 Sam. 16:22 13 a1 Sam. 15:24 b2 Sam. 24:10; Job 7:20; Ps. 51; Luke 18:13 c2 Sam. 24:10; Job 7:21; [Ps. 32:1–5; Prov. 28:13; Mic. 7:18]; Zech. 3:4 14 aIs. 52:5; [Ezek. 36:20, 23]; Rom. 2:24 15 a1 Sam. 25:38 16 a2 Sam. 13:31 20 aRuth 3:3; Matt. 6:17 bJob 1:20 22 aIs. 38:1–5; Joel 2:14; Jon. 3:9 1Heb. mss., Syr. God 23 aGen. 37:35 bJob 7:8–10 24 aMatt. 1:6

2 SAMUEL 12:25 280 a son, and bhe1 called his name Solomon. Now the LORD loved him, 25 and He sent word by the hand of Nathan the prophet: So 1he called his name 2Jedidiah, because of the LORD. Rabbah Is Captured 26 Now aJoab fought against bRab- bah of the people of Ammon, and took the royal city. 27 And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, “I have fought against Rabbah, and I have taken the city’s water supply. 28 “Now therefore, gather the rest of the people together and encamp against the city and take it, lest I take the city and it be called after my name.” 29 So David gathered all the peo- ple together and went to Rabbah, fought against it, and took it. 30 aThen he took their king’s crown from his head. Its weight was a talent of gold, with precious stones. And it was set on David’s head. Also he brought out the 1spoil of the city in great abundance. 31 And he brought out the people who were in it, and put them to work with saws and iron picks and iron axes, and made them cross over to the brick works. So he did to all the cities of the people of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem. Amnon and Tamar 13 After this aAbsalom the son of David had a lovely sister, whose name was bTamar; and cAm- non the son of David loved her. 2 Amnon was so distressed over his sister Tamar that he became sick; for she was a virgin. And it was improper for Amnon to do any- thing to her. 3 But Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab athe son of Shimeah, David’s brother. Now Jon- adab was a very crafty man. 4 And he said to him, “Why are you, the king’s son, becoming thin- ner day after day? Will you not tell me?” Amnon said to him, “I love Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.” 5 So Jonadab said to him, “Lie down on your bed and pretend to be ill. And when your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘Please let my sister Tamar come and give me food, and prepare the food in my sight, that I may see it and eat it from her hand.’ ” 6 Then Amnon lay down and pre- tended to be ill; and when the king came to see him, Amnon said to the king, “Please let Tamar my sister come and amake a couple of cakes for me in my sight, that I may eat from her hand.” 7 And David sent home to Tamar, saying, “Now go to your brother Amnon’s house, and prepare food for him.” 8 So Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s house; and he was lying down. Then she took flour and kneaded it, made cakes in his sight, and baked the cakes. 9 And she took the pan and placed them out before him, but he refused to eat. Then Amnon said, a“Have everyone go out from me.” And they all went out from him. 10 Then Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food into the bedroom, that I may eat from your hand.” And Tamar took the cakes which she had made, and brought them to Amnon her brother in the bedroom. 11 Now when she had brought them to him to eat, ahe took hold of her and said to her, “Come, lie with me, my sister.” 12 But she answered him, “No, my brother, do not 1force me, for ano such thing should be done in Israel. Do not do this bdisgraceful thing! 13 “And I, where could I take my shame? And as for you, you would be like one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, please speak to the king; afor he will not withhold me from you.” 14 However, he would not heed her voice; and being stronger than she, he aforced her and lay with her. 15 Then Amnon hated her 1exceed- ingly, so that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, “Arise, be gone!” 16 So she said to him, “No, indeed! This evil of sending me away is worse than the other that you did to me.” But he would not listen to her. 17 Then he called his servant who attended him, and said, “Here! Put this woman out, away from me, and bolt the door behind her.” 18 Now she had on aa robe of many colors, for the king’s virgin daugh- ters wore such apparel.

at the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, “Arise, be gone!” 16 So she said to him, “No, indeed! This evil of sending me away is worse than the other that you did to me.” But he would not listen to her. 17 Then he called his servant who attended him, and said, “Here! Put this woman out, away from me, and bolt the door behind her.” 18 Now she had on aa robe of many colors, for the king’s virgin daugh- ters wore such apparel. And his ser- vant put her out and bolted the door behind her. 19 Then Tamar put aashes on her head, and tore her robe of many col- ors that was on her, and blaid her hand on her head and went away crying bitterly. 20 And Absalom her brother said to her, “Has Amnon your brother been with you? But now hold your peace, my sister. He is your brother; do not take this thing to heart.” So Tamar remained desolate in her brother Absalom’s house. 21 But when King David heard of all these things, he was very angry. 22 And Absalom spoke to his brother Amnon aneither good nor bad. For Absalom bhated Amnon, because he had forced his sister Tamar. 24 b1 Chr. 22:9 1So with Kt., LXX, Vg.; Qr., a few Heb. mss., Syr., Tg. she 25 1Qr., some Heb. mss., Syr., Tg. she 2Lit. Beloved of the LORD 26 a1 Chr. 20:1 bDeut. 3:11; 2 Sam. 11:1 30 a1 Chr. 20:2 1plunder CHAPTER 13 1 a2 Sam. 3:2, 3; 1 Chr. 3:2 b1 Chr. 3:9 c2 Sam. 3:2 3 a1 Sam. 16:9 6 aGen. 18:6 9 aGen. 45:1 11 aGen. 39:12; [Deut. 27:22]; Ezek. 22:11 12 a[Lev. 18:9–11; 20:17] bGen. 34:7; Judg. 19:23; 20:6 1Lit. humble me 13 aGen. 20:12 14 aLev. 18:9; [Deut. 22:25; 27:22]; 2 Sam. 12:11 15 1with a very great hatred 18 aGen. 37:3; Judg. 5:30; Ps. 45:13, 14 19 aJosh. 7:6; 2 Sam. 1:2; Job 2:12; 42:6 bJer. 2:37 22 aGen. 24:50; 31:24 b[Lev. 19:17, 18; 1 John 2:9, 11; 3:10, 12, 15]

281 2 SAMUEL 14:12 Absalom Murders Amnon 23 And it came to pass, after two full years, that Absalom ahad sheep- shearers in Baal Hazor, which is near Ephraim; so Absalom invited all the king’s sons. 24 Then Absalom came to the king and said, “Kindly note, your servant has sheepshearers; please, let the king and his servants go with your servant.” 25 But the king said to Absalom, “No, my son, let us not all go now, lest we be a burden to you.” Then he urged him, but he would not go; and he blessed him. 26 Then Absalom said, “If not, please let my brother Amnon go with us.” And the king said to him, “Why should he go with you?” 27 But Absalom urged him; so he let Amnon and all the king’s sons go with him. 28 Now Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, “Watch now, when Amnon’s aheart is merry with wine, and when I say to you, ‘Strike Amnon!’ then kill him. Do not be afraid. Have I not commanded you? Be courageous and 1valiant.” 29 So the servants of Absalom adid to Amnon as Absalom had com- manded. Then all the king’s sons arose, and each one got on bhis mule and fled. 30 And it came to pass, while they were on the way, that news came to David, saying, “Absalom has killed all the king’s sons, and not one of them is left!” 31 So the king arose and atore his garments and blay on the ground, and all his servants stood by with their clothes torn. 32 Then aJonadab the son of Shimeah, David’s brother, answered and said, “Let not my lord suppose they have killed all the young men, the king’s sons, for only Amnon is dead. For by the command of Absa- lom this has been determined from the day that he forced his sister Tamar. 33 “Now therefore, alet not my lord the king take the thing to his heart, to think that all the king’s sons are dead. For only Amnon is dead.” Absalom Flees to Geshur 34 aThen Absalom fled. And the young man who was keeping watch lifted his eyes and looked, and there, many people were coming from the road on the hillside behind 1him. 35 And Jonadab said to the king, “Look, the king’s sons are coming; as your servant said, so it is.” 36 So it was, as soon as he had fin- ished speaking, that the king’s sons indeed came, and they lifted up their voice and wept. Also the king and all his servants wept very bitterly. 37 But Absalom fled and went to aTalmai the son of Ammihud, king of Geshur. And David mourned for his son every day. 38 So Absalom fled and went to aGeshur, and was there three years. 39 And 1King David 2longed to go to Absalom.

ab said to the king, “Look, the king’s sons are coming; as your servant said, so it is.” 36 So it was, as soon as he had fin- ished speaking, that the king’s sons indeed came, and they lifted up their voice and wept. Also the king and all his servants wept very bitterly. 37 But Absalom fled and went to aTalmai the son of Ammihud, king of Geshur. And David mourned for his son every day. 38 So Absalom fled and went to aGeshur, and was there three years. 39 And 1King David 2longed to go to Absalom. For he had been acom- forted concerning Amnon, because he was dead. Absalom Returns to Jerusalem 14 So Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king’s heart was concerned aabout Absalom. 2 And Joab sent to aTekoa and brought from there a wise woman, and said to her, “Please pretend to be a mourner, band put on mourning apparel; do not anoint yourself with oil, but act like a woman who has been mourning a long time for the dead. 3 “Go to the king and speak to him in this manner.” So Joab aput the words in her mouth. 4 And when the woman of Tekoa 1spoke to the king, she afell on her face to the ground and prostrated herself, and said, b“Help, O king!” 5 Then the king said to her, “What troubles you?” And she answered, a“Indeed I am a widow, my husband is dead. 6 “Now your maidservant had two sons; and the two fought with each other in the field, and there was no one to part them, but the one struck the other and killed him. 7 “And now the whole family has risen up against your maidservant, and they said, ‘Deliver him who struck his brother, that we may execute him afor the life of his brother whom he killed; and we will destroy the heir also.’ So they would extinguish my ember that is left, and leave to my husband nei- ther name nor remnant on the earth.” 8 Then the king said to the woman, “Go to your house, and I will give orders concerning you.” 9 And the woman of Tekoa said to the king, “My lord, O king, let athe 1iniquity be on me and on my father’s house, band the king and his throne be guiltless.” 10 So the king said, “Whoever says anything to you, bring him to me, and he shall not touch you any- more.” 11 Then she said, “Please let the king remember the LORD your God, and do not permit athe avenger of blood to destroy anymore, lest they destroy my son.” And he said, b“As the LORD lives, not one hair of your son shall fall to the ground.” 12 Therefore the woman said, “Please, let your maidservant speak 23 aGen. 38:12, 13; 1 Sam. 25:4 28 aJudg. 19:6, 9, 22; Ruth 3:7; 1 Sam. 25:36; Esth. 1:10 1Lit. sons of valor 29 a2 Sam. 12:10 b2 Sam. 18:9; 1 Kin. 1:33, 38 31 a2 Sam. 1:11 b2 Sam. 12:16 32 a2 Sam. 13:3–5 33 a2 Sam. 19:19 34 a2 Sam. 13:37, 38 1LXX adds And the watchman went and told the king, and said, “I see men from the way of Horo- naim, from the regions of the mountains.” 37 a2 Sam. 3:3; 1 Chr. 3:2 38 a2 Sam. 14:23, 32; 15:8 39 aGen. 38:12; 2 Sam. 12:19, 23 1So with MT, Syr., Vg.; LXX the spirit of the king; Tg. the soul of King David 2So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Vg. ceased to pur- sue after CHAPTER 14 1 a2 Sam. 13:39 2 a2 Sam. 23:26; 2 Chr. 11:6; Amos 1:1 bRuth 3:3 3 aEx. 4:15; 2 Sam. 14:19 4 a1 Sam. 20:41; 25:23; 2 Sam. 1:2 b2 Kin. 6:26, 28 1Many Heb. mss., LXX, Syr., Vg. came 5 a[Zech. 7:10] 7 aNum. 35:19; Deut. 19:12, 13 9 aGen. 27:13; 43:9; 1 Sam. 25:24; Matt. 27:25 b2 Sam. 3:28, 29; 1 Kin. 2:33 1guilt 11 aNum. 35:19, 21; [Deut. 19:4–10] b1 Sam. 14:45; 1 Kin. 1:52; Matt. 10:30; Acts 27:34

2 SAMUEL 14:13 282 another word to my lord the king.” And he said, “Say on.” 13 So the woman said: “Why then have you schemed such a thing against athe people of God? For the king speaks this thing as one who is guilty, in that the king does not bring bhis banished one home again. 14 “For we awill surely die and become like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. Yet God does not btake away a life; but He cdevises means, so that His banished ones are not 1expelled from Him. 15 “Now therefore, I have come to speak of this thing to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. And your maidservant said, ‘I will now speak to the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his maidservant. 16 ‘For the king will hear and deliver his maidservant from the hand of the man who would destroy me and my son together from the ainheritance of God.’ 17 “Your maidservant said, ‘The word of my lord the king will now be comforting; for aas the angel of God, so is my lord the king in bdis- cerning good and evil. And may the LORD your God be with you.’ ” 18 Then the king answered and said to the woman, “Please do not hide from me anything that I ask you.” And the woman said, “Please, let my lord the king speak.” 19 So the king said, “Is the hand of Joab with you in all this?” And the woman answered and said, “As you live, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right hand or to the left from anything that my lord the king has spoken. For your servant Joab commanded me, and ahe put all these words in the mouth of your maidservant. 20 “To bring about this change of affairs your servant Joab has done this thing; but my lord is wise, aac- cording to the wisdom of the angel of God, to know everything that is in the earth.” 21 And the king said to Joab, “All right, I have granted this thing. Go therefore, bring back the young man Absalom.” 22 Then Joab fell to the ground on his face and bowed himself, and 1thanked the king. And Joab said, “Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your sight, my lord, O king, in that the king has ful- filled the request of his servant.” 23 So Joab arose aand went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem. 24 And the king said, “Let him return to his own house, but ado not let him see my face.” So Absalom returned to his own house, but did not see the king’s face. David Forgives Absalom 25 Now in all Israel there was no one who was praised as much as Absalom for his good looks. aFrom the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him. 26 And when he cut the hair of his head—at the end of every year he cut it because it was heavy on him— when he cut it, he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels according to the king’s standard. 27 aTo Absalom were born three sons, and one daughter whose name was Tamar. She was a woman of beautiful appearance. 28 And Absalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem, abut did not see the king’s face. 29 Therefore Absalom sent for Joab, to send him to the king, but he would not come to him. And when he sent again the second time, he would not come. 30 So he said to his servants, “See, Joab’s field is near mine, and he has barley there; go and set it on fire.” And Absalom’s servants set the field on fire. 31 Then Joab arose and came to Absalom’s house, and said to him, “Why have your servants set my field on fire?” 32 And Absalom answered Joab, “Look, I sent to you, saying, ‘Come here, so that I may send you to the king, to say, “Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me to be there still.” ’ Now therefore, let me see the king’s face; but aif there is iniquity in me, let him execute me.” 33 So Joab went to the king and told him. And when he had called for Absalom, he came to the king and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king.

im, “Why have your servants set my field on fire?” 32 And Absalom answered Joab, “Look, I sent to you, saying, ‘Come here, so that I may send you to the king, to say, “Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me to be there still.” ’ Now therefore, let me see the king’s face; but aif there is iniquity in me, let him execute me.” 33 So Joab went to the king and told him. And when he had called for Absalom, he came to the king and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king. Then the king akissed Absalom. Absalom’s Treason 15 After this ait happened that Absalom bprovided himself with chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him. 2 Now Absalom would rise early and stand beside the way to the gate. So it was, whenever anyone who had a alawsuit1 came to the king for a decision, that Absalom would call to him and say, “What city are you from?” And he would say, “Your servant is from such and such a tribe of Israel.” 3 Then Absalom would say to him, “Look, your 1case is good and right; but there is no 2deputy of the king to hear you.” 4 Moreover Absalom would say, a“Oh, that I were made judge in the land, and everyone who has any suit or cause would come to me; then I would give him justice.” 13 aJudg. 20:2 b2 Sam. 13:37, 38 14 aJob 30:23; 34:15; [Heb. 9:27] bJob 34:19; Matt. 22:16; Acts 10:34; Rom. 2:11 cNum. 35:15 1cast out 16 aDeut. 32:9; 1 Sam. 26:19; 2 Sam. 20:19 17 a1 Sam. 29:9; 2 Sam. 19:27 b1 Kin. 3:9 19 a2 Sam. 14:3 20 a2 Sam. 14:17; 19:27 22 1Lit. blessed 23 a2 Sam. 13:37, 38 24 aGen. 43:3; 2 Sam. 3:13 25 aDeut. 28:35; Job 2:7; Is. 1:6 27 a2 Sam. 13:1; 18:18 28 a2 Sam. 14:24 32 a1 Sam. 20:8; [Prov. 28:13] 33 aGen. 33:4; 45:15; Luke 15:20 CHAPTER 15 1 a2 Sam. 12:11 b1 Kin. 1:5 2 aDeut. 19:17 1Lit. contro- versy 3 1Lit. words 2Lit. listener 4 aJudg. 9:29

283 2 SAMUEL 15:34 5 And so it was, whenever anyone came near to bow down to him, that he would put out his hand and take him and akiss him. 6 In this manner Absalom acted toward all Israel who came to the king for judgment. aSo Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel. 7 Now it came to pass aafter 1forty years that Absalom said to the king, “Please, let me go to bHebron and pay the vow which I made to the LORD. 8 a“For your servant btook a vow cwhile I dwelt at Geshur in Syria, saying, ‘If the LORD indeed brings me back to Jerusalem, then I will serve the LORD.’ ” 9 And the king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he arose and went to Hebron. 10 Then Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then you shall say, ‘Absalom areigns in Hebron!’ ” 11 And with Absalom went two hundred men ainvited from Jerusa- lem, and they bwent along innocently and did not know anything. 12 Then Absalom sent for Ahitho- phel the Gilonite, aDavid’s coun- selor, from his city—from bGiloh— while he offered sacrifices. And the conspiracy grew strong, for the peo- ple with Absalom ccontinually increased in number. David Escapes from Jerusalem 13 Now a messenger came to David, saying, a“The hearts of the men of Israel are 1with Absalom.” 14 So David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, “Arise, and let us aflee, or we shall not escape from Absalom. Make haste to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly and bring disaster upon us, and strike the city with the edge of the sword.” 15 And the king’s servants said to the king, “We are your servants, ready to do whatever my lord the king commands.” 16 Then athe king went out with all his household after him. But the king left bten women, concubines, to keep the house. 17 And the king went out with all the people after him, and stopped at the outskirts. 18 Then all his servants passed 1before him; aand all the Cherethites, all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, bsix hundred men who had followed him from Gath, passed before the king. 19 Then the king said to aIttai the Gittite, “Why are you also going with us? Return and remain with the king. For you are a foreigner and also an exile from your own place. 20 “In fact, you came only yester- day. Should I make you wander up and down with us today, since I go aI know not where? Return, and take your brethren back. Mercy and truth be with you.” 21 But Ittai answered the king and said, a“As the LORD lives, and as my lord the king lives, surely in what- ever place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also your servant will be.” 22 So David said to Ittai, “Go, and cross over.” Then Ittai the Gittite and all his men and all the little ones who were with him crossed over. 23 And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people crossed over. The king himself also crossed over the Brook Kidron, and all the people crossed over toward the way of the awilderness. 24 There was aZadok also, and all the Levites with him, bearing the bark of the covenant of God. And they set down the ark of God, and cAbiathar went up until all the peo- ple had finished crossing over from the city. 25 Then the king said to Zadok, “Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the LORD, He awill bring me back and show me both it and bHis dwelling place. 26 “But if He says thus: ‘I have no adelight in you,’ here I am, blet Him do to me as seems good to Him.” 27 The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Are you not a aseer?1 Return to the city in peace, and byour two sons with you, Ahimaaz your son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar. 28 “See, aI will wait in the plains of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.” 29 Therefore Zadok and Abiathar carried the ark of God back to Jerusalem. And they remained there. 30 So David went up by the Ascent of the Mount of Olives, and wept as he went up; and he ahad his head covered and went bbarefoot.

27 The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Are you not a aseer?1 Return to the city in peace, and byour two sons with you, Ahimaaz your son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar. 28 “See, aI will wait in the plains of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.” 29 Therefore Zadok and Abiathar carried the ark of God back to Jerusalem. And they remained there. 30 So David went up by the Ascent of the Mount of Olives, and wept as he went up; and he ahad his head covered and went bbarefoot. And all the people who were with him ccov- ered their heads and went up, dweeping as they went up. 31 Then someone told David, say- ing, a“Ahithophel is among the con- spirators with Absalom.” And David said, “O LORD, I pray, bturn the coun- sel of Ahithophel into foolishness!” 32 Now it happened when David had come to the top of the moun- tain, where he worshiped God— there was Hushai the aArchite com- ing to meet him bwith his robe torn and dust on his head. 33 David said to him, “If you go on with me, then you will become aa burden to me. 34 “But if you return to the city, and say to Absalom, a‘I will be your ser- vant, O king; as I was your father’s servant previously, so I will now also 5 a2 Sam. 14:33; 20:9 6 a[Rom. 16:18] 7 a[Deut. 23:21] b2 Sam. 3:2, 3 1LXX mss., Syr., Josephus four 8 a1 Sam. 16:2 bGen. 28:20, 21 c2 Sam. 13:38 10 a1 Kin. 1:34; 2 Kin. 9:13 11 a1 Sam. 16:3, 5 bGen. 20:5 12 a2 Sam. 16:15; 1 Chr. 27:33; Ps. 41:9; 55:12–14 bJosh. 15:51 cPs. 3:1 13 aJudg. 9:3; 2 Sam. 15:6 1Lit. after 14 a2 Sam. 12:11; Ps. 3:title 16 aPs. 3:title b2 Sam. 12:11; 16:21, 22 18 a2 Sam. 8:18 b1 Sam. 23:13; 25:13; 30:1, 9 1Lit. by his hand 19 a2 Sam. 18:2 20 a1 Sam. 23:13 21 aRuth 1:16, 17; [Prov. 17:17] 23 a2 Sam. 15:28; 16:2 24 a2 Sam. 8:17 bNum. 4:15; 1 Sam. 4:4 c1 Sam. 22:20 25 a[Ps. 43:3] bEx. 15:13; Jer. 25:30 26 aNum. 14:8; 2 Sam. 22:20; 1 Kin. 10:9; 2 Chr. 9:8; Is. 62:4 b1 Sam. 3:18 27 a1 Sam. 9:6–9 b2 Sam. 17:17–20 1prophet 28 aJosh. 5:10; 2 Sam. 17:16 30 a2 Sam. 19:4; Esth. 6:12; Ezek. 24:17, 23 bIs. 20:2–4 cJer. 14:3, 4 d[Ps. 126:6] 31 aPs. 3:1, 2; 55:12 b2 Sam. 16:23; 17:14, 23 32 aJosh. 16:2 b2 Sam. 1:2 33 a2 Sam. 19:35 34 a2 Sam. 16:19

2 SAMUEL 15:35 284 be your servant,’ then you may defeat the counsel of Ahithophel for me. 35 “And do you not have Zadok and Abiathar the priests with you there? Therefore it will be that whatever you hear from the king’s house, you shall tell to aZadok and Abiathar the priests. 36 “Indeed they have there awith them their two sons, Ahimaaz, Zadok’s son, and Jonathan, Abi- athar’s son; and by them you shall send me everything you hear.” 37 So Hushai, aDavid’s friend, went into the city. bAnd Absalom came into Jerusalem. Mephibosheth’s Servant 16 When aDavid was a little past the top of the mountain, there was bZiba the servant of Mephib- osheth, who met him with a couple of saddled donkeys, and on them two hundred loaves of bread, one hun- dred clusters of raisins, one hundred summer fruits, and a skin of wine. 2 And the king said to Ziba, “What do you mean to do with these?” So Ziba said, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride on, the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat, and the wine for athose who are faint in the wilderness to drink.” 3 Then the king said, “And where is your amaster’s son?” bAnd Ziba said to the king, “Indeed he is staying in Jerusalem, for he said, ‘Today the house of Israel will restore the king- dom of my father to me.’ ” 4 So the king said to Ziba, “Here, all that belongs to Mephibosheth is yours.” And Ziba said, “I humbly bow before you, that I may find favor in your sight, my lord, O king!” Shimei Curses David 5 Now when King David came to aBahurim, there was a man from the family of the house of Saul, whose name was bShimei the son of Gera, coming from there. He came out, cursing continuously as he came. 6 And he threw stones at David and at all the servants of King David. And all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left. 7 Also Shimei said thus when he cursed: “Come out! Come out! You 1bloodthirsty man, ayou 2rogue! 8 “The LORD has abrought upon you all bthe blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned; and the LORD has delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absa- lom your son. So now you are caught in your own evil, because you are a 1bloodthirsty man!” 9 Then Abishai the son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this adead dog bcurse my lord the king? Please, let me go over and take off his head!” 10 But the king said, a“What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? So let him curse, because bthe LORD has said to him, ‘Curse David.’ cWho then shall say, ‘Why have you done so?’ ” 11 And David said to Abishai and all his servants, “See how amy son who bcame from my own body seeks my life. How much more now may this Benjamite? Let him alone, and let him curse; for so the LORD has ordered him. 12 “It may be that the LORD will look on 1my affliction, and that the LORD will arepay me with bgood for his cursing this day.” 13 And as David and his men went along the road, Shimei went along the hillside opposite him and cursed as he went, threw stones at him and 1kicked up dust. 14 Now the king and all the people who were with him became weary; so they refreshed themselves there. The Advice of Ahithophel 15 Meanwhile aAbsalom and all the people, the men of Israel, came to Jerusalem; and Ahithophel was with him. 16 And so it was, when Hushai the Archite, aDavid’s friend, came to Absalom, that bHushai said to Absa- lom, “Long live the king! Long live the king!” 17 So Absalom said to Hushai, “Is this your loyalty to your friend? aWhy did you not go with your friend?” 18 And Hushai said to Absalom, “No, but whom the LORD and this people and all the men of Israel choose, his I will be, and with him I will remain. 19 “Furthermore, awhom should I serve? Should I not serve in the pres- ence of his son?

th him. 16 And so it was, when Hushai the Archite, aDavid’s friend, came to Absalom, that bHushai said to Absa- lom, “Long live the king! Long live the king!” 17 So Absalom said to Hushai, “Is this your loyalty to your friend? aWhy did you not go with your friend?” 18 And Hushai said to Absalom, “No, but whom the LORD and this people and all the men of Israel choose, his I will be, and with him I will remain. 19 “Furthermore, awhom should I serve? Should I not serve in the pres- ence of his son? As I have served in your father’s presence, so will I be in your presence.” 20 Then Absalom said to aAhith- ophel, “Give advice as to what we should do.” 21 And Ahithophel said to Absa- lom, “Go in to your father’s aconcu- bines, whom he has left to keep the house; and all Israel will hear that you bare abhorred by your father. Then cthe hands of all who are with you will be strong.” 22 So they pitched a tent for Absa- lom on the top of the house, and Absalom went in to his father’s con- cubines ain the sight of all Israel. 23 Now the advice of Ahithophel, which he gave in those days, was as if one had inquired at the oracle of God. So was all the advice of Ahithophel aboth with David and with Absalom. 35 a2 Sam. 17:15, 16 36 a2 Sam. 15:27 37 a2 Sam. 16:16; 1 Chr. 27:33 b2 Sam. 16:15 CHAPTER 16 1 a2 Sam. 15:30, 32 b2 Sam. 9:2; 19:17, 29 2 a2 Sam. 15:23; 17:29 3 a2 Sam. 9:9, 10 b2 Sam. 19:27 5 a2 Sam. 3:16 b2 Sam. 19:21; 1 Kin. 2:8, 9, 44–46 7 aDeut. 13:13 1Lit. man of bloodshed 2worthless man 8 aJudg. 9:24, 56, 57; 1 Kin. 2:32, 33 b2 Sam. 1:16; 3:28, 29; 4:11, 12 1Lit. man of bloodshed 9 a1 Sam. 24:14; 2 Sam. 9:8 bEx. 22:28 10 a2 Sam. 3:39; 19:22; [1 Pet. 2:23] b2 Kin. 18:25; [Lam. 3:38] c[Rom. 9:20] 11 a2 Sam. 12:11 bGen. 15:4 12 aDeut. 23:5; Neh. 13:2; Prov. 20:22 bDeut. 23:5; [Rom. 8:28; Heb. 12:10, 11] 1So with Kt., LXX, Syr., Vg.; Qr. my eyes; Tg. tears of my eyes 13 1Lit. dusted him with dust 15 a2 Sam. 15:12, 37 16 a2 Sam. 15:37 b2 Sam. 15:34 17 a2 Sam. 19:25; [Prov. 17:17] 19 a2 Sam. 15:34 20 a2 Sam. 15:12 21 a2 Sam. 15:16; 20:3 bGen. 34:30; 1 Sam. 13:4 c2 Sam. 2:7; Zech. 8:13 22 a2 Sam. 12:11, 12 23 a2 Sam. 15:12

285 2 SAMUEL 17:27 17 Moreover Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Now let me choose twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue David tonight. 2 “I will come upon him while he is aweary and weak, and make him 1afraid. And all the people who are with him will flee, and I will bstrike only the king. 3 “Then I will bring back all the people to you. When all return except the man whom you seek, all the people will be at peace.” 4 And the saying pleased Absa- lom and all the aelders of Israel. The Advice of Hushai 5 Then Absalom said, “Now call Hushai the Archite also, and let us hear what he asays too.” 6 And when Hushai came to Absalom, Absalom spoke to him, saying, “Ahithophel has spoken in this manner. Shall we do as he says? If not, speak up.” 7 So Hushai said to Absalom: “The advice that Ahithophel has given is not good at this time. 8 “For,” said Hushai, “you know your father and his men, that they are mighty men, and they are enraged in their minds, like aa bear robbed of her cubs in the field; and your father is a man of war, and will not camp with the people. 9 “Surely by now he is hidden in some pit, or in some other place. And it will be, when some of them are overthrown at the first, that whoever hears it will say, ‘There is a slaughter among the people who follow Absalom.’ 10 “And even he who is valiant, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, will amelt completely. For all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man, and those who are with him are valiant men. 11 “Therefore I advise that all Israel be fully gathered to you, afrom Dan to Beersheba, blike the sand that is by the sea for multitude, and that you go to battle in person. 12 “So we will come upon him in some place where he may be found, and we will fall on him as the dew falls on the ground. And of him and all the men who are with him there shall not be left so much as one. 13 “Moreover, if he has withdrawn into a city, then all Israel shall bring ropes to that city; and we will apull it into the river, until there is not one small stone found there.” 14 So Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The advice of Hushai the Archite is better than the advice of Ahithophel.” For athe LORD had purposed to defeat the good advice of Ahithophel, to the intent that the LORD might bring disaster on Absa- lom. Hushai Warns David to Escape 15 aThen Hushai said to Zadok and Abiathar the priests, “Thus and so Ahithophel advised Absalom and the elders of Israel, and thus and so I have advised. 16 “Now therefore, send quickly and tell David, saying, ‘Do not spend this night ain the plains of the wilderness, but speedily cross over, lest the king and all the people who are with him be swallowed up.’ ” 17 aNow Jonathan and Ahimaaz bstayed at cEn Rogel, for they dared not be seen coming into the city; so a female servant would come and tell them, and they would go and tell King David. 18 Nevertheless a lad saw them, and told Absalom. But both of them went away quickly and came to a man’s house ain Bahurim, who had a well in his court; and they went down into it. 19 aThen the woman took and spread a covering over the well’s mouth, and spread ground grain on it; and the thing was not known. 20 And when Absalom’s servants came to the woman at the house, they said, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” So athe woman said to them, “They have gone over the water brook.” And when they had searched and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem. 21 Now it came to pass, after they had departed, that they came up out of the well and went and told King David, and said to David, a“Arise and cross over the water quickly. For thus has Ahithophel advised against you.” 22 So David and all the people who were with him arose and crossed over the Jordan.

use, they said, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” So athe woman said to them, “They have gone over the water brook.” And when they had searched and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem. 21 Now it came to pass, after they had departed, that they came up out of the well and went and told King David, and said to David, a“Arise and cross over the water quickly. For thus has Ahithophel advised against you.” 22 So David and all the people who were with him arose and crossed over the Jordan. By morning light not one of them was left who had not gone over the Jordan. 23 Now when Ahithophel saw that his advice was not followed, he saddled a donkey, and arose and went home to ahis house, to his city. Then he 1put his bhousehold in order, and changed himself, and died; and he was buried in his father’s tomb. 24 Then David went to aMa- hanaim. And Absalom crossed over the Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him. 25 And Absalom made aAmasa captain of the army instead of Joab. This Amasa was the son of a man whose name was 1Jithra, an 2Israelite, who had gone in to bAbi- gail the daughter of Nahash, sister of Zeruiah, Joab’s mother. 26 So Israel and Absalom en- camped in the land of Gilead. 27 Now it happened, when David had come to Mahanaim, that aShobi the son of Nahash from Rabbah of the people of Ammon, bMachir the CHAPTER 17 2 aDeut. 25:18; 2 Sam. 16:14 bZech. 13:7 1tremble with fear 4 a2 Sam. 5:3; 19:11 5 a2 Sam. 15:32–34 8 aHos. 13:8 10 aJosh. 2:11 11 aJudg. 20:1; 2 Sam. 3:10 bGen. 22:17; Josh. 11:4; 1 Kin. 20:10 13 aMic. 1:6 14 a2 Sam. 15:31, 34 15 a2 Sam. 15:35, 36 16 a2 Sam. 15:28 17 a2 Sam. 15:27, 36; 1 Kin. 1:42, 43 bJosh. 2:4–6 cJosh. 15:7; 18:16 18 a2 Sam. 3:16; 16:5 19 aJosh. 2:4–6 20 aEx. 1:19; [Lev. 19:11]; Josh. 2:3–5 21 a2 Sam. 17:15, 16 23 a2 Sam. 15:12 b2 Kin. 20:1 cMatt. 27:5 1Lit. gave charge con- cerning his house 24 aGen. 32:2; Josh. 13:26; 2 Sam. 2:8; 19:32 25 a2 Sam. 19:13; 20:9–12; 1 Kin. 2:5, 32 b1 Chr. 2:16 1Jether, 1 Chr. 2:17 2So with MT, some LXX mss., Tg.; some LXX mss. Ish- maelite (cf. 1 Chr. 2:17); Vg. of Jezrael 27 a1 Sam. 11:1; 2 Sam. 10:1; 12:29 b2 Sam. 9:4

2 SAMUEL 17:28 286 son of Ammiel from Lo Debar, and cBarzillai the Gileadite from Roge- lim, 28 brought beds and basins, earthen vessels and wheat, barley and flour, parched grain and beans, lentils and parched seeds, 29 honey and curds, sheep and cheese of the herd, for David and the people who were with him to eat. For they said, “The people are hungry and weary and thirsty ain the wilderness.” Absalom’s Defeat and Death 18 And David 1numbered the people who were with him, and aset captains of thousands and captains of hundreds over them. 2 Then David sent out one third of the people under the hand of Joab, aone third under the hand of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, and one third under the hand of bIt- tai the Gittite. And the king said to the people, “I also will surely go out with you myself.” 3 aBut the people answered, “You shall not go out! For if we flee away, they will not care about us; nor if half of us die, will they care about us. But you are worth ten thousand of us now. For you are now more help to us in the city.” 4 Then the king said to them, “Whatever seems best to you I will do.” So the king stood beside the gate, and all the people went out by hundreds and by thousands. 5 Now the king had commanded Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, saying, “Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.” aAnd all the people heard when the king gave all the captains orders concerning Ab- salom. 6 So the people went out into the field of battle against Israel. And the battle was in the awoods of Ephraim. 7 The people of Israel were over- thrown there before the servants of David, and a great slaughter of twenty thousand took place there that day. 8 For the battle there was scat- tered over the face of the whole countryside, and the woods de- voured more people that day than the sword devoured. 9 Then Absalom met the servants of David. Absalom rode on a mule. The mule went under the thick boughs of a great terebinth tree, and ahis head caught in the terebinth; so he was left hanging between heaven and earth. And the mule which was under him went on. 10 Now a certain man saw it and told Joab, and said, “I just saw Absa- lom hanging in a terebinth tree!” 11 So Joab said to the man who told him, “You just saw him! And why did you not strike him there to the ground? I would have given you ten shekels of silver and a belt.” 12 But the man said to Joab, “Though I were to receive a thou- sand shekels of silver in my hand, I would not raise my hand against the king’s son. aFor in our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, saying, 1‘Beware lest any- one touch the young man Absalom!’ 13 “Otherwise I would have dealt falsely against my own life. For there is nothing hidden from the king, and you yourself would have set yourself against me.” 14 Then Joab said, “I cannot linger with you.” And he took three spears in his hand and thrust them through Absalom’s heart, while he was still alive in the midst of the terebinth tree. 15 And ten young men who bore Joab’s armor surrounded Absalom, and struck and killed him. 16 So Joab blew the trumpet, and the people returned from pursuing Israel. For Joab held back the peo- ple. 17 And they took Absalom and cast him into a large pit in the woods, and alaid a very large heap of stones over him. Then all Israel bfled, everyone to his tent. 18 Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and set up a 1pillar for himself, which is in athe King’s Val- ley. For he said, b“I have no son to keep my name in remembrance.” He called the pillar after his own name. And to this day it is called Absa- lom’s Monument. David Hears of Absalom’s Death 19 Then aAhimaaz the son of Zadok said, “Let me run now and take the news to the king, how the LORD has 1avenged him of his enemies.” 20 And Joab said to him, “You shall not take the news this day, for you shall take the news another day.

ad taken and set up a 1pillar for himself, which is in athe King’s Val- ley. For he said, b“I have no son to keep my name in remembrance.” He called the pillar after his own name. And to this day it is called Absa- lom’s Monument. David Hears of Absalom’s Death 19 Then aAhimaaz the son of Zadok said, “Let me run now and take the news to the king, how the LORD has 1avenged him of his enemies.” 20 And Joab said to him, “You shall not take the news this day, for you shall take the news another day. But today you shall take no news, because the king’s son is dead.” 21 Then Joab said to the Cushite, “Go, tell the king what you have seen.” So the Cushite bowed himself to Joab and ran. 22 And Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said again to Joab, “But 1whatever happens, please let me also run after the Cushite.” So Joab said, “Why will you run, my son, since you have no news ready?” 23 “But whatever happens,” he said, “let me run.” So he said to him, “Run.” Then Ahimaaz ran by way of the plain, and outran the Cushite. 24 Now David was sitting between the atwo gates. And the watchman went up to the roof over the gate, to the wall, lifted his eyes and looked, and there was a man, running alone. 25 Then the watchman cried out and told the king. And the king said, 27 c2 Sam. 19:31, 32; 1 Kin. 2:7 29 a2 Sam. 16:2, 14 CHAPTER 18 1 aEx. 18:25; Num. 31:14; 1 Sam. 22:7 1Lit. attended to 2 aJudg. 7:16; 1 Sam. 11:11 b2 Sam. 15:19–22 3 a2 Sam. 21:17 5 a2 Sam. 18:12 6 aJosh. 17:15, 18; 2 Sam. 17:26 9 a2 Sam. 14:26 12 a2 Sam. 18:5 1Vss. ‘Protect the young man Absalom for me!’ 17 aDeut. 21:20, 21; Josh. 7:26; 8:29 b2 Sam. 19:8; 20:1, 22 18 aGen. 14:17 b2 Sam. 14:27 1monument 19 a2 Sam. 15:36; 17:17 1vindicated 22 1Lit. be what may 24 aJudg. 5:11; 2 Sam. 13:34; 2 Kin. 9:17

287 2 SAMUEL 19:18 “If he is alone, there is news in his mouth.” And he came rapidly and drew near. 26 Then the watchman saw another man running, and the watchman called to the gatekeeper and said, “There is another man, running alone!” And the king said, “He also brings news.” 27 So the watchman said, 1“I think the running of the first is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok.” And the king said, “He is a good man, and comes with agood news.” 28 So Ahimaaz called out and said to the king, 1“All is well!” Then he bowed down with his face to the earth before the king, and said, a“Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delivered up the men who raised their hand against my lord the king!” 29 The king said, “Is the young man Absalom safe?” Ahimaaz answered, “When Joab sent the king’s servant and me your servant, I saw a great tumult, but I did not know what it was about.” 30 And the king said, “Turn aside and stand here.” So he turned aside and stood still. 31 Just then the Cushite came, and the Cushite said, “There is good news, my lord the king! For the LORD has avenged you this day of all those who rose against you.” 32 And the king said to the Cushite, “Is the young man Absalom safe?” So the Cushite answered, “May the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise against you to do harm, be like that young man!” David’s Mourning for Absalom 33 Then the king was deeply moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept. And as he went, he said thus: a“O my son Absalom—my son, my son Absa- lom—if only I had died in your place! O Absalom my son, bmy son!” 19 And Joab was told, “Behold, the king is weeping and amourning for Absalom.” 2 So the victory that day was turned into amourning for all the people. For the people heard it said that day, “The king is grieved for his son.” 3 And the people 1stole back ainto the city that day, as people who are ashamed steal away when they flee in battle. 4 But the king acovered his face, and the king cried out with a loud voice, b“O my son Absalom! O Absa- lom, my son, my son!” 5 Then aJoab came into the house to the king, and said, “Today you have disgraced all your servants who today have saved your life, the lives of your sons and daughters, the lives of your wives and the lives of your concubines, 6 “in that you love your enemies and hate your friends. For you have declared today that you 1regard nei- ther princes nor servants; for today I perceive that if Absalom had lived and all of us had died today, then it would have pleased you well. 7 “Now therefore, arise, go out and speak 1comfort to your servants. For I swear by the LORD, if you do not go out, not one will stay with you this night. And that will be worse for you than all the evil that has befallen you from your youth until now.” 8 Then the king arose and sat in the agate. And they told all the peo- ple, saying, “There is the king, sit- ting in the gate.” So all the people came before the king. For everyone of Israel had bfled to his tent. David Returns to Jerusalem 9 Now all the people were in a dispute throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, “The king saved us from the hand of our aenemies, he delivered us from the hand of the bPhilistines, and now he has cfled from the land because of Absalom. 10 “But Absalom, whom we anointed over us, has died in battle. Now therefore, why do you say noth- ing about bringing back the king?” 11 So King David sent to aZadok and Abiathar the priests, saying, “Speak to the elders of Judah, say- ing, ‘Why are you the last to bring the king back to his house, since the words of all Israel have come to the king, to his very house? 12 ‘You are my brethren, you are amy bone and my flesh. Why then are you the last to bring back the king?’ 13 a“And say to Amasa, ‘Are you not my bone and my flesh?

er us, has died in battle. Now therefore, why do you say noth- ing about bringing back the king?” 11 So King David sent to aZadok and Abiathar the priests, saying, “Speak to the elders of Judah, say- ing, ‘Why are you the last to bring the king back to his house, since the words of all Israel have come to the king, to his very house? 12 ‘You are my brethren, you are amy bone and my flesh. Why then are you the last to bring back the king?’ 13 a“And say to Amasa, ‘Are you not my bone and my flesh? bGod do so to me, and more also, if you are not commander of the army before me 1continually in place of Joab.’ ” 14 So he swayed the hearts of all the men of Judah, ajust as the heart of one man, so that they sent this word to the king: “Return, you and all your servants!” 15 Then the king returned and came to the Jordan. And Judah came to aGilgal, to go to meet the king, to escort the king bacross the Jordan. 16 And aShimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite, who was from Bahurim, hurried and came down with the men of Judah to meet King David. 17 There were a thousand men of aBenjamin with him, and bZiba the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him; and they went over the Jordan before the king. 18 Then a ferryboat went across to carry over the king’s household, and to do what he thought good. 27 a1 Kin. 1:42 1Lit. I see the running 28 a2 Sam. 16:12 1Peace be to you 33 a2 Sam. 12:10 b2 Sam. 19:4 CHAPTER 19 1 aJer. 14:2 2 aEsth. 4:3 3 a2 Sam. 17:24, 27; 19:32 1went by stealth 4 a2 Sam. 15:30 b2 Sam. 18:33 5 a2 Sam. 18:14 6 1have no respect for 7 1Lit. to the heart of 8 a2 Sam. 15:2; 18:24 b2 Sam. 18:17 9 a2 Sam. 8:1–14 b2 Sam. 3:18 c2 Sam. 15:14 11 a2 Sam. 15:24 12 a2 Sam. 5:1; 1 Chr. 11:1 13 a2 Sam. 17:25; 1 Chr. 2:17 bRuth 1:17 1perma- nently 14 aJudg. 20:1 15 aJosh. 5:9; 1 Sam. 11:14, 15 b2 Sam. 17:22 16 a2 Sam. 16:5; 1 Kin. 2:8 17 a2 Sam. 3:19; 1 Kin. 12:21 b2 Sam. 9:2, 10; 16:1, 2

2 SAMUEL 19:19 288 David’s Mercy to Shimei Now Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king when he had crossed the Jordan. 19 Then he said to the king, a“Do not let my lord 1impute iniquity to me, or remember what bwrong your servant did on the day that my lord the king left Jerusalem, that the king should ctake it to heart. 20 “For I, your servant, know that I have sinned. Therefore here I am, the first to come today of all athe house of Joseph to go down to meet my lord the king.” 21 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah answered and said, “Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, abecause he bcursed the LORD’s anointed?” 22 And David said, a“What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah, that you should be adversaries to me today? bShall any man be put to death today in Israel? For do I not know that today I am king over Israel?” 23 Therefore athe king said to Shimei, “You shall not die.” And the king swore to him. David and Mephibosheth Meet 24 Now aMephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king. And he had not cared for his feet, nor trimmed his mustache, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he returned in peace. 25 So it was, when he had come to Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king said to him, a“Why did you not go with me, Mephibosheth?” 26 And he answered, “My lord, O king, my servant deceived me. For your servant said, ‘I will saddle a donkey for myself, that I may ride on it and go to the king,’ because your servant is lame. 27 “And ahe has slandered your servant to my lord the king, bbut my lord the king is like the angel of God. Therefore do what is good in your eyes. 28 “For all my father’s house were but dead men before my lord the king. aYet you set your servant among those who eat at your own table. Therefore what right have I still to 1cry out anymore to the king?” 29 So the king said to him, “Why do you speak anymore of your mat- ters? I have said, ‘You and Ziba divide the land.’ ” 30 Then Mephibosheth said to the king, “Rather, let him take it all, inasmuch as my lord the king has come back in peace to his own house.” David’s Kindness to Barzillai 31 And aBarzillai the Gileadite came down from Rogelim and went across the Jordan with the king, to escort him across the Jordan. 32 Now Barzillai was a very aged man, eighty years old. And ahe had provided the king with supplies while he stayed at Mahanaim, for he was a very rich man. 33 And the king said to Barzillai, “Come across with me, and I will provide for you while you are with me in Jerusalem.” 34 But Barzillai said to the king, “How long have I to live, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem? 35 “I am today aeighty years old. Can I discern between the good and bad? Can your servant taste what I eat or what I drink? Can I hear any longer the voice of singing men and singing women? Why then should your servant be a further burden to my lord the king? 36 “Your servant will go a little way across the Jordan with the king. And why should the king repay me with such a reward? 37 “Please let your servant turn back again, that I may die in my own city, near the grave of my father and mother. But here is your servant aChimham; let him cross over with my lord the king, and do for him what seems good to you.” 38 And the king answered, “Chimham shall cross over with me, and I will do for him what seems good to you. Now whatever you request of me, I will do for you.” 39 Then all the people went over the Jordan.

the king. And why should the king repay me with such a reward? 37 “Please let your servant turn back again, that I may die in my own city, near the grave of my father and mother. But here is your servant aChimham; let him cross over with my lord the king, and do for him what seems good to you.” 38 And the king answered, “Chimham shall cross over with me, and I will do for him what seems good to you. Now whatever you request of me, I will do for you.” 39 Then all the people went over the Jordan. And when the king had crossed over, the king akissed Barzillai and blessed him, and he returned to his own place. The Quarrel About the King 40 Now the king went on to Gilgal, and 1Chimham went on with him. And all the people of Judah es- corted the king, and also half the people of Israel. 41 Just then all the men of Israel came to the king, and said to the king, “Why have our brethren, the men of Judah, stolen you away and abrought the king, his household, and all David’s men with him across the Jordan?” 42 So all the men of Judah an- swered the men of Israel, “Because the king is aa close relative of ours. Why then are you angry over this matter? Have we ever eaten at the king’s expense? Or has he given us any gift?” 43 And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, and said, “We have aten shares in the king; there- fore we also have more right to David than you. Why then do you despise us—were we not the first to advise bringing back our king?” Yet bthe words of the men of Judah were 19 a1 Sam. 22:15 b2 Sam. 16:5, 6 c2 Sam. 13:33 1charge me with iniquity 20 aJudg. 1:22; 1 Kin. 11:28 21 a[Ex. 22:28] b[1 Sam. 26:9] 22 a2 Sam. 3:39; 16:10 b1 Sam. 11:13 23 a1 Kin. 2:8, 9, 37, 46 24 a2 Sam. 9:6; 21:7 25 a2 Sam. 16:17 27 a2 Sam. 16:3, 4 b2 Sam. 14:17, 20 28 a2 Sam. 9:7–13 1com- plain 31 a2 Sam. 17:27–29; 1 Kin. 2:7 32 a2 Sam. 17:27–29 35 aPs. 90:10 37 a2 Sam. 19:40; Jer. 41:17 39 aGen. 31:55; Ruth 1:14; 2 Sam. 14:33 40 1MT Chimhan 41 a2 Sam. 19:15 42 a2 Sam. 19:12 43 a1 Kin. 11:30, 31 bJudg. 8:1; 12:1

289 2 SAMUEL 20:25 1fiercer than the words of the men of Israel. The Rebellion of Sheba 20 And there happened to be there a 1rebel, whose name was Sheba the son of Bichri, a Ben- jamite. And he blew a trumpet, and said: a“We have no share in David, Nor do we have inheritance in the son of Jesse; bEvery man to his tents, O Israel!” 2 So every man of Israel deserted David, and followed Sheba the son of Bichri. But the amen of Judah, from the Jordan as far as Jerusalem, remained loyal to their king. 3 Now David came to his house at Jerusalem. And the king took the ten women, ahis concubines whom he had left to keep the house, and put them in seclusion and supported them, but did not go in to them. So they were shut up to the day of their death, living in widowhood. 4 And the king said to Amasa, a“Assemble the men of Judah for me within three days, and be present here yourself.” 5 So Amasa went to assemble the men of Judah. But he delayed longer than the set time which David had appointed him. 6 And David said to aAbishai, “Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom. Take byour lord’s servants and pur- sue him, lest he find for himself for- tified cities, and escape us.” 7 So Joab’s men, with the aCherethites, the Pelethites, and ball the mighty men, went out after him. And they went out of Jerusalem to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri. 8 When they were at the large stone which is in Gibeon, Amasa came before them. Now Joab was dressed in battle armor; on it was a belt with a sword fastened in its sheath at his hips; and as he was going forward, it fell out. 9 Then Joab said to Amasa, “Are you in health, my brother?” aAnd Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him. 10 But Amasa did not notice the sword that was in Joab’s hand. And ahe struck him with it bin the stom- ach, and his entrails poured out on the ground; and he did not strike him again. Thus he died. Then Joab and Abishai his brother pursued Sheba the son of Bichri. 11 Meanwhile one of Joab’s men stood near Amasa, and said, “Who- ever favors Joab and whoever is for David—follow Joab!” 12 But Amasa wallowed in his blood in the middle of the highway. And when the man saw that all the people stood still, he moved Amasa from the highway to the field and threw a garment over him, when he saw that everyone who came upon him halted. 13 When he was removed from the highway, all the people went on after Joab to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri. 14 And he went through all the tribes of Israel to aAbel and Beth Maachah and all the Berites. So they were gathered together and also went after 1Sheba. 15 Then they came and besieged him in Abel of Beth Maachah; and they acast up a siege mound against the city, and it stood by the rampart. And all the people who were with Joab battered the wall to throw it down. 16 Then a wise woman cried out from the city, “Hear, hear! Please say to Joab, ‘Come nearby, that I may speak with you.’ ” 17 When he had come near to her, the woman said, “Are you Joab?” He answered, “I am.” Then she said to him, “Hear the words of your maid- servant.” And he answered, “I am listening.” 18 So she spoke, saying, “They used to talk in former times, saying, ‘They shall surely seek guidance at Abel,’ and so they would end dis- putes. 19 “I am among the peaceable and faithful in Israel.You seek to destroy a city and a mother in Israel. Why would you swallow up athe inheri- tance of the LORD?” 20 And Joab answered and said, “Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy! 21 “That is not so. But a man from the mountains of Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, has raised his hand against the king, against David. Deliver him only, and I will depart from the city.” So the woman said to Joab, “Watch, his head will be thrown to you over the wall.” 22 Then the woman ain her wis- dom went to all the people. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and threw it out to Joab.

ed and said, “Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy! 21 “That is not so. But a man from the mountains of Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, has raised his hand against the king, against David. Deliver him only, and I will depart from the city.” So the woman said to Joab, “Watch, his head will be thrown to you over the wall.” 22 Then the woman ain her wis- dom went to all the people. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and threw it out to Joab. Then he blew a trumpet, and they withdrew from the city, every man to his tent. So Joab returned to the king at Jerusalem. David’s Government Officers 23 And aJoab was over all the army of Israel; Benaiah the son of Jehoia- da was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; 24 Adoram was ain charge of rev- enue; bJehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder; 25 Sheva was scribe; aZadok and Abiathar were the priests; 43 1harsher CHAPTER 20 1 a2 Sam. 19:43; 1 Kin. 12:16 b1 Sam. 13:2; 2 Sam. 18:17; 2 Chr. 10:16 1Lit. man of Belial 2 a2 Sam. 19:14 3 a2 Sam. 15:16; 16:21, 22 4 a2 Sam. 17:25; 19:13 6 a2 Sam. 21:17 b2 Sam. 11:11; 1 Kin. 1:33 7 a2 Sam. 8:18; 1 Kin. 1:38, 44 b2 Sam. 15:18 9 aMatt. 26:49; Luke 22:47 10 a2 Sam. 3:27; 1 Kin. 2:5 b2 Sam. 2:23 14 a1 Kin. 15:20; 2 Kin. 15:29; 2 Chr. 16:4 1Lit. him 15 a2 Kin. 19:32; Ezek. 4:2 19 a1 Sam. 26:19; 2 Sam. 14:16; 21:3 22 a2 Sam. 20:16; [Eccl. 9:13–16] 23 a2 Sam. 8:16–18; 1 Kin. 4:3–6 24 a1 Kin. 4:6 b2 Sam. 8:16; 1 Kin. 4:3 25 a2 Sam. 8:17; 1 Kin. 4:4

2 SAMUEL 20:26 290 26 aand Ira the Jairite was 1a chief minister under David. David Avenges the Gibeonites 21 Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David ainquired of the LORD. And the LORD an- swered, “It is because of Saul and his 1bloodthirsty house, because he killed the Gibeonites.” 2 So the king called the Gib- eonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but aof the remnant of the Amorites; the children of Israel had sworn protection to them, but Saul had sought to kill them bin his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah. 3 Therefore David said to the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? And with what shall I make atone- ment, that you may bless athe inheri- tance of the LORD?” 4 And the Gibeonites said to him, “We will have no silver or gold from Saul or from his house, nor shall you kill any man in Israel for us.” So he said, “Whatever you say, I will do for you.” 5 Then they answered the king, “As for the man who consumed us and plotted against us, that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the territories of Israel, 6 “let seven men of his descen- dants be delivered ato us, and we will hang them before the LORD bin Gibeah of Saul, cwhom the LORD chose.” And the king said, “I will give them.” 7 But the king spared aMephib- osheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of bthe LORD’s oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul. 8 So the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons of aRiz- pah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, and the five sons of 1Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she 2brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite; 9 and he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the hill abefore the LORD. So they fell, all seven to- gether, and were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days, in the beginning of barley harvest. 10 Now aRizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock, bfrom the beginning of harvest until the late rains poured on them from heaven. And she did not allow the birds of the air to rest on them by day nor the beasts of the field by night. 11 And David was told what Riz- pah the daughter of Aiah, the concu- bine of Saul, had done. 12 Then David went and took the bones of Saul, and the bones of Jonathan his son, from the men of aJabesh Gilead who had stolen them from the street of 1Beth Shan, where the bPhilistines had hung them up, after the Philistines had struck down Saul in Gilboa. 13 So he brought up the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from there; and they gathered the bones of those who had been hanged. 14 They buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the country of Benjamin in aZelah, in the tomb of Kish his father. So they performed all that the king commanded. And after that bGod heeded the prayer for the land. Philistine Giants Destroyed 15 When the Philistines were at war again with Israel, David and his servants with him went down and fought against the Philistines; and David grew faint. 16 Then Ishbi-Benob, who was one of the sons of 1the agiant, the weight of whose bronze spear was three hundred shekels, who was bearing a new sword, thought he could kill David. 17 But aAbishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid, and struck the Philistine and killed him. Then the men of David swore to him, saying, b“You shall go out no more with us to battle, lest you quench the clamp of Israel.” 18 aNow it happened afterward that there was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob.

rew faint. 16 Then Ishbi-Benob, who was one of the sons of 1the agiant, the weight of whose bronze spear was three hundred shekels, who was bearing a new sword, thought he could kill David. 17 But aAbishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid, and struck the Philistine and killed him. Then the men of David swore to him, saying, b“You shall go out no more with us to battle, lest you quench the clamp of Israel.” 18 aNow it happened afterward that there was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob. Then bSibbechai the Hushathite killed 1Saph, who was one of the sons of 2the giant. 19 Again there was war at Gob with the Philistines, where aElhanan the son of 1Jaare-Oregim the Bethle- hemite killed bthe brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam. 20 Yet again athere was war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number; and he also was born to 1the giant. 21 So when he adefied Israel, Jonathan the son of 1Shimea, David’s brother, killed him. 22 aThese four were born to 1the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his ser- vants. Praise for God’s Deliverance 22 Then David aspoke to the LORD the words of this song, on the day when the LORD had bde- livered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. 2 And he asaid: 26 a2 Sam. 8:18 1Or David’s priest CHAPTER 21 1 aNum. 27:21; 2 Sam. 5:19 1Lit. house of bloodshed 2 aJosh. 9:3, 15–20 b[Ex. 34:11–16] 3 a1 Sam. 26:19; 2 Sam. 20:19 6 aNum. 25:4 b1 Sam. 10:26 c1 Sam. 10:24; [Hos. 13:11] 7 a2 Sam. 4:4; 9:10 b1 Sam. 18:3; 20:12–17; 23:18; 2 Sam. 9:1–7 8 a2 Sam. 3:7 1Merab, 1 Sam. 18:19; 25:44; 2 Sam. 3:14; 6:23 2Lit. bore to Adriel 9 a2 Sam. 6:17 10 a2 Sam. 3:7; 21:8 bDeut. 21:23 12 a1 Sam. 31:11–13 b1 Sam. 31:8 1Beth Shean, Josh. 17:11 14 aJosh. 18:28 bJosh. 7:26; 2 Sam. 24:25 16 aNum. 13:22, 28; Josh. 15:14; 2 Sam. 21:18–22 1Or Rapha 17 a2 Sam. 20:6–10 b2 Sam. 18:3 c2 Sam. 22:29; 1 Kin. 11:36 18 a1 Chr. 20:4–8 b1 Chr. 11:29; 27:11 1Sippai, 1 Chr. 20:4 2Or Rapha 19 a2 Sam. 23:24 b1 Sam. 17:4; 1 Chr. 20:5 1Jair, 1 Chr. 20:5 20 a1 Chr. 20:6 1Or Rapha 21 a1 Sam. 17:10 1Shammah, 1 Sam. 16:9 and else- where 22 a1 Chr. 20:8 1Or Rapha CHAPTER 22 1 aEx. 15:1; Deut. 31:30; Judg. 5:1 bPs. 18:title; 34:19 2 aPs. 18

291 2 SAMUEL 22:32 b“The LORD is my rock and my cfortress and my deliverer; 3 The God of my strength, ain whom I will trust; My bshield and the chorn1 of my salvation, My dstronghold and my erefuge; My Savior,You save me from violence. 4 I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies. 5 “When the waves of death surrounded me, The floods of ungodliness 1made me afraid. 6 The asorrows of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me. 7 In my distress aI called upon the LORD, And cried out to my God; He bheard my voice from His temple, And my cry entered His ears. 8 “Then athe earth shook and trembled; bThe foundations of 1heaven quaked and were shaken, Because He was angry. 9 Smoke went up from His nostrils, And devouring afire from His mouth; Coals were kindled by it. 10 He abowed the heavens also, and came down With bdarkness under His feet. 11 He rode upon a cherub, and flew; And He 1was seen aupon the wings of the wind. 12 He made adarkness canopies around Him, Dark waters and thick clouds of the skies. 13 From the brightness before Him Coals of fire were kindled. 14 “The LORD athundered from heaven, And the Most High uttered His voice. 15 He sent out aarrows and scattered them; Lightning bolts, and He vanquished them. 16 Then the channels of the sea awere seen, The foundations of the world were uncovered, At the brebuke of the LORD, At the blast of the breath of His nostrils. 17 “Hea sent from above, He took me, He drew me out of many waters. 18 He delivered me from my strong enemy, From those who hated me; For they were too strong for me. 19 They confronted me in the day of my calamity, But the LORD was my asupport. 20 aHe also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He bdelighted in me. 21 “Thea LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the bcleanness of my hands He has recompensed me. 22 For I have akept the ways of the LORD, And have not wickedly departed from my God. 23 For all His ajudgments were before me; And as for His statutes, I did not depart from them. 24 I was also ablameless before Him, And I kept myself from my iniquity. 25 Therefore athe LORD has 1recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to 2my cleanness in His eyes. 26 “With athe merciful You will show Yourself merciful; With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless; 27 With the pure You will show Yourself pure; And awith the devious You will show Yourself shrewd. 28 You will save the ahumble1 people; But Your eyes are on bthe haughty, that You may bring them down. 29 “For You are my alamp, O LORD; The LORD shall enlighten my darkness. 30 For by You I can run against a troop; By my God I can leap over a awall. 31 As for God, aHis way is perfect; bThe word of the LORD is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him. 32 “For awho is God, except the LORD? 2 bDeut. 32:4 cPs. 91:2 3 aHeb. 2:13 bGen. 15:1 cLuke 1:69 dProv. 18:10 ePs. 9:9; 46:1, 7, 11 1Strength 5 1Or over- whelmed 6 aPs. 116:3 7 aPs. 116:4; 120:1 bEx. 3:7 8 aJudg. 5:4 bJob 26:11 1So with MT, LXX, Tg.; Syr., Vg. hills (cf. Ps. 18:7) 9 aHeb. 12:29 10 aIs. 64:1 bEx. 20:21 11 aPs. 104:3 1So with MT, LXX; many Heb. mss., Syr., Vg. flew (cf. Ps. 18:10); Tg. spoke with power 12 aJob 36:29 14 aJob 37:2–5 15 aDeut. 32:23 16 aNah. 1:4 bEx. 15:8 17 aPs. 144:7 19 aIs. 10:20 20 aPs. 31:8; 118:5 b2 Sam. 15:26 21 a1 Sam. 26:23 bPs. 24:4 22 aPs. 119:3 23 a[Deut. 6:6–9; 7:12] 24 a[Eph. 1:4] 25 a2 Sam. 22:21 1rewarded 2LXX, Syr., Vg. the clean- ness of my hands in His sight (cf. Ps. 18:24); Tg. my cleanness before His word 26 a[Matt. 5:7] 27 a[Lev. 26:23, 24] 28 aPs. 72:12 bJob 40:11 1afflicted 29 aPs. 119:105; 132:17 30 a2 Sam. 5:6–8 31 a[Matt. 5:48] bPs. 12:6 32 aIs. 45:5, 6

2 SAMUEL 22:33 292 And who is a rock, except our God? 33 1God is my astrength and power, And He bmakes 2my way cperfect. 34 He makes 1my feet alike the feet of deer, And bsets me on my high places. 35 He teaches my hands 1to make war, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. 36 “You have also given me the shield of Your salvation; Your gentleness has made me great. 37 You aenlarged my path under me; So my feet did not slip. 38 “I have pursued my enemies and destroyed them; Neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed. 39 And I have destroyed them and wounded them, So that they could not rise; They have fallen aunder my feet. 40 For You have aarmed me with strength for the battle; You have 1subdued under me bthose who rose against me. 41 You have also 1given me the anecks of my enemies, So that I destroyed those who hated me. 42 They looked, but there was none to save; Even ato the LORD, but He did not answer them. 43 Then I beat them as fine aas the dust of the earth; I trod them blike dirt in the streets, And I 1spread them out. 44 “Youa have also delivered me from the 1strivings of my people; You have kept me as the bhead of the nations. cA people I have not known shall serve me. 45 The foreigners submit to me; As soon as they hear, they obey me. 46 The foreigners fade away, And 1come frightened afrom their hideouts. 47 “The LORD lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let God be exalted, The aRock of my salvation! 48 It is God who avenges me, And asubdues the peoples under me; 49 He delivers me from my enemies. You also lift me up above those who rise against me; You have delivered me from the aviolent man. 50 Therefore I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among athe Gentiles, And sing praises to Your bname. 51 “Hea is the tower of salvation to His king, And shows mercy to His banointed, To David and chis descendants forevermore.” David’s Last Words 23 Now these are the last words of David. Thus says David the son of Jesse; Thus says athe man raised up on high, bThe anointed of the God of Jacob, And the sweet psalmist of Israel: 2 “Thea Spirit of the LORD spoke by me, And His word was on my tongue. 3 The God of Israel said, aThe Rock of Israel spoke to me: ‘He who rules over men must be just, Ruling bin the fear of God. 4 And ahe shall be like the light of the morning when the sun rises, A morning without clouds, Like the tender grass springing out of the earth, By clear shining after rain.’ 5 “Although my house is not so with God, aYet He has made with me an everlasting covenant, Ordered in all things and secure. For this is all my salvation and all my desire; Will He not make it increase? 6 But the sons of rebellion shall all be as thorns thrust away, Because they cannot be taken with hands. 7 But the man who touches them Must be 1armed with iron and the shaft of a spear, And they shall be utterly burned with fire in their place.” David’s Mighty Men 8 These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: 33 aPs. 27:1 b[Heb. 13:21] cPs. 101:2, 6 1DSS, LXX, Syr., Vg. It is God who arms me with strength (cf. Ps. 18:32); Tg. It is God who sustains me with strength 2So with Qr., LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. (cf. Ps. 18:32); Kt. His 34 a2 Sam. 2:18 bIs. 33:16 1So with Qr., LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. (cf. Ps. 18:33); Kt. His 35 1Lit. for the war 37 aProv. 4:12 39 aMal. 4:3 40 a[Ps. 18:32] b[Ps. 44:5] 1Lit. caused to bow down 41 aGen. 49:8 1given me vic- tory over 42 a1 Sam. 28:6 43 aPs. 18:42 bIs. 10:6 1scattered 44 a2 Sam. 3:1 bDeut. 28:13 c[Is. 55:5] 1contentions 46 a[Mic. 7:17] 1So with LXX, Tg., Vg. (cf. Ps. 18:45); MT gird themselves 47 aPs. 89:26 48 aPs. 144:2 49 aPs. 140:1, 4, 11 50 a2 Sam. 8:1–14 bRom. 15:9 51 aPs. 144:10 bPs. 89:20 c2 Sam. 7:12–16 CHAPTER 23 1 a2 Sam. 7:8, 9 b1 Sam. 16:12, 13 2 a[2 Pet. 1:21] 3 a[Deut. 32:4] bEx. 18:21 4 aPs. 89:36 5 aPs. 89:29 7 1Lit. filled

293 2 SAMUEL 24:5 1Josheb-Basshebeth the Tachmo- nite, chief among 2the captains. He was called Adino the Eznite, because he had killed eight hundred men at one time. 9 And after him was aEleazar the son of 1Dodo, the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel had retreated. 10 He arose and attacked the Philistines until his hand was aweary, and his hand stuck to the sword. The LORD brought about a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to bplunder. 11 And after him was aShammah the son of Agee the Hararite. bThe Philistines had gathered together into a troop where there was a piece of ground full of lentils. So the peo- ple fled from the Philistines. 12 But he stationed himself in the middle of the field, defended it, and killed the Philistines. So the LORD brought about a great victory. 13 Then athree of the thirty chief men went down at harvest time and came to David at bthe cave of Adul- lam. And the troop of Philistines encamped in cthe Valley of Rephaim. 14 David was then in athe strong- hold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem. 15 And David said with longing, “Oh, that someone would give me a drink of the water from the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!” 16 So the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines, drew water from the well of Bethle- hem that was by the gate, and took it and brought it to David. Neverthe- less he would not drink it, but poured it out to the LORD. 17 And he said, “Far be it from me, O LORD, that I should do this! Is this not athe blood of the men who went in jeopardy of their lives?” There- fore he would not drink it. These things were done by the three mighty men. 18 Now aAbishai the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief of 1another three. He lifted his spear against three hundred men, killed them, and won a name among these three. 19 Was he not the most honored of three? Therefore he became their captain. However, he did not attain to the first three. 20 Benaiah was the son of Jehoia- da, the son of a valiant man from aKabzeel, 1who had done many deeds. bHe had killed two lion-like heroes of Moab. He also had gone down and killed a lion in the midst of a pit on a snowy day. 21 And he killed an Egyptian, 1a spectacular man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand; so he went down to him with a staff, wrested the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and killed him with his own spear. 22 These things Benaiah the son of Jehoiada did, and won a name among three mighty men. 23 He was more honored than the thirty, but he did not attain to the first three.

. bHe had killed two lion-like heroes of Moab. He also had gone down and killed a lion in the midst of a pit on a snowy day. 21 And he killed an Egyptian, 1a spectacular man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand; so he went down to him with a staff, wrested the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and killed him with his own spear. 22 These things Benaiah the son of Jehoiada did, and won a name among three mighty men. 23 He was more honored than the thirty, but he did not attain to the first three. And David appointed him aover his guard. 24 aAsahel the brother of Joab was one of the thirty; Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, 25 aShammah the Harodite, Elika the Harodite, 26 Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite, 27 Abiezer the Anathothite, Me- bunnai the Hushathite, 28 Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai the Netophathite, 29 Heleb the son of Baanah (the Netophathite), Ittai the son of Ribai from Gibeah of the children of Ben- jamin, 30 Benaiah a Pirathonite, Hiddai from the brooks of aGaash, 31 Abi-Albon the Arbathite, Azma- veth the Barhumite, 32 Eliahba the Shaalbonite (of the sons of Jashen), Jonathan, 33 aShammah the 1Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Hararite, 34 Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai, the son of the Maachathite, Eliam the son of aAhithophel the Gilonite, 35 1Hezrai the Carmelite, Paarai the Arbite, 36 Igal the son of Nathan of aZobah, Bani the Gadite, 37 Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Beerothite (armorbearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah), 38 aIra the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, 39 and aUriah the Hittite: thirty- seven in all. David’s Census of Israel and Judah 24 Again athe anger of the LORD was aroused against Israel, and He moved David against them to say, b“Go, 1number Israel and Judah.” 2 So the king said to Joab the com- mander of the army who was with him, “Now go throughout all the tribes of Israel, afrom Dan to Beer- sheba, and count the people, that bI may know the number of the people.” 3 And Joab said to the king, “Now may the LORD your God aadd to the people a hundred times more than there are, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king desire this thing?” 4 Nevertheless the king’s word 1prevailed against Joab and against the captains of the army. Therefore Joab and the captains of the army went out from the presence of the king to count the people of Israel. 5 And they crossed over the 8 1Lit. One Who Sits in the Seat (1 Chr. 11:11) 2So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Vg. the three 9 a1 Chr. 11:12; 27:4 1Dodai, 1 Chr. 27:4 10 aJudg. 8:4 b1 Sam. 30:24, 25 11 a1 Chr. 11:27 b1 Chr. 11:13, 14 13 a1 Chr. 11:15 b1 Sam. 22:1 c2 Sam. 5:18 14 a1 Sam. 22:4, 5 17 a[Lev. 17:10] 18 a2 Sam. 21:17; 1 Chr. 11:20 1So with MT, LXX, Vg.; some Heb. mss., Syr. thirty; Tg. the mighty men 20 aJosh. 15:21 bEx. 15:15 1Lit. great of acts 21 1Lit. a man of appearance 23 a2 Sam. 8:18; 20:23 24 a2 Sam. 2:18; 1 Chr. 27:7 25 a1 Chr. 11:27 30 aJudg. 2:9 33 a2 Sam. 23:11 1Or Ararite 34 a2 Sam. 15:12 35 1Hezro, 1 Chr. 11:37 36 a2 Sam. 8:3 38 a1 Chr. 2:53 39 a2 Sam. 11:3, 6 CHAPTER 24 1 a2 Sam. 21:1, 2 bNum. 26:2; 1 Chr. 27:23, 24 1take a census of 2 aJudg. 20:1; 2 Sam. 3:10 b[Jer. 17:5] 3 aDeut. 1:11 4 1overruled

2 SAMUEL 24:6 294 Jordan and camped in aAroer, on the right side of the town which is in the midst of the ravine of Gad, and toward bJazer. 6 Then they came to Gilead and to the land of Tahtim Hodshi; they came to aDan Jaan and around to bSidon; 7 and they came to the stronghold of aTyre and to all the cities of the bHivites and the Canaanites. Then they went out to South Judah as far as Beersheba. 8 So when they had gone through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. 9 Then Joab gave the sum of the number of the people to the king. aAnd there were in Israel eight hun- dred thousand valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men. The Judgment on David’s Sin 10 And aDavid’s heart condemned him after he had numbered the peo- ple. So bDavid said to the LORD, c“I have sinned greatly in what I have done; but now, I pray, O LORD, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have ddone very foolishly.” 11 Now when David arose in the morning, the word of the LORD came to the prophet aGad, David’s bseer, saying, 12 “Go and tell David, ‘Thus says the LORD: “I offer you three things; choose one of them for yourself, that I may do it to you.” ’ ” 13 So Gad came to David and told him; and he said to him, “Shall asev- en1 years of famine come to you in your land? Or shall you flee three months before your enemies, while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ plague in your land? Now consider and see what answer I should take back to Him who sent me.” 14 And David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Please let us fall into the hand of the LORD, afor His mer- cies are great; but bdo not let me fall into the hand of man.” 15 So athe LORD sent a plague upon Israel from the morning till the appointed time. From Dan to Beersheba seventy thousand men of the people died. 16 aAnd when the 1angel stretched out His hand over Jerusalem to destroy it, bthe LORD relented from the destruction, and said to the angel who was destroying the peo- ple, “It is enough; now restrain your hand.” And the angel of the LORD was by the threshing floor of 2Arau- nah the Jebusite. 17 Then David spoke to the LORD when he saw the angel who was striking the people, and said, “Surely aI have sinned, and I have done wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? Let Your hand, I pray, be against me and against my father’s house.” The Altar on the Threshing Floor 18 And Gad came that day to David and said to him, a“Go up, erect an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” 19 So David, according to the word of Gad, went up as the LORD com- manded. 20 Now Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming toward him. So Araunah went out and bowed before the king with his face to the ground. 21 Then Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his ser- vant?” aAnd David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you, to build an altar to the LORD, that bthe plague may be withdrawn from the people.” 22 Now Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up whatever seems good to him. aLook, here are oxen for burnt sacri- fice, and threshing implements and the yokes of the oxen for wood. 23 “All these, O king, Araunah has given to the king.” And Araunah said to the king, “May the LORD your God aaccept you.” 24 Then the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offer- ings to the LORD my God with that which costs me nothing.” So aDavid bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. 25 And David built there an altar to the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. aSo the LORD heeded the prayers for the land, and bthe plague was with- drawn from Israel. 5 aDeut. 2:36; Josh. 13:9, 16 bNum. 32:1, 3 6 aJosh. 19:47; Judg. 18:29 bJosh. 19:28; Judg. 18:28 7 aJosh. 19:29 bJosh. 11:3; Judg. 3:3 9 a1 Chr.

nor will I offer burnt offer- ings to the LORD my God with that which costs me nothing.” So aDavid bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. 25 And David built there an altar to the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. aSo the LORD heeded the prayers for the land, and bthe plague was with- drawn from Israel. 5 aDeut. 2:36; Josh. 13:9, 16 bNum. 32:1, 3 6 aJosh. 19:47; Judg. 18:29 bJosh. 19:28; Judg. 18:28 7 aJosh. 19:29 bJosh. 11:3; Judg. 3:3 9 a1 Chr. 21:5 10 a1 Sam. 24:5 b2 Sam. 23:1 c2 Sam. 12:13 d1 Sam. 13:13; [2 Chr. 16:9] 11 a1 Sam. 22:5 b1 Sam. 9:9; 1 Chr. 29:29 13 aEzek. 14:21 1So with MT, Syr., Tg., Vg.; LXX three (cf. 1 Chr. 21:12) 14 a[Ps. 51:1; 103:8, 13, 14; 119:156; 130:4, 7] b[Is. 47:6; Zech. 1:15] 15 a1 Chr. 21:14 16 aEx. 12:23; 2 Kin. 19:35; Acts 12:23 bGen. 6:6; 1 Sam. 15:11 1Or Angel 2Ornan, 1 Chr. 21:15 17 a2 Sam. 7:8; 1 Chr. 21:17; Ps. 74:1 18 a1 Chr. 21:18 21 aGen. 23:8–16 bNum. 16:48, 50 22 a1 Sam. 6:14; 1 Kin. 19:21 23 a[Ezek. 20:40, 41] 24 a1 Chr. 21:24, 25 25 a2 Sam. 21:14 b2 Sam. 24:21

Adonijah Presumes to Be King NOW King David was aold, 1advanced in years; and they put covers on him, but he could not get warm. 2 Therefore his servants said to him, “Let a young woman, a virgin, be sought for our lord the king, and let her 1stand before the king, and let her care for him; and let her lie in your bosom, that our lord the king may be warm.” 3 So they sought for a lovely young woman throughout all the territory of Israel, and found aAbishag the bShunammite, and brought her to the king. 4 The young woman was very lovely; and she cared for the king, and served him; but the king did not know her. 5 Then aAdonijah the 1son of Hag- gith exalted himself, saying, “I will 2be king”; and bhe prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. 6 (And his father had not 1rebuked him at any time by saying, “Why have you done so?” He was also very good-looking. aHis mother had borne him after Absalom.) 7 Then he conferred with aJoab the son of Zeruiah and with bAbi- athar the priest, and cthey followed and helped Adonijah. 8 But aZadok the priest, bBenaiah the son of Jehoiada, cNathan the prophet, dShimei, Rei, and ethe mighty men who belonged to David were not with Adonijah. 9 And Adonijah sacrificed sheep and oxen and fattened cattle by the stone of 1Zoheleth, which is by aEn Rogel;2 he also invited all his broth- ers, the king’s sons, and all the men of Judah, the king’s servants. 10 But he did not invite Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, the mighty men, or aSolomon his brother. 11 So Nathan spoke to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, “Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of aHaggith has become king, and David our lord does not know it? 12 “Come, please, let me now give you advice, that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon. 13 “Go immediately to King David and say to him, ‘Did you not, my lord, O king, swear to your maidser- vant, saying, a“Assuredly your son Solomon shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne”? Why then has Adonijah become king?’ 14 “Then, while you are still talking there with the king, I also will come in after you and confirm your words.” 15 So Bathsheba went into the chamber to the king. (Now the king was very old, and Abishag the Shu- nammite was serving the king.) 16 And Bathsheba bowed and did homage to the king. Then the king said, “What is your wish?” 17 Then she said to him, “My lord, ayou swore by the LORD your God to your maidservant, saying, ‘As- suredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne.’ 18 “So now, look! Adonijah has become king; and now, my lord the king, you do not know about it. 19 a“He has sacrificed oxen and CHAPTER 1 1 a1 Chr. 23:1 1Seventy years 2 1Or serve 3 a1 Kin. 2:17 bJosh. 19:18; 1 Sam. 28:4 5 a2 Sam. 3:4 b2 Sam. 15:1 1The fourth son 2Lit. reign 6 a2 Sam. 3:3, 4; 1 Chr. 3:2 1Lit. pained 7 a1 Chr. 11:6 b2 Sam. 20:25 c1 Kin. 2:22, 28 8 a1 Kin. 2:35 b1 Kin. 2:25; 2 Sam. 8:18 c2 Sam. 12:1 d1 Kin. 4:18 e2 Sam. 23:8 9 aJosh. 15:7; 18:16; 2 Sam. 17:17 1Lit. Serpent 2A spring south of Jerusalem in the Kidron Valley 10 a2 Sam. 12:24 11 a2 Sam. 3:4 13 a1 Kin. 1:30; 1 Chr. 22:9–13 17 a1 Kin. 1:13, 30 19 a1 Kin. 1:7–9, 25 The First Book of the KINGS THE first half of First Kings traces the life of Solomon. Under his leadership Israel rises to the peak of her size and glory. Solomon’s great accomplish- ments, including the unsurpassed splendor of the temple which he constructs in Jerusalem, bring him worldwide fame and respect. However, Solomon’s zeal for God diminishes in his later years, as pagan wives turn his heart away from wor- ship in the temple of God. As a result, the king with the divided heart leaves behind a divided kingdom.

INGS THE first half of First Kings traces the life of Solomon. Under his leadership Israel rises to the peak of her size and glory. Solomon’s great accomplish- ments, including the unsurpassed splendor of the temple which he constructs in Jerusalem, bring him worldwide fame and respect. However, Solomon’s zeal for God diminishes in his later years, as pagan wives turn his heart away from wor- ship in the temple of God. As a result, the king with the divided heart leaves behind a divided kingdom. For the next century, the book of First Kings traces the twin histories of two sets of kings and two nations of disobedient people who are growing indifferent to God’s prophets and precepts. Like the two books of Samuel, the two books of Kings were originally one in the Hebrew Bible. The original title was Melechim, “Kings,” taken from the first word in 1:1, Vehamelech, “Now King.” The Septuagint artificially divided the book of Kings in the middle of the story of Ahaziah into two books. It called the books of Samuel “First and Second Kingdoms” and the books of Kings “Third and Fourth Kingdoms.” The Septuagint may have divided Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles into two books each because the Greek required a greater amount of scroll space than did the Hebrew. The Latin title for these books is Liber Regum Tertius et Quartus, “Third and Fourth Books of Kings.”

1 KINGS 1:20 296 fattened cattle and sheep in abun- dance, and has invited all the sons of the king, Abiathar the priest, and Joab the commander of the army; but Solomon your servant he has not invited. 20 “And as for you, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, that you should tell them who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. 21 “Otherwise it will happen, when my lord the king arests with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be counted as offenders.” 22 And just then, while she was still talking with the king, Nathan the prophet also came in. 23 So they told the king, saying, “Here is Nathan the prophet.” And when he came in before the king, he bowed down before the king with his face to the ground. 24 And Nathan said, “My lord, O king, have you said, ‘Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne’? 25 a“For he has gone down today, and has sacrificed oxen and fat- tened cattle and sheep in abun- dance, and has invited all the king’s sons, and the commanders of the army, and Abiathar the priest; and look! They are eating and drinking before him; and they say, b‘Long1 live King Adonijah!’ 26 “But he has not invited me—me your servant—nor Zadok the priest, nor Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, nor your servant Solomon. 27 “Has this thing been done by my lord the king, and you have not told your servant who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?” David Proclaims Solomon King 28 Then King David answered and said, “Call Bathsheba to me.” So she came into the king’s presence and stood before the king. 29 And the king took an oath and said, a“As the LORD lives, who has redeemed my life from every distress, 30 a“just as I swore to you by the LORD God of Israel, saying, ‘As- suredly Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place,’ so I certainly will do this day.” 31 Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the earth, and paid homage to the king, and said, a“Let my lord King David live forever!” 32 And King David said, “Call to me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada.” So they came before the king. 33 The king also said to them, a“Take with you the servants of your lord, and have Solomon my son ride on my own bmule, and take him down to cGihon.1 34 “There let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet aanoint him king over Israel; and bblow the horn, and say, 1‘Long live King Solomon!’ 35 “Then you shall come up after him, and he shall come and sit on my throne, and he shall be king in my place. For I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and Judah.” 36 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king and said, a“Amen! May the LORD God of my lord the king say so too. 37 a“As the LORD has been with my lord the king, even so may He be with Solomon, and bmake his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David.” 38 So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, aBenaiah the son of Jehoia- da, the bCherethites, and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon ride on King David’s mule, and took him to Gihon. 39 Then Zadok the priest took a horn of aoil from the tabernacle and banointed Solomon. And they blew the horn, cand all the people said, 1“Long live King Solomon!” 40 And all the people went up after him; and the people played the flutes and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth seemed to split with their sound. 41 Now Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they finished eating. And when Joab heard the sound of the horn, he said, “Why is the city in such a noisy uproar?” 42 While he was still speaking, there came aJonathan, the son of Abiathar the priest. And Adonijah said to him, “Come in, for byou are a prominent man, and bring good news.” 43 Then Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, “No!

the flutes and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth seemed to split with their sound. 41 Now Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they finished eating. And when Joab heard the sound of the horn, he said, “Why is the city in such a noisy uproar?” 42 While he was still speaking, there came aJonathan, the son of Abiathar the priest. And Adonijah said to him, “Come in, for byou are a prominent man, and bring good news.” 43 Then Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, “No! Our lord King David has made Solomon king. 44 “The king has sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Je- hoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites; and they have made him ride on the king’s mule. 45 “So Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king at Gihon; and they have gone up from there rejoicing, so that the city is in an uproar. This is the noise that you have heard. 46 “Also Solomon asits on the throne of the kingdom. 47 “And moreover the king’s ser- vants have gone to bless our lord King David, saying, a‘May God make the name of Solomon better than your name, and may He make his throne greater than your throne.’ bThen the king bowed himself on the bed. 21 aDeut. 31:16; 2 Sam. 7:12; 1 Kin. 2:10 25 a1 Kin. 1:9, 19 b1 Sam. 10:24 1Lit. Let King Adoni- jah live 29 a2 Sam. 4:9; 12:5 30 a1 Kin. 1:13, 17 31 aNeh. 2:3; Dan. 2:4; 3:9 33 a2 Sam. 20:6 bEsth. 6:8 c2 Chr. 32:30; 33:14 1A spring east of Jerusalem in the Kidron Valley 34 a1 Sam. 10:1; 16:3, 12; 2 Sam. 2:4; 5:3; 1 Kin. 19:16; 2 Kin. 9:3; 11:12; 1 Chr. 29:22 b2 Sam. 15:10; 2 Kin. 9:13; 11:14 1Lit. Let King Solomon live 36 aJer. 28:6 37 aJosh. 1:5, 17; 1 Sam. 20:13 b1 Kin. 1:47 38 a2 Sam. 8:18; 23:20–23 b2 Sam. 20:7; 1 Chr. 18:17 39 aEx. 30:23, 25, 32; Ps. 89:20 b1 Chr. 29:22 c1 Sam. 10:24 1Lit. Let King Solomon live 42 a2 Sam. 17:17, 20 b2 Sam. 18:27 46 a1 Kin. 2:12; 1 Chr. 29:23 47 a1 Kin. 1:37 bGen. 47:31

297 1 KINGS 2:22 48 “Also the king said thus, ‘Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who has agiven one to sit on my throne this day, while my eyes see bit!’ ” 49 So all the guests who were with Adonijah were afraid, and arose, and each one went his way. 50 Now Adonijah was afraid of Sol- omon; so he arose, and went and atook hold of the horns of the altar. 51 And it was told Solomon, say- ing, “Indeed Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon; for look, he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon swear to me today that he will not put his ser- vant to death with the sword.’ ” 52 Then Solomon said, “If he proves himself a worthy man, anot one hair of him shall fall to the earth; but if wickedness is found in him, he shall die.” 53 So King Solomon sent them to bring him down from the altar. And he came and fell down before King Solomon; and Solomon said to him, “Go to your house.” David’s Instructions to Solomon 2 Now athe days of David drew near that he should die, and he 1charged Solomon his son, saying: 2 a“I go the way of all the earth; bbe strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man. 3 “And keep the charge of the LORD your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His com- mandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may apros- per in all that you do and wherever you turn; 4 “that the LORD may afulfill His word which He spoke concerning me, saying, b‘If your sons take heed to their way, to cwalk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul,’ He said, d‘you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’ 5 “Moreover you know also what Joab the son of Zeruiah adid to me, and what he did to the two com- manders of the armies of Israel, to bAbner the son of Ner and cAmasa the son of Jether, whom he killed. And he shed the blood of war in peacetime, and put the blood of war on his belt that was around his waist, and on his sandals that were on his feet. 6 “Therefore do aaccording to your wisdom, and do not let his gray hair go down to the grave in peace. 7 “But show kindness to the sons of aBarzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who beat at your table, for so cthey came to me when I fled from Absalom your brother. 8 “And see, you have with you aShimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite from Bahurim, who cursed me with a malicious curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim. But bhe came down to meet me at the Jordan, and cI swore to him by the LORD, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’ 9 “Now therefore, ado not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man and know what you ought to do to him; but bbring his gray hair down to the grave with blood.” Death of David 10 So aDavid 1rested with his fa- thers, and was buried in bthe City of David. 11 The period that David areigned over Israel was forty years; seven years he reigned in Hebron, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years. 12 aThen Solomon sat on the throne of his father David; and his kingdom was bfirmly established. Solomon Executes Adonijah 13 Now Adonijah the son of Hag- gith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. So she said, a“Do you come peaceably?” And he said, “Peaceably.” 14 Moreover he said, “I have some- thing to say to you.” And she said, “Say it.” 15 Then he said, “You know that the kingdom was amine, and all Israel had set their expectations on me, that I should reign. However, the kingdom has been turned over, and has become my brother’s; for bit was his from the LORD. 16 “Now I ask one petition of you; do not 1deny me.” And she said to him, “Say it.” 17 Then he said, “Please speak to King Solomon, for he will not refuse you, that he may give me aAbishag the Shunammite as wife.” 18 So Bathsheba said, “Very well, I will speak for you to the king.” 19 Bathsheba therefore went to King Solomon, to speak to him for Adonijah.

xpectations on me, that I should reign. However, the kingdom has been turned over, and has become my brother’s; for bit was his from the LORD. 16 “Now I ask one petition of you; do not 1deny me.” And she said to him, “Say it.” 17 Then he said, “Please speak to King Solomon, for he will not refuse you, that he may give me aAbishag the Shunammite as wife.” 18 So Bathsheba said, “Very well, I will speak for you to the king.” 19 Bathsheba therefore went to King Solomon, to speak to him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her and abowed down to her, and sat down on his throne and had a throne set for the king’s mother; bso she sat at his right hand. 20 Then she said, “I desire one small petition of you; do not 1refuse me.” And the king said to her, “Ask it, my mother, for I will not refuse you.” 21 So she said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as wife.” 22 And King Solomon answered and said to his mother, “Now why do you ask Abishag the Shunam- mite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also—for he is my aolder brother—for him, and for bAbiathar 48 a1 Kin. 3:6; [Ps. 132:11, 12] b2 Sam. 7:12 50 aEx. 27:2; 30:10; 1 Kin. 2:28 52 a1 Sam. 14:45; 2 Sam. 14:11; Acts 27:34 CHAPTER 2 1 aGen. 47:29; Deut. 31:14 1commanded 2 aJosh. 23:14 bDeut. 31:7, 23; 1 Chr. 22:13 3 a[Deut. 29:9; Josh. 1:7]; 1 Chr. 22:12, 13 4 a2 Sam. 7:25 b[Ps. 132:12] c2 Kin. 20:3 d2 Sam. 7:12, 13; 1 Kin. 8:25 5 a2 Sam. 3:39; 18:5, 12, 14 b2 Sam. 3:27; 1 Kin. 2:32 c2 Sam. 20:10 6 a1 Kin. 2:9; Prov. 20:26 7 a2 Sam. 19:31–39 b2 Sam. 9:7, 10; 19:28 c2 Sam. 17:17–29 8 a2 Sam. 16:5–13 b2 Sam. 19:18 c2 Sam. 19:23 9 aEx. 20:7; Job 9:28 bGen. 42:38; 44:31 10 a1 Kin. 1:21; Acts 2:29; 13:36 b2 Sam. 5:7; 1 Kin. 3:1 1Died and joined his ancestors 11 a2 Sam. 5:4, 5; 1 Chr. 3:4; 29:26, 27 12 a1 Kin. 1:46; 1 Chr. 29:23 b2 Chr. 1:1 13 a1 Sam. 16:4, 5 15 a1 Kin. 1:11, 18 b1 Chr. 22:9, 10; 28:5–7; [Dan. 2:21] 16 1Lit. turn away the face 17 a1 Kin. 1:3, 4 19 a[Ex. 20:12] bPs. 45:9 20 1Lit. turn away the face 22 a1 Kin. 1:6; 2:15; 1 Chr. 3:2, 5 b1 Kin. 1:7

1 KINGS 2:23 298 the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah.” 23 Then King Solomon swore by the LORD, saying, a“May God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life! 24 “Now therefore, as the LORD lives, who has confirmed me and set me on the throne of David my father, and who has established a 1house for me, as He apromised, Adonijah shall be put to death today!” 25 So King Solomon sent by the hand of aBenaiah the son of Jehoi- ada; and he struck him down, and he died. Abiathar Exiled, Joab Executed 26 And to Abiathar the priest the king said, “Go to aAnathoth, to your own fields, for 1you are deserving of death; but I will not put you to death at this time, bbecause you carried the ark of the Lord GOD before my father David, and because you were afflicted every time my father was afflicted.” 27 So Solomon removed Abiathar from being priest to the LORD, that he might afulfill the word of the LORD which He spoke concerning the house of Eli at Shiloh. 28 Then news came to Joab, for Joab ahad defected to Adonijah, though he had not defected to Absa- lom. So Joab fled to the tabernacle of the LORD, and btook hold of the horns of the altar. 29 And King Solomon was told, “Joab has fled to the tabernacle of the LORD; there he is, by the altar.” Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, astrike him down.” 30 So Benaiah went to the taberna- cle of the LORD, and said to him, “Thus says the king, a‘Come out!’ ” And he said, “No, but I will die here.” And Benaiah brought back word to the king, saying, “Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.” 31 Then the king said to him, a“Do as he has said, and strike him down and bury him, bthat you may take away from me and from the house of my father the innocent blood which Joab shed. 32 “So the LORD awill return his 1blood on his head, because he struck down two men more righ- teous band better than he, and killed them with the sword—cAbner the son of Ner, the commander of the army of Israel, and dAmasa the son of Jether, the commander of the army of Judah—though my father David did not know it. 33 “Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab and aupon the head of his descendants forever. bBut upon David and his descendants, upon his house and his throne, there shall be peace forever from the LORD.” 34 So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and struck and killed him; and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness. 35 The king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his place over the army, and the king put aZadok the priest in the place of bAbiathar. Shimei Executed 36 Then the king sent and called for aShimei, and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and dwell there, and do not go out from there anywhere. 37 “For it shall be, on the day you go out and cross athe Brook Kidron, know for certain you shall surely die; byour 1blood shall be on your own head.” 38 And Shimei said to the king, “The saying is good. As my lord the king has said, so your servant will do.” So Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days. 39 Now it happened at the end of three years, that two slaves of Shimei ran away to aAchish the son of Maachah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, “Look, your slaves are in Gath!” 40 So Shimei arose, saddled his donkey, and went to Achish at Gath to seek his slaves. And Shimei went and brought his slaves from Gath. 41 And Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had come back. 42 Then the king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the LORD, and warn you, saying, ‘Know for certain that on the day you go out and travel anywhere, you shall surely die’?

. And they told Shimei, saying, “Look, your slaves are in Gath!” 40 So Shimei arose, saddled his donkey, and went to Achish at Gath to seek his slaves. And Shimei went and brought his slaves from Gath. 41 And Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had come back. 42 Then the king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the LORD, and warn you, saying, ‘Know for certain that on the day you go out and travel anywhere, you shall surely die’? And you said to me, ‘The word I have heard is good.’ 43 “Why then have you not kept the oath of the LORD and the com- mandment that I gave you?” 44 The king said moreover to Shimei, “You know, as your heart acknowledges, aall the wickedness that you did to my father David; therefore the LORD will breturn your wickedness on your own head. 45 “But King Solomon shall be blessed, and athe throne of David shall be established before the LORD forever.” 46 So the king commanded Bena- iah the son of Jehoiada; and he went out and struck him down, and he died. Thus the akingdom was estab- lished in the hand of Solomon. Solomon Requests Wisdom 3 Now aSolomon made 1a treaty with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and married Pharaoh’s daughter; then he brought her bto the City of David un- 23 aRuth 1:17 24 a2 Sam. 7:11, 13; 1 Chr. 22:10 1Royal dynasty 25 a2 Sam. 8:18; 1 Kin. 4:4 26 aJosh. 21:18; Jer. 1:1 b1 Sam. 22:23; 23:6; 2 Sam. 15:14, 29 1Lit. you are a man of death 27 a1 Sam. 2:31–35 28 a1 Kin. 1:7 b1 Kin. 1:50 29 a1 Kin. 2:5, 6 30 a[Ex. 21:14] 31 a[Ex. 21:14] b[Num. 35:33; Deut. 19:13; 21:8, 9] 32 a[Gen. 9:6]; Judg. 9:24, 57 b2 Chr. 21:13, 14 c2 Sam. 3:27 d2 Sam. 20:9, 10 1Or bloodshed 33 a2 Sam. 3:29 b[Prov. 25:5] 35 a1 Sam. 2:35; 1 Kin. 4:4; 1 Chr. 6:53; 24:3; 29:22 b1 Kin. 2:27 36 a2 Sam. 16:5–13; 1 Kin. 2:8 37 a2 Sam. 15:23; 2 Kin. 23:6; John 18:1 bLev. 20:9; Josh. 2:19; 2 Sam. 1:16; Ezek. 18:13 1Or bloodshed 39 a1 Sam. 27:2 44 a2 Sam. 16:5–13 b1 Sam. 25:39; 2 Kin. 11:1, 12–16; Ps. 7:16; Ezek. 17:19 45 a2 Sam. 7:13; [Prov. 25:5] 46 a1 Kin. 2:12; 2 Chr. 1:1 CHAPTER 3 1 a1 Kin. 7:8; 9:24 b2 Sam. 5:7 1an alliance

299 1 KINGS 4:3 til he had finished building his cown house, and dthe house of the LORD, and ethe wall all around Jerusalem. 2 aMeanwhile the people sacri- ficed at the high places, because there was no house built for the name of the LORD until those days. 3 And Solomon aloved the LORD, bwalking in the statutes of his father David, except that he sacrificed and burned incense at the high places. 4 Now athe king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, bfor that was the great high place: Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. 5 aAt Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon bin a dream by night; and God said, “Ask! What shall I give you?” 6 aAnd Solomon said: “You have shown great mercy to Your servant David my father, because he bwalked before You in truth, in righ- teousness, and in uprightness of heart with You; You have continued this great kindness for him, and You chave given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. 7 “Now, O LORD my God, You have made Your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a alittle child; I do not know how bto go out or come in. 8 “And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You ahave cho- sen, a great people, btoo numerous to be numbered or counted. 9 a“Therefore give to Your servant an 1understanding heart bto judge Your people, that I may cdiscern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?” 10 The speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. 11 Then God said to him: “Because you have asked this thing, and have anot asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself under- standing to discern justice, 12 a“behold, I have done according to your words; bsee, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you. 13 “And I have also agiven you what you have not asked: both briches and honor, so that there shall not be any- one like you among the kings all your days. 14 “So aif you walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My command- ments, bas your father David walked, then I will clengthen1 your days.” 15 Then Solomon aawoke; and indeed it had been a dream. And he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, offered up burnt offerings, offered peace offerings, and bmade a feast for all his servants. Solomon’s Wise Judgment 16 Now two women who were har- lots came to the king, and astood before him. 17 And one woman said, “O my lord, this woman and I dwell in the same house; and I gave birth while she was in the house. 18 “Then it happened, the third day after I had given birth, that this woman also gave birth. And we were together; 1no one was with us in the house, except the two of us in the house. 19 “And this woman’s son died in the night, because she lay on him. 20 “So she arose in the middle of the night and took my son from my side, while your maidservant slept, and laid him in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom. 21 “And when I rose in the morning to nurse my son, there he was, dead. But when I had examined him in the morning, indeed, he was not my son whom I had borne.” 22 Then the other woman said, “No! But the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son.” And the first woman said, “No! But the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son.” Thus they spoke before the king. 23 And the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son, who lives, and your son is the dead one’; and the other says, ‘No!

“And when I rose in the morning to nurse my son, there he was, dead. But when I had examined him in the morning, indeed, he was not my son whom I had borne.” 22 Then the other woman said, “No! But the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son.” And the first woman said, “No! But the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son.” Thus they spoke before the king. 23 And the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son, who lives, and your son is the dead one’; and the other says, ‘No! But your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.’ ” 24 Then the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword before the king. 25 And the king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to one, and half to the other.” 26 Then the woman whose son was living spoke to the king, for ashe yearned with compassion for her son; and she said, “O my lord, give her the living child, and by no means kill him!” But the other said, “Let him be neither mine nor yours, but divide him.” 27 So the king answered and said, “Give the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him; she is his mother.” 28 And all Israel heard of the judg- ment which the king had rendered; and they feared the king, for they saw that the awisdom of God was in him to administer justice. Solomon’s Administration 4 So King Solomon was king over all Israel. 2 And these were his officials: Azariah the son of Zadok, the priest; 3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons 1 c1 Kin. 7:1 d1 Kin. 6 e1 Kin. 9:15, 19 2 a[Deut. 12:2–5, 13, 14]; 1 Kin. 11:7; 22:43 3 a[Rom. 8:28] b[1 Kin. 3:6, 14] 4 a1 Kin. 9:2; 2 Chr. 1:3 b1 Chr. 16:39; 21:29 5 a1 Kin. 9:2; 11:9; 2 Chr. 1:7 bNum. 12:6; Matt. 1:20; 2:13 6 a2 Chr. 1:8 b1 Kin. 2:4; 9:4; 2 Kin. 20:3 c2 Sam. 7:8–17; 1 Kin. 1:48 7 a1 Chr. 22:5; Jer. 1:6, 7 bNum. 27:17; 2 Sam. 5:2 8 a[Ex. 19:6; Deut. 7:6] bGen. 13:6; 15:5; 22:17 9 a2 Chr. 1:10; [James 1:5] bPs. 72:1, 2 c2 Sam. 14:17; Is. 7:15; [Heb. 5:14] 1Lit. hearing 11 a[James 4:3] 12 a[1 John 5:14, 15] b1 Kin. 4:29–31; 5:12; 10:24; Eccl. 1:16 13 a[Matt. 6:33; Eph. 3:20] b1 Kin. 4:21, 24; 10:23; 1 Chr. 29:12 14 a[1 Kin. 6:12] b1 Kin. 15:5 cPs. 91:16; Prov. 3:2 1prolong 15 aGen. 41:7 bGen. 40:20; 1 Kin. 8:65; Esth. 1:3; Dan. 5:1; Mark 6:21 16 aNum. 27:2 18 1Lit. no stranger 26 aGen. 43:30; Is. 49:15; Jer. 31:20; Hos. 11:8 28 a1 Kin. 3:9, 11, 12; 2 Chr. 1:12; Dan. 1:17; [Col. 2:2, 3]

1 KINGS 4:4 300 of Shisha, 1scribes; aJehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder; 4 aBenaiah the son of Jehoiada, over the army; Zadok and bAbiathar, the priests; 5 Azariah the son of Nathan, over athe officers; Zabud the son of Nathan, ba priest and cthe king’s friend; 6 Ahishar, over the household; and aAdoniram the son of Abda, over the labor force. 7 And Solomon had twelve gover- nors over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household; each one made provision for one month of the year. 8 These are their names: 1Ben-Hur, in the mountains of Ephraim; 9 1Ben-Deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh, and Elon Beth Hanan; 10 1Ben-Hesed, in Arubboth; to him belonged Sochoh and all the land of Hepher; 11 1Ben-Abinadab, in all the regions of Dor; he had Taphath the daughter of Solomon as wife; 12 Baana the son of Ahilud, in Taanach, Megiddo, and all Beth Shean, which is beside Zaretan below Jezreel, from Beth Shean to Abel Meholah, as far as the other side of Jokneam; 13 1Ben-Geber, in Ramoth Gilead; to him belonged athe towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, in Gilead; to him also belonged bthe region of Argob in Bashan—sixty large cities with walls and bronze gate-bars; 14 Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim; 15 aAhimaaz, in Naphtali; he also took Basemath the daughter of Solomon as wife; 16 Baanah the son of aHushai, in Asher and Aloth; 17 Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar; 18 aShimei the son of Elah, in Ben- jamin; 19 Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, in athe country of Sihon king of the Amorites, and of Og king of Bashan. He was the only governor who was in the land. Prosperity and Wisdom of Solomon’s Reign 20 Judah and Israel were as numer- ous aas the sand by the sea in multi- tude, beating and drinking and rejoic- ing. 21 So aSolomon reigned over all kingdoms from bthe1 River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. cThey brought trib- ute and served Solomon all the days of his life. 22 aNow Solomon’s 1provision for one day was thirty 2kors of fine flour, sixty kors of meal, 23 ten fatted oxen, twenty oxen from the pastures, and one hundred sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roe- bucks, and fatted fowl. 24 For he had dominion over all the region on this side of 1the River from Tiphsah even to Gaza, namely over aall the kings on this side of the River; and bhe had peace on every side all around him. 25 And Judah and Israel adwelt1 safely, beach man under his vine and his fig tree, cfrom Dan as far as Beersheba, all the days of Solomon. 26 aSolomon had 1forty thousand stalls of bhorses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. 27 And athese governors, each man in his month, provided food for King Solomon and for all who came to King Solomon’s table.

the River from Tiphsah even to Gaza, namely over aall the kings on this side of the River; and bhe had peace on every side all around him. 25 And Judah and Israel adwelt1 safely, beach man under his vine and his fig tree, cfrom Dan as far as Beersheba, all the days of Solomon. 26 aSolomon had 1forty thousand stalls of bhorses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. 27 And athese governors, each man in his month, provided food for King Solomon and for all who came to King Solomon’s table. There was no lack in their supply. 28 They also brought barley and straw to the proper place, for the horses and steeds, each man according to his charge. 29 And aGod gave Solomon wis- dom and exceedingly great under- standing, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore. 30 Thus Solomon’s wisdom ex- celled the wisdom of all the men aof the East and all bthe wisdom of Egypt. 31 For he was awiser than all men—bthan Ethan the Ezrahite, cand Heman, Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the surrounding nations. 32 aHe spoke three thousand proverbs, and his bsongs were one thousand and five. 33 Also he spoke of trees, from the cedar tree of Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall; he spoke also of animals, of birds, of creeping things, and of fish. 34 And men of all nations, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom, acame to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Solomon Prepares to Build the Temple 5 Now aHiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, because he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, bfor Hiram had always loved David. 2 Then aSolomon sent to Hiram, saying: 3 aYou know how my father David could not build a house for the name of the LORD his God bbecause of the wars which were fought against him on every side, until the LORD put 1his foes under the soles of his feet. 4 But now the LORD my God has given me arest1 on every side; there is neither adversary nor 2evil occurrence. CHAPTER 4 3 a2 Sam. 8:16; 20:24 1secretaries 4 a1 Kin. 2:35 b1 Kin. 2:27 5 a1 Kin. 4:7 b2 Sam. 8:18; 20:26 c2 Sam. 15:37; 16:16 6 a1 Kin. 5:14 8 1Lit. Son of Hur 9 1Lit. Son of Deker 10 1Lit. Son of Hesed 11 1Lit. Son of Abinadab 13 aNum. 32:41 bDeut. 3:4 1Lit. Son of Geber 15 a2 Sam. 15:27 16 a1 Chr. 27:33 18 a1 Kin. 1:8 19 aDeut. 3:8–10 20 aGen. 22:17; 32:12 bMic. 4:4 21 aPs. 72:8 bGen. 15:18 cPs. 68:29 1The Eu- phrates 22 aNeh. 5:18 1Lit. bread 2Each about 5 bushels 24 aPs. 72:11 b1 Chr. 22:9 1The Euphra- tes 25 a[Jer. 23:6] b[Mic. 4:4] cJudg. 20:1 1lived in safety 26 a1 Kin. 10:26 b[Deut. 17:16] 1So with MT, most other authori- ties; some LXX mss. four thou- sand; cf. 2 Chr. 9:25 27 a1 Kin. 4:7 29 a1 Kin. 3:12 30 aGen. 25:6 bIs. 19:11, 12 31 a1 Kin. 3:12 b1 Chr. 15:19 c1 Chr. 2:6 32 aEccl. 12:9 bSong 1:1 34 a1 Kin. 10:1 CHAPTER 5 1 a2 Chr. 2:3 b2 Sam. 5:11 2 a2 Chr. 2:3 3 a1 Chr. 28:2, 3 b1 Chr. 22:8; 28:3 1Lit. them 4 a1 Kin. 4:24 1peace 2mis- fortune

301 1 KINGS 6:13 5 aAnd behold, 1I propose to build a house for the name of the LORD my God, bas the LORD spoke to my father David, saying, “Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, he shall build the house for My name.” 6 Now therefore, command that they cut down acedars for me from Lebanon; and my servants will be with your servants, and I will pay you wages for your servants according to whatever you say. For you know there is none among us who has skill to cut timber like the Sidonians. 7 So it was, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly and said, Blessed be the LORD this day, for He has given David a wise son over this great people! 8 Then Hiram sent to Solomon, saying: I have considered the message which you sent me, and I will do all you desire concerning the cedar and cypress logs. 9 My servants shall bring them down afrom Lebanon to the sea; I will float them in rafts by sea to the place you indicate to me, and will have them broken apart there; then you can take them away. And you shall fulfill my desire bby giving food for my household. 10 Then Hiram gave Solomon ce- dar and cypress logs according to all his desire. 11 aAnd Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand 1kors of wheat as food for his household, and 2twenty kors of pressed oil. Thus Solomon gave to Hiram year by year. 12 So the LORD gave Solomon wis- dom, aas He had promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty together. 13 Then King Solomon raised up a labor force out of all Israel; and the labor force was thirty thousand men. 14 And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month in shifts: they were one month in Lebanon and two months at home; aAdoniram was in charge of the labor force. 15 aSolomon had seventy thousand who carried burdens, and eighty thousand who quarried stone in the mountains, 16 besides three thousand 1three hundred from the achiefs of Solomon’s deputies, who supervised the people who labored in the work. 17 And the king commanded them to quarry large stones, costly stones, and ahewn stones, to lay the foundation of the 1temple. 18 So Solomon’s builders, Hiram’s builders, and the Gebalites quarried them; and they prepared timber and stones to build the 1temple. Solomon Builds the Temple 6 And ait came to pass in the four hundred and 1eightieth year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of 2Ziv, which is the second month, bthat he began to build the house of the LORD. 2 Now athe house which King Solomon built for the LORD, its length was sixty cubits, its width twenty, and its height thirty cubits. 3 The vestibule in front of the 1sanctuary of the house was 2twenty cubits long across the width of the house, and the width of 3the vestibule extended 4ten cubits from the front of the house. 4 And he made for the house awindows with beveled frames. 5 Against the wall of the 1temple he built achambers all around, against the walls of the temple, all around the sanctuary band the 2inner sanctuary. Thus he made side chambers all around it. 6 The lowest chamber was five cubits wide, the middle was six cubits wide, and the third was seven cubits wide; for he made narrow ledges around the outside of the temple, so that the support beams would not be fastened into the walls of the 1temple. 7 And athe temple, when it was being built, was built with stone fin- ished at the quarry, so that no ham- mer or chisel or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built. 8 The doorway for the 1middle story was on the right side of the temple.

t chamber was five cubits wide, the middle was six cubits wide, and the third was seven cubits wide; for he made narrow ledges around the outside of the temple, so that the support beams would not be fastened into the walls of the 1temple. 7 And athe temple, when it was being built, was built with stone fin- ished at the quarry, so that no ham- mer or chisel or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built. 8 The doorway for the 1middle story was on the right side of the temple. They went up by stairs to the middle story, and from the mid- dle to the third. 9 aSo he built the 1temple and fin- ished it, and he paneled the temple with beams and boards of cedar. 10 And he built side chambers against the entire temple, each five cubits high; they were attached to the temple with cedar beams. 11 Then the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying: 12 “Concerning this 1temple which you are building, aif you walk in My statutes, execute My judgments, keep all My commandments, and walk in them, then I will perform My 2word with you, bwhich I spoke to your father David. 13 “And aI will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not bfor- sake My people Israel.” 5 a2 Chr. 2:4 b2 Sam. 7:12, 13 1Lit. I am saying 6 a2 Chr. 2:8, 10 9 aEzra 3:7 bEzek. 27:17 11 a2 Chr. 2:10 1Each about 5 bushels 2So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX, Syr. twenty thousand kors 12 a1 Kin. 3:12 14 a1 Kin. 12:18 15 a2 Chr. 2:17, 18 16 a1 Kin. 9:23 1So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX six hundred 17 a1 Kin. 6:7 1Lit. house 18 1Lit. house CHAPTER 6 1 a2 Chr. 3:1, 2 bActs 7:47 1So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX fortieth 2Or Ayyar, April or May 2 aEzek. 41:1 3 1Heb. hey- kal; here the main room of the temple; elsewhere called the holy place, Ex. 26:33; Ezek. 41:1 2About 30 feet 3Lit. it 4About 15 feet 4 aEzek. 40:16; 41:16 5 aEzek. 41:6 b1 Kin. 6:16, 19–21, 31 1Lit. house 2Heb. debir; here the inner room of the temple; else- where called the Most Holy Place, v. 16 6 1Lit. house 7 aDeut. 27:5, 6 8 1So with MT, Vg.; LXX upper story; Tg. ground story 9 a1 Kin. 6:14, 38 1Lit. house 12 a1 Kin. 2:4; 9:4 b[2 Sam. 7:13] 1Lit. house 2promise 13 aEx. 25:8 b[Deut. 31:6]

1 KINGS 6:14 302 14 So Solomon built the temple and finished it. 15 And he built the inside walls of the temple with cedar boards; from the floor of the temple to the ceiling he paneled the inside with wood; and he covered the floor of the temple with planks of cypress. 16 Then he built the twenty-cubit room at the rear of the temple, from floor to ceiling, with cedar boards; he built it inside as the inner sanctu- ary, as the aMost Holy Place. 17 And in front of it the temple sanctuary was forty cubits long. 18 The inside of the temple was cedar, carved with ornamental buds and open flowers. All was cedar; there was no stone to be seen. 19 And he prepared the 1inner sanc- tuary inside the temple, to set the ark of the covenant of the LORD there. 20 The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high. He overlaid it with pure gold, and overlaid the altar of cedar. 21 So Solomon overlaid the inside of the temple with pure gold. He stretched gold chains across the front of the inner sanctuary, and overlaid it with gold. 22 The whole temple he overlaid with gold, until he had finished all the temple; also he overlaid with gold athe entire altar that was by the inner sanctuary. 23 Inside the inner sanctuary ahe made two cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits high. 24 One wing of the cherub was five cubits, and the other wing of the cherub five cubits: ten cubits from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other. 25 And the other cherub was ten cubits; both cherubim were of the same size and shape. 26 The height of one cherub was ten cubits, and so was the other cherub. 27 Then he set the cherubim inside the inner 1room; and athey stretched out the wings of the cherubim so that the wing of the one touched one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall. And their wings touched each other in the middle of the room. 28 Also he overlaid the cherubim with gold. 29 Then he carved all the walls of the temple all around, both the inner and outer sanctuaries, with carved afigures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. 30 And the floor of the temple he overlaid with gold, both the inner and outer sanctuaries. 31 For the entrance of the inner sanctuary he made doors of olive wood; the lintel and doorposts were 1one-fifth of the wall. 32 The two doors were of olive wood; and he carved on them fig- ures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold; and he spread gold on the cherubim and on the palm trees. 33 So for the door of the 1sanctuary he also made doorposts of olive wood, 2one-fourth of the wall. 34 And the two doors were of cypress wood; atwo panels com- prised one folding door, and two panels comprised the other folding door. 35 Then he carved cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers on them, and overlaid them with gold applied evenly on the carved work. 36 And he built the ainner court with three rows of hewn stone and a row of cedar beams. 37 aIn the fourth year the founda- tion of the house of the LORD was laid, in the month of 1Ziv. 38 And in the eleventh year, in the month of 1Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished in all its details and according to all its plans.

comprised the other folding door. 35 Then he carved cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers on them, and overlaid them with gold applied evenly on the carved work. 36 And he built the ainner court with three rows of hewn stone and a row of cedar beams. 37 aIn the fourth year the founda- tion of the house of the LORD was laid, in the month of 1Ziv. 38 And in the eleventh year, in the month of 1Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished in all its details and according to all its plans. So he was aseven years in building it. Solomon’s Other Buildings 7 But Solomon took athirteen years to build his own house; so he finished all his house. 2 He also built the aHouse of the Forest of Lebanon; its length was 1one hundred cubits, its width 2fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits, with four rows of cedar pillars, and cedar beams on the pillars. 3 And it was paneled with cedar above the beams that were on forty- five pillars, fifteen to a row. 4 There were windows with beveled frames in three rows, and window was opposite window in three tiers. 5 And all the doorways and door- posts had rectangular frames; and window was opposite window in three tiers. 6 He also made the Hall of Pillars: its length was fifty cubits, and its width thirty cubits; and in front of them was a portico with pillars, and a canopy was in front of them. 7 Then he made a hall for the throne, the Hall of Judgment, where he might judge; and it was paneled with cedar from floor to 1ceiling. 8 And the house where he dwelt had another court inside the hall, of like workmanship. Solomon also made a house like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, awhom he had taken as wife. 9 All these were of costly stones cut to size, trimmed with saws, inside and out, from the foundation to the eaves, and also on the outside to the great court. 10 The foundation was of costly 16 aEx. 26:33; Lev. 16:2; 1 Kin. 8:6; 2 Chr. 3:8; Ezek. 45:3; Heb. 9:3 19 1The Most Holy Place 22 aEx. 30:1, 3, 6 23 aEx. 37:7–9; 2 Chr. 3:10–12 27 aEx. 25:20; 37:9; 1 Kin. 8:7; 2 Chr. 5:8 1Lit. house 29 aEx. 36:8, 35 31 1Or five- sided 33 1temple 2Or four-sided 34 aEzek. 41:23–25 36 a1 Kin. 7:12; Jer. 36:10 37 a1 Kin. 6:1 1Or Ayyar, April or May 38 a2 Sam. 7:13; 1 Kin. 5:5; 6:1; 8:19 1Or Heshvan, October or November CHAPTER 7 1 a1 Kin. 3:1; 9:10; 2 Chr. 8:1 2 a1 Kin. 10:17, 21; 2 Chr. 9:16 1About 150 feet 2About 75 feet 7 1Lit. floor of the upper level 8 a1 Kin. 3:1; 9:24; 11:1; 2 Chr. 8:11

303 1 KINGS 7:39 stones, large stones, some ten cubits and some eight cubits. 11 And above were costly stones, hewn to size, and cedar wood. 12 The great court was enclosed with three rows of hewn stones and a row of cedar beams. So were the ain- ner court of the house of the LORD band the vestibule of the temple. Hiram the Craftsman 13 Now King Solomon sent and brought 1Huram from Tyre. 14 aHe was the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, and bhis father was a man of Tyre, a bronze worker; che was filled with wisdom and understanding and skill in working with all kinds of bronze work. So he came to King Solomon and did all his work. The Bronze Pillars for the Temple 15 And he 1cast atwo pillars of bronze, each one eighteen cubits high, and a line of twelve cubits measured the circumference of each. 16 Then he made two capitals of cast bronze, to set on the tops of the pillars. The height of one capital was five cubits, and the height of the other capital was five cubits. 17 He made a lattice network, with wreaths of chainwork, for the capi- tals which were on top of the pillars: seven chains for one capital and seven for the other capital. 18 So he made the pillars, and two rows of pomegranates above the network all around to cover the cap- itals that were on top; and thus he did for the other capital. 19 The capitals which were on top of the pillars in the hall were in the shape of lilies, four cubits. 20 The capitals on the two pillars also had pomegranates above, by the convex surface which was next to the network; and there were atwo hundred such pomegranates in rows on each of the capitals all around. 21 aThen he set up the pillars by the vestibule of the temple; he set up the pillar on the right and called its name 1Jachin, and he set up the pillar on the left and called its name 2Boaz. 22 The tops of the pillars were in the shape of lilies. So the work of the pillars was finished. The Sea and the Oxen 23 And he made athe Sea of cast bronze, ten cubits from one brim to the other; it was completely round. Its height was five cubits, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circum- ference. 24 Below its brim were ornamental buds encircling it all around, ten to a cubit, aall the way around the Sea. The ornamental buds were cast in two rows when it was cast. 25 It stood on atwelve oxen: three looking toward the north, three looking toward the west, three look- ing toward the south, and three looking toward the east; the Sea was set upon them, and all their back parts pointed inward. 26 It was a handbreadth thick; and its brim was shaped like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It con- tained 1two thousand baths. The Carts and the Lavers 27 He also made ten 1carts of bronze; four cubits was the length of each cart, four cubits its width, and three cubits its height. 28 And this was the design of the carts: They had panels, and the pan- els were between frames; 29 on the panels that were between the frames were lions, oxen, and cherubim. And on the frames was a pedestal on top. Below the lions and oxen were wreaths of plaited work. 30 Every cart had four bronze wheels and axles of bronze, and its four feet had supports. Under the laver were supports of cast bronze beside each wreath. 31 Its opening inside the crown at the top was one cubit in diameter; and the opening was round, shaped like a pedestal, one and a half cubits in outside diameter; and also on the opening were engravings, but the panels were square, not round. 32 Under the panels were the four wheels, and the axles of the wheels were joined to the cart. The height of a wheel was one and a half cubits. 33 The workmanship of the wheels was like the workmanship of a chariot wheel; their axle pins, their rims, their spokes, and their hubs were all of cast bronze. 34 And there were four supports at the four corners of each cart; its supports were part of the cart itself. 35 On the top of the cart, at the height of half a cubit, it was per- fectly round.

d. 32 Under the panels were the four wheels, and the axles of the wheels were joined to the cart. The height of a wheel was one and a half cubits. 33 The workmanship of the wheels was like the workmanship of a chariot wheel; their axle pins, their rims, their spokes, and their hubs were all of cast bronze. 34 And there were four supports at the four corners of each cart; its supports were part of the cart itself. 35 On the top of the cart, at the height of half a cubit, it was per- fectly round. And on the top of the cart, its flanges and its panels were of the same casting. 36 On the plates of its flanges and on its panels he engraved cherubim, lions, and palm trees, wherever there was a clear space on each, with wreaths all around. 37 Thus he made the ten carts. All of them were of 1the same mold, one measure, and one shape. 38 Then ahe made ten lavers of bronze; each laver contained 1forty baths, and each laver was four cubits. On each of the ten carts was a laver. 39 And he put five carts on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house. He set the Sea on the right side of the house, toward the southeast. 12 a1 Kin. 6:36 bJohn 10:23; Acts 3:11 13 1Heb. Hiram; cf. 2 Chr. 2:13, 14 14 a2 Chr. 2:14 b2 Chr. 4:16 cEx. 31:3; 36:1 15 a2 Kin. 25:17; 2 Chr. 3:15; 4:12; Jer. 52:21 1fashioned 20 a2 Chr. 3:16; 4:13; Jer. 52:23 21 a2 Chr. 3:17 1Lit. He Shall Establish 2Lit. In It Is Strength 23 a2 Kin. 25:13; 2 Chr. 4:2; Jer. 52:17 24 a2 Chr. 4:3 25 a2 Chr. 4:4, 5; Jer. 52:20 26 1About 12,000 gal- lons; three thousand, 2 Chr. 4:5 27 1Or stands 37 1one 38 aEx. 30:18; 2 Chr. 4:6 1About 240 gallons

1 KINGS 7:40 304 Furnishings of the Temple 40 aHuram1 made the lavers and the shovels and the bowls. So Huram finished doing all the work that he was to do for King Solomon for the house of the LORD: 41 the two pillars, the two bowl- shaped capitals that were on top of the two pillars; the two anetworks covering the two bowl-shaped capi- tals which were on top of the pillars; 42 afour hundred pomegranates for the two networks (two rows of pomegranates for each network, to cover the two bowl-shaped capitals that were on top of the pillars); 43 the ten carts, and ten lavers on the carts; 44 one Sea, and twelve oxen under the Sea; 45 athe pots, the shovels, and the bowls. All these articles which 1Huram made for King Solomon for the house of the LORD were of bur- nished bronze. 46 aIn the plain of Jordan the king had them cast in clay molds, be- tween bSuccoth and cZaretan. 47 And Solomon did not weigh all the articles, because there were so many; the weight of the bronze was not adetermined. 48 Thus Solomon had all the fur- nishings made for the house of the LORD: athe altar of gold, and bthe table of gold on which was cthe showbread; 49 the lampstands of pure gold, five on the right side and five on the left in front of the inner sanctuary, with the flowers and the lamps and the wick-trimmers of gold; 50 the basins, the trimmers, the bowls, the ladles, and the 1censers of pure gold; and the hinges of gold, both for the doors of the inner room (the Most Holy Place) and for the doors of the main hall of the temple. 51 So all the work that King Sol- omon had done for the house of the LORD was finished; and Solomon brought in the things awhich his father David had dedicated: the sil- ver and the gold and the furnish- ings. He put them in the treasuries of the house of the LORD. The Ark Brought into the Temple 8 Now aSolomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the chief fathers of the children of Israel, to King Solomon in Jerusalem, bthat they might bring cup the ark of the covenant of the LORD from the City of David, which is Zion. 2 Therefore all the men of Israel assembled with King Solomon at the afeast in the month of 1Ethanim, which is the seventh month. 3 So all the elders of Israel came, aand the priests took up the ark. 4 Then they brought up the ark of the LORD, athe 1tabernacle of meet- ing, and all the holy furnishings that were in the tabernacle. The priests and the Levites brought them up. 5 Also King Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel who were assembled with him, were with him before the ark, asacrificing sheep and oxen that could not be counted or numbered for multitude. 6 Then the priests abrought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD to bits place, into the inner sanctuary of the temple, to the Most Holy Place, cunder the wings of the cherubim. 7 For the cherubim spread their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles. 8 The poles aextended so that the 1ends of the poles could be seen from the holy place, in front of the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside.

e counted or numbered for multitude. 6 Then the priests abrought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD to bits place, into the inner sanctuary of the temple, to the Most Holy Place, cunder the wings of the cherubim. 7 For the cherubim spread their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles. 8 The poles aextended so that the 1ends of the poles could be seen from the holy place, in front of the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside. And they are there to this day. 9 aNothing was in the ark bexcept the two tablets of stone which Moses cput there at Horeb, dwhen the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. 10 And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the holy place, that the cloud afilled the house of the LORD, 11 so that the priests could not con- tinue ministering because of the cloud; for the aglory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD. 12 aThen Solomon spoke: “The LORD said He would dwell bin the dark cloud. 13 aI have surely built You an exalted house, bAnd a place for You to dwell in forever.” Solomon’s Speech at Completion of the Work 14 Then the king turned around and ablessed the whole assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing. 15 And he said: a“Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who bspoke with His mouth to my father David, and with His hand has fulfilled it, saying, 16 ‘Since the day that I brought My people Israel out of Egypt, I have chosen no city from any tribe of Israel in which to build a house, that aMy name might be there; but I chose bDavid to be over My people Israel.’ 17 “Now ait was in the heart of my father David to build a 1temple for the name of the LORD God of Israel. 18 a“But the LORD said to my father David, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a temple for My name, you did well that it was in your heart. 40 a2 Chr. 4:11—5:1 1Heb. Hiram; cf. 2 Chr. 2:13, 14 41 a1 Kin. 7:17, 18 42 a1 Kin. 7:20 45 aEx. 27:3 1Heb. Hiram; cf. 2 Chr. 2:13, 14 46 a2 Chr. 4:17 bGen. 33:17 cJosh. 3:16 47 a1 Chr. 22:3, 14 48 aEx. 37:25, 26; 2 Chr. 4:8 bEx. 37:10, 11 cLev. 24:5–8 50 1firepans 51 a2 Sam. 8:11 CHAPTER 8 1 a2 Chr. 5:2–14 b2 Sam. 6:12–17 c2 Sam. 5:7; 6:12, 16 2 aLev. 23:34 1Or Tishri, September or October 3 aNum. 4:15; 7:9 4 a2 Chr. 1:3 1tent 5 a2 Sam. 6:13 6 a2 Sam. 6:17 b1 Kin. 6:19 c1 Kin. 6:27 8 aEx. 25:13–15; 37:4, 5 1heads 9 aEx. 25:21 bDeut. 10:5 cEx. 24:7, 8; 40:20 dEx. 34:27, 28 10 aEx. 40:34, 35 11 a2 Chr. 7:1, 2 12 a2 Chr. 6:1 bPs. 18:11; 97:2 13 a2 Sam. 7:13 bPs. 132:14 14 a2 Sam. 6:18 15 aLuke 1:68 b2 Sam. 7:2, 12, 13, 25 16 a1 Kin. 8:29 b2 Sam. 7:8 17 a2 Sam. 7:2, 3 1Lit. house, and so in vv. 18–20 18 a2 Chr. 6:8, 9

305 1 KINGS 8:45 19 ‘Nevertheless ayou shall not build the temple, but your son who will come from your body, he shall build the temple for My name.’ 20 “So the LORD has fulfilled His word which He spoke; and I have 1filled the position of my father David, and sit on the throne of Israel, aas the LORD promised; and I have built a temple for the name of the LORD God of Israel. 21 “And there I have made a place for the ark, in which is athe covenant of the LORD which He made with our fathers, when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.” Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication 22 Then Solomon stood before athe altar of the LORD in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and bspread out his hands toward heaven; 23 and he said: “LORD God of Israel, athere is no God in heaven above or on earth below like You, bwho keep Your covenant and mercy with Your servants who cwalk before You with all their hearts. 24 “You have kept what You prom- ised Your servant David my father; You have both spoken with Your mouth and fulfilled it with Your hand, as it is this day. 25 “Therefore, LORD God of Israel, now keep what You promised Your servant David my father, saying, a‘You shall not fail to have a man sit before Me on the throne of Israel, only if your sons take heed to their way, that they walk before Me as you have walked before Me.’ 26 a“And now I pray, O God of Israel, let Your word come true, which You have spoken to Your ser- vant David my father. 27 “But awill God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the bheaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built! 28 “Yet regard the prayer of Your servant and his supplication, O LORD my God, and listen to the cry and the prayer which Your servant is praying before You today: 29 “that Your eyes may be open toward this 1temple night and day, toward the place of which You said, a‘My name shall be bthere,’ that You may hear the prayer which Your ser- vant makes ctoward this place. 30 a“And may You hear the suppli- cation of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. Hear in heaven Your dwelling place; and when You hear, forgive. 31 “When anyone sins against his neighbor, and is forced to take aan oath, and comes and takes an oath before Your altar in this temple, 32 “then hear in heaven, and act, and judge Your servants, acondemn- ing the wicked, bringing his way on his head, and justifying the righ- teous by giving him according to his righteousness. 33 a“When Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against You, and bwhen they turn back to You and confess Your name, and pray and make supplication to You in this temple, 34 “then hear in heaven, and for- give the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them back to the land which You gave to their afathers. 35 a“When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against You, when they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and turn from their sin because You afflict them, 36 “then hear in heaven, and for- give the sin of Your servants, Your people Israel, that You may ateach them bthe good way in which they should walk; and send rain on Your land which You have given to Your people as an inheritance. 37 a“When there is famine in the land, pestilence or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers; when their enemy besieges them in the land of their 1cities; whatever plague or whatever sickness there is; 38 “whatever prayer, whatever sup- plication is made by anyone, or by all Your people Israel, when each one knows the plague of his own heart, and spreads out his hands toward this temple: 39 “then hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive, and act, and give to everyone according to all his ways, whose heart You know (for You alone aknow the hearts of all the sons of men), 40 a“that they may fear You all the days that they live in the land which You gave to our fathers. 41 “Moreover, concerning a for-

prayer, whatever sup- plication is made by anyone, or by all Your people Israel, when each one knows the plague of his own heart, and spreads out his hands toward this temple: 39 “then hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive, and act, and give to everyone according to all his ways, whose heart You know (for You alone aknow the hearts of all the sons of men), 40 a“that they may fear You all the days that they live in the land which You gave to our fathers. 41 “Moreover, concerning a for- eigner, who is not of Your people Israel, but has come from a far country for Your name’s sake 42 “(for they will hear of Your great name and Your astrong hand and Your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this temple, 43 “hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, athat all peoples of the earth may know Your name and bfear You, as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that this temple which I have built is called by Your name. 44 “When Your people go out to battle against their enemy, wherever You send them, and when they pray to the LORD toward the city which You have chosen and the temple which I have built for Your name, 45 “then hear in heaven their 19 a2 Sam. 7:5, 12, 13; 1 Kin. 5:3, 5; 6:38; 1 Chr. 17:11, 12; 22:8–10; 2 Chr. 6:2 20 a1 Chr. 28:5, 6 1risen in the place of 21 aDeut. 31:26; 1 Kin. 8:9 22 a1 Kin. 8:54; 2 Chr. 6:12 bEx. 9:33; Ezra 9:5 23 aEx. 15:11; 2 Sam. 7:22 b[Deut. 7:9; Neh. 1:5; Dan. 9:4] c[Gen. 17:1; 1 Kin. 3:6]; 2 Kin. 20:3 25 a2 Sam. 7:12, 16; 1 Kin. 2:4; 9:5 26 a2 Sam. 7:25 27 a[2 Chr. 2:6; Is. 66:1; Acts 7:49; 17:24] b2 Cor. 12:2 29 aDeut. 12:11 b1 Kin. 9:3; 2 Chr. 7:15 cDan. 6:10 1Lit. house 30 aNeh. 1:6 31 aEx. 22:8–11 32 aDeut. 25:1 33 aLev. 26:17; Deut. 28:25 bLev. 26:39, 40 34 a[Lev. 26:40–42; Deut. 30:1–3] 35 aLev. 26:19; Deut. 28:23 36 aPs. 25:4; 27:11; 94:12 b1 Sam. 12:23 37 aLev. 26:16, 25, 26; Deut. 28:21, 22, 27, 38, 42, 52 1Lit. gates 39 a[1 Sam. 16:7; 1 Chr. 28:9; Jer. 17:10]; Acts 1:24 40 a[Ps. 130:4] 42 aEx. 13:3; Deut. 3:24 43 a[Ex. 9:16; 1 Sam. 17:46; 2 Kin. 19:19] bPs. 102:15

1 KINGS 8:46 306 prayer and their supplication, and maintain their 1cause. 46 “When they sin against You a(for there is no one who does not sin), and You become angry with them and deliver them to the enemy, and they take them captive bto the land of the enemy, far or near; 47 a“yet when they 1come to them- selves in the land where they were carried captive, and repent, and make supplication to You in the land of those who took them captive, bsaying, ‘We have sinned and done wrong, we have committed wicked- ness’; 48 “and when they areturn to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who led them away captive, and bpray to You toward their land which You gave to their fathers, the city which You have chosen and the tem- ple which I have built for Your name: 49 “then hear in heaven Your dwelling place their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their 1cause, 50 “and forgive Your people who have sinned against You, and all their transgressions which they have transgressed against You; and agrant them compassion before those who took them captive, that they may have compassion on them 51 “(for athey are Your people and Your inheritance, whom You brought out of Egypt, bout of the iron furnace), 52 a“that Your eyes may be open to the supplication of Your servant and the supplication of Your people Israel, to listen to them whenever they call to You. 53 “For You separated them from among all the peoples of the earth to be Your inheritance, aas You spoke by Your servant Moses, when You brought our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord GOD.” Solomon Blesses the Assembly 54 aAnd so it was, when Solomon had finished praying all this prayer and supplication to the LORD, that he arose from before the altar of the LORD, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven. 55 Then he stood aand blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying: 56 “Blessed be the LORD, who has given arest1 to His people Israel, according to all that He promised. bThere has not failed one word of all His good promise, which He prom- ised through His servant Moses. 57 “May the LORD our God be with us, as He was with our fathers. aMay He not leave us nor forsake us, 58 “that He may aincline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, which He commanded our fathers. 59 “And may these words of mine, with which I have made supplica- tion before the LORD, be near the LORD our God day and night, that He may maintain the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel, as each day may require, 60 a“that all the peoples of the earth may know that bthe LORD is God; there is no other. 61 “Let your aheart therefore be 1loyal to the LORD our God, to walk in His statutes and keep His com- mandments, as at this day.” Solomon Dedicates the Temple 62 Then athe king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices before the LORD. 63 And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered to the LORD, twenty-two thousand bulls and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep.

h day may require, 60 a“that all the peoples of the earth may know that bthe LORD is God; there is no other. 61 “Let your aheart therefore be 1loyal to the LORD our God, to walk in His statutes and keep His com- mandments, as at this day.” Solomon Dedicates the Temple 62 Then athe king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices before the LORD. 63 And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered to the LORD, twenty-two thousand bulls and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the LORD. 64 On athe same day the king conse- crated the middle of the court that was in front of the house of the LORD; for there he offered burnt offerings, grain offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings, because the bbronze altar that was before the LORD was too small to receive the burnt offer- ings, the grain offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings. 65 At that time Solomon held aa feast, and all Israel with him, a great assembly from bthe entrance of Hamath to cthe Brook of Egypt, before the LORD our God, dseven days and seven more days—four- teen days. 66 aOn the eighth day he sent the people away; and they 1blessed the king, and went to their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the good that the LORD had done for His servant David, and for Israel His people. God’s Second Appearance to Solomon 9 And ait came to pass, when Solomon had finished building the house of the LORD band the king’s house, and call Solomon’s desire which he wanted to do, 2 that the LORD appeared to Solomon the second time, aas He had appeared to him at Gibeon. 3 And the LORD said to him: a“I have heard your prayer and your supplication that you have made before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built bto put My name there forever, cand My eyes and My heart will be there per- petually. 4 “Now if you awalk before Me bas your father David walked, in in- tegrity of heart and in uprightness, to 45 1justice 46 aPs. 130:3 bLev. 26:34, 44 47 a[Lev. 26:40–42] bDan. 9:5 1Lit. bring back to their heart 48 aJer. 29:12–14 bDan. 6:10 49 1justice 50 aPs. 106:46 51 aDeut. 9:26–29 bJer. 11:4 52 a1 Kin. 8:29 53 aEx. 19:5, 6 54 a2 Chr. 7:1 55 a2 Sam. 6:18 56 a1 Chr. 22:18 bDeut. 12:10 1peace 57 aDeut. 31:6 58 aPs. 119:36 60 a1 Sam. 17:46 bDeut. 4:35, 39 61 aDeut. 18:13 1Lit. at peace with 62 a2 Chr. 7:4–10 64 a2 Chr. 7:7 b2 Chr. 4:1 65 aLev. 23:34 bNum. 34:8 cGen. 15:18 d2 Chr. 7:8 66 a2 Chr. 7:9 1thanked CHAPTER 9 1 a2 Chr. 7:11 b1 Kin. 7:1 c2 Chr. 8:6 2 a1 Kin. 3:5; 11:9 3 aPs. 10:17 b1 Kin. 8:29 cDeut. 11:12 4 aGen. 17:1 b1 Kin. 11:4, 6; 15:5

307 1 KINGS 10:4 do according to all that I have com- manded you, and if you ckeep My statutes and My judgments, 5 “then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, aas I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’ 6 a“But if you or your sons at all 1turn from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, 7 a“then I will 1cut off Israel from the land which I have given them; and this house which I have conse- crated bfor My name I will cast out of My sight. cIsrael will be a proverb and a byword among all peoples. 8 “And as for athis house, which is exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and will hiss, and say, b‘Why has the LORD done thus to this land and to this house?’ 9 “Then they will answer, ‘Be- cause they forsook the LORD their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, and wor- shiped them and served them; therefore the LORD has brought all this acalamity on them.’ ” Solomon and Hiram Exchange Gifts 10 Now ait happened at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the LORD and the king’s house 11 a(Hiram the king of Tyre had supplied Solomon with cedar and cypress and gold, as much as he desired), that King Solomon then gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. 12 Then Hiram went from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him, but they did not please him. 13 So he said, “What kind of cities are these which you have given me, my brother?” aAnd he called them the land of 1Cabul, as they are to this day. 14 Then Hiram sent the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold. Solomon’s Additional Achievements 15 And this is the reason for athe labor force which King Solomon raised: to build the house of the LORD, his own house, 1the bMillo, the wall of Jerusalem, cHazor, dMegiddo, and eGezer. 16 (Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and taken Gezer and burned it with fire, ahad killed the Canaanites who dwelt in the city, and had given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife.) 17 And Solomon built Gezer, Lower aBeth Horon, 18 aBaalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land of Judah, 19 all the storage cities that Solomon had, cities for ahis chariots and cities for his bcavalry, and what- ever Solomon cdesired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. 20 aAll the people who were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not of the children of Israel— 21 that is, their descendants awho were left in the land after them, bwhom the children of Israel had not been able to destroy completely— cfrom these Solomon raised dforced labor, as it is to this day. 22 But of the children of Israel Solomon amade no forced laborers, because they were men of war and his servants: his officers, his cap- tains, commanders of his chariots, and his cavalry. 23 Others were chiefs of the offi- cials who were over Solomon’s work: afive hundred and fifty, who ruled over the people who did the work. 24 But aPharaoh’s daughter came up from the City of David to bher house which 1Solomon had built for her.

— cfrom these Solomon raised dforced labor, as it is to this day. 22 But of the children of Israel Solomon amade no forced laborers, because they were men of war and his servants: his officers, his cap- tains, commanders of his chariots, and his cavalry. 23 Others were chiefs of the offi- cials who were over Solomon’s work: afive hundred and fifty, who ruled over the people who did the work. 24 But aPharaoh’s daughter came up from the City of David to bher house which 1Solomon had built for her. cThen he built the Millo. 25 aNow three times a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar which he had built for the LORD, and he burned incense with them on the altar that was before the LORD. So he finished the temple. 26 aKing Solomon also built a fleet of ships at bEzion Geber, which is near 1Elath on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom. 27 aThen Hiram sent his servants with the fleet, seamen who knew the sea, to work with the servants of Solomon. 28 And they went to aOphir, and acquired four hundred and twenty talents of gold from there, and brought it to King Solomon. The Queen of Sheba’s Praise of Solomon 10 Now when the aqueen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came bto test him with hard questions. 2 She came to Jerusalem with a very great 1retinue, with camels that bore spices, very much gold, and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was in her heart. 3 So Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing 1so dif- ficult for the king that he could not explain it to her. 4 And when the queen of Sheba 4 c1 Kin. 8:61 5 a2 Sam. 7:12, 16 6 a2 Sam. 7:14–16 1turn back 7 a[Lev. 18:24–29] b[Jer. 7:4–14] cPs. 44:14 1destroy 8 a2 Chr. 7:21 b[Deut. 29:24–26] 9 a[Deut. 29:25–28] 10 a2 Chr. 8:1 11 a1 Kin. 5:1 13 aJosh. 19:27 1Lit. Good for Nothing 15 a1 Kin. 5:13 b2 Sam. 5:9 cJosh. 11:1; 19:36 dJosh. 17:11 eJosh. 16:10 1Lit. The Landfill 16 aJosh. 16:10 17 a2 Chr. 8:5 18 aJosh. 19:44 19 a1 Kin. 10:26 b1 Kin. 4:26 c1 Kin. 9:1 20 a2 Chr. 8:7 21 aJudg. 1:21–36; 3:1 bJosh. 15:63; 17:12, 13 cJudg. 1:28, 35 dEzra 2:55, 58 22 a[Lev. 25:39] 23 a2 Chr. 8:10 24 a1 Kin. 3:1 b1 Kin. 7:8 c2 Sam. 5:9 1Lit. he; cf. 2 Chr. 8:11 25 aEx. 23:14–17 26 a2 Chr. 8:17, 18 bNum. 33:35 1Heb. Eloth 27 a1 Kin. 5:6, 9; 10:11 28 aJob 22:24 CHAPTER 10 1 aMatt. 12:42 bJudg. 14:12 2 1company 3 1too

1 KINGS 10:5 308 had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 5 the food on his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their apparel, his cup- bearers, aand his entryway by which he went up to the house of the LORD, there was no more spirit in her. 6 Then she said to the king: “It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. 7 “However I did not believe the words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and indeed the half was not told me. Your wisdom and pros- perity exceed the fame of which I heard. 8 a“Happy are your men and happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom! 9 a“Blessed be the LORD your God, who bdelighted in you, setting you on the throne of Israel! Because the LORD has loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king, cto do justice and righteousness.” 10 Then she agave the king one hun- dred and twenty talents of gold, spices in great quantity, and precious stones. There never again came such abundance of spices as the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. 11 aAlso, the ships of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought great quantities of 1almug wood and precious stones from Ophir. 12 aAnd the king made 1steps of the almug wood for the house of the LORD and for the king’s house, also harps and stringed instruments for singers. There never again came such balmug wood, nor has the like been seen to this day. 13 Now King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired, whatever she asked, besides what Solomon had given her according to the royal generosity. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants. Solomon’s Great Wealth 14 The weight of gold that came to Solomon yearly was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold, 15 besides that from the atraveling merchants, from the income of traders, bfrom all the kings of Ara- bia, and from the governors of the country. 16 And King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of gold went into each shield. 17 He also made athree hundred shields of hammered gold; three minas of gold went into each shield. The king put them in the bHouse of the Forest of Lebanon. 18 aMoreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold. 19 The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round at the back; there were armrests on either side of the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the armrests. 20 Twelve lions stood there, one on each side of the six steps; nothing like this had been made for any other kingdom. 21 aAll King Solomon’s drinking vessels were gold, and all the ves- sels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold.

ver the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold. 19 The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round at the back; there were armrests on either side of the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the armrests. 20 Twelve lions stood there, one on each side of the six steps; nothing like this had been made for any other kingdom. 21 aAll King Solomon’s drinking vessels were gold, and all the ves- sels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Not one was silver, for this was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon. 22 For the king had amerchant1 ships at sea with the fleet of Hiram. Once every three years the mer- chant bships came bringing gold, sil- ver, ivory, apes, and 2monkeys. 23 So aKing Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. 24 Now all the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wis- dom, which God had put in his heart. 25 Each man brought his present: articles of silver and gold, garments, armor, spices, horses, and mules, at a set rate year by year. 26 aAnd Solomon bgathered chari- ots and horsemen; he had one thou- sand four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he 1stationed in the chariot cities and with the king at Jerusalem. 27 aThe king made silver as com- mon in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar trees as abundant as the sycamores which are in the lowland. 28 aAlso Solomon had horses imported from Egypt and Keveh; the king’s merchants bought them in Keveh at the current price. 29 Now a chariot that was im- ported from Egypt cost six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse one hundred and fifty; aand 1thus, through their agents, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria. Solomon’s Heart Turns from the LORD 11 But aKing Solomon loved bmany foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites— 2 from the nations of whom the LORD had said to the children of Israel, a“You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts af- ter their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. 3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hun- dred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart. 4 For it was so, when Solomon was 5 a1 Chr. 26:16; 2 Chr. 9:4 8 aProv. 8:34 9 a1 Kin. 5:7 b2 Sam. 22:20 c2 Sam. 8:15; Ps. 72:2; [Prov. 8:15] 10 aPs. 72:10, 15 11 a1 Kin. 9:27, 28; Job 22:24 1algum, 2 Chr. 9:10, 11 12 a2 Chr. 9:11 b2 Chr. 9:10 1Or supports 15 a2 Chr. 1:16 b2 Chr. 9:24; Ps. 72:10 17 a1 Kin. 14:26 b1 Kin. 7:2 18 a1 Kin. 10:22; 2 Chr. 9:17; Ps. 45:8 21 a2 Chr. 9:20 22 aGen. 10:4; 2 Chr. 20:36 b1 Kin. 9:26–28; 22:48; Ps. 72:10 1Lit. ships of Tarshish, deep-sea ves- sels 2Or pea- cocks 23 a1 Kin. 3:12, 13; 4:30; 2 Chr. 1:12 26 a1 Kin. 4:26; 2 Chr. 1:14; 9:25 b[Deut. 17:16]; 1 Kin. 9:19 1So with LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. (cf. 2 Chr. 9:25); MT led 27 a[Deut. 17:17]; 2 Chr. 1:15–17 28 a[Deut. 17:16]; 2 Chr. 1:16; 9:28 29 aJosh. 1:4; 2 Kin. 7:6, 7 1Lit. by their hands CHAPTER 11 1 a[Neh. 13:26] b[Deut. 17:17]; 1 Kin. 3:1 2 aEx. 34:16; [Deut. 7:3, 4]

309 1 KINGS 11:33 old, athat his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his bheart was not 1loyal to the LORD his God, cas was the heart of his father David. 5 For Solomon went after aAsh- toreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after bMilcom1 the abomination of the cAmmonites. 6 Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and did not fully follow the LORD, as did his father David. 7 aThen Solomon built a 1high place for bChemosh the abomination of Moab, on cthe hill that is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the abom- ination of the people of Ammon. 8 And he did likewise for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods. 9 So the LORD became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from the LORD God of Israel, awho had appeared to him twice, 10 and ahad commanded him con- cerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not keep what the LORD had com- manded. 11 Therefore the LORD said to Sol- omon, “Because you have done this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have com- manded you, aI will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your bservant. 12 “Nevertheless I will not do it in your days, for the sake of your father David; I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13 a“However I will not tear away the whole kingdom; I will give bone tribe to your son cfor the sake of My servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem dwhich I have chosen.” Adversaries of Solomon 14 Now the LORD araised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; he was a descendant of the king in Edom. 15 aFor it happened, when David was in Edom, and Joab the com- mander of the army had gone up to bury the slain, bafter he had killed every male in Edom 16 (because for six months Joab remained there with all Israel, until he had cut down every male in Edom), 17 that Hadad fled to go to Egypt, he and certain Edomites of his father’s servants with him. Hadad was still a little child. 18 Then they arose from Midian and came to Paran; and they took men with them from Paran and came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave him a house, apportioned food for him, and gave him land. 19 And Hadad found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him as wife the sister of his own wife, that is, the sister of Queen Tahpenes. 20 Then the sister of Tahpenes bore him Genubath his son, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh’s house. And Genubath was in Pharaoh’s household among the sons of Pharaoh. 21 aSo when Hadad heard in Egypt that David 1rested with his fathers, and that Joab the commander of the army was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, 2“Let me depart, that I may go to my own country.” 22 Then Pharaoh said to him, “But what have you lacked with me, that suddenly you seek to go to your own country?” So he answered, “Nothing, but do let me go anyway.” 23 And God raised up another adversary against him, Rezon the son of Eliadah, who had fled from his lord, aHadadezer king of Zobah. 24 So he gathered men to him and became captain over a band of raiders, awhen David killed those of Zobah.

f the army was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, 2“Let me depart, that I may go to my own country.” 22 Then Pharaoh said to him, “But what have you lacked with me, that suddenly you seek to go to your own country?” So he answered, “Nothing, but do let me go anyway.” 23 And God raised up another adversary against him, Rezon the son of Eliadah, who had fled from his lord, aHadadezer king of Zobah. 24 So he gathered men to him and became captain over a band of raiders, awhen David killed those of Zobah. And they went to Damascus and dwelt there, and reigned in Damascus. 25 He was an adversary of Israel all the days of Solomon (besides the trouble that Hadad caused); and he abhorred Israel, and reigned over Syria. Jeroboam’s Rebellion 26 Then Solomon’s servant, aJer- oboam the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite from Zereda, whose mother’s name was Zeruah, a widow, balso crebelled against the king. 27 And this is what caused him to rebel against the king: aSolomon had built the Millo and 1repaired the damages to the City of David his father. 28 The man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valor; and Solomon, seeing that the young man was ain- dustrious, made him the officer over all the labor force of the house of Joseph. 29 Now it happened at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet aAhijah the Shilonite met him on the way; and he had clothed himself with a new garment, and the two were alone in the field. 30 Then Ahijah took hold of the new garment that was on him, and atore it into twelve pieces. 31 And he said to Jeroboam, “Take for yourself ten pieces, for athus says the LORD, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and will give ten tribes to you 32 ‘(but he shall have one tribe for the sake of My servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel), 33 a‘because 1they have forsaken Me, and worshiped Ashtoreth the 4 a[Deut. 17:17; Neh. 13:26] b1 Kin. 8:61 c1 Kin. 9:4 1Lit. at peace with 5 aJudg. 2:13; 1 Kin. 11:33 b[Lev. 20:2–5] c2 Kin. 23:13 1Or Molech 7 aNum. 33:52 bNum. 21:29; Judg. 11:24 c2 Kin. 23:13 1A place for pagan wor- ship 9 a1 Kin. 3:5; 9:2 10 a1 Kin. 6:12; 9:6, 7 11 a1 Kin. 11:31; 12:15, 16 b1 Kin. 11:31, 37 13 a2 Sam. 7:15; 1 Chr. 17:13; Ps. 89:33 b1 Kin. 12:20 c2 Sam. 7:15, 16 dDeut. 12:11; 1 Kin. 9:3; 14:21 14 a1 Chr. 5:26 15 a2 Sam. 8:14; 1 Chr. 18:12, 13 bNum. 24:18, 19; [Deut. 20:13] 21 a1 Kin. 2:10, 34 1Died and joined his ancestors 2Lit. Send me away 23 a2 Sam. 8:3; 10:16 24 a2 Sam. 8:3; 10:8, 18 26 a1 Kin. 12:2 b1 Kin. 11:11; 2 Chr. 13:6 c2 Sam. 20:21 27 a1 Kin. 9:15, 24 1Lit. closed up the breaches 28 a[Prov. 22:29] 29 a1 Kin. 12:15; 14:2; 2 Chr. 9:29 30 a1 Sam. 15:27, 28; 24:5 31 a1 Kin. 11:11, 13 33 a1 Sam. 7:3; 1 Kin. 11:5–8 1So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Syr., Vg. he has

1 KINGS 11:34 310 goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Mil- com the god of the people of Ammon, and have not walked in My ways to do what is right in My eyes and keep My statutes and My judg- ments, as did his father David. 34 ‘However I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, because I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of My servant David, whom I chose because he kept My command- ments and My statutes. 35 ‘But aI will take the kingdom out of his son’s hand and give it to you—ten tribes. 36 ‘And to his son I will give one tribe, that aMy servant David may always have a lamp before Me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen for Myself, to put My name there. 37 ‘So I will take you, and you shall reign over all your heart desires, and you shall be king over Israel. 38 ‘Then it shall be, if you heed all that I command you, walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as My servant David did, then aI will be with you and bbuild for you an enduring house, as I built for David, and will give Israel to you. 39 ‘And I will afflict the descen- dants of David because of this, but not forever.’ ” 40 Solomon therefore sought to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam arose and fled to Egypt, to aShishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon. Death of Solomon 41 Now athe rest of the acts of Sol- omon, all that he did, and his wis- dom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon? 42 aAnd the period that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years. 43 aThen Solomon 1rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David his father. And Rehoboam his son reigned in his bplace. The Revolt Against Rehoboam 12 And aRehoboam went to bShechem, for all Israel had gone to Shechem to make him king. 2 So it happened, when aJer- oboam the son of Nebat heard it (he was still in bEgypt, for he had fled from the presence of King Solomon and had been dwelling in Egypt), 3 that they sent and called him. Then Jeroboam and the whole assembly of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, 4 “Your father made our ayoke 1heavy; now therefore, lighten the burdensome service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.” 5 So he said to them, “Depart for three days, then come back to me.” And the people departed. 6 Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who stood before his father Solomon while he still lived, and he said, “How do you advise me to answer these people?” 7 And they spoke to him, saying, a“If you will be a servant to these people today, and serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be your ser- vants forever.” 8 But he rejected the advice which the elders had given him, and con- sulted the young men who had grown up with him, who stood before him. 9 And he said to them, “What advice do you give?

ers who stood before his father Solomon while he still lived, and he said, “How do you advise me to answer these people?” 7 And they spoke to him, saying, a“If you will be a servant to these people today, and serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be your ser- vants forever.” 8 But he rejected the advice which the elders had given him, and con- sulted the young men who had grown up with him, who stood before him. 9 And he said to them, “What advice do you give? How should we answer this people who have spo- ken to me, saying, ‘Lighten the yoke which your father put on us’?” 10 Then the young men who had grown up with him spoke to him, saying, “Thus you should speak to this people who have spoken to you, saying, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you make it lighter on us’—thus you shall say to them: ‘My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s waist! 11 ‘And now, whereas my father put a heavy yoke on you, I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with 1scourges!’ ” 12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had directed, saying, “Come back to me the third day.” 13 Then the king answered the people 1roughly, and rejected the advice which the elders had given him; 14 and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, say- ing, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with 1scourges!” 15 So the king did not listen to the people; for athe turn of events was from the LORD, that He might fulfill His word, which the LORD had bspo- ken by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jer- oboam the son of Nebat. 16 Now when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, saying: a“What share have we in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel! Now, see to your own house, O David!” So Israel departed to their tents. 17 But Rehoboam reigned over athe 35 a1 Kin. 12:16, 17 36 a[1 Kin. 15:4; 2 Kin. 8:19] 38 aDeut. 31:8; Josh. 1:5 b2 Sam. 7:11, 27 40 a1 Kin. 11:17; 14:25; 2 Chr. 12:2–9 41 a2 Chr. 9:29 42 a2 Chr. 9:30 43 a1 Kin. 2:10; 2 Chr. 9:31 b1 Kin. 14:21; 2 Chr. 10:1 1Died and joined his ancestors CHAPTER 12 1 a2 Chr. 10:1 bJudg. 9:6 2 a1 Kin. 11:26 b1 Kin. 11:40 4 a1 Sam. 8:11–18; 1 Kin. 4:7; 5:13–15 1hard 7 a2 Chr. 10:7; [Prov. 15:1] 11 1Scourges with points or barbs, lit. scorpions 13 1harshly 14 1Lit. scor- pions 15 aDeut. 2:30; Judg. 14:4; 1 Kin. 12:24; 2 Chr. 10:15 b1 Kin. 11:11, 29, 31 16 a2 Sam. 20:1 17 a1 Kin. 11:13, 36; 2 Chr. 11:14–17

311 1 KINGS 13:10 children of Israel who dwelt in the cities of Judah. 18 Then King Rehoboam asent Adoram, who was in charge of the revenue; but all Israel stoned him with stones, and he died. Therefore King Rehoboam mounted his char- iot in haste to flee to Jerusalem. 19 So aIsrael has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day. 20 Now it came to pass when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had come back, they sent for him and called him to the congregation, and made him king over all aIsrael. There was none who followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah bonly. 21 And when aRehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah with the tribe of bBenjamin, one hundred and eighty thousand chosen men who were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, that he might restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. 22 But athe word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying, 23 “Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, to all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, saying, 24 ‘Thus says the LORD: “You shall not go up nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel. Let every man return to his house, afor this thing is from Me.” ’ ” Therefore they obeyed the word of the LORD, and turned back, according to the word of the LORD. Jeroboam’s Gold Calves 25 Then Jeroboam abuilt1 Shechem in the mountains of Ephraim, and dwelt there. Also he went out from there and built bPenuel. 26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom may return to the house of David: 27 “If these people ago up to offer sacrifices in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn back to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and go back to Rehoboam king of Judah.” 28 Therefore the king asked advice, amade two calves of gold, and said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. bHere are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!” 29 And he set up one in aBethel, and the other he put in bDan. 30 Now this thing became aa sin, for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan. 31 He made 1shrines on the high places, aand made priests from every class of people, who were not of the sons of Levi. 32 Jeroboam 1ordained a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like athe feast that was in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. So he did at Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made. bAnd at Bethel he installed the priests of the high places which he had made. 33 So he made offerings on the altar which he had made at Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in the month which he had adevised in his own heart. And he 1ordained a feast for the children of Israel, and offered sacrifices on the altar and bburned incense. The Message of the Man of God 13 And behold, aa man of God went from Judah to Bethel 1by the word of the LORD, band Jer- oboam stood by the altar to burn incense. 2 Then he cried out against the altar 1by the word of the LORD, and said, “O altar, altar!

on the altar which he had made at Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in the month which he had adevised in his own heart. And he 1ordained a feast for the children of Israel, and offered sacrifices on the altar and bburned incense. The Message of the Man of God 13 And behold, aa man of God went from Judah to Bethel 1by the word of the LORD, band Jer- oboam stood by the altar to burn incense. 2 Then he cried out against the altar 1by the word of the LORD, and said, “O altar, altar! Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, a child, aJosiah by name, shall be born to the house of David; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and men’s bones shall be bburned on you.’ ” 3 And he gave aa sign the same day, saying, “This is the sign which the LORD has spoken: Surely the altar shall split apart, and the ashes on it shall be poured out.” 4 So it came to pass when King Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, who cried out against the altar in Bethel, that he stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Arrest him!” Then his hand, which he stretched out toward him, with- ered, so that he could not pull it back to himself. 5 The altar also was split apart, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD. 6 Then the king answered and said to the man of God, “Please aen- treat the favor of the LORD your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me.” So the man of God entreated the LORD, and the king’s hand was restored to him, and became as before. 7 Then the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me and refresh yourself, and aI will give you a reward.” 8 But the man of God said to the king, a“If you were to give me half your house, I would not go in with you; nor would I eat bread nor drink water in this place. 9 “For so it was commanded me by the word of the LORD, saying, a‘You shall not eat bread, nor drink water, nor return by the same way you came.’ ” 10 So he went another way and did 18 a1 Kin. 4:6; 5:14 19 a2 Kin. 17:21 20 a2 Kin. 17:21 b1 Kin. 11:13, 32, 36 21 a2 Chr. 11:1–4 b2 Sam. 19:17 22 a2 Chr. 11:2; 12:5–7 24 a1 Kin. 12:15 25 aGen. 12:6; Judg. 9:45–49; 1 Kin. 12:1 bGen. 32:30, 31; Judg. 8:8, 17 1fortified 27 a[Deut. 12:5–7, 14] 28 a2 Kin. 10:29; 17:16; [Hos. 8:4–7] bEx. 32:4, 8 29 aGen. 28:19 bJudg. 18:26–31 30 a1 Kin. 13:34; 2 Kin. 17:21 31 a[Num. 3:10; 17:1–11]; Judg. 17:5; 1 Kin. 13:33; 2 Kin. 17:32; 2 Chr. 11:14, 15 1Lit. a house; cf. 1 Kin. 13:32, lit. houses 32 aLev. 23:33, 34; Num. 29:12; 1 Kin. 8:2, 5 bAmos 7:10–13 1insti- tuted 33 aNum. 15:39 b1 Kin. 13:1 1instituted CHAPTER 13 1 a2 Kin. 23:17 b1 Kin. 12:32, 33 1at the LORD’s com- mand 2 a2 Kin. 23:15, 16 b[Lev. 26:30] 1at the LORD’s com- mand 3 aEx. 4:1–5; Judg. 6:17; Is. 7:14; 38:7; John 2:18; 1 Cor. 1:22 6 aEx. 8:8; 9:28; 10:17; Num. 21:7; Jer. 37:3; Acts 8:24; [James 5:16] 7 a1 Sam. 9:7; 2 Kin. 5:15 8 aNum. 22:18; 24:13; 1 Kin. 13:16, 17 9 a[1 Cor. 5:11]

1 KINGS 13:11 312 not return by the way he came to Bethel. Death of the Man of God 11 Now an aold prophet dwelt in Bethel, and his 1sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel; they also told their father the words which he had spoken to the king. 12 And their father said to them, “Which way did he go?” For his sons 1had seen which way the man of God went who came from Judah. 13 Then he said to his sons, “Sad- dle the donkey for me.” So they sad- dled the donkey for him; and he rode on it, 14 and went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak. Then he said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” And he said, “I am.” 15 Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat bread.” 16 And he said, a“I cannot return with you nor go in with you; neither can I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place. 17 “For 1I have been told aby the word of the LORD, ‘You shall not eat bread nor drink water there, nor return by going the way you came.’ ” 18 He said to him, “I too am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the LORD, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.’ ” (He was lying to him.) 19 So he went back with him, and ate bread in his house, and drank water. 20 Now it happened, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came to the prophet who had brought him back; 21 and he cried out to the man of God who came from Judah, saying, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Because you have disobeyed the word of the LORD, and have not kept the com- mandment which the LORD your God commanded you, 22 ‘but you came back, ate bread, and drank water in the aplace of which the LORD said to you, “Eat no bread and drink no water,” your corpse shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.’ ” 23 So it was, after he had eaten bread and after he had drunk, that he saddled the donkey for him, the prophet whom he had brought back. 24 When he was gone, aa lion met him on the road and killed him. And his corpse was thrown on the road, and the donkey stood by it. The lion also stood by the corpse. 25 And there, men passed by and saw the corpse thrown on the road, and the lion standing by the corpse. Then they went and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt. 26 Now when the prophet who had brought him back from the way heard it, he said, “It is the man of God who was disobedient to the word of the LORD. Therefore the LORD has delivered him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke to him.” 27 And he spoke to his sons, say- ing, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled it. 28 Then he went and found his corpse thrown on the road, and the donkey and the lion standing by the corpse. The lion had not eaten the corpse nor torn the donkey. 29 And the prophet took up the corpse of the man of God, laid it on the donkey, and brought it back.

LORD. Therefore the LORD has delivered him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke to him.” 27 And he spoke to his sons, say- ing, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled it. 28 Then he went and found his corpse thrown on the road, and the donkey and the lion standing by the corpse. The lion had not eaten the corpse nor torn the donkey. 29 And the prophet took up the corpse of the man of God, laid it on the donkey, and brought it back. So the old prophet came to the city to mourn, and to bury him. 30 Then he laid the corpse in his own tomb; and they mourned over him, saying, a“Alas, my brother!” 31 So it was, after he had buried him, that he spoke to his sons, say- ing, “When I am dead, then bury me in the tomb where the man of God is buried; alay my bones beside his bones. 32 a“For the 1saying which he cried out by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel, and against all the 2shrines on the high places which are in the cities of bSamaria, will surely come to pass.” 33 aAfter this event Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but again he made priests from every class of people for the high places; whoever wished, he consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of the high places. 34 aAnd this thing was the sin of the house of Jeroboam, so as bto exterminate and destroy it from the face of the earth. Judgment on the House of Jeroboam 14 At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam became sick. 2 And Jeroboam said to his wife, “Please arise, and disguise yourself, that they may not recognize you as the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh. Indeed, Ahijah the prophet is there, who told me that aI would be king over this people. 3 a“Also take 1with you ten loaves, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him; he will tell you what will become of the child.” 4 And Jeroboam’s wife did so; she arose aand went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see, for his eyes were 1glazed by reason of his age. 11 a1 Kin. 13:25 1Lit. son 12 1LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. showed him 16 a1 Kin. 13:8, 9 17 a1 Kin. 20:35; 1 Thess. 4:15 1Lit. a com- mand came to me by 22 a1 Kin. 13:9 24 a1 Kin. 20:36 30 aJer. 22:18 31 aRuth 1:17; 2 Kin. 23:17, 18 32 a1 Kin. 13:2; 2 Kin. 23:16, 19 b1 Kin. 16:24; John 4:5; Acts 8:14 1Lit. word 2Lit. houses 33 a1 Kin. 12:31, 32; 2 Chr. 11:15; 13:9 34 a1 Kin. 12:30; 2 Kin. 17:21 b[1 Kin. 14:10; 15:29, 30] CHAPTER 14 2 a1 Kin. 11:29–31 3 a1 Sam. 9:7, 8; 1 Kin. 13:7; 2 Kin. 4:42 1Lit. in your hand 4 a1 Kin. 11:29 1Lit. set

313 1 KINGS 14:31 5 Now the LORD had said to Ahi- jah, “Here is the wife of Jeroboam, coming to ask you something about her son, for he is sick. Thus and thus you shall say to her; for it will be, when she comes in, that she will pretend to be another woman.” 6 And so it was, when Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps as she came through the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be another person? For I have been sent to you with bad news. 7 “Go, tell Jeroboam, ‘Thus says the LORD God of Israel: a“Because I ex- alted you from among the people, and made you ruler over My people Israel, 8 “and atore the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it to you; and yet you have not been as My servant David, bwho kept My commandments and who followed Me with all his heart, to do only what was right in My eyes; 9 “but you have done more evil than all who were before you, afor you have gone and made for your- self other gods and molded images to provoke Me to anger, and bhave cast Me behind your back— 10 “therefore behold! aI will bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam, and bwill cut off from Jeroboam every male in Israel, cbond and free; I will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as one takes away refuse until it is all gone. 11 “The dogs shall eat awhoever belongs to Jeroboam and dies in the city, and the birds of the air shall eat whoever dies in the field; for the LORD has spoken!” ’ 12 “Arise therefore, go to your own house. aWhen your feet enter the city, the child shall die. 13 “And all Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for he is the only one of Jeroboam who shall 1come to the grave, because in him athere is found something good toward the LORD God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam. 14 a“Moreover the LORD will raise up for Himself a king over Israel who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam; 1this is the day. What? Even now! 15 “For the LORD will strike Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water. He will auproot Israel from this bgood land which He gave to their fathers, and will scatter them cbeyond 1the River, dbecause they have made their 2wooden images, provoking the LORD to anger. 16 “And He will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, awho sinned and who made Israel sin.” 17 Then Jeroboam’s wife arose and departed, and came to aTirzah. bWhen she came to the threshold of the house, the child died. 18 And they buried him; and all Israel mourned for him, aaccording to the word of the LORD which He spoke through His servant Ahijah the prophet. Death of Jeroboam 19 Now the rest of the acts of Jer- oboam, how he amade war and how he reigned, indeed they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. 20 The period that Jeroboam reigned was twenty-two years. So he rested with his fathers. Then aNadab his son reigned in his place. Rehoboam Reigns in Judah 21 And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. aRe- hoboam was forty-one years old when he became king. He reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city bwhich the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put His name there. cHis mother’s name was Naamah, an Ammonitess. 22 aNow Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they bprovoked Him to jealousy with their sins which they committed, more than all that their fathers had done. 23 For they also built for them- selves ahigh1 places, bsacred pillars, and cwooden images on every high hill and dunder every green tree. 24 aAnd there were also 1perverted persons in the land. They did according to all the babominations of the nations which the LORD had cast out before the children of cIs- rael. 25 aIt happened in the fifth year of King Rehoboam that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. 26 aAnd he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king’s house; he took away everything.

h1 places, bsacred pillars, and cwooden images on every high hill and dunder every green tree. 24 aAnd there were also 1perverted persons in the land. They did according to all the babominations of the nations which the LORD had cast out before the children of cIs- rael. 25 aIt happened in the fifth year of King Rehoboam that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. 26 aAnd he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king’s house; he took away everything. He also took away all the gold shields bwhich Solomon had made. 27 Then King Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place, and 1committed them to the hands of the captains of the 2guard, who guarded the doorway of the king’s house. 28 And whenever the king entered the house of the LORD, the guards carried them, then brought them back into the guardroom. 29 aNow the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 30 And there was awar between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days. 31 aSo Rehoboam 1rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. bHis mother’s name was Naamah, an Ammonitess. Then cAbijam2 his son reigned in his place. 7 a1 Kin. 16:2 8 a1 Kin. 11:31 b1 Kin. 11:33, 38; 15:5 9 a1 Kin. 12:28 bPs. 50:17 10 a1 Kin. 15:29 b1 Kin. 21:21 cDeut. 32:36 11 a1 Kin. 16:4; 21:24 12 a1 Kin. 14:17 13 a2 Chr. 12:12; 19:3 1Be buried 14 a1 Kin. 15:27–29 1Or this day and from now on 15 a2 Kin. 17:6 b[Josh. 23:15, 16] c2 Kin. 15:29 d[Ex. 34:13, 14] 1The Eu- phrates 2Heb. Asherim, Canaanite deities 16 a1 Kin. 12:30; 13:34; 15:30, 34; 16:2 17 aSong 6:4 b1 Kin. 14:12 18 a1 Kin. 14:13 19 a2 Chr. 13:2–20 20 a1 Kin. 15:25 21 a2 Chr. 12:13 b1 Kin. 11:32, 36 c1 Kin. 14:31 22 a2 Chr. 12:1, 14 bDeut. 32:21 23 aDeut. 12:2 b[Deut. 16:22] c[2 Kin. 17:9, 10] dIs. 57:5 1Places for pagan wor- ship 24 aDeut. 23:17 bDeut. 20:18 c[Deut. 9:4, 5] 1Heb. qadesh, one practicing sodomy and prostitution in religious ritu- als 25 a1 Kin. 11:40 26 a2 Chr. 12:9–11 b1 Kin. 10:17 27 1entrusted 2Lit. runners 29 a2 Chr. 12:15, 16 30 a1 Kin. 12:21–24; 15:6 31 a2 Chr. 12:16 b1 Kin. 14:21 c2 Chr. 12:16 1Died and joined his ancestors 2Abijah, 2 Chr. 12:16

1 KINGS 15:1 314 Abijam Reigns in Judah 15 aIn the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam the son of Nebat, Abijam became king over Judah. 2 He reigned three years in Jerusalem. aHis mother’s name was bMaachah the granddaughter of cAbishalom. 3 And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him; ahis heart was not 1loyal to the LORD his God, as was the heart of his father David. 4 Nevertheless afor David’s sake the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, by setting up his son after him and by establishing Jerusalem; 5 because David adid what was right in the eyes of the LORD, and had not turned aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, bexcept in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. 6 aAnd there was war between 1Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life. 7 aNow the rest of the acts of Abi- jam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and Jer- oboam. 8 aSo Abijam 1rested with his fathers, and they buried him in the City of David. Then Asa his son reigned in his place. Asa Reigns in Judah 9 In the twentieth year of Jer- oboam king of Israel, Asa became king over Judah. 10 And he reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem. His grandmother’s name was Maachah the grand- daughter of Abishalom. 11 aAsa did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, as did his father David. 12 aAnd he banished the 1perverted persons from the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. 13 Also he removed aMaachah his grandmother from being queen mother, because she had made an obscene image of 1Asherah. And Asa cut down her obscene image and bburned it by the Brook Kidron. 14 aBut the 1high places were not removed. Nevertheless Asa’s bheart was loyal to the LORD all his days. 15 He also brought into the house of the LORD the things which his father ahad dedicated, and the things which he himself had dedi- cated: silver and gold and utensils. 16 Now there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. 17 And aBaasha king of Israel came up against Judah, and built bRamah, cthat he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. 18 Then Asa took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the house of the LORD and the treasuries of the king’s house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants. And King Asa sent them to aBen-Hadad the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, who dwelt in bDamascus, saying, 19 “Let there be a treaty between you and me, as there was between my father and your father. See, I have sent you a present of silver and gold. Come and break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.” 20 So Ben-Hadad heeded King Asa, and asent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel. He attacked bIjon, cDan, dAbel Beth Maachah, and all Chinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali. 21 Now it happened, when Baasha heard it, that he stopped building Ramah, and remained in aTirzah. 22 aThen King Asa made a procla- mation throughout all Judah; none was exempted. And they took away the stones and timber of Ramah, which Baasha had used for build- ing; and with them King Asa built bGeba of Benjamin, and cMizpah. 23 The rest of all the acts of Asa, all his might, all that he did, and the cities which he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? But ain the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet. 24 So Asa 1rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David his father.

e was exempted. And they took away the stones and timber of Ramah, which Baasha had used for build- ing; and with them King Asa built bGeba of Benjamin, and cMizpah. 23 The rest of all the acts of Asa, all his might, all that he did, and the cities which he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? But ain the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet. 24 So Asa 1rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David his father. aThen bJehoshaphat his son reigned in his place. Nadab Reigns in Israel 25 Now aNadab the son of Jer- oboam became king over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years. 26 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in ahis sin by which he had made Israel sin. 27 aThen Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him. And Baasha killed him at bGibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines, while Nadab and all Israel laid siege to Gibbethon. 28 Baasha killed him in the third year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his place. 29 And it was so, when he became king, that he killed all the house of Jeroboam. He did not leave to Jer- oboam anyone that breathed, until he had destroyed him, according to athe word of the LORD which He had spo- CHAPTER 15 1 a2 Chr. 13:1 2 a2 Chr. 11:20–22 b2 Chr. 13:2 c2 Chr. 11:21 3 aPs. 119:80 1Lit. at peace with 4 a2 Sam. 21:17 5 a1 Kin. 9:4; 14:8 b2 Sam. 11:3, 15–17; 12:9, 10 6 a1 Kin. 14:30 1So with MT, LXX, Tg., Vg.; some Heb. mss., Syr. Abi- jam 7 a2 Chr. 13:2–22 8 a2 Chr. 14:1 1Died and joined his ancestors 11 a2 Chr. 14:2 12 a1 Kin. 14:24; 22:46 1Heb. qedeshim, those practic- ing sodomy and prostitu- tion in reli- gious rituals 13 a2 Chr. 15:16–18 bEx. 32:20 1A Canaanite goddess 14 a1 Kin. 3:2; 22:43 b1 Kin. 8:61; 15:3 1Places for pagan wor- ship 15 a1 Kin. 7:51 17 a2 Chr. 16:1–6 bJosh. 18:25 c1 Kin. 12:26–29 18 a2 Chr. 16:2 b1 Kin. 11:23, 24 20 a1 Kin. 20:1 b2 Kin. 15:29 cJudg. 18:29 d2 Sam. 20:14, 15 21 a1 Kin. 14:17; 16:15–18 22 a2 Chr. 16:6 bJosh. 21:17 cJosh. 18:26 23 a2 Chr. 16:11–14 24 a2 Chr. 17:1 bMatt. 1:8 1Died and joined his ancestors 25 a1 Kin. 14:20 26 a1 Kin. 12:28–33; 14:16 27 a1 Kin. 14:14 bJosh. 19:44; 21:23 29 a1 Kin. 14:10–14

315 1 KINGS 16:24 ken by His servant Ahijah the Shi- lonite, 30 abecause of the sins of Jer- oboam, which he had sinned and by which he had made Israel sin, because of his provocation with which he had provoked the LORD God of Israel to anger. 31 Now the rest of the acts of Nadab, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chron- icles of the kings of Israel? 32 aAnd there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. Baasha Reigns in Israel 33 In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha the son of Ahijah became king over all Israel in Tirzah, and reigned twenty-four years. 34 He did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in athe way of Jeroboam, and in his sin by which he had made Israel sin. 16 Then the word of the LORD came to aJehu the son of bHanani, against cBaasha, saying: 2 a“Inasmuch as I lifted you out of the dust and made you ruler over My people Israel, and byou have walked in the way of Jeroboam, and have made My people Israel sin, to provoke Me to anger with their sins, 3 “surely I will atake1 away the posterity of Baasha and the poster- ity of his house, and I will make your house like bthe house of Jer- oboam the son of Nebat. 4 “The dogs shall eat awhoever belongs to Baasha and dies in the city, and the birds of the air shall eat whoever dies in the fields.” 5 Now the rest of the acts of Baasha, what he did, and his might, aare they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 6 So Baasha 1rested with his fathers and was buried in aTirzah. Then Elah his son reigned in his place. 7 And also the word of the LORD came by the prophet aJehu the son of Hanani against Baasha and his house, because of all the evil that he did in the sight of the LORD in pro- voking Him to anger with the work of his hands, in being like the house of Jeroboam, and because bhe killed them. Elah Reigns in Israel 8 In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah, Elah the son of Baasha became king over Israel, and reigned two years in Tirzah. 9 aNow his servant Zimri, com- mander of half his chariots, con- spired against him as he was in Tirzah drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, bsteward1 of his house in Tirzah. 10 And Zimri went in and struck him and killed him in the twenty- seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his place. 11 Then it came to pass, when he began to reign, as soon as he was seated on his throne, that he killed all the household of Baasha; he adid not leave him one male, neither of his relatives nor of his friends. 12 Thus Zimri destroyed all the household of Baasha, aaccording to the word of the LORD, which He spoke against Baasha by Jehu the prophet, 13 for all the sins of Baasha and the sins of Elah his son, by which they had sinned and by which they had made Israel sin, in provoking the LORD God of Israel to anger awith their 1idols. 14 Now the rest of the acts of Elah, and all that he did, are they not writ- ten in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? Zimri Reigns in Israel 15 In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, Zimri had reigned in Tirzah seven days.

the LORD, which He spoke against Baasha by Jehu the prophet, 13 for all the sins of Baasha and the sins of Elah his son, by which they had sinned and by which they had made Israel sin, in provoking the LORD God of Israel to anger awith their 1idols. 14 Now the rest of the acts of Elah, and all that he did, are they not writ- ten in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? Zimri Reigns in Israel 15 In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, Zimri had reigned in Tirzah seven days. And the people were encamped aagainst Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines. 16 Now the people who were encamped heard it said, “Zimri has conspired and also has killed the king.” So all Israel made Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel that day in the camp. 17 Then Omri and all Israel with him went up from Gibbethon, and they besieged Tirzah. 18 And it happened, when Zimri saw that the city was 1taken, that he went into the citadel of the king’s house and burned the king’s house 2down upon himself with fire, and died, 19 because of the sins which he had committed in doing evil in the sight of the LORD, ain walking in the bway of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he had committed to make Israel sin. 20 Now the rest of the acts of Zimri, and the treason he committed, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? Omri Reigns in Israel 21 Then the people of Israel were divided into two parts: half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make him king, and half followed Omri. 22 But the people who followed Omri prevailed over the people who followed Tibni the son of Ginath. So Tibni died and Omri reigned. 23 In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, Omri became king over Israel, and reigned twelve years. Six years he reigned in aTirzah. 24 And he bought the hill of 30 a1 Kin. 14:9, 16 32 a1 Kin. 15:16 34 a1 Kin. 13:33; 14:16 CHAPTER 16 1 a1 Kin. 16:7; 2 Chr. 19:2; 20:34 b2 Chr. 16:7–10 c1 Kin. 15:27 2 a1 Sam. 2:8; 1 Kin. 14:7 b1 Kin. 12:25–33; 15:34 3 a1 Kin. 16:11; 21:21 b1 Kin. 14:10; 15:29 1con- sume 4 a1 Kin. 14:11; 21:24 5 a2 Chr. 16:11 6 a1 Kin. 14:17; 15:21 1Died and joined his ancestors 7 a1 Kin. 16:1 b1 Kin. 15:27, 29 9 a2 Kin. 9:30–33 bGen. 24:2; 39:4; 1 Kin. 18:3 1Lit. who was over the house 11 a1 Sam. 25:22 12 a1 Kin. 16:3 13 aDeut. 32:21; 1 Sam. 12:21; [Is. 41:29; Jon. 2:8; 1 Cor. 8:4; 10:19] 1Lit. vanities 15 a1 Kin. 15:27 18 1captured 2Lit. over him 19 a1 Kin. 15:26, 34 b1 Kin. 12:25–33 23 a1 Kin. 15:21; 2 Kin. 15:14

1 KINGS 16:25 316 Samaria from Shemer for two tal- ents of silver; then he built on the hill, and called the name of the city which he built, aSamaria,1 after the name of Shemer, owner of the hill. 25 aOmri did evil in the eyes of the LORD, and did worse than all who were before him. 26 For he awalked in all the ways of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sin by which he had made Israel sin, provoking the LORD God of Israel to anger with their bidols.1 27 Now the rest of the acts of Omri which he did, and the might that he showed, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 28 So Omri rested with his fathers and was buried in Samaria. Then Ahab his son reigned in his place. Ahab Reigns in Israel 29 In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab the son of Omri became king over Israel; and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years. 30 Now Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD, more than all who were before him. 31 And it came to pass, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, athat he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the bSidonians; cand he went and served Baal and worshiped him. 32 Then he set up an altar for Baal in athe temple of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. 33 aAnd Ahab made a 1wooden image. Ahab bdid more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him. 34 In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho. He laid its foundation 1with Abiram his firstborn, and with his youngest son Segub he set up its gates, aaccording to the word of the LORD, which He had spoken through Joshua the son of Nun. Elijah Proclaims a Drought 17 And Elijah the Tishbite, of the ainhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, b“As the LORD God of Israel lives, cbefore whom I stand, dthere shall not be dew nor rain ethese years, except at my word.” 2 Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 3 “Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jor- dan. 4 “And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the aravens to feed you there.” 5 So he went and did according to the word of the LORD, for he went and stayed by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook. 7 And it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land. Elijah and the Widow 8 Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 9 “Arise, go to aZarephath, which belongs to bSidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.” 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks.

in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook. 7 And it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land. Elijah and the Widow 8 Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 9 “Arise, go to aZarephath, which belongs to bSidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.” 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink.” 11 And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” 12 So she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a lit- tle oil in a 1jar; and see, I am gather- ing a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and adie.” 13 And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. 14 “For thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the LORD sends rain on the earth.’ ” 15 So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days. 16 The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke by Elijah. Elijah Revives the Widow’s Son 17 Now it happened after these things that the son of the woman who owned the house became sick. And his sickness was so 1serious that 2there was no breath left in him. 18 So she said to Elijah, a“What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son?” 19 And he said to her, “Give me your son.” So he took him out of her arms and carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed. 20 Then he cried out to the LORD and said, “O LORD my God, have You also brought tragedy on the widow 24 a1 Kin. 13:32; 2 Kin. 17:24; John 4:4 1Heb. Shomeron 25 aMic. 6:16 26 a1 Kin. 16:19 b1 Kin. 16:13 1Lit. vanities 31 aDeut. 7:3 bJudg. 18:7; 1 Kin. 11:1–5 c1 Kin. 21:25, 26; 2 Kin. 10:18; 17:16 32 a2 Kin. 10:21, 26, 27 33 a2 Kin. 13:6 b1 Kin. 14:9; 16:29, 30; 21:25 1Heb. Asherah, a Canaanite goddess 34 aJosh. 6:26 1At the cost of the life of CHAPTER 17 1 aJudg. 12:4 b1 Kin. 18:10; 22:14; 2 Kin. 3:14; 5:20 cDeut. 10:8 d1 Kin. 18:1; James 5:17 eLuke 4:25 4 aJob 38:41 9 aObad. 20; Luke 4:25, 26 b2 Sam. 24:6 12 aDeut. 28:23, 24 1Lit. pitcher or water jar 17 1severe 2He died. 18 aLuke 5:8

317 1 KINGS 18:26 with whom I lodge, by killing her son?” 21 aAnd he stretched himself out on the child three times, and cried out to the LORD and said, “O LORD my God, I pray, let this child’s soul come back to him.” 22 Then the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back to him, and he arevived. 23 And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives!” 24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now by this aI know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is the truth.” Elijah’s Message to Ahab 18 And it came to pass after amany days that the word of the LORD came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go, present yourself to Ahab, and bI will send rain on the earth.” 2 So Elijah went to present him- self to Ahab; and there was a severe famine in Samaria. 3 And Ahab had called Obadiah, who was 1in charge of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly. 4 For so it was, while Jezebel 1massacred the prophets of the LORD, that Obadiah had taken one hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty to a cave, and had fed them with bread and water.) 5 And Ahab had said to Obadiah, “Go into the land to all the springs of water and to all the brooks; per- haps we may find grass to keep the horses and mules alive, so that we will not have to kill any livestock.” 6 So they divided the land between them to explore it; Ahab went one way by himself, and Oba- diah went another way by himself. 7 Now as Obadiah was on his way, suddenly Elijah met him; and he arecognized him, and fell on his face, and said, “Is that you, my lord Elijah?” 8 And he answered him, “It is I. Go, tell your master, ‘Elijah is here.’ ” 9 So he said, “How have I sinned, that you are delivering your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me? 10 “As the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to hunt for you; and when they said, ‘He is not here,’ he took an oath from the kingdom or nation that they could not find you. 11 “And now you say, ‘Go, tell your master, “Elijah is here” ’! 12 “And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from you, that athe Spirit of the LORD will carry you to a place I do not know; so when I go and tell Ahab, and he cannot find you, he will kill me. But I your ser- vant have feared the LORD from my youth. 13 “Was it not reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the LORD, how I hid one hundred men of the LORD’s proph- ets, fifty to a cave, and fed them with bread and water? 14 “And now you say, ‘Go, tell your master, “Elijah is here.” ’ He will kill me!” 15 Then Elijah said, “As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely present myself to him today.” 16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah. 17 Then it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, a“Is that you, O btroubler of Israel?” 18 And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, ain that you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and have followed the Baals. 19 “Now therefore, send and gather all Israel to me on aMount Carmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, band the four hundred prophets of 1Asherah, who 2eat at Jezebel’s table.” Elijah’s Mount Carmel Victory 20 So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, and agathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel. 21 And Elijah came to all the peo- ple, and said, a“How long will you falter between two opinions?

that you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and have followed the Baals. 19 “Now therefore, send and gather all Israel to me on aMount Carmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, band the four hundred prophets of 1Asherah, who 2eat at Jezebel’s table.” Elijah’s Mount Carmel Victory 20 So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, and agathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel. 21 And Elijah came to all the peo- ple, and said, a“How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, bfollow him.” But the people answered him not a word. 22 Then Elijah said to the people, a“I alone am left a prophet of the LORD; bbut Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men. 23 “Therefore let them give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other bull, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it. 24 “Then you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD; and the God who aanswers by fire, He is God.” So all the people answered and said, 1“It is well spoken.” 25 Now Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one bull for your- selves and prepare it first, for you are many; and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it.” 26 So they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying, “O 21 a2 Kin. 4:34, 35; Acts 20:10 22 aLuke 7:14, 15; Heb. 11:35 24 aJohn 2:11; 3:2; 16:30 CHAPTER 18 1 a1 Kin. 17:1; Luke 4:25; James 5:17 bDeut. 28:12 3 1Lit. over the house 4 1Lit. cut off 7 a2 Kin. 1:6–8 12 a2 Kin. 2:16; Ezek. 3:12, 14; Matt. 4:1; Acts 8:39 17 a1 Kin. 21:20 bJosh. 7:25; Acts 16:20 18 a1 Kin. 16:30–33; [2 Chr. 15:2] 19 aJosh. 19:26; 2 Kin. 2:25 b1 Kin. 16:33 1A Canaanite goddess 2Are provided for by Jezebel 20 a1 Kin. 22:6 21 a2 Kin. 17:41; [Matt. 6:24] bJosh. 24:15 22 a1 Kin. 19:10, 14 b1 Kin. 18:19 24 a1 Kin. 18:38; 1 Chr. 21:26 1Lit. The word is good

1 KINGS 18:27 318 Baal, 1hear us!” But there was ano voice; no one answered. Then they 2leaped about the altar which they had made. 27 And so it was, at noon, that Eli- jah mocked them and said, “Cry 1aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 28 So they cried aloud, and acut themselves, as was their custom, with 1knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them. 29 And when midday was past, athey prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. But there was bno voice; no one answered, no one paid attention. 30 Then Elijah said to all the peo- ple, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. aAnd he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down. 31 And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, a“Israel shall be your name.” 32 Then with the stones he built an altar ain the name of the LORD; and he made a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed. 33 And he aput the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood, and said, “Fill four water- pots with water, and bpour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood.” 34 Then he said, “Do it a second time,” and they did it a second time; and he said, “Do it a third time,” and they did it a third time. 35 So the water ran all around the altar; and he also filled athe trench with water. 36 And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacri- fice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, “LORD aGod of Abra- ham, Isaac, and Israel, blet it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that cI have done all these things at Your word. 37 “Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that You are the LORD God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.” 38 Then athe fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, a“The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!” 40 And Elijah said to them, a“Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let one of them escape!” So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the Brook bKishon and cexecuted them there. The Drought Ends 41 Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.” 42 So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; athen he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees, 43 and said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” So he went up and looked, and said, “There is nothing.” And seven times he said, “Go again.” 44 Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, “There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea!” So he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, 1‘Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.’ ” 45 Now it happened in the mean- time that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel. 46 Then the ahand of the LORD came upon Elijah; and he bgirded1 up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel. Elijah Escapes from Jezebel 19 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had aexecuted all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, a“So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.” 3 And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. 4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a 1broom tree. And he aprayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough!

ll the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, a“So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.” 3 And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. 4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a 1broom tree. And he aprayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no bet- ter than my fathers!” 5 Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.” 6 Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on 1coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again. 7 And the angel of the LORD came back the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.” 8 So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and aforty nights as far as bHoreb, the mountain of God. 9 And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and 26 aPs. 115:5; Jer. 10:5; [1 Cor. 8:4] 1answer 2Lit. limped about, leaped in dancing around 27 1with a loud voice 28 a[Lev. 19:28; Deut. 14:1] 1swords 29 aEx. 29:39, 41 b1 Kin. 18:26 30 a1 Kin. 19:10, 14; 2 Chr. 33:16 31 aGen. 32:28; 35:10; 2 Kin. 17:34 32 a[Ex. 20:25; Col. 3:17] 33 aGen. 22:9; Lev. 1:6–8 bJudg. 6:20 35 a1 Kin. 18:32, 38 36 aGen. 28:13; Ex. 3:6; 4:5; [Matt. 22:32] b1 Kin. 8:43; 2 Kin. 19:19 cNum. 16:28 38 aGen. 15:17; Lev. 9:24; 10:1, 2; Judg. 6:21; 2 Kin. 1:12; 1 Chr. 21:26; 2 Chr. 7:1; Job 1:16 39 a1 Kin. 18:21, 24 40 a2 Kin. 10:25 bJudg. 4:7; 5:21 c[Deut. 13:5; 18:20] 42 aJames 5:17, 18 44 1Lit. Bind or Harness 46 a2 Kin. 3:15; Is. 8:11; Ezek. 3:14 b2 Kin. 4:29; 9:1; Jer. 1:17; 1 Pet. 1:13 1Tucked the skirts of his robe in his belt in prepa- ration for quick travel CHAPTER 19 1 a1 Kin. 18:40 2 aRuth 1:17; 1 Kin. 20:10; 2 Kin. 6:31 4 aNum. 11:15; Jer. 20:14–18; Jon. 4:3, 8 1juniper 6 1hot stones 8 aEx. 24:18; 34:28; Deut. 9:9–11, 18; Matt. 4:2 bEx. 3:1; 4:27

319 1 KINGS 20:14 behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10 So he said, a“I have been very bzealous for the LORD God of hosts; for the children of Israel have for- saken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and ckilled Your prophets with the sword. dI alone am left; and they seek to take my life.” God’s Revelation to Elijah 11 Then He said, “Go out, and stand aon the mountain before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD bpassed by, and ca great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earth- quake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire 1a still small voice. 13 So it was, when Elijah heard it, that ahe wrapped his face in his man- tle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. bSuddenly a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 14 aAnd he said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.” 15 Then the LORD said to him: “Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; aand when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria. 16 “Also you shall anoint aJehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And bElisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place. 17 a“It shall be that whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will bkill; and whoever escapes the sword of Jehu, cElisha will kill. 18 a“Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, band every mouth that has not kissed him.” Elisha Follows Elijah 19 So he departed from there, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he was with the twelfth. Then Elijah passed by him and threw his amantle on him. 20 And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah, and said, a“Please let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?” 21 So Elisha turned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen and slaugh- tered them and aboiled their flesh, using the oxen’s equipment, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and followed Elijah, and became his servant. Ahab Defeats the Syrians 20 Now aBen-Hadad the king of Syria gathered all his forces together; thirty-two kings were with him, with horses and chariots. And he went up and besieged bSamaria, and made war against it. 2 Then he sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel, and said to him, “Thus says Ben-Hadad: 3 ‘Your silver and your gold are mine; your loveliest wives and chil- dren are mine.’ ” 4 And the king of Israel answered and said, “My lord, O king, just as you say, I and all that I have are yours.” 5 Then the messengers came back and said, “Thus speaks Ben-Hadad, saying, ‘Indeed I have sent to you, saying, “You shall deliver to me your silver and your gold, your wives and your children”; 6 ‘but I will send my servants to you tomorrow about this time, and they shall search your house and the houses of your servants.

gold are mine; your loveliest wives and chil- dren are mine.’ ” 4 And the king of Israel answered and said, “My lord, O king, just as you say, I and all that I have are yours.” 5 Then the messengers came back and said, “Thus speaks Ben-Hadad, saying, ‘Indeed I have sent to you, saying, “You shall deliver to me your silver and your gold, your wives and your children”; 6 ‘but I will send my servants to you tomorrow about this time, and they shall search your house and the houses of your servants. And it shall be, that whatever is 1pleasant in your eyes, they will put it in their hands and take it.’ ” 7 So the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, “Notice, please, and see how this man seeks trouble, for he sent to me for my wives, my children, my sil- ver, and my gold; and I did not deny him.” 8 And all the elders and all the people said to him, “Do not listen or consent.” 9 Therefore he said to the mes- sengers of Ben-Hadad, “Tell my lord the king, ‘All that you sent for to your servant the first time I will do, but this thing I cannot do.’ ” And the messengers departed and brought back word to him. 10 Then Ben-Hadad sent to him and said, a“The gods do so to me, and more also, if enough dust is left of Samaria for a handful for each of the people 1who follow me.” 11 So the king of Israel answered and said, “Tell him, ‘Let not the one who puts on his armor aboast like the one who takes it off.’ ” 12 And it happened when Ben- Hadad heard this message, as he and the kings were adrinking at the 1command post, that he said to his servants, “Get ready.” And they got ready to attack the city. 13 Suddenly a prophet approached Ahab king of Israel, saying, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, aI will deliver it into your hand today, and you shall know that I am the LORD.’ ” 14 So Ahab said, “By whom?” And 10 aRom. 11:3 bNum. 25:11, 13; Ps. 69:9 c1 Kin. 18:4 d1 Kin. 18:22; Rom. 11:3 11 aEx. 19:20; 24:12, 18 bEx. 33:21, 22 cEzek. 1:4; 37:7 12 1a delicate whispering voice 13 aEx. 3:6; Is. 6:2 b1 Kin. 19:9 14 a1 Kin. 19:10 15 a2 Kin. 8:8–15 16 a2 Kin. 9:1–10 b1 Kin. 19:19–21; 2 Kin. 2:9–15 17 a2 Kin. 8:12; 13:3, 22 b2 Kin. 9:14–10:28 c[Hos. 6:5] 18 aRom. 11:4 bHos. 13:2 19 a1 Sam. 28:14; 2 Kin. 2:8, 13, 14 20 a[Matt. 8:21, 22; Luke 9:61, 62]; Acts 20:37 21 a2 Sam. 24:22 CHAPTER 20 1 a1 Kin. 15:18, 20; 2 Kin. 6:24 b1 Kin. 16:24; 2 Kin. 6:24 6 1pleasing 10 a1 Kin. 19:2; 2 Kin. 6:31 1Lit. at my feet 11 aProv. 27:1; [Eccl. 7:8] 12 a1 Kin. 20:16 1Lit. booths or shelters 13 a1 Kin. 20:28

1 KINGS 20:15 320 he said, “Thus says the LORD: ‘By the young leaders of the provinces.’ ” Then he said, “Who will set the bat- tle in order?” And he answered, “You.” 15 Then he mustered the young leaders of the provinces, and there were two hundred and thirty-two; and after them he mustered all the people, all the children of Israel— seven thousand. 16 So they went out at noon. Mean- while Ben-Hadad and the thirty-two kings helping him were agetting drunk at the command post. 17 The young leaders of the provinces went out first. And Ben- Hadad sent out a patrol, and they told him, saying, “Men are coming out of Samaria!” 18 So he said, “If they have come out for peace, take them alive; and if they have come out for war, take them alive.” 19 Then these young leaders of the provinces went out of the city with the army which followed them. 20 And each one killed his man; so the Syrians fled, and Israel pursued them; and Ben-Hadad the king of Syria escaped on a horse with the cavalry. 21 Then the king of Israel went out and attacked the horses and chari- ots, and killed the Syrians with a great slaughter. 22 And the prophet came to the king of Israel and said to him, “Go, strengthen yourself; take note, and see what you should do, afor 1in the spring of the year the king of Syria will come up against you.” The Syrians Again Defeated 23 Then the servants of the king of Syria said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hills. Therefore they were stronger than we; but if we fight against them in the plain, surely we will be stronger than they. 24 “So do this thing: Dismiss the kings, each from his position, and put captains in their 1places; 25 “and you shall muster an army like the army 1that you have lost, horse for horse and chariot for chariot. Then we will fight against them in the plain; surely we will be stronger than they.” And he listened to their voice and did so. 26 So it was, in the spring of the year, that Ben-Hadad mustered the Syrians and went up to aAphek to fight against Israel. 27 And the children of Israel were mustered and given provisions, and they went against them. Now the children of Israel encamped before them like two little flocks of goats, while the Syrians filled the acoun- tryside. 28 Then a aman of God came and spoke to the king of Israel, and said, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Because the Syrians have said, “The LORD is God of the hills, but He is not God of the valleys,” therefore bI will deliver all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the LORD.’ ” 29 And they encamped opposite each other for seven days. So it was that on the seventh day the battle was joined; and the children of Israel killed one hundred thousand foot soldiers of the Syrians in one day. 30 But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; then a wall fell on twenty- seven thousand of the men who were left. And Ben-Hadad fled and went into the city, into an inner chamber. Ahab’s Treaty with Ben-Hadad 31 Then his servants said to him, “Look now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are mer- ciful kings. Please, let us aput sack- cloth around our waists and ropes around our heads, and go out to the king of Israel; perhaps he will spare your life.” 32 So they wore sackcloth around their waists and put ropes around their heads, and came to the king of Israel and said, “Your servant Ben- Hadad says, ‘Please let me live.’ ” And he said, “Is he still alive?

ab’s Treaty with Ben-Hadad 31 Then his servants said to him, “Look now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are mer- ciful kings. Please, let us aput sack- cloth around our waists and ropes around our heads, and go out to the king of Israel; perhaps he will spare your life.” 32 So they wore sackcloth around their waists and put ropes around their heads, and came to the king of Israel and said, “Your servant Ben- Hadad says, ‘Please let me live.’ ” And he said, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.” 33 Now the men were watching closely to see whether any sign of mercy would come from him; and they quickly grasped at this word and said, “Your brother Ben-Hadad.” So he said, “Go, bring him.” Then Ben-Hadad came out to him; and he had him come up into the chariot. 34 So Ben-Hadad said to him, a“The cities which my father took from your father I will restore; and you may set up marketplaces for yourself in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria.” Then Ahab said, “I will send you away with this treaty.” So he made a treaty with him and sent him away. Ahab Condemned 35 Now a certain man of athe sons of the prophets said to his neighbor bby the word of the LORD, “Strike me, please.” And the man refused to strike him. 36 Then he said to him, “Because you have not obeyed the voice of the LORD, surely, as soon as you depart from me, a lion shall kill you.” And as soon as he left him, aa lion found him and killed him. 37 And he found another man, and said, “Strike me, please.” So the man struck him, inflicting a wound. 38 Then the prophet departed and waited for the king by the road, and disguised himself with a bandage over his eyes. 16 a1 Kin. 16:9; 20:12; [Prov. 20:1] 22 a2 Sam. 11:1; 1 Kin. 20:26 1Lit. at the return 24 1positions 25 1Lit. that fell from you 26 aJosh. 13:4; 2 Kin. 13:17 27 aJudg. 6:3–5; 1 Sam. 13:5–8 28 a1 Kin. 17:18 b1 Kin. 20:13 31 aGen. 37:34; 2 Sam. 3:31 34 a1 Kin. 15:20 35 a2 Kin. 2:3, 5, 7, 15 b1 Kin. 13:17, 18 36 a1 Kin. 13:24

321 1 KINGS 21:21 39 Now aas the king passed by, he cried out to the king and said, “Your servant went out into the midst of the battle; and there, a man came over and brought a man to me, and said, ‘Guard this man; if by any means he is missing, byour life shall be for his life, or else you shall 1pay a talent of silver.’ 40 “While your servant was busy here and there, he was gone.” Then the king of Israel said to him, “So shall your judgment be; you your- self have decided it.” 41 And he hastened to take the bandage away from his eyes; and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets. 42 Then he said to him, “Thus says the LORD: a‘Because you have let slip out of your hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, there- fore your life shall go for his life, and your people for his people.’ ” 43 So the king of Israel awent to his house sullen and displeased, and came to Samaria. Naboth Is Murdered for His Vineyard 21 And it came to pass after these things that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in aJezreel, next to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 2 So Ahab spoke to Naboth, say- ing, “Give me your avineyard, that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near, next to my house; and for it I will give you a vineyard better than it. Or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its worth in money.” 3 But Naboth said to Ahab, “The LORD forbid athat I should give the inheritance of my fathers to you!” 4 So Ahab went into his house sullen and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him; for he had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” And he lay down on his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no food. 5 But aJezebel his wife came to him, and said to him, “Why is your spirit so sullen that you eat no food?” 6 He said to her, “Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite, and said to him, ‘Give me your vineyard for money; or else, if it pleases you, I will give you another vineyard for it.’ And he answered, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’ ” 7 Then Jezebel his wife said to him, “You now exercise authority over Israel! Arise, eat food, and let your heart be cheerful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.” 8 And she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and the nobles who were dwelling in the city with Naboth. 9 She wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and seat Naboth 1with high honor among the people; 10 and seat two men, scoundrels, before him to bear witness against him, saying, “You have ablasphemed God and the king.” Then take him out, and bstone him, that he may die. 11 So the men of his city, the elders and nobles who were inhabitants of his city, did as Jezebel had sent to them, as it was written in the letters which she had sent to them. 12 aThey proclaimed a fast, and seated Naboth with high honor among the people. 13 And two men, scoundrels, came in and sat before him; and the scoundrels awitnessed against him, against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth has blasphemed God and the king!” bThen they took him outside the city and stoned him with stones, so that he died. 14 Then they sent to Jezebel, say- ing, “Naboth has been stoned and is dead.” 15 And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, “Arise, take posses- sion of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money; for Naboth is not alive, but dead.” 16 So it was, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab got up and went down to take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. The LORD Condemns Ahab 17 aThen the word of the LORD came to bElijah the Tishbite, saying, 18 “Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, awho lives in Samaria.

en stoned and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, “Arise, take posses- sion of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money; for Naboth is not alive, but dead.” 16 So it was, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab got up and went down to take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. The LORD Condemns Ahab 17 aThen the word of the LORD came to bElijah the Tishbite, saying, 18 “Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, awho lives in Samaria. There he is, in the vine- yard of Naboth, where he has gone down to take possession of it. 19 “You shall speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Have you murdered and also taken posses- sion?” ’ And you shall speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD: a“In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, dogs shall lick your blood, even yours.” ’ ” 20 So Ahab said to Elijah, a“Have you found me, O my enemy?” And he answered, “I have found you, because byou have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the LORD: 21 ‘Behold, aI will bring calamity on you. I will take away your bposterity, and will cut off from Ahab cevery male in Israel, both dbond and free. 39 a2 Sam. 12:1 b2 Kin. 10:24 1Lit. weigh 42 a1 Kin. 22:31–37 43 a1 Kin. 21:4 CHAPTER 21 1 aJudg. 6:33; 1 Kin. 18:45, 46 2 a1 Sam. 8:14 3 a[Lev. 25:23; Num. 36:7; Ezek. 46:18] 5 a1 Kin. 19:1, 2 9 1Lit. at the head 10 a[Ex. 22:28; Lev. 24:15, 16]; Acts 6:11 b[Lev. 24:14] 12 aIs. 58:4 13 a[Ex. 20:16; 23:1, 7] b2 Kin. 9:26; 2 Chr. 24:21; Acts 7:58, 59; Heb. 11:37 17 a[Ps. 9:12] b1 Kin. 19:1 18 a1 Kin. 13:32; 2 Chr. 22:9 19 a1 Kin. 22:38; 2 Kin. 9:26 20 a1 Kin. 18:17 b1 Kin. 21:25; 2 Kin. 17:17; [Rom. 7:14] 21 a1 Kin. 14:10; 2 Kin. 9:8 b2 Kin. 10:10 c1 Sam. 25:22 d1 Kin. 14:10

1 KINGS 21:22 322 22 ‘I will make your house like the house of aJeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of bBaasha the son of Ahijah, because of the provocation with which you have provoked Me to anger, and made Israel sin.’ 23 “And aconcerning Jezebel the LORD also spoke, saying, ‘The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the 1wall of Jezreel.’ 24 “The dogs shall eat awhoever belongs to Ahab and dies in the city, and the birds of the air shall eat whoever dies in the field.” 25 But athere was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do wickedness in the sight of the LORD, bbecause Jezebel his wife 1stirred him up. 26 And he behaved very abom- inably in following idols, according to all athat the Amorites had done, whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel. 27 So it was, when Ahab heard those words, that he tore his clothes and aput sackcloth on his body, and fasted and lay in sackcloth, and went about mourning. 28 And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 29 “See how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he ahas humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the calamity in his days. bIn the days of his son I will bring the calamity on his house.” Micaiah Warns Ahab 22 Now three years passed with- out war between Syria and Is- rael. 2 Then it came to pass, in the third year, that aJehoshaphat the king of Judah went down to visit the king of Israel. 3 And the king of Israel said to his servants, “Do you know that aRamoth in Gilead is ours, but we hesitate to take it out of the hand of the king of Syria?” 4 So he said to Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to fight at Ramoth Gilead?” Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, a“I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.” 5 Also Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, a“Please inquire for the word of the LORD today.” 6 Then the king of Israel agathered 1the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall I go against Ramoth Gilead to fight, or shall I refrain?” So they said, “Go up, for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king.” 7 And aJehoshaphat said, “Is there not still a prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of 1Him?” 8 So the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the LORD; but I hate him, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.” And Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say such things!” 9 Then the king of Israel called an officer and said, “Bring Micaiah the son of Imlah quickly!” 10 The king of Israel and Je- hoshaphat the king of Judah, having put on their robes, sat each on his throne, at a threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them. 11 Now Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah had made ahorns of iron for himself; and he said, “Thus says the LORD: ‘With these you shall bgore the Syrians until they are destroyed.’ ” 12 And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, “Go up to Ramoth Gilead and prosper, for the LORD will de- liver it into the king’s hand.” 13 Then the messenger who had gone to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, “Now listen, the words of the prophets with one accord encour- age the king. Please, let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak encouragement.” 14 And Micaiah said, “As the LORD lives, awhatever the LORD says to me, that I will speak.” 15 Then he came to the king; and the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall we refrain?” And he answered him, “Go and prosper, for the LORD will deliver it into the hand of the king!” 16 So the king said to him, “How many times shall I make you swear that you tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD?” 17 Then he said, “I saw all Israel ascattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And the LORD said, ‘These have no master.

peak.” 15 Then he came to the king; and the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall we refrain?” And he answered him, “Go and prosper, for the LORD will deliver it into the hand of the king!” 16 So the king said to him, “How many times shall I make you swear that you tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD?” 17 Then he said, “I saw all Israel ascattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And the LORD said, ‘These have no master. Let each return to his house in peace.’ ” 18 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you he would not prophesy good concern- ing me, but evil?” 19 Then Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the LORD: aI saw the LORD sitting on His throne, band all the host of heaven standing by, on His right hand and on His left. 20 “And the LORD said, ‘Who will persuade Ahab to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?’ So one spoke in this manner, and another spoke in that manner. 21 “Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD, and said, ‘I will persuade him.’ 22 “The LORD said to him, ‘In what way?’ So he said, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And the LORD said, a‘You shall persuade him, and also prevail. Go out and do so.’ 22 a1 Kin. 15:29 b1 Kin. 16:3, 11 23 a2 Kin. 9:10, 30–37 1So with MT, LXX; some Heb. mss., Syr., Tg., Vg. plot of ground instead of wall (cf. 2 Kin. 9:36) 24 a1 Kin. 14:11; 16:4 25 a1 Kin. 16:30–33; 21:20 b1 Kin. 16:31 1incited him 26 aGen. 15:16; [Lev. 18:25–30]; 2 Kin. 21:11 27 aGen. 37:34; 2 Sam. 3:31; 2 Kin. 6:30 29 a[2 Kin. 22:19] b2 Kin. 9:25; 10:11, 17 CHAPTER 22 2 a1 Kin. 15:24; 2 Chr. 18:2 3 aDeut. 4:43; Josh. 21:38; 1 Kin. 4:13 4 a2 Kin. 3:7 5 a2 Kin. 3:11 6 a1 Kin. 18:19 1The false prophets 7 a2 Kin. 3:11 1Or him 11 aZech. 1:18–21 bDeut. 33:17 14 aNum. 22:38; 24:13 17 aNum. 27:17; 1 Kin. 22:34–36; 2 Chr. 18:16; Matt. 9:36; Mark 6:34 19 aIs. 6:1; Ezek. 1:26–28; Dan. 7:9 bJob 1:6; 2:1; Ps. 103:20; Dan. 7:10; Zech. 1:10; [Matt. 18:10; Heb. 1:7, 14] 22 aJudg. 9:23; 1 Sam. 16:14; 18:10; 19:9; Job 12:16; [Ezek. 14:9; 2 Thess. 2:11]

323 1 KINGS 22:53 23 a“Therefore look! The LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours, and the LORD has declared disaster against you.” 24 Now Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near and astruck Micaiah on the cheek, and said, b“Which way did the spirit from the LORD go from me to speak to you?” 25 And Micaiah said, “Indeed, you shall see on that day when you go into an ainner chamber to hide!” 26 So the king of Israel said, “Take Micaiah, and return him to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king’s son; 27 “and say, ‘Thus says the king: “Put this fellow in aprison, and feed him with bread of affliction and water of affliction, until I come in peace.” ’ ” 28 But Micaiah said, “If you ever return in peace, athe LORD has not spoken by me.” And he said, “Take heed, all you people!” Ahab Dies in Battle 29 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead. 30 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle; but you put on your robes.” So the king of Israel adisguised himself and went into battle. 31 Now the aking of Syria had commanded the thirty-two bcap- tains of his chariots, saying, “Fight with no one small or great, but only with the king of Israel.” 32 So it was, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, “Surely it is the king of Israel!” Therefore they turned aside to fight against him, and Jehoshaphat acried out. 33 And it happened, when the cap- tains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him. 34 Now a certain man drew a bow at random, and struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. So he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am wounded.” 35 The battle increased that day; and the king was propped up in his chariot, facing the Syrians, and died at evening. The blood ran out from the wound onto the floor of the chariot. 36 Then, as the sun was going down, a shout went throughout the army, saying, “Every man to his city, and every man to his own country!” 37 So the king died, and was brought to Samaria. And they buried the king in Samaria. 38 Then someone washed the char- iot at a pool in Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood while 1the harlots bathed, according ato the word of the LORD which He had spoken. 39 Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, athe ivory house which he built and all the cities that he built, are they not writ- ten in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 40 So Ahab 1rested with his fathers. Then aAhaziah his son reigned in his place. Jehoshaphat Reigns in Judah 41 aJehoshaphat the son of Asa had become king over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. 42 Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. 43 And ahe walked in all the ways of his father Asa. He did not turn aside from them, doing what was right in the eyes of the LORD.

So Ahab 1rested with his fathers. Then aAhaziah his son reigned in his place. Jehoshaphat Reigns in Judah 41 aJehoshaphat the son of Asa had become king over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. 42 Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. 43 And ahe walked in all the ways of his father Asa. He did not turn aside from them, doing what was right in the eyes of the LORD. Never- theless bthe high places were not taken away, for the people offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places. 44 Also aJehoshaphat made bpeace with the king of Israel. 45 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, the might that he showed, and how he made war, are they not written ain the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 46 aAnd the rest of the 1perverted persons, who remained in the days of his father Asa, he banished from the land. 47 aThere was then no king in Edom, only a deputy of the king. 48 aJehoshaphat bmade 1merchant ships to go to cOphir for gold; dbut they never sailed, for the ships were wrecked at eEzion Geber. 49 Then Ahaziah the son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “Let my ser- vants go with your servants in the ships.” But Jehoshaphat would not. 50 And aJehoshaphat 1rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David his father. Then Jehoram his son reigned in his place. Ahaziah Reigns in Israel 51 aAhaziah the son of Ahab be- came king over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned two years over Israel. 52 He did evil in the sight of the LORD, and awalked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin; 53 for ahe served Baal and wor- shiped him, and provoked the LORD God of Israel to anger, baccording1 to all that his father had done. 23 a[Ezek. 14:9] 24 aJer. 20:2 b2 Chr. 18:23 25 a1 Kin. 20:30 27 a2 Chr. 16:10; 18:25–27 28 aNum. 16:29; Deut. 18:20–22 30 a2 Chr. 35:22 31 a1 Kin. 20:1 b1 Kin. 20:24; 2 Chr. 18:30 32 a2 Chr. 18:31 38 a1 Kin. 21:19 1Tg., Syr. they washed his armor 39 aPs. 45:8; Amos 3:15 40 a2 Kin. 1:2, 18 1Died and joined his ancestors 41 a2 Chr. 20:31 43 a2 Chr. 17:3; 20:32, 33 b1 Kin. 14:23; 15:14; 2 Kin. 12:3 44 a2 Chr. 19:2 b2 Chr. 18:1 45 a2 Chr. 20:34 46 aGen. 19:5; Deut. 23:17; 1 Kin. 14:24; 15:12; 2 Kin. 23:7; Jude 7 1Heb. qadesh, one practic- ing sodomy and prostitu- tion in reli- gious rituals 47 a2 Sam. 8:14; 2 Kin. 3:9; 8:20 48 a2 Chr. 20:35–37 b1 Kin. 10:22 c1 Kin. 9:28 d2 Chr. 20:37 e1 Kin. 9:26 1Or ships of Tarshish 50 a2 Chr. 21:1 1Died and joined his ancestors 51 a1 Kin. 22:40 52 a1 Kin. 15:26; 21:25 53 aJudg. 2:11 b1 Kin. 16:30–32 1In the same way that

The Second Book of the KINGS THE Book of Second Kings continues the drama begun in First Kings—the tragic history of two nations on a collision course with captivity. The author systematically traces the reigning monarchs of Israel and Judah, first by carrying one nation’s history forward, then retracing the same period for the other nation. Nineteen consecutive evil kings rule in Israel, leading to the captivity by As- syria. The picture is somewhat brighter in Judah, where godly kings occasionally emerge to reform the evils of their predecessors. In the end, however, sin out- weighs righteousness and Judah is marched off to Babylon. God Judges Ahaziah MOAB arebelled against Israel bafter the death of Ahab. 2 Now aAhaziah fell through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria, and was injured; so he sent messen- gers and said to them, “Go, inquire of bBaal-Zebub,1 the god of cEkron, whether I shall recover from this in- jury.” 3 But the 1angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?’ 4 “Now therefore, thus says the LORD: ‘You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’ ” So Elijah departed. 5 And when the messengers re- turned to 1him, he said to them, “Why have you come back?” 6 So they said to him, “A man came up to meet us, and said to us, ‘Go, return to the king who sent you, and say to him, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’ ” ’ ” 7 Then he said to them, “What kind of man was it who came up to meet you and told you these words?” 8 So they answered him, a“A hairy man wearing a leather belt around his waist.” And he said, b“It is Elijah the Tishbite.” 9 Then the king sent to him a cap- tain of fifty with his fifty men. So he went up to him; and there he was, sitting on the top of a hill. And he spoke to him: “Man of God, the king has said, ‘Come down!’ ” 10 So Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, then alet fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” And fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. 11 Then he sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty men. And he answered and said to him: “Man of God, thus has the king said, ‘Come down quickly!’ ” 12 So Elijah answered and said to them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and con- sume you and your fifty men.” And the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. 13 Again, he sent a third captain of fifty with his fifty men. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and 1fell on his knees before Elijah, and pleaded with him, and said to him: “Man of God, please let my life and the life of these fifty ser- vants of yours abe precious in your sight. 14 “Look, fire has come down from heaven and burned up the first two captains of fifties with their fifties. But let my life now be precious in your sight.” 15 And the 1angel of the LORD said to Elijah, “Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.” So he arose and went down with him to the king. 16 Then he said to him, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal- Zebub, the god of Ekron, is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of His word? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’ ” 17 So Ahaziah died according to the word of the LORD which Elijah had spoken.

the 1angel of the LORD said to Elijah, “Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.” So he arose and went down with him to the king. 16 Then he said to him, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal- Zebub, the god of Ekron, is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of His word? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’ ” 17 So Ahaziah died according to the word of the LORD which Elijah had spoken. Because he had no son, aJehoram1 became king in his place, in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. 18 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? Elijah Ascends to Heaven 2 And it came to pass, when the LORD was about to atake up Eli- jah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with bElisha from Gilgal. 2 Then Elijah said to Elisha, a“Stay here, please, for the LORD has sent CHAPTER 1 1 a2 Sam. 8:2 b2 Kin. 3:5 2 a1 Kin. 22:40 b2 Kin. 1:3, 6, 16; Matt. 10:25; Mark 3:22 c1 Sam. 5:10 1Lit. Lord of Flies 3 1Or Angel 5 1Ahaziah 8 aZech. 13:4; Matt. 3:4; Mark 1:6 b1 Kin. 18:7 10 a1 Kin. 18:36–38; Luke 9:54 13 a1 Sam. 26:21; Ps. 72:14 1Lit. bowed down 15 1Or Angel 17 a1 Kin. 22:50; 2 Kin. 8:16; Matt. 1:8 1The son of Ahab king of Israel, 2 Kin. 3:1 CHAPTER 2 1 aGen. 5:24; [Heb. 11:5] b1 Kin. 19:16–21 2 aRuth 1:15, 16

325 2 KINGS 3:4 me on to Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the LORD lives, and bas your soul lives, I will not leave you!” So they went down to Bethel. 3 Now athe sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that the LORD will take away your master 1from over you today?” And he said, “Yes, I know; keep silent!” 4 Then Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here, please, for the LORD has sent me on to Jericho.” But he said, “As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!” So they came to Jericho. 5 Now the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho came to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that the LORD will take away your mas- ter from over you today?” So he answered, “Yes, I know; keep silent!” 6 Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here, please, for the LORD has sent me on to the Jordan.” But he said, “As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!” So the two of them went on. 7 And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood facing them at a distance, while the two of them stood by the Jordan. 8 Now Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up, and struck the water; and ait was divided this way and that, so that the two of them crossed over on dry bground. 9 And so it was, when they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask! What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you?” Elisha said, “Please let a double por- tion of your spirit be upon me.” 10 So he said, “You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so.” 11 Then it happened, as they con- tinued on and talked, that suddenly aa chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah bwent up by a whirlwind into heaven. 12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried out, a“My father, my father, the char- iot of Israel and its horsemen!” So he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces. 13 He also took up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan. 14 Then he took the mantle of Eli- jah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, and said, “Where is the LORD God of Elijah?” And when he also had struck the water, ait was divided this way and that; and Elisha crossed over. 15 Now when the sons of the proph- ets who were afrom1 Jericho saw him, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they came to meet him, and bowed to the ground before him. 16 Then they said to him, “Look now, there are fifty strong men with your servants. Please let them go and search for your master, alest perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up and cast him upon some moun- tain or into some valley.” And he said, “You shall not send anyone.” 17 But when they urged him till he was aashamed, he said, “Send them!” Therefore they sent fifty men, and they searched for three days but did not find him. 18 And when they came back to him, for he had stayed in Jericho, he said to them, “Did I not say to you, ‘Do not go’?” Elisha Performs Miracles 19 Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Please notice, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad, and the ground barren.” 20 And he said, “Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him. 21 Then he went out to the source of the water, and acast in the salt there, and said, “Thus says the LORD: ‘I have 1healed this water; from it there shall be no more death or barrenness.’ ” 22 So the water remains ahealed to this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spoke. 23 Then he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up the road, some youths came from the city and mocked him, and said to him, “Go up, you baldhead!

ew bowl, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him. 21 Then he went out to the source of the water, and acast in the salt there, and said, “Thus says the LORD: ‘I have 1healed this water; from it there shall be no more death or barrenness.’ ” 22 So the water remains ahealed to this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spoke. 23 Then he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up the road, some youths came from the city and mocked him, and said to him, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!” 24 So he turned around and looked at them, and apronounced a curse on them in the name of the LORD. And two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths. 25 Then he went from there to aMount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria. Moab Rebels Against Israel 3 Now aJehoram the son of Ahab became king over Israel at Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years. 2 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, but not like his father and mother; for he put away the sacred pillar of Baal athat his father had made. 3 Nevertheless he persisted in athe sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin; he did not depart from them. 4 Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheepbreeder, and he aregularly 2 b1 Sam. 1:26; 2 Kin. 2:4, 6; 4:30 3 a1 Kin. 20:35; 2 Kin. 2:5, 7, 15; 4:1, 38; 9:1 1Lit. from your head 8 aEx. 14:21, 22; Josh. 3:16; 2 Kin. 2:14 bJosh. 3:17 11 a2 Kin. 6:17; Ps. 104:4 bGen. 5:24; Heb. 11:5 12 a2 Kin. 13:14 14 a2 Kin. 2:8 15 a2 Kin. 2:7 1Or at Jericho opposite him saw 16 a1 Kin. 18:12; Ezek. 8:3; Acts 8:39 17 a2 Kin. 8:11 21 aEx. 15:25, 26; 2 Kin. 4:41; 6:6; John 9:6 1purified 22 aEzek. 47:8, 9 24 aDeut. 27:13–26 25 a1 Kin. 18:19, 20; 2 Kin. 4:25 CHAPTER 3 1 a2 Kin. 1:17 2 a1 Kin. 16:31, 32 3 a1 Kin. 12:28–32 4 a2 Sam. 8:2

2 KINGS 3:5 326 paid the king of Israel one hundred thousand blambs and the wool of one hundred thousand rams. 5 But it happened, when aAhab died, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. 6 So King Jehoram went out of Samaria at that time and mustered all Israel. 7 Then he went and sent to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, saying, “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to fight against Moab?” And he said, “I will go up; aI am as you are, my peo- ple as your people, my horses as your horses.” 8 Then he said, “Which way shall we go up?” And he answered, “By way of the Wilderness of Edom.” 9 So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom, and they marched on that roundabout route seven days; and there was no water for the army, nor for the animals that followed them. 10 And the king of Israel said, “Alas! For the LORD has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab.” 11 But aJehoshaphat said, “Is there no prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of the LORD by him?” So one of the servants of the king of Israel answered and said, “Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who bpoured1 water on the hands of Elijah.” 12 And Jehoshaphat said, “The word of the LORD is with him.” So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom awent down to him. 13 Then Elisha said to the king of Israel, a“What have I to do with you? bGo to cthe prophets of your father and the dprophets of your mother.” But the king of Israel said to him, “No, for the LORD has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab.” 14 And Elisha said, a“As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, surely were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you, nor see you. 15 “But now bring me aa musician.” Then it happened, when the musi- cian bplayed, that cthe hand of the LORD came upon him. 16 And he said, “Thus says the LORD: a‘Make this valley full of 1ditches.’ 17 “For thus says the LORD: ‘You shall not see wind, nor shall you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, so that you, your cattle, and your animals may drink.’ 18 “And this is a simple matter in the sight of the LORD; He will also deliver the Moabites into your hand. 19 “Also you shall attack every for- tified city and every choice city, and shall cut down every good tree, and stop up every spring of water, and ruin every good piece of land with stones.” 20 Now it happened in the morn- ing, when athe grain offering was offered, that suddenly water came by way of Edom, and the land was filled with water. 21 And when all the Moabites heard that the kings had come up to fight against them, all who were able to bear arms and older were 1gath- ered; and they stood at the border. 22 Then they rose up early in the morning, and the sun was shining on the water; and the Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as blood. 23 And they said, “This is blood; the kings have surely struck swords and have killed one another; now therefore, Moab, to the spoil!” 24 So when they came to the camp of Israel, Israel rose up and attacked the Moabites, so that they fled before them; and they entered their land, killing the Moabites. 25 Then they destroyed the cities, and each man threw a stone on every good piece of land and filled it; and they stopped up all the springs of water and cut down all the good trees. But they left the stones of aKir Haraseth intact. However the sling- ers surrounded and attacked it. 26 And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too fierce for him, he took with him seven hun- dred men who drew swords, to break through to the king of Edom, but they could not. 27 Then ahe took his eldest son who would have reigned in his place, and offered him as a burnt offering upon the wall; and there was great 1indignation against Israel.

ngs of water and cut down all the good trees. But they left the stones of aKir Haraseth intact. However the sling- ers surrounded and attacked it. 26 And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too fierce for him, he took with him seven hun- dred men who drew swords, to break through to the king of Edom, but they could not. 27 Then ahe took his eldest son who would have reigned in his place, and offered him as a burnt offering upon the wall; and there was great 1indignation against Israel. bSo they departed from him and returned to their own land. Elisha and the Widow’s Oil 4 A certain woman of the wives of athe sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD. And the creditor is coming bto take my two sons to be his slaves.” 2 So Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.” 3 Then he said, “Go, borrow ves- sels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; ado not gather just a few. 4 “And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones.” 4 bIs. 16:1, 2 5 a2 Kin. 1:1 7 a1 Kin. 22:4 11 a1 Kin. 22:7 b1 Kin. 19:21; [John 13:4, 5, 13, 14] 1Was the personal servant of 12 a2 Kin. 2:25 13 a[Ezek. 14:3] bJudg. 10:14; Ruth 1:15 c1 Kin. 22:6–11 d1 Kin. 18:19 14 a1 Kin. 17:1; 2 Kin. 5:16 15 a1 Sam. 10:5 b1 Sam. 16:16, 23; 1 Chr. 25:1 cEzek. 1:3; 3:14, 22; 8:1 16 aJer. 14:3 1water canals 20 aEx. 29:39, 40 21 1summoned 25 aIs. 16:7, 11; Jer. 48:31, 36 27 a[Deut. 18:10; Amos 2:1; Mic. 6:7] b2 Kin. 8:20 1wrath CHAPTER 4 1 a1 Kin. 20:35; 2 Kin. 2:3 b[Lev. 25:39–41, 48]; 1 Sam. 22:2; Neh. 5:2–5; Matt. 18:25 3 a2 Kin. 3:16

327 2 KINGS 4:35 5 So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out. 6 Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not another vessel.” So the oil ceased. 7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest.” Elisha Raises the Shunammite’s Son 8 Now it happened one day that Elisha went to aShunem, where there was a 1notable woman, and she 2persuaded him to eat some food. So it was, as often as he passed by, he would turn in there to eat some food. 9 And she said to her husband, “Look now, I know that this is a holy man of God, who passes by us regu- larly. 10 “Please, let us make 1a small upper room on the wall; and let us put a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lampstand; so it will be, whenever he comes to us, he can turn in there.” 11 And it happened one day that he came there, and he turned in to the upper room and lay down there. 12 Then he said to aGehazi his servant, “Call this Shunammite woman.” When he had called her, she stood before him. 13 And he said to him, “Say now to her, ‘Look, you have been con- cerned for us with all this care. What can I do for you? Do you want me to speak on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?’ ” She answered, “I dwell among my own people.” 14 So he said, “What then is to be done for her?” And Gehazi an- swered, “Actually, she has no son, and her husband is old.” 15 So he said, “Call her.” When he had called her, she stood in the doorway. 16 Then he said, 1“About this time next year you shall embrace a son.” And she said, “No, my lord. Man of God, ado not lie to your maidservant!” 17 But the woman conceived, and bore a son when the appointed time had come, of which Elisha had told her. 18 And the child grew. Now it hap- pened one day that he went out to his father, to the reapers. 19 And he said to his father, “My head, my head!” So he said to a ser- vant, “Carry him to his mother.” 20 When he had taken him and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died. 21 And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, shut the door upon him, and went out. 22 Then she called to her husband, and said, “Please send me one of the young men and one of the donkeys, that I may run to the man of God and come back.” 23 So he said, “Why are you going to him today? It is neither the aNew Moon nor the Sabbath.” And she said, 1“It is well.” 24 Then she saddled a donkey, and said to her servant, “Drive, and go forward; do not slacken the pace for me unless I tell you.” 25 And so she departed, and went to the man of God aat Mount Carmel. So it was, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to his servant Gehazi, “Look, the Shunam- mite woman! 26 “Please run now to meet her, and say to her, ‘Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well with the child?’ ” And she answered, “It is well.” 27 Now when she came to the man of God at the hill, she caught him by the feet, but Gehazi came near to push her away. But the man of God said, “Let her alone; for her soul is in deep distress, and the LORD has hid- den it from me, and has not told me.” 28 So she said, “Did I ask a son of my lord? aDid I not say, ‘Do not deceive me’?” 29 Then he said to Gehazi, a“Get1 yourself ready, and take my staff in your hand, and be on your way. If you meet anyone, bdo not greet him; and if anyone greets you, do not answer him; but clay my staff on the face of the child.” 30 And the mother of the child said, a“As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not bleave you.” So he arose and followed her. 31 Now Gehazi went on ahead of them, and laid the staff on the face of the child; but there was neither voice nor hearing.

eive me’?” 29 Then he said to Gehazi, a“Get1 yourself ready, and take my staff in your hand, and be on your way. If you meet anyone, bdo not greet him; and if anyone greets you, do not answer him; but clay my staff on the face of the child.” 30 And the mother of the child said, a“As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not bleave you.” So he arose and followed her. 31 Now Gehazi went on ahead of them, and laid the staff on the face of the child; but there was neither voice nor hearing. Therefore he went back to meet him, and told him, saying, “The child has anot awakened.” 32 When Elisha came into the house, there was the child, lying dead on his bed. 33 He awent in therefore, shut the door behind the two of them, band prayed to the LORD. 34 And he went up and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands; and ahe stretched himself out on the child, and the flesh of the child became warm. 35 He returned and walked back and forth in the house, and again went up aand stretched himself out on him; then bthe child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. 8 aJosh. 19:18 1Lit. great 2Lit. laid hold on him 10 1Or a small walled upper chamber 12 a2 Kin. 4:29–31; 5:20–27; 8:4, 5 16 a2 Kin. 4:28 1Lit. About this season, as the time of life 23 aNum. 10:10; 28:11; 1 Chr. 23:31 1Or It will be well 25 a2 Kin. 2:25 28 a2 Kin. 4:16 29 a1 Kin. 18:46; 2 Kin. 9:1 bLuke 10:4 cEx. 7:19; 14:16; 2 Kin. 2:8, 14; Acts 19:12 1Lit. Gird up your loins. The skirt of the robe was wrapped around the legs and tucked in the belt to gain freedom of movement. 30 a2 Kin. 2:2 b2 Kin. 2:4 31 aJohn 11:11 33 a2 Kin. 4:4; [Matt. 6:6]; Luke 8:51 b1 Kin. 17:20 34 a1 Kin. 17:21–23; Acts 20:10 35 a1 Kin. 17:21 b2 Kin. 8:1, 5

2 KINGS 4:36 328 36 And he called Gehazi and said, “Call this Shunammite woman.” So he called her. And when she came in to him, he said, “Pick up your son.” 37 So she went in, fell at his feet, and bowed to the ground; then she apicked up her son and went out. Elisha Purifies the Pot of Stew 38 And Elisha returned to aGilgal, and there was a bfamine in the land. Now the sons of the prophets were csitting before him; and he said to his servant, “Put on the large pot, and boil stew for the sons of the prophets.” 39 So one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered from it a lapful of wild gourds, and came and sliced them into the pot of stew, though they did not know what they were. 40 Then they served it to the men to eat. Now it happened, as they were eating the stew, that they cried out and said, “Man of God, there is adeath in the pot!” And they could not eat it. 41 So he said, “Then bring some flour.” And ahe put it into the pot, and said, “Serve it to the people, that they may eat.” And there was nothing harmful in the pot. Elisha Feeds One Hundred Men 42 Then a man came from aBaal Shalisha, band brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley bread, and newly ripened grain in his knapsack. And he said, “Give it to the people, that they may eat.” 43 But his servant said, a“What? Shall I set this before one hundred men?” He said again, “Give it to the people, that they may eat; for thus says the LORD: b‘They shall eat and have some left over.’ ” 44 So he set it before them; and they ate aand had some left over, according to the word of the LORD. Naaman’s Leprosy Healed 5 Now aNaaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was ba great and honorable man in the eyes of his master, because by him the LORD had given victory to Syria. He was also a mighty man of valor, but a leper. 2 And the Syrians had gone out aon1 raids, and had brought back captive a young girl from the land of Israel. She 2waited on Naaman’s wife. 3 Then she said to her mistress, “If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! For he would heal him of his leprosy.” 4 And Naaman went in and told his master, saying, “Thus and thus said the girl who is from the land of Israel.” 5 Then the king of Syria said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So he departed and atook with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing. 6 Then he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which said, Now be advised, when this letter comes to you, that I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may heal him of his leprosy. 7 And it happened, when the king of Israel read the letter, that he tore his clothes and said, “Am I aGod, to kill and make alive, that this man sends a man to me to heal him of his leprosy? Therefore please consider, and see how he seeks a quarrel with me.” 8 So it was, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Please let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.” 9 Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot, and he stood at the door of Elisha’s house. 10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and awash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.” 11 But Naaman became furious, and went away and said, “Indeed, I said to myself, ‘He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.’ 12 “Are not the 1Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage. 13 And his aservants came near and spoke to him, and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it?

, “Indeed, I said to myself, ‘He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.’ 12 “Are not the 1Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage. 13 And his aservants came near and spoke to him, and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” 14 So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his aflesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and bhe was clean. 15 And he returned to the man of God, he and all his aides, and came and stood before him; and he said, “Indeed, now I know that there is ano God in all the earth, except in Israel; now therefore, please take ba gift from your servant.” 16 But he said, a“As the LORD lives, 37 a1 Kin. 17:23; [Heb. 11:35] 38 a2 Kin. 2:1 b2 Kin. 8:1 cLuke 10:39; Acts 22:3 40 aEx. 10:17 41 aEx. 15:25; 2 Kin. 2:21 42 a1 Sam. 9:4 b1 Sam. 9:7; [1 Cor. 9:11; Gal. 6:6] 43 aLuke 9:13; John 6:9 bLuke 9:17; John 6:11 44 aMatt. 14:20; 15:37; John 6:13 CHAPTER 5 1 aLuke 4:27 bEx. 11:3 2 a2 Kin. 6:23; 13:20 1Or in bands 2Served, lit. was before 5 a1 Sam. 9:8; 2 Kin. 8:8, 9 7 a[Gen. 30:2; Deut. 32:39; 1 Sam. 2:6] 10 a2 Kin. 4:41; John 9:7 12 1So with Kt., LXX, Vg.; Qr., Syr., Tg. Amanah 13 a1 Sam. 28:23 14 a2 Kin. 5:10; Job 33:25 bLuke 4:27; 5:13 15 aDan. 2:47; 3:29; 6:26, 27 bGen. 33:11 16 a2 Kin. 3:14

329 2 KINGS 6:17 before whom I stand, bI will receive nothing.” And he urged him to take it, but he refused. 17 So Naaman said, “Then, if not, please let your servant be given two mule-loads of earth; for your ser- vant will no longer offer either burnt offering or sacrifice to other gods, but to the LORD. 18 “Yet in this thing may the LORD pardon your servant: when my mas- ter goes into the temple of Rimmon to worship there, and ahe leans on my hand, and I bow down in the temple of Rimmon—when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the LORD please pardon your ser- vant in this thing.” 19 Then he said to him, “Go in peace.” So he departed from him a short distance. Gehazi’s Greed 20 But aGehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, “Look, my master has spared Naaman this Syrian, while not receiving from his hands what he brought; but as the LORD lives, I will run after him and take something from him.” 21 So Gehazi pursued Naaman. When Naaman saw him running after him, he got down from the chariot to meet him, and said, “Is all well?” 22 And he said, “All is awell. My master has sent me, saying, ‘Indeed, just now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from the mountains of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of garments.’ ” 23 So Naaman said, “Please, take two talents.” And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of garments, and handed them to two of his ser- vants; and they carried them on ahead of him. 24 When he came to 1the citadel, he took them from their hand, and stored them away in the house; then he let the men go, and they departed. 25 Now he went in and stood before his master. Elisha said to him, “Where did you go, Gehazi?” And he said, “Your servant did not go anywhere.” 26 Then he said to him, “Did not my heart go with you when the man turned back from his chariot to meet you? Is it atime to receive money and to receive clothing, olive groves and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male and female servants? 27 “Therefore the leprosy of Naa- man ashall cling to you and your descendants forever.” And he went out from his presence bleprous, as white as snow. The Floating Ax Head 6 And athe sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “See now, the place where we dwell with you is too small for us. 2 “Please, let us go to the Jordan, and let every man take a beam from there, and let us make there a place where we may dwell.” So he answered, “Go.” 3 Then one said, a“Please consent to go with your servants.” And he answered, “I will go.” 4 So he went with them. And when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees. 5 But as one was cutting down a tree, the iron ax head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, “Alas, master! For it was aborrowed.” 6 So the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” And he showed him the place. So ahe cut off a stick, and threw it in there; and he made the iron float. 7 Therefore he said, “Pick it up for yourself.” So he reached out his hand and took it. The Blinded Syrians Captured 8 Now the aking of Syria was making war against Israel; and he consulted with his servants, saying, “My camp will be in such and such a place.” 9 And the man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Syrians are coming down there.” 10 Then the king of Israel sent someone to the place of which the man of God had told him.

ron float. 7 Therefore he said, “Pick it up for yourself.” So he reached out his hand and took it. The Blinded Syrians Captured 8 Now the aking of Syria was making war against Israel; and he consulted with his servants, saying, “My camp will be in such and such a place.” 9 And the man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Syrians are coming down there.” 10 Then the king of Israel sent someone to the place of which the man of God had told him. Thus he warned him, and he was watchful there, not just once or twice. 11 Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was greatly troubled by this thing; and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not show me which of us is for the king of Israel?” 12 And one of his servants said, “None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.” 13 So he said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and get him.” And it was told him, saying, “Surely he is in aDothan.” 14 Therefore he sent horses and chariots and a great army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city. 15 And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” 16 So he answered, a“Do not fear, for bthose who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 And Elisha prayed, and said, “LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Then the LORD aopened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. 16 bGen. 14:22, 23; 2 Kin. 5:20, 26; [Matt. 10:8]; Acts 8:18, 20 18 a2 Kin. 7:2, 17 20 a2 Kin. 4:12; 8:4, 5 22 a2 Kin. 4:26 24 1Lit. the hill 26 a[Eccl. 3:1, 6] 27 a[1 Tim. 6:10] bEx. 4:6; Num. 12:10; 2 Kin. 15:5 CHAPTER 6 1 a2 Kin. 4:38 3 a2 Kin. 5:23 5 a[Ex. 22:14] 6 aEx. 15:25; 2 Kin. 2:21; 4:41 8 a2 Kin. 8:28, 29 13 aGen. 37:17 16 aEx. 14:13; 1 Kin. 17:13 b2 Chr. 32:7; Ps. 55:18; [Rom. 8:31] 17 aNum. 22:31; Luke 24:31

2 KINGS 6:18 330 And behold, the mountain was full of bhorses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 18 So when the Syrians came down to him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, and said, “Strike this people, I pray, with blindness.” And aHe struck them with blindness accord- ing to the word of Elisha. 19 Now Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, nor is this the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” But he led them to Samaria. 20 So it was, when they had come to Samaria, that Elisha said, “LORD, open the eyes of these men, that they may see.” And the LORD opened their eyes, and they saw; and there they were, inside Samaria! 21 Now when the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, “My afa- ther, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?” 22 But he answered, “You shall not kill them. Would you kill those whom you have taken captive with your sword and your bow? aSet food and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master.” 23 Then he prepared a great feast for them; and after they ate and drank, he sent them away and they went to their master. So athe bands of Syrian raiders came no more into the land of Israel. Syria Besieges Samaria in Famine 24 And it happened after this that aBen-Hadad king of Syria gathered all his army, and went up and besieged Samaria. 25 And there was a great afamine in Samaria; and indeed they besieged it until a donkey’s head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and one-fourth of a 1kab of dove droppings for five shekels of silver. 26 Then, as the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, saying, “Help, my lord, O king!” 27 And he said, “If the LORD does not help you, where can I find help for you? From the threshing floor or from the winepress?” 28 Then the king said to her, “What is troubling you?” And she answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’ 29 “So awe boiled my son, and ate him. And I said to her on the next day, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him’; but she has hidden her son.” 30 Now it happened, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he atore his clothes; and as he passed by on the wall, the people looked, and there underneath he had sackcloth on his body. 31 Then he said, a“God do so to me and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat remains on him today!” 32 But Elisha was sitting in his house, and athe elders were sitting with him. And the king sent a man ahead of him, but before the messen- ger came to him, he said to the el- ders, b“Do you see how this son of ca murderer has sent someone to take away my head? Look, when the mes- senger comes, shut the door, and hold him fast at the door. Is not the sound of his master’s feet behind him?” 33 And while he was still talking with them, there was the messenger, coming down to him; and then the king said, “Surely this calamity is from the LORD; awhy should I wait for the LORD any longer?” 7 Then Elisha said, “Hear the word of the LORD. Thus says the LORD: a‘Tomorrow about this time a 1seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.’ ” 2 aSo an officer on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God and said, “Look, bif the LORD would make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” And he said, “In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it.” The Syrians Flee 3 Now there were four leprous men aat the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, “Why are we sitting here until we die? 4 “If we say, ‘We will enter the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. Now therefore, come, let us surrender to the aarmy of the Syrians.

, “Look, bif the LORD would make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” And he said, “In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it.” The Syrians Flee 3 Now there were four leprous men aat the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, “Why are we sitting here until we die? 4 “If we say, ‘We will enter the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. Now therefore, come, let us surrender to the aarmy of the Syrians. If they keep us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall only die.” 5 And they rose at twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians; and when they had come to the outskirts of the Syrian camp, to their surprise no one was there. 6 For the Lord had caused the army of the Syrians ato hear the noise of chariots and the noise of horses—the noise of a great army; so they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel has hired against us bthe kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to attack us!” 7 Therefore they aarose and fled at twilight, and left the camp intact—their tents, their horses, and their donkeys—and they fled for their lives. 8 And when these lepers came to the outskirts of the camp, they went into one tent and ate and drank, and carried from it silver and gold and clothing, and went and hid them; then they came back and entered an- 17 b2 Kin. 2:11; Ps. 34:7; 68:17; Zech. 1:8; 6:1–7 18 aGen. 19:11; Acts 13:11 21 a2 Kin. 2:12; 5:13; 8:9 22 a[Rom. 12:20] 23 a2 Kin. 5:2; 6:8, 9 24 a1 Kin. 20:1 25 a2 Kin. 4:38; 8:1 1Approxi- mately 1 pint 29 aLev. 26:27–29; Deut. 28:52–57; Lam. 4:10 30 a1 Kin. 21:27 31 aRuth 1:17; 1 Kin. 19:2 32 aEzek. 8:1; 14:1; 20:1 bLuke 13:32 c1 Kin. 18:4, 13, 14; 21:10, 13 33 aJob 2:9 CHAPTER 7 1 a2 Kin. 7:18, 19 1A third of an ephah, or about 8 gal- lons 2 a2 Kin. 5:18; 7:17, 19, 20 bGen. 7:11; Mal. 3:10 3 a[Lev. 13:45, 46; Num. 5:2–4; 12:10–14] 4 a2 Kin. 6:24 6 a2 Sam. 5:24; 2 Kin. 19:7; Job 15:21 b1 Kin. 10:29 7 aPs. 48:4–6; [Prov. 28:1]

331 2 KINGS 8:12 other tent, and carried some from there also, and went and hid it. 9 Then they said to one another, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we remain silent. If we wait until morning light, some 1punishment will come upon us. Now therefore, come, let us go and tell the king’s household.” 10 So they went and called to the gatekeepers of the city, and told them, saying, “We went to the Syr- ian camp, and surprisingly no one was there, not a human sound— only horses and donkeys tied, and the tents intact.” 11 And the gatekeepers called out, and they told it to the king’s house- hold inside. 12 So the king arose in the night and said to his servants, “Let me now tell you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we are ahungry; therefore they have gone out of the camp to 1hide themselves in the field, saying, ‘When they come out of the city, we shall catch them alive, and get into the city.’ ” 13 And one of his servants an- swered and said, “Please, let several men take five of the remaining horses which are left in the city. Look, they may either become like all the multitude of Israel that are left in it; or indeed, I say, they may become like all the multitude of Israel left from those who are con- sumed; so let us send them and see.” 14 Therefore they took two chari- ots with horses; and the king sent them in the direction of the Syrian army, saying, “Go and see.” 15 And they went after them to the Jordan; and indeed all the road was full of garments and weapons which the Syrians had thrown away in their haste. So the messengers returned and told the king. 16 Then the people went out and plundered the tents of the Syrians. So a seah of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, aaccording to the word of the LORD. 17 Now the king had appointed the officer on whose hand he leaned to have charge of the gate. But the peo- ple trampled him in the gate, and he died, just aas the man of God had said, who spoke when the king came down to him. 18 So it happened just as the man of God had spoken to the king, say- ing, a“Two seahs of barley for a shekel, and a seah of fine flour for a shekel, shall be sold tomorrow about this time in the gate of Samaria.” 19 Then that officer had answered the man of God, and said, “Now look, if the LORD would make win- dows in heaven, could such a thing be?” And he had said, “In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it.” 20 And so it happened to him, for the people trampled him in the gate, and he died. The King Restores the Shunammite’s Land 8 Then Elisha spoke to the woman awhose son he had restored to life, saying, “Arise and go, you and your household, and stay wherever you can; for the LORD bhas called for a cfamine, and furthermore, it will come upon the land for seven years.” 2 So the woman arose and did according to the saying of the man of God, and she went with her household and dwelt in the land of the Philistines seven years. 3 It came to pass, at the end of seven years, that the woman returned from the land of the Philistines; and she went to make an appeal to the king for her house and for her land. 4 Then the king talked with aGe- hazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, “Tell me, please, all the great things Elisha has done.” 5 Now it happened, as he was telling the king how he had restored the dead to life, that there was the woman whose son he had arestored to life, appealing to the king for her house and for her land. And Gehazi said, “My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life.” 6 And when the king asked the woman, she told him.

her land. 4 Then the king talked with aGe- hazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, “Tell me, please, all the great things Elisha has done.” 5 Now it happened, as he was telling the king how he had restored the dead to life, that there was the woman whose son he had arestored to life, appealing to the king for her house and for her land. And Gehazi said, “My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life.” 6 And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed a certain officer for her, saying, “Restore all that was hers, and all the proceeds of the field from the day that she left the land until now.” Death of Ben-Hadad 7 Then Elisha went to Damascus, and aBen-Hadad king of Syria was sick; and it was told him, saying, “The man of God has come here.” 8 And the king said to aHazael, b“Take a present in your hand, and go to meet the man of God, and cinquire of the LORD by him, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this disease?’ ” 9 So aHazael went to meet him and took a present with him, of every good thing of Damascus, forty camel-loads; and he came and stood before him, and said, “Your son Ben- Hadad king of Syria has sent me to you, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this disease?’ ” 10 And Elisha said to him, “Go, say to him, ‘You shall certainly recover.’ However the LORD has shown me that ahe will really die.” 11 Then he 1set his countenance in a stare until he was ashamed; and the man of God awept. 12 And Hazael said, “Why is my 9 1Calamity 12 a2 Kin. 6:24–29 1Hide themselves in ambush 16 a2 Kin. 7:1 17 a2 Kin. 6:32; 7:2 18 a2 Kin. 7:1 CHAPTER 8 1 a2 Kin. 4:18, 31–35 bPs. 105:16; Hag. 1:11 c2 Sam. 21:1; 1 Kin. 18:2; 2 Kin. 4:38; 6:25 4 a2 Kin. 4:12; 5:20–27 5 a2 Kin. 4:35 7 a2 Kin. 6:24 8 a1 Kin. 19:15 b1 Sam. 9:7; 1 Kin. 14:3; 2 Kin. 5:5 c2 Kin. 1:2 9 a1 Kin. 19:15 10 a2 Kin. 8:15 11 aLuke 19:41 1fixed his gaze

2 KINGS 8:13 332 lord weeping?” He answered, “Be- cause I know athe evil that you will do to the children of Israel: Their strongholds you will set on fire, and their young men you will kill with the sword; and you bwill dash their children, and rip open their women with child.” 13 So Hazael said, “But what ais your servant—a dog, that he should do this gross thing?” And Elisha answered, b“The LORD has shown me that you will become king over Syria.” 14 Then he departed from Elisha, and came to his master, who said to him, “What did Elisha say to you?” And he answered, “He told me you would surely recover.” 15 But it happened on the next day that he took a thick cloth and dipped it in water, and spread it over his face so that he died; and Hazael reigned in his place. Jehoram Reigns in Judah 16 Now ain the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, Jehoshaphat having been king of Judah, bJehoram the son of Jehoshaphat began to reign as 1king of Judah. 17 He was athirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. 18 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done, for athe daughter of Ahab was his wife; and he did evil in the sight of the LORD. 19 Yet the LORD would not destroy Judah, for the sake of His servant David, aas He promised him to give a lamp to him and his sons forever. 20 In his days aEdom revolted against Judah’s authority, band made a king over themselves. 21 So 1Joram went to Zair, and all his chariots with him. Then he rose by night and attacked the Edomites who had surrounded him and the captains of the chariots; and the troops fled to their tents. 22 Thus Edom has been in revolt against Judah’s authority to this day. aAnd Libnah revolted at that time. 23 Now the rest of the acts of 1Joram, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chron- icles of the kings of Judah? 24 So Joram 1rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. Then aAhaziah2 his son reigned in his place. Ahaziah Reigns in Judah 25 In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, began to reign. 26 Ahaziah was atwenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah the granddaughter of Omri, king of Israel. 27 aAnd he walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did evil in the sight of the LORD, like the house of Ahab, for he was the son-in-law of the house of Ahab. 28 Now he went awith Joram the son of Ahab to war against Hazael king of Syria at bRamoth Gilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram. 29 Then aKing Joram went back to Jezreel to recover from the wounds which the Syrians had inflicted on him at 1Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. bAnd Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick. Jehu Anointed King of Israel 9 And Elisha the prophet called one of athe sons of the prophets, and said to him, b“Get1 yourself ready, take this flask of oil in your hand, cand go to Ramoth Gilead. 2 “Now when you arrive at that place, look there for Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, and go in and make him rise up from among ahis associates, and take him to an inner room. 3 “Then atake the flask of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, ‘Thus says the LORD: “I have anointed you king over Israel.” ’ Then open the door and flee, and do not delay.” 4 So the young man, the servant of the prophet, went to Ramoth Gilead. 5 And when he arrived, there were the captains of the army sit- ting; and he said, “I have a message for you, Commander.” Jehu said, “For which one of us?” And he said, “For you, Commander.” 6 Then he arose and went into the house.

im to an inner room. 3 “Then atake the flask of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, ‘Thus says the LORD: “I have anointed you king over Israel.” ’ Then open the door and flee, and do not delay.” 4 So the young man, the servant of the prophet, went to Ramoth Gilead. 5 And when he arrived, there were the captains of the army sit- ting; and he said, “I have a message for you, Commander.” Jehu said, “For which one of us?” And he said, “For you, Commander.” 6 Then he arose and went into the house. And he poured the oil on his head, and said to him, a“Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘I have anointed you king over the people of the LORD, over Israel. 7 ‘You shall strike down the house of Ahab your master, that I may aavenge the blood of My servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the LORD, bat the hand of Jezebel. 8 ‘For the whole house of Ahab shall perish; and aI will cut off from Ahab all bthe males in Israel, both cbond and free. 9 ‘So I will make the house of Ahab like the house of aJeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of bBaasha the son of Ahijah. 10 a‘The dogs shall eat Jezebel on the plot of ground at Jezreel, and there shall be none to bury her.’ ” And he opened the door and fled. 12 a2 Kin. 10:32; 12:17; 13:3, 7; Amos 1:3, 4 b2 Kin. 15:16; Hos. 13:16; Amos 1:13; Nah. 3:10 13 a1 Sam. 17:43; 2 Sam. 9:8 b1 Kin. 19:15 16 a2 Kin. 1:17; 3:1 b2 Chr. 21:3 1Co-regent with his father 17 a2 Chr. 21:5–10 18 a2 Kin. 8:26, 27 19 a2 Sam. 7:13; 1 Kin. 11:36; 15:4; 2 Chr. 21:7 20 aGen. 27:40; 2 Chr. 21:8–10 b1 Kin. 22:47 21 1Jehoram, v. 16 22 aJosh. 21:13; 2 Kin. 19:8; 2 Chr. 21:10 23 1Jehoram, v. 16 24 a2 Chr. 22:1, 7 1Died and joined his ancestors 2Or Azariah or Jehoahaz 26 a2 Chr. 22:2 27 a2 Chr. 22:3, 4 28 a2 Chr. 22:5 b1 Kin. 22:3, 29 29 a2 Kin. 9:15 b2 Kin. 9:16; 2 Chr. 22:6, 7 1Ramoth, v. 28 CHAPTER 9 1 a1 Kin. 20:35 b2 Kin. 4:29; Jer. 1:17 c2 Kin. 8:28, 29 1Lit. Gird up your loins 2 a2 Kin. 9:5, 11 3 a1 Kin. 19:16 6 a1 Sam. 2:7, 8; 1 Kin. 19:16; 2 Kin. 9:3; 2 Chr. 22:7 7 a[Deut. 32:35, 41] b1 Kin. 18:4; 21:15 8 a1 Kin. 14:10; 21:21; 2 Kin. 10:17 b1 Sam. 25:22 cDeut. 32:36; 2 Kin. 14:26 9 a1 Kin. 14:10; 15:29; 21:22 b1 Kin. 16:3, 11 10 a1 Kin. 21:23; 2 Kin. 9:35, 36

333 2 KINGS 9:36 11 Then Jehu came out to the ser- vants of his master, and one said to him, “Is all well? Why did athis mad- man come to you?” And he said to them, “You know the man and his babble.” 12 And they said, “A lie! Tell us now.” So he said, “Thus and thus he spoke to me, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD: “I have anointed you king over Israel.” ’ ” 13 Then each man hastened ato take his garment and put it 1under him on the top of the steps; and they blew trumpets, saying, “Jehu is king!” Joram of Israel Killed 14 So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, conspired against aJoram. (Now Joram had been defending Ramoth Gilead, he and all Israel, against Hazael king of Syria. 15 But aKing 1Joram had returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds which the Syrians had inflicted on him when he fought with Hazael king of Syria.) And Jehu said, “If you are so minded, let no one leave or escape from the city to go and tell it in Jezreel.” 16 So Jehu rode in a chariot and went to Jezreel, for Joram was laid up there; aand Ahaziah king of Judah had come down to see Joram. 17 Now a watchman stood on the tower in Jezreel, and he saw the company of Jehu as he came, and said, “I see a company of men.” And Joram said, “Get a horseman and send him to meet them, and let him say, 1‘Is it peace?’ ” 18 So the horseman went to meet him, and said, “Thus says the king: ‘Is it peace?’ ” And Jehu said, “What have you to do with peace? 1Turn around and follow me.” So the watchman reported, saying, “The messenger went to them, but is not coming back.” 19 Then he sent out a second horse- man who came to them, and said, “Thus says the king: ‘Is it peace?’ ” And Jehu answered, “What have you to do with peace? Turn around and follow me.” 20 So the watchman reported, say- ing, “He went up to them and is not coming back; and the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi, for he drives furiously!” 21 Then Joram said, 1“Make ready.” And his chariot was made ready. Then aJoram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot; and they went out to meet Jehu, and 2met him bon the property of Naboth the Jezreel- ite. 22 Now it happened, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, “Is it peace, Jehu?” So he answered, “What peace, as long as the harlotries of your mother Jezebel and her witch- craft are so many?” 23 Then Joram turned around and fled, and said to Ahaziah, “Treach- ery, Ahaziah!” 24 Now Jehu 1drew his bow with full strength and shot Jehoram between his arms; and the arrow came out at his heart, and he sank down in his chariot. 25 Then Jehu said to Bidkar his captain, “Pick him up, and throw him into the tract of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite; for remember, when you and I were riding together behind Ahab his father, that athe LORD laid this bburden upon him: 26 ‘Surely I saw yesterday the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons,’ says the LORD, a‘and I will repay you 1in this plot,’ says the LORD. Now therefore, take and throw him on the plot of ground, according to the word of the LORD.” Ahaziah of Judah Killed 27 But when Ahaziah king of Judah saw this, he fled by the road to 1Beth Haggan. So Jehu pursued him, and said, 2“Shoot him also in the char- iot.” And they shot him at the Ascent of Gur, which is by Ibleam.

ORD laid this bburden upon him: 26 ‘Surely I saw yesterday the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons,’ says the LORD, a‘and I will repay you 1in this plot,’ says the LORD. Now therefore, take and throw him on the plot of ground, according to the word of the LORD.” Ahaziah of Judah Killed 27 But when Ahaziah king of Judah saw this, he fled by the road to 1Beth Haggan. So Jehu pursued him, and said, 2“Shoot him also in the char- iot.” And they shot him at the Ascent of Gur, which is by Ibleam. Then he fled to aMegiddo, and died there. 28 And his servants carried him in the chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his tomb with his fathers in the City of David. 29 In the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab, Ahaziah had become king over Judah. Jezebel’s Violent Death 30 Now when Jehu had come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; aand she put paint on her eyes and adorned her head, and looked through a win- dow. 31 Then, as Jehu entered at the gate, she said, a“Is it peace, Zimri, murderer of your master?” 32 And he looked up at the win- dow, and said, “Who is on my side? Who?” So two or three eunuchs looked out at him. 33 Then he said, “Throw her down.” So they threw her down, and some of her blood spattered on the wall and on the horses; and he tram- pled her underfoot. 34 And when he had gone in, he ate and drank. Then he said, “Go now, see to this accursed woman, and bury her, for ashe was a king’s daughter.” 35 So they went to bury her, but they found no more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands. 36 Therefore they came back and told him. And he said, “This is the word of the LORD, which He spoke by His servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, a‘On the plot of ground at 11 aJer. 29:26; Hos. 9:7; Mark 3:21; John 10:20; Acts 26:24; [1 Cor. 4:10] 13 aMatt. 21:7, 8; Mark 11:7, 8 1Lit. under his feet 14 a2 Kin. 8:28 15 a2 Kin. 8:29 1Jehoram, v. 24 16 a2 Kin. 8:29 17 1Are you peaceful? 18 1Lit. Turn behind me 21 a1 Kin. 19:17; 2 Chr. 22:7 b1 Kin. 21:1–14 1Har- ness up 2Lit. found 24 1Lit. filled his hand 25 a1 Kin. 21:19, 24–29 bIs. 13:1 26 a1 Kin. 21:13, 19 1on this property 27 a2 Chr. 22:7, 9 1Lit. The Garden House 2Lit. Strike 30 a[Jer. 4:30]; Ezek. 23:40 31 a1 Kin. 16:9–20; 2 Kin. 9:18–22 34 a[Ex. 22:28]; 1 Kin. 16:31 36 a1 Kin. 21:23

2 KINGS 9:37 334 Jezreel dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel; 37 ‘and the corpse of Jezebel shall be aas refuse on the surface of the field, in the plot at Jezreel, so that they shall not say, “Here lies Jezebel.” ’ ” Ahab’s Seventy Sons Killed 10 Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote and sent letters to Samaria, to the rulers of 1Jezreel, to the elders, and to 2those who reared Ahab’s sons, saying: 2 Now as soon as this letter comes to you, since your master’s sons are with you, and you have chariots and horses, a fortified city also, and weapons, 3 choose the 1best qualified of your master’s sons, set him on his father’s throne, and fight for your master’s house. 4 But they were exceedingly afraid, and said, “Look, atwo kings could not 1stand up to him; how then can we stand?” 5 And he who was in charge of the house, and he who was in charge of the city, the elders also, and those who reared the sons, sent to Jehu, saying, “We are your ser- vants, we will do all you tell us; but we will not make anyone king. Do what is good in your sight.” 6 Then he wrote a second letter to them, saying: If you are for me and will obey my voice, take the heads of the men, your master’s sons, and come to me at Jezreel by this time tomorrow. Now the king’s sons, seventy per- sons, were with the great men of the city, who were rearing them. 7 So it was, when the letter came to them, that they took the king’s sons and aslaughtered seventy per- sons, put their heads in baskets and sent them to him at Jezreel. 8 Then a messenger came and told him, saying, “They have brought the heads of the king’s sons.” And he said, “Lay them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until morning.” 9 So it was, in the morning, that he went out and stood, and said to all the people, “You are righteous. Indeed aI conspired against my mas- ter and killed him; but who killed all these? 10 “Know now that nothing shall afall to the earth of the word of the LORD which the LORD spoke con- cerning the house of Ahab; for the LORD has done what He spoke bby His servant Elijah.” 11 So Jehu killed all who remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men and his close acquaintances and his priests, until he left him none remaining. Ahaziah’s Forty-two Brothers Killed 12 And he arose and departed and went to Samaria. On the way, at 1Beth Eked of the Shepherds, 13 aJehu met with the brothers of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, “Who are you?” So they answered, “We are the brothers of Ahaziah; we have come down to greet the sons of the king and the sons of the queen mother.” 14 And he said, “Take them alive!” So they took them alive, and akilled them at the well of 1Beth Eked, forty- two men; and he left none of them. The Rest of Ahab’s Family Killed 15 Now when he departed from there, he 1met aJehonadab the son of bRechab, coming to meet him; and he greeted him and said to him, “Is your heart right, as my heart is toward your heart?” And Jehonadab answered, “It is.” Jehu said, “If it is, cgive me your hand.” So he gave him his hand, and he took him up to him into the chariot. 16 Then he said, “Come with me, and see my azeal for the LORD.” So they had him ride in his chariot. 17 And when he came to Samaria, ahe killed all who remained to Ahab in Samaria, till he had destroyed them, according to the word of the LORD bwhich He spoke to Elijah. Worshipers of Baal Killed 18 Then Jehu gathered all the peo- ple together, and said to them, a“Ahab served Baal a little, Jehu will serve him much. 19 “Now therefore, call to me all the aprophets of Baal, all his ser- vants, and all his priests. Let no one be missing, for I have a great sacri- fice for Baal.

ride in his chariot. 17 And when he came to Samaria, ahe killed all who remained to Ahab in Samaria, till he had destroyed them, according to the word of the LORD bwhich He spoke to Elijah. Worshipers of Baal Killed 18 Then Jehu gathered all the peo- ple together, and said to them, a“Ahab served Baal a little, Jehu will serve him much. 19 “Now therefore, call to me all the aprophets of Baal, all his ser- vants, and all his priests. Let no one be missing, for I have a great sacri- fice for Baal. Whoever is missing shall not live.” But Jehu acted decep- tively, with the intent of destroying the worshipers of Baal. 20 And Jehu said, 1“Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal.” So they proclaimed it. 21 Then Jehu sent throughout all Israel; and all the worshipers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left who did not come. So they came into the 1temple of Baal, and the atemple of Baal was full from one end to the other. 22 And he said to the one in charge of the wardrobe, “Bring out vestments for all the worshipers of Baal.” So he brought out vestments for them. 23 Then Jehu and Jehonadab the son of Rechab went into the temple of Baal, and said to the worshipers 37 aPs. 83:10 CHAPTER 10 1 1So with MT, Syr., Tg.; LXX Samaria; Vg. city 2the guardians of 3 1most upright 4 a2 Kin. 9:24, 27 1Lit. stand before 7 aJudg. 9:5; 1 Kin. 21:21; 2 Kin. 11:1 9 a2 Kin. 9:14–24 10 a1 Sam. 3:19; 1 Kin. 8:56; Jer. 44:28 b1 Kin. 21:17–24, 29 12 1Or The Shearing House 13 a2 Chr. 22:8 14 a2 Chr. 22:8 1Or The Shearing House 15 aJer. 35:6 b1 Chr. 2:55 cEzra 10:19; Ezek. 17:18 1Lit. found 16 a1 Kin. 19:10 17 a2 Kin. 9:8; 2 Chr. 22:8 b1 Kin. 21:21, 29 18 a1 Kin. 16:31, 32 19 a1 Kin. 18:19; 22:6 20 1Conse- crate 21 a1 Kin. 16:32; 2 Kin. 11:18 1Lit. house

335 2 KINGS 11:14 of Baal, “Search and see that no ser- vants of the LORD are here with you, but only the worshipers of Baal.” 24 So they went in to offer sacri- fices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had appointed for himself eighty men on the outside, and had said, “If any of the men whom I have brought into your hands escapes, whoever lets him escape, it shall be ahis life for the life of the other.” 25 Now it happened, as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the guard and to the captains, “Go in and kill them; let no one come out!” And they killed them with the edge of the sword; then the guards and the offi- cers threw them out, and went into the 1inner room of the temple of Baal. 26 And they brought the asacred pillars out of the temple of Baal and burned them. 27 Then they broke down the sa- cred pillar of Baal, and tore down the 1temple of Baal and amade it a refuse dump to this day. 28 Thus Jehu destroyed Baal from Israel. 29 However Jehu did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin, that is, from athe golden calves that were at Bethel and Dan. 30 And the LORD asaid to Jehu, “Because you have done well in doing what is right in My sight, and have done to the house of Ahab all that was in My heart, byour sons shall sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.” 31 But Jehu 1took no heed to walk in the law of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart; for he did not depart from athe sins of Jeroboam, who had made Israel sin. Death of Jehu 32 In those days the LORD began to cut off parts of Israel; and aHazael conquered them in all the territory of Israel 33 from the Jordan eastward: all the land of Gilead—Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh—from aAroer, which is by the River Arnon, including bGilead and Bashan. 34 Now the rest of the acts of Jehu, all that he did, and all his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 35 So Jehu 1rested with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria. Then aJehoahaz his son reigned in his place. 36 And the period that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years. Athaliah Reigns in Judah 11 When aAthaliah bthe mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was cdead, she arose and destroyed all the royal heirs. 2 But 1Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram, sister of aAhaziah, took 2Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him away from among the king’s sons who were being murdered; and they hid him and his nurse in the bedroom, from Athaliah, so that he was not killed. 3 So he was hidden with her in the house of the LORD for six years, while Athaliah reigned over the land. Joash Crowned King of Judah 4 In athe seventh year Jehoiada sent and brought the captains of hundreds—of the bodyguards and the 1escorts—and brought them into the house of the LORD to him. And he made a covenant with them and took an oath from them in the house of the LORD, and showed them the king’s son. 5 Then he commanded them, say- ing, “This is what you shall do: One- third of you who 1come on duty aon the Sabbath shall be keeping watch over the king’s house, 6 “one-third shall be at the gate of Sur, and one-third at the gate behind the escorts. You shall keep the watch of the house, lest it be broken down. 7 “The two 1contingents of you who go off duty on the Sabbath shall keep the watch of the house of the LORD for the king. 8 “But you shall surround the king on all sides, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever comes within range, let him be put to death.You are to be with the king as he goes out and as he comes in.” 9 aSo the captains of the hundreds did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded.

d the escorts. You shall keep the watch of the house, lest it be broken down. 7 “The two 1contingents of you who go off duty on the Sabbath shall keep the watch of the house of the LORD for the king. 8 “But you shall surround the king on all sides, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever comes within range, let him be put to death.You are to be with the king as he goes out and as he comes in.” 9 aSo the captains of the hundreds did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded. Each of them took his men who were to be on duty on the Sabbath, with those who were going off duty on the Sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest. 10 And the priest gave the captains of hundreds the spears and shields which had belonged to King David, athat were in the temple of the LORD. 11 Then the escorts stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, all around the king, from the right 1side of the temple to the left side of the temple, by the altar and the house. 12 And he brought out the king’s son, put the crown on him, and gave him the aTestimony;1 they made him king and anointed him, and they clapped their hands and said, b“Long live the king!” Death of Athaliah 13 aNow when Athaliah heard the noise of the escorts and the people, she came to the people in the tem- ple of the LORD. 14 When she looked, there was the 24 a1 Kin. 20:39 25 1Lit. city 26 a[Deut. 7:5, 25]; 1 Kin. 14:23; 2 Kin. 3:2 27 aEzra 6:11; Dan. 2:5; 3:29 1Lit. house 29 a1 Kin. 12:28–30; 13:33, 34 30 a2 Kin. 9:6, 7 b2 Kin. 13:1, 10; 14:23; 15:8, 12 31 a1 Kin. 14:16 1was not careful 32 a1 Kin. 19:17; 2 Kin. 8:12; 13:22 33 aDeut. 2:36 bAmos 1:3–5 35 a2 Kin. 13:1 1Died and joined his ancestors CHAPTER 11 1 a2 Chr. 22:10 b2 Kin. 8:26 c2 Kin. 9:27 2 a2 Kin. 8:25 1Jehoshabe- thath, 2 Chr. 22:11 2Or Jehoash 4 a2 Kin. 12:2; 2 Chr. 23:1 1guards 5 a1 Chr. 9:25 1Lit. enter in 7 1companies 9 a2 Chr. 23:8 10 a2 Sam. 8:7; 1 Chr. 18:7 11 1Lit. shoul- der 12 aEx. 25:16; 31:18 b1 Sam. 10:24 1Law, Ex. 25:16, 21; Deut. 31:9 13 a2 Kin. 8:26; 2 Chr. 23:12

2 KINGS 11:15 336 king standing by aa pillar according to custom; and the leaders and the trumpeters were by the king. All the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets. So Athaliah tore her clothes and cried out, “Treason! Treason!” 15 And Jehoiada the priest com- manded the captains of the hun- dreds, the officers of the army, and said to them, “Take her outside 1under guard, and slay with the sword whoever follows her.” For the priest had said, “Do not let her be killed in the house of the LORD.” 16 So they seized her; and she went by way of the horses’ entrance into the king’s house, and there she was killed. 17 aThen Jehoiada bmade a covenant between the LORD, the king, and the people, that they should be the LORD’s people, and also cbetween the king and the peo- ple. 18 And all the people of the land went to the atemple of Baal, and tore it down. They thoroughly bbroke in pieces its altars and 1images, and ckilled Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And dthe priest appointed 2officers over the house of the LORD. 19 Then he took the captains of hundreds, the bodyguards, the escorts, and all the people of the land; and they brought the king down from the house of the LORD, and went by way of the gate of the escorts to the king’s house. Then he sat on the throne of the kings. 20 So all the people of the land rejoiced; and the city was quiet, for they had slain Athaliah with the sword in the king’s house. 21 Jehoash was aseven years old when he became king. Jehoash Repairs the Temple 12 In the seventh year of Jehu, aJehoash1 became king, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba. 2 Jehoash did what was right in the sight of the LORD all the days in which aJehoiada the priest in- structed him. 3 But athe 1high places were not taken away; the people still sacri- ficed and burned incense on the high places. 4 And Jehoash said to the priests, a“All the money of the dedicated gifts that are brought into the house of the LORD—each man’s bcensus1 money, each man’s cassessment money—and all the money that 2a man dpurposes in his heart to bring into the house of the LORD, 5 “let the priests take it them- selves, each from his constituency; and let them repair the 1damages of the temple, wherever any dilapida- tion is found.” 6 Now it was so, by the twenty- third year of King Jehoash, athat the priests had not repaired the dam- ages of the temple. 7 aSo King Jehoash called Je- hoiada the priest and the other priests, and said to them, “Why have you not repaired the damages of the temple?

money that 2a man dpurposes in his heart to bring into the house of the LORD, 5 “let the priests take it them- selves, each from his constituency; and let them repair the 1damages of the temple, wherever any dilapida- tion is found.” 6 Now it was so, by the twenty- third year of King Jehoash, athat the priests had not repaired the dam- ages of the temple. 7 aSo King Jehoash called Je- hoiada the priest and the other priests, and said to them, “Why have you not repaired the damages of the temple? Now therefore, do not take more money from your constituency, but deliver it for repairing the dam- ages of the temple.” 8 And the priests agreed that they would neither receive more money from the people, nor repair the dam- ages of the temple. 9 Then Jehoiada the priest took aa chest, bored a hole in its lid, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one comes into the house of the LORD; and the priests who 1kept the door put bthere all the money brought into the house of the LORD. 10 So it was, whenever they saw that there was much money in the chest, that the king’s ascribe1 and the high priest came up and 2put it in bags, and counted the money that was found in the house of the LORD. 11 Then they gave the money, which had been apportioned, into the hands of those who did the work, who had the oversight of the house of the LORD; and they 1paid it out to the carpenters and builders who worked on the house of the LORD, 12 and to masons and stonecutters, and for buying timber and hewn stone, to arepair the damage of the house of the LORD, and for all that was paid out to repair the temple. 13 However athere were not made for the house of the LORD basins of silver, trimmers, sprinkling-bowls, trumpets, any articles of gold or articles of silver, from the money brought into the house of the LORD. 14 But they gave that to the work- men, and they repaired the house of the LORD with it. 15 Moreover athey did not require an account from the men into whose hand they delivered the money to be paid to workmen, for they dealt faithfully. 16 aThe money from the trespass offerings and the money from the sin offerings was not brought into the house of the LORD. bIt belonged to the priests. Hazael Threatens Jerusalem 17 aHazael king of Syria went up and fought against Gath, and took it; then bHazael set his face to 1go up to Jerusalem. 18 And Jehoash king of Judah atook all the sacred things that his fathers, Jehoshaphat and Jehoram and Aha- ziah, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own sacred things, and all 14 a2 Kin. 23:3; 2 Chr. 34:31 15 1Lit. between ranks 17 a2 Chr. 23:16 bJosh. 24:24, 25; 2 Chr. 15:12–15 c2 Sam. 5:3 18 a2 Kin. 10:26, 27 b[Deut. 12:3] c1 Kin. 18:40; 2 Kin. 10:11 d2 Chr. 23:18 1Idols 2Lit. offices 21 a2 Chr. 24:1–14 CHAPTER 12 1 a2 Chr. 24:1 1Joash, 2 Kin. 11:2ff. 2 a2 Kin. 11:4 3 a1 Kin. 15:14; 22:43; 2 Kin. 14:4; 15:35 1Places for pagan worship 4 a2 Kin. 22:4 bEx. 30:13–16 cLev. 27:2–28 dEx. 35:5; 1 Chr. 29:3–9 1Lit. the money com- ing over 2any man’s heart prompts him to bring 5 1Lit. breaches 6 a2 Chr. 24:5 7 a2 Chr. 24:6 9 a2 Chr. 23:1; 24:8 bMark 12:41; Luke 21:1 1guarded at the door 10 a2 Sam. 8:17; 2 Kin. 19:2; 22:3, 4, 12 1secretary 2tied it up 11 1Lit. weighed 12 a2 Kin. 22:5, 6 13 a2 Chr. 24:14 15 a2 Kin. 22:7; [1 Cor. 4:2]; 2 Cor. 8:20 16 a[Lev. 5:15, 18] b[Lev. 7:7; Num. 18:9] 17 a2 Kin. 8:12 b2 Chr. 24:23 1Advance upon 18 a1 Kin. 15:18; 2 Kin. 16:8; 18:15, 16

337 2 KINGS 13:23 the gold found in the treasuries of the house of the LORD and in the king’s house, and sent them to Hazael king of Syria. Then he went away from Jerusalem. Death of Joash 19 Now the rest of the acts of 1Joash, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chron- icles of the kings of Judah? 20 And ahis servants arose and formed a conspiracy, and killed Joash in the house of 1the Millo, which goes down to Silla. 21 For 1Jozachar the son of Shimeath and Jehozabad the son of 2Shomer, his servants, struck him. So he died, and they buried him with his fathers in the City of David. Then aAmaziah his son reigned in his place. Jehoahaz Reigns in Israel 13 In the twenty-third year of aJoash1 the son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, bJehoahaz the son of Jehu became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned seventeen years. 2 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and followed the asins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin. He did not 1depart from them. 3 Then athe anger of the LORD was aroused against Israel, and He delivered them into the hand of bHazael king of Syria, and into the hand of cBen-Hadad the son of Haz- ael, all their days. 4 So Jehoahaz apleaded with the LORD, and the LORD listened to him; for bHe saw the oppression of Israel, because the king of Syria oppressed them. 5 aThen the LORD gave Israel a deliverer, so that they escaped from under the hand of the Syrians; and the children of Israel dwelt in their tents as before. 6 Nevertheless they did not depart from the sins of the house of Jer- oboam, who had made Israel sin, but walked in them; aand the 1wooden image also remained in Samaria. 7 For He left of the army of Jehoa- haz only fifty horsemen, ten chari- ots, and ten thousand foot soldiers; for the king of Syria had destroyed them aand made them blike the dust at threshing. 8 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoa- haz, all that he did, and his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 9 So Jehoahaz 1rested with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria. Then 2Joash his son reigned in his place. Jehoash Reigns in Israel 10 In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, 1Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned sixteen years. 11 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD. He did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, but walked in them. 12 aNow the rest of the acts of Joash, ball that he did, and chis might with which he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 13 So Joash arested1 with his fathers. Then Jeroboam sat on his throne. And Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. Death of Elisha 14 Elisha had become sick with the illness of which he would die. Then Joash the king of Israel came down to him, and wept over his face, and said, “O my father, my father, athe chariots of Israel and their horse- men!” 15 And Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and some arrows.” So he took himself a bow and some arrows. 16 Then he said to the king of Israel, “Put your hand on the bow.” So he put his hand on it, and Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands. 17 And he said, “Open the east window”; and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot”; and he shot. And he said, “The arrow of the LORD’s deliverance and the arrow of deliverance from Syria; for you must strike the Syrians at aAphek till you have destroyed them.” 18 Then he said, “Take the arrows”; so he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground”; so he struck three times, and stopped. 19 And the man of God was angry with him, and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck Syria till you had destroyed it! aBut now you will strike Syria only three times.” 20 Then Elisha 1died, and they buried him.

rrow of deliverance from Syria; for you must strike the Syrians at aAphek till you have destroyed them.” 18 Then he said, “Take the arrows”; so he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground”; so he struck three times, and stopped. 19 And the man of God was angry with him, and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck Syria till you had destroyed it! aBut now you will strike Syria only three times.” 20 Then Elisha 1died, and they buried him. And the araiding bands from Moab invaded the land in the spring of the year. 21 So it was, as they were burying a man, that suddenly they spied a band of raiders; and they put the man in the tomb of Elisha; and when the man was let down and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet. Israel Recaptures Cities from Syria 22 And aHazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. 23 But the LORD was agracious to them, had compassion on them, and bregarded them, cbecause of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and 19 1Jehoash, vv. 1–18 20 a2 Kin. 14:5; 2 Chr. 24:25 1Lit. The Landfill 21 a2 Chr. 24:27 1Zabad, 2 Chr. 24:26 2Shimrith, 2 Chr. 24:26 CHAPTER 13 1 a2 Kin. 12:1 b2 Kin. 10:35 1Jehoash, 2 Kin. 12:1–18 2 a1 Kin. 12:26–33 1Lit. turn 3 aJudg. 2:14 b2 Kin. 8:12 cAmos 1:4 4 a[Ps. 78:34] b[Ex. 3:7, 9; Judg. 2:18]; 2 Kin. 14:26 5 a2 Kin. 13:25; 14:25, 27; Neh. 9:27 6 a1 Kin. 16:33 1Heb. Ashe- rah, a Canaan- ite goddess 7 a2 Kin. 10:32 b[Amos 1:3] 9 1Died and joined his ancestors 2Or Jehoash 10 1Joash, v. 9 12 a2 Kin. 14:8–15 b2 Kin. 13:14–19, 25 c2 Kin. 14:9; 2 Chr. 25:17–25 13 a2 Kin. 14:16 1Died and joined his ancestors 14 a2 Kin. 2:12 17 a1 Kin. 20:26 19 a2 Kin. 13:25 20 a2 Kin. 3:5; 24:2 1Having prophesied at least 55 years 22 a2 Kin. 8:12, 13 23 a2 Kin. 14:27 b[Ex. 2:24, 25] cGen. 13:16, 17; 17:2–7; Ex. 32:13

2 KINGS 13:24 338 Jacob, and would not yet destroy them or cast them from His pres- ence. 24 Now Hazael king of Syria died. Then Ben-Hadad his son reigned in his place. 25 And 1Jehoash the son of Jehoa- haz recaptured from the hand of Ben-Hadad, the son of Hazael, the cities which he had taken out of the hand of Jehoahaz his father by war. aThree times Joash defeated him and recaptured the cities of Israel. Amaziah Reigns in Judah 14 In athe second year of Joash the son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel, bAmaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, became king. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jeru- salem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. 3 And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, yet not like his father David; he did everything aas his father Joash had done. 4 aHowever the 1high places were not taken away, and the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. 5 Now it happened, as soon as the kingdom was established in his hand, that he executed his servants awho had murdered his father the king. 6 But the children of the murder- ers he did not execute, according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, in which the LORD commanded, saying, a“Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for their fathers; but a person shall be put to death for his own sin.” 7 aHe killed ten thousand Edomites in bthe Valley of Salt, and took 1Sela by war, cand called its name Joktheel to this day. 8 aThen Amaziah sent messen- gers to 1Jehoash the son of Jehoa- haz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, “Come, let us face one another in battle.” 9 And Jehoash king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, a“The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the bcedar that was in Leba- non, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son as wife’; and a wild beast that was in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thistle. 10 “You have indeed defeated Edom, and ayour heart has 1lifted you up. Glory in that, and stay at home; for why should you meddle with trouble so that you fall—you and Judah with you?” 11 But Amaziah would not heed. Therefore Jehoash king of Israel went out; so he and Amaziah king of Judah faced one another at aBeth Shemesh, which belongs to Judah. 12 And Judah was defeated by Israel, and every man fled to his tent. 13 Then Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash, the son of Ahaziah, at Beth Shemesh; and he went to Jerusalem, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from athe Gate of Ephraim to bthe Corner Gate— 1four hundred cubits. 14 And he took all athe gold and silver, all the articles that were found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the king’s house, and hostages, and returned to Sa- maria. 15 aNow the rest of the acts of Jehoash which he did—his might, and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah—are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 16 So Jehoash 1rested with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

o bthe Corner Gate— 1four hundred cubits. 14 And he took all athe gold and silver, all the articles that were found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the king’s house, and hostages, and returned to Sa- maria. 15 aNow the rest of the acts of Jehoash which he did—his might, and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah—are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 16 So Jehoash 1rested with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. Then Jer- oboam his son reigned in his place. 17 aAmaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, lived fifteen years after the death of Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel. 18 Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 19 And athey formed a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to bLachish; but they sent after him to Lachish and killed him there. 20 Then they brought him on horses, and he was buried at Jerusalem with his fathers in the City of David. 21 And all the people of Judah took aAzariah,1 who was sixteen years old, and made him king instead of his father Amaziah. 22 He built aElath1 and restored it to Judah, after 2the king rested with his fathers. Jeroboam II Reigns in Israel 23 In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, Jer- oboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, became king in Samaria, and reigned forty-one years. 24 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD; he did not depart from all the asins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin. 25 He arestored the 1territory of Israel bfrom the entrance of Hamath to cthe2 Sea of the Arabah, accord- ing to the word of the LORD God of Israel, which He had spoken through His servant dJonah the son of Amittai, the prophet who was from eGath Hepher. 26 For the LORD asaw that the affliction of Israel was very bitter; and whether bond or free, bthere was no helper for Israel. 25 a2 Kin. 13:18, 19 1Joash, vv. 12–14, 25 CHAPTER 14 1 a2 Kin. 13:10 b2 Chr. 25:1, 2 3 a2 Kin. 12:2 4 a2 Kin. 12:3 1Places for pagan wor- ship 5 a2 Kin. 12:20 6 a[Ezek. 18:4, 20] 7 a2 Chr. 25:5–16 b2 Sam. 8:13 cJosh. 15:38 1Lit. The Rock; the city of Petra 8 a2 Chr. 25:17, 18 1Joash, 2 Kin. 13:9, 12–14, 25; 2 Chr. 25:17ff. 9 aJudg. 9:8–15 b1 Kin. 4:33 10 aDeut. 8:14 1Made you proud 11 aJosh. 19:38; 21:16 13 aNeh. 8:16; 12:39 bJer. 31:38 1About 600 feet 14 a1 Kin. 7:51 15 a2 Kin. 13:12, 13 16 1Died and joined his ancestors 17 a2 Chr. 25:25–28 19 a2 Chr. 25:27 bJosh. 10:31 21 a2 Kin. 15:13 1Uzziah, 2 Chr. 26:1ff.; Is. 6:1; etc. 22 a2 Kin. 16:6 1Heb. Eloth 2Amaziah died and joined his ancestors. 24 a1 Kin. 12:26–33 25 a2 Kin. 10:32; 13:5, 25 b1 Kin. 8:65 cDeut. 3:17 dJon. 1:1 eJosh. 19:13 1border 2The Dead Sea 26 a2 Kin. 13:4 bDeut. 32:36

339 2 KINGS 15:26 27 aAnd the LORD did not say that He would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven; but He saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash. 28 Now the rest of the acts of Jero- boam, and all that he did—his might, how he made war, and how he recap- tured for Israel, from aDamascus and Hamath, bwhat had belonged to Ju- dah—are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 29 So Jeroboam 1rested with his fathers, the kings of Israel. Then aZechariah his son reigned in his place. Azariah Reigns in Judah 15 In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, aAzariah the son of Amaziah, king of Judah, bbecame king. 2 He was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem. 3 And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done, 4 aexcept that the 1high places were not removed; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. 5 Then the LORD astruck the king, so that he was a leper until the day of his bdeath; so he cdwelt in an iso- lated house. And Jotham the king’s son was over the royal house, judg- ing the people of the land. 6 Now the rest of the acts of Azariah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chron- icles of the kings of Judah? 7 So Azariah 1rested with his fathers, and athey buried him with his fathers in the City of David. Then Jotham his son reigned in his place. Zechariah Reigns in Israel 8 In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah king of Judah, aZechariah the son of Jeroboam reigned over Israel in Samaria six months. 9 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, aas his fathers had done; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin. 10 Then Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him, and astruck and killed him in front of the peo- ple; and he reigned in his place. 11 Now the rest of the acts of Zechariah, indeed they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. 12 This was the word of the LORD which He spoke to Jehu, saying, a“Your sons shall sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.” And so it was. Shallum Reigns in Israel 13 Shallum the son of Jabesh be- came king in the thirty-ninth year of 1Uzziah king of Judah; and he reigned a full month in Samaria. 14 For Menahem the son of Gadi went up from aTirzah, came to Samaria, and struck Shallum the son of Jabesh in Samaria and killed him; and he reigned in his place. 15 Now the rest of the acts of Shal- lum, and the conspiracy which he 1led, indeed they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. 16 Then from Tirzah, Menahem attacked aTiphsah, all who were there, and its territory. Because they did not surrender, therefore he attacked it. All bthe women there who were with child he ripped open. Menahem Reigns in Israel 17 In the thirty-ninth year of Azari- ah king of Judah, Menahem the son of Gadi became king over Israel, and reigned ten years in Samaria. 18 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD; he did not depart all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin. 19 aPul1 king of Assyria came against the land; and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of sil- ver, that his 2hand might be with him to bstrengthen the kingdom under his control. 20 And Menahem aexacted1 the money from Israel, from all the very wealthy, from each man fifty shek- els of silver, to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back, and did not stay there in the land. 21 Now the rest of the acts of Menahem, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 22 So Menahem 1rested with his fathers.

sand talents of sil- ver, that his 2hand might be with him to bstrengthen the kingdom under his control. 20 And Menahem aexacted1 the money from Israel, from all the very wealthy, from each man fifty shek- els of silver, to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back, and did not stay there in the land. 21 Now the rest of the acts of Menahem, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 22 So Menahem 1rested with his fathers. Then Pekahiah his son reigned in his place. Pekahiah Reigns in Israel 23 In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekahiah the son of Menahem became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned two years. 24 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin. 25 Then Pekah the son of Rem- aliah, an officer of his, conspired against him and 1killed him in Samaria, in the acitadel of the king’s house, along with Argob and Arieh; and with him were fifty men of Gilead. He killed him and reigned in his place. 26 Now the rest of the acts of Peka- hiah, and all that he did, indeed they 27 a[2 Kin. 13:5, 23] 28 a1 Kin. 11:24 b2 Sam. 8:6; 1 Kin. 11:24; 2 Chr. 8:3 29 a2 Kin. 15:8 1Died and joined his ancestors CHAPTER 15 1 a2 Kin. 15:13, 30 b2 Kin. 14:21; 2 Chr. 26:1, 3, 4 4 a2 Kin. 12:3; 14:4; 15:35 1Places for pagan wor- ship 5 a2 Chr. 26:19–23; Ps. 78:31 bIs. 6:1 c[Lev. 13:46]; Num. 12:14 7 a2 Chr. 26:23 1Died and joined his ancestors 8 a2 Kin. 14:29 9 a2 Kin. 14:24 10 aAmos 7:9 12 a2 Kin. 10:30 13 1Azariah, 2 Kin. 14:21ff.; 15:1ff. 14 a1 Kin. 14:17; Song 6:4 15 1Lit. con- spired 16 a1 Kin. 4:24 b2 Kin. 8:12; Hos. 13:16 19 a1 Chr. 5:26; Is. 66:19; Hos. 8:9 b2 Kin. 14:5 1Tiglath- Pileser III, v. 29 2Support 20 a2 Kin. 23:35 1took 22 1Died and joined his ancestors 25 a1 Kin. 16:18 1Lit. struck

2 KINGS 15:27 340 are written in the book of the chron- icles of the kings of Israel. Pekah Reigns in Israel 27 In the fifty-second year of Azariah king of Judah, aPekah the son of Remaliah became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned twenty years. 28 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin. 29 In the days of Pekah king of Israel, 1Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria acame and took bIjon, Abel Beth Maachah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali; and he ccarried them captive to Assyria. 30 Then Hoshea the son of Elah led a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah, and struck and killed him; so he areigned in his place in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah. 31 Now the rest of the acts of Pekah, and all that he did, indeed they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. Jotham Reigns in Judah 32 In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, aJotham the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, began to reign. 33 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was 1Jerusha the daughter of Zadok. 34 And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD; he did aac- cording to all that his father Uzziah had done. 35 aHowever the 1high places were not removed; the people still sacri- ficed and burned incense on the high places. bHe built the Upper Gate of the house of the LORD. 36 Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chron- icles of the kings of Judah? 37 In those days the LORD began to send aRezin king of Syria and bPekah the son of Remaliah against Judah. 38 So Jotham 1rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David his fa- ther. Then Ahaz his son reigned in his place. Ahaz Reigns in Judah 16 In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, Ahaz the son of Jotham, king of Judah, began to reign. 2 Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned six- teen years in Jerusalem; and he did not do what was right in the sight of the LORD his God, as his father David had done. 3 But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel; indeed ahe made his son pass through the fire, according to the babominations of the nations whom the LORD had cast out from before the children of Israel. 4 And he sacrificed and burned incense on the ahigh places, bon the hills, and under every green tree. 5 aThen Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem to make war; and they besieged Ahaz but could not overcome him. 6 At that time Rezin king of Syria acaptured 1Elath for Syria, and drove the men of Judah from Elath. Then the 2Edomites went to Elath, and dwell there to this day. 7 So Ahaz sent messengers to aTiglath-Pileser1 king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and save me from the hand of the king of Syria and from the hand of the king of Israel, who rise up against me.” 8 And Ahaz atook the silver and gold that was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasuries of the king’s house, and sent it as a present to the king of Assyria. 9 So the king of Assyria heeded him; for the king of Assyria went up against aDamascus and btook it, car- ried its people captive to cKir, and killed Rezin. 10 Now King Ahaz went to Damas- cus to meet Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, and saw an altar that was at Damascus; and King Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the design of the altar and its pattern, according to all its workmanship. 11 Then aUrijah the priest built an altar according to all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus.

ng of Assyria. 9 So the king of Assyria heeded him; for the king of Assyria went up against aDamascus and btook it, car- ried its people captive to cKir, and killed Rezin. 10 Now King Ahaz went to Damas- cus to meet Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, and saw an altar that was at Damascus; and King Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the design of the altar and its pattern, according to all its workmanship. 11 Then aUrijah the priest built an altar according to all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus. So Urijah the priest made it before King Ahaz came back from Damascus. 12 And when the king came back from Damascus, the king saw the altar; and athe king approached the altar and made offerings on it. 13 So he burned his burnt offering and his grain offering; and he poured his drink offering and sprin- kled the blood of his peace offerings on the altar. 14 He also brought athe bronze altar which was before the LORD, from the front of the 1temple—from between the new altar and the house of the LORD—and put it on the north side of the new altar. 15 Then King Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, “On the great new altar burn athe morning burnt offering, the evening grain offering, the king’s burnt sacrifice, and his grain offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, their grain offering, and their drink 27 a2 Chr. 28:6; Is. 7:1 29 a2 Kin. 16:7, 10; 1 Chr. 5:26 b1 Kin. 15:20 c2 Kin. 17:6 1A later name of Pul, v. 19 30 a2 Kin. 17:1; [Hos. 10:3, 7, 15] 32 a2 Chr. 27:1 33 1Jerushah, 2 Chr. 27:1 34 a2 Kin. 15:3, 4; 2 Chr. 26:4, 5 35 a2 Kin. 15:4 b2 Chr. 23:20; 27:3 1Places for pagan worship 37 a2 Kin. 16:5–9; Is. 7:1–17 b2 Kin. 15:26, 27 38 1Died and joined his ancestors CHAPTER 16 3 a[Lev. 18:21]; 2 Kin. 17:17; 2 Chr. 28:3; Ps. 106:37, 38; Is. 1:1 b[Deut. 12:31]; 2 Kin. 21:2, 11 4 a2 Kin. 15:34, 35 b[Deut. 12:2]; 1 Kin. 14:23 5 a2 Kin. 15:37; Is. 7:1, 4 6 a2 Kin. 14:22; 2 Chr. 26:2 1Lit. Large Tree; sing. of Eloth 2A few ancient mss. Syrians 7 a2 Kin. 15:29; 1 Chr. 5:26; 2 Chr. 28:20 1A later name of Pul, 2 Kin. 15:19 8 a2 Kin. 12:17, 18; 2 Chr. 28:21 9 a2 Kin. 14:28 bAmos 1:5 cIs. 22:6; Amos 9:7 11 aIs. 8:2 12 a2 Chr. 26:16, 19 14 aEx. 27:1, 2; 40:6, 29; 2 Chr. 4:1 1Lit. house 15 aEx. 29:39–41

341 2 KINGS 17:22 offerings; and sprinkle on it all the blood of the burnt offering and all the blood of the sacrifice. And the bronze altar shall be for me to inquire by.” 16 Thus did Urijah the priest, ac- cording to all that King Ahaz com- manded. 17 aAnd King Ahaz cut off bthe panels of the carts, and removed the lavers from them; and he took down cthe Sea from the bronze oxen that were under it, and put it on a pave- ment of stones. 18 Also he removed the Sabbath pavilion which they had built in the temple, and he removed the king’s outer entrance from the house of the LORD, on account of the king of Assyria. 19 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaz which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 20 So Ahaz rested with his fathers, and awas buried with his fathers in the City of David. Then Hezekiah his son reigned in his place. Hoshea Reigns in Israel 17 In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, aHoshea the son of Elah became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned nine years. 2 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, but not as the kings of Israel who were before him. 3 aShalmaneser king of Assyria came up against him; and Hoshea bbecame his vassal, and paid him tribute money. 4 And the king of Assyria uncov- ered a conspiracy by Hoshea; for he had sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, and brought no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year. Therefore the king of Assyria shut him up, and bound him in prison. Israel Carried Captive to Assyria 5 Now athe king of Assyria went throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria and besieged it for three years. 6 aIn the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria and bcarried Israel away to Assyria, cand placed them in Halah and by the Habor, the River of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. 7 For aso it was that the children of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and they had bfeared other gods, 8 and ahad walked in the statutes of the nations whom the LORD had cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made. 9 Also the children of Israel secretly did against the LORD their God things that were not right, and they built for themselves 1high places in all their cities, afrom watchtower to fortified city. 10 aThey set up for themselves sacred pillars and bwooden images1 con every high hill and under every green tree. 11 There they burned incense on all the high places, like the nations whom the LORD had carried away before them; and they did wicked things to provoke the LORD to anger, 12 for they served idols, aof which the LORD had said to them, b“You shall not do this thing.” 13 Yet the LORD testified against Israel and against Judah, by all of His aprophets, bevery seer, saying, c“Turn from your evil ways, and keep My commandments and My statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by My ser- vants the prophets.” 14 Nevertheless they would not hear, but astiffened their necks, like the necks of their fathers, who bdid not believe in the LORD their God. 15 And they arejected His statutes band His covenant that He had made with their fathers, and His tes- timonies which He had testified against them; they followed cidols, dbecame idolaters, and went after the nations who were all around them, concerning whom the LORD had charged them that they should enot do like them. 16 So they left all the command- ments of the LORD their God, amade for themselves a molded image and two calves, bmade a wooden image and worshiped all the chost of heaven, dand served Baal. 17 aAnd they caused their sons and daughters to pass through the fire, bpracticed witchcraft and soothsay- ing, and csold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger. 18 Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed

ad charged them that they should enot do like them. 16 So they left all the command- ments of the LORD their God, amade for themselves a molded image and two calves, bmade a wooden image and worshiped all the chost of heaven, dand served Baal. 17 aAnd they caused their sons and daughters to pass through the fire, bpracticed witchcraft and soothsay- ing, and csold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger. 18 Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them from His sight; there was none left abut the tribe of Judah alone. 19 Also aJudah did not keep the commandments of the LORD their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made. 20 And the LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel, afflicted them, and adelivered them into the hand of plunderers, until He had cast them from His bsight. 21 For aHe tore Israel from the house of David, and bthey made Jer- oboam the son of Nebat king. Then Jeroboam drove Israel from follow- ing the LORD, and made them com- mit a great sin. 22 For the children of Israel walked 17 a2 Chr. 28:24 b1 Kin. 7:27–29 c1 Kin. 7:23–25 20 a2 Chr. 28:27 CHAPTER 17 1 a2 Kin. 15:30 3 a2 Kin. 18:9–12 b2 Kin. 24:1 5 aHos. 13:16 6 aHos. 1:4; 13:16 b[Deut. 28:36, 64; 29:27, 28] c1 Chr. 5:26 7 a[Josh. 23:16] bJudg. 6:10 8 a[Lev. 18:3] 9 a2 Kin. 18:8 1Places for pagan wor- ship 10 aIs. 57:5 b[Ex. 34:12–14] c[Deut. 12:2] 1Heb. Ashe- rim, Canaan- ite deities 12 a[Ex. 20:3–5] b[Deut. 4:19] 13 aNeh. 9:29, 30 b1 Sam. 9:9 c[Jer. 18:11; 25:5; 35:15] 14 a[Acts 7:51] bDeut. 9:23 15 aJer. 44:3 bDeut. 29:25 cDeut. 32:21 d[Rom. 1:21–23] e[Deut. 12:30, 31] 16 a1 Kin. 12:28 b[1 Kin. 14:15] c[Deut. 4:19] d1 Kin. 16:31; 22:53 17 a2 Kin. 16:3 b[Deut. 18:10–12] c1 Kin. 21:20 18 a1 Kin. 11:13, 32 19 aJer. 3:8 20 a2 Kin. 13:3; 15:29 b2 Kin. 24:20 21 a1 Kin. 11:11, 31 b1 Kin. 12:20, 28

2 KINGS 17:23 342 in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they did not depart from them, 23 until the LORD removed Israel out of His sight, aas He had said by all His servants the prophets. bSo Israel was carried away from their own land to Assyria, as it is to this day. Assyria Resettles Samaria 24 aThen the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, bAva, Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the chil- dren of Israel; and they took posses- sion of Samaria and dwelt in its cities. 25 And it was so, at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they did not fear the LORD; therefore the LORD sent lions among them, which killed some of them. 26 So they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, “The nations whom you have removed and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the rituals of the God of the land; there- fore He has sent lions among them, and indeed, they are killing them because they do not know the ritu- als of the God of the land.” 27 Then the king of Assyria com- manded, saying, “Send there one of the priests whom you brought from there; let him go and dwell there, and let him teach them the rituals of the God of the land.” 28 Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the LORD. 29 However every nation contin- ued to make gods of its own, and put them ain the shrines on the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in the cities where they dwelt. 30 The men of aBabylon made Suc- coth Benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima, 31 aand the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the Sepharvites bburned their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. 32 So they feared the LORD, aand from every class they appointed for themselves priests of the 1high places, who sacrificed for them in the shrines of the high places. 33 aThey feared the LORD, yet served their own gods—according to the rituals of the nations from among whom they were carried away. 34 To this day they continue prac- ticing the former rituals; they do not fear the LORD, nor do they follow their statutes or their ordinances, or the law and commandment which the LORD had commanded the chil- dren of Jacob, awhom He named Israel, 35 with whom the LORD had made a covenant and charged them, say- ing: a“You shall not fear other gods, nor bbow down to them nor serve them nor sacrifice to them; 36 “but the LORD, who abrought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and ban outstretched arm, cHim you shall fear, Him you shall worship, and to Him you shall offer sacrifice. 37 “And the statutes, the ordi- nances, the law, and the command- ment which He wrote for you, ayou shall be careful to observe forever; you shall not fear other gods. 38 “And the covenant that I have made with you, ayou shall not for- get, nor shall you fear other gods. 39 “But the LORD your God you shall fear; and He will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies.” 40 However they did not obey, but they followed their former rituals. 41 aSo these nations feared the LORD, yet served their carved images; also their children and their children’s children have continued doing as their fathers did, even to this day. Hezekiah Reigns in Judah 18 Now it came to pass in the third year of aHoshea the son of Elah, king of Israel, that bHezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, be- gan to reign. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem.

obey, but they followed their former rituals. 41 aSo these nations feared the LORD, yet served their carved images; also their children and their children’s children have continued doing as their fathers did, even to this day. Hezekiah Reigns in Judah 18 Now it came to pass in the third year of aHoshea the son of Elah, king of Israel, that bHezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, be- gan to reign. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was aAbi1 the daughter of Zechariah. 3 And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father David had done. 4 aHe removed the 1high places and broke the sacred pillars, cut down the 2wooden image and broke in pieces the bbronze serpent that Moses had made; for until those days the children of Israel burned incense to it, and called it 3Nehushtan. 5 He atrusted in the LORD God of Israel, bso that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor who were before him. 6 For he aheld fast to the LORD; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the LORD had commanded Moses. 7 The LORD awas with him; he bprospered wherever he went. And he crebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. 8 aHe 1subdued the Philistines, as far as Gaza and its territory, bfrom watchtower to fortified city. 9 Now ait came to pass in the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea the son of Elah, king of Israel, that Shal- maneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria and besieged it. 23 a1 Kin. 14:16; Is. 8:4 b2 Kin. 17:6 24 aEzra 4:2, 10 b2 Kin. 18:34 29 a1 Kin. 12:31; 13:32 30 a2 Kin. 17:24 31 aEzra 4:9 b[Lev. 18:21; Deut. 12:31] 32 a1 Kin. 12:31; 13:33 1Places for pagan wor- ship 33 aZeph. 1:5 34 aGen. 32:28; 35:10 35 aJudg. 6:10 b[Ex. 20:5] 36 aEx. 14:15–30 bEx. 6:6; 9:15 c[Deut. 10:20] 37 aDeut. 5:32 38 aDeut. 4:23; 6:12 41 a2 Kin. 17:32, 33 CHAPTER 18 1 a2 Kin. 17:1 b2 Chr. 28:27; 29:1 2 aIs. 38:5 1Abijah, 2 Chr. 29:1ff. 4 a2 Chr. 31:1 bNum. 21:5–9 1Places for pagan wor- ship 2Heb. Asherah, a Canaanite goddess 3Lit. Bronze Thing, also similar to Heb. nahash, serpent 5 a2 Kin. 19:10; [Job 13:15; Ps. 13:5] b2 Kin. 23:25 6 aDeut. 10:20; Josh. 23:8 7 a[2 Chr. 15:2] bGen. 39:2, 3; 1 Sam. 18:5, 14; Ps. 60:12 c2 Kin. 16:7 8 a1 Chr. 4:41; 2 Chr. 28:18; Is. 14:29 b2 Kin. 17:9 1Lit. struck 9 a2 Kin. 17:3

343 2 KINGS 18:35 10 And at the end of three years they took it. In the sixth year of Hezekiah, that is, athe ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was taken. 11 aThen the king of Assyria car- ried Israel away captive to Assyria, and put them bin Halah and by the Habor, the River of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes, 12 because they adid not obey the voice of the LORD their God, but transgressed His covenant and all that Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded; and they would neither hear nor do them. 13 And ain the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the for- tified cities of Judah and took them. 14 Then Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “I have done wrong; turn away from me; whatever you impose on me I will pay.” And the king of Assyria assessed Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred tal- ents of silver and thirty talents of gold. 15 So Hezekiah agave him all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the king’s house. 16 At that time Hezekiah stripped the gold from the doors of the tem- ple of the LORD, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave 1it to the king of Assyria. Sennacherib Boasts Against the LORD 17 Then the king of Assyria sent the 1Tartan, the 2Rabsaris, and the 3Rabshakeh from Lachish, with a great army against Jerusalem, to King Hezekiah. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. When they had come up, they went and stood by the aaqueduct from the upper pool, bwhich was on the highway to the Fuller’s Field. 18 And when they had called to the king, aEliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the 1scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came out to them. 19 Then the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: a“What confidence is this in which you trust? 20 “You speak of having plans and power for war; but they are 1mere words. And in whom do you trust, that you rebel against me? 21 a“Now look! You are trusting in the staff of this broken reed, Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him. 22 “But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the LORD our God,’ is it not He awhose 1high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and said to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem’?” ’ 23 “Now therefore, I urge you, give a pledge to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses—if you are able on your part to put riders on them! 24 “How then will you repel one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put your trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen? 25 “Have I now come up without the LORD against this place to destroy it? The LORD said to me, ‘Go up against this land, and destroy it.’ ” 26 aThen Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in bAramaic, for we understand it; and do not speak to us in 1Hebrew in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” 27 But the Rabshakeh said to them, “Has my master sent me to your master and to you to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall, who will eat and drink their own waste with you?” 28 Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out with a loud voice in 1Hebrew, and spoke, saying, “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! 29 “Thus says the king: a‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he shall not be able to deliver you from his hand; 30 ‘nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, “The LORD will surely deliver us; this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” ’ 31 “Do not listen to Hezekiah; for thus says the king of Assyria: ‘Make peace with me 1by a present and come out to me; and every one of you eat from his own avine and every one from his own fig tree, and

the king of Assyria! 29 “Thus says the king: a‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he shall not be able to deliver you from his hand; 30 ‘nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, “The LORD will surely deliver us; this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” ’ 31 “Do not listen to Hezekiah; for thus says the king of Assyria: ‘Make peace with me 1by a present and come out to me; and every one of you eat from his own avine and every one from his own fig tree, and every one of you drink the waters of his own cistern; 32 ‘until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, aa land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive groves and honey, that you may live and not die. But do not listen to Hezekiah, lest he persuade you, say- ing, “The LORD will deliver us.” 33 a‘Has any of the gods of the nations at all delivered its land from the hand of the king of Assyria? 34 ‘Where are the gods of aHamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim and Hena and bIvah? Indeed, have they delivered Sama- ria from my hand? 35 ‘Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their countries 10 a2 Kin. 17:6 11 a2 Kin. 17:6; Hos. 1:4; Amos 4:2 b1 Chr. 5:26 12 a2 Kin. 17:7–18 13 a2 Chr. 32:1; Is. 36:1–39:8 15 a1 Kin. 15:18, 19; 2 Kin. 12:18; 16:8 16 1Lit. them 17 a2 Kin. 20:20 bIs. 7:3 1A title, prob- ably Com- mander in Chief 2A title, probably Chief Officer 3A title, prob- ably Chief of Staff or Gov- ernor 18 a2 Kin. 19:2; Is. 22:20 1sec- retary 19 a2 Chr. 32:10; [Ps. 118:8, 9] 20 1Lit. a word of the lips 21 aIs. 30:2–7; Ezek. 29:6, 7 22 a2 Kin. 18:4; 2 Chr. 31:1; 32:12 1Places for pagan worship 26 aIs. 36:11–39:8 bEzra 4:7; Dan. 2:4 1Lit. Judean 28 1Lit. Judean 29 a2 Chr. 32:15 31 a1 Kin. 4:20, 25 1By paying tribute 32 aDeut. 8:7–9; 11:12 33 a2 Kin. 19:12; Is. 10:10, 11 34 a2 Kin. 19:13 b2 Kin. 17:24

2 KINGS 18:36 344 from my hand, athat the LORD should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?’ ” 36 But the people held their peace and answered him not a word; for the king’s commandment was, “Do not answer him.” 37 Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah awith their clothes torn, and told him the words of the Rab- shakeh. Isaiah Assures Deliverance 19 And aso it was, when King Hezekiah heard it, that he tore his clothes, covered himself with bsackcloth, and went into the house of the LORD. 2 Then he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. 3 And they said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah: ‘This day is a day of trouble, and rebuke, and blas- phemy; for the children have come to birth, but there is no strength to 1bring them forth. 4 a‘It may be that the LORD your God will hear all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to breproach the living God, and will crebuke the words which the LORD your God has heard. Therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.’ ” 5 So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. 6 aAnd Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your master, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Do not be bafraid of the words which you have heard, with which the cservants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. 7 “Surely I will send aa spirit upon him, and he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.” ’ ” Sennacherib’s Threat and Hezekiah’s Prayer 8 Then the Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria war- ring against Libnah, for he heard that he had departed afrom Lachish. 9 And athe king heard concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, “Look, he has come out to make war with you.” So he again sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “Thus you shall speak to Heze- kiah king of Judah, saying: ‘Do not let your God ain whom you trust deceive you, saying, “Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” 11 ‘Look! You have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by utterly destroying them; and shall you be delivered? 12 a‘Have the gods of the nations delivered those whom my fathers have destroyed, Gozan and Haran and Rezeph, and the people of bEden who were in Telassar? 13 a‘Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah?’ ” 14 aAnd Hezekiah received the let- ter from the hand of the messen- gers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD. 15 Then Hezekiah prayed before the LORD, and said: “O LORD God of Israel, the One awho dwells between the cherubim, bYou are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 16 a“Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; bopen Your eyes, O LORD, and see; and hear the words of Sen- nacherib, cwhich he has sent to reproach the living God. 17 “Truly, LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands, 18 “and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were anot gods, but bthe work of men’s hands—wood and stone.

of Israel, the One awho dwells between the cherubim, bYou are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 16 a“Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; bopen Your eyes, O LORD, and see; and hear the words of Sen- nacherib, cwhich he has sent to reproach the living God. 17 “Truly, LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands, 18 “and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were anot gods, but bthe work of men’s hands—wood and stone. Therefore they destroyed them. 19 “Now therefore, O LORD our God, I pray, save us from his hand, athat all the kingdoms of the earth may bknow that You are the LORD God,You alone.” The Word of the LORD Concerning Sennacherib 20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: a‘Because you have prayed to Me against Sen- nacherib king of Assyria, bI have heard.’ 21 “This is the word which the LORD has spoken concerning him: ‘The virgin, athe daughter of Zion, Has despised you, laughed you to scorn; The daughter of Jerusalem bHas shaken her head behind your back! 22 ‘Whom have you reproached and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice, And lifted up your eyes on high? Against athe Holy One of Israel. 23 aBy your messengers you have reproached the Lord, And said: b“By the multitude of my chariots 35 aDan. 3:15 37 aIs. 33:7 CHAPTER 19 1 a2 Kin. 18:13; 2 Chr. 32:20–22; Is. 37:1 bPs. 69:11 3 1give birth 4 a2 Sam. 16:12 b2 Kin. 18:35 cPs. 50:21 6 aIs. 37:6 b[Ps. 112:7] c2 Kin. 18:17 7 a2 Kin. 19:35–37; Jer. 51:1 8 a2 Kin. 18:14, 17 9 a1 Sam. 23:27; Is. 37:9 10 a2 Kin. 18:5 12 a2 Kin. 18:33, 34 bEzek. 27:23 13 a2 Kin. 18:34 14 aIs. 37:14 15 aEx. 25:22; Ps. 80:1; Is. 37:16 b[Is. 44:6] 16 aPs. 31:2; Is. 37:17 b1 Kin. 8:29; 2 Chr. 6:40 c2 Kin. 19:4 18 a[Is. 44:9–20; Jer. 10:3–5] bPs. 115:4; Jer. 10:3; [Acts 17:29] 19 aPs. 83:18 b1 Kin. 8:42, 43 20 aIs. 37:21 b2 Kin. 20:5; Ps. 65:2 21 aJer. 14:17; Lam. 2:13 bPs. 22:7, 8 22 aJer. 51:5 23 a2 Kin. 18:17 bPs. 20:7

345 2 KINGS 20:8 I have come up to the height of the mountains, To the limits of Lebanon; I will cut down its tall cedars And its choice cypress trees; I will enter the extremity of its borders, To its fruitful forest. 24 I have dug and drunk strange water, And with the soles of my feet I have adried up All the brooks of defense.” 25 ‘Did you not hear long ago How aI made it, From ancient times that I formed it? Now I have brought it to pass, That byou should be For crushing fortified cities into heaps of ruins. 26 Therefore their inhabitants had little power; They were dismayed and confounded; They were as the grass of the field And the green herb, As athe grass on the housetops And grain blighted before it is grown. 27 ‘But aI know your dwelling place, Your going out and your coming in, And your rage against Me. 28 Because your rage against Me and your tumult Have come up to My ears, Therefore aI will put My hook in your nose And My bridle in your lips, And I will turn you back bBy the way which you came. 29 ‘This shall be a asign to you: You shall eat this year such as grows 1of itself, And in the second year what springs from the same; Also in the third year sow and reap, Plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them. 30 aAnd the remnant who have escaped of the house of Judah Shall again take root downward, And bear fruit upward. 31 For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, And those who escape from Mount Zion. aThe zeal of the LORD 1of hosts will do this.’ 32 “Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria: ‘He shall anot come into this city, Nor shoot an arrow there, Nor come before it with shield, Nor build a siege mound against it. 33 By the way that he came, By the same shall he return; And he shall not come into this city,’ Says the LORD. 34 ‘For aI will bdefend this city, to save it For My own sake and cfor My servant David’s sake.’ ” Sennacherib’s Defeat and Death 35 And ait came to pass on a cer- tain night that the 1angel of the LORD went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses—all dead. 36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went away, returned home, and remained at aNineveh. 37 Now it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the temple of Nisroch his god, that his sons aAdrammelech and Sharezer bstruck him down with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. Then cEsarhaddon his son reigned in his place. Hezekiah’s Life Extended 20 In athose days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die, and not live.’ ” 2 Then he turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the LORD, saying, 3 a“Remember now, O LORD, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what was good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. 4 And it happened, before Isaiah had gone out into the middle court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 5 “Return and tell Hezekiah athe leader of My people, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: b“I have heard your prayer, I have seen cyour tears; surely I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the LORD. 6 “And I will add to your days fif- teen years. I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and aI will defend this city for My own sake, and for the sake of My servant David.” ’ ” 7 Then aIsaiah said, “Take a lump of figs.” So they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered. 8 And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, a“What is the sign that the LORD will 24 aIs. 19:6 25 a[Is. 45:7] bIs. 10:5, 6 26 aPs. 129:6 27 aPs. 139:1–3; Is. 37:28 28 aJob 41:2; Ezek. 29:4; 38:4; Amos 4:2 b2 Kin. 19:33, 36 29 aEx. 3:12; 1 Sam. 2:34; 2 Kin. 20:8, 9; Is. 7:11–14; Luke 2:12 1Without cul- tivation 30 a2 Kin. 19:4; 2 Chr. 32:22, 23 31 a2 Kin. 25:26; Is.

e, and for the sake of My servant David.” ’ ” 7 Then aIsaiah said, “Take a lump of figs.” So they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered. 8 And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, a“What is the sign that the LORD will 24 aIs. 19:6 25 a[Is. 45:7] bIs. 10:5, 6 26 aPs. 129:6 27 aPs. 139:1–3; Is. 37:28 28 aJob 41:2; Ezek. 29:4; 38:4; Amos 4:2 b2 Kin. 19:33, 36 29 aEx. 3:12; 1 Sam. 2:34; 2 Kin. 20:8, 9; Is. 7:11–14; Luke 2:12 1Without cul- tivation 30 a2 Kin. 19:4; 2 Chr. 32:22, 23 31 a2 Kin. 25:26; Is. 9:7 1So with many Heb. mss. and ancient vss. (cf. Is. 37:32); MT omits of hosts 32 aIs. 8:7–10 34 a2 Kin. 20:6; 2 Chr. 32:21 bIs. 31:5 c1 Kin. 11:12, 13 35 aEx. 12:29; Is. 10:12–19; 37:36; Hos. 1:7 1Or Angel 36 aGen. 10:11 37 a2 Kin. 17:31 b2 Kin. 19:7; 2 Chr. 32:21 cEzra 4:2 CHAPTER 20 1 a2 Kin. 18:13; 2 Chr. 32:24; Is. 38:1–22 3 a2 Kin. 18:3–6; Neh. 13:22 5 a1 Sam. 9:16; 10:1 b2 Kin. 19:20; Ps. 65:2 cPs. 39:12; 56:8 6 a2 Kin. 19:34; 2 Chr. 32:21 7 aIs. 38:21 8 aJudg. 6:17, 37, 39; Is. 7:11, 14; 38:22

2 KINGS 20:9 346 heal me, and that I shall go up to the house of the LORD the third day?” 9 Then Isaiah said, a“This is the sign to you from the LORD, that the LORD will do the thing which He has spoken: shall the shadow go for- ward ten degrees or go backward ten degrees?” 10 And Hezekiah answered, “It is an easy thing for the shadow to go down ten 1degrees; no, but let the shadow go backward ten degrees.” 11 So Isaiah the prophet cried out to the LORD, and aHe brought the shadow ten 1degrees backward, by which it had gone down on the sun- dial of Ahaz. The Babylonian Envoys 12 aAt that time 1Berodach-Bal- adan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick. 13 And aHezekiah was attentive to them, and showed them all the house of his treasures—the silver and gold, the spices and precious ointment, and 1all 2his armory—all that was found among his treasures. There was nothing in his house or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them. 14 Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where did they come to you?” So Hezekiah said, “They came from a far country, from Babylon.” 15 And he said, “What have they seen in your house?” So Hezekiah answered, a“They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them.” 16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD: 17 ‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and what your fathers have accumulated until this day, ashall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,’ says the LORD. 18 ‘And athey shall take away some of your sons who will 1descend from you, whom you will beget; band they shall be ceunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’ ” 19 So Hezekiah said to Isaiah, a“The word of the LORD which you have spoken is good!” For he said, “Will there not be peace and truth at least in my days?” Death of Hezekiah 20 aNow the rest of the acts of Hezekiah—all his might, and how he bmade a cpool and a 1tunnel and dbrought water into the city—are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 21 So aHezekiah 1rested with his fathers. Then Manasseh his son reigned in his place. Manasseh Reigns in Judah 21 Manasseh awas twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. 2 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, aaccording to the abomi- nations of the nations whom the LORD had cast out before the chil- dren of Israel. 3 For he rebuilt the 1high places awhich Hezekiah his father had destroyed; he raised up altars for Baal, and made a 2wooden image, bas Ahab king of Israel had done; and he cworshiped all 3the host of heaven and served them. 4 aHe also built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, b“In Jerusalem I will put My name.” 5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the atwo courts of the house of the LORD. 6 aAlso he made his son pass through the fire, practiced bsooth- saying, used witchcraft, and con- sulted spiritists and mediums.

ad destroyed; he raised up altars for Baal, and made a 2wooden image, bas Ahab king of Israel had done; and he cworshiped all 3the host of heaven and served them. 4 aHe also built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, b“In Jerusalem I will put My name.” 5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the atwo courts of the house of the LORD. 6 aAlso he made his son pass through the fire, practiced bsooth- saying, used witchcraft, and con- sulted spiritists and mediums. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger. 7 He even set a carved image of 1Asherah that he had made, in the 2house of which the LORD had said to David and to Solomon his son, a“In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever; 8 a“and I will not make the feet of Israel wander anymore from the land which I gave their fathers— only if they are careful to do accord- ing to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that My servant Moses commanded them.” 9 But they paid no attention, and Manasseh aseduced them to do more evil than the nations whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel. 10 And the LORD spoke aby His servants the prophets, saying, 11 a“Because Manasseh king of Judah has done these abominations (bhe has acted more wickedly than all the cAmorites who were before him, and dhas also made Judah sin with his idols), 12 “therefore thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘Behold, I am bringing such calamity upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whoever hears of it, both ahis ears will tingle. 13 ‘And I will stretch over Jerusa- lem athe measuring line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab; bI will wipe Jerusalem as one 9 aIs. 38:7, 8 10 1Lit. steps 11 aIs. 38:8 1Lit. steps 12 aIs. 39:1–8 1Merodach- Baladan, Is. 39:1 13 a2 Chr. 32:27, 31 1So with many Heb. mss., Syr., Tg.; MT omits all 2Lit. the house of his armor 15 a2 Kin. 20:13 17 aJer. 27:21, 22; 52:17 18 a2 Kin. 24:12 bDan. 1:3–7 cDan. 1:11, 18 1be born from 19 a1 Sam. 3:18 20 a2 Chr. 32:32 bNeh. 3:16 cIs. 7:3 d2 Chr. 32:3, 30 1aqueduct 21 a2 Chr. 32:33 1Died and joined his ancestors CHAPTER 21 1 a2 Chr. 33:1–9 2 a2 Kin. 16:3 3 a2 Kin. 18:4, 22 b1 Kin. 16:31–33 c[Deut. 4:19; 17:2–5] 1Places for pagan wor- ship 2Heb. Asherah, a Canaanite goddess 3The gods of the Assyrians 4 aJer. 7:30; 32:34 b1 Kin. 11:13 5 a1 Kin. 6:36; 7:12 6 a[Lev. 18:21; 20:2] b[Deut. 18:10–14] 7 a1 Kin. 8:29; 9:3 1A Canaanite goddess 2Temple 8 a2 Sam. 7:10 9 a[Prov. 29:12] 10 a2 Kin. 17:13 11 a2 Kin. 23:26, 27; 24:3, 4 b1 Kin. 21:26 cGen. 15:16 d2 Kin. 21:9 12 aJer. 19:3 13 aAmos 7:7, 8 b2 Kin. 22:16–19; 25:4–11

347 2 KINGS 22:15 wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. 14 ‘So I will forsake the aremnant of My inheritance and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become victims of plun- der to all their enemies, 15 ‘because they have done evil in My sight, and have provoked Me to anger since the day their fathers came out of Egypt, even to this day.’ ” 16 aMoreover Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, besides his sin by which he made Judah sin, in doing evil in the sight of the LORD. 17 Now athe rest of the acts of bMa- nasseh—all that he did, and the sin that he committed—are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 18 So aManasseh 1rested with his fathers, and was buried in the gar- den of his own house, in the garden of Uzza. Then his son Amon reigned in his place. Amon’s Reign and Death 19 aAmon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Meshullemeth the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah. 20 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, aas his father Manasseh had done. 21 So he walked in all the ways that his father had walked; and he served the idols that his father had served, and worshiped them. 22 He aforsook the LORD God of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of the LORD. 23 aThen the servants of Amon bconspired against him, and killed the king in his own house. 24 But the people of the land aexe- cuted all those who had conspired against King Amon. Then the peo- ple of the land made his son Josiah king in his place. 25 Now the rest of the acts of Amon which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 26 And he was buried in his tomb in the garden of Uzza. Then Josiah his son reigned in his place. Josiah Reigns in Judah 22 Josiah awas eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of bBozkath. 2 And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in all the ways of his father David; he adid not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. Hilkiah Finds the Book of the Law 3 aNow it came to pass, in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, that the king sent Shaphan the scribe, the son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to the house of the LORD, saying: 4 “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may count the money which has been abrought into the house of the LORD, which bthe door- keepers have gathered from the people. 5 “And let them adeliver it into the hand of those doing the work, who are the overseers in the house of the LORD; let them give it to those who are in the house of the LORD doing the work, to repair the damages of the house— 6 “to carpenters and builders and masons—and to buy timber and hewn stone to repair the house. 7 “However athere need be no accounting made with them of the money delivered into their hand, because they deal faithfully.” 8 Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, a“I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. 9 So Shaphan the scribe went to the king, bringing the king word, saying, “Your servants have 1gath- ered the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of those who do the work, who oversee the house of the LORD.” 10 Then Shaphan the scribe showed the king, saying, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king. 11 Now it happened, when the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, that he tore his clothes. 12 Then the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, aAhikam the son of Shaphan, 1Achbor the son of Michaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king, saying, 13 “Go, inquire of the LORD for me, for the people and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found; for great is athe

ing, saying, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king. 11 Now it happened, when the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, that he tore his clothes. 12 Then the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, aAhikam the son of Shaphan, 1Achbor the son of Michaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king, saying, 13 “Go, inquire of the LORD for me, for the people and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found; for great is athe wrath of the LORD that is aroused against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.” 14 So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of aTikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. (She dwelt in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter.) And they spoke with her. 15 Then she said to them, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘Tell the man who sent you to Me, 14 aJer. 6:9 16 a2 Kin. 24:4 17 a2 Chr. 33:11–19 b2 Kin. 20:21 18 a2 Chr. 33:20 1Died and joined his ancestors 19 a2 Chr. 33:21–23 20 a2 Kin. 21:2–6, 11, 16 22 aJudg. 2:12, 13; 1 Kin. 11:33; 1 Chr. 28:9 23 a1 Chr. 3:14; 2 Chr. 33:24, 25; Matt. 1:10 b2 Kin. 12:20; 14:19 24 a2 Kin. 14:5 CHAPTER 22 1 a1 Kin. 13:2; 2 Chr. 34:1 bJosh. 15:39 2 aDeut. 5:32; Josh. 1:7 3 a2 Chr. 34:8 4 a2 Kin. 12:4 b2 Kin. 12:9, 10 5 a2 Kin. 12:11–14 7 a2 Kin. 12:15; [1 Cor. 4:2] 8 aDeut. 31:24–26; 2 Chr. 34:14 9 1Lit. poured out 12 a2 Kin. 25:22; Jer. 26:24 1Abdon the son of Micah, 2 Chr. 34:20 13 a[Deut. 29:23–28; 31:17, 18] 14 a2 Chr. 34:22

2 KINGS 22:16 348 16 “Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, aI will bring calamity on this place and on its inhabitants—all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read— 17 a‘because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands. Therefore My wrath shall be aroused against this place and shall not be quenched.’ ” ’ 18 “But as for athe king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, in this manner you shall speak to him, ‘Thus says the LORD God of Israel: “Concerning the words which you have heard— 19 “because your aheart was ten- der, and you bhumbled yourself before the LORD when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they would become ca desolation and da curse, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you,” says the LORD. 20 “Surely, therefore, I will 1gather you to your fathers, and you ashall 2be gathered to your grave in peace; and your eyes shall not see all the calamity which I will bring on this place.” ’ ” So they brought back word to the king. Josiah Restores True Worship 23 Now athe king sent them to gather all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem to him. 2 The king went up to the house of the LORD with all the men of Judah, and with him all the inhabitants of Jerusalem—the priests and the prophets and all the people, both small and great. And he aread in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant bwhich had been found in the house of the LORD. 3 Then the king astood by a pillar and made a bcovenant before the LORD, to follow the LORD and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the peo- ple took a stand for the covenant. 4 And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, the apriests of the second order, and the doorkeep- ers, to bring bout of the temple of the LORD all the articles that were made for Baal, for 1Asherah, and for all 2the host of heaven; and he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel. 5 Then he removed the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense on the high places in the cities of Judah and in the places all around Jerusalem, and those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, to the moon, to the 1con- stellations, and to aall the host of heaven. 6 And he brought out the awooden1 image from the house of the LORD, to the Brook Kidron outside Jerusa- lem, burned it at the Brook Kidron and ground it to bashes, and threw its ashes on cthe graves of the com- mon people. 7 Then he tore down the ritual 1booths aof the 2perverted persons that were in the house of the LORD, bwhere the cwomen wove hangings for the wooden image. 8 And he brought all the priests from the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from aGeba to Beersheba; also he broke down the high places at the gates which were at the entrance of the Gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were to the left of the city gate. 9 aNevertheless the priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of the LORD in Jerusalem, bbut they ate unleavened bread among their brethren. 10 And he defiled aTopheth, which is in bthe Valley of the 1Son of Hin- nom, cthat no man might make his son or his daughter dpass through the fire to Molech. 11 Then he removed the horses that the kings of Judah had 1dedi- cated to the sun, at the entrance to the house of the LORD, by the cham- ber of Nathan-Melech, the officer who was in the court; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. 12 The altars that were aon the roof, the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which bManasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the LORD, the king broke down and pulverized there, and threw

h the fire to Molech. 11 Then he removed the horses that the kings of Judah had 1dedi- cated to the sun, at the entrance to the house of the LORD, by the cham- ber of Nathan-Melech, the officer who was in the court; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. 12 The altars that were aon the roof, the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which bManasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the LORD, the king broke down and pulverized there, and threw their dust into the Brook Kidron. 13 Then the king defiled the 1high places that were east of Jerusalem, which were on the 2south of 3the Mount of Corruption, which aSol- omon king of Israel had built for Ash- toreth the abomination of the Sido- nians, for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the people of Ammon. 14 And he abroke in pieces the sacred pillars and cut down the wooden images, and filled their places with the bones of men. 15 Moreover the altar that was at Bethel, and the 1high place awhich Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he broke down; and he burned the high place and crushed it to powder, and burned the wooden image. 16 As Josiah turned, he saw the tombs that were there on the moun- 16 aDeut. 29:27 17 aDeut. 29:25–27 18 a2 Chr. 34:26 19 a[Ps. 51:17] b1 Kin. 21:29 cLev. 26:31, 32 dJer. 26:6; 44:22 20 a[Is. 57:1, 2] 1Cause you to join your an- cestors in death 2Die a natural death CHAPTER 23 1 a2 Chr. 34:29, 30 2 aDeut. 31:10–13 b2 Kin. 22:8 3 a2 Kin. 11:14 b2 Kin. 11:17 4 a2 Kin. 25:18 b2 Kin. 21:3–7 1A Canaanite goddess 2The gods of the Assyrians 5 a2 Kin. 21:3 1Of the Zo- diac 6 a2 Kin. 21:7 bEx. 32:20 c2 Chr. 34:4 1Heb. Asherah, a Canaanite goddess 7 a1 Kin. 14:24; 15:12 bEzek. 16:16 cEx. 38:8 1Lit. houses 2Heb. qedeshim, those practic- ing sodomy and prostitu- tion in religious ritu- als 8 aJosh. 21:17 9 a[Ezek. 44:10–14] b1 Sam. 2:36 10 aIs. 30:33 bJosh. 15:8 c[Lev. 18:21] d2 Kin. 21:6 1Kt. Sons 11 1given 12 aJer. 19:13 b2 Kin. 21:5 13 a1 Kin. 11:5–7 1Places for pagan worship 2Lit. right of 3The Mount of Olives 14 a[Ex. 23:24] 15 a1 Kin. 12:28–33 1A place for pa- gan worship

349 2 KINGS 24:2 tain. And he sent and took the bones out of the tombs and burned them on the altar, and defiled it according to the aword of the LORD which the man of God proclaimed, who pro- claimed these words. 17 Then he said, “What gravestone is this that I see?” So the men of the city told him, “It is athe tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things which you have done against the altar of Bethel.” 18 And he said, “Let him alone; let no one move his bones.” So they let his bones alone, with the bones of athe prophet who came from Samaria. 19 Now Josiah also took away all the 1shrines of the 2high places that were ain the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to pro- voke 3the LORD to anger; and he did to them according to all the deeds he had done in Bethel. 20 aHe bexecuted all the priests of the 1high places who were there, on the altars, and cburned men’s bones on them; and he returned to Jerusalem. 21 Then the king commanded all the people, saying, a“Keep the Passover to the LORD your God, bas it is written in this Book of the Covenant.” 22 aSuch a Passover surely had never been held since the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah. 23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah this Passover was held before the LORD in Jerusalem. 24 Moreover Josiah put away those who consulted mediums and spiri- tists, the household gods and idols, all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might perform the words of athe law which were written in the book bthat Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the LORD. 25 aNow before him there was no king like him, who turned to the LORD with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his might, accord- ing to all the Law of Moses; nor after him did any arise like him. Impending Judgment on Judah 26 Nevertheless the LORD did not turn from the fierceness of His great wrath, with which His anger was aroused against Judah, abecause of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked Him. 27 And the LORD said, “I will also remove Judah from My sight, as aI have removed Israel, and will cast off this city Jerusalem which I have chosen, and the house of which I said, b‘My name shall be there.’ ” Josiah Dies in Battle 28 Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chron- icles of the kings of Judah? 29 aIn his days Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt went 1to the aid of the king of Assyria, to the River Eu- phrates; and King Josiah went against him. And Pharaoh Necho killed him at bMegiddo when he cconfronted him. 30 aThen his servants moved his body in a chariot from Megiddo, brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own tomb. And bthe people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, anointed him, and made him king in his father’s place. The Reign and Captivity of Jehoahaz 31 aJehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusa- lem. His mother’s name was bHamu- tal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 32 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done. 33 Now Pharaoh Necho put him in prison aat Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem; and he imposed on the land a tribute of one hundred tal- ents of silver and a talent of gold. 34 Then aPharaoh Necho made Eli- akim the son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah, and bchanged his name to cJehoiakim.

sa- lem. His mother’s name was bHamu- tal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 32 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done. 33 Now Pharaoh Necho put him in prison aat Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem; and he imposed on the land a tribute of one hundred tal- ents of silver and a talent of gold. 34 Then aPharaoh Necho made Eli- akim the son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah, and bchanged his name to cJehoiakim. And Pharaoh took Jehoahaz dand went to Egypt, and 1he died there. Jehoiakim Reigns in Judah 35 So Jehoiakim gave athe silver and gold to Pharaoh; but he taxed the land to give money according to the command of Pharaoh; he ex- acted the silver and gold from the people of the land, from every one according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Necho. 36 aJehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zebudah the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. 37 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done. Judah Overrun by Enemies 24 In ahis days Nebuchadnezzar king of bBabylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him. 2 aAnd the LORD sent against him raiding 1bands of Chaldeans, bands of Syrians, bands of Moabites, and bands of the people of Ammon; He 16 a1 Kin. 13:2 17 a1 Kin. 13:1, 30, 31 18 a1 Kin. 13:11, 31 19 a2 Chr. 34:6, 7 1Lit. houses 2Places for pagan wor- ship 3So with LXX, Syr., Vg.; MT, Tg. omit the LORD 20 a1 Kin. 13:2 b2 Kin. 10:25; 11:18 c2 Chr. 34:5 1Places for pagan worship 21 a2 Chr. 35:1 bDeut. 16:2–8 22 a2 Chr. 35:18, 19 24 a[Lev. 19:31; 20:27] b2 Kin. 22:8 25 a2 Kin. 18:5 26 aJer. 15:4 27 a2 Kin. 17:18, 20; 18:11; 21:13 b1 Kin. 8:29; 9:3 29 aJer. 2:16; 46:2 bZech. 12:11 c2 Kin. 14:8 1Or to attack, Heb. al can mean together with or against 30 a2 Chr. 35:24 b2 Chr. 36:1–4 31 aJer. 22:11 b2 Kin. 24:18 33 a2 Kin. 25:6 34 a2 Chr. 36:4 bDan. 1:7 cMatt. 1:11 dEzek. 19:3, 4 1Jehoahaz 35 a2 Kin. 23:33 36 a2 Chr. 36:5 CHAPTER 24 1 aDan. 1:1 b2 Kin. 20:14 2 aJer. 25:9; 32:28; 35:11 1troops

2 KINGS 24:3 350 sent them against Judah to destroy it, baccording to the word of the LORD which He had spoken by His servants the prophets. 3 Surely at the commandment of the LORD this came upon Judah, to remove them from His sight abe- cause of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, 4 aand also because of the inno- cent blood that he had shed; for he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, which the LORD would not pardon. 5 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 6 aSo Jehoiakim rested with his fathers. Then Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place. 7 And athe king of Egypt did not come out of his land anymore, for bthe king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt from the Brook of Egypt to the River Euphrates. The Reign and Captivity of Jehoiachin 8 aJehoiachin1 was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother’s name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. 9 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father had done. 10 aAt that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city 1was besieged. 11 And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, as his servants were besieging it. 12 aThen Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his servants, his princes, and his officers went out to the king of Babylon; and the king of Bab- ylon, bin the eighth year of his reign, took him prisoner. The Captivity of Jerusalem 13 aAnd he carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king’s house, and he bcut in pieces all the articles of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD, cas the LORD had said. 14 Also ahe carried into captivity all Jerusalem: all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, bten thou- sand captives, and call the craftsmen and smiths. None remained except dthe poorest people of the land. 15 And ahe carried Jehoiachin cap- tive to Babylon. The king’s mother, the king’s wives, his officers, and the mighty of the land he carried into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. 16 aAll the valiant men, seven thou- sand, and craftsmen and smiths, one thousand, all who were strong and fit for war, these the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon. Zedekiah Reigns in Judah 17 Then athe king of Babylon made Mattaniah, bJehoiachin’s1 uncle, king in his place, and cchanged his name to Zedekiah. 18 aZedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was bHamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 19 aHe also did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. 20 For because of the anger of the LORD this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, that He finally cast them out from His presence. aThen Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. The Fall and Captivity of Judah 25 Now it came to pass ain the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and en- camped against it; and they built a siege wall against it all around. 2 So the city was besieged until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 3 By the ninth day of the afourth month the famine had become so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. 4 Then athe city wall was broken through, and all the men of war fled at night by way of the gate between two walls, which was by the king’s garden, even though the Chaldeans were still encamped all around against the city. And bthe king1 went by way of the 2plain. 5 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king, and they overtook him in the plains of Jericho.

. 3 By the ninth day of the afourth month the famine had become so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. 4 Then athe city wall was broken through, and all the men of war fled at night by way of the gate between two walls, which was by the king’s garden, even though the Chaldeans were still encamped all around against the city. And bthe king1 went by way of the 2plain. 5 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king, and they overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his army was scattered from him. 6 So they took the king and brought him up to the king of Bab- ylon aat Riblah, and they pro- nounced judgment on him. 7 Then they killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, aput1 out the eyes of Zedekiah, bound him with bronze fetters, and took him to Babylon. 8 And in the fifth month, aon the seventh day of the month (which was bthe nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), cNebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 9 aHe burned the house of the LORD band the king’s house; all the houses of Jerusalem, that is, all the houses of the great, che burned with fire. 10 And all the army of the Chalde- ans who were with the captain of 2 b2 Kin. 20:17; 21:12–14; 23:27 3 a2 Kin. 21:2, 11; 23:26 4 a2 Kin. 21:16 6 aJer. 22:18, 19 7 aJer. 37:5–7 bJer. 46:2 8 a2 Chr. 36:9 1Jeconiah, 1 Chr. 3:16; Jer. 24:1; or Coniah, Jer. 22:24, 28 10 aDan. 1:1 1Lit. came into siege 12 aJer. 22:24–30; 24:1; 29:1, 2 b2 Chr. 36:10 13 aIs. 39:6 bDan. 5:2, 3 cJer. 20:5 14 aJer. 24:1 b2 Kin. 24:16 c1 Sam. 13:19 d2 Kin. 25:12 15 aJer. 22:24–28 16 aJer. 52:28 17 aJer. 37:1 b2 Chr. 36:10 c2 Chr. 36:4 1Lit. his 18 aJer. 52:1 b2 Kin. 23:31 19 a2 Chr. 36:12 20 aEzek. 17:15 CHAPTER 25 1 aJer. 6:6; 34:2 3 aLam. 4:9, 10 4 aJer. 39:2 bEzek. 12:12 1Lit. he 2Or Arabah, the Jordan Valley 6 aJer. 52:9 7 aJer. 39:7 1blinded 8 aJer. 52:12 b2 Kin. 24:12 cJer. 39:9 9 a2 Chr. 36:19 bJer. 39:8 cJer. 17:27

351 2 KINGS 25:30 the guard abroke down the walls of Jerusalem all around. 11 Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive athe rest of the people who remained in the city and the defec- tors who had deserted to the king of Babylon, with the rest of the multi- tude. 12 But the captain of the guard aleft some of the poor of the land as vine- dressers and farmers. 13 aThe bronze bpillars that were in the house of the LORD, and cthe carts and dthe bronze Sea that were in the house of the LORD, the Chaldeans broke in pieces, and ecar- ried their bronze to Babylon. 14 They also took away athe pots, the shovels, the trimmers, the spoons, and all the bronze utensils with which the priests ministered. 15 The firepans and the basins, the things of solid gold and solid silver, the captain of the guard took away. 16 The two pillars, one Sea, and the carts, which Solomon had made for the house of the LORD, athe bronze of all these articles was beyond measure. 17 aThe height of one pillar was 1eighteen cubits, and the capital on it was of bronze. The height of the capital was three cubits, and the network and pomegranates all around the capital were all of bronze. The second pillar was the same, with a network. 18 aAnd the captain of the guard took bSeraiah the chief priest, cZephaniah the second priest, and the three doorkeepers. 19 He also took out of the city an officer who had charge of the men of war, afive men of 1the king’s close associates who were found in the city, the chief recruiting officer of the army, who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men of the people of the land who were found in the city. 20 So Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, took these and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 21 Then the king of Babylon struck them and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. aThus Judah was carried away captive from its own land. Gedaliah Made Governor of Judah 22 Then he made Gedaliah the son of aAhikam, the son of Shaphan, governor over bthe people who remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left. 23 Now when all the acaptains of the armies, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, Johanan the son of Careah, Seraiah the son of Tan- humeth the Netophathite, and 1Jaazaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men. 24 And Gedaliah took an oath before them and their men, and said to them, “Do not be afraid of the ser- vants of the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.” 25 But ait happened in the seventh month that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal family, came with ten men and struck and killed Gedaliah, the Jews, as well as the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. 26 And all the people, small and great, and the captains of the armies, arose aand went to Egypt; for they were afraid of the Chal- deans. Jehoiachin Released from Prison 27 aNow it came to pass in the thirty- seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty- seventh day of the month, that 1Evil-Merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, bre- leased Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison. 28 He spoke kindly to him, and gave him a more prominent seat than those of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 29 So Jehoiachin changed from his prison garments, and he aate 1bread regularly before the king all the days of his life. 30 And as for his 1provisions, there was a 2regular ration given him by the king, a portion for each day, all the days of his life. 10 a2 Kin. 14:13; Neh. 1:3 11 aIs. 1:9; Jer. 5:19; 39:9 12 a2 Kin. 24:14; Jer. 39:10; 40:7; 52:16 13 aJer. 52:17 b1 Kin. 7:15 c1 Kin. 7:27 d1 Kin. 7:23 e2 Kin. 20:17; Jer. 27:19–22 14 aEx. 27:3; 1 Kin. 7:45 16 a1 Kin.

ho were with him in Babylon. 29 So Jehoiachin changed from his prison garments, and he aate 1bread regularly before the king all the days of his life. 30 And as for his 1provisions, there was a 2regular ration given him by the king, a portion for each day, all the days of his life. 10 a2 Kin. 14:13; Neh. 1:3 11 aIs. 1:9; Jer. 5:19; 39:9 12 a2 Kin. 24:14; Jer. 39:10; 40:7; 52:16 13 aJer. 52:17 b1 Kin. 7:15 c1 Kin. 7:27 d1 Kin. 7:23 e2 Kin. 20:17; Jer. 27:19–22 14 aEx. 27:3; 1 Kin. 7:45 16 a1 Kin. 7:47 17 a1 Kin. 7:15–22; Jer. 52:21 1About 27 feet 18 aJer. 39:9–13; 52:12–16, 24 b1 Chr. 6:14; Ezra 7:1 cJer. 21:1; 29:25, 29 19 aEsth. 1:14; Jer. 52:25 1Lit. those seeing the king’s face 21 aLev. 26:33; Deut. 28:36, 64; 2 Kin. 23:27 22 a2 Kin. 22:12 bIs. 1:9; Jer. 40:5 23 aJer. 40:7–9 1Jezaniah, Jer. 40:8 25 aJer. 41:1–3 26 a2 Kin. 19:31; Jer. 43:4–7 27 a2 Kin. 24:12, 15; Jer. 52:31–34 bGen. 40:13, 20 1Lit. Man of Marduk 29 a2 Sam. 9:7 1Food 30 1Lit. allowance 2Lit. allowance

The Family of Adam—Seth to Abraham ADAM,a bSeth, Enosh, 2 Cainan, Mahalalel, Jared, 3 Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, 4 aNoah,1 Shem, Ham, and Ja- pheth. 5 aThe sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. 6 The sons of Gomer were Ashke- naz, 1Diphath, and Togarmah. 7 The sons of Javan were Elishah, 1Tarshishah, Kittim, and 2Rodanim. 8 aThe sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan. 9 The sons of Cush were Seba, Havilah, 1Sabta, 2Raama, and Sabte- cha. The sons of Raama were Sheba and Dedan. 10 Cush abegot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth. 11 Mizraim begot Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, 12 Pathrusim, Casluhim (from whom came the Philistines and the aCaphtorim). 13 aCanaan begot Sidon, his first- born, and Heth; 14 the Jebusite, the Amorite, and the Girgashite; 15 the Hivite, the Arkite, and the Sinite; 16 the Arvadite, the Zemarite, and the Hamathite. 17 The sons of aShem were Elam, Asshur, bArphaxad, Lud, Aram, Uz, Hul, Gether, and 1Meshech. 18 Arphaxad begot Shelah, and Shelah begot Eber. 19 To Eber were born two sons: the name of one was 1Peleg, for in his days the 2earth was divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan. 20 aJoktan begot Almodad, She- leph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, 21 Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, 22 1Ebal, Abimael, Sheba, 23 Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these were the sons of Joktan. 24 aShem, Arphaxad, Shelah, 25 aEber, Peleg, Reu, 26 Serug, Nahor, Terah, 27 and aAbram, who is Abraham. 28 aThe sons of Abraham were bIsaac and cIshmael. The Family of Ishmael 29 These are their genealogies: The afirstborn of Ishmael was Nebajoth; then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 30 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 1Ha- dad, Tema, 31 Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. These were the sons of Ishmael. The Family of Keturah 32 Now athe sons born to Keturah, Abraham’s concubine, were Zim- ran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ish- bak, and Shuah. The sons of Jok- shan were Sheba and Dedan. 33 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Ketu- rah. CHAPTER 1 1 aGen. 1:27; 2:7; 5:1, 2, 5 bGen. 4:25, 26; 5:3–9 4 aGen. 5:28—10:1 1So with MT, Vg.; LXX adds the sons of Noah 5 aGen. 10:2–4 6 1Riphath, Gen. 10:3 7 1Tarshish, Gen. 10:4 2Dodanim, Gen. 10:4 8 aGen. 10:6 9 1Sabtah, Gen. 10:7 2Raamah, Gen. 10:7 10 aGen. 10:8–10, 13 12 aDeut. 2:23 13 aGen. 9:18, 25–27; 10:15 17 aGen. 10:22–29; 11:10 bLuke 3:36 1Mash, Gen. 10:23 19 1Lit. Divi- sion, Gen. 10:25 2Or land 20 aGen. 10:26 22 1Obal, Gen. 10:28 24 aLuke 3:34–36 25 aGen. 11:15 27 aGen. 17:5 The First Book of the CHRONICLES THE books of First and Second Chronicles cover the same period of Jewish his- tory described in Second Samuel through Second Kings, but the perspective is different. These books are no mere repetition of the same material, but rather form a divine editorial on the history of God’s people. While Second Samuel and First and Second Kings give a political history of Israel and Judah, First and Second Chronicles present a religious history of the Davidic dynasty of Judah. The former are written from a prophetic and moral viewpoint and the latter from a priestly and spiritual perspective. The Book of First Chronicles begins with the royal line of David and then traces the spiritual significance of David’s righteous reign. The books of First and Second Chronicles were originally one continuous work in the Hebrew. The title was Dibere Hayyamim, meaning “The Words [accounts, events] of the Days.” The equivalent meaning today would be “The Events of the Times.” Chronicles was divided into two parts in the third-century B.C. Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible (the Septuagint). At that time it was given the name Paraleipomenon. “Of Things Omitted,” referring to the things omitted from Samuel and Kings.

hteous reign. The books of First and Second Chronicles were originally one continuous work in the Hebrew. The title was Dibere Hayyamim, meaning “The Words [accounts, events] of the Days.” The equivalent meaning today would be “The Events of the Times.” Chronicles was divided into two parts in the third-century B.C. Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible (the Septuagint). At that time it was given the name Paraleipomenon. “Of Things Omitted,” referring to the things omitted from Samuel and Kings. Some copies add the phrase, Basileon Iouda, “Concerning the Kings of Judah.” The first book of Chronicles was called Paraleipomenon Primus, “The First Book of Things Omitted.” The name “Chronicles” comes from Jerome in his Latin Vulgate Bible (A.D. 385–405): Chronicorum Liber. He meant his title in the sense of the “Chronicles of the Whole of Sacred History.” 28 aGen. 21:2, 3 bGen. 21:2 cGen. 16:11, 15 29 aGen. 25:13–16 30 1Hadar, Gen. 25:15 32 aGen. 25:1–4

353 1 CHRONICLES 2:23 The Family of Isaac 34 And aAbraham begot Isaac. bThe sons of Isaac were Esau and Israel. 35 The sons of aEsau were Eliphaz, Reuel, Jeush, Jaalam, and Korah. 36 And the sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, 1Zephi, Gatam, and Kenaz; and by aTimna, Amalek. 37 The sons of Reuel were Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. The Family of Seir 38 aThe sons of Seir were Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. 39 And the sons of Lotan were Hori and 1Homam; Lotan’s sister was Timna. 40 The sons of Shobal were 1Alian, Manahath, Ebal, 2Shephi, and Onam. The sons of Zibeon were Ajah and Anah. 41 The son of Anah was aDishon. The sons of Dishon were 1Hamran, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran. 42 The sons of Ezer were Bilhan, Zaavan, and 1Jaakan. The sons of Dishan were Uz and Aran. The Kings of Edom 43 Now these were the akings who reigned in the land of Edom before a king reigned over the children of Israel: Bela the son of Beor, and the name of his city was Dinhabah. 44 And when Bela died, Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his place. 45 When Jobab died, Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his place. 46 And when Husham died, Hadad the son of Bedad, who 1attacked Midian in the field of Moab, reigned in his place. The name of his city was Avith. 47 When Hadad died, Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place. 48 aAnd when Samlah died, Saul of Rehoboth-by-the-River reigned in his place. 49 When Saul died, Baal-Hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his place. 50 And when Baal-Hanan died, 1Hadad reigned in his place; and the name of his city was 2Pai. His wife’s name was Mehetabel the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab. 51 Hadad died also. And the chiefs of Edom were Chief Timnah, Chief 1Aliah, Chief Jetheth, 52 Chief Aholibamah, Chief Elah, Chief Pinon, 53 Chief Kenaz, Chief Teman, Chief Mibzar, 54 Chief Magdiel, and Chief Iram. These were the chiefs of Edom. The Family of Israel 2 These were the asons of 1Israel: bReuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, 2 Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naph- tali, Gad, and Asher. From Judah to David 3 The sons of aJudah were Er, Onan, and Shelah. These three were born to him by the daughter of bShua, the Canaanitess. cEr, the firstborn of Judah, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; so He killed him. 4 And aTamar, his daughter-in- law, bbore him Perez and Zerah. All the sons of Judah were five. 5 The sons of aPerez were Hezron and Hamul. 6 The sons of Zerah were 1Zimri, aEthan, Heman, Calcol, and 2Dara— five of them in all. 7 The son of aCarmi was 1Achar, the troubler of Israel, who trans- gressed in the baccursed2 thing. 8 The son of Ethan was Azariah. 9 Also the sons of Hezron who were born to him were Jerahmeel, 1Ram, and 2Chelubai. 10 Ram abegot Amminadab, and Amminadab begot Nahshon, bleader of the children of Judah; 11 Nahshon begot 1Salma, and Salma begot Boaz; 12 Boaz begot Obed, and Obed begot Jesse; 13 aJesse begot Eliab his firstborn, Abinadab the second, 1Shimea the third, 14 Nethanel the fourth, Raddai the fifth, 15 Ozem the sixth, and David the aseventh. 16 Now their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail. aAnd the sons of Zeruiah were Abishai, Joab, and Asahel—three. 17 Abigail bore Amasa; and the father of Amasa was 1Jether the Ish- maelite. The Family of Hezron 18 Caleb the son of Hezron had children by Azubah, his wife, and by Jerioth. Now these were her sons: Jesher, Shobab, and Ardon. 19 When Azubah died, Caleb 1took aEphrath2 as his wife, who bore him Hur. 20 And Hur begot Uri, and Uri begot aBezalel. 21 Now afterward Hezron went in to the daughter of aMachir the father of Gilead, whom he married when he was sixty years old; and she bore him Segub. 22 Segub begot aJair,1 who had twenty-three cities in the land of Gilead. 23 a(Geshur and Syria took from them the towns of Jair, with Kenath 34 aGen. 21:2 bGen. 25:9, 25, 26, 29; 32:28 35 aGen. 36:10–19 36 aGen. 36:12 1Zepho, Gen. 36:11 38 aGen. 36:20–28 39 1Hemam or Heman, Gen. 36:22 40 1Alvan, Gen.

. 20 And Hur begot Uri, and Uri begot aBezalel. 21 Now afterward Hezron went in to the daughter of aMachir the father of Gilead, whom he married when he was sixty years old; and she bore him Segub. 22 Segub begot aJair,1 who had twenty-three cities in the land of Gilead. 23 a(Geshur and Syria took from them the towns of Jair, with Kenath 34 aGen. 21:2 bGen. 25:9, 25, 26, 29; 32:28 35 aGen. 36:10–19 36 aGen. 36:12 1Zepho, Gen. 36:11 38 aGen. 36:20–28 39 1Hemam or Heman, Gen. 36:22 40 1Alvan, Gen. 36:23 2Shepho, Gen. 36:23 41 aGen. 36:25 1Hemdan, Gen. 36:26 42 1Akan, Gen. 36:27 43 aGen. 36:31–43 46 1Lit. struck 48 aGen. 36:37 50 1Hadar, Gen. 36:39 2Pau, Gen. 36:39 51 1Alvah, Gen. 36:40 CHAPTER 2 1 aGen. 29:32–35; 35:23, 26; 46:8–27 bGen. 29:32; 35:22 1Jacob, Gen. 32:28 3 aNum. 26:19 bGen. 38:2 cGen. 38:7 4 aGen. 38:6 bMatt. 1:3 5 aRuth 4:18 6 a1 Kin. 4:31 1Zabdi, Josh. 7:1 2Darda, 1 Kin. 4:31 7 a1 Chr. 4:1 bJosh. 6:18 1Achan, Josh. 7:1 2banned or devoted 9 1Aram, Matt. 1:3, 4 2Caleb, vv. 18, 42 10 aMatt. 1:4 bNum. 1:7; 2:3 11 1Salmon, Ruth 4:21; Luke 3:32 13 a1 Sam. 16:6 1Shammah, 1 Sam. 16:9 15 a1 Sam. 16:10, 11; 17:12 16 a2 Sam. 2:18 17 1Jithra the Israelite, 2 Sam. 17:25 19 a1 Chr. 2:50 1Lit. took to himself 2Or Ephrathah 20 aEx. 31:2; 38:22 21 aNum. 27:1 22 aJudg. 10:3 1Reckoned to Manasseh through the daughter of Machir, Num. 32:41; Deut. 3:14; 25:5, 6; 1 Kin. 4:13; 1 Chr. 7:14 23 aDeut. 3:14

1 CHRONICLES 2:24 354 and its towns—sixty towns.) All these belonged to the sons of Machir the father of Gilead. 24 After Hezron died in Caleb Ephrathah, Hezron’s wife Abijah bore him aAshhur the father of Tekoa. The Family of Jerahmeel 25 The sons of Jerahmeel, the first- born of Hezron, were Ram, the first- born, and Bunah, Oren, Ozem, and Ahijah. 26 Jerahmeel had another wife, whose name was Atarah; she was the mother of Onam. 27 The sons of Ram, the firstborn of Jerahmeel, were Maaz, Jamin, and Eker. 28 The sons of Onam were Sham- mai and Jada. The sons of Shammai were Nadab and Abishur. 29 And the name of the wife of Abishur was Abihail, and she bore him Ahban and Molid. 30 The sons of Nadab were Seled and Appaim; Seled died without children. 31 The son of Appaim was Ishi, the son of Ishi was Sheshan, and aShe- shan’s son was Ahlai. 32 The sons of Jada, the brother of Shammai, were Jether and Jon- athan; Jether died without chil- dren. 33 The sons of Jonathan were Peleth and Zaza. These were the sons of Jerahmeel. 34 Now Sheshan had no sons, only daughters. And Sheshan had an Egyptian servant whose name was Jarha. 35 Sheshan gave his daughter to Jarha his servant as wife, and she bore him Attai. 36 Attai begot Nathan, and Nathan begot aZabad; 37 Zabad begot Ephlal, and Ephlal begot aObed; 38 Obed begot Jehu, and Jehu be- got Azariah; 39 Azariah begot Helez, and Helez begot Eleasah; 40 Eleasah begot Sismai, and Sis- mai begot Shallum; 41 Shallum begot Jekamiah, and Jekamiah begot Elishama. The Family of Caleb 42 The descendants of Caleb the brother of Jerahmeel were Mesha, his firstborn, who was the father of Ziph, and the sons of Mareshah the father of Hebron. 43 The sons of Hebron were Korah, Tappuah, Rekem, and Shema. 44 Shema begot Raham the father of Jorkoam, and Rekem begot Sham- mai. 45 And the son of Shammai was Maon, and Maon was the father of Beth Zur. 46 Ephah, Caleb’s concubine, bore Haran, Moza, and Gazez; and Haran begot Gazez. 47 And the sons of Jahdai were Re- gem, Jotham, Geshan, Pelet, Ephah, and Shaaph. 48 Maachah, Caleb’s concubine, bore Sheber and Tirhanah. 49 She also bore Shaaph the father of Madmannah, Sheva the father of Machbenah and the father of Gibea. And the daughter of Caleb was aAchsah.1 50 These were the descendants of Caleb: The sons of aHur, the firstborn of 1Ephrathah, were Shobal the father of bKirjath Jearim, 51 Salma the father of Bethlehem, and Hareph the father of Beth Gader. 52 And Shobal the father of Kirjath Jearim had descendants: 1Haroeh, and half of the 2families of Manuhoth. 53 The families of Kirjath Jearim were the Ithrites, the Puthites, the Shumathites, and the Mishraites. From these came the Zorathites and the Eshtaolites. 54 The sons of Salma were Bethle- hem, the Netophathites, 1Atroth Beth Joab, half of the Manahethites, and the Zorites. 55 And the families of the scribes who dwelt at Jabez were the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and the Suchathites. These were the aKen- ites who came from Hammath, the father of the house of bRechab. The Family of David 3 Now these were the sons of David who were born to him in Hebron: The firstborn was aAmnon, by bAhinoam the cJezreelitess; the second, 1Daniel, by dAbigail the Carmelitess; 2 the third, aAbsalom the son of Maacah, the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur; the fourth, bAdoni- jah the son of Haggith; 3 the fifth, Shephatiah, by Abital; the sixth, Ithream, by his wife aEglah. 4 These six were born to him in Hebron.

- ites who came from Hammath, the father of the house of bRechab. The Family of David 3 Now these were the sons of David who were born to him in Hebron: The firstborn was aAmnon, by bAhinoam the cJezreelitess; the second, 1Daniel, by dAbigail the Carmelitess; 2 the third, aAbsalom the son of Maacah, the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur; the fourth, bAdoni- jah the son of Haggith; 3 the fifth, Shephatiah, by Abital; the sixth, Ithream, by his wife aEglah. 4 These six were born to him in Hebron. aThere he reigned seven years and six months, and bin Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years. 5 aAnd these were born to him in Jerusalem: 1Shimea, Shobab, Na- than, and bSolomon—four by 2Bathshua the daughter of 3Ammiel. 6 Also there were Ibhar, 1Elish- ama, 2Eliphelet, 7 Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, 8 Elishama, 1Eliada, and Eliphe- let—anine in all. 9 These were all the sons of David, besides the sons of the con- cubines, and aTamar their sister. The Family of Solomon 10 Solomon’s son was aRehoboam; 1Abijah was his son, Asa his son, Jehoshaphat his son, 24 a1 Chr. 4:5 31 a1 Chr. 2:34, 35 36 a1 Chr. 11:41 37 a2 Chr. 23:1 49 aJosh. 15:17 1Or Achsa 50 a1 Chr. 4:4 bJosh. 9:17; 18:14 1Ephrath, v. 19 52 1Reaiah, 1 Chr. 4:2 2Or Manuhoth- ites, same as Mana- hethites, v. 54 54 1Or Ataroth of the house of Joab 55 aJudg. 1:16 b2 Kin. 10:15; Jer. 35:2 CHAPTER 3 1 a2 Sam. 3:2–5 b1 Sam. 25:43 cJosh. 15:56 d1 Sam. 25:39–42 1Chileab, 2 Sam. 3:3 2 a2 Sam. 13:37; 15:1 b1 Kin. 1:5 3 a2 Sam. 3:5 4 a2 Sam. 2:11 b2 Sam. 5:5 5 a1 Chr. 14:4–7 b2 Sam. 12:24, 25 1Sham- mua, 1 Chr. 14:4; 2 Sam. 5:14 2Bathsheba, 2 Sam. 11:3 3Eliam, 2 Sam. 11:3 6 1Elishua, 1 Chr. 14:5; 2 Sam. 5:15 2Elpelet, 1 Chr. 14:5 8 a2 Sam. 5:14–16 1Be- eliada, 1 Chr. 14:7 9 a2 Sam. 13:1 10 a1 Kin. 11:43; Matt. 1:7–10 1Abi- jam, 1 Kin. 15:1

355 1 CHRONICLES 4:26 11 1Joram his son, 2Ahaziah his son, 3Joash his son, 12 Amaziah his son, 1Azariah his son, Jotham his son, 13 Ahaz his son, Hezekiah his son, Manasseh his son, 14 Amon his son, and Josiah his son. 15 The sons of Josiah were Joha- nan the firstborn, the second 1Jehoi- akim, the third Zedekiah, and the fourth 2Shallum. 16 The sons of aJehoiakim were 1Jeconiah his son and 2Zedekiah his son. The Family of Jeconiah 17 And the sons of 1Jeconiah 2were Assir, Shealtiel ahis son, 18 and Malchiram, Pedaiah, She- nazzar, Jecamiah, Hoshama, and Nedabiah. 19 The sons of Pedaiah were Ze- rubbabel and Shimei. The sons of Zerubbabel were Meshullam, Hana- niah, Shelomith their sister, 20 and Hashubah, Ohel, Berechiah, Hasadiah, and Jushab-Hesed—five in all. 21 The sons of Hananiah were Pelatiah and Jeshaiah, the sons of Rephaiah, the sons of Arnan, the sons of Obadiah, and the sons of Shechaniah. 22 The son of Shechaniah was She- maiah. The sons of Shemaiah were aHattush, Igal, Bariah, Neariah, and Shaphat—six in all. 23 The sons of Neariah were Elioe- nai, Hezekiah, and Azrikam—three in all. 24 The sons of Elioenai were Hoda- viah, Eliashib, Pelaiah, Akkub, Johanan, Delaiah, and Anani— seven in all. The Family of Judah 4 The sons of Judah were aPerez, Hezron, 1Carmi, Hur, and Shobal. 2 And 1Reaiah the son of Shobal begot Jahath, and Jahath begot Ahumai and Lahad. These were the families of the Zorathites. 3 These were the sons of the father of Etam: Jezreel, Ishma, and Idbash; and the name of their sister was Hazelelponi; 4 and Penuel was the father of Gedor, and Ezer was the father of Hushah. These were the sons of aHur, the firstborn of Ephrathah the father of Bethlehem. 5 And aAshhur the father of Tekoa had two wives, Helah and Naarah. 6 Naarah bore him Ahuzzam, Hepher, Temeni, and Haahashtari. These were the sons of Naarah. 7 The sons of Helah were Zereth, Zohar, and Ethnan; 8 and Koz begot Anub, Zobebah, and the families of Aharhel the son of Harum. 9 Now Jabez was amore honor- able than his brothers, and his mother called his name 1Jabez, say- ing, “Because I bore him in pain.” 10 And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my 1ter- ritory, that Your hand would be with me, and thatYou would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested. 11 Chelub the brother of aShuhah begot Mehir, who was the father of Eshton. 12 And Eshton begot Beth-Rapha, Paseah, and Tehinnah the father of 1Ir-Nahash. These were the men of Rechah. 13 The sons of Kenaz were aOth- niel and Seraiah. The sons of Oth- niel were 1Hathath, 14 and Meonothai who begot Ophrah. Seraiah begot Joab the father of aGe Harashim,1 for they were craftsmen. 15 The sons of aCaleb the son of Jephunneh were Iru, Elah, and Naam. The son of Elah was 1Kenaz. 16 The sons of Jehallelel were Ziph, Ziphah, Tiria, and Asarel. 17 The sons of Ezrah were Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon. And 1Mered’s wife bore Miriam, Sham- mai, and Ishbah the father of Eshte- moa. 18 (1His wife Jehudijah bore Jered the father of Gedor, Heber the father of Sochoh, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah.) And these were the sons of Bithiah the daughter of Pharaoh, whom Mered took. 19 The sons of Hodiah’s wife, the sister of Naham, were the fathers of Keilah the Garmite and of Eshte- moa the aMaachathite. 20 And the sons of Shimon were Amnon, Rinnah, Ben-Hanan, and Tilon. And the sons of Ishi were Zoheth and Ben-Zoheth. 21 The sons of aShelah bthe son of Judah were Er the father of Lecah, Laadah the father of Mareshah, and the families of the house of the linen workers of the house of Ashbea; 22 also Jokim, the men of Chozeba, and Joash; Saraph, who ruled in Moab, and Jashubi-Lehem.

s of Hodiah’s wife, the sister of Naham, were the fathers of Keilah the Garmite and of Eshte- moa the aMaachathite. 20 And the sons of Shimon were Amnon, Rinnah, Ben-Hanan, and Tilon. And the sons of Ishi were Zoheth and Ben-Zoheth. 21 The sons of aShelah bthe son of Judah were Er the father of Lecah, Laadah the father of Mareshah, and the families of the house of the linen workers of the house of Ashbea; 22 also Jokim, the men of Chozeba, and Joash; Saraph, who ruled in Moab, and Jashubi-Lehem. Now the 1records are ancient. 23 These were the potters and those who dwell at 1Netaim and 2Gederah; there they dwelt with the king for his work. The Family of Simeon 24 The asons of Simeon were 1Nemuel, Jamin, 2Jarib, 3Zerah, and Shaul, 25 Shallum his son, Mibsam his son, and Mishma his son. 26 And the sons of Mishma were Hamuel his son, Zacchur his son, and Shimei his son. 11 1Jehoram, 2 Kin. 1:17; 8:16 2Or Azariah or Jehoahaz 3Jehoash, 2 Kin. 12:1 12 1Uzziah, Is. 6:1 15 1Eliakim, 2 Kin. 23:34 2Jehoahaz, 2 Kin. 23:31 16 aMatt. 1:11 1Jehoiachin, 2 Kin. 24:8, or Coniah, Jer. 22:24 2Mattaniah, 2 Kin. 24:17 17 aMatt. 1:12 1Jehoiachin, 2 Kin. 24:8, or Coniah, Jer. 22:24 2Or the captive were 22 aEzra 8:2 CHAPTER 4 1 aGen. 38:29; 46:12 1Chelubai, 1 Chr. 2:9 or Caleb, 1 Chr. 2:18 2 1Haroeh, 1 Chr. 2:52 4 aEx. 31:2; 1 Chr. 2:50 5 a1 Chr. 2:24 9 aGen. 34:19 1Lit. He Will Cause Pain 10 1border 11 aGen. 38:1–5 12 1Lit. City of Nahash 13 aJosh. 15:17; Judg. 3:9, 11 1LXX, Vg. add and Meonothai 14 aNeh. 11:35 1Lit. Valley of Craftsmen 15 aJosh. 14:6, 14; 15:13, 17; 1 Chr. 6:56 1Or Uknaz 17 1Lit. she 18 1Or His Judean wife 19 a2 Kin. 25:23 21 aGen. 38:11, 14 bGen. 38:1–5; 46:12 22 1Lit. words 23 1Lit. Plants 2Lit. Hedges 24 aNum. 26:12–14 1Jemuel, Gen. 46:10; Ex. 6:15; Num. 26:12 2Jachin, Gen. 46:10; Num. 26:12 3Zohar, Gen. 46:10; Ex. 6:15

1 CHRONICLES 4:27 356 27 Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters; but his brothers did not have many children, anor did any of their families multiply as much as the children of Judah. 28 They dwelt at Beersheba, Mola- dah, Hazar Shual, 29 1Bilhah, Ezem, 2Tolad, 30 Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag, 31 Beth Marcaboth, 1Hazar Susim, Beth Biri, and at Shaaraim. These were their cities until the reign of David. 32 And their villages were 1Etam, Ain, Rimmon, Tochen, and Ashan— five cities— 33 and all the villages that were around these cities as far as 1Baal. These were their dwelling places, and they maintained their geneal- ogy: 34 Meshobab, Jamlech, and Joshah the son of Amaziah; 35 Joel, and Jehu the son of Joshibiah, the son of Seraiah, the son of Asiel; 36 Elioenai, Jaakobah, Jeshohaiah, Asaiah, Adiel, Jesimiel, and Bena- iah; 37 Ziza the son of Shiphi, the son of Allon, the son of Jedaiah, the son of Shimri, the son of Shemaiah— 38 these mentioned by name were leaders in their families, and their father’s house increased greatly. 39 So they went to the entrance of Gedor, as far as the east side of the valley, to seek pasture for their flocks. 40 And they found rich, good pas- ture, and the land was broad, quiet, and peaceful; for some Hamites for- merly lived there. 41 These recorded by name came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah; and they aattacked1 their tents and the Meunites who were found there, and butterly destroyed them, as it is to this day. So they dwelt in their place, because there was pasture for their flocks there. 42 Now some of them, five hun- dred men of the sons of Simeon, went to Mount Seir, having as their captains Pelatiah, Neariah, Repha- iah, and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi. 43 And they 1defeated athe rest of the Amalekites who had escaped. They have dwelt there to this day. The Family of Reuben 5 Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel—ahe was indeed the firstborn, but because he bdefiled his father’s bed, chis birthright was given to the sons of Joseph, the son of Israel, so that the genealogy is not listed according to the birthright; 2 yet aJudah prevailed over his brothers, and from him came a bruler, although 1the birthright was Joseph’s— 3 the sons of aReuben the first- born of Israel were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. 4 The sons of Joel were Shemaiah his son, Gog his son, Shimei his son, 5 Micah his son, Reaiah his son, Baal his son, 6 and Beerah his son, whom 1Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria acarried into captivity.

e sons of Joseph, the son of Israel, so that the genealogy is not listed according to the birthright; 2 yet aJudah prevailed over his brothers, and from him came a bruler, although 1the birthright was Joseph’s— 3 the sons of aReuben the first- born of Israel were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. 4 The sons of Joel were Shemaiah his son, Gog his son, Shimei his son, 5 Micah his son, Reaiah his son, Baal his son, 6 and Beerah his son, whom 1Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria acarried into captivity. He was leader of the Reubenites. 7 And his brethren by their fami- lies, awhen the genealogy of their generations was registered: the chief, Jeiel, and Zechariah, 8 and Bela the son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel, who dwelt in aAroer, as far as Nebo and Baal Meon. 9 Eastward they settled as far as the 1entrance of the wilderness this side of the River Euphrates, because their cattle had 2multiplied ain the land of Gilead. 10 Now in the days of Saul they made war awith the Hagrites, who fell by their hand; and they dwelt in their tents throughout the entire area east of Gilead. The Family of Gad 11 And the achildren of Gad dwelt next to them in the land of bBashan as far as cSalcah: 12 Joel was the chief, Shapham the next, then Jaanai and Shaphat in Bashan, 13 and their brethren of their fa- ther’s house: Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jachan, Zia, and Eber—seven in all. 14 These were the children of Abi- hail the son of Huri, the son of Jaroah, the son of Gilead, the son of Michael, the son of Jeshishai, the son of Jahdo, the son of Buz; 15 Ahi the son of Abdiel, the son of Guni, was chief of their father’s house. 16 And the Gadites dwelt in Gil- ead, in Bashan and in its villages, and in all the 1common-lands of aSharon within their borders. 17 All these were registered by genealogies in the days of aJotham king of Judah, and in the days of bJeroboam king of Israel. 18 The sons of Reuben, the Gad- ites, and half the tribe of Manasseh had forty-four thousand seven hun- dred and sixty valiant men, men able to bear shield and sword, to shoot with the bow, and skillful in war, who went to war. 19 They made war with the Hagrites, aJetur, Naphish, and Nodab. 20 And athey were helped against them, and the Hagrites were deliv- ered into their hand, and all who were with them, for they bcried out to God in the battle. He 1heeded their prayer, because they cput their trust in Him. 27 aNum. 2:9 29 1Balah, Josh. 19:3 2Eltolad, Josh. 19:4 31 1Hazar Susah, Josh. 19:5 32 1Ether, Josh. 19:7 33 1Baalath Beer, Josh. 19:8 41 a2 Kin. 18:8 b2 Kin. 19:11 1Lit. struck 43 aEx. 17:14; 1 Sam. 15:8; 30:17 1Lit. struck CHAPTER 5 1 aGen. 29:32; 49:3 bGen. 35:22; 49:4 cGen. 48:15, 22 2 aGen. 49:8, 10; Ps. 60:7; 108:8 bMic. 5:2; Matt. 2:6 1the right of the firstborn 3 aGen 46:9; Ex. 6:14; Num. 26:5 6 a2 Kin. 18:11 1Heb. Tilgath- Pilneser 7 a1 Chr. 5:17 8 aNum. 32:34; Josh. 12:2; 13:15, 16 9 aJosh. 22:8, 9 1beginning 2increased 10 aGen. 25:12 11 aNum. 26:15–18 bJosh. 13:11, 24–28 cDeut. 3:10 16 a1 Chr. 27:29; Song 2:1; Is. 35:2; 65:10 1open lands 17 a2 Kin. 15:5, 32 b2 Kin. 14:16, 28 19 aGen. 25:15; 1 Chr. 1:31 20 a[1 Chr. 5:22] b2 Chr. 14:11–13 cPs. 9:10; 20:7, 8; 22:4, 5 1Lit. was en- treated for them

357 1 CHRONICLES 6:40 21 Then they took away their live- stock—fifty thousand of their camels, two hundred and fifty thou- sand of their sheep, and two thou- sand of their donkeys—also one hundred thousand of their men; 22 for many fell dead, because the war awas God’s. And they dwelt in their place until bthe captivity. The Family of Manasseh (East) 23 So the children of the half-tribe of Manasseh dwelt in the land. Their numbers increased from Bashan to Baal Hermon, that is, to aSenir, or Mount Hermon. 24 These were the heads of their fathers’ houses: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel. They were mighty men of valor, famous men, and heads of their fathers’ houses. 25 And they were unfaithful to the God of their fathers, and aplayed the harlot after the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had de- stroyed before them. 26 So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of aPul king of Assyria, that is, bTiglath-Pileser1 king of Assyria. He carried the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh into captivity. He took them to cHalah, Habor, Hara, and the river of Gozan to this day. The Family of Levi 6 The sons of Levi were aGer- shon,1 Kohath, and Merari. 2 The sons of Kohath were Am- ram, aIzhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 3 The children of Amram were Aaron, Moses, and Miriam. And the sons of Aaron were aNadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 4 Eleazar begot Phinehas, and Phinehas begot Abishua; 5 Abishua begot Bukki, and Bukki begot Uzzi; 6 Uzzi begot Zerahiah, and Zer- ahiah begot Meraioth; 7 Meraioth begot Amariah, and Amariah begot Ahitub; 8 aAhitub begot bZadok, and Zadok begot Ahimaaz; 9 Ahimaaz begot Azariah, and Azariah begot Johanan; 10 Johanan begot Azariah (it was he awho ministered as priest in the btemple1 that Solomon built in Jerusalem); 11 aAzariah begot bAmariah, and Amariah begot Ahitub; 12 Ahitub begot Zadok, and Zadok begot 1Shallum; 13 Shallum begot Hilkiah, and Hilkiah begot Azariah; 14 Azariah begot aSeraiah, and Seraiah begot Jehozadak. 15 Jehozadak went into captivity awhen the LORD carried Judah and Jerusalem into captivity by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. 16 The sons of Levi were aGer- shon,1 Kohath, and Merari. 17 These are the names of the sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei. 18 The sons of Kohath were Am- ram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 19 The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi.

begot Zadok, and Zadok begot 1Shallum; 13 Shallum begot Hilkiah, and Hilkiah begot Azariah; 14 Azariah begot aSeraiah, and Seraiah begot Jehozadak. 15 Jehozadak went into captivity awhen the LORD carried Judah and Jerusalem into captivity by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. 16 The sons of Levi were aGer- shon,1 Kohath, and Merari. 17 These are the names of the sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei. 18 The sons of Kohath were Am- ram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 19 The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. Now these are the fami- lies of the Levites according to their fathers: 20 Of Gershon were Libni his son, Jahath his son, aZimmah his son, 21 1Joah his son, 2Iddo his son, Zerah his son, and 3Jeatherai his son. 22 The sons of Kohath were 1Am- minadab his son, aKorah his son, Assir his son, 23 Elkanah his son, Ebiasaph his son, Assir his son, 24 Tahath his son, Uriel his son, Uzziah his son, and Shaul his son. 25 The sons of Elkanah were aAmasai and Ahimoth. 26 As for Elkanah, the sons of Elkanah were 1Zophai his son, 2Nahath his son, 27 1Eliab his son, Jeroham his son, and Elkanah his son. 28 The sons of Samuel were 1Joel the firstborn, and Abijah 2the second. 29 The sons of Merari were Mahli, Libni his son, Shimei his son, Uzzah his son, 30 Shimea his son, Haggiah his son, and Asaiah his son. Musicians in the House of the LORD 31 Now these are athe men whom David appointed over the service of song in the house of the LORD, after the bark came to rest. 32 They were ministering with music before the dwelling place of the tabernacle of meeting, until Solomon had built the house of the LORD in Jerusalem, and they served in their office according to their order. 33 And these are the ones who 1ministered with their sons: Of the sons of the aKohathites were Heman the singer, the son of Joel, the son of Samuel, 34 the son of Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of 1Eliel, the son of 2Toah, 35 the son of Zuph, the son of Elka- nah, the son of Mahath, the son of Amasai, 36 the son of Elkanah, the son of Joel, the son of Azariah, the son of Zephaniah, 37 the son of Tahath, the son of Assir, the son of aEbiasaph, the son of Korah, 38 the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, the son of Israel. 39 And his brother aAsaph, who stood at his right hand, was Asaph the son of Berachiah, the son of Shimea, 40 the son of Michael, the son of Baaseiah, the son of Malchijah, 22 a[Josh. 23:10; 2 Chr. 32:8; Rom. 8:31] b2 Kin. 15:29; 17:6 23 aDeut. 3:9 25 a2 Kin. 17:7 26 a2 Kin. 15:19 b2 Kin. 15:29 c2 Kin. 17:6; 18:11 1Heb. Tilgath- Pilneser CHAPTER 6 1 aGen. 46:11; Ex. 6:16; Num. 26:57; 1 Chr. 23:6 1Or Gershom, v. 16 2 a1 Chr. 6:18, 22 3 aLev. 10:1, 2 8 a2 Sam. 8:17 b2 Sam. 15:27 10 a2 Chr. 26:17, 18 b1 Kin. 6:1; 2 Chr. 3:1 1Lit. house 11 aEzra 7:3 b2 Chr. 19:11 12 1Meshul- lam, 1 Chr. 9:11 14 a2 Kin. 25:18–21; Neh. 11:11 15 a2 Kin. 25:21 16 aGen. 46:11; Ex. 6:16 1Heb. Gershom, an alternate spelling for Gershon, vv. 1, 17, 20, 43, 62, 71 20 a1 Chr. 6:42 21 1Ethan, v. 42 2Adaiah, v. 41 3Ethni, v. 41 22 aNum. 16:1 1Izhar, vv. 2, 18 25 a1 Chr. 6:35, 36 26 1Zuph, v. 35; 1 Sam. 1:1 2Toah, v. 34 27 1Eliel, v. 34 28 1So with LXX, Syr., Arab.; cf. v. 33 and 1 Sam. 8:2 2Heb. Vasheni 31 a1 Chr. 15:16–22, 27; 16:4–6 b2 Sam. 6:17; 1 Kin. 8:4; 1 Chr. 15:25–16:1 33 aNum. 26:57 1Lit. stood with 34 1Elihu, 1 Sam. 1:1 2Tohu, 1 Sam. 1:1 37 aEx. 6:24 39 a2 Chr. 5:12

1 CHRONICLES 6:41 358 41 the son of aEthni, the son of Zerah, the son of Adaiah, 42 the son of Ethan, the son of Zimmah, the son of Shimei, 43 the son of Jahath, the son of Gershon, the son of Levi. 44 Their brethren, the sons of Me- rari, on the left hand, were 1Ethan the son of 2Kishi, the son of Abdi, the son of Malluch, 45 the son of Hashabiah, the son of Amaziah, the son of Hilkiah, 46 the son of Amzi, the son of Bani, the son of Shamer, 47 the son of Mahli, the son of Mushi, the son of Merari, the son of Levi. 48 And their brethren, the Levites, were appointed to every akind of service of the tabernacle of the house of God. The Family of Aaron 49 aBut Aaron and his sons offered sacrifices bon the altar of burnt offering and con the altar of incense, for all the work of the Most Holy Place, and to make atonement for Israel, according to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded. 50 Now these are the asons of Aaron: Eleazar his son, Phinehas his son, Abishua his son, 51 Bukki his son, Uzzi his son, Zer- ahiah his son, 52 Meraioth his son, Amariah his son, Ahitub his son, 53 Zadok his son, and Ahimaaz his son. Dwelling Places of the Levites 54 aNow these are their dwelling places throughout their settlements in their territory, for they were given by lot to the sons of Aaron, of the family of the Kohathites: 55 aThey gave them Hebron in the land of Judah, with its surrounding 1common-lands. 56 aBut the fields of the city and its villages they gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh. 57 And ato the sons of Aaron they gave one of the cities of refuge, Hebron; also Libnah with its com- mon-lands, Jattir, Eshtemoa with its common-lands, 58 1Hilen with its common-lands, Debir with its common-lands, 59 1Ashan with its common-lands, and Beth Shemesh with its com- mon-lands. 60 And from the tribe of Benjamin: Geba with its common-lands, 1Alemeth with its common-lands, and Anathoth with its common- lands. All their cities among their families were thirteen. 61 aTo the rest of the family of the tribe of the Kohathites they gave bby lot ten cities from half the tribe of Manasseh. 62 And to the sons of Gershon, throughout their families, they gave thirteen cities from the tribe of Issachar, from the tribe of Asher, from the tribe of Naphtali, and from the tribe of Manasseh in Bashan. 63 To the sons of Merari, through- out their families, they gave atwelve cities from the tribe of Reuben, from the tribe of Gad, and from the tribe of Zebulun. 64 So the children of Israel gave these cities with their 1common- lands to the Levites. 65 And they gave by lot from the tribe of the children of Judah, from the tribe of the children of Simeon, and from the tribe of the children of Benjamin these cities which are called by their names. 66 Now asome of the families of the sons of Kohath were given cities as their territory from the tribe of Ephraim. 67 aAnd they gave them one of the cities of refuge, Shechem with its common-lands, in the mountains of Ephraim, also Gezer with its com- mon-lands, 68 aJokmeam with its common- lands, Beth Horon with its common- lands, 69 Aijalon with its common-lands, and Gath Rimmon with its common- lands. 70 And from the half-tribe of Ma- nasseh: Aner with its common- lands and Bileam with its common- lands, for the rest of the family of the sons of Kohath. 71 From the family of the half-tribe of Manasseh the sons of Gershon were given Golan in Bashan with its common-lands and 1Ashtaroth with its common-lands. 72 And from the tribe of Issachar: 1Kedesh with its common-lands, Daberath with its common-lands, 73 Ramoth with its common- lands, and Anem with its common- lands. 74 And from the tribe of Asher: Mashal with its common-lands, Abdon with its common-lands, 75 Hukok with its common-lands, and Rehob with its common-lands. 76 And from the tribe of Naphtali: Kedesh in Galilee with its common- lands, Hammon with its common- lands, and Kirjathaim with its com- mon-lands. 77 From the tribe of Zebulun the

2 And from the tribe of Issachar: 1Kedesh with its common-lands, Daberath with its common-lands, 73 Ramoth with its common- lands, and Anem with its common- lands. 74 And from the tribe of Asher: Mashal with its common-lands, Abdon with its common-lands, 75 Hukok with its common-lands, and Rehob with its common-lands. 76 And from the tribe of Naphtali: Kedesh in Galilee with its common- lands, Hammon with its common- lands, and Kirjathaim with its com- mon-lands. 77 From the tribe of Zebulun the rest of the children of Merari were given 1Rimmon with its common- lands and Tabor with its common- lands. 78 And on the other side of the Jor- dan, across from Jericho, on the east side of the Jordan, they were given from the tribe of Reuben: Bezer in the wilderness with its common-lands, Jahzah with its common-lands, 79 Kedemoth with its common- 41 a1 Chr. 6:21 44 1Jeduthun, 1 Chr. 9:16; 25:1, 3, 6; 2 Chr. 35:15; Ps. 62:title 2Or Kushaiah 48 a1 Chr. 9:14–34 49 aEx. 28:1; [Num. 18:1–8] bLev. 1:8, 9 cEx. 30:7 50 a1 Chr. 6:4–8; Ezra 7:5 54 aJosh. 21 55 aJosh. 14:13; 21:11, 12 1open lands 56 aJosh. 14:13; 15:13 57 aJosh. 21:13, 19 58 1Holon, Josh. 21:15 59 1Ain, Josh. 21:16 60 1Almon, Josh. 21:18 61 a1 Chr. 6:66–70 bJosh. 21:5 63 aJosh. 21:7, 34–40 64 1open lands 66 a1 Chr. 6:61 67 aJosh. 21:21 68 aJosh. 21:22 71 1Beesh- terah, Josh. 21:27 72 1Kishon, Josh. 21:28 77 1Heb. Rim- mono, an alternate spelling of Rimmon, 1 Chr. 4:32

359 1 CHRONICLES 7:32 lands, and Mephaath with its com- mon-lands. 80 And from the tribe of Gad: Ramoth in Gilead with its common- lands, Mahanaim with its common- lands, 81 Heshbon with its common-lands, and Jazer with its common-lands. The Family of Issachar 7 The sons of Issachar were aTola, 1Puah, 2Jashub, and Shimron— four in all. 2 The sons of Tola were Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Jibsam, and Shemuel, heads of their father’s house. The sons of Tola were mighty men of valor in their generations; atheir number in the days of David was twenty-two thousand six hun- dred. 3 The son of Uzzi was Izrahiah, and the sons of Izrahiah were Michael, Obadiah, Joel, and Ishiah. All five of them were chief men. 4 And with them, by their genera- tions, according to their fathers’ houses, were thirty-six thousand troops ready for war; for they had many wives and sons. 5 Now their brethren among all the families of Issachar were mighty men of valor, listed by their genealo- gies, eighty-seven thousand in all. The Family of Benjamin 6 The sons of aBenjamin were Bela, Becher, and Jediael—three in all. 7 The sons of Bela were Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, and Iri—five in all. They were heads of their fathers’ houses, and they were listed by their genealogies, twenty-two thousand and thirty-four mighty men of valor. 8 The sons of Becher were Zemi- rah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jerimoth, Abijah, Anathoth, and Alemeth. All these are the sons of Becher. 9 And they were recorded by ge- nealogy according to their gener- ations, heads of their fathers’ houses, twenty thousand two hun- dred mighty men of valor. 10 The son of Jediael was Bilhan, and the sons of Bilhan were Jeush, Benjamin, Ehud, Chenaanah, Ze- than, Tharshish, and Ahishahar. 11 All these sons of Jediael were heads of their fathers’ houses; there were seventeen thousand two hun- dred mighty men of valor fit to go out for war and battle. 12 1Shuppim and 2Huppim were the sons of 3Ir, and Hushim was the son of 4Aher. The Family of Naphtali 13 The asons of Naphtali were 1Jahziel, Guni, Jezer, and 2Shallum, the sons of Bilhah. The Family of Manasseh (West) 14 The adescendants of Manasseh: his Syrian concubine bore him bMachir the father of Gilead, the father of Asriel. 15 Machir took as his wife the sis- ter of 1Huppim and 2Shuppim, whose name was Maachah. The name of Gilead’s 3grandson was aZelophehad, but Zelophehad begot only daughters. 16 (Maachah the wife of Machir bore a son, and she called his name Peresh. The name of his brother was Sheresh, and his sons were Ulam and Rakem. 17 The son of Ulam was aBedan.) These were the descendants of Gilead the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh. 18 His sister Hammoleketh bore Ishhod, 1Abiezer, and Mahlah. 19 And the sons of Shemida were Ahian, Shechem, Likhi, and Aniam. The Family of Ephraim 20 aThe sons of Ephraim were Shuthelah, Bered his son, Tahath his son, Eladah his son, Tahath his son, 21 Zabad his son, Shuthelah his son, and Ezer and Elead. The men of Gath who were born in that land killed them because they came down to take away their cattle. 22 Then Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his breth- ren came to comfort him. 23 And when he went in to his wife, she conceived and bore a son; and he called his name 1Beriah, because tragedy had come upon his house. 24 Now his daughter was Sheerah, who built Lower and Upper aBeth Horon and Uzzen Sheerah; 25 and Rephah was his son, as well as Resheph, and Telah his son, Tahan his son, 26 Laadan his son, Ammihud his son, aElishama his son, 27 1Nun his son, and aJoshua his son. 28 Now their apossessions and dwelling places were Bethel and its towns: to the east 1Naaran, to the west Gezer and its towns, and Shechem and its towns, as far as 2Ayyah and its towns; 29 and by the borders of the chil- dren of aManasseh were Beth Shean and its towns, Taanach and its towns, bMegiddo and its towns, Dor and its towns.

phah was his son, as well as Resheph, and Telah his son, Tahan his son, 26 Laadan his son, Ammihud his son, aElishama his son, 27 1Nun his son, and aJoshua his son. 28 Now their apossessions and dwelling places were Bethel and its towns: to the east 1Naaran, to the west Gezer and its towns, and Shechem and its towns, as far as 2Ayyah and its towns; 29 and by the borders of the chil- dren of aManasseh were Beth Shean and its towns, Taanach and its towns, bMegiddo and its towns, Dor and its towns. In these dwelt the children of Joseph, the son of Israel. The Family of Asher 30 aThe sons of Asher were Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and their sis- ter Serah. 31 The sons of Beriah were Heber and Malchiel, who was the father of 1Birzaith. 32 And Heber begot Japhlet, CHAPTER 7 1 aNum. 26:23–25 1Puvah, Gen. 46:13 2Job, Gen. 46:13 2 a2 Sam. 24:1–9; 1 Chr. 27:1 6 aGen. 46:21; Num. 26:38–41; 1 Chr. 8:1 12 1Shupham, Num. 26:39 2Hupham, Num. 26:39 3Iri, v. 7 4Ahi- ram, Num. 26:38 13 aNum. 26:48–50 1Jahzeel, Gen. 46:24 2Shillem, Gen. 46:24 14 aNum. 26:29–34 b1 Chr. 2:21 15 aNum. 26:30–33; 27:1 1Hupham, v. 12; Num. 26:39 2Shupham, v. 12; Num. 26:39 3Lit. the second 17 a1 Sam. 12:11 18 1Jeezer, Num. 26:30 20 aNum. 26:35–37 23 1Lit. In Tragedy 24 aJosh. 16:3, 5; 2 Chr. 8:5 26 aNum. 10:22 27 aEx. 17:9, 14; 24:13; 33:11 1Heb. Non 28 aJosh. 16:1–10 1Naarath, Josh. 16:7 2Many Heb. mss., Bg., LXX, Tg., Vg. Gazza 29 aGen. 41:51; Josh. 17:7 bJosh. 17:11 30 aGen. 46:17; Num. 26:44–47 31 1Or Birza- vith or Bir- zoth

1 CHRONICLES 7:33 360 1Shomer, 2Hotham, and their sister Shua. 33 The sons of Japhlet were Pa- sach, Bimhal, and Ashvath. These were the children of Japhlet. 34 The sons of aShemer were Ahi, Rohgah, Jehubbah, and Aram. 35 And the sons of his brother Helem were Zophah, Imna, Shelesh, and Amal. 36 The sons of Zophah were Suah, Harnepher, Shual, Beri, Imrah, 37 Bezer, Hod, Shamma, Shilshah, 1Jithran, and Beera. 38 The sons of Jether were Jephun- neh, Pispah, and Ara. 39 The sons of Ulla were Arah, Haniel, and Rizia. 40 All these were the children of Asher, heads of their fathers’ houses, choice men, mighty men of valor, chief leaders. And they were recorded by genealogies among the army fit for battle; their number was twenty-six thousand. The Family Tree of King Saul of Benjamin 8 Now Benjamin begot aBela his firstborn, Ashbel the second, 1Aharah the third, 2 Nohah the fourth, and Rapha the fifth. 3 The sons of Bela were 1Addar, Gera, Abihud, 4 Abishua, Naaman, Ahoah, 5 Gera, 1Shephuphan, and Huram. 6 These are the sons of Ehud, who were the heads of the fathers’ houses of the inhabitants of aGeba, and who forced them to move to bManahath: 7 Naaman, Ahijah, and Gera who forced them to move. He begot Uzza and Ahihud. 8 Also Shaharaim had children in the country of Moab, after he had sent away Hushim and Baara his wives. 9 By Hodesh his wife he begot Jobab, Zibia, Mesha, Malcam, 10 Jeuz, Sachiah, and Mirmah. These were his sons, heads of their fathers’ houses. 11 And by Hushim he begot Abitub and Elpaal. 12 The sons of Elpaal were Eber, Misham, and Shemed, who built Ono and Lod with its towns; 13 and Beriah and aShema, who were heads of their fathers’ houses of the inhabitants of Aijalon, who drove out the inhabitants of Gath. 14 Ahio, Shashak, Jeremoth, 15 Zebadiah, Arad, Eder, 16 Michael, Ispah, and Joha were the sons of Beriah. 17 Zebadiah, Meshullam, Hizki, Heber, 18 Ishmerai, Jizliah, and Jobab were the sons of Elpaal. 19 Jakim, Zichri, Zabdi, 20 Elienai, Zillethai, Eliel, 21 Adaiah, Beraiah, and Shimrath were the sons of 1Shimei. 22 Ishpan, Eber, Eliel, 23 Abdon, Zichri, Hanan, 24 Hananiah, Elam, Antothijah, 25 Iphdeiah, and Penuel were the sons of Shashak. 26 Shamsherai, Shehariah, Athaliah, 27 Jaareshiah, Elijah, and Zichri were the sons of Jeroham. 28 These were heads of the fathers’ houses by their generations, chief men. These dwelt in Jerusalem. 29 Now 1the father of Gibeon, whose awife’s name was Maacah, dwelt at Gibeon. 30 And his firstborn son was Abdon, then Zur, Kish, Baal, Nadab, 31 Gedor, Ahio, 1Zecher, 32 and Mikloth, who begot 1Shim- eah. They also dwelt 2alongside their 3relatives in Jerusalem, with their brethren. 33 aNer1 begot Kish, Kish begot Saul, and Saul begot Jonathan, Mal- chishua, 2Abinadab, and 3Esh- Baal. 34 The son of Jonathan was 1Merib- Baal, and Merib-Baal begot aMicah. 35 The sons of Micah were Pithon, Melech, 1Tarea, and Ahaz. 36 And Ahaz begot 1Jehoaddah; Jehoaddah begot Alemeth, Azma- veth, and Zimri; and Zimri begot Moza. 37 Moza begot Binea, 1Raphah his son, Eleasah his son, and Azel his son. 38 Azel had six sons whose names were these: Azrikam, Bocheru, Ish- mael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan. All these were the sons of Azel. 39 And the sons of Eshek his brother were Ulam his firstborn, Jeush the second, and Eliphelet the third. 40 The sons of Ulam were mighty men of valor—archers. They had many sons and grandsons, one hun- dred and fifty in all. These were all sons of Benjamin. 9 So aall Israel was 1recorded by genealogies, and indeed, they were inscribed in the book of the kings of Israel.

ad six sons whose names were these: Azrikam, Bocheru, Ish- mael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan. All these were the sons of Azel. 39 And the sons of Eshek his brother were Ulam his firstborn, Jeush the second, and Eliphelet the third. 40 The sons of Ulam were mighty men of valor—archers. They had many sons and grandsons, one hun- dred and fifty in all. These were all sons of Benjamin. 9 So aall Israel was 1recorded by genealogies, and indeed, they were inscribed in the book of the kings of Israel. But Judah was car- ried away captive to Babylon because of their unfaithfulness. 2 aAnd the first inhabitants who dwelt in their possessions in their cities were Israelites, priests, Le- vites, and bthe Nethinim. Dwellers in Jerusalem 3 Now in aJerusalem the children of Judah dwelt, and some of the children of Benjamin, and of the children of Ephraim and Manasseh: 4 Uthai the son of Ammihud, the son of Omri, the son of Imri, the son of Bani, of the descendants of Perez, the son of Judah. 5 Of the Shilonites: Asaiah the firstborn and his sons. 32 1Shemer, 1 Chr. 7:34 2Helem, 1 Chr. 7:35 34 a1 Chr. 7:32 37 1Jether, v. 38 CHAPTER 8 1 aGen. 46:21; Num. 26:38; 1 Chr. 7:6 1Ahiram, Num. 26:38 3 1Ard, Num. 26:40 5 1Shupham, Num. 26:39, or Shuppim, 1 Chr. 7:12 6 a1 Chr. 6:60 b1 Chr. 2:52 13 a1 Chr. 8:21 21 1Shema, 1 Chr. 7:13 29 a1 Chr. 9:35–38 1Jeiel, 1 Chr. 9:35 31 1Zechariah, 1 Chr. 9:37 32 1Shimeam, 1 Chr. 9:38 2Lit. opposite 3brethren 33 a1 Sam. 14:51 1Also the son of Gibeon, 1 Chr. 9:36, 39 2Jishui, 1 Sam. 14:49 3Ishbosheth, 2 Sam. 2:8 34 a2 Sam. 9:12 1Mephib- osheth, 2 Sam. 4:4 35 1Tahrea, 1 Chr. 9:41 36 1Jarah, 1 Chr. 9:42 37 1Raphaiah, 1 Chr. 9:43 CHAPTER 9 1 aEzra 2:59 1enrolled 2 aEzra 2:70; Neh. 7:73 bEzra 2:43; 8:20 3 aNeh. 11:1, 2

361 1 CHRONICLES 9:39 6 Of the sons of Zerah: Jeuel, and their brethren—six hundred and ninety. 7 Of the sons of Benjamin: Sallu the son of Meshullam, the son of Hodaviah, the son of Hassenuah; 8 Ibneiah the son of Jeroham; Elah the son of Uzzi, the son of Michri; Meshullam the son of Sheph- atiah, the son of Reuel, the son of Ibnijah; 9 and their brethren, according to their generations—nine hundred and fifty-six. All these men were heads of a father’s house in their fathers’ houses. The Priests at Jerusalem 10 aOf the priests: Jedaiah, Jehoia- rib, and Jachin; 11 1Azariah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, the aofficer over the house of God; 12 Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the son of Pashur, the son of Malchijah; Maasai the son of Adiel, the son of Jahzerah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Meshillemith, the son of Immer; 13 and their brethren, heads of their fathers’ houses—one thousand seven hundred and sixty. They were 1very able men for the work of the service of the house of God. The Levites at Jerusalem 14 Of the Levites: Shemaiah the son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, of the sons of Merari; 15 Bakbakkar, Heresh, Galal, and Mattaniah the son of Micah, the son of aZichri, the son of Asaph; 16 aObadiah the son of bShemaiah, the son of Galal, the son of Jedu- thun; and Berechiah the son of Asa, the son of Elkanah, who lived in the villages of the Netophathites. The Levite Gatekeepers 17 And the gatekeepers were Shal- lum, Akkub, Talmon, Ahiman, and their brethren. Shallum was the chief. 18 Until then they had been gate- keepers for the camps of the children of Levi at the King’s Gate on the east. 19 Shallum the son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, and his brethren, from his father’s house, the Korahites, were in charge of the work of the service, 1gate- keepers of the tabernacle. Their fathers had been keepers of the entrance to the camp of the LORD. 20 And aPhinehas the son of Eleazar had been the officer over them in time past; the LORD was with him. 21 aZechariah the son of Meshel- emiah was 1keeper of the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 22 All those chosen as gatekeepers were two hundred and twelve. aThey were recorded by their genealogy, in their villages. David and Samuel bthe seer had appointed them to their trusted office. 23 So they and their children were in charge of the gates of the house of the LORD, the house of the taber- nacle, by assignment. 24 The gatekeepers were assigned to the four directions: the east, west, north, and south. 25 And their brethren in their vil- lages had to come with them from time to time afor seven days. 26 For in this trusted office were four chief gatekeepers; they were Levites. And they had charge over the chambers and treasuries of the house of God. 27 And they lodged all around the house of God because 1they had the aresponsibility, and they were in charge of opening it every morning. Other Levite Responsibilities 28 Now some of them were in charge of the serving vessels, for they brought them in and took them out by count. 29 Some of them were appointed over the furnishings and over all the implements of the sanctuary, and over the afine flour and the wine and the oil and the incense and the spices. 30 And some of the sons of the priests made athe ointment of the spices. 31 Mattithiah of the Levites, the firstborn of Shallum the Korahite, had the trusted office aover the things that were baked in the pans. 32 And some of their brethren of the sons of the Kohathites awere in charge of preparing the showbread for every Sabbath. 33 These are athe singers, heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites, who lodged in the chambers, and were free from other duties; for they were employed in that work day and night. 34 These heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites were heads throughout their generations.

stborn of Shallum the Korahite, had the trusted office aover the things that were baked in the pans. 32 And some of their brethren of the sons of the Kohathites awere in charge of preparing the showbread for every Sabbath. 33 These are athe singers, heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites, who lodged in the chambers, and were free from other duties; for they were employed in that work day and night. 34 These heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites were heads throughout their generations. They dwelt at Jerusalem. The Family of King Saul 35 Jeiel the father of Gibeon, whose wife’s name was aMaacah, dwelt at Gibeon. 36 His firstborn son was Abdon, then Zur, Kish, Baal, Ner, Nadab, 37 Gedor, Ahio, 1Zechariah, and Mikloth. 38 And Mikloth begot 1Shimeam. They also dwelt alongside their rel- atives in Jerusalem, with their brethren. 39 aNer begot Kish, Kish begot Saul, and Saul begot Jonathan, Mal- chishua, Abinadab, and Esh-Baal. 10 aNeh. 11:10–14 11 a2 Chr. 31:13; Jer. 20:1 1Seraiah, Neh. 11:11 13 1Lit. mighty men of strength 15 aNeh. 11:17 16 aNeh. 11:17 bNeh. 11:17 19 1Lit. thresh- olds 20 aNum. 25:6–13; 31:6 21 a1 Chr. 26:2, 14 1gate- keeper 22 a1 Chr. 26:1, 2 b1 Sam. 9:9 25 a2 Kin. 11:4–7; 2 Chr. 23:8 27 a1 Chr. 23:30–32 1the watch was committed to them 29 a1 Chr. 23:29 30 aEx. 30:22–25 31 aLev. 2:5; 6:21 32 aLev. 24:5–8 33 a1 Chr. 6:31; 25:1 35 a1 Chr. 8:29–32 37 1Zecher, 1 Chr. 8:31 38 1Shimeah, 1 Chr. 8:32 39 a1 Chr. 8:33–38

1 CHRONICLES 9:40 362 40 The son of Jonathan was Merib- Baal, and Merib-Baal begot Micah. 41 The sons of Micah were Pithon, Melech, 1Tahrea, aand2 Ahaz. 42 And Ahaz begot 1Jarah; Jarah begot Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri; and Zimri begot Moza; 43 Moza begot Binea, 1Rephaiah his son, Eleasah his son, and Azel his son. 44 And Azel had six sons whose names were these: Azrikam, Boch- eru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan; these were the sons of Azel. Tragic End of Saul and His Sons 10 Now athe Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philis- tines, and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. 2 Then the Philistines followed hard after Saul and his sons. And the Philistines killed Jonathan, 1Abin- adab, and Malchishua, Saul’s sons. 3 The battle became fierce against Saul. The archers hit him, and he was wounded by the archers. 4 Then Saul said to his armor- bearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised men come and abuse me.” But his armorbearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword and fell on it. 5 And when his armorbearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword and died. 6 So Saul and his three sons died, and all his house died together. 7 And when all the men of Israel who were in the valley saw that they had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook their cities and fled; then the Philistines came and dwelt in them. 8 So it happened the next day, when the Philistines came to 1strip the slain, that they found Saul and his sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9 And they stripped him and took his head and his armor, and sent word throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news in the temple of their idols and among the people. 10 aThen they put his armor in the 1temple of their gods, and fastened his head in the temple of Dagon. 11 And when all Jabesh Gilead heard all that the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all the avaliant men arose and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons; and they brought them to bJabesh, and buried their bones under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days. 13 So Saul died for his unfaithful- ness which he had 1committed against the LORD, abecause he did not keep the word of the LORD, and also because bhe consulted a medium for guidance. 14 But he did not inquire of the LORD; therefore He killed him, and aturned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse. David Made King over All Israel 11 Then aall Israel came together to David at Hebron, saying, “Indeed we are your bone and your flesh. 2 “Also, in time past, even when Saul was king, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them in; and the LORD your aGod said to you, ‘You shall bshepherd My people Israel, and be ruler over My people Israel.’ ” 3 Therefore all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the LORD. And athey anointed David king over Israel, according to the word of the LORD 1by bSamuel. The City of David 4 And David and all Israel awent to Jerusalem, which is Jebus, bwhere the Jebusites were, the inhabitants of the land. 5 But the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, “You shall not come in here!” Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion (that is, the City of David). 6 Now David said, “Whoever attacks the Jebusites first shall be 1chief and captain.” And Joab the son of Zeruiah went up first, and became chief. 7 Then David dwelt in the strong- hold; therefore they called it 1the City of David. 8 And he built the city around it, from 1the Millo to the surrounding area.

sites were, the inhabitants of the land. 5 But the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, “You shall not come in here!” Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion (that is, the City of David). 6 Now David said, “Whoever attacks the Jebusites first shall be 1chief and captain.” And Joab the son of Zeruiah went up first, and became chief. 7 Then David dwelt in the strong- hold; therefore they called it 1the City of David. 8 And he built the city around it, from 1the Millo to the surrounding area. Joab 2repaired the rest of the city. 9 So David awent on and became great, and the LORD of hosts was with bhim. The Mighty Men of David 10 Now athese were the heads of the mighty men whom David had, who strengthened themselves with him in his kingdom, with all Israel, to make him king, according to bthe word of the LORD concerning Israel. 11 And this is the number of the mighty men whom David had: aJa- shobeam the son of a Hachmonite, bchief of 1the captains; he had lifted up his spear against three hundred, killed by him at one time. 12 After him was Eleazar the son of aDodo, the Ahohite, who was one of the three mighty men. 13 He was with David at 1Pas- dammim. Now there the Philistines were gathered for battle, and there 41 a1 Chr. 8:35 1Tarea, 1 Chr. 8:35 2So with Arab., Syr., Tg., Vg. (cf. 8:35); MT, LXX omit and Ahaz 42 1Jehoad- dah, 1 Chr. 8:36 43 1Raphah, 1 Chr. 8:37 CHAPTER 10 1 a1 Sam. 31:1, 2 2 1Jishui, 1 Sam. 14:49 8 1plunder 10 a1 Sam. 31:10 1Lit. house 12 a1 Sam. 14:52 b2 Sam. 21:12 13 a1 Sam. 13:13, 14; 15:22–26 b[Lev. 19:31; 20:6]; 1 Sam. 28:7 1Lit. transgressed 14 a1 Sam. 15:28; 2 Sam. 3:9, 10; 5:3; 1 Chr. 12:23 CHAPTER 11 1 a2 Sam. 5:1 2 a1 Sam. 16:1–3; Ps. 78:70–72 b2 Sam. 7:7 3 a2 Sam. 5:3 b1 Sam. 16:1, 4, 12, 13 1Lit. by the hand of Samuel 4 a2 Sam. 5:6 bJosh. 15:8, 63; Judg. 1:21; 19:10, 11 6 1Lit. head 7 1Zion, 2 Sam. 5:7 8 1Lit. The Landfill 2Lit. revived 9 a2 Sam. 3:1 b1 Sam. 16:18 10 a2 Sam. 23:8 b1 Sam. 16:1, 12 11 a1 Chr. 27:2 b1 Chr. 12:18 1So with Qr.; Kt., LXX, Vg. the thirty (cf. 2 Sam. 23:8) 12 a1 Chr. 27:4 13 1Ephes Dammim, 1 Sam. 17:1

363 1 CHRONICLES 12:6 was a piece of ground full of barley. So the people fled from the Philis- tines. 14 But they 1stationed themselves in the middle of that field, defended it, and killed the Philistines. So the LORD brought about a great victory. 15 Now three of the thirty chief men awent down to the rock to David, into the cave of Adullam; and the army of the Philistines encamped bin the Val- ley of 1Rephaim. 16 David was then in the strong- hold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem. 17 And David said with longing, “Oh, that someone would give me a drink of water from the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!” 18 So the three broke through the camp of the Philistines, drew water from the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate, and took it and brought it to David. Nevertheless David would not drink it, but poured it out to the LORD. 19 And he said, “Far be it from me, O my God, that I should do this! Shall I drink the blood of these men who have put their lives in jeop- ardy? For at the risk of their lives they brought it.” Therefore he would not drink it. These things were done by the three mighty men. 20 aAbishai the brother of Joab was chief of another 1three. He had lifted up his spear against three hundred men, killed them, and won a name among these three. 21 aOf the three he was more hon- ored than the other two men. Therefore he became their captain. However he did not attain to the first three. 22 Benaiah was the son of Je- hoiada, the son of a valiant man from Kabzeel, who 1had done many deeds. aHe had killed two lion-like heroes of Moab. He also had gone down and killed a lion in the midst of a pit on a snowy day. 23 And he killed an Egyptian, a man of great height, 1five cubits tall. In the Egyptian’s hand there was a spear like a weaver’s beam; and he went down to him with a staff, wrested the spear out of the Egyp- tian’s hand, and killed him with his own spear. 24 These things Benaiah the son of Jehoiada did, and won a name among three mighty men. 25 Indeed he was more honored than the thirty, but he did not attain to the first three. And David ap- pointed him over his guard. 26 Also the mighty warriors were aAsahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, 27 1Shammoth the Harorite, aHelez the 2Pelonite, 28 aIra the son of Ikkesh the Te- koite, bAbiezer the Anathothite, 29 1Sibbechai the Hushathite, 2Ilai the Ahohite, 30 aMaharai the Netophathite, 1He- led the son of Baanah the Netoph- athite, 31 1Ithai the son of Ribai of Gib- eah, of the sons of Benjamin, aBena- iah the Pirathonite, 32 1Hurai of the brooks of Gaash, 2Abiel the Arbathite, 33 Azmaveth the 1Baharumite, Eli- ahba the Shaalbonite, 34 the sons of 1Hashem the Gizo- nite, Jonathan the son of Shageh the Hararite, 35 Ahiam the son of 1Sacar the Hararite, 2Eliphal the son of 3Ur, 36 Hepher the Mecherathite, Ahi- jah the Pelonite, 37 1Hezro the Carmelite, 2Naarai the son of Ezbai, 38 Joel the brother of Nathan, Mib- har the son of Hagri, 39 Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the 1Berothite (the armorbearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah), 40 Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, 41 aUriah the Hittite, 1Zabad the son of Ahlai, 42 Adina the son of Shiza the Reu- benite (a chief of the Reubenites) and thirty with him, 43 Hanan the son of Maachah, Joshaphat the Mithnite, 44 Uzzia the Ashterathite, Shama and Jeiel the sons of Hotham the Aroerite, 45 Jediael the son of Shimri, and Joha his brother, the Tizite, 46 Eliel the Mahavite, Jeribai and Joshaviah the sons of Elnaam, Ithmah the Moabite, 47 Eliel, Obed, and Jaasiel the Mezobaite. The Growth of David’s Army 12 Now athese were the men who came to David at bZiklag while he was still a fugitive from Saul the son of Kish; and they were among the mighty men, helpers in the war, 2 armed with bows, using both the right hand and athe left in hurl- ing stones and shooting arrows with the bow.

45 Jediael the son of Shimri, and Joha his brother, the Tizite, 46 Eliel the Mahavite, Jeribai and Joshaviah the sons of Elnaam, Ithmah the Moabite, 47 Eliel, Obed, and Jaasiel the Mezobaite. The Growth of David’s Army 12 Now athese were the men who came to David at bZiklag while he was still a fugitive from Saul the son of Kish; and they were among the mighty men, helpers in the war, 2 armed with bows, using both the right hand and athe left in hurl- ing stones and shooting arrows with the bow. They were of Benjamin, Saul’s brethren. 3 The chief was Ahiezer, then Joash, the sons of 1Shemaah the Gibeathite; Jeziel and Pelet the sons of Azmaveth; Berachah, and Jehu the Anathothite; 4 Ishmaiah the Gibeonite, a mighty man among the thirty, and over the thirty; Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan, and Jozabad the Ged- erathite; 5 Eluzai, Jerimoth, Bealiah, Shem- ariah, and Shephatiah the Haru- phite; 6 Elkanah, Jisshiah, Azarel, Joe- zer, and Jashobeam, the Korah- ites; 14 1Lit. took their stand 15 a2 Sam. 23:13 b2 Sam. 5:18; 1 Chr. 14:9 1Lit. Giants 20 a2 Sam. 23:18; 1 Chr. 18:12 1So with MT, LXX, Vg.; Syr. thirty 21 a2 Sam. 23:19 22 a2 Sam. 23:20 1was great in deeds 23 1About 71⁄2 feet 26 a2 Sam. 23:24 27 a2 Sam. 23:26; 1 Chr. 27:10 1Shammah the Harodite, 2 Sam. 23:25 2Paltite, 2 Sam. 23:26 28 a1 Chr. 27:9 b1 Chr. 27:12 29 1Mebunnai, 2 Sam. 23:27 2Zalmon, 2 Sam. 23:28 30 a1 Chr. 27:13 1Heleb, 2 Sam. 23:29, or Heldai, 1 Chr. 27:15 31 a1 Chr. 27:14 1Ittai, 2 Sam. 23:29 32 1Hiddai, 2 Sam. 23:30 2Abi-Albon, 2 Sam. 23:31 33 1Barhu- mite, 2 Sam. 23:31 34 1Jashen, 2 Sam. 23:32 35 1Sharar, 2 Sam. 23:33 2Eliphelet, 2 Sam. 23:34 3Ahasbai, 2 Sam. 23:34 37 1Hezrai, 2 Sam. 23:38 2Paarai the Arbite, 2 Sam. 23:35 39 1Beeroth- ite, 2 Sam. 23:37 41 a2 Sam. 11 1The last six- teen are not added in 2 Sam. 23. CHAPTER 12 1 a1 Sam. 27:2 b1 Sam. 27:6 2 aJudg. 3:15; 20:16 3 1Or Has- maah

1 CHRONICLES 12:7 364 7 and Joelah and Zebadiah the sons of Jeroham of Gedor. 8 Some Gadites 1joined David at the stronghold in the wilderness, mighty men of valor, men trained for battle, who could handle shield and spear, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and were aas swift as gazelles on the moun- tains: 9 Ezer the first, Obadiah the sec- ond, Eliab the third, 10 Mishmannah the fourth, Jere- miah the fifth, 11 Attai the sixth, Eliel the seventh, 12 Johanan the eighth, Elzabad the ninth, 13 Jeremiah the tenth, and Mach- banai the eleventh. 14 These were from the sons of Gad, captains of the army; the least was over a hundred, and the great- est was over a athousand. 15 These are the ones who crossed the Jordan in the first month, when it had overflowed all its abanks; and they put to flight all those in the val- leys, to the east and to the west. 16 Then some of the sons of Ben- jamin and Judah came to David at the stronghold. 17 And David went out 1to meet them, and answered and said to them, “If you have come peaceably to me to help me, my heart will be united with you; but if to betray me to my enemies, since there is no 2wrong in my hands, may the God of our fathers look and bring judg- ment.” 18 Then the Spirit 1came upon aAmasai, chief of the captains, and he said: “We are yours, O David; We are on your side, O son of Jesse! Peace, peace to you, And peace to your helpers! For your God helps you.” So David received them, and made them captains of the troop. 19 And some from Manasseh defected to David awhen he was going with the Philistines to battle against Saul; but they did not help them, for the lords of the Phi- listines sent him away by agree- ment, saying, b“He may defect to his master Saul and endanger our heads.” 20 When he went to Ziklag, those of Manasseh who defected to him were Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zil- lethai, captains of the thousands who were from Manasseh. 21 And they helped David against athe bands of raiders, for they were all mighty men of valor, and they were captains in the army. 22 For at that time they came to David day by day to help him, until it was a great army, alike the army of God. David’s Army at Hebron 23 Now these were the numbers of the 1divisions that were equipped for war, and acame to David at bHe- bron to cturn over the kingdom of Saul to him, daccording to the word of the LORD: 24 of the sons of Judah bearing shield and spear, six thousand eight hundred 1armed for war; 25 of the sons of Simeon, mighty men of valor fit for war, seven thou- sand one hundred; 26 of the sons of Levi four thou- sand six hundred; 27 Jehoiada, the leader of the Aar- onites, and with him three thousand seven hundred; 28 aZadok, a young man, a valiant warrior, and from his father’s house twenty-two captains; 29 of the sons of Benjamin, rela- tives of Saul, three thousand (until then athe greatest part of them had remained loyal to the house of Saul); 30 of the sons of Ephraim twenty thousand eight hundred, mighty men of valor, 1famous men through- out their father’s house; 31 of the half-tribe of Manasseh eighteen thousand, who were desig- nated by name to come and make David king; 32 of the sons of Issachar awho had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their command; 33 of Zebulun there were fifty thousand who went out to battle, expert in war with all weapons of war, astouthearted men who could keep ranks; 34 of Naphtali one thousand cap- tains, and with them thirty-seven thousand with shield and spear; 35 of the Danites who could keep battle formation, twenty-eight thou- sand six hundred; 36 of Asher, those who could go out to war, able to keep battle forma- tion, forty thousand; 37 of the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Ma- nasseh, from the other side of the Jordan, one hundred and twenty thousand armed for battle with every kind of weapon of war.

arted men who could keep ranks; 34 of Naphtali one thousand cap- tains, and with them thirty-seven thousand with shield and spear; 35 of the Danites who could keep battle formation, twenty-eight thou- sand six hundred; 36 of Asher, those who could go out to war, able to keep battle forma- tion, forty thousand; 37 of the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Ma- nasseh, from the other side of the Jordan, one hundred and twenty thousand armed for battle with every kind of weapon of war. 38 All these men of war, who could keep ranks, came to Hebron with a loyal heart, to make David king over all Israel; and all the rest of Israel were of aone mind to make David king. 39 And they were there with David three days, eating and drinking, for their brethren had prepared for them. 40 Moreover those who were near to them, from as far away as Issachar 8 a2 Sam. 2:18 1Lit. sepa- rated them- selves to 14 a1 Sam. 18:13 15 aJosh. 3:15; 4:18, 19 17 1Lit. before them 2Lit. vio- lence 18 a2 Sam. 17:25 1Lit. clothed 19 a1 Sam. 29:2 b1 Sam. 29:4 21 a1 Sam. 30:1, 9, 10 22 aGen. 32:2; Josh. 5:13–15 23 a2 Sam. 2:1–4 b1 Chr. 11:1 c1 Chr. 10:14 d1 Sam. 16:1–4 1Lit. heads of those 24 1equipped 28 a2 Sam. 8:17; 1 Chr. 6:8, 53 29 a2 Sam. 2:8, 9 30 1Lit. men of names 32 aEsth. 1:13 33 aPs. 12:2; [James 1:8] 38 a2 Chr. 30:12

365 1 CHRONICLES 14:17 and Zebulun and Naphtali, were bringing food on donkeys and camels, on mules and oxen—provi- sions of flour and cakes of figs and cakes of raisins, wine and oil and oxen and sheep abundantly, for there was joy in Israel. The Ark Brought from Kirjath Jearim 13 Then David consulted with the acaptains of thousands and hundreds, and with every leader. 2 And David said to all the assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you, and if it is of the LORD our God, let us send out to our brethren everywhere who are aleft in all the land of Israel, and with them to the priests and Levites who are in their cities and their common-lands, that they may gather together to us; 3 “and let us bring the ark of our God back to us, afor we have not inquired at it since the days of Saul.” 4 Then all the assembly said that they would do so, for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people. 5 So aDavid gathered all Israel together, from bShihor in Egypt to as far as the entrance of Hamath, to bring the ark of God cfrom Kirjath Jearim. 6 And David and all Israel went up to aBaalah,1 to Kirjath Jearim, which belonged to Judah, to bring up from there the ark of God the LORD, bwho dwells between the cherubim, where His name is pro- claimed. 7 So they 1carried the ark of God aon a new cart bfrom the house of Abinadab, and Uzza and Ahio drove the cart. 8 Then aDavid and all Israel played music before God with all their might, with 1singing, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tam- bourines, on cymbals, and with trumpets. 9 And when they came to 1Chi- don’s threshing floor, Uzza put out his hand to hold the ark, for the oxen 2stumbled. 10 Then the anger of the LORD was aroused against Uzza, and He struck him abecause he put his hand to the ark; and he bdied there before God. 11 And David became angry because of the LORD’s outbreak against Uzza; therefore that place is called 1Perez Uzza to this day. 12 David was afraid of God that day, saying, “How can I bring the ark of God to me?” 13 So David would not move the ark with him into the City of David, but took it aside into the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. 14 aThe ark of God remained with the family of Obed-Edom in his house three months. And the LORD blessed bthe house of Obed-Edom and all that he had. David Established at Jerusalem 14 Now aHiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, with masons and car- penters, to build him a house. 2 So David knew that the LORD had established him as king over Israel, for his kingdom was ahighly exalted for the sake of His people Israel. 3 Then David took more wives in Jerusalem, and David begot more sons and daughters. 4 And athese are the names of his children whom he had in Jerusalem: 1Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Sol- omon, 5 Ibhar, 1Elishua, 2Elpelet, 6 Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, 7 Elishama, 1Beeliada, and Eliph- elet. The Philistines Defeated 8 Now when the Philistines heard that aDavid had been anointed king over all Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. And David heard of it and went out against them. 9 Then the Philistines went and made a raid aon the Valley of 1Rephaim. 10 And David ainquired of God, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?” The LORD said to him, “Go up, for I will deliver them into your hand.” 11 So they went up to Baal Per- azim, and David defeated them there.

the Philistines heard that aDavid had been anointed king over all Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. And David heard of it and went out against them. 9 Then the Philistines went and made a raid aon the Valley of 1Rephaim. 10 And David ainquired of God, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?” The LORD said to him, “Go up, for I will deliver them into your hand.” 11 So they went up to Baal Per- azim, and David defeated them there. Then David said, “God has broken through my enemies by my hand like a breakthrough of water.” Therefore they called the name of that place 1Baal Perazim. 12 And when they left their gods there, David gave a commandment, and they were burned with fire. 13 aThen the Philistines once again made a raid on the valley. 14 Therefore David inquired again of God, and God said to him, “You shall not go up after them; circle around them, aand come upon them in front of the mulberry trees. 15 “And it shall be, when you hear a sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall go out to battle, for God has gone out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.” 16 So David did as God commanded him, and they drove back the army of the Philistines from 1Gibeon as far as Gezer. 17 Then athe fame of David went out into all lands, and the LORD bbrought the fear of him upon all nations. CHAPTER 13 1 a1 Chr. 11:15; 12:34 2 a1 Sam. 31:1; Is. 37:4 3 a1 Sam. 7:1, 2 5 a1 Sam. 7:5 bJosh. 13:3 c1 Sam. 6:21; 7:1, 2 6 aJosh. 15:9, 60 bEx. 25:22; 1 Sam. 4:4; 2 Kin. 19:15 1Baale Judah, 2 Sam. 6:2 7 aNum. 4:15; 1 Sam. 6:7 b1 Sam. 7:1 1Lit. caused the ark of God to ride 8 a2 Sam. 6:5 1songs 9 1Nachon, 2 Sam. 6:6 2Or let it go off 10 a[Num. 4:15]; 1 Chr. 15:13, 15 bLev. 10:2 11 1Lit. Out- burst Against Uzza 14 a2 Sam. 6:11 b[Gen. 30:27]; 1 Chr. 26:4–8 CHAPTER 14 1 a2 Sam. 5:11; 1 Kin. 5:1 2 aNum. 24:7 4 a1 Chr. 3:5–8 1Shimea, 1 Chr. 3:5 5 1Elishama, 1 Chr. 3:6 2Eliphelet, 1 Chr. 3:6 7 1Eliada, 2 Sam. 5:6; 1 Chr. 3:8 8 a2 Sam. 5:17–21 9 aJosh. 17:15; 18:16; 1 Chr. 11:15; 14:13 1Lit. Giants 10 a1 Sam. 23:2, 4; 30:8; 2 Sam. 2:1; 5:19, 23; 21:1 11 1Lit. Master of Break- throughs 13 a2 Sam. 5:22–25 14 a2 Sam. 5:23 16 1Geba, 2 Sam. 5:25 17 aJosh. 6:27; 2 Chr. 26:8 b[Ex. 15:14–16; Deut. 2:25; 11:25]; 2 Chr. 20:29

1 CHRONICLES 15:1 366 The Ark Brought to Jerusalem 15 David built houses for himself in the City of David; and he prepared a place for the ark of God, aand pitched a tent for it. 2 Then David said, “No one may carry the aark of God but the Levites, for bthe LORD has chosen them to carry the ark of God and to minister before Him forever.” 3 And David agathered all Israel together at Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the LORD to its place, which he had prepared for it. 4 Then David assembled the chil- dren of Aaron and the Levites: 5 of the sons of Kohath, Uriel the chief, and one hundred and twenty of his 1brethren; 6 of the sons of Merari, Asaiah the chief, and two hundred and twenty of his brethren; 7 of the sons of Gershom, Joel the chief, and one hundred and thirty of his brethren; 8 of the sons of aElizaphan, She- maiah the chief, and two hundred of his brethren; 9 of the sons of aHebron, Eliel the chief, and eighty of his brethren; 10 of the sons of Uzziel, Ammin- adab the chief, and one hundred and twelve of his brethren. 11 And David called for aZadok and bAbiathar the priests, and for the Levites: for Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab. 12 He said to them, “You are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites; 1sanctify yourselves, you and your brethren, that you may bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel to the place I have prepared for it. 13 “For abecause you did not do it the first time, bthe LORD our God broke out against us, because we did not consult Him 1about the proper order.” 14 So the priests and the Levites 1sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel. 15 And the children of the Levites bore the ark of God on their shoul- ders, by its poles, as aMoses had commanded according to the word of the LORD. 16 Then David spoke to the leaders of the Levites to appoint their brethren to be the singers accompa- nied by instruments of music, stringed instruments, harps, and cymbals, by raising the voice with resounding joy. 17 So the Levites appointed aHeman the son of Joel; and of his brethren, bAsaph the son of Berechiah; and of their brethren, the sons of Merari, cEthan the son of Kushaiah; 18 and with them their brethren of the second rank: Zechariah, 1Ben, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Elipheleh, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom, and Jeiel, the gatekeepers; 19 the singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, were to sound the cymbals of bronze; 20 Zechariah, 1Aziel, Shemira- moth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah, with strings according to aAlamoth; 21 Mattithiah, Elipheleh, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah, to direct with harps on the aShemi- nith; 22 Chenaniah, leader of the Le- vites, was instructor in charge of the music, because he was skillful; 23 Berechiah and Elkanah were doorkeepers for the ark; 24 Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer, the priests, awere to blow the trumpets before the ark of God; and bObed-Edom and Jehiah, door- keepers for the ark. 25 So aDavid, the elders of Israel, and the captains over thousands went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD from the house of Obed-Edom with joy. 26 And so it was, when God helped the Levites who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD, that they offered seven bulls and seven rams. 27 David was clothed with a robe of fine alinen, as were all the Levites who bore the ark, the singers, and Chenaniah the music master with the singers.

bObed-Edom and Jehiah, door- keepers for the ark. 25 So aDavid, the elders of Israel, and the captains over thousands went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD from the house of Obed-Edom with joy. 26 And so it was, when God helped the Levites who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD, that they offered seven bulls and seven rams. 27 David was clothed with a robe of fine alinen, as were all the Levites who bore the ark, the singers, and Chenaniah the music master with the singers. David also wore a linen ephod. 28 aThus all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the LORD with shouting and with the sound of the horn, with trumpets and with cymbals, making music with stringed instruments and harps. 29 And it happened, aas the ark of the covenant of the LORD came to the City of David, that Michal, Saul’s daughter, looked through a window and saw King David whirling and playing music; and she despised him in her heart. The Ark Placed in the Tabernacle 16 So athey brought the ark of God, and set it in the midst of the tabernacle that David had erected for it. Then they offered burnt offer- ings and peace offerings before God. 2 And when David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, ahe blessed the peo- ple in the name of the LORD. 3 Then he distributed to everyone of Israel, both man and woman, to everyone a loaf of bread, a piece of meat, and a cake of raisins. 4 And he appointed some of the Levites to minister before the ark of the LORD, to acommemorate, to thank, and to praise the LORD God of Israel: CHAPTER 15 1 a1 Chr. 16:1 2 a[Num. 4:15]; 2 Sam. 6:1–11 bNum. 4:2–15; Deut. 10:8; 31:9 3 aEx. 40:20, 21; 2 Sam. 6:12; 1 Kin. 8:1; 1 Chr. 13:5 5 1kinsmen 8 aEx. 6:22 9 aEx. 6:18 11 a2 Sam. 8:17; 15:24–29, 35, 36; 18:19, 22, 27; 19:11; 20:25; 1 Chr. 12:28 b1 Sam. 22:20–23; 23:6; 30:7; 1 Kin. 2:22, 26, 27; Mark 2:6 12 1consecrate 13 a2 Sam. 6:3 b1 Chr. 13:7–11 1regarding the ordinance 14 1conse- crated 15 aEx. 25:14; Num. 4:15; 7:9 17 a1 Chr. 6:33; 25:1 b1 Chr. 6:39 c1 Chr. 6:44 18 1So with MT, Vg.; LXX omits Ben 20 aPs. 46:title 1Jaaziel, v. 18 21 aPs. 6:title 24 a[Num. 10:8]; Ps. 81:3 b1 Chr. 13:13, 14 25 a2 Sam. 6:12, 13; 1 Kin. 8:1 27 a1 Sam. 2:18, 28 28 aNum. 23:21; Josh. 6:20; 1 Chr. 13:8; Zech. 4:7; 1 Thess. 4:16 29 a1 Sam. 18:20, 27; 19:11–17; 2 Sam. 3:13, 14; 6:16, 20–23 CHAPTER 16 1 a2 Sam. 6:17; 1 Chr. 15:1 2 a1 Kin. 8:14 4 aPs. 38:title; 70:title

367 1 CHRONICLES 16:37 5 Asaph the chief, and next to him Zechariah, then aJeiel, Shemira- moth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, and Obed-Edom: Jeiel with stringed instruments and harps, but Asaph made music with cymbals; 6 Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests regularly blew the trumpets before the ark of the covenant of God. David’s Song of Thanksgiving 7 On that day aDavid bfirst deliv- ered this psalm into the hand of Asaph and his brethren, to thank the LORD: 8 aOh, give thanks to the LORD! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples! 9 Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; Talk of all His wondrous works! 10 Glory in His holy name; Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the LORD! 11 Seek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face evermore! 12 Remember His marvelous works which He has done, His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth, 13 O seed of Israel His servant, You children of Jacob, His chosen ones! 14 He is the LORD our God; His ajudgments are in all the earth. 15 Remember His covenant forever, The word which He commanded, for a thousand generations, 16 The acovenant which He made with Abraham, And His oath to Isaac, 17 And aconfirmed it to bJacob for a statute, To Israel for an everlasting covenant, 18 Saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan As the allotment of your inheritance,” 19 When you were afew in number, Indeed very few, and strangers in it. 20 When they went from one nation to another, And from one kingdom to another people, 21 He permitted no man to do them wrong; Yes, He arebuked kings for their sakes, 22 Saying, a“Do not touch My anointed ones, And do My prophets no harm.” 23 aSing to the LORD, all the earth; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. 24 Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples. 25 For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised; He is also to be feared above all gods. 26 For all the gods aof the peoples are 1idols, But the LORD made the heavens. 27 Honor and majesty are before Him; Strength and gladness are in His place. 28 Give to the LORD, O families of the peoples, Give to the LORD glory and strength. 29 Give to the LORD the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come before Him. Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness! 30 Tremble before Him, all the earth. The world also is firmly established, It shall not be moved. 31 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; And let them say among the nations, “The LORD reigns.” 32 Let the sea roar, and all its fullness; Let the field rejoice, and all that is in it. 33 Then the atrees of the woods shall rejoice before the LORD, For He is bcoming to judge the earth. 34 aOh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. 35 aAnd say, “Save us, O God of our salvation; Gather us together, and deliver us from the Gentiles, To give thanks to Your holy name, To triumph in Your praise.” 36 aBlessed be the LORD God of Israel From everlasting to everlasting! And all bthe people said, “Amen!” and praised the LORD. Regular Worship Maintained 37 So he left aAsaph and his broth- ers there before the ark of the cov- enant of the LORD to minister before 5 a1 Chr. 15:18 7 a2 Sam. 22:1; 23:1 bPs. 105:1–15 8 a1 Chr. 17:19, 20; Ps. 105:1–15 14 aPs. 48:10; [Is. 26:9] 16 aGen. 17:2; 26:3; 28:13; 35:11 17 aGen. 35:11, 12 bGen. 28:10–15 19 aGen. 34:30; Deut. 7:7 21 aGen. 12:17; 20:3; Ex. 7:15–18 22 aGen. 20:7; Ps. 105:15 23 aPs. 96:1–13 26 aLev. 19:4; [1 Cor. 8:5, 6] 1worthless things 33 aIs. 55:12, 13 b[Joel 3:1–14]; Zech. 14:1–14; [Matt. 25:31–46] 34 a2 Chr. 5:13; 7:3; Ezra 3:11; Ps. 106:1; 107:1; 118:1; 136:1; Jer. 33:11 35 aPs. 106:47, 48 36 a1 Kin. 8:15, 56; Ps. 72:18 bDeut. 27:15; Neh. 8:6 37 a1 Chr. 16:4, 5

1 CHRONICLES 16:38 368 the ark regularly, as every day’s work brequired; 38 and aObed-Edom with his sixty- eight brethren, including Obed- Edom the son of Jeduthun, and Hosah, to be gatekeepers; 39 and Zadok the priest and his brethren the priests, abefore the tab- ernacle of the LORD bat the 1high place that was at Gibeon, 40 to offer burnt offerings to the LORD on the altar of burnt offering regularly amorning and evening, and to do according to all that is written in the Law of the LORD which He commanded Israel; 41 and with them Heman and Jeduthun and the rest who were chosen, who were designated by name, to give thanks to the LORD, abecause His mercy endures forever; 42 and with them Heman and Jeduthun, to sound aloud with trum- pets and cymbals and the musical instruments of God. Now the sons of Jeduthun were gatekeepers. 43 aThen all the people departed, every man to his house; and David returned to bless his house. God’s Covenant with David 17 Now ait came to pass, when David was dwelling in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the LORD is under tent curtains.” 2 Then Nathan said to David, “Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you.” 3 But it happened that night that the word of God came to Nathan, saying, 4 “Go and tell My servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD: “You shall anot build Me a house to dwell in. 5 “For I have not dwelt in a house since the time that I brought up Israel, even to this day, but have gone from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle to another. 6 “Wherever I have moved about with all Israel, have I ever spoken a word to any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people, saying, ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?’ ” ’ 7 “Now therefore, thus shall you say to My servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “I took you afrom the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be 1ruler over My people Israel. 8 “And I have been with you wher- ever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have 1made you a name like the name of the great men who are on the earth. 9 “Moreover I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will aplant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more; nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore, as previously, 10 “since the time that I com- manded judges to be over My people Israel. Also I will subdue all your en- emies. Furthermore I tell you that the LORD will build you a 1house. 11 “And it shall be, when your days are afulfilled, when you must 1go to be with your fathers, that I will set up your bseed after you, who will be of your sons; and I will establish his kingdom. 12 a“He shall build Me a house, and I will establish his throne forever. 13 a“I will be his Father, and he shall be My son; and I will not take My mercy away from him, bas I took it from him who was before you. 14 “And aI will establish him in My house and in My kingdom forever; and his throne shall be established forever.” ’ ” 15 According to all these words and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David. 16 aThen King David went in and sat before the LORD; and he said: “Who am I, O LORD God?

all build Me a house, and I will establish his throne forever. 13 a“I will be his Father, and he shall be My son; and I will not take My mercy away from him, bas I took it from him who was before you. 14 “And aI will establish him in My house and in My kingdom forever; and his throne shall be established forever.” ’ ” 15 According to all these words and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David. 16 aThen King David went in and sat before the LORD; and he said: “Who am I, O LORD God? And what is my house, that You have brought me this far? 17 “And yet this was a small thing in Your sight, O God; and You have also spoken of Your servant’s house for a great while to come, and have regarded me according to the rank of a man of high degree, O LORD God. 18 “What more can David say to You for the honor of Your servant? For You know Your servant. 19 “O LORD, for Your servant’s sake, and according to Your own heart, You have done all this great- ness, in making known all these great things. 20 “O LORD, there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears. 21 a“And who is like Your people Israel, the one nation on the earth whom God went to redeem for Him- self as a people—to make for Your- self a name by great and awesome deeds, by driving out nations from before Your people whom You redeemed from Egypt? 22 “For You have made Your people Israel Your very own people forever; and You, LORD, have become their God. 23 “And now, O LORD, the word which You have spoken concerning Your servant and concerning his house, let it be established forever, and do as You have said. 24 “So let it be established, that Your name may be magnified for- ever, saying, ‘The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, is Israel’s God.’ And let the house of Your servant David be established before You. 25 “For You, O my God, 1have re- 37 b2 Chr. 8:14; Ezra 3:4 38 a1 Chr. 13:14 39 a1 Chr. 21:29; 2 Chr. 1:3 b1 Kin. 3:4 1Place for pagan wor- ship 40 a[Ex. 29:38–42; Num. 28:3, 4] 41 a1 Chr. 25:1–6; 2 Chr. 5:13; 7:3; Ezra 3:11; Jer. 33:11 43 a2 Sam. 6:18–20 CHAPTER 17 1 a2 Sam. 7:1; 1 Chr. 14:1 4 a[1 Chr. 28:2, 3] 7 a1 Sam. 16:11–13 1leader 8 1given you prestige 9 a[Deut. 30:1–9; Jer. 16:14–16; 23:5–8; 24:6; Ezek. 37:21–27]; Amos 9:14 10 1Royal dynasty 11 a1 Kin. 2:10; 1 Chr. 29:28 b1 Kin. 5:5; 6:12; 8:19–21; [1 Chr. 22:9–13; 28:20]; Matt. 1:6; Luke 3:31 1Die and join your ances- tors 12 a1 Kin. 6:38; 2 Chr. 6:2; [Ps. 89:20–37] 13 a2 Sam. 7:14, 15; Matt. 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22; 2 Cor. 6:18; Heb. 1:5 b[1 Sam. 15:23–28]; 1 Chr. 10:14 14 aPs. 89:3, 4; Matt. 19:28; 25:31; [Luke 1:31–33] 16 a2 Sam. 7:18 21 a[Deut. 4:6–8, 33–38]; Ps. 147:20 25 1Lit. have uncovered the ear of

369 1 CHRONICLES 19:9 vealed to Your servant that You will build him a house. Therefore Your servant has found it in his heart to pray before You. 26 “And now, LORD, 1You are God, and have promised this goodness to Your servant. 27 “Now You have been pleased to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue before You forever; for You have blessed it, O LORD, and it shall be blessed forever.” David’s Further Conquests 18 After this ait came to pass that David 1attacked the Philis- tines, subdued them, and took Gath and its towns from the hand of the Philistines. 2 Then he 1defeated aMoab, and the Moabites became David’s bser- vants, and brought tribute. 3 And aDavid 1defeated 2Hadadezer king of Zobah as far as Hamath, as he went to establish his power by the River Euphrates. 4 David took from him one thou- sand chariots, 1seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand foot soldiers. Also David 2ham- strung all the chariot horses, except that he spared enough of them for one hundred chariots. 5 When the aSyrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David killed twenty-two thousand of the Syrians. 6 Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus; and the Syrians became David’s servants, and brought tribute. So the LORD pre- served David wherever he went. 7 And David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 Also from 1Tibhath and from 2Chun, cities of 3Hadadezer, David brought a large amount of abronze, with which bSolomon made the bronze 4Sea, the pillars, and the arti- cles of bronze. 9 Now when 1Tou king of Hamath heard that David had 2defeated all the army of Hadadezer king of Zobah, 10 he sent 1Hadoram his son to King David, to greet him and bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and 2defeated him (for Hadadezer had been at war with Tou); and Hadoram brought with him all kinds of aarticles of gold, sil- ver, and bronze. 11 King David also dedicated these to the LORD, along with the silver and gold that he had brought from all these nations—from Edom, from Moab, from the apeople of Ammon, from the bPhilistines, and from cAmalek. 12 Moreover aAbishai the son of Zeruiah killed beighteen thousand 1Edomites in the Valley of Salt. 13 aHe also put garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites became Da- vid’s servants. And the LORD pre- served David wherever he went. David’s Administration 14 So David reigned over all Israel, and administered judgment and jus- tice to all his people. 15 Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder; 16 Zadok the son of Ahitub and 1Abimelech the son of Abiathar were the priests; 2Shavsha was the scribe; 17 aBenaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David’s sons were 1chief ministers at the king’s side. The Ammonites and Syrians Defeated 19 Ita happened after this that Nahash the king of the people of Ammon died, and his son reigned in his place. 2 Then David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent mes- sengers to comfort him concerning his father. And David’s servants came to Hanun in the land of the people of Ammon to comfort him. 3 And the princes of the people of Ammon said to Hanun, 1“Do you think that David really honors your father because he has sent com- forters to you? Did his servants not come to you to search and to over- throw and to spy out the land?” 4 Therefore Hanun took David’s servants, shaved them, and cut off their garments 1in the middle, at their abuttocks, and sent them away. 5 Then some went and told David about the men; and he sent to meet them, because the men were greatly ashamed.

to comfort him. 3 And the princes of the people of Ammon said to Hanun, 1“Do you think that David really honors your father because he has sent com- forters to you? Did his servants not come to you to search and to over- throw and to spy out the land?” 4 Therefore Hanun took David’s servants, shaved them, and cut off their garments 1in the middle, at their abuttocks, and sent them away. 5 Then some went and told David about the men; and he sent to meet them, because the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, “Wait at Jericho until your beards have grown, and then return.” 6 When the people of Ammon saw that they had made themselves repulsive to David, Hanun and the people of Ammon sent a thousand talents of silver to hire for them- selves chariots and horsemen from 1Mesopotamia, from Syrian Maa- cah, aand from 2Zobah. 7 So they hired for themselves thirty-two thousand chariots, with the king of Maacah and his people, who came and encamped before Medeba. Also the people of Ammon gathered together from their cities, and came to battle. 8 Now when David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the army of the mighty men. 9 Then the people of Ammon came out and put themselves in battle 26 1Or You alone are CHAPTER 18 1 a2 Sam. 8:1–18 1Lit. struck 2 a2 Sam. 8:2; Zeph. 2:9 bPs. 60:8 1Lit. struck 3 a2 Sam. 8:3 1Lit. struck 2Heb. Hadarezer 4 1seven hun- dred, 2 Sam. 8:4 2crippled 5 a2 Sam. 8:5, 6; 1 Kin. 11:23–25 8 a2 Sam. 8:8 b1 Kin. 7:15, 23; 2 Chr. 4:12, 15, 16 1Betah, 2 Sam. 8:8 2Berothai, 2 Sam. 8:8 3Heb. Hadarezer 4Great laver or basin 9 1Toi, 2 Sam. 8:9, 10 2Lit. struck 10 a2 Sam. 8:10–12 1Joram, 2 Sam. 8:10 2Lit. struck 11 a2 Sam. 10:14 b2 Sam. 5:17–25 c2 Sam. 1:1 12 a2 Sam. 23:18; 1 Chr. 2:16 b2 Sam. 8:13 1Syrians, 2 Sam. 8:13 13 aGen. 27:29–40; Num. 24:18; 2 Sam. 8:14 16 1Ahimelech, 2 Sam. 8:17 2Seraiah, 2 Sam. 8:17, or Shisha, 1 Kin. 4:3 17 a2 Sam. 8:18 1Lit. at the hand of the king CHAPTER 19 1 a1 Sam. 11:1; 2 Sam. 10:1–19 3 1Lit. In your eyes is David honoring your father because 4 aIs. 20:4 1in half 6 a1 Chr. 18:5, 9 1Heb. Aram Naharaim 2Zoba, 2 Sam. 10:6

1 CHRONICLES 19:10 370 array before the gate of the city, and the kings who had come were by themselves in the field. 10 When Joab saw that the battle line was against him before and behind, he chose some of Israel’s best and put them in battle array against the Syrians. 11 And the rest of the people he put under the command of Abishai his brother, and they set themselves in battle array against the people of Ammon. 12 Then he said, “If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the people of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will help you. 13 “Be of good courage, and let us be strong for our people and for the cities of our God. And may the LORD do what is good in His sight.” 14 So Joab and the people who were with him drew near for the battle against the Syrians, and they fled before him. 15 When the people of Ammon saw that the Syrians were fleeing, they also fled before Abishai his brother, and entered the city. So Joab went to Jerusalem. 16 Now when the Syrians saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they sent messengers and brought the Syrians who were beyond 1the River, and 2Shophach the com- mander of Hadadezer’s army went before them. 17 When it was told David, he gathered all Israel, crossed over the Jordan and came upon them, and set up in battle array against them. So when David had set up in battle array against the Syrians, they fought with him. 18 Then the Syrians fled before Israel; and David killed 1seven thou- sand charioteers and forty thousand 2foot soldiers of the Syrians, and killed Shophach the commander of the army. 19 And when the servants of Hadadezer saw that they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and became his servants. So the Syrians were not willing to help the people of Ammon anymore. Rabbah Is Conquered 20 Ita happened 1in the spring of the year, at the time kings go out to battle, that Joab led out the armed forces and ravaged the coun- try of the people of Ammon, and came and besieged Rabbah. But bDavid stayed at Jerusalem. And cJoab defeated Rabbah and over- threw it. 2 Then David atook their king’s crown from his head, and found it to weigh a talent of gold, and there were precious stones in it. And it was set on David’s head. Also he brought out the 1spoil of the city in great abundance. 3 And he brought out the people who were in it, and 1put them to work with saws, with iron picks, and with axes. So David did to all the cities of the people of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem. Philistine Giants Destroyed 4 Now it happened afterward athat war broke out at 1Gezer with the Philistines, at which time bSibbechai the Hushathite killed 2Sippai, who was one of the sons of 3the giant. And they were subdued. 5 Again there was war with the Philistines, and Elhanan the son of 1Jair killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s abeam. 6 Yet again athere was war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, with twenty-four fin- gers and toes, six on each hand and six on each foot; and he also was born to 1the giant. 7 So when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of 1Shimea, David’s brother, killed him. 8 These were born to the giant in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his ser- vants. The Census of Israel and Judah 21 Now aSatan stood up against Israel, and moved David to 1number Israel. 2 So David said to Joab and to the leaders of the people, “Go, number Israel from Beersheba to Dan, aand bring the number of them to me that I may know it.” 3 And Joab answered, “May the LORD make His people a hundred times more than they are. But, my lord the king, are they not all my lord’s servants? Why then does my lord require this thing? Why should he be a cause of guilt in Israel?” 4 Nevertheless the king’s word prevailed against Joab.

up against Israel, and moved David to 1number Israel. 2 So David said to Joab and to the leaders of the people, “Go, number Israel from Beersheba to Dan, aand bring the number of them to me that I may know it.” 3 And Joab answered, “May the LORD make His people a hundred times more than they are. But, my lord the king, are they not all my lord’s servants? Why then does my lord require this thing? Why should he be a cause of guilt in Israel?” 4 Nevertheless the king’s word prevailed against Joab. Therefore Joab departed and went throughout all Israel and came to Jerusalem. 5 Then Joab gave the sum of the number of the people to David. All Israel had one million one hundred thousand men who drew the sword, and Judah had four hundred and seventy thousand men who drew the sword. 6 aBut he did not count Levi and Benjamin among them, for the king’s 1word was abominable to Joab. 7 And 1God was displeased with this thing; therefore He struck Israel. 8 So David said to God, a“I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing; bbut now, I pray, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.” 16 1The Euphrates 2Zoba, 2 Sam. 10:6, or Shobach, 2 Sam. 10:16 18 1seven hun- dred, 2 Sam. 10:18 2horse- men, 2 Sam. 10:18 CHAPTER 20 1 a2 Sam. 11:1 b2 Sam. 11:2–12:25 c2 Sam. 12:26 1Lit. at the return of the year 2 a2 Sam. 12:30, 31 1plunder 3 1LXX cut them with 4 a2 Sam. 21:18 b1 Chr. 11:29 1Gob, 2 Sam. 21:18 2Saph, 2 Sam. 21:18 3Or Raphah 5 a1 Sam. 17:7; 1 Chr. 11:23 1Jaare- Oregim, 2 Sam. 21:19 6 a1 Sam. 5:8; 2 Sam. 21:20 1Or Raphah 7 1Shammah, 1 Sam. 16:9 or Shimeah, 2 Sam. 21:21 CHAPTER 21 1 a2 Sam. 24:1–25; Job 1:6 1take a census of 2 a1 Chr. 27:23, 24 6 a1 Chr. 27:24 1command 7 1Lit. it was evil in the eyes of God 8 a2 Sam. 24:10 b2 Sam. 12:13

371 1 CHRONICLES 22:7 9 Then the LORD spoke to Gad, David’s aseer, saying, 10 “Go and tell David, asaying, ‘Thus says the LORD: “I offer you three things; choose one of them for yourself, that I may do it to you.” ’ ” 11 So Gad came to David and said to him, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Choose for yourself, 12 a‘either 1three years of famine, or three months to be defeated by your foes with the sword of your enemies overtaking you, or else for three days the sword of the LORD— the plague in the land, with the 2angel of the LORD destroying throughout all the territory of Israel.’ Now consider what answer I should take back to Him who sent me.” 13 And David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Please let me fall into the hand of the LORD, for His amer- cies are very great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man.” 14 So the LORD sent a aplague upon Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell. 15 And God sent 1an aangel to Jerusalem to destroy it. As 2he was destroying, the LORD looked and brelented of the disaster, and said to the angel who was destroying, “It is enough; now restrain 3your hand.” And the angel of the LORD stood by the cthreshing floor of 4Ornan the Jebusite. 16 Then David lifted his eyes and asaw the angel of the LORD standing between earth and heaven, having in his hand a drawn sword stretched out over Jerusalem. So David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell on their faces. 17 And David said to God, “Was it not I who commanded the people to be numbered? I am the one who has sinned and done evil indeed; but these asheep, what have they done? Let Your hand, I pray, O LORD my God, be against me and my father’s house, but not against Your people that they should be plagued.” 18 Therefore, the aangel of the LORD commanded Gad to say to David that David should go and erect an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. 19 So David went up at the word of Gad, which he had spoken in the name of the LORD. 20 Now Ornan turned and saw the angel; and his four sons who were with him hid themselves, but Ornan continued threshing wheat. 21 So David came to Ornan, and Ornan looked and saw David. And he went out from the threshing floor, and bowed before David with his face to the ground. 22 Then David said to Ornan, 1“Grant me the place of this thresh- ing floor, that I may build an altar on it to the LORD.

he Jebusite. 19 So David went up at the word of Gad, which he had spoken in the name of the LORD. 20 Now Ornan turned and saw the angel; and his four sons who were with him hid themselves, but Ornan continued threshing wheat. 21 So David came to Ornan, and Ornan looked and saw David. And he went out from the threshing floor, and bowed before David with his face to the ground. 22 Then David said to Ornan, 1“Grant me the place of this thresh- ing floor, that I may build an altar on it to the LORD. You shall grant it to me at the full price, that the plague may be withdrawn from the people.” 23 But Ornan said to David, “Take it to yourself, and let my lord the king do what is good in his eyes. Look, I also give you the oxen for burnt offerings, the threshing imple- ments for wood, and the wheat for the grain offering; I give it all.” 24 Then King David said to Ornan, “No, but I will surely buy it for the full price, for I will not take what is yours for the LORD, nor offer burnt offerings with that which costs me nothing.” 25 So aDavid gave Ornan six hun- dred shekels of gold by weight for the place. 26 And David built there an altar to the LORD, and offered burnt offer- ings and peace offerings, and called on the LORD; and aHe answered him from heaven by fire on the altar of burnt offering. 27 So the LORD commanded the angel, and he returned his sword to its sheath. 28 At that time, when David saw that the LORD had answered him on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he sacrificed there. 29 aFor the tabernacle of the LORD and the altar of the burnt offering, which Moses had made in the wilderness, were at that time at the high place in bGibeon. 30 But David could not go before it to inquire of God, for he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the LORD. David Prepares to Build the Temple 22 Then David said, a“This is the house of the LORD God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel.” 2 So David commanded to gather the aaliens who were in the land of Israel; and he appointed masons to bcut hewn stones to build the house of God. 3 And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails of the doors of the gates and for the joints, and bronze in abundance abeyond mea- sure, 4 and cedar trees in abundance; for the aSidonians and those from Tyre brought much cedar wood to David. 5 Now David said, a“Solomon my son is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the LORD must be exceedingly magnificent, famous and glorious throughout all countries. I will now make prepara- tion for it.” So David made abundant preparations before his death. 6 Then he called for his son Solomon, and 1charged him to build a house for the LORD God of Israel. 7 And David said to Solomon: “My son, as for me, ait was in my mind 9 a1 Sam. 9:9; 2 Kin. 17:13; 1 Chr. 29:29; 2 Chr. 16:7, 10; Is. 30:9, 10; Amos 7:12, 13 10 a2 Sam. 24:12–14 12 a2 Sam. 24:13 1seven, 2 Sam. 24:13 2Or Angel, and so throughout the chapter 13 aPs. 51:1; 130:4, 7 14 a1 Chr. 27:24 15 a2 Sam. 24:16 bGen. 6:6 c2 Chr. 3:1 1Or the Angel 2Or He 3Or Your 4Arau- nah, 2 Sam. 24:16, 18–24 16 aJosh. 5:13; 2 Chr. 3:1 17 a2 Sam. 7:8; Ps. 74:1 18 a1 Chr. 21:11, 12; 2 Chr. 3:1 22 1Lit. Give 25 a2 Sam. 24:24 26 aLev. 9:24; Judg. 6:21; 1 Kin. 18:36–38; 2 Chr. 3:1; 7:1 29 a1 Kin. 3:4; 2 Chr. 1:3 b1 Chr. 16:39 CHAPTER 22 1 aDeut. 12:5; 2 Sam. 24:18; 1 Chr. 21:18, 19, 26, 28; 2 Chr. 3:1 2 a1 Kin. 9:20, 21; 2 Chr. 2:17, 18 b1 Kin. 5:17, 18 3 a1 Kin. 7:47; 1 Chr. 22:14 4 a1 Kin. 5:6–10 5 a1 Kin. 3:7; 1 Chr. 29:1, 2 6 1com- manded 7 a2 Sam. 7:1, 2; 1 Kin. 8:17; 1 Chr. 17:1; 28:2

1 CHRONICLES 22:8 372 to build a house bto the name of the LORD my God; 8 “but the word of the LORD came to me, saying, a‘You have shed much blood and have made great wars; you shall not build a house for My name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in My sight. 9 a‘Behold, a son shall be born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him brest from all his ene- mies all around. His name shall be 1Solomon, for I will give peace and quietness to Israel in his days. 10 a‘He shall build a house for My name, and bhe shall be My son, and I will be his Father; and I will estab- lish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’ 11 “Now, my son, may athe LORD be with you; and may you prosper, and build the house of the LORD your God, as He has said to you. 12 “Only may the LORD agive you wisdom and understanding, and give you charge concerning Israel, that you may keep the law of the LORD your God. 13 a“Then you will prosper, if you take care to fulfill the statutes and judgments with which the LORD 1charged Moses concerning Israel. bBe strong and of good courage; do not fear nor be dismayed. 14 “Indeed I have taken much trou- ble to prepare for the house of the LORD one hundred thousand talents of gold and one million talents of silver, and bronze and iron abeyond measure, for it is so abundant. I have prepared timber and stone also, and you may add to them. 15 “Moreover there are workmen with you in abundance: woodsmen and stonecutters, and all types of skillful men for every kind of work. 16 “Of gold and silver and bronze and iron there is no limit. Arise and begin working, and athe LORD be with you.” 17 David also commanded all the aleaders of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying, 18 “Is not the LORD your God with you? aAnd has He not given you rest on every side? For He has given the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land is subdued before the LORD and before His people. 19 “Now set your heart and your soul to seek the LORD your God. Therefore arise and build the sanc- tuary of the LORD God, to abring the ark of the covenant of the LORD and the holy articles of God into the house that is to be built bfor the name of the LORD.” The Divisions of the Levites 23 So when David was old and full of days, he made his son aSolomon king over Israel. 2 And he gathered together all the leaders of Israel, with the priests and the Levites. 3 Now the Levites were numbered from the age of athirty years and above; and the number of individual males was thirty-eight thousand. 4 Of these, twenty-four thousand were to alook after the work of the house of the LORD, six thousand were bofficers and judges, 5 four thousand were gatekeep- ers, and four thousand apraised the LORD with musical instruments, b“which I made,” said David, “for giving praise.” 6 Also aDavid separated them into 1divisions among the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 7 Of the aGershonites: 1Laadan and Shimei. 8 The sons of Laadan: the first Jehiel, then Zetham and Joel—three in all. 9 The sons of Shimei: Shelomith, Haziel, and Haran—three in all. These were the heads of the fathers’ houses of Laadan. 10 And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, 1Zina, Jeush, and Beriah. These were the four sons of Shimei. 11 Jahath was the first and Zizah the second. But Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons; therefore they were assigned as one father’s house. 12 aThe sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel—four in all. 13 The sons of aAmram: Aaron and Moses; and bAaron was set apart, he and his sons forever, that he should 1sanctify the most holy things, cto burn incense before the LORD, dto minister to Him, and eto give the blessing in His name forever. 14 Now athe sons of Moses the man of God were reckoned to the tribe of Levi. 15 aThe sons of Moses were 1Ger- shon and Eliezer. 16 Of the sons of Gershon, aShe- buel1 was the first. 17 Of the descendants of Eliezer, aRehabiah was the first.

Uzziel—four in all. 13 The sons of aAmram: Aaron and Moses; and bAaron was set apart, he and his sons forever, that he should 1sanctify the most holy things, cto burn incense before the LORD, dto minister to Him, and eto give the blessing in His name forever. 14 Now athe sons of Moses the man of God were reckoned to the tribe of Levi. 15 aThe sons of Moses were 1Ger- shon and Eliezer. 16 Of the sons of Gershon, aShe- buel1 was the first. 17 Of the descendants of Eliezer, aRehabiah was the first. And Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very many. 18 Of the sons of Izhar, aShelomith was the first. 19 aOf the sons of Hebron, Jeriah was the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. 20 Of the sons of Uzziel, Michah was the first and Jesshiah the sec- ond. 21 aThe sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli were Eleazar and bKish. 22 And Eleazar died, and ahad no sons, but only daughters; and their 1brethren, the sons of Kish, btook them as wives. 23 aThe sons of Mushi were Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth—three in all. 7 bDeut. 12:5, 11 8 a1 Chr. 28:3 9 a1 Chr. 28:5 b1 Kin. 4:20, 25; 5:4 1Lit. Peaceful 10 a1 Chr. 17:12, 13; 28:6 bHeb. 1:5 11 a1 Chr. 22:16 12 a1 Kin. 3:9–12 13 a1 Chr. 28:7 b[Josh. 1:6, 7, 9] 1com- manded 14 a1 Chr. 22:3 16 a1 Chr. 22:11 17 a1 Chr. 28:1–6 18 aJosh. 22:4 19 a2 Chr. 5:2–14 b1 Kin. 5:3 CHAPTER 23 1 a1 Kin. 1:33–40 3 aNum. 4:1–3 4 aEzra 3:8, 9 bDeut. 16:18–20 5 a1 Chr. 15:16 b2 Chr. 29:25–27 6 aEx. 6:16 1groups 7 a1 Chr. 26:21 1Libni, Ex. 6:17 10 1LXX, Vg. Zizah and v. 11 12 aEx. 6:18 13 aEx. 6:20 bHeb. 5:4 c1 Sam. 2:28 d[Deut. 21:5] eNum. 6:23 1consecrate 14 a1 Chr. 26:20–24 15 aEx. 18:3, 4 1Heb. Ger- shom, 1 Chr. 6:16 16 a1 Chr. 26:24 1Shubael, 1 Chr. 24:20 17 a1 Chr. 26:25 18 a1 Chr. 24:22 19 a1 Chr. 24:23 21 a1 Chr. 24:26 b1 Chr. 24:29 22 a1 Chr. 24:28 bNum. 36:6 1kinsmen 23 a1 Chr. 24:30

373 1 CHRONICLES 24:31 24 These were the sons of aLevi by their fathers’ houses—the heads of the fathers’ houses as they were counted individually by the number of their names, who did the work for the service of the house of the LORD, from the age of btwenty years and above. 25 For David said, “The LORD God of Israel ahas given rest to His peo- ple, that they may dwell in Jerusa- lem forever”; 26 and also to the Levites, “They shall no longer acarry the tabernacle, or any of the articles for its service.” 27 For by the alast words of David the Levites were numbered from twenty years old and above; 28 because their duty was to help the sons of Aaron in the service of the house of the LORD, in the courts and in the chambers, in the purify- ing of all holy things and the work of the service of the house of God, 29 both with athe showbread and bthe fine flour for the grain offering, with cthe unleavened cakes and dwhat is baked in the pan, with what is mixed and with all kinds of emea- sures and sizes; 30 to stand every morning to thank and praise the LORD, and likewise at evening; 31 and at every presentation of a burnt offering to the LORD aon the Sabbaths and on the New Moons and on the bset1 feasts, by number according to the ordinance govern- ing them, regularly before the LORD; 32 and that they should aattend to the bneeds of the tabernacle of meeting, the needs of the holy place, and the cneeds of the sons of Aaron their brethren in the work of the house of the LORD. The Divisions of the Priests 24 Now these are the divisions of the sons of Aaron. aThe sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 2 And aNadab and Abihu died before their father, and had no chil- dren; therefore Eleazar and Ithamar ministered as priests. 3 Then David with Zadok of the sons of Eleazar, and aAhimelech of the sons of Ithamar, divided them according to the schedule of their service. 4 There were more leaders found of the sons of Eleazar than of the sons of Ithamar, and thus they were divided. Among the sons of Eleazar were sixteen heads of their fathers’ houses, and eight heads of their fathers’ houses among the sons of Ithamar. 5 Thus they were divided by lot, one group as another, for there were officials of the sanctuary and offi- cials of the house of God, from the sons of Eleazar and from the sons of Ithamar. 6 And the scribe, Shemaiah the son of Nethanel, one of the Levites, wrote them down before the king, the leaders, Zadok the priest, Ahim- elech the son of Abiathar, and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the priests and Levites, one father’s house taken for Eleazar and one for Ithamar. 7 Now the first lot fell to Jehoia- rib, the second to Jedaiah, 8 the third to Harim, the fourth to Seorim, 9 the fifth to Malchijah, the sixth to Mijamin, 10 the seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to aAbijah, 11 the ninth to Jeshua, the tenth to Shecaniah, 12 the eleventh to Eliashib, the twelfth to Jakim, 13 the thirteenth to Huppah, the fourteenth to Jeshebeab, 14 the fifteenth to Bilgah, the six- teenth to Immer, 15 the seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to 1Happizzez, 16 the nineteenth to Pethahiah, the twentieth to 1Jehezekel, 17 the twenty-first to Jachin, the twenty-second to Gamul, 18 the twenty-third to Delaiah, the twenty-fourth to Maaziah. 19 This was the schedule of their service afor coming into the house of the LORD according to their ordi- nance by the hand of Aaron their father, as the LORD God of Israel had commanded him. Other Levites 20 And the rest of the sons of Levi: of the sons of Amram, 1Shubael; of the sons of Shubael, Jehdeiah. 21 Concerning aRehabiah, of the sons of Rehabiah, the first was Isshiah. 22 Of the Izharites, 1Shelomoth; of the sons of Shelomoth, Jahath. 23 Of the sons 1of aHebron, Jeriah was the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. 24 Of the sons of Uzziel, Michah; of the sons of Michah, Shamir. 25 The brother of Michah, Isshiah; of the sons of Isshiah, Zechariah.

Levites 20 And the rest of the sons of Levi: of the sons of Amram, 1Shubael; of the sons of Shubael, Jehdeiah. 21 Concerning aRehabiah, of the sons of Rehabiah, the first was Isshiah. 22 Of the Izharites, 1Shelomoth; of the sons of Shelomoth, Jahath. 23 Of the sons 1of aHebron, Jeriah was the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. 24 Of the sons of Uzziel, Michah; of the sons of Michah, Shamir. 25 The brother of Michah, Isshiah; of the sons of Isshiah, Zechariah. 26 aThe sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi; the son of Jaaziah, Beno. 27 The sons of Merari by Jaaziah were Beno, Shoham, Zaccur, and Ibri. 28 Of Mahli: Eleazar, awho had no sons. 29 Of Kish: the son of Kish, Jerah- meel. 30 Also athe sons of Mushi were Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth. These were the sons of the Levites accord- ing to their fathers’ houses. 31 These also cast lots just as their 24 aNum. 10:17, 21 bNum. 1:3; Ezra 3:8 25 a1 Chr. 22:18 26 aNum. 4:5, 15; 7:9; Deut. 10:8 27 a2 Sam. 23:1 29 aEx. 25:30 bLev. 6:20 cLev. 2:1, 4 dLev. 2:5, 7 eLev. 19:35 31 aNum. 10:10 bLev. 23:2–4 1appointed feasts 32 a2 Chr. 13:10, 11 b[Num. 1:53]; 1 Chr. 9:27 cNum. 3:6–9, 38 CHAPTER 24 1 aLev. 10:1–6; Num. 26:60, 61; 1 Chr. 6:3 2 aNum. 3:1–4; 26:61 3 a1 Chr. 18:16 10 aNeh. 12:4, 17; Luke 1:5 15 1LXX, Vg. Aphses 16 1MT Jehezkel 19 a1 Chr. 9:25 20 1Shebuel, 1 Chr. 23:16 21 a1 Chr. 23:17 22 1Shelomith, 1 Chr. 23:18 23 a1 Chr. 23:19; 26:31 1Supplied from 23:19 (following some Heb. mss. and LXX mss.) 2See previous note 26 aEx. 6:19; 1 Chr. 23:21 28 a1 Chr. 23:22 30 a1 Chr. 23:23

1 CHRONICLES 25:1 374 brothers the sons of Aaron did, in the presence of King David, Zadok, Ahimelech, and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the priests and Levites. The chief fathers did just as their younger brethren. The Musicians 25 Moreover David and the cap- tains of the army separated for the service some of the sons of aAsaph, of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, stringed instruments, and cymbals. And the number of the skilled men performing their service was: 2 Of the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and 1Asharelah; the sons of Asaph were 2under the direction of Asaph, who prophesied according to the order of the king. 3 Of aJeduthun, the sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, 1Zeri, Jeshaiah, 2Shimei, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, 3six, under the direction of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied with a harp to give thanks and to praise the LORD. 4 Of Heman, the sons of Heman: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, 1Uzziel, 2She- buel, 3Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamti-Ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth. 5 All these were the sons of Heman the king’s seer in the words of God, to 1exalt his ahorn. For God gave Heman fourteen sons and three daughters. 6 All these were under the direc- tion of their father for the music in the house of the LORD, with cym- bals, stringed instruments, and aharps, for the service of the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were bunder the authority of the king. 7 So the anumber of them, with their brethren who were instructed in the songs of the LORD, all who were skillful, was two hundred and eighty-eight. 8 And they cast lots for their duty, the small as well as the great, athe teacher with the student. 9 Now the first lot for Asaph came out for Joseph; the second for Gedaliah, him with his brethren and sons, twelve; 10 the third for Zaccur, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 11 the fourth for 1Jizri, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 12 the fifth for Nethaniah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 13 the sixth for Bukkiah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 14 the seventh for 1Jesharelah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 15 the eighth for Jeshaiah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 16 the ninth for Mattaniah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 17 the tenth for Shimei, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 18 the eleventh for 1Azarel, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 19 the twelfth for Hashabiah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 20 the thirteenth for 1Shubael, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 21 the fourteenth for Mattithiah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 22 the fifteenth for 1Jeremoth, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 23 the sixteenth for Hananiah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 24 the seventeenth for Josh- bekashah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 25 the eighteenth for Hanani, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 26 the nineteenth for Mallothi, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 27 the twentieth for Eliathah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 28 the twenty-first for Hothir, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 29 the twenty-second for Giddalti, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 30 the twenty-third for Mahazioth, his sons and his brethren, twelve; 31 the twenty-fourth for Romamti- Ezer, his sons and his brethren, twelve. The Gatekeepers 26 Concerning the divisions of the gatekeepers: of the Korahites, 1Meshelemiah the son of aKore, of the sons of 2Asaph. 2 And the sons of Meshelemiah were aZechariah the firstborn, Jedi- ael the second, Zebadiah the third, Jathniel the fourth, 3 Elam the fifth, Jehohanan the sixth, Eliehoenai the seventh. 4 Moreover the sons of aObed- Edom were Shemaiah the firstborn, Jehozabad the second, Joah the third, Sacar the fourth, Nethanel the fifth, 5 Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh, Peulthai the eighth; for God blessed him. 6 Also to Shemaiah his son were sons born who governed their fathers’ houses, because they were men of great ability. 7 The sons of Shemaiah were

orn, Jedi- ael the second, Zebadiah the third, Jathniel the fourth, 3 Elam the fifth, Jehohanan the sixth, Eliehoenai the seventh. 4 Moreover the sons of aObed- Edom were Shemaiah the firstborn, Jehozabad the second, Joah the third, Sacar the fourth, Nethanel the fifth, 5 Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh, Peulthai the eighth; for God blessed him. 6 Also to Shemaiah his son were sons born who governed their fathers’ houses, because they were men of great ability. 7 The sons of Shemaiah were Othni, Rephael, Obed, and Elzabad, whose brothers Elihu and Semachiah were able men. 8 All these were of the sons of Obed-Edom, they and their sons and their brethren, aable men with strength for the work: sixty-two of Obed-Edom. 9 And Meshelemiah had sons and brethren, eighteen able men. 10 Also aHosah, of the children of Merari, had sons: Shimri the first (for though he was not the firstborn, his father made him the first), 11 Hilkiah the second, Tebaliah the third, Zechariah the fourth; all the CHAPTER 25 1 a1 Chr. 6:30, 33, 39, 44; 2 Chr. 5:12 2 1Jesharelah, v. 14 2Lit. at the hands of 3 a1 Chr. 16:41, 42 1Jizri, v. 11 2So with one Heb. ms., LXX mss. 3Shimei is the sixth, v. 17 4 1Azarel, v. 18 2Shubael, v. 20 3Jere- moth, v. 22 5 a1 Chr. 16:42 1Increase his power or influence 6 a1 Chr. 15:16 b1 Chr. 15:19; 25:2 7 a1 Chr. 23:5 8 a2 Chr. 23:13 11 1Zeri, v. 3 14 1Asharelah, v. 2 18 1Uzziel, v. 4 20 1Shebuel, v. 4 22 1Jerimoth, v. 4 CHAPTER 26 1 aPs. 42:title 1Shelemiah, v. 14 2Ebiasaph, 1 Chr. 6:37; 9:19 2 a1 Chr. 9:21 4 a1 Chr. 15:18, 21 8 a1 Chr. 9:13 10 a1 Chr. 16:38

375 1 CHRONICLES 27:10 sons and brethren of Hosah were thirteen. 12 Among these were the divisions of the gatekeepers, among the chief men, having duties just like their brethren, to serve in the house of the LORD. 13 And they acast lots for each gate, the small as well as the great, according to their father’s house. 14 The lot for the East Gate fell to 1Shelemiah. Then they cast lots for his son Zechariah, a wise counselor, and his lot came out for the North Gate; 15 to Obed-Edom the South Gate, and to his sons the 1storehouse. 16 To Shuppim and Hosah the lot came out for the West Gate, with the Shallecheth Gate on the aascending highway—watchman opposite watch- man. 17 On the east were six Levites, on the north four each day, on the south four each day, and for the 1storehouse two by two. 18 As for the 1Parbar on the west, there were four on the highway and two at the Parbar. 19 These were the divisions of the gatekeepers among the sons of Korah and among the sons of Merari. The Treasuries and Other Duties 20 Of the Levites, Ahijah was aover the treasuries of the house of God and over the treasuries of the bdedi- cated1 things. 21 The sons of 1Laadan, the descendants of the Gershonites of Laadan, heads of their fathers’ houses, of Laadan the Gershonite: 2Jehieli. 22 The sons of Jehieli, Zetham and Joel his brother, were over the trea- suries of the house of the LORD. 23 Of the aAmramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites, and the Uzzielites: 24 aShebuel the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, was overseer of the treasuries. 25 And his brethren by Eliezer were Rehabiah his son, Jeshaiah his son, Joram his son, Zichri his son, and aShelomith his son. 26 This Shelomith and his brethren were over all the treasuries of the dedicated things awhich King David and the heads of fathers’ houses, the captains over thousands and hun- dreds, and the captains of the army, had dedicated. 27 Some of the 1spoils won in bat- tles they dedicated to maintain the house of the LORD. 28 And all that Samuel athe seer, Saul the son of Kish, Abner the son of Ner, and Joab the son of Zeruiah had dedicated, every dedicated thing, was under the hand of Shelomith and his brethren. 29 Of the Izharites, Chenaniah and his sons aperformed duties as boffi- cials and judges over Israel outside Jerusalem. 30 Of the Hebronites, aHashabiah and his brethren, one thousand seven hundred able men, had the oversight of Israel on the west side of the Jordan for all the business of the LORD, and in the service of the king. 31 Among the Hebronites, aJerijah was head of the Hebronites accord- ing to his genealogy of the fathers. In the fortieth year of the reign of David they were sought, and there were found among them capable men bat Jazer of Gilead. 32 And his brethren were two thousand seven hundred able men, heads of fathers’ houses, whom King David made officials over the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, for every matter pertaining to God and the aaffairs of the king. The Military Divisions 27 And the children of Israel, according to their number, the heads of fathers’ houses, the captains of thousands and hundreds and their officers, served the king in every mat- ter of the military divisions.

at Jazer of Gilead. 32 And his brethren were two thousand seven hundred able men, heads of fathers’ houses, whom King David made officials over the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, for every matter pertaining to God and the aaffairs of the king. The Military Divisions 27 And the children of Israel, according to their number, the heads of fathers’ houses, the captains of thousands and hundreds and their officers, served the king in every mat- ter of the military divisions. These divisions came in and went out month by month throughout all the months of the year, each division having twenty-four thousand. 2 Over the first division for the first month was aJashobeam the son of Zabdiel, and in his division were twenty-four thousand; 3 he was of the children of Perez, and the chief of all the captains of the army for the first month. 4 Over the division of the second month was 1Dodai an Ahohite, and of his division Mikloth also was the leader; in his division were twenty- four thousand. 5 The third captain of the army for the third month was aBenaiah, the son of Jehoiada the priest, who was chief; in his division were twenty-four thousand. 6 This was the Benaiah who was amighty among the thirty, and was over the thirty; in his division was Ammizabad his son. 7 The fourth captain for the fourth month was aAsahel the brother of Joab, and Zebadiah his son after him; in his division were twenty-four thousand. 8 The fifth captain for the fifth month was 1Shamhuth the Izrahite; in his division were twenty-four thousand. 9 The sixth captain for the sixth month was aIra the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite; in his division were twenty- four thousand. 10 The seventh captain for the sev- enth month was aHelez the Pelonite, of the children of Ephraim; in his division were twenty-four thousand. 13 a1 Chr. 24:5, 31; 25:8 14 1Meshele- miah, v. 1 15 1Heb. asup- pim 16 a1 Kin. 10:5; 2 Chr. 9:4 17 1Heb. asup- pim 18 1Probably a court or colonnade extending west of the temple 20 a1 Chr. 9:26 b2 Sam. 8:11; 1 Chr. 26:22, 24, 26; 28:12; Ezra 2:69 1holy things 21 1Libni, 1 Chr. 6:17 2Jehiel, 1 Chr. 23:8; 29:8 23 aEx. 6:18; Num. 3:19 24 a1 Chr. 23:16 25 a1 Chr. 23:18 26 a2 Sam. 8:11 27 1plunder 28 a1 Sam. 9:9 29 aNeh. 11:16 b1 Chr. 23:4 30 a1 Chr. 27:17 31 a1 Chr. 23:19 bJosh. 21:39 32 a2 Chr. 19:11 CHAPTER 27 2 a1 Chr. 11:11 4 1Heb. Dodai, usually spelled Dodo, 2 Sam. 23:9 5 a1 Chr. 18:17 6 a2 Sam. 23:20–23 7 a2 Sam. 23:24; 1 Chr. 11:26 8 1Shammah, 2 Sam. 23:11, or Sham- moth, 1 Chr. 11:27 9 a1 Chr. 11:28 10 a1 Chr. 11:27

1 CHRONICLES 27:11 376 11 The eighth captain for the eighth month was aSibbechai the Hushathite, of the Zarhites; in his division were twenty-four thou- sand. 12 The ninth captain for the ninth month was aAbiezer the Anathoth- ite, of the Benjamites; in his division were twenty-four thousand. 13 The tenth captain for the tenth month was aMaharai the Netopha- thite, of the Zarhites; in his division were twenty-four thousand. 14 The eleventh captain for the eleventh month was aBenaiah the Pirathonite, of the children of Ephraim; in his division were twenty-four thousand. 15 The twelfth captain for the twelfth month was 1Heldai the Netophathite, of Othniel; in his divi- sion were twenty-four thousand. Leaders of Tribes 16 Furthermore, over the tribes of Israel: the officer over the Reuben- ites was Eliezer the son of Zichri; over the Simeonites, Shephatiah the son of Maachah; 17 over the Levites, aHashabiah the son of Kemuel; over the Aaronites, Zadok; 18 over Judah, aElihu, one of David’s brothers; over Issachar, Omri the son of Michael; 19 over Zebulun, Ishmaiah the son of Obadiah; over Naphtali, Jerimoth the son of Azriel; 20 over the children of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Azaziah; over the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joel the son of Pedaiah; 21 over the half-tribe of Manasseh in Gilead, Iddo the son of Zechariah; over Benjamin, Jaasiel the son of Abner; 22 over Dan, Azarel the son of Jeroham. These were the leaders of the tribes of Israel. 23 But David did not take the num- ber of those twenty years old and under, because athe LORD had said He would multiply Israel like the bstars of the heavens. 24 Joab the son of Zeruiah began a census, but he did not finish, for awrath came upon Israel because of this census; nor was the number recorded in the account of the chronicles of King David. Other State Officials 25 And Azmaveth the son of Adiel was over the king’s treasuries; and Jehonathan the son of Uzziah was over the storehouses in the field, in the cities, in the villages, and in the fortresses. 26 Ezri the son of Chelub was over those who did the work of the field for tilling the ground. 27 And Shimei the Ramathite was over the vineyards, and Zabdi the Shiphmite was over the produce of the vineyards for the supply of wine. 28 Baal-Hanan the Gederite was over the olive trees and the sycamore trees that were in the lowlands, and Joash was over the store of oil. 29 And Shitrai the Sharonite was over the herds that fed in Sharon, and Shaphat the son of Adlai was over the herds that were in the valleys. 30 Obil the Ishmaelite was over the camels, Jehdeiah the Meronothite was over the donkeys, 31 and Jaziz the aHagrite was over the flocks.

Zabdi the Shiphmite was over the produce of the vineyards for the supply of wine. 28 Baal-Hanan the Gederite was over the olive trees and the sycamore trees that were in the lowlands, and Joash was over the store of oil. 29 And Shitrai the Sharonite was over the herds that fed in Sharon, and Shaphat the son of Adlai was over the herds that were in the valleys. 30 Obil the Ishmaelite was over the camels, Jehdeiah the Meronothite was over the donkeys, 31 and Jaziz the aHagrite was over the flocks. All these were the offi- cials over King David’s property. 32 Also Jehonathan, David’s uncle, was a counselor, a wise man, and a 1scribe; and Jehiel the 2son of Hach- moni was with the king’s sons. 33 aAhithophel was the king’s counselor, and bHushai the Archite was the king’s companion. 34 After Ahithophel was Jehoiada the son of Benaiah, then aAbiathar. And the general of the king’s army was bJoab. Solomon Instructed to Build the Temple 28 Now David assembled at Je- rusalem all athe leaders of Israel: the officers of the tribes and bthe captains of the divisions who served the king, the captains over thousands and captains over hun- dreds, and cthe stewards over all the substance and 1possessions of the king and of his sons, with the offi- cials, the valiant men, and all dthe mighty men of valor. 2 Then King David rose to his feet and said, “Hear me, my brethren and my people: aI had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and for bthe footstool of our God, and had made preparations to build it. 3 “But God said to me, a‘You shall not build a house for My name, because you have been a man of war and have shed bblood.’ 4 “However the LORD God of Israel achose me above all the house of my father to be king over Israel forever, for He has chosen bJudah to be the ruler. And of the house of Judah, cthe house of my father, and damong the sons of my father, He was pleased with me to make me king over all Israel. 5 a“And of all my sons (for the LORD has given me many sons) bHe has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel. 6 “Now He said to me, ‘It is ayour son Solomon who shall build My house and My courts; for I have cho- sen him to be My son, and I will be his Father. 11 a2 Sam. 21:18; 1 Chr. 11:29; 20:4 12 a1 Chr. 11:28 13 a2 Sam. 23:28; 1 Chr. 11:30 14 a1 Chr. 11:31 15 1Heleb, 2 Sam. 23:29, or Heled, 1 Chr. 11:30 17 a1 Chr. 26:30 18 a1 Sam. 16:6 23 a[Deut. 6:3] bGen. 15:5; 22:17; 26:4; Ex. 32:13; Deut. 1:10 24 a2 Sam. 24:12–15; 1 Chr. 21:1–7 31 a1 Chr. 5:10 32 1secretary 2Or Hach- monite 33 a2 Sam. 15:12 b2 Sam. 15:32–37 34 a1 Kin. 1:7 b1 Chr. 11:6 CHAPTER 28 1 a1 Chr. 27:16 b1 Chr. 27:1, 2 c1 Chr. 27:25 d2 Sam. 23:8–39; 1 Chr. 11:10–47 1Or livestock 2 a2 Sam. 7:2 bPs. 99:5; 132:7; [Is. 66:1] 3 a2 Sam. 7:5, 13; 1 Kin. 5:3 b[1 Chr. 17:4; 22:8] 4 a1 Sam. 16:6–13 bGen. 49:8–10; 1 Chr. 5:2; Ps. 60:7 c1 Sam. 16:1 d1 Sam. 13:14; 16:12, 13; Acts 13:22 5 a1 Chr. 3:1–9; 14:3–7; 23:1 b1 Chr. 22:9; 29:1 6 a2 Sam. 7:13, 14; 1 Kin. 6:38; 1 Chr. 22:9, 10; 2 Chr. 1:9; 6:2

377 1 CHRONICLES 29:9 7 ‘Moreover I will establish his kingdom forever, aif he is steadfast to observe My commandments and My judgments, as it is this day.’ 8 “Now therefore, in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the LORD, and in the hearing of our God, be careful to seek out all the command- ments of the LORD your God, that you may possess this good land, and leave it as an inheritance for your children after you forever. 9 “As for you, my son Solomon, aknow the God of your father, and serve Him bwith a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for cthe LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. dIf you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will ecast you off forever. 10 “Consider now, afor the LORD has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be strong, and do it.” 11 Then David gave his son Solomon athe plans for the vestibule, its houses, its treasuries, its upper chambers, its inner chambers, and the place of the mercy seat; 12 and the aplans for all that he had by the Spirit, of the courts of the house of the LORD, of all the cham- bers all around, bof the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasur- ies for the dedicated things; 13 also for the division of the priests and the aLevites, for all the work of the service of the house of the LORD, and for all the articles of service in the house of the LORD. 14 He gave gold by weight for things of gold, for all articles used in every kind of service; also silver for all articles of silver by weight, for all articles used in every kind of serv- ice; 15 the weight for the alampstands of gold, and their lamps of gold, by weight for each lampstand and its lamps; for the lampstands of silver by weight, for the lampstand and its lamps, according to the use of each lampstand. 16 And by weight he gave gold for the tables of the showbread, for each atable, and silver for the tables of silver; 17 also pure gold for the forks, the basins, the pitchers of pure gold, and the golden bowls—he gave gold by weight for every bowl; and for the silver bowls, silver by weight for every bowl; 18 and refined gold by weight for the aaltar of incense, and for the construction of the chariot, that is, the gold bcherubim that spread their wings and overshadowed the ark of the covenant of the LORD. 19 “All this,” said David, a“the LORD made me understand in writ- ing, by His hand upon me, all the 1works of these plans.” 20 And David said to his son Solomon, a“Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD God—my God—will be with you.

ght for every bowl; 18 and refined gold by weight for the aaltar of incense, and for the construction of the chariot, that is, the gold bcherubim that spread their wings and overshadowed the ark of the covenant of the LORD. 19 “All this,” said David, a“the LORD made me understand in writ- ing, by His hand upon me, all the 1works of these plans.” 20 And David said to his son Solomon, a“Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD God—my God—will be with you. bHe will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD. 21 “Here are athe divisions of the priests and the Levites for all the service of the house of God; and bev- ery willing craftsman will be with you for all manner of workmanship, for every kind of service; also the leaders and all the people will be completely at your command.” Offerings for Building the Temple 29 Furthermore King David said to all the assembly: “My son Solomon, whom alone God has achosen, is byoung and inexperi- enced; and the work is great, because the 1temple is not for man but for the LORD God. 2 “Now for the house of my God I have prepared with all my might: gold for things to be made of gold, silver for things of silver, bronze for things of bronze, iron for things of iron, wood for things of wood, aonyx stones, stones to be set, glistening stones of various colors, all kinds of precious stones, and marble slabs in abundance. 3 “Moreover, because I have set my affection on the house of my God, I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house, my own special treasure of gold and sil- ver: 4 “three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of aOphir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses; 5 “the gold for things of gold and the silver for things of silver, and for all kinds of work to be done by the hands of craftsmen. Who then is awilling to 1consecrate himself this day to the LORD?” 6 Then athe leaders of the fathers’ houses, leaders of the tribes of Israel, the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with bthe officers over the king’s work, coffered will- ingly. 7 They gave for the work of the house of God five thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze, and one hundred thousand talents of iron. 8 And whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the LORD, into the hand of aJehiel1 the Gershonite. 9 Then the people rejoiced, for they had offered willingly, because with a loyal heart they had aoffered willingly to the LORD; and King David also rejoiced greatly. 7 a1 Chr. 22:13 9 a[1 Sam. 12:24]; Jer. 9:24; Hos. 4:1; [John 17:3] b2 Kin. 20:3 c[1 Sam. 16:7; 1 Kin. 8:39; 1 Chr. 29:17]; Jer. 11:20; 17:10; 20:12; Rev. 2:23 d2 Chr. 15:2; [Jer. 29:13] eDeut. 31:17 10 a1 Chr. 22:13; 28:6 11 a1 Kin. 6:3; 1 Chr. 28:19 12 aEx. 25:40; Heb. 8:5 b1 Chr. 26:20, 28 13 a1 Chr. 23:6 15 aEx. 25:31–39; 1 Kin. 7:49 16 a1 Kin. 7:48 18 aEx. 30:1–10 bEx. 25:18–22; 1 Sam. 4:4; 1 Kin. 6:23 19 aEx. 25:40; 1 Chr. 28:11, 12 1details 20 aDeut. 31:6, 7; [Josh. 1:6–9]; 1 Chr. 22:13 bJosh. 1:5; Heb. 13:5 21 a1 Chr. 24–26 bEx. 35:25–35; 36:1, 2; 2 Chr. 2:13, 14 CHAPTER 29 1 a1 Chr. 28:5 b1 Kin. 3:7; 1 Chr. 22:5; Prov. 4:3 1Lit. palace 2 aIs. 54:11, 12; Rev. 21:18 4 a1 Kin. 9:28 5 a2 Chr. 29:31; [2 Cor. 8:5, 12] 1Lit. fill his hand 6 a1 Chr. 27:1; 28:1 b1 Chr. 27:25–31 cEx. 35:21–35 8 a1 Chr. 23:8 1Possibly the same as Je- hieli, 1 Chr. 26:21, 22 9 aEx. 25:2; 1 Kin. 8:61; 2 Cor. 9:7

1 CHRONICLES 29:10 378 David’s Praise to God 10 Therefore David blessed the LORD before all the assembly; and David said: “Blessed are You, LORD God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever. 11 aYours, O LORD, is the greatness, The power and the glory, The victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, And You are exalted as head over all. 12 aBoth riches and honor come from You, And You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; In Your hand it is to make great And to give strength to all. 13 “Now therefore, our God, We thank You And praise Your glorious name. 14 But who am I, and who are my people, That we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from You, And 1of Your own we have given You. 15 For awe are 1aliens and 2pilgrims before You, As were all our fathers; bOur days on earth are as a shadow, And without hope. 16 “O LORD our God, all this abun- dance that we have prepared to build You a house for Your holy name is from Your hand, and is all Your own. 17 “I know also, my God, that You atest the heart and bhave pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have will- ingly offered all these things; and now with joy I have seen Your peo- ple, who are present here to offer willingly to You. 18 “O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep this forever in the intent of the thoughts of the heart of Your peo- ple, and fix their heart toward You. 19 “And agive my son Solomon a loyal heart to keep Your command- ments and Your testimonies and Your statutes, to do all these things, and to build the 1temple for which bI have made provision.” 20 Then David said to all the assem- bly, “Now bless the LORD your God.” So all the assembly blessed the LORD God of their fathers, and bowed their heads and prostrated themselves before the LORD and the king. Solomon Anointed King 21 And they made sacrifices to the LORD and offered burnt offerings to the LORD on the next day: a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, a thousand lambs, with their drink offerings, and asacrifices in abundance for all Israel. 22 So they ate and drank before the LORD with great gladness on that day. And they made Solomon the son of David king the second time, and aanointed him before the LORD to be the leader, and Zadok to be priest. 23 Then Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him. 24 All the leaders and the mighty men, and also all the sons of King David, asubmitted1 themselves to King Solomon. 25 So the LORD exalted Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and abestowed on him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel. The Close of David’s Reign 26 Thus David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel. 27 aAnd the period that he reigned over Israel was forty years; bseven years he reigned in Hebron, and thirty-three years he reigned in Jerusalem. 28 So he adied in a good old age, bfull of days and riches and honor; and Solomon his son reigned in his place. 29 Now the acts of King David, first and last, indeed they are writ- ten in the 1book of Samuel the seer, in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer, 30 with all his reign and his might, aand the events that happened to him, to Israel, and to all the king- doms of the lands. 11 aMatt. 6:13; 1 Tim. 1:17; Rev. 5:13 12 aRom. 11:36 14 1Lit. of Your hand 15 aLev. 25:23; Ps. 39:12; Heb. 11:13, 14; 1 Pet. 2:11 bJob 14:2; Ps. 90:9 1sojourn- ers, tempo- rary residents 2transients, temporary residents in an even more temporary sense 17 a[1 Sam. 16:7; 1 Chr. 28:9] bProv. 11:20 19 a[1 Chr. 28:9]; Ps. 72:1 b1 Chr. 29:1, 2 1Lit. palace 21 a1 Kin. 8:62, 63 22 a1 Kin. 1:32–35, 39; 1 Chr. 23:1 24 aEccl. 8:2 1Lit. gave the hand 25 a1 Kin. 3:13; 2 Chr. 1:12; Eccl. 2:9 27 a2 Sam. 5:4; 1 Kin. 2:11 b2 Sam. 5:5 28 aGen. 25:8 b1 Chr. 23:1 29 1Lit. words 30 aDan. 2:21; 4:23, 25

Solomon Requests Wisdom NOW aSolomon the son of David was strengthened in his king- dom, and bthe LORD his God was with him and cexalted him exceed- ingly. 2 And Solomon spoke to all Is- rael, to athe captains of thousands and of hundreds, to the judges, and to every leader in all Israel, the heads of the fathers’ houses. 3 Then Solomon, and all the assembly with him, went to 1the high place that was at aGibeon; for the tabernacle of meeting with God was there, which Moses the servant of the LORD had bmade in the wilderness. 4 aBut David had brought up the ark of God from Kirjath Jearim to the place David had prepared for it, for he had pitched a tent for it at Jerusalem. 5 Now athe bronze altar that bBezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made, 1he put before the tabernacle of the LORD; Solomon and the assembly sought Him there. 6 And Solomon went up there to the bronze altar before the LORD, which was at the tabernacle of meet- ing, and aoffered a thousand burnt offerings on it. 7 aOn that night God appeared to Solomon, and said to him, “Ask! What shall I give you?” 8 And Solomon said to God: “You have shown great amercy to David my father, and have made me bking in his place. 9 “Now, O LORD God, let Your promise to David my father be established, afor You have made me king over a people like the bdust of the earth in multitude. 10 a“Now give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may bgo out and come in before this people; for who can judge this great people of Yours?” 11 aThen God said to Solomon: “Be- cause this was in your heart, and you have not asked riches or wealth or honor or the life of your enemies, nor have you asked long life—but have asked wisdom and knowledge for yourself, that you may judge My peo- ple over whom I have made you king— 12 “wisdom and knowledge are granted to you; and I will give you riches and wealth and honor, such as anone of the kings have had who were before you, nor shall any after you have the like.” Solomon’s Military and Economic Power 13 So Solomon came to Jerusalem from 1the high place that was at Gibeon, from before the tabernacle of meeting, and reigned over Israel. 14 aAnd Solomon gathered chari- ots and horsemen; he had one thou- sand four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 15 aAlso the king made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedars as abundant as the sycamores which are in the lowland. 16 aAnd Solomon had horses im- ported from Egypt and Keveh; the king’s merchants bought them in Keveh at the current price. 17 They also acquired and imported from Egypt a chariot for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for one hundred and fifty; thus, 1through their agents, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria. Solomon Prepares to Build the Temple 2 Then Solomon adetermined to build a temple for the name of the LORD, and a royal house for himself. 2 aSolomon selected seventy thou- sand men to bear burdens, eighty thousand to quarry stone in the mountains, and three thousand six hundred to oversee them. CHAPTER 1 1 a1 Kin. 2:46 bGen. 39:2 c1 Chr. 29:25 2 a1 Chr. 27:1–34 3 a1 Kin. 3:4 bEx. 25—27; 35:4—36:38 1Place for worship 4 a2 Sam. 6:2–17 5 aEx. 27:1, 2; 38:1, 2 bEx. 31:2 1Some authorities it was there 6 a1 Kin. 3:4 7 a1 Kin. 3:5–14; 9:2 8 aPs. 18:50 b1 Chr. 28:5 9 a2 Sam. 7:8–16 bGen. 13:16 10 a1 Kin. 3:9 bDeut. 31:2 11 a1 Kin. 3:11–13 12 a2 Chr. 9:22 13 1Place for worship 14 a1 Kin. 10:26 15 a2 Chr. 9:27 16 a1 Kin. 10:28; 22:36 17 1Lit. by their hands CHAPTER 2 1 a1 Kin. 5:5 2 a2 Chr. 2:18 The Second Book of the CHRONICLES THE Book of Second Chronicles parallels First and Second Kings but virtually ignores the northern kingdom of Israel because of its false worship and refusal to acknowledge the temple in Jerusalem. Chronicles focuses on those kings who pattern their lives and reigns after the life and reign of godly King David.

a2 Chr. 9:22 13 1Place for worship 14 a1 Kin. 10:26 15 a2 Chr. 9:27 16 a1 Kin. 10:28; 22:36 17 1Lit. by their hands CHAPTER 2 1 a1 Kin. 5:5 2 a2 Chr. 2:18 The Second Book of the CHRONICLES THE Book of Second Chronicles parallels First and Second Kings but virtually ignores the northern kingdom of Israel because of its false worship and refusal to acknowledge the temple in Jerusalem. Chronicles focuses on those kings who pattern their lives and reigns after the life and reign of godly King David. It gives extended treatment to such zealous reformers as Asa, Jehoshaphat, Joash, Hez- ekiah, and Josiah. The temple and temple worship, central throughout the book, befit a nation whose worship of God is central to its very survival. The book begins with Sol- omon’s glorious temple and concludes with Cyrus’s edict to rebuild the temple more than four hundred years later.

2 CHRONICLES 2:3 380 3 Then Solomon sent to 1Hiram king of Tyre, saying: aAs you have dealt with David my father, and sent him cedars to build himself a house to dwell in, so deal with me. 4 Behold, aI am building a temple for the name of the LORD my God, to dedicate it to Him, bto burn before Him 1sweet incense, for cthe continual showbread, for dthe burnt offerings morning and evening, on the eSabbaths, on the New Moons, and on the 2set feasts of the LORD our God. This is an ordinance forever to Israel. 5 And the temple which I build will be great, for aour God is greater than all gods. 6 aBut who is able to build Him a temple, since heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him? Who am I then, that I should build Him a temple, except to burn sacrifice before Him? 7 Therefore send me at once a man skillful to work in gold and silver, in bronze and iron, in purple and crimson and blue, who has skill to engrave with the skillful men who are with me in Judah and Jerusalem, awhom David my father provided. 8 aAlso send me cedar and cypress and algum logs from Lebanon, for I know that your servants have skill to cut timber in Lebanon; and indeed my servants will be with your servants, 9 to prepare timber for me in abundance, for the 1temple which I am about to build shall be great and wonderful. 10 aAnd indeed I will give to your servants, the woodsmen who cut timber, twenty thousand kors of ground wheat, twenty thousand kors of barley, twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil. 11 Then Hiram king of Tyre an- swered in writing, which he sent to Solomon: aBecause the LORD loves His people, He has made you king over them. 12 1Hiram also said: aBlessed be the LORD God of Israel, bwho made heaven and earth, for He has given King David a wise son, endowed with prudence and understanding, who will build a temple for the LORD and a royal house for himself! 13 And now I have sent a skillful man, endowed with understanding, 1Huram my 2master craftsman 14 a(the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre), skilled to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, purple and blue, fine linen and crimson, and to make any engraving and to accomplish any plan which may be given to him, with your skillful men and with the skillful men of my lord David your father. 15 Now therefore, the wheat, the barley, the oil, and the wine which amy lord has spoken of, let him send to his servants. 16 aAnd we will cut wood from Lebanon, as much as you need; we will bring it to you in rafts by sea to 1Joppa, and you will carry it up to Jerusalem. 17 aThen Solomon numbered all the aliens who were in the land of Israel, after the census in which bDavid his father had numbered them; and there were found to be one hundred and fifty-three thou- sand six hundred. 18 And he made aseventy thousand of them bearers of burdens, eighty thousand stonecutters in the moun- tain, and three thousand six hundred overseers to make the people work. Solomon Builds the Temple 3 Now aSolomon began to build the house of the LORD at bJerusa- lem on Mount Moriah, where 1the LORD had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of cOrnan2 the Jebusite. 2 And he began to build on the second day of the second month in the fourth year of his reign. 3 This is the foundation awhich Solomon laid for building the house of God: The length was sixty cubits (by cubits according to the former measure) and the width twenty cubits. 4 And the avestibule that was in front of 1the sanctuary was twenty cubits long across the width of the house, and the height was 2one hun- dred and twenty. He overlaid the inside with pure gold. 5 aThe larger 1room he bpaneled with cypress which he overlaid with fine gold, and he carved palm trees and chainwork on it. 6 And he decorated the house with precious stones for beauty, and the gold was gold from Parvaim. 7 He also overlaid the house—the 3 a1 Chr.

measure) and the width twenty cubits. 4 And the avestibule that was in front of 1the sanctuary was twenty cubits long across the width of the house, and the height was 2one hun- dred and twenty. He overlaid the inside with pure gold. 5 aThe larger 1room he bpaneled with cypress which he overlaid with fine gold, and he carved palm trees and chainwork on it. 6 And he decorated the house with precious stones for beauty, and the gold was gold from Parvaim. 7 He also overlaid the house—the 3 a1 Chr. 14:1 1Heb. Huram; cf. 1 Kin. 5:1 4 a2 Chr. 2:1 bEx. 30:7 cEx. 25:30; Lev. 24:8 dEx. 29:38–42 eNum. 28:3, 9–11 1Lit. incense of spices 2appointed 5 aPs. 135:5; [1 Cor. 8:5, 6] 6 a1 Kin. 8:27; 2 Chr. 6:18; Is. 66:1 7 a1 Chr. 22:15 8 a1 Kin. 5:6 9 1Lit. house 10 a1 Kin. 5:11 11 a1 Kin. 10:9; 2 Chr. 9:8 12 a1 Kin. 5:7 bGen. 1; 2; Acts 4:24; 14:15; Rev. 10:6 1Heb. Huram; cf. 1 Kin. 5:1 13 1Hiram, 1 Kin. 7:13 2Lit. father, 1 Kin. 7:13, 14 14 a1 Kin. 7:13, 14 15 a2 Chr. 2:10 16 a1 Kin. 5:8, 9 1Heb. Japho 17 a1 Kin. 5:13; 2 Chr. 8:7, 8 b1 Chr. 22:2 18 a2 Chr. 2:2 CHAPTER 3 1 a1 Kin. 6:1 bGen. 22:2–14 c1 Chr. 21:18; 22:1 1Lit. He, following MT, Vg.; LXX the LORD; Tg. the Angel of the LORD 2Arau- nah, 2 Sam. 24:16 3 a1 Kin. 6:2; 1 Chr. 28:11–19 4 a1 Kin. 6:3; 1 Chr. 28:11 1The holy place, the main room of the temple, 1 Kin. 6:3 2So with MT, LXX, Vg.; Arab., some LXX mss., Syr. twenty 5 a1 Kin. 6:17 b1 Kin. 6:15; Jer. 22:14 1Lit. house

381 2 CHRONICLES 4:22 beams and doorposts, its walls and doors—with gold; and he carved cherubim on the walls. 8 And he made the aMost Holy Place. Its length was according to the width of the house, twenty cubits, and its width twenty cubits. He overlaid it with six hundred tal- ents of fine gold. 9 The weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold; and he overlaid the upper aarea with gold. 10 aIn the Most Holy Place he made two cherubim, fashioned by carv- ing, and overlaid them with gold. 11 The wings of the cherubim were twenty cubits in overall length: one wing of the one cherub was five cubits, touching the wall of the room, and the other wing was five cubits, touching the wing of the other cherub; 12 one wing of the other cherub was five cubits, touching the wall of the room, and the other wing also was five cubits, touching the wing of the other cherub. 13 The wings of these cherubim spanned twenty cubits overall. They stood on their feet, and they faced inward. 14 And he made the aveil of blue, purple, crimson, and fine linen, and wove cherubim into it. 15 Also he made in front of the 1temple atwo pillars 2thirty-five cubits 3high, and the capital that was on the top of each of them was five cubits. 16 He made wreaths of chainwork, as in the inner sanctuary, and put them on top of the pillars; and he made aone hundred pomegranates, and put them on the wreaths of chainwork. 17 Then he aset up the pillars be- fore the temple, one on the right hand and the other on the left; he called the name of the one on the right hand 1Jachin, and the name of the one on the left 2Boaz. Furnishings of the Temple 4 Moreover he made aa bronze altar: twenty cubits was its length, twenty cubits its width, and ten cubits its height. 2 aThen he made the 1Sea of cast bronze, ten cubits from one brim to the other; it was completely round. Its height was five cubits, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumfer- ence. 3 aAnd under it was the likeness of oxen encircling it all around, ten to a cubit, all the way around the Sea. The oxen were cast in two rows, when it was cast. 4 It stood on twelve aoxen: three looking toward the north, three look- ing toward the west, three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east; the Sea was set upon them, and all their back parts pointed inward. 5 It was a handbreadth thick; and its brim was shaped like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It con- tained 1three thousand baths. 6 He also made aten lavers, and put five on the right side and five on the left, to wash in them; such things as they offered for the burnt offering they would wash in them, but the 1Sea was for the bpriests to wash in. 7 aAnd he made ten lampstands of gold baccording to their design, and set them in the temple, five on the right side and five on the left. 8 aHe also made ten tables, and placed them in the temple, five on the right side and five on the left. And he made one hundred bbowls of gold. 9 Furthermore ahe made the court of the priests, and the bgreat court and doors for the court; and he overlaid these doors with bronze. 10 aHe set the Sea on the right side, toward the southeast. 11 Then aHuram made the pots and the shovels and the bowls.

baccording to their design, and set them in the temple, five on the right side and five on the left. 8 aHe also made ten tables, and placed them in the temple, five on the right side and five on the left. And he made one hundred bbowls of gold. 9 Furthermore ahe made the court of the priests, and the bgreat court and doors for the court; and he overlaid these doors with bronze. 10 aHe set the Sea on the right side, toward the southeast. 11 Then aHuram made the pots and the shovels and the bowls. So Huram finished doing the work that he was to do for King Solomon for the house of God: 12 the two pillars and athe bowl- shaped capitals that were on top of the two pillars; the two networks covering the two bowl-shaped capi- tals which were on top of the pillars; 13 afour hundred pomegranates for the two networks (two rows of pomegranates for each network, to cover the two bowl-shaped capitals that were on the pillars); 14 he also made acarts and the lavers on the carts; 15 one Sea and twelve oxen under it; 16 also the pots, the shovels, the forks—and all their articles aHuram his 1master craftsman made of bur- nished bronze for King Solomon for the house of the LORD. 17 In the plain of Jordan the king had them cast in clay molds, between Succoth and 1Zeredah. 18 aAnd Solomon had all these arti- cles made in such great abundance that the weight of the bronze was not determined. 19 Thus aSolomon had all the fur- nishings made for the house of God: the altar of gold and the tables on which was bthe showbread; 20 the lampstands with their lamps of pure gold, to burn ain the pre- scribed manner in front of the inner sanctuary, 21 with athe flowers and the lamps and the wick-trimmers of gold, of purest gold; 22 the trimmers, the bowls, the ladles, and the censers of pure gold. As for the entry of the 1sanctuary, its inner doors to the Most Holy 8 aEx. 26:33; 1 Kin. 6:16 9 a1 Chr. 28:11 10 aEx. 25:18–20; 1 Kin. 6:23–28 14 aEx. 26:31; Matt. 27:51; Heb. 9:3 15 a1 Kin. 7:15–20; Jer. 52:21 1Lit. house 2eigh- teen, 1 Kin. 7:15; 2 Kin. 25:17; Jer. 52:21 3Lit. long 16 a1 Kin. 7:20 17 a1 Kin. 7:21 1Lit. He Shall Establish 2Lit. In It Is Strength CHAPTER 4 1 aEx. 27:1, 2; 2 Kin. 16:14; Ezek. 43:13, 16 2 aEx. 30:17–21; 1 Kin. 7:23–26 1Great laver or basin 3 a1 Kin. 7:24–26 4 a1 Kin. 7:25 5 1About 8,000 gallons; two thousand, 1 Kin. 7:26 6 a1 Kin. 7:38, 40 bEx. 30:19–21 1Great basin 7 a1 Kin. 7:49 bEx. 25:31; 1 Chr. 28:12, 19 8 a1 Kin. 7:48 b1 Chr. 28:17 9 a1 Kin. 6:36 b2 Kin. 21:5 10 a1 Kin. 7:39 11 a1 Kin. 7:40–51 12 a1 Kin. 7:41 13 a1 Kin. 7:20 14 a1 Kin. 7:27, 43 16 a1 Kin. 7:45; 2 Chr. 2:13 1Lit. father 17 1Zaretan, 1 Kin. 7:46 18 a1 Kin. 7:47 19 a1 Kin. 7:48–50 bEx. 25:30 20 aEx. 27:20, 21 21 aEx. 25:31 22 1Lit. house

2 CHRONICLES 5:1 382 Place, and the doors of the main hall of the temple, were gold. 5 So aall the work that Solomon had done for the house of the LORD was finished; and Solomon brought in the things which his father David had dedicated: the sil- ver and the gold and all the furnish- ings. And he put them in the trea- suries of the house of God. The Ark Brought into the Temple 2 aNow Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the chief fathers of the children of Israel, in Jerusalem, that they might bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD up bfrom the City of David, which is Zion. 3 aTherefore all the men of Israel assembled with the king bat the feast, which was in the seventh month. 4 So all the elders of Israel came, and the aLevites took up the ark. 5 Then they brought up the ark, the tabernacle of meeting, and all the holy furnishings that were in the tabernacle. The priests and the Levites brought them up. 6 Also King Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel who were assembled with him before the ark, were sacrificing sheep and oxen that could not be counted or num- bered for multitude. 7 Then the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place, into the ainner sanctuary of the 1temple, to the Most Holy Place, under the wings of the cherubim. 8 For the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles. 9 The poles extended so that the ends of the apoles of the ark could be seen from the holy place, in front of the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside. And 1they are there to this day. 10 Nothing was in the ark except the two tablets which Moses aput there at Horeb, 1when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they had come out of Egypt. 11 And it came to pass when the priests came out of the Most Holy Place (for all the priests who were present had 1sanctified themselves, without keeping to their adivisions), 12 aand the Levites who were the singers, all those of Asaph and Heman and Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, stood at the east end of the altar, clothed in white linen, having cymbals, stringed instruments and harps, band with them one hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets— 13 indeed it came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD, saying: a“For He is good, For His mercy endures forever,” that the house, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud, 14 so that the priests could not 1continue ministering because of the cloud; afor the glory of the LORD filled the house of God. 6 Then aSolomon spoke: “The LORD said He would dwell in the bdark cloud. 2 I have surely built You an exalted house, And aa place for You to dwell in forever.” Solomon’s Speech upon Completion of the Work 3 Then the king turned around and ablessed the whole assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing. 4 And he said: “Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who has ful- filled with His hands what He spoke with His mouth to my father David, asaying, 5 ‘Since the day that I brought My people out of the land of Egypt, I have chosen no city from any tribe of Israel in which to build a house, that My name might be there, nor did I choose any man to be a ruler over My people Israel. 6 a‘Yet I have chosen Jerusalem, that My name may be there, and I bhave chosen David to be over My people Israel.’ 7 “Now ait was in the heart of my father David to build a 1temple for the name of the LORD God of Israel. 8 “But the LORD said to my father David, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a temple for My name, you did well in that it was in your heart. 9 ‘Nevertheless you shall not build the temple, but your son who will come from your body, he shall build the temple for My aname.’

l. 6 a‘Yet I have chosen Jerusalem, that My name may be there, and I bhave chosen David to be over My people Israel.’ 7 “Now ait was in the heart of my father David to build a 1temple for the name of the LORD God of Israel. 8 “But the LORD said to my father David, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a temple for My name, you did well in that it was in your heart. 9 ‘Nevertheless you shall not build the temple, but your son who will come from your body, he shall build the temple for My aname.’ 10 “So the LORD has fulfilled His word which He spoke, and I have filled the position of my father David, and asit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised; and I have built the temple for the name of the LORD God of Israel. 11 “And there I have put the ark, ain which is the covenant of the LORD which He made with the children of Israel.” Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication 12 aThen 1Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of CHAPTER 5 1 a1 Kin. 7:51 2 a1 Kin. 8:1–9; Ps. 47:9 b2 Sam. 6:12 3 a1 Kin. 8:2 bLev. 23:34; 2 Chr. 7:8–10 4 a1 Chr. 15:2, 15 7 a2 Chr. 4:20 1Lit. house 9 aEx. 25:13–15 1Lit. it is 10 aEx. 25:16; Deut. 10:2, 5; 2 Chr. 6:11; Heb. 9:4 1Or where 11 a1 Chr. 24:1–5 1conse- crated 12 aEx. 32:26; 1 Chr. 25:1–7 b1 Chr. 13:8; 15:16, 24 13 a1 Chr. 16:34, 41; 2 Chr. 7:3; Ezra 3:11; Ps. 100:5; 106:1; 136; Jer. 33:11 14 aEx. 40:35; 1 Kin. 8:11; 2 Chr. 7:2; Ezek. 43:5 1Lit. stand to minister CHAPTER 6 1 aEx. 19:9; 20:21; 1 Kin. 8:12–21 b[Lev. 16:2]; Ps. 97:2 2 a2 Sam. 7:13; 1 Chr. 17:12; 2 Chr. 7:12 3 a2 Sam. 6:18 4 a1 Chr. 17:5 6 aDeut. 12:5–7; 2 Chr. 12:13; Zech. 2:12 b1 Sam. 16:7–13; 1 Chr. 28:4 7 a2 Sam. 7:2; 1 Chr. 17:1; 28:2; Ps. 132:1–5 1Lit. house, and so in vv. 8–10 9 a1 Chr. 28:3–6 10 a1 Kin. 2:12; 10:9 11 a2 Chr. 5:7–10 12 a1 Kin. 8:22; 2 Chr. 7:7–9 1Lit. he

383 2 CHRONICLES 6:37 all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands 13 (for Solomon had made a bronze platform five cubits long, five cubits wide, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court; and he stood on it, knelt down on his knees before all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands toward heaven); 14 and he said: “LORD God of Israel, athere is no God in heaven or on earth like You, who keep Your bcovenant and mercy with Your ser- vants who walk before You with all their hearts. 15 a“You have kept what You prom- ised Your servant David my father; You have both spoken with Your mouth and fulfilled it with Your hand, as it is this day. 16 “Therefore, LORD God of Israel, now keep what You promised Your servant David my father, saying, a‘You shall not fail to have a man sit before Me on the throne of Israel, bonly if your sons take heed to their way, that they walk in My law as you have walked before Me.’ 17 “And now, O LORD God of Israel, let Your word come true, which You have spoken to Your servant David. 18 “But will God indeed dwell with men on the earth? aBehold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this 1temple which I have built! 19 “Yet regard the prayer of Your servant and his supplication, O LORD my God, and listen to the cry and the prayer which Your servant is praying before You: 20 “that Your eyes may be aopen toward this temple day and night, toward the place where You said You would put Your name, that You may hear the prayer which Your ser- vant makes btoward this place. 21 “And may You hear the supplica- tions of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven Your dwelling place, and when You hear, aforgive. 22 “If anyone sins against his neighbor, and is forced to take an aoath, and comes and takes an oath before Your altar in this temple, 23 “then hear from heaven, and act, and judge Your servants, bringing retribution on the wicked by bring- ing his way on his own head, and justifying the righteous by giving him according to his arighteousness. 24 “Or if Your people Israel are defeated before an aenemy because they have sinned against You, and return and confess Your name, and pray and make supplication before You in this temple, 25 “then hear from heaven and for- give the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them back to the land which You gave to them and their fathers. 26 “When the aheavens are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against You, when they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and turn from their sin because You afflict them, 27 “then hear in heaven, and for- give the sin of Your servants, Your people Israel, that You may teach them the good way in which they should walk; and send rain on Your land which You have given to Your people as an inheritance. 28 “When there ais famine in the land, pestilence or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers; when their enemies besiege them in the land of their cities; whatever plague or whatever bsickness there is; 29 “whatever prayer, whatever sup- plication is made by anyone, or by all Your people Israel, when each one knows his own burden and his own grief, and spreads out his hands to this temple: 30 “then hear from heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive, and give to everyone according to all his ways, whose heart You know (for You alone aknow the bhearts of the sons of men), 31 “that they may fear You, to walk in Your ways as long as they live in the land which You gave to our fathers. 32 “Moreover, concerning a for- eigner, awho is not of Your people Israel, but has come from a far country for the sake of Your great name and Your mighty hand and Your outstretched arm, when they come and pray in this temple; 33 “then hear from heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, that all peoples of the earth may know Your name and fear You, as do Your people Israel, and that

ys as long as they live in the land which You gave to our fathers. 32 “Moreover, concerning a for- eigner, awho is not of Your people Israel, but has come from a far country for the sake of Your great name and Your mighty hand and Your outstretched arm, when they come and pray in this temple; 33 “then hear from heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, that all peoples of the earth may know Your name and fear You, as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that 1this temple which I have built is called by Your name. 34 “When Your people go out to battle against their enemies, wher- ever You send them, and when they pray to You toward this city which You have chosen and the temple which I have built for Your name, 35 “then hear from heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause. 36 “When they sin against You (for there is ano one who does not sin), and You become angry with them and deliver them to the enemy, and they take them bcaptive to a land far or near; 37 “yet when they 1come to them- selves in the land where they were carried captive, and repent, and make supplication to You in the land of their captivity, saying, ‘We have 14 a[Ex. 15:11; Deut. 4:39] b[Deut. 7:9] 15 a1 Chr. 22:9, 10 16 a2 Sam. 7:12, 16; 1 Kin. 2:4; 6:12; 2 Chr. 7:18 bPs. 132:12 18 a[2 Chr. 2:6; Is. 66:1; Acts 7:49] 1Lit. house 20 a2 Chr. 7:15 bPs. 5:7; Dan. 6:10 21 a[Is. 43:25; 44:22; Mic. 7:18] 22 aEx. 22:8–11 23 a[Job 34:11] 24 a2 Kin. 21:14, 15 26 aDeut. 28:23, 24; 1 Kin. 17:1 28 a2 Chr. 20:9 b[Mic. 6:13] 30 a[1 Chr. 28:9; Prov. 21:2; 24:12] b[1 Sam. 16:7] 32 aJohn 12:20; Acts 8:27 33 1Lit. Your name is called upon this house 36 aProv. 20:9; Eccl. 7:20; [Rom. 3:9, 19; 5:12; Gal. 3:10]; James 3:2; 1 John 1:8 bDeut. 28:63–68 37 1Lit. bring back to their hearts

2 CHRONICLES 6:38 384 sinned, we have done wrong, and have committed wickedness’; 38 “and when they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, where they have been carried cap- tive, and pray toward their land which You gave to their fathers, the acity which You have chosen, and toward the temple which I have built for Your name: 39 “then hear from heaven Your dwelling place their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive Your people who have sinned against You. 40 “Now, my God, I pray, let Your eyes be aopen and let Your ears be attentive to the prayer made in this place. 41 “Nowa therefore, Arise, O LORD God, to Your bresting place, You and the ark of Your strength. Let Your priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, And let Your saints crejoice in goodness. 42 “O LORD God, do not turn away the face of Your Anointed; aRemember the mercies of Your servant David.” Solomon Dedicates the Temple 7 When aSolomon had finished praying, bfire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and cthe glory of the LORD filled the 1temple. 2 aAnd the priests could not enter the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled the LORD’s house. 3 When all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD on the temple, they bowed their faces to the ground on the pavement, and worshiped and praised the LORD, saying: a“For He is good, bFor His mercy endures forever.” 4 aThen the king and all the peo- ple offered sacrifices before the LORD. 5 King Solomon offered a sacri- fice of twenty-two thousand bulls and one hundred and twenty thou- sand sheep. So the king and all the people dedicated the house of God. 6 aAnd the priests attended to their services; the Levites also with instruments of the music of the LORD, which King David had made to praise the LORD, saying, “For His mercy endures forever,” whenever David offered praise by their 1min- istry. bThe priests sounded trumpets opposite them, while all Israel stood. 7 Furthermore aSolomon conse- crated the middle of the court that was in front of the house of the LORD; for there he offered burnt offerings and the fat of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar which Solomon had made was not able to receive the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat. 8 aAt that time Solomon kept the feast seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great assembly bfrom the entrance of Hamath to cthe1 Brook of Egypt. 9 And on the eighth day they held a asacred assembly, for they ob- served the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days. 10 aOn the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people away to their tents, joyful and glad of heart for the good that the LORD had done for David, for Solomon, and for His people Israel. 11 Thus aSolomon finished the house of the LORD and the king’s house; and Solomon successfully accomplished all that came into his heart to make in the house of the LORD and in his own house. God’s Second Appearance to Solomon 12 Then the LORD aappeared to Solomon by night, and said to him: “I have heard your prayer, band have chosen this cplace for Myself as a house of sacrifice. 13 a“When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, 14 “if My people who are acalled by My name will bhumble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, cthen I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 15 “Now aMy eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place. 16 “For now aI have chosen and 1sanctified this house, that My name may be there forever; and 2My eyes and 3My heart will be there perpetu- ally. 17 a“As for you, if you walk before Me as your father David walked, and do according to all that I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My judgments,

turn from their wicked ways, cthen I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 15 “Now aMy eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place. 16 “For now aI have chosen and 1sanctified this house, that My name may be there forever; and 2My eyes and 3My heart will be there perpetu- ally. 17 a“As for you, if you walk before Me as your father David walked, and do according to all that I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My judgments, 18 “then I will establish the throne of your kingdom, as I covenanted with David your father, saying, a‘You shall not fail to have a man as ruler in Israel.’ 19 a“But if you turn away and for- sake My statutes and My command- ments which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods, and worship them, 20 a“then I will uproot them from My land which I have given them; 38 aDan. 6:10 40 a2 Chr. 6:20 41 aPs. 132:8–10, 16 b1 Chr. 28:2 cNeh. 9:25 42 a2 Sam. 7:15; Ps. 89:49; 132:1, 8–10; Is. 55:3 CHAPTER 7 1 a1 Kin. 8:54 bLev. 9:24; Judg. 6:21; 1 Kin. 18:38; 1 Chr. 21:26 c1 Kin. 8:10, 11 1Lit. house 2 a2 Chr. 5:14 3 a2 Chr. 5:13; Ps. 106:1; 136:1 b1 Chr. 16:41; 2 Chr. 20:21 4 a1 Kin. 8:62, 63 6 a1 Chr. 15:16 b2 Chr. 5:12 1Lit. hand 7 a1 Kin. 8:64–66; 9:3 8 a1 Kin. 8:65 b1 Kin. 4:21, 24; 2 Kin. 14:25 cJosh. 13:3 1The Shi- hor, 1 Chr. 13:5 9 aLev. 23:36 10 a1 Kin. 8:66 11 a1 Kin. 9:1 12 a1 Kin. 3:5; 11:9 bDeut. 12:5, 11 c2 Chr. 6:20 13 aDeut. 28:23, 24; 1 Kin. 17:1; 2 Chr. 6:26–28 14 aDeut. 28:10; [Is. 43:7] b2 Chr. 12:6, 7; [James 4:10] c2 Chr. 6:27, 30 15 a2 Chr. 6:20, 40 16 a1 Kin. 9:3; 2 Chr. 6:6 1set apart 2My attention 3My concern 17 a1 Kin. 9:4 18 a2 Sam. 7:12–16; 1 Kin. 2:4; 2 Chr. 6:16 19 aLev. 26:14, 33; [Deut. 28:15, 36] 20 aDeut. 28:63–68; 2 Kin. 25:1–7

385 2 CHRONICLES 9:7 and this house which I have 1sancti- fied for My name I will cast out of My sight, and will make it a proverb and a bbyword among all peoples. 21 “And as for athis 1house, which 2is exalted, everyone who passes by it will be bastonished and say, c‘Why has the LORD done thus to this land and this house?’ 22 “Then they will answer, ‘Be- cause they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and embraced other gods, and wor- shiped them and served them; therefore He has brought all this calamity on them.’ ” Solomon’s Additional Achievements 8 It acame to pass at the end of btwenty years, when Solomon had built the house of the LORD and his own house, 2 that the cities which 1Hiram had given to Solomon, Solomon built them; and he settled the children of Israel there. 3 And Solomon went to Hamath Zobah and seized it. 4 aHe also built Tadmor in the wilderness, and all the storage cities which he built in bHamath. 5 He built Upper Beth Horon and aLower Beth Horon, fortified cities with walls, gates, and bars, 6 also Baalath and all the storage cities that Solomon had, and all the chariot cities and the cities of the cavalry, and all that Solomon ade- sired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. 7 aAll the people who were left of the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not of Israel— 8 that is, their descendants who were left in the land after them, whom the children of Israel did not destroy—from these Solomon raised forced labor, as it is to this day. 9 But Solomon did not make the children of Israel 1servants for his work. Some were men of war, cap- tains of his officers, captains of his chariots, and his cavalry. 10 And others were chiefs of the officials of King Solomon: atwo hun- dred and fifty, who ruled over the people. 11 Now Solomon abrought the daughter of Pharaoh up from the City of David to the house he had built for her, for he said, “My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the places to which the ark of the LORD has come are holy.” 12 Then Solomon offered burnt offerings to the LORD on the altar of the LORD which he had built before the vestibule, 13 according to the adaily rate, offer- ing according to the commandment of Moses, for the Sabbaths, the New Moons, and the bthree appointed yearly cfeasts—the Feast of Unleav- ened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles. 14 And, according to the 1order of David his father, he appointed the adivisions of the priests for their service, bthe Levites for their duties (to praise and serve before the priests) as the duty of each day required, and the cgatekeepers by their divisions at each gate; for so David the man of God had com- manded. 15 They did not depart from the command of the king to the priests and Levites concerning any matter or concerning the atreasuries. 16 Now all the work of Solomon was well-ordered 1from the day of the foundation of the house of the LORD until it was finished. So the house of the LORD was completed. 17 Then Solomon went to aEzion Geber and 1Elath on the seacoast, in the land of Edom. 18 aAnd Hiram sent him ships by the hand of his servants, and ser- vants who knew the sea.

of God had com- manded. 15 They did not depart from the command of the king to the priests and Levites concerning any matter or concerning the atreasuries. 16 Now all the work of Solomon was well-ordered 1from the day of the foundation of the house of the LORD until it was finished. So the house of the LORD was completed. 17 Then Solomon went to aEzion Geber and 1Elath on the seacoast, in the land of Edom. 18 aAnd Hiram sent him ships by the hand of his servants, and ser- vants who knew the sea. They went with the servants of Solomon to bOphir, and acquired four hundred and fifty talents of gold from there, and brought it to King Solomon. The Queen of Sheba’s Praise of Solomon 9 Now awhen the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test Solomon with hard questions, hav- ing a very great retinue, camels that bore spices, gold in abundance, and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was in her heart. 2 So Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing so dif- ficult for Solomon that he could not explain it to her. 3 And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 4 the food on his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their apparel, his acup- bearers and their apparel, and his entryway by which he went up to the house of the LORD, there was no more spirit in her. 5 Then she said to the king: “It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. 6 “However I did not believe their words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and indeed the half of the greatness of your wisdom was not told me. You exceed the fame of which I heard. 7 “Happy are your men and happy 20 bPs. 44:14 1set apart 21 a2 Kin. 25:9 b2 Chr. 29:8 c[Deut. 29:24, 25; Jer. 22:8, 9] 1Temple 2Or was CHAPTER 8 1 a1 Kin. 9:10–14 b1 Kin. 6:38–7:1 2 1Heb. Huram, 2 Chr. 2:3 4 a1 Kin. 9:17, 18 b1 Chr. 18:3, 9 5 a1 Chr. 7:24 6 a2 Chr. 7:11 7 aGen. 15:18–21; 1 Kin. 9:20 9 1slaves 10 a1 Kin. 9:23 11 a1 Kin. 3:1; 7:8; 9:24; 11:1 13 aEx. 29:38–42; Num. 28:3, 9, 11, 26; 29:1 bEx. 23:14–17; 34:22, 23; Deut. 16:16 cLev. 23:1–44 14 a1 Chr. 24:3 b1 Chr. 25:1 c1 Chr. 9:17; 26:1 1ordi- nance 15 a1 Chr. 26:20–28 16 1So with LXX, Syr., Vg.; MT as far as 17 a1 Kin. 9:26; 2 Chr. 20:36 1Heb. Eloth, 2 Kin. 14:22 18 a1 Kin. 9:27; 2 Chr. 9:10, 13 b1 Chr. 29:4 CHAPTER 9 1 a1 Kin. 10:1; Ps. 72:10; [Matt. 12:42; Luke 11:31] 4 aNeh. 1:11

2 CHRONICLES 9:8 386 are these your servants, who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom! 8 “Blessed be the LORD your God, who delighted in you, setting you on His throne to be king for the LORD your God! Because your God has aloved Israel, to establish them for- ever, therefore He made you king over them, to do justice and righ- teousness.” 9 And she gave the king one hun- dred and twenty talents of gold, spices in great abundance, and pre- cious stones; there never were any spices such as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. 10 Also, the servants of Hiram and the servants of Solomon, awho brought gold from Ophir, brought 1algum wood and precious stones. 11 And the king made walkways of the 1algum wood for the house of the LORD and for the king’s house, also harps and stringed instruments for singers; and there were none such as these seen before in the land of Judah. 12 Now King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all she desired, whatever she asked, much more than she had brought to the king. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants. Solomon’s Great Wealth 13 aThe weight of gold that came to Solomon yearly was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold, 14 besides what the traveling mer- chants and traders brought. And all the kings of Arabia and governors of the country brought gold and sil- ver to Solomon. 15 And King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of ham- mered gold went into each shield. 16 He also made three hundred shields of hammered gold; 1three hundred shekels of gold went into each shield. The king put them in the aHouse of the Forest of Lebanon. 17 Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold. 18 The throne had six steps, with a footstool of gold, which were fas- tened to the throne; there were 1armrests on either side of the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the armrests. 19 Twelve lions stood there, one on each side of the six steps; nothing like this had been made for any other kingdom. 20 All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were gold, and all the ves- sels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Not one was silver, for this was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon. 21 For the king’s ships went to aTarshish with the servants of 1Hiram. Once every three years the 2merchant ships came, bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and 3monkeys. 22 So King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. 23 And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. 24 Each man brought his present: articles of silver and gold, garments, aarmor, spices, horses, and mules, at a set rate year by year. 25 Solomon ahad four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king at Jerusalem. 26 aSo he reigned over all the kings bfrom 1the River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. 27 aThe king made silver as com- mon in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar trees bas abundant as the sycamores which are in the lowland. 28 aAnd they brought horses to Solomon from Egypt and from all lands. Death of Solomon 29 aNow the rest of the acts of Sol- omon, first and last, are they not written in the book of Nathan the prophet, in the prophecy of bAhijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of cIddo the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat? 30 aSolomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. 31 Then Solomon 1rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David his father.

res which are in the lowland. 28 aAnd they brought horses to Solomon from Egypt and from all lands. Death of Solomon 29 aNow the rest of the acts of Sol- omon, first and last, are they not written in the book of Nathan the prophet, in the prophecy of bAhijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of cIddo the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat? 30 aSolomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. 31 Then Solomon 1rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David his father. And Rehoboam his son reigned in his place. The Revolt Against Rehoboam 10 And aRehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone to Shechem to make him king. 2 So it happened, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard it (he was in Egypt, awhere he had fled from the presence of King Solomon), that Jeroboam returned from Egypt. 3 Then they sent for him and called him. And Jeroboam and all Israel came and spoke to Reho- boam, saying, 4 “Your father made our yoke heavy; now therefore, lighten the burdensome service of your father and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.” 5 So he said to them, “Come back to me after three days.” And the people departed. 6 Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who stood before his father Solomon while he still lived, saying, “How do you advise me to answer these people?” 8 aDeut. 7:8; 2 Chr. 2:11; [Ps. 44:3] 10 a2 Chr. 8:18 1almug, 1 Kin. 10:11, 12 11 1almug, 1 Kin. 10:11, 12 13 a1 Kin. 10:14–29 16 a1 Kin. 7:2 1three minas, 1 Kin. 10:17 18 1Lit. hands 21 a2 Chr. 20:36, 37; Ps. 72:10 1Heb. Huram; cf. 1 Kin. 10:22 2Lit. ships of Tarshish, deep-sea ves- sels 3Or pea- cocks 24 a1 Kin. 20:11 25 aDeut. 17:16; 1 Kin. 4:26; 10:26; 2 Chr. 1:14; Is. 2:7 26 a1 Kin. 4:21 bGen. 15:18; Ps. 72:8 1The Euphrates 27 a1 Kin. 10:27 b2 Chr. 1:15–17 28 a1 Kin. 10:28; 2 Chr. 1:16 29 a1 Kin. 11:41 b1 Kin. 11:29 c2 Chr. 12:15; 13:22 30 a1 Kin. 4:21; 11:42, 43; 1 Chr. 29:28 31 1Died and joined his ancestors CHAPTER 10 1 a1 Kin. 12:1–20 2 a1 Kin. 11:40

387 2 CHRONICLES 11:18 7 And they spoke to him, saying, “If you are kind to these people, and please them, and speak good words to them, they will be your servants forever.” 8 aBut he rejected the advice which the elders had given him, and consulted the young men who had grown up with him, who stood before him. 9 And he said to them, “What advice do you give? How should we answer this people who have spo- ken to me, saying, ‘Lighten the yoke which your father put on us’?” 10 Then the young men who had grown up with him spoke to him, saying, “Thus you should speak to the people who have spoken to you, saying, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you make it lighter on us’—thus you shall say to them: ‘My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s waist! 11 ‘And now, whereas my father put a heavy yoke on you, I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with 1scourges!’ ” 12 So aJeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king had directed, saying, “Come back to me the third day.” 13 Then the king answered them roughly. King Rehoboam rejected the advice of the elders, 14 and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, say- ing, 1“My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to it; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with 2scourges!” 15 So the king did not listen to the people; afor the turn of events was from God, that the LORD might ful- fill His bword, which He had spoken by the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat. 16 Now when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, saying: “What share have we in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. Every man to your tents, O Israel! Now see to your own house, O David!” So all Israel departed to their tents. 17 But Rehoboam reigned over the children of Israel who dwelt in the cities of Judah. 18 Then King Rehoboam sent Hado- ram, who was in charge of revenue; but the children of Israel stoned him with stones, and he died. Therefore King Rehoboam mounted his chariot in haste to flee to Jerusalem. 19 aSo Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day. 11Now awhen Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled from the house of Judah and Ben- jamin one hundred and eighty thou- sand chosen men who were war- riors, to fight against Israel, that he might restore the kingdom to Rehoboam. 2 But the word of the LORD came ato Shemaiah the man of God, saying, 3 “Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, say- ing, 4 ‘Thus says the LORD: “You shall not go up or fight against your brethren!

David to this day. 11Now awhen Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled from the house of Judah and Ben- jamin one hundred and eighty thou- sand chosen men who were war- riors, to fight against Israel, that he might restore the kingdom to Rehoboam. 2 But the word of the LORD came ato Shemaiah the man of God, saying, 3 “Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, say- ing, 4 ‘Thus says the LORD: “You shall not go up or fight against your brethren! Let every man return to his house, for this thing is from Me.” ’ ” Therefore they obeyed the words of the LORD, and turned back from attacking Jeroboam. Rehoboam Fortifies the Cities 5 So Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusa- lem, and built cities for defense in Judah. 6 And he built Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, 7 Beth Zur, Sochoh, Adullam, 8 Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, 9 Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, 10 Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron, which are in Judah and Benjamin, fortified cities. 11 And he fortified the strong- holds, and put captains in them, and stores of food, oil, and wine. 12 Also in every city he put shields and spears, and made them very strong, having Judah and Benjamin on his side. Priests and Levites Move to Judah 13 And from all their territories the priests and the Levites who were in all Israel took their stand with him. 14 For the Levites left atheir com- mon-lands and their possessions and came to Judah and Jerusalem, for bJeroboam and his sons had rejected them from serving as priests to the LORD. 15 aThen he appointed for himself priests for the 1high places, for bthe demons, and cthe calf idols which he had made. 16 aAnd 1after the Levites left, those from all the tribes of Israel, such as set their heart to seek the LORD God of Israel, bcame to Jeru- salem to sacrifice to the LORD God of their fathers. 17 So they astrengthened the king- dom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong for three years, because they walked in the way of David and Solomon for three years. The Family of Rehoboam 18 Then Rehoboam took for himself as wife Mahalath the daughter of 8 a1 Kin. 12:8–11 11 1Scourges with points or barbs, lit. scorpions 12 a1 Kin. 12:12–14 14 1So with many Heb. mss., LXX, Syr., Vg. (cf. v. 10; 1 Kin. 12:14); MT I 2Lit. scor- pions 15 aJudg. 14:4; 1 Chr. 5:22; 2 Chr. 11:4; 22:7 b1 Kin. 11:29–39 19 a1 Kin. 12:19 CHAPTER 11 1 a1 Kin. 12:21–24 2 a1 Chr. 12:5; 2 Chr. 12:15 14 aNum. 35:2–5 b1 Kin. 12:28–33; 2 Chr. 13:9 15 a1 Kin. 12:31; 13:33; 14:9; [Hos. 13:2] b[Lev. 17:7; 1 Cor. 10:20] c1 Kin. 12:28 1Places for pagan worship 16 a2 Chr. 14:7 b2 Chr. 15:9, 10; 30:11, 18 1Lit. after them 17 a2 Chr. 12:1, 13

2 CHRONICLES 11:19 388 Jerimoth the son of David, and of Abihail the daughter of aEliah the son of Jesse. 19 And she bore him children: Je- ush, Shamariah, and Zaham. 20 After her he took aMaachah the 1granddaughter of bAbsalom; and she bore him cAbijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith. 21 Now Rehoboam loved Maachah the granddaughter of Absalom more than all his awives and his concu- bines; for he took eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and begot twenty- eight sons and sixty daughters. 22 And Rehoboam aappointed bAbijah the son of Maachah as chief, to be leader among his brothers; for he intended to make him king. 23 He dealt wisely, and 1dispersed some of his sons throughout all the territories of Judah and Benjamin, to every afortified city; and he gave them provisions in abundance. He also sought many wives for them. Egypt Attacks Judah 12 Now ait came to pass, when Rehoboam had established the kingdom and had strengthened himself, that bhe forsook the law of the LORD, and all Israel along with him. 2 aAnd it happened in the fifth year of King Rehoboam that Shi- shak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had trans- gressed against the LORD, 3 with twelve hundred chariots, sixty thousand horsemen, and peo- ple without number who came with him out of Egypt—athe Lubim and the Sukkiim and the Ethiopians. 4 And he took the fortified cities of Judah and came to Jerusalem. 5 Then aShemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah, who were gathered to- gether in Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, “Thus says the LORD: ‘You have forsaken Me, and therefore I also have left you in the hand of Shishak.’ ” 6 So the leaders of Israel and the king ahumbled themselves; and they said, b“The LORD is righteous.” 7 Now when the LORD saw that they humbled themselves, athe word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, say- ing, “They have humbled them- selves; therefore I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance. My wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. 8 “Nevertheless athey will be his servants, that they may distinguish bMy service from the service of the kingdoms of the nations.” 9 aSo Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took away the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king’s house; he took everything. He also carried away the gold shields which Solomon had bmade. 10 Then King Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place, and committed them ato the hands of the captains of the guard, who guarded the doorway of the king’s house. 11 And whenever the king entered the house of the LORD, the guard would go and bring them out; then they would take them back into the guardroom. 12 When he humbled himself, the wrath of the LORD turned from him, so as not to destroy him completely; and things also went well in Judah. The End of Rehoboam’s Reign 13 Thus King Rehoboam strength- ened himself in Jerusalem and reigned. Now aRehoboam was forty- one years old when he became king; and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, bthe city which the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put His name there. His mother’s name was Naamah, an cAmmonitess. 14 And he did evil, because he did not prepare his heart to seek the LORD. 15 The acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the book of Shemaiah the prophet, aand of Iddo the seer concerning genealo- gies? bAnd there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days. 16 So Rehoboam 1rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David. Then aAbijah2 his son reigned in his place. Abijah Reigns in Judah 13 In athe eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, Abijah be- came king over bJudah. 2 He reigned three years in Jeru- salem. His mother’s name was 1Michaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah.

e they not written in the book of Shemaiah the prophet, aand of Iddo the seer concerning genealo- gies? bAnd there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days. 16 So Rehoboam 1rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David. Then aAbijah2 his son reigned in his place. Abijah Reigns in Judah 13 In athe eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, Abijah be- came king over bJudah. 2 He reigned three years in Jeru- salem. His mother’s name was 1Michaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. 3 Abijah set the battle in order with an army of valiant warriors, four hundred thousand choice men. Jeroboam also drew up in battle for- mation against him with eight hun- dred thousand choice men, mighty men of valor. 4 Then Abijah stood on Mount aZemaraim, which is in the moun- tains of Ephraim, and said, “Hear me, Jeroboam and all Israel: 5 “Should you not know that the LORD God of Israel agave the do- minion over Israel to David forever, to him and his sons, bby a covenant of salt? 6 “Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up and arebelled against his lord. 18 a1 Sam. 16:6 20 a2 Chr. 13:2 b1 Kin. 15:2 c1 Kin. 14:31 1Lit. daughter, but in the broader sense of grand- daughter 21 aDeut. 17:17 22 aDeut. 21:15–17 b2 Chr. 13:1 23 a2 Chr. 11:5 1distributed CHAPTER 12 1 a2 Chr. 11:17 b1 Kin. 14:22–24 2 a1 Kin. 11:40; 14:25 3 a2 Chr. 16:8; Nah. 3:9 5 a2 Chr. 11:2 6 a[James 4:10] bEx. 9:27; [Dan. 9:14] 7 a1 Kin. 21:28, 29 8 aIs. 26:13 b[Deut. 28:47, 48] 9 a1 Kin. 14:25, 26 b1 Kin. 10:16, 17; 2 Chr. 9:15, 16 10 a1 Kin. 14:27 13 a1 Kin. 14:21 b2 Chr. 6:6 c1 Kin. 11:1, 5 15 a2 Chr. 9:29; 13:22 b1 Kin. 14:30 16 a2 Chr. 11:20–22 1Died and joined his ancestors 2Abijam, 1 Kin. 14:31 CHAPTER 13 1 a1 Kin. 15:1 b1 Kin. 12:17 2 1Maachah, 1 Kin. 15:2; 2 Chr. 11:20, 21 4 aJosh. 18:22 5 a2 Sam. 7:8–16 bLev. 2:13; Num. 18:19 6 a1 Kin. 11:28; 12:20

389 2 CHRONICLES 14:13 7 “Then aworthless rogues gath- ered to him, and strengthened them- selves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was byoung and inexperienced and could not withstand them. 8 “And now you think to with- stand the kingdom of the LORD, which is in the hand of the sons of David; and you are a great multi- tude, and with you are the gold calves which Jeroboam amade for you as gods. 9 a“Have you not cast out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made for yourselves priests, like the peo- ples of other lands, bso that whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams may be a priest of cthings that are not gods? 10 “But as for us, the LORD is our aGod, and we have not forsaken Him; and the priests who minister to the LORD are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites attend to their duties. 11 a“And they burn to the LORD every morning and every evening burnt sacrifices and sweet incense; they also set the bshowbread in order on the pure gold table, and the lampstand of gold with its lamps cto burn every evening; for we keep the command of the LORD our God, but you have forsaken Him. 12 “Now look, God Himself is with us as our ahead, band His priests with sounding trumpets to sound the alarm against you. O children of Israel, do not fight against the LORD God of your fathers, for you shall not prosper!” 13 But Jeroboam caused an am- bush to go around behind them; so they were in front of Judah, and the ambush was behind them. 14 And when Judah looked around, to their surprise the battle line was at both front and rear; and they acried out to the LORD, and the priests sounded the trumpets. 15 Then the men of Judah gave a shout; and as the men of Judah shouted, it happened that God astruck Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. 16 And the children of Israel fled before Judah, and God delivered them into their hand. 17 Then Abijah and his people struck them with a great slaughter; so five hundred thousand choice men of Israel fell slain. 18 Thus the children of Israel were subdued at that time; and the chil- dren of Judah prevailed, abecause they relied on the LORD God of their fathers. 19 And Abijah pursued Jeroboam and took cities from him: Bethel with its villages, Jeshanah with its villages, and aEphrain1 with its vil- lages. 20 So Jeroboam did not recover strength again in the days of Abijah; and the LORD astruck him, and bhe died. 21 But Abijah grew mighty, mar- ried fourteen wives, and begot twenty-two sons and sixteen daugh- ters. 22 Now the rest of the acts of Abi- jah, his ways, and his sayings are written in athe 1annals of the prophet Iddo. 14 So Abijah rested with his fathers, and they buried him in the City of David. Then aAsa his son reigned in his place.

th its villages, and aEphrain1 with its vil- lages. 20 So Jeroboam did not recover strength again in the days of Abijah; and the LORD astruck him, and bhe died. 21 But Abijah grew mighty, mar- ried fourteen wives, and begot twenty-two sons and sixteen daugh- ters. 22 Now the rest of the acts of Abi- jah, his ways, and his sayings are written in athe 1annals of the prophet Iddo. 14 So Abijah rested with his fathers, and they buried him in the City of David. Then aAsa his son reigned in his place. In his days the land was quiet for ten years. Asa Reigns in Judah 2 Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God, 3 for he removed the altars of the foreign gods and athe 1high places, and bbroke down the sacred pillars cand cut down the wooden images. 4 He commanded Judah to aseek the LORD God of their fathers, and to observe the law and the com- mandment. 5 He also removed the 1high places and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah, and the kingdom was quiet under him. 6 And he built fortified cities in Judah, for the land had rest; he had no war in those years, because the LORD had given him arest. 7 Therefore he said to Judah, “Let us build these cities and make walls around them, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us, because we have sought the LORD our God; we have sought Him, and He has given us rest on every side.” So they built and prospered. 8 And Asa had an army of three hundred thousand from Judah who carried 1shields and spears, and from Benjamin two hundred and eighty thousand men who carried shields and drew abows; all these were mighty men of bvalor. 9 aThen Zerah the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a million men and three hundred chariots, and he came to bMareshah. 10 So Asa went out against him, and they set the troops in battle array in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. 11 And Asa acried out to the LORD his God, and said, “LORD, it is bnoth- ing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power; help us, O LORD our God, for we rest on You, and cin Your name we go against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You!” 12 So the LORD astruck the Ethio- pians before Asa and Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. 13 And Asa and the people who 7 aJudg. 9:4 b2 Chr. 12:13 8 a1 Kin. 12:28; 14:9; 2 Chr. 11:15; [Hos. 8:4–6] 9 a2 Chr. 11:13–15 bEx. 29:29–33 cJer. 2:11; 5:7 10 aJosh. 24:15 11 aEx. 29:38; 2 Chr. 2:4 bEx. 25:30; Lev. 24:5–9 cEx. 27:20, 21; Lev. 24:2, 3 12 aJosh. 5:13–15; [Heb. 2:10] b[Num. 10:8–10] 14 aJosh. 24:7; 2 Chr. 6:34, 35; 14:11 15 a1 Kin. 14:14; 2 Chr. 14:12 18 a1 Chr. 5:20; 2 Chr. 14:11; [Ps. 22:5] 19 aJosh. 15:9 1Or Ephron 20 a1 Sam. 2:6; 25:38; Acts 12:23 b1 Kin. 14:20 22 a2 Chr. 9:29 1Or commen- tary, Heb. midrash CHAPTER 14 1 a1 Kin. 15:8 3 a1 Kin. 15:14; 2 Chr. 15:17 b[Ex. 34:13] c1 Kin. 11:7 1Places for pagan worship 4 a[2 Chr. 7:14] 5 1Places for pagan wor- ship 6 a2 Chr. 15:15 8 a1 Chr. 12:2 b2 Chr. 13:3 1large shields 9 a2 Chr. 12:2, 3; 16:8 bJosh. 15:44 11 aEx. 14:10; 2 Chr. 13:14; [Ps. 22:5] b[1 Sam. 14:6] c1 Sam. 17:45; [Prov. 18:10] 12 a2 Chr. 13:15

2 CHRONICLES 14:14 390 were with him pursued them to aGerar. So the Ethiopians were over- thrown, and they could not recover, for they were broken before the LORD and His army. And they car- ried away very much 1spoil. 14 Then they defeated all the cities around Gerar, for athe fear of the LORD came upon them; and they plundered all the cities, for there was exceedingly much 1spoil in them. 15 They also 1attacked the live- stock enclosures, and carried off sheep and camels in abundance, and returned to Jerusalem. The Reforms of Asa 15 Now athe Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded. 2 And he went out 1to meet Asa, and said to him: “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. aThe LORD is with you while you are with Him. bIf you seek Him, He will be found by you; but cif you forsake Him, He will forsake you. 3 a“For a long time Israel has been without the true God, without a bteaching priest, and without claw; 4 “but awhen in their trouble they turned to the LORD God of Israel, and sought Him, He was found by them. 5 “And in those times there was no peace to the one who went out, nor to the one who came in, but great turmoil was on all the inhabi- tants of the lands. 6 a“So nation was 1destroyed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every adversity. 7 “But you, be strong and do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded!” 8 And when Asa heard these words and the prophecy of 1Oded the prophet, he took courage, and removed the abominable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities awhich he had taken in the mountains of Ephraim; and he restored the altar of the LORD that was before the vestibule of the LORD. 9 Then he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and athose who dwelt with them from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon, for they came over to him in great numbers from Israel when they saw that the LORD his God was with him. 10 So they gathered together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. 11 aAnd they offered to the LORD 1at that time seven hundred bulls and seven thousand sheep from the 2spoil they had brought. 12 Then they aentered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul; 13 aand whoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel bwas to be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. 14 Then they took an oath before the LORD with a loud voice, with shouting and trumpets and rams’ horns. 15 And all Judah rejoiced at the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and asought Him with all their soul; and He was found by them, and the LORD gave them brest all around. 16 Also he removed aMaachah, the 1mother of Asa the king, from being queen mother, because she had made an obscene image of 2Asherah; and Asa cut down her obscene im- age, then crushed and burned it by the Brook Kidron. 17 But athe 1high places were not removed from Israel. Nevertheless the heart of Asa was loyal all his days. 18 He also brought into the house of God the things that his father had dedicated and that he himself had dedicated: silver and gold and uten- sils. 19 And there was no war until the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Asa. Asa’s Treaty with Syria 16 In the thirty-sixth year of the reign of Asa, aBaasha king of Israel came up against Judah and built Ramah, bthat he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. 2 Then Asa brought silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of the LORD and of the king’s house, and sent to Ben-Hadad king of Syria, who dwelt in Damascus, saying, 3 “Let there be a treaty between you and me, as there was between my father and your father. See, I have sent you silver and gold; come, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.” 4 So Ben-Hadad heeded King Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel.

g of Judah. 2 Then Asa brought silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of the LORD and of the king’s house, and sent to Ben-Hadad king of Syria, who dwelt in Damascus, saying, 3 “Let there be a treaty between you and me, as there was between my father and your father. See, I have sent you silver and gold; come, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.” 4 So Ben-Hadad heeded King Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel. They attacked Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim, and all the storage cities of Naphtali. 5 Now it happened, when Baasha heard it, that he stopped building Ramah and ceased his work. 6 Then King Asa took all Judah, and they carried away the stones and timber of Ramah, which Baasha had used for building; and with them he built Geba and Mizpah. Hanani’s Message to Asa 7 And at that time aHanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said to him: b“Because you have relied on the king of Syria, and have not relied on the LORD your God, therefore the army of the king of Syria has escaped from your hand. 8 “Were athe Ethiopians and bthe Lubim not a huge army with very 13 aGen. 10:19; 20:1 1plunder 14 aGen. 35:5; Deut. 11:25; Josh. 2:9; 2 Chr. 17:10 1plunder 15 1Lit. struck CHAPTER 15 1 aNum. 24:2; Judg. 3:10; 2 Chr. 20:14; 24:20 2 a[James 4:8] b[1 Chr. 28:9]; 2 Chr. 14:4; 33:12, 13; [Jer. 29:13; Matt. 7:7] c2 Chr. 24:20 1Lit. before 3 aHos. 3:4 b2 Kin. 12:2 cLev. 10:11; 2 Chr. 17:8, 9 4 a[Deut. 4:29] 6 aMatt. 24:7 1Lit. beaten in pieces 8 a2 Chr. 13:19 1So with MT, LXX; Syr., Vg. Azariah the son of Oded (cf. v. 1) 9 a2 Chr. 11:16 11 a2 Chr. 14:13–15 1Lit. in that day 2plunder 12 a2 Kin. 23:3; 2 Chr. 23:16; 34:31; Neh. 10:29 13 aEx. 22:20 bDeut. 13:5–15 15 a2 Chr. 15:2 b2 Chr. 14:7 16 a1 Kin. 15:2, 10, 13 1Or grandmother 2A Canaanite deity 17 a1 Kin. 15:14; 2 Chr. 14:3, 5 1Places for pagan worship CHAPTER 16 1 a1 Kin. 15:17–22 b2 Chr. 15:9 7 a1 Kin. 16:1; 2 Chr. 19:2 b2 Chr. 32:8–10; Ps. 118:9; [Is. 31:1; Jer. 17:5] 8 a2 Chr. 14:9 b2 Chr. 12:3

391 2 CHRONICLES 18:5 many chariots and horsemen? Yet, because you relied on the LORD, He delivered them into your chand. 9 a“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this byou have done fool- ishly; therefore from now on cyou shall have wars.” 10 Then Asa was angry with the seer, and aput him in prison, for he was enraged at him because of this. And Asa oppressed some of the peo- ple at that time. Illness and Death of Asa 11 aNote that the acts of Asa, first and last, are indeed written in the book of the kings of Judah and Is- rael. 12 And in the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa became diseased in his feet, and his malady was severe; yet in his disease he adid not seek the LORD, but the physicians. 13 aSo Asa 1rested with his fathers; he died in the forty-first year of his reign. 14 They buried him in his own tomb, which he had 1made for him- self in the City of David; and they laid him in the bed which was filled awith spices and various ingredients prepared in a mixture of ointments. They made ba very great burning for him. Jehoshaphat Reigns in Judah 17 Then aJehoshaphat his son reigned in his place, and strengthened himself against Israel. 2 And he placed troops in all the fortified cities of Judah, and set gar- risons in the land of aJudah and in the cities of Ephraim bwhich Asa his father had taken. 3 Now the LORD was with Je- hoshaphat, because he walked in the former ways of his father David; he did not seek the Baals, 4 but sought 1the God of his father, and walked in His command- ments and not according to athe acts of Israel. 5 Therefore the LORD established the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah agave presents to Jehosha- phat, band he had riches and honor in abundance. 6 And his heart took delight in the ways of the LORD; moreover ahe re- moved the 1high places and wooden images from Judah. 7 Also in the third year of his reign he sent his leaders, Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Michaiah, ato teach in the cities of Judah. 8 And with them he sent Levites: Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tobadoni- jah—the Levites; and with them Elishama and Jehoram, the priests. 9 aSo they taught in Judah, and had the Book of the Law of the LORD with them; they went throughout all the cities of Judah and taught the people. 10 And athe fear of the LORD fell on all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Judah, so that they did not make war against Jehosha- phat. 11 Also some of the Philistines abrought Jehoshaphat presents and silver as tribute; and the Arabians brought him flocks, seven thousand seven hundred rams and seven thou- sand seven hundred male goats. 12 So Jehoshaphat became increas- ingly powerful, and he built fortress- es and storage cities in Judah. 13 He had much property in the cities of Judah; and the men of war, mighty men of valor, were in Jerusa- lem. 14 These are their numbers, ac- cording to their fathers’ houses.

t Jehosha- phat. 11 Also some of the Philistines abrought Jehoshaphat presents and silver as tribute; and the Arabians brought him flocks, seven thousand seven hundred rams and seven thou- sand seven hundred male goats. 12 So Jehoshaphat became increas- ingly powerful, and he built fortress- es and storage cities in Judah. 13 He had much property in the cities of Judah; and the men of war, mighty men of valor, were in Jerusa- lem. 14 These are their numbers, ac- cording to their fathers’ houses. Of Judah, the captains of thousands: Adnah the captain, and with him three hundred thousand mighty men of valor; 15 and next to him was Jehohanan the captain, and with him two hun- dred and eighty thousand; 16 and next to him was Amasiah the son of Zichri, awho willingly offered himself to the LORD, and with him two hundred thousand mighty men of valor. 17 Of Benjamin: Eliada a mighty man of valor, and with him two hun- dred thousand men armed with bow and shield; 18 and next to him was Jehozabad, and with him one hundred and eighty thousand prepared for war. 19 These served the king, besides athose the king put in the fortified cities throughout all Judah. Micaiah Warns Ahab 18 Jehoshaphat ahad riches and honor in abundance; and by marriage he ballied himself with cAhab. 2 aAfter some years he went down to visit Ahab in Samaria; and Ahab killed sheep and oxen in abundance for him and the people who were with him, and persuaded him to go up with him to Ramoth Gilead. 3 So Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me against Ramoth Gilead?” And he answered him, “I am as you are, and my people as your people; we will be with you in the war.” 4 Also Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, a“Please inquire for the word of the LORD today.” 5 Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall we go 8 c2 Chr. 13:16, 18 9 aJob 34:21; [Prov. 5:21; 15:3; Jer. 16:17; 32:19]; Zech. 4:10 b1 Sam. 13:13 c1 Kin. 15:32 10 a2 Chr. 18:26; Jer. 20:2; Matt. 14:3 11 a1 Kin. 15:23, 24; 2 Chr. 14:2 12 a[Jer. 17:5] 13 a1 Kin. 15:24 1Died and joined his ancestors 14 aGen. 50:2; Mark 16:1; John 19:39, 40 b2 Chr. 21:19; Jer. 34:5 1Lit. dug CHAPTER 17 1 a1 Kin. 15:24; 2 Chr. 20:31 2 a2 Chr. 11:5 b2 Chr. 15:8 4 a1 Kin. 12:28 1LXX the LORD God 5 a1 Sam. 10:27; 1 Kin. 10:25 b2 Chr. 18:1 6 a1 Kin. 22:43; 2 Chr. 15:17; 19:3; 20:33 1Places for pagan worship 7 a2 Chr. 15:3; 35:3 9 aDeut. 6:4–9; 2 Chr. 35:3; Neh. 8:3, 7 10 aGen. 35:5; 2 Chr. 14:14 11 a2 Sam. 8:2; 2 Chr. 9:14; 26:8 16 aJudg. 5:2, 9; 1 Chr. 29:9 19 a2 Chr. 17:2 CHAPTER 18 1 a2 Chr. 17:5 b1 Kin. 22:44; 2 Kin. 8:18 c1 Kin. 22:40 2 a[Ex. 23:2]; 1 Kin. 22:2 4 a1 Sam. 23:2, 4, 9; 2 Sam. 2:1

2 CHRONICLES 18:6 392 to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?” So they said, “Go up, for God will deliver it into the king’s hand.” 6 But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not still a prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of aHim?”1 7 So the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man by whom we may inquire of the LORD; but I hate him, because he never prophesies good concerning me, but always evil. He is Micaiah the son of Imla.” And Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say such things!” 8 Then the king of Israel called one of his officers and said, “Bring Micaiah the son of Imla quickly!” 9 The king of Israel and Jehosha- phat king of Judah, clothed in their robes, sat each on his throne; and they sat at a threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them. 10 Now Zedekiah the son of Chena- anah had made ahorns of iron for himself; and he said, “Thus says the LORD: ‘With these you shall gore the Syrians until they are destroyed.’ ” 11 And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, “Go up to Ramoth Gilead and prosper, for the LORD will de- liver it into the king’s hand.” 12 Then the messenger who had gone to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, “Now listen, the words of the prophets with one accord encour- age the king. Therefore please let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak encouragement.” 13 And Micaiah said, “As the LORD lives, awhatever my God says, that I will speak.” 14 Then he came to the king; and the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth Gil- ead, or shall I refrain?” And he said, “Go and prosper, and they shall be delivered into your hand!” 15 So the king said to him, “How many times shall I make you swear that you tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD?” 16 Then he said, “I saw all Israel ascattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no bshepherd. And the LORD said, ‘These have no mas- ter. Let each return to his house in peace.’ ” 17 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you he would not prophesy good concern- ing me, but evil?” 18 Then Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on His athrone, and all the host of heaven standing on His right hand and His left. 19 “And the LORD said, ‘Who will persuade Ahab king of Israel to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?’ So one spoke in this man- ner, and another spoke in that man- ner. 20 “Then a aspirit came forward and stood before the LORD, and said, ‘I will persuade him.’ The LORD said to him, ‘In what way?’ 21 “So he said, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And the LORD said, ‘You shall persuade him and also prevail; go out and do so.’ 22 “Therefore look!

is left. 19 “And the LORD said, ‘Who will persuade Ahab king of Israel to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?’ So one spoke in this man- ner, and another spoke in that man- ner. 20 “Then a aspirit came forward and stood before the LORD, and said, ‘I will persuade him.’ The LORD said to him, ‘In what way?’ 21 “So he said, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And the LORD said, ‘You shall persuade him and also prevail; go out and do so.’ 22 “Therefore look! aThe LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these prophets of yours, and the LORD has declared disaster against you.” 23 Then Zedekiah the son of Che- naanah went near and astruck Mica- iah on the cheek, and said, “Which way did the spirit from the LORD go from me to speak to you?” 24 And Micaiah said, “Indeed you shall see on that day when you go into an inner chamber to hide!” 25 Then the king of Israel said, “Take Micaiah, and return him to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king’s son; 26 “and say, ‘Thus says the king: a“Put this fellow in prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and water of affliction, until I return in peace.” ’ ” 27 But Micaiah said, “If you ever return in peace, the LORD has not spoken by ame.” And he said, “Take heed, all you people!” Ahab Dies in Battle 28 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead. 29 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will adisguise my- self and go into battle; but you put on your robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into battle. 30 Now the king of Syria had com- manded the captains of the chariots who were with him, saying, “Fight with no one small or great, but only with the king of Israel.” 31 So it was, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, “It is the king of Israel!” Therefore they surrounded him to attack; but Jehoshaphat acried out, and the LORD helped him, and God diverted them from him. 32 For so it was, when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him. 33 Now a certain man drew a bow at random, and struck the king of Israel between the 1joints of his armor. So he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am wounded.” 34 The battle increased that day, and the king of Israel propped him- 6 a2 Kin. 3:11 1Or him 10 aZech. 1:18–21 13 aNum. 22:18–20, 35; 23:12, 26; 1 Kin. 22:14 16 a[Jer. 23:1–8; 31:10] bNum. 27:17; 1 Kin. 22:17; [Ezek. 34:5–8]; Matt. 9:36; Mark 6:34 18 aIs. 6:1–5; Dan. 7:9, 10 20 aJob 1:6; 2 Thess. 2:9 22 aJob 12:16, 17; Is. 19:12–14; Ezek. 14:9 23 aJer. 20:2; Mark 14:65; Acts 23:2 26 a2 Chr. 16:10 27 aDeut. 18:22 29 a2 Chr. 35:22 31 a2 Chr. 13:14, 15 33 1Or scale armor and the breast- plate

393 2 CHRONICLES 20:16 self up in his chariot facing the Syr- ians until evening; and about the time of sunset he died. 19 Then Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned safely to his house in Jerusalem. 2 And Jehu the son of Hanani athe seer went out to meet him, and said to King Jehoshaphat, “Should you help the wicked and blove those who hate the LORD? Therefore the cwrath of the LORD is upon you. 3 “Nevertheless agood things are found in you, in that you have removed the 1wooden images from the land, and have bprepared your heart to seek God.” The Reforms of Jehoshaphat 4 So Jehoshaphat dwelt at Jerusa- lem; and he went out again among the people from Beersheba to the mountains of Ephraim, and brought them back to the LORD God of their afathers. 5 Then he set ajudges in the land throughout all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city, 6 and said to the judges, “Take heed to what you are doing, for ayou do not judge for man but for the LORD, bwho is with you 1in the judg- ment. 7 “Now therefore, let the fear of the LORD be upon you; take care and do it, for athere is no iniquity with the LORD our God, no bpartial- ity, nor taking of bribes.” 8 Moreover in Jerusalem, for the judgment of the LORD and for con- troversies, Jehoshaphat aappointed some of the Levites and priests, and some of the chief fathers of Israel, 1when they returned to Jerusalem. 9 And he commanded them, say- ing, “Thus you shall act ain the fear of the LORD, faithfully and with a loyal heart: 10 a“Whatever case comes to you from your brethren who dwell in their cities, whether of bloodshed or offenses against law or command- ment, against statutes or ordinances, you shall warn them, lest they tres- pass against the LORD and bwrath come upon cyou and your brethren. Do this, and you will not be guilty. 11 “And take notice: aAmariah the chief priest is over you bin all matters of the LORD; and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, the ruler of the house of Judah, for all the king’s matters; also the Levites will be officials before you. Behave courageously, and the LORD will be cwith the good.” Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir Defeated 20 It happened after this that the people of aMoab with the peo- ple of bAmmon, and others with them besides the cAmmonites,1 came to battle against Jehoshaphat. 2 Then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multi- tude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from 1Syria; and they are ain Hazazon Tamar” (which is bEn Gedi). 3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set 1himself to aseek the LORD, and bproclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4 So Judah gathered together to ask ahelp from the LORD; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD. 5 Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court, 6 and said: “O LORD God of our fathers, are You not aGod in heaven, and bdo You not rule over all the king- doms of the nations, and cin Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You? 7 “Are You not aour God, who bdrove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abra- ham cYour friend forever? 8 “And they dwell in it, and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name, saying, 9 a‘If disaster comes upon us— sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine—we will stand before this temple and in Your presence (for Your bname is in this temple), and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save.’ 10 “And now, here are the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir— whom You awould not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but bthey turned from them and did not destroy them— 11 “here they are, rewarding us aby coming to throw us out of Your pos- session which You have given us to inherit. 12 “O our God, will You not ajudge them?

and before this temple and in Your presence (for Your bname is in this temple), and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save.’ 10 “And now, here are the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir— whom You awould not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but bthey turned from them and did not destroy them— 11 “here they are, rewarding us aby coming to throw us out of Your pos- session which You have given us to inherit. 12 “O our God, will You not ajudge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but bour eyes are upon You.” 13 Now all Judah, with their little ones, their wives, and their children, stood before the LORD. 14 Then athe Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. 15 And he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehosha- phat! Thus says the LORD to you: a‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, bfor the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16 ‘Tomorrow go down against them. They will surely come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find CHAPTER 19 2 a1 Kin. 16:1 bPs. 139:21 c2 Chr. 32:25 3 a2 Chr. 17:4, 6 b2 Chr. 30:19 1Or Asherim, Heb. Asheroth 4 a2 Chr. 15:8–13 5 a[Deut. 16:18–20] 6 a[Deut. 1:17] bPs. 82:1 1Lit. in the matter of the judg- ment 7 a[Deut. 32:4] b[Deut. 10:17, 18] 8 a2 Chr. 17:8 1LXX, Vg. for the inhabi- tants of Jerusalem 9 a[2 Sam. 23:3] 10 aDeut. 17:8 bNum. 16:46 c[Ezek. 3:18] 11 aEzra 7:3 b1 Chr. 26:30 c[2 Chr. 15:2; 20:17] CHAPTER 20 1 a1 Chr. 18:2 b1 Chr. 19:15 c2 Chr. 26:7 1So with MT, Vg.; LXX Meunites (cf. 2 Chr. 26:7) 2 aGen. 14:7 bJosh. 15:62 1So with MT, LXX, Vg.; Heb. mss., Old Lat. Edom 3 a2 Chr. 19:3 bEzra 8:21 1Lit. his face 4 a2 Chr. 14:11 6 aDeut. 4:39 bDan. 4:17, 25, 32 c1 Chr. 29:12 7 aEx. 6:7 bPs. 44:2 cIs. 41:8 9 a2 Chr. 6:28–30 b2 Chr. 6:20 10 aDeut. 2:4, 9, 19 bNum. 20:21 11 aPs. 83:1–18 12 aJudg. 11:27 bPs. 25:15; 121:1, 2; 123:1, 2; 141:8 14 a2 Chr. 15:1; 24:20 15 a[Deut. 1:29, 30; 31:6, 8] b1 Sam. 17:47

2 CHRONICLES 20:17 394 them at the end of the 1brook before the Wilderness of Jeruel. 17 a‘You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, bfor the LORD is with you.” 18 And Jehoshaphat abowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the LORD, worshiping the LORD. 19 Then the Levites of the children of the Kohathites and of the chil- dren of the Korahites stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with voices loud and high. 20 So they rose early in the morn- ing and went out into the Wilder- ness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: aBelieve in the LORD your God, and you shall be estab- lished; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.” 21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the LORD, aand who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: b“Praise the LORD, cFor His mercy endures forever.” 22 Now when they began to sing and to praise, athe LORD set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated. 23 For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabi- tants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. And when they 1had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, athey helped to destroy one another. 24 So when Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; and there were their dead bodies, fallen on the earth. No one had escaped. 25 When Jehoshaphat and his peo- ple came to take away their spoil, they found among them an abun- dance of valuables on the 1dead bod- ies, and precious jewelry, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away; and they were three days gathering the spoil because there was so much. 26 And on the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of 1Ber- achah, for there they blessed the LORD; therefore the name of that place was called The Valley of Berachah until this day. 27 Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, with Je- hoshaphat in front of them, to go back to Jerusalem with joy, for the LORD had amade them rejoice over their enemies. 28 So they came to Jerusalem, with stringed instruments and harps and trumpets, to the house of the LORD. 29 And athe fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries when they heard that the LORD had fought against the enemies of Israel. 30 Then the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his aGod gave him rest all around. The End of Jehoshaphat’s Reign 31 aSo Jehoshaphat was king over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jeru- salem.

s. 28 So they came to Jerusalem, with stringed instruments and harps and trumpets, to the house of the LORD. 29 And athe fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries when they heard that the LORD had fought against the enemies of Israel. 30 Then the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his aGod gave him rest all around. The End of Jehoshaphat’s Reign 31 aSo Jehoshaphat was king over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jeru- salem. His mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. 32 And he walked in the way of his father aAsa, and did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the LORD. 33 Nevertheless athe 1high places were not taken away, for as yet the people had not bdirected their hearts to the God of their fathers. 34 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, indeed they are written in the book of Jehu the son of Hanani, awhich is men- tioned in the book of the kings of Israel. 35 After this aJehoshaphat king of Judah allied himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, bwho acted very cwickedly. 36 And he allied himself with him ato make ships to go to Tarshish, and they made the ships in Ezion Geber. 37 But Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Je- hoshaphat, saying, “Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, the LORD has destroyed your works.” aThen the ships were wrecked, so that they were not able to go bto Tarshish. Jehoram Reigns in Judah 21 And aJehoshaphat 1rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. Then Jehoram his son reigned in his place. 2 He had brothers, the sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah, Jehiel, Zech- ariah, Azaryahu, Michael, and Shephatiah; all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel. 3 Their father gave them great gifts of silver and gold and precious things, with fortified cities in Judah; but he gave the kingdom to Jeho- ram, because he was the firstborn. 4 Now when Jehoram 1was estab- lished over the kingdom of his father, he strengthened himself and killed all his brothers with the sword, and also others of the princes of Israel. 16 1streambed or wadi 17 aEx. 14:13, 14 bNum. 14:9; [2 Chr. 15:2; 32:8] 18 aEx. 4:31; 2 Chr. 7:3; 29:28 20 aIs. 7:9 21 a1 Chr. 16:29; Ps. 29:2; 90:17; 96:9; 110:3 b1 Chr. 16:34; Ps. 106:1; 136:1 c1 Chr. 16:41; 2 Chr. 5:13 22 aJudg. 7:22; 1 Sam. 14:20 23 aJudg. 7:22; 1 Sam. 14:20 1had finished 25 1A few Heb. mss., Old Lat., Vg. garments; LXX armor 26 1Lit. Bless- ing 27 aNeh. 12:43 29 a2 Chr. 14:14; 17:10 30 a1 Kin. 22:41–43; 2 Chr. 14:6, 7; 15:15; Job 34:29 31 a[1 Kin. 22:41–43] 32 a2 Chr. 14:2 33 a2 Chr. 15:17; 17:6 b2 Chr. 12:14; 19:3 1Places for pagan worship 34 a1 Kin. 16:1, 7 35 a2 Chr. 18:1 b1 Kin. 22:48–53 c[2 Chr. 19:2] 36 a1 Kin. 9:26; 10:22 37 a1 Kin. 22:48 b2 Chr. 9:21 CHAPTER 21 1 a1 Kin. 22:50 1Died and joined his ancestors 4 1Lit. arose

395 2 CHRONICLES 22:9 5 aJehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. 6 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done, for he had the daughter of aAhab as a wife; and he did evil in the sight of the LORD. 7 Yet the LORD would not destroy the house of David, because of the acovenant that He had made with David, and since He had promised to give a lamp to him and to his bsons forever. 8 aIn his days Edom revolted against Judah’s authority, and made a king over themselves. 9 So Jehoram went out with his officers, and all his chariots with him. And he rose by night and attacked the Edomites who had surrounded him and the captains of the chariots. 10 Thus Edom has been in revolt against Judah’s authority to this day. At that time Libnah revolted against his rule, because he had for- saken the LORD God of his fathers. 11 Moreover he made 1high places in the mountains of Judah, and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to acommit harlotry, and led Judah astray. 12 And a letter came to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, Thus says the LORD God of your father David: Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father, or in the ways of Asa king of Judah, 13 but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and have amade Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to bplay the harlot like the charlotry of the house of Ahab, and also have dkilled your brothers, those of your father’s household, who were better than yourself, 14 behold, the LORD will strike your people with a serious affliction—your children, your wives, and all your possessions; 15 and you will become very sick with a adisease of your intestines, until your intestines come out by reason of the sickness, day by day. 16 Moreover the aLORD bstirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines and the cArabians who were near the Ethiopians. 17 And they came up into Judah and invaded it, and carried away all the possessions that were found in the king’s house, and also ahis sons and his wives, so that there was not a son left to him except 1Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons. 18 After all this the LORD struck him ain his intestines with an incurable disease. 19 Then it happened in the course of time, after the end of two years, that his intestines came out because of his sickness; so he died in severe pain. And his people made no 1burn- ing for him, like athe burning for his fathers. 20 He was thirty-two years old when he became king. He reigned in Jerusalem eight years and, to no one’s sorrow, departed. However they buried him in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings. Ahaziah Reigns in Judah 22 Then the inhabitants of Jeru- salem made aAhaziah his youngest son king in his place, for the raiders who came with the bAra- bians into the camp had killed all the colder sons. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, reigned. 2 Ahaziah was 1forty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem.

igned in Jerusalem eight years and, to no one’s sorrow, departed. However they buried him in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings. Ahaziah Reigns in Judah 22 Then the inhabitants of Jeru- salem made aAhaziah his youngest son king in his place, for the raiders who came with the bAra- bians into the camp had killed all the colder sons. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, reigned. 2 Ahaziah was 1forty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was aAthaliah the 2granddaughter of Omri. 3 He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother advised him to do wickedly. 4 Therefore he did evil in the sight of the LORD, like the house of Ahab; for they were his counselors after the death of his father, to his de- struction. 5 He also followed their advice, and went with 1Jehoram the son of Ahab king of Israel to war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth Gilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram. 6 aThen he returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds which he had received at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And 1Azariah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick. 7 His going to Joram awas God’s oc- casion for Ahaziah’s 1downfall; for when he arrived, bhe went out with 2Jehoram against Jehu the son of Nimshi, cwhom the LORD had anointed to 3cut off the house of Ahab. 8 And it happened, when Jehu was aexecuting judgment on the house of Ahab, and bfound the princes of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah’s brothers who served Ahaziah, that he killed them. 9 aThen he searched for Ahaziah; and they caught him (he was hiding in Samaria), and brought him to Jehu. When they had killed him, they buried him, “because,” they said, “he is the son of bJehoshaphat, who csought the LORD with all his heart.” So the house of Ahaziah had no one to assume power over the kingdom. 5 a2 Kin. 8:17–22 6 a2 Chr. 18:1 7 a2 Sam. 7:8–17 b1 Kin. 11:36; 2 Kin. 8:19; Ps. 132:11 8 a2 Kin. 8:20; 14:7, 10; 2 Chr. 25:14, 19 11 a[Lev. 20:5] 1Places for pagan wor- ship 13 a2 Chr. 21:11 b[Ex. 34:15]; Deut. 31:16 c1 Kin. 16:31–33; 2 Kin. 9:22 d1 Kin. 2:32; 2 Chr. 21:4 15 a2 Chr. 21:18, 19 16 a2 Chr. 33:11; [Jer. 51:11] b1 Kin. 11:14, 23 c2 Chr. 17:11 17 a2 Chr. 24:7 1Ahaziah or Azariah, 2 Chr. 22:1 18 a2 Chr. 13:20; 21:15; Acts 12:23 19 a2 Chr. 16:14 1Burn- ing of spices CHAPTER 22 1 a2 Chr. 21:17; 22:6 b2 Chr. 21:16 c2 Chr. 21:17 2 a2 Chr. 21:6 1twenty-two, 2 Kin. 8:26 2Lit. daughter 5 1Joram, v. 7; 2 Kin. 8:28 6 a2 Kin. 9:15 1Heb. mss., LXX, Syr., Vg. Ahaziah and 2 Kin. 8:29 7 aJudg. 14:4; 1 Kin. 12:15; 2 Chr. 10:15 b2 Kin. 9:21–24 c2 Kin. 9:6, 7 1Lit. crushing 2Joram, vv. 5, 7; 2 Kin. 8:28 3destroy 8 a2 Kin. 9:22–24 b2 Kin. 10:10–14; Hos. 1:4 9 a[2 Kin. 9:27] b1 Kin. 15:24 c2 Chr. 17:4; 20:3, 4

2 CHRONICLES 22:10 396 Athaliah Reigns in Judah 10 aNow when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal heirs of the house of Judah. 11 But 1Jehoshabeath, the daugh- ter of the king, took aJoash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him away from among the king’s sons who were being murdered, and put him and his nurse in a bedroom. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest (for she was the sister of Ahaziah), hid him from Athaliah so that she did not kill him. 12 And he was hidden with them in the house of God for six years, while Athaliah reigned over the land. Joash Crowned King of Judah 23 In athe seventh year bJehoiada strengthened himself, and made a covenant with the captains of hundreds: Azariah the son of Jeroham, Ishmael the son of Jeho- hanan, Azariah the son of cObed, Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat the son of Zichri. 2 And they went throughout Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah, and the achief fathers of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem. 3 Then all the assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And he said to them, “Behold, the king’s son shall reign, as the LORD has asaid of the sons of David. 4 “This is what you shall do: One- third of you aentering on the Sabbath, of the priests and the Levites, shall be keeping watch over the doors; 5 “one-third shall be at the king’s house; and one-third at the Gate of the Foundation. All the people shall be in the courts of the house of the LORD. 6 “But let no one come into the house of the LORD except the priests and athose of the Levites who serve. They may go in, for they are holy; but all the people shall keep the watch of the LORD. 7 “And the Levites shall surround the king on all sides, every man with his weapons in his hand; and who- ever comes into the house, let him be put to death. You are to be with the king when he comes in and when he goes out.” 8 So the Levites and all Judah did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded. And each man took his men who were to be on duty on the Sabbath, with those who were going off duty on the Sab- bath; for Jehoiada the priest had not dismissed athe divisions. 9 And Jehoiada the priest gave to the captains of hundreds the spears and the large and small ashields which had belonged to King David, that were in the temple of God. 10 Then he set all the people, every man with his weapon in his hand, from the right side of the temple to the left side of the temple, along by the altar and by the temple, all around the king. 11 And they brought out the king’s son, put the crown on him, agave him the 1Testimony, and made him king. Then Jehoiada and his sons anointed him, and said, “Long live the king!” Death of Athaliah 12 Now when aAthaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she came to the people in the temple of the LORD. 13 When she looked, there was the king standing by his pillar at the entrance; and the leaders and the trumpeters were by the king. All the people of the land were rejoic- ing and blowing trumpets, also the singers with musical instruments, and athose who led in praise. So Athaliah tore her clothes and said, b“Treason!

said, “Long live the king!” Death of Athaliah 12 Now when aAthaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she came to the people in the temple of the LORD. 13 When she looked, there was the king standing by his pillar at the entrance; and the leaders and the trumpeters were by the king. All the people of the land were rejoic- ing and blowing trumpets, also the singers with musical instruments, and athose who led in praise. So Athaliah tore her clothes and said, b“Treason! Treason!” 14 And Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains of hundreds who were set over the army, and said to them, “Take her outside under guard, and slay with the sword whoever fol- lows her.” For the priest had said, “Do not kill her in the house of the LORD.” 15 So they seized her; and she went by way of the entrance aof the Horse Gate into the king’s house, and they killed her there. 16 Then Jehoiada made a acove- nant between himself, the people, and the king, that they should be the LORD’s people. 17 And all the people went to the 1temple of Baal, and tore it down. They broke in pieces its altars and images, and akilled Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. 18 Also Jehoiada appointed the oversight of the house of the LORD to the hand of the priests, the Levites, whom David had aassigned in the house of the LORD, to offer the burnt offerings of the LORD, as it is written in the bLaw of Moses, with rejoicing and with singing, as it was established by David. 19 And he set the agatekeepers at the gates of the house of the LORD, so that no one who was in any way unclean should enter. 20 aThen he took the captains of hundreds, the nobles, the governors of the people, and all the people of the land, and brought the king down from the house of the LORD; and they went through the Upper Gate to the king’s house, and set the king on the throne of the kingdom. 10 a2 Kin. 11:1–3 11 a2 Kin. 12:18 1Jehosheba, 2 Kin. 11:2 CHAPTER 23 1 a2 Kin. 11:4 b2 Kin. 12:2 c1 Chr. 2:37, 38 2 aEzra 1:5 3 a2 Sam. 7:12; 1 Kin. 2:4; 9:5; 2 Chr. 6:16; 7:18; 21:7 4 a1 Chr. 9:25 6 a1 Chr. 23:28–32 8 a1 Chr. 24:1–31 9 a2 Sam. 8:7 11 aDeut. 17:18 1Law, Ex. 25:16, 21; 31:18 12 a2 Chr. 22:10 13 a1 Chr. 25:8 b2 Kin. 9:23 15 aNeh. 3:28; Jer. 31:40 16 aJosh. 24:24, 25; 2 Chr. 15:12–15 17 aDeut. 13:6–9; 1 Kin. 18:40 1Lit. house 18 a1 Chr. 23:6, 30, 31; 24:1 bNum. 28:2 19 a1 Chr. 26:1–19 20 a1 Kin. 9:22; 2 Kin. 11:19

397 2 CHRONICLES 24:25 21 So all the people of the land rejoiced; and the city was quiet, for they had slain Athaliah with the sword. Joash Repairs the Temple 24 Joash awas seven years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba. 2 Joash adid what was right in the sight of the LORD all the days of Jehoiada the priest. 3 And Jehoiada took two wives for him, and he had sons and daughters. 4 Now it happened after this that Joash set his heart on repairing the house of the LORD. 5 Then he gathered the priests and the Levites, and said to them, “Go out to the cities of Judah, and agather from all Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year, and see that you do it quickly.” However the Levites did not do it quickly. 6 aSo the king called Jehoiada the chief priest, and said to him, “Why have you not required the Levites to bring in from Judah and from Je- rusalem the collection, according to the commandment of bMoses the servant of the LORD and of the assembly of Israel, for the ctaberna- cle of witness?” 7 For athe sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken into the house of God, and had also pre- sented all the bdedicated things of the house of the LORD to the Baals. 8 Then at the king’s command athey made a chest, and set it outside at the gate of the house of the LORD. 9 And they made a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to bring to the LORD athe collection that Moses the servant of God had imposed on Israel in the wilderness. 10 Then all the leaders and all the people rejoiced, brought their con- tributions, and put them into the chest until all had given. 11 So it was, at that time, when the chest was brought to the king’s offi- cial by the hand of the Levites, and awhen they saw that there was much money, that the king’s scribe and the high priest’s officer came and emp- tied the chest, and took it and returned it to its place. Thus they did day by day, and gathered money in abundance. 12 The king and Jehoiada gave it to those who did the work of the ser- vice of the house of the LORD; and they hired masons and carpenters to arepair the house of the LORD, and also those who worked in iron and bronze to restore the house of the LORD. 13 So the workmen labored, and the work was completed by them; they restored the house of God to its orig- inal condition and reinforced it. 14 When they had finished, they brought the rest of the money be- fore the king and Jehoiada; athey made from it articles for the house of the LORD, articles for serving and offering, spoons and vessels of gold and silver. And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the LORD continually all the days of Jehoiada. Apostasy of Joash 15 But Jehoiada grew old and was full of days, and he died; he was one hundred and thirty years old when he died. 16 And they buried him in the City of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, both toward God and His house. 17 Now after the death of Jehoiada the leaders of Judah came and bowed down to the king. And the king listened to them. 18 Therefore they left the house of the LORD God of their fathers, and served awooden images and idols; and bwrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem because of their trespass. 19 Yet He asent prophets to them, to bring them back to the LORD; and they testified against them, but they would not listen. 20 Then the Spirit of God 1came upon aZechariah the son of Je- hoiada the priest, who stood above the people, and said to them, “Thus says God: b‘Why do you transgress the commandments of the LORD, so that you cannot prosper?

the house of the LORD God of their fathers, and served awooden images and idols; and bwrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem because of their trespass. 19 Yet He asent prophets to them, to bring them back to the LORD; and they testified against them, but they would not listen. 20 Then the Spirit of God 1came upon aZechariah the son of Je- hoiada the priest, who stood above the people, and said to them, “Thus says God: b‘Why do you transgress the commandments of the LORD, so that you cannot prosper? cBecause you have forsaken the LORD, He also has forsaken you.’ ” 21 So they conspired against him, and at the command of the king they astoned him with stones in the court of the house of the LORD. 22 Thus Joash the king did not remember the kindness which Je- hoiada his 1father had done to him, but killed his son; and as he died, he said, “The LORD look on it, and are- pay!” Death of Joash 23 So it happened in the spring of the year that athe army of Syria came up against him; and they came to Judah and Jerusalem, and destroyed all the leaders of the people from among the people, and sent all their 1spoil to the king of Damascus. 24 For the army of the Syrians acame with a small company of men; but the LORD bdelivered a very great army into their hand, because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers. So they cexecuted judgment against Joash. 25 And when they had withdrawn from him (for they left him severely wounded), ahis own servants con- spired against him because of the CHAPTER 24 1 a2 Kin. 11:21; 12:1–15 2 a2 Chr. 26:4, 5 5 a2 Kin. 12:4 6 a2 Kin. 12:7 bEx. 30:12–16 cNum. 1:50; Acts 7:44 7 a2 Chr. 21:17 b2 Kin. 12:4 8 a2 Kin. 12:9 9 a2 Chr. 24:6 11 a2 Kin. 12:10 12 a2 Chr. 30:12 14 a2 Kin. 12:13 18 a1 Kin. 14:23 b[Ex. 34:12–14]; Judg. 5:8; 2 Chr. 19:2; 28:13; 29:8; 32:25 19 a2 Kin. 17:13; 21:10–15; 2 Chr. 36:15, 16; Jer. 7:25, 26; 25:4 20 aJudg. 6:34; Matt. 23:35 bNum. 14:41; [Prov. 28:13] c[2 Chr. 15:2] 1Lit. clothed 21 a[Neh. 9:26]; Matt. 23:35; Acts 7:58, 59 22 a[Gen. 9:5] 1Foster father 23 a2 Kin. 12:17; Is. 7:2 1plunder 24 aLev. 26:8; [Deut. 32:30]; Is. 30:17 bLev. 26:25; [Deut. 28:25] c2 Chr. 22:8; Is. 10:5 25 a2 Kin. 12:20, 21; 2 Chr. 25:3

2 CHRONICLES 24:26 398 blood of the 1sons of Jehoiada the priest, and killed him on his bed. So he died. And they buried him in the City of David, but they did not bury him in the tombs of the kings. 26 These are the ones who con- spired against him: 1Zabad the son of Shimeath the Ammonitess, and Jehozabad the son of 2Shimrith the Moabitess. 27 Now concerning his sons, and athe many oracles about him, and the repairing of the house of God, indeed they are written in the 1annals of the book of the kings. bThen Amaziah his son reigned in his place. Amaziah Reigns in Judah 25 Amaziah awas twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. 2 And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, abut not with a loyal heart. 3 aNow it happened, as soon as the kingdom was established for him, that he executed his servants who had murdered his father the king. 4 However he did not execute their children, but did as it is written in the Law in the Book of Moses, where the LORD commanded, say- ing, a“The fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall the children be put to death for their fathers; but a person shall die for his own sin.” The War Against Edom 5 Moreover Amaziah gathered Judah together and set over them captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, according to their fathers’ houses, throughout all Ju- dah and Benjamin; and he num- bered them afrom twenty years old and above, and found them to be three hundred thousand choice men, able to go to war, who could handle spear and shield. 6 He also hired one hundred thou- sand mighty men of valor from Israel for one hundred talents of silver. 7 But a aman of God came to him, saying, “O king, do not let the army of Israel go with you, for the LORD is not with Israel—not with any of the children of Ephraim. 8 “But if you go, be gone! Be strong in battle! Even so, God shall make you fall before the enemy; for God has apower to help and to overthrow.” 9 Then Amaziah said to the man of God, “But what shall we do about the hundred talents which I have given to the troops of Israel?” And the man of God answered, a“The LORD is able to give you much more than this.” 10 So Amaziah discharged the troops that had come to him from Ephraim, to go back home. There- fore their anger was greatly aroused against Judah, and they returned home in great anger. 11 Then Amaziah strengthened himself, and leading his people, he went to athe Valley of Salt and killed ten thousand of the people of Seir. 12 Also the children of Judah took captive ten thousand alive, brought them to the top of the rock, and cast them down from the top of the rock, so that they all were dashed in pieces. 13 But as for the soldiers of the army which Amaziah had dis- charged, so that they would not go with him to battle, they raided the cities of Judah from Samaria to Beth Horon, killed three thousand in them, and took much 1spoil. 14 Now it was so, after Amaziah came from the slaughter of the Edomites, that ahe brought the gods of the people of Seir, set them up to be bhis gods, and bowed down be- fore them and burned incense to them. 15 Therefore the anger of the LORD was aroused against Amaziah, and He sent him a prophet who said to him, “Why have you sought athe gods of the people, which bcould not rescue their own people from your hand?” 16 So it was, as he talked with him, that the king said to him, “Have we made you the king’s counselor? Cease!

ah came from the slaughter of the Edomites, that ahe brought the gods of the people of Seir, set them up to be bhis gods, and bowed down be- fore them and burned incense to them. 15 Therefore the anger of the LORD was aroused against Amaziah, and He sent him a prophet who said to him, “Why have you sought athe gods of the people, which bcould not rescue their own people from your hand?” 16 So it was, as he talked with him, that the king said to him, “Have we made you the king’s counselor? Cease! Why should you be killed?” Then the prophet ceased, and said, “I know that God has adetermined to destroy you, because you have done this and have not heeded my advice.” Israel Defeats Judah 17 Now aAmaziah king of Judah asked advice and sent to 1Joash the son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, “Come, let us face one another in battle.” 18 And Joash king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, “The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daugh- ter to my son as wife’; and a wild beast that was in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thistle. 19 “Indeed you say that you have defeated the Edomites, and your heart is lifted up to aboast. Stay at home now; why should you meddle with trouble, that you should fall— you and Judah with you?” 20 But Amaziah would not heed, for ait came from God, that He might give them into the hand of their enemies, because they bsought the gods of Edom. 21 So Joash king of Israel went out; and he and Amaziah king of Judah 25 1LXX, Vg. son and vv. 20–22 26 1Jozachar, 2 Kin. 12:21 2Shomer, 2 Kin. 12:21 27 a2 Kin. 12:18 b2 Kin. 12:21 1Or commentary, Heb. midrash CHAPTER 25 1 a2 Kin. 14:1–6 2 a2 Kin. 14:4; 2 Chr. 25:14 3 a2 Kin. 14:5; 2 Chr. 24:25 4 aDeut. 24:16; 2 Kin. 14:6; Jer. 31:30; [Ezek. 18:20] 5 aNum. 1:3 7 a2 Chr. 11:2 8 a2 Chr. 14:11; 20:6 9 a[Deut. 8:18]; Prov. 10:22 11 a2 Kin. 14:7 13 1plunder 14 a2 Chr. 28:23 b[Ex. 20:3, 5] 15 a[Ps. 96:5] b2 Chr. 25:11 16 a[1 Sam. 2:25] 17 a2 Kin. 14:8–14 1Jehoash, 2 Kin. 14:8ff. 19 a2 Chr. 26:16; 32:25; [Prov. 16:18] 20 a1 Kin. 12:15; 2 Chr. 22:7 b2 Chr. 25:14

399 2 CHRONICLES 26:21 faced one another at aBeth Shemesh, which belongs to Judah. 22 And Judah was defeated by Israel, and every man fled to his tent. 23 Then Joash the king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of aJehoa- haz, at Beth Shemesh; and he brought him to Jerusalem, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate—four hundred cubits. 24 And he took all the gold and sil- ver, all the articles that were found in the house of God with aObed- Edom, the treasures of the king’s house, and hostages, and returned to Samaria. Death of Amaziah 25 aAmaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, lived fifteen years after the death of Joash the son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel. 26 Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, from first to last, indeed are they not written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel? 27 After the time that Amaziah turned away from following the LORD, they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish; but they sent after him to Lachish and killed him there. 28 Then they brought him on horses and buried him with his fa- thers in 1the City of Judah. Uzziah Reigns in Judah 26 Now all the people of Judah took 1Uzziah, who was six- teen years old, and made him king instead of his father Amaziah. 2 He built 1Elath and restored it to Judah, after the king rested with his fathers. 3 Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jeru- salem. His mother’s name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem. 4 And he did what was aright in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done. 5 aHe sought God in the days of Zechariah, who bhad understanding in the 1visions of God; and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him cprosper. 6 Now he went out and amade war against the Philistines, and broke down the wall of Gath, the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod; and he built cities around Ashdod and among the Philistines. 7 God helped him against athe Philistines, against the Arabians who lived in Gur Baal, and against the Meunites. 8 Also the Ammonites abrought tribute to Uzziah. His fame spread as far as the entrance of Egypt, for he became exceedingly strong. 9 And Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the aCorner Gate, at the Valley Gate, and at the corner buttress of the wall; then he fortified them. 10 Also he built towers in the desert. He dug many wells, for he had much livestock, both in the low- lands and in the plains; he also had farmers and vinedressers in the mountains and in 1Carmel, for he loved the soil. 11 Moreover Uzziah had an army of fighting men who went out to war by companies, according to the number on their roll as prepared by Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the officer, under the hand of Hananiah, one of the king’s captains. 12 The total number of 1chief offi- cers of the mighty men of valor was two thousand six hundred. 13 And under their authority was an army of three hundred and seven thousand five hundred, that made war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy. 14 Then Uzziah prepared for them, for the entire army, shields, spears, helmets, body armor, bows, and slings to cast stones. 15 And he made devices in Je- rusalem, invented by askillful men, to be on the towers and the corners, to shoot arrows and large stones.

of 1chief offi- cers of the mighty men of valor was two thousand six hundred. 13 And under their authority was an army of three hundred and seven thousand five hundred, that made war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy. 14 Then Uzziah prepared for them, for the entire army, shields, spears, helmets, body armor, bows, and slings to cast stones. 15 And he made devices in Je- rusalem, invented by askillful men, to be on the towers and the corners, to shoot arrows and large stones. So his fame spread far and wide, for he was marvelously helped till he became strong. The Penalty for Uzziah’s Pride 16 But awhen he was strong his heart was blifted up, to his destruc- tion, for he transgressed against the LORD his God cby entering the tem- ple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense. 17 So aAzariah the priest went in after him, and with him were eighty priests of the LORD—valiant men. 18 And they withstood King Uzziah, and said to him, “It ais not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD, but for the bpriests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have trespassed! You shall have no honor from the LORD God.” 19 Then Uzziah became furious; and he had a censer in his hand to burn incense. And while he was angry with the priests, aleprosy broke out on his forehead, before the priests in the house of the LORD, beside the incense altar. 20 And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and there, on his forehead, he was leprous; so they thrust him out of that place. Indeed he also ahurried to get out, because the LORD had struck him. 21 aKing Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death. He dwelt in an 21 aJosh. 19:38 23 a2 Chr. 21:17; 22:1, 6 24 a1 Chr. 26:15 25 a2 Kin. 14:17–22 28 1The City of David CHAPTER 26 1 1Azariah, 2 Kin. 14:21ff. 2 1Heb. Eloth 4 a2 Chr. 24:2 5 a2 Chr. 24:2 bGen. 41:15; Dan. 1:17; 10:1 c[2 Chr. 15:2; 20:20; 31:21] 1Heb. mss., LXX, Syr., Tg., Arab. fear 6 aIs. 14:29 7 a2 Chr. 21:16 8 a2 Sam. 8:2; 2 Chr. 17:11 9 a2 Kin. 14:13; 2 Chr. 25:23; Neh. 3:13, 19, 32; Zech. 14:10 10 1Or the fer- tile fields 12 1Lit. chief fathers 15 aEx. 39:3, 8 16 a[Deut. 32:15] bDeut. 8:14; 2 Chr. 25:19 c1 Kin. 13:1–4; 2 Kin. 16:12, 13 17 a1 Chr. 6:10 18 a[Num. 3:10; 16:39, 40; 18:7] bEx. 30:7, 8; Heb. 7:14 19 aLev. 13:42; Num. 12:10; 2 Kin. 5:25–27 20 aEsth. 6:12 21 a2 Kin. 15:5

2 CHRONICLES 26:22 400 bisolated house, because he was a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the LORD. Then Jotham his son was over the king’s house, judging the people of the land. 22 Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, from first to last, the prophet aIsaiah the son of Amoz wrote. 23 aSo Uzziah 1rested with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the field of burial which belonged to the kings, for they said, “He is a leper.” Then Jo- tham his son reigned in his place. Jotham Reigns in Judah 27 Jotham awas twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jeru- salem. His mother’s name was 1Jerushah the daughter of Zadok. 2 And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Uzziah had done (although he did not enter the tem- ple of the LORD). But still athe peo- ple acted corruptly. 3 He built the Upper Gate of the house of the LORD, and he built extensively on the wall of aOphel. 4 Moreover he built cities in the mountains of Judah, and in the forests he built fortresses and towers. 5 He also fought with the king of the aAmmonites and defeated them. And the people of Ammon gave him in that year one hundred talents of silver, ten thousand kors of wheat, and ten thousand of barley. The peo- ple of Ammon paid this to him in the second and third years also. 6 So Jotham became mighty, abecause he prepared his ways before the LORD his God. 7 Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all his wars and his ways, indeed they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. 8 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. 9 aSo Jotham 1rested with his fathers, and they buried him in the City of David. Then bAhaz his son reigned in his place. Ahaz Reigns in Judah 28 Ahaz awas twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and he did not do what was right in the sight of the LORD, as his father David had done. 2 For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made amolded images for bthe Baals. 3 He burned incense in athe Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and burned bhis children in the cfire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had dcast out before the children of Israel. 4 And he sacrificed and burned incense on the 1high places, on the hills, and under every green tree. Syria and Israel Defeat Judah 5 Therefore athe LORD his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria. They bdefeated him, and carried away a great multitude of them as captives, and brought them to Damascus.

se in athe Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and burned bhis children in the cfire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had dcast out before the children of Israel. 4 And he sacrificed and burned incense on the 1high places, on the hills, and under every green tree. Syria and Israel Defeat Judah 5 Therefore athe LORD his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria. They bdefeated him, and carried away a great multitude of them as captives, and brought them to Damascus. Then he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who defeated him with a great slaughter. 6 For aPekah the son of Remaliah killed one hundred and twenty thou- sand in Judah in one day, all valiant men, bbecause they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers. 7 Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, killed Maaseiah the king’s son, Azrikam the officer over the house, and Elkanah who was sec- ond to the king. 8 And the children of Israel car- ried away captive of their abrethren two hundred thousand women, sons, and daughters; and they also took away much 1spoil from them, and brought the spoil to Samaria. Israel Returns the Captives 9 But a aprophet of the LORD was there, whose name was Oded; and he went out before the army that came to Samaria, and said to them: “Look, bbecause the LORD God of your fathers was angry with Judah, He has delivered them into your hand; but you have killed them in a rage that creaches up to heaven. 10 “And now you propose to force the children of Judah and Jerusalem to be your amale and female slaves; but are you not also guilty before the LORD your God? 11 “Now hear me, therefore, and return the captives, whom you have taken captive from your brethren, afor the fierce wrath of the LORD is upon you.” 12 Then some of the heads of the children of Ephraim, Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai, stood up against those who came from the war, 13 and said to them, “You shall not bring the captives here, for we already have offended the LORD. You intend to add to our sins and to our guilt; for our guilt is great, and there is fierce wrath against Israel.” 14 So the armed men left the cap- tives and the 1spoil before the lead- ers and all the assembly. 15 Then the men awho were desig- nated by name rose up and took the captives, and from the 1spoil they clothed all who were naked among them, dressed them and gave them sandals, bgave them food and drink, 21 b[Lev. 13:46; Num. 5:2] 22 a2 Kin. 20:1; 2 Chr. 32:20, 32; Is. 1:1 23 a2 Kin. 15:7; 2 Chr. 21:20; 28:27; Is. 6:1 1Died and joined his ancestors CHAPTER 27 1 a2 Kin. 15:32–35 1Jerusha, 2 Kin. 15:33 2 a2 Kin. 15:35; Ezek. 20:44; 30:13 3 a2 Chr. 33:14; Neh. 3:26 5 a2 Chr. 26:8 6 a2 Chr. 26:5 9 a2 Kin. 15:38 bIs. 1:1; Hos. 1:1; Mic. 1:1 1Died and joined his ancestors CHAPTER 28 1 a2 Kin. 16:2–4 2 aEx. 34:17; Lev. 19:4 bJudg. 2:11 3 aJosh. 15:8 b2 Kin. 23:10 c[Lev. 18:21]; 2 Kin. 16:3; 2 Chr. 33:6 d[Lev. 18:24–30] 4 1Places for pagan wor- ship 5 a[Is. 10:5] b2 Kin. 16:5, 6; [2 Chr. 24:24]; Is. 7:1, 17 6 a2 Kin. 15:27 b[2 Chr. 29:8] 8 aDeut. 28:25, 41; 2 Chr. 11:4 1plunder 9 a2 Chr. 25:15 bPs. 69:26; [Is. 10:5; 47:6]; Ezek. 25:12, 15; 26:2; Obad. 10; [Zech. 1:15] cEzra 9:6; Rev. 18:5 10 a[Lev. 25:39, 42, 43, 46] 11 aPs. 78:49; James 2:13 14 1plunder 15 a2 Chr. 28:12 b[Prov. 25:21, 22; Luke 6:27; Rom. 12:20] 1plunder

401 2 CHRONICLES 29:16 and anointed them; and they let all the feeble ones ride on donkeys. So they brought them to their brethren at Jericho, cthe city of palm trees. Then they returned to Samaria. Assyria Refuses to Help Judah 16 aAt the same time King Ahaz sent to the 1kings of Assyria to help him. 17 For again the aEdomites had come, attacked Judah, and carried away captives. 18 aThe Philistines also had in- vaded the cities of the lowland and of the South of Judah, and had taken Beth Shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Sochoh with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages; and they dwelt there. 19 For the LORD 1brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of aIsrael, for he had bencouraged moral decline in Judah and had been con- tinually unfaithful to the LORD. 20 Also aTiglath-Pileser1 king of Assyria came to him and distressed him, and did not assist him. 21 For Ahaz took part of the trea- sures from the house of the LORD, from the house of the king, and from the leaders, and he gave it to the king of Assyria; but he did not help him. Apostasy and Death of Ahaz 22 Now in the time of his distress King Ahaz became increasingly unfaithful to the LORD. This is that King Ahaz. 23 For ahe sacrificed to the gods of Damascus which had defeated him, saying, “Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them, I will sac- rifice to them bthat they may help me.” But they were the ruin of him and of all Israel. 24 So Ahaz gathered the articles of the house of God, cut in pieces the articles of the house of God, ashut up the doors of the house of the LORD, and made for himself altars in every corner of Jerusalem. 25 And in every single city of Judah he made 1high places to burn incense to other gods, and provoked to anger the LORD God of his fathers. 26 aNow the rest of his acts and all his ways, from first to last, indeed they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. 27 So Ahaz 1rested with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, in Jerusalem; but they adid not bring him into the tombs of the kings of Israel. Then Hezekiah his son reigned in his place. Hezekiah Reigns in Judah 29 Hezekiah abecame king when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was 1Abijah the daughter of Zechariah. 2 And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father David had done. Hezekiah Cleanses the Temple 3 In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he aopened the doors of the house of the LORD and repaired them. 4 Then he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them in the East Square, 5 and said to them: “Hear me, Levites!

ty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was 1Abijah the daughter of Zechariah. 2 And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father David had done. Hezekiah Cleanses the Temple 3 In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he aopened the doors of the house of the LORD and repaired them. 4 Then he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them in the East Square, 5 and said to them: “Hear me, Levites! Now 1sanctify yourselves, asanctify the house of the LORD God of your fathers, and carry out the rubbish from the holy place. 6 “For our fathers have trespassed and done evil in the eyes of the LORD our God; they have forsaken Him, have aturned their faces away from the 1dwelling place of the LORD, and turned their backs on Him. 7 a“They have also shut up the doors of the vestibule, put out the lamps, and have not burned incense or offered burnt offerings in the holy place to the God of Israel. 8 “Therefore the awrath of the LORD fell upon Judah and Jeru- salem, and He has bgiven them up to trouble, to desolation, and to cjeer- ing, as you see with your deyes. 9 “For indeed, because of this aour fathers have fallen by the sword; and our sons, our daughters, and our wives are in captivity. 10 “Now it is in my heart to make aa covenant with the LORD God of Israel, that His fierce wrath may turn away from us. 11 “My sons, do not be negligent now, for the LORD has achosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him, and that you should minister to Him and burn incense.” 12 Then these Levites arose: aMa- hath the son of Amasai and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of the bKohathites; of the sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi and Azariah the son of Jehallelel; of the Ger- shonites, Joah the son of Zimmah and Eden the son of Joah; 13 of the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeiel; of the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah; 14 of the sons of Heman, Jehiel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel. 15 And they gathered their breth- ren, asanctified1 themselves, and went according to the command- ment of the king, at the words of the LORD, bto cleanse the house of the LORD. 16 Then the priests went into the inner part of the house of the LORD to cleanse it, and brought out all the debris that they found in the temple of the LORD to the court of the house of the LORD. And the Levites took 15 cDeut. 34:3; Judg. 1:16 16 a2 Kin. 16:7 1LXX, Syr., Vg. king (cf. v. 20) 17 a2 Chr. 21:10; Obad. 10–14 18 a2 Chr. 21:16, 17; Ezek. 16:27, 57 19 a2 Kin. 16:2; 2 Chr. 21:2 bEx. 32:25 1humbled Judah 20 a2 Kin. 15:29; 16:7–9; 1 Chr. 5:26 1Heb. Tilgath- Pilneser 23 a2 Chr. 25:14 bJer. 44:17, 18 24 a2 Chr. 29:3, 7 25 1Places for pagan wor- ship 26 a2 Kin. 16:19, 20 27 a2 Chr. 21:20; 24:25 1Died and joined his ancestors CHAPTER 29 1 a2 Kin. 18:1; 2 Chr. 32:22, 33 b2 Chr. 26:5 1Abi, 2 Kin. 18:2 3 a2 Chr. 28:24; 29:7 5 a1 Chr. 15:12; 2 Chr. 29:15, 34; 35:6 1consecrate 6 a[Is. 1:4]; Jer. 2:27; Ezek. 8:16 1Temple 7 a2 Chr. 28:24 8 a2 Chr. 24:18 b2 Chr. 28:5 c1 Kin. 9:8; Jer. 18:16; 19:8; 25:9, 18; 29:18 dDeut. 28:32 9 aDeut. 28:25; 2 Chr. 28:5–8, 17 10 a2 Chr. 15:12; 23:16 11 aNum. 3:6; 8:14; 18:2, 6; 2 Chr. 30:16, 17 12 a2 Chr. 31:13 bNum. 3:19, 20 15 a2 Chr. 29:5 b1 Chr. 23:28 1consecrated

2 CHRONICLES 29:17 402 it out and carried it to the Brook aKidron. 17 Now they began to 1sanctify on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the vestibule of the LORD. So they sanctified the house of the LORD in eight days, and on the six- teenth day of the first month they finished. 18 Then they went in to King Hezekiah and said, “We have cleansed all the house of the LORD, the altar of burnt offerings with all its articles, and the table of the showbread with all its articles. 19 “Moreover all the articles which King Ahaz in his reign had acast aside in his transgression we have prepared and 1sanctified; and there they are, before the altar of the LORD.” Hezekiah Restores Temple Worship 20 Then King Hezekiah rose early, gathered the rulers of the city, and went up to the house of the LORD. 21 And they brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats for a asin offering for the kingdom, for the sanctuary, and for Judah. Then he commanded the priests, the sons of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of the LORD. 22 So they killed the bulls, and the priests received the blood and asprinkled it on the altar. Likewise they killed the rams and sprinkled the blood on the altar. They also killed the lambs and sprinkled the blood on the altar. 23 Then they brought out the male goats for the sin offering before the king and the assembly, and they laid their ahands on them. 24 And the priests killed them; and they presented their blood on the altar as a sin offering ato make an atonement for all Israel, for the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering be made for all Israel. 25 aAnd he stationed the Levites in the house of the LORD with cym- bals, with stringed instruments, and with harps, baccording to the com- mandment of David, of cGad the king’s seer, and of Nathan the prophet; dfor thus was the com- mandment of the LORD by His prophets. 26 The Levites stood with the in- struments aof David, and the priests with bthe trumpets. 27 Then Hezekiah commanded them to offer the burnt offering on the altar. And when the burnt offer- ing began, athe song of the LORD also began, with the trumpets and with the instruments of David king of Israel. 28 So all the assembly worshiped, the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded; all this continued until the burnt offering was finished. 29 And when they had finished offering, athe king and all who were present with him bowed and wor- shiped. 30 Moreover King Hezekiah and the leaders commanded the Levites to sing praise to the LORD with the words of David and of Asaph the seer.

fer- ing began, athe song of the LORD also began, with the trumpets and with the instruments of David king of Israel. 28 So all the assembly worshiped, the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded; all this continued until the burnt offering was finished. 29 And when they had finished offering, athe king and all who were present with him bowed and wor- shiped. 30 Moreover King Hezekiah and the leaders commanded the Levites to sing praise to the LORD with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. So they sang praises with glad- ness, and they bowed their heads and worshiped. 31 Then Hezekiah answered and said, “Now that you have conse- crated yourselves to the LORD, come near, and bring sacrifices and athank offerings into the house of the LORD.” So the assembly brought in sacrifices and thank offerings, and as many as were of a bwilling heart brought burnt offerings. 32 And the number of the burnt offerings which the assembly brought was seventy bulls, one hun- dred rams, and two hundred lambs; all these were for a burnt offering to the LORD. 33 The consecrated things were six hundred bulls and three thousand sheep. 34 But the priests were too few, so that they could not skin all the burnt offerings; therefore atheir brethren the Levites helped them until the work was ended and until the other priests had 1sanctified themselves, bfor the Levites were cmore diligent in dsanctifying themselves than the priests. 35 Also the burnt offerings were in abundance, with athe fat of the peace offerings and with bthe drink offerings for every burnt offering. So the service of the house of the LORD was set in order. 36 Then Hezekiah and all the peo- ple rejoiced that God had prepared the people, since the events took place so suddenly. Hezekiah Keeps the Passover 30 And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and also wrote letters to Ephraim and Ma- nasseh, that they should come to the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, to keep the Passover to the LORD God of Israel. 2 For the king and his leaders and all the assembly in Jerusalem had agreed to keep the Passover in the second amonth. 3 For they could not keep it aat 1the regular time, bbecause a suffi- cient number of priests had not con- secrated themselves, nor had the people gathered together at Jerusa- lem. 4 And the matter pleased the king and all the assembly. 5 So they 1resolved to make a proc- lamation throughout all Israel, from 16 a2 Chr. 15:16; 30:14 17 1consecrate 19 a2 Chr. 28:24 1conse- crated 21 aLev. 4:3–14 22 aLev. 8:14, 15, 19, 24; Heb. 9:21 23 aLev. 4:15, 24; 8:14 24 aLev. 14:20 25 a1 Chr. 16:4; 25:6 b1 Chr. 23:5; 25:1; 2 Chr. 8:14 c2 Sam. 24:11 d2 Chr. 30:12 26 a1 Chr. 23:5; Amos 6:5 bNum. 10:8, 10; 1 Chr. 15:24; 16:6; 2 Chr. 5:12 27 a2 Chr. 23:18 29 a2 Chr. 20:18 31 aLev. 7:12 bEx. 35:5, 22 34 a2 Chr. 35:11 b2 Chr. 30:3 cPs. 7:10 d2 Chr. 29:5 1consecrated 35 aLev. 3:15, 16 bNum. 15:5–10 CHAPTER 30 2 aNum. 9:10, 11; 2 Chr. 30:13, 15 3 aEx. 12:6, 18 b2 Chr. 29:17, 34 1The first month, Lev. 23:5; lit. that time 5 1established a decree to

403 2 CHRONICLES 31:1 Beersheba to Dan, that they should come to keep the Passover to the LORD God of Israel at Jerusalem, since they had not done it for a long time in the prescribed manner. 6 Then the arunners went through- out all Israel and Judah with the let- ters from the king and his leaders, and spoke according to the com- mand of the king: “Children of Israel, breturn to the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel; then He will return to the remnant of you who have escaped from the hand of cthe kings of dAssyria. 7 “And do not be alike your fathers and your brethren, who trespassed against the LORD God of their fathers, so that He bgave them up to cdesolation, as you see. 8 “Now do not be astiff-necked,1 as your fathers were, but yield your- selves to the LORD; and enter His sanctuary, which He has sanctified forever, and serve the LORD your God, bthat the fierceness of His wrath may turn away from you. 9 “For if you return to the LORD, your brethren and your children will be treated with acompassion by those who lead them captive, so that they may come back to this land; for the LORD your God is bgracious and merciful, and will not turn His face from you if you creturn to Him.” 10 So the runners passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, as far as Zebulun; but athey laughed at them and mocked them. 11 Nevertheless asome from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. 12 Also athe hand of God was on Judah to give them singleness of heart to obey the command of the king and the leaders, bat the word of the LORD. 13 Now many people, a very great assembly, gathered at Jerusalem to keep the Feast of aUnleavened Bread in the second month. 14 They arose and took away the aaltars that were in Jerusalem, and they took away all the incense altars and cast them into the Brook bKidron. 15 Then they slaughtered the Pass- over lambs on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and the Levites 1were aashamed, and 2sanctified themselves, and brought the burnt offerings to the house of the LORD. 16 They stood in their aplace 1according to their custom, accord- ing to the Law of Moses the man of God; the priests sprinkled the blood received from the hand of the Levites. 17 For there were many in the assembly who had not 1sanctified themselves; atherefore the Levites had charge of the slaughter of the Passover lambs for everyone who was not clean, to sanctify them to the LORD. 18 For a multitude of the people, amany from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, byet they ate the Passover contrary to what was written.

ccord- ing to the Law of Moses the man of God; the priests sprinkled the blood received from the hand of the Levites. 17 For there were many in the assembly who had not 1sanctified themselves; atherefore the Levites had charge of the slaughter of the Passover lambs for everyone who was not clean, to sanctify them to the LORD. 18 For a multitude of the people, amany from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, byet they ate the Passover contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, “May the good LORD provide atonement for everyone 19 “who aprepares his heart to seek God, the LORD God of his fathers, though he is not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary.” 20 And the LORD listened to Heze- kiah and healed the people. 21 So the children of Israel who were present at Jerusalem kept athe Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great gladness; and the Levites and the priests praised the LORD day by day, singing to the LORD, accompanied by loud instru- ments. 22 And Hezekiah gave encourage- ment to all the Levites awho taught the good knowledge of the LORD; and they ate throughout the feast seven days, offering peace offerings and bmaking confession to the LORD God of their fathers. 23 Then the whole assembly agreed to keep the feast aanother seven days, and they kept it another seven days with gladness. 24 For Hezekiah king of Judah agave to the assembly a thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep, and the leaders gave to the assem- bly a thousand bulls and ten thou- sand sheep; and a great number of priests bsanctified1 themselves. 25 The whole assembly of Judah rejoiced, also the priests and Le- vites, all the assembly that came from Israel, the sojourners awho came from the land of Israel, and those who dwelt in Judah. 26 So there was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the time of aSolomon the son of David, king of Israel, there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem. 27 Then the priests, the Levites, arose and ablessed the people, and their voice was heard; and their prayer came up to bHis holy dwell- ing place, to heaven. The Reforms of Hezekiah 31 Now when all this was fin- ished, all Israel who were pres- ent went out to the cities of Judah and abroke the sacred pillars in pieces, cut down the wooden images, and threw down the 1high places and the altars—from all Judah, Ben- jamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh— until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the children of Israel 6 aEsth. 8:14; Job 9:25; Jer. 51:31 b[Jer. 4:1; Joel 2:13] c2 Kin. 15:19, 29 d2 Chr. 28:20 7 aEzek. 20:18 bIs. 1:9 c2 Chr. 29:8 8 aEx. 32:9; Deut. 10:16; Acts 7:51 b2 Chr. 29:10 1Rebellious 9 aPs. 106:46 b[Ex. 34:6; Mic. 7:18] c[Is. 55:7] 10 a2 Chr. 36:16 11 a2 Chr. 11:16; 30:18, 21 12 a[2 Cor. 3:5; Phil. 2:13; Heb. 13:20, 21] b2 Chr. 29:25 13 aLev. 23:6; Num. 9:11 14 a2 Chr. 28:24 b2 Chr. 29:16 15 a2 Chr. 29:34 1hum- bled them- selves 2set themselves apart 16 a2 Chr. 35:10, 15 1Or in their proper order 17 a2 Chr. 29:34 1conse- crated 18 a2 Chr. 30:1, 11, 25 bEx. 12:43–49; [Num. 9:10] 19 a2 Chr. 19:3 21 aEx. 12:15; 13:6; 1 Kin. 8:65 22 a[Deut. 33:10]; 2 Chr. 17:9; 35:3 bEzra 10:11 23 a1 Kin. 8:65; 2 Chr. 35:17, 18 24 a2 Chr. 35:7, 8 b2 Chr. 29:34 1conse- crated 25 a2 Chr. 30:11, 18 26 a2 Chr. 7:8–10 27 aNum. 6:23 bDeut. 26:15; Ps. 68:5 CHAPTER 31 1 a2 Kin. 18:4 1Places for pagan wor- ship

2 CHRONICLES 31:2 404 returned to their own cities, every man to his possession. 2 And Hezekiah appointed athe divisions of the priests and the Le- vites according to their divisions, each man according to his service, the priests and Levites bfor burnt offerings and peace offerings, to serve, to give thanks, and to praise in the gates of the 1camp of the LORD. 3 The king also appointed a 1por- tion of his apossessions2 for the burnt offerings: for the morning and evening burnt offerings, the burnt offerings for the Sabbaths and the New Moons and the set feasts, as it is written in the bLaw of the LORD. 4 Moreover he commanded the people who dwelt in Jerusalem to contribute asupport1 for the priests and the Levites, that they might de- vote themselves to bthe Law of the LORD. 5 As soon as the commandment was circulated, the children of Israel brought in abundance athe first- fruits of grain and wine, oil and honey, and of all the produce of the field; and they brought in abun- dantly the btithe of everything. 6 And the children of Israel and Judah, who dwelt in the cities of Judah, brought the tithe of oxen and sheep; also the atithe of holy things which were consecrated to the LORD their God they laid in heaps. 7 In the third month they began laying them in heaps, and they fin- ished in the seventh month. 8 And when Hezekiah and the leaders came and saw the heaps, they blessed the LORD and His peo- ple Israel. 9 Then Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps. 10 And Azariah the chief priest, from the ahouse of Zadok, answered him and said, b“Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the LORD, we have had enough to eat and have plenty left, for the LORD has blessed His peo- ple; and what is left is this great cabundance.” 11 Now Hezekiah commanded them to prepare arooms1 in the house of the LORD, and they pre- pared them. 12 Then they faithfully brought in the offerings, the tithes, and the dedicated things; aCononiah the Levite had charge of them, and Shimei his brother was the next. 13 Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath, and Benaiah were overseers under the hand of Cononiah and Shimei his brother, at the command- ment of Hezekiah the king and Azariah the aruler of the house of God. 14 Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, the keeper of the East Gate, was over the afreewill offerings to God, to dis- tribute the offerings of the LORD and the most holy things. 15 And under him were aEden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Ama- riah, and Shecaniah, his faithful assistants in bthe cities of the priests, to distribute callotments to their brethren by divisions, to the great as well as the small. 16 Besides those males from three years old and up who were written in the genealogy, they distributed to everyone who entered the house of the LORD his daily portion for the work of his service, by his division, 17 and to the priests who were written in the genealogy according to their father’s house, and to the Levites afrom twenty years old and up according to their work, by their divisions, 18 and to all who were written in the genealogy—their little ones and their wives, their sons and daugh- ters, the whole company of them— for in their faithfulness they 1sancti- fied themselves in holiness. 19 Also for the sons of Aaron the priests, who were in athe fields of the common-lands of their cities, in every single city, there were men who were bdesignated by name to distribute portions to all the males among the priests and to all who were listed by genealogies among the Levites. 20 Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, and he adid what was good and right and true before the LORD his God. 21 And in every work that he be- gan in the service of the house of God, in the law and in the com- mandment, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart.

e fields of the common-lands of their cities, in every single city, there were men who were bdesignated by name to distribute portions to all the males among the priests and to all who were listed by genealogies among the Levites. 20 Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, and he adid what was good and right and true before the LORD his God. 21 And in every work that he be- gan in the service of the house of God, in the law and in the com- mandment, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart. So he aprospered. Sennacherib Boasts Against the LORD 32 After athese deeds of faithful- ness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and entered Judah; he encamped against the fortified cities, thinking to win them over to himself. 2 And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come, and that his purpose was to make war against Jerusalem, 3 he consulted with his leaders and 1commanders to stop the water from the springs which were out- side the city; and they helped him. 4 Thus many people gathered to- gether who stopped all the asprings and the brook that ran through the land, saying, “Why should the 1kings of Assyria come and find much water?” 5 And ahe strengthened himself, bbuilt up all the wall that was bro- ken, raised it up to the towers, and built another wall outside; also he repaired 1the cMillo in the City of 2 a1 Chr. 23:6; 24:1 b1 Chr. 23:30, 31 1Temple 3 a2 Chr. 35:7 bNum. 28:1–29:40 1share 2property 4 aNum. 18:8; 2 Kin. 12:16; Neh. 13:10; Ezek. 44:29 bMal. 2:7 1the portion due 5 aEx. 22:29; Neh. 13:12 b[Lev. 27:30]; Deut. 14:28; 26:12, 13 6 a[Lev. 27:30]; Deut. 14:28 10 a1 Chr. 6:8, 9 b[Mal. 3:10] cEx. 36:5 11 a1 Kin. 6:5–8 1store- rooms 12 a2 Chr. 35:9; Neh. 13:13 13 a1 Chr. 9:11; Jer. 20:1 14 aDeut. 23:23; 2 Chr. 35:8 15 a2 Chr. 29:12 bJosh. 21:1–3, 9 c1 Chr. 9:26 17 a1 Chr. 23:24, 27 18 1conse- crated 19 aLev. 25:34; Num. 35:1–4 b2 Chr. 31:12–15 20 a2 Kin. 20:3; 22:2 21 a2 Chr. 26:5; 32:30; Ps. 1:3 CHAPTER 32 1 a2 Kin. 18:13–19:37; Is. 36:1–37:38 3 1Lit. mighty men 4 a2 Kin. 20:20 1So with MT, Vg.; Arab., LXX, Syr. king 5 aIs. 22:9, 10 b2 Kin. 25:4; 2 Chr. 25:23 c2 Sam. 5:9; 1 Kin. 9:15, 24; 11:27; 2 Kin. 12:20; 1 Chr. 11:8 1Lit. The Landfill

405 2 CHRONICLES 32:31 David, and made 2weapons and shields in abundance. 6 Then he set military captains over the people, gathered them to- gether to him in the open square of the city gate, and agave them en- couragement, saying, 7 a“Be strong and courageous; bdo not be afraid nor dismayed before the king of Assyria, nor before all the multitude that is with him; for cthere are more with us than with him. 8 “With him is an aarm of flesh; but bwith us is the LORD our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people were strengthened by the words of Hezekiah king of Judah. 9 aAfter this Sennacherib king of Assyria sent his servants to Jerusa- lem (but he and all the forces with him laid siege against Lachish), to Hezekiah king of Judah, and to all Judah who were in Jerusalem, say- ing, 10 a“Thus says Sennacherib king of Assyria: ‘In what do you trust, that you remain under siege in Jeru- salem? 11 ‘Does not Hezekiah persuade you to give yourselves over to die by famine and by thirst, saying, a“The LORD our God will deliver us from the hand of the king of Assyria”? 12 a‘Has not the same Hezekiah taken away His high places and His altars, and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, saying, “You shall wor- ship before one altar and burn incense on bit”? 13 ‘Do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of other lands? aWere the gods of the nations of those lands in any way able to deliver their lands out of my hand? 14 ‘Who was there among all the gods of those nations that my fa- thers utterly destroyed that could deliver his people from my hand, that your God should be able to deliver you from my ahand? 15 ‘Now therefore, ado not let Hezekiah deceive you or persuade you like this, and do not believe him; for no god of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people from my hand or the hand of my fathers. How much less will your God deliver you from my hand?’ ” 16 Furthermore, his servants spoke against the LORD God and against His servant Hezekiah. 17 He also wrote letters to revile the LORD God of Israel, and to speak against Him, saying, a“As the gods of the nations of other lands have not delivered their people from my hand, so the God of Hezekiah will not deliver His people from my bhand.” 18 aThen they called out with a loud voice in 1Hebrew to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to frighten them and trouble them, that they might take the city. 19 And they spoke against the God of Jerusalem, as against the gods of the people of the earth—athe work of men’s hands. Sennacherib’s Defeat and Death 20 aNow because of this King Hezekiah and bthe prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz, prayed and cried out to heaven. 21 aThen the LORD sent an angel who cut down every mighty man of valor, leader, and captain in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned bshamefaced to his own land. And when he had gone into the temple of his god, some of his own offspring struck him down with the sword there. 22 Thus the LORD saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria, and from the hand of all others, and 1guided them on every side. 23 And many brought gifts to the LORD at Jerusalem, and apresents1 to Hezekiah king of Judah, so that he was bexalted in the sight of all nations thereafter. Hezekiah Humbles Himself 24 aIn those days Hezekiah was sick and near death, and he prayed to the LORD; and He spoke to him and gave him a sign. 25 But Hezekiah adid not repay according to the favor shown him, for bhis heart was lifted up; cthere- fore wrath was looming over him and over Judah and Jerusalem. 26 aThen Hezekiah humbled him- self for the pride of his heart, he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD did not come upon them bin the days of Hezekiah. Hezekiah’s Wealth and Honor 27 Hezekiah had very great riches and honor.

nd near death, and he prayed to the LORD; and He spoke to him and gave him a sign. 25 But Hezekiah adid not repay according to the favor shown him, for bhis heart was lifted up; cthere- fore wrath was looming over him and over Judah and Jerusalem. 26 aThen Hezekiah humbled him- self for the pride of his heart, he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD did not come upon them bin the days of Hezekiah. Hezekiah’s Wealth and Honor 27 Hezekiah had very great riches and honor. And he made himself treasuries for silver, for gold, for pre- cious stones, for spices, for shields, and for all kinds of desirable items; 28 storehouses for the harvest of grain, wine, and oil; and stalls for all kinds of livestock, and 1folds for flocks. 29 Moreover he provided cities for himself, and possessions of flocks and herds in abundance; for aGod had given him very much property. 30 aThis same Hezekiah also stopped the water outlet of Upper Gihon, and 1brought the water by tunnel to the west side of the City of David. Hezekiah bprospered in all his works. 31 However, regarding the ambas- 5 2javelins 6 a2 Chr. 30:22; Is. 40:2 7 a[Deut. 31:6] b2 Chr. 20:15 c2 Kin. 6:16; [Rom. 8:31] 8 a[Jer. 17:5; 1 John 4:4] bEx. 14:13; [1 Sam. 17:45–47]; 2 Chr. 13:12; 20:17; [Rom. 8:31] 9 a2 Kin. 18:17 10 a2 Kin. 18:19 11 a2 Kin. 18:30 12 a2 Kin. 18:22 b2 Chr. 31:1, 2 13 a2 Kin. 18:33–35 14 a[Is. 10:5–12] 15 a2 Kin. 18:29 17 a2 Kin. 19:9; [1 Cor. 8:5, 6] b2 Kin. 19:12; Dan. 3:15 18 a2 Kin. 18:28; Ps. 59:6 1Lit. Judean 19 a2 Kin. 19:18; [Ps. 96:5; 115:4–8] 20 a2 Kin. 19:15 b2 Kin. 19:2 21 a2 Kin. 19:35; Is. 10:12–19; Zech. 14:3 bPs. 44:7 22 1LXX gave them rest; Vg. gave them treasures 23 a2 Sam. 8:10; 2 Chr. 17:5; 26:8; Ps. 45:12 b2 Chr. 1:1 1Lit. pre- cious things 24 a2 Kin. 20:1–11; Is. 38:1–8 25 aPs. 116:12 b2 Chr. 26:16; [Hab. 2:4] c2 Chr. 24:18 26 aJer. 26:18, 19 b2 Kin. 20:19 28 1So with LXX, Vg.; Arab., Syr. omit folds for flocks; MT flocks for sheepfolds 29 a1 Chr. 29:12 30 aIs. 22:9–11 b2 Chr. 31:21 1Lit. brought it straight to (cf. 2 Kin. 20:20)

2 CHRONICLES 32:32 406 sadors of the princes of Babylon, whom they asent to him to inquire about the wonder that was done in the land, God withdrew from him, in order to btest him, that He might know all that was in his heart. Death of Hezekiah 32 Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and his goodness, indeed they are written in athe vision of Isa- iah the prophet, the son of Amoz, and in the bbook of the kings of Judah and Israel. 33 aSo Hezekiah 1rested with his fathers, and they buried him in the upper tombs of the sons of David; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bhonored him at his death. Then Manasseh his son reigned in his place. Manasseh Reigns in Judah 33 Manasseh awas twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. 2 But he did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the aabomina- tions of the nations whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel. 3 For he rebuilt the 1high places which Hezekiah his father had abro- ken down; he raised up altars for the Baals, and bmade wooden im- ages; and he worshiped call 2the host of heaven and served them. 4 He also built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, a“In Jerusalem shall My name be forever.” 5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven ain the two courts of the house of the LORD. 6 aAlso he caused his sons to pass through the fire in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom; he practiced bsoothsaying, used witchcraft and sorcery, and cconsulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger. 7 aHe even set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the 1house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, b“In this house and in Jeru- salem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever; 8 a“and I will not again remove the foot of Israel from the land which I have appointed for your fathers—only if they are careful to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses.” 9 So Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the LORD had destroyed before the chil- dren of Israel. Manasseh Restored After Repentance 10 And the LORD spoke to Ma- nasseh and his people, but they would not 1listen. 11 aTherefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh with 1hooks, bbound him with 2bronze fetters, and carried him off to Babylon. 12 Now when he was in affliction, he implored the LORD his God, and ahumbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, 13 and prayed to Him; and He are- ceived his entreaty, heard his suppli- cation, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh bknew that the LORD was God. 14 After this he built a wall outside the City of David on the west side of aGihon, in the valley, as far as the entrance of the Fish Gate; and it benclosed Ophel, and he raised it to a very great height.

ow when he was in affliction, he implored the LORD his God, and ahumbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, 13 and prayed to Him; and He are- ceived his entreaty, heard his suppli- cation, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh bknew that the LORD was God. 14 After this he built a wall outside the City of David on the west side of aGihon, in the valley, as far as the entrance of the Fish Gate; and it benclosed Ophel, and he raised it to a very great height. Then he put mil- itary captains in all the fortified cities of Judah. 15 He took away athe foreign gods and the idol from the house of the LORD, and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of the LORD and in Jerusalem; and he cast them out of the city. 16 He also repaired the altar of the LORD, sacrificed peace offerings and athank offerings on it, and com- manded Judah to serve the LORD God of Israel. 17 aNevertheless the people still sacrificed on the 1high places, but only to the LORD their God. Death of Manasseh 18 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, his prayer to his God, and the words of athe seers who spoke to him in the name of the LORD God of Israel, indeed they are written in the 1book of the kings of Israel. 19 Also his prayer and how God received his entreaty, and all his sin and trespass, and the sites where he built 1high places and set up wooden images and carved images, before he was humbled, indeed they are writ- ten among the sayings of 2Hozai. 20 aSo Manasseh rested with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house. Then his son Amon reigned in his place. Amon’s Reign and Death 21 aAmon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. 22 But he did evil in the sight of the 31 aIs. 39:1 b[Deut. 8:2, 16] 32 aIs. 36—39 b2 Kin. 18—20 33 a2 Kin. 20:21 bProv. 10:7 1Died and joined his ancestors CHAPTER 33 1 a2 Kin. 21:1–9 2 a2 Chr. 28:3 3 a2 Kin. 18:4 bDeut. 16:21 cDeut. 17:3 1Places for pagan wor- ship 2The gods of the Assyrians 4 a2 Chr. 6:6; 7:16 5 a2 Chr. 4:9 6 a[Lev. 18:21] bDeut. 18:11 c2 Kin. 21:6 7 a2 Chr. 25:14 bPs. 132:14 1Temple 8 a2 Sam. 7:10 10 1obey 11 aDeut. 28:36 b2 Chr. 36:6 1Nose hooks, 2 Kin. 19:28 2chains 12 a2 Chr. 7:14; 32:26 13 aEzra 8:23 bDan. 4:25 14 a1 Kin. 1:33 b2 Chr. 27:3 15 a2 Chr. 33:3, 5, 7 16 aLev. 7:12 17 a2 Chr. 32:12 1Places for pagan worship 18 a1 Sam. 9:9 1Lit. words 19 1Places for pagan wor- ship 2LXX the seers 20 a2 Kin. 21:18 21 a2 Kin. 21: 19–24

407 2 CHRONICLES 34:22 LORD, as his father Manasseh had done; for Amon sacrificed to all the carved images which his father Ma- nasseh had made, and served them. 23 And he did not humble himself before the LORD, aas his father Ma- nasseh had humbled himself; but Amon trespassed more and more. 24 aThen his servants conspired against him, and bkilled him in his own house. 25 But the people of the land exe- cuted all those who had conspired against King Amon. Then the peo- ple of the land made his son Josiah king in his place. Josiah Reigns in Judah 34 Josiah awas eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusa- lem. 2 And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 3 For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was still ayoung, he began to bseek the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he began cto purge Judah and Jerusa- lem dof the 1high places, the wooden images, the carved images, and the molded images. 4 aThey broke down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and the incense altars which were above them he cut down; and the wooden images, the carved images, and the molded images he broke in pieces, and made dust of them band scat- tered it on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. 5 He also aburned the bones of the priests on their baltars, and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. 6 And so he did in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, as far as Naphtali and all around, with 1axes. 7 When he had broken down the altars and the wooden images, had abeaten the carved images into pow- der, and cut down all the incense altars throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem. Hilkiah Finds the Book of the Law 8 aIn the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land and the 1temple, he sent bShaphan the son of Azaliah, Maaseiah the cgovernor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the LORD his God. 9 When they came to Hilkiah the high priest, they delivered athe money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites who kept the doors had gathered from the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim, from all the bremnant of Israel, from all Judah and Benjamin, and which they had brought back to Jerusalem. 10 Then they put it in the hand of the foremen who had the oversight of the house of the LORD; and they gave it to the workmen who worked in the house of the LORD, to repair and restore the house. 11 They gave it to the craftsmen and builders to buy hewn stone and timber for beams, and to floor the houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed. 12 And the men did the work faith- fully. Their overseers were Jahath and Obadiah the Levites, of the sons of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to supervise. Others of the Levites, all of whom were skill- ful with instruments of music, 13 were aover the burden bearers and were overseers of all who did work in any kind of service.

to the craftsmen and builders to buy hewn stone and timber for beams, and to floor the houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed. 12 And the men did the work faith- fully. Their overseers were Jahath and Obadiah the Levites, of the sons of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to supervise. Others of the Levites, all of whom were skill- ful with instruments of music, 13 were aover the burden bearers and were overseers of all who did work in any kind of service. bAnd some of the Levites were scribes, officers, and gatekeepers. 14 Now when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the LORD, Hilkiah the priest afound the Book of the Law of the LORD given by Moses. 15 Then Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD.” And Hilkiah gave the abook to Shaphan. 16 So Shaphan carried the book to the king, bringing the king word, saying, “All that was committed to your servants they are doing. 17 “And they have 1gathered the money that was found in the house of the LORD, and have delivered it into the hand of the overseers and the workmen.” 18 Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king. 19 Thus it happened, when the king heard the words of the Law, that he tore his clothes. 20 Then the king commanded Hil- kiah, aAhikam the son of Shaphan, 1Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king, saying, 21 “Go, inquire of the LORD for me, and for those who are left in Israel and Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found; for great is the wrath of the LORD that is poured out on us, because our fathers have not akept the word of the LORD, to do according to all that is written in this book.” 22 So Hilkiah and those the king had appointed went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of 1Tokhath, the son of 2Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe. (She dwelt in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter.) 23 a2 Chr. 33:12, 19 24 a2 Kin. 21:23, 24; 2 Chr. 24:25 b2 Chr. 25:27 CHAPTER 34 1 a2 Kin. 22:1, 2; Jer. 1:2; 3:6 3 aEccl. 12:1 b2 Chr. 15:2; [Prov. 8:17] c1 Kin. 13:2 d2 Chr. 33:17–19, 22 1Places for pagan wor- ship 4 aLev. 26:30; 2 Kin. 23:4 b2 Kin. 23:6 5 a1 Kin. 13:2 b2 Kin. 23:20 6 1Lit. swords 7 aDeut. 9:21 8 a2 Kin. 22:3–20 b2 Kin. 25:22 c2 Chr. 18:25 1Lit. house 9 a2 Kin. 12:4 b2 Chr. 30:6 13 a2 Chr. 8:10 b1 Chr. 23:4, 5 14 a2 Kin. 22:8 15 aDeut. 31:24, 26 17 1Lit. poured out 20 aJer. 26:24 1Achbor the son of Micha- iah, 2 Kin. 22:12 21 a2 Kin. 17:15–19 22 1Tikvah, 2 Kin. 22:14 2Harhas, 2 Kin. 22:14

2 CHRONICLES 34:23 408 And they spoke to her to that effect. 23 Then she answered them, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘Tell the man who sent you to Me, 24 “Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will abring calamity on this place and on its inhabitants, all the curses that are written in the bbook which they have read before the king of Judah, 25 ‘because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands. Therefore My wrath will be poured out on this place, and not be quenched.’ ” ’ 26 “But as for the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, in this manner you shall speak to him, ‘Thus says the LORD God of Israel: “Concerning the words which you have heard— 27 “because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants, and you humbled your- self before Me, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you,” says the aLORD. 28 “Surely I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace; and your eyes shall not see all the calamity which I will bring on this place and its inhabitants.” ’ ” So they brought back word to the king. Josiah Restores True Worship 29 aThen the king sent and gath- ered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 30 The king went up to the house of the LORD, with all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jeru- salem—the priests and the Levites, and all the people, great and small. And he aread in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant which had been found in the house of the LORD. 31 Then the king astood in bhis place and made a ccovenant before the LORD, to follow the LORD, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book. 32 And he made all who were pres- ent in Jerusalem and Benjamin take a stand. So the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. 33 Thus Josiah removed all the aabominations from all the country that belonged to the children of Israel, and made all who were pres- ent in Israel 1diligently serve the LORD their God. bAll his days they did not depart from following the LORD God of their fathers. Josiah Keeps the Passover 35 Now aJosiah kept a Passover to the LORD in Jerusalem, and they slaughtered the Passover lambs on the bfourteenth day of the first month. 2 And he set the priests in their aduties and bencouraged them for the service of the house of the LORD. 3 Then he said to the Levites awho taught all Israel, who were holy to the LORD: b“Put the holy ark cin the house which Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, built. dIt shall no longer be a burden on your shoulders. Now serve the LORD your God and His people Israel. 4 “Prepare yourselves aaccording to your fathers’ 1houses, according to your divisions, following the bwritten instruction of David king of Israel and the cwritten instruction of Solomon his son. 5 “And astand in the holy place according to the divisions of the fathers’ houses of your brethren the lay people, and according to the division of the father’s house of the Levites. 6 “So slaughter the Passover offerings, aconsecrate yourselves, and prepare them for your breth- ren, that they may do according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses.” 7 Then Josiah agave the lay peo- ple lambs and young goats from the flock, all for Passover offerings for all who were present, to the number of thirty thousand, as well as three thousand cattle; these were from the king’s bpossessions. 8 And his aleaders gave willingly to the people, to the priests, and to the Levites.

s. 6 “So slaughter the Passover offerings, aconsecrate yourselves, and prepare them for your breth- ren, that they may do according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses.” 7 Then Josiah agave the lay peo- ple lambs and young goats from the flock, all for Passover offerings for all who were present, to the number of thirty thousand, as well as three thousand cattle; these were from the king’s bpossessions. 8 And his aleaders gave willingly to the people, to the priests, and to the Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, rulers of the house of God, gave to the priests for the Passover offerings two thousand six hundred from the flock, and three hundred cattle. 9 Also aConaniah, his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, and Hash- abiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, chief of the Levites, gave to the Levites for Passover offerings five thousand from the flock and five hundred cat- tle. 10 So the service was prepared, and the priests astood in their places, and the bLevites in their divisions, according to the king’s command. 11 And they slaughtered the Pass- over offerings; and the priests asprinkled the blood with their hands, while the Levites bskinned the animals. 12 Then they removed the burnt offerings that they might give them to the divisions of the fathers’ houses of the lay people, to offer to the LORD, as it is written ain the Book of Moses. And so they did with the cattle. 13 Also they aroasted the Passover 24 a2 Chr. 36: 14–20 bDeut. 28:15–68 27 a2 Kin. 22:19; 2 Chr. 12:7; 30:6; 33:12, 13 29 a2 Kin. 23:1–3 30 aNeh. 8:1–3 31 a2 Chr. 6:13 b2 Kin. 11:14; 23:3 c2 Chr. 23:16; 29:10 33 a1 Kin. 11:5; 2 Chr. 33:2 bJer. 3:10 1Lit. serve to serve CHAPTER 35 1 a2 Kin. 23:21, 22 bEx. 12:6; Num. 9:3; Ezra 6:19 2 a2 Chr. 23:18; Ezra 6:18 b2 Chr. 29:5–15 3 aDeut. 33:10; 2 Chr. 17:8, 9; Neh. 8:7 b2 Chr. 34:14 cEx. 40:21; 2 Chr. 5:7 d1 Chr. 23:26 4 a1 Chr. 9:10–13 b1 Chr. 23—26 c2 Chr. 8:14 1households 5 aPs. 134:1 6 a2 Chr. 29:5, 15 7 a2 Chr. 30:24 b2 Chr. 31:3 8 aNum. 7:2 9 a2 Chr. 31:12 10 aEzra 6:18; Heb. 9:6 b2 Chr. 5:12; 7:6; 8:14, 15; 13:10; 29:25–34 11 aEx. 12:22; 2 Chr. 29:22 b2 Chr. 29:34 12 aLev. 3:3; Ezra 6:18 13 aEx. 12:8, 9; Deut. 16:7

409 2 CHRONICLES 36:10 offerings with fire according to the ordinance; but the other holy offer- ings they bboiled in pots, in caldrons, and in pans, and divided them quickly among all the lay people. 14 Then afterward they prepared portions for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the sons of Aaron, were busy in offering burnt offerings and fat until night; therefore the Levites prepared por- tions for themselves and for the priests, the sons of Aaron. 15 And the singers, the sons of Asaph, were in their places, accord- ing to the acommand of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer. Also the gatekeepers bwere at each gate; they did not have to leave their position, because their brethren the Levites prepared portions for them. 16 So all the service of the LORD was prepared the same day, to keep the Passover and to offer burnt offer- ings on the altar of the LORD, accord- ing to the command of King Josiah. 17 And the children of Israel who were present kept the Passover at that time, and the Feast of aUnleav- ened Bread for seven days. 18 aThere had been no Passover kept in Israel like that since the days of Samuel the prophet; and none of the kings of Israel had kept such a Passover as Josiah kept, with the priests and the Levites, all Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 19 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah this Passover was kept. Josiah Dies in Battle 20 aAfter all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against bCar- chemish by the Euphrates; and Josiah went out against him. 21 But he sent messengers to him, saying, “What have I to do with you, king of Judah? I have not come against you this day, but against the house with which I have war; for God commanded me to make haste. Refrain from meddling with God, who is with me, lest He destroy you.” 22 Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him, but adis- guised himself so that he might fight with him, and did not heed the words of Necho from the mouth of God. So he came to fight in the Val- ley of Megiddo. 23 And the archers shot King Josiah; and the king said to his ser- vants, “Take me away, for I am severely wounded.” 24 aHis servants therefore took him out of that chariot and put him in the second chariot that he had, and they brought him to Jerusalem. So he died, and was buried in one of the tombs of his fathers. And ball Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. 25 Jeremiah also alamented for bJo- siah. And to this day call the singing men and the singing women speak of Josiah in their lamentations. dThey made it a custom in Israel; and indeed they are written in the Laments. 26 Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and his goodness, according to what was written in the Law of the LORD, 27 and his deeds from first to last, indeed they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. The Reign and Captivity of Jehoahaz 36 Then athe people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and made him king in his fa- ther’s place in Jerusalem. 2 1Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusa- lem. 3 Now the king of Egypt deposed him at Jerusalem; and he imposed on the land a tribute of one hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 4 Then the king of Egypt made 1Jehoahaz’s brother Eliakim king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. And Necho took 2Jehoahaz his brother and carried him off to Egypt. The Reign and Captivity of Jehoiakim 5 aJehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusa- lem.

ree months in Jerusa- lem. 3 Now the king of Egypt deposed him at Jerusalem; and he imposed on the land a tribute of one hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 4 Then the king of Egypt made 1Jehoahaz’s brother Eliakim king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. And Necho took 2Jehoahaz his brother and carried him off to Egypt. The Reign and Captivity of Jehoiakim 5 aJehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusa- lem. And he did bevil in the sight of the LORD his God. 6 aNebuchadnezzar king of Bab- ylon came up against him, and bound him in 1bronze fetters to bcarry him off to Babylon. 7 aNebuchadnezzar also carried off some of the articles from the house of the LORD to Babylon, and put them in his temple at Babylon. 8 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, the abominations which he did, and what was found against him, indeed they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. Then 1Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place. The Reign and Captivity of Jehoiachin 9 aJehoiachin was 1eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months and ten days. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD. 10 At the turn of the year aKing Nebuchadnezzar summoned him and took him to Babylon, bwith the costly articles from the house of the 13 b1 Sam. 2:13–15 15 a1 Chr. 25:1–6 b1 Chr. 9:17, 18 17 aEx. 12:15; 13:6; 2 Chr. 30:21 18 a2 Kin. 23:22, 23 20 a2 Kin. 23:29 bIs. 10:9; Jer. 46:2 22 a1 Kin. 22:30; 2 Chr. 18:29 24 a2 Kin. 23:30 b1 Kin. 14:18; Zech. 12:11 25 aLam. 4:20 bJer. 22:10, 11 cMatt. 9:23 dJer. 22:20 CHAPTER 36 1 a2 Kin. 23:30–34 2 1MT Joahaz 4 1Lit. his 2MT Joahaz 5 a2 Kin. 23:36, 37; 1 Chr. 3:15 b[Jer. 22:13–19] 6 a2 Kin. 24:1; Hab. 1:6 b[Deut. 29:22–29]; 2 Chr. 33:11; Jer. 36:30 1chains 7 a2 Kin. 24:13; Dan. 1:1, 2 8 1Or Jeconiah 9 a2 Kin. 24:8–17 1Heb. mss., LXX, Syr. eighteen and 2 Kin. 24:8 10 a2 Kin. 24:10–17 bDan. 1:1, 2

2 CHRONICLES 36:11 410 LORD, and made cZedekiah,1 2Je- hoiakim’s brother, king over Judah and Jerusalem. Zedekiah Reigns in Judah 11 aZedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusa- lem. 12 He did evil in the sight of the LORD his God, and adid not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the LORD. 13 And he also arebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear an oath by God; but he bstiffened his neck and hard- ened his heart against turning to the LORD God of Israel. 14 Moreover all the leaders of the priests and the people transgressed more and more, according to all the abominations of the nations, and defiled the house of the LORD which He had consecrated in Jerusalem. The Fall of Jerusalem 15 aAnd the LORD God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had com- passion on His people and on His dwelling place. 16 But athey mocked the messen- gers of God, bdespised His words, and cscoffed at His prophets, until the dwrath of the LORD arose against His people, till there was no remedy. 17 aTherefore He brought against them the king of the Chaldeans, who bkilled their young men with the sword in the house of their sanc- tuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, on the aged or the weak; He gave them all into his hand. 18 aAnd all the articles from the house of God, great and small, the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king and of his leaders, all these he took to Babylon. 19 aThen they burned the house of God, broke down the wall of Jerusa- lem, burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all its precious pos- sessions. 20 And athose who escaped from the sword he carried away to Bab- ylon, bwhere they became servants to him and his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, 21 to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of aJeremiah, until the land bhad enjoyed her Sabbaths. As long as she lay desolate cshe kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years. The Proclamation of Cyrus 22 aNow in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of bJeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of cCyrus king of Per- sia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying, 23 aThus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the LORD God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a 1house at Jerusalem which is in Judah. Who is among you of all His people? May the LORD his God be with him, and let him go up! 10 cJer. 37:1 1Or Mattani- ah 2Lit. his brother, 2 Kin. 24:17 11 aJer. 52:1 12 aJer. 21:3–7; 44:10 13 aEzek. 17:15 b2 Kin. 17:14 15 aJer. 7:13; 25:3, 4 16 aJer. 5:12, 13 b[Prov. 1:24–32] cJer. 38:6 dPs. 79:5 17 a2 Kin. 25:1 bPs. 74:20 18 a2 Kin. 25:13–15 19 a2 Kin. 25:9 20 a2 Kin. 25:11 bJer. 17:4; 27:7 21 aJer. 25:9–12; 27:6–8; 29:10 bLev. 26:34–43 cLev. 25:4, 5 22 aEzra 1:1–3 bJer. 29:10 cIs. 44:28; 45:1 23 aEzra 1:2, 3 1Temple The Book of EZRA EZRA continues the Old Testament narrative of Second Chronicles by showing how God fulfills His promise to return His people to the Land of Promise after seventy years of exile. Israel’s “second exodus,” this one from Babylon, is less impressive than the return from Egypt because only a remnant chooses to leave Babylon. Ezra relates the story of two returns from Babylon—the first led by Zerubbabel to rebuild the temple (1—6), and the second under the leadership of Ezra to rebuild the spiritual condition of the people (7—10). Sandwiched between these two accounts is a gap of nearly six decades, during which Esther lives and rules as queen in Persia. Ezra is the Aramaic form of the Hebrew word ezer, “help,” and perhaps means “Yahweh helps.” Ezra and Nehemiah were originally bound together as one book

411 EZRA 2:21 End of the Babylonian Captivity NOW in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD aby the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, bso that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying, 2 Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the LORD God of heaven has given me. And He has acommanded me to build Him a 1house at Jerusalem which is in Judah. 3 Who is among you of all His people? May his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel a(He is God), which is in Jerusalem. 4 And whoever is left in any place where he dwells, let the men of his place help him with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, besides the freewill offerings for the house of God which is in Jerusalem. 5 Then the heads of the fathers’ houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, with all whose spirits aGod 1had moved, arose to go up and build the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem. 6 And all those who were around them 1encouraged them with arti- cles of silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with precious things, besides all that was awill- ingly offered. 7 aKing Cyrus also brought out the articles of the house of the LORD, bwhich Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem and put in the 1temple of his gods; 8 and Cyrus king of Persia brought them out by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and counted them out to aSheshbazzar the prince of Ju- dah. 9 This is the number of them: thirty gold platters, one thousand silver platters, twenty-nine knives, 10 thirty gold basins, four hundred and ten silver basins of a similar kind, and one thousand other arti- cles. 11 All the articles of gold and silver were five thousand four hundred. All these Sheshbazzar took with the captives who were brought from Babylon to Jerusalem. The Captives Who Returned to Jerusalem 2 Now athese are the people of the province who came back from the captivity, of those who had been carried away, bwhom Nebuchadnez- zar the king of Babylon had carried away to Babylon, and who returned to Jerusalem and Judah, everyone to his own city. 2 Those who came with Zerubba- bel were Jeshua, Nehemiah, 1Se- raiah, 2Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, 3Mispar, Bigvai, 4Rehum, and Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel: 3 the people of Parosh, two thousand one hundred and seventy-two; 4 the people of Shephatiah, three hundred and seventy-two; 5 the people of Arah, aseven hundred and seventy-five; 6 the people of aPahath-Moab, of the people of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand eight hundred and twelve; 7 the people of Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four; 8 the people of Zattu, nine hundred and forty-five; 9 the people of Zaccai, seven hundred and sixty; 10 the people of 1Bani, six hundred and forty-two; 11 the people of Bebai, six hundred and twenty-three; 12 the people of Azgad, one thousand two hundred and twenty-two; 13 the people of Adonikam, six hundred and sixty-six; 14 the people of Bigvai, two thousand and fifty-six; 15 the people of Adin, four hundred and fifty-four; 16 the people of Ater of Hezekiah, ninety-eight; 17 the people of Bezai, three hundred and twenty-three; 18 the people of 1Jorah, one hundred and twelve; 19 the people of Hashum, two hundred and twenty-three; 20 the people of 1Gibbar, ninety- five; 21 the people of Bethlehem, one hundred and twenty-three; CHAPTER 1 1 a2 Chr. 36:22, 23; Jer. 25:12; 29:10 bEzra 5:13, 14; Is. 44:28–45:13 2 aIs. 44:28; 45:1, 13 1Tem- ple 3 a1 Kin. 8:23; 18:39; Is. 37:16; Dan. 6:26 5 a[Phil. 2:13] 1stirred up 6 aEzra 2:68 1Lit. strength- ened their hands 7 aEzra 5:14; 6:5; Dan. 1:2; 5:2, 3 b2 Kin. 24:13; 2 Chr. 36:7, 18 1Lit. house 8 aEzra 5:14, 16 CHAPTER 2 1 aNeh. 7:6–73; Jer. 32:15; 50:5; Ezek. 14:22 b2 Kin. 24:14–16; 25:11; 2 Chr. 36:20 2 1Azariah, Neh. 7:7 2Raamiah, Neh.

f Bethlehem, one hundred and twenty-three; CHAPTER 1 1 a2 Chr. 36:22, 23; Jer. 25:12; 29:10 bEzra 5:13, 14; Is. 44:28–45:13 2 aIs. 44:28; 45:1, 13 1Tem- ple 3 a1 Kin. 8:23; 18:39; Is. 37:16; Dan. 6:26 5 a[Phil. 2:13] 1stirred up 6 aEzra 2:68 1Lit. strength- ened their hands 7 aEzra 5:14; 6:5; Dan. 1:2; 5:2, 3 b2 Kin. 24:13; 2 Chr. 36:7, 18 1Lit. house 8 aEzra 5:14, 16 CHAPTER 2 1 aNeh. 7:6–73; Jer. 32:15; 50:5; Ezek. 14:22 b2 Kin. 24:14–16; 25:11; 2 Chr. 36:20 2 1Azariah, Neh. 7:7 2Raamiah, Neh. 7:7 3Mis- pereth, Neh. 7:7 4Nehum, Neh. 7:7 5 aNeh. 7:10 6 aNeh. 7:11 10 1Binnui, Neh. 7:15 18 1Hariph, Neh. 7:24 20 1Gibeon, Neh. 7:25 because Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah were viewed as one continuous history. The Septuagint, a Greek-language version of the Old Testament translated in the third century B.C., calls Ezra–Nehemiah, Esdras Deuteron, “Second Esdras.” First Esdras is the name of the apocryphal book of Esdras. The Latin title is Liber Primus Esdrae, “First Book of Ezra.” In the Latin Bible, Ezra is called First Ezra and Nehemiah is called Second Ezra.

EZRA 2:22 412 22 the men of Netophah, fifty-six; 23 the men of Anathoth, one hundred and twenty-eight; 24 the people of 1Azmaveth, forty- two; 25 the people of 1Kirjath Arim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred and forty-three; 26 the people of Ramah and Geba, six hundred and twenty-one; 27 the men of Michmas, one hundred and twenty-two; 28 the men of Bethel and Ai, two hundred and twenty-three; 29 the people of Nebo, fifty-two; 30 the people of Magbish, one hundred and fifty-six; 31 the people of the other aElam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four; 32 the people of Harim, three hundred and twenty; 33 the people of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred and twenty-five; 34 the people of Jericho, three hundred and forty-five; 35 the people of Senaah, three thousand six hundred and thirty. 36 The priests: the sons of aJe- daiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred and seventy-three; 37 the sons of aImmer, one thousand and fifty-two; 38 the sons of aPashhur, one thousand two hundred and forty-seven; 39 the sons of aHarim, one thousand and seventeen. 40 The Levites: the sons of Jeshua and Kadmiel, of the sons of 1Hodaviah, seventy-four. 41 The singers: the sons of Asaph, one hundred and twenty-eight. 42 The sons of the gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, and the sons of Shobai, one hundred and thirty-nine in all. 43 aThe Nethinim: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth, 44 the sons of Keros, the sons of 1Siaha, the sons of Padon, 45 the sons of Lebanah, the sons of Hagabah, the sons of Akkub, 46 the sons of Hagab, the sons of Shalmai, the sons of Hanan, 47 the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar, the sons of Reaiah, 48 the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda, the sons of Gazzam, 49 the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah, the sons of Besai, 50 the sons of Asnah, the sons of Meunim, the sons of 1Nephusim, 51 the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur, 52 the sons of 1Bazluth, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha, 53 the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Tamah, 54 the sons of Neziah, and the sons of Hatipha. 55 The sons of aSolomon’s servants: the sons of Sotai, the sons of bSophereth, the sons of 1Peruda, 56 the sons of Jaala, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel, 57 the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth of Zebaim, and the sons of 1Ami. 58 All the aNethinim and the children of bSolomon’s servants were three hundred and ninety- two. 59 And these were the ones who came up from Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Cherub, 1Addan, and Immer; but they could not 2identify their father’s house or their 3genealogy, whether they were of Israel: 60 the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, and the sons of Nekoda, six hundred and fifty-two; 61 and of the sons of the priests: the sons of aHabaiah, the sons of 1Koz, and the sons of bBarzillai, who took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called by their name. 62 These sought their listing among those who were registered by genealogy, but they were not found; atherefore they were excluded from the priesthood as defiled. 63 And the 1governor said to them that they ashould not eat of the most holy things till a priest could consult with the bUrim and Thummim. 64 aThe whole assembly together was forty-two thousand three hun- dred and sixty, 65 besides their male and female servants, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred and thirty- seven; and they had two hundred men and women singers. 66 Their horses were seven hun- dred and thirty-six, their mules two hundred and forty-five, 67 their camels four hundred and thirty-five, and their donkeys six thousand seven hundred and twenty. 68 aSome of the heads of the fa- thers’ houses, when they came to the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem, offered freely for the house of God, to erect it in its place: 69 According to their ability, they gave to the atreasury for the work

rty- seven; and they had two hundred men and women singers. 66 Their horses were seven hun- dred and thirty-six, their mules two hundred and forty-five, 67 their camels four hundred and thirty-five, and their donkeys six thousand seven hundred and twenty. 68 aSome of the heads of the fa- thers’ houses, when they came to the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem, offered freely for the house of God, to erect it in its place: 69 According to their ability, they gave to the atreasury for the work sixty-one thousand gold drachmas, five thousand minas of silver, and one hundred priestly garments. 70 aSo the priests and the Levites, 24 1Beth Azmaveth, Neh. 7:28 25 1Kirjath Jearim, Neh. 7:29 31 aEzra 2:7 36 a1 Chr. 24:7–18 37 a1 Chr. 24:14 38 a1 Chr. 9:12 39 a1 Chr. 24:8 40 1Judah, Ezra 3:9, or Hodevah, Neh. 7:43 43 a1 Chr. 9:2; Ezra 7:7 44 1Sia, Neh. 7:47 50 1Nephishe- sim, Neh. 7:52 52 1Bazlith, Neh. 7:54 55 a1 Kin. 9:21 bNeh. 7:57–60 1Perida, Neh. 7:57 57 1Amon, Neh. 7:59 58 aJosh. 9:21, 27; 1 Chr. 9:2 b1 Kin. 9:21 59 1Or Addon, Neh. 7:61 2Lit. tell 3Lit. seed 61 aNeh. 7:63 b2 Sam. 17:27; 1 Kin. 2:7 1Or Hakkoz 62 aNum. 3:10 63 aLev. 22:2, 10, 15, 16 bEx. 28:30; Num. 27:21 1Heb. Tirshatha 64 aNeh. 7:66; Is. 10:22 68 aEzra 1:6; 3:5; Neh. 7:70 69 a1 Chr. 26:20; Ezra 8:25–35 70 aEzra 6:16, 17; Neh. 7:73

413 EZRA 4:7 some of the people, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the Nethinim, dwelt in their cities, and all Israel in their cities. Worship Restored at Jerusalem 3 And when the aseventh month had come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered together as one man to Jerusalem. 2 Then 1Jeshua the son of aJoza- dak2 and his brethren the priests, band Zerubbabel the son of cSheal- tiel and his brethren, arose and built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is dwritten in the Law of Moses the man of God. 3 Though fear had come upon them because of the people of those countries, they set the altar on its 1bases; and they offered aburnt offer- ings on it to the LORD, both the morn- ing and evening burnt offerings. 4 aThey also kept the Feast of Tabernacles, bas it is written, and coffered the daily burnt offerings in the number required by ordinance for each day. 5 Afterwards they offered the aregular burnt offering, and those for New Moons and for all the appointed feasts of the LORD that were consecrated, and those of everyone who willingly offered a freewill offering to the LORD. 6 From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD, although the foundation of the temple of the LORD had not been laid. 7 They also gave money to the masons and the carpenters, and afood, drink, and oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre to bring cedar logs from Lebanon to the sea, to bJoppa, caccording to the permission which they had from Cyrus king of Persia. Restoration of the Temple Begins 8 Now in the second month of the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, aZerubba- bel the son of Shealtiel, Jeshua the son of 1Jozadak, and the rest of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all those who had come out of the captivity to Jerusalem, began work band appointed the Levites from twenty years old and above to oversee the work of the house of the LORD. 9 Then Jeshua with his sons and brothers, Kadmiel with his sons, and the sons of 1Judah, arose as one to oversee those working on the house of God: the sons of Henadad with their sons and their brethren the Levites. 10 When the builders laid the foun- dation of the temple of the LORD, athe1 priests stood in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the LORD, according to the bordinance2 of David king of Israel. 11 aAnd they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the LORD: b“For He is good, cFor His mercy endures forever toward Israel.” Then all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. 12 But many of the priests and Levites and aheads of the fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this temple was laid before their eyes.Yet many shouted aloud for joy, 13 so that the people could not dis- cern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people, for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the sound was heard afar off. Resistance to Rebuilding the Temple 4 Now when athe 1adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the descendants of the captivity were building the temple of the LORD God of Israel, 2 they came to Zerubbabel and the heads of the fathers’ houses, and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we seek your God as you do; and we have sacrificed to Him asince the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here.” 3 But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of the fathers’ houses of Israel said to them, a“You may do nothing with us to build a 1house for our God; but we alone will build to the LORD God of Israel, as bKing Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.” 4 Then athe people of the land tried to discourage the people of Judah. They troubled them in building, 5 and hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all

ce the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here.” 3 But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of the fathers’ houses of Israel said to them, a“You may do nothing with us to build a 1house for our God; but we alone will build to the LORD God of Israel, as bKing Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.” 4 Then athe people of the land tried to discourage the people of Judah. They troubled them in building, 5 and hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of aDarius king of Persia. Rebuilding of Jerusalem Opposed 6 In the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabi- tants of Judah and Jerusalem. 7 In the days of aArtaxerxes also, 1Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabel, and the rest of their companions wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the letter was written in bAramaic script, and translated into the Ara- maic language. CHAPTER 3 1 aNeh. 7:73; 8:1, 2 2 a1 Chr. 6:14, 15; Ezra 4:3; Neh. 12:1, 8; Hag. 1:1; 2:2 bEzra 2:2; 4:2, 3; 5:2 c1 Chr. 3:17 dDeut. 12:5, 6 1Or Joshua 2Jehozadak, 1 Chr. 6:14 3 aNum. 28:3 1foundations 4 aLev. 23:33–43; Neh. 8:14–18; Zech. 14:16 bEx. 23:16 cNum. 29:12, 13 5 aEx. 29:38; Num. 28:3, 11, 19, 26; Ezra 1:4; 2:68; 7:15, 16; 8:28 7 a1 Kin. 5:6, 9; 2 Chr. 2:10; Acts 12:20 b2 Chr. 2:16; Acts 9:36 cEzra 1:2; 6:3 8 aEzra 3:2; 4:3 b1 Chr. 23:4, 24 1Jehozadak, 1 Chr. 6:14 9 1Hodaviah, Ezra 2:40 10 a1 Chr. 16:5, 6 b1 Chr. 6:31; 16:4; 25:1 1So with LXX, Syr., Vg.; MT they sta- tioned the priests 2Lit. hands 11 aEx. 15:21; 2 Chr. 7:3; Neh. 12:24 b1 Chr. 16:34; Ps. 136:1 c1 Chr. 16:41; Jer. 33:11 12 aEzra 2:68 CHAPTER 4 1 aEzra 4:7–9 1enemies 2 a2 Kin. 17:24; 19:37; Ezra 4:10 3 aNeh. 2:20 bEzra 1:1–4 1Temple 4 aEzra 3:3 5 aEzra 5:5; 6:1 7 aEzra 7:1, 7, 21 b2 Kin. 18:26 1Or in peace

EZRA 4:8 414 8 1Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to King Artax- erxes in this fashion: 9 1From Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions— representatives of athe Dinaites, the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the people of Persia and Erech and Babylon and 2Shushan, the Dehavites, the Elamites, 10 aand the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnapper took captive and settled in the cities of Samaria and the remainder beyond 1the River—band2 so forth. 11 (This is a copy of the letter that they sent him) To King Artaxerxes from your servants, the men of the region beyond the River, 1and so forth: 12 Let it be known to the king that the Jews who came up from you have come to us at Jerusalem, and are building the arebellious and evil city, and are finishing its bwalls and repairing the foundations. 13 Let it now be known to the king that, if this city is built and the walls completed, they will not pay atax, tribute, or custom, and the king’s treasury will be diminished. 14 Now because we receive support from the palace, it was not proper for us to see the king’s dishonor; therefore we have sent and informed the king, 15 that search may be made in the book of the records of your fathers. And you will find in the book of the records and know that this city is a rebellious city, harmful to kings and provinces, and that they have incited sedition within the city in former times, for which cause this city was destroyed. 16 We inform the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are completed, the result will be that you will have no dominion beyond the River. 17 The king sent an answer: To Rehum the commander, to Shimshai the scribe, to the rest of their companions who dwell in Samaria, and to the remainder beyond the River: Peace, 1and so forth. 18 The letter which you sent to us has been clearly read before me. 19 And 1I gave the command, and a search has been made, and it was found that this city in former times has revolted against kings, and rebellion and sedition have been fostered in it. 20 There have also been mighty kings over Jerusalem, who have aruled over all the region bbeyond the River; and tax, tribute, and custom were paid to them. 21 Now 1give the command to make these men cease, that this city may not be built until the command is given by me. 22 Take heed now that you do not fail to do this. Why should damage increase to the hurt of the kings? 23 Now when the copy of King Artaxerxes’ letter was read before Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went up in haste to Jerusalem against the Jews, and by force of arms made them cease. 24 Thus the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem ceased, and it was discontinued until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia. Restoration of the Temple Resumed 5 Then the prophet aHaggai and bZechariah the son of Iddo, prophets, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them. 2 So aZerubbabel the son of Sheal- tiel and Jeshua the son of 1Jozadak rose up and began to build the house of God which is in Jerusalem; and bthe prophets of God were with them, helping them. 3 At the same time aTattenai the governor of the region beyond 1the River and Shethar-Boznai and their companions came to them and spoke thus to them: b“Who has com- manded you to build this 2temple and finish this wall?” 4 aThen, accordingly, we told them the names of the men who were constructing this building. 5 But athe eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, so that they could not make them cease till a report could go to Darius.

bthe prophets of God were with them, helping them. 3 At the same time aTattenai the governor of the region beyond 1the River and Shethar-Boznai and their companions came to them and spoke thus to them: b“Who has com- manded you to build this 2temple and finish this wall?” 4 aThen, accordingly, we told them the names of the men who were constructing this building. 5 But athe eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, so that they could not make them cease till a report could go to Darius. Then a bwritten answer was returned con- cerning this matter. 6 This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai sent: The governor of the region beyond the River, and Shethar- Boznai, aand his companions, 8 1The origi- nal language of Ezra 4:8 through 6:18 is Aramaic. 9 a2 Kin. 17:30, 31 1Lit. Then 2Or Susa 10 a2 Kin. 17:24; Ezra 4:1 bEzra 4:11, 17; 7:12 1The Euphrates 2Lit. and now 11 1Lit. and now 12 a2 Chr. 36:13 bEzra 5:3, 9 13 aEzra 4:20; 7:24 17 1Lit. and now 19 1Lit. by me a decree has been put forth 20 a1 Kin. 4:21; 1 Chr. 18:3; Ps. 72:8 bGen. 15:18; Josh. 1:4 21 1put forth a decree CHAPTER 5 1 aHag. 1:1 bZech. 1:1 2 aEzra 3:2; Hag. 1:12 bEzra 6:14; Hag. 2:4 1Jehozadak, 1 Chr. 6:14 3 aEzra 5:6; 6:6 bEzra 1:3; 5:9 1The Euphrates 2Lit. house 4 aEzra 5:10 5 a2 Chr. 16:9; Ezra 7:6, 28; Ps. 33:18 bEzra 6:6 6 aEzra 4:7–10

415 EZRA 6:9 the Persians who were in the region beyond the River, to Darius the king. 7 (They sent a letter to him, in which was written thus) To Darius the king: All peace. 8 Let it be known to the king that we went into the province of Judea, to the 1temple of the great God, which is being built with 2heavy stones, and timber is being laid in the walls; and this work goes on diligently and prospers in their hands. 9 Then we asked those elders, and spoke thus to them: a“Who commanded you to build this temple and to finish these walls?” 10 We also asked them their names to inform you, that we might write the names of the men who were chief among them. 11 And thus they returned us an answer, saying: “We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the 1temple that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built aand completed. 12 “But abecause our fathers provoked the God of heaven to wrath, He gave them into the hand of bNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this temple and ccarried the people away to Babylon. 13 “However, in the first year of aCyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus issued a decree to build this 1house of God. 14 “Also, athe gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple that was in Jerusalem and carried into the temple of Babylon—those King Cyrus took from the temple of Babylon, and they were given to bone named Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor. 15 “And he said to him, ‘Take these articles; go, carry them to the temple site that is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its former site.’ 16 “Then the same Sheshbazzar came and alaid the foundation of the house of God which is in Jerusalem; but from that time even until now it has been under construction, and bit is not finished.” 17 Now therefore, if it seems good to the king, alet a search be made in the king’s treasure house, which is there in Babylon, whether it is so that a decree was issued by King Cyrus to build this house of God at Jerusalem, and let the king send us his pleasure concerning this matter. The Decree of Darius 6 Then King Darius issued a de- cree, aand a search was made in the 1archives, where the treasures were stored in Babylon. 2 And at 1Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of aMedia, a scroll was found, and in it a record was written thus: 3 In the first year of King Cyrus, King Cyrus issued a adecree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem: “Let the house be rebuilt, the place where they offered sacrifices; and let the foundations of it be firmly laid, its height sixty cubits and its width sixty cubits, 4 awith three rows of heavy stones and one row of new timber. Let the bexpenses be paid from the king’s treasury. 5 Also let athe gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple which is in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be restored and taken back to the temple which is in Jerusalem, each to its place; and deposit them in the house of God”— 6 aNow therefore, Tattenai, governor of the region beyond the River, and Shethar-Boznai, and your companions the Persians who are beyond the River, keep yourselves far from there. 7 Let the work of this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God on its site. 8 Moreover I issue a decree as to what you shall do for the elders of these Jews, for the building of this 1house of God: Let the cost be paid at the king’s expense from taxes on the region beyond the River; this is to be given immediately to these men, so that they are not hindered. 9 And whatever they need— young bulls, rams, and lambs for the burnt offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the request of the priests who are 8 1Lit. house 2Lit. stones of rolling, stones too heavy to be carried 9 aEzra 5:3, 4 11 a1 Kin. 6:1, 38 1Lit.

hese Jews, for the building of this 1house of God: Let the cost be paid at the king’s expense from taxes on the region beyond the River; this is to be given immediately to these men, so that they are not hindered. 9 And whatever they need— young bulls, rams, and lambs for the burnt offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the request of the priests who are 8 1Lit. house 2Lit. stones of rolling, stones too heavy to be carried 9 aEzra 5:3, 4 11 a1 Kin. 6:1, 38 1Lit. house 12 a2 Chr. 34:25; 36:16, 17 b2 Kin. 24:2; 25:8–11; 2 Chr. 36:17; Jer. 52:12–15 cJer. 13:19 13 aEzra 1:1 1Temple 14 aEzra 1:7, 8; 6:5; Dan. 5:2 bHag. 1:14; 2:2, 21 16 aEzra 3:8–10; Hag. 2:18 bEzra 6:15 17 aEzra 6:1, 2 CHAPTER 6 1 aEzra 5:17 1Lit. house of the scrolls 2 a2 Kin. 17:6 1Probably Ecbatana, the ancient capi- tal of Media 3 aEzra 1:1; 5:13 4 a1 Kin. 6:36 bEzra 3:7 5 aEzra 1:7, 8; 5:14 6 aEzra 5:3, 6 8 1Temple

EZRA 6:10 416 in Jerusalem—let it be given them day by day without fail, 10 athat they may offer sacrifices of sweet aroma to the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king and his sons. 11 Also I issue a decree that whoever alters this edict, let a timber be pulled from his house and erected, and let him be hanged on it; aand let his house be made a refuse heap because of this. 12 And may the God who causes His aname to dwell there destroy any king or people who put their hand to alter it, or to destroy this 1house of God which is in Jerusalem. I Darius issue a decree; let it be done diligently. The Temple Completed and Dedicated 13 Then Tattenai, governor of the region beyond the River, Shethar- Boznai, and their companions dili- gently did according to what King Darius had sent. 14 aSo the elders of the Jews built, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they built and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the 1com- mand of bCyrus, cDarius, and dAr- taxerxes king of Persia. 15 Now the temple was finished on the third day of the month of Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius. 16 Then the children of Israel, the priests and the Levites and the rest of the descendants of the captivity, celebrated athe dedication of this 1house of God with joy. 17 And they aoffered sacrifices at the dedication of this house of God, one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and as a sin offering for all Israel twelve male goats, according to the num- ber of the tribes of Israel. 18 They assigned the priests to their adivisions and the Levites to their bdivisions, over the service of God in Jerusalem, cas it is written in the Book of Moses. The Passover Celebrated 19 1And the descendants of the captivity kept the Passover aon the fourteenth day of the first month. 20 For the priests and the Levites had apurified themselves; all of them were ritually clean. And they bslaughtered the Passover lambs for all the descendants of the captivity, for their brethren the priests, and for themselves. 21 Then the children of Israel who had returned from the captivity ate together with all who had separated themselves from the afilth1 of the nations of the land in order to seek the LORD God of Israel. 22 And they kept the aFeast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy; for the LORD made them joyful, and bturned the heart cof the king of Assyria toward them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel. The Arrival of Ezra 7 Now after these things, in the reign of aArtaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the bson of Seraiah, cthe son of Azariah, the son of dHilkiah, 2 the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub, 3 the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth, 4 the son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki, 5 the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest— 6 this Ezra came up from Babylon; and he was aa skilled scribe in the Law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given.

of aArtaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the bson of Seraiah, cthe son of Azariah, the son of dHilkiah, 2 the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub, 3 the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth, 4 the son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki, 5 the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest— 6 this Ezra came up from Babylon; and he was aa skilled scribe in the Law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given. The king granted him all his request, baccording to the hand of the LORD his God upon him. 7 aSome of the children of Israel, the priests, bthe Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and cthe Nethinim came up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes. 8 And Ezra came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. 9 On the first day of the first month he began his journey from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, aaccording to the good hand of his God upon him. 10 For Ezra had prepared his heart to aseek1 the Law of the LORD, and to do it, and to bteach statutes and ordinances in Israel. The Letter of Artaxerxes to Ezra 11 This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave Ezra the priest, the scribe, expert in the words of the commandments of the LORD, and of His statutes to Israel: 12 1Artaxerxes, aking of kings, To Ezra the priest, a scribe of the Law of the God of heaven: Perfect peace, band2 so forth. 13 I issue a decree that all those of the people of Israel and the priests and Levites in my realm, who volunteer to go up to Jerusalem, may go with you. 14 And whereas you are being sent 1by the king and his aseven counselors to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, with regard to the 10 aEzra 7:23; [Jer. 29:7; 1 Tim. 2:1, 2] 11 aDan. 2:5; 3:29 12 aDeut. 12:5, 11; 1 Kin. 9:3 1Temple 14 aEzra 5:1, 2 bEzra 1:1; 5:13; 6:3 cEzra 4:24; 6:12 dEzra 7:1, 11; Neh. 2:1 1decree 16 a1 Kin. 8:63; 2 Chr. 7:5 1Temple 17 aEzra 8:35 18 a1 Chr. 24:1; 2 Chr. 35:5 b1 Chr. 23:6 cNum. 3:6; 8:9 19 aEx. 12:6 1The Hebrew language resumes in Ezra 6:19 and continues through 7:11. 20 a2 Chr. 29:34; 30:15 b2 Chr. 35:11 21 aEzra 9:11 1uncleanness 22 aEx. 12:15; 13:6, 7; 2 Chr. 30:21; 35:17 bEzra 7:27; [Prov. 21:1] c2 Kin. 23:29; 2 Chr. 33:11; Ezra 1:1; 6:1 CHAPTER 7 1 aNeh. 2:1 b1 Chr. 6:14 cJer. 52:24 d2 Chr. 35:8 6 aEzra 7:11, 12, 21 bEzra 7:9, 28; 8:22 7 aEzra 8:1–14 bEzra 8:15 cEzra 2:43; 8:20 9 aEzra 7:6; Neh. 2:8, 18 10 aPs. 119:45 bDeut. 33:10; Ezra 7:6, 25; Neh. 8:1–8; [Mal. 2:7] 1Study 12 aEzek. 26:7; Dan. 2:37 bEzra 4:10 1The original language of Ezra 7:12–26 is Aramaic. 2Lit. and now 14 aEsth. 1:14 1from before

417 EZRA 8:15 Law of your God which is in your hand; 15 and whereas you are to carry the silver and gold which the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, awhose dwelling is in Jerusalem; 16 aand whereas all the silver and gold that you may find in all the province of Babylon, along with the freewill offering of the people and the priests, are to be bfreely offered for the 1house of their God in Jerusalem— 17 now therefore, be careful to buy with this money bulls, rams, and lambs, with their agrain offerings and their drink offerings, and boffer them on the altar of the house of your God in Jerusalem. 18 And whatever seems good to you and your brethren to do with the rest of the silver and the gold, do it according to the will of your God. 19 Also the articles that are given to you for the service of the house of your God, deliver in full before the God of Jerusalem. 20 And whatever more may be needed for the house of your God, which you may have occasion to provide, pay for it from the king’s treasury. 21 And I, even I, Artaxerxes the king, issue a decree to all the treasurers who are in the region beyond the River, that whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, may require of you, let it be done diligently, 22 up to one hundred talents of silver, one hundred kors of wheat, one hundred baths of wine, one hundred baths of oil, and salt without prescribed limit. 23 Whatever 1is commanded by the God of heaven, let it diligently be done for the 2house of the God of heaven. For why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons? 24 Also we inform you that it shall not be lawful to impose tax, tribute, or custom on any of the priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, Nethinim, or servants of this house of God. 25 And you, Ezra, according to your God-given wisdom, aset magistrates and judges who may judge all the people who are in the region beyond the River, all such as know the laws of your God; and bteach those who do not know them. 26 Whoever will not observe the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily on him, whether it be death, or 1banishment, or confiscation of goods, or imprisonment. 27 aBlessed1 be the LORD God of our fathers, bwho has put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem, 28 and ahas extended mercy to me before the king and his counselors, and before all the king’s mighty princes. So I was encouraged, as bthe hand of the LORD my God was upon me; and I gathered leading men of Israel to go up with me. Heads of Families Who Returned with Ezra 8 These are the heads of their fathers’ houses, and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of King Artaxerxes: 2 of the sons of Phinehas, Ger- shom; of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel; of the sons of David, aHattush; 3 of the sons of Shecaniah, of the sons of aParosh, Zechariah; and reg- istered with him were one hundred and fifty males; 4 of the sons of aPahath-Moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred males; 5 of 1the sons of Shechaniah, Ben- Jahaziel, and with him three hun- dred males; 6 of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him fifty males; 7 of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him seventy males; 8 of the sons of Shephatiah, Zeba- diah the son of Michael, and with him eighty males; 9 of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him two hun- dred and eighteen males; 10 of 1the sons of Shelomith, Ben- Josiphiah, and with him one hun- dred and sixty males; 11 of the sons of aBebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai, and with him twenty-eight males; 12 of the sons of Azgad, Johanan 1the son of Hakkatan, and with him one hundred and ten males; 13 of the last sons of Adonikam, whose names are these—Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah—and with them sixty males; 14 also of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai

oab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him two hun- dred and eighteen males; 10 of 1the sons of Shelomith, Ben- Josiphiah, and with him one hun- dred and sixty males; 11 of the sons of aBebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai, and with him twenty-eight males; 12 of the sons of Azgad, Johanan 1the son of Hakkatan, and with him one hundred and ten males; 13 of the last sons of Adonikam, whose names are these—Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah—and with them sixty males; 14 also of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and 1Zabbud, and with them sev- enty males. Servants for the Temple 15 Now I gathered them by the river that flows to Ahava, and we camped 15 a2 Chr. 6:2; Ezra 6:12; Ps. 135:21 16 aEzra 8:25 b1 Chr. 29:6, 9 1Temple 17 aNum. 15:4–13 bDeut. 12:5–11 23 1Lit. is from the decree 2Temple 25 aEx. 18:21, 22; Deut. 16:18 b2 Chr. 17:7; Ezra 7:10; [Mal. 2:7; Col. 1:28] 26 1Lit. root- ing out 27 a1 Chr. 29:10 bEzra 6:22; [Prov. 21:1] 1The Hebrew language resumes in Ezra 7:27. 28 aEzra 9:9 bEzra 5:5; 7:6, 9; 8:18 CHAPTER 8 2 a1 Chr. 3:22; Ezra 2:68 3 aEzra 2:3 4 aEzra 10:30 5 1So with MT, Vg.; LXX the sons of Zatho, Shechaniah 10 1So with MT, Vg.; LXX the sons of Banni, Shelomith 11 aEzra 10:28 12 1Or the youngest son, 14 1Or Zakkur

EZRA 8:16 418 there three days. And I looked among the people and the priests, and found none of the asons of Levi there. 16 Then I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, She- maiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and aMeshullam, leaders; also for Joiarib and Elna- than, men of understanding. 17 And I gave them a command for Iddo the chief man at the place Ca- siphia, and 1I told them what they should say to 2Iddo and his brethren the Nethinim at the place Casiphia— that they should bring us servants for the house of our God. 18 Then, by the good hand of our God upon us, they abrought us a man of understanding, of the sons of Mahli the son of Levi, the son of Israel, namely Sherebiah, with his sons and brothers, eighteen men; 19 and aHashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brothers and their sons, twenty men; 20 aalso of the Nethinim, whom David and the leaders had appointed for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinim. All of them were designated by name. Fasting and Prayer for Protection 21 Then I aproclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might bhumble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the cright way for us and our little ones and all our possessions. 22 For aI was ashamed to request of the king an escort of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the road, because we had spoken to the king, saying, b“The hand of our God is upon all those for cgood who seek Him, but His power and His wrath are dagainst all those who eforsake Him.” 23 So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He aanswered our prayer. Gifts for the Temple 24 And I separated twelve of the leaders of the priests—Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their breth- ren with them— 25 and weighed out to them athe silver, the gold, and the articles, the offering for the house of our God which the king and his counselors and his princes, and all Israel who were present, had offered. 26 I weighed into their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver, silver articles weighing one hundred talents, one hundred talents of gold, 27 twenty gold basins worth a thousand drachmas, and two ves- sels of fine polished bronze, pre- cious as gold. 28 And I said to them, “You are aholy1 to the LORD; the articles are bholy also; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the LORD God of your fathers. 29 “Watch and keep them until you weigh them before the leaders of the priests and the Levites and aheads of the fathers’ houses of Israel in Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the LORD.” 30 So the priests and the Levites received the silver and the gold and the articles by weight, to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God. The Return to Jerusalem 31 Then we departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem. And athe hand of our God was upon us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambush along the road. 32 So we acame to Jerusalem, and stayed there three days. 33 Now on the fourth day the silver and the gold and the articles were aweighed in the house of our God by the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest, and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; with them were the Levites, bJozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of Binnui, 34 with the number and weight of everything. All the weight was writ- ten down at that time. 35 The children of those who had been acarried away captive, who had come from the captivity, bof- fered burnt offerings to the God of Israel: twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and twelve male goats as a sin offering. All this was a burnt offering to the LORD. 36 And they delivered the king’s aorders to the king’s satraps and the governors in the region beyond 1the River.

34 with the number and weight of everything. All the weight was writ- ten down at that time. 35 The children of those who had been acarried away captive, who had come from the captivity, bof- fered burnt offerings to the God of Israel: twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and twelve male goats as a sin offering. All this was a burnt offering to the LORD. 36 And they delivered the king’s aorders to the king’s satraps and the governors in the region beyond 1the River. So they gave support to the people and the 2house of God. Intermarriage with Pagans 9 When these things were done, the leaders came to me, saying, “The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not aseparated themselves from the peoples of the lands, bwith respect to the abomina- tions of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyp- tians, and the Amorites. 2 “For they have ataken some of their daughters as wives for them- selves and their sons, so that the bholy seed is cmixed with the peo- ples of those lands. Indeed, the hand of the leaders and rulers has been foremost in this 1trespass.” 3 So when I heard this thing, aI tore my garment and my robe, and plucked out some of the hair of my head and beard, and sat down bas- tonished. 15 aEzra 7:7; 8:2 16 aEzra 10:15 17 1Lit. I put words in their mouths to say 2So with Vg.; MT to Iddo his brother; LXX to their brethren 18 a2 Chr. 30:22; Neh. 8:7 19 aNeh. 12:24 20 aEzra 2:43; 7:7 21 a1 Sam. 7:6; 2 Chr. 20:3 bLev. 16:29; 23:29; Is. 58:3, 5 cPs. 5:8 22 a1 Cor. 9:15 bEzra 7:6, 9, 28 c[Ps. 33:18, 19; 34:15, 22; Rom. 8:28] d[Ps. 34:16] e[2 Chr. 15:2] 23 a[1 Chr. 5:20]; 2 Chr. 33:13; Is. 19:22 25 aEzra 7:15, 16 28 aLev. 21:6–9; Deut. 33:8 bLev. 22:2, 3; Num. 4:4, 15, 19, 20 1consecrated 29 aEzra 4:3 31 aEzra 7:6, 9, 28 32 aNeh. 2:11 33 aEzra 8:26, 30 bNeh. 11:16 35 aEzra 2:1 bEzra 6:17 36 aEzra 7:21–24 1The Euphrates 2Temple CHAPTER 9 1 aEzra 6:21; Neh. 9:2 bDeut. 12:30, 31 2 aEx. 34:16; [Deut. 7:3]; Ezra 10:2; Neh. 13:23 bEx. 22:31; [Deut. 7:6] c[2 Cor. 6:14] 1unfaithful- ness 3 aJob 1:20 bPs. 143:4

419 EZRA 10:12 4 Then everyone who atrembled at the words of the God of Israel assembled to me, because of the transgression of those who had been carried away captive, and I sat astonished until the bevening sacri- fice. 5 At the evening sacrifice I arose from my fasting; and having torn my garment and my robe, I fell on my knees and aspread out my hands to the LORD my God. 6 And I said: “O my God, I am too aashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God; for bour iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has cgrown up to the heavens. 7 “Since the days of our fathers to this day awe have been very guilty, and for our iniquities bwe, our kings, and our priests have been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the csword, to captivity, to plunder, and to dhumiliation,1 as it is this day. 8 “And now for a little while grace has been shown from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may aen- lighten our eyes and give us a mea- sure of revival in our bondage. 9 a“For we were slaves. bYet our God did not forsake us in our bondage; but cHe extended mercy to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to revive us, to repair the house of our God, to rebuild its ruins, and to give us da wall in Judah and Jerusalem. 10 “And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have for- saken Your commandments, 11 “which You commanded by Your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land which you are entering to pos- sess is an unclean land, with the auncleanness of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations which have filled it from one end to another with their impurity. 12 ‘Now therefore, ado not give your daughters as wives for their sons, nor take their daughters to your sons; and bnever seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land, and cleave it as an inheritance to your children forever.’ 13 “And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, since You our God ahave punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us such deliverance as this, 14 “should we aagain break Your commandments, and bjoin in mar- riage with the people committing these abominations? Would You not be cangry with us until You had 1con- sumed us, so that there would be no remnant or survivor? 15 “O LORD God of Israel, aYou are righteous, for we are left as a rem- nant, as it is this day. bHere we are before You, cin our guilt, though no one can stand before You because of this!” Confession of Improper Marriages 10 Now awhile Ezra was praying, and while he was confessing, weeping, and bowing down bbefore the house of God, a very large assembly of men, women, and chil- dren gathered to him from Israel; for the people wept very cbitterly. 2 And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, spoke up and said to Ezra, “We have atrespassed1 against our God, and have taken pagan wives from the peoples of the land; yet now there is hope in Israel in spite of this. 3 “Now therefore, let us make aa covenant with our God to put away all these wives and those who have been born to them, according to the advice of my master and of those who btremble at cthe commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the dlaw. 4 “Arise, for this matter is your responsibility. We also are with you. aBe of good courage, and do it.” 5 Then Ezra arose, and made the leaders of the priests, the Levites, and all Israel aswear an oath that they would do according to this word.

ow therefore, let us make aa covenant with our God to put away all these wives and those who have been born to them, according to the advice of my master and of those who btremble at cthe commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the dlaw. 4 “Arise, for this matter is your responsibility. We also are with you. aBe of good courage, and do it.” 5 Then Ezra arose, and made the leaders of the priests, the Levites, and all Israel aswear an oath that they would do according to this word. So they swore an oath. 6 Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib; and when he came there, he aate no bread and drank no water, for he mourned because of the guilt of those from the captivity. 7 And they issued a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the descendants of the captivity, that they must gather at Jerusalem, 8 and that whoever would not come within three days, according to the instructions of the leaders and elders, all his property would be confiscated, and he himself would be separated from the assembly of those from the captivity. 9 So all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered at Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth of the month; and aall the people sat in the open square of the house of God, trembling because of this matter and because of heavy rain. 10 Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have 1trans- gressed and 2have taken pagan wives, adding to the guilt of Israel. 11 “Now therefore, amake confes- sion to the LORD God of your fathers, and do His will; bseparate yourselves from the peoples of the land, and from the pagan wives.” 12 Then all the assembly answered 4 aEzra 10:3; Is. 66:2 bEx. 29:39 5 aEx. 9:29 6 aDan. 9:7, 8 bPs. 38:4 c2 Chr. 28:9; [Ezra 9:13, 15]; Rev. 18:5 7 a2 Chr. 36:14–17; Ps. 106:6; Dan. 9:5, 6 bDeut. 28:36; Neh. 9:30 cDeut. 32:25 dDan. 9:7, 8 1Lit. shame of faces 8 aPs. 34:5 9 aNeh. 9:36; Esth. 7:4 bNeh. 9:17; Ps. 136:23 cEzra 7:28 dIs. 5:2 11 aEzra 6:21 12 a[Ex. 23:32; 34:15, 16; Deut. 7:3, 4]; Ezra 9:2 bDeut. 23:6 c[Prov. 13:22; 20:7] 13 a[Ps. 103:10] 14 a[John 5:14; 2 Pet. 2:20] bNeh. 13:23 cDeut. 9:8 1destroyed 15 aNeh. 9:33; Dan. 9:14 b[Rom. 3:19] c1 Cor. 15:17 CHAPTER 10 1 aDan. 9:4, 20 b2 Chr. 20:9 cNeh. 8:1–9 2 aEzra 10:10, 13, 14, 17, 18; Neh. 13:23–27 1been unfaith- ful to 3 a2 Chr. 34:31 bEzra 9:4 cDeut. 7:2, 3 dDeut. 24:1, 2 4 a1 Chr. 28:10 5 aEzra 10:12, 19; Neh. 5:12; 13:25 6 aDeut. 9:18 9 a1 Sam. 12:18; Ezra 9:4; 10:3 10 1acted unfaithfully 2Heb. have caused to dwell or have brought back 11 a[Lev. 26:40–42]; Josh. 7:19; [Prov. 28:13] bEzra 10:3

EZRA 10:13 420 and said with a loud voice, “Yes! As you have said, so we must do. 13 “But there are many people; it is the season for heavy rain, and we are not able to stand outside. Nor is this the work of one or two days, for there are many of us who have transgressed in this matter. 14 “Please, let the leaders of our entire assembly stand; and let all those in our cities who have taken pagan wives come at appointed times, together with the elders and judges of their cities, until athe fierce wrath of our God is turned away from us in this matter.” 15 Only Jonathan the son of Asa- hel and Jahaziah the son of Tikvah opposed this, and aMeshullam and Shabbethai the Levite gave them support. 16 Then the descendants of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest, with certain aheads of the fathers’ households, were set apart by the fathers’ households, each of them by name; and they sat down on the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter. 17 By the first day of the first month they finished questioning all the men who had taken pagan wives. Pagan Wives Put Away 18 And among the sons of the priests who had taken pagan wives the following were found of the sons of aJeshua the son of 1Jozadak, and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah. 19 And they agave their promise that they would put away their wives; and being bguilty, they pre- sented a ram of the flock as their ctrespass offering. 20 Also of the sons of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah; 21 of the sons of Harim: Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uz- ziah; 22 of the sons of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Joz- abad, and Elasah. 23 Also of the Levites: Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (the same is Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer. 24 Also of the singers: Eliashib; and of the gatekeepers: Shallum, Telem, and Uri. 25 And others of Israel: of the asons of Parosh: Ramiah, Jeziah, Malchiah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malchi- jah, and Benaiah; 26 of the sons of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Eliah; 27 of the sons of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Za- bad, and Aziza; 28 of the asons of Bebai: Jeho- hanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Ath- lai; 29 of the sons of Bani: Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal, and 1Ramoth; 30 of the asons of Pahath-Moab: Adna, Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Ma- nasseh; 31 of the sons of Harim: Eliezer, Ishijah, Malchijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, 32 Benjamin, Malluch, and Shema- riah; 33 of the sons of Hashum: Matte- nai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei; 34 of the sons of Bani: Maadai, Amram, Uel, 35 Benaiah, Bedeiah, 1Cheluh, 36 Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, 37 Mattaniah, Mattenai, 1Jaasai, 38 Bani, Binnui, Shimei, 39 Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah, 40 Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai, 41 Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah, 42 Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph; 43 of the sons of Nebo: Jeiel, Mat- tithiah, Zabad, Zebina, 1Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah. 44 All these had taken pagan wives, and some of them had wives by whom they had children. 14 a2 Kin. 23:26; 2 Chr. 28:11–13; 29:10; 30:8 15 aEzra 8:16; Neh. 3:4 16 aEzra 4:3 18 aEzra 5:2; Hag. 1:1, 12; 2:4; Zech. 3:1; 6:11 1Jehozadak, 1 Chr. 6:14 19 a2 Kin. 10:15 bLev. 6:4, 6 cLev. 5:6, 15 25 aEzra 2:3; 8:3; Neh. 7:8 28 aEzra 8:11 29 1Or Jere- moth 30 aEzra 8:4 35 1Or Cheluhi or Cheluhu 37 1Or Jaasu 43 1Or Jaddu The Book of NEHEMIAH NEHEMIAH, contemporary of Ezra and cupbearer to the king in the Persian palace, leads the third and last return to Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile. His concern for the welfare of Jerusalem and its inhabitants prompts him to take bold action. Granted permission to return to his homeland, Nehemiah challenges his countrymen to arise and rebuild the shattered wall of Jerusalem. In spite of opposition from without and abuse from within, the task is completed in only

421 NEHEMIAH 2:8 Nehemiah Prays for His People THE words of aNehemiah the son of Hachaliah. It came to pass in the month of Chislev, in the btwentieth year, as I was in cShushan1 the 2citadel, 2 that aHanani one of my brethren came with men from Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, who had survived the captivity, and concerning Jeru− salem. 3 And they said to me, “The sur- vivors who are left from the captivity in the aprovince are there in great distress and breproach. cThe wall of Jerusalem dis also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.” 4 So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. 5 And I said: “I pray, aLORD God of heaven, O great and bawesome God, cYou who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love 1You and observe 2Your commandments, 6 “please let Your ear be attentive and aYour eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You now, day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants, and bconfess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You. Both my father’s house and I have sinned. 7 a“We have acted very corruptly against You, and have bnot kept the commandments, the statutes, nor the ordinances which You com- manded Your servant Moses. 8 “Remember, I pray, the word that You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, a‘If you 1are unfaith- ful, I will scatter you among the nations; 9 a‘but if you return to Me, and keep My commandments and do them, bthough some of you were cast out to the farthest part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and bring them to the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name.’ 10 a“Now these are Your servants and Your people, whom You have redeemed by Your great power, and by Your strong hand. 11 “O Lord, I pray, please alet Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who bdesire to fear Your name; and let Your servant prosper this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” For I was the king’s ccupbearer. Nehemiah Sent to Judah 2 And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of aKing 1Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, that bI took the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never been sad in his presence before. 2 Therefore the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but asor- row of heart.” So I became 1dread- fully afraid, 3 and said to the king, a“May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when bthe city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies waste, and its gates are burned with cfire?” 4 Then the king said to me, “What do you request?” So I aprayed to the God of heaven. 5 And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.” 6 Then the king said to me (the queen also sitting beside him), “How long will your journey be? And when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him aa time. 7 Furthermore I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given to me for the agovernors of the region beyond 1the River, that they must permit me to pass through till I come to Judah, 8 “and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he must give me timber to make beams for the gates of the 1citadel which pertains ato the 2temple, for the city wall, and for the house that I will occupy.” And the king granted them to me CHAPTER 1 1 aNeh. 10:1 bNeh. 2:1 cEsth. 1:1, 2, 5 1Or Susa 2Or fortified palace, and so elsewhere in the book 2 aNeh. 7:2 3 aNeh. 7:6 bNeh. 2:17 cNeh. 2:17 d2 Kin. 25:10 5 aDan. 9:4 bNeh. 4:14 c[Ex. 20:6; 34:6, 7] 1Lit. Him 2Lit. His 6 a2 Chr. 6:40 bDan. 9:20 7 aDan. 9:5 bDeut. 28:15 8 aLev.

ing’s forest, that he must give me timber to make beams for the gates of the 1citadel which pertains ato the 2temple, for the city wall, and for the house that I will occupy.” And the king granted them to me CHAPTER 1 1 aNeh. 10:1 bNeh. 2:1 cEsth. 1:1, 2, 5 1Or Susa 2Or fortified palace, and so elsewhere in the book 2 aNeh. 7:2 3 aNeh. 7:6 bNeh. 2:17 cNeh. 2:17 d2 Kin. 25:10 5 aDan. 9:4 bNeh. 4:14 c[Ex. 20:6; 34:6, 7] 1Lit. Him 2Lit. His 6 a2 Chr. 6:40 bDan. 9:20 7 aDan. 9:5 bDeut. 28:15 8 aLev. 26:33 1act treacher- ously 9 a[Deut. 4:29–31; 30:2–5] bDeut. 30:4 10 aDeut. 9:29 11 aNeh. 1:6 bIs. 26:8 cNeh. 2:1 CHAPTER 2 1 aEzra 7:1 bNeh. 1:11 1Artaxerxes Longimanus 2 aProv. 15:13 1Lit. very much 3 aDan. 2:4; 5:10; 6:6, 21 b2 Chr. 36:19 cNeh. 1:3 4 aNeh. 1:4 6 aNeh. 5:14; 13:6 7 aEzra 7:21; 8:36 1The Euphrates 8 aNeh. 3:7 1palace 2Lit. house fifty-two days, a feat even the enemies of Israel must attribute to God’s enabling. By contrast, the task of reviving and reforming the people of God within the rebuilt wall demands years of Nehemiah’s godly life and leadership. The Hebrew for Nehemiah is Nehemyah, “Comfort of Yahweh.” The book is named after its chief character, whose name appears in the opening verse. The combined books of Ezra–Nehemiah is given the Greek title Esdras Deuteron, “Sec- ond Esdras” in the Septuagint, a third-century B.C. Greek-language translation of the Hebrew Old Testament. The Latin title of Nehemiah is Liber Secundus Esdrae, “Second Book of Ezra” (Ezra was the first). At this point, it is considered a separate book from Ezra, and is later called Liber Nehemiae, “Book of Nehemiah.”

NEHEMIAH 2:9 422 baccording to the good hand of my God upon me. 9 Then I went to the governors in the region beyond the River, and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me. 10 When aSanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite 1official heard of it, they were deeply dis- turbed that a man had come to seek the well-being of the children of Is- rael. Nehemiah Views the Wall of Jerusalem 11 So I acame to Jerusalem and was there three days. 12 Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me; I told no one what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem; nor was there any ani- mal with me, except the one on which I rode. 13 And I went out by night athrough the Valley Gate to the Serpent Well and the 1Refuse Gate, and 2viewed the walls of Jerusalem which were bbroken down and its gates which were burned with fire. 14 Then I went on to the aFountain Gate and to the bKing’s Pool, but there was no room for the animal under me to pass. 15 So I went up in the night by the avalley,1 and 2viewed the wall; then I turned back and entered by the Val- ley Gate, and so returned. 16 And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I had done; I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, or the others who did the work. 17 Then I said to them, “You see the distress that we are in, how Jeru- salem lies 1waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be aa reproach.” 18 And I told them of athe hand of my God which had been good upon me, and also of the king’s words that he had spoken to me. So they said, “Let us rise up and build.” Then they bset1 their hands to this good work. 19 But when Sanballat the Horo- nite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they laughed at us and despised us, and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? aWill you rebel against the king?” 20 So I answered them, and said to them, “The God of heaven Himself will prosper us; therefore we His ser- vants will arise and build, abut you have no heritage or right or memo- rial in Jerusalem.” Rebuilding the Wall 3 Then aEliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests band built the Sheep Gate; they consecrated it and hung its doors. They built cas far as the Tower of 1the Hundred, and consecrated it, then as far as the Tower of dHananel. 2 1Next to Eliashib athe men of Jericho built. And next to them Zac- cur the son of Imri built. 3 Also the sons of Hassenaah built athe Fish Gate; they laid its beams and bhung its doors with its bolts and bars. 4 And next to them aMeremoth the son of Urijah, the son of 1Koz, made repairs. Next to them bMe- shullam the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabel, made repairs. Next to them Zadok the son of Baana made repairs. 5 Next to them the Tekoites made repairs; but their nobles did not put their 1shoulders to athe work of their Lord. 6 Moreover Jehoiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah repaired athe Old Gate; they laid its beams and hung its doors, with its bolts and bars. 7 And next to them Melatiah the Gibeonite, Jadon the Meronothite, the amen of Gibeon and Mizpah, repaired the bresidence1 of the gover- nor of the region 2beyond the River. 8 Next to him Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs. Also next to him Han- aniah, 1one of the perfumers, made repairs; and they 2fortified Jeru- salem as far as the aBroad Wall. 9 And next to them Rephaiah the son of Hur, leader of half the district of Jerusalem, made repairs. 10 Next to them Jedaiah the son of Harumaph made repairs in front of his house.

onothite, the amen of Gibeon and Mizpah, repaired the bresidence1 of the gover- nor of the region 2beyond the River. 8 Next to him Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs. Also next to him Han- aniah, 1one of the perfumers, made repairs; and they 2fortified Jeru- salem as far as the aBroad Wall. 9 And next to them Rephaiah the son of Hur, leader of half the district of Jerusalem, made repairs. 10 Next to them Jedaiah the son of Harumaph made repairs in front of his house. And next to him Hattush the son of Hashabniah made repairs. 11 Malchijah the son of Harim and Hashub the son of Pahath-Moab re- paired another section, aas well as the Tower of the Ovens. 12 And next to him was Shallum the son of Hallohesh, leader of half the district of Jerusalem; he and his daughters made repairs. 13 Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired athe Valley Gate. They built it, hung its doors with its bolts and bars, and repaired a thou- sand cubits of the wall as far as bthe Refuse Gate. 14 Malchijah the son of Rechab, leader of the district of aBeth Hac- cerem, repaired the Refuse Gate; he built it and hung its doors with its bolts and bars. 15 Shallun the son of Col-Hozeh, leader of the district of Mizpah, repaired athe Fountain Gate; he built it, covered it, hung its doors with its bolts and bars, and repaired the wall of the Pool of bShelah1 by the cKing’s Garden, as far as the stairs that go down from the City of David. 16 After him Nehemiah the son of 8 bEzra 5:5; 7:6, 9, 28; Neh. 2:18 10 aNeh. 2:19; 4:1 1Lit. ser- vant 11 aEzra 8:32 13 a2 Chr. 26:9; Neh. 3:13 bNeh. 1:3; 2:17 1Dung 2exam- ined 14 aNeh. 3:15 b2 Kin. 20:20 15 a2 Sam. 15:23; Jer. 31:40 1torrent valley, wadi 2examined 17 aNeh. 1:3; Ps. 44:13; 79:4; Jer. 24:9; Ezek. 5:14, 15; 22:4 1desolate 18 aNeh. 2:8 b2 Sam. 2:7 1Lit. strength- ened 19 aNeh. 6:6 20 aEzra 4:3; Neh. 6:16 CHAPTER 3 1 aNeh. 3:20; 12:10; 13:4, 7, 28 bJohn 5:2 cNeh. 12:39 dJer. 31:38; Zech. 14:10 1Heb. Ham- meah 2 aEzra 2:34; Neh. 7:36 1Lit. On his hand 3 a2 Chr. 33:14; Neh. 12:39; Zeph. 1:10 bNeh. 6:1; 7:1 4 aEzra 8:33 bEzra 10:15 1Or Hakkoz 5 a[Judg. 5:23] 1Lit. necks 6 aNeh. 12:39 7 aNeh. 7:25 bEzra 8:36; Neh. 2:7–9 1Lit. throne 2West of the Euphrates 8 aNeh. 12:38 1Lit. the son 2restored 11 aNeh. 12:38 13 aNeh. 2:13, 15 bNeh. 2:13 14 aJer. 6:1 15 aNeh. 2:14 bIs. 8:6; John 9:7 c2 Kin. 25:4 1Or Shiloah

423 NEHEMIAH 4:14 Azbuk, leader of half the district of Beth Zur, made repairs as far as the place in front of the 1tombs of Da- vid, to the aman-made pool, and as far as the House of the Mighty. 17 After him the Levites, under Rehum the son of Bani, made re- pairs. Next to him Hashabiah, leader of half the district of Keilah, made repairs for his district. 18 After him their brethren, under 1Bavai the son of Henadad, leader of the other half of the district of Kei- lah, made repairs. 19 And next to him Ezer the son of Jeshua, the leader of Mizpah, re- paired another section in front of the Ascent to the Armory at the abuttress.1 20 After him Baruch the son of 1Zabbai carefully repaired the other section, from the 2buttress to the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest. 21 After him Meremoth the son of Urijah, the son of 1Koz, repaired an- other section, from the door of the house of Eliashib to the end of the house of Eliashib. 22 And after him the priests, the men of the plain, made repairs. 23 After him Benjamin and Has- shub made repairs opposite their house. After them Azariah the son of Maaseiah, the son of Ananiah, made repairs by his house. 24 After him aBinnui the son of Henadad repaired another section, from the house of Azariah to bthe 1buttress, even as far as the corner. 25 Palal the son of Uzai made repairs opposite the 1buttress, and on the tower which projects from the king’s upper house that was by the acourt of the prison. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh made repairs. 26 Moreover athe Nethinim who dwelt in bOphel made repairs as far as the place in front of cthe Water Gate toward the east, and on the projecting tower. 27 After them the Tekoites re- paired another section, next to the great projecting tower, and as far as the wall of Ophel. 28 Beyond the aHorse Gate the priests made repairs, each in front of his own house. 29 After them Zadok the son of Immer made repairs in front of his own house. After him Shemaiah the son of Shechaniah, the keeper of the East Gate, made repairs. 30 After him Hananiah the son of Shelemiah, and Hanun, the sixth son of Zalaph, repaired another sec- tion. After him Meshullam the son of Berechiah made repairs in front of his 1dwelling. 31 After him Malchijah, 1one of the goldsmiths, made repairs as far as the house of the Nethinim and of the merchants, in front of the 2Miphkad Gate, and as far as the upper room at the corner. 32 And between the upper room at the corner, as far as the aSheep Gate, the goldsmiths and the mer- chants made repairs. The Wall Defended Against Enemies 4 But it so happened, awhen San- ballat heard that we were re- building the wall, that he was furi- ous and very indignant, and mocked the Jews. 2 And he spoke before his breth- ren and the army of Samaria, and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day?

er. 32 And between the upper room at the corner, as far as the aSheep Gate, the goldsmiths and the mer- chants made repairs. The Wall Defended Against Enemies 4 But it so happened, awhen San- ballat heard that we were re- building the wall, that he was furi- ous and very indignant, and mocked the Jews. 2 And he spoke before his breth- ren and the army of Samaria, and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rub- bish—stones that are burned?” 3 Now aTobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Whatever they build, if even a fox goes up on it, he will break down their stone wall.” 4 aHear, O our God, for we are de- spised; bturn their reproach on their own heads, and give them as plun- der to a land of captivity! 5 aDo not cover their iniquity, and do not let their sin be blotted out from before You; for they have pro- voked You to anger before the build- ers. 6 So we built the wall, and the en- tire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work. 7 Now it happened, awhen San- ballat, Tobiah, bthe Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being restored and the 1gaps were beginning to be closed, that they became very angry, 8 and all of them aconspired together to come and attack Jeru- salem and create confusion. 9 Nevertheless awe made our prayer to our God, and because of them we set a watch against them day and night. 10 Then Judah said, “The strength of the laborers is failing, and there is so much rubbish that we are not able to build the wall.” 11 And our adversaries said, “They will neither know nor see anything, till we come into their midst and kill them and cause the work to cease.” 12 So it was, when the Jews who dwelt near them came, that they told us ten times, “From whatever place you turn, they will be upon us.” 13 Therefore I positioned men behind the lower parts of the wall, at the openings; and I set the people according to their families, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. 14 And I looked, and arose and said 16 a2 Kin. 20:20; Is. 7:3; 22:11 1LXX, Syr., Vg. tomb 18 1So with MT, Vg.; some Heb. mss., LXX, Syr. Binnui (cf. v. 24) 19 a2 Chr. 26:9 1Lit. turning 20 1A few Heb. mss., Syr., Vg. Zaccai 2Lit. turning 21 1Or Hakkoz 24 aEzra 8:33 bNeh. 3:19 1Lit. turning 25 aJer. 32:2; 33:1; 37:21 1Lit. turning 26 aEzra 2:43; Neh. 11:21 b2 Chr. 27:3 cNeh. 8:1, 3; 12:37 28 a2 Kin. 11:16; 2 Chr. 23:15; Jer. 31:40 30 1Lit. room 31 1Lit. a son of the gold- smiths 2Lit. Inspection or Recruiting 32 aNeh. 3:1; 12:39 CHAPTER 4 1 aNeh. 2:10, 19 3 aNeh. 2:10, 19 4 aPs. 123:3, 4 bPs. 79:12; Prov. 3:34 5 aPs. 69:27, 28; 109:14, 15; Jer. 18:23 7 aNeh. 4:1 bNeh. 2:19 1Lit. breaks 8 aPs. 83:3–5 9 a[Ps. 50:15]

NEHEMIAH 4:15 424 to the nobles, to the leaders, and to the rest of the people, a“Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, bgreat and awesome, and cfight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.” 15 And it happened, when our ene- mies heard that it was known to us, and athat God had brought their plot to nothing, that all of us returned to the wall, everyone to his work. 16 So it was, from that time on, that half of my servants worked at con- struction, while the other half held the spears, the shields, the bows, and wore armor; and the leaders 1were behind all the house of Judah. 17 Those who built on the wall, and those who carried burdens, loaded themselves so that with one hand they worked at construction, and with the other held a weapon. 18 Every one of the builders had his sword girded at his side as he built. And the one who sounded the trumpet was beside me. 19 Then I said to the nobles, the rulers, and the rest of the people, “The work is great and extensive, and we are separated far from one another on the wall. 20 “Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. aOur God will fight for us.” 21 So we labored in the work, and half of 1the men held the spears from daybreak until the stars appeared. 22 At the same time I also said to the people, “Let each man and his servant stay at night in Jerusalem, that they may be our guard by night and a working party by day.” 23 So neither I, my brethren, my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me took off our clothes, except that everyone took them off for washing. Nehemiah Deals with Oppression 5 And there was a great aoutcry of the people and their wives against their bJewish brethren. 2 For there were those who said, “We, our sons, and our daughters are many; therefore let us get grain, that we may eat and live.” 3 There were also some who said, “We have mortgaged our lands and vineyards and houses, that we might buy grain because of the famine.” 4 There were also those who said, “We have borrowed money for the king’s tax on our lands and vine- yards. 5 “Yet now aour flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children; and indeed we bare forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daugh- ters have been brought into slavery. It is not in our power to redeem them, for other men have our lands and vineyards.” 6 And I became very angry when I heard their outcry and these words. 7 After serious thought, I rebuked the nobles and rulers, and said to them, a“Each of you is 1exacting usury from his brother.” So I 2called a great assembly against them. 8 And I said to them, “According to our ability we have aredeemed our Jewish brethren who were sold to the nations. Now indeed, will you even sell your brethren? Or should they be sold to us?” Then they were silenced and found nothing to say. 9 Then I said, “What you are doing is not good. Should you not walk ain the fear of our God bbe- cause of the reproach of the nations, our enemies? 10 “I also, with my brethren and my servants, am lending them money and grain. Please, let us stop this 1usury! 11 “Restore now to them, even this day, their lands, their vineyards, their olive groves, and their houses, also a hundredth of the money and the grain, the new wine and the oil, that you have charged them.” 12 So they said, “We will restore it, and will require nothing from them; we will do as you say.” Then I called the priests, aand required an oath from them that they would do ac- cording to this promise. 13 Then aI shook out 1the fold of my garment and said, “So may God shake out each man from his house, and from his property, who does not perform this promise. Even thus may he be shaken out and emptied.” And all the assembly said, “Amen!” and praised the LORD.

oil, that you have charged them.” 12 So they said, “We will restore it, and will require nothing from them; we will do as you say.” Then I called the priests, aand required an oath from them that they would do ac- cording to this promise. 13 Then aI shook out 1the fold of my garment and said, “So may God shake out each man from his house, and from his property, who does not perform this promise. Even thus may he be shaken out and emptied.” And all the assembly said, “Amen!” and praised the LORD. bThen the people did according to this promise. The Generosity of Nehemiah 14 Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twen- tieth year auntil the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, twelve years, neither I nor my brothers bate the governor’s provisions. 15 But the former governors who were before me laid burdens on the people, and took from them bread and wine, besides forty shekels of silver. Yes, even their servants bore rule over the people, but aI did not do so, because of the bfear of God. 16 Indeed, I also continued the awork on this wall, and 1we did not buy any land. All my servants were gathered there for the work. 17 And aat my table were one hun- dred and fifty Jews and rulers, besides those who came to us from the nations around us. 18 Now that awhich was prepared daily was one ox and six choice sheep. Also fowl were prepared for 14 a[Num. 14:9]; Deut. 1:29 b[Deut. 10:17] c2 Sam. 10:12 15 aJob 5:12 16 1Supported 20 aEx. 14:14, 25; Deut. 1:30; 3:22; 20:4; Josh. 23:10; 2 Chr. 20:29 21 1Lit. them CHAPTER 5 1 aLev. 25:35–37; Neh. 5:7, 8 bDeut. 15:7 5 aIs. 58:7 dEx. 21:7; [Lev. 25:39] 7 a[Ex. 22:25; Lev. 25:36; Deut. 23:19, 20]; Ezek. 22:12 1charg- ing interest 2Lit. held 8 aLev. 25:48 9 aLev. 25:36 b2 Sam. 12:14; Rom. 2:24; [1 Pet. 2:12] 10 1interest 12 aEzra 10:5; Jer. 34:8, 9 13 aMatt. 10:14; Acts 13:51; 18:6 b2 Kin. 23:3 1Lit. my lap 14 aNeh. 2:1; 13:6 b[1 Cor. 9:4–15] 15 a2 Cor. 11:9; 12:13 bNeh. 5:9 16 aNeh. 4:1; 6:1 1So with MT; LXX, Syr., Vg. I 17 a2 Sam. 9:7; 1 Kin. 18:19 18 a1 Kin. 4:22

425 NEHEMIAH 7:6 me, and once every ten days an abundance of all kinds of wine. Yet in spite of this bI did not demand the governor’s provisions, because the bondage was heavy on this people. 19 aRemember me, my God, for good, according to all that I have done for this people. Conspiracy Against Nehemiah 6 Now it happened awhen Sanbal- lat, Tobiah, 1Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall, and that there were no breaks left in it b(though at that time I had not hung the doors in the gates), 2 that Sanballat and 1Geshem asent to me, saying, “Come, let us meet together 2among the villages in the plain of bOno.” But they cthought to do me harm. 3 So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?” 4 But they sent me this message four times, and I answered them in the same manner. 5 Then Sanballat sent his servant to me as before, the fifth time, with an open letter in his hand. 6 In it was written: It is reported among the nations, and 1Geshem says, that you and the Jews plan to rebel; therefore, according to these rumors, you are rebuilding the wall, athat you may be their king. 7 And you have also appointed prophets to proclaim concerning you at Jerusalem, saying, “There is a king in Judah!” Now these matters will be reported to the king. So come, therefore, and let us consult together. 8 Then I sent to him, saying, “No such things as you say are being done, but you invent them in your own heart.” 9 For they all were trying to make us afraid, saying, “Their hands will be weakened in the work, and it will not be done.” Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands. 10 Afterward I came to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was a secret informer; and he said, “Let us meet together in the house of God, within the 1temple, and let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you; indeed, at night they will come to kill you.” 11 And I said, “Should such a man as I flee? And who is there such as I who would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in!” 12 Then I perceived that God had not sent him at all, but that ahe pro- nounced this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 13 For this reason he was hired, that I should be afraid and act that way and sin, so that they might have cause for an evil report, that they might reproach me. 14 aMy God, remember Tobiah and Sanballat, according to these their works, and the bprophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who would have made me afraid. The Wall Completed 15 So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days. 16 And it happened, awhen all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations around us saw these things, that they were very disheartened in their own eyes; for bthey perceived that this work was done by our God. 17 Also in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and the letters of Tobiah came to them. 18 For many in Judah were pledged to him, because he was the ason-in- law of Shechaniah the son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of bMeshullam the son of Berechiah. 19 Also they reported his good deeds before me, and reported my 1words to him.

these things, that they were very disheartened in their own eyes; for bthey perceived that this work was done by our God. 17 Also in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and the letters of Tobiah came to them. 18 For many in Judah were pledged to him, because he was the ason-in- law of Shechaniah the son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of bMeshullam the son of Berechiah. 19 Also they reported his good deeds before me, and reported my 1words to him. Tobiah sent letters to frighten me. 7 Then it was, when the wall was built and I had ahung the doors, when the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed, 2 that I gave the charge of Jerusa- lem to my brother aHanani, and Hananiah the leader bof the 1citadel, for he was a faithful man and cfeared God more than many. 3 And I said to them, “Do not let the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot; and while they stand guard, let them shut and bar the doors; and appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, one at his watch station and another in front of his own house.” The Captives Who Returned to Jerusalem 4 Now the city was large and spa- cious, but the people in it were afew, and the houses were not rebuilt. 5 Then my God put it into my heart to gather the nobles, the rulers, and the people, that they might be registered by genealogy. And I found a register of the geneal- ogy of those who had come up in the first return, and found written in it: 6 aThese are the people of the province who came back from 18 bNeh. 5:14, 15 19 a2 Kin. 20:3; Neh. 13:14, 22, 31 CHAPTER 6 1 aNeh. 2:10, 19; 4:1, 7; 13:28 bNeh. 3:1, 3 1Or Gashmu 2 aProv. 26:24, 25 b1 Chr. 8:12; Neh. 11:35 cPs. 37:12, 32 1Or Gashmu 2Or in Kephirim, exact location unknown 6 aNeh. 2:19 1Heb. Gash- mu 10 1Lit. house 12 aEzek. 13:22 14 aNeh. 13:29 bEzek. 13:17 16 aNeh. 2:10, 20; 4:1, 7; 6:1 bPs. 126:2 18 aNeh. 13:4, 28 bEzra 10:15; Neh. 3:4 19 1Or affairs CHAPTER 7 1 aNeh. 6:1, 15 2 aNeh. 1:2 bNeh. 2:8; 10:23 cEx. 18:21 1palace 4 aDeut. 4:27 6 aEzra 2:1–70

NEHEMIAH 7:7 426 the captivity, of those who had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away, and who returned to Jerusalem and Judah, everyone to his city. 7 Those who came with aZerubbabel were Jeshua, Nehemiah, 1Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, 2Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, and Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel: 8 the sons of Parosh, two thousand one hundred and seventy-two; 9 the sons of Shephatiah, three hundred and seventy-two; 10 the sons of Arah, six hundred and fifty-two; 11 the sons of Pahath-Moab, of the sons of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand eight hundred and eighteen; 12 the sons of Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four; 13 the sons of Zattu, eight hundred and forty-five; 14 the sons of Zaccai, seven hundred and sixty; 15 the sons of 1Binnui, six hundred and forty-eight; 16 the sons of Bebai, six hundred and twenty-eight; 17 the sons of Azgad, two thousand three hundred and twenty-two; 18 the sons of Adonikam, six hundred and sixty-seven; 19 the sons of Bigvai, two thousand and sixty- seven; 20 the sons of Adin, six hundred and fifty-five; 21 the sons of Ater of Hezekiah, ninety-eight; 22 the sons of Hashum, three hundred and twenty-eight; 23 the sons of Bezai, three hundred and twenty-four; 24 the sons of 1Hariph, one hundred and twelve; 25 the sons of 1Gibeon, ninety-five; 26 the men of Bethlehem and Netophah, one hundred and eighty-eight; 27 the men of Anathoth, one hundred and twenty-eight; 28 the men of 1Beth Azmaveth, forty-two; 29 the men of 1Kirjath Jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred and forty-three; 30 the men of Ramah and Geba, six hundred and twenty-one; 31 the men of Michmas, one hundred and twenty-two; 32 the men of Bethel and Ai, one hundred and twenty-three; 33 the men of the other Nebo, fifty- two; 34 the sons of the other aElam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four; 35 the sons of Harim, three hundred and twenty; 36 the sons of Jericho, three hundred and forty-five; 37 the sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred and twenty- one; 38 the sons of Senaah, three thousand nine hundred and thirty. 39 The priests: the sons of aJedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred and seventy-three; 40 the sons of aImmer, one thousand and fifty-two; 41 the sons of aPashhur, one thousand two hundred and forty-seven; 42 the sons of aHarim, one thousand and seventeen. 43 The Levites: the sons of Jeshua, of Kadmiel, and of the sons of 1Hodevah, seventy-four. 44 The singers: the sons of Asaph, one hundred and forty-eight. 45 The gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, the sons of Shobai, one hundred and thirty-eight. 46 The Nethinim: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth, 47 the sons of Keros, the sons of 1Sia, the sons of Padon, 48 the sons of 1Lebana, the sons of 2Hagaba, the sons of 3Salmai, 49 the sons of Hanan, the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar, 50 the sons of Reaiah, the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda, 51 the sons of Gazzam, the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah, 52 the sons of Besai, the sons of Meunim, the sons of 1Nephishesim, 53 the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur, 54 the sons of 1Bazlith, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha, 55 the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Tamah, 56 the sons of Neziah, and the sons of Hatipha. 57 The sons of Solomon’s servants: the sons of Sotai, the sons of Sophereth, the sons of 1Perida, 58 the sons of Jaala, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel, 59 the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth of Zebaim, and the sons of 1Amon. 60 All the Nethinim, and the sons of Solomon’s servants, were three hundred and ninety-two. 61 And these were the ones who came up from Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Cherub, 1Addon, and 7 aEzra 5:2; Neh. 12:1, 47; Matt.

and the sons of Hatipha. 57 The sons of Solomon’s servants: the sons of Sotai, the sons of Sophereth, the sons of 1Perida, 58 the sons of Jaala, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel, 59 the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth of Zebaim, and the sons of 1Amon. 60 All the Nethinim, and the sons of Solomon’s servants, were three hundred and ninety-two. 61 And these were the ones who came up from Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Cherub, 1Addon, and 7 aEzra 5:2; Neh. 12:1, 47; Matt. 1:12, 13 1Seraiah, Ezra 2:2 2Mispar, Ezra 2:2 15 1Bani, Ezra 2:10 24 1Jorah, Ezra 2:18 25 1Gibbar, Ezra 2:20 28 1Azmaveth, Ezra 2:24 29 1Kirjath Arim, Ezra 2:25 34 aNeh. 7:12 39 a1 Chr. 24:7 40 a1 Chr. 9:12 41 a1 Chr. 9:12; 24:9 42 a1 Chr. 24:8 43 1Hodaviah, Ezra 2:40; or Judah, Ezra 3:9 47 1Siaha, Ezra 2:44 48 1MT Lebanah 2MT Hogabah 3Shalmai, Ezra 2:46; or Shamlai 52 1Nephusim, Ezra 2:50 54 1Bazluth, Ezra 2:52 57 1Peruda, Ezra 2:55 59 1Ami, Ezra 2:57 61 1Addan, Ezra 2:59

427 NEHEMIAH 8:13 Immer, but they could not identify their father’s house nor their lineage, whether they were of Israel: 62 the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, the sons of Nekoda, six hundred and forty-two; 63 and of the priests: the sons of Habaiah, the sons of 1Koz, the sons of Barzillai, who took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called by their name. 64 These sought their listing among those who were registered by genealogy, but it was not found; therefore they were excluded from the priesthood as defiled. 65 And the 1governor said to them that they should not eat of the most holy things till a priest could consult with the Urim and Thummim. 66 Altogether the whole assembly was forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty, 67 besides their male and female servants, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven; and they had two hundred and forty-five men and women singers. 68 Their horses were seven hundred and thirty-six, their mules two hundred and forty- five, 69 their camels four hundred and thirty-five, and donkeys six thousand seven hundred and twenty. 70 And some of the heads of the fathers’ houses gave to the work. aThe 1governor gave to the treasury one thousand gold drachmas, fifty basins, and five hundred and thirty priestly garments. 71 Some of the heads of the fathers’ houses gave to the treasury of the work atwenty thousand gold drachmas, and two thousand two hundred silver minas. 72 And that which the rest of the people gave was twenty thousand gold drachmas, two thousand silver minas, and sixty-seven priestly garments. 73 So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the Nethinim, and all Israel dwelt in their cities. Ezra Reads the Law aWhen the seventh month came, the children of Israel were in their cities. 8 Now all athe people gathered together as one man in the open square that was bin front of the Water Gate; and they told Ezra the cscribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had com- manded Israel. 2 So Ezra the priest brought athe Law before the assembly of men and women and all who could hear with understanding bon the first day of the seventh month. 3 Then he aread from it in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate 1from morning until midday, before the men and women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. 4 So Ezra the scribe stood on a platform of wood which they had made for the purpose; and beside him, at his right hand, stood Mat- tithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Urijah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah; and at his left hand Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam. 5 And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the peo- ple astood up. 6 And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. Then all the people aan- swered, “Amen, Amen!” while blift- ing up their hands. And they cbowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground. 7 Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, ahelped the people to understand the Law; and the people bstood in their place. 8 So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading. 9 aAnd Nehemiah, who was the 1governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, b“This day is holy to the LORD your God; cdo not mourn nor weep.” For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the Law. 10 Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, aand send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord.

Law of God; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading. 9 aAnd Nehemiah, who was the 1governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, b“This day is holy to the LORD your God; cdo not mourn nor weep.” For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the Law. 10 Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, aand send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sor- row, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” 11 So the Levites quieted all the people, saying, “Be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved.” 12 And all the people went their way to eat and drink, to asend por- tions and rejoice greatly, because they bunderstood the words that were declared to them. The Feast of Tabernacles 13 Now on the second day the heads of the fathers’ houses of all the people, with the priests and 63 1Or Hakkoz 65 1Heb. Tir- shatha 70 aNeh. 8:9 1Heb. Tir- shatha 71 aEzra 2:69 73 aEzra 3:1 CHAPTER 8 1 aEzra 3:1 bNeh. 3:26 cEzra 7:6 2 a[Deut. 31:11, 12]; Neh. 8:9 bLev. 23:24; Num. 29:1–6 3 aDeut. 31:9–11; 2 Kin. 23:2 1Lit. from the light 5 aJudg. 3:20; 1 Kin. 8:12–14 6 aNeh. 5:13; [1 Cor. 14:16] bPs. 28:2; Lam. 3:41; 1 Tim. 2:8 cEx. 4:31; 12:27; 2 Chr. 20:18 7 aLev. 10:11; Deut. 33:10; 2 Chr. 17:7; [Mal. 2:7] bNeh. 9:3 9 aEzra 2:63; Neh. 7:65, 70; 10:1 bLev. 23:24; Num. 29:1 cDeut. 16:14; Eccl. 3:4 1Heb. Tir- shatha 10 a[Deut. 26:11–13]; Esth. 9:19, 22; Rev. 11:10 12 aNeh. 8:10 bNeh. 8:7, 8

NEHEMIAH 8:14 428 Levites, were gathered to Ezra the scribe, in order to understand the words of the Law. 14 And they found written in the Law, which the LORD had com- manded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in abooths1 during the feast of the seventh month, 15 and athat they should announce and proclaim in all their cities and bin Jerusalem, saying, “Go out to the mountain, and cbring olive branches, branches of oil trees, myr- tle branches, palm branches, and branches of leafy trees, to make booths, as it is written.” 16 Then the people went out and brought them and made themselves booths, each one on the aroof of his house, or in their courtyards or the courts of the house of God, and in the open square of the bWater Gate cand in the open square of the Gate of Ephraim. 17 So the whole assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made 1booths and sat under the booths; for since the days of Joshua the son of Nun until that day the children of Israel had not done so. And there was very agreat gladness. 18 Also aday by day, from the first day until the last day, he read from the Book of the Law of God. And they kept the feast bseven days; and on the ceighth day there was a sacred assembly, according to the prescribed manner. The People Confess Their Sins 9 Now on the twenty-fourth day of athis month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, in sackcloth, band with 1dust on their heads. 2 Then athose of Israelite lineage separated themselves from all for- eigners; and they stood and bcon- fessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. 3 And they stood up in their place and aread from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for one- fourth of the day; and for another fourth they confessed and wor- shiped the LORD their God. 4 Then Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani stood on the 1stairs of the Levites and cried out with a loud voice to the LORD their God. 5 And the Levites, Jeshua, Kad- miel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said: “Stand up and bless the LORD your God Forever and ever! “Blessed be aYour glorious name, Which is exalted above all blessing and praise! 6 aYou alone are the LORD; bYou have made heaven, cThe heaven of heavens, with dall their host, The earth and everything on it, The seas and all that is in them, And You epreserve them all. The host of heaven worships You. 7 “You are the LORD God, Who chose aAbram, And brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans, And gave him the name bAbraham; 8 You found his heart afaithful before You, And made a bcovenant with him To give the land of the Canaanites, The Hittites, the Amorites, The Perizzites, the Jebusites, And the Girgashites— To give it to his descendants. You chave performed Your words, For You are righteous. 9 “Youa saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, And bheard their cry by the Red Sea. 10 You ashowed signs and wonders against Pharaoh, Against all his servants, And against all the people of his land. For You knew that they bacted 1proudly against them. So You cmade a name for Yourself, as it is this day. 11 aAnd You divided the sea before them, So that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; And their persecutors You threw into the deep, bAs a stone into the mighty waters. 12 Moreover You aled them by day with a cloudy pillar, And by night with a pillar of fire, To give them light on the road Which they should travel. 13 “Youa came down also on Mount Sinai, And spoke with them from heaven, And gave them bjust ordinances and true laws, Good statutes and commandments. 14 You made known to them Your aholy Sabbath, 14 aLev. 23:34, 40, 42; Deut. 16:13 1Tempo- rary shelters 15 aLev. 23:4 bDeut. 16:16 cLev. 23:40 16 aDeut. 22:8 bNeh. 12:37 c2 Kin. 14:13; Neh. 12:39 17 a2 Chr. 30:21 1Tempo- rary shelters 18 aDeut. 31:11 bLev. 23:36 cNum. 29:35 CHAPTER 9 1 aNeh. 8:2 bJosh. 7:6; 1 Sam. 4:12; 2 Sam.

they should travel. 13 “Youa came down also on Mount Sinai, And spoke with them from heaven, And gave them bjust ordinances and true laws, Good statutes and commandments. 14 You made known to them Your aholy Sabbath, 14 aLev. 23:34, 40, 42; Deut. 16:13 1Tempo- rary shelters 15 aLev. 23:4 bDeut. 16:16 cLev. 23:40 16 aDeut. 22:8 bNeh. 12:37 c2 Kin. 14:13; Neh. 12:39 17 a2 Chr. 30:21 1Tempo- rary shelters 18 aDeut. 31:11 bLev. 23:36 cNum. 29:35 CHAPTER 9 1 aNeh. 8:2 bJosh. 7:6; 1 Sam. 4:12; 2 Sam. 1:2; Job 2:12 1Lit. earth on them 2 aEzra 10:11; Neh. 13:3, 30 bNeh. 1:6 3 aNeh. 8:7, 8 4 1Lit. ascent 5 a1 Chr. 29:13 6 aDeut. 6:4; 2 Kin. 19:15, 19; [Ps. 86:10]; Is. 37:16, 20 bGen. 1:1; Ex. 20:11; Rev. 14:7 c[Deut. 10:14]; 1 Kin. 8:27 dGen. 2:1 e[Ps. 36:6] 7 aGen. 11:31 bGen. 17:5 8 aGen. 15:6; 22:1–3; [James 2:21–23] bGen. 15:18 cJosh. 23:14 9 aEx. 2:25; 3:7 bEx. 14:10 10 aEx. 7–14 bEx. 18:11 1presumptu- ously or inso- lently cJer. 32:20 11 aEx. 14:20–28 bEx. 15:1, 5 12 aEx. 13:21, 22 13 aEx. 20:1–18 b[Rom. 7:12] 14 aGen. 2:3; Ex. 16:23; 20:8; 23:12

429 NEHEMIAH 9:29 And commanded them precepts, statutes and laws, By the hand of Moses Your servant. 15 You agave them bread from heaven for their hunger, And bbrought them water out of the rock for their thirst, And told them to cgo in to possess the land Which You had 1sworn to give them. 16 “Buta they and our fathers acted 1proudly, bHardened2 their necks, And did not heed Your commandments. 17 They refused to obey, And athey were not mindful of Your wonders That You did among them. But they hardened their necks, And 1in their rebellion They appointed ba leader To return to their bondage. But You are God, Ready to pardon, cGracious and merciful, Slow to anger, Abundant in kindness, And did not forsake them. 18 “Even awhen they made a molded calf for themselves, And said, ‘This is your god That brought you up out of Egypt,’ And worked great provocations, 19 Yet in Your amanifold mercies You did not forsake them in the wilderness. The bpillar of the cloud did not depart from them by day, To lead them on the road; Nor the pillar of fire by night, To show them light, And the way they should go. 20 You also gave Your agood Spirit to instruct them, And did not withhold Your bmanna from their mouth, And gave them cwater for their thirst. 21 aForty years You sustained them in the wilderness; They lacked nothing; Their bclothes did not wear out And their feet did not swell. 22 “Moreover You gave them kingdoms and nations, And divided them into 1districts. So they took possession of the land of aSihon, 2The land of the king of Heshbon, And the land of Og king of Bashan. 23 You also multiplied atheir children as the stars of heaven, And brought them into the land Which You had told their fathers To go in and possess. 24 So athe 1people went in And possessed the land; bYou subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, The Canaanites, And gave them into their hands, With their kings And the people of the land, That they might do with them as they wished. 25 And they took strong cities and a arich land, And possessed bhouses full of all goods, Cisterns already dug, vineyards, olive groves, And 1fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled and cgrew fat, And delighted themselves in Your great dgoodness. 26 “Nevertheless they awere disobedient And rebelled against You, bCast Your law behind their backs And killed Your cprophets, who 1testified against them To turn them to Yourself; And they worked great provocations. 27 aTherefore You delivered them into the hand of their enemies, Who oppressed them; And in the time of their trouble, When they cried to You, You bheard from heaven; And according to Your abundant mercies cYou gave them deliverers who saved them From the hand of their enemies. 28 “But after they had rest, aThey again did evil before You. Therefore You left them in the hand of their enemies, So that they had dominion over them; Yet when they returned and cried out to You, You heard from heaven; And bmany times You delivered them according to Your mercies, 29 And 1testified against them, That You might bring them back to Your law. Yet they acted 2proudly, And did not heed Your commandments, But sinned against Your judgments, a‘Which if a man does, he shall live by them.’ 15 aEx. 16:14–17; John 6:31 bEx. 17:6; Num. 20:8; [1 Cor. 10:4] cDeut. 1:8 1Lit. raised Your hand to 16 aPs. 106:6 bDeut. 1:26–33; 31:27; Neh. 9:29 1presumptu- ously 2Stiff- ened their necks, became stub- born 17 aPs. 78:11, 42–45 bNum. 14:4; Acts 7:39 cJoel 2:13 1So with MT, Vg.; LXX in Egypt 18 aEx. 32:4–8, 31 19 aPs. 106:45 bEx. 13:20–22; 1 Cor. 10:1 20 aNum. 11:17 bEx. 16:14–16 cEx. 17:6 21 aDeut. 2:7 bDeut. 8:4; 29:5 22 aNum. 21:21–35 1Lit. corners 2So with MT, Vg.; LXX omits The land of 23 aGen. 15:5; 22:17; Heb. 11:12 24 aJosh. 1:2–4 bJosh. 18:1; [Ps. 44:2, 3] 1Lit. sons 25 aNum. 13:27 bDeut. 6:11; Josh. 24:13 c[Deut. 32:15] dHos. 3:5 1Lit. trees for eat- ing 26 aJudg. 2:11 b1 Kin. 14:9; Ps. 50:17 c1 Kin.

11, 42–45 bNum. 14:4; Acts 7:39 cJoel 2:13 1So with MT, Vg.; LXX in Egypt 18 aEx. 32:4–8, 31 19 aPs. 106:45 bEx. 13:20–22; 1 Cor. 10:1 20 aNum. 11:17 bEx. 16:14–16 cEx. 17:6 21 aDeut. 2:7 bDeut. 8:4; 29:5 22 aNum. 21:21–35 1Lit. corners 2So with MT, Vg.; LXX omits The land of 23 aGen. 15:5; 22:17; Heb. 11:12 24 aJosh. 1:2–4 bJosh. 18:1; [Ps. 44:2, 3] 1Lit. sons 25 aNum. 13:27 bDeut. 6:11; Josh. 24:13 c[Deut. 32:15] dHos. 3:5 1Lit. trees for eat- ing 26 aJudg. 2:11 b1 Kin. 14:9; Ps. 50:17 c1 Kin. 18:4; 19:10; Matt. 23:37; Acts 7:52 1admon- ished or warned them 27 aJudg. 2:14; Ps. 106:41 bPs. 106:44 cJudg. 2:18 28 aJudg. 3:12 bPs. 106:43 29 aLev. 18:5; Rom. 10:5; [Gal. 3:12] 1admonished them 2pre- sumptuously

NEHEMIAH 9:30 430 And they shrugged their shoulders, 3Stiffened their necks, And would not hear. 30 Yet for many years You had patience with them, And 1testified aagainst them by Your Spirit bin Your prophets. Yet they would not listen; cTherefore You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands. 31 Nevertheless in Your great mercy aYou did not utterly consume them nor forsake them; For You are God, gracious and merciful. 32 “Now therefore, our God, The great, the amighty, and awesome God, Who keeps covenant and mercy: Do not let all the 1trouble seem small before You That has come upon us, Our kings and our princes, Our priests and our prophets, Our fathers and on all Your people, bFrom the days of the kings of Assyria until this day. 33 However aYou are just in all that has befallen us; For You have dealt faithfully, But bwe have done wickedly. 34 Neither our kings nor our princes, Our priests nor our fathers, Have kept Your law, Nor heeded Your commandments and Your testimonies, With which You testified against them. 35 For they have anot served You in their kingdom, Or in the many good things that You gave them, Or in the large and rich land which You set before them; Nor did they turn from their wicked works. 36 “Here awe are, servants today! And the land that You gave to our fathers, To eat its fruit and its bounty, Here we are, servants in it! 37 And ait yields much increase to the kings You have set over us, Because of our sins; Also they have bdominion over our bodies and our cattle At their pleasure; And we are in great distress. 38 “And because of all this, We amake a sure covenant and write it; Our leaders, our Levites, and our priests bseal it.” The People Who Sealed the Covenant 10 Now those who placed their seal on the document were: Nehemiah the 1governor, athe son of Hacaliah, and Zedekiah, 2 aSeraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah, 3 Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah, 4 Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch, 5 Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah, 6 Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch, 7 Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin, 8 Maaziah, Bilgai, and Shemaiah. These were the priests. 9 The Levites: Jeshua the son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, and Kadmiel. 10 Their brethren: Shebaniah, Ho- dijah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan, 11 Micha, Rehob, Hashabiah, 12 Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah, 13 Hodijah, Bani, and Beninu. 14 The leaders of the people: aPa- rosh, Pahath-Moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani, 15 Bunni, Azgad, Bebai, 16 Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin, 17 Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur, 18 Hodijah, Hashum, Bezai, 19 Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai, 20 Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir, 21 Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua, 22 Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah, 23 Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub, 24 Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek, 25 Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah, 26 Ahijah, Hanan, Anan, 27 Malluch, Harim, and Baanah. The Covenant That Was Sealed 28 aNow the rest of the people—the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the Nethinim, band all those who had separated them- selves from the peoples of the lands to the Law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, everyone who had knowledge and under- standing— 29 these joined with their brethren, their nobles, aand entered into a curse and an oath bto walk in God’s Law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the LORD our Lord, and His ordinances and His statutes: 30 We would not give aour daugh- ters as wives to the peoples of the land, nor take their daughters for our sons; 31 aif the peoples of the land brought 1wares or any grain to sell on the Sabbath day, we would not buy it from them on the Sabbath, or on a holy day; and we would forego the bseventh year’s produce and the cexacting2 of every debt. 32 Also we made ordinances for 29 3Became stubborn 30 a2 Kin. 17:13–18; 2 Chr. 36:11–20; Jer. 7:25 b[Acts 7:51]; 1 Pet. 1:11 cIs. 5:5 1admonished or warned them 31 aJer. 4:27; [Rom. 11:2–5] 32 a[Ex.

s to the peoples of the land, nor take their daughters for our sons; 31 aif the peoples of the land brought 1wares or any grain to sell on the Sabbath day, we would not buy it from them on the Sabbath, or on a holy day; and we would forego the bseventh year’s produce and the cexacting2 of every debt. 32 Also we made ordinances for 29 3Became stubborn 30 a2 Kin. 17:13–18; 2 Chr. 36:11–20; Jer. 7:25 b[Acts 7:51]; 1 Pet. 1:11 cIs. 5:5 1admonished or warned them 31 aJer. 4:27; [Rom. 11:2–5] 32 a[Ex. 34:6, 7] b2 Kin. 15:19; 17:3–6; Ezra 4:2, 10 1hardship 33 aPs. 119:137; [Dan. 9:14] bPs. 106:6; [Dan. 9:5, 6, 8] 35 aDeut. 28:47 36 aDeut. 28:48; Ezra 9:9 37 aDeut. 28:33, 51 bDeut. 28:48 38 a2 Kin. 23:3; 2 Chr. 29:10; Ezra 10:3 bNeh. 10:1 CHAPTER 10 1 aNeh. 1:1 1Heb. Tir- shatha 2 aNeh. 12:1–21 14 aEzra 2:3 28 aEzra 2:36–43 bEzra 9:1; Neh. 13:3 29 aDeut. 29:12; Neh. 5:12; Ps. 119:106 b2 Kin. 23:3; 2 Chr. 34:31 30 aEx. 34:16; Deut. 7:3; [Ezra 9:12] 31 aEx. 20:10; Lev. 23:3; Deut. 5:12 bEx. 23:10, 11; Lev. 25:4; Jer. 34:14 c[Deut. 15:1, 2]; Neh. 5:12 1mer- chandise 2col- lection

431 NEHEMIAH 11:20 ourselves, to exact from ourselves yearly aone-third of a shekel for the service of the house of our God: 33 for athe showbread, for the reg- ular grain offering, for the bregular burnt offering of the Sabbaths, the New Moons, and the set feasts; for the holy things, for the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel, and all the work of the house of our God. 34 We cast lots among the priests, the Levites, and the people, afor bringing the wood offering into the house of our God, according to our fathers’ houses, at the appointed times year by year, to burn on the altar of the LORD our God bas it is written in the Law. 35 And we made ordinances ato bring the firstfruits of our ground and the firstfruits of all fruit of all trees, year by year, to the house of the LORD; 36 to bring the afirstborn of our sons and our cattle, as it is written in the Law, and the firstborn of our herds and our flocks, to the house of our God, to the priests who minister in the house of our God; 37 ato bring the firstfruits of our dough, our offerings, the fruit from all kinds of trees, the new wine and oil, to the priests, to the storerooms of the 1house of our God; and to bring bthe tithes of our land to the Levites, for the Levites should receive the tithes in all our farming communities. 38 And the priest, the descendant of Aaron, shall be with the Levites awhen the Levites receive tithes; and the Levites shall bring up a tenth of the tithes to the house of our God, to bthe rooms of the storehouse. 39 For the children of Israel and the children of Levi ashall bring the offering of the grain, of the new wine and the oil, to the storerooms where the articles of the sanctuary are, where the priests who minister and the gatekeepers band the singers are; and we will not cneglect the house of our God. The People Dwelling in Jerusalem 11 Now the leaders of the people dwelt at Jerusalem; the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to dwell in Jerusalem, athe holy city, and nine-tenths were to dwell in other cities. 2 And the people blessed all the men who awillingly offered them- selves to dwell at Jerusalem. 3 aThese are the heads of the province who dwelt in Jerusalem. (But in the cities of Judah everyone dwelt in his own possession in their cities—Israelites, priests, Levites, bNethinim, and cdescendants of Solomon’s servants.) 4 Also ain Jerusalem dwelt some of the children of Judah and of the children of Benjamin. The children of Judah: Athaiah the son of Uzziah, the son of Zecha- riah, the son of Amariah, the son of Shephatiah, the son of Mahalalel, of the children of bPerez; 5 and Maaseiah the son of Ba- ruch, the son of Col-Hozeh, the son of Hazaiah, the son of Adaiah, the son of Joiarib, the son of Zechariah, the son of Shiloni. 6 All the sons of Perez who dwelt at Jerusalem were four hundred and sixty-eight valiant men. 7 And these are the sons of Ben- jamin: Sallu the son of Meshullam, the son of Joed, the son of Pedaiah, the son of Kolaiah, the son of Maa- seiah, the son of Ithiel, the son of Jeshaiah; 8 and after him Gabbai and Sal- lai, nine hundred and twenty-eight. 9 Joel the son of Zichri was their overseer, and Judah the son of 1Se- nuah was second over the city. 10 aOf the priests: Jedaiah the son of Joiarib, and Jachin; 11 Seraiah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahi- tub, was the leader of the house of God. 12 Their brethren who did the work of the house were eight hundred and twenty-two; and Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the son of Pelaliah, the son of Amzi, the son of Zechariah, the son of Pashhur, the son of Malchijah, 13 and his brethren, heads of the fathers’ houses, were two hundred and forty-two; and Amashai the son of Azarel, the son of Ahzai, the son of Meshillemoth, the son of Immer, 14 and their brethren, mighty men of valor, were one hundred and twenty- eight.

e leader of the house of God. 12 Their brethren who did the work of the house were eight hundred and twenty-two; and Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the son of Pelaliah, the son of Amzi, the son of Zechariah, the son of Pashhur, the son of Malchijah, 13 and his brethren, heads of the fathers’ houses, were two hundred and forty-two; and Amashai the son of Azarel, the son of Ahzai, the son of Meshillemoth, the son of Immer, 14 and their brethren, mighty men of valor, were one hundred and twenty- eight. Their overseer was Zabdiel 1the son of one of the great men. 15 Also of the Levites: Shemaiah the son of Hasshub, the son of Azri- kam, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Bunni; 16 aShabbethai and bJozabad, of the heads of the Levites, had the oversight of cthe business outside of the 1house of God; 17 Mattaniah the son of 1Micha, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph, the leader who began the thanksgiving with prayer; Bakbukiah, the second among his brethren; and Abda the son of Shammua, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun. 18 All the Levites in athe holy city were two hundred and eighty-four. 19 Moreover the gatekeepers, Ak- kub, Talmon, and their brethren who kept the gates, were one hun- dred and seventy-two. 20 And the rest of Israel, of the priests and Levites, were in all the cities of Judah, everyone in his inheritance. 32 aEx. 30:11–16; 38:25, 26; 2 Chr. 24:6, 9; Matt. 17:24 33 aLev. 24:5; 2 Chr. 2:4 bNum. 28; 29 34 aNeh. 13:31; [Is. 40:16] bLev. 6:12 35 aEx. 23:19; 34:26; Lev. 19:23; Num. 18:12; Deut. 26:1, 2 36 aEx. 13:2, 12, 13; Lev. 27:26, 27; Num. 18:15, 16 37 aLev. 23:17; Num. 15:19; 18:12; Deut. 18:4; 26:2 bLev. 27:30; Num. 18:21; Mal. 3:10 1Temple 38 aNum. 18:26 b1 Chr. 9:26; 2 Chr. 31:11 39 aDeut. 12:6, 11; 2 Chr. 31:12; Neh. 13:12 bNeh. 13:10, 11 c[Heb. 10:25] CHAPTER 11 1 aNeh. 10:18; Matt. 4:5; 5:35; 27:53 2 aJudg. 5:9; 2 Chr. 17:16 3 a1 Chr. 9:2, 3 bEzra 2:43 cEzra 2:55 4 a1 Chr. 9:3 bGen. 38:29 9 1Or Hasse- nuah 10 a1 Chr. 9:10 14 1Or the son of Haggedolim 16 aEzra 10:15 bEzra 8:33 c1 Chr. 26:29 1Temple 17 1Or Michah 18 aNeh. 11:1

NEHEMIAH 11:21 432 21 aBut the Nethinim dwelt in Ophel. And Ziha and Gishpa were over the Nethinim. 22 Also the overseer of the Levites at Jerusalem was Uzzi the son of Bani, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Micha, of the sons of Asaph, the singers in charge of the 1service of the 2house of God. 23 For ait was the king’s command concerning them that a 1certain por- tion should be for the singers, a quota day by day. 24 Pethahiah the son of Meshez- abel, of the children of aZerah the son of Judah, was bthe1 king’s deputy in all matters concerning the people. The People Dwelling Outside Jerusalem 25 And as for the villages with their fields, some of the children of Judah dwelt in aKirjath Arba and its villages, Dibon and its villages, Je- kabzeel and its villages; 26 in Jeshua, Moladah, Beth Pelet, 27 Hazar Shual, and Beersheba and its villages; 28 in Ziklag and Meconah and its villages; 29 in En Rimmon, Zorah, Jarmuth, 30 Zanoah, Adullam, and their vil- lages; in Lachish and its fields; in Azekah and its villages. They dwelt from Beersheba to the Valley of Hin- nom. 31 Also the children of Benjamin from Geba dwelt in Michmash, Aija, and Bethel, and their villages; 32 in Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah; 33 in Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim; 34 in Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat; 35 in Lod, Ono, and athe Valley of Craftsmen. 36 Some of the Judean divisions of Levites were in Benjamin. The Priests and Levites 12 Now these are the apriests and the Levites who came up with bZerubbabel the son of She- altiel, and Jeshua: cSeraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, 2 Amariah, 1Malluch, Hattush, 3 1Shechaniah, 2Rehum, 3Mere- moth, 4 Iddo, 1Ginnethoi, aAbijah, 5 1Mijamin, 2Maadiah, Bilgah, 6 Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah, 7 1Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, and Jeda- iah. These were the heads of the priests and their brethren in the days of aJeshua. 8 Moreover the Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah awho led the thanksgiving psalms, he and his brethren. 9 Also Bakbukiah and Unni, their brethren, stood across from them in their duties. 10 Jeshua begot Joiakim, Joiakim begot Eliashib, Eliashib begot Joiada, 11 Joiada begot Jonathan, and Jonathan begot Jaddua. 12 Now in the days of Joiakim, the priests, the aheads of the fathers’ houses were: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah; 13 of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan; 14 of 1Melichu, Jonathan; of 2She- baniah, Joseph; 15 of 1Harim, Adna; of 2Meraioth, Helkai; 16 of Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginne- thon, Meshullam; 17 of Abijah, Zichri; the son of 1Minjamin; of 2Moadiah, Piltai; 18 of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shema- iah, Jehonathan; 19 of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi; 20 of 1Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber; 21 of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; and of Jedaiah, Nethanel. 22 During the reign of Darius the Persian, a record was also kept of the Levites and priests who had been aheads of their fathers’ houses in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua. 23 The sons of Levi, the heads of the fathers’ houses until the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib, were written in the book of the achroni- cles. 24 And the heads of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brothers across from them, to apraise and give thanks, bgroup1 alternating with group, caccording to the command of David the man of God. 25 Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers keeping the watch at the storerooms of the gates. 26 These lived in the days of Joia- kim the son of Jeshua, the son of 1Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemi- ah athe governor, and of Ezra the priest, bthe scribe. Nehemiah Dedicates the Wall 27 Now at athe dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought out the Levites in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to cele- brate the dedication with gladness, bboth with thanksgivings and sing- ing, with cymbals and stringed instruments and harps. 28 And the sons of the singers gathered together from the country-

the days of Joia- kim the son of Jeshua, the son of 1Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemi- ah athe governor, and of Ezra the priest, bthe scribe. Nehemiah Dedicates the Wall 27 Now at athe dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought out the Levites in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to cele- brate the dedication with gladness, bboth with thanksgivings and sing- ing, with cymbals and stringed instruments and harps. 28 And the sons of the singers gathered together from the country- side around Jerusalem, from the avillages of the Netophathites, 29 from the house of Gilgal, and from the fields of Geba and Azma- veth; for the singers had built them- selves villages all around Jerusalem. 30 Then the priests and Levites apu- 21 a2 Chr. 27:3; Neh. 3:26 22 1work 2Temple 23 aEzra 6:8, 9; 7:20 1fixed share 24 aGen. 38:30 b1 Chr. 18:17 1Lit. at the king’s hand 25 aJosh. 14:15 35 a1 Chr. 4:14 CHAPTER 12 1 aEzra 2:1, 2; 7:7 bNeh. 7:7; Matt. 1:12, 13 cNeh. 10:2–8 2 1Melichu, v. 14 3 1Shebaniah, v. 14 2Harim, v. 15 3Meraioth, v. 15 4 aLuke 1:5 1Ginnethon, v. 16 5 1Minjamin, v. 17 2Moa- diah, v. 17 7 aEzra 3:2; Hag. 1:1; Zech. 3:1 1Sal- lai, v. 20 8 aNeh. 11:17 12 aNeh. 7:70, 71; 8:13; 11:13 14 1Malluch, v. 2 2Shecha- niah, v. 3 15 1Rehum, v. 3 2Meremoth, v. 3 17 1Mijamin, v. 5 2Maadiah, v. 5 20 1Sallu, v. 7 22 a1 Chr. 24:6 23 a1 Chr. 9:14–22 24 aNeh. 11:17 bEzra 3:11 c1 Chr. 23–26 1Lit. watch by watch 26 aNeh. 8:9 bEzra 7:6, 11 1Jehozadak, 1 Chr. 6:14 27 aDeut. 20:5; Neh. 7:1; Ps. 30:title b1 Chr. 25:6; 2 Chr. 5:13; 7:6 28 a1 Chr. 9:16 30 aEzra 6:20; Neh. 13:22, 30

433 NEHEMIAH 13:11 rified themselves, and purified the people, the gates, and the wall. 31 So I brought the leaders of Judah up on the wall, and appointed two large thanksgiving choirs. aOne went to the right hand on the wall btoward the Refuse Gate. 32 After them went Hoshaiah and half of the leaders of Judah, 33 and Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, 34 Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, Jer- emiah, 35 and some of the priests’ sons awith trumpets—Zechariah the son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Mi- chaiah, the son of Zaccur, the son of Asaph, 36 and his brethren, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Ne- thanel, Judah, and Hanani, with athe musical binstruments of David the man of God. Ezra the scribe went before them. 37 aBy the Fountain Gate, in front of them, they went up bthe stairs of the cCity of David, on the stairway of the wall, beyond the house of David, as far as dthe Water Gate eastward. 38 aThe other thanksgiving choir went the opposite way, and I was behind them with half of the people on the wall, going past the bTower of the Ovens as far as cthe Broad Wall, 39 aand above the Gate of Ephraim, above bthe Old Gate, above cthe Fish Gate, dthe Tower of Hananel, the Tower of 1the Hundred, as far as ethe Sheep Gate; and they stopped by fthe Gate of the Prison. 40 So the two thanksgiving choirs stood in the house of God, likewise I and the half of the rulers with me; 41 and the priests, Eliakim, Maa- seiah, 1Minjamin, Michaiah, Elioe- nai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with trumpets; 42 also Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Elea- zar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchi- jah, Elam, and Ezer. The singers 1sang loudly with Jezrahiah the director. 43 Also that day they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and the children also rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusa- lem was heard aafar off. Temple Responsibilities 44 aAnd at the same time some were appointed over the rooms of the storehouse for the offerings, the firstfruits, and the btithes, to gather into them from the fields of the cities the portions specified by the Law for the priests and Levites; for Judah rejoiced over the priests and Levites who 1ministered. 45 Both the singers and the gate- keepers kept the charge of their God and the charge of the purification, aaccording to the command of David and Solomon his son. 46 For in the days of David aand Asaph of old there were chiefs of the singers, and songs of praise and thanksgiving to God. 47 In the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah all Israel gave the portions for the singers and the gatekeepers, a portion for aeach day. bThey also 1consecrated holy things for the Levites, cand the Levites con- secrated them for the children of Aaron. Principles of Separation 13 On that day athey read from the Book of Moses in the hear- ing of the people, and in it was found written bthat no Ammonite or Moabite should ever come into the assembly of God, 2 because they had not met the children of Israel with bread and water, but ahired Balaam against them to curse them. bHowever, our God turned the curse into a blessing. 3 So it was, when they had heard the Law, athat they separated all the mixed multitude from Israel. The Reforms of Nehemiah 4 Now before this, aEliashib the priest, having authority over the storerooms of the house of our God, was allied with bTobiah. 5 And he had prepared for him a large room, awhere previously they had stored the grain offerings, the frankincense, the articles, the tithes of grain, the new wine and oil, bwhich were commanded to be given to the Levites and singers and gatekeepers, and the offerings for the priests. 6 But during all this I was not in Jerusalem, afor in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had returned to the king.

uthority over the storerooms of the house of our God, was allied with bTobiah. 5 And he had prepared for him a large room, awhere previously they had stored the grain offerings, the frankincense, the articles, the tithes of grain, the new wine and oil, bwhich were commanded to be given to the Levites and singers and gatekeepers, and the offerings for the priests. 6 But during all this I was not in Jerusalem, afor in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had returned to the king. Then after certain days I obtained leave from the king, 7 and I came to Jerusalem and dis- covered the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, in apreparing a room for him in the courts of the 1house of God. 8 And it grieved me bitterly; therefore I threw all the household goods of Tobiah out of the room. 9 Then I commanded them to acleanse the rooms; and I brought back into them the articles of the house of God, with the grain offer- ing and the frankincense. 10 I also realized that the portions for the Levites had anot been given them; for each of the Levites and the singers who did the work had gone back to bhis field. 11 So aI contended with the rulers, and said, b“Why is the house of God forsaken?” And I gathered them together and set them in their place. 31 aNeh. 12:38 bNeh. 2:13; 3:13 35 aNum. 10:2, 8 36 a1 Chr. 23:5 b2 Chr. 29:26, 27 37 aNeh. 2:14; 3:15 bNeh. 3:15 c2 Sam. 5:7–9 dNeh. 3:26; 8:1, 3, 16 38 aNeh. 12:31 bNeh. 3:11 cNeh. 3:8 39 a2 Kin. 14:13; Neh. 8:16 bNeh. 3:6 cNeh. 3:3 dNeh. 3:1 eNeh. 3:32 fJer. 32:2 1Heb. Ham- meah 41 1Or Mi- jamin, v. 5 42 1Lit. made their voice to be heard 43 aEzra 3:13 44 a2 Chr. 31:11, 12; Neh. 13:5, 12, 13 bNeh. 10:37–39 1Lit. stood 45 a1 Chr. 25; 26 46 a1 Chr. 25:1; 2 Chr. 29:30 47 aNeh. 11:23 bNum. 18:21, 24 cNum. 18:26 1set apart CHAPTER 13 1 a[Deut. 31:11, 12]; 2 Kin. 23:2; Neh. 8:3, 8; 9:3; Is. 34:16 bDeut. 23:3, 4 2 aNum. 22:5; Josh. 24:9, 10 bNum. 23:1; 24:10; Deut. 23:5 3 aNeh. 9:2; 10:28 4 aNeh. 12:10 bNeh. 2:10; 4:3; 6:1 5 aNeh. 12:44 bNum. 18:21, 24 6 aNeh. 5:14–16 7 aNeh. 13:1, 5 1Temple 9 a2 Chr. 29:5, 15, 16 10 aNeh. 10:37; Mal. 3:8 bNum. 35:2 11 aNeh. 13:17, 25 bNeh. 10:39

NEHEMIAH 13:12 434 12 aThen all Judah brought the tithe of the grain and the new wine and the oil to the storehouse. 13 aAnd I appointed as treasurers over the storehouse Shelemiah the priest and Zadok the scribe, and of the Levites, Pedaiah; and next to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah; for they were considered bfaithful, and their task was to distribute to their brethren. 14 aRemember me, O my God, con- cerning this, and do not wipe out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God, and for its ser- vices! 15 In those days I saw people in Judah treading wine presses aon the Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and loading donkeys with wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of bur- dens, bwhich they brought into Jeru- salem on the Sabbath day. And I warned them about the day on which they were selling provisions. 16 Men of Tyre dwelt there also, who brought in fish and all kinds of goods, and sold them on the Sab- bath to the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem. 17 Then I contended with the no- bles of Judah, and said to them, “What evil thing is this that you do, by which you profane the Sabbath day? 18 a“Did not your fathers do thus, and did not our God bring all this disaster on us and on this city? Yet you bring added wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.” 19 So it was, at the gates of Jeru- salem, as it abegan to be dark before the Sabbath, that I commanded the gates to be shut, and charged that they must not be opened till after the Sabbath. bThen I posted some of my servants at the gates, so that no burdens would be brought in on the Sabbath day. 20 Now the merchants and sellers of all kinds of 1wares 2lodged out- side Jerusalem once or twice. 21 Then I warned them, and said to them, “Why do you spend the night 1around the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you!” From that time on they came no more on the Sabbath. 22 And I commanded the Levites that athey should cleanse them- selves, and that they should go and guard the gates, to sanctify the Sab- bath day. Remember me, O my God, con- cerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of Your mercy! 23 In those days I also saw Jews who ahad married women of bAsh- dod, Ammon, and Moab. 24 And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and could not speak the language of Judah, but spoke according to the language of one or the other people. 25 So I acontended with them and 1cursed them, struck some of them and pulled out their hair, and made them bswear by God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters as wives to their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons or your- selves. 26 a“Did not Solomon king of Is- rael sin by these things? Yet among many nations there was no king like him, bwho was beloved of his God; and God made him king over all Israel. cNevertheless pagan women caused even him to sin. 27 “Should we then hear of your doing all this great evil, atransgress- ing against our God by marrying pagan women?” 28 And one of the sons aof Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was a son-in-law of bSanballat the Horonite; therefore I drove him from me. 29 aRemember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priest- hood and bthe covenant of the priesthood and the Levites. 30 aThus I cleansed them of every- thing pagan. I also bassigned duties to the priests and the Levites, each to his service, 31 and to bringing athe wood offer- ing and the firstfruits at appointed times. bRemember me, O my God, for good! 12 aNeh. 10:38; 12:44 13 a2 Chr. 31:12 b1 Cor. 4:2 14 aNeh. 5:19; 13:22, 31 15 a[Ex. 20:10] bNeh. 10:31; [Jer. 17:21] 18 aEzra 9:13; [Jer. 17:21] 19 aLev. 23:32 bJer. 17:21, 22 20 1merchan- dise 2spent the night 21 1Lit. before 22 a1 Chr. 15:12; Neh. 12:30 23 a[Ex. 34:16; Deut. 7:3, 4]; Ezra 9:2; Neh. 10:30 bNeh. 4:7 25 aProv. 28:4 bEzra 10:5; Neh. 10:29, 30 1pronounced them cursed 26 a1 Kin. 11:1, 2 b2 Sam. 12:24, 25 c1 Kin. 11:4–8 27 a[Ezra 10:2]; Neh. 13:23 28 aNeh. 12:10, 12 bNeh.

for good! 12 aNeh. 10:38; 12:44 13 a2 Chr. 31:12 b1 Cor. 4:2 14 aNeh. 5:19; 13:22, 31 15 a[Ex. 20:10] bNeh. 10:31; [Jer. 17:21] 18 aEzra 9:13; [Jer. 17:21] 19 aLev. 23:32 bJer. 17:21, 22 20 1merchan- dise 2spent the night 21 1Lit. before 22 a1 Chr. 15:12; Neh. 12:30 23 a[Ex. 34:16; Deut. 7:3, 4]; Ezra 9:2; Neh. 10:30 bNeh. 4:7 25 aProv. 28:4 bEzra 10:5; Neh. 10:29, 30 1pronounced them cursed 26 a1 Kin. 11:1, 2 b2 Sam. 12:24, 25 c1 Kin. 11:4–8 27 a[Ezra 10:2]; Neh. 13:23 28 aNeh. 12:10, 12 bNeh. 4:1, 7; 6:1, 2 29 aNeh. 6:14 bMal. 2:4, 11, 12 30 aNeh. 10:30 bNeh. 12:1 31 aNeh. 10:34 bNeh. 13:14, 22

The King Dethrones Queen Vashti NOW it came to pass in the days of aAhasuerus1 (this was the Ahasuerus who reigned bover one hundred and twenty-seven prov- inces, cfrom India to Ethiopia), 2 in those days when King Ahas- uerus asat on the throne of his king- dom, which was in bShushan1 the 2citadel, 3 that in the third year of his reign he amade a feast for all his officials and servants—the powers of Persia and Media, the nobles, and the princes of the provinces being before him— 4 when he showed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the splen- dor of his excellent majesty for many days, one hundred and eighty days in all. 5 And when these days were com- pleted, the king made a feast lasting seven days for all the people who were present in 1Shushan the 2citadel, from great to small, in the court of the garden of the king’s palace. 6 There were white and blue linen curtains fastened with cords of fine linen and purple on silver rods and marble pillars; and the acouches were of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of alabaster, turquoise, and white and black marble. 7 And they served drinks in golden vessels, each vessel being different from the other, with royal wine in abundance, aaccording to the 1generosity of the king. 8 In accordance with the law, the drinking was not compulsory; for so the king had ordered all the officers of his household, that they should do according to each man’s plea- sure. 9 Queen Vashti also made a feast for the women in the royal palace which belonged to King Ahasuerus. 10 On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, aHarbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, seven eunuchs who served in the presence of King Ahasuerus, 11 to bring Queen Vashti before the king, wearing her royal crown, in order to show her beauty to the peo- ple and the officials, for she was beautiful to behold. 12 But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s command brought by his eunuchs; therefore the king was furious, and his anger burned within him. 13 Then the king said to the awise men bwho understood the times (for this was the king’s manner toward all who knew law and justice, 14 those closest to him being Car- shena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the aseven princes of Persia and Media, bwho had access to the king’s pres- ence, and who 1ranked highest in the kingdom): 15 “What shall we do to Queen Vashti, according to law, because she did not obey the command of King Ahasuerus brought to her by the eunuchs?” 16 And Memucan answered before the king and the princes: “Queen Vashti has not only wronged the king, but also all the princes, and all the people who are in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus. 17 “For the queen’s behavior will become known to all women, so that they will adespise their husbands in their eyes, when they report, ‘King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought in before him, but she did not come.’ 18 “This very day the noble ladies of Persia and Media will say to all the king’s officials that they have heard of the behavior of the queen. Thus there will be excessive con- tempt and wrath. 19 “If it pleases the king, let a royal 1decree go out from him, and let it be recorded in the laws of the Per- sians and the Medes, so that it will anot 2be altered, that Vashti shall come no more before King Ahas- uerus; and let the king give her CHAPTER 1 1 aEzra 4:6; Dan. 9:1 bEsth. 8:9 cDan. 6:1 1Generally identified with Xerxes I (485–464 B.C.) 2 a1 Kin. 1:46 bNeh. 1:1; Dan. 8:2 1Or Susa 2Or for- tified palace, and so else- where in the book 3 aGen. 40:20; Esth. 2:18 5 1Or Susa 2palace 6 aEsth. 7:8; Ezek. 23:41; Amos 2:8; 6:4 7 aEsth. 2:18 1Lit. hand 10 aEsth. 7:9 13 aJer. 10:7; Dan. 2:12; Matt. 2:1 b1 Chr. 12:32 14 aEzra 7:14 b2 Kin. 25:19; [Matt. 18:10] 1Lit. sat in first place 17 a[Eph. 5:33] 19 aEsth. 8:8; Dan.

the king give her CHAPTER 1 1 aEzra 4:6; Dan. 9:1 bEsth. 8:9 cDan. 6:1 1Generally identified with Xerxes I (485–464 B.C.) 2 a1 Kin. 1:46 bNeh. 1:1; Dan. 8:2 1Or Susa 2Or for- tified palace, and so else- where in the book 3 aGen. 40:20; Esth. 2:18 5 1Or Susa 2palace 6 aEsth. 7:8; Ezek. 23:41; Amos 2:8; 6:4 7 aEsth. 2:18 1Lit. hand 10 aEsth. 7:9 13 aJer. 10:7; Dan. 2:12; Matt. 2:1 b1 Chr. 12:32 14 aEzra 7:14 b2 Kin. 25:19; [Matt. 18:10] 1Lit. sat in first place 17 a[Eph. 5:33] 19 aEsth. 8:8; Dan. 6:8 1Lit. word 2pass away The Book of ESTHER GOD’S hand of providence and protection on behalf of His people is evident throughout the Book of Esther, though His name does not appear once. Haman’s plot brings grave danger to the Jews and is countered by the courage of beautiful Esther and the counsel of her wise cousin Mordecal, resulting in a great deliverance. The Feast of Purim becomes an annual reminder of God’s faithfulness on behalf of His people. Esther’s Hebrew name was Hadassah, “Myrtle” (2:7), but her Persian name Ester was derived from the Persian word for “Star” (Stara). The Greek title for this book is Esther, and the Latin title is Hester.

ESTHER 1:20 436 royal position to another who is bet- ter than she. 20 “When the king’s decree which he will make is proclaimed through- out all his empire (for it is great), all wives will ahonor their husbands, both great and small.” 21 And the reply pleased the king and the princes, and the king did according to the word of Memucan. 22 Then he sent letters to all the king’s provinces, ato each province in its own script, and to every peo- ple in their own language, that each man should bbe master in his own house, and speak in the language of his own people. Esther Becomes Queen 2 After these things, when the wrath of King Ahasuerus sub- sided, he remembered Vashti, awhat she had done, and what had been decreed against her. 2 Then the king’s servants who attended him said: “Let beautiful young virgins be sought for the king; 3 “and let the king appoint offi- cers in all the provinces of his king- dom, that they may gather all the beautiful young virgins to 1Shushan the 2citadel, into the women’s quar- ters, under the custody of 3Hegai the king’s eunuch, custodian of the women. And let beauty preparations be given them. 4 “Then let the young woman who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.” This thing pleased the king, and he did so. 5 In 1Shushan the 2citadel there was a certain Jew whose name was Mordecai the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of aKish, a Ben- jamite. 6 aKish1 had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captives who had been captured with 2Jeco- niah king of Judah, whom Neb- uchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away. 7 And Mordecai had brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, ahis uncle’s daughter, for she had neither father nor mother. The young woman was lovely and beautiful. When her father and mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter. 8 So it was, when the king’s com- mand and decree were heard, and when many young women were agathered at 1Shushan the 2citadel, under the custody of Hegai, that Esther also was taken to the king’s palace, into the care of Hegai the custodian of the women. 9 Now the young woman pleased him, and she obtained his favor; so he readily gave abeauty preparations to her, besides 1her allowance.

oung woman was lovely and beautiful. When her father and mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter. 8 So it was, when the king’s com- mand and decree were heard, and when many young women were agathered at 1Shushan the 2citadel, under the custody of Hegai, that Esther also was taken to the king’s palace, into the care of Hegai the custodian of the women. 9 Now the young woman pleased him, and she obtained his favor; so he readily gave abeauty preparations to her, besides 1her allowance. Then seven choice maidservants were pro- vided for her from the king’s palace, and he moved her and her maidser- vants to the best place in the house of the women. 10 aEsther had not 1revealed her people or family, for Mordecai had charged her not to reveal it. 11 And every day Mordecai paced in front of the court of the women’s quarters, to learn of Esther’s wel- fare and what was happening to her. 12 Each young woman’s turn came to go in to King Ahasuerus after she had completed twelve months’ prep- aration, according to the regulations for the women, for thus were the days of their preparation appor- tioned: six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with perfumes and preparations for beautifying women. 13 Thus prepared, each young woman went to the king, and she was given whatever she desired to take with her from the women’s quarters to the king’s palace. 14 In the evening she went, and in the morning she returned to the sec- ond house of the women, to the cus- tody of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch who kept the concubines. She would not go in to the king again unless the king delighted in her and called for her by name. 15 Now when the turn came for Esther athe daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her as his daughter, to go in to the king, she requested nothing but what Hegai the king’s eunuch, the custodian of the women, advised. And Esther bobtained favor in the sight of all who saw her. 16 So Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus, into his royal palace, in the tenth month, which is the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign. 17 The king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she obtained grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins; so he set the royal acrown upon her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. 18 Then the king amade a great feast, the Feast of Esther, for all his officials and servants; and he pro- claimed a holiday in the provinces and gave gifts according to the 1gen- erosity of a king. Mordecai Discovers a Plot 19 When virgins were gathered to- gether a second time, Mordecai sat within the king’s gate. 20 aNow Esther had not revealed her family and her people, just as Mordecai had charged her, for Esther obeyed the command of Mordecai as when she was brought up by him. 21 In those days, while Mordecai sat within the king’s gate, two of the king’s eunuchs, 1Bigthan and Teresh, doorkeepers, became furious and 20 a[Eph. 5:33; Col. 3:18; 1 Pet. 3:1] 22 aEsth. 3:12; 8:9 b[Eph. 5:22–24; 1 Tim. 2:12] CHAPTER 2 1 aEsth. 1:19, 20 3 1Or Susa 2palace 2Heb. Hege 5 a1 Sam. 9:1 1Or Susa 2palace 6 a2 Kin. 24:14, 15; 2 Chr. 36:10, 20; Jer. 24:1 1Lit. Who 2Je- hoiachin, 2 Kin. 24:6 7 aEsth. 2:15 8 aEsth. 2:3 1Or Susa 2palace 9 aEsth. 2:3, 12 1Lit. her por- tions 10 aEsth. 2:20 1Revealed the identity of 15 aEsth. 2:7; 9:29 bEsth. 5:2, 8 17 aEsth. 1:11 18 aEsth. 1:3 1Lit. hand 20 aEsth. 2:10; [Prov. 22:6] 21 1Bigthana, Esth. 6:2

437 ESTHER 4:8 sought to lay hands on King Ahas- uerus. 22 So the matter became known to Mordecai, awho told Queen Esther, and Esther informed the king in Mordecai’s name. 23 And when an inquiry was made into the matter, it was confirmed, and both were hanged on a gallows; and it was written in athe book of the chronicles in the presence of the king. Haman’s Conspiracy Against the Jews 3 After these things King Ahasu- erus promoted Haman, the son of Hammedatha the aAgagite, and badvanced him and set his seat above all the princes who were with him. 2 And all the king’s servants who were awithin the king’s gate bowed and paid homage to Haman, for so the king had commanded concern- ing him. But Mordecai bwould not bow or pay homage. 3 Then the king’s servants who were within the king’s gate said to Mordecai, “Why do you transgress the aking’s command?” 4 Now it happened, when they spoke to him daily and he would not listen to them, that they told it to Haman, to see whether Mordecai’s words would stand; for Mordecai had told them that he was a Jew. 5 When Haman saw that Morde- cai adid not bow or pay him hom- age, Haman was bfilled with wrath. 6 But he disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone, for they had told him of the people of Mordecai. Instead, Haman asought to destroy all the Jews who were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus— the people of Mordecai. 7 In the first month, which is the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, athey cast Pur (that is, the lot), before Haman 1to determine the day and the 2month, 3until it fell on the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar. 8 Then Haman said to King Ahas- uerus, “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of your kingdom; atheir laws are different from all other people’s, and they do not keep the king’s laws. Therefore it is not fitting for the king to let them remain. 9 “If it pleases the king, let a decree be written that they be destroyed, and I will pay ten thou- sand talents of silver into the hands of those who do the work, to bring it into the king’s treasuries.” 10 So the king atook bhis signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the cenemy of the Jews. 11 And the king said to Haman, “The money and the people are given to you, to do with them as seems good to you.” 12 aThen the king’s scribes were called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and a decree was writ- ten according to all that Haman commanded—to the king’s satraps, to the governors who were over each province, to the officials of all people, to every province baccording to its script, and to every people in their language. cIn the name of King Ahasuerus it was written, and sealed with the king’s signet ring. 13 And the letters were asent by couriers into all the king’s provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, lit- tle children and women, bin one day, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and cto plunder their 1possessions. 14 aA copy of the document was to be issued as law in every province, being published for all people, that they should be ready for that day. 15 The couriers went out, hastened by the king’s command; and the decree was proclaimed in 1Shushan the 2citadel. So the king and Haman sat down to drink, but athe city of Shushan was 3perplexed. Esther Agrees to Help the Jews 4 When Mordecai learned all that had happened, 1he atore his clothes and put on sackcloth band ashes, and went out into the midst of the city.

of the document was to be issued as law in every province, being published for all people, that they should be ready for that day. 15 The couriers went out, hastened by the king’s command; and the decree was proclaimed in 1Shushan the 2citadel. So the king and Haman sat down to drink, but athe city of Shushan was 3perplexed. Esther Agrees to Help the Jews 4 When Mordecai learned all that had happened, 1he atore his clothes and put on sackcloth band ashes, and went out into the midst of the city. He ccried out with a loud and bitter cry. 2 He went as far as the front of the king’s gate, for no one might enter the king’s gate clothed with sackcloth. 3 And in every province where the king’s command and decree arrived, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weep- ing, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes. 4 So Esther’s maids and eunuchs came and told her, and the queen was deeply distressed. Then she sent garments to clothe Mordecai and take his sackcloth away from him, but he would not accept them. 5 Then Esther called Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs whom he had appointed to attend her, and she gave him a command concerning Mordecai, to learn what and why this was. 6 So Hathach went out to Morde- cai in the city square that was in front of the king’s gate. 7 And Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, and athe sum of money that Haman had promised to pay into the king’s treasuries to destroy the Jews. 8 He also gave him aa copy of the 22 aEsth. 6:1, 2 23 aEsth. 6:1 CHAPTER 3 1 aNum. 24:7; 1 Sam. 15:8 bEsth. 5:11 2 aEsth. 2:19, 21; 5:9 bEsth. 3:5; Ps. 15:4 3 aEsth. 3:2 5 aEsth. 3:2; 5:9 bDan. 3:19 6 aPs. 83:4; [Rev. 12:1–17] 7 aEsth. 9:24–26 1Lit. from day to day and month to month 2LXX adds to de- stroy the people of Mordecai in one day; Vg. adds the na- tion of the Jews should be destroyed 3So with MT, Vg.; LXX and the lot fell on the four- teenth of the month 8 aEzra 4:12–15; Acts 16:20, 21 10 aGen. 41:42 bEsth. 8:2, 8 cEsth. 7:6 12 aEsth. 8:9 bEsth. 1:22 c1 Kin. 21:8; Esth. 8:8–10 13 a2 Chr. 30:6; Esth. 8:10, 14 bEsth. 8:12 cEsth. 8:11; 9:10 1LXX adds the text of the letter here 14 aEsth. 8:13, 14 15 aEsth. 8:15; [Prov. 29:2] 1Or Susa 2palace 3in confusion CHAPTER 4 1 a2 Sam. 1:11; Esth. 3:8–10; Jon. 3:5, 6 bJosh. 7:6; Ezek. 27:30 cGen. 27:34 1Lit. Mordecai 7 aEsth. 3:9 8 aEsth. 3:14, 15

ESTHER 4:9 438 written decree for their destruction, which was given at 1Shushan, that he might show it to Esther and explain it to her, and that he might command her to go in to the king to make supplication to him and plead before him for her people. 9 So Hathach returned and told Esther the words of Mordecai. 10 Then Esther spoke to Hathach, and gave him a command for Mordecai: 11 “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that any man or woman who goes into athe inner court to the king, who has not been called, bhe has but one law: put all to death, except the one cto whom the king holds out the golden scepter, that he may live.Yet I myself have not been dcalled to go in to the king these thirty days.” 12 So they told Mordecai Esther’s words. 13 And Mordecai told them to an- swer Esther: “Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. 14 “For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliver- ance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” 15 Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai: 16 “Go, gather all the Jews who are present in 1Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for athree days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; band if I perish, I perish!” 17 So Mordecai went his way and did according to all that Esther com- manded 1him. Esther’s Banquet 5 Now it happened aon the third day that Esther put on her royal robes and stood in bthe inner court of the king’s palace, across from the king’s house, while the king sat on his royal throne in the royal house, facing the entrance of the 1house. 2 So it was, when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, that ashe found favor in his sight, and bthe king held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther went near and touched the top of the scepter. 3 And the king said to her, “What do you wish, Queen Esther? What is your request? aIt shall be given to you—up to half the kingdom!” 4 So Esther answered, “If it pleases the king, let the king and Haman come today to the banquet that I have prepared for him.” 5 Then the king said, “Bring Ha- man quickly, that he may do as Esther has said.” So the king and Haman went to the banquet that Esther had prepared. 6 At the banquet of wine athe king said to Esther, b“What is your peti- tion? It shall be granted you. What is your request, up to half the king- dom?

What is your request? aIt shall be given to you—up to half the kingdom!” 4 So Esther answered, “If it pleases the king, let the king and Haman come today to the banquet that I have prepared for him.” 5 Then the king said, “Bring Ha- man quickly, that he may do as Esther has said.” So the king and Haman went to the banquet that Esther had prepared. 6 At the banquet of wine athe king said to Esther, b“What is your peti- tion? It shall be granted you. What is your request, up to half the king- dom? It shall be done!” 7 Then Esther answered and said, “My petition and request is this: 8 “If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and 1fulfill my request, then let the king and Ha- man come to the abanquet which I will prepare for them, and tomorrow I will do as the king has said.” Haman’s Plot Against Mordecai 9 So Haman went out that day ajoyful and with a glad heart; but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate, and bthat he did not stand or tremble before him, he was filled with indignation against Mordecai. 10 Nevertheless Haman arestrained himself and went home, and he sent and called for his friends and his wife Zeresh. 11 Then Haman told them of his great riches, athe multitude of his children, everything in which the king had promoted him, and how he had badvanced him above the offi- cials and servants of the king. 12 Moreover Haman said, “Be- sides, Queen Esther invited no one but me to come in with the king to the banquet that she prepared; and tomorrow I am again invited by her, along with the king. 13 “Yet all this avails me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.” 14 Then his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Let a agallows1 be made, 2fifty cubits high, and in the morning bsuggest to the king that Mordecai be hanged on it; then go merrily with the king to the ban- quet.” And the thing pleased Haman; so he had cthe gallows made. The King Honors Mordecai 6 That night 1the king could not sleep. So one was commanded to bring athe book of the records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king. 2 And it was found written that Mordecai had told of 1Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, the doorkeepers who had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. 3 Then the king said, “What honor or dignity has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?” And the king’s servants who attended him said, “Nothing has been done for him.” 4 So the king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had just en- 8 1Or Susa 11 aEsth. 5:1; 6:4 bDan. 2:9 cEsth. 5:2; 8:4 dEsth. 2:14 16 aEsth. 5:1 bGen. 43:14 1Or Susa 17 1LXX adds a prayer of Mordecai here CHAPTER 5 1 aEsth. 4:16 bEsth. 4:11; 6:4 1LXX adds many extra details in vv. 1, 2 2 a[Prov. 21:1] bEsth. 4:11; 8:4 3 aEsth. 7:2; Mark 6:23 6 aEsth. 7:2 bEsth. 9:12 8 aEsth. 6:14 1Lit. to do 9 a[Job 20:5; Luke 6:25] bEsth. 3:5 10 a2 Sam. 13:22 11 aEsth. 9:7–10 bEsth. 3:1 14 aEsth. 7:9 bEsth. 6:4 cEsth. 7:10 1Lit. tree or wood 2About 75 feet CHAPTER 6 1 aEsth. 2:23; 10:2 1Lit. the king’s sleep fled away 2 1Bigthan, Esth. 2:21

439 ESTHER 8:5 tered athe outer court of the king’s palace bto suggest that the king hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him. 5 The king’s servants said to him, “Haman is there, standing in the court.” And the king said, “Let him come in.” 6 So Haman came in, and the king asked him, “What shall be done for the man whom the king delights to honor?” Now Haman thought in his heart, “Whom would the king de- light to honor more than ame?” 7 And Haman answered the king, “For the man whom the king delights to honor, 8 “let a royal robe be brought which the king has worn, and aa horse on which the king has ridden, which has a royal 1crest placed on its head. 9 “Then let this robe and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king’s most noble princes, that he may array the man whom the king delights to honor. Then 1parade him on horseback through the city square, aand proclaim before him: ‘Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!’ ” 10 Then the king said to Haman, “Hurry, take the robe and the horse, as you have suggested, and do so for Mordecai the Jew who sits within the king’s gate! Leave nothing un- done of all that you have spoken.” 11 So Haman took the robe and the horse, arrayed Mordecai and led him on horseback through the city square, and proclaimed before him, “Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!” 12 Afterward Mordecai went back to the king’s gate. But Haman ahur- ried to his house, mourning band with his head covered. 13 When Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends every- thing that had happened to him, his wise men and his wife Zeresh said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish descent, you will not prevail against ahim but will surely fall before him.” 14 While they were still talking with him, the king’s eunuchs came, and hastened to bring Haman to athe banquet which Esther had pre- pared. Haman Hanged Instead of Mordecai 7 So the king and Haman went to dine with Queen Esther. 2 And on the second day, aat the banquet of wine, the king again said to Esther, “What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request, up to half the kingdom? It shall be done!” 3 Then Queen Esther answered and said, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request. 4 “For we have been asold, my peo- ple and I, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. Had we been sold as bmale and female slaves, I would have held my tongue, although the enemy could never compensate for the king’s loss.” 5 So King Ahasuerus answered and said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who would dare presume in his heart to do such a thing?” 6 And Esther said, “The adversary and aenemy is this wicked Haman!” So Haman was terrified before the king and queen. 7 Then the king arose in his wrath from the banquet of wine and went into the palace garden; but Haman stood before Queen Esther, pleading for his life, for he saw that evil was determined against him by the king. 8 When the king returned from the palace garden to the place of the banquet of wine, Haman had fallen across athe couch where Esther was. Then the king said, “Will he also assault the queen while I am in the house?” As the word left the king’s mouth, they bcovered Haman’s face. 9 Now aHarbonah, one of the eunuchs, said to the king, “Look! bThe 1gallows, fifty cubits high, which Haman made for Mordecai, who spoke cgood on the king’s behalf, is standing at the house of Haman.” Then the king said, “Hang him on it!” 10 So athey bhanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai.

d fallen across athe couch where Esther was. Then the king said, “Will he also assault the queen while I am in the house?” As the word left the king’s mouth, they bcovered Haman’s face. 9 Now aHarbonah, one of the eunuchs, said to the king, “Look! bThe 1gallows, fifty cubits high, which Haman made for Mordecai, who spoke cgood on the king’s behalf, is standing at the house of Haman.” Then the king said, “Hang him on it!” 10 So athey bhanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king’s wrath subsided. Esther Saves the Jews 8 On that day King Ahasuerus gave Queen Esther the house of Haman, the aenemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told bhow he was related to her. 2 So the king took off ahis signet ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai; and Esther appointed Mordecai over the house of Haman. 3 Now Esther spoke again to the king, fell down at his feet, and implored him with tears to counter- act the evil of Haman the Agagite, and the scheme which he had devised against the Jews. 4 And athe king held out the golden scepter toward Esther. So Esther arose and stood before the king, 5 and said, “If it pleases the king, and if I have found favor in his sight and the thing seems right to the king and I am pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to revoke the aletters 4 aEsth. 5:1 bEsth. 5:14 6 a[Prov. 16:18; 18:12] 8 a1 Kin. 1:33 1crown 9 aGen. 41:43 1Lit. cause him to ride 12 a2 Chr. 26:20 b2 Sam. 15:30; Jer. 14:3, 4 13 a[Gen. 12:3]; Zech. 2:8 14 aEsth. 5:8 CHAPTER 7 2 aEsth. 5:6 4 aEsth. 3:9; 4:7 bDeut. 28:68 6 aEsth. 3:10 8 aEsth. 1:6 bJob 9:24 9 aEsth. 1:10 bEsth. 5:14; [Ps. 7:16; Prov. 11:5, 6] cEsth. 6:2 1Lit. tree or wood 10 a[Ps. 7:16; 94:23; Prov. 11:5, 6] bPs. 37:35, 36; Dan. 6:24 CHAPTER 8 1 aEsth. 7:6 bEsth. 2:7, 15 2 aEsth. 3:10 4 aEsth. 4:11; 5:2 5 aEsth. 3:13

ESTHER 8:6 440 devised by Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to annihilate the Jews who are in all the king’s provinces. 6 “For how can I endure to see athe evil that will come to my peo- ple? Or how can I endure to see the destruction of my countrymen?” 7 Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and Mordecai the Jew, “Indeed, aI have given Esther the house of Haman, and they have hanged him on the gallows because he tried to lay his hand on the Jews. 8 “You yourselves write a decree concerning the Jews, 1as you please, in the king’s name, and seal it with the king’s signet ring; for whatever is written in the king’s name and sealed with the king’s signet ring ano one can revoke.” 9 aSo the king’s scribes were called at that time, in the third month, which is the month of Sivan, on the twenty- third day; and it was written, accord- ing to all that Mordecai commanded, to the Jews, the satraps, the gover- nors, and the princes of the provinces bfrom India to Ethiopia, one hundred and twenty-seven provinces in all, to every province cin its own script, to every people in their own language, and to the Jews in their own script and language. 10 aAnd he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus, sealed it with the king’s signet ring, and sent letters by couriers on horseback, riding on royal horses 1bred from swift steeds. 11 By these letters the king permit- ted the Jews who were in every city to agather together and protect their lives—to bdestroy, kill, and annihilate all the forces of any people or province that would assault them, both little children and women, and to plunder their possessions, 12 aon one day in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thir- teenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of 1Adar. 13 aA copy of the document was to be issued as a decree in every province and published for all peo- ple, so that the Jews would be ready on that day to avenge themselves on their enemies. 14 The couriers who rode on royal horses went out, hastened and pressed on by the king’s command. And the decree was issued in 1Shushan the 2citadel. 15 So Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel of 1blue and white, with a great crown of gold and a garment of fine linen and purple; and athe city of 2Shushan rejoiced and was glad. 16 The Jews had alight and glad- ness, joy and honor. 17 And in every province and city, wherever the king’s command and decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast aand a holiday. Then many of the people of the land bbecame Jews, because cfear of the Jews fell upon them. The Jews Destroy Their Tormentors 9 Now ain the twelfth month, that is, the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day, bthe time came for the king’s command and his decree to be executed. On the day that the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, the opposite oc- curred, in that the Jews themselves coverpowered those who hated them. 2 The Jews agathered together in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who bsought their harm.

Jews fell upon them. The Jews Destroy Their Tormentors 9 Now ain the twelfth month, that is, the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day, bthe time came for the king’s command and his decree to be executed. On the day that the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, the opposite oc- curred, in that the Jews themselves coverpowered those who hated them. 2 The Jews agathered together in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who bsought their harm. And no one could withstand them, cbecause fear of them fell upon all people. 3 And all the officials of the provinces, the satraps, the gover- nors, and all those doing the king’s work, helped the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai fell upon them. 4 For Mordecai was great in the king’s palace, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces; for this man Mordecai abecame increas- ingly prominent. 5 Thus the Jews defeated all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, with slaughter and destruc- tion, and did what they pleased with those who hated them. 6 And in aShushan1 the 2citadel the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men. 7 Also Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, 8 Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, 9 Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vajezatha— 10 athe ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews—they killed; bbut they did not lay a hand on the 1plunder. 11 On that day the number of those who were killed in 1Shushan the 2citadel 3was brought to the king. 12 And the king said to Queen Esther, “The Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men in Shushan the citadel, and the ten sons of Haman. What have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces? Now awhat is your petition? It shall be granted to you. Or what is your fur- ther request? It shall be done.” 13 Then Esther said, “If it pleases the king, let it be granted to the Jews who are in Shushan to do again tomorrow aaccording to today’s decree, and let Haman’s ten sons bbe hanged on the gallows.” 14 So the king commanded this to be done; the decree was issued in Shushan, and they hanged Haman’s ten sons. 15 And the Jews who were in 6 aNeh. 2:3; Esth. 7:4; 9:1 7 aEsth. 8:1; Prov. 13:22 8 aEsth. 1:19; Dan. 6:8, 12, 15 1Lit. as is good in your eyes 9 aEsth. 3:12 bEsth. 1:1 cEsth. 1:22; 3:12 10 a1 Kin. 21:8; Esth. 3:12, 13 1Lit. sons of the swift horses 11 aEsth. 9:2 bEsth. 9:10, 15, 16 12 aEsth. 3:13; 9:1 1LXX adds the text of the letter here 13 aEsth. 3:14, 15 14 1Or Susa 2palace 15 aEsth. 3:15; Prov. 29:2 1vi- olet 2Or Susa 16 aPs. 97:11; 112:4 17 a1 Sam. 25:8; Esth. 9:19 bPs. 18:43 cGen. 35:5; Ex. 15:16; Deut. 2:25; 11:25; 1 Chr. 14:17; Esth. 9:2 CHAPTER 9 1 aEsth. 8:12 bEsth. 3:13 c2 Sam. 22:41 2 aEsth. 8:11; 9:15–18 bPs. 71:13, 14 cEsth. 8:17 4 a2 Sam. 3:1; 1 Chr. 11:9; [Prov. 4:18] 6 aEsth. 1:2; 3:15; 4:16 1Or Susa 2palace 10 aEsth. 5:11; 9:7–10; Job 18:19; 27:13–15; Ps. 21:10 bEsth. 8:11 1spoil 11 1Or Susa 2palace 3Lit. came 12 aEsth. 5:6; 7:2 13 aEsth. 8:11; 9:15 b2 Sam. 21:6, 9

441 ESTHER 10:3 1Shushan agathered together again on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar and killed three hundred men at Shushan; bbut they did not lay a hand on the plunder. 16 The remainder of the Jews in the king’s provinces agathered together and protected their lives, had rest from their enemies, and killed seventy-five thousand of their enemies; bbut they did not lay a hand on the plunder. 17 This was on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar. And on the fourteenth of 1the month they rested and made it a day of feasting and gladness. The Feast of Purim 18 But the Jews who were at 1Shu- shan assembled together aon the thirteenth day, as well as on the fourteenth; and on the fifteenth of 2the month they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness. 19 Therefore the Jews of the vil- lages who dwelt in the unwalled towns celebrated the fourteenth day of the month of Adar awith gladness and feasting, bas a holiday, and for csending presents to one another. 20 And Mordecai wrote these things and sent letters to all the Jews, near and far, who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, 21 to establish among them that they should celebrate yearly the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar, 22 as the days on which the Jews had rest from their enemies, as the month which was turned from sor- row to joy for them, and from mourning to a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and joy, of asending presents to one another and gifts to the bpoor. 23 So the Jews accepted the cus- tom which they had begun, as Mordecai had written to them, 24 because Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the en- emy of all the Jews, ahad plotted against the Jews to annihilate them, and had cast Pur (that is, the lot), to consume them and destroy them; 25 but awhen 1Esther came before the king, he commanded by letter that 2this wicked plot which Haman had devised against the Jews should breturn on his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows. 26 So they called these days Purim, after the name 1Pur. Therefore, be- cause of all the words of athis letter, what they had seen concerning this matter, and what had happened to them, 27 the Jews established and im- posed it upon themselves and their descendants and all who would ajoin them, that without fail they should celebrate these two days every year, according to the written instructions and according to the prescribed time, 28 that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city, that these days of Purim should not fail to be observed among the Jews, and that the memory of them should not per- ish among their descendants. 29 Then Queen Esther, athe daugh- ter of Abihail, with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to con- firm this bsecond letter about Purim. 30 And Mordecai sent letters to all the Jews, to athe one hundred and twenty-seven provinces of the king- dom of Ahasuerus, with words of peace and truth, 31 to confirm these days of Purim at their appointed time, as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had pre- scribed for them, and as they had decreed for themselves and their descendants concerning matters of their afasting and lamenting. 32 So the decree of Esther con- firmed these matters of Purim, and it was written in the book. Mordecai’s Advancement 10 And King Ahasuerus imposed tribute on the land and on athe islands of the sea. 2 Now all the acts of his power and his might, and the account of the greatness of Mordecai, ato which the king 1advanced him, are they not written in the book of the bchronicles of the kings of Media and Persia? 3 For Mordecai the Jew was asec- ond to King Ahasuerus, and was great among the Jews and well received by the multitude of his brethren, bseeking the good of his people and speaking peace to all his 1countrymen. 15 aEsth. 8:11; 9:2 bEsth. 9:10 1Or Susa 16 aEsth. 9:2 bEsth. 8:11 17 1Lit. it 18 aEsth. 9:11, 15 1Or Susa 2Lit.

is might, and the account of the greatness of Mordecai, ato which the king 1advanced him, are they not written in the book of the bchronicles of the kings of Media and Persia? 3 For Mordecai the Jew was asec- ond to King Ahasuerus, and was great among the Jews and well received by the multitude of his brethren, bseeking the good of his people and speaking peace to all his 1countrymen. 15 aEsth. 8:11; 9:2 bEsth. 9:10 1Or Susa 16 aEsth. 9:2 bEsth. 8:11 17 1Lit. it 18 aEsth. 9:11, 15 1Or Susa 2Lit. it 19 aDeut. 16:11, 14 bEsth. 8:16, 17 cNeh. 8:10, 12; Esth. 9:22 22 aNeh. 8:10; Esth. 9:19 b[Deut. 15:7–11]; Job 29:16 24 aEsth. 3:6, 7; 9:26 25 aEsth. 7:4–10; 8:3; 9:13, 14 bEsth. 7:10 1Lit. she or it 2Lit. his 26 aEsth. 9:20 1Lit. Lot 27 aEsth. 8:17; [Is. 56:3, 6]; Zech. 2:11 29 aEsth. 2:15 bEsth. 8:10; 9:20, 21 30 aEsth. 1:1 31 aEsth. 4:3, 16 CHAPTER 10 1 aGen. 10:5; Ps. 72:10; Is. 11:11; 24:15 2 aEsth. 8:15; 9:4 bEsth. 6:1 1Lit. made him great 3 aGen. 41:40, 43, 44; 2 Chr. 28:7 bNeh. 2:10; Ps. 122:8, 9 1Lit. seed. LXX, Vg. add a dream of Mordecai here; Vg. adds six more chapters

The Book of JOB JOB is perhaps the earliest book of the Bible. Set in the period of the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph), it tells the story of a man who loses every- thing—his wealth, his family, his health—and wrestles with the question, Why? The book begins with a heavenly debate between God and Satan, moves through three cycles of earthly debates between Job and his friends, and con- cludes with a dramatic “divine diagnosis” of Job’s problem. In the end, Job acknowledges the sovereignty of God in his life and receives back more than he had before his trials. Iyy¯ob is the Hebrew title for this book, and the name has two possible mean- ings. If derived from the Hebrew word for “Persecution,” it means “Persecuted One.” It is more likely that it comes from the Arabic word meaning “To Come Back” or “Repent.” If so, it may be defined “Repentant One.” Both meanings apply to the book. The Greek title is Iob, and the Latin title is Iob. Job and His Family in Uz THERE was a man ain the land of Uz, whose name was bJob; and that man was cblameless and up- right, and one who dfeared God and 1shunned evil. 2 And seven sons and three daughters were born to him. 3 Also, his possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very large household, so that this man was the greatest of all the 1peo- ple of the East. 4 And his sons would go and feast in their houses, each on his ap- pointed day, and would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 So it was, when the days of feasting had run their course, that Job would send and 1sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morn- ing aand offer burnt offerings ac- cording to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my sons have sinned and bcursed2 God in their hearts.” Thus Job did regu- larly. Satan Attacks Job’s Character 6 Now athere was a day when the sons of God came to present them- selves before the LORD, and 1Satan also came among them. 7 And the LORD said to 1Satan, “From where do you come?” So Satan answered the LORD and said, “From agoing to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.” 8 Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you 1considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and 2shuns evil?” 9 So Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? 10 a“Have You not 1made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? bYou have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 a“But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely bcurse1 You to Your face!” 12 And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your 1power; only do not lay a hand on his person.” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD. Job Loses His Property and Children 13 Now there was a day awhen his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest broth- er’s house; 14 and a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, 15 “when the 1Sabeans 2raided them and took them away—indeed they have killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you!” 16 While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the ser- vants, and 1consumed them; and I alone have escaped to tell you!” 17 While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three bands, raided the camels and took them away, yes, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you!” 18 While he was still speaking, another also came and said, a“Your sons and daughters were eating and CHAPTER 1 1 a1 Chr. 1:17 bEzek. 14:14, 20; James 5:11 cGen. 6:9; 17:1; [Deut. 18:13] d[Prov. 16:6] 1Lit. turned away from 3 1Lit.

and I alone have escaped to tell you!” 17 While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three bands, raided the camels and took them away, yes, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you!” 18 While he was still speaking, another also came and said, a“Your sons and daughters were eating and CHAPTER 1 1 a1 Chr. 1:17 bEzek. 14:14, 20; James 5:11 cGen. 6:9; 17:1; [Deut. 18:13] d[Prov. 16:6] 1Lit. turned away from 3 1Lit. sons 5 aGen. 8:20; [Job 42:8] b1 Kin. 21:10, 13 1conse- crate 2Lit. blessed, but in an evil sense; cf. Job 1:11; 2:5, 9 6 aJob 2:1 1Lit. the Adversary 7 a[1 Pet. 5:8] 1Lit. the Ad- versary 8 1Lit. set your heart on 2Lit. turns away from 10 aJob 29:2–6; Ps. 34:7; Is. 5:2 b[Ps. 128:1, 2; Prov. 10:22] 1Pro- tected him 11 aJob 2:5; 19:21 bIs. 8:21; Mal. 3:13, 14 1Lit. bless, but in an evil sense; cf. Job 1:5 12 1Lit. hand 13 a[Eccl. 9:12] 15 1Lit. Sheba; cf. Job 6:19 2Lit. fell upon 16 1destroyed 18 aJob 1:4, 13

443 JOB 3:13 drinking wine in their oldest broth- er’s house, 19 “and suddenly a great wind came from 1across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young peo- ple, and they are dead; and I alone have escaped to tell you!” 20 Then Job arose, atore his robe, and shaved his head; and he bfell to the ground and worshiped. 21 And he said: a“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The LORD bgave, and the LORD has ctaken away; dBlessed be the name of the LORD.” 22 aIn all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong. Satan Attacks Job’s Health 2 Again athere was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD. 2 And the LORD said to Satan, “From where do you come?” aSatan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.” 3 Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, aa blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil? And still he bholds fast to his integrity, although you incited Me against him, cto 1destroy him with- out cause.” 4 So Satan answered the LORD and said, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life. 5 a“But stretch out Your hand now, and touch his bbone and his flesh, and he will surely 1curse You to Your face!” 6 aAnd the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life.” 7 So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD, and struck Job with painful boils afrom the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 And he took for himself a pot- sherd with which to scrape himself awhile he sat in the midst of the ashes. 9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? 1Curse God and die!” 10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. aShall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adver- sity?” bIn all this Job did not csin with his lips. Job’s Three Friends 11 Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this adversity that had come upon him, each one came from his own place—Eliphaz the aTeman- ite, Bildad the bShuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. For they had made an appointment together to come cand mourn with him, and to com- fort him. 12 And when they raised their eyes from afar, and did not recognize him, they lifted their voices and wept; and each one tore his robe and asprinkled dust on his head toward heaven. 13 So they sat down with him on the ground aseven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great. Job Deplores His Birth 3 After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. 2 And Job 1spoke, and said: 3 “Maya the day perish on which I was born, And the night in which it was said, ‘A male child is conceived.’ 4 May that day be darkness; May God above not seek it, Nor the light shine upon it. 5 May darkness and athe shadow of death claim it; May a cloud settle on it; May the blackness of the day terrify it. 6 As for that night, may darkness seize it; May it not 1rejoice among the days of the year, May it not come into the number of the months. 7 Oh, may that night be barren! May no joyful shout come into it! 8 May those curse it who curse the day, Those awho are ready to arouse Leviathan. 9 May the stars of its morning be dark; May it look for light, but have none, And not see the 1dawning of the day; 10 Because it did not shut up the doors of my mother’s womb, Nor hide sorrow from my eyes. 11 “ Whya did I not die at birth? Why did I not 1perish when I came from the womb? 12 aWhy did the knees receive me? Or why the breasts, that I should nurse? 13 For now I would have lain still and been quiet, I would have been asleep; Then I would have been at rest 19 1LXX omits across 20 aGen. 37:29, 34; Josh. 7:6; Ezra 9:3 b[1 Pet. 5:6] 21 a[Ps. 49:17; Eccl. 5:15]; 1 Tim.

not see the 1dawning of the day; 10 Because it did not shut up the doors of my mother’s womb, Nor hide sorrow from my eyes. 11 “ Whya did I not die at birth? Why did I not 1perish when I came from the womb? 12 aWhy did the knees receive me? Or why the breasts, that I should nurse? 13 For now I would have lain still and been quiet, I would have been asleep; Then I would have been at rest 19 1LXX omits across 20 aGen. 37:29, 34; Josh. 7:6; Ezra 9:3 b[1 Pet. 5:6] 21 a[Ps. 49:17; Eccl. 5:15]; 1 Tim. 6:7 bEccl. 5:19; [James 1:17] cGen. 31:16; [1 Sam. 2:6] dEph. 5:20; [1 Thess. 5:18] 22 aJob 2:10 CHAPTER 2 1 aJob 1:6–8 2 aJob 1:7 3 aJob 1:1, 8 bJob 27:5, 6 cJob 9:17 1Lit. consume 5 aJob 1:11 bJob 19:20 1Lit. bless, but in an evil sense; cf. Job 1:5 6 aJob 1:12 7 aIs. 1:6 8 aJob 42:6; Jer. 6:26; Ezek. 27:30; Jon. 3:6; Matt. 11:21 9 1Lit. Bless, but in an evil sense; cf. Job 1:5 10 aJob 1:21, 22; [Heb. 12:6; James 5:10, 11] bJob 1:22; [James 1:12] cPs. 39:1 11 aGen. 36:11; 1 Chr. 1:36; Job 6:19; Jer. 49:7; Obad. 9 bGen. 25:2; 1 Chr. 1:32 cJob 42:11; Rom. 12:15 12 aJosh. 7:6; Neh. 9:1; Lam. 2:10; Ezek. 27:30 13 aGen. 50:10; Ezek. 3:15 CHAPTER 3 2 1Lit. an- swered 3 aJob 10:18, 19; Jer. 20:14–18 5 aJob 10:21, 22; Jer. 13:16; Amos 5:8 6 1LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. be joined 8 aJer. 9:17 9 1eyelids of the dawn 11 aJob 10:18, 19 1expire 12 aGen. 30:3

JOB 3:14 444 14 With kings and counselors of the earth, Who abuilt ruins for themselves, 15 Or with princes who had gold, Who filled their houses with silver; 16 Or why was I not hidden alike a stillborn child, Like infants who never saw light? 17 There the wicked cease from troubling, And there the 1weary are at arest. 18 There the prisoners 1rest together; aThey do not hear the voice of the oppressor. 19 The small and great are there, And the servant is free from his master. 20 “Whya is light given to him who is in misery, And life to the bbitter of soul, 21 Who along1 for death, but it does not come, And search for it more than bhidden treasures; 22 Who rejoice exceedingly, And are glad when they can find the agrave? 23 Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, aAnd whom God has hedged in? 24 For my sighing comes before 1I eat, And my groanings pour out like water. 25 For the thing I greatly afeared has come upon me, And what I dreaded has happened to me. 26 I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest, for trouble comes.” Eliphaz: Job Has Sinned 4 Then Eliphaz the Temanite an- swered and said: 2 “If one attempts a word with you, will you become weary? But who can withhold himself from speaking? 3 Surely you have instructed many, And you ahave strengthened weak hands. 4 Your words have upheld him who was stumbling, And you ahave strengthened the 1feeble knees; 5 But now it comes upon you, and you are weary; It touches you, and you are troubled. 6 Is not ayour reverence byour confidence? And the integrity of your ways your hope? 7 “Remember now, awho ever perished being innocent? Or where were the upright ever cut off? 8 Even as I have seen, aThose who plow iniquity And sow trouble reap the same. 9 By the blast of God they perish, And by the breath of His anger they are consumed. 10 The roaring of the lion, The voice of the fierce lion, And athe teeth of the young lions are broken. 11 aThe old lion perishes for lack of prey, And the cubs of the lioness are scattered. 12 “Now a word was secretly brought to me, And my ear received a whisper of it. 13 aIn disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night, When deep sleep falls on men, 14 Fear came upon me, and atrembling, Which made all my bones shake. 15 Then a spirit passed before my face; The hair on my body stood up. 16 It stood still, But I could not discern its appearance. A form was before my eyes; There was silence; Then I heard a voice saying: 17 ‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can a man be more pure than his Maker? 18 If He aputs no trust in His servants, If He charges His angels with error, 19 How much more those who dwell in houses of clay, Whose foundation is in the dust, Who are crushed before a moth? 20 aThey are broken in pieces from morning till evening; They perish forever, with no one regarding. 21 Does not their own excellence go away? They die, even without wisdom.’ Eliphaz: Job Is Chastened by God 5 “Call out now; Is there anyone who will answer you? And to which of the holy ones will you turn? 2 For wrath kills a foolish man, And envy slays a simple one. 3 aI have seen the foolish taking root, 14 aJob 15:28; Is. 58:12 16 aPs. 58:8 17 aJob 17:16 1Lit. weary of strength 18 aJob 39:7 1are at ease 20 aJer. 20:18 b2 Kin. 4:27 21 aRev. 9:6 bProv. 2:4 1Lit. wait 22 aJob 7:15, 16 23 aJob 19:8; Ps. 88:8; Lam. 3:7 24 1Lit. my bread 25 a[Job 9:28; 30:15] CHAPTER 4 3 aIs. 35:3 4 aIs. 35:3 1Lit. bending 6 aJob 1:1 bProv. 3:26 7 a[Job 8:20; 36:6, 7; Ps. 37:25] 8 a[Job 15:31, 35; Prov. 22:8; Hos. 10:13; Gal. 6:7] 10 aJob 5:15; Ps. 58:6 11 aJob 29:17; Ps. 34:10 13 aJob 33:15 14 aHab. 3:16 18 aJob 15:15 20 aPs. 90:5, 6 CHAPTER 5 3 a[Ps. 37:35, 36]; Jer. 12:1–3

445 JOB 6:12 But suddenly I cursed his dwelling place. 4 His sons are afar from safety, They are crushed in the gate, And bthere is no deliverer. 5 Because the hungry eat up his harvest, 1Taking it even from the thorns, 2And a snare snatches their 3substance. 6 For affliction does not come from the dust, Nor does trouble spring from the ground; 7 Yet man is aborn to 1trouble, As the sparks fly upward. 8 “But as for me, I would seek God, And to God I would commit my cause— 9 Who does great things, and unsearchable, Marvelous things without number. 10 aHe gives rain on the earth, And sends waters on the fields. 11 aHe sets on high those who are lowly, And those who mourn are lifted to safety. 12 aHe frustrates the devices of the crafty, So that their hands cannot carry out their plans. 13 He catches the awise in their own craftiness, And the counsel of the cunning comes quickly upon them. 14 They meet with darkness in the daytime, And grope at noontime as in the night. 15 But aHe saves the needy from the sword, From the mouth of the mighty, And from their hand. 16 aSo the poor have hope, And injustice shuts her mouth. 17 “Behold,a happy is the man whom God corrects; Therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty. 18 aFor He bruises, but He binds up; He wounds, but His hands make whole. 19 aHe shall deliver you in six troubles, Yes, in seven bno evil shall touch you. 20 aIn famine He shall redeem you from death, And in war from the 1power of the sword. 21 aYou shall be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, And you shall not be afraid of destruction when it comes. 22 You shall laugh at destruction and famine, And ayou shall not be afraid of the bbeasts of the earth. 23 aFor you shall have a covenant with the stones of the field, And the beasts of the field shall be at peace with you. 24 You shall know that your tent is in peace; You shall visit your dwelling and find nothing amiss. 25 You shall also know that ayour descendants shall be many, And your offspring blike the grass of the earth. 26 aYou shall come to the grave at a full age, As a sheaf of grain ripens in its season. 27 Behold, this we have asearched out; It is true. Hear it, and know for yourself.” Job: My Complaint Is Just 6 Then Job answered and said: 2 “Oh, that my grief were fully weighed, And my calamity laid with it on the scales! 3 For then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea— Therefore my words have been rash. 4 aFor the arrows of the Almighty are within me; My spirit drinks in their poison; bThe terrors of God are arrayed cagainst me. 5 Does the awild donkey bray when it has grass, Or does the ox low over its fodder? 6 Can flavorless food be eaten without salt? Or is there any taste in the white of an egg? 7 My soul refuses to touch them; They are as loathsome food to me. 8 “Oh, that I might have my request, That God would grant me the thing that I long for! 9 That it would please God to crush me, That He would loose His hand and acut me off! 10 Then I would still have comfort; Though in anguish I would exult, He will not spare; For aI have not concealed the words of bthe Holy One. 11 “What strength do I have, that I should hope? And what is my end, that I should prolong my life? 12 Is my strength the strength of stones? Or is my flesh bronze? 4 aPs. 119:155 bPs. 109:12 5 1LXX They shall not be taken from evil men; Vg. And the armed man shall take him by violence 2LXX The might shall draw them off; Vg. And the thirsty shall drink up their riches 3wealth 7 aJob 14:1 1labor 10 a[Job 36:27–29; 37:6–11; 38:26] 11 aPs. 113:7 12 aNeh. 4:15 13 a[Job 37:24; 1 Cor. 3:19] 15 aJob 4:10, 11; Ps. 35:10 16 a1 Sam. 2:8; Ps. 107:41, 42 17 aPs. 94:12; [Prov. 3:11, 12; Heb. 12:5, 6; Rev. 3:19] 18 a[Deut. 32:39; 1 Sam. 2:6, 7]; Is. 30:26; Hos. 6:1 19 aPs. 34:19; 91:3; [1 Cor. 10:13] bPs. 91:10; [Prov. 24:16] 20 aPs. 33:19, 20; 37:19 1Lit. hand 21 aJob 5:15; Ps. 31:20 22 aPs. 91:13; Is. 11:9; 35:9; 65:25; Ezek. 34:25 bHos. 2:18 23 aPs. 91:12 25 aPs. 112:2 bPs.

lth 7 aJob 14:1 1labor 10 a[Job 36:27–29; 37:6–11; 38:26] 11 aPs. 113:7 12 aNeh. 4:15 13 a[Job 37:24; 1 Cor. 3:19] 15 aJob 4:10, 11; Ps. 35:10 16 a1 Sam. 2:8; Ps. 107:41, 42 17 aPs. 94:12; [Prov. 3:11, 12; Heb. 12:5, 6; Rev. 3:19] 18 a[Deut. 32:39; 1 Sam. 2:6, 7]; Is. 30:26; Hos. 6:1 19 aPs. 34:19; 91:3; [1 Cor. 10:13] bPs. 91:10; [Prov. 24:16] 20 aPs. 33:19, 20; 37:19 1Lit. hand 21 aJob 5:15; Ps. 31:20 22 aPs. 91:13; Is. 11:9; 35:9; 65:25; Ezek. 34:25 bHos. 2:18 23 aPs. 91:12 25 aPs. 112:2 bPs. 72:16 26 a[Prov. 9:11; 10:27] 27 aPs. 111:2 CHAPTER 6 4 aJob 16:13; Ps. 38:2 bPs. 88:15, 16 cJob 30:15 5 aJob 39:5–8 9 aNum. 11:15; 1 Kin. 19:4; Job 7:16; 9:21; 10:1 10 aActs 20:20 b[Lev. 19:2; Is. 57:15]

JOB 6:13 446 13 Is my help not within me? And is success driven from me? 14 “Toa him who is 1afflicted, kindness should be shown by his friend, Even though he forsakes the fear of the Almighty. 15 aMy brothers have dealt deceitfully like a brook, bLike the streams of the brooks that pass away, 16 Which are dark because of the ice, And into which the snow vanishes. 17 When it is warm, they cease to flow; When it is hot, they vanish from their place. 18 The paths of their way turn aside, They go nowhere and perish. 19 The caravans of aTema look, The travelers of bSheba hope for them. 20 They are adisappointed1 because they were confident; They come there and are confused. 21 For now ayou are nothing, You see terror and bare afraid. 22 Did I ever say, ‘Bring something to me’? Or, ‘Offer a bribe for me from your wealth’? 23 Or, ‘Deliver me from the enemy’s hand’? Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of oppressors’? 24 “Teach me, and I will hold my tongue; Cause me to understand wherein I have erred. 25 How forceful are right words! But what does your arguing prove? 26 Do you intend to rebuke my words, And the speeches of a desperate one, which are as wind? 27 Yes, you overwhelm the fatherless, And you aundermine your friend. 28 Now therefore, be pleased to look at me; For I would never lie to your face. 29 aYield now, let there be no injustice! Yes, concede, my brighteousness 1still stands! 30 Is there injustice on my tongue? Cannot my 1taste discern the unsavory? Job: My Suffering Is Comfortless 7 “Is there not aa time of hard service for man on earth? Are not his days also like the days of a hired man? 2 Like a servant who 1earnestly desires the shade, And like a hired man who eagerly looks for his wages, 3 So I have been allotted amonths of futility, And wearisome nights have been appointed to me. 4 aWhen I lie down, I say, ‘When shall I arise, And the night be ended?’ For I have had my fill of tossing till dawn. 5 My flesh is acaked with worms and dust, My skin is cracked and breaks out afresh. 6 “Mya days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, And are spent without hope. 7 Oh, remember that amy life is a breath! My eye will never again see good. 8 aThe eye of him who sees me will see me no more; While your eyes are upon me, I shall no longer be. 9 As the cloud disappears and vanishes away, So ahe who goes down to the grave does not come up. 10 He shall never return to his house, aNor shall his place know him anymore. 11 “Therefore I will anot restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will bcomplain in the bitterness of my soul. 12 Am I a sea, or a sea serpent, That You set a guard over me? 13 aWhen I say, ‘My bed will comfort me, My couch will ease my complaint,’ 14 Then You scare me with dreams And terrify me with visions, 15 So that my soul chooses strangling And death rather than 1my body. 16 aI loathe my life; I would not live forever. bLet me alone, For cmy days are but 1a breath. 17 “Whata is man, that You should exalt him, That You should set Your heart on him, 18 That You should 1visit him every morning, And test him every moment? 19 How long? 14 a[Prov. 17:17] 1Or de- spairing 15 aPs. 38:11 bJer. 15:18 19 aGen. 25:15; Is. 21:14; Jer. 25:23 b1 Kin. 10:1; Ps. 72:10; Ezek. 27:22, 23 20 aJer. 14:3 1Lit. ashamed 21 aJob 13:4 bPs. 38:11 27 aPs. 57:6 29 aJob 17:10 bJob 27:5, 6; 34:5 1Lit. is in it 30 1palate CHAPTER 7 1 a[Job 14:5, 13, 14]; Ps. 39:4 2 1Lit. pants for 3 a[Job 15:31] 4 aDeut. 28:67; Job 7:13, 14 5 aIs. 14:11 6 aJob 9:25; 16:22; 17:11; Is. 38:12; [James 4:14] 7 aJob 7:16; Ps. 78:39; 89:47 8 aJob 8:18; 20:9 9 a2 Sam. 12:23 10 aPs. 103:16 11 aPs. 39:1, 9 b1 Sam. 1:10 13 aJob 9:27 15 1Lit. my bones 16 aJob 10:1 bJob 14:6 cPs. 62:9 1Without substance, fu- tile 17 aJob 22:2; Ps. 8:4; 144:3; Heb. 2:6 18 1attend to

447 JOB 9:10 Will You not look away from me, And let me alone till I swallow my saliva? 20 Have I sinned? What have I done to You, aO watcher of men? Why bhave You set me as Your target, So that I am a burden 1to myself? 21 Why then do You not pardon my transgression, And take away my iniquity? For now I will lie down in the dust, And You will seek me diligently, But I will no longer be.” Bildad: Job Should Repent 8 Then Bildad the Shuhite an- swered and said: 2 “How long will you speak these things, And the words of your mouth be like a strong wind? 3 aDoes God subvert judgment? Or does the Almighty pervert justice? 4 If ayour sons have sinned against Him, He has cast them away 1for their transgression. 5 aIf you would earnestly seek God And make your supplication to the Almighty, 6 If you were pure and upright, Surely now He would 1awake for you, And prosper your rightful dwelling place. 7 Though your beginning was small, Yet your latter end would aincrease abundantly. 8 “Fora inquire, please, of the former age, And consider the things discovered by their fathers; 9 For awe were born yesterday, and know 1nothing, Because our days on earth are a shadow. 10 Will they not teach you and tell you, And utter words from their heart? 11 “Can the papyrus grow up without a marsh? Can the reeds flourish without water? 12 aWhile it is yet green and not cut down, It withers before any other plant. 13 So are the paths of all who aforget God; And the hope of the bhypocrite shall perish, 14 Whose confidence shall be cut off, And whose trust is 1a spider’s web. 15 aHe leans on his house, but it does not stand. He holds it fast, but it does not endure. 16 He grows green in the sun, And his branches spread out in his garden. 17 His roots wrap around the rock heap, And look for a place in the stones. 18 aIf he is destroyed from his place, Then it will deny him, saying, ‘I have not seen you.’ 19 “Behold, this is the joy of His way, And aout of the earth others will grow. 20 Behold, aGod will not 1cast away the blameless, Nor will He uphold the evildoers. 21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughing, And your lips with 1rejoicing. 22 Those who hate you will be aclothed with shame, And the dwelling place of the wicked 1will come to nothing.” Job: There Is No Mediator 9 Then Job answered and said: 2 “Truly I know it is so, But how can a aman be brighteous before God? 3 If one wished to 1contend with Him, He could not answer Him one time out of a thousand. 4 aGod is wise in heart and mighty in strength. Who has hardened himself against Him and prospered? 5 He removes the mountains, and they do not know When He overturns them in His anger; 6 He ashakes the earth out of its place, And its bpillars tremble; 7 He commands the sun, and it does not rise; He seals off the stars; 8 aHe alone spreads out the heavens, And 1treads on the 2waves of the sea; 9 aHe made 1the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades, And the chambers of the south; 10 aHe does great things past finding out, 20 aPs. 36:6 bPs. 21:12 1So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX, Jewish tradi- tion to You CHAPTER 8 3 aGen. 18:25; [Deut. 32:4; 2 Chr. 19:7; Job 34:10, 12; 36:23; 37:23]; Rom. 3:5 4 aJob 1:5, 18, 19 1Lit. into the hand of their trans- gression 5 a[Job 5:17–27; 11:13] 6 1arise 7 aJob 42:12 8 aDeut. 4:32; 32:7; Job 15:18; 20:4 9 aGen. 47:9; [1 Chr. 29:15]; Job 7:6; [Ps. 39:5; 102:11; 144:4] 1Lit. not 12 aPs. 129:6 13 aPs. 9:17 bJob 11:20; 18:14; 27:8; Ps. 112:10; [Prov. 10:28] 14 1Lit. a spi- der’s house 15 aJob 8:22; 27:18; Ps. 49:11 18 aJob 7:10 19 aPs. 113:7 20 aJob 4:7 1re- ject 21 1Lit. shouts of joy 22 aPs. 35:26; 109:29 1Lit. will not be CHAPTER 9 2 a[Job 4:17; 15:14–16; Ps. 143:2; Rom. 3:20] b[Hab. 2:4; Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:11; Heb. 10:38] 3 1argue 4 aJob 36:5 6 aIs. 2:19, 21; Hag. 2:6; Heb. 12:26 bJob 26:11 8 aGen. 1:6; Job 37:18; Ps. 104:2, 3; Is. 40:22 1walks 2Lit. heights 9 aGen. 1:16; Job 38:31; Amos 5:8 1Heb. Ash, Kesil, and Kimah 10 aJob 5:9

JOB 9:11 448 Yes, wonders without number. 11 aIf He goes by me, I do not see Him; If He moves past, I do not perceive Him; 12 aIf He takes away, 1who can hinder Him? Who can say to Him, ‘What are You doing?’ 13 God will not withdraw His anger, aThe allies of 1the proud lie prostrate beneath Him. 14 “How then can I answer Him, And choose my words to reason with Him? 15 aFor though I were righteous, I could not answer Him; I would beg mercy of my Judge. 16 If I called and He answered me, I would not believe that He was listening to my voice. 17 For He crushes me with a tempest, And multiplies my wounds awithout cause. 18 He will not allow me to catch my breath, But fills me with bitterness. 19 If it is a matter of strength, indeed He is strong; And if of justice, who will appoint my day in court? 20 Though I were righteous, my own mouth would condemn me; Though I were blameless, it would prove me perverse. 21 “I am blameless, yet I do not know myself; I despise my life. 22 It is all one thing; Therefore I say, a‘He destroys the blameless and the wicked.’ 23 If the scourge slays suddenly, He laughs at the plight of the innocent. 24 The earth is given into the hand of the wicked. He covers the faces of its judges. If it is not He, who else could it be? 25 “Now amy days are swifter than a runner; They flee away, they see no good. 26 They pass by like 1swift ships, aLike an eagle swooping on its prey. 27 aIf I say, ‘I will forget my complaint, I will put off my sad face and wear a smile,’ 28 aI am afraid of all my sufferings; I know that You bwill not hold me innocent. 29 If I am condemned, Why then do I labor in vain? 30 aIf I wash myself with snow water, And cleanse my hands with 1soap, 31 Yet You will plunge me into the pit, And my own clothes will 1abhor me. 32 “For aHe is not a man, as I am, That I may answer Him, And that we should go to court together. 33 aNor is there any mediator between us, Who may lay his hand on us both. 34 aLet Him take His rod away from me, And do not let dread of Him terrify me. 35 Then I would speak and not fear Him, But it is not so with me. Job: I Would Plead with God 10 “My asoul loathes my life; I will 1give free course to my complaint, bI will speak in the bitterness of my soul. 2 I will say to God, ‘Do not condemn me; Show me why You contend with me. 3 Does it seem good to You that You should oppress, That You should despise the work of Your hands, And smile on the counsel of the wicked? 4 Do You have eyes of flesh? Or ado You see as man sees? 5 Are Your days like the days of a mortal man? Are Your years like the days of a mighty man, 6 That You should seek for my iniquity And search out my sin, 7 Although You know that I am not wicked, And there is no one who can deliver from Your hand? 8 ‘Youra hands have made me and fashioned me, An intricate unity; Yet You would bdestroy me. 9 Remember, I pray, athat You have made me like clay. And will You turn me into dust again? 10 aDid You not pour me out like milk, And curdle me like cheese, 11 Clothe me with skin and flesh, And knit me together with bones and sinews? 11 a[Job 23:8, 9; 35:14] 12 a[Is. 45:9; Dan. 4:35; Rom. 9:20] 1Lit. who can turn Him back? 13 aJob 26:12 1Heb. rahab 15 aJob 10:15; 23:1–7 17 aJob 2:3 22 a[Eccl. 9:2, 3]; Ezek. 21:3 25 aJob 7:6, 7 26 aJob 39:29; Hab. 1:8 1Lit. ships of reeds 27 aJob 7:13 28 aPs. 119:120 bEx. 20:7 30 a[Jer. 2:22] 1lye 31 1loathe 32 aEccl. 6:10; [Is. 45:9; Jer. 49:19; Rom. 9:20] 33 a[1 Sam. 2:25]; Job 9:19; Is. 1:18 34 aJob 13:20, 21; Ps. 39:10 CHAPTER 10 1 a1 Kin. 19:4; Job 7:16; Jon. 4:3 bJob 7:11 1Lit. leave on myself 4 a[1 Sam. 16:7; Job 28:24; 34:21] 8 aJob 10:3; Ps. 119:73 b[Job 9:22] 9 aGen. 2:7; Job 33:6 10 a[Ps. 139:14–16]

449 JOB 12:3 12 You have granted me life and favor, And Your care has preserved my spirit. 13 ‘And these things You have hidden in Your heart; I know that this was with You: 14 If I sin, then aYou mark me, And will not acquit me of my iniquity. 15 If I am wicked, awoe to me; bEven if I am righteous, I 1cannot lift up my head. I am full of disgrace; cSee my misery! 16 If my head is exalted, aYou hunt me like a fierce lion, And again You show Yourself awesome against me. 17 You renew Your witnesses against me, And increase Your indignation toward me; Changes and war are ever with me. 18 ‘Whya then have You brought me out of the womb? Oh, that I had perished and no eye had seen me! 19 I would have been as though I had not been. I would have been carried from the womb to the grave. 20 aAre not my days few? Cease! bLeave me alone, that I may take a little comfort, 21 Before I go to the place from which I shall not return, aTo the land of darkness band the shadow of death, 22 A land as dark as darkness itself, As the shadow of death, without any order, Where even the light is like darkness.’ ” Zophar Urges Job to Repent 11 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said: 2 “Should not the multitude of words be answered? And should 1a man full of talk be vindicated? 3 Should your empty talk make men 1hold their peace? And when you mock, should no one rebuke you? 4 For you have said, a‘My doctrine is pure, And I am clean in your eyes.’ 5 But oh, that God would speak, And open His lips against you, 6 That He would show you the secrets of wisdom! For they would double your prudence. Know therefore that aGod 1exacts from you Less than your iniquity deserves. 7 “Cana you search out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limits of the Almighty? 8 They are higher than heaven— what can you do? Deeper than 1Sheol— what can you know? 9 Their measure is longer than the earth And broader than the sea. 10 “Ifa He passes by, imprisons, and gathers to judgment, Then who can 1hinder Him? 11 For aHe knows deceitful men; He sees wickedness also. Will He not then consider it? 12 For an aempty-headed man will be wise, When a wild donkey’s colt is born a man. 13 “If you would aprepare your heart, And bstretch out your hands toward Him; 14 If iniquity were in your hand, and you put it far away, And awould not let wickedness dwell in your tents; 15 aThen surely you could lift up your face without spot; Yes, you could be steadfast, and not fear; 16 Because you would aforget your misery, And remember it as waters that have passed away, 17 And your life awould be brighter than noonday. Though you were dark, you would be like the morning. 18 And you would be secure, because there is hope; Yes, you would dig around you, and atake your rest in safety. 19 You would also lie down, and no one would make you afraid; Yes, many would court your favor. 20 But athe eyes of the wicked will fail, And they shall not escape, And btheir hope—1loss of life!” Job Answers His Critics 12 Then Job answered and said: 2 “No doubt you are the people, And wisdom will die with you! 3 But I have 1understanding as well as you; I am not ainferior to you. 14 aJob 7:20; Ps. 139:1 15 aJob 10:7; Is. 3:11 b[Job 9:12, 15] cPs. 25:18 1Lit. will not 16 aIs. 38:13; Lam. 3:10; Hos. 13:7 18 aJob 3:11–13 20 aPs. 39:5 bJob 7:16, 19 21 aPs. 88:12 bPs. 23:4 CHAPTER 11 2 1Lit. a man of lips 3 1be silent 4 aJob 6:30 6 a[Ezra 9:13] 1Lit. forgets some of your iniquity for you 7 aJob 33:12, 13; 36:26; [Eccl. 3:11; Rom. 11:33] 8 1The abode of the dead 10 aJob 9:12; [Rev. 3:7] 1re- strain 11 a[Ps. 10:14] 12 a[Ps. 39:5]; Rom. 1:22 13 a[1 Sam. 7:3] bPs. 88:9 14 aPs. 101:3 15 aJob 22:26; Ps. 119:6; [1 John 3:21] 16 aIs. 65:16 17 aPs. 37:6; Prov. 4:18; Is. 58:8, 10 18 aLev. 26:5, 6; Ps. 3:5; Prov. 3:24 20 aLev. 26:16; Deut. 28:65; Job 17:5 bJob 18:14; [Prov. 11:7] 1Lit. the breathing out of life CHAPTER 12 3 aJob 13:2 1Lit. a heart

JOB 12:4 450 Indeed, who does not know such things as these? 4 “Ia am one mocked by his friends, Who bcalled on God, and He answered him, The just and blameless who is ridiculed. 5 A 1lamp is despised in the thought of one who is at ease; It is made ready for athose whose feet slip. 6 aThe tents of robbers prosper, And those who provoke God are secure— In what God provides by His hand. 7 “But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you; And the birds of the air, and they will tell you; 8 Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; And the fish of the sea will explain to you. 9 Who among all these does not know That the hand of the LORD has done this, 10 aIn whose hand is the 1life of every living thing, And the bbreath of 2all mankind? 11 Does not the ear test words And the 1mouth taste its food? 12 Wisdom is with aged men, And with 1length of days, understanding. 13 “With Him are awisdom and strength, He has counsel and understanding. 14 If aHe breaks a thing down, it cannot be rebuilt; If He imprisons a man, there can be no release. 15 If He awithholds the waters, they dry up; If He bsends them out, they overwhelm the earth. 16 With Him are strength and prudence. The deceived and the deceiver are His. 17 He leads counselors away plundered, And makes fools of the judges. 18 He loosens the bonds of kings, And binds their waist with a belt. 19 He leads 1princes away plundered, And overthrows the mighty. 20 aHe deprives the trusted ones of speech, And takes away the discernment of the elders. 21 aHe pours contempt on princes, And 1disarms the mighty. 22 He auncovers deep things out of darkness, And brings the shadow of death to light. 23 aHe makes nations great, and destroys them; He 1enlarges nations, and guides them. 24 He takes away the 1understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth, And amakes them wander in a pathless wilderness. 25 aThey grope in the dark without light, And He makes them bstagger like a drunken man. 13“Behold, my eye has seen all this, My ear has heard and understood it. 2 aWhat you know, I also know; I am not inferior to you. 3 aBut I would speak to the Almighty, And I desire to reason with God. 4 But you forgers of lies, aYou are all worthless physicians. 5 Oh, that you would be silent, And ait would be your wisdom! 6 Now hear my reasoning, And heed the pleadings of my lips. 7 aWill you speak 1wickedly for God, And talk deceitfully for Him? 8 Will you show partiality for Him? Will you contend for God? 9 Will it be well when He searches you out? Or can you mock Him as one mocks a man? 10 He will surely rebuke you If you secretly show partiality. 11 Will not His 1excellence make you afraid, And the dread of Him fall upon you? 12 Your platitudes are proverbs of ashes, Your defenses are defenses of clay. 13 “Hold1 your peace with me, and let me speak, Then let come on me what may! 14 Why ado I take my flesh in my teeth, And put my life in my hands? 15 aThough He slay me, yet will I trust Him. bEven so, I will defend my own ways before Him. 16 He also shall be my salvation, For a ahypocrite could not come before Him. 4 aJob 21:3 bPs. 91:15 5 aProv. 14:2 1Or disaster 6 a[Job 9:24; 21:6–16; Ps. 73:12; Jer. 12:1; Mal. 3:15] 10 a[Acts 17:28] bJob 27:3; 33:4 1Or soul 2Lit. all flesh of men 11 1palate 12 1Long life 13 aJob 9:4; 36:5 14 aJob 11:10; Is. 25:2 15 aDeut. 11:17; [1 Kin. 8:35, 36] bGen. 7:11–24 19 1Lit. priests, but not in a tech- nical sense 20 aJob 32:9 21 a[Job 34:19]; Ps. 107:40; [Dan. 2:21] 1loosens the belt of 22 aDan. 2:22; [1 Cor. 4:5] 23 aIs. 9:3; 26:15 1Lit. spreads out 24 aPs. 107:4 1Lit. heart 25 aJob 5:14; 15:30; 18:18 bPs. 107:27 CHAPTER 13 2 aJob 12:3 3 aJob 23:3; 31:35 4 aJob 6:21; [Jer. 23:32] 5 aJob 13:13; 21:5; Prov. 17:28 7 aJob 27:4; 36:4 1unrigh- teously 11 1Lit. exalta- tion 13 1Be silent 14 aJob 18:4 15 aPs. 23:4; [Prov. 14:32] bJob 27:5 16 aJob 8:13

451 JOB 15:1 17 Listen carefully to my speech, And to my declaration with your ears. 18 See now, I have prepared my case, I know that I shall be avindicated. 19 aWho is he who will contend with me? If now I hold my tongue, I perish. Job’s Despondent Prayer 20 “Onlya two things do not do to me, Then I will not hide myself from You: 21 aWithdraw Your hand far from me, And let not the dread of You make me afraid. 22 Then call, and I will aanswer; Or let me speak, then You respond to me. 23 How many are my iniquities and sins? Make me know my transgression and my sin. 24 aWhy do You hide Your face, And bregard me as Your enemy? 25 aWill You frighten a leaf driven to and fro? And will You pursue dry stubble? 26 For You write bitter things against me, And amake me inherit the iniquities of my youth. 27 aYou put my feet in the stocks, And watch closely all my paths. You 1set a limit for the 2soles of my feet. 28 “Man1 decays like a rotten thing, Like a garment that is moth-eaten. 14 “Man who is born of woman Is of few days and afull of 1trouble. 2 aHe comes forth like a flower and fades away; He flees like a shadow and does not continue. 3 And ado You open Your eyes on such a one, And bbring 1me to judgment with Yourself? 4 Who acan bring a clean thing out of an unclean? No one! 5 aSince his days are determined, The number of his months is with You; You have appointed his limits, so that he cannot pass. 6 aLook away from him that he may 1rest, Till blike a hired man he finishes his day. 7 “For there is hope for a tree, If it is cut down, that it will sprout again, And that its tender shoots will not cease. 8 Though its root may grow old in the earth, And its stump may die in the ground, 9 Yet at the scent of water it will bud And bring forth branches like a plant. 10 But man dies and 1is laid away; Indeed he 2breathes his last And where is ahe? 11 As water disappears from the sea, And a river becomes parched and dries up, 12 So man lies down and does not rise. aTill the heavens are no more, They will not awake Nor be roused from their sleep. 13 “Oh, that You would hide me in the grave, That You would conceal me until Your wrath is past, That You would appoint me a set time, and remember me! 14 If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my hard service aI will wait, Till my change comes. 15 aYou shall call, and I will answer You; You shall desire the work of Your hands. 16 For now aYou number my steps, But do not watch over my sin. 17 aMy transgression is sealed up in a bag, And You 1cover my iniquity. 18 “But as a mountain falls and crumbles away, And as a rock is moved from its place; 19 As water wears away stones, And as torrents wash away the soil of the earth; So You destroy the hope of man. 20 You prevail forever against him, and he passes on; You change his countenance and send him away. 21 His sons come to honor, and ahe does not know it; They are brought low, and he does not perceive it. 22 But his flesh will be in pain over it, And his soul will mourn over it.” Eliphaz Accuses Job of Folly 15 Then aEliphaz the Temanite answered and said: 18 a[Rom. 8:34] 19 aJob 7:21; 10:8; Is. 50:8 20 aJob 9:34 21 aJob 9:34; Ps. 39:10 22 aJob 9:16; 14:15 24 a[Deut. 32:20]; Ps. 13:1 bLam. 2:5 25 aIs. 42:3 26 aJob 20:11 27 aJob 33:11 1Lit. inscribe a print 2Lit. roots 28 1Lit. He CHAPTER 14 1 aJob 5:7; Eccl. 2:23 1turmoil 2 aJob 8:9; Ps. 90:5, 6, 9; 102:11; 103:15; 144:4; Is. 40:6; James 1:10, 11; 1 Pet. 1:24 3 aPs. 8:4; 144:3 b[Ps. 143:2] 1LXX, Syr., Vg. him 4 a[Job 15:14; 25:4; Ps. 51:2, 5, 10; John 3:6; Rom. 5:12; Eph. 2:3] 5 aJob 7:1; 21:21; Heb. 9:27 6 aJob 7:16, 19; Ps. 39:13 bJob 7:1 1Lit. cease 10 aJob 10:21, 22 1lies pros- trate 2expires 12 aPs. 102:25, 26; [Is. 51:6; 65:17; 66:22]; Acts 3:21; [2 Pet. 3:7, 10, 11; Rev. 20:11; 21:1] 14 aJob 13:15 15 aJob 13:22 16 aJob 10:6, 14; 13:27; 31:4; 34:21; Ps. 56:8; 139:1–3; Prov. 5:21; [Jer. 32:19] 17 aDeut. 32:32–34 1Lit. plaster over 21 aEccl. 9:5; Is. 63:16 CHAPTER 15 1 aJob 4:1

JOB 15:2 452 2 “Should a wise man answer with empty knowledge, And fill 1himself with the east wind? 3 Should he reason with unprofitable talk, Or by speeches with which he can do no good? 4 Yes, you cast off fear, And restrain 1prayer before God. 5 For your iniquity teaches your mouth, And you choose the tongue of the crafty. 6 aYour own mouth condemns you, and not I; Yes, your own lips testify against you. 7 “Are you the first man who was born? aOr were you made before the hills? 8 aHave you heard the counsel of God? Do you limit wisdom to yourself? 9 aWhat do you know that we do not know? What do you understand that is not in us? 10 aBoth the gray-haired and the aged are among us, Much older than your father. 11 Are the consolations of God too small for you, And the word spoken 1gently with you? 12 Why does your heart carry you away, And 1what do your eyes wink at, 13 That you turn your spirit against God, And let such words go out of your mouth? 14 “Whata is man, that he could be pure? And he who is born of a woman, that he could be righteous? 15 aIf God puts no trust in His saints, And the heavens are not pure in His sight, 16 aHow much less man, who is abominable and filthy, bWho drinks iniquity like water! 17 “I will tell you, hear me; What I have seen I will declare, 18 What wise men have told, Not hiding anything received afrom their fathers, 19 To whom alone the 1land was given, And ano alien passed among them: 20 The wicked man writhes with pain all his days, aAnd the number of years is hidden from the oppressor. 21 1Dreadful sounds are in his ears; aIn prosperity the destroyer comes upon him. 22 He does not believe that he will areturn from darkness, For a sword is waiting for him. 23 He awanders about for bread, saying, ‘Where is it?’ He knows bthat a day of darkness is ready at his hand. 24 Trouble and anguish make him afraid; They overpower him, like a king ready for 1battle. 25 For he stretches out his hand against God, And acts defiantly against the Almighty, 26 Running stubbornly against Him With his strong, embossed shield. 27 “Thougha he has covered his face with his fatness, And made his waist heavy with fat, 28 He dwells in desolate cities, In houses which no one inhabits, Which are destined to become ruins. 29 He will not be rich, Nor will his wealth acontinue, Nor will his possessions overspread the earth. 30 He will not depart from darkness; The flame will dry out his branches, And aby the breath of His mouth he will go away. 31 Let him not atrust in futile things, deceiving himself, For futility will be his reward. 32 It will be accomplished abefore his time, And his branch will not be green. 33 He will shake off his unripe grape like a vine, And cast off his blossom like an olive tree. 34 For the company of hypocrites will be barren, And fire will consume the tents of bribery. 35 aThey conceive trouble and bring forth futility; Their womb prepares deceit.” Job Reproaches His Pitiless Friends 16 Then Job answered and said: 2 “I have heard many such things; aMiserable1 comforters are you all! 3 Shall 1words of wind have an end? 2 1Lit. his belly 4 1meditation or complaint 6 aJob 9:20; [Luke 19:22] 7 aJob 38:4, 21; Ps. 90:2; Prov. 8:25 8 aJob 29:4; Rom. 11:34; [1 Cor. 2:11] 9 aJob 12:3; 13:2 10 aJob 8:8–10; 12:12; 32:6, 7 11 1Or a secret thing 12 1Or why do your eyes flash 14 aJob 14:4; Prov. 20:9; [Eccl. 7:20; 1 John 1:8, 10] 15 aJob 4:18; 25:5 16 aJob 4:19; Ps. 14:3; 53:3 bJob 34:7; Prov. 19:28 18 aJob 8:8; 20:4 19 aJoel 3:17 1Or earth 20 aPs. 90:12 21 aJob 20:21; 1 Thess. 5:3 1Terrifying 22 aJob 14:10–12 23 aPs. 59:15; 109:10 bJob 18:12 24 1attack 27 aPs. 17:10; 73:7; 119:70 29 aJob 20:28; 27:16, 17 30 aJob 4:9 31 aJob 35:13; Is. 59:4 32 aJob 22:16; Ps. 55:23; Eccl. 7:17 35 aPs. 7:14; Is. 59:4; [Hos. 10:13] CHAPTER 16 2 aJob 13:4; 21:34 1Trou- blesome 3 1Empty words

453 JOB 17:16 Or what provokes you that you answer? 4 I also could speak as you do, If your soul were in my soul’s place. I could heap up words against you, And ashake my head at you; 5 But I would strengthen you with my mouth, And the comfort of my lips would relieve your grief. 6 “Though I speak, my grief is not relieved; And if I remain silent, how am I eased? 7 But now He has aworn me out; You bhave made desolate all my company. 8 You have shriveled me up, And it is a awitness against me; My leanness rises up against me And bears witness to my face. 9 aHe tears me in His wrath, and hates me; He gnashes at me with His teeth; bMy adversary sharpens His gaze on me. 10 They agape at me with their mouth, They bstrike me reproachfully on the cheek, They gather together against me. 11 God ahas delivered me to the ungodly, And turned me over to the hands of the wicked. 12 I was at ease, but He has ashattered me; He also has taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces; He has bset me up for His target, 13 His archers surround me. He pierces my 1heart and does not pity; He pours out my gall on the ground. 14 He breaks me with wound upon wound; He runs at me like a 1warrior. 15 “I have sewn sackcloth over my skin, And alaid my 1head in the dust. 16 My face is 1flushed from weeping, And on my eyelids is the shadow of death; 17 Although no violence is in my hands, And my prayer is pure. 18 “O earth, do not cover my blood, And alet my cry have no resting place! 19 Surely even now amy witness is in heaven, And my evidence is on high. 20 My friends scorn me; My eyes pour out tears to God. 21 aOh, that one might plead for a man with God, As a man pleads for his 1neighbor! 22 For when a few years are finished, I shall ago the way of no return. Job Prays for Relief 17 “My spirit is broken, My days are extinguished, aThe grave is ready for me. 2 Are not mockers with me? And does not my eye 1dwell on their aprovocation? 3 “Now put down a pledge for me with Yourself. Who is he who awill shake hands with me? 4 For You have hidden their heart from aunderstanding; Therefore You will not exalt them. 5 He who speaks flattery to his friends, Even the eyes of his children will afail. 6 “But He has made me aa byword of the people, And I have become one in whose face men spit. 7 aMy eye has also grown dim because of sorrow, And all my members are like shadows. 8 Upright men are astonished at this, And the innocent stirs himself up against the hypocrite. 9 Yet the righteous will hold to his away, And he who has bclean hands will be stronger and stronger. 10 “But please, acome back again, 1all of you, For I shall not find one wise man among you. 11 aMy days are past, My purposes are broken off, Even the 1thoughts of my heart. 12 They change the night into day; ‘The light is near,’ they say, in the face of darkness. 13 If I wait for the grave as my house, If I make my bed in the darkness, 14 If I say to corruption, ‘You are my father,’ And to the worm, ‘You are my mother and my sister,’ 15 Where then is my ahope? As for my hope, who can see it? 16 Will they go down ato the gates of 1Sheol? 4 aPs. 22:7; 109:25; Lam. 2:15; Zeph. 2:15; Matt. 27:39 7 aJob 7:3 bJob 16:20; 19:13–15 8 aJob 10:17 9 aJob 10:16, 17; 19:11; Hos. 6:1 bJob 13:24; 33:10 10 aPs. 22:13; 35:21 bIs. 50:6; Lam. 3:30; Mic. 5:1; Matt. 26:67; Mark 14:65; Luke 22:63; Acts 23:2 11 aJob 1:15, 17 12 aJob 9:17 bJob 7:20; Lam. 3:12 13 1Lit. kid- neys 14 1Vg. giant 15 aJob 30:19; Ps. 7:5 1Lit. horn 16 1Lit. red 18 aJob 27:9; [Ps. 66:18] 19 aGen. 31:50; Rom. 1:9; Phil. 1:8; 1 Thess. 2:5 21 aJob 31:35; Eccl. 6:10; [Is. 45:9; Rom. 9:20] 1friend 22 aJob 10:21; Eccl. 12:5 CHAPTER 17 1 aPs. 88:3, 4 2 a1 Sam. 1:6; Job 12:4; 17:6; 30:1, 9; 34:7 1Lit. lodge 3 aProv. 6:1; 17:18; 22:26 4 aJob 12:20; 32:9 5 aJob 11:20 6 aJob 30:9 7 aPs. 6:7; 31:9 9 aProv. 4:18 bPs. 24:4 10 aJob 6:29 1So with some Heb. mss., LXX, Syr., Vg.; MT, Tg. all of them 11 aJob 7:6 1desires 15 aJob 7:6; 13:15; 14:19; 19:10 16 aJon.

1Lit. red 18 aJob 27:9; [Ps. 66:18] 19 aGen. 31:50; Rom. 1:9; Phil. 1:8; 1 Thess. 2:5 21 aJob 31:35; Eccl. 6:10; [Is. 45:9; Rom. 9:20] 1friend 22 aJob 10:21; Eccl. 12:5 CHAPTER 17 1 aPs. 88:3, 4 2 a1 Sam. 1:6; Job 12:4; 17:6; 30:1, 9; 34:7 1Lit. lodge 3 aProv. 6:1; 17:18; 22:26 4 aJob 12:20; 32:9 5 aJob 11:20 6 aJob 30:9 7 aPs. 6:7; 31:9 9 aProv. 4:18 bPs. 24:4 10 aJob 6:29 1So with some Heb. mss., LXX, Syr., Vg.; MT, Tg. all of them 11 aJob 7:6 1desires 15 aJob 7:6; 13:15; 14:19; 19:10 16 aJon. 2:6 1The abode of the dead

JOB 18:1 454 Shall we have brest together in the dust?” Bildad: The Wicked Are Punished 18 Then aBildad the Shuhite an- swered and said: 2 “How long till you put an end to words? Gain understanding, and afterward we will speak. 3 Why are we counted aas beasts, And regarded as stupid in your sight? 4 aYou1 who tear yourself in anger, Shall the earth be forsaken for you? Or shall the rock be removed from its place? 5 “Thea light of the wicked indeed goes out, And the flame of his fire does not shine. 6 The light is dark in his tent, aAnd his lamp beside him is put out. 7 The steps of his strength are shortened, And ahis own counsel casts him down. 8 For ahe is cast into a net by his own feet, And he walks into a snare. 9 The net takes him by the heel, And aa snare lays hold of him. 10 A noose is hidden for him on the ground, And a trap for him in the road. 11 aTerrors frighten him on every side, And drive him to his feet. 12 His strength is starved, And adestruction is ready at his side. 13 It devours patches of his skin; The firstborn of death devours his 1limbs. 14 He is uprooted from athe shelter of his tent, And they parade him before the king of terrors. 15 They dwell in his tent who are none of his; Brimstone is scattered on his dwelling. 16 aHis roots are dried out below, And his branch withers above. 17 aThe memory of him perishes from the earth, And he has no name 1among the renowned. 18 1He is driven from light into darkness, And chased out of the world. 19 aHe has neither son nor posterity among his people, Nor any remaining in his dwellings. 20 Those 1in the west are astonished aat his day, As those 2in the east are frightened. 21 Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked, And this is the place of him who adoes not know God.” Job Trusts in His Redeemer 19 Then Job answered and said: 2 “How long will you torment my soul, And break me in pieces with words? 3 These ten times you have 1reproached me; You are not ashamed that you 2have wronged me. 4 And if indeed I have erred, My error remains with me. 5 If indeed you aexalt yourselves against me, And plead my disgrace against me, 6 Know then that aGod has wronged me, And has surrounded me with His net. 7 “If I cry out concerning 1wrong, I am not heard. If I cry aloud, there is no justice. 8 aHe has 1fenced up my way, so that I cannot pass; And He has set darkness in my paths. 9 aHe has stripped me of my glory, And taken the crown from my head. 10 He breaks me down on every side, And I am gone; My ahope He has uprooted like a tree. 11 He has also kindled His wrath against me, And aHe counts me as one of His enemies. 12 His troops come together And build up their road against me; They encamp all around my tent. 13 “Hea has removed my brothers far from me, And my acquaintances are completely estranged from me. 14 My relatives have failed, And my close friends have forgotten me. 15 Those who dwell in my house, and my maidservants, Count me as a stranger; I am an alien in their sight. 16 I call my servant, but he gives no answer; I beg him with my mouth. 17 My breath is offensive to my wife, 16 bJob 3:17–19; 21:33 CHAPTER 18 1 aJob 8:1 3 aPs. 73:22 4 aJob 13:14 1Lit. one who tears his soul 5 aJob 21:17; Prov. 13:9; 20:20; 24:20 6 aJob 21:17; Ps. 18:28 7 aJob 5:12, 13; 15:6 8 aJob 22:10; Ps. 9:15; 35:8; Is. 24:17, 18 9 aJob 5:5 11 aJob 20:25; Jer. 6:25 12 aJob 15:23 13 1parts 14 aJob 11:20 16 aJob 29:19 17 aJob 24:20; [Ps. 34:16]; Prov. 10:7 1Lit. before the outside, i.e., the distin- guished or famous 18 1Or They drive him 19 aJob 27:14, 15; Is. 14:22 20 aPs. 37:13; Jer. 50:27; Obad. 12 1Lit. who came af- ter 2Lit. who have gone be- fore 21 aJer. 9:3; 1 Thess. 4:5 CHAPTER 19 3 1shamed or disgraced 2A Jewish tradi- tion make yourselves strange to me 5 aPs. 35:26; 38:16; 55:12, 13 6 aJob 16:11 7 1violence 8 aJob 3:23; Ps. 88:8; Lam. 3:7, 9 1walled off my way 9 aJob 12:17, 19; Ps. 89:44 10 aJob 17:14, 16 11 aJob 13:24; 33:10 13 aJob 16:20; Ps. 31:11; 38:11; 69:8; 88:8, 18

455 JOB 20:23 And I am 1repulsive to the children of my own body. 18 Even ayoung children despise me; I arise, and they speak against me. 19 aAll my close friends abhor me, And those whom I love have turned against me. 20 aMy bone clings to my skin and to my flesh, And I have escaped by the skin of my teeth. 21 “Have pity on me, have pity on me, O you my friends, For the hand of God has struck me! 22 Why do you apersecute me as God does, And are not satisfied with my flesh? 23 “Oh, that my words were written! Oh, that they were inscribed in a book! 24 That they were engraved on a rock With an iron pen and lead, forever! 25 For I know that my aRedeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth; 26 And after my skin is 1destroyed, this I know, That ain my flesh I shall see God, 27 Whom I shall see for myself, And my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my 1heart yearns within me! 28 If you should say, ‘How shall we persecute him?’— Since the root of the matter is found in me, 29 Be afraid of the sword for yourselves; For wrath brings the punishment of the sword, That you may know there is a judgment.” Zophar’s Sermon on the Wicked Man 20 Then aZophar the Naamathite answered and said: 2 “Therefore my anxious thoughts make me answer, Because of the turmoil within me. 3 I have heard the rebuke 1that reproaches me, And the spirit of my understanding causes me to answer. 4 “Do you not know this of aold, Since man was placed on earth, 5 aThat the triumphing of the wicked is short, And the joy of the hypocrite is but for a bmoment? 6 aThough his haughtiness mounts up to the heavens, And his head reaches to the clouds, 7 Yet he will perish forever like his own refuse; Those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’ 8 He will fly away alike a dream, and not be found; Yes, he bwill be chased away like a vision of the night. 9 The eye that saw him will see him no more, Nor will his place behold him anymore. 10 His children will seek the favor of the poor, And his hands will restore his wealth. 11 His bones are full of ahis youthful vigor, bBut it will lie down with him in the dust. 12 “Though evil is sweet in his mouth, And he hides it under his tongue, 13 Though he spares it and does not forsake it, But still keeps it in his 1mouth, 14 Yet his food in his stomach turns sour; It becomes cobra venom within him. 15 He swallows down riches And vomits them up again; God casts them out of his belly. 16 He will suck the poison of cobras; The viper’s tongue will slay him. 17 He will not see athe streams, The rivers flowing with honey and cream. 18 He will restore that for which he labored, And will not swallow it down; From the proceeds of business He will get no enjoyment. 19 For he has 1oppressed and forsaken the poor, He has violently seized a house which he did not build. 20 “Becausea he knows no quietness in his 1heart, He will not save anything he desires. 21 Nothing is left for him to eat; Therefore his well-being will not last. 22 In his self-sufficiency he will be in distress; Every hand of 1misery will come against him. 23 When he is about to fill his stomach, 17 1Lit. strange 18 a2 Kin. 2:23; Job 17:6 19 aPs. 38:11; 55:12, 13 20 aJob 16:8; 33:21; Ps. 102:5; Lam. 4:8 22 aJob 13:24, 25; 16:11; 19:6; Ps. 69:26 26 a[Ps. 17:15]; Matt. 5:8; 1 Cor. 13:12; [1 John 3:2] 1Lit. struck off 27 1Lit. kid- neys CHAPTER 20 1 aJob 11:1 3 1Lit. of my insulting cor- rection 4 aJob 8:8; 15:10 5 aPs. 37:35, 36 b[Job 8:13; 13:16; 15:34; 27:8] 6 aIs. 14:13, 14 8 aPs. 73:20; 90:5 bJob 18:18; 27:21–23 11 aJob 13:26 bJob 21:26 13 1Lit. palate 17 aPs. 36:8; Jer. 17:8 19 1crushed 20 aEccl. 5:13–15 1Lit. belly 22 1Or the wretched or sufferer

JOB 20:24 456 God will cast on him the fury of His wrath, And will rain it on him while he is eating. 24 aHe will flee from the iron weapon; A bronze bow will pierce him through. 25 It is drawn, and comes out of the body; Yes, athe glittering point comes out of his 1gall. bTerrors come upon him; 26 Total darkness is reserved for his treasures. aAn unfanned fire will consume him; It shall go ill with him who is left in his tent. 27 The heavens will reveal his iniquity, And the earth will rise up against him. 28 The increase of his house will depart, And his goods will flow away in the day of His awrath. 29 aThis is the portion from God for a wicked man, The heritage appointed to him by God.” Job’s Discourse on the Wicked 21 Then Job answered and said: 2 “Listen carefully to my speech, And let this be your 1consolation. 3 Bear with me that I may speak, And after I have spoken, keep amocking. 4 “As for me, is my complaint against man? And if it were, why should I not be impatient? 5 Look at me and be astonished; aPut your hand over your mouth. 6 Even when I remember I am terrified, And trembling takes hold of my flesh. 7 aWhy do the wicked live and become old, Yes, become mighty in power? 8 Their descendants are established with them in their sight, And their offspring before their eyes. 9 Their houses are safe from fear, aNeither is 1the rod of God upon them. 10 Their bull breeds without failure; Their cow calves awithout miscarriage. 11 They send forth their little ones like a flock, And their children dance. 12 They sing to the tambourine and harp, And rejoice to the sound of the flute. 13 They aspend their days in wealth, And 1in a moment go down to the 2grave. 14 aYet they say to God, ‘Depart from us, For we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways. 15 aWho is the Almighty, that we should serve Him? And bwhat profit do we have if we pray to Him?’ 16 Indeed 1their prosperity is not in their hand; aThe counsel of the wicked is far from me. 17 “How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? How often does their destruction come upon them, The sorrows God adistributes in His anger? 18 aThey are like straw before the wind, And like chaff that a storm 1carries away. 19 They say, ‘God 1lays up 2one’s iniquity afor his children’; Let Him recompense him, that he may know it. 20 Let his eyes see his destruction, And alet him drink of the wrath of the Almighty. 21 For what does he care about his household after him, When the number of his months is cut in half? 22 “Cana anyone teach God knowledge, Since He judges those on high? 23 One dies in his full strength, Being wholly at ease and secure; 24 His 1pails are full of milk, And the marrow of his bones is moist. 25 Another man dies in the bitterness of his soul, Never having eaten with pleasure. 26 They alie down alike in the dust, And worms cover them. 27 “Look, I know your thoughts, And the schemes with which you would wrong me. 28 For you say, ‘Where is the house of the prince? And where is 1the tent, The dwelling place of the wicked?’ 29 Have you not asked those who travel the road? 24 aIs. 24:18; Amos 5:19 25 aJob 16:13 bJob 18:11, 14 1Gallbladder 26 aPs. 21:9 28 aJob 20:15; 21:30 29 aJob 27:13; 31:2, 3 CHAPTER 21 2 1comfort 3 aJob 16:10 5 aJudg. 18:19; Job 13:5; 29:9; 40:4 7 aJob 12:6; Ps. 17:10, 14; 73:3, 12; [Jer. 12:1]; Hab. 1:13, 16 9 aPs. 73:5 1The rod of God’s chas- tisement 10 aEx. 23:26 13 aJob 21:23; 36:11 1With- out lingering 2Or Sheol 14 aJob 22:17 15 aEx. 5:2; Job 22:17; 34:9 bJob 35:3; Mal. 3:14 16 aJob 22:18; Ps. 1:1; Prov. 1:10 1Lit. their goal 17 a[Job 31:2, 3; Luke 12:46] 18 aPs. 1:4; 35:5; Is. 17:13; Hos. 13:3 1steals away 19 a[Ex. 20:5]; Jer. 31:29; Ezek. 18:2 1stores up 2Lit. his 20 aPs. 75:8; Is. 51:17; Jer. 25:15; Rev. 14:10; 19:15 22 aJob 35:11; 36:22; [Is. 40:13; 45:9; Rom. 11:34; 1 Cor. 2:16] 24 1LXX, Vg. bowels; Syr. sides; Tg. breasts 26 aJob 3:13; 20:11; Eccl. 9:2 28 1Vg. omits the tent

457 JOB 22:30 And do you not know their signs? 30 aFor the wicked are reserved for the day of doom; They shall be brought out on the day of wrath. 31 Who condemns his way to his face? And who repays him for what he has done? 32 Yet he shall be brought to the grave, And a vigil kept over the tomb. 33 The clods of the valley shall be sweet to him; aEveryone shall follow him, As countless have gone before him. 34 How then can you comfort me with empty words, Since 1falsehood remains in your answers?” Eliphaz Accuses Job of Wickedness 22 Then aEliphaz the Temanite answered and said: 2 “Cana a man be profitable to God, Though he who is wise may be profitable to himself? 3 Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that you are righteous? Or is it gain to Him that you make your ways blameless? 4 “Is it because of your fear of Him that He corrects you, And enters into judgment with you? 5 Is not your wickedness great, And your iniquity without end? 6 For you have ataken pledges from your brother for no reason, And stripped the naked of their clothing. 7 You have not given the weary water to drink, And you ahave withheld bread from the hungry. 8 But the 1mighty man possessed the land, And the honorable man dwelt in it. 9 You have sent widows away empty, And the 1strength of the fatherless was crushed. 10 Therefore snares are all around you, And sudden fear troubles you, 11 Or darkness so that you cannot see; And an abundance of awater covers you. 12 “Is not God in the height of heaven? And see the highest stars, how lofty they are! 13 And you say, a‘What does God know? Can He judge through the deep darkness? 14 aThick clouds cover Him, so that He cannot see, And He walks above the circle of heaven.’ 15 Will you keep to the old way Which wicked men have trod, 16 Who awere cut down before their time, Whose foundations were swept away by a flood? 17 aThey said to God, ‘Depart from us! What can the Almighty do to 1them?’ 18 Yet He filled their houses with good things; But the counsel of the wicked is far from me. 19 “Thea righteous see it and are glad, And the innocent laugh at them: 20 ‘Surely our 1adversaries are cut down, And the fire consumes their remnant.’ 21 “Now acquaint yourself with Him, and abe at peace; Thereby good will come to you. 22 Receive, please, ainstruction from His mouth, And blay up His words in your heart. 23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up; You will remove iniquity far from your tents. 24 Then you will alay your gold in the dust, And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks. 25 Yes, the Almighty will be your 1gold And your precious silver; 26 For then you will have your adelight in the Almighty, And lift up your face to God. 27 aYou will make your prayer to Him, He will hear you, And you will pay your vows. 28 You will also declare a thing, And it will be established for you; So light will shine on your ways. 29 When they cast you down, and you say, ‘Exaltation will come!’ Then aHe will save the humble person. 30 He will even deliver one who is not innocent; 30 aJob 20:29; [Prov. 16:4; 2 Pet. 2:9] 33 aHeb. 9:27 34 1faithless- ness CHAPTER 22 1 aJob 4:1; 15:1; 42:9 2 aJob 35:7; [Ps. 16:2; Luke 17:10] 6 a[Ex. 22:26, 27]; Deut. 24:6, 10, 17; Job 24:3, 9; Ezek. 18:16 7 aDeut. 15:7; Job 31:17; Is. 58:7; Ezek. 18:7; Matt. 25:42 8 1Lit. man of arm 9 1Lit. arms 11 aJob 38:34; Ps. 69:1, 2; 124:5; Lam. 3:54 13 aPs. 73:11 14 aPs. 139:11, 12 16 aJob 14:19; 15:32; Ps. 90:5; Is. 28:2; Matt. 7:26, 27 17 aJob 21:14, 15 1LXX, Syr. us 19 aPs. 52:6; 58:10; 107:42 20 1LXX sub- stance is 21 a[Ps. 34:10]; Is. 27:5 22 aJob 6:10; 23:12; Prov. 2:6 b[Ps. 119:11] 24 a2 Chr. 1:15 25 1Ancient vss. suggest defense; MT gold, as in v. 24 26 aJob 27:10; Ps. 37:4; Is. 58:14 27 aJob 11:13; 33:26; [Is. 58:9–11] 29 aJob 5:11; [Matt. 23:12; James 4:6; 1 Pet. 5:5]

JOB 23:1 458 Yes, he will be delivered by the purity of your hands.” Job Proclaims God’s Righteous Judgments 23 Then Job answered and said: 2 “Even today my acomplaint is bitter; 1My hand is listless because of my groaning. 3 aOh, that I knew where I might find Him, That I might come to His seat! 4 I would present my case before Him, And fill my mouth with arguments. 5 I would know the words which He would answer me, And understand what He would say to me. 6 aWould He contend with me in His great power? No! But He would take note of me. 7 There the upright could reason with Him, And I would be delivered forever from my Judge. 8 “Look,a I go forward, but He is not there, And backward, but I cannot perceive Him; 9 When He works on the left hand, I cannot behold Him; When He turns to the right hand, I cannot see Him. 10 But aHe knows the way that I take; When bHe has tested me, I shall come forth as gold. 11 aMy foot has held fast to His steps; I have kept His way and not turned aside. 12 I have not departed from the acommandment of His lips; bI have treasured the words of His mouth More than my 1necessary food. 13 “But He is unique, and who can make Him change? And whatever aHis soul desires, that He does. 14 For He performs what is aappointed for me, And many such things are with Him. 15 Therefore I am terrified at His presence; When I consider this, I am afraid of Him. 16 For God amade my heart weak, And the Almighty terrifies me; 17 Because I was not acut off 1from the presence of darkness, And He did not hide deep darkness from my face. Job Complains of Violence on the Earth 24 “Since atimes are not hidden from the Almighty, Why do those who know Him see not His bdays? 2 “Some remove alandmarks; They seize flocks violently and feed on them; 3 They drive away the donkey of the fatherless; They atake the widow’s ox as a pledge. 4 They push the needy off the road; All the apoor of the land are forced to hide. 5 Indeed, like wild donkeys in the desert, They go out to their work, searching for food. The wilderness yields food for them and for their children. 6 They gather their fodder in the field And glean in the vineyard of the wicked. 7 They aspend the night naked, without clothing, And have no covering in the cold. 8 They are wet with the showers of the mountains, And ahuddle around the rock for want of shelter. 9 “Some snatch the fatherless from the breast, And take a pledge from the poor. 10 They cause the poor to go naked, without aclothing; And they take away the sheaves from the hungry. 11 They press out oil within their walls, And tread winepresses, yet suffer thirst. 12 The dying groan in the city, And the souls of the wounded cry out; Yet God does not charge them with wrong. 13 “There are those who rebel against the light; They do not know its ways Nor abide in its paths. 14 aThe murderer rises with the light; He kills the poor and needy; And in the night he is like a thief. 15 aThe eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight, bSaying, ‘No eye will see me’; And he 1disguises his face. 16 In the dark they break into houses CHAPTER 23 2 aJob 7:11 1So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX, Syr. His 3 aJob 13:3, 18; 16:21; 31:35 6 aIs. 57:16 8 aJob 9:11; 35:14 10 a[Ps. 1:6; 139:1–3] b[Ps. 17:3; 66:10; James 1:12] 11 aJob 31:7; Ps. 17:5 12 aJob 6:10; 22:22 bPs. 44:18 1Lit. ap- pointed portion 13 a[Ps. 115:3] 14 a[1 Thess. 3:2–4] 16 aPs. 22:14 17 aJob 10:18, 19 1Or by or before CHAPTER 24 1 a[Acts 1:7] b[Is. 2:12]; Jer. 46:10; [Obad. 15]; Zeph. 1:7 2 a[Deut. 19:14; 27:17]; Prov. 22:28; 23:10; Hos. 5:10 3 a[Deut. 24:6, 10, 12, 17]; Job 22:6, 9 4 aJob 29:16; Prov. 28:28 7 aEx. 22:26, 27; [Deut. 24:12, 13]; Job 22:6; [James 2:15, 16] 8 aLam. 4:5 10 aJob 31:19 14 aPs. 10:8 15 aProv. 7:7–10 bPs. 10:11 1Lit. puts a cover- ing on his face

459 JOB 27:2 Which they marked for themselves in the daytime; aThey do not know the light. 17 For the morning is the same to them as the shadow of death; If someone recognizes them, They are in the terrors of the shadow of death. 18 “They should be swift on the face of the waters, Their portion should be cursed in the earth, So that no one would turn into the way of their vineyards. 19 As drought and heat 1consume the snow waters, So 2the grave consumes those who have sinned. 20 The womb should forget him, The worm should feed sweetly on him; aHe should be remembered no more, And wickedness should be broken like a tree. 21 For he 1preys on the barren who do not bear, And does no good for the widow. 22 “But God draws the mighty away with His power; He rises up, but no man is sure of life. 23 He gives them security, and they rely on it; Yet aHis eyes are on their ways. 24 They are exalted for a little while, Then they are gone. They are brought low; They are 1taken out of the way like all others; They dry out like the heads of grain. 25 “Now if it is not so, who will prove me a liar, And make my speech worth nothing?” Bildad: How Can Man Be Righteous? 25 Then aBildad the Shuhite an- swered and said: 2 “Dominion and fear belong to Him; He makes peace in His high places. 3 1Is there any number to His armies? Upon whom does aHis light not rise? 4 aHow then can man be righteous before God? Or how can he be bpure who is born of a woman? 5 If even the moon does not shine, And the stars are not pure in His asight, 6 How much less man, who is aa maggot, And a son of man, who is a worm?” Job: Man’s Frailty and God’s Majesty 26 But Job answered and said: 2 “How have you helped him who is without power? How have you saved the arm that has no strength? 3 How have you counseled one who has no wisdom? And how have you declared sound advice to many? 4 To whom have you uttered words? And whose spirit came from you? 5 “The dead tremble, Those under the waters and those inhabiting them. 6 aSheol is naked before Him, And Destruction has no covering. 7 aHe stretches out the north over empty space; He hangs the earth on nothing. 8 aHe binds up the water in His thick clouds, Yet the clouds 1are not broken under it. 9 He covers the face of His throne, And spreads His cloud over it. 10 aHe drew a circular horizon on the face of the waters, At the boundary of light and darkness. 11 The pillars of heaven tremble, And are 1astonished at His rebuke. 12 aHe stirs up the sea with His power, And by His understanding He breaks up 1the storm. 13 aBy His Spirit He adorned the heavens; His hand pierced bthe fleeing serpent. 14 Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways, And how small a whisper we hear of Him! But the thunder of His power who can understand?” Job Maintains His Integrity 27 Moreover Job continued his discourse, and said: 2 “As God lives, awho has taken away my justice, And the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter, 16 a[John 3:20] 19 1Lit. seize 2Or Sheol 20 aJob 18:17; Ps. 34:16; Prov. 10:7 21 1Lit. feeds on 23 aPs. 11:4; [Prov. 15:3] 24 1Lit. gath- ered up CHAPTER 25 1 aJob 8:1; 18:1 3 aJames 1:17 1Can His armies be counted? 4 aJob 4:17; 15:14; Ps. 130:3; 143:2 b[Job 14:4] 5 aJob 15:15 6 aPs. 22:6 CHAPTER 26 6 a[Ps. 139:8]; Prov. 15:11; [Heb. 4:13] 7 aJob 9:8; Ps. 24:2; 104:2 8 aJob 37:11; Prov. 30:4 1do not break 10 a[Job 38:1–11]; Ps. 33:7; 104:9; Prov. 8:29; Jer. 5:22 11 1amazed 12 aEx. 14:21; Job 9:13; Is. 51:15; [Jer. 31:35] 1Lit. rahab 13 a[Job 9:8]; Ps. 33:6 bIs. 27:1 CHAPTER 27 2 aJob 34:5

JOB 27:3 460 3 As long as my breath is in me, And the breath of God in my nostrils, 4 My lips will not speak wickedness, Nor my tongue utter deceit. 5 Far be it from me That I should say you are right; Till I die aI will not put away my integrity from me. 6 My righteousness I ahold fast, and will not let it go; bMy heart shall not 1reproach me as long as I live. 7 “May my enemy be like the wicked, And he who rises up against me like the unrighteous. 8 aFor what is the hope of the hypocrite, Though he may gain much, If God takes away his life? 9 aWill God hear his cry When trouble comes upon him? 10 aWill he delight himself in the Almighty? Will he always call on God? 11 “I will teach you 1about the hand of God; What is with the Almighty I will not conceal. 12 Surely all of you have seen it; Why then do you behave with complete nonsense? 13 “Thisa is the portion of a wicked man with God, And the heritage of oppressors, received from the Almighty: 14 aIf his children are multiplied, it is for the sword; And his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread. 15 Those who survive him shall be buried in death, And atheir1 widows shall not weep, 16 Though he heaps up silver like dust, And piles up clothing like clay— 17 He may pile it up, but athe just will wear it, And the innocent will divide the silver. 18 He builds his house like a 1moth, aLike a 2booth which a watchman makes. 19 The rich man will lie down, 1But not be gathered up; He opens his eyes, And he is ano more. 20 aTerrors overtake him like a flood; A tempest steals him away in the night. 21 The east wind carries him away, and he is gone; It sweeps him out of his place. 22 It hurls against him and does not aspare; He flees desperately from its 1power. 23 Men shall clap their hands at him, And shall hiss him out of his place. Job’s Discourse on Wisdom 28 “Surely there is a mine for silver, And a place where gold is refined. 2 Iron is taken from the 1earth, And copper is smelted from ore. 3 Man puts an end to darkness, And searches every recess For ore in the darkness and the shadow of death. 4 He breaks open a shaft away from people; In places forgotten by feet They hang far away from men; They swing to and fro. 5 As for the earth, from it comes bread, But underneath it is turned up as by fire; 6 Its stones are the source of sapphires, And it contains gold dust. 7 That path no bird knows, Nor has the falcon’s eye seen it. 8 The 1proud lions have not trodden it, Nor has the fierce lion passed over it. 9 He puts his hand on the flint; He overturns the mountains 1at the roots. 10 He cuts out channels in the rocks, And his eye sees every precious thing. 11 He dams up the streams from trickling; What is hidden he brings forth to light. 12 “Buta where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? 13 Man does not know its avalue, Nor is it found in the land of the living. 14 aThe deep says, ‘It is not in me’; And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’ 15 It acannot be purchased for gold, Nor can silver be weighed for its price. 16 It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, In precious onyx or sapphire. 17 Neither agold nor crystal can equal it, Nor can it be exchanged for 1jewelry of fine gold. 5 aJob 2:9; 13:15 6 aJob 2:3; 33:9 bActs 24:16 1reprove 8 aMatt. 16:26; Luke 12:20 9 aJob 35:12, 13; Ps. 18:41; Prov. 1:28; 28:9; [Is. 1:15]; Jer. 14:12; Ezek. 8:18; [Mic. 3:4; John 9:31; James 4:3] 10 aJob 22:26, 27; [Ps. 37:4; Is. 58:14] 11 1Or by 13 aJob 20:29 14 aDeut. 28:41; Esth. 9:10; Hos. 9:13 15 aPs. 78:64 1Lit. his 17 aProv. 28:8; [Eccl. 2:26] 18 aIs. 1:8; Lam. 2:6 1So with MT, Vg.; LXX, Syr. spi- der (cf. 8:14); Tg. decay 2Temporary shelter 19 aJob 7:8, 21; 20:7 1So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Syr. But shall not add (i.e., do it again); Vg. But take away nothing 20 aJob 18:11 22 aJer. 13:14; Ezek. 5:11; 24:14 1Lit. hand CHAPTER 28 2 1Lit. dust 8 1Lit. sons of pride, figura- tive of the great lions 9 1At the base 12 aEccl. 7:24 13 aProv.

y 13 aJob 20:29 14 aDeut. 28:41; Esth. 9:10; Hos. 9:13 15 aPs. 78:64 1Lit. his 17 aProv. 28:8; [Eccl. 2:26] 18 aIs. 1:8; Lam. 2:6 1So with MT, Vg.; LXX, Syr. spi- der (cf. 8:14); Tg. decay 2Temporary shelter 19 aJob 7:8, 21; 20:7 1So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Syr. But shall not add (i.e., do it again); Vg. But take away nothing 20 aJob 18:11 22 aJer. 13:14; Ezek. 5:11; 24:14 1Lit. hand CHAPTER 28 2 1Lit. dust 8 1Lit. sons of pride, figura- tive of the great lions 9 1At the base 12 aEccl. 7:24 13 aProv. 3:15 14 aJob 28:22 15 aProv. 3:13–15; 8:10, 11, 19 17 aProv. 8:10; 16:16 1vessels

461 JOB 29:25 18 No mention shall be made of 1coral or quartz, For the price of wisdom is above arubies. 19 The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, Nor can it be valued in pure agold. 20 “Froma where then does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding? 21 It is hidden from the eyes of all living, And concealed from the birds of the 1air. 22 aDestruction1 and Death say, ‘We have heard a report about it with our ears.’ 23 God understands its way, And He knows its place. 24 For He looks to the ends of the earth, And asees under the whole heavens, 25 aTo establish a weight for the wind, And apportion the waters by measure. 26 When He amade a law for the rain, And a path for the thunderbolt, 27 Then He saw 1wisdom and declared it; He prepared it, indeed, He searched it out. 28 And to man He said, ‘Behold, athe fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, And to depart from evil is understanding.’ ” Job’s Summary Defense 29 Job further continued his dis- course, and said: 2 “Oh, that I were as in months apast, As in the days when God bwatched over me; 3 aWhen His lamp shone upon my head, And when by His light I walked through darkness; 4 Just as I was in the days of my prime, When athe friendly counsel of God was over my tent; 5 When the Almighty was yet with me, When my children were around me; 6 When amy steps were bathed with 1cream, And bthe rock poured out rivers of oil for me! 7 “When I went out to the gate by the city, When I took my seat in the open square, 8 The young men saw me and hid, And the aged arose and stood; 9 The princes refrained from talking, And aput their hand on their mouth; 10 The voice of nobles was hushed, And their atongue stuck to the roof of their mouth. 11 When the ear heard, then it blessed me, And when the eye saw, then it approved me; 12 Because aI delivered the poor who cried out, The fatherless and the one who had no helper. 13 The blessing of a perishing man came upon me, And I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy. 14 aI put on righteousness, and it clothed me; My justice was like a robe and a turban. 15 I was aeyes to the blind, And I was feet to the lame. 16 I was a father to the poor, And aI searched out the case that I did not know. 17 I broke athe fangs of the wicked, And plucked the victim from his teeth. 18 “Then I said, a‘I shall die in my nest, And multiply my days as the sand. 19 aMy root is spread out bto the waters, And the dew lies all night on my branch. 20 My glory is fresh within me, And my abow is renewed in my hand.’ 21 “Men listened to me and waited, And kept silence for my counsel. 22 After my words they did not speak again, And my speech settled on them as dew. 23 They waited for me as for the rain, And they opened their mouth wide as for athe spring rain. 24 If I mocked at them, they did not believe it, And the light of my countenance they did not cast down. 25 I chose the way for them, and sat as chief; So I dwelt as a king in the army, As one who comforts mourners. 18 aProv. 3:15; 8:11 1Heb. ramoth 19 aProv. 8:19 20 aJob 28:12; [Ps. 111:10; Prov. 1:7; 9:10] 21 1heaven 22 aJob 28:14 1Heb. Abad- don 24 a[Ps. 11:4; 33:13, 14; 66:7; Prov. 15:3] 25 aPs. 135:7 26 aJob 37:3; 38:25 27 1Lit. it 28 a[Deut. 4:6; Ps. 111:10; Prov. 1:7; 9:10; Eccl. 12:13] CHAPTER 29 2 aJob 1:1–5 bJob 1:10 3 aJob 18:6 4 aJob 15:8; [Ps. 25:14; Prov. 3:32] 6 aGen. 49:11; Deut. 32:14; Job 20:17 bDeut. 32:13; Ps. 81:16 1So with ancient vss. and a few Heb. mss. (cf. Job 20:17); MT wrath 9 aJob 21:5 10 aPs. 137:6 12 aJob 31:16–23; [Ps. 72:12; Prov. 21:13; 24:11] 14 aDeut. 24:13; Job 27:5, 6; Ps. 132:9; [Is. 59:17; 61:10; Eph. 6:14] 15 aNum. 10:31 16 aProv. 29:7 17 aPs. 58:6; Prov. 30:14 18 aPs. 30:6 19 aJob 18:16 bPs. 1:3; [Jer. 17:7, 8] 20 aGen. 49:24; Ps. 18:34 23 a[Zech. 10:1]

JOB 30:1 462 30“But now they mock at me, men 1younger than I, Whose fathers I disdained to put with the dogs of my flock. 2 Indeed, what profit is the strength of their hands to me? Their vigor has perished. 3 They are gaunt from want and famine, Fleeing late to the wilderness, desolate and waste, 4 Who pluck 1mallow by the bushes, And broom tree roots for their food. 5 They were driven out from among men, They shouted at them as at a thief. 6 They had to live in the clefts of the 1valleys, In 2caves of the earth and the rocks. 7 Among the bushes they brayed, Under the nettles they nestled. 8 They were sons of fools, Yes, sons of vile men; They were scourged from the land. 9 “Anda now I am their taunting song; Yes, I am their byword. 10 They abhor me, they keep far from me; They do not hesitate ato spit in my face. 11 Because aHe has loosed 1my bowstring and afflicted me, They have cast off restraint before me. 12 At my right hand the rabble arises; They push away my feet, And athey raise against me their ways of destruction. 13 They break up my path, They promote my calamity; They have no helper. 14 They come as broad breakers; Under the ruinous storm they roll along. 15 Terrors are turned upon me; They pursue my honor as the wind, And my prosperity has passed like a cloud. 16 “Anda now my soul is bpoured out because of my plight; The days of affliction take hold of me. 17 My bones are pierced in me at night, And my gnawing pains take no rest. 18 By great force my garment is disfigured; It binds me about as the collar of my coat. 19 He has cast me into the mire, And I have become like dust and ashes. 20 “I acry out to You, but You do not answer me; I stand up, and You regard me. 21 But You have become cruel to me; With the strength of Your hand You aoppose me. 22 You lift me up to the wind and cause me to ride on it; You spoil my success. 23 For I know that You will bring me to death, And to the house aappointed for all living. 24 “Surely He would not stretch out His hand against a heap of ruins, If they cry out when He destroys it. 25 aHave I not wept for him who was in trouble? Has not my soul grieved for the poor? 26 aBut when I looked for good, evil came to me; And when I waited for light, then came darkness. 27 1My heart is in turmoil and cannot rest; Days of affliction confront me. 28 aI go about mourning, but not in the sun; I stand up in the assembly and cry out for help. 29 aI am a brother of jackals, And a companion of ostriches. 30 aMy skin grows black and falls from me; bMy bones burn with fever. 31 My harp is turned to mourning, And my flute to the voice of those who weep. 31“I have made a covenant with my eyes; Why then should I 1look upon a ayoung woman? 2 For what is the aallotment of God from above, And the inheritance of the Almighty from on high? 3 Is it not destruction for the wicked, And disaster for the workers of iniquity? 4 aDoes He not see my ways, And count all my steps? 5 “If I have walked with falsehood, Or if my foot has hastened to deceit, 6 1Let me be weighed on honest scales, That God may know my aintegrity. 7 If my step has turned from the way, Or amy heart walked after my eyes, CHAPTER 30 1 1Lit. of fewer days 4 1A plant of the salty marshes 6 1wadis 2Lit. holes 9 aJob 17:6; Ps. 69:12; Lam. 3:14, 63 10 aNum. 12:14; Deut. 25:9; Job 17:6; Is. 50:6; Matt. 26:67; 27:30 11 aJob 12:18 1So with MT, Syr., Tg.; LXX, Vg. His 12 aJob 19:12 16 aPs. 42:4 bPs. 22:14; Is. 53:12 20 aJob 19:7 21 aJob 10:3; 16:9, 14; 19:6, 22 23 a[Heb. 9:27] 25 aPs. 35:13, 14; Rom. 12:15 26 aJob 3:25, 26; Jer. 8:15 27 1I seethe in- side 28 aJob 30:31; Ps. 38:6; 42:9; 43:2 29 aPs. 44:19; 102:6; Mic. 1:8 30 aPs. 119:83; Lam. 4:8; 5:10 bPs. 102:3 CHAPTER 31 1 a[Matt. 5:28] 1look intently or gaze 2 aJob 20:29 4 a[2 Chr. 16:9]; Job 24:23; 28:24; 34:21; 36:7; [Prov. 5:21; 15:3; Jer. 32:19] 6 aJob 23:10; 27:5, 6 1Lit. Let Him weigh me 7 aNum. 15:39; [Eccl. 11:9]; Ezek. 6:9; [Matt. 5:29]

463 JOB 32:1 Or if any spot adheres to my hands, 8 Then alet me sow, and another eat; Yes, let my harvest be 1rooted out. 9 “If my heart has been enticed by a woman, Or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door, 10 Then let my wife grind for aanother, And let others bow down over her. 11 For that would be wickedness; Yes, ait would be iniquity deserving of judgment. 12 For that would be a fire that consumes to destruction, And would root out all my increase. 13 “If I have adespised the cause of my male or female servant When they complained against me, 14 What then shall I do when aGod rises up? When He punishes, how shall I answer Him? 15 aDid not He who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same One fashion us in the womb? 16 “If I have kept the poor from their desire, Or caused the eyes of the widow to afail, 17 Or eaten my morsel by myself, So that the fatherless could not eat of it 18 (But from my youth I reared him as a father, And from my mother’s womb I guided 1the widow); 19 If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing, Or any poor man without covering; 20 If his 1heart has not ablessed me, And if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep; 21 If I have raised my hand aagainst the fatherless, When I saw I had help in the gate; 22 Then let my arm fall from my shoulder, Let my arm be torn from the socket. 23 For adestruction from God is a terror to me, And because of His magnificence I cannot endure. 24 “Ifa I have made gold my hope, Or said to fine gold, ‘You are my confidence’; 25 aIf I have rejoiced because my wealth was great, And because my hand had gained much; 26 aIf I have observed the 1sun when it shines, Or the moon moving in brightness, 27 So that my heart has been secretly enticed, And my mouth has kissed my hand; 28 This also would be an iniquity deserving of judgment, For I would have denied God who is above. 29 “Ifa I have rejoiced at the destruction of him who hated me, Or lifted myself up when evil found him 30 a(Indeed I have not allowed my mouth to sin By asking for a curse on his 1soul); 31 If the men of my tent have not said, ‘Who is there that has not been satisfied with his meat?’ 32 a(But no sojourner had to lodge in the street, For I have opened my doors to the 1traveler); 33 If I have covered my transgressions aas1 Adam, By hiding my iniquity in my bosom, 34 Because I feared the great amultitude, And dreaded the contempt of families, So that I kept silence And did not go out of the door— 35 aOh, that I had one to hear me! Here is my mark. Oh, bthat the Almighty would answer me, That my 1Prosecutor had written a book! 36 Surely I would carry it on my shoulder, And bind it on me like a crown; 37 I would declare to Him the number of my steps; Like a prince I would approach Him. 38 “If my land cries out against me, And its furrows weep together; 39 If aI have eaten its 1fruit without money, Or bcaused its owners to lose their lives; 40 Then let athistles grow instead of wheat, And weeds instead of barley.” The words of Job are ended. Elihu Contradicts Job’s Friends 32 So these three men ceased an- swering Job, because he was arighteous in his own eyes. 8 aLev. 26:16; Deut. 28:30, 38; Job 20:18; Mic. 6:15 1up- rooted 10 aDeut. 28:30; 2 Sam. 12:11; Jer. 8:10 11 aGen. 38:24; [Lev. 20:10; Deut. 22:22]; Job 31:28 13 a[Deut. 24:14, 15] 14 a[Ps. 44:21] 15 aJob 34:19; Prov. 14:31; 22:2; [Mal. 2:10] 16 aJob 29:12 18 1Lit. her 20 a[Deut. 24:13] 1Lit. loins 21 aJob 22:9 23 aIs. 13:6 24 a[Matt. 6:19, 20; Mark 10:23–25] 25 aJob 1:3, 10; Ps. 62:10 26 a[Deut. 4:19; 17:3]; Ezek. 8:16 1Lit. light 29 a[Prov. 17:5; 24:17]; Obad. 12 30 a[Matt. 5:44] 1Or life 32 aGen. 19:2, 3 1So with LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg.; MT road 33 aGen. 3:10; [Prov. 28:13] 1Or as men do 34 aEx. 23:2 35 aJob 19:7; 30:20, 24, 28 bJob 13:22, 24; 33:10 1Lit. Ac- cuser 39 aJob 24:6, 10–12; [James 5:4] b1 Kin. 21:19 1Lit. strength 40 aGen. 3:18 CHAPTER 32 1 aJob 6:29; 31:6; 33:9

JOB 32:2 464 2 Then the wrath of Elihu, the son of Barachel the aBuzite, of the fam- ily of Ram, was aroused against Job; his wrath was aroused because he bjustified himself rather than God. 3 Also against his three friends his wrath was aroused, because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job. 4 Now because they were years older than he, Elihu had waited 1to speak to Job. 5 When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, his wrath was aroused. 6 So Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, answered and said: “I am ayoung in years, and you are very old; Therefore I was afraid, And dared not declare my opinion to you. 7 I said, 1‘Age should speak, And multitude of years should teach wisdom.’ 8 But there is a spirit in man, And athe breath of the Almighty gives him understanding. 9 aGreat1 men are not always wise, Nor do the aged always understand justice. 10 “Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me, I also will declare my opinion.’ 11 Indeed I waited for your words, I listened to your reasonings, while you searched out what to say. 12 I paid close attention to you; And surely not one of you convinced Job, Or answered his words— 13 aLest you say, ‘We have found wisdom’; God will vanquish him, not man. 14 Now he has not 1directed his words against me; So I will not answer him with your words. 15 “They are dismayed and answer no more; Words escape them. 16 And I have waited, because they did not speak, Because they stood still and answered no more. 17 I also will answer my part, I too will declare my opinion. 18 For I am full of words; The spirit within me compels me. 19 Indeed my 1belly is like wine that has no 2vent; It is ready to burst like new wineskins. 20 I will speak, that I may find relief; I must open my lips and answer. 21 Let me not, I pray, show partiality to anyone; Nor let me flatter any man. 22 For I do not know how to flatter, Else my Maker would soon take me aaway. Elihu Contradicts Job 33“But please, Job, hear my speech, And listen to all my words. 2 Now, I open my mouth; My tongue speaks in my mouth. 3 My words come from my upright heart; My lips utter pure knowledge. 4 aThe Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life. 5 If you can answer me, Set your words in order before me; Take your stand. 6 aTruly I am 1as your spokesman before God; I also have been formed out of clay. 7 aSurely no fear of me will terrify you, Nor will my hand be heavy on you. 8 “Surely you have spoken 1in my hearing, And I have heard the sound of your words, saying, 9 ‘Ia am pure, without transgression; I am innocent, and there is no iniquity in me. 10 Yet He finds occasions against me, aHe counts me as His enemy; 11 aHe puts my feet in the stocks, He watches all my paths.’ 12 “Look, in this you are not righteous. I will answer you, For God is greater than man. 13 Why do you acontend with Him? For He does not give an accounting of any of His words. 14 aFor God may speak in one way, or in another, Yet man does not perceive it. 15 aIn a dream, in a vision of the night, When deep sleep falls upon men, While slumbering on their beds, 16 aThen He opens the ears of men, And seals their instruction. 17 In order to turn man from his deed, And conceal pride from man, 18 He keeps back his soul from the Pit, 2 aGen. 22:21 bJob 27:5, 6 4 1Vg. till Job had spoken 6 aLev. 19:32 7 1Lit. Days, years 8 a1 Kin. 3:12; 4:29; [Job 35:11; 38:36; Prov. 2:6; Eccl. 2:26; Dan. 1:17; 2:21; Matt. 11:25; James 1:5] 9 a[1 Cor. 1:26] 1Or Men of many years 13 a[Jer. 9:23; 1 Cor. 1:29] 14 1ordered 19 1bosom 2opening 22 aJob 27:8 CHAPTER 33 4 a[Gen. 2:7]; Job 32:8 6 aJob 4:19 1Lit. as your mouth 7 aJob 9:34 8 1Lit. in my ears 9 aJob 10:7 10 aJob 13:24; 16:9 11 aJob 13:27; 19:8 13 aJob 40:2; [Is. 45:9] 14 aJob 33:29; 40:5; Ps. 62:11 15 a[Num. 12:6] 16 a[Job 36:10, 15]

465 JOB 34:20 And his life from 1perishing by the sword. 19 “Man is also chastened with pain on his abed, And with strong pain in many of his bones, 20 aSo that his life abhors bbread, And his soul 1succulent food. 21 His flesh wastes away from sight, And his bones stick out which once were not seen. 22 Yes, his soul draws near the Pit, And his life to the executioners. 23 “If there is a messenger for him, A mediator, one among a thousand, To show man His uprightness, 24 Then He is gracious to him, and says, ‘Deliver him from going down to the Pit; I have found 1a ransom’; 25 His flesh shall be young like a child’s, He shall return to the days of his youth. 26 He shall pray to God, and He will delight in him, He shall see His face with joy, For He restores to man His righteousness. 27 Then he looks at men and asays, ‘I have sinned, and perverted what was right, And it bdid not profit me.’ 28 He will aredeem 1his soul from going down to the Pit, And 2his life shall see the light. 29 “Behold, God works all these things, Twice, in fact, three times with a man, 30 aTo bring back his soul from the Pit, That he may be enlightened with the light of life. 31 “Give ear, Job, listen to me; Hold your peace, and I will speak. 32 If you have anything to say, answer me; Speak, for I desire to justify you. 33 If not, alisten to me; 1Hold your peace, and I will teach you wisdom.” Elihu Proclaims God’s Justice 34 Elihu further answered and said: 2 “Hear my words, you wise men; Give ear to me, you who have knowledge. 3 aFor the ear tests words As the palate tastes food. 4 Let us choose justice for ourselves; Let us know among ourselves what is good. 5 “For Job has said, a‘I am righteous, But bGod has taken away my justice; 6 aShould I lie concerning my right? My 1wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.’ 7 What man is like Job, aWho drinks 1scorn like water, 8 Who goes in company with the workers of iniquity, And walks with wicked men? 9 For ahe has said, ‘It profits a man nothing That he should delight in God.’ 10 “Therefore listen to me, you 1men of understanding: aFar be it from God to do wickedness, And from the Almighty to commit iniquity. 11 aFor He repays man according to his work, And makes man to find a reward according to his way. 12 Surely God will never do wickedly, Nor will the Almighty apervert justice. 13 Who gave Him charge over the earth? Or who appointed Him over the whole world? 14 If He should set His heart on it, If He should agather to Himself His Spirit and His breath, 15 aAll flesh would perish together, And man would return to dust. 16 “If you have understanding, hear this; Listen to the sound of my words: 17 aShould one who hates justice govern? Will you bcondemn Him who is most just? 18 aIs it fitting to say to a king, ‘You are worthless,’ And to nobles, ‘You are wicked’? 19 Yet He ais not partial to princes, Nor does He regard the rich more than the poor; For bthey are all the work of His hands. 20 In a moment they die, ain the middle of the night; The people are shaken and pass away; The mighty are taken away without a hand. 18 1Lit. pass- ing 19 aJob 30:17 20 aPs. 107:18 bJob 3:24; 6:7 1desirable 24 1an atone- ment 27 a[2 Sam. 12:13; Prov. 28:13; Luke 15:21; 1 John 1:9] b[Rom. 6:21] 28 aIs. 38:17 1Kt. my 2Kt. my 30 aPs. 56:13 33 aPs. 34:11 1Keep silent CHAPTER 34 3 aJob 6:30; 12:11 5 aJob 13:18; 33:9 bJob 27:2 6 aJob 6:4; 9:17 1Lit. ar- row 7 aJob 15:16 1derision 9 aMal. 3:14 10 a[Gen. 18:25; Deut. 32:4; 2 Chr. 19:7]; Job 8:3; 36:23; Ps. 92:15; Rom. 9:14 1men of heart 11 aJob 34:25; Ps. 62:12; [Prov. 24:12; Jer. 32:19]; Ezek. 33:20; [Matt. 16:27]; Rom. 2:6; [2 Cor. 5:10; Rev. 22:12] 12 aJob 8:3 14 aJob 12:10; Ps. 104:29; [Eccl. 12:7] 15 a[Gen. 3:19]; Job 10:9; [Eccl. 12:7] 17 a2 Sam. 23:3; Job 34:30 bJob 40:8 18 aEx. 22:28 19 a[Deut. 10:17; Acts 10:34; Rom. 2:11, 12] bJob 31:15 20 aEx. 12:29; Job 34:25; 36:20

JOB 34:21 466 21 “Fora His eyes are on the ways of man, And He sees all his steps. 22 aThere is no darkness nor shadow of death Where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves. 23 For He need not further consider a man, That he should go before God in judgment. 24 aHe breaks in pieces mighty men without inquiry, And sets others in their place. 25 Therefore He knows their works; He overthrows them in the night, And they are crushed. 26 He strikes them as wicked men In the open sight of others, 27 Because they aturned back from Him, And bwould not consider any of His ways, 28 So that they acaused the cry of the poor to come to Him; For He bhears the cry of the afflicted. 29 When He gives quietness, who then can make trouble? And when He hides His face, who then can see Him, Whether it is against a nation or a man alone?— 30 That the hypocrite should not reign, Lest the people be ensnared. 31 “For has anyone said to God, ‘I have borne chastening; I will offend no more; 32 Teach me what I do not see; If I have done iniquity, I will do no more’? 33 Should He repay it according to your terms, Just because you disavow it? You must choose, and not I; Therefore speak what you know. 34 “Men of understanding say to me, Wise men who listen to me: 35 ‘Joba speaks without knowledge, His words are without wisdom.’ 36 Oh, that Job were tried to the utmost, Because his answers are like those of wicked men! 37 For he adds arebellion to his sin; He claps his hands among us, And multiplies his words against God.” Elihu Condemns Self-Righteousness 35 Moreover Elihu answered and said: 2 “Do you think this is right? Do you say, ‘My righteousness is more than God’s’? 3 For ayou say, ‘What advantage will it be to You? What profit shall I have, more than if I had sinned?’ 4 “I will answer you, And ayour companions with you. 5 aLook to the heavens and see; And behold the clouds— They are higher than you. 6 If you sin, what do you accomplish aagainst Him? Or, if your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to Him? 7 aIf you are righteous, what do you give Him? Or what does He receive from your hand? 8 Your wickedness affects a man such as you, And your righteousness a son of man. 9 “Becausea of the multitude of oppressions they cry out; They cry out for help because of the arm of the mighty. 10 But no one says, a‘Where is God my Maker, bWho gives songs in the night, 11 Who ateaches us more than the beasts of the earth, And makes us wiser than the birds of heaven?’ 12 aThere they cry out, but He does not answer, Because of the pride of evil men. 13 aSurely God will not listen to empty talk, Nor will the Almighty regard it. 14 aAlthough you say you do not see Him, Yet justice is before Him, and byou must wait for Him. 15 And now, because He has not apunished in His anger, Nor taken much notice of folly, 16 aTherefore Job opens his mouth in vain; He multiplies words without knowledge.” Elihu Proclaims God’s Goodness 36 Elihu also proceeded and said: 2 “Bear with me a little, and I will show you That there are yet words to speak on God’s behalf. 3 I will fetch my knowledge from afar; I will ascribe righteousness to my Maker. 21 a[2 Chr. 16:9]; Job 31:4; Ps. 34:15; [Prov. 5:21; 15:3; Jer. 16:17; 32:19] 22 a[Ps. 139:11, 12; Amos 9:2, 3] 24 aJob 12:19; [Dan. 2:21] 27 a1 Sam. 15:11 bPs. 28:5; Is. 5:12 28 aJob 35:9; James 5:4 b[Ex. 22:23]; Job 22:27 35 aJob 35:16; 38:2 37 aJob 7:11; 10:1 CHAPTER 35 3 aJob 21:15; 34:9 4 aJob 34:8 5 aGen. 15:5; [Job 22:12; Ps. 8:3] 6 aJob 7:20; [Prov. 8:36; Jer. 7:19] 7 aJob 22:2; Ps. 16:2; Prov. 9:12; [Luke 17:10]; Rom. 11:35 9 aJob 34:28 10 aIs. 51:13 bJob 8:21; Ps. 42:8; 77:6; 149:5; Acts 16:25 11 aJob 36:22; Ps. 94:12; [Is. 48:17]; Jer. 32:33; [1 Cor. 2:13] 12 aProv. 1:28 13 aJob 27:9; [Prov. 15:29; Is. 1:15]; Jer. 11:11; [Mic. 3:4] 14 aJob 9:11 b[Ps. 37:5, 6] 15 aPs. 89:32 16 aJob 34:35; 38:2

467 JOB 37:6 4 For truly my words are not false; One who is perfect in knowledge is with you. 5 “Behold, God is mighty, but despises no one; aHe is mighty in strength 1of understanding. 6 He does not preserve the life of the wicked, But gives justice to the aoppressed. 7 aHe does not withdraw His eyes from the righteous; But bthey are on the throne with kings, For He has seated them forever, And they are exalted. 8 And aif they are bound in 1fetters, Held in the cords of affliction, 9 Then He tells them their work and their transgressions— That they have acted 1defiantly. 10 aHe also opens their ear to 1instruction, And commands that they turn from iniquity. 11 If they obey and serve Him, They shall aspend their days in prosperity, And their years in pleasures. 12 But if they do not obey, They shall perish by the sword, And they shall die 1without aknowledge. 13 “But the hypocrites in heart astore up wrath; They do not cry for help when He binds them. 14 aThey1 die in youth, And their life ends among the 2perverted persons. 15 He delivers the poor in their affliction, And opens their ears in oppression. 16 “Indeed He would have brought you out of dire distress, aInto a broad place where there is no restraint; And bwhat is set on your table would be full of crichness. 17 But you are filled with the judgment due the awicked; Judgment and justice take hold of you. 18 Because there is wrath, beware lest He take you away with one blow; For aa large ransom would not help you avoid it. 19 aWill your riches, Or all the mighty forces, Keep you from distress? 20 Do not desire the night, When people are cut off in their place. 21 Take heed, ado not turn to iniquity, For byou have chosen this rather than affliction. 22 “Behold, God is exalted by His power; Who teaches like Him? 23 aWho has assigned Him His way, Or who has said, ‘You have done bwrong’? Elihu Proclaims God’s Majesty 24 “Remember to amagnify His work, Of which men have sung. 25 Everyone has seen it; Man looks on it from afar. 26 “Behold, God is great, and we ado not know Him; bNor can the number of His years be discovered. 27 For He adraws up drops of water, Which distill as rain from the mist, 28 aWhich the clouds drop down And pour abundantly on man. 29 Indeed, can anyone understand the spreading of clouds, The thunder from His canopy? 30 Look, He ascatters His light upon it, And covers the depths of the sea. 31 For aby these He judges the peoples; He bgives food in abundance. 32 aHe covers His hands with lightning, And commands it to 1strike. 33 aHis thunder declares it, The cattle also, concerning 1the rising storm. 37“At this also my heart trembles, And leaps from its place. 2 Hear attentively the thunder of His voice, And the rumbling that comes from His mouth. 3 He sends it forth under the whole heaven, His 1lightning to the ends of the earth. 4 After it aa voice roars; He thunders with His majestic voice, And He does not restrain them when His voice is heard. 5 God thunders marvelously with His voice; aHe does great things which we cannot comprehend. 6 For aHe says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth’; Likewise to the 1gentle rain and the heavy rain of His strength. CHAPTER 36 5 aJob 12:13, 16; 37:23 1of heart 6 aJob 5:15 7 a[Ps. 33:18; 34:15] bPs. 113:8 8 aPs. 107:10 1chains 9 1proudly 10 aJob 33:16; 36:15 1disci- pline 11 a[Is. 1:19, 20] 12 aJob 4:21 1MT as one without knowledge 13 a[Rom. 2:5] 14 aPs. 55:23 1Lit. Their soul dies 2Heb. qede- shim, those practicing sodomy or prostitution in religious rituals 16 aPs. 18:19; 31:8; 118:5 bPs. 23:5 cPs. 36:8 17 aJob 22:5, 10, 11 18 aPs. 49:7 19 a[Prov. 11:4] 21 a[Ps. 31:6; 66:18] b[Heb. 11:25] 23 aJob 34:13; [Is. 40:13, 14] bJob 8:3 24 a[Rev. 15:3] 26 a[1 Cor. 13:12] bHeb. 1:12 27 aPs. 147:8 28 a[Prov. 3:20] 30 aJob 37:3 31 a[Acts 14:17] bPs. 104:14, 15 32 aPs. 147:8 1strike the mark 33 a1 Kin. 18:41 1Lit. what is rising CHAPTER 37 3 1Or light 4 aPs. 29:3 5 aJob 5:9; 9:10; 36:26 6 aPs. 147:16, 17 1Lit. shower of rain

JOB 37:7 468 7 He seals the hand of every man, aThat ball men may know His work. 8 The beasts ago into dens, And remain in their lairs. 9 From the chamber of the south comes the whirlwind, And cold from the scattering winds of the north. 10 aBy the breath of God ice is given, And the broad waters are frozen. 11 Also with moisture He saturates the thick clouds; He scatters His 1bright clouds. 12 And they swirl about, being turned by His guidance, That they may ado whatever He commands them On the face of 1the whole earth. 13 aHe causes it to come, Whether for 1correction, Or bfor His land, Or cfor mercy. 14 “Listen to this, O Job; Stand still and aconsider the wondrous works of God. 15 Do you know when God 1dispatches them, And causes the light of His cloud to shine? 16 aDo you know how the clouds are balanced, Those wondrous works of bHim who is perfect in knowledge? 17 Why are your garments hot, When He quiets the earth by the south wind? 18 With Him, have you aspread out the bskies, Strong as a cast metal mirror? 19 “Teach us what we should say to Him, For we can prepare nothing because of the darkness. 20 Should He be told that I wish to speak? If a man were to speak, surely he would be swallowed up. 21 Even now men cannot look at the light when it is bright in the skies, When the wind has passed and cleared them. 22 He comes from the north as golden splendor; With God is awesome majesty. 23 As for the Almighty, awe cannot find Him; bHe is excellent in power, In judgment and abundant justice; He does not oppress. 24 Therefore men afear Him; He shows no partiality to any who are bwise of heart.” The LORD Reveals His Omnipotence to Job 38 Then the LORD answered Job aout of the whirlwind, and said: 2 “Whoa is this who darkens counsel By bwords without knowledge? 3 aNow 1prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me. 4 “Wherea were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. 5 Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the 1line upon it? 6 To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, 7 When the morning stars sang together, And all athe sons of God shouted for joy? 8 “Ora who shut in the sea with doors, When it burst forth and issued from the womb; 9 When I made the clouds its garment, And thick darkness its swaddling band; 10 When aI fixed My limit for it, And set bars and doors; 11 When I said, ‘This far you may come, but no farther, And here your proud waves amust stop!’ 12 “Have you acommanded the morning since your days began, And caused the dawn to know its place, 13 That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, And athe wicked be shaken out of it? 14 It takes on form like clay under a seal, And stands out like a garment. 15 From the wicked their alight is withheld, And bthe 1upraised arm is broken. 16 “Have you aentered the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in search of the depths? 17 Have athe gates of death been 1revealed to you? Or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death? 7 aPs. 109:27 bPs. 19:3, 4 8 aJob 38:40; Ps. 104:21, 22 10 aJob 38:29, 30; Ps. 147:17, 18 11 1clouds of light 12 aJob 36:32; Ps. 148:8 1Lit. the world of the earth 13 aEx. 9:18, 23; 1 Sam. 12:18, 19 bJob 38:26, 27 c1 Kin. 18:41–46 1Lit. a rod 14 aPs. 111:2 15 1places them 16 aJob 36:29 bJob 36:4 18 aGen. 1:6; [Is. 44:24] bJob 9:8; Ps. 104:2; [Is. 45:12; Jer. 10:12; Zech. 12:1] 23 a[Job 11:7, 8; Rom. 11:33, 34; 1 Tim. 6:16] b[Job 9:4; 36:5] 24 a[Matt. 10:28] b[Job 5:13; Matt. 11:25]; 1 Cor. 1:26 CHAPTER 38 1 aEx. 19:16; Job 40:6 2 aJob 34:35; 42:3 b1 Tim. 1:7 3 aJob 40:7 1Lit. gird up your loins like 4 aJob 15:7; Ps. 104:5 5 1measuring line 7 aJob 1:6 8 aGen. 1:9; Ps. 33:7; 104:9; Prov. 8:29; [Jer. 5:22] 10 aJob 26:10 11 a[Ps. 89:9; 93:4] 12 a[Ps. 74:16; 148:5] 13 aJob 34:25; Ps. 104:35 15 aJob 18:5; [Prov. 13:9] b[Num. 15:30]; Ps. 10:15; 37:17 1Lit. high 16 a[Ps. 77:19]; Prov. 8:24 17 aPs. 9:13 1Lit. opened

469 JOB 39:12 18 Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this. 19 “Where is the way to the dwelling of light? And darkness, where is its place, 20 That you may take it to its territory, That you may know the paths to its home? 21 Do you know it, because you were born then, Or because the number of your days is great? 22 “Have you entered athe treasury of snow, Or have you seen the treasury of hail, 23 aWhich I have reserved for the time of trouble, For the day of battle and war? 24 By what way is light 1diffused, Or the east wind scattered over the earth? 25 “Who ahas divided a channel for the overflowing water, Or a path for the thunderbolt, 26 To cause it to rain on a land where there is no one, A wilderness in which there is no man; 27 aTo satisfy the desolate waste, And cause to spring forth the growth of tender grass? 28 aHas the rain a father? Or who has begotten the drops of dew? 29 From whose womb comes the ice? And the afrost of heaven, who gives it birth? 30 The waters harden like stone, And the surface of the deep is afrozen.1 31 “Can you bind the cluster of the aPleiades,1 Or loose the belt of Orion? 32 Can you bring out 1Mazzaroth in its season? Or can you guide 2the Great Bear with its cubs? 33 Do you know athe ordinances of the heavens? Can you set their dominion over the earth? 34 “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, That an abundance of water may cover you? 35 Can you send out lightnings, that they may go, And say to you, ‘Here we are!’? 36 aWho has put wisdom in 1the mind? Or who has given understanding to the heart? 37 Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can pour out the bottles of heaven, 38 When the dust hardens in clumps, And the clods cling together? 39 “Cana you hunt the prey for the lion, Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions, 40 When they crouch in their dens, Or lurk in their lairs to lie in wait? 41 aWho provides food for the raven, When its young ones cry to God, And wander about for lack of food? 39“Do you know the time when the wild amountain goats bear young? Or can you mark when bthe deer gives birth? 2 Can you number the months that they fulfill? Or do you know the time when they bear young? 3 They bow down, They bring forth their young, They deliver their 1offspring. 4 Their young ones are healthy, They grow strong with grain; They depart and do not return to them. 5 “Who set the wild donkey free? Who loosed the bonds of the 1onager, 6 aWhose home I have made the wilderness, And the 1barren land his dwelling? 7 He scorns the tumult of the city; He does not heed the shouts of the driver. 8 The range of the mountains is his pasture, And he searches after aevery green thing. 9 “Will the awild ox be willing to serve you? Will he bed by your manger? 10 Can you bind the wild ox in the furrow with ropes? Or will he plow the valleys behind you? 11 Will you trust him because his strength is great? Or will you leave your labor to him? 12 Will you trust him to bring home your 1grain, And gather it to your threshing floor? 22 aPs. 135:7 23 aEx. 9:18; Josh. 10:11; Is. 30:30; Ezek. 13:11, 13; Rev. 16:21 24 1Lit. divided 25 aJob 28:26 27 aPs. 104:13, 14; 107:35 28 aJob 36:27, 28; [Ps. 147:8; Jer. 14:22] 29 a[Job 37:10]; Ps. 147:16, 17 30 a[Job 37:10] 1Lit. impris- oned 31 aJob 9:9; Amos 5:8 1Or the Seven Stars 32 1Lit. Con- stellations 2Or Arcturus 33 a[Ps. 148:6]; Jer. 31:35, 36 36 a[Job 9:4; 32:8; Ps. 51:6; Eccl. 2:26; James 1:5] 1Lit. the in- ward parts 39 aPs. 104:21 41 aPs. 147:9; [Matt. 6:26; Luke 12:24] CHAPTER 39 1 aDeut. 14:5; 1 Sam. 24:2; Ps. 104:18 bPs. 29:9 3 1Lit. pangs 5 1A species of wild donkey 6 aJob 24:5; Jer. 2:24; Hos. 8:9 1Lit. salt land 8 aGen. 1:29 9 aNum. 23:22; Deut. 33:17; Ps. 22:21; 29:6; 92:10; Is. 34:7 12 1Lit. seed

JOB 39:13 470 13 “The wings of the ostrich wave proudly, But are her wings and pinions like the kindly stork’s? 14 For she leaves her eggs on the ground, And warms them in the dust; 15 She forgets that a foot may crush them, Or that a wild beast may break them. 16 She atreats her young harshly, as though they were not hers; Her labor is in vain, without 1concern, 17 Because God deprived her of wisdom, And did not aendow her with understanding. 18 When she lifts herself on high, She scorns the horse and its rider. 19 “Have you given the horse strength? Have you clothed his neck with 1thunder? 20 Can you 1frighten him like a locust? His majestic snorting strikes terror. 21 He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength; aHe gallops into the clash of arms. 22 He mocks at fear, and is not frightened; Nor does he turn back from the sword. 23 The quiver rattles against him, The glittering spear and javelin. 24 He devours the distance with fierceness and rage; Nor does he come to a halt because the trumpet has sounded. 25 At the blast of the trumpet he says, ‘Aha!’ He smells the battle from afar, The thunder of captains and shouting. 26 “Does the hawk fly by your wisdom, And spread its wings toward the south? 27 Does the aeagle mount up at your command, And bmake its nest on high? 28 On the rock it dwells and resides, On the crag of the rock and the stronghold. 29 From there it spies out the prey; Its eyes observe from afar. 30 Its young ones suck up blood; And awhere the slain are, there it is.” 40 Moreover the LORD aan- swered Job, and said: 2 “Shall athe one who contends with the Almighty correct Him? He who brebukes God, let him answer it.” Job’s Response to God 3 Then Job answered the LORD and said: 4 “Behold,a I am vile; What shall I answer You? bI lay my hand over my mouth. 5 Once I have spoken, but I will not answer; Yes, twice, but I will proceed no further.” God’s Challenge to Job 6 aThen the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said: 7 “Nowa 1prepare yourself like a man; bI will question you, and you shall answer Me: 8 “Woulda you indeed 1annul My judgment? Would you condemn Me that you may be justified? 9 Have you an arm like God? Or can you thunder with aa voice like His? 10 aThen adorn yourself with majesty and splendor, And array yourself with glory and beauty. 11 Disperse the rage of your wrath; Look on everyone who is proud, and humble him. 12 Look on everyone who is aproud, and bring him low; Tread down the wicked in their place. 13 Hide them in the dust together, Bind their faces in hidden darkness. 14 Then I will also confess to you That your own right hand can save you. 15 “Look now at the 1behemoth, which I made along with you; He eats grass like an ox. 16 See now, his strength is in his hips, And his power is in his stomach muscles. 17 He moves his tail like a cedar; The sinews of his thighs are tightly knit. 18 His bones are like beams of bronze, His ribs like bars of iron. 19 He is the first of the aways of God; Only He who made him can bring near His sword. 20 Surely the mountains ayield food for him, 16 aLam. 4:3 1Lit. fear 17 aJob 35:11 19 1Or a mane 20 1make him spring 21 aJer. 8:6 27 aProv. 30:18, 19 bJer. 49:16; Obad. 4 30 aMatt. 24:28; Luke 17:37 CHAPTER 40 1 aJob 38:1 2 aJob 9:3; 10:2; 33:13 bJob 13:3; 23:4 4 aEzra 9:6; Job 42:6 bJob 29:9; Ps. 39:9 6 aJob 38:1 7 aJob 38:3 bJob 42:4 1Lit. gird up your loins 8 aJob 16:11; 19:6; [Ps. 51:4; Rom. 3:4] 1nullify 9 aJob 37:4; [Ps. 29:3, 4] 10 aPs. 93:1; 104:1 12 a1 Sam. 2:7; [Is. 2:12; 13:11]; Dan. 4:37 15 1A large animal, exact identity un- known 19 aJob 26:14 20 aPs. 104:14

471 JOB 42:3 And all the beasts of the field play there. 21 He lies under the lotus trees, In a covert of reeds and marsh. 22 The lotus trees cover him with their shade; The willows by the brook surround him. 23 Indeed the river may rage, Yet he is not disturbed; He is confident, though the Jordan gushes into his mouth, 24 Though he takes it in his eyes, Or one pierces his nose with a snare. 41“Can you draw out aLeviathan1 with a hook, Or snare his tongue with a line which you lower? 2 Can you aput a reed through his nose, Or pierce his jaw with a 1hook? 3 Will he make many supplications to you? Will he speak softly to you? 4 Will he make a covenant with you? Will you take him as a servant forever? 5 Will you play with him as with a bird, Or will you leash him for your maidens? 6 Will your companions 1make a banquet of him? Will they apportion him among the merchants? 7 Can you fill his skin with harpoons, Or his head with fishing spears? 8 Lay your hand on him; Remember the battle— Never do it again! 9 Indeed, any hope of overcoming him is false; Shall one not be overwhelmed at the sight of him? 10 No one is so fierce that he would dare stir him up. Who then is able to stand against Me? 11 aWho has preceded Me, that I should pay him? bEverything under heaven is Mine. 12 “I will not 1conceal his limbs, His mighty power, or his graceful proportions. 13 Who can 1remove his outer coat? Who can approach him with a double bridle? 14 Who can open the doors of his face, With his terrible teeth all around? 15 His rows of 1scales are his pride, Shut up tightly as with a seal; 16 One is so near another That no air can come between them; 17 They are joined one to another, They stick together and cannot be parted. 18 His sneezings flash forth light, And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning. 19 Out of his mouth go burning lights; Sparks of fire shoot out. 20 Smoke goes out of his nostrils, As from a boiling pot and burning rushes. 21 His breath kindles coals, And a flame goes out of his mouth. 22 Strength dwells in his neck, And 1sorrow dances before him. 23 The folds of his flesh are joined together; They are firm on him and cannot be moved. 24 His heart is as hard as stone, Even as hard as the lower millstone. 25 When he raises himself up, the mighty are afraid; Because of his crashings they 1are beside themselves. 26 Though the sword reaches him, it cannot avail; Nor does spear, dart, or javelin. 27 He regards iron as straw, And bronze as rotten wood. 28 The arrow cannot make him flee; Slingstones become like stubble to him. 29 Darts are regarded as straw; He laughs at the threat of javelins. 30 His undersides are like sharp potsherds; He spreads pointed marks in the mire. 31 He makes the deep boil like a pot; He makes the sea like a pot of ointment. 32 He leaves a shining wake behind him; One would think the deep had white hair. 33 On earth there is nothing like him, Which is made without fear. 34 He beholds every high thing; He is king over all the children of pride.” Job’s Repentance and Restoration 42 Then Job answered the LORD and said: 2 “I know that You acan do everything, And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. 3 You asked, a‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’ CHAPTER 41 1 aPs. 74:14; 104:26; Is. 27:1 1A large sea creature, exact identity unknown 2 a2 Kin. 19:38; Is. 37:29 1thorn 6 1Or bargain over him 11 a[Rom. 11:35] bEx. 19:5; [Deut. 10:14; Job 9:5–10; 26:6–14]; Ps. 24:1; 50:12; 1 Cor. 10:26, 28 12 1Lit. keep silent about 13 1Lit. take off the face of his garment 15 1Lit. shields 22 1despair 25 1Or purify themselves CHAPTER 42 2 aGen. 18:14; [Matt. 19:26; Mark 10:27; 14:36; Luke 18:27] 3 aJob 38:2

JOB 42:4 472 Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, bThings too wonderful for me, which I did not know. 4 Listen, please, and let me speak; You said, a‘I will question you, and you shall answer Me.’ 5 “I have aheard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You. 6 Therefore I aabhor1 myself, And repent in dust and ashes.” 7 And so it was, after the LORD had spoken these words to Job, that the LORD said to Eliphaz the Te- manite, “My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has. 8 “Now therefore, take for your- selves aseven bulls and seven rams, bgo to My servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and My servant Job shall cpray for you. For I will accept 1him, lest I deal with you according to your folly; because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.” 9 So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the LORD commanded them; for the LORD had 1accepted Job. 10 aAnd the LORD 1restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the LORD gave Job btwice as much as he had before. 11 Then aall his brothers, all his sis- ters, and all those who had been his acquaintances before, came to him and ate food with him in his house; and they consoled him and com- forted him for all the adversity that the LORD had brought upon him. Each one gave him a piece of silver and each a ring of gold. 12 Now the LORD blessed athe lat- ter days of Job more than his begin- ning; for he had bfourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thou- sand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys. 13 aHe also had seven sons and three daughters. 14 And he called the name of the first 1Jemimah, the name of the sec- ond 2Keziah, and the name of the third 3Keren-Happuch. 15 In all the land were found no women so beautiful as the daugh- ters of Job; and their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers. 16 After this Job alived one hun- dred and forty years, and saw his children and grandchildren for four generations. 17 So Job died, old and afull of days. 3 bPs. 40:5; 131:1; 139:6 4 aJob 38:3; 40:7 5 aJob 26:14 6 aEzra 9:6 1despise 8 aNum. 23:1 b[Matt. 5:24] cGen. 20:17 1Lit. his face 9 1Lit. lifted up the face of Job 10 aDeut. 30:3 bIs. 40:2 1Lit. turned the captivity of Job, what was captured from Job 11 aJob 19:13 12 aJames 5:11 bJob 1:3 13 aJob 1:2 14 1Lit. Hand- some as the Day 2Cassia, a fragrance 3Lit. The Horn of Color or The Colorful Ray 16 aJob 5:26; Prov. 3:16 17 aGen. 15:15; 25:8 The Book of PSALMS THE Book of Psalms is the largest and perhaps most widely used book in the Bible. It explores the full range of human experience in a very personal and practical way. Its 150 “songs” run from the Creation through the patriarchal, theo- cratic, monarchical, exilic, and postexilic periods. The tremendous breadth of sub- ject matter in the Psalms includes diverse topics, such as jubilation, war, peace, worship, judgment, messianic prophecy, praise, and lament. The Psalms were set to the accompaniment of stringed instruments and served as the temple hymn- book and devotional guide for the Jewish people. The Book of Psalms was gradually collected and originally unnamed, perhaps due to the great variety of material. It came to be known as Sepher Tehillim— “Book of Praises”—because almost every psalm contains some note of praise to God. The Septuagint uses the Greek work Psalmoi as its title for this book, mean- ing “Poems Sung to the Accompaniment of Musical Instruments.” It also calls it the Psalterium (“A Collection of Songs”), and this word is the basis for the term Psalter. The Latin title is Liber Psalmorum, “Book of Psalms.”

473 PSALM 4:1 BOOK ONE Psalms 1—41 PSALM 1 The Way of the Righteous and the End of the Ungodly BLESSED ais the man Who walks not in the counsel of the 1ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, bNor sits in the seat of the scornful; 2 But ahis delight is in the law of the LORD, bAnd in His law he 1meditates day and night. 3 He shall be like a tree aPlanted by the 1rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall bprosper. 4 The ungodly are not so, But are alike the chaff which the wind drives away. 5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 6 For athe LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish. PSALM 2 The Messiah’s Triumph and Kingdom WHY ado the 1nations 2rage, And the people plot a 3vain thing? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, And the arulers take counsel together, Against the LORD and against His bAnointed,1 saying, 3 “Let aus break Their bonds in pieces And cast away Their cords from us.” 4 He who sits in the heavens ashall laugh; The Lord shall hold them in derision. 5 Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, And distress them in His deep displeasure: 6 “Yet I have 1set My King 2On My holy hill of Zion.” 7 “I will declare the 1decree: The LORD has said to Me, a‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. 8 Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession. 9 aYou shall 1break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’ ” 10 Now therefore, be wise, O kings; Be instructed, you judges of the earth. 11 Serve the LORD with fear, And rejoice with trembling. 12 1Kiss the Son, lest 2He be angry, And you perish in the way, When aHis wrath is kindled but a little. bBlessed are all those who put their trust in Him. PSALM 3 The LORD Helps His Troubled People A Psalm of David awhen he fled from Absalom his son. LORD, how they have increased who trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me. 2 Many are they who say of me, “There is no help for him in God.” Selah 3 But You, O LORD, are aa shield 1for me, My glory and bthe One who lifts up my head. 4 I cried to the LORD with my voice, And aHe heard me from His bholy hill. Selah 5 aI lay down and slept; I awoke, for the LORD sustained me. 6 aI will not be afraid of ten thousands of people Who have set themselves against me all around. 7 Arise, O LORD; Save me, O my God! aFor You have struck all my enemies on the cheekbone; You have broken the teeth of the ungodly. 8 aSalvation belongs to the LORD. Your blessing is upon Your people. Selah PSALM 4 The Safety of the Faithful To the 1Chief Musician. With stringed instruments. A Psalm of David. HEAR me when I call, O God of my righteousness! PSALM 1 1 aProv. 4:14 bJer. 15:17 1wicked 2 aPs. 119:14, 16, 35 b[Josh. 1:8] 1ponders by talking to himself 3 aJer. 17:8 bGen. 39:2, 3, 23 1channels 4 aJob 21:18 6 aPs. 37:18 PSALM 2 1 aActs 4:25, 26 1Gentiles 2throng tu- multuously 3worthless or empty 2 a[Mark 3:6; 11:18]; b[John 1:41] 1Christ, Commis- sioned One, Heb. Messiah 3 aLuke 19:14 4 aPs. 37:13 6 1Lit. in- stalled 2Lit. Upon Zion, the hill of My holiness 7 a[Heb. 1:5; 5:5] 1Or de- cree of the LORD: He said to Me 9 aPs. 89:23; 110:5, 6; 1So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Syr., Vg. rule (cf. Rev. 2:27) 12 a[Rev. 6:16, 17] b[Ps. 5:11; 34:22] 1LXX, Vg. Embrace discipline; Tg. Receive instruction 2LXX the LORD PSALM 3 title a2 Sam. 15:13–17 3 aPs. 5:12; 28:7 bPs. 9:13; 27:6 1Lit. around 4 aPs. 4:3; 34:4 bPs. 2:6; 15:1; 43:3 5 aLev. 26:6 6 aPs. 23:4; 27:3 7 aJob 16:10 8 a[Is. 43:11] PSALM 4 title 1Choir Director

PSALM 4:2 474 You have relieved me in my distress; 1Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer. 2 How long, O you sons of men, Will you turn my glory to shame? How long will you love worthlessness And seek falsehood? Selah 3 But know that athe LORD has 1set apart for Himself him who is godly; The LORD will hear when I call to Him. 4 aBe1 angry, and do not sin. bMeditate within your heart on your bed, and be still. Selah 5 Offer athe sacrifices of righteousness, And bput your trust in the LORD. 6 There are many who say, “Who will show us any good?” aLORD, lift up the light of Your countenance upon us. 7 You have put agladness in my heart, More than in the season that their grain and wine increased. 8 aI will both lie down in peace, and sleep; bFor You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety. PSALM 5 A Prayer for Guidance To the Chief Musician. With 1flutes. A Psalm of David. GIVE aear to my words, O LORD, Consider my 1meditation. 2 Give heed to the voice of my cry, My King and my God, For to You I will pray. 3 My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD; aIn the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up. 4 For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, Nor shall evil 1dwell with You. 5 The aboastful shall not bstand in Your sight; You hate all workers of iniquity. 6 You shall destroy those who speak falsehood; The LORD abhors the abloodthirsty and deceitful man. 7 But as for me, I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy; In fear of You I will worship toward 1Your holy temple. 8 aLead me, O LORD, in Your righteousness because of my enemies; Make Your way straight before my face. 9 For there is no 1faithfulness in their mouth; Their inward part is destruction; aTheir throat is an open tomb; They flatter with their tongue. 10 Pronounce them guilty, O God! Let them fall by their own counsels; Cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions, For they have rebelled against You. 11 But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You 1defend them; Let those also who love Your name Be joyful in You. 12 For You, O LORD, will bless the righteous; With favor You will surround him as with a shield. PSALM 6 A Prayer of Faith in Time of Distress To the Chief Musician. With stringed instruments. aOn 1an eight-stringed harp. A Psalm of David. O LORD, ado not rebuke me in Your anger, Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure. 2 Have mercy on me, O LORD, for I am weak; O LORD, aheal me, for my bones are troubled. 3 My soul also is greatly atroubled; But You, O LORD—how long? 4 Return, O LORD, deliver me! Oh, save me for Your mercies’ sake! 5 aFor in death there is no remembrance of You; In the grave who will give You thanks? 6 I am weary with my groaning; 1All night I make my bed swim; I drench my couch with my tears. 7 aMy eye wastes away because of grief; It grows old because of all my enemies. 8 aDepart from me, all you workers of iniquity; 1 1Be gracious to me 3 a[2 Tim. 2:19] 1Many Heb. mss., LXX, Tg., Vg. made wonder- ful 4 a[Ps. 119:11; Eph. 4:26] bPs. 77:6 1Lit. Tremble or Be agitated 5 aDeut. 33:19; Ps. 51:19 bPs. 37:3, 5; 62:8 6 aNum. 6:26; Ps. 80:3, 7, 19 7 aPs. 97:11, 12; Is. 9:3; Acts 14:17 8 aJob 11:19; Ps. 3:5 b[Lev. 25:18]; Deut. 12:10 PSALM 5 title 1Heb. ne- hiloth 1 aPs. 4:1 1Lit. groaning 3 aPs. 55:17; 88:13 4 1Lit. sojourn 5 a[Hab. 1:13] bPs. 1:5 6 aPs. 55:23 7 1Lit. the temple of Your holiness 8 aPs. 25:4, 5; 27:11; 31:3 9 aRom. 3:13 1uprightness 11 1protect, lit. cover PSALM 6 title aPs. 12: title 1Heb. sheminith 1 aPs. 38:1; 118:18; [Jer. 10:24] 2 aPs. 41:4; 147:3; [Hos. 6:1] 3 aPs. 88:3; John 12:27 5 aPs. 30:9; 88:10–12; 115:17; [Eccl. 9:10]; Is. 38:18 6 1Or Every night 7 aJob 17:7; Ps. 31:9 8 a[Matt. 25:41]

475 PSALM 8:9 For the LORD has bheard the voice of my weeping. 9 The LORD has heard my supplication; The LORD will receive my prayer. 10 Let all my enemies be ashamed and greatly troubled; Let them turn back and be ashamed suddenly. PSALM 7 Prayer and Praise for Deliverance from Enemies A aMeditation1 of David, which he sang to the LORD bconcerning the words of Cush, a Benjamite. O LORD my God, in You I put my trust; aSave me from all those who persecute me; And deliver me, 2 aLest they tear me like a lion, bRending me in pieces, while there is none to deliver. 3 O LORD my God, aif I have done this: If there is biniquity in my hands, 4 If I have repaid evil to him who was at peace with me, Or ahave plundered my enemy without cause, 5 Let the enemy pursue me and overtake me; Yes, let him trample my life to the earth, And lay my honor in the dust. Selah 6 Arise, O LORD, in Your anger; aLift Yourself up because of the rage of my enemies; bRise up 1for me to the judgment You have commanded! 7 So the congregation of the peoples shall surround You; For their sakes, therefore, return on high. 8 The LORD shall judge the peoples; aJudge me, O LORD, baccording to my righteousness, And according to my integrity within me. 9 Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, But establish the just; aFor the righteous God tests the hearts and 1minds. 10 1My defense is of God, Who saves the aupright in heart. 11 God is a just judge, And God is angry with the wicked every day. 12 If he does not turn back, He will asharpen His sword; He bends His bow and makes it ready. 13 He also prepares for Himself instruments of death; He makes His arrows into fiery shafts. 14 aBehold, the wicked brings forth iniquity; Yes, he conceives trouble and brings forth falsehood. 15 He made a pit and dug it out, aAnd has fallen into the ditch which he made. 16 aHis trouble shall return upon his own head, And his violent dealing shall come down on 1his own crown. 17 I will praise the LORD according to His righteousness, And will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High. PSALM 8 The Glory of the LORD in Creation To the Chief Musician. 1On the instrument of Gath. A Psalm of David. O LORD, our Lord, How aexcellent is Your name in all the earth, Who have bset Your glory above the heavens! 2 aOut of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have 1ordained strength, Because of Your enemies, That You may silence bthe enemy and the avenger. 3 When I aconsider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, 4 aWhat is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You bvisit1 him? 5 For You have made him a little lower than 1the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor. 6 aYou have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; bYou have put all things under his feet, 7 All sheep and oxen— Even the beasts of the field, 8 The birds of the air, And the fish of the sea That pass through the paths of the seas. 9 aO LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth! 8 bPs. 3:4; 28:6 PSALM 7 title aHab. 3:1 b2 Sam. 16 1Heb. Shig- gaion 1 aPs. 31:15 2 aPs. 57:4; Is. 38:13 bPs. 50:22 3 a2 Sam. 16:7 b1 Sam. 24:11 4 a1 Sam. 24:7; 26:9 6 aPs. 94:2 bPs. 35:23; 44:23 1So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX O LORD my God 8 aPs. 26:1; 35:24; 43:1 bPs. 18:20; 35:24 9 a[1 Sam. 16:7] 1Lit. kid- neys, the most secret part of man 10 aPs. 97:10, 11; 125:4 1Lit. My shield is upon God 12 aDeut. 32:41 14 aJob 15:35; Is. 59:4; [James 1:15] 15 a[Job 4:8]; Ps. 57:6 16 aEsth. 9:25; Ps. 140:9 1The crown of his own head PSALM 8 title 1Heb. Al Gittith 1 aPs. 148:13 bPs. 113:4 2 aMatt. 21:16; [1 Cor. 1:27] bPs. 44:16 1es- tablished 3 aPs. 111:2 4 aJob 7:17, 18; [Heb. 2:6–8] b[Job 10:12] 1give attention to or care for 5 1Heb. Elo- him, God; LXX, Syr., Tg., Jewish tradition an- gels 6 a[Gen. 1:26, 28] b[1 Cor. 15:27; Eph. 1:22; Heb. 2:8] 9 aPs. 8:1

PSALM 9:1 476 PSALM 9 Prayer and Thanksgiving for the LORD’s Righteous Judgments To the Chief Musician. To the tune of 1“Death of the Son.” A Psalm of David. I WILL praise You, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works. 2 I will be glad and arejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, bO Most High. 3 When my enemies turn back, They shall fall and perish at Your presence. 4 For You have maintained my right and my cause; You sat on the throne judging in righteousness. 5 You have rebuked the 1nations, You have destroyed the wicked; You have ablotted out their name forever and ever. 6 O enemy, destructions are finished forever! And you have destroyed cities; Even their memory has aperished. 7 aBut the LORD shall endure forever; He has prepared His throne for judgment. 8 aHe shall judge the world in righteousness, And He shall administer judgment for the peoples in uprightness. 9 The LORD also will be a arefuge1 for the oppressed, A refuge in times of trouble. 10 And those who aknow Your name will put their trust in You; For You, LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You. 11 Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion! aDeclare His deeds among the people. 12 aWhen He avenges blood, He remembers them; He does not forget the cry of the 1humble. 13 Have mercy on me, O LORD! Consider my trouble from those who hate me, You who lift me up from the gates of death, 14 That I may tell of all Your praise In the gates of 1the daughter of Zion. I will arejoice in Your salvation. 15 aThe 1nations have sunk down in the pit which they made; In the net which they hid, their own foot is caught. 16 The LORD is aknown by the judgment He executes; The wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. bMeditation.1 Selah 17 The wicked shall be turned into hell, And all the 1nations athat forget God. 18 aFor the needy shall not always be forgotten; bThe expectation of the poor shall not perish forever. 19 Arise, O LORD, Do not let man prevail; Let the 1nations be judged in Your sight. 20 Put them in fear, O LORD, That the 1nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah PSALM 10 A Song of Confidence in God’s Triumph over Evil WHY do You stand afar off, O LORD? Why do You hide in times of trouble? 2 The wicked in his pride 1persecutes the poor; aLet them be caught in the plots which they have devised. 3 For the wicked aboasts of his heart’s desire; 1He bblesses the greedy and renounces the LORD. 4 The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; 1God is in none of his athoughts. 5 His ways 1are always prospering; Your judgments are far above, out of his sight; As for all his enemies, he sneers at them. 6 aHe has said in his heart, “I shall not be moved; bI shall never be in adversity.” 7 aHis mouth is full of cursing and bdeceit and oppression; Under his tongue is trouble and iniquity. 8 He sits in the lurking places of the villages; In the secret places he murders the innocent; His eyes are secretly fixed on the helpless. 9 He lies in wait secretly, as a lion in his den; He lies in wait to catch the poor; PSALM 9 title 1Heb. Muth Labben 2 aPs. 5:11; 104:34 b[Ps. 83:18; 92:1] 5 aProv. 10:7 1Gentiles 6 a[Ps. 34:16] 7 aPs. 102:12, 26; Heb. 1:11 8 a[Ps. 96:13; 98:9; Acts 17:31] 9 aPs. 32:7; 46:1; 91:2 1Lit. secure height 10 aPs. 91:14 11 aPs. 66:16; 107:22 12 a[Gen. 9:5; Ps. 72:14] 1af- flicted 14 aPs. 13:5; 20:5; 35:9 1Jerusalem 15 aPs. 7:15, 16 1Gentiles 16 aEx. 7:5 bPs. 92:3 1Heb. Hig- gaion 17 aJob 8:13; Ps. 50:22 1Gentiles 18 aPs. 9:12; 12:5 b[Ps. 62:5; 71:5]; Prov. 23:18 19 1Gentiles 20 1Gentiles PSALM 10 2 aPs. 7:16; 9:16 1hotly pursues 3 aPs. 49:6; 94:3, 4 bProv. 28:4 1Or The greedy man curses and spurns the LORD 4 aPs. 14:1; 36:1 1Or All his thoughts are, “There is no God” 5 1Lit. are strong 6 aPs. 49:11; [Eccl. 8:11] bRev. 18:7 7 a[Rom. 3:14] bPs. 55:10, 11

477 PSALM 13:2 He catches the poor when he draws him into his net. 10 So 1he crouches, he lies low, That the helpless may fall by his 2strength. 11 He has said in his heart, “God has forgotten; He hides His face; He will never see.” 12 Arise, O LORD! O God, alift up Your hand! Do not forget the bhumble. 13 Why do the wicked renounce God? He has said in his heart, “You will not require an account.” 14 But You have aseen, for You observe trouble and grief, To repay it by Your hand. The helpless bcommits1 himself to You; cYou are the helper of the fatherless. 15 Break the arm of the wicked and the evil man; Seek out his wickedness until You find none. 16 aThe LORD is King forever and ever; The nations have perished out of His land. 17 LORD,You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart; You will cause Your ear to hear, 18 To 1do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, That the man of the earth may 2oppress no more. PSALM 11 Faith in the LORD’s Righteousness To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. IN athe LORD I put my trust; How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your mountain”? 2 For look! aThe wicked bend their bow, They make ready their arrow on the string, That they may shoot 1secretly at the upright in heart. 3 aIf the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do? 4 The LORD is in His holy temple, The LORD’s athrone is in heaven; bHis eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men. 5 The LORD atests the righteous, But the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates. 6 Upon the wicked He will rain coals; Fire and brimstone and a burning wind aShall be 1the portion of their cup. 7 For the LORD is righteous, He aloves righteousness; 1His countenance beholds the upright. PSALM 12 Man’s Treachery and God’s Constancy To the Chief Musician. aOn 1an eight-stringed harp. A Psalm of David. HELP,1 LORD, for the godly man aceases! For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men. 2 aThey speak idly everyone with his neighbor; With flattering lips and 1a double heart they speak. 3 May the LORD 1cut off all flattering lips, And the tongue that speaks 2proud things, 4 Who have said, “With our tongue we will prevail; Our lips are our own; Who is lord over us?” 5 “For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, Now I will arise,” says the LORD; “I will set him in the safety for which he yearns.” 6 The words of the LORD are apure words, Like silver tried in a furnace of earth, Purified seven times. 7 You shall keep them, O LORD, You shall preserve them from this generation forever. 8 The wicked prowl on every side, When vileness is exalted among the sons of men. PSALM 13 Trust in the Salvation of the LORD To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. HOW long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? aHow long will You hide Your face from me? 2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul, 10 1Or he is crushed, is bowed 1Or mighty ones 12 aPs. 17:7; 94:2; Mic. 5:9 bPs. 9:12 14 a[Ps. 11:4] b[2 Tim. 1:12] cPs. 68:5; Hos. 14:3 1Lit. leaves, en- trusts 16 aPs. 29:10 18 1vindicate 2terrify PSALM 11 1 aPs. 56:11 2 aPs. 64:3, 4 1Lit. in dark- ness 3 aPs. 82:5; 87:1; 119:152 4 aPs. 2:4; [Is. 66:1]; Matt. 5:34; 23:22; [Acts 7:49]; Rev. 4:2 b[Ps. 33:18; 34:15, 16] 5 aGen. 22:1; [James 1:12] 6 a1 Sam. 1:4; Ps. 75:8; Ezek. 38:22 1Their allotted por- tion or serving 7 aPs. 33:5; 45:7 1Or The upright be- holds His countenance PSALM 12 title aPs. 6:title 1Heb. shem- inith 1 a[Is. 57:1]; Mic. 7:2 1Save 2 aPs. 10:7; 41:6 1An in- consistent mind 3 1destroy 2great 6 a2 Sam. 22:31; Ps. 18:30; 119:140; Prov. 30:5 PSALM 13 1 aJob 13:24; Ps. 89:46

PSALM 13:3 478 Having sorrow in my heart daily? How long will my enemy be exalted over me? 3 Consider and hear me, O LORD my God; aEnlighten my eyes, bLest I sleep the sleep of death; 4 Lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed against him”; Lest those who trouble me rejoice when I am moved. 5 But I have trusted in Your mercy; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. 6 I will sing to the LORD, Because He has dealt bountifully with me. PSALM 14 Folly of the Godless, and God’s Final Triumph To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. THE afool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good. 2 aThe LORD looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who seek God. 3 aThey have all turned aside, They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one. 4 Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge, Who eat up my people as they eat bread, And ado not call on the LORD? 5 There they are in great fear, For God is with the generation of the righteous. 6 You shame the counsel of the poor, But the LORD is his arefuge. 7 aOh,1 that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! bWhen the LORD brings back 2the captivity of His people, Let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad. PSALM 15 The Character of Those Who May Dwell with the LORD A Psalm of David. LORD, awho may 1abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? 2 He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness, And speaks the atruth in his heart; 3 He who adoes not backbite with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, bNor does he 1take up a reproach against his friend; 4 aIn whose eyes a vile person is despised, But he honors those who fear the LORD; He who bswears to his own hurt and does not change; 5 He who does not put out his money at usury, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things ashall never be moved. PSALM 16 The Hope of the Faithful, and the Messiah’s Victory A aMichtam of David. PRESERVE1 me, O God, for in You I put my trust. 2 O my soul, you have said to the LORD, “You are my Lord, aMy goodness is nothing apart from You.” 3 As for the saints who are on the earth, “They are the excellent ones, in awhom is all my delight.” 4 Their sorrows shall be multiplied who hasten after another god; Their drink offerings of ablood I will not offer, bNor take up their names on my lips. 5 O LORD, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You 1maintain my lot. 6 The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Yes, I have a good inheritance. 7 I will bless the LORD who has given me counsel; My 1heart also instructs me in the night seasons. 8 aI have set the LORD always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved. 9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will 1rest in hope. 3 a1 Sam. 14:29; Ezra 9:8; Job 33:30; Ps. 18:28 bJer. 51:39 PSALM 14 1 aPs. 10:4; 53:1 2 aPs. 33:13, 14; 102:19; Rom. 3:11 3 aRom. 3:12 4 aPs. 79:6; Is. 64:7; Jer. 10:25; Amos 8:4; Mic. 3:3 6 aPs. 9:9; 40:17; 46:1; 142:5 7 aPs. 53:6; [Rom. 11:25–27] bDeut. 30:3; Job 42:10 1Lit. Who will give out of Zion the salvation of Israel? 2Or His captive people PSALM 15 1 aPs. 24:3–5 1sojourn 2 aZech. 8:16; [Eph. 4:25] 3 a[Lev. 19:16–18] bEx. 23:1 1receive 4 aEsth. 3:2 bLev. 5:4 5 a2 Pet. 1:10 PSALM 16 title aPs. 56—60 1 1Watch over 2 aJob 35:7 3 aPs. 119:63 4 aPs. 106:37, 38 b[Ex. 23:13]; Josh. 23:7 5 1Lit. uphold 7 1Mind, lit. kidneys 8 a[Acts 2:25–28] 9 1Or dwell se- curely

479 PSALM 18:9 10 aFor You will not leave my soul in 1Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to 2see corruption. 11 You will show me the apath of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. PSALM 17 Prayer with Confidence in Final Salvation A Prayer of David. HEAR a just cause, O LORD, Attend to my cry; Give ear to my prayer which is not from deceitful lips. 2 Let my vindication come from Your presence; Let Your eyes look on the things that are upright. 3 You have tested my heart; You have visited me in the night; aYou have 1tried me and have found 2nothing; I have purposed that my mouth shall not btransgress. 4 Concerning the works of men, By the word of Your lips, I have kept away from the paths of the destroyer. 5 aUphold my steps in Your paths, That my footsteps may not slip. 6 aI have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God; Incline Your ear to me, and hear my speech. 7 Show Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand, O You who 1save those who trust in You From those who rise up against them. 8 Keep me as the 1apple of Your eye; Hide me under the shadow of Your wings, 9 From the wicked who oppress me, From my deadly enemies who surround me. 10 They have closed up their afat hearts; With their mouths they bspeak proudly. 11 They have now surrounded us in our steps; They have set their eyes, crouching down to the earth, 12 As a lion is eager to tear his prey, And like a young lion lurking in secret places. 13 Arise, O LORD, Confront him, cast him down; Deliver my life from the wicked with Your sword, 14 With Your hand from men, O LORD, From men of the world who have their portion in this life, And whose belly You fill with Your hidden treasure. They are satisfied with children, And leave the rest of their possession for their babes. 15 As for me, aI will see Your face in righteousness; bI shall be satisfied when I cawake in Your likeness. PSALM 18 God the Sovereign Savior To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David athe servant of the LORD, who spoke to the LORD the words of bthis song on the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said: I aWILL love You, O LORD, my strength. 2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my 1strength, ain whom I will trust; My shield and the 2horn of my salvation, my stronghold. 3 I will call upon the LORD, awho is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies. 4 aThe pangs of death surrounded me, And the floods of 1ungodliness made me afraid. 5 The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me. 6 In my distress I called upon the LORD, And cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, And my cry came before Him, even to His ears. 7 aThen the earth shook and trembled; The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken, Because He was angry. 8 Smoke went up from His nostrils, And devouring fire from His mouth; Coals were kindled by it. 9 aHe bowed the heavens also, and came down With darkness under His feet. 10 aPs. 49:15; 86:13; Acts 2:31, 32; Heb. 13:20 1The abode of the dead 2undergo 11 aPs. 139:24; [Matt. 7:14] PSALM 17 3 aJob 23:10; Ps. 66:10; Zech. 13:9; [1 Pet. 1:7] bPs. 39:1 1ex- amined 2Nothing evil 5 aJob 23:11; Ps. 44:18; 119:133 6 aPs. 86:7; 116:2 7 1deliver 8 1pupil 10 aEzek. 16:49 b[1 Sam. 2:3] 15 a[1 John 3:2] bPs. 4:6, 7; 16:11 c[Is. 26:19] PSALM 18 title aPs. 36: title b2 Sam. 22 1 aPs. 144:1 2 aHeb. 2:13 1Lit. rock 2Strength 3 aPs. 76:4; Rev. 5:12 4 aPs. 116:3 1Lit. Belial 7 aActs 4:31 9 aPs. 144:5

PSALM 18:10 480 10 aAnd He rode upon a cherub, and flew; bHe flew upon the wings of the wind. 11 He made darkness His secret place; aHis canopy around Him was dark waters And thick clouds of the skies. 12 aFrom the brightness before Him, His thick clouds passed with hailstones and coals of fire. 13 The LORD thundered from heaven, And the Most High uttered aHis voice, 1Hailstones and coals of fire. 14 aHe sent out His arrows and scattered 1the foe, Lightnings in abundance, and He vanquished them. 15 Then the channels of the sea were seen, The foundations of the world were uncovered At Your rebuke, O LORD, At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils. 16 aHe sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of many waters. 17 He delivered me from my strong enemy, From those who hated me, For they were too strong for me. 18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity, But the LORD was my support. 19 aHe also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me. 20 aThe LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me. 21 For I have kept the ways of the LORD, And have not wickedly departed from my God. 22 For all His judgments were before me, And I did not put away His statutes from me. 23 I was also blameless 1before Him, And I kept myself from my iniquity. 24 aTherefore the LORD has recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands in His sight. 25 aWith the merciful You will show Yourself merciful; With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless; 26 With the pure You will show Yourself pure; And awith the devious You will show Yourself shrewd. 27 For You will save the humble people, But will bring down ahaughty looks. 28 aFor You will light my lamp; The LORD my God will enlighten my darkness. 29 For by You I can 1run against a troop, By my God I can leap over a wall. 30 As for God, aHis way is perfect; bThe word of the LORD is 1proven; He is a shield cto all who trust in Him. 31 aFor who is God, except the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God? 32 It is God who aarms me with strength, And makes my way perfect. 33 aHe makes my feet like the feet of deer, And bsets me on my high places. 34 aHe teaches my hands to make war, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. 35 You have also given me the shield of Your salvation; Your right hand has held me up, Your gentleness has made me great. 36 You enlarged my path under me, aSo my feet did not slip. 37 I have pursued my enemies and overtaken them; Neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed. 38 I have wounded them, So that they could not rise; They have fallen under my feet. 39 For You have armed me with strength for the battle; You have 1subdued under me those who rose up against me. 40 You have also given me the necks of my enemies, So that I destroyed those who hated me. 41 They cried out, but there was none to save; 10 aPs. 80:1; 99:1 b[Ps. 104:3] 11 aPs. 97:2 12 aPs. 97:3; 140:10; Hab. 3:11 13 a[Ps. 29:3–9; 104:7] 1So with MT, Tg., Vg.; a few Heb. mss., LXX omit Hailstones and coals of fire 14 aJosh. 10:10; Ps. 144:6; Is. 30:30; Hab. 3:11 1Lit. them 16 aPs. 144:7 19 aPs. 4:1; 31:8; 118:5 20 a1 Sam. 24:19; [Job 33:26]; Ps. 7:8 23 1with 24 a1 Sam. 26:23; Ps. 18:20 25 a[1 Kin. 8:32; Ps. 62:12]; Matt. 5:7 26 a[Lev. 26:23–28]; Prov. 3:34 27 a[Ps. 101:5]; Prov. 6:17 28 a1 Kin. 15:4; Job 18:6; [Ps. 119:105] 29 1Or run through 30 a[Deut. 32:4]; Rev. 15:3 bPs. 12:6; 119:140; [Prov. 30:5] c[Ps. 17:7] 1Lit. refined 31 a[Deut. 32:31, 39; 1 Sam. 2:2; Ps. 86:8–10; Is. 45:5] 32 a[Ps. 91:2] 33 a2 Sam. 2:18; Hab. 3:19 bDeut. 32:13; 33:29 34 aPs. 144:1 36 aPs. 66:9; Prov. 4:12 39 1Lit. caused to bow

481 PSALM 20:4 aEven to the LORD, but He did not answer them. 42 Then I beat them as fine as the dust before the wind; I acast them out like dirt in the streets. 43 You have delivered me from the strivings of the people; aYou have made me the head of the 1nations; bA people I have not known shall serve me. 44 As soon as they hear of me they obey me; The foreigners 1submit to me. 45 aThe foreigners fade away, And come frightened from their hideouts. 46 The LORD lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let the God of my salvation be exalted. 47 It is God who avenges me, aAnd subdues the peoples under me; 48 He delivers me from my enemies. aYou also lift me up above those who rise against me; You have delivered me from the violent man. 49 aTherefore I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the 1Gentiles, And sing praises to Your name. 50 aGreat deliverance He gives to His king, And shows mercy to His anointed, To David and his 1descendants forevermore. PSALM 19 The Perfect Revelation of the LORD To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. THE aheavens declare the glory of God; And the bfirmament1 shows 2His handiwork. 2 Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. 3 There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard. 4 aTheir 1line has gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a 2tabernacle for the sun, 5 Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, aAnd rejoices like a strong man to run its race. 6 Its rising is from one end of heaven, And its circuit to the other end; And there is nothing hidden from its heat. 7 aThe law of the LORD is perfect, 1converting the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making bwise the simple; 8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; 9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than agold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the 1honeycomb. 11 Moreover by them Your servant is warned, And in keeping them there is great reward. 12 Who can understand his errors? aCleanse me from secret faults. 13 Keep back Your servant also from apresumptuous sins; Let them not have bdominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, And I shall be innocent of 1great transgression. 14 aLet the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my 1strength and my bRedeemer. PSALM 20 The Assurance of God’s Saving Work To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. MAY the LORD answer you in the day of trouble; May the name of the God of Jacob 1defend you; 2 May He send you help from the sanctuary, And strengthen you out of Zion; 3 May He remember all your offerings, And accept your burnt sacrifice. Selah 4 May He grant you according to your heart’s desire, And afulfill all your 1purpose. 41 aJob 27:9; Prov. 1:28; Is. 1:15; Ezek. 8:18; Zech. 7:13 42 aZech. 10:5 43 a2 Sam. 8; Ps. 89:27 bIs. 52:15 1Gentiles 44 1feign sub- mission 45 aMic. 7:17 47 aPs. 47:3 48 aPs. 27:6; 59:1 49 a2 Sam. 22:50; Rom. 15:9 1nations 50 a2 Sam. 7:12; Ps. 21:1; 144:10 1Lit. seed PSALM 19 1 aIs. 40:22; [Rom. 1:19, 20] bGen. 1:6, 7 1expanse of heaven 2the work of His hands 4 aRom. 10:18 1LXX, Syr., Vg. sound; Tg. business 2tent 5 aEccl. 1:5 7 aPs. 111:7; [Rom. 7:12] bPs. 119:130 1restoring 10 aPs. 119:72, 127; Prov. 8:10, 11, 19 1honey in the combs 12 a[Ps. 51:1, 2] 13 aNum. 15:30 bPs. 119:133; [Rom. 6:12–14] 1Or much 14 aPs. 51:15 bPs. 31:5; Is. 47:4 1Lit. rock PSALM 20 1 1Lit. set you on high 4 aPs. 21:2 1counsel

PSALM 20:5 482 5 We will rejoice in your salvation, And in the name of our God we will set up our banners! May the LORD fulfill all your petitions. 6 Now I know that the LORD saves His 1anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven With the saving strength of His right hand. 7 Some trust in chariots, and some in ahorses; But we will remember the name of the LORD our God. 8 They have bowed down and fallen; But we have risen and stand upright. 9 Save, LORD! May the King answer us when we call. PSALM 21 Joy in the Salvation of the LORD To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. THE king shall have joy in Your strength, O LORD; And in Your salvation how greatly shall he rejoice! 2 You have given him his heart’s desire, And have not withheld the arequest of his lips. Selah 3 For You meet him with the blessings of goodness; You set a crown of pure gold upon his head. 4 aHe asked life from You, and You gave it to him— Length of days forever and ever. 5 His glory is great in Your salvation; Honor and majesty You have placed upon him. 6 For You have made him most blessed forever; aYou have made him 1exceedingly glad with Your presence. 7 For the king trusts in the LORD, And through the mercy of the Most High he shall not be 1moved. 8 Your hand will find all Your enemies; Your right hand will find those who hate You. 9 You shall make them as a fiery oven in the time of Your anger; The LORD shall swallow them up in His wrath, And the fire shall devour them. 10 Their offspring You shall destroy from the earth, And their 1descendants from among the sons of men. 11 For they intended evil against You; They devised a plot which they are not able to aperform. 12 Therefore You will make them turn their back; You will make ready Your arrows on Your string toward their faces. 13 Be exalted, O LORD, in Your own strength! We will sing and praise Your power. PSALM 22 The Suffering, Praise, and Posterity of the Messiah To the Chief Musician. Set to 1“The Deer of the Dawn.” A Psalm of David. MY aGod, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, And from the words of My groaning? 2 O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear; And in the night season, and am not silent. 3 But You are holy, Enthroned in the apraises of Israel. 4 Our fathers trusted in You; They trusted, and You delivered them. 5 They cried to You, and were delivered; aThey trusted in You, and were not ashamed. 6 But I am aa worm, and no man; bA reproach of men, and despised by the people. 7 aAll those who see Me ridicule Me; They 1shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, 8 “Hea 1trusted in the LORD, let Him rescue Him; bLet Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!” 9 aBut You are He who took Me out of the womb; You made Me trust while on My mother’s breasts. 10 I was cast upon You from birth. From My mother’s womb aYou have been My God. 11 Be not far from Me, For trouble is near; For there is none to help. 12 aMany bulls have surrounded Me; 6 1Commis- sioned one, Heb. messiah 7 aDeut. 20:1; Ps. 33:16, 17; Prov. 21:31; Is. 31:1 PSALM 21 2 a2 Sam. 7:26–29 4 aPs. 61:5, 6; 133:3 6 aPs. 16:11; 45:7 1Lit. joy- ful with gladness 7 1shaken 10 1Lit. seed 11 aPs. 2:1–4 PSALM 22 title 1Heb. Aijeleth Hashahar 1 a[Matt. 27:46; Mark 15:34] 3 aDeut. 10:21; Ps. 148:14 5 aIs. 49:23 6 aJob 25:6; Is. 41:14 bPs. 109:25; [Is. 53:3]; Matt. 27:39–44 7 aMatt. 27:39; Mark 15:29 1Show con- tempt with their mouth 8 aMatt. 27:43; Luke 23:35 bPs. 91:14 1LXX, Syr., Vg. hoped; Tg. praised 9 a[Ps. 71:5, 6] 10 a[Is. 46:3; 49:1]; Luke 1:35 12 aPs. 22:21; 68:30

483 PSALM 24:2 Strong bulls of bBashan have encircled Me. 13 aThey 1gape at Me with their mouths, Like a raging and roaring lion. 14 I am poured out like water, aAnd all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It has melted 1within Me. 15 aMy strength is dried up like a potsherd, And bMy tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death. 16 For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. aThey1 pierced My hands and My feet; 17 I can count all My bones. aThey look and stare at Me. 18 aThey divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots. 19 But You, O LORD, do not be far from Me; O My Strength, hasten to help Me! 20 Deliver Me from the sword, aMy1 precious life from the power of the dog. 21 aSave Me from the lion’s mouth And from the horns of the wild oxen! bYou have answered Me. 22 aI will declare Your name to bMy brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will praise You. 23 aYou who fear the LORD, praise Him! All you 1descendants of Jacob, glorify Him, And fear Him, all you offspring of Israel! 24 For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; Nor has He hidden His face from Him; But awhen He cried to Him, He heard. 25 aMy praise shall be of You in the great assembly; bI will pay My vows before those who fear Him. 26 The poor shall eat and be satisfied; Those who seek Him will praise the LORD. Let your heart live forever! 27 All the ends of the world Shall remember and turn to the LORD, And all the families of the 1nations Shall worship before 2You. 28 aFor the kingdom is the LORD’s, And He rules over the nations. 29 aAll the prosperous of the earth Shall eat and worship; bAll those who go down to 1the dust Shall bow before Him, Even he who cannot keep himself alive. 30 A posterity shall serve Him. It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation, 31 They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born, That He has done this. PSALM 23 The LORD the Shepherd of His People A Psalm of David. THE LORD is amy shepherd; bI shall not 1want. 2 aHe makes me to lie down in 1green pastures; bHe leads me beside the 2still waters. 3 He restores my soul; aHe leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of athe shadow of death, bI will fear no evil; cFor You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5 You aprepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You banoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will 1dwell in the house of the LORD 2Forever. PSALM 24 The King of Glory and His Kingdom A Psalm of David. THE aearth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein. 2 For He has afounded it upon the seas, And established it upon the 1waters. 12 bDeut. 32:14 13 aJob 16:10; 1Lit. have opened their mouths at Me 14 aDan. 5:6 1Lit. in the midst of My bowels 15 aProv. 17:22 bJohn 19:28 16 aMatt. 27:35; 1So with some Heb. mss., LXX, Syr., Vg.; MT Like a lion instead of They pierced 17 aLuke 23:27, 35 18 aMatt. 27:35 20 aPs. 35:17 1Lit. My only one 21 a2 Tim. 4:17 bIs. 34:7 22 aHeb. 2:12 b[Rom. 8:29] 23 aPs. 135:19, 20 1Lit. seed 24 aHeb. 5:7 25 aPs. 35:18; 40:9, 10 bEccl. 5:4 27 1Gentiles 2So with MT, LXX, Tg.; Arab., Syr., Vg. Him 28 aMatt. 6:13 29 aPs. 17:10; 45:12; b[Is. 26:19] 1Death PSALM 23 1 a[Is. 40:11]; b[Phil. 4:19] 1lack 2 aEzek. 34:14 b[Rev. 7:17] 1Lit. pastures of tender grass 2Lit. waters of rest 3 aPs. 5:8; 31:3 4 aJob 3:5; 10:21, 22; 24:17 b[Ps. 3:6; 27:1] c[Is. 43:2] 5 aPs. 104:15 bPs. 92:10 6 1So with LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg.; MT return 2Or To the end of my days, lit. For length of days PSALM 24 1 a1 Cor. 10:26, 28 2 aPs. 89:11 1Lit. rivers

PSALM 24:3 484 3 aWho may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? 4 He who has aclean hands and ba pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor csworn deceitfully. 5 He shall receive blessing from the LORD, And righteousness from the God of his salvation. 6 This is Jacob, the generation of those who aseek Him, Who seek Your face. Selah 7 aLift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! bAnd the King of glory shall come in. 8 Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, The LORD mighty in abattle. 9 Lift up your heads, O you gates! Lift up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. 10 Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah PSALM 25 A Plea for Deliverance and Forgiveness A Psalm of David. TO aYou, O LORD, I lift up my soul. 2 O my God, I atrust in You; Let me not be ashamed; bLet not my enemies triumph over me. 3 Indeed, let no one who 1waits on You be ashamed; Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause. 4 aShow me Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your paths. 5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day. 6 Remember, O LORD, aYour tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses, For they are from of old. 7 Do not remember athe sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; bAccording to Your mercy remember me, For Your goodness’ sake, O LORD. 8 Good and upright is the LORD; Therefore He teaches sinners in the way. 9 The humble He guides in justice, And the humble He teaches His way. 10 All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth, To such as keep His covenant and His testimonies. 11 aFor Your name’s sake, O LORD, Pardon my iniquity, for it is great. 12 Who is the man that fears the LORD? aHim shall 1He teach in the way 2He chooses. 13 aHe himself shall dwell in 1prosperity, And bhis descendants shall inherit the earth. 14 aThe secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him, And He will show them His covenant. 15 aMy eyes are ever toward the LORD, For He shall 1pluck my feet out of the net. 16 aTurn Yourself to me, and have mercy on me, For I am 1desolate and afflicted. 17 The troubles of my heart have enlarged; Bring me out of my distresses! 18 aLook on my affliction and my pain, And forgive all my sins. 19 Consider my enemies, for they are many; And they hate me with 1cruel hatred. 20 Keep my soul, and deliver me; Let me not be ashamed, for I put my trust in You. 21 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, For I wait for You. 22 aRedeem Israel, O God, Out of all their troubles! PSALM 26 A Prayer for Divine Scrutiny and Redemption A Psalm of David. VINDICATE ame, O LORD, For I have bwalked in my integrity. cI have also trusted in the LORD; I shall not slip. 2 aExamine me, O LORD, and 1prove me; Try my mind and my heart. 3 For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes, And aI have walked in Your truth. 3 aPs. 15:1–5 4 a[Job 17:9]; Ps. 26:6 bPs. 51:10; 73:1; [Matt. 5:8] cPs. 15:4 6 aPs. 27:4, 8 7 aPs. 118:20; Is. 26:2 bPs. 29:2, 9; 97:6; Hag. 2:7; Acts 7:2; [1 Cor. 2:8] 8 aRev. 19:13–16 PSALM 25 1 aPs. 86:4; 143:8 2 aPs. 34:8 bPs. 13:4; 41:11 3 1Waits for You in faith 4 aEx. 33:13; Ps. 5:8; 27:11; 86:11; 119:27; 143:8 6 aPs. 103:17; 106:1 7 aJob 13:26; [Jer. 3:25] bPs. 51:1 11 aPs. 31:3; 79:9; 109:21; 143:11 12 a[Ps. 25:8; 37:23] 1Or he 2Or he 13 a[Prov. 19:23] bPs. 37:11; 69:36; Matt. 5:5 1Lit. goodness 14 a[Prov. 3:32; John 7:17] 15 a[Ps. 123:2; 141:8] 1Lit. bring out 16 aPs. 69:16 1lonely 18 a2 Sam. 16:12; Ps. 31:7 19 1violent ha- tred 22 a[Ps. 130:8] PSALM 26 1 aPs. 7:8 b2 Kin. 20:3; [Prov. 20:7] c[Ps. 13:5; 28:7] 2 aPs. 17:3; 139:23 1test me 3 a2 Kin. 20:3; Ps. 86:11

485 PSALM 28:2 4 I have not asat with idolatrous mortals, Nor will I go in with hypocrites. 5 I have ahated the assembly of evildoers, And will not sit with the wicked. 6 I will wash my hands in innocence; So I will go about Your altar, O LORD, 7 That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving, And tell of all Your wondrous works. 8 LORD, aI have loved the habitation of Your house, And the place 1where Your glory dwells. 9 aDo1 not gather my soul with sinners, Nor my life with bloodthirsty men, 10 In whose hands is a sinister scheme, And whose right hand is full of abribes. 11 But as for me, I will walk in my integrity; Redeem me and be merciful to me. 12 aMy foot stands in an even place; In the congregations I will bless the LORD. PSALM 27 An Exuberant Declaration of Faith A Psalm of David. THE LORD is my alight and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The bLORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? 2 When the wicked came against me To aeat1 up my flesh, My enemies and foes, They stumbled and fell. 3 aThough an army may encamp against me, My heart shall not fear; Though war may rise against me, In this I will be confident. 4 aOne thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may bdwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, To behold the 1beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple. 5 For ain the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall bset me high upon a rock. 6 And now amy head shall be 1lifted up above my enemies all around me; Therefore I will offer sacrifices of 2joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD. 7 Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me. 8 When You said, “Seek My face,” My heart said to You, “Your face, LORD, I will seek.” 9 aDo not hide Your face from me; Do not turn Your servant away in anger; You have been my help; Do not leave me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation. 10 aWhen my father and my mother forsake me, Then the LORD will take care of me. 11 aTeach me Your way, O LORD, And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies. 12 Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries; For afalse witnesses have risen against me, And such as breathe out violence. 13 I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the LORD aIn the land of the living. 14 aWait1 on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD! PSALM 28 Rejoicing in Answered Prayer A Psalm of David. TOYou I will cry, O LORD my Rock: aDo not be silent to me, bLest, if You are silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit. 2 Hear the voice of my supplications When I cry to You, aWhen I lift up my hands btoward Your holy sanctuary. 4 aPs. 1:1; Jer. 15:17 5 aPs. 31:6; 139:21 8 aPs. 27:4; 84:1–4, 10 1Lit. of the tabernacle of Your glory 9 aPs. 28:3 1Do not take away 10 a1 Sam. 8:3 12 aPs. 40:2 PSALM 27 1 aPs. 18:28; 84:11; [Is. 60:19, 20; Mic. 7:8] bEx. 15:2; Ps. 62:7; 118:14; Is. 12:2; 33:2 2 aPs. 14:4 1de- vour 3 aPs. 3:6 4 aPs. 26:8; 65:4 bLuke 2:37 1delight- fulness 5 aPs. 31:20; 91:1 bPs. 40:2 6 aPs. 3:3 1Lifted up in honor 2joyous shouts 9 aPs. 69:17; 143:7 10 aIs. 49:15 11 aPs. 25:4; 86:11; 119:33 12 aDeut. 19:18; Ps. 35:11; Matt. 26:60; Mark 14:56; John 19:33 13 aJob 28:13; Ps. 52:5; 116:9; 142:5; Is. 38:11; Jer. 11:19; Ezek. 26:20 14 aPs. 25:3; 37:34; 40:1; 62:5; 130:5; Prov. 20:22; Is. 25:9; [Hab. 2:3] 1Wait in faith PSALM 28 1 aPs. 35:22; 39:12; 83:1 bPs. 88:4; 143:7; Prov. 1:12 2 aPs. 5:7 bPs. 138:2

PSALM 28:3 486 3 Do not 1take me away with the wicked And with the workers of iniquity, aWho speak peace to their neighbors, But evil is in their hearts. 4 aGive them according to their deeds, And according to the wickedness of their endeavors; Give them according to the work of their hands; Render to them what they deserve. 5 Because athey do not regard the works of the LORD, Nor the operation of His hands, He shall destroy them And not build them up. 6 Blessed be the LORD, Because He has heard the voice of my supplications! 7 The LORD is amy strength and my shield; My heart btrusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, And with my song I will praise Him. 8 The LORD is 1their strength, And He is the asaving refuge of His 2anointed. 9 Save Your people, And bless aYour inheritance; Shepherd them also, bAnd bear them up forever. PSALM 29 Praise to God in His Holiness and Majesty A Psalm of David. GIVE1 aunto the LORD, O you mighty ones, Give unto the LORD glory and strength. 2 1Give unto the LORD the glory 2due to His name; Worship the LORD in athe 3beauty of holiness. 3 The voice of the LORD is over the waters; aThe God of glory thunders; The LORD is over many waters. 4 The voice of the LORD is powerful; The voice of the LORD is full of majesty. 5 The voice of the LORD breaks athe cedars, Yes, the LORD splinters the cedars of Lebanon. 6 aHe makes them also skip like a calf, Lebanon and bSirion like a young wild ox. 7 The voice of the LORD 1divides the flames of fire. 8 The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; The LORD shakes the Wilderness of aKadesh. 9 The voice of the LORD makes the adeer give birth, And strips the forests bare; And in His temple everyone says, “Glory!” 10 The aLORD sat enthroned at the Flood, And bthe LORD sits as King forever. 11 aThe LORD will give strength to His people; The LORD will bless His people with peace. PSALM 30 The Blessedness of Answered Prayer A Psalm. A Song aat the dedication of the house of David. I WILL extol You, O LORD, for You have alifted me up, And have not let my foes brejoice over me. 2 O LORD my God, I cried out to You, And You ahealed me. 3 O LORD, aYou brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, 1that I should not go down to the pit. 4 aSing praise to the LORD, you saints of His, And give thanks at the remembrance of 1His holy name. 5 For aHis anger is but for a moment, bHis favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But 1joy comes in the morning. 6 Now in my prosperity I said, “I shall never be 1moved.” 7 LORD, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong; aYou hid Your face, and I was troubled. 8 I cried out to You, O LORD; And to the LORD I made supplication: 9 “What profit is there in my blood, When I go down to the pit? aWill the dust praise You? Will it declare Your truth? 10 Hear, O LORD, and have mercy on me; LORD, be my helper!” 3 aPs. 12:2; 55:21; 62:4; Jer. 9:8 1drag 4 a[Ps. 62:12]; 2 Tim. 4:14; [Rev. 18:6; 22:12] 5 aIs. 5:12 7 aPs. 18:2; 59:17 bPs. 13:5; 112:7 8 aPs. 20:6 1So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Syr., Vg. the strength of His people 2Commis- sioned one, Heb. messiah 9 a[Deut. 9:29; 32:9; 1 Kin. 8:51; Ps. 33:12]; 106:40 bDeut. 1:31; Is. 63:9 PSALM 29 1 a1 Chr. 16:28, 29 1As- cribe 2 a2 Chr. 20:21; Ps. 110:3 1Ascribe 2Lit. of His name 3majesty 3 a[Job 37:4, 5]; Ps. 18:13; Acts 7:2 5 aJudg. 9:15; 1 Kin. 5:6; Ps. 104:16; Is. 2:13; 14:8 6 aPs. 114:4 bDeut. 3:9 7 1stirs up, lit. hews out 8 aNum. 13:26 9 aJob 39:1 10 aGen. 6:17; Job 38:8, 25 bPs. 10:16 11 aPs. 28:8; 68:35; [Is. 40:29] PSALM 30 title aDeut. 20:5 1 aPs. 28:9 bPs. 25:2 2 aPs. 6:2; 103:3; [Is. 53:5] 3 aPs. 86:13 1So with Qr., Tg.; Kt., LXX, Syr., Vg. from those who de- scend to the pit 4 aPs. 97:12 1Or His holi- ness 5 aPs. 103:9; Is. 26:20; 54:7, 8 bPs. 63:3 1a shout of joy 6 1shaken 7 a[Deut. 31:17; Ps. 104:29; 143:7] 9 a[Ps. 6:5]

487 PSALM 31:24 11 aYou have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off 1my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, 12 To the end that my 1glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever. PSALM 31 The LORD a Fortress in Adversity To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. IN aYou, O LORD, I 1put my trust; Let me never be ashamed; Deliver me in Your righteousness. 2 aBow down Your ear to me, Deliver me speedily; Be my rock of 1refuge, A 2fortress of defense to save me. 3 aFor You are my rock and my fortress; Therefore, bfor Your name’s sake, Lead me and guide me. 4 Pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me, For You are my strength. 5 aInto Your hand I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O LORD God of btruth. 6 I have hated those awho regard useless idols; But I trust in the LORD. 7 I will be glad and rejoice in Your mercy, For You have considered my trouble; You have aknown my soul in 1adversities, 8 And have not ashut1 me up into the hand of the enemy; bYou have set my feet in a wide place. 9 Have mercy on me, O LORD, for I am in trouble; aMy eye wastes away with grief, Yes, my soul and my 1body! 10 For my life is spent with grief, And my years with sighing; My strength fails because of my iniquity, And my bones waste away. 11 aI am a 1reproach among all my enemies, But bespecially among my neighbors, And am repulsive to my acquaintances; cThose who see me outside flee from me. 12 aI am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind; I am like a 1broken vessel. 13 aFor I hear the slander of many; bFear is on every side; While they ctake counsel together against me, They scheme to take away my life. 14 But as for me, I trust in You, O LORD; I say, “You are my God.” 15 My times are in Your ahand; Deliver me from the hand of my enemies, And from those who persecute me. 16 aMake Your face shine upon Your servant; Save me for Your mercies’ sake. 17 aDo not let me be ashamed, O LORD, for I have called upon You; Let the wicked be ashamed; bLet them be silent in the grave. 18 aLet the lying lips be put to silence, Which bspeak insolent things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous. 19 aOh, how great is Your goodness, Which You have laid up for those who fear You, Which You have prepared for those who trust in You In the presence of the sons of men! 20 aYou shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence From the plots of man; bYou shall keep them secretly in a 1pavilion From the strife of tongues. 21 Blessed be the LORD, For aHe has shown me His marvelous kindness in a 1strong city! 22 For I said in my haste, “I am cut off from before Your eyes”; Nevertheless You heard the voice of my supplications When I cried out to You. 23 Oh, love the LORD, all you His saints! For the LORD preserves the faithful, And fully repays the proud person. 24 aBe of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart, All you who hope in the LORD. 11 aEccl. 3:4; Is. 61:3; Jer. 31:4 1The sackcloth of my mourning 12 1soul PSALM 31 1 aPs. 22:5 1have taken refuge 2 aPs. 17:6; 71:2; 86:1; 102:2 1strength 2Lit. house of fortresses 3 a[Ps. 18:2] bPs. 23:3; 25:11 5 aLuke 23:46 b[Deut. 32:4]; Ps. 71:22 6 aJon. 2:8 7 a[John 10:27] 1troubles 8 a[Deut. 32:30]; Ps. 37:33 b[Ps. 4:1; 18:19] 1given me over 9 aPs. 6:7 1Lit. belly 11 a[Is. 53:4] bJob 19:13; Ps. 38:11; 88:8, 18 cPs. 64:8 1despised thing 12 aPs. 88:4, 5 1Lit. perishing 13 aPs. 50:20; Jer. 20:10 bLam. 2:22 cPs. 62:4; Matt. 27:1 15 a[Job 14:5; 24:1] 16 aPs. 4:6; 80:3 17 aPs. 25:2, 20 b[1 Sam. 2:9]; Ps. 94:17; 115:17 18 aPs. 109:2; 120:2 b[1 Sam. 2:3]; Ps. 94:4; [Jude 15] 19 aPs. 145:7; [Rom. 2:4; 11:22] 20 a[Ps. 27:5; 32:7] bJob 5:21 1shelter 21 a[Ps. 17:7] 1fortified 24 a[Ps. 27:14]

PSALM 32:1 488 PSALM 32 The Joy of Forgiveness A Psalm of David. A 1Contemplation. BLESSED is he whose atransgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered. 2 Blessed is the man to whom the LORD adoes not 1impute iniquity, And bin whose spirit there is no deceit. 3 When I kept silent, my bones grew old Through my groaning all the day long. 4 For day and night Your ahand was heavy upon me; My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah 5 I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. aI said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah 6 aFor this cause everyone who is godly shall bpray to You In a time when You may be found; Surely in a flood of great waters They shall not come near him. 7 aYou are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with bsongs of deliverance. Selah 8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. 9 Do not be like the ahorse or like the mule, Which have no understanding, Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, Else they will not come near you. 10 aMany sorrows shall be to the wicked; But bhe who trusts in the LORD, mercy shall surround him. 11 aBe glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous; And shout for joy, all you upright in heart! PSALM 33 The Sovereignty of the LORD in Creation and History REJOICE ain the LORD, O you righteous! For praise from the upright is beautiful. 2 Praise the LORD with the harp; 1Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings. 3 Sing to Him a new song; Play skillfully with a shout of joy. 4 For the word of the LORD is right, And all His work is done in truth. 5 He loves righteousness and justice; The earth is full of the goodness of the LORD. 6 aBy the word of the LORD the heavens were made, And all the bhost of them cby the breath of His mouth. 7 aHe gathers the waters of the sea together 1as a heap; He lays up the deep in storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear the LORD; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. 9 For aHe spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast. 10 aThe LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect. 11 aThe counsel of the LORD stands forever, The plans of His heart to all generations. 12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, The people He has achosen as His own inheritance. 13 aThe LORD looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men. 14 From the place of His dwelling He looks On all the inhabitants of the earth; 15 He fashions their hearts individually; aHe 1considers all their works. 16 aNo king is saved by the multitude of an army; A mighty man is not delivered by great strength. 17 aA horse is a 1vain hope for safety; Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength. 18 aBehold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, On those who hope in His mercy, 19 To deliver their soul from death, And ato keep them alive in famine. PSALM 32 title 1Heb. Maschil 1 a[Ps. 85:2; 103:3]; Rom. 4:7, 8 2 a[2 Cor. 5:19] bJohn 1:47 1charge his account with 4 a1 Sam. 5:6; Ps. 38:2; 39:10 5 a2 Sam. 12:13; Ps. 38:18; [Prov. 28:13; 1 John 1:9] 6 a[1 Tim. 1:16] bPs. 69:13; Is. 55:6 7 aPs. 9:9 bEx. 15:1; Judg. 5:1; [Ps. 40:3] 9 aProv. 26:3 10 aPs. 16:4; [Prov. 13:21; Rom. 2:9] b[Ps. 5:11, 12]; Prov. 16:20 11 aPs. 64:10; 68:3; 97:12 PSALM 33 1 aPs. 32:11; 97:12; Phil. 3:1; 4:4 2 1Lit. Sing to Him 6 aGen. 1:6, 7; Ps. 148:5; [Heb. 11:3; 2 Pet. 3:5] bGen. 2:1 c[Job 26:13] 7 aGen. 1:9; Job 26:10; 38:8 1LXX, Tg., Vg. in a vessel 9 aGen. 1:3; Ps. 148:5 10 a[Ps. 2:1–3]; Is. 8:10; 19:3 11 a[Job 23:13; Prov. 19:21] 12 a[Ex. 19:5; Deut. 7:6]; Ps. 28:9 13 aJob 28:24; [Ps. 14:2] 15 a[2 Chr. 16:9]; Job 34:21; [Jer. 32:19] 1under- stands 16 aPs. 44:6; 60:11; [Jer. 9:23, 24] 17 a[Ps. 20:7; 147:10; Prov. 21:31] 1false 18 a[Job 36:7]; Ps. 32:8; 34:15; [1 Pet. 3:12] 19 aJob 5:20; Ps. 37:19

489 PSALM 35:8 20 Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. 21 For our heart shall rejoice in Him, Because we have trusted in His holy name. 22 Let Your mercy, O LORD, be upon us, Just as we hope in You. PSALM 34 The Happiness of Those Who Trust in God A Psalm of David awhen he pretended madness before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed. I WILL abless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2 My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; The humble shall hear of it and be glad. 3 Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together. 4 I asought the LORD, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears. 5 They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces were not ashamed. 6 This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles. 7 aThe 1angel of the LORD bencamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them. 8 Oh, ataste and see that the LORD is good; bBlessed is the man who trusts in Him! 9 Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints! There is no 1want to those who fear Him. 10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger; aBut those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing. 11 Come, you children, listen to me; aI will teach you the fear of the LORD. 12 aWho is the man who desires life, And loves many days, that he may see good? 13 Keep your tongue from evil, And your lips from speaking adeceit. 14 aDepart from evil and do good; bSeek peace and pursue it. 15 aThe eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry. 16 aThe face of the LORD is against those who do evil, bTo 1cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. 17 The righteous cry out, and athe LORD hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles. 18 aThe LORD is near bto those who have a broken heart, And saves such as 1have a contrite spirit. 19 aMany are the afflictions of the righteous, bBut the LORD delivers him out of them all. 20 He guards all his bones; aNot one of them is broken. 21 aEvil shall slay the wicked, And those who hate the righteous shall be 1condemned. 22 The LORD aredeems the soul of His servants, And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned. PSALM 35 The LORD the Avenger of His People A Psalm of David. PLEAD1 my cause, O LORD, with those who strive with me; Fight against those who fight against me. 2 Take hold of shield and 1buckler, And stand up for my help. 3 Also draw out the spear, And stop those who pursue me. Say to my soul, “I am your salvation.” 4 aLet those be put to shame and brought to dishonor Who seek after my life; Let those be bturned back and brought to confusion Who plot my hurt. 5 aLet them be like chaff before the wind, And let the 1angel of the LORD chase them. 6 Let their way be adark and slippery, And let the angel of the LORD pursue them. 7 For without cause they have ahidden their net for me in a pit, Which they have dug without cause for my life. 8 1Let adestruction come upon him unexpectedly, PSALM 34 title a1 Sam. 21:10–15 1 a[Eph. 5:20; 1 Thess. 5:18] 4 a[2 Chr. 15:2; Ps. 9:10; Matt. 7:7; Luke 11:9] 7 a[Ps. 91:11]; Dan. 6:22 b2 Kin. 6:17 1Or Angel 8 aPs. 119:103; [Heb. 6:5]; 1 Pet. 2:3 bPs. 2:12 9 1lack 10 a[Ps. 84:11] 11 aPs. 32:8 12 a[1 Pet. 3:10–12] 13 a[Eph. 4:25] 14 aPs. 37:27; Is. 1:16, 17 b[Rom. 14:19; Heb. 12:14] 15 aJob 36:7; [Ps. 33:18] 16 aLev. 17:10; Jer. 44:11; Amos 9:4 bJob 18:17; Ps. 9:6; 109:15; [Prov. 10:7] 1destroy 17 aPs. 34:6; 145:19 18 a[Ps. 145:18] bPs. 51:17; [Is. 57:15] 1are crushed in spirit 19 aProv. 24:16 bPs. 34:4, 6, 17 20 aJohn 19:33, 36 21 aPs. 94:23; 140:11; Prov. 24:16 1held guilty 22 a1 Kin. 1:29 PSALM 35 1 1Contend for me 2 1A small shield 4 aPs. 40:14, 15; 70:2, 3 bPs. 129:5 5 aJob 21:18; Ps. 83:13; Is. 29:5 1Or An- gel 6 aPs. 73:18; Jer. 23:12 7 aPs. 9:15 8 a[Ps. 55:23]; Is. 47:11; [1 Thess. 5:3] 1Lit. Let de- struction he does not know come upon him,

PSALM 35:9 490 And let his net that he has hidden catch himself; Into that very destruction let him fall. 9 And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD; It shall rejoice in His salvation. 10 aAll my bones shall say, “LORD, bwho is like You, Delivering the poor from him who is too strong for him, Yes, the poor and the needy from him who plunders him?” 11 Fiercea witnesses rise up; They ask me things that I do not know. 12 aThey reward me evil for good, To the sorrow of my soul. 13 But as for me, awhen they were sick, My clothing was sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting; And my prayer would return to my own 1heart. 14 I paced about as though he were my friend or brother; I bowed down 1heavily, as one who mourns for his mother. 15 But in my 1adversity they rejoiced And gathered together; Attackers gathered against me, And I did not know it; They tore at me and did not cease; 16 With ungodly mockers at feasts They gnashed at me with their teeth. 17 Lord, how long will You alook on? Rescue me from their destructions, My precious life from the lions. 18 I will give You thanks in the great assembly; I will praise You among 1many people. 19 aLet them not rejoice over me who are wrongfully my enemies; Nor let them wink with the eye who hate me without a cause. 20 For they do not speak peace, But they devise deceitful matters Against the quiet ones in the land. 21 They also opened their mouth wide against me, And said, “Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen it.” 22 This You have seen, O LORD; Do not keep silence. O Lord, do not be far from me. 23 Stir up Yourself, and awake to my vindication, To my cause, my God and my Lord. 24 Vindicate me, O LORD my God, according to Your righteousness; And let them not rejoice over me. 25 Let them not say in their hearts, “Ah, so we would have it!” Let them not say, “We have swallowed him up.” 26 Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion Who rejoice at my hurt; Let them be aclothed with shame and dishonor Who exalt themselves against me. 27 aLet them shout for joy and be glad, Who favor my righteous cause; And let them say continually, “Let the LORD be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.” 28 And my tongue shall speak of Your righteousness And of Your praise all the day long. PSALM 36 Man’s Wickedness and God’s Perfections To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David the servant of the LORD. AN oracle within my heart concerning the transgression of the wicked: aThere is no fear of God before his eyes. 2 For he flatters himself in his own eyes, When he finds out his iniquity and when he hates. 3 The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit; aHe has ceased to be wise and to do good. 4 aHe devises wickedness on his bed; He sets himself bin a way that is not good; He does not 1abhor cevil. 5 Your mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. 6 Your righteousness is like the 1great mountains; aYour judgments are a great deep; O LORD,You preserve man and beast. 7 How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men aput their trust under the shadow of Your wings. 10 aPs. 51:8 b[Ex. 15:11]; Ps. 71:19; 86:8; [Mic. 7:18] 12 aPs. 38:20; 109:5; Jer. 18:20; John 10:32 13 aJob 30:25 1Lit. bosom 14 1in mourn- ing 15 1limping, stumbling 17 aPs. 13:1; [Hab. 1:13] 18 1a mighty 19 aPs. 69:4; 109:3; Lam. 3:52; [John 15:25] 26 aPs. 109:29 27 aRom. 12:15 PSALM 36 1 aRom. 3:18 3 aPs. 94:8; Jer. 4:22 4 aProv. 4:16; [Mic. 2:1] bIs. 65:2 c[Ps. 52:3; Rom. 12:9] 1reject, loathe 6 aJob 11:8; Ps. 77:19; [Rom. 11:33] 1Lit. moun- tains of God 7 aRuth 2:12; Ps. 17:8; 57:1; 91:4

491 PSALM 37:26 8 aThey are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, And You give them drink from bthe river of Your pleasures. 9 aFor with You is the fountain of life; bIn Your light we see light. 10 Oh, continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You, And Your righteousness to the upright in heart. 11 Let not the foot of pride come against me, And let not the hand of the wicked drive me away. 12 There the workers of iniquity have fallen; They have been cast down and are not able to rise. PSALM 37 The Heritage of the Righteous and the Calamity of the Wicked A Psalm of David. DOa not fret because of evildoers, Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. 2 For they shall soon be cut down alike the grass, And wither as the green herb. 3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. 4 aDelight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your bheart. 5 aCommit1 your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass. 6 aHe shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday. 7 Rest in the LORD, aand wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who bprospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. 8 aCease from anger, and forsake wrath; bDo not fret—it only causes harm. 9 For evildoers shall be 1cut off; But those who wait on the LORD, They shall ainherit the earth. 10 For ayet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; Indeed, byou will look carefully for his place, But it shall be no more. 11 aBut the meek shall inherit the earth, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. 12 The wicked plots against the just, aAnd gnashes at him with his teeth. 13 aThe Lord laughs at him, For He sees that bhis day is coming. 14 The wicked have drawn the sword And have bent their bow, To cast down the poor and needy, To slay those who are of upright conduct. 15 Their sword shall enter their own heart, And their bows shall be broken. 16 aA little that a righteous man has Is better than the riches of many wicked. 17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, But the LORD upholds the righteous. 18 The LORD knows the days of the upright, And their inheritance shall be forever. 19 They shall not be ashamed in the evil time, And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. 20 But the wicked shall perish; And the enemies of the LORD, Like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish. Into smoke they shall vanish away. 21 The wicked borrows and does not repay, But athe righteous shows mercy and gives. 22 aFor those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth, But those cursed by Him shall be 1cut off. 23 aThe steps of a good man are 1ordered by the LORD, And He delights in his way. 24 aThough he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the LORD upholds him with His hand. 25 I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread. 26 aHe is 1ever merciful, and lends; 8 aPs. 63:5; 65:4; Is. 25:6; Jer. 31:12–14 bPs. 46:4; Rev. 22:1 9 a[Jer. 2:13; John 4:10, 14] b[1 Pet. 2:9] PSALM 37 1 aPs. 73:3; [Prov. 23:17; 24:19] 2 aJob 14:2; Ps. 90:5, 6; 92:7; James 1:11 4 aJob 22:26; Ps. 94:19; Is. 58:14 bPs. 21:2; 145:19; [Matt. 7:7, 8] 5 a[Ps. 55:22; Prov. 16:3; 1 Pet. 5:7] 1Lit. Roll off onto 6 aJob 11:17; [Is. 58:8, 10] 7 aPs. 40:1; 62:5; [Lam. 3:26] b[Ps. 73:3–12] 8 a[Eph. 4:26] bPs. 73:3 9 aPs. 25:13; Prov. 2:21; [Is. 57:13; 60:21; Matt. 5:5] 1de- stroyed 10 a[Heb. 10:36] bJob 7:10; Ps. 37:35, 36 11 a[Matt. 5:5] 12 aPs. 35:16 13 aPs. 2:4; 59:8 b1 Sam. 26:10; Job 18:20 16 aProv. 15:16; 16:8; [1 Tim. 6:6] 21 aPs. 112:5, 9 22 a[Prov. 3:33] 1destroyed 23 a[1 Sam. 2:9]; Ps. 40:2; 66:9; 119:5 1established 24 aProv. 24:16 26 a[Deut. 15:8]; Ps. 37:21 1Lit. all the day

PSALM 37:27 492 And his descendants are blessed. 27 Depart from evil, and do good; And dwell forevermore. 28 For the LORD loves justice, And does not forsake His saints; They are preserved forever, But the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off. 29 aThe righteous shall inherit the land, And dwell in it forever. 30 aThe mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom, And his tongue talks of justice. 31 The law of his God is in his heart; None of his steps shall 1slide. 32 The wicked awatches the righteous, And seeks to slay him. 33 The LORD awill not leave him in his hand, Nor condemn him when he is judged. 34 aWait on the LORD, And keep His way, And He shall exalt you to inherit the land; When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it. 35 I have seen the wicked in great power, And spreading himself like a native green tree. 36 Yet 1he passed away, and behold, he was no more; Indeed I sought him, but he could not be found. 37 Mark the blameless man, and observe the upright; For the future of that man is peace. 38 aBut the transgressors shall be destroyed together; The future of the wicked shall be cut off. 39 But the salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; He is their strength ain the time of trouble. 40 And athe LORD shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, And save them, bBecause they trust in Him. PSALM 38 Prayer in Time of Chastening A Psalm of David. aTo bring to remembrance. O LORD, do not arebuke me in Your wrath, Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure! 2 For Your arrows pierce me deeply, And Your hand presses me down. 3 There is no soundness in my flesh Because of Your anger, Nor any health in my bones Because of my sin. 4 For my iniquities have gone over my head; Like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me. 5 My wounds are foul and festering Because of my foolishness. 6 I am 1troubled, I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long. 7 For my loins are full of inflammation, And there is no soundness in my flesh. 8 I am feeble and severely broken; I groan because of the turmoil of my heart. 9 Lord, all my desire is before You; And my sighing is not hidden from You. 10 My heart pants, my strength fails me; As for the light of my eyes, it also has gone from me. 11 My loved ones and my friends astand aloof from my plague, And my relatives stand afar off. 12 Those also who seek my life lay snares for me; Those who seek my hurt speak of destruction, And plan deception all the day long. 13 But I, like a deaf man, do not hear; And I am like a amute who does not open his mouth. 14 Thus I am like a man who does not hear, And in whose mouth is no response. 15 For 1in You, O LORD, aI hope; You will 2hear, O Lord my God. 16 For I said, “Hear me, lest they rejoice over me, Lest, when my foot slips, they exalt themselves against me.” 17 aFor I am ready to fall, And my sorrow is continually before me. 18 For I will adeclare my iniquity; 29 aPs. 37:9; Prov. 2:21 30 a[Matt. 12:35] 31 1slip 32 aPs. 10:8; 17:11 33 aPs. 31:8; [2 Pet. 2:9] 34 aPs. 27:14; 37:9 36 1So with MT, LXX, Tg.; Syr., Vg. I passed by 38 a[Ps. 1:4–6; 37:20, 28] 39 aPs. 9:9; 37:19 40 aPs. 22:4; Is. 31:5; Dan. 3:17; 6:23 b1 Chr. 5:20; Ps. 34:22 PSALM 38 title aPs. 70:title 1 aPs. 6:1 6 1Lit. bent down 11 aPs. 31:11; 88:18 15 a[Ps. 39:7] 1I wait for You, O LORD 2answer 17 aPs. 51:3 18 aPs. 32:5

493 PSALM 40:10 I will be bin 1anguish over my sin. 19 But my enemies are vigorous, and they are strong; And those who hate me wrongfully have multiplied. 20 Those also awho render evil for good, They are my adversaries, because I follow what is good. 21 Do not forsake me, O LORD; O my God, abe not far from me! 22 Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation! PSALM 39 Prayer for Wisdom and Forgiveness To the Chief Musician. To Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. I SAID, “I will guard my ways, Lest I sin with my atongue; I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle, While the wicked are before me.” 2 aI was mute with silence, I held my peace even from good; And my sorrow was stirred up. 3 My heart was hot within me; While I was 1musing, the fire burned. Then I spoke with my tongue: 4 “LORD, amake me to know my end, And what is the measure of my days, That I may know how frail I am. 5 Indeed,You have made my days as handbreadths, And my age is as nothing before You; Certainly every man at his best state is but avapor. Selah 6 Surely every man walks about like a shadow; Surely they 1busy themselves in vain; He heaps up riches, And does not know who will gather them. 7 “And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My ahope is in You. 8 Deliver me from all my transgressions; Do not make me athe reproach of the foolish. 9 aI was mute, I did not open my mouth, Because it was bYou who did it. 10 aRemove Your plague from me; I am consumed by the blow of Your hand. 11 When with rebukes You correct man for iniquity, You make his beauty amelt away like a moth; Surely every man is vapor.Selah 12 “Hear my prayer, O LORD, And give ear to my cry; Do not be silent at my tears; For I am a stranger with You, A sojourner, aas all my fathers were. 13 aRemove Your gaze from me, that I may regain strength, Before I go away and bam no more.” PSALM 40 Faith Persevering in Trial To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. I aWAITED patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry. 2 He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of athe miry clay, And bset my feet upon a rock, And established my steps. 3 aHe has put a new song in my mouth— Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear, And will trust in the LORD. 4 aBlessed is that man who makes the LORD his trust, And does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies. 5 aMany, O LORD my God, are Your wonderful works Which You have done; bAnd Your thoughts toward us Cannot be recounted to You in order; If I would declare and speak of them, They are more than can be numbered. 6 aSacrifice and offering You did not desire; My ears You have opened. Burnt offering and sin offering You did not require. 7 Then I said, “Behold, I come; In the scroll of the book it is written of me. 8 aI delight to do Your will, O my God, And Your law is bwithin my heart.” 9 aI have proclaimed the good news of righteousness In the great assembly; Indeed, bI do not restrain my lips, O LORD,You Yourself know. 10 aI have not hidden Your 18 b[2 Cor. 7:9, 10] 1anxiety 20 aPs. 35:12 21 aPs. 22:19; 35:22 PSALM 39 1 aJob 2:10; Ps. 34:13; [James 3:5–12] 2 aPs. 38:13 3 1meditating 4 aPs. 90:12; 119:84 5 aPs. 62:9; [Eccl. 6:12] 6 1make an uproar for nothing 7 aPs. 38:15 8 aPs. 44:13; 79:4; 119:22 9 aPs. 39:2 b2 Sam. 16:10; Job 2:10 10 aJob 9:34; 13:21 11 aJob 13:28; [Ps. 90:7]; Is. 50:9 12 aGen. 47:9; Lev. 25:23; 1 Chr. 29:15; Ps. 119:19; Heb. 11:13; 1 Pet. 2:11 13 aJob 7:19; 10:20, 21; 14:6; Ps. 102:24 b[Job 14:10] PSALM 40 1 aPs. 25:5; 27:14; 37:7 2 aPs. 69:2, 14; Jer. 38:6 bPs. 27:5 3 aPs. 32:7; 33:3 4 aPs. 34:8; 84:12 5 aJob 9:10 bPs. 139:17; [Is. 55:8] 6 a[1 Sam. 15:22]; Ps. 51:16; Is. 1:11; [Jer. 6:20; 7:22, 23]; Amos 5:22; [Mic. 6:6–8; Heb. 10:5–9] 8 a[Matt. 26:39; John 4:34; 6:38]; Heb. 10:7 b[Ps. 37:31; Jer. 31:33; 2 Cor. 3:3] 9 aPs. 22:22, 25 bPs. 119:13 10 aActs 20:20, 27

PSALM 40:11 494 righteousness within my heart; I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation; I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth From the great assembly. 11 Do not withhold Your tender mercies from me, O LORD; aLet Your lovingkindness and Your truth continually preserve me. 12 For innumerable evils have surrounded me; aMy iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up; They are more than the hairs of my head; Therefore my heart fails me. 13 aBe pleased, O LORD, to deliver me; O LORD, make haste to help me! 14 aLet them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion Who seek to destroy my 1life; Let them be driven backward and brought to dishonor Who wish me evil. 15 Let them be aconfounded because of their shame, Who say to me, “Aha, aha!” 16 aLet all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; Let such as love Your salvation bsay continually, “The LORD be magnified!” 17 aBut I am poor and needy; bYet the LORD thinks upon me. You are my help and my deliverer; Do not delay, O my God. PSALM 41 The Blessing and Suffering of the Godly To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. BLESSED is he who considers the 1poor; The LORD will deliver him in time of trouble. 2 The LORD will preserve him and keep him alive, And he will be blessed on the earth; aYou will not deliver him to the will of his enemies. 3 The LORD will strengthen him on his bed of illness; You will 1sustain him on his sickbed. 4 I said, “LORD, be merciful to me; aHeal my soul, for I have sinned against You.” 5 My enemies speak evil of me: “When will he die, and his name perish?” 6 And if he comes to see me, he speaks 1lies; His heart gathers iniquity to itself; When he goes out, he tells it. 7 All who hate me whisper together against me; Against me they 1devise my hurt. 8 “An1 evil disease,” they say, “clings to him. And now that he lies down, he will rise up no more.” 9 aEven my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, bWho ate my bread, Has 1lifted up his heel against me. 10 But You, O LORD, be merciful to me, and raise me up, That I may repay them. 11 By this I know that You are well pleased with me, Because my enemy does not triumph over me. 12 As for me,You uphold me in my integrity, And aset me before Your face forever. 13 aBlessed be the LORD God of Israel From everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen. BOOK TWO Psalms 42—72 PSALM 42 Yearning for God in the Midst of Distresses To the Chief Musician. A 1Contemplation of the sons of Korah. AS the deer 1pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God. 2 aMy soul thirsts for God, for the bliving God. When shall I come and 1appear before God? 3 aMy tears have been my food day and night, While they continually say to me, b“Where is your God?” 4 When I remember these things, aI pour out my soul within me. For I used to go with the multitude; 11 aPs. 61:7; Prov. 20:28 12 aPs. 38:4; 65:3 13 aPs. 70:1 14 aPs. 35:4, 26; 70:2; 71:13 1Lit. soul 15 aPs. 73:19 16 aPs. 70:4 bPs. 35:27 17 aPs. 70:5; 86:1; 109:22 bPs. 40:5; 1 Pet. 5:7 PSALM 41 1 1helpless or powerless 2 aPs. 27:12 3 1restore 4 aPs. 6:2; 103:3; 147:3 6 1empty words 7 1plot 8 1Lit. A thing of Belial 9 a2 Sam. 15:12; Job 19:13, 19 bPs. 55:12–14, 20; Jer. 20:10; Obad. 7; [Mic. 7:5]; Matt. 26:14–16, 21–25, 47–50; John 13:18, 21–30; Acts 1:16, 17 1Acted as a traitor 12 a[Job 36:7; Ps. 21:6; 34:15] 13 aPs. 72:18, 19; 89:52; 106:48; 150:6 PSALM 42 title 1Heb. Maschil 1 1Lit. longs for 2 aPs. 63:1; 84:2; 143:6; [Jer. 10:10] bRom. 9:26; 1 Thess. 1:9 1So with MT, Vg.; some Heb. mss., LXX, Syr., Tg. I see the face of God 3 aPs. 80:5; 102:9 bPs. 79:10; 115:2; Joel 2:17; Mic. 7:10 4 a1 Sam. 1:15; Job 30:16

495 PSALM 44:10 bI went with them to the house of God, With the voice of joy and praise, With a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast. 5 aWhy are you 1cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? bHope in God, for I shall yet praise Him 2For the help of His countenance. 6 1O my God, my soul is cast down within me; Therefore I will remember You from the land of the Jordan, And from the heights of Hermon, From 2the Hill Mizar. 7 Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls; aAll Your waves and billows have gone over me. 8 The LORD will acommand His lovingkindness in the daytime, And bin the night His song shall be with me— A prayer to the God of my life. 9 I will say to God my Rock, a“Why have You forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?” 10 As with a 1breaking of my bones, My enemies 2reproach me, aWhile they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” 11 aWhy are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, The 1help of my countenance and my God. PSALM 43 Prayer to God in Time of Trouble VINDICATE ame, O God, And bplead my cause against an ungodly nation; Oh, deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man! 2 For You are the God of my strength; Why do You cast me off? aWhy do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? 3 aOh, send out Your light and Your truth! Let them lead me; Let them bring me to bYour holy hill And to Your 1tabernacle. 4 Then I will go to the altar of God, To God my exceeding joy; And on the harp I will praise You, O God, my God. 5 aWhy are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, The 1help of my countenance and my God. PSALM 44 Redemption Remembered in Present Dishonor To the Chief Musician. A aContemplation1 of the sons of Korah. WE have heard with our ears, O God, aOur fathers have told us, The deeds You did in their days, In days of old: 2 aYou drove out the 1nations with Your hand, But them You planted; You afflicted the peoples, and cast them out. 3 For athey did not gain possession of the land by their own sword, Nor did their own arm save them; But it was Your right hand,Your arm, and the light of Your countenance, bBecause You favored them. 4 aYou are my King, 1O God; 2Command victories for Jacob. 5 Through You awe will push down our enemies; Through Your name we will trample those who rise up against us. 6 For aI will not trust in my bow, Nor shall my sword save me. 7 But You have saved us from our enemies, And have put to shame those who hated us. 8 aIn God we boast all day long, And praise Your name forever. Selah 9 But aYou have cast us off and put us to shame, And You do not go out with our armies. 10 You make us aturn back from the enemy, And those who hate us have taken 1spoil for themselves. 4 bIs. 30:29 5 aPs. 42:11; 43:5 bLam. 3:24 1Lit. bowed down 2So with MT, Tg.; a few Heb. mss., LXX, Syr., Vg. The help of my counte- nance, my God 6 1So with MT, Tg.; a few Heb. mss., LXX, Syr., Vg. put my God at the end of v. 5 2Or Mount 7 aPs. 69:1, 2; 88:7 8 aDeut. 28:8 bJob 35:10 9 aPs. 38:6 10 aJoel 2:17 1Lit. shatter- ing 2revile 11 aPs. 43:5 1Lit. salvation PSALM 43 1 a[Ps. 26:1; 35:24] bPs. 35:1 2 aPs. 42:9 3 a[Ps. 40:11] bPs. 3:4 1dwelling places 5 aPs. 42:5, 11 1Lit. salvation PSALM 44 title aPs. 42:title 1Heb. Maschil 1 a[Ex. 12:26, 27] 2 aEx. 15:17 1Gentiles, heathen 3 a[Deut. 8:17, 18] b[Deut. 4:37; 7:7, 8] 4 a[Ps. 74:12] 1So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Vg. and my God 2So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Syr., Vg. who commands 5 a[Dan. 8:4] 6 aPs. 33:16 8 aPs. 34:2 9 aPs. 60:1 10 aLev. 26:17 1plunder

PSALM 44:11 496 11 aYou have given us up like sheep intended for food, And have bscattered us among the nations. 12 aYou sell Your people for next to nothing, And are not enriched by selling them. 13 aYou make us a reproach to our neighbors, A scorn and a derision to those all around us. 14 aYou make us a byword among the nations, bA shaking of the head among the peoples. 15 My dishonor is continually before me, And the shame of my face has covered me, 16 Because of the voice of him who reproaches and reviles, aBecause of the enemy and the avenger. 17 aAll this has come upon us; But we have not forgotten You, Nor have we dealt falsely with Your covenant. 18 Our heart has not turned back, aNor have our steps departed from Your way; 19 But You have severely broken us in athe place of jackals, And covered us bwith the shadow of death. 20 If we had forgotten the name of our God, Or astretched1 out our hands to a foreign god, 21 aWould not God search this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart. 22 aYet for Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 23 aAwake! Why do You sleep, O Lord? Arise! Do not cast us off forever. 24 aWhy do You hide Your face, And forget our affliction and our oppression? 25 For aour soul is bowed down to the 1dust; Our body clings to the ground. 26 Arise for our help, And redeem us for Your mercies’ sake. PSALM 45 The Glories of the Messiah and His Bride To the Chief Musician. aSet to 1“The Lilies.” A 2Contemplation of the sons of Korah. A Song of Love. MY heart is overflowing with a good theme; I recite my composition concerning the King; My tongue is the pen of a 1ready writer. 2 You are fairer than the sons of men; aGrace is poured upon Your lips; Therefore God has blessed You forever. 3 1Gird Your asword upon Your thigh, bO Mighty One, With Your cglory and Your majesty. 4 aAnd in Your majesty ride prosperously because of truth, humility, and righteousness; And Your right hand shall teach You awesome things. 5 Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the King’s enemies; The peoples fall under You. 6 aYour throne, O God, is forever and ever; A bscepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. 7 You love righteousness and hate wickedness; Therefore God,Your God, has aanointed You With the oil of bgladness more than Your companions. 8 All Your garments are ascented with myrrh and aloes and cassia, Out of the ivory palaces, by which they have made You glad. 9 aKings’ daughters are among Your honorable women; bAt Your right hand stands the queen in gold from Ophir. 10 Listen, O daughter, Consider and incline your ear; aForget your own people also, and your father’s house; 11 So the King will greatly desire your beauty; aBecause He is your Lord, worship Him. 12 And the daughter of Tyre will come with a gift; aThe rich among the people will seek your favor. 13 The royal daughter is all glorious within the palace; Her clothing is woven with gold. 14 aShe shall be brought to the King in robes of many colors; The virgins, her companions who follow her, shall be brought to You. 15 With gladness and rejoicing they shall be brought; They shall enter the King’s palace. 11 aPs. 44:22; Rom. 8:36 bLev. 26:33; Deut. 4:27; 28:64; Ps. 106:27; Ezek. 20:23 12 aIs. 52:3, 4; Jer. 15:13 13 aDeut. 28:37; Ps. 79:4; 80:6 14 aJer. 24:9 bJob 16:4 16 aPs. 8:2 17 aDan. 9:13 18 aJob 23:11 19 aIs. 34:13 b[Ps. 23:4] 20 a[Deut. 6:14] 1Wor- shiped 21 aJob 31:14; [Ps. 139:1, 2; Jer. 17:10] 22 aRom. 8:36 23 aPs. 7:6 24 aJob 13:24 25 aPs. 119:25 1Ground, in humiliation PSALM 45 title aPs. 69: title 1Heb. Shoshannim 2Heb. Maschil 1 1skillful 2 aLuke 4:22 3 a[Is. 49:2; Heb. 4:12]; Rev. 1:16 b[Is. 9:6] cJude 25 1Belt on 4 aRev. 6:2 6 a[Ps. 93:2]; Heb. 1:8, 9 b[Num. 24:17] 7 aPs. 2:2 bPs. 21:6; Heb. 1:8, 9 8 aSong 1:12, 13 9 aSong 6:8 b1 Kin. 2:19 10 aDeut. 21:13; Ruth 1:16, 17 11 aPs. 95:6; [Is. 54:5] 12 aIs. 49:23 14 aSong 1:4

497 PSALM 48:6 16 Instead of Your fathers shall be Your sons, aWhom You shall make princes in all the earth. 17 aI will make Your name to be remembered in all generations; Therefore the people shall praise You forever and ever. PSALM 46 God the Refuge of His People and Conqueror of the Nations To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A Song afor Alamoth. GOD is our arefuge and strength, bA1 very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the 1midst of the sea; 3 aThough its waters roar and be troubled, Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah 4 There is a ariver whose streams shall make glad the bcity of God, The holy place of the 1tabernacle of the Most High. 5 God is ain the midst of her, she shall not be 1moved; God shall help her, just 2at the break of dawn. 6 aThe nations raged, the kingdoms were moved; He uttered His voice, the earth melted. 7 The aLORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah 8 Come, behold the works of the LORD, Who has made desolations in the earth. 9 aHe makes wars cease to the end of the earth; bHe breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; cHe burns the chariot in the fire. 10 Be still, and know that I am God; aI will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! 11 The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah PSALM 47 Praise to God, the Ruler of the Earth To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. OH, clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph! 2 For the LORD Most High is awesome; He is a great aKing over all the earth. 3 aHe will subdue the peoples under us, And the nations under our feet. 4 He will choose our ainheritance for us, The excellence of Jacob whom He loves. Selah 5 aGod has gone up with a shout, The LORD with the sound of a trumpet. 6 Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! 7 aFor God is the King of all the earth; bSing praises with understanding. 8 aGod reigns over the nations; God bsits on His choly throne. 9 The princes of the people have gathered together, aThe people of the God of Abraham. bFor the shields of the earth belong to God; He is greatly exalted. PSALM 48 The Glory of God in Zion A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. GREAT is the LORD, and greatly to be praised In the acity of our God, In His holy mountain. 2 aBeautiful in 1elevation, The joy of the whole earth, Is Mount Zion on the sides of the north, The city of the great King. 3 God is in her palaces; He is known as her refuge. 4 For behold, athe kings assembled, They passed by together. 5 They saw it, and so they marveled; They were troubled, they hastened away. 6 Fear atook hold of them there, And pain, as of a woman in birth pangs, 16 a[1 Pet. 2:9; Rev. 1:6; 20:6] 17 aMal. 1:11 PSALM 46 title a1 Chr. 15:20 1 aPs. 62:7, 8 b[Deut. 4:7; Ps. 145:18] 1An abun- dantly avail- able help 2 1Lit. heart 3 a[Ps. 93:3, 4] 4 a[Ezek. 47:1–12] bPs. 48:1, 8; Is. 60:14 1dwelling places 5 a[Deut. 23:14; Is. 12:6]; Ezek. 43:7; Hos. 11:9; [Joel 2:27; Zeph. 3:15; Zech. 2:5, 10, 11; 8:3] 1shaken 2Lit. at the turning of the morning 6 aPs. 2:1, 2 7 aNum. 14:9; 2 Chr. 13:12 9 aIs. 2:4 bPs. 76:3 cEzek. 39:9 10 a[Is. 2:11, 17] PSALM 47 2 aDeut. 7:21; Neh. 1:5; Ps. 76:12 3 aPs. 18:47 4 a[1 Pet. 1:4] 5 aPs. 68:24, 25 7 aZech. 14:9 b1 Cor. 14:15 8 a1 Chr. 16:31 bPs. 97:2 cPs. 48:1 9 a[Rom. 4:11, 12] b[Ps. 89:18] PSALM 48 1 aPs. 46:4; 87:3; Matt. 5:35 2 aPs. 50:2 1height 4 a2 Sam. 10:6, 14 6 aEx. 15:15

PSALM 48:7 498 7 As when You break the aships of Tarshish With an east wind. 8 As we have heard, So we have seen In the city of the LORD of hosts, In the city of our God: God will aestablish it forever. Selah 9 We have thought, O God, on aYour lovingkindness, In the midst of Your temple. 10 According to aYour name, O God, So is Your praise to the ends of the earth; Your right hand is full of righteousness. 11 Let Mount Zion rejoice, Let the daughters of Judah be glad, Because of Your judgments. 12 Walk about Zion, And go all around her. Count her towers; 13 Mark well her bulwarks; Consider her palaces; That you may atell it to the generation following. 14 For this is God, Our God forever and ever; aHe will be our guide 1Even to death. PSALM 49 The Confidence of the Foolish To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. HEAR this, all peoples; Give ear, all inhabitants of the world, 2 Both low and high, Rich and poor together. 3 My mouth shall speak wisdom, And the meditation of my heart shall give understanding. 4 I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will disclose my 1dark saying on the harp. 5 Why should I fear in the days of evil, When the iniquity at my heels surrounds me? 6 Those who atrust in their wealth And boast in the multitude of their riches, 7 None of them can by any means redeem his brother, Nor agive to God a ransom for him— 8 For athe redemption of their souls is costly, And it shall cease forever— 9 That he should continue to live eternally, And anot 1see the Pit. 10 For he sees wise men die; Likewise the fool and the senseless person perish, And leave their wealth to others. 11 1Their inner thought is that their houses will last forever, Their dwelling places to all generations; They acall their lands after their own names. 12 Nevertheless man, though in honor, does not 1remain; He is like the beasts that perish. 13 This is the way of those who are afoolish, And of their posterity who approve their sayings. Selah 14 Like sheep they are laid in the grave; Death shall feed on them; aThe upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; bAnd their beauty shall be consumed in 1the grave, far from their dwelling. 15 But God awill redeem my soul from the power of 1the grave, For He shall breceive me. Selah 16 Do not be afraid when one becomes rich, When the glory of his house is increased; 17 For when he dies he shall carry nothing away; His glory shall not descend after him. 18 Though while he lives ahe blesses himself (For men will praise you when you do well for yourself), 19 He shall go to the generation of his fathers; They shall never see alight.1 20 A man who is in honor, yet does not understand, aIs like the beasts that perish. PSALM 50 God the Righteous Judge A Psalm of Asaph. THE aMighty One, God the LORD, Has spoken and called the earth From the rising of the sun to its going down. 2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, aGod will shine forth. 3 Our God shall come, and shall not keep silent; aA fire shall devour before Him, And it shall be very tempestuous all around Him. 4 aHe shall call to the heavens from above, 7 a1 Kin. 10:22; Ezek. 27:25 8 a[Ps. 87:5; Is. 2:2]; Mic. 4:1 9 aPs. 26:3 10 a[Deut. 28:58]; Josh. 7:9; Mal. 1:11 13 a[Ps. 78:5–7] 14 aIs. 58:11 1So with MT, Syr.; LXX, Vg. Forever PSALM 49 4 1riddle 6 aJob 31:24; Ps. 52:7; [Prov. 11:28; Mark 10:24] 7 aJob 36:18, 19 8 a[Matt. 16:26] 9 aPs. 89:48 1experience corruption 11 aGen. 4:17; Deut. 3:14 1LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. Their graves shall be their houses for- ever 12 1So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Syr., Vg. un- derstand (cf. v. 20) 13 a[Luke 12:20] 14 aPs. 47:3; [Dan. 7:18; 1 Cor. 6:2; Rev. 2:26] bJob 4:21 1Or Sheol 15 a[Hos. 13:4]; Mark 16:6, 7; Acts 2:31, 32 bPs. 73:24 1Or Sheol 18 aDeut. 29:19; Luke 12:19 19 aJob 33:30 1The light of life 20 aEccl. 3:19 PSALM 50 1 aIs. 9:6 2 aDeut. 33:2; Ps. 80:1 3 aLev. 10:2; Num. 16:35; [Ps. 97:3] 4 aDeut. 4:26; 31:28; 32:1; Is. 1:2

499 PSALM 51:11 And to the earth, that He may judge His people: 5 “Gather aMy saints together to Me, bThose who have 1made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.” 6 Let the aheavens declare His righteousness, For bGod Himself is Judge.Selah 7 “Hear, O My people, and I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify against you; aI am God, your God! 8 aI will not 1rebuke you bfor your sacrifices Or your burnt offerings, Which are continually before Me. 9 aI will not take a bull from your house, Nor goats out of your folds. 10 For every beast of the forest is Mine, And the cattle on a thousand hills. 11 I know all the birds of the mountains, And the wild beasts of the field are Mine. 12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you; aFor the world is Mine, and all its fullness. 13 aWill I eat the flesh of bulls, Or drink the blood of goats? 14 aOffer to God thanksgiving, And bpay your vows to the Most High. 15 aCall upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.” 16 But to the wicked God says: “What right have you to declare My statutes, Or take My covenant in your mouth, 17 aSeeing you hate instruction And cast My words behind you? 18 When you saw a thief, you aconsented1 with him, And have been a bpartaker with adulterers. 19 You give your mouth to evil, And ayour tongue frames deceit. 20 You sit and speak against your brother; You slander your own mother’s son. 21 These things you have done, and I kept silent; aYou thought that I was altogether like you; But I will rebuke you, And bset them in order before your eyes. 22 “Now consider this, you who aforget God, Lest I tear you in pieces, And there be none to deliver: 23 Whoever offers praise glorifies Me; And ato him who orders his conduct aright I will show the salvation of God.” PSALM 51 A Prayer of Repentance To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David awhen Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. HAVE mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, aBlot out my transgressions. 2 aWash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me. 4 aAgainst You,You only, have I sinned, And done this evil bin Your sight— cThat You may be found just 1when You speak, And blameless when You judge. 5 aBehold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me. 6 Behold,You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom. 7 aPurge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be bwhiter than snow. 8 Make me hear joy and gladness, That the bones You have broken amay rejoice. 9 Hide Your face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities. 10 aCreate in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your aHoly Spirit from me. 5 aDeut. 33:3 bEx. 24:7 1Lit. cut 6 a[Ps. 97:6] bPs. 75:7 7 aEx. 20:2 8 aJer. 7:22 bIs. 1:11; [Hos. 6:6] 1reprove 9 aPs. 69:31 12 aEx. 19:5; [Deut. 10:14; Job 41:11]; 1 Cor. 10:26 13 a[Ps. 51:15–17] 14 aHos. 14:2; Heb. 13:15 bNum. 30:2; Deut. 23:21 15 aJob 22:27; [Zech. 13:9] 17 aNeh. 9:26; Rom. 2:21 18 a[Rom. 1:32] b1 Tim. 5:22 1LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. ran 19 aPs. 52:2 21 a[Rom. 2:4] b[Ps. 90:8] 22 a[Job 8:13] 23 aGal. 6:16 PSALM 51 title a2 Sam. 12:1 1 a[Is. 43:25; 44:22; Acts 3:19; Col. 2:14] 2 aJer. 33:8; Ezek. 36:33; [Heb. 9:14; 1 John 1:7, 9] 4 a2 Sam. 12:13 b[Luke 5:21] cRom. 3:4 1LXX, Tg., Vg. in Your words 5 a[Job 14:4; Ps. 58:3; John 3:6; Rom. 5:12] 7 aEx. 12:22; Lev. 14:4; Num. 19:18; Heb. 9:19 b[Is. 1:18] 8 a[Matt. 5:4] 10 a[Ezek. 18:31; Eph. 2:10] 11 a[Luke 11:13]

PSALM 51:12 500 12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your agenerous Spirit. 13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be converted to You. 14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, The God of my salvation, And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness. 15 O Lord, open my lips, And my mouth shall show forth Your praise. 16 For aYou do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. 17 aThe sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God,You will not despise. 18 Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion; Build the walls of Jerusalem. 19 Then You shall be pleased with athe sacrifices of righteousness, With burnt offering and whole burnt offering; Then they shall offer bulls on Your altar. PSALM 52 The End of the Wicked and the Peace of the Godly To the Chief Musician. A 1Contemplation of David awhen Doeg the Edomite went and btold Saul, and said to him, “David has gone to the house of Ahimelech.” WHY do you boast in evil, O mighty man? The goodness of God endures continually. 2 Your tongue devises destruction, Like a sharp razor, working deceitfully. 3 You love evil more than good, Lying rather than speaking righteousness. Selah 4 You love all devouring words, You deceitful tongue. 5 God shall likewise destroy you forever; He shall take you away, and pluck you out of your dwelling place, And uproot you from the land of the living. Selah 6 The righteous also shall see and fear, And shall laugh at him, saying, 7 “Here is the man who did not make God his strength, But trusted in the abundance of his riches, And strengthened himself in his 1wickedness.” 8 But I am alike a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever. 9 I will praise You forever, Because You have done it; And in the presence of Your saints I will wait on Your name, for it 1is good. PSALM 53 Folly of the Godless, and the Restoration of Israel To the Chief Musician. Set to “Mahalath.” A 1Contemplation of David. THE afool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity; bThere is none who does good. 2 God looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who aseek God. 3 Every one of them has turned aside; They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one. 4 Have the workers of iniquity ano knowledge, Who eat up my people as they eat bread, And do not call upon God? 5 aThere they are in great fear Where no fear was, For God has scattered the bones of him who encamps against you; You have put them to shame, Because God has despised them. 6 aOh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When God brings back 1the captivity of His people, Let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad. PSALM 54 Answered Prayer for Deliverance from Adversaries To the Chief Musician. With 1stringed instruments. A 2Contemplation of David awhen the Ziphites went and said to Saul, “Is David not hiding with us?” SAVE me, O God, by Your name, And vindicate me by Your strength. 12 a[2 Cor. 3:17] 16 a[1 Sam. 15:22]; Ps. 50:8–14; [Mic. 6:6–8] 17 aPs. 34:18; [Is. 57:15]; 66:2 19 aPs. 4:5 PSALM 52 title a1 Sam. 22:9 bEzek. 22:9 1Heb. Maschil 7 1Lit. desire, in evil sense 8 aJer. 11:16 9 1Or has a good reputa- tion PSALM 53 title 1Heb. Maschil 1 aPs. 10:4 bRom. 3:10–12 2 a[2 Chr. 15:2] 4 aJer. 4:22 5 aLev. 26:17, 36; Prov. 28:1 6 aPs. 14:7 1Or His captive people PSALM 54 title a1 Sam. 23:19 1Heb. neginoth 2Heb. Maschil

501 PSALM 55:23 2 Hear my prayer, O God; Give ear to the words of my mouth. 3 For strangers have risen up against me, And oppressors have sought after my life; They have not set God before them. Selah 4 Behold, God is my helper; The Lord is with those who 1uphold my life. 5 He will repay my enemies for their evil. 1Cut them off in Your 2truth. 6 I will freely sacrifice to You; I will praise Your name, O LORD, for it is good. 7 For He has delivered me out of all trouble; aAnd my eye has seen its desire upon my enemies. PSALM 55 Trust in God Concerning the Treachery of Friends To the Chief Musician. With 1stringed instruments. A 2Contemplation of David. GIVE ear to my prayer, O God, And do not hide Yourself from my supplication. 2 Attend to me, and hear me; I aam1 restless in my complaint, and moan noisily, 3 Because of the voice of the enemy, Because of the oppression of the wicked; aFor they bring down trouble upon me, And in wrath they hate me. 4 aMy heart is severely pained within me, And the terrors of death have fallen upon me. 5 Fearfulness and trembling have come upon me, And horror has overwhelmed me. 6 So I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. 7 Indeed, I would wander far off, And remain in the wilderness. Selah 8 I would hasten my escape From the windy storm and tempest.” 9 Destroy, O Lord, and divide their 1tongues, For I have seen aviolence and strife in the city. 10 Day and night they go around it on its walls; aIniquity and trouble are also in the midst of it. 11 Destruction is in its midst; aOppression and deceit do not depart from its streets. 12 aFor it is not an enemy who reproaches me; Then I could bear it. Nor is it one who hates me who has bexalted himself against me; Then I could hide from him. 13 But it was you, a man my equal, aMy companion and my acquaintance. 14 We took sweet counsel together, And awalked to the house of God in the throng. 15 Let death seize them; Let them ago down alive into 1hell, For wickedness is in their dwellings and among them. 16 As for me, I will call upon God, And the LORD shall save me. 17 aEvening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, And He shall hear my voice. 18 He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me, For athere were many against me. 19 God will hear, and afflict them, aEven He who abides from of old. Selah Because they do not change, Therefore they do not fear God. 20 He has aput forth his hands against those who bwere at peace with him; He has broken his 1covenant. 21 aThe words of his mouth were smoother than butter, But war was in his heart; His words were softer than oil, Yet they were drawn swords. 22 aCast your burden on the LORD, And bHe shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be 1moved. 23 But You, O God, shall bring them down to the pit of destruction; aBloodthirsty and deceitful men bshall not live out half their days; But I will trust in You. 4 1sustain my soul 5 1Destroy them 2Or faithfulness 7 aPs. 59:10 PSALM 55 title 1Heb. neginoth 2Heb. Maschil 2 aIs. 38:14; 59:11; Ezek. 7:16 1wander 3 a2 Sam. 16:7, 8 4 aPs. 116:3 9 aJer. 6:7 1speech, their counsel 10 aPs. 10:7 11 aPs. 10:7 12 aPs. 41:9 bPs. 35:26; 38:16 13 a2 Sam. 15:12 14 aPs. 42:4 15 aNum. 16:30, 33 1Or Sheol 17 aDan. 6:10; Luke 18:1; Acts 3:1; 10:3, 30 18 a2 Chr. 32:7, 8 19 a[Deut. 33:27] 20 aActs 12:1 bPs. 7:4 1treaty 21 aPs. 28:3; 57:4; [Prov. 5:3, 4; 12:18] 22 a[Ps. 37:5; Matt. 6:25–34; Luke 12:22–31; 1 Pet. 5:7] bPs. 37:24 1shaken 23 aPs. 5:6 bProv. 10:27

PSALM 56:1 502 PSALM 56 Prayer for Relief from Tormentors To the Chief Musician. Set to 1“The Silent Dove in Distant Lands.” A Michtam of David when the aPhilistines captured him in Gath. BE amerciful to me, O God, for man would swallow me up; Fighting all day he oppresses me. 2 My enemies would ahound me all day, For there are many who fight against me, O Most High. 3 Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You. 4 In God (I will praise His word), In God I have put my trust; aI will not fear. What can flesh do to me? 5 All day they twist my words; All their thoughts are against me for evil. 6 They gather together, They hide, they mark my steps, When they lie in wait for my life. 7 Shall they escape by iniquity? In anger cast down the peoples, O God! 8 You number my wanderings; Put my tears into Your bottle; aAre they not in Your book? 9 When I cry out to You, Then my enemies will turn back; This I know, because aGod is for me. 10 In God (I will praise His word), In the LORD (I will praise His word), 11 In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? 12 Vows made to You are binding upon me, O God; I will render praises to You, 13 aFor You have delivered my soul from death. Have You not kept my feet from falling, That I may walk before God In the blight of the living? PSALM 57 Prayer for Safety from Enemies To the Chief Musician. Set to 1“Do Not Destroy.” A Michtam of David awhen he fled from Saul into the cave. BE merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me! For my soul trusts in You; aAnd in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, bUntil these calamities have passed by. 2 I will cry out to God Most High, To God awho performs all things for me. 3 aHe shall send from heaven and save me; He reproaches the one who 1would swallow me up. Selah God bshall send forth His mercy and His truth. 4 My soul is among lions; I lie among the sons of men Who are set on fire, aWhose teeth are spears and arrows, And their tongue a sharp sword. 5 aBe exalted, O God, above the heavens; LetYour glory be above all the earth. 6 aThey have prepared a net for my steps; My soul is bowed down; They have dug a pit before me; Into the midst of it they themselves have fallen. Selah 7 aMy heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and give praise. 8 Awake, amy glory! Awake, lute and harp! I will awaken the dawn. 9 aI will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing to You among the 1nations. 10 aFor Your mercy reaches unto the heavens, And Your truth unto the clouds. 11 aBe exalted, O God, above the heavens; Let Your glory be above all the earth. PSALM 58 The Just Judgment of the Wicked To the Chief Musician. Set to 1“Do Not Destroy.” A Michtam of David. DO you indeed speak righteousness, you silent ones? Do you judge uprightly, you sons of men? 2 No, in heart you work wickedness; You weigh out the violence of your hands in the earth. 3 aThe wicked are estranged from the womb; They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies. 4 aTheir poison is like the poison of a serpent; PSALM 56 title a1 Sam. 21:11 1Heb. Jonath Elem Rechokim 1 aPs. 57:1 2 aPs. 57:3 4 aPs. 118:6; Is. 31:3; [Heb. 13:6] 8 a[Mal. 3:16] 9 a[Ps. 118:6; Rom. 8:31] 13 aPs. 116:8, 9 bJob 33:30 PSALM 57 title a1 Sam. 22:1 1Heb. Al Tashcheth 1 aRuth 2:12; Ps. 17:8; 63:7 bIs. 26:20 2 a[Ps. 138:8] 3 aPs. 144:5, 7 bPs. 43:3 1snaps at or hounds me, or crushes me 4 aProv. 30:14 5 aPs. 108:5 6 aPs. 9:15 7 aPs. 108:1–5 8 aPs. 16:9 9 aPs. 108:3 1Gentiles 10 aPs. 103:11 11 aPs. 57:5 PSALM 58 title 1Heb. Al Tashcheth 3 a[Ps. 53:3; Is. 48:8] 4 aEccl. 10:11

503 PSALM 60:1 They are like the deaf cobra that stops its ear, 5 Which will not aheed the voice of charmers, Charming ever so skillfully. 6 aBreak1 their teeth in their mouth, O God! Break out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD! 7 aLet them flow away as waters which run continually; When he bends his bow, Let his arrows be as if cut in pieces. 8 Let them be like a snail which melts away as it goes, aLike a stillborn child of a woman, that they may not see the sun. 9 Before your apots can feel the burning thorns, He shall take them away bas with a whirlwind, As in His living and burning wrath. 10 The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the avengeance; bHe shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked, 11 aSo that men will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous; Surely He is God who bjudges in the earth.” PSALM 59 The Assured Judgment of the Wicked To the Chief Musician. Set to 1“Do Not Destroy.” A Michtam of David awhen Saul sent men, and they watched the house in order to kill him. DELIVER me from my enemies, O my God; 1Defend me from those who rise up against me. 2 Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, And save me from bloodthirsty men. 3 For look, they lie in wait for my life; aThe mighty gather against me, Not for my transgression nor for my sin, O LORD. 4 They run and prepare themselves through no fault of mine. aAwake to help me, and behold! 5 You therefore, O LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, Awake to punish all the 1nations; Do not be merciful to any wicked transgressors. Selah 6 aAt evening they return, They growl like a dog, And go all around the city. 7 Indeed, they belch with their mouth; aSwords are in their lips; For they say, b“Who hears?” 8 But aYou, O LORD, shall laugh at them; You shall have all the 1nations in derision. 9 I will wait for You, O You 1his Strength; aFor God is my 2defense. 10 1My God of mercy shall acome to meet me; God shall let bme see my desire on my enemies. 11 Do not slay them, lest my people forget; Scatter them by Your power, And bring them down, O Lord our shield. 12 aFor the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips, Let them even be taken in their pride, And for the cursing and lying which they speak. 13 aConsume them in wrath, consume them, That they may not be; And blet them know that God rules in Jacob To the ends of the earth. Selah 14 And aat evening they return, They growl like a dog, And go all around the city. 15 They awander up and down for food, And 1howl if they are not satisfied. 16 But I will sing of Your power; Yes, I will sing aloud of Your mercy in the morning; For You have been my defense And refuge in the day of my trouble. 17 To You, aO my Strength, I will sing praises; For God is my defense, My God of mercy. PSALM 60 Urgent Prayer for the Restored Favor of God To the Chief Musician. aSet to 1“Lily of the Testimony.” A Michtam of David. For teaching. bWhen he fought against Mesopotamia and Syria of Zobah, and Joab returned and killed twelve thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt. O GOD, cYou have cast us off; You have broken us down; You have been displeased; Oh, restore us again! 5 aJer. 8:17 6 aJob 4:10 1Break away 7 aJosh. 2:11; 7:5; Ps. 112:10; Is. 13:7; Ezek. 21:7 8 aJob 3:16 9 aPs. 118:12; Eccl. 7:6 bJob 27:21; Prov. 10:25 10 a[Deut. 32:43]; Jer. 11:20 bPs. 68:23 11 aPs. 92:15; Prov. 11:18; [2 Cor. 5:10] bPs. 50:6; 75:7 PSALM 59 title a1 Sam. 19:11 1Heb. Al Tashcheth 1 1Lit. Set me on high 3 aPs. 56:6 4 aPs. 35:23 5 1Gentiles 6 aPs. 59:14 7 aPs. 57:4; Prov. 12:18 bJob 22:13; Ps. 10:11 8 aProv. 1:26 1Gentiles 9 a[Ps. 62:2] 1So with MT, Syr.; some Heb. mss., LXX, Tg., Vg. my Strength 2Lit. fortress 10 aPs. 21:3 bPs. 54:7 1So with Qr.; some Heb. mss., LXX, Vg. My God, His mercy; Kt., some Heb. mss., Tg. O God, my mercy; Syr. O God,Your mercy 12 aProv. 12:13 13 aPs. 104:35 bPs. 83:18 14 aPs. 59:6 15 aJob 15:23 1So with LXX, Vg.; MT, Syr., Tg. spend the night 17 aPs. 18:1 PSALM 60 title aPs. 80 b2 Sam. 8:3, 13; 1 Chr.

les 6 aPs. 59:14 7 aPs. 57:4; Prov. 12:18 bJob 22:13; Ps. 10:11 8 aProv. 1:26 1Gentiles 9 a[Ps. 62:2] 1So with MT, Syr.; some Heb. mss., LXX, Tg., Vg. my Strength 2Lit. fortress 10 aPs. 21:3 bPs. 54:7 1So with Qr.; some Heb. mss., LXX, Vg. My God, His mercy; Kt., some Heb. mss., Tg. O God, my mercy; Syr. O God,Your mercy 12 aProv. 12:13 13 aPs. 104:35 bPs. 83:18 14 aPs. 59:6 15 aJob 15:23 1So with LXX, Vg.; MT, Syr., Tg. spend the night 17 aPs. 18:1 PSALM 60 title aPs. 80 b2 Sam. 8:3, 13; 1 Chr. 18:3 1Heb. Shushan Eduth 1 aPs. 44:9

PSALM 60:2 504 2 You have made the earth tremble; You have broken it; aHeal its breaches, for it is shaking. 3 aYou have shown Your people hard things; bYou have made us drink the wine of 1confusion. 4 aYou have given a banner to those who fear You, That it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah 5 aThat Your beloved may be delivered, Save with Your right hand, and hear me. 6 God has aspoken in His holiness: “I will rejoice; I will bdivide cShechem And measure out dthe Valley of Succoth. 7 Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine; aEphraim also is the 1helmet for My head; bJudah is My lawgiver. 8 aMoab is My washpot; bOver Edom I will cast My shoe; cPhilistia, shout in triumph because of Me.” 9 Who will bring me to the strong city? Who will lead me to Edom? 10 Is it not You, O God, awho cast us off? And You, O God, who did bnot go out with our armies? 11 Give us help from trouble, aFor the help of man is useless. 12 Through God awe will do valiantly, For it is He who shall tread down our enemies. PSALM 61 Assurance of God’s Eternal Protection To the Chief Musician. On 1a stringed instrument. A Psalm of David. HEAR my cry, O God; Attend to my prayer. 2 From the end of the earth I will cry to You, When my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. 3 For You have been a shelter for me, aA strong tower from the enemy. 4 I will abide in Your 1tabernacle forever; aI will trust in the shelter of Your wings. Selah 5 For You, O God, have heard my vows; You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name. 6 You will prolong the king’s life, His years as many generations. 7 He shall abide before God forever. Oh, prepare mercy aand truth, which may 1preserve him! 8 So I will sing praise to Your name forever, That I may daily perform my vows. PSALM 62 A Calm Resolve to Wait for the Salvation of God To the Chief Musician. To aJeduthun. A Psalm of David. TRULY amy soul silently waits for God; From Him comes my salvation. 2 He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my 1defense; I shall not be greatly amoved.2 3 How long will you attack a man? You shall be slain, all of you, aLike a leaning wall and a tottering fence. 4 They only consult to cast him down from his high position; They adelight in lies; They bless with their mouth, But they curse inwardly. Selah 5 My soul, wait silently for God alone, For my 1expectation is from Him. 6 He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be 1moved. 7 aIn God is my salvation and my glory; The rock of my strength, And my refuge, is in God. 8 Trust in Him at all times, you people; aPour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah 9 aSurely men of low degree are 1a vapor, Men of high degree are a lie; If they are weighed on the scales, They are altogether lighter than vapor. 10 Do not trust in oppression, Nor vainly hope in robbery; aIf riches increase, Do not set your heart on them. 2 a[2 Chr. 7:14]; Is. 30:26 3 aPs. 71:20 bIs. 51:17, 22; Jer. 25:15 1staggering 4 aPs. 20:5; Is. 5:26; 11:12; 13:2 5 aPs. 108:6–13 6 aPs. 89:35 bJosh. 1:6 cGen. 12:6 dJosh. 13:27 7 aDeut. 33:17 b[Gen. 49:10] 1Lit. protec- tion 8 a2 Sam. 8:2 b2 Sam. 8:14; Ps. 108:9 c2 Sam. 8:1 10 aPs. 108:11 bJosh. 7:12 11 aPs. 118:8; 146:3 12 aNum. 24:18 PSALM 61 title 1Heb. neginah 3 aProv. 18:10 4 aPs. 91:4 1tent 7 aPs. 40:11 1Lit. guard or keep PSALM 62 title a1 Chr. 25:1 1 aPs. 33:20 2 aPs. 55:22 1strong tower 2shaken 3 aIs. 30:13 4 aPs. 28:3 5 1hope 6 1shaken 7 a[Jer. 3:23] 8 a1 Sam. 1:15; Ps. 42:4; Lam. 2:19 9 aJob 7:16; Ps. 39:5; Is. 40:17 1vanity 10 aJob 31:25; [Mark 10:24; Luke 12:15; 1 Tim. 6:10]

505 PSALM 65:4 11 God has spoken once, Twice I have heard this: That power belongs to God. 12 Also to You, O Lord, belongs mercy; For aYou 1render to each one according to his work. PSALM 63 Joy in the Fellowship of God A Psalm of David awhen he was in the wilderness of Judah. O GOD,You are my God; Early will I seek You; aMy soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water. 2 So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, To see aYour power and Your glory. 3 aBecause Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You. 4 Thus I will bless You while I live; I will alift up my hands in Your name. 5 My soul shall be satisfied as with 1marrow and 2fatness, And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips. 6 When aI remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches. 7 Because You have been my help, Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice. 8 My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me. 9 But those who seek my life, to destroy it, Shall go into the lower parts of the earth. 10 They shall 1fall by the sword; They shall be 2a portion for jackals. 11 But the king shall rejoice in God; aEveryone who swears by Him shall glory; But the mouth of those who speak lies shall be stopped. PSALM 64 Oppressed by the Wicked but Rejoicing in the LORD To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. HEAR my voice, O God, in my 1meditation; Preserve my life from fear of the enemy. 2 Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, From the rebellion of the workers of iniquity, 3 Who sharpen their tongue like a sword, aAnd bend their bows to shoot their arrows—bitter words, 4 That they may shoot in secret at the blameless; Suddenly they shoot at him and do not fear. 5 They encourage themselves in an evil matter; They talk of laying snares secretly; aThey say, “Who will see them?” 6 They devise iniquities: “We have perfected a shrewd scheme.” Both the inward thought and the heart of man are deep. 7 But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; Suddenly they shall be wounded. 8 So He will make them stumble over their own tongue; aAll who see them shall flee away. 9 All men shall fear, And shall adeclare the work of God; For they shall wisely consider His doing. 10 aThe righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and trust in Him. And all the upright in heart shall glory. PSALM 65 Praise to God for His Salvation and Providence To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. A Song. PRAISE is awaiting You, O God, in Zion; And to You the 1vow shall be performed. 2 O You who hear prayer, aTo You all flesh will come. 3 Iniquities prevail against me; As for our transgressions, You will aprovide atonement for them. 4 aBlessed is the man You bchoose, And cause to approach You, That he may dwell in Your courts. cWe shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, Of Your holy temple. 12 a[Matt. 16:27]; Rom. 2:6; 1 Cor. 3:8 1reward PSALM 63 title a1 Sam. 22:5 1 aPs. 42:2; [Matt. 5:6] 2 aPs. 27:4 3 aPs. 138:2 4 aPs. 28:2; 143:6 5 1Lit. fat 2Abundance 6 aPs. 42:8 10 1Lit. pour him out by the hand of the sword 2Prey 11 aDeut. 6:13; [Is. 45:23; 65:16] PSALM 64 1 1complaint 3 aPs. 58:7 5 aPs. 10:11; 59:7 8 aPs. 31:11 9 aJer. 50:28; 51:10 10 aJob 22:19; Ps. 32:11 PSALM 65 1 1A promised deed 2 a[Is. 66:23] 3 aPs. 51:2; 79:9; Is. 6:7; [Heb. 9:14; 1 John 1:7, 9] 4 aPs. 33:12 bPs. 4:3 cPs. 36:8

PSALM 65:5 506 5 By awesome deeds in righteousness You will answer us, O God of our salvation, You who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth, And of the far-off seas; 6 Who established the mountains by His strength, aBeing clothed with power; 7 aYou who still the noise of the seas, The noise of their waves, bAnd the tumult of the peoples. 8 They also who dwell in the farthest parts are afraid of Your signs; You make the outgoings of the morning and evening 1rejoice. 9 You 1visit the earth and awater it, You greatly enrich it; bThe river of God is full of water; You provide their grain, For so You have prepared it. 10 You water its ridges abundantly, You settle its furrows; You make it soft with showers, You bless its growth. 11 You crown the year with Your goodness, And Your paths drip with abundance. 12 They drop on the pastures of the wilderness, And the little hills rejoice on every side. 13 The pastures are clothed with flocks; aThe valleys also are covered with grain; They shout for joy, they also sing. PSALM 66 Praise to God for His Awesome Works To the Chief Musician. A Song. A Psalm. MAKE aa joyful shout to God, all the earth! 2 Sing out the honor of His name; Make His praise glorious. 3 Say to God, “How aawesome are Your works! bThrough the greatness of Your power Your enemies shall submit themselves to You. 4 aAll the earth shall worship You And sing praises to You; They shall sing praises to Your name.” Selah 5 Come and see the works of God; He is awesome in His doing toward the sons of men. 6 aHe turned the sea into dry land; bThey went through the river on foot. There we will rejoice in Him. 7 He rules by His power forever; His eyes observe the nations; Do not let the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah 8 Oh, bless our God, you peoples! And make the voice of His praise to be heard, 9 Who keeps our soul among the living, And does not allow our feet to 1be moved. 10 For aYou, O God, have tested us; bYou have refined us as silver is refined. 11 aYou brought us into the net; You laid affliction on our backs. 12 aYou have caused men to ride over our heads; bWe went through fire and through water; But You brought us out to 1rich fulfillment. 13 aI will go into Your house with burnt offerings; bI will pay You my 1vows, 14 Which my lips have uttered And my mouth has spoken when I was in trouble. 15 I will offer You burnt sacrifices of fat animals, With the sweet aroma of rams; I will offer bulls with goats. Selah 16 Come and hear, all you who fear God, And I will declare what He has done for my soul. 17 I cried to Him with my mouth, And He was 1extolled with my tongue. 18 aIf I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear. 19 But certainly God ahas heard me; He has attended to the voice of my prayer. 20 Blessed be God, Who has not turned away my prayer, Nor His mercy from me! PSALM 67 An Invocation and a Doxology To the Chief Musician. On 1stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song. GOD be merciful to us and bless us, And acause His face to shine upon us, Selah 6 aPs. 93:1 7 aMatt. 8:26 bIs. 17:12, 13 8 1shout for joy 9 a[Deut. 11:12]; Jer. 5:24 bPs. 46:4; 104:13; 147:8 1give atten- tion to 13 aIs. 44:23; 55:12 PSALM 66 1 aPs. 100:1 3 aPs. 65:5 bPs. 18:44 4 aPs. 117:1; Zech. 14:16 6 aEx. 14:21 bJosh. 3:14–16 9 1slip 10 aJob 23:10; Ps. 17:3 b[Is. 48:10; Zech. 13:9; Mal. 3:3; 1 Pet. 1:7] 11 aLam. 1:13; Ezek. 12:13 12 aIs. 51:23 bIs. 43:2 1abundance 13 aPs. 100:4; 116:14, 17–19 b[Eccl. 5:4] 1Promised deeds 17 1praised 18 aJob 27:9; [Prov. 15:29; 28:9]; Is. 1:15; [John 9:31; James 4:3] 19 aPs. 116:1, 2 PSALM 67 title 1Heb. neginoth 1 aNum. 6:25

507 PSALM 68:23 2 That aYour way may be known on earth, bYour salvation among all nations. 3 Let the peoples praise You, O God; Let all the peoples praise You. 4 Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy! For aYou shall judge the people righteously, And govern the nations on earth. Selah 5 Let the peoples praise You, O God; Let all the peoples praise You. 6 aThen the earth shall 1yield her increase; God, our own God, shall bless us. 7 God shall bless us, And all the ends of the earth shall fear Him. PSALM 68 The Glory of God in His Goodness to Israel To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. A Song. LET aGod arise, Let His enemies be scattered; Let those also who hate Him flee before Him. 2 aAs smoke is driven away, So drive them away; bAs wax melts before the fire, So let the wicked perish at the presence of God. 3 But alet the righteous be glad; Let them rejoice before God; Yes, let them rejoice exceedingly. 4 Sing to God, sing praises to His name; aExtol1 Him who rides on the 2clouds, bBy His name 3YAH, And rejoice before Him. 5 aA father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, Is God in His holy habitation. 6 aGod sets the solitary in families; bHe brings out those who are bound into prosperity; But cthe rebellious dwell in a dry land. 7 O God, awhen You went out before Your people, When You marched through the wilderness, Selah 8 The earth shook; The heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God; Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel. 9 aYou, O God, sent a plentiful rain, Whereby You confirmed Your inheritance, When it was weary. 10 Your congregation dwelt in it; aYou, O God, provided from Your goodness for the poor. 11 The Lord gave the word; Great was the 1company of those who proclaimed it: 12 “Kingsa of armies flee, they flee, And she who remains at home divides the 1spoil. 13 aThough you lie down among the 1sheepfolds, bYou will be like the wings of a dove covered with silver, And her feathers with yellow gold.” 14 aWhen the Almighty scattered kings in it, It was white as snow in Zalmon. 15 A mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan; A mountain of many peaks is the mountain of Bashan. 16 Why do you 1fume with envy, you mountains of many peaks? aThis is the mountain which God desires to dwell in; Yes, the LORD will dwell in it forever. 17 aThe chariots of God are twenty thousand, Even thousands of thousands; The Lord is among them as in Sinai, in the Holy Place. 18 aYou have ascended on high, bYou have led captivity captive; cYou have received gifts among men, Even from dthe rebellious, eThat the LORD God might dwell there. 19 Blessed be the Lord, Who daily loads us with benefits, The God of our salvation! Selah 20 Our God is the God of salvation; And ato GOD the Lord belong escapes from death. 21 But aGod will wound the head of His enemies, bThe hairy scalp of the one who still goes on in his trespasses. 22 The Lord said, “I will bring aback from Bashan, I will bring them back bfrom the depths of the sea, 23 aThat 1your foot may crush them in blood, bAnd the tongues of your dogs 2 aActs 18:25 bIs. 52:10; Titus 2:11 4 a[Ps. 96:10, 13; 98:9] 6 aLev. 26:4; Ps. 85:12; [Ezek. 34:27]; Zech. 8:12 1give her pro- duce PSALM 68 1 aNum. 10:35 2 a[Is. 9:18]; Hos. 13:3 bPs. 97:5; Mic. 1:4 3 aPs. 32:11 4 aDeut. 33:26 b[Ex. 6:3] 1Praise 2MT deserts; Tg. heavens (cf. v. 34 and Is. 19:1) 3Lit. LORD, a shortened Heb. form 5 a[Ps. 10:14, 18; 146:9] 6 aPs. 107:4–7 bActs 12:6 cPs. 107:34 7 aEx. 13:21; [Hab. 3:13] 9 aLev. 26:4; Deut. 11:11; Job 5:10; Ezek. 34:26 10 aDeut. 26:5; Ps. 74:19 11 1host 12 aNum. 31:8; Josh. 10:16; Judg. 5:19 1plunder 13 aPs. 81:6 bPs. 105:37 1Or saddle- bags 14 aJosh. 10:10 16 a[Deut. 12:5]; 1 Kin. 9:3 1Lit. stare 17 aDeut. 33:2; Dan. 7:10 18 aMark 16:19; Acts 1:9; Eph. 4:8; Phil. 2:9; Col. 3:1; Heb. 1:3 bJudg. 5:12 cActs 2:4, 33; 10:44–46; [1 Cor. 12:4–11; Eph. 4:7–12] d[1 Tim. 1:13] ePs. 78:60 20 a[Deut. 32:39] 21 aHab. 3:13 bPs.

Acts 12:6 cPs. 107:34 7 aEx. 13:21; [Hab. 3:13] 9 aLev. 26:4; Deut. 11:11; Job 5:10; Ezek. 34:26 10 aDeut. 26:5; Ps. 74:19 11 1host 12 aNum. 31:8; Josh. 10:16; Judg. 5:19 1plunder 13 aPs. 81:6 bPs. 105:37 1Or saddle- bags 14 aJosh. 10:10 16 a[Deut. 12:5]; 1 Kin. 9:3 1Lit. stare 17 aDeut. 33:2; Dan. 7:10 18 aMark 16:19; Acts 1:9; Eph. 4:8; Phil. 2:9; Col. 3:1; Heb. 1:3 bJudg. 5:12 cActs 2:4, 33; 10:44–46; [1 Cor. 12:4–11; Eph. 4:7–12] d[1 Tim. 1:13] ePs. 78:60 20 a[Deut. 32:39] 21 aHab. 3:13 bPs. 55:23 22 aNum. 21:33; Deut. 30:1–9; Amos 9:1–3 bEx. 14:22 23 aPs. 58:10 b1 Kin. 21:19; Jer. 15:3 1LXX, [Syr.], Tg., Vg. you may dip your foot

PSALM 68:24 508 may have their portion from your enemies.” 24 They have seen Your 1procession, O God, The procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary. 25 aThe singers went before, the players on instruments followed after; Among them were the maidens playing timbrels. 26 Bless God in the congregations, The Lord, from athe fountain of Israel. 27 aThere is little Benjamin, their leader, The princes of Judah and their 1company, The princes of Zebulun and the princes of Naphtali. 28 1Your God has acommanded your strength; Strengthen, O God, what You have done for us. 29 Because of Your temple at Jerusalem, aKings will bring presents to You. 30 Rebuke the beasts of the reeds, aThe herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples, Till everyone bsubmits himself with pieces of silver. Scatter the peoples who delight in war. 31 aEnvoys will come out of Egypt; bEthiopia will quickly cstretch out her hands to God. 32 Sing to God, you akingdoms of the earth; Oh, sing praises to the Lord, Selah 33 To Him awho rides on the heaven of heavens, which were of old! Indeed, He sends out His voice, a bmighty voice. 34 aAscribe strength to God; His excellence is over Israel, And His strength is in the clouds. 35 O God, aYou are more awesome than Your holy places. The God of Israel is He who gives strength and power to His people. Blessed be God! PSALM 69 An Urgent Plea for Help in Trouble To the Chief Musician. Set to 1“The Lilies.” A Psalm of David. SAVE me, O God! For athe waters have come up to my 1neck. 2 aI sink in deep mire, Where there is no standing; I have come into deep waters, Where the floods overflow me. 3 aI am weary with my crying; My throat is dry; bMy eyes fail while I wait for my God. 4 Those who ahate me without a cause Are more than the hairs of my head; They are mighty who would destroy me, Being my enemies wrongfully; Though I have stolen nothing, I still must restore it. 5 O God,You know my foolishness; And my sins are not hidden from You. 6 Let not those who 1wait for You, O Lord GOD of hosts, be ashamed because of me; Let not those who seek You be 2confounded because of me, O God of Israel. 7 Because for Your sake I have borne reproach; Shame has covered my face. 8 aI have become a stranger to my brothers, And an alien to my mother’s children; 9 aBecause zeal for Your house has eaten me up, bAnd the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me. 10 When I wept and chastened my soul with fasting, That became my reproach. 11 I also 1made sackcloth my garment; I became a byword to them. 12 Those who 1sit in the gate speak against me, And I am the song of the adrunkards. 13 But as for me, my prayer is to You, O LORD, in the acceptable time; O God, in the multitude of Your mercy, Hear me in the truth of Your salvation. 14 Deliver me out of the mire, And let me not sink; Let me be delivered from those who hate me, And out of the deep waters. 15 Let not the floodwater overflow me, Nor let the deep swallow me up; And let not the pit shut its mouth on me. 16 Hear me, O LORD, for Your lovingkindness is good; Turn to me according to the 24 1Lit. goings 25 a1 Chr. 13:8 26 aDeut. 33:28; Is. 48:1 27 aJudg. 5:14; 1 Sam. 9:21 1throng 28 aPs. 42:8; Is. 26:12 1LXX, [Syr.], Tg., Vg. Command, O God 29 a1 Kin. 10:10, 25; 2 Chr. 32:23; Ps. 45:12; 72:10; Is. 18:7 30 aPs. 22:12 b2 Sam. 8:2 31 aIs. 19:19–23 bIs. 45:14; Zeph. 3:10 cPs. 44:20 32 a[Ps. 67:3, 4] 33 aDeut. 33:26; Ps. 18:10 bPs. 46:6; Is. 30:30 34 aPs. 29:1 35 aPs. 76:12 PSALM 69 title 1Heb. Shoshannim 1 aJob 22:11; Jon. 2:5 1Lit. soul 2 aPs. 40:2 3 aPs. 6:6 bDeut. 28:32; Ps. 119:82, 123; Is. 38:14 4 aPs. 35:19; John 15:25 6 1Wait in faith 2dishon- ored 8 aIs. 53:3; Mark 3:21; Luke 8:19; John 7:3–5 9 aJohn 2:17 bRom. 15:3 11 1Symbolic of sorrow 12 aJob 30:9 1Sit as judges

509 PSALM 71:6 multitude of Your tender mercies. 17 And do not hide Your face from Your servant, For I am in trouble; Hear me speedily. 18 Draw near to my soul, and redeem it; Deliver me because of my enemies. 19 You know amy reproach, my shame, and my dishonor; My adversaries are all before You. 20 Reproach has broken my heart, And I am full of 1heaviness; aI looked for someone to take pity, but there was none; And for bcomforters, but I found none. 21 They also gave me gall for my food, aAnd for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. 22 aLet their table become a snare before them, And their well-being a trap. 23 aLet their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see; And make their loins shake continually. 24 aPour out Your indignation upon them, And let Your wrathful anger take hold of them. 25 aLet their dwelling place be desolate; Let no one live in their tents. 26 For they persecute the ones aYou have struck, And talk of the grief of those You have wounded. 27 aAdd iniquity to their iniquity, bAnd let them not come into Your righteousness. 28 Let them abe blotted out of the book of the living, bAnd not be written with the righteous. 29 But I am poor and sorrowful; Let Your salvation, O God, set me up on high. 30 aI will praise the name of God with a song, And will magnify Him with thanksgiving. 31 aThis also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bull, Which has horns and hooves. 32 aThe humble shall see this and be glad; And you who seek God, byour hearts shall live. 33 For the LORD hears the poor, And does not despise aHis prisoners. 34 aLet heaven and earth praise Him, The seas band everything that moves in them. 35 aFor God will save Zion And build the cities of Judah, That they may dwell there and possess it. 36 Also, athe 1descendants of His servants shall inherit it, And those who love His name shall dwell in it. PSALM 70 Prayer for Relief from Adversaries To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. aTo bring to remembrance. MAKE haste, aO God, to deliver me! Make haste to help me, O LORD! 2 aLet them be ashamed and confounded Who seek my life; Let them be 1turned back and confused Who desire my hurt. 3 aLet them be turned back because of their shame, Who say, 1“Aha, aha!” 4 Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; And let those who love Your salvation say continually, “Let God be magnified!” 5 aBut I am poor and needy; bMake haste to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay. PSALM 71 God the Rock of Salvation IN aYou, O LORD, I put my trust; Let me never be put to shame. 2 aDeliver me in Your righteousness, and cause me to escape; bIncline Your ear to me, and save me. 3 aBe my 1strong refuge, To which I may resort continually; You have given the bcommandment to save me, For You are my rock and my fortress. 4 aDeliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, Out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man. 5 For You are amy hope, O Lord GOD; You are my trust from my youth. 6 aBy You I have been 1upheld from birth; You are He who took me out of my mother’s womb. 19 aPs. 22:6, 7; Heb. 12:2 20 aIs. 63:5 bJob 16:2 1Lit. sickness 21 aMatt. 27:34, 48; Mark 15:23, 36; Luke 23:36; John 19:28–30 22 aRom. 11:9, 10 23 aIs. 6:9, 10 24 a[1 Thess. 2:16; Jer 10:25] 25 aMatt. 23:38; Luke 13:35; Acts 1:20 26 a[Is. 53:4; 1 Pet. 2:24] 27 aNeh. 4:5; [Rom. 1:28] b[Is. 26:10] 28 a[Ex. 32:32]; Phil. 4:3; [Rev. 3:5; 13:8] bEzek. 13:9; Luke 10:20; Heb. 12:23 30 a[Ps. 28:7] 31 aPs. 50:13, 14, 23; 51:16 32 aPs. 34:2 bPs. 22:26 33 a[Ps. 68:6]; Eph. 3:1 34 aPs. 96:11; Is. 44:23; 49:13 bIs. 55:12 35 aPs. 51:18; Is. 44:26 36 aPs. 102:28 1Lit. seed PSALM 70 title aPs. 38:ti- tle 1 aPs. 40:13–17 2 aPs. 35:4, 26 1So with MT, LXX, Tg., Vg.; some Heb. mss., Syr. ap- palled (cf. 40:15) 3 aPs. 40:15 1An expres- sion of scorn 5 aPs. 72:12, 13 bPs. 141:1 PSALM 71 1 aPs. 25:2, 3 2 aPs. 31:1 bPs. 17:6 3 aPs. 31:2, 3 bPs. 44:4 1Lit. rock of refuge or rock of habitation 4 aPs. 140:1, 3 5 aJer.

13, 14, 23; 51:16 32 aPs. 34:2 bPs. 22:26 33 a[Ps. 68:6]; Eph. 3:1 34 aPs. 96:11; Is. 44:23; 49:13 bIs. 55:12 35 aPs. 51:18; Is. 44:26 36 aPs. 102:28 1Lit. seed PSALM 70 title aPs. 38:ti- tle 1 aPs. 40:13–17 2 aPs. 35:4, 26 1So with MT, LXX, Tg., Vg.; some Heb. mss., Syr. ap- palled (cf. 40:15) 3 aPs. 40:15 1An expres- sion of scorn 5 aPs. 72:12, 13 bPs. 141:1 PSALM 71 1 aPs. 25:2, 3 2 aPs. 31:1 bPs. 17:6 3 aPs. 31:2, 3 bPs. 44:4 1Lit. rock of refuge or rock of habitation 4 aPs. 140:1, 3 5 aJer. 14:8; 17:7, 13, 17; 50:7 6 aPs. 22:9, 10; Is. 46:3 1sus- tained from the womb

PSALM 71:7 510 My praise shall be continually of You. 7 aI have become as a wonder to many, But You are my strong refuge. 8 Let amy mouth be filled with Your praise And with Your glory all the day. 9 Do not cast me off in the time of old age; Do not forsake me when my strength fails. 10 For my enemies speak against me; And those who lie in wait for my life atake counsel together, 11 Saying, “God has forsaken him; Pursue and take him, for there is none to deliver him.” 12 aO God, do not be far from me; O my God, bmake haste to help me! 13 Let them be 1confounded and consumed Who are adversaries of my life; Let them be covered with reproach and dishonor Who seek my hurt. 14 But I will hope continually, And will praise You yet more and more. 15 My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness And Your salvation all the day, For I do not know their limits. 16 I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD; I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only. 17 O God,You have taught me from my ayouth; And to this day I declare Your wondrous works. 18 Now also awhen I am old and grayheaded, O God, do not forsake me, Until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to everyone who is to come. 19 Also aYour righteousness, O God, is 1very high, You who have done great things; bO God, who is like You? 20 aYou, who have shown me great and severe troubles, bShall revive me again, And bring me up again from the depths of the earth. 21 You shall increase my greatness, And comfort me on every side. 22 Also awith the lute I will praise You— And Your faithfulness, O my God! To You I will sing with the harp, O bHoly One of Israel. 23 My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing to You, And amy soul, which You have redeemed. 24 My tongue also shall talk of Your righteousness all the day long; For they are confounded, For they are brought to shame Who seek my hurt. PSALM 72 Glory and Universality of the Messiah’s Reign A Psalm aof Solomon. GIVE the king Your judgments, O God, And Your righteousness to the king’s Son. 2 aHe will judge Your people with righteousness, And Your poor with justice. 3 aThe mountains will bring peace to the people, And the little hills, by righteousness. 4 aHe will bring justice to the poor of the people; He will save the children of the needy, And will 1break in pieces the oppressor. 5 1They shall fear You aAs long as the sun and moon endure, Throughout all generations. 6 aHe shall come down like rain upon the grass before mowing, Like showers that water the earth. 7 In His days the righteous shall flourish, aAnd abundance of peace, Until the moon is no more. 8 aHe shall have dominion also from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth. 9 aThose who dwell in the wilderness will bow before Him, bAnd His enemies will lick the dust. 10 aThe kings of Tarshish and of the isles Will bring presents; The kings of Sheba and Seba Will offer gifts. 11 aYes, all kings shall fall down before Him; All nations shall serve Him. 7 aIs. 8:18; Zech. 3:8; 1 Cor. 4:9 8 aPs. 35:28 10 a2 Sam. 17:1 12 aPs. 35:22 bPs. 70:1 13 1ashamed 17 aDeut. 4:5; 6:7 18 a[Is. 46:4] 19 aDeut. 3:24; Ps. 57:10 bPs. 35:10 1great, lit. to the height of heaven 20 aPs. 60:3 bHos. 6:1, 2 22 aPs. 92:1–3 b2 Kin. 19:22; Is. 1:4 23 aPs. 103:4 PSALM 72 title aPs. 127:ti- tle 2 a[Is. 9:7; 11:2–5; 32:1] 3 aPs. 85:10 4 aIs. 11:4 1crush 5 aPs. 72:7, 17; 89:36 1So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Vg. They shall continue 6 aDeut. 32:2; 2 Sam. 23:4; Hos. 6:3 7 aIs. 2:4 8 aEx. 23:31; [Is. 9:6; Zech. 9:10] 9 aPs. 74:14; Is. 23:13 bIs. 49:23; Mic. 7:17 10 a1 Kin. 10:2; 2 Chr. 9:21 11 aIs. 49:23

511 PSALM 73:24 12 For He awill deliver the needy when he cries, The poor also, and him who has no helper. 13 He will spare the poor and needy, And will save the souls of the needy. 14 He will redeem their life from oppression and violence; And aprecious shall be their blood in His sight. 15 And He shall live; And the gold of aSheba will be given to Him; Prayer also will be made for Him continually, And daily He shall be praised. 16 There will be an abundance of grain in the earth, On the top of the mountains; Its fruit shall wave like Lebanon; aAnd those of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth. 17 aHis name shall endure forever; His name shall continue as long as the sun. And bmen shall be blessed in Him; cAll nations shall call Him blessed. 18 aBlessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, bWho only does wondrous things! 19 And ablessed be His glorious name forever! bAnd let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen. 20 The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended. BOOK THREE Psalms 73—89 PSALM 73 The Tragedy of the Wicked, and the Blessedness of Trust in God A Psalm of aAsaph. TRULY God is good to Israel, To such as are pure in heart. 2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; My steps had nearly aslipped. 3 aFor I was envious of the boastful, When I saw the prosperity of the bwicked. 4 For there are no 1pangs in their death, But their strength is firm. 5 aThey are not in trouble as other men, Nor are they plagued like other men. 6 Therefore pride serves as their necklace; Violence covers them alike a garment. 7 aTheir 1eyes bulge with abundance; They have more than heart could wish. 8 aThey scoff and speak wickedly concerning oppression; They bspeak 1loftily. 9 They set their mouth aagainst the heavens, And their tongue walks through the earth. 10 Therefore his people return here, aAnd waters of a full cup are drained by them. 11 And they say, a“How does God know? And is there knowledge in the Most High?” 12 Behold, these are the ungodly, Who are always at ease; They increase in riches. 13 Surely I have 1cleansed my heart in avain, And washed my hands in innocence. 14 For all day long I have been plagued, And chastened every morning. 15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,” Behold, I would have been untrue to the generation of Your children. 16 When I thought how to understand this, It was 1too painful for me— 17 Until I went into the sanctuary of God; Then I understood their aend. 18 Surely aYou set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction. 19 Oh, how they are brought to desolation, as in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors. 20 As a dream when one awakes, So, Lord, when You awake, You shall despise their image. 21 Thus my heart was grieved, And I was 1vexed in my mind. 22 aI was so foolish and ignorant; I was like a beast before You. 23 Nevertheless I am continually with You; You hold me by my right hand. 24 aYou will guide me with Your counsel, 12 aJob 29:12 14 a1 Sam. 26:21; [Ps. 116:15] 15 aIs. 60:6 16 a1 Kin. 4:20 17 a[Ps. 89:36] b[Gen. 12:3] cLuke 1:48 18 a1 Chr. 29:10 bEx. 15:11; Job 5:9 19 a[Neh. 9:5] bNum. 14:21; Hab. 2:14 PSALM 73 title aPs. 50: title 2 aJob 12:5 3 aPs. 37:1, 7; [Prov. 23:17] bJob 21:5–16; Jer. 12:1 4 1pains 5 aJob 21:9 6 aPs. 109:18 7 aJob 15:27; Jer. 5:28 1Tg. face bulges; LXX, Syr., Vg. iniquity bulges 8 aPs. 53:1 b2 Pet. 2:18; Jude 16 1Proudly 9 aRev. 13:6 10 a[Ps. 75:8] 11 aJob 22:13 13 aJob 21:15; 35:3; Mal. 3:14 1kept my heart pure in vain 16 1trouble- some in my eyes 17 a[Ps. 37:38; 55:23] 18 aPs. 35:6 21 1Lit. pierced in my kidneys 22 aPs. 92:6 24 aPs. 32:8; 48:14; Is. 58:11

PSALM 73:25 512 And afterward receive me to glory. 25 aWhom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You. 26 aMy flesh and my heart fail; But God is the 1strength of my heart and my bportion forever. 27 For indeed, athose who are far from You shall perish; You have destroyed all those who 1desert You for harlotry. 28 But it is good for me to adraw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, That I may bdeclare all Your works. PSALM 74 A Plea for Relief from Oppressors A 1Contemplation of Asaph. O GOD, why have You cast us off forever? Why does Your anger smoke against the sheep of Your pasture? 2 Remember Your congregation, which You have purchased of old, The tribe of Your inheritance, which You have redeemed— This Mount Zion where You have dwelt. 3 Lift up Your feet to the perpetual desolations. The enemy has damaged everything in the sanctuary. 4 aYour enemies roar in the midst of Your meeting place; bThey set up their banners for signs. 5 They seem like men who lift up Axes among the thick trees. 6 And now they break down its carved work, all at once, With axes and hammers. 7 They have set fire to Your sanctuary; They have defiled the dwelling place of Your name to the ground. 8 aThey said in their hearts, “Let us 1destroy them altogether.” They have burned up all the meeting places of God in the land. 9 We do not see our signs; aThere is no longer any prophet; Nor is there any among us who knows how long. 10 O God, how long will the adversary 1reproach? Will the enemy blaspheme Your name forever? 11 aWhy do You withdraw Your hand, even Your right hand? Take it out of Your bosom and destroy them. 12 For aGod is my King from of old, Working salvation in the midst of the earth. 13 aYou divided the sea by Your strength; You broke the heads of the 1sea serpents in the waters. 14 You broke the heads of 1Leviathan in pieces, And gave him as food to the people inhabiting the wilderness. 15 aYou broke open the fountain and the flood; bYou dried up mighty rivers. 16 The day is Yours, the night also is aYours; bYou have prepared the light and the sun. 17 You have aset all the borders of the earth; bYou have made summer and winter. 18 Remember this, that the enemy has reproached, O LORD, And that a foolish people has blasphemed Your name. 19 Oh, do not deliver the life of Your turtledove to the wild beast! Do not forget the life of Your poor forever. 20 aHave respect to the covenant; For the 1dark places of the earth are full of the 2haunts of 3cruelty. 21 Oh, do not let the oppressed return ashamed! Let the poor and needy praise Your name. 22 Arise, O God, plead Your own cause; Remember how the foolish man 1reproaches You daily. 23 Do not forget the voice of Your enemies; The tumult of those who rise up against You increases continually. PSALM 75 Thanksgiving for God’s Righteous Judgment To the Chief Musician. Set to a“Do1 Not Destroy.” A Psalm of Asaph. A Song. WE give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks! For Your wondrous works declare thatYour name is near. 2 “When I choose the 1proper time, I will judge uprightly. 25 a[Phil. 3:8] 26 aPs. 84:2 bPs. 16:5 1Lit. rock 27 a[Ps. 119:155] 1Are unfaithful to You 28 a[Heb. 10:22; James 4:8] bPs. 116:10; 2 Cor. 4:13 PSALM 74 title 1Heb. Maschil 4 aLam. 2:7 bNum. 2:2 8 aPs. 83:4 1oppress 9 a1 Sam. 3:1; Lam. 2:9; Ezek. 7:26; Amos 8:11 10 1revile 11 aLam. 2:3 12 aPs. 44:4 13 aEx. 14:21 1sea monsters 14 1A large sea creature of unknown identity 15 aEx. 17:5, 6; Num. 20:11; Ps. 105:41; Is. 48:21 bEx. 14:21, 22; Josh. 2:10; 3:13 16 aJob 38:12 bGen. 1:14–18 17 aDeut. 32:8; Acts 17:26 bGen. 8:22 20 aGen. 17:7, 8; Lev. 26:44, 45 1hiding places 2homes 3violence 22 1reviles or taunts PSALM 75 title aPs. 57: title 1Heb. Al Tashcheth 2 1appointed

513 PSALM 77:11 3 The earth and all its inhabitants are dissolved; I set up its pillars firmly. Selah 4 “I said to the boastful, ‘Do not deal boastfully,’ And to the wicked, a‘Do not 1lift up the horn. 5 Do not lift up your horn on high; Do not speak with 1a stiff neck.’ ” 6 For exaltation comes neither from the east Nor from the west nor from the south. 7 But aGod is the Judge: bHe puts down one, And exalts another. 8 For ain the hand of the LORD there is a cup, And the wine is red; It is fully mixed, and He pours it out; Surely its dregs shall all the wicked of the earth Drain and drink down. 9 But I will declare forever, I will sing praises to the God of Jacob. 10 “Alla the 1horns of the wicked I will also cut off, But bthe horns of the righteous shall be cexalted.” PSALM 76 The Majesty of God in Judgment To the Chief Musician. On 1stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song. IN aJudah God is known; His name is great in Israel. 2 In 1Salem also is His tabernacle, And His dwelling place in Zion. 3 There He broke the arrows of the bow, The shield and sword of battle. Selah 4 You are more glorious and excellent aThan the mountains of prey. 5 aThe stouthearted were plundered; bThey 1have sunk into their sleep; And none of the mighty men have found the use of their hands. 6 aAt Your rebuke, O God of Jacob, Both the chariot and horse were cast into a dead sleep. 7 You,Yourself, are to be feared; And awho may stand in Your presence When once You are angry? 8 aYou caused judgment to be heard from heaven; bThe earth feared and was still, 9 When God aarose to judgment, To deliver all the oppressed of the earth. Selah 10 aSurely the wrath of man shall praise You; With the remainder of wrath You shall gird Yourself. 11 aMake vows to the LORD your God, and pay them; bLet all who are around Him bring presents to Him who ought to be feared. 12 He shall cut off the spirit of princes; aHe is awesome to the kings of the earth. PSALM 77 The Consoling Memory of God’s Redemptive Works To the Chief Musician. aTo Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph. I CRIED out to God with my voice— To God with my voice; And He gave ear to me. 2 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; My hand was stretched out in the night without ceasing; My soul refused to be comforted. 3 I remembered God, and was troubled; I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah 4 You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. 5 I have considered the days of old, The years of ancient times. 6 I call to remembrance my song in the night; I meditate within my heart, And my spirit 1makes diligent search. 7 Will the Lord cast off forever? And will He be favorable no more? 8 Has His mercy ceased forever? Has His apromise failed 1forevermore? 9 Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has He in anger shut up His tender mercies? Selah 10 And I said, “This is my 1anguish; But I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High.” 11 I will remember the works of the LORD; 4 a[1 Sam. 2:3]; Ps. 94:4 1Raise the head proudly like a horned animal 5 1Insolent pride 7 aPs. 50:6 b1 Sam. 2:7; Ps. 147:6; Dan. 2:21 8 aJob 21:20; Ps. 60:3; Jer. 25:15; Rev. 14:10; 16:19 10 aPs. 101:8; Jer. 48:25 bPs. 89:17; 148:14 c1 Sam. 2:1 1Strength PSALM 76 title 1Heb. neginoth 1 aPs. 48:1, 3 2 1Jerusalem 4 aEzek. 38:12 5 aIs. 10:12; 46:12 bPs. 13:3 1Lit. have slumbered their sleep 6 aEx. 15:1–21; Ezek. 39:20; Nah. 2:13; Zech. 12:4 7 a[Ezra 9:15; Nah. 1:6; Mal. 3:2; Rev. 6:17] 8 aEx. 19:9 b1 Chr. 16:30; 2 Chr. 20:29 9 a[Ps. 9:7–9] 10 aEx. 9:16; Rom. 9:17 11 a[Eccl. 5:4–6] b2 Chr. 32:22, 23 12 aPs. 68:35 PSALM 77 title aPs. 39: title 6 1ponders diligently 8 a[2 Pet. 2:8, 9] 1Lit. unto generation and genera- tion 10 1Lit. infir- mity

PSALM 77:12 514 Surely I will remember Your wonders of old. 12 I will also meditate on all Your work, And talk of Your deeds. 13 Your way, O God, is in 1the asanctuary; Who is so great a God as our God? 14 You are the God who does wonders; You have declared Your strength among the peoples. 15 You have with Your arm redeemed Your people, The sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah 16 The waters saw You, O God; The waters saw You, they were aafraid; The depths also trembled. 17 The clouds poured out water; The skies sent out a sound; Your arrows also flashed about. 18 The voice of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; The lightnings lit up the world; The earth trembled and shook. 19 Your way was in the sea, Your path in the great waters, And Your footsteps were not known. 20 You led Your people like a flock By the hand of Moses and Aaron. PSALM 78 God’s Kindness to Rebellious Israel A aContemplation1 of Asaph. GIVE ear, O my people, to my law; Incline your ears to the words of my mouth. 2 I will open my mouth in a aparable; I will utter 1dark sayings of old, 3 Which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us. 4 aWe will not hide them from their children, bTelling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done. 5 For aHe established a testimony in Jacob, And appointed a law in Israel, Which He commanded our fathers, That bthey should make them known to their children; 6 aThat the generation to come might know them, The children who would be born, That they may arise and declare them to their children, 7 That they may set their hope in God, And not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments; 8 And amay not be like their fathers, bA stubborn and rebellious generation, A generation cthat did not 1set its heart aright, And whose spirit was not faithful to God. 9 The children of Ephraim, being armed and 1carrying bows, Turned back in the day of battle. 10 aThey did not keep the covenant of God; They refused to walk in His law, 11 And aforgot His works And His wonders that He had shown them. 12 aMarvelous things He did in the sight of their fathers, In the land of Egypt, bin the field of Zoan. 13 aHe divided the sea and caused them to pass through; And bHe made the waters stand up like a heap. 14 aIn the daytime also He led them with the cloud, And all the night with a light of fire. 15 aHe split the rocks in the wilderness, And gave them drink in abundance like the depths. 16 He also brought astreams out of the rock, And caused waters to run down like rivers. 17 But they sinned even more against Him By arebelling against the Most High in the wilderness. 18 And athey tested God in their heart By asking for the food of their fancy. 19 aYes, they spoke against God: They said, “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness? 20 aBehold, He struck the rock, So that the waters gushed out, And the streams overflowed. Can He give bread also? Can He provide meat for His people?” 21 Therefore the LORD heard this and awas furious; 13 aPs. 73:17 1Or holiness 16 aEx. 14:21; Hab. 3:8, 10 PSALM 78 title aPs. 74: title 1Heb. Maschil 2 aMatt. 13:34, 35 1obscure sayings or rid- dles 4 aEx. 12:26, 27; Deut. 4:9; 6:7; Job 15:18; Is. 38:19; Joel 1:3 bEx. 13:8, 14 5 aPs. 147:19 bDeut. 4:9; 11:19 6 aPs. 102:18 8 a2 Kin. 17:14; 2 Chr. 30:7; Ezek. 20:18 bEx. 32:9; Deut. 9:7, 24; 31:27; Judg. 2:19; Is. 30:9 cJob 11:13; Ps. 78:37 1Lit. prepare its heart 9 1Lit. bow shooters 10 a2 Kin. 17:15 11 aPs. 106:13 12 aEx. 7—12 bNum. 13:22; Is. 19:11; 30:4; Ezek. 30:14 13 aEx. 14:21 bEx. 15:8 14 aEx. 13:21 15 aEx. 17:6; Num. 20:11; Is. 48:21; [1 Cor. 10:4] 16 aNum. 20:8, 10, 11 17 aDeut. 9:22; Is. 63:10; Heb. 3:16 18 aEx. 16:2 19 aEx. 16:3; Num. 11:4; 20:3; 21:5 20 aNum. 20:11 21 aNum. 11:1

515 PSALM 78:55 So a fire was kindled against Jacob, And anger also came up against Israel, 22 Because they adid not believe in God, And did not trust in His salvation. 23 Yet He had commanded the clouds above, aAnd opened the doors of heaven, 24 aHad rained down manna on them to eat, And given them of the 1bread of bheaven. 25 Men ate angels’ food; He sent them food to 1the full. 26 aHe caused an east wind to blow in the heavens; And by His power He brought in the south wind. 27 He also rained meat on them like the dust, Feathered fowl like the sand of the seas; 28 And He let them fall in the midst of their camp, All around their dwellings. 29 aSo they ate and were well filled, For He gave them their own desire. 30 They were not 1deprived of their craving; But awhile their food was still in their mouths, 31 The wrath of God came against them, And slew the stoutest of them, And struck down the choice men of Israel. 32 In spite of this athey still sinned, And bdid not believe in His wondrous works. 33 aTherefore their days He consumed in futility, And their years in fear. 34 aWhen He slew them, then they sought Him; And they returned and sought earnestly for God. 35 Then they remembered that aGod was their rock, And the Most High God btheir Redeemer. 36 Nevertheless they aflattered Him with their mouth, And they lied to Him with their tongue; 37 For their heart was not steadfast with Him, Nor were they faithful in His covenant. 38 aBut He, being full of bcompassion, forgave their iniquity, And did not destroy them. Yes, many a time cHe turned His anger away, And ddid not stir up all His wrath; 39 For aHe remembered bthat they were but flesh, cA breath that passes away and does not come again. 40 How often they aprovoked1 Him in the wilderness, And grieved Him in the desert! 41 Yes, aagain and again they tempted God, And limited the Holy One of Israel. 42 They did not remember His 1power: The day when He redeemed them from the enemy, 43 When He worked His signs in Egypt, And His wonders in the field of Zoan; 44 aTurned their rivers into blood, And their streams, that they could not drink. 45 aHe sent swarms of flies among them, which devoured them, And bfrogs, which destroyed them. 46 He also gave their crops to the caterpillar, And their labor to the alocust. 47 aHe destroyed their vines with hail, And their sycamore trees with frost. 48 He also gave up their acattle to the hail, And their flocks to fiery 1lightning. 49 He cast on them the fierceness of His anger, Wrath, indignation, and trouble, By sending angels of destruction among them. 50 He made a path for His anger; He did not spare their soul from death, But gave 1their life over to the plague, 51 And destroyed all the afirstborn in Egypt, The first of their strength in the tents of Ham. 52 But He amade His own people go forth like sheep, And guided them in the wilderness like a flock; 53 And He aled them on safely, so that they did not fear; But the sea boverwhelmed their enemies. 54 And He brought them to His aholy border, This mountain bwhich His right hand had acquired. 55 aHe also drove out the nations before them, 22 a[Heb. 3:18] 23 a[Mal. 3:10] 24 aEx. 16:4 bJohn 6:31 1Lit. grain 25 1satiation 26 aNum. 11:31 29 aNum. 11:19, 20 30 aNum. 11:33 1Lit. separated 32 aNum. 14:16, 17 bNum. 14:11 33 aNum. 14:29, 35 34 a[Hos. 5:15] 35 a[Deut. 32:4, 15] bIs. 41:14; 44:6; 63:9 36 aEzek. 33:31 38 a[Num. 14: 18–20] bEx. 34:6 c[Is. 48:9] d1 Kin. 21:29 39 aJob 10:9 bJohn 3:6 c[Job 7:7, 16] 40 aHeb. 3:16 1rebelled against Him 41 aNum. 14:22 42 1Lit. hand 44 aEx. 7:20 45 aEx. 8:24 bEx. 8:6 46 aEx. 10:14 47 aEx. 9:23–25 48 aEx. 9:19 1lightning bolts 50 1Or their beasts 51 aEx. 12:29, 30 52 aPs. 77:20 53 aEx. 14:19, 20 bEx. 14:27, 28 54 aEx. 15:17 bPs. 44:3 55 aPs. 44:2

PSALM 78:56 516 bAllotted them an inheritance by 1survey, And made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents. 56 aYet they tested and provoked the Most High God, And did not keep His testimonies, 57 But aturned back and acted unfaithfully like their fathers; They were turned aside blike a deceitful bow. 58 aFor they provoked Him to anger with their bhigh places, And moved Him to jealousy with their carved images. 59 When God heard this, He was furious, And greatly abhorred Israel, 60 aSo that He forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, The tent He had placed among men, 61 aAnd delivered His strength into captivity, And His glory into the enemy’s hand. 62 aHe also gave His people over to the sword, And was furious with His inheritance. 63 The fire consumed their young men, And atheir maidens were not given in marriage. 64 aTheir priests fell by the sword, And btheir widows made no lamentation. 65 Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, aLike a mighty man who shouts because of wine. 66 And aHe beat back His enemies; He put them to a perpetual reproach. 67 Moreover He rejected the tent of Joseph, And did not choose the tribe of Ephraim, 68 But chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion awhich He loved. 69 And He built His asanctuary like the heights, Like the earth which He has established forever. 70 aHe also chose David His servant, And took him from the sheepfolds; 71 From following athe ewes that had young He brought him, bTo shepherd Jacob His people, And Israel His inheritance. 72 So he shepherded them according to the aintegrity of his heart, And guided them by the skillfulness of his hands. PSALM 79 A Dirge and a Prayer for Israel, Destroyed by Enemies A Psalm of Asaph. O GOD, the 1nations have come into aYour inheritance; Your holy temple they have defiled; bThey have laid Jerusalem 2in heaps. 2 aThe dead bodies of Your servants They have given as food for the birds of the heavens, The flesh of Your saints to the beasts of the earth. 3 Their blood they have shed like water all around Jerusalem, And there was no one to bury them. 4 We have become a reproach to our aneighbors, A scorn and derision to those who are around us. 5 aHow long, LORD? Will You be angry forever? Will Your bjealousy burn like fire? 6 aPour out Your wrath on the 1nations that bdo not know You, And on the kingdoms that cdo not call on Your name. 7 For they have devoured Jacob, And laid waste his dwelling place. 8 aOh, do not remember 1former iniquities against us! Let Your tender mercies come speedily to meet us, For we have been brought very low. 9 Help us, O God of our salvation, For the glory of Your name; And deliver us, and provide atonement for our sins, aFor Your name’s sake! 10 aWhy should the 1nations say, “Where is their God?” Let there be known among the nations in our sight The avenging of the blood of Your servants which has been shed. 11 Let athe groaning of the prisoner come before You; According to the greatness of Your 1power Preserve those who are appointed to die; 12 And return to our neighbors asevenfold into their bosom bTheir reproach with which they have reproached You, O Lord. 55 bJosh. 13:7; 19:51; 23:4 1surveyed measurement, lit. measuring cord 56 aJudg. 2:11–13 57 aEzek. 20:27, 28 bHos. 7:16 58 aJudg. 2:12 bDeut. 12:2 60 a1 Sam. 4:11 61 aJudg. 18:30 62 a1 Sam. 4:10 63 aJer. 7:34; 16:9; 25:10 64 a1 Sam. 4:17; 22:18 bJob 27:15; Ezek. 24:23 65 aIs. 42:13 66 a1 Sam. 5:6 68 a[Ps. 87:2] 69 a1 Kin. 6:1–38 70 a1 Sam. 16:11, 12 71 a[Is. 40:11] b2 Sam. 5:2 72 a1 Kin. 9:4 PSALM 79 1 aPs. 74:2 bMic. 3:12 1Gentiles 2in ruins 2 aJer. 7:33; 19:7; 34:20 4 aPs. 44:13 5 aPs. 74:1, 9 b[Zeph. 3:8] 6 aJer. 10:25 bIs. 45:4, 5 cPs. 53:4 1Gentiles 8 aIs. 64:9 1Or against us the iniquities of those who were before us 9 aJer. 14:7, 21 10 aPs. 42:10 1Gentiles 11 aPs. 102:20 1Lit. arm 12 aGen. 4:15 bPs. 74:10, 18, 22

517 PSALM 81:10 13 So awe,Your people and sheep of Your pasture, Will give You thanks forever; bWe will show forth Your praise to all generations. PSALM 80 Prayer for Israel’s Restoration To the Chief Musician. aSet to 1“The Lilies.” A 2Testimony of Asaph. A Psalm. GIVE ear, O Shepherd of Israel, aYou who lead Joseph blike a flock; You who dwell between the cherubim, cshine forth! 2 Before aEphraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, Stir up Your strength, And come and save us! 3 aRestore us, O God; bCause Your face to shine, And we shall be saved! 4 O LORD God of hosts, aHow long will You be angry Against the prayer of Your people? 5 aYou have fed them with the bread of tears, And given them tears to drink in great measure. 6 You have made us a strife to our neighbors, And our enemies laugh among themselves. 7 Restore us, O God of hosts; Cause Your face to shine, And we shall be saved! 8 You have brought aa vine out of Egypt; bYou have cast out the 1nations, and planted it. 9 You prepared room for it, And caused it to take deep root, And it filled the land. 10 The hills were covered with its shadow, And the 1mighty cedars with its aboughs. 11 She sent out her boughs to 1the Sea, And her branches to 2the River. 12 Why have You abroken down her 1hedges, So that all who pass by the way pluck her fruit? 13 The boar out of the woods uproots it, And the wild beast of the field devours it. 14 Return, we beseech You, O God of hosts; aLook down from heaven and see, And visit this vine 15 And the vineyard which Your right hand has planted, And the branch that You made strong afor Yourself. 16 It is burned with fire, it is cut down; aThey perish at the rebuke of Your countenance. 17 aLet Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand, Upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself. 18 Then we will not turn back from You; Revive us, and we will call upon Your name. 19 Restore us, O LORD God of hosts; Cause Your face to shine, And we shall be saved! PSALM 81 An Appeal for Israel’s Repentance To the Chief Musician. aOn1 an instrument of Gath. A Psalm of Asaph. SING aloud to God our strength; Make a joyful shout to the God of Jacob. 2 Raise a song and strike the timbrel, The pleasant harp with the lute. 3 Blow the trumpet at the time of the New Moon, At the full moon, on our solemn feast day. 4 For athis is a statute for Israel, A law of the God of Jacob. 5 This He established in Joseph as a testimony, When He went throughout the land of Egypt, aWhere I heard a language I did not understand. 6 “I removed his shoulder from the burden; His hands were freed from the baskets. 7 aYou called in trouble, and I delivered you; bI answered you in the secret place of thunder; I ctested you at the waters of 1Meribah. Selah 8 “Hear,a O My people, and I will admonish you! O Israel, if you will listen to Me! 9 There shall be no aforeign god among you; Nor shall you worship any foreign god. 10 aI am the LORD your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt; bOpen your mouth wide, and I will fill it. 13 aPs. 74:1; 95:7 bIs. 43:21 PSALM 80 title aPs. 45: title 1Heb. Shoshannim 2Heb. Eduth 1 a[Ex. 25:20–22]; 1 Sam. 4:4; 2 Sam. 6:2 bPs. 77:20 cDeut. 33:2 2 aPs. 78:9, 67 3 aLam. 5:21 bNum. 6:25; Ps. 4:6 4 aPs. 79:5 5 aPs. 42:3; Is. 30:20 8 a[Is. 5:1, 7]; Jer. 2:21; Ezek. 15:6; 17:6; 19:10 bPs. 44:2; Acts 7:45 1Gentiles 10 aLev. 23:40 1Lit. cedars of God 11 1The Mediter- ranean 2The Euphrates 12 aIs. 5:5; Nah. 2:2 1walls or fences 14 aIs. 63:15 15 a[Is. 49:5] 16 a[Ps. 39:11] 17 aPs. 89:21 PSALM 81 title aPs. 8:title 1Heb. Al Git- tith 4 aLev. 23:24; Num. 10:10 5 aDeut. 28:49; Ps. 114:1; Jer. 5:15 7 aEx. 2:23; 14:10; Ps. 50:15 bEx. 19:19; 20:18 cEx. 17:6, 7; Num. 20:13 1Lit. Strife or Contention 8 a[Ps. 50:7] 9 a[Ex. 20:3; Deut. 5:7; 32:12]; Ps. 44:20; [Is. 43:12] 10 aEx. 20:2; Deut. 5:6 bPs. 103:5

PSALM 81:11 518 11 “But My people would not heed My voice, And Israel would have anone of Me. 12 aSo I gave them over to 1their own stubborn heart, To walk in their own counsels. 13 “Oh,a that My people would listen to Me, That Israel would walk in My ways! 14 I would soon subdue their enemies, And turn My hand against their adversaries. 15 aThe haters of the LORD would pretend submission to Him, But their 1fate would endure forever. 16 He would ahave fed them also with 1the finest of wheat; And with honey bfrom the rock I would have satisfied you.” PSALM 82 A Plea for Justice A Psalm of Asaph. GOD astands in the congregation of 1the mighty; He judges among bthe 2gods. 2 How long will you judge unjustly, And ashow partiality to the wicked? Selah 3 1Defend the poor and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and aneedy. 4 Deliver the poor and needy; Free them from the hand of the wicked. 5 They do not know, nor do they understand; They walk about in darkness; All the afoundations of the earth are 1unstable. 6 I said, a“You are 1gods, And all of you are children of the Most High. 7 But you shall die like men, And fall like one of the princes.” 8 Arise, O God, judge the earth; aFor You shall inherit all nations. PSALM 83 Prayer to Frustrate Conspiracy Against Israel A Song. A Psalm of Asaph. DOa not keep silent, O God! Do not hold Your peace, And do not be still, O God! 2 For behold, aYour enemies make a 1tumult; And those who hate You have 2lifted up their head. 3 They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, And consulted together aagainst Your sheltered ones. 4 They have said, “Come, and alet us cut them off from being a nation, That the name of Israel may be remembered no more.” 5 For they have consulted together with one 1consent; They 2form a confederacy against You: 6 aThe tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites; Moab and the Hagrites; 7 Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre; 8 Assyria also has joined with them; They have helped the children of Lot. Selah 9 Deal with them as with aMidian, As with bSisera, As with Jabin at the Brook Kishon, 10 Who perished at En Dor, aWho became as refuse on the earth. 11 Make their nobles like aOreb and like Zeeb, Yes, all their princes like bZebah and Zalmunna, 12 Who said, “Let us take for ourselves The pastures of God for a possession.” 13 aO my God, make them like the whirling dust, bLike the chaff before the wind! 14 As the fire burns the woods, And as the flame asets the mountains on fire, 15 So pursue them with Your tempest, And frighten them with Your storm. 16 Fill their faces with shame, That they may seek Your name, O LORD. 17 Let them be 1confounded and dismayed forever; Yes, let them be put to shame and perish, 18 aThat they may know that You, whose bname alone is the LORD, Are cthe Most High over all the earth. PSALM 84 The Blessedness of Dwelling in the House of God To the Chief Musician. aOn1 an instrument of Gath. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. HOW alovely 1is Your tabernacle, O LORD of hosts! 11 aDeut. 32:15 12 a[Acts 7:42] 1the dictates of their heart 13 a[Is. 48:18] 15 aRom. 1:30 1Lit. time 16 aDeut. 32:14 bJob 29:6 1Lit. fat of wheat PSALM 82 1 a[2 Chr. 19:6] bPs. 82:6 1Heb. El, lit. God 2Judges; Heb. elohim, lit. mighty ones or gods 2 a[Deut. 1:17] 3 a[Deut. 24:17] 1Vindi- cate 5 aPs. 11:3 1moved 6 aJohn 10:34 1Judges; Heb. elohim, lit. mighty ones or gods 8 a[Rev. 11:15] PSALM 83 1 aPs. 28:1 2 aPs. 81:15 1uproar 2Ex- alted them- selves 3 a[Ps. 27:5] 4 aJer. 11:19; 31:36 5 1Lit. heart 2Lit. cut a covenant 6 a2 Chr. 20:1, 10, 11 9 aJudg. 7:22 bJudg. 4:15–24; 5:20, 21 10 aZeph. 1:17 11 aJudg. 7:25 bJudg. 8:12–21 13 aIs. 17:13 bPs. 35:5 14 aDeut. 32:22 17 1ashamed 18 aPs. 59:13 bEx. 6:3 c[Ps. 92:8] PSALM 84 title aPs. 8:title 1Heb. Al Gittith 1 aPs. 27:4; 46:4, 5 1are Your dwellings

519 PSALM 86:5 2 aMy soul longs, yes, even faints For the courts of the LORD; My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. 3 Even the sparrow has found a home, And the swallow a nest for herself, Where she may lay her young— Even Your altars, O LORD of hosts, My King and my God. 4 Blessed are those who dwell in Your ahouse; They will still be praising You. Selah 5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, Whose heart is set on pilgrimage. 6 As they pass through the Valley aof 1Baca, They make it a spring; The rain also covers it with 2pools. 7 They go afrom strength to strength; 1Each one bappears before God in Zion. 8 O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer; Give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah 9 aO God, behold our shield, And look upon the face of Your 1anointed. 10 For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather 1be a doorkeeper in the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness. 11 For the LORD God is aa sun and bshield; The LORD will give grace and glory; cNo good thing will He withhold From those who walk uprightly. 12 O LORD of hosts, aBlessed is the man who trusts in You! PSALM 85 Prayer that the LORD Will Restore Favor to the Land To the Chief Musician. A Psalm aof the sons of Korah. LORD,You have been favorable to Your land; You have abrought back the captivity of Jacob. 2 You have forgiven the iniquity of Your people; You have covered all their sin. Selah 3 You have taken away all Your wrath; You have turned from the fierceness of Your anger. 4 aRestore us, O God of our salvation, And cause Your anger toward us to cease. 5 aWill You be angry with us forever? Will You prolong Your anger to all generations? 6 Will You not arevive us again, That Your people may rejoice in You? 7 Show us Your mercy, LORD, And grant us Your salvation. 8 I will hear what God the LORD will speak, For He will speak peace To His people and to His saints; But let them not turn back to 1folly. 9 Surely aHis salvation is near to those who fear Him, bThat glory may dwell in our land. 10 Mercy and truth have met together; aRighteousness and peace have kissed. 11 Truth shall spring out of the earth, And righteousness shall look down from heaven. 12 aYes, the LORD will give what is good; And our land will yield its increase. 13 Righteousness will go before Him, And shall make His footsteps our pathway. PSALM 86 Prayer for Mercy, with Meditation on the Excellencies of the LORD A Prayer of David. BOW down Your ear, O LORD, hear me; For I am poor and needy. 2 Preserve my 1life, for I am holy; You are my God; Save Your servant who trusts in You! 3 Be merciful to me, O Lord, For I cry to You all day long. 4 1Rejoice the soul of Your servant, aFor to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. 5 For aYou, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You. 2 aPs. 42:1, 2 4 a[Ps. 65:4] 6 a2 Sam. 5:22–25 1Lit. Weeping 2Or blessings 7 aProv. 4:18; Is. 40:31; John 1:16; 2 Cor. 3:18 bEx. 34:23; Deut. 16:16 1LXX, Syr., Vg. The God of gods shall be seen 9 aGen. 15:1 1Commis- sioned one, Heb. messiah 10 1stand at the threshold 11 aIs. 60:19, 20; Mal. 4:2; Rev. 21:23 bGen. 15:1 cPs. 34:9, 10 12 a[Ps. 2:12; 40:4] PSALM 85 title aPs. 42: title 1 aEzra 1:11—2:1; Ps. 14:7; Jer. 30:18; 31:23; Ezek. 39:25; Hos. 6:11; Joel 3:1 4 aPs. 80:3, 7 5 aPs. 79:5 6 aHab. 3:2 8 1foolishness 9 aIs. 46:13 bHag. 2:7; Zech. 2:5; [John 1:14] 10 aPs. 72:3; [Is. 32:17]; Luke 2:14 12 a[Ps. 84:11; James 1:17] PSALM 86 2 1Lit. soul 4 aPs. 25:1; 143:8 1Make glad 5 aPs. 130:7; 145:9; [Joel 2:13]

PSALM 86:6 520 6 Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer; And attend to the voice of my supplications. 7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon You, For You will answer me. 8 aAmong the gods there is none like You, O Lord; Nor are there any works like Your works. 9 All nations whom You have made Shall come and worship before You, O Lord, And shall glorify Your name. 10 For You are great, and ado wondrous things; bYou alone are God. 11 aTeach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth; 1Unite my heart to fear Your name. 12 I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, And I will glorify Your name forevermore. 13 For great is Your mercy toward me, And You have delivered my soul from the depths of 1Sheol. 14 O God, the proud have risen against me, And a mob of violent men have sought my life, And have not set You before them. 15 But aYou, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, Longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth. 16 Oh, turn to me, and have mercy on me! Give Your strength to Your servant, And save the son of Your maidservant. 17 Show me a sign for good, That those who hate me may see it and be ashamed, Because You, LORD, have helped me and comforted me. PSALM 87 The Glories of the City of God A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A Song. HIS foundation is in the holy mountains. 2 aThe LORD loves the gates of Zion More than all the dwellings of Jacob. 3 aGlorious things are spoken of you, O city of God! Selah 4 “I will make mention of 1Rahab and Babylon to those who know Me; Behold, O Philistia and Tyre, with Ethiopia: ‘This one was born there.’ ” 5 And of Zion it will be said, “This one and that one were born in her; And the Most High Himself shall establish her.” 6 The LORD will record, When He aregisters the peoples: “This one was born there.” Selah 7 Both the singers and the players on instruments say, “All my springs are in you.” PSALM 88 A Prayer for Help in Despondency A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. To the Chief Musician. Set to “Mahalath Leannoth.” A 1Contemplation of aHeman the Ezrahite. O LORD, aGod of my salvation, I have cried out day and night before You. 2 Let my prayer come before You; 1Incline Your ear to my cry. 3 For my soul is full of troubles, And my life adraws near to the grave. 4 I am counted with those who ago1 down to the pit; bI am like a man who has no strength, 5 1Adrift among the dead, Like the slain who lie in the grave, Whom You remember no more, And who are cut off from Your hand. 6 You have laid me in the lowest pit, In darkness, in the depths. 7 Your wrath lies heavy upon me, And You have afflicted me with all aYour waves. Selah 8 aYou have 1put away my acquaintances far from me; You have made me an abomination to them; bI am shut up, and I cannot get out; 9 My eye wastes away because of affliction. aLORD, I have called daily upon You; I have stretched out my hands to You. 10 Will You work wonders for the dead? Shall 1the dead arise and praise You? Selah 8 a[Ex. 15:11]; 2 Sam. 7:22; 1 Kin. 8:23; Ps. 89:6; Jer. 10:6 10 a[Ex. 15:11] bDeut. 6:4; Is. 37:16; Mark 12:29; 1 Cor. 8:4 11 aPs. 27:11; 143:8 1Give me singleness of heart 13 1The abode of the dead 15 aEx. 34:6; [Ps. 86:5] PSALM 87 2 aPs. 78:67, 68 3 aIs. 60:1 4 1Egypt 6 aIs. 4:3 PSALM 88 title a1 Kin. 4:31; 1 Chr. 2:6 1Heb. Maschil 1 aPs. 27:9; [Luke 18:7] 2 1Listen to 3 aPs. 107:18 4 a[Ps. 28:1] bPs. 31:12 1Die 5 1Lit. Free 7 aPs. 42:7 8 aJob 19:13, 19; Ps. 31:11; 142:4 bLam. 3:7 1taken away my friends 9 aPs. 86:3 10 1shades, ghosts

521 PSALM 89:24 11 Shall Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave? Or Your faithfulness in the place of destruction? 12 Shall Your wonders be known in the dark? And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? 13 But to You I have cried out, O LORD, And in the morning my prayer comes before You. 14 LORD, why do You cast off my soul? Why do You hide Your face from me? 15 I have been afflicted and ready to die from my youth; I suffer Your terrors; I am distraught. 16 Your fierce wrath has gone over me; Your terrors have 1cut me off. 17 They came around me all day long like water; They engulfed me altogether. 18 aLoved one and friend You have put far from me, And my acquaintances into darkness. PSALM 89 Remembering the Covenant with David, and Sorrow for Lost Blessings A 1Contemplation of aEthan the Ezrahite. I WILL sing of the mercies of the LORD forever; With my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations. 2 For I have said, “Mercy shall be built up forever; aYour faithfulness You shall establish in the very heavens.” 3 “Ia have made a covenant with My chosen, I have bsworn to My servant David: 4 ‘Your seed I will establish forever, And build up your throne ato all generations.’ ” Selah 5 And athe heavens will praise Your wonders, O LORD; Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the saints. 6 aFor who in the heavens can be compared to the LORD? Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened to the LORD? 7 aGod is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, And to be held in reverence by all those around Him. 8 O LORD God of hosts, Who is mighty like You, O LORD? Your faithfulness also surrounds You. 9 aYou rule the raging of the sea; When its waves rise,You still them. 10 aYou have broken 1Rahab in pieces, as one who is slain; You have scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm. 11 aThe heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours; The world and all its fullness, You have founded them. 12 The north and the south,You have created them; aTabor and bHermon rejoice in Your name. 13 You have a mighty arm; Strong is Your hand, and high is Your right hand. 14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Mercy and truth go before Your face. 15 Blessed are the people who know the ajoyful sound! They walk, O LORD, in the light of Your countenance. 16 In Your name they rejoice all day long, And in Your righteousness they are exalted. 17 For You are the glory of their strength, And in Your favor our 1horn is aexalted. 18 For our shield belongs to the LORD, And our king to the Holy One of Israel. 19 Then You spoke in a vision to Your 1holy one, And said: “I have given help to one who is mighty; I have exalted one achosen from the people. 20 aI have found My servant David; With My holy oil I have anointed him, 21 aWith whom My hand shall be established; Also My arm shall strengthen him. 22 The enemy shall not 1outwit him, Nor the son of wickedness afflict him. 23 I will beat down his foes before his face, And plague those who hate him. 24 “But My faithfulness and My mercy shall be with him, And in My name his horn shall be exalted. 16 1destroyed me 18 aJob 19:13; Ps. 31:11; 38:11 PSALM 89 title a1 Kin. 4:31 1Heb. Maschil 2 a[Ps. 119:89, 90] 3 a1 Kin. 8:16 b2 Sam. 7:11; 1 Chr. 17:10–12 4 a[2 Sam. 7:13; Is. 9:7; Luke 1:33] 5 a[Ps. 19:1] 6 aPs. 86:8; 113:5 7 aPs. 76:7, 11 9 aPs. 65:7; 93:3, 4; 107:29 10 aEx. 14:26–28; Ps. 87:4; Is. 30:7; 51:9 1Egypt 11 a[Gen. 1:1; 1 Chr. 29:11] 12 aJosh. 19:22; Judg. 4:6; Jer. 46:18 bDeut. 3:8; Josh. 11:17; 12:1; Song 4:8 15 aLev. 23:24; Num. 10:10; Ps. 98:6 17 aPs. 75:10; 92:10; 132:17 1Strength 19 a1 Kin. 11:34 1So with many Heb. mss.; MT, LXX, Tg., Vg. holy ones 20 a1 Sam. 13:14; 16:1–12; Acts 13:22 21 aPs. 80:17 22 1Or exact usury from him

PSALM 89:25 522 25 Also I will aset his hand over the sea, And his right hand over the rivers. 26 He shall cry to Me, ‘You are amy Father, My God, and bthe rock of my salvation.’ 27 Also I will make him aMy firstborn, bThe highest of the kings of the earth. 28 aMy mercy I will keep for him forever, And My covenant shall stand firm with him. 29 His seed also I will make to endure forever, aAnd his throne bas the days of heaven. 30 “Ifa his sons bforsake My law And do not walk in My judgments, 31 If they 1break My statutes And do not keep My commandments, 32 Then I will punish their transgression with the rod, And their iniquity with stripes. 33 aNevertheless My lovingkindness I will not 1utterly take from him, Nor 2allow My faithfulness to fail. 34 My covenant I will not break, Nor aalter the word that has gone out of My lips. 35 Once I have sworn aby My holiness; I will not lie to David: 36 aHis seed shall endure forever, And his throne bas the sun before Me; 37 It shall be established forever like the moon, Even like the faithful witness in the sky.” Selah 38 But You have acast off and babhorred,1 You have been furious with Your 2anointed. 39 You have renounced the covenant of Your servant; aYou have 1profaned his crown by casting it to the ground. 40 You have broken down all his hedges; You have brought his 1strongholds to ruin. 41 All who pass by the way aplunder him; He is a reproach to his neighbors. 42 You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries; You have made all his enemies rejoice. 43 You have also turned back the edge of his sword, And have not sustained him in the battle. 44 You have made his 1glory cease, And cast his throne down to the ground. 45 The days of his youth You have shortened; You have covered him with shame. Selah 46 How long, LORD? Will You hide Yourself forever? Will Your wrath burn like fire? 47 Remember how short my time ais; For what bfutility have You created all the children of men? 48 What man can live and not 1see adeath? Can he deliver his life from the power of 2the grave? Selah 49 Lord, where are Your former lovingkindnesses, Which You aswore to David bin Your truth? 50 Remember, Lord, the reproach of Your servants— aHow I bear in my bosom the reproach of all the many peoples, 51 aWith which Your enemies have reproached, O LORD, With which they have reproached the footsteps of Your 1anointed. 52 aBlessed be the LORD forevermore! Amen and Amen. BOOK FOUR Psalms 90—106 PSALM 90 The Eternity of God, and Man’s Frailty A Prayer aof Moses the man of God. LORD, aYou have been our 1dwelling place in all generations. 2 aBefore the mountains were brought forth, Or ever You 1had formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting,You are God. 3 You turn man to destruction, And say, a“Return, O children of men.” 4 aFor a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it is past, And like a watch in the night. 5 You carry them away like a flood; 25 aPs. 72:8 26 a[1 Chr. 22:10] b2 Sam. 22:47 27 a[Col. 1:15, 18] bRev. 19:16 28 aIs. 55:3 29 aJer. 33:17 bDeut. 11:21 30 a[2 Sam. 7:14] bPs. 119:53 31 1profane 33 a2 Sam. 7:14, 15 1Lit. break off 2Lit. deal falsely with My faithfulness 34 aJer. 33:20–22 35 aAmos 4:2 36 a[Luke 1:33] bPs. 72:17 38 a[1 Chr. 28:9] bDeut. 32:19 1rejected 2Commis- sioned one, Heb. messiah 39 aLam. 5:16 1defiled 40 1fortresses 41 aPs. 80:12 44 1splendor or brightness 47 aPs. 90:9 bPs. 62:9 48 a[Eccl. 3:19] 1experience death 2Or Sheol 49 a[2 Sam. 7:15] bPs. 54:5 50 aPs. 69:9, 19 51 aPs. 74:10, 18, 22 1Com- missioned one, Heb. messiah 52 aPs. 41:13 PSALM 90 title aDeut. 33:1 1 a[Ezek. 11:16] 1LXX, Tg., Vg. refuge 2 a[Prov. 8:25, 26] 1Lit. gave birth to 3 aGen. 3:19 4 a2 Pet. 3:8

523 PSALM 92:1 aThey are like a sleep. In the morning bthey are like grass which grows up: 6 In the morning it flourishes and grows up; In the evening it is cut down and withers. 7 For we have been consumed by Your anger, And by Your wrath we are terrified. 8 aYou have set our iniquities before You, Our bsecret sins in the light of Your countenance. 9 For all our days have passed away in Your wrath; We finish our years like a sigh. 10 The days of our lives are seventy years; And if by reason of strength they are eighty years, Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; For it is soon cut off, and we fly away. 11 Who knows the power of Your anger? For as the fear of You, so is Your wrath. 12 aSo teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom. 13 Return, O LORD! How long? And ahave compassion on Your servants. 14 Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy, aThat we may rejoice and be glad all our days! 15 Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us, The years in which we have seen evil. 16 Let aYour work appear to Your servants, And Your glory to their children. 17 aAnd let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us, And bestablish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands. PSALM 91 Safety of Abiding in the Presence of God HE awho dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide bunder the shadow of the Almighty. 2 aI will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.” 3 Surely aHe shall deliver you from the snare of the 1fowler And from the perilous pestilence. 4 aHe shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and 1buckler. 5 aYou shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day, 6 Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. 7 A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you. 8 Only awith your eyes shall you look, And see the reward of the wicked. 9 Because you have made the LORD, who is amy refuge, Even the Most High, byour dwelling place, 10 aNo evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; 11 aFor He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways. 12 In their hands they shall 1bear you up, aLest you 2dash your foot against a stone. 13 You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot. 14 “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will 1set him on high, because he has aknown My name. 15 He shall acall upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be bwith him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. 16 With 1long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation.” PSALM 92 Praise to the LORD for His Love and Faithfulness A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath day. IT is agood to give thanks to the LORD, 5 aPs. 73:20 bIs. 40:6 8 aPs. 50:21; [Jer. 16:17] bPs. 19:12; [Eccl. 12:14] 12 aDeut. 32:29; Ps. 39:4 13 aEx. 32:12; Deut. 32:36 14 aPs. 85:6 16 a[Deut. 32:4]; Hab. 3:2 17 aPs. 27:4 bIs. 26:12 PSALM 91 1 aPs. 27:5; 31:20; 32:7 bPs. 17:8; Is. 25:4; 32:2 2 aPs. 142:5 3 aPs. 124:7; Prov. 6:5 1One who catches birds in a trap or snare 4 aPs. 17:8 1A small shield 5 a[Job 5:19; Ps. 112:7; Is. 43:2] 8 aPs. 37:34; Mal. 1:5 9 aPs. 91:2 bPs. 90:1 10 a[Prov. 12:21] 11 aPs. 34:7; Matt. 4:6; Luke 4:10; [Heb. 1:14] 12 aMatt. 4:6; Luke 4:11 1lift 2strike 14 a[Ps. 9:10] 1exalt him 15 aJob 12:4; Ps. 50:15 bIs. 43:2 16 1Lit. length of days PSALM 92 1 aPs. 147:1

PSALM 92:2 524 And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; 2 To adeclare Your lovingkindness in the morning, And Your faithfulness every night, 3 aOn an instrument of ten strings, On the lute, And on the harp, With harmonious sound. 4 For You, LORD, have made me glad through Your work; I will triumph in the works of Your hands. 5 aO LORD, how great are Your works! bYour thoughts are very deep. 6 aA senseless man does not know, Nor does a fool understand this. 7 When athe wicked 1spring up like grass, And when all the workers of iniquity flourish, It is that they may be destroyed forever. 8 aBut You, LORD, are on high forevermore. 9 For behold,Your enemies, O LORD, For behold,Your enemies shall perish; All the workers of iniquity shall abe scattered. 10 But amy 1horn You have exalted like a wild ox; I have been banointed with fresh oil. 11 aMy eye also has seen my desire on my enemies; My ears hear my desire on the wicked Who rise up against me. 12 aThe righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. 13 Those who are planted in the house of the LORD Shall flourish in the courts of our God. 14 They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be 1fresh and 2flourishing, 15 To declare that the LORD is upright; aHe is my rock, and bthere is no unrighteousness in Him. PSALM 93 The Eternal Reign of the LORD THE aLORD reigns, He is clothed with majesty; The LORD is clothed, bHe has girded Himself with strength. Surely the world is established, so that it cannot be 1moved. 2 aYour throne is established from of old; You are from everlasting. 3 The floods have 1lifted up, O LORD, The floods have lifted up their voice; The floods lift up their waves. 4 aThe LORD on high is mightier Than the noise of many waters, Than the mighty waves of the sea. 5 Your testimonies are very sure; Holiness adorns Your house, O LORD, 1forever. PSALM 94 God the Refuge of the Righteous O LORD God, ato whom vengeance belongs— O God, to whom vengeance belongs, shine forth! 2 Rise up, O aJudge of the earth; 1Render punishment to the proud. 3 LORD, ahow long will the wicked, How long will the wicked triumph? 4 They autter speech, and speak insolent things; All the workers of iniquity boast in themselves. 5 They break in pieces Your people, O LORD, And afflict Your heritage. 6 They slay the widow and the stranger, And murder the fatherless. 7 aYet they say, “The LORD does not see, Nor does the God of Jacob 1understand.” 8 Understand, you senseless among the people; And you fools, when will you be wise? 9 aHe who planted the ear, shall He not hear? He who formed the eye, shall He not see? 10 He who 1instructs the 2nations, shall He not correct, He who teaches man knowledge? 11 The LORD aknows the thoughts of man, That they are futile. 12 Blessed is the man whom You ainstruct, O LORD, And teach out of Your law, 13 That You may give him 1rest from the days of adversity, 2 aPs. 89:1 3 a1 Chr. 23:5 5 aPs. 40:5; [Rev. 15:3] bPs. 139:17, 18; [Is. 28:29; Rom. 11:33, 34] 6 aPs. 73:22 7 aJob 12:6; Ps. 37:1, 2; Jer. 12:1, 2; [Mal. 3:15] 1sprout 8 a[Ps. 83:18] 9 aPs. 68:1 10 aPs. 89:17 bPs. 23:5 1Strength 11 aPs. 54:7 12 aNum. 24:6; Ps. 52:8; Jer. 17:8; Hos. 14:5, 6 14 1Full of oil or sap, lit. fat 2green 15 a[Deut. 32:4] b[Rom. 9:14] PSALM 93 1 aPs. 96:10 bPs. 65:6 1shaken 2 aPs. 45:6; [Lam. 5:19] 3 1raised up 4 aPs. 65:7 5 1Lit. for length of days PSALM 94 1 aDeut. 32:35; [Is. 35:4; Nah. 1:2; Rom. 12:19] 2 a[Gen. 18:25] 1Repay with 3 a[Job 20:5] 4 aPs. 31:18; Jude 15 7 aJob 22:13; Ps. 10:11 1pay attention 9 a[Ex. 4:11; Prov. 20:12] 10 1disciplines 2Gentiles 11 aJob 11:11; 1 Cor. 3:20 12 a[Deut. 8:5; Job 5:17; Ps. 119:71; Prov. 3:11, 12; Heb. 12:5, 6] 13 1relief

525 PSALM 96:13 Until the pit is dug for the wicked. 14 For the LORD will not 1cast off His people, Nor will He forsake His inheritance. 15 But judgment will return to righteousness, And all the upright in heart will follow it. 16 Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? Who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity? 17 Unless the LORD had been my help, My soul would soon have settled in silence. 18 If I say, “My foot slips,” Your mercy, O LORD, will hold me up. 19 In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul. 20 Shall athe throne of iniquity, which devises evil by law, Have fellowship with You? 21 They gather together against the life of the righteous, And condemn ainnocent blood. 22 But the LORD has been my defense, And my God the rock of my refuge. 23 He has brought on them their own iniquity, And shall 1cut them off in their own wickedness; The LORD our God shall cut them off. PSALM 95 A Call to Worship and Obedience OH come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. 2 Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with apsalms. 3 For athe LORD is the great God, And the great King above all gods. 4 1In His hand are the deep places of the earth; The heights of the hills are His also. 5 aThe sea is His, for He made it; And His hands formed the dry land. 6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let aus kneel before the LORD our Maker. 7 For He is our God, And awe are the people of His pasture, And the sheep 1of His hand. bToday, if you will hear His voice: 8 “Do not harden your hearts, as in the 1rebellion, aAs in the day of 2trial in the wilderness, 9 When ayour fathers tested Me; They tried Me, though they bsaw My work. 10 For aforty years I was 1grieved with that generation, And said, ‘It is a people who go astray in their hearts, And they do not know My ways.’ 11 So aI swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’ ” PSALM 96 A Song of Praise to God Coming in Judgment OH, asing to the LORD a new song! Sing to the LORD, all the earth. 2 Sing to the LORD, bless His name; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. 3 Declare His glory among the 1nations, His wonders among all peoples. 4 For athe LORD is great and bgreatly to be praised; cHe is to be feared above all gods. 5 For aall the gods of the peoples are idols, bBut the LORD made the heavens. 6 Honor and majesty are before Him; Strength and abeauty are in His sanctuary. 7 aGive1 to the LORD, O families of the peoples, Give to the LORD glory and strength. 8 1Give to the LORD the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come into His courts. 9 Oh, worship the LORD ain the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth. 10 Say among the 1nations, a“The LORD reigns; The world also is firmly established, It shall not be 2moved; bHe shall judge the peoples righteously.” 11 aLet the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; bLet the sea roar, and 1all its fullness; 12 Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice 13 before the LORD. 14 1abandon 20 aAmos 6:3 21 a[Ex. 23:7]; Ps. 106:38; [Prov. 17:15]; Matt. 27:4 23 1destroy them PSALM 95 2 aEph. 5:19; James 5:13 3 a[Ps. 96:4; 1 Cor. 8:5, 6] 4 1In His pos- session 5 aGen. 1:9, 10; Jon. 1:9 6 a2 Chr. 6:13; Dan. 6:10; [Phil. 2:10] 7 aPs. 79:13 bHeb. 3:7–11, 15; 4:7 1Under His care 8 aEx. 17:2–7; Num. 20:13 1Or Meribah, lit. Strife, Contention 2Or Massah, lit. Trial, Test- ing 9 aPs. 78:18; [1 Cor. 10:9] bNum. 14:22 10 aActs 7:36; 13:18; Heb. 3:10, 17 1dis- gusted 11 aNum. 14:23, 28–30; Deut. 1:35; Heb. 4:3, 5 PSALM 96 1 a1 Chr. 16:23–33 3 1Gentiles 4 aPs. 145:3 bPs. 18:3 cPs. 95:3 5 a1 Chr. 16:26; [Jer. 10:11] bPs. 115:15; Is. 42:5 6 aPs. 29:2 7 a1 Chr. 16:28, 29; Ps. 29:1, 2 1As- cribe 8 1Ascribe 9 a1 Chr. 16:29; 2 Chr. 20:21; Ps. 29:2 10 aPs. 93:1; 97:1; [Rev. 11:15; 19:6] bPs. 67:4 1Gentiles 2shaken 11 aPs. 69:34; Is.

, Contention 2Or Massah, lit. Trial, Test- ing 9 aPs. 78:18; [1 Cor. 10:9] bNum. 14:22 10 aActs 7:36; 13:18; Heb. 3:10, 17 1dis- gusted 11 aNum. 14:23, 28–30; Deut. 1:35; Heb. 4:3, 5 PSALM 96 1 a1 Chr. 16:23–33 3 1Gentiles 4 aPs. 145:3 bPs. 18:3 cPs. 95:3 5 a1 Chr. 16:26; [Jer. 10:11] bPs. 115:15; Is. 42:5 6 aPs. 29:2 7 a1 Chr. 16:28, 29; Ps. 29:1, 2 1As- cribe 8 1Ascribe 9 a1 Chr. 16:29; 2 Chr. 20:21; Ps. 29:2 10 aPs. 93:1; 97:1; [Rev. 11:15; 19:6] bPs. 67:4 1Gentiles 2shaken 11 aPs. 69:34; Is. 49:13 bPs. 98:7 1all that is in it

PSALM 97:1 526 For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. aHe shall judge the world with righteousness, And the peoples with His truth. PSALM 97 A Song of Praise to the Sovereign LORD THE LORD areigns; Let the earth rejoice; Let the multitude of 1isles be glad! 2 aClouds and darkness surround Him; bRighteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne. 3 aA fire goes before Him, And burns up His enemies round about. 4 aHis lightnings light the world; The earth sees and trembles. 5 aThe mountains melt like wax at the presence of the LORD, At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. 6 aThe heavens declare His righteousness, And all the peoples see His glory. 7 aLet all be put to shame who serve carved images, Who boast of idols. bWorship Him, all you gods. 8 Zion hears and is glad, And the daughters of Judah rejoice Because of Your judgments, O LORD. 9 For You, LORD, are amost high above all the earth; bYou are exalted far above all gods. 10 You who love the LORD, ahate evil! bHe preserves the souls of His saints; cHe delivers them out of the hand of the wicked. 11 aLight is sown for the righteous, And gladness for the upright in heart. 12 aRejoice in the LORD, you righteous, bAnd give thanks 1at the remembrance of 2His holy name. PSALM 98 A Song of Praise to the LORD for His Salvation and Judgment A Psalm. OH, asing to the LORD a new song! For He has bdone marvelous things; His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory. 2 aThe LORD has made known His salvation; bHis righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the 1nations. 3 He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel; aAll the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. 4 Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth; Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises. 5 Sing to the LORD with the harp, With the harp and the sound of a psalm, 6 With trumpets and the sound of a horn; Shout joyfully before the LORD, the King. 7 Let the sea roar, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell in it; 8 Let the rivers clap their hands; Let the hills be joyful together 9 before the LORD, aFor He is coming to judge the earth. With righteousness He shall judge the world, And the peoples with 1equity. PSALM 99 Praise to the LORD for His Holiness THE LORD reigns; Let the peoples tremble! aHe dwells between the cherubim; Let the earth be 1moved! 2 The LORD is great in Zion, And He is high above all the peoples. 3 Let them praise Your great and awesome name— 1He is holy. 4 The King’s strength also loves justice; You have established equity; You have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob. 5 Exalt the LORD our God, And worship at His footstool— He is holy. 6 Moses and Aaron were among His priests, And Samuel was among those who acalled upon His name; They called upon the LORD, and He answered them. 7 He spoke to them in the cloudy pillar; They kept His testimonies and the 1ordinance He gave them. 13 a[Rev. 19:11] PSALM 97 1 a[Ps. 96:10] 1Or coast- lands 2 aEx. 19:9; Deut. 4:11; 1 Kin. 8:12; Ps. 18:11 b[Ps. 89:14] 3 aPs. 18:8; Dan. 7:10; Hab. 3:5 4 aEx. 19:18 5 aPs. 46:6; Amos 9:5; Mic. 1:4; Nah. 1:5 6 aPs. 19:1 7 a[Ex. 20:4] b[Heb. 1:6] 9 aPs. 83:18 bEx. 18:11; Ps. 95:3; 96:4 10 a[Ps. 34:14; Prov. 8:13; Amos 5:15; Rom. 12:9] bPs. 31:23; 145:20; Prov. 2:8 cPs. 37:40; Jer. 15:21; Dan. 3:28 11 aJob 22:28; Ps. 112:4; Prov. 4:18 12 aPs. 33:1 bPs. 30:4 1Or for the mem- ory 2Or His holiness PSALM 98 1 aPs. 33:3; Is. 42:10 bEx. 15:11; Ps. 77:14 2 aIs. 52:10; [Luke 1:77; 2:30, 31] bIs. 62:2; Rom. 3:25 1Gentiles 3 a[Is. 49:6]; Luke 3:6; [Acts 13:47; 28:28] 9 a[Ps. 96:10, 13] 1upright- ness PSALM 99 1 aEx. 25:22; 1 Sam. 4:4; Ps. 80:1 1shaken 3 1Or It 6 a1 Sam. 7:9; 12:18 7 1statute

527 PSALM 102:15 8 You answered them, O LORD our God; You were to them God-Who- Forgives, Though You took vengeance on their deeds. 9 Exalt the LORD our God, And worship at His holy hill; For the LORD our God is holy. PSALM 100 A Song of Praise for the LORD’s Faithfulness to His People aA Psalm of Thanksgiving. MAKE aa joyful shout to the LORD, 1all you lands! 2 Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. 3 Know that the LORD, He is God; aIt is He who has made us, and 1not we ourselves; bWe are His people and the sheep of His pasture. 4 aEnter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. 5 For the LORD is good; aHis mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations. PSALM 101 Promised Faithfulness to the LORD A Psalm of David. I WILL sing of mercy and justice; To You, O LORD, I will sing praises. 2 I will behave wisely in a 1perfect way. Oh, when will You come to me? I will awalk within my house with a perfect heart. 3 I will set nothing 1wicked before my eyes; aI hate the work of those bwho fall away; It shall not cling to me. 4 A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will not aknow wickedness. 5 Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, Him I will destroy; aThe one who has a haughty look and a proud heart, Him I will not endure. 6 My eyes shall be on the faithful of the land, That they may dwell with me; He who walks in a 1perfect way, He shall serve me. 7 He who works deceit shall not dwell within my house; He who tells lies shall not 1continue in my presence. 8 aEarly I will destroy all the wicked of the land, That I may cut off all the evildoers bfrom the city of the LORD. PSALM 102 The LORD’s Eternal Love A Prayer of the afflicted, awhen he is overwhelmed and pours out his complaint before the LORD. HEAR my prayer, O LORD, And let my cry come to You. 2 aDo not hide Your face from me in the day of my trouble; Incline Your ear to me; In the day that I call, answer me speedily. 3 For my days 1are aconsumed like smoke, And my bones are burned like a hearth. 4 My heart is stricken and withered like grass, So that I forget to eat my bread. 5 Because of the sound of my groaning My bones cling to my 1skin. 6 I am like a pelican of the wilderness; I am like an owl of the desert. 7 I lie awake, And am like a sparrow alone on the housetop. 8 My enemies reproach me all day long; Those who deride me swear an oath against me. 9 For I have eaten ashes like bread, And mingled my drink with weeping, 10 Because of Your indignation and Your wrath; For You have lifted me up and cast me away. 11 My days are like a shadow that lengthens, And I wither away like grass. 12 But You, O LORD, shall endure forever, And the remembrance of Your name to all generations. 13 You will arise and have mercy on Zion; For the time to favor her, Yes, the set time, has come. 14 For Your servants take pleasure in her stones, And show favor to her dust. 15 So the 1nations shall afear the name of the LORD, PSALM 100 title aPs. 145: title 1 aPs. 95:1 1Lit. all the earth 3 aJob 10:3, 8; Ps. 119:73; 139:13, 14; [Eph. 2:10] bPs. 95:7; [Is. 40:11]; Ezek. 34:30, 31 1So with Kt., LXX, Vg.; Qr., many Heb. mss., Tg. we are His 4 aPs. 66:13; 116:17–19 5 aPs. 136:1 PSALM 101 2 a1 Kin. 11:4 1blameless 3 aPs. 97:10 bJosh. 23:6 1worthless 4 a[Ps. 119:115] 5 aProv. 6:17 6 1blameless 7 1Lit. be es- tablished 8 a[Ps. 75:10]; Jer. 21:12 bPs. 48:2, 8 PSALM 102 title aPs. 61:2 2 aPs. 27:9; 69:17 3 aJames 4:14 1Lit. end in 5 1flesh 15 a1 Kin. 8:43 1Gentiles

PSALM 102:16 528 And all the kings of the earth Your glory. 16 For the LORD shall build up Zion; aHe shall appear in His glory. 17 aHe shall regard the prayer of the destitute, And shall not despise their prayer. 18 This will be awritten for the generation to come, That ba people yet to be created may praise the LORD. 19 For He alooked down from the height of His sanctuary; From heaven the LORD viewed the earth, 20 aTo hear the groaning of the prisoner, To release those appointed to death, 21 To adeclare the name of the LORD in Zion, And His praise in Jerusalem, 22 aWhen the peoples are gathered together, And the kingdoms, to serve the LORD. 23 He weakened my strength in the way; He ashortened my days. 24 aI said, “O my God, Do not take me away in the midst of my days; bYour years are throughout all generations. 25 aOf old You laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands. 26 aThey will perish, but You will 1endure; Yes, they will all grow old like a garment; Like a cloak You will change them, And they will be changed. 27 But aYou are the same, And Your years will have no end. 28 aThe children of Your servants will continue, And their descendants will be established before You.” PSALM 103 Praise for the LORD’s Mercies A Psalm of David. BLESS athe LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! 2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: 3 aWho forgives all your iniquities, Who bheals all your diseases, 4 Who redeems your life from destruction, aWho crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, 5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that ayour youth is renewed like the eagle’s. 6 The LORD executes righteousness And justice for all who are oppressed. 7 aHe made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel. 8 aThe LORD is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. 9 aHe will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever. 10 aHe has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities. 11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; 12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He aremoved our transgressions from us. 13 aAs a father pities his children, So the LORD pities those who fear Him. 14 For He 1knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust. 15 As for man, ahis days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes. 16 aFor the wind passes over it, and it is 1gone, And bits place remembers it no more. 17 But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting On those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children’s children, 18 aTo such as keep His covenant, And to those who remember His commandments to do them. 19 The LORD has established His throne in heaven, And aHis kingdom rules over all. 20 aBless the LORD, you His angels, Who excel in strength, who bdo His word, Heeding the voice of His word. 21 Bless the LORD, all you His hosts, 16 a[Is. 60:1, 2] 17 aNeh. 1:6 18 a[Rom. 15:4] bPs. 22:31 19 aDeut. 26:15 20 aPs. 79:11 21 aPs. 22:22 22 a[Is. 2:2, 3; 49:22, 23; 60:3] 23 aJob 21:21 24 aIs. 38:10 b[Ps. 90:2] 25 a[Heb. 1:10–12] 26 aIs. 34:4; 51:6 1continue 27 a[Mal. 3:6] 28 aPs. 69:36 PSALM 103 1 aPs. 104:1, 35 3 aPs. 130:8 b[Ex. 15:26] 4 a[Ps. 5:12] 5 a[Is. 40:31] 7 aPs. 147:19 8 a[Ex. 34:6, 7] 9 a[Ps. 30:5] 10 a[Ezra 9:13] 12 a[Is. 38:17; 43:25] 13 aMal. 3:17 14 1Under- stands our constitution 15 a1 Pet. 1:24 16 a[Is. 40:7] bJob 7:10 1not 18 a[Deut. 7:9] 19 a[Dan. 4:17, 25] 20 aPs. 148:2 b[Matt. 6:10]

529 PSALM 104:31 aYou 1ministers of His, who do His pleasure. 22 Bless the LORD, all His works, In all places of His dominion. Bless the LORD, O my soul! PSALM 104 Praise to the Sovereign LORD for His Creation and Providence BLESS athe LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God,You are very great: You are clothed with honor and majesty, 2 Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment, Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain. 3 aHe lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters, Who makes the clouds His chariot, Who walks on the wings of the wind, 4 Who makes His angels spirits, His 1ministers a flame of fire. 5 You who 1laid the foundations of the earth, So that it should not be moved forever, 6 You acovered it with the deep as with a garment; The waters stood above the mountains. 7 At Your rebuke they fled; At the voice of Your thunder they hastened away. 8 1They went up over the mountains; They went down into the valleys, To the place which You founded for them. 9 You have aset a boundary that they may not pass over, bThat they may not return to cover the earth. 10 He sends the springs into the valleys; They flow among the hills. 11 They give drink to every beast of the field; The wild donkeys quench their thirst. 12 By them the birds of the heavens have their home; They sing among the branches. 13 aHe waters the hills from His upper chambers; The earth is satisfied with bthe fruit of Your works. 14 aHe causes the grass to grow for the cattle, And vegetation for the service of man, That he may bring forth bfood from the earth, 15 And awine that makes glad the heart of man, Oil to make his face shine, And bread which strengthens man’s heart. 16 The trees of the LORD are full of sap, The cedars of Lebanon which He planted, 17 Where the birds make their nests; The stork has her home in the fir trees. 18 The high hills are for the wild goats; The cliffs are a refuge for the arock1 badgers. 19 aHe appointed the moon for seasons; The bsun knows its going down. 20 aYou make darkness, and it is night, In which all the beasts of the forest creep about. 21 aThe young lions roar after their prey, And seek their food from God. 22 When the sun rises, they gather together And lie down in their dens. 23 Man goes out to ahis work And to his labor until the evening. 24 aO LORD, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all. The earth is full of Your bpossessions— 25 This great and wide sea, In which are innumerable teeming things, Living things both small and great. 26 There the ships sail about; There is that aLeviathan1 Which You have 2made to play there. 27 aThese all wait for You, That You may give them their food in due season. 28 What You give them they gather in; You open Your hand, they are filled with good. 29 You hide Your face, they are troubled; aYou take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. 30 aYou send forth Your Spirit, they are created; And You renew the face of the earth. 31 May the glory of the LORD endure forever; 21 a[Heb. 1:14] 1servants PSALM 104 1 aPs. 103:1 3 a[Amos 9:6] 4 1servants 5 1Lit. founded the earth upon her bases 6 aGen. 1:6 8 1Or The mountains rose up; the valleys sank down 9 aJob 26:10; Ps. 33:7; [Jer. 5:22] bGen. 9:11–15 13 aPs. 147:8 bJer. 10:13 14 aGen. 1:29 bJob 28:5 15 aJudg. 9:13; Ps. 23:5; Prov. 31:6; Eccl. 10:19 18 aLev. 11:5 1rock hyraxes 19 aGen. 1:14 bJob 38:12; Ps. 19:6 20 a[Ps. 74:16; Is. 45:7] 21 aJob 38:39 23 aGen. 3:19 24 aPs. 40:5; Prov. 3:19; [Jer. 10:12]; 51:15 bPs. 65:9 26 aJob 41:1; Is. 27:1 1A large sea creature of unknown identity 2Lit. formed 27 aJob 36:31; Ps. 136:25 29 aJob 34:15; [Eccl. 12:7] 30 aIs. 32:15

PSALM 104:32 530 May the LORD arejoice in His works. 32 He looks on the earth, and it atrembles; bHe touches the hills, and they smoke. 33 aI will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. 34 May my ameditation be sweet to Him; I will be glad in the LORD. 35 May asinners be consumed from the earth, And the wicked be no more. Bless the LORD, O my soul! 1Praise the LORD! PSALM 105 The Eternal Faithfulness of the LORD OH, agive thanks to the LORD! Call upon His name; bMake known His deeds among the peoples! 2 Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; aTalk of all His wondrous works! 3 Glory in His holy name; Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the LORD! 4 Seek the LORD and His strength; aSeek His face evermore! 5 aRemember His marvelous works which He has done, His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth, 6 O seed of Abraham His servant, You children of Jacob, His chosen ones! 7 He is the LORD our God; aHis judgments are in all the earth. 8 He aremembers His covenant forever, The word which He commanded, for a thousand generations, 9 aThe covenant which He made with Abraham, And His oath to Isaac, 10 And confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, To Israel as an everlasting covenant, 11 Saying, a“To you I will give the land of Canaan As the allotment of your inheritance,” 12 aWhen they were few in number, Indeed very few, band strangers in it. 13 When they went from one nation to another, From one kingdom to another people, 14 aHe permitted no one to do them wrong; Yes, bHe rebuked kings for their sakes, 15 Saying, “Do not touch My anointed ones, And do My prophets no harm.” 16 Moreover aHe called for a famine in the land; He destroyed all the bprovision of bread. 17 aHe sent a man before them— Joseph—who bwas sold as a slave. 18 aThey hurt his feet with fetters, 1He was laid in irons. 19 Until the time that his word came to pass, aThe word of the LORD tested him. 20 aThe king sent and released him, The ruler of the people let him go free. 21 aHe made him lord of his house, And ruler of all his possessions, 22 To 1bind his princes at his pleasure, And teach his elders wisdom. 23 aIsrael also came into Egypt, And Jacob dwelt bin the land of Ham. 24 aHe increased His people greatly, And made them stronger than their enemies. 25 aHe turned their heart to hate His people, To deal craftily with His servants. 26 aHe sent Moses His servant, And Aaron whom He had chosen. 27 They aperformed His signs among them, And wonders in the land of Ham. 28 He sent darkness, and made it dark; And they did not rebel against His word. 29 aHe turned their waters into blood, And killed their fish. 30 aTheir land abounded with frogs, Even in the chambers of their kings. 31 aHe spoke, and there came swarms of flies, And lice in all their territory. 32 aHe gave them hail for rain, And flaming fire in their land. 33 aHe struck their vines also, and their fig trees, And splintered the trees of their territory. 34 aHe spoke, and locusts came, Young locusts without number, 31 aGen. 1:31; Prov. 8:31 32 aHab. 3:10 bEx. 19:18; Ps. 144:5 33 aPs. 63:4 34 aPs. 19:14 35 aPs. 37:38 1Heb. Hallelu- jah PSALM 105 1 a1 Chr. 16:8–22, 34; Ps. 106:1; Is. 12:4 bPs. 145:12 2 aPs. 119:27 4 aPs. 27:8 5 aPs. 77:11 7 a[Is. 26:9] 8 aLuke 1:72 9 aGen. 17:2; Luke 1:73; [Gal. 3:17]; Heb. 6:17 11 aGen. 13:15; 15:18 12 aGen. 34:30; [Deut. 7:7] bGen. 23:4; Heb. 11:9 14 aGen. 35:5 bGen. 12:17 16 aGen. 41:54 bLev. 26:26; Is. 3:1; Ezek. 4:16 17 a[Gen. 45:5] bGen. 37:28, 36; Acts 7:9 18 aGen. 40:15 1His soul came into iron 19 aGen. 39:11–21; 41:25, 42, 43 20 aGen. 41:14 21 aGen. 41:40–44 22 1Bind as prisoners 23 aGen. 46:6; Acts 7:15 bPs. 78:51 24 aEx. 1:7, 9 25 aEx. 1:8–10; 4:21 26 aEx. 3:10; 4:12–15 27 aEx. 7—12; Ps. 78:43 29 aEx. 7:20, 21; Ps. 78:44 30 aEx. 8:6 31 aEx. 8:16, 17 32 aEx. 9:23–25 33 aPs. 78:47 34 aEx. 10:4

531 PSALM 106:23 35 And ate up all the vegetation in their land, And devoured the fruit of their ground. 36 aHe also 1destroyed all the firstborn in their land, bThe first of all their strength. 37 aHe also brought them out with silver and gold, And there was none feeble among His tribes. 38 aEgypt was glad when they departed, For the fear of them had fallen upon them. 39 aHe spread a cloud for a covering, And fire to give light in the night. 40 aThe people asked, and He brought quail, And bsatisfied them with the bread of heaven. 41 aHe opened the rock, and water gushed out; It ran in the dry places like a river. 42 For He remembered aHis holy promise, And Abraham His servant. 43 He brought out His people with joy, His chosen ones with 1gladness. 44 aHe gave them the lands of the 1Gentiles, And they inherited the labor of the nations, 45 aThat they might observe His statutes And keep His laws. 1Praise the LORD! PSALM 106 Joy in Forgiveness of Israel’s Sins PRAISE1 the LORD! aOh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. 2 Who can 1utter the mighty acts of the LORD? Who can declare all His praise? 3 Blessed are those who keep justice, And 1he who adoes righteousness at ball times! 4 aRemember me, O LORD, with the favor You have toward Your people. Oh, visit me with Your salvation, 5 That I may see the benefit of Your chosen ones, That I may rejoice in the gladness of Your nation, That I may glory with 1Your inheritance. 6 aWe have sinned with our fathers, We have committed iniquity, We have done wickedly. 7 Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your wonders; They did not remember the multitude of Your mercies, aBut rebelled by the sea—the Red Sea. 8 Nevertheless He saved them for His name’s sake, aThat He might make His mighty power known. 9 aHe rebuked the Red Sea also, and it dried up; So bHe led them through the depths, As through the wilderness. 10 He asaved them from the hand of him who hated them, And redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. 11 aThe waters covered their enemies; There was not one of them left. 12 aThen they believed His words; They sang His praise. 13 aThey soon forgot His works; They did not wait for His counsel, 14 aBut lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, And tested God in the desert. 15 aAnd He gave them their request, But bsent leanness into their soul. 16 When athey envied Moses in the camp, And Aaron the saint of the LORD, 17 aThe earth opened up and swallowed Dathan, And covered the faction of Abiram. 18 aA fire was kindled in their company; The flame burned up the wicked. 19 aThey made a calf in Horeb, And worshiped the molded image. 20 Thus athey changed their glory Into the image of an ox that eats grass. 21 They forgot God their Savior, Who had done great things in Egypt, 22 Wondrous works in the land of Ham, Awesome things by the Red Sea. 23 aTherefore He said that He would destroy them, Had not Moses His chosen one bstood before Him in the breach, 36 aEx. 12:29; 13:15 bGen. 49:3 1Lit. struck down 37 aEx. 12:35, 36 38 aEx. 12:33 39 aEx. 13:21 40 aEx. 16:12 bPs. 78:24 41 aEx. 17:6 42 aGen. 15:13, 14 43 1a joyful shout 44 aJosh. 11:16–23; 13:7 1nations 45 a[Deut. 4:1, 40] 1Heb. Hal- lelujah PSALM 106 1 a1 Chr. 16:34, 41 1Heb. Hallelu- jah 2 1express 3 aPs. 15:2 b[Gal. 6:9] 1LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. those who do 4 aPs. 119:132 5 1The people of Your inheri- tance 6 a[Dan. 9:5] 7 aEx. 14:11, 12 8 aEx. 9:16 9 aEx. 14:21 bIs. 63:11–13 10 aEx. 14:30 11 aEx. 14:27, 28; 15:5 12 aEx. 15:1–21 13 aEx. 15:24; 16:2; 17:2 14 a1 Cor. 10:6 15 aNum. 11:31 bIs. 10:16 16 aNum. 16:1–3 17 aDeut. 11:6 18 aNum. 16:35, 46 19 aEx. 32:1–4 20 aRom. 1:23 23 aEx. 32:10 bEzek. 22:30

PSALM 106:24 532 To turn away His wrath, lest He destroy them. 24 Then they despised athe pleasant land; They bdid not believe His word, 25 aBut complained in their tents, And did not heed the voice of the LORD. 26 aTherefore He raised His hand in an oath against them, bTo 1overthrow them in the wilderness, 27 aTo 1overthrow their descendants among the 2nations, And to scatter them in the lands. 28 aThey joined themselves also to Baal of Peor, And ate sacrifices 1made to the dead. 29 Thus they provoked Him to anger with their deeds, And the plague broke out among them. 30 aThen Phinehas stood up and intervened, And the plague was stopped. 31 And that was accounted to him afor righteousness To all generations forevermore. 32 aThey angered Him also at the waters of 1strife, bSo that it went ill with Moses on account of them; 33 aBecause they rebelled against His Spirit, So that he spoke rashly with his lips. 34 aThey did not destroy the peoples, bConcerning whom the LORD had commanded them, 35 aBut they mingled with the Gentiles And learned their works; 36 aThey served their idols, bWhich became a snare to them. 37 aThey even sacrificed their sons And their daughters to bdemons, 38 And shed innocent blood, The blood of their sons and daughters, Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; And athe land was polluted with blood. 39 Thus they 1were adefiled by their own works, And bplayed2 the harlot by their own deeds. 40 Therefore athe wrath of the LORD was kindled against His people, So that He abhorred bHis own inheritance. 41 And aHe gave them into the hand of the Gentiles, And those who hated them ruled over them. 42 Their enemies also oppressed them, And they were brought into subjection under their hand. 43 aMany times He delivered them; But they rebelled in their counsel, And were brought low for their iniquity. 44 Nevertheless He regarded their affliction, When aHe heard their cry; 45 aAnd for their sake He remembered His covenant, And brelented caccording to the multitude of His mercies. 46 aHe also made them to be pitied By all those who carried them away captive. 47 aSave us, O LORD our God, And gather us from among the Gentiles, To give thanks to Your holy name, To triumph in Your praise. 48 aBlessed be the LORD God of Israel From everlasting to everlasting! And let all the people say, “Amen!” 1Praise the LORD! BOOK FIVE Psalms 107—150 PSALM 107 Thanksgiving to the LORD for His Great Works of Deliverance OH, agive thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His 1mercy endures forever. 2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy, 3 And agathered out of the lands, From the east and from the west, From the north and from the south. 4 They wandered in athe wilderness in a desolate way; They found no city to dwell in. 5 Hungry and thirsty, Their soul fainted in them. 6 aThen they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, And He delivered them out of their distresses. 7 And He led them forth by the aright way, 24 aDeut. 8:7 b[Heb. 3:18, 19] 25 aNum. 14:2, 27 26 aEzek. 20:15, 16; bNum. 14:28–30 1make them fall 27 aLev. 26:33 1make their descendants fall also 2Gen- tiles 28 aHos. 9:10 1offered 30 aNum. 25:7, 8 31 aNum. 25:11–13 32 aNum. 20:3–13 bDeut. 1:37; 3:26 1Or Meribah 33 aNum. 20:3, 10 34 aJudg. 1:21 b[Deut. 7:2, 16] 35 aJudg. 3:5, 6 36 aJudg. 2:12 bDeut. 7:16 37 a2 Kin. 16:3; 17:17 b[Lev. 17:7] 38 a[Num. 35:33] 39 aEzek. 20:18 b[Lev. 17:7] 1became unclean 2Were un- faithful 40 aJudg. 2:14 b[Deut. 9:29; 32:9] 41 aJudg. 2:14 43 aJudg. 2:16 44 aJudg. 3:9; 6:7; 10:10 45 a[Lev. 26:41, 42] bJudg. 2:18 cPs. 69:16 46 aEzra 9:9 47 a1 Chr. 16:35, 36 48 aPs. 41:13 1Heb. Hallelu- jah PSALM 107 1 aPs. 106:1 1Heb. same as goodness, vv. 8, 15, 21, 31, and loving- kindness, v. 43 3 aIs. 43:5, 6 4 a [Deut. 2:7; 32:10] 6 aPs. 50:15 7 aEzra 8:21

533 PSALM 107:42 That they might go to a city for a dwelling place. 8 aOh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! 9 For aHe satisfies the longing soul, And fills the hungry soul with goodness. 10 Those who asat in darkness and in the shadow of death, bBound1 in affliction and irons— 11 Because they arebelled against the words of God, And 1despised bthe counsel of the Most High, 12 Therefore He brought down their heart with labor; They fell down, and there was anone to help. 13 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, And He saved them out of their distresses. 14 aHe brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, And broke their chains in pieces. 15 Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! 16 For He has abroken the gates of bronze, And cut the bars of iron in two. 17 Fools, abecause of their transgression, And because of their iniquities, were afflicted. 18 aTheir soul abhorred all manner of food, And they bdrew near to the gates of death. 19 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, And He saved them out of their distresses. 20 aHe sent His word and bhealed them, And cdelivered them from their destructions. 21 Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! 22 aLet them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, And bdeclare His works with 1rejoicing. 23 Those who go down to the sea in ships, Who do business on great waters, 24 They see the works of the LORD, And His wonders in the deep. 25 For He commands and araises the stormy wind, Which lifts up the waves of the sea. 26 They mount up to the heavens, They go down again to the depths; aTheir soul melts because of trouble. 27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, And 1are at their wits’ end. 28 Then they cry out to the LORD in their trouble, And He brings them out of their distresses. 29 aHe calms the storm, So that its waves are still. 30 Then they are glad because they are quiet; So He guides them to their desired haven. 31 aOh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! 32 Let them exalt Him also ain the assembly of the people, And praise Him in the company of the elders. 33 He aturns rivers into a wilderness, And the watersprings into dry ground; 34 A afruitful land into 1barrenness, For the wickedness of those who dwell in it. 35 aHe turns a wilderness into pools of water, And dry land into watersprings. 36 There He makes the hungry dwell, That they may establish a city for a dwelling place, 37 And sow fields and plant vineyards, That they may yield a fruitful harvest. 38 aHe also blesses them, and they multiply greatly; And He does not let their cattle bdecrease. 39 When they are adiminished and brought low Through oppression, affliction, and sorrow, 40 aHe pours contempt on princes, And causes them to wander in the wilderness where there is no way; 41 aYet He sets the poor on high, far from affliction, And bmakes their families like a flock. 42 aThe righteous see it and rejoice, 8 aPs. 107:15, 21 9 a[Ps. 34:10; Luke 1:53] 10 a[Is. 42:7; Mic. 7:8; Luke 1:79] bJob 36:8 1Prison- ers 11 aLam. 3:42 b[Ps. 73:24] 1scorned 12 aPs. 22:11 14 aPs. 68:6 16 aIs. 45:1, 2 17 a[Is. 65:6, 7; Jer. 30:14, 15]; Lam. 3:39; Ezek. 24:23 18 aJob 33:20 bJob 33:22 20 aMatt. 8:8 b2 Kin. 20:5; Ps. 30:2 cJob 33:28, 30 22 aLev. 7:12; Ps. 50:14; Heb. 13:15 bPs. 9:11 1joy- ful singing 25 aJon. 1:4 26 aPs. 22:14 27 1Lit. all their wisdom is swallowed up 29 aPs. 89:9; Matt. 8:26; Luke 8:24 31 aPs. 107:8, 15, 21 32 aPs. 22:22, 25 33 a1 Kin. 17:1, 7; Is. 50:2 34 aGen. 13:10; Deut. 29:23 1Lit. a salty waste 35 aPs. 114:8; [Is. 41:17, 18] 38 aGen. 12:2; 17:16, 20 bEx. 1:7; [Deut. 7:14] 39 a2 Kin. 10:32 40 aJob 12:21, 24 41 a1 Sam. 2:8; [Ps. 113:7, 8] bPs. 78:52 42 aJob 5:15, 16

PSALM 107:43 534 And all biniquity stops its mouth. 43 aWhoever is wise will observe these things, And they will understand the lovingkindness of the LORD. PSALM 108 Assurance of God’s Victory over Enemies A Song. A Psalm of David. O aGOD, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and give praise, even with my glory. 2 aAwake, lute and harp! I will awaken the dawn. 3 I will praise You, O LORD, among the peoples, And I will sing praises to You among the nations. 4 For Your mercy is great above the 1heavens, And Your truth reaches to the clouds. 5 aBe exalted, O God, above the heavens, And Your glory above all the earth; 6 aThat Your beloved may be delivered, Save with Your right hand, and 1hear me. 7 God has spoken in His holiness: “I will rejoice; I will divide Shechem And measure out the Valley of Succoth. 8 Gilead is Mine; Manasseh is Mine; Ephraim also is the 1helmet for My head; aJudah is My lawgiver. 9 Moab is My washpot; Over Edom I will cast My shoe; Over Philistia I will triumph.” 10 aWho will bring me into the strong city? Who will lead me to Edom? 11 Is it not You, O God, who cast us off? And You, O God, who did not go out with our armies? 12 Give us help from trouble, For the help of man is useless. 13 aThrough God we will do valiantly, For it is He who shall tread down our enemies. PSALM 109 Plea for Judgment of False Accusers To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. DOa not keep silent, O God of my praise! 2 For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful Have opened against me; They have spoken against me with a alying tongue. 3 They have also surrounded me with words of hatred, And fought against me awithout a cause. 4 In return for my love they are my accusers, But I give myself to prayer. 5 Thus athey have rewarded me evil for good, And hatred for my love. 6 Set a wicked man over him, And let aan 1accuser stand at his right hand. 7 When he is judged, let him be found guilty, And alet his prayer become sin. 8 Let his days be afew, And blet another take his office. 9 aLet his children be fatherless, And his wife a widow. 10 Let his children 1continually be vagabonds, and beg; Let them 2seek their bread also from their desolate places. 11 aLet the creditor seize all that he has, And let strangers plunder his labor. 12 Let there be none to extend mercy to him, Nor let there be any to favor his fatherless children. 13 aLet his 1posterity be cut off, And in the generation following let their bname be blotted out. 14 aLet the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD, And let not the sin of his mother bbe blotted out. 15 Let them be continually before the LORD, That He may acut off the memory of them from the earth; 16 Because he did not remember to show mercy, But persecuted the poor and needy man, That he might even slay the abroken in heart. 17 aAs he loved cursing, so let it come to him; As he did not delight in blessing, so let it be far from him. 18 As he clothed himself with cursing as with his garment, So let it aenter his body like water, And like oil into his bones. 19 Let it be to him like the garment which covers him, And for a belt with which he girds himself continually. 42 bJob 5:16; Ps. 63:11; [Rom. 3:19] 43 aPs. 64:9; Jer. 9:12; [Hos. 14:9] PSALM 108 1 aPs. 57:7–11 2 aPs. 57:8–11 4 1skies 5 aPs. 57:5, 11 6 aPs. 60:5–12 1Lit. answer 8 a[Gen. 49:10] 1Lit. protec- tion 10 aPs. 60:9 13 aPs. 60:12 PSALM 109 1 aPs. 83:1 2 aPs. 27:12 3 aPs. 35:7; 69:4; John 15:25 5 aPs. 35:7, 12; 38:20; Prov. 17:13 6 aZech. 3:1 1Heb. satan 7 a[Prov. 28:9] 8 a[Ps. 55:23]; John 17:12 bPs. 69:25; Acts 1:20 9 aEx. 22:24 10 1wander continuously 1So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Vg. be cast out 11 aNeh. 5:7; Job 5:5; 18:9 13 aJob 18:19; Ps. 37:28 bProv. 10:7 1descendants be destroyed 14 a[Ex. 20:5; Num. 14:18]; Is. 65:6; [Jer. 32:18] bNeh. 4:5; Jer. 18:23 15 aJob 18:17; [Ps. 34:16] 16 a[Ps. 34:18] 17 aProv. 14:14; [Matt. 7:2] 18 aNum. 5:22

535 PSALM 111:10 20 Let this be the LORD’s reward to my accusers, And to those who speak evil against my person. 21 But You, O GOD the Lord, Deal with me for Your name’s sake; Because Your mercy is good, deliver me. 22 For I am poor and needy, And my heart is wounded within me. 23 I am gone alike a shadow when it lengthens; I am shaken off like a locust. 24 My aknees are weak through fasting, And my flesh is feeble from lack of fatness. 25 I also have become aa reproach to them; When they look at me, bthey shake their heads. 26 Help me, O LORD my God! Oh, save me according to Your mercy, 27 aThat they may know that this is Your hand— That You, LORD, have done it! 28 aLet them curse, but You bless; When they arise, let them be ashamed, But let bYour servant rejoice. 29 aLet my accusers be clothed with shame, And let them cover themselves with their own disgrace as with a mantle. 30 I will greatly praise the LORD with my mouth; Yes, aI will praise Him among the multitude. 31 For aHe shall stand at the right hand of the poor, To save him from those 1who condemn him. PSALM 110 Announcement of the Messiah’s Reign A Psalm of David. THE aLORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your bfootstool.” 2 The LORD shall send the rod of Your strength aout of Zion. bRule in the midst of Your enemies! 3 aYour people shall be volunteers In the day of Your power; bIn the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning, You have the dew of Your youth. 4 The LORD has sworn And awill not relent, “You are a bpriest forever According to the order of cMelchizedek.” 5 The Lord is aat Your right hand; He shall 1execute kings bin the day of His wrath. 6 He shall judge among the nations, He shall fill the places with dead bodies, aHe shall 1execute the heads of many countries. 7 He shall drink of the brook by the wayside; aTherefore He shall lift up the head. PSALM 111 Praise to God for His Faithfulness and Justice PRAISE1 the LORD! aI will praise the LORD with my whole heart, In the assembly of the upright and in the congregation. 2 aThe works of the LORD are great, bStudied by all who have pleasure in them. 3 His work is ahonorable and glorious, And His righteousness endures forever. 4 He has made His wonderful works to be remembered; aThe LORD is gracious and full of compassion. 5 He has given food to those who fear Him; He will ever be mindful of His covenant. 6 He has declared to His people the power of His works, In giving them the 1heritage of the nations. 7 The works of His hands are averity1 and justice; All His precepts are sure. 8 aThey stand fast forever and ever, And are bdone in truth and uprightness. 9 aHe has sent redemption to His people; He has commanded His covenant forever: bHoly and awesome is His name. 10 aThe fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever. 23 aPs. 102:11 24 aHeb. 12:12 25 aPs. 22:7; Jer. 18:16; Lam. 2:15 bMatt. 27:39; Mark 15:29 27 aJob 37:7 28 a2 Sam. 6:11, 12 bIs. 65:14 29 aJob 8:22; Ps. 35:26 30 aPs. 35:18; 111:1 31 a[Ps. 16:8] 1Lit. judging his soul PSALM 110 1 aMatt. 22:44; Mark 12:36; 16:19; Luke 20:42, 43; Acts 2:34, 35; Col. 3:1; Heb. 1:13 b[1 Cor. 15:25; Eph. 1:22] 2 a[Rom. 11:26, 27] b[Ps. 2:9; Dan. 7:13, 14] 3 aJudg. 5:2; Neh. 11:2 b1 Chr. 16:29; Ps. 96:9 4 a[Num. 23:19] b[Zech. 6:13] c[Heb. 5:6, 10; 6:20] 5 a[Ps. 16:8] bPs. 2:5, 12; [Rom. 2:5; Rev. 6:17] 1Lit. break kings in pieces 6 aPs. 68:21 1Lit. break in pieces 7 a[Is. 53:12] PSALM 111 1 aPs. 35:18 1Heb. Hallelu- jah 2 aPs. 92:5 bPs. 143:5 3 aPs. 145:4, 5 4 a[Ps. 86:5] 6 1inheritance 7 a[Rev. 15:3] 1truth 8 aIs. 40:8; Matt. 5:18 b[Rev. 15:3] 9 aLuke 1:68 bLuke 1:49 10 aJob 28:28; [Prov. 1:7; 9:10]; Eccl. 12:13

PSALM 112:1 536 PSALM 112 The Blessed State of the Righteous PRAISE1 the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, Who adelights greatly in His commandments. 2 aHis descendants will be mighty on earth; The generation of the upright will be blessed. 3 aWealth and riches will be in his house, And his righteousness 1endures forever. 4 aUnto the upright there arises light in the darkness; He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous. 5 aA good man deals graciously and lends; He will guide his affairs bwith discretion. 6 Surely he will never be shaken; aThe righteous will be in everlasting remembrance. 7 aHe will not be afraid of evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD. 8 His aheart is established; bHe will not be afraid, Until he csees his desire upon his enemies. 9 He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever; His 1horn will be exalted with honor. 10 The wicked will see it and be grieved; He will gnash his teeth and melt away; The desire of the wicked shall perish. PSALM 113 The Majesty and Condescension of God PRAISE1 the LORD! aPraise, O servants of the LORD, Praise the name of the LORD! 2 aBlessed be the name of the LORD From this time forth and forevermore! 3 aFrom the rising of the sun to its going down The LORD’s name is to be praised. 4 The LORD is ahigh above all nations, bHis glory above the heavens. 5 aWho is like the LORD our God, Who dwells on high, 6 aWho humbles Himself to behold The things that are in the heavens and in the earth? 7 aHe raises the poor out of the dust, And lifts the bneedy out of the ash heap, 8 That He may aseat him with princes— With the princes of His people. 9 aHe grants the 1barren woman a home, Like a joyful mother of children. Praise the LORD! PSALM 114 The Power of God in His Deliverance of Israel WHEN aIsrael went out of Egypt, The house of Jacob bfrom a people 1of strange language, 2 aJudah became His sanctuary, And Israel His dominion. 3 aThe sea saw it and fled; bJordan turned back. 4 aThe mountains skipped like rams, The little hills like lambs. 5 aWhat ails you, O sea, that you fled? O Jordan, that you turned back? 6 O mountains, that you skipped like rams? O little hills, like lambs? 7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, At the presence of the God of Jacob, 8 aWho turned the rock into a pool of water, The flint into a fountain of waters. PSALM 115 The Futility of Idols and the Trustworthiness of God NOT aunto us, O LORD, not unto us, But to Your name give glory, Because of Your mercy, Because of Your truth. 2 Why should the 1Gentiles say, a“So where is their God?” 3 aBut our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases. 4 aTheir idols are silver and gold, The work of men’s hands. 5 They have mouths, but they do not speak; Eyes they have, but they do not see; 6 They have ears, but they do not hear; PSALM 112 1 aPs. 128:1 1Heb. Hallelu- jah 2 a[Ps. 102:28] 3 aProv. 3:16; 8:18; [Matt. 6:33] 1stands 4 aJob 11:17; Ps. 97:11 5 aPs. 37:26; [Luke 6:35] b[Eph. 5:15; Col. 4:5] 6 aProv. 10:7 7 a[Prov. 1:33] 8 aHeb. 13:9 b[Ps. 27:1; 56:11]; Prov. 1:33; 3:24; [Is. 12:2] cPs. 59:10 9 1Strength PSALM 113 1 aPs. 135:1 1Heb. Hallelu- jah 2 a[Dan. 2:20] 3 aIs. 59:19; Mal. 1:11 4 aPs. 97:9; 99:2 b[Ps. 8:1] 5 aPs. 89:6; [Is. 57:15] 6 a[Ps. 11:4; Is. 57:15] 7 a1 Sam. 2:8; Ps. 107:41 bPs. 72:12 8 a[Job 36:7] 9 a1 Sam. 2:5; Is. 54:1 1child- less PSALM 114 1 aEx. 12:51; 13:3 bPs. 81:5 1who spoke unintelligibly 2 aEx. 6:7; 19:6; 25:8; 29:45, 46; Deut. 27:9 3 aEx. 14:21; Ps. 77:16 bJosh. 3:13–16 4 aEx. 19:18; Judg. 5:5; Ps. 29:6; Hab. 3:6 5 aHab. 3:8 8 aEx. 17:6; Num. 20:11; Ps. 107:35 PSALM 115 1 a[Is. 48:11]; Ezek. 36:32 2 aPs. 42:3, 10 1nations 3 a[1 Chr. 16:26] 4 aDeut. 4:28; 2 Kin. 19:18; Is. 37:19; 44:10, 20; Jer. 10:3

537 PSALM 117:2 Noses they have, but they do not smell; 7 They have hands, but they do not handle; Feet they have, but they do not walk; Nor do they mutter through their throat. 8 aThose who make them are like them; So is everyone who trusts in them. 9 aO Israel, trust in the LORD; bHe is their help and their shield. 10 O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD; He is their help and their shield. 11 You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD; He is their help and their shield. 12 The LORD 1has been mindful of us; He will bless us; He will bless the house of Israel; He will bless the house of Aaron. 13 aHe will bless those who fear the LORD, Both small and great. 14 May the LORD give you increase more and more, You and your children. 15 May you be ablessed by the LORD, bWho made heaven and earth. 16 The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD’s; But the earth He has given to the children of men. 17 aThe dead do not praise the LORD, Nor any who go down into silence. 18 aBut we will bless the LORD From this time forth and forevermore. Praise the LORD! PSALM 116 Thanksgiving for Deliverance from Death I aLOVE the LORD, because He has heard My voice and my supplications. 2 Because He has inclined His ear to me, Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live. 3 aThe 1pains of death surrounded me, And the 2pangs of Sheol 3laid hold of me; I found trouble and sorrow. 4 Then I called upon the name of the LORD: “O LORD, I implore You, deliver my soul!” 5 aGracious is the LORD, and brighteous; Yes, our God is merciful. 6 The LORD preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me. 7 Return to your arest, O my soul, For bthe LORD has dealt bountifully with you. 8 aFor You have delivered my soul from death, My eyes from tears, And my feet from falling. 9 I will walk before the LORD aIn the land of the living. 10 aI believed, therefore I spoke, “I am greatly afflicted.” 11 aI said in my haste, b“All men are liars.” 12 What shall I render to the LORD For all His benefits toward me? 13 I will take up the cup of salvation, And call upon the name of the LORD. 14 aI will pay my vows to the LORD Now in the presence of all His people. 15 aPrecious in the sight of the LORD Is the death of His saints. 16 O LORD, truly aI am Your servant; I am Your servant, bthe son of Your maidservant; You have loosed my bonds. 17 I will offer to You athe sacrifice of thanksgiving, And will call upon the name of the LORD. 18 I will pay my vows to the LORD Now in the presence of all His people, 19 In the acourts of the LORD’s house, In the midst of you, O Jerusalem. 1Praise the LORD! PSALM 117 Let All Peoples Praise the LORD PRAISE athe LORD, all you Gentiles! 1Laud Him, all you peoples! 2 For His merciful kindness is great toward us, And athe truth of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD! 8 aPs. 135:18; Is. 44:9–11 9 aPs. 118:2, 3 bPs. 33:20 12 1has re- membered us 13 aPs. 128:1, 4 15 a[Gen. 14:19] bGen. 1:1; Acts 14:15; Rev. 14:7 17 aPs. 6:5; 88:10–12; [Is. 38:18] 18 aPs. 113:2; Dan. 2:20 PSALM 116 1 aPs. 18:1 3 aPs. 18:4–6 1Lit. cords 2distresses 3Lit. found me 5 a[Ps. 103:8] b[Ezra 9:15]; Neh. 9:8; [Ps. 119:137; 145:17; Jer. 12:1; Dan. 9:14] 7 a[Jer. 6:16; Matt. 11:29] bPs. 13:6 8 aPs. 56:13 9 aPs. 27:13 10 a2 Cor. 4:13 11 aPs. 31:22 bRom. 3:4 14 aPs. 116:18 15 aPs. 72:14; [Rev. 14:13] 16 aPs. 119:125; 143:12 bPs. 86:16 17 aLev. 7:12; Ps. 50:14; 107:22 19 aPs. 96:8 1Heb. Hallelu- jah PSALM 117 1 aRom. 15:11 1Praise 2 a[Ps. 100:5]

PSALM 118:1 538 PSALM 118 Praise to God for His Everlasting Mercy OH, agive thanks to the LORD, for He is good! bFor His mercy endures forever. 2 aLet Israel now say, “His mercy endures forever.” 3 Let the house of Aaron now say, “His mercy endures forever.” 4 Let those who fear the LORD now say, “His mercy endures forever.” 5 aI called on the LORD in distress; The LORD answered me and bset me in a broad place. 6 aThe LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? 7 aThe LORD is for me among those who help me; Therefore bI shall see my desire on those who hate me. 8 aIt is better to trust in the LORD Than to put confidence in man. 9 aIt is better to trust in the LORD Than to put confidence in princes. 10 All nations surrounded me, But in the name of the LORD I will destroy them. 11 They asurrounded me, Yes, they surrounded me; But in the name of the LORD I will destroy them. 12 They surrounded me alike bees; They were quenched blike a fire of thorns; For in the name of the LORD I will 1destroy them. 13 You pushed me violently, that I might fall, But the LORD helped me. 14 aThe LORD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation. 15 The voice of rejoicing and salvation Is in the tents of the righteous; The right hand of the LORD does valiantly. 16 aThe right hand of the LORD is exalted; The right hand of the LORD does valiantly. 17 aI shall not die, but live, And bdeclare the works of the LORD. 18 The LORD has achastened1 me severely, But He has not given me over to death. 19 aOpen to me the gates of righteousness; I will go through them, And I will praise the LORD. 20 aThis is the gate of the LORD, bThrough which the righteous shall enter. 21 I will praise You, For You have aanswered me, And have become my salvation. 22 aThe stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. 23 1This was the LORD’s doing; It is marvelous in our eyes. 24 This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it. 25 Save now, I pray, O LORD; O LORD, I pray, send now prosperity. 26 aBlessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We have blessed you from the house of the LORD. 27 God is the LORD, And He has given us alight; Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar. 28 You are my God, and I will praise You; aYou are my God, I will exalt You. 29 Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. PSALM 119 Meditations on the Excellencies of the Word of God a ALEPH BLESSED are the 1undefiled in the way, aWho walk in the law of the LORD! 2 Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, Who seek Him with the awhole heart! 3 aThey also do no iniquity; They walk in His ways. 4 You have commanded us To keep Your precepts diligently. 5 Oh, that my ways were directed To keep Your statutes! 6 aThen I would not be ashamed, When I look into all Your commandments. 7 I will praise You with uprightness of heart, When I learn Your righteous judgments. 8 I will keep Your statutes; Oh, do not forsake me utterly! PSALM 118 1 a1 Chr. 16:8, 34; Jer. 33:11 b2 Chr. 5:13; 7:3; Ezra 3:11; [Ps. 136:1–26] 2 a[Ps. 115:9] 5 aPs. 120:1 bPs. 18:19 6 aPs. 27:1; 56:9; [Rom. 8:31; Heb. 13:6] 7 aPs. 54:4 bPs. 59:10 8 a2 Chr. 32:7, 8; Ps. 40:4; Is. 31:1, 3; 57:13; Jer. 17:5 9 aPs. 146:3 11 aPs. 88:17 12 aDeut. 1:44 bEccl. 7:6; Nah. 1:10 1cut them off 14 aEx. 15:2; Is. 12:2 16 aEx. 15:6 17 a[Ps. 6:5]; Hab. 1:12 bPs. 73:28 18 aPs. 73:14; Jer. 31:18; [1 Cor. 11:32]; 2 Cor. 6:9 1disciplined 19 aIs. 26:2 20 aPs. 24:7 bIs. 35:8; [Rev. 21:27; 22:14, 15] 21 aPs. 116:1 22 aMatt. 21:42; Mark 12:10, 11; Luke 20:17; Acts 4:11; [Eph. 2:20; 1 Pet. 2:7, 8] 23 1Lit. This is from the LORD 26 aMatt. 21:9; 23:39; Mark 11:9; Luke 13:35; 19:38 27 aEsth. 8:16; [1 Pet. 2:9] 28 aEx. 15:2; Is. 25:1 PSALM 119 1 aPs. 128:1; [Ezek. 11:20; 18:17]; Mic. 4:2 1blameless 2 aDeut. 6:5; 10:12; 11:13; 13:3 3 a[1 John 3:9; 5:18] 6 aJob 22:26

539 PSALM 119:47 b BETH 9 How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. 10 With my whole heart I have asought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! 11 aYour word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You. 12 Blessed are You, O LORD! Teach me Your statutes. 13 With my lips I have adeclared All the judgments of Your mouth. 14 I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches. 15 I will meditate on Your precepts, And 1contemplate Your ways. 16 I will adelight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word. g GIMEL 17 aDeal bountifully with Your servant, That I may live and keep Your word. 18 Open my eyes, that I may see Wondrous things from Your law. 19 aI am a stranger in the earth; Do not hide Your commandments from me. 20 aMy soul 1breaks with longing For Your judgments at all times. 21 You rebuke the proud—the cursed, Who stray from Your commandments. 22 aRemove from me reproach and contempt, For I have kept Your testimonies. 23 Princes also sit and speak against me, But Your servant meditates on Your statutes. 24 Your testimonies also are my delight And my counselors. d DALETH 25 aMy soul clings to the dust; bRevive me according to Your word. 26 I have declared my ways, and You answered me; aTeach me Your statutes. 27 Make me understand the way of Your precepts; So ashall I meditate on Your wonderful works. 28 aMy soul 1melts from 2heaviness; Strengthen me according to Your word. 29 Remove from me the way of lying, And grant me Your law graciously. 30 I have chosen the way of truth; Your judgments I have laid before me. 31 I cling to Your testimonies; O LORD, do not put me to shame! 32 I will run the course of Your commandments, For You shall aenlarge my heart. h HE 33 aTeach me, O LORD, the way of Your statutes, And I shall keep it to the end. 34 aGive me understanding, and I shall keep Your law; Indeed, I shall observe it with my whole heart. 35 Make me walk in the path of Your commandments, For I delight in it. 36 1Incline my heart to Your testimonies, And not to acovetousness. 37 aTurn1 away my eyes from blooking at worthless things, And revive me in 2Your way. 38 aEstablish Your word to Your servant, Who is devoted to fearing You. 39 Turn away my reproach which I dread, For Your judgments are good. 40 Behold, I long for Your precepts; Revive me in Your righteousness. w WAW 41 Let Your mercies come also to me, O LORD— Your salvation according to Your word. 42 So shall I have an answer for him who 1reproaches me, For I trust in Your word. 43 And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, For I have hoped in Your ordinances. 44 So shall I keep Your law continually, Forever and ever. 45 And I will walk 1at aliberty, For I seek Your precepts. 46 aI will speak of Your testimonies also before kings, And will not be ashamed. 47 And I will delight myself in Your commandments, Which I love. 10 a2 Chr. 15:15 11 aPs. 37:31; Luke 2:19 13 aPs. 34:11 15 1look into 16 aPs. 1:2 17 aPs. 116:7 19 aGen. 47:9; Lev. 25:23; 1 Chr. 29:15; Ps. 39:12; Heb. 11:13 20 aPs. 42:1, 2; 63:1; 84:2 1is crushed 22 aPs. 39:8 25 aPs. 44:25 bPs. 143:11 26 aPs. 25:4; 27:11; 86:11 27 aPs. 145:5, 6 28 aPs. 107:26 1Lit. drops 2grief 32 a1 Kin. 4:29; Is. 60:5; 2 Cor. 6:11, 13 33 a[Matt. 10:22; Rev. 2:26] 34 a[Prov. 2:6; James 1:5] 36 aEzek. 33:31; [Mark 7:20–23]; Luke 12:15; [Heb. 13:5] 1Cause me to long for 37 aIs. 33:15 bProv. 23:5 1Lit. Cause my eyes to pass away from 2So with MT, LXX, Vg.; Tg. Your words 38 a2 Sam. 7:25 42 1taunts 45 aProv. 4:12 1Lit. in a wide place 46 aPs. 138:1; Matt. 10:18; Acts 26

PSALM 119:48 540 48 My hands also I will lift up to Your commandments, Which I love, And I will meditate on Your statutes. z ZAYIN 49 Remember the word to Your servant, Upon which You have caused me to hope. 50 This is my acomfort in my affliction, For Your word has given me life. 51 The proud have me in great derision, Yet I do not turn aside from Your law. 52 I remembered Your judgments of old, O LORD, And have comforted myself. 53 aIndignation has taken hold of me Because of the wicked, who forsake Your law. 54 Your statutes have been my songs In the house of my pilgrimage. 55 aI remember Your name in the night, O LORD, And I keep Your law. 56 This has become mine, Because I kept Your precepts. i j HETH 57 aYou are my portion, O LORD; I have said that I would keep Your words. 58 I entreated Your favor with my whole heart; Be merciful to me according to Your word. 59 I athought about my ways, And turned my feet to Your testimonies. 60 I made haste, and did not delay To keep Your commandments. 61 The cords of the wicked have bound me, But I have not forgotten Your law. 62 aAt midnight I will rise to give thanks to You, Because of Your righteous judgments. 63 I am a companion of all who fear You, And of those who keep Your precepts. 64 aThe earth, O LORD, is full of Your mercy; Teach me Your statutes. f TETH 65 You have dealt well with Your servant, O LORD, according to Your word. 66 Teach me good judgment and aknowledge, For I believe Your commandments. 67 Before I was aafflicted I went astray, But now I keep Your word. 68 You are agood, and do good; Teach me Your statutes. 69 The proud have aforged1 a lie against me, But I will keep Your precepts with my whole heart. 70 aTheir heart is 1as fat as grease, But I delight in Your law. 71 It is good for me that I have been afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes. 72 aThe law of Your mouth is better to me Than thousands of coins of gold and silver. y YOD 73 aYour hands have made me and fashioned me; Give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments. 74 aThose who fear You will be glad when they see me, Because I have hoped in Your word. 75 I know, O LORD, athat Your judgments are 1right, And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me. 76 Let, I pray,Your merciful kindness be for my comfort, According to Your word to Your servant. 77 Let Your tender mercies come to me, that I may live; For Your law is my delight. 78 Let the proud abe ashamed, For they treated me wrongfully with falsehood; But I will meditate on Your precepts. 79 Let those who fear You turn to me, Those who know Your testimonies. 80 Let my heart be blameless regarding Your statutes, That I may not be ashamed. k KAPH 81 aMy soul faints for Your salvation, But I hope in Your word. 82 My eyes fail from searching Your word, Saying, “When will You comfort me?” 83 For aI have become like a wineskin in smoke, 50 aJob 6:10; [Rom. 15:4] 53 aEx. 32:19; Ezra 9:3; Neh. 13:25 55 aPs. 63:6 57 aNum. 18:20; Ps. 16:5; Jer. 10:16; Lam. 3:24 59 aMark 14:72; Luke 15:17 62 aActs 16:25 64 aPs. 33:5 66 aPhil. 1:9 67 aProv. 3:11; Jer. 31:18, 19; [Heb. 12:5–11] 68 aPs. 106:1; 107:1; [Matt. 19:17] 69 aJob 13:4; Ps. 109:2 1Lit. smeared me with a lie 70 aDeut. 32:15; Job 15:27; Ps. 17:10; Is. 6:10; Jer. 5:28; Acts 28:27 1Insen- sible 72 aPs. 19:10; Prov. 8:10, 11, 19 73 aJob 10:8; 31:15; [Ps. 139:15, 16] 74 aPs. 34:2 75 a[Heb. 12:10] 1Lit. righteous 78 aPs. 25:3 81 aPs. 73:26; 84:2 83 aJob 30:30

541 PSALM 119:118 Yet I do not forget Your statutes. 84 aHow many are the days of Your servant? bWhen will You execute judgment on those who persecute me? 85 aThe proud have dug pits for me, Which is not according to Your law. 86 All Your commandments are faithful; They persecute me awrongfully; Help me! 87 They almost made an end of me on earth, But I did not forsake Your precepts. 88 Revive me according to Your lovingkindness, So that I may keep the testimony of Your mouth. l LAMED 89 aForever, O LORD, Your word 1is settled in heaven. 90 Your faithfulness endures to all generations; You established the earth, and it 1abides. 91 They continue this day according to aYour ordinances, For all are Your servants. 92 Unless Your law had been my delight, I would then have perished in my affliction. 93 I will never forget Your precepts, For by them You have given me life. 94 I am Yours, save me; For I have sought Your precepts. 95 The wicked wait for me to destroy me, But I will 1consider Your testimonies. 96 aI have seen the consummation of all perfection, But Your commandment is exceedingly broad. m MEM 97 Oh, how I love Your law! aIt is my meditation all the day. 98 You, through Your commandments, make me awiser than my enemies; For they are ever with me. 99 I have more understanding than all my teachers, aFor Your testimonies are my meditation. aI understand more than the 1ancients, Because I keep Your precepts. 101 I have restrained my feet from every evil way, That I may keep Your word. 102 I have not departed from Your judgments, For You Yourself have taught me. 103 aHow sweet are Your words to my taste, Sweeter than honey to my mouth! 104 Through Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way. o n NUN 105 aYour word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. 106 aI have sworn and confirmed That I will keep Your righteous judgments. 107 I am afflicted very much; Revive me, O LORD, according to Your word. 108 Accept, I pray, athe freewill offerings of my mouth, O LORD, And teach me Your judgments. 109 aMy life is continually 1in my hand, Yet I do not forget Your law. 110 aThe wicked have laid a snare for me, Yet I have not strayed from Your precepts. 111 aYour testimonies I have taken as a 1heritage forever, For they are the rejoicing of my heart. 112 I have inclined my heart to perform Your statutes Forever, to the very end. s SAMEK 113 I hate the 1double-minded, But I love Your law. 114 aYou are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in Your word. 115 aDepart from me, you evildoers, For I will keep the commandments of my God! 116 Uphold me according to Your word, that I may live; And do not let me abe ashamed of my hope. 117 1Hold me up, and I shall be safe, And I shall observe Your statutes continually. 118 You reject all those who stray from Your statutes, For their deceit is falsehood. 84 aPs. 39:4 bRev. 6:10 85 aPs. 35:7; Prov. 16:27; Jer. 18:22 86 aPs. 35:19 89 aPs. 89:2; Is. 40:8; Matt. 24:35; [1 Pet. 1:25] 1Lit. stands firm 90 1Lit. stands 91 aJer. 33:25 95 1give atten- tion to 96 aMatt. 5:18 97 aPs. 1:2 98 aDeut. 4:6 99 a[2 Tim. 3:15] 100 a[Job 32:7–9] 1aged 103 aPs. 19:10; Prov. 8:11 105 aProv. 6:23 106 aNeh. 10:29 108 aHos. 14:2; Heb. 13:15 109 aJudg. 12:3; Job 13:14 1In dan- ger 110 aPs. 140:5 111 aDeut. 33:4 1inheritance 113 1Lit. di- vided in heart or mind 114 a[Ps. 32:7] 115 aPs. 6:8; Matt. 7:23 116 aPs. 25:2; [Rom. 5:5; 9:33; 10:11; Phil. 1:20] 117 1Uphold me 100

PSALM 119:119 542 119 You 1put away all the wicked of the earth alike 2dross; Therefore I love Your testimonies. 120 aMy flesh trembles for fear of You, And I am afraid of Your judgments. [ AYIN 121 I have done justice and righteousness; Do not leave me to my oppressors. 122 Be asurety1 for Your servant for good; Do not let the proud oppress me. 123 My eyes fail from seeking Your salvation And Your righteous word. 124 Deal with Your servant according to Your mercy, And teach me Your statutes. 125 aI am Your servant; Give me understanding, That I may know Your testimonies. 126 It is time for You to act, O LORD, For they have 1regarded Your law as void. 127 aTherefore I love Your commandments More than gold, yes, than fine gold! 128 Therefore all Your precepts concerning all things I consider to be right; I hate every false way. p PE 129 Your testimonies are wonderful; Therefore my soul keeps them. 130 The entrance of Your words gives light; aIt gives understanding to the bsimple. 131 I opened my mouth and apanted, For I longed for Your commandments. 132 aLook upon me and be merciful to me, bAs Your custom is toward those who love Your name. 133 aDirect my steps by Your word, And blet no iniquity have dominion over me. 134 aRedeem me from the oppression of man, That I may keep Your precepts. 135 aMake Your face shine upon Your servant, And teach me Your statutes. 136 aRivers of water run down from my eyes, Because men do not keep Your law. x TSADDE 137 aRighteous are You, O LORD, And upright are Your judgments. 138 aYour testimonies, which You have commanded, Are righteous and very faithful. 139 aMy zeal has 1consumed me, Because my enemies have forgotten Your words. 140 aYour word is very 1pure; Therefore Your servant loves it. 141 I am small and despised, Yet I do not forget Your precepts. 142 Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, And Your law is atruth. 143 Trouble and anguish have 1overtaken me, Yet Your commandments are my delights. 144 The righteousness of Your testimonies is everlasting; Give me understanding, and I shall live. q QOPH 145 I cry out with my whole heart; Hear me, O LORD! I will keep Your statutes. 146 I cry out to You; Save me, and I will keep Your testimonies. 147 aI rise before the dawning of the morning, And cry for help; I hope in Your word. 148 aMy eyes are awake through the night watches, That I may meditate on Your word. 149 Hear my voice according to Your lovingkindness; O LORD, revive me according to Your justice. 150 They draw near who follow after wickedness; They are far from Your law. 151 You are anear, O LORD, And all Your commandments are truth. 152 Concerning Your testimonies, I have known of old that You have founded them aforever. r RESH 153 aConsider my affliction and deliver me, 119 aIs. 1:22, 25; Ezek. 22:18, 19 1de- stroy, lit. cause to cease 2slag or refuse 120 aJob 4:14; Hab. 3:16 122 aJob 17:3; Heb. 7:22 1guaranty 125 aPs. 116:16 126 1broken Your law 127 aPs. 19:10 130 aProv. 6:23 b[Ps. 19:7]; Prov. 1:4 131 aPs. 42:1 132 aPs. 106:4 bPs. 51:1; [2 Thess. 1:6] 133 aPs. 17:5 b[Ps. 19:13; Rom. 6:12] 134 aLuke 1:74 135 aNum. 6:25; Ps. 4:6 136 aJer. 9:1, 18; 14:17; Lam. 3:48; Ezek. 9:4 137 aEzra 9:15; Neh. 9:33; Jer. 12:1; Lam. 1:18; Dan. 9:7, 14 138 a[Ps. 19:7–9] 139 aPs. 69:9; John 2:17 1put an end to 140 aPs. 12:6 1Lit. refined or tried 142 a[Ps. 19:9; John 17:17] 143 1Lit. found 147 aPs. 5:3 148 aPs. 63:1, 6 151 a[Ps. 145:18]; Is. 50:8 152 aLuke 21:33 153 aLam. 5:1

543 PSALM 121:4 For I do not forget Your law. 154 aPlead my cause and redeem me; Revive me according to Your word. 155 Salvation is far from the wicked, For they do not seek Your statutes. 156 1Great are Your tender mercies, O LORD; Revive me according to Your judgments. 157 Many are my persecutors and my enemies, Yet I do not aturn from Your testimonies. 158 I see the treacherous, and aam disgusted, Because they do not keep Your word. 159 Consider how I love Your precepts; Revive me, O LORD, according to Your lovingkindness. 160 The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever. ç SHIN 161 aPrinces persecute me without a cause, But my heart stands in awe of Your word. 162 I rejoice at Your word As one who finds great treasure. 163 I hate and abhor lying, But I love Your law. 164 Seven times a day I praise You, Because of Your righteous judgments. 165 aGreat peace have those who love Your law, And 1nothing causes them to stumble. 166 aLORD, I hope for Your salvation, And I do Your commandments. 167 My soul keeps Your testimonies, And I love them exceedingly. 168 I keep Your precepts and Your testimonies, aFor all my ways are before You. t TAU 169 Let my cry come before You, O LORD; aGive me understanding according to Your word. 170 Let my 1supplication come before You; Deliver me according to Your word. 171 aMy lips shall utter praise, For You teach me Your statutes. 172 My tongue shall speak of Your word, For all Your commandments are righteousness. 173 Let Your hand become my help, For aI have chosen Your precepts. 174 aI long for Your salvation, O LORD, And bYour law is my delight. 175 Let my soul live, and it shall praise You; And let Your judgments help me. 176 aI have gone astray like a lost sheep; Seek Your servant, For I do not forget Your commandments. PSALM 120 Plea for Relief from Bitter Foes A Song of Ascents. IN amy distress I cried to the LORD, And He heard me. 2 Deliver my soul, O LORD, from lying lips And from a deceitful tongue. 3 What shall be given to you, Or what shall be done to you, You false tongue? 4 Sharp arrows of the 1warrior, With coals of the broom tree! 5 Woe is me, that I dwell in aMeshech, bThat I dwell among the tents of Kedar! 6 My soul has dwelt too long With one who hates peace. 7 I am for peace; But when I speak, they are for war. PSALM 121 God the Help of Those Who Seek Him A Song of Ascents. I aWILL lift up my eyes to the hills— From whence comes my help? 2 aMy help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth. 3 aHe will not allow your foot to 1be moved; bHe who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep. 154 a1 Sam. 24:15; Mic. 7:9 156 1Or Many 157 aPs. 44:18 158 aEzek. 9:4 161 a1 Sam. 24:11; 26:18 165 aProv. 3:2; [Is. 26:3; 32:17] 1Lit. they have no stumbling block 166 aGen. 49:18 168 aJob 24:23; Prov. 5:21 169 aPs. 119:27, 144 170 1Prayer of supplication 171 aPs. 119:7 173 aJosh. 24:22; Luke 10:42 174 aPs. 119:166 bPs. 119:16, 24 176 a[Is. 53:6]; Jer. 50:6; Matt. 18:12; Luke 15:4; [1 Pet. 2:25] PSALM 120 1 aJon. 2:2 4 1mighty one 5 aGen. 10:2; 1 Chr. 1:5; Ezek. 27:13; 38:2, 3; 39:1 bGen. 25:13; Is. 21:16; 60:7; Jer. 2:10; 49:28; Ezek. 27:21 PSALM 121 1 a[Jer. 3:23] 2 a[Ps. 124:8] 3 a1 Sam. 2:9; Prov. 3:23, 26 b[Ps. 127:1; Prov. 24:12]; Is. 27:3 1slip

PSALM 121:5 544 5 The LORD is your 1keeper; The LORD is ayour shade bat your right hand. 6 aThe sun shall not strike you by day, Nor the moon by night. 7 The LORD shall 1preserve you from all evil; He shall apreserve your soul. 8 The LORD shall apreserve1 your going out and your coming in From this time forth, and even forevermore. PSALM 122 The Joy of Going to the House of the LORD A Song of Ascents. Of David. I WAS glad when they said to me, a“Let us go into the house of the LORD.” 2 Our feet have been standing Within your gates, O Jerusalem! 3 Jerusalem is built As a city that is acompact together, 4 aWhere the tribes go up, The tribes of the LORD, 1To bthe Testimony of Israel, To give thanks to the name of the LORD. 5 aFor thrones are set there for judgment, The thrones of the house of David. 6 aPray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you. 7 Peace be within your walls, Prosperity within your palaces.” 8 For the sake of my brethren and companions, I will now say, “Peace be within you.” 9 Because of the house of the LORD our God I will aseek your good. PSALM 123 Prayer for Relief from Contempt A Song of Ascents. UNTO You aI lift up my eyes, O You bwho dwell in the heavens. 2 Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, aSo our eyes look to the LORD our God, Until He has mercy on us. 3 Have mercy on us, O LORD, have mercy on us! For we are exceedingly filled with contempt. 4 Our soul is exceedingly filled With the scorn of those who are at ease, With the contempt of the proud. PSALM 124 The LORD the Defense of His People A Song of Ascents. Of David. “IF it had not been the LORD who was on our aside,” bLet Israel now say— 2 “If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, When men rose up against us, 3 Then they would have aswallowed us alive, When their wrath was kindled against us; 4 Then the waters would have overwhelmed us, The stream would have 1gone over our soul; 5 Then the swollen waters Would have 1gone over our soul.” 6 Blessed be the LORD, Who has not given us as prey to their teeth. 7 aOur soul has escaped bas a bird from the snare of the 1fowlers; The snare is broken, and we have escaped. 8 aOur help is in the name of the LORD, bWho made heaven and earth. PSALM 125 The LORD the Strength of His People A Song of Ascents. THOSE who trust in the LORD Are like Mount Zion, Which cannot be moved, but abides forever. 2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem, So the LORD surrounds His people From this time forth and forever. 3 For athe scepter of wickedness shall not rest On the land allotted to the righteous, Lest the righteous reach out their hands to iniquity. 4 Do good, O LORD, to those who are good, And to those who are upright in their hearts. 5 aIs. 25:4 bPs. 16:8 1protec- tor 6 aPs. 91:5; Is. 49:10; Jon. 4:8; Rev. 7:16 7 aPs. 41:2 1keep 8 aDeut. 28:6; [Prov. 2:8; 3:6] 1keep PSALM 122 1 a[Is. 2:3; Mic. 4:2]; Zech. 8:21 3 a2 Sam. 5:9 4 aEx. 23:17; Deut. 16:16 bEx. 16:34 1Or As a testi- mony to 5 aDeut. 17:8; 2 Chr. 19:8 6 aPs. 51:18 9 aNeh. 2:10; Esth. 10:3 PSALM 123 1 aPs. 121:1; 141:8 bPs. 2:4; 11:4; 115:3 2 aPs. 25:15 PSALM 124 1 aPs. 118:6; [Rom. 8:31] bPs. 129:1 3 aNum. 16:30; Ps. 56:1, 2; 57:3; Prov. 1:12 4 1swept over 5 1swept over 7 aPs. 91:3 bProv. 6:5; Hos. 9:8 1Per- sons who catch birds in a trap or snare 8 a[Ps. 121:2] bGen. 1:1; Ps. 134:3 PSALM 125 3 aProv. 22:8; Is. 14:5

545 PSALM 129:8 5 As for such as turn aside to their acrooked ways, The LORD shall lead them away With the workers of iniquity. bPeace be upon Israel! PSALM 126 A Joyful Return to Zion A Song of Ascents. WHEN athe LORD brought back 1the captivity of Zion, bWe were like those who dream. 2 Then aour mouth was filled with laughter, And our tongue with singing. Then they said among the 1nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.” 3 The LORD has done great things for us, And we are glad. 4 Bring back our captivity, O LORD, As the streams in the South. 5 aThose who sow in tears Shall reap in joy. 6 He who continually goes 1forth weeping, Bearing 2seed for sowing, Shall doubtless come again 3with arejoicing, Bringing his sheaves with him. PSALM 127 Laboring and Prospering with the LORD A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon. UNLESS the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless athe LORD guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain. 2 It is vain for you to rise up early, To sit up late, To aeat the bread of sorrows; For so He gives His beloved sleep. 3 Behold, achildren are a heritage from the LORD, bThe fruit of the womb is a creward. 4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one’s youth. 5 aHappy is the man who has his quiver full of them; bThey shall not be ashamed, But shall speak with their enemies in the gate. PSALM 128 Blessings of Those Who Fear the LORD A Song of Ascents. BLESSED ais every one who fears the LORD, Who walks in His ways. 2 aWhen you eat the 1labor of your hands, You shall be happy, and it shall be bwell with you. 3 Your wife shall be alike a fruitful vine In the very heart of your house, Your bchildren clike olive plants All around your table. 4 Behold, thus shall the man be blessed Who fears the LORD. 5 aThe LORD bless you out of Zion, And may you see the good of Jerusalem All the days of your life. 6 Yes, may you asee your children’s children. bPeace be upon Israel! PSALM 129 Song of Victory over Zion’s Enemies A Song of Ascents. “MANY a time they have aafflicted1 me from bmy youth,” cLet Israel now say— 2 “Many a time they have afflicted me from my youth; Yet they have not prevailed against me. 3 The plowers plowed on my back; They made their furrows long.” 4 The LORD is righteous; He has cut in pieces the cords of the wicked. 5 Let all those who hate Zion Be put to shame and turned back. 6 Let them be as the agrass on the housetops, Which withers before it grows up, 7 With which the reaper does not fill his hand, Nor he who binds sheaves, his 1arms. 8 Neither let those who pass by them say, a“The blessing of the LORD be upon you; We bless you in the name of the LORD!” 5 aProv. 2:15; Is. 59:8 bPs. 128:6; [Gal. 6:16] PSALM 126 1 aPs. 85:1; Jer. 29:14; Hos. 6:11; Joel 3:1 bActs 12:9 1Those of the captivity 2 aJob 8:21 1Gentiles 5 aIs. 35:10; 51:11; 61:7; Jer. 31:9; [Gal. 6:9] 6 aIs. 61:3 1to and fro 2Lit. a bag of seed for sowing 3with shouts of joy PSALM 127 1 a[Ps. 121:3–5] 2 a[Gen. 3:17, 19] 3 a[Gen. 33:5; Josh. 24:3, 4; Ps. 113:9] bDeut. 7:13; 28:4; Is. 13:18 c[Ps. 113:9] 5 aPs. 128:2, 3 bJob 5:4; Prov. 27:11 PSALM 128 1 aPs. 119:1 2 aIs. 3:10 bDeut. 4:40 1Fruit of the labor 3 aEzek. 19:10 bPs. 127:3–5 cPs. 52:8; 144:12 5 aPs. 134:3 6 aGen. 48:11; 50:23; Job 42:16; Ps. 103:17; [Prov. 17:6] bPs. 125:5 PSALM 129 1 a[Jer. 1:19; 15:20]; Matt. 16:18; 2 Cor. 4:8, 9 bEzek. 23:3; Hos. 2:15 cPs. 124:1 1persecuted 6 aPs. 37:2 7 1arms full, lit. bosom 8 aRuth 2:4

PSALM 130:1 546 PSALM 130 Waiting for the Redemption of the LORD A Song of Ascents. OUT aof the depths I have cried to You, O LORD; 2 Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive To the voice of my supplications. 3 aIf You, LORD, should 1mark iniquities, O Lord, who could bstand? 4 But there is aforgiveness with You, That bYou may be feared. 5 aI wait for the LORD, my soul waits, And bin His word I do hope. 6 aMy soul waits for the Lord More than those who watch for the morning— Yes, more than those who watch for the morning. 7 aO Israel, hope in the LORD; For bwith the LORD there is mercy, And with Him is abundant redemption. 8 And aHe shall redeem Israel From all his iniquities. PSALM 131 Simple Trust in the LORD A Song of Ascents. Of David. LORD, my heart is not 1haughty, Nor my eyes 2lofty. aNeither do I 3concern myself with great matters, Nor with things too 4profound for me. 2 Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, aLike a weaned child with his mother; Like a weaned child is my soul within me. 3 aO Israel, hope in the LORD From this time forth and forever. PSALM 132 The Eternal Dwelling of God in Zion A Song of Ascents. LORD, remember David And all his afflictions; 2 How he swore to the LORD, aAnd vowed to bthe Mighty One of Jacob: 3 “Surely I will not go into the chamber of my house, Or go up to the comfort of my bed; 4 I will anot give sleep to my eyes Or slumber to my eyelids, 5 Until I afind a place for the LORD, A dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.” 6 Behold, we heard of it ain Ephrathah; bWe found it cin the fields of 1the woods. 7 Let us go into His tabernacle; aLet us worship at His footstool. 8 aArise, O LORD, to Your resting place, You and bthe ark of Your strength. 9 Let Your priests abe clothed with righteousness, And let Your saints shout for joy. 10 For Your servant David’s sake, Do not turn away the face of Your 1Anointed. 11 aThe LORD has sworn in truth to David; He will not turn from it: “I will set upon your throne bthe 1fruit of your body. 12 If your sons will keep My covenant And My testimony which I shall teach them, Their sons also shall sit upon your throne forevermore.” 13 aFor the LORD has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His 1dwelling place: 14 “Thisa is My resting place forever; Here I will dwell, for I have desired it. 15 aI will abundantly bless her 1provision; I will satisfy her poor with bread. 16 aI will also clothe her priests with salvation, bAnd her saints shall shout aloud for joy. 17 aThere I will make the 1horn of David grow; bI will prepare a lamp for My 2Anointed. 18 His enemies I will aclothe with shame, But upon Himself His crown shall flourish.” PSALM 133 Blessed Unity of the People of God A Song of Ascents. Of David. BEHOLD, how good and how pleasant it is For abrethren to dwell together in unity! PSALM 130 1 aLam. 3:55 3 a[Ps. 143:2] b[Nah. 1:6] 1take note of 4 a[Ex. 34:7] b[1 Kin. 8:39, 40] 5 a[Ps. 27:14] bPs. 119:81 6 aPs. 119:147 7 aPs. 131:3 b[Is. 55:7] 8 a[Ps. 103:3, 4] PSALM 131 1 a[Rom. 12:16] 1Proud 2Arrogant 3Lit. walk in 4difficult 2 a[Matt. 18:3] 3 a[Ps. 130:7] PSALM 132 2 aPs. 65:1 bGen. 49:24 4 aProv. 6:4 5 aActs 7:46 6 a1 Sam. 17:12 b1 Sam. 7:1 c1 Chr. 13:5 1Heb. Jaar, lit. Woods 7 aPs. 5:7; 99:5 8 aNum. 10:35 bPs. 78:61 9 aJob 29:14 10 1Commis- sioned One, Heb. Messiah 11 a[Ps. 89:3, 4, 33; 110:4] b2 Sam. 7:12 1offspring 13 a[Ps. 48:1, 2] 1home 14 aPs. 68:16 15 aPs. 147:14 1supply of food 16 a2 Chr. 6:41 b1 Sam. 4:5 17 aEzek. 29:21 b1 Kin. 11:36; 15:4 1Government 2Heb. Messiah 18 aPs. 35:26 PSALM 133 1 aGen. 13:8

547 PSALM 136:6 2 It is like the precious oil upon the head, Running down on the beard, The beard of Aaron, Running down on the edge of his garments. 3 It is like the dew of aHermon, Descending upon the mountains of Zion; For bthere the LORD commanded the blessing— Life forevermore. PSALM 134 Praising the LORD in His House at Night A Song of Ascents. BEHOLD, bless the LORD, All you servants of the LORD, Who by night stand in the house of the LORD! 2 aLift up your hands in the sanctuary, And bless the LORD. 3 The LORD who made heaven and earth Bless you from Zion! PSALM 135 Praise to God in Creation and Redemption PRAISE the LORD! Praise the name of the LORD; aPraise Him, O you servants of the LORD! 2 aYou who stand in the house of the LORD, In bthe courts of the house of our God, 3 Praise the LORD, for athe LORD is good; Sing praises to His name, bfor it is pleasant. 4 For athe LORD has chosen Jacob for Himself, Israel for His 1special treasure. 5 For I know that athe LORD is great, And our Lord is above all gods. 6 aWhatever the LORD pleases He does, In heaven and in earth, In the seas and in all deep places. 7 aHe causes the 1vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; bHe makes lightning for the rain; He brings the wind out of His ctreasuries. 8 aHe 1destroyed the firstborn of Egypt, 2Both of man and beast. 9 aHe sent signs and wonders into the midst of you, O Egypt, bUpon Pharaoh and all his servants. 10 aHe defeated many nations And slew mighty kings— 11 Sihon king of the Amorites, Og king of Bashan, And aall the kingdoms of Canaan— 12 aAnd gave their land as a 1heritage, A heritage to Israel His people. 13 aYour name, O LORD, endures forever, Your fame, O LORD, throughout all generations. 14 aFor the LORD will judge His people, And He will have compassion on His servants. 15 aThe idols of the nations are silver and gold, The work of men’s hands. 16 They have mouths, but they do not speak; Eyes they have, but they do not see; 17 They have ears, but they do not hear; Nor is there any breath in their mouths. 18 Those who make them are like them; So is everyone who trusts in them. 19 aBless the LORD, O house of Israel! Bless the LORD, O house of Aaron! 20 Bless the LORD, O house of Levi! You who fear the LORD, bless the LORD! 21 Blessed be the LORD aout of Zion, Who dwells in Jerusalem! Praise the LORD! PSALM 136 Thanksgiving to God for His Enduring Mercy OH, agive thanks to the LORD, for He is good! bFor His mercy endures forever. 2 Oh, give thanks to athe God of gods! For His mercy endures forever. 3 Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords! For His mercy endures forever: 4 To Him awho alone does great wonders, For His mercy endures forever; 5 aTo Him who by wisdom made the heavens, For His mercy endures forever; 6 aTo Him who laid out the earth above the waters, 3 aDeut. 4:48 bLev. 25:21; Deut. 28:8; Ps. 42:8 PSALM 134 2 a[1 Tim. 2:8] PSALM 135 1 aPs. 113:1 2 aLuke 2:37 bPs. 116:19 3 a[Ps. 119:68] bPs. 147:1 4 a[Ex. 19:5]; Mal. 3:17; [Ti- tus 2:14; 1 Pet. 2:9] 1precious possession 5 aPs. 95:3; 97:9 6 aPs. 115:3 7 aJer. 10:13 bJob 28:25, 26; 38:24–28 cJer. 51:16 1Water vapor 8 aEx. 12:12; Ps. 78:51 1Lit. struck down 2Lit. From man to beast 9 aEx. 7:10; Deut. 6:22; Ps. 78:43 bPs. 136:15 10 aNum. 21:24; Ps. 136:17 11 aJosh. 12:7–24 12 aPs. 78:55; 136:21, 22 1in- heritance 13 a[Ex. 3:15; Ps. 102:12] 14 aDeut. 32:36 15 a[Ps. 115:4–8] 19 a[Ps. 115:9] 21 aPs. 134:3 PSALM 136 1 aPs. 106:1 b1 Chr. 16:34; Jer. 33:11 2 a[Deut. 10:17] 4 aDeut. 6:22; Job 9:10; Ps. 72:18 5 aGen. 1:1, 6–8; Prov. 3:19; Jer. 51:15 6 aGen. 1:9; Ps. 24:2; [Is. 42:5]; Jer. 10:12

PSALM 136:7 548 For His mercy endures forever; 7 aTo Him who made great lights, For His mercy endures forever— 8 aThe sun to rule by day, For His mercy endures forever; 9 The moon and stars to rule by night, For His mercy endures forever. 10 aTo Him who struck Egypt in their firstborn, For His mercy endures forever; 11 aAnd brought out Israel from among them, For His mercy endures forever. 12 aWith a strong hand, and with 1an outstretched arm, For His mercy endures forever. 13 aTo Him who divided the Red Sea in two, For His mercy endures forever. 14 And made Israel pass through the midst of it, For His mercy endures forever. 15 aBut overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea, For His mercy endures forever. 16 aTo Him who led His people through the wilderness, For His mercy endures forever. 17 aTo Him who struck down great kings, For His mercy endures forever. 18 aAnd slew famous kings, For His mercy endures forever— 19 aSihon king of the Amorites, For His mercy endures forever; 20 aAnd Og king of Bashan, For His mercy endures forever— 21 aAnd gave their land as a 1heritage, For His mercy endures forever; 22 A heritage to Israel His servant, For His mercy endures forever. 23 Who aremembered us in our lowly state, For His mercy endures forever; 24 And arescued us from our enemies, For His mercy endures forever; 25 aWho gives food to all flesh, For His mercy endures forever. 26 Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven! For His mercy endures forever. PSALM 137 Longing for Zion in a Foreign Land BY the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down, yea, we wept When we remembered Zion. 2 We hung our harps Upon the willows in the midst of it. 3 For there those who carried us away captive asked of us a song, And those who aplundered us requested mirth, Saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” 4 How shall we sing the LORD’s song In a foreign land? 5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem, Let my right hand forget its skill! 6 If I do not remember you, Let my atongue cling to the roof of my mouth— If I do not exalt Jerusalem Above my chief joy. 7 Remember, O LORD, against athe sons of Edom The day of Jerusalem, Who said, 1“Raze it, raze it, To its very foundation!” 8 O daughter of Babylon, awho are to be destroyed, Happy the one bwho repays you as you have served us! 9 Happy the one who takes and adashes Your little ones against the rock! PSALM 138 The LORD’s Goodness to the Faithful A Psalm of David. I WILL praise You with my whole heart; aBefore the gods I will sing praises to You. 2 aI will worship btoward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have cmagnified Your word above all Your name. 3 In the day when I cried out,You answered me, And made me bold with strength in my soul. 4 aAll the kings of the earth shall praise You, O LORD, When they hear the words of Your mouth. 5 Yes, they shall sing of the ways of the LORD, For great is the glory of the LORD. 6 aThough the LORD is on high, Yet bHe regards the lowly; But the proud He knows from afar. 7 aThough I walk in the midst of trouble,You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand Against the wrath of my enemies, 7 aGen. 1:14–18 8 aGen. 1:16 10 aEx. 12:29; Ps. 135:8 11 aEx. 12:51; 13:3, 16 12 aEx. 6:6; Deut. 4:34; 5:15; 7:19; 9:29; 11:2; 2 Kin. 17:36; 2 Chr. 6:32; Jer. 32:17 1Mighty power 13 aEx. 14:21 15 aEx. 14:27 16 aEx. 13:18; 15:22; Deut. 8:15 17 aPs. 135:10–12 18 aDeut. 29:7 19 aNum. 21:21 20 aNum. 21:33 21 aJosh. 12:1 1inheritance 23 aGen. 8:1; Deut. 32:36; Ps. 113:7 24 aPs. 44:7 25 aPs. 104:27; 145:15 PSALM 137 3 aPs. 79:1 6 aJob 29:10; Ps. 22:15; Ezek. 3:26 7 aJer. 49:7–22; Lam. 4:21; Ezek. 25:12–14; 35:2; Amos 1:11; Obad. 10–14 1Lit. Make bare 8 aIs. 13:1–6; 47:1 bJer. 50:15; Rev. 18:6 9 a2 Kin. 8:12; Is. 13:16; Hos. 13:16; Nah. 3:10 PSALM 138 1 aPs. 119:46 2 aPs. 28:2 b1 Kin. 8:29 cIs. 42:21 4 aPs. 102:15 6 a[Ps. 113:4–7] bProv. 3:34; [Is. 57:15]; Luke 1:48; [James 4:6; 1 Pet. 5:5] 7 a[Ps. 23:3, 4]

549 PSALM 140:5 And Your right hand will save me. 8 aThe LORD will 1perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O LORD, endures forever; bDo not forsake the works of Your hands. PSALM 139 God’s Perfect Knowledge of Man For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. O LORD, aYou have searched me and known me. 2 aYou know my sitting down and my rising up; You bunderstand my thought afar off. 3 aYou 1comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways. 4 For there is not a word on my tongue, But behold, O LORD, aYou know it altogether. 5 You have 1hedged me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. 6 aSuch knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it. 7 aWhere can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8 aIf I ascend into heaven,You are there; bIf I make my bed in 1hell, behold,You are there. 9 If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall 1fall on me,” Even the night shall be light about me; 12 Indeed, athe darkness 1shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to You. 13 For You formed my inward parts; You 1covered me in my mother’s womb. 14 I will praise You, for 1I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. 15 aMy 1frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them. 17 aHow precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! 18 If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You. 19 Oh, that You would aslay the wicked, O God! bDepart from me, therefore, you 1bloodthirsty men. 20 For they aspeak against You wickedly; 1Your enemies take Your name in vain. 21 aDo I not hate them, O LORD, who hate You? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You? 22 I hate them with 1perfect hatred; I count them my enemies. 23 aSearch me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; 24 And see if there is any wicked way in me, And alead me in the way everlasting. PSALM 140 Prayer for Deliverance from Evil Men To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. DELIVER me, O LORD, from evil men; Preserve me from violent men, 2 Who plan evil things in their hearts; aThey continually gather together for war. 3 They sharpen their tongues like a serpent; The apoison of asps is under their lips. Selah 4 aKeep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked; Preserve me from violent men, Who have purposed to make my steps stumble. 5 The proud have hidden a asnare for me, and cords; 8 aPs. 57:2; [Phil. 1:6] bJob 10:3, 8 1complete PSALM 139 1 aPs. 17:3; Jer. 12:3 2 a2 Kin. 19:27 bIs. 66:18; Matt. 9:4 3 aJob 14:16; 31:4 1Lit. win- now 4 a[Heb. 4:13] 5 1enclosed 6 aJob 42:3; Ps. 40:5 7 a[Jer. 23:24; Amos 9:2–4] 8 a[Amos 9:2–4] b[Job 26:6; Prov. 15:11] 1Or Sheol 11 1Vg., Sym- machus cover 12 aJob 26:6; 34:22; [Dan. 2:22; Heb. 4:13] 1Lit. is not dark 13 1wove 14 1So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Syr., Vg. You are fearfully wonderful 15 aJob 10:8, 9; Eccl. 11:5 1Lit. bones were 17 a[Ps. 40:5; Rom. 11:33] 19 a[Is. 11:4] bPs. 119:115 1Lit. men of bloodshed 20 aJude 15 1LXX, Vg. They take your cities in vain 21 a2 Chr. 19:2 22 1complete 23 aJob 31:6; Ps. 26:2 24 aPs. 5:8; 143:10 PSALM 140 2 aPs. 56:6 3 aPs. 58:4; Rom. 3:13; James 3:8 4 aPs. 71:4 5 aPs. 35:7; Jer. 18:22

PSALM 140:6 550 They have spread a net by the wayside; They have set traps for me. Selah 6 I said to the LORD: “You are my God; Hear the voice of my supplications, O LORD. 7 O GOD the Lord, the strength of my salvation, You have 1covered my head in the day of battle. 8 Do not grant, O LORD, the desires of the wicked; Do not further his wicked scheme, aLest they be exalted. Selah 9 “As for the head of those who surround me, Let the evil of their lips cover them; 10 aLet burning coals fall upon them; Let them be cast into the fire, Into deep pits, that they rise not up again. 11 Let not a slanderer be established in the earth; Let evil hunt the violent man to overthrow him.” 12 I know that the LORD will amaintain The cause of the afflicted, And justice for the poor. 13 Surely the righteous shall give thanks to Your name; The upright shall dwell in Your presence. PSALM 141 Prayer for Safekeeping from Wickedness A Psalm of David. LORD, I cry out to You; Make haste to me! Give ear to my voice when I cry out to You. 2 Let my prayer be set before You aas incense, bThe lifting up of my hands as cthe evening sacrifice. 3 Set a guard, O LORD, over my amouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips. 4 Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, To practice wicked works With men who work iniquity; aAnd do not let me eat of their delicacies. 5 aLet the righteous strike me; It shall be a kindness. And let him rebuke me; It shall be as excellent oil; Let my head not refuse it. For still my prayer is against the deeds of the wicked. 6 Their judges are overthrown by the sides of the 1cliff, And they hear my words, for they are sweet. 7 Our bones are scattered at the mouth of the grave, As when one plows and breaks up the earth. 8 But amy eyes are upon You, O GOD the Lord; In You I take refuge; 1Do not leave my soul destitute. 9 Keep me from athe snares they have laid for me, And from the traps of the workers of iniquity. 10 aLet the wicked fall into their own nets, While I escape safely. PSALM 142 A Plea for Relief from Persecutors A aContemplation1 of David. A Prayer bwhen he was in the cave. I CRY out to the LORD with my voice; With my voice to the LORD I make my supplication. 2 I pour out my complaint before Him; I declare before Him my trouble. 3 When my spirit 1was aoverwhelmed within me, Then You knew my path. In the way in which I walk They have secretly bset a snare for me. 4 Look on my right hand and see, For there is no one who acknowledges me; Refuge has failed me; No one cares for my soul. 5 I cried out to You, O LORD: I said, “You are my refuge, My portion in the land of the living. 6 1Attend to my cry, For I am brought very low; Deliver me from my persecutors, For they are stronger than I. 7 Bring my soul out of prison, That I may apraise Your name; The righteous shall surround me, For You shall deal bountifully with me.” PSALM 143 An Earnest Appeal for Guidance and Deliverance A Psalm of David. HEAR my prayer, O LORD, Give ear to my supplications! In Your faithfulness answer me, 7 1sheltered 8 aDeut. 32:27 10 aPs. 11:6 12 a1 Kin. 8:45; Ps. 9:4 PSALM 141 2 a[Ex. 30:8]; Luke 1:10; [Rev. 5:8; 8:3, 4] bPs. 134:2; [1 Tim. 2:8] cEx. 29:39, 41; 1 Kin. 18:29, 36; Dan. 9:21 3 a[Prov. 13:3; 21:23] 4 aProv. 23:6 5 a[Prov. 9:8; Eccl. 7:5; Gal. 6:1] 6 1rock 8 a2 Chr. 20:12; Ps. 25:15 1Lit. Do not make my soul bare 9 aPs. 119:110 10 aPs. 35:8 PSALM 142 title aPs. 32: title b1 Sam. 22:1; Ps. 57: title 1Heb. Maschil 3 aPs. 77:3 bPs. 141:9 1Lit. fainted 6 1Give heed 7 aPs. 34:1, 2

551 PSALM 145:1 And in Your righteousness. 2 Do not enter into judgment with Your servant, aFor in Your sight no one living is righteous. 3 For the enemy has persecuted my soul; He has crushed my life to the ground; He has made me dwell in 1darkness, Like those who have long been dead. 4 aTherefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me; My heart within me is distressed. 5 aI remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your works; I 1muse on the work of Your hands. 6 I spread out my hands to You; aMy soul longs for You like a thirsty land. Selah 7 Answer me speedily, O LORD; My spirit fails! Do not hide Your face from me, aLest I 1be like those who 2go down into the pit. 8 Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness ain the morning, For in You do I trust; bCause me to know the way in which I should walk, For cI lift up my soul to You. 9 Deliver me, O LORD, from my enemies; 1In You I take shelter. 10 aTeach me to do Your will, For You are my God; bYour Spirit is good. Lead me in cthe land of uprightness. 11 aRevive me, O LORD, for Your name’s sake! For Your righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble. 12 In Your mercy acut1 off my enemies, And destroy all those who afflict my soul; For I am Your servant. PSALM 144 A Song to the LORD Who Preserves and Prospers His People A Psalm of David. BLESSED be the LORD my Rock, aWho trains my hands for war, And my fingers for battle— 2 My lovingkindness and my fortress, My high tower and my deliverer, My shield and the One in whom I take refuge, Who subdues 1my people under me. 3 aLORD, what is man, that You take knowledge of him? Or the son of man, that You are mindful of him? 4 aMan is like a breath; bHis days are like a passing shadow. 5 aBow down Your heavens, O LORD, and come down; bTouch the mountains, and they shall smoke. 6 aFlash forth lightning and scatter them; Shoot out Your arrows and destroy them. 7 Stretch out Your hand from above; Rescue me and deliver me out of great waters, From the hand of foreigners, 8 Whose mouth aspeaks 1lying words, And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 9 I will asing a new song to You, O God; On a harp of ten strings I will sing praises to You, 10 The One who gives 1salvation to kings, aWho delivers David His servant From the deadly sword. 11 Rescue me and deliver me from the hand of foreigners, Whose mouth speaks lying words, And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood— 12 That our sons may be aas plants grown up in their youth; That our daughters may be as 1pillars, Sculptured in palace style; 13 That our barns may be full, Supplying all kinds of produce; That our sheep may bring forth thousands And ten thousands in our fields; 14 That our oxen may be well-laden; That there be no 1breaking in or going out; That there be no outcry in our streets. 15 aHappy are the people who are in such a state; Happy are the people whose God is the LORD! PSALM 145 A Song of God’s Majesty and Love aA Praise of David. I WILL 1extol You, my God, O King; And I will bless Your name forever and ever. PSALM 143 2 a[Ex. 34:7]; Job 4:17; 9:2; 25:4; Ps. 130:3; Eccl. 7:20; [Rom. 3:20–23; Gal. 2:16] 3 1dark places 4 aPs. 77:3 5 aPs. 77:5, 10, 11 1ponder 6 aPs. 63:1 7 aPs. 28:1 1be- come 2Die 8 aPs. 46:5 bPs. 5:8 cPs. 25:1 9 1LXX, Vg. To You I flee 10 aPs. 25:4, 5 bNeh. 9:20 cIs. 26:10 11 aPs. 119:25 12 aPs. 54:5 1put an end to PSALM 144 1 a2 Sam. 22:35; Ps. 18:34 2 1So with MT, LXX, Vg.; Syr., Tg. the peoples (cf. 18:47) 3 aJob 7:17; Ps. 8:4; Heb. 2:6 4 aPs. 39:11 bJob 8:9; 14:2; Ps. 102:11 5 aPs. 18:9; Is. 64:1 bPs. 104:32 6 aPs. 18:13, 14 8 aPs. 12:2 1empty or worthless 9 aPs. 33:2, 3; 40:3 10 aPs. 18:50 1deliverance 12 aPs. 128:3 1corner pillars 14 1Lit. breach 15 aDeut. 33:29; [Ps. 33:12; Jer. 17:7] PSALM 145 title aPs. 100:ti- tle 1 1praise

PSALM 145:2 552 2 Every day I will bless You, And I will praise Your name forever and ever. 3 aGreat is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; And bHis greatness is 1unsearchable. 4 aOne generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts. 5 1I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, And 2on Your wondrous works. 6 Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts, And I will declare Your greatness. 7 They shall 1utter the memory of Your great goodness, And shall sing of Your righteousness. 8 aThe LORD is gracious and full of compassion, Slow to anger and great in mercy. 9 aThe LORD is good to all, And His tender mercies are over all His works. 10 aAll Your works shall praise You, O LORD, And Your saints shall bless You. 11 They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom, And talk of Your power, 12 To make known to the sons of men His mighty acts, And the glorious majesty of His kingdom. 13 aYour kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And Your dominion endures throughout all 1generations. 14 The LORD upholds all who fall, And araises up all who are bowed down. 15 aThe eyes of all look expectantly to You, And bYou give them their food in due season. 16 You open Your hand aAnd satisfy the desire of every living thing. 17 The LORD is righteous in all His ways, Gracious in all His works. 18 aThe LORD is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him bin truth. 19 He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He also will hear their cry and save them. 20 aThe LORD preserves all who love Him, But all the wicked He will destroy. 21 My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD, And all flesh shall bless His holy name Forever and ever. PSALM 146 The Happiness of Those Whose Help Is the LORD PRAISE1 the LORD! aPraise the LORD, O my soul! 2 aWhile I live I will praise the LORD; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. 3 aDo not put your trust in princes, Nor in 1a son of man, in whom there is no 2help. 4 aHis spirit departs, he returns to his earth; In that very day bhis plans perish. 5 aHappy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, Whose hope is in the LORD his God, 6 aWho made heaven and earth, The sea, and all that is in them; Who keeps truth forever, 7 aWho executes justice for the oppressed, bWho gives food to the hungry. cThe LORD gives freedom to the prisoners. 8 aThe LORD opens the eyes of the blind; bThe LORD raises those who are bowed down; The LORD loves the righteous. 9 aThe LORD watches over the strangers; He relieves the fatherless and widow; bBut the way of the wicked He 1turns upside down. 10 aThe LORD shall reign forever— Your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the LORD! PSALM 147 Praise to God for His Word and Providence PRAISE1 the LORD! For ait is good to sing praises to our God; bFor it is pleasant, and cpraise is beautiful. 3 a[Ps. 147:5] b[Rom. 11:33] 1Beyond our understand- ing 4 aIs. 38:19 5 1So with MT, Tg.; DSS, LXX, Syr., Vg. They 2Lit. on the words of Your won- drous works 7 1eagerly utter, lit. bub- ble forth 8 a[Num. 14:18] 9 aNah. 1:7 10 aPs. 19:1 13 a[1 Tim. 1:17] 1So with MT, Tg.; DSS, LXX, Syr., Vg. add The LORD is faithful in all His words, and holy in all His works 14 aPs. 146:8 15 aPs. 104:27 bPs. 136:25 16 aPs. 104:21, 28 18 a[Deut. 4:7] b[John 4:24] 20 a[Ps. 31:23] PSALM 146 1 aPs. 103:1 1Heb. Hallelu- jah 2 aPs. 104:33 3 a[Is. 2:22] 1A human being 2salvation 4 a[Eccl. 12:7] b[1 Cor. 2:6] 5 aJer. 17:7 6 aRev. 14:7 7 aPs. 103:6 bPs. 107:9 cPs. 107:10 8 aMatt. 9:30 bLuke 13:13 9 aDeut. 10:18 bPs. 147:6 1Lit. makes crooked 10 aEx. 15:18 PSALM 147 1 aPs. 92:1 bPs. 135:3 cPs. 33:1 1Heb. Hallelujah

553 PSALM 149:2 2 The LORD abuilds up Jerusalem; bHe gathers together the outcasts of Israel. 3 aHe heals the brokenhearted And binds up their 1wounds. 4 aHe counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name. 5 aGreat is our Lord, and bmighty in power; cHis understanding is infinite. 6 aThe LORD lifts up the humble; He casts the wicked down to the ground. 7 Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; Sing praises on the harp to our God, 8 aWho covers the heavens with clouds, Who prepares rain for the earth, Who makes grass to grow on the mountains. 9 aHe gives to the beast its food, And bto the young ravens that cry. 10 aHe does not delight in the strength of the horse; He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man. 11 The LORD takes pleasure in those who fear Him, In those who hope in His mercy. 12 Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion! 13 For He has strengthened the bars of your gates; He has blessed your children within you. 14 aHe makes peace in your borders, And bfills you with 1the finest wheat. 15 aHe sends out His command to the earth; His word runs very swiftly. 16 aHe gives snow like wool; He scatters the frost like ashes; 17 He casts out His hail like 1morsels; Who can stand before His cold? 18 aHe sends out His word and melts them; He causes His wind to blow, and the waters flow. 19 aHe declares His word to Jacob, bHis statutes and His judgments to Israel. 20 aHe has not dealt thus with any nation; And as for His judgments, they have not known them. 1Praise the LORD! PSALM 148 Praise to the LORD from Creation PRAISE1 the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; Praise Him in the heights! 2 Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His hosts! 3 Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all you stars of light! 4 Praise Him, ayou heavens of heavens, And byou waters above the heavens! 5 Let them praise the name of the LORD, For aHe commanded and they were created. 6 aHe also established them forever and ever; He made a decree which shall not pass away. 7 Praise the LORD from the earth, aYou great sea creatures and all the depths; 8 Fire and hail, snow and clouds; Stormy wind, fulfilling His word; 9 aMountains and all hills; Fruitful trees and all cedars; 10 Beasts and all cattle; Creeping things and flying fowl; 11 Kings of the earth and all peoples; Princes and all judges of the earth; 12 Both young men and maidens; Old men and children. 13 Let them praise the name of the LORD, For His aname alone is exalted; His glory is above the earth and heaven. 14 And He ahas exalted the 1horn of His people, The praise of ball His saints— Of the children of Israel, cA people near to Him. 2Praise the LORD! PSALM 149 Praise to God for His Salvation and Judgment PRAISE1 the LORD! aSing to the LORD a new song, And His praise in the assembly of saints. 2 Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; Let the children of Zion be joyful in their aKing. 2 aPs. 102:16 bDeut. 30:3; Is. 11:12; 56:8; Ezek. 39:28 3 a[Ps. 51:17]; Is. 61:1; Luke 4:18 1Lit. sor- rows 4 aIs. 40:26 5 aPs. 48:1 bNah. 1:3 cIs. 40:28 6 aPs. 146:8, 9 8 aJob 38:26; Ps. 104:13 9 aJob 38:41 b[Matt. 6:26] 10 aPs. 33:16, 17 14 aIs. 54:13; 60:17, 18 bPs. 132:15 1Lit. fat of wheat 15 a[Ps. 107:20] 16 aJob 37:6 17 1fragments of food 18 aJob 37:10 19 aDeut. 33:4; Ps. 103:7 bMal. 4:4 20 aDeut. 4:32–34; [Rom. 3:1, 2] 1Heb. Hallelu- jah PSALM 148 1 1Heb. Hal- lelujah 4 aDeut. 10:14; 1 Kin. 8:27; [Neh. 9:6] bGen. 1:7 5 aGen. 1:1, 6 6 aPs. 89:37; [Jer. 31:35, 36; 33:20, 25] 7 aIs. 43:20 9 aIs. 44:23; 49:13 13 aPs. 8:1 14 a1 Sam. 2:1; Ps. 75:10 bPs. 149:9 cLev. 10:3; Eph. 2:17 1Strength or dominion 1Heb. Hallelu- jah PSALM 149 1 aPs. 33:3 1Heb. Hallelu- jah 2 aJudg. 8:23; Zech. 9:9; Matt. 21:5

PSALM 149:3 554 3 aLet them praise His name with the dance; Let them sing praises to Him with the timbrel and harp. 4 For athe LORD takes pleasure in His people; bHe will beautify the 1humble with salvation. 5 Let the saints be joyful in glory; Let them asing aloud on their beds. 6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, And aa two-edged sword in their hand, 7 To execute vengeance on the nations, And punishments on the peoples; 8 To bind their kings with chains, And their nobles with fetters of iron; 9 aTo execute on them the written judgment— bThis honor have all His saints. 1Praise the LORD! PSALM 150 Let All Things Praise the LORD PRAISEa1 the LORD! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty 2firmament! 2 Praise Him for His mighty acts; Praise Him according to His excellent agreatness! 3 Praise Him with the sound of the 1trumpet; Praise Him with the lute and harp! 4 Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes! 5 Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with clashing cymbals! 6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. 1Praise the LORD! 3 aPs. 81:2 4 aPs. 35:27 bPs. 132:16 1meek 5 aJob 35:10 6 aHeb. 4:12 9 aDeut. 7:1, 2 b1 Cor. 6:2 1Heb. Hallelu- jah PSALM 150 1 aPs. 145:5, 6 1Heb. Hallelu- jah 2expanse of heaven 2 aDeut. 3:24 3 1cornet 6 1Heb. Hal- lelujah The Book of PROVERBS THE key word in Proverbs is wisdom, “the ability to live life skillfully.” A godly life in an ungodly world, however, is no simple assignment. Proverbs pro- vides God’s detailed instructions for His people to deal successfully with the practical affairs of everyday life: how to relate to God, parents, children, neigh- bors, and government. Solomon, the principal author, uses a combination of po- etry, parables, pithy questions, short stories, and wise maxims to give in strik- ingly memorable form the common sense and divine perspective necessary to handle life’s issues. Because Solomon, the pinnacle of Israel’s wise men, was the principal contrib- utor, the Hebrew title of this book is Mishle Shelomoh, “Proverbs of Solomon” (1:1). The Greek title is Paroimiai Salomontos, “Proverbs of Solomon.” The Latin title Liber Proverbiorum, “Book of Proverbs,” combines the words pro “for” and verba “words” to describe the way the proverbs concentrate many words into a few. The rabbinical writings called Proverbs Sepher Hokhmah, “Book of Wis- dom.” The Beginning of Knowledge THE aproverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel: 2 To know wisdom and instruction, To 1perceive the words of understanding, 3 To receive the instruction of wisdom, Justice, judgment, and equity; 4 To give prudence to the asimple, To the young man knowledge and discretion— 5 aA wise man will hear and increase learning, CHAPTER 1 1 a1 Kin. 4:32; Prov. 10:1; 25:1; Eccl. 12:9 2 1understand or discern 4 aProv. 9:4 5 aProv. 9:9

555 PROVERBS 2:7 And a man of understanding will 1attain wise counsel, 6 To understand a proverb and an enigma, The words of the wise and their ariddles. 7 aThe fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction. Shun Evil Counsel 8 aMy son, hear the instruction of your father, And do not forsake the law of your mother; 9 For they will be a agraceful ornament on your head, And chains about your neck. 10 My son, if sinners entice you, aDo not consent. 11 If they say, “Come with us, Let us alie in wait to shed blood; Let us lurk secretly for the innocent without cause; 12 Let us swallow them alive like 1Sheol, And whole, alike those who go down to the Pit; 13 We shall find all kinds of precious 1possessions, We shall fill our houses with 2spoil; 14 Cast in your lot among us, Let us all have one purse”— 15 My son, ado not walk in the way with them, bKeep your foot from their path; 16 aFor their feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed blood. 17 Surely, in 1vain the net is spread In the sight of any 2bird; 18 But they lie in wait for their own blood, They lurk secretly for their own lives. 19 aSo are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain; It takes away the life of its owners. The Call of Wisdom 20 aWisdom calls aloud 1outside; She raises her voice in the open squares. 21 She cries out in the 1chief concourses, At the openings of the gates in the city She speaks her words: 22 “How long, you 1simple ones, will you love 2simplicity? For scorners delight in their scorning, And fools hate knowledge. 23 Turn at my rebuke; Surely aI will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you. 24 aBecause I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded, 25 Because you adisdained all my counsel, And would have none of my rebuke, 26 aI also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes, 27 When ayour terror comes like a storm, And your destruction comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you. 28 “Thena they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me. 29 Because they ahated knowledge And did not bchoose the fear of the LORD, 30 aThey would have none of my counsel And despised my every rebuke. 31 Therefore athey shall eat the fruit of their own way, And be filled to the full with their own fancies. 32 For the 1turning away of the simple will slay them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them; 33 But whoever listens to me will dwell asafely, And bwill be 1secure, without fear of evil.” The Value of Wisdom 2 My son, if you receive my words, And atreasure my commands within you, 2 So that you incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding; 3 Yes, if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for understanding, 4 aIf you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures; 5 aThen you will understand the fear of the LORD, And find the knowledge of God. 6 aFor the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding; 7 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; aHe is a shield to those who walk uprightly; 5 1acquire 6 aPs. 78:2 7 aJob 28:28 8 aProv. 4:1 9 aProv. 3:22 10 aGen. 39:7–10 11 aJer. 5:26 12 aPs. 28:1 1Or the grave 13 1Lit. wealth 2plunder 15 aPs. 1:1 bPs. 119:101 16 a[Is. 59:7] 17 1futility 2Lit. lord of the wing 19 a[1 Tim. 6:10] 20 a[John 7:37] 1in the street 21 1LXX, Syr., [Tg.] top of the walls; Vg. the head of multitudes 22 1naive 2naivete 23 aJoel 2:28 24 aJer. 7:13 25 aLuke 7:30 26 aPs. 2:4 27 a[Prov. 10:24, 25] 28 aIs. 1:15 29 aJob 21:14 bPs. 119:173 30 aPs. 81:11 31 aJob 4:8 32 1wayward- ness 33 aProv. 3:24–26 bPs. 112:7 1at ease CHAPTER 2 1 a[Prov. 4:21] 4 a[Prov. 3:14] 5 a[James 1:5, 6] 6 a1 Kin. 3:9, 12 7 a[Ps. 84:11]

PROVERBS 2:8 556 8 He guards the paths of justice, And apreserves the way of His saints. 9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice, Equity and every good path. 10 When wisdom enters your heart, And knowledge is pleasant to your soul, 11 Discretion will preserve you; aUnderstanding will keep you, 12 To deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things, 13 From those who leave the paths of uprightness To awalk in the ways of darkness; 14 aWho rejoice in doing evil, And delight in the perversity of the wicked; 15 aWhose ways are crooked, And who are devious in their paths; 16 To deliver you from athe immoral woman, bFrom the seductress who flatters with her words, 17 Who forsakes the companion of her youth, And forgets the covenant of her God. 18 For aher house 1leads down to death, And her paths to the dead; 19 None who go to her return, Nor do they 1regain the paths of life— 20 So you may walk in the way of goodness, And keep to the paths of righteousness. 21 For the upright will dwell in the aland, And the blameless will remain in it; 22 But the wicked will be 1cut off from the 2earth, And the unfaithful will be uprooted from it. Guidance for the Young 3 My son, do not forget my law, aBut let your heart keep my commands; 2 For length of days and long life And apeace they will add to you. 3 Let not mercy and truth forsake you; aBind them around your neck, bWrite them on the tablet of your heart, 4 aAnd so find favor and 1high esteem In the sight of God and man. 5 aTrust in the LORD with all your heart, bAnd lean not on your own understanding; 6 aIn all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall 1direct your paths. 7 Do not be wise in your own aeyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil. 8 It will be health to your 1flesh, And astrength2 to your bones. 9 aHonor the LORD with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase; 10 aSo your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine. 11 aMy son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor detest His correction; 12 For whom the LORD loves He corrects, aJust as a father the son in whom he delights. 13 aHappy is the man who finds wisdom, And the man who gains understanding; 14 aFor her proceeds are better than the profits of silver, And her gain than fine gold. 15 She is more precious than rubies, And aall the things you may desire cannot compare with her. 16 aLength of days is in her right hand, In her left hand riches and honor. 17 aHer ways are ways of pleasantness, And all her paths are peace. 18 She is aa tree of life to those who take hold of her, And happy are all who 1retain her. 19 aThe LORD by wisdom founded the earth; By understanding He established the heavens; 20 By His knowledge the depths were abroken up, And clouds drop down the dew. 21 My son, let them not depart from your eyes— Keep sound wisdom and discretion; 22 So they will be life to your soul And grace to your neck. 23 aThen you will walk safely in your way, And your foot will not stumble. 8 a[1 Sam. 2:9] 11 aProv. 4:6; 6:22 13 a[John 3:19, 20] 14 a[Rom. 1:32] 15 aPs. 125:5 16 aProv. 5:20; 6:24; 7:5 bProv. 5:3 18 aProv. 7:27 1sinks 19 1Lit. reach 21 aPs. 37:3 22 1destroyed 2land CHAPTER 3 1 aDeut. 8:1 2 aPs. 119:165 3 aProv. 6:21 b[2 Cor. 3:3] 4 aRom. 14:18 1Lit. good understand- ing 5 a[Ps. 37:3, 5] b[Jer. 9:23, 24] 6 a[1 Chr. 28:9] 1Or make smooth or straight 7 aRom. 12:16 8 aJob 21:24 1Body, lit. navel 2Lit. drink 9 aEx. 22:29 10 aDeut. 28:8 11 aJob 5:17 12 aDeut. 8:5 13 aProv. 8:32, 34, 35 14 aJob 28:13 15 aMatt. 13:44 16 a[1 Tim. 4:8] 17 a[Matt. 11:29] 18 aGen. 2:9 1hold her fast 19 aPs. 104:24 20 aGen. 7:11 23 aProv. 10:9

557 PROVERBS 4:26 24 When you lie down, you will not be afraid; Yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet. 25 aDo not be afraid of sudden terror, Nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes; 26 For the LORD will be your confidence, And will keep your foot from being caught. 27 aDo not withhold good from 1those to whom it is due, When it is in the power of your hand to do so. 28 aDo not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back, And tomorrow I will give it,” When you have it with you. 29 Do not devise evil against your neighbor, For he dwells by you for safety’s sake. 30 aDo not strive with a man without cause, If he has done you no harm. 31 aDo not envy the oppressor, And choose none of his ways; 32 For the perverse person is an abomination to the LORD, aBut His secret counsel is with the upright. 33 aThe curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, But bHe blesses the home of the just. 34 aSurely He scorns the scornful, But gives grace to the humble. 35 The wise shall inherit glory, But shame shall be the legacy of fools. Security in Wisdom 4 Hear, amy children, the instruction of a father, And give attention to know understanding; 2 For I give you good doctrine: Do not forsake my law. 3 When I was my father’s son, aTender and the only one in the sight of my mother, 4 aHe also taught me, and said to me: “Let your heart retain my words; bKeep my commands, and live. 5 aGet wisdom! Get understanding! Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth. 6 Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you; aLove her, and she will keep you. 7 aWisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding. 8 aExalt her, and she will promote you; She will bring you honor, when you embrace her. 9 She will place on your head aan ornament of grace; A crown of glory she will deliver to you.” 10 Hear, my son, and receive my sayings, aAnd the years of your life will be many. 11 I have ataught you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in right paths. 12 When you walk, ayour steps will not be hindered, bAnd when you run, you will not stumble. 13 Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go; Keep her, for she is your life. 14 aDo not enter the path of the wicked, And do not walk in the way of evil. 15 Avoid it, do not travel on it; Turn away from it and pass on. 16 aFor they do not sleep unless they have done evil; And their sleep is 1taken away unless they make someone fall. 17 For they eat the bread of wickedness, And drink the wine of violence. 18 aBut the path of the just bis like the shining 1sun, That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day. 19 aThe way of the wicked is like darkness; They do not know what makes them stumble. 20 My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. 21 Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; 22 For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh. 23 Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of alife. 24 Put away from you a 1deceitful mouth, And put perverse lips far from you. 25 Let your eyes look straight ahead, And your eyelids look right before you. 26 Ponder the path of your afeet, 25 aPs. 91:5; 1 Pet. 3:14 27 aRom. 13:7; [Gal. 6:10] 1Lit. its own- ers 28 aLev. 19:13; Deut. 24:15 30 aProv. 26:17; [Rom. 12:18] 31 aPs. 37:1; Prov. 24:1 32 aPs. 25:14 33 aLev. 26:14, 16; Deut. 11:28; Zech. 5:3, 4; Mal. 2:2 bJob 8:6; Ps. 1:3 34 aJames 4:6; 1 Pet. 5:5 CHAPTER 4 1 aPs. 34:11; Prov. 1:8 3 a1 Chr. 29:1 4 a1 Chr. 28:9; Eph. 6:4 bProv. 7:2 5 aProv. 2:2, 3 6 a2 Thess. 2:10 7 aProv. 3:13, 14; Matt. 13:44 8 a1 Sam. 2:30 9 aProv. 3:22 10 aProv. 3:2 11 a1 Sam. 12:23 12 aJob 18:7; Ps. 18:36 b[Ps. 91:11]; Prov. 3:23 14 aPs. 1:1; Prov. 1:15 16 aPs. 36:4; Mic. 2:1 1Lit. robbed 18 aIs. 26:7; Matt. 5:14, 45; Phil. 2:15 b2 Sam. 23:4 1Lit. light 19 a1 Sam. 2:9; [Job 18:5, 6]; Prov.

Deut. 11:28; Zech. 5:3, 4; Mal. 2:2 bJob 8:6; Ps. 1:3 34 aJames 4:6; 1 Pet. 5:5 CHAPTER 4 1 aPs. 34:11; Prov. 1:8 3 a1 Chr. 29:1 4 a1 Chr. 28:9; Eph. 6:4 bProv. 7:2 5 aProv. 2:2, 3 6 a2 Thess. 2:10 7 aProv. 3:13, 14; Matt. 13:44 8 a1 Sam. 2:30 9 aProv. 3:22 10 aProv. 3:2 11 a1 Sam. 12:23 12 aJob 18:7; Ps. 18:36 b[Ps. 91:11]; Prov. 3:23 14 aPs. 1:1; Prov. 1:15 16 aPs. 36:4; Mic. 2:1 1Lit. robbed 18 aIs. 26:7; Matt. 5:14, 45; Phil. 2:15 b2 Sam. 23:4 1Lit. light 19 a1 Sam. 2:9; [Job 18:5, 6]; Prov. 2:13; [Is. 59:9, 10; Jer. 23:12]; John 12:35 23 a[Matt. 12:34; 15:18, 19; Mark 7:21; Luke 6:45] 24 1devious 26 aProv. 5:21; Heb. 12:13

PROVERBS 4:27 558 And let all your ways be established. 27 Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil. The Peril of Adultery 5 My son, pay attention to my wisdom; 1Lend your ear to my understanding, 2 That you may 1preserve discretion, And your lips amay keep knowledge. 3 aFor the lips of 1an immoral woman drip honey, And her mouth is bsmoother than oil; 4 But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword. 5 Her feet go down to death, aHer steps lay hold of 1hell. 6 Lest you ponder her path of life— Her ways are unstable; You do not know them. 7 Therefore hear me now, my children, And do not depart from the words of my mouth. 8 Remove your way far from her, And do not go near the door of her house, 9 Lest you give your 1honor to others, And your years to the cruel one; 10 Lest aliens be filled with your 1wealth, And your labors go to the house of a foreigner; 11 And you mourn at last, When your flesh and your body are consumed, 12 And say: “How I have hated instruction, And my heart despised correction! 13 I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, Nor inclined my ear to those who instructed me! 14 I was on the verge of total ruin, In the midst of the assembly and congregation.” 15 Drink water from your own cistern, And running water from your own well. 16 Should your fountains be dispersed abroad, 1Streams of water in the streets? 17 Let them be only your own, And not for strangers with you. 18 Let your fountain be blessed, And rejoice with athe wife of your youth. 19 aAs a loving deer and a graceful doe, Let her breasts satisfy you at all times; And always be 1enraptured with her love. 20 For why should you, my son, be enraptured by aan immoral woman, And be embraced in the arms of a seductress? 21 aFor the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, And He 1ponders all his paths. 22 aHis own iniquities entrap the wicked man, And he is caught in the cords of his sin. 23 aHe shall die for lack of instruction, And in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray. Dangerous Promises 6 My son, aif you become 1surety for your friend, If you have 2shaken hands in pledge for a stranger, 2 You are snared by the words of your mouth; You are taken by the words of your mouth. 3 So do this, my son, and deliver yourself; For you have come into the hand of your friend: Go and humble yourself; Plead with your friend. 4 aGive no sleep to your eyes, Nor slumber to your eyelids. 5 Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, And like a bird from the hand of the 1fowler. The Folly of Indolence 6 aGo to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise, 7 Which, having no 1captain, Overseer or ruler, 8 Provides her 1supplies in the summer, And gathers her food in the harvest. 9 aHow long will you 1slumber, O sluggard? When will you rise from your sleep? 10 A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to sleep— 11 aSo shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, And your need like an armed man. The Wicked Man 12 A worthless person, a wicked man, Walks with a perverse mouth; 13 aHe winks with his eyes, He 1shuffles his feet, CHAPTER 5 1 1Lit. Bow 2 aMal. 2:7 1appreciate good judg- ment 3 aProv. 2:16 bPs. 55:21 1Lit. a strange 5 aProv. 7:27 1Or Sheol 9 1vigor 10 1Lit. strength 16 1Channels 18 aDeut. 24:5; Eccl. 9:9; Mal. 2:14 19 aSong 2:9 1Lit. intoxi- cated 20 aProv. 2:16 21 a2 Chr. 16:9; Job 31:4; 34:21; Prov. 15:3; Jer. 16:17; 32:19; Hos. 7:2; Heb. 4:13 1ob- serves, lit. weighs 22 aNum. 32:23; Ps. 9:5; Prov. 1:31; Is. 3:11 23 aJob 4:21 CHAPTER 6 1 aProv. 11:15 1guaranty or collateral 2Lit. struck 4 aPs. 132:4 5 1One who catches birds in a trap or snare 6 aJob 12:7 7 1Lit. leader 8 1Lit. bread 9 aProv. 24:33, 34 1Lit. lie down 11 aProv. 10:4 13 aJob 15:12; Ps. 35:19; Prov. 10:10 1gives signals, lit. scrapes

559 PROVERBS 7:16 He points with his fingers; 14 Perversity is in his heart, aHe devises evil continually, bHe sows discord. 15 Therefore his calamity shall come asuddenly; Suddenly he shall bbe broken cwithout remedy. 16 These six things the LORD hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to 1Him: 17 aA1 proud look, bA lying tongue, cHands that shed innocent blood, 18 aA heart that devises wicked plans, bFeet that are swift in running to evil, 19 aA false witness who speaks lies, And one who bsows discord among brethren. Beware of Adultery 20 aMy son, keep your father’s command, And do not forsake the law of your mother. 21 aBind them continually upon your heart; Tie them around your neck. 22 aWhen you roam, 1they will lead you; When you sleep, bthey will keep you; And when you awake, they will speak with you. 23 aFor the commandment is a lamp, And the law a light; Reproofs of instruction are the way of life, 24 aTo keep you from the evil woman, From the flattering tongue of a seductress. 25 aDo not lust after her beauty in your heart, Nor let her allure you with her eyelids. 26 For aby means of a harlot A man is reduced to a crust of bread; bAnd 1an adulteress will cprey upon his precious life. 27 Can a man take fire to his bosom, And his clothes not be burned? 28 Can one walk on hot coals, And his feet not be seared? 29 So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife; Whoever touches her shall not be innocent. 30 People do not despise a thief If he steals to satisfy himself when he is starving. 31 Yet when he is found, ahe must restore sevenfold; He may have to give up all the substance of his house. 32 Whoever commits adultery with a woman alacks understanding; He who does so destroys his own soul. 33 Wounds and dishonor he will get, And his reproach will not be wiped away. 34 For ajealousy is a husband’s fury; Therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance. 35 He will 1accept no recompense, Nor will he be appeased though you give many gifts. 7 My son, keep my words, And atreasure my commands within you. 2 aKeep my commands and live, bAnd my law as the apple of your eye. 3 aBind them on your fingers; Write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” And call understanding your nearest kin, 5 aThat they may keep you from the immoral woman, From the seductress who flatters with her words. The Crafty Harlot 6 For at the window of my house I looked through my lattice, 7 And saw among the simple, I perceived among the 1youths, A young man adevoid2 of understanding, 8 Passing along the street near her corner; And he took the path to her house 9 aIn the twilight, in the evening, In the black and dark night. 10 And there a woman met him, With the attire of a harlot, and a crafty heart. 11 aShe was loud and rebellious, bHer feet would not stay at home. 12 At times she was outside, at times in the open square, Lurking at every corner. 13 So she caught him and kissed him; With an 1impudent face she said to him: 14 “I have peace offerings with me; Today I have paid my vows. 15 So I came out to meet you, Diligently to seek your face, And I have found you. 16 I have spread my bed with tapestry, 14 aProv. 3:29; Mic. 2:1 bProv. 6:19 15 aProv. 24:22; Is. 30:13; 1 Thess. 5:3 bJer. 19:11 c2 Chr. 36:16 16 1Lit. His soul 17 aPs. 101:5; Prov. 21:4 bPs. 120:2; Prov. 12:22 cDeut. 19:10; Prov. 28:17; Is. 1:15 1Lit. Haughty eyes 18 aGen. 6:5; Ps. 36:4; Prov. 24:2; Jer. 18:18; Mark 14:1, 43–46 b2 Kin. 5:20–27; Is. 59:7; Rom. 3:15 19 aPs. 27:12; Prov. 19:5, 9; Matt. 26:59–66 bProv. 6:14; 1 Cor. 1:11–13; [Jude 3, 4, 16–19] 20 aEph. 6:1 21 aProv. 3:3 22 a[Prov. 3:23] bProv. 2:11 1Lit. it 23 aPs. 19:8; 2 Pet. 1:19 24 aProv. 2:16 25 aMatt. 5:28 26 aProv. 29:3 bGen. 39:14 cEzek. 13:18 1Wife of an- other, lit. a man’s wife 31 aEx. 22:1–4 32 aProv. 7:7 34 aProv. 27:4; Song 8:6 35 1Lit. lift up the face of any CHAPTER 7 1 aProv. 2:1 2 aLev. 18:5; Prov. 4:4; [Is. 55:3] bDeut. 32:10; Ps. 17:8; Zech. 2:8 3 aDeut. 6:8; Prov. 6:21 5 aProv.

s. 27:12; Prov. 19:5, 9; Matt. 26:59–66 bProv. 6:14; 1 Cor. 1:11–13; [Jude 3, 4, 16–19] 20 aEph. 6:1 21 aProv. 3:3 22 a[Prov. 3:23] bProv. 2:11 1Lit. it 23 aPs. 19:8; 2 Pet. 1:19 24 aProv. 2:16 25 aMatt. 5:28 26 aProv. 29:3 bGen. 39:14 cEzek. 13:18 1Wife of an- other, lit. a man’s wife 31 aEx. 22:1–4 32 aProv. 7:7 34 aProv. 27:4; Song 8:6 35 1Lit. lift up the face of any CHAPTER 7 1 aProv. 2:1 2 aLev. 18:5; Prov. 4:4; [Is. 55:3] bDeut. 32:10; Ps. 17:8; Zech. 2:8 3 aDeut. 6:8; Prov. 6:21 5 aProv. 2:16; 5:3 7 a[Prov. 6:32; 9:4, 16] 1Lit. sons 2lacking 9 aJob 24:15 11 aProv. 9:13; 1 Tim. 5:13 bTitus 2:5 13 1shameless

PROVERBS 7:17 560 Colored coverings of aEgyptian linen. 17 I have perfumed my bed With myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. 18 Come, let us take our fill of love until morning; Let us delight ourselves with love. 19 For 1my husband is not at home; He has gone on a long journey; 20 He has taken a bag of money 1with him, And will come home 2on the appointed day.” 21 1With aher enticing speech she caused him to yield, bWith her flattering lips she 2seduced him. 22 Immediately he went after her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, Or 1as a fool to the correction of the 2stocks, 23 Till an arrow struck his liver. aAs a bird hastens to the snare, He did not know it 1would cost his life. 24 Now therefore, listen to me, my children; Pay attention to the words of my mouth: 25 Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways, Do not stray into her paths; 26 For she has cast down many wounded, And aall who were slain by her were strong men. 27 aHer house is the way to 1hell, Descending to the chambers of death. The Excellence of Wisdom 8 Does not awisdom cry out, And understanding lift up her voice? 2 She takes her stand on the top of the 1high hill, Beside the way, where the paths meet. 3 She cries out by the gates, at the entry of the city, At the entrance of the doors: 4 “To you, O men, I call, And my voice is to the sons of men. 5 O you 1simple ones, understand prudence, And you fools, be of an understanding heart. 6 Listen, for I will speak of aexcellent things, And from the opening of my lips will come right things; 7 For my mouth will speak truth; Wickedness is an abomination to my lips. 8 All the words of my mouth are with righteousness; Nothing crooked or perverse is in them. 9 They are all plain to him who understands, And right to those who find knowledge. 10 Receive my instruction, and not silver, And knowledge rather than choice gold; 11 aFor wisdom is better than rubies, And all the things one may desire cannot be compared with her. 12 “I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, And find out knowledge and discretion. 13 aThe fear of the LORD is to hate evil; bPride and arrogance and the evil way And cthe perverse mouth I hate. 14 Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom; I am understanding, aI have strength. 15 aBy me kings reign, And rulers decree justice. 16 By me princes rule, and nobles, All the judges of 1the earth. 17 aI love those who love me, And bthose who seek me diligently will find me. 18 aRiches and honor are with me, Enduring riches and righteousness. 19 My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold, And my revenue than choice silver. 20 I 1traverse the way of righteousness, In the midst of the paths of justice, 21 That I may cause those who love me to inherit wealth, That I may fill their treasuries. 22 “Thea LORD possessed me at the beginning of His way, Before His works of old. 23 aI have been established from everlasting, From the beginning, before there was ever an earth. 24 When there were no depths I was brought forth, When there were no fountains abounding with water. 25 aBefore the mountains were settled, Before the hills, I was brought forth; 26 While as yet He had not made the earth or the 1fields, Or the 2primal dust of the world. 16 aIs. 19:9 19 1Lit. the man 20 1Lit. in his hand 2at the full moon 21 aProv. 5:3 bPs. 12:2 1By the greatness of her words 2compelled 22 1LXX, Syr., Tg. as a dog to bonds; Vg. as a lamb . . . to bonds 2shackles 23 aEccl. 9:12 1Lit. is for 26 aNeh. 13:26 27 aProv. 2:18; 5:5; 9:18 1Or Sheol CHAPTER 8 1 aProv. 1:20, 21; 9:3 2 1Lit. heights 5 1naive 6 aProv. 22:20 11 aJob 28:15 13 aProv. 3:7; 16:6 b[Prov. 16:17, 18] cProv. 4:24 14 aEccl. 7:19; 9:16 15 aRom. 13:1 16 1MT, Syr., Tg., Vg. righ- teousness; LXX, Bg., some mss. and editions earth 17 a[John 14:21] bJames 1:5 18 aProv. 3:16 20 1walk about on 22 aProv. 3:19 23 a[Ps. 2:6] 25 aJob 15:7, 8 26 1outer places 2Lit. beginning of the dust

561 PROVERBS 10:6 27 When He prepared the heavens, I was there, When He drew a circle on the face of the deep, 28 When He established the clouds above, When He strengthened the fountains of the deep, 29 aWhen He assigned to the sea its limit, So that the waters would not transgress His command, When bHe marked out the foundations of the earth, 30 aThen I was beside Him as 1a master craftsman; bAnd I was daily His delight, Rejoicing always before Him, 31 Rejoicing in His inhabited world, And amy delight was with the sons of men. 32 “Now therefore, listen to me, my children, For ablessed are those who keep my ways. 33 Hear instruction and be wise, And do not disdain it. 34 aBlessed is the man who listens to me, Watching daily at my gates, Waiting at the posts of my doors. 35 For whoever finds me finds life, And aobtains favor from the LORD; 36 But he who sins against me awrongs his own soul; All those who hate me love death.” The Way of Wisdom 9 Wisdom has abuilt her house, She has hewn out her seven pillars; 2 aShe has slaughtered her meat, bShe has mixed her wine, She has also 1furnished her table. 3 She has sent out her maidens, She cries out from the highest places of the city, 4 “Whoevera is simple, let him turn in here!” As for him who lacks understanding, she says to him, 5 “Come,a eat of my bread And drink of the wine I have mixed. 6 Forsake foolishness and live, And go in the way of understanding. 7 “He who corrects a scoffer gets shame for himself, And he who rebukes a wicked man only harms himself. 8 aDo not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you; bRebuke a wise man, and he will love you. 9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; Teach a just man, aand he will increase in learning. 10 “Thea fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. 11 aFor by me your days will be multiplied, And years of life will be added to you. 12 aIf you are wise, you are wise for yourself, And if you scoff, you will bear it alone.” The Way of Folly 13 aA foolish woman is 1clamorous; She is simple, and knows nothing. 14 For she sits at the door of her house, On a seat aby the highest places of the city, 15 To call to those who pass by, Who go straight on their way: 16 “Whoevera is 1simple, let him turn in here”; And as for him who lacks understanding, she says to him, 17 “Stolena water is sweet, And bread eaten in secret is pleasant.” 18 But he does not know that athe dead are there, That her guests are in the depths of 1hell. Wise Sayings of Solomon 10 The proverbs of aSolomon: bA wise son makes a glad father, But a foolish son is the grief of his mother. 2 aTreasures of wickedness profit nothing, bBut righteousness delivers from death. 3 aThe LORD will not allow the righteous soul to famish, But He casts away the desire of the wicked. 4 aHe who has a slack hand becomes poor, But bthe hand of the diligent makes rich. 5 He who gathers in asummer is a wise son; He who sleeps in harvest is ba son who causes shame. 6 Blessings are on the head of the righteous, But violence covers the mouth of the wicked. 29 aGen. 1:9, 10 bJob 28:4, 6 30 a[John 1:1–3, 18] b[Matt. 3:17] 1A Jewish tra- dition one brought up 31 aPs. 16:3 32 aLuke 11:28 34 aProv. 3:13, 18 35 a[John 17:3] 36 aProv. 20:2 CHAPTER 9 1 a[Matt. 16:18] 2 aMatt. 22:4 bProv. 23:30 1arranged 4 aPs. 19:7 5 aIs. 55:1 8 aMatt. 7:6 bPs. 141:5 9 a[Matt. 13:12] 10 aJob 28:28 11 aProv. 3:2, 16 12 aJob 35:6, 7 13 aProv. 7:11 1boisterous 14 aProv. 9:3 16 aProv. 7:7, 8 1naive 17 aProv. 20:17 18 aProv. 2:18; 7:27 1Or Sheol CHAPTER 10 1 aProv. 1:1; 25:1 bProv. 15:20; 17:21, 25; 19:13; 29:3, 15 2 a[Luke 12:19, 20] bDan. 4:27 3 aPs. 34:9, 10; 37:25 4 aProv. 19:15 bProv. 12:24; 13:4; 21:5 5 aProv. 6:8 bProv. 19:26

PROVERBS 10:7 562 7 aThe memory of the righteous is blessed, But the name of the wicked will rot. 8 The wise in heart will receive commands, aBut 1a prating fool will 2fall. 9 aHe who walks with integrity walks securely, But he who perverts his ways will become known. 10 He who winks with the eye causes trouble, But a prating fool will fall. 11 The mouth of the righteous is a well of life, But violence covers the mouth of the wicked. 12 Hatred stirs up strife, But alove covers all sins. 13 Wisdom is found on the lips of him who has understanding, But aa rod is for the back of him who 1is devoid of understanding. 14 Wise people store up knowledge, But athe mouth of the foolish is near destruction. 15 The arich man’s wealth is his strong city; The destruction of the poor is their poverty. 16 The labor of the righteous leads to alife, The wages of the wicked to sin. 17 He who keeps instruction is in the way of life, But he who refuses correction 1goes astray. 18 Whoever ahides hatred has lying lips, And bwhoever spreads slander is a fool. 19 aIn the multitude of words sin is not lacking, But bhe who restrains his lips is wise. 20 The tongue of the righteous is choice silver; The heart of the wicked is worth little. 21 The lips of the righteous feed many, But fools die for lack of 1wisdom. 22 aThe blessing of the LORD makes one rich, And He adds no sorrow with it. 23 aTo do evil is like sport to a fool, But a man of understanding has wisdom. 24 aThe fear of the wicked will come upon him, And bthe desire of the righteous will be granted. 25 When the whirlwind passes by, athe wicked is no more, But bthe righteous has an everlasting foundation. 26 As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, So is the lazy man to those who send him. 27 aThe fear of the LORD prolongs days, But bthe years of the wicked will be shortened. 28 The hope of the righteous will be gladness, But the aexpectation of the wicked will perish. 29 The way of the LORD is strength for the upright, But adestruction will come to the workers of iniquity. 30 aThe righteous will never be removed, But the wicked will not inhabit the 1earth. 31 aThe mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, But the perverse tongue will be cut out. 32 The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, But the mouth of the wicked what is perverse. 11aDishonest1 scales are an abomination to the LORD, But a 2just weight is His delight. 2 When pride comes, then comes ashame; But with the humble is wisdom. 3 The integrity of the upright will guide athem, But the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them. 4 aRiches do not profit in the day of wrath, But brighteousness delivers from death. 5 The righteousness of the blameless will 1direct his way aright, But the wicked will fall by his own awickedness. 6 The righteousness of the upright will deliver them, But the unfaithful will be caught by their lust. 7 When a wicked man dies, his expectation will aperish, 7 aEccl. 8:10 8 aProv. 10:10 1Lit. the fool- ish of lips 2be thrust down or ruined 9 a[Ps. 23:4] 12 a[1 Cor. 13:4–7] 13 aProv. 26:3 1Lit. lacks heart 14 aProv. 18:7 15 aJob 31:24 16 aProv. 6:23 17 1leads 18 aProv. 26:24 bPs. 15:3; 101:5 19 aEccl. 5:3 b[James 1:19; 3:2] 21 1Lit. heart 22 aGen. 24:35; 26:12 23 aProv. 2:14; 15:21 24 aJob 15:21 bPs. 145:19 25 aPs. 37:9, 10 bPs. 15:5 27 aProv. 9:11 bJob 15:32 28 aJob 8:13 29 aPs. 1:6 30 aPs. 37:22 1land 31 aPs. 37:30 CHAPTER 11 1 aLev. 19:35, 36 1deceptive 2Lit. perfect stone 2 aProv. 16:18; 18:12; 29:23 3 aProv. 13:6 4 aEzek. 7:19 bGen. 7:1 5 aProv. 5:22 1Or make smooth or straight 7 aProv. 10:28

563 PROVERBS 12:8 And the hope of the unjust perishes. 8 aThe righteous is delivered from trouble, And it comes to the wicked instead. 9 The hypocrite with his mouth destroys his neighbor, But through knowledge the righteous will be delivered. 10 aWhen it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices; And when the wicked perish, there is jubilation. 11 By the blessing of the upright the city is aexalted, But it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked. 12 He who 1is devoid of wisdom despises his neighbor, But a man of understanding holds his peace. 13 aA talebearer reveals secrets, But he who is of a faithful spirit bconceals a matter. 14 aWhere there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counselors there is safety. 15 He who is asurety1 for a stranger will suffer, But one who hates 2being surety is secure. 16 A gracious woman retains honor, But ruthless men retain riches. 17 aThe merciful man does good for his own soul, But he who is cruel troubles his own flesh. 18 The wicked man does deceptive work, But ahe who sows righteousness will have a sure reward. 19 As righteousness leads to alife, So he who pursues evil pursues it to his own bdeath. 20 Those who are of a perverse heart are an abomination to the LORD, But the blameless in their ways are His delight. 21 aThough they join 1forces, the wicked will not go unpunished; But bthe posterity of the righteous will be delivered. 22 As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout, So is a lovely woman who lacks 1discretion. 23 The desire of the righteous is only good, But the expectation of the wicked ais wrath. 24 There is one who ascatters, yet increases more; And there is one who withholds more than is right, But it leads to poverty. 25 aThe generous soul will be made rich, bAnd he who waters will also be watered himself. 26 The people will curse ahim who withholds grain, But bblessing will be on the head of him who sells it. 27 He who earnestly seeks good 1finds favor, aBut trouble will come to him who seeks evil. 28 aHe who trusts in his riches will fall, But bthe righteous will flourish like foliage. 29 He who troubles his own house awill inherit the wind, And the fool will be bservant to the wise of heart. 30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And ahe who 1wins souls is wise. 31 aIf the righteous will be 1recompensed on the earth, How much more the ungodly and the sinner. 12 Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, But he who hates correction is stupid. 2 A good man obtains favor from the LORD, But a man of wicked intentions He will condemn. 3 A man is not established by wickedness, But the aroot of the righteous cannot be moved. 4 aAn1 excellent wife is the crown of her husband, But she who causes shame is blike rottenness in his bones. 5 The thoughts of the righteous are right, But the counsels of the wicked are deceitful. 6 aThe words of the wicked are, “Lie in wait for blood,” bBut the mouth of the upright will deliver them. 7 aThe wicked are overthrown and are no more, But the house of the righteous will stand. 8 A man will be commended according to his wisdom, 8 aProv. 21:18 10 aProv. 28:12 11 aProv. 14:34 12 1Lit. lacks heart 13 aLev. 19:16; Prov. 20:19; 1 Tim. 5:13 bProv. 19:11 14 a1 Kin. 12:1 15 aProv. 6:1, 2 1guaranty 2those pledg- ing guaranty, lit. those who strike hands 17 a[Matt. 5:7; 25:34–36] 18 aHos. 10:12; [Gal. 6:8, 9]; James 3:18 19 aProv. 10:16; 12:28 bProv. 21:16; [Rom. 6:23; James 1:15] 21 aProv. 16:5 bPs. 112:2; Prov. 14:26 1Lit. hand to hand 22 1taste 23 aProv. 10:28; Rom. 2:8, 9 24 aPs. 112:9; Prov. 13:7; 19:17 25 aProv. 3:9, 10; [2 Cor. 9:6, 7] b[Matt. 5:7] 26 aAmos 8:5, 6 bJob 29:13 27 aEsth. 7:10; Ps. 7:15, 16; 57:6 1Lit. seeks 28 aJob 31:24 bPs. 1:3; Jer. 17:8 29 aEccl. 5:16 bProv. 14:19 30 aProv. 14:25; [Dan. 12:3; 1 Cor. 9:19–22; James 5:20] 1Lit. takes, in the sense of brings, cf. 1 Sam. 16:11 31 aJer. 25:29 1rewarded CHAPTER 12 3 a[Prov. 10:25] 4 aProv. 31:23; 1 Cor. 11:7 bProv. 14:30; Hab.

2; Prov. 14:26 1Lit. hand to hand 22 1taste 23 aProv. 10:28; Rom. 2:8, 9 24 aPs. 112:9; Prov. 13:7; 19:17 25 aProv. 3:9, 10; [2 Cor. 9:6, 7] b[Matt. 5:7] 26 aAmos 8:5, 6 bJob 29:13 27 aEsth. 7:10; Ps. 7:15, 16; 57:6 1Lit. seeks 28 aJob 31:24 bPs. 1:3; Jer. 17:8 29 aEccl. 5:16 bProv. 14:19 30 aProv. 14:25; [Dan. 12:3; 1 Cor. 9:19–22; James 5:20] 1Lit. takes, in the sense of brings, cf. 1 Sam. 16:11 31 aJer. 25:29 1rewarded CHAPTER 12 3 a[Prov. 10:25] 4 aProv. 31:23; 1 Cor. 11:7 bProv. 14:30; Hab. 3:16 1Lit. A wife of valor 6 aProv. 1:11, 18 bProv. 14:3 7 aPs. 37:35–37; Prov. 11:21; Matt. 7:24–27

PROVERBS 12:9 564 aBut he who is of a perverse heart will be despised. 9 aBetter is the one who is 1slighted but has a servant, Than he who honors himself but lacks bread. 10 aA righteous man regards the life of his animal, But the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel. 11 aHe who 1tills his land will be satisfied with bbread, But he who follows 2frivolity cis devoid of 3understanding. 12 The wicked covet the catch of evil men, But the root of the righteous yields fruit. 13 aThe wicked is ensnared by the transgression of his lips, bBut the righteous will come through trouble. 14 aA man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth, bAnd the recompense of a man’s hands will be rendered to him. 15 aThe way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But he who heeds counsel is wise. 16 aA fool’s wrath is known at once, But a prudent man covers shame. 17 aHe who speaks truth declares righteousness, But a false witness, deceit. 18 aThere is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword, But the tongue of the wise promotes health. 19 The truthful lip shall be established forever, aBut a lying tongue is but for a moment. 20 Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, But counselors of peace have joy. 21 aNo grave 1trouble will overtake the righteous, But the wicked shall be filled with evil. 22 aLying lips are an abomination to the LORD, But those who deal truthfully are His delight. 23 aA prudent man conceals knowledge, But the heart of fools proclaims foolishness. 24 aThe hand of the diligent will rule, But the lazy man will be put to forced labor. 25 aAnxiety in the heart of man causes depression, But ba good word makes it glad. 26 The righteous should choose his friends carefully, For the way of the wicked leads them astray. 27 The lazy man does not roast what he took in hunting, But diligence is man’s precious possession. 28 In the way of righteousness is life, And in its pathway there is no death. 13 A wise son heeds his father’s instruction, aBut a scoffer does not listen to rebuke. 2 aA man shall eat well by the fruit of his mouth, But the soul of the unfaithful feeds on violence. 3 aHe who guards his mouth preserves his life, But he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction. 4 aThe soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing; But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich. 5 A righteous man hates lying, But a wicked man is loathsome and comes to shame. 6 aRighteousness guards him whose way is blameless, But wickedness overthrows the sinner. 7 aThere is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing; And one who makes himself poor, yet has great riches. 8 The ransom of a man’s life is his riches, But the poor does not hear rebuke. 9 The light of the righteous rejoices, aBut the lamp of the wicked will be put out. 10 By pride comes nothing but astrife, But with the well-advised is wisdom. 11 aWealth gained by dishonesty will be diminished, But he who gathers by labor will increase. 8 a1 Sam. 25:17; Prov. 18:3 9 aProv. 13:7 1lightly es- teemed 10 aDeut. 25:4 11 aGen. 3:19 bProv. 28:19 cProv. 6:32 1works or cul- tivates 2Lit. vain things 3Lit. heart 13 aProv. 18:7 b[2 Pet. 2:9] 14 aProv. 13:2; 15:23; 18:20 bJob 34:11; Prov. 1:31; 24:12; [Is. 3:10, 11]; Hos. 4:9 15 aProv. 3:7; Luke 18:11 16 aProv. 11:13; 29:11 17 aProv. 14:5 18 aPs. 57:4; Prov. 4:22; 15:4 19 a[Ps. 52:4, 5]; Prov. 19:9 21 aPs. 91:10; Prov. 1:33; 1 Pet. 3:13 1harm 22 aProv. 6:17; 11:20; Rev. 22:15 23 aProv. 13:16 24 aProv. 10:4 25 aProv. 15:13 bIs. 50:4 CHAPTER 13 1 aIs. 28:14, 15 2 aProv. 12:14 3 aPs. 39:1; Prov. 21:23; [James 3:2] 4 aProv. 10:4 6 aProv. 11:3, 5, 6 7 a[Prov. 11:24; 12:9; Luke 12:20, 21] 9 aJob 18:5, 6; 21:17; Prov. 24:20 10 aProv. 10:12 11 aProv. 10:2; 20:21

565 PROVERBS 14:17 12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But awhen the desire comes, it is a tree of life. 13 He who adespises the word will be destroyed, But he who fears the commandment will be rewarded. 14 aThe law of the wise is a fountain of life, To turn one away from bthe snares of death. 15 Good understanding 1gains afavor, But the way of the unfaithful is hard. 16 aEvery prudent man acts with knowledge, But a fool lays open his folly. 17 A wicked messenger falls into trouble, But aa faithful ambassador brings health. 18 Poverty and shame will come to him who 1disdains correction, But ahe who regards a rebuke will be honored. 19 A desire accomplished is sweet to the soul, But it is an abomination to fools to depart from evil. 20 He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will be destroyed. 21 aEvil pursues sinners, But to the righteous, good shall be repaid. 22 A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, But athe wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous. 23 aMuch food is in the 1fallow ground of the poor, And for lack of justice there is 2waste. 24 aHe who spares his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him 1promptly. 25 aThe righteous eats to the satisfying of his soul, But the stomach of the wicked shall be in want. 14 The wise woman builds her house, But the foolish pulls it down with her hands. 2 He who walks in his uprightness fears the LORD, aBut he who is perverse in his ways despises Him. 3 In the mouth of a fool is a rod of pride, aBut the lips of the wise will preserve them. 4 Where no oxen are, the 1trough is clean; But much increase comes by the strength of an ox. 5 A afaithful witness does not lie, But a false witness will utter blies. 6 A scoffer seeks wisdom and does not find it, But aknowledge is easy to him who understands. 7 Go from the presence of a foolish man, When you do not perceive in him the lips of aknowledge. 8 The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way, But the folly of fools is deceit. 9 aFools mock at 1sin, But among the upright there is favor. 10 The heart knows its own bitterness, And a stranger does not share its joy. 11 aThe house of the wicked will be overthrown, But the tent of the upright will flourish. 12 aThere is a way that seems right to a man, But bits end is the way of cdeath. 13 Even in laughter the heart may sorrow, And athe end of mirth may be grief. 14 The backslider in heart will be afilled with his own ways, But a good man will be satisfied 1from babove. 15 The simple believes every word, But the prudent considers well his steps. 16 aA wise man fears and departs from evil, But a fool rages and is self-confident. 17 A quick-tempered man acts foolishly, And a man of wicked intentions is hated. 12 aProv. 13:19 13 aNum. 15:31; 2 Chr. 36:16; Is. 5:24 14 aProv. 6:22; 10:11; 14:27 b2 Sam. 22:6 15 aPs. 111:10; Prov. 3:4 1gives 16 aProv. 12:23 17 aProv. 25:13 18 aProv. 15:5, 31, 32 1Lit. ig- nores 21 aPs. 32:10; Is. 47:11 22 aJob 27:16, 17; Prov. 28:8; [Eccl. 2:26] 23 aProv. 12:11 1uncultivated 1Lit. what is swept away 24 aProv. 19:18 1early 25 aPs. 34:10; Prov. 10:3 CHAPTER 14 2 a[Rom. 2:4] 3 aProv. 12:6 4 1manger or feed trough 5 aRev. 1:5; 3:14 bEx. 23:1; Deut. 19:16; Prov. 6:19; 12:17 6 aProv. 8:9; 17:24 7 aProv. 23:9 9 aProv. 10:23 1Lit. guilt 11 aJob 8:15 12 aProv. 16:25 bRom. 6:21 cProv. 12:15 13 aProv. 5:4; Eccl. 2:1, 2 14 aProv. 1:31; 12:15 bProv. 13:2; 18:20 1Lit. from above himself 16 aJob 28:28; Ps. 34:14; Prov. 22:3

PROVERBS 14:18 566 18 The simple inherit folly, But the prudent are crowned with knowledge. 19 The evil will bow before the good, And the wicked at the gates of the righteous. 20 aThe poor man is hated even by his own neighbor, But 1the rich has many bfriends. 21 He who despises his neighbor sins; aBut he who has mercy on the poor, happy is he. 22 Do they not go astray who devise evil? But mercy and truth belong to those who devise good. 23 In all labor there is profit, But 1idle chatter leads only to poverty. 24 The crown of the wise is their riches, But the foolishness of fools is folly. 25 A true witness 1delivers asouls, But a deceitful witness speaks lies. 26 In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence, And His children will have a place of refuge. 27 aThe fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, To turn one away from the snares of death. 28 In a multitude of people is a king’s honor, But in the lack of people is the downfall of a prince. 29 aHe who is slow to wrath has great understanding, But he who is 1impulsive exalts folly. 30 A sound heart is life to the body, But aenvy is brottenness to the bones. 31 aHe who oppresses the poor reproaches bhis Maker, But he who honors Him has mercy on the needy. 32 The wicked is banished in his wickedness, But athe righteous has a refuge in his death. 33 Wisdom rests in the heart of him who has understanding, But awhat is in the heart of fools is made known. 34 Righteousness exalts a anation, But sin is a 1reproach to any people. 35 aThe king’s favor is toward a wise servant, But his wrath is against him who causes shame. 15 A asoft answer turns away wrath, But ba harsh word stirs up anger. 2 The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, aBut the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness. 3 aThe eyes of the LORD are in every place, Keeping watch on the evil and the good. 4 A 1wholesome tongue is a tree of life, But perverseness in it breaks the spirit. 5 aA fool despises his father’s instruction, bBut he who 1receives correction is prudent. 6 In the house of the righteous there is much treasure, But in the revenue of the wicked is trouble. 7 The lips of the wise 1disperse knowledge, But the heart of the fool does not do so. 8 aThe sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, But the prayer of the upright is His delight. 9 The way of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, But He loves him who afollows righteousness. 10 aHarsh discipline is for him who forsakes the way, And bhe who hates correction will die. 11 aHell1 and 2Destruction are before the LORD; So how much more bthe hearts of the sons of men. 12 aA scoffer does not love one who corrects him, Nor will he go to the wise. 13 aA merry heart makes a cheerful 1countenance, But bby sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken. 20 aProv. 19:7 bProv. 19:4 1Lit. many are the lovers of the rich 21 aPs. 112:9; [Prov. 19:17] 23 1Lit. talk of the lips 25 a[Ezek. 3:18–21] 1saves lives 27 aProv. 13:14 29 aProv. 16:32; 19:11; Eccl. 7:9; James 1:19 1Lit. short of spirit 30 aPs. 112:10 bProv. 12:4; Hab. 3:16 31 aProv. 17:5; Matt. 25:40; 1 John 3:17 b[Job 31:15; Prov. 22:2] 32 aGen. 49:18; Job 13:15; [Ps. 16:11; 73:24]; 2 Cor. 1:9; 5:8; [2 Tim. 4:18] 33 aProv. 12:16 34 aProv. 11:11 1shame or dis- grace 35 aMatt. 24:45–47 CHAPTER 15 1 aProv. 25:15 b1 Sam. 25:10 2 aProv. 12:23 3 a2 Chr. 16:9; Job 34:21; Prov. 5:21; Jer. 16:17; 32:19; Zech. 4:10; Heb. 4:13 4 1Lit. healing 5 aProv. 10:1 bProv. 13:18 1Lit. keeps 7 1spread 8 aProv. 21:27; Eccl. 5:1; Is. 1:11; Jer. 6:20; Mic. 6:7 9 aProv. 21:21 10 a1 Kin. 22:8 bProv. 5:12 11 aJob 26:6; Ps. 139:8 b1 Sam. 16:7; 2 Chr. 6:30; Ps. 44:21; Acts 1:24 1Or Sheol 2Heb. Abad- don 12 aProv. 13:1; Amos 5:10; 2 Tim. 4:3 13 aProv. 12:25 bProv. 17:22 1face

567 PROVERBS 16:11 14 The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge, But the mouth of fools feeds on foolishness. 15 All the days of the afflicted are evil, aBut he who is of a merry heart has a continual feast. 16 aBetter is a little with the fear of the LORD, Than great treasure with trouble. 17 aBetter is a dinner of 1herbs where love is, Than a fatted calf with hatred. 18 aA wrathful man stirs up strife, But he who is slow to anger allays contention. 19 aThe way of the lazy man is like a hedge of thorns, But the way of the upright is a highway. 20 aA wise son makes a father glad, But a foolish man despises his mother. 21 aFolly is joy to him who is destitute of 1discernment, bBut a man of understanding walks uprightly. 22 aWithout counsel, plans go awry, But in the multitude of counselors they are established. 23 A man has joy by the answer of his mouth, And aa word spoken 1in due season, how good it is! 24 aThe way of life winds upward for the wise, That he may bturn away from 1hell below. 25 aThe LORD will destroy the house of the proud, But bHe will establish the boundary of the widow. 26 aThe thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD, bBut the words of the pure are pleasant. 27 aHe who is greedy for gain troubles his own house, But he who hates bribes will live. 28 The heart of the righteous astudies how to answer, But the mouth of the wicked pours forth evil. 29 aThe LORD is far from the wicked, But bHe hears the prayer of the righteous. 30 The light of the eyes rejoices the heart, And a good report makes the bones 1healthy. 31 The ear that hears the rebukes of life Will abide among the wise. 32 He who disdains instruction despises his own soul, But he who heeds rebuke gets understanding. 33 aThe fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom, And bbefore honor is humility. 16 The apreparations1 of the heart belong to man, bBut the answer of the tongue is from the LORD. 2 All the ways of a man are pure in his own aeyes, But the LORD weighs the spirits. 3 aCommit1 your works to the LORD, And your thoughts will be established. 4 The aLORD has made all for Himself, bYes, even the wicked for the day of 1doom. 5 aEveryone proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; Though they join 1forces, none will go unpunished. 6 aIn mercy and truth Atonement is provided for iniquity; And bby the fear of the LORD one departs from evil. 7 When a man’s ways please the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. 8 aBetter is a little with righteousness, Than vast revenues without justice. 9 aA man’s heart plans his way, bBut the LORD directs his steps. 10 Divination is on the lips of the king; His mouth must not transgress in judgment. 11 aHonest weights and scales are the LORD’s; All the weights in the bag are His 1work. 15 aProv. 17:22 16 aPs. 37:16; Prov. 16:8; Eccl. 4:6; 1 Tim. 6:6 17 aProv. 17:1 1Or vegeta- bles 18 aProv. 26:21 19 aProv. 22:5 20 aProv. 10:1 21 aProv. 10:23 bEph. 5:15 1Lit. heart 22 aProv. 11:14 23 aProv. 25:11; Is. 50:4 1Lit. in its time 24 aPhil. 3:20; [Col. 3:1, 2] bProv. 14:16 1Or Sheol 25 aProv. 12:7; Is. 2:11 bPs. 68:5, 6 26 aProv. 6:16, 18 bPs. 37:30 27 aIs. 5:8; [Jer. 17:11] 28 a1 Pet. 3:15 29 aPs. 10:1; 34:16 bPs. 145:18; [James 5:16] 30 1Lit. fat 33 aProv. 1:7 bProv. 18:12 CHAPTER 16 1 aJer. 10:23 bMatt. 10:19 1plans 2 aProv. 21:2 3 aPs. 37:5; Prov. 3:6; [1 Pet. 5:7] 1Lit. Roll 4 aIs. 43:7; Rom. 11:36 bJob 21:30; [Rom. 9:22] 1Lit. evil 5 aProv. 6:17; 8:13 1Lit. hand to hand 6 aDan. 4:27; Luke 11:41 bProv. 8:13; 14:16 8 aPs. 37:16; Prov. 15:16 9 aProv. 19:21 bPs. 37:23; Prov. 20:24; Jer. 10:23 11 aLev. 19:36 1concern

PROVERBS 16:12 568 12 It is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness, For aa throne is established by righteousness. 13 aRighteous lips are the delight of kings, And they love him who speaks what is right. 14 As messengers of death is the king’s wrath, But a wise man will aappease it. 15 In the light of the king’s face is life, And his favor is like a acloud of the latter rain. 16 aHow much better to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver. 17 The highway of the upright is to depart from evil; He who keeps his way preserves his soul. 18 Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before 1a fall. 19 Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, Than to divide the 1spoil with the proud. 20 He who heeds the word wisely will find good, And whoever atrusts in the LORD, happy is he. 21 The wise in heart will be called prudent, And sweetness of the lips increases learning. 22 Understanding is a wellspring of life to him who has it. But the correction of fools is folly. 23 The heart of the wise teaches his mouth, And adds learning to his lips. 24 Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones. 25 There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of adeath. 26 The person who labors, labors for himself, For his hungry mouth drives ahim on. 27 1An ungodly man digs up evil, And it is on his lips like a burning afire. 28 A perverse man sows strife, And aa whisperer separates the best of friends. 29 A violent man entices his neighbor, And leads him in a way that is not good. 30 He winks his eye to devise perverse things; He 1purses his lips and brings about evil. 31 aThe silver-haired head is a crown of glory, If it is found in the way of righteousness. 32 aHe who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city. 33 The lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the LORD. 17 Better is aa dry morsel with quietness, Than a house full of 1feasting with strife. 2 A wise servant will rule over aa son who causes shame, And will share an inheritance among the brothers. 3 The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, aBut the LORD tests the hearts. 4 An evildoer gives heed to false lips; A liar listens eagerly to a 1spiteful tongue. 5 aHe who mocks the poor reproaches his Maker; bHe who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished. 6 aChildren’s children are the crown of old men, And the glory of children is their father. 7 Excellent speech is not becoming to a fool, Much less lying lips to a prince. 8 A present is a precious stone in the eyes of its possessor; Wherever he turns, he prospers. 9 aHe who covers a transgression seeks love, But bhe who repeats a matter separates friends. 10 aRebuke is more effective for a wise man Than a hundred blows on a fool. 11 An evil man seeks only rebellion; 12 aProv. 25:5 13 aProv. 14:35 14 aProv. 25:15 15 aZech. 10:1 16 aProv. 8:10, 11, 19 18 1stumbling 19 1plunder 20 aPs. 34:8; Jer. 17:7 25 aProv. 14:12 26 a[Eccl. 6:7; John 6:35] 27 a[James 3:6] 1Lit. A man of Belial 28 aProv. 17:9 30 1Lit. com- presses 31 aProv. 20:29 32 aProv. 14:29; 19:11 CHAPTER 17 1 aProv. 15:17 1Or sacrificial meals 2 aProv. 10:5 3 a1 Chr. 29:17; Ps. 26:2; Prov. 15:11; Jer. 17:10; [Mal. 3:3] 4 1Lit. de- structive 5 aProv. 14:31 bJob 31:29; Prov. 24:17; Obad. 12; 1 Cor. 13:6 6 a[Ps. 127:3; 128:3] 9 a[Prov. 10:12; 1 Cor. 13:5–7; James 5:20] bProv. 16:28 10 aProv. 10:17; [Mic. 7:9]

569 PROVERBS 18:14 Therefore a cruel messenger will be sent against him. 12 Let a man meet aa bear robbed of her cubs, Rather than a fool in his folly. 13 Whoever arewards evil for good, Evil will not depart from his house. 14 The beginning of strife is like releasing water; Therefore astop contention before a quarrel starts. 15 aHe who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, Both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD. 16 Why is there in the hand of a fool the purchase price of wisdom, Since he has no heart for it? 17 aA friend loves at all times, And a brother is born for adversity. 18 aA man devoid of 1understanding 2shakes hands in a pledge, And becomes 3surety for his friend. 19 He who loves transgression loves strife, And ahe who exalts his gate seeks destruction. 20 He who has a 1deceitful heart finds no good, And he who has aa perverse tongue falls into evil. 21 He who begets a scoffer does so to his sorrow, And the father of a fool has no joy. 22 A amerry heart 1does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones. 23 A wicked man accepts a bribe 1behind the back To pervert the ways of justice. 24 aWisdom is in the sight of him who has understanding, But the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth. 25 A afoolish son is a grief to his father, And bitterness to her who bore him. 26 Also, to punish the righteous is not good, Nor to strike princes for their uprightness. 27 aHe who has knowledge spares his words, And a man of understanding is of a calm spirit. 28 aEven a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace; When he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive. 18 A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; He rages against all 1wise judgment. 2 A fool has no delight in understanding, But in expressing his aown heart. 3 When the wicked comes, contempt comes also; And with dishonor comes reproach. 4 aThe words of a man’s mouth are deep waters; bThe wellspring of wisdom is a flowing brook. 5 It is not good to show partiality to the wicked, Or to overthrow the righteous in ajudgment. 6 A fool’s lips enter into contention, And his mouth calls for blows. 7 aA fool’s mouth is his destruction, And his lips are the snare of his bsoul. 8 aThe words of a 1talebearer are like 2tasty trifles, And they go down into the 3inmost body. 9 He who is slothful in his work Is a brother to him who is a great destroyer. 10 The name of the LORD is a strong atower; The righteous run to it and are 1safe. 11 The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, And like a high wall in his own esteem. 12 aBefore destruction the heart of a man is haughty, And before honor is humility. 13 He who answers a matter before he hears it, It is folly and shame to him. 14 The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, 12 a2 Sam. 17:8; Hos. 13:8 13 aPs. 109:4, 5; Jer. 18:20; Rom. 12:17; 1 Thess. 5:15; [1 Pet. 3:9] 14 a[Prov. 20:3; 1 Thess. 4:11] 15 aEx. 23:7; Prov. 24:24; Is. 5:23 17 aRuth 1:16; Prov. 18:24 18 aProv. 6:1 1Lit. heart 2Lit. strikes the hands 3guaranty or collateral 19 aProv. 16:18 20 aJames 3:8 1crooked 22 aProv. 12:25; 15:13, 15 1Or makes medicine even better 23 1Under cover, lit. from the bosom 24 aEccl. 2:14 25 aProv. 10:1; 15:20; 19:13 27 aProv. 10:19; James 1:19 28 aJob 13:5 CHAPTER 18 1 1sound wis- dom 2 aEccl. 10:3 4 aProv. 10:11 b[James 3:17] 5 aLev. 19:15; Deut. 1:17; 16:19; Ps. 82:2; Prov. 17:15 7 aPs. 64:8; 140:9; Prov. 10:14 bEccl. 10:12 8 aProv. 12:18 1gossip or slanderer 2A Jewish tradi- tion wounds 3Lit. rooms of the belly 10 a2 Sam. 22:2, 3, 33; Ps. 18:2; 61:3; 91:2; 144:2 1secure, lit. set on high 12 aProv. 15:33; 16:18

PROVERBS 18:15 570 But who can bear a broken spirit? 15 The heart of the prudent acquires knowledge, And the ear of the wise seeks knowledge. 16 aA man’s gift makes room for him, And brings him before great men. 17 The first one to plead his cause seems right, Until his neighbor comes and examines him. 18 Casting alots causes contentions to cease, And keeps the mighty apart. 19 A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city, And contentions are like the bars of a castle. 20 aA man’s stomach shall be satisfied from the fruit of his mouth; From the produce of his lips he shall be filled. 21 aDeath and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit. 22 aHe who finds a wife finds a good thing, And obtains favor from the LORD. 23 The poor man uses entreaties, But the rich answers aroughly. 24 A man who has friends 1must himself be friendly, aBut there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. 19 Better ais the poor who walks in his integrity Than one who is perverse in his lips, and is a fool. 2 Also it is not good for a soul to be without knowledge, And he sins who hastens with his feet. 3 The foolishness of a man twists his way, And his heart frets against the LORD. 4 aWealth makes many friends, But the poor is separated from his friend. 5 A afalse witness will not go unpunished, And he who speaks lies will not escape. 6 Many entreat the favor of the nobility, And every man is a friend to one who gives gifts. 7 aAll the brothers of the poor hate him; How much more do his friends go bfar from him! He may pursue them with words, yet they 1abandon him. 8 He who gets 1wisdom loves his own soul; He who keeps understanding awill find good. 9 A false witness will not go unpunished, And he who speaks lies shall perish. 10 Luxury is not fitting for a fool, Much less afor a servant to rule over princes. 11 aThe discretion of a man makes him slow to anger, bAnd his glory is to overlook a transgression. 12 aThe king’s wrath is like the roaring of a lion, But his favor is blike dew on the grass. 13 aA foolish son is the ruin of his father, bAnd the contentions of a wife are a continual 1dripping. 14 aHouses and riches are an inheritance from fathers, But ba prudent wife is from the LORD. 15 aLaziness casts one into a deep sleep, And an idle person will bsuffer hunger. 16 aHe who keeps the commandment keeps his soul, But he who 1is careless of his ways will die. 17 aHe who has pity on the poor lends to the LORD, And He will pay back what he has given. 18 aChasten your son while there is hope, And do not set your heart 1on his destruction. 19 A man of great wrath will suffer punishment; For if you rescue him, you will have to do it again. 16 aGen. 32:20, 21; 1 Sam. 25:27; Prov. 17:8; 21:14 18 a[Prov. 16:33] 20 aProv. 12:14; 14:14 21 aProv. 12:13; 13:3; Matt. 12:37 22 aGen. 2:18; [Prov. 12:4; 19:14] 23 aJames 2:3, 6 24 aProv. 17:17; [John 15:14, 15] 1So with Gr. mss., Syr., Tg., Vg.; MT may come to ruin CHAPTER 19 1 aProv. 28:6 4 aProv. 14:20 5 aEx. 23:1; Deut. 19:16–19; Prov. 6:19; 21:28 7 aProv. 14:20 bPs. 38:11 1Lit. are not 8 aProv. 16:20 1Lit. heart 10 aProv. 30:21, 22 11 aJames 1:19 bProv. 16:32; [Matt. 5:44]; Eph. 4:32; Col. 3:13 12 aProv. 16:14 bGen. 27:28; Deut. 33:28; Ps. 133:3; Hos. 14:5; Mic. 5:7 13 aProv. 10:1 bProv. 21:9, 19 1Irritation 14 a2 Cor. 12:14 bProv. 18:22 15 aProv. 6:9 bProv. 10:4 16 aProv. 13:13; 16:17; Luke 10:28; 11:28 1Is reck- less, lit. despises 17 aDeut. 15:7, 8; Job 23:12, 13; Prov. 28:27; Eccl. 11:1; Matt. 10:42; 25:40; [2 Cor. 9:6–8]; Heb. 6:10 18 aProv. 13:24 1Lit. to put him to death; a Jewish tra- dition on his crying

571 PROVERBS 20:19 20 Listen to counsel and receive instruction, That you may be wise ain your latter days. 21 There are many plans in a man’s heart, aNevertheless the LORD’s counsel—that will stand. 22 What is desired in a man is 1kindness, And a poor man is better than a liar. 23 aThe fear of the LORD leads to life, And he who has it will abide in satisfaction; He will not be visited with evil. 24 aA lazy man buries his hand in the 1bowl, And will not so much as bring it to his mouth again. 25 Strike a scoffer, and the simple awill become wary; bRebuke one who has understanding, and he will discern knowledge. 26 He who mistreats his father and chases away his mother Is aa son who causes shame and brings reproach. 27 Cease listening to instruction, my son, And you will stray from the words of knowledge. 28 A 1disreputable witness scorns justice, And athe mouth of the wicked devours iniquity. 29 Judgments are prepared for scoffers, aAnd beatings for the backs of fools. 20 Wine ais a mocker, Strong drink is a brawler, And whoever is led astray by it is not wise. 2 The 1wrath of a king is like the roaring of a lion; Whoever provokes him to anger sins against his own life. 3 aIt is honorable for a man to stop striving, Since any fool can start a quarrel. 4 aThe lazy man will not plow because of winter; bHe will beg during harvest and have nothing. 5 Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water, But a man of understanding will draw it out. 6 Most men will proclaim each his own 1goodness, But who can find a faithful man? 7 aThe righteous man walks in his integrity; bHis children are blessed after him. 8 A king who sits on the throne of judgment Scatters all evil with his eyes. 9 aWho can say, “I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin”? 10 aDiverse weights and diverse measures, They are both alike, an abomination to the LORD. 11 Even a child is aknown by his deeds, Whether what he does is pure and right. 12 aThe hearing ear and the seeing eye, The LORD has made them both. 13 aDo not love sleep, lest you come to poverty; Open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with bread. 14 “It is 1good for nothing,” cries the buyer; But when he has gone his way, then he boasts. 15 There is gold and a multitude of rubies, But athe lips of knowledge are a precious jewel. 16 aTake the garment of one who is surety for a stranger, And hold it as a pledge when it is for a seductress. 17 aBread gained by deceit is sweet to a man, But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel. 18 aPlans are established by counsel; bBy wise counsel wage war. 19 aHe who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets; Therefore do not associate with one bwho flatters with his lips. 20 aPs. 37:37 21 aPs. 33:10, 11; Prov. 16:9; Is. 46:10; Heb. 6:17 22 1Lit. loving- kindness 23 aProv. 14:27; [1 Tim. 4:8] 24 aProv. 15:19 1LXX, Syr. bosom; Tg., Vg. armpit 25 aDeut. 13:11 bProv. 9:8 26 aProv. 17:2 28 aJob 15:16 1Lit. witness of Belial, worthless witness 29 aProv. 26:3 CHAPTER 20 1 aGen. 9:21; Prov. 23:29–35; Is. 28:7; Hos. 4:11 2 1Lit. fear or terror, pro- duced by the king’s wrath 3 aProv. 17:14 4 aProv. 10:4 bProv. 19:15 6 1Lit. mercy 7 a2 Cor. 1:12 bPs. 37:26 9 a[1 Kin. 8:46; 2 Chr. 6:36]; Job 9:30, 31; 14:4; [Ps. 51:5; Eccl. 7:20; Rom. 3:9; 1 John 1:8] 10 aDeut. 25:13 11 aMatt. 7:16 12 aEx. 4:11; Ps. 94:9 13 aRom. 12:11 14 1Lit. evil, evil 15 a[Job 28:12–19; Prov. 3:13–15] 16 aProv. 22:26 17 aProv. 9:17 18 aProv. 24:6 bLuke 14:31 19 aProv. 11:13 bRom. 16:18

PROVERBS 20:20 572 20 aWhoever curses his father or his mother, bHis lamp will be put out in deep darkness. 21 aAn inheritance gained hastily at the beginning bWill not be blessed at the end. 22 aDo not say, “I will 1recompense evil”; bWait for the LORD, and He will save you. 23 Diverse weights are an abomination to the LORD, And dishonest scales are not good. 24 A man’s steps are of the LORD; How then can a man understand his own way? 25 It is a snare for a man to devote rashly something as holy, And afterward to reconsider his vows. 26 aA wise king sifts out the wicked, And brings the threshing wheel over them. 27 aThe spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD, Searching all the 1inner depths of his heart. 28 aMercy and truth preserve the king, And by 1lovingkindness he upholds his throne. 29 The glory of young men is their strength, And athe splendor of old men is their gray head. 30 Blows that hurt cleanse away evil, As do stripes the 1inner depths of the heart. 21 The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, Like the 1rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes. 2 aEvery way of a man is right in his own eyes, bBut the LORD weighs the hearts. 3 aTo do righteousness and justice Is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice. 4 aA haughty look, a proud heart, And the 1plowing of the wicked are sin. 5 aThe plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty, But those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty. 6 aGetting treasures by a lying tongue 1Is the fleeting fantasy of those who seek death. 7 The violence of the wicked will 1destroy them, Because they refuse to do justice. 8 The way of 1a guilty man is perverse; But as for the pure, his work is right. 9 Better to dwell in a corner of a housetop, Than in a house shared with aa contentious woman. 10 aThe soul of the wicked desires evil; His neighbor finds no favor in his eyes. 11 When the scoffer is punished, the simple is made wise; But when the awise is instructed, he receives knowledge. 12 The righteous God wisely considers the house of the wicked, Overthrowing the wicked for their wickedness. 13 aWhoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor Will also cry himself and not be heard. 14 A gift in secret pacifies anger, And a bribe 1behind the back, strong wrath. 15 It is a joy for the just to do justice, But destruction will come to the workers of iniquity. 16 A man who wanders from the way of understanding Will rest in the assembly of the adead. 17 He who loves pleasure will be a poor man; He who loves wine and oil will not be rich. 18 The wicked shall be a ransom for the righteous, And the unfaithful for the upright. 19 Better to dwell 1in the wilderness, Than with a contentious and angry woman. 20 aEx. 21:17; Lev. 20:9; Prov. 30:11; Matt. 15:4 bJob 18:5, 6; Prov. 24:20 21 aProv. 28:20 bHab. 2:6 22 a[Deut. 32:35]; Prov. 17:13; 24:29; [Rom. 12:17–19]; 1 Thess. 5:15; [1 Pet. 3:9] b2 Sam. 16:12 1repay 26 aPs. 101:8 27 a1 Cor. 2:11 1Lit. rooms of the belly 28 aPs. 101:1; Prov. 21:21 1mercy 29 aProv. 16:31 30 1Lit. rooms of the belly CHAPTER 21 1 1channels 2 aProv. 16:2 bProv. 24:12; Luke 16:15 3 a1 Sam. 15:22; Prov. 15:8; Is. 1:11, 16, 17; Hos. 6:6; [Mic. 6:7, 8] 4 aProv. 6:17 1Or lamp 5 aProv. 10:4 6 a2 Pet. 2:3 1LXX Pursue vanity on the snares of death; Vg. Is vain and fool- ish, and shall stumble on the snares of death; Tg. They shall be destroyed, and they shall fall who seek death 7 1Lit. drag them away 8 1Or The way of a man is perverse and strange; 9 aProv. 19:13 10 aJames 4:5 11 aProv. 19:25 13 a[Matt. 7:2; 18:30–34]; James 2:13; 1 John 3:17 14 1Under cover, lit. in the bosom 16 aPs. 49:14 19 1Lit. in the land of the desert

573 PROVERBS 22:20 20 aThere is desirable treasure, And oil in the dwelling of the wise, But a foolish man squanders it. 21 aHe who follows righteousness and mercy Finds life, righteousness, and honor. 22 A awise man 1scales the city of the mighty, And brings down the trusted stronghold. 23 aWhoever guards his mouth and tongue Keeps his soul from troubles. 24 A proud and haughty man— “Scoffer” is his name; He acts with arrogant pride. 25 The adesire of the lazy man kills him, For his hands refuse to labor. 26 He covets greedily all day long, But the righteous agives and does not spare. 27 aThe sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination; How much more when he brings it with wicked intent! 28 A false witness shall perish, But the man who hears him will speak endlessly. 29 A wicked man hardens his face, But as for the upright, he 1establishes his way. 30 aThere is no wisdom or understanding Or counsel against the LORD. 31 The horse is prepared for the day of battle, But adeliverance is of the LORD. 22A agood name is to be chosen rather than great riches, Loving favor rather than silver and gold. 2 The arich and the poor have this in common, The bLORD is the maker of them all. 3 A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, But the simple pass on and are apunished. 4 By humility and the fear of the LORD Are riches and honor and life. 5 Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse; He who guards his soul will be far from them. 6 aTrain up a child in the way he should go, 1And when he is old he will not depart from it. 7 The arich rules over the poor, And the borrower is servant to the lender. 8 He who sows iniquity will reap asorrow,1 And the rod of his anger will fail. 9 aHe who has a 1generous eye will be bblessed, For he gives of his bread to the poor. 10 aCast out the scoffer, and contention will leave; Yes, strife and reproach will cease. 11 aHe who loves purity of heart And has grace on his lips, The king will be his friend. 12 The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge, But He overthrows the words of the faithless. 13 aThe lazy man says, “There is a lion outside! I shall be slain in the streets!” 14 aThe mouth of an immoral woman is a deep pit; bHe who is abhorred by the LORD will fall there. 15 Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; aThe rod of correction will drive it far from him. 16 He who oppresses the poor to increase his riches, And he who gives to the rich, will surely come to poverty. Sayings of the Wise 17 Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise, And apply your heart to my knowledge; 18 For it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within you; Let them all be fixed upon your lips, 19 So that your trust may be in the LORD; I have instructed you today, even you. 20 Have I not written to you excellent things Of counsels and knowledge, 20 aPs. 112:3; Prov. 8:21 21 aProv. 15:9; Matt. 5:6; [Rom. 2:7]; 1 Cor. 15:58 22 a2 Sam. 5:6–9; Prov. 24:5; Eccl. 7:19; 9:15, 16 1Climbs over the walls of 23 aProv. 12:13; 13:3; 18:21; [James 3:2] 25 aProv. 13:4 26 a[Prov. 22:9; Eph. 4:28] 27 aProv. 15:8; Is. 66:3; Jer. 6:20; Amos 5:22 29 1Qr., LXX understands 30 aIs. 8:9, 10; [Jer. 9:23, 24]; Acts 5:39; 1 Cor. 3:19, 20 31 aPs. 3:8; Jer. 3:23; [1 Cor. 15:57] CHAPTER 22 1 a[Prov. 10:7]; Eccl. 7:1 2 aProv. 29:13 bJob 31:15; [Prov. 14:31] 3 aProv. 27:12; Is. 26:20 6 aEph. 6:4; 2 Tim. 3:15 1Even 7 aProv. 18:23; James 2:6 8 aJob 4:8 1trouble 9 a2 Cor. 9:6 b[Prov. 19:17] 1Lit. good 10 aPs. 101:5 11 aPs. 101:6 13 aProv. 26:13 14 aProv. 2:16; 5:3; 7:5 bEccl. 7:26 15 aProv. 13:24; 23:13, 14

PROVERBS 22:21 574 21 aThat I may make you know the certainty of the words of truth, bThat you may answer words of truth To those who 1send to you? 22 Do not rob the apoor because he is poor, Nor oppress the afflicted at the gate; 23 aFor the LORD will plead their cause, And plunder the soul of those who plunder them. 24 Make no friendship with an angry man, And with a afurious man do not go, 25 Lest you learn his ways And set a snare for your soul. 26 aDo not be one of those who 1shakes hands in a pledge, One of those who is 2surety for debts; 27 If you have nothing with which to pay, Why should he take away your bed from under you? 28 aDo not remove the ancient 1landmark Which your fathers have set. 29 Do you see a man who 1excels in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before 2unknown men. 23 When you sit down to eat with a ruler, Consider carefully what is before you; 2 And put a knife to your throat If you are a man given to appetite. 3 Do not desire his delicacies, For they are deceptive food. 4 aDo not overwork to be rich; bBecause of your own understanding, cease! 5 1Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; They fly away like an eagle toward heaven. 6 Do not eat the bread of aa1 miser, Nor desire his delicacies; 7 For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. “Eat and drink!” ahe says to you, But his heart is not with you. 8 The morsel you have eaten, you will vomit up, And waste your pleasant words. 9 aDo not speak in the hearing of a fool, For he will despise the wisdom of your words. 10 Do not remove the ancient 1landmark, Nor enter the fields of the fatherless; 11 aFor their Redeemer is mighty; He will plead their cause against you. 12 Apply your heart to instruction, And your ears to words of knowledge. 13 aDo not withhold correction from a child, For if you beat him with a rod, he will not die. 14 You shall beat him with a rod, And deliver his soul from 1hell. 15 My son, if your heart is wise, My heart will rejoice—indeed, I myself; 16 Yes, my 1inmost being will rejoice When your lips speak right things. 17 aDo not let your heart envy sinners, But bbe zealous for the fear of the LORD all the day; 18 aFor surely there is a 1hereafter, And your hope will not be cut off. 19 Hear, my son, and be wise; And guide your heart in the way. 20 aDo not mix with winebibbers, Or with gluttonous eaters of meat; 21 For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, And drowsiness will clothe a man with rags. 22 aListen to your father who begot you, And do not despise your mother when she is old. 23 aBuy the truth, and do not sell it, Also wisdom and instruction and understanding. 24 aThe father of the righteous will greatly rejoice, And he who begets a wise child will delight in him. 25 Let your father and your mother be glad, And let her who bore you rejoice. 21 aLuke 1:3, 4 bProv. 25:13; 1 Pet. 3:15 1Or send you 22 aEx. 23:6; Job 31:16–21; Zech. 7:10 23 a1 Sam. 24:12; Ps. 12:5; 140:12 24 aProv. 29:22 26 aProv. 11:15 1Lit. strikes 2guaranty 28 aDeut. 19:14; 27:17; Job 24:2; Prov. 23:10 1boundary 29 1is prompt in his busi- ness 2obscure CHAPTER 23 4 a[Prov. 28:20; Matt. 6:19; 1 Tim. 6:9, 10; Heb. 13:5] bRom. 12:16 5 1Lit. Will you cause your eyes to fly upon it and it is not? 6 aDeut. 15:9; Prov. 28:22 1Lit. one who has an evil eye 7 aProv. 12:2 9 aProv. 9:8; Matt. 7:6 10 1boundary 11 aProv. 22:23 13 aProv. 13:24 14 1Or Sheol 16 1Lit. kid- neys 17 aPs. 37:1; Prov. 24:1, 19 bProv. 28:14 18 a[Ps. 37:37] 1Future, lit. latter end 20 aProv. 20:1; 23:29, 30; Is. 5:22; Matt. 24:49; [Luke 21:34]; Rom. 13:13; [Eph. 5:18] 22 aProv. 1:8; Eph. 6:1 23 aProv. 4:7; 18:15; [Matt. 13:44] 24 aProv. 10:1

575 PROVERBS 24:22 26 My son, give me your heart, And let your eyes observe my ways. 27 aFor a harlot is a deep pit, And a seductress is a narrow well. 28 aShe also lies in wait as for a victim, And increases the unfaithful among men. 29 aWho has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who bhas redness of eyes? 30 aThose who linger long at the wine, Those who go in search of bmixed wine. 31 Do not look on the wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the cup, When it 1swirls around smoothly; 32 At the last it bites like a serpent, And stings like a viper. 33 Your eyes will see strange things, And your heart will utter perverse things. 34 Yes, you will be like one who lies down in the 1midst of the sea, Or like one who lies at the top of the mast, saying: 35 “Theya have struck me, but I was not hurt; They have beaten me, but I did not feel it. When shall bI awake, that I may seek another drink?” 24 Do not be aenvious of evil men, Nor desire to be with them; 2 For their heart devises violence, And their lips talk of troublemaking. 3 Through wisdom a house is built, And by understanding it is established; 4 By knowledge the rooms are filled With all precious and pleasant riches. 5 aA wise man is strong, Yes, a man of knowledge increases strength; 6 aFor by wise counsel you will wage your own war, And in a multitude of counselors there is safety. 7 aWisdom is too lofty for a fool; He does not open his mouth in the gate. 8 He who aplots to do evil Will be called a 1schemer. 9 The devising of foolishness is sin, And the scoffer is an abomination to men. 10 If you afaint in the day of adversity, Your strength is small. 11 aDeliver those who are drawn toward death, And hold back those stumbling to the slaughter. 12 If you say, “Surely we did not know this,” Does not aHe who weighs the hearts consider it? He who keeps your soul, does He not know it? And will He not render to each man baccording to his deeds? 13 My son, aeat honey because it is good, And the honeycomb which is sweet to your taste; 14 aSo shall the knowledge of wisdom be to your soul; If you have found it, there is a 1prospect, And your hope will not be cut off. 15 Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; Do not plunder his resting place; 16 aFor a righteous man may fall seven times And rise again, bBut the wicked shall fall by calamity. 17 aDo not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; 18 Lest the LORD see it, and 1it displease Him, And He turn away His wrath from him. 19 aDo not fret because of evildoers, Nor be envious of the wicked; 20 For there will be no prospect for the evil man; The lamp of the wicked will be put out. 21 My son, afear the LORD and the king; Do not associate with those given to change; 22 For their calamity will rise suddenly, And who knows the ruin those two can bring? 27 aProv. 22:14 28 aProv. 7:12; Eccl. 7:26 29 aIs. 5:11, 22 bGen. 49:12 30 a1 Sam. 25:36; Prov. 20:1; 21:17; Is. 5:11; 28:7; [Eph. 5:18] bPs. 75:8 31 1goes around 34 1Lit. heart 35 aProv. 27:22; Jer. 5:3 bEph. 4:19 CHAPTER 24 1 aPs. 1:1; 37:1; Prov. 23:17 5 aProv. 21:22; Eccl. 9:16 6 aLuke 14:31 7 aPs. 10:5; Prov. 14:6 8 aProv. 6:14; 14:22; Rom. 1:30 1Lit. mas- ter of evil plots 10 aDeut. 20:8; Job 4:5; Jer. 51:46; Heb. 12:3 11 aPs. 82:4; Is. 58:6, 7; 1 John 3:16 12 a1 Sam. 16:7; Prov. 21:2 bJob 34:11; Ps. 62:12; Rev. 2:23; 22:12 13 aPs. 19:10; 119:103; Prov. 25:16; Song 5:1 14 aPs. 19:10; 58:11; Prov. 23:18 1Lit. lat- ter end 16 aJob 5:19; [Ps. 34:19; 37:24; Mic. 7:8] bEsth. 7:10; Amos 5:2 17 aJob 31:29; Ps. 35:15, 19; [Prov. 17:5]; Obad. 12 18 1Lit. it be evil in His eyes 19 aPs. 37:1 21 a[Rom. 13:7; 1 Pet. 2:17]

PROVERBS 24:23 576 Further Sayings of the Wise 23 These things also belong to the wise: aIt is not good to 1show partiality in judgment. 24 aHe who says to the wicked, “You are righteous,” Him the people will curse; Nations will abhor him. 25 But those who rebuke the wicked will have adelight, And a good blessing will come upon them. 26 He who gives a right answer kisses the lips. 27 aPrepare your outside work, Make it fit for yourself in the field; And afterward build your house. 28 aDo not be a witness against your neighbor without cause, 1For would you deceive with your lips? 29 aDo not say, “I will do to him just as he has done to me; I will render to the man according to his work.” 30 I went by the field of the lazy man, And by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding; 31 And there it was, aall overgrown with thorns; Its surface was covered with nettles; Its stone wall was broken down. 32 When I saw it, I considered it well; I looked on it and received instruction: 33 aA little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest; 34 aSo shall your poverty come like 1a prowler, And your need like 2an armed man. Further Wise Sayings of Solomon 25 Thesea also are proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied: 2 aIt is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter. 3 As the heavens for height and the earth for depth, So the heart of kings is unsearchable. 4 aTake away the dross from silver, And it will go to the silversmith for jewelry. 5 Take away the wicked from before the king, And his throne will be established in arighteousness. 6 Do not exalt yourself in the presence of the king, And do not stand in the place of the great; 7 aFor it is better that he say to you, “Come up here,” Than that you should be put lower in the presence of the prince, Whom your eyes have seen. 8 aDo not go hastily to 1court; For what will you do in the end, When your neighbor has put you to shame? 9 aDebate your case with your neighbor, And do not disclose the secret to another; 10 Lest he who hears it expose your shame, And 1your reputation be ruined. 11 A word fitly aspoken is like apples of gold In settings of silver. 12 Like an earring of gold and an ornament of fine gold Is a wise rebuker to an obedient ear. 13 aLike the cold of snow in time of harvest Is a faithful messenger to those who send him, For he refreshes the soul of his masters. 14 aWhoever falsely boasts of giving Is like bclouds and wind without rain. 15 aBy long forbearance a ruler is persuaded, And a gentle tongue breaks a bone. 16 Have you found honey? Eat only as much as you need, Lest you be filled with it and vomit. 17 Seldom set foot in your neighbor’s house, Lest he become weary of you and hate you. 18 aA man who bears false witness against his neighbor Is like a club, a sword, and a sharp arrow. 19 Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble 23 aLev. 19:15; Deut. 1:17; 16:19; [John 7:24] 1Lit. rec- ognize faces 24 aProv. 17:15; Is. 5:23 25 aProv. 28:23 27 a1 Kin. 5:17; Prov. 27:23–27 28 aLev. 6:2, 3; 19:11; Eph. 4:25 1LXX, Vg. Do not deceive 29 a[Prov. 20:22; Matt. 5:39–44; Rom. 12:17–19] 31 aGen. 3:18 33 aProv. 6:9, 10 34 aProv. 6:9–11 1Lit. one who walks about 1Lit. a man with a shield CHAPTER 25 1 a1 Kin. 4:32 2 aDeut. 29:29; Rom. 11:33 4 a2 Tim. 2:21 5 aProv. 16:12; 20:8 7 aLuke 14:7–11 8 aProv. 17:14; Matt. 5:25 1Lit. contend or bring a lawsuit 9 a[Matt. 18:15] 10 1the evil report con- cerning you not pass away 11 aProv. 15:23; Is. 50:4 13 aProv. 13:17 14 aProv. 20:6 bJude 12 15 aProv. 15:1 18 aPs. 57:4; Prov. 12:18

577 PROVERBS 26:25 Is like a bad tooth and a foot out of joint. 20 Like one who takes away a garment in cold weather, And like vinegar on soda, Is one who asings songs to a heavy heart. 21 aIf your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; 22 For so you will heap coals of fire on his head, aAnd the LORD will reward you. 23 The north wind brings forth rain, And aa backbiting tongue an angry countenance. 24 aIt is better to dwell in a corner of a housetop, Than in a house shared with a contentious woman. 25 As cold water to a weary soul, So is agood news from a far country. 26 A righteous man who falters before the wicked Is like a murky spring and a 1polluted well. 27 It is not good to eat much honey; So ato seek one’s own glory is not glory. 28 aWhoever has no rule over his own spirit Is like a city broken down, without walls. 26 As snow in summer aand rain in harvest, So honor is not fitting for a fool. 2 Like a flitting sparrow, like a flying swallow, So aa curse without cause shall not alight. 3 aA whip for the horse, A bridle for the donkey, And a rod for the fool’s back. 4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly, Lest you also be like him. 5 aAnswer a fool according to his folly, Lest he be wise in his own eyes. 6 He who sends a message by the hand of a fool Cuts off his own feet and drinks violence. 7 Like the legs of the lame that hang limp Is a proverb in the mouth of fools. 8 Like one who binds a stone in a sling Is he who gives honor to a fool. 9 Like a thorn that goes into the hand of a drunkard Is a proverb in the mouth of fools. 10 1The great God who formed everything Gives the fool his hire and the transgressor his wages. 11 aAs a dog returns to his own vomit, bSo a fool repeats his folly. 12 aDo you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him. 13 The lazy man says, “There is a lion in the road! A fierce lion is in the 1streets!” 14 As a door turns on its hinges, So does the lazy man on his bed. 15 The alazy man buries his hand in the 1bowl; It wearies him to bring it back to his mouth. 16 The lazy man is wiser in his own eyes Than seven men who can answer sensibly. 17 He who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own Is like one who takes a dog by the ears. 18 Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death, 19 Is the man who deceives his neighbor, And says, a“I was only joking!” 20 Where there is no wood, the fire goes out; And where there is no 1talebearer, strife ceases. 21 aAs charcoal is to burning coals, and wood to fire, So is a contentious man to kindle strife. 22 The words of a 1talebearer are like 2tasty trifles, And they go down into the 3inmost body. 23 Fervent lips with a wicked heart Are like earthenware covered with silver dross. 24 He who hates, disguises it with his lips, And lays up deceit within himself; 25 aWhen 1he speaks kindly, do not believe him, 20 aDan. 6:18 21 aEx. 23:4, 5; 2 Kin. 6:22; 2 Chr. 28:15; Matt. 5:44; Rom. 12:20 22 a2 Sam. 16:12; [Matt. 6:4, 6] 23 aPs. 101:5 24 aProv. 19:13 25 aProv. 15:30 26 1ruined 27 aProv. 27:2; [Luke 14:11] 28 aProv. 16:32 CHAPTER 26 1 a1 Sam. 12:17 2 aNum. 23:8; Deut. 23:5; 2 Sam. 16:12 3 aPs. 32:9; Prov. 19:29 5 aMatt. 16:1–4; Rom. 12:16 10 1Heb. diffi- cult in v. 10; ancient and modern trans- lators differ greatly 11 a2 Pet. 2:22 bEx. 8:15 12 aProv. 29:20; Luke 18:11, 12; [Rev. 3:17] 13 1Or plazas, squares 15 aProv. 19:24 1LXX, Syr. bosom; Tg., Vg. armpit 19 aEph. 5:4 20 1gossip or slanderer, lit. whisperer 21 aProv. 15:18 22 1gossip or slanderer 2A Jewish tradi- tion wounds 3Lit. rooms of the belly 25 aPs. 28:3; Prov. 26:23; Jer. 9:8 1Lit. his voice is gracious

PROVERBS 26:26 578 For there are seven abominations in his heart; 26 Though his hatred is covered by deceit, His wickedness will be revealed before the assembly. 27 aWhoever digs a pit will fall into it, And he who rolls a stone will have it roll back on him. 28 A lying tongue hates those who are crushed by it, And a flattering mouth works aruin. 27 Doa not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may bring forth. 2 aLet another man praise you, and not your own mouth; A stranger, and not your own lips. 3 A stone is heavy and sand is weighty, But a fool’s wrath is heavier than both of them. 4 Wrath is cruel and anger a torrent, But awho is able to stand before jealousy? 5 aOpen rebuke is better Than love carefully concealed. 6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But the kisses of an enemy are adeceitful. 7 A satisfied soul 1loathes the honeycomb, But to a hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet. 8 Like a bird that wanders from its nest Is a man who wanders from his place. 9 Ointment and perfume delight the heart, And the sweetness of a man’s friend gives delight by 1hearty counsel. 10 Do not forsake your own friend or your father’s friend, Nor go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity; aBetter is a neighbor nearby than a brother far away. 11 My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, aThat I may answer him who reproaches me. 12 A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself; The simple pass on and are apunished. 13 Take the garment of him who is surety for a stranger, And hold it in pledge when he is surety for a seductress. 14 He who blesses his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, It will be counted a curse to him. 15 A acontinual dripping on a very rainy day And a contentious woman are alike; 16 Whoever 1restrains her restrains the wind, And grasps oil with his right hand. 17 As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend. 18 aWhoever 1keeps the fig tree will eat its fruit; So he who waits on his master will be honored. 19 As in water face reflects face, So a man’s heart reveals the man. 20 aHell1 and 2Destruction are never full; So bthe eyes of man are never satisfied. 21 aThe refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, And a man is valued by what others say of him. 22 aThough you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, Yet his foolishness will not depart from him. 23 Be diligent to know the state of your aflocks, And attend to your herds; 24 For riches are not forever, Nor does a crown endure to all generations. 25 aWhen the hay is removed, and the tender grass shows itself, And the herbs of the mountains are gathered in, 26 The lambs will provide your clothing, And the goats the price of a field; 27 You shall have enough goats’ milk for your food, For the food of your household, 27 aEsth. 7:10; Ps. 7:15; Prov. 28:10; Eccl. 10:8 28 aProv. 29:5 CHAPTER 27 1 aLuke 12:19–21; James 4:13–16 2 aProv. 25:27; 2 Cor. 10:12, 18; 12:11 4 aProv. 6:34; 1 John 3:12 5 a[Prov. 28:23]; Gal. 2:14 6 aMatt. 26:49 7 1tramples on 9 1Lit. counsel of the soul 10 aProv. 17:17; 18:24 11 aProv. 10:1; 23:15–26 12 aProv. 22:3 15 aProv. 19:13 16 1Lit. hides 18 a2 Kin. 18:31; Song 8:12; Is. 36:16; [1 Cor. 3:8; 9:7–13]; 2 Tim. 2:6 1protects or tends 20 aProv. 30:15, 16; Hab. 2:5 bEccl. 1:8; 4:8 1Or Sheol 2Heb. Abad- don 21 aProv. 17:3 22 aProv. 23:35; 26:11; Jer. 5:3 23 aProv. 24:27 25 aPs. 104:14

579 PROVERBS 28:28 And the nourishment of your maidservants. 28 The awicked flee when no one pursues, But the righteous are bold as a lion. 2 Because of the transgression of a land, many are its princes; But by a man of understanding and knowledge Right will be prolonged. 3 aA poor man who oppresses the poor Is like a driving rain 1which leaves no food. 4 aThose who forsake the law praise the wicked, bBut such as keep the law contend with them. 5 aEvil men do not understand justice, But bthose who seek the LORD understand all. 6 Better is the poor who walks in his integrity Than one perverse in his ways, though he be rich. 7 Whoever keeps the law is a discerning son, But a companion of gluttons shames his father. 8 One who increases his possessions by usury and extortion Gathers it for him who will pity the poor. 9 One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, aEven his prayer is an abomination. 10 aWhoever causes the upright to go astray in an evil way, He himself will fall into his own pit; bBut the blameless will inherit good. 11 The rich man is wise in his own eyes, But the poor who has understanding searches him out. 12 When the righteous rejoice, there is great aglory; But when the wicked arise, men 1hide themselves. 13 aHe who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. 14 Happy is the man who is always reverent, But he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity. 15 aLike a roaring lion and a charging bear bIs a wicked ruler over poor people. 16 A ruler who lacks understanding is a great aoppressor, But he who hates covetousness will prolong his days. 17 aA man burdened with bloodshed will flee into a pit; Let no one help him. 18 Whoever walks blamelessly will be 1saved, But he who is perverse in his ways will suddenly fall. 19 aHe who tills his land will have plenty of bread, But he who follows frivolity will have poverty enough! 20 A faithful man will abound with blessings, aBut he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished. 21 aTo 1show partiality is not good, bBecause for a piece of bread a man will transgress. 22 A man with an evil eye hastens after riches, And does not consider that apoverty will come upon him. 23 aHe who rebukes a man will find more favor afterward Than he who flatters with the tongue. 24 Whoever robs his father or his mother, And says, “It is no transgression,” The same ais companion to a destroyer. 25 aHe who is of a proud heart stirs up strife, bBut he who trusts in the LORD will be prospered. 26 He who atrusts in his own heart is a fool, But whoever walks wisely will be delivered. 27 aHe who gives to the poor will not lack, But he who hides his eyes will have many curses. 28 When the wicked arise, amen hide themselves; CHAPTER 28 1 aLev. 26:17, 36; Ps. 53:5 3 aMatt. 18:28 1Lit. and there is no bread 4 aPs. 49:18; Rom. 1:32 b1 Kin. 18:18; Neh. 13:11, 15; Matt. 3:7; 14:4; Eph. 5:11 5 aPs. 92:6; Is. 6:9; 44:18 bPs. 119:100; Prov. 2:9; John 17:17; 1 Cor. 2:15; [1 John 2:20, 27] 9 aPs. 66:18; 109:7; Prov. 15:8 10 aPs. 7:15; Prov. 26:27 b[Matt. 6:33; Heb. 6:12; 1 Pet. 3:9] 12 aProv. 11:10; 29:2 1Lit. will be searched for 13 aPs. 32:3–5; 1 John 1:8–10 15 aProv. 19:12; 1 Pet. 5:8 bEx. 1:14; Prov. 29:2; Matt. 2:16 16 aEccl. 10:16; Is. 3:12 17 aGen. 9:6 18 1delivered 19 aProv. 12:11; 20:13 20 aProv. 13:11; 20:21; 23:4; 1 Tim. 6:9 21 aProv. 18:5 bEzek. 13:19 1Lit. recog- nize faces 22 aProv. 21:5 23 aProv. 27:5, 6 24 aProv. 18:9 25 aProv. 13:10 bProv. 29:25; 1 Tim. 6:6 26 aProv. 3:5 27 aDeut. 15:7; Prov. 19:17; 22:9 28 aJob 24:4

PROVERBS 29:1 580 But when they perish, the righteous increase. 29 Hea who is often rebuked, and hardens his neck, Will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy. 2 When the righteous 1are in authority, the apeople rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, bthe people groan. 3 Whoever loves wisdom makes his father rejoice, But a companion of harlots wastes his wealth. 4 The king establishes the land by justice, But he who receives bribes overthrows it. 5 A man who aflatters his neighbor Spreads a net for his feet. 6 By transgression an evil man is snared, But the righteous sings and rejoices. 7 The righteous aconsiders the cause of the poor, But the wicked does not understand such knowledge. 8 Scoffers aset a city aflame, But wise men turn away wrath. 9 If a wise man contends with a foolish man, aWhether the fool rages or laughs, there is no peace. 10 aThe bloodthirsty hate the blameless, But the upright seek his 1well-being. 11 A fool vents all his afeelings,1 But a wise man holds them back. 12 If a ruler pays attention to lies, All his servants become wicked. 13 The poor man and the oppressor have this in common: aThe LORD gives light to the eyes of both. 14 The king who judges the apoor with truth, His throne will be established forever. 15 The rod and rebuke give awisdom, But a child left to himself brings shame to his mother. 16 When the wicked are multiplied, transgression increases; But the righteous will see their afall. 17 Correct your son, and he will give you rest; Yes, he will give delight to your soul. 18 aWhere there is no 1revelation, the people cast off restraint; But bhappy is he who keeps the law. 19 A servant will not be corrected by mere words; For though he understands, he will not respond. 20 Do you see a man hasty in his words? aThere is more hope for a fool than for him. 21 He who pampers his servant from childhood Will have him as a son in the end. 22 aAn angry man stirs up strife, And a furious man abounds in transgression. 23 aA man’s pride will bring him low, But the humble in spirit will retain honor. 24 Whoever is a partner with a thief hates his own life; aHe 1swears to tell the truth, but reveals nothing. 25 aThe fear of man brings a snare, But whoever trusts in the LORD shall be 1safe. 26 aMany seek the ruler’s 1favor, But justice for man comes from the LORD. 27 An unjust man is an abomination to the righteous, And he who is upright in the way is an abomination to the wicked. The Wisdom of Agur 30 The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, his utterance. This man declared to Ithiel—to Ithiel and Ucal: 2 aSurely I am more stupid than any man, And do not have the understanding of a man. 3 I neither learned wisdom Nor have aknowledge of the Holy One. CHAPTER 29 1 a2 Chr. 36:16; Prov. 6:15 2 aEsth. 8:15; Prov. 28:12 bEsth. 4:3 1be- come great 5 aProv. 26:28 7 aJob 29:16; Ps. 41:1; Prov. 31:8, 9 8 aProv. 11:11 9 aMatt. 11:17 10 aGen. 4:5–8; 1 John 3:12 1Lit. soul or life 11 aProv. 14:33 1Lit. spirit 13 a[Matt. 5:45] 14 aPs. 72:4; Is. 11:4 15 aProv. 22:15 16 aPs. 37:34; Prov. 21:12 18 a1 Sam. 3:1; Ps. 74:9; Amos 8:11, 12 bProv. 8:32; John 13:17 1prophetic vision 20 aProv. 26:12 22 aProv. 26:21 23 aJob 22:29; Prov. 15:33; 18:12; Is. 66:2; Dan. 4:30; Matt. 23:12; Luke 14:11; 18:14; Acts 12:23; [James 4:6–10; 1 Pet. 5:5, 6] 24 aLev. 5:1 1Lit. hears the adjuration or oath 25 aGen. 12:12; 20:2; Luke 12:4; John 12:42, 43 1secure, lit. set on high 26 aPs. 20:9 1Lit. face CHAPTER 30 2 aPs. 73:22; Prov. 12:1 3 a[Prov. 9:10]

581 PROVERBS 30:33 4 aWho has ascended into heaven, or descended? bWho has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has bound the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son’s name, If you know? 5 aEvery word of God is 1pure; bHe is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. 6 aDo not add to His words, Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar. 7 Two things I request of You (Deprive me not before I die): 8 Remove falsehood and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches— aFeed me with the food allotted to me; 9 aLest I be full and deny You, And say, “Who is the LORD?” Or lest I be poor and steal, And profane the name of my God. 10 Do not malign a servant to his master, Lest he curse you, and you be found guilty. 11 There is a generation that curses its afather, And does not bless its mother. 12 There is a generation athat is pure in its own eyes, Yet is not washed from its filthiness. 13 There is a generation—oh, how alofty are their eyes! And their eyelids are 1lifted up. 14 aThere is a generation whose teeth are like swords, And whose fangs are like knives, bTo devour the poor from off the earth, And the needy from among men. 15 The leech has two daughters— Give and Give! There are three things that are never satisfied, Four never say, “Enough!”: 16 aThe1 grave, The barren womb, The earth that is not satisfied with water— And the fire never says, “Enough!” 17 aThe eye that mocks his father, And scorns obedience to his mother, The ravens of the valley will pick it out, And the young eagles will eat it. 18 There are three things which are too wonderful for me, Yes, four which I do not understand: 19 The way of an eagle in the air, The way of a serpent on a rock, The way of a ship in the 1midst of the sea, And the way of a man with a virgin. 20 This is the way of an adulterous woman: She eats and wipes her mouth, And says, “I have done no wickedness.” 21 For three things the earth is perturbed, Yes, for four it cannot bear up: 22 aFor a servant when he reigns, A fool when he is filled with food, 23 A 1hateful woman when she is married, And a maidservant who succeeds her mistress. 24 There are four things which are little on the earth, But they are exceedingly wise: 25 aThe ants are a people not strong, Yet they prepare their food in the summer; 26 aThe 1rock badgers are a feeble folk, Yet they make their homes in the crags; 27 The locusts have no king, Yet they all advance in ranks; 28 The 1spider skillfully grasps with its hands, And it is in kings’ palaces. 29 There are three things which are majestic in pace, Yes, four which are stately in walk: 30 A lion, which is mighty among beasts And does not turn away from any; 31 A 1greyhound, A male goat also, And 2a king whose troops are with him. 32 If you have been foolish in exalting yourself, Or if you have devised evil, aput your hand on your mouth. 33 For as the churning of milk produces butter, And wringing the nose produces blood, So the forcing of wrath produces strife. 4 a[Ps. 68:18; John 3:13] bJob 38:4; Ps. 104:3; Is. 40:12 5 aPs. 12:6; 19:8; 119:140 bPs. 18:30; 84:11; 115:9–11 1tested, re- fined, found pure 6 aDeut. 4:2; 12:32; Rev. 22:18 8 aJob 23:12; Matt. 6:11; [Phil. 4:19] 9 aDeut. 8:12–14; Neh. 9:25, 26; Hos. 13:6 11 aEx. 21:17; Prov. 20:20 12 a[Prov. 16:2]; Is. 65:5; Luke 18:11; [Titus 1:15, 16] 13 aPs. 131:1; Prov. 6:17; Is. 2:11; 5:15 1In arrogance 14 aJob 29:17; Ps. 52:2 bPs. 14:4; Amos 8:4 16 aProv. 27:20; Hab. 2:5 1Or Sheol 17 aGen. 9:22; Lev. 20:9; Prov. 20:20 19 1Lit. heart 22 aProv. 19:10; Eccl. 10:7 23 1Or hated 25 aProv. 6:6 26 aLev. 11:5; Ps. 104:18 1rock hyraxes 28 1Or lizard 31 1Or per- haps strutting rooster, lit. girded of waist 2A Jew- ish tradition a king against whom there is no uprising 32 aJob 21:5; 40:4; Mic. 7:16

PROVERBS 31:1 582 The Words of King Lemuel’s Mother 31 The words of King Lemuel, the utterance which his mother taught him: 2 What, my son? And what, son of my womb? And what, ason of my vows? 3 aDo not give your strength to women, Nor your ways bto that which destroys kings. 4 aIt is not for kings, O Lemuel, It is not for kings to drink wine, Nor for princes intoxicating drink; 5 aLest they drink and forget the law, And pervert the justice of all 1the afflicted. 6 aGive strong drink to him who is perishing, And wine to those who are bitter of heart. 7 Let him drink and forget his poverty, And remember his misery no more. 8 aOpen your mouth for the speechless, In the cause of all who are 1appointed to die. 9 Open your mouth, ajudge righteously, And bplead the cause of the poor and needy. The Virtuous Wife 10 aWho1 can find a 2virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies. 11 The heart of her husband safely trusts her; So he will have no lack of gain. 12 She does him good and not evil All the days of her life. 13 She seeks wool and flax, And willingly works with her hands. 14 She is like the merchant ships, She brings her food from afar. 15 aShe also rises while it is yet night, And bprovides food for her household, And a portion for her maidservants. 16 She considers a field and buys it; From 1her profits she plants a vineyard. 17 She girds herself with strength, And strengthens her arms. 18 She perceives that her merchandise is good, And her lamp does not go out by night. 19 She stretches out her hands to the distaff, And her hand holds the spindle. 20 aShe extends her hand to the poor, Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy. 21 She is not afraid of snow for her household, For all her household is clothed with scarlet. 22 She makes tapestry for herself; Her clothing is fine linen and purple. 23 aHer husband is known in the gates, When he sits among the elders of the land. 24 She makes linen garments and sells them, And supplies sashes for the merchants. 25 Strength and honor are her clothing; She shall rejoice in time to come. 26 She opens her mouth with wisdom, And on her tongue is the law of kindness. 27 She watches over the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness. 28 Her children rise up and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praises her: 29 “Many daughters have done well, But you excel them all.” 30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised. 31 Give her of the fruit of her hands, And let her own works praise her in the gates. CHAPTER 31 2 aIs. 49:15 3 aProv. 5:9 bDeut. 17:17; 1 Kin. 11:1; Neh. 13:26; Prov. 7:26; Hos. 4:11 4 aEccl. 10:17 5 aHos. 4:11 1Lit. sons of affliction 6 aPs. 104:15 8 aJob 29:15, 16; Ps. 82 1Lit. sons of pass- ing away 9 aLev. 19:15; Deut. 1:16 bJob 29:12; Is. 1:17; Jer. 22:16 10 aRuth 3:11; Prov. 12:4; 19:14 1Vv. 10–31 are an alphabetic acrostic in Hebrew; cf. Ps. 119 2Lit. a wife of valor, in the sense of all forms of excellence 15 aProv. 20:13; Rom. 12:11 bLuke 12:42 16 1Lit. the fruit of her hands 20 aDeut. 15:11; Job 31:16–20; Prov. 22:9; Rom. 12:13; Eph. 4:28; Heb. 13:16 23 aProv. 12:4

The Vanity of Life THE words of the Preacher, the son of David, aking in Jerusalem. 2 “Vanitya1 of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, ball is vanity.” 3 aWhat profit has a man from all his labor In which he 1toils under the sun? 4 One generation passes away, and another generation comes; aBut the earth abides forever. 5 aThe sun also rises, and the sun goes down, And 1hastens to the place where it arose. 6 aThe wind goes toward the south, And turns around to the north; The wind whirls about continually, And comes again on its circuit. 7 aAll the rivers run into the sea, Yet the sea is not full; To the place from which the rivers come, There they return again. 8 All things are 1full of labor; Man cannot express it. aThe eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor the ear filled with hearing. 9 aThat which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun. 10 Is there anything of which it may be said, “See, this is new”? It has already been in ancient times before us. 11 There is ano remembrance of former things, Nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come By those who will come after. The Grief of Wisdom 12 I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And I set my heart to seek and asearch out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven; bthis burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be 1exercised. 14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind. 15 aWhat is crooked cannot be made straight, And what is lacking cannot be numbered. 16 I communed with my heart, say- ing, “Look, I have attained greatness, and have gained amore wisdom than all who were before me in Jeru- salem. My heart has 1understood great wisdom and knowledge.” 17 aAnd I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is grasping for the wind. 18 For ain much wisdom is much grief, And he who increases knowledge increases sorrow. The Vanity of Pleasure 2 I said ain my heart, “Come now, I will test you with bmirth; CHAPTER 1 1 aProv. 1:1 2 aPs. 39:5, 6; 62:9; 144:4 b[Rom. 8:20, 21] 1Or Absurdity, Frustration, Futility, Non- sense; and so throughout the book 3 aEccl. 2:22; 3:9 1labors 4 aPs. 104:5; 119:90 5 aPs. 19:4–6 1Is eager for, lit. panting 6 aJohn 3:8 7 a[Jer. 5:22] 8 aProv. 27:20 1wearisome 9 aEccl. 3:15 11 aEccl. 2:16 13 a[Eccl. 7:25; 8:16, 17] bEccl. 3:10 1Or afflicted 15 aEccl. 7:13 16 a1 Kin. 3:12, 13 1Lit. seen 17 aEccl. 2:3, 12; 7:23, 25 18 aEccl. 12:12 CHAPTER 2 1 aLuke 12:19 b[Eccl. 7:4; 8:15] The Book of ECCLESIASTES THE key word in Ecclesiastes is vanity, “the futile emptiness of trying to be happy apart from God.” The Preacher (traditionally taken to be Solomon— 1:1, 12—the wisest, richest, most influential king in Israel’s history) looks at life “under the sun” (1:9) and, from the human perspective, declares it all to be empty. Power, popularity, prestige, pleasure—nothing can fill the God-shaped void in man’s life but God Himself! But once seen from God’s perspective, life takes on meaning and purpose, causing Solomon to exclaim, “Eat . . . drink . . . rejoice . . . do good . . . live joyfully . . . fear God . . . keep His commandments!” Skepticism and despair melt away when life is viewed as a daily gift from God. The Hebrew title Qoheleth is a rare term, found only in Ecclesiastes (1:1, 2, 12; 7:27; 12:8–10). It comes from the word qahal, “to convoke an assembly, to assem- ble.” Thus, it means “One Who Addresses an Assembly,” “A Preacher.” The Septu- agint used the Greek word Ekklesiastes as its title for this book. Derived from the word ekklesia, “assembly,” “congregation,” “church,” it simply means “Preacher.” The Latin Ecclesiastes means “Speaker Before an Assembly.”

ECCLESIASTES 2:2 584 1therefore enjoy pleasure”; but surely, cthis also was vanity. 2 I said of laughter—“Madness!”; and of mirth, “What does it accom- plish?” 3 aI searched in my heart how 1to gratify my flesh with wine, while guiding my heart with wisdom, and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was bgood for the sons of men to do under heaven all the days of their lives. 4 I made my works great, I built myself ahouses, and planted myself vineyards. 5 I made myself gardens and orchards, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. 6 I made myself water pools from which to 1water the growing trees of the grove. 7 I acquired male and female ser- vants, and had 1servants born in my house. Yes, I had greater posses- sions of herds and flocks than all who were in Jerusalem before me. 8 aI also gathered for myself silver and gold and the special treasures of kings and of the provinces. I acquired male and female singers, the delights of the sons of men, and 1musical instruments of all kinds. 9 aSo I became great and 1excelled bmore than all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom re- mained with me. 10 Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, For my heart rejoiced in all my labor; And athis was my 1reward from all my labor. 11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done And on the labor in which I had toiled; And indeed all was avanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun. The End of the Wise and the Fool 12 Then I turned myself to consider wisdom aand madness and folly; For what can the man do who succeeds the king?— Only what he has already bdone. 13 Then I saw that wisdom aexcels folly As light excels darkness. 14 aThe wise man’s eyes are in his head, But the fool walks in darkness. Yet I myself perceived That bthe same event happens to them all. 15 So I said in my heart, “As it happens to the fool, It also happens to me, And why was I then more wise?” Then I said in my heart, “This also is vanity.” 16 For there is ano more remembrance of the wise than of the fool forever, Since all that now is will be forgotten in the days to come. And how does a wise man die? As the fool! 17 Therefore I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me, for all is vanity and grasping for the wind. 18 Then I hated all my labor in which I had toiled under the sun, because aI must leave it to the man who will come after me. 19 And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will rule over all my labor in which I toiled and in which I have shown myself wise under the sun. This also is van- ity. 20 Therefore I turned my heart and despaired of all the labor in which I had toiled under the sun. 21 For there is a man whose labor is with wisdom, knowledge, and skill; yet he must leave his 1heritage to a man who has not labored for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. 22 aFor what has man for all his labor, and for the striving of his heart with which he has toiled under the sun? 23 For all his days are asorrowful, and his work burdensome; even in the night his heart takes no rest. This also is vanity. 24 aNothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God. 25 For who can eat, or who can have enjoyment, 1more than I? 26 For God gives awisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in His sight; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting, that bhe may give to him who is good before God. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind. Everything Has Its Time 3 To everything there is a season, A atime for every purpose under heaven: 2 A time 1to be born, And aa time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted; 3 A time to kill, And a time to heal; 1 cEccl. 1:2 1gladness 3 aEccl. 1:17 b[Eccl. 3:12, 13; 5:18; 6:12] 1Lit.

o a man who is good in His sight; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting, that bhe may give to him who is good before God. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind. Everything Has Its Time 3 To everything there is a season, A atime for every purpose under heaven: 2 A time 1to be born, And aa time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted; 3 A time to kill, And a time to heal; 1 cEccl. 1:2 1gladness 3 aEccl. 1:17 b[Eccl. 3:12, 13; 5:18; 6:12] 1Lit. to draw my flesh 4 a1 Kin. 7:1–12 6 1irrigate 7 1Lit. sons of my house 8 a1 Kin. 9:28; 10:10, 14, 21 1Exact mean- ing unknown 9 aEccl. 1:16 b2 Chr. 9:22 1Lit. increased 10 aEccl. 3:22; 5:18; 9:9 1Lit. portion 11 aEccl. 1:3, 14 12 aEccl. 1:17; 7:25 bEccl. 1:9 13 aEccl. 7:11, 14, 19; 9:18; 10:10 14 aProv. 17:24; Eccl. 8:1 bPs. 49:10; Eccl. 9:2, 3, 11 16 aEccl. 1:11; 4:16 18 aPs. 49:10 21 1Lit. por- tion 22 aEccl. 1:3; 3:9 23 aJob 5:7; 14:1 24 aEccl. 3:12, 13, 22; Is. 56:12; Luke 12:19; 1 Cor. 15:32; [1 Tim. 6:17] 25 1So with MT, Tg., Vg.; some Heb. mss., LXX, Syr. without Him 26 aJob 32:8; Prov. 2:6; James 1:5 bJob 27:16, 17; Prov. 28:8 CHAPTER 3 1 aEccl. 3:17; 8:6 2 aJob 14:5; Heb. 9:27 1Lit. to bear

585 ECCLESIASTES 4:9 A time to break down, And a time to build up; 4 A time to aweep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance; 5 A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones; aA time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing; 6 A time to gain, And a time to lose; A time to keep, And a time to throw away; 7 A time to tear, And a time to sew; aA time to keep silence, And a time to bspeak; 8 A time to love, And a time to ahate; A time of war, And a time of peace. The God-Given Task 9 aWhat profit has the worker from that in which he labors? 10 aI have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. 11 He has made everything beauti- ful in its time. Also He has put eter- nity in their hearts, except that ano one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. 12 I know that nothing is abetter for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, 13 and also that aevery man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God. 14 I know that whatever God does, It shall be forever. aNothing can be added to it, And nothing taken from it. God does it, that men should fear before Him. 15 aThat which is has already been, And what is to be has already been; And God 1requires an account of 2what is past. Injustice Seems to Prevail 16 Moreover aI saw under the sun: In the place of 1judgment, Wickedness was there; And in the place of righteousness, 2Iniquity was there. 17 I said in my heart, a“God shall judge the righteous and the wicked, For there is a time there for every 1purpose and for every work.” 18 I said in my heart, “Concerning the condition of the sons of men, God tests them, that they may see that they themselves are like animals.” 19 aFor what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other. Surely, they all have one breath; man has no advantage over animals, for all is vanity. 20 All go to one place: aall are from the dust, and all return to dust. 21 aWho1 knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth? 22 aSo I perceived that nothing is better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for bthat is his 1heritage. cFor who can bring him to see what will happen after him? 4 Then I returned and considered all the aoppression that is done under the sun: And look! The tears of the oppressed, But they have no comforter— 1On the side of their oppressors there is power, But they have no comforter. 2 aTherefore I praised the dead who were already dead, More than the living who are still alive. 3 aYet, better than both is he who has never existed, Who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun. The Vanity of Selfish Toil 4 Again, I saw that for all toil and every skillful work a man is envied by his neighbor. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind. 5 aThe fool folds his hands And consumes his own flesh. 6 aBetter a handful with quietness Than both hands full, together with toil and grasping for the wind. 7 Then I returned, and I saw van- ity under the sun: 8 There is one alone, without 1companion: He has neither son nor brother. Yet there is no end to all his labors, Nor is his aeye satisfied with riches. But bhe never asks, “For whom do I toil and deprive myself of cgood?” This also is vanity and a 2grave misfortune. The Value of a Friend 9 Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor. 4 aRom. 12:15 5 aJoel 2:16; 1 Cor. 7:5 7 aAmos 5:13 bProv. 25:11 8 aProv. 13:5; Luke 14:26 9 aEccl. 1:3 10 aEccl. 1:13 11 aJob 5:9; Eccl. 7:23; 8:17; Rom. 11:33 12 aEccl. 2:3, 24 13 aEccl. 2:24 14 aJames 1:17 15 aEccl. 1:9 1Lit. seeks 2what is pur- sued 16 aEccl. 5:8 1justice 2Wickedness 17 aGen. 18:25; Ps. 96:13; Eccl. 11:9; [Matt. 16:27; Rom. 2:6–10; 2 Cor. 5:10; 2 Thess. 1:6–9] 1desire 19 aPs. 49:12, 20; 73:22; [Eccl. 2:16] 20 aGen. 3:19; Ps. 103:14 21 aEccl.

ve a good reward for their labor. 4 aRom. 12:15 5 aJoel 2:16; 1 Cor. 7:5 7 aAmos 5:13 bProv. 25:11 8 aProv. 13:5; Luke 14:26 9 aEccl. 1:3 10 aEccl. 1:13 11 aJob 5:9; Eccl. 7:23; 8:17; Rom. 11:33 12 aEccl. 2:3, 24 13 aEccl. 2:24 14 aJames 1:17 15 aEccl. 1:9 1Lit. seeks 2what is pur- sued 16 aEccl. 5:8 1justice 2Wickedness 17 aGen. 18:25; Ps. 96:13; Eccl. 11:9; [Matt. 16:27; Rom. 2:6–10; 2 Cor. 5:10; 2 Thess. 1:6–9] 1desire 19 aPs. 49:12, 20; 73:22; [Eccl. 2:16] 20 aGen. 3:19; Ps. 103:14 21 aEccl. 12:7 1LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. Who knows whether the spirit . . . goes upward, and whether . . . goes down- ward to the earth? 22 aEccl. 2:24; 5:18 bEccl. 2:10 cEccl. 6:12; 8:7 1por- tion or lot CHAPTER 4 1 aJob 35:9; Ps. 12:5; Eccl. 3:16; 5:8; Is. 5:7 1Lit. At the hand 2 aJob 3:17, 18 3 aJob 3:11–22; Eccl. 6:3; Luke 23:29 5 aProv. 6:10; 24:33 6 aProv. 15:16, 17; 16:8 8 aProv. 27:20; Eccl. 5:10; [1 John 2:16] bPs. 39:6 cEccl. 2:18–21 1Lit. a second 2Lit. evil task

ECCLESIASTES 4:10 586 10 For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up. 11 Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; But how can one be warm alone? 12 Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken. Popularity Passes Away 13 Better a poor and wise youth Than an old and foolish king who will be admonished no more. 14 For he comes out of prison to be king, Although 1he was born poor in his kingdom. 15 I saw all the living who walk under the sun; They were with the second youth who stands in his place. 16 There was no end of all the people 1over whom he was made king; Yet those who come afterward will not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and grasping for the wind. Fear God, Keep Your Vows 5 Walk aprudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather bthan to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil. 2 Do not be arash with your mouth, And let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven, and you on earth; Therefore let your words bbe few. 3 For a dream comes through much activity, And aa fool’s voice is known by his many words. 4 aWhen you make a vow to God, do not delay to bpay it; For He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed— 5 aBetter not to vow than to vow and not pay. 6 Do not let your amouth cause your flesh to sin, bnor say before the messenger of God that it was an error. Why should God be angry at your 1excuse and destroy the work of your hands? 7 For in the multitude of dreams and many words there is also van- ity. But afear God. The Vanity of Gain and Honor 8 If you asee the oppression of the poor, and the violent 1perversion of justice and righteousness in a province, do not marvel at the mat- ter; for bhigh official watches over high official, and higher officials are over them. 9 Moreover the profit of the land is for all; even the king is served from the field. 10 He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; Nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity. 11 When goods increase, They increase who eat them; So what profit have the owners Except to see them with their eyes? 12 The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, Whether he eats little or much; But the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep. 13 aThere is a severe evil which I have seen under the sun: Riches kept for their owner to his hurt. 14 But those riches perish through 1misfortune; When he begets a son, there is nothing in his hand. 15 aAs he came from his mother’s womb, naked shall he return, To go as he came; And he shall take nothing from his labor Which he may carry away in his hand. 16 And this also is a severe evil— Just exactly as he came, so shall he go. And awhat profit has he bwho has labored for the wind? 17 All his days ahe also eats in darkness, And he has much sorrow and sickness and anger. 18 Here is what I have seen: aIt is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; bfor it is his 1heritage. 19 As for aevery man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his 1heritage and rejoice in his labor—this is the bgift of God. 20 For he will not dwell unduly on 14 1The youth 16 1Lit. to all before whom he was to be CHAPTER 5 1 aEx. 3:5; Is. 1:12 b[1 Sam. 15:22]; Ps. 50:8; Prov. 15:8; 21:27; [Hos. 6:6] 2 aProv. 20:25 bProv. 10:19; Matt. 6:7 3 aProv. 10:19 4 aNum. 30:2; Deut. 23:21–23; Ps. 50:14; 76:11 bPs. 66:13, 14 5 aProv. 20:25; Acts 5:4 6 aProv. 6:2 b1 Cor. 11:10 1Lit. voice 7 a[Eccl. 12:13] 8 aEccl. 3:16 b[Ps. 12:5; 58:11; 82:1] 1wresting 13 aEccl. 6:1, 2 14 1Lit. bad business 15 aJob 1:21; Ps. 49:17; 1 Tim. 6:7 16 aEccl. 1:3 bProv. 11:29 17 aPs. 127:2 18 aEccl. 2:24; 3:12, 13; [1 Tim. 6:17] bEccl.

be CHAPTER 5 1 aEx. 3:5; Is. 1:12 b[1 Sam. 15:22]; Ps. 50:8; Prov. 15:8; 21:27; [Hos. 6:6] 2 aProv. 20:25 bProv. 10:19; Matt. 6:7 3 aProv. 10:19 4 aNum. 30:2; Deut. 23:21–23; Ps. 50:14; 76:11 bPs. 66:13, 14 5 aProv. 20:25; Acts 5:4 6 aProv. 6:2 b1 Cor. 11:10 1Lit. voice 7 a[Eccl. 12:13] 8 aEccl. 3:16 b[Ps. 12:5; 58:11; 82:1] 1wresting 13 aEccl. 6:1, 2 14 1Lit. bad business 15 aJob 1:21; Ps. 49:17; 1 Tim. 6:7 16 aEccl. 1:3 bProv. 11:29 17 aPs. 127:2 18 aEccl. 2:24; 3:12, 13; [1 Tim. 6:17] bEccl. 2:10; 3:22 1Lit. por- tion 19 a[Eccl. 6:2] bEccl. 2:24; 3:13 1Lit. por- tion

587 ECCLESIASTES 7:18 the days of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart. 6 Therea is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men: 2 A man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor, aso that he lacks nothing for himself of all he desires; byet God does not give him power to eat of it, but a for- eigner consumes it. This is vanity, and it is an evil 1affliction. 3 If a man begets a hundred chil- dren and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with goodness, or aindeed he has no burial, I say that ba 1stillborn child is better than he— 4 for it comes in vanity and departs in darkness, and its name is covered with darkness. 5 Though it has not seen the sun or known anything, this has more rest than that man, 6 even if he lives a thousand years twice—but has not seen goodness. Do not all go to one aplace? 7 aAll the labor of man is for his mouth, And yet the soul is not satisfied. 8 For what more has the wise man than the fool? What does the poor man have, Who knows how to walk before the living? 9 Better is 1the asight of the eyes than the wandering of 2desire. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind. 10 Whatever one is, he has been named aalready, For it is known that he is man; bAnd he cannot contend with Him who is mightier than he. 11 Since there are many things that increase vanity, How is man the better? 12 For who knows what is good for man in life, 1all the days of his 2vain life which he passes like aa shadow? bWho can tell a man what will hap- pen after him under the sun? The Value of Practical Wisdom 7 A agood name is better than precious ointment, And the day of death than the day of one’s bbirth; 2 Better to go to the house of mourning Than to go to the house of feasting, For that is the end of all men; And the living will take it to aheart. 3 1Sorrow is better than laughter, aFor by a sad countenance the heart is made 2better. 4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, But the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. 5 aIt is better to 1hear the rebuke of the wise Than for a man to hear the song of fools. 6 aFor like the 1crackling of thorns under a pot, So is the laughter of the fool. This also is vanity. 7 Surely oppression destroys a wise man’s reason, aAnd a bribe 1debases the heart. 8 The end of a thing is better than its beginning; aThe patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. 9 aDo not hasten in your spirit to be angry, For anger rests in the bosom of fools. 10 Do not say, “Why were the former days better than these?” For you do not inquire wisely concerning this. 11 Wisdom is good with an inheritance, And profitable ato those who see the sun. 12 For wisdom is 1a adefense as money is a defense, But the 2excellence of knowledge is that wisdom gives blife to those who have it. 13 Consider the work of God; For awho can make straight what He has made crooked? 14 aIn the day of prosperity be joyful, But in the day of adversity consider: Surely God has appointed the one 1as well as the other, So that man can find out nothing that will come after him. 15 I have seen everything in my days of vanity: aThere is a just man who perishes in his righteousness, And there is a wicked man who prolongs life in his wickedness. 16 aDo not be overly righteous, bNor be overly wise: Why should you destroy yourself? 17 Do not be overly wicked, Nor be foolish: aWhy should you die before your time? 18 It is good that you grasp this, CHAPTER 6 1 aEccl. 5:13 2 aJob 21:10; Ps. 17:14; 73:7 bLuke 12:20 1disease 3 a2 Kin. 9:35; Is. 14:19, 20; Jer. 22:19 bJob 3:16; Ps. 58:8; Eccl. 4:3 1Or miscarriage 6 aEccl. 2:14, 15 7 aProv. 16:26 9 aEccl. 11:9 1What the eyes see 2Lit. soul 10 aEccl. 1:9; 3:15 bJob 9:32; Is. 45:9; Jer. 49:19 12 aPs. 102:11; James 4:14 bPs. 39:6; Eccl. 3:22 1Lit. the number of the days 2futile CHAPTER 7 1 aProv. 22:1 bEccl. 4:2 2 a[Ps. 90:12] 3 a[2 Cor.

you die before your time? 18 It is good that you grasp this, CHAPTER 6 1 aEccl. 5:13 2 aJob 21:10; Ps. 17:14; 73:7 bLuke 12:20 1disease 3 a2 Kin. 9:35; Is. 14:19, 20; Jer. 22:19 bJob 3:16; Ps. 58:8; Eccl. 4:3 1Or miscarriage 6 aEccl. 2:14, 15 7 aProv. 16:26 9 aEccl. 11:9 1What the eyes see 2Lit. soul 10 aEccl. 1:9; 3:15 bJob 9:32; Is. 45:9; Jer. 49:19 12 aPs. 102:11; James 4:14 bPs. 39:6; Eccl. 3:22 1Lit. the number of the days 2futile CHAPTER 7 1 aProv. 22:1 bEccl. 4:2 2 a[Ps. 90:12] 3 a[2 Cor. 7:10] 1Vexation or Grief 2well or pleasing 5 aPs. 141:5; [Prov. 13:18; 15:31, 32] 1listen to 6 aEccl. 2:2 1Lit. sound 7 aEx. 23:8; Deut. 16:19; [Prov. 17:8, 23] 1destroys 8 aProv. 14:29; Gal. 5:22; Eph. 4:2 9 aProv. 14:17; James 1:19 11 aEccl. 11:7 12 aEccl. 9:18 bProv. 3:18 1A protective shade, lit. shadow 2ad- vantage or profit 13 aJob 12:14 14 aDeut. 28:47 1alongside 15 aEccl. 8:12–14 16 aProv. 25:16; Phil. 3:6 bRom. 12:3 17 aJob 15:32; Ps. 55:23

ECCLESIASTES 7:19 588 And also not remove your hand from the other; For he who afears God will 1escape them all. 19 aWisdom strengthens the wise More than ten rulers of the city. 20 aFor there is not a just man on earth who does good And does not sin. 21 Also do not take to heart everything people say, Lest you hear your servant cursing you. 22 For many times, also, your own heart has known That even you have cursed others. 23 All this I have 1proved by wisdom. aI said, “I will be wise”; But it was far from me. 24 aAs for that which is far off and bexceedingly deep, Who can find it out? 25 aI applied my heart to know, To search and seek out wisdom and the reason of things, To know the wickedness of folly, Even of foolishness and madness. 26 aAnd I find more bitter than death The woman whose heart is snares and nets, Whose hands are fetters. 1He who pleases God shall escape from her, But the sinner shall be trapped by her. 27 “Here is what I have found,” says athe Preacher, “Adding one thing to the other to find out the reason, 28 Which my soul still seeks but I cannot find: aOne man among a thousand I have found, But a woman among all these I have not found. 29 Truly, this only I have found: aThat God made man upright, But bthey have sought out many schemes.” 8 Who is like a wise man? And who knows the interpretation of a thing? aA man’s wisdom makes his face shine, And bthe 1sternness of his face is changed. Obey Authorities for God’s Sake 2 I say, “Keep the king’s com- mandment afor the sake of your oath to God. 3 a“Do not be hasty to go from his presence. Do not take your stand for an evil thing, for he does whatever pleases him.” 4 Where the word of a king is, there is power; And awho may say to him, “What are you doing?” 5 He who keeps his command will experience nothing harmful; And a wise man’s heart 1discerns both time and judgment, 6 Because afor every matter there is a time and judgment, Though the misery of man 1increases greatly. 7 aFor he does not know what will happen; So who can tell him when it will occur? 8 aNo one has power over the spirit to retain the spirit, And no one has power in the day of death. There is bno release from that war, And wickedness will not deliver those who are given to it. 9 All this I have seen, and applied my heart to every work that is done under the sun: There is a time in which one man rules over another to his own hurt. Death Comes to All 10 Then I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of holiness, and they were aforgotten1 in the city where they had so done. This also is vanity. 11 aBecause the sentence against an evil work is not executed speed- ily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. 12 aThough a sinner does evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet I surely know that bit will be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him. 13 But it will not be well with the wicked; nor will he prolong his days, which are as a shadow, because he does not fear before God. 14 There is a vanity which occurs on earth, that there are just men to whom it ahappens according to the work of the wicked; again, there are wicked men to whom it happens according to the work of the brigh- teous. I said that this also is vanity. 15 aSo I commended enjoyment, because a man has nothing better under the sun than to eat, drink, and be merry; for this will remain with him in his labor all the days of his life which God gives him under the sun. 16 When I applied my heart to know wisdom and to see the busi- ness that is done on earth, even 18 aEccl. 3:14; 5:7; 8:12, 13 1Lit. come forth from all of them 19 aProv. 21:22; Eccl. 9:13–18 20 a1 Kin. 8:46; 2 Chr. 6:36; Prov. 20:9; Rom. 3:23; 1 John 1:8 23 aRom. 1:22 1tested 24 aJob 28:12; 1 Tim. 6:16 bRom. 11:33 25 aEccl. 1:17 26 aProv. 5:3, 4 1Lit. He who is good before God 27 aEccl. 1:1, 2 28 aJob 33:23 29 aGen. 1:27 bGen. 3:6, 7 CHAPTER 8 1 aProv. 4:8, 9; Acts 6:15 bDeut. 28:50 1Lit.

e sun. 16 When I applied my heart to know wisdom and to see the busi- ness that is done on earth, even 18 aEccl. 3:14; 5:7; 8:12, 13 1Lit. come forth from all of them 19 aProv. 21:22; Eccl. 9:13–18 20 a1 Kin. 8:46; 2 Chr. 6:36; Prov. 20:9; Rom. 3:23; 1 John 1:8 23 aRom. 1:22 1tested 24 aJob 28:12; 1 Tim. 6:16 bRom. 11:33 25 aEccl. 1:17 26 aProv. 5:3, 4 1Lit. He who is good before God 27 aEccl. 1:1, 2 28 aJob 33:23 29 aGen. 1:27 bGen. 3:6, 7 CHAPTER 8 1 aProv. 4:8, 9; Acts 6:15 bDeut. 28:50 1Lit. strength 2 aEx. 22:11; 2 Sam. 21:7; 1 Chr. 29:24; Ezek. 17:18; [Rom. 13:5] 3 aEccl. 10:4 4 a1 Sam. 13:11, 13; Job 34:18 5 1Lit. knows 6 aEccl. 3:1, 17 1is great upon him 7 aProv. 24:22; Eccl. 6:12 8 aPs. 49:6, 7; Job 14:5 bDeut. 20:5–8 10 aEccl. 2:16; 9:5 1Some Heb. mss., LXX, Vg. praised 11 aPs. 10:6; 50:21; Is. 26:10 12 aIs. 65:20; [Rom. 2:5–7] b[Deut. 4:40; Ps. 37:11, 18, 19; Prov. 1:32, 33; Is. 3:10; Matt. 25:34, 41] 14 aPs. 73:14 bEccl. 2:14; 7:15; 9:1–3 15 aEccl. 2:24

589 ECCLESIASTES 10:5 though one sees no sleep day or night, 17 then I saw all the work of God, that aa man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. For though a man labors to discover it, yet he will not find it; moreover, though a wise man attempts to know it, he will not be able to find it. 9 For I 1considered all this in my heart, so that I could declare it all: athat the righteous and the wise and their works are in the hand of God. People know neither love nor hatred by anything they see before them. 2 aAll things come alike to all: One event happens to the righteous and the wicked; To the 1good, the clean, and the unclean; To him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As is the good, so is the sinner; He who takes an oath as he who fears an oath. 3 This is an evil in all that is done under the sun: that one thing hap- pens to all. Truly the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil; madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. 4 But for him who is joined to all the living there is hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. 5 For the living know that they will die; But athe dead know nothing, And they have no more reward, For bthe memory of them is forgotten. 6 Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished; Nevermore will they have a share In anything done under the sun. 7 Go, aeat your bread with joy, And drink your wine with a merry heart; For God has already accepted your works. 8 Let your garments always be white, And let your head lack no oil. 9 1Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life which He has given you un- der the sun, all your days of vanity; afor that is your portion in life, and in the labor which you perform un- der the sun. 10 aWhatever your hand finds to do, do it with your bmight; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going. 11 I returned aand saw under the sun that— The race is not to the swift, Nor the battle to the strong, Nor bread to the wise, Nor riches to men of understanding, Nor favor to men of skill; But time and bchance happen to them all. 12 For aman also does not know his time: Like fish taken in a cruel net, Like birds caught in a snare, So the sons of men are bsnared in an evil time, When it falls suddenly upon them. Wisdom Superior to Folly 13 This wisdom I have also seen under the sun, and it seemed great to me: 14 aThere was a little city with few men in it; and a great king came against it, besieged it, and built great 1snares around it. 15 Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wis- dom delivered the city. Yet no one remembered that same poor man. 16 Then I said: “Wisdom is better than astrength. Nevertheless bthe poor man’s wisdom is despised, And his words are not heard. 17 Words of the wise, spoken quietly, should be heard Rather than the shout of a ruler of fools. 18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war; But aone sinner destroys much good.” 10 Dead1 flies 2putrefy the perfumer’s ointment, And cause it to give off a foul odor; So does a little folly to one respected for wisdom and honor. 2 A wise man’s heart is at his right hand, But a fool’s heart at his left. 3 Even when a fool walks along the way, He lacks wisdom, aAnd he shows everyone that he is a fool. 4 If the spirit of the ruler rises against you, aDo not leave your post; For bconciliation1 pacifies great offenses. 5 There is an evil I have seen under the sun, 17 aJob 5:9; Ps. 73:16; Eccl. 3:11; Rom. 11:33 CHAPTER 9 1 aDeut. 33:3; Job 12:10; Eccl. 8:14 1Lit. put 2 aGen. 3:17–19; Job 21:7; Ps. 73:3, 12, 13; Mal. 3:15 1LXX, Syr., Vg. good and bad, 5 aJob 14:21; Is. 63:16 bJob 7:8–10; Eccl. 1:11; 2:16; 8:10; Is. 26:14 7 aEccl. 8:15 9 aEccl. 2:10 1Lit. See life 10 a[Col. 3:17] bRom. 12:11; Col. 3:23 11 aJer. 9:23; Amos 2:14, 15 b1 Sam. 6:9 12 aEccl. 8:7 bProv. 29:6; Luke 12:20, 39; 17:26; 1 Thess. 5:3 14 a2 Sam. 20:16–22 1LXX, Syr., Vg.

een under the sun, 17 aJob 5:9; Ps. 73:16; Eccl. 3:11; Rom. 11:33 CHAPTER 9 1 aDeut. 33:3; Job 12:10; Eccl. 8:14 1Lit. put 2 aGen. 3:17–19; Job 21:7; Ps. 73:3, 12, 13; Mal. 3:15 1LXX, Syr., Vg. good and bad, 5 aJob 14:21; Is. 63:16 bJob 7:8–10; Eccl. 1:11; 2:16; 8:10; Is. 26:14 7 aEccl. 8:15 9 aEccl. 2:10 1Lit. See life 10 a[Col. 3:17] bRom. 12:11; Col. 3:23 11 aJer. 9:23; Amos 2:14, 15 b1 Sam. 6:9 12 aEccl. 8:7 bProv. 29:6; Luke 12:20, 39; 17:26; 1 Thess. 5:3 14 a2 Sam. 20:16–22 1LXX, Syr., Vg. bulwarks 16 aEccl. 7:12, 19 bMark 6:2, 3 18 aJosh. 7:1–26; 2 Kin. 21:2–17 CHAPTER 10 1 1Lit. Flies of death 2Tg., Vg. omit pu- trefy 3 aProv. 13:16; 18:2 4 aEccl. 8:3 b1 Sam. 25:24–33; Prov. 25:15 1Lit. healing, health

ECCLESIASTES 10:6 590 As an error proceeding from the ruler: 6 aFolly is set in 1great dignity, While the rich sit in a lowly place. 7 I have seen servants aon horses, While princes walk on the ground like servants. 8 aHe who digs a pit will fall into it, And whoever breaks through a wall will be bitten by a serpent. 9 He who quarries stones may be hurt by them, And he who splits wood may be endangered by it. 10 If the ax is dull, And one does not sharpen the edge, Then he must use more strength; But wisdom 1brings success. 11 A serpent may bite awhen it is not charmed; The 1babbler is no different. 12 aThe words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious, But bthe lips of a fool shall swallow him up; 13 The words of his mouth begin with foolishness, And the end of his talk is raving madness. 14 aA fool also multiplies words. No man knows what is to be; Who can tell him bwhat will be after him? 15 The labor of fools wearies them, For they do not even know how to go to the city! 16 aWoe to you, O land, when your king is a child, And your princes feast in the morning! 17 Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobles, And your aprinces feast at the proper time— For strength and not for drunkenness! 18 Because of laziness the 1building decays, And athrough idleness of hands the house leaks. 19 A feast is made for laughter, And awine makes merry; But money answers everything. 20 aDo not curse the king, even in your thought; Do not curse the rich, even in your bedroom; For a bird of the air may carry your voice, And a bird in flight may tell the matter. The Value of Diligence 11Cast your bread aupon the waters, bFor you will find it after many days. 2 aGive a serving bto seven, and also to eight, cFor you do not know what evil will be on the earth. 3 If the clouds are full of rain, They empty themselves upon the earth; And if a tree falls to the south or the north, In the place where the tree falls, there it shall lie. 4 He who observes the wind will not sow, And he who regards the clouds will not reap. 5 As ayou do not know what is the way of the 1wind, bOr how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child, So you do not know the works of God who makes everything. 6 In the morning sow your seed, And in the evening do not withhold your hand; For you do not know which will prosper, Either this or that, Or whether both alike will be good. 7 Truly the light is sweet, And it is pleasant for the eyes ato behold the sun; 8 But if a man lives many years And arejoices in them all, Yet let him bremember the days of darkness, For they will be many. All that is coming is vanity. Seek God in Early Life 9 Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, And let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth; aWalk in the 1ways of your heart, And 2in the sight of your eyes; But know that for all these bGod will bring you into judgment. 10 Therefore remove 1sorrow from your heart, And aput away evil from your flesh, bFor childhood and 2youth are vanity. 12 Remembera now your Creator in the days of your youth, Before the 1difficult days come, 6 aEsth. 3:1 1exalted posi- tions 7 aProv. 19:10; 30:22 8 aPs. 7:15; Prov. 26:27 10 1Lit. is a successful ad- vantage 11 aPs. 58:4, 5; Jer. 8:17 1Lit. master of the tongue 12 aProv. 10:32; Luke 4:22 bProv. 10:14; Eccl. 4:5 14 a[Prov. 15:2]; Eccl. 5:3 bEccl. 3:22; 8:7 16 aIs. 3:4, 5; 5:11 17 aProv. 31:4; Is. 5:11 18 aProv. 24:30–34 1Lit. rafters sink 19 aJudg. 9:13; Ps. 104:15; Eccl. 2:3 20 aEx. 22:28; Acts 23:5 CHAPTER 11 1 aIs. 32:20 b[Deut. 15:10; Prov. 19:17; Matt. 10:42; 2 Cor. 9:8; Gal. 6:9, 10; Heb. 6:10] 2 aPs. 112:9; Matt. 5:42; Luke 6:30; [1 Tim. 6:18, 19] bMic. 5:5 cEph. 5:16 5 aJohn 3:8 bPs. 139:14 1Or spirit 7 aEccl. 7:11 8 aEccl. 9:7 bEccl. 12:1 9 aNum. 15:39; Job 31:7; Eccl. 2:10 bEccl. 3:17; 12:14; [Rom. 14:10] 1Impulses 2As you see to be best 10 a2 Cor. 7:1; 2 Tim. 2:22 bPs. 39:5 1vex- ation 2Prime of life CHAPTER 12 1 a2 Chr. 34:3; Prov. 22:6; Lam. 3:27 1Lit. evil

591 ECCLESIASTES 12:14 And the years draw near bwhen you say, “I have no pleasure in them”: 2 While the sun and the light, The moon and the stars, Are not darkened, And the clouds do not return after the rain; 3 In the day when the keepers of the house tremble, And the strong men bow down; When the grinders cease because they are few, And those that look through the windows grow dim; 4 When the doors are shut in the streets, And the sound of grinding is low; When one rises up at the sound of a bird, And all athe daughters of music are brought low. 5 Also they are afraid of height, And of terrors in the way; When the almond tree blossoms, The grasshopper is a burden, And desire fails. For man goes to ahis eternal home, And bthe mourners go about the streets. 6 Remember your Creator before the silver cord is 1loosed, Or the golden bowl is broken, Or the pitcher shattered at the fountain, Or the wheel broken at the well. 7 aThen the dust will return to the earth as it was, bAnd the spirit will return to God cwho gave it. 8 “Vanitya of vanities,” says the Preacher, “All is vanity.” The Whole Duty of Man 9 And moreover, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yes, he pon- dered and sought out and aset1 in order many proverbs. 10 The Preacher sought to find 1acceptable words; and what was written was upright—words of truth. 11 The words of the wise are like goads, and the words of 1scholars are like well-driven nails, given by one Shepherd. 12 And further, my son, be admon- ished by these. Of making many books there is no end, and amuch study is wearisome to the flesh. 13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: aFear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all. 14 For aGod will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil. 1 b2 Sam. 19:35 4 a2 Sam. 19:35 5 aJob 17:13 bGen. 50:10; Jer. 9:17 6 1So with Qr., Tg.; Kt. re- moved; LXX, Vg. broken 7 aGen. 3:19; Job 34:15; Ps. 90:3 bEccl. 3:21 cNum. 16:22; 27:16; Job 34:14; Is. 57:16; Zech. 12:1 8 aPs. 62:9 9 a1 Kin. 4:32 1arranged 10 1Lit. de- lightful 11 1Lit. mas- ters of assemblies 12 aEccl. 1:18 13 a[Deut. 6:2; 10:12]; Mic. 6:8 14 aEccl. 11:9; Matt. 12:36; [Acts 17:30, 31; Rom. 2:16; 1 Cor. 4:5; 2 Cor. 5:10] The SONG OF SOLOMON THE Song of Solomon is a love song written by Solomon and abounding in metaphors and oriental imagery. Historically, it depicts the wooing and wed- ding of a shepherdess by King Solomon, and the joys and heartaches of wedded love. Allegorically, it pictures Israel as God’s betrothed bride (Hos. 2:19, 20), and the church as the bride of Christ. As human life finds its highest fulfillment in the love of man and woman, so spiritual life finds its highest fulfillment in the love of God for His people and Christ for His church. The book is arranged like scenes in a drama with three main speakers: the bride (Shulamite), the king (Solomon), and a chorus (daughters of Jerusalem). The Hebrew title Shir Hashirim comes from 1:1, “The song of songs.” This is in the superlative and speaks of Solomon’s most exquisite song. The Greek title Asma Asmaton and the Latin Canticum Canticorum also mean “Song of Songs” or “The Best Song.” The name Canticles (“Songs”) is derived from the Latin title. Because Solomon is mentioned in 1:1, the book is also known as the Song of Solomon.

SONG OF SOLOMON 1:1 592 THE asong of songs, which is Sol- omon’s. The Banquet THE 1SHULAMITE 2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth— aFor 2your love is better than wine. 3 Because of the fragrance of your good ointments, Your name is ointment poured forth; Therefore the virgins love you. 4 aDraw me away! THE DAUGHTERS OF JERUSALEM bWe will run after 1you. THE SHULAMITE The king chas brought me into his chambers. THE DAUGHTERS OF JERUSALEM We will be glad and rejoice in 2you. We will remember 1your love more than wine. THE SHULAMITE Rightly do they love you. 5 I am dark, but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, Like the tents of Kedar, Like the curtains of Solomon. 6 Do not look upon me, because I am dark, Because the sun has 1tanned me. My mother’s sons were angry with me; They made me the keeper of the vineyards, But my own avineyard I have not kept. (TO HER BELOVED) 7 Tell me, O you whom I love, Where you feed your flock, Where you make it rest at noon. For why should I be as one who 1veils herself By the flocks of your companions? THE BELOVED 8 If you do not know, aO fairest among women, 1Follow in the footsteps of the flock, And feed your little goats Beside the shepherds’ tents. 9 I have compared you, amy love, bTo my filly among Pharaoh’s chariots. 10 aYour cheeks are lovely with ornaments, Your neck with chains of gold. THE DAUGHTERS OF JERUSALEM 11 We will make 1you ornaments of gold With studs of silver. THE SHULAMITE 12 While the king is at his table, My 1spikenard sends forth its fragrance. 13 A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me, That lies all night between my breasts. 14 My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blooms In the vineyards of En Gedi. THE BELOVED 15 aBehold, you are fair, 1my love! Behold, you are fair! You have dove’s eyes. THE SHULAMITE 16 Behold, you are ahandsome, my beloved! Yes, pleasant! Also our 1bed is green. 17 The beams of our houses are cedar, And our rafters of fir. 2 I am the rose of Sharon, And the lily of the valleys. THE BELOVED 2 Like a lily among thorns, So is my love among the daughters. THE SHULAMITE 3 Like an apple tree among the trees of the woods, So is my beloved among the sons. I sat down in his shade with great delight, And ahis fruit was sweet to my taste. THE SHULAMITE TO THE DAUGHTERS OF JERUSALEM 4 He brought me to the 1banqueting house, And his banner over me was love. 5 Sustain me with cakes of raisins, Refresh me with apples, For I am lovesick. 6 aHis left hand is under my head, And his right hand embraces me. 7 aI 1charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, By the gazelles or by the does of the field, Do not stir up nor awaken love Until it pleases. CHAPTER 1 1 a1 Kin. 4:32 2 aSong 4:10 1A Palestinian young woman, Song 6:13. The speaker and audience are identified ac- cording to the number, gen- der, and person of the Hebrew words. Occa- sionally the identity is not certain. 1Masc. sing.: the Beloved 4 aHos. 11:4; John 6:44; 12:32 bPhil. 3:12–14 cPs. 45:14, 15; John 14:2; Eph. 2:6 1Masc. sing.: the Beloved 2Fem. sing.: the Shulamite 6 aSong 8:11, 12 1Lit. looked upon me 7 1LXX, Syr., Vg. wanders 8 aSong 5:9 1Lit. Go out 9 aSong 2:2, 10, 13; 4:1, 7; John 15:14 b2 Chr. 1:16 10 aEzek. 16:11 11 1Fem. sing.: the Shulamite 12 1perfume 15 aSong 4:1; 5:12 1my com- panion, friend 16 aSong 5:10–16 1couch CHAPTER 2 3 aSong 4:16; Rev. 22:1, 2 4 1Lit. house of wine 6 aSong 8:3 7 aSong 3:5; 8:4 1adjure

593 SONG OF SOLOMON 4:1 The Beloved’s Request THE SHULAMITE 8 The voice of my beloved! Behold, he comes Leaping upon the mountains, Skipping upon the hills. 9 aMy beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. Behold, he stands behind our wall; He is looking through the windows, Gazing through the lattice. 10 My beloved spoke, and said to me: “Rise up, my love, my fair one, And come away. 11 For lo, the winter is past, The rain is over and gone. 12 The flowers appear on the earth; The time of singing has come, And the voice of the turtledove Is heard in our land. 13 The fig tree puts forth her green figs, And the vines with the tender grapes Give a good smell. Rise up, my love, my fair one, And come away! 14 “O my adove, in the clefts of the rock, In the secret places of the cliff, Let me see your 1face, bLet me hear your voice; For your voice is sweet, And your face is lovely.” HER BROTHERS 15 Catch us athe foxes, The little foxes that spoil the vines, For our vines have tender grapes. THE SHULAMITE 16 aMy beloved is mine, and I am his. He feeds his flock among the lilies. (TO HER BELOVED) 17 aUntil the day breaks And the shadows flee away, Turn, my beloved, And be blike a gazelle Or a young stag Upon the mountains of 1Bether. A Troubled Night THE SHULAMITE 3 By anight on my bed I sought the one I love; I sought him, but I did not find him. 2 “I will rise now,” I said, “And go about the city; In the streets and in the squares I will seek the one I love.” I sought him, but I did not find him. 3 aThe watchmen who go about the city found me; I said, “Have you seen the one I love?” 4 Scarcely had I passed by them, When I found the one I love. I held him and would not let him go, Until I had brought him to the ahouse of my mother, And into the 1chamber of her who conceived me. 5 aI 1charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, By the gazelles or by the does of the field, Do not stir up nor awaken love Until it pleases. The Coming of Solomon THE SHULAMITE 6 aWho is this coming out of the wilderness Like pillars of smoke, Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, With all the merchant’s fragrant powders? 7 Behold, it is Solomon’s couch, With sixty valiant men around it, Of the valiant of Israel. 8 They all hold swords, Being expert in war. Every man has his sword on his thigh Because of fear in the night. 9 Of the wood of Lebanon Solomon the King Made himself a 1palanquin: 10 He made its pillars of silver, Its support of gold, Its seat of purple, Its interior paved with love By the daughters of Jerusalem. 11 Go forth, O daughters of Zion, And see King Solomon with the crown With which his mother crowned him On the day of his wedding, The day of the gladness of his heart. THE BELOVED 4 Behold, ayou are fair, my love! Behold, you are fair! You have dove’s eyes behind your veil. Your hair is like a bflock of goats, Going down from Mount Gilead. 9 aProv. 6:5; Song 2:17 14 aSong 5:2 bSong 8:13 1Lit. appear- ance 15 aPs. 80:13; Ezek. 13:4; Luke 13:32 16 aSong 6:3 17 aSong 4:6 bSong 8:14 1Lit. Separa- tion CHAPTER 3 1 aIs. 26:9 3 aSong 5:7; Is. 21:6–8, 11, 12 4 aSong 8:2 1room 5 aSong 2:7; 8:4 1adjure 6 aSong 8:5 9 1A portable enclosed chair CHAPTER 4 1 aSong 1:15; 5:12 bSong 6:5

SONG OF SOLOMON 4:2 594 2 aYour teeth are like a flock of shorn sheep Which have come up from the washing, Every one of which bears twins, And none is 1barren among them. 3 Your lips are like a strand of scarlet, And your mouth is lovely. aYour temples behind your veil Are like a piece of pomegranate. 4 aYour neck is like the tower of David, Built bfor an armory, On which hang a thousand 1bucklers, All shields of mighty men. 5 aYour two breasts are like two fawns, Twins of a gazelle, Which feed among the lilies. 6 aUntil the day breaks And the shadows flee away, I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh And to the hill of frankincense. 7 aYou are all fair, my love, And there is no spot in you. 8 Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, With me from Lebanon. Look from the top of Amana, From the top of Senir aand Hermon, From the lions’ dens, From the mountains of the leopards. 9 You have ravished my heart, My sister, my spouse; You have ravished my heart With one look of your eyes, With one link of your necklace. 10 How fair is your love, My sister, my spouse! aHow much better than wine is your love, And the 1scent of your perfumes Than all spices! 11 Your lips, O my spouse, Drip as the honeycomb; aHoney and milk are under your tongue; And the fragrance of your garments Is blike the fragrance of Lebanon. 12 A garden 1enclosed Is my sister, my spouse, A spring shut up, A fountain sealed. 13 Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates With pleasant fruits, Fragrant henna with spikenard, 14 Spikenard and saffron, Calamus and cinnamon, With all trees of frankincense, Myrrh and aloes, With all the chief spices— 15 A fountain of gardens, A well of aliving waters, And streams from Lebanon. THE SHULAMITE 16 Awake, O north wind, And come, O south! Blow upon my garden, That its spices may flow out. aLet my beloved come to his garden And eat its pleasant bfruits. THE BELOVED 5 I ahave come to my garden, my bsister, my spouse; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; cI have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk. (TO HIS FRIENDS) Eat, O dfriends! Drink, yes, drink deeply, O beloved ones! The Shulamite’s Troubled Evening THE SHULAMITE 2 I sleep, but my heart is awake; It is the voice of my beloved! aHe knocks, saying, “Open for me, my sister, 1my love, My dove, my perfect one; For my head is covered with dew, My 2locks with the drops of the night.” 3 I have taken off my robe; How can I put it on again? I have washed my feet; How can I 1defile them? 4 My beloved put his hand By the 1latch of the door, And my heart yearned for him. 5 I arose to open for my beloved, And my hands dripped with myrrh, My fingers with liquid myrrh, On the handles of the lock. 6 I opened for my beloved, But my beloved had turned away and was gone. My 1heart leaped up when he spoke. aI sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer. 7 aThe watchmen who went about the city found me. They struck me, they wounded me; 2 aSong 6:6 1bereaved 3 aSong 6:7 4 aSong 7:4 bNeh. 3:19 1Small shields 5 aProv. 5:19; Song 7:3 6 aSong 2:17 7 aSong 1:15; Eph. 5:27 8 aDeut. 3:9; 1 Chr. 5:23; Ezek. 27:5 10 aSong 1:2, 4 1fragrance 11 aProv. 24:13, 14; Song 5:1 bGen. 27:27; Hos. 14:6, 7 12 1locked or barred 15 aZech. 14:8; John 4:10; 7:38 16 aSong 5:1 bSong 7:13 CHAPTER 5 1 aSong 4:16 bSong 4:9 cSong 4:11 dLuke 15:7, 10; John 3:29 2 aRev. 3:20 1my compan- ion, friend 2curls or hair 3 1dirty 4 1opening 6 aSong 3:1 1Lit. soul 7 aSong 3:3

595 SONG OF SOLOMON 7:1 The keepers of the walls Took my veil away from me. 8 I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, If you find my beloved, That you tell him I am lovesick! THE DAUGHTERS OF JERUSALEM 9 What is your beloved More than another beloved, aO fairest among women? What is your beloved More than another beloved, That you so 1charge us? THE SHULAMITE 10 My beloved is white and ruddy, 1Chief among ten thousand. 11 His head is like the finest gold; His locks are wavy, And black as a raven. 12 aHis eyes are like doves By the rivers of waters, Washed with milk, And 1fitly set. 13 His cheeks are like a bed of spices, Banks of scented herbs. His lips are lilies, Dripping liquid myrrh. 14 His hands are rods of gold Set with beryl. His body is carved ivory Inlaid with sapphires. 15 His legs are pillars of marble Set on bases of fine gold. His countenance is like Lebanon, Excellent as the cedars. 16 His mouth is most sweet, Yes, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, And this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem! THE DAUGHTERS OF JERUSALEM 6 Where has your beloved gone, aO fairest among women? Where has your beloved turned aside, That we may seek him with you? THE SHULAMITE 2 My beloved has gone to his agarden, To the beds of spices, To feed his flock in the gardens, And to gather lilies. 3 aI am my beloved’s, And my beloved is mine. He feeds his flock among the lilies. Praise of the Shulamite’s Beauty THE BELOVED 4 O my love, you are as beautiful as Tirzah, Lovely as Jerusalem, Awesome as an army with banners! 5 Turn your eyes away from me, For they have 1overcome me. Your hair is alike a flock of goats Going down from Gilead. 6 aYour teeth are like a flock of sheep Which have come up from the washing; Every one bears twins, And none is 1barren among them. 7 aLike a piece of pomegranate Are your temples behind your veil. 8 There are sixty queens And eighty concubines, And avirgins without number. 9 My dove, my aperfect one, Is the only one, The only one of her mother, The favorite of the one who bore her. The daughters saw her And called her blessed, The queens and the concubines, And they praised her. 10 Who is she who looks forth as the morning, Fair as the moon, Clear as the sun, aAwesome as an army with banners? THE SHULAMITE 11 I went down to the garden of nuts To see the verdure of the valley, aTo see whether the vine had budded And the pomegranates had bloomed. 12 Before I was even aware, My soul had made me As the chariots of 1my noble people. THE BELOVED AND HIS FRIENDS 13 Return, return, O Shulamite; Return, return, that we may look upon you! THE SHULAMITE What would you see in the Shulamite— As it were, the dance of 1the two camps? Expressions of Praise THE BELOVED 7 How beautiful are your feet in sandals, aO prince’s daughter! The curves of your thighs are like jewels, 9 aSong 1:8; 6:1 1adjure 10 1Distin- guished 12 aSong 1:15; 4:1 1sitting in a setting CHAPTER 6 1 aSong 1:8; 5:9 2 aSong 4:16; 5:1 3 aSong 2:16; 7:10 5 aSong 4:1 1overwhelmed 6 aSong 4:2 1bereaved 7 aSong 4:3 8 aSong 1:3 9 aSong 2:14; 5:2 10 aSong 6:4 11 aSong 7:12 12 1Heb. Ammi Nadib 13 1Heb. Mahanaim CHAPTER 7 1 aPs. 45:13

SONG OF SOLOMON 7:2 596 The work of the hands of a skillful workman. 2 Your navel is a rounded goblet; It lacks no 1blended beverage. Your waist is a heap of wheat Set about with lilies. 3 aYour two breasts are like two fawns, Twins of a gazelle. 4 aYour neck is like an ivory tower, Your eyes like the pools in Heshbon By the gate of Bath Rabbim. Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon Which looks toward Damascus. 5 Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel, And the hair of your head is like purple; A king is held captive by your tresses. 6 How fair and how pleasant you are, O love, with your delights! 7 This stature of yours is like a palm tree, And your breasts like its clusters. 8 I said, “I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of its branches.” Let now your breasts be like clusters of the vine, The fragrance of your 1breath like apples, 9 And the roof of your mouth like the best wine. THE SHULAMITE The wine goes down smoothly for my beloved, 1Moving gently the 2lips of sleepers. 10 aI am my beloved’s, And bhis desire is toward me. 11 Come, my beloved, Let us go forth to the field; Let us lodge in the villages. 12 Let us get up early to the vineyards; Let us asee if the vine has budded, Whether the grape blossoms are open, And the pomegranates are in bloom. There I will give you my love. 13 The amandrakes give off a fragrance, And at our gates bare pleasant fruits, All manner, new and old, Which I have laid up for you, my beloved. 8 Oh, that you were like my brother, Who nursed at my mother’s breasts! If I should find you outside, I would kiss you; I would not be despised. 2 I would lead you and bring you Into the ahouse of my mother, She who used to instruct me. I would cause you to drink of bspiced wine, Of the juice of my pomegranate. (TO THE DAUGHTERS OF JERUSALEM) 3 aHis left hand is under my head, And his right hand embraces me. 4 aI charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, Do not stir up nor awaken love Until it pleases. Love Renewed in Lebanon A RELATIVE 5 aWho is this coming up from the wilderness, Leaning upon her beloved? I awakened you under the apple tree. There your mother brought you forth; There she who bore you brought you forth. THE SHULAMITE TO HER BELOVED 6 aSet me as a seal upon your heart, As a seal upon your arm; For love is as strong as death, bJealousy as 1cruel as 2the grave; Its flames are flames of fire, 3A most vehement flame. 7 Many waters cannot quench love, Nor can the floods drown it. aIf a man would give for love All the wealth of his house, It would be utterly despised. THE SHULAMITE’S BROTHERS 8 aWe have a little sister, And she has no breasts. What shall we do for our sister In the day when she is spoken for? 9 If she is a wall, We will build upon her A battlement of silver; And if she is a door, We will enclose her With boards of cedar. THE SHULAMITE 10 I am a wall, And my breasts like towers; Then I became in his eyes As one who found peace. 11 Solomon had a vineyard at Baal Hamon; 2 1Lit. mixed or spiced drink 3 aSong 4:5 4 aSong 4:4 8 1Lit. nose 9 1Gliding over 2LXX, Syr., Vg. lips and teeth. 10 aSong 2:16; 6:3 bPs. 45:11 12 aSong 6:11 13 aGen. 30:14 bSong 2:3; 4:13, 16; Matt. 13:52 CHAPTER 8 2 aSong 3:4 bProv. 9:2 3 aSong 2:6 4 aSong 2:7; 3:5 5 aSong 3:6 6 aIs. 49:16; Jer. 22:24; Hag. 2:23 bProv. 6:34, 35 1severe, lit. hard 2Or Sheol 3Lit. A flame of YAH, poetic form of YHWH, the LORD 7 aProv. 6:35 8 aEzek. 23:33

597 ISAIAH 1:9 aHe leased the vineyard to keepers; Everyone was to bring for its fruit A thousand silver coins. (TO SOLOMON) 12 My own vineyard is before me. You, O Solomon, may have a thousand, And those who tend its fruit two hundred. THE BELOVED 13 You who dwell in the gardens, The companions listen for your voice— aLet me hear it! THE SHULAMITE 14 aMake1 haste, my beloved, And bbe like a gazelle Or a young stag On the mountains of spices. 11 aMatt. 21:33 13 aSong 2:14 14 aRev. 22:17, 20 bSong 2:7, 9, 17 1Hurry, lit. Flee The Book of ISAIAH ISAIAH is like a miniature Bible. The first thirty-nine chapters (like the thirty- nine books of the Old Testament) are filled with judgment upon immoral and idolatrous men. Judah has sinned; the surrounding nations have sinned; the whole earth has sinned. Judgment must come, for God cannot allow such blatant sin to go unpunished forever. But the final twenty-seven chapters (like the twenty-seven books of the New Testament) declare a message of hope. The Messiah is coming as a Savior and Sovereign to bear a cross and to wear a crown. Isaiah’s prophetic ministry, spanning the reigns of four kings of Judah, covers at least forty years. Yesha’yahu and its shortened form Yeshaiah mean “Yahweh Is Salvation.” This name is an excellent summary of the contents of the book. The Greek form in the Septuagint is Hesaias, and the Latin form is Esaias or Isaias. THE avision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the bdays of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Heze- kiah, kings of Judah. The Wickedness of Judah 2 aHear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth! For the LORD has spoken: “I have nourished and brought up children, And they have rebelled against Me; 3 aThe ox knows its owner And the donkey its master’s 1crib; But Israel bdoes not know, My people do not 2consider.” 4 Alas, sinful nation, A people 1laden with iniquity, aA 2brood of evildoers, Children who are corrupters! They have forsaken the LORD, They have provoked to anger The Holy One of Israel, They have turned away backward. 5 aWhy should you be stricken again? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick, And the whole heart faints. 6 From the sole of the foot even to the head, There is no soundness in it, But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores; They have not been closed or bound up, Or soothed with ointment. 7 aYour country is desolate, Your cities are burned with fire; Strangers devour your land in your presence; And it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. 8 So the daughter of Zion is left aas a 1booth in a vineyard, As a hut in a garden of cucumbers, bAs a besieged city. 9 aUnless the LORD of hosts Had left to us a very small remnant, CHAPTER 1 1 aNum. 12:6 b2 Chr. 26—32 2 aJer. 2:12 3 aJer. 8:7 bJer. 9:3, 6 1manger or feed trough 2understand 4 aIs. 57:3, 4; Matt. 3:7 1Lit. heavy, weighed down 2off- spring, seed 5 aJer. 5:3 7 aDeut. 28:51, 52; 2 Chr. 36:19 8 aJob 27:18 bJer. 4:17 1shelter 9 a2 Kin. 25:11, 22; Lam. 3:22

ISAIAH 1:10 598 We would have become like bSodom, We would have been made like Gomorrah. 10 Hear the word of the LORD, You rulers aof Sodom; Give ear to the law of our God, You people of Gomorrah: 11 “To what purpose is the multitude of your asacrifices to Me?” Says the LORD. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, Or of lambs or goats. 12 “When you come ato appear before Me, Who has required this from your hand, To trample My courts? 13 Bring no more afutile1 sacrifices; Incense is an abomination to Me. The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and bthe calling of assemblies— I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting. 14 Your aNew Moons and your bappointed feasts My soul hates; They are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them. 15 aWhen you 1spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; bEven though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of 2blood. 16 “Washa yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. bCease to do evil, 17 Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke 1the oppressor; 2Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow. 18 “Come now, and let us areason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are like scarlet, bThey shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool. 19 If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land; 20 But if you refuse and rebel, You shall be devoured by the sword”; aFor the mouth of the LORD has spoken. The Degenerate City 21 aHow the faithful city has become a 1harlot! It was full of justice; Righteousness lodged in it, But now bmurderers. 22 aYour silver has become dross, Your wine mixed with water. 23 aYour princes are rebellious, And bcompanions of thieves; cEveryone loves bribes, And follows after rewards. They ddo not defend the fatherless, Nor does the cause of the widow come before them. 24 Therefore the Lord says, The LORD of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, “Ah, aI will 1rid Myself of My adversaries, And 2take vengeance on My enemies. 25 I will turn My hand against you, And athoroughly1 purge away your dross, And take away all your alloy. 26 I will restore your judges aas at the first, And your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward byou shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city.” 27 Zion shall be redeemed with justice, And her 1penitents with righteousness. 28 The adestruction of transgressors and of sinners shall be together, And those who forsake the LORD shall be consumed. 29 For 1they shall be ashamed of the 2terebinth trees Which you have desired; And you shall be embarrassed because of the gardens Which you have chosen. 30 For you shall be as a terebinth whose leaf fades, And as a garden that has no water. 31 aThe strong shall be as tinder, And the work of it as a spark; Both will burn together, And no one shall bquench them. The Future House of God 2 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. 2 Now ait shall come to pass bin the latter days 9 bGen. 19:24; Rom. 9:29 10 aDeut. 32:32 11 a[1 Sam. 15:22] 12 aEx. 23:17 13 aMatt. 15:9 bJoel 1:14 1worthless 14 aNum. 28:11 bLam. 2:6 15 aProv. 1:28 bPs. 66:18; Is. 59:1–3; Mic. 3:4 1Pray 2bloodshed 16 aJer. 4:14 bRom. 12:9 17 1Some an- cient vss. the oppressed 2Vindicate 18 aIs. 43:26; Mic. 6:2 bPs. 51:7; [Is. 43:25]; Rev. 7:14 20 aIs. 40:5; 58:14; Mic. 4:4; [Titus 1:2] 21 aIs. 57:3–9; Jer. 2:20 bMic. 3:1–3 1Un- faithful 22 aJer. 6:28 23 aHos. 9:15 bProv. 29:24 cJer. 22:17 dIs. 10:2; Jer. 5:28; Ezek. 22:7; Zech. 7:10 24 aDeut. 28:63 1be relieved of 2avenge My- self 25 aIs. 48:10; Ezek. 22:19–22; Mal. 3:3 1refine with lye 26 aJer. 33:7–11 bIs. 33:5; Zech. 8:3 27 1Lit. return- ers 28 aJob 31:3; Ps. 9:5; [Is. 66:24; 2 Thess. 1:8, 9] 29 1So with MT, LXX, Vg.; some Heb. mss., Tg. you 2Sites of pa- gan worship 31 aEzek. 32:21 bIs. 66:24; Matt. 3:12; Mark 9:43 CHAPTER 2 2 aMic. 4:1 bGen. 49:1

599 ISAIAH 3:3 cThat the mountain of the LORD’s house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it. 3 Many people shall come and say, a“Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.” bFor out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 4 He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning 1hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore. The Day of the LORD 5 O house of Jacob, come and let us awalk In the light of the LORD. 6 For You have forsaken Your people, the house of Jacob, Because they are filled awith eastern ways; They are bsoothsayers like the Philistines, cAnd they 1are pleased with the children of foreigners. 7 aTheir land is also full of silver and gold, And there is no end to their treasures; Their land is also full of horses, And there is no end to their chariots. 8 aTheir land is also full of idols; They worship the work of their own hands, That which their own fingers have made. 9 People bow down, And each man humbles himself; Therefore do not forgive them. 10 aEnter into the rock, and hide in the dust, From the terror of the LORD And the glory of His majesty. 11 The 1lofty looks of man shall be ahumbled, The haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, And the LORD alone shall be exalted bin that day. 12 For the day of the LORD of hosts Shall come upon everything proud and lofty, Upon everything lifted up— And it shall be brought low— 13 Upon all athe cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up, And upon all the oaks of Bashan; 14 aUpon all the high mountains, And upon all the hills that are lifted up; 15 Upon every high tower, And upon every fortified wall; 16 aUpon all the ships of Tarshish, And upon all the beautiful sloops. 17 The 1loftiness of man shall be bowed down, And the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; The LORD alone will be exalted in that day, 18 But the idols 1He shall utterly abolish. 19 They shall go into the aholes of the rocks, And into the caves of the 1earth, bFrom the terror of the LORD And the glory of His majesty, When He arises cto shake the earth mightily. 20 In that day a man will cast away his idols of silver And his idols of gold, Which they made, each for himself to worship, To the moles and bats, 21 To go into the clefts of the rocks, And into the crags of the rugged rocks, From the terror of the LORD And the glory of His majesty, When He arises to shake the earth mightily. 22 aSever1 yourselves from such a man, Whose bbreath is in his nostrils; For 2of what account is he? Judgment on Judah and Jerusalem 3 For behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, aTakes away from Jerusalem and from Judah bThe1 stock and the store, The whole supply of bread and the whole supply of water; 2 aThe mighty man and the man of war, The judge and the prophet, And the diviner and the elder; 3 The captain of fifty and the 1honorable man, The counselor and the skillful artisan, And the expert enchanter. 2 cPs. 68:15 3 aJer. 50:5; [Zech. 8:21–23; 14:16–21] bLuke 24:47 4 1knives 5 aEph. 5:8 6 aNum. 23:7 bDeut. 18:14 cPs. 106:35 1Or clap, shake hands to make bar- gains with the children 7 aDeut. 17:16; Is. 30:16; 31:1; Mic. 5:10 8 aIs. 40:19, 20; Jer. 2:28 10 aIs. 2:19, 21; Rev. 6:15, 16 11 aProv. 16:5; Is. 5:15 bHos. 2:16 1proud 13 aIs. 14:8; Zech. 11:1, 2 14 aIs. 30:25 16 a1 Kin. 10:22; Is. 23:1, 14; 60:9 17 1pride 18 1Or shall utterly vanish 19 aHos. 10:8; [Rev. 9:6] b[2 Thess. 1:9] cPs. 18:7; Is. 2:21; 13:13; 24:1, 19, 20; Hag. 2:6, 7; Heb. 12:26 1Lit. dust 22 aPs. 146:3; Jer. 17:5 bJob 27:3 1Lit. Cease your- selves from the man 2Lit. in what is he to be es- teemed CHAPTER 3 1 a2 Kin. 25:3; Is. 5:13; Jer. 37:21 bLev. 26:26 1Every support 2 a2 Kin. 24:14; Is.

1; Rev. 6:15, 16 11 aProv. 16:5; Is. 5:15 bHos. 2:16 1proud 13 aIs. 14:8; Zech. 11:1, 2 14 aIs. 30:25 16 a1 Kin. 10:22; Is. 23:1, 14; 60:9 17 1pride 18 1Or shall utterly vanish 19 aHos. 10:8; [Rev. 9:6] b[2 Thess. 1:9] cPs. 18:7; Is. 2:21; 13:13; 24:1, 19, 20; Hag. 2:6, 7; Heb. 12:26 1Lit. dust 22 aPs. 146:3; Jer. 17:5 bJob 27:3 1Lit. Cease your- selves from the man 2Lit. in what is he to be es- teemed CHAPTER 3 1 a2 Kin. 25:3; Is. 5:13; Jer. 37:21 bLev. 26:26 1Every support 2 a2 Kin. 24:14; Is. 9:14, 15; Ezek. 17:12, 13 3 1Eminent looking men

ISAIAH 3:4 600 4 “I will give achildren1 to be their princes, And 2babes shall rule over them. 5 The people will be oppressed, Every one by another and every one by his neighbor; The child will be insolent toward the 1elder, And the 2base toward the honorable.” 6 When a man takes hold of his brother In the house of his father, saying, “You have clothing; You be our ruler, And let these ruins be under your 1power,” 7 In that day he will protest, saying, “I cannot cure your ills, For in my house is neither food nor clothing; Do not make me a ruler of the people.” 8 For aJerusalem stumbled, And Judah is fallen, Because their tongue and their doings Are against the LORD, To provoke the eyes of His glory. 9 The look on their countenance witnesses against them, And they declare their sin as aSodom; They do not hide it. Woe to their soul! For they have brought evil upon themselves. 10 “Say to the righteous athat it shall be well with them, bFor they shall eat the fruit of their doings. 11 Woe to the wicked! aIt shall be ill with him, For the reward of his hands shall be 1given him. 12 As for My people, children are their oppressors, And women rule over them. O My people! aThose who lead you 1cause you to err, And destroy the way of your paths.” Oppression and Luxury Condemned 13 The LORD stands up ato 1plead, And stands to judge the people. 14 The LORD will enter into judgment With the elders of His people And His princes: “For you have 1eaten up athe vineyard; The plunder of the poor is in your houses. 15 What do you mean by acrushing My people And grinding the faces of the poor?” Says the Lord GOD of hosts. 16 Moreover the LORD says: “Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, And walk with 1outstretched necks And 2wanton eyes, Walking and 3mincing as they go, Making a jingling with their feet, 17 Therefore the Lord will strike with aa scab The crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, And the LORD will buncover their secret parts.” 18 In that day the Lord will take away the finery: The jingling anklets, the 1scarves, and the acrescents; 19 The pendants, the bracelets, and the veils; 20 The headdresses, the leg ornaments, and the headbands; The perfume boxes, the charms, 21 and the rings; The nose jewels, 22 the festal apparel, and the mantles; The outer garments, the purses, 23 and the mirrors; The fine linen, the turbans, and the robes. 24 And so it shall be: Instead of a sweet smell there will be a stench; Instead of a sash, a rope; Instead of well-set hair, abaldness; Instead of a rich robe, a girding of sackcloth; And 1branding instead of beauty. 25 Your men shall fall by the sword, And your 1mighty in the war. 26 aHer gates shall lament and mourn, And she being desolate bshall sit on the ground. 4 And ain that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, “We will beat our own food and wear our own apparel; Only let us be called by your name, To take away cour reproach.” 4 aEccl. 10:16 1boys 2Or capricious ones 5 1aged 2de- spised, lightly esteemed 6 1Lit. hand 8 a2 Chr. 36:16, 17; Mic. 3:12 9 aGen. 13:13; Is. 1:10–15 10 a[Deut. 28:1–14; Eccl. 8:12; Is. 54:17] bPs. 128:2 11 a[Ps. 11:6; Eccl. 8:12, 13] 1done to him 12 aIs. 9:16 1lead you astray 13 aIs. 66:16; Hos. 4:1; Mic. 6:2 1contend, plead His case 14 aMatt. 21:33 1burned 15 aMic. 3:2, 3 16 1Head held high 2seduc- tive, ogling 3tripping or skipping 17 aDeut. 28:27 bJer. 13:22 18 aJudg. 8:21, 26 1head- bands 24 aIs. 22:12; Ezek. 27:31; Amos 8:10 1burning scar 25 1Lit. strength 26 aJer. 14:2; Lam. 1:4 bLam. 2:10 CHAPTER 4 1 aIs. 2:11, 17 b2 Thess. 3:12 cLuke 1:25

601 ISAIAH 5:17 The Renewal of Zion 2 In that day athe Branch of the LORD shall be beautiful and glorious; And the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and appealing For those of Israel who have escaped. 3 And it shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem awill be called holy— everyone who is brecorded among the living in Jerusalem. 4 When athe Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the 1blood of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning, 5 then the LORD will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and above her assemblies, aa cloud and smoke by day and bthe shining of a flaming fire by night. For over all the glory there will be a 1covering. 6 And there will be a tabernacle for shade in the daytime from the heat, afor a place of refuge, and for a shelter from storm and rain. God’s Disappointing Vineyard 5 Now let me sing to my Well-beloved A song of my Beloved aregarding His vineyard: My Well-beloved has a vineyard 1On a very fruitful hill. 2 He dug it up and cleared out its stones, And planted it with the choicest vine. He built a tower in its midst, And also 1made a winepress in it; aSo He expected it to bring forth good grapes, But it brought forth wild grapes. 3 “And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, aJudge, please, between Me and My vineyard. 4 What more could have been done to My vineyard That I have not done in ait? Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, Did it bring forth wild grapes? 5 And now, please let Me tell you what I will do to My vineyard: aI will take away its hedge, and it shall be burned; And break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. 6 I will lay it awaste; It shall not be pruned or 1dug, But there shall come up briers and bthorns. I will also command the clouds That they rain no rain on it.” 7 For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, And the men of Judah are His pleasant plant. He looked for justice, but behold, oppression; For righteousness, but behold, 1a cry for help. Impending Judgment on Excesses 8 Woe to those who 1join ahouse to house; They add field to field, Till there is no place Where they may dwell alone in the midst of the land! 9 aIn my hearing the LORD of hosts said, “Truly, many houses shall be desolate, Great and beautiful ones, without inhabitant. 10 For ten acres of vineyard shall yield one abath,1 And a 2homer of seed shall yield one ephah.” 11 aWoe to those who rise early in the morning, That they may 1follow intoxicating drink; Who continue until night, till wine inflames them! 12 aThe harp and the strings, The tambourine and flute, And wine are in their feasts; But bthey do not regard the work of the LORD, Nor consider the operation of His hands. 13 aTherefore my people have gone into captivity, Because they have no bknowledge; Their honorable men are famished, And their multitude dried up with thirst. 14 Therefore Sheol has enlarged itself And opened its mouth beyond measure; Their glory and their multitude and their pomp, And he who is jubilant, shall descend into it. 15 People shall be brought down, aEach man shall be humbled, And the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled. 16 But the LORD of hosts shall be aexalted in judgment, And God who is holy shall be hallowed in righteousness. 17 Then the lambs shall feed in their pasture, 2 aIs. 12:1–6; [Jer. 23:5]; Zech. 3:8 3 aIs. 60:21 bPhil. 4:3 4 aMal. 3:2, 3 1bloodshed 5 aEx. 13:21, 22; Num. 9:15–23 bZech. 2:5 1canopy 6 aPs. 27:5; Is. 25:4 CHAPTER 5 1 aPs. 80:8; Jer. 2:21; Matt. 21:33; Mark 12:1; Luke 20:9 1Lit. In a horn, the son of fatness 2 aDeut. 32:6 1Lit. hewed out 3 a[Rom. 3:4] 4 a2 Chr. 36:15, 16; Jer. 2:5; 7:25, 26; Mic. 6:3; Matt. 23:37 5 a2 Chr. 36:19; Ps. 80:12; 89:40, 41 6 a2 Chr. 36:19–21 bIs. 7:19–25; Jer. 25:11 1hoed 7 1wailing 8 aJer. 22:13–17; Mic. 2:2; Hab. 2:9–12 1Accu- mulate houses 9 aIs.

3 aIs. 60:21 bPhil. 4:3 4 aMal. 3:2, 3 1bloodshed 5 aEx. 13:21, 22; Num. 9:15–23 bZech. 2:5 1canopy 6 aPs. 27:5; Is. 25:4 CHAPTER 5 1 aPs. 80:8; Jer. 2:21; Matt. 21:33; Mark 12:1; Luke 20:9 1Lit. In a horn, the son of fatness 2 aDeut. 32:6 1Lit. hewed out 3 a[Rom. 3:4] 4 a2 Chr. 36:15, 16; Jer. 2:5; 7:25, 26; Mic. 6:3; Matt. 23:37 5 a2 Chr. 36:19; Ps. 80:12; 89:40, 41 6 a2 Chr. 36:19–21 bIs. 7:19–25; Jer. 25:11 1hoed 7 1wailing 8 aJer. 22:13–17; Mic. 2:2; Hab. 2:9–12 1Accu- mulate houses 9 aIs. 22:14 10 aEzek. 45:11 11 bath = 1⁄10 homer 21 homer = 1⁄10 ephah 11 aProv. 23:29, 30; Eccl. 10:16, 17; Is. 5:22 1pursue 12 aAmos 6:5 bJob 34:27; Ps. 28:5 13 a2 Kin. 24:14–16 bIs. 1:3; 27:11; Hos. 4:6 15 aIs. 2:9, 11 16 aIs. 2:11

ISAIAH 5:18 602 And in the waste places of athe 1fat ones strangers shall eat. 18 Woe to those who 1draw iniquity with cords of 2vanity, And sin as if with a cart rope; 19 aThat say, “Let Him make speed and hasten His work, That we may see it; And let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come, That we may know it.” 20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! 21 Woe to those who are awise in their own eyes, And prudent in their own sight! 22 Woe to men mighty at drinking wine, Woe to men valiant for mixing intoxicating drink, 23 Who ajustify the wicked for a bribe, And take away justice from the righteous man! 24 Therefore, aas the 1fire devours the stubble, And the flame consumes the chaff, So btheir root will be as rottenness, And their blossom will ascend like dust; Because they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts, And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. 25 aTherefore the anger of the LORD is aroused against His people; He has stretched out His hand against them And stricken them, And bthe hills trembled. Their carcasses were as refuse in the midst of the streets. cFor all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still. 26 aHe will lift up a banner to the nations from afar, And will bwhistle to them from cthe end of the earth; Surely dthey shall come with speed, swiftly. 27 No one will be weary or stumble among them, No one will slumber or sleep; Nor awill the belt on their loins be loosed, Nor the strap of their sandals be broken; 28 aWhose arrows are sharp, And all their bows bent; Their horses’ hooves will 1seem like flint, And their wheels like a whirlwind. 29 Their roaring will be like a lion, They will roar like young lions; Yes, they will roar And lay hold of the prey; They will carry it away safely, And no one will deliver. 30 In that day they will roar against them Like the roaring of the sea. And if one alooks to the land, Behold, darkness and 1sorrow; And the light is darkened by the clouds. Isaiah Called to Be a Prophet 6 In the year that aKing Uzziah died, I bsaw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he cov- ered his face, awith two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said: a“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; bThe whole earth is full of His glory!” 4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 So I said: “Woe is me, for I am 1undone! Because I am a man of aunclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts.” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from athe altar. 7 And he atouched my mouth with it, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin 1purged.” 8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, And who will go for aUs?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.” 9 And He said, “Go, and atell this people: 17 aIs. 10:16 1Lit. fatlings, rich ones 18 1drag 2emptiness or falsehood 19 aJer. 17:15; Amos 5:18 21 aProv. 3:7; Rom. 1:22; 12:16; [1 Cor. 3:18–20] 23 aEx. 23:8; Prov. 17:15; Is. 1:23; Mic. 3:11; 7:3 24 aEx. 15:7 bJob 18:16 1Lit. tongue of fire 25 a2 Kin. 22:13, 17; Is. 66:15 bPs. 18:7; Is. 64:3; Jer. 4:24; Nah. 1:5 cIs. 9:12, 17; Jer. 4:8; Dan. 9:16 26 aIs. 11:10, 12 bIs. 7:18; Zech. 10:8 cMal. 1:11 dJoel 2:7 27 aDan. 5:6 28 aJer. 5:16 1Lit. be re- garded as 30 aIs. 8:22; Jer. 4:23–28; Joel 2:10; Luke 21:25, 26 1distress CHAPTER 6 1 a2 Kin. 15:7; 2 Chr. 26:23; Is. 1:1 bJohn 12:41; Rev. 4:2, 3; 20:11 2 aEzek. 1:11 3 aRev. 4:8 bNum. 14:21; Ps. 72:19 5 aEx. 6:12, 30 1destroyed, cut off 6 aRev. 8:3 7 aJer. 1:9; Dan. 10:16 1atoned for 8 aGen.

a2 Kin. 22:13, 17; Is. 66:15 bPs. 18:7; Is. 64:3; Jer. 4:24; Nah. 1:5 cIs. 9:12, 17; Jer. 4:8; Dan. 9:16 26 aIs. 11:10, 12 bIs. 7:18; Zech. 10:8 cMal. 1:11 dJoel 2:7 27 aDan. 5:6 28 aJer. 5:16 1Lit. be re- garded as 30 aIs. 8:22; Jer. 4:23–28; Joel 2:10; Luke 21:25, 26 1distress CHAPTER 6 1 a2 Kin. 15:7; 2 Chr. 26:23; Is. 1:1 bJohn 12:41; Rev. 4:2, 3; 20:11 2 aEzek. 1:11 3 aRev. 4:8 bNum. 14:21; Ps. 72:19 5 aEx. 6:12, 30 1destroyed, cut off 6 aRev. 8:3 7 aJer. 1:9; Dan. 10:16 1atoned for 8 aGen. 1:26 9 aIs. 43:8; Matt. 13:14; Mark 4:12; Luke 8:10; John 12:40; Acts 28:26; Rom. 11:8

603 ISAIAH 7:21 ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ 10 “Make athe heart of this people dull, And their ears heavy, And shut their eyes; bLest they see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, And return and be healed.” 11 Then I said, “Lord, how long?” And He answered: a“Until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant, The houses are without a man, The land is utterly desolate, 12 aThe LORD has removed men far away, And the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. 13 But yet a tenth will be in it, And will return and be for consuming, As a terebinth tree or as an oak, Whose stump remains when it is cut down. So athe holy seed shall be its stump.” Isaiah Sent to King Ahaz 7 Now it came to pass in the days of aAhaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to make war against bit, but could not 1prevail against it. 2 And it was told to the house of David, saying, “Syria’s forces are 1deployed in Ephraim.” So his heart and the heart of his people were moved as the trees of the woods are moved with the wind. 3 Then the LORD said to Isaiah, “Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and 1Shear-Jashub your son, at the end of the aqueduct from the upper pool, on the highway to the Fuller’s Field, 4 “and say to him: 1‘Take heed, and 2be aquiet; do not fear or be fainthearted for these two stubs of smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria, and the son of Remaliah. 5 ‘Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah have plotted evil against you, saying, 6 “Let us go up against Judah and 1trouble it, and let us make a gap in its wall for ourselves, and set a king over them, the son of Tabel”— 7 ‘thus says the Lord GOD: a“It shall not stand, Nor shall it come to pass. 8 aFor the head of Syria is Damascus, And the head of Damascus is Rezin. Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be 1broken, So that it will not be a people. 9 The head of Ephraim is Samaria, And the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son. aIf you will not believe, Surely you shall not be established.” ’ ” The Immanuel Prophecy 10 Moreover the LORD spoke again to Ahaz, saying, 11 a“Ask a sign for yourself from the LORD your God; 1ask it either in the depth or in the height above.” 12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I test the LORD!” 13 Then he said, “Hear now, O house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also? 14 “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: aBehold, the vir- gin shall conceive and bear ba Son, and shall call His name cImmanuel.1 15 “Curds and honey He shall eat, that He may know to refuse the evil and choose the good. 16 a“For before the Child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that you dread will be forsaken by bboth her kings. 17 a“The LORD will bring the king of Assyria upon you and your peo- ple and your father’s house—days that have not come since the day that bEphraim departed from Judah.” 18 And it shall come to pass in that day That the LORD awill whistle for the fly That is in the farthest part of the rivers of Egypt, And for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. 19 They will come, and all of them will rest In the desolate valleys and in athe clefts of the rocks, And on all thorns and in all pastures. 20 In the same day the Lord will shave with a ahired brazor, With those from beyond 1the River, with the king of Assyria, The head and the hair of the legs, And will also remove the beard. 21 It shall be in that day That a man will keep alive a young cow and two sheep; 10 aPs. 119:70; Mark 6:1–6; Acts 7:51; Rom. 10:1–4 bJer. 5:21 11 aMic. 3:12 12 a2 Kin. 25:21; Is. 5:9 13 aDeut. 7:6; Ezra 9:2 CHAPTER 7 1 a2 Chr. 28 b2 Kin. 16:5, 9 1conquer it 2 1Lit. settled upon 3 1Lit. A Rem- nant Shall Return 4 aEx. 14:13; Is.

the Lord will shave with a ahired brazor, With those from beyond 1the River, with the king of Assyria, The head and the hair of the legs, And will also remove the beard. 21 It shall be in that day That a man will keep alive a young cow and two sheep; 10 aPs. 119:70; Mark 6:1–6; Acts 7:51; Rom. 10:1–4 bJer. 5:21 11 aMic. 3:12 12 a2 Kin. 25:21; Is. 5:9 13 aDeut. 7:6; Ezra 9:2 CHAPTER 7 1 a2 Chr. 28 b2 Kin. 16:5, 9 1conquer it 2 1Lit. settled upon 3 1Lit. A Rem- nant Shall Return 4 aEx. 14:13; Is. 30:15; Lam. 3:26 1Be care- ful 2be calm 6 1cause a sickening dread 7 a2 Kin. 16:5; Is. 8:10; Acts 4:25, 26 8 a2 Sam. 8:6; 2 Kin. 17:6 1Lit. shat- tered 9 a2 Chr. 20:20; Is. 5:24 11 aMatt. 12:38 1Lit. make the request deep or make it high above 14 aMatt. 1:23; Luke 1:31; John 1:45; Rev. 12:5 b[Is. 9:6] cIs. 8:8, 10 1Lit. God- With-Us 16 aIs. 8:4 b2 Kin. 15:30 17 a2 Chr. 28:19, 20; Is. 8:7, 8; 10:5, 6 b1 Kin. 12:16 18 aIs. 5:26 19 aIs. 2:19; Jer. 16:16 20 aIs. 10:5, 15 b2 Kin. 16:7; 2 Chr. 28:20 1The Eu- phrates

ISAIAH 7:22 604 22 So it shall be, from the abundance of milk they give, That he will eat curds; For curds and honey everyone will eat who is left in the land. 23 It shall happen in that day, That wherever there could be a thousand vines Worth a thousand shekels of silver, aIt will be for briers and thorns. 24 With arrows and bows men will come there, Because all the land will become briers and thorns. 25 And to any hill which could be dug with the hoe, You will not go there for fear of briers and thorns; But it will become a range for oxen And a place for sheep to roam. Assyria Will Invade the Land 8 Moreover the LORD said to me, “Take a large scroll, and awrite on it with a man’s pen concerning 1Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. 2 “And I will take for Myself faith- ful witnesses to record, aUriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Je- berechiah.” 3 Then I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the LORD said to me, “Call his name Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz; 4 a“for before the child 1shall have knowledge to cry ‘My father’ and ‘My mother,’ bthe riches of Damascus and the 2spoil of Samaria will be taken away before the king of Assyria.” 5 The LORD also spoke to me again, saying: 6 “Inasmuch as these people refused The waters of aShiloah that flow softly, And rejoice bin Rezin and in Remaliah’s son; 7 Now therefore, behold, the Lord brings up over them The waters of 1the River, strong and mighty— The king of Assyria and all his glory; He will 2go up over all his channels And go over all his banks. 8 He will pass through Judah, He will overflow and pass over, aHe will reach up to the neck; And the stretching out of his wings Will 1fill the breadth of Your land, O bImmanuel.2 9 “Bea shattered, O you peoples, and be broken in pieces! Give ear, all you from far countries. Gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces; Gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces. 10 aTake counsel together, but it will come to nothing; Speak the word, bbut it will not stand, cFor 1God is with us.” Fear God, Heed His Word 11 For the LORD spoke thus to me with 1a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying: 12 “Do not say, ‘A conspiracy,’ Concerning all that this people call a conspiracy, Nor be afraid of their 1threats, nor be 2troubled. 13 The LORD of hosts, Him you shall hallow; Let Him be your fear, And let Him be your dread. 14 aHe will be as a 1sanctuary, But ba stone of stumbling and a rock of 2offense To both the houses of Israel, As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 And many among them shall astumble; They shall fall and be broken, Be snared and 1taken.” 16 Bind up the testimony, Seal the law among my disciples. 17 And I will wait on the LORD, Who ahides His face from the house of Jacob; And I bwill hope in Him. 18 aHere am I and the children whom the LORD has given me! We bare for signs and wonders in Israel From the LORD of hosts, Who dwells in Mount Zion. 19 And when they say to you, a“Seek those who are mediums and wizards, bwho whisper and mutter,” should not a people seek their God? Should they cseek the dead on behalf of the living? 20 aTo the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because bthere1 is no light in them. 21 They will pass through it hard- pressed and hungry; and it shall happen, when they are hungry, that they will be enraged and acurse 1their king and their God, and look upward. 22 Then they will look to the earth, and see trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish; and they will be driven into darkness. 23 aIs. 5:6 CHAPTER 8 1 aIs. 30:8; Hab. 2:2 1Lit. Speed the Spoil, Hasten the Booty 2 a2 Kin. 16:10 4 a2 Kin. 17:6; Is. 7:16 b2 Kin. 15:29 1knows how 2plunder 6 aJohn 9:7 bIs. 7:1, 2 7 1The Eu- phrates 2Overflow 8 aIs. 30:28 bIs. 7:14; Matt. 1:23 1Lit. be the fullness of 2Lit. God- With-Us 9 aJoel 3:9 10 aIs. 7:7; Acts 5:38 bIs. 7:14 cRom. 8:31 1Heb. Im- manuel 11 1Mighty power 12 1Lit. fear or terror 2Lit. in dread 14 aIs.

e and darkness, gloom of anguish; and they will be driven into darkness. 23 aIs. 5:6 CHAPTER 8 1 aIs. 30:8; Hab. 2:2 1Lit. Speed the Spoil, Hasten the Booty 2 a2 Kin. 16:10 4 a2 Kin. 17:6; Is. 7:16 b2 Kin. 15:29 1knows how 2plunder 6 aJohn 9:7 bIs. 7:1, 2 7 1The Eu- phrates 2Overflow 8 aIs. 30:28 bIs. 7:14; Matt. 1:23 1Lit. be the fullness of 2Lit. God- With-Us 9 aJoel 3:9 10 aIs. 7:7; Acts 5:38 bIs. 7:14 cRom. 8:31 1Heb. Im- manuel 11 1Mighty power 12 1Lit. fear or terror 2Lit. in dread 14 aIs. 4:6; 25:4; Ezek. 11:16 bLuke 2:34; 20:17; Rom. 9:33; 1 Pet. 2:8 1holy abode 2stumbling over 15 aMatt. 21:44 1captured 17 aDeut. 31:17; Is. 54:8 bHab. 2:3 18 aHeb. 2:13 bPs. 71:7 19 a1 Sam. 28:8 bIs. 29:4 cPs. 106:28 20 aIs. 1:10; 8:16; Luke 16:29 bIs. 8:22; Mic. 3:6 1Or they have no dawn 21 aRev. 16:11 1Or by their king and by their God

605 ISAIAH 9:21 The Government of the Promised Son 9 Nevertheless athe gloom will not be upon her who is distressed, As when at bfirst He lightly esteemed The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, And cafterward more heavily oppressed her, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, In Galilee of the Gentiles. 2 aThe people who walked in darkness Have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, Upon them a light has shined. 3 You have multiplied the nation And 1increased its joy; They rejoice before You According to the joy of harvest, As men rejoice awhen they divide the spoil. 4 For You have broken the yoke of his burden And the staff of his shoulder, The rod of his oppressor, As in the day of aMidian. 5 For every warrior’s 1sandal from the noisy battle, And garments rolled in blood, aWill be used for burning and fuel 2of fire. 6 aFor unto us a Child is born, Unto us a bSon is given; And cthe government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called dWonderful, Counselor, eMighty God, Everlasting Father, fPrince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of His government and peace aThere will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The bzeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. The Punishment of Samaria 8 The Lord sent a word against aJacob, And it has fallen on Israel. 9 All the people will know— Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria— Who say in pride and arrogance of heart: 10 “The bricks have fallen down, But we will rebuild with hewn stones; The sycamores are cut down, But we will replace them with cedars.” 11 Therefore the LORD shall set up The adversaries of Rezin against him, And spur his enemies on, 12 The Syrians before and the Philistines behind; And they shall devour Israel with an open mouth. For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is 1stretched out still. 13 For the people do not turn to Him who strikes them, Nor do they seek the LORD of hosts. 14 Therefore the LORD will cut off head and tail from Israel, Palm branch and bulrush ain one day. 15 The elder and honorable, he is the head; The prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail. 16 For athe leaders of this people cause them to err, And those who are led by them are destroyed. 17 Therefore the Lord awill have no joy in their young men, Nor have mercy on their fatherless and widows; For everyone is a hypocrite and an evildoer, And every mouth speaks 1folly. bFor all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still. 18 For wickedness aburns as the fire; It shall devour the briers and thorns, And kindle in the thickets of the forest; They shall mount up like rising smoke. 19 Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts aThe land is burned up, And the people shall be as fuel for the fire; bNo man shall spare his brother. 20 And he shall 1snatch on the right hand And be hungry; He shall devour on the left hand aAnd not be satisfied; bEvery man shall eat the flesh of his own arm. 21 Manasseh shall devour Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh; Together they shall be aagainst Judah. CHAPTER 9 1 aIs. 8:22 b2 Kin. 15:29; 2 Chr. 16:4 cMatt. 4:13–16 2 aMatt. 4:16; Luke 1:79; 2 Cor. 4:6; Eph. 5:8 3 aJudg. 5:30 1So with Qr., Tg.; Kt., Vg. not increased joy; LXX Most of the people You brought down in Your joy 4 aJudg. 7:22 5 aIs. 66:15 1boot 2for the fire 6 a[Is. 7:14; Luke 2:11]; John 1:45 bLuke 2:7; [John 3:16; 1 John 4:9] c[Matt. 28:18; 1 Cor. 15:25]; Rev. 12:5 dJudg. 13:18 eTitus 2:13 fEph. 2:14 7 aDan. 2:44; Matt. 1:1, 6; Luke 1:32, 33; John 7:42 bIs. 37:32 8 aGen. 32:28 12 1In judg- ment 14 aRev. 18:8 16 aIs. 3:12; Mic. 3:1, 5, 9; Matt. 15:14 17 aPs. 147:10 bIs. 5:25 1fool- ishness 18 aPs. 83:14; [Is. 1:7; 10:17]; Nah. 1:10; Mal. 4:1 19 aIs. 8:22 bMic. 7:2, 6 20 aLev. 26:26 bJer. 19:9 1slice off or tear 21 a2 Chr. 28:6, 8; Is. 11:13

ISAIAH 10:1 606 bFor all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still. 10 “Woe to those who adecree unrighteous decrees, Who write misfortune, Which they have prescribed 2 To rob the needy of justice, And to take what is right from the poor of My people, That widows may be their prey, And that they may rob the fatherless. 3 aWhat will you do in bthe day of punishment, And in the desolation which will come from cafar? To whom will you flee for help? And where will you leave your glory? 4 Without Me they shall bow down among the aprisoners, And they shall fall 1among the slain.” bFor all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still. Arrogant Assyria Also Judged 5 “Woe to Assyria, athe rod of My anger And the staff in whose hand is My indignation. 6 I will send him against aan ungodly nation, And against the people of My wrath I will bgive him charge, To seize the spoil, to take the prey, And to tread them down like the mire of the streets. 7 aYet he does not mean so, Nor does his heart think so; But it is in his heart to destroy, And cut off not a few nations. 8 aFor he says, ‘Are not my princes altogether kings? 9 Is not aCalno blike Carchemish? Is not Hamath like Arpad? Is not Samaria clike Damascus? 10 As my hand has found the kingdoms of the idols, Whose carved images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria, 11 As I have done to Samaria and her idols, Shall I not do also to Jerusalem and her idols?’ ” 12 Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Lord has 1performed all His work aon Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, that He will say, b“I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his haughty looks.” 13 aFor he says: “By the strength of my hand I have done it, And by my wisdom, for I am prudent; Also I have removed the boundaries of the people, And have robbed their treasuries; So I have put down the inhabitants like a 1valiant man. 14 aMy hand has found like a nest the riches of the people, And as one gathers eggs that are left, I have gathered all the earth; And there was no one who moved his wing, Nor opened his mouth with even a peep.” 15 Shall athe ax boast itself against him who chops with it? Or shall the saw exalt itself against him who saws with it? As if a rod could wield itself against those who lift it up, Or as if a staff could lift up, as if it were not wood! 16 Therefore the Lord, the 1Lord of hosts, Will send leanness among his fat ones; And under his glory He will kindle a burning Like the burning of a fire. 17 So the Light of Israel will be for a fire, And his Holy One for a flame; aIt will burn and devour His thorns and his briers in one day. 18 And it will consume the glory of his forest and of ahis fruitful field, Both soul and body; And they will be as when a sick man wastes away. 19 Then the rest of the trees of his forest Will be so few in number That a child may write them. The Returning Remnant of Israel 20 And it shall come to pass in that day That the remnant of Israel, And such as have escaped of the house of Jacob, aWill never again depend on him who 1defeated them, But will depend on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 21 The remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, To the aMighty God. 21 bIs. 9:12, 17 CHAPTER 10 1 aPs. 58:2 3 aJob 31:14 bIs. 13:6; Jer. 9:9; Hos. 9:7; Luke 19:44 cIs. 5:26 4 aIs. 24:22 bIs. 5:25 1Lit. under 5 aJer. 51:20 6 aIs. 9:17 b2 Kin. 17:6; Jer. 34:22 7 aGen. 50:20; Mic. 4:11, 12; Acts 2:23, 24 8 a2 Kin. 19:10 9 aGen. 10:10; Amos 6:2 b2 Chr. 35:20 c2 Kin. 16:9 12 a2 Kin. 19:31; Is. 28:21 b2 Kin. 19:35; 2 Chr. 32:21; Jer. 50:18 1com- pleted 13 a[2 Kin. 19:22–24]; Is. 37:24–27; Ezek. 28:4; Dan. 4:30 1mighty 14 aJob 31:25 15 aJer. 51:20 16 1So with Bg.; MT, DSS YHWH (the LORD) 17 aIs. 9:18 18 a2 Kin. 19:23 20 a2 Kin. 16:7 1Lit. struck 21 a[Is. 9:6]

607 ISAIAH 11:11 22 aFor though your people, O Israel, be as the sand of the sea, bA remnant of them will return; The destruction decreed shall overflow with righteousness. 23 aFor the Lord GOD of hosts Will make a determined end In the midst of all the land. 24 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD of hosts: “O My people, who dwell in Zion, ado not be afraid of the Assyrian. He shall strike you with a rod and lift up his staff against you, in the manner of bEgypt. 25 “For yet a very little while aand the indignation will cease, as will My anger in their destruction.” 26 And the LORD of hosts will 1stir up aa scourge for him like the slaugh- ter of bMidian at the rock of Oreb; cas His rod was on the sea, so will He lift it up in the manner of Egypt. 27 It shall come to pass in that day That his burden will be taken away from your shoulder, And his yoke from your neck, And the yoke will be destroyed because of athe anointing oil. 28 He has come to Aiath, He has passed Migron; At Michmash he has attended to his equipment. 29 They have gone 1along athe ridge, They have taken up lodging at Geba. Ramah is afraid, bGibeah of Saul has fled. 30 1Lift up your voice, O daughter aof Gallim! Cause it to be heard as far as bLaish— 2O poor Anathoth! 31 aMadmenah has fled, The inhabitants of Gebim seek refuge. 32 As yet he will remain aat Nob that day; He will bshake his fist at the mount of cthe daughter of Zion, The hill of Jerusalem. 33 Behold, the Lord, The LORD of hosts, Will lop off the bough with terror; aThose of high stature will be hewn down, And the haughty will be humbled. 34 He will cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, And Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One. The Reign of Jesse’s Offspring 11 There ashall come forth a 1Rod from the 2stem of bJesse, And ca Branch shall 3grow out of his roots. 2 aThe Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. 3 His delight is in the fear of the LORD, aAnd He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor decide by the hearing of His ears; 4 But awith righteousness He shall judge the poor, And decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall bstrike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. 5 Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, And faithfulness the belt of His waist. 6 “Thea wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them. 7 The cow and the bear shall graze; Their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole, And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den. 9 aThey shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, For bthe earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea. 10 “Anda in that day bthere shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a cbanner to the people; For the dGentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious.” 11 It shall come to pass in that day That the Lord shall set His hand again the second time To recover the remnant of His people who are left, aFrom Assyria and Egypt, From Pathros and Cush, From Elam and Shinar, From Hamath and the 1islands of the sea. 22 aRom. 9:27, 28 bIs. 6:13 23 aIs. 28:22; Dan. 9:27; Rom. 9:28 24 aIs. 7:4; 12:2 bEx. 14 25 aIs. 10:5; 26:20; Dan. 11:36 26 a2 Kin. 19:35 bJudg. 7:25; Is. 9:4 cEx. 14:26, 27 1arouse 27 aPs. 105:15; [1 John 2:20] 29 a1 Sam. 13:23 b1 Sam. 11:4 1Or over the pass 30 a1 Sam. 25:44 bJudg. 18:7 1Or Cry shrilly 2So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX, Syr. Listen to her, O Anathoth 31 aJosh. 15:31 32 a1 Sam. 21:1; Neh. 11:32 bIs. 13:2 cIs. 37:22 33 aIs. 37:24, 36–38; Ezek. 31:3; Amos 2:9 CHAPTER 11 1 a[Zech. 6:12]; Rev. 5:5 b[Is. 9:7; 11:10]; Matt. 1:5; [Acts 13:23] cIs.

. 9:28 24 aIs. 7:4; 12:2 bEx. 14 25 aIs. 10:5; 26:20; Dan. 11:36 26 a2 Kin. 19:35 bJudg. 7:25; Is. 9:4 cEx. 14:26, 27 1arouse 27 aPs. 105:15; [1 John 2:20] 29 a1 Sam. 13:23 b1 Sam. 11:4 1Or over the pass 30 a1 Sam. 25:44 bJudg. 18:7 1Or Cry shrilly 2So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX, Syr. Listen to her, O Anathoth 31 aJosh. 15:31 32 a1 Sam. 21:1; Neh. 11:32 bIs. 13:2 cIs. 37:22 33 aIs. 37:24, 36–38; Ezek. 31:3; Amos 2:9 CHAPTER 11 1 a[Zech. 6:12]; Rev. 5:5 b[Is. 9:7; 11:10]; Matt. 1:5; [Acts 13:23] cIs. 4:2 1Shoot 2stock or trunk 3be fruitful 2 a[Is. 42:1; 48:16; 61:1; Matt. 3:16]; Mark 1:10; Luke 3:22; [John 1:32] 4 aRev. 19:11 bJob 4:9; Is. 30:28, 33; Mal. 4:6; 2 Thess. 2:8 6 aHos. 2:18 9 aJob 5:23; Is. 65:25; Ezek. 34:25; Hos. 2:18 bPs. 98:2, 3; Is. 45:6; Hab. 2:14 10 aIs. 2:11 bIs. 11:1; Rom. 15:12 cIs. 27:12, 13 dRom. 15:10 11 aIs. 19:23–25; Hos. 11:11; Zech. 10:10 1Or coastlands

ISAIAH 11:12 608 12 He will set up a banner for the nations, And will 1assemble the outcasts of Israel, And gather together athe dispersed of Judah From the four 2corners of the earth. 13 Also athe envy of Ephraim shall depart, And the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off; Ephraim shall not envy Judah, And Judah shall not harass Ephraim. 14 But they shall fly down upon the shoulder of the Philistines toward the west; Together they shall plunder the 1people of the East; aThey shall lay their hand on Edom and Moab; And the people of Ammon shall obey them. 15 The LORD awill utterly 1destroy the tongue of the Sea of Egypt; With His mighty wind He will shake His fist over 2the River, And strike it in the seven streams, And make men cross over 3dry-shod. 16 aThere will be a highway for the remnant of His people Who will be left from Assyria, bAs it was for Israel In the day that he came up from the land of Egypt. A Hymn of Praise 12 And ain that day you will say: “O LORD, I will praise You; Though You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me. 2 Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; a‘For bYAH, the LORD, is my strength and song; He also has become my salvation.’ ” 3 Therefore with joy you will draw awater From the wells of salvation. 4 And in that day you will say: a“Praise the LORD, call upon His name; bDeclare His deeds among the peoples, Make mention that His cname is exalted. 5 aSing to the LORD, For He has done excellent things; This is known in all the earth. 6 aCry out and shout, O inhabitant of Zion, For great is bthe Holy One of Israel in your midst!” Proclamation Against Babylon 13 The aburden1 against Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw. 2 “Lifta up a banner bon the high mountain, Raise your voice to them; cWave your hand, that they may enter the gates of the nobles. 3 I have commanded My 1sanctified ones; I have also called aMy mighty ones for My anger— Those who brejoice in My exaltation.” 4 The anoise of a multitude in the mountains, Like that of many people! A tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together! The LORD of hosts musters The army for battle. 5 They come from a far country, From the end of heaven— The aLORD and His 1weapons of indignation, To destroy the whole bland. 6 Wail, afor the day of the LORD is at hand! bIt will come as destruction from the Almighty. 7 Therefore all hands will be limp, Every man’s heart will melt, 8 And they will be afraid. aPangs1 and sorrows will take hold of them; They will be in pain as a woman in childbirth; They will be amazed at one another; Their faces will be like flames. 9 Behold, athe day of the LORD comes, Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger, To lay the land desolate; And He will destroy bits sinners from it. 10 For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not give their light; The sun will be adarkened in its going forth, And the moon will not cause its light to shine. 11 “I will apunish the world for its evil, And the wicked for their iniquity; bI will halt the arrogance of the proud, And will lay low the haughtiness of the 1terrible. 12 aJohn 7:35 1gather 2Lit. wings 13 aIs. 9:21; Jer. 3:18; Ezek. 37:16, 17, 22; Hos. 1:11 14 aIs. 63:1; Dan. 11:41; Joel 3:19; Amos 9:12 1Lit. sons 15 aIs. 50:2; 51:10, 11; Zech. 10:10, 11 1So with MT, Vg.; LXX, Syr., Tg. dry up 2The Eu- phrates 3Lit. in sandals 16 aIs. 19:23 bEx. 14:29 CHAPTER 12 1 aIs. 2:11 2 aPs. 83:18 bEx. 15:2; Ps. 118:14 3 a[John 4:10, 14; 7:37, 38] 4 a1 Chr. 16:8; Ps. 105:1 bPs. 145:4–6 cPs. 34:3 5 aEx. 15:1; Ps. 98:1; Is. 24:14; 42:10, 11; 44:23 6 aIs. 52:9; 54:1; Zeph. 3:14, 15 bPs. 89:18 CHAPTER 13 1 aJer. 50; 51; Matt. 1:11; Rev. 14:8 1ora- cle, prophecy 2 aIs. 18:3 bJer. 51:25 cIs. 10:32 3 aJoel 3:11 bPs. 149:2 1consecrated or set apart 4 aIs. 17:12; Joel 3:14 5 aIs. 42:13 bIs. 24:1; 34:2 1Or instruments 6 aIs. 2:12; Ezek. 30:3; Amos 5:18; Zeph. 1:7; Rev. 6:17 bIs. 10:25; Job 31:23; Joel 1:15 8 aPs. 48:6 1Sharp pains 9 aMal.

7:37, 38] 4 a1 Chr. 16:8; Ps. 105:1 bPs. 145:4–6 cPs. 34:3 5 aEx. 15:1; Ps. 98:1; Is. 24:14; 42:10, 11; 44:23 6 aIs. 52:9; 54:1; Zeph. 3:14, 15 bPs. 89:18 CHAPTER 13 1 aJer. 50; 51; Matt. 1:11; Rev. 14:8 1ora- cle, prophecy 2 aIs. 18:3 bJer. 51:25 cIs. 10:32 3 aJoel 3:11 bPs. 149:2 1consecrated or set apart 4 aIs. 17:12; Joel 3:14 5 aIs. 42:13 bIs. 24:1; 34:2 1Or instruments 6 aIs. 2:12; Ezek. 30:3; Amos 5:18; Zeph. 1:7; Rev. 6:17 bIs. 10:25; Job 31:23; Joel 1:15 8 aPs. 48:6 1Sharp pains 9 aMal. 4:1 bPs. 104:35; Prov. 2:22 10 aIs. 24:21–23; Ezek. 32:7; Joel 2:31; Matt. 24:29; Mark 13:24; Luke 21:25 11 aIs. 26:21 b[Is. 2:17] 1Or tyrants

609 ISAIAH 14:12 12 I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold, A man more than the golden wedge of Ophir. 13 aTherefore I will shake the heavens, And the earth will move out of her place, In the wrath of the LORD of hosts And in bthe day of His fierce anger. 14 It shall be as the hunted gazelle, And as a sheep that no man 1takes up; aEvery man will turn to his own people, And everyone will flee to his own land. 15 Everyone who is found will be thrust through, And everyone who is captured will fall by the sword. 16 Their children also will be adashed to pieces before their eyes; Their houses will be plundered And their wives bravished. 17 “Behold,a I will stir up the Medes against them, Who will not 1regard silver; And as for gold, they will not delight in it. 18 Also their bows will dash the young men to pieces, And they will have no pity on the fruit of the womb; Their eye will not spare children. 19 aAnd Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, The beauty of the Chaldeans’ pride, Will be as when God overthrew bSodom and Gomorrah. 20 aIt will never be inhabited, Nor will it be settled from generation to generation; Nor will the Arabian pitch tents there, Nor will the shepherds make their sheepfolds there. 21 aBut wild beasts of the desert will lie there, And their houses will be full of 1owls; Ostriches will dwell there, And wild goats will caper there. 22 The hyenas will howl in their citadels, And jackals in their pleasant palaces. aHer time is near to come, And her days will not be prolonged.” Mercy on Jacob 14 For the LORD awill have mercy on Jacob, and bwill still choose Israel, and settle them in their own land. cThe strangers will be joined with them, and they will cling to the house of Jacob. 2 Then people will take them aand bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them for servants and maids in the land of the LORD; they will take them cap- tive whose captives they were, band rule over their oppressors. Fall of the King of Babylon 3 It shall come to pass in the day the LORD gives you rest from your sorrow, and from your fear and the hard bondage in which you were made to serve, 4 that you awill take up this prov- erb against the king of Babylon, and say: “How the oppressor has ceased, The bgolden1 city ceased! 5 The LORD has broken athe staff of the wicked, The scepter of the rulers; 6 He who struck the people in wrath with a continual stroke, He who ruled the nations in anger, Is persecuted and no one hinders. 7 The whole earth is at rest and quiet; They break forth into singing. 8 aIndeed the cypress trees rejoice over you, And the cedars of Lebanon, Saying, ‘Since you 1were cut down, No woodsman has come up against us.’ 9 “Hella1 from beneath is excited about you, To meet you at your coming; It stirs up the dead for you, All the chief ones of the earth; It has raised up from their thrones All the kings of the nations. 10 They all shall aspeak and say to you: ‘Have you also become as weak as we? Have you become like us? 11 Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, And the sound of your stringed instruments; The maggot is spread under you, And worms cover you.’ The Fall of Lucifer 12 “Howa you are fallen from heaven, O 1Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! 13 aIs. 34:4; 51:6; Hag. 2:6 bPs. 110:5; Lam. 1:12 14 aJer. 50:16; 51:9 1gathers 16 aPs. 137:8, 9; Is. 13:18; 14:21; Hos. 10:14; Nah. 3:10 bZech. 14:2 17 aIs. 21:2; Jer. 51:11, 28; Dan. 5:28, 31 1esteem 19 aIs. 14:4; Dan. 4:30; Rev. 18:11–16, 19, 21 bGen. 19:24; Deut. 29:23; Jer. 50:40; Amos 4:11 20 aJer. 50:3 21 aIs. 34:11–15; Zeph. 2:14; Rev. 18:2 1Or howling crea- tures 22 aJer. 51:33 CHAPTER 14 1 aPs. 102:13; Is. 49:13, 15; 54:7, 8 bIs. 41:8, 9; Zech. 1:17; 2:12 cIs. 60:4, 5, 10 2 aIs. 49:22; 60:9; 66:20 bIs. 60:14 4 aIs. 13:19; Hab. 2:6 bRev. 18:16 1Or in- solent 5 aPs. 125:3 8 aIs. 55:12; Ezek. 31:16 1have lain down 9 aEzek. 32:21 1Or Sheol 10 aEzek. 32:21 12 aIs. 34:4; Luke 10:18; [Rev.

19 aIs. 14:4; Dan. 4:30; Rev. 18:11–16, 19, 21 bGen. 19:24; Deut. 29:23; Jer. 50:40; Amos 4:11 20 aJer. 50:3 21 aIs. 34:11–15; Zeph. 2:14; Rev. 18:2 1Or howling crea- tures 22 aJer. 51:33 CHAPTER 14 1 aPs. 102:13; Is. 49:13, 15; 54:7, 8 bIs. 41:8, 9; Zech. 1:17; 2:12 cIs. 60:4, 5, 10 2 aIs. 49:22; 60:9; 66:20 bIs. 60:14 4 aIs. 13:19; Hab. 2:6 bRev. 18:16 1Or in- solent 5 aPs. 125:3 8 aIs. 55:12; Ezek. 31:16 1have lain down 9 aEzek. 32:21 1Or Sheol 10 aEzek. 32:21 12 aIs. 34:4; Luke 10:18; [Rev. 12:7–9] 1Lit. Day Star

ISAIAH 14:13 610 13 For you have said in your heart: a‘I will ascend into heaven, bI will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the cmount of the congregation dOn the farthest sides of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, aI will be like the Most High.’ 15 Yet you ashall be brought down to Sheol, To the 1lowest depths of the Pit. 16 “Those who see you will gaze at you, And consider you, saying: ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, Who shook kingdoms, 17 Who made the world as a wilderness And destroyed its cities, Who 1did not open the house of his prisoners?’ 18 “All the kings of the nations, All of them, sleep in glory, Everyone in his own house; 19 But you are cast out of your grave Like an 1abominable branch, Like the garment of those who are slain, 2Thrust through with a sword, Who go down to the stones of the pit, Like a corpse trodden underfoot. 20 You will not be joined with them in burial, Because you have destroyed your land And slain your people. aThe brood of evildoers shall never be named. 21 Prepare slaughter for his children aBecause of the iniquity of their fathers, Lest they rise up and possess the land, And fill the face of the world with cities.” Babylon Destroyed 22 “For I will rise up against them,” says the LORD of hosts, “And cut off from Babylon athe name and bremnant, cAnd offspring and posterity,” says the LORD. 23 “I will also make it a possession for the aporcupine, And marshes of muddy water; I will sweep it with the broom of destruction,” says the LORD of hosts. Assyria Destroyed 24 The LORD of hosts has sworn, saying, “Surely, as I have thought, so it shall come to pass, And as I have purposed, so it shall astand: 25 That I will break the aAssyrian in My land, And on My mountains tread him underfoot. Then bhis yoke shall be removed from them, And his burden removed from their shoulders. 26 This is the apurpose that is purposed against the whole earth, And this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations. 27 For the LORD of hosts has apurposed, And who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, And who will turn it back?” Philistia Destroyed 28 This is the 1burden which came in the year that aKing Ahaz died. 29 “Do not rejoice, all you of Philistia, aBecause the rod that struck you is broken; For out of the serpent’s roots will come forth a viper, bAnd its offspring will be a fiery flying serpent. 30 The firstborn of the poor will feed, And the needy will lie down in safety; I will kill your roots with famine, And it will slay your remnant. 31 Wail, O gate! Cry, O city! All you of Philistia are dissolved; For smoke will come from the north, And no one will be alone in his 1appointed times.” 32 What will they answer the messengers of the nation? That athe LORD has founded Zion, And bthe poor of His people shall take refuge in it. Proclamation Against Moab 15 The aburden1 against Moab. Because in the night bAr of cMoab is laid waste And destroyed, Because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste And destroyed, 13 aEzek. 28:2; Matt. 11:23 bDan. 8:10; 2 Thess. 2:4 cEzek. 28:14 dPs. 48:2 14 aIs. 47:8; 2 Thess. 2:4 15 aEzek. 28:8; Matt. 11:23; Luke 10:15 1Lit. recesses 17 1Would not release 19 1despised 2Pierced 20 aJob 18:19; Ps. 21:10; 109:13; Is. 1:4; 31:2 21 aEx. 20:5; Lev. 26:39; Is. 13:16; Matt. 23:35 22 aProv. 10:7; Is. 26:14; Jer. 51:62 b1 Kin. 14:10 cJob 18:19; Is. 47:9 23 aIs. 34:11; Zeph. 2:14 24 aIs. 43:13 25 aMic. 5:5, 6; Zeph. 2:13 bIs. 10:27; Nah. 1:13 26 aIs. 23:9; Zeph. 3:6, 8 27 a2 Chr. 20:6; Job 9:12; 23:13; Ps. 33:11; Prov. 19:21; 21:30; Is. 43:13; Dan. 4:31, 35 28 a2 Kin. 16:20; 2 Chr. 28:27 1oracle, prophecy 29 a2 Chr. 26:6 b2 Kin. 18:8 31 1Or ranks 32 aPs. 87:1, 5 bZech. 11:11 CHAPTER 15 1 a2 Kin. 3:4 bDeut. 2:9; Num. 21:28 cIs. 15:1— 16:14; Jer. 25:21; 48:1–47; Amos 2:1–3; Zeph. 2:8–11 1oracle, prophecy

611 ISAIAH 16:12 2 He has gone up to the 1temple and Dibon, To the high places to weep. Moab will wail over Nebo and over Medeba; aOn all their heads will be baldness, And every beard cut off. 3 In their streets they will clothe themselves with sackcloth; On the tops of their houses And in their streets Everyone will wail, aweeping bitterly. 4 Heshbon and Elealeh will cry out, Their voice shall be heard as far as aJahaz; Therefore the 1armed soldiers of Moab will cry out; His life will be burdensome to him. 5 “Mya heart will cry out for Moab; His fugitives shall flee to Zoar, Like 1a three-year-old heifer. For bby the Ascent of Luhith They will go up with weeping; For in the way of Horonaim They will raise up a cry of destruction, 6 For the waters aof Nimrim will be desolate, For the green grass has withered away; The grass fails, there is nothing green. 7 Therefore the abundance they have gained, And what they have laid up, They will carry away to the Brook of the Willows. 8 For the cry has gone all around the borders of Moab, Its wailing to Eglaim And its wailing to Beer Elim. 9 For the waters of 1Dimon will be full of blood; Because I will bring more upon 2Dimon, aLions upon him who escapes from Moab, And on the remnant of the land.” Moab Destroyed 16 Send athe lamb to the ruler of the land, bFrom 1Sela to the wilderness, To the mount of the daughter of Zion. 2 For it shall be as a awandering bird thrown out of the nest; So shall be the daughters of Moab at the fords of the bArnon. 3 “Take counsel, execute judgment; Make your shadow like the night in the middle of the day; Hide the outcasts, Do not betray him who escapes. 4 Let My outcasts dwell with you, O Moab; Be a shelter to them from the face of the 1spoiler. For the extortioner is at an end, Devastation ceases, The oppressors are consumed out of the land. 5 In mercy athe throne will be established; And One will sit on it in truth, in the tabernacle of David, bJudging and seeking justice and hastening crighteousness.” 6 We have heard of the apride of Moab— He is very proud— Of his haughtiness and his pride and his wrath; bBut his 1lies shall not be so. 7 Therefore Moab shall awail for Moab; Everyone shall wail. For the foundations bof Kir Hareseth you shall mourn; Surely they are stricken. 8 For athe fields of Heshbon languish, And bthe vine of Sibmah; The lords of the nations have broken down its choice plants, Which have reached to Jazer And wandered through the wilderness. Her branches are stretched out, They are gone over the csea. 9 Therefore I will bewail the vine of Sibmah, With the weeping of Jazer; I will drench you with my tears, aO Heshbon and Elealeh; For 1battle cries have fallen Over your summer fruits and your harvest. 10 aGladness is taken away, And joy from the plentiful field; In the vineyards there will be no singing, Nor will there be shouting; No treaders will tread out wine in the presses; I have made their shouting cease. 11 Therefore amy 1heart shall resound like a harp for Moab, And my inner being for 2Kir Heres. 12 And it shall come to pass, When it is seen that Moab is weary on athe high place, That he will come to his sanctuary to pray; But he will not prevail. 2 aLev. 21:5; Jer. 48:37 1Heb. bayith, (house) 3 aJer. 48:38 4 aNum. 21:28; 32:3; Jer. 48:34 1So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX, Syr. loins 5 aIs. 16:11; Jer. 48:31 bJer. 48:5 1Or The Third Eglath, an unknown city, Jer. 48:34 6 aNum. 32:36 9 a2 Kin. 17:25; Jer. 50:17 1So with MT, Tg.; DSS, Vg. Dibon; LXX Rimon 2See preced- ing note CHAPTER 16 1 a2 Kin. 3:4; Ezra 7:17 b2 Kin. 14:7; Is. 42:11 1Lit. Rock 2 aProv. 27:8 bNum. 21:13 4 1devastator 5 a[Is. 9:6, 7; 32:1; 55:4; Dan. 7:14; Mic. 4:7; Luke 1:33; Rev. 11:15] bPs. 72:2 cIs. 9:7 6 aJer. 48:29; Amos 2:1; Obad. 3, 4; Zeph. 2:8, 10 bIs. 28:15 1Lit. vain talk 7 aJer. 48:20 b2 Kin. 3:25; Jer. 48:31 8 aIs. 24:7 bIs. 16:9 cJer. 48:32 9 aIs. 15:4 1Or shouting has 10 aIs. 24:8; Jer. 48:33 11 aIs. 15:5; 63:15; Jer. 48:36; Hos. 11:8; Phil. 2:1 1Lit.

; LXX Rimon 2See preced- ing note CHAPTER 16 1 a2 Kin. 3:4; Ezra 7:17 b2 Kin. 14:7; Is. 42:11 1Lit. Rock 2 aProv. 27:8 bNum. 21:13 4 1devastator 5 a[Is. 9:6, 7; 32:1; 55:4; Dan. 7:14; Mic. 4:7; Luke 1:33; Rev. 11:15] bPs. 72:2 cIs. 9:7 6 aJer. 48:29; Amos 2:1; Obad. 3, 4; Zeph. 2:8, 10 bIs. 28:15 1Lit. vain talk 7 aJer. 48:20 b2 Kin. 3:25; Jer. 48:31 8 aIs. 24:7 bIs. 16:9 cJer. 48:32 9 aIs. 15:4 1Or shouting has 10 aIs. 24:8; Jer. 48:33 11 aIs. 15:5; 63:15; Jer. 48:36; Hos. 11:8; Phil. 2:1 1Lit. belly 2Kir Hareseth, v. 7 12 aIs. 15:2

ISAIAH 16:13 612 13 This is the word which the LORD has spoken concerning Moab since that time. 14 But now the LORD has spoken, saying, “Within three years, aas the years of a hired man, the glory of Moab will be despised with all that great multitude, and the remnant will be very small and feeble.” Proclamation Against Syria and Israel 17 The aburden1 against Damas- cus. “Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city, And it will be a ruinous heap. 2 1The cities of aAroer are forsaken; They will be for flocks Which lie down, and bno one will make them afraid. 3 aThe fortress also will cease from Ephraim, The kingdom from Damascus, And the remnant of Syria; They will be as the glory of the children of Israel,” Says the LORD of hosts. 4 “In that day it shall come to pass That the glory of Jacob will 1wane, And athe fatness of his flesh grow lean. 5 aIt shall be as when the harvester gathers the grain, And reaps the heads with his arm; It shall be as he who gathers heads of grain In the Valley of Rephaim. 6 aYet gleaning grapes will be left in it, Like the shaking of an olive tree, Two or three olives at the top of the uppermost bough, Four or five in its most fruitful branches,” Says the LORD God of Israel. 7 In that day a man will alook to his Maker, And his eyes will have respect for the Holy One of Israel. 8 He will not look to the altars, The work of his hands; He will not respect what his afingers have made, Nor the 1wooden images nor the incense altars. 9 In that day his strong cities will be as a forsaken 1bough And 2an uppermost branch, Which they left because of the children of Israel; And there will be desolation. 10 Because you have forgotten athe God of your salvation, And have not been mindful of the Rock of your 1stronghold, Therefore you will plant pleasant plants And set out foreign seedlings; 11 In the day you will make your plant to grow, And in the morning you will make your seed to flourish; But the harvest will be a heap of ruins In the day of grief and desperate sorrow. 12 Woe to the multitude of many people Who make a noise alike the roar of the seas, And to the rushing of nations That make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters! 13 The nations will rush like the rushing of many waters; But God will arebuke them and they will flee far away, And bbe chased like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, Like a rolling thing before the whirlwind. 14 Then behold, at eventide, trouble! And before the morning, he is no more. This is the portion of those who plunder us, And the lot of those who rob us. Proclamation Against Ethiopia 18 Woe ato the land shadowed with buzzing wings, Which is beyond the rivers of 1Ethiopia, 2 Which sends ambassadors by sea, Even in vessels of reed on the waters, saying, “Go, swift messengers, to a nation tall and smooth of skin, To a people terrible from their beginning onward, A nation powerful and treading down, Whose land the rivers divide.” 3 All inhabitants of the world and dwellers on the earth: aWhen he lifts up a banner on the mountains, you see it; And when he blows a trumpet, you hear it. 4 For so the LORD said to me, “I will take My rest, And I will 1look from My dwelling place Like clear heat in sunshine, Like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.” 14 aJob 7:1; 14:6; Is. 21:16 CHAPTER 17 1 aGen. 14:15; 15:2; 2 Kin. 16:9; Jer. 49:23; Amos 1:3–5; Zech. 9:1; Acts 9:2 1oracle, prophecy 2 aNum. 32:34 bJer. 7:33 1So with MT, Vg.; LXX It shall be forsaken forever; Tg. Its cities shall be forsaken and desolate 3 aIs. 7:16; 8:4 4 aIs. 10:16 1fade 5 aIs. 17:11; Jer. 51:33; Joel 3:13; Matt. 13:30 6 aDeut. 4:27; Is. 24:13; Obad. 5 7 aIs. 10:20; Hos. 3:5; Mic. 7:7 8 aIs. 2:8; 31:7 1Or Asherim, Canaanite deities 9 1LXX Hivites; Tg. laid waste; Vg. as the ploughs 2LXX Amorites; Tg. in ruins; Vg. corn 10 aPs. 68:19; Is. 51:13 1refuge 12 aIs. 5:30; Jer. 6:23; Ezek. 43:2; Luke 21:25 13 aPs. 9:5; Is. 41:11 bPs. 83:13; Hos. 13:3 CHAPTER 18 1 a2 Kin. 19:9; Is. 20:4, 5; Ezek.

s cities shall be forsaken and desolate 3 aIs. 7:16; 8:4 4 aIs. 10:16 1fade 5 aIs. 17:11; Jer. 51:33; Joel 3:13; Matt. 13:30 6 aDeut. 4:27; Is. 24:13; Obad. 5 7 aIs. 10:20; Hos. 3:5; Mic. 7:7 8 aIs. 2:8; 31:7 1Or Asherim, Canaanite deities 9 1LXX Hivites; Tg. laid waste; Vg. as the ploughs 2LXX Amorites; Tg. in ruins; Vg. corn 10 aPs. 68:19; Is. 51:13 1refuge 12 aIs. 5:30; Jer. 6:23; Ezek. 43:2; Luke 21:25 13 aPs. 9:5; Is. 41:11 bPs. 83:13; Hos. 13:3 CHAPTER 18 1 a2 Kin. 19:9; Is. 20:4, 5; Ezek. 30:4, 5, 9; Zeph. 2:12; 3:10 1Heb. Cush 3 aIs. 5:26 4 1watch

613 ISAIAH 19:19 5 For before the harvest, when the bud is perfect And the sour grape is ripening in the flower, He will both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks And take away and cut down the branches. 6 They will be left together for the mountain birds of prey And for the beasts of the earth; The birds of prey will summer on them, And all the beasts of the earth will winter on them. 7 In that time aa present will be brought to the LORD of hosts 1From a people tall and smooth of skin, And from a people terrible from their beginning onward, A nation powerful and treading down, Whose land the rivers divide— To the place of the name of the LORD of hosts, To Mount Zion. Proclamation Against Egypt 19 The aburden1 against Egypt. Behold, the LORD brides on a swift cloud, And will come into Egypt; cThe idols of Egypt will 2totter at His presence, And the heart of Egypt will melt in its midst. 2 “I will aset Egyptians against Egyptians; Everyone will fight against his brother, And everyone against his neighbor, City against city, kingdom against kingdom. 3 The spirit of Egypt will fail in its midst; I will destroy their counsel, And they will aconsult the idols and the charmers, The mediums and the sorcerers. 4 And the Egyptians I will give aInto the hand of a cruel master, And a fierce king will rule over them,” Says the Lord, the LORD of hosts. 5 aThe waters will fail from the sea, And the river will be wasted and dried up. 6 The rivers will turn foul; The brooks aof defense will be emptied and dried up; The reeds and rushes will wither. 7 The papyrus reeds by 1the River, by the mouth of the River, And everything sown by the River, Will wither, be driven away, and be no more. 8 The fishermen also will mourn; All those will lament who cast hooks into the River, And they will languish who spread nets on the waters. 9 Moreover those who work in afine flax And those who weave fine fabric will be ashamed; 10 And its foundations will be broken. All who make wages will be troubled of soul. 11 Surely the princes of aZoan are fools; Pharaoh’s wise counselors give foolish counsel. bHow do you say to Pharaoh, “I am the son of the wise, The son of ancient kings?” 12 aWhere are they? Where are your wise men? Let them tell you now, And let them know what the LORD of hosts has bpurposed against Egypt. 13 The princes of Zoan have become fools; aThe princes of 1Noph are deceived; They have also 2deluded Egypt, Those who are the 3mainstay of its tribes. 14 The LORD has mingled aa perverse spirit in her midst; And they have caused Egypt to err in all her work, As a drunken man staggers in his vomit. 15 Neither will there be any work for Egypt, Which athe head or tail, Palm branch or bulrush, may do. 16 In that day Egypt will abe like women, and will be afraid and fear because of the waving of the hand of the LORD of hosts, bwhich He waves over it. 17 And the land of Judah will be a terror to Egypt; everyone who makes mention of it will be afraid in himself, because of the counsel of the LORD of hosts which He has ade- termined against it. Egypt, Assyria, and Israel Blessed 18 In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will aspeak the language of Canaan and bswear by the LORD of hosts; one will be called the City of 1Destruction. 19 In that day athere will be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land 7 aPs. 68:31; 72:10; Is. 16:1; Zeph. 3:10; Mal. 1:11; Acts 8:27–38 1So with DSS, LXX, Vg.; MT omits From; Tg. To CHAPTER 19 1 aJer. 9:25, 26; Ezek. 29:1—30:19; Joel 3:19 bPs. 18:10; 104:3; Matt. 26:64; Rev. 1:7 cEx. 12:12; Jer. 43:12 1oracle, prophecy 2Lit. shake 2 aJudg. 7:22; 1 Sam. 14:16, 20; 2 Chr. 20:23; Matt. 10:21, 36 3 a1 Chr. 10:13; Is. 8:19; 47:12; Dan. 2:2 4 aIs. 20:4; Jer. 46:26; Ezek. 29:19 5 aIs. 50:2; Jer. 51:36; Ezek. 30:12 6 a2 Kin. 19:24 7 1The Nile 9 a1 Kin. 10:28; Prov. 7:16; Ezek. 27:7 11 aNum. 13:22; Ps. 78:12, 43; Is. 30:4 bGen. 41:38, 39; 1 Kin. 4:29, 30; Acts 7:22 12 a1 Cor. 1:20 bPs. 33:11 13 aJer. 2:16; Ezek.

zek. 29:1—30:19; Joel 3:19 bPs. 18:10; 104:3; Matt. 26:64; Rev. 1:7 cEx. 12:12; Jer. 43:12 1oracle, prophecy 2Lit. shake 2 aJudg. 7:22; 1 Sam. 14:16, 20; 2 Chr. 20:23; Matt. 10:21, 36 3 a1 Chr. 10:13; Is. 8:19; 47:12; Dan. 2:2 4 aIs. 20:4; Jer. 46:26; Ezek. 29:19 5 aIs. 50:2; Jer. 51:36; Ezek. 30:12 6 a2 Kin. 19:24 7 1The Nile 9 a1 Kin. 10:28; Prov. 7:16; Ezek. 27:7 11 aNum. 13:22; Ps. 78:12, 43; Is. 30:4 bGen. 41:38, 39; 1 Kin. 4:29, 30; Acts 7:22 12 a1 Cor. 1:20 bPs. 33:11 13 aJer. 2:16; Ezek. 30:13 1Ancient Memphis 2Lit. caused to stagger 3cor- nerstone 14 a1 Kin. 22:22; Is. 29:10 15 aIs. 9:14–16 16 aJer. 51:30; Nah. 3:13 bIs. 11:15 17 aIs. 14:24; Dan. 4:35 18 aZeph. 3:9 bIs. 45:23 1Some Heb. mss., Arab., DSS, Tg., Vg. Sun; LXX Asedek, lit. Righteous- ness 19 aGen. 28:18; Ex. 24:4; Josh. 22:10, 26, 27; Is. 56:7; 60:7

ISAIAH 19:20 614 of Egypt, and a pillar to the bLORD at its border. 20 And ait will be for a sign and for a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the LORD because of the oppressors, and He will send them a bSavior and a Mighty One, and He will deliver them. 21 Then the LORD will be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will aknow the LORD in that day, and bwill make sacrifice and offering; yes, they will make a vow to the LORD and per- form it. 22 And the LORD will strike Egypt, He will strike and aheal it; they will return to the LORD, and He will be entreated by them and heal them. 23 In that day athere will be a high- way from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will bserve with the As- syrians. 24 In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria—a blessing in the midst of the land, 25 whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria athe work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.” The Sign Against Egypt and Ethiopia 20 In the year that aTartan1 came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him, and he fought against Ashdod and took it, 2 at the same time the LORD spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, “Go, and remove athe sackcloth from your 1body, and take your sandals off your feet.” And he did so, bwalk- ing naked and barefoot. 3 Then the LORD said, “Just as My servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot three years afor a sign and a wonder against Egypt and Ethiopia, 4 “so shall the aking of Assyria lead away the Egyptians as prison- ers and the Ethiopians as captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, bwith their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. 5 a“Then they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expecta- tion and Egypt their glory. 6 “And the inhabitant of this terri- tory will say in that day, ‘Surely such is our expectation, wherever we flee for ahelp to be delivered from the king of Assyria; and how shall we escape?’ ” The Fall of Babylon Proclaimed 21 The 1burden against the Wil- derness of the Sea. As awhirlwinds in the South pass through, So it comes from the desert, from a terrible land. 2 A distressing vision is declared to me; aThe treacherous dealer deals treacherously, And the plunderer plunders. bGo up, O Elam! Besiege, O Media! All its sighing I have made to cease. 3 Therefore amy loins are filled with pain; bPangs have taken hold of me, like the pangs of a woman in labor. I was 1distressed when I heard it; I was dismayed when I saw it. 4 My heart wavered, fearfulness frightened me; aThe night for which I longed He turned into fear for me. 5 aPrepare the table, Set a watchman in the tower, Eat and drink. Arise, you princes, Anoint the shield! 6 For thus has the Lord said to me: “Go, set a watchman, Let him declare what he sees.” 7 And he saw a chariot with a pair of horsemen, A chariot of donkeys, and a chariot of camels, And he listened earnestly with great care. 8 1Then he cried, “A lion, my Lord! I stand continually on the awatchtower in the daytime; I have sat at my post every night. 9 And look, here comes a chariot of men with a pair of horsemen!” Then he answered and said, a“Babylon is fallen, is fallen! And ball the carved images of her gods He has broken to the ground.” 10 aOh, my threshing and the grain of my floor! That which I have heard from the LORD of hosts, The God of Israel, I have declared to you. Proclamation Against Edom 11 aThe 1burden against Dumah. He calls to me out of bSeir, “Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?” 12 The watchman said, “The morning comes, and also the night. If you will inquire, inquire; Return! Come back!” 19 bPs. 68:31 20 aJosh. 4:20; 22:27 bIs. 43:11 21 a[Is. 2:3, 4; 11:9] bIs. 56:7; 60:7; Zech. 14:16–18; Mal. 1:11 22 aDeut. 32:39; Is. 30:26; 57:18; [Heb. 12:11] 23 aIs. 11:16; 35:8; 49:11; 62:10 bIs. 27:13 25 aDeut. 14:2; Ps.

declared to you. Proclamation Against Edom 11 aThe 1burden against Dumah. He calls to me out of bSeir, “Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?” 12 The watchman said, “The morning comes, and also the night. If you will inquire, inquire; Return! Come back!” 19 bPs. 68:31 20 aJosh. 4:20; 22:27 bIs. 43:11 21 a[Is. 2:3, 4; 11:9] bIs. 56:7; 60:7; Zech. 14:16–18; Mal. 1:11 22 aDeut. 32:39; Is. 30:26; 57:18; [Heb. 12:11] 23 aIs. 11:16; 35:8; 49:11; 62:10 bIs. 27:13 25 aDeut. 14:2; Ps. 100:3; Is. 29:23; Hos. 2:23; [Eph. 2:10] CHAPTER 20 1 a2 Kin. 18:17 1Or the Com- mander in Chief 2 aZech. 13:4; Matt. 3:4 b1 Sam. 19:24; Mic. 1:8 1Lit. loins 3 aIs. 8:18 4 aIs. 19:4 b2 Sam. 10:4; Is. 3:17; Jer. 13:22; Mic. 1:11 5 a2 Kin. 18:21; Is. 30:3–5; 31:1; Ezek. 29:6, 7 6 aIs. 30:5, 7 CHAPTER 21 1 aZech. 9:14 1oracle, prophecy 2 aIs. 33:1 bIs. 13:17; 22:6; Jer. 49:34 3 aIs. 15:5; 16:11 bIs. 13:8 1Lit. bowed 4 aDeut. 28:67 5 aJer. 51:39; Dan. 5:5 8 aHab. 2:1 1DSS Then the observer cried, “My Lord! 9 aIs. 13:19; 47:5, 9; 48:14; Jer. 51:8; Dan. 5:28, 31; Rev. 14:8; 18:2 bIs. 46:1; Jer. 50:2; 51:44 10 aJer. 51:33; Mic. 4:13 11 aGen. 25:14; 1 Chr. 1:30; Josh. 15:52 bGen. 32:3; Jer. 49:7; Ezek. 35:2; Obad. 1 1ora- cle, prophecy

615 ISAIAH 22:19 Proclamation Against Arabia 13 aThe 1burden against Arabia. In the forest in Arabia you will lodge, O you traveling companies bof Dedanites. 14 O inhabitants of the land of Tema, Bring water to him who is thirsty; With their bread they met him who fled. 15 For they fled from the swords, from the drawn sword, From the bent bow, and from the distress of war. 16 For thus the LORD has said to me: “Within a year, aaccording to the year of a hired man, all the glory of bKedar will fail; 17 “and the remainder of the num- ber of archers, the mighty men of the people of Kedar, will be dimin- ished; for the LORD God of Israel has spoken it.” Proclamation Against Jerusalem 22 The 1burden against the Valley of Vision. What ails you now, that you have all gone up to the housetops, 2 You who are full of noise, A 1tumultuous city, aa joyous city? Your slain men are not slain with the sword, Nor dead in battle. 3 All your rulers have fled together; They are captured by the archers. All who are found in you are bound together; They have fled from afar. 4 Therefore I said, “Look away from me, aI will weep bitterly; Do not labor to comfort me Because of the plundering of the daughter of my people.” 5 aFor it is a day of trouble and treading down and perplexity bBy the Lord GOD of hosts In the Valley of Vision— Breaking down the walls And of crying to the mountain. 6 aElam bore the quiver With chariots of men and horsemen, And bKir uncovered the shield. 7 It shall come to pass that your choicest valleys Shall be full of chariots, And the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate. 8 aHe removed the 1protection of Judah. You looked in that day to the armor bof the House of the Forest; 9 aYou also saw the 1damage to the city of David, That it was great; And you gathered together the waters of the lower pool. 10 You numbered the houses of Jerusalem, And the houses you broke down To fortify the wall. 11 aYou also made a reservoir between the two walls For the water of the old bpool. But you did not look to its Maker, Nor did you have respect for Him who fashioned it long ago. 12 And in that day the Lord GOD of hosts aCalled for weeping and for mourning, bFor baldness and for girding with sackcloth. 13 But instead, joy and gladness, Slaying oxen and killing sheep, Eating meat and adrinking wine: b“Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!” 14 aThen it was revealed in my hearing by the LORD of hosts, “Surely for this iniquity there bwill be no atonement for you, Even to your death,” says the Lord GOD of hosts. The Judgment on Shebna 15 Thus says the Lord GOD of hosts: “Go, proceed to this steward, To aShebna, who is over the house, and say: 16 ‘What have you here, and whom have you here, That you have hewn a sepulcher here, As he awho hews himself a sepulcher on high, Who carves a tomb for himself in a rock? 17 Indeed, the LORD will throw you away violently, O mighty man, aAnd will surely seize you. 18 He will surely turn violently and toss you like a ball Into a large country; There you shall die, and there ayour glorious chariots Shall be the shame of your master’s house. 19 So I will drive you out of your office, 13 aJer. 25:24; 49:28 bGen. 10:7; 1 Chr. 1:9, 32; Jer. 25:23; Ezek. 27:15 1oracle, prophecy 16 aIs. 16:14 bPs. 120:5; Song 1:5; Is. 42:11; 60:7; Ezek. 27:21 CHAPTER 22 1 1oracle, prophecy 2 aIs. 32:13 1boisterous 4 aJer. 4:19 5 aIs. 37:3 bLam. 1:5; 2:2 6 aJer. 49:35 bIs. 15:1 8 a2 Kin. 18:15, 16 b1 Kin. 7:2; 10:17 1Lit. covering 9 a2 Kin. 20:20; 2 Chr. 32:4; Neh. 3:16 1Lit. breaches in the city walls 11 aNeh. 3:16 b2 Kin. 20:20; 2 Chr. 32:3, 4 12 aIs. 32:11; Joel 1:13; 2:17 bEzra 9:3; Is. 15:2; Mic. 1:16 13 aIs. 5:11, 22; 28:7, 8; Luke 17:26–29 bIs. 56:12; 1 Cor. 15:32 14 aIs. 5:9 b1 Sam. 3:14; Ezek. 24:13 15 a2 Kin. 18:37; Is. 36:3 16 a2 Sam. 18:18; 2 Chr. 16:14; Matt. 27:60 17 aEsth. 7:8 18 aIs. 2:7

ISAIAH 22:20 616 And from your position 1he will pull you down. 20 ‘Then it shall be in that day, That I will call My servant aEliakim the son of Hilkiah; 21 I will clothe him with your robe And strengthen him with your belt; I will commit your responsibility into his hand. He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem And to the house of Judah. 22 The key of the house of David I will lay on his ashoulder; So he shall bopen, and no one shall shut; And he shall shut, and no one shall open. 23 I will fasten him as aa peg in a secure place, And he will become a glorious throne to his father’s house. 24 ‘They will hang on him all the glory of his father’s house, the off- spring and the posterity, all vessels of small quantity, from the cups to all the pitchers. 25 ‘In that day,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘the peg that is fastened in the secure place will be removed and be cut down and fall, and the burden that was on it will be cut off; for the LORD has spoken.’ ” Proclamation Against Tyre 23 The aburden1 against Tyre. Wail, you ships of Tarshish! For it is laid waste, So that there is no house, no harbor; From the land of 2Cyprus it is revealed to them. 2 Be still, you inhabitants of the coastland, You merchants of Sidon, 1Whom those who cross the sea have filled. 3 And on great waters the grain of Shihor, The harvest of 1the River, is her revenue; And ashe is a marketplace for the nations. 4 Be ashamed, O Sidon; For the sea has spoken, The strength of the sea, saying, “I do not labor, nor bring forth children; Neither do I rear young men, Nor bring up virgins.” 5 aWhen the report reaches Egypt, They also will be in agony at the report of Tyre. 6 Cross over to Tarshish; Wail, you inhabitants of the coastland! 7 Is this your ajoyous city, Whose antiquity is from ancient days, Whose feet carried her far off to dwell? 8 Who has taken this counsel against Tyre, athe crowning city, Whose merchants are princes, Whose traders are the honorable of the earth? 9 The LORD of hosts has apurposed it, To 1bring to dishonor the bpride of all glory, To bring into contempt all the honorable of the earth. 10 Overflow through your land like 1the River, O daughter of Tarshish; There is no more 2strength. 11 He stretched out His hand over the sea, He shook the kingdoms; The LORD has given a commandment aagainst Canaan To destroy its strongholds. 12 And He said, “You will rejoice no more, O you oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon. Arise, across over to Cyprus; There also you will have no rest.” 13 Behold, the land of the aChaldeans, This people which was not; Assyria founded it for bwild beasts of the desert. They set up its towers, They raised up its palaces, And brought it to ruin. 14 aWail, you ships of Tarshish! For your strength is laid waste. 15 Now it shall come to pass in that day that Tyre will be forgotten sev- enty years, according to the days of one king. At the end of seventy years it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the harlot: 16 “Take a harp, go about the city, You forgotten harlot; Make sweet melody, sing many songs, That you may be remembered.” 17 And it shall be, at the end of sev- enty years, that the LORD will deal with Tyre. She will return to her hire, and acommit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth. 18 Her gain and her pay awill be set apart for the LORD; it will not be treasured nor laid up, for her gain will be for those who dwell before the LORD, to eat sufficiently, and for 1fine clothing. 19 1LXX omits he will pull you down; Syr., Tg., Vg. I will pull you down 20 a2 Kin. 18:18; Is. 36:3, 22; 37:2 22 aIs. 9:6 bJob 12:14; Rev. 3:7 23 aEzra 9:8; Zech. 10:4 CHAPTER 23 1 aJer. 25:22; 47:4; Ezek. 26—28; Amos 1:9; Zech. 9:2, 4 1oracle, prophecy 1Heb. Kittim, western lands, espe- cially Cyprus 2 1So with MT, Vg.; LXX, Tg. passing over the wa- ter; DSS your messengers passing over the sea 3 aEzek. 27:3–23 1The Nile 5 aIs. 19:16 7 aIs. 22:2; 32:13 8 aEzek. 28:2, 12 9 aIs.

r 1fine clothing. 19 1LXX omits he will pull you down; Syr., Tg., Vg. I will pull you down 20 a2 Kin. 18:18; Is. 36:3, 22; 37:2 22 aIs. 9:6 bJob 12:14; Rev. 3:7 23 aEzra 9:8; Zech. 10:4 CHAPTER 23 1 aJer. 25:22; 47:4; Ezek. 26—28; Amos 1:9; Zech. 9:2, 4 1oracle, prophecy 1Heb. Kittim, western lands, espe- cially Cyprus 2 1So with MT, Vg.; LXX, Tg. passing over the wa- ter; DSS your messengers passing over the sea 3 aEzek. 27:3–23 1The Nile 5 aIs. 19:16 7 aIs. 22:2; 32:13 8 aEzek. 28:2, 12 9 aIs. 14:26 bJob 40:11, 12; Is. 13:11; 24:4; Dan. 4:37 1pollute 10 1The Nile 2restraint, lit. belt 11 aZech. 9:2–4 12 aEzek. 26:13, 14; Rev. 18:22 13 aIs. 47:1 bPs. 72:9 14 aEzek. 27:25–30 17 aRev. 17:2 18 aEx. 28:36; Zech. 14:20, 21 1choice

617 ISAIAH 24:23 Impending Judgment on the Earth 24 Behold, the LORD makes the earth empty and makes it waste, Distorts its surface And scatters abroad its inhabitants. 2 And it shall be: As with the people, so with the apriest; As with the servant, so with his master; As with the maid, so with her mistress; bAs with the buyer, so with the seller; As with the lender, so with the borrower; As with the creditor, so with the debtor. 3 The land shall be entirely emptied and utterly plundered, For the LORD has spoken this word. 4 The earth mourns and fades away, The world languishes and fades away; The ahaughty1 people of the earth languish. 5 aThe earth is also defiled under its inhabitants, Because they have btransgressed the laws, Changed the ordinance, Broken the ceverlasting covenant. 6 Therefore athe curse has devoured the earth, And those who dwell in it are 1desolate. Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are bburned, And few men are left. 7 aThe new wine fails, the vine languishes, All the merry-hearted sigh. 8 The mirth aof the tambourine ceases, The noise of the jubilant ends, The joy of the harp ceases. 9 They shall not drink wine with a song; Strong drink is bitter to those who drink it. 10 The city of confusion is broken down; Every house is shut up, so that none may go in. 11 There is a cry for wine in the streets, All joy is darkened, The mirth of the land is gone. 12 In the city desolation is left, And the gate is stricken with destruction. 13 When it shall be thus in the midst of the land among the people, aIt shall be like the shaking of an olive tree, Like the gleaning of grapes when the vintage is done. 14 They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing; For the majesty of the LORD They shall cry aloud from the sea. 15 Therefore aglorify the LORD in the dawning light, bThe name of the LORD God of Israel in the coastlands of the sea. 16 From the ends of the earth we have heard songs: “Glory to the righteous!” But I said, 1“I am ruined, ruined! Woe to me! aThe treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously, Indeed, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously.” 17 aFear and the pit and the snare Are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth. 18 And it shall be That he who flees from the noise of the fear Shall fall into the pit, And he who comes up from the midst of the pit Shall be 1caught in the snare; For athe windows from on high are open, And bthe foundations of the earth are shaken. 19 aThe earth is violently broken, The earth is split open, The earth is shaken exceedingly. 20 The earth shall areel1 to and fro like a drunkard, And shall totter like a hut; Its transgression shall be heavy upon it, And it will fall, and not rise again. 21 It shall come to pass in that day That the LORD will punish on high the host of exalted ones, And on the earth athe kings of the earth. 22 They will be gathered together, As prisoners are gathered in the 1pit, And will be shut up in the prison; After many days they will be punished. 23 Then the amoon will be disgraced And the sun ashamed; For the LORD of hosts will breign On cMount Zion and in Jerusalem CHAPTER 24 2 aHos. 4:9 bEzek. 7:12, 13 4 aIs. 25:11 1proud 5 aGen. 3:17; Num. 35:33; Is. 9:17; 10:6 bIs. 59:12 c1 Chr. 16:14–19; Ps. 105:7–12 6 aMal. 4:6 bIs. 9:19 1Or held guilty 7 aIs. 16:8–10; Joel 1:10, 12 8 aIs. 5:12, 14; Jer. 7:34; 16:9; 25:10; Ezek. 26:13; Hos. 2:11; Rev. 18:22 13 a[Is. 17:5, 6; 27:12] 15 aIs. 25:3 bMal. 1:11 16 aIs. 21:2; 33:1; Jer. 3:20; 5:11 1Lit. Leanness to me, leanness to me 17 aJer. 48:43; Amos 5:19 18 aGen. 7:11 bPs. 18:7; 46:2; Is. 2:19, 21; 13:13 1Lit. taken 19 aJer. 4:23 20 aIs. 19:14; 24:1; 28:7 1stagger 21 aPs. 76:12 22 1dungeon 23 aIs. 13:10; 60:19; Ezek. 32:7; Joel 2:31; 3:15 bRev. 19:4, 6 c[Heb. 12:22]

ISAIAH 25:1 618 And before His elders, gloriously. Praise to God 25 O LORD,You are my God. aI will exalt You, I will praise Your name, bFor You have done wonderful things; cYour counsels of old are faithfulness and truth. 2 For You have made aa city a ruin, A fortified city a ruin, A palace of foreigners to be a city no more; It will never be rebuilt. 3 Therefore the strong people will aglorify You; The city of the 1terrible nations will fear You. 4 For You have been a strength to the poor, A strength to the needy in his distress, aA refuge from the storm, A shade from the heat; For the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall. 5 You will reduce the noise of aliens, As heat in a dry place; As heat in the shadow of a cloud, The song of the terrible ones will be 1diminished. 6 And in athis mountain bThe LORD of hosts will make for call people A feast of 1choice pieces, A feast of 2wines on the lees, Of fat things full of marrow, Of well-refined wines on the lees. 7 And He will destroy on this mountain The surface of the covering cast over all people, And athe veil that is spread over all nations. 8 He will aswallow up death forever, And the Lord GOD will bwipe away tears from all faces; The rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; For the LORD has spoken. 9 And it will be said in that day: “Behold, this is our God; aWe have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the LORD; We have waited for Him; bWe will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.” 10 For on this mountain the hand of the LORD will rest, And aMoab shall be trampled down under Him, As straw is trampled down for the refuse heap. 11 And He will spread out His hands in their midst As a swimmer reaches out to swim, And He will bring down their apride Together with the trickery of their hands. 12 The afortress of the high fort of your walls He will bring down, lay low, And bring to the ground, down to the dust. A Song of Salvation 26 In athat day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: “We have a strong city; bGod will appoint salvation for walls and bulwarks. 2 aOpen the gates, That the righteous nation which 1keeps the truth may enter in. 3 You will keep him in perfect apeace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You. 4 Trust in the LORD forever, aFor in YAH, the LORD, is 1everlasting strength. 5 For He brings 1down those who dwell on high, aThe lofty city; He lays it low, He lays it low to the ground, He brings it down to the dust. 6 The foot shall 1tread it down— The feet of the poor And the steps of the needy.” 7 The way of the just is uprightness; aO Most Upright, You 1weigh the path of the just. 8 Yes, ain the way of Your judgments, O LORD, we have bwaited for You; The desire of our soul is for Your name And for the remembrance of You. 9 aWith my soul I have desired You in the night, Yes, by my spirit within me I will seek You early; For when Your judgments are in the earth, The inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. 10 aLet grace be shown to the wicked, Yet he will not learn righteousness; In bthe land of uprightness he will deal unjustly, CHAPTER 25 1 aEx. 15:2 bPs. 98:1 cNum. 23:19 2 aIs. 21:9; 23:13; Jer. 51:37 3 aIs. 24:15; Rev. 11:13 1terrifying 4 aIs. 4:6 5 1humbled 6 a[Is. 2:2–4; 56:7] bProv. 9:2; Matt. 22:4 c[Dan. 7:14; Matt. 8:11] 1Lit. fat things 2wines matured on the sediment 7 a2 Cor. 3:15; [Eph. 4:18] 8 a[Hos. 13:14; 1 Cor. 15:54; Rev. 20:14] bIs. 30:19; Rev. 7:17; 21:4 9 aGen. 49:18; Is. 8:17; 26:8; [Titus 2:13] bPs. 20:5 10 aIs. 16:14; Jer. 48:1–47; Ezek. 25:8–11; Amos 2:1–3; Zeph. 2:9 11 aIs. 24:4; 26:5 12 aIs. 26:5 CHAPTER 26 1 aIs. 2:11; 12:1 bIs. 60:18 2 aPs. 118:19, 20 1Or re- mains faithful 3 aIs. 57:19; [Phil. 4:6, 7] 4 aIs. 12:2; 45:17 1Or Rock of Ages 5 aIs. 25:11, 12 1low 6 1trample 7 aPs. 37:23 1Or make level 8 aIs. 64:5 bIs. 25:9; 33:2 9 aPs. 63:6; Song 3:1; Is. 50:10; Luke 6:12 10 aEccl. 8:12; [Rom. 2:4] bPs. 143:10

619 ISAIAH 27:10 And will not behold the majesty of the LORD. 11 LORD, when Your hand is lifted up, athey will not see. But they will see and be ashamed For 1their envy of people; Yes, the fire of Your enemies shall devour them. 12 LORD,You will establish peace for us, For You have also done all our works 1in us. 13 O LORD our God, amasters besides You Have had dominion over us; But by You only we make mention of Your name. 14 They are dead, they will not live; They are deceased, they will not rise. Therefore You have punished and destroyed them, And made all their memory to aperish. 15 You have increased the nation, O LORD, You have aincreased the nation; You are glorified; You have expanded all the 1borders of the land. 16 LORD, ain trouble they have visited You, They poured out a prayer when Your chastening was upon them. 17 As aa woman with child Is in pain and cries out in her 1pangs, When she draws near the time of her delivery, So have we been in Your sight, O LORD. 18 We have been with child, we have been in pain; We have, as it were, 1brought forth wind; We have not accomplished any deliverance in the earth, Nor have athe inhabitants of the world fallen. 19 aYour dead shall live; Together with 1my dead body they shall arise. bAwake and sing, you who dwell in dust; For your dew is like the dew of herbs, And the earth shall cast out the dead. Take Refuge from the Coming Judgment 20 Come, my people, aenter your chambers, And shut your doors behind you; Hide yourself, as it were, bfor a little moment, Until the indignation is past. 21 For behold, the LORD acomes out of His place To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; The earth will also disclose her 1blood, And will no more cover her slain. 27 In that day the LORD with His severe sword, great and strong, Will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, aLeviathan that twisted serpent; And He will slay bthe reptile that is in the sea. The Restoration of Israel 2 In that day asing to her, b“A vineyard of 1red wine! 3 aI, the LORD, keep it, I water it every moment; Lest any hurt it, I keep it night and day. 4 Fury is not in Me. Who would set abriers and thorns Against Me in battle? I would go through them, I would burn them together. 5 Or let him take hold aof My strength, That he may bmake peace with Me; And he shall make peace with Me.” 6 Those who come He shall cause ato take root in Jacob; Israel shall blossom and bud, And fill the face of the world with fruit. 7 aHas He struck 1Israel as He struck those who struck him? Or has He been slain according to the slaughter of those who were slain by Him? 8 aIn measure, by sending it away, You contended with it. bHe removes it by His rough wind In the day of the east wind. 9 Therefore by this the iniquity of Jacob will be covered; And this is all the fruit of taking away his sin: When he makes all the stones of the altar Like chalkstones that are beaten to dust, 1Wooden images and incense altars shall not stand. 10 Yet the fortified city will be adesolate, The habitation forsaken and left like a wilderness; 11 aIs. 5:12 1Or Your zeal for the people 12 1Or for us 13 a2 Chr. 12:8 14 aEccl. 9:5 15 aIs. 9:3 1Or ends 16 aHos. 5:15 17 a[John 16:21] 1sharp pains 18 aPs. 17:14 1given birth to 19 a[Ezek. 37:1–14] b[Dan. 12:2] 1So with MT, Vg.; Syr., Tg. their dead bodies; LXX those in the tombs 20 aEx. 12:22, 23 b[Ps. 30:5] 21 aMic. 1:3 1Or bloodshed CHAPTER 27 1 aPs. 74:13, 14 bIs. 51:9 2 aIs. 5:1 bIs. 5:7 1So with MT (Kittel’s Biblia Hebraica), Bg., Vg.; MT (Biblia Hebraica Stuttgarten- sia), some Heb. mss., LXX delight; Tg. choice vineyard 3 aIs. 31:5 4 a2 Sam. 23:6 5 aIs. 25:4 bJob 22:21 6 aIs. 37:31 7 aIs. 10:12, 17; 30:30–33 1Lit. him 8 aJob 23:6 b[Ps. 78:38] 9 1Heb. Ashe- rim, Canaan- ite deities 10 aIs. 5:6, 17; 32:14

ISAIAH 27:11 620 There the calf will feed, and there it will lie down And consume its branches. 11 When its boughs are withered, they will be broken off; The women come and set them on fire. For ait is a people of no understanding; Therefore He who made them will bnot have mercy on them, And cHe who formed them will show them no favor. 12 And it shall come to pass in that day That the LORD will thresh, From the channel of 1the River to the Brook of Egypt; And you will be agathered one by one, O you children of Israel. 13 aSo it shall be in that day: bThe great trumpet will be blown; They will come, who are about to perish in the land of Assyria, And they who are outcasts in the land of cEgypt, And shall dworship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem. Woe to Ephraim and Jerusalem 28 Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, Whose glorious beauty is a fading flower Which is at the head of the 1verdant valleys, To those who are overcome with wine! 2 Behold, the Lord has a mighty and strong one, aLike a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, Like a flood of mighty waters overflowing, Who will bring them down to the earth with His hand. 3 The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, Will be trampled underfoot; 4 And the glorious beauty is a fading flower Which is at the head of the 1verdant valley, Like the first fruit before the summer, Which an observer sees; He eats it up while it is still in his hand. 5 In that day the LORD of hosts will be For a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty To the remnant of His people, 6 For a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment, And for strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate. 7 But they also ahave erred through wine, And through intoxicating drink are out of the way; bThe priest and the prophet have erred through intoxicating drink, They are swallowed up by wine, They are out of the way through intoxicating drink; They err in vision, they stumble in judgment. 8 For all tables are full of vomit and filth; No place is clean. 9 “Whoma will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts? 10 aFor precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little.” 11 For with astammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people, 12 To whom He said, “This is the arest with which You may cause the weary to rest,” And, “This is the refreshing”; Yet they would not hear. 13 But the word of the LORD was to them, “Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little,” That they might go and fall backward, and be broken And snared and caught. 14 Therefore hear the word of the LORD, you scornful men, Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem, 15 Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death, And with Sheol we are in agreement. When the overflowing scourge passes through, It will not come to us, aFor we have made lies our refuge, And under falsehood we have hidden ourselves.” A Cornerstone in Zion 16 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: 11 aDeut. 32:28; Is. 1:3 bIs. 9:17 cDeut. 32:18; Is. 43:1, 7; 44:2, 21, 24 12 a[Is. 11:11; 56:8] 1The Eu- phrates 13 aIs. 2:11 bLev. 25:9; 1 Chr. 15:24; Matt. 24:31; Rev. 11:15 cIs. 19:21, 22 d[Is. 2:3]; Zech. 14:16; [Heb. 12:22] CHAPTER 28 1 1Lit. valleys of fatness 2 aIs. 30:30; Ezek. 13:11 4 1Lit. valley of fatness 7 aProv. 20:1; Is. 5:11, 22; Hos. 4:11 bIs. 56:10, 12 9 aJer. 6:10 10 a[2 Chr. 36:15; Neh. 9:30; Jer. 25:3, 4; 35:15; 44:4] 11 aIs. 33:19; 1 Cor. 14:21 12 aIs. 30:15; Jer. 6:16; [Matt. 11:28, 29] 15 aIs. 9:15; Ezek. 13:22; Amos 2:4

621 ISAIAH 29:8 “Behold, I lay in Zion aa stone for a foundation, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; Whoever believes will not act hastily. 17 Also I will make justice the measuring line, And righteousness the plummet; The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, And the waters will overflow the hiding place. 18 Your covenant with death will be annulled, And your agreement with Sheol will not stand; When the overflowing scourge passes through, Then you will be trampled down by it. 19 As often as it goes out it will take you; For morning by morning it will pass over, And by day and by night; It will be a terror just to understand the report.” 20 For the bed is too short to stretch out on, And the covering so narrow that one cannot wrap himself in it. 21 For the LORD will rise up as at Mount aPerazim, He will be angry as in the Valley of bGibeon— That He may do His work, cHis awesome work, And bring to pass His act, His 1unusual act. 22 Now therefore, do not be mockers, Lest your bonds be made strong; For I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts, aA 1destruction determined even upon the whole earth. Listen to the Teaching of God 23 Give ear and hear my voice, Listen and hear my speech. 24 Does the plowman keep plowing all day to sow? Does he keep turning his soil and breaking the clods? 25 When he has leveled its surface, Does he not sow the black cummin And scatter the cummin, Plant the wheat in rows, The barley in the appointed place, And the 1spelt in its place? 26 For He instructs him in right judgment, His God teaches him. 27 For the black cummin is not threshed with a threshing sledge, Nor is a cartwheel rolled over the cummin; But the black cummin is beaten out with a stick, And the cummin with a rod. 28 Bread flour must be ground; Therefore he does not thresh it forever, Break it with his cartwheel, Or crush it with his horsemen. 29 This also comes from the LORD of hosts, aWho is wonderful in counsel and excellent in 1guidance. Woe to Jerusalem 29 “Woe ato 1Ariel, to Ariel, the city bwhere David dwelt! Add year to year; Let feasts come around. 2 Yet I will distress Ariel; There shall be heaviness and sorrow, And it shall be to Me as Ariel. 3 I will encamp against you all around, I will lay siege against you with a mound, And I will raise siegeworks against you. 4 You shall be brought down, You shall speak out of the ground; Your speech shall be low, out of the dust; Your voice shall be like a medium’s, aout of the ground; And your speech shall whisper out of the dust. 5 “Moreover the multitude of your afoes Shall be like fine dust, And the multitude of the terrible ones Like bchaff that passes away; Yes, it shall be cin an instant, suddenly. 6 aYou will be punished by the LORD of hosts With thunder and bearthquake and great noise, With storm and tempest And the flame of devouring fire. 7 aThe multitude of all the nations who fight against 1Ariel, Even all who fight against her and her fortress, And distress her, Shall be bas a dream of a night vision. 8 aIt shall even be as when a hungry man dreams, And look—he eats; But he awakes, and his soul is still empty; Or as when a thirsty man dreams, 16 aGen. 49:24; Ps. 118:22; Is. 8:14, 15; Matt. 21:42; Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17; Acts 4:11; Rom. 9:33; 10:11; Eph. 2:20; 1 Pet. 2:6–8 21 a2 Sam. 5:20; 1 Chr. 14:11 bJosh. 10:10, 12; 2 Sam. 5:25; 1 Chr. 14:16 c[Lam. 3:33; Luke 19:41–44] 1Lit. foreign 22 aIs. 10:22; Dan. 9:27 1Lit. complete end 25 1rye 29 aPs. 92:5; Is. 9:6; Jer. 32:19 1sound wis- dom CHAPTER 29 1 aEzek. 24:6, 9 b2 Sam. 5:9 1Jerusalem, lit. Lion of God 4 aIs. 8:19 5 aIs. 25:5 bJob 21:18; Is. 17:13 cIs. 30:13; 47:11; 1 Thess. 5:3 6 aIs. 28:2; 30:30 b1 Sam. 2:10; Zech. 14:4; Matt. 24:7; Mark 13:8; Luke 21:11; Rev. 16:18, 19 7 aIs. 37:36; Mic. 4:11, 12; Zech. 12:9 bJob 20:8 1Jerusalem 8 aPs. 73:20

ISAIAH 29:9 622 And look—he drinks; But he awakes, and indeed he is faint, And his soul still craves: So the multitude of all the nations shall be, Who fight against Mount Zion.” The Blindness of Disobedience 9 Pause and wonder! Blind yourselves and be blind! aThey are drunk, bbut not with wine; They stagger, but not with intoxicating drink. 10 For athe LORD has poured out on you The spirit of deep sleep, And has bclosed your eyes, namely, the prophets; And He has covered your heads, namely, cthe seers. 11 The whole vision has become to you like the words of a 1book athat is sealed, which men deliver to one who is literate, saying, “Read this, please.” bAnd he says, “I cannot, for it is sealed.” 12 Then the book is delivered to one who 1is illiterate, saying, “Read this, please.” And he says, “I am not literate.” 13 Therefore the Lord said: a“Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths And honor Me bwith their lips, But have removed their hearts far from Me, And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men, 14 aTherefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work Among this people, A marvelous work and a wonder; bFor the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, And the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden.” 15 aWoe to those who seek deep to hide their counsel far from the LORD, And their works are in the dark; bThey say, “Who sees us?” and, “Who knows us?” 16 Surely you have things turned around! Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay; For shall the athing made say of him who made it, “He did not make me”? Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it, “He has no understanding”? Future Recovery of Wisdom 17 Is it not yet a very little while Till aLebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, And the fruitful field be esteemed as a forest? 18 aIn that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book, And the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness. 19 aThe humble also shall increase their joy in the LORD, And bthe poor among men shall rejoice In the Holy One of Israel. 20 For the 1terrible one is brought to nothing, aThe scornful one is consumed, And all who bwatch for iniquity are cut off— 21 Who make a man an offender by a word, And alay a snare for him who reproves in the gate, And turn aside the just bby empty words. 22 Therefore thus says the LORD, awho redeemed Abraham, concern- ing the house of Jacob: “Jacob shall not now be bashamed, Nor shall his face now grow pale; 23 But when he sees his children, aThe work of My hands, in his midst, They will hallow My name, And hallow the Holy One of Jacob, And fear the God of Israel. 24 These also awho erred in spirit will come to understanding, And those who complained will learn doctrine.” Futile Confidence in Egypt 30 “Woe to the rebellious children,” says the LORD, a“Who take counsel, but not of Me, And who 1devise plans, but not of My Spirit, bThat they may add sin to sin; 2 aWho walk to go down to Egypt, And bhave not asked My advice, To strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, And to trust in the shadow of Egypt! 3 aTherefore the strength of Pharaoh Shall be your shame, And trust in the shadow of Egypt Shall be your humiliation. 4 For his princes were at aZoan, And his ambassadors came to Hanes. 9 aIs. 28:7, 8 bIs. 51:21 10 aPs. 69:23; Is. 6:9, 10; Mic. 3:6; Rom. 11:8 bPs. 69:23; Is. 6:10 c1 Sam. 9:9; Is. 44:18; Mic. 3:6; [2 Thess. 2:9–12] 11 aIs. 8:16 bDan. 12:4, 9; [Matt. 13:11–16]; Rev. 5:1–5, 9 1scroll 12 1Lit. does not know books 13 aPs. 78:36; Ezek. 33:31; Matt. 15:8, 9; Mark 7:6, 7 bCol. 2:22 14 aIs. 6:9, 10; 28:21; Hab. 1:5 bIs. 44:25; Jer. 49:7; Obad. 8; 1 Cor. 1:19 15 aIs. 30:1 bPs. 10:11; 94:7; Is. 47:10; Ezek. 8:12; Mal. 2:17 16 aIs. 45:9; Jer. 18:1–6; [Rom. 9:19–21] 17 aIs. 32:15 18 aIs. 35:5; Matt. 11:5; Mark 7:37 19 a[Ps. 25:9; 37:11; Is. 11:4; 61:1; Matt. 5:5; 11:29] bIs. 14:30; [Matt. 5:3; 11:5; James 2:5] 20 aIs. 28:14 bIs.

6 bDan. 12:4, 9; [Matt. 13:11–16]; Rev. 5:1–5, 9 1scroll 12 1Lit. does not know books 13 aPs. 78:36; Ezek. 33:31; Matt. 15:8, 9; Mark 7:6, 7 bCol. 2:22 14 aIs. 6:9, 10; 28:21; Hab. 1:5 bIs. 44:25; Jer. 49:7; Obad. 8; 1 Cor. 1:19 15 aIs. 30:1 bPs. 10:11; 94:7; Is. 47:10; Ezek. 8:12; Mal. 2:17 16 aIs. 45:9; Jer. 18:1–6; [Rom. 9:19–21] 17 aIs. 32:15 18 aIs. 35:5; Matt. 11:5; Mark 7:37 19 a[Ps. 25:9; 37:11; Is. 11:4; 61:1; Matt. 5:5; 11:29] bIs. 14:30; [Matt. 5:3; 11:5; James 2:5] 20 aIs. 28:14 bIs. 59:4; Mic. 2:1 1terrifying 21 aAmos 5:10, 12 bProv. 28:21 22 aJosh. 24:3 bIs. 45:17 23 a[Is. 45:11; 49:20–26; Eph. 2:10] 24 aIs. 28:7 CHAPTER 30 1 aIs. 29:15 bDeut. 29:19 1Lit. weave a web 2 aIs. 31:1; Jer. 43:7 bNum. 27:21; Josh. 9:14; 1 Kin. 22:7; Jer. 21:2; 42:2, 20 3 aIs. 20:5; Jer. 37:5, 7 4 aIs. 19:11

623 ISAIAH 30:22 5 aThey were all ashamed of a people who could not benefit them, Or be help or benefit, But a shame and also a reproach.” 6 aThe 1burden against the beasts of the South. Through a land of trouble and anguish, From which came the lioness and lion, bThe viper and fiery flying serpent, They will carry their riches on the backs of young donkeys, And their treasures on the humps of camels, To a people who shall not profit; 7 aFor the Egyptians shall help in vain and to no purpose. Therefore I have called her 1Rahab-Hem-Shebeth. A Rebellious People 8 Now go, awrite it before them on a tablet, And note it on a scroll, That it may be for time to come, Forever and ever: 9 That athis is a rebellious people, Lying children, Children who will not hear the law of the LORD; 10 aWho say to the seers, “Do not see,” And to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us right things; bSpeak to us smooth things, prophesy deceits. 11 Get out of the way, Turn aside from the path, Cause the Holy One of Israel To cease from before us.” 12 Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel: “Because you adespise this word, And trust in oppression and perversity, And rely on them, 13 Therefore this iniquity shall be to you aLike a breach ready to fall, A bulge in a high wall, Whose breaking bcomes suddenly, in an instant. 14 And aHe shall break it like the breaking of the potter’s vessel, Which is broken in pieces; He shall not spare. So there shall not be found among its fragments 1A shard to take fire from the hearth, Or to take water from the cistern.” 15 For thus says the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel: a“In returning and rest you shall be saved; In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.” bBut you would not, 16 And you said, “No, for we will flee on horses”— Therefore you shall flee! And, “We will ride on swift horses”— Therefore those who pursue you shall be swift! 17 aOne thousand shall flee at the threat of one, At the threat of five you shall flee, Till you are left as a 1pole on top of a mountain And as a banner on a hill. God Will Be Gracious 18 Therefore the LORD will wait, that He may be agracious to you; And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; bBlessed are all those who cwait for Him. 19 For the people ashall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem; You shall bweep no more. He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry; When He hears it, He will canswer you. 20 And though the Lord gives you aThe bread of adversity and the water of 1affliction, Yet byour teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore, But your eyes shall see your teachers. 21 Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” Whenever you aturn to the right hand Or whenever you turn to the left. 22 aYou will also defile the covering of your images of silver, And the ornament of your molded images of gold. You will throw them away as an unclean thing; bYou will say to them, “Get away!” 5 aJer. 2:36 6 aIs. 57:9; Hos. 8:9; 12:1 bDeut. 8:15; Is. 14:29 1ora- cle, prophecy 7 aJer. 37:7 1Lit. Rahab Sits Idle 8 aHab. 2:2 9 aDeut. 32:20; Is. 1:2, 4; 65:2 10 aIs. 5:20; Jer. 11:21; Amos 2:12; Mic. 2:6 b1 Kin. 22:8, 13; Jer. 6:14; 23:17, 26; Ezek. 13:7; Mic. 2:11; Rom. 16:18; 2 Tim. 4:3, 4 12 aLev. 26:43; Num. 15:31; Prov. 1:30; 13:13; Is. 5:24; Ezek. 20:13, 16, 24; Amos 2:4 13 a1 Kin. 20:30; Ps. 62:3, 4; Is. 58:12 bIs. 29:5 14 aPs. 2:9; Jer. 19:11 1A piece of broken pot- tery 15 aPs. 116:7; Is. 7:4; 28:12 bMatt. 23:37 17 aLev. 26:36; Deut. 28:25; 32:30; Josh. 23:10; [Prov. 28:1] 1A tree stripped of branches 18 aIs. 33:2 bPs. 2:12; 34:8; Prov. 16:20; Jer. 17:7 cIs. 26:8 19 aIs. 65:9; [Ezek. 37:25, 28] bIs. 25:8 cPs. 50:15; Is. 65:24; [Matt. 7:7–11] 20 a1 Kin. 22:27; Ps. 127:2 bPs. 74:9; Amos 8:11 1oppres- sion 21 aJosh. 1:7 22 a2 Chr. 31:1; Is. 2:20; 31:7 bHos. 14:8

ISAIAH 30:23 624 23 aThen He will give the rain for your seed With which you sow the ground, And bread of the increase of the earth; It will be 1fat and plentiful. In that day your cattle will feed In large pastures. 24 Likewise the oxen and the young donkeys that work the ground Will eat cured fodder, Which has been winnowed with the shovel and fan. 25 There will be aon every high mountain And on every high hill Rivers and streams of waters, In the day of the bgreat slaughter, When the towers fall. 26 Moreover athe light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, And the light of the sun will be sevenfold, As the light of seven days, In the day that the LORD binds up the bruise of His people And heals the stroke of their wound. Judgment on Assyria 27 Behold, the name of the LORD comes from afar, Burning with His anger, And His burden is heavy; His lips are full of indignation, And His tongue like a devouring fire. 28 aHis breath is like an overflowing stream, bWhich reaches up to the neck, To sift the nations with the sieve of futility; And there shall be ca bridle in the jaws of the people, Causing them to err. 29 You shall have a song As in the night when a holy festival is kept, And gladness of heart as when one goes with a flute, To come into athe mountain of the LORD, To 1the Mighty One of Israel. 30 aThe LORD will cause His glorious voice to be heard, And show the descent of His arm, With the indignation of His anger And the flame of a devouring fire, With scattering, tempest, band hailstones. 31 For athrough the voice of the LORD Assyria will be 1beaten down, As He strikes with the brod. 32 And in every place where the staff of punishment passes, Which the LORD lays on him, It will be with tambourines and harps; And in battles of abrandishing He will fight with it. 33 aFor Tophet was established of old, Yes, for the king it is prepared. He has made it deep and large; Its pyre is fire with much wood; The breath of the LORD, like a stream of brimstone, Kindles it. The Folly of Not Trusting God 31 Woe to those awho go down to Egypt for help, And brely on horses, Who trust in chariots because they are many, And in horsemen because they are very strong, But who do not look to the Holy One of Israel, cNor seek the LORD! 2 Yet He also is wise and will bring disaster, And awill not 1call back His words, But will arise against the house of evildoers, And against the help of those who work iniquity. 3 Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; And their horses are flesh, and not spirit. When the LORD stretches out His hand, Both he who helps will fall, And he who is helped will fall down; They all will perish atogether. God Will Deliver Jerusalem 4 For thus the LORD has spoken to me: a“As a lion roars, And a young lion over his prey (When a multitude of shepherds is summoned against him, He will not be afraid of their voice Nor be disturbed by their noise), So the LORD of hosts will come down To fight for Mount Zion and for its hill. 5 aLike birds flying about, So will the LORD of hosts defend Jerusalem. Defending, He will also deliver it; Passing over, He will preserve it.” 6 Return to Him against whom the children of Israel have adeeply re- volted. 23 a[Matt. 6:33]; 1 Tim. 6:8 1rich 25 aIs. 2:14, 15 bIs. 2:10–21; 34:2 26 a[Is. 60:19, 20; Rev. 21:23; 22:5] 28 aIs. 11:4; 2 Thess. 2:8 bIs. 8:8 c2 Kin. 19:28; Is. 37:29 29 a[Is. 2:3] 1Lit. the Rock 30 aIs. 29:6 bIs. 28:2 31 aIs. 14:25; 37:36 bIs. 10:5, 24 1Lit. shat- tered 32 aIs. 11:15 33 a2 Kin. 23:10; Jer. 7:31 CHAPTER 31 1 aIs. 30:1, 2 bDeut. 17:16; Ps. 20:7; Is. 2:7; 30:16 cIs. 9:13; Dan. 9:13; Amos 5:4–8 2 aNum. 23:19; Jer. 44:29 1retract 3 aIs. 20:6 4 aNum. 24:9; Hos. 11:10; Amos 3:8 5 aDeut. 32:11; Ps. 91:4 6 aHos. 9:9

625 ISAIAH 33:1 7 For in that day every man shall athrow away his idols of silver and his idols of gold—bsin, which your own hands have made for your- selves. 8 “Then Assyria shall afall by a sword not of man, And a sword not of mankind shall bdevour him. But he shall flee from the sword, And his young men shall become forced labor. 9 aHe shall cross over to his stronghold for fear, And his princes shall be afraid of the banner,” Says the LORD, Whose fire is in Zion And whose furnace is in Jerusalem. A Reign of Righteousness 32 Behold, aa king will reign in righteousness, And princes will rule with justice. 2 A man will be as a hiding place from the wind, And aa 1cover from the tempest, As rivers of water in a dry place, As the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. 3 aThe eyes of those who see will not be dim, And the ears of those who hear will listen. 4 Also the heart of the 1rash will aunderstand knowledge, And the tongue of the stammerers will be ready to speak plainly. 5 The foolish person will no longer be called 1generous, Nor the miser said to be bountiful; 6 For the foolish person will speak foolishness, And his heart will work ainiquity: To practice ungodliness, To utter error against the LORD, To keep the hungry unsatisfied, And he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail. 7 Also the schemes of the schemer are evil; He devises wicked plans To destroy the poor with alying words, Even when the needy speaks justice. 8 But a 1generous man devises generous things, And by generosity he shall stand. Consequences of Complacency 9 Rise up, you women awho are at ease, Hear my voice; You complacent daughters, Give ear to my speech. 10 In a year and some days You will be troubled, you complacent women; For the vintage will fail, The gathering will not come. 11 Tremble, you women who are at ease; Be troubled, you complacent ones; Strip yourselves, make yourselves bare, And gird sackcloth on your waists. 12 People shall mourn upon their breasts For the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine. 13 aOn the land of my people will come up thorns and briers, Yes, on all the happy homes in bthe joyous city; 14 aBecause the palaces will be forsaken, The bustling city will be deserted. The forts and towers will become lairs forever, A joy of wild donkeys, a pasture of flocks— 15 Until athe Spirit is poured upon us from on high, And bthe wilderness becomes a fruitful field, And the fruitful field is counted as a forest. The Peace of God’s Reign 16 Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, And righteousness remain in the fruitful field. 17 aThe work of righteousness will be peace, And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever. 18 My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation, In secure dwellings, and in quiet aresting places, 19 aThough hail comes down bon the forest, And the city is brought low in humiliation. 20 Blessed are you who sow beside all waters, Who send out freely the feet of athe ox and the donkey. A Prayer in Deep Distress 33Woe to you awho plunder, though you have not been plundered; And you who deal treacherously, though they have not dealt treacherously with you! bWhen you cease plundering, 7 aIs. 2:20; 30:22 b1 Kin. 12:30 8 a2 Kin. 19:35, 36 bIs. 37:36 9 aIs. 37:37 CHAPTER 32 1 aPs. 45:1 2 aIs. 4:6 1shelter 3 aIs. 29:18; 35:5 4 aIs. 29:24 1hasty 5 1noble 6 aProv. 24:7–9 7 aJer. 5:26–28; Mic. 7:3 8 1noble 9 aIs. 47:8; Amos 6:1; Zeph. 2:15 13 aIs. 7:23–25; Hos. 9:6 bIs. 22:2 14 aIs. 27:10 15 a[Is. 11:2]; Ezek. 39:29; [Joel 2:28] bPs. 107:35; Is. 29:17 17 aPs. 119:165; Is. 2:4; Rom. 14:17; James 3:18 18 aIs. 11:10; 14:3; 30:15; [Hos. 2:18–23; Zech. 2:5; 3:10] 19 aIs. 30:30 bZech. 11:2 20 a[Eccl. 11:1]; Is. 30:23, 24 CHAPTER 33 1 aIs. 21:2; Hab. 2:8 bRev. 13:10

ISAIAH 33:2 626 You will be cplundered; When you make an end of dealing treacherously, They will deal treacherously with you. 2 O LORD, be gracious to us; aWe have waited for You. Be 1their arm every morning, Our salvation also in the time of trouble. 3 At the noise of the tumult the people ashall flee; When You lift Yourself up, the nations shall be scattered; 4 And Your plunder shall be gathered Like the gathering of the caterpillar; As the running to and fro of locusts, He shall run upon them. 5 aThe LORD is exalted, for He dwells on high; He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness. 6 Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times, And the strength of salvation; The fear of the LORD is His treasure. 7 Surely their valiant ones shall cry outside, aThe ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly. 8 aThe highways lie waste, The traveling man ceases. bHe has broken the covenant, 1He has despised the 2cities, He regards no man. 9 aThe earth mourns and languishes, Lebanon is shamed and shriveled; Sharon is like a wilderness, And Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits. Impending Judgment on Zion 10 “Nowa I will rise,” says the LORD; “Now I will be exalted, Now I will lift Myself up. 11 aYou shall conceive chaff, You shall bring forth stubble; Your breath, as fire, shall devour you. 12 And the people shall be like the burnings of lime; aLike thorns cut up they shall be burned in the fire. 13 Hear, ayou who are afar off, what I have done; And you who are near, acknowledge My might.” 14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; Fearfulness has seized the hypocrites: “Who among us shall dwell with the devouring afire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?” 15 He who awalks righteously and speaks uprightly, He who despises the gain of oppressions, Who gestures with his hands, refusing bribes, Who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed, And bshuts his eyes from seeing evil: 16 He will dwell on 1high; His place of defense will be the fortress of rocks; Bread will be given him, His water will be sure. The Land of the Majestic King 17 Your eyes will see the King in His abeauty; They will see the land that is very far off. 18 Your heart will meditate on terror: a“Where is the scribe? Where is he who weighs? Where is he who counts the towers?” 19 aYou will not see a fierce people, bA people of obscure speech, beyond perception, Of a 1stammering tongue that you cannot understand. 20 aLook upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts; Your eyes will see bJerusalem, a quiet home, A tabernacle that will not be taken down; cNot one of dits stakes will ever be removed, Nor will any of its cords be broken. 21 But there the majestic LORD will be for us A place of broad rivers and streams, In which no 1galley with oars will sail, Nor majestic ships pass by 22 (For the LORD is our aJudge, The LORD is our bLawgiver, cThe LORD is our King; He will save us); 23 Your tackle is loosed, They could not strengthen their mast, They could not spread the sail. Then the prey of great plunder is divided; The lame take the prey. 24 And the inhabitant will not say, “I am sick”; aThe people who dwell in it will be forgiven their iniquity. 1 cIs. 10:12; 14:25; 31:8 2 aIs. 25:9; 26:8 1LXX omits their; Syr., Tg., Vg. our 3 aIs. 17:13 5 aPs. 97:9 7 a2 Kin. 18:18, 37 8 aJudg. 5:6 b2 Kin. 18:13–17 1Tg. They have been removed from their cities 2So with MT, Vg.; DSS wit- nesses; LXX omits cities 9 aIs. 24:4 10 aPs. 12:5; Is. 2:19, 21 11 a[Ps. 7:14; Is. 26:18; 59:4; James 1:15] 12 aIs. 9:18 13 aPs. 48:10; Is. 49:1 14 aIs. 30:27, 30; Heb. 12:29 15 aPs. 15:2; 24:3, 4; Is. 58:6–11 bPs. 119:37 16 1Lit. heights 17 aPs. 27:4 18 a1 Cor. 1:20 19 a2 Kin. 19:32 bDeut. 28:49, 50; Is. 28:11; Jer. 5:15 1Unintel- ligible speech 20 aPs. 48:12 bPs. 46:5; 125:1; Is. 32:18 cIs. 37:33 dIs. 54:2 21 1ship 22 a[Acts 10:42] bIs. 1:10; 51:4, 7; James 4:12 cPs. 89:18; Is. 25:9; 35:4; Zech. 9:9 24 aIs. 40:2; Jer. 50:20; Mic. 7:18, 19; 1 John 1:7–9

627 ISAIAH 35:3 Judgment on the Nations 34Come anear, you nations, to hear; And heed, you people! bLet the earth hear, and all that is in it, The world and all things that come forth from it. 2 For the indignation of the LORD is against all nations, And His fury against all their armies; He has utterly destroyed them, He has given them over to the aslaughter. 3 Also their slain shall be thrown out; aTheir stench shall rise from their corpses, And the mountains shall be melted with their blood. 4 aAll the host of heaven shall be dissolved, And the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll; bAll their host shall fall down As the leaf falls from the vine, And as cfruit falling from a fig tree. 5 “For aMy sword shall be bathed in heaven; Indeed it bshall come down on Edom, And on the people of My curse, for judgment. 6 The asword of the LORD is filled with blood, It is made 1overflowing with fatness, With the blood of lambs and goats, With the fat of the kidneys of rams. For bthe LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah, And a great slaughter in the land of Edom. 7 The wild oxen shall come down with them, And the young bulls with the mighty bulls; Their land shall be soaked with blood, And their dust 1saturated with fatness.” 8 For it is the day of the LORD’s avengeance, The year of recompense for the cause of Zion. 9 aIts streams shall be turned into pitch, And its dust into brimstone; Its land shall become burning pitch. 10 It shall not be quenched night or day; aIts smoke shall ascend forever. bFrom generation to generation it shall lie waste; No one shall pass through it forever and ever. 11 aBut the 1pelican and the 2porcupine shall possess it, Also the owl and the raven shall dwell in it. And bHe shall stretch out over it The line of confusion and the stones of emptiness. 12 They shall call its nobles to the kingdom, But none shall be there, and all its princes shall be nothing. 13 And athorns shall come up in its palaces, Nettles and brambles in its fortresses; bIt shall be a habitation of jackals, A courtyard for ostriches. 14 The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the 1jackals, And the wild goat shall bleat to its companion; Also 2the night creature shall rest there, And find for herself a place of rest. 15 There the arrow snake shall make her nest and lay eggs And hatch, and gather them under her shadow; There also shall the hawks be gathered, Every one with her mate. 16 “Search from athe book of the LORD, and read: Not one of these shall fail; Not one shall lack her mate. For My mouth has commanded it, and His Spirit has gathered them. 17 He has cast the lot for them, And His hand has divided it among them with a measuring line. They shall possess it forever; From generation to generation they shall dwell in it.” The Future Glory of Zion 35The awilderness and the 1wasteland shall be glad for them, And the bdesert2 shall rejoice and blossom as the rose; 2 aIt shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, Even with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, The excellence of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the bglory of the LORD, The excellency of our God. 3 aStrengthen the 1weak hands, And make firm the 2feeble knees. CHAPTER 34 1 aPs. 49:1; Is. 41:1; 43:9 bDeut. 32:1; Is. 1:2 2 aIs. 13:5 3 aJoel 2:20; Amos 4:10 4 aPs. 102:26; Is. 13:13; Ezek. 32:7, 8; Joel 2:31; Matt. 24:29; 2 Pet. 3:10 bIs. 14:12 cRev. 6:12–14 5 aDeut. 32:41, 42; Jer. 46:10; Ezek. 21:3–5 bIs. 63:1; Jer. 49:7, 8, 20; Ezek. 25:12–14; 35:1–15; Amos 1:11, 12; Obad. 1–14; Mal. 1:4 6 aIs. 66:16 bZeph. 1:7 1Lit. fat 7 1Lit. made fat 8 aIs. 63:4 9 aDeut. 29:23; Ps. 11:6; Is. 30:33 10 aRev. 14:11; 18:18; 19:3 bIs. 13:20–22; 24:1; 34:10–15; Mal. 1:3, 4 11 aIs. 14:23; Zeph. 2:14; Rev. 18:2 b2 Kin. 21:13; Lam. 2:8 1Or owl 2Or hedgehog 13 aIs. 32:13; Hos. 9:6 bIs. 13:21 14 1Lit. howl- ing creatures 2Heb. lilith 16 a[Mal. 3:16] CHAPTER 35 1 aIs. 32:15; 55:12 bIs. 41:19; 51:3 1desert 2Heb. arabah 2 aIs. 32:15 bIs. 40:5 3 aJob 4:3, 4; Heb. 12:12 1Lit.

1:11, 12; Obad. 1–14; Mal. 1:4 6 aIs. 66:16 bZeph. 1:7 1Lit. fat 7 1Lit. made fat 8 aIs. 63:4 9 aDeut. 29:23; Ps. 11:6; Is. 30:33 10 aRev. 14:11; 18:18; 19:3 bIs. 13:20–22; 24:1; 34:10–15; Mal. 1:3, 4 11 aIs. 14:23; Zeph. 2:14; Rev. 18:2 b2 Kin. 21:13; Lam. 2:8 1Or owl 2Or hedgehog 13 aIs. 32:13; Hos. 9:6 bIs. 13:21 14 1Lit. howl- ing creatures 2Heb. lilith 16 a[Mal. 3:16] CHAPTER 35 1 aIs. 32:15; 55:12 bIs. 41:19; 51:3 1desert 2Heb. arabah 2 aIs. 32:15 bIs. 40:5 3 aJob 4:3, 4; Heb. 12:12 1Lit. sinking 2tottering or stumbling

ISAIAH 35:4 628 4 Say to those who are fearful-hearted, “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with avengeance, With the recompense of God; He will come and bsave you.” 5 Then the aeyes of the blind shall be opened, And bthe ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 6 Then the alame shall leap like a deer, And the btongue of the dumb sing. For cwaters shall burst forth in the wilderness, And streams in the desert. 7 The parched ground shall become a pool, And the thirsty land springs of water; In athe habitation of jackals, where each lay, There shall be grass with reeds and rushes. 8 A ahighway shall be there, and a road, And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. bThe unclean shall not pass over it, But it shall be for others. Whoever walks the road, although a fool, Shall not go astray. 9 aNo lion shall be there, Nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it; It shall not be found there. But the redeemed shall walk there, 10 And the aransomed of the LORD shall return, And come to Zion with singing, With everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, And bsorrow and sighing shall flee away. Sennacherib Boasts Against the LORD 36 Now ait came to pass in the fourteenth year of King Heze- kiah that Sennacherib king of As- syria came up against all the forti- fied cities of Judah and took them. 2 Then the king of Assyria sent the 1Rabshakeh with a great army from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. And he stood by the aqueduct from the upper pool, on the highway to the Fuller’s Field. 3 And aEliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, bShebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came out to him. 4 aThen the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: “What confidence is this in which you trust? 5 “I say you speak of having plans and power for war; but they are 1mere words. Now in whom do you trust, that you rebel against me? 6 “Look! You are trusting in the astaff of this broken reed, Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who btrust in him. 7 “But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the LORD our God,’ is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and said to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar’?” ’ 8 “Now therefore, I urge you, give a pledge to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses—if you are able on your part to put riders on them! 9 “How then will you repel one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put your trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen? 10 “Have I now come up without the LORD against this land to destroy it? The LORD said to me, ‘Go up against this land, and destroy it.’ ” 11 Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it; and do not speak to us in 1Hebrew in the hearing of the peo- ple who are on the wall.” 12 But the Rabshakeh said, “Has my master sent me to your master and to you to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall, who will eat and drink their own waste with you?” 13 Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out with a loud voice in Hebrew, and said, “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! 14 “Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you; 15 ‘nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, “The LORD will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” ’ 16 “Do not listen to Hezekiah; for thus says the king of Assyria: ‘Make peace with me by a present and come out to me; aand every one of you eat from his own vine and every one from his own fig tree, and every one of you drink the waters of his own cistern; 17 ‘until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards.

LORD, saying, “The LORD will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” ’ 16 “Do not listen to Hezekiah; for thus says the king of Assyria: ‘Make peace with me by a present and come out to me; aand every one of you eat from his own vine and every one from his own fig tree, and every one of you drink the waters of his own cistern; 17 ‘until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards. 18 ‘Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, “The LORD will deliver us.” Has any one of the agods of the nations delivered its land from the hand of the king of Assyria? 4 aIs. 34:8 bPs. 145:19; Is. 33:22 5 aIs. 29:18; Matt. 9:27; John 9:6, 7 b[Matt. 11:5] 6 aMatt. 11:5; 15:30; John 5:8, 9; Acts 8:7 bIs. 32:4; Matt. 9:32; 12:22 cIs. 41:18; [John 7:38] 7 aIs. 34:13 8 aIs. 19:23 bIs. 52:1; Joel 3:17; [Matt. 7:13, 14]; 1 Pet. 1:15, 16; Rev. 21:27 9 aLev. 26:6; [Is. 11:7, 9]; Ezek. 34:25 10 aIs. 51:11 bIs. 25:8; 30:19; 65:19; [Rev. 7:17; 21:4] CHAPTER 36 1 a2 Kin. 18:13, 17; 2 Chr. 32:1 2 1A title, probably Chief of Staff or Governor 3 aIs. 22:20 bIs. 22:15 4 a2 Kin. 18:19 5 1Lit. a word of the lips 6 aEzek. 29:6 bPs. 146:3; Is. 30:3, 5, 7 11 1Lit. Judean 16 a1 Kin. 4:25; Mic. 4:4; Zech. 3:10 18 a2 Kin. 19:12; Is. 37:12

629 ISAIAH 37:23 19 ‘Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Indeed, have they de- livered aSamaria from my hand? 20 ‘Who among all the gods of these lands have delivered their countries from my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?’ ” 21 But they 1held their peace and answered him not a word; for the king’s commandment was, “Do not answer him.” 22 Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Heze- kiah with their clothes torn, and told him the words of the Rabshakeh. Isaiah Assures Deliverance 37 And aso it was, when King Hezekiah heard it, that he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the LORD. 2 Then he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. 3 And they said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah: ‘This day is a day of atrouble and rebuke and 1blas- phemy; for the children have come to birth, but there is no strength to bring them forth. 4 ‘It may be that the LORD your God will hear the words of the Rab- shakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to areproach the liv- ing God, and will rebuke the words which the LORD your God has heard. Therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.’ ” 5 So the servants of King Heze- kiah came to Isaiah. 6 And Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your master, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Do not be afraid of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. 7 “Surely I will send a spirit upon him, and he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.” ’ ” Sennacherib’s Threat and Hezekiah’s Prayer 8 Then the Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria war- ring against Libnah, for he heard that he had departed from Lachish. 9 And the king heard concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, “He has come out to make war with you.” So when he heard it, he sent messen- gers to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “Thus you shall speak to Heze- kiah king of Judah, saying: ‘Do not let your God in whom you trust de- ceive you, saying, “Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” 11 ‘Look! You have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by utterly destroying them; and shall you be delivered? 12 ‘Have the agods of the nations delivered those whom my fathers have destroyed, Gozan and Haran and Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar? 13 ‘Where is the king of aHamath, the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah?’ ” 14 And Hezekiah received the let- ter from the hand of the messen- gers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD. 15 Then Hezekiah prayed to the LORD, saying: 16 “O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You aalone, of all the kingdoms of the earth.You have made heaven and earth. 17 a“Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see; and bhear all the words of Sen- nacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God. 18 “Truly, LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their alands, 19 “and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were anot gods, but the work of men’s hands—wood and stone.

srael, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You aalone, of all the kingdoms of the earth.You have made heaven and earth. 17 a“Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see; and bhear all the words of Sen- nacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God. 18 “Truly, LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their alands, 19 “and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were anot gods, but the work of men’s hands—wood and stone. Therefore they destroyed them. 20 “Now therefore, O LORD our God, asave us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may bknow that You are the LORD,You alone.” The Word of the LORD Concerning Sennacherib 21 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘Because you have prayed to Me against Sen- nacherib king of Assyria, 22 ‘this is the word which the LORD has spoken concerning him: “The virgin, the daughter of Zion, Has despised you, laughed you to scorn; The daughter of Jerusalem Has shaken her head behind your back! 23 “Whom have you reproached and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice, And lifted up your eyes on high? Against the Holy One of Israel. 19 a2 Kin. 17:6 21 1were silent CHAPTER 37 1 a2 Kin. 19:1–37; Is. 37:1–38 3 aIs. 22:5; 26:16; 33:2 1contempt 4 aIs. 36:15, 18, 20 12 aIs. 36:18, 19 13 aIs. 49:23 16 aIs. 43:10, 11 17 a2 Chr. 6:40; Ps. 17:6; Dan. 9:18 bPs. 74:22 18 a2 Kin. 15:29; 16:9; 17:6, 24; 1 Chr. 5:26 19 aIs. 40:19, 20 20 aIs. 33:22 bPs. 83:18

ISAIAH 37:24 630 24 By your servants you have reproached the Lord, And said, ‘By the multitude of my chariots I have come up to the height of the mountains, To the limits of Lebanon; I will cut down its tall cedars And its choice cypress trees; I will enter its farthest height, To its fruitful forest. 25 I have dug and drunk water, And with the soles of my feet I have dried up All the brooks of 1defense.’ 26 “Did you not hear along ago How I made it, From ancient times that I formed it? Now I have brought it to pass, That you should be For crushing fortified cities into heaps of ruins. 27 Therefore their inhabitants had little power; They were dismayed and confounded; They were as the grass of the field And the green herb, As the grass on the housetops And grain blighted before it is grown. 28 “But I know your dwelling place, Your going out and your coming in, And your rage against Me. 29 Because your rage against Me and your tumult Have come up to My ears, Therefore aI will put My hook in your nose And My bridle in your lips, And I will bturn you back By the way which you came.” ’ 30 “This shall be a sign to you: You shall eat this year such as grows of itself, And the second year what springs from the same; Also in the third year sow and reap, Plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them. 31 And the remnant who have escaped of the house of Judah Shall again take root downward, And bear fruit upward. 32 For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, And those who escape from Mount Zion. The azeal of the LORD of hosts will do this. 33 “Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria: ‘He shall not come into this city, Nor shoot an arrow there, Nor come before it with shield, Nor build a siege mound against it. 34 By the way that he came, By the same shall he return; And he shall not come into this city,’ Says the LORD. 35 ‘For I will adefend this city, to save it For My own sake and for My servant bDavid’s sake.’ ” Sennacherib’s Defeat and Death 36 Then the aangel1 of the LORD went out, and 2killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses—all dead. 37 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went away, returned home, and remained at Nineveh. 38 Now it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. Then aEsarhaddon his son reigned in his place. Hezekiah’s Life Extended 38 In athose days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, “Thus says the LORD: b‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.’ ” 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the LORD, 3 and said, a“Remember now, O LORD, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a 1loyal heart, and have done what is good in Your bsight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. 4 And the word of the LORD came to Isaiah, saying, 5 “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will add to your days fifteen years. 6 “I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of As- syria, and aI will defend this city.” ’ 7 “And this is athe sign to you from the LORD, that the LORD will do this thing which He has spoken: 8 “Behold, I will bring the shadow on the sundial, which has gone down with the sun on the sundial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward.” So the sun returned ten degrees on the dial by which it had gone down. 9 This is the writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been 25 1Or per- haps Egypt 26 aIs. 25:1; 40:21; 45:21 29 a2 Kin. 19:35–37; 2 Chr. 32:21; Is. 30:28; Ezek. 38:4 bEzek. 38:4; 39:2 32 a2 Kin. 19:31; Is. 9:7; 59:17; Joel 2:18; Zech. 1:14 35 a2 Kin. 20:6; Is. 31:5; 38:6 b1 Kin. 11:13 36 a2 Kin. 19:35; Is. 10:12, 33, 34 1Or Angel 2Lit.

ial, which has gone down with the sun on the sundial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward.” So the sun returned ten degrees on the dial by which it had gone down. 9 This is the writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been 25 1Or per- haps Egypt 26 aIs. 25:1; 40:21; 45:21 29 a2 Kin. 19:35–37; 2 Chr. 32:21; Is. 30:28; Ezek. 38:4 bEzek. 38:4; 39:2 32 a2 Kin. 19:31; Is. 9:7; 59:17; Joel 2:18; Zech. 1:14 35 a2 Kin. 20:6; Is. 31:5; 38:6 b1 Kin. 11:13 36 a2 Kin. 19:35; Is. 10:12, 33, 34 1Or Angel 2Lit. struck 38 aEzra 4:2 CHAPTER 38 1 a2 Kin. 20:1–6, 9–11; 2 Chr. 32:24; Is. 38:1–8 b2 Sam. 17:23 3 aNeh. 13:14 b2 Kin. 18:5, 6; Ps. 26:3 1whole or peaceful 6 a2 Kin. 19:35–37; 2 Chr. 32:21; Is. 31:5; 37:35 7 aJudg. 6:17, 21, 36–40; 2 Kin. 20:8; Is. 7:11

631 ISAIAH 40:3 sick and had recovered from his sickness: 10 I said, “In the prime of my life I shall go to the gates of Sheol; I am deprived of the remainder of my years.” 11 I said, “I shall not see 1YAH, The LORD ain the land of the living; I shall observe man no more 2among the inhabitants of 3the world. 12 aMy life span is gone, Taken from me like a shepherd’s tent; I have cut off my life like a weaver. He cuts me off from the loom; From day until night You make an end of me. 13 I have considered until morning— Like a lion, So He breaks all my bones; From day until night You make an end of me. 14 Like a crane or a swallow, so I chattered; aI mourned like a dove; My eyes fail from looking upward. O 1LORD, I am oppressed; 2Undertake for me! 15 “What shall I say? 1He has both spoken to me, And He Himself has done it. I shall walk carefully all my years aIn the bitterness of my soul. 16 O Lord, by these things men live; And in all these things is the life of my spirit; So You will restore me and make me live. 17 Indeed it was for my own peace That I had great bitterness; But You have lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of corruption, For You have cast all my sins behind Your back. 18 For aSheol cannot thank You, Death cannot praise You; Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your truth. 19 The living, the living man, he shall praise You, As I do this day; aThe father shall make known Your truth to the children. 20 “The LORD was ready to save me; Therefore we will sing my songs with stringed instruments All the days of our life, in the house of the LORD.” 21 Now aIsaiah had said, “Let them take a lump of figs, and apply it as a poultice on the boil, and he shall recover.” 22 And aHezekiah had said, “What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the LORD?” The Babylonian Envoys 39 At athat time 1Merodach- Baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. 2 aAnd Hezekiah was pleased with them, and showed them the house of his treasures—the silver and gold, the spices and precious ointment, and all his armory—all that was found among his treasures. There was noth- ing in his house or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them. 3 Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where did they come to you?” So Hezekiah said, “They came to me from a afar country, from Babylon.” 4 And he said, “What have they seen in your house?” So Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them.” 5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD of hosts: 6 ‘Behold, the days are coming awhen all that is in your house, and what your fathers have accumulated until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,’ says the LORD. 7 ‘And they shall take away some of your asons who will descend from you, whom you will beget; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’ ” 8 So Hezekiah said to Isaiah, a“The word of the LORD which you have spoken is good!” For he said, “At least there will be peace and truth in my days.” God’s People Are Comforted 40 “Comfort, yes, comfort My people!” Says your God. 2 “Speak 1comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, That her warfare is ended, That her iniquity is pardoned; aFor she has received from the LORD’s hand Double for all her sins.” 3 aThe voice of one crying in the wilderness: b“Prepare the way of the LORD; 11 aPs. 27:13; 116:9 1Heb. YAH,YAH 2LXX omits among the in- habitants of the world 3So with some Heb. mss.; MT, Vg. rest; Tg. land 12 aJob 7:6 14 aIs. 59:11; Ezek. 7:16; Nah. 2:7 1So with Bg.; MT, DSS Lord 2Be my surety 15 aJob 7:11; 10:1; Is. 38:17 1So with MT, Vg.; DSS, Tg. And shall I say to Him; LXX omits first half of this verse 18 aPs. 6:5; 30:9; 88:11; 115:17; [Eccl. 9:10] 19 aDeut. 4:9; 6:7; Ps. 78:3, 4 21 a2 Kin.

aThe voice of one crying in the wilderness: b“Prepare the way of the LORD; 11 aPs. 27:13; 116:9 1Heb. YAH,YAH 2LXX omits among the in- habitants of the world 3So with some Heb. mss.; MT, Vg. rest; Tg. land 12 aJob 7:6 14 aIs. 59:11; Ezek. 7:16; Nah. 2:7 1So with Bg.; MT, DSS Lord 2Be my surety 15 aJob 7:11; 10:1; Is. 38:17 1So with MT, Vg.; DSS, Tg. And shall I say to Him; LXX omits first half of this verse 18 aPs. 6:5; 30:9; 88:11; 115:17; [Eccl. 9:10] 19 aDeut. 4:9; 6:7; Ps. 78:3, 4 21 a2 Kin. 20:7 22 a2 Kin. 20:8 CHAPTER 39 1 a2 Kin. 20:12–19; 2 Chr. 32:31; Is. 39:1–8 1Berodach- Baladan, 2 Kin. 20:12 2 a2 Chr. 32:25, 31; Job 31:25 3 aDeut. 28:49; Jer. 5:15 6 a2 Kin. 24:13; 25:13–15; Jer. 20:5 7 aDan. 1:1–7 8 a1 Sam. 3:18 CHAPTER 40 2 aIs. 61:7 1Lit. to the heart of 3 aMatt. 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4–6; John 1:23 b[Mal. 3:1; 4:5, 6]

ISAIAH 40:4 632 cMake straight 1in the desert A highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be exalted And every mountain and hill brought low; aThe crooked places shall be made 1straight And the rough places smooth; 5 The aglory of the LORD shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” 6 The voice said, “Cry out!” And 1he said, “What shall I cry?” a“All flesh is grass, And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. 7 The grass withers, the flower fades, Because the breath of the LORD blows upon it; Surely the people are grass. 8 The grass withers, the flower fades, But athe word of our God stands forever.” 9 O Zion, You who bring good tidings, Get up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, You who bring good tidings, Lift up your voice with strength, Lift it up, be not afraid; Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!” 10 Behold, the Lord GOD shall come 1with a strong hand, And aHis arm shall rule for Him; Behold, bHis reward is with Him, And His 2work before Him. 11 He will afeed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, And carry them in His bosom, And gently lead those who are with young. 12 aWho has measured the 1waters in the hollow of His hand, Measured heaven with a 2span And calculated the dust of the earth in a measure? Weighed the mountains in scales And the hills in a balance? 13 aWho has directed the Spirit of the LORD, Or as His counselor has taught Him? 14 With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him, And ataught Him in the path of justice? Who taught Him knowledge, And showed Him the way of understanding? 15 Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket, And are counted as the small dust on the scales; Look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing. 16 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, Nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering. 17 All nations before Him are as anothing, And bthey are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless. 18 To whom then will you aliken God? Or what likeness will you compare to Him? 19 aThe workman molds an image, The goldsmith overspreads it with gold, And the silversmith casts silver chains. 20 Whoever is too impoverished for such 1a contribution Chooses a tree that will not rot; He seeks for himself a skillful workman aTo prepare a carved image that will not totter. 21 aHave you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? 22 It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who astretches out the heavens like a curtain, And spreads them out like a btent to dwell in. 23 He 1brings the aprinces to nothing; He makes the judges of the earth useless. 24 Scarcely shall they be planted, Scarcely shall they be sown, Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth, When He will also blow on them, And they will wither, And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble. 25 “Toa whom then will you liken Me, 3 cPs. 68:4 1So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX omits in the desert 4 aIs. 45:2 1Or a plain 5 aIs. 35:2 6 aJob 14:2; James 1:10; 1 Pet. 1:24, 25 1So with MT, Tg.; DSS, LXX, Vg. I 8 a[John 12:34] 10 aIs. 59:16, 18 bIs. 62:11; Rev. 22:12 1in strength 2recompense 11 aJer. 31:10; [Ezek. 34:23, 31]; Mic. 5:4; [John 10:11, 14–16; Heb. 13:20; 1 Pet. 2:25] 12 aProv. 30:4 1So with MT, LXX, Vg.; DSS adds of the sea; Tg. adds of the world 2A span = 1⁄2 cubit, 9 inches; or the width of His hand 13 aJob 21:22; Rom. 11:34; [1 Cor. 2:16] 14 aJob 36:22, 23 17 aDan. 4:35 bPs. 62:9 18 aEx. 8:10; 15:11; 1 Sam. 2:2; Is. 46:5; [Mic. 7:18]; Acts 17:29 19 aPs. 115:4–8; Is. 41:7; 44:10; Hab. 2:18, 19 20 a1 Sam. 5:3, 4; Is. 41:7; 46:7; Jer. 10:3 1an offering 21 aPs. 19:1; Is. 37:26; Acts 14:17; Rom. 1:19 22 aJob 9:8; Ps. 104:2; Is. 42:5; 44:24; Jer. 10:12 bJob 36:29; Ps. 19:4 23 aJob 12:21; Ps.

, Vg.; DSS adds of the sea; Tg. adds of the world 2A span = 1⁄2 cubit, 9 inches; or the width of His hand 13 aJob 21:22; Rom. 11:34; [1 Cor. 2:16] 14 aJob 36:22, 23 17 aDan. 4:35 bPs. 62:9 18 aEx. 8:10; 15:11; 1 Sam. 2:2; Is. 46:5; [Mic. 7:18]; Acts 17:29 19 aPs. 115:4–8; Is. 41:7; 44:10; Hab. 2:18, 19 20 a1 Sam. 5:3, 4; Is. 41:7; 46:7; Jer. 10:3 1an offering 21 aPs. 19:1; Is. 37:26; Acts 14:17; Rom. 1:19 22 aJob 9:8; Ps. 104:2; Is. 42:5; 44:24; Jer. 10:12 bJob 36:29; Ps. 19:4 23 aJob 12:21; Ps. 107:40; Is. 34:12; [1 Cor. 1:26–29] 1re- duces 25 a[Deut. 4:15]; Is. 40:18; [John 14:9; Col. 1:15]

633 ISAIAH 41:16 Or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One. 26 Lift up your eyes on high, And see who has created these things, Who brings out their host by number; aHe calls them all by name, By the greatness of His might And the strength of His power; Not one is missing. 27 aWhy do you say, O Jacob, And speak, O Israel: “My way is hidden from the LORD, And my just claim is passed over by my God”? 28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. aHis understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, 31 But those who await on the LORD bShall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. Israel Assured of God’s Help 41 “Keep asilence before Me, O coastlands, And let the people renew their strength! Let them come near, then let them speak; Let us bcome near together for judgment. 2 “Who raised up one afrom the east? Who in righteousness called him to His feet? Who bgave the nations before him, And made him rule over kings? Who gave them as the dust to his sword, As driven stubble to his bow? 3 Who pursued them, and passed 1safely By the way that he had not gone with his feet? 4 aWho has performed and done it, Calling the generations from the beginning? ‘I, the LORD, am bthe first; And with the last I am cHe.’ ” 5 The coastlands saw it and feared, The ends of the earth were afraid; They drew near and came. 6 aEveryone helped his neighbor, And said to his brother, 1“Be of good courage!” 7 aSo the craftsman encouraged the bgoldsmith;1 He who smooths with the hammer inspired him who strikes the anvil, Saying, 2“It is ready for the soldering”; Then he fastened it with pegs, cThat it might not totter. 8 “But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have achosen, The descendants of Abraham My bfriend. 9 You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, And called from its farthest regions, And said to you, ‘You are My servant, I have chosen you and have not cast you away: 10 aFear not, bfor I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ 11 “Behold, all those who were incensed against you Shall be aashamed and disgraced; They shall be as nothing, And those who strive with you shall perish. 12 You shall seek them and not find them— 1Those who contended with you. Those who war against you Shall be as nothing, As a nonexistent thing. 13 For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand, Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’ 14 “Fear not, you aworm Jacob, You men of Israel! I will help you,” says the LORD And your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. 15 “Behold, aI will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth; You shall thresh the mountains and beat them small, And make the hills like chaff. 16 You shall awinnow them, the wind shall carry them away, And the whirlwind shall scatter them; You shall rejoice in the LORD, 26 aPs. 147:4 27 aIs. 54:7, 8 28 aPs. 147:5; Eccl. 11:5; Rom. 11:33 31 aIs. 30:15; 49:23 b[Job 17:9]; Ps. 103:5; [2 Cor. 4:8–10, 16] CHAPTER 41 1 aHab. 2:20; Zech. 2:13 bIs. 1:18 2 aIs. 46:11 bGen. 14:14; Is. 45:1, 13 3 1Lit. in peace 4 aIs. 41:26 bRev. 1:8, 17; 22:13 cIs. 43:10; 44:6 6 aIs. 40:19 1Lit. Be strong 7 aIs. 44:13 bIs. 40:19 cIs. 40:20 1refiner 2Or The sol- dering is good 8 aDeut. 7:6; 10:15; Ps. 135:4; [Is. 43:1] b2 Chr. 20:7; James 2:23 10 aIs. 41:13, 14; 43:5 b[Deut. 31:6] 11 aEx. 23:22; Is. 45:24; 60:12; Zech. 12:3 12 1Lit. Men of your strife 14 aJob 25:6; Ps. 22:6 15 aMic. 4:13; Hab. 3:12; [2 Cor. 10:4] 16 aJer. 51:2

ISAIAH 41:17 634 And bglory in the Holy One of Israel. 17 “The poor and needy seek water, but there is none, Their tongues fail for thirst. I, the LORD, will hear them; I, the God of Israel, will not aforsake them. 18 I will open arivers in desolate heights, And fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the bwilderness a pool of water, And the dry land springs of water. 19 I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia tree, The myrtle and the oil tree; I will set in the adesert the cypress tree and the pine And the box tree together, 20 aThat they may see and know, And consider and understand together, That the hand of the LORD has done this, And the Holy One of Israel has created it. The Futility of Idols 21 “Present your case,” says the LORD. “Bring forth your strong reasons,” says the aKing of Jacob. 22 “Leta them bring forth and show us what will happen; Let them show the bformer things, what they were, That we may 1consider them, And know the latter end of them; Or declare to us things to come. 23 aShow the things that are to come hereafter, That we may know that you are gods; Yes, bdo good or do evil, That we may be dismayed and see it together. 24 Indeed ayou are nothing, And your work is nothing; He who chooses you is an abomination. 25 “I have raised up one from the north, And he shall come; From the 1rising of the sun ahe shall call on My name; bAnd he shall come against princes as though mortar, As the potter treads clay. 26 aWho has declared from the beginning, that we may know? And former times, that we may say, ‘He is righteous’? Surely there is no one who shows, Surely there is no one who declares, Surely there is no one who hears your words. 27 aThe first time bI said to Zion, ‘Look, there they are!’ And I will give to Jerusalem one who brings good tidings. 28 aFor I looked, and there was no man; I looked among them, but there was no counselor, Who, when I asked of them, could answer a word. 29 aIndeed they are all 1worthless; Their works are nothing; Their molded images are wind and confusion. The Servant of the LORD 42 “Behold! aMy Servant whom I uphold, My 1Elect One in whom My soul bdelights! cI have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. 2 aHe will not cry out, nor raise His voice, Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. 3 A bruised reed He will not break, And 1smoking flax He will not 2quench; He will bring forth justice for truth. 4 He will not fail nor be discouraged, Till He has established justice in the earth; aAnd the coastlands shall wait for His law.” 5 Thus says God the LORD, aWho created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it, bWho gives breath to the people on it, And spirit to those who walk on it: 6 “I,a the LORD, have called You in righteousness, And will hold Your hand; I will keep You band give You as a covenant to the people, As ca light to the Gentiles, 7 aTo open blind eyes, To bbring out prisoners from the prison, Those who sit in cdarkness from the prison house. 8 I am the LORD, that is My name; And My aglory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images. 9 Behold, the former things have come to pass, 16 bIs. 45:25 17 aPs. 94:14; Rom. 11:2 18 aIs. 35:6, 7; 43:19; 44:3 bPs. 107:35 19 aIs. 35:1 20 aJob 12:9; Is. 66:14 21 aIs. 43:15 22 aIs. 45:21 bIs. 43:9 1Lit. set our heart on them 23 aIs. 42:9; 44:7, 8; 45:3; [John 13:19] bJer. 10:5 24 aPs. 115:8; Is. 44:9; [Rom. 3:10–20; 1 Cor. 8:4] 25 aEzra 1:2 bIs. 41:2; Jer. 50:3 1East 26 aIs. 43:9 27 aIs. 41:4 bIs. 40:9; Nah. 1:15 28 aIs. 63:5 29 aIs. 41:24 1So with MT, Vg.; DSS, Syr., Tg. noth- ing; LXX omits first line CHAPTER 42 1 aIs. 43:10; 49:3, 6; Matt. 12:18; [Phil. 2:7] bMatt. 3:17; 17:5; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22; Eph. 1:6 c[Is. 11:2]; Matt. 3:16; [Luke 4:18, 19, 21]; John 3:34 1Chosen 3 1dimly burning 2extinguish 4 a[Gen. 49:10] 5 aIs. 44:24; Zech. 12:1 bJob 12:10; 33:4; Is. 57:16; Dan. 5:23; Acts 17:25 6 aIs.

3:10–20; 1 Cor. 8:4] 25 aEzra 1:2 bIs. 41:2; Jer. 50:3 1East 26 aIs. 43:9 27 aIs. 41:4 bIs. 40:9; Nah. 1:15 28 aIs. 63:5 29 aIs. 41:24 1So with MT, Vg.; DSS, Syr., Tg. noth- ing; LXX omits first line CHAPTER 42 1 aIs. 43:10; 49:3, 6; Matt. 12:18; [Phil. 2:7] bMatt. 3:17; 17:5; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22; Eph. 1:6 c[Is. 11:2]; Matt. 3:16; [Luke 4:18, 19, 21]; John 3:34 1Chosen 3 1dimly burning 2extinguish 4 a[Gen. 49:10] 5 aIs. 44:24; Zech. 12:1 bJob 12:10; 33:4; Is. 57:16; Dan. 5:23; Acts 17:25 6 aIs. 43:1 bIs. 49:8 cIs. 49:6; Luke 2:32; [Acts 10:45; 13:47; Gal. 3:14] 7 aIs. 35:5 bIs. 61:1; Luke 4:18; [2 Tim. 2:26; Heb. 2:14] cIs. 9:2 8 aEx. 20:3–5; Is. 48:11

635 ISAIAH 43:4 And new things I declare; Before they spring forth I tell you of them.” Praise to the LORD 10 aSing to the LORD a new song, And His praise from the ends of the earth, bYou who go down to the sea, and 1all that is in it, You coastlands and you inhabitants of them! 11 Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voice, The villages that Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of Sela sing, Let them shout from the top of the mountains. 12 Let them give glory to the LORD, And declare His praise in the coastlands. 13 The LORD shall go forth like a mighty man; He shall stir up His zeal like a man of war. He shall cry out, ayes, shout aloud; He shall prevail against His enemies. Promise of the LORD’s Help 14 “I have held My peace a long time, I have been still and restrained Myself. Now I will cry like a woman in 1labor, I will pant and gasp at once. 15 I will lay waste the mountains and hills, And dry up all their vegetation; I will make the rivers coastlands, And I will dry up the pools. 16 I will bring the blind by a way they did not know; I will lead them in paths they have not known. I will make darkness light before them, And crooked places straight. These things I will do for them, And not forsake them. 17 They shall be aturned back, They shall be greatly ashamed, Who trust in carved images, Who say to the molded images, ‘You are our gods.’ 18 “Hear, you deaf; And look, you blind, that you may see. 19 aWho is blind but My servant, Or deaf as My messenger whom I send? Who is blind as he who is perfect, And blind as the LORD’s servant? 20 Seeing many things, abut you do not observe; Opening the ears, but he does not hear.” Israel’s Obstinate Disobedience 21 The LORD is well pleased for His righteousness’ sake; He will exalt the law and make it honorable. 22 But this is a people robbed and plundered; All of them are 1snared in holes, And they are hidden in prison houses; They are for prey, and no one delivers; For plunder, and no one says, “Restore!” 23 Who among you will give ear to this? Who will listen and hear for the time to come? 24 Who gave Jacob for plunder, and Israel to the robbers? Was it not the LORD, He against whom we have sinned? aFor they would not walk in His ways, Nor were they obedient to His law. 25 Therefore He has poured on him the fury of His anger And the strength of battle; aIt has set him on fire all around, bYet he did not know; And it burned him, Yet he did not take it to cheart. The Redeemer of Israel 43 But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, afor I have redeemed you; bI have called you by your name; You are Mine. 2 aWhen you pass through the waters, bI will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you cwalk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you. 3 For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; aI gave Egypt for your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in your place. 4 Since you were precious in My sight, You have been honored, And I have aloved you; 10 aPs. 33:3; 40:3; 98:1 bPs. 107:23 1Lit. its fullness 13 aIs. 31:4 14 1childbirth 17 aPs. 97:7; Is. 1:29; 44:11; 45:16 19 aIs. 43:8; Ezek. 12:2; [John 9:39, 41] 20 aRom. 2:21 22 1Or trapped in caves 24 aIs. 65:2 25 a2 Kin. 25:9 bIs. 1:3; 5:13; Hos. 7:9 cIs. 29:13 CHAPTER 43 1 aIs. 43:5; 44:6 bIs. 42:6; 45:4 2 a[Ps. 66:12; 91:3] b[Deut. 31:6]; Jer. 30:11 cDan. 3:25 3 a[Prov. 11:8; 21:18] 4 aIs. 63:9

ISAIAH 43:5 636 Therefore I will give men for you, And people for your life. 5 aFear not, for I am with you; I will bring your descendants from the east, And bgather you from the west; 6 I will say to the anorth, ‘Give them up!’ And to the south, ‘Do not keep them back!’ Bring My sons from afar, And My daughters from the ends of the earth— 7 Everyone who is acalled by My name, Whom bI have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him.” 8 aBring out the blind people who have eyes, And the bdeaf who have ears. 9 Let all the nations be gathered together, And let the people be assembled. aWho among them can declare this, And show us former things? Let them bring out their witnesses, that they may be justified; Or let them hear and say, “It is truth.” 10 “Youa are My witnesses,” says the LORD, b“And My servant whom I have chosen, That you may know and cbelieve Me, And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, Nor shall there be after Me. 11 I, even I, aam the LORD, And besides Me there is no savior. 12 I have declared and saved, I have proclaimed, And there was no aforeign god among you; bTherefore you are My witnesses,” Says the LORD, “that I am God. 13 aIndeed before the day was, I am He; And there is no one who can deliver out of My hand; I work, and who will breverse it?” 14 Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel: “For your sake I will send to Babylon, And bring them all down as fugitives— The Chaldeans, who rejoice in their ships. 15 I am the LORD, your Holy One, The Creator of Israel, your aKing.” 16 Thus says the LORD, who amakes a way in the sea And a bpath through the mighty waters, 17 Who abrings forth the chariot and horse, The army and the power (They shall lie down together, they shall not rise; They are extinguished, they are quenched like a wick): 18 “Doa not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old. 19 Behold, I will do a anew thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? bI will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert. 20 The beast of the field will honor Me, The jackals and the ostriches, Because aI give waters in the wilderness And rivers in the desert, To give drink to My people, My chosen. 21 aThis people I have formed for Myself; They shall declare My bpraise. Pleading with Unfaithful Israel 22 “But you have not called upon Me, O Jacob; And you ahave been weary of Me, O Israel. 23 aYou have not brought Me the sheep for your burnt offerings, Nor have you honored Me with your sacrifices. I have not caused you to serve with grain offerings, Nor wearied you with incense. 24 You have bought Me no sweet cane with money, Nor have you satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices; But you have burdened Me with your sins, You have awearied Me with your iniquities. 25 “I, even I, am He who ablots out your transgressions bfor My own sake; cAnd I will not remember your sins. 26 Put Me in remembrance; Let us contend together; State your case, that you may be 1acquitted. 27 Your first father sinned, And your 1mediators have transgressed against Me. 28 Therefore I will profane the princes of the sanctuary; 5 aIs. 41:10; 44:2; Jer. 30:10; 46:27, 28 bIs. 54:7 6 aIs. 49:12 7 aIs. 63:19; James 2:7 bPs. 100:3; Is. 29:23; [John 3:2, 3; 2 Cor. 5:17; Eph. 2:10] 8 aIs. 6:9; 42:19; Ezek. 12:2 bIs. 29:18 9 aIs. 41:21, 22, 26 10 aIs. 44:8 bIs. 55:4 cIs. 41:4; 44:6 11 aIs. 45:21; Hos. 13:4 12 aDeut. 32:16; Ps. 81:9 bIs. 44:8 13 aPs. 90:2; Is. 48:16 bJob 9:12; Is. 14:27 15 aIs. 41:20, 21 16 aEx. 14:16, 21, 22; Ps. 77:19; Is. 51:10 bJosh. 3:13 17 aEx. 14:4–9, 25 18 aJer. 16:14 19 aIs. 42:9; 48:6; [2 Cor. 5:17; Rev. 21:5] bEx. 17:6; Num. 20:11; Deut. 8:15; Ps. 78:16; Is. 35:1, 6 20 aIs. 48:21 21 aPs. 102:18; Is. 42:12; [Luke 1:74, 75; Eph. 1:5, 6; 1 Pet. 2:9] bJer. 13:11 22 aMic. 6:3; Mal. 1:13; 3:14 23 aAmos 5:25 24 aPs. 95:10; Is. 1:14; 7:13; Ezek. 6:9; Mal. 2:17 25 aIs. 44:22; Jer. 50:20; [Acts 3:19] bEzek. 36:22 cIs.

aPs. 90:2; Is. 48:16 bJob 9:12; Is. 14:27 15 aIs. 41:20, 21 16 aEx. 14:16, 21, 22; Ps. 77:19; Is. 51:10 bJosh. 3:13 17 aEx. 14:4–9, 25 18 aJer. 16:14 19 aIs. 42:9; 48:6; [2 Cor. 5:17; Rev. 21:5] bEx. 17:6; Num. 20:11; Deut. 8:15; Ps. 78:16; Is. 35:1, 6 20 aIs. 48:21 21 aPs. 102:18; Is. 42:12; [Luke 1:74, 75; Eph. 1:5, 6; 1 Pet. 2:9] bJer. 13:11 22 aMic. 6:3; Mal. 1:13; 3:14 23 aAmos 5:25 24 aPs. 95:10; Is. 1:14; 7:13; Ezek. 6:9; Mal. 2:17 25 aIs. 44:22; Jer. 50:20; [Acts 3:19] bEzek. 36:22 cIs. 1:18; Jer. 31:34 26 1justified 27 1inter- preters

637 ISAIAH 44:18 aI will give Jacob to the curse, And Israel to reproaches. God’s Blessing on Israel 44 “Yet hear now, O Jacob My servant, And Israel whom I have chosen. 2 Thus says the LORD who made you And formed you from the womb, who will help you: ‘Fear not, O Jacob My servant; And you, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen. 3 For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, And floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, And My blessing on your offspring; 4 They will spring up among the grass Like willows by the watercourses.’ 5 One will say, ‘I am the LORD’s’; Another will call himself by the name of Jacob; Another will write with his hand, ‘The LORD’s,’ And name himself by the name of Israel. There Is No Other God 6 “Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, And his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: a‘I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God. 7 And awho can proclaim as I do? Then let him declare it and set it in order for Me, Since I appointed the ancient people. And the things that are coming and shall come, Let them show these to them. 8 Do not fear, nor be afraid; aHave I not told you from that time, and declared it? bYou are My witnesses. Is there a God besides Me? Indeed cthere is no other Rock; I know not one.’ ” Idolatry Is Foolishness 9 aThose who make an image, all of them are useless, And their precious things shall not profit; They are their own witnesses; bThey neither see nor know, that they may be ashamed. 10 Who would form a god or mold an image aThat profits him nothing? 11 Surely all his companions would be aashamed; And the workmen, they are mere men. Let them all be gathered together, Let them stand up; Yet they shall fear, They shall be ashamed together. 12 aThe blacksmith with the tongs works one in the coals, Fashions it with hammers, And works it with the strength of his arms. Even so, he is hungry, and his strength fails; He drinks no water and is faint. 13 The craftsman stretches out his rule, He marks one out with chalk; He fashions it with a plane, He marks it out with the compass, And makes it like the figure of a man, According to the beauty of a man, that it may remain in the house. 14 He cuts down cedars for himself, And takes the cypress and the oak; He 1secures it for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a pine, and the rain nourishes it. 15 Then it shall be for a man to burn, For he will take some of it and warm himself; Yes, he kindles it and bakes bread; Indeed he makes a god and worships it; He makes it a carved image, and falls down to it. 16 He burns half of it in the fire; With this half he eats meat; He roasts a roast, and is satisfied. He even warms himself and says, “Ah! I am warm, I have seen the fire.” 17 And the rest of it he makes into a god, His carved image. He falls down before it and worships it, Prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!” 18 aThey do not know nor understand; For bHe has 1shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, And their hearts, so that they cannot cunderstand. 28 aPs. 79:4; Jer. 24:9; Dan. 9:11; Zech. 8:13 CHAPTER 44 6 aIs. 41:4; [Rev. 1:8, 17; 22:13] 7 aIs. 41:4, 22, 26 8 aIs. 41:22 bIs. 43:10, 12 cDeut. 4:35; 32:39; 1 Sam. 2:2; 2 Sam. 22:32; Is. 45:5; Joel 2:27 9 aIs. 41:24 bPs. 115:4 10 aIs. 41:29; Jer. 10:5; Hab. 2:18; Acts 19:26 11 aPs. 97:7; Is. 1:29; 42:17 12 aIs. 40:19; Jer. 10:3–5 14 1Lit. appro- priates 18 aIs. 45:20 b[Ps. 81:12]; Is. 6:9, 10; 29:10; 2 Thess. 2:11 cJer. 10:14 1Lit. smeared over

ISAIAH 44:19 638 19 And no one aconsiders in his heart, Nor is there knowledge nor understanding to say, “I have burned half of it in the fire, Yes, I have also baked bread on its coals; I have roasted meat and eaten it; And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?” 20 He feeds on ashes; aA deceived heart has turned him aside; And he cannot deliver his soul, Nor say, “Is there not a blie in my right hand?” Israel Is Not Forgotten 21 “Remember these, O Jacob, And Israel, for you are My servant; I have formed you, you are My servant; O Israel, you will not be aforgotten by Me! 22 aI have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, And like a cloud, your sins. Return to Me, for bI have redeemed you.” 23 aSing, O heavens, for the LORD has done it! Shout, you lower parts of the earth; Break forth into singing, you mountains, O forest, and every tree in it! For the LORD has redeemed Jacob, And bglorified Himself in Israel. Judah Will Be Restored 24 Thus says the LORD, ayour Redeemer, And bHe who formed you from the womb: “I am the LORD, who makes all things, cWho stretches out the heavens 1all alone, Who spreads abroad the earth by Myself; 25 Who afrustrates the signs bof the babblers, And drives diviners mad; Who turns wise men backward, cAnd makes their knowledge foolishness; 26 aWho confirms the word of His servant, And performs the counsel of His messengers; Who says to Jerusalem, ‘You shall be inhabited,’ To the cities of Judah, ‘You shall be built,’ And I will raise up her waste places; 27 aWho says to the deep, ‘Be dry! And I will dry up your rivers’; 28 Who says of aCyrus, ‘He is My shepherd, And he shall perform all My pleasure, Saying to Jerusalem, b“You shall be built,” And to the temple, “Your foundation shall be laid.” ’ Cyrus, God’s Instrument 45 “Thus says the LORD to His anointed, To aCyrus, whose bright hand I have 1held— cTo subdue nations before him And dloose the armor of kings, To open before him the double doors, So that the gates will not be shut: 2 ‘I will go before you aAnd1 make the 2crooked places straight; bI will break in pieces the gates of bronze And cut the bars of iron. 3 I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden riches of secret places, aThat you may know that I, the LORD, Who bcall you by your name, Am the God of Israel. 4 For aJacob My servant’s sake, And Israel My elect, I have even called you by your name; I have named you, though you have not known Me. 5 I aam the LORD, and bthere is no other; There is no God besides Me. cI will gird you, though you have not known Me, 6 aThat they may bknow from the rising of the sun to its setting That there is none besides Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other; 7 I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and acreate calamity; I, the LORD, do all these things.’ 8 “Raina down, you heavens, from above, And let the skies pour down righteousness; Let the earth open, let them bring forth salvation, And let righteousness spring up together. I, the LORD, have created it. 19 aIs. 46:8 20 aJob 15:31; Hos. 4:12; Rom. 1:21, 22; 2 Thess. 2:11; 2 Tim. 3:13 bIs. 57:11; 59:3, 4, 13; Rom. 1:25 21 aIs. 49:15 22 aIs. 43:25 bIs. 43:1; 1 Cor. 6:20; [1 Pet. 1:18, 19] 23 aPs. 69:34; Is. 42:10; 49:13; Jer. 51:48; Rev. 18:20 bIs. 49:3; 60:21 24 aIs. 43:14 bIs. 43:1 cJob 9:8 1By Him- self 25 aIs. 47:13 bJer. 50:36 c2 Sam. 15:31; Job 5:12–14; Ps. 33:10; Is. 29:14; Jer. 51:57; 1 Cor. 1:20, 27 26 aZech. 1:6; Matt. 5:18 27 aJer. 50:38; 51:36 28 a2 Chr. 36:22; Ezra 1:1; Is. 45:13 bEzra 6:7 CHAPTER 45 1 aIs. 44:28 bPs. 73:23; Is. 41:13 cDan. 5:30 dJob 12:21; Is. 45:5 1strengthened or sustained 2 aIs. 40:4 bPs. 107:16 1Tg. I will trample down the walls; Vg. I will humble the great ones of the earth 2DSS, LXX moun- tains 3 aIs. 41:23 bEx. 33:12 4 aIs. 44:1 5 aDeut. 4:35; 32:39; Is. 44:8 bIs. 45:14, 18 cPs. 18:32 6 aPs. 102:15; Is. 37:20; Mal. 1:11 b[Is. 11:9; 52:10] 7 aIs. 31:2; 47:11; Amos 3:6 8 aPs. 85:11

639 ISAIAH 46:1 9 “Woe to him who strives with ahis Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth! bShall the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’ Or shall your handiwork say, ‘He has no hands’? 10 Woe to him who says to his father, ‘What are you begetting?’ Or to the woman, ‘What have you brought forth?’ ” 11 Thus says the LORD, The Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: a“Ask Me of things to come concerning bMy sons; And concerning cthe work of My hands, you command Me. 12 aI have made the earth, And bcreated man on it. I—My hands—stretched out the heavens, And call their host I have commanded. 13 aI have raised him up in righteousness, And I will 1direct all his ways; He shall bbuild My city And let My exiles go free, cNot for price nor reward,” Says the LORD of hosts. The LORD, the Only Savior 14 Thus says the LORD: a“The labor of Egypt and merchandise of Cush And of the Sabeans, men of stature, Shall come over to you, and they shall be yours; They shall walk behind you, They shall come over bin chains; And they shall bow down to you. They will make supplication to you, saying, c‘Surely God is in you, And there is no other; dThere is no other God.’ ” 15 Truly You are God, awho hide Yourself, O God of Israel, the Savior! 16 They shall be aashamed And also disgraced, all of them; They shall go in confusion together, Who are makers of idols. 17 aBut Israel shall be saved by the LORD With an beverlasting salvation; You shall not be ashamed or cdisgraced Forever and ever. 18 For thus says the LORD, aWho created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it 1in vain, Who formed it to be binhabited: c“I am the LORD, and there is no other. 19 I have not spoken in asecret, In a dark place of the earth; I did not say to the seed of Jacob, ‘Seek Me 1in vain’; bI, the LORD, speak righteousness, I declare things that are right. 20 “Assemble yourselves and come; Draw near together, You who have escaped from the nations. aThey have no knowledge, Who carry the wood of their carved image, And pray to a god that cannot save. 21 Tell and bring forth your case; Yes, let them take counsel together. aWho has declared this from ancient time? Who has told it from that time? Have not I, the LORD? bAnd there is no other God besides Me, A just God and a Savior; There is none besides Me. 22 “Look to Me, and be saved, aAll you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. 23 aI have sworn by Myself; The word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, And shall not return, That to Me every bknee shall bow, cEvery tongue shall take an oath. 24 He shall say, 1‘Surely in the LORD I have arighteousness and strength. To Him men shall come, And ball shall be ashamed Who are incensed against Him. 25 aIn the LORD all the descendants of Israel Shall be justified, and bshall glory.’ ” Dead Idols and the Living God 46 Bel abows down, Nebo stoops; Their idols were on the beasts and on the cattle. Your carriages were heavily loaded, bA burden to the weary beast. 9 aIs. 64:8 bJer. 18:6; Rom. 9:20, 21 11 aIs. 8:19 bJer. 31:9 cIs. 29:23; 60:21; 64:8 12 aIs. 42:5; Jer. 27:5 bGen. 1:26 cGen. 2:1; Neh. 9:6 13 aIs. 41:2 b2 Chr. 36:22; Is. 44:28 c[Rom. 3:24] 1Or make all his ways straight 14 aPs. 68:31; 72:10, 11; Is. 14:1; 49:23; 60:9, 10, 14, 16; Zech. 8:22, 23 bPs. 149:8 cJer. 16:19; Zech. 8:20–23; 1 Cor. 14:25 dIs. 45:5 15 aPs. 44:24; Is. 57:17 16 aIs. 44:11 17 aIs. 26:4; [Rom. 11:26] bIs. 51:6 cIs. 29:22 18 aIs. 42:5 bGen. 1:26; Ps. 115:16; Acts 17:26 cIs. 45:5 1Or empty, a waste 19 aDeut. 30:11 bPs. 19:8; Is. 45:23; 63:1 1Or in a waste place 20 aIs. 44:9; 46:7; Jer. 10:5 21 aIs. 41:22; 43:9 bIs. 44:8 22 aPs. 22:27; 65:5 23 aGen. 22:16; Is. 62:8; [Heb. 6:13] bRom. 14:11; [Phil. 2:10] cDeut. 6:13; Ps. 63:11; Is. 19:18; 65:16 24 aIs. 54:17; [Jer. 23:5; 1 Cor. 1:30] bIs. 41:11 1Or Only in the LORD are all righteousness and strength 25 aIs. 45:17 b1 Cor.

aIs. 26:4; [Rom. 11:26] bIs. 51:6 cIs. 29:22 18 aIs. 42:5 bGen. 1:26; Ps. 115:16; Acts 17:26 cIs. 45:5 1Or empty, a waste 19 aDeut. 30:11 bPs. 19:8; Is. 45:23; 63:1 1Or in a waste place 20 aIs. 44:9; 46:7; Jer. 10:5 21 aIs. 41:22; 43:9 bIs. 44:8 22 aPs. 22:27; 65:5 23 aGen. 22:16; Is. 62:8; [Heb. 6:13] bRom. 14:11; [Phil. 2:10] cDeut. 6:13; Ps. 63:11; Is. 19:18; 65:16 24 aIs. 54:17; [Jer. 23:5; 1 Cor. 1:30] bIs. 41:11 1Or Only in the LORD are all righteousness and strength 25 aIs. 45:17 b1 Cor. 1:31 CHAPTER 46 1 aIs. 21:9; Jer. 50:2 bJer. 10:5

ISAIAH 46:2 640 2 They stoop, they bow down together; They could not deliver the burden, aBut have themselves gone into captivity. 3 “Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, And all the remnant of the house of Israel, aWho have been upheld by Me from 1birth, Who have been carried from the womb: 4 Even to your old age, aI am He, And even to gray hairs bI will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; Even I will carry, and will deliver you. 5 “Toa whom will you liken Me, and make Me equal And compare Me, that we should be alike? 6 aThey lavish gold out of the bag, And weigh silver on the scales; They hire a bgoldsmith, and he makes it a god; They prostrate themselves, yes, they worship. 7 aThey bear it on the shoulder, they carry it And set it in its place, and it stands; From its place it shall not move. Though bone cries out to it, yet it cannot answer Nor save him out of his trouble. 8 “Remember this, and 1show yourselves men; aRecall to mind, O you transgressors. 9 aRemember the former things of old, For I am God, and bthere is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, 10 aDeclaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, b‘My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure,’ 11 Calling a bird of prey afrom the east, The man bwho executes My counsel, from a far country. Indeed cI have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it; I will also do it. 12 “Listen to Me, you astubborn-hearted, bWho are far from righteousness: 13 aI bring My righteousness near, it shall not be far off; My salvation bshall not 1linger. And I will place csalvation in Zion, For Israel My glory. The Humiliation of Babylon 47 “Come adown and bsit in the dust, O virgin daughter of cBabylon; Sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans! For you shall no more be called Tender and 1delicate. 2 aTake the millstones and grind meal. Remove your veil, Take off the skirt, Uncover the thigh, Pass through the rivers. 3 aYour nakedness shall be uncovered, Yes, your shame will be seen; bI will take vengeance, And I will not arbitrate with a man.” 4 As for aour Redeemer, the LORD of hosts is His name, The Holy One of Israel. 5 “Sit in asilence, and go into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans; bFor you shall no longer be called The Lady of Kingdoms. 6 aI was angry with My people; bI have profaned My inheritance, And given them into your hand. You showed them no mercy; cOn the elderly you laid your yoke very heavily. 7 And you said, ‘I shall be aa lady forever,’ So that you did not btake these things to heart, cNor remember the latter end of them. 8 “Therefore hear this now, you who are given to pleasures, Who dwell securely, Who say in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one else besides me; I shall not sit as a widow, Nor shall I know the loss of children’; 9 But these two things shall come to you aIn a moment, in one day: The loss of children, and widowhood. They shall come upon you in their fullness Because of the multitude of your sorceries, For the great abundance of your enchantments. 2 aJudg. 18:17, 18, 24; 2 Sam. 5:21; Jer. 48:7; Hos. 10:5, 6 3 aDeut. 32:11; Ps. 71:6; Is. 63:9 1Lit. the belly 4 aMal. 3:6 bPs. 48:14 5 aIs. 40:18, 25 6 aIs. 40:19; 41:6; Jer. 10:4 bIs. 44:12 7 aIs. 45:20; 46:1; Jer. 10:5 bIs. 45:20 8 aIs. 44:19 1be men, take courage 9 aDeut. 32:7; Is. 42:9; 65:17 bIs. 45:5, 21 10 aIs. 45:21; 48:3 bPs. 33:11; Prov. 19:21; 21:30; Is. 14:24; 25:1; Acts 5:39; Heb. 6:17 11 aIs. 41:2, 25 bIs. 44:28 cNum. 23:19 12 aPs. 76:5; Is. 48:4; Zech. 7:11, 12; Mal. 3:13 b[Rom. 10:3] 13 a[Rom. 1:17] bHab. 2:3 cIs. 62:11; Joel 3:17; [1 Pet. 2:6] 1delay CHAPTER 47 1 aJer. 48:18 bIs. 3:26 cIs. 14:18–23; Jer. 25:12; 50:1—51:64 1dainty 2 aEx. 11:5; Jer. 25:10 3 aIs. 3:17; 20:4 b[Rom. 12:19] 4 aJer. 50:34 5 a1 Sam. 2:9 bIs. 13:19; [Dan. 2:37]; Rev. 17:18 6 a2 Sam. 24:14 bIs. 43:28 cDeut. 28:49, 50 7 aRev. 18:7 bIs. 42:25; 46:8 cDeut. 32:29; Jer. 5:31; Ezek. 7:2, 3 9 aPs.

eb. 6:17 11 aIs. 41:2, 25 bIs. 44:28 cNum. 23:19 12 aPs. 76:5; Is. 48:4; Zech. 7:11, 12; Mal. 3:13 b[Rom. 10:3] 13 a[Rom. 1:17] bHab. 2:3 cIs. 62:11; Joel 3:17; [1 Pet. 2:6] 1delay CHAPTER 47 1 aJer. 48:18 bIs. 3:26 cIs. 14:18–23; Jer. 25:12; 50:1—51:64 1dainty 2 aEx. 11:5; Jer. 25:10 3 aIs. 3:17; 20:4 b[Rom. 12:19] 4 aJer. 50:34 5 a1 Sam. 2:9 bIs. 13:19; [Dan. 2:37]; Rev. 17:18 6 a2 Sam. 24:14 bIs. 43:28 cDeut. 28:49, 50 7 aRev. 18:7 bIs. 42:25; 46:8 cDeut. 32:29; Jer. 5:31; Ezek. 7:2, 3 9 aPs. 73:19; 1 Thess. 5:3; Rev. 18:8

641 ISAIAH 48:13 10 “For you have trusted in your wickedness; You have said, ‘No one asees me’; Your wisdom and your knowledge have 1warped you; And you have said in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one else besides me.’ 11 Therefore evil shall come upon you; You shall not know from where it arises. And trouble shall fall upon you; You will not be able 1to put it off. And adesolation shall come upon you bsuddenly, Which you shall not know. 12 “Stand now with your enchantments And the multitude of your sorceries, In which you have labored from your youth— Perhaps you will be able to profit, Perhaps you will prevail. 13 aYou are wearied in the multitude of your counsels; Let now bthe1 astrologers, the stargazers, And 2the monthly prognosticators Stand up and save you From what shall come upon you. 14 Behold, they shall be aas stubble, The fire shall bburn them; They shall not deliver themselves From the power of the flame; It shall not be a coal to be warmed by, Nor a fire to sit before! 15 Thus shall they be to you With whom you have labored, aYour merchants from your youth; They shall wander each one to his 1quarter. No one shall save you. Israel Refined for God’s Glory 48 “Hear this, O house of Jacob, Who are called by the name of Israel, And have come forth from the wellsprings of Judah; Who swear by the name of the LORD, And make mention of the God of Israel, But anot in truth or in righteousness; 2 For they call themselves aafter the holy city, And blean on the God of Israel; The LORD of hosts is His name: 3 “I have adeclared the former things from the beginning; They went forth from My mouth, and I caused them to hear it. Suddenly I did them, band they came to pass. 4 Because I knew that you were 1obstinate, And ayour neck was an iron sinew, And your brow bronze, 5 Even from the beginning I have declared it to you; Before it came to pass I proclaimed it to you, Lest you should say, ‘My idol has done them, And my carved image and my molded image Have commanded them.’ 6 “You have heard; See all this. And will you not declare it? I have made you hear new things from this time, Even hidden things, and you did not know them. 7 They are created now and not from the beginning; And before this day you have not heard them, Lest you should say, ‘Of course I knew them.’ 8 Surely you did not hear, Surely you did not know; Surely from long ago your ear was not opened. For I knew that you would deal very treacherously, And were called aa transgressor from the womb. 9 “Fora My name’s sake bI will 1defer My anger, And for My praise I will restrain it from you, So that I do not cut you off. 10 Behold, aI have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the bfurnace of affliction. 11 For My own sake, for My own sake, I will do it; For ahow should My name be profaned? And bI will not give My glory to another. God’s Ancient Plan to Redeem Israel 12 “Listen to Me, O Jacob, And Israel, My called: I am He, aI am the bFirst, I am also the Last. 13 Indeed aMy hand has laid the foundation of the earth, And My right hand has stretched out the heavens; When bI call to them, They stand up together. 10 aIs. 29:15; Ezek. 8:12; 9:9 1led you astray 11 aIs. 13:6; Jer. 51:8, 43; Luke 17:27; 1 Thess. 5:3 bIs. 29:5 1Lit. to cover it or atone for it 13 aIs. 57:10 bIs. 8:19; 44:25; 47:9; Dan. 2:2, 10 1Lit. viewers of the heav- ens 2Lit. those giving knowl- edge for new moons 14 aIs. 5:24; Nah. 1:10; Mal. 4:1 b[Is. 10:17]; Jer. 51:58 15 aRev. 18:11 1own side or way CHAPTER 48 1 aIs. 58:2; Jer. 4:2; 5:2 2 aIs. 52:1; 64:10 bIs. 10:20; Jer. 7:4; 21:2; Mic. 3:11; Rom. 2:17 3 aIs. 44:7, 8; 46:10 bJosh. 21:45; Is. 42:9 4 aEx. 32:9; Deut. 31:27; Ezek. 2:4; 3:7 1Heb. hard 8 aDeut. 9:7, 24; Ps. 58:3; Is. 46:3, 8 9 aPs. 79:9; 106:8; Is. 43:25; Ezek. 20:9, 14, 22, 44 b[Neh. 9:30, 31]; Ps. 78:38; Is. 30:18; 65:8 1delay 10 aPs. 66:10; Jer. 9:7 bDeut. 4:20; 1 Kin. 8:51; Jer. 11:4 11 aLev. 22:2, 32; Deut. 32:26, 27; Ezek. 20:9 bIs. 42:8 12 aDeut. 32:39 bIs.

n side or way CHAPTER 48 1 aIs. 58:2; Jer. 4:2; 5:2 2 aIs. 52:1; 64:10 bIs. 10:20; Jer. 7:4; 21:2; Mic. 3:11; Rom. 2:17 3 aIs. 44:7, 8; 46:10 bJosh. 21:45; Is. 42:9 4 aEx. 32:9; Deut. 31:27; Ezek. 2:4; 3:7 1Heb. hard 8 aDeut. 9:7, 24; Ps. 58:3; Is. 46:3, 8 9 aPs. 79:9; 106:8; Is. 43:25; Ezek. 20:9, 14, 22, 44 b[Neh. 9:30, 31]; Ps. 78:38; Is. 30:18; 65:8 1delay 10 aPs. 66:10; Jer. 9:7 bDeut. 4:20; 1 Kin. 8:51; Jer. 11:4 11 aLev. 22:2, 32; Deut. 32:26, 27; Ezek. 20:9 bIs. 42:8 12 aDeut. 32:39 bIs. 44:6; [Rev. 22:13] 13 aEx. 20:11; Ps. 102:25; Is. 42:5; 45:12, 18; Heb. 1:10–12 bIs. 40:26

ISAIAH 48:14 642 14 “All of you, assemble yourselves, and hear! Who among them has declared these things? aThe LORD loves him; bHe shall do His pleasure on Babylon, And His arm shall be against the Chaldeans. 15 I, even I, have spoken; Yes, aI have called him, I have brought him, and his way will prosper. 16 “Come near to Me, hear this: aI have not spoken in secret from the beginning; From the time that it was, I was there. And now bthe Lord GOD and His Spirit 1Have sent Me.” 17 Thus says athe LORD, your Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, Who teaches you to profit, bWho leads you by the way you should go. 18 aOh, that you had heeded My commandments! bThen your peace would have been like a river, And your righteousness like the waves of the sea. 19 aYour descendants also would have been like the sand, And the offspring of your body like the grains of sand; His name would not have been cut off Nor destroyed from before Me.” 20 aGo forth from Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans! With a voice of singing, Declare, proclaim this, Utter it to the end of the earth; Say, “The LORD has bredeemed His servant Jacob!” 21 And they adid not thirst When He led them through the deserts; He bcaused the waters to flow from the rock for them; He also split the rock, and the waters gushed out. 22 “Therea is no peace,” says the LORD, “for the wicked.” The Servant, the Light to the Gentiles 49 “Listen, aO coastlands, to Me, And take heed, you peoples from afar! bThe LORD has called Me from the womb; From the 1matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name. 2 And He has made aMy mouth like a sharp sword; bIn the shadow of His hand He has hidden Me, And made Me ca polished shaft; In His quiver He has hidden Me.” 3 “And He said to me, a‘You are My servant, O Israel, bIn whom I will be glorified.’ 4 aThen I said, ‘I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and in vain; Yet surely my 1just reward is with the LORD, And my 2work with my God.’ ” 5 “And now the LORD says, Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, To bring Jacob back to Him, So that Israel ais 1gathered to Him (For I shall be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, And My God shall be My strength), 6 Indeed He says, ‘It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob, And to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a alight to the Gentiles, That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ” 7 Thus says the LORD, The Redeemer of Israel, 1their Holy One, aTo Him 2whom man despises, To Him whom the nation abhors, To the Servant of rulers: b“Kings shall see and arise, Princes also shall worship, Because of the LORD who is faithful, The Holy One of Israel; And He has chosen You.” 8 Thus says the LORD: “In an aacceptable1 time I have heard You, And in the day of salvation I have helped You; I will 2preserve You band give You As a covenant to the people, To restore the earth, To cause them to inherit the desolate 3heritages; 9 That You may say ato the prisoners, ‘Go forth,’ To those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’ 14 aIs. 45:1 bIs. 44:28; 47:1–15 15 aIs. 45:1, 2 16 aIs. 45:19 bZech. 2:8, 9, 11 1Heb. verb is sing.; or Has sent Me and His Spirit 17 aIs. 43:14 bPs. 32:8 18 aPs. 81:13 bPs. 119:165 19 aGen. 22:17 20 aZech. 2:6, 7 b[Ex. 19:4–6] 21 a[Is. 41:17, 18] bEx. 17:6 22 a[Is. 57:21] CHAPTER 49 1 aIs. 41:1 bJer. 1:5 1Lit. inward parts 2 aRev. 1:16; 2:12 bIs. 51:16 cPs. 45:5 3 a[Zech. 3:8] bIs. 44:23 4 a[Ezek. 3:19] 1justice 2recompense 5 aMatt. 23:37 1Qr., DSS, LXX gathered to Him; Kt. not gathered 6 a[Luke 2:32] 7 a[Is. 53:3] b[Is. 52:15] 1Lit. his or its 2Lit. who is despised of soul 8 a2 Cor. 6:2 bIs. 42:6 1favorable 2keep 3inheritances 9 aIs. 61:1

643 ISAIAH 50:1 “They shall feed along the roads, And their pastures shall be on all desolate heights. 10 They shall neither ahunger nor thirst, bNeither heat nor sun shall strike them; For He who has mercy on them cwill lead them, Even by the springs of water He will guide them. 11 aI will make each of My mountains a road, And My highways shall be elevated. 12 Surely athese shall come from afar; Look! Those from the north and the west, And these from the land of Sinim.” 13 aSing, O heavens! Be joyful, O earth! And break out in singing, O mountains! For the LORD has comforted His people, And will have mercy on His afflicted. God Will Remember Zion 14 aBut Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me, And my Lord has forgotten me.” 15 “Cana a woman forget her nursing child, 1And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, bYet I will not forget you. 16 See, aI have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me. 17 Your 1sons shall make haste; Your destroyers and those who laid you waste Shall go away from you. 18 aLift up your eyes, look around and see; All these gather together and come to you. As I live,” says the LORD, “You shall surely clothe yourselves with them all bas an ornament, And bind them on you as a bride does. 19 “For your waste and desolate places, And the land of your destruction, aWill even now be too small for the inhabitants; And those who swallowed you up will be far away. 20 aThe children you will have, bAfter you have lost the others, Will say again in your ears, ‘The place is too small for me; Give me a place where I may dwell.’ 21 Then you will say in your heart, ‘Who has begotten these for me, Since I have lost my children and am desolate, A captive, and wandering to and fro? And who has brought these up? There I was, left alone; But these, where were they?’ ” 22 aThus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I will lift My hand in an oath to the nations, And set up My 1standard for the peoples; They shall bring your sons in their 2arms, And your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders; 23 aKings shall be your foster fathers, And their queens your nursing mothers; They shall bow down to you with their faces to the earth, And blick up the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD, cFor they shall not be ashamed who wait for Me.” 24 aShall the prey be taken from the mighty, Or the captives 1of the righteous be delivered? 25 But thus says the LORD: “Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, And the prey of the terrible be delivered; For I will contend with him who contends with you, And I will save your children. 26 I will afeed those who oppress you with their own flesh, And they shall be drunk with their own bblood as with sweet wine. All flesh cshall know That I, the LORD, am your Savior, And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.” The Servant, Israel’s Hope 50 Thus says the LORD: “Where is athe certificate of your mother’s divorce, Whom I have put away? Or which of My bcreditors is it to whom I have sold you? 10 aIs. 33:16; 48:21; Rev. 7:16 bPs. 121:6 cPs. 23:2; Is. 40:11; 48:17 11 aIs. 40:4 12 aIs. 43:5, 6 13 aIs. 44:23 14 aIs. 40:27 15 aPs. 103:13; Mal. 3:17 bRom. 11:29 1Lit. From having com- passion 16 aEx. 13:9; Song 8:6; Hag. 2:23 17 1DSS, LXX, Tg., Vg. builders 18 aIs. 60:4; John 4:35 bProv. 17:6 19 aIs. 54:1, 2; Zech. 10:10 20 aIs. 60:4 b[Matt. 3:9; Rom. 11:11] 22 aIs. 60:4 1banner 2Lit. bosom 23 aPs. 72:11; Is. 52:15 bPs. 72:9; Mic. 7:17 cPs. 34:22; [Rom. 5:5] 24 aMatt. 12:29; Luke 11:21, 22 1So with MT, Tg.; DSS, Syr., Vg. of the mighty; LXX unjustly 26 aIs. 9:20 bRev. 14:20 cPs. 9:16; Is. 60:16 CHAPTER 50 1 aDeut. 24:1; Jer. 3:8 bDeut. 32:30; 2 Kin. 4:1; Neh. 5:5

ISAIAH 50:2 644 For your iniquities cyou have sold yourselves, And for your transgressions your mother has been put away. 2 Why, when I came, was there no man? Why, when I called, was there none to answer? Is My hand shortened at all that it cannot redeem? Or have I no power to deliver? Indeed with My arebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness; Their fish stink because there is no water, And die of thirst. 3 aI clothe the heavens with blackness, bAnd I make sackcloth their covering.” 4 “Thea Lord GOD has given Me The tongue of the learned, That I should know how to speak A word in season to him who is bweary. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear To hear as the learned. 5 The Lord GOD ahas opened My ear; And I was not brebellious, Nor did I turn away. 6 aI gave My back to those who struck Me, And bMy cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and cspitting. 7 “For the Lord GOD will help Me; Therefore I will not be disgraced; Therefore aI have set My face like a flint, And I know that I will not be ashamed. 8 aHe is near who justifies Me; Who will contend with Me? Let us stand together. Who is 1My adversary? Let him come near Me. 9 Surely the Lord GOD will help Me; Who is he who will condemn Me? aIndeed they will all grow old like a garment; bThe moth will eat them up. 10 “Who among you fears the LORD? Who obeys the voice of His Servant? Who awalks in darkness And has no light? bLet him trust in the name of the LORD And rely upon his God. 11 Look, all you who kindle a fire, Who encircle yourselves with sparks: Walk in the light of your fire and in the sparks you have kindled— aThis you shall have from My hand: You shall lie down bin torment. The LORD Comforts Zion 51“Listen to Me, ayou who 1follow after righteousness, You who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were hewn, And to the hole of the pit from which you were dug. 2 aLook to Abraham your father, And to Sarah who bore you; bFor I called him alone, And cblessed him and increased him.” 3 For the LORD will acomfort Zion, He will comfort all her waste places; He will make her wilderness like Eden, And her desert blike the garden of the LORD; Joy and gladness will be found in it, Thanksgiving and the voice of melody. 4 “Listen to Me, My people; And give ear to Me, O My nation: aFor law will proceed from Me, And I will make My justice rest bAs a light of the peoples. 5 aMy righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth, bAnd My arms will judge the peoples; cThe coastlands will wait upon Me, And don My arm they will trust. 6 aLift up your eyes to the heavens, And look on the earth beneath. For bthe heavens will vanish away like smoke, cThe earth will grow old like a garment, And those who dwell in it will die in like manner; But My salvation will be dforever, And My righteousness will not be 1abolished. 7 “Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, You people ain whose heart is My law: bDo not fear the reproach of men, Nor be afraid of their insults. 8 For athe moth will eat them up like a garment, And the worm will eat them like wool; 1 cIs. 52:3 2 aPs. 106:9; Nah. 1:4 3 aEx. 10:21 bIs. 13:10; Rev. 6:12 4 aEx. 4:11 bMatt. 11:28 5 aPs. 40:6; Is. 35:5 bMatt. 26:39; Mark 14:36; Luke 22:42; John 8:29; 14:31; 15:10; Acts 26:19; [Phil. 2:8; Heb. 5:8; 10:7] 6 aMatt. 27:26; John 18:22 bMatt. 26:67; 27:30; Mark 14:65; 15:19 cLam. 3:30 7 aEzek. 3:8, 9; Luke 9:51 8 aActs 2:24; [Rom. 8:32–34] 1Lit. master of My judgment 9 aJob 13:28; Ps. 102:26; Heb. 1:11 bIs. 51:6, 8 10 aPs. 23:4 a2 Chr. 20:20 11 a[John 9:39] bPs. 16:4 CHAPTER 51 1 a[Rom. 9:30–32] 1pursue 2 aRom. 4:1–3; Heb. 11:11 bGen. 12:1 cGen. 24:35; Deut. 1:10; Ezek. 33:24 3 aIs. 40:1; 52:9; Ps. 102:13 bGen. 13:10; Joel 2:3 4 aIs. 2:3 bIs. 42:6 5 aIs. 46:13 bPs. 67:4 cIs. 60:9 d[Rom. 1:16] 6 aIs. 40:26 bPs. 102:25, 26; Is. 13:13; 34:4; Matt. 24:35; Heb. 1:10–12; 2 Pet. 3:10 cIs. 24:19, 20; 50:9; Heb. 1:10–12 dIs. 45:17 1broken 7 aPs. 37:31; Jer.

judgment 9 aJob 13:28; Ps. 102:26; Heb. 1:11 bIs. 51:6, 8 10 aPs. 23:4 a2 Chr. 20:20 11 a[John 9:39] bPs. 16:4 CHAPTER 51 1 a[Rom. 9:30–32] 1pursue 2 aRom. 4:1–3; Heb. 11:11 bGen. 12:1 cGen. 24:35; Deut. 1:10; Ezek. 33:24 3 aIs. 40:1; 52:9; Ps. 102:13 bGen. 13:10; Joel 2:3 4 aIs. 2:3 bIs. 42:6 5 aIs. 46:13 bPs. 67:4 cIs. 60:9 d[Rom. 1:16] 6 aIs. 40:26 bPs. 102:25, 26; Is. 13:13; 34:4; Matt. 24:35; Heb. 1:10–12; 2 Pet. 3:10 cIs. 24:19, 20; 50:9; Heb. 1:10–12 dIs. 45:17 1broken 7 aPs. 37:31; Jer. 31:33; [Heb. 10:16] bIs. 25:8; 54:4; [Matt. 5:11, 12; 10:28; Acts 5:41] 8 aIs. 50:9

645 ISAIAH 52:3 But My righteousness will be forever, And My salvation from generation to generation.” 9 aAwake, awake, bput on strength, O arm of the LORD! Awake cas in the ancient days, In the generations of old. dAre You not the arm that cut eRahab apart, And wounded the fserpent? 10 Are You not the One who adried up the sea, The waters of the great deep; That made the depths of the sea a road For the redeemed to cross over? 11 So athe ransomed of the LORD shall return, And come to Zion with singing, With everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness; Sorrow and sighing shall flee away. 12 “I, even I, am He awho comforts you. Who are you that you should be afraid bOf a man who will die, And of the son of a man who will be made clike grass? 13 And ayou forget the LORD your Maker, bWho stretched out the heavens And laid the foundations of the earth; You have feared continually every day Because of the fury of the oppressor, When he has prepared to destroy. cAnd where is the fury of the oppressor? 14 The captive exile hastens, that he may be loosed, aThat he should not die in the pit, And that his bread should not fail. 15 But I am the LORD your God, Who adivided the sea whose waves roared— The LORD of hosts is His name. 16 And aI have put My words in your mouth; bI have covered you with the shadow of My hand, cThat I may 1plant the heavens, Lay the foundations of the earth, And say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’ ” God’s Fury Removed 17 aAwake, awake! Stand up, O Jerusalem, You who bhave drunk at the hand of the LORD The cup of His fury; You have drunk the dregs of the cup of trembling, And drained it out. 18 There is no one to guide her Among all the sons she has brought forth; Nor is there any who takes her by the hand Among all the sons she has brought up. 19 aThese two things have come to you; Who will be sorry for you?— Desolation and destruction, famine and sword— bBy whom will I comfort you? 20 aYour sons have fainted, They lie at the head of all the streets, Like an antelope in a net; They are full of the fury of the LORD, The rebuke of your God. 21 Therefore please hear this, you afflicted, And drunk abut not with wine. 22 Thus says your Lord, The LORD and your God, Who apleads the cause of His people: “See, I have taken out of your hand The cup of trembling, The dregs of the cup of My fury; You shall no longer drink it. 23 aBut I will put it into the hand of those who afflict you, Who have said to 1you, ‘Lie down, that we may walk over you.’ And you have laid your body like the ground, And as the street, for those who walk over.” God Redeems Jerusalem 52 Awake, awake! Put on your strength, O Zion; Put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city! For the uncircumcised aand the unclean Shall no longer come to you. 2 aShake yourself from the dust, arise; Sit down, O Jerusalem! bLoose yourself from the bonds of your neck, O captive daughter of Zion! 3 For thus says the LORD: a“You have sold yourselves for nothing, And you shall be redeemed bwithout money.” 9 aPs. 44:23 bPs. 93:1 cPs. 44:1 dJob 26:12; Ps. 89:10; Is. 30:7 ePs. 87:4 fPs. 74:13; Is. 27:1 10 aEx. 14:21; Is. 63:11–13 11 aIs. 35:10; Jer. 31:11, 12 12 a2 Cor. 1:3 bPs. 118:6; Is. 2:22 cIs. 40:6, 7; James 1:10; 1 Pet. 1:24 13 aDeut. 6:12; 8:11; Is. 17:10; Jer. 2:32 bPs. 104:2 cJob 20:7 14 aZech. 9:11 15 aJob 26:12 16 aDeut. 18:18; Is. 59:21; John 3:34 bEx. 33:22; Is. 49:2 cIs. 65:17 1establish 17 aIs. 52:1 bJob 21:20; Is. 29:9; Jer. 25:15; Rev. 14:10; 16:19 19 aIs. 47:9 bAmos 7:2 20 aLam. 2:11 21 aLam. 3:15 22 aIs. 3:12, 13; 49:25; Jer. 50:34 23 aIs. 14:2; Jer. 25:17, 26–28; Zech. 12:2 1Lit. your soul CHAPTER 52 1 aNeh. 11:1; Is. 48:2; 64:10; Zech. 14:20, 21; Matt. 4:5; [Rev. 21:2–27] 2 aIs. 3:26 bIs. 9:4; 10:27; 14:25; Zech. 2:7 3 aPs. 44:12; Jer. 15:13 bIs. 45:13

ISAIAH 52:4 646 4 For thus says the Lord GOD: “My people went down at first Into aEgypt to 1dwell there; Then the Assyrian oppressed them without cause. 5 Now therefore, what have I here,” says the LORD, “That My people are taken away for nothing? Those who rule over them 1Make them wail,” says the LORD, “And My name is ablasphemed continually every day. 6 Therefore My people shall know My name; Therefore they shall know in that day That I am He who speaks: ‘Behold, it is I.’ ” 7 aHow beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace, Who brings glad tidings of good things, Who proclaims salvation, Who says to Zion, b“Your God reigns!” 8 Your watchmen shall lift up their voices, With their voices they shall sing together; For they shall see eye to eye When the LORD brings back Zion. 9 Break forth into joy, sing together, You waste places of Jerusalem! For the LORD has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem. 10 aThe LORD has 1made bare His holy arm In the eyes of ball the nations; And all the ends of the earth shall see The salvation of our God. 11 aDepart! Depart! Go out from there, Touch no unclean thing; Go out from the midst of her, bBe clean, You who bear the vessels of the LORD. 12 For ayou shall not go out with haste, Nor go by flight; bFor the LORD will go before you, cAnd the God of Israel will be your rear guard. The Sin-Bearing Servant 13 Behold, aMy Servant shall 1deal prudently; bHe shall be exalted and 2extolled and be very high. 14 Just as many were astonished at you, So His avisage1 was marred more than any man, And His form more than the sons of men; 15 aSo shall He 1sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths at Him; For bwhat had not been told them they shall see, And what they had not heard they shall consider. 53 Who ahas believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no 1form or 2comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no 3beauty that we should desire Him. 3 aHe is despised and 1rejected by men, A Man of 2sorrows and bacquainted with 3grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and cwe did not esteem Him. 4 Surely aHe has borne our 1griefs And carried our 2sorrows; Yet we 3esteemed Him stricken, 4Smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was awounded1 for our transgressions, He was 2bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His bstripes3 we are healed. 6 aAll we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD 1has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet aHe opened not His mouth; bHe was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. 8 He was ataken from 1prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For bHe was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. 4 aGen. 46:6 1As resident aliens 5 aEzek. 36:20, 23; 1DSS Mock; LXX Marvel and wail; Tg. Boast them- selves; Vg. Treat them unjustly 7 aRom. 10:15 bPs. 93:1 10 aPs. 98:1–3 bLuke 3:6 1Revealed His power 11 aIs. 48:20 bLev. 22:2 12 aEx. 12:11, 33 bMic. 2:13 cEx. 14:19, 20 13 aIs. 42:1 bPhil. 2:9 1prosper 2Lit. be lifted up 14 aPs. 22:6, 7 1appearance 15 aEzek. 36:25 bRom. 15:21 1Or startle CHAPTER 53 1 aJohn 12:38 2 1Stately form 2splen- dor 3Lit. appearance 3 aPs. 22:6; b[Heb. 4:15] c[John 1:10, 11] 1Or for- saken 2Lit. pains 3Lit. sickness 4 a[Matt. 8:17] 1Lit. sick- nesses 2Lit. pains 3reck- oned 4Struck down 5 a[Rom. 4:25] b[1 Pet. 2:24, 25] 1Or pierced through 2crushed 3Blows that cut in 6 1Lit. has caused to land on Him 7 aMatt. 26:63; 27:12–14 bActs 8:32, 33 8 aLuke 23:1–25 b[Dan. 9:26] 1confinement

647 ISAIAH 54:16 9 aAnd 1they made His grave with the wicked— But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any bdeceit in His mouth. 10 Yet it pleased the LORD to 1bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul aan offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. 11 1He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge aMy righteous bServant shall cjustify many, For He shall bear their iniquities. 12 aTherefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, bAnd He shall divide the 1spoil with the strong, Because He cpoured out His soul unto death, And He was dnumbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And emade intercession for the transgressors. A Perpetual Covenant of Peace 54 “Sing, O abarren, You who have not borne! Break forth into singing, and cry aloud, You who have not labored with child! For more are the children of the desolate Than the children of the married woman,” says the LORD. 2 “Enlargea the place of your tent, And let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; Do not spare; Lengthen your cords, And strengthen your stakes. 3 For you shall expand to the right and to the left, And your descendants will ainherit the nations, And make the desolate cities inhabited. 4 “Doa not fear, for you will not be ashamed; Neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame; For you will forget the shame of your youth, And will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore. 5 aFor your Maker is your husband, The LORD of hosts is His name; And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called bthe God of the whole earth. 6 For the LORD ahas called you Like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, Like a youthful wife when you were refused,” Says your God. 7 “Fora a mere moment I have forsaken you, But with great mercies bI will gather you. 8 With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; aBut with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,” Says the LORD, your Redeemer. 9 “For this is like the waters of aNoah to Me; For as I have sworn That the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth, So have I sworn That I would not be angry with byou, nor rebuke you. 10 For athe mountains shall depart And the hills be removed, bBut My kindness shall not depart from you, Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,” Says the LORD, who has mercy on you. 11 “O you afflicted one, Tossed with tempest, and not comforted, Behold, I will lay your stones with acolorful gems, And lay your foundations with sapphires. 12 I will make your pinnacles of rubies, Your gates of crystal, And all your walls of precious stones. 13 All your children shall be ataught by the LORD, And bgreat shall be the peace of your children. 14 In righteousness you shall be established; You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; And from terror, for it shall not come near you. 15 Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me. Whoever assembles against you shall afall for your sake. 16 “Behold, I have created the blacksmith Who blows the coals in the fire, Who brings forth an 1instrument for his work; 9 aMatt. 27:57–60; Luke 23:33 b1 Pet. 2:22; 1 John 3:5 1Lit. he or He 10 aJohn 1:29; Acts 2:24; [2 Cor. 5:21] 1crush 11 a[1 John 2:1] bIs. 42:1 c[Acts 13:38, 39; Rom. 5:15–18] 1So with MT, Tg., Vg.; DSS, LXX From the labor of His soul He shall see light 12 aPs. 2:8 bCol. 2:15 cIs. 50:6; [Rom. 3:25] dMatt. 27:38; Mark 15:28; Luke 22:37; 2 Cor. 5:21 eLuke 23:34 1plunder CHAPTER 54 1 aGal. 4:27 2 aIs. 49:19, 20 3 aIs. 14:2; 49:22, 23; 60:9 4 aIs. 41:10 5 aJer. 3:14; Hos. 2:19 bZech. 14:9; Rom. 3:29 6 aIs. 62:4 7 aPs. 30:5; Is. 26:20; 60:10; 2 Cor. 4:17 b[Is. 43:5; 56:8] 8 aIs. 55:3; Jer. 31:3 9 aGen. 8:21; 9:11; [2 Pet. 3:6, 7] bIs. 12:1; Ezek. 39:29 10 aPs. 46:2; Is. 51:6; Matt. 5:18 b2 Sam. 23:5; Ps. 89:33, 34; Is. 55:3; 59:21; 61:8 11 a1 Chr. 29:2; Job 28:16; Rev.

15 cIs. 50:6; [Rom. 3:25] dMatt. 27:38; Mark 15:28; Luke 22:37; 2 Cor. 5:21 eLuke 23:34 1plunder CHAPTER 54 1 aGal. 4:27 2 aIs. 49:19, 20 3 aIs. 14:2; 49:22, 23; 60:9 4 aIs. 41:10 5 aJer. 3:14; Hos. 2:19 bZech. 14:9; Rom. 3:29 6 aIs. 62:4 7 aPs. 30:5; Is. 26:20; 60:10; 2 Cor. 4:17 b[Is. 43:5; 56:8] 8 aIs. 55:3; Jer. 31:3 9 aGen. 8:21; 9:11; [2 Pet. 3:6, 7] bIs. 12:1; Ezek. 39:29 10 aPs. 46:2; Is. 51:6; Matt. 5:18 b2 Sam. 23:5; Ps. 89:33, 34; Is. 55:3; 59:21; 61:8 11 a1 Chr. 29:2; Job 28:16; Rev. 21:18, 19 13 aJer. 31:34; [John 6:45; 1 Cor. 2:10]; 1 Thess. 4:9; [1 John 2:20] bPs. 119:165 15 aIs. 41:11–16 16 1Or weapon

ISAIAH 54:17 648 And I have created the 2spoiler to destroy. 17 No weapon formed against you shall aprosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, bAnd their righteousness is from Me,” Says the LORD. An Invitation to Abundant Life 55 “Ho! aEveryone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, bCome, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price. 2 Why do you 1spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance. 3 Incline your ear, and acome to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; bAnd I will make an everlasting covenant with you— The csure mercies of David. 4 Indeed I have given him as aa witness to the people, bA leader and commander for the people. 5 aSurely you shall call a nation you do not know, bAnd nations who do not know you shall run to you, Because of the LORD your God, And the Holy One of Israel; cFor He has glorified you.” 6 aSeek the LORD while He may be bfound, Call upon Him while He is near. 7 aLet the 1wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man bhis thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, cAnd He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. 8 “Fora My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. 9 “Fora as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. 10 “For aas the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, 11 aSo shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me 1void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall bprosper in the thing for which I sent it. 12 “Fora you shall go out with joy, And be led out with peace; The mountains and the hills Shall bbreak forth into singing before you, And call the trees of the field shall clap their hands. 13 aInstead of bthe thorn shall come up the cypress tree, And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree; And it shall be to the LORD cfor a name, For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.” Salvation for the Gentiles 56 Thus says the LORD: “Keep justice, and do righteousness, aFor My salvation is about to come, And My righteousness to be revealed. 2 Blessed is the man who does this, And the son of man who lays hold on it; aWho keeps from defiling the Sabbath, And keeps his hand from doing any evil.” 3 Do not let athe son of the foreigner Who has joined himself to the LORD Speak, saying, “The LORD has utterly separated me from His people”; Nor let the beunuch say, “Here I am, a dry tree.” 4 For thus says the LORD: “To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, And choose what pleases Me, And hold fast My covenant, 5 Even to them I will give in aMy house And within My walls a place band a name Better than that of sons and daughters; 16 2destroyer 17 aIs. 17:12–14; 29:8 bIs. 45:24, 25; 54:14 CHAPTER 55 1 a[Matt. 5:6; John 4:14; 7:37; Rev. 21:6; 22:17] b[Matt. 13:44; Rev. 3:18] 2 1Lit. weigh out silver 3 aMatt. 11:28 bIs. 54:8; 61:8; Jer. 32:40 c2 Sam. 7:8; Ps. 89:28; [Acts 13:34] 4 a[John 18:37; Rev. 1:5] b[Jer. 30:9; Ezek. 34:23; Dan. 9:25] 5 aIs. 52:15; Eph. 2:11, 12 bIs. 60:5 cIs. 60:9 6 aMatt. 5:25; 25:11; John 7:34; 8:21; 2 Cor. 6:2; [Heb. 3:13] bPs. 32:6; Is. 49:8 7 aIs. 1:16 bIs. 59:7; Zech. 8:17 cPs. 130:7; Jer. 3:12 1Lit. man of iniquity 8 a2 Sam. 7:19 9 aPs. 103:11 10 aDeut. 32:2 11 aIs. 45:23; Matt. 24:35 bIs. 46:9–11 1empty, with- out fruit 12 aIs. 35:10 bPs. 98:8 d1 Chr. 16:33 13 aIs. 41:19 bMic. 7:4 cJer. 13:11 CHAPTER 56 1 aIs. 46:13; Matt. 3:2; 4:17; Rom. 13:11, 12 2 aEx. 20:8–11; 31:13–17; Is. 58:13; Jer. 17:21, 22; Ezek. 20:12, 20 3 aIs. 14:1; [Eph. 2:12–19] bDeut. 23:1; Jer. 38:7; Acts 8:27 5 a1 Tim.

Cor. 6:2; [Heb. 3:13] bPs. 32:6; Is. 49:8 7 aIs. 1:16 bIs. 59:7; Zech. 8:17 cPs. 130:7; Jer. 3:12 1Lit. man of iniquity 8 a2 Sam. 7:19 9 aPs. 103:11 10 aDeut. 32:2 11 aIs. 45:23; Matt. 24:35 bIs. 46:9–11 1empty, with- out fruit 12 aIs. 35:10 bPs. 98:8 d1 Chr. 16:33 13 aIs. 41:19 bMic. 7:4 cJer. 13:11 CHAPTER 56 1 aIs. 46:13; Matt. 3:2; 4:17; Rom. 13:11, 12 2 aEx. 20:8–11; 31:13–17; Is. 58:13; Jer. 17:21, 22; Ezek. 20:12, 20 3 aIs. 14:1; [Eph. 2:12–19] bDeut. 23:1; Jer. 38:7; Acts 8:27 5 a1 Tim. 3:15 b[1 John 3:1, 2]

649 ISAIAH 57:13 I will give 1them an everlasting name That shall not be cut off. 6 “Also the sons of the foreigner Who join themselves to the LORD, to serve Him, And to love the name of the LORD, to be His servants— Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, And holds fast My covenant— 7 Even them I will abring to My holy mountain, And make them joyful in My bhouse of prayer. cTheir burnt offerings and their sacrifices Will be daccepted on My altar; For eMy house shall be called a house of prayer ffor all nations.” 8 The Lord GOD, awho gathers the outcasts of Israel, says, b“Yet I will gather to him Others besides those who are gathered to him.” Israel’s Irresponsible Leaders 9 aAll you beasts of the field, come to devour, All you beasts in the forest. 10 His watchmen are ablind, They are all ignorant; bThey are all dumb dogs, They cannot bark; 1Sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. 11 Yes, they are agreedy1 dogs Which bnever2 have enough. And they are shepherds Who cannot understand; They all look to their own way, Every one for his own gain, From his own territory. 12 “Come,” one says, “I will bring wine, And we will fill ourselves with intoxicating adrink; bTomorrow will be cas today, And much more abundant.” Israel’s Futile Idolatry 57 The righteous perishes, And no man takes it to heart; aMerciful men are taken away, bWhile no one considers That the righteous is taken away from 1evil. 2 He shall enter into peace; They shall rest in atheir beds, Each one walking in his uprightness. 3 “But come here, aYou sons of the sorceress, You offspring of the adulterer and the harlot! 4 Whom do you ridicule? Against whom do you make a wide mouth And stick out the tongue? Are you not children of transgression, Offspring of falsehood, 5 Inflaming yourselves with gods aunder every green tree, bSlaying the children in the valleys, Under the clefts of the rocks? 6 Among the smooth astones of the stream Is your portion; They, they, are your lot! Even to them you have poured a drink offering, You have offered a grain offering. Should I receive comfort in bthese? 7 “Ona a lofty and high mountain You have set byour bed; Even there you went up To offer sacrifice. 8 Also behind the doors and their posts You have set up your remembrance; For you have uncovered yourself to those other than Me, And have gone up to them; You have enlarged your bed And 1made a covenant with them; aYou have loved their bed, Where you saw their 2nudity. 9 aYou went to the king with ointment, And increased your perfumes; You sent your bmessengers far off, And even descended to Sheol. 10 You are wearied in the length of your way; aYet you did not say, ‘There is no hope.’ You have found the life of your hand; Therefore you were not grieved. 11 “And aof whom have you been afraid, or feared, That you have lied And not remembered Me, Nor taken it to your heart? Is it not because bI have 1held My peace from of old That you do not fear Me? 12 I will declare your righteousness And your works, For they will not profit you. 13 When you cry out, Let your collection of idols deliver you. But the wind will carry them all away, A breath will take them. But he who puts his trust in Me shall possess the land, And shall inherit My holy mountain.” 5 1Lit. him 7 a[Is. 2:2, 3; 60:11; Mic. 4:1, 2] bMatt. 21:13; Mark 11:17; Luke 19:46 c[Rom. 12:1; Heb. 13:15; 1 Pet. 2:5] dIs. 60:7 eMatt. 21:13 f[Mal. 1:11] 8 aPs. 147:2; Is. 11:12; 27:12; 54:7 bIs. 60:3–11; 66:18–21; [John 10:16] 9 aJer. 12:9 10 aMatt. 15:14 bPhil. 3:2 1Or Dreaming 11 aIs. 28:7; Ezek. 13:19; [Mic. 3:5, 11] bEzek. 34:2–10 1Lit. strong of soul 2Lit. do not know satis- faction 12 aIs. 28:7 bPs. 10:6; Prov. 23:35; Is. 22:13; Luke 12:19; 1 Cor. 15:32 c2 Pet. 3:4 CHAPTER 57 1 aPs. 12:1 b1 Kin. 14:13 1Lit. the face of evil 2 a2 Chr. 16:14 3 aIs. 1:4; Matt. 16:4 5 a2 Kin. 16:4 b2 Kin. 23:10; Ps. 106:37, 38; Jer. 7:31; Ezek. 16:20 6 aJer. 3:9; Hab. 2:19 bJer. 5:9, 29; 9:9 7 aJer. 3:6; Ezek. 16:16 bEzek. 23:41 8 aEzek.

r. 12:9 10 aMatt. 15:14 bPhil. 3:2 1Or Dreaming 11 aIs. 28:7; Ezek. 13:19; [Mic. 3:5, 11] bEzek. 34:2–10 1Lit. strong of soul 2Lit. do not know satis- faction 12 aIs. 28:7 bPs. 10:6; Prov. 23:35; Is. 22:13; Luke 12:19; 1 Cor. 15:32 c2 Pet. 3:4 CHAPTER 57 1 aPs. 12:1 b1 Kin. 14:13 1Lit. the face of evil 2 a2 Chr. 16:14 3 aIs. 1:4; Matt. 16:4 5 a2 Kin. 16:4 b2 Kin. 23:10; Ps. 106:37, 38; Jer. 7:31; Ezek. 16:20 6 aJer. 3:9; Hab. 2:19 bJer. 5:9, 29; 9:9 7 aJer. 3:6; Ezek. 16:16 bEzek. 23:41 8 aEzek. 16:26 1Lit. cut, 2Lit. hand, a eu- phemism 9 aHos. 7:11 bEzek. 23:16, 40 10 aJer. 2:25; 18:12 11 aProv. 29:25; Is. 51:12, 13 bPs. 50:21; Eccl. 8:11; Is. 42:14 1remained silent

ISAIAH 57:14 650 Healing for the Backslider 14 And one shall say, a“Heap it up! Heap it up! Prepare the way, Take the stumbling block out of the way of My people.” 15 For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, awhose name is Holy: b“I dwell in the high and holy place, cWith him who has a contrite and humble spirit, dTo revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones. 16 aFor I will not contend forever, Nor will I always be angry; For the spirit would fail before Me, And the souls bwhich I have made. 17 For the iniquity of ahis covetousness I was angry and struck him; bI hid and was angry, cAnd he went on 1backsliding in the way of his heart. 18 I have seen his ways, and awill heal him; I will also lead him, And restore comforts to him And to bhis mourners. 19 “I create athe fruit of the lips: Peace, peace bto him who is far off and to him who is near,” Says the LORD, “And I will heal him.” 20 aBut the wicked are like the troubled sea, When it cannot rest, Whose waters cast up mire and dirt. 21 “Therea is no peace,” Says my God, “for the wicked.” Fasting that Pleases God 58 “Cry aloud, 1spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet; bTell My people their transgression, And the house of Jacob their sins. 2 Yet they seek Me daily, And delight to know My ways, As a nation that did righteousness, And did not forsake the ordinance of their God. They ask of Me the ordinances of justice; They take delight in approaching God. 3 ‘Whya have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen? Why have we bafflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’ “In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, And 1exploit all your laborers. 4 aIndeed you fast for strife and debate, And to strike with the fist of wickedness. You will not fast as you do this day, To make your voice heard on high. 5 Is ait a fast that I have chosen, bA day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush, And cto spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would you call this a fast, And an acceptable day to the LORD? 6 “Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To aloose the bonds of wickedness, bTo undo the 1heavy burdens, cTo let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? 7 Is it not ato share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are 1cast out; bWhen you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from cyour own flesh? 8 aThen your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; bThe glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. 9 Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ “If you take away the yoke from your midst, The 1pointing of the finger, and aspeaking wickedness, 10 If you extend your soul to the hungry And satisfy the afflicted soul, Then your light shall dawn in the darkness, And your 1darkness shall be as the noonday. 11 The LORD will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, 14 aIs. 40:3; 62:10; Jer. 18:15 15 aJob 6:10; Luke 1:49 bPs. 68:35; Zech. 2:13 cPs. 34:18; 51:17; Is. 66:2 dPs. 147:3; Is. 61:1–3 16 aPs. 85:5; 103:9; [Mic. 7:18] bNum. 16:22; Job 34:14; Heb. 12:9 17 aIs. 2:7; 56:11; Jer. 6:13 bIs. 8:17; 45:15; 59:2 cIs. 9:13 1Or turn- ing back 18 aJer. 3:22 bIs. 61:2 19 aIs. 6:7; 51:16; 59:21; Heb. 13:15 bActs 2:39; Eph. 2:17 20 aJob 15:20; Prov. 4:16; Jude 13 21 aIs. 48:22 CHAPTER 58 1 aMic. 3:8 1do not hold back 3 aMal. 3:13–18; Luke 18:12 bLev. 16:29; 23:27 1Lit. drive hard 4 a1 Kin. 21:9 5 aZech. 7:5 bLev. 16:29 cEsth. 4:3; Job 2:8; Dan. 9:3 6 aLuke 4:18, 19 bNeh. 5:10–12 cJer. 34:9 1Lit. bonds of the yoke 7 aEzek. 18:7; Matt. 25:35 bJob 31:19–22; James 2:14–17 cGen. 29:14; Neh. 5:5 1wandering 8 aJob 11:17 bEx. 14:19; Is. 52:12 9 aPs. 12:2; Is. 59:13 1Lit. sending out of 10 1Or gloom

651 ISAIAH 59:16 And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. 12 Those from among you aShall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of 1Streets to Dwell In. 13 “If ayou turn away your foot from the Sabbath, From doing your pleasure on My holy day, And call the Sabbath a delight, The holy day of the LORD honorable, And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, Nor finding your own pleasure, Nor speaking your own words, 14 aThen you shall delight yourself in the LORD; And I will cause you to bride on the high hills of the earth, And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. cThe mouth of the LORD has spoken.” Separated from God 59 Behold, the LORD’s hand is not ashortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. 2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will anot hear. 3 For ayour hands are defiled with 1blood, And your fingers with iniquity; Your lips have spoken lies, Your tongue has muttered perversity. 4 No one calls for justice, Nor does any plead for truth. They trust in aempty words and speak lies; bThey conceive 1evil and bring forth iniquity. 5 They hatch vipers’ eggs and weave the spider’s web; He who eats of their eggs dies, And from that which is crushed a viper breaks out. 6 aTheir webs will not become garments, Nor will they cover themselves with their works; Their works are works of iniquity, And the act of violence is in their hands. 7 aTheir feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed binnocent blood; cTheir thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; Wasting and ddestruction are in their paths. 8 The way of apeace they have not known, And there is no justice in their ways; bThey have made themselves crooked paths; Whoever takes that way shall not know peace. Sin Confessed 9 Therefore justice is far from us, Nor does righteousness overtake us; aWe look for light, but there is darkness! For brightness, but we walk in blackness! 10 aWe grope for the wall like the blind, And we grope as if we had no eyes; We stumble at noonday as at twilight; We are as dead men in desolate places. 11 We all growl like bears, And amoan sadly like doves; We look for justice, but there is none; For salvation, but it is far from us. 12 For our atransgressions are multiplied before You, And our sins testify against us; For our transgressions are with us, And as for our iniquities, we know them: 13 In transgressing and lying against the LORD, And departing from our God, Speaking oppression and revolt, Conceiving and uttering afrom the heart words of falsehood. 14 Justice is turned back, And righteousness stands afar off; For truth is fallen in the street, And equity cannot enter. 15 So truth fails, And he who departs from evil makes himself a aprey. The Redeemer of Zion Then the LORD saw it, and 1it displeased Him That there was no justice. 16 aHe saw that there was no man, And bwondered that there was no intercessor; cTherefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; And His own righteousness, it sustained Him. 12 aIs. 61:4 1Lit. Paths 13 aEx. 31:16, 17; 35:2, 3; Is. 56:2, 4, 6; Jer. 17:21–27 14 aJob 22:26; Is. 61:10 bDeut. 32:13; 33:29; Is. 33:16; Hab. 3:19 cIs. 1:20; 40:5; Mic. 4:4 CHAPTER 59 1 aNum. 11:23; Is. 50:2; Jer. 32:17 2 aIs. 1:15 3 aIs. 1:15, 21; Jer. 2:30, 34; Ezek. 7:23; Hos. 4:2 1bloodshed 4 aIs. 30:12; Jer. 7:4 bJob 15:35; Ps. 7:14; Is. 33:11 1trouble 6 aJob 8:14 7 aProv. 1:16; Rom. 3:15 bProv. 6:17 cIs. 55:7 dRom. 3:16, 17 8 aIs. 57:20, 21 bPs. 125:5; Prov. 2:15 9 aJer. 8:15 10 aDeut. 28:29; Job 5:14; Amos 8:9 11 aIs. 38:14; Ezek. 7:16 12 aIs. 24:5; 58:1 13 aMatt. 12:34 15 aIs. 5:23; 10:2; 29:21; 32:7 1Lit. it was evil in His eyes 16 aIs. 41:28; 63:5; 64:7; Ezek. 22:30 bMark 6:6 cPs. 98:1; Is. 63:5

ISAIAH 59:17 652 17 aFor He put on righteousness as a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, And was clad with zeal as a cloak. 18 aAccording to their deeds, accordingly He will repay, Fury to His adversaries, Recompense to His enemies; The coastlands He will fully repay. 19 aSo shall they fear The name of the LORD from the west, And His glory from the rising of the sun; When the enemy comes in blike a flood, The Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him. 20 “Thea Redeemer will come to Zion, And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” Says the LORD. 21 “Asa for Me,” says the LORD, “this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descen- dants,” says the LORD, “from this time and forevermore.” The Gentiles Bless Zion 60 Arise, ashine; For your light has come! And bthe glory of the LORD is risen upon you. 2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; But the LORD will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you. 3 The aGentiles shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising. 4 “Lifta up your eyes all around, and see: They all gather together, bthey come to you; Your sons shall come from afar, And your daughters shall be nursed at your side. 5 Then you shall see and become radiant, And your heart shall swell with joy; Because athe abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, The wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you. 6 The multitude of camels shall cover your land, The dromedaries of Midian and aEphah; All those from bSheba shall come; They shall bring cgold and incense, And they shall proclaim the praises of the LORD. 7 All the flocks of aKedar shall be gathered together to you, The rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you; They shall ascend with bacceptance on My altar, And cI will glorify the house of My glory. 8 “Who are these who fly like a cloud, And like doves to their roosts? 9 aSurely the coastlands shall wait for Me; And the ships of Tarshish will come first, bTo bring your sons from afar, cTheir silver and their gold with them, To the name of the LORD your God, And to the Holy One of Israel, dBecause He has glorified you. 10 “Thea sons of foreigners shall build up your walls, bAnd their kings shall minister to you; For cin My wrath I struck you, dBut in My favor I have had mercy on you. 11 Therefore your gates ashall be open continually; They shall not be shut day or night, That men may bring to you the wealth of the Gentiles, And their kings in procession. 12 aFor the nation and kingdom which will not serve you shall perish, And those nations shall be utterly ruined. 13 “Thea glory of Lebanon shall come to you, The cypress, the pine, and the box tree together, To beautify the place of My sanctuary; And I will make bthe place of My feet glorious. 14 Also the sons of those who afflicted you Shall come abowing to you, And all those who despised you shall bfall prostrate at the soles of your feet; And they shall call you The City of the LORD, cZion of the Holy One of Israel. 17 aEph. 6:14, 17; 1 Thess. 5:8 18 aIs. 63:6; Rom. 2:6 19 aPs. 113:3; Mal. 1:11 bRev. 12:15 20 aRom. 11:26 21 a[Heb. 8:10; 10:16] CHAPTER 60 1 aEph. 5:14 bMal. 4:2 3 aIs. 49:6, 23; Rev. 21:24 4 aIs. 49:18 bIs. 49:20–22 5 a[Rom. 11:25–27] 6 aGen. 25:4 bGen. 25:3; Ps. 72:10 cIs. 61:6; Matt. 2:11 7 aGen. 25:13 bIs. 56:7 cIs. 60:13; Hag. 2:7, 9 9 aPs. 72:10 b[Gal. 4:26] cJer. 3:17 dIs. 55:5 10 aIs. 14:1, 2; 61:5; Zech. 6:15 bIs. 49:23; Rev. 21:24 cIs. 57:17 dIs. 54:7, 8 11 aIs. 26:2; 60:18; 62:10; Rev. 21:25, 26 12 aIs. 14:2; Zech. 14:17; Matt. 21:44 13 aIs. 35:2 b1 Chr. 28:2; Ps. 132:7 14 aIs. 45:14 bIs. 49:23; Rev. 3:9 c[Heb. 12:22; Rev. 14:1]

653 ISAIAH 61:10 15 “Whereas you have been forsaken and hated, So that no one went through you, I will make you an eternal excellence, A joy of many generations. 16 You shall drink the milk of the Gentiles, aAnd milk the breast of kings; You shall know that bI, the LORD, am your Savior And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. 17 “Instead of bronze I will bring gold, Instead of iron I will bring silver, Instead of wood, bronze, And instead of stones, iron. I will also make your officers peace, And your magistrates righteousness. 18 Violence shall no longer be heard in your land, Neither 1wasting nor destruction within your borders; But you shall call ayour walls Salvation, And your gates Praise. God the Glory of His People 19 “The asun shall no longer be your light by day, Nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you; But the LORD will be to you an everlasting light, And byour God your glory. 20 aYour sun shall no longer go down, Nor shall your moon withdraw itself; For the LORD will be your everlasting light, And the days of your mourning shall be ended. 21 aAlso your people shall all be righteous; bThey shall inherit the land forever, cThe branch of My planting, dThe work of My hands, That I may be glorified. 22 aA little one shall become a thousand, And a small one a strong nation. I, the LORD, will hasten it in its time.” The Good News of Salvation 61 “The aSpirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD bhas anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me cto 1heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim dliberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2 aTo proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, And bthe day of vengeance of our God; cTo comfort all who mourn, 3 To 1console those who mourn in Zion, aTo give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, bThe planting of the LORD, cthat He may be glorified.” 4 And they shall arebuild the old ruins, They shall raise up the former desolations, And they shall repair the ruined cities, The desolations of many generations. 5 aStrangers shall stand and feed your flocks, And the sons of the foreigner Shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. 6 aBut you shall be named the priests of the LORD, They shall call you the servants of our God. bYou shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, And in their glory you shall boast. 7 aInstead of your shame you shall have double honor, And instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double; Everlasting joy shall be theirs. 8 “For aI, the LORD, love justice; bI hate robbery 1for burnt offering; I will direct their work in truth, cAnd will make with them an everlasting covenant. 9 Their descendants shall be known among the Gentiles, And their offspring among the people. All who see them shall acknowledge them, aThat they are the posterity whom the LORD has blessed.” 10 aI will greatly rejoice in the LORD, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For bHe has clothed me 16 aIs. 49:23 bIs. 43:3 18 aIs. 26:1 1devastation 19 aRev. 21:23; 22:5 bIs. 41:16; 45:25; Zech. 2:5 20 aAmos 8:9 21 aIs. 52:1; Rev. 21:27 bPs. 37:11; Matt. 5:5 aIs. 61:3; [Matt. 15:13; John 15:2] bIs. 29:23; [Eph. 2:10] 22 aMatt. 13:31, 32 CHAPTER 61 1 aIs. 11:2; Matt. 3:17; Luke 4:18, 19; John 1:32; 3:34 bPs. 45:7; Matt. 11:5; Luke 7:22 cPs. 147:3 dIs. 42:7; [Acts 10:43] 1Lit. bind up 2 aLev. 25:9 bIs. 34:8; Mal. 4:1, 3; [2 Thess. 1:7] cIs. 57:18; Jer. 31:13; Matt. 5:4 3 aPs. 30:11 bIs. 60:21; [Jer. 17:7, 8] c[John 15:8] 1Lit. appoint 4 aIs. 49:8; 58:12; Ezek. 36:33; Amos 9:14 5 a[Eph. 2:12] 6 aEx. 19:6 bIs. 60:5, 11 7 aIs. 40:2; Zech. 9:12 8 aPs. 11:7 bIs. 1:11, 13 cGen. 17:7; Ps. 105:10; Is. 55:3; Jer. 32:40 1Or in 9 aIs. 65:23 10 aHab. 3:18 bPs. 132:9, 16

ISAIAH 61:11 654 with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, cAs a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 11 For as the earth brings forth its bud, As the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, So the Lord GOD will cause arighteousness and bpraise to spring forth before all the nations. Assurance of Zion’s Salvation 62 For Zion’s sake I will not 1hold My peace, And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, Until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, And her salvation as a lamp that burns. 2 aThe Gentiles shall see your righteousness, And all bkings your glory. cYou shall be called by a new name, Which the mouth of the LORD will name. 3 You shall also be aa crown of glory In the hand of the LORD, And a royal diadem In the hand of your God. 4 aYou shall no longer be termed bForsaken,1 Nor shall your land any more be termed cDesolate;2 But you shall be called 3Hephzibah, and your land 4Beulah; For the LORD delights in you, And your land shall be married. 5 For as a young man marries a virgin, So shall your sons marry you; And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, aSo shall your God rejoice over you. 6 aI have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; They shall 1never hold their peace day or night. You who 2make mention of the LORD, do not keep silent, 7 And give Him no rest till He establishes And till He makes Jerusalem aa praise in the earth. 8 The LORD has sworn by His right hand And by the arm of His strength: “Surely I will no longer agive your grain As food for your enemies; And the sons of the foreigner shall not drink your new wine, For which you have labored. 9 But those who have gathered it shall eat it, And praise the LORD; Those who have brought it together shall drink it ain My holy courts.” 10 Go through, Go through the gates! aPrepare the way for the people; Build up, Build up the highway! Take out the stones, bLift up a banner for the peoples! 11 Indeed the LORD has proclaimed To the end of the world: a“Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Surely your salvation is coming; Behold, His breward is with Him, And His 1work before Him.’ ” 12 And they shall call them The Holy People, The Redeemed of the LORD; And you shall be called Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken. The LORD in Judgment and Salvation 63 Who is this who comes from Edom, With dyed garments from Bozrah, This One who is 1glorious in His apparel, Traveling in the greatness of His strength?— “I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.” 2 Why ais Your apparel red, And Your garments like one who treads in the winepress? 3 “I have atrodden the winepress alone, And from the peoples no one was with Me. For I have trodden them in My anger, And trampled them in My fury; Their blood is sprinkled upon My garments, And I have stained all My robes. 4 For the aday of vengeance is in My heart, And the year of My redeemed has come. 10 cIs. 49:18; Rev. 21:2 11 aPs. 72:3; 85:11 bIs. 60:18; 62:7 CHAPTER 62 1 1keep silent 2 aIs. 60:3 bPs. 102:15, 16; 138:4, 5; 148:11, 13 cIs. 62:4, 12; 65:15 3 aIs. 28:5; Zech. 9:16; 1 Thess. 2:19 4 aHos. 1:10; 1 Pet. 2:10 bIs. 49:14; 54:6, 7 cIs. 54:1 1Heb. Azubah 2Heb. Shemamah 3Lit. My De- light Is in Her 4Lit. Married 5 aIs. 65:19 6 aIs. 52:8; Jer. 6:17; Ezek. 3:17; 33:7 1not be silent 2remember 7 aIs. 60:18; 61:11; Jer. 33:9; Zeph. 3:19, 20 8 aLev. 26:16; Deut. 28:31, 33; Judg. 6:3–6; Is. 1:7; Jer. 5:17 9 aDeut. 12:12; 14:23, 26 10 aIs. 40:3; 57:14 bIs. 11:12 11 aZech. 9:9; Matt. 21:5; John 12:15 bIs. 40:10; [Rev. 22:12] 1recompense CHAPTER 63 1 1Or adorned 2 a[Rev. 19:13, 15] 3 aLam. 1:15; Rev. 14:19, 20; 19:15 4 aIs. 34:8; 35:4; 61:2; Jer. 51:6

655 ISAIAH 64:6 5 aI looked, but bthere was no one to help, And I wondered That there was no one to uphold; Therefore My own carm brought salvation for Me; And My own fury, it sustained Me. 6 I have trodden down the peoples in My anger, Made them drunk in My fury, And brought down their strength to the earth.” God’s Mercy Remembered 7 I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the LORD And the praises of the LORD, According to all that the LORD has bestowed on us, And the great goodness toward the house of Israel, Which He has bestowed on them according to His mercies, According to the multitude of His lovingkindnesses. 8 For He said, “Surely they are My people, Children who will not lie.” So He became their Savior. 9 aIn all their affliction He was 1afflicted, bAnd the Angel of His Presence saved them; cIn His love and in His pity He redeemed them; And dHe bore them and carried them All the days of old. 10 But they arebelled and bgrieved His Holy Spirit; cSo He turned Himself against them as an enemy, And He fought against them. 11 Then he aremembered the days of old, Moses and his people, saying: “Where is He who bbrought them up out of the sea With the 1shepherd of His flock? cWhere is He who put His Holy Spirit within them, 12 Who led them by the right hand of Moses, aWith His glorious arm, bDividing the water before them To make for Himself an everlasting name, 13 aWho led them through the deep, As a horse in the wilderness, That they might not stumble?” 14 As a beast goes down into the valley, And the Spirit of the LORD causes him to rest, So You lead Your people, aTo make Yourself a glorious name. A Prayer of Penitence 15 aLook down from heaven, And see bfrom Your habitation, holy and glorious. Where are Your zeal and Your strength, The yearning cof Your heart and Your mercies toward me? Are they restrained? 16 aDoubtless You are our Father, Though Abraham bwas ignorant of us, And Israel does not acknowledge us. You, O LORD, are our Father; Our Redeemer from Everlasting is Your name. 17 O LORD, why have You amade us stray from Your ways, And hardened our heart from Your fear? Return for Your servants’ sake, The tribes of Your inheritance. 18 aYour holy people have possessed it but a little while; bOur adversaries have trodden down Your sanctuary. 19 We have become like those of old, over whom You never ruled, Those who were never called by Your name. 64 Oh, that You would 1rend the heavens! That You would come down! That the mountains might shake at Your apresence— 2 As fire burns brushwood, As fire causes water to boil— To make Your name known to Your adversaries, That the nations may tremble at Your presence! 3 When aYou did awesome things for which we did not look, You came down, The mountains shook at Your presence. 4 For since the beginning of the world aMen have not heard nor perceived by the ear, Nor has the eye seen any God besides You, Who acts for the one who waits for Him. 5 You meet him who rejoices and does righteousness, Who remembers You in Your ways. You are indeed angry, for we have sinned— aIn these ways we continue; And we need to be saved. 6 But we are all like an unclean thing, And all aour righteousnesses are like 1filthy rags; 5 aIs. 41:28; 59:16 b[John 16:32] cPs. 98:1; Is. 59:16 9 aJudg. 10:16 bEx. 14:19 cDeut. 7:7 dEx. 19:4 1Kt., LXX, Syr. not afflicted 10 aEx. 15:24 bNum. 14:11; Ps. 78:40; Acts 7:51; 1 Cor. 10:1–11 cEx. 23:21; Ps. 106:40 11 aPs. 106:44, 45 bEx. 14:30 cNum. 11:17, 25, 29; Hag. 2:5 1MT, Vg. shepherds 12 aEx. 15:6 bEx. 14:21, 22; Josh. 3:16; Is. 11:15; 51:10 13 aPs. 106:9 14 a2 Sam. 7:23 15 aDeut. 26:15; Ps. 80:14 bPs. 33:14 cJer. 31:20; Hos. 11:8 16 aDeut. 32:6 bJob 14:21 17 aIs. 6:9, 10; John 12:40 18 aDeut. 7:6 bPs. 74:3–7; Is. 64:11 CHAPTER 64 1 aEx. 19:18; Ps. 18:9; 144:5; Mic. 1:3, 4; [Hab. 3:13] 1tear open 3 aEx. 34:10 4 aPs. 31:19 5 aMal. 3:6 6 a[Phil. 3:9] 1Lit. a filthy garment

ISAIAH 64:7 656 We all bfade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away. 7 And there is no one who calls on Your name, Who stirs himself up to take hold of You; For You have hidden Your face from us, And have 1consumed us because of our iniquities. 8 But now, O LORD, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our apotter; And all we are the work of Your hand. 9 Do not be furious, O LORD, Nor remember iniquity forever; Indeed, please look—we all are Your people! 10 Your holy cities are a wilderness, Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation. 11 Our holy and beautiful 1temple, Where our fathers praised You, Is burned up with fire; And all aour pleasant things 2are laid waste. 12 aWill You restrain Yourself because of these things, O LORD? bWill You 1hold Your peace, and afflict us very severely? The Righteousness of God’s Judgment 65 “I was asought by those who did not ask for Me; I was found by those who did not seek Me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’ To a nation that bwas not called by My name. 2 aI have stretched out My hands all day long to a brebellious people, Who cwalk in a way that is not good, According to their own thoughts; 3 A people awho provoke Me to anger continually to My face; bWho sacrifice in gardens, And burn incense on altars of brick; 4 aWho sit among the graves, And spend the night in the tombs; bWho eat swine’s flesh, And the broth of 1abominable things is in their vessels; 5 aWho say, ‘Keep to yourself, Do not come near me, For I am holier than you!’ These 1are smoke in My nostrils, A fire that burns all the day. 6 “Behold, ait is written before Me: bI will not keep silence, cbut will repay— Even repay into their bosom— 7 Your iniquities and athe iniquities of your fathers together,” Says the LORD, b“Who have burned incense on the mountains cAnd blasphemed Me on the hills; Therefore I will measure their former work into their bosom.” 8 Thus says the LORD: “As the new wine is found in the cluster, And one says, ‘Do not destroy it, For aa blessing is in it,’ So will I do for My servants’ sake, That I may not destroy them ball. 9 I will bring forth descendants from Jacob, And from Judah an heir of My mountains; My aelect shall inherit it, And My servants shall dwell there. 10 aSharon shall be a fold of flocks, And bthe Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down, For My people who have csought Me. 11 “But you are those who forsake the LORD, Who forget aMy holy mountain, Who prepare ba table for 1Gad, And who furnish a drink offering for 2Meni. 12 Therefore I will number you for the sword, And you shall all bow down to the slaughter; aBecause, when I called, you did not answer; When I spoke, you did not hear, But did evil before My eyes, And chose that in which I do not delight.” 13 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, My servants shall eat, But you shall be hungry; Behold, My servants shall drink, But you shall be thirsty; Behold, My servants shall rejoice, But you shall be ashamed; 14 Behold, My servants shall sing for joy of heart, But you shall cry for sorrow of heart, 6 bPs. 90:5, 6; Is.1:30 7 1Lit. caused us to melt 8 aIs. 29:16; 45:9; Jer. 18:6; [Rom. 9:20, 21] 11 aEzek. 24:21 1Lit. house 2have become a ruin 12 aIs. 42:14 bPs. 83:1 1keep silent CHAPTER 65 1 aRom. 9:24; 10:20 bIs. 63:19 2 aRom. 10:21 bIs. 1:2, 23 cIs. 42:24 3 aDeut. 32:21 bIs. 1:29 4 aDeut. 18:11 bLev. 11:7; Is. 66:17 1Un- clean meats, Lev. 7:18; 19:7 5 aMatt. 9:11; Luke 7:39; 18:9–12 1Cause My wrath to smoke 6 aDeut. 32:34 bPs. 50:3 cPs. 79:12 7 aEx. 20:5 bEzek. 18:6 cIs. 57:7; Ezek. 20:27, 28 8 aJoel 2:14 bIs. 1:9; Amos 9:8, 9 9 aMatt. 24:22 10 aIs. 33:9 bJosh. 7:24; Hos. 2:15 cIs. 55:6 11 aIs. 56:7 bEzek. 23:41; [1 Cor. 10:21] 1Lit. Troop or Fortune; a pa- gan deity 2Lit. Number or Destiny; a pa- gan deity 12 a2 Chr. 36:15, 16; Prov. 1:24; Is. 41:28; 50:2; 66:4; Jer. 7:13

657 ISAIAH 66:8 And awail for 1grief of spirit. 15 You shall leave your name aas a curse to bMy chosen; For the Lord GOD will slay you, And ccall His servants by another name; 16 aSo that he who blesses himself in the earth Shall bless himself in the God of truth; And bhe who swears in the earth Shall swear by the God of truth; Because the former troubles are forgotten, And because they are hidden from My eyes. The Glorious New Creation 17 “For behold, I create anew heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or 1come to mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, And her people a joy. 19 aI will rejoice in Jerusalem, And joy in My people; The bvoice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, Nor the voice of crying. 20 “No more shall an infant from there live but a few days, Nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days; For the child shall die one hundred years old, aBut the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed. 21 aThey shall build houses and inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 22 They shall not build and another inhabit; They shall not plant and aanother eat; For bas the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people, And cMy elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. 23 They shall not labor in vain, aNor bring forth children for trouble; For bthey shall be the descendants of the blessed of the LORD, And their offspring with them. 24 “It shall come to pass That abefore they call, I will answer; And while they are still speaking, I will bhear. 25 The awolf and the lamb shall feed together, The lion shall eat straw like the ox, bAnd dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,” Says the LORD. True Worship and False 66 Thus says the LORD: a“Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is the place of My rest? 2 For all those things My hand has made, And all those things exist,” Says the LORD. a“But on this one will I look: bOn him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, And who trembles at My word. 3 “Hea who kills a bull is as if he slays a man; He who sacrifices a lamb, as if he bbreaks a dog’s neck; He who offers a grain offering, as if he offers swine’s blood; He who burns incense, as if he blesses an idol. Just as they have chosen their own ways, And their soul delights in their abominations, 4 So will I choose their delusions, And bring their fears on them; aBecause, when I called, no one answered, When I spoke they did not hear; But they did evil before My eyes, And chose that in which I do not delight.” The LORD Vindicates Zion 5 Hear the word of the LORD, You who tremble at His word: “Your brethren who ahated you, Who cast you out for My name’s sake, said, b‘Let the LORD be glorified, That cwe may see your joy.’ But they shall be ashamed.” 6 The sound of noise from the city! A voice from the temple! The voice of the LORD, Who fully repays His enemies! 7 “Before she was in labor, she gave birth; Before her pain came, She delivered a male child. 8 Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? 14 aMatt. 8:12; Luke 13:28 1Or a broken spirit 15 aJer. 29:22; Zech. 8:13 bIs. 65:9, 22 c[Acts 11:26] 16 aPs. 72:17; Jer. 4:2 bDeut. 6:13; Zeph. 1:5 17 aIs. 51:16; 66:22; [2 Pet. 3:13]; Rev. 21:1 1Lit. come upon the heart 19 aIs. 62:4, 5 bIs. 35:10; 51:11; Rev. 7:17; 21:4 20 aEccl. 8:12, 13; Is. 3:11; 22:14 21 aEzek. 28:26; 45:4; Hos. 11:11; Amos 9:14 22 aIs. 62:8, 9 bPs. 92:12 cIs. 65:9, 15 23 aHos. 9:12 bIs. 61:9; [Jer. 32:38, 39; Acts 2:39] 24 aPs. 91:15; Is. 58:9 bIs. 30:19; Dan. 9:20–23 25 aIs. 11:6–9 bGen. 3:14; Mic. 7:17 CHAPTER 66 1 a1 Kin. 8:27; 2 Chr. 6:18; Ps. 11:4; Matt. 5:34; Acts 17:24 2 aPs. 34:18; [Is. 57:15; 61:1; Matt. 5:3, 4; Luke 18:13, 14] bPs. 34:18; 51:17 3 a[Is. 1:10–17; 58:1–7; Mic. 6:7, 8] bDeut. 23:18 4 aProv. 1:24; Is. 65:12; Jer. 7:13 5 aPs. 38:20; Is.

; Is. 3:11; 22:14 21 aEzek. 28:26; 45:4; Hos. 11:11; Amos 9:14 22 aIs. 62:8, 9 bPs. 92:12 cIs. 65:9, 15 23 aHos. 9:12 bIs. 61:9; [Jer. 32:38, 39; Acts 2:39] 24 aPs. 91:15; Is. 58:9 bIs. 30:19; Dan. 9:20–23 25 aIs. 11:6–9 bGen. 3:14; Mic. 7:17 CHAPTER 66 1 a1 Kin. 8:27; 2 Chr. 6:18; Ps. 11:4; Matt. 5:34; Acts 17:24 2 aPs. 34:18; [Is. 57:15; 61:1; Matt. 5:3, 4; Luke 18:13, 14] bPs. 34:18; 51:17 3 a[Is. 1:10–17; 58:1–7; Mic. 6:7, 8] bDeut. 23:18 4 aProv. 1:24; Is. 65:12; Jer. 7:13 5 aPs. 38:20; Is. 60:15; [Luke 6:22, 23] bIs. 5:19 c[2 Thess. 1:10; Titus 2:13]

ISAIAH 66:9 658 Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor, She gave birth to her children. 9 Shall I bring to the time of birth, and not cause delivery?” says the LORD. “Shall I who cause delivery shut up the womb?” says your God. 10 “Rejoice with Jerusalem, And be glad with her, all you who love her; Rejoice for joy with her, all you who mourn for her; 11 That you may feed and be satisfied With the consolation of her bosom, That you may drink deeply and be delighted With the abundance of her glory.” 12 For thus says the LORD: “Behold, aI will extend peace to her like a river, And the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream. Then you shall bfeed; On her sides shall you be ccarried, And be dandled on her knees. 13 As one whom his mother comforts, So I will acomfort you; And you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.” The Reign and Indignation of God 14 When you see this, your heart shall rejoice, And ayour bones shall flourish like grass; The hand of the LORD shall be known to His servants, And His indignation to His enemies. 15 aFor behold, the LORD will come with fire And with His chariots, like a whirlwind, To render His anger with fury, And His rebuke with flames of fire. 16 For by fire and by aHis sword The LORD will judge all flesh; And the slain of the LORD shall be bmany. 17 “Thosea who sanctify themselves and purify themselves, To go to the gardens 1After an idol in the midst, Eating swine’s flesh and the abomination and the mouse, Shall 2be consumed together,” says the LORD. 18 “For I know their works and their athoughts. It shall be that I will bgather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and see My glory. 19 a“I will set a sign among them; and those among them who escape I will send to the nations: to Tarshish and 1Pul and Lud, who draw the bow, and Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands afar off who have not heard My fame nor seen My glory. bAnd they shall declare My glory among the Gentiles. 20 “Then they shall abring all your brethren bfor an offering to the LORD out of all nations, on horses and in chariots and in litters, on mules and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the LORD, “as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD. 21 “And I will also take some of them for apriests and Levites,” says the LORD. 22 “For as athe new heavens and the new earth Which I will make shall remain before Me,” says the LORD, “So shall your descendants and your name remain. 23 And ait shall come to pass That from one New Moon to another, And from one Sabbath to another, bAll flesh shall come to worship before Me,” says the LORD. 24 “And they shall go forth and look Upon the corpses of the men Who have transgressed against Me. For their aworm does not die, And their fire is not quenched. They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.” 12 aIs. 48:18; 60:5 bIs. 60:16 cIs. 49:22; 60:4 13 aIs. 51:3; [2 Cor. 1:3, 4] 14 aEzek. 37:1 15 aIs. 9:5; [2 Thess. 1:8] 16 aIs. 27:1 bIs. 34:6 17 aIs. 65:3–8 1Lit. After one 2come to an end 18 aIs. 59:7 bIs. 45:22–25; Jer. 3:17 19 aLuke 2:34 bMal. 1:11 1So with MT, Tg.; LXX Put (cf. Jer. 46:9) 20 aIs. 49:22 bIs. 18:7; [Rom. 15:16] 21 aEx. 19:6; Is. 61:6; 1 Pet. 2:9; Rev. 1:6 22 aIs. 65:17; Heb. 12:26, 27; 2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 21:1 23 aZech. 14:16 bZech. 14:17–21 24 aIs. 14:11; Mark 9:44, 46, 48

THE words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were ain Anathoth in the land of Ben- jamin, 2 to whom the word of the LORD came in the days of aJosiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, bin the thir- teenth year of his reign. 3 It came also in the days of aJe- hoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, buntil the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, cuntil the carrying away of Jerusalem captive din the fifth month. The Prophet Is Called 4 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 5 “Before I aformed you in the womb bI knew you; Before you were born I csanctified1 you; I 2ordained you a prophet to the nations.” 6 Then said I: a“Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.” 7 But the LORD said to me: “Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ For you shall go to all to whom I send you, And awhatever I command you, you shall speak. 8 aDo not be afraid of their faces, For bI am with you to deliver you,” says the LORD. 9 Then the LORD put forth His hand and atouched my mouth, and the LORD said to me: “Behold, I have bput My words in your mouth. 10 aSee, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, To broot out and to pull down, To destroy and to throw down, To build and to plant.” 11 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see a 1branch of an almond tree.” 12 Then the LORD said to me, “You have seen well, for I am 1ready to perform My word.” 13 And the word of the LORD came to me the second time, saying, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see aa boiling pot, and it is facing away from the north.” 14 Then the LORD said to me: “Out of the anorth calamity shall break forth On all the inhabitants of the land. 15 For behold, I am acalling All the families of the kingdoms of the north,” says the LORD; “They shall come and beach one set his throne At the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, Against all its walls all around, And against all the cities of Judah. 16 I will utter My judgments Against them concerning all their wickedness, Because athey have forsaken Me, Burned bincense to other gods, And worshiped the works of their own chands. 17 “Therefore aprepare yourself and arise, And speak to them all that I command you. bDo not be dismayed before their faces, Lest I dismay you before them. 18 For behold, I have made you this day aA fortified city and an iron pillar, CHAPTER 1 1 aJosh. 21:18 2 a2 Kin. 21:24 bJer. 25:3 3 a2 Kin. 23:34 bJer. 39:2 cJer. 52:12 d2 Kin. 25:8 5 aIs. 49:1, 5 bEx. 33:12 c[Luke 1:15] 1set you apart 2appointed 6 aEx. 4:10; 6:12, 30 7 aNum. 22:20, 38 8 aEzek. 2:6; 3:9 bEx. 3:12 9 aIs. 6:7 bIs. 51:16 10 a1 Kin. 19:17 b[2 Cor. 10:4, 5] 11 1Lit. rod 12 1Lit. watch- ing 13 aEzek. 11:3; 24:3 14 aJer. 6:1 15 aJer. 6:22; 25:9 bJer. 39:3 16 aDeut. 28:20 bJer. 7:9 cIs. 37:19 17 aJob 38:3 bEzek. 2:6 18 aIs. 50:7 The Book of JEREMIAH THE Book of Jeremiah is the prophecy of a man divinely called in his youth from the priest-city of Anathoth. A heartbroken prophet with a heartbreaking mes- sage, Jeremiah labors for more that forty years proclaiming a message of doom to the stiff-necked people of Judah. Despised and persecuted by his countrymen, Jeremiah bathes his harsh prophecies in tears of compassion. His broken heart causes him to write a broken book, which is difficult to arrange chronologically or topically. But through his sermons and signs he faithfully declares that surrender to God’s will is the only way to escape calamity. Yirmeyahu or Yirmeyah literally means “Yahweh Throws,” perhaps in the sense of laying a foundation. It may effectively mean “Yahweh Establishes, Appoints, or Sends.” The Greek form of the Hebrew name in the Septuagint is Hieremias, and the Latin form is Jeremias.

JEREMIAH 1:19 660 And bronze walls against the whole land— Against the kings of Judah, Against its princes, Against its priests, And against the people of the land. 19 They will fight against you, But they shall not prevail against you. For I am with you,” says the LORD, “to deliver you.” God’s Case Against Israel 2 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 “Go and cry in the hearing of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD: “I remember you, The kindness of your ayouth, The love of your betrothal, bWhen you 1went after Me in the wilderness, In a land not sown. 3 aIsrael was holiness to the LORD, bThe firstfruits of His increase. cAll that devour him will offend; Disaster will dcome upon them,” says the LORD.’ ” 4 Hear the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob and all the families of the house of Israel. 5 Thus says the LORD: a“What injustice have your fathers found in Me, That they have gone far from Me, bHave followed 1idols, And have become idolaters? 6 Neither did they say, ‘Where is the LORD, Who abrought us up out of the land of Egypt, Who led us through bthe wilderness, Through a land of deserts and pits, Through a land of drought and the shadow of death, Through a land that no one crossed And where no one dwelt?’ 7 I brought you into aa bountiful country, To eat its fruit and its goodness. But when you entered, you bdefiled My land And made My heritage an abomination. 8 The priests did not say, ‘Where is the LORD?’ And those who handle the alaw did not know Me; The rulers also transgressed against Me; bThe prophets prophesied by Baal, And walked after things that do not profit. 9 “Therefore aI will yet 1bring charges against you,” says the LORD, “And against your children’s children I will bring charges. 10 For pass beyond the coasts of 1Cyprus and see, Send to 2Kedar and consider diligently, And see if there has been such a athing. 11 aHas a nation changed its gods, Which are bnot gods? cBut My people have changed their Glory For what does not profit. 12 Be astonished, O heavens, at this, And be horribly afraid; Be very desolate,” says the LORD. 13 “For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the afountain of living waters, And hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water. 14 “Is Israel aa servant? Is he a homeborn slave? Why is he plundered? 15 aThe young lions roared at him, and growled; They made his land waste; His cities are burned, without inhabitant. 16 Also the people of 1Noph and aTahpanhes Have 2broken the crown of your head. 17 aHave you not brought this on yourself, In that you have forsaken the LORD your God When bHe led you in the way? 18 And now why take athe road to Egypt, To drink the waters of bSihor? Or why take the road to cAssyria, To drink the waters of 1the River? 19 Your own wickedness will acorrect you, And your backslidings will rebuke you. Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing That you have forsaken the LORD your God, And the 1fear of Me is not in you,” Says the Lord GOD of hosts. 20 “For of old I have abroken your yoke and burst your bonds; And byou said, ‘I will not 1transgress,’ CHAPTER 2 2 aEzek. 16:8; Hos. 2:15 bDeut. 2:7; Jer. 2:6 1fol- lowed 3 a[Ex. 19:5, 6; Deut. 7:6; 14:2] bJames 1:18; Rev. 14:4 cJer. 12:14 dGen. 12:3; Is. 41:11; Jer. 30:15, 16; 50:7 5 aIs. 5:4; Mic. 6:3 b2 Kin. 17:15; Jer. 8:19; [Jon. 2:8]; Rom. 1:21 1vanities or futilities 6 aEx. 20:2; Is. 63:11 bDeut. 8:15; 32:10 7 aNum. 13:27 bNum. 35:33; Is. 24:5; Hos. 4:3 8 aRom. 2:20 bJer. 23:13 9 aJer. 2:35; Ezek. 20:35, 36; Mic. 6:2 1contend with 10 aJer. 18:13 1Heb. Kittim, representata- tive of western cul- tures 2In northern Ara- bian desert, representative of eastern cul- tures 11 aMic. 4:5 bPs. 115:4; Is. 37:19 cPs. 106:20; Rom. 1:23 13 aPs. 36:9; Jer. 17:13; [John 4:14] 14 a[Ex. 4:22] 15 aIs. 1:7; Jer. 50:17 16 a2 Kin. 23:29–37; Jer. 43:7–9 1Mem- phis in ancient Egypt 2Or grazed 17 aJer. 4:18 bDeut. 32:10 18 aIs. 30:1–3 bJosh. 13:3 cHos.

. 24:5; Hos. 4:3 8 aRom. 2:20 bJer. 23:13 9 aJer. 2:35; Ezek. 20:35, 36; Mic. 6:2 1contend with 10 aJer. 18:13 1Heb. Kittim, representata- tive of western cul- tures 2In northern Ara- bian desert, representative of eastern cul- tures 11 aMic. 4:5 bPs. 115:4; Is. 37:19 cPs. 106:20; Rom. 1:23 13 aPs. 36:9; Jer. 17:13; [John 4:14] 14 a[Ex. 4:22] 15 aIs. 1:7; Jer. 50:17 16 a2 Kin. 23:29–37; Jer. 43:7–9 1Mem- phis in ancient Egypt 2Or grazed 17 aJer. 4:18 bDeut. 32:10 18 aIs. 30:1–3 bJosh. 13:3 cHos. 5:13 1The Eu- phrates 19 aIs. 3:9; Jer. 4:18; Hos. 5:5 1dread 20 aLev. 26:13 bEx. 19:8; Josh. 24:18; Judg. 10:16; 1 Sam. 12:10 1Kt. serve

661 JEREMIAH 3:2 When con every high hill and under every green tree You lay down, dplaying the harlot. 21 Yet I had aplanted you a noble vine, a seed of highest quality. How then have you turned before Me Into bthe degenerate plant of an alien vine? 22 For though you wash yourself with lye, and use much soap, Yet your iniquity is amarked1 before Me,” says the Lord GOD. 23 “Howa can you say, ‘I am not 1polluted, I have not gone after the Baals’? See your way in the valley; Know what you have done: You are a swift dromedary breaking loose in her ways, 24 A wild donkey used to the wilderness, That sniffs at the wind in her desire; In her time of mating, who can turn her away? All those who seek her will not weary themselves; In her month they will find her. 25 Withhold your foot from being unshod, and your throat from thirst. But you said, a‘There is no hope. No! For I have loved baliens, and after them I will go.’ 26 “As the thief is ashamed when he is found out, So is the house of Israel ashamed; They and their kings and their princes, and their priests and their aprophets, 27 Saying to a tree, ‘You are my father,’ And to a astone, ‘You gave birth to me.’ For they have turned their back to Me, and not their face. But in the time of their btrouble They will say, ‘Arise and save us.’ 28 But awhere are your gods that you have made for yourselves? Let them arise, If they bcan save you in the time of your 1trouble; For caccording to the number of your cities Are your gods, O Judah. 29 “Why will you plead with Me? You all have transgressed against Me,” says the LORD. 30 “In vain I have achastened your children; They breceived no correction. Your sword has cdevoured your prophets Like a destroying lion. 31 “O generation, see the word of the LORD! Have I been a wilderness to Israel, Or a land of darkness? Why do My people say, ‘We 1are lords; aWe will come no more to You’? 32 Can a virgin forget her ornaments, Or a bride her attire? Yet My people ahave forgotten Me days without number. 33 “Why do you beautify your way to seek love? Therefore you have also taught The wicked women your ways. 34 Also on your skirts is found aThe blood of the lives of the poor innocents. I have not found it by 1secret search, But plainly on all these things. 35 aYet you say, ‘Because I am innocent, Surely His anger shall turn from me.’ Behold, bI will plead My case against you, cBecause you say, ‘I have not sinned.’ 36 aWhy do you gad about so much to change your way? Also byou shall be ashamed of Egypt cas you were ashamed of Assyria. 37 Indeed you will go forth from him With your hands on ayour head; For the LORD has rejected your trusted allies, And you will bnot prosper by them. Israel Is Shameless 3 “They say, ‘If a man divorces his wife, And she goes from him And becomes another man’s, aMay he return to her again?’ Would not that bland be greatly polluted? But you have cplayed the harlot with many lovers; dYet return to Me,” says the LORD. 2 “Lift up your eyes to athe desolate heights and see: Where have you not 1lain with men? bBy the road you have sat for them Like an Arabian in the wilderness; 20 cDeut. 12:2; Is. 57:5, 7; Jer. 3:6 dEx. 34:15 21 aEx. 15:17; Ps. 44:2; 80:8; Is. 5:2 bDeut. 32:32; Is. 5:4 22 aJob 14:16, 17; Jer. 17:1, 2; Hos. 13:12 1stained 23 aProv. 30:12 1defiled 25 aIs. 57:10; Jer. 18:12 bJer. 3:13 26 aIs. 28:7; Jer. 5:31 27 aJer. 3:9 bJudg. 10:10; Is. 26:16; Hos. 5:15 28 aDeut. 32:37; Judg. 10:14 bIs. 45:20 c2 Kin. 17:30, 31; Jer. 11:13 1Or evil 30 aIs. 9:13 bIs. 1:5; Jer. 5:3; 7:28 cNeh. 9:26; Jer. 26:20–24; Acts 7:52; 1 Thess. 2:15 31 aDeut. 32:15; Jer. 2:20, 25 1have dominion 32 aPs. 106:21; Is. 17:10; Jer. 3:21; 13:25; Hos. 8:14 34 a2 Kin. 21:16; 24:4; Ps. 106:38; Jer. 7:6; 19:4 1digging 35 aJer. 2:23, 29; Mal. 2:17; 3:8 bJer. 2:9 c[Prov. 28:13; 1 John 1:8, 10] 36 aJer. 31:22; Hos. 5:13; 12:1 bIs. 30:3 c2 Chr. 28:16 37 a2 Sam. 13:19; Jer. 14:3, 4 bJer. 37:7–10 CHAPTER 3 1 aDeut. 24:1–4 bJer. 2:7 cJer. 2:20; Ezek. 16:26 dJer.

Or evil 30 aIs. 9:13 bIs. 1:5; Jer. 5:3; 7:28 cNeh. 9:26; Jer. 26:20–24; Acts 7:52; 1 Thess. 2:15 31 aDeut. 32:15; Jer. 2:20, 25 1have dominion 32 aPs. 106:21; Is. 17:10; Jer. 3:21; 13:25; Hos. 8:14 34 a2 Kin. 21:16; 24:4; Ps. 106:38; Jer. 7:6; 19:4 1digging 35 aJer. 2:23, 29; Mal. 2:17; 3:8 bJer. 2:9 c[Prov. 28:13; 1 John 1:8, 10] 36 aJer. 31:22; Hos. 5:13; 12:1 bIs. 30:3 c2 Chr. 28:16 37 a2 Sam. 13:19; Jer. 14:3, 4 bJer. 37:7–10 CHAPTER 3 1 aDeut. 24:1–4 bJer. 2:7 cJer. 2:20; Ezek. 16:26 dJer. 4:1; [Zech. 1:3] 2 aDeut. 12:2; Jer. 2:20; 3:21; 7:29 bProv. 23:28 1Kt. been violated

JEREMIAH 3:3 662 cAnd you have polluted the land With your harlotries and your wickedness. 3 Therefore the ashowers have been withheld, And there has been no latter rain. You have had a bharlot’s forehead; You refuse to be ashamed. 4 Will you not from this time cry to Me, ‘My Father,You are athe guide of bmy youth? 5 aWill He remain angry forever? Will He keep it to the end?’ Behold, you have spoken and done evil things, As you were able.” A Call to Repentance 6 The LORD said also to me in the days of Josiah the king: “Have you seen what abacksliding Israel has done? She has bgone up on every high mountain and under every green tree, and there played the harlot. 7 a“And I said, after she had done all these things, ‘Return to Me.’ But she did not return. And her treach- erous bsister Judah saw it. 8 “Then I saw that afor all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had bput her away and given her a certificate of divorce; cyet her treacherous sis- ter Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also. 9 “So it came to pass, through her casual harlotry, that she adefiled the land and committed adultery with bstones and trees. 10 “And yet for all this her treach- erous sister Judah has not turned to Me awith her whole heart, but in pretense,” says the LORD. 11 Then the LORD said to me, a“Backsliding Israel has shown her- self more righteous than treacher- ous Judah. 12 “Go and proclaim these words toward athe north, and say: ‘Return, backsliding Israel,’ says the LORD; ‘I will not cause My anger to fall on you. For I am bmerciful,’ says the LORD; ‘I will not remain angry forever. 13 aOnly acknowledge your iniquity, That you have transgressed against the LORD your God, And have bscattered your 1charms To calien deities dunder every green tree, And you have not obeyed My voice,’ says the LORD. 14 “Return, O backsliding chil- dren,” says the LORD; a“for I am mar- ried to you. I will take you, bone from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to cZion. 15 “And I will give you ashepherds according to My heart, who will bfeed you with knowledge and un- derstanding. 16 “Then it shall come to pass, when you are multiplied and aincreased in the land in those days,” says the LORD, “that they will say no more, ‘The ark of the covenant of the LORD.’ bIt shall not come to mind, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they visit it, nor shall it be made anymore. 17 “At that time Jerusalem shall be called The Throne of the LORD, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, ato the name of the LORD, to Jeru- salem. No more shall they bfollow1 the dictates of their evil hearts. 18 “In those days athe house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of bthe north to cthe land that I have given as an inheri- tance to your fathers. 19 “But I said: ‘How can I put you among the children And give you aa pleasant land, A beautiful heritage of the hosts of nations?’ “And I said: ‘You shall call Me, b“My Father,” And not turn away from Me.’ 20 Surely, as a wife treacherously departs from her 1husband, So ahave you dealt treacherously with Me, O house of Israel,” says the LORD. 21 A voice was heard on athe desolate heights, Weeping and supplications of the children of Israel. For they have perverted their way; They have forgotten the LORD their God. 22 “Return, you backsliding children, And I will aheal your backslidings.” “Indeed we do come to You, For You are the LORD our God. 23 aTruly, in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, And from the multitude of mountains; bTruly, in the LORD our God Is the salvation of Israel. 24 aFor shame has devoured The labor of our fathers from our youth— 2 cJer. 2:7 3 aLev. 26:19; Jer. 14:3–6 bZeph. 3:5 4 aPs. 71:17; Prov. 2:17 bJer. 2:2; Hos. 2:15 5 aPs. 103:9; [Is. 57:16]; Jer. 3:12 6 aJer. 7:24 bJer. 2:20 7 a2 Kin. 17:13 bJer. 3:11; Ezek. 16:47, 48 8 aEzek. 23:9 b2 Kin. 17:6; Is. 50:1 cEzek. 23:11 9 aJer. 2:7 bIs. 57:6; Jer.

d. 23 aTruly, in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, And from the multitude of mountains; bTruly, in the LORD our God Is the salvation of Israel. 24 aFor shame has devoured The labor of our fathers from our youth— 2 cJer. 2:7 3 aLev. 26:19; Jer. 14:3–6 bZeph. 3:5 4 aPs. 71:17; Prov. 2:17 bJer. 2:2; Hos. 2:15 5 aPs. 103:9; [Is. 57:16]; Jer. 3:12 6 aJer. 7:24 bJer. 2:20 7 a2 Kin. 17:13 bJer. 3:11; Ezek. 16:47, 48 8 aEzek. 23:9 b2 Kin. 17:6; Is. 50:1 cEzek. 23:11 9 aJer. 2:7 bIs. 57:6; Jer. 2:27 10 aJer. 12:2; Hos. 7:14 11 aEzek. 16:51, 52 12 a2 Kin. 17:6 bPs. 86:15; Jer. 12:15; 31:20; 33:26 13 aLev. 26:40; Deut. 30:1, 2; [Prov. 28:13; 1 John 1:9] bEzek. 16:15 cJer. 2:25 dDeut. 12:2 1Lit. ways 14 aJer. 31:32; Hos. 2:19, 20 bJer. 31:6 c[Rom. 11:5] 15 aJer. 23:4; 31:10; [Ezek. 34:23]; Eph. 4:11 bActs 20:28 16 aIs. 49:19; Jer. 23:3 bIs. 65:17 17 aIs. 60:9 bDeut. 29:19; Jer. 7:24 1walk after the stubborn- ness, or imagination 18 aIs. 11:13; Jer. 50:4; Ezek. 37:16–22; Hos. 1:11 bJer. 31:8 cAmos 9:15 19 aPs. 106:24 bIs. 63:16; Jer. 3:4 20 aIs. 48:8 1Lit. compan- ion 21 aIs. 15:2 22 aJer. 30:17; 33:6; Hos. 6:1; 14:4 23 aPs. 121:1, 2 bPs. 3:8; Prov. 21:31; Jer. 17:14; 31:7; Jon. 2:9 24 aJer. 11:13; 14:20; Hos. 9:10

663 JEREMIAH 4:19 Their flocks and their herds, Their sons and their daughters. 25 We lie down in our shame, And our 1reproach covers us. aFor we have sinned against the LORD our God, We and our fathers, From our youth even to this day, And bhave not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.” 4 “If you will return, O Israel,” says the LORD, a“Return to Me; And if you will put away your abominations out of My sight, Then you shall not be moved. 2 aAnd you shall swear, ‘The LORD lives,’ bIn truth, in 1judgment, and in righteousness; cThe nations shall bless themselves in Him, And in Him they shall dglory.” 3 For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: a“Break up your 1fallow ground, And bdo not sow among thorns. 4 aCircumcise yourselves to the LORD, And take away the foreskins of your hearts, You men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Lest My fury come forth like fire, And burn so that no one can quench it, Because of the evil of your doings.” An Imminent Invasion 5 Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say: a“Blow the trumpet in the land; Cry, ‘Gather together,’ And say, b‘Assemble yourselves, And let us go into the fortified cities.’ 6 Set up the 1standard toward Zion. Take refuge! Do not delay! For I will bring disaster from the anorth, And great destruction.” 7 aThe lion has come up from his thicket, And bthe destroyer of nations is on his way. He has gone forth from his place cTo make your land desolate. Your cities will be laid waste, Without inhabitant. 8 For this, aclothe yourself with sackcloth, Lament and wail. For the fierce anger of the LORD Has not turned back from us. 9 “And it shall come to pass in that day,” says the LORD, “That the heart of the king shall perish, And the heart of the princes; The priests shall be astonished, And the prophets shall wonder.” 10 Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! aSurely You have greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, bSaying, ‘You shall have peace,’ Whereas the sword reaches to the 1heart.” 11 At that time it will be said To this people and to Jerusalem, a“A dry wind of the desolate heights blows in the wilderness Toward the daughter of My people— Not to fan or to cleanse— 12 A wind too strong for these will come for Me; Now aI will also speak judgment against them.” 13 “Behold, he shall come up like clouds, And ahis chariots like a whirlwind. bHis horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us, for we are plundered!” 14 O Jerusalem, awash your heart from wickedness, That you may be saved. How long shall your evil thoughts lodge within you? 15 For a voice declares afrom Dan And proclaims 1affliction from Mount Ephraim: 16 “Make mention to the nations, Yes, proclaim against Jerusalem, That watchers come from a afar country And raise their voice against the cities of Judah. 17 aLike keepers of a field they are against her all around, Because she has been rebellious against Me,” says the LORD. 18 “Youra ways and your doings Have procured these things for you. This is your wickedness, Because it is bitter, Because it reaches to your heart.” Sorrow for the Doomed Nation 19 O my asoul, my soul! I am pained in my very heart! 25 aEzra 9:6, 7 bJer. 22:21 1disgrace CHAPTER 4 1 aJer. 3:1, 22; 15:19; Joel 2:12 2 aDeut. 10:20; Is. 45:23; 65:16; Jer. 12:16 bIs. 48:1; Zech. 8:8 c[Gen. 22:18]; Ps. 72:18; Is. 65:16; Jer. 3:17; [Gal. 3:8] dIs. 45:25; Jer. 9:24; 1 Cor. 1:31; 2 Cor. 10:17 1justice 3 aHos. 10:12 bMatt. 13:7 1untilled 4 aDeut. 10:16; 30:6; Jer. 9:25, 26; [Rom. 2:28, 29; Col. 2:11] 5 aJer. 6:1; Hos. 8:1 bJosh. 10:20; Jer. 8:14 6 aJer. 1:13–15; 6:1, 22; 50:17 1banner 7 a2 Kin. 24:1; Dan. 7:4 bJer. 25:9; Ezek. 26:7–10 cIs. 1:7; 6:11; Jer. 2:15 8 aIs. 22:12; Jer. 6:26 10 a2 Kin. 25:10–12; Ezek. 14:9; 2 Thess. 2:11 bJer. 5:12; 14:13 1Lit. soul 11 aJer. 51:1; Ezek. 17:10; Hos. 13:15 12 aJer. 1:16 13 aIs. 5:28 bDeut. 28:49; Lam. 4:19; Hos. 8:1; Hab. 1:8 14 aProv. 1:22; Is. 1:16; Jer. 13:27; James 4:8 15 aJer. 8:16; 50:17 1Or wickedness 16 aIs. 39:3; Jer. 5:15 17 a2 Kin.

l. 2:11] 5 aJer. 6:1; Hos. 8:1 bJosh. 10:20; Jer. 8:14 6 aJer. 1:13–15; 6:1, 22; 50:17 1banner 7 a2 Kin. 24:1; Dan. 7:4 bJer. 25:9; Ezek. 26:7–10 cIs. 1:7; 6:11; Jer. 2:15 8 aIs. 22:12; Jer. 6:26 10 a2 Kin. 25:10–12; Ezek. 14:9; 2 Thess. 2:11 bJer. 5:12; 14:13 1Lit. soul 11 aJer. 51:1; Ezek. 17:10; Hos. 13:15 12 aJer. 1:16 13 aIs. 5:28 bDeut. 28:49; Lam. 4:19; Hos. 8:1; Hab. 1:8 14 aProv. 1:22; Is. 1:16; Jer. 13:27; James 4:8 15 aJer. 8:16; 50:17 1Or wickedness 16 aIs. 39:3; Jer. 5:15 17 a2 Kin. 25:1, 4 18 aPs. 107:17; Is. 50:1; Jer. 2:17, 19 19 a2 Kin. 25:11; 2 Chr. 36:20; Is. 15:5; 16:11; 21:3; 22:4; Jer. 9:1, 10; 20:9

JEREMIAH 4:20 664 My heart makes a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, Because you have heard, O my soul, The sound of the trumpet, The alarm of war. 20 aDestruction upon destruction is cried, For the whole land is plundered. Suddenly bmy tents are plundered, And my curtains in a moment. 21 How long will I see the 1standard, And hear the sound of the trumpet? 22 “For My people are foolish, They have not known Me. They are 1silly children, And they have no understanding. aThey are wise to do evil, But to do good they have no knowledge.” 23 aI beheld the earth, and indeed it was bwithout form, and void; And the heavens, they had no light. 24 aI beheld the mountains, and indeed they trembled, And all the hills moved back and forth. 25 I beheld, and indeed there was no man, And aall the birds of the heavens had fled. 26 I beheld, and indeed the fruitful land was a awilderness, And all its cities were broken down At the presence of the LORD, By His fierce anger. 27 For thus says the LORD: “The whole land shall be desolate; aYet I will not make a full end. 28 For this ashall the earth mourn, And bthe heavens above be black, Because I have spoken. I have cpurposed and dwill not relent, Nor will I turn back from it. 29 The whole city shall flee from the noise of the horsemen and bowmen. They shall go into thickets and climb up on the rocks. Every city shall be forsaken, And not a man shall dwell in it. 30 “And when you are plundered, What will you do? Though you clothe yourself with crimson, Though you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold, aThough you enlarge your eyes with paint, In vain you will make yourself fair; bYour lovers will despise you; They will seek your life. 31 “For I have heard a voice as of a woman in 1labor, The anguish as of her who brings forth her first child, The voice of the daughter of Zion bewailing herself; She aspreads her hands, saying, ‘Woe is me now, for my soul is 2weary Because of murderers!’ The Justice of God’s Judgment 5 “Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem; See now and know; And seek in her open places aIf you can find a man, bIf there is anyone who executes 1judgment, Who seeks the truth, cAnd I will pardon her. 2 aThough they say, ‘As bthe LORD lives,’ Surely they cswear falsely.” 3 O LORD, are not aYour eyes on the truth? You have bstricken them, But they have not grieved; You have consumed them, But cthey have refused to receive correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; They have refused to return. 4 Therefore I said, “Surely these are poor. They are foolish; For athey do not know the way of the LORD, The judgment of their God. 5 I will go to the great men and speak to them, For athey have known the way of the LORD, The judgment of their God.” But these have altogether bbroken the yoke And burst the bonds. 6 Therefore aa lion from the forest shall slay them, bA wolf of the deserts shall destroy them; cA leopard will watch over their cities. Everyone who goes out from there shall be torn in pieces, Because their transgressions are many; Their backslidings have increased. 20 aPs. 42:7; Ezek. 7:26 bJer. 10:20 21 1banner 22 aJer. 9:3; 13:23; Rom. 16:19; 1 Cor. 14:20 1foolish 23 aIs. 24:19 bGen. 1:2 24 aIs. 5:25; Jer. 10:10; Ezek. 38:20 25 aJer. 9:10; 12:4; Zeph. 1:3 26 aJer. 9:10 27 aJer. 5:10, 18; 30:11; 46:28 28 aJer. 12:4, 11; 14:2; Hos. 4:3 bIs. 5:30; 50:3; Joel 2:30, 31 cIs. 46:10, 11; [Dan. 4:35] d[Num. 23:19]; Jer. 7:16; 23:30; 30:24 30 a2 Kin. 9:30; Ezek. 23:40 bJer. 22:20, 22; Lam. 1:2, 19; Ezek. 23:9, 10, 22 31 aIs. 1:15; Lam. 1:17 1childbirth 2faint CHAPTER 5 1 aEzek. 22:30 bGen. 18:23–32 cGen. 18:26 1justice 2 aIs. 48:1; Ti- tus 1:16 bJer. 4:2 cJer. 7:9 3 a2 Kin. 25:1; [2 Chr. 16:9; Jer. 16:17] bIs. 1:5; 9:13; Jer. 2:30 cIs. 9:13; Jer. 7:28; Zeph. 3:2 4 aIs. 27:11; Jer. 8:7; Hos. 4:6 5 aMic. 3:1 bEx. 32:25; Ps. 2:3; Jer. 2:20 6 aJer. 4:7 bPs. 104:20; Ezek. 22:27; Hab. 1:8; Zeph. 3:3 cHos. 13:7

665 JEREMIAH 5:28 7 “How shall I pardon you for this? Your children have forsaken Me And asworn by those bthat are not gods. cWhen I had fed them to the full, Then they committed adultery And assembled themselves by troops in the harlots’ houses. 8 aThey were like well-fed lusty stallions; Every one neighed after his neighbor’s wife. 9 Shall I not punish them for these things?” says the LORD. “And shall I not aavenge Myself on such a nation as this? 10 “Go up on her walls and destroy, But do not 1make a acomplete end. Take away her branches, For they are not the LORD’s. 11 For athe house of Israel and the house of Judah Have dealt very treacherously with Me,” says the LORD. 12 aThey have lied about the LORD, And said, b“It is not He. cNeither will 1evil come upon us, Nor shall we see sword or famine. 13 And the prophets become wind, For the word is not in them. Thus shall it be done to them.” 14 Therefore thus says the LORD God of hosts: “Because you speak this word, aBehold, I will make My words in your mouth fire, And this people wood, And it shall devour them. 15 Behold, I will bring a anation against you bfrom afar, O house of Israel,” says the LORD. “It is a mighty nation, It is an ancient nation, A nation whose language you do not know, Nor can you understand what they say. 16 Their quiver is like an open tomb; They are all mighty men. 17 And they shall eat up your aharvest and your bread, Which your sons and daughters should eat. They shall eat up your flocks and your herds; They shall eat up your vines and your fig trees; They shall destroy your fortified cities, In which you trust, with the sword. 18 “Nevertheless in those days,” says the LORD, “I awill not 1make a complete end of you. 19 “And it will be when you say, a‘Why does the LORD our God do all these things to us?’ then you shall answer them, ‘Just as you have bfor- saken Me and served foreign gods in your land, so cyou shall serve aliens in a land that is not yours.’ 20 “Declare this in the house of Jacob And proclaim it in Judah, saying, 21 ‘Hear this now, O afoolish people, Without 1understanding, Who have eyes and see not, And who have ears and hear not: 22 aDo you not fear Me?’ says the LORD. ‘Will you not tremble at My presence, Who have placed the sand as the bbound of the sea, By a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass beyond it? And though its waves toss to and fro, Yet they cannot prevail; Though they roar, yet they cannot pass over it. 23 But this people has a defiant and rebellious heart; They have revolted and departed. 24 They do not say in their heart, “Let us now fear the LORD our God, aWho gives rain, both the bformer and the latter, in its season. cHe reserves for us the appointed weeks of the harvest.” 25 aYour iniquities have turned these things away, And your sins have withheld good from you. 26 ‘For among My people are found wicked men; They alie in wait as one who sets snares; They set a trap; They catch men. 27 As a cage is full of birds, So their houses are full of deceit. Therefore they have become great and grown rich. 28 They have grown afat, they are sleek; Yes, they 1surpass the deeds of the wicked; They do not plead bthe cause, The cause of the fatherless; cYet they prosper, And the right of the needy they do not defend. 7 aJosh. 23:7; Jer. 12:16; Zeph. 1:5 bDeut. 32:21; Jer. 2:11; Gal. 4:8 cDeut. 32:15 8 aJer. 13:27; 29:23; Ezek. 22:11 9 aJer. 9:9 10 aJer. 4:27 1completely destroy 11 aJer. 3:6, 7, 20 12 a2 Chr. 36:16; Jer. 4:10 bIs. 28:15; 47:8; Jer. 23:17 cJer. 14:13 1disas- ter 14 aIs. 24:6; Jer. 1:9; 23:29; Hos. 6:5; Zech. 1:6 15 aDeut. 28:49; Is. 5:26; Jer. 1:15; 6:22 bIs. 39:3; Jer. 4:16 17 aLev. 26:16; Deut. 28:31, 33; Jer. 8:16; 50:7, 17 18 aJer. 30:11; Amos 9:8 1completely destroy 19 aDeut. 29:24–29; 1 Kin. 9:8, 9; Jer. 13:22; 16:10–13 bJer. 1:16; 2:13 cDeut. 28:48; Jer. 16:13 21 aIs.

8 aJer. 13:27; 29:23; Ezek. 22:11 9 aJer. 9:9 10 aJer. 4:27 1completely destroy 11 aJer. 3:6, 7, 20 12 a2 Chr. 36:16; Jer. 4:10 bIs. 28:15; 47:8; Jer. 23:17 cJer. 14:13 1disas- ter 14 aIs. 24:6; Jer. 1:9; 23:29; Hos. 6:5; Zech. 1:6 15 aDeut. 28:49; Is. 5:26; Jer. 1:15; 6:22 bIs. 39:3; Jer. 4:16 17 aLev. 26:16; Deut. 28:31, 33; Jer. 8:16; 50:7, 17 18 aJer. 30:11; Amos 9:8 1completely destroy 19 aDeut. 29:24–29; 1 Kin. 9:8, 9; Jer. 13:22; 16:10–13 bJer. 1:16; 2:13 cDeut. 28:48; Jer. 16:13 21 aIs. 6:9; Jer. 6:10; Ezek. 12:2; Matt. 13:14; John 12:40; Acts 28:26; Rom. 11:8 1Lit. heart 22 aDeut. 28:58; Ps. 119:120; Jer. 2:19; 10:7; [Rev. 15:4] bJob 26:10 24 aPs. 147:8; Jer. 14:22; [Matt. 5:45]; Acts 14:17 bDeut. 11:14; Joel 2:23; James 5:7 c[Gen. 8:22] 25 aJer. 3:3 26 aPs. 10:9; Prov. 1:11; Jer. 18:22; Hab. 1:15 28 aDeut. 32:15 bIs. 1:23; Jer. 7:6; 22:3; Zech. 7:10 cJob 12:6; Ps. 73:12 1Or pass over or over- look

JEREMIAH 5:29 666 29 aShall I not punish them for these things?’ says the LORD. ‘Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?’ 30 “An astonishing and ahorrible thing Has been committed in the land: 31 The prophets prophesy afalsely, And the priests rule by their own power; And My people blove to have it so. But what will you do in the end? Impending Destruction from the North 6 “O you children of Benjamin, Gather yourselves to flee from the midst of Jerusalem! Blow the trumpet in Tekoa, And set up a signal-fire in aBeth Haccerem; bFor disaster appears out of the north, And great destruction. 2 I have likened the daughter of Zion To a lovely and delicate woman. 3 The ashepherds with their flocks shall come to her. They shall pitch their tents against her all around. Each one shall pasture in his own place.” 4 “Preparea war against her; Arise, and let us go up bat noon. Woe to us, for the day goes away, For the shadows of the evening are lengthening. 5 Arise, and let us go by night, And let us destroy her palaces.” 6 For thus has the LORD of hosts said: “Cut down trees, And build a mound against Jerusalem. This is the city to be punished. She is full of oppression in her midst. 7 aAs a fountain 1wells up with water, So she wells up with her wickedness. bViolence and plundering are heard in her. Before Me continually are 2grief and wounds. 8 Be instructed, O Jerusalem, Lest aMy soul depart from you; Lest I make you desolate, A land not inhabited.” 9 Thus says the LORD of hosts: “They shall thoroughly glean as a vine the remnant of Israel; As a grape-gatherer, put your hand back into the branches.” 10 To whom shall I speak and give warning, That they may hear? Indeed their aear is uncircumcised, And they cannot give heed. Behold, bthe word of the LORD is a reproach to them; They have no delight in it. 11 Therefore I am full of the fury of the LORD. aI am weary of holding it in. “I will pour it out bon the children outside, And on the assembly of young men together; For even the husband shall be taken with the wife, The aged with him who is full of days. 12 And atheir houses shall be turned over to others, Fields and wives together; For I will stretch out My hand Against the inhabitants of the land,” says the LORD. 13 “Because from the least of them even to the greatest of them, Everyone is given to acovetousness; And from the prophet even to the bpriest, Everyone deals falsely. 14 They have also ahealed the 1hurt of My people 2slightly, bSaying, ‘Peace, peace!’ When there is no peace. 15 Were they aashamed when they had committed abomination? No! They were not at all ashamed; Nor did they know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; At the time I punish them, They shall be cast down,” says the LORD. 16 Thus says the LORD: “Stand in the ways and see, And ask for the aold paths, where the good way is, And walk in it; Then you will find brest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ 17 Also, I set awatchmen over you, saying, b‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’ But they said, ‘We will not listen.’ 18 Therefore hear, you nations, 29 aJer. 5:9; Mal. 3:5 30 aJer. 23:14; Hos. 6:10; 2 Tim. 4:3 31 aJer. 14:14; Ezek. 13:6 bMic. 2:11 CHAPTER 6 1 aNeh. 3:14 bJer. 4:6 3 a2 Kin. 25:1–4; Jer. 4:17; 12:10 4 aJer. 51:27; Joel 3:9 bJer. 15:8; Zeph. 2:4 7 aIs. 57:20 bPs. 55:9 1gushes 2sick- ness 8 aEzek. 23:18; Hos. 9:12 10 aEx. 6:12; Jer. 5:21; 7:26; [Acts 7:51] bJer. 8:9; 20:8 11 aJer. 20:9 bJer. 9:21 12 aDeut. 28:30; Jer. 8:10; 38:22 13 aIs. 56:11; Jer. 8:10; 22:17 bJer. 5:31; 23:11; Mic. 3:5, 11 14 aJer. 8:11–15; Ezek. 13:10 bJer. 4:10; 23:17 1Lit. crushing 2Superficially 15 aJer. 3:3; 8:12 16 aIs. 8:20; Jer. 18:15; Mal. 4:4; Luke 16:29 bMatt. 11:29 17 aIs. 21:11; 58:1; Jer. 25:4; Ezek. 3:17; Hab. 2:1 bDeut. 4:1

667 JEREMIAH 7:15 And know, O congregation, what is among them. 19 aHear, O earth! Behold, I will certainly bring bcalamity on this people— cThe fruit of their thoughts, Because they have not heeded My words Nor My law, but rejected it. 20 aFor what purpose to Me Comes frankincense bfrom Sheba, And csweet cane from a far country? dYour burnt offerings are not acceptable, Nor your sacrifices sweet to Me.” 21 Therefore thus says the LORD: “Behold, I will lay stumbling blocks before this people, And the fathers and the sons together shall fall on them. The neighbor and his friend shall perish.” 22 Thus says the LORD: “Behold, a people comes from the anorth country, And a great nation will be raised from the farthest parts of the earth. 23 They will lay hold on bow and spear; They are cruel and have no mercy; Their voice aroars like the sea; And they ride on horses, As men of war set in array against you, O daughter of Zion.” 24 We have heard the report of it; Our hands grow feeble. aAnguish has taken hold of us, Pain as of a woman in 1labor. 25 Do not go out into the field, Nor walk by the way. Because of the sword of the enemy, Fear is on every side. 26 O daughter of my people, aDress in sackcloth bAnd roll about in ashes! cMake mourning as for an only son, most bitter lamentation; For the plunderer will suddenly come upon us. 27 “I have set you as an assayer and aa fortress among My people, That you may know and test their way. 28 aThey are all stubborn rebels, bwalking as slanderers. They are cbronze and iron, They are all corrupters; 29 The bellows blow fiercely, The lead is consumed by the fire; The smelter refines in vain, For the wicked are not drawn off. 30 People will call them arejected silver, Because the LORD has rejected them.” Trusting in Lying Words 7 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2 a“Stand in the gate of the LORD’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah who enter in at these gates to worship the LORD!’ ” 3 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: a“Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. 4 a“Do not trust in these lying words, saying, ‘The temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD are these.’ 5 “For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughly aexecute 1judgment be- tween a man and his neighbor, 6 “if you do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, aor walk after other gods to your hurt, 7 a“then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in bthe land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever. 8 “Behold, you trust in alying words that cannot profit. 9 a“Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and bwalk after other gods whom you do not know, 10 a“and then come and stand before Me in this house bwhich is called by My name, and say, ‘We are delivered to do all these abomina- tions’? 11 “Has athis house, which is called by My name, become a bden of thieves in your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,” says the LORD. 12 “But go now to aMy place which was in Shiloh, bwhere I set My name at the first, and see cwhat I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel. 13 “And now, because you have done all these works,” says the LORD, “and I spoke to you, arising up early and speaking, but you did not hear, and I bcalled you, but you did not answer, 14 “therefore I will do to the house which is called by My name, in which you trust, and to this place which I gave to you and your fathers, as I have done to aShiloh. 15 “And I will cast you out of My sight, aas I have cast out all your brethren—bthe whole posterity of Ephraim. 19 aIs. 1:2 bJer. 19:3, 15 cProv. 1:31 20 aPs. 40:6; 50:7–9; Is. 1:11; 66:3; Amos 5:21; Mic. 6:6, 7 bIs. 60:6 cIs. 43:24 dJer. 7:21–23 22 aJer. 1:15; 10:22; 50:41–43 23 aIs. 5:30 24 aJer. 4:31; 13:21; 49:24 1childbirth 26 aJer.

refore I will do to the house which is called by My name, in which you trust, and to this place which I gave to you and your fathers, as I have done to aShiloh. 15 “And I will cast you out of My sight, aas I have cast out all your brethren—bthe whole posterity of Ephraim. 19 aIs. 1:2 bJer. 19:3, 15 cProv. 1:31 20 aPs. 40:6; 50:7–9; Is. 1:11; 66:3; Amos 5:21; Mic. 6:6, 7 bIs. 60:6 cIs. 43:24 dJer. 7:21–23 22 aJer. 1:15; 10:22; 50:41–43 23 aIs. 5:30 24 aJer. 4:31; 13:21; 49:24 1childbirth 26 aJer. 4:8 bJer. 25:34; Mic. 1:10 cAmos 8:10; [Zech. 12:10] 27 aJer. 1:18 28 aJer. 5:23 bJer. 9:4 cEzek. 22:18 30 aIs. 1:22; Jer. 7:29 CHAPTER 7 2 aJer. 17:19; 26:2 3 aJer. 4:1; 18:11; 26:13 4 aJer. 7:8; Mic. 3:11 5 a1 Kin. 6:12; Jer. 21:12; 22:3 1justice 6 aDeut. 6:14, 15; Jer. 13:10 7 aDeut. 4:40 bJer. 3:18 8 aJer. 5:31; 14:13, 14 9 a1 Kin. 18:21; Hos. 4:1, 2; Zeph. 1:5 bEx. 20:3; Jer. 7:6; 19:4 10 aEzek. 23:39 bJer. 7:11, 14; 32:34; 34:15 11 aIs. 56:7 bMatt. 21:13; Mark 11:17; Luke 19:46 12 aJosh. 18:1; Judg. 18:31 bDeut. 12:11 c1 Sam. 4:10; Ps. 78:60; Jer. 26:6 13 a2 Chr. 36:15; Jer. 11:7 bProv. 1:24; Is. 65:12; 66:4 14 a1 Sam. 4:10, 11; Ps. 78:60; Jer. 26:6, 9 15 a2 Kin. 17:23 bPs. 78:67; Hos. 7:13; 9:13; 12:1

JEREMIAH 7:16 668 16 “Therefore ado not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them, nor make intercession to Me; bfor I will not hear you. 17 “Do you not see what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 a“The children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they bpour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke Me to anger. 19 a“Do they provoke Me to an- ger?” says the LORD. “Do they not provoke themselves, to the shame of their own faces?” 20 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, My anger and My fury will be poured out on this place—on man and on beast, on the trees of the field and on the fruit of the ground. And it will burn and not be quenched.” 21 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: a“Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat meat. 22 a“For I did not speak to your fa- thers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offer- ings or sacrifices. 23 “But this is what I commanded them, saying, a‘Obey My voice, and bI will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.’ 24 a“Yet they did not obey or in- cline their ear, but bfollowed1 the counsels and the 2dictates of their evil hearts, and cwent3 backward and not forward. 25 “Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have even asent to you all My servants the prophets, daily ris- ing up early and sending them. 26 a“Yet they did not obey Me or incline their ear, but bstiffened their neck. cThey did worse than their fa- thers. 27 “Therefore ayou shall speak all these words to them, but they will not obey you. You shall also call to them, but they will not answer you. Judgment on Obscene Religion 28 “So you shall say to them, ‘This is a nation that does not obey the voice of the LORD their God anor receive correction. bTruth has per- ished and has been cut off from their mouth. 29 a‘Cut off your hair and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on the desolate heights; for the LORD has rejected and forsaken the gen- eration of His wrath.’ 30 “For the children of Judah have done evil in My sight,” says the LORD. a“They have set their abomi- nations in the house which is called by My name, to 1pollute it. 31 “And they have built the ahigh places of Tophet, which is in the Val- ley of the Son of Hinnom, to bburn their sons and their daughters in the fire, cwhich I did not command, nor did it come into My heart. 32 “Therefore behold, athe days are coming,” says the LORD, “when it will no more be called Tophet, or the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter; bfor they will bury in Tophet until there is no room. 33 “The acorpses of this people will be food for the birds of the heaven and for the beasts of the earth. And no one will frighten them away. 34 “Then I will cause to acease from the cities of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride. For bthe land shall be desolate. 8 “At that time,” says the LORD, “they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of its princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the in- habitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves. 2 “They shall spread them before the sun and the moon and all the host of heaven, which they have loved and which they have served and after which they have walked, which they have sought and awhich they have worshiped.

or bthe land shall be desolate. 8 “At that time,” says the LORD, “they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of its princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the in- habitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves. 2 “They shall spread them before the sun and the moon and all the host of heaven, which they have loved and which they have served and after which they have walked, which they have sought and awhich they have worshiped. They shall not be gath- ered bnor buried; they shall be like refuse on the face of the earth. 3 “Then adeath shall be chosen rather than life by all the 1residue of those who remain of this evil family, who remain in all the places where I have driven them,” says the LORD of hosts. The Peril of False Teaching 4 “Moreover you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Will they fall and not rise? Will one turn away and not return? 5 Why has this people aslidden back, Jerusalem, in a perpetual backsliding? bThey hold fast to deceit, cThey refuse to return. 6 aI listened and heard, But they do not speak aright. bNo man repented of his wickedness, Saying, ‘What have I done?’ Everyone turned to his own course, As the horse rushes into the battle. 16 aEx. 32:10; Jer. 11:14 bJer. 15:1 18 aJer. 44:17 bJer. 19:13 19 aDeut. 32:16, 21 21 aJer. 6:20 22 a[Hos. 6:6] 23 aDeut. 6:3 b[Ex. 19:5, 6] 24 aPs. 81:11 bDeut. 29:19 cJer. 32:33 1walked in 2stubborn- ness, or imagination 3Lit. they were 25 a2 Chr. 36:15 26 aJer. 11:8 bNeh. 9:17 cJer. 16:12 27 aEzek. 2:7 28 aJer. 5:3 bJer. 9:3 29 aMic. 1:16 30 aDan. 9:27; 11:31 1defile 31 a2 Kin. 23:10 bPs. 106:38 cDeut. 17:3 32 aJer. 19:6 b2 Kin. 23:10 33 aJer. 9:22; 19:11 34 aIs. 24:7, 8 bLev. 26:33 CHAPTER 8 2 a2 Kin. 23:5 bJer. 22:19 3 aRev. 9:6 1remnant 5 aJer. 7:24 bJer. 9:6 cJer. 5:3 6 aPs. 14:2 bMic. 7:2

669 JEREMIAH 9:3 7 “Even athe stork in the heavens Knows her appointed times; And the turtledove, the swift, and the swallow Observe the time of their coming. But bMy people do not know the judgment of the LORD. 8 “How can you say, ‘We are wise, aAnd the law of the LORD is with us’? Look, the false pen of the scribe certainly works falsehood. 9 aThe wise men are ashamed, They are dismayed and taken. Behold, they have rejected the word of the LORD; So bwhat wisdom do they have? 10 Therefore aI will give their wives to others, And their fields to those who will inherit them; Because from the least even to the greatest Everyone is given to bcovetousness; From the prophet even to the priest Everyone deals falsely. 11 For they have ahealed the hurt of the daughter of My people 1slightly, Saying, b‘Peace, peace!’ When there is no peace. 12 Were they aashamed when they had committed abomination? No! They were not at all ashamed, Nor did they know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; In the time of their punishment They shall be cast down,” says the LORD. 13 “I will surely 1consume them,” says the LORD. “No grapes shall be aon the vine, Nor figs on the bfig tree, And the leaf shall fade; And the things I have given them shall cpass away from them.” ’ ” 14 “Why do we sit still? aAssemble yourselves, And let us enter the fortified cities, And let us be silent there. For the LORD our God has put us to silence And given us bwater1 of gall to drink, Because we have sinned against the LORD. 15 “We alooked for peace, but no good came; And for a time of health, and there was trouble! 16 The snorting of His horses was heard from aDan. The whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of His bstrong ones; For they have come and devoured the land and all that is in it, The city and those who dwell in it.” 17 “For behold, I will send serpents among you, Vipers which cannot be acharmed, And they shall bite you,” says the LORD. The Prophet Mourns for the People 18 I would comfort myself in sorrow; My heart is faint in me. 19 Listen! The voice, The cry of the daughter of my people From aa far country: “Is not the LORD in Zion? Is not her King in her?” “Why have they provoked Me to anger With their carved images— With foreign idols?” 20 “The harvest is past, The summer is ended, And we are not saved!” 21 aFor the hurt of the daughter of my people I am hurt. I am bmourning; Astonishment has taken hold of me. 22 Is there no abalm in Gilead, Is there no physician there? Why then is there no recovery For the health of the daughter of my people? 9 Oh, athat my head were waters, And my eyes a fountain of tears, That I might weep day and night For the slain of the daughter of my people! 2 Oh, that I had in the wilderness A lodging place for travelers; That I might leave my people, And go from them! For athey are all adulterers, An assembly of treacherous men. 3 “And like their bow athey have bent their tongues for lies. They are not valiant for the truth on the earth. 7 aSong 2:12 bJer. 5:4; 9:3 8 aRom. 2:17 9 aJer. 6:15 bJer. 4:22 10 aDeut. 28:30 bIs. 56:11; 57:17 11 aJer. 6:14 bEzek. 13:10 1Superficially 12 aJer. 3:3; 6:15 13 aJoel 1:17 bMatt. 21:19 cDeut. 28:39, 40 1Or take them away 14 aJer. 4:5 bJer. 9:15 1Bit- ter or poison- ous water 15 aJer. 14:19 16 aJer. 4:15 bJer. 47:3 17 aPs. 58:4, 5 19 aIs. 39:3 21 aJer. 9:1 bJoel 2:6 22 aJer. 46:11 CHAPTER 9 1 aIs. 22:4 2 aJer. 5:7, 8; 23:10 3 aPs. 64:3

JEREMIAH 9:4 670 For they proceed from bevil to evil, And they cdo not know Me,” says the LORD. 4 “Everyonea take heed to his 1neighbor, And do not trust any brother; For every brother will utterly supplant, And every neighbor will bwalk with slanderers. 5 Everyone will adeceive his neighbor, And will not speak the truth; They have taught their tongue to speak lies; They weary themselves to commit iniquity. 6 Your dwelling place is in the midst of deceit; Through deceit they refuse to know Me,” says the LORD. 7 Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: “Behold, aI will refine them and 1try them; bFor how shall I deal with the daughter of My people? 8 Their tongue is an arrow shot out; It speaks adeceit; One speaks bpeaceably to his neighbor with his mouth, But 1in his heart he 2lies in wait. 9 aShall I not punish them for these things?” says the LORD. “Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?” 10 I will take up a weeping and wailing for the mountains, And afor the 1dwelling places of the wilderness a lamentation, Because they are burned up, So that no one can pass through; Nor can men hear the voice of the cattle. bBoth the birds of the heavens and the beasts have fled; They are gone. 11 “I will make Jerusalem aa heap of ruins, ba den of jackals. I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant.” 12 aWho is the wise man who may understand this? And who is he to whom the mouth of the LORD has spoken, that he may declare it? Why does the land perish and burn up like a wilderness, so that no one can pass through? 13 And the LORD said, “Because they have forsaken My law which I set before them, and have anot obeyed My voice, nor walked accord- ing to it, 14 “but they have awalked accord- ing to the 1dictates of their own hearts and after the Baals, bwhich their fathers taught them,” 15 therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will afeed them, this people, bwith wormwood, and give them 1water of gall to drink. 16 “I will ascatter them also among the Gentiles, whom neither they nor their fathers have known. bAnd I will send a sword after them until I have consumed them.” The People Mourn in Judgment 17 Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Consider and call for athe mourning women, That they may come; And send for skillful wailing women, That they may come. 18 Let them make haste And take up a wailing for us, That aour eyes may run with tears, And our eyelids gush with water. 19 For a voice of wailing is heard from Zion: ‘How we are plundered! We are greatly ashamed, Because we have forsaken the land, Because we have been cast out of aour dwellings.’ ” 20 Yet hear the word of the LORD, O women, And let your ear receive the word of His mouth; Teach your daughters wailing, And everyone her neighbor a lamentation. 21 For death has come through our windows, Has entered our palaces, To kill off athe children— 1no longer to be outside! And the young men— 2no longer on the streets! 22 Speak, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Even the carcasses of men shall fall aas refuse on the open field, Like cuttings after the harvester, And no one shall gather them.’ ” 23 Thus says the LORD: a“Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his bmight, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; 24 But alet him who glories glory in this, 3 bJer. 4:22; 13:23 c1 Sam. 2:12 4 aMic. 7:5, 6 bJer. 6:28 1friend 5 aIs. 59:4 7 aIs. 1:25 bHos. 11:8 1test 8 aPs. 12:2 bPs. 55:21 1Inwardly he 2sets his ambush 9 aJer. 5:9, 29 10 aHos. 4:3 bJer. 4:25 1Or pastures 11 aIs. 25:2 bIs. 13:22; 34:13 12 aHos. 14:9 13 aJer. 3:25; 7:24 14 aJer. 7:24; 11:8 bGal. 1:14 1stubborn- ness, or imagination 15 aPs. 80:5 bLam. 3:15 1Bitter or poi- sonous water 16 aLev. 26:33 bEzek. 5:2 17 a2 Chr. 35:25 18 aJer. 9:1; 14:17 19 aLev. 18:28 21 aJer. 6:11; 18:21 1Lit. from outside 2Lit. from the square 22 aJer. 8:1, 2 23 a[Eccl. 9:11] bPs. 33:16–18 24 a1 Cor. 1:31

671 JEREMIAH 10:19 That he understands and knows Me, That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, 1judgment, and righteousness in the earth. bFor in these I delight,” says the LORD. 25 “Behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “that aI will punish all who are circumcised with the uncircumcised— 26 “Egypt, Judah, Edom, the people of Ammon, Moab, and all who are in the afarthest corners, who dwell in the wilderness. For all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are buncircumcised in the heart.” Idols and the True God 10 Hear the word which the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel. 2 Thus says the LORD: a“Do not learn the way of the Gentiles; Do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven, For the Gentiles are dismayed at them. 3 For the customs of the peoples are 1futile; For aone cuts a tree from the forest, The work of the hands of the workman, with the ax. 4 They decorate it with silver and gold; They afasten it with nails and hammers So that it will not topple. 5 They are upright, like a palm tree, And athey cannot speak; They must be bcarried, Because they cannot go by themselves. Do not be afraid of them, For cthey cannot do evil, Nor can they do any good.” 6 Inasmuch as there is none alike You, O LORD (You are great, and Your name is great in might), 7 aWho would not fear You, O King of the nations? For this is Your rightful due. For bamong all the wise men of the nations, And in all their kingdoms, There is none like You. 8 But they are altogether adull-hearted and foolish; A wooden idol is a 1worthless doctrine. 9 Silver is beaten into plates; It is brought from Tarshish, And agold from Uphaz, The work of the craftsman And of the hands of the metalsmith; Blue and purple are their clothing; They are all bthe work of skillful men. 10 But the LORD is the true God; He is athe living God and the beverlasting King. At His wrath the earth will tremble, And the nations will not be able to endure His indignation. 11 Thus you shall say to them: a“The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth bshall perish from the earth and from under these heavens.” 12 He ahas made the earth by His power, He has bestablished the world by His wisdom, And chas stretched out the heavens at His discretion. 13 aWhen He utters His voice, There is a 1multitude of waters in the heavens: b“And He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain, He brings the wind out of His treasuries.” 14 aEveryone is bdull-hearted, without knowledge; cEvery metalsmith is put to shame by an image; dFor his molded image is falsehood, And there is no breath in them. 15 They are futile, a work of errors; In the time of their punishment they shall perish. 16 aThe Portion of Jacob is not like them, For He is the Maker of all things, And bIsrael is the tribe of His inheritance; cThe LORD of hosts is His name. The Coming Captivity of Judah 17 aGather up your wares from the land, O 1inhabitant of the fortress! 18 For thus says the LORD: “Behold, I will athrow out at this time The inhabitants of the land, And will distress them, bThat they may find it so.” 19 aWoe is me for my hurt! My wound is severe. But I say, b“Truly this is an infirmity, 24 bMic. 7:18 1justice 25 a[Rom. 2:28, 29] 26 aJer. 25:23 b[Rom. 2:28] CHAPTER 10 2 a[Lev. 18:3; 20:23] 3 aIs. 40:19; 45:20 1Lit. vanity 4 aIs. 41:7 5 aPs. 115:5 bPs. 115:7 cIs. 41:23, 24 6 aEx. 15:11 7 aRev. 15:4 bPs. 89:6 8 aHab. 2:18 1vain teach- ing 9 aDan. 10:5 bPs. 115:4 10 a1 Tim. 6:17 bPs. 10:16 11 aPs. 96:5 bZeph. 2:11 12 aJer. 51:15 bPs. 93:1 cJob 9:8 13 aJob 38:34 bPs. 135:7 1Or noise 14 aJer. 51:17 bProv. 30:2 cIs. 42:17; 44:11 dHab. 2:18 16 aLam. 3:24 bDeut. 32:9 cIs. 47:4 17 aJer. 6:1 1Or you who dwell under siege 18 a1 Sam. 25:29 bEzek. 6:10 19 aJer. 8:21 bPs. 77:10

JEREMIAH 10:20 672 And cI must bear it.” 20 aMy tent is plundered, And all my cords are broken; My children have gone from me, And they are bno more. There is no one to pitch my tent anymore, Or set up my curtains. 21 For the shepherds have become dull-hearted, And have not sought the LORD; Therefore they shall not prosper, And all their flocks shall be ascattered. 22 Behold, the noise of the report has come, And a great commotion out of the anorth country, To make the cities of Judah desolate, a bden of jackals. 23 O LORD, I know the away of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps. 24 O LORD, acorrect me, but with justice; Not in Your anger, lest You bring me to nothing. 25 aPour out Your fury on the Gentiles, bwho do not know You, And on the families who do not call on Your name; For they have eaten up Jacob, cDevoured him and consumed him, And made his dwelling place desolate. The Broken Covenant 11 The word that came to Jere- miah from the LORD, saying, 2 “Hear the words of this cov- enant, and speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; 3 “and say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD God of Israel: a“Cursed is the man who does not obey the words of this covenant 4 “which I commanded your fa- thers in the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt, afrom the iron furnace, saying, b‘Obey My voice, and do according to all that I com- mand you; so shall you be My peo- ple, and I will be your God,’ 5 “that I may establish the aoath which I have sworn to your fathers, to give them b‘a land flowing with milk and honey,’ as it is this day.” ’ ” And I answered and said, 1“So be it, LORD.” 6 Then the LORD said to me, “Pro- claim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jeru- salem, saying: ‘Hear the words of this covenant aand do them. 7 ‘For I earnestly exhorted your fa- thers in the day I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, until this day, arising early and exhorting, saying, “Obey My voice.” 8 a‘Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but beveryone 1followed the dictates of his evil heart; there- fore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but which they have not done.’ ” 9 And the LORD said to me, a“A conspiracy has been found among the men of Judah and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 “They have turned back to athe iniquities of their forefathers who refused to hear My words, and they have gone after other gods to serve them; the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken My covenant which I made with their fathers.” 11 Therefore thus says the LORD: “Behold, I will surely bring calamity on them which they will not be able to 1escape; and athough they cry out to Me, I will not listen to them. 12 “Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and acry out to the gods to whom they offer incense, but they will not save them at all in the time of their trouble. 13 “For according to the number of your acities were your gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem you have set up altars to that shameful thing, altars to burn incense to Baal. 14 “So ado not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer for them; for I will not hear them in the time that they cry out to Me because of their trouble. 15 “Whata has My beloved to do in My house, Having bdone lewd deeds with many? And cthe holy flesh has passed from you. When you do evil, then you drejoice. 16 The LORD called your name, aGreen Olive Tree, Lovely and of Good Fruit. With the noise of a great tumult He has kindled fire on it, And its branches are broken. 17 “For the LORD of hosts, awho planted you, has pronounced doom against you for the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have done against them- selves to provoke Me to anger in offering incense to Baal.” Jeremiah’s Life Threatened 18 Now the LORD gave me knowl- edge of it, and I know it; for You

rejoice. 16 The LORD called your name, aGreen Olive Tree, Lovely and of Good Fruit. With the noise of a great tumult He has kindled fire on it, And its branches are broken. 17 “For the LORD of hosts, awho planted you, has pronounced doom against you for the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have done against them- selves to provoke Me to anger in offering incense to Baal.” Jeremiah’s Life Threatened 18 Now the LORD gave me knowl- edge of it, and I know it; for You showed me their doings. 19 cMic. 7:9 20 aJer. 4:20 bJer. 31:15 21 aJer. 23:2 22 aJer. 5:15 bJer. 9:11 23 aProv. 16:1; 20:24 24 aJer. 30:11 25 aPs. 79:6, 7 bJob 18:21 cJer. 8:16 CHAPTER 11 3 aDeut. 27:26 4 aDeut. 4:20 bLev. 26:3 5 aPs. 105:9 bEx. 3:8 1Heb. Amen 6 a[Rom. 2:13] 7 aJer. 35:15 8 aJer. 7:26 bJer. 13:10 1walked in the stubborn- ness, or imagination 9 aEzek. 22:25 10 aEzek. 20:18 11 aProv. 1:28 1Lit. go out 12 aDeut. 32:37 13 aJer. 2:28 14 aEx. 32:10 15 aPs. 50:16 bEzek. 16:25 c[Titus 1:15] dProv. 2:14 16 aPs. 52:8 17 aIs. 5:2

673 JEREMIAH 12:16 19 But I was like a docile lamb brought to the slaughter; and I did not know that they had devised schemes against me, saying, “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit, aand let us cut him off from bthe land of the living, that his name may be remembered no more.” 20 But, O LORD of hosts, You who judge righteously, aTesting the 1mind and the heart, Let me see Your bvengeance on them, For to You I have revealed my cause. 21 “Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the men of aAnathoth who seek your life, saying, b‘Do not prophesy in the name of the LORD, lest you die by our hand’— 22 “therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Behold, I will punish them. The young men shall die by the sword, their sons and their daugh- ters shall adie by famine; 23 ‘and there shall be no remnant of them, for I will bring catastrophe on the men of Anathoth, even athe year of their punishment.’ ” Jeremiah’s Question 12 Righteous aare You, O LORD, when I plead with You; Yet let me talk with You about Your judgments. bWhy does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are those happy who deal so treacherously? 2 You have planted them, yes, they have taken root; They grow, yes, they bear fruit. aYou are near in their mouth But far from their 1mind. 3 But You, O LORD, aknow me; You have seen me, And You have btested my heart toward You. Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, And prepare them for cthe day of slaughter. 4 How long will athe land mourn, And the herbs of every field wither? bThe beasts and birds are consumed, cFor the wickedness of those who dwell there, Because they said, “He will not see our final end.” The LORD Answers Jeremiah 5 “If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you, Then how can you contend with horses? And if in the land of peace, In which you trusted, they wearied you, Then how will you do in athe 1floodplain of the Jordan? 6 For even ayour brothers, the house of your father, Even they have dealt treacherously with you; Yes, they have called 1a multitude after you. bDo not believe them, Even though they speak 2smooth words to you. 7 “I have forsaken My house, I have left My heritage; I have given the dearly beloved of My soul into the hand of her enemies. 8 My heritage is to Me like a lion in the forest; It cries out against Me; Therefore I have ahated it. 9 My 1heritage is to Me like a speckled vulture; The vultures all around are against her. Come, assemble all the beasts of the field, aBring them to devour! 10 “Many arulers1 have destroyed bMy vineyard, They have ctrodden My portion underfoot; They have made My 2pleasant portion a desolate wilderness. 11 They have made it adesolate; Desolate, it mourns to Me; The whole land is made desolate, Because bno one takes it to heart. 12 The plunderers have come On all the desolate heights in the wilderness, For the sword of the LORD shall devour From one end of the land to the other end of the land; No flesh shall have peace. 13 aThey have sown wheat but reaped thorns; They have 1put themselves to pain but do not profit. But be ashamed of your harvest Because of the fierce anger of the LORD.” 14 Thus says the LORD: “Against all My evil neighbors who atouch the inheritance which I have caused My people Israel to inherit—behold, I will bpluck them out of their land and pluck out the house of Judah from among them. 15 a“Then it shall be, after I have plucked them out, that I will return and have compassion on them band bring them back, everyone to his heritage and everyone to his land. 16 “And it shall be, if they will learn 19 aPs. 83:4; Jer. 18:18 bPs. 27:13 20 a1 Sam. 16:7; 1 Chr. 28:9; Ps. 7:9 bJer. 15:15 1Most secret parts, lit. kid- neys 21 aJer. 1:1; 12:5, 6 bIs. 30:10; Amos 2:12; Mic. 2:6 22 aJer. 9:21 23 aJer. 23:12; Hos. 9:7; Mic. 7:4 CHAPTER 12 1 aEzra 9:15; Ps. 51:14; Jer. 11:20 bJob 12:6; Jer. 5:27, 28; Hab. 1:4; Mal. 3:15 2 aIs. 29:13; Ezek. 33:31; Matt. 15:8; Mark 7:6 1Most secret parts, lit. kid- neys 3 aPs.

k, everyone to his heritage and everyone to his land. 16 “And it shall be, if they will learn 19 aPs. 83:4; Jer. 18:18 bPs. 27:13 20 a1 Sam. 16:7; 1 Chr. 28:9; Ps. 7:9 bJer. 15:15 1Most secret parts, lit. kid- neys 21 aJer. 1:1; 12:5, 6 bIs. 30:10; Amos 2:12; Mic. 2:6 22 aJer. 9:21 23 aJer. 23:12; Hos. 9:7; Mic. 7:4 CHAPTER 12 1 aEzra 9:15; Ps. 51:14; Jer. 11:20 bJob 12:6; Jer. 5:27, 28; Hab. 1:4; Mal. 3:15 2 aIs. 29:13; Ezek. 33:31; Matt. 15:8; Mark 7:6 1Most secret parts, lit. kid- neys 3 aPs. 17:3 bPs. 7:9; 11:5; Jer. 11:20 cJer. 17:18; 50:27; James 5:5 4 aJer. 23:10; Hos. 4:3 bJer. 9:10; Hos. 4:3; Hab. 3:17 cPs. 107:34 5 aJosh. 3:15; 1 Chr. 12:15 1Or thicket 6 aGen. 37:4–11; Job 6:15; Ps. 69:8; Jer. 9:4, 5 bPs. 12:2; Prov. 26:25 1Or abundantly 2Lit. good 8 aHos. 9:15; Amos 6:8 9 aLev. 26:22 1inheritance 10 aJer. 6:3; 23:1 bPs. 80:8–16; Is. 5:1–7 cIs. 63:18 1Lit. shepherds or pastors 2de- sired portion of land 11 aJer. 10:22; 22:6 bIs. 42:25 13 aLev. 26:16; Deut. 28:38; Mic. 6:15; Hag. 1:6 1Or strained 14 aJer. 2:3; 50:11, 12; Zech. 2:8 bDeut. 30:3; Ps. 106:47; Is. 11:11–16; Jer. 32:37 15 aJer. 31:20; Lam. 3:32; Ezek. 28:25 bAmos 9:14

JEREMIAH 12:17 674 carefully the ways of My people, ato swear by My name, ‘As the LORD lives,’ as they taught My people to swear by Baal, then they shall be bestablished in the midst of My people. 17 “But if they do not aobey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation,” says the LORD. Symbol of the Linen Sash 13 Thus the LORD said to me: “Go and get yourself a linen sash, and put it 1around your waist, but do not put it in water.” 2 So I got a 1sash according to the word of the LORD, and put it around my waist. 3 And the word of the LORD came to me the second time, saying, 4 “Take the 1sash that you ac- quired, which is 2around your waist, and arise, go to the 3Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole in the rock.” 5 So I went and hid it by the Eu- phrates, as the LORD commanded me. 6 Now it came to pass after many days that the LORD said to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take from there the sash which I com- manded you to hide there.” 7 Then I went to the Euphrates and dug, and I took the 1sash from the place where I had hidden it; and there was the sash, ruined. It was profitable for nothing. 8 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 9 “Thus says the LORD: ‘In this manner aI will ruin the pride of Judah and the great bpride of Jerusalem. 10 ‘This evil people, who arefuse to hear My words, who bfollow1 the dictates of their hearts, and walk after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be just like this sash which is profitable for nothing. 11 ‘For as the sash clings to the waist of a man, so I have caused the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah to cling to Me,’ says the LORD, ‘that athey may become My people, bfor renown, for praise, and for cglory; but they would dnot hear.’ Symbol of the Wine Bottles 12 “Therefore you shall speak to them this word: ‘Thus says the LORD God of Israel: “Every bottle shall be filled with wine.” ’ And they will say to you, ‘Do we not certainly know that every bottle will be filled with wine?’ 13 “Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land— even the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusa- lem—awith drunkenness! 14 “And aI will dash them 1one against another, even the fathers and the sons together,” says the LORD. “I will not pity nor spare nor have mercy, but will destroy them.” ’ ” Pride Precedes Captivity 15 Hear and give ear: Do not be proud, For the LORD has spoken. 16 aGive glory to the LORD your God Before He causes bdarkness, And before your feet stumble On the dark mountains, And while you are clooking for light, He turns it into dthe shadow of death And makes it dense darkness. 17 But if you will not hear it, My soul will aweep in secret for your pride; My eyes will weep bitterly And run down with tears, Because the LORD’s flock has been taken captive. 18 Say to athe king and to the queen mother, “Humble yourselves; Sit down, For your rule shall collapse, the crown of your glory.” 19 The cities of the South shall be shut up, And no one shall open them; Judah shall be carried away captive, all of it; It shall be wholly carried away captive. 20 Lift up your eyes and see Those who come from the anorth. Where is the flock that was given to you, Your beautiful sheep? 21 What will you say when He punishes you? For you have taught them To be chieftains, to be head over you. Will not apangs seize you, Like a woman in 1labor? 22 And if you say in your heart, a“Why have these things come upon me?” For the greatness of your iniquity bYour skirts have been uncovered, Your heels 1made bare. 23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil. 24 “Therefore I will ascatter them blike stubble That passes away by the wind of the wilderness. 25 aThis is your lot, 16 a[Jer. 4:2]; Zeph. 1:5 b[Eph. 2:20, 21; 1 Pet. 2:5] 17 aPs. 2:8–12; Is. 60:12 CHAPTER 13 1 1Lit.

And if you say in your heart, a“Why have these things come upon me?” For the greatness of your iniquity bYour skirts have been uncovered, Your heels 1made bare. 23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil. 24 “Therefore I will ascatter them blike stubble That passes away by the wind of the wilderness. 25 aThis is your lot, 16 a[Jer. 4:2]; Zeph. 1:5 b[Eph. 2:20, 21; 1 Pet. 2:5] 17 aPs. 2:8–12; Is. 60:12 CHAPTER 13 1 1Lit. upon your loins 2 1waistband 4 1waistband 2Lit. upon your loins 3Heb. Perath 7 1waistband 9 aLev. 26:19 b[Is. 2:10–17; 23:9]; Zeph. 3:11 10 aJer. 16:12 bJer. 7:24; 16:12 1walk in the stubborn- ness or imagination 11 a[Ex. 19:5, 6; Deut. 32:10, 11] bJer. 33:9 cIs. 43:21 dPs. 81:11; Jer. 7:13, 24, 26 13 aPs. 60:3; 75:8; Is. 51:17; 63:6; Jer. 25:27; 51:7, 57 14 a2 Chr. 36:17; Ps. 2:9; Is. 9:20, 21; Jer. 19:9–11 1Lit. a man against his brother 16 aJosh. 7:19; Ps. 96:8; Mal. 2:2 bIs. 5:30; 8:22; Amos 8:9 cIs. 59:9 dPs. 44:19; Jer. 2:6 17 aPs. 119:136; Jer. 9:1; 14:17; Luke 19:41, 42 18 a2 Kin. 24:12; Jer. 22:26 20 aJer. 10:22; 46:20 21 aJer. 6:24 1childbirth 22 aJer. 16:10 bIs. 47:2; Ezek. 16:37; Nah. 3:5 1Lit. suffer vio- lence 24 aLev. 26:33; Jer. 9:16; Ezek. 5:2, 12 bPs. 1:4; Hos. 13:3 25 aJob 20:29; Ps. 11:6; Matt. 24:51

675 JEREMIAH 14:19 The portion of your measures from Me,” says the LORD, “Because you have forgotten Me And trusted in bfalsehood. 26 Therefore aI will uncover your skirts over your face, That your shame may appear. 27 I have seen your adulteries And your lustful aneighings, The lewdness of your harlotry, Your abominations bon the hills in the fields. Woe to you, O Jerusalem! Will you still not be made clean?” Sword, Famine, and Pestilence 14 The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the droughts. 2 “Judah mourns, And aher gates languish; They bmourn for the land, And cthe cry of Jerusalem has gone up. 3 Their nobles have sent their lads for water; They went to the cisterns and found no water. They returned with their vessels empty; They were aashamed and confounded bAnd covered their heads. 4 Because the ground is parched, For there was ano rain in the land, The plowmen were ashamed; They covered their heads. 5 Yes, the deer also gave birth in the field, But 1left because there was no grass. 6 And athe wild donkeys stood in the desolate heights; They sniffed at the wind like jackals; Their eyes failed because there was no grass.” 7 O LORD, though our iniquities testify against us, Do it afor Your name’s sake; For our backslidings are many, We have sinned against You. 8 aO the Hope of Israel, his Savior in time of trouble, Why should You be like a stranger in the land, And like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for a night? 9 Why should You be like a man astonished, Like a mighty one awho cannot save? Yet You, O LORD, bare in our midst, And we are called by Your name; Do not leave us! 10 Thus says the LORD to this people: a“Thus they have loved to wander; They have not restrained their feet. Therefore the LORD does not accept them; bHe will remember their iniquity now, And punish their sins.” 11 Then the LORD said to me, a“Do not pray for this people, for their good. 12 a“When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and bwhen they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But cI will con- sume them by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence.” 13 aThen I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Be- hold, the prophets say to them, ‘You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you 1assured bpeace in this place.’ ” 14 And the LORD said to me, a“The prophets prophesy lies in My name. bI have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them; they prophesy to you a false vision, 1div- ination, a worthless thing, and the cdeceit of their heart. 15 “Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who prophesy in My name, whom I did not send, aand who say, ‘Sword and famine shall not be in this land’—‘By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed! 16 ‘And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; athey will have no one to bury them—them nor their wives, their sons nor their daughters—for I will pour their wickedness on them.’ 17 “Therefore you shall say this word to them: a‘Let my eyes flow with tears night and day, And let them not cease; bFor the virgin daughter of my people Has been broken with a mighty stroke, with a very severe blow. 18 If I go out to athe field, Then behold, those slain with the sword! And if I enter the city, Then behold, those sick from famine! Yes, both prophet and bpriest go about in a land they do not know.’ ” The People Plead for Mercy 19 aHave You utterly rejected Judah? 25 bJer. 10:14 26 aLam. 1:8; Ezek. 16:37; Hos. 2:10 27 aJer. 5:7, 8 bIs. 65:7; Jer. 2:20; Ezek. 6:13 CHAPTER 14 2 a2 Kin. 25:3; Is. 3:26 bJer. 8:21 c1 Sam. 5:12; Jer. 11:11; 46:12; Zech. 7:13 3 aJob 6:20; Ps. 40:14 b2 Sam. 15:30 4 aJer. 3:3; Ezek. 22:24 5 1abandoned her young 6 aJob 39:5, 6; Jer. 2:24 7 aPs. 25:11; Jer. 14:21 8 aJer. 17:13 9 aIs. 59:1 bEx. 29:45; Lev. 26:11; Ps. 46:5; Jer. 8:19 10 aJer. 2:23–25 b[Jer. 44:21–23]; Hos. 8:13 11 aEx. 32:10; Jer. 7:16; 11:14 12 aProv. 1:28; [Is.

dah? 25 bJer. 10:14 26 aLam. 1:8; Ezek. 16:37; Hos. 2:10 27 aJer. 5:7, 8 bIs. 65:7; Jer. 2:20; Ezek. 6:13 CHAPTER 14 2 a2 Kin. 25:3; Is. 3:26 bJer. 8:21 c1 Sam. 5:12; Jer. 11:11; 46:12; Zech. 7:13 3 aJob 6:20; Ps. 40:14 b2 Sam. 15:30 4 aJer. 3:3; Ezek. 22:24 5 1abandoned her young 6 aJob 39:5, 6; Jer. 2:24 7 aPs. 25:11; Jer. 14:21 8 aJer. 17:13 9 aIs. 59:1 bEx. 29:45; Lev. 26:11; Ps. 46:5; Jer. 8:19 10 aJer. 2:23–25 b[Jer. 44:21–23]; Hos. 8:13 11 aEx. 32:10; Jer. 7:16; 11:14 12 aProv. 1:28; [Is. 1:15; 58:3–6]; Ezek. 8:18; Mic. 3:4; Zech. 7:13 bJer. 6:20 cJer. 9:16 13 aJer. 4:10 bJer. 8:11; 23:17 1true 14 aJer. 27:10 bJer. 29:8, 9 cJer. 23:16; Ezek. 12:24 1Telling the future by signs and omens 15 aJer. 5:12; Ezek. 14:10 16 aPs. 79:2, 3; Jer. 7:32; 15:2, 3 17 aJer. 9:1; 13:17; Lam. 1:16 bIs. 37:22; Jer. 8:21; Lam. 1:15; 2:13 18 aJer. 6:25; Lam. 1:20; Ezek. 7:15 bJer. 23:11 19 aJer. 6:30; 7:29; 12:7; Lam. 5:22

JEREMIAH 14:20 676 Has Your soul loathed Zion? Why have You stricken us so that bthere is no healing for us? cWe looked for peace, but there was no good; And for the time of healing, and there was trouble. 20 We acknowledge, O LORD, our wickedness And the iniquity of our afathers, For bwe have sinned against You. 21 Do not abhor us, for Your name’s sake; Do not disgrace the throne of Your glory. aRemember, do not break Your covenant with us. 22 aAre there any among bthe idols of the nations that can cause crain? Or can the heavens give showers? dAre You not He, O LORD our God? Therefore we will wait for You, Since You have made all these. The LORD Will Not Relent 15 Then the LORD said to me, a“Even if bMoses and cSamuel stood before Me, My 1mind would not be favorable toward this people. Cast them out of My sight, and let them go forth. 2 “And it shall be, if they say to you, ‘Where should we go?’ then you shall tell them, ‘Thus says the LORD: a“Such as are for death, to death; And such as are for the sword, to the sword; And such as are for the famine, to the famine; And such as are for the bcaptivity, to the captivity.” ’ 3 “And I will aappoint over them four forms of destruction,” says the LORD: “the sword to slay, the dogs to drag, bthe birds of the heavens and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy. 4 “I will hand them over to atrou- ble, to all kingdoms of the earth, because of bManasseh the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem. 5 “For who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem? Or who will bemoan you? Or who will turn aside to ask how you are doing? 6 aYou have forsaken Me,” says the LORD, “You have bgone backward. Therefore I will stretch out My hand against you and destroy you; cI am 1weary of relenting! 7 And I will winnow them with a winnowing fan in the gates of the land; I will abereave them of children; I will destroy My people, Since they bdo not return from their ways. 8 Their widows will be increased to Me more than the sand of the seas; I will bring against them, Against the mother of the young men, A plunderer at noonday; I will cause anguish and terror to fall on them asuddenly. 9 “Shea languishes who has borne seven; She has breathed her last; bHer sun has gone down While it was yet day; She has been ashamed and confounded. And the remnant of them I will deliver to the sword Before their enemies,” says the LORD. Jeremiah’s Dejection 10 aWoe is me, my mother, That you have borne me, A man of strife and a man of contention to the whole 1earth! I have neither lent for interest, Nor have men lent to me for interest. Every one of them curses me. 11 The LORD said: “Surely it will be well with your remnant; Surely I will cause athe enemy to intercede with you In the time of adversity and in the time of affliction. 12 Can anyone break iron, The northern iron and the bronze? 13 Your wealth and your treasures I will give as aplunder without price, Because of all your sins, Throughout your territories. 14 And I will 1make you cross over with your enemies aInto a land which you do not know; For a bfire is kindled in My anger, Which shall burn upon you.” 15 O LORD, aYou know; Remember me and 1visit me, And btake vengeance for me on my persecutors. In Your enduring patience, do not take me away. Know that cfor Your sake I have suffered rebuke. 19 bJer. 15:18 cJob 30:26; Jer. 8:15; 1 Thess. 5:3 20 aNeh. 9:2; Ps. 32:5; Jer. 3:25 bPs. 106:6; Jer. 8:14; 14:7; Dan. 9:8 21 aPs. 106:45 22 aZech. 10:1 bDeut. 32:21 c1 Kin. 17:1; Jer. 5:24 dPs. 135:7 CHAPTER 15 1 aPs. 99:6; Ezek. 14:14 bEx.32:11–14; Num. 14:13–20; Ps. 99:6 c1 Sam. 7:9 1Lit. soul was not to- ward 2 aJer. 43:11; Ezek. 5:2, 12; Zech. 11:9; [Rev. 13:10] bJer. 9:16; 16:13 3 aLev. 26:16, 21, 25; Jer. 12:3; Ezek. 14:21 bJer. 7:33 4 aDeut. 28:25 b2 Kin. 24:3, 4 6 aJer. 2:13 bIs. 1:4; Jer. 7:24 cJer. 20:16; Zech. 8:14 1tired 7 aJer. 18:21; Hos. 9:12–16 bIs. 9:13; Jer. 5:3; Amos 4:10, 11 8 aIs. 29:5 9 a1 Sam. 2:5; Is.

6:45 22 aZech. 10:1 bDeut. 32:21 c1 Kin. 17:1; Jer. 5:24 dPs. 135:7 CHAPTER 15 1 aPs. 99:6; Ezek. 14:14 bEx.32:11–14; Num. 14:13–20; Ps. 99:6 c1 Sam. 7:9 1Lit. soul was not to- ward 2 aJer. 43:11; Ezek. 5:2, 12; Zech. 11:9; [Rev. 13:10] bJer. 9:16; 16:13 3 aLev. 26:16, 21, 25; Jer. 12:3; Ezek. 14:21 bJer. 7:33 4 aDeut. 28:25 b2 Kin. 24:3, 4 6 aJer. 2:13 bIs. 1:4; Jer. 7:24 cJer. 20:16; Zech. 8:14 1tired 7 aJer. 18:21; Hos. 9:12–16 bIs. 9:13; Jer. 5:3; Amos 4:10, 11 8 aIs. 29:5 9 a1 Sam. 2:5; Is. 47:9 bJer. 6:4; Amos 8:9 10 aJob 3:1; Jer. 20:14 1Or land 11 aJer. 40:4, 5 13 aPs. 44:12; Is. 52:3 14 aDeut. 28:36, 64; Jer. 16:13 bDeut. 32:22; Ps. 21:9; Jer. 17:4 1So with MT, Vg.; LXX, Syr., Tg. cause you to serve (cf. 17:4) 15 aJer. 12:3 bJer. 20:12 cPs. 69:7–9; Jer. 20:8 1at- tend to

677 JEREMIAH 16:18 16 Your words were found, and I aate them, And bYour word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts. 17 aI did not sit in the assembly of the mockers, Nor did I rejoice; I sat alone because of Your hand, For You have filled me with indignation. 18 Why is my apain perpetual And my wound incurable, Which refuses to be healed? Will You surely be to me blike an unreliable stream, As waters that 1fail? The LORD Reassures Jeremiah 19 Therefore thus says the LORD: a“If you return, Then I will bring you back; You shall bstand before Me; If you ctake out the precious from the vile, You shall be as My mouth. Let them return to you, But you must not return to them. 20 And I will make you to this people a fortified bronze awall; And they will fight against you, But bthey shall not prevail against you; For I am with you to save you And deliver you,” says the LORD. 21 “I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked, And I will redeem you from the grip of the terrible.” Jeremiah’s Life-Style and Message 16 The word of the LORD also came to me, saying, 2 “You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons or daughters in this place.” 3 For thus says the LORD concern- ing the sons and daughters who are born in this place, and concerning their mothers who bore them and their fathers who begot them in this land: 4 “They shall die agruesome deaths; they shall not be blamented nor shall they be cburied, but they shall be dlike refuse on the face of the earth. They shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, and their ecorpses shall be meat for the birds of heaven and for the beasts of the earth.” 5 For thus says the LORD: a“Do not enter the house of mourning, nor go to lament or bemoan them; for I have taken away My peace from this peo- ple,” says the LORD, “lovingkindness and mercies. 6 “Both the great and the small shall die in this land. They shall not be buried; aneither shall men lament for them, bcut themselves, nor cmake themselves bald for them. 7 “Nor shall men break bread in mourning for them, to comfort them for the dead; nor shall men give them the cup of consolation to adrink for their father or their mother. 8 “Also you shall not go into the house of feasting to sit with them, to eat and drink.” 9 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, aI will cause to cease from this place, before your eyes and in your days, the voice of 1mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bride- groom and the voice of the bride. 10 “And it shall be, when you show this people all these words, and they say to you, a‘Why has the LORD pro- nounced all this great disaster against us?

r their mother. 8 “Also you shall not go into the house of feasting to sit with them, to eat and drink.” 9 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, aI will cause to cease from this place, before your eyes and in your days, the voice of 1mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bride- groom and the voice of the bride. 10 “And it shall be, when you show this people all these words, and they say to you, a‘Why has the LORD pro- nounced all this great disaster against us? Or what is our iniquity? Or what is our sin that we have com- mitted against the LORD our God?’ 11 “then you shall say to them, a‘Because your fathers have for- saken Me,’ says the LORD; ‘they have walked after other gods and have served them and worshiped them, and have forsaken Me and not kept My law. 12 ‘And you have done aworse than your fathers, for behold, beach one 1follows the dictates of his own evil heart, so that no one listens to Me. 13 a‘Therefore I will cast you out of this land binto a land that you do not know, neither you nor your fathers; and there you shall serve other gods day and night, where I will not show you favor.’ God Will Restore Israel 14 “Therefore behold, the adays are coming,” says the LORD, “that it shall no more be said, ‘The LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ 15 “but, ‘The LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the anorth and from all the lands where He had driven them.’ For bI will bring them back into their land which I gave to their fathers. 16 “Behold, I will send for many afishermen,” says the LORD, “and they shall fish them; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks. 17 “For My aeyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, nor is their iniquity hidden from My eyes. 18 “And first I will repay adouble for their iniquity and their sin, 16 aEzek. 3:1, 3 b[Job 23:12] 17 aPs. 26:4, 5 18 aJer. 10:19; 30:15 bJob 6:15 1Or can- not be trusted 19 aZech. 3:7 bJer. 15:1 cEzek. 22:26; 44:23 20 aEzek. 3:9 bJer. 1:8, 19; 20:11; 37:21; 38:13; 39:11, 12 CHAPTER 16 4 aJer. 15:2 bJer. 22:18; 25:33 cJer. 14:16; 19:11 dPs. 83:10 ePs. 79:2 5 aEzek. 24:17, 22, 23 6 aJer. 22:18 bDeut. 14:1 cIs. 22:12 7 aProv. 31:6 9 aRev. 18:23 1rejoicing 10 aDeut. 29:24 11 aJer. 22:9 12 aJer. 7:26 bJer. 3:17; 18:12 1walks after the stubbornness, or imagina- tion 13 aDeut. 4:26; 28:36, 63 bJer. 15:14 14 aJer. 23:7, 8 15 aJer. 3:18 bJer. 24:6; 30:3; 32:37 16 aAmos 4:2 17 aHeb. 4:13 18 aJer. 17:18

JEREMIAH 16:19 678 because bthey have defiled My land; they have filled My inheritance with the carcasses of their detestable and abominable idols.” 19 O LORD, amy strength and my fortress, bMy refuge in the day of affliction, The Gentiles shall come to You From the ends of the earth and say, “Surely our fathers have inherited lies, Worthlessness and cunprofitable things.” 20 Will a man make gods for himself, aWhich are not gods? 21 “Therefore behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know My hand and My might; And they shall know that aMy name is the LORD. Judah’s Sin and Punishment 17 “The sin of Judah is awritten with a bpen of iron; With the point of a diamond it is cengraved On the tablet of their heart, And on the horns of your altars, 2 While their children remember Their altars and their awooden1 images By the green trees on the high hills. 3 O My mountain in the field, I will give as plunder your wealth, all your treasures, And your high places of sin within all your borders. 4 And you, even yourself, Shall let go of your heritage which I gave you; And I will cause you to serve your enemies In athe land which you do not know; For byou have kindled a fire in My anger which shall burn forever.” 5 Thus says the LORD: a“Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes bflesh his 1strength, Whose heart departs from the LORD. 6 For he shall be alike a shrub in the desert, And bshall not see when good comes, But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, cIn a salt land which is not inhabited. 7 “Blesseda is the man who trusts in the LORD, And whose hope is the LORD. 8 For he shall be alike a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not 1fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit. 9 “The aheart is deceitful above all things, And 1desperately wicked; Who can know it? 10 I, the LORD, asearch the heart, I test the 1mind, bEven to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings. 11 “As a partridge that 1broods but does not hatch, So is he who gets riches, but not by right; It awill leave him in the midst of his days, And at his end he will be ba fool.” 12 A glorious high throne from the beginning Is the place of our sanctuary. 13 O LORD, athe hope of Israel, bAll who forsake You shall be ashamed. “Those who depart from Me Shall be cwritten in the earth, Because they have forsaken the LORD, The dfountain of living waters.” Jeremiah Prays for Deliverance 14 Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; Save me, and I shall be saved, For aYou are my praise. 15 Indeed they say to me, a“Where is the word of the LORD? Let it come now!” 16 As for me, aI have not hurried away from being a shepherd who follows You, Nor have I desired the woeful day; You know what came out of my lips; It was right there before You. 17 Do not be a terror to me; aYou are my hope in the day of doom. 18 aLet them be ashamed who persecute me, But bdo not let me be put to shame; Let them be dismayed, 18 b[Ezek. 43:7] 19 aPs. 18:1, 2 bJer. 17:17 cIs. 44:10 20 aGal. 4:8 21 aAmos 5:8 CHAPTER 17 1 aJer. 2:22 bJob 19:24 c2 Cor. 3:3 2 aJudg. 3:7 1Heb. Ashe- rim, Canaan- ite deities 4 aJer. 16:13 bJer. 15:14 5 aIs. 30:1, 2; 31:1 bIs. 31:3 1Lit. arm 6 aJer. 48:6 bJob 20:17 cDeut. 29:23 7 a[Is. 30:18] 8 a[Ps. 1:3] 1Qr., Tg. see 9 a[Eccl. 9:3] 1Or incurably sick 10 aRev. 2:23 bRom. 2:6 1Most secret parts, lit. kid- neys 11 aPs. 55:23 bLuke 12:20 1Sits on eggs 13 aJer. 14:8 b[Is. 1:28] cLuke 10:20 dJer. 2:13 14 aDeut. 10:21 15 aIs. 5:19 16 aJer. 1:4–12 17 aJer. 16:19 18 aPs. 35:4; 70:2 bPs. 25:2

679 JEREMIAH 18:17 But do not let me be dismayed. Bring on them the day of doom, And cdestroy1 them with double destruction! Hallow the Sabbath Day 19 Thus the LORD said to me: “Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, by which the kings of Judah come in and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem; 20 “and say to them, a‘Hear the word of the LORD, you kings of Ju- dah, and all Judah, and all the in- habitants of Jerusalem, who enter by these gates. 21 ‘Thus says the LORD: a“Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the Sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; 22 “nor carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day, nor do any work, but hallow the Sabbath day, as I acommanded your fathers. 23 a“But they did not obey nor in- cline their ear, but 1made their neck stiff, that they might not hear nor receive instruction. 24 “And it shall be, aif you heed Me carefully,” says the LORD, “to bring no burden through the gates of this city on the bSabbath day, but hal- low the Sabbath day, to do no work in it, 25 a“then shall enter the gates of this city kings and princes sitting on the throne of David, riding in chari- ots and on horses, they and their princes, accompanied by the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jeru- salem; and this city shall remain forever. 26 “And they shall come from the cities of Judah and from athe places around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin and from bthe 1lowland, from the mountains and from cthe 2South, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and in- cense, bringing dsacrifices of praise to the house of the LORD. 27 “But if you will not heed Me to hallow the Sabbath day, such as not carrying a burden when entering the gates of Jerusalem on the Sab- bath day, then aI will kindle a fire in its gates, band it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be cquenched.” ’ ” The Potter and the Clay 18 The word which came to Jere- miah from the LORD, saying: 2 “Arise and go down to the pot- ter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear My words.” 3 Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the 1wheel. 4 And the vessel that he 1made of clay was 2marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make. 5 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 6 “O house of Israel, acan I not do with you as this potter?” says the LORD. “Look, bas the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel! 7 “The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to apluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, 8 a“if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, bI will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. 9 “And the instant I speak con- cerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, 10 “if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it. 11 “Now therefore, speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Behold, I am fashioning a disaster and devising a plan against you. aReturn now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings bgood.” ’ ” God’s Warning Rejected 12 And they said, a“That is hope- less!

to build and to plant it, 10 “if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it. 11 “Now therefore, speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Behold, I am fashioning a disaster and devising a plan against you. aReturn now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings bgood.” ’ ” God’s Warning Rejected 12 And they said, a“That is hope- less! So we will walk according to our own plans, and we will every one 1obey the bdictates2 of his evil heart.” 13 Therefore thus says the LORD: a“Ask now among the Gentiles, Who has heard such things? The virgin of Israel has done ba very horrible thing. 14 Will a man 1leave the snow water of Lebanon, Which comes from the rock of the field? Will the cold flowing waters be forsaken for strange waters? 15 “Because My people have forgotten aMe, They have burned incense to worthless idols. And they have caused themselves to stumble in their ways, From the bancient paths, To walk in pathways and not on a highway, 16 To make their land adesolate and a perpetual bhissing; Everyone who passes by it will be astonished And shake his head. 17 aI will scatter them bas with an east wind before the enemy; cI will 1show them the back and not the face In the day of their calamity.” 18 cJer. 11:20 1Lit. crush 20 aJer. 19:3, 4 21 aNeh. 13:19 22 aEx. 20:8; 31:13 23 aJer. 7:24, 26 1Were stubborn 24 aJer. 11:4; 26:3 bEx. 16:23–30; 20:8–10 25 aJer. 22:4 26 aJer. 33:13 bZech. 7:7 cJudg. 1:9 dPs. 107:22; 116:17 1Heb. shep- helah 2Heb. Negev 27 aLam. 4:11 b2 Kin. 25:9 cJer. 7:20 CHAPTER 18 3 1Potter’s wheel 4 1was mak- ing 2ruined 6 aRom. 9:20, 21 bIs. 64:8 7 aJer. 1:10 8 a[Ezek. 18:21; 33:11] bJer. 26:3 11 a2 Kin. 17:13 bJer. 7:3–7 12 aJer. 2:25 bJer. 3:17; 23:17 1Lit. do 2stubborn- ness, or imagination 13 aJer. 2:10, 11 bJer. 5:30 14 1forsake 15 aJer. 2:13, 32 bJer. 6:16 16 aJer. 19:8 b1 Kin. 9:8 17 aJer. 13:24 bPs. 48:7 cJer. 2:27 1So with LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg.; MT look them in

JEREMIAH 18:18 680 Jeremiah Persecuted 18 Then they said, a“Come and let us devise plans against Jeremiah; bfor the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come and let us attack him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words.” 19 Give heed to me, O LORD, And listen to the voice of those who contend with me! 20 aShall evil be repaid for good? For they have bdug a pit for my life. Remember that I cstood before You To speak good 1for them, To turn away Your wrath from them. 21 Therefore adeliver up their children to the famine, And pour out their blood By the force of the sword; Let their wives become widows And bbereaved of their children. Let their men be put to death, Their young men be slain By the sword in battle. 22 Let a cry be heard from their houses, When You bring a troop suddenly upon them; For they have dug a pit to take me, And hidden snares for my feet. 23 Yet, LORD,You know all their counsel Which is against me, to slay me. aProvide no atonement for their iniquity, Nor blot out their sin from Your sight; But let them be overthrown before You. Deal thus with them In the time of Your banger. The Sign of the Broken Flask 19 Thus says the LORD: “Go and get a potter’s earthen flask, and take some of the elders of the people and some of the elders of the priests. 2 “And go out to athe Valley of the Son of Hinnom, which is by the entry of the Potsherd Gate; and pro- claim there the words that I will tell you, 3 a“and say, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah and inhabi- tants of Jerusalem. Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will bring such a catastro- phe on this place, that whoever hears of it, his ears will btingle. 4 “Because they ahave forsaken Me and made this an alien place, because they have burned incense in it to other gods whom neither they, their fathers, nor the kings of Judah have known, and have filled this place with bthe blood of the innocents 5 a“(they have also built the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings to Baal, bwhich I did not command or speak, nor did it come into My mind), 6 “therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “that this place shall no more be called Tophet or athe Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. 7 “And I will make void the coun- sel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place, aand I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies and by the hands of those who seek their lives; their bcorpses I will give as meat for the birds of the heaven and for the beasts of the earth. 8 “I will make this city adesolate and a hissing; everyone who passes by it will be astonished and hiss because of all its plagues. 9 “And I will cause them to eat the aflesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and everyone shall eat the flesh of his friend in the siege and in the desperation with which their enemies and those who seek their lives shall drive them to despair.” ’ 10 a“Then you shall break the flask in the sight of the men who go with you, 11 “and say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: a“Even so I will break this people and this city, as one breaks a potter’s vessel, which cannot be 1made whole again; and they shall bbury them in Tophet till there is no place to bury. 12 “Thus I will do to this place,” says the LORD, “and to its inhabi- tants, and make this city like Tophet. 13 “And the houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah shall be defiled alike the place of Tophet, because of all the houses on whose broofs they have burned incense to all the host of heaven, and cpoured out drink offerings to other gods.” ’ ” 14 Then Jeremiah came from To- phet, where the LORD had sent him to prophesy; and he stood in athe court of the Lord’s house and said to all the people, 15 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will bring on this city and on all her

ouses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah shall be defiled alike the place of Tophet, because of all the houses on whose broofs they have burned incense to all the host of heaven, and cpoured out drink offerings to other gods.” ’ ” 14 Then Jeremiah came from To- phet, where the LORD had sent him to prophesy; and he stood in athe court of the Lord’s house and said to all the people, 15 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will bring on this city and on all her towns all the doom that I have pro- nounced against it, because athey have stiffened their necks that they might not hear My words.’ ” The Word of God to Pashhur 20 Now aPashhur the son of bIm- mer, the priest who was also chief governor in the house of the 18 aJer. 11:19 bLev. 10:11; Mal. 2:7; [John 7:48] 20 aPs. 109:4 bPs. 35:7; 57:6; Jer. 5:26 cJer. 14:7—15:1 1concerning 21 aPs. 109:9–20; Jer. 11:22; 14:16 bJer. 15:7, 8; Ezek. 22:25 23 aNeh. 4:5; Ps. 35:14; 109:14; Is. 2:9; Jer. 11:20 bJer. 7:20 CHAPTER 19 2 aJosh. 15:8; 2 Kin. 23:10; Jer. 7:31; 32:35 3 aJer. 17:20 b1 Sam. 3:11; 2 Kin. 21:12 4 aDeut. 28:20; Is. 65:11; Jer. 2:13, 17, 19; 15:6; 17:13 b2 Kin. 21:12; Jer. 2:34; 7:6 5 aNum. 22:41; Jer. 7:31; 32:35 bLev. 18:21; 2 Kin. 17:17; Ps. 106:37, 38 6 aJosh. 15:8; Jer. 7:32 7 aLev. 26:17; Deut. 28:25; Jer. 15:2, 9 bPs. 79:2; Jer. 7:33; 16:4; 34:20 8 aJer. 18:16; 49:13; 50:13 9 aLev. 26:29; Deut. 28:53, 55; Is. 9:20; Lam. 4:10; Ezek. 5:10 10 aJer. 51:63, 64 11 aPs. 2:9; Is. 30:14; Jer. 13:14; Lam. 4:2; Rev. 2:27 bJer. 7:32 1re- stored 13 a2 Kin. 23:10; Ps. 74:7; 79:1; Jer. 52:13; Ezek. 7:21, 22 b2 Kin. 23:12; Jer. 32:29; Zeph. 1:5 cJer. 7:18; Ezek. 20:28 14 a2 Chr. 20:5; Jer. 26:2–8 15 aNeh. 9:17, 29; Jer. 7:26; 17:23 CHAPTER 20 1 aEzra 2:37, 38 b1 Chr. 24:14

681 JEREMIAH 21:4 LORD, heard that Jeremiah prophe- sied these things. 2 Then Pashhur struck Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the high agate of Benjamin, which was by the house of the LORD. 3 And it happened on the next day that Pashhur brought Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then Jeremiah said to him, “The LORD has not called your name Pashhur, but 1Magor-Missabib. 4 “For thus says the LORD: ‘Be- hold, I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends; and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and your eyes shall see it. I will agive all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall carry them captive to Babylon and slay them with the sword. 5 ‘Moreover I awill deliver all the wealth of this city, all its produce, and all its precious things; all the treasures of the kings of Judah I will give into the hand of their enemies, who will plunder them, seize them, and bcarry them to Babylon. 6 ‘And you, Pashhur, and all who dwell in your house, shall go into captivity. You shall go to Babylon, and there you shall die, and be buried there, you and all your friends, to whom you have aprophe- sied lies.’ ” Jeremiah’s Unpopular Ministry 7 O LORD,You 1induced me, and I was persuaded; aYou are stronger than I, and have prevailed. bI am 2in derision daily; Everyone mocks me. 8 For when I spoke, I cried out; aI shouted, “Violence and plunder!” Because the word of the LORD was made to me A reproach and a derision daily. 9 Then I said, “I will not make mention of Him, Nor speak anymore in His name.” But His word was in my heart like a aburning fire Shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, And bI could not. 10 aFor I heard many 1mocking: “Fear on every side!” “Report,” they say, “and we will report it!” bAll my acquaintances watched for my stumbling, saying, “Perhaps he can be induced; Then we will prevail against him, And we will take our revenge on him.” 11 But the LORD is awith me as a mighty, awesome One. Therefore my persecutors will stumble, and will not bprevail. They will be greatly ashamed, for they will not prosper. Their ceverlasting confusion will never be forgotten. 12 But, O LORD of hosts, You who atest the righteous, And see the 1mind and heart, bLet me see Your vengeance on them; For I have pleaded my cause before You. 13 Sing to the LORD! Praise the LORD! For aHe has delivered the life of the poor From the hand of evildoers. 14 aCursed be the day in which I was born! Let the day not be blessed in which my mother bore me! 15 Let the man be cursed Who brought news to my father, saying, “A male child has been born to you!” Making him very glad. 16 And let that man be like the cities Which the LORD aoverthrew, and did not relent; Let him bhear the cry in the morning And the shouting at noon, 17 aBecause he did not kill me from the womb, That my mother might have been my grave, And her womb always enlarged with me. 18 aWhy did I come forth from the womb to bsee 1labor and sorrow, That my days should be consumed with shame? Jerusalem’s Doom Is Sealed 21 The word which came to Jere- miah from the LORD when aKing Zedekiah sent to him bPash- hur the son of Melchiah, and cZeph- aniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, saying, 2 a“Please inquire of the LORD for us, for 1Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon makes war against us. Per- haps the LORD will deal with us according to all His wonderful works, that the king may go away from us.” 3 Then Jeremiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to Zedekiah, 4 ‘Thus says the LORD God of Israel: “Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, with which you fight against the king of Babylon and the 1Chaldeans who besiege you outside 2 aJer. 37:13 3 1Lit. Fear on Every Side 4 aJer. 21:4–10 5 a2 Kin. 20:17 bIs. 39:6 6 aJer. 14:13–15 7 aJer. 1:6, 7 bLam. 3:14 1enticed or persuaded 2Lit. a laughingstock all the day 8 aJer. 6:7 9 aPs. 39:3 bJob 32:18 10 aPs. 31:13 bPs. 41:9; 55:13, 14 1slandering 11 aJer. 1:18, 19 bJer.

y to Zedekiah, 4 ‘Thus says the LORD God of Israel: “Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, with which you fight against the king of Babylon and the 1Chaldeans who besiege you outside 2 aJer. 37:13 3 1Lit. Fear on Every Side 4 aJer. 21:4–10 5 a2 Kin. 20:17 bIs. 39:6 6 aJer. 14:13–15 7 aJer. 1:6, 7 bLam. 3:14 1enticed or persuaded 2Lit. a laughingstock all the day 8 aJer. 6:7 9 aPs. 39:3 bJob 32:18 10 aPs. 31:13 bPs. 41:9; 55:13, 14 1slandering 11 aJer. 1:18, 19 bJer. 15:20; 17:18 cJer. 23:40 12 a[Jer. 11:20; 17:10] bPs. 54:7; 59:10 1Most secret parts, lit. kid- neys 13 aPs. 35:9, 10; 109:30, 31 14 aJob 3:3 16 aGen. 19:25 bJer. 18:22 17 aJob 3:10, 11 18 aJob 3:20 bLam. 3:1 1toil CHAPTER 21 1 a2 Kin. 24:17, 18 bJer. 38:1 c2 Kin. 25:18 2 aJer. 37:3, 7 1Heb. Neb- uchadrezzar, and so else- where in the book 4 1Or Babylo- nians, and so elsewhere in the book

JEREMIAH 21:5 682 the walls; and aI will assemble them in the midst of this city. 5 “I aMyself will fight against you with an boutstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger and fury and great wrath. 6 “I will strike the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast; they shall die of a great pestilence. 7 “And afterward,” says the LORD, a“I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, his servants and the people, and such as are left in this city from the pestilence and the sword and the famine, into the hand of Neb- uchadnezzar king of Babylon, into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those who seek their life; and he shall strike them with the edge of the sword. bHe shall not spare them, or have pity or mercy.” ’ 8 “Now you shall say to this peo- ple, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Behold, aI set before you the way of life and the way of death. 9 “He who aremains in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he who goes out and 1defects to the Chaldeans who besiege you, he shall blive, and his life shall be as a prize to him. 10 “For I have aset My face against this city for adversity and not for good,” says the LORD. b“It shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall cburn it with fire.” ’ Message to the House of David 11 “And concerning the house of the king of Judah, say, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, 12 ‘O house of David! Thus says the LORD: a“Execute1 judgment bin the morning; And deliver him who is plundered Out of the hand of the oppressor, Lest My fury go forth like fire And burn so that no one can quench it, Because of the evil of your doings. 13 “Behold, aI am against you, O 1inhabitant of the valley, And rock of the plain,” says the LORD, “Who say, b‘Who shall come down against us? Or who shall enter our dwellings?’ 14 But I will punish you according to the afruit of your 1doings,” says the LORD; “I will kindle a fire in its forest, And bit shall devour all things around it.” ’ ” 22 Thus says the LORD: “Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and there speak this word, 2 “and say, a‘Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, you who sit on the throne of David, you and your servants and your people who enter these gates! 3 ‘Thus says the LORD: a“Execute1 judgment and righteousness, and deliver the plundered out of the hand of the oppressor. Do no wrong and do no violence to the stranger, the bfatherless, or the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place. 4 “For if you indeed do this thing, athen shall enter the gates of this house, riding on horses and in char- iots, accompanied by servants and people, kings who sit on the throne of David. 5 “But if you will not 1hear these words, aI swear by Myself,” says the LORD, “that this house shall become a desolation.” ’ ” 6 For thus says the LORD to the house of the king of Judah: “You are aGilead to Me, The head of Lebanon; Yet I surely will make you a wilderness, Cities which are not inhabited. 7 I will prepare destroyers against you, Everyone with his weapons; They shall cut down ayour choice cedars bAnd cast them into the fire. 8 “And many nations will pass by this city; and everyone will say to his neighbor, a‘Why has the LORD done so to this great city?’ 9 “Then they will answer, a‘Be- cause they have forsaken the cov- enant of the LORD their God, and worshiped other gods and served them.’ ” 10 Weep not for athe dead, nor bemoan him; Weep bitterly for him bwho goes away, For he shall return no more, Nor see his native country. Message to the Sons of Josiah 11 For thus says the LORD concern- ing aShallum1 the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who reigned instead of Josiah his father, bwho went from this place: “He shall not return here anymore, 12 “but he shall die in the place where they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more. 13 “Woea to him who builds his house by unrighteousness And his 1chambers by injustice, bWho uses his neighbor’s service without wages 4 aIs. 13:4 5 aIs. 63:10 bEx. 6:6 7 aJer.

untry. Message to the Sons of Josiah 11 For thus says the LORD concern- ing aShallum1 the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who reigned instead of Josiah his father, bwho went from this place: “He shall not return here anymore, 12 “but he shall die in the place where they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more. 13 “Woea to him who builds his house by unrighteousness And his 1chambers by injustice, bWho uses his neighbor’s service without wages 4 aIs. 13:4 5 aIs. 63:10 bEx. 6:6 7 aJer. 37:17; 39:5; 52:9 b2 Chr. 36:17 8 aDeut. 30:15, 19 9 aJer. 38:2 bJer. 39:18 1Lit. falls away to 10 aAmos 9:4 bJer. 38:3 cJer. 34:2, 22; 37:10 12 aZech. 7:9 bPs. 101:8 1Dispense jus- tice 13 a[Ezek. 13:8] bJer. 49:4 1dweller 14 aIs. 3:10, 11 b2 Chr. 36:19 1deeds CHAPTER 22 2 aJer. 17:20 3 aJer. 21:12 bJer. 7:6 1Dis- pense justice 4 aJer. 17:25 5 aHeb. 6:13, 17 1Obey 6 aSong 4:1 7 aIs. 37:24 bJer. 21:14 8 aDeut. 29:24–26 9 a2 Chr. 34:25 10 a2 Kin. 22:20 bJer. 14:17; 22:11 11 a1 Chr. 3:15 b2 Kin. 23:34 1Or Jehoahaz 13 a2 Kin. 23:35 bJames 5:4 1Lit. roof chambers, upper cham- bers

683 JEREMIAH 23:6 And gives him nothing for his work, 14 Who says, ‘I will build myself a wide house with spacious 1chambers, And cut out windows for it, Paneling it with cedar And painting it with vermilion.’ 15 “Shall you reign because you enclose yourself in cedar? Did not your father eat and drink, And do justice and righteousness? Then ait was well with him. 16 He 1judged the cause of the poor and needy; Then it was well. Was not this knowing Me?” says the LORD. 17 “Yeta your eyes and your heart are for nothing but your covetousness, For shedding innocent blood, And practicing oppression and violence.” 18 Therefore thus says the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of Jo- siah, king of Judah: a“They shall not lament for him, Saying, b‘Alas, my brother!’ or ‘Alas, my sister!’ They shall not lament for him, Saying, ‘Alas, master!’ or ‘Alas, his glory!’ 19 aHe shall be buried with the burial of a donkey, Dragged and cast out beyond the gates of Jerusalem. 20 “Go up to Lebanon, and cry out, And lift up your voice in Bashan; Cry from Abarim, For all your lovers are destroyed. 21 I spoke to you in your prosperity, But you said, ‘I will not hear.’ aThis has been your manner from your youth, That you did not obey My voice. 22 The wind shall eat up all ayour 1rulers, And your lovers shall go into captivity; Surely then you will be ashamed and humiliated For all your wickedness. 23 O inhabitant of Lebanon, Making your nest in the cedars, How gracious will you be when pangs come upon you, Like athe pain of a woman in 1labor? Message to Coniah 24 “As I live,” says the LORD, a“though 1Coniah the son of Je- hoiakim, king of Judah, bwere the 2signet on My right hand, yet I would pluck you off; 25 a“and I will give you into the hand of those who seek your life, and into the hand of those whose face you fear—the hand of Neb- uchadnezzar king of Babylon and the hand of the 1Chaldeans. 26 a“So I will cast you out, and your mother who bore you, into another country where you were not born; and there you shall die. 27 “But to the land to which they desire to return, there they shall not return. 28 “Is this man 1Coniah a despised, broken idol— aA vessel in which is no pleasure? Why are they cast out, he and his descendants, And cast into a land which they do not know? 29 aO earth, earth, earth, Hear the word of the LORD! 30 Thus says the LORD: ‘Write this man down as achildless, A man who shall not prosper in his days; For bnone of his descendants shall prosper, Sitting on the throne of David, And ruling anymore in Judah.’ ” The Branch of Righteousness 23 “Woe ato the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” says the LORD. 2 Therefore thus says the LORD God of Israel against the shepherds who feed My people: “You have scat- tered My flock, driven them away, and not attended to them. aBehold, I will attend to you for the evil of your doings,” says the LORD. 3 “But aI will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. 4 “I will set up ashepherds over them who will feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking,” says the LORD. 5 “Behold, athe days are coming,” says the LORD, “That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and 1prosper, bAnd execute 2judgment and righteousness in the 3earth. 6 aIn His days Judah will be saved, And Israel bwill dwell safely; Now cthis is His name by which He will be called: 14 1Lit. roof chambers, upper cham- bers 15 aPs. 128:2 16 1Defended 17 aEzek. 19:6 18 aJer. 16:4, 6 b1 Kin. 13:30 19 aJer. 36:30 21 aJer. 3:24, 25; 32:30 22 aJer. 23:1 1Lit. shep- herds 23 aJer. 6:24 1childbirth 24 a2 Kin. 24:6, 8 bHag. 2:23 1Or Jeco- niah or Jehoiachin 2signet ring 25 aJer. 34:20 1Or Babyloni- ans 26 a2 Kin. 24:15 28 aHos. 8:8 1See note at v. 24 29 aDeut. 32:1 30 aMatt. 1:12 bJer. 36:30 CHAPTER 23 1 aJer. 10:21 2 aEx. 32:34 3 aJer.

cthis is His name by which He will be called: 14 1Lit. roof chambers, upper cham- bers 15 aPs. 128:2 16 1Defended 17 aEzek. 19:6 18 aJer. 16:4, 6 b1 Kin. 13:30 19 aJer. 36:30 21 aJer. 3:24, 25; 32:30 22 aJer. 23:1 1Lit. shep- herds 23 aJer. 6:24 1childbirth 24 a2 Kin. 24:6, 8 bHag. 2:23 1Or Jeco- niah or Jehoiachin 2signet ring 25 aJer. 34:20 1Or Babyloni- ans 26 a2 Kin. 24:15 28 aHos. 8:8 1See note at v. 24 29 aDeut. 32:1 30 aMatt. 1:12 bJer. 36:30 CHAPTER 23 1 aJer. 10:21 2 aEx. 32:34 3 aJer. 32:37 4 aJer. 3:15 5 aJer. 33:14 bPs. 72:2 1act wisely 2justice 3land 6 aZech. 14:11 bJer. 32:37 c[1 Cor. 1:30]

JEREMIAH 23:7 684 1THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. 7 “Therefore, behold, athe days are coming,” says the LORD, “that they shall no longer say, ‘As the LORD lives who brought up the chil- dren of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ 8 “but, ‘As the LORD lives who brought up and led the descendants of the house of Israel from the north country aand from all the countries where I had driven them.’ And they shall dwell in their own bland.” False Prophets and Empty Oracles 9 My heart within me is broken Because of the prophets; aAll my bones shake. I am like a drunken man, And like a man whom wine has overcome, Because of the LORD, And because of His holy words. 10 For athe land is full of adulterers; For bbecause of a curse the land mourns. cThe pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up. Their course of life is evil, And their might is not right. 11 “For aboth prophet and priest are profane; Yes, bin My house I have found their wickedness,” says the LORD. 12 “Thereforea their way shall be to them Like slippery ways; In the darkness they shall be driven on And fall in them; For I bwill bring disaster on them, The year of their punishment,” says the LORD. 13 “And I have seen 1folly in the prophets of Samaria: aThey prophesied by Baal And bcaused My people Israel to err. 14 Also I have seen a horrible thing in the prophets of Jerusalem: aThey commit adultery and walk in lies; They also bstrengthen the hands of evildoers, So that no one turns back from his wickedness. All of them are like cSodom to Me, And her inhabitants like Gomorrah. 15 “Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets: ‘Behold, I will feed them with awormwood, And make them drink the water of gall; For from the prophets of Jerusalem 1Profaneness has gone out into all the land.’ ” 16 Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They make you worthless; aThey speak a vision of their own heart, Not from the mouth of the LORD. 17 They continually say to those who despise Me, ‘The LORD has said, a“You shall have peace” ’; And to everyone who bwalks according to the 1dictates of his own heart, they say, c‘No evil shall come upon you.’ ” 18 For awho has stood in the counsel of the LORD, And has perceived and heard His word? Who has marked His word and heard it? 19 Behold, a awhirlwind of the LORD has gone forth in fury— A violent whirlwind! It will fall violently on the head of the wicked. 20 The aanger of the LORD will not turn back Until He has executed and performed the thoughts of His heart. bIn the latter days you will understand it perfectly. 21 “Ia have not sent these prophets, yet they ran. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. 22 But if they had stood in My counsel, And had caused My people to hear My words, Then they would have aturned them from their evil way And from the evil of their doings. 23 “Am I a God near at hand,” says the LORD, “And not a God afar off? 24 Can anyone ahide himself in secret places, So I shall not see him?” says the LORD; b“Do I not fill heaven and earth?” says the LORD. 25 “I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in My name, saying, ‘I have dreamed, I have dreamed!’ 26 “How long will this be in the 6 1Heb. YHWH Tsid- kenu 7 aJer. 16:14 8 aIs. 43:5, 6 bGen. 12:7 9 aHab. 3:16 10 aJer. 9:2 bHos. 4:2 cJer. 9:10 11 aZeph. 3:4 bJer. 7:30; 32:34 12 a[Prov. 4:19] bJer. 11:23 13 aJer. 2:8 bIs. 9:16 1Lit. dis- tastefulness 14 aJer. 29:23 bEzek. 13:22, 23 cIs. 1:9, 10 15 aJer. 9:15 1Or Pollution 16 aJer. 14:14 17 aEzek. 13:10 bDeut. 29:19; Jer. 3:17 cMic. 3:11 1stub- bornness, or imagination 18 a[1 Cor. 2:16] 19 aAmos 1:14 20 aJer. 30:24 bGen. 49:1 21 aJer. 14:14; 23:32; 27:15 22 aJer. 25:5 24 a[Ps. 139:7] b[1 Kin. 8:27]

685 JEREMIAH 25:2 heart of the prophets who prophesy lies? Indeed they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart, 27 “who try to make My people for- get My name by their dreams which everyone tells his neighbor, aas their fathers forgot My name for Baal. 28 “The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream; And he who has My word, let him speak My word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat?” says the LORD. 29 “Is not My word like a afire?” says the LORD, “And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? 30 “Therefore behold, aI am against the prophets,” says the LORD, “who steal My words every one from his neighbor. 31 “Behold, I am aagainst the proph- ets,” says the LORD, “who use their tongues and say, ‘He says.’ 32 “Behold, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,” says the LORD, “and tell them, and cause My people to err by their alies and by btheir recklessness. Yet I did not send them or command them; there- fore they shall not cprofit this people at all,” says the LORD. 33 “So when these people or the prophet or the priest ask you, say- ing, ‘What is athe 1oracle of the LORD?’ you shall then say to them, 2‘What oracle?’ I will even forsake you,” says the LORD. 34 “And as for the prophet and the priest and the people who say, ‘The 1oracle of the LORD!’ I will even punish that man and his house. 35 “Thus every one of you shall say to his neighbor, and every one to his brother, ‘What has the LORD an- swered?’ and, ‘What has the LORD spoken?’ 36 “And the 1oracle of the LORD you shall mention no more. For every man’s word will be his oracle, for you have aperverted the words of the living God, the LORD of hosts, our God. 37 “Thus you shall say to the prophet, ‘What has the LORD an- swered you?’ and, ‘What has the LORD spoken?’ 38 “But since you say, ‘The 1oracle of the LORD!’ therefore thus says the LORD: ‘Because you say this word, “The oracle of the LORD!” and I have sent to you, saying, “Do not say, ‘The oracle of the LORD!’ ” 39 ‘therefore behold, I, even I, awill utterly forget you and forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, and will cast you out of My presence. 40 ‘And I will bring aan everlast- ing reproach upon you, and a per- petual bshame, which shall not be forgotten.’ ” The Sign of Two Baskets of Figs 24 The aLORD showed me, and there were two baskets of figs set before the temple of the LORD, after Nebuchadnezzar bking of Babylon had carried away captive cJeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the princes of Judah with the craftsmen and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon. 2 One basket had very good figs, like the figs that are first ripe; and the other basket had very bad figs which could not be eaten, they were so abad. 3 Then the LORD said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” And I said, “Figs, the good figs, very good; and the bad, very bad, which cannot be eaten, they are so bad.” 4 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 5 “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: ‘Like these good figs, so will I 1acknowledge those who are car- ried away captive from Judah, whom I have sent out of this place for their own good, into the land of the Chaldeans. 6 ‘For I will set My eyes on them for good, and aI will bring them back to this land; bI will build them and not pull them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up. 7 ‘Then I will give them aa heart to know Me, that I am the LORD; and they shall be bMy people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me cwith their whole heart. 8 ‘And as the bad afigs which can- not be eaten, they are so bad’— surely thus says the LORD—‘so will I give up Zedekiah the king of Ju- dah, his princes, the bresidue of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and cthose who dwell in the land of Egypt. 9 ‘I will deliver them to atrouble into all the kingdoms of the earth, for their harm, bto be a reproach and a byword, a taunt and a curse, in all places where I shall drive them.

will be their God, for they shall return to Me cwith their whole heart. 8 ‘And as the bad afigs which can- not be eaten, they are so bad’— surely thus says the LORD—‘so will I give up Zedekiah the king of Ju- dah, his princes, the bresidue of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and cthose who dwell in the land of Egypt. 9 ‘I will deliver them to atrouble into all the kingdoms of the earth, for their harm, bto be a reproach and a byword, a taunt and a curse, in all places where I shall drive them. 10 ‘And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence among them, till they are 1consumed from the land that I gave to them and their fathers.’ ” Seventy Years of Desolation 25 The word that came to Jere- miah concerning all the peo- ple of Judah, ain the fourth year of bJehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), 2 which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and 27 aJudg. 3:7 29 aJer. 5:14 30 aDeut. 18:20; Ps. 34:16; Jer. 14:14, 15; Ezek. 13:8, 9 31 aEzek. 13:9 32 aJer. 20:6; 27:10; Lam. 2:14; 3:37 bZeph. 3:4 cJer. 7:8; Lam. 2:14 33 aIs. 13:1; Nah. 1:1; Hab. 1:1; Zech. 9:1; Mal. 1:1 1bur- den, prophecy 2LXX, Tg., Vg. ‘You are the burden.’ 34 1burden, prophecy 36 aDeut. 4:2 1burden, prophecy 38 1burden, prophecy 39 aHos. 4:6 40 aJer. 20:11; Ezek. 5:14, 15 bMic. 3:5–7 CHAPTER 24 1 aAmos 7:1, 4; 8:1 b2 Kin. 24:12–16; 2 Chr. 36:10 cJer. 22:24–28; 29:2 2 aIs. 5:4, 7; Jer. 29:17 5 1regard 6 aJer. 12:15; 29:10; Ezek. 11:17 bJer. 32:41; 33:7; 42:10 7 a[Deut. 30:6; Jer. 32:39; Ezek. 11:19; 36:26, 27] bIs. 51:16; Jer. 30:22; 31:33; 32:38; Ezek. 14:11; Zech. 8:8; [Heb. 8:10] c1 Sam. 7:3; Ps. 119:2; Jer. 29:13 8 aJer. 29:17 bJer. 39:9 cJer. 44:1, 26–30 9 aDeut. 28:25, 37; 1 Kin. 9:7; 2 Chr. 7:20; Jer. 15:4; 29:18; 34:17 bPs. 44:13, 14 10 1destroyed CHAPTER 25 1 aJer. 36:1 b2 Kin. 24:1, 2; 2 Chr. 36:4–6; Dan. 1:1, 2

JEREMIAH 25:3 686 to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying: 3 a“From the thirteenth year of Jo- siah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, this is the twenty- third year in which the word of the LORD has come to me; and I have spoken to you, rising early and speaking, bbut you have not listened. 4 “And the LORD has sent to you all His servants the prophets, arising early and sending them, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear. 5 “They said, a‘Repent now every- one of his evil way and his evil do- ings, and dwell in the land that the LORD has given to you and your fathers forever and ever. 6 ‘Do not go after other gods to serve them and worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands; and I will not harm you.’ 7 “Yet you have not listened to Me,” says the LORD, “that you might aprovoke Me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt. 8 “Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Because you have not heard My words, 9 ‘behold, I will send and take aall the families of the north,’ says the LORD, ‘and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, bMy servant, and will bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, and against these nations all around, and will utterly destroy them, and cmake them an astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations. 10 ‘Moreover I will 1take from them the avoice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bride- groom and the voice of the bride, bthe sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp. 11 ‘And this whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy ayears. 12 ‘Then it will come to pass, awhen 1seventy years are com- pleted, that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity,’ says the LORD; b‘and I will make it a perpetual desolation. 13 ‘So I will bring on that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah has prophe- sied concerning all the nations. 14 a‘(For many nations band great kings shall cbe served by them also; dand I will repay them according to their deeds and according to the works of their own hands.)’ ” Judgment on the Nations 15 For thus says the LORD God of Israel to me: “Take this awine cup of 1fury from My hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send you, to drink it. 16 “And athey will drink and stag- ger and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them.” 17 Then I took the cup from the LORD’s hand, and made all the nations drink, to whom the LORD had sent me: 18 Jerusalem and the cities of Ju- dah, its kings and its princes, to make them aa desolation, an aston- ishment, a hissing, and ba curse, as it is this day; 19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, his ser- vants, his princes, and all his people; 20 all the mixed multitude, all the kings of athe land of Uz, all the kings of the land of the bPhilistines (namely, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and cthe remnant of Ashdod); 21 aEdom, Moab, and the people of Ammon; 22 all the kings of aTyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the coastlands which are across the bsea; 23 aDedan, Tema, Buz, and all who are in the farthest corners; 24 all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the amixed multitude who dwell in the desert; 25 all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of aElam, and all the kings of the bMedes; 26 aall the kings of the north, far and near, one with another; and all the kingdoms of the world which are on the face of the earth. Also the king of 1Sheshach shall drink after them. 27 “Therefore you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: a“Drink, bbe drunk, and vomit!

he farthest corners; 24 all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the amixed multitude who dwell in the desert; 25 all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of aElam, and all the kings of the bMedes; 26 aall the kings of the north, far and near, one with another; and all the kingdoms of the world which are on the face of the earth. Also the king of 1Sheshach shall drink after them. 27 “Therefore you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: a“Drink, bbe drunk, and vomit! Fall and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.” ’ 28 “And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “You shall certainly drink! 29 “For behold, aI begin to bring calamity on the city bwhich is called by My name, and should you be utterly unpunished? You shall not be unpunished, for cI will call for a sword on all the inhabitants of the earth,” says the LORD of hosts.’ 30 “Therefore prophesy against them all these words, and say to them: ‘The LORD will aroar from on high, And utter His voice from bHis holy habitation; He will roar mightily against cHis fold. He will give da shout, as those who tread the grapes, Against all the inhabitants of the earth. 3 aJer. 1:2 bJer. 7:13; 11:7, 8, 10 4 aJer. 7:13, 25 5 aJer. 18:11 7 aDeut. 32:21 9 aJer. 1:15 bIs. 45:1 cJer. 18:16 10 aRev. 18:23 bEccl. 12:4 1Lit. cause to perish from them 11 aJer. 29:10 12 aEzra 1:1 bIs. 13:20 1Beginning circa 605 B.C. (2 Kin. 24:1) and ending circa 536 B.C. (Ezra 1:1) 14 aJer. 50:9; 51:27, 28 bJer. 51:27 cJer. 27:7 dJer. 50:29; 51:6, 24 15 aRev. 14:10 1wrath 16 aNah. 3:11 18 aJer. 25:9, 11 bJer. 24:9 20 aJob 1:1 bJer. 47:1–7 cIs. 20:1 21 aJer. 49:7 22 aJer. 47:4 bJer. 49:23 23 aJer. 49:7, 8 24 aEzek. 30:5 25 aJer. 49:34 bJer. 51:11, 28 26 aJer. 50:9 1A code word for Babylon, Jer. 51:41 27 aHab. 2:16 bIs. 63:6 29 aEzek. 9:6 bDan. 9:18 cEzek. 38:21 30 aAmos 1:2 bPs. 11:4 c1 Kin. 9:3 dIs. 16:9

687 JEREMIAH 26:18 31 A noise will come to the ends of the earth— For the LORD has aa controversy with the nations; bHe will plead His case with all flesh. He will give those who are wicked to the sword,’ says the LORD.” 32 Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Behold, disaster shall go forth From nation to nation, And aa great whirlwind shall be raised up From the farthest parts of the earth. 33 a“And at that day the slain of the LORD shall be from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth. They shall not be bla- mented, cor gathered, or buried; they shall become refuse on the ground. 34 “Wail,a shepherds, and cry! Roll about in the ashes, You leaders of the flock! For the days of your slaughter and your dispersions are fulfilled; You shall fall like a precious vessel. 35 And the shepherds will have no 1way to flee, Nor the leaders of the flock to escape. 36 A voice of the cry of the shepherds, And a wailing of the leaders to the flock will be heard. For the LORD has plundered their pasture, 37 And the peaceful dwellings are cut down Because of the fierce anger of the LORD. 38 He has left His lair like the lion; For their land is desolate Because of the fierceness of the Oppressor, And because of His fierce anger.” Jeremiah Saved from Death 26 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the LORD, saying, 2 “Thus says the LORD: ‘Stand in athe court of the LORD’s house, and speak to all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the LORD’s house, ball the words that I command you to speak to them. cDo not diminish a word. 3 a‘Perhaps everyone will listen and turn from his evil way, that I may brelent concerning the calamity which I purpose to bring on them because of the evil of their doings.’ 4 “And you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD: a“If you will not listen to Me, to walk in My law which I have set before you, 5 “to heed the words of My ser- vants the prophets awhom I sent to you, both rising up early and send- ing them (but you have not heeded), 6 “then I will make this house like aShiloh, and will make this city ba curse to all the nations of the earth.” ’ ” 7 So the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the LORD. 8 Now it happened, when Jere- miah had made an end of speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak to all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, saying, “You will surely die! 9 “Why have you prophesied in the name of the LORD, saying, ‘This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be adesolate, without an inhabitant’?” And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the LORD. 10 When the princes of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to the house of the LORD and sat down in the entry of the New Gate of the LORD’s house. 11 And the priests and the proph- ets spoke to the princes and all the people, saying, 1“This man deserves to adie!

prophesied in the name of the LORD, saying, ‘This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be adesolate, without an inhabitant’?” And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the LORD. 10 When the princes of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to the house of the LORD and sat down in the entry of the New Gate of the LORD’s house. 11 And the priests and the proph- ets spoke to the princes and all the people, saying, 1“This man deserves to adie! For he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your ears.” 12 Then Jeremiah spoke to all the princes and all the people, saying: “The LORD sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city with all the words that you have heard. 13 “Now therefore, aamend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the LORD your God; then the LORD will relent concerning the doom that He has pronounced against you. 14 “As for me, here aI am, in your hand; do with me as seems good and 1proper to you. 15 “But know for certain that if you put me to death, you will surely bring innocent blood on yourselves, on this city, and on its inhabitants; for truly the LORD has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing.” 16 So the princes and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, “This man does not deserve to die. For he has spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God.” 17 aThen certain of the elders of the land rose up and spoke to all the assembly of the people, saying: 18 a“Micah of Moresheth prophe- sied in the days of Hezekiah king of 31 aHos. 4:1; Mic. 6:2 bIs. 66:16; Joel 3:2 32 aJer. 23:19; 30:23 33 aIs. 34:2, 3; 66:16 bJer. 16:4, 6; Ezek. 39:4, 17 cPs. 79:3; Jer. 8:2; Rev. 11:9 34 aJer. 4:8; 6:26; Ezek. 27:30 35 1Or refuge CHAPTER 26 2 a2 Chr. 24:20, 21; Jer. 19:14 bDeut. 4:2; Jer. 43:1; Ezek. 3:10; Matt. 28:20; [Rev. 22:19] cActs 20:27 3 aIs. 1:16–19; Jer. 36:3–7 bJer. 18:8; Jon. 3:9 4 aLev. 26:14, 15; Deut. 28:15; 1 Kin. 9:6; Is. 1:20; Jer. 17:27; 22:5 5 aJer. 25:4; 29:19 6 a1 Sam. 4:10, 11; Ps. 78:60; Jer. 7:12, 14 b2 Kin. 22:19; Is. 65:15; Jer. 24:9 9 aJer. 9:11 11 aJer. 38:4 1Lit. A judg- ment of death to this man 13 aJer. 7:3; [Joel 2:13]; Jon. 3:8 14 aJer. 38:5 1right 17 aActs 5:34 18 aMic. 1:1

JEREMIAH 26:19 688 Judah, and spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: b“Zion shall be plowed like a field, Jerusalem shall become cheaps of ruins, And the mountain of the 1temple Like the 2bare hills of the forest.” ’ 19 “Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah ever put him to death? aDid he not fear the LORD and bseek the LORD’s favor? And the LORD crelented concerning the doom which He had pronounced against them. dBut we are doing great evil against ourselves.” 20 Now there was also a man who prophesied in the name of the LORD, Urijah the son of Shemaiah of Kirjath Jearim, who prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah. 21 And when Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death; but when Urijah heard it, he was afraid and fled, and went to Egypt. 22 Then Jehoiakim the king sent men to Egypt: Elnathan the son of Achbor, and other men who went with him to Egypt. 23 And they brought Urijah from Egypt and brought him to Jehoiakim the king, who killed him with the sword and cast his dead body into the graves of the 1common people. 24 Nevertheless athe hand of Ahi- kam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, so that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death. Symbol of the Bonds and Yokes 27 In1 the beginning of the reign of 2Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, aking of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2 “Thus says the LORD to me: ‘Make for yourselves bonds and yokes, aand put them on your neck, 3 ‘and send them to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the Ammonites, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidon, by the hand of the messengers who come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. 4 ‘And command them to say to their masters, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel—thus you shall say to your masters: 5 a‘I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are on the ground, by My great power and by My out- stretched arm, and bhave given it to whom it seemed proper to Me. 6 a‘And now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchad- nezzar the king of Babylon, bMy ser- vant; and cthe beasts of the field I have also given him to serve him. 7 a‘So all nations shall serve him and his son and his son’s son, buntil the time of his land comes; cand then many nations and great kings shall make him serve them. 8 ‘And it shall be, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve Nebuchadnezzar the king of Bab- ylon, and which will not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Bab- ylon, that nation I will punish,’ says the LORD, ‘with the sword, the fam- ine, and the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand. 9 ‘Therefore do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your 1dreamers, your soothsayers, or your sorcerers, who speak to you, saying, “You shall not serve the king of Babylon.” 10 ‘For they prophesy a alie to you, to remove you far from your land; and I will drive you out, and you will perish. 11 ‘But the nations that bring their necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will let them remain in their own land,’ says the LORD, ‘and they shall till it and dwell in it.’ ” ’ ” 12 I also spoke to aZedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, “Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Bab- ylon, and serve him and his people, and live! 13 a“Why will you die, you and your people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the LORD has spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? 14 “Therefore ado not listen to the words of the prophets who speak to you, saying, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they prophesy ba lie to you; 15 “for I have anot sent them,” says the LORD, “yet they prophesy a lie in My name, that I may drive you out, and that you may perish, you and the prophets who prophesy to you.”

u die, you and your people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the LORD has spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? 14 “Therefore ado not listen to the words of the prophets who speak to you, saying, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they prophesy ba lie to you; 15 “for I have anot sent them,” says the LORD, “yet they prophesy a lie in My name, that I may drive you out, and that you may perish, you and the prophets who prophesy to you.” 16 Also I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Do not listen to the words of your prophets who proph- esy to you, saying, “Behold, athe ves- sels of the LORD’s house will now shortly be brought back from Bab- ylon”; for they prophesy a lie to you. 17 ‘Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon, and live! Why should this city be laid waste? 18 ‘But if they are prophets, and if the word of the LORD is with them, let them now make intercession to the LORD of hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of the LORD, in the house of the king of Ju- 18 bMic. 3:12 cNeh. 4:2; Ps. 79:1; Jer. 9:11 1Lit. house 2Lit. high places 19 a2 Chr. 32:26; Is. 37:1, 4, 15–20 b2 Kin. 20:1–19 cEx. 32:14; 2 Sam. 24:16; Jer. 18:8 d[Acts 5:39] 23 1Lit. sons of the people 24 a2 Kin. 22:12–14; Jer. 39:14; 40:5–7 CHAPTER 27 1 aJer. 27:3, 12, 20; 28:1 1LXX omits v. 1. 2So with MT, Tg., Vg.; some Heb. mss., Arab., Syr. Zedekiah (cf. 27:3, 12; 28:1) 2 aJer. 28:10, 12; Ezek. 4:1; 12:3; 24:3 5 aPs. 115:15; 146:6; Is. 45:12 bDeut. 9:29; Ps. 115:16; Jer. 32:17; Dan. 4:17, 25, 32 6 aJer. 28:14 bJer. 25:9; 43:10; Ezek. 29:18, 20 cJer. 28:14; Dan. 2:38 7 a2 Chr. 36:20 bJer. 25:12; 50:27; [Dan. 5:26]; Zech. 2:8, 9 cJer. 25:14 9 1Lit. dreams 10 aJer. 23:16, 32; 28:15 12 aJer. 28:1; 38:17 13 a[Prov. 8:36]; Jer. 27:8; 38:23; [Ezek. 18:31] 14 aJer. 23:16 bJer. 14:14; 23:21; 29:8, 9; Ezek. 13:22 15 aJer. 23:21; 29:9 16 a2 Kin. 24:13; 2 Chr. 36:7, 10; Jer. 28:3; Dan. 1:2

689 JEREMIAH 29:5 dah, and at Jerusalem, do not go to Babylon.’ 19 “For thus says the LORD of hosts aconcerning the pillars, concerning the Sea, concerning the carts, and concerning the remainder of the vessels that remain in this city, 20 “which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take, when he car- ried away acaptive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem— 21 “yes, thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the avessels that remain in the house of the LORD, and in the house of the king of Judah and of Jerusalem: 22 ‘They shall be acarried to Bab- ylon, and there they shall be until the day that I bvisit them,’ says the LORD. ‘Then cI will bring them up and restore them to this place.’ ” Hananiah’s Falsehood and Doom 28 And ait happened in the same year, at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the bfourth year and in the fifth month, that Hananiah the son of cAzur the prophet, who was from Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of the LORD in the presence of the priests and of all the people, saying, 2 “Thus speaks the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying: ‘I have bro- ken athe yoke of the king of Babylon. 3 a‘Within two full years I will bring back to this place all the ves- sels of the LORD’s house, that Neb- uchadnezzar king of Babylon btook away from this place and carried to Babylon. 4 ‘And I will bring back to this place 1Jeconiah the son of Je- hoiakim, king of Judah, with all the captives of Judah who went to Babylon,’ says the LORD, ‘for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’ ” 5 Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and in the presence of all the people who stood in the house of the LORD, 6 and the prophet Jeremiah said, a“Amen! The LORD do so; the LORD perform your words which you have prophesied, to bring back the ves- sels of the LORD’s house and all who were carried away captive, from Babylon to this place. 7 “Nevertheless hear now this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people: 8 “The prophets who have been before me and before you of old prophesied against many countries and great kingdoms—of war and disaster and pestilence. 9 “As for athe prophet who proph- esies of bpeace, when the word of the prophet comes to pass, the prophet will be known as one whom the LORD has truly sent.” 10 Then Hananiah the prophet took the ayoke off the prophet Jere- miah’s neck and broke it. 11 And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Even so I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon afrom the neck of all nations within the space of two full years.’ ” And the prophet Jer- emiah went his way. 12 Now the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, after Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying, 13 “Go and tell Hananiah, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD: “You have bro- ken the yokes of wood, but you have made in their place yokes of iron.” 14 ‘For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: a“I have put a yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Neb- uchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him. bI have given him the beasts of the field also.” ’ ” 15 Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, “Hear now, Hananiah, the LORD has not sent you, but ayou make this people trust in a blie. 16 “Therefore thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will cast you from the face of the earth.

es of iron.” 14 ‘For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: a“I have put a yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Neb- uchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him. bI have given him the beasts of the field also.” ’ ” 15 Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, “Hear now, Hananiah, the LORD has not sent you, but ayou make this people trust in a blie. 16 “Therefore thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will cast you from the face of the earth. This year you shall adie, because you have taught brebellion against the LORD.’ ” 17 So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month. Jeremiah’s Letter to the Captives 29 Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the remainder of the elders who were acarried away captive—to the priests, the prophets, and all the peo- ple whom Nebuchadnezzar had car- ried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon. 2 (This happened after aJeconiah1 the king, the bqueen mother, the 2eunuchs, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the smiths had departed from Jerusalem.) 3 The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of aShaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, saying, 4 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all who were carried away captive, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 Build houses and dwell in 19 a1 Kin. 7:15; 2 Kin. 25:13–17; Jer. 52:17, 20, 21 20 a2 Kin. 24:14, 15; 2 Chr. 36:10, 18; Jer. 24:1 21 aJer. 20:5 22 a2 Kin. 25:13; 2 Chr. 36:18 b2 Chr. 36:21; Jer. 29:10; 32:5 cEzra 1:7; 7:19 CHAPTER 28 1 aJer. 27:1 bJer. 51:59 cEzek. 11:1 2 aJer. 27:12 3 aJer. 27:16 b2 Kin. 24:13; Dan. 1:2 4 1Jehoiachin, 2 Kin. 24:12 6 a1 Kin. 1:36; Ps. 41:13; Jer. 11:5 9 aDeut. 18:22 bJer. 23:17; Ezek. 13:10, 16 10 aJer. 27:2 11 aJer. 27:7 14 aDeut. 28:48; Jer. 27:7, 8 bJer. 27:6 15 aJer. 20:6; 29:31; Lam. 2:14; Ezek. 13:22; Zech. 13:3 bJer. 27:10; 29:9 16 aJer. 20:6 bDeut. 13:5; Jer. 29:32 CHAPTER 29 1 aJer. 27:20 2 a2 Kin. 24:12–16; 2 Chr. 36:9, 10; Jer. 22:24–28 b2 Kin. 24:12, 15; Jer. 13:18 1Jehoiachin, 2 Kin. 24:12; 2 Chr. 36:10 2Or officers 3 a2 Chr. 34:8

JEREMIAH 29:6 690 them; plant gardens and eat their fruit. 6 Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters—that you may be increased there, and not diminished. 7 And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, aand pray to the LORD for it; for in its peace you will have peace. 8 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are in your midst adeceive you, nor listen to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed. 9 For they prophesy afalsely to you in My name; I have not sent them, says the LORD. 10 For thus says the LORD: After aseventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to breturn to this place. 11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will acall upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will blisten to you. 13 And ayou will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me bwith all your heart. 14 aI will be found by you, says the LORD, and I will bring you back from your captivity; bI will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the LORD, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive. 15 Because you have said, “The LORD has raised up prophets for us in Babylon”— 16 atherefore thus says the LORD concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, concerning all the people who dwell in this city, and concerning your brethren who have not gone out with you into captivity— 17 thus says the LORD of hosts: Behold, I will send on them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like arotten figs that cannot be eaten, they are so bad. 18 And I will pursue them with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence; and I awill deliver them to trouble among all the kingdoms of the earth—to be ba curse, an astonishment, a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations where I have driven them, 19 because they have not heeded My words, says the LORD, which aI sent to them by My servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them; neither would you heed, says the LORD. 20 Therefore hear the word of the LORD, all you of the captivity, whom I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon. 21 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who prophesy a alie to you in My name: Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall slay them before your eyes. 22 aAnd because of them a curse shall be taken up by all the captivity of Judah who are in Babylon, saying, “The LORD make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, bwhom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire”; 23 because athey have done disgraceful things in Israel, have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and have spoken lying words in My name, which I have not commanded them.

Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall slay them before your eyes. 22 aAnd because of them a curse shall be taken up by all the captivity of Judah who are in Babylon, saying, “The LORD make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, bwhom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire”; 23 because athey have done disgraceful things in Israel, have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and have spoken lying words in My name, which I have not commanded them. Indeed I bknow, and am a witness, says the LORD. 24 You shall also speak to Shemaiah the Nehelamite, saying, 25 Thus speaks the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying: You have sent letters in your name to all the people who are at Jerusalem, ato Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying, 26 “The LORD has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, so that there should be aofficers in the house of the LORD over every man who is bdemented and considers himself a prophet, that you should cput him in prison and in the stocks. 27 Now therefore, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth who makes himself a prophet to you? 28 For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, ‘This captivity is long; build houses and dwell in them, and plant gardens and eat their fruit.’ ” 29 Now Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the hearing of Jeremiah the prophet. 30 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying: 7 aEzra 6:10; Neh. 1:4–11; Dan. 9:16; 1 Tim. 2:2 8 aJer. 14:14; 23:21; 27:14, 15; Eph. 5:6 9 aJer. 28:15; 37:19 10 a2 Chr. 36:21–23; Ezra 1:1–4; Jer. 25:12; 27:22; Dan. 9:2; Zech. 7:5 b[Jer. 24:6, 7]; Zeph. 2:7 12 aPs. 50:15; Jer. 33:3; Dan. 9:3 bPs. 145:19 13 aLev. 26:39–42; Deut. 30:1–3 b1 Chr. 22:19; 2 Chr. 22:9; Jer. 24:7 14 a[Deut. 4:7]; Ps. 32:6; 46:1; [Is. 55:6, 7]; Jer. 24:7 bIs. 43:5, 6; Jer. 23:8; 32:37 16 aJer. 38:2, 3, 17–23 17 aJer. 24:3, 8–10 18 aDeut. 28:25; 2 Chr. 29:8; Jer. 15:4; 24:9; 34:17; Ezek. 12:15 bJer. 26:6; 42:18 19 aJer. 25:4; 26:5; 35:15 21 aJer. 14:14, 15; Lam. 2:14; 2 Pet. 2:1 22 aGen. 48:20; Is. 65:15 bDan. 3:6, 21 23 aJer. 23:14 b[Prov. 5:21; Jer. 16:17]; Mal. 3:5; [Heb. 4:13] 25 a2 Kin. 25:18; Jer. 21:1 26 aJer. 20:1 b2 Kin. 9:11; Hos. 9:7; Mark 3:21; John 10:20; Acts 26:24; [2 Cor. 5:13] cJer. 20:1, 2; Acts 16:24

691 JEREMIAH 30:19 31 Send to all those in captivity, saying, Thus says the LORD concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, aand I have not sent him, and he has caused you to trust in a blie— 32 therefore thus says the LORD: Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his 1family: he shall not have anyone to dwell among this people, nor shall he see the good that I will do for My people, says the LORD, abecause he has taught rebellion against the LORD. Restoration of Israel and Judah 30 The word that came to Jere- miah from the LORD, saying, 2 “Thus speaks the LORD God of Israel, saying: ‘Write in a book for yourself all the words that I have spoken to you. 3 ‘For behold, the days are com- ing,’ says the LORD, ‘that aI will bring back from captivity My peo- ple Israel and Judah,’ says the LORD. b‘And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.’ ” 4 Now these are the words that the LORD spoke concerning Israel and Judah. 5 “For thus says the LORD: ‘We have heard a voice of trembling, Of 1fear, and not of peace. 6 Ask now, and see, Whether a 1man is ever in 2labor with child? So why do I see every man with his hands on his loins aLike a woman in labor, And all faces turned pale? 7 aAlas! For that day is great, bSo that none is like it; And it is the time of Jacob’s trouble, But he shall be saved out of it. 8 ‘For it shall come to pass in that day,’ Says the LORD of hosts, ‘That I will break his yoke from your neck, And will burst your bonds; Foreigners shall no more enslave them. 9 But they shall serve the LORD their God, And aDavid their king, Whom I will braise up for them. 10 ‘Therefore ado not fear, O My servant Jacob,’ says the LORD, ‘Nor be dismayed, O Israel; For behold, I will save you from afar, And your seed bfrom the land of their captivity. Jacob shall return, have rest and be quiet, And no one shall make him afraid. 11 For I am with ayou,’ says the LORD, ‘to save you; bThough I make a full end of all nations where I have scattered you, cYet I will not make a complete end of you. But I will correct you din justice, And will not let you go altogether unpunished.’ 12 “For thus says the LORD: a‘Your affliction is incurable, Your wound is severe. 13 There is no one to plead your cause, That you may be bound up; aYou have no healing medicines. 14 aAll your lovers have forgotten you; They do not seek you; For I have wounded you with the wound bof an enemy, With the chastisement cof a cruel one, For the multitude of your iniquities, dBecause your sins have increased. 15 Why ado you cry about your affliction? Your sorrow is incurable. Because of the multitude of your iniquities, Because your sins have increased, I have done these things to you. 16 ‘Therefore all those who devour you ashall be devoured; And all your adversaries, every one of them, shall go into bcaptivity; Those who plunder you shall become cplunder, And all who prey upon you I will make a dprey. 17 aFor I will restore health to you And heal you of your wounds,’ says the LORD, ‘Because they called you an outcast saying: “This is Zion; No one seeks her.” ’ 18 “Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will bring back the captivity of Jacob’s tents, And ahave mercy on his dwelling places; The city shall be built upon its own 1mound, And the palace shall remain according to its own plan. 19 Then aout of them shall proceed thanksgiving 31 aJer. 28:15 bEzek. 13:8–16, 22, 23 32 aJer. 28:16 1descendants, lit. seed CHAPTER 30 3 aPs. 53:6; Jer. 29:14; 30:18; 32:44; Ezek. 39:25; Amos 9:14; Zeph. 3:20 bJer. 16:15; Ezek. 20:42; 36:24 5 1dread 6 aJer. 4:31; 6:24 1Lit. male can give birth 2childbirth 7 a[Is. 2:12]; Hos. 1:11; Joel 2:11; Amos 5:18; Zeph. 1:14 bLam. 1:12; Dan. 9:12; 12:1 9 aIs. 55:3; Ezek. 34:23; 37:24; Hos. 3:5 b[Luke 1:69; Acts 2:30; 13:23] 10 aIs. 41:13; 43:5; 44:2; Jer. 46:27, 28 bJer. 3:18 11 a[Is. 43:2–5] bAmos 9:8 cJer. 4:27; 46:27, 28 dPs. 6:1; Is. 27:8; Jer.

28:16 1descendants, lit. seed CHAPTER 30 3 aPs. 53:6; Jer. 29:14; 30:18; 32:44; Ezek. 39:25; Amos 9:14; Zeph. 3:20 bJer. 16:15; Ezek. 20:42; 36:24 5 1dread 6 aJer. 4:31; 6:24 1Lit. male can give birth 2childbirth 7 a[Is. 2:12]; Hos. 1:11; Joel 2:11; Amos 5:18; Zeph. 1:14 bLam. 1:12; Dan. 9:12; 12:1 9 aIs. 55:3; Ezek. 34:23; 37:24; Hos. 3:5 b[Luke 1:69; Acts 2:30; 13:23] 10 aIs. 41:13; 43:5; 44:2; Jer. 46:27, 28 bJer. 3:18 11 a[Is. 43:2–5] bAmos 9:8 cJer. 4:27; 46:27, 28 dPs. 6:1; Is. 27:8; Jer. 10:24; 46:28 12 a2 Chr. 36:16; Jer. 15:18 13 aJer. 8:22 14 aJer. 22:20, 22; Lam. 1:2 bJob 13:24; 16:9; 19:11 cJob 30:21 dJer. 5:6 15 aJer. 15:18 16 aEx. 23:22; Is. 41:11; Jer. 10:25 bIs. 14:2; Joel 3:8 dIs. 33:1; Ezek. 39:10 eJer. 2:3 17 aEx. 15:26; Ps. 107:20; Is. 30:26; Jer. 33:6 18 aPs. 102:13 1ruins 19 aPs. 126:1, 2; Is. 51:11; Jer. 31:4; Zeph. 3:14

JEREMIAH 30:20 692 And the voice of those who make merry; bI will multiply them, and they shall not diminish; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small. 20 Their children also shall be aas before, And their congregation shall be established before Me; And I will punish all who oppress them. 21 Their nobles shall be from among them, aAnd their governor shall come from their midst; Then I will bcause him to draw near, And he shall approach Me; For who is this who pledged his heart to approach Me?’ says the LORD. 22 ‘You shall be aMy people, And I will be your God.’ ” 23 Behold, the awhirlwind of the LORD Goes forth with fury, A 1continuing whirlwind; It will fall violently on the head of the wicked. 24 The fierce anger of the LORD will not return until He has done it, And until He has performed the intents of His heart. aIn the latter days you will consider it. The Remnant of Israel Saved 31 “At athe same time,” says the LORD, b“I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people.” 2 Thus says the LORD: “The people who survived the sword Found grace in the wilderness— Israel, when aI went to give him rest.” 3 The LORD has appeared 1of old to me, saying: “Yes, aI have loved you with ban everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have cdrawn you. 4 Again aI will build you, and you shall be rebuilt, O virgin of Israel! You shall again be adorned with your btambourines, And shall go forth in the dances of those who rejoice. 5 aYou shall yet plant vines on the mountains of Samaria; The planters shall plant and 1eat them as ordinary food. 6 For there shall be a day When the watchmen will cry on Mount Ephraim, a‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion, To the LORD our God.’ ” 7 For thus says the LORD: a“Sing with gladness for Jacob, And shout among the chief of the nations; Proclaim, give praise, and say, ‘O LORD, save Your people, The remnant of Israel!’ 8 Behold, I will bring them afrom the north country, And bgather them from the ends of the earth, Among them the blind and the lame, The woman with child And the one who labors with child, together; A great throng shall return there. 9 aThey shall come with weeping, And with supplications I will lead them. I will cause them to walk bby the rivers of waters, In a straight way in which they shall not stumble; For I am a Father to Israel, And Ephraim is My cfirstborn. 10 “Hear the word of the LORD, O nations, And declare it in the 1isles afar off, and say, ‘He who scattered Israel awill gather him, And keep him as a shepherd does his flock.’ 11 For athe LORD has redeemed Jacob, And ransomed him bfrom the hand of one stronger than he. 12 Therefore they shall come and sing in athe height of Zion, Streaming to bthe goodness of the LORD— For wheat and new wine and oil, For the young of the flock and the herd; Their souls shall be like a cwell-watered garden, dAnd they shall sorrow no more at all. 13 “Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, And the young men and the old, together; For I will turn their mourning to joy, Will comfort them, And make them rejoice rather than sorrow. 14 I will 1satiate the soul of the priests with abundance, And My people shall be 19 bIs. 49:19–21; Jer. 23:3; 33:22; Zech. 10:8 20 aIs. 1:26 21 aGen. 49:10 bNum. 16:5; Ps. 65:4 22 aEx. 6:7; Jer. 32:38; Ezek. 36:28; Hos. 2:23; Zech. 13:9 23 aJer. 23:19, 20; 25:32 1Or sweeping 24 aGen. 49:1 CHAPTER 31 1 aJer. 30:24 bJer. 30:22 2 aEx. 33:14; Num. 10:33; Deut. 1:33; Josh. 1:13; Ps. 95:11; Is. 63:14 3 aDeut. 4:37; 7:8; Mal. 1:2 bIs. 43:4; Rom. 11:28 cHos. 11:4 1Lit. from afar 4 aJer. 33:7 bEx. 15:20; Judg. 11:34; Ps. 149:3 5 aPs. 107:37; Is. 65:21; Ezek. 28:26; Amos 9:14 1Lit. treat them as com- mon 6 a[Is. 2:3; Jer. 31:12; 50:4, 5; Mic. 4:2] 7 aIs. 12:5, 6 8 aJer. 3:12, 18; 23:8 bDeut. 30:4; Is. 43:6; Ezek. 20:34, 41; 34:13 9 a[Ps. 126:5; Jer. 50:4] bIs. 35:8; 43:19; 49:10, 11 cEx. 4:22 10 aIs. 40:11; Ezek. 34:12–14 1Or coastlands 11 aIs. 44:23; 48:20; Jer. 15:21; 50:19 bIs.

:11; Is. 63:14 3 aDeut. 4:37; 7:8; Mal. 1:2 bIs. 43:4; Rom. 11:28 cHos. 11:4 1Lit. from afar 4 aJer. 33:7 bEx. 15:20; Judg. 11:34; Ps. 149:3 5 aPs. 107:37; Is. 65:21; Ezek. 28:26; Amos 9:14 1Lit. treat them as com- mon 6 a[Is. 2:3; Jer. 31:12; 50:4, 5; Mic. 4:2] 7 aIs. 12:5, 6 8 aJer. 3:12, 18; 23:8 bDeut. 30:4; Is. 43:6; Ezek. 20:34, 41; 34:13 9 a[Ps. 126:5; Jer. 50:4] bIs. 35:8; 43:19; 49:10, 11 cEx. 4:22 10 aIs. 40:11; Ezek. 34:12–14 1Or coastlands 11 aIs. 44:23; 48:20; Jer. 15:21; 50:19 bIs. 49:24 12 aEzek. 17:23 bHos. 3:5 cIs. 58:11 dIs. 35:10; 65:19; [John 16:22; Rev. 21:4] 14 1Fill to the full

693 JEREMIAH 31:35 satisfied with My goodness, says the LORD.” Mercy on Ephraim 15 Thus says the LORD: a“A voice was heard in bRamah, Lamentation and bitter cweeping, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted for her children, Because dthey are no more.” 16 Thus says the LORD: “Refrain your voice from aweeping, And your eyes from tears; For your work shall be rewarded, says the LORD, And they shall come back from the land of the enemy. 17 There is ahope in your future, says the LORD, That your children shall come back to their own border. 18 “I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself: ‘You have achastised me, and I was chastised, Like an untrained bull; bRestore me, and I will return, For You are the LORD my God. 19 Surely, aafter my turning, I repented; And after I was instructed, I struck myself on the thigh; I was bashamed, yes, even humiliated, Because I bore the reproach of my youth.’ 20 Is Ephraim My dear son? Is he a pleasant child? For though I spoke against him, I earnestly remember him still; aTherefore My 1heart yearns for him; bI will surely have mercy on him, says the LORD. 21 “Set up signposts, Make landmarks; aSet your heart toward the highway, The way in which you went. 1Turn back, O virgin of Israel, Turn back to these your cities. 22 How long will you agad about, O you bbacksliding daughter? For the LORD has created a new thing in the earth— A woman shall encompass a man.” Future Prosperity of Judah 23 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “They shall again use this speech in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I bring back their captivity: a‘The LORD bless you, O home of justice, and bmountain of holiness!’ 24 “And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and ain all its cities together, farmers and those going out with flocks. 25 “For I have 1satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.” 26 After this I awoke and looked around, and my sleep was asweet to me. 27 “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, that aI will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. 28 “And it shall come to pass, that as I have awatched over them bto pluck up, to break down, to throw down, to destroy, and to afflict, so I will watch over them cto build and to plant, says the LORD. 29 a“In those days they shall say no more: ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, And the children’s teeth are set on edge.’ 30 a“But every one shall die for his own iniquity; every man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge. A New Covenant 31 “Behold, the adays are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 32 “not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that aI took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, 1though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. 33 a“But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: bI will put My law in their minds, and write it on their 1hearts; cand I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 “No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for athey all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For bI will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” 35 Thus says the LORD, aWho gives the sun for a light by day, The ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, Who disturbs bthe sea, And its waves roar c(The LORD of hosts is His name): 15 aMatt. 2:17, 18 bJosh. 18:25 cGen. 37:35 dJer. 10:20 16 a[Is. 25:8; 30:19] 17 aJer. 29:11 18 aPs. 94:12 bLam. 5:21 19 aDeut. 30:2 bEzek. 36:31 20 aIs. 63:15 b[Hos. 14:4] 1Lit. inward parts 21 aJer. 50:5 1Or Return 22 aJer. 2:18, 23, 36 bJer. 3:6, 8, 11, 12, 14, 22 23 aIs. 1:26 b[Zech. 8:3] 24 aJer. 33:12 25 1fully satis- fied 26 aProv.

for a light by day, The ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, Who disturbs bthe sea, And its waves roar c(The LORD of hosts is His name): 15 aMatt. 2:17, 18 bJosh. 18:25 cGen. 37:35 dJer. 10:20 16 a[Is. 25:8; 30:19] 17 aJer. 29:11 18 aPs. 94:12 bLam. 5:21 19 aDeut. 30:2 bEzek. 36:31 20 aIs. 63:15 b[Hos. 14:4] 1Lit. inward parts 21 aJer. 50:5 1Or Return 22 aJer. 2:18, 23, 36 bJer. 3:6, 8, 11, 12, 14, 22 23 aIs. 1:26 b[Zech. 8:3] 24 aJer. 33:12 25 1fully satis- fied 26 aProv. 3:24 27 aEzek. 36:9–11 28 aJer. 44:27 bJer. 1:10; 18:7 cJer. 24:6 29 aEzek. 18:2, 3 30 a[Gal. 6:5, 7] 31 aHeb. 8:8– 12; 10:16, 17 32 aDeut. 1:31 1So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX, Syr. and I turned away from them 33 aJer. 32:40 bPs. 40:8 cJer. 24:7; 30:22; 32:38 1Lit. inward parts 34 a[John 6:45] b[Rom. 11:27] 35 aGen. 1:14– 18 bIs. 51:15 cJer. 10:16

JEREMIAH 31:36 694 36 “If athose ordinances depart From before Me, says the LORD, Then the seed of Israel shall also cease From being a nation before Me forever.” 37 Thus says the LORD: a“If heaven above can be measured, And the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also bcast off all the seed of Israel For all that they have done, says the LORD. 38 “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, that the city shall be built for the LORD afrom the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. 39 a“The surveyor’s line shall again extend straight forward over the hill Gareb; then it shall turn toward Goath. 40 “And the whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields as far as the Brook Kidron, ato the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, bshall be holy to the LORD. It shall not be plucked up or thrown down anymore forever.” Jeremiah Buys a Field 32 The word that came to Jere- miah from the LORD ain the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. 2 For then the king of Babylon’s army besieged Jerusalem, and Jere- miah the prophet was shut up ain the court of the prison, which was in the king of Judah’s house. 3 For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, “Why do you aprophesy and say, ‘Thus says the LORD: b“Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Bab- ylon, and he shall take it; 4 “and Zedekiah king of Judah ashall not escape from the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him 1face to face, and see him beye to eye; 5 “then he shall alead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there he shall be buntil I visit him,” says the LORD; c“though you fight with the Chaldeans, you shall not succeed” ’?” 6 And Jeremiah said, “The word of the LORD came to me, saying, 7 ‘Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you, saying, “Buy my field which is in Anathoth, for the aright of redemption is yours to buy it.” ’ 8 “Then Hanamel my uncle’s son came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the LORD, and said to me, ‘Please buy my field that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin; for the right of inheritance is yours, and the re- demption yours; buy it for yourself.’ Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD. 9 “So I bought the field from Han- amel, the son of my uncle who was in Anathoth, and aweighed out to him the money—seventeen shekels of silver. 10 “And I signed the 1deed and sealed it, took witnesses, and weighed the money on the scales. 11 “So I took the purchase deed, both that which was sealed accord- ing to the law and custom, and that which was open; 12 “and I gave the purchase deed to aBaruch the son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Han- amel my uncle’s son, and in the presence of the bwitnesses who signed the purchase deed, before all the Jews who sat in the court of the prison. 13 “Then I charged aBaruch before them, saying, 14 ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Take these deeds, both this purchase deed which is sealed and this deed which is open, and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may last many days.” 15 ‘For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Houses and fields and vineyards shall be apossessed again in this land.” ’ Jeremiah Prays for Understanding 16 “Now when I had delivered the purchase deed to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the LORD, saying: 17 ‘Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, aYou have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and out- stretched arm.

se deed which is sealed and this deed which is open, and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may last many days.” 15 ‘For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Houses and fields and vineyards shall be apossessed again in this land.” ’ Jeremiah Prays for Understanding 16 “Now when I had delivered the purchase deed to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the LORD, saying: 17 ‘Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, aYou have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and out- stretched arm. bThere is nothing too 1hard for You. 18 ‘You show alovingkindness to thousands, and repay the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them—the Great, bthe Mighty God, whose name is cthe LORD of hosts. 19 ‘You are agreat in counsel and mighty in 1work, for Your beyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, cto give everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings. 20 ‘You have set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, to this day, and in Israel and among other men; and You have made Yourself aa name, as it is this day. 21 ‘You ahave brought Your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and with great terror; 22 ‘You have given them this land, of which You swore to their fathers 36 aPs. 148:6 37 aJer. 33:22 b[Rom. 11:2–5, 26, 27] 38 aZech. 14:10 39 aZech. 2:1, 2 40 aNeh. 3:28 b[Joel 3:17] CHAPTER 32 1 aJer. 39:1, 2 2 aJer. 33:1; 37:21; 39:14 3 aJer. 26:8, 9 bJer. 21:3–7; 34:2 4 aJer. 34:3; 38:18, 23; 39:5; 52:9 bJer. 39:5 1Lit. mouth to mouth 5 aEzek. 12:12, 13 bJer. 27:22 cJer. 21:4; 33:5 7 aRuth 4:4 9 aZech. 11:12 10 1Lit. book 12 aJer. 36:4 bIs. 8:2 13 aJer. 36:4 15 a[Jer. 31:5, 12, 14] 17 a2 Kin. 19:15 bLuke 18:27 1diffi- cult 18 aDeut. 5:9, 10 b[Is. 9:6] cJer. 10:16 19 aIs. 28:29 bProv. 5:21 cJer. 17:10 1deed 20 aIs. 63:12 21 aEx. 6:6

695 JEREMIAH 33:5 to give them—a“a land flowing with milk and honey.” 23 ‘And they came in and took pos- session of it, but athey have not obeyed Your voice or walked in Your law. They have done nothing of all that You commanded them to do; therefore You have caused all this calamity to come upon them. 24 ‘Look, the siege mounds! They have come to the city to take it; and the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans who fight against it, because of athe sword and famine and pestilence. What You have spo- ken has happened; there You see it! 25 ‘And You have said to me, O Lord GOD, “Buy the field for money, and take witnesses”!—yet the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans.’ ” God’s Assurance of the People’s Return 26 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, 27 “Behold, I am the LORD, the aGod of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me? 28 “Therefore thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it. 29 ‘And the Chaldeans who fight against this city shall come and aset fire to this city and burn it, with the houses bon whose roofs they have offered incense to Baal and poured out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke Me to anger; 30 ‘because the children of Israel and the children of Judah ahave done only evil before Me from their youth. For the children of Israel have provoked Me only to anger with the work of their hands,’ says the LORD. 31 ‘For this city has been to Me a provocation of My anger and My fury from the day that they built it, even to this day; aso I will remove it from before My face 32 ‘because of all the evil of the children of Israel and the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke Me to anger—athey, their kings, their princes, their priests, btheir prophets, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 33 ‘And they have turned to Me the aback, and not the face; though I taught them, brising up early and teaching them, yet they have not lis- tened to receive instruction. 34 ‘But they aset their abomina- tions in 1the house which is called by My name, to defile it. 35 ‘And they built the high places of Baal which are in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to acause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire to bMolech, cwhich I did not command them, nor did it come into My mind that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.’ 36 “Now therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, ‘It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence’: 37 ‘Behold, I will agather them out of all countries where I have driven them in My anger, in My fury, and in great wrath; I will bring them back to this place, and I will cause them bto dwell safely. 38 ‘They shall be aMy people, and I will be their God; 39 ‘then I will agive them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them. 40 ‘And aI will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but bI will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me. 41 ‘Yes, aI will rejoice over them to do them good, and bI will 1assuredly plant them in this land, with all My heart and with all My soul.’ 42 “For thus says the LORD: a‘Just as I have brought all this great ca- lamity on this people, so I will bring on them all the good that I have promised them. 43 ‘And fields will be bought in this land aof which you say, “It is deso- late, without man or beast; it has been given into the hand of the Chal- deans.” 44 ‘Men will buy fields for money, sign deeds and seal them, and take witnesses, in athe land of Benjamin, in the places around Jerusalem, in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the 1lowland, and in the cities of the 2South; for bI will cause their cap-

ll bring on them all the good that I have promised them. 43 ‘And fields will be bought in this land aof which you say, “It is deso- late, without man or beast; it has been given into the hand of the Chal- deans.” 44 ‘Men will buy fields for money, sign deeds and seal them, and take witnesses, in athe land of Benjamin, in the places around Jerusalem, in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the 1lowland, and in the cities of the 2South; for bI will cause their cap- tives to return,’ says the LORD.” Excellence of the Restored Nation 33 Moreover the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah a sec- ond time, while he was still ashut up in the court of the prison, saying, 2 “Thus says the LORD awho made it, the LORD who formed it to estab- lish it b(the1 LORD is His name): 3 a‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and 1mighty things, which you do not know.’ 4 “For thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city and the houses of the kings of Judah, which have been pulled down to fortify against athe siege mounds and the sword: 5 ‘They come to fight with the Chaldeans, but only to afill their places with the dead bodies of men whom I will slay in My anger and My fury, all for whose wickedness I have hidden My face from this city. 22 aEx. 3:8, 17 23 a[Neh. 9:26] 24 aJer. 14:12 27 a[Num. 16:22] 29 a2 Chr. 36:19 bJer. 19:13 30 aJer. 2:7; 3:25; 7:22–26 31 a2 Kin. 23:27; 24:3 32 aDan. 9:8 bJer. 23:14 33 aJer. 2:27; 7:24 bJer. 7:13 34 aJer. 7:10–12, 30; 23:11 1The temple 35 aJer. 7:31; 19:5 bLev. 18:21 cJer. 7:31 37 aDeut. 30:3 bJer. 33:16 38 a[Jer. 24:7; 30:22; 31:33] 39 a[Ezek. 11:19] 40 aIs. 55:3 b[Jer. 31:33] 41 aDeut. 30:9 bAmos 9:15 1truly 42 aJer. 31:28 43 aJer. 33:10 44 aJer. 17:26 bJer. 33:7, 11 1Heb. shep- helah 2Heb. Negev CHAPTER 33 1 aJer. 32:2, 3 2 aIs. 37:26 bEx. 15:3 1Heb. YHWH 3 aJer. 29:12 1inaccessible 4 aIs. 22:10 5 a2 Kin. 23:14

JEREMIAH 33:6 696 6 ‘Behold, aI will bring it health and healing; I will heal them and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth. 7 ‘And aI will cause the captives of Judah and the captives of Israel to return, and will rebuild those places bas at the first. 8 ‘I will acleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned and by which they have transgressed against Me. 9 a‘Then it shall be to Me a name of joy, a praise, and an honor before all nations of the earth, who shall hear all the good that I do to them; they shall bfear and tremble for all the goodness and all the prosperity that I provide for it.’ 10 “Thus says the LORD: ‘Again there shall be heard in this place— aof which you say, “It is desolate, without man and without beast”—in the cities of Judah, in the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man and without inhabitant and without beast, 11 ‘the avoice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bride- groom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who will say: b“Praise the LORD of hosts, For the LORD is good, For His mercy endures forever”— and of those who will bring athe sac- rifice of praise into the house of the LORD. For I will cause the captives of the land to return as at the first,’ says the LORD. 12 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: a‘In this place which is desolate, without man and without beast, and in all its cities, there shall again be a dwelling place of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down. 13 a‘In the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the lowland, in the cities of the South, in the land of Benjamin, in the places around Je- rusalem, and in the cities of Judah, the flocks shall again bpass under the hands of him who counts them,’ says the LORD. 14 a‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the LORD, ‘that bI will perform that good thing which I have prom- ised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah: 15 ‘In those days and at that time I will cause to grow up to David A aBranch of righteousness; He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. 16 In those days Judah will be saved, And Jerusalem will dwell safely. And this is the name by which she will be called: 1THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.’ 17 “For thus says the LORD: ‘David shall never alack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel; 18 ‘nor shall the apriests, the Levites, lack a man to boffer burnt offerings before Me, to 1kindle grain offerings, and to sacrifice continually.’ ” The Permanence of God’s Covenant 19 And the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, 20 “Thus says the LORD: ‘If you can break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night, so that there will not be day and night in their season, 21 ‘then aMy covenant may also be broken with David My servant, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levites, the priests, My ministers. 22 ‘As athe host of heaven cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured, so will I bmultiply the descendants of David My servant and the cLevites who minister to Me.’ ” 23 Moreover the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, 24 “Have you not considered what these people have spoken, saying, ‘The two families which the LORD has chosen, He has also cast them off’? Thus they have adespised My people, as if they should no more be a nation before them. 25 “Thus says the LORD: ‘If aMy covenant is not with day and night, and if I have not bappointed the ordi- nances of heaven and earth, 26 a‘then I will bcast away the de- scendants of Jacob and David My servant, so that I will not take any of his descendants to be rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

e spoken, saying, ‘The two families which the LORD has chosen, He has also cast them off’? Thus they have adespised My people, as if they should no more be a nation before them. 25 “Thus says the LORD: ‘If aMy covenant is not with day and night, and if I have not bappointed the ordi- nances of heaven and earth, 26 a‘then I will bcast away the de- scendants of Jacob and David My servant, so that I will not take any of his descendants to be rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will cause their cap- tives to return, and will have mercy on them.’ ” Zedekiah Warned by God 34 The word which came to Jere- miah from the LORD, awhen Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army, ball the kingdoms of the earth under his dominion, and all the people, fought against Jerusalem and all its cities, saying, 2 “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: ‘Go and aspeak to Zedekiah king of Judah and tell him, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, bI will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire. 3 ‘And ayou shall not escape from his hand, but shall surely be taken and delivered into his hand; your 6 aJer. 30:17 7 aJer. 30:3; 32:44 bIs. 1:26 8 aZech. 13:1 9 aIs. 62:7 bIs. 60:5 10 aJer. 32:43 11 aRev. 18:23 bIs. 12:4 cLev. 7:12 12 aIs. 65:10 13 aJer. 17:26; 32:44 bLev. 27:33 14 aJer. 23:5; 31:27, 31 bJer. 29:10; 32:42 15 aJer. 23:5 16 1Heb. YHWH Tsid- kenu; cf. Jer. 23:5, 6 17 a2 Sam. 7:16 18 aEzek. 44:15 b[1 Pet. 2:5, 9] 1burn 21 a2 Sam. 23:5; Ps. 89:34 22 aGen. 15:5; 22:17 bJer. 30:19 cIs. 66:21 24 aEsth. 3:6–8 25 aGen. 8:22 bPs. 74:16; 104:19 26 aJer. 31:37 bRom. 11:1, 2 CHAPTER 34 1 a2 Kin. 25:1 bJer. 1:15; 25:9 2 a2 Chr. 36:11, 12 bJer. 21:10; 32:3, 28 3 a2 Kin. 25:4, 5

697 JEREMIAH 35:6 eyes shall see the eyes of the king of Babylon, he shall speak with you bface1 to face, and you shall go to Babylon.’ ” ’ 4 “Yet hear the word of the LORD, O Zedekiah king of Judah! Thus says the LORD concerning you: ‘You shall not die by the sword. 5 ‘You shall die in peace; as in athe ceremonies of your fathers, the for- mer kings who were before you, bso they shall burn incense for you and clament for you, saying, “Alas, lord!” For I have pronounced the word, says the LORD.’ ” 6 Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem, 7 when the king of Babylon’s army fought against Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish and Azekah; for only athese fortified cities remained of the cities of Judah. Treacherous Treatment of Slaves 8 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people who were at Jerusalem to proclaim aliberty to them: 9 athat every man should set free his male and female slave—a Hebrew man or woman—bthat no one should keep a Jewish brother in bondage. 10 Now when all the princes and all the people, who had entered into the covenant, heard that everyone should set free his male and female slaves, that no one should keep them in bondage anymore, they obeyed and let them go. 11 But afterward they changed their minds and made the male and female slaves return, whom they had set free, and brought them into sub- jection as male and female slaves. 12 Therefore the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 13 “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: ‘I made a acovenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, saying, 14 “At the end of aseven years let every man set free his Hebrew brother, who 1has been sold to him; and when he has served you six years, you shall let him go free from you.” But your fathers did not obey Me nor incline their ear. 15 ‘Then you 1recently turned and did what was right in My sight— every man proclaiming liberty to his neighbor; and you amade a cove- nant before Me bin the house which is called by My name. 16 ‘Then you turned around and aprofaned My name, and every one of you brought back his male and female slaves, whom you had set at liberty, at their pleasure, and brought them back into subjection, to be your male and female slaves.’ 17 “Therefore thus says the LORD: ‘You have not obeyed Me in pro- claiming liberty, every one to his brother and every one to his neigh- bor. aBehold, I proclaim liberty to you,’ says the LORD—b‘to the sword, to pestilence, and to famine! And I will deliver you to ctrouble among all the kingdoms of the earth. 18 ‘And I will give the men who have transgressed My covenant, who have not performed the words of the covenant which they made before Me, when athey cut the calf in two and passed between the parts of it— 19 ‘the princes of Judah, the princes of Jerusalem, the 1eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf— 20 ‘I will agive them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their life. Their bdead bodies shall be for meat for the birds of the heaven and the beasts of the earth. 21 ‘And I will give Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes into the hand of their enemies, into the hand of those who seek their life, and into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army awhich has gone back from you. 22 a‘Behold, I will command,’ says the LORD, ‘and cause them to return to this city.

calf— 20 ‘I will agive them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their life. Their bdead bodies shall be for meat for the birds of the heaven and the beasts of the earth. 21 ‘And I will give Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes into the hand of their enemies, into the hand of those who seek their life, and into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army awhich has gone back from you. 22 a‘Behold, I will command,’ says the LORD, ‘and cause them to return to this city. They will fight against it band take it and burn it with fire; and cI will make the cities of Judah a desolation without inhabitant.’ ” The Obedient Rechabites 35 The word which came to Jere- miah from the LORD in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying, 2 “Go to the house of the aRech- abites, speak to them, and bring them into the house of the LORD, into one of bthe chambers, and give them wine to drink.” 3 Then I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, his brothers and all his sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites, 4 and I brought them into the house of the LORD, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, a man of God, which was by the chamber of the princes, above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, athe keeper of the 1door. 5 Then I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites bowls full of wine, and cups; and I said to them, “Drink wine.” 6 But they said, “We will drink no wine, for aJonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, 3 bJer. 32:4; 39:5, 6 1Lit. mouth to mouth 5 a2 Chr. 16:14; 21:19 bDan. 2:46 cJer. 22:18 7 a2 Kin. 18:13; 19:8 8 aEx. 21:2 9 aNeh. 5:11 bLev. 25:39–46 13 aEx. 24:3, 7, 8 14 aDeut. 15:12 1Or sold himself 15 aNeh. 10:29 bJer. 7:10 1Lit. today 16 aEx. 20:7 17 a[Matt. 7:2] bJer. 32:24, 36 cDeut. 28:25, 64 18 aGen. 15:10, 17 19 1Or officers 20 aJer. 22:25 bJer. 7:33; 16:4; 19:7 21 aJer. 37:5–11; 39:4–7 22 aJer. 37:8, 10 bJer. 38:3; 39:1, 2, 8; 52:7, 13 cJer. 9:11; 44:2, 6 CHAPTER 35 2 a1 Chr. 2:55 b1 Kin. 6:5, 8 4 a1 Chr. 9:18, 19 1Lit. threshold 6 a2 Kin. 10:15, 23

JEREMIAH 35:7 698 saying, ‘You shall drink bno wine, you nor your sons, forever. 7 ‘You shall not build a house, sow seed, plant a vineyard, nor have any of these; but all your days you shall dwell in tents, athat you may live many days in the land where you are sojourners.’ 8 “Thus we have aobeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he charged us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, or our daughters, 9 “nor to build ourselves houses to dwell in; nor do we have vine- yard, field, or seed. 10 “But we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed and done according to all that Jonadab our father com- manded us. 11 “But it came to pass, when Neb- uchadnezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, that we said, ‘Come, let us ago to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans and for fear of the army of the Syri- ans.’ So we dwell at Jerusalem.” 12 Then came the word of the LORD to Jeremiah, saying, 13 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Go and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, “Will you not areceive instruction to 1obey My words?” says the LORD. 14 “The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, which he commanded his sons, not to drink wine, are per- formed; for to this day they drink none, and obey their father’s com- mandment. aBut although I have spoken to you, brising early and speaking, you did not 1obey Me. 15 “I have also sent to you all My aservants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, b‘Turn now everyone from his evil way, amend your doings, and do not go after other gods to serve them; then you will cdwell in the land which I have given you and your fathers.’ But you have not inclined your ear, nor obeyed Me. 16 “Surely the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have performed the commandment of their afather, which he commanded them, but this peo- ple has not obeyed Me.” ’ 17 “Therefore thus says the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will bring on Judah and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the doom that I have pronounced against them; abecause I have spo- ken to them but they have not heard, and I have called to them but they have not answered.’ ” 18 And Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Because you have obeyed the com- mandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts and done according to all that he commanded you, 19 ‘therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not lack a man to astand before Me forever.” ’ ” The Scroll Read in the Temple 36 Now it came to pass in the afourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, that this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying: 2 “Take a ascroll of a book and bwrite on it all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel, against Judah, and against call the nations, from the day I spoke to you, from the days of dJosiah even to this day. 3 “It amay be that the house of Judah will hear all the adversities which I purpose to bring upon them, that everyone may bturn from his evil way, that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.” 4 Then Jeremiah acalled Baruch the son of Neriah; and bBaruch wrote on a scroll of a book, 1at the instruction of Jeremiah, all the words of the LORD which He had spoken to him. 5 And Jeremiah commanded Bar- uch, saying, “I am confined, I cannot go into the house of the LORD. 6 “You go, therefore, and read from the scroll which you have writ- ten 1at my instruction, the words of the LORD, in the hearing of the peo- ple in the LORD’s house on athe day of fasting. And you shall also read them in the hearing of all Judah who come from their cities. 7 “It may be that they will present their supplication before the LORD, and everyone will turn from his evil way.

oken to him. 5 And Jeremiah commanded Bar- uch, saying, “I am confined, I cannot go into the house of the LORD. 6 “You go, therefore, and read from the scroll which you have writ- ten 1at my instruction, the words of the LORD, in the hearing of the peo- ple in the LORD’s house on athe day of fasting. And you shall also read them in the hearing of all Judah who come from their cities. 7 “It may be that they will present their supplication before the LORD, and everyone will turn from his evil way. For great is the anger and the fury that the LORD has pronounced against this people.” 8 And Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, read- ing from the book the words of the LORD in the LORD’s house. 9 Now it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, that they proclaimed a fast before the LORD to all the people in Jerusalem, and to all the people who came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem. 10 Then Baruch read from the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the LORD, in the chamber of Gem- ariah the son of Shaphan the scribe, in the upper court at the aentry of the New Gate of the LORD’s house, in the 1hearing of all the people. The Scroll Read in the Palace 11 When Michaiah the son of Gem- ariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the LORD from the book, 6 bLuke 1:15 7 aEx. 20:12 8 a[Col. 3:20] 11 aJer. 4:5–7; 8:14 13 aJer. 6:10; 17:23; 32:33 1listen to 14 a2 Chr. 36:15 bJer. 7:13; 25:3 1lis- ten to 15 aJer. 26:4, 5; 29:19 bJer. 18:11; 25:5, 6 cJer. 7:7; 25:5, 6 16 a[Heb. 12:9] 17 aProv. 1:24 19 aJer. 15:19 CHAPTER 36 1 aJer. 25:1, 3; 45:1 2 aZech. 5:1 bJer. 30:2 cJer. 25:15 dJer. 25:3 3 aJer. 26:3 bJon. 3:8 4 aJer. 32:12 bJer. 45:1 1Lit. from Jeremi- ah’s mouth 6 aActs 27:9 1Lit. from my mouth 10 aJer. 26:10 1Lit. ears

699 JEREMIAH 37:7 12 he then went down to the king’s house, into the scribe’s chamber; and there all the princes were sit- ting—aElishama the scribe, Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, bElnathan the son of Achbor, Gemariah the son of Shaphan, Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the princes. 13 Then Michaiah declared to them all the words that he had heard when Baruch read the book in the hearing of the people. 14 Therefore all the princes sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying, “Take in your hand the scroll from which you have read in the hearing of the people, and come.” So Baruch the son of Neriah took the scroll in his hand and came to them. 15 And they said to him, “Sit down now, and read it in our hearing.” So Baruch read it in their hearing. 16 Now it happened, when they had heard all the words, that they looked in fear from one to another, and said to Baruch, “We will surely tell the king of all these words.” 17 And they asked Baruch, saying, “Tell us now, how did you write all these words—1at his instruction?” 18 So Baruch answered them, “He proclaimed with his mouth all these words to me, and I wrote them with ink in the book.” 19 Then the princes said to Baruch, “Go and hide, you and Jeremiah; and let no one know where you are.” The King Destroys Jeremiah’s Scroll 20 And they went to the king, into the court; but they stored the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and told all the words in the hearing of the king. 21 So the king sent Jehudi to bring the scroll, and he took it from Eli- shama the scribe’s chamber. And Jehudi read it in the hearing of the king and in the hearing of all the princes who stood beside the king. 22 Now the king was sitting in athe winter house in the ninth month, with a fire burning on the hearth before him. 23 And it happened, when Jehudi had read three or four columns, that the king cut it with the scribe’s knife and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the scroll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth. 24 Yet they were anot afraid, nor did they btear their garments, the king nor any of his servants who heard all these words. 25 Nevertheless Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah implored the king not to burn the scroll; but he would not listen to them. 26 And the king commanded Jerah- meel 1the king’s son, Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet, but the LORD hid them. Jeremiah Rewrites the Scroll 27 Now after the king had burned the scroll with the words which Baruch had written 1at the instruc- tion of Jeremiah, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying: 28 “Take yet another scroll, and write on it all the former words that were in the first scroll which Je- hoiakim the king of Judah has burned. 29 “And you shall say to Jehoiakim king of Judah, ‘Thus says the LORD: “You have burned this scroll, saying, a‘Why have you written in it that the king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land, and cause man and beast to bcease from here?’ ” 30 ‘Therefore thus says the LORD concerning Jehoiakim king of Ju- dah: a“He shall have no one to sit on the throne of David, and his dead body shall be bcast out to the heat of the day and the frost of the night. 31 “I will punish him, his 1family, and his servants for their iniquity; and I will bring on them, on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and on the men of Judah all the doom that I have pronounced against them; but they did not heed.” ’ ” 32 Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah, who wrote on it 1at the instruction of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire.

the heat of the day and the frost of the night. 31 “I will punish him, his 1family, and his servants for their iniquity; and I will bring on them, on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and on the men of Judah all the doom that I have pronounced against them; but they did not heed.” ’ ” 32 Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah, who wrote on it 1at the instruction of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And besides, there were added to them many similar words. Zedekiah’s Vain Hope 37 Now King aZedekiah the son of Josiah reigned instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah. 2 aBut neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land gave heed to the words of the LORD which He spoke by the prophet Jeremiah. 3 And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and aZephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, b“Pray now to the LORD our God for us.” 4 Now Jeremiah was coming and going among the people, for they had not yet put him in prison. 5 Then aPharaoh’s army came up from Egypt; and when the Chalde- ans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news of them, they departed from Jerusalem. 6 Then the word of the LORD came to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, 7 “Thus says the LORD, the God of 12 aJer. 41:1 bJer. 26:22 17 1Lit. with his mouth 22 aJudg. 3:20; Amos 3:15 24 a[Ps. 36:1]; Jer. 36:16 bGen. 37:29, 34; 2 Sam. 1:11; 1 Kin. 21:27; 2 Kin. 19:1, 2; 22:11; Is. 36:22; 37:1; Jon. 3:6 26 1Or son of Hammelech 27 1Lit. from Jeremiah’s mouth 29 aJer. 32:3 bJer. 25:9–11; 26:9 30 aJer. 22:30 bJer. 22:19 31 1Lit. seed 32 1Lit. from Jeremiah’s mouth CHAPTER 37 1 a2 Kin. 24:17; 1 Chr. 3:15; 2 Chr. 36:10; Jer. 22:24 2 a2 Kin. 24:19, 20; 2 Chr. 36:12–16; [Prov. 29:12] 3 aJer. 21:1, 2; 29:25; 52:24 b1 Kin. 13:6; Jer. 42:2; Acts 8:24 5 a2 Kin. 24:7; Jer. 37:7; Ezek. 17:15

JEREMIAH 37:8 700 Israel, ‘Thus you shall say to the king of Judah, awho sent you to Me to inquire of Me: “Behold, Pharaoh’s army which has come up to help you will return to Egypt, to their own land. 8 a“And the Chaldeans shall come back and fight against this city, and take it and burn it with fire.” ’ 9 “Thus says the LORD: ‘Do not deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will surely depart from us,” for they will not depart. 10 a‘For though you had defeated the whole army of the Chaldeans who fight against you, and there remained only wounded men among them, they would rise up, every man in his tent, and burn the city with fire.’ ” Jeremiah Imprisoned 11 And it happened, when the army of the Chaldeans left the siege of Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh’s army, 12 that Jeremiah went out of Jeru- salem to go into the land of Ben- jamin to claim his property there among the people. 13 And when he was in the Gate of Benjamin, a captain of the guard was there whose name was Irijah the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “You are defect- ing to the Chaldeans!” 14 Then Jeremiah said, 1“False! I am not defecting to the Chaldeans.” But he did not listen to him. So Irijah seized Jeremiah and brought him to the princes. 15 Therefore the princes were an- gry with Jeremiah, and they struck him aand put him in prison in the bhouse of Jonathan the scribe. For they had made that the prison. 16 When Jeremiah entered athe dungeon and the cells, and Jeremiah had remained there many days, 17 then Zedekiah the king sent and took him out. The king asked him secretly in his house, and said, “Is there any word from the LORD?” And Jeremiah said, “There is.” Then he said, “You shall be adelivered into the hand of the king of Babylon!” 18 Moreover Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “What offense have I committed against you, against your servants, or against this people, that you have put me in prison? 19 “Where now are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you or against this land’? 20 “Therefore please hear now, O my lord the king. Please, let my peti- tion be accepted before you, and do not make me return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there.” 21 Then Zedekiah the king com- manded that they should commit Jeremiah ato the court of the prison, and that they should give him daily a piece of bread from the bakers’ street, buntil all the bread in the city was gone. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison. Jeremiah in the Dungeon 38 Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, aJucal1 the son of Shelemiah, and bPashhur the son of Malchiah cheard the words that Jeremiah had spoken to all the people, saying, 2 “Thus says the LORD: a‘He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he who goes over to the Chal- deans shall live; his life shall be as a prize to him, and he shall live.’ 3 “Thus says the LORD: a‘This city shall surely be bgiven into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, which shall take it.’ ” 4 Therefore the princes said to the king, “Please, alet this man be put to death, for thus he 1weakens the hands of the men of war who re- main in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man does not seek the 2welfare of this people, but their harm.” 5 Then Zedekiah the king said, “Look, he is in your hand. For the king can do nothing against you.” 6 aSo they took Jeremiah and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah 1the king’s son, which was in the court of the prison, and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire. So Jeremiah sank in the mire. 7 aNow Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, one of the 1eunuchs, who was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon.

is people, but their harm.” 5 Then Zedekiah the king said, “Look, he is in your hand. For the king can do nothing against you.” 6 aSo they took Jeremiah and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah 1the king’s son, which was in the court of the prison, and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire. So Jeremiah sank in the mire. 7 aNow Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, one of the 1eunuchs, who was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon. When the king was sitting at the Gate of Ben- jamin, 8 Ebed-Melech went out of the king’s house and spoke to the king, saying: 9 “My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dun- geon, and he is likely to die from hunger in the place where he is. For there is ano more bread in the city.” 10 Then the king commanded Ebed- Melech the Ethiopian, saying, “Take from here thirty men with you, and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon before he dies.” 11 So Ebed-Melech took the men with him and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took from there old clothes and old rags, and let them down by ropes into the dungeon to Jeremiah. 12 Then Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Please put these old clothes and rags under your arm- 7 aIs. 36:6; Jer. 21:2; Ezek. 17:17 8 a2 Chr. 36:19; Jer. 34:22 10 aLev. 26:36–38; Is. 30:17; Jer. 21:4, 5 14 1a lie 15 aJer. 20:2; [Matt. 21:35] bGen. 39:20; 2 Chr. 16:10; 18:26; Jer. 38:26; Acts 5:18 16 aJer. 38:6 17 a2 Kin. 25:4–7; Jer. 21:7; Ezek. 12:12, 13; 17:19–21 21 aJer. 32:2; 38:13, 28 b2 Kin. 25:3; Jer. 38:9; 52:6 CHAPTER 38 1 aJer. 37:3 bJer. 21:1 cJer. 21:8 1Jehucal, Jer. 37:3 2 aJer. 21:9 3 aJer. 21:10; 32:3 bJer. 34:2 4 aJer. 26:11 1Is discourag- ing 2Well- being; lit. peace 6 aJer. 37:21; Lam. 3:55 1Or son of Ham- melech 7 aJer. 39:16 1Or officers 9 aJer. 37:21

701 JEREMIAH 39:9 pits, under the ropes.” And Jeremiah did so. 13 So they pulled Jeremiah up with ropes and lifted him out of the dun- geon. And Jeremiah remained ain the court of the prison. Zedekiah’s Fears and Jeremiah’s Advice 14 Then Zedekiah the king sent and had Jeremiah the prophet brought to him at the third entrance of the house of the LORD. And the king said to Jeremiah, “I will aask you some- thing. Hide nothing from me.” 15 Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I declare it to you, will you not surely put me to death? And if I give you advice, you will not listen to me.” 16 So Zedekiah the king swore secretly to Jeremiah, saying, “As the LORD lives, awho made our very souls, I will not put you to death, nor will I give you into the hand of these men who seek your life.” 17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘If you surely asurrender1 bto the king of Babylon’s princes, then your soul shall live; this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live. 18 ‘But if you do not 1surrender to the king of Babylon’s princes, then this city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans; they shall burn it with fire, and ayou shall not escape from their hand.’ ” 19 And Zedekiah the king said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Jews who have adefected to the Chalde- ans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they babuse me.” 20 But Jeremiah said, “They shall not deliver you. Please, obey the voice of the LORD which I speak to you. So it shall be awell with you, and your soul shall live. 21 “But if you refuse to 1surrender, this is the word that the LORD has shown me: 22 ‘Now behold, all the awomen who are left in the king of Judah’s house shall be surrendered to the king of Babylon’s princes, and those women shall say: “Your close friends have 1set upon you And prevailed against you; Your feet have sunk in the mire, And they have 2turned away again.” 23 ‘So they shall surrender all your wives and achildren to the Chalde- ans. bYou shall not escape from their hand, but shall be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon. And you shall cause this city to be burned with fire.’ ” 24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no one know of these words, and you shall not die. 25 “But if the princes hear that I have talked with you, and they come to you and say to you, ‘Declare to us now what you have said to the king, and also what the king said to you; do not hide it from us, and we will not put you to death,’ 26 “then you shall say to them, a‘I presented my request before the king, that he would not make me return bto Jonathan’s house to die there.’ ” 27 Then all the princes came to Je- remiah and asked him. And he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded. So they stopped speaking with him, for the conversation had not been heard. 28 Now aJeremiah remained in the court of the prison until the day that Jerusalem was taken. And he was there when Jerusalem was taken. The Fall of Jerusalem 39 In the aninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem, and besieged it. 2 In the aeleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, the 1city was penetrated. 3 aThen all the princes of the king of Babylon came in and sat in the Middle Gate: Nergal-Sharezer, Samgar-Nebo, Sarsechim, 1Rabsaris, Nergal-Sarezer, 2Rabmag, with the rest of the princes of the king of Babylon. 4 aSo it was, when Zedekiah the king of Judah and all the men of war saw them, that they fled and went out of the city by night, by way of the king’s garden, by the gate between the two walls. And he went out by way of the 1plain. 5 But the Chaldean army pursued them and aovertook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho.

e king of Babylon came in and sat in the Middle Gate: Nergal-Sharezer, Samgar-Nebo, Sarsechim, 1Rabsaris, Nergal-Sarezer, 2Rabmag, with the rest of the princes of the king of Babylon. 4 aSo it was, when Zedekiah the king of Judah and all the men of war saw them, that they fled and went out of the city by night, by way of the king’s garden, by the gate between the two walls. And he went out by way of the 1plain. 5 But the Chaldean army pursued them and aovertook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. And when they had captured him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, to bRiblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced judg- ment on him. 6 Then the king of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah before his aeyes in Riblah; the king of Babylon also killed all the bnobles of Judah. 7 Moreover ahe put out Zedekiah’s eyes, and bound him with bronze 1fetters to carry him off to Babylon. 8 aAnd the Chaldeans burned the king’s house and the houses of the people with bfire, and broke down the cwalls of Jerusalem. 9 aThen Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive to Babylon the remnant of the people who remained in the city and those 13 aNeh. 3:25; Jer. 37:21; Acts 23:35; 24:27; 28:16, 30 14 aJer. 21:1, 2; 37:17 16 aNum. 16:22; Is. 57:16; Zech. 12:1; [Acts 17:25, 28] 17 a2 Kin. 24:12 bJer. 39:3 1Lit. go out 18 aJer. 32:4; 34:3 1Lit. go out 19 aJer. 39:9 b1 Sam. 31:4 20 aJer. 40:9 21 1Lit. go out 22 aJer. 8:10 1Or misled 2Deserted you 23 aJer. 39:6; 41:10 bJer. 39:5 26 aJer. 37:20 bJer. 37:15 28 a[Ps. 23:4]; Jer. 37:21; 39:14 CHAPTER 39 1 a2 Kin. 25:1–12; Jer. 52:4; Ezek. 24:1, 2 2 aJer. 1:3 1city wall was breached 3 aJer. 1:15; 38:17 1A title, probably Chief Officer; also v. 13 2A title, probably Troop Com- mander; also v. 13 4 a2 Kin. 25:4; Is. 30:16; Jer. 52:7; Amos 2:14 1Or Arabah; the Jordan Valley 5 aJer. 21:7; 32:4; 38:18, 23 b2 Kin. 23:33; Jer. 52:9, 26, 27 6 aDeut. 28:34 bJer. 34:19–21 7 a2 Kin. 25:7; Jer. 52:11; Ezek. 12:13 1chains 8 a2 Kin. 25:9; Jer. 38:18; 52:13 bJer. 21:10 c2 Kin. 25:10; Neh. 1:3; Jer. 52:14 9 a2 Kin. 25:8, 11, 12, 20

JEREMIAH 39:10 702 who bdefected to him, with the rest of the people who remained. 10 But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left in the land of Judah the apoor people, who had nothing, and gave them vineyards and fields 1at the same time. Jeremiah Goes Free 11 Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave charge concerning Jeremiah to Nebuzaradan the cap- tain of the guard, saying, 12 “Take him and look after him, and do him no aharm; but do to him just as he says to you.” 13 So Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard sent Nebushasban, Rab- saris, Nergal-Sharezer, Rabmag, and all the king of Babylon’s chief officers; 14 then they sent someone ato take Jeremiah from the court of the prison, and committed him bto Gedaliah the son of cAhikam, the son of Shaphan, that he should take him home. So he dwelt among the people. 15 Meanwhile the word of the LORD had come to Jeremiah while he was shut up in the court of the prison, saying, 16 “Go and speak to aEbed-Melech the Ethiopian, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, bI will bring My words upon this city for adversity and not for good, and they shall be per- formed in that day before you. 17 “But I will deliver you in that day,” says the LORD, “and you shall not be given into the hand of the men of whom you are afraid. 18 “For I will surely deliver you, and you shall not fall by the sword; but ayour life shall be as a prize to you, bbecause you have put your trust in Me,” says the LORD.’ ” Jeremiah with Gedaliah the Governor 40 The word that came to Jere- miah from the LORD aafter Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had let him go from Ramah, when he had taken him bound in chains among all who were carried away captive from Jerusalem and Judah, who were carried away cap- tive to Babylon. 2 And the captain of the guard took Jeremiah and asaid to him: “The LORD your God has pronounced this doom on this place. 3 “Now the LORD has brought it, and has done just as He said. aBecause you people have sinned against the LORD, and not obeyed His voice, therefore this thing has come upon you. 4 “And now look, I free you this day from the chains that 1were on your hand. aIf it seems good to you to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will look after you. But if it seems wrong for you to come with me to Babylon, remain here. See, ball the land is before you; wherever it seems good and convenient for you to go, go there.” 5 Now while Jeremiah had not yet gone back, Nebuzaradan said, “Go back to aGedaliah the son of Ahi- kam, the son of Shaphan, bwhom the king of Babylon has made gov- ernor over the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people. Or go wherever it seems convenient for you to go.” So the captain of the guard gave him rations and a gift and let him go. 6 aThen Jeremiah went to Geda- liah the son of Ahikam, to bMizpah, and dwelt with him among the peo- ple who were left in the land. 7 aAnd when all the captains of the armies who were in the fields, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam governor in the land, and had committed to him men, women, children, and bthe poorest of the land who had not been carried away cap- tive to Babylon, 8 then they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah—aIshmael the son of Netha- niah, bJohanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and cJezaniah1 the son of a dMaachathite, they and their men. 9 And Gedaliah the son of Ahi- kam, the son of Shaphan, took an oath before them and their men, saying, “Do not be afraid to serve the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be awell with you. 10 “As for me, I will indeed dwell at Mizpah and serve the Chaldeans who come to us.

on of Netha- niah, bJohanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and cJezaniah1 the son of a dMaachathite, they and their men. 9 And Gedaliah the son of Ahi- kam, the son of Shaphan, took an oath before them and their men, saying, “Do not be afraid to serve the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be awell with you. 10 “As for me, I will indeed dwell at Mizpah and serve the Chaldeans who come to us. But you, gather wine and summer fruit and oil, put them in your vessels, and dwell in your cities that you have taken.” 11 Likewise, when all the Jews who were in Moab, among the Ammonites, in Edom, and who were in all the countries, heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant of Judah, and that he had set over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, 12 then all the Jews areturned out of all places where they had been driven, and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and gathered wine and summer fruit in abundance. 13 Moreover Johanan the son of Kareah and all the captains of the forces that were in the fields came to Gedaliah at Mizpah, 14 and said to him, 1“Do you cer- tainly know that aBaalis the king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to murder you?” 9 bJer. 38:19 10 aJer. 40:7 1Lit. on that day 12 aJer. 1:18, 19; 15:20, 21 14 aJer. 38:28 bJer. 40:5 c2 Kin. 22:12, 14; 2 Chr. 34:20; Jer. 26:24 16 aJer. 38:7, 12 bJer. 21:10; [Dan. 9:12; Zech. 1:6] 18 aJer. 21:9; 45:5 b1 Chr. 5:20; Ps. 37:40; [Jer. 17:7, 8] CHAPTER 40 1 aJer. 39:9, 11 2 aJer. 50:7 3 aDeut. 29:24, 25; Jer. 50:7; Dan. 9:11; [Rom. 2:5] 4 aJer. 39:12 bGen. 20:15 1Or are 5 aJer. 39:14 b2 Kin. 25:22; Jer. 41:10 6 aJer. 39:14 bJudg. 20:1; 1 Sam. 7:5; 2 Chr. 16:6 7 a2 Kin. 25:23, 24 bJer. 39:10 8 aJer. 41:1–10 bJer. 41:11; 43:2 cJer. 42:1 dDeut. 3:14; Josh. 12:5; 2 Sam. 10:6 1Jaazaniah, 2 Kin. 25:23 9 aJer. 27:11; 38:17–20 12 aJer. 43:5 14 aJer. 41:10 1Or Certainly you know that

703 JEREMIAH 42:4 But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam did not believe them. 15 Then Johanan the son of Ka- reah spoke secretly to Gedaliah in Mizpah, saying, “Let me go, please, and I will kill Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no one will know it. Why should he murder you, so that all the Jews who are gathered to you would be scattered, and the arem- nant in Judah perish?” 16 But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, “You shall not do this thing, for you speak falsely concerning Ishmael.” Insurrection Against Gedaliah 41 Now it came to pass in the seventh month athat Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal 1family and of the officers of the king, came with ten men to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, at bMizpah. And there they ate bread together in Mizpah. 2 Then Ishmael the son of Netha- niah, and the ten men who were with him, arose and astruck Gedaliah the son of bAhikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword, and killed him whom the king of Babylon had made cgov- ernor over the land. 3 Ishmael also struck down all the Jews who were with him, that is, with Gedaliah at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans who were found there, the men of war. 4 And it happened, on the second day after he had killed Gedaliah, when as yet no one knew it, 5 that certain men came from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, eighty men awith their beards shaved and their clothes torn, having cut themselves, with offerings and incense in their hand, to bring them to bthe house of the LORD. 6 Now Ishmael the son of Netha- niah went out from Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he went along; and it happened as he met them that he said to them, “Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam!” 7 So it was, when they came into the midst of the city, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah akilled them and cast them into the midst of a 1pit, he and the men who were with him. 8 But ten men were found among them who said to Ishmael, “Do not kill us, for we have treasures of wheat, barley, oil, and honey in the field.” So he desisted and did not kill them among their brethren. 9 Now the 1pit into which Ishmael had cast all the dead bodies of the men whom he had slain, because of Gedaliah, was athe same one Asa the king had made for fear of Baasha king of Israel. Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain. 10 Then Ishmael carried away cap- tive all the arest of the people who were in Mizpah, bthe king’s daugh- ters and all the people who re- mained in Mizpah, cwhom Neb- uzaradan the captain of the guard had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam.

brethren. 9 Now the 1pit into which Ishmael had cast all the dead bodies of the men whom he had slain, because of Gedaliah, was athe same one Asa the king had made for fear of Baasha king of Israel. Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain. 10 Then Ishmael carried away cap- tive all the arest of the people who were in Mizpah, bthe king’s daugh- ters and all the people who re- mained in Mizpah, cwhom Neb- uzaradan the captain of the guard had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah carried them away cap- tive and departed to go over to dthe Ammonites. 11 But when aJohanan the son of Kareah and all the captains of the forces that were with him heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done, 12 they took all the men and went to fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah; and they found him by athe great pool that is in Gibeon. 13 So it was, when all the people who were with Ishmael saw Jo- hanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces who were with him, that they were glad. 14 Then all the people whom Ish- mael had carried away captive from Mizpah turned around and came back, and went to Johanan the son of Kareah. 15 But Ishmael the son of Netha- niah escaped from Johanan with eight men and went to the Ammonites. 16 Then Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, took from Mizpah all the arest of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah after he had murdered Gedaliah the son of Ahikam—the mighty men of war and the women and the children and the eunuchs, whom he had brought back from Gibeon. 17 And they departed and dwelt in the habitation of aChimham, which is near Bethlehem, as they went on their way to bEgypt, 18 because of the Chaldeans; for they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had murdered Gedaliah the son of Ahi- kam, awhom the king of Babylon had made governor in the land. The Flight to Egypt Forbidden 42 Now all the captains of the forces, aJohanan the son of Kareah, Jezaniah the son of Ho- shaiah, and all the people, from the least to the greatest, came near 2 and said to Jeremiah the prophet, a“Please, let our petition be accept- able to you, and bpray for us to the LORD your God, for all this remnant (since we are left but ca few of many, as you can see), 3 “that the LORD your God may show us athe way in which we should walk and the thing we should do.” 4 Then Jeremiah the prophet said to them, “I have heard. Indeed, I will pray to the LORD your God according to your words, and it shall be, that 15 aJer. 42:2 CHAPTER 41 1 a2 Kin. 25:25 bJer. 40:6, 10 1Lit. seed 2 a2 Sam. 3:27; 20:9, 10; 2 Kin. 25:25; Ps. 41:9; 109:5; John 13:18 bJer. 26:24 cJer. 40:5 5 aLev. 19:27, 28; Deut. 14:1; Is. 15:2 b1 Sam. 1:7; 2 Kin. 25:9; Neh. 10:34, 35 7 aPs. 55:23; Is. 59:7; Ezek. 22:27; 33:24, 26 1Or cistern 9 a1 Kin. 15:22; 2 Chr. 16:6 1Or cis- tern 10 aJer. 40:11, 12 bJer. 43:6 cJer. 40:7 dJer. 40:14 11 aJer. 40:7, 8, 13–16 12 a2 Sam. 2:13 16 aJer. 40:11, 12; 43:4–7 17 a2 Sam. 19:37, 38 bJer. 43:7 18 aJer. 40:5 CHAPTER 42 1 aJer. 40:8, 13; 41:11 2 aJer. 15:11 bEx. 8:28; 1 Sam. 7:8; 12:19; 1 Kin. 13:6; Is. 37:4; Jer. 37:3; Acts 8:24; [James 5:16] cLev. 26:22; Deut. 28:62; Is. 1:9; Lam. 1:1 3 aEzra 8:21

JEREMIAH 42:5 704 awhatever the LORD answers you, I will declare it to you. I will bkeep nothing back from you.” 5 So they said to Jeremiah, a“Let the LORD be a true and faithful wit- ness between us, if we do not do according to everything which the LORD your God sends us by you. 6 “Whether it is 1pleasing or 2dis- pleasing, we will aobey the voice of the LORD our God to whom we send you, bthat it may be well with us when we obey the voice of the LORD our God.” 7 And it happened after ten days that the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah. 8 Then he called Johanan the son of Kareah, all the captains of the forces which were with him, and all the people from the least even to the greatest, 9 and said to them, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your petition before Him: 10 ‘If you will still remain in this land, then aI will build you and not pull you down, and I will plant you and not pluck you up. For I brelent concerning the disaster that I have brought upon you. 11 ‘Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid; do not be afraid of him,’ says the LORD, a‘for I am with you, to save you and deliver you from his hand. 12 ‘And aI will show you mercy, that he may have mercy on you and cause you to return to your own land.’ 13 “But if ayou say, ‘We will not dwell in this land,’ disobeying the voice of the LORD your God, 14 “saying, ‘No, but we will go to the land of aEgypt where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor be hungry for bread, and there we will dwell’— 15 “Then hear now the word of the LORD, O remnant of Judah! Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘If you awholly1 set byour faces to enter Egypt, and go to dwell there, 16 ‘then it shall be that the asword which you feared shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt; the famine of which you were afraid shall follow close after you there in Egypt; and there you shall die. 17 ‘So shall it be with all the men who set their faces to go to Egypt to dwell there. They shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. And anone of them shall remain or escape from the disaster that I will bring upon them.’ 18 “For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘As My anger and My fury have been apoured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so will My fury be poured out on you when you enter Egypt. And byou shall be an oath, an astonishment, a curse, and a reproach; and you shall see this place no more.’ 19 “The LORD has said concerning you, O remnant of Judah, a‘Do not go to Egypt!’ Know certainly that I have 1admonished you this day. 20 “For you 1were hypocrites in your hearts when you sent me to the LORD your God, saying, ‘Pray for us to the LORD our God, and according to all that the LORD your God says, so declare to us and we will do it.’ 21 “And I have this day declared it to you, but you have anot obeyed the voice of the LORD your God, or any- thing which He has sent you by me. 22 “Now therefore, know certainly that you ashall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence in the place where you desire to go to dwell.” Jeremiah Taken to Egypt 43 Now it happened, when Jere- miah had stopped speaking to all the people all the awords of the LORD their God, for which the LORD their God had sent him to them, all these words, 2 athat Azariah the son of Ho- shaiah, Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men spoke, saying to Jeremiah, “You speak falsely!

sent you by me. 22 “Now therefore, know certainly that you ashall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence in the place where you desire to go to dwell.” Jeremiah Taken to Egypt 43 Now it happened, when Jere- miah had stopped speaking to all the people all the awords of the LORD their God, for which the LORD their God had sent him to them, all these words, 2 athat Azariah the son of Ho- shaiah, Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men spoke, saying to Jeremiah, “You speak falsely! The LORD our God has not sent you to say, ‘Do not go to Egypt to dwell there.’ 3 “But aBaruch the son of Neriah has 1set you against us, to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they may put us to death or carry us away captive to Babylon.” 4 So Johanan the son of Kareah, all the captains of the forces, and all the people would anot obey the voice of the LORD, to remain in the land of Judah. 5 But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the captains of the forces took aall the remnant of Judah who had returned to dwell in the land of Judah, from all nations where they had been driven— 6 men, women, children, athe king’s daughters, band every person whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, and Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch the son of Neriah. 7 aSo they went to the land of Egypt, for they did not obey the voice of the LORD. And they went as far as bTahpanhes. 8 Then the aword of the LORD came to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying, 9 “Take large stones in your hand, and hide them in the sight of the men of Judah, in the 1clay in the brick courtyard which is at the entrance to Pharaoh’s house in Tahpanhes; 10 “and say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will send and bring Nebu- 4 a1 Kin. 22:14 b1 Sam. 3:17, 18 5 aGen. 31:50 6 aEx. 24:7 bJer. 7:23 1Lit. good 2Lit. evil 10 aJer. 24:6; 31:28; 33:7 b[Jer. 18:8] 11 aRom. 8:31 12 aPs. 106:46 13 aJer. 44:16 14 aJer. 41:17; 43:7 15 aDeut. 17:16 bLuke 9:51 1Or surely 16 aEzek. 11:8 17 aJer. 44:14, 28 18 aJer. 7:20 bIs. 65:15 19 aDeut. 17:16 1warned 20 1Lit. used deceit against your souls 21 aIs. 30:1–7 22 aEzek. 6:11 CHAPTER 43 1 aJer. 42:9–18 2 aJer. 42:1 3 aJer. 36:4; 45:1 1Or incited 4 a2 Kin. 25:26 5 aJer. 40:11, 12 6 aJer. 41:10 bJer. 39:10; 40:7 7 aJer. 42:19 bJer. 2:16; 44:1 8 aJer. 44:1–30 9 1Or mortar

705 JEREMIAH 44:20 chadnezzar the king of Babylon, aMy servant, and will set his throne above these stones that I have hid- den. And he will spread his royal pavilion over them. 11 a“When he comes, he shall strike the land of Egypt and deliver to death bthose appointed for death, and to captivity those appointed for captivity, and to the sword those appointed for the sword. 12 1“I will kindle a fire in the houses of athe gods of Egypt, and he shall burn them and carry them away captive. And he shall array himself with the land of Egypt, as a shep- herd puts on his garment, and he shall go out from there in peace. 13 “He shall also break the sacred pillars of 1Beth Shemesh that are in the land of Egypt; and the houses of the gods of the Egyptians he shall burn with fire.” ’ ” Israelites Will Be Punished in Egypt 44 The word that came to Jere- miah concerning all the Jews who dwell in the land of Egypt, who dwell at aMigdol, at bTahpanhes, at cNoph,1 and in the country of dPathros, saying, 2 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘You have seen all the calamity that I have brought on Jerusalem and on all the cities of Judah; and behold, this day they are aa desolation, and no one dwells in them, 3 ‘because of their wickedness which they have committed to pro- voke Me to anger, in that they went ato burn incense and to bserve other gods whom they did not know, they nor you nor your fathers. 4 ‘However aI have sent to you all My servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, saying, “Oh, do not do this abominable thing that I hate!” 5 ‘But they did not listen or incline their ear to turn from their wickedness, to burn no incense to other gods. 6 ‘So My fury and My anger were poured out and kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they 1are wasted and desolate, as it is this day.’ 7 “Now therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Why do you commit this great evil aagainst yourselves, to cut off from you man and woman, child and infant, out of Judah, leaving none to remain, 8 ‘in that you aprovoke Me to wrath with the works of your hands, burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt where you have gone to dwell, that you may cut yourselves off and be ba curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth? 9 ‘Have you forgotten the wicked- ness of your fathers, the wickedness of the kings of Judah, the wicked- ness of their wives, your own wick- edness, and the wickedness of your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 10 ‘They have not been ahumbled,1 to this day, nor have they bfeared; they have not walked in My law or in My statutes that I set before you and your fathers.’ 11 “Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, aI will set My face against you for catastrophe and for 1cutting off all Judah. 12 ‘And I will take the remnant of Judah who have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to dwell there, and athey shall all be consumed and fall in the land of Egypt. They shall be consumed by the sword and by famine. They shall die, from the least to the greatest, by the sword and by famine; and bthey shall be an oath, an astonishment, a curse and a reproach! 13 a‘For I will punish those who dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, 14 ‘so that none of the remnant of Judah who have gone into the land of Egypt to dwell there shall escape or survive, lest they return to the land of Judah, to which they adesire1 to return and dwell.

word and by famine. They shall die, from the least to the greatest, by the sword and by famine; and bthey shall be an oath, an astonishment, a curse and a reproach! 13 a‘For I will punish those who dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, 14 ‘so that none of the remnant of Judah who have gone into the land of Egypt to dwell there shall escape or survive, lest they return to the land of Judah, to which they adesire1 to return and dwell. For bnone shall return except those who escape.’ ” 15 Then all the men who knew that their wives had burned incense to other gods, with all the women who stood by, a great multitude, and all the people who dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jere- miah, saying: 16 “As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, awe will not listen to you! 17 “But we will certainly do awhat- ever has gone out of our own mouth, to burn incense to the bqueen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of 1food, were well-off, and saw no trouble. 18 “But since we stopped burning incense to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have been consumed by the sword and by famine.” 19 The women also said, a“And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, did we make cakes for her, to worship her, and pour out drink offerings to her with- out our husbands’ permission?” 20 Then Jeremiah spoke to all the 10 aJer. 25:9; 27:6 11 aJer. 25:15– 19; 44:13; 46:1, 2, 13–26 bJer. 15:2 12 aJer. 46:25 1So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Syr., Vg. He 13 1Lit. House of the Sun, ancient On, later called Heliopolis CHAPTER 44 1 aJer. 46:14 bJer. 43:7 cIs. 19:13 dEzek. 29:14; 30:14 1Ancient Memphis 2 aJer. 4:7; 9:11; 34:22 3 aJer. 19:4 bDeut. 13:6; 32:17 4 aJer. 7:25; 25:4; 26:5; 29:19 6 1Or became a ruin 7 aNum. 16:38 8 aJer. 25:6, 7; 44:3 bJer. 42:18 10 aJer. 6:15; 8:12 b[Prov. 28:14] 1Lit. crushed 11 aAmos 9:4 1destroying 12 aJer. 42:15– 17, 22 bIs. 65:15 13 aJer. 43:11 14 aJer. 22:26, 27 bJer. 44:28 1Lit. lift up their soul 16 aJer. 6:16 17 aNum. 30:12 bJer. 7:18 1Lit. bread 19 aJer. 7:18

JEREMIAH 44:21 706 people—the men, the women, and all the people who had given him that answer—saying: 21 “The incense that you burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your fathers, your kings and your princes, and the people of the land, did not the LORD remember them, and did it not come into His mind? 22 “So the LORD could no longer bear it, because of the evil of your doings and because of the abomina- tions which you committed. There- fore your land is a desolation, an astonishment, a curse, and without an inhabitant, aas it is this day. 23 “Because you have burned in- cense and because you have sinned against the LORD, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD or walked in His law, in His statutes or in His testimonies, atherefore this calamity has happened to you, as at this day.” 24 Moreover Jeremiah said to all the people and to all the women, “Hear the word of the LORD, all Judah who are in the land of Egypt! 25 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying: ‘You and your wives have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled with your hands, saying, “We will surely keep our vows that we have made, to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her.” You will surely keep your vows and perform your vows!’ 26 “Therefore hear the word of the LORD, all Judah who dwell in the land of Egypt: ‘Behold, aI have sworn by My bgreat name,’ says the LORD, ‘that cMy name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, “The Lord GOD lives.” 27 ‘Behold, I will watch over them for adversity and not for good. And all the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt ashall be consumed by the sword and by famine, until there is an end to them. 28 ‘Yet aa small number who escape the sword shall return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah; and all the remnant of Judah, who have gone to the land of Egypt to dwell there, shall know whose words will stand, Mine or theirs. 29 ‘And this shall be a sign to you,’ says the LORD, ‘that I will punish you in this place, that you may know that My words will surely astand against you for adversity.’ 30 “Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, aI will give Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies and into the hand of those who seek his life, as I gave bZedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchad- nezzar king of Babylon, his enemy who sought his life.’ ” Assurance to Baruch 45 The aword that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to bBaruch the son of Neriah, when he had written these words in a book 1at the instruc- tion of Jeremiah, in the cfourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying, 2 “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, to you, O Baruch: 3 ‘You said, “Woe is me now! For the LORD has added grief to my sor- row. I afainted in my sighing, and I find no rest.” ’ 4 “Thus you shall say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Behold, awhat I have built I will break down, and what I have planted I will pluck up, that is, this whole land. 5 “And do you seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them; for behold, aI will bring adversity on all flesh,” says the LORD. “But I will give your blife to you as a prize in all places, wherever you go.” ’ ” Judgment on Egypt 46 The word of the LORD which came to Jeremiah the prophet against athe nations. 2 Against aEgypt.

t.” ’ 4 “Thus you shall say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Behold, awhat I have built I will break down, and what I have planted I will pluck up, that is, this whole land. 5 “And do you seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them; for behold, aI will bring adversity on all flesh,” says the LORD. “But I will give your blife to you as a prize in all places, wherever you go.” ’ ” Judgment on Egypt 46 The word of the LORD which came to Jeremiah the prophet against athe nations. 2 Against aEgypt. bConcerning the army of Pharaoh Necho, king of Egypt, which was by the River Euphrates in Carchemish, and which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon cdefeated in the dfourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: 3 “Order1 the 2buckler and shield, And draw near to battle! 4 Harness the horses, And mount up, you horsemen! Stand forth with your helmets, Polish the spears, aPut on the armor! 5 Why have I seen them dismayed and turned back? Their mighty ones are beaten down; They have speedily fled, And did not look back, For afear was all around,” says the LORD. 6 “Do not let the swift flee away, Nor the mighty man escape; They will astumble and fall Toward the north, by the River Euphrates. 7 “Who is this coming up alike a flood, Whose waters move like the rivers? 8 Egypt rises up like a flood, And its waters move like the rivers; And he says, ‘I will go up and cover the earth, I will destroy the city and its inhabitants.’ 9 Come up, O horses, and rage, O chariots! 22 aJer. 25:11, 18, 38 23 a1 Kin. 9:9; Neh. 13:18; Jer. 44:2; Dan. 9:11, 12 26 aGen. 22:16; Deut. 32:40, 41; Jer. 22:5; Amos 6:8; Heb. 6:13 bJer. 10:6 cNeh. 9:5; Ps. 50:16; Ezek. 20:39 27 aJer. 1:10; 31:28; Ezek. 7:6 28 aIs. 10:19; 27:12, 13 29 a[Ps. 33:11] 30 aJer. 46:25, 26; Ezek. 29:3; 30:21 b2 Kin. 25:4–7; Jer. 39:5 CHAPTER 45 1 aJer. 36:1, 4, 32 bJer. 32:12, 16; 43:3 cJer. 25:1; 36:1; 46:2 1Lit. from Jeremiah’s mouth 3 aPs. 6:6; 69:3; [2 Cor. 4:1, 16; Gal. 6:9] 4 aIs. 5:5; Jer. 1:10; 11:17; 18:7–10; 31:28 5 aJer. 25:26 bJer. 21:9; 38:2; 39:18 CHAPTER 46 1 aJer. 25:15 2 aJer. 25:17–19; Ezek. 29:2— 32:32 b2 Kin. 23:33–35 c2 Kin. 23:29; 24:7; 2 Chr. 35:20 dJer. 45:1 3 1Set in order 2A small shield 4 aIs. 21:5; Jer. 51:11, 12; Joel 3:9; Nah. 2:1; 3:14 5 aJer. 49:29 6 aJer. 46:12, 16; Dan. 11:19 7 aIs. 8:7, 8; Jer. 47:2; Dan. 11:22

707 JEREMIAH 46:28 And let the mighty men come forth: 1The Ethiopians and 2the Libyans who handle the shield, And the Lydians awho handle and bend the bow. 10 For this is athe day of the Lord GOD of hosts, A day of vengeance, That He may avenge Himself on His adversaries. bThe sword shall devour; It shall be 1satiated and made drunk with their blood; For the Lord GOD of hosts chas a sacrifice In the north country by the River Euphrates. 11 “Goa up to Gilead and take balm, bO virgin, the daughter of Egypt; In vain you will use many medicines; cYou shall not be cured. 12 The nations have heard of your ashame, And your cry has filled the land; For the mighty man has stumbled against the mighty; They both have fallen together.” Babylonia Will Strike Egypt 13 The word that the LORD spoke to Jeremiah the prophet, how Neb- uchadnezzar king of Babylon would come and astrike the land of Egypt. 14 “Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in aMigdol; Proclaim in 1Noph and in bTahpanhes; Say, ‘Stand fast and prepare yourselves, For the sword devours all around you.’ 15 Why are your valiant men swept away? They did not stand Because the LORD drove them away. 16 He made many fall; Yes, aone fell upon another. And they said, ‘Arise! bLet us go back to our own people And to the land of our nativity From the oppressing sword.’ 17 They cried there, ‘Pharaoh, king of Egypt, is but a noise. He has passed by the appointed time!’ 18 “As I live,” says the King, aWhose name is the LORD of hosts, “Surely as Tabor is among the mountains And as Carmel by the sea, so he shall come. 19 O ayou daughter dwelling in Egypt, Prepare yourself bto go into captivity! For 1Noph shall be waste and desolate, without inhabitant. 20 “Egypt is a very pretty aheifer, But destruction comes, it comes bfrom the north. 21 Also her mercenaries are in her midst like 1fat bulls, For they also are turned back, They have fled away together. They did not stand, For athe day of their calamity had come upon them, The time of their punishment. 22 aHer noise shall go like a serpent, For they shall march with an army And come against her with axes, Like those who chop wood. 23 “They shall acut down her forest,” says the LORD, “Though it cannot be searched, Because they are innumerable, And more numerous than bgrasshoppers. 24 The daughter of Egypt shall be ashamed; She shall be delivered into the hand Of athe people of the north.” 25 The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Behold, I will bring punishment on 1Amon of aNo,2 and Pharaoh and Egypt, bwith their gods and their kings—Pharaoh and those who ctrust in him. 26 a“And I will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their lives, into the hand of Nebuchad- nezzar king of Babylon and the hand of his servants. bAfterward it shall be inhabited as in the days of old,” says the LORD. God Will Preserve Israel 27 “Buta do not fear, O My servant Jacob, And do not be dismayed, O Israel! For behold, I will bsave you from afar, And your offspring from the land of their captivity; Jacob shall return, have rest and be at ease; No one shall make him afraid. 28 Do not fear, O Jacob My servant,” says the LORD, “For I am with you; For I will make a complete end of all the nations To which I have driven you, 9 aIs. 66:19 1Heb. Cush 2Heb. Put 10 aIs. 13:6; Joel 1:15 bDeut. 32:42; Is. 31:8; Jer. 12:12 cIs. 34:6; Zeph. 1:7; Ezek. 39:17 1Filled to the full 11 aJer. 8:22 bIs. 47:1; Jer. 31:4, 21 cEzek. 30:21 12 aJer. 2:36; Nah. 3:8–10 13 aIs. 19:1; Jer. 43:10, 11; Ezek. 29:1–21 14 aJer. 44:1 bEzek. 30:18 1Ancient Memphis 16 aLev. 26:36, 37; Jer. 46:6 bJer. 51:9 18 aIs. 47:4; Jer. 48:15; Mal. 1:14 19 aJer. 48:18 bIs. 20:4 1Ancient Memphis 20 aHos. 10:11 bJer. 1:14 21 a[Ps. 37:13]; Jer. 50:27 1Lit. calves of the stall 22 a[Is. 29:4] 23 aIs. 10:34 bJudg. 6:5; 7:12; Joel 2:25 24 aJer. 1:15 25 aEzek. 30:14–16; Nah. 3:8 bEx. 12:12; Jer. 43:12, 13; Ezek. 30:13; Zeph. 2:11 cIs. 30:1–5; 31:1–3 1A sun god 2Ancient Thebes 26 aJer. 44:30; Ezek.

19:1; Jer. 43:10, 11; Ezek. 29:1–21 14 aJer. 44:1 bEzek. 30:18 1Ancient Memphis 16 aLev. 26:36, 37; Jer. 46:6 bJer. 51:9 18 aIs. 47:4; Jer. 48:15; Mal. 1:14 19 aJer. 48:18 bIs. 20:4 1Ancient Memphis 20 aHos. 10:11 bJer. 1:14 21 a[Ps. 37:13]; Jer. 50:27 1Lit. calves of the stall 22 a[Is. 29:4] 23 aIs. 10:34 bJudg. 6:5; 7:12; Joel 2:25 24 aJer. 1:15 25 aEzek. 30:14–16; Nah. 3:8 bEx. 12:12; Jer. 43:12, 13; Ezek. 30:13; Zeph. 2:11 cIs. 30:1–5; 31:1–3 1A sun god 2Ancient Thebes 26 aJer. 44:30; Ezek. 32:11 bEzek. 29:8–14 27 aIs. 41:13, 14; 43:5; 44:2; Jer. 30:10, 11 bIs. 11:11; Jer. 23:3, 4; Mic. 7:12

JEREMIAH 47:1 708 But I will not make aa complete end of you. I will rightly bcorrect you, For I will not leave you wholly unpunished.” Judgment on Philistia 47 The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet aagainst the Philistines, bbefore Pharaoh attacked Gaza. 2 Thus says the LORD: “Behold, awaters rise bout of the north, And shall be an overflowing flood; They shall overflow the land and all that is in it, The city and those who dwell within; Then the men shall cry, And all the inhabitants of the land shall wail. 3 At the anoise of the stamping hooves of his strong horses, At the rushing of his chariots, At the rumbling of his wheels, The fathers will not look back for their children, 1Lacking courage, 4 Because of the day that comes to plunder all the aPhilistines, To cut off from bTyre and Sidon every helper who remains; For the LORD shall plunder the Philistines, cThe remnant of the country of dCaphtor.1 5 aBaldness has come upon Gaza, bAshkelon is cut off With the remnant of their valley. How long will you cut yourself? 6 “O you asword of the LORD, How long until you are quiet? Put yourself up into your scabbard, Rest and be still! 7 How can 1it be quiet, Seeing the LORD has agiven it a charge Against Ashkelon and against the seashore? There He has bappointed it.” Judgment on Moab 48 Against aMoab. Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Woe to bNebo! For it is plundered, cKirjathaim is shamed and taken; 1The high stronghold is shamed and dismayed— 2 aNo more praise of Moab. In bHeshbon they have devised evil against her: ‘Come, and let us cut her off as a nation.’ You also shall be cut down, O cMadmen!1 The sword shall pursue you; 3 A voice of crying shall be from aHoronaim: ‘Plundering and great destruction!’ 4 “Moab is destroyed; 1Her little ones have caused a cry to be heard; 5 aFor in the Ascent of Luhith they ascend with continual weeping; For in the descent of Horonaim the enemies have heard a cry of destruction. 6 “Flee, save your lives! And be like 1the ajuniper in the wilderness. 7 For because you have trusted in your works and your atreasures, You also shall be taken. And bChemosh shall go forth into captivity, His cpriests and his princes together. 8 And athe plunderer shall come against every city; No one shall escape. The valley also shall perish, And the plain shall be destroyed, As the LORD has spoken. 9 “Givea wings to Moab, That she may flee and get away; For her cities shall be desolate, Without any to dwell in them. 10 aCursed is he who does the work of the LORD deceitfully, And cursed is he who keeps back his sword from blood. 11 “Moab has been at ease from 1his youth; He ahas settled on his dregs, And has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, Nor has he gone into captivity. Therefore his taste remained in him, And his scent has not changed. 12 “Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “That I shall send him 1wine-workers Who will tip him over And empty his vessels And break the bottles. 13 Moab shall be ashamed of aChemosh, As the house of Israel bwas ashamed of cBethel, their confidence. 14 “How can you say, a‘We are mighty 28 aAmos 9:8, 9 bJer. 30:11 CHAPTER 47 1 aZeph. 2:4, 5 bAmos 1:6 2 aIs. 8:7, 8 bJer. 1:14 3 aJer. 8:16 1Lit. From sinking hands 4 aIs. 14:29–31 bJer. 25:22 cEzek. 25:16 dGen. 10:14 1Cappadocia in Asia Minor 5 aMic. 1:16 bJer. 25:20 6 aEzek. 21:3–5 7 aEzek. 14:17 bMic. 6:9 1Lit. you CHAPTER 48 1 aIs. 15:1— 16:14; 25:10 bIs. 15:2 cNum. 32:37 1Heb. Misgab 2 aIs. 16:14 bJer. 49:3 cIs. 10:31 1A city of Moab 3 aIs. 15:5 4 1So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX Proclaim it in Zoar 5 aIs. 15:5 6 aJer. 17:6 1Or Aroer, a city of Moab 7 aJer. 9:23 bJer. 48:7 cJer. 49:3 8 aJer. 6:26 9 aPs. 55:6 10 a1 Sam. 15:3 11 aZeph. 1:12 1Heb. uses masc. and fem. pro- nouns inter- changeably in this chapter. 12 1Lit. tippers of wine bot- tles 13 a1 Kin. 11:7 bHos. 10:6 c1 Kin. 12:29; 13:32–34 14 aIs. 16:6

709 JEREMIAH 48:39 And strong men for the war’? 15 Moab is plundered and gone up from her cities; Her chosen young men have agone down to the slaughter,” says bthe King, Whose name is the LORD of hosts. 16 “The calamity of Moab is near at hand, And his affliction comes quickly. 17 Bemoan him, all you who are around him; And all you who know his name, Say, a‘How the strong staff is broken, The beautiful rod!’ 18 “O adaughter inhabiting bDibon, Come down from your glory, And sit in thirst; For the plunderer of Moab has come against you, He has destroyed your strongholds. 19 O inhabitant of aAroer, bStand by the way and watch; Ask him who flees And her who escapes; Say, ‘What has happened?’ 20 Moab is shamed, for he is broken down. aWail and cry! Tell it in bArnon, that Moab is plundered. 21 “And judgment has come on the plain country: On Holon and Jahzah and Mephaath, 22 On Dibon and Nebo and Beth Diblathaim, 23 On Kirjathaim and Beth Gamul and Beth Meon, 24 On aKerioth and Bozrah, On all the cities of the land of Moab, Far or near. 25 aThe 1horn of Moab is cut off, And his barm is broken,” says the LORD. 26 “Makea him drunk, Because he exalted himself against the LORD. Moab shall wallow in his vomit, And he shall also be in derision. 27 For awas not Israel a derision to you? bWas he found among thieves? For whenever you speak of him, You shake your head in cscorn. 28 You who dwell in Moab, Leave the cities and adwell in the rock, And be like bthe dove which makes her nest In the sides of the cave’s mouth. 29 “We have heard the apride of Moab (He is exceedingly proud), Of his loftiness and arrogance and bpride, And of the haughtiness of his heart.” 30 “I know his wrath,” says the LORD, “But it is not right; aHis 1lies have made nothing right. 31 Therefore aI will wail for Moab, And I will cry out for all Moab; 1I will mourn for the men of Kir Heres. 32 aO vine of Sibmah! I will weep for you with the weeping of bJazer. Your plants have gone over the sea, They reach to the sea of Jazer. The plunderer has fallen on your summer fruit and your vintage. 33 aJoy and gladness are taken From the plentiful field And from the land of Moab; I have caused wine to 1fail from the winepresses; No one will tread with joyous shouting— Not joyous shouting! 34 “Froma the cry of Heshbon to bElealeh and to Jahaz They have uttered their voice, cFrom Zoar to Horonaim, Like 1a three-year-old heifer; For the waters of Nimrim also shall be desolate. 35 “Moreover,” says the LORD, “I will cause to cease in Moab aThe one who offers sacrifices in the 1high places And burns incense to his gods. 36 Therefore aMy heart shall wail like flutes for Moab, And like flutes My heart shall wail For the men of Kir Heres. Therefore bthe riches they have acquired have perished. 37 “For aevery head shall be bald, and every beard clipped; On all the hands shall be cuts, and bon the loins sackcloth— 38 A general lamentation On all the ahousetops of Moab, And in its streets; For I have bbroken Moab like a vessel in which is no pleasure,” says the LORD. 39 “They shall wail: ‘How she is broken down! How Moab has turned her back with shame!’ 15 a[Is. 40:30, 31]; Jer. 50:27 bJer. 46:18; 51:57; Mal. 1:14 17 aIs. 9:4; 14:4, 5 18 aIs. 47:1 bNum. 21:30; Josh. 13:9, 17; Is. 15:2; Jer. 48:22 19 aDeut. 2:36; Josh. 12:2; Is. 17:2 b1 Sam. 4:13, 14, 16 20 aIs. 16:7 bNum. 21:13 24 aJer. 48:41; Amos 2:2 25 aPs. 75:10; Zech. 1:19–21 bEzek. 30:21 1Strength 26 aJer. 25:15 27 aZeph. 2:8 bJer. 2:26 cLam. 2:15; [Mic. 7:8–10] 28 aPs. 55:6, 7 bSong 2:14 29 aIs. 16:6; Zeph. 2:8, 10 bJer. 49:16 30 aIs. 16:6; Jer. 50:36 1idle talk 31 aIs. 15:5; 16:7, 11 1So with DSS, LXX, Vg.; MT He 32 aIs. 16:8, 9 bNum. 21:32; Is. 16:10 33 aIs. 16:10; Jer. 25:10; Joel 1:12 1cease 34 aIs. 15:4–6 bNum. 32:3, 37 cIs. 15:5, 6 1Or The Third Eglath, an un- known city, Is. 15:5 35 aIs. 15:2; 16:12 1Places for pagan worship 36 aIs. 15:5; 16:11 bIs. 15:7 37 aIs. 15:2, 3; Jer. 16:6; 41:5; 47:5 bGen. 37:34; Is.

bJer. 2:26 cLam. 2:15; [Mic. 7:8–10] 28 aPs. 55:6, 7 bSong 2:14 29 aIs. 16:6; Zeph. 2:8, 10 bJer. 49:16 30 aIs. 16:6; Jer. 50:36 1idle talk 31 aIs. 15:5; 16:7, 11 1So with DSS, LXX, Vg.; MT He 32 aIs. 16:8, 9 bNum. 21:32; Is. 16:10 33 aIs. 16:10; Jer. 25:10; Joel 1:12 1cease 34 aIs. 15:4–6 bNum. 32:3, 37 cIs. 15:5, 6 1Or The Third Eglath, an un- known city, Is. 15:5 35 aIs. 15:2; 16:12 1Places for pagan worship 36 aIs. 15:5; 16:11 bIs. 15:7 37 aIs. 15:2, 3; Jer. 16:6; 41:5; 47:5 bGen. 37:34; Is. 15:3; 20:2 38 aIs. 15:3 bJer. 22:28

JEREMIAH 48:40 710 So Moab shall be a derision And a dismay to all those about her.” 40 For thus says the LORD: “Behold, aone shall fly like an eagle, And bspread his wings over Moab. 41 Kerioth is taken, And the strongholds are surprised; aThe mighty men’s hearts in Moab on that day shall be Like the heart of a woman in birth pangs. 42 And Moab shall be destroyed aas a people, Because he exalted himself against the LORD. 43 aFear and the pit and the snare shall be upon you, O inhabitant of Moab,” says the LORD. 44 “He who flees from the fear shall fall into the pit, And he who gets out of the pit shall be caught in the asnare. For upon Moab, upon it bI will bring The year of their punishment,” says the LORD. 45 “Those who fled stood under the shadow of Heshbon Because of exhaustion. But aa fire shall come out of Heshbon, A flame from the midst of bSihon, And cshall devour the brow of Moab, The crown of the head of the sons of tumult. 46 aWoe to you, O Moab! The people of Chemosh perish; For your sons have been taken captive, And your daughters captive. 47 “Yet I will bring back the captives of Moab aIn the latter days,” says the LORD. Thus far is the judgment of Moab. Judgment on Ammon 49 Against the aAmmonites. Thus says the LORD: “Has Israel no sons? Has he no heir? Why then does 1Milcom inherit bGad, And his people dwell in its cities? 2 aTherefore behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “That I will cause to be heard an alarm of war In bRabbah of the Ammonites; It shall be a desolate mound, And her 1villages shall be burned with fire. Then Israel shall take possession of his inheritance,” says the LORD. 3 “Wail, O aHeshbon, for Ai is plundered! Cry, you daughters of Rabbah, bGird yourselves with sackcloth! Lament and run to and fro by the walls; For 1Milcom shall go into captivity With his cpriests and his princes together. 4 Why ado you boast in the valleys, 1Your flowing valley, O bbacksliding daughter? Who trusted in her ctreasures, dsaying, ‘Who will come against me?’ 5 Behold, I will bring fear upon you,” Says the Lord GOD of hosts, “From all those who are around you; You shall be driven out, everyone headlong, And no one will gather those who wander off. 6 But aafterward I will bring back The captives of the people of Ammon,” says the LORD. Judgment on Edom 7 aAgainst Edom. Thus says the LORD of hosts: b“Is wisdom no more in Teman? cHas counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom dvanished? 8 Flee, turn back, dwell in the depths, O inhabitants of aDedan! For I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, The time that I will punish him. 9 aIf grape-gatherers came to you, Would they not leave some gleaning grapes? If thieves by night, Would they not destroy until they have enough? 10 aBut I have made Esau bare; I have uncovered his secret places, And he shall not be able to hide himself. His descendants are plundered, His brethren and his neighbors, And bhe is no more. 11 Leave your fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; And let your widows trust in Me.” 12 For thus says the LORD: “Behold, athose whose judgment was not to 40 aDeut. 28:49; Jer. 49:22; Hos. 8:1; Hab. 1:8 bIs. 8:8 41 aIs. 13:8; 21:3; Jer. 30:6; Mic. 4:9, 10 42 aPs. 83:4; Jer. 48:2 43 aIs. 24:17, 18; Lam. 3:47 44 a1 Kin. 19:17; Is. 24:18; Amos 5:19 bJer. 11:23 45 aNum. 21:28, 29 bNum. 21:21, 26; Ps. 135:11 cNum. 24:17 46 aNum. 21:29 47 aJer. 49:6, 39 CHAPTER 49 1 aDeut. 23:3, 4; 2 Chr. 20:1; Jer. 25:21; Ezek. 21:28–32; 25:1–7 bAmos 1:13–15; Zeph. 2:8–11 1Heb. Malcam, lit. their king; an Ammonite god, 1 Kin. 11:5; Molech, Lev. 18:21 2 aAmos 1:13–15 bEzek. 25:5 1Lit. daugh- ters 3 aJer. 48:2 bIs. 32:11; Jer. 48:37 cJer. 48:7 1See v. 1 4 aJer. 9:23 bJer. 3:14 cJer. 48:7 dJer. 21:13 1Lit. Your valley is flowing 6 aJer. 48:47 7 aGen. 25:30; 32:3; Is. 34:5, 6; Jer. 25:21; Ezek. 25:12–14; 35:1–15; Joel 3:19; Amos 1:11, 12; Obad. 1–9, 15, 16 bGen. 36:11; Job 2:11 cIs. 19:11 dJer. 8:9 8 aIs. 21:13; Jer. 25:23 9 aObad. 5, 6 10 aObad.

:13–15; Zeph. 2:8–11 1Heb. Malcam, lit. their king; an Ammonite god, 1 Kin. 11:5; Molech, Lev. 18:21 2 aAmos 1:13–15 bEzek. 25:5 1Lit. daugh- ters 3 aJer. 48:2 bIs. 32:11; Jer. 48:37 cJer. 48:7 1See v. 1 4 aJer. 9:23 bJer. 3:14 cJer. 48:7 dJer. 21:13 1Lit. Your valley is flowing 6 aJer. 48:47 7 aGen. 25:30; 32:3; Is. 34:5, 6; Jer. 25:21; Ezek. 25:12–14; 35:1–15; Joel 3:19; Amos 1:11, 12; Obad. 1–9, 15, 16 bGen. 36:11; Job 2:11 cIs. 19:11 dJer. 8:9 8 aIs. 21:13; Jer. 25:23 9 aObad. 5, 6 10 aObad. 5, 6; Mal. 1:3 bIs. 17:14 12 aJer. 25:29; Obad. 16

711 JEREMIAH 49:31 drink of the cup have assuredly drunk. And are you the one who will altogether go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, but you shall surely drink of it. 13 “For aI have sworn by Myself,” says the LORD, “that bBozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a 1waste, and a curse. And all its cities shall be perpetual 2wastes.” 14 aI have heard a message from the LORD, And an ambassador has been sent to the nations: “Gather together, come against her, And rise up to battle! 15 “For indeed, I will make you small among nations, Despised among men. 16 Your fierceness has deceived you, The apride of your heart, O you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, Who hold the height of the hill! bThough you make your cnest as high as the eagle, dI will bring you down from there,” says the LORD. 17 “Edom also shall be an astonishment; aEveryone who goes by it will be astonished And will hiss at all its plagues. 18 aAs in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah And their neighbors,” says the LORD, “No one shall remain there, Nor shall a son of man dwell in it. 19 “Behold,a he shall come up like a lion from bthe 1floodplain of the Jordan Against the dwelling place of the strong; But I will suddenly make him run away from her. And who is a chosen man that I may appoint over her? For cwho is like Me? Who will arraign Me? And dwho is that shepherd Who will withstand Me?” 20 aTherefore hear the counsel of the LORD that He has taken against Edom, And His purposes that He has proposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely the least of the flock shall 1draw them out; Surely He shall make their dwelling places desolate with them. 21 aThe earth shakes at the noise of their fall; At the cry its noise is heard at the Red Sea. 22 Behold, aHe shall come up and fly like the eagle, And spread His wings over Bozrah; The heart of the mighty men of Edom in that day shall be Like the heart of a woman in birth pangs. Judgment on Damascus 23 aAgainst Damascus. b“Hamath and Arpad are shamed, For they have heard bad news. They are fainthearted; cThere is 1trouble on the sea; It cannot be quiet. 24 Damascus has grown feeble; She turns to flee, And fear has seized her. aAnguish and sorrows have taken her like a woman in 1labor. 25 Why is athe city of praise not deserted, the city of My joy? 26 aTherefore her young men shall fall in her streets, And all the men of war shall be cut off in that day,” says the LORD of hosts. 27 “Ia will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, And it shall consume the palaces of Ben-Hadad.” Judgment on Kedar and Hazor 28 aAgainst Kedar and against the kingdoms of Hazor, which Neb- uchadnezzar king of Babylon shall strike. Thus says the Lord: “Arise, go up to Kedar, And devastate athe men of the East! 29 Their atents and their flocks they shall take away. They shall take for themselves their curtains, All their vessels and their camels; And they shall cry out to them, b‘Fear is on every side!’ 30 “Flee, get far away! Dwell in the depths, O inhabitants of Hazor!” says the LORD. “For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has taken counsel against you, And has conceived a plan against you. 31 “Arise, go up to athe wealthy nation that dwells securely,” says the LORD, “Which has neither gates nor bars, bDwelling alone. 13 aGen. 22:16; Is. 45:23; Jer. 44:26; Amos 6:8 bGen. 36:33; 1 Chr. 1:44; Is. 34:6; 63:1; Amos 1:12 1ruin 2ru- ins 14 aObad. 1–4 16 aJer. 48:29 bObad. 3, 4 cJob 39:27; Is. 14:13–15 dAmos 9:2 17 aJer. 18:16; 49:13; 50:13; Ezek. 35:7 18 aGen. 19:24, 25; Deut. 29:23; Jer. 50:40; Amos 4:11; Zeph. 2:9 19 aJer. 50:44 bJosh. 3:15; Jer. 12:5 cEx. 15:11; Is. 46:9 dJob 41:10 1Or thicket 20 aIs. 14:24, 27; Jer. 50:45 1Or drag them away 21 aJer. 50:46; Ezek. 26:15, 18 22 aJer. 48:40, 41 23 aIs. 17:1–3; Amos 1:3, 5; Zech. 9:1, 2 bJer. 39:5; Zech. 9:2 c[Is. 57:20] 1anxi- ety 24 aIs. 13:8; Jer. 4:31; 6:24; 48:21 1child- birth 25 aJer. 33:9 26 aJer. 50:30; Amos 4:10 27 aAmos 1:4 28 aGen. 25:13; Ps.

17 aJer. 18:16; 49:13; 50:13; Ezek. 35:7 18 aGen. 19:24, 25; Deut. 29:23; Jer. 50:40; Amos 4:11; Zeph. 2:9 19 aJer. 50:44 bJosh. 3:15; Jer. 12:5 cEx. 15:11; Is. 46:9 dJob 41:10 1Or thicket 20 aIs. 14:24, 27; Jer. 50:45 1Or drag them away 21 aJer. 50:46; Ezek. 26:15, 18 22 aJer. 48:40, 41 23 aIs. 17:1–3; Amos 1:3, 5; Zech. 9:1, 2 bJer. 39:5; Zech. 9:2 c[Is. 57:20] 1anxi- ety 24 aIs. 13:8; Jer. 4:31; 6:24; 48:21 1child- birth 25 aJer. 33:9 26 aJer. 50:30; Amos 4:10 27 aAmos 1:4 28 aGen. 25:13; Ps. 120:5; Is. 21:16, 17; Jer. 2:10; Ezek. 27:21 bJudg. 6:3; Job 1:3 29 aPs. 120:5 bJer. 46:5 31 aEzek. 38:11 bNum. 23:9; Deut. 33:28; Mic. 7:16

JEREMIAH 49:32 712 32 Their camels shall be for booty, And the multitude of their cattle for plunder. I will ascatter to all winds those 1in the farthest corners, And I will bring their calamity from all its sides,” says the LORD. 33 “Hazor ashall be a dwelling for jackals, a desolation forever; No one shall reside there, Nor son of man dwell in it.” Judgment on Elam 34 The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against aElam, in the bbeginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying, 35 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Behold, I will break athe 1bow of Elam, The foremost of their might. 36 Against Elam I will bring the four winds From the four quarters of heaven, And scatter them toward all those winds; There shall be no nations where the outcasts of Elam will not go. 37 For I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies And before those who seek their life. aI will bring disaster upon them, My fierce anger,’ says the LORD; ‘And I will send the sword after them Until I have consumed them. 38 I will aset My throne in Elam, And will destroy from there the king and the princes,’ says the LORD. 39 ‘But it shall come to pass ain the latter days: I will bring back the captives of Elam,’ says the LORD.” Judgment on Babylon and Babylonia 50 The word that the LORD spoke aagainst Babylon and against the land of the Chaldeans by Jere- miah the prophet. 2 “Declare among the nations, Proclaim, and 1set up a standard; Proclaim—do not conceal it— Say, ‘Babylon is ataken, bBel is shamed. 2Merodach is broken in pieces; cHer idols are humiliated, Her images are broken in pieces.’ 3 aFor out of the north ba nation comes up against her, Which shall make her land desolate, And no one shall dwell therein. They shall 1move, they shall depart, Both man and beast. 4 “In those days and in that time,” says the LORD, “The children of Israel shall come, aThey and the children of Judah together; bWith continual weeping they shall come, cAnd seek the LORD their God. 5 They shall ask the way to Zion, With their faces toward it, saying, ‘Come and let us join ourselves to the LORD In aa perpetual covenant That will not be forgotten.’ 6 “My people have been alost sheep. Their shepherds have led them bastray; They have turned them away on cthe mountains. They have gone from mountain to hill; They have forgotten their resting place. 7 All who found them have adevoured them; And btheir adversaries said, c‘We have not offended, Because they have sinned against the LORD, dthe habitation of justice, The LORD, ethe hope of their fathers.’ 8 “Movea from the midst of Babylon, Go out of the land of the Chaldeans; And be like the 1rams before the flocks. 9 aFor behold, I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon An assembly of great nations from the north country, And they shall array themselves against her; From there she shall be captured. Their arrows shall be like those of 1an expert warrior; bNone shall return in vain. 10 And Chaldea shall become plunder; aAll who plunder her shall be satisfied,” says the LORD. 11 “Becausea you were glad, because you rejoiced, You destroyers of My heritage, Because you have grown fat blike a heifer threshing grain, And you 1bellow like bulls, 32 aEzek. 5:10 1Lit. cut off at the corner, Jer. 9:26; 25:23 33 aMal. 1:3 34 aJer. 25:25 b2 Kin. 24:17, 18 35 aIs. 22:6 1Power 37 aJer. 9:16 38 aJer. 43:10 39 aJer. 48:47 CHAPTER 50 1 aIs. 13:1; 47:1 2 aIs. 21:9 bIs. 46:1 cJer. 43:12, 13 1lift 2Or Marduk; a Babylonian god 3 aJer. 51:48 bIs. 13:17, 18, 20 1Or wan- der 4 aHos. 1:11 bEzra 3:12, 13 cHos. 3:5 5 aJer. 31:31 6 aIs. 53:6 bJer. 23:1 c[Jer. 2:20; 3:6, 23] 7 aPs. 79:7 bZech. 11:5 cJer. 2:3 d[Ps. 90:1; 91:1] ePs. 22:4 8 aIs. 48:20 1male goats 9 aJer. 15:14; 51:27 b2 Sam. 1:22 1So with some Heb. mss., LXX, Syr.; MT, Tg., Vg. a warrior who makes childless 10 a[Rev. 17:16] 11 aIs. 47:6 bHos. 10:11 1Or neigh like steeds

713 JEREMIAH 50:32 12 Your mother shall be deeply ashamed; She who bore you shall be ashamed. Behold, the least of the nations shall be a awilderness, A dry land and a desert. 13 Because of the wrath of the LORD She shall not be inhabited, aBut she shall be wholly desolate. bEveryone who goes by Babylon shall be horrified And hiss at all her plagues. 14 “Puta yourselves in array against Babylon all around, All you who bend the bow; Shoot at her, spare no arrows, For she has sinned against the LORD. 15 Shout against her all around; She has agiven her hand, Her foundations have fallen, bHer walls are thrown down; For cit is the vengeance of the LORD. Take vengeance on her. As she has done, so do to her. 16 Cut off the sower from Babylon, And him who handles the sickle at harvest time. For fear of the oppressing sword aEveryone shall turn to his own people, And everyone shall flee to his own land. 17 “Israel is like ascattered sheep; bThe lions have driven him away. First cthe king of Assyria devoured him; Now at last this dNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has broken his bones.” 18 Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, As I have punished the king of aAssyria. 19 aBut I will bring back Israel to his home, And he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan; His soul shall be satisfied on Mount Ephraim and Gilead. 20 In those days and in that time,” says the LORD, a“The iniquity of Israel shall be sought, but there shall be none; And the sins of Judah, but they shall not be found; For I will pardon those bwhom I preserve. 21 “Go up against the land of Merathaim, against it, And against the inhabitants of aPekod. 1Waste and utterly destroy them,” says the LORD, “And do baccording to all that I have commanded you. 22 aA sound of battle is in the land, And of great destruction. 23 How athe hammer of the whole earth has been cut apart and broken! How Babylon has become a desolation among the nations! 24 I have laid a snare for you; You have indeed been atrapped, O Babylon, And you were not aware; You have been found and also caught, Because you have bcontended against the LORD. 25 The LORD has opened His armory, And has brought out athe weapons of His indignation; For this is the work of the Lord GOD of hosts In the land of the Chaldeans. 26 Come against her from the farthest border; Open her storehouses; Cast her up as heaps of ruins, And destroy her utterly; Let nothing of her be left. 27 Slay all her abulls, Let them go down to the slaughter. Woe to them! For their day has come, the time of btheir punishment. 28 The voice of those who flee and escape from the land of Babylon aDeclares in Zion the vengeance of the LORD our God, The vengeance of His temple. 29 “Call together the archers against Babylon. All you who bend the bow, encamp against it all around; Let none of them 1escape. aRepay her according to her work; According to all she has done, do to her; bFor she has been proud against the LORD, Against the Holy One of Israel. 30 aTherefore her young men shall fall in the streets, And all her men of war shall be cut off in that day,” says the LORD. 31 “Behold, I am against you, O most haughty one!” says the Lord GOD of hosts; “For your day has come, 1The time that I will punish you. 32 The most aproud shall stumble and fall, 12 aJer. 51:43 13 aJer. 25:12 bJer. 49:17 14 aJer. 51:2 15 a1 Chr. 29:24; 2 Chr. 30:8; Lam. 5:6; Ezek. 17:18 bJer. 51:58 cJer. 51:6, 11 16 aIs. 13:14; Jer. 51:9 17 a2 Kin. 24:10, 14 bJer. 2:15 c2 Kin. 15:29; 17:6; 18:9–13 d2 Kin. 24:10–14; 25:1–7 18 aIs. 10:12; Ezek. 31:3, 11, 12; Nah. 3:7, 18, 19 19 aIs. 65:10; Jer. 33:12; Ezek. 34:13 20 aNum. 23:21; Is. 43:25; [Jer. 31:34; Mic. 7:19] bIs. 1:9 21 aEzek. 23:23 b2 Sam. 16:11; 2 Kin. 18:25; 2 Chr. 36:23; Is. 10:6; 44:28; 48:14 1Or Attack with the sword 22 aJer. 51:54 23 aIs. 14:6; Jer. 51:20–24 24 aJer. 51:8, 31; Dan. 5:30 b[Is. 45:9] 25 aIs. 13:5 27 aPs. 22:12; Is.

cJer. 51:6, 11 16 aIs. 13:14; Jer. 51:9 17 a2 Kin. 24:10, 14 bJer. 2:15 c2 Kin. 15:29; 17:6; 18:9–13 d2 Kin. 24:10–14; 25:1–7 18 aIs. 10:12; Ezek. 31:3, 11, 12; Nah. 3:7, 18, 19 19 aIs. 65:10; Jer. 33:12; Ezek. 34:13 20 aNum. 23:21; Is. 43:25; [Jer. 31:34; Mic. 7:19] bIs. 1:9 21 aEzek. 23:23 b2 Sam. 16:11; 2 Kin. 18:25; 2 Chr. 36:23; Is. 10:6; 44:28; 48:14 1Or Attack with the sword 22 aJer. 51:54 23 aIs. 14:6; Jer. 51:20–24 24 aJer. 51:8, 31; Dan. 5:30 b[Is. 45:9] 25 aIs. 13:5 27 aPs. 22:12; Is. 34:7; Jer. 46:21 bPs. 37:13; Jer. 48:44; Ezek. 7:7 28 aPs. 149:6–9; Jer. 51:10 29 aPs. 137:8; Jer. 51:56; [2 Thess. 1:6]; Rev. 18:6 b[Is. 47:10] 1Qr., some Heb. mss., LXX, Tg. add to her 30 aIs. 13:18; Jer. 49:26; 51:4 31 1So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Vg. The time of your pun- ishment 32 aIs. 26:5; Mal. 4:1

JEREMIAH 50:33 714 And no one will raise him up; bI will kindle a fire in his cities, And it will devour all around him.” 33 Thus says the LORD of hosts: “The children of Israel were oppressed, Along with the children of Judah; All who took them captive have held them fast; They have refused to let them go. 34 aTheir Redeemer is strong; bThe LORD of hosts is His name. He will thoroughly plead their ccase, That He may give rest to the land, And disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon. 35 “A sword is against the Chaldeans,” says the LORD, “Against the inhabitants of Babylon, And aagainst her princes and bher wise men. 36 A sword is aagainst the soothsayers, and they will be fools. A sword is against her mighty men, and they will be dismayed. 37 A sword is against their horses, Against their chariots, And against all athe mixed peoples who are in her midst; And bthey will become like women. A sword is against her treasures, and they will be robbed. 38 aA 1drought is against her waters, and they will be dried up. For it is the land of carved images, And they are insane with their idols. 39 “Thereforea the wild desert beasts shall dwell there with the jackals, And the ostriches shall dwell in it. bIt shall be inhabited no more forever, Nor shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation. 40 aAs God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah And their neighbors,” says the LORD, “So no one shall reside there, Nor son of man bdwell in it. 41 “Behold,a a people shall come from the north, And a great nation and many kings Shall be raised up from the ends of the earth. 42 aThey shall hold the bow and the lance; bThey are cruel and shall not show mercy. cTheir voice shall roar like the sea; They shall ride on horses, Set in array, like a man for the battle, Against you, O daughter of Babylon. 43 “The king of Babylon has aheard the report about them, And his hands grow feeble; Anguish has taken hold of him, Pangs as of a woman in bchildbirth. 44 “Behold,a he shall come up like a lion from the 1floodplain of the Jordan Against the dwelling place of the strong; But I will make them suddenly run away from her. And who is a chosen man that I may appoint over her? For who is like Me? Who will arraign Me? And bwho is that shepherd Who will withstand Me?” 45 Therefore hear athe counsel of the LORD that He has taken against Babylon, And His bpurposes that He has proposed against the land of the Chaldeans: cSurely the least of the flock shall draw them out; Surely He will make their dwelling place desolate with them. 46 aAt the noise of the taking of Babylon The earth trembles, And the cry is heard among the nations. The Utter Destruction of Babylon 51 Thus says the LORD: “Behold, I will raise up against aBabylon, Against those who dwell in 1Leb Kamai, bA destroying wind. 2 And I will send awinnowers to Babylon, Who shall winnow her and empty her land. bFor in the day of doom They shall be against her all around. 3 Against her alet the archer bend his bow, And lift himself up against her in his armor. Do not spare her young men; bUtterly destroy all her army. 32 bJer. 21:14 34 aProv. 23:11; Is. 43:14; Jer. 15:21; 31:11; Rev. 18:8 bIs. 47:4 cJer. 32:18; 51:19–22 35 aDan. 5:30 bIs. 47:13; Jer. 51:57 36 aIs. 44:25; Jer. 48:30 37 aJer. 25:20; Ezek. 30:5 bJer. 51:30; Nah. 3:13 38 aIs. 44:27; Jer. 51:36; Rev. 16:12 1So with MT, Tg., Vg.; Syr. sword; LXX omits A drought is 39 aIs. 13:21, 22; 34:14; Jer. 51:37; Rev. 18:2 bIs. 13:20; Jer. 25:12 40 aGen. 19:24, 25; Is. 13:19; Jer. 49:18; [Luke 17:28–30]; 2 Pet. 2:6; Jude 7 bIs. 13:20 41 aIs. 13:2–5; Jer. 6:22; 25:14; 51:27 42 aJer. 6:23 bIs. 13:18 cIs. 5:30 43 aJer. 51:31 bJer. 6:24 44 aJer. 49:19–21 bJob 41:10; Jer. 49:19 1Or thicket 45 a[Ps. 33:11; Is. 14:24]; Jer. 51:10, 11 bJer. 51:29 cJer. 49:19, 20 46 aRev. 18:9 CHAPTER 51 1 aIs. 47:1; Jer. 50:1 b2 Kin. 19:7; Jer. 4:11; Hos. 13:15 1Lit. The Midst of Those Who Rise Up Against Me; a code word for Chaldea, Babylonia 2 aIs. 41:16; Jer. 15:7; Matt. 3:12 bJer.

13:19; Jer. 49:18; [Luke 17:28–30]; 2 Pet. 2:6; Jude 7 bIs. 13:20 41 aIs. 13:2–5; Jer. 6:22; 25:14; 51:27 42 aJer. 6:23 bIs. 13:18 cIs. 5:30 43 aJer. 51:31 bJer. 6:24 44 aJer. 49:19–21 bJob 41:10; Jer. 49:19 1Or thicket 45 a[Ps. 33:11; Is. 14:24]; Jer. 51:10, 11 bJer. 51:29 cJer. 49:19, 20 46 aRev. 18:9 CHAPTER 51 1 aIs. 47:1; Jer. 50:1 b2 Kin. 19:7; Jer. 4:11; Hos. 13:15 1Lit. The Midst of Those Who Rise Up Against Me; a code word for Chaldea, Babylonia 2 aIs. 41:16; Jer. 15:7; Matt. 3:12 bJer. 50:14 3 aJer. 50:14, 29 bJer. 50:21

715 JEREMIAH 51:25 4 Thus the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, aAnd those thrust through in her streets. 5 For Israel is anot forsaken, nor Judah, By his God, the LORD of hosts, Though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel.” 6 aFlee from the midst of Babylon, And every one save his life! Do not be cut off in her iniquity, For bthis is the time of the LORD’s vengeance; cHe shall recompense her. 7 aBabylon was a golden cup in the LORD’s hand, That made all the earth drunk. bThe nations drank her wine; Therefore the nations care deranged. 8 Babylon has suddenly afallen and been destroyed. bWail for her! cTake balm for her pain; Perhaps she may be healed. 9 We would have healed Babylon, But she is not healed. Forsake her, and alet us go everyone to his own country; bFor her judgment reaches to heaven and is lifted up to the skies. 10 The LORD has arevealed our righteousness. Come and let us bdeclare in Zion the work of the LORD our God. 11 aMake1 the arrows bright! Gather the shields! bThe LORD has raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes. cFor His plan is against Babylon to destroy it, Because it is dthe vengeance of the LORD, The vengeance for His temple. 12 aSet up the standard on the walls of Babylon; Make the guard strong, Set up the watchmen, Prepare the ambushes. For the LORD has both devised and done What He spoke against the inhabitants of Babylon. 13 aO you who dwell by many waters, Abundant in treasures, Your end has come, The measure of your covetousness. 14 aThe LORD of hosts has sworn by Himself: “Surely I will fill you with men, bas with locusts, And they shall lift cup a shout against you.” 15 aHe has made the earth by His power; He has established the world by His wisdom, And bstretched out the heaven by His understanding. 16 When He utters His voice— There is a multitude of waters in the heavens: a“He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; He makes lightnings for the rain; He brings the wind out of His treasuries.” 17 aEveryone is dull-hearted, without knowledge; Every metalsmith is put to shame by the carved image; bFor his molded image is falsehood, And there is no breath in them. 18 They are futile, a work of errors; In the time of their punishment they shall perish. 19 The Portion of Jacob is not like them, For He is the Maker of all things; And Israel is the tribe of His inheritance. The LORD of hosts is His name. 20 “Youa are My battle-ax and weapons of war: For with you I will break the nation in pieces; With you I will destroy kingdoms; 21 With you I will break in pieces the horse and its rider; With you I will break in pieces the chariot and its rider; 22 With you also I will break in pieces man and woman; With you I will break in pieces aold and young; With you I will break in pieces the young man and the maiden; 23 With you also I will break in pieces the shepherd and his flock; With you I will break in pieces the farmer and his yoke of oxen; And with you I will break in pieces governors and rulers. 24 “Anda I will repay Babylon And all the inhabitants of Chaldea For all the evil they have done In Zion in your sight,” says the LORD. 25 “Behold, I am against you, aO destroying mountain, 4 aJer. 49:26; 50:30, 37 5 a[Is. 54:7, 8; Jer. 33:24–26; 46:28] 6 aJer. 50:8; Rev. 18:4 bJer. 50:15 cJer. 25:14 7 aJer. 25:15; Hab. 2:16; Rev. 17:4 bRev. 14:8 cJer. 25:16 8 aIs. 21:9; Jer. 50:2; Rev. 14:8; 18:2 b[Is. 48:20]; Rev. 18:9, 11, 19 cJer. 46:11 9 aIs. 13:14; Jer. 46:16; 50:16 bEzra 9:6; Rev. 18:5 10 aPs. 37:6; Mic. 7:9 b[Is. 40:2]; Jer. 50:28 11 aJer. 46:4, 9; Joel 3:9, 10 bIs. 13:17 cJer. 50:45 dJer. 50:28 1Polish the arrows! 12 aNah. 2:1; 3:14 13 aRev. 17:1, 15 14 aJer. 49:13; Amos 6:8 bJer. 51:27; Nah. 3:15 cJer. 50:15 15 aGen. 1:1, 6; Jer. 10:12–16 bJob 9:8; Ps. 104:2; Is. 40:22 16 aPs. 135:7; Jer. 10:13 17 a[Is. 44:18–20]; Jer. 10:14 bJer. 50:2 20 aIs. 10:5, 15; Jer. 50:23 22 a2 Chr. 36:17; Is. 13:15, 16 24 aJer. 50:15, 29 25 aIs. 13:2; Zech. 4:7

JEREMIAH 51:26 716 Who destroys all the earth,” says the LORD. “And I will stretch out My hand against you, Roll you down from the rocks, bAnd make you a burnt mountain. 26 They shall not take from you a stone for a corner Nor a stone for a foundation, aBut you shall be desolate forever,” says the LORD. 27 aSet up a banner in the land, Blow the trumpet among the nations! bPrepare the nations against her, Call cthe kingdoms together against her: Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz. Appoint a general against her; Cause the horses to come up like the bristling locusts. 28 Prepare against her the nations, With the kings of the Medes, Its governors and all its rulers, All the land of his dominion. 29 And the land will tremble and sorrow; For every apurpose of the LORD shall be performed against Babylon, bTo make the land of Babylon a desolation without inhabitant. 30 The mighty men of Babylon have ceased fighting, They have remained in their strongholds; Their might has failed, aThey became like women; They have burned her dwelling places, bThe bars of her gate are broken. 31 aOne runner will run to meet another, And one messenger to meet another, To show the king of Babylon that his city is taken on all sides; 32 aThe passages are blocked, The reeds they have burned with fire, And the men of war are terrified. 33 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “The daughter of Babylon is alike a threshing floor When bit is time to thresh her; Yet a little while cAnd the time of her harvest will come.” 34 “Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon Has adevoured me, he has crushed me; He has made me an bempty vessel, He has swallowed me up like a monster; He has filled his stomach with my delicacies, He has spit me out. 35 Let the violence done to me and my flesh be upon Babylon,” The inhabitant of Zion will say; “And my blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea!” Jerusalem will say. 36 Therefore thus says the LORD: “Behold, aI will plead your case and take vengeance for you. bI will dry up her sea and make her springs dry. 37 aBabylon shall become a heap, A dwelling place for jackals, bAn astonishment and a hissing, Without an inhabitant. 38 They shall roar together like lions, They shall growl like lions’ whelps. 39 In their excitement I will prepare their feasts; aI will make them drunk, That they may rejoice, And sleep a perpetual sleep And not awake,” says the LORD. 40 “I will bring them down Like lambs to the slaughter, Like rams with male goats. 41 “Oh, how aSheshach1 is taken! Oh, how bthe praise of the whole earth is seized! How Babylon has become desolate among the nations! 42 aThe sea has come up over Babylon; She is covered with the multitude of its waves. 43 aHer cities are a desolation, A dry land and a wilderness, A land where bno one dwells, Through which no son of man passes. 44 I will punish aBel1 in Babylon, And I will bring out of his mouth what he has swallowed; And the nations shall not stream to him anymore. Yes, bthe wall of Babylon shall fall. 45 “Mya people, go out of the midst of her! And let everyone deliver 1himself from the fierce anger of the LORD. 46 And lest your heart faint, And you fear afor the rumor that will be heard in the land (A rumor will come one year, And after that, in another year A rumor will come, 25 bRev. 8:8 26 aJer. 50:26, 40 27 aIs. 13:2; Jer. 50:2; 51:12 bJer. 25:14 cJer. 50:41, 42 29 aJer. 50:45 bIs. 13:19, 20; 47:11; Jer. 50:13; 51:26, 43 30 aIs. 19:16; Jer. 48:41 bIs. 45:1, 2; Lam. 2:9; Amos 1:5; Nah. 3:13 31 aJer. 50:24 32 aJer. 50:38 33 aIs. 21:10; Dan. 2:35; Amos 1:3; Mic. 4:13 bIs. 41:15; Hab. 3:12 cIs. 17:15; Hos. 6:11; Joel 3:13; Rev. 14:15 34 aJer. 50:17 bIs. 24:1–3 36 a[Ps. 140:12]; Jer. 50:34 bJer. 50:38 37 aIs. 13:22; Jer. 50:39; [Rev. 18:2] bJer. 25:9, 11 39 aJer. 51:57 41 aJer. 25:26 bIs. 13:19; Jer. 49:25; [Dan. 4:30] 1A code word for Babylon, Jer. 25:26 42 aIs. 8:7, 8; Jer. 51:55; Dan. 9:26 43 aJer. 50:39, 40 bIs. 13:20 44 aJer. 50:2; Is.

1 bIs. 45:1, 2; Lam. 2:9; Amos 1:5; Nah. 3:13 31 aJer. 50:24 32 aJer. 50:38 33 aIs. 21:10; Dan. 2:35; Amos 1:3; Mic. 4:13 bIs. 41:15; Hab. 3:12 cIs. 17:15; Hos. 6:11; Joel 3:13; Rev. 14:15 34 aJer. 50:17 bIs. 24:1–3 36 a[Ps. 140:12]; Jer. 50:34 bJer. 50:38 37 aIs. 13:22; Jer. 50:39; [Rev. 18:2] bJer. 25:9, 11 39 aJer. 51:57 41 aJer. 25:26 bIs. 13:19; Jer. 49:25; [Dan. 4:30] 1A code word for Babylon, Jer. 25:26 42 aIs. 8:7, 8; Jer. 51:55; Dan. 9:26 43 aJer. 50:39, 40 bIs. 13:20 44 aJer. 50:2; Is. 46:1 bJer. 50:15 1A Babylonian god 45 aIs. 48:20; [Jer. 50:8, 28; 51:6; Rev. 18:4] 1Lit. his soul 46 a2 Kin. 19:7; Is. 13:3–5

717 JEREMIAH 52:4 And violence in the land, Ruler against ruler), 47 Therefore behold, the days are coming That I will bring judgment on the carved images of Babylon; Her whole land shall be ashamed, And all her slain shall fall in her midst. 48 Then athe heavens and the earth and all that is in them Shall sing joyously over Babylon; bFor the plunderers shall come to her from the north,” says the LORD. 49 As Babylon has caused the slain of Israel to fall, So at Babylon the slain of all the earth shall fall. 50 aYou who have escaped the sword, Get away! Do not stand still! bRemember the LORD afar off, And let Jerusalem come to your mind. 51 aWe are ashamed because we have heard reproach. Shame has covered our faces, For strangers bhave come into the 1sanctuaries of the LORD’s house. 52 “Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “That I will bring judgment on her carved images, And throughout all her land the wounded shall groan. 53 aThough Babylon were to 1mount up to heaven, And though she were to fortify the height of her strength, Yet from Me plunderers would come to her,” says the LORD. 54 aThe sound of a cry comes from Babylon, And great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans, 55 Because the LORD is plundering Babylon And silencing her loud voice, Though her waves roar like great waters, And the noise of their voice is uttered, 56 Because the plunderer comes against her, against Babylon, And her mighty men are taken. Every one of their bows is broken; aFor the LORD is the God of recompense, He will surely repay. 57 “And I will make drunk Her princes and awise men, Her governors, her deputies, and her mighty men. And they shall sleep a perpetual sleep And not awake,” says bthe King, Whose name is the LORD of hosts. 58 Thus says the LORD of hosts: “The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly abroken,1 And her high gates shall be burned with fire; bThe people will labor in vain, And the nations, because of the fire; And they shall be weary.” Jeremiah’s Command to Seraiah 59 The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of aNeriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. And Sera- iah was the quartermaster. 60 So Jeremiah awrote in a book all the evil that would come upon Babylon, all these words that are written against Babylon. 61 And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, “When you arrive in Babylon and see it, and read all these words, 62 “then you shall say, ‘O LORD, You have spoken against this place to cut it off, so that anone shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but it shall be desolate forever.’ 63 “Now it shall be, when you have finished reading this book, athat you shall tie a stone to it and throw it out into the Euphrates. 64 “Then you shall say, ‘Thus Bab- ylon shall sink and not rise from the catastrophe that I will bring upon her. And they shall be weary.’ ” Thus far are the words of Jeremiah. The Fall of Jerusalem Reviewed 52 Zedekiah was atwenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of bLibnah. 2 He also did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. 3 For because of the anger of the LORD this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, till He finally cast them out from His presence. Then Zede- kiah arebelled against the king of Babylon. 4 Now it came to pass in the aninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against 48 aIs. 44:23; 48:20; 49:13; Rev. 18:20 bJer. 50:3, 41 50 aJer. 44:28 b[Deut. 4:29–31]; Ezek. 6:9 51 aPs. 44:15; 79:4 bPs. 74:3–8; Jer. 52:13; Lam. 1:10 1holy places 53 aGen. 11:4; Job 20:6; [Ps. 139:8–10; Is. 14:12–14]; Jer. 49:16; Amos 9:2; Obad. 4 1ascend 54 aJer. 50:22 56 aPs. 94:1; Jer. 50:29 57 aJer. 50:35 bJer. 46:18; 48:15 58 aJer. 50:15 bHab. 2:13 1Lit. laid ut- terly bare 59 aJer.

th month, on the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against 48 aIs. 44:23; 48:20; 49:13; Rev. 18:20 bJer. 50:3, 41 50 aJer. 44:28 b[Deut. 4:29–31]; Ezek. 6:9 51 aPs. 44:15; 79:4 bPs. 74:3–8; Jer. 52:13; Lam. 1:10 1holy places 53 aGen. 11:4; Job 20:6; [Ps. 139:8–10; Is. 14:12–14]; Jer. 49:16; Amos 9:2; Obad. 4 1ascend 54 aJer. 50:22 56 aPs. 94:1; Jer. 50:29 57 aJer. 50:35 bJer. 46:18; 48:15 58 aJer. 50:15 bHab. 2:13 1Lit. laid ut- terly bare 59 aJer. 32:12 60 aIs. 30:8; Jer. 36:2 62 aIs. 13:20; 14:22, 23; Jer. 50:3, 39 63 aJer. 19:10, 11; Rev. 18:21 CHAPTER 52 1 a2 Kin. 24:18; 2 Chr. 36:11 bJosh. 10:29; 2 Kin. 8:22; Is. 37:8 3 a2 Chr. 36:13 4 a2 Kin. 25:1; Jer. 39:1; Ezek. 24:1, 2; Zech. 8:19

JEREMIAH 52:5 718 Jerusalem and encamped against it; and they built a siege wall against it all around. 5 So the city was besieged until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 6 By the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, the famine had become so severe in the city that there was no food for the peo- ple of the land. 7 Then the city wall was broken through, and all the men of war fled and went out of the city at night by way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king’s gar- den, even though the Chaldeans were near the city all around. And they went by way of the 1plain. 8 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king, and they overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. All his army was scattered from him. 9 aSo they took the king and brought him up to the king of Bab- ylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he pronounced judgment on him. 10 aThen the king of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes. And he killed all the princes of Ju- dah in Riblah. 11 He also aput out the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him in 1bronze fetters, took him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death. The Temple and City Plundered and Burned 12 aNow in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month (bwhich was the nineteenth year of King Nebu- chadnezzar king of Babylon), cNebu- zaradan, the captain of the guard, who served the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 13 He burned the house of the LORD and the king’s house; all the houses of Jerusalem, that is, all the houses of the great, he burned with fire. 14 And all the army of the Chalde- ans who were with the captain of the guard broke down all the walls of Jerusalem all around. 15 aThen Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive some of the poor people, the rest of the people who remained in the city, the defectors who had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the craftsmen. 16 But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poor of the land as vinedressers and farmers. 17 aThe bbronze pillars that were in the house of the LORD, and the carts and the bronze Sea that were in the house of the LORD, the Chaldeans broke in pieces, and car- ried all their bronze to Babylon. 18 They also took away athe pots, the shovels, the trimmers, the 1bowls, the spoons, and all the bronze uten- sils with which the priests minis- tered. 19 The basins, the firepans, the bowls, the pots, the lampstands, the spoons, and the cups, whatever was solid gold and whatever was solid silver, the captain of the guard took away. 20 The two pillars, one Sea, the twelve bronze bulls which were under it, and the carts, which King Solomon had made for the house of the LORD—athe bronze of all these articles was beyond measure. 21 Now concerning the apillars: the height of one pillar was eighteen 1cubits, a measuring line of twelve cubits could measure its circumfer- ence, and its thickness was 2four fingers; it was hollow. 22 A capital of bronze was on it; and the height of one capital was five cubits, with a network and pomegranates all around the capi- tal, all of bronze.

ls which were under it, and the carts, which King Solomon had made for the house of the LORD—athe bronze of all these articles was beyond measure. 21 Now concerning the apillars: the height of one pillar was eighteen 1cubits, a measuring line of twelve cubits could measure its circumfer- ence, and its thickness was 2four fingers; it was hollow. 22 A capital of bronze was on it; and the height of one capital was five cubits, with a network and pomegranates all around the capi- tal, all of bronze. The second pillar, with pomegranates was the same. 23 There were ninety-six pome- granates on the sides; aall the pome- granates, all around on the network, were one hundred. The People Taken Captive to Babylonia 24 aThe captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, bZephaniah the second priest, and the three door- keepers. 25 He also took out of the city an 1officer who had charge of the men of war, seven men of the king’s close associates who were found in the city, the principal scribe of the army who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men of the people of the land who were found in the midst of the city. 26 And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took these and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 27 Then the king of Babylon struck them and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. Thus Judah was carried away cap- tive from its own land. 28 aThese are the people whom Nebuchadnezzar carried away cap- tive: bin the seventh year, cthree thousand and twenty-three Jews; 29 ain the eighteenth year of Neb- uchadnezzar he carried away cap- tive from Jerusalem eight hundred and thirty-two persons; 30 in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the Jews seven hundred and forty-five persons. All the persons were four thousand six hundred. 7 1Or Arabah; the Jordan Valley 9 a2 Kin. 25:6; Jer. 32:4; 39:5 10 aEzek. 12:13 11 aEzek. 12:13 1shack- les 12 a2 Kin. 25:8–21 bJer. 52:29 cJer. 39:9 15 aJer. 39:9 17 aJer. 27:19 b1 Kin. 7:15, 23, 27, 50 18 aEx. 27:3; 1 Kin. 7:40, 45; 2 Kin. 25:14 1basins 20 a1 Kin. 7:47; 2 Kin. 25:16 21 a1 Kin. 7:15; 2 Kin. 25:17; 2 Chr. 3:15 118 inches each 23 inches 23 a1 Kin. 7:20 24 a2 Kin. 25:18; 1 Chr. 6:14; Ezra 7:1 bJer. 21:1; 29:25 25 1Lit. eunuch 28 a2 Kin. 24:2 b2 Kin. 24:12 c2 Kin. 24:14 29 a2 Kin. 25:11; Jer. 39:9

719 LAMENTATIONS 1:6 Jehoiachin Released from Prison 31 aNow it came to pass in the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty- fifth day of the month, that 1Evil- Merodach king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, blifted2 up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison. 32 And he spoke kindly to him and gave him a more prominent seat than those of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 33 So 1Jehoiachin changed from his prison garments, aand he ate bread regularly before the king all the days of his life. 34 And as for his provisions, there was a regular ration given him by the king of Babylon, a portion for each day until the day of his death, all the days of his life. 31 a2 Kin. 25:27–30 bGen. 40:13, 20; Ps. 3:3; 27:6 1Or Awil- Marduk; lit. The Man of Marduk 2Showed favor to 33 a2 Sam. 9:7, 13; 1 Kin. 2:7 1Lit. he The Book of LAMENTATIONS LAMENTATIONS describes the funeral of a city. It is a tearstained portrait of the once proud Jerusalem, now reduced to rubble by the invading Babylonian hordes. In a five-poem dirge, Jeremiah exposes his emotions. A death has oc- curred; Jerusalem lies barren. Jeremiah writes his lament in acrostic or alphabetical fashion. Beginning each chapter with the first letter A (aleph) he progresses verse by verse through the Hebrew alphabet, literally weeping from A to Z. And then, in the midst of this ter- rible holocaust, Jeremiah triumphantly cries out, “Great is Your faithfulness” (3:23). In the face of death and destruction, with life seemingly coming apart, Jere- miah turns tragedy into a triumph of faith. God has never failed him in the past. God has promised to remain faithful in the future. In the light of the God he knows and loves, Jeremiah finds hope and comfort. The Hebrew title of this book comes from the first word of chapters 1, 2, and 4: Ekah, “Ah, how!” Another Hebrew word Ginoth (“Elegies” or “Lamentations”) has also been used as the title because it better represents the contents of the book. The Greek title Threnoi means “Dirges” or “Laments,” and the Latin title Threni (“Tears” or “Lamentations”) was derived from this word. The subtitle in Jerome’s Vulgate reads: “Id est lamentationes Jeremiae prophetae,” and this became the basis for the English title “The Lamentations of Jeremiah.” Jerusalem in Affliction HOW lonely sits the city That was full of people! aHow like a widow is she, Who was great among the nations! The bprincess among the provinces Has become a 1slave! 2 She aweeps bitterly in the bnight, Her tears are on her cheeks; Among all her lovers She has none to comfort her. All her friends have dealt treacherously with her; They have become her enemies. 3 aJudah has gone into captivity, Under affliction and hard servitude; bShe dwells among the 1nations, She finds no crest; All her persecutors overtake her in dire straits. 4 The roads to Zion mourn Because no one comes to the 1set feasts. All her gates are adesolate; Her priests sigh, Her virgins are afflicted, And she is in bitterness. 5 Her adversaries ahave become 1the master, Her enemies prosper; For the LORD has afflicted her bBecause of the multitude of her transgressions. Her cchildren have gone into captivity before the enemy. 6 And from the daughter of Zion All her splendor has departed. CHAPTER 1 1 aIs. 47:7–9 b1 Kin. 4:21; Ezra 4:20; Jer. 31:7 1Lit. forced laborer 2 aJer. 13:17 bJob 7:3 3 aJer. 52:27 bLam. 2:9 cDeut. 28:65 1Gentiles 4 aIs. 27:10 1appointed 5 aDeut. 28:43 bJer. 30:14, 15; Dan. 9:7, 16 cJer. 52:28 1Lit. her head

LAMENTATIONS 1:7 720 Her princes have become like deer That find no pasture, That 1flee without strength Before the pursuer. 7 In the days of her affliction and roaming, Jerusalem aremembers all her pleasant things That she had in the days of old. When her people fell into the hand of the enemy, With no one to help her, The adversaries saw her And mocked at her 1downfall. 8 aJerusalem has sinned gravely, Therefore she has become 1vile. All who honored her despise her Because bthey have seen her nakedness; Yes, she sighs and turns away. 9 Her uncleanness is in her skirts; She adid not consider her destiny; Therefore her collapse was awesome; She had no comforter. “O LORD, behold my affliction, For the enemy is exalted!” 10 The adversary has spread his hand Over all her 1pleasant things; For she has seen athe nations enter her 2sanctuary, Those whom You commanded bNot to enter Your assembly. 11 All her people sigh, aThey 1seek bread; They have given their 2valuables for food to restore life. “See, O LORD, and consider, For I am scorned.” 12 “Is it nothing to you, all you who 1pass by? Behold and see aIf there is any sorrow like my sorrow, Which has been brought on me, Which the LORD has inflicted In the day of His fierce anger. 13 “From above He has sent fire into my bones, And it overpowered them; He has aspread a net for my feet And turned me back; He has made me desolate And faint all the day. 14 “Thea yoke of my transgressions was 1bound; They were woven together by His hands, And thrust upon my neck. He made my strength fail; The Lord delivered me into the hands of those whom I am not able to withstand. 15 “The Lord has trampled underfoot all my mighty men in my midst; He has called an assembly against me To crush my young men; aThe Lord trampled as in a winepress The virgin daughter of Judah. 16 “For these things I weep; My eye, amy eye overflows with water; Because the comforter, who should restore my life, Is far from me. My children are desolate Because the enemy prevailed.” 17 aZion 1spreads out her hands, But no one comforts her; The LORD has commanded concerning Jacob That those baround him become his adversaries; Jerusalem has become an unclean thing among them. 18 “The LORD is arighteous, For I brebelled against His 1commandment. Hear now, all peoples, And behold my sorrow; My virgins and my young men Have gone into captivity. 19 “I called for my lovers, But they deceived me; My priests and my elders Breathed their last in the city, While they sought food To restore their life. 20 “See, O LORD, that I am in distress; My asoul1 is troubled; My heart is overturned within me, For I have been very rebellious. bOutside the sword bereaves, At home it is like death. 21 “They have heard that I sigh, But no one comforts me. All my enemies have heard of my trouble; They are aglad that You have done it. Bring on bthe day You have 1announced, That they may become like me. 22 “Leta all their wickedness come before You, And do to them as You have done to me For all my transgressions; 6 1Lit. are gone 7 aPs. 137:1 1Vg. Sabbaths 8 a[1 Kin. 8:46] bJer. 13:22; Ezek. 16:37; Hos. 2:10 1LXX, Vg. moved or re- moved 9 aDeut. 32:29; Is. 47:7; Jer. 5:31 10 aPs. 74:4–8; Is. 64:10, 11; Jer. 51:51 bDeut. 23:3; Neh. 13:1 1de- sirable 1holy place, the temple 11 aJer. 38:9; 52:6 1hunt food 2desir- able things 12 aDan. 9:12 1Lit. pass by this way 13 aEzek. 12:13; 17:20 14 aDeut. 28:48 1So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Syr., Vg. watched over 15 aIs. 63:3; [Rev. 14:19] 16 aPs. 69:20; Eccl. 4:1; Jer. 13:17; Lam. 2:18 17 a[Is. 1:15]; Jer. 4:31 b2 Kin. 24:2–4; Jer. 12:9 1Prays 18 aNeh. 9:33; Ps. 119:75; Dan. 9:7, 14 b1 Sam. 12:14, 15; Jer. 4:17 1Lit. mouth 20 aJob 30:27; Is. 16:11; Jer. 4:19; Lam. 2:11; Hos. 11:8 bDeut. 32:25; Ezek. 7:15 1Lit. inward parts 21 aPs. 35:15; Jer. 48:27; 50:11; Lam. 2:15; Obad. 12 bIs. 13; [Jer. 46] 1pro- claimed 22 aNeh. 4:4, 5; Ps. 109:15; 137:7, 8; Jer. 30:16

721 LAMENTATIONS 2:14 For my sighs are many, And my heart is faint.” God’s Anger with Jerusalem 2 How the Lord has covered the daughter of Zion With a acloud in His anger! bHe cast down from heaven to the earth cThe beauty of Israel, And did not remember dHis footstool In the day of His anger. 2 The Lord has swallowed up and has anot pitied All the dwelling places of Jacob. He has thrown down in His wrath The strongholds of the daughter of Judah; He has brought them down to the ground; bHe has profaned the kingdom and its princes. 3 He has cut off in fierce anger Every 1horn of Israel; aHe has drawn back His right hand From before the enemy. bHe has blazed against Jacob like a flaming fire Devouring all around. 4 aStanding like an enemy, He has bent His bow; With His right hand, like an adversary, He has slain ball who were pleasing to His eye; On the tent of the daughter of Zion, He has poured out His fury like fire. 5 aThe Lord was like an enemy. He has swallowed up Israel, He has swallowed up all her palaces; bHe has destroyed her strongholds, And has increased mourning and lamentation In the daughter of Judah. 6 He has done violence ato His 1tabernacle, bAs if it were a garden; He has destroyed His place of assembly; The LORD has caused The appointed feasts and Sabbaths to be forgotten in Zion. In His burning indignation He has cspurned the king and the priest. 7 The Lord has spurned His altar, He has aabandoned His sanctuary; He has 1given up the walls of her palaces Into the hand of the enemy. bThey have made a noise in the house of the LORD As on the day of a set feast. 8 The LORD has 1purposed to destroy The awall of the daughter of Zion. bHe has stretched out a line; He has not withdrawn His hand from destroying; Therefore He has caused the rampart and wall to lament; They languished together. 9 Her gates have sunk into the ground; He has destroyed and abroken her bars. bHer king and her princes are among the 1nations; cThe Law is no more, And her dprophets find no 2vision from the LORD. 10 The elders of the daughter of Zion aSit on the ground and keep silence; 1They bthrow dust on their heads And cgird themselves with sackcloth. The virgins of Jerusalem Bow their heads to the ground. 11 aMy eyes fail with tears, My 1heart is troubled; bMy 2bile is poured on the ground Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people, Because cthe children and the infants Faint in the streets of the city. 12 They say to their mothers, “Where is grain and wine?” As they swoon like the wounded In the streets of the city, As their life is poured out In their mothers’ bosom. 13 How shall I aconsole1 you? To what shall I liken you, O daughter of Jerusalem? What shall I compare with you, that I may comfort you, O virgin daughter of Zion? For your ruin is spread wide as the sea; Who can heal you? 14 Your aprophets have seen for you False and deceptive visions; They have not buncovered your iniquity, To bring back your captives, CHAPTER 2 1 a[Lam. 3:44] bMatt. 11:23 c2 Sam. 1:19 dPs. 99:5 2 aLam. 3:43 bPs. 89:39, 40 3 aPs. 74:11 bPs. 89:46 1Strength 4 aIs. 63:10 bEzek. 24:25 5 aJer. 30:14 bJer. 52:13 6 aPs. 80:12; 89:40 bIs. 1:8 cIs. 43:28 1Lit. booth 7 aEzek. 24:21 bPs. 74:3–8 1delivered 8 aJer. 52:14 b[Is. 34:11] 1determined 9 aJer. 51:30 bDeut. 28:36 c2 Chr. 15:3 dPs. 74:9 1Gentiles 2Prophetic revelation 10 aIs. 3:26 bJob 2:12 cIs. 15:3 1A sign of mourning 11 aLam. 3:48 bJob 16:13 cLam. 4:4 1Lit. inward parts 2Lit. liver 13 aLam. 1:12 1Or bear wit- ness to 14 aJer. 2:8; 23:25–29; 29:8, 9; 37:19 bIs. 58:1

LAMENTATIONS 2:15 722 But have envisioned for you false cprophecies and delusions. 15 All who 1pass by aclap their hands at you; They hiss band shake their heads At the daughter of Jerusalem: “Is this the city that is called c‘The perfection of beauty, The joy of the whole earth’?” 16 aAll your enemies have opened their mouth against you; They hiss and gnash their teeth. They say, b“We have swallowed her up! Surely this is the cday we have waited for; We have found it, dwe have seen it!” 17 The LORD has done what He apurposed; He has fulfilled His word Which He commanded in days of old. He has thrown down and has not pitied, And He has caused an enemy to brejoice over you; He has exalted the 1horn of your adversaries. 18 Their heart cried out to the Lord, “O wall of the daughter of Zion, aLet tears run down like a river day and night; Give yourself no relief; Give 1your eyes no rest. 19 “Arise, acry out in the night, At the beginning of the watches; bPour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord. Lift your hands toward Him For the life of your young children, Who faint from hunger cat the head of every street.” 20 “See, O LORD, and consider! To whom have You done this? aShould the women eat their offspring, The children 1they have cuddled? Should the priest and prophet be slain In the sanctuary of the Lord? 21 “Younga and old lie On the ground in the streets; My virgins and my young men Have fallen by the bsword; You have slain them in the day of Your anger, You have slaughtered and not pitied. 22 “You have invited as to a feast day aThe terrors that surround me. In the day of the LORD’s anger There was no refugee or survivor. bThose whom I have borne and brought up My enemies have cdestroyed.” The Prophet’s Anguish and Hope 3 I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of His wrath. 2 He has led me and made me walk In darkness and not in light. 3 Surely He has turned His hand against me Time and time again throughout the day. 4 He has aged amy flesh and my skin, And bbroken my bones. 5 He has besieged me And surrounded me with bitterness and 1woe. 6 aHe has set me in dark places Like the dead of long ago. 7 aHe has hedged me in so that I cannot get out; He has made my chain heavy. 8 Even awhen I cry and shout, He shuts out my prayer. 9 He has blocked my ways with hewn stone; He has made my paths crooked. 10 aHe has been to me a bear lying in wait, Like a lion in 1ambush. 11 He has turned aside my ways and atorn me in pieces; He has made me desolate. 12 He has bent His bow And aset me up as a target for the arrow. 13 He has caused athe 1arrows of His quiver To pierce my 2loins. 14 I have become the aridicule of all my people— bTheir taunting song all the day. 15 aHe has filled me with bitterness, He has made me drink wormwood. 16 He has also broken my teeth awith gravel, And 1covered me with ashes. 17 You have moved my soul far from peace; I have forgotten 1prosperity. 18 aAnd I said, “My strength and my hope Have perished from the LORD.” 14 cJer. 23:33–36 15 aEzek. 25:6 bPs. 44:14 c[Ps. 48:2; 50:2] 1Lit. pass by this way 16 aJob 16:9, 10 bPs. 56:2; 124:3 cLam. 1:21 dPs. 35:21 17 aLev. 26:16 bPs. 38:16 1Strength 18 aJer. 14:17 1Lit. the daughter of your eye 19 aPs. 119:147 bPs. 42:4; 62:8 cIs. 51:20 20 aLev. 26:29 1Vg. a span long 21 a2 Chr. 36:17 bJer. 18:21 22 aPs. 31:13 bHos. 9:12 cJer. 16:2–4; 44:7 CHAPTER 3 4 aJob 16:8 bPs. 51:8 5 1hardship or weariness 6 a[Ps. 88:5, 6; 143:3] 7 aHos. 2:6 8 aJob 30:20 10 aIs. 38:13 1Lit. secret places 11 aHos. 6:1 12 aJob 7:20; 16:12 13 aJob 6:4 1Lit. sons of 2Lit. kidneys 14 aJer. 20:7 bJob 30:9 15 aJer. 9:15 16 a[Prov. 20:17] 1Lit. bent me down in 17 1Lit. good 18 aPs. 31:22

723 LAMENTATIONS 3:62 19 Remember my affliction and roaming, aThe wormwood and the 1gall. 20 My soul still remembers And 1sinks within me. 21 This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have ahope. 22 aThrough the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions bfail not. 23 They are new aevery morning; Great is Your faithfulness. 24 “The LORD is my aportion,” says my soul, “Therefore I bhope in Him!” 25 The LORD is good to those who await for Him, To the soul who seeks Him. 26 It is good that one should ahope band wait quietly For the salvation of the LORD. 27 aIt is good for a man to bear The yoke in his youth. 28 aLet him sit alone and keep silent, Because God has laid it on him; 29 aLet him put his mouth in the dust— There may yet be hope. 30 aLet him give his cheek to the one who strikes him, And be full of reproach. 31 aFor the Lord will not cast off forever. 32 Though He causes grief, Yet He will show compassion According to the multitude of His mercies. 33 For aHe does not afflict 1willingly, Nor grieve the children of men. 34 To crush under one’s feet All the prisoners of the earth, 35 To turn aside the justice due a man Before the face of the Most High, 36 Or subvert a man in his cause— aThe Lord does not approve. 37 Who is he awho speaks and it comes to pass, When the Lord has not commanded it? 38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High That awoe and well-being proceed? 39 aWhy should a living man 1complain, bA man for the punishment of his sins? 40 Let us search out and examine our ways, And turn back to the LORD; 41 aLet us lift our hearts and hands To God in heaven. 42 aWe have transgressed and rebelled; You have not pardoned. 43 You have covered Yourself with anger And pursued us; You have slain and not pitied. 44 You have covered Yourself with a cloud, That prayer should not pass through. 45 You have made us an aoffscouring and refuse In the midst of the peoples. 46 aAll our enemies Have opened their mouths against us. 47 aFear and a snare have come upon us, bDesolation and destruction. 48 aMy eyes overflow with rivers of water For the destruction of the daughter of my people. 49 aMy eyes flow and do not cease, Without interruption, 50 Till the LORD from heaven aLooks down and sees. 51 My eyes bring suffering to my soul Because of all the daughters of my city. 52 My enemies awithout cause Hunted me down like a bird. 53 They 1silenced my life ain the pit And bthrew 2stones at me. 54 aThe waters flowed over my head; bI said, “I am cut off!” 55 aI called on Your name, O LORD, From the lowest bpit. 56 aYou have heard my voice: “Do not hide Your ear From my sighing, from my cry for help.” 57 You adrew near on the day I called on You, And said, b“Do not fear!” 58 O Lord,You have apleaded the case for my soul; bYou have redeemed my life. 59 O LORD,You have seen 1how I am wronged; aJudge my case. 60 You have seen all their vengeance, All their aschemes against me. 61 You have heard their reproach, O LORD, All their schemes against me, 62 The lips of my enemies And their whispering against me all the day. 19 aJer. 9:15 1bitterness 20 1Lit. bowed down 21 aPs. 130:7 22 a[Mal. 3:6] bPs. 78:38 23 aIs. 33:2 24 aPs. 16:5; 73:26; 119:57 bMic. 7:7 25 aIs. 30:18 26 a[Rom. 4:16–18] bPs. 37:7 27 aPs. 94:12 28 aJer. 15:17 29 aJob 42:6 30 aIs. 50:6 31 aPs. 77:7; 94:14 33 a[Ezek. 33:11] 1Lit. from his heart 36 a[Hab. 1:13] 37 a[Ps. 33:9–11] 38 aJob 2:10 39 aProv. 19:3 bMic. 7:9 1Or murmur 41 aPs. 86:4 42 aDan. 9:5 45 a1 Cor. 4:13 46 aLam. 2:16 47 aIs. 24:17, 18 bIs. 51:19 48 aJer. 4:19; 14:17 49 aJer. 14:17 50 aIs. 63:15 52 aPs. 35:7, 19 53 aJer. 37:16 bDan. 6:17 1LXX put to death 2Lit. a stone on 54 aPs. 69:2 bIs. 38:10 55 aPs. 130:1 bJer. 38:6–13 56 aPs. 3:4 57 aJames 4:8 bIs. 41:10, 14 58 aJer. 51:36 bPs. 71:23 59 aPs. 9:4 1Lit. my wrong 60 aJer. 11:19

LAMENTATIONS 3:63 724 63 Look at their asitting down and their rising up; I am their taunting song. 64 aRepay them, O LORD, According to the work of their hands. 65 Give them 1a veiled heart; Your curse be upon them! 66 In Your anger, Pursue and destroy them aFrom under the heavens of the bLORD. The Degradation of Zion 4 How the gold has become dim! How changed the fine gold! The stones of the sanctuary are 1scattered At the head of every street. 2 The precious sons of Zion, 1Valuable as fine gold, How they are 2regarded aas clay pots, The work of the hands of the potter! 3 Even the jackals present their breasts To nurse their young; But the daughter of my people is cruel, aLike ostriches in the wilderness. 4 The tongue of the infant clings To the roof of its mouth for thirst; aThe young children ask for bread, But no one breaks it for them. 5 Those who ate delicacies Are desolate in the streets; Those who were brought up in scarlet aEmbrace ash heaps. 6 The punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people Is greater than the punishment of the asin of Sodom, Which was boverthrown in a moment, With no hand to help her! 7 Her 1Nazirites were 2brighter than snow And whiter than milk; They were more ruddy in body than rubies, Like sapphire in their 3appearance. 8 Now their appearance is blacker than soot; They go unrecognized in the streets; aTheir skin clings to their bones, It has become as dry as wood. 9 Those slain by the sword are better off Than those who die of hunger; For these apine away, Stricken for lack of the fruits of the bfield. 10 The hands of the acompassionate women Have 1cooked their bown children; They became cfood for them In the destruction of the daughter of my people. 11 The LORD has fulfilled His fury, aHe has poured out His fierce anger. bHe kindled a fire in Zion, And it has devoured its foundations. 12 The kings of the earth, And all inhabitants of the world, Would not have believed That the adversary and the enemy Could aenter the gates of Jerusalem— 13 aBecause of the sins of her prophets And the iniquities of her priests, bWho shed in her midst The blood of the just. 14 They wandered blind in the streets; aThey have defiled themselves with blood, bSo that no one would touch their garments. 15 They cried out to them, “Go away, aunclean! Go away, go away, Do not touch us!” When they fled and wandered, Those among the nations said, “They shall no longer dwell here.” 16 The 1face of the LORD scattered them; He no longer regards them. aThe people do not respect the priests Nor show favor to the elders. 17 Still aour eyes failed us, Watching vainly for our help; In our watching we watched For a nation that could not save us. 18 aThey 1tracked our steps So that we could not walk in our streets. bOur end was near; Our days were over, For our end had come. 63 aPs. 139:2 64 aPs. 28:4; Jer. 11:20; 2 Tim. 4:14 65 1A Jewish tradition sor- row of 66 aDeut. 25:19; Jer. 10:11 bPs. 8:3 CHAPTER 4 1 1Lit. poured out 2 aIs. 30:14; Jer. 19:11; [2 Cor. 4:7] 1Lit. Weighed against 2reck- oned 3 aJob 39:14–17 4 aPs. 22:15 5 aJob 24:8 6 aEzek. 16:48 bGen. 19:25; Jer. 20:16 7 1Or nobles 2Or purer 3Lit. polishing 8 aJob 19:20; Ps. 102:5 9 aLev. 26:39; Ezek. 24:23 bJer. 16:4 10 aLev. 26:29; Deut. 28:57; 2 Kin. 6:29; Jer. 19:9; Lam. 2:20; Ezek. 5:10 bIs. 49:15 cDeut. 28:57 1boiled 11 aJer. 7:20; Lam. 2:17; Ezek. 22:31 bDeut. 32:22; Jer. 21:14 12 aJer. 21:13 13 aJer. 5:31; Ezek. 22:26, 28; Zeph. 3:4 bJer. 2:30; 26:8, 9; Matt. 23:31 14 aJer. 2:34 bNum. 19:16 15 aLev. 13:45, 46 16 aLam. 5:12 1Tg. anger 17 a2 Kin. 24:7 18 a2 Kin. 25:4 bEzek. 7:2, 3, 6; Amos 8:2 1Lit. hunted

725 LAMENTATIONS 5:22 19 Our pursuers were aswifter Than the eagles of the heavens. They pursued us on the mountains And lay in wait for us in the wilderness. 20 The abreath of our nostrils, the anointed of the LORD, bWas caught in their pits, Of whom we said, “Under his shadow We shall live among the nations.” 21 Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of aEdom, You who dwell in the land of Uz! bThe cup shall also pass over to you And you shall become drunk and make yourself naked. 22 aThe punishment of your iniquity 1is accomplished, O daughter of Zion; He will no longer send you into captivity. bHe will punish your iniquity, O daughter of Edom; He will uncover your sins! A Prayer for Restoration 5 Remember, aO LORD, what has come upon us; Look, and behold bour reproach! 2 aOur inheritance has been turned over to aliens, And our houses to foreigners. 3 We have become orphans and waifs, Our mothers are like awidows. 4 We pay for the water we drink, And our wood comes at a price. 5 aThey pursue at our 1heels; We labor and have no rest. 6 aWe have given our hand bto the Egyptians And the cAssyrians, to be satisfied with bread. 7 aOur fathers sinned and are no more, But we bear their iniquities. 8 Servants rule over us; There is none to deliver us from their hand. 9 We get our bread at the risk of our lives, Because of the sword in the wilderness. 10 Our skin is hot as an oven, Because of the fever of famine. 11 They aravished the women in Zion, The maidens in the cities of Judah. 12 Princes were hung up by their hands, And elders were not respected. 13 Young men aground at the millstones; Boys staggered under loads of wood. 14 The elders have ceased gathering at the gate, And the young men from their amusic. 15 The joy of our heart has ceased; Our dance has turned into amourning. 16 aThe crown has fallen from our head. Woe to us, for we have sinned! 17 Because of this our heart is faint; aBecause of these things our eyes grow dim; 18 Because of Mount Zion which is adesolate, With foxes walking about on it. 19 You, O LORD, aremain forever; bYour throne from generation to generation. 20 aWhy do You forget us forever, And forsake us for so long a time? 21 aTurn us back to You, O LORD, and we will be 1restored; Renew our days as of old, 22 Unless You have utterly rejected us, And are very angry with us! 19 aDeut. 28:49 20 aGen. 2:7 bJer. 52:9; Ezek. 12:13 21 aPs. 83:3–6 bJer. 25:15; Obad. 10 22 a[Is. 40:2; Jer. 33:7, 8] bPs. 137:7 1has been completed CHAPTER 5 1 aPs. 89:50 bPs. 79:4; Lam. 2:15 2 aPs. 79:1 3 aEx. 22:24; Jer. 15:8; 18:21 5 aDeut. 28:48; Jer. 28:14 1Lit. necks 6 aGen. 24:2 bHos. 9:3; 12:1 cJer. 2:18; Hos. 5:13 7 aJer. 31:29 11 aIs. 13:16; Zech. 14:2 13 aJudg. 16:21 14 aIs. 24:8; Jer. 7:34 15 aJer. 25:10; Amos 8:10 16 aJob 19:9; Ps. 89:39; Jer. 13:18 17 aPs. 6:7 18 aIs. 27:10 19 aPs. 9:7; Hab. 1:12 bPs. 45:6 20 aPs. 13:1; 44:24 21 aPs. 80:3, 7, 19; Jer. 31:18 1returned

Ezekiel’s Vision of God NOW it came to pass in the thirti- eth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by athe River Chebar, that bthe heavens were opened and I saw cvisions1 of God. 2 On the fifth day of the month, which was in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, 3 the word of the LORD came ex- pressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the 1Chal- deans by the River Chebar; and athe hand of the LORD was upon him there. 4 Then I looked, and behold, aa whirlwind was coming bout of the north, a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself; and brightness was all around it and radiating out of its midst like the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire. 5 aAlso from within it came the likeness of four living creatures. And bthis was their appearance: they had cthe likeness of a man. 6 Each one had four faces, and each one had four wings. 7 Their 1legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the soles of calves’ feet. They sparkled alike the color of burnished bronze. 8 aThe hands of a man were under their wings on their four sides; and each of the four had faces and wings. 9 Their wings touched one an- other. The creatures did not turn when they went, but each one went straight aforward. 10 As for athe likeness of their faces, each bhad the face of a man; each of the four had cthe face of a lion on the right side, deach of the four had the face of an ox on the left side, eand each of the four had the face of an eagle. 11 Thus were their faces. Their wings stretched upward; two wings of each one touched one another, and atwo covered their bodies. 12 And aeach one went straight for- ward; they went wherever the spirit wanted to go, and they did not turn when they went. 13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, alike the appearance of torches going back and forth among the living crea- tures. The fire was bright, and out of the fire went lightning. 14 And the living creatures ran back and forth, ain appearance like a flash of lightning. 15 Now as I looked at the living creatures, behold, aa wheel was on the earth beside each living creature with its four faces. 16 aThe appearance of the wheels and their workings was blike the color of beryl, and all four had the same likeness. The appearance of their workings was, as it were, a wheel in the middle of a wheel. 17 When they moved, they went toward any one of four directions; they did not turn aside when they went. 18 As for their rims, they were so high they were awesome; and their rims were afull of eyes, all around the four of them. 19 aWhen the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up. 20 Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went, because there the spirit went; and the wheels were lifted together with them, afor the spirit of the 1living creatures was in the wheels. 21 When those went, these went; when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up together with them, for the spirit of the 1living creatures was in the wheels. 22 aThe likeness of the 1firmament above the heads of the 2living crea- tures was like the color of an awe- some bcrystal, stretched out cover their heads. CHAPTER 1 1 aEzek. 3:15, 23; 10:15 bRev. 4:1; 19:11 cEzek. 8:3 1So with MT, LXX, Vg.; Syr., Tg. a vision 3 aEzek. 3:14, 22 1Or Bab- ylonians, and so elsewhere in the book 4 aJer. 23:19; 25:32 bJer. 1:14 5 aRev. 4:6–8 bEzek. 10:8 cEzek. 10:14 7 aDan. 10:6 1Lit. feet 8 aEzek. 10:8, 21 9 aEzek. 1:12; 10:20–22 10 aRev. 4:7 bNum. 2:10 cNum. 2:3 dNum. 2:18 eNum. 2:25 11 aIs. 6:2 12 aEzek. 10:11, 22 13 aRev. 4:5 14 a[Matt. 24:27] 15 aEzek. 10:9 16 aEzek. 10:9, 10 bDan. 10:6 18 aEzek. 10:12 19 aEzek. 10:16, 17 20 aEzek. 10:17 1Lit. liv- ing creature; LXX, Vg. spirit of life; Tg. creatures 21 1See note at v.

aEzek. 3:14, 22 1Or Bab- ylonians, and so elsewhere in the book 4 aJer. 23:19; 25:32 bJer. 1:14 5 aRev. 4:6–8 bEzek. 10:8 cEzek. 10:14 7 aDan. 10:6 1Lit. feet 8 aEzek. 10:8, 21 9 aEzek. 1:12; 10:20–22 10 aRev. 4:7 bNum. 2:10 cNum. 2:3 dNum. 2:18 eNum. 2:25 11 aIs. 6:2 12 aEzek. 10:11, 22 13 aRev. 4:5 14 a[Matt. 24:27] 15 aEzek. 10:9 16 aEzek. 10:9, 10 bDan. 10:6 18 aEzek. 10:12 19 aEzek. 10:16, 17 20 aEzek. 10:17 1Lit. liv- ing creature; LXX, Vg. spirit of life; Tg. creatures 21 1See note at v. 20 22 aEzek. 10:1 bRev. 4:6 cEzek. 10:1 1Or expanse 2So with LXX, Tg., Vg.; MT reads liv- ing creature The Book of EZEKIEL EZEKIEL, a priest and a prophet, ministers during the darkest days of Judah’s history: the seventy-year period of Babylonian captivity. Carried to Babylon before the final assault on Jerusalem, Ezekiel uses prophecies, parables, signs, and symbols to dramatize God’s message to His exiled people. Though they are like dry bones in the sun, God will reassemble them and breathe life into the nation once again. Present judgment will be followed by future glory so that “you shall know that I am the LORD” (6:7). The Hebrew name Yehezke’l means “God Strengthens” or “Strengthened by God.” Ezekiel is indeed strengthened by God for the prophetic ministry to which he is called (3:8, 9). The name occurs twice in this book and nowhere else in the Old Testament. The Greek form in the Septuagint is Iezekiel and the Latin form in the Vulgate is Ezechiel.

727 EZEKIEL 3:15 23 And under the firmament their wings spread out straight, one toward another. Each one had two which covered one side, and each one had two which covered the other side of the body. 24 aWhen they went, I heard the noise of their wings, blike the noise of many waters, like cthe voice of the Almighty, a tumult like the noise of an army; and when they stood still, they let down their wings. 25 A voice came from above the firmament that was over their heads; whenever they stood, they let down their wings. 26 aAnd above the firmament over their heads was the likeness of a throne, bin appearance like a sap- phire stone; on the likeness of the throne was a likeness with the appearance of a man high above cit. 27 Also from the appearance of His waist and upward aI saw, as it were, the color of amber with the appear- ance of fire all around within it; and from the appearance of His waist and downward I saw, as it were, the appearance of fire with brightness all around. 28 aLike the appearance of a rain- bow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the bright- ness all around it. bThis was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. Ezekiel Sent to Rebellious Israel So when I saw it, cI fell on my face, and I heard a voice of One speaking. 2 And He said to me, “Son of man, astand on your feet, and I will speak to you.” 2 Then athe Spirit entered me when He spoke to me, and set me on my feet; and I heard Him who spoke to me. 3 And He said to me: “Son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that has arebelled against Me; bthey and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day. 4 a“For they are 1impudent and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD.’ 5 a“As for them, whether they hear or whether they refuse—for they are a brebellious house—yet they cwill know that a prophet has been among them. 6 “And you, son of man, ado not be afraid of them nor be afraid of their words, though bbriers and thorns are with you and you dwell among scorpions; cdo not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their looks, dthough they are a rebellious house. 7 a“You shall speak My words to them, whether they hear or whether they refuse, for they are rebellious. 8 “But you, son of man, hear what I say to you.

hey refuse—for they are a brebellious house—yet they cwill know that a prophet has been among them. 6 “And you, son of man, ado not be afraid of them nor be afraid of their words, though bbriers and thorns are with you and you dwell among scorpions; cdo not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their looks, dthough they are a rebellious house. 7 a“You shall speak My words to them, whether they hear or whether they refuse, for they are rebellious. 8 “But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and aeat what I give you.” 9 Now when I looked, there was aa hand stretched out to me; and behold, ba scroll of a book was in it. 10 Then He spread it before me; and there was writing on the inside and on the outside, and written on it were lamentations and mourning and woe. 3 Moreover He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you find; aeat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” 2 So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that scroll. 3 And He said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly, and fill your stom- ach with this scroll that I give you.” So I aate, and it was in my mouth blike honey in sweetness. 4 Then He said to me: “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with My words to them. 5 “For you are not sent to a people of unfamiliar speech and of hard language, but to the house of Israel, 6 “not to many people of unfamil- iar speech and of hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, ahad I sent you to them, they would have listened to you. 7 “But the house of Israel will not listen to you, abecause they will not listen to Me; bfor all the house of Israel are 1impudent and hard- hearted. 8 “Behold, I have made your face strong against their faces, and your forehead strong against their fore- heads. 9 a“Like adamant stone, harder than flint, I have made your fore- head; bdo not be afraid of them, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house.” 10 Moreover He said to me: “Son of man, receive into your heart all My words that I speak to you, and hear with your ears. 11 “And go, get to the captives, to the children of your people, and speak to them and tell them, a‘Thus says the Lord GOD,’ whether they hear, or whether they refuse.” 12 Then athe Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a great thun- derous voice: “Blessed is the bglory of the LORD from His place!” 13 I also heard the anoise of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels beside them, and a great thunderous noise. 14 So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitter- ness, in the 1heat of my spirit; but athe hand of the LORD was strong upon me. 15 Then I came to the captives at 24 aEzek. 3:13; 10:5 bRev. 1:15 cJob 37:4, 5 26 aEzek. 10:1 bEx. 24:10, 16 cEzek. 8:2 27 aEzek. 8:2 28 aRev. 4:3; 10:1 bEzek. 3:23; 8:4 cDan. 8:17 CHAPTER 2 1 aDan. 10:11 2 aEzek. 3:24 3 aEzek. 5:6; 20:8, 13, 18 bJer. 3:25 4 aEzek. 3:7 1Lit. stiff- faced and hard-hearted sons 5 aEzek. 3:11, 26, 27 bEzek. 3:26 cEzek. 33:33 6 aJer. 1:8, 17 bMic. 7:4 c[1 Pet. 3:14] dEzek. 3:9, 26, 27 7 aJer. 1:7, 17 8 aRev. 10:9 9 a[Ezek. 8:3] bEzek. 3:1 CHAPTER 3 1 aEzek. 2:8, 9 3 aRev. 10:9 bPs. 19:10; 119:103 6 aMatt. 11:21 7 aJohn 15:20, 21 bEzek. 2:4 1Lit. strong of forehead 9 aMic. 3:8 bJer. 1:8, 17 11 aEzek. 2:5, 7 12 aActs 8:39 bEzek. 1:28; 8:4 13 aEzek. 1:24; 10:5 14 a2 Kin. 3:15 1Or anger

EZEKIEL 3:16 728 Tel Abib, who dwelt by the River Chebar; and aI sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days. Ezekiel Is a Watchman 16 Now it acame to pass at the end of seven days that the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 17 a“Son of man, I have made you ba watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them cwarning from Me: 18 “When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man ashall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. 19 “Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wick- edness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; abut you have delivered your soul. 20 “Again, when a arighteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I lay a stum- bling block before him, he shall die; because you did not give him warn- ing, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand. 21 “Nevertheless if you warn the righteous man that the righteous should not sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; also you will have deliv- ered your soul.” 22 aThen the hand of the LORD was upon me there, and He said to me, “Arise, go out binto the plain, and there I shall talk with you.” 23 So I arose and went out into the plain, and behold, athe glory of the LORD stood there, like the glory which I bsaw by the River Chebar; cand I fell on my face. 24 Then athe Spirit entered me and set me on my feet, and spoke with me and said to me: “Go, shut your- self inside your house. 25 “And you, O son of man, surely athey will put ropes on you and bind you with them, so that you cannot go out among them. 26 a“I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, so that you shall be mute and bnot be 1one to rebuke them, cfor they are a re- bellious house. 27 a“But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, b‘Thus says the Lord GOD.’ He who hears, let him hear; and he who refuses, let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house. The Siege of Jerusalem Portrayed 4 “You also, son of man, take a clay tablet and lay it before you, and portray on it a city, Jerusalem. 2 a“Lay siege against it, build a bsiege wall against it, and heap up a mound against it; set camps against it also, and place battering rams against it all around. 3 “Moreover take for yourself an iron plate, and set it as an iron wall between you and the city. Set your face against it, and it shall be abe- sieged, and you shall lay siege against it. bThis will be a sign to the house of Israel. 4 “Lie also on your left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it. According to the number of the days that you lie on it, you shall bear their iniquity. 5 “For I have laid on you the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days; aso you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. 6 “And when you have completed them, lie again on your right side; then you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days.

house of Israel. 4 “Lie also on your left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it. According to the number of the days that you lie on it, you shall bear their iniquity. 5 “For I have laid on you the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days; aso you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. 6 “And when you have completed them, lie again on your right side; then you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days. I have laid on you a day for each year. 7 “Therefore you shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem; your arm shall be uncovered, and you shall prophesy against it. 8 a“And surely I will 1restrain you so that you cannot turn from one side to another till you have ended the days of your siege. 9 “Also take for yourself wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt; put them into one vessel, and make bread of them for yourself. During the number of days that you lie on your side, three hundred and ninety days, you shall eat it. 10 “And your food which you eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day; from time to time you shall eat it. 11 “You shall also drink water by measure, one-sixth of a hin; from time to time you shall drink. 12 “And you shall eat it as barley cakes; and bake it using fuel of human waste in their sight.” 13 Then the LORD said, “So ashall the children of Israel eat their de- filed bread among the Gentiles, where I will drive them.” 14 So I said, a“Ah, Lord GOD! Indeed I have never defiled myself from my youth till now; I have never eaten bwhat died of itself or was torn by beasts, nor has cabominable1 flesh ever come into my mouth.” 15 Then He said to me, “See, I am giving you cow dung instead of human waste, and you shall prepare your bread over it.” 16 Moreover He said to me, “Son of man, surely I will cut off the asupply of bread in Jerusalem; they shall beat bread by weight and with anxi- ety, and shall cdrink water by mea- sure and with dread, 15 aJob 2:13; Ps. 137:1 16 aJer. 42:7 17 aEzek. 33:7–9 bIs. 52:8; 56:10; Jer. 6:17 c[Lev. 19:17; Prov. 14:25]; Is. 58:1 18 aEzek. 33:6; [John 8:21, 24] 19 aIs. 49:4, 5; Ezek. 14:14, 20; Acts 18:6; 20:26; 1 Tim. 4:16 20 aPs. 125:5; Ezek. 18:24; 33:18; Zeph. 1:6 22 aEzek. 1:3 bEzek. 8:4 23 aEzek. 1:28; Acts 7:55 bEzek. 1:1 cEzek. 1:28 24 aEzek. 2:2 25 aEzek. 4:8 26 aEzek. 24:27; Luke 1:20, 22 bHos. 4:17; Amos 8:11 cEzek. 2:5–7 1Lit. one who rebukes 27 aEx. 4:11, 12; Ezek. 24:27; 33:22 bEzek. 3:11 CHAPTER 4 2 aJer. 6:6; Ezek. 21:22 b2 Kin. 25:1 3 aJer. 39:1, 2; Ezek. 5:2 bEzek. 12:6, 11; 24:24, 27 5 aNum. 14:34 8 aEzek. 3:25 1Lit. put ropes on 13 aDan. 1:8; Hos. 9:3 14 aActs 10:14 bEx. 22:31; Lev. 17:15; 22:8; Ezek. 44:31 cDeut. 14:3; Is. 65:4; 66:17 1Ritu- ally unclean flesh, Lev. 7:18 16 aLev. 26:26; Ps. 105:16; Is. 3:1; Ezek. 5:16; 14:13 bEzek. 4:10, 11; 12:19 cEzek. 4:11

729 EZEKIEL 6:9 17 “that they may lack bread and water, and be dismayed with one another, and awaste away because of their iniquity. A Sword Against Jerusalem 5 “And you, son of man, take a sharp sword, take it as a bar- ber’s razor, aand pass it over your head and your beard; then take scales to weigh and divide the hair. 2 a“You shall burn with fire one- third in the midst of bthe city, when cthe days of the siege are finished; then you shall take one-third and strike around it with the sword, and one-third you shall scatter in the wind: I will draw out a sword after dthem. 3 a“You shall also take a small number of them and bind them in the edge of your garment. 4 “Then take some of them again and athrow them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire. From there a fire will go out into all the house of Israel. 5 “Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘This is Jerusalem; I have set her in the midst of the nations and the coun- tries all around her. 6 ‘She has rebelled against My judgments by doing wickedness more than the nations, and against My statutes more than the countries that are all around her; for they have refused My judgments, and they have not walked in My statutes.’ 7 “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Because you have 1multiplied disobedience more than the nations that are all around you, have not walked in My statutes anor kept My judgments, 2nor even done accord- ing to the judgments of the nations that are all around you’— 8 “therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Indeed I, even I, am against you and will execute judgments in your midst in the sight of the nations. 9 a‘And I will do among you what I have never done, and the like of which I will never do again, because of all your abominations. 10 ‘Therefore fathers ashall eat their sons in your midst, and sons shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments among you, and all of you who remain I will bscatter to all the winds. 11 ‘Therefore, as I live,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘surely, because you have adefiled My sanctuary with all your bdetestable things and with all your abominations, therefore I will also diminish you; cMy eye will not spare, nor will I have any pity. 12 a‘One-third of you shall die of the pestilence, and be consumed with famine in your midst; and one-third shall fall by the sword all around you; and bI will scatter another third to all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after cthem. 13 ‘Thus shall My anger abe spent, and I will bcause My fury to rest upon them, cand I will be avenged; dand they shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken it in My zeal, when I have spent My fury upon them. 14 ‘Moreover aI will make you a waste and a reproach among the nations that are all around you, in the sight of all who pass by. 15 ‘So 1it shall be a areproach, a taunt, a blesson, and an astonish- ment to the nations that are all around you, when I execute judg- ments among you in anger and in fury and in cfurious rebukes. I, the LORD, have spoken. 16 ‘When I asend against them the terrible arrows of famine which shall be for destruction, which I will send to destroy you, I will increase the famine upon you and cut off your bsupply of bread. 17 ‘So I will send against you fam- ine and awild beasts, and they will bereave you. bPestilence and blood shall pass through you, and I will bring the sword against you. I, the LORD, have spoken.’ ” Judgment on Idolatrous Israel 6 Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 2 “Son of man, aset your face to- ward the bmountains of Israel, and prophesy against them, 3 “and say, ‘O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD!

increase the famine upon you and cut off your bsupply of bread. 17 ‘So I will send against you fam- ine and awild beasts, and they will bereave you. bPestilence and blood shall pass through you, and I will bring the sword against you. I, the LORD, have spoken.’ ” Judgment on Idolatrous Israel 6 Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 2 “Son of man, aset your face to- ward the bmountains of Israel, and prophesy against them, 3 “and say, ‘O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD! Thus says the Lord GOD to the mountains, to the hills, to the ravines, and to the valleys: “Indeed I, even I, will bring a sword against you, and aI will de- stroy your 1high places. 4 “Then your altars shall be deso- late, your incense altars shall be broken, and aI will cast down your slain men before your idols. 5 “And I will lay the corpses of the children of Israel before their idols, and I will scatter your bones all around your altars. 6 “In all your dwelling places the cities shall be laid waste, and the 1high places shall be desolate, so that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, your idols may be broken and made to cease, your incense altars may be cut down, and your works may be abolished. 7 “The slain shall fall in your midst, and ayou shall know that I am the LORD. 8 a“Yet I will leave a remnant, so that you may have some who escape the sword among the nations, when you are bscattered through the countries. 9 “Then those of you who escape will aremember Me among the na- tions where they are carried captive, because bI was crushed by their 17 aLev. 26:39 CHAPTER 5 1 aIs. 7:20 2 aEzek. 5:12 bEzek. 4:1 cEzek. 4:8, 9 dLev. 26:25 3 aJer. 40:6; 52:16 4 aJer. 41:1, 2; 44:14 7 aJer. 2:10, 11 1Or raged 2So with MT, LXX, Tg., Vg.; many Heb. mss., Syr. but have done (cf. 11:12) 9 a[Amos 3:2] 10 aJer. 19:9 bZech. 2:6; 7:14 11 a[Jer. 7:9–11] bEzek. 11:21 cEzek. 7:4, 9; 8:18; 9:10 12 aEzek. 6:12 bJer. 9:16 cJer. 43:10, 11; 44:27 13 aLam. 4:11 bEzek. 21:17 cIs. 1:24 dEzek. 36:6; 38:19 14 aLev. 26:31 15 aJer. 24:9 b[Is. 26:9] cEzek. 5:8; 25:17 1LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. you 16 aDeut. 32:23 bLev. 26:26 17 aLev. 26:22 bEzek. 38:22 CHAPTER 6 2 aEzek. 20:46; 21:2; 25:2 bEzek. 36:1 3 aLev. 26:30 1Places for pagan wor- ship 4 aLev. 26:30 6 1Places for pagan wor- ship 7 aEzek. 7:4, 9 8 aJer. 44:28 bEzek. 5:12 9 a[Deut. 4:29] bPs. 78:40

EZEKIEL 6:10 730 adulterous heart which has de- parted from Me, and cby their eyes which play the harlot after their idols; dthey will loathe themselves for the evils which they committed in all their abominations. 10 “And they shall know that I am the LORD; I have not said in vain that I would bring this calamity upon them.” 11 ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: a“Pound1 your fists and stamp your feet, and say, ‘Alas, for all the evil abominations of the house of Israel! bFor they shall fall by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. 12 ‘He who is far off shall die by the pestilence, he who is near shall fall by the sword, and he who remains and is besieged shall die by the famine. aThus will I spend My fury upon them. 13 ‘Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when their slain are among their idols all around their altars, aon every high hill, bon all the mountaintops, cunder every green tree, and under every thick oak, wherever they offered sweet in- cense to all their idols. 14 ‘So I will astretch out My hand against them and make the land desolate, yes, more desolate than the wilderness toward bDiblah, in all their dwelling places. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.’ ” ’ ” Judgment on Israel Is Near 7 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 “And you, son of man, thus says the Lord GOD to the land of Israel: a‘An end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land. 3 Now the end has come upon you, And I will send My anger against you; I will judge you aaccording to your ways, And I will repay you for all your abominations. 4 aMy eye will not spare you, Nor will I have pity; But I will repay your ways, And your abominations will be in your midst; bThen you shall know that I am the LORD!’ 5 “Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘A disaster, a singular adisaster; Behold, it has come! 6 An end has come, The end has come; It has dawned for you; Behold, it has come! 7 aDoom has come to you, you who dwell in the land; bThe time has come, A day of trouble is near, And not of rejoicing in the mountains. 8 Now upon you I will soon apour out My fury, And spend My anger upon you; I will judge you according to your ways, And I will repay you for all your abominations. 9 ‘My eye will not spare, Nor will I have pity; I will 1repay you according to your ways, And your abominations will be in your midst. Then you shall know that I am the LORD who strikes. 10 ‘Behold, the day! Behold, it has come! aDoom has gone out; The rod has blossomed, Pride has budded. 11 aViolence has risen up into a rod of wickedness; None of them shall remain, None of their multitude, None of 1them; bNor shall there be wailing for them. 12 The time has come, The day draws near. ‘Let not the buyer arejoice, Nor the seller bmourn, For wrath is on their whole multitude. 13 For the seller shall not return to what has been sold, Though he may still be alive; For the vision concerns the whole multitude, And it shall not turn back; No one will strengthen himself Who lives in iniquity. 14 ‘They have blown the trumpet and made everyone ready, But no one goes to battle; For My wrath is on all their multitude. 15 aThe sword is outside, And the pestilence and famine within. Whoever is in the field Will die by the sword; And whoever is in the city, Famine and pestilence will devour him. 16 ‘Those who asurvive will escape and be on the mountains Like doves of the valleys, All of them mourning, Each for his iniquity. 17 Every ahand will be feeble, And every knee will be as weak as water. 18 They will also abe girded with sackcloth; 9 cEzek. 20:7, 24 dEzek. 20:43; 36:31 11 aEzek. 21:14 bEzek. 5:12 1Lit. Strike your hands 12 aEzek. 5:13 13 aJer. 2:20; 3:6 bHos. 4:13 cIs. 57:5 14 aIs. 5:25 bNum. 33:46 CHAPTER 7 2 aAmos 8:2, 10 3 a[Rom. 2:6] 4 aEzek. 5:11 bEzek. 12:20 5 a2 Kin. 21:12, 13 7 aEzek. 7:10 bZeph. 1:14, 15 8 aEzek. 20:8, 21 9 1Lit. give 10 aEzek. 7:7 11 aJer. 6:7 bJer. 16:5, 6 1Or their wealth 12 aProv. 20:14 bIs. 24:2 15 aJer. 14:18 16 aEzek. 6:8; 14:22 17 aIs.

as water. 18 They will also abe girded with sackcloth; 9 cEzek. 20:7, 24 dEzek. 20:43; 36:31 11 aEzek. 21:14 bEzek. 5:12 1Lit. Strike your hands 12 aEzek. 5:13 13 aJer. 2:20; 3:6 bHos. 4:13 cIs. 57:5 14 aIs. 5:25 bNum. 33:46 CHAPTER 7 2 aAmos 8:2, 10 3 a[Rom. 2:6] 4 aEzek. 5:11 bEzek. 12:20 5 a2 Kin. 21:12, 13 7 aEzek. 7:10 bZeph. 1:14, 15 8 aEzek. 20:8, 21 9 1Lit. give 10 aEzek. 7:7 11 aJer. 6:7 bJer. 16:5, 6 1Or their wealth 12 aProv. 20:14 bIs. 24:2 15 aJer. 14:18 16 aEzek. 6:8; 14:22 17 aIs. 13:7 18 aAmos 8:10

731 EZEKIEL 8:14 Horror will cover them; Shame will be on every face, Baldness on all their heads. 19 ‘They will throw their silver into the streets, And their gold will be like refuse; Their asilver and their gold will not be able to deliver them In the day of the wrath of the LORD; They will not satisfy their souls, Nor fill their stomachs, Because it became their stumbling block of iniquity. 20 ‘As for the beauty of his ornaments, He set it in majesty; aBut they made from it The images of their abominations— Their detestable things; Therefore I have made it Like refuse to them. 21 I will give it as aplunder Into the hands of strangers, And to the wicked of the earth as spoil; And they shall defile it. 22 I will turn My face from them, And they will defile My secret place; For robbers shall enter it and defile it. 23 ‘Make a chain, For athe land is filled with crimes of blood, And the city is full of violence. 24 Therefore I will bring the aworst of the Gentiles, And they will possess their houses; I will cause the pomp of the strong to cease, And their holy places shall be bdefiled. 25 1Destruction comes; They will seek peace, but there shall be none. 26 aDisaster will come upon disaster, And rumor will be upon rumor. bThen they will seek a vision from a prophet; But the law will perish from the priest, And counsel from the elders. 27 ‘The king will mourn, The prince will be clothed with desolation, And the hands of the common people will tremble. I will do to them according to their way, And according to what they deserve I will judge them; Then they shall know that I am the LORD!’ ” Abominations in the Temple 8 And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house with athe elders of Judah sit- ting before me, that bthe hand of the Lord GOD fell upon me there. 2 aThen I looked, and there was a likeness, like the appearance of fire—from the appearance of His waist and downward, fire; and from His waist and upward, like the appearance of brightness, blike the color of amber. 3 He astretched out the form of a hand, and took me by a lock of my hair; and bthe Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven, and cbrought me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the north gate of the inner court, dwhere the seat of the image of jealousy was, which eprovokes1 to jealousy. 4 And behold, the aglory of the God of Israel was there, like the vision that I bsaw in the plain. 5 Then He said to me, “Son of man, lift your eyes now toward the north.” So I lifted my eyes toward the north, and there, north of the altar gate, was this image of jeal- ousy in the entrance. 6 Furthermore He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great aabominations that the house of Israel commits here, to make Me go far away from My sanctuary? Now turn again, you will see greater abominations.” 7 So He brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, there was a hole in the wall. 8 Then He said to me, “Son of man, dig into the wall”; and when I dug into the wall, there was a door. 9 And He said to me, “Go in, and see the wicked abominations which they are doing there.” 10 So I went in and saw, and there—every asort of bcreeping thing, abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, 1por- trayed all around on the walls. 11 And there stood before them aseventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, and in their midst stood Jaazaniah the son of Sha- phan. Each man had a censer in his hand, and a thick cloud of incense went up. 12 Then He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the room of his idols? For they say, a‘The LORD does not see us, the LORD has forsaken the land.’ ” 13 And He said to me, “Turn again, and you will see greater abomina- tions that they are doing.” 14 So He brought me to the door of the north gate of the LORD’s house; 19 aProv. 11:4; Jer. 15:13; Zeph. 1:18 20 aJer.

an had a censer in his hand, and a thick cloud of incense went up. 12 Then He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the room of his idols? For they say, a‘The LORD does not see us, the LORD has forsaken the land.’ ” 13 And He said to me, “Turn again, and you will see greater abomina- tions that they are doing.” 14 So He brought me to the door of the north gate of the LORD’s house; 19 aProv. 11:4; Jer. 15:13; Zeph. 1:18 20 aJer. 7:30 21 a2 Kin. 24:13; Jer. 20:5 23 a2 Kin. 21:16 24 aEzek. 21:31; 28:7 b2 Chr. 7:20; Ezek. 24:21 25 1Lit. Shud- dering 26 aDeut. 32:23; Is. 47:11; Jer. 4:20 bPs. 74:9; Lam. 2:9; Ezek. 20:1, 3; Mic. 3:6 CHAPTER 8 1 aEzek. 14:1; 20:1; 33:31 bEzek. 1:3; 3:22 2 aEzek. 1:26, 27 bEzek. 1:4, 27 3 aDan. 5:5 bEzek. 3:14; Acts 8:39 cEzek. 11:1, 24; 40:2 dJer. 7:30; 32:34; Ezek. 5:11 eEx. 20:4; Deut. 32:16, 21 1Arouses the LORD’s jealousy 4 aEzek. 3:12; 9:3 bEzek. 1:28; 3:22, 23 6 a2 Kin. 23:4, 5; Ezek. 5:11; 8:9, 17 10 aEx. 20:4; Deut. 4:16–18 bRom. 1:23 1Or carved 11 aNum. 11:16, 25; Luke 10:1 12 aPs. 14:1; Is. 29:15; Ezek. 9:9

EZEKIEL 8:15 732 and to my dismay, women were sit- ting there weeping for 1Tammuz. 15 Then He said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Turn again, you will see greater abominations than these.” 16 So He brought me into the inner court of the LORD’s house; and there, at the door of the temple of the LORD, abetween the porch and the altar, bwere about twenty-five men cwith their backs toward the temple of the LORD and their faces toward the east, and they were wor- shiping dthe sun toward the east. 17 And He said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it a triv- ial thing to the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they commit here? For they have afilled the land with violence; then they have returned to provoke Me to anger. Indeed they put the branch to their nose. 18 a“Therefore I also will act in fury. My beye will not spare nor will I have pity; and though they ccry in My ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.” The Wicked Are Slain 9 Then He called out in my hear- ing with a loud voice, saying, “Let those who have charge over the city draw near, each with a 1deadly weapon in his hand.” 2 And suddenly six men came from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with his 1battle-ax in his hand. aOne man among them was clothed with linen and had a writer’s inkhorn 2at his side. They went in and stood beside the bronze altar. 3 Now athe glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub, where it had been, to the threshold of the 1temple. And He called to the man clothed with linen, who had the writer’s inkhorn at his side; 4 and the LORD said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put aa mark on the foreheads of the men bwho sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.” 5 To the others He said in my 1hearing, “Go after him through the city and akill;2 bdo not let your eye spare, nor have any pity. 6 a“Utterly1 slay old and young men, maidens and little children and women; but bdo not come near anyone on whom is the mark; and cbegin at My sanctuary.” dSo they began with the elders who were before the 2temple. 7 Then He said to them, “Defile the 1temple, and fill the courts with the slain. Go out!” And they went out and killed in the city. 8 So it was, that while they were killing them, I was left alone; and I afell on my face and cried out, and said, b“Ah, Lord GOD!

are, nor have any pity. 6 a“Utterly1 slay old and young men, maidens and little children and women; but bdo not come near anyone on whom is the mark; and cbegin at My sanctuary.” dSo they began with the elders who were before the 2temple. 7 Then He said to them, “Defile the 1temple, and fill the courts with the slain. Go out!” And they went out and killed in the city. 8 So it was, that while they were killing them, I was left alone; and I afell on my face and cried out, and said, b“Ah, Lord GOD! Will You destroy all the remnant of Israel in pouring out Your fury on Jerusalem?” 9 Then He said to me, “The in- iquity of the house of Israel and Ju- dah is exceedingly great, and athe land is full of bloodshed, and the city full of perversity; for they say, b‘The LORD has forsaken the land, and cthe LORD does not see!’ 10 “And as for Me also, My aeye will neither spare, nor will I have pity, but bI will recompense their deeds on their own head.” 11 Just then, the man clothed with linen, who had the inkhorn at his side, reported back and said, “I have done as You commanded me.” The Glory Departs from the Temple 10 And I looked, and there in the afirmament1 that was above the head of the cherubim, there appeared something like a sapphire stone, having the appearance of the likeness of a throne. 2 aThen He spoke to the man clothed with linen, and said, “Go in among the wheels, under the cherub, fill your hands with bcoals of fire from among the cherubim, and cscat- ter them over the city.” And he went in as I watched. 3 Now the cherubim were stand- ing on the 1south side of the 2temple when the man went in, and the acloud filled the inner court. 4 aThen the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub, and paused over the threshold of the 1temple; and bthe house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the LORD’s cglory. 5 And the asound of the wings of the cherubim was heard even in the outer court, like bthe voice of Almighty God when He speaks. 6 Then it happened, when He commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, “Take fire from among the wheels, from among the cheru- bim,” that he went in and stood beside the wheels. 7 And the cherub stretched out his hand from among the cherubim to the fire that was among the cherubim, and took some of it and put it into the hands of the man clothed with linen, who took it and went out. 8 aThe cherubim appeared to have the form of a man’s hand under their wings. 9 aAnd when I looked, there were four wheels by the cherubim, one wheel by one cherub and another wheel by each other cherub; the wheels appeared to have the color of a bberyl stone. 10 As for their appearance, all four 14 1A Sume- rian fertility god similar to the Gr. god Adonis 16 aJoel 2:17 bEzek. 11:1 cJer. 2:27; 32:33 dDeut. 4:19 17 aEzek. 9:9 18 aEzek. 5:13; 16:42; 24:13 bEzek. 5:11; 7:4, 9; 9:5, 10 cMic. 3:4 CHAPTER 9 1 1Or destroy- ing 2 aLev. 16:4 1Lit. shatter- ing weapon 2Lit. upon his loins 3 aEzek. 3:23; 8:4; 10:4, 18; 11:22, 23 1Lit. house 4 aRev. 7:2, 3; 9:4; 14:1 bJer. 13:17 5 aEzek. 7:9 bEzek. 5:11 1Lit. ears 2Lit. strike 6 a2 Chr. 36:17 bRev. 9:4 cJer. 25:29 dEzek. 8:11, 12, 16 1Lit. Slay to destruction 2Lit. house 7 1Lit. house 8 aJosh. 7:6 bEzek. 11:13 9 a2 Kin. 21:16 bEzek. 8:12 cIs. 29:15 10 aEzek. 5:11; 7:4; 8:18 bEzek. 11:21 CHAPTER 10 1 aEzek. 1:22, 26 1expanse 2 aDan. 10:5 bEzek. 1:13 cRev. 8:5 3 a1 Kin. 8:10, 11 1Lit. right 2Lit. house 4 aEzek. 1:28 bEzek. 43:5 cEzek. 11:22, 23 1Lit. house 5 aEzek. 1:24 b[Ps. 29:3] 8 aEzek. 1:8; 10:21 9 aEzek. 1:15 bEzek. 1:16

733 EZEKIEL 11:18 looked alike—as it were, a wheel in the middle of a wheel. 11 aWhen they went, they went toward any of their four directions; they did not turn aside when they went, but followed in the direction the head was facing. They did not turn aside when they went. 12 And their whole body, with their back, their hands, their wings, and the wheels that the four had, were afull of eyes all around. 13 As for the wheels, they were called in my 1hearing, “Wheel.” 14 aEach one had four faces: the first face was the face of a cherub, the second face the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle. 15 And the cherubim were lifted up. This was athe living creature I saw by the River Chebar. 16 aWhen the cherubim went, the wheels went beside them; and when the cherubim lifted their wings to mount up from the earth, the same wheels also did not turn from beside them. 17 aWhen 1the cherubim stood still, the wheels stood still, and when 2one was lifted up, 3the other lifted itself up, for the spirit of the living creature was in them. 18 Then athe glory of the LORD bde- parted from the threshold of the 1temple and stood over the cherubim. 19 And athe cherubim lifted their wings and mounted up from the earth in my sight. When they went out, the wheels were beside them; and they stood at the door of the beast gate of the LORD’s house, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them. 20 aThis is the living creature I saw under the God of Israel bby the River Chebar, and I knew they were cherubim. 21 aEach one had four faces and each one four wings, and the like- ness of the hands of a man was under their wings. 22 And athe likeness of their faces was the same as the faces which I had seen by the River Chebar, their appearance and their persons. bThey each went straight forward. Judgment on Wicked Counselors 11 Then athe Spirit lifted me up and brought me to bthe East Gate of the LORD’s house, which faces eastward; and there cat the door of the gate were twenty-five men, among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people. 2 And He said to me: “Son of man, these are the men who devise iniq- uity and give wicked 1counsel in this city, 3 “who say, ‘The time is not anear to build houses; bthis city is the 1cal- dron, and we are the meat.’ 4 “Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man!” 5 Then athe Spirit of the LORD fell upon me, and said to me, “Speak! ‘Thus says the LORD: “Thus you have said, O house of Israel; for bI know the things that come into your mind. 6 a“You have multiplied your slain in this city, and you have filled its streets with the slain.” 7 ‘Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: a“Your slain whom you have laid in its midst, they are the meat, and this city is the caldron; bbut I shall bring you out of the midst of it. 8 “You have afeared the sword; and I will bring a sword upon you,” says the Lord GOD. 9 “And I will bring you out of its midst, and deliver you into the hands of strangers, and aexecute judgments on you. 10 a“You shall fall by the sword. I will judge you at bthe border of Israel. cThen you shall know that I am the LORD. 11 a“This city shall not be your 1caldron, nor shall you be the meat in its midst. I will judge you at the border of Israel. 12 “And you shall know that I am the LORD; for you have not walked in My statutes nor executed My judg- ments, but ahave done according to the customs of the Gentiles which are all around you.” ’ ” 13 Now it happened, while I was prophesying, that aPelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then bI fell on my face and cried with a loud voice, and said, “Ah, Lord GOD!

I am the LORD. 11 a“This city shall not be your 1caldron, nor shall you be the meat in its midst. I will judge you at the border of Israel. 12 “And you shall know that I am the LORD; for you have not walked in My statutes nor executed My judg- ments, but ahave done according to the customs of the Gentiles which are all around you.” ’ ” 13 Now it happened, while I was prophesying, that aPelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then bI fell on my face and cried with a loud voice, and said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Will You make a complete end of the remnant of Israel?” God Will Restore Israel 14 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 15 “Son of man, your brethren, your relatives, your countrymen, and all the house of Israel in its entirety, are those about whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘Get far away from the LORD; this land has been given to us as a possession.’ 16 “Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Although I have cast them far off among the Gentiles, and although I have scattered them among the countries, ayet I shall be a little 1sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone.” ’ 17 “Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: a“I will gather you from the peoples, assemble you from the countries where you have been scat- tered, and I will give you the land of Israel.” ’ 18 “And they will go there, and they will take away all its adetestable 11 aEzek. 1:17 12 aRev. 4:6, 8 13 1Lit. ears 14 aEzek. 1:6, 10, 11 15 aEzek. 1:3, 5 16 aEzek. 1:19 17 aEzek. 1:12, 20, 21 1Lit. they 2Lit. they were 3Lit. they lifted them 18 aEzek. 10:4 bHos. 9:12 1Lit. house 19 aEzek. 11:22 bEzek. 11:1 20 aEzek. 1:22 bEzek. 1:1 21 aEzek. 1:6, 8; 10:14; 41:18, 19 22 aEzek. 1:10 bEzek. 1:9, 12 CHAPTER 11 1 aEzek. 3:12, 14 bEzek. 10:19 cEzek. 8:16 2 1Advice 3 a2 Pet. 3:4 bJer. 1:13 1Pot 5 aEzek. 2:2; 3:24 b[Jer. 16:17; 17:10] 6 aEzek. 7:23; 22:2–6, 9, 12, 27 7 aMic. 3:2, 3 bEzek. 11:9 8 aJer. 42:16 9 aEzek. 5:8 10 aJer. 39:6; 52:10 b2 Kin. 14:25 cPs. 9:16 11 aEzek. 11:3, 7 1Pot 12 aDeut. 12:30, 31 13 aActs 5:5 bEzek. 9:8 16 aIs. 8:14 1holy place 17 aJer. 3:12, 18; 24:5 18 aEzek. 37:23

EZEKIEL 11:19 734 things and all its abominations from there. 19 “Then aI will give them one heart, and I will put ba new spirit within 1them, and take cthe stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, 20 a“that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; band they shall be My people, and I will be their God. 21 “But as for those whose hearts follow the desire for their detestable things and their abominations, aI will recompense their deeds on their own heads,” says the Lord GOD. 22 So the cherubim alifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel was high above them. 23 And athe glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city and stood bon the mountain, cwhich is on the east side of the city. 24 Then athe Spirit took me up and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into 1Chaldea, to those in captivity. And the vision that I had seen went up from me. 25 So I spoke to those in captivity of all the things the LORD had shown me. Judah’s Captivity Portrayed 12 Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 2 “Son of man, you dwell in the midst of aa rebellious house, which bhas eyes to see but does not see, and ears to hear but does not hear; cfor they are a rebellious house. 3 “Therefore, son of man, prepare your belongings for captivity, and go into captivity by day in their sight. You shall go from your place into captivity to another place in their sight. It may be that they will consider, though they are a rebel- lious house. 4 “By day you shall bring out your belongings in their sight, as though going into captivity; and at evening you shall go in their sight, like those who go into captivity. 5 “Dig through the wall in their sight, and carry your belongings out through it. 6 “In their sight you shall bear them on your shoulders and carry them out at twilight; you shall cover your face, so that you cannot see the ground, afor I have made you a sign to the house of Israel.” 7 So I did as I was commanded. I brought out my belongings by day, as though going into captivity, and at evening I dug through the wall with my hand. I brought them out at twilight, and I bore them on my shoulder in their sight. 8 And in the morning the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 9 “Son of man, has not the house of Israel, athe rebellious house, said to you, b‘What are you doing?’ 10 “Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “This aburden1 concerns the prince in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel who are among them.” ’ 11 “Say, a‘I am a sign to you. As I have done, so shall it be done to them; bthey shall be carried away into captivity.’ 12 “And athe prince who is among them shall bear his belongings on his shoulder at twilight and go out. They shall dig through the wall to carry them out through it. He shall cover his face, so that he cannot see the ground with his eyes. 13 “I will also spread My anet over him, and he shall be caught in My snare. bI will bring him to Babylon, to the land of the Chaldeans; yet he shall not see it, though he shall die there. 14 a“I will scatter to every wind all who are around him to help him, and all his troops; and bI will draw out the sword after them. 15 a“Then they shall know that I am the LORD, when I scatter them among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. 16 a“But I will spare a few of their men from the sword, from famine, and from pestilence, that they may declare all their abominations among the Gentiles wherever they go.

the Chaldeans; yet he shall not see it, though he shall die there. 14 a“I will scatter to every wind all who are around him to help him, and all his troops; and bI will draw out the sword after them. 15 a“Then they shall know that I am the LORD, when I scatter them among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. 16 a“But I will spare a few of their men from the sword, from famine, and from pestilence, that they may declare all their abominations among the Gentiles wherever they go. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.” Judgment Not Postponed 17 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 18 “Son of man, aeat your bread with 1quaking, and drink your water with trembling and anxiety. 19 “And say to the people of the land, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the land of Israel: “They shall eat their bread with anxiety, and drink their water with dread, so that her land may abe emptied of all who are in it, bbecause of the violence of all those who dwell in it. 20 “Then the cities that are inhab- ited shall be laid waste, and the land shall become desolate; and you shall know that I am the LORD.” ’ ” 21 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 22 “Son of man, what is this prov- erb that you people have about the land of Israel, which says, a‘The days are prolonged, and every vision fails’? 23 “Tell them therefore, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “I will lay this proverb to rest, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel.” ’ But say to them, a‘ “The days are at hand, and the 1fulfillment of every vision. 24 “For ano more shall there be any 19 aJer. 32:39 bEzek. 18:31 cZech. 7:12 1Lit. you (pl.) 20 aPs. 105:45 bJer. 24:7 21 aEzek. 9:10 22 aEzek. 1:19 23 aEzek. 8:4; 9:3 bZech. 14:4 cEzek. 43:2 24 aEzek. 8:3 1Or Babylon, and so else- where in the book CHAPTER 12 2 aEzek. 2:3, 6–8 bJer. 5:21 cEzek. 2:5 6 aEzek. 4:3; 24:24 9 aEzek. 2:5 bEzek. 17:12; 24:19 10 aMal. 1:1 1oracle, prophecy 11 aEzek. 12:6 b2 Kin. 25:4, 5, 7 12 aJer. 39:4; 52:7 13 aJer. 52:9 bJer. 52:11 14 aEzek. 5:10 bEzek. 5:2, 12 15 aEzek. 6:7, 14; 12:16, 20 16 aEzek. 6:8–10 18 aEzek. 4:16 1shaking 19 aZech. 7:14 bPs. 107:34 22 aEzek. 11:3; 12:27 23 aZeph. 1:14 1Lit. word 24 aEzek. 13:6

735 EZEKIEL 14:1 bfalse1 vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel. 25 “For I am the LORD. I speak, and athe word which I speak will come to pass; it will no more be post- poned; for in your days, O rebellious house, I will say the word and bper- form it,” says the Lord GOD.’ ” 26 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 27 a“Son of man, look, the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he sees is bfor many days from now, and he prophesies of times far off.’ 28 a“Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “None of My words will be postponed any more, but the word which I speak bwill be done,” says the Lord GOD.’ ” Woe to Foolish Prophets 13 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, prophesy aagainst the prophets of Israel who proph- esy, and say to bthose who prophesy out of their own cheart,1 ‘Hear the word of the LORD!’ ” 3 Thus says the Lord GOD: “Woe to the foolish prophets, who follow their own spirit and have seen 1nothing! 4 “O Israel, your prophets are alike foxes in the deserts. 5 “You ahave not gone up into the 1gaps to build a wall for the house of Israel to stand in battle on the day of the LORD. 6 a“They have envisioned futility and false divination, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD!’ But the LORD has bnot sent them; yet they hope that the word may 1be confirmed. 7 “Have you not seen a futile vi- sion, and have you not spoken false divination? You say, ‘The LORD says,’ but I have not spoken.” 8 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Because you have spoken nonsense and envisioned lies, there- fore I am indeed against you,” says the Lord GOD. 9 “My hand will be aagainst the prophets who envision futility and who bdivine lies; they shall not be in the assembly of My people, cnor be written in the record of the house of Israel, dnor shall they enter into the land of Israel. eThen you shall know that I am the Lord GOD. 10 “Because, indeed, because they have seduced My people, saying, a‘Peace!’ when there is no peace— and one builds a wall, and they bplas- ter1 it with untempered mortar— 11 “say to those who plaster it with untempered mortar, that it will fall. aThere will be flooding rain, and you, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall tear it down. 12 “Surely, when the wall has fallen, will it not be said to you, ‘Where is the mortar with which you plastered it?’ ” 13 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “I will cause a stormy wind to break forth in My fury; and there shall be a flooding rain in My anger, and great hailstones in fury to con- sume it. 14 “So I will break down the wall you have plastered with untem- pered mortar, and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation will be uncovered; it will fall, and you shall be consumed in the midst of it. aThen you shall know that I am the LORD. 15 “Thus will I accomplish My wrath on the wall and on those who have plastered it with untempered mortar; and I will say to you, ‘The wall is no more, nor those who plas- tered it, 16 ‘that is, the prophets of Israel who prophesy concerning Jerusa- lem, and who asee visions of peace for her when there is no peace,’ ” says the Lord GOD. 17 “Likewise, son of man, aset your face against the daughters of your people, bwho prophesy out of their own 1heart; prophesy against them, 18 “and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Woe to the women who sew magic charms 1on their sleeves and make veils for the heads of people of every height to hunt souls! Will you ahunt the souls of My people, and keep yourselves alive? 19 “And will you profane Me among My people afor handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, killing people who should not die, and keeping people alive who should not live, by your lying to My people who listen to lies?” 20 ‘Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I am against your magic charms by which you hunt souls there like 1birds.

rms 1on their sleeves and make veils for the heads of people of every height to hunt souls! Will you ahunt the souls of My people, and keep yourselves alive? 19 “And will you profane Me among My people afor handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, killing people who should not die, and keeping people alive who should not live, by your lying to My people who listen to lies?” 20 ‘Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I am against your magic charms by which you hunt souls there like 1birds. I will tear them from your arms, and let the souls go, the souls you hunt like birds. 21 “I will also tear off your veils and deliver My people out of your hand, and they shall no longer be as prey in your hand. aThen you shall know that I am the LORD. 22 “Because with alies you have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and you have bstrengthened the hands of the wicked, so that he does not turn from his wicked way to save his life. 23 “Therefore ayou shall no longer envision futility nor practice divina- tion; for I will deliver My people out of your hand, and you shall know that I am the LORD.” ’ ” Idolatry Will Be Punished 14 Now asome of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me. 24 bLam. 2:14 1Lit. vain 25 a[Luke 21:33] b[Is. 14:24] 27 aEzek. 12:22 bDan. 10:14 28 aEzek. 12:23, 25 bJer. 4:7 CHAPTER 13 2 aEzek. 22:25–28 bEzek. 13:17 cJer. 14:14; 23:16, 26 1Inspiration 3 1No vision 4 aSong 2:15 5 aPs. 106:23 1breaches 6 aEzek. 22:28 bJer. 27:8–15 1Come true 9 aJer. 23:30 bJer. 20:3–6 cEzra 2:59, 62 dJer. 20:3–6 eEzek. 11:10, 12 10 aJer. 6:14; 8:11 bEzek. 22:28 1Or whitewash 11 aEzek. 38:22 14 aEzek. 13:9, 21, 23; 14:8 16 aJer. 6:14; 8:11; 28:9 17 aEzek. 20:46; 21:2 bEzek. 13:2 1Inspiration 18 a[2 Pet. 2:14] 1Lit. over all the joints of My hands; Vg. under every elbow; LXX, Tg. on all elbows of the hands 19 aMic. 3:5 20 1Lit. flying ones 21 aEzek. 13:9 22 aJer. 28:15 bJer. 23:14 23 aMic. 3:5, 6 CHAPTER 14 1 aEzek. 8:1; 20:1; 33:31

EZEKIEL 14:2 736 2 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 3 “Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts, and put before them athat which causes them to stumble into iniquity. bShould I let Myself be inquired of at all by them? 4 “Therefore speak to them, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Everyone of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity, and then comes to the prophet, I the LORD will answer him who comes, according to the multitude of his idols, 5 “that I may seize the house of Israel by their heart, because they are all estranged from Me by their idols.” ’ 6 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Repent, turn away from your idols, and aturn your faces away from all your abominations. 7 “For anyone of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell in Israel, who separates himself from Me and sets up his idols in his heart and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity, then comes to a prophet to inquire of him concerning Me, I the LORD will answer him by Myself. 8 a“I will set My face against that man and make him a bsign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of My people. cThen you shall know that I am the LORD. 9 “And if the prophet is induced to speak anything, I the LORD ahave induced that prophet, and I will stretch out My hand against him and destroy him from among My people Israel. 10 “And they shall bear their iniq- uity; the punishment of the prophet shall be the same as the punishment of the one who inquired, 11 “that the house of Israel may ano longer stray from Me, nor be pro- faned anymore with all their trans- gressions, bbut that they may be My people and I may be their God,” says the Lord GOD.’ ” Judgment on Persistent Unfaithfulness 12 The word of the LORD came again to me, saying: 13 “Son of man, when a land sins against Me by persistent unfaithful- ness, I will stretch out My hand against it; I will cut off its asupply of bread, send famine on it, and cut off man and beast from it. 14 a“Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves bby their righteousness,” says the Lord GOD. 15 “If I cause awild beasts to pass through the land, and they 1empty it, and make it so desolate that no man may pass through because of the beasts, 16 “even athough these three men were 1in it, as I live,” says the Lord GOD, “they would deliver neither sons nor daughters; only they would be delivered, and the land would be bdesolate. 17 “Or if aI bring a sword on that land, and say, ‘Sword, go through the land,’ and I bcut off man and beast from it, 18 “even athough these three men were in it, as I live,” says the Lord GOD, “they would deliver neither sons nor daughters, but only they themselves would be delivered. 19 “Or if I send aa pestilence into that land and bpour out My fury on it in blood, and cut off from it man and beast, 20 “even athough Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live,” says the Lord GOD, “they would deliver nei- ther son nor daughter; they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness.” 21 For thus says the Lord GOD: “How much more it shall be when aI send My four 1severe judgments on Jerusalem—the sword and famine and wild beasts and pestilence—to cut off man and beast from it? 22 a“Yet behold, there shall be left in it a remnant who will be bbrought out, both sons and daughters; surely they will come out to you, and cyou will see their ways and their doings. Then you will be comforted con- cerning the disaster that I have brought upon Jerusalem, all that I have brought upon it. 23 “And they will comfort you, when you see their ways and their doings; and you shall know that I have done nothing awithout cause that I have done in it,” says the Lord GOD. The Outcast Vine 15 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 2 “Son of man, how is the wood of the vine better than any other

ey will come out to you, and cyou will see their ways and their doings. Then you will be comforted con- cerning the disaster that I have brought upon Jerusalem, all that I have brought upon it. 23 “And they will comfort you, when you see their ways and their doings; and you shall know that I have done nothing awithout cause that I have done in it,” says the Lord GOD. The Outcast Vine 15 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 2 “Son of man, how is the wood of the vine better than any other wood, the vine branch which is among the trees of the forest? 3 “Is wood taken from it to make any object? Or can men make a peg from it to hang any vessel on? 4 “Instead, ait is thrown into the fire for fuel; the fire devours both ends of it, and its middle is burned. Is it useful for any work? 5 “Indeed, when it was whole, no object could be made from it. How much less will it be useful for any work when the fire has devoured it, and it is burned? 6 “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so I 3 aEzek. 7:19; Zeph. 1:3 b2 Kin. 3:13; Is. 1:15; Jer. 11:11; Ezek. 20:3, 31 6 a1 Sam. 7:3; Neh. 1:9; Is. 2:20; 30:22; 55:6, 7; Ezek. 18:30 8 aLev. 17:10; 20:3, 5, 6; Jer. 44:11; Ezek. 15:7 bNum. 26:10; Deut. 28:37; Ezek. 5:15 cEzek. 6:7; 13:14 9 a1 Kin. 22:23; Job 12:16; Is. 66:4; Jer. 4:10; 2 Thess. 2:11 11 aPs. 119:67, 71; Jer. 31:18, 19; [Heb. 12:11]; 2 Pet. 2:15 bEzek. 11:20; 37:27 13 aLev. 26:26; 2 Kin. 25:3; Is. 3:1; Jer. 52:6; Ezek. 4:16; 5:16 14 aJer. 15:1 b[Prov. 11:4] 15 aLev. 26:22; Num. 21:6; Ezek. 5:17; 14:21 1Lit. be- reave it of children 16 aEzek. 14:14, 18, 20 bEzek. 15:8; 33:28, 29 1Lit. in the midst of it 17 aLev. 26:25; Ezek. 5:12; 21:3, 4; 29:8; 38:21 bEzek. 25:13; Zeph. 1:3 18 aEzek. 14:14 19 a2 Sam. 24:15; Ezek. 38:22 bEzek. 7:8 20 aEzek. 14:14 21 aEzek. 5:17; 33:27; Amos 4:6–10; Rev. 6:8 1Lit. evil 22 a2 Kin. 25:11, 12; Ezra 2:1; Ezek. 12:16; 36:20 bEzek. 6:8 cEzek. 20:43 23 aJer. 22:8, 9 CHAPTER 15 4 a[John 15:6]

737 EZEKIEL 16:29 will give up the inhabitants of Jerusalem; 7 ‘and aI will set My face against them. bThey will go out from one fire, but another fire shall devour them. cThen you shall know that I am the LORD, when I set My face against them. 8 ‘Thus I will make the land deso- late, because they have persisted in unfaithfulness,’ says the Lord GOD.” God’s Love for Jerusalem 16 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, acause Jerusalem to know her abominations, 3 “and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD to Jerusalem: “Your 1birth aand your nativity are from the land of Canaan; byour father was an Amo- rite and your mother a Hittite. 4 “As for your nativity, aon the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed in water to cleanse you; you were not rubbed with salt nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. 5 “No eye pitied you, to do any of these things for you, to have com- passion on you; but you were thrown out into the open field, when you yourself were 1loathed on the day you were born. 6 “And when I passed by you and saw you struggling in your own blood, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ Yes, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ 7 a“I made you 1thrive like a plant in the field; and you grew, matured, and became very beautiful. Your breasts were formed, your hair grew, but you were naked and bare. 8 “When I passed by you again and looked upon you, indeed your time was the time of love; aso I spread 1My wing over you and cov- ered your nakedness. Yes, I bswore an oath to you and entered into a ccovenant with you, and dyou became Mine,” says the Lord GOD. 9 “Then I washed you in water; yes, I thoroughly washed off your blood, and I anointed you with oil. 10 “I clothed you in embroidered cloth and gave you sandals of 1bad- ger skin; I clothed you with fine linen and covered you with silk. 11 “I adorned you with ornaments, aput bracelets on your wrists, band a chain on your neck. 12 “And I put a 1jewel in your nose, earrings in your ears, and a beauti- ful crown on your head. 13 “Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen, silk, and embroi- dered cloth. aYou ate pastry of fine flour, honey, and oil. You were exceedingly bbeautiful, and suc- ceeded to royalty. 14 a“Your fame went out among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through My splendor which I had bestowed on you,” says the Lord GOD. Jerusalem’s Harlotry 15 a“But you trusted in your own beauty, bplayed the harlot because of your fame, and poured out your harlotry on everyone passing by who would have it. 16 a“You took some of your gar- ments and adorned multicolored 1high places for yourself, and played the harlot on them. Such things should not happen, nor be. 17 “You have also taken your beau- tiful jewelry from My gold and My silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself male images and played the harlot with them. 18 “You took your embroidered garments and covered them, and you set My oil and My incense before them. 19 “Also aMy food which I gave you—the pastry of fine flour, oil, and honey which I fed you—you set it before them as 1sweet incense; and so it was,” says the Lord GOD. 20 a“Moreover you took your sons and your daughters, whom you bore to Me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your acts of harlotry a small matter, 21 “that you have slain My children and offered them up to them by caus- ing them to pass through the afire? 22 “And in all your abominations and acts of harlotry you did not remember the days of your ayouth, bwhen you were naked and bare, struggling in your blood. 23 “Then it was so, after all your wickedness—‘Woe, woe to you!’ says the Lord GOD— 24 “that ayou also built for yourself a shrine, and bmade a 1high place for yourself in every street. 25 “You built your high places aat the head of every road, and made your beauty to be abhorred.

them up to them by caus- ing them to pass through the afire? 22 “And in all your abominations and acts of harlotry you did not remember the days of your ayouth, bwhen you were naked and bare, struggling in your blood. 23 “Then it was so, after all your wickedness—‘Woe, woe to you!’ says the Lord GOD— 24 “that ayou also built for yourself a shrine, and bmade a 1high place for yourself in every street. 25 “You built your high places aat the head of every road, and made your beauty to be abhorred. You offered yourself to everyone who passed by, and multiplied your acts of harlotry. 26 “You also committed harlotry with athe Egyptians, your very fleshly neighbors, and increased your acts of harlotry to bprovoke Me to anger. 27 “Behold, therefore, I stretched out My hand against you, dimin- ished your 1allotment, and gave you up to the will of those who hate you, athe daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your lewd behavior. 28 “You also played the harlot with the aAssyrians, because you were insatiable; indeed you played the harlot with them and still were not satisfied. 29 “Moreover you multiplied your 7 aEzek. 14:8 bIs. 24:18 cEzek. 7:4 CHAPTER 16 2 aEzek. 20:4; 22:2 3 aEzek. 21:30 bEzek. 16:45 1origin and your birth 4 aHos. 2:3 5 1abhorred 7 aEx. 1:7 1Lit. a myriad 8 aRuth 3:9 bGen. 22:16– 18 cEx. 24:6–8 d[Ex. 19:5] 1Or the corner of My garment 10 1Or dolphin or dugong 11 aGen. 24:22, 47 bProv. 1:9 12 1Lit. ring 13 aDeut. 32:13, 14 bPs. 48:2 14 aLam. 2:15 15 aMic. 3:11 bIs. 1:21; 57:8 16 aEzek. 7:20 1Places for pagan wor- ship 19 aHos. 2:8 1Or a sweet aroma 20 aJer. 7:31 21 aJer. 19:5 22 aJer. 2:2 bEzek. 16:4–6 24 aJer. 11:13 bJer. 2:20; 3:2 1Place for pagan wor- ship 25 aProv. 9:14 26 aEzek. 16:26; 20:7, 8 bDeut. 31:20 27 aEzek. 16:57 1Allowance of food 28 aJer. 2:18, 36

EZEKIEL 16:30 738 acts of harlotry as far as the land of the trader, aChaldea; and even then you were not satisfied. 30 “How degenerate is your heart!” says the Lord GOD, “seeing you do all these things, the deeds of a brazen harlot. Jerusalem’s Adultery 31 a“You erected your shrine at the head of every road, and built your 1high place in every street. Yet you were not like a harlot, because you scorned bpayment. 32 “You are an adulterous wife, who takes strangers instead of her husband. 33 “Men make payment to all har- lots, but ayou made your payments to all your lovers, and 1hired them to come to you from all around for your harlotry. 34 “You are the opposite of other women in your harlotry, because no one solicited you to be a harlot. In that you gave payment but no pay- ment was given you, therefore you are the opposite.” Jerusalem’s Lovers Will Abuse Her 35 ‘Now then, O harlot, hear the word of the LORD! 36 ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Be- cause your filthiness was poured out and your nakedness uncovered in your harlotry with your lovers, and with all your abominable idols, and because of athe blood of your children which you gave to them, 37 “surely, therefore, aI will gather all your lovers with whom you took pleasure, all those you loved, and all those you hated; I will gather them from all around against you and will uncover your nakedness to them, that they may see all your nakedness. 38 “And I will judge you as awomen who break wedlock or bshed blood are judged; I will bring blood upon you in fury and jealousy. 39 “I will also give you into their hand, and they shall throw down your shrines and break down ayour 1high places. bThey shall also strip you of your clothes, take your beau- tiful jewelry, and leave you naked and bare. 40 a“They shall also bring up an assembly against you, band they shall stone you with stones and thrust you through with their swords. 41 “They shall aburn your houses with fire, and bexecute judgments on you in the sight of many women; and I will make you ccease playing the harlot, and you shall no longer hire lovers. 42 “So aI will lay to rest My fury toward you, and My jealousy shall depart from you. I will be quiet, and be angry no more. 43 “Because ayou did not remember the days of your youth, but 1agitated Me with all these things, surely bI will also recompense your 2deeds on your own head,” says the Lord GOD. “And you shall not commit lewdness in addition to all your abominations. More Wicked than Samaria and Sodom 44 “Indeed everyone who quotes proverbs will use this proverb against you: ‘Like mother, like daughter!’ 45 “You are your mother’s daughter, 1loathing husband and children; and you are the asister of your sisters, who loathed their husbands and chil- dren; byour mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite. 46 “Your elder sister is Samaria, who dwells with her daughters to the north of you; and ayour younger sister, who dwells to the south of you, is Sodom and her daughters. 47 “You did not walk in their ways nor act according to their abomina- tions; but, as if that were too little, ayou became more corrupt than they in all your ways. 48 “As I live,” says the Lord GOD, “neither ayour sister Sodom nor her daughters have done as you and your daughters have done. 49 “Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, afullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. 50 “And they were haughty and acommitted abomination before Me; therefore bI took them away as 1I saw fit. 51 “Samaria did not commit ahalf of your sins; but you have multiplied your abominations more than they, and bhave justified your sisters by all the abominations which you have done. 52 “You who judged your sisters, bear your own shame also, because the sins which you committed were more abominable than theirs; they are more righteous than you.Yes, be disgraced also, and bear your own shame, because you justified your

d acommitted abomination before Me; therefore bI took them away as 1I saw fit. 51 “Samaria did not commit ahalf of your sins; but you have multiplied your abominations more than they, and bhave justified your sisters by all the abominations which you have done. 52 “You who judged your sisters, bear your own shame also, because the sins which you committed were more abominable than theirs; they are more righteous than you.Yes, be disgraced also, and bear your own shame, because you justified your sisters. 53 a“When I bring back their cap- tives, the captives of Sodom and her daughters, and the captives of Samaria and her daughters, then I will also bring back bthe captives of your captivity among them, 54 “that you may bear your own shame and be disgraced by all that you did when ayou comforted them. 55 “When your sisters, Sodom and her daughters, return to their for- mer state, and Samaria and her daughters return to their former state, then you and your daughters will return to your former state. 56 “For your sister Sodom was not 29 aEzek. 23:14–17 31 aEzek. 16:24, 39 bIs. 52:3 1Place for pagan worship 33 aHos. 8:9, 10 1Or bribed 36 aJer. 2:34 37 aLam. 1:8 38 aLev. 20:10 bGen. 9:6 39 aEzek. 16:24, 31 bHos. 2:3 1Places for pagan wor- ship 40 aEzek. 23:45–47 bJohn 8:5, 7 41 aDeut. 13:16 bEzek. 5:8; 23:10, 48 cEzek. 23:27 42 aEzek. 5:13; 21:17 43 aPs. 78:42 bEzek. 9:10; 11:21; 22:31 1So with LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg.; MT were agitated with Me 2Lit. way 45 aEzek. 23:2–4 bEzek. 16:3 1Or despising 46 aIs. 1:10 47 aEzek. 5:6, 7 48 aMatt. 10:15; 11:24 49 aGen. 13:10 50 aGen. 13:13; 18:20; 19:5 bGen. 19:24 1Vg. you saw; LXX he saw; Tg. as was revealed to Me 51 aEzek. 23:11 bJer. 3:8–11 53 aIs. 1:9 bJer. 20:16 54 aEzek. 14:22

739 EZEKIEL 17:18 a byword in your mouth in the days of your pride, 57 “before your wickedness was uncovered. It was like the time of the areproach of the daughters of 1Syria and all those around her, and of bthe daughters of the Philistines, who despise you everywhere. 58 a“You have paid for your lewd- ness and your abominations,” says the LORD. 59 ‘For thus says the Lord GOD: “I will deal with you as you have done, who adespised bthe oath by breaking the covenant. An Everlasting Covenant 60 “Nevertheless I will aremember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish ban everlasting covenant with you. 61 “Then ayou will remember your ways and be ashamed, when you receive your older and your youn- ger sisters; for I will give them to you for bdaughters, cbut not because of My covenant with you. 62 a“And I will establish My covenant with you. Then you shall know that I am the LORD, 63 “that you may aremember and be ashamed, band never open your mouth anymore because of your shame, when I provide you an atonement for all you have done,” says the Lord GOD.’ ” The Eagles and the Vine 17 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, pose a riddle, and speak a aparable to the house of Israel, 3 “and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: a“A great eagle with large wings and long pinions, Full of feathers of various colors, Came to Lebanon And btook from the cedar the highest branch. 4 He cropped off its topmost young twig And carried it to a land of trade; He set it in a city of merchants. 5 Then he took some of the seed of the land And planted it in aa fertile field; He placed it by abundant waters And set it blike a willow tree. 6 And it grew and became a spreading vine aof low stature; Its branches turned toward him, But its roots were under it. So it became a vine, Brought forth branches, And put forth shoots. 7 “But there was 1another great eagle with large wings and many feathers; And behold, athis vine bent its roots toward him, And stretched its branches toward him, From the garden terrace where it had been planted, That he might water it. 8 It was planted in 1good soil by many waters, To bring forth branches, bear fruit, And become a majestic vine.” ’ 9 “Say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Will it thrive? aWill he not pull up its roots, Cut off its fruit, And leave it to wither? All of its spring leaves will wither, And no great power or many people Will be needed to pluck it up by its roots. 10 Behold, it is planted, Will it thrive? aWill it not utterly wither when the east wind touches it? It will wither in the garden terrace where it grew.” ’ ” 11 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 12 “Say now to athe rebellious house: ‘Do you not know what these things mean?’ Tell them, ‘Indeed bthe king of Babylon went to Jeru- salem and took its king and princes, and led them with him to Babylon. 13 a‘And he took the king’s off- spring, made a covenant with him, band put him under oath. He also took away the mighty of the land, 14 ‘that the kingdom might be abrought low and not lift itself up, but that by keeping his covenant it might stand. 15 ‘But ahe rebelled against him by sending his ambassadors to Egypt, bthat they might give him horses and many people. cWill he prosper? Will he who does such things escape? Can he break a covenant and still be delivered? 16 ‘As I live,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘surely ain the place where the king dwells who made him king, whose oath he despised and whose cov- enant he broke—with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die. 17 a‘Nor will Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company do anything in the war, bwhen they heap up a siege mound and build a 1wall to cut off many persons. 18 ‘Since he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, and in fact 57 a2 Kin. 16:5 bEzek. 16:27 1Heb. Aram; so with MT, LXX, Tg., Vg.; many Heb. mss., Syr. Edom 58 aEzek. 23:49 59 aEzek. 17:13 bDeut. 29:12 60 aPs. 106:45 bIs. 55:3 61 aEzek. 20:43; 36:31 b[Gal. 4:26] cJer. 31:31 62 aHos.

ke—with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die. 17 a‘Nor will Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company do anything in the war, bwhen they heap up a siege mound and build a 1wall to cut off many persons. 18 ‘Since he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, and in fact 57 a2 Kin. 16:5 bEzek. 16:27 1Heb. Aram; so with MT, LXX, Tg., Vg.; many Heb. mss., Syr. Edom 58 aEzek. 23:49 59 aEzek. 17:13 bDeut. 29:12 60 aPs. 106:45 bIs. 55:3 61 aEzek. 20:43; 36:31 b[Gal. 4:26] cJer. 31:31 62 aHos. 2:19, 20 63 aEzek. 36:31, 32 b[Rom. 3:19] CHAPTER 17 2 aEzek. 20:49; 24:3 3 aEzek. 17:12 b2 Kin. 24:12 5 aDeut. 8:7–9 bIs. 44:4 6 aEzek. 17:14 7 aEzek. 17:15 1So with LXX, Syr., Vg.; MT, Tg. one 8 1Lit. a good field 9 a2 Kin. 25:7 10 aHos. 13:15 12 aEzek. 2:3–5; 12:9 b2 Kin. 24:11–16 13 a2 Kin. 24:17 b2 Chr. 36:13 14 aEzek. 29:14 15 a2 Kin. 24:20 bDeut. 17:16 cEzek. 17:9 16 aEzek. 12:13 17 aJer. 37:7 bJer. 52:4 1Or siege wall

EZEKIEL 17:19 740 agave1 his hand and still did all these things, he shall not escape.’ ” 19 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “As I live, surely My oath which he despised, and My cov- enant which he broke, I will recom- pense on his own head. 20 “I will aspread My net over him, and he shall be taken in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon and btry him there for the 1treason which he committed against Me. 21 a“All his 1fugitives with all his troops shall fall by the sword, and those who remain shall be bscattered to every wind; and you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken.” Israel Exalted at Last 22 Thus says the Lord GOD: “I will take also one of the highest abranches of the high cedar and set it out. I will crop off from the topmost of its young twigs ba tender one, and will cplant it on a high and prominent mountain. 23 a“On the mountain height of Israel I will plant it; and it will bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a majestic cedar. bUnder it will dwell birds of every sort; in the shadow of its branches they will dwell. 24 “And all the trees of the field shall know that I, the LORD, ahave brought down the high tree and exalted the low tree, dried up the green tree and made the dry tree flourish; bI, the LORD, have spoken and have done it.” A False Proverb Refuted 18 The word of the LORD came to me again, saying, 2 “What do you mean when you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying: ‘The afathers have eaten sour grapes, And the children’s teeth are set on edge’? 3 “As I live,” says the Lord GOD, “you shall no longer use this proverb in Israel. 4 “Behold, all souls are aMine; The soul of the father As well as the soul of the son is Mine; bThe soul who sins shall die. 5 But if a man is just And does what is lawful and right; 6 aIf he has not eaten 1on the mountains, Nor lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, Nor bdefiled his neighbor’s wife, Nor approached ca woman during her impurity; 7 If he has not aoppressed anyone, But has restored to the debtor his bpledge; Has robbed no one by violence, But has cgiven his bread to the hungry And covered the naked with dclothing; 8 If he has not 1exacted ausury Nor taken any increase, But has withdrawn his hand from iniquity And bexecuted true 2judgment between man and man; 9 If he has walked in My statutes And kept My judgments faithfully— He is just; He shall surely alive!” Says the Lord GOD. 10 “If he begets a son who is a robber Or aa shedder of blood, Who does any of these things 11 And does none of those duties, But has eaten 1on the mountains Or defiled his neighbor’s wife; 12 If he has oppressed the poor and needy, Robbed by violence, Not restored the pledge, Lifted his eyes to the idols, Or acommitted abomination; 13 If he has exacted usury Or taken increase— Shall he then live? He shall not live! If he has done any of these abominations, He shall surely die; aHis blood shall be upon him. 14 “If, however, he begets a son Who sees all the sins which his father has done, And considers but does not do likewise; 15 aWho has not eaten 1on the mountains, Nor lifted his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, Nor defiled his neighbor’s wife; 16 Has not oppressed anyone, Nor withheld a pledge, Nor robbed by violence, But has given his bread to the hungry And covered the naked with clothing; 17 Who has withdrawn his hand from 1the poor And not received usury or increase, But has executed My judgments And walked in My statutes— He shall not die for the iniquity of his father; He shall surely live! 18 a1 Chr. 29:24 1Took an oath 20 aEzek. 12:13 bEzek. 20:36 1Lit. unfaithful act 21 aEzek. 12:14 bEzek. 12:15; 22:15 1So with MT, Vg.; many Heb. mss., Syr. choice men; Tg. mighty men; LXX omits All his fugi- tives 22 a[Zech. 3:8] bIs. 53:2 c[Ps. 2:6] 23 a[Is. 2:2, 3] bDan. 4:12 24 aAmos 9:11 bEzek. 22:14 CHAPTER 18 2 aLam. 5:7 4 aNum. 16:22; 27:16 b[Rom. 6:23] 6 aEzek. 22:9 bLev. 18:20; 20:10 cLev. 18:19; 20:18 1At the moun- tain shrines 7 aEx.

r the iniquity of his father; He shall surely live! 18 a1 Chr. 29:24 1Took an oath 20 aEzek. 12:13 bEzek. 20:36 1Lit. unfaithful act 21 aEzek. 12:14 bEzek. 12:15; 22:15 1So with MT, Vg.; many Heb. mss., Syr. choice men; Tg. mighty men; LXX omits All his fugi- tives 22 a[Zech. 3:8] bIs. 53:2 c[Ps. 2:6] 23 a[Is. 2:2, 3] bDan. 4:12 24 aAmos 9:11 bEzek. 22:14 CHAPTER 18 2 aLam. 5:7 4 aNum. 16:22; 27:16 b[Rom. 6:23] 6 aEzek. 22:9 bLev. 18:20; 20:10 cLev. 18:19; 20:18 1At the moun- tain shrines 7 aEx. 22:21 bDeut. 24:12 cDeut. 15:7, 11 dIs. 58:7 8 aEx. 22:25 bZech. 8:16 1Lent money at interest 2justice 9 aAmos 5:4 10 aNum. 35:31 11 1At the mountain shrines 12 aEzek. 8:6, 17 13 aLev. 20:9, 11–13, 16, 27 15 aEzek. 18:6 1At the moun- tain shrines 17 1So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX iniquity (cf. v. 8)

741 EZEKIEL 19:11 18 “As for his father, Because he cruelly oppressed, Robbed his brother by violence, And did what is not good among his people, Behold, ahe shall die for his iniquity. Turn and Live 19 “Yet you say, ‘Why ashould the son not bear the guilt of the father?’ Because the son has done what is lawful and right, and has kept all My statutes and observed them, he shall surely live. 20 a“The soul who sins shall die. bThe son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. cThe righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him- self, dand the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself. 21 “But aif a wicked man turns from all his sins which he has com- mitted, keeps all My statutes, and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 22 a“None of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him; because of the righteousness which he has done, he shall blive. 23 a“Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?” says the Lord GOD, “and not that he should turn from his ways and live? 24 “But awhen a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? bAll the righteousness which he has done shall not be remem- bered; because of the unfaithfulness of which he is guilty and the sin which he has committed, because of them he shall die. 25 “Yet you say, a‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ Hear now, O house of Israel, is it not My way which is fair, and your ways which are not fair? 26 a“When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, com- mits iniquity, and dies in it, it is because of the iniquity which he has done that he dies. 27 “Again, awhen a wicked man turns away from the wickedness which he committed, and does what is lawful and right, he preserves himself alive. 28 “Because he aconsiders and turns away from all the transgressions which he committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 29 a“Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ O house of Israel, is it not My ways which are fair, and your ways which are not fair? 30 a“Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways,” says the Lord GOD. b“Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin. 31 a“Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have com- mitted, and get yourselves a bnew heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel? 32 “For aI have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,” says the Lord GOD. “Therefore turn and blive!” Israel Degraded 19 “Moreover atake up a lamen- tation for the princes of Israel, 2 “and say: ‘What is your mother?

s,” says the Lord GOD. b“Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin. 31 a“Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have com- mitted, and get yourselves a bnew heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel? 32 “For aI have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,” says the Lord GOD. “Therefore turn and blive!” Israel Degraded 19 “Moreover atake up a lamen- tation for the princes of Israel, 2 “and say: ‘What is your mother? A lioness: She lay down among the lions; Among the young lions she nourished her cubs. 3 She brought up one of her cubs, And ahe became a young lion; He learned to catch prey, And he devoured men. 4 The nations also heard of him; He was trapped in their pit, And they brought him with chains to the land of aEgypt. 5 ‘When she saw that she waited, that her hope was lost, She took aanother of her cubs and made him a young lion. 6 aHe roved among the lions, And bbecame a young lion; He learned to catch prey; He devoured men. 7 1He knew their desolate places, And laid waste their cities; The land with its fullness was desolated By the noise of his roaring. 8 aThen the nations set against him from the provinces on every side, And spread their net over him; bHe was trapped in their pit. 9 aThey put him in a cage with 1chains, And brought him to the king of Babylon; They brought him in nets, That his voice should no longer be heard on bthe mountains of Israel. 10 ‘Your mother was alike a vine in your 1bloodline, Planted by the waters, bFruitful and full of branches Because of many waters. 11 She had strong branches for scepters of rulers. aShe towered in stature above the thick branches, And was seen in her height amid the 1dense foliage. 18 aEzek. 3:18 19 aEx. 20:5 20 aEzek. 18:4 bDeut. 24:16 cIs. 3:10, 11 dRom. 2:6–9 21 aEzek. 18:27; 33:12, 19 22 aEzek. 18:24; 33:16 b[Ps.18:20–24] 23 a[Ezek. 18:32; 33:11] 24 aEzek. 3:20; 18:26; 33:18 b[2 Pet. 2:20] 25 aEzek. 18:29; 33:17, 20 26 aEzek. 18:24 27 aEzek. 18:21 28 aEzek. 18:14 29 aEzek. 18:25 30 aEzek. 7:3; 33:20 bMatt. 3:2 31 aEph. 4:22, 23 bJer. 32:39 32 aLam. 3:33 b[Prov. 4:2, 5, 6] CHAPTER 19 1 aEzek. 26:17; 27:2 3 a2 Kin. 23:31, 32 4 a2 Kin. 23:33, 34 5 a2 Kin. 23:34 6 aJer. 22:13–17 bEzek. 19:3 7 1LXX He stood in inso- lence; Tg. He destroyed its palaces; Vg. He learned to make widows 8 a2 Kin. 24:2, 11 bEzek. 19:4 9 a2 Chr. 36:6 bEzek. 6:2 1Or hooks 10 aEzek. 17:6 bDeut. 8:7–9 1Lit. blood, so with MT, Syr., Vg.; LXX like a flower on a pomegranate tree; Tg. in your likeness 11 aDan. 4:11 1Or many branches

EZEKIEL 19:12 742 12 But she was aplucked up in fury, She was cast down to the ground, And the beast wind dried her fruit. Her strong branches were broken and withered; The fire consumed them. 13 And now she is planted in the wilderness, In a dry and thirsty land. 14 aFire has come out from a rod of her branches And devoured her fruit, So that she has no strong branch— a scepter for ruling.’ ” bThis is a lamentation, and has be- come a lamentation. The Rebellions of Israel 20 It came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, that acertain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the LORD, and sat before me. 2 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 3 “Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Have you come to inquire of Me? As I live,” says the Lord GOD, a“I will not be inquired of by you.” ’ 4 “Will you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? Then amake known to them the abomina- tions of their fathers. 5 “Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “On the day when aI chose Israel and raised My hand in an oath to the descendants of the house of Jacob, and made Myself bknown to them in the land of Egypt, I raised My hand in an oath to them, saying, c‘I am the LORD your God.’ 6 “On that day I raised My hand in an oath to them, ato bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, b‘flow- ing with milk and honey,’ cthe glory of all lands. 7 “Then I said to them, ‘Each of you, athrow away bthe abominations which are before his eyes, and do not defile yourselves with cthe idols of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.’ 8 “But they rebelled against Me and would not 1obey Me. They did not all cast away the abominations which were before their eyes, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. Then I said, ‘I will apour out My fury on them and fulfill My anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.’ 9 a“But I acted for My name’s sake, that it should not be profaned before the Gentiles among whom they were, in whose sight I had made My- self bknown to them, to bring them out of the land of Egypt. 10 “Therefore I amade them go out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. 11 a“And I gave them My statutes and 1showed them My judgments, b‘which, if a man does, he shall live by them.’ 12 “Moreover I also gave them My aSabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them. 13 “Yet the house of Israel are- belled against Me in the wilderness; they did not walk in My statutes; they bdespised My judgments, c‘which, if a man does, he shall live by them’; and they greatly ddefiled My Sabbaths. Then I said I would pour out My fury on them in the ewilderness, to consume them. 14 a“But I acted for My name’s sake, that it should not be profaned before the Gentiles, in whose sight I had brought them out. 15 “So aI also raised My hand in an oath to them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, b‘flowing with milk and honey,’ cthe glory of all lands, 16 a“because they despised My judgments and did not walk in My statutes, but profaned My Sabbaths; for btheir heart went after their idols. 17 a“Nevertheless My eye spared them from destruction. I did not make an end of them in the wilder- ness. 18 “But I said to their children in the wilderness, ‘Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers, nor observe their judgments, nor defile your- selves with their idols. 19 ‘I am the LORD your God: aWalk in My statutes, keep My judgments, and do them; 20 a‘hallow My Sabbaths, and they will be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the LORD your God.’ 21 “Notwithstanding, athe children rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My statutes, and were not careful to observe My judgments, b‘which, if a man does, he shall live by them’; but they profaned My Sab- baths.

your fathers, nor observe their judgments, nor defile your- selves with their idols. 19 ‘I am the LORD your God: aWalk in My statutes, keep My judgments, and do them; 20 a‘hallow My Sabbaths, and they will be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the LORD your God.’ 21 “Notwithstanding, athe children rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My statutes, and were not careful to observe My judgments, b‘which, if a man does, he shall live by them’; but they profaned My Sab- baths. Then I said I would pour out My fury on them and fulfill My anger against them in the wilderness. 22 “Nevertheless I 1withdrew My hand and acted for My name’s sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the Gentiles, in whose sight I had brought them out. 23 “Also I raised My hand in an oath to those in the wilderness, that aI would scatter them among the Gentiles and disperse them through- out the countries, 24 a“because they had not executed My judgments, but had despised My 12 aJer. 31:27, 28 bHos. 13:5 14 aJudg. 9:15 bLam. 2:5 CHAPTER 20 1 aEzek. 8:1, 11, 12; 14:1 3 aEzek. 7:26; 14:3 4 aEzek. 16:2; 22:2 5 aEx. 6:6–8 bDeut. 4:34 cEx. 20:2 6 aJer. 32:22 bEx. 3:8 cJer. 11:5; 32:22 7 aEzek. 18:31 b2 Chr. 15:8 cLev. 18:3 8 aEzek. 7:8 1Lit. listen to 9 aNum. 14:13 bJosh. 2:10; 9:9, 10 10 aEx. 13:18 11 aNeh. 9:13 bLev. 18:5 1Lit. made known to 12 aDeut. 5:12 13 aNum. 14:22 bProv. 1:25 cLev. 18:5 dEx. 16:27 eNum. 14:29 14 aEzek. 20:9, 20 15 aNum. 14:28 bEx. 3:8 cEzek. 20:6 16 aEzek. 20:13, 24 bAmos 5:25 17 a[Ps. 78:38] 19 aDeut. 5:32 20 aJer. 17:22 21 aNum. 25:1 bLev. 18:5 22 1Refrained from judg- ment 23 aLev. 26:33 24 aEzek. 20:13, 16

743 EZEKIEL 21:2 statutes, profaned My Sabbaths, and btheir eyes were fixed on their fathers’ idols. 25 “Therefore aI also gave them up to statutes that were not good, and judgments by which they could not live; 26 “and I pronounced them un- clean because of their ritual gifts, in that they caused all 1their firstborn to pass athrough the fire, that I might make them desolate and that they bmight know that I am the LORD.” ’ 27 “Therefore, son of man, speak to the house of Israel, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “In this too your fathers have ablasphemed Me, by being unfaithful to Me. 28 “When I brought them into the land concerning which I had raised My hand in an oath to give them, and athey saw all the high hills and all the thick trees, there they offered their sacrifices and provoked Me with their offerings. There they also sent up their bsweet aroma and poured out their drink offerings. 29 “Then I said to them, ‘What is this 1high place to which you go?’ So its name is called 2Bamah to this day.” ’ 30 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Are you defiling yourselves in the manner of your afathers, and com- mitting harlotry according to their babominations? 31 “For when you offer ayour gifts and make your sons pass through the fire, you defile yourselves with all your idols, even to this day. So shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live,” says the Lord GOD, “I will bnot be inquired of by you. 32 a“What you have in your mind shall never be, when you say, ‘We will be like the Gentiles, like the families in other countries, serving wood and stone.’ God Will Restore Israel 33 “As I live,” says the Lord GOD, “surely with a mighty hand, awith an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out, I will rule over you. 34 “I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand, with an out- stretched arm, and with fury poured out. 35 “And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there aI will plead My case with you face to face. 36 a“Just as I pleaded My case with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will plead My case with you,” says the Lord GOD. 37 “I will make you apass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the bcovenant; 38 a“I will purge the rebels from among you, and those who trans- gress against Me; I will bring them out of the country where they dwell, but bthey shall not enter the land of Israel.

derness of the peoples, and there aI will plead My case with you face to face. 36 a“Just as I pleaded My case with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will plead My case with you,” says the Lord GOD. 37 “I will make you apass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the bcovenant; 38 a“I will purge the rebels from among you, and those who trans- gress against Me; I will bring them out of the country where they dwell, but bthey shall not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD. 39 “As for you, O house of Israel,” thus says the Lord GOD: a“Go, serve every one of you his idols—and hereafter—if you will not obey Me; bbut profane My holy name no more with your gifts and your idols. 40 “For aon My holy mountain, on the mountain height of Israel,” says the Lord GOD, “there ball the house of Israel, all of them in the land, shall serve Me; there cI will accept them, and there I will require your offerings and the firstfruits of your 1sacrifices, together with all your holy things. 41 “I will accept you as a asweet aroma when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered; and I will be hallowed in you before the Gentiles. 42 a“Then you shall know that I am the LORD, bwhen I bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for which I raised My hand in an oath to give to your fathers. 43 “And athere you shall remember your ways and all your doings with which you were defiled; and byou shall 1loathe yourselves in your own sight because of all the evils that you have committed. 44 a“Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have dealt with you bfor My name’s sake, not according to your wicked ways nor according to your corrupt doings, O house of Israel,” says the Lord GOD.’ ” Fire in the Forest 45 Furthermore the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 46 a“Son of man, set your face toward the south; 1preach against the south and prophesy against the forest land, the 2South, 47 “and say to the forest of the South, ‘Hear the word of the LORD! Thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, aI will kindle a fire in you, and it shall devour bevery green tree and every dry tree in you; the blazing flame shall not be quenched, and all faces cfrom the south to the north shall be scorched by it. 48 “All flesh shall see that I, the LORD, have kindled it; it shall not be quenched.” ’ ” 49 Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! They say of me, ‘Does he not speak aparables?’ ” Babylon, the Sword of God 21 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 a“Son of man, set your face 24 bEzek. 6:9 25 aRom. 1:24 26 aJer. 32:35 bEzek. 6:7; 20:12, 20 1Lit. that open the womb 27 aRom. 2:24 28 aEzek. 6:13 bEzek. 16:19 29 1Place for pagan wor- ship 2Lit. High Place 30 aJudg. 2:19 bJer. 7:26; 16:12 31 aEzek. 16:20; 20:26 bEzek. 20:3 32 aEzek. 11:5 33 aJer. 21:5 35 aJer. 2:9, 35; Ezek. 17:20 36 aNum. 14:21–23, 28 37 aLev. 27:32 bPs. 89:30–34 38 aEzek. 34:17 bJer. 44:14 39 aAmos 4:4 bIs. 1:13–15 40 aIs. 2:2, 3 bEzek. 37:22 cZech. 8:20– 22 1offerings 41 aPhil. 4:18 42 aEzek. 36:23; 38:23 bEzek. 11:17; 34:13; 36:24 43 aEzek. 16:61 bLev. 26:39 1Or despise 44 aEzek. 24:24 bEzek. 36:22 46 aEzek. 21:2 1proclaim, lit. drop 2Heb. Negev 47 aJer. 21:14 bLuke 23:31 cEzek. 21:4 49 aEzek. 12:9; 17:2 CHAPTER 21 2 aEzek. 20:46

EZEKIEL 21:3 744 toward Jerusalem, bpreach1 against the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel; 3 “and say to the land of Israel, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Behold, I am aagainst you, and I will draw My sword out of its sheath and cut off both brighteous and wicked from you. 4 “Because I will cut off both righ- teous and wicked from you, there- fore My sword shall go out of its sheath against all flesh afrom south to north, 5 “that all flesh may know that I, the LORD, have drawn My sword out of its sheath; it ashall not return anymore.” ’ 6 a“Sigh therefore, son of man, with 1a breaking heart, and sigh with bitterness before their eyes. 7 “And it shall be when they say to you, ‘Why are you sighing?’ that you shall answer, ‘Because of the news; when it comes, every heart will melt, aall hands will be feeble, every spirit will faint, and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it is coming and shall be brought to pass,’ says the Lord GOD.” 8 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 9 “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the LORD!’ Say: a‘A sword, a sword is sharpened And also polished! 10 Sharpened to make a dreadful slaughter, Polished to flash like lightning! Should we then make mirth? It despises the scepter of My son, As it does all wood. 11 And He has given it to be polished, That it may be handled; This sword is sharpened, and it is polished To be given into the hand of athe slayer.’ 12 “Cry and wail, son of man; For it will be against My people, Against all the princes of Israel. Terrors including the sword will be against My people; Therefore astrike your thigh. 13 “Because it is aa testing, And what if the sword despises even the scepter? bThe scepter shall be no more,” says the Lord GOD. 14 “You therefore, son of man, prophesy, And astrike your hands together. The third time let the sword do double damage. It is the sword that slays, The sword that slays the great men, That enters their bprivate chambers. 15 I have set the point of the sword against all their gates, That the heart may melt and many may stumble. Ah! aIt is made bright; It is grasped for slaughter: 16 “Swordsa1 at the ready! Thrust right! Set your blade! Thrust left— Wherever your 2edge is ordered! 17 “I also will abeat My fists together, And bI will cause My fury to rest; I, the LORD, have spoken.” 18 The word of the LORD came to me again, saying: 19 “And son of man, appoint for yourself two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to go; both of them shall go from the same land. Make a sign; put it at the head of the road to the city. 20 “Appoint a road for the sword to go to aRabbah of the Ammon- ites, and to Judah, into fortified Jerusalem. 21 “For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the road, at the fork of the two roads, to use divination: he shakes the arrows, he consults the 1images, he looks at the liver. 22 “In his right hand is the divina- tion for Jerusalem: to set up batter- ing rams, to call for a slaughter, to alift the voice with shouting, bto set battering rams against the gates, to heap up a siege mound, and to build a wall. 23 “And it will be to them like a false divination in the eyes of those who ahave sworn oaths with them; but he will bring their iniquity to remembrance, that they may be taken. 24 “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Because you have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your doings your sins appear—because you have come to remembrance, you shall be taken in hand. 25 ‘Now to you, O aprofane, wicked prince of Israel, bwhose day has come, whose iniquity shall end, 26 ‘thus says the Lord GOD: “Remove the turban, and take off the crown; Nothing shall remain the same. aExalt the humble, and humble the exalted. 2 bAmos 7:16 1proclaim, lit. drop 3 aEzek. 5:8 bJob 9:22 4 aEzek. 20:47 5 a[Is. 45:23; 55:11] 6 aIs. 22:4 1Emotional distress, lit. the breaking of your loins 7 aEzek. 7:17 9 aDeut. 32:41 11 aEzek. 21:19 12 aJer.

remembrance, you shall be taken in hand. 25 ‘Now to you, O aprofane, wicked prince of Israel, bwhose day has come, whose iniquity shall end, 26 ‘thus says the Lord GOD: “Remove the turban, and take off the crown; Nothing shall remain the same. aExalt the humble, and humble the exalted. 2 bAmos 7:16 1proclaim, lit. drop 3 aEzek. 5:8 bJob 9:22 4 aEzek. 20:47 5 a[Is. 45:23; 55:11] 6 aIs. 22:4 1Emotional distress, lit. the breaking of your loins 7 aEzek. 7:17 9 aDeut. 32:41 11 aEzek. 21:19 12 aJer. 31:19 13 aJob 9:23 bEzek. 21:27 14 aNum. 24:10 b1 Kin. 20:30 15 aEzek. 21:10, 28 16 aEzek. 14:17 1Lit. Sharpen your- self! or Unite yourself! 2Lit. face 17 aEzek. 22:13 bEzek. 5:13; 16:42; 24:13 20 aJer. 49:2 21 1Heb. teraphim 22 aJer. 51:14 bEzek. 4:2 23 aEzek. 17:16, 18 25 aJer. 52:2 bEzek. 21:29 26 aLuke 1:52

745 EZEKIEL 22:24 27 1Overthrown, overthrown, I will make it overthrown! aIt shall be no longer, Until He comes whose right it is, And I will give it to bHim.” ’ A Sword Against the Ammonites 28 “And you, son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD aconcerning the Ammonites and concerning their reproach,’ and say: ‘A sword, a sword is drawn, Polished for slaughter, For consuming, for flashing— 29 While they asee false visions for you, While they divine a lie to you, To bring you on the necks of the wicked, the slain bWhose day has come, Whose iniquity shall end. 30 ‘Returna it to its sheath. bI will judge you In the place where you were created, cIn the land of your 1nativity. 31 I will apour out My indignation on you; I will bblow against you with the fire of My wrath, And deliver you into the hands of brutal men who are skillful to cdestroy. 32 You shall be fuel for the fire; Your blood shall be in the midst of the land. aYou shall not be remembered, For I the LORD have spoken.’ ” Sins of Jerusalem 22 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 “Now, son of man, awill you judge, will you judge bthe bloody city? Yes, show her all her abomina- tions! 3 “Then say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “The city sheds ablood in her own midst, that her time may come; and she makes idols within herself to defile herself. 4 “You have become guilty by the blood which you have ashed, and have defiled yourself with the idols which you have made. You have caused your days to draw near, and have come to the end of your years; btherefore I have made you a re- proach to the nations, and a mock- ery to all countries. 5 “Those near and those far from you will mock you as 1infamous and full of tumult. 6 “Look, athe princes of Israel: each one has used his 1power to shed blood in you. 7 “In you they have amade light of father and mother; in your midst they have boppressed the stranger; in you they have mistreated the 1fatherless and the widow. 8 “You have despised My holy things and aprofaned My Sabbaths. 9 “In you are amen who slander to cause bloodshed; bin you are those who eat on the mountains; in your midst they commit lewdness. 10 “In you men auncover their fathers’ nakedness; in you they vio- late women who are bset apart dur- ing their impurity. 11 “One commits abomination awith his neighbor’s wife; banother lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; and another in you violates his sis- ter, his father’s cdaughter. 12 “In you athey take bribes to shed blood; byou take usury and increase; you have made profit from your neighbors by extortion, and chave forgotten Me,” says the Lord GOD. 13 “Behold, therefore, I abeat My fists at the dishonest profit which you have made, and at the blood- shed which has been in your midst. 14 a“Can your heart endure, or can your hands remain strong, in the days when I shall deal with you?

s his daughter-in-law; and another in you violates his sis- ter, his father’s cdaughter. 12 “In you athey take bribes to shed blood; byou take usury and increase; you have made profit from your neighbors by extortion, and chave forgotten Me,” says the Lord GOD. 13 “Behold, therefore, I abeat My fists at the dishonest profit which you have made, and at the blood- shed which has been in your midst. 14 a“Can your heart endure, or can your hands remain strong, in the days when I shall deal with you? bI, the LORD, have spoken, and will do it. 15 a“I will scatter you among the nations, disperse you throughout the countries, and bremove your filthiness completely from you. 16 “You shall defile yourself in the sight of the nations; then ayou shall know that I am the LORD.” ’ ” Israel in the Furnace 17 The word of the LORD came to me, saying, 18 “Son of man, athe house of Is- rael has become dross to Me; they are all bronze, tin, iron, and lead, in the midst of a bfurnace; they have become dross from silver. 19 “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Because you have all become dross, therefore behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. 20 ‘As men gather silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into the midst of a furnace, to blow fire on it, to amelt it; so I will gather you in My anger and in My fury, and I will leave you there and melt you. 21 ‘Yes, I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you shall be melted in its midst. 22 ‘As silver is melted in the midst of a furnace, so shall you be melted in its midst; then you shall know that I, the LORD, have apoured out My fury on you.’ ” Israel’s Wicked Leaders 23 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 24 “Son of man, say to her: ‘You are a land that is anot 1cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.’ 27 a[Luke 1:32, 33] b[Jer. 23:5, 6] 1Or Distor- tion, Ruin 28 aEzek. 25:1–7 29 aEzek. 12:24; 13:6–9; 22:28 bJob 18:20 30 aJer. 47:6, 7 bGen. 15:14 cEzek. 16:3 1Or origin 31 aEzek. 7:8 bEzek. 22:20, 21 cHab. 1:6–10 32 aEzek. 25:10 CHAPTER 22 2 aEzek. 20:4 bNah. 3:1 3 aEzek. 24:6, 7 4 a2 Kin. 21:16 bDeut. 28:37 5 1Lit. defiled of name 6 aIs. 1:23 1Lit. arm 7 aLev. 20:9 bEx. 22:22 1Lit. orphan 8 aLev. 19:30 9 aLev. 19:16 bEzek. 18:6, 11 10 aLev. 18:7, 8 bLev. 18:19; 20:18 11 aEzek. 18:11 bLev. 18:15 cLev. 18:9 12 aEx. 23:8 bEx. 22:25 cEzek. 23:35 13 aEzek. 21:17 14 aEzek. 21:7 bEzek. 17:24 15 aDeut. 4:27 bEzek. 23:27, 48 16 aPs. 9:16 18 aIs. 1:22 bProv. 17:3 20 aIs. 1:25 22 aEzek. 20:8, 33 24 aEzek. 24:13 1So with MT, Syr., Vg.; LXX show- ered upon

EZEKIEL 22:25 746 25 a“The conspiracy of her 1proph- ets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they bhave de- voured 2people; cthey have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst. 26 a“Her priests have 1violated My law and bprofaned My holy things; they have not cdistinguished be- tween the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference be- tween the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am pro- faned among them. 27 “Her aprinces in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, to shed blood, to destroy 1people, and to get dishonest gain. 28 a“Her prophets plastered them with untempered mortar, bseeing false visions, and divining clies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,’ when the LORD had not spoken. 29 “The people of the land have used oppressions, committed rob- bery, and mistreated the poor and needy; and they wrongfully aop- press the stranger. 30 a“So I sought for a man among them who would bmake a wall, and cstand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one. 31 “Therefore I have apoured out My indignation on them; I have con- sumed them with the fire of My wrath; and I have recompensed btheir deeds on their own heads,” says the Lord GOD. Two Harlot Sisters 23 The word of the LORD came again to me, saying: 2 “Son of man, there were atwo women, The daughters of one mother. 3 aThey committed harlotry in Egypt, They committed harlotry in btheir youth; Their breasts were there embraced, Their virgin bosom was there pressed. 4 Their names: 1Oholah the elder and 2Oholibah aher sister; bThey were Mine, And they bore sons and daughters. As for their names, Samaria is Oholah, and Jerusalem is Oholibah. The Older Sister, Samaria 5 “Oholah played the harlot even though she was Mine; And she lusted for her lovers, the neighboring aAssyrians, 6 Who were clothed in purple, Captains and rulers, All of them desirable young men, Horsemen riding on horses. 7 Thus she committed her harlotry with them, All of them choice men of Assyria; And with all for whom she lusted, With all their idols, she defiled herself. 8 She has never given up her harlotry brought afrom Egypt, For in her youth they had lain with her, Pressed her virgin bosom, And poured out their immorality upon her. 9 “Therefore I have delivered her Into the hand of her lovers, Into the hand of the aAssyrians, For whom she lusted. 10 They uncovered her nakedness, Took away her sons and daughters, And slew her with the sword; She became a byword among women, For they had executed judgment on her. The Younger Sister, Jerusalem 11 “Now aalthough her sister Oholi- bah saw this, bshe became more corrupt in her lust than she, and in her harlotry more corrupt than her sister’s harlotry. 12 “She lusted for the neighboring aAssyrians, bCaptains and rulers, Clothed most gorgeously, Horsemen riding on horses, All of them desirable young men. 13 Then I saw that she was defiled; Both took the same way. 14 But she increased her harlotry; She looked at men portrayed on the wall, Images of aChaldeans portrayed in vermilion, 15 Girded with belts around their waists, Flowing turbans on their heads, All of them looking like captains, In the manner of the Babylonians of Chaldea, The land of their nativity. 16 aAs soon as her eyes saw them, She lusted for them And sent bmessengers to them in Chaldea. 17 “Then the 1Babylonians came to her, into the bed of love, And they defiled her with their immorality; 25 aJer. 11:9; Hos. 6:9 bMatt. 23:14 cMic. 3:11; Zeph. 3:3, 4 1So with MT, Vg.; LXX princes; Tg. scribes 2Lit. souls 26 aJer. 32:32; Lam. 4:3; Mal. 2:8 b1 Sam. 2:29 cLev. 10:10 1Lit. done violence to 27 aIs. 1:23; Ezek. 22:6; Mic. 3:1–3, 9–11; Zeph. 3:3 1Lit. souls 28 aEzek. 13:10 bEzek. 13:6, 7 cJer. 23:25–32; Ezek. 21:29 29 aEx. 23:9; Lev. 19:33 30 aIs. 59:16; 63:5; Jer. 5:1 bEzek. 13:5 cPs. 106:23; Jer.

Babylonians came to her, into the bed of love, And they defiled her with their immorality; 25 aJer. 11:9; Hos. 6:9 bMatt. 23:14 cMic. 3:11; Zeph. 3:3, 4 1So with MT, Vg.; LXX princes; Tg. scribes 2Lit. souls 26 aJer. 32:32; Lam. 4:3; Mal. 2:8 b1 Sam. 2:29 cLev. 10:10 1Lit. done violence to 27 aIs. 1:23; Ezek. 22:6; Mic. 3:1–3, 9–11; Zeph. 3:3 1Lit. souls 28 aEzek. 13:10 bEzek. 13:6, 7 cJer. 23:25–32; Ezek. 21:29 29 aEx. 23:9; Lev. 19:33 30 aIs. 59:16; 63:5; Jer. 5:1 bEzek. 13:5 cPs. 106:23; Jer. 15:1 31 aEzek. 22:22 bEzek. 9:10; [Rom. 2:8, 9] CHAPTER 23 2 aJer. 3:7, 8; Ezek. 16:44–46 3 aLev. 17:7; Josh. 24:14; Jer. 3:9 bEzek. 16:22 4 aJer. 3:6, 7 bEzek. 16:8, 20 1Lit. Her Own Taberna- cle 2Lit. My Tabernacle Is in Her 5 a2 Kin. 15:19; 16:7; 17:3; Ezek. 16:28; Hos. 5:13; 8:9, 10 8 aEx. 32:4; 1 Kin. 12:28; 2 Kin. 10:29; 17:16; Ezek. 23:3, 19 9 a2 Kin. 17:3 11 aJer. 3:8 bJer. 3:8–11; Ezek. 16:51, 52 12 a2 Kin. 16:7, 8; Ezek. 16:28 bEzek. 23:6, 23 14 aJer. 50:2; Ezek. 8:10; 16:29 16 a2 Kin. 24:1 bIs. 57:9 17 1Lit. sons of Babel

747 EZEKIEL 23:37 So she was defiled by them, aand alienated herself from them. 18 She revealed her harlotry and uncovered her nakedness. Then aI balienated Myself from her, As I had alienated Myself from her sister. 19 “Yet she multiplied her harlotry In calling to remembrance the days of her youth, aWhen she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt. 20 For she lusted for her 1paramours, Whose flesh is like the flesh of donkeys, And whose issue is like the issue of horses. 21 Thus you called to remembrance the lewdness of your youth, When the aEgyptians pressed your bosom Because of your youthful breasts. Judgment on Jerusalem 22 “Therefore, Oholibah, thus says the Lord GOD: a‘Behold, I will stir up your lovers against you, From whom you have alienated yourself, And I will bring them against you from every side: 23 The Babylonians, All the Chaldeans, aPekod, Shoa, Koa, bAll the Assyrians with them, All of them desirable young men, Governors and rulers, Captains and men of renown, All of them riding on horses. 24 And they shall come against you With chariots, wagons, and war-horses, With a horde of people. They shall array against you Buckler, shield, and helmet all around. ‘I will delegate judgment to them, And they shall judge you according to their judgments. 25 I will set My ajealousy against you, And they shall deal furiously with you; They shall remove your nose and your ears, And your remnant shall fall by the sword; They shall take your sons and your daughters, And your remnant shall be devoured by fire. 26 aThey shall also strip you of your clothes And take away your beautiful jewelry. 27 ‘Thus aI will make you cease your lewdness and your bharlotry Brought from the land of Egypt, So that you will not lift your eyes to them, Nor remember Egypt anymore.’ 28 “For thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Surely I will deliver you into the hand of athose you hate, into the hand of those bfrom whom you alienated yourself. 29 a‘They will deal hatefully with you, take away all you have worked for, and bleave you naked and bare. The nakedness of your harlotry shall be uncovered, both your lewd- ness and your harlotry. 30 ‘I will do these things to you because you have agone as a harlot after the Gentiles, because you have become defiled by their idols. 31 ‘You have walked in the way of your sister; therefore I will put her acup in your hand.’ 32 “Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘You shall drink of your sister’s cup, The deep and wide one; aYou shall be laughed to scorn And held in derision; It contains much. 33 You will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, The cup of horror and desolation, The cup of your sister Samaria. 34 You shall adrink and drain it, You shall break its 1shards, And tear at your own breasts; For I have spoken,’ Says the Lord GOD. 35 “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Because you ahave forgotten Me and bcast Me behind your back, Therefore you shall bear the penalty Of your lewdness and your harlotry.’ ” Both Sisters Judged 36 The LORD also said to me: “Son of man, will you ajudge Oholah and Oholibah? Then bdeclare to them their abominations. 37 “For they have committed 17 aEzek. 23:22, 28 18 aJer. 6:8 bPs. 78:59; 106:40; Jer. 12:8 19 aLev. 18:3; Ezek. 23:2 20 1Illicit lovers 21 aEzek. 16:26 22 aEzek. 16:37–41; 23:28 23 aJer. 50:21 bEzek. 23:12 25 aEx. 34:14; Ezek. 5:13; 8:17, 18; Zeph. 1:18 26 aIs. 3:18–23; Ezek. 16:39 27 aEzek. 16:41; 22:15 bEzek. 23:3, 19 28 aJer. 21:7–10; Ezek.16:37–41 bEzek. 23:17 29 aDeut. 28:48; Ezek. 23:25, 26, 45–47 bEzek. 16:39 30 aEzek. 6:9 31 a2 Kin. 21:13; Jer. 7:14, 15; 25:15; Ezek. 23:33 32 aEzek. 22:4, 5 34 aPs. 75:8; Is. 51:17 1Earthenware fragments 35 aIs. 17:10; Jer. 3:21; Ezek. 22:12; Hos. 8:14; 13:6 b1 Kin. 14:9; Jer. 2:27; 32:33; Neh. 9:26 36 aJer. 1:10; Ezek. 20:4; 22:2 bIs. 58:1; Ezek. 16:2; Mic. 3:8

EZEKIEL 23:38 748 adultery, and ablood is on their hands. They have committed adul- tery with their idols, and even sacri- ficed their sons bwhom they bore to Me, passing them through the fire, to devour them. 38 “Moreover they have done this to Me: They have adefiled My sanc- tuary on the same day and bpro- faned My Sabbaths. 39 “For after they had slain their children for their idols, on the same day they came into My sanctuary to profane it; and indeed athus they have done in the midst of My house. 40 “Furthermore you sent for men to come from afar, ato whom a mes- senger was sent; and there they came. And you bwashed yourself for them, cpainted your eyes, and adorned yourself with ornaments. 41 “You sat on a stately acouch, with a table prepared before it, bon which you had set My incense and My oil. 42 “The sound of a carefree multi- tude was with her, and 1Sabeans were brought from the wilderness with men of the common sort, who put bracelets on their 2wrists and beautiful crowns on their heads. 43 “Then I said concerning her who had grown old in adulteries, ‘Will they commit harlotry with her now, and she with them?’ 44 “Yet they went in to her, as men go in to a woman who plays the har- lot; thus they went in to Oholah and Oholibah, the lewd women. 45 “But righteous men will ajudge them after the manner of adulter- esses, and after the manner of women who shed blood, because they are adulteresses, and bblood is on their hands. 46 “For thus says the Lord GOD: a‘Bring up an assembly against them, give them up to trouble and plunder. 47 a‘The assembly shall stone them with stones and 1execute them with their swords; bthey shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burn their houses with fire. 48 ‘Thus aI will cause lewdness to cease from the land, bthat all women may be taught not to practice your lewdness. 49 ‘They shall repay you for your lewdness, and you shall apay for your idolatrous sins. bThen you shall know that I am the Lord GOD.’ ” Symbol of the Cooking Pot 24 Again, in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, write down the name of the day, this very day—the king of Babylon started his siege against Jerusalem athis very day. 3 a“And utter a parable to the re- bellious house, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: b“Put on a pot, set it on, And also pour water into it. 4 Gather pieces of meat in it, Every good piece, The thigh and the shoulder. Fill it with choice 1cuts; 5 Take the choice of the flock. Also pile fuel bones under it, Make it boil well, And let the cuts simmer in it.” 6 ‘Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Woe to athe bloody city, To the pot whose scum is in it, And whose scum is not gone from it! Bring it out piece by piece, On which no blot has fallen. 7 For her blood is in her midst; She set it on top of a rock; aShe did not pour it on the ground, To cover it with dust. 8 That it may raise up fury and take vengeance, aI have set her blood on top of a rock, That it may not be covered.” 9 ‘Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: a“Woe to the bloody city! I too will make the pyre great. 10 Heap on the wood, Kindle the fire; Cook the meat well, Mix in the spices, And let the 1cuts be burned up. 11 “Then set the pot empty on the coals, That it may become hot and its bronze may burn, That aits filthiness may be melted in it, That its scum may be consumed. 12 She has 1grown weary with 2lies, And her great scum has not gone from her. Let her scum be in the fire! 13 In your afilthiness is lewdness. Because I have cleansed you, and you were not cleansed, You will bnot be cleansed of your filthiness anymore, cTill I have caused My fury to rest upon you. 14 aI, the LORD, have spoken it; bIt shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not hold back, cNor will I spare, Nor will I relent; According to your ways And according to your deeds 37 aEzek. 16:38 bEzek. 16:20, 21, 36, 45; 20:26, 31 38 a2 Kin. 21:4, 7 bEzek. 22:8

from her. Let her scum be in the fire! 13 In your afilthiness is lewdness. Because I have cleansed you, and you were not cleansed, You will bnot be cleansed of your filthiness anymore, cTill I have caused My fury to rest upon you. 14 aI, the LORD, have spoken it; bIt shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not hold back, cNor will I spare, Nor will I relent; According to your ways And according to your deeds 37 aEzek. 16:38 bEzek. 16:20, 21, 36, 45; 20:26, 31 38 a2 Kin. 21:4, 7 bEzek. 22:8 39 a2 Kin. 21:2–8 40 aIs. 57:9 bRuth 3:3 cJer. 4:30 41 aIs. 57:7 bProv. 7:17 42 1Or drunk- ards 2Lit. hands 45 aEzek. 16:38 bEzek. 23:37 46 aEzek. 16:40 47 aEzek. 16:40 bEzek. 24:21 1Lit. cut down 48 aEzek. 22:15 bDeut. 13:11 49 aEzek. 23:35 bEzek. 20:38, 42, 44; 25:5 CHAPTER 24 2 a2 Kin. 25:1 3 aEzek. 17:12 bJer. 1:13 4 1Lit. bones 6 aEzek. 22:2, 3, 27 bNah. 3:10 7 aLev. 17:13 8 a[Matt. 7:2] 9 aHab. 2:12 10 1Lit. bones 11 aEzek. 22:15 12 1Or wea- ried Me 2Or toil 13 aEzek. 23:36–48 bJer. 6:28–30 cEzek. 5:13; 8:18; 16:42 14 a[1 Sam. 15:29] bIs. 55:11 cEzek. 5:11

749 EZEKIEL 25:16 1They will judge you,” Says the Lord GOD.’ ” The Prophet’s Wife Dies 15 Also the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 16 “Son of man, behold, I take away from you the desire of your eyes with one stroke; yet you shall aneither mourn nor weep, nor shall your tears run down. 17 “Sigh in silence, amake no mourning for the dead; bbind your turban on your head, and cput your sandals on your feet; ddo not cover your 1lips, and do not eat man’s bread of sorrow.” 18 So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died; and the next morning I did as I was commanded. 19 And the people said to me, a“Will you not tell us what these things sig- nify to us, that you behave so?” 20 Then I answered them, “The word of the LORD came to me, saying, 21 ‘Speak to the house of Israel, “Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Behold, aI will profane My sanctuary, 1your arrogant boast, the desire of your eyes, the 2delight of your soul; band your sons and daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword. 22 ‘And you shall do as I have done; ayou shall not cover your 1lips nor eat man’s bread of sorrow. 23 ‘Your turbans shall be on your heads and your sandals on your feet; ayou shall neither mourn nor weep, but byou shall pine away in your iniq- uities and mourn with one another. 24 ‘Thus aEzekiel is a sign to you; according to all that he has done you shall do; band when this comes, cyou shall know that I am the Lord GOD.’ ” 25 ‘And you, son of man—will it not be in the day when I take from them atheir stronghold, their joy and their glory, the desire of their eyes, and 1that on which they set their minds, their sons and their daughters: 26 ‘that on that day aone who escapes will come to you to let you hear it with your ears? 27 a‘On that day your mouth will be opened to him who has escaped; you shall speak and no longer be mute. Thus you will be a sign to them, and they shall know that I am the LORD.’ ” Proclamation Against Ammon 25 The word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, aset your face bagainst the Ammonites, and proph- esy against them. 3 “Say to the Ammonites, ‘Hear the word of the Lord GOD! Thus says the Lord GOD: a“Because you said, ‘Aha!’ against My sanctuary when it was profaned, and against the land of Israel when it was desolate, and against the house of Judah when they went into captivity, 4 “indeed, therefore, I will deliver you as a possession to the 1men of the East, and they shall set their encampments among you and make their dwellings among you; they shall eat your fruit, and they shall drink your milk. 5 “And I will make aRabbah ba sta- ble for camels and Ammon a resting place for flocks.

OD: a“Because you said, ‘Aha!’ against My sanctuary when it was profaned, and against the land of Israel when it was desolate, and against the house of Judah when they went into captivity, 4 “indeed, therefore, I will deliver you as a possession to the 1men of the East, and they shall set their encampments among you and make their dwellings among you; they shall eat your fruit, and they shall drink your milk. 5 “And I will make aRabbah ba sta- ble for camels and Ammon a resting place for flocks. cThen you shall know that I am the LORD.” 6 ‘For thus says the Lord GOD: “Because you aclapped your hands, stamped your feet, and brejoiced in heart with all your disdain for the land of Israel, 7 “indeed, therefore, I will astretch out My hand against you, and give you as plunder to the nations; I will cut you off from the peoples, and I will cause you to perish from the countries; I will destroy you, and you shall know that I am the LORD.” Proclamation Against Moab 8 ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Be- cause aMoab and bSeir say, ‘Look! The house of Judah is like all the nations,’ 9 “therefore, behold, I will clear the territory of Moab of cities, of the cities on its frontier, the glory of the country, Beth Jeshimoth, Baal Meon, and aKirjathaim. 10 a“To the men of the East I will give it as a possession, together with the Ammonites, that the Ammonites bmay not be remembered among the nations. 11 “And I will execute judgments upon Moab, and they shall know that I am the LORD.” Proclamation Against Edom 12 ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: a“Be- cause of what Edom did against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and has greatly offended by aveng- ing itself on them,” 13 ‘therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “I will also stretch out My hand against Edom, cut off man and beast from it, and make it desolate from Teman; 1Dedan shall fall by the sword. 14 a“I will lay My vengeance on Edom by the hand of My people Israel, that they may do in Edom according to My anger and accord- ing to My fury; and they shall know My vengeance,” says the Lord GOD. Proclamation Against Philistia 15 ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: a“Be- cause bthe Philistines dealt vengefully and took vengeance with 1a spiteful heart, to destroy because of the 2old hatred,” 16 ‘therefore thus says the Lord GOD: a“I will stretch out My hand against the Philistines, and I will cut 14 1LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. I 16 aJer. 16:5 17 aJer. 16:5 bLev. 10:6; 21:10 c2 Sam. 15:30 dMic. 3:7 1Lit. moustache 19 aEzek. 12:9; 37:18 21 aJer. 7:14 bEzek. 23:25, 47 1Lit. the pride of your strength 2Lit. compassion 22 aJer. 16:6, 7 1Lit. mous- tache 23 aJob 27:15 bLev. 26:39 24 aIs. 20:3 bJer. 17:15 cEzek. 6:7; 25:5 25 aEzek. 24:21 1Lit. the lifting up of their soul 26 aEzek. 33:21 27 aEzek. 3:26; 33:22 CHAPTER 25 2 aEzek. 35:2 bJer. 49:1 3 aEzek. 26:2 4 1Lit. sons 5 aEzek. 21:20 bIs. 17:2 cEzek. 24:24 6 aJob 27:23 bEzek. 36:5 7 aEzek. 35:3 8 aAmos 2:1, 2 bEzek. 35:2, 5 9 aJer. 48:23 10 aEzek. 25:4 bEzek. 21:32 12 aObad. 10–14 13 1Or even to Dedan they shall fall 14 aIs. 11:14 15 aJer. 25:20 b2 Chr. 28:18 1Lit. spite in soul 2Or per- petual 16 aZeph. 2:4

EZEKIEL 25:17 750 off the bCherethites cand destroy the remnant of the seacoast. 17 “I will aexecute great vengeance on them with furious rebukes; band they shall know that I am the LORD, when I lay My vengeance upon them.” ’ ” Proclamation Against Tyre 26 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, abecause Tyre has said against Jerusalem, b‘Aha! She is broken who was the gateway of the peoples; now she is turned over to me; I shall be filled; she is laid waste.’ 3 “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will cause many nations to come up against you, as the sea causes its waves to come up. 4 ‘And they shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers; I will also scrape her dust from her, and amake her like the top of a rock. 5 ‘It shall be a place for spreading nets ain the midst of the sea, for I have spoken,’ says the Lord GOD; ‘it shall become plunder for the nations. 6 ‘Also her daughter villages which are in the fields shall be slain by the sword. aThen they shall know that I am the LORD.’ 7 “For thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Behold, I will bring against Tyre from the north aNebuchadnezzar1 king of Babylon, bking of kings, with horses, with chariots, and with horsemen, and an army with many people. 8 ‘He will slay with the sword your daughter villages in the fields; he will aheap up a siege mound against you, build a wall against you, and raise a 1defense against you. 9 ‘He will direct his battering rams against your walls, and with his axes he will break down your towers. 10 ‘Because of the abundance of his horses, their dust will cover you; your walls will shake at the noise of the horsemen, the wagons, and the chariots, when he enters your gates, as men enter a city that has been breached. 11 ‘With the hooves of his ahorses he will trample all your streets; he will slay your people by the sword, and your strong pillars will fall to the ground. 12 ‘They will plunder your riches and pillage your merchandise; they will break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses; they will lay your stones, your timber, and your soil in the amidst of the water. 13 a‘I will put an end to the sound of byour songs, and the sound of your harps shall be heard no more. 14 a‘I will make you like the top of a rock; you shall be a place for spreading nets, and you shall never be rebuilt, for I the LORD have spo- ken,’ says the Lord GOD. 15 “Thus says the Lord GOD to Tyre: ‘Will the coastlands not ashake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded cry, when slaughter is made in the midst of you? 16 ‘Then all the aprinces of the sea will bcome down from their thrones, lay aside their robes, and take off their embroidered garments; they will clothe themselves with trem- bling; cthey will sit on the ground, dtremble every moment, and ebe astonished at you. 17 ‘And they will take up a alamen- tation for you, and say to you: “How you have perished, O one inhabited by seafaring men, O renowned city, Who was bstrong at sea, She and her inhabitants, Who caused their terror to be on all her inhabitants! 18 Now athe coastlands tremble on the day of your fall; Yes, the coastlands by the sea are troubled at your departure.” ’ 19 “For thus says the Lord GOD: ‘When I make you a desolate city, like cities that are not inhabited, when I bring the deep upon you, and great waters cover you, 20 ‘then I will bring you down awith those who descend into the Pit, to the people of old, and I will make you dwell in the lowest part of the earth, in places desolate from antiquity, with those who go down to the Pit, so that you may never be inhabited; and I shall establish glory bin the land of the living. 21 a‘I will make you a terror, and you shall be no more; bthough you are sought for, you will never be found again,’ says the Lord GOD.” Lamentation for Tyre 27 The word of the LORD came again to me, saying,

ng you down awith those who descend into the Pit, to the people of old, and I will make you dwell in the lowest part of the earth, in places desolate from antiquity, with those who go down to the Pit, so that you may never be inhabited; and I shall establish glory bin the land of the living. 21 a‘I will make you a terror, and you shall be no more; bthough you are sought for, you will never be found again,’ says the Lord GOD.” Lamentation for Tyre 27 The word of the LORD came again to me, saying, 2 “Now, son of man, atake up a lamentation for Tyre, 3 “and say to Tyre, a‘You who 1are situated at the entrance of the sea, bmerchant of the peoples on many coastlands, thus says the Lord GOD: “O Tyre, you have said, c‘I am perfect in beauty.’ 4 Your borders are in the midst of the seas. Your builders have perfected your beauty. 5 They 1made all your planks of fir trees from aSenir; They took a cedar from Lebanon to make you a mast. 16 b1 Sam. 30:14 cJer. 47:4 17 aEzek. 5:15 bPs. 9:16 CHAPTER 26 2 aJer. 25:22 bEzek. 25:3 4 aEzek. 26:14 5 aEzek. 27:32 6 aEzek. 25:5 7 aJer. 27:3–6 bDan. 2:37, 47 1Heb. Neb- uchadrezzar, and so else- where in the book 8 aEzek. 21:22 1Lit. a large shield 11 aHab. 1:8 12 aEzek. 27:27, 32 13 aIs. 14:11; 24:8 bRev. 18:22 14 aEzek. 26:4, 5 15 aJer. 49:21 16 aIs. 23:8 bJon. 3:6 cJob 2:13 dEzek. 32:10 eEzek. 27:35 17 aEzek. 27:2–36 bIs. 23:4 18 aEzek. 26:15 20 aEzek. 32:18 bEzek. 32:23 21 aEzek. 27:36; 28:19 bPs. 37:10, 36 CHAPTER 27 2 aEzek. 26:17 3 aEzek. 26:17; 28:2 bIs. 23:3 cEzek. 28:12 1Lit. sit or dwell 5 aDeut. 3:9 1built

751 EZEKIEL 27:32 6 Of aoaks from Bashan they made your oars; The company of Ashurites have inlaid your planks With ivory from bthe coasts of 1Cyprus. 7 Fine embroidered linen from Egypt was what you spread for your sail; Blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah was what covered you. 8 “Inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad were your oarsmen; Your wise men, O Tyre, were in you; They became your pilots. 9 Elders of aGebal and its wise men Were in you to caulk your seams; All the ships of the sea And their oarsmen were in you To market your merchandise. 10 “Those from Persia, 1Lydia, and 2Libya Were in your army as men of war; They hung shield and helmet in you; They gave splendor to you. 11 Men of Arvad with your army were on your walls all around, And the men of Gammad were in your towers; They hung their shields on your walls all around; They made ayour beauty perfect. 12 a“Tarshish was your merchant because of your many luxury goods. They gave you silver, iron, tin, and lead for your goods. 13 a“Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your traders. They bartered bhuman lives and vessels of bronze for your merchandise. 14 “Those from the house of aTogar- mah traded for your wares with horses, steeds, and mules. 15 “The men of aDedan were your traders; many isles were the market of your hand. They brought you ivory tusks and ebony as payment. 16 “Syria was your merchant because of the abundance of goods you made. They gave you for your wares emeralds, purple, embroi- dery, fine linen, corals, and rubies. 17 “Judah and the land of Israel were your traders. They traded for your merchandise wheat of aMin- nith, millet, honey, oil, and bbalm. 18 “Damascus was your merchant because of the abundance of goods you made, because of your many luxury items, with the wine of Hel- bon and with white wool. 19 “Dan and Javan paid for your wares, 1traversing back and forth. Wrought iron, cassia, and cane were among your merchandise. 20 a“Dedan was your merchant in saddlecloths for riding. 21 “Arabia and all the princes of aKedar were your regular merchants. They traded with you in lambs, rams, and goats. 22 “The merchants of aSheba and Raamah were your merchants. They traded for your wares the choicest spices, all kinds of precious stones, and gold. 23 a“Haran, Canneh, Eden, the mer- chants of bSheba, Assyria, and Chilmad were your merchants. 24 “These were your merchants in choice items—in purple clothes, in embroidered garments, in chests of multicolored apparel, in sturdy woven cords, which were in your marketplace. 25 “The aships of Tarshish were carriers of your merchandise. You were filled and very glorious bin the midst of the seas. 26 Your oarsmen brought you into many waters, But athe east wind broke you in the midst of the seas. 27 “Your ariches, wares, and merchandise, Your mariners and pilots, Your caulkers and merchandisers, All your men of war who are in you, And the entire company which is in your midst, Will fall into the midst of the seas on the day of your ruin. 28 The acommon-land1 will shake at the sound of the cry of your pilots. 29 “All awho handle the oar, The mariners, All the pilots of the sea Will come down from their ships and stand on the 1shore. 30 They will make their voice heard because of you; They will cry bitterly and acast dust on their heads; They bwill roll about in ashes; 31 They will ashave themselves completely bald because of you, Gird themselves with sackcloth, And weep for you With bitterness of heart and bitter wailing. 32 In their wailing for you They will atake up a lamentation, And lament for you: b‘What city is like Tyre, 6 aIs. 2:12, 13; Zech. 11:2 bGen. 10:4; Is. 23:1, 12; Jer. 2:10 1Heb. Kittim, west- ern lands, especially Cyprus 9 aJosh. 13:5; 1 Kin. 5:18; Ps. 83:7 10 1Heb. Lud 2Heb. Put 11 aEzek. 27:3 12 aGen. 10:4; 2 Chr. 20:36; Ezek. 38:13 13 aGen. 10:2; Is. 66:19; Ezek. 27:19 bJoel 3:3–6; Rev. 18:13 14 aGen. 10:3; Ezek. 38:6 15 aGen. 10:7; Is.

eep for you With bitterness of heart and bitter wailing. 32 In their wailing for you They will atake up a lamentation, And lament for you: b‘What city is like Tyre, 6 aIs. 2:12, 13; Zech. 11:2 bGen. 10:4; Is. 23:1, 12; Jer. 2:10 1Heb. Kittim, west- ern lands, especially Cyprus 9 aJosh. 13:5; 1 Kin. 5:18; Ps. 83:7 10 1Heb. Lud 2Heb. Put 11 aEzek. 27:3 12 aGen. 10:4; 2 Chr. 20:36; Ezek. 38:13 13 aGen. 10:2; Is. 66:19; Ezek. 27:19 bJoel 3:3–6; Rev. 18:13 14 aGen. 10:3; Ezek. 38:6 15 aGen. 10:7; Is. 21:13 17 aJudg. 11:33; 1 Kin. 5:9, 11; Ezra 3:7; Acts 12:20 bJer. 8:22 19 1LXX, Syr. from Uzal 20 aGen. 25:3 21 aGen. 25:13; Jer. 49:28; Is. 60:7 22 aGen. 10:7; 1 Kin. 10:1, 2; Ps. 72:10; Is. 60:6; Ezek. 38:13 23 aGen. 11:31; 2 Kin. 19:12; Is. 37:12 bGen. 25:3 25 aPs. 48:7; Is. 2:16 bEzek. 27:4 26 aPs. 48:7; Jer. 18:17; Acts 27:14 27 a[Prov. 11:4] 28 aEzek. 26:15 1open lands or pas- ture lands 29 aRev. 18:17 1Lit. land 30 a1 Sam. 4:12; 2 Sam. 1:2; Job 2:12; Lam. 2:10; Rev. 18:19 bEsth. 4:1, 3; Jer. 6:26; Jon. 3:6 31 aIs. 15:2; Jer. 16:6; Ezek. 29:18 32 aEzek. 26:17 bEzek. 26:4, 5; Rev. 18:18

EZEKIEL 27:33 752 Destroyed in the midst of the sea? 33 ‘Whena your wares went out by sea, You satisfied many people; You enriched the kings of the earth With your many luxury goods and your merchandise. 34 But ayou are broken by the seas in the depths of the waters; bYour merchandise and the entire company will fall in your midst. 35 aAll the inhabitants of the isles will be astonished at you; Their kings will be greatly afraid, And their countenance will be troubled. 36 The merchants among the peoples awill hiss at you; bYou will become a horror, and be no cmore forever.’ ” ’ ” Proclamation Against the King of Tyre 28 The word of the LORD came to me again, saying, 2 “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Because your heart is alifted1 up, And byou say, ‘I am a god, I sit in the seat of gods, cIn the midst of the seas,’ dYet you are a man, and not a god, Though you set your heart as the heart of a god 3 (Behold, ayou are wiser than Daniel! There is no secret that can be hidden from you! 4 With your wisdom and your understanding You have gained ariches for yourself, And gathered gold and silver into your treasuries; 5 aBy your great wisdom in trade you have increased your riches, And your heart is lifted up because of your riches),” 6 ‘Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Because you have set your heart as the heart of a god, 7 Behold, therefore, I will bring astrangers against you, bThe most terrible of the nations; And they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom, And defile your splendor. 8 They shall throw you down into the aPit, And you shall die the death of the slain In the midst of the seas. 9 “Will you still asay before him who slays you, ‘I am a god’? But you shall be a man, and not a god, In the hand of him who slays you. 10 You shall die the death of athe uncircumcised By the hand of aliens; For I have spoken,” says the Lord GOD.’ ” Lamentation for the King of Tyre 11 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 12 “Son of man, atake up a lamen- tation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: b“You were the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 13 You were in aEden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of byour timbrels and pipes Was prepared for you on the day you were created. 14 “You were the anointed acherub who covers; I established you; You were on bthe holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. 15 You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till ainiquity was found in you. 16 “By the abundance of your trading You became filled with violence within, And you sinned; Therefore I cast you as a profane thing Out of the mountain of God; And I destroyed you, aO covering cherub, From the midst of the fiery stones. 17 “Your aheart was 1lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings, That they might gaze at you. 33 aRev. 18:19 34 aEzek. 26:19 bEzek. 27:27 35 aIs. 23:6; Ezek. 26:15, 16 36 aJer. 18:16; Zeph. 2:15 bEzek. 26:2 cPs. 37:10, 36; Ezek. 28:19 CHAPTER 28 2 aJer. 49:16; Ezek. 31:10 bIs. 14:14; 47:8; Ezek. 28:9; 2 Thess. 2:4 cEzek. 27:3, 4 dIs. 31:3; Ezek. 28:9 1Proud 3 aEzek. 14:14; Dan. 1:20; 2:20–23, 28; 5:11, 12; Zech. 9:3 4 aEzek. 27:33; Zech. 9:1–3 5 aPs. 62:10; Zech. 9:3 7 aEzek. 26:7 bEzek. 7:24; 21:31; 30:11; Hab. 1:6–8 8 aIs. 14:15 9 aEzek. 28:2 10 a1 Sam. 17:26, 36; Ezek. 31:18; 32:19, 21, 25, 27 12 aEzek. 27:2 bEzek. 27:3; 28:3 13 aGen. 2:8; Is. 51:3; Ezek. 31:8, 9; 36:35 bEzek. 26:13 14 aEx. 25:20; Ezek. 28:16 bIs. 14:13; Ezek. 20:40 15 a[Is. 14:12] 16 aEzek. 28:14 17 aEzek. 28:2, 5 1Proud

753 EZEKIEL 29:12 18 “You defiled your sanctuaries By the multitude of your iniquities, By the iniquity of your trading; Therefore I brought fire from your midst; It devoured you, And I turned you to ashes upon the earth In the sight of all who saw you. 19 All who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you; aYou have become a horror, And shall be no bmore forever.” ’ ” Proclamation Against Sidon 20 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 21 “Son of man, aset your face bto- ward Sidon, and prophesy against her, 22 “and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: a“Behold, I am against you, O Sidon; I will be glorified in your midst; And bthey shall know that I am the LORD, When I execute judgments in her and am challowed in her. 23 aFor I will send pestilence upon her, And blood in her streets; The wounded shall be judged in her midst By the sword against her on every side; Then they shall know that I am the LORD. 24 “And there shall no longer be a pricking brier or aa painful thorn for the house of Israel from among all who are around them, who bdespise them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord GOD.” Israel’s Future Blessing 25 ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “When I have agathered the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and am bhallowed in them in the sight of the Gentiles, then they will dwell in their own land which I gave to My servant Jacob. 26 “And they will adwell 1safely there, bbuild houses, and cplant vineyards; yes, they will dwell se- curely, when I execute judgments on all those around them who despise them. Then they shall know that I am the LORD their God.” ’ ” Proclamation Against Egypt 29 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, aset your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him, and bagainst all Egypt. 3 “Speak, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: a“Behold, I am against you, O Pharaoh king of Egypt, O great bmonster who lies in the midst of his rivers, cWho has said, ‘My 1River is my own; I have made it for myself.’ 4 But aI will put hooks in your jaws, And cause the fish of your rivers to stick to your scales; I will bring you up out of the midst of your rivers, And all the fish in your rivers will stick to your scales. 5 I will leave you in the wilderness, You and all the fish of your rivers; You shall fall on the 1open afield; bYou shall not be picked up or 2gathered. cI have given you as food To the beasts of the field And to the birds of the heavens. 6 “Then all the inhabitants of Egypt Shall know that I am the LORD, Because they have been a astaff of reed to the house of Israel. 7 aWhen they took hold of you with the hand, You broke and tore all their 1shoulders; When they leaned on you, You broke and made all their backs quiver.” 8 ‘Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Surely I will bring aa sword upon you and cut off from you man and beast. 9 “And the land of Egypt shall become adesolate and waste; then they will know that I am the LORD, because he said, ‘The River is mine, and I have made it.’ 10 “Indeed, therefore, I am against you and against your rivers, aand I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate, bfrom 1Migdol to Syene, as far as the border of Ethiopia. 11 a“Neither foot of man shall pass through it nor foot of beast pass through it, and it shall be uninhab- ited forty years. 12 a“I will make the land of Egypt desolate in the midst of the coun- tries that are desolate; and among the cities that are laid waste, her cities shall be desolate forty years; and I will bscatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries.” 19 aEzek. 26:21 bEzek. 27:36 21 aEzek. 6:2; 25:2; 29:2 bIs. 23:2, 4, 12 22 aEx. 14:4, 17 bPs. 9:16 cEzek. 28:25 23 aEzek. 38:22 24 aJosh. 23:13 bEzek. 16:57; 25:6, 7 25 aIs. 11:12, 13 bEzek. 28:22 26 aJer. 23:6 bAmos 9:13, 14 cJer. 31:5 1securely CHAPTER 29 2 aEzek. 28:21 bIs. 19:1 3 aJer. 44:30 bPs.

hat are desolate; and among the cities that are laid waste, her cities shall be desolate forty years; and I will bscatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries.” 19 aEzek. 26:21 bEzek. 27:36 21 aEzek. 6:2; 25:2; 29:2 bIs. 23:2, 4, 12 22 aEx. 14:4, 17 bPs. 9:16 cEzek. 28:25 23 aEzek. 38:22 24 aJosh. 23:13 bEzek. 16:57; 25:6, 7 25 aIs. 11:12, 13 bEzek. 28:22 26 aJer. 23:6 bAmos 9:13, 14 cJer. 31:5 1securely CHAPTER 29 2 aEzek. 28:21 bIs. 19:1 3 aJer. 44:30 bPs. 74:13, 14 cEzek. 28:2 1The Nile 4 aEzek. 38:4 5 aEzek. 32:4–6 bJer. 8:2; 16:4; 25:33 cJer. 7:33; 34:20 1Lit. face of the field 2So with MT, LXX, Vg.; some Heb. mss., Tg. buried 6 aIs. 36:6 7 aEzek. 17:17 1So with MT, Vg.; LXX, Syr. hand 8 aEzek. 14:17; 32:11–13 9 aEzek. 30:7, 8 10 aEzek. 30:12 bEzek. 30:6 1Or the tower 11 aEzek. 32:13 12 aEzek. 30:7, 26 bEzek. 30:23, 26

EZEKIEL 29:13 754 13 ‘Yet, thus says the Lord GOD: “At the aend of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered. 14 “I will bring back the captives of Egypt and cause them to return to the land of Pathros, to the land of their origin, and there they shall be a alowly kingdom. 15 “It shall be the lowliest of king- doms; it shall never again exalt itself above the nations, for I will di- minish them so that they will not rule over the nations anymore. 16 “No longer shall it be athe confi- dence of the house of Israel, but will remind them of their iniquity when they turned to follow them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord GOD.” ’ ” Babylonia Will Plunder Egypt 17 And it came to pass in the twenty- seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 18 “Son of man, aNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor strenuously against Tyre; every head was made bbald, and every shoulder rubbed raw; yet nei- ther he nor his army received wages from Tyre, for the labor which they expended on it. 19 “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Surely I will give the land of Egypt to aNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; he shall take away her wealth, carry off her spoil, and remove her pillage; and that will be the wages for his army. 20 ‘I have given him the land of Egypt for his labor, because they aworked for Me,’ says the Lord GOD. 21 ‘In that day aI will cause the 1horn of the house of Israel to spring forth, and I will bopen your mouth to speak in their midst. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.’ ” Egypt and Her Allies Will Fall 30 The word of the LORD came to me again, saying, 2 “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: a“Wail, ‘Woe to the day!’ 3 For athe day is near, Even the day of the LORD is near; It will be a day of clouds, the time of the Gentiles. 4 The sword shall come upon Egypt, And great anguish shall be in 1Ethiopia, When the slain fall in Egypt, And they atake away her wealth, And bher foundations are broken down. 5 “Ethiopia, 1Libya, 2Lydia, aall the mingled people, Chub, and the men of the lands who are allied, shall fall with them by the sword.” 6 ‘Thus says the LORD: “Those who uphold Egypt shall fall, And the pride of her power shall come down. aFrom 1Migdol to Syene Those within her shall fall by the sword,” Says the Lord GOD. 7 “Theya shall be desolate in the midst of the desolate countries, And her cities shall be in the midst of the cities that are laid waste. 8 Then they will know that I am the LORD, When I have set a fire in Egypt And all her helpers are destroyed. 9 On that day amessengers shall go forth from Me in ships To make the 1careless Ethiopians afraid, And great anguish shall come upon them, As on the day of Egypt; For indeed it is coming!” 10 ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: a“I will also make a multitude of Egypt to cease By the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. 11 He and his people with him, athe most terrible of the nations, Shall be brought to destroy the land; They shall draw their swords against Egypt, And fill the land with the slain. 12 aI will make the rivers dry, And bsell the land into the hand of the wicked; I will make the land waste, and all that is in it, By the hand of aliens. I, the LORD, have spoken.” 13 ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “I will also adestroy the idols, And cause the images to cease from 1Noph; bThere shall no longer be princes from the land of Egypt; cI will put fear in the land of Egypt. 14 I will make aPathros desolate, Set fire to bZoan, cAnd execute judgments in 1No. 15 I will pour My fury on 1Sin, the strength of Egypt; 13 aIs. 19:23; Jer. 46:26 14 aEzek. 17:6, 14 16 aIs. 30:2, 3; 36:4, 6; Lam. 4:17; Ezek. 17:15; 29:6 18 aJer. 25:9; 27:6; Ezek. 26:7–12 bJer. 48:37; Ezek. 27:31 19 aJer. 43:10–13; Ezek. 30:10 20 aIs. 10:6, 7; 45:1–3; Jer. 25:9 21 a1 Sam. 2:10; Ps. 92:10; 132:17 bEzek. 24:27; Amos 3:7, 8; [Luke 21:15] 1Strength CHAPTER 30 2 aIs.

l put fear in the land of Egypt. 14 I will make aPathros desolate, Set fire to bZoan, cAnd execute judgments in 1No. 15 I will pour My fury on 1Sin, the strength of Egypt; 13 aIs. 19:23; Jer. 46:26 14 aEzek. 17:6, 14 16 aIs. 30:2, 3; 36:4, 6; Lam. 4:17; Ezek. 17:15; 29:6 18 aJer. 25:9; 27:6; Ezek. 26:7–12 bJer. 48:37; Ezek. 27:31 19 aJer. 43:10–13; Ezek. 30:10 20 aIs. 10:6, 7; 45:1–3; Jer. 25:9 21 a1 Sam. 2:10; Ps. 92:10; 132:17 bEzek. 24:27; Amos 3:7, 8; [Luke 21:15] 1Strength CHAPTER 30 2 aIs. 13:6; 15:2; Ezek. 21:12; Joel 1:5, 11, 13 3 aEzek. 7:7, 12; Joel 2:1; Obad. 15; Zeph. 1:7 4 aEzek. 29:19 bJer. 50:15 1Heb. Cush 5 aJer. 25:20, 24 1Heb. Put 2Heb. Lud 6 aEzek. 29:10 1Or the tower 7 aJer. 25:18–26; Ezek. 29:12 9 aIs. 18:1, 2 1Or secure 10 aEzek. 29:19 11 aEzek. 28:7; 31:12 12 aIs. 19:5, 6 bIs. 19:4 13 aIs. 19:1; Jer. 43:12; 46:25; Zech. 13:2 bZech. 10:11 cIs. 19:16 1Ancient Memphis 14 aIs. 11:11; Jer. 44:1, 15; Ezek. 29:14 bPs. 78:12, 43; Is. 19:11, 13 cJer. 46:25; Ezek. 30:15, 16; Nah. 3:8–10 1An- cient Thebes 15 1Ancient Pelusium

755 EZEKIEL 31:12 aI will cut off the multitude of 2No, 16 And aset a fire in Egypt; Sin shall have great pain, No shall be split open, And Noph shall be in distress daily. 17 The young men of 1Aven and Pi Beseth shall fall by the sword, And these cities shall go into captivity. 18 aAt 1Tehaphnehes the day shall also be 2darkened, When I break the yokes of Egypt there. And her arrogant strength shall cease in her; As for her, a cloud shall cover her, And her daughters shall go into captivity. 19 Thus I will aexecute judgments on Egypt, Then they shall know that I am the LORD.” ’ ” Proclamation Against Pharaoh 20 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, that the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 21 “Son of man, I have abroken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and see, bit has not been bandaged for healing, nor a 1splint put on to bind it, to make it strong enough to hold a sword. 22 “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Surely I am aagainst Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will bbreak his arms, both the strong one and the one that was broken; and I will make the sword fall out of his hand. 23 a‘I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them throughout the countries. 24 ‘I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put My sword in his hand; but I will break Pha- raoh’s arms, and he will groan before him with the groanings of a mortally wounded man. 25 ‘Thus I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; athey shall know that I am the LORD, when I put My sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt. 26 a‘I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.’ ” Egypt Cut Down Like a Great Tree 31 Now it came to pass in the aeleventh year, in the third month, on the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his multitude: a‘Whom are you like in your greatness? 3 aIndeed Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon, With fine branches that shaded the forest, And of high stature; And its top was among the thick boughs. 4 aThe waters made it grow; Underground waters gave it height, With their rivers running around the place where it was planted, And sent out 1rivulets to all the trees of the field. 5 ‘Therefore aits height was exalted above all the trees of the field; Its boughs were multiplied, And its branches became long because of the abundance of water, As it sent them out. 6 All the abirds of the heavens made their nests in its boughs; Under its branches all the beasts of the field brought forth their young; And in its shadow all great nations 1made their home. 7 ‘Thus it was beautiful in greatness and in the length of its branches, Because its roots reached to abundant waters. 8 The cedars in the agarden of God could not hide it; The fir trees were not like its boughs, And the 1chestnut trees were not like its branches; No tree in the garden of God was like it in beauty. 9 I made it beautiful with a multitude of branches, So that all the trees of Eden envied it, That were in the garden of God.’ 10 “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Because you have increased in height, and it set its top among the thick boughs, and aits heart was 1lifted up in its height, 11 ‘therefore I will deliver it into the hand of the amighty one of the nations, and he shall surely deal with it; I have driven it out for its wickedness. 12 ‘And aliens, athe most terrible of the nations, have cut it down and left it; its branches have fallen bon the mountains and in all the valleys; its boughs lie cbroken by all the rivers 15 aJer. 46:25 2Ancient Thebes 16 aEzek. 30:8 17 1Ancient On, Heliopolis 18 aJer. 2:16 1Tahpanhes, Jer. 43:7 2So with many Heb. mss., Bg., LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg.; MT refrained 19 a[Ps. 9:16]; Ezek. 5:8; 25:11 21 aJer. 48:25 bJer.

nations, and he shall surely deal with it; I have driven it out for its wickedness. 12 ‘And aliens, athe most terrible of the nations, have cut it down and left it; its branches have fallen bon the mountains and in all the valleys; its boughs lie cbroken by all the rivers 15 aJer. 46:25 2Ancient Thebes 16 aEzek. 30:8 17 1Ancient On, Heliopolis 18 aJer. 2:16 1Tahpanhes, Jer. 43:7 2So with many Heb. mss., Bg., LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg.; MT refrained 19 a[Ps. 9:16]; Ezek. 5:8; 25:11 21 aJer. 48:25 bJer. 46:11 1Lit. bandage 22 aJer. 46:25; Ezek. 29:3 bPs. 37:17 23 aEzek. 29:12; 30:17, 18, 26 25 aPs. 9:16 26 aEzek. 29:12 CHAPTER 31 1 aJer. 52:5, 6; Ezek. 30:20; 32:1 2 aEzek. 31:18 3 aIs. 10:33, 34; Ezek. 17:3, 4, 22; 31:16; Dan. 4:10, 20–23 4 aJer. 51:36; Ezek. 29:3–9 1Or channels 5 aDan. 4:11 6 aEzek. 17:23; 31:13; Dan. 4:12, 21; Matt. 13:32 1Lit. dwelled 8 aGen. 2:8, 9; 13:10; Is. 51:3; Ezek. 28:13; 31:16, 18 1Or plane, Heb. armon 10 a2 Chr. 32:25; Is. 10:12; 14:13, 14; Ezek. 28:17; Dan. 5:20 1Proud 11 aEzek. 30:10; Dan. 5:18, 19 12 aEzek. 28:7; 30:11; 32:12 bEzek. 32:5; 35:8 cEzek. 30:24, 25

EZEKIEL 31:13 756 of the land; and all the peoples of the earth have gone from under its shadow and left it. 13 ‘On aits ruin will remain all the birds of the heavens, And all the beasts of the field will come to its branches— 14 ‘So that no trees by the waters may ever again exalt themselves for their height, nor set their tops among the thick boughs, that no tree which drinks water may ever be high enough to reach up to them. ‘For athey have all been delivered to death, bTo the depths of the earth, Among the children of men who go down to the Pit.’ 15 “Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘In the day when it awent down to 1hell, I caused mourning. I covered the deep because of it. I restrained its rivers, and the great waters were held back. I caused Lebanon to 2mourn for it, and all the trees of the field wilted because of it. 16 ‘I made the nations ashake at the sound of its fall, when I bcast it down to 1hell together with those who descend into the Pit; and call the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, dwere comforted in the depths of the earth. 17 ‘They also went down to hell with it, with those slain by the sword; and those who were its strong arm adwelt in its shadows among the nations. 18 a‘To which of the trees in Eden will you then be likened in glory and greatness? Yet you shall be brought down with the trees of Eden to the depths of the earth; byou shall lie in the midst of the uncir- cumcised, with those slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude,’ says the Lord GOD.” Lamentation for Pharaoh and Egypt 32 And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the atwelfth month, on the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, atake up a lamen- tation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him: b‘You are like a young lion among the nations, And cyou are like a monster in the seas, dBursting forth in your rivers, Troubling the waters with your feet, And efouling their rivers. 3 ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “I will therefore aspread My net over you with a company of many people, And they will draw you up in My net. 4 Then aI will leave you on the land; I will cast you out on the open fields, bAnd cause to 1settle on you all the birds of the heavens. And with you I will fill the beasts of the whole earth. 5 I will lay your flesh aon the mountains, And fill the valleys with your carcass. 6 “I will also water the land with the flow of your blood, Even to the mountains; And the riverbeds will be full of you. 7 When I put out your light, aI will cover the heavens, and make its stars dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, And the moon shall not give her light. 8 All the 1bright lights of the heavens I will make dark over you, And bring darkness upon your land,” Says the Lord GOD. 9 ‘I will also trouble the hearts of many peoples, when I bring your destruction among the nations, into the countries which you have not known. 10 ‘Yes, I will make many peoples astonished at you, and their kings shall be horribly afraid of you when I brandish My sword before them; and athey shall tremble every mo- ment, every man for his own life, in the day of your fall. 11 a‘For thus says the Lord GOD: “The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon you. 12 “By the swords of the mighty warriors, all of them athe most terri- ble of the nations, I will cause your multitude to fall. b“They shall plunder the pomp of Egypt, And all its multitude shall be destroyed. 13 Also I will destroy all its animals From beside its great waters; aThe foot of man shall muddy them no more, Nor shall the hooves of animals muddy them. 14 Then I will make their waters 1clear, And make their rivers run like oil,” Says the Lord GOD. 13 aIs. 18:6; Ezek. 32:4 14 aPs. 82:7 bEzek. 32:18 15 aEzek. 32:22, 23 1Or Sheol 2Lit. be darkened 16 aEzek. 26:15; Hag. 2:7 bIs. 14:15; Ezek. 32:18 cIs. 14:8; Hab. 2:17 dEzek. 32:31 1Or Sheol 17 aLam.

pt, And all its multitude shall be destroyed. 13 Also I will destroy all its animals From beside its great waters; aThe foot of man shall muddy them no more, Nor shall the hooves of animals muddy them. 14 Then I will make their waters 1clear, And make their rivers run like oil,” Says the Lord GOD. 13 aIs. 18:6; Ezek. 32:4 14 aPs. 82:7 bEzek. 32:18 15 aEzek. 32:22, 23 1Or Sheol 2Lit. be darkened 16 aEzek. 26:15; Hag. 2:7 bIs. 14:15; Ezek. 32:18 cIs. 14:8; Hab. 2:17 dEzek. 32:31 1Or Sheol 17 aLam. 4:20 18 aEzek. 32:19 bJer. 9:25, 26; Ezek. 28:10; 32:19, 21 CHAPTER 32 1 aEzek. 31:1; 33:21 2 aEzek. 27:2 bJer. 4:7; Ezek. 19:2–6; Nah. 2:11–13 cIs. 27:1; Ezek. 29:3 dJer. 46:7, 8 eEzek. 34:18 3 aEzek. 12:13; 17:20 4 aEzek. 29:5 bIs. 18:6; Ezek. 31:13 1Lit. sit or dwell 5 aEzek. 31:12 7 aIs. 13:10; Joel 2:31; 3:15; Amos 8:9; Matt. 24:29; Mark 13:24; Luke 21:25; Rev. 6:12, 13; 8:12 8 1Or shining 10 aEzek. 26:16 11 aJer. 46:26; Ezek. 30:4 12 aEzek. 28:7; 30:11; 31:12 bEzek. 29:19 13 aEzek. 29:11 14 1Lit. sink; settle, grow clear

757 EZEKIEL 32:31 15 “When I make the land of Egypt desolate, And the country is destitute of all that once filled it, When I strike all who dwell in it, aThen they shall know that I am the LORD. 16 “This is the alamentation With which they shall lament her; The daughters of the nations shall lament her; They shall lament for her, for Egypt, And for all her multitude,” Says the Lord GOD.’ ” Egypt and Others Consigned to the Pit 17 It came to pass also in the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the month, athat the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 18 “Son of man, wail over the multitude of Egypt, And acast them down to the depths of the earth, Her and the daughters of the famous nations, With those who go down to the Pit: 19 ‘Whom ado you surpass in beauty? bGo down, be placed with the uncircumcised.’ 20 “They shall fall in the midst of those slain by the sword; She is delivered to the sword, aDrawing her and all her multitudes. 21 aThe strong among the mighty Shall speak to him out of the midst of hell With those who help him: ‘They have bgone down, They lie with the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.’ 22 “Assyriaa is there, and all her company, With their graves all around her, All of them slain, fallen by the sword. 23 aHer graves are set in the recesses of the Pit, And her company is all around her grave, All of them slain, fallen by the sword, Who bcaused terror in the land of the living. 24 “There is aElam and all her multitude, All around her grave, All of them slain, fallen by the sword, Who have bgone down uncircumcised to the lower parts of the earth, cWho caused their terror in the land of the living; Now they bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit. 25 They have set her abed in the midst of the slain, With all her multitude, With her graves all around it, All of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; Though their terror was caused In the land of the living, Yet they bear their shame With those who go down to the Pit; It was put in the midst of the slain. 26 “There are aMeshech and Tubal and all their multitudes, With all their graves around it, All of them buncircumcised, slain by the sword, Though they caused their terror in the land of the living. 27 aThey do not lie with the mighty Who are fallen of the uncircumcised, Who have gone down to hell with their weapons of war; They have laid their swords under their heads, But their iniquities will be on their bones, Because of the terror of the mighty in the land of the living. 28 Yes, you shall be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised, And lie with those slain by the sword. 29 “There is aEdom, Her kings and all her princes, Who despite their might Are laid beside those slain by the sword; They shall lie with the uncircumcised, And with those who go down to the Pit. 30 aThere are the princes of the north, All of them, and all the bSidonians, Who have gone down with the slain In shame at the terror which they caused by their might; They lie uncircumcised with those slain by the sword, And bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit. 31 “Pharaoh will see them And be acomforted over all his multitude, 15 aEx. 7:5; 14:4, 18; Ps. 9:16; Ezek. 6:7 16 a2 Sam. 1:17; 2 Chr. 35:25; Jer. 9:17; Ezek. 26:17 17 aEzek. 32:1; 33:21 18 aEzek. 26:20; 31:14 19 aJer. 9:25, 26; Ezek. 31:2, 18 bEzek. 28:10 20 aPs. 28:3 21 aIs. 1:31; 14:9, 10; Ezek. 32:27 bEzek. 32:19, 25 22 aEzek. 31:3, 16 23 aIs. 14:15 bEzek. 32:24–27, 32 24 aGen. 10:22; 14:1; Is. 11:11; Jer. 25:25; 49:34–39 bEzek. 32:21 cEzek. 32:23 25 aPs. 139:8 26 aGen. 10:2; Ezek. 27:13; 38:2, 3; 39:1 bEzek. 32:19 27 aIs. 14:18, 19 29 aIs. 9:25, 26; 34:5, 6; Jer. 49:7–22; Ezek. 25:12–14 30 aJer. 1:15; 25:26; Ezek. 38:6, 15; 39:2 bJer. 25:22; Ezek. 28:21–23 31 aEzek. 14:22; 31:16

EZEKIEL 32:32 758 Pharaoh and all his army, Slain by the sword,” Says the Lord GOD. 32 “For I have caused My terror in the land of the living; And he shall be placed in the midst of the uncircumcised With those slain by the sword, Pharaoh and all his multitude,” Says the Lord GOD. The Watchman and His Message 33 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, speak to athe chil- dren of your people, and say to them: b‘When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their cwatchman, 3 ‘when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trum- pet and warns the people, 4 ‘then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does anot take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, bhis blood shall be on his own head. 5 ‘He heard the sound of the trum- pet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will 1save his life. 6 ‘But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, ahe is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watch- man’s hand.’ 7 a“So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me. 8 “When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you shall surely die!’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. 9 “Nevertheless if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have 1delivered your soul. 10 “Therefore you, O son of man, say to the house of Israel: ‘Thus you say, “If our transgressions and our sins lie upon us, and we apine1 away in them, bhow can we then live?” ’ 11 “Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord GOD, a‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked bturn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For cwhy should you die, O house of Israel?’ The Fairness of God’s Judgment 12 “Therefore you, O son of man, say to the children of your people: ‘The arighteousness of the righteous man shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression; as for the wickedness of the wicked, bhe shall not fall because of it in the day that he turns from his wickedness; nor shall the righteous be able to live because of his righteousness in the day that he sins.’ 13 “When I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, abut he trusts in his own righteousness and commits iniquity, none of his righ- teous works shall be remembered; but because of the iniquity that he has committed, he shall die. 14 “Again, awhen I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ if he turns from his sin and does 1what is lawful and 2right, 15 “if the wicked arestores the pledge, bgives back what he has stolen, and walks in cthe statutes of life without committing iniquity, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 16 a“None of his sins which he has committed shall be remembered against him; he has done what is lawful and right; he shall surely live. 17 a“Yet the children of your people say, ‘The way of the Lord is not 1fair.’ But it is their way which is not fair! 18 a“When the righteous turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, he shall die because of it. 19 “But when the wicked turns from his wickedness and does what is lawful and right, he shall live because of it. 20 “Yet you say, a‘The way of the Lord is not 1fair.’ O house of Israel, I will judge every one of you accord- ing to his own ways.” The Fall of Jerusalem 21 And it came to pass in the twelfth year aof our captivity, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, bthat one who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me and said, c“The city has been 1captured!” 22 Now athe hand of the LORD had been upon me the evening before the man came who had escaped.

ful and right, he shall live because of it. 20 “Yet you say, a‘The way of the Lord is not 1fair.’ O house of Israel, I will judge every one of you accord- ing to his own ways.” The Fall of Jerusalem 21 And it came to pass in the twelfth year aof our captivity, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, bthat one who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me and said, c“The city has been 1captured!” 22 Now athe hand of the LORD had been upon me the evening before the man came who had escaped. And He had bopened my mouth; so when he came to me in the morning, my mouth was opened, and I was no longer mute. The Cause of Judah’s Ruin 23 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 24 “Son of man, athey who inhabit those bruins in the land of Israel are saying, c‘Abraham was only one, and he inherited the land. dBut we are many; the land has been given to us as a epossession.’ 25 “Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: a“You eat meat with blood, you blift up your eyes toward your idols, and cshed blood. Should you then possess the dland? CHAPTER 33 2 aEzek. 3:11 bEzek. 14:17 c2 Sam. 18:24, 25 4 aZech. 1:4 b[Acts 18:6] 5 1Or deliver his soul 6 aEzek. 33:8 7 aIs. 62:6 9 1Or saved your life 10 aEzek. 24:23 bIs. 49:14 1Or waste away 11 a[2 Sam. 14:14] b[Acts 3:19] cEzek. 18:30, 31 12 aEzek. 3:20; 18:24, 26 b[2 Chr. 7:14] 13 aEzek. 3:20; 18:24 14 aEzek. 3:18, 19; 18:27 1jus- tice 2righ- teousness 15 aEzek. 18:7 bLev. 6:2, 4, 5 cEzek. 20:11, 13, 21 16 a[Is. 1:18; 43:25] 17 aEzek. 18:25, 29 1Or equitable 18 aEzek. 18:26 20 aEzek. 18:25, 29 1Or equitable 21 aEzek. 1:2 bEzek. 24:26 c2 Kin. 25:4 1Lit. struck down 22 aEzek. 1:3; 8:1; 37:1 bEzek. 24:27 24 aEzek. 34:2 bEzek. 36:4 cIs. 51:2 d[Matt. 3:9] eEzek. 11:15 25 aLev. 3:17; 7:26; 17:10–14; 19:26 bEzek. 18:6 cEzek. 22:6, 9 dDeut. 29:28